A crack fault is one of the damage modes most frequently occurring in gears. Identifying different crack levels, especially for early cracks is a challenge in gear fault diagnosis. This paper aims to propose a method to classify the different levels of gear cracks automatically and reliably. In this method, feature parameters in time domain, specially designed for gear damage detection and in frequency domain are extracted to characterize the gear conditions. A two-stage feature selection and weighting technique (TFSWT) via Euclidean distance evaluation technique (EDET) is presented and adopted to select sensitive features and remove fault-unrelated features. A weighted K nearest neighbor (WKNN) classification algorithm is utilized to identify the gear crack levels. The gear crack experime...
A crack fault is one of the damage modes most frequently occurring in gears. Identifying different crack levels, especially for early cracks is a challenge in gear fault diagnosis. This paper aims to propose a method to classify the different levels of gear cracks automatically and reliably. In this method, feature parameters in time domain, specially designed for gear damage detection and in frequency domain are extracted to characterize the gear conditions. A two-stage feature selection and weighting technique (TFSWT) via Euclidean distance evaluation technique (EDET) is presented and adopted to select sensitive features and remove fault-unrelated features. A weighted K nearest neighbor (WKNN) classification algorithm is utilized to identify the gear crack levels. The gear crack experiments were conducted and the vibration signals were captured from the gears under different loads and motor speeds. ...
Nowadays the safety of Nuclear Power Plants is becoming more and more significant. Therefore consideration of severe accidents shall be included in both design and operating process of Nuclear Power Plants. In particular ground motion forms one of the important natural hazards. For structural analysis both linear-elastic and non-linear methods are specified by the engineering codes for earthquake resistance design. However, time history analysis is required for investigation of non-linear structural behaviour. Moreover, non-linearities are often caused by the presence of damage. This can be detected by means of structural health monitoring and subsequently system identification. In this paper the advantages of both dynamic time history analysis and damage detection by means of wavelet analysis are discussed. First, the non-linear behaviour of a frame structure due to an artificial earthquake motion is analyzed. A comparison ...
Direct identification of group B streptococci from a selective broth medium was performed with the Phadebact streptococcus test to determine the feasibility of this technique for early detection of...Full Text Available
BackgroundDNA repair is the general term for the collection of critical mechanisms which repair many forms of DNA damage such as methylation or ionizing radiation. DNA repair has...Full Text Available
This paper dealt with the identification of possible damaging mechanism of the collector of the WWER 440 steam generator, cracking of primary collectors, corrosion damage of the protective coat of the primary collector circumferential weld, cracking of breathing space in the region of blinding effect by corrosion and strain, leaking of disassembling joint of the primary collector lid and with the integrity of heat exchanging tubes.
Because the bridges over the Rio Grande were to be razed, the investigators were able to introduce simulated cracks in four stages of increasing length into the structure. This paper summarizes the results of ambient and conventional, measured-input, modal analyses, performed on the undamaged structure. Also summarized are the results of conventional modal analyses performed after each stage of damage had been introduced. These tests were intended to quantify the amount of damage necessary to produce changes in the global dynamic properties of the bridge and to form a data base that can be used by other investigators to develop damageidentification algorithms. Conventional modal analysis identified changes in the global dynamic properties of the structure only after the final stage of a damage.
The annealing behavior of the radiation damage in epitaxial Pd_2Si and NiSi_2 films on Si, due to the implantation of 100 keV Ar ions, is investigated by using the channeling technique with "4He ions. (U.K.).
such as public utilities, waste disposal sites, large energy dependent facilities including factories, institutions ( ...provides immediate identification of PCB wastes, informs company officials of any special handling or disposal techniques ...provides immediate identification of PCB wastes, informs company officials of any special handling or disposal techniques
In this paper a new procedure, addressed as Interpolation Damage Detecting Method (IDDM), is investigated as a possible mean for early detection and location of light damage in a structure struck by an earthquake. Damage is defined in terms of the accuracy of a spline function in interpolating the operational mode shapes (ODS) of the structure. At a certain location a decrease (statistically meaningful) of accuracy, with respect to a reference configuration, points out a localized variation of the operational shapes thus revealing the existence of damage. In this paper, the proposed method is applied to a numerical model of a multistory frame, simulating a damaged condition through a reduction of the story stiffness. Several damage scenarios have been considered and the results indicate the effectiveness of the method to assess and localize ...
Experiences with the model parameter identification of the excitation system (EXS) and the power system stabilizer (PSS) for Mingtan{number_sign}6 pumped storage generation unit of Taiwan Power System are presented in this paper. The input-output data corresponding to each block of the EXS and PSS were obtained when the finalization tests of this unit were performed. The generalized least squares (GLS) approach is introduced and employed to identify the desired parameters of the noisy excitation system and PSS models. In this method, the reduction technique of biased estimates due to the non-white (correlated) identification residual is also applied to improve the accuracy of identification. The results of the parameter estimation are satisfactory. The GLS parameter identification method using the measured data at finalization tests is then suggested from the viewpoint of economy ...
The basic approach to radioactive labeling techniques in hemoglobin identification consists of mixing 14C labeled normal carrier globin with 3H labeled unknown globin and carrying out the subsequent separations and purifications looking at the distribution of 3H and 14C radioactivity. This technique was devised to ascertain the amino acid substitution in Hb Indianapolis and was instrumental in solving the structure of Hb Vicksburg. It was also useful in determining the purity of gamma-chains from cultures of human and baboon erythroid progenitors. Another use of this technique would be in identifying aberrant peaks of radioactivity in chain separation chromatograms, such as ''pre-peaks''.
The examples quoted show that damage is mostly due to faults of design and construction or faulty operation. The ever shorter development cycles, the further development of existing constructions and cost pressure owing to price slumps are very important in this context. Careful endoscopic inspections and monitoring and early identification of beginning damage helps to prevent major damage and follow-up damage. The causes of changing operational performance must be established as early as possible to prevent larger damages from being caused by continued operations.(orig.) [German] Die vorgestellten Schadenbeispiele zeigen, dass die Schaeden vorwiegend durch Auslegungsfehler und Konstruktionsfehler aber auch durch Bedienungsfehler verursacht wurden. Die immer kuerzeren Entwicklungszeiten fuer Neukonstruktionen und die Weiterentwicklung vorhandener Konstruktionen ...
Disaster impact modeling and analysis uses huge volumes of image data that are produced immediately following a natural or an anthropogenic disaster event. Rapid damage assessment is the key to time critical decision support in disaster management to better utilize available response resources and accelerate recovery and relief efforts. But exploiting huge volumes of high resolution image data for identifying damaged areas with robust consistency in near real time is a challenging task. In this paper, we present an automated image analysis technique to identify areas of structural damage from high resolution optical satellite data using features based on image content.
Heat transfer augmentation has developed into a major specialty area in heat transfer research and development. A bibliography of world literature on augmentation is presented. The literature is classified into passive augmentation techniques, which require no external power, and active techniques, which do require external power. The fourteen techniques are grouped in terms of their application to the various modes of heat transfer. Mass transfer is included for completeness. Key words are included with each citation for technique/mode identification. The total number of publications cited is 1,967, including 75 surveys of various techniques and 42 papers on performance evaluation of passive techniques. Patents are not included as they will be the subject of a future topical report.
This report presents criteria for the identification and evaluation of fire hazards in nuclear power stations. The report presents criteria that are consistent with the existing regulatory approach in Canada, and outlines engineering tools and analytical techniques currently available to deterministically analyse fire. The criteria presented cover the topics which should be included in a fire hazard analysis and provide details of each topic so that the accuracy of an analysis may be evaluated.
Nano photonic materials are synthetically manufactured crystals at the nano scale with the target of creating a microstructure with a special electro-magnetic periodicity. Such nano photonic materials have the ability to control light propagation and thus are capable of creating photonic bandgaps in the frequency domain. We propose using nano photonic crystals as sensors to detect microdamage in composite materials. We demonstrate using a simulation model that a nano photonic sensor attached to a composite bar experiences a significant change in its bandgap profile when damage is induced in the composite bar. The model predicts the frequency response of the nano photonic sensor using the transfer matrix method. A damage metric to evaluate the change in the frequency response is developed. Successful developments of nano photonic sensors allow damageidentification at scales not attainable using current ...
Impedance Noise Identification is an in-situ method of measuring battery impedance as a function of frequency using a random small signal noise excitation source. Through a series of auto- and cross-correlations and Fast Fourier Transforms, the battery complex impedance as a function of frequency can be determined. The results are similar to those measured under a lab-scale electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement. The lab-scale measurements have been shown to correlate well with resistance and power data that are typically used to ascertain the remaining life of a battery. To this end, the Impedance Noise Identification system is designed to acquire the same type of data as an on-board tool. A prototype system is now under development, and results are being compared to standardized measurement techniques such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A brief description of the Impedance Noise ...
System identification refers to estimation of process parameters and is a necessity in control theory. Physical systems usually have varying parameters. For such processes, accurate identification is particularly important. Online identification schemes are also needed for designing adaptive controllers. Real processes are usually of fractional order as opposed to the ideal integral order models. In this paper, we propose a simple and elegant scheme of estimating the parameters for such a fractional order process. A population of process models is generated and updated by particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique, the fitness function being the sum of squared deviations from the actual set of observations. Results show that the proposed scheme offers a high degree of accuracy even when the observations are corrupted to a significant degree. Additional schemes to improve the accuracy still further are ...
We classified microorganisms from the clinical laboratory by using information provided by the Gram stain and antibiotic sensitivity profiles obtained with the Bauer-Kirby technique. Approximately 4,000...Full Text Available
Secretariat of the Basel Convention United Nations Office at Geneva ...such as public utilities, waste disposal sites, large energy dependent facilities including factories, institutions (hospitals, ...it provides immediate identification of PCB wastes, informs company officials of any special handling or disposal techniques
Current regulations guiding technical aspects of natural resource damage assessments combine source, exposure pathway, resource injury, and monetary damage components. In order to associate any observed injury to the uncontrolled release of chemicals (e.g. oil spills, contaminated sediments, in-place toxics, etc.), it is important to link the chemical ''release'' to the injured resource. In complex environmental settings where multiple sources of similar chemicals are combined, multicomponent chemical methods must be used to link the release to the environmental distribution of chemicals. Three examples of the utility of multicomponent organic chemical analyses linked to comprehensive and representative sampling strategies will be discussed--the Shell Martinez Refinery oil spill, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and a contaminated sediment assessment. These NRDA-based source identifications are based on use of polycyclic ...
Summary Status epilepticus or other brain-damaging insults launch a cascade of events that may lead to the development of epilepsy. MRI techniques available today, including T2- and T1-weighted imaging, functional MRI, manganese enhanced MRI (MEMRI), arterial spin labeling (ASL), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and phase imaging, can detect not only damage caused by status epilepticus but also plastic changes in the brain that occur in response to damage. Optimal balance between damage and recovery processes is a key for planning possible treatments, and noninvasive imaging has the potential to greatly facilitate this process and to make personalized treatment plans possible.
Blades of modern steam turbines are designed for high efficiency and operational safety. Modern computer programs enable optimisation of design but factors like manufacturing, assembly, operation and downtimes still play an important role. Damage statistics show that blade damage still quite frequent. Selected cases from the Allianz damage assessment centre show some of the more frequent damage mechanisms. Damage is often caused when several factors come together. Prevention of follow-up damage requires early identification of beginning damage.(orig.) [German] Die Auslegung der Beschaufelung moderner Dampfturbinen hat die Vorgabe, einen hohen Wirkungsgrad bei gleichzeitig hoher Betriebssicherheit zu erreichen. Mit den heute zur Verfuegung stehenden Rechenprogrammen ist eine entsprechende Optimierung realisierbar. Fuer ...
From the frequency of diagnostic radiologic examinations and their radiation dose delivered to the population the risk of cancer induction and genetic damage is calculated on the basis of the risk factors given by the ICRP. Thus 0.38 % and 3 % of the total mortality for cancer and leukemia, resp., can be attributed to X-ray diagnostics. Chest examinations alone result in 0.07-0.7 damages per 100,000 persons depending on the imaging technique applied. (author).
A summary of research conducted during the first year is presented. The research objectives were sought by conducting two tasks: (1) investigation of probabilistic design techniques for reliability-based design of composite sandwich panels, and (2) examin...
A dual-rate self-tuning control technique, in which the system identification and control calculation are performed separately, is proposed in this paper. This greatly increases the control rate. A self-tuning power system stabilizer (DSPSS) making use of this technique is developed and implemented using multi-micro-computers. Simulation and experimental results with DSPSS show that the increase in the control rate can considerably improve the system performance.
The integrity and safety of beam-like structures are dependent in part on their boundary conditions which can vary with time due to damage or aging. Structural health monitoring of such structures should therefore include attention to boundary conditions. Where the boundary conditions can be represented by a lumped spring then the identification of associated stiffness parameter values may be a means to quantifying the integrity of the support. This paper investigates such a method for identifying the equivalent translational and rotational stiffness of a constrained tapered beam-like structure. An analytical model of a beam of tapered width and thickness is adopted as a simplified representation of a tower-like structure. The model is used to explore in what scenarios natural frequencies and/or nodal points might be sufficiently sensitive to changes in support conditions to be measurable indicators of damage. The method is ...
This paper presents a dynamic displacement influence line method for moving load identification on bridge. The finite element model of Poyang Lake continuous truss bridge-train systems is established and the dispersed modal shapes are acquired by modal analysis. Multi-axle moving train loads are identified with simulated annealing genetic algorithm by minimizing the errors between the measured displacements and the reconstructed displacements from the identified moving loads. In the identification process, the dynamic displacement influence line technique is used to calculate the time history displacement responses of the bridge to avoid solving equations of motion of the bridge repetitively. Several important parameters of the bridge-train system are discussed to investigate their effects...
This contribution deals with identification of fractional-order dynamical systems. System identification, which refers to estimation of process parameters, is a necessity in control theory. Real processes are usually of fractional order as opposed to the ideal integral order models. A simple and elegant scheme of estimating the parameters for such a fractional order process is proposed. This method employs fractional calculus theory to find equations relating the parameters that are to be estimated, and then estimates the process parameters after solving the simultaneous equations. The said simultaneous equations are generated and updated using particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique, the fitness function being the sum of squared deviations from the actual set of observations. The data used for the calculations are intentionally corrupted to simulate real-life conditions. Results show that the proposed scheme offers a ...
The detection and characterization of deeply buried fatigue damage in thick, multi-layer airframe components pose significant technical challenges to the aviation safety community. Currently, no nondestructive evaluation technique is available to reliably detect such potential damage from the exterior of the airframe, which is highly desirable in light of inspection cost as well as avoidance of structure damage. Recent technological advances in high-sensitivity magnetic sensors, i.e., spin-dependent tunneling (SDT) sensors, make it feasible to employ electromagnetic inspection techniques for deep fatigue crack inspection. In this work, we report on the development and fabrication of a low frequency eddy current probe based on a magnetically shielded SDT pickup sensor concentrically located...
The use of a selective epitaxial growth technique for fabricating YBCO thin-film microstructures is described. No film post-deposition processing is required; hence damage to the structure is minimized. The technique is compatible with a passivation process to protect the structure without exposure to air. The microbridges, Josephson junctions and rf SQUIDs protected by an amorphous YBCO passivation have long lifetime even after severe accelerated aging tests. Rf SQUIDs fabricated by this technique show a significant reduction of low-frequency noise when operating in weak magnetic fields compared with SQUIDs fabricated by the conventional ion beam etching technique. (author)
In the quest to understand the ultimate nature of WIMPs, we propose the use of a hybrid detection technique: cylinders filled with liquefied noble gasses, acting as targets, are immersed inside a tank of Gd-doped ultra-pure water that provides an active and efficient veto against neutrons. The evaluation of the background rejection capabilities and physics potential of this instrument have been carried out through a full GEANT4 simulation, assuming the detector will be located at the Canfranc underground laboratory (in the Spanish Pyrenees). Our results compare very favourably with existing or planned experiments in the field. This technique is scalable and will allow to reach target masses of few tonnes in the next future.
Twenty-six unclassified Campylobacter-like strains previously isolated from 15 chicken carcasses and caecal contents, together with two more strains isolated from chicken faeces on a different occasion, were identified as Helicobacter pullorum using various phenotypic identification methods. API Campy identification kits and a 16-test identification scheme developed for campylobacters failed to identify these bacteria, or identified them as Campylobacter spp. Eighteen strains (including the two isolated on a different occasion) were chosen for examination using a more comprehensive probabilistic identification scheme. Using this method, 14 of the 18 strains were identified as H. pullorum with ID scores > 95%; two strains were also identified as H. pullorum with lower ID scores. Of the remaining two strains, one was not identified with this scheme and the other was misidentified to the H, acinonyx ...
Ultra-shallow junction formation in deep submicron Si devices is limited by anomalous diffusion of the dopant, which is related to the release of interstitials from defect clusters formed during the implantation of energetic ions or the subsequent annealing. The work described in this dissertation is concerned with the effects of low energy B ion implantation, especially damage formation, clustering and its annealing. After a review of the stopping and ranges of energetic ions in Si, the formation of implant damage, in particular of point defects, their migration, agglomeration and annihilation, including the involvement of dopant ions, is considered. A description of the Salford ultra low energy implanter is given and the main analysis technique, medium ion energy scattering (MEIS) reviewed. Additional analytical techniques used, such as secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), 4-point probe and cross ...
Aiming at the non-stationary characteristics of differential pressure fluctuation signals of gas-liquid two-phase flow, and the slow convergence of learning and liability of dropping into local minima for BP neural networks, flow regime identification method based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Least Square Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) is presented. First of all, the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method is used to decompose the differential pressure fluctuation signals of gas-liquid two-phase flow into a number of stationary Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) components from which the initial feature vector matrix is formed. By applying the singular vale decomposition technique to the initial feature vector matrixes, the singular values are obtained. Finally, the singular values serve as the flow regime characteristic vector to be LS-SVM classifier and flow regimes are identified by the output of the classifier. The ...
The influence of material configuration and impact parameters on the damage tolerance characteristics of sandwich composites comprised of carbon-epoxy woven fabric facesheets and Nomex honeycomb cores was investigated using empirically based response surfaces. A series of carefully selected tests were used to isolate the coupled influence of various combinations of the number of facesheet plies, core density, core thickness, impact energy, impactor diameter, and impact velocity on the damage formation and residual strength degradation due to normal impact. The ranges of selected material parameters were typical of those found in common aircraft applications. The diameter of the planar damage area associated with Through Transmission Ultrasonic C-scan measurements and the peak residual facesheet indentation depth were used to describe the extent of internal and detectable surface damage, respectively. ...
During 17 years since the start of operation of the first commercial LWR in Japan, many LWRs have experienced various corrosion damages, but the causes of them were clarified, and the counter-measures were executed effectively in actual plants, as the results, the cause of corrosion damage decreased remarkably, and now, the high rate of operation has become to be maintained. In this paper, the major cases of corrosion damage experienced in LWRs in Japan and foreign countries, the causes of them and the countermeasures, the problems of hereafter and so on are described. The corrosion damage of metallic materials in the environment of LWRs occurs in the parts in contact with high temperature, high pressure water and steam, such as stainless steel piping in the primary cooling system of BWRs, and nickel alloy heating tubes of steam generators, carbon steel feed water piping and zirconium alloy fuel ...
During 17 years since the start of operation of the first commercial LWR in Japan, many LWRs have experienced various corrosion damages, but the causes of them were clarified, and the counter-measures were executed effectively in actual plants, as the results, the cause of corrosion damage decreased remarkably, and now, the high rate of operation has become to be maintained. In this paper, the major cases of corrosion damage experienced in LWRs in Japan and foreign countries, the causes of them and the countermeasures, the problems of hereafter and so on are described. The corrosion damage of metallic materials in the environment of LWRs occurs in the parts in contact with high temperature, high pressure water and steam, such as stainless steel piping in the primary cooling system of BWRs, and nickel alloy heating tubes of steam generators, carbon steel feed water piping and zirconium alloy fuel ...
Leachability of neutron irradiated fly ash is investigated as a method for studying element leaching properties of this material with various leaching media. Quantitative aspects of radiation damage are shown to be minor. Therefore, the technique should be applicable for this purpose. It is further shown that this technique affords significant advantages over the conventional post-leaching analysis with respect to utilization of natural solutions for the investigation of fly ash leachability. However, for a few elements such as Pb, Bi, V, and Al, the various nuclear parameters involved invalidate applicability of the present technique.
Leachability of neutron irradiated fly ash is investigated as a method for studying element leaching properties of this material with various leaching media. Quantitative aspects of radiation damage are shown to be minor. Therefore, the technique should be applicable for this purpose. It is further shown that this technique affords significant advantages over the conventional post-leaching analysis with respect to utilization of natural solutions for the investigation of fly ash leachability. However, for a few elements such as Pb, Bi, V, and Al, the various nuclear parameters involved invalidate applicability of the present technique.
"9"9"mTechnetium -heat damaged erythrocyte were used as spleen scanning agents in 12 patients from July, 1985 to April, 1986. We used this scan to evaluate situs inversus, asplenia, accessory spleen, hypersplenism, splenic infarction, tumor staging and evaluation of therapy, especially when the "9"9"mTc-tin colloid scans were not definite for diagnosis. The techniques applied to these scans were in vivo/in vitro-labeling method and heating-method to damage the erythrocytes. Liver-to-spleen uptake ratios were increased upto 100:1 and interference from the left lobe of the liver was eliminated. These scans were helpful to evaluate the spleen. (Author).
For many centuries paper was the main material for recording cultural achievements all over the world. Paper is mostly made from cellulose with small amounts of organic and inorganic additives, which allow its identification and characterization and may also contribute to its degradation. Prior to 1850, paper was made entirely from rags, using hemp, flax and cotton fibres. After this period, due to the enormous increase in demand, wood pulp began to be commonly used as raw material, resulting in rapid degradation of paper. Spectroscopic techniques represent one of the most powerful tools to investigate the constituents of paper documents in order to establish its identification and its state of degradation. This review describes the application of selected spectroscopic techniques used for paper characterization and conservation. The spectroscopic techniques that have been used and ...
This article describes the preparation of 5-nitroisatin and of 5-chloroisatin from isonitrosoacetanilide in a single step, using readily available and inexpensive reagents. These reactions require around 90 minutes and may be carried out as an undergraduate experiment, providing an opportunity to discuss the electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism, as well as spectroscopic techniques for product identification. (author)
Hydrology and hydrogeochemical are auxiliary techniques to valid conceptual hydrogeology an recharge models. Stable isotopes from water trace sources and path flow and Tritium indicates age. This paper is about the use of D 18, D2H y 3H to study the aquifer system on Bajo Cauca antioqueno.
Chemical contamination can be one of the more common problems encountered when performing trace-level analysis regardless of the analytical technique. Minimizing or eliminating background interferences...Full Text Available
Nondestructive inspection of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CRFP) using eddy current methods is based not only on the conductivity of the fibres. High frequencies (up to 10 MHz) give access to capacitive effects reflecting properties of the matrix. The paper presents a method using rotating eddy current probes to measure the anisotropic electrical properties. Potential applications of this method are the structural identification of laminates and the estimating of its degradation. (orig.)
System identification is a necessity in control theory. Classical control theory usually considers processes with integer order transfer functions. Real processes are usually of fractional order as opposed to the ideal integral order models. A simple and elegant scheme is presented for approximation of such a real world fractional order process by an ideal integral order model. A population of integral order process models is generated and updated by PSO technique, the fitness function being the sum of squared deviations from the set of observations obtained from the actual fractional order process. Results show that the proposed scheme offers a high degree of accuracy.
Polyethylene pipes and connections are being widely used in treated water distribution services. Migration of low molecular weight compounds from the polyethylene into the water can change its final quality. This paper is about the concentrations and identification of the migration compounds found in treated water after staying in contact with low and high-density polyethylene. Identification and quantification were carried out using CLSA (Closed Loop Stripping Analysis) extraction technique and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). (Author) 12 refs.
There is a need for earlier and more accurate cancer diagnostics as well as new targets for cancer immunotherapy. To this end, it is important to identify sets of tumour antigens specific for different cancer forms. Several methods that identify potential tumour antigens in an arrayed and high-throughput format have been developed during the last years of SEREX (serological identification of antigens by recombinant expression cloning) related research. Such techniques may hold the potential to describe the complete immunogenic part of the cancer proteome, also called the cancer immunoproteome.We have developed a powerful platform for automated serological high-throughput filter screening of tumour cDNA libraries. The screening format of this method is 18,000 single cDNAs clones, which is s...
In vibration control field, magneto-rheological (MR) fluid dampers are semi-active control devices that have recently begun to receive more attention. This paper presents a black-box model (BBM) for identification of a MR fluid damper and its application to vibrating control systems using that damper with self-sensing behavior. A model named ''black-box'' is a simple direct modeling method which is designed for a typical MR fluid damper using the self-tuning fuzzy technique. The characteristics of the researched damper are directly estimated through a fuzzy mapping system. In order to improve the accuracy of the proposed model, the back propagation algorithm and gradient descent method were used to train the fuzzy parameters to minimize the model error function. Consequently, the BBM with ...
In an effort to explore Diffraction Enhanced Imaging of bone tissue, experiments were performed to determine if it was possible to use Diffraction Enhanced Imaging to detect microdamage in bovine cortical bone. Measurements were made at the National Synchrotron Light Source where pre- and post-fatigue rocking curve widths of the bone were studied. The rocking curve widths were then compared. Since no consistent pattern of narrowing or broadening of the rocking curve emerged, it is likely that the ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering present in the bone overshadowed any additional changes to rocking curve caused by microdamage of the bone. Larger bone structures were able to be visualized which suggests that microdamage may be visualized with a higher resolution detector.
To increase further the accuracy of flow regime and considering the non-stationary characteristics of differential pressure fluctuation signals of gas-liquid two-phase flow, the flow regime identification method based on recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) and multi-sensor data fusion techniques is put forward. First of all, the recurrence quantification analysis method is used to extract the nonlinear feature parameters of the differential pressure fluctuation signals of gas-liquid two-phase flow, and data fusion of feature layer is conducted by QRA feature parameters of differential pressure signals of three pressure measure intervals, and composes the fusion feature vectors. The fused characteristic vector are input into the support vector machine for identify flow regime. The identification results for four typical flow regimes of air-water two-phase flow in horizontal pipe has shown that the reliability of the ...
Today, the use of the arch bars in the treatment of mandibular fractures is common [1]. But it has complications such as damaged teeth, periodontal tissue [2], risk of blood transmitted disease [3] and premature contact with maxillary incisor teeth in anterior deep bite occlusion. Many techniques are used for resolving these problems. In this paper, we describe the technique of using Maxillo-Mandibular Fixation Screws (MMFS) with essig wiring of anterior mandibular teeth in the management of symphyseal fracture of deep bite patients.
Radiation therapy has shown definite technical improvement due to application of proton beam irradiation. Clinical results of proton beam therapy also suggested enlargement of indication ranges in radial treatment and decrease of post radiation damages of the treatment of cancers in deep-seated organs. Inprovement of result in cancer therapy could be expected by this treatment technique in the future.
The results of Sandia National Laboratories' participation in the NASA Planetary Definition and Design Program are summarized. Areas reported include the characterization of large area cadmium zinc telluride spectrometers and the application of simulation techniques to the prediction of device performance. Also investigated was the response of mercuric iodide devices in the region from 1 to 100 KeV. A literature study to determine the status or radiation damage measurements in room temperature semiconductor devices is also reported.
Topics of this proceedings are: DNA damage and repair; Space research; Cell and tissue radiobiology; Treatment planning 1: The role of clinical RBEs; Treatment planning 2: Dose optimization and inverse planning; Dosimetry; Clinical results of particle therapy and new techniques; Status reports and future developments. Separate abstracts were prepared for 79 chapters. (orig./SR)
We have developed a Bragg curve counter (BCC) equipped with an active cathode to extend the energy acceptance to lower energies than for a conventional BCC to measure differential cross-sections of fragment production reactions induced by tens of MeV protons. The signal from the active cathode providing the timing signal of fragment incidence and the time difference signal between the cathode and anode gives information on the fragment range in the BCC on the basis of electron drift time. Utilization of the range information made possible identification of fragments less than 0.5 MeV/u that is lower than the identification threshold of a conventional BCC technique. After investigations on fundamental properties of a newly constructed BCC using heavy ion beams and alpha-particles, this method was applied successfully to a fragment production measurement for 70 MeV proton-induced reactions on carbon. With this ...
The article presents an approach to interactively solve multi-objective optimization problems. While the identification of efficient solutions is supported by computational intelligence techniques on the basis of local search, the search is directed by partial preference information obtained from the decision maker. An application of the approach to biobjective portfolio optimization, modeled as the well-known knapsack problem, is reported, and experimental results are reported for benchmark instances taken from the literature. In brief, we obtain encouraging results that show the applicability of the approach to the described problem.
The paper presents results of experimental research on the interaction of a pulsed plasma-ion stream with a tungsten (W) target. The pulsed hydrogen plasma was produced within the RPI-IBIS (Multi-Rod Plasma Injector) facility at IPJ in Swierk. Measurements were carried out by means of optical spectroscopy and corpuscular diagnostic techniques. For experiments with the W-target the operational conditions (so-called PID mode) were chosen when a clean hydrogen plasma stream was generated. Attention was paid to the identification of WI and WII spectral lines.
The purpose of-this planning guide is to present the process used to identify, document, and control PFP Stabilization and Deactivation Project interfaces. Revisions to this document will include, as attachments, the most recent version of the Project Interface Management List. A preliminary Interface Management List is included in Appendix A. This document is intended be a Project owned management tool. As such, this document will periodically require revisions resulting from improvements of the information, processes, and techniques as now described. For most revisions that suggest improved processes, PFP management approval is all that will be required.
Our major goal of our work has been to develop and use NMR techniques to study how methanogenic archaebacteria deal with osmotic stress with the hope of providing insights into increasing the salt tolerance of other cells. The project has three main sections: (i) in vivo studies of methanogens; (ii) use of {sup l3}C- and {sup l5}N- labeled potential precursors and in vitro analyses of specific label uptake for elucidation of osmolyte dynamics and biosynthetic pathways of osmolytes in these organisms, and isolation of key biosynthetic enzymes; and (iii) collaborative studies on identification of organic solutes in other methanogens.
Our major goal of our work has been to develop and use NMR techniques to study how methanogenic archaebacteria deal with osmotic stress with the hope of providing insights into increasing the salt tolerance of other cells. The project has three main sections: (i) in vivo studies of methanogens; (ii) use of [sup l3]C- and [sup l5]N- labeled potential precursors and in vitro analyses of specific label uptake for elucidation of osmolyte dynamics and biosynthetic pathways of osmolytes in these organisms, and isolation of key biosynthetic enzymes; and (iii) collaborative studies on identification of organic solutes in other methanogens.
The paper discusses the aspects of repair and retrofitting technique adopted for a damaged reinforced concrete beam-column joint specimen under cyclic loading. A specimen designed based on Indian Standard specifications with consideration of seismic load but without adopting ductile detailing (NonDuctile) was investigated under reverse cyclic loading. Then, the damaged nonductile specimen was repaired with epoxy mortar and grouted using low viscous polymer, and retrofitted using fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) wrapping in beam and column components and steel plate jacketing in joint region. The experimental results showed that the retrofitted specimen not only regained its original strength and stiffness but also has overcome the deficiencies of nonductile detailing. The present study shows...
The present article will review recent advances in focused ion beam (FIB) technology. With increasing demands for scale of integration, microfabrication technology is becoming more important and various new microfabrication tools and processing techniques are desired. FIB is one of the promising tools for future microfabrication technology. This provides maskless patterning capability, which is of importance for process simplification, nanofabrication and in the development of in situ vacuum processing. In situ vacuum processing systems are being developed by combining FIB and a molecular beam epitaxy system. Radiation damage may limit applications of FIB. However, it was demonstrated that low energy FIB (<1 keV) with very high brightness was reached and promising results for low damage processing have been obtained. (orig.).
AISI 316L stainless steel was welded by the electron beam (EB) and laser techniques. Microstructural characteristics, hardness profile, creep rupture properties and creep damage of the welds were investigated. Fully austenitic microstructure was obtained in the two welds. The solidification structure of the welds consisted of the cellular and equiaxed dendrites. The creep rupture lives of the two welds were almost the same, and they were reduced by a factor of about two compared to the base metal. Moreover, the rupture elongation of the welds was lower than that of the base metal. Creep damage was observed in the ``parting`` region of the welds and in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), respectively. Final creep fracture occurred in the ``parting`` region of the welds. (orig.).
AISI 316L stainless steel was welded by the electron beam (EB) and laser techniques. Microstructural characteristics, hardness profile, creep rupture properties and creep damage of the welds were investigated. Fully austenitic microstructure was obtained in the two welds. The solidification structure of the welds consisted of the cellular and equiaxed dendrites. The creep rupture lives of the two welds were almost the same, and they were reduced by a factor of about two compared to the base metal. Moreover, the rupture elongation of the welds was lower than that of the base metal. Creep damage was observed in the ''parting'' region of the welds and in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), respectively. Final creep fracture occurred in the ''parting'' region of the welds. (orig.).
New York City data indicate that seasonal and annual variations in dispersion-normalized air pollutant concentrations appear to accurately reflect changes in source emission patterns. The normalized concentrations make it possible to observe the impact of regulatory changes on ambient air quality without these impacts being obscured by meteorological fluctuations. It is found that numerical modeling techniques and regression analysis can be powerful tools for extracting information from large sets of air quality data. The use of differential, as opposed to absolute, pollutant concentration values will reduce artifact correlations caused by seasonal, weekly, or daily meteorological fluctuations and will permit more accurate estimation of the regression coefficients. This technique was successfully applied to a set of daily pollution measurements whose absolute concentrations were found not to yield a statistically significant fit by multiple ...
New York City data indicate that seasonal and annual variations in dispersion-normalized air pollutant concentrations appear to accurately reflect changes in source emission patterns. The normalized concentrations make it possible to observe the impact of regulatory changes on ambient air quality without these impacts being obscured by meteorological fluctuations. It is found that numerical modeling techniques and regression analysis can be powerful tools for extracting information from large sets of air quality data. The use of differential, as opposed to absolute, pollutant concentration values will reduce artifact correlations caused by seasonal, weekly, or daily meteorological fluctuations and will permit more accurate estimation of the regression coefficients. This technique was successfully applied to a set of daily pollution measurements whose absolute concentrations were found not to yield a statistically significant fit by multiple ...
In vibration control field, magneto-rheological (MR) fluid dampers are semi-active control devices that have recently begun to receive more attention. This paper presents a nonlinear black-box model (BBM) and an inverse black-box model (IBBM) for the identification of a MR fluid damper and their application to design a novel force-sensorless control method for any damping system using that damper. The nonlinear model named 'black-box' is a simple direct modeling method which was designed based on fuzzy-neural technique. Characteristics of the damper in study are directly estimated through a fuzzy mapping system. In order to improve the model accuracy, neural network technique including back-propagation and gradient descent method were used to train the fuzzy parameters to minimize the mode...
The determination of the oxidation state of ultra-trace elements in the environment, especially in the case of actinides, is of importance in many ways. Speciation techniques using radiation may comprise methods based on the detection of the nuclear and atomic radiations emitted in radioactive decay or methods using external sources of excitation. In the former instance, information can be obtained from the energy and intensity of radiation, but at present the partition method is still the most commonly used, although its reliability is questionable. Excitation with intense laser beams, as is currently being used for trace element analysis in photoacoustic and thermal lensing spectroscopic techniques, could conceivably be applied under suitable conditions to ultra-trace elements with a sensitivity approaching that of the radiochemical methods.
Austenitic 316LN alloy was ion-irradiated using the unique Triple Ion Beam Facility (TIF) at ORNL to investigate radiation damage effects relevant to spallation neutron sources. The TIF was used to simulate significant features of GeV proton irradiation effects in spallation neutron source target materials by producing displacement damage while simultaneously injecting helium and hydrogen at appropriately high gas/dpa ratios. Irradiations were carried out at 80, 200, and 350 C using 3.5 MeV Fe{sup ++}, 360 keV He{sup +}, and 180 keV H{sup +} to accumulate 50 dpa by Fe, 10,000 appm of He, and 50,000 appm of H. Irradiations were also carried out at 200 C in single and dual ion beam modes. The specific ion energies were chosen to maximize the damage and the gas accumulation at a depth of {approximately} 1 {micro}m. Variations in microstructure and hardness of irradiated specimens were studied using transmission electron ...
This short survey focuses on the main radiation-induced base lesions that have been identified within cellular DNA. For this purpose, sensitive assays that are aimed at measuring a few modifications per 10{sup 7} normal bases were set-up. In that respect high performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (CLHP-MS/MS) was found to be able to single out the formation of 9 oxidized nucleosides and two modified nucleo-bases out of the 70 oxidative base lesions that have been identified in model systems. As a striking result, it was found that in the DNA of {gamma}-irradiated human monocytes, the formamide-pyrimidine derivative of guanine is produced in a higher yield than the ubiquitous 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-guanine damage, both arising from the same radical precursor. However, relatively high doses of ionizing radiation (> 20 Gy) have to be applied in order to detect an increase in the level of the damage. This is due to the low ...
The transmutation of minor actinides in-reactor is one solution currently being studied for the long time management of nuclear waste. In the heterogeneous concept the radionuclides are incorporating in an inert ceramic matrix. The support material must be insensitive to radiation damage. Fission product damage is the main radiation damage source during the transmutation process and therefore it is of the utmost importance to study their effects. We irradiated spinels MgAl_2O_4 (matrix of reference) and ZnAl_2O_4 by fast ions (by example: (86)Kr of approximately 400 MeV) simulating the fission products. Under these conditions, the damage is primarily due to the electronic energy losses (Se). One of the structural features of spinel AB_2O_4 is that the two cations (A(2+) and B(3+)) can exchange their site. This phenomenon is quantified by the inversion parameter. We highlight by XRD in grazing incidence ...
A necessary condition for crevice corrosion is that a crevice former create a sufficiently tight, restricted geometry on the metal surface to support the development of critical crevice chemistry. Crevice corrosion is affected by the crevice geometry (tightness) and the properties of the crevice former. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of the crevice former material on the evolution of localized corrosion-damage. A standard crevice corrosion test method is modified by (a) the use of ceramic, metal or polymer materials as the crevice former and (b) the variation of size and shape of the crevice. This study focuses on the post initiation stage of crevice corrosion and addresses factors that may limit the initiation of localized corrosion and also slow or stop the continued propagation of corrosion. Controlled crevice corrosion tests are performed under aggressive, accelerated conditions on Ni-Cr-Mo alloy C-22 and other alloys for comparison. ...
The waterjet technique enables precise tissue dissection without thermal damage and with preservation of vessels in general surgery. In neurosurgery, these qualities could help to avoid damage of intact brain parenchyma in tumour resections. The present study reports our first results with this technique in brain metastases. Ten patients with intracranial metastases underwent surgery with the aid of the waterjet. Resection was performed in combination with conventional neurosurgical methods. The follow-up consisted of neurological examination and MRI studies. Intraoperatively, the device was easy to handle. No complications due to the device were observed. Vessels were preserved at pressures below 20 bars. Six of the tumours consisted of soft tissue which was poorly demarcated from the surrounding brain. In these tumours, the waterjet was very helpful. It enabled tumour debulking by aspiration and - ...
In this work, the effects of the focus ion beam (FIB) milling process on the optical properties of semiconductor nanostructures were investigated. With this aim, a sensitive materials system based on InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots with well known and excellent optical properties was selected for the FIB treatment. The FIB technique was used to locally remove a metallic mask deposited on top of the quantum dot sample. The photoluminescence (PL) signal, collected from the circular openings, was used to infer the possible damage effects of the ion beam on the properties of the dots.
Abstract Neurodegenerative and neurometabolic disorders may cause significant morbidity and mortality in children. Imaging is important in early diagnosis of metabolic disorders and in determining the extent of brain injury. Especially after the development of new techniques such as diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), neuroimaging plays more important role in the diagnosis and management of these disorders. In these disorders, usually a mutation causes a clinically significant block in one or more metabolic pathways. This blockage usually results in either a deficiency of the product or in an accumulation of substrate with damage induced by either storage or toxicity. The presenting symptoms are usually nonspecific. In some of the ...
Denial of service attacks (DoS) can cause significant financial damages. Flooding and Malicious packets are two kinds of DoS attacks. This paper presents a new security approach which stops malicious packets and prevents flooding in the critical systems. New concepts of packet stamp a dynamic-multi-communication-point mechanism has been identified for this proposed approach to make the prevention of flooding attacks easier and the performing of malicious packet attacks harder. In addition, dynamic key encryption technique has been adapted as a part of the proposed approach to enhance its functionality.
Focussed ion beam (FIB) technology has the advantage of being a maskless process compatible with UHV processing. This makes it attractive for use in in situ processing and has been applied to the fabrication of various mesoscopic structures. The present paper reviews these results whilst putting emphasis on in situ processing by a combined FIB and molecular beam epitaxy system. The typical performance of present FIB systems is also presented. In order to utilize the potential advantages of FIB processing, reduction of damage and improvement of throughput are important, and much effort has been devoted to developing processing techniques which require a reduced dose. The importance of low-energy FIB is discussed. (author).
Focussed ion beam (FIB) technology has the advantage of being a maskless process compatible with UHV processing. This makes it attractive for use in in situ processing and has been applied to the fabrication of various mesoscopic structures. The present paper reviews these results whilst putting emphasis on in situ processing by a combined FIB and molecular beam epitaxy system. The typical performance of present FIB systems is also presented. In order to utilize the potential advantages of FIB processing, reduction of damage and improvement of throughput are important, and much effort has been devoted to developing processing techniques which require a reduced dose. The importance of low-energy FIB is discussed. (author).
Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) are one of most common nutritional deficiencies in the world. The nuclear analytical methods (ENAA, SRXRF and XRF) were employed to study the effect of iodine deficiency on the metal ion changes during the stage of brain development, combined with biochemical methods. The results show that the distributions of iron, copper and zinc varied to different extent in different brain regions and subcellular fractions of the ID rat brains. These distributional changes of trace elements might be associated with the brain damage caused by the iodine deficiency. (author)
This report describes the sampling and chemical analyses of smoke gas components for combustion performed in the SP Industry Calorimeter, where continuous measurements of oxygen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are an integrated part of the Calorimeter system. On-line measurements of nitrogen oxides and total amounts of unburnt hydrocarbons were performed. Hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride and ammonia in the smoke were sampled and absorbed in impinger bottles and subsequently analyzed using wet chemical techniques. An adsorbent sampling system was designed to allow the identification and quantitative analysis of individual organic compounds in the smoke. Gas chromatography was utilized with a mass spectrometric detector for the identification and a FID for quantification of the total amounts as well as individual components. A procedure for cleaning the smoke gas duct in between the combustion experiments was designed ...
A multivariate adaptive power system stabilizer is proposed. The advantages of using coordinated governor and excitation control are discussed, and the problems associated with constant parameter power system stabilizers (CPSS) are highlighted. The proposed multi-input multi-output (MIMO) power system stabilizer can coordinate the governor and excitation control and can overcome the problems associated with CPSS in power system stabilization. Selective multivariable state modelling, identification and control methods are investigated and the MIMO least squares technique with variable forgetting factor is used for system identification, guaranteeing good parameter tracking after a disturbance. Two multivariable self-tuning algorithms are investigated, the generalized minimum variance control and pole-shifting control algorithms. The multivariable self-searching pole-shifting algorithm is developed. Models of a single machine ...
Seven types of shellfish were irradiated by gamma ray at doses of 0, 3 and 6 kGy. Pulse photo-stimulated luminescence (PPSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) methods were employed to detect the radiation treatment. The screening of irradiation was carried out by the PPSL method followed by identification using the TL technique. Most of the irradiated shellfish were screened out correctly and only a few showed photon counts a bit higher than the lower threshold value by much lower than the upper threshold value. The TL method was employed using minerals isolated from all the control and irradiated shellfish samples by density gradient treatment. Three parameters, integrated intensities of first glow curves (TL1), ratios of first to that of second glow curves (TL1/TL2), and the shapes of maxima of first glow curves, were utilized for the identification of gamma ray treatment of shellfish. (author)
The objectives of this study were to characterize the changes of VOC material emission profiles over time and develop a method to account for such changes in order to enhance a source identificationtechnique that is based on the measurements of mixed air samples and the emission signatures of individual building materials determined by PTRMS. Source models, including powerlaw model, doubleexponential decay model and mechanistic diffusion model, were employed to track the change of individual material emission signatures by PTRMS over a ninemonth period. Samples of nine typical building materials were tested individually for nine months and later in combination to obtain actual mixture emissions. VOC emissions from each material were measured in a 50liter smallscale chamber. Chamber air was sampled by PTRMS over a 28day period to determine their emission rate decay characteristics as well as to establish the initial profile of emission ...
The automotive paints could be generally differentiated by color, layer sequence and chemistry of the paint layers comprising each of the topcoat and the primer system. The successful identification of hit-and-run a and traffic accidental vehicles from evidential paint fragments is greatly facilitated with a comprehensive laboratory collection of reference paint samples and the technique for direct analysis without sample preparation. The Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography(PGC) is a precise and reliable method for performing both quantitative and qualitative analysis of polymeric materials and forensic samples. Our Forensic Laboratory is conducting the examination and identification of 73 reference paint samples; 4 colors of each domestic automotive make that is poplar in Korea, by Curie Point Pyrolyzer(JHP-3) and GC with capillary column(ultra alloy-5). This method can be used not only to compare paint traces with their ...
A ground-breaking study was recently completed as part of the Seabrook Level 2 PRA update. This study updates the post-core damage phenomena to be consistent with the most recent information and includes accident management activities that should be modeled in the Level 2 PRA. Overall, the result is a Level 2 PRA that fully meets the requirements of the ASME PRA Standard with respect to modeling accident management in the LERF assessment and NRC requirements in Regulatory Guide 1.174 for considering late containment failures. This technical paper deals only with the incorporation of operator actions into the Level 2 PRA based on a comprehensive study of the Seabrook Station accident response procedures and guidance. The paper describes the process used to identify the key operator actions that can influence the Level 2 PRA results and the development of success criteria for these key operator actions. This addresses a key requirement of the ASME PRA Standard for ...
A ground-breaking study was recently completed as part of the Seabrook Level 2 PRA update. This study updates the post-core damage phenomena to be consistent with the most recent information and includes accident management activities that should be modeled in the Level 2 PRA. Overall, the result is a Level 2 PRA that fully meets the requirements of the ASME PRA Standard with respect to modeling accident management in the LERF assessment and NRC requirements in Regulatory Guide 1.174 for considering late containment failures. This technical paper deals only with the incorporation of operator actions into the Level 2 PRA based on a comprehensive study of the Seabrook Station accident response procedures and guidance. The paper describes the process used to identify the key operator actions that can influence the Level 2 PRA results and the development of success criteria for these key operator actions. This addresses a key requirement of the ASME PRA Standard for ...
Using a syngeneic p53-null mouse mammary gland tumor model that closely mimics human breast cancer, we have identified, by limiting dilution transplantation and in vitro mammosphere assay, a Lin(-)CD29(H)CD24(H) subpopulation of tumor-initiating cells. Upon subsequent transplantation, this subpopulation generated heterogeneous tumors that displayed properties similar to the primary tumor. Analysis of biomarkers suggests the Lin(-)CD29(H)CD24(H) subpopulation may have arisen from a bipotent mammary progenitor. Differentially expressed genes in the Lin(-)CD29(H)CD24(H) mouse mammary gland tumor-initiating cell population include those involved in DNA damage response and repair, as well as genes involved in epigenetic regulation previously shown to be critical for stem cell self-renewal. These studies provide in vitro and in vivo data that support the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis. Furthermore, this p53-null mouse mammary tumor model may allow us to identify new ...
Ballistics involves the study of the scientific properties of projectiles, their behavior and their terminal effects on biological tissues and other materials. Wound ballistics deals with the analysis of injuries caused by projectiles and the behavior of projectiles within human or other biological tissues. The nineteenth century witnessed the development of both of these areas with Kocher's hydrodynamic theory and the understanding of the significance of bullet deformation in causing tissue injury. The degree of traumatic disruption of tissues and organs was also related to direct energy transfer from projectiles. While subsequent research has concentrated on elucidating further mechanisms of injury, the exact cause of remote tissue damage from high energy projectiles is still the subject of ongoing research. Much of the contemporary literature regarding wound ballistics concentrates on the forensic aspects and their application for legal purposes, in particular ...
This research focuses on the development and application of high order statistical analyses applied to measurements performed with subcritical fissile systems driven by an introduced neutron source. The signatures presented are derived from counting statistics of the introduced source and radiation detectors that observe the response of the fissile system. It is demonstrated that successively higher order counting statistics possess progressively higher sensitivity to reactivity. Consequently, these signatures are more sensitive to changes in the composition, fissile mass, and configuration of the fissile assembly. Furthermore, it is shown that these techniques are capable of distinguishing the response of the fissile system to the introduced source from its response to any internal or inherent sources. This ability combined with the enhanced sensitivity of higher order signatures indicates that these techniques will be of significant utility ...
According to the California Earthquake Authority, only about 12% of current California residences are covered by any form of earthquake insurance, down from about 30% in 1996 following the 1994, M6.7 Northridge earthquake. Part of the reason for this decreasing rate of insurance uptake is the high deductible, either 10% or 15% of the value of the structure, and the relatively high cost of the premiums, as much as thousands of dollars per year. The earthquake insurance industry is composed of the CEA, a public-private partnership; modeling companies that produce damage and loss models similar to the FEMA HAZUS model; and financial companies such as the insurance, reinsurance, and investment banking companies in New York, London, the Cayman Islands, Zurich, Dubai, Singapore, and elsewhere. In setting earthquake insurance rates, financial companies rely on models like HAZUS, that calculate on risk and exposure. In California, the process begins with an official ...
Oryctes agamemnon (Burmeister 1847) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) was accidentally introduced in the southwestern oases of Tunisia (Tozeur) around 1980 and spread to the Rjim Maatoug region. In these areas O. agamemnon was specific to date palm trees causing severe damage that can result in potential danger due to collapse of the tree. This study was conducted from April 2004 to March 2006 in 4 sites in the region of Rjim Maatoug. Different levels of palm tree attack were determined, ovioposition sites were identified, and pest damage was described in detail to specify their relative importance and to indicate factors governing palm tree attack. Eggs were individually oviposited in the attacked parts. Dead parts of palm trees were the main target of O. agamemnon including the respiratory roots, tough, trunk bark, dry petiole and the periphery of the crown. The crown itself was not attacked. Feeding by larvae caused significant ...
November 1989, marked the beginning of a new three-year cycle of DOE grant support, in connection with which the program underwent a major reorganization. This document presents the progress on the three objectives of the present program which are: to isolate by the technique of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE), proteins of special interest because of the relative mutability of the corresponding gene, establish the identity of the protein, and, for selected proteins, move to a characterization of the corresponding gene; to develop a more efficient approach, based on 2-D PAGE, for the detection of variants in DNA, with special reference to the identification of mutations in the parents of the individual whose DNA is being examined; and, to continue an effective interface with the genetic studies on the children of atomic bomb survivors in Japan, with reference to both the planning and implementation of new studies at ...
Recent improvements in cell purification and transplantation techniques have contributed to the identification of cell populations known as tumor-initiating cells (TIC). This discovery has led to the -cancer stem cell hierarchy- concept, which holds that tumors are organized as a hierarchy of malignant tissues sustained by such TIC. However, this concept remains controversial. In this review, we examine recent advances in cancer stem cell research that have been generated from studies of Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-positive leukemia. The abnormal Ph chromosome, which arises from a translocation creating the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene, is most commonly associated with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and precursor B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Examination of the pathophysiology ...
One of vector-borne avian protozoa, Leucocytozoon lovati, has been found in the Japanese rock ptarmigans (Lagopus mutus japonicus), the endangered bird species distributed in the alpine regions in Japan. Vector arthropod species of L. lovati has also been estimated as Simuliidae black flies distributed in the same habitat of the host bird, however, possible blood meals of the black flies were not identified yet. To reveal host animals of black flies, we estimated the blood resources by using molecular techniques. Black flies were collected at Mt. Chogatake, one of the alpine regions of Japan in which Japanese rock ptarmigans live in June 2005. The analyzed 144 specimens were morphologically identified into five species including Simulium japonicum (n?=?87), Prosimulium hirtipes (n?=?48), P...
Background vibration in a CANDU plant can be used to determine the dynamic characteristics of major items of equipment, such as calandria, the fuelling machines and the primary heat transport pumps. These dynamic characteristics can then be used to verify the seismic response of the equipment which, at present, is based on theoretical models only. The feasibility and basic theory of this new approach (which uses accelerations measured at several points on a structure and does not require knowledge of the source of excitation) was established in Phase I of the study. This report is based on Phase II in which the methods of analysis developed in Phase I were improved and verified experimentally. A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm was incorporated and an interactive curve fitting technique was developed to obtain the dynamic characteristics in the form of natural frequencies, mode shapes and damping ratios. The method is now available for use at a CANDU plant.
Genetic mapping is approached using the techniques of high resolution fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This technology and the results of its application are designed to rapidly generate whole genome as tool box of expressed sequence to speed the identification of human disease genes. The results of this study are intended to dovetail with and to link the results of existing technologies for creating backbone YAC and genetic maps. In the first eight months, this approach generated 60--80% of the expressed sequence map, the remainder expected to be derived through more long-term, labor-intensive, regional chromosomal gene searches or sequencing. The laboratory has made significant progress in the set-up phase, in mapping fetal and adult brain and other cDNAs, in testing a model system for directly linking genetic and physical maps using FISH with small fragments, in setting up a database, and in establishing the validity and throughput ...
This paper presents some situations, in which measurements of electromagnetic fields generated by transmission lines and substations should be performed. The range of measurements may differ, but maximum values of electric and magnetic fields and flux density must be identified in all situations. The area with electric field exceeding 1 kV/m should be identified as well. The author also presents basic requirements to be met by the measurement technique. These requirements are specified according to the national standard. Special attention should be paid to the identification of the spatial distribution of electric field and flux density generated in the vicinity of high voltage transmission lines. To verify the measurement results, it is necessary to calculate the distribution of both aforesaid field components. For environmental protection purposes, it is also proposed that the report should include measurements of electromagnetic fields of 50 ...
Problems can sometimes occur during the construction of cast in-situ concrete piles. These foundations are formed by drilling a substantial hole into the ground and subsequently filling it with steel reinforcement and wet concrete. Several well-documented cases exist where concrete has not filled the hole and substantial voids have been left in the apparently completed pile. A theory has been developed by which it is possible to identify the nature, size and position of a finite defect within a suspect pile. The technique is based on the concept of receptances, and requires information obtained from vibration tests performed on piles after the concrete has hardened, and the nominal dimensions and material properties of the pile. The application of the theory is demonstrated using data relating to a pile with a known defect. The theory described in this paper ignores the effect of the surrounding soil; this can be included by further development of the theory.
The use of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) combined with in situ sputter etching for revealing the metallurgy of the metal-semiconductor interface is presented. The physical basis, measurement techniques, and data interpretation for Auger analysis of thin-film structures are briefly reviewed. Results of a detailed study of an alloyed multilayered contact (Ni/Au-Ge) on n-type epitaxial GaAs are summarized to illustrate how electrical and metallurgical contact properties can be correlated using AES. In addition, the results of a study of the growth kinetics and chemical phase identification of palladium silicide on single-crystal Si is given, as well as the initial results of a study of aluminum-palladium silicide interaction at elevated temperature. (auth)
The use of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) combined with in situ sputter etching for revealing the metallurgy of the metal-semiconductor interface is presented. The physical basis, measurement techniques, and data interpretation for Auger analysis of thin-film structures are briefly reviewed. Results of a detailed study of an alloyed multilayered contact (Ni/Au-Ge) on n-type epitaxial GaAs are summarized to illustrate how electrical and metallurgical contact properties can be correlated using AES. In addition, the results of a study of the growth kinetics and chemical phase identification of palladium silicide on single-crystal Si is given, as well as the initial results of a study of aluminum-palladium silicide interaction at elevated temperature.
This paper presents an application of the state of the art and new trends for risk management of safety-related control and monitoring systems, currently applied in the industry. These techniques not only enable to manage safety and reliability issues but they also help in the control of quality and economic factors affected by the availability and maintenance of the system. The method includes an unambiguous definition of the system in terms of functions and a systematic analysis of hazardous situations, undesired events and possible malfunctions. It also includes the identification and quantification of the risk associated to the system. The required risk reduction is specified in terms of safety integrity levels. The safety integrity level results in requirements, preventive measures, possible improvements and recommendations to assure the satisfactory management of the risk.
In this study a novel sol-gel auto-combustion method, using n-decyltrimethylammonium bromide as a cationic surfactant, has been used to synthesize strontium hexaferrite nanocrystalline powder. The dried nitrate-citrate gel, prepared from a solution of ferric nitrate, strontium nitrate, citric acid, trimethylamine and cationic surfactant, exhibited an auto-combustion behavior after ignition in air. The formation reaction temperature, phase identification, crystallites size, particles size distribution and morphology of resultant strontium hexaferrite powder were investigated by DTA/TGA, FTIR, XRD, LPSA, TEM and SEM techniques. The results showed that in presence of the cationic surfactant, the combustion intensity increases and the crystallite size decreases. The crystallite size of stronti...
A recently developed hydrodistillation?solvent microextraction (HD?SME) method coupled to gas chromatography?mass spectrometry (GC?MS) was applied to the analysis of volatile components of aerial parts of Echinophora cinerea (Boiss). By the use of a simplex optimization method, the effects of extraction time, sample weight and microdrop volume on the extraction efficiency of the method were optimized. In the optimized conditions, 3??L of n-heptadecane was suspended in the headspace of 6?g of hydrodistillating sample, using a microsyringe. After 7?min, the solvent was retracted back into the syringe and directly injected into the GC?MS injection port. The HD?SME method was compared to a conventional hydrodistillation technique. In general, the extraction with HD?SME was relatively faster an...
The swelling behavior which results from simulated fusion environment irradiation of Fe-10% Cr has been characterized with transmission electron microscopy. Specimens were bombarded at 850 K with: a ''triple-beam'' of He"+, D_2"+, and 4 MeV Fe"+"+ ions to 0.3, 1, 3, 10, 30, and 100 dpa (displacement per atom); a ''dual-beam'' of He"+ and 4 MeV Fe"+"+ ions to 30 and 100 dpa; and a ''single-beam'' of 4 MeV Fe"+"+ ions to 30 dpa. The helium and hydrogen injection rates were approx. =10 appm He/dpa and approx. =40 appm D/dpa. Cavities were observed for damage levels of 3 dpa and greater. The swelling was <0.1% for damage levels <30 dpa, but at 100 dpa, there was an increase in the swelling to 2.5% for the ''triple-beam'' irradiation and 1.2% for the ''dual-beam'' irradiation. The swelling rates between 30 and 100 dpa correlate well with calculated values assuming a steady-state swelling-rate regime has been reached. Calculations show the ...
Full text: Based on experience with nuclear material confiscated in Hungary from illicit trafficking activities in the nineties it has been decided that traditional gamma-spectrometry should be complemented by destructive analytical techniques. The 17/1996 (I. 31.) Korm. Governmental Decree delegated the identification, categorization and characterization tasks to the Institute of Isotopes, Budapest. Routine gamma-spectrometric methods have been further developed aiming at the i) age (production date) determination of seized samples and complete (nondismountable) uranium-bearing items (such as fresh fuel bundles and fission chambers) by HRGS technique, ii) improvement of measurement accuracy and reliability. Starting in 2005 mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) and scanning electron microscopy have been implemented to characterize nuclear samples in more detail and to analyze environmental samples both for isotopic and elemental ...
Research into methods for reasoning under uncertainty is currently one of the most exciting areas of artificial intelligence, largely because it has recently become possible to record, store, and process large amounts of data. While impressive achievements have been made in pattern classification problems such as handwritten character recognition, face detection, speaker identification, and prediction of gene function, it is even more exciting that researchers are on the verge of introducing systems that can perform large-scale combinatorial analyses of data, decomposing the data into interacting components. For example, computational methods for automatic scene analysis are now emerging in the computer vision community. These methods decompose an input image into its constituent objects, lighting conditions, motion patterns, etc. Two of the main challenges are finding effective representations and models in specific applications and finding efficient algorithms ...
Thinning specimens to electron transparency for electron microscopy analysis can be done by conventional (2-4 kV) argon ion milling or focused ion beam (FIB) lift-out techniques. Both these methods tend to leave 'mottling' visible on thin specimen areas, and this is believed to be surface damage caused by ion implantation and amorphisation. A low energy (250-500 V) Argon ion polish has been shown to greatly improve specimen quality for crystalline silicon samples. Here we investigate the preparation of technologically important materials for nanoanalysis using conventional and lift-out methods followed by a low energy polish in a GentleMill"T"M low energy ion mill. We use a low energy, low angle (6-8 deg.) ion beam to remove the surface damage from previous processing steps. We assess this method for the preparation of technologically important materials, such as steel, silicon and GaAs. For these materials the ability to ...
Technique, allowing to investigate straggling zone (full braking) from high-energy charged particles in detail, is described. Experimental results on investigation of efective structure, created in polycrystalline molybdenum (99.97%) within 29 MeV alpha-particles straggling zone for fluences from 3.8x10"1"9 up to 3.7x10"2"1 #alpha#/m"2 by methods of microhardness (H_#mu#, X-ray structural analysis (#DELTA#a/a) and transparent electron microscopy (TEM), are presented. It is determined, that for doses from 3.8x10"2"0 #alpha#/m"2 and higher, at #approx#6 MeV energy, molybdenum ''softening'' is observed, H_#mu# curve within straggling zone is well described by alloyage calculated profile. #DELTA#a/a measurements within straggling zone are well described by damage profile. TEM-investigations have shown the developed defective structure even within molybdenum ''softening'' range.
Gas transmission pipelines are susceptible to both internal (gas side) and external (soil side) corrosion attack. Internal corrosion is caused by the presence of salt laden moisture, CO{sub 2}, H{sub 2}S, and perhaps O{sub 2} in the natural gas. Internal corrosion usually manifests itself as general corrosion. However, the presence of chlorides in entrained water also can lead to pitting corrosion damage. The electrochemical noise technique can differentiate general from localized corrosion and provide estimates of corrosion rates without external perturbation of the corroding system. It is increasingly being applied to field and industrial installations for in situ corrosion monitoring. It has been used here to determine its suitability for monitoring internal and external corrosion damage on gas transmission pipelines. Corrosion measurements were made in three types of environments: (1) aqueous solutions typical of those ...
Human hair fibers experience tensile forces during grooming and styling processes. The tensile response of hair is hence of considerable interest to the cosmetics industry. In this study, in situ tensile characterization studies have been carried out in an atomic force microscope (AFM) on different hair under different conditions. A custom-built AFM sample stage allows hair fibers to be loaded in tension. A technique to locate and image the same control area at different strains has been developed to study the changes in morphology that occur with deformation. Virgin Caucasian, Asian and African hair were studied to understand the differences between different ethnic hair types. Also, the tensile response and morphological changes of virgin, chemically damaged and conditioner-treated Caucasian hair after soaking were compared against the corresponding dry tensile response. Finally, virgin, damaged and treated Caucasian hair ...
Transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimens are today routinely prepared using focussed ion beam (FIB) instruments. Specifically, the lift-out method has become an increasingly popular technique and involves removing thin cross-sections from site-specific locations and transferring them to a TEM grid. This lift-out process can either be performed ex situ or in situ. The latter is mainly carried out on combined dual-beam FIB and scanning electron microscope (SEM) systems whereas conventional single-beam instruments often are limited to the traditional ex situ method. It is nevertheless desirable to enhance the capabilities of existing single-beam instruments to allow for in situ lift-out preparation to be performed since this technique offers a number of advantages over the older ex situ method. A single-beam FIB instrument was therefore modified to incorporate an in situ micromanipulator fitted with a tungsten needle, which can be attached ...
In the case of injuries of the ankle joint, an imaging technique is expected to reveal the state of the bones, ligaments, and articular cartilage. Irrespective of novel imaging techniques, a plain radiography will be made in order to obtain a first picture of the injury. Examples are given, showing that further orientation along the Lauge-Hansen classification scheme of this type of injury helps to completely ascertain the damage to the Articulatio talocruralis. Further examinations applying specific methods such as arthrography will detect possible, isolated syndesmosis ruptures; lesions of the ligaments can also be directly detected by CT or MRT. The articular cartilage and its lesions can be visualized by a combination of CT and arthrography, but are better shown by the completely non-invasive MRT. This latter method also gives insight into pathological processes with the bone. It allows to detect necrotic bone regions ...
Detection of fatigue damage cracks in aircraft skin structures is an ongoing NDT challenge. Cracks growing rate is difficult to predict, and for this reason, it is important to detect them as soon as possible to avoid a catastrophic break. Eddy current methods are known and well-accepted techniques which are relatively simple to carry out. However, with conventional inspection of airframe structures using standard driver-pickup eddy current probes, it is difficult to detect small fatigue cracks initiated in the second layer of the skin and in the shadow region at fastener holes. Such difficulty is related to fasteners length and their spacing which reduces test sensitivity. This report explains the development of improved eddy current probe/technique to detect and visualize fatigue cracks in fasteners. In this study, an eddy current array probe was evaluated and new coil design was suggested. Several tests were conducted on ...
Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) offers high sensitivity and high accuracy in quantitative measurements of chemical compositions and mass coverages. Owing to the low detection limits of the wavelength-dispersive technique, monolayers with mass coverages of about 0.05 pg cm z can be detected. Assuming a density of 5 g cm--3 this corresponds to a thickness of 0.1 nm. With these advantages in mind, EPMA was extended to depth profile analysis in the sub-micron range using a surface removal technique. The present paper shows how depth profile analysis can be improved by combining EPMA and the focused ion beam (FIB) technique. The focused ion beam system uses a Ga+ ion beam. The ion beam allows the milling of defined geometries on the nanometer scale, so that very shallow bevels with exactly defined angles in relation to the surface can be obtained. Low surface damage is expected due to low sputtering ...
The possibility of gamma-absorption identification of the analyzed substance is considered. the basic provisions of the proposed method are concentrated on the example of carbohydrates and hydrocarbons. The above method is tested experimentally on polyethylenes and polystyrene
In recent years, Clostridium species have rapidly reemerged as human and animal pathogens. The detection and identification of pathogenic Clostridium species...Full Text Available
As adulterated and substituted Chinese medicinal materials are common in the market, therapeutic effectiveness of such materials cannot be guaranteed. Identification at species-, strain- and locality-levels,...Full Text Available
This paper examined the potential of steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology for increasing productivity in the Orinoco heavy oilfields of Venezuela. A computerized simulation tool was used to generate a matrix of parameters needed to compare SAGD processes with cold production techniques in the Carabobo region of the Orinoco belt. Parameters included vertical connectivity, oil saturation, and net pay. Monte Carlo simulations and uncertainty assessments were used to generate cold production scenarios. Optimized SAGD scenarios were then designed for each case. Results of the study suggested that vertical local connectivity was an important parameter for the identification of suitable areas for EOR and SAGD. Unfavorable conditions for the application of SAGD during early production stages were identified. SAGD behaviour improved through the adjustment of injection rates during different stages of the process. It was concluded that the ...
The efficiency of the synthesized zeolite NaY from rice husk ash (RHA) in the removal of Cr(III) from aqueous solution was studied. Zeolite NaY was synthesized from RHA via seeding technique and the identification of its structure was done by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) technique and the elemental analysis was carried out by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). The physicochemical properties which were related to the use of the zeolite NaY as a sorbent was also investigated. The synthesized zeolite NaY has higher cation exchange capacity (CEC) than the commercial zeolite NaY due to the higher amount of sodium content in the synthesized as well as the lower ratio of silica to alumina. The synthesized zeolite NaY together with the commercial one as comparison was used in the sorption of the Cr(III) in aqueous solution by batch sorption experiments. The kinetic study showed that the Cr(III) uptake by both zeolites were based on the pseudo ...
The identification of crystallographic phases in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been limited by the lack of a simple way to obtain electron diffraction data of an unknown while observing the micro structure of the specimen. With the development of Charge Coupled Device (CCD) based detectors, backscattered electron Kikuchi patterns (BEKP), alternately referred to as electron backscattered diffraction patterns (EBSP), can be easily collected. Previously, BEKP has been limited to crystallographic orientation studies due to the poor pattern quality collected with video rate detector systems. With CCD detectors, a typical BEKP can now be acquired from a micron or sub-micron-sized crystal using an exposure time of 1-10 seconds with an accelerating voltage of 10-40 kV and a beam current as low as 0.1 nA. Crystallographic phase analysis using BEKP is unique in that the properly equipped SEM permits high magnification images, BEKP`s, and elemental information to ...
Enhanced nutrient cycling basically involves close interaction between inorganic and organic sources of nutrients. Contrasting scenarios of nutrient cycling are found under intensive cropping production systems in most industrialized countries and traditional production systems predominant in many developing countries, where there is a net mining of soil nutrients due to crop harvest removal and erosion. Therefore, to enhance nutrient management in marginal tropical soils it is necessary to maximize the efficiency of nutrient uptake from various inorganic and organic sources with minimal environmental impact. It is postulated that one of the main approaches will be the identification and/or selection of plant genotypes for enhanced nutrient acquisition, in particular at low levels of soil available nutrients. In this context, use of various isotope techniques in examining root activity/distribution pattern and plant nutrient uptake is examined. ...
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is a generally well-tolerated treatment. However, some patients exhibit such complications as to prevent the continuation of treatment. Peritonitis is the major problem, but the continuation of treatment may also be undermined by different complications, such as peritoneal leakage, hernia, catheter malfunctioning, and scrotal-penile edema; a careful investigation of the patient is always needed in such cases. From November 1985 to February 1990, we examined 20 patients, who had presented with different types of complications in the course of dialysis. Peritoneography demonstrated 3 cases of abdominal hernias, 2 cases of patency of the peritoneal-vaginal duct, and 2 cases of catheter obstruction. Peritoneal CT allowed the identification of leakage in 3 patients, while the combined use of the two techniques showed adhesions or pathologic peritoneal recesses in 7 cases. In 3 patients normal patterns ...
To accomplish the environmental radiological surveillance need of India's ambitious nuclear power programme, Health Physics Division is infusing new technologies and improved analytical techniques for day to day measurements of various radionuclides in different environmental matrices. It is essential to have techniques for measuring the concentration of radionuclides just above the background level since the discharges from the nuclear facilities are very low i.e. in the range of 5-10% of the prescribed discharge limits by the regulatory bodies. In view of developing ultra-sensitive techniques, the aim of ongoing programmes of the division is to meet the challenges of measuring ultra trace level of radioactivity by adopting state of art new instrumentation and improved sample processing techniques. This will allow us to measure the lowest level of radioactivity (3H, 90Sr, 137Cs, 239+240Pu, etc.) in the ...
Failure of multiple components due to a common cause represents one of the most important issues in evaluation of system reliability or unavailability. The frequency of such events has relatively low expectancy, when compared to random failures, which affect individual components. However, in many cases the consequence is a direct loss of safety system or mitigative safety function. For this reason, the modeling of a common cause failure (CCF) and its presentation in fault tree structure is of the uttermost importance in probabilistic safety analyses (PSA). Amongst the different techniques available to reduce the impact of common cause failures, the most important operations related technique, is that of staggered testing. In the TAPP 3,4 Level-1 PSA it was found that the contribution of Common Cause Failures to the Core Damage Frequency (CDF) was significant. The Common Cause Failures were modeled using the Alpha Factor ...
Based on the Morlet wavelet transformation and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), we present a wind turbine fault diagnosis method in this paper. Wind turbine can be damaged by moisture absorption, fatigue, wind gusts or lightening strikes. Due to this reason, there is an increasing need to monitor the health of these structures. Vibration analysis is the best-known technology applied in wind turbine condition monitoring, in which the time-frequency analysis techniques such as Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) are widely used. Theoretically WVD has an infinite resolution in time-frequency domain. For early wind turbine fault signals, however, there are two main difficulties in WVD analysis. One is strong noise signals in the background and the other is cross terms in WVD itself. In this paper,...
A wide area of the Assisi town, in Umbria (central Italy), is interested since its first edification (1950?1960) by an extensive landslide. The rate of motion is very slow (around 1?cm/year), but the deformations accumulated for almost 60?years have produced considerable damage to many private and public buildings, including the civic hospital and an important Franciscan monastery. The University of Perugia established in 1995 a geodetic monitoring network over the Assisi landslide, connecting a number of control points inside the moving area to an external reference network with markers placed on stable geological formations. The monitoring has been based since the beginning on GPS satellite positioning with static observations, aiming to obtain a three-dimensional accuracy of about 1?cm ...
Epiphyseal plates of growing bones are sensitive to ionizing radiation and this poses problems for the paediatric radiotherapist. In this case report we describe a child in whom electron beam therapy to the groin delivered only low dose radiation to the proximal hip epiphyses - 130 cGy fractionated over 5 weeks - but who suffered late maldevelopment. We explore the success of various radiotherapy techniques in minimizing the dose to the hip epiphyses in four other children. The appropriate positioning of the limb, the choice of treatment modality and, where possible, individual shielding blocks are considered and their effect on the dose to the hip estimated. Absorbed doses of radiation delivered to the midpoint of the proximal femoral epiphyses have been retrospectively determined. (author).
Radiation damage is considered to be the major problem that still prevents imaging an individual biological molecule for structural analysis. So far, all known mapping techniques using sufficient short wave-length radiation, be it X-rays or high energy electrons, circumvent this problem by averaging over many molecules. Averaging, however, leaves conformational details uncovered. Even the anticipated use of ultra-short but extremely bright X-ray bursts of a Free Electron Laser shall afford averaging over 10^6 molecules to arrive at atomic resolution. Here we present direct experimental evidence for non-destructive imaging of individual DNA molecules. In fact, we show that DNA withstands coherent low energy electron radiation with deBroglie wavelength in the Angstrom regime despite a vast dose of 10^8 electrons/nm^2 accumulated over more than one hour.
A Y-Mg-Si-Al-O-N glass was submitted to swift heavy-ion bombardment at GANIL (Caen, France) and the influence of irradiation on the mechanical properties was studied. The mechanical properties of the glass were characterized both before and after irradiation. Changes in hardness, elastic modulus and fracture toughness of the near-surface irradiated layer were determined using indentation techniques. SRIM calculations allowed to estimate the ions penetration range and the energy deposition relative to electronic and nuclear interactions, which can be correlated to the experimental damaged depth. Meyer's hardness and Young's modulus decrease by about 30 %, while fracture toughness is increased by more than 40 %. (authors)
An international conference on forestry research presented papers on topics including forest mensuration, growth and yield; growth/yield relationships; design, performance, and evaluation of experiments; forest resource inventory and monitoring techniques; forest management, planning, and managerial economics; forestry and rural development in developing countries; forestry in sustainable economic development; conceptual advances in multiple-use forestry evaluations; economic evaluation of forest damages; supply and demand of roundwood and forest industry products; forestry and rural development in industrialized countries; analysis and evaluation of forest policies; forest institutions and organizations; biological and economic considerations when harvesting young thinning stands; applied sector modelling; and structural changes of the forest sector in a global perspective. Separate abstracts have been prepared for 3 papers from this ...
The author explains current developments in high voltage cable technology and subsequently describes problems inherent in its application, from the users viewpoint, in municipal electricity supply. The planning of a high voltage cable network and the selection of a specific type of cable are not only dependent on the typical properties of various cables but to a major degree also on the feasible laying technique, the power transmitted, the costs, the stellation treatment of the high voltage network, the acceptance requirement, the inductive influence from telecommunication cable, thermal influences from the environment, eventual safeguards from mechanical and chemical damage to the network, frequency of failure and surveillance and breakdown location. In conclusion, the author portrays potential developments in the fields of high and maximum voltage cable from the perspectives of today.
Ferrite of system, namely Ni_1_-_xZn_xFe_2O_4 with x = (0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0), have been prepared by solid state reaction to investigate the effect of gamma rays irradiations using Co"6"0 source on the cation distribution, structural and magnetic properties. The unirradiated and irradiated samples were then subjected to characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, magnetization and AC susceptibility. The results of these characterizations are found to be different for irradiated from that of the pristine sample. The modifications in respect of irradiated samples are explained in terms of the ion-induced disorder. The important result of #gamma#-irradiation on the cation distribution, structural and magnetic properties is the change of ratio Fe"2"+/Fe"3"+. Possible reasons on the results are proposed.
Flow cytometric techniques were used to measure the cytological and biochemical damage to respiratory tract cells in animals exposed to particulates. Hamsters were exposed to raw and spent oil shale particulates and silica by intratracheal instillation. Exfoliated lung cells were obtained by sacrificing the animals and lavaging the respiratory tract posterior to the trachea with saline. Cell samples were fixed in ethanol and stained with mithramycin for fluorescence analysis of DNA content. DNA content distributions from hamsters exposed to spent oil shale and silica particulates showed atypical changes 28 to 35 days later. Cell counts and total numbers of macrophages, leukocytes, and epithelial cells in the lavage fluid also showed marked changes related to time after exposure.
Up to 90% of the life time of cyclically loaded components is determined by short crack initiation and propagation. This stage of the fatigue damage process is strongly influenced by microstructural features, e.g. grain boundaries and crystallographic grain orientation. Therefore LEFM can not be applied in a reasonable manner explaining the demand for a mechanism-related modelling method. The present study deals with mechanical testing and microstructural examinations applied to the relatively new #beta#-titanium alloy LCB. The results are used as data base to develop a new short crack model that is based on the model of Navarro and de los Rios. By using various techniques such as electron back-scattered diffraction and finite-element calculations the origin of crack initiation is revealed and the characteristics of crack propagation is determined. (orig.)
Exploration for epithermal Au has been active lately in the Aegean Sea of the eastern Mediterranean Basin, both in the islands of the Quaternary arc and in those of the back-arc region. The purpose of this study was the structural mapping and analysis for a preliminary investigation of possible epithermal gold mineralization, using remotely sensed data and techniques, structural and field data, and geochemical information, for a specific area on the Island of Lesvos. Therefore, Landsat-TM and SPOT-Pan satellite images and the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the study area were processed digitally using spatial filtering techniques for the enhancement and recognition of the geologically significant lineaments, as well as algebraic operations with band ratios and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), for the identification of alteration zones. Statistical rose diagrams and a SCHMIDT projection Stereo Net were generated from ...
Peatlands are an important long-term sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). The storage function of peatland ecosystems is significantly impacted by drainage and extraction processes, which can result in the release of significant amounts of CO{sub 2}. This paper investigated the net ecosystem CO{sub 2} exchange of a newly developed extraction-restoration technique that preserved the acrotelm and replaced it directly on the cut surface of the peatlands. The technique used a modified block-cut method with a back-hoe to create a drainage ditch. Actrotelm and surface vegetation were removed and placed to one side, and the peat was mechanically removed. The acrotelm was then transplanted over the older and more decomposed catotelm peat to create a trench topography in which the natural peatland was higher than the extracted zone. Air temperatures, water table levels, and volumetric moisture content levels were measured throughout the ...
Full text: An adaptive response is a decreased biological effect induced by a priming radiation dose given prior to a challenge dose. Adaptive responses contradict the linear-nothreshold model of risk estimation. The pKZ1 mouse chromosomal inversion assay is an extremely sensitive assay for studying the mutagenic effect of low dose radiation. A non-linear dose response for chromosomal inversion has been observed in pKZ1 spleen and prostate after a single whole body irradiation with doses between 1?Gy and 10mGy. Doses between 5-10?Gy resulted in an induction in inversions and doses between 1-10mGy resulted in a reduction below endogenous inversion frequency. These results suggest that doses in the 1-10 mGy range cause host responses which overcompensate by not only preventing inversions that would normally occur as a result of the low doses of radiation but also by preventing some of the endogenous inversions that would have occurred in the absence of radiation. It was hypothesised that ...
Threshold pump intensity values leading to irreversible damage to colored laser elements based on elastic polymers were measured. The damage to colored elastomers is connected with absorbing microinclusions but is independent of molecular absorption. It is shown that damage to the elastomers has a pronounced threshold character in contrast to the microdamage accumulation effect in glassy polymers. The damage threshold for elastomers is 1.5 times higher, which is connected with the absence of microstresses (characteristics for organic glasses) in the specimens. 13 references.
Penetrating liver wounds are related to many causes and rank second after blunt abdominal and liver trauma. In this report are examined the clinical and radiological findings of personal series of patients with penetrating trauma, especially by firearms and stab and cut wounds. It will also tried to define the diagnostic workup of these traumas, which is especially based on CT signs of liver damage and associated changes and which is of basic importance for following treatment, both surgical or conservative. In the last seven years it was retrospectively reviewed 31 cases of penetrating liver trauma. The patients were 19 men and 12 women, ranging in age 18 to 73 (mean 42), with penetrating liver injuries from firearms (16 patients) and stab (9 cases) wounds; 6 patients had injuries from different cases. Abdominal CT was carried out in emergency with the CT Angiography (CTA) technique in all patients. In the patients with suspected chest and ...
Natural resource valuation has always had a fundamental role in the practice of cost-benefit analysis of health, safety, and environmental issues. Today, this role is becoming all the more apparent in the conduct of natural resource damage assessments (NRDA) and cost-benefit analyses of environmental restoration (ER) and waste management (WM) activities. As such, environmental professionals are more interested in how natural resource values are affected by ER and WM activities. This professional interest extends to the use of NRDA values as measures of liability and legal causes of action under such environmental status as the Clean Water Act (CWA); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA, as amended); and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990. Also, environmental professionals are paying closer attention to NRDA values in cost-benefit analyses of risk and pollution-abatement standards, and in meeting environmental ...
An updated review of the state of the art in the development of GaAs solar cells is provided, with emphasis on AlGaAs-GaAs cells suitable for space applications. A set of theoretically derived characteristics is given for this type of solar cell. Comparison of measured performance with theory shows excellent agreement. Data on the effects of radiation damage (high-energy electrons, protons, and neutrons) is also integrated into a form useful for evaluation purposes. Techniques for fabricating (AlGa)As-GaAs solar cells in quantities large enough for practical applications are discussed and are shown to have been demonstrated. The possibility of extending these techniques to the fabrication of very thin low-weight cells for space applications is also considered. Finally, the results obtained to date in the development of GaAs solar cells for applications requiring concentrated sunlight are reviewed, for terrestrial as well as ...
Radio interference and TV interference are being a problem in urban and rural areas. This interference is generated by high voltage transmission lines as well as distribution lines. The radio noise can be produced by polluted or damaged insulators, and by metal parts of the distribution lines. The corona effect on the surface of the dielectric material produces high frequency electromagnetic fields during the ionization and during the recombination period. Fields of different intensity are produced by positive voltage and negative voltage. The insulator flashover (leaking current) also produces electromagnetic fields. A new technique to measure these fields was developed. This technique measures the radiated fields on time domain and on frequency domain. This permits us to characterize the radiated field and thus identify the type of the source. Several measurements were done varying the type of the RF generator, i.e., new ...
The diminishing clean oil reserve is driving the search for new or improved ways to reduce the level of NSO-containing species found in high abundance in heavy crude oils. Hydrotreatment is the currently preferred technique to remove those polar species. Unfortunately, nitrogen-containing compounds cause coke formation on the surface of the hydrotreatment catalyst, leading to partial or complete deactivation. Here, positive- and negative-ion electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS) identify those nitrogen compounds that resist hydrotreatment. ESI preferentially ionizes polar (e.g., heteroatom-containing) species: basic molecules are detected as positive ions and acidic/neutral molecules as negative ions. FT-ICR MS resolves thousands of species in a single mass spectrum, allowing for unambiguous determination of elemental composition, C{sub c}H{sub h}N{sub n}O{sub o}S{sub s}, for ...
Candida albicans frequently causes superficial infections by invading and damaging epithelial cells, but may also cause systemic infections by...Full Text Available
DNA damage is a threat to genomic integrity in all living organisms. Plants and green algae are particularly susceptible to DNA damage especially that caused by UV light, due to their light dependency...Full Text Available
The issue of beam-induced damage on diffractive hard X-ray optics is addressed. For this purpose a systematic study on the radiation damage induced by a high-power X-ray beam is carried out in both...Full Text Available
In the framework of spallation neutron sources and accelerator-driven systems, the international PISA (Proton-induced Spallation) collaboration has initiated measurements of total- and double-differential cross-sections for products of spallation reactions in a wide range of target nuclei (GU) at the COSY proton accelerator in Julich (Germany). The purpose is to study secondary particle production created in structural, window and target materials via proton beams up to 2.5 GeV of incident kinetic energy. Residual nuclei [H, He up to intermediate mass fragment (IMF)] production cross-sections are of great importance for estimating the damage to target and structure materials involving the planned spallation neutron sources, given that the lifetime of window and target materials is directly associated to those cross-sections. The demand for reliable theoretical predictions on production cross-sections is by no means satisfied by the models and codes that are ...
Purpose: To evaluate the significance of preoperative localization of abnormal parathyroid glands to the surgical outcome in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Material and Methods: Thirty-nine patients with primary hyperparathyroidism were studied preoperatively with US (39 patients), CT (30 patients) and MR imaging (18 patients). The overall diagnostic accuracy for US was 87%, CT 66% and MR 94%. In patients with a single parathyroid adenoma US was the most cost-effective localization technique with a detection rate of 96%. CT had a lower detection rate (78%) but was of particular value for fairly large ectopic adenomas in the root of the neck. MR imaging was a good confirmatory test (93%). In patients with multiple gland disease (primary hyperplasia and multiple adenomas), no single localization study alone was sufficient. Combination of all 3 studies, however, alerted the physician to the presence of disease in more than one gland in 87% of these ...
Aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase, a pyridoxal phosphate utilizing enzyme, catalyzes the conversion of S-adenosylmethionine to ACC, the rate limiting step in the biosynthesis of the plant hormone, ethylene. Ethylene, besides being involved in normal plant growth processes, is also produced in response to stress, e.g. wounding, pathogen infection, etc. The authors report the partial purification (400 fold) of ACC synthase from wounded pink tomato pericarp by classical techniques including ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion exchange and phenyl sepharose chromatography. Further purification results in a decrease in specific activity apparently due to the instability of the enzyme and the low levels present in plant tissue. Radiolabeling of a pyridoxal phosphate-utilizing protein in the ACC synthase enriched fraction was achieved. Evidence that this radiolabeled protein is ACC synthase will be presented. Amino acid sequence determination of putative ...
The anatomical patterns of anorectal malformations have so far been studied according to the principles which inspire Pena's technique for the surgical treatment of anorectal anomalies. Thus, the diagnostic study of anorectal malformation has by the authors been considered a work of classification, but of identification. Among the diagnostic procedures in use in author's Institute, preoperative CT of pelvis is performed to assess the presence and to define the development of muscular sphincteric structure towards prognostic evaluation of continence, the major long-term goal. Seven patients, aged 1-30 months, with anorectal anomalies were studied with preoperative CT of the pelvis. CT scans showed well-developed sphinteric muscles in 3 patients (2 with recto-ureteral and 1 with recto-vestibular fistulas), poorly-developed muscular structure in 3 patients (with recto-vaginal, cloacal and prostatic fistulas), absence of muscular structure in 1 ...
This report describes the method of Allan variance and its application to the characterization of a Ring Laser Gyro`s (RLG) performance. Allan variance, a time domain analysis technique, is an accepted IEEE standard for gyro specifications. The method was initially developed by David Allan of the National Bureau of Standards to quantify the error statistics of a Cesium beam frequency standard employed as the US Frequency Standards in 1960`s. The method can, in general, be applied to analyze the error characteristics of any precision measurement instrument. The key attribute of the method is that it allows for a finer, easier characterization and identification of error sources and their contribution to the overall noise statistics. This report presents an overview of the method, explains the relationship between Allan variance and power spectral density distribution of underlying noise sources, describes the batch and recursive implementation ...
The mobility of metals in ground water is an important consideration for evaluating remedial options at the Asarco smelter site. Tacoma, Washington. One factor in assessing metal mobility is the degree of secondary mineralization in a slag-fill aquifer extending into the intertidal zone along the Puget Sound shoreline. Samples of aquifer material were collected for mineralogical analysis from borehole MW-206 at five-foot intervals within the slag fill from 5 to 25 feet below the ground surface, and in the underlying marine sand and gravel at 27 feet. Grab samples of slag fragments with visually apparent secondary minerals were also collected at five intermediate depths between 12 and 19 feet. Samples were analyzed by a variety of techniques including hydride generation/atomic absorption for arsenic concentration, scanning electron microscopy/electron microprobe for mineralogical texture and microanalysis, powder x-ray diffraction for mineral ...
The objectives of the project were (i) to develop a combination iron oxide production and carbon sequestration plant that will use serpentine ores as the source of iron and the extraction tailings as the storage element for CO2 disposal, (ii) the identification of locations within the US where this process may be implemented and (iii) to create a standardized process to characterize the serpentine deposits in terms of carbon disposal capacity and iron and steel production capacity. The first objective was not accomplished. The research failed to identify a technique to accelerate direct aqueous mineral carbonation, the limiting step in the integration of steel production and carbon sequestration. Objective (ii) was accomplished. It was found that the sequestration potential of the ultramafic resource surfaces in the US and Puerto Rico is approximately 4,647 Gt of CO2 or over 500 years of current US production of CO2. Lastly, a computer model ...
Due to severe drought conditions in Pakistan over the past several years, most of the areas are facing extinction of its potable water reserves and inadequate replenishment of groundwater aquifers. Due to over exploitation, the groundwater flow dynamics is changing and water quality is degrading due to induced infiltration from polluted surface sources. Isotope hydrology is relatively a new discipline having great potential for studying various water-related problems. RIAD, PINSTECH has established analytical facilities for commonly used environmental isotopes and applied to investigate various hydrological problems. This paper briefly describes practical examples on recharge mechanism and dating of groundwater in Lahore and Ziarat areas using isotopes like deuterium (/sup 2/H), Oxygen-18 (/sup 18/O), Tritium (/sup 3/H) and CFCs in water. In Lahore, the areas having different contribution of the river Ravi in groundwater recharge have been marked and on the basis of tritium values, ...
Genetic mapping is approached using the techniques of high resolution fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This technology and the results of its application are designed to rapidly generate whole genome as tool box of expressed sequence to speed the identification of human disease genes. The results of this study are intended to dovetail with and to link the results of existing technologies for creating backbone YAC and genetic maps. In the first eight months, this approach generated 60--80% of the expressed sequence map, the remainder expected to be derived through more long-term, labor-intensive, regional chromosomal gene searches or sequencing. The laboratory has made significant progress in the set-up phase, in mapping fetal and adult brain and other cDNAs, in testing a model system for directly linking genetic and physical maps using FISH with small fragments, in setting up a database, and in establishing the validity and throughput ...
In machine condition monitoring many fault-related vibration signals are highly non-stationary. Time-frequency representations comprise the natural signal-processing tool traditionally used for representing such non-stationary signals. The methods used in this analysis are based on the second order statistics of a signal. This paper discusses the use of higher order time frequency methods in the context of a condition monitoring application. The paper outlines the two classes of higher order representations: the L-Wigner distribution and the sliced Wigner higher order distribution. The use of higher order distributions introduces the possibility of non-oscillating cross-terms, a problem not encountered in conventional bilinear time-frequency methods. Techniques for reducing these cross-terms are presented. The paper compares the performance of bilinear and higher order time-frequency methods using synthetic data and vibration signals measured on the engine block of ...
The decommissioning of windscale Pile 2 Chimney resulted in the removal of one of most historically significant and prominent features of the Sellafield site. The project was the first large scale concrete ''free release'' operation to be undertaken on the Sellafield nuclear site, producing 4500 tons of concrete of which 3000 tons was demonstrated to be ''free release''. The paper describes the radiometric techniques employed in the characterisation and segregation of the concrete into low level waste (LLW), very low level waste (VLLW) and free release categories. It examines the robust solutions that were developed to meet the technical and regulatory challenges of the project, which included the definition of free release, the selection of averaging volumes, the testing and validation of the monitoring systems employed for ton quantities of concrete and the identification and removal of small numbers of fuel particles from the free release ...
The application of neural networks, alone or in conjunction with other advanced technologies (expert systems, fuzzy logic, and/or genetic algorithms), to some of the problems of complex engineering systems has the potential to enhance the safety, reliability, and operability of these systems. Typically, the measured variables from the systems are analog variables that must be sampled and normalized to expected peak values before they are introduced into neural networks. Often data must be processed to put it into a form more acceptable to the neural network (e.g., a fast Fourier transformation of the time-series data to produce a spectral plot of the data). Specific applications described include: (1) Diagnostics: State of the Plant (2) Hybrid System for Transient Identification, (3) Sensor Validation, (4) Plant-Wide Monitoring, (5) Monitoring of Performance and Efficiency, and (6) Analysis of Vibrations. Although specific examples described deal with nuclear power ...
The application of neural networks, alone or in conjunction with other advanced technologies (expert systems, fuzzy logic, and/or genetic algorithms), to some of the problems of complex engineering systems has the potential to enhance the safety, reliability, and operability of these systems. Typically, the measured variables from the systems are analog variables that must be sampled and normalized to expected peak values before they are introduced into neural networks. Often data must be processed to put it into a form more acceptable to the neural network (e.g., a fast Fourier transformation of the time-series data to produce a spectral plot of the data). Specific applications described include: (1) Diagnostics: State of the Plant (2) Hybrid System for Transient Identification, (3) Sensor Validation, (4) Plant-Wide Monitoring, (5) Monitoring of Performance and Efficiency, and (6) Analysis of Vibrations. Although specific examples described deal with nuclear power ...
We calculate the exclusion region in the parameter space of {nu}{sub {mu}} {yields} {nu}{sub e} oscillations of the LSND type using a combined fit to the reconstructed energy distributions of neutrino candidate samples from the MiniBooNE data obtained with two different particle identification methods. The two {nu}{sub e} candidate samples are included together with a high statistics sample of {nu}{sub {mu}} events in the definition of a {chi}{sup 2} statistic which includes the correlations between the energy intervals of all three samples and handles the event overlap between the {nu}{sub e} samples. The {nu}{sub {mu}} sample is introduced to constrain the effect of systematic uncertainties. This analysis increases the exclusion limit in the region {Delta}m{sup 2} {approx}< 1eV{sup 2} when compared with the result previously published by the collaboration, which used a different technique.
... The revised work plan emphasized the research priorities of preharvest rodent damage to rice, the importance of postharvest food losses to rodents ...
Wade. Jackson. - Army. VTD at NASA. Langley. ABSTRACT. Panel size has a large effect on the impact response and resultant damage level of honeycomb sandwich ...
PurposeCataracts are often considered to be an unavoidable consequence of aging. Oxidative damage is a major cause or consequence of cortical and nuclear cataracts, the most common...Full Text Available
Full text: Full text: The incomplete understanding of the complex mechanisms connected with the interaction between thermal-hydraulic and neutron kinetics still challenges the design and the operation of nuclear reactors and imposes the adoption of conservatism in the evaluation of safety limits. The recent availability of powerful computer and computational techniques together with the continuing increase in operational experience suggests the revisiting of those areas and the identification of design/operation requirements that can be relaxed. So far, almost all of the safety analyses of research reactors have been performed using conservative computational tools such as channel codes but, nowadays, the application of Best-Estimate (BE) methods constitutes a real necessity. The global aim of the current work is an attempt to apply the best-estimate system thermal-hydraulic code Relap5. For this purpose, the generic IAEA research reactor ...
Terminal-differential algorithm for identification of local nonhomogeneities in items under control is developed on the basis of measurements of X-ray or gamma-radiation weakening. The algorithm may be applied by developing radiation schemes of nondestructive control, identifying inadmissible inclusions in the object under study
BACKGROUNDAdolescent peer group self-identification refers to adolescents’ affiliation with reputation-based peer groups such as “Goths” or...Full Text Available
Several efforts have been made to completely automate cephalometric analysis by automatic landmark search. However, accuracy obtained was worse than manual identification in every study. The analogue-to-digital...Full Text Available
For identification of genes responsible for varietal differences in flowering time and leaf morphological traits, we constructed a linkage map of Brassica rapa DNA markers including...Full Text Available
... Considering these observations, it is most likely that Brucela proteins involved in protective immunity will preferentially stimulate INF-g producing T ...
The author furnishes a review of incidents of major damage to high-output steam turbines. At the same time, he thereby underlines the call for an improvement in the exchange of experience on such damage and its causes at international level. Only the careful observance of past damage experience - including that of foreign manufacturers and operators - complete and modern monitoring equipment and the painstaking evaluation of all data furnished by such equipment can keep the risk of new technical development within economically tolerable limits. (orig.).
The cosmic antiparticle ring imaging Cherenkov experiment (CAPRICE) flew on a stratospheric balloon 8-9 August 1994 over northern Canada and collected data for more than 21 hours with less than 5 g/cm{sup 2} of residual atmosphere. The instrument includes a solid radiator RICH detector and an electromagnetic calorimeter for particle identification in the magnetic spectrometer. Preliminary antiproton and positron identification capabilities are presented.
Exposure of cells to light of less than 320 nanometers wavelengths may lead to lethal lesions and perhaps carcinogenesis. Many organisms have evolved mechanisms to repair U.V. light-induced damage. Organisms such as deep-sea bacteria are presumably never exposed to U.V. light and perhaps occasionally to visible from bioluminescence. Thus, the repair of U.V. damage in deep-sea bacterial DNA might be inefficient and repair by photoreactivation unlikely. The bacteria utilized in this investigation are temperature sensitive and barophilic. Four deep-sea isolates were chosen for this study: PE-36 from 3584 m, CNPT-3 from 5782 m, HS-34 from 5682 m, and MT-41 from 10,476 m, all are from the North Pacific ocean. The deep-sea extends from 1100 m to depths greater than 7000 m. It is a region of relatively uniform conditions. The temperature ranges from 5 to -1"0C. There is no solar light in the deep-sea. Deep-sea bacteria are sensitive to U.V. light; in ...
Textured silicon nitride (Si_3N_4) has been intensively studied over the past 15 years because of its use for achieving its superthermal and mechanical properties. In this review we present the fundamental aspects of the processing and anisotropic properties of textured Si_3N_4, with emphasis on the anisotropic and abnormal grain growth of #beta#-Si_3N_4, texture structure and texture analysis, processing methods and anisotropic properties. On the basis of the texturing mechanisms, the processing methods described in this article have been classified into two types: hot-working (HW) and templated grain growth (TGG). The HW method includes the hot-pressing, hot-forging and sinter-forging techniques, and the TGG method includes the cold-pressing, extrusion, tape-casting and strong magnetic field alignment techniques for #beta#-Si_3N_4 seed crystals. Each processing technique is thoroughly discussed in terms of theoretical ...
In radiation processing of food, the product often has to be prepackaged to prevent microbial recontamination during and after irradiation. The packaging material is exposed to radiation during radiation processing and radiation stability is a key consideration in the selection of packaging materials. The effects of ionizing radiation on many food packaging materials at the dose levels recommended for food precessing can be minimized by selecting appropriate radiation resistant materials. It is important to select materials in which chemicals formed as a result of the radiation treatment do not migrate and interact with the food, affecting its organoleptic and toxicological aspects. It is also important to select materials in which the physical properties are not altered to the extent they cannot resist damage during commercial production, shipment and storage. Radiation treatment of food may be classified broadly into two categories: 1. Processes requiring doses ...
A technique involving shifting of core fuel loadings was investigated as a method for reducing the neutron flux at points of high damage accumulation in the pressure vessel wall of a light water reactor. Calculations were run for six types of commercial generic PWR. Information is provided on the progress being made to develop and apply the Solid State Track Recorder (SSTR) method for in-situ in- and ex-vessel measurements of neutron exposure parameter values, such as fluence (E > 1.0 MeV) and dpa in iron. A new technique of quantitative track counting, the Buffon needle method, is advanced. It is based on random sampling of the SSTR surface. A desensitized etching technique was developed that resulted in an excellent differential energy response for alpha particles in the 3- to 14-MeV energy range. The optical efficiency of Muscovite mica for manual fission track counting is being redetermined to ...
GaAs-based dc high voltage photoguns used at accelerators with extensive user programs must exhibit long photocathode operating lifetime. Achieving this goal represents a significant challenge for proposed high average current facilities that must operate at tens of milliamperes or more. This paper describes techniques to maintain good vacuum while delivering beam, and techniques that minimize the ill effects of ion bombardment, the dominant mechanism that reduces photocathode yield of a GaAs-based dc high voltage photogun. Experimental results presented here demonstrate enhanced lifetime at high beam currents by: (a) operating with the drive laser beam positioned away from the electrostatic center of the photocathode, (b) limiting the photocathode active area to eliminate photoemission from regions of the photocathode that do not support efficient beam delivery, (c) using a large drive laser beam to distribute ion damage ...
Aluminum, due to its low density and low cost, is a key material for future lightweight applications. However, like other structural materials, aluminum is subject to various forms of corrosion damage that annually costs the United States approximately 5% of its GNP [1]. The main goal is to investigate the effects of various solution anions on aluminum surfaces, and specifically probe pit initiation and inhibition. Using surface analysis techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, results have been correlated with those obtained from electrochemical methods and a radiolabeling technique developed in the Wieckowski laboratory. Analysis of data has indicated that important variables include type of anion, solution pH, and applied electrode potential. While aggressive anions such as chloride are usually studied to elucidate corrosion processes to work ...
We have investigated tailoring damage effects of explosive devices by addition of unconventional materials, specifically combustible metals. Initial small-scale as well as full-scale testing has been performed. The explosives functioned to disperse and ignite these materials. Incendiary, enhanced-blast, and fragment-damage effect have been identified. These types of effects can be used to extend the damage done to hardened facilities. In other cases it is desirable to disable the target with minimal collateral damage. Use of unconventional materials allows the capability to tailor the damage and effects of explosive devices for these and other applications. Current work includes testing of an incendiary warhead for a penetrator.
The marine environment is becoming increasingly contaminated by environmental pollutants with the potential to damage DNA, with marine sediments acting as a sink for many of these contaminants. Understanding genotoxic responses in sediment-dwelling marine organisms, such as polychaetes, is therefore of increasing importance. This study is an exploration of species-specific and cell-specific differences in cell sensitivities to DNA-damaging agents in polychaete worms, aimed at increasing fundamental knowledge of their responses to genotoxic damage. The sensitivities of coelomocytes from three polychaetes species of high ecological relevance, i.e. the lugworm Arenicola marina, the harbour ragworm Nereis diversicolor and the king ragworm Nereis virens to genotoxic damage are compared, and dif...
A statistical evaluation of rotor blade damage in axial steam turbines affords an insight into the extent of the repair costs incurred and reveals the types of defects and shortcomings which cause such damage. The great amount of rotor blade damage discovered during control inspections will surprise even many turbine experts. The statistical evaluation is followed by a review of the more frequent causes of damage and their characteristic features, illustrated on the basis of practical examples. This contribution is intended as an aid to both the manufacturers and operators of steam turbines in preventing the oft almost classic types of faults which constantly recur. (orig.).
The interest for medicinal plants has raised again in the last decades, after overcoming a declination period caused by the advances in the researches and development of the synthetic drugs industries. This growing interest has been stimulated mainly by searching cheap and accessible alternative therapies. However, in order to have natural products based treatment in an efficient and safety way, it is necessary to guarantee the plant authenticity, finding adulterations and to assure a low level of microbiological contaminations to avoid damages to consumer's health. The decontamination method should be chosen for eliminating or reduce the microorganisms level without loss of the plant active constituents that would destroy its therapeutic action. At the present work, the possibility of using #gamma# and X electromagnetic radiations to sterilize a Brazilian medicinal plant (Maytenus aquifolium Martius, Celastraceae), which shows anti-ulcer activity, was studied by ...
A series of experiments were carried out to examine the resistant capacity of a chemically treated hard wood, Anthocephalus cadamba (Roxb) Miq. to thermal and termite degradation. The treatment with thermosetting resins viz. urea formaldehyde (UF), melamine formaldehyde (MF) and phenol formaldehyde (PF) at 31-33 levels of weight percent gain (WPG) increased the strength property i.e. modulus of rupture (MOR) by 7.50-21.02% and stiffness i.e. modulus of elasticity (MOE) by 9.50-12.18% over the untreated one with no remarkable effect on specific gravity. The treated samples were found resistant to termite attack, while the untreated one was badly damaged by termites on 12 months' exposure to a termite colony. The thermal degradations of untreated and treated wood samples were studied using thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) techniques at heating rates 20 and 30 {sup o}Cmin{sup -1} in temperature range ...
Severe damage to the pelvic viscera is a complication of irradiation therapy that, unfortunately, cannot always be avoided. Resulting rectal and rectocolonic strictures, rectovaginal fistulas, and shortening and stenosis of the vagina present very difficult problems that frequently require a colostomy for relief and may permanently impair sexual function. The authors present a new approach to correction of these unfortunate lesions based on the use of proximal nonirradiated colon which serves as a vascular pedicle graft to correct the defect without a complicated and massive resection. Twenty-two such operations have been done with 19 satisfactory to excellent results and two total failures (one death from small bowel complications). All patterns and combinations of irradiation injury have been found amenable to this technique of repair. These have included both web and linear strictures with and without fistulas. In half of the patients, it ...
This report examines the concept of climate surprise and its implications for environmental policymaking. Although most integrated assessment models of climate change deal with average values of change, it is usually the extreme events or surprises that cause the most damage to human health and property. Current models do not help the policymaker decide how to deal with climate surprises. This report examines the literature of surprise in many aspects of human society: psychology, military, health care, humor, agriculture, etc. It draws together various ways to consider the concept of surprise and examines different taxonomies of surprise that have been proposed. In many ways, surprise is revealed to be a subjective concept, triggered by such factors as prior experience, belief system, and level of education. How policymakers have reacted to specific instances of climate change or climate surprise in the past is considered, particularly with regard to the choices ...
As part of the Nondestructive Evaluation Reliability Program sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Pacific Northwest Laboratory is developing a method that uses risk-based approaches to establish in-service inspection plans for nuclear power plant components. This method uses probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) results and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FEMA) techniques to identify and prioritize the most risk-important systems and components for inspection. The Surry Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 was selected for pilot applications of this method. The specific systems addressed in this report are the reactor pressure vessel, the reactor coolant, the low-pressure injection, and the auxiliary feedwater. The results provide a risk-based ranking of components within these systems and relate the target risk to target failure probability values for individual components. These results will be used to guide the development of improved inspection ...
Colerectal cancer (CRC) is the second commonest cancer in the Western World. Successful treatment relies significantly on accurate detection and staging of primary disease as well as the early identification of the presence and extent of recurrence. Morphological imaging techniques, particularly computed tomography (CT), are well established and widely available to carry out these tasks in addition to predicting and monitoring response to therapy. This review analyses the current inadequacies for imaging CRC and critically assesses the potential role of functional imaging with positron emission tomography (PET). It was reviewed the current literature, to use the experience from the firs 1000 PET studies carried out at the institution and the perspective of surgical colleagues. It was found little evidence for the use of 2-["1"8F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET for screening asymptomatic individuals and current modalities appear better suited ...
The first study in this dissertation describes the development of a suppressed ion chromatographic (SIC) technique for the direct, simultaneous determination of the As and Se oxyanions in soil solution. Baseline resolution of 1 mg L[sup [minus]1] each of arsenite, arsenate, selenite, and selenate was achieved in the presence of 50 mg L[sup [minus]1] each of F, Cl, NO[sub 3]-N, SO[sub 4]-S, and PO[sub 4]-P. Detection limits ranged from 0.026 mg L[sup [minus]1] for selenite to 0.120 mg L[sup [minus]1] for arsenate. The accuracy of the SIC technique was verified by comparison to spectroscopic methods. The second study investigated the suitability of linear-plateau regression analysis for statistical evaluation of As adsorption data. The time required to reach the adsorption plateau depended on soil characteristics and As species. Identification of the adsorption plateau by the linear-plateau model allowed comparison of ...
The Energy Conversion and Storage Program applies chemistry and materials science principles to solve problems in (1) production of new synthetic fuels, (2) development of high-performance rechargeable batteries and fuel cells, (3) development of advanced thermochemical processes for energy conversion, (4) characterization of complex chemical processes, and (5) application of novel materials for energy conversion and transmission. Projects focus on transport-process principles, chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, separation processes, organic and physical chemistry, novel materials, and advanced methods of analysis. Electrochemistry research aims to develop advanced power systems for electric vehicle and stationary energy storage applications. Topics include identification of new electrochemical couples for advanced rechargeable batteries, improvements in battery and fuel-cell materials, and the establishment of engineering principles applicable to electrochemical ...
The Energy Conversion and Storage Program applies chemistry and materials science principles to solve problems in (1) production of new synthetic fuels, (2) development of high-performance rechargeable batteries and fuel cells, (3) development of advanced thermochemical processes for energy conversion, (4) characterization of complex chemical processes, and (5) application of novel materials for energy conversion and transmission. Projects focus on transport-process principles, chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, separation processes, organic and physical chemistry, novel materials, and advanced methods of analysis. Electrochemistry research aims to develop advanced power systems for electric vehicle and stationary energy storage applications. Topics include identification of new electrochemical couples for advanced rechargeable batteries, improvements in battery and fuel-cell materials, and the establishment of engineering principles applicable to electrochemical ...
Full text of publication follows: The Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are always designed for the highest level of safety against postulated accidents which may be initiated due to internal or external causes. One of the external/internal causes, which may lead to accident in the reactor and its associated systems, is fire in certain vital areas of the plant. Conventionally, the fire containment approach and/or the fire confinement approach is used in designing the fire protection systems of NPPs. Indian NPPs (PHWRs) follow the combined approach to ensure plant safety and all newly designed plants are required to comply with the provisions of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) fire safety Guide. In respect of older plants, the reassessment of adequacy of fire safety provisions in the light of current advances has becomes essential so as to decide upon the steps for retrofitting. Keeping this in mind the deterministic fire hazard analysis was carried out for the Madras Atomic Power ...
The existence of problems with wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is nothing new to the Western Hemisphere. Damage by these introduced animals was reported as far back as 1505 by the early Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, where wild pigs were killing the colonists cattle. Droves of these animals also ravaged cultivated crops of maize and sugarcane on islands in the West Indies during this same time period. These wild pigs reportedly were very aggressive and often attacked Spanish soldiers hunting rebellious Indians or escaped slaves on these islands, especially when these animals were cornered. The documentation of such impacts by introduced populations of this species in the United States has subsequently increased in recent years, and continued up through the present (Towne and Wentworth. 1950, Wood and Barrett 1979, Mayer and Brisbin 1991, Dickson et al. 2001). In spite of a fairly constant history in this country since the early 1900s, wild pigs have had a dramatic ...
An investigation was made of the accumulation of laser damage to transparent polymers irradiated with nanosecond pulses from neodymium and ruby lasers. The damage was investigated by the method of scattering and luminescence in the visible and near ultraviolet parts of the spectrum. It was established that there were two stages in laser damage by repeated irradiation with pulses of intensity below the single-shot damage threshold. An absorbing defect evolved during the first stage in such a way as to create a thermal instability in the surrounding matrix. During the second stage this thermal instability caused spatial growth of laser damage because of propagation of an ionization-inducing absorption wave with a front traveling at the rate governed by the electron component of the thermal conductivity.
New techniques were developed to construct Schottky barrier and homojunction solar cells on GaAs substrates. Schottky barrier metal-semiconductor solar cells were produced for the first time on p-type GaAs substrate using a sputter-deposition method to form the barrier. The sputter deposition of gold or gold/palladium is the key to the method since normal thermal evaporation of gold onto p-type GaAs produces ohmic contacts. The results of this investigation are consistent with the idea that sputter damage produces donor type surface states on GaAs. Barrier heights were measured for both p-type sputtered and n-type thermally evaporated diodes using current-voltage and capacitance-voltage methods. Deep-level transient spectroscopy was used to identify the trap center concentration and energy levels for both diodes in an effort to explain the relatively large dark current in the p-type sputtered diodes. Homojunction GaAs solar cells were ...
Two methods, a traditional emulsion technique and a high voltage electrostatically modified encapsulation system, were used to fabricate degradable chitosan/beta -tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) microspheres. The two distinct kinds of microspheres both exhibited good sphericity and the beta-TCP was trapped well inside the chitosan gel. The microspheres prepared by high voltage electrostatic system exhibited a rougher outer surface and narrower size distribution. These microspheres were then used as an added constituent to commercially available PMMA bone cement. Four modified cement composites that were prepared with different composition ratios of the two kinds of chitosan/beta-TCP microspheres that were made from emulsion technique (C1P1 and C2P1) and from a process by a high voltage electrostatic system (EC1P1 and EC2P1) were compared with the PMMA cement (Pure P). The characteristics of these materials indicate that with the addition of ...
BackgroundWe examined the effects of short-term consumption of whey protein isolate on muscle proteins and force recovery after eccentrically-induced muscle damage in healthy individuals.MethodsSeventeen...Full Text Available
The regular occurrence of large-scale earthquakes in Japan necessitates the use of earthquake disaster prevention systems that focus on gathering damage information on gas supply facilities immediately after an earthquake strikes and minimizing the damage. This paper discussed the development of an earthquake damage estimation system for city gas pipelines that can show damage information in real-time by using earthquake records obtained from densely deployed earthquake observation networks and the most advanced telecommunication and information technologies. The paper summarized the earthquake damage estimation system (EDES) and Toho Gas disaster prevention measures. Specific topics that were discussed included the Toho Gas supply method; earthquake countermeasures; construction of computer systems; normal and emergency operation of EDES; and verification of functions in actual ...
Service, Alaska Regional Office Prince William Sound, photo: Mandy Lindeberg Office of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) Damage Assessment and Restoration About NOAA Fisheries' EVOS...
Because copper catalyzes the conversion of H2O2 to hydroxyl radicals in vitro, it has been proposed that oxidative DNA damage may be an important component of copper toxicity....Full Text Available
One of the most pervasive ideas regarding the causes of aging is that longevity is constrained in large measure by damage to macromolecules. An increasing body of cellular and molecular data, generated...Full Text Available
This book contains over 20 selections. Some of the titles are: Continuum damage mechanics studies on the dynamic fracture of concrete; Dynamic compressive strength of cementitious materials; Rate-sensitivity of mode I and mode II fracture concrete; and An impact damage model of concrete.
A compensatory response, viz. in vivo recovery from radiation damage to mitochondria, occurs in preclimacteric pear fruits (Pyrus communis L.) treated with ionizing...Full Text Available
A novel acidizing process is used to increase the permeability of carbonate rock cores in the laboratory and to remove drilling fluid damage from cores and wafers. Field results show the benefits of the technology as applied both to injector and producer wells.
In order to investigate the influence of grain boundary cavities on the life time of Alloy 800 H various fatigue tests have been performed at 800/sup 0/C. Cavity formation has been observed only in asymmetrical tests. Compared to the corresponding symmetrical tests, the cyclic life time is shorter. As the cavitation damage increases, the ratio of life times in vacuum and in air steadily decreases from an initial value of 5. In extreme cases it can reach a value close to 1. In this case, cavitation damage dominates over the usual damage mechanism, which is cracks from the surface.
It is possible to create nomographs similar to Fig. 2.10 to characterise damage potential of candidate time histories, provided there exists extensive records of earlier time-histories and the damage that they have caused. Thus in order to create such nomographs, one needs the correlated documentation between the input to the structure and the resulting damage. In order to use the Response-Spectra approach, one needs good statistical description of the input to the system. Extensive literature exists on both these methods. The MAC method that has being developed for the present research has yet to be validated. However, if it is successful, it would provide a valuable link between the SEA method and the rational method.
A simple method allowing easy calculation of the spatial damage energy distributions for ion-implanted materials is presented. The direct procedure takes account of the variation with depth of the lateral spreading of implanted ions, as well as the effects of energy transport by the recoiling target atoms. The subsequent computer program LUPIN-3D provides three-dimensional damage distributions and allows the construction of damage energy mappings. Various substrates of technological interest are investigated and several fields of application of the calculation are envisaged. The density of cascades can therefore be determined and heterogeneous amorphization models can be implemented. (orig.).
This report aims at presenting a view upon uncertainty analysis of phenomenological models with an emphasis on the identification and documentation of various types of uncertainties and assumptions in the modelling of the phenomena. In an uncertainty analysis, it is essential to include and document all unclear issues, in order to obtain a maximal coverage of unresolved issues. This holds independently on their nature or type of the issues. The classification of uncertainties is needed in the decomposition of the problem and it helps in the identification of means for uncertainty reduction. Further, an enhanced documentation serves to evaluate the applicability of the results to various risk-informed applications. (au)
Supplementing the collection of artificial neural network methodologies devised for monitoring energy producing installations, a general regression artificial neural network is proposed for the identification of the two-phase flow that occurs in the coolant channels of boiling water reactors. The utilization of a limited number of image features derived from radiography images affords the proposed approach with efficiency and non-invasiveness. Additionally, the application of counter-clustering to the input patterns prior to training accomplishes an 80% reduction in network size as well as in training and test time. Cross-validation tests confirm accurate on-line flow regime identification.
Supplementing the collection of artificial neural network methodologies devised for monitoring energy producing installations, a general regression artificial neural network is proposed for the identification of the two-phase flow that occurs in the coolant channels of boiling water reactors. The utilization of a limited number of image features derived from radiography images affords the proposed approach with efficiency and non-invasiveness. Additionally, the application of counter-clustering to the input patterns prior to training accomplishes an 80% reduction in network size as well as in training and test time. Cross-validation tests confirm accurate on-line flow regime identification.
External radiation dose exceeded 5,000 rad in three cases, and intravaginal radiation dose was 5,000 rad in one case. Radiation damage including perforation was seen in the end of ileus in one case, in the sigmoid and rectum in two cases, and in the end of ileus, sigmoid and rectum in the last case. Satisfactory results were obtained by the removal of the ileocecum in the case of the damage in the end of the ileus. However, only colostomy was performed for the damage in the sigmoid and rectum.
Analysis of damages done by the radiation in a polymer characterized by optic properties of polished surfaces, of uniformity and chemical resistance that the acrylic; resistant until the 150 centigrade grades of temperature, and with an approximate weight of half of the glass. An objective of this work is the development of a method that analyze in automated form the superficial damages induced by radiation in plastic materials means an images analyst. (Author)
We report the identification and characterization of a new Drosophila clock-regulated gene, takeout (to). to is a member of a novel...Full Text Available
The identification of individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is essential for the timely administration of treatment approaches aimed at slowing the onset or progression of the disease....Full Text Available
There is considerable evidence to suggest that the identification and treatment of dyslipidaemia will reduce the risk of premature CHD, i.e. before the age of 65. Diagnosis of the cause of raised plasma...Full Text Available
Pork identification in four types of food products, which are sausages and the casings, bread and biscuits, using species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of a conserved region in the mitochondrial (mt) 12S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was developed. Genomic DNA of the food products were successfully extracted except for the casing samples, where no genomic DNA was detected. The extracted genomic DNA was then subjected to PCR amplification targeting the specific regions of the 12S rRNA gene. The genomic DNA from the food products were found to be of good quality and produced clear PCR products on the amplification of 12S rRNA gene of 387 base pairs (bp) from pork species. The species-specific PCR identification yielded excellent results for identification of pork derivatives...
... a given ternary molten salt system under conditions which are greatly " different than the normal method of potentiometric titration, that is, high ...
Contractile vacuole complexes are critical components of cell volume regulation and have been shown to have other functional roles in several free-living protists....Full Text Available
ground strike hazards 3) Advancements in the initialization of numerical weather prediction models through better identification of deep convection 4) Improved routing of...
The management of risks of explosives are described. Administrative and procedural controls are considered. The safety management plan involves hazard identification, risk analysis, assessment and control. The current position of explosives safety is considered. 4 tabs.
Advances in modern neuroscience require the identification of principles that connect different levels of experimental analysis, from molecular mechanisms to explanations of cellular functions,...Full Text Available
The CKK-70 400/200 NN telephone exchange in the Nowa Ruda mine in Lower Silesia was used with the JAUL-CAMAC linear subscriber system. The CKK-70 telephone exchanges were supplied without a system for identification of calling subscribers at the ground surface. A modified identification system developed by the Nowa Ruda mine for identifying calling subscribers is evaluated. Its design is shown in 2 schemes and operation is discussed. The identification system was tested over 6 years. Tests showed it to be reliable and uncomplicated. The modified system for identification of calling subscribers adapted for conditions of underground coal mines has been tested in other mines (1 Maj, Piast, Knurow and Staszic). Recommendations for use of the modified system are made.
Ether extracts of cultures of 29 strains representing 6 species of Bacillus, and of individual strains of Escherichia coli, Aerobacter aerogenes, and Pseudomonas...Full Text Available
The main aim of DNA barcoding is to establish a shared community resource of DNA sequences that can be used for organismal identification and taxonomic clarification. This approach was successfully...Full Text Available
BackgroundFunction exertion of specific proteins are key factors in disease progression, thus the systematical identification of those specific proteins is a prerequisite to understand...Full Text Available
A method and apparatus for determining the condition of tissue or otherwise making chemical identifications includes exposing the sample to a light source, and using a synchronous luminescence system to produce a spectrum that can be analyzed for tissue condition.
Chemically reactive compounds in tissues can be monitored through their products of reaction with biomacromolecules. For the purpose of in vivo dose monitoring, hemoglobin (Hb) has been preferred to...Full Text Available
Tidally dominated sections from the Middle Jurassic Beryl Formation of the Beryl Field, Viking Graben (UKCS) were deposited during rapid changes in relative sea level. High density well coverage in this key producing interval has allowed the construction of an integrated high resolution sequence stratigraphic scheme based on sedimentological, ichnofaunal, wireline, biostratigraphic and engineering data. From this database a number of high resolution sequences in the Bajocian-Bathonian Beryl Formation have been identified composed of interbedded sandstones, siltstones and mudstones. These sediments formed tidally-influenced deltas and estuaries deposited in actively subsiding half-grabens during regionally extensive base-level changes. For reservoir management purposes, the formation has been split into 5 units. The thickest interval, Unit 3, is considered here. In the northern part of the Beryl Field, Unit 3 is bounded above and below by regionally extensive, biostratigraphically ...
This paper presents a group's efforts to introduce national newborn screening in Lebanon. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS) technology offers the prospect of utilizing filter paper blood specimens to screen newborns for several metabolic disorders. In order to be cost-effective, it is necessary to have a mandatory newborn screening policy. At present such a policy is not available in Lebanon. A national screening survey for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) was carried out to assess the incidence of this anomaly in the Lebanese population. Such an initiative is essential as a first step for assessing the feasibility and cost of a national screening programme. Coated beads, blood spot standards for quality control and buffer solutions used for assays were prepared in-house to minimize costs. At first, samples of umbilical cord blood spots were assayed for TSH using IRMA technique. Those samples showing borderline or high values of TSH were then assayed for total T4 (TT4) ...
The red sequence is an important feature of galaxy clusters and plays a crucial role in optical cluster detection. Measurement of the slope and scatter of the red sequence are affected both by selection of red sequence galaxies and measurement errors. In this paper, we describe a new error corrected Gaussian Mixture Model for red sequence galaxy identification. Using this technique, we can remove the effects of measurement error and extract unbiased information about the intrinsic properties of the red sequence. We use this method to select red sequence galaxies in each of the 13,823 clusters in the maxBCG catalog, and measure the red sequence ridgeline location and scatter of each. These measurements provide precise constraints on the variation of the average red galaxy populations in the observed frame with redshift. We find that the scatter of the red sequence ridgeline increases mildly with redshift, and that the slope decreases with ...
The purpose of this study was to compare a double freeze-thaw protocol to a triple freeze-thaw protocol for pulmonary cryoablation utilizing an in vivo porcine lung model. A total of 18 cryoablations were performed in normal porcine lung utilizing percutaneous technique with 9 each in a double- (10-5-10) and triple-freeze (3-3-7-7-5) protocol. Serial noncontrast CT images were obtained during the ablation. CT imaging findings and pathology were reviewed. No imaging changes were identified during the initial freeze cycle with either protocol. However, during the first thaw cycle, a region of ground glass opacity developed around the probe with both protocols. Because the initial freeze was shorter with the triple freeze-thaw protocol, the imaging findings were apparent sooner with this protocol (6 vs. 13 min). Also, despite a shorter total freeze time (15 vs. 20 min), the ablation zone identified with the triple freeze-thaw protocol was not significantly different ...
The purpose of this project was to demonstrate targeted infill and extension drilling opportunities, better determinations of oil-in-place, and methods for improved completion efficiency. The investigations and demonstrations were focussed on Red River and Ratcliffe reservoirs in the Williston Basin within portions of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. Both of these formations have been successfully explored with conventional 2-dimensional (2D) seismic. Improved reservoir characterization utilizing 3-dimensional (3D) seismic was investigated for identification of structural and stratigraphic reservoir compartments. These seismic characterizations were integrated with geological and engineering studies. The project tested lateral completion techniques, including high-pressure jetting lance technology and short-radius lateral drilling to enhance completion efficiency. Lateral completions should improve economics for both primary and ...
Available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: The application spectrum of X-ray and Gamma radiation is increasing exponentially in the area of diagnostic, nuclear medicine, food preservation, nuclear power plants and strategic utilities. To prevent the harmful effects of these radiations, shielding materials based on lead metal and its compounds are being used historically, which are toxic in nature. To protect environment it has become necessary to develop non-toxic lead free shielding materials. The use of titanium metal and its compounds as synthetic rock i.e. SYNROC are reported to be very effective non-toxic shielding materials for various applications. Red mud waste generated in aluminum producing industries possesses a unique mineralogical compositions containing fairly high quantity of titanium oxide and iron oxide useful for making non toxic shielding compositions and therefore red mud has been utilized for the first time in the world for making radiation ...
Sufficient genetic diversity exists in Indian tree species to give large genetic gains. Improvement potential, using wild gene resources for selection and breeding is vast as there are over 244 genera and 400 forest tree species in India. Of these over 30 species and 22 genera are of outstanding forestry value. Selective genetic-variation can be lifted from wild populations, multiplied vegetatively or by seed, and planted with controlled germplasm sources. Among the Indian species no less than 74 reproduce by cutting, 11 by layers, 9 by grafting and buding and 104 by root suckers. More than 161 species coppice vigorously. Afforestation techniques of over 170 species have been worked out. Tree genetic approach of survey of natural variability, quick evaluation, selection, conservation multiplication and planting superior variability directly in the field can give immediate genetic gains. This article discusses genetic information on indigenous species for use of ...
Because of the chaotic nature of the corrosion process and the complexity of the electrochemical noise signals that are generated, there is no generally accepted method of measuring and interpreting these signals that allows the consistent detection and identification of sustained localized pitting (SLP) as compared to general corrosion. We have reexamined electrochemical noise analysis (ENA) of localized corrosion using different hardware, signal collection, and signal processing designs than those used in conventional ENA techniques. The new data acquisition system was designed to identify and monitor the progress of SLP by analyzing the power spectral density (PSD) of the trend of the corrosion current noise level (CNL) and potential noise level (PNL). Each CNL and PNL data point was calculated from the root-mean- square value of the ac components of current and potential fluctuation signals, which were measured simultaneously during a short ...
The security of ports and transportation is of utmost importance for the development of economy and the security of a nation. Among the necessary actions to ensure the security of ports and borders, the inspection of containers is one of the most time consuming and expensive procedures. Potential threats are the illegal traffic of radioactive materials that could be employed for the construction of weapons, as uranium and plutonium. New techniques for the inspections of containers should be fast, allow the detection and identification of dangerous materials, and be non-invasive, to reduce costs and delays. We propose to build a large surface photon and neutron detector based on plastic scintillator to identify the presence of fissile or fertile material inside a container. The detector consists of scintillator bars, wrapped in thin foils of reflecting material containing gadolinium for neutron capture and arranged in planes separated by ...
The security of ports and transportation is of utmost importance for the development of economy and the security of a nation. Among the necessary actions to ensure the security of ports and borders, the inspection of containers is one of the most time consuming and expensive procedures. Potential threats are the illegal traffic of radioactive materials that could be employed for the construction of weapons, as uranium and plutonium. New techniques for the inspections of containers should be fast, allow the detection and identification of dangerous materials, and be non-invasive, to reduce costs and delays. We propose to build a large surface photon and neutron detector based on plastic scintillator to identify the presence of fissile or fertile material inside a container. The detector consists of scintillator bars, wrapped in thin foils of reflecting material containing gadolinium for neutron capture and arranged in planes separated by ...
EXAFS measurements are useful in determining the local atomic environment of a particular element in a solid. Since there has been some controversy about the nature of the defects produced in A-15 materials by radiation damage, such studies were carried out on some A-15 compounds, V_3Ga which was damaged by neutrons, as well as Nb_3Ge damaged by 2.5 MeV a particles. In the V_3Ga sample, site exchange disorder seems to be the most important result of the neutron damage with less than 20% of the vanadium atoms on wrong sites. However, in the Nb_3Ge samples in addition to site exchange disorder, an unusual splitting of the first near-neighbor distance between the Ge and Nb is found. This splitting, approximately 0.2 A, may explain the large Debye Waller factors observed by Burbank et al.
Initial rates of resistivity-measured low-temperature damage production by fission-spectrum fast neutrons have been determined for 14 metals in the same very well characterized irradiation facility. Six of these metals were fcc, 5 bcc, and 3 hcp. Most were of quite high purity. Observed damage rates, after correction for all known extraneous resistivity-producing effects, were compared with rates predicted by the damage calculation code RECOIL, using parameters chosen from the literature. These parameters, effective displacement threshold energy, E/sub d/, and Frenkel-pair resistivity, rho/sub F/, were in many cases only best estimates, the further refinement of which may be aided by the present results. Damage efficiencies (measured/predicted rates) follow the same trends by crystal classes as seen in other fast-neutron studies.
This paper focuses on a factorial-based design strategy. The approach provides an efficient and statistically reliable means for assessing the influence of multivariable effects. It is applied to the detection and evaluation of damage in impacted composite sandwich panels. The experimental results obtained from this test strategy are utilized to form an empirical response function. The resulting polynomial relates damage area to residual compression strength at values of independent variables for which testing did not occur. The response function also identifies nonlinear interaction effects of key variabes that cannot be easily ascertained by traditional single-variable test strategies. Independent variables evaluated include core thickness, number of face sheet plys and impact energy. The methodology presented allows the designer to predict with more confidence the damage tolerance of a composite material component, and ...
The topics of these short lectures on the subject of cyclic stress were: Microstructural mechanisms of damage accumulation under a multistage cyclic stress until incipient cracking; influence of surface decarbonizing phenomena on the failure behaviour of steel construction parts subjected to cyclic stress; thermocyclic fatigue of pipe samples of austenitic steel 1.4436; studies on surface structuring, microstructure and fatigue in LCF area. The short lectures on effects of quasi-static and creep stress were: Shear fracture in AlMg alloys as a result of local plastic instability; study of formation and growth of pores for an early recognition of damage and the course of damage in heat-resistant steels under creep test; experimental and numeric studies of the infuence of the microstructure on the course of damage during shear fractures of steel; numerical modelling of ductile fractures on the basis of ...
The DNA double-strand break (DSB) damage response induced by high energy charged particles on lung fibroblast cells embedded in a 3-dimensional (3-D) collagen tissue equivalents was investigated using antibodies to the DNA damage response proteins gamma-histone 2AX (#gamma#-H2AX) and phosphorylated DNA-PKcs (p-DNA-PKcs). 3-D tissue equivalents were irradiated in positions across the linear distribution of the Bragg curve profiles of 307.7 MeV/nucleon, 556.9 MeV/nucleon, or 967.0 MeV/nucleon "5"6Fe ions at a dose of 0.30 Gy. Patterns of discrete DNA damage streaks across nuclei or saturated nuclear damage were observed, with saturated nuclear damage being more predominant as samples were positioned closer to the physical Bragg peak. Quantification of the DNA damage signal intensities at each distance for each of the examined energies revealed a biological Bragg ...
A 19.1 metre wind turbine blade was subjected to static tests. The purpose of the test series was to verify the abilities of different types of sensors to detect damage in wind turbine blades. Prior to each of the static test-series an artificial damage was made on the blade. The damage made for each test-series was surveyed during each series by acoustic emission, fiber optic micro bend displacement transducers and strain gauges. The propagation of the damage was determined by use of ultra sonic and X-ray surveillance during stops in the test series. By use of acoustic emission it was possible to measure damage propagation before the propagation was of visible size. By use of fiber optic micro bend displacement transducers and strain gauges it was possible to measure minor damage propagation. By use of both ultra sonic, and X-ray NDT-equipment it were possible ...
A unified physically based ion implantation damage model has been developed which successfully predicts both the impurity profiles and the damage profiles for a wide range of implant conditions for arsenic, phosphorus, BF{sub 2}, and boron implants into single-crystal silicon. In addition, the amorphous layer thicknesses predicted by this new damage model are also in excellent agreement with experimental measurements. This damage model is based on the physics of point defects in silicon, and explicitly simulates the defect production, diffusion, and their interactions which include interstitial-vacancy recombination, clustering of same type of defects, defect-impurity complex formation, emission of mobile defects from clusters, and surface effects for the first time. New computationally efficient algorithms have been developed to overcome the barrier of the excessive computational requirements. In ...
A unified physically based ion implantation damage model has been developed which successfully predicts both the impurity profiles and the damage profiles for a wide range of implant conditions for arsenic, phosphorus, BF_2, and boron implants into single-crystal silicon. In addition, the amorphous layer thicknesses predicted by this new damage model are also in excellent agreement with experimental measurements. This damage model is based on the physics of point defects in silicon, and explicitly simulates the defect production, diffusion, and their interactions which include interstitial-vacancy recombination, clustering of same type of defects, defect-impurity complex formation, emission of mobile defects from clusters, and surface effects for the first time. New computationally efficient algorithms have been developed to overcome the barrier of the excessive computational requirements. In addition, ...
Highlights of the meeting are briefly summarized in this paper. Most of the papers presented at the meeting dealt with remediation and pollution prevention practices. A major focus of the technical sessions was on the identification of pollution sources. Identification of exposures to specific chemicals with disease outcomes was also discussed. Other papers focused on ecological exposures and their effects on wildlife to identify the presence of contaminants. 4 refs.
This Standards/Requirements Identification Document (S/RID) sets forth the Environmental Safety and Health (ESH) standards/requirements for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). This S/RID is applicable to the appropriate life cycle phases of design, construction, operation, and preparation for decommissioning. These standards/requirements are adequate to ensure the protection of the health and safety of workers, the public, and the environment.
A new method of particle identification of heavy ions through the measurement of the Bragg curve centroid and particle energy has been developed using a gas ionization chamber with a resistive anode layer. Z-resolutions comparable to the conventional ..delta..E-E counter telescope could be rather easily attained.
A new method of particle identification of heavy ions through the measurement of the Bragg curve centroid and particle energy has been developed using a gas ionization chamber with a resistive anode layer. Z-resolutions comparable to the conventional #DELTA#E-E counter telescope could be rather easily attained. (orig.).
A new article identification method based on the measurement of Bragg-curve centroids using a gas-filled ionization chamber has been improved for detection of low-energy particles around 1 MeV per nucleon by introducing a nonuniform distribution of resistance on the anode electrode. Almost the same quality of Z-resolutions as in the conventional ..delta..E-E method could be obtained up to Z=19.
Projectilelike fragments following the 80 MeV /sup 16/O+/sup 27/Al reaction have been detected using a Bragg-curve spectroscopy ionization chamber (BCS-IC). The atomic number is deduced from the Bragg-peak amplitude. Nitrogen isotopes are clearly resolved using either range or energy loss data. This is the first application of the BCS method for complete ion identification in a heavy-ion-induced reaction.
Projectilelike fragments following the 80 MeV "1"6O+"2"7Al reaction have been detected using a Bragg-curve spectroscopy ionization chamber (BCS-IC). The atomic number is deduced from the Bragg-peak amplitude. Nitrogen isotopes are clearly resolved using either range or energy loss data. This is the first application of the BCS method for complete ion identification in a heavy-ion-induced reaction.
An improved hydrocarbon fuel is described selected from the group consisting of gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, jet fuel, No. 1 heating oil, and No. 2 heating oil containing a detectable amount of one or more fullerene additives therein serving as identification means for said fuel wherein said fullerenes are present in an amount insufficient to alter any of the combustion properties of the fuel.
This document, the Standards/Requirements Identification Document (S/RID) Phase I Assessment Report for the subject facility, represents the results of an Administrative Assessment to determine whether S/RID requirements are fully addressed by existing policies, plans or procedures. It contains; compliance status, remedial actions, and an implementing manuals report linking S/RID elements to requirement source to implementing manual and section.
The sensitivity and specificity of the MGIT TBc identification (TBc ID) test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) detection in positive Bactec MGIT cultures were 95.2% and 99.2%, respectively. When MTC-positive results obtained from two additional molecular methods were included, the sensitivity of the MGIT TBc ID test was 85.4%, while that of culture was 95.7%. PMID:21450949
1-Naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) is a specific inhibitor of polar auxin transport that blocks carrier-mediated auxin efflux from plant cells. To allow identification of the NPA receptor thought to be...Full Text Available
CT is a valuable tool in assessing thoracic gunshot wounds. CT is also the method of choice in emergency, because it permits rapid depiction of bullet damage to the chest and to other body districts. This in turn permits correct assessment of the main thoracic injuries, plus adequate and prompt planning of surgical treatment or support intensive care. It is reported on the role of CT in diagnosing the complex pleuropulmonary, cardiovascular and thoracic wall injuries caused by gunshot wounds, with their specific and acute signs which differ greatly fro those of other types of chest trauma. In the last 4 years, it was observed an amount of 76 cases of gunshot injury, twenty-six of them involved the chest. The patients, 25 men and 1 woman (mean age: 32 years, range: 17-48), were all submitted to emergency CT with iv contrast agent injection and the CT-angiography technique. The reanimator was always presented to monitor the patients' ...
Based on the Morlet wavelet transformation and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), we present a wind turbine fault diagnosis method in this paper. Wind turbine can be damaged by moisture absorption, fatigue, wind gusts or lightening strikes. Due to this reason, there is an increasing need to monitor the health of these structures. Vibration analysis is the best-known technology applied in wind turbine condition monitoring, in which the time-frequency analysis techniques such as Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) are widely used. Theoretically WVD has an infinite resolution in time-frequency domain. For early wind turbine fault signals, however, there are two main difficulties in WVD analysis. One is strong noise signals in the background and the other is cross terms in WVD itself. In this paper, continuous wavelet transformation (CWT) is employed to filter useless noise in raw vibration signals, and auto terms window (ATW) function is used to ...
Classical beam line ion implantation is limited to low energies and cannot achieve P+/N junctions requested for <45nm ITRS node. RTA (rapid thermal annealing) needs to be improved for dopants activation and damage reductions. Spike annealing process also induces a large diffusion mainly due to TED (transient enhanced diffusion). Compared to conventional beam line ion implantation limited to a minimum energy implantation of 200eV, plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is an emerging technique to get ultimate shallow profiles (as-implanted) due to no lower limitation of energy and high dose rate. On the another hand, laser thermal processing (LTP) allows to obtain very shallow junction with no TED, abrupt profile and activated depth control. In this paper, we show the implementation of the BF_3 PIII associated with the LTP. Ions from BF_3"+ plasma have been implanted in 200mm n-type silicon wafers with energies from 100eV to 1keV and doses ...
Thermal fatigue is one of the key factors governing the lifetime of the divertor plate. Tungsten is a promising candidate to cover the surface of the divertor plate in the design of the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER). The W/Cr-bronze divertor small scale mock-ups were manufactured by hot isostatic pressing (HIPing) technique. Thermal fatigue tests of W/Cr-bronze divertor mock-ups have been carried out by an electron beam facility. The mock-ups were tested under a cyclic surface heat flux of 9 MW m"-"2 for 1000 cycles. The electron beam was loaded on the mock-up surface for 20 s and unloaded for 20 s, alternately. The flow rate of water coolant was 0.1 L s"-"1. The 0.3 mm diameter NiCr-NiSi thermocouples were used to monitor the temperature distribution of the mock-up. It was found that the maximum temperature of the tungsten surface was about 400 degree sign C. The saturated temperature at the joint of tungsten and Cr-bronze was 160 degree ...
We present a new approach for growing Si nanowires directly from a silicon substrate, without the use of a metal catalyst, silicon vapor or CVD gasses. The growth can be performed in a furnace type configuration at moderate temperatures or in localized regions by resistive heating. Since the silicon wires grow directly from the silicon substrate, they do not need to be manipulated nor aligned for subsequent applications. Wires in the 20-50 nm diameter range with lengths over 80 ?m can be grown by this technique. We have studied the effects of various growth parameters, including temperature, substrate orientation, initial sample cleaning and carrier gasses. Results indicate that most important parameters in the growth of the nanowires are the surface cleaning, the temperature and the type of carrier gas used. A model is proposed, which involves an oxide catalyst for the process, with the growth of the nanowires enabled by a significantly enhanced silicon surface ...
Nitroaromatic radiosensitizers become metabolically bound preferentially to hypoxic cells and at least 10/sup 9/ adducts/cell can be tolerated as non-toxic. EMT-6 tumor cells have been incubated in hypoxia in the presence of /sup 3/H-Misonidazole and /sup 125/I-Azomycin Riboside for various times and the amount of /sup 3/H or /sup 125/I bound/cell was determined. Cells were stored as monolayers at 25"0C for up to 96 hr to accumulate radioactive decays and transferred at various times to 37"0C for colony-forming assays. No radiation inactivation was measured in cells which had incorporated at least 10/sup 6/ /sup 3/H or 10/sup 5/ /sup 125/I atoms. Previous studies had shown that -- 1% of MISO adducts to EMT-6 cells was associated with cellular DNA. These data indicate that the radiation-induced damage produced by these quantities of bound /sup 3/H or /sup 125/I causes little or not cell inactivation. The results of current studies to measure the colony-forming ...
This report is a summary of the Steam Generator Group Project progress for 1985. Statistical analyses are presented of data from nondestructive examination (NDE) round robin tests that were performed on the Surry generator in 1984. In the first round robin, teams acquired and analyzed their own data on a selected 10% subset of tubes. In the second round robin, analysts from each participating team analyzed identical sets of data which were provided to them by the Project. Results from several examinations utilizing advanced/alternate NDE technologies including alternate eddy current probes and techniques, ultrasonics, and profilometry are also reported. Criteria are listed for selecting tube specimens that will be removed from the generator. A sampling plan based on these criteria is detailed graphically in the report. The initial steps that have been taken to carry out the plan are described; tooling fabricated for the sample removals is discussed. Successful ...
This report is a summary of the Steam Generator Group Project progress for 1985. Statistical analyses are presented of data from nondestructive examination (NDE) round robin tests that were performed on the Surry generator in 1984. In the first round robin, teams acquired and analyzed their own data on a selected 10% subset of tubes. In the second round robin, analysts from each participating team analyzed identical sets of data which were provided to them by the Project. Results from several examinations utilizing advanced/alternate NDE technologies including alternate eddy current probes and techniques, ultrasonics, and profilometry are also reported. Criteria are listed for selecting tube specimens that will be removed from the generator. A sampling plan based on these criteria is detailed graphically in the report. The initial steps that have been taken to carry out the plan are described; tooling fabricated for the sample removals is discussed. Successful ...
We studied whether plasma-etching techniques can use standard screen-printed gridlines as etch masks to form self-aligned, patterned-emitter profiles on multicrystalline-silicon (mc-Si) cells from Solarex. We conducted an investigation of plasma deposition and etching processes on full-size mc-Si cells processed in commercial production lines, so that any improvements obtained would be immediately relevant to the PV industry. This investigation determined that reactive ion etching (RIE) is compatible with using standard, commercial, screen-printed gridlines as etch masks to form self-aligned, selectively doped emitter profiles. This process results in reduced gridline contact resistance when followed by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) treatments, an undamaged emitter surface easily passivated by plasma-nitride, and a less heavily doped emitter between gridlines for reduced emitter recombination. This allows for heavier doping beneath the gridlines ...
A comprehensive understanding of dopant activation mechanisms in crystalline Si is required in order to form shallow junctions. In this paper, we will review several experimental assessments on boron clustering and novel methods to form shallow junctions. Boron marker-layer structures have been used to investigate the fundamental aspects of formation and ripening boron-interstitial clusters (BICs) and their influence on the associated transient enhanced diffusion (TED). The samples were damaged by Si implants at different doses in the sub-amorphizing range and annealed at high temperatures. We found that BICs act as a sink for interstitials at supersaturations values S(t)>10{sup 4}. This implies that silicon self-interstitial defects are the primary source of interstitials driving TED, and that BICs act as a secondary 'buffer' for the interstitial supersaturation. These clusters are less sensitive to the ripening process than pure ...
Several types of corrosion have damaged alloy 600 tubing in the secondary side of steam generators. The types of corrosion include wastage, denting, intergranular attack, stress corrosion, erosion-corrosion, etc. The environments which cause attack may originate from leaks of cooling water into the condensate, etc. When the contaminated feedwater is pumped into the generator, the impurities may concentrate first 200 to 400 fold in the bulk water, depending on the blowdown, and then further to saturation and dryness in heated tube support plate crevices. Characterization of local solution chemistries is the first step to predict and correct the type of corrosion that can occur. The pH is of particular importance because it is a major factor governing the rate of corrosion reactions. The pH of a solution at high temperature is not the same as the ambient temperature, since ionic dissociation constants, solubility and solubility products, activity coefficients, etc., ...
Fuel rod failures produce a release of fission products into primary coolant system. Since nuclear power plants have licensing limits for the release of volatile fission products to the environment (off-gas limits) detailed monitoring of the development of clad failure is necessary. In case of fuel rod failure a release of fission products into the primary coolant system arises. Fission gases accumulated in the free volume of a fuel rod escape through the clad defect. Water entering the fuel rod reacts with fission products, forming volatile chemical compounds. These may escape in a similar manner into the fission gases. Other compounds may dissolve and may be carried outside the fuel rod as dissolved species. Consequently, the distribution of these fission products, in the cross section of the fuel rod, is modified. An implementation of the maximum entropy gamma computed tomography technique is used to obtain such distributions in the area of the fuel rod ...
Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is an effective materials modification and synthesis technique but has seldom been applied to ceramic materials due to the high electrical resistance that reduces the ion bombardment energy and sometimes causes serious electrical arcing in the instrument. Even in cases where PIII is applicable, the surface properties of the implanted insulating materials can be seriously affected due to the low ion energy and materials damage from electrical arcing. In order to enhance the surface and mechanical properties such as wear resistance of ceramic materials used in many industrial applications, surface modification is needed. In this work, we conduct carbon implantation into sintered #alpha#-SiC (silicon carbides that are widely used in vacuum ceramic bearings) using mesh-assisted plasma immersion ion implantation to enhance the surface properties. The use of a conducting grid is necessitated by the high ...
The steam generator (SG) is one of the most critical components of the heat transfer system in nuclear generation stations. Testing the structural integrity of SG tubing and SG internals is a key element of the fitness-for-service assessments to assure the safe and continuous operation of nuclear power plants. Recent eddy current (ET) inspections of two nuclear power plants revealed degradation of some of the tube support plate (TSP) structures, which was also confirmed by visual inspection. The phenomena was described as metal loss, caused by flow-accelerated corrosion of the carbon steel trefoil support plate and varying from minor to complete loss of the ligaments. This loss of TSP ligaments results in lack of support for the adjacent tubes making them more susceptible to fretting-wear damage and fatigue cracking. A signal analysis method, based on the responses at low frequency of two types of eddy current probes, has been developed to assess the degree of ...
Large-scale field tracer experiments have been conducted on Ulchin, Wolsung and Daeduk sites for the purpose of validating FADAS and of analyzing the environmental characteristics around the nuclear sites. The most influential factor in atmospheric dispersion is the meteorological condition. During the experiment, meteorological data were measured on the release point and the selected positions among sampling points. Once radioactive materials are released to the atmosphere, members of public may be exposed through the environmental media such as air, soil and foods. Therefore, to protect the public, adequate countermeasures should be taken at due time for those exposure pathways. both processes, of justification and optimization are applied to a countermeasure simultaneously for decision-making. The work scope of Biological research for the radiation protection had contained the search of biological microanalytic methods for assessing the health effect by {gamma}-radiation and toxic ...
The processes which are currently studied in the fabrication of B-doped ultra shallow junctions (USJ) usually involve a preamorphization step to reduce B channelling effect during implantation and to improve B electrical activation. At this stage a high amount of Si interstitial atoms (Is), which dramatically increases the B diffusivity, is introduced. The introduction of voids in Si is a promising tool to control B transient enhanced diffusion (TED), because of their ability to capture Is. In this work the efficiency of a cavity band to reduce B TED is checked in silicon interstitial supersaturation conditions, obtained by high dose Si implantation. He is implanted either at 10 keV or at 50 keV with a fluence of 5 x 10"1"6 cm"-"2. Conventional techniques to introduce and activate the B (conventional ion implantation and rapid thermal annealing (RTA)) are applied in order to have a better control of the technological process to focus on the benefit of the cavity ...
We describe a model of damage in rf cavities and show how this damage can limit cavity operation. We first present a review of mechanisms that may or may not affect the ultimate fields that can be obtained in rf cavities, assuming that mechanical stress explains the triggers of rf breakdown events. We present a method of quantifying the surface damage caused by breakdown events in terms of the spectrum of field enhancement factors, Beta, for asperities on the surface. We then model an equilibrium that can develop between damage and conditioning effects, and show how this equilibrium can determine cavity performance and show experimental evidence for this mechanism. We define three functions that quantify damage, and explain how the parameters that determine this performance can be factored out and measured. We then show how this model can quantitatively explain the dependence of ...
Displacements per atom (DPA) is a widely used damage unit for displacement damage in nuclear materials. Calculating the DPA for SiC irradiated in a particular facility requires a knowledge of the neutron spectrum as well as specific information about displacement damage in that material. In recent years significant improvements in displacement damage information for SiC have been generated, especially the energy required to displace an atom in an irradiation event and the models used to describe electronic and nuclear stopping. Using this information, numerical solutions for the displacement functions in SiC have been determined from coupled integro-differential equations for displacements in polyatomic materials and applied in calculations of spectral-averaged displacement cross sections for SiC. This procedure has been used to generate spectrally averaged displacement cross sections for SiC in a ...
Displacements per atom (DPA) is a widely used damage unit for displacement damage in nuclear materials. Calculating the DPA for SiC irradiated in a particular facility requires a knowledge of the neutron spectrum as well as specific information about displacement damage in that material. In recent years significant improvements in displacement damage information for SiC have been generated, especially the energy required to displace an atom in an irradiation event and the models used to describe electronic and nuclear stopping. Using this information, numerical solutions for the displacement functions in SiC have been determined from coupled integro-differential equations for displacements in polyatomic materials and applied in calculations of spectral-averaged displacement cross sections for SiC. This procedure has been used to generate spectrally averaged displacement cross sections for SiC in a ...
In acute intoxication, uranium (U) not only inhibits bone formation but its excretion in urine also causes renal damage. The former effect is ameliorated by tetracycline (TC), probably due to its chelation property, which might also prevent U deposition in bone. Chemical determination of U incorporated in bone and a histological study of the kidneys were performed on animals injected with U and then treated with TC. The results showed that TC was unable to prevent the binding of U to bone while it exacerbated U-induced renal damage.
Numerical simulation of dynamic fracture of concrete slabs, impacted by steel projectiles, was carried out in this study. The concrete response was described by a continuum damage model. This continuum damage model was originally developed to study rock fragmentation and was modified in the present study with an emphasis on the post-limit structural response. The model was implemented into a transient dynamic explicit finite element code LS-DYNA2D and the code was then used for the numerical simulations. The specific impact configuration of this study follows the experiment series conducted by Hanchak et al. Comparisons between calculated results and measured data were made. Good agreements were found.
Apparent growth of amorphous layers during low temperature annealing was observed in low energy Ge{sup +}-implanted (0 0 1)Si by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The occurrence of abnormal growth is due to the randomization of heavily damaged regions beneath the original amorphous/crystalline interfaces. The randomization process is attributed to the strain, incurred by the presence of a high density of large Ge atoms in the heavily damaged Si substrate, relaxation to lower the free energy of the systems. The randomization upon annealing may be fruitfully applied to minimize the transient enhanced diffusion in shallow junction formation.
Apparent growth of amorphous layers during low temperature annealing was observed in low energy Ge"+-implanted (0 0 1)Si by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The occurrence of abnormal growth is due to the randomization of heavily damaged regions beneath the original amorphous/crystalline interfaces. The randomization process is attributed to the strain, incurred by the presence of a high density of large Ge atoms in the heavily damaged Si substrate, relaxation to lower the free energy of the systems. The randomization upon annealing may be fruitfully applied to minimize the transient enhanced diffusion in shallow junction formation.
This text-book (electronic book - multi-media CD-ROM) constitutes a course-book - author's collection of lectures. It consists of 13 lectures in which the reader acquaints with the basis of radiobiology: Introduction to radiobiology; Physical fundamentals of radiobiology; Radiation of cells; Modification of radiation damage of cells; Reparation of radiation damage of cells; Radiation syndromes and their modification; Radiation injury; Radiation damage of tissues; Effect of radiation on embryo and fetus; Biological effects of incorporated radionuclides; Therapy of acute irradiation sickness; Delayed consequences of irradiation; Radiation oncology and radiotherapy. This course-book may be interesting for students, post-graduate students of chemistry, biology, physics, medicine as well as for teachers, scientific workers and physicians. (author)
This paper describes examples of the damage resulting from the impact of a whipping pipe on a nearby pressurised pipe. The work is a by-product of a study of the motion of a whipping pipe. The tests were conducted with small-diameter pipes mounted in rigid supports and hence the results are not directly applicable to large-scale plant applications where flexible support mountings are employed. The results illustrate the influence of whipping pipe energy, impact position and support type on the damage sustained by the target pipe.
This paper describes examples of the damage resulting from the impact of a whipping pipe on a nearby pressurised pipe. The work is a by-product of a study of the motion of a whipping pipe. The tests were conducted with small-diameter pipes mounted in rigid supports and hence the results are not directly applicable to large-scale plant applications where flexible support mountings are employed. The results illustrate the influence of whipping pipe energy, impact position and support type on the damage sustained by the target pipe. (author).
Theoretical analysis, modeling, and simulation are used to provide insight into the development of permeability during thermal damage of the high explosive PBX 9501. In a recently published article, Terrones et al. [1] conclude that samples of PBX 9501 thermally damaged at 186 degreeC are not permeable to gas flow in a manner consistent with Darcys Law. We disagree with their conclusion. We show that they have misreported data from the literature, and that their argument depends on a fluid flow model that is physically incorrect and is applied with inappropriate physical parameters.
The author discusses in detail the following topics: Compensation for domestic nuclear damage and for transfrontier nuclear damage - rule of formal equality of parties which belongs to the basic rule of civil law considering the position of domestic and foreign victims of a grave accident-juridical consequences of the preponderant role played by the state in the promotion, development and supervision of the nuclear industry-rationale for applying the concept of global limitation of liability in the law on nuclear liability and compensation - financial consequences of uncompensated nuclear damage, borne by the victims directly affected or spread over the whole community of the affected state? (HP)
Despite a complex cascade of cellular events to reconstruct the damaged extracellular matrix, ligament healing results in a mechanically inferior scarred ligament. During normal healing, granulation...Full Text Available
Species invasions are a principal component of global change, causing large losses in biodiversity as well as economic damage. Invasion theory attempts to understand and predict invasion success and...Full Text Available
Elaboration of a Modern Technology for Operational Agrometeorological Soil Moisture Monitoring Spring Wheat, Yield and Disease Damage Forecasting and Recommendations for Plant Protection on the Kazakhstan Territory
Senescence is regarded as a physiological response of cells to stress, including telomere dysfunction, aberrant oncogenic activation, DNA damage, and oxidative stress. This stress response has an antagonistically...Full Text Available
The purpose of the recommendation is to prevent, to detect, and to remove soiling of guide and retrating blades of steam turbines, e.g. on account of foreign matter in steam dissolved. (TK/LN).
The kinetic energy transferred to some elements by an electron of kinetic energy 100 to 400 kV is discussed. The displacement rates are compared to the signal generation. (DCL)
Description: Hurricane Hugo, which struck South Carolina in September of 1989, destroyed a significant proportion of the State's timber. Primary wood-products ...
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disease of global prevalence. The disease is characterized by synovial inflammation leading to cartilage and bone damage. Most of the conventional...Full Text Available
BackgroundAlterations in protein composition and oxidative damage of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) have been proposed to impair the cardioprotective properties of...Full Text Available
Shadow effect was used for investigating damage of uranium dioxide monocrystal. The dependence of shadow minimum parameters on fluence of "2"2Ne ions with 172 MeV energy was followed when detecting fission fragments. Ion dose responsible for sufficient microdamage of lattice structure, included into the classification of heavy ion damage effect on monocrystals was determined. The problem of radiation intensity effect on the character of occurred damages was studied. It was established that macroscopic sample failure, caused by generation of considerable mechanical stresses in monocrystal under beam effect could be observed along with microdamages of lattice structure at ion flux density >10"1"2 cm"-"2Xs"-"1.
The cost incurred every year in West Germany due to air pollution is investigated. Damage to buildings, materials, and vegetation are evaluated as well as the cost of additional cleaning work and changes of location with the objective of getting a picture of the economic value of air pollution abatement. The findings are based on data of immission damage in high-exposure areas. Damage is assessed in consideration of the frequency of repair measures in industrial and country atmosphere. Further research will be necessary in view of the many problems concerning methods and availability of basic statistical data. The sequential cost estimated for a few selected cases of damage show that economic losses due to air pollution amount to several thousand million DM. Air pollution abatement measures thus do not only improve our quality of life but also help to save considerable cost to our national economy.
The objectives of the Phase-I research address the development of mechanics- based structural integrity analysis methodologies for composite sandwich panels ...
Physiological bone remodeling is a highly coordinated process responsible for bone resorption and formation and is necessary to repair damaged bone and to maintain mineral homeostasis. In addition to...Full Text Available
The purposes of this report are (1) to perform a Verification and Validation (V and V) test for the VIPEX(Vital-area Identification Package EXpert) software and (2) to improve a software quality through the V and V test. The VIPEX was developed in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) for the Vital Area Identification (VAI) of nuclear power plants. The version of the VIPEX which was distributed is 3.2.0.0. The VIPEX was revised based on the first V and V test and the second V and V test was performed. We have performed the following tasks for the V and V test on Windows XP and VISTA operating systems: ? Testing basic functions including fault tree editing ? Testing all kind of functions ? Research for update from Visual BASIC 6.0 to Visual BASIC 2008
This paper deals with the experimental identification and the validation of a non-parametric probabilistic approach allowing model uncertainties and data uncertainties to be taken into account in the numerical model developed to predict low- and medium-frequency dynamics of structures. The analysis is performed for a composite sandwich panel representing a complex dynamical system which is sufficiently simple to be completely described and which exhibits, not only data uncertainties, but above all model uncertainties. The dynamical identification is experimentally performed for eight panels. The experimental frequency response functions are used to identify the non-parametric probabilistic approach of model uncertainties. The prediction of the low- and medium-frequency dynamical responses obtained with the stochastic system is compared with the experimental measurements.
The aim of the paper is to review the role of interventional radiology in the management of hemodialysis vascular access and complications in renal transplantation. The evaluation of patients with hemodialysis vascular access is complex. It includes the radiology/ultrasound (US) evaluation of the peripheral veins of the upper extremities with venous mapping and the evaluation of the central vein prior to the access placement and radiological detection and treatment of the stenosis and thrombosis in misfunctional dialysis fistulas. Preoperative screening enables the identification of a suitable vessel to create a hemodynamically-sound dialysis fistula. Clinical and radiological detection of the hemodynamically significant stenosis or occlusion demands fistulography and endovascular treatment. Endovascular prophylactic dilatation of stenosis greater than 50% with associated clinical abnormalities such as flow-rate reduction is warranted to prolong access patency. The ...
The design characteristic of the autocontrol technique of the combined centrifuge is introduced. Digital technique, vary structure control and interface technique, graphical display techniques, digital communication technique as well as electronic technique are applied in the course of research. Automation in the operation of large scale combined centrifuges and the course of combined test has been realized and it can coordinate with other systems of status monitoring, data collecting and centrifugal force-aerodynamic force matched load automatically
The design and material characteristics of garter spring were summarized and Nondestructive detection techniques of garter spring were also described. In particular, Eddy current testing of loose type garter spring was used in Wolsung unit 1 and was described in detail. The inspection technique of tight type garter spring has not been established and all candidated techniques were investigated in order to choose the possible detection technique. Candidated nondestructive techniques including RFEC, PEC, Magnetic technique using GMR sensor, AE, Guided Wave technique, and high frequency ultrasonic technique, are summarized for evaluating the detectability of tight garter spring.
There is a lot of interest in the studies that would help to understand whether there is a casual association between cancer and various types of molecular or cytogenetic damage detected in human cells. One major oncogenesis process is activation of proto-oncogenes by point mutations or chromosomal translocation. There are substantial evidence that indicates that the loss of heterozygosity of certain chromosomes is involved in human cancerogenesis. Our study aimed to elicit the possible association between cancer and DNA and cytogenetic abnormalities induced in lymphocytes of people bearing various categories of skin cancer cells. Fresh blood was collected by venipuncture from 25 individuals (including nine prior to cancer treatment). All patients were nonsmoking males, however 42.3 % of them were former smokers. Blood samples were divided into two parts and in the first part of samples cytogenetic studies were performed immediately, while from the second part ...
In this report, I surveyed the cognitive radio technique in wireless networks. Researched several kinds of cognitive techniques about their advantages and disadvantages.
An overview of different Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) techniques is given. Examples of applications of the PIXE techniques to various types of samples are presented. (author)
BackgroundA common approach to understanding the genetic basis of complex traits is through identification of associated quantitative trait loci (QTL). Fine mapping QTLs requires...Full Text Available
Alkylphenols are widely used as plastic additives and surfactants. We report the identification of an alkylphenol, nonylphenol, as an estrogenic substance released from plastic centrifuge tubes. This...Full Text Available
Objective:The identification of biological markers in order to assess different aspects of COPD is an area of growing interest. The objective of this study was to investigate whether...Full Text Available
BackgroundStrategies to accurately identify the occurrence of specific health care events in administrative data is central to many quality improvement and research efforts. Many...Full Text Available
Oligonucleotide DNA probes complementary to the hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA of Bacteroides forsythus were tested for their specificity and sensitivity against reference and clinical isolates...Full Text Available
In proteomics, one-dimensional (1D) SDS-PAGE is widely used for protein fractionation prior to mass spectrometric analysis to enhance dynamic range of analysis and to improve identification...Full Text Available
Rhizobium leguminosarum, biovar viceae, strain RCC1001 contains two glutamine synthetase activities, GSI and GSII. We report here the identification of glnA, the structural gene for GSI. A 2 kb fragment...Full Text Available
This note is about three interesting 15th and 16th century sightings of comets in Kashmiri chronicles. We provide reasons for their identification as the 1468 S1, 1531 (Halley's), and 1533 M1 comets.
BackgroundAKXD recombinant inbred strains of mice have proven to be very useful in the identification of potential oncogenes and tumor suppressors involved in the development of...Full Text Available
Accompanying rapid developments in hepatic surgery, the number of surgeries and identifications of histological types of primary hepatic space-occupying lesions (PHSOLs) have increased dramatically....Full Text Available
Sparganosis is a rare parasitic infection affecting various organs, including the central nervous system, especially the lumbar epidural space. This report describes the identification of disease and...Full Text Available
Previous studies have been conducted in gene expression profiling to identify groups of genes that characterize the colorectal carcinoma disease. Despite the success of previous attempts to identify...Full Text Available
MIL-STD-129. N. 5/15/97. Standard Practice for Military Marking. MIL-STD-130. K. 1/15/00. Identification Marking of U.S. Military Property. MIL-STD-2073-1 ...
ObjectivesMild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) case-finding criteria have low specificity in general population studies. The present study retrospectively identifies cases...Full Text Available
The aspirin esterase activity of human plasma is due to butyrylcholinesterase and albumin. Our goal was to identify the amino acid residues involved in the aspirin esterase activity of albumin....Full Text Available
Genomic disorders are conditions that result from DNA rearrangements, such as deletions or duplications. The identification of the dosage-sensitive gene(s) within the rearranged genomic interval is...Full Text Available
The past decade has seen rapid advances in the identification of associations between candidate genes and a range of common multifactorial disorders. This paper evaluates public attitudes towards the...Full Text Available
BackgroundTissue microarray (TMA) data are commonly used to validate the prognostic accuracy of tumor markers. For example, breast cancer TMA data have led to the identification...Full Text Available
Most codon indices used today are based on highly biased nonrandom usage of codons in coding regions. The background of a coding or noncoding DNA sequence, however, is fairly random, and can be characterized...Full Text Available
Standard Practice for Military Marking. MIL-STD-130. K. 1/15/00. Identification Marking of U.S. Military Property. MIL-STD-2073-1 D. Notice 1. 12/15/99. 05/10/ 02 ...
Thirty chemicals or substances currently undergoing long-term carcinogenicity bioassays in rodents have been used in a project to further evaluate methods and information that may have the capability...Full Text Available
Skin sensitization is the most commonly reported occupational illness, causing much suffering to a wide range of people. Identification and labeling of environmental allergens is urgently required to...Full Text Available
BackgroundIdentification of urinary biomarkers for detection of bladder cancer recurrence would be beneficial to minimize the frequency of cystoscopy. Our objective was to determine...Full Text Available
The genus of filamentous cyanobacteria, Lyngbya, has been found to be a rich source of bioactive metabolites. However, identification of such compounds from Lyngbya...Full Text Available
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease with poor survival. The identification of therapeutic targets is essential to improving outcomes. Previous studies found that expression...Full Text Available
Experience with visual objects leads to later improvements in identification speed and accuracy (“repetition priming”), but generally leads to reductions in neural activity in single-cell...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe lack of adequate randomized clinical trials (RCT) has hindered identification of new therapies that are safe and effective for patients with primary focal segmental...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE—Identification of arterial genes and pathways altered in obesity and diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Aortic gene expression profiles of...Full Text Available
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the etiologic agent of tuberculosis and can be accurately detected by laboratories using commercial genetic tests. Nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) causing other mycobacterioses...Full Text Available
Motivation: The identification of gene regulatory modules is an important yet challenging problem in computational biology. While many computational methods have been proposed to identify...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe binding of peptide fragments of antigens to class II MHC is a crucial step in initiating a helper T cell immune response. The identification of such peptide epitopes...Full Text Available
Genes of the S100 fused-type protein (SFTP) family are clustered within the epidermal differentiation complex and encode essential components that maintain epithelial homeostasis and barrier functions....Full Text Available
BackgroundIdentification of global livestock diversity hotspots and their importance in diversity maintenance is essential for making global conservation efforts. We screened 52...Full Text Available
BackgroundNeuropeptide Y is a key neurotransmitter of the central nervous system which plays a vital role in the feed energy homeostasis in mammals. Mutations in the regulatory and...Full Text Available
The identification of predictive biomarkers is at the core of modern toxicology. So far, a number of approaches have been proposed. These rely on statistical inference of toxicity response from either...Full Text Available
A novel approach to the Bragg curve spectroscopy is utilized to construct a charged particle detector which makes fragment elemental identification and energy measurement possible. The advantage of the construction includes good timing and spectroscopic properties with a very low energy threshold. ((orig.))
BackgroundGene expression profiling and the analysis of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks may support the identification of disease bio-markers and potential drug targets....Full Text Available
Portuguese ... Orig. Title Isolamento e identificacao do flavonoide (-)-4'-metil-epigalocatequina das raizes de Maytenus obtusifolia Mart. (Celastraceae)
A light-sensitive vitamin B12 derivative has been extracted from the adult cestode, Spirometra mansonoides. This corrinoid was identified as the cobamide coenzyme, adenosylcobalamin, by its chromatographic, chemical, and spectral properties. PMID:1003284
The identification and validation of biomarkers for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia are increasingly important. To date, ELISA measurement of β-amyloid(1–42),...Full Text Available
Simian retroperitoneal fibromatosis (RF) is a vascular fibroproliferative neoplasm which has many morphological and histological similarities to human Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Like epidemic KS in AIDS...Full Text Available
Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious bacterium causing the zoonotic disease tularaemia. During its infectious cycle, F. tularensis is not only exposed to the...Full Text Available
Various methods to analyse the effect of a non-isotherme water injection on the pressure evolution during a test on a double geothermal well are investigated. Then, several types of injection test are simulated with experimental data to examine the condit...
Understanding the interactions between herpesviruses and their host cells and also the interactions between neoplastically transformed cells and the host immune system is fundamental to understanding...Full Text Available
Isogenic strains containing insertional disruptions of 10 Haemophilus influenzae Rd genes were investigated for their effects on the susceptibility of the organism to various classes...Full Text Available
The plasmid pE194 (3.7 kilobases) is capable of integrating into the genome of the bacterial host Bacillus subtilis in the absence of the major homology-dependent RecE recombination system. Multiple...Full Text Available
IntroductionThe murine air pouch is a bursa-like space that resembles the human synovial membrane. Injection of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals into the pouch elicits an acute inflammatory...Full Text Available
Auxin modulates diverse plant developmental pathways through direct transcriptional regulation and cooperative signaling with other plant hormones. Genetic and biochemical approaches have clarified...Full Text Available
BackgroundMastitis in dairy cattle results from infection of mammary tissue by a range of micro-organisms but principally coliform bacteria and Gram positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus...Full Text Available
Over 200 mutations in the retina specific member of the ATP-binding cassette transporter super-family (ABCA4) have been associated with a diverse group of human retinal diseases....Full Text Available
Random forest (RF) analysis of genetic data does not require specification of the mode of inheritance, and provides measures of variable importance that incorporate interaction effects. In this paper...Full Text Available
Environmental chemicals that function as estrogens have been suggested to be associated with an increase in disease and dysfunctions in animals and humans. To characterize chemicals that may act as...Full Text Available
BackgroundRecently, the discovery of copy number variation (CNV) led researchers to think that there are more variations of genomic DNA than initially believed. Moreover, a certain...Full Text Available
Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) acts as a co-receptor for class 3 semaphorins and vascular endothelial growth factor and is an attractive angiogenesis target for cancer therapy. In addition to the transmembrane...Full Text Available
BackgroundGene regulation is a key mechanism in higher eukaryotic cellular processes. One of the major challenges in gene regulation studies is to identify regulators affecting the...Full Text Available
Stem cells of the human prostate gland have not yet been identified utilizing a structural biomarker. We have discovered a new prostatic epithelial cell phenotype-expressing cytokeratin 6a (Ck6a+...Full Text Available
A mutation in a new gene, molR, prevented the synthesis in Escherichia coli of molybdoenzymes, including the two formate dehydrogenase isoenzymes, nitrate reductase and trimethylamine-N-oxide reductase....Full Text Available
Skeletal formation is an essential and intricately regulated part of vertebrate development. Humans and mice deficient in Growth and Differentiation Factor 6 (Gdf6) have numerous...Full Text Available
Methylation of the arginine residues of histones by methyltransferases has important consequences for chromatin structure and gene regulation; however, the molecular mechanism(s) of methyltransferase...Full Text Available
Using a genetic screen we have identified two chromosomal genes, cusRS (ylcA ybcZ), from Escherichia coli K-12 that encode a two-component, signal...Full Text Available
Background and AimsSulfonylurea (SU) herbicides are used extensively in cereal–livestock farming zones as effective and cheap herbicides with useful levels of residual activity....Full Text Available
A duplication of the polypurine tract (PPT) at the center of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genome (the cPPT) has been shown to prime a separate plus-strand initiation and to result...Full Text Available
Speech and language disorders are some of the most common referral reasons to child development centers accounting for approximately 40% of cases. Stuttering is a disorder in which involuntary...Full Text Available
The Carassius auratus complex in natural populations includes diploid triploid and polyploidy individuals. Diploid individuals belong to the species Carassius auratus...Full Text Available
Calorie restriction (CR) induces a metabolic shift towards mitochondrial respiration; however, molecular mechanisms underlying CR remain unclear. Recent studies suggest that CR-induced mitochondrial...Full Text Available
The definition of “minor” veins in leaves is arbitrary and of uncertain biological significance. Generally, the term refers to the smallest vein classes in the leaf, believed to function...Full Text Available
Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that maintains telomere length, is crucial for cellular immortalization and cancer progression. Telomerase activity is attributed primarily to the expression of...Full Text Available
Osteoblasts are the primary cells responsible for bone formation. They also support osteoclast formation from bone marrow precursors in response to osteotropic factors by inducing receptor activator...Full Text Available
... The basal markers CK5, alpha 6 integrin (CD49f), CD44, and p63 were strongly expressed by the majority of sphere-forming cells. ... p63 p63 PSCA ...
The Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV) belongs to the Retroviridae family of enveloped viruses, which is known to acquire minute amounts of host cellular proteins both on the surface...Full Text Available
Bortezomib/PS-341/Velcade, a proteasome inhibitor, is widely used to treat multiple myeloma. While several mechanisms of the cytotoxicity of the drug were proposed, the actual mechanism remains elusive....Full Text Available
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a common cause of death for which effective treatments are available provided that diagnosis is rapid. The current diagnostic gold standards are circulating cardiac...Full Text Available
CTX-M extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) are increasingly prevalent worldwide among Escherichia coli bacteria, mostly in community-acquired urinary tract infections. Finding...Full Text Available
CTX-M-14 β-lactamase was identified in a stool isolate of Shigella sonnei and in blood isolates of Escherichia coli (one isolate) and Klebsiella pneumoniae...Full Text Available
BackgroundASCL1 role in pancreatic endocrine tumourigenesis has not been established. Recently it was suggested that ASCL1 negatively controls expression of the...Full Text Available
The biological accumulation of heavy metals and cesium, strontium, and uranium in plants is discussed. The role of nutrient deficiencies and foliar treatments of manganese and iron compounds is described.
A nodulation plasmid, pRtr-514a, of molecular size 180 megadaltons (Mdal) was identified in Rhizobium trifolii strain NZP514. This plasmid was absent in both spontaneous and heat-cured Nod- derivatives...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, has been affected by severe mortality episodes associated with the protistan parasite QPX (Quahog Parasite Unknown)...Full Text Available
Supercoiled double-stranded DNA molecules (plasmids) were isolated from plants infected with three laboratory strains of western aster yellows mycoplasma-like organism (AY-MLO) by using cesium chloride-ethidium...Full Text Available
Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, which is used worldwide to control Aedes aegypti larvae, produces Cry11Aa and other toxins during...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the profile of osteoporosis treatment among patients hospitalized due to hip fractures at a tertiary-level university hospital. To compare the impact of hospitalization...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn recent years, the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis has emerged as a critical model organism for comparative genomics and developmental biology. Although...Full Text Available
Epigenetic remodeling is a hallmark of cancer, with the frequent acquisition of de novo DNA methylation in CpG islands. However, the functional relevance of de novo...Full Text Available
The hyaluronic acid capsule of Streptococcus uberis has been implicated in conferring resistance to phagocytosis by bovine neutrophils. Construction of a bank of random insertion mutants...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn chordates, retinoid metabolism is an important target of short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases (SDRs). It is not known whether SDRs play a role in retinoid...Full Text Available
BackgroundSchistosomiasis japonica remains a major public health problem in China. Its pathogen, Schistosoma japonicum has a complex life cycle and a unique repertoire...Full Text Available
AbstractMultiple HIV-1 subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) are known to cocirculate in Africa. In West Africa, the high prevalence of CRF02_AG, and cocirculation of subtype...Full Text Available
Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic yeast that often causes devastating meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. We have previously identified the C. neoformans...Full Text Available
A synthetic strategy for constructing ionic hydrogen-bonded materials by combining perhalometallate anions with cations able to serve as hydrogen bond donors is presented. The approach is based on identification...Full Text Available
The identification of host cell factors for virus replication holds great promise for the development of new anti-viral therapies. Recently, high-throughput screening methods have emerged as...Full Text Available
Increasing numbers of human cowpox virus infections that are being observed and that particularly affect young non-vaccinated persons have renewed interest in this zoonotic disease. Usually causing...Full Text Available
The ETS proteins are a family of transcription factors (TFs) that regulate a variety of biological processes. We made genome-wide analyses to explore the classification of the ETS gene family. We identified...Full Text Available
We report on genetic identification of ‘whale meat’ purchased in sushi restaurants in Los Angeles, CA (USA) in October 2009 and in Seoul, South Korea in June and September 2009. Phylogenetic...Full Text Available
We present an algorithm to identify individual neural spikes observed on high-density multi-electrode arrays (MEAs). Our method can distinguish large numbers of distinct neural units, even when spikes...Full Text Available
Linking biological samples found at a crime scene with the actual crime event represents the most important aspect of forensic investigation, together with the identification of the sample donor. While...Full Text Available
The development of chromatin immunoprecipitation methods coupled with DNA microarray (ChIP-chip) technology has enabled genome-wide identification of cis-DNA regulatory elements to which transcription...Full Text Available
The contents of the report include: Identification, documentation and delineation of coastal migratory bird habitat; and an annotated bibliography of literature on Alaska Water Birds.
Humans are remarkably adept at identifying individuals by the sound of their voice, a behavior supported by the nervous system’s ability to integrate information from voice and speech...Full Text Available
The most important developments in gaseous detectors at LNL are reviewed. Some aspects of timing, pulse height and position resolutions of avalanche counters are reported. The experimental work on heavy-ion identification by Bragg curve spectroscopy is summarized.
Molecular genetic analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of Lyme disease, has been hampered by the absence of any means of efficient generation, identification, and complementation...Full Text Available
Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) has been used extensively to detect genetic variation. We used this method to detect and identify Yersinia pestis KIM5 ciprofloxacin-resistant...Full Text Available
Several Bartonella species have now been implicated as human pathogens. The recovery of these fastidious organisms in the clinical microbiology laboratory remains difficult, and current...Full Text Available
Real-time PCR has the potential to streamline detection and identification of Cryptosporidium spp. in human clinical samples. In the present...Full Text Available
The identification of the protein targets for dengue virus-specific T lymphocytes may be useful for planning the development of subunit vaccines against dengue. We studied the recognition by murine...Full Text Available
BackgroundOncidium spp. produce commercially important orchid cut flowers. However, they are amenable to intergeneric and inter-specific crossing making phylogenetic...Full Text Available
We previously reported the identification of a new family of plant methyltransferases (MTs), named the SABATH family, that use S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) to methylate...Full Text Available
Feb 19, 2009 ... Standard Practice for Military Marking. MIL-STD-130. K. 1/15/00. Identification Marking of U.S. Military Property. MIL-STD-2073-1. D. Notice 1 ...
The authors extend the Fermilab formalism for heavy quarks to develop an {Omicron}(a{sup 2}) improved relativistic action. They discuss their construction of the action, including the identification of redundant operators and the calculation of the improvement coefficients.
The identification of MHC class II restricted peptide epitopes is an important goal in immunological research. A number of computational tools have been developed for this purpose, but there is a lack...Full Text Available
Detection and quantification of prion infectivity is a crucial step for various fundamental and applied aspects of prion research. Identification of cell lines highly sensitive to prion infection led...Full Text Available
...Amendments to Sections 8-2:704 (Use of Certain Fuel Oils Forbidden), 8-2:705 (Use of Certain Coal Forbidden...and Nitrogen Oxides. Section 801(Sulfur Content of Fuel Oils), subsection 801.1 Section 802(Sulfur...
...Department of Environmental Control to ASARCO Incorporated. (B) Amended Administrative...Department of Environmental Control to ASARCO Incorporated. (C) Second Amended...Department of Environmental Control to ASARCO Incorporated. (ii) Additional...
...analysis for all of the stacks except the ASARCO stacks. (i) Incorporation by reference...1985 (except for materials pertaining to ASARCO), and January 28, 1986 (except for meterials pertaining to ASARCO and Appendix A). (19) On...
The purpose of this report is to describe the sampling approaches, modifications made to the 100 Area and 300 Area component of the RCBRA Sampling and Analysis Plan, summarize validation efforts, and provide sample identification numbers.
The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of the Arabic translation of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) among a sample of male Muslim prisoners (N = 107) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a two-factor model to be the best fit of the data. Good internal reliability (a =.91) and predictive validity were also observed. While the limitations of the study are observed, these promising results suggest that the Arabic version of the AUDIT is a reliable and sound measure of alcohol use disorders among prisoners in the UAE.
This report describes an improved method of remotely identifying irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies. The method uses existing in-cell TV cameras to input an image of the notch-coded top of the fuel assemblies into a computer vision system, which then produces the identifying number for that assembly. This system replaces systems that use either a mechanical mechanism to feel the notches or use human operators to locate notches visually. The system was developed for identifying fuel assemblies from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) and the Clinch River Breeder Reactor, but could be used for other reactor assembly identification, as appropriate.
A multiple sampling dE/dx counter using a multiwire proportional chamber equipped with catbode pads was constructed for the multiple detection of dE/dx values along a particle trajectory. For low-energy particles this counter was proved to be useful as a Bragg-curve detector. At relativistic energies around E=14.6 GeV/nucleon good particle identification was obtained by cathode pad signals as well as anode signals for the range of projectile fragments from Z=1 (minimum ionization) up to a beam charge of Z=14. (orig.).
Although the p53 tumor suppressor is relatively well characterized, much less is known about the functions of other members of the p53 family, p73 and p63. Here, we present evidence that in specific pathological conditions caused by exposure of normal cells to bile acids in acidic conditions, p73 protein plays the predominant role in the DNA damage response. These pathological conditions frequently occur during gastric reflux in the human esophagus and are associated with progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma. We found that despite strong DNA damage induced by bile acid exposure, only p73 (but not p53 and p63) is selectively activated in a c-Abl kinase-dependent manner. The activated p73 protein induces DNA damage repair. Using a human DNA repair PCR array, we identified multiple DNA repair genes affected by p73. Two glycosylases involved in base excision repair, SMUG1 and MUTYH, were characterized and found to be ...
BackgroundThe Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 (MRN) complex is a regulator of cell cycle checkpoints and DNA repair. Defects in MRN can lead to defective S-phase arrest when cells are damaged....Full Text Available
A simple model is used to explain the decrease in superconducting critical temperature with damage observed for irradiated A-15 compounds. A truncated t-matrix approximation is used to describe the disorder along the one-dimensional transition metal chains. Three dimensionality is introduced by the inclusion of interaction between transition metal atoms on different chains. Numerical fits to experiment are discussed in the conclusion. (author).
The resistance to microbe damages of aqueous solutions of cutting fluids (SOZh), which contain dual and more complex mixtures of known compounds, is studied. Lauric acid, myristic and tridecanic acid give microbic resistance to the compositions of synthetic cutting fluids. A complexing of the compositions as a rule does not support precisely expressed effects of synergism or antagonism.
Full text: It is known that the ion implantation of germanium single crystals at room temperature results in drastic alteration of the germanium surface and the formation of cellular relief. Voids were found into the near-surface damage layer. The intersection of these voids with the germanium surface, as result of sputter etching, forms cellular relief. However, exact mechanism responsible for formation of the voids is not known. A 10 and 30 keV Ga"+ irradiation of Ge #left brace#100#right brace# crystal at room temperature was carried out using a focused ion beam (FIB) system with a dose in the range 0.5x10"1"2 to 1.5x10"1"4 ion/cm"2. The topology of the modified germanium surface and the structure of the radiation damage was studied using imaging facilities of the FIB systems and transmission electron microscopy. The strong cellular structure of Ge was observed after an ion dose of 3x10"1"3 ion/cm"2. High-resolution TEM showed a complex ...
Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty AG, the industrial insurance carriers of Allianz Group and AZT Risk and Technology GmbH, have a lot of experience and a comprehensive database about damage of industrial steam turbines and large-scale power generation turbosets. Sound maintenance concepts are the main loss prevention measure, which will be presented and discussed in detail. Some modifications and additions to existing maintenance concepts are also provided.
The histone chaperone Asf1 and the chromatin remodeler SWI/SNF have been separately implicated in derepression of the DNA damage response (DDR) genes in yeast cells treated with genotoxins that cause...Full Text Available
Possible causes of forest damage are discussed. Mapping of affected areas by various workers resulted in dissimilar pictures. Release of radioactive rare gases, aerosols, tritium and carbon-14 seems unlikely to have a significant influence on forest damage. Influence of radioactive fallout, ozone formation by high-voltage transmission lines and synergistic effects is also found to be negligible.
Substantial damages at main components of steam turbines do not have to result inevitably in an exchange of the components concerned. Rather a preliminary or final repair is possible which also considers the cause of the damage. An important condition with the technically complex questions is an appropriate qualification and experience of all involved persons. The common task of operators, manufacturers and insurance companies is to preserve the balance from costs, expenditure of time and risk.
sinensis), the otter (Lutra lutra) and the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) can be mentioned as ...conflict relates to damage caused by the grey seal to coastal fisheries, whereas in Germany damages ...For example species like the grey seal involved in the conflicts may benefit from the by-catch regulation.
Specifications of the PGV-1000 steam generators applied at the WWER-1000 NPP power units, operational experience and data on damages at the 'cold' heat carriers of steam generators are considered and their results are presented. Developed and introduced measures aimed at improving reliability and operational life of the PGV-1000 collectors are described.
This book examines the nonlinear optical properties of laser materials. The physical radiation effects on laser materials are also considered. Topics considered include: nonlinear optical properties; nonlinear and harmonic generation materials; two-photon absorption; nonlinear refractive index; stimulated Raman scattering; radiation damage; crystals; and glasses.
Late somatic and genetic radiation effects are imperfectly understood, particularly in the human species. However the available information is sufficient to draw reasonably precise risk estimates in man for many types of damage by means of scientifically justifiable procedures and with the necessary caution. This overall absolute risk of major somatic and genetic damage may be set at around 10"-"4/rad of chronic whole-body doses.
The overall objective of this project is to produce antibodies to unique modified DNA bases and develop immunochemical assays to quantitate these lesions in damaged DNA. During this past year we have developed an antibody and chemical test to quantitate a basic sites in DNA and produced antibodies to the 8-oxopurines. This report discusses the detection of a basic sites in DNA and the preparation of antibodies to 8-hydroxyadenine and 8-hydroxyguanine.
Surface barrier detectors may be damaged, because of microplasma breakdown, in rapid application of bias voltage. The high performance FETs of very low noise preamplifiers may also be damaged by rapid changes of the bias voltage. The electronic device described permits the gradual application and removal of the bias voltage, without any influence on the power supply specification. (Auth.).
The developed countries are implementing a policy minimizing damage from environmental pollution by reducing discharge in advance as well as the aftermath of a pollutant. The typical example is to use BAT (Best Available Technology). This is to prevent environmental damage by reducing the discharge of pollutants with available technology and to secure environmental margin to enable industrial activities of future generation. Therefore, the feasibility of introducing BAT requirement system was reviewed by considering foreign examples and Korean situation. 38 refs., 8 figs., 69 tabs.