The surveillance systems have been widely used in automatic teller machines (ATMs), banks, convenient stores, etc. For example, when a customer uses the ATM, the surveillance systems will record his/her face information. The information will help us understand and trace who withdrew money. However, when criminals use the ATM to withdraw illegal money, they usually block their faces with something (in Taiwan, criminals usually use safety helmets or masks to block their faces). That will degrade the purpose of the surveillance system. In previous work, we already proposed a technology for safety helmet detection. In this paper, we propose a mask detection technology based upon automatic face recognition methods. We use the Gabor filters to generate facial features and utilize geometric analysis algorithms for mask detection. The technology can ...
Background: Ecchymosis, oedema, haematoma and pain after SMAS-based facelift surgery are all the direct result of the physical trauma of surgery and subsequent inflammatory response. Hilotherapy is a novel form of cryotherapy that purports to minimise these events through single-use facemasks circulating cooled, sterile water. This study was performed to assess the validity of Hilotherapy in this population of patients. Methods: Over 14 weeks fifty consecutive patients were randomised to post-operative facial cooling with Hilotherapy or management with standard dressings alone, while fifteen subsequent, consecutive patients were randomised to cooling of one side of the face but not the other. Assessment of ecchymosis, oedema, haematoma and pain was performed independently by clinical staf...
In order to improve the image quality of linear tomography performed with the Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR) system, we have examined one-dimensional unsharp mask filtering to reduce blur formed in the direction of tomographic swing. We determined a mask size and a weighting factor of the image processing suitable to obtain a quality tomogram. The mask size of 41 x 1 pixels for a 14 x 14'' imaging plate, which modifies the original image date and results in demonstrating a peak frequency at 0.2 cycles/mm for spatial frequency spectrum, is superior in showing fine vessel structures and morphological features of pathology in the lung fields. An additional spatial frequency filtration in the direction perpendicular to the tomographic movement reduces the blur and clearly demonstrates object contours running parallel to the tube movement. However, the additional ...
Israel has faced the challenge presented by epidemic poliomyelitis by using different immunization strategies. In the 1950s, inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) helped to reduce the total burden of...Full Text Available
The three-dimensional magnetic structure and reversal mechanism of patterned Co/Pt multilayers, were imaged using complementary Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) (in-plane component) and magnetic transmission x-ray microscopy (M-TXM) (perpendicular magnetization). The Co/Pt films with perpendicular anisotropy were patterned by ion irradiation through a stencil mask to produce in-plane magnetization in the irradiated regions. The boundaries of the patterns, defined by the transition from out-of-plane to in-plane magnetization, were found to be determined by the stencil mask, whilst the scale of the magnetic reversal by the physical microstructure. The nucleation fields were substantially reduced to 50 Oe for the in-plane regions and 1 kOe for the perpendicular regions, comparing to 4.5 kOe for the as-grown film. The perpendicular reversals were found to always originate at the pattern boundaries.
Current U.S. military operations in deserts face persistent threats from sand flies that transmit human Leishmania. In this study we investigated the efficacy of artificial barriers treated with residual insecticide to potentially reduce the risk of human infection from leishmaniasis by reducing the...
Purpose: To report our clinical experiences with on-board imager (OBI) kV image verification for cranial stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and radiotherapy (SRT) treatments. Methods and Materials: Between January 2007 and May 2008, 42 patients (57 lesions) were treated with SRS with head frame immobilization and 13 patients (14 lesions) were treated with SRT with facemask immobilization at our institution. No margin was added to the gross tumor for SRS patients, and a 3-mm three-dimensional margin was added to the gross tumor to create the planning target volume for SRT patients. After localizing the patient with stereotactic target positioner (TaPo), orthogonal kV images using OBI were taken and fused to planning digital reconstructed radiographs. Suggested couch shifts in vertical, longitudinal, and lateral directions were recorded. kV images were also taken immediately after treatment for 21 SRS patients and on a weekly basis for 6 SRT ...
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 ...
Microcrystalline-Si thin-film transistors (?C-Si TFTs) formed by using the source/drain contact electrode of self-aligned palladium silicide have been investigated. Both the self-aligned palladium silicided scheme and the previous top-gate staggered structure employ two-mask process steps for fabricating ?C-Si TFTs. However, the self-aligned palladium silicided scheme would cause better device characteristics than the top-gate staggered structure, primarily due to more carrier tunneling. For a gate length of 2 ?m, as compared to the top-gate staggered scheme, this silicided scheme can result in a 40% improvement of on-state current. In addition, as the gate length is reduced to 1 ?m, considerable short-channel effect is caused for both the device schemes.
An industrial design of turbodrill with oil-filled gear reducer has been made and has passed comprehensive field tests. In its energy characteristics, durability and operating properties, it is acceptable for broad introduction into drilling practice. In all regions of drilling, the use of the reducer increases the drilling per drill bit, and with sufficient depth, the run velocity of drilling. In certain regions (for example, West Siberia) it is possible to increase the mechanical velocity by high torque at the reducer outlet. The inter-repair service life of the oil-filled reducers for West Siberia and Tatariya exceeds on the average 100 hours. For wells with high face temperatures (over 1502)C) it reaches 42.6 hours. Further increase in the service life is associated with an increase in the thermoresistance, primarily, of the lubricator assembly. The design of the oil-filled ...
We have been piloting web-based multimedia learning modules (MLMs), developed by the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), as a "prelecture assignment" in several introductory physics courses at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona. In this study, we report the results from a controlled study utilizing modules on electricity and magnetism as a part of a blended hybrid-online course. We asked students in the experimental section to view the MLMs prior to attending the face-to-face class, and to make sure this would not result in additional instructional time, we reduced the weekly class time by one-third. We found that despite reduced class time, student-learning outcomes were not hindered; in fact, the implementation of the UIUC MLMs resulted in a positive effect on student performance on conceptual tests and classroom discussion questions. (Contains 4 ...
The main aim of the present study was to evaluate potential of ternary complexation (comprising of drug, cyclodextrin and polymer) as an approach for taste masking. For this purpose famotidine with...Full Text Available
To reduce the volume of radioactive wastes after evaporation, activity carriers can be separated from the inactive salt load. Boric acid separation from PWR concentrates was considered a preliminary stage for nuclide precipitation. In connection with the precipitation process, the reaction conditions for boric acid separation were determined by bench-scale experiments. After evaluating the known purification processes, crystallization was suggested as a practicable method. After inactive bench-scale experiments, mixed crystal formation with iron hexacyanoferrate for Cs removal was chosen. The disturbing effect of the complexing agents was neutralized by a pre-dose of iron-III-salts. By specifying the precipitation conditions, for Cs-134 an activity separation from 3,0 E + 06 Bg/l to 1,9 E + 02 Bg/l, and for Cs-137 from 5,9 E + 06 Bg/l to 1,2 E + 02 Bg/l was achieved. Accordingly, the decontamination factor for Cs-134 was 16000, and for Cs-137 48000. For the ...
This certifies that the face of Flat Granny has flown in space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-. 133 from February 24 - March 9, 2011. ...
... animal through a mask by isoflurane and maintained by a balanced anesthesia, which consisted of an intramuscular injection of Innovar-vet (0.11 ...
Faced with a changing business emphasis, plus the need to reduce operations and maintenance costs in the North Sea, the Forties Field engineering partnership between BP and Brown and Root recognised the need to make radical changes in its organisational structure. An innovative change management programme was planned and executed inside 12 months with the purpose of right-sizing the Forties Operations Engineering team. Not only has the initiative succeeded in cutting costs by 40 per cent; it has also enhanced the quality of engineering support services supplied to the BP Forties platforms. (author)
The use of uranium mill tailings in the foundations of dwellings has resulted in indoor radon progeny concentrations and gamma exposures in excess of levels presently allowed for the general public. An account is given of the applications of an epoxy coating on the indoor faces of the concrete foundations of three buildings in Grand Junction, Colorado. Epoxy barriers were shown to be effective for preventing radon influx into structures. Gamma exposure rates must be analyzed to ensure that buildup behind the barrier will not introduce an unacceptable gamma exposure level. The use of a sealant is especially economical in situations where structural integrity may be jeopardized by physical removal of uranium mill tailings. (author).
BackgroundThe variety of ways in which faces are categorized makes face recognition challenging for both synthetic and biological vision systems. Here we focus on two face processing...Full Text Available
Testosterone influences various aspects of affective behavior, which is mediated by different brain regions within the emotion circuitry. Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that testosterone increases neural activity in the amygdala. To investigate whether this could be due to altered regulation of amygdala functioning which is thought to be mediated by the prefrontal cortex, we studied the effects of exogenous testosterone on the interaction between the amygdala and other brain regions. Healthy middle-aged women received a single nasal testosterone dose in a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover manner, and performed an emotional face matching task while their brain activity was measured with functional MRI. The results show that testosterone rapidly reduced functional co...
Perforated thermoplastic masks are used to provide patients immobilization. This procedure inserts a material in the path of the radiation beam, that attenuates and modifies the beam fluence and flatness. The present study evaluates the increase in skin dose as a result of using thermoplastic masks. Relative doses were measured on the surface of a solid water phantom, in the presence and absence of masks. These masks were stretched according to deformation patterns observed in clinical routine. The measurements were obtained with a plane-parallel chamber (Markus type 23343) and radiochromic film (EBT Gafchromic) for 6MV X-rays from a linear accelerator, and for a radiation beam from a cobalt therapy unit. The results showed that thermoplastic masks, whose thickness varied between 2 and 3 mm, increased the dose on the surface by a factor of 3. Due to the variations in the skin dose ...
Perforated thermoplastic masks are used to provide patients immobilization. This procedure inserts a material in the path of the radiation beam, that attenuates and modifies the beam fluence and flatness. The present study evaluates the increase in skin dose as a result of using thermoplastic masks. Relative doses were measured on the surface of a solid water phantom, in the presence and absence of masks. These masks were stretched according to deformation patterns observed in clinical routine. The measurements were obtained with a plane-parallel chamber (Markus type 23343) and radiochromic film (EBT Gafchromic) for 6MV X-rays from a linear accelerator, and for a radiation beam from a cobalt therapy unit. The results showed that thermoplastic masks, whose thickness varied between 2 and 3 mm, increased the dose on the surface by a factor of 3. Due to the variations in the skin dose ...
Mining depth in coal basins of the Ukrainian SSR increases by 12 to 18 m/year and ventilation conditions become more complicated due to increasing methane content in coal seams and hazards of coal spontaneous combustion. Over 87% of Ukrainian coal mines is characterized by methane or carbon dioxide content. In some gassy mines gas emission is as high as 173 m/SUP/3/min. Length of ventilation tunnels in Ukrainian coal mines ranges from 2.1 to 15 km and the average length amounts to 7.3 km. In underground mines of the Ukrainian SSR 730 blowers are used: 61% axial flow blowers and 39% centrifugal blowers. The following blower types are most popular: the VOKD-1.5, VOKD-1.8, VODK-2.4, VTs-25, VTs-32 and VTsD-2.2. Ventilation network of Ukrainian mines consists of 1904 coal faces and 3125 development workings. Ventilation systems used in mines are shown in 2 schemes. Trends in ventilation improvement are discussed: increase of air output by sinking new ventilation ...
We compared the efficacy of timolol maleate ophthalmic gel-forming solution 0.5% QD with that of levobunolol hydrochloride 0.5% BID, as measured by change in intraocular pressure (IOP), effect on heart rate, and ocular tolerability. The study had a positive-controlled, double-masked, randomized, multicenter, 12-week, two-period (6 weeks each), crossover design. One hundred fifty-two patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension were randomized to receive either timolol maleate gel-forming solution QD or levobunolol BID for 6 weeks, followed by a crossover to the alternate treatment. IOP and heart rate were measured at morning trough and peak during weeks 3, 6, 9, and 12. Timolol maleate gel-forming solution QD was comparable to levobunolol BID in reducing IOP at peak and trough. Although the effects on peak heart rate were similar between the two medications, the effect on trough heart rate of timolol maleate gel-forming solution QD ...
The possible contribution of short rotation cultures (SRC) to carbon sequestration in both current and elevated carbon dioxide concentrations was investigated using the free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) technique. Three poplar species were grown in an SRC plantation for three growing seasons. Above-ground and below-ground biomass increased by 15 to 27 per cent and by 22 to 38 per cent, respectively; light-efficiency also increased as a result. Depletion of inorganic nitrogen from the soil increased after three growing seasons at elevated carbon dioxide levels, but carbon dioxide showed no effect on stem wood density. Stem wood density also differed significantly from species to species. These results confirmed inter-specific differences in biomass production in poplar, and demonstrated that elevated carbon dioxide enhanced biomass productivity and light-use efficiency of a poplar short rotation cultivation ecosystem without changing biomass allocation. The ...
The possible contribution of short rotation cultures (SRC) to carbon sequestration in both current and elevated carbon dioxide concentrations was investigated using the free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) technique. Three poplar species were grown in an SRC plantation for three growing seasons. Above-ground and below-ground biomass increased by 15 to 27 per cent and by 22 to 38 per cent, respectively; light-efficiency also increased as a result. Depletion of inorganic nitrogen from the soil increased after three growing seasons at elevated carbon dioxide levels, but carbon dioxide showed no effect on stem wood density. Stem wood density also differed significantly from species to species. These results confirmed inter-specific differences in biomass production in poplar, and demonstrated that elevated carbon dioxide enhanced biomass productivity and light-use efficiency of a poplar short rotation cultivation ecosystem without changing biomass allocation. The ...
The numerous challenges facing the North American electric utility industry were discussed. In addition to competition, electric utilities are faced with low demand growth, public pressure to avoid adding transmission and distribution capacity, and strict environmental requirements. In view of these developments, large central generation additions that have been industry norm until recently, do not always make economic sense in the current environment. Instead, smaller, distributed additions to generating capacity is becoming the new norm. Small-scale on-site generating capacity has the added advantage of reducing the need for expensive high-voltage transmission lines. The Ballard generation system described here is a modular, efficient fuel cell-based solution to implementing distributed power concepts. The system is natural gas fueled, with low noise, vibration and emissions. Apart from its other advantages, it provides ...
In 1980, Congress passed the energy security act which created the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation. This entity was created to serve as a catalyst for the development of synthetic fuels projects by the private sector. Then what happened. Increased exploration in the United States stimulated by relaxation of price controls on oil produced an increase in reserves of these resources. Fuel conservation, combined with a reduced energy demand caused by a recession, significantly reduced our overall energy consumption and curtailed our imports of foreign crude oil. All of these factors combined have reduced the enthusiasm to invest in synthetic fuels plants, in spite of the fact that the difference between surplus and shortage is frighteningly thin. South Africa, compared to the U.S., is a small country. The Sasol Two and Sasol Three projects are equivalent to a U.S. investment of $400 billion, on a country size-by-size ...
The aim of this work is to account for the effects of the high temperature oxidation of metals on their microstructure and their mechanical properties. 'Model' materials like pure nickel, pure iron and the Ni-20Cr alloy are studied. Nickel foils have been oxidised at 1000 C on one side only in laboratory air, the other side being protected from oxidation by a reducing atmosphere. After the oxidation treatment, the unoxidized face was carefully examined by using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Grain boundaries grooves were characterised and their depth were compared to the ones obtained on the same sample heat treated in the reducing atmosphere during the same time. They are found to be much deeper in the case of the single side oxidised samples. It is shown that this additional grooving is directly linked to the growth of the oxide scale on the opposite side and that it can be explained by the diffusion ...
This paper presents the present status of R and D activities on plasma facing components for fusion reactors, such as International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and fusion demonstration reactor (DEMO). The plasma facing components (PFCs) as typified by divertor and first wall components are subjected to high heat flux and particle flux from fusion plasma. It is essential for these components to have sufficient heat removal capability and robust structure against those loadings. JAEA has been carried out to develop the ITER-PFCs which consist of copper alloys and armor materials with high thermal conductivity, such as carbon fiber composites, tungsten and beryllium. The demonstration of the thermomechanical performance of the ITER-PFCs by using mock-ups has successfully been made under close mutual cooperation between the participant countries of ITER. Currently, the activity on the development of the ITER-PFCs is in a qualification ...
Climate change represents the largest social dilemma humans have ever faced, where individual actors maximise their personal gain by emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere even though this is detrimental to the collective global good. Cooperation on a global scale is urgently required if we are to overcome this problem. However, this is difficult to achieve because cooperators pay the cost of reducing emissions while any benefits are shared between cooperators and free-riders alike. In a risk-free, rational world cooperative behaviour can be promoted through mechanisms that increase the benefit of cooperating relative to free-riding, such as rewards or sanctions. In reality, however, outcomes are seldom certain and humans rarely behave rationally when confronted with risky prospects...
Tungsten (W) coating on fusion candidate V-4Cr-4Ti (NIFS-HEAT-2) substrate was demonstrated with plasma spray process for the purpose of applying to protection of the plasma facing surface of a fusion blanket. Increase in plasma input power and temperature of the substrate was effective to reduce porosity of the coating, but resulted in hardening of the substrate and degradation of impact property at 77 K. The hardening seemed to be due to contamination with gaseous impurities and deformation by thermal stress during the coating process. Since all the samples showed good ductility at room temperature, further heating seems to be acceptable for the vanadium substrate. The fracture stress of the W coating was estimated from bending tests as at least 313 MPa, which well exceeds the design stress for the vanadium structure in fusion blanket. (author)
Radon measurements were carried out in Kozlu, Karadon and Uzulmez underground coal mines of Zonguldak bituminous coal basin in Turkey. Passive-time integrating method, which is the most widely used technique for the measurement of radon concentration in air, was applied by using nuclear etched track detectors (CR-39) in the study area. The radon concentration measurements were performed on a total of 42 points in those three mines. The annual exposure, the annual effective dose and lifetime fatality risk, which are the important parameters for the health of workers, were estimated based on chronic occupational exposure to the radon gas, which is calculated using UNCEAR-2000 and ICRP-65 models. The radon concentrations at several coal production faces are higher than the action level of 1000 Bq m{sup -3}. It is suggested that the ventilation rates should be rearranged to reduce the radon concentration.
Based on terror management theory, previous research has shown that terrorism threat increases prejudice against Muslims and is mediated by death-related thoughts. Because this effect was found on a correlational level, it remains unclear whether terrorism threat increases prejudice against Muslims because of enhanced death-related thoughts or the opposite: terrorism threat increases death-related thoughts because of stronger prejudice against Muslims. To disentangle this shortcoming, we varied death-related thoughts by systematically manipulating the belief in literal immortality. Using two studies, we found that participants exposed to terrorism pictures (vs. controls) had increased prejudice against both Muslims (Study 1) and immigrants (Study 2) when they were led to believe that liter...
The separator can be used for electrical separation of the drilling string used as the channel of communication with transmission of face information. It contains upper and lower metal conductors electrically insulated from each other by an insulator made of layered polymer composite material. In order to improve reliability of the connection of the conductors to the insulator and reduce the metal consumption on the ends of the conductors that come into contact with the insulator there are graduated niches with radial projections. The latter form jointly with the layers of the insulator a crown-radial-multiple stage undetachable connection. The niches decreases from the outer diameter of the conductors to the inner. The insulator has additional layers made of high-module fibers of carbon or boron which cover the radial projections in stages.
Possible accident scenarios for a fusion reactor include breaches in the vacuum or cooling system. Intruding air or steam could react with structural or plasma facing materials, possibly mobilizing radioactive isotopes. Safety assessments must consider the early dose at the site boundary from the release of these activated materials. Previous calculations have indicated that cobalt isotopes dominate dose calculations for designs using stainless steel. Values used in these calculations, however, had been largely determined by the measurement limits of the chemical analysis methodology instead of measured releases. The purpose of the current study was to refine the analytical method to reduce the limit for detecting cobalt, and then test PCA steel in air and steam between 973 and 1473 K. Goals were to obtain more accurate measurements of cobalt mobilization in terms of g/m{sup 2}{center_dot}h and insight into the mobilization mechanisms.
An eddy current inspection has been applied for a pre-service and in-service examination of a steam generator in nuclear power plants. The experience from the inspection of steam generators showed that many plants had an excessive number of tubes with eddy current noise signals over several hundreds, which originated from manufacturing anomalies. The plants in U.S suffered significant downstream inspection costs, history reviews, and diagnostic testing because some signals resembled flaws and others masked a flaw. These lessens learned resulted in issuing the guidelines for steam generator tubing specifications and repair, in order to reduce the number of anomalous signals in the tubes and also to provide the requirement of a signal to noise ratio by applying a field type examination with bobbin coil eddy current probes at a manufacturing process. Besides the noise signals of a bobbin coil eddy current probe from manufacturing anomalies, the ...
Detecting a camouflaged target in a visually noisy background depends on the ability of the observer to discriminate the target from the surrounding terrain. Visible laser irradiation at less than damage levels can act as a masking source by compromising or reducing the observer's ability to resolve differences in the visual scene. Previous research has examined this concept by investigating laser flash effects on: acuity (size discrimination); tracking (motion discrimination); visual sensitivity (color); and contrast sensitivity functions (luminance contrast). In all cases, flashes from continuous-wave (CW) sources have proven more effective visually than pulsed (Q-switched) sources, when compared on peak-energy criteria (i.e., MPE), even though Q-switched lasers induce damage at lower energy doses. Additionally, the inherent safety of ultra-short laser pulses has been questioned. Past animal research has shown that, on the measures ...
The United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) tests the quantitative fit of masks which are worn by military personnel during nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare. Subjects are placed in a Dynatech-Frontier Fit Testing Chamber, salt air is fed into the chamber, and samples of air are drawn from the mask and the chamber. The ratio of salt air outside the mask to salt air inside the mask is called the quantitative fit factor. A motion-time study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the layout and work method presently used in the laboratory. A link analysis was done to determine equipment priorities, and the link data and design guidelines were used to develop three proposed laboratory designs. The proposals were evaluated by projecting the time and motion efficiency, and the energy expended working in each design. Also evaluated were the lengths of the equipment links for ...
The benefit of wearing hearing aids in multitalker, reverberant listening environments was evaluated in a study of speech-on-speech masking with two groups of listeners with hearing loss (younger/older)....Full Text Available
Radio frequency (RF) sheaths are suspected of limiting the performance of present-day ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRFs) antennas over long pulses and should be minimized in future fusion devices. Within the simplest models, RF-sheath effects are quantified by the integral VRF = ? E|| ? dl where the parallel RF field E|| is linked with the slow wave. On 'long open field lines' with large toroidal extension on both sides of the antenna it was shown that VRF is excited by parallel RF currents j|| flowing on the antenna structure. In this paper, the validity of this simple sheath theory is tested experimentally on the Tore Supra (TS) ITER-like antenna prototype (ILP), together with antenna simulation and post-processing codes developed to compute VRF. The predicted poloidal localization of high-|VRF| zones is confronted to that inferred from experimental data analysis. Surface temperature distribution on ILP front face, as well as ILP-induced modifications of ...
It is well known that the lightning protection of transmission lines is exclusively relying on their correct initial design. Although detailed engineering studies are usually performed by electric power utilities for the design of new transmission lines, there are reported cases where the design is based simply on tradition or on utilities' standardization policy. In this paper, the lightning protection of high-voltage transmission lines is faced as an optimization problem where optimum design parameters are calculated for the lines, relating their cost with the lightning failures' cost, aiming to reduce or even eliminate lightning failures. The optimization method considers all the available protection means, i.e. ground wires and surge arresters. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, it is applied on several operating Hellenic transmission lines of 150 kV carefully selected among others due to their ...
Current hydrocarbon-based energy systems, current energy consumption and the push towards the utilization of renewable energy sources, fuelled by global warming and the need to reduce atmospheric pollution are discussed. The consequences of climatic change and the obligation of Annex B countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in terms of the Kyoto Protocols are reviewed. The role that renewable energy sources such as hydrogen, solar and wind energy could play in avoiding the most catastrophic consequences of rapidly growing energy consumption and atmospheric pollution in the face of diminishing conventional fossil fuel resources are examined. The focus is on hydrogen energy as a means of storing and transporting primary energy. Some favorable characteristics of hydrogen is its abundance, the fact that it can be produced utilizing renewable or non-renewable sources, and the further fact that its combustion produces ...
The experiment was carried out on a short rotation coppice culture of poplars (POP-EUROFACE, Central Italy), growing in a free air carbon dioxide enriched atmosphere (FACE). The specific objective of this work was to study whether elevated CO{sub 2} and fertilization (two CO{sub 2} treatments, elevated CO{sub 2} and control, two N fertilization treatments, fertilized and unfertilized), as well as the interaction between treatments caused an unbalanced nutritional status of leaves in three poplar species (P. x euramericana, P. nigra and P. alba). Finally, we discuss the ecological implications of a possible change in foliar nutrients concentration. CO{sub 2} enrichment reduced foliar nitrogen and increased the concentration of magnesium; whereas nitrogen fertilization had opposite effects on leaf nitrogen and magnesium concentrations. Moreover, the interaction between elevated CO{sub 2} and N fertilization amplified some element unbalances such ...
The Hebron offshore drilling project in Atlantic Canada was discontinued in 2002 due to economic challenges. Chevron-Texaco has conducted small-scale studies to find ways to improve the project's viability. One of the main challenges facing this offshore drilling project is the issue of iceberg scour and its effect on seafloor equipment. This paper demonstrates how advances in ice engineering have resulted in new and cost-effective development concepts for: central gravity base structures; wellhead gravity base structures; floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) subsea facilities; and, long subsea tieback and trench optimization. New studies have provided a better understanding of ice contact pressures, drift velocities, iceberg management and interaction processes. New designs for gravity base structures can reduce wave loads. The selection of a new development concept is determined by economic viability, capital cost, ...
Over the past ten years face segmentation has developed rapidly and various algorithms have been proposed. In this paper we will demonstrate a face detection system based on skin color and the spaces RGB, normalized RGB, HSV and YCbCr are concentrated here. Through combing them the more accurate face region will be detected.
CT is the most accurate method to detect pulmonary emphysema in vivo. They compared prospectively two different methods for emphysema quantitation in 5 normal volunteers and 20 consecutive patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). All subjects were submitted to function tests and HRCT; three scans were acquired at preselected levels during inspiration. The type and extent of pulmonary emphysema were defined by two independent observers under blind conditions. Disagreements were subsequently settled by consent. All subjects were also examined with expiratory spiral CT using a density mask program, at two different cut-off levels (-850,-900 HU). Visual score and expiratory spiral density mask values (-850 HU) were significantly correlated (r = 0.86), but the visual extent of emphysema was always higher than shown by expiratory spiral CT. The emphysema extent assessed with both CT methods correlated with the function result of ...
CT is the most accurate method to detect pulmonary emphysema in vivo. They compared prospectively two different methods for emphysema quantitation in 5 normal volunteers and 20 consecutive patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). All subjects were submitted to function tests and HRCT; three scans were acquired at preselected levels during inspiration. The type and extent of pulmonary emphysema were defined by two independent observers under blind conditions. Disagreements were subsequently settled by consent. All subjects were also examined with expiratory spiral CT using a density mask program, at two different cut-off levels (-850,-900 HU). Visual score and expiratory spiral density mask values (-850 HU) were significantly correlated (r = 0.86), but the visual extent of emphysema was always higher than shown by expiratory spiral CT. The emphysema extent assessed with both CT methods correlated with the function result of ...
Autism is a pervasive developmental condition, characterized by impairments in non-verbal communication, social relationships and stereotypical patterns of behavior. A large body of evidence suggests that several aspects of face processing are impaired in autism, including anomalies in gaze processing, memory for facial identity and recognition of facial expressions of emotion. In search of neural markers of anomalous face processing in autism, much interest has focused on a network of brain regions that are implicated in social cognition and face processing. In this review, we will focus on three such regions, namely the STS for its role in processing gaze and facial movements, the FFA in face detection and identification and the amygdala in processing facial expressions of emotion. Much evidence suggests that a better understanding of the normal development of these specialized regions is essential ...
Practitioners who care for pregnant women face dilemmas when their patients use illicit drugs, reject medical recommendations, or cause fetal harm. Many ethics scholars characterize those situations as maternal-fetal conflicts. In conflict-based models, maternal rights are considered to conflict with fetal rights, or moral obligations owed to pregnant women are considered to conflict with those owed to their fetuses. I offer an alternative model of pregnancy ethics by applying relational and equality-based moral theories to situations of fetal harm by pregnant women. In this model, clinicians faced with ethical dilemmas should attempt to understand pregnant women and their decisions within their broad social networks and communities, ask how the clinician's personal standpoint influences outcomes judged to be ethical, and determine whether the clinician's ethical formulations reduce or enhance existing gender, class, or ...
In 1978, China's coal mining industry achieved an output of 618,000,000 metric tons of raw hard coal, an increase of 128,000,000 tons compared with 1977. This has been achieved primarily by increased new mine development and the modernizaion and expansion of existing mines. While 96% of China's coal is currently produced from underground mines, only 33% of this output is from full mechanized operations, i.e., mechanized longwall retreat faces. Over 1% is produced by hydraulic mining. The current Ten-Year Plan (1975-1985) established that the major thrust of new development and activity should be made particularly in the Shandong, Anhui, Henan, Guizhou, and Yunnan provinces. China is presently concentrating on the construction/enlargement of eight major coal mining centers, mainly in the north and northeast of the country, each with a designed capacity in excess of 10,000,000 tons a year. China has elected to import large quantities of mining ...
Threat characterization is a key component in evaluating the threat faced by control systems. Without a thorough understanding of the threat faced by critical infrastructure networks, adequate resources cannot be allocated or directed effectively to the defense of these systems. Traditional methods of threat analysis focus on identifying the capabilities and motivations of a specific attacker, assessing the value the adversary would place on targeted systems, and deploying defenses according to the threat posed by the potential adversary. Too many effective exploits and tools exist and are easily accessible to anyone with access to an Internet connection, minimal technical skills, and a significantly reduced motivational threshold to be able to narrow the field of potential adversaries effectively. Understanding how hackers evaluate new IT security research and incorporate significant new ideas into their own tools provides ...
Objective A number of effective treatments for bulimia nervosa have been developed, but they are infrequently used, in part due to problems with dissemination. The goal of this study was to examine the cost effectiveness of telemedicine delivery of cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa. Method A randomized controlled trial of face-to-face versus telemedicine cognitive behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa. One hundred twenty eight women with DSM-IV bulimia nervosa or eating disorder, not otherwise specified subsyndromal variants of bulimia nervosa were randomized to 20 sessions of treatment over 16 weeks. A cost effectiveness analysis from a societal perspective was conducted. Results The total cost per recovered (abstinent) subject was $9324.68 for face-to-face CBT, and $7300....
Abstract. Scanning electron microscopy documentation of first instar Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy, Phormia regina (Meigen) and Lucilia illustris (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is presented for the first time, and the following morphological structures are documented: pseudocephalon; antenna; maxillary palpus; facial mask; labial lobe; thoracic and abdominal spinulation; spiracular field; posterior spiracles, and anal pad. Light microscopy documentation and illustrations are provided for the cephaloskeleton in lateral and ventral views. New diagnostic features are revealed in the configuration of the facial mask, cephaloskeleton and posterior spiracles. The first instar morphology of C. vicina, Ph. regina and L. illustris is discussed in the light of existing knowledge about early...
This article describes the chemical preparation of petroleum additives of the MASK type from samples of concentrated alkylsalicylic acids. The obtained additives contain high contents of calcium alkylsalicylate and respective total alkalinities of 156, 131, and 130 mg KOH/g. Sodium alkylsalicylate concentrates, obtained in the form of an aqueous acetone solution, were converted to alkylsalicylic acids by interaction with hydrochloric acid. The solvent was removed from the upper and lower layers by distillation, and the resulting products were analyzed by liquid chromatography. Service tests were performed on a model formulation of the additive in M-11 oil in a Petter AV-1 test stand unit in comparison with commercial MASK additive. The results indicate that the model additive formulation gives approximately the same corrected piston fouling ratings as the commercial additive.
This paper focuses on the development of explicit self-awareness in children. Mirror self-recognition has been the most popular paradigm used to assess this ability in children. Nevertheless, according to Rochat (2003), there are, at least, three different levels of explicit self-awareness. We therefore designed three different self-recognition tasks, each corresponding to one of these levels (a mirror self-recognition task, a picture self-recognition task and a masked self-recognition task). We observed a decrease in performance across the three tasks. This supports a developmental scale in self-awareness. Besides, the masked self-recognition performance makes it possible to assess the final and the most sophisticated level of self-awareness, i.e. the external self. To our best knowledge,...
This article concerns the synergetic effects between an MoO{sub 3} sample composed of crystallites exposing preferentially the (010) basal faces and {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4} in the oxygen-assisted dehydration of 2-butanol at 220 C. The conversion of 2-butanol and the yield to butene improved when MoO{sub 3} was reacted in the presence of {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}. The origin of the synergism is discussed. When reacted in the absence of {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}, MoO{sub 3} got over-reduced and fragmented to MoO{sub 2}. MoO{sub 2} is intrinsically less active than MoO{sub 3} thus explaining that the deep reduction of MoO{sub 3} corresponds to its tendency to deactivate. In the presence of {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}, the formation of MoO{sub 2} is inhibited with, as a consequence, the absence of deactivation. This leads to the synergetic effects obtained with the mechanical mixture of MoO{sub 3} with {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}. (orig.)
Acid mine drainage represents one of the most important environmental problem facing the mining industry. If the tailings contain sulphur, acid mine drainage will be generated as soon as the tailings are exposed to oxygen. In this paper, the authors discussed a technique for the storage of acid mine drainage generating tailings that delays and even eliminates the occurrence. It was suggested that tailings should be piled by incorporating, at regular intervals, compacted waste rock. Thermal convection and diffusion will prevent oxygen from reaching the tailings, and limit water circulation. The modelling of transfer processes (heat, water, oxygen) in a well known tailings dump, the Doyon Mine, was performed, and the results compared to the modelling where compacted waste rock had been incorporated at regular intervals. The results indicated that by remaining saturated, the layers acted as capillary barriers preventing oxygen from reaching the tailings, therefore ...
At the 1996 Conference in North Carolina, The Green Institute began to share its story. Their presentation this year will cover where they are in the design process and their plans for using solar and wind technologies in the development of an Eco-Industrial Park and Business Incubator. Located in a Federal Enterprise Community in Minneapolis, this project borrows sustainable and green building principles using the Rocky Mountain Institute and Solar Living Center as models. Using a change in the paradigm regarding how industry does business, The Green Institute is joining with developments across the country that are putting together Eco-Industrial Parks which use closed loop production systems to reduce waste and emissions generated from manufacturing processes. Using renewable energy, both solar and wind, presents challenges both in the integration of systems on this small site and the educational opportunities with a large potential audience outside the ...
We demonstrate a preparative method which produces highly-monodisperse Pt-nanoparticles of tunable size without the external addition of seed particles. Hexachloroplatinic acid is dosed slowly to an ethylene glycol solution at 120 C and reduced in the presence of a stabilizing polymer poly-N-vinylpyrollidone (PVP). Slow addition of the Pt-salt first will first lead to the formation of nuclei (seeds) which then grow further to produce larger particles of any desired size between 3 and 8nm. The amount of added hexachloroplatinic acid precursor controls the size of the final nanoparticle product. TEM was used to determine size and morphology and to confirm the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles. Good reproducibility of the technique was demonstrated. Above 7nm, the particle shape and morphology changes suddenly indicating a change in the deposition selectivity of the Pt-precursor from (100) towards (111) crystal faces and breaking up of ...
Abstract The synthesis, crystal structure and magnetic characterisation by magnetisation and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) of a mixed-valent Mn10 supertetrahedral aggregate [MnIII6MnII4(4-O)4(3-N3)3(3-Br)(Hmpt)6(Br)]Br0.7(N3)0.3-2-MeOH-3-MeCN (1) (H3mpt=3-methylpentan-1,3,5-triol) is reported. The magnetic core of the molecule can be described as an octahedron of six S=2 MnIII ions with four faces, each capped by a S=5/2 MnII ion such as to form the supertetrahedron. Unlike most related complexes, the molecular symmetry is slightly reduced from approximately Td to C3. The magnetic data reveal a total spin of S=22 in the ground state due to ferromagnetic exchange couplings within the molecule. The combined INS and magnetic data permits the accurate determination of the exchange couplin...
'Full text:' Deregulation, distributed generation, combined heat and power, renewables, fuel cells, hydrogen. Power companies are facing a rapidly evolving environment that is testing their ability to effectively deploy capital and earn profits. While recent deregulation trends have shifted the structure of power markets into separating generators from distributors, the improving economic value proposition offered by smaller scale distributed generation technologies - such as fuel cells - would seem to be a conflicting development. In this complex and changing environment, decisions based on the economic reality of the capital markets are likely to prevail. By examining the opportunity to enhance risk management offered by stationary fuel cells, particularly in CHP applications, we provide a context for the issues being discussed in today's sessions focusing on power companies and electric utilities. Our risk management perspective suggests a pathway for ...
Two major modes of CO adsorption on SiO{sub 2}-supported Pd reflect different extents of back-donation, which is, at least in part, controlled by the local electron density at the adsorption site. The fraction of CO in the bridging mode (B) increases and that of the linear mode (L) decreases, with increasing size of the Pd particles, indicating high electron density at Pd atoms in terraces of close-packed crystal faces, in agreement with Smoluchowski's classical model. For samples reduced at 300{degree}C our data points and those of other authors are located on a common curve of B/L vs metal dispersion. Extensive reduction at 600{degree}C results in significantly lower B/L values, attributed to the incipient formation of a palladium silicide. Oxidation followed by reduction at 300{degree}C destroys the silicide, and the B/L value returns to the original curve.
Two major modes of CO adsorption on SiO{sub 2}-supported Pd reflect different extents of back-donation, which is, at least in part, controlled by the local electron density at the adsorption site. The fraction of CO in the bridging mode (B) increases and that of the linear mode (L) decreases, with increasing size of the Pd particles, indicating high electron density at Pd atoms in terraces of close-packed crystal faces, in agreement with Smoluchowski's classical model. For samples reduced at 300{degree}C our data points and those of other authors are located on a common curve of B/L vs metal dispersion. Extensive reduction at 600{degree}C results in significantly lower B/L values, attributed to the incipient formation of a palladium silicide. Oxidation followed by reduction at 300{degree}C destroys the silicide, and the B/L value returns to the original curve.
Gas Distribution Companies have long paid great attention to improving the quality of gas supply service to the consumer. This has involved them in an on-going attempt to successfully define and establish a clear computer assisted replacement programme which, when drawn up on a reliability basis, may also prove cost effective. The reasons which drive any gas line replacement programme are mainly related to the necessity: to improve the gas network asset so as to face a striking expected growth in gas demand; to refurbish old distribution systems with the purpose not only to increase the reliability and continuity of gas supply but also to reduce the rate of maintenance costs due to frequent repair works; to prevent the possibility of massive replacement works for a progressing ageing of the network. This paper will present the computer assisted procedure being implemented by Italgas. It ranks well defined network areas which urgently need ...
When a rotary excavator is operated at locations where there is artesian water, the aquiclude is fractured under pressure of the artesian water upon the penetration of the pile tip through the aquiclude. Since the equipment is provided with a gap for the reduction of friction between the casing and the excavation face, soil and sand near the pile tip burst forth out of the ground together with underground water through the casing or along the outer circumference of the casing. The newly contrived method introduced here is a double pipe process, in which a large casing (2.0m in diameter) is driven until it lands on the aquiclude, water is injected into the casing for the creation of equilibrium between the artesian head and the head in the casing, and finally a casing as large as the pile (1m in diameter) to be installed is used for the excavation of the artesian water section. Since February, 1996, 4 systems/16 legs have been operated for the installation of 96 ...
Burner for feeding a solid and a liquid or gaseous fuel to a kiln comprises a central supply pipe for liquid or gas surrounded concentrically by a first pipe providing an annular passage through which primary air is supplied. Concentrically surrounding that pipe is a second pipe providing an annular channel for supply of solid fuel in carrier air stream. The outlet end of the first concentric pipe is closed by a plate fixed mounted at the pipe end and providing multiple nozzles having their axes parallel to the burner axis. The surface of the plate facing the burning zone provides a divergence opening for the central pipe while the inner surface is formed with helical teeth. These are engaged by complementary teeth mounted on the end of the central pipe which is rotatable and biased by springs so that the teeth are in engagement. Rotation of the pipe causes relative axial motion of the teeth to create tangential slots for admission of primary air into the central ...
Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS) + Continuous along-track scanning ... side of the spacecraft and faces outward, measures the intensity of incoming solar ... on a larger rocket, and faced slightly different conditions in spaceinto Glory wasn't ...
An influential neural model of face perception suggests that the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is sensitive to those aspects of faces that produce transient visual changes, including facial...Full Text Available
BackgroundLittle is known about the acceptability of internet and telephone treatments, or what factors might influence patient interest in receiving treatments via...Full Text Available
Not all detectable differences between face images correspond to a change in identity. Here we measure both sensitivity to change and the criterion difference that is perceived as a change in identity....Full Text Available
BackgroundThere has been increasing interest in the ability of the internet to produce behaviour change. The focus of this study was to describe program exposure across three intervention...Full Text Available
BackgroundThis study examines the prevalence and nature of bereavement help-seeking among the population who experienced an "expected" death in the five years before their survey...Full Text Available
The author gives an account of tests with the X-phone system. The aim of the tests was to establish the reliability and behaviour of the apparatus mounted on a winning machine and to investigate the possibility of setting up a radio link, without laying an extra wire, between the foot of the tubbing-lined roadway and the winning machine on a steep face. The author describes the face and the test conditions and presents details of the satisfactory test results.
The purpose of the invention is to improve adaptability of a compression shield to irregularities of a face. This goal is achieved in that a compressible shield is made in the form of a lattice of elastic transverse plates with grooves, elastic vertical elements installed in the grooves, and an elastic plate which is concave toward the face. The plate is located vertically in the middle of the shield. The compressible shield is attached by hinges to a deflector. Telescopic cross pieces are attached by hinges to the covering section of reinforcement, offering the possibility of longitudinal movement at the point of attachment.
In the present paper, a possible interaction region layout of the VLEPP based Photon Linear Collider (PLC) with ultimate luminosity is discussed. In order to remove spent electron beams, the crab-crossing scheme is used. The detector is protected from produced pairs and secondary particles by means of the detector magnetic field and a shielding mask. ((orig.)).
The work reported in this paper is focused on an effective and efficient solution, namely Smart Isolation Mount for Army Guns (SIMAG), to the weapon stabilization and fire control issues facing US Army guns. SIMAG is composed of the optimum integration of two innovative technologies. Vibration Control by Confinement and smart senor/actuator/active control systems. The combined approach may also be applied to a gun barrel to reduce its undesired vibratory motions excited by external and internal disturbances, such as gun firing action. SIMAG reconfigures the distribution and propagation of excess vibration energy and confines vibrations to certain non-critical regions or modes within a structure. Concentrated passive, active, or smart damping elements or cancellation techniques may be applied to more effectively dissipate or cancel the trapped vibrations and to prevent build up in the assembly. As the active elements, an array of collocated, ...
...The RSPB: Birds by family: Owls E-mail to a friendE-newsletterContact us Home England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales About Overview Awards & recognition Contact ...Birds by family PrintHome Birds and wildlife Bird guide Birds by family Owls Owls Owls are specialised birds with round heads and rather flat ...or dished faces, with forward-facing eyes and a short, hooked bill. Most are nocturnal or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk)... Owls are found all over the temperate and tropical parts of the world. Barn owl With heart shaped face, buff back ...
Methods are discussed for optimization of organizational model of longwall mining. Operations at a working face, their duration, number of miners, miner qualifications are analyzed. The so-called method for allocation of heteregeneous resources is used. Using the method optimum organizational models of working faces are constructed. The models consider working conditions, coal output, personnel, miner qualifications, duration of various operations and of idletime, and safety regulations. A computer code developed by the author for optimizing organizational models of longwall mining is described. 9 refs.
This chapter reports recent advances in the statistical learning literature that may be of interest for biometrics. In particular we discuss two different algorithmic settings, binary classification and multi-task learning, and analyze the two closely related problems of feature selection and feature learning. In the binary case the theoretical and algorithmic advances to feature selection are applied to solve face detection and face authentication problems. In the multi-task case we show how the data structure described by a group of features common to the various tasks can be effectively learned, and then we discuss how this approach could be used to address face recognition.
The MonoPrep Pap Test (MPPT; MonoGen, Lincolnshire, IL) is a novel, liquid-based specimen collection and processing technology for cytologic and molecular testing. Its usefulness in the detection of cervical cancer and its precursors was evaluated in a multicenter, masked, adjudicated, split-sample study of 10,739 samples. After preparation of a conventional smear, the residuum on the collection device was rinsed into a collection vial from which an MPPT slide was prepared. Accuracy was assessed by masked reference interpretation by an independent pathologist. Slides prepared by MPPT, compared with smears, yielded statistically significant increases in relative sensitivity for atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance and worse, atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion/atypical glandular cells and worse, and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and worse. There was no significant ...
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare symptoms and anterior segment tolerability with short-term (3-day) administration of once-daily timolol hemihydrate 0.5%, timolol maleate in sorbate 0.5%, and generic timolol maleate gel-forming solution 0.5% in the treatment of glaucoma and/or ocular hypertension. Methods: In this prospective, randomized, double-masked, active-controlled, 3-period crossover pilot study, eligible patients had primary open-angle, pigmentdispersion, or exfoliation glaucoma, and/or ocular hypertension in >=1 eye; had a best corrected visual acuity of 1.0 or better in each eye, as measured using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) visual acuity testing chart; were receiving 1 glaucoma medication; and had an untreated intraocular pressure (IOP) ...
The practice of urology is changing, not only from a medical and technological standpoint, but also from a business standpoint. New and improved computer technology and enhanced databases have allowed...Full Text Available
The KDP crystal was 10 cm long and cut such that the c-axis was 50.3* to the normal of its input face. We selected for study idler and signal beams ...
We propose a novel surveillance system that uses hybrid camera network. The system contains a panorama camera and PTZ cameras to take the wide range images and face images at high enough resolution for identification tasks. The robust human detection methods include robust background subtraction method (RRC), skin color segmentation and face tracking method. First, the system detects persons from a panorama image, and then the detailed face images are obtained with the PTZ cameras. The PTZ cameras can track the faces using the four directional features and the relaxation matching. In addition, the system has automatic camera position calibration feature. Thus, the user can use the system without any troublesome settings.
Cellular senescence is an important mechanism for preventing the proliferation of potential cancer cells. Recently, however, it has become apparent that this process entails more than a simple cessation...Full Text Available
believe the system is similar to the face-on spiral and companion known as M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy. Tomorrow's picture: Sleeping Beauty < Archive | Index | Search | Calendar |...
to be similar to the system of face-on spiral and small companion known as M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy. Tomorrow's picture: Beta Pic < | Archive | Index | Search | Calendar | RSS |...
feature similar to the face detection in Intel's OpenCV library, implement it in Matlab code, and test the performance of the new ROI detector against the ...
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.
Using an exactly soluble one-dimensional atomic model we explore the idea that the recently observed high-order nonlinearity in optical filaments is due to virtual transitions involving the continuum states. We show that the model's behavior is qualitatively comparable with the experimentally observed cross-over from self-focusing to de-focusing at high intensities, and only occurs at intensities which result in significant ionization. Based on these observations, we conjecture that this continuum electron nonlinear refraction exhibits strong memory effects, and most importantly, the change of its sign is effectively masked by the de-focusing due to free electrons.
The extraction of magnesium by tributyl phosphate from KI solutions was investigated. With increasing KI and TBP concentrations, the extraction increased. The maximum extraction (82%) was attained at pH 4, and it did not decrease with a further pH increase. With decreasing pH, the extraction decreased because of HI extraction. The magnesium was extracted as the compound MgI/sub 2/ x 4TBP. Complexone III (at pH 3-4) does not affect the extraction of magnesium, which makes it possible to use it to mask other metals.
We demonstrate the possibility to fabricate arrays of pores oriented perpendicular and parallel to the top surface of the ZnSe nanotemplate. The control of material conductivity allows one to produce porous ZnSe samples with the mean pore diameter and characteristic skeleton wall thickness from several hundreds of nanometers to about 15 nm. In addition, electrochemical treatment of ZnSe single crystals using photoresist masks allows one to prepare buried porous structures with pores directed parallel to the top template surface, which is especially important for photonic applications.
Tumor imaging using radioiodinated monoclonal antibodies (Mab) suffered from rapid in vivo deiodination. This problem can be circumvented by covalent attachment of a bifunctional chelating group to the Mab followed by chelation with a suitable cationic radionuclide such as In-111. Competition of trace metal contaminants with In-111 for chelating sites, however, is known to lower the labeling yield. Since commercially available reagents may be contaminated with other trace metal ions, the effect of trace metals on Mab-DTPA chelation and the possibility of masking the trace metal effect on the In-111 labeling of Mab-DTPA were, therefore, investigated. Labeling yield of 93% was obtained when 1 mg (20mg/ml) of Mab F(ab')/sub 2/-DTPA (protein to DTPA ratio of --1) was allowed to incubate with 3 mCi In-111 in 2 ml acetate buffer (0.5M, pH 5.5) for 30 min. The yield was drastically decreased to 13-76% when the reactions were carried out with the addition of 1-2 #mu#g of ...
The growing concern of the population with regards to the problem of atmospheric pollution has induced a change in the role of air quality monitoring networks, especially those monitoring air pollution in large cities which suffer from summer smog. The population is no longer satisfied with real-time measurements but wants to be warmed of high pollutants concentrations in advance. Some countries have been forecasting air pollution, and especially ozone, for a large number of years. Although most of them use statistical models based on the analyses of past conditions which induced high pollution episodes, some predict ozone levels using only their knowledge of the meteorological situation. Nowadays two trends appear regarding ozone forecasting: either very basic statistical methods, such as regression, or more sophisticated ones, such as neural networks. The paper then reviews several behaviours common to most forecasting models: the uncertainly due to the great dependence upon the ...
In Pakistan, the agricultural sector is the largest water user with 95%, leaving only marginal quantities for households and industry. On one hand, agriculture is a very important sector in Pakistan's economic development, contributing about 23 % to the national GDP -but industry contributes slightly more using only about 2 % of the available water resources. As Pakistan faces a growing problem of water shortage, significant achievements in water conservation have to be materialized, predominantly on the agricultural sector. There is scope for a higher degree of efficiency in water use, as water losses, namely in irrigation, are still rather high. There is another good reason for water conservation in agriculture: Over-irrigation results in rising water tables and increased soil salinity, which has reduced Pakistan's agricultural output during the last 2 decades by nearly 25%. Water conservation measures can be divided into (1) measures which ...
In a 540 MWe PHWR reactor at TAPP-4 the pressuriser has been incorporated in the PHT pressure control system to provide the necessary vapour cushion for PHT main circuit to reduce pressure variations due to transients involving swell and shrinkage. Need for the Pressuriser is due to the large inventory in PHT main circuit and relatively large heat source. The incorporation of Pressuriser is one of the modifications while upgrading from prevalent operating 220 MWe reactors to the present 540 MWe at TAPP-4. The sizing, design and selection of the 540 MWe Pressuriser has been done w.r.t swell/shrinkage requirement during normal/transient operation of the reactor. In this paper the commissioning and operating experience of the Pressuriser in conjunction with the PHT pressure control system is presented. During light water commissioning of PHT circuit some major hurdles like failure of pressuriser heaters due to faulty instrumentation were faced. ...
In FY-2000, Engineering at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory faced significant pressures to meet critical project milestones, and immediate demands to facilitate the reassignment of employees as the National Ignition Facility (the 600-TW laser facility being designed and built at Livermore, and one of the largest R&D construction projects in the world) was in the process of re-baselining its plan while executing full-speed its technology development efforts. This drive for change occurred as an unprecedented level of management and program changes were occurring within LLNL. I am pleased to report that we met many key milestones and achieved numerous technological breakthroughs. This report summarizes our efforts to perform feasibility and reduce-to-practice studies, demonstrations, and/or techniques--as structured through our technology centers. Whether using computational engineering to predict how giant structures like ...
A parallel event to the eleventh Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change was held to demonstrate examples of adaptation from around the world in the areas of food security, water resources, coastal zones, and communities/infrastructure. Panels on each theme presented examples from developing countries, countries in economic transition, and developed countries. These 4 themes were chosen because both mitigation and adaptation are essential to meeting the challenge of climate change. The objective of the event was to improve the knowledge of Canada's vulnerabilities to climate change, identify ways to minimize the negative effects of future impacts, and explore opportunities that take advantage of any positive impacts. This third session focused on how coastal communities are adapting to climate change in such places as Quebec, the Caribbean, and small Island States. It also presented the example of how a developed country became ...
Since 1984 the thermal-hydraulic code ATHLET has been also applied for the analyses of LOCA and transients in VVER plants. The specific design of these plants especially of the steam generator design requires a specific modelling of the phenomena which may occur under LOCA and transient conditions in these plants. Differences in design compared to the design of western reactors have been briefly listed. Specific phenomena occurring under small leak accidents are shortly described. The consideration of the simulation of the boiler-condenser mode illustrates the modelling requirements for a code which may be applied to the prediction of such a thermal-hydraulic behaviour. Facing the lack of experimental data, the reliability of the simulation has been discussed by means of plausibility studies based on the momentum balance for steam and water. In summary: The VVER reactors differ in design compared to reactors of western design. The VVER design, especially the design ...
Scanning electron microscopy and an electron-microprobe analysis of a sample of blast furnace (BF) coke have revealed alkalization (5.64 wt % Na{sub 2}O + K{sub 2}O) and Al saturation (17.28 wt % Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) of SiO{sub 2} by BF gases. The K/Na{sub at} value of 1.15 in the new phase (alteration zone) reflects close atomic proportions of the elements and suggests that the abilities to incorporate K and Na during the process are almost equal. This Al saturation and alkalization of SiO{sub 2} indicates an active role for Al along with alkali metals in BF gases. The average width of the altered area in the SiO{sub 2} grain is about 10 m, which suggests that SiO{sub 2} particles of that size can be transformed fully to the new phase, provided that at least one of their faces is open to an external pore (surface of the coke) or internal pore with circulating BF gases. The grains that exceed 10 {mu}m can only be partly altered, which means that smaller SiO{sub 2} ...
A study was performed to investigate the degree of similarities and differences in components of craniofacial complex between Korean twins and normal children by lateral cephalometric analysis. Dimensions of S-N, S-Ba, N-Ba, Go-Me, Ar-Go and Ar-Me were plotted against linear measurement and angles of N-S-Ba and gonial against angular measurement in twins and control groups. The lateral cephalograms of twin were composed of 88 twins aged from 7 to 12:44 males aged 10.65 and 44 females aged 9. 55, while those of 50 normalities were composed of 25 male and 25 female aged 10.9 respectively. In order to analyze growth proportion and sexual differences, twins were divided into 3 groups according to two year age intervals and the author compared male with female in 3 groups. For the purpose of observing similarities and differences in twins and normalities by sex, total twins were compared with normalities. The obtained results were as follows: 1. There was no difference in craniofacial ...
Normally, the alloy NiMo28 is used in the solution annealed and quenched condition in which it has a face centred cubic matrix structure. The matrix of the material is supersaturated with molybdenum and, at temperatures above 800 C, has a tendency to form intermetallic precipitates such as the Ni{sub 4}Mo-ordered phase leading to the embrittlement of the NiMo28-ordered phase leading to the embrittlement of the NiMo28 alloy during hot working. For this reason, the aim of these investigations was to optimise the alloy by reducing its tendency to embrittle. The TEM-analyses carried out served to investigate the precipitation of the material as a function of its iron content after ageing at 700 C. The change in hardness and in the lattice constants of the NiMo28-specimens with iron content were also determined. To improve the hot working properties of this material it is recommended that the iron content be kept to about 3.2 mass % in order to ...
Minimum weight design is an important criterion in aircraft and spacecraft because it allows either an increased pay-load or higher performance. As a result, the use of composite sandwich panels has grown due to their light weight and high rigidity. In order to further increase the efficiency of these structures, designers have used different materials in different shapes in the facesheets and in the core. One of the most recent innovations has been the use of a uniform net of carbon fibre/epoxy as the facesheets. In the present study, the optimal design of sandwich plates with heterogeneous, facesheets is treated. The plate mass is minimized, considering the first natural frequency and certain failure loads as constraints. Weight reduction is obtained by defining a nonuniform distribution of composite material in the facesheets. Initially, the facesheets are assumed to be constructed of composite strips in a regular pattern. During the optimization process, both the widths of the ...
Steady-state and transient behavior of the longitudinally pumped semiconductor laser is theoretically investigated by using a rate-equation model with distributed gain and photon density. Conditions necessary for bistable operation are derived. Dependencies of such major switching characteristics as turn-on and turn-off powers, delay, and rise times on laser parameters are examined. Influences of spontaneous radiation, impurities, and Auger recombination are studied. The results offer an explanation for the observed nonlinear behavior of face-pumped lasers.
Although statistical design is one of the oldest branches of statistics, its importance is ever increasing, especially in the face of the data flood that often faces statisticians. It is important to recognize the appropriate design, and to understand how to effectively implement it, being aware that the default settings from a computer package can easily provide an incorrect analysis. The goal of this book is to describe the principles that drive good design, paying attention to both the theoretical background and the problems arising from real experimental situations. Designs are motivated t
A semi-automatic system which considers operation in a face by monitoring technological parameters of an extraction vehicle and a longwall conveyor is examined. The system records in tabular form the location, progress made, operating and down time of an extraction vehicle and operating and down time of the conveyor. A description of the operating principle system and systems for arrangement of the remote sensing and central recording device are presented. (Note: extraction vehicle not identified: LTN)
This paper reviews the effects of neutron irradiation on thermal and mechanical properties and bulk tritium retention of armour materials (beryllium, tungsten and carbon). For each material, the main properties affected by neutron irradiation are described and the specific tests of neutron irradiated armour materials under thermal shock and disruption conditions are summarized. Based on current knowledge, the expected thermal and structural performance of neutron irradiated armour materials in the ITER plasma facing components are analysed.
A myriad of challenges and shifting strategic priorities face today's military leaders. This special issue contains articles that comment on these challenges and provide new insights to advance discussions on these issues and spawn new research. This article summarizes contemporary challenges and opportunities faced by military leaders and provides an overview of the articles included in the special issue.
This economic analysis of the fuel oils market deals with the fiscality of the product and the place of the traditional suppliers facing the introduction of the supermarkets in the distribution sector. Facing the fiscality and the competition, the fuel oils suppliers stay confident. (A.L.B.)
The EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) was launched in 2005 to cap CO2 emissions from large industrial facilities and electricity producers. The European Commission is currently designing the post 2012 EU ETS, as outlined in COM(2008)16. Novel to this system is that a greater part of the rights will be auctioned. Auctioning in general assures a greater deal of efficiency compared to (certain types of) free allocation, lowers the administrative costs and prevents eventual windfall profits. However, auctioning also implies a potential loss of competitiveness for industry. If no international agreement on future climate policies is reached, firms may not be able to pass on the higher costs to their customers and may be faced with a loss in profitability and the threat of import substitution. In any emission trading scheme with an absolute cap, a relocation of production that is not covered by CO2 targets implies an increase in global CO2 emissions. This phenomenon has ...
Power loadings experienced by tokamak plasma-facing components during normal operation and during off-normal events are discussed. A model for power and particle flow in the tokamak boundary layer is presented and model predictions are compared to infrared measurements of component heating. The inclusion of the full three-dimensional geometry of the components and of the magnetic flux surface is very important in the modeling. Experimental measurements show that misalignment of component armour tile surfaces by only a millimeter can lead to significant localized heating. An application to the design of plasma-facing components for future machines is presented. Finally, thermal loads expected during tokamak disruptions are discussed. The primary problems are surface melting and vaporization due to localized intense heating during the disruption thermal quench and volumetric heating of the component armour and structure due to localised impact of ...
Reliability analysis is now being used to a large extent for several civil engineering structures. Such analysis has not been used for rockfill dams, the most common dams in Norway. Following work on reliability analysis for breakwaters, reliability analysis was then used to investigate the ability of the stone material on the upstream face of a rockfill dam to withstand wind generated waves. An attempt is made to follow up this work by including discharge overtopping on a rockfill dam in a reliability analysis. This report primarily goes through previous work on the required weight of protective stones on the downstream face of the dam for specified discharges over the dam and also deals with the probability formulation of extreme floods. A failure function with partial coefficients is formulated. But for reasons of economy the calibration of the partial coefficients remains for a next phase of the project. 14 refs., 17 figs.
Morphology of castellated Be tiles from the belt limiter exposed to the JET plasma for 56,000 s was examined on both sides of castellated grooves, on plasma-facing and side surfaces of the tiles. The essential results are (i) deuterium retention in the castellated grooves and in other locations is associated with co-deposition of carbon; (ii) the decay length of deposition in the castellation is around 1.5 mm; (iii) no deuterium is detected in bulk Be; (iv) bridging of gaps by molten beryllium occurred but gaps were not filled with Be; (v) on side surfaces of the tiles the formation of BeO layer was detected at a distance of 20 mm and more from the plasma-facing surface. The consequences for a long-term operation of a reactor-class device with several different plasma-facing materials are addressed.
Monopolar charge disorder effects are studied in the context of fluctuation-induced interactions between neutral dielectric slabs. It is shown that quenched bulk charge disorder gives rise to an additive contribution to the net interaction force which decays as the inverse distance between dielectric surfaces. This effect may thus completely mask the standard Casimir--van der Waals effect. By contrast, annealed (bulk or surface) charge disorder leads to a net interaction force whose large-distance behavior coincides with the universal Casimir force between perfect conductors, which scales as inverse cubic distance, and the dielectric properties enter only in subleading corrections.
Four questions are posed: (1) Is knowledge utilization a rhetorical evocation? (2) Is the conjunction of knowledge with utility part of a cultural system of common sense? (3) Is utility a normative or a descriptive concept? and (4) How does the concept of knowledge utilization figure in the specialized discourse of social scientists? This paper analyzes the concept of knowledge utilization from the perspective of philosophy of language and philosophy of science. Knowledge utilization is a rhetorical evocation that implies concepts of action and knowledge. It is supported by two conceptual fusions. The fusion of value and utility draws on common sense, but does not exhaust colloquial understandings about knowledge and action. The conceptual fusion of knowledge and truth is consistent with common sense but disregards scientific criticism. Both conceptual fusions are thus problematic. But empirical conditions associated with the concept of knowledge utilization mask ...
We have investigated the superconducting and metallurgical properties of the ternary compounds RPd_2Si_2 and RRh_2Si_2 with R = Y, La, and Lu. All RPd_2Si_2 compounds and LaRh_2Si_2 were found to be type-I superconductors below 1 K. A detailed metallurgical analysis shows that segregation of second phases can easily mask the intrinsic (stoichiometric ratio 1:2:2) intermetallic-compound properties. Two sample-preparation techniques, viz., single crystals and off-stoichiometry, were utilized to establish where bulk superconductivity occurs. The type-I behavior of these compounds is explained with an analogous model as is used for the heavy-fermion superconductors CeCu_2Si_2 and URu_2Si_2.
Abstract A fabrication process for Emitter-Wrap-Through solar cells on monocrystalline material with high quality gap passivation by wet thermal silicon dioxide is investigated. Masking and structuring steps are performed by screen-printing technology. Via-holes are created by an industrially applicable high-speed laser drilling process. The cell structure features a selective emitter structure fabricated in a single high temperature step: a highly doped emitter at the via-holes and the rear side, allowing for a low via-hole resistivity as well as a low resistivity contact to screen-printed pastes, and a moderately doped front side emitter exhibiting high quantum efficiency in the low wavelength range. Therefore a novel approach is applied depositing either doped or undoped PECVD silicon d...
The production of retrograde amnesia (RA) upon electron-beam exposure was investigated. RA production was evaluated using a single-trial avoidance task for 10, 1, and 0.1 microsecond pulsed exposures. The dose-response curve obtained at each pulse duration showed significant RA production. The most effective dose range was 0.1-10 rad at a dose rate of 1,000,000 rad/sec. By employing a 10 rad (1,000,000 rad/s) pulse, a memory loss of the events occurring in the previous 4 sec was demonstrated. The conclusion was that the RA effect might be due to sensory system activation which provided a novel stimulus that masked previous stimuli.
This study investigated the occurrence of free-living amoebae (FLA) in immunodeficiency wards of hospitals in Tehran, Iran. A total of 70 dust and biofilm samples from wards serving transplant, pediatric (malignancies), HIV, leukemia and oncology patients of five university hospitals were collected and examined for the presence of FLA using culturing and molecular approaches. Based on the morphology of the amoebae in plate cultures, primer sets were applied for molecular identification of Acanthamoeba, vahlkampfiid amoebae and Hartmannella. Out of 70 samples, 37 (52.9%) were positive for FLA. Acanthamoeba belonged to the T4 genotype was the most prevalent isolate. Presence of the T4 genotype on medical instruments, including an oxygen mask in an isolation room of an immunodeficiency pediat...
The PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) concentration in coastal zones in the Arctic were studied. Assessment in remote areas is difficult because PAHs contamination from fossil fuel discharges and combustion can be masked by PAHs from natural sources, such as oil seeps, bitumens and forest fires. It is believed that the most important source of anthropogenic PAHs in the Arctic is the long range transport of combustion emissions. A comparison study of PAH distribution between the Beaufort Sea and the Barents Sea led to the interpretation of PAH distributions in terms of potential sources and their geochemistry. PAH concentrations in the Barents Sea sediments were found to be 2 to 20 times lower than in the Beaufort Sea sediments; they are believed to be from anthropogenic sources. In the Beaufort Sea the sediments were found to have been derived from natural sources. 7 refs., 2 figs.
Odor purification process using bio-function, which is technologically called bio-deodorizing process, utilizes the function of microorganism to convert mal-odor substances to non-odor substances. It attracts attention because the operation cost of a facility is low due to non-use of chemicals and energy, and because it is environmentally friendly without the possibility of generating secondary pollution. It is being used in deodorizing at sewage treatment facilities, fertilizer plants, coating plants, and foundries in Japan, and is more widely used in Europe. The conventional deodorizing technology in Japan mostly focuses on processes of physical chemistry such as activated carbon treatment, chemical scrubbing, combustion, and masking, but bio-deodorizing process tends to replace the conventional processes. This paper explains (1) relation of mal-odor and microorganism, (2) bio-deodorizing system (solid phase system and liquid phase system), (3) points and ...
This work aimed to develop a fast-dissolving film made of low dextrose equivalent maltodextrins (MDX) containing nicotine hydrogen tartrate salt (NHT). Particular attention was given to the selection of the suitable taste-masking agent (TMA) and the characterisation of the ductility and flexibility under different mechanical stresses. MDX with two different dextrose equivalents (DEs), namely DE 6 and DE 12, were selected in order to evaluate the effect of polymer molecular weight on film tensile properties. The bitterness and astringency intensity of NHT and the suppression effect of several TMA were evaluated by a Taste-Sensing System. The films were characterised in term of NHT content, tensile properties, disintegration time and drug dissolution test. As expected, placebo films made of ...
The Sputter coefficient of accelerated CO{sub 2} cluster ions hitting surfaces of various materials is investigated. For copper it varies proportional to the 2nd power of the energy between 155 and 260 keV. The rate of erosion for different target materials varies by two orders of magnitude from tungsten to PMMA. Diamond is eroded fairly quickly, while aluminum is eroded less than corundum (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}). No simple correlation of the sputter coefficient on the bulk material properties is found. For copper the angular distribution of sputtered material is measured and found to be following roughly a cosine distribution. By using masks different microstructures have been produced in cobalt-samarium magnets, diamond and glass. (orig.)
Measurements of smoke and NO emissions from a direct-injection diesel engine have shown that they are indeed influenced by inlet port design, even though the swirl numbers for the ports may be identical. The swirl numbers of the three ports used (tangential port, helical port and helical port with masked valve) were measured on a steady-state test rig using a paddle-wheel anemometer and impulse swirl meter. Flow measurements were carried out under motoring conditions with a constant-temperature, hot-wire anemometer. Is was possible to find a correlation between flow data and exhaust data as far as the in-cylinder air motion over a certain time interval is concerned.
The switching behavior of magnetic patterns prepared by ion irradiation was investigated. Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy and large out-of-plane coercivities 5-6 kOe were grown on electron transparent SiN windows. Regularly spaced 1 micron sized regions, were magnetically pattered via ion beam irradiation through a stencil mask. Lorentz TEM was used to observe in-situ magnetization reversal processes of irradiated regions under well-defined applied magnetic fields. When the in-plane field was increased, domain wall motion was observed, resulting in the alignment of the patterns with the direction of the applied field. The switching mechanism of the in-plane patterns was by domain wall motion.
Pattern formation on GaAs by Ga"+ focused-ion-beam (FIB) irradiation and subsequent Cl_2 gas etching was carried out. A higher etch rate at the FIB-irradiated area compared with that not irradiated under Cl_2 gas allows pattern construction without a mask process. The degree of residual crystal damage was evaluated using photoluminescence (PL) intensity measurements. The PL intensity in the etched region was one order of magnitude stronger than that of FIB sputtering, and was several times stronger than that of Ga"+ FIB-assisted Cl_2 etching. Etch depths of the order of 100 nm, which is five times deeper than that obtained by FIB sputtering, were efficiently performed using moderate Ga"+-ion doses.
Pattern formation on GaAs by Ga{sup +} focused-ion-beam (FIB) irradiation and subsequent Cl{sub 2} gas etching was carried out. A higher etch rate at the FIB-irradiated area compared with that not irradiated under Cl{sub 2} gas allows pattern construction without a mask process. The degree of residual crystal damage was evaluated using photoluminescence (PL) intensity measurements. The PL intensity in the etched region was one order of magnitude stronger than that of FIB sputtering, and was several times stronger than that of Ga{sup +} FIB-assisted Cl{sub 2} etching. Etch depths of the order of 100 nm, which is five times deeper than that obtained by FIB sputtering, were efficiently performed using moderate Ga{sup +}-ion doses.
The expression of motor activity levels in response to novel situations is under complex genetic and environmental control. Several genetic loci have been implicated in the regulation of this behavioral phenotype, but their relationship to epigenetic and epistatic interactions is relatively unknown. Here, we report on a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on mouse chromosome 1 for novelty-induced motor activity in the open field, using chromosome substitution strains derived from a high active host strain (C57BL/6J) and a low active donor strain (A/J). The QTL for open field (horizontal distance moved) peaked at the location of Kcnj9, however, QTL detection was initially masked by an interplay of both grandparent genetic origin and genetic co-factors influencing behavior on chromosome 1. Our fi...
In device fabrication, dopants are frequently implanted into silicon through silicon dioxide masks. A consequence of this technique is the co-implantation of recoiled oxygen into the substrate. This study investigates the effect of recoiled oxygen on the widely observed transient enhanced boron diffusion. Comparison of the spreading resistance profiles of annealed through-oxide and directly implanted samples reveals that transient enhanced diffusion of boron can be suppressed by the former process. Continued annealing of the through-oxide implanted silicon recovers the enhanced diffusion of boron. This behavior is believed to be due to precipitation of recoiled oxygen. The mechanisms leading to the above observations are discussed and transmission electron microscopy support presented. 11 refs., 5 figs.
Micro-batteries are one of the key components that restrict the application of autonomous Microsystems. However little efforts were made to solve the problem. We have proposed a new planar zinc/air micro-battery, suitable for autonomous microsystem applications. The micro-battery has a layered structure of zinc electrode/alkaline electrolyte/air cathode. A 3D zinc electrode with a high density of posts was designed to obtain a high porosity, hence to offer a best performance. A model of the micro-battery is developed and the device performances were simulated and discussed. A four-mask process was developed to fabricate the prototype micro-batteries. The preliminary testing results showed the micro-batteries is able to deliver a maximum power up to 5 mW, and with an average power of 100 {mu}W at a steady period for up to 2hrs. Fabrication process is still under optimization for further improvement.
A methodology is proposed to facilitate the construction of gridded bathymetry data for the use of hydrodynamic models on the continental shelf. It relies on the carrying out of three successive tasks: (1) automatic selection of records of better quality among multiple sets of overlapping data; (2) elimination of data points located on land; and (3) taking into account the shoreline as bathymetric data. Algorithms are proposed to perform sorting of the records according to their quality as well as masking by the coastline. The suggested method facilitates the updating of bathymetry data and optimizes their use. It enables automatic execution of all the tasks and building of new digital bathymetry models in a few hours, without action from the operator. The method has been tested many times...
Throughout the 1990's to year 2000, energy integration, and particularly natural gas integration, was seen as a major goal in the southern cone of South America. The regional perspective for energy was related to an even more challenging objective - Latin American economic integration, which was quickly moving forward by the constitution of Mercosur, the free trade zone built by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, and also having Bolivia and Chile as special partners. Mercosur was getting stronger and becoming a successful political project. Trade conflicts existed, but they were considered normal and nobody would disagree about the viability of Mercosur. By the beginning of the 21. century, the economic integration process in South America was already advancing timidly as compared to the impetus from the beginning of 1990's. Mercosur started facing complex and almost insurmountable challenges after the numerous global financial crises (from 1998 to 2003) had ...
The authors report a case of a cephalopagus conjoined twin that was diagnosed at 29 weeks of gestation despite the mother having had two ultrasounds done previously. The fetus had one head and face,...Full Text Available
When faced with a harsh climate or inadequate food, some mammals enter a state of suspended animation known as torpor. A major goal of torpor research is to determine mechanisms that integrate...Full Text Available
BackgroundProcessing of multimodal information is a critical capacity of the human brain, with classic studies showing bimodal stimulation either facilitating or interfering in perceptual...Full Text Available
SummarySurvival requires the selection of appropriate behavioural responses in the face of danger. With respect to the threat of predation, both the decision to escape and the underlying...Full Text Available
BackgroundWith a growing number of genetic tests becoming available to the health and consumer markets, genetic health care providers in Canada are faced with the challenge of developing...Full Text Available
...challenges faced by the industrial sector by implementing a Research Agenda for Embedded Computing Systems. The Artemis JU will manage and co-ordinate open ...5 billion research programme on Embedded Computing Systems. The programme is open to organisations within the EU Member States as well as Associated ...
When attempting to feed on their hosts, ticks face the problem of host hemostasis (the vertebrate mechanisms that prevent blood loss), inflammation (that can produce itching or pain and thus...Full Text Available
Wildland fire suppression personnel employed by the CDF do not currently have the equipment to protect themselves from the short-term acute affects of smoke from wildland fires. In addition, no regulations exist that specify appropriate respiratory protection and the current air-purifying respirator technology and carbon monoxide monitoring has not been adapted to fit wildland fire suppression requirements. This three-year limited study evaluated the ability of wildland fire fighters to perform their normal job function while wearing full-face air-purifying respirators. In the first two years of this study we designed, developed and field tested a prototype ``smart`` air-purifying respirator which incorporated a real-time carbon monoxide monitor into a commercial full-face respirator.` Data on carbon monoxide exposure while fighting wildland fires was collected. During the third year of this study we evaluated eight different commercially ...
BackgroundFor hundred of years, people in the region encompassed by the Afghanistan-Iran-Pakistan borders (AIP region) have been challenged by conflict and political and civil instability,...Full Text Available
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is facing a diabetes epidemic similar to the one on the U.S. mainland, yet little is known regarding the cultural context relevant to self-management...Full Text Available
Evaluates experiments aimed at selecting optimum design and technical specifications of a support system for junctions of gate roads and longwall faces mined by shearer loaders and powered supports. A set of supports used at a junction of a working face and a gate road consisted of 2 supports (each made up of a roof bar and two hydraulic props). Roof bar length ranged from 4.0 to 5.5 m and from 7.0 to 9.0 m respectively. The support roof bars were parallel to the longitudinal axis of a gate road. Stress distribution in strata surrounding a junction of a working face and a gate road was analyzed. The finite element method was used. Convergence of the roof and the floor of a gate road depending on support yield strength and distance from a measuring point to the supports was analyzed. Recommendations are made for optimum yield strength of the supports. Nomograms for selecting optimum support yield strength are given. ...
IntroductionResearch is an essential tool in facing the challenges of scaling up interventions and improving access to services. As in many other countries, the translation of research...Full Text Available
The author describes the layout of the environmental monitoring scheme at Devco's No. 26 Colliery in Canada, which includes wall face ventilation, fan performance, and methane drainage monitoring. He gives details of the sensors, outstations, and the surface control room.
While most cancer survivors are at risk for being lost in the transition from treatment to survivorship, rural breast cancer survivors face special challenges that might place them at particular...Full Text Available
Paediatric palliative care is a holistic approach aimed at addressing the complex issues related to the care of children and families facing chronic life limiting illnesses. The needs of children are...Full Text Available
The possibility has been explored of using a laser scattering technique to detect the imminent onset of rock activity associated with gas outbursts. The instrument described in this paper provides a sensitive, remote and rapid means of passively monitoring micro-seismic activity at the exposed face.
SummaryBecause increasing numbers of HIV vaccine candidates are being tested globally, it is essential to differentiate vaccine-from virus-induced antibodies. Most of the currently...Full Text Available
The European Union's proposed multinational market in carbon dioxide emissions faces many design challenges. Helpful lessons could be learnt from the US experience of trading nitrogen oxide allowances. 2 figs.
A method is proposed for operating bed waters in an oil well by injecting silanes into the near-face zone. It is distinguished by the fact that in order to improve the effectiveness of insulation, the silanes used are silanes of general formula Si /SUB n/ H /SUB 2n-n/ .
In order to maintain stable functionality in the face of continually changing input, neurones in the CNS must dynamically modulate their electrical characteristics. It has been hypothesized that in...Full Text Available
Optical coherence microscopy (OCM) is a promising technique or high resolution cellular imaging in human tissues. An OCM system for high-speed en face cellular resolution imaging...Full Text Available
A compact heat exchanger pedestal array for augmenting heat transfer in a machine is disclosed. The compact heat exchanger pedestal array includes a wall having first and second surfaces. The first surface faces a heated flow path and the second surface p...
BackgroundMigrants everywhere face several demands for health and maintaining good health and quality of life could be challenging. Iraqis are the second largest refugee group that...Full Text Available
BackgroundSpecies with heteromorphic sex chromosomes face the challenge of large-scale imbalance in gene dose. Microarray-based studies in several independent male heterogametic...Full Text Available
Colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors with ostomies can face complex concerns regarding sexuality. We used an anthropological perspective to examine the experiences of 30 female CRC survivors with...Full Text Available
Peripheral vision has been the topic of few studies compared with central vision. Nevertheless, given that visual information covers all the visual field and that relevant information can...Full Text Available
An electroencephalogram (EEG) signal is extremely nonstationary, highly composite and very complex, all of which reflects the underlying integral neurodynamics. Understanding the EEG “grammar”,...Full Text Available
This multiauthored text is aimed particularly toward the resident or registrar training in diagnostic radiology. This is a text book on the entire scope of diagnostic imaging. It includes techniques and imaging modalities of all the systems, head, face and neck. The book covers the entire gamut of diagnostic radiology.
Deformation of the ground can be considered as a sum of volume deformation and shear deformation. At circumferential ground of pile axis, simple shear type of shear deformation becomes main factor of settlement. As shear forces with reverse direction are overlapped at parallel face for pile around face of the ground between the piles, the shear deformation is relaxed. At deeper place from top of the pile, volume deformation becomes larger and component of shear deformation approaches to a pure shear type. In case of the land surface loading type consolidation settlement calculation, a method adopting one dimensional consolidation calculating method using only vertical component within stress obtained by elasticity theory even when investigating multi dimensionally is used widely. In Japanese design standards, the method calculating the consolidation settlement by presuming imaginary loading face for land surface is widely ...
This study was an evaluation of the performance of self-applied, blue light, light-emitting diode therapy in the treatment of mild-to-moderate inflammatory acne on the face, concerning: 1) time to improvement...Full Text Available
UK Nirex has announced four sites which it wishes to assess for the disposal of low-level and short-lived intermediate-level radioactive wastes. There is local opposition at all four of the potential sites. (U.K.).
The reserves and the mine are described. Planned capacity is 27.5 million tonnes per year of coal for the Sasol II and Sasol III liquefaction plants. There will be 7 longwall faces, 15 entry workings with shotfiring, and 19 entries with continuous miners.
believe the system is similar to the face-on spiral and companion known as M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy. Tomorrow's picture: plates known < | Archive | Index | Search | Calendar |...
...d) A bar for taking down loose material shall be available in the working place or on all face equipment except haulage equipment. Bars provided for taking down loose material shall be of a length and design that will allow the removal of...
With the help of self-assembly, thermal sintering, selective etching techniques and sol-gel process, the non-close packed (ncp) face-centered cubic (fcc) photonic crystals of titanium dioxide (TiO2) hollow spheres connected by TiO2 cylindrical tubes have been fabricated using silica template. The photonic bandgap calculations indicate that the ncp structure of TiO2 hollow spheres was easier to open the pseudogaps than close packed system at the lowest energy. PMID:17097102
The paper reports the progress made by the ITER Home Teams in the development of robust carbon and tungsten armoured plasma facing components for the ITER divertor. The activities on the development and study of armour materials, joining technologies, non-destructive evaluation techniques, high heat flux testing of manufactured components and neutron irradiation resistance studies are presented. The results of these activities confirm the feasibility of the main divertor components. Examples of the fruitful collaboration between Parties and future R and D needs are also described. (author)
We investigate the formation of nanostructures in 2D strained alloys on face centered cubic (111) surfaces by means of equilibrium Monte Carlo simulations. In the framework of an off-lattice model, we consider one monolayer of two bulk-immiscible adsorbates A and B with negative and positive misfit relative to the substrate, respectively. Simulations show that the adsorbates partly self-organize into island or stripe-like patterns. We show how these structures depend on the relative misfits, interaction, and concentration of components. The morphology is quite different for phase separation and intermixing regimes.
A simple theory for predicting the convective energy loss from side-facing cavity receivers in windless environments has been developed. The approach used is to determine the velocity distribution of the incoming air in the aperture plane (and thereby the rate of mass entrainment); and then to estimate the bulk temperature of the heated emerging air. The convective loss is then calculated from an energy balance. To illustrate this theory, numerical results applicable to the 2.15 meter cubic cavity being tested in the laboratory are provided.
The Joint European Torus (JET) fusion machine is the only device capable of operation with tritium (as fuel) and Be (as plasma facing component), what makes it best suited to study ITER relevant issues. A large variety of activities are performed within the JET Fusion Technology Task Force. In this paper, some topics such as erosion/deposition and material transport, flakes characterization and detritiation techniques are highlighted. Recent results obtained using a pumping cryo-panel and on plasma facing component characterisation are given. Finally, issues that will be addressed in the forthcoming JET work-programme are presented, such as a beryllium main wall for JET and in-situ laser detritiation. (authors)
The total area (s m) of Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedron faces corresponding to all intermolecular contacts of one molecule in the structure of crystals and the total volume of pyramids (V m) built on such faces and containing the nuclei of atoms participating in intermolecular contacts in their vertices were determined for 19 unsaturated hydrocarbons. The differential molar heat of adsorption of the hydrocarbons on graphitized thermal carbon black was found to be linearly related to the s m or V m integral parameters of their Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra. Aromatic hydrocarbons on the one hand and saturated hydrocarbons, olefins, and acetylene on the other are characterized by different dependences because of the special shapes of their molecular Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra.
The total area ( s m) of Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedron faces corresponding to all intermolecular contacts of one molecule in the structure of crystals and the total volume of pyramids ( V m) built on such faces and containing the nuclei of atoms participating in intermolecular contacts in their vertices were determined for 19 unsaturated hydrocarbons. The differential molar heat of adsorption of the hydrocarbons on graphitized thermal carbon black was found to be linearly related to the s m or V m integral parameters of their Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra. Aromatic hydrocarbons on the one hand and saturated hydrocarbons, olefins, and acetylene on the other are characterized by different dependences because of the special shapes of their molecular Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra.
The aim of this thesis is the study of new systems devoted to the real time neutron spectrometry and dosimetry. The microelectronics technologies have been used to research a micro system integrating sensor and data processing in real time. The multi range sensor is based on many pair of semiconductor diodes placed face to face and covered by lithium fluoride. The sensor has been designed and its behavior has been simulated. Its operating in reference neutrons beams has been analyzed. (A.L.B.)
A scant body of literature addresses competencies needed for successful job development. This study aimed to identify competencies needed for this role. In this analysis, we observed employment specialists identified as successful in helping consumers obtain employment perform job development duties. We supplemented observations with interviews. Employment specialists possessed competencies in six domains: time management, advocacy, building partnerships with consumers, working as part of a team, face-to-face communication, and networking. The conceptual framework derived from this study can inform supported employment supervisors and researchers about the competencies that can strengthen supported employment teams.
The thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption of iodobenzene, 2-iodothiophene, and 1- and 2-iodoadamantanes on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black were determined experimentally. The influence of the special features of the molecular structure of the adsorbates on the thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption was studied. The atom-atom approximation of the semiempirical molecular-statistical theory of adsorption was used to calculate the thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption of the adsorbates using the newly determined potential function parameters of pair intermolecular interaction (?(r)) of I with C atoms of the basal graphite face. For the example of isostructural monohalogenated benzenes, thiophenes, and adamantanes, a comparative analysis of the contributions of ...
The purpose of this report is to provide a brief overview and bibliography of those techniques that may have application for the evaluation of a site to determine if a high energy release event is nuclear in nature. This effort is motivated by recognition of the changing world political climate and the perception that low yield and non-proliferation issues will grow in importance as countries become increasingly involved as signators to treaties that are intended to limit the development and testing of nuclear weapons. Along with an increasing interest in such issues is the awareness of the need to implement improved capabilities for treaty monitoring programs that must deal with assessing suspicious occurrences of high energy release events. In preparing this report, it is recognized that monitoring can take two main forms. The first involves the resolution of unidentified events detected by seismic and satellite National Technical Means. Events of an indeterminate nature could occur ...
Each disease affecting the bile ducts tends to produce characteristic pattern of biliary dilatation: recurrent pyogenic cholangitis causes dilatation and straightening of the larger (central) intrahepatic ducts: clonorchiasis causes dilatation of the smaller (peripheral) intrahepatic ducts; and carcinoma along the extrahepatic ducts causes (proportional) dilatation and tortuosity of both larger and smaller intrahepatic ducts. To evaluate the specificity of the pattern and morphology of the dilated biliary tree on CT scans (CT characterization) three independent radiologists who were unifamiliar with the cases were asked to classify 62 CT scans in patients with obstructive jaundice. The case population consisted of 14 cases with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis, 18 cases with clonorchiasis and 30 cases with carcinoma along the extrahepatic ducts, which were intermixed randomly. Classification was made only on the basis of CT characterization: those scans showing primary lesions, i.t., ...
Each disease affecting the bile ducts tends to produce characteristic pattern of biliary dilatation: recurrent pyogenic cholangitis causes dilatation and straightening of the larger (central) intrahepatic ducts: clonorchiasis causes dilatation of the smaller (peripheral) intrahepatic ducts; and carcinoma along the extrahepatic ducts causes (proportional) dilatation and tortuosity of both larger and smaller intrahepatic ducts. To evaluate the specificity of the pattern and morphology of the dilated biliary tree on CT scans (CT characterization) three independent radiologists who were unifamiliar with the cases were asked to classify 62 CT scans in patients with obstructive jaundice. The case population consisted of 14 cases with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis, 18 cases with clonorchiasis and 30 cases with carcinoma along the extrahepatic ducts, which were intermixed randomly. Classification was made only on the basis of CT characterization: those scans showing primary lesions, i.t., ...
Low resolution and un-sharp facial images are always captured from surveillance videos because of long human-camera distance and human movements. Previous works addressed this problem by using an active camera to capture close-up facial images without considering human movements and mechanical delays of the active camera. In this paper, we proposed a unified framework to capture facial images in video surveillance systems by using one static and active camera in a cooperative manner. Human faces are first located by a skin-color based real-time face detection algorithm. A stereo camera model is also employed to approximate human face location and his/her velocity with respect to the active camera. Given the mechanical delays of the active camera, the position of a target face with a given delay can be estimated using a Human-Camera Synchronization Model. By controlling the active camera with ...
We present a kinematic diagnostic for peanut-shaped bulges in nearly face-on galaxies. The face-on view provides a novel perspective on peanuts which would allow study of their relation to bars and disks in greater detail than hitherto possible. The diagnostic is based on the fact that peanut shapes are associated with a flat density distribution in the vertical direction. We show that the kinematic signature corresponding to such a distribution is a minimum in the fourth-order Gauss-Hermite moment $s_4$. We demonstrate our method on $N$-body simulations of varying peanut strength, showing that strong peanuts can be recognized to inclinations $i \\simeq 30\\degrees$, regardless of the strength of the bar. We also consider compound systems in which a bulge is present in the initial conditions as may happen if bulges form at high redshift through mergers. We show that in this case, because the vertical structure of the bulge is not derived from ...
This work is a retrospective study of 86 patients with squamous cell (51) and basal cell (35) carcinoma of the face. The median age was 67 years. The staging is as following: 31 cases T{sub 1} and T{sub 2}, 55 patients T{sub 3} and T{sub 4}. All patients were considered NO. Electron beam was used in all cases and energy ranged from 5 to 15 MeV depending on the thickness of the tumor. The total tumor dose was 60-70 Gy delivered in 6 weeks. In 7 cases of very old patients the authors have used concentrated irradiation: 3 patients received 21 Gy in one fraction and 4 patients 48 Gy in 8 fractions. 96.8% patients T{sub 1} i T{sub 2} are NED contrary to 56.4% T{sub 3} i T{sub 4}. Cosmetic results were considered as good in 52, fairly good in 7 and bad in 2 patients.
Although remarkable progress has been made in developing technologies for the clean and efficient utilization of coal, the biggest challenge in the utilization of coal is still the protection of the environment. Specifically, electric utilities face increasingly stringent restriction on the emissions of NO{sub x} and SO{sub x}, new mercury emission standards, and mounting pressure for the mitigation of CO{sub 2} emissions, an environmental challenge that is greater than any they have previously faced. The Utah Clean Coal Program addressed issues related to innovations for existing power plants including retrofit technologies for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) or green field plants with CCS. The Program focused on the following areas: simulation, mercury control, oxycoal combustion, gasification, sequestration, chemical looping combustion, materials investigations and student research experiences. The goal of this program was to begin to ...
Total river discharge in Pakistan in summer season vary from 3 thousand to 34 thousand cusses (100 thousand Cusses to 1,200 thousand Cusses) and can cause tremendous loss to human lives, crops and property, this causes the loss of most of the flood water in the lower Indus plains to the sea. Due to limited capacity of storage at Tarbela and Mangla Dams on river Indus and Jhelum, with virtually no control on Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej, devastating problems are faced between July and October in the event of excessive rainfall in the catchments. Due to enormous amounts of sediments brought in by the feeding rivers, the three major reservoirs -Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma will lose their storage capacity, by 25 % by the end of the year 2010, which will further aggravate the water-availability situation in Pakistan. The quality of water is also deteriorating due to urbanization and industrialization and agricultural developments. On the Environmental Front the main problems ...
An x-ray zone plate was fabricated using the novel approach of focused ion beam (FIB) milling. The FIB technique was developed in recent years, it has been successfully used for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation, lithographic mask repair, and failure analysis of semiconductor devices. During FIB milling, material is removed by the physical sputtering action of ion bombardment. The sputter yield is high enough to remove a substantial amount of material, therefore FIB can perform a direct patterning with submicron accuracy. The authors succeeded in fabricating an x-ray phase zone plate using the Micrion 9500HT FIB station, which has a 50 kV Ga{sup +} column. Circular Fresnel zones were milled in a 1.0-{micro}m-thick TaSiN film deposited on a silicon wafer. The outermost zone width of the zone plate is 170 nm at a radius of 60 {micro}m. An achieved aspect ratio was 6:1.
This paper reviews the technical literature published on the welding of alloy 800. Much of this work has been carried out using the Varestraint and Gleeble tests to investigate the susceptibility of the alloy and of high nickel consumables to hot-cracking. Inspite of much reported work, it is pointed out that many years of experience in the use of alloy 800 shows it to be readily weldable without any major problems occurring due to hot-cracking. The elements investigated include titanium, aluminium, sulphur, phosphorus and carbon, and the effects of these elements are discuused in terms of their effects on the hot-ductility curves obtained by Gleeble testing. Conclusions reached by various researchers state that the individual effects of the above five elements may be masked by other unknown factors. It is concluded that with correct welding procedures alloy 800 can be welded without cracking problems even with high heat input welding processes using either ...
Objective was to present our 8 year experience in the prevention of the obturator nerve reflex during transurethral resection of bladder tumors. This study was performed in Ataturk University Hospital between 1999 and 2007. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 89 patients with inferolateral bladder tumors, who underwent transurethral resection under epidural or general anesthesia and requested obturator nerve reflex inhibition. Epidural anesthesia was administered to 57 patients, while the remaining 32 patients underwent general anesthesia via mask; and succinylcholine was administered prior to resection. Of the 57 patients received epidural anesthesia, 18 were diagnosed as inferolateral bladder tumors during endoscopy and had to undergo general anesthesia. Obturator nerve block was attempted preoperatively in 39 patients. However, a nerve identification failure, hematoma and 4 obturator nerve reflex events, despite the block, were observed and these patients ...
One of the least understood regions of the upper atmosphere is the thermosphere, principally due to the difficulty of making observations. The neutral atmosphere is known to be highly variable, and its composition and density varies by several orders of magnitude due to solar activity, diurnal cycles, latitude, geomagnetic activity, and gravity waves. In the past, most in-situ measurements of the neutral atmosphere have utilized detectors that are dependent on arrival angle and energy accommodation of incoming species, so that information related to nascent velocity distribution and reactive species abundances is often masked. This paper will review design concepts and laboratory tests related to the development of a novel open-ionizer, neutral particle detector for space environment measurements which can overcome these limitations. The sensor features a very large field-of-view suitable for sounding rocket missions. This time-of-flight instrument uses ...
We have investigated the superconducting and metallurgical properties of the ternary compounds RPd/sub 2/Si/sub 2/ and RRh/sub 2/Si/sub 2/ with R = Y, La, and Lu. All RPd/sub 2/Si/sub 2/ compounds and LaRh/sub 2/Si/sub 2/ were found to be type-I superconductors below 1 K. A detailed metallurgical analysis shows that segregation of second phases can easily mask the intrinsic (stoichiometric ratio 1:2:2) intermetallic-compound properties. Two sample-preparation techniques, viz., single crystals and off-stoichiometry, were utilized to establish where bulk superconductivity occurs. The type-I behavior of these compounds is explained with an analogous model as is used for the heavy-fermion superconductors CeCu/sub 2/Si/sub 2/ and URu/sub 2/Si/sub 2/.
The presence of residual stresses in engineering components can significantly affect their load carrying capacity and resistance to fracture. In order to quantify their effect it is necessary to know their magnitude and distribution. Neutron diffraction is the most suitable method of obtaining these stresses non-destructively in the interior of components. In this paper the principles of the technique are described. A monochromatic beam of neutrons, or time of flight measurements, can be employed. In each case, components of strain are determined directly from changes in the lattice spacings between crystals. Residual stresses can then be calculated from these strains. The experimental procedures for making the measurements are described and precautions for achieving reliable results discussed. These include choice of crystal planes on which to make measurements, extent of masking needed to identify a suitable sampling volume, type of detector and alignment ...
Theoretical prediction of nuclear masses is analyzed as a pattern recognition problem on the N-Z plane. A global pattern is observed by plotting the differences between measured masses and Liquid Drop Model (LDM) predictions. After unfolding the data by removing the smooth LDM mass contributions, the remaining microscopic effects have proved difficult to model, although they display a striking pattern. These deviations carry information related to shell closures, nuc]ear deformation and the residual nuclear interactions. In the present work the more than 2000 known nuclear masses are studied as an array in the N-Z plane viewed through a mask, behind which the approximately 7000 unknown unstable nuclei that can exist between the proton and neutron drip lines are hidden. We show here that employing a Fourier transform deconvolution method these by masses can be predicted with similar accuracy than standard methods. We believe that a more general approach needs to be ...
Theoretical prediction of nuclear masses is analyzed as a pattern recognition problem on the N-Z plane. A global pattern is observed by plotting the differences between measured masses and Liquid Drop Model (LDM) predictions. After unfolding the data by removing the smooth LDM mass contributions, the remaining microscopic effects have proved difficult to model, although they display a striking pattern. These deviations carry information related to shell closures, nuc]ear deformation and the residual nuclear interactions. In the present work the more than 2000 known nuclear masses are studied as an array in the N-Z plane viewed through a mask, behind which the approximately 7000 unknown unstable nuclei that can exist between the proton and neutron drip lines are hidden. We show here that employing a Fourier transform deconvolution method these by masses can be predicted with similar accuracy than standard methods. We believe that a more general approach needs to be ...
The diffusion of ion beam injected self-interstitials (I) and their interaction with impurities in crystalline Si has been investigated and modeled. In particular, the I-substitutional carbon (C) interactions have been studied, using a molecular-beam-epitaxy grown Si{sub 1-y}C{sub y} layer interposed between the shallow I-source and a deeper B-spike (marker for I-concentration). Substitutional C atoms are shown to trap I's, to be removed from their substitutional sites, and to form stable precipitates into the C-rich region. The I-trapping mechanism was quantitatively studied by a simulation code. The reactions causing trapping and deactivation are described. In addition, the boron markers approach was extended to the two dimensional (2D) diffusion. High resolution scanning capacitance microscopy was used for quantitative measurements of the 2D boron transient enhanced diffusion induced on a boron delta array by the I's ion beam injected through a sub-micron dimension ...
The diffusion of ion beam injected self-interstitials (I) and their interaction with impurities in crystalline Si has been investigated and modeled. In particular, the I-substitutional carbon (C) interactions have been studied, using a molecular-beam-epitaxy grown Si_1_-_yC_y layer interposed between the shallow I-source and a deeper B-spike (marker for I-concentration). Substitutional C atoms are shown to trap I's, to be removed from their substitutional sites, and to form stable precipitates into the C-rich region. The I-trapping mechanism was quantitatively studied by a simulation code. The reactions causing trapping and deactivation are described. In addition, the boron markers approach was extended to the two dimensional (2D) diffusion. High resolution scanning capacitance microscopy was used for quantitative measurements of the 2D boron transient enhanced diffusion induced on a boron delta array by the I's ion beam injected through a sub-micron dimension oxide ...
The formation of porous structures of nanometre size (nanoporous structures) on germanium (Ge) surfaces by focused ion beam (FIB) irradiations was investigated using various FIB conditions such as ion species, irradiation energies, total fluences, fluence rates, and incident angles. FIB-irradiated regions were observed using a scanning electron microscope and an atomic force microscope. It is found that, using a focused Ga ion beam (Ga FIB) at an energy of 100 keV, the irradiated Ge surface swelled up to ion fluence of 2 x 10"1"7 cm"-"2 with nanoporous structures and then was etched for larger fluences. The shape of swollen nanoporous structures depended on the fluence rate and the incident angle of the Ga FIB. However, such porous structures were observed neither for low-energy (15-30 keV) FIB irradiations using Si and Au ions nor for high-energy (200 keV), heavy ion (Au) irradiation. These observations might be helpful in discussing the formation mechanisms of the nanoporous ...
The extraction of cosmological parameters from microwave background observations relies on specific assumptions about the statistical properties of the data, in particular that the p-point distributions of temperature fluctuations are jointly-normal. Using a battery of statistical tests, we assess the multivariate Gaussian nature of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 1st year data. The statistics we use fall into three classes which test different aspects of joint-normality: the first set assess the normality of marginal (one-point) distributions using familiar univariate methods; the second involves statistics that directly assess joint-normality; and the third explores the evidence of non-linearity in the relationship between variates. We applied these tests to frequency maps, `foreground-cleaned' assembly maps and all-sky CMB-only maps. The assembly maps are of particular interest as when combined with the kp2 mask, we recreate the region used in ...
Electronic trap densities at the indium tin oxide (ITO)/hole transport layer (HTL) interface in operating organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are characterized in situ using impedance spectroscopy. For OLEDs with a high density of active trap states, negative values of the frequency derivative of resistance are clearly observable for frequencies on the order of 10 kHz, whereas positive values are observed when the trap density is low With this technique, it is revealed that the trap density is minimized via the introduction of a TPD-Si{sub 2} (4,4'-bis[(p-trichlorosilylpropylphenyl) phenylamino]-biphenyl) passivation layer at the ITO/HTL interface or by the application of large electric fields during device operation. Furthermore, impedance spectroscopy illustrates that the ITO/HTL interface is not a simple series resistance when traps are present since they are shown not to contribute to high frequency conduction. Overall, this paper demonstrates that the parasitic effects ...
Focused ion beam (FIB) milling techniques are presented aiming at the manipulation of both tin dioxide (SnO_2) inverted opals and polystyrene (PS) direct opals. Different SnO_2 opals are considered in order to estimate the regularity of their bulk after the production. A SnO_2 mesoporous monolith is FIB micromachined to make it suitable for optical applications. PS direct opals are structured by FIB milling at different scales. Ordered arrays of PS opals are modified by selectively removing a single sphere. In performing this task, we discuss the effects on the FIB milling due to the gas-assisted enhanced etching and to the binding of the nearest neighbours. Techniques to achieve imaging of PS opals in absence of a conductive coating are also brought up. Furthermore, isolated PS spheres are drilled with or without enhanced etching in order to produce controlled defects on them. The FIB-assisted manipulations we show may find potential applications in the field of photonic crystals, ...
A considerable amount of chemical knowledge of marine sediments has been acquired in recent years but has not yet been utilized by paleomagnetists. On the other hand, geochemists are often unaware of the usefulness of numerous magnetic techniques. In this review we try to bridge this gap, and in particular, we outline many of the chemical and magnetic principles that should allow paleomagnetists to better identify and undertand chemical changes that affect the magnetic properties of marine sediments. The chemical principles include those for distinguishing the four major sources of sediments (continental, biological, authigenic/hydrogenous, volcanic/hydrothermal) from one another by determining elemental abundance distributions, as well as for investigating the stabilities of mineral phases relative to changes in pE and pH. The magnetic principles include the effects of authigenesis and diagenesis on magnetic properties, particularly on the direction and intensity of natural remanent ...
Laser-assisted processing techniques, utilized to produce fine, metal grid patterns for high-efficiency solar cells, are being investigated, developed, and characterized. The work performed in the third quarter of this contract is detailed here. A preliminary economic evaluation has yielded the conclusion that laser-assisted pyrolysis of spun-on silver neodecanoate is the most promising of all the metallization techniques being investigated in this contract. Early adhesion problems have been solved by optimizing deposition parameters. Linewidth studies have been carried out as a function of laser power, scan speed, and film thickness. Preliminary solar cells have been fabricated and characterized using this metallization scheme. Silver neodecanoate films have also been decomposed using a pulsed uv laser and metal mask. A detailed study of the various models of localized surface temperature rise in silicon due to laser heating has been carried out. A review of this ...
This study hypothesizes that Appalachian Kentucky's nineteenth century commercial economic development was as significant as coal mining in shaping economic patterns which appeared during the depression years of the 1930's. Testing of this hypothesis permits the evaluation of widely-held views of the region's development. The economic landscape of the 1800's has generally been thought of as a rather homogeneous unit, isolated from outside commercial linkages, and almost wholly dominated by subsistence agriculture. This study concludes that the region's nineteenth century economy was: 1) spatially and structurally more complex than has previously been recognized, 2) not by-passed by national economic growth in 1850, as previous research indicates; and 3) characterized by some commercial agriculture rather than the subsistence stereotype presented in other works. Appalachian Kentucky did not develop as a unified economic entity. Complexities ...
High-performance polysilicon thin-film transistors (TFT`s) are fabricated using an excimer laser to recrystallize the undoped channel and dope the source-drain regions. Using a technique the authors call grain engineering they are able to control grain microstructure using laser parameters. Resulting polysilicon films are obtained with average grain sizes of {approximately}4--9 {micro}m in sub-100 nm thick polysilicon films without substrate heating during the laser recrystallization process. Using a simple four-mask self-aligned aluminum top-gate structure, they fabricate TFT`s in these films. By combining the grain-engineered channel polysilicon regions with laser-doped source-drain regions, TFT`s are fabricated with electron mobilities up to 260 cm{sup 2}/Vs and on/off current ratios greater than 10{sup 7} To their knowledge, these devices represent the highest performance laser-processed TFT`s reported to date fabricated without substrate heating or ...
The vertical profiles of disc galaxies are built by the material trapped around stable periodic orbits, which form their "skeletons". According to this, the knowledge of the stability of the main families of periodic orbits in appropriate 3D models, can predict possible morphologies for edge-on disc galaxies. In a pilot survey we compare the orbital structures which lead to the appearance of "peanuts" and "X"-like features with the edge-on profiles of three disc galaxies (IC 2531, NGC 4013 and UGC 2048). The subtraction from the images of a model representing the axisymmetric component of the galaxies reveals the contribution of the non-axisymmetric terms. We find a direct correspondence between the orbital profiles of 3D bars in models and the observed main morphological features of the residuals. We also apply a simple unsharp masking technique in order to study the sharpest features of the images. Our basic conclusion is that the morphology of the boxy "bulges" ...
The Idaho Falls quadrangle in southeastern Idaho lies at the juncture of the Snake River Plain, the Northern Rocky Mountains, and the Basin-Range Province. Quaternary basalts of the Snake River Plain occupy 70% of the quadrangle. The rest of the area is covered by uplifted Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic rocks of the Pre-Late Cenozoic Orogenic Complex. Magnetic data apparently show contributions from both shallow and deep sources. The apparent expression of intrusive and extrusive rocks of late Mesozoic and Cenozoic age tends to mask the underlying structural downtrap thought to exist under the Snake River Plain. The Idaho Falls quadrangle has been unproductive in terms of uranium mining. A single claim exists in the Sawtooth Mountains, but no information was found concerning its present status at the time of this study. A total of 169 anomalies are valid according to the criteria set forth in Volume I of this report. These anomalies are scattered throughout the ...
Liquid-liquid wetting failure is investigated in a two-dimensional Couette system with two immiscible fluids of arbitrary viscosity. The problem is solved exactly using a sharp interface treatment of hydrodynamics (lubrication theory) as a function of the capillary number, viscous ratio and separation of scale, i.e. slip length versus macroscopic scale of the system. The existence of critical velocities, above which no stationary solutions are found, is analyzed in detail in terms of the relevant parameters of the system. Comparisons with existing analysis for other geometries are also carried out. A numerical method of analysis is also presented, based on diffuse interface models obtained from multiphase extensions of the lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE). Sharp interface and diffuse interface models are quantitatively compared face to face indicating the correct limit of applicability of the diffuse interface models.
Individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) have problems in following conversation, especially in the situations where several people are talking. This might result from impairments in audiovisual speech perception, especially from difficulties in focusing attention to speech-relevant visual information and ignoring distracting information. We studied the effect of visual spatial attention on the audiovisual speech perception of adult individuals with AS and matched control participants. Two faces were presented side by side, one uttering /aka/ and the other /ata/, while an auditory stimulus of /apa/ was played. The participants fixated on a central cross and directed their attention to the face that an arrow pointed to, reporting which consonant they heard. We hypothesized that the adults wi...
Taking the port city of Alicante the author outlines how numerous crossroads connect the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. Along the arc of Euro-Mediterranean trading centres lies the European continent as a whole, extending eastwards to the republics emerging from the disintegration of the Soviet Empire, and in the south to Francophone and Muslim Africa. This arc of trading towns includes Istanbul, Dubai, Naples, Antwerp, Hamburg, Marseilles and Alicante. The author traces the movements of individuals pursuing "suitcase trade" performed by means of face-to-face links, word of mouth, and verbal agreements. The author then traces this vast "choreographed movement" that originates from Europe's borders, and suggests that although reasons other than trade influence mobility a...
Some of the most important problems facing the United States and China, indeed facing our entire planet, require approaches that are fundamentally multidisciplinary in nature. Many of those require skills in computer science (CS), basic understanding of another discipline, and the ability to apply the skills in one discipline to the problems of another. Modern training in computer science needs to prepare students to work in other disciplines or to work on multidisciplinary problems. What do we do to prepare them for a multidisciplinary world when there are already too many things we want to teach them about computer science? This paper describes successful examples of multidisciplinary education at the interface between CS and the biological sciences, as well as other examples involving C...
Abstract Interest in soy foods has increased with consumer awareness of its health benefits, especially with soy-related ingredients being utilized as one of the major sources of high-protein fortification. The aim of the present study was to assess South African (SA) consumers' opinion of soy and soy products through different statements on consumption, taste, protein value and healthiness. The respondents (n = 3001) for this randomized cross-sectional study were randomly selected from metropolitan and rural areas in South Africa. Trained fieldworkers administered questionnaires by conducting face-to-face interviews. Fourteen statements from four sections of the questionnaire (consisting of 17 food-related topics in total), probing information on consumers' opinion on soy and soy products...
Over the past three decades, rising competition from television and other new media prompted the FCC to ease the responsibilities of radio stations to maintain extensive records of issues programming, while retaining the responsibility of stations to provide ready public access to records. This study investigated the availability of Issues-Programs Lists in nearly 100 Missouri radio station Public Files. One in five randomly sampled stations failed to produce access to Lists upon demand as required under federal law. Noncompliance themes include: Inability to access Public Files within 20 minutes of face-to-face requests; station personnel with limited or no knowledge of Files; denial of access to Files and Lists (i.e., verbal refusals, locked studio doors); and incomplete Files. The rate ...
It is not clear whether males in all mammalian species adjust their copulatory behavior when faced with risk of sperm competition (RSC). Previous work on meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, indicated that males increase their sperm expenditure but not the number of ejaculations in the presence of odors of a conspecific male. The present study follows up on this work and asks whether male meadow voles modify any aspect of their copulatory behavior when they face a RSC. We examined 46 variables of copulatory behavior and found that the presence of odors from a conspecific male did not affect any of these variables. Thus, male meadow voles, unlike some other species of mammals, do not adjust their copulatory behavior when exposed to cues associated with an elevated RSC.
This article explores the extent to which and how non-formal education (NFE) contributes to the development of a more diversified basic education system and thus to the achievement of EFA. It outlines the current nature of NFE, the frameworks provided by the EFA movement, and the evolution of reflection, policies and practices in NFE in relation to basic education as a whole. Based on significant developments in various countries across the South, the article also discusses some key challenges that ministries of education and their partners need to face in moving towards relevant and equitable diversity in education. The article posits that, despite the many problems faced by NFE, there is justification for building on its experiences and integrating these within a larger policy and system...
Speech perception integrates auditory and visual information. This is evidenced by the McGurk illusion where seeing the talking face influences the auditory phonetic percept and by the audiovisual detection advantage where seeing the talking face influences the detectability of the acoustic speech signal. Here, we show that identification of phonetic content and detection can be dissociated as speech-specific and non-specific audiovisual integration effects. To this end, we employed synthetically modified stimuli, sine wave speech (SWS), which is an impoverished speech signal that only observers informed of its speech-like nature recognize as speech. While the McGurk illusion only occurred for informed observers, the audiovisual detection advantage occurred for na?ve observers as well. Thi...
Aim: This paper aims to describe self-rated health (SRH) status among older adults in a rural community of Vietnam, and examine individual and household-level factors associated with good health rating among the study populations. Methods: The study was carried out in the Bavi district, a rural community located 60 km west of Hanoi, the capital, within the Epidemiological Field Laboratory of Bavi (FilaBavi) in Vietnam in 2006. All people aged 50 years and over who lived within the district were surveyed. Face-to-face household interviews were conducted by trained surveyors using standard World Health Organization/INDEPTH network questionnaire-summary version. A logistic multilevel modeling approach was applied to analyze the association between SRH and both individual and household-level f...
Animal studies demonstrated the powerful impact of maternal-infant social contact on the infant's physiological systems, yet the online effects of social interactions on the human infant's physiology remain poorly understood. Mothers and their 3-month old infants were observed during face-to-face interactions while cardiac output was collected from mother and child. Micro-analysis of the partners' behavior marked episodes of gaze, affect, and vocal synchrony. Time-series analysis showed that mother and infant coordinate heart rhythms within lags of less than 1s. Bootstrapping analysis indicated that the concordance between maternal and infant biological rhythms increased significantly during episodes of affect and vocal synchrony compared to non-synchronous moments. Humans, like other mamm...
The capacity to estimate the head pose of another person is a common human ability that presents a unique challenge for computer vision systems. Compared to face detection and recognition, which have been the primary foci of face-related vision research, identity-invariant head pose estimation has fewer rigorously evaluated systems or generic solutions. In this paper, we discuss the inherent difficulties in head pose estimation and present an organized survey describing the evolution of the field. Our discussion focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and spans 90 of the most innovative and characteristic papers that have been published on this topic. We compare these systems by focusing on their ability to estimate coarse and fine head pose, highlighting approaches that are well suited for unconstrained environments. PMID:19229078
Objectives Our purpose was to evaluate interaction of green tea consumption and abdominal obesity as related factors for lacunar infarction in Korean women. Designs A hospital-based, incident case-control study. Settings The Prevention and Managements of Stroke in Women study. Participants Cases (n=233) of first incident lacunar infarction were enrolled and matched by age to stroke-free hospital controls (n=204). Measurements The data were collected through face-to-face interviews by well trained research assistants to assess demographic, medical, lifestyle, marital status, religions status, green tea consumptions, family history of stroke, smoking status, alcohol consumption, meat and vegetable intake frequency, and past history of hypertension. Biochemical analysis, fasting blood specime...
The flow and heat transfers associated with a plane laminar flow past a forward-facing step were analyzed using a power-law numerical scheme combined with a false vorticity-stream function approach. To improve the traditional wall-vorticity boundary condition, a novel method, based on an accurate description of the nonslip wall condition, was developed and utilized. The convergence for a 56 x 49 grid system was obtained in about 350 iterations. The computed reattachment distances in the upper separated region agree with the available experimental data for a blunt plate. The heat transfer augmentation is significant across the step; however, it is counterbalanced by the deterioration of heat transfer immediately upstream of the step.
This paper introduces a parallel measurement approach for fast infrared-based human temperature screening suitable for use in a large public area. Our key idea is based on the combination of simple image processing algorithms, infrared technology, and human flow management. With this multidisciplinary concept, we arrange as many people as possible in a two-dimensional space in front of a thermal imaging camera and then highlight all human facial areas through simple image filtering, image morphological, and particle analysis processes. In this way, an individual's face in live thermal image can be located and the maximum facial skin temperature can be monitored and displayed. Our experiment shows a measured 1ms processing time in highlighting all human face areas. With a thermal imaging ca...
Discusses longwall mining in the Halemba mine with mining depth to 1,000 m and coal seams prone to rock bursts. Since 1985 the Halemba mine has been characterized by the highest rock burst hazards in Poland. Rock burst hazards are associated with large mining depth, complicated geology, rock strata structure, natural rock burst hazards, high coal output of longwall faces and high advance rate. Methods for rock burst forecasting (test borehole drilling, measuring volume of cuttings from each test borehole, acoustic monitoring, etc.) and methods for rock burst control (stress relaxation by shock blasting) are analyzed. Effects of face advance rate on degree of rock burst hazard and stress concentration in a coal ribside are investigated. The increase achieved in longwall advance and coal production is pointed out.
The thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption of iodobenzene, 2-iodothiophene, and 1- and 2-iodoadamantanes on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black were determined experimentally. The influence of the special features of the molecular structure of the adsorbates on the thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption was studied. The atom-atom approximation of the semiempirical molecular-statistical theory of adsorption was used to calculate the thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption of the adsorbates using the newly determined potential function parameters of pair intermolecular interaction (?( r)) of I with C atoms of the basal graphite face. For the example of isostructural monohalogenated benzenes, thiophenes, and adamantanes, a comparative analysis of the contributions of the F, Cl, Br, and I atoms to the thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption was performed for the nonspecific adsorption of these compounds on a plane graphitized carbon black ...
Lower respiratory tract infections are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. Recent technological advances in the field of molecular biology have allowed virologists...Full Text Available
Maintaining efforts at the end of a very average year in terms of tonnages marketed, maintaining a high degree of vigilance art responsiveness in the face of competition from other energy sources, emphasizing the exemplary safety of industrial plant, and playing an increased role as a source of proposals within the context of dialogue with the authorities in the current environment of stricter regulations. (author)
A flutter-motion equation is presently derived for a 2D composite sandwich panel considering the total lateral displacement of the plate as the sum of the displacement due to bending of the plate, and that which is due to shear deformation at the core. The effects of core thickness and stacking sequence of the faces on the flutter boundary of the plate are discussed; it is shown that the sandwich panel greatly improves the flutter boundary over that of a composite laminate panel, provided it has sufficient core thickness.
The alumina industry is facing worldwide a growing disposal problem. Red mud creates increasingly technical, economic and environmental problems. Available solutions are reviewed and an old idea using a new approach with pressurized disc or drum filters for red mud is herewith presented and submitted for consideration as a potential and prospective solution to the problem.
After reviewing some of the mathematical foundations and numerical difficulties facing lattice QCD, I review the status of several calculations relevant to experimental high-energy physics. The topics considered are moments of structure functions, which may prove relevant to search for new phenomena at the LHC, and several aspects of flavor physics, which are relevant to understanding CP and flavor violation.
Design layout of horizontal steam generator (SJ) with a special feedwater heating surface (by a surface water economizer), designated for NPPs with WWER-1000 reactors, is suggested. The design enables to decrease sharply the difference between the temperatures of saturation and feedwater. Blowdown outlet is organized against PG face, which increases the efficiency of flowing. The suggested layout enables to decrease thermal stresses in structural units and PG metal content, as compared to the PGV-1000 steam generator.
An extensive R and D program on the development of the joining technologies between armour (beryllium, tungsten and carbon fibre composites)/copper alloys heat sink and copper alloys/ stainless steel has been carried out by ITER Home Teams. A brief review of this R and D program is presented in this paper. Based on the results, reference technologies for use in ITER have been selected and recommended for further development. (author)
Institutional issues play a critical, but often overlooked, role in the implementation of renewable energy systems. This paper briefly reviews the institutional arrangements involved in deploying renewable energy from both the sender and receiver perspectives, giving the institutional basis principal characteristics, and pros and cons of each institution. It then offers several perspectives on the critical issues facing the deployment of renewable energy systems before offering a number of potential institutional based solutions. (author)
The algebra of the coefficients in the minimal representation of the A_n_-_1 quantum group, discussed by Felder and Varchenko, is given. Those coefficients are associated with the Boltzmann weights of A_n_-_1"("1") interaction-round-a-face model. The authors show that the algebra satisfies the Yang-Baxter equation. The PBW base for this algebra is also given
Respiration and related physiologic variables in different tissues of Barytelphusa guerini and the respiration of this freshwater crab as a whole are closely synchronized in phase and in frequency along the circadian scale, in the face of large differences in circadian amplitude. A very close timing of most of the 36 variables examined in 2 separate circadian profiles and a modulation of some of these variables in added profiles as a function of lunar stage are clearly demonstrable, statistically significant and illustrative of time relations at 2 interacting frequencies. PMID:6745009
In the past few months, there has been public discussion relating to a new perspective on blood safety and specifically upon measures to prevent or discourage donation by individuals with a diagnosis of myalgic encephalopathy-chronic fatigue syndrome. This reflects an intriguing interplay between science, public health and public concern and illustrates some of the difficulties of making decisions in the face of uncertainty and inadequate information.
Henry constants for the adsorption of o- and p-phenylenediamines on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black within the temperature range 433?479 K were calculated by the molecular statistical method. The parameters of the atom-atom potential function of intermolecular interaction between the nitrogen atom in aniline and isomeric phenylenediamines and the carbon atom of the basal face of graphite were determined. It was shown that an intramolecular H bond influenced the geometry and adsorption properties of o-phenylenediamine.
Henry constants for the adsorption of o- and p-phenylenediamines on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black within the temperature range 433-479 K were calculated by the molecular statistical method. The parameters of the atom-atom potential function of intermolecular interaction between the nitrogen atom in aniline and isomeric phenylenediamines and the carbon atom of the basal face of graphite were determined. It was shown that an intramolecular H bond influenced the geometry and adsorption properties of o-phenylenediamine.
The basic features and advantages of a turbodrill with a reducer insert are given, together with its characteristics in different compositions. The results of industrial tests of a test lot in three areas are given. The effectivenss of using a reducer turbodrill in super-deep holes is demonstrated.
OBJECTIVES: Personal and equipment assistance are common strategies to reduce disability. This study sought to determine how often assistance reduces or even completely resolves health-related difficulties...Full Text Available
This paper focuses on the Internet as a tool for enhancing behavior and lifestyle changes to reduce the burden of cancer at a population level. The premise of this paper is that the Internet...Full Text Available
WR 104 is the prototype for a small but growing group of stars that present the remarkably striking appearance of pinwheels. High resolution images of WR 104 show the (apparently) face-on spiral turning with an 8 month period. The pinwheel is assumed to be composed of dust produced via colliding winds in a low-inclination WR+OB binary. These assumptions have been very successful in modeling the imaging, but remain largely untested by spectroscopy. Strong motivation for further study of this system has emerged. Recent theory suggests that some gamma-ray bursts (GRB's) are core-collapse supernovae viewed nearly pole-on. The WC class Wolf-Rayet star in WR 104 is the type of star thought to be a possible GRB progenitor. If the orbit (and thus stellar rotation axes) are pole-on, the effects on Earth's biosphere could be significant. Confrontation of the face-on colliding-wind binary model with eight years of spectroscopy, offering full phase ...
Tridimensional localization of bone and soft tissue injuries in complex facial trauma is fundamental for treatment. The face can be conceptualized as 3 groups of interconnected osseous struts that are oriented in the horizontal, sagittal and coronal planes. Each group of struts is closely related to specific soft tissue structures that are susceptible to injury. Any single CT section in the coronal plane or in the axial plane contains parts of one or more these struts. Facial CT in biplane were performed in 32 patients of facial trauma. The most common site of facial fractures is found in middle part of horizontal struts, geometrically in anteromedial portion of the inferior orbital fissure of the face. The most common soft tissue injury combined with facial fracture is hematoma and/or herniated orbital contents into the maxillary sinus. The serious combined soft tissue injuries were ocular rupture, retroorbital hematoma and optic nerve injury ...
Aims: I have analyzed a sample of seven nearby edge-on galaxies observed in the V and K'-band, in order to infer the properties of the dust distribution. Methods: A radiative transfer model, including scattering, have been used to decompose each image into a stellar disk, a bulge, and a dust disk. The parameters describing the distributions have been obtained through standard X^2 minimization techniques. Results: The dust disks fitted to the V-band images are consistent with previous work in literature: the radial scalelength of dust is larger than that for stars (h_d/h_s ~ 1.5); the dust disk has a smaller vertical scalelength than the stellar (z_d/z_s ~ 1/3); the dust disk is almost transparent when seen face-on (central, face-on, optical depth tau_0 =0.5-1.5). Faster radiative transfer models which neglect scattering can produce equivalent fits, with changes in the derived parameters within the accuracy of full fits including scattering. In ...
In order to perform a detailed study of the stellar kinematics in the vertical axis of bars, we obtained high signal-to-noise spectra along the major and minor axes of the bars in a sample of 14 face-on galaxies, and used them to determine the line of sight stellar velocity distribution, parameterized as Gauss-Hermite series. With these data, we developed a diagnostic tool that allows one to distinguish between recently formed and evolved bars, as well as estimate their ages, assuming that bars form in vertically thin disks, recognizable by low values for the vertical velocity dispersion sigma_z. Through N-body realizations of bar unstable disk galaxies we could also check the time scales involved in the processes which give bars an important vertical structure. We show that sigma_z in evolved bars is roughly around 100 Km/s, which translates to a height scale of about 1.4 Kpc, giving support to scenarios in which bulges form through disk material. Furthermore, the ...
The divertor 'Large Project' was conceived with the aim of demonstrating the feasibility of meeting the lifetime requirements by employing the candidate armor materials of beryllium, tungsten (W) and carbon-fiber-composite (CFC). At the start, there existed only limited experience with constructing water-cooled high heat flux armored components for tokamaks. To this was added the complication posed by the need to use a silver-free joining technique that avoids the transmutation of n-irradiated silver to cadmium. The research project involving the four Home Teams (HTs) has focused on the design, development, manufacture and testing of full-scale Plasma Facing Components (PFCs) suitable for ITER. The task addressed all the issues facing ITER divertor design, such as providing adequate armor erosion lifetime, meeting the required armor-heat sink joint lifetime and heat sink fatigue life, sustaining thermal-hydraulic and electromechanical loads, ...
This report describes the conclusion of a two-part programme, begun in 1994 with the overall aim of assisting in the development of an acceptable public participation strategy for use in Sweden for the siting of contentious facilities, with particular reference to the ongoing siting programme for a deep repository for spent nuclear fuel. The first part of the work programme, a global review of siting practice, was reported as SSI Rapport 94-15, in November 1994. This recommended further detailed studies of at least two individual programmes, which have now been carried out in Canada and the United States, and are reported on here. They involved face to face meetings with many of the main stake holders in the two programmes and enabled valuable insight to be gained into the potential problems associated with increased public participation, as well as identifying good practice where it exists. The lessons learned have then been applied to the ...
In the frame of the European Technology R and D programme for International thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) and in the area of high heat flux plasma facing components (HHFC), representative small-scale mock-ups were manufactured and tested to compare different concepts and joining technologies (i.e. active brazing, hot isostatic pressing (HIPping), diffusion bonding, etc.). On the basis of the results obtained by thermal fatigue tests, the monoblock concept resulted to be the most robust one, particularly when the HIPping manufacturing technology is used. Within this programme, ENEA developed an alternative technique for manufacturing plasma-facing components with a monoblock geometry of the ITER machine. The basic idea of this technique, named hot radial pressing (HRP), is to perform a radial diffusion bonding between the cooling tube and the armour tile by pressurising the internal tube only and by keeping the process parameters ...
In the frame of the European Technology R and D program for ITER, and in the area of High Heat Flux plasma facing Components (HHFC), representative small-scale mock-ups were manufactured and tested to compare different concepts and joining technologies (i.e. active brazing, Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIPping), diffusion bonding, etc.). On the basis of the results obtained by thermal fatigue tests, the monoblock concept resulted to be the most promising one, particularly when the HIPping manufacturing technology is used. Within this program, ENEA manufactured tungsten monoblock mock-ups by using the HIPping technology. The mock-ups were tested with respect to thermal fatigue and, upon screening tests, the best performance obtained was 15 MW/m{sup 2} for 200 cycles. One of these mock-ups was enclosed in the 'Paride' neutron irradiation campaign. This campaign has the scope of enlarging the available database on the performance degradation of ...
In the frame of the European Technology R and D program for ITER, and in the area of High Heat Flux plasma facing Components (HHFC), representative small-scale mock-ups were manufactured and tested to compare different concepts and joining technologies (i.e. active brazing, Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIPping), diffusion bonding, etc.). On the basis of the results obtained by thermal fatigue tests, the monoblock concept resulted to be the most promising one, particularly when the HIPping manufacturing technology is used. Within this program, ENEA manufactured tungsten monoblock mock-ups by using the HIPping technology. The mock-ups were tested with respect to thermal fatigue and, upon screening tests, the best performance obtained was 15 MW/m"2 for 200 cycles. One of these mock-ups was enclosed in the 'Paride' neutron irradiation campaign. This campaign has the scope of enlarging the available database on the performance degradation of prototypical basic solutions of ...
With regard to a fracture system in the Hijiori hot dry rock artificial reservoir, an attempt was made on an interpretation which integrates different data. Major factors that characterize development and performance of an artificial reservoir are composed of a fracture system in rocks, which acts as circulating water paths, a heat exchange face and a reservoir space. The system relates not only with crack density distribution, but also with cracks activated by water pressure fracturing, cracks generating acoustic emission (AE), and cracks working as major flow paths, all of which are characterized by having respective behaviors and roles. Characteristics are shown on AE cluster distribution, crack distribution, production zone and estimated stress fields. Mutual relationship among these elements was discussed based on the Coulomb`s theory. The most important paths are characterized by distribution of slippery cracks. Directions and appearance frequencies of the ...
Single crystal cubic boron nitride (cBN) was heteroepitaxially grown on a seed crystal of diamond under static high pressure and high temperature at 5.5GPa and 1,600--1,700 C, respectively, for 10--100 hour. A temperature gradient method was employed for the crystal growth by using lithium boron nitride as a solvent. Initial growth feature of cBN crystal was found on the diamond seed surface after the growing time of 10 minutes. The nucleation sites of the crystals seem to be near the etch pits on the diamond surface which were introduced by the surface dissolution by the solvent for cBN growth. Two types of growth features, island and step growth were typically shown on the surface. It can be seen that grown crystal appearing as a (111) nitrogen face was exhibited with the step growth feature, while the (11n) face exhibited the island growth feature. Considering the growth process under constant P-T growing condition, growth rate of cBN ...
The corona wind caused by nonuniform electric fields has been experimentally reported so far to be effectively applicable to heat transfer augmentation. In this paper, first, a theoretical and experimental study has been conducted to make clear such a mechanism of augmentation of heat transfer to a downward-facing flat plate due to a nonuniform electric field caused by a fine wire anode and a plate cathode as that ions produced near the wire electrode move to the plate introducing the bulk convective motion of fluid caused by collision of ions and neutral molecules. Secondly, experiments have been carried out by using twin and multi-wire electrodes and the plate to find the augmentation performance of heat transfer for the number and the arrangement of the wire electrodes, to explain the performance from the electrohydrodynamical standpoint based on the theoretical investigation and to obtain important and fundamental data to apply the corona wind to cooling a body ...
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are useful tools for the delivery of hydrophilic bioactive molecules, such as peptides, proteins, and oligonucleotides, across the cell membrane. To realize the delivery of therapeutic macromolecules by CPPs, the CPPs are required to show resistance to protease and no cytotoxicity. In order to produce potent non-toxic and protease-resistant CPPs with high cellular uptake, we designed an amphipathic helix peptide using ?-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib, U) and named it MAP(Aib). In the MAP(Aib) molecule, five Aib residues are aligned on the hydrophobic face of the helix and five lysine (K) residues are aligned on the hydrophilic face. MAP(Aib) showed potent resistance to trypsin and pronase compared with MAP, an amphipathic helix peptide formed by usual amino acids. Fluorescein-labeled MAP(Aib) efficiently traversed the A549 cell membrane, diffusing into the cytoplasm and slightly into the nucleus without exerting any ...
Besides the multifunctionality, another equally important aspect of nanoparticles is their engineerability to control the geometrical and chemical properties during fabrication. In this work, we exploited this aspect to define asymmetric surface chemistry of an iron oxide nanosphere by controlling the topology of ligand expression on its surface resulting in a particle with two faces, one displaying only amines and the other only thiols. Specifically, amine-functionalized iron oxide nanospheres were attached on a solid support via a crosslinker containing a disulfide bridge. Liberation of the nanosphere using thiolytic cleavage created thiols on the portion of the particle's surface that interacted with the solid support. Employing a solid-phase strategy and a step-by-step addition of particles, the two unique faces on the same nanosphere served as fittings to assemble them into linear nano-chains. Assembly of chains with various lengths and ...
In this paper we present a novel approach to personal photo album management allowing the end user to efficiently access the collection without any need for tedious manual annotation or indexing of the photos. The proposed work exploits methods and technology from the field of computer vision and pattern recognition for face detection, face representation and image annotation to automatically create description of images useful for content-based searching and retrieval. In fact, even if most of the used techniques are not reliable enough to address the general problem of content-based image retrieval, we show that, in a limited domain such as the one of personal photo album, it is possible to obtain results that improve the browsing capabilities of current photo album management systems. In particular, starting from the observation that most personal photos depict a usually small number of people in a relatively small number of different ...
A sequential problem in decentralized detection is considered. Two observers can make repeated noisy observations of a binary hypothesis on the state of the environment. At any time, observer 1 can stop and send a final binary message to observer 2 or it may continue to take more measurements. Every time observer 1 postpones its final message to observer 2, it incurs a penalty. Observer 2's operation under two different scenarios is explored. In the first scenario, observer 2 waits to receive the final message from observer 1 and then starts taking measurements of its own. It is then faced with a stopping problem on whether to stop and declare a decision on the hypothesis or to continue taking measurements. In the second scenario, observer 2 starts taking measurements from the beginning. It is then faced with a different stopping problem. At any time, observer 2 can decide whether to stop and declare a decision on the hypothesis or to continue ...
A standing challenge for the science of mind is to account for the datum that every mind faces in the most immediate - that is, unmediated - fashion: its phenomenal experience. The complementary tasks of explaining what it means for a system to give rise to experience and what constitutes the content of experience (qualia) in computational terms are particularly challenging, given the multiple realizability of computation. In this paper, we identify a set of conditions that a computational theory must satisfy for it to constitute not just a sufficient but a necessary, and therefore naturalistic and intrinsic, explanation of qualia. We show that a common assumption behind many neurocomputational theories of the mind, according to which mind states can be formalized solely in terms of instan...
Delivering the promise of personalised medicine is the challenge that the current generation of scientists face. The variations in human physiology and disease are considerable, and designing appropriate strategies to deliver what has been promised will require access to tissue from a large number of volunteers. The NHS provides an ideal infrastructure for sample acquisition, but requires two things to make this available?public consent and support for extra manpower and administration. There is a disconnection between the NHS and tissue based research that needs to be addressed on a number of levels to provide a translational platform. This should enable the path to be beaten to provide the ideal tailored treatment for future patients; one that preserves quality of life by curing the dise...
This document provides information and presents data on the energy situation in many regions of Canada. The first part deals with the petroleum and the bitumen shales of Alberta (reserves, exploitation and production, environmental impacts), the second part discusses with the hydroelectricity choice of Quebec and the 2004 crisis. The nuclear situation of Ontario is presented in the third part (nuclear park, programs, uranium reserves, research and development on Candu reactors), while the fourth part deals with the renewable energies (wind power and biomass). The canadian situation facing the Kyoto protocol is discussed in the last part. (A.L.B.)
A calorimetric-time-of-flight (CTOF) technique was used for real-time, high-precision measurement of neutron spectrum at the angle of 175 degrees from the initial proton beam direction, which hits a face plane of a cylindrical iron target of 20 cm in diameter and 25 cm thick. A comparison was performed between the neutron spectra predicted by the MARS and the MCNPX code systems and measured by experiments for 0.4-, 0.6-, 0.8-, 1.0-, and 1.2-GeV protons.
The effective integration of technology into the teaching and learning of mathematics remains one of the critical challenges facing contemporary tertiary mathematics. This article reports on some significant findings of a wider study investigating the use of technology in undergraduate mathematics. It first discusses a taxonomy developed to describe and compare technology use within individual courses and departments that identifies a complex range of factors, summarized under six defining characteristics of an integrated technology mathematics curriculum (ITMC). An instrument for a simple comparison of technology use employing the elements of this taxonomy is provided. It then presents evidence gathered from an observational study of technology implementation at The University of Auckland...
The role of natural enemies in the regulation of populations is one of the major questions facing population ecologists. Simplification have led to two theoretical ways of incorporating the role of natural enemies in single ecological models: diffusion models and patch-type models. The predictions of the models are different because of the way variability is incorporated. Three equations are presented for diffusion models and one for patch models. Since the two types of models apply at different combinations of spatial and temporal scales, the right model(s) to choose for a particular study requires careful assessment. A continuing dialogue between experimentalists and theoreticians will lead to a better understanding of natural systems such as those that occur in biological control.
High power and particle deposition on target materials are encountered in many applications including magnetic and inertial fusion devices, nuclear and high energy physics applications, and laser and discharge produced plasma devices. Surface and structural damage to plasma-facing components due to the frequent loss of plasma confinement remains a serious problem for the Tokamak reactor concept. The deposited plasma energy causes significant surface erosion, possible structural failure, and frequent plasma contamination.
An important aspect, which has to be considered in terms of municipal solid waste (MSW) management, is the stage of collection. The emissions generated from these systems can arrive to values that are of the same order of magnitude of emissions from combustion of waste in waste-to-energy plants. The present work faces the problem of transport, from intermediate station to the center of final combustion, placing attention to the emissions from scenarios that has been selected between real systems of management. This analysis can lead to highlight some important elements that can be useful to minimize the impacts.
This article presents a decentralized control scheme for the complex problem of simultaneous position and internal force control in cooperative multiple manipulator systems. The proposed controller is composed of a sliding mode control term and a force robustifying term to simultaneously control the payloads position/orientation as well as the internal forces induced in the system. This is accomplished independently of the manipulators dynamics. Unlike most controllers that do not require prior knowledge of the manipulators dynamics, the suggested controller does not use fuzzy logic inferencing and is computationally inexpensive. Using a Lyapunov stability approach, the controller is proven to be robust in the face of varying systems dynamics. The payloads position/orientation and the inte...
Originally designed exclusively for peak load covering, pumped storage plants are now faced with new challenges brought about by the deregulation of the electricity market and the substantial growth of wind power capacity. Today's pumped storage plants are started more frequently and often for shorter periods of time. The grid controlling tasks have increased the importance of the role played by this type of power plant and improved sales considerably. But the operational demands have grown substantially as well. This paper discusses the ensuing adaptation of power plant operation as well as options available to power plant operators. (orig.)
A process is disclosed for the preparation of liquid, storage-stable, polyisocyanate compositions containing a release agent formed in situ which compositions are useful, for example, as binder resins in the formation of particle boards which latter, because of the presence of the release agent, show no tendency to adhere to the face of metal platens used in their formation. The process comprises heating an organic polyisocyanate (polymethylene polyphenyl polyisocyanate preferred) with an acid phosphate (e.g. a mixture of mono-and di-alkyl acid phosphates) under conditions controlled as to time and temperature so as to yield a product which is storage stable and shows no tendency to deposit solid or to separate into two liquid phases.
This volume contains the papers presented at the 1st International Workshop on "Decentralized Coordination of Distributed Processes", DCDP 2010, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on June 10th, 2010 in conjunction with the 5th International Federated Conferences on Distributed Computing Techniques, DisCoTec 2010. The central theme of the workshop is the decentralized coordination of distributed processes. Decentralized: there is no single authority in the network that everything is vulnerable to. Coordinated: processes need to cooperate to achieve meaningful results, potentially in the face of mutual suspicion. Distributed: processes are separated by a potentially unreliable network.
In the present paper we propose a model of physical phenomena behind the front face of the electrodes in an impulse plasma accelerator. The model is based on the results of recent experimental observations and measurements. It correlates plasma dynamics with mechanism of phenomena in a column of pinching plasma. On the contrary to the previous model the current one suggests the series of relatively short pulses of metallic ions from the erosion of electrode material. Till now the pinch was treated rather as a nearly continuous source of metallic plasma, feeding the process with ions from the erosion of electrode material. (author)
The recent definition of a postulated thermal shock accident followed promptly by system repressurization, termed an overcooling or pressurized thermal shock accident, has set a large analysis and research effort into motion. The essential elements are concerned with defining the accident transients, evaluating the instrumentation and controls that cause the postulated accidents, and evaluating the metallurgical and structural mechanics aspects of the reactor vessel with respect to its failure potential. This paper poses the question faced by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the vessel steel embrittlement, annealing, and surveillance dosimetry facets of this postulated accident and provides information on our plans for study of this problem as well as current status.
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of moral conflicts in information systems development by studying student perceptions in an information systems (IS) project course implemented in close collaboration with information technology firms. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on an empirical case study. Students' perceptions of moral conflicts were gathered through diaries, drawings, and questionnaires; and the analysis was inspired by phenomenography. Findings - The analysis reveals six types of moral conflicts. Students face conflicts related to their work tasks and to human and outside parties, and inherent in them is an inclination to moral failure in terms of doing something they perceive to be morally wrong, and also the desire for moral success...
This paper reports the presence of face centered cubic cobalt precipitates inside tungsten carbide in nanocomposite of WC-Co synthesized by spray conversion processing. EDS was used to identify the presence and micro-diffraction was employed to determine the nature of the precipitates. There is entrapment of cobalt in tungsten carbide during the spray conversion process used to form WC/Co powder. During consolidation, at high temperatures, the cobalt attains enough mobility to precipitate inside WC. A vanadium containing compound was seen at the interfaces in samples which incorporated VC as a grain growth inhibitor. (orig.)
The projects described in this report represent the Laboratory's investment in its future and are vital to maintaining the ability to develop creative solutions for the scientific and technical challenges faced by DOE and the nation. In accordance with DOE guidelines, the report provides, a) a director's statement, b) an overview of the laboratory's LDRD program, including PNNL's management process and a self-assessment of the program, c) a five-year project funding table, and d) project summaries for each LDRD project.
In this handbook, technical reports on a number of hydro plants under construction are provided. In addition tables of compiled data are presented on a world-wide basis for the following: turbine and hydro generator contracts; hydropower resource potential and development; pumped storage plants; the major dams and hydro plants; roller compacted concrete dams and concrete faced rockfill dams; small hydropower. An address database of international organizations of relevance to hydropower development, national power authorities and nation committees of the International Commission an Large Dams is included. A final and major section of the handbook is a buyer's guide providing extensive company data and information on products and services. (UK)
The overall purpose of this research was to evaluate the independent and interactive effects of elevated levels of CO{sub 2} and O{sub 3} on tree leaf litter quality and decomposition. This research was conducted at the Aspen FACE (Free Air CO{sub 2} Enrichment) facility near Rhinelander, Wisconsin. This research comprised one facet of a larger project assessing how CO{sub 2} and O{sub 3} pollutants will alter carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling in north temperate forest ecosystems.
Epitaxial thin films of nanotwinned face-centered cubic metals such as Cu possess an unprecedented combination of high hardness and high electrical conductivity due to the unique structure of nanometer-spaced coherent twin boundaries. Recent studies of in-situ nanoindentation in a transmission electron microscope have provided new insights on the deformation behavior of nanotwins that are reviewed here. In particular, two unit processes are highlighted: first, stress-induced migration of ?3 {112} incoherent twin boundary that leads to de-twinning of nanotwins; second, twinning dislocation can be multiplied at ?3 {111} coherent twin boundary.
The central nervous system (CNS), generally accepted to regulate energy homeostasis, has been implicated in the metabolic perturbations that either cause or are associated with obesity. Normally, the CNS receives hormonal, metabolic, and neuronal input to assure adequate energy levels and maintain stable energy homeostasis. Recent evidence also supports that the CNS uses these same inputs to regulate glucose homeostasis and this aspect of CNS regulation also becomes impaired in the face of dietary-induced obesity. This review focuses on the literature surrounding hypothalamic regulation of energy and glucose homeostasis and discusses how dysregulation of this system may contribute to obesity and T2DM.
All power plant engineers face the problem of peak power demands. Pumped storage plants are used to generate peak load power by pumping up water utilizing off-peak energy of hydrothermal and thermonuclear plants. This is the first accessible text/reference to cover hydroelectric power generation with emphasis on engineering to meet peak power demands by means of pumped storge plants, tidal power plants, and low head power generation. Text covers hydrology, mechanical and electrical equipment, accessories such as penstocks and valves, and civil engineering considerations. Contains descriptions of several existing plants. Includes 200 diagrams and 50 photographs.
All power plant engineers face the problem of peak power demands. Pumped storage plants are used to generate peak load power by pumping up water utilizing off-peak energy of hydrothermal and thermonuclear plants. This is a reference to cover hydroelectric power generation with emphasis on engineering to meet peak power demands by means of pumped storage plants, tidal power plants, and low head power generation. Text covers hydrology, mechanical and electrical equipment, accessories such as penstocks and valves, and civil engineering considerations. Contains descriptions of several existing plants. Includes 200 diagrams and 50 photographs.
Foinaven and Schiehallion/Loyal are the first oilfields West of Shetland (WoS). They were developed using Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) technology in water depths of between 350m and 550m and arguably the harshest environmental conditions yet experienced offshore. Traditional project time scales were halved by shortening and overlapping the reservoir and facilities developments. This paper describes some of the challenges faced by the geotechnical engineers working on these projects and summarises lessons learnt from site investigations and the design and installation of foundations. (author)
Structural changes of a Ni-P amorphous alloy under focused-ion-beam (FIB) irradiation have been examined using transmission electron microscopy. On the irradiated plane, the formation of crystallographically orientated nanosized crystals (NCs), with the particle size of approximately 10 nm, was observed. A series of electron diffraction analyses have revealed that NCs have a face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure and the following orientation relationships between the NCs and the FIB direction were found. These are, irradiated plane//(111)_f_c_c and FIB direction//_f_c_c.
The development of the Aasgard field complex off mid Norway represents one of the largest technical and economic challenges yet faced by the Norwegian offshore industry. The article deals briefly with this development. The project comprises a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the oil production, and a large semisubmersible for the gas phase. More than 60 subsea completed wells for production and injection on 15 seabed templates are planned, with some 300 km of seabed pipelines also to be installed on the field which will produce for 30 years. The total investment will be NOK 31 billion. 1 fig.
Purpose - The article shares insights from a program that was developed to address burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. The program works from the premise that people and organizations thrive when they have shared values and common understandings. Design/methodology/approach - The approach draws together reflection at the organizational and person levels. Connecting business ethics and organizational analysis, improving understanding of the body's energy as well as inter-cultural understanding are all achievable while adopting the resilience development methods. Findings - The article concludes that reflective practice through the tools used on the program enhances understanding of the challenges faced by organizations and the individuals involved. It provides creative routes ...
A typical incident response pits technicians against networks that aren't prepared forensically. [1, 2] If practitioners do consider collecting network forensic data, they face a choice between expending extraordinary effort (time and money) collecting forensically sound data, or simply restoring the network as quickly as possible. In this context, the concept of organizational network forensic readiness has emerged. This paper proposes a methodology for "operationalizing" organizational network forensic readiness. The methodology, and the theoretical analysis that led to its development, are offered as a conceptual framework for thinking about more efficient, proactive approaches to digital forensics on networks.
The paper describes an analytical study of two parallel-flowing boundary layers of free and forced convection modes on the facing sides of a vertical thin wall. The two layers are analyzed separately within the framework of boundary layer theory, and coupled by the matching conditions at wall. Numerical data are obtained for a wide range of a dimensionless conjugation parameter {zeta} relating the heat transfer effectiveness of two convection modes. Based on these data, an expression for calculating the conjugate mean Nusselt number as a function of {zeta}-parameter is found by means of a curve-fitting method. (orig.)
Lead-acid batteries, one of eight types, account for about 70% of annualized control costs facing the battery manufacturing industry as a result of EPA's guidelines. This report is the industry's response. It makes counter recommendations for effluent limitations, discusses selected control technologies and effluent limitations, makes control cost estimates, and provides an economic impact analysis and a benefits effectiveness analysis.
An estimated 265 million tons of hazardous waste are generated annually in the United States. Traditional waste disposal methods are inadequate, and many are no longer environmentally acceptable. Still, the waste increases along with demands for clean, environmentally safe methods for dealing with it. Faced with these demands, many hazardous waste generators are turning for help to co-processing,'' technology that goes beyond a no-impact solution to one of net positive impact, both environmentally and economically. This paper describes co-processing.
As a part of the Finnish radioactive waste disposal research three holes (the size of deposition holes) were bored in the research tunnel at Olkiluoto in Finland. A novel full-face boring technique was used based on rotary crushing of rock and removal of crushed rock by vacuum flushing through the drill string an the purpose of the work was to demonstrate the feasibility of the technique. During the boring test procedures were carried out in order to determine the effect of charges in operating parameters on the performance of the boring machine and the quality of the hole. (refs.).
Floating Production, Offshore Storage and Offloading (FPSO) of hydrocarbons is not new. However, offshore crude oil development has to face the increasing need of the geopolitical interests to develop smaller or difficult reservoir in remote areas in deeper water and harsher environment. Such a trend can only be sustained if the offshore technology provides the right tools at the right time and at an acceptable price. This article will attempt to describe the relative merits of FPSO systems and discuss its main components. An overview of the present world situation shows the excellent performance of the FPSO with the type of development strategy undertaken in P.R.C.
Ab initio total-energy calculations, based on the exact muffin-tin orbital method, are used to determine the elastic properties of Pd1-xAgx random alloys in the face-centered-cubic crystallographic phase. The compositional disorder is treated within the coherent-potential approximation. The single crystal and polycrystalline elastic constants and the Debye temperature are calculated for the whole range of concentration, 0?x?1. It is shown that the variation in the elastic parameters of Pd-Ag alloys with chemical composition strongly deviates from a simple linear or parabolic trend. The complex electronic origin of these anomalies is demonstrated.
Those who teach college students have extensive training in their disciplines, but unlike their counterparts at the high school or elementary school level, they often have surprisingly little instruction in the craft of teaching itself. "The Chicago Handbook for Teachers, Second Edition", is an extraordinarily helpful guide for anyone facing the daunting challenge of putting together a course and delivering it successfully. Representing teachers at all stages of their careers, the authors, including distinguished historian Alan Brinkley, offer practical advice for almost any situation a new teacher might face, from preparing a syllabus to managing classroom dynamics. Beginning with a nuts and bolts plan for designing a course, the handbook also explains how to lead a discussion, evaluate your own teaching, give an effective lecture, supervise students' writing and research, create and grade exams, and more. This new edition is thoroughly ...
A numerical study has been performed to investigate the hydrodynamic aspects of the pool boiling on horizontal-, vertical- and downward-facing surfaces. The FlowLab code, which is based on a Lattice-Boltzmann (LB) model of two-phase flows, is employed. Macroscopic properties, such as surface tension ({sigma}) and contact angle ({beta}), are implemented through the fluid-fluid (G{sub {sigma}}) and fluid-solid (G{sub t}) interaction potentials. The model is found to express a linear relation between the macroscopic properties ({sigma}, {beta}) and microscopic parameters (G{sub {sigma}}, G{sub t}). The simulation results on bubble departure diameter appear to have the same parametric dependence as the empirical correlation. Hydrodynamic aspects of two-phase flow regime transition mechanism are investigated for different surface-coolant configurations. Results of the LB simulation clearly demonstrate that not only the bubble nucleation site density (related, e.g. to ...
For the lifetime evaluation of plasma facing materials in fusion experimental machines, it is essential to investigate their surface behavior and their temperature responses during an off-normal event such as the plasma disruptions. An infrared thermometer with a sampling speed as fast as 1x10"-"6 s/data, namely, the high-speed infrared thermometer (HSIR), has been developed by the National Research Laboratory of Metrology in Japan. To evaluate an applicability of the newly developed HSIR on the surface temperature measurement of plasma facing materials, high heat flux beam irradiation experiments have been performed with three different materials under the surface heat fluxes up to 170 MW/m"2 for 0.04 s in a hydrogen ion beam test facility at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. As for the results, HSIR can be applicable for measuring the surface temperature responses of the armor tile materials with a little modification. It is also ...
A high power (200KV), intense current density, low emittance (71mmmrad), high brightness (8x10{sup 10}A/m rad) electron beam was generated in the 10cm long, high-voltage-resistive multi-gap hollow cathode pseudospark chamber filled with 15pa nitrogen and driven by an improved pulse line accelerator. The beam was ejected with the 1mm diameter, the 2.2KA beam current, and the 400ns pulse length, and could propagated 20cm in the drift tube. At a distance of 5cm from the anode it penetrated consecutively an acid-sensitive discoloring film and a 0.05mm-thick copper foil both stuck closely, left 0.6mm and 0.3mm holes on them, respectively. That 10 shots on an acid-sensitive film produced a hole of 1.6mm at 7cm downstream of anode showed its good repeatability. After 60 shots the pseudospark discharge chamber was disassembled and observed that almost no destructive damage traces left on the surfaces of its various electrodes and insulators. But on almost all the surfaces of changeable central ...
This paper describes considerations given on factors affecting radon concentrations, and the radon concentration measurements in hot springs distributed in the northern part of Kumamoto Prefecture. As a result of analyzing radon concentration attenuation in the vertically upward direction using a diffusion equation, it was revealed that radon carrier gas velocities affect strongly the radon concentration, and the [sup 220]Rn source is limited to a very shallow bed below the ground surface. An inclined face was prepared against the [sup 222]Rn decay constant distribution using an inclined face analyzing method. The [sup 222]Rn concentration direction based on this inclined face harmonized approximately well with the hot spring distribution direction. Base rocks that well up hot springs were inferred to be granite from the concentration distribution and pH of chemical components in each hot spring. As a result of surveying ...
One of the biggest fears and challenges a parent of a child with special needs faces is navigating the post-22 landscape. When a child hits the age of 22, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is no longer required to provide daily services and support. Whatever the abilities, or disabilities, of a child, every parent has the same concerns about how their child will productively fill their days and live as independently as possible without the safety net of the DESE. One of the transition paths most frequented is entering the workforce. Public and private schools alike work to teach their students the basic skills they need to work. In fact, the national Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that students must have a transition plan in formulation by the age of 16. This article describes the vocational program developed by the League School of Greater Boston which specifically addresses the challenges students, their ...
The isotopic composition of Pd, Ag, Cd and Te has been measured by solid source mass spectrometry for four samples from reactor zones 2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7, and from four host rock samples external to the reactor zones from the Oklo mine site. The concentrations of these elements have also been determined in the eight samples using the stable isotope dilution technique. Cumulative fission yields have been derived from the reactor zone samples after correcting where necessary for the terrestrial component of the element concerned. It has been shown that fission-produced Pd and Te are retained almost in their entirety in the uraninite reactor zone samples, whereas a significant fraction of fission-produced Ag and Cd have migrated from the reactor zones. Fission product Cd is observed in the host rock samples, whereas no strong evidence of fission-produced Ag could be found. This the fission-produced Ag which has migrated from the reactor zones has not been retained in the four host rock ...
The Infrared Camera (IRC) is one of the scientific focal plane instruments on board the ASTRO-F infrared astronomical satellite. The IRC is designed for wide field imaging and slit-less spectroscopic observations at near- and mid-infrared wavelengths. The IRC consists of three channels; NIR, MIR-S and MIR-L, each of which covers wavelengths of 2-5, 5-12 and 12-26 micron, respectively. All channels adopt compact refractive optical designs. Large format array detectors (a InSb 512 x 412 array and two Si:As IBC 256 x 256 arrays) are employed. Each channel has 10 x 10 arcminutes wide FOV with diffraction-limited angular resolution of 70cm aperture of the liquid helium cooled telescope at wavelengths over 5 micron. A 6-position filter wheel is placed at the aperture stop in each channel, and has three band-pass filters, two grisms/prisms and a mask for dark current measurements. The 5 sigma sensitivity of one pointed observation is estimated to be 2, 11 and 62 micro-Jy ...
Three regio-isomers of N-(N-benzylpiperidin-4-yl)-4-iodobenzamide, IBP, were prepared and evaluated for their sigma affinities. All three isomers (2, 3, and 4-substituted) showed high affinities for sigma-1 receptors in guinea pig brain membranes (Ki - 1.64 nM, 3.02 nM, 1.70 nM respectively) against ["3H]-(+)-pentazocine, a sigma-1 selective ligand. 2-IBP and 4-IBP showed modest affinities for sigma-2 sites in rat liver (Ki = 29.6 nM. 25.2 nM respectively) against ["3H]DTG in the presence of dextrallorphan to mask sigma-1 sites. The homologous competition binding studies of 4-["1"2"5I]BP in MCF-7 human breast tumor cells showed high affinity dose-dependent binding. Competition binding studies with haloperidol and DTG also showed a high affinity binding (Ki = 4.6 nM, 60 nM respectively), demonstrating the sigma specificity. The saturation binding (Scatchard analysis) of ["3H]DTG with MCF-7 cell membrane preparations gave Kd of 24.54 nM and a Bmax of 2071 fmol/mg ...
Three studies of electrochemical current distribution have been performed using potential-theory models and the boundary-element method (BEM). (1) The steady-state behavior of cells with nonuniform current density over a passivating anode is investigated. Current distributions calculated for a test cell, using the measured kinetic behavior of nickel in acid-nickel-sulfate solution, are compared to estimates from earlier models. Although current-density profiles determined by weight loss on a segmented rotating cylinder agreed satisfactorily with model calculations, the measured length of the passive zone exceeds the theoretical value. The model's applicability to anodic protection is demonstrated for a stainless-steel sulfuric-acid holding tank. (2) A model is established to describe the effects of attached bubbles on the potential drop at gas-evolving electrodes including: (1) ohmic obstruction within the electrolyte; (2) area masking on the electrode ...
In this work the diffusion of ion-beam-injected self-interstitials (Is) and their interaction with impurities in crystalline Si are presented. In particular, the I penetration into a molecular beam epitaxy grown Si structure was studied by means of diffusion effects induced on B spikes, analyzed by a developed simulation code. Trapping effects at sample-surface and bulk are evidenced and modeled. The B marker approach was extended to the two-dimensional (2D) I-diffusion occurring as a consequence of ion implantation through a sub-micron dimension patterned oxide mask. I-source size effects on the I penetration have been found and modeled, quantitatively describing the 2D I-diffusion. The I-substitutional carbon interactions have been also studied, showing the C ability to effectively retain Is. The I-trapping mechanism was quantitatively studied by the simulation code, showing that one I is able to deactivate about two C traps by means of I-trapping and ...
Antiquitin (ATQ) deficiency is the main cause of pyridoxine dependent epilepsy characterized by early onset epileptic encephalopathy responsive to large dosages of pyridoxine. Despite seizure control most patients have intellectual disability. Folinic acid responsive seizures (FARS) are genetically identical to ATQ deficiency. ATQ functions as an aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH7A1) in the lysine degradation pathway. Its deficiency results in accumulation of ?-aminoadipic semialdehyde (AASA), piperideine-6-carboxylate (P6C) and pipecolic acid, which serve as diagnostic markers in urine, plasma, and CSF. To interrupt seizures a dose of 100mg of pyridoxine-HCl is given intravenously, or orally/enterally with 30mg/kg/day. First administration may result in respiratory arrest in responders, and thus treatment should be performed with support of respiratory management. To make sure that late and masked response is not missed, treatment with oral/enteral pyridoxine should be ...
The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) analyses of plasters collected from the courtyard walls of Djehuty's tomb show anhydrite, calcite, dolomite, quartz, alkali feldspars and accessorial amounts of halite and illite. The external outer bed is mainly composed by anhydrite, since the original hydrous phases of gypsum plaster were desiccated during thirty centuries in the dry land environment of the Luxor area, under low relative humidity and high temperatures. The luminescence analyses by thermoluminescence (TL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) demonstrate as one plaster sample (m8), i.e., 95% anhydrite, displays a gigantic TL emission of 33 555 a.u. and a SEM/CL emission of 2319 a.u. maxima peak. The spectra CL also exhibits a 484 nm peak attributable to the classic {sup 4}F{sub 9/2}{yields}{sup 6}H{sub 15/2} transition circa 490 nm of Dy{sup 3+} and a 573 nm emission of Dy{sup 3+} masked in a broad emission band ...
The Westinghouse Electric Corporation has undertaken to investigate, develop, and characterize laser-assisted processing techniques utilized to produce the fine line, thin metal grid structures that are required to fabricate high-efficiency solar cells. Two basic techniques for metal deposition will be investigated, as follows: (1) photochemical decomposition of liquid or gas phase organometallic compounds utilizing either a focused, CW ultraviolet laser (System 1) or a mask and ultraviolet flood illumination, such as that provided by a repetitively pulsed, defocused excimer laser (System 2), for pattern definition, and (2) thermal deposition of metals from organometallic solutions or vapors utilizing a focused, CW laser beam as a local heat source to draw the metallization pattern. The purpose of this contract is to investigate the various existing laser-assisted film deposition techniques in order to develop a new, cost-effective technology for solar cell ...
The INTEGRAL/SPI spectrometer was designed to observe the sky in the energy band of 20 keV to 8 MeV. The specificity of instrument SPI rests on the excellent spectral resolution (2.3 keV with 1 MeV) of its detecting plan, composed of 19 cooled germanium crystals; covering an effective area of 508 cm{sup 2}. The use of a coded mask, located at 1.7 m above the detection plan ensures to it a resolving power of 2.5 degrees. The aim of this thesis, begun before the INTEGRAL launch, is made up of two parts. The first part relates to the analysis of the spectrometer calibration data. The objective was to measure and check the performances of the telescope, in particular to validate simulations of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response. This objective was successfully achieved. This analysis also highlights the presence of a significant instrumental background noise. Whereas, the second part concentrates on the data analysis of the Vela region observations. I have approached ...
The authors carried out a retrospective study on 4 years' work on a series of patients with proved active tuberculosis examined in the Departments of Bronchopneumology and Infectious Disease of the Arezzo Civil Hospital. The population was heterogenerous from the immunologic viewpoint. This paper compared the effectiveness of Computed Tomography (CT) with that of conventional chest radiography (CR) in the diagnosis and prognosis of tuberculosis. All patients underwent chest CR in double projection and conventional CT studies of the chest; 16 patients were also submitted to high resolution CT (HRCT). Consolidation was the most frequent parenchymal lesion in immunocompetent patients; it was often associated with cavitation, with no clear topographic prevalence in the upper lobes. Pleural effusion, as the only sign of disease and with empyema features, was found in 10 immunocompetent patients. No predominant pattern was found in the other two groups, even though intrathoracic adenopathies ...
The thermodynamic aspects of indium-face InN growth by radio frequency plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy (rf-MBE) and the nucleation of InN on gallium-face GaN (0001) surface were investigated. The rates of InN decomposition and indium desorption from the surface were measured in situ using reflected high-energy electron diffraction and the rf-MBE 'growth window' of In-face InN (0001) was identified. It is shown that sustainable growth can be achieved only when the arrival rate of active nitrogen species on the surface is higher than the arrival rate of indium atoms. The maximum substrate temperature permitting InN growth as a function of the active nitrogen flux was determined. The growth mode of InN on Ga-face GaN (0001) surface was investigated by reflected high-energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy. It was found to be of the Volmer-Weber-type for substrate temperatures less ...
Patients who fail to attend initial appointments reduce clinic efficiency. To maximize attendance by newly referred outpatients, we introduced a mandatory group orientation clinic for all new patients...Full Text Available
Analysis of the pulsed-field gel electrophoretic profiles of 82 pneumococcal isolates with reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (RSC) and of 90 co-occurring susceptible isolates indicates a considerable...Full Text Available
The disulfide-reduced form of bovine ribonuclease A (RNAse A), with the Cys thiols irreversibly blocked, was characterized by small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). To help resolve the conflicting...Full Text Available
For the last four years, scientists at the USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory have been searching for alternative soil and crop management practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon and nitrogen sequestration. ¿If we can redu...
Background Since 2007, sex has been the major mode of HIV transmission in China, accounting for 75% of new infections in 2009. Reducing sexual transmission is a major challenge for China...Full Text Available
Sensory neurons in aging mammals undergo changes in anatomy, physiology and gene expression that correlate with reduced sensory perception. In this study we compared young and aged mice to identify...Full Text Available
Latent inhibition (LI) manifests as poorer conditioning to a CS that has previously been presented without consequence. There is some evidence that LI can be potentiated by reduced mesoaccumbal dopamine...Full Text Available
A barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) mutant (Az34) has been identified with low basal levels of abscisic acid (ABA) and with reduced capacity for producing ABA in response to water stress....Full Text Available
The obligations under international law to reduce transfrontier air pollution is discussed in five chapters from various aspects. Consequences for the European Communities are gone into in five further chapters. (orig./HP)
The response of the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella alga BrY to carbon and nitrogen starvation was examined. Starvation resulted in a gradual decrease in the mean cell volume from...Full Text Available
A device for reducing the muzzle blast and flash from large caliber guns is disclosed. A container having a plurality of internal chambers and baffle plates filled with an aqueous foam is mounted to the muzzle of the gun barrel. The foam and chambers co-o...
The dissimilatory iron-reducing bacterium Geobacter metallireducens was found to require iron at a concentration in excess of 50 μM for continuous cultivation on nitrate. Growth...Full Text Available
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) take a major human toll on society and reduce public confidence in the healthcare system. The current convergence of scientific, public, and legislative...Full Text Available
Previously we reported that standard oral rehydration salts (ORS) solution is not as effective as a reduced-osmolarity glucose-based ORS for the treatment of children with acute noncholera diarrhoea:...Full Text Available
We introduce in this paper a new method for reducing neurodynamical data to an effective diffusion equation, either experimentally or using simulations of biophysically detailed models. The dimensionality...Full Text Available
Cimetidine 1 g daily is often continued for a fixed period beyond the time of healing of duodenal ulcer on the assumption that it might reduce the subsequent relapse rate. To test this, 194 patients...Full Text Available
Many plants are known to reduce the toxic effects of high soil boron (B) by reducing uptake of B, but no mechanism for limiting uptake has previously been identified. The B-tolerant cultivar of barley...Full Text Available
The distribution and activity of communities of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and methanogenic archaea in two contrasting Antarctic sediments were investigated. Methanogenesis dominated in freshwater...Full Text Available
Dec 15, 2010 ... If applicable to the agreement, that the market based pricing ...... reduce the price in order to comply with market-based pricing, ...
... from theory to practice will be significantly reduced while intrinsically revolutionizing the approach to engineering network security architectures. ...
... The realization of directional audio technology in the cockpit may reduce visual workload, enhance the presentation of flight and threat information ...
Calcium and phosphorus were mainly responsible for reducing the gastrointestinal absorption of lead in human subjects. The effect of calcium was greater than phosphorus, and their combined effect was more than additive. Increasing weights of calcium and phosphorus progressively reduced lead absorption. The relationship between absorption and increasing weights could be described by two negative exponentials. These effects could be explained if lead competed with calcium and phosphorus for common transport mechanisms in the gut. Milk was also found to reduce lead absorption. Adding milk to the diet of people with low dietary calcium intake could reduce the possibility of increased absorption of ingested lead.
Past airfoil configurations have been used to improve aerodynamic performance and engine efficiencies. The present airfoil configuration further increases component life and reduces maintenance by reducing internal stress within the airfoil itself. The airfoil includes a chord and a span. Each of the chord and the span has a bow being summed to form a generally "C" configuration of the airfoil. The generally "C" configuration includes a compound bow in which internal stresses resulting from a thermal temperature gradient are reduced. The structural configuration reduces internal stresses resulting from thermal expansion.
Pairing correlations in multi-quasiparticle states in deformed nuclei are expected to be reduced because of blocking. New intrinsic states and their associated rotational bands have been identified allowing comparisons to be made as a function of seniority and between nuclei. The possible effects of the reduced pairing on the collective rotation, and its manifestation in terms of alignment, are discussed. 13 refs., 2 figs.
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.
Sr3In0.9Co1.1O6, isostructural to Ca3Co2O6, is revealed by the study of the phase relations in the system SrO-InO1.5-CoOx (1000 oC). The structure of Sr3In0.9Co1.1O6 is refined by the combination of powder X-ray and neutron diffraction. Sr3In0.9Co1.1O6 crystallizes in a trigonal lattice with the cell parameters a=b=9.59438(3) A, c=11.02172(4) A with the space group R-3c. Its structure possesses 1D (In/Co)O3 chains running along the c-axis constructed by alternating face-sharing CoO6 octahedra and (In0.9Co0.1)O6 trigonal prisms. The co-occupation of In3+ and Co3+ at the trigonal prismatic site is evidenced by elementary analysis and determined by the structure refinement. Sr3In0.9Co1.1O6 is paramagnetic, and the susceptibility is consistent with the occupation of Co3+ at 10% of the trigonal prismatic positions in a high spin state (HS, S=2). The HS Co3+ is well separated by diamagnetic CoO6 octahedra and InO6 trigonal prisms and shows a g factor of 2.0 in the ...
We investigate optimal horizons for targeting inflation in response to different shocks and their properties. Our analysis is based on a well specified macroeconometric model of Norway. We find that optimal horizons are highly shock-specific and do not increase with concern for output and/or interest rate fluctuations beyond some shock-specific levels. Optimal horizons increase with the degree of persistence in shocks while they are not affected by the size of a shock unless the central bank is averse to interest rate volatility. In the face of multiple shocks, however, sizes as well as signs of shocks become important for optimal horizons even when the central bank is not averse to interest rate volatility. This is because shocks of different signs and sizes may amplify or outweigh each o...
Using a sample of 1485 funded firms in Germany, we analyse the driving forces of Venture Capitalist (VC) syndication and try to disentangle the circumstances under which VCs engage in collaboration with partners. The results indicate that syndication is more pronounced for younger funded firms. For firms where products are far from commercialization, the risks that investors face are more severe. With respect to disentangling the role of diversification and managerial resource motives we analyse the impact of syndication activities on the industry concentration in VC portfolios. The results indicate that (all else equal) more syndication leads to more pronounced concentration on certain industries. These findings are in line with the argument that VCs involve partners to leverage upon thei...
Evaluates geodetic surveys of rock strata in the Szombirki black coal mine with coal seams prone to rock bursts. Rock bursts are associated with accumulation of energy in the 60 m thick sandstone layers situated in the coal seam roofs. Two stages of energy release are analyzed: brittle fracture of the sandstone layer, and energy transfer (dynamic load transfer) to underlying rock strata. Effects of energy accumulation and its release on rock strata displacement were measured in mine workings. The measuring points were situated in the roofs of mine roadways influenced by advancing longwall faces. Two types of vertical displacements are comparatively evaluated: uplift before a rock burst, and subsidence after a rock burst. 5 refs.
A study has been made of the passive film remaining over pits on stainless steel using a high resolution transmission electron microscope. Type 305 stainless steel was passivated in a borate buffer solution and pitted in ferric chloride. Passive films formed at 0.2 V relative to a saturated calomel electrode were found to be amorphous. Films formed at higher potentials showed only broad diffraction rings. The passive film was found to cover a remnant lacy structure formed over pits passivated at 0.8 V. The metallic strands of the lace were roughly hemitubular in shape with the curved surface facing the center of the pit.
The isopod parasite Ceratothoa oestroides becomes hard to eradicate in intensive fish rearing systems and in addition to causing weight loss in adult fish it causes mortalities in larval and juveniles stages of sea bass and sea bream. Faced with the fast emergence of this infection in Adriatic finfish facilities, an effective compound had to be tested for bath treatment. Ivermectin was chosen for this purpose on the basis of extensive practice in northern European countries which used ivermectin administered in food with good results in treatment of Lepeophtheirus sp. and Caligus sp. infections. For determination of toxicity of ivermectin, a short-term toxicity bioassay on 40-day-old sea bream, Sparus aurata, L., was conducted, following FAO and UNEP procedures for methodology in aquatic t...
Results of three-dimensional laminar and standard K-#epsilon# turbulent numerical simulations of natural convection cooling of ten cubic aluminum blocks mounted on an insulated plate, facing a shrouding wall, are presented. This geometry is chosen so that comparison with experimental results is possible. The considered problem is of great practical importance because it simulates the case of heated electronic chips, mounted on printed board assemblies, which are frequently encountered in electronic industry applications. The problem is mathematically modeled by the three-dimensional conservation differential equations of mass, momentum, energy and turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation (for the turbulent flow model). IN this paper, these equations are numerically solved by a finite volume method and the laminar and turbulent results are compared to the experimental results obtained with similar parameters.
The dosimetry for radiotherapy involving neutrons is very complicated, owing to the complexity of secondary radiation components, whose contributions to the total absorbed dose have to be discriminated, owing to the different radiobiological effects. In order to separate thermal neutrons and photons, LiF dosimeters are mostly utilized. containing different percentage of Li, like as TLD-700, TLD-100 and TLD-600, but many problems arise. In the response of TLD-700 exposed to neutron-gamma mixed fields with high neutron flux, the contribution of thermal neutrons to the Tl emission is high. Moreover. TLD-100 and TLD-600 may undergo radiation damage, and great care has to be taken in order to obtain reliable results. Other TLDs showing lower sensitivity to neutrons are proposed and experimented for such high-flux neutron fields. The faced problems and various proposed solutions are here described. (Author)
In the by now extended debate about the end of the Cold War and its causes, very little attention has been paid to the role played by historical memory in helping shape the way policy-makers approached the collapse of the post-war order. As this article shows, many, if not most policy elites at the time, confronted the passing of the old world with a great degree of caution and trepidation; and one of the key reasons they did so, it is argued here, is because of their reading of the past. This reading, I go on to suggest, made many of them especially cautious and fearful when faced with great change. In the end of course these changes proved irresistible, and for liberals at least seemed to augur in more peaceful and prosperous times. However, as we shall see here, this unguarded optimism ...
The indirect conversion of coal to liquid hydrocarbons via steam gasification followed by synthesis gas (CO/H/sub 2/) chemistry has been the subject of intensive study for a number of decades. A key technological challenge facing researchers in this area is control over the product distribution during the hydrocarbon synthesis step. In the case of iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts, it has been known that the addition of alkali to the metal catalyst has a significant impact on the product distribution. Iron catalysts treated with alkali produce less methane more alkenes and higher molecular weight products. In spite of numerous investigations, the details of this promotional effect are not understood on a molecular level. To explore the role of alkali in the surface chemistry of iron catalysts, the authors have carried out a combined surface science and catalytic kinetic study of a model iron catalyst with and without surface alkali.
The recent advances in RFID offer vast opportunities for research, development and innovation in agriculture. The aim of this paper is to give readers a comprehensive view of current applications and new possibilities, but also explain the limitations and challenges of this technology. RFID has been used for years in animal identification and tracking, being a common practice in many farms. Also it has been used in the food chain for traceability control. The implementation of sensors in tags, make possible to monitor the cold chain of perishable food products and the development of new applications in fields like environmental monitoring, irrigation, specialty crops and farm machinery. However, it is not all advantages. There are also challenges and limitations that should be faced in the...
Concepts involving combined gas-turbine/steam-turbine power-generation plants, in which the fuel gas for the gas turbine is produced via the gasification of coal, are now extremely advanced. This technology already permits efficiencies of around 50% current development targets view 65% as achievable. In conventional technology, efficiencies are tied to conditions, such as air and cooling-water temperatures, at the particular location. In combined-cycle power plants, the properties of the fuel coal also play an important part. There are, in face, coals which can be more advantageously used in a combined-cycle power plant than in a conventional one. These differences, combined with advantageous concepts for coal-fired combined-cycle power-generating plants, are presented and analyzed. Particular attention is devoted to individual losses occurring at coal conversion, thermodynamic cycles, integration of processes and internal consumptions. 14 refs., 14 figs., 4 tabs.
The economic development of eastern Europe was associated during the last 15 years with the following average annual increases in energy consumption: Approximately 1% in the sectors industry, building and transport, almost 7% in the farming sector, approximately 3% in households, and nearly 4% in the municipal sector. This trend will not continue. As the economic system shifts from centrally planned to free economy and as the previously secluded economy is forced to face world market conditions as well as changed pars of exchange and conditions of payment, it not only experiences a transitory, sharp dip of economic growth in general but, in particular, drastic structural changes. - While there is to be expected, on the whole a slump in national economic growth, in tradiational branches of industry (e.g., metallurgy, the chemicals and textile industry) as well as in farming, such sectors as the service industry and small trade are expanding. (orig./UA).
A first-hand account of developments in the Soviet rocket industry is presented. The organization and leadership of the rocket and missile industry are traced from its beginning in the 1920s. The development of the Glushko Experimental Design Bureau, where the majority of Soviet rocket engines were created, is related. The evolution of Soviet rocket engines is traced in regard to both their technical improvement and their application in missiles and space vehicles. Improved Glushko engines and specialized Isaev and Kosberg engines are discussed. The difficulties faced by the Soviet missile and space program, such as the pre-Sputnik failures, the oscillation problem of 1965/1966, which exposed a weakness in Soviet ICBM missiles, and the Nedelin disaster of 1960, which cost the lives of more than 200 scientists and engineers, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces, Marshall Nedelin, are examined. 122 refs.
Abstract: Thorough evaluation has made the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List the most widely used and accepted authority on the conservation status of biodiversity. Although the system used to determine risk of extinction is rigorously and objectively applied, the list of threatening processes affecting a species is far more subjectively determined and has not had adequate review. I reviewed the threats listed in the IUCN Red List for randomly selected groups within the three most threatened orders of mammals: Artiodactyla, Carnivora, and Primates. These groups are taxonomically related and often ecologically similar, so I expected they would suffer relatively similar threats. Hominoid primates and all other terrestrial fauna faced similar threats, except for b...
This guide accompanies the following article: Gabrielle Poeschl, `What Family Organization Tells Us about Fairness and Power in Marital Relationships', Social and Personality Compass 1/1 (2007): 557-571, 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2007.00026.x Author's Introduction One thing that often strikes me, when I talk with people, is the human capacity to accept and defend surprising aspects of the social life. Thus, we have some feeling that the separation between the domestic and the public spheres has not always existed, but we are ready to assume that in the first human groups, men went out hunting to feed their family, while women stayed in the camp to take care of the children. Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, we are reluctant to question the opinion that men and women differ in persona...
An experimentalist looking for free tachyons is faced with the following two related problems: A) How does a tachyon interact with bradyonic matter. Is it an object more or less localized in space-time. B) How should a (bradyonic) detector for tachyons look. To answer B) you should necessarily know something about A). But a theory which provides sufficient information doesn't exist at the moment. Therefore it is necessary to make some simple assumption to tackle problem B). In the second part of this contribution two possibilities of tachyon detectors are proposed assuming that a free charged tachyon (if it exists) exhibits normal electromagnetic interaction with bradyonic matter. Another possibility to look for tachyons produced in high energy reactions of bradyons is the missing mass method using the fact that the four-momentum of a collection of particles can be spacelike if at least one tachyon is present. Such experiments have been undertaken with negative ...
Current medical visualization technology intended for positional guidance in surgical applications may only ever have limited utility in the operating room due to the preexisting visual requirements of surgical practice. Additionally, visual systems impose limits as a result of their high latency, poor image resolution, problems with stereopsis and physical strain upon the user. Audio technology is relatively unexamined in the broad range of available methodologies for medical devices. The potential to translate surgical instrument position into audio feedback presents a novel solution to the human factors and engineering problems faced by visual display technology because audio technology employs a rich and as yet unburdened sensory modality. We describe an experimental system we have developed for investigating this new interface design approach using commercially available hardware. PMID:10173065
In the framework of the renewable energies development policy and the energy mastership wanted by the Government, a document has been asked by the Prime Minister. It evaluates the development prospects at long and medium dated, of the main chains of renewable energies production taking into account the national developable deposits size, the technologies assessment, the environmental impacts and the competition facing the traditional energies. It evaluates the measures leading to an increasing efficiency. Measures concerning the regulations, the budget, and the fiscality are also discussed. From these analysis, a national strategy for actions in favor the renewable energies, are proposed. (A.L.B.)
The condensation reaction of furfural (F) on acetone (Ac) gives a high added value product, the 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc), used as aroma in alcohol free drinks, ice, candies, gelatines and other products of current life. This synthesis valorises the residues of sugar cane treatment since furfural is obtained by hydrolysis of sugar cane bagasse followed by vapor training extraction. In the face of numerous and complex reactions involved in this synthesis, it is very complicated to define the kinetic laws from exact stoichiometry. A solution allowing to cope the problem consists in identifying an appropriate stoichiometric model. It does not attempt to represent exactly all the reaction mechanisms, but proposes a mathematical support to integrate available knowledge on the transformati...
The design and construction of a Browne-Buechner type round pole face magnetic electron spectrograph is described. The design is based on the first order transfer properties of the bending magnet including the focal surface, dispersion, magnification and resolution. Second order aberrations are compared wit numerical ray tracing results using measured field data to simulate the magnet. The numerical results are also compared with floating wire measurements on the system. Agreement is within one part in 10"4. Data extraction from the instrument is done with an array of copper detectors placed along the focal surface. The spectrograph has been successfully employed in free-electron laser (FEL) experiments for over a year.
This issue contains the following articles: (1) ''Safety and Security Are Enhanced by Understanding Plutonium''. (2) ''Inside the Superblock'' This area of Lawrence Livermore is home to one of just two US plutonium research and development facilities for defense. (3) ''Exploring the Fundamental Limits of Simulations'' Some of the nation's leading computer simulation experts gathered at Lawrence Livermore to discuss the common barriers facing their craft. (4) ''Plutonium Up Close...Way Close'' An examination of stockpile plutonium at the atomic level indicates so far, so good. (5) ''Shocked and Stressed, Metals Get Stronger'' Laser peening yields stronger, corrosion-resistant metals.
A rotary drill bit having a drill bit body and at least one trunnion projecting from the drill bit body and a rotary cutter supported on at least one radial roller bearing on the trunnion. The rolling elements of the bearing are guided on at least one axial end facing the drill bit body in an outer bearing race groove incorporated in the bore of the rotary cutter. The inner bearing race groove is formed on the trunnion for the rolling elements of the radial roller bearing. At least one filling opening is provided which extends through the drill bit body and trunnion and is essentially axially oriented having one terminal end adjacent the inner bearing race groove and at least one filler piece for sealing the opening.
Health information technology initiatives created the framework for a national health information infrastructure that concomitantly fostered a need to build intellectual capacity within our current and future health information management (HIM) work force. Results from the 2008 HIM Educator Survey are discussed. Developed for voluntary electronic participation, the survey comprised a series of questions about educators' professional interests and responsibilities. Summary data from the 402 respondents are provided and highlight areas such as academic rank, teaching status, salary range, levels of interest in various issues, and use of virtual learning tools. Data from this survey provide insights into the concerns and challenges many HIM educators face in today's training institutions and suggest implications for future directions in work force training and professional development within the HIM field. PMID:19424453
The ALICE experimental area management team faces various challenges when it comes to sharing scarce resources, indispensable to any efficient installation in a category one worksite. Space, cranes, jigs, and personnel with key competences have to be carefully allocated to activities so as to avoid slowing down work progress. To this intent, a resource loaded planning has been developed that allows highlighting coactivities and prioritizing critical tasks. It uses the built-in capabilities of Microsoft Project. The use of this scheduling tool leads to a more efficient use of time and a safer work environment. The installation sequence resulting from this schedule is presented in this paper. The first part of the sequence focuses on the revision of the coils in the SX2 building. The dipole has then to be installed in the RB26 side of the UX25 cavern. This complex and resource intensive activity has to be performed in parallel with the services installation inside ...
From its inception in 1977, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been responsible for maintaining the nations nuclear stockpile, leading the country in terms of basic research, setting national energy goals, and managing thousands of individual programs. Despite these gains, however, the DOE research and development (R&D) model does not appear to offer the nation an optimal strategy for assessing long-term energy challenges. American energy policy continues to face constraints related to three "Is": inconsistency, incrementalism, and inadequacy. An overly rigid management structure and loss of mission within the DOE continues to plague its programs and create inconsistencies in terms of a national energy policy. Various layers of stove-piping within and between the DOE and national labo...
In this paper, we introduce a new recursive neural network model able to process directed acyclic graphs with labelled edges. The model uses a state transition function which considers the edge labels and is independent both from the number and the order of the children of each node. The computational capabilities of the new recursive architecture are assessed. Moreover, in order to test the proposed architecture on a practical challenging application, the problem of object detection in images is also addressed. In fact, the localization of target objects is a preliminary step in any recognition system. The proposed technique is general and can be applied in different detection systems, since it does not exploit any a priori knowledge on the particular problem. Some experiments on face detection, carried out on scenes acquired by an indoor camera, are reported, showing very promising results. PMID:16181770
Analytical methods developed to sample and characterize ambient organic aerosols often face the trade-off between long sampling times and the loss of detailed information regarding specific chemical species present. In the work presented here, high-time resolution ambient measurements (3.5 minutes) are achieved by using the Photoionization Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (PIAMS) in conjunction with the mini-Versatile Aerosol Concentration Enrichment System (m-VACES). Aerosol sampling took place for one week at State of Delaware Air Quality Monitoring Site in Wilmington, Delaware in June 2006. The soft, universal ionization scheme of PIAMS allows for identification of various chemical compounds by a signature ion, often the molecular ion. Meteorological data was used to link some species, such as...
Long before possible organic effects, exposure to ionizing radiations can provoke anxiety. In front of invisibility, the imagination quickly ignites. The terrorists have perfectly understood it. They are ready to use ionizing radiations as a weapon to remind traumatic images deeply rooted in people's memory. These images induce anxiety with all the clinical expressions connected to it. These symptoms require to be treated because of a possible anarchic development. For that purpose, plans have been elaborated to coordinate the different professional's actions. The coherence of medical management and communication aims to allow the most implicated people to find the way to face the events. When it is not possible, medico-psychological cells permit a specialized care. (author)
Summary Reference to an ancient Hindu picture of a snarling dog may be a convincing enough proof to consider the fact that rabies has been known in the world for the past 50 centuries. Prior to the monumental observation about rabies of Fracastoro in the 16th century, facts and fantasies were intermingled in the study of rabies. In the realm of fantasy, consider the statement of Aristotle (otherwise a great philosopher) that only animals and not humans die of rabies. It took 19 centuries before Fracastoro finally established that infection with rabies is lethal for all warm-blooded beings including humans. The new era of rabies dates from the time of Galtier who isolated the virus and Pasteur who was able to create a somewhat attenuated strain of virus fixe which became the tool of laborat...
A position-sensitive event-counting electronic readout system for microchannel plates (MCPs) is described that offers the advantages of high spatial resolution and fast time resolution. The technique relies upon a four-quadrant electron-collecting anode located behind the output face of the microchannel plate, so that the electron cloud from each detected event is partly intercepted by each of the four quadrants. The relative amounts of charge collected by each quadrant depend on event position, permitting each event to be localized with two ratio circuits. A prototype quadrant anode system for ion, electron, and extreme ultraviolet imaging is described. The spatial resolution achieved, approx. =10 ..mu.., allows individual MCP channels to be distinguished. (AIP)
A position-sensitive event-counting electronic readout system for microchannel plates (MCPs) is described that offers the advantages of high spatial resolution and fast time resolution. The technique relies upon a four-quadrant electron-collecting anode located behind the output face of the microchannel plate, so that the electron cloud from each detected event is partly intercepted by each of the four quadrants. The relative amounts of charge collected by each quadrant depend on event position, permitting each event to be localized with two ratio circuits. A prototype quadrant anode system for ion, electron, and extreme ultraviolet imaging is described. The spatial resolution achieved, approx. =10 #mu#, allows individual MCP channels to be distinguished.
Many studies on multisensory processes have focused on performance in simplified experimental situations, with a single stimulus in each sensory modality. However, these results cannot necessarily be applied to explain our perceptual behavior in natural scenes where various signals exist within one sensory modality. We investigated the role of audio-visual syllable congruency on participants? auditory localization bias or the ventriloquism effect using spoken utterances and two videos of a talking face. Salience of facial movements was also manipulated. Results indicated that more salient visual utterances attracted participants? auditory localization. Congruent pairing of audio-visual utterances elicited greater localization bias than incongruent pairing, while previous studies have repor...
This task within the EU R and D for ITER was aimed at the development of basic manufacturing solutions for the high heat flux plasma facing components such as the divertor targets, the baffles and limiters. More than 50 representative small-scale mock-ups have been manufactured with beryllium, carbon and tungsten armour using various joining technologies. High heat flux testing of 20 of these mock-ups showed the carbon mono-blocks to be the most robust solution, surviving 2000 cycles at absorbed heat fluxes of up to 24 MW m{sup -2}. With flat armour tiles rapid joint failures occurred at 5-16 MW m{sup -2} depending on joining technology and armour material. These test results serve as a basis for the selection of manufacturing options and materials for the prototypes now being ordered. (orig.) 11 refs.
Summary Pectin was extracted from passion fruit peel using three different acids (citric, hydrochloric or nitric) at different temperatures (40-90 degreeC), pH (1.2-2.6) and extraction times (10-90 min), with and without skins using a 24 factorial design. Temperature, pH and extraction time had highly significant effects on the pectin yield. A central composite design with face centring was used to optimise the extraction process conditions for citric acid without skins. Pectin yields varied from 10% to 70%. The optimal conditions for maximisation of pectin yield were the use of citric acid at 80 degreeC and pH 1 with an extraction time of 10 min considering model extrapolation.
In this paper, we report an optical fiber sensor for measuring temperature based on bimetallic concept. The sensor is designed by following the basic principle of Fabry-Perot interferometer and theoretical detail of the sensor has been outlined here with a numerical study. An important feature of the proposed sensor is that the fabrication will be done on a commercial multimode optical fiber. The Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) based fabrication process could be performed directly on a multimode optical fiber end face which will eliminate the need for adhesive in packaging. The sensor could be fabricated as sensor arrays for micro level applications. The potential application of the proposed optical sensor includes biomedical applications, nano research, microfluidics, and other ME...
Purpose - The paper aims to outline the managerial challenges faced by the organizations interested in leveraging knowledge and creative talent embedded in online customers' communities to sustain innovation in b-2-c industries. Design/methodology/approach - Through a detailed case study analysis of a leading food producer who launched an online open collaborative platform to gather users' idea for new products the paper aims to highlight the transformational effort that firms have to make in order to leverage knowledge absorption from customers in the context of innovation. Findings - The paper suggests potential strategies for conventional companies to engage consumers in knowledge (co-creation) and collaborative innovation processes, formulating some hypothesis that could support an int...
Accessible summary - -Children with a Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD) resulting from shunted hydrocephalus and spina bifida face many difficulties not experienced by those with a language learning disability. - -As they grow older and more autonomy is expected, friendships became harder to sustain and daily life can be full of fear if the nonverbal learning disability is not identified and managed. - -This paper explains the theorised cause of nonverbal learning disability - damage to right hemisphere white matter or myelin. - -Damage is believed to cause problems with planning, organisation, time management, problem-solving, decision-making and friendships, and the mismatch with articulate speech and a good vocabulary causes a functional profile that is difficult for educationists or ...
A new implementation of a shear-force microscope is described that uses a shear-force detection system to perform topographical imaging of large areas (#approx#1x1 mm"2). This implementation finds very interesting application in the study of archeological or artistic samples. Three dc motors are used to move a sample during a scan, allowing the probe tip to follow the surface and to face height differences of several tens of micrometers. This large-area topographical imaging mode exploits new subroutines that were added to the existing homemade software; these subroutines were created in Microsoft VISUAL BASIC 6.0 programming language. With this new feature our shear-force microscope can be used to study topographical details over large areas of archaeological samples in a nondestructive way. We show results detecting worn reliefs over a coin.
Variability in production is one of the largest factors that negatively impacts construction project performance. A common construction practice to protect production systems from variability is the use of buffers (Bf). Construction practitioners and researchers have proposed buffering approaches for different production situations, but these approaches have faced practical limitations in their application. A multiobjective analytic model (MAM) is proposed to develop a graphical solution for the design of Work-In-Process (WIP) Bf in order to overcome these practical limitations to Bf application, being demonstrated through the scheduling of repetitive building projects. Multiobjective analytic modeling is based on Simulation?Optimization (SO) modeling and Pareto Fronts concepts. Simulation...
The thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption (TCA) on the basal face of graphite have been calculated in terms of the semiempirical molecular statistical theory of adsorption for molecules of O-, S-, and Se-containing heteroadamantanes of different structure and isostructural cyclohexane derivatives. The influence of the nature, number, and position of heteroatoms in the adamantane framework on the TCA values was studied in detail, which made it possible to predict the retention of the compounds considered on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black under the conditions of equilibrium gas adsorption chromatography. The introduction of each subsequent heteroatom into a polyheteroadamantane molecule makes a non-additive contribution to the TCA values. The contributions of various f...
Transmission electron microscopy studies on solution-annealed Alloy 800 revealed small (100-200 nm), spherical-shaped titanium carbide (face centered cubic structure) and large (200 nm-5 #mu#m), faceted titanium nitride (hexagonal structure) particles randomly distributed in the austenite matrix. The volume fraction of former particles was found to be greater than that of the latter. Corrosion studies of the alloy in acidic, chlorides and acidic chloride environments at room temperature indicated that the passivity of Alloy 800 was adversely affected by the addition Cl"- ions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the surface film formed on the alloy at the onset of passivity consisted of Cr"3"+ (as Cr_2O_3), without any Fe"3"+/Fe"2"+ or Ni"2"+. Scanning electron microscopy studies indicated initiation of pitting at large, faceted particles, not at small, spherical-shaped ones.
One of the challenges facing engineers is developing newer, safer detonators that are equivalent to devices currently in use. There is no clear consensus on an exact method for drawing equivalence of detonators. This paper summarizes our current efforts to develop diagnostics addressing various aspects of detonator design to better quantify and prove equivalency. We consider various optical techniques to quantify the output pressure and output wave shape. The development of a unique interpretation of streak camera breakouts, known as the apparent center of initiation, will be discussed as a metric for detonation wave shape. Specific examples apply these techniques to the comparison of a new laser-driven detonator with an existing exploding bridgewire (EBW) detonator. Successes and short-comings of the techniques will be discussed.
A method for determining the rational capacity of the shield supports under various geological conditions is proposed. Based on the instrumentation of the pressure histories of the shield legs in eight mines, the relation between the final load or the increment of support resistance in a mining cycle and the setting load is established. The relation is represented by a mathematical equation with characteristic constants. Those constants are related to the physical properties of the immediate and main roof strata. Nomographs were constructed for determining the constants under various geological conditions. The paper discusses the principles and step-by-step procedures for determining the rational setting and yield loads for all the shield supports employed in the eight mines. The predicted values are then compared with the actual ones used by the operators. 7 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs.
During the first few years of elevated atmospheric [CO2] treatment at the Nevada Desert FACE Facility, photosynthetic downregulation was observed in desert shrubs grown under elevated [CO2], especially under relatively wet environmental conditions. Nonetheless, those plants maintained increased A sat (photosynthetic performance at saturating light and treatment [CO2]) under wet conditions, but to a much lesser extent under dry conditions. To determine if plants continued to downregulate during long-term exposure to elevated [CO2], responses of photosynthesis to elevated [CO2] were examined in two dominant Mojave Desert shrubs, the evergreen Larrea tridentata and the drought-deciduous Ambrosia dumosa, during the eighth full growing season of elevated [CO2] treatment at the NDFF. A comprehen...
The magnetic pyrochlore Er{sub 2}Ru{sub 2}O{sub 7} has been studied with neutron scattering and susceptibility measurements down to a base temperature of 270 mK. For the low temperature phase in which the Er sublattice orders, new magnetic Bragg peaks are reported which can be indexed with integer (hkl) for a face centered cubic cell. Inelastic measurements reveal a wealth of crystal field levels of the Er ion and a copious amount of magnetic scattering below 15 meV. The three lowest groups of crystal field levels are at 6.7, 9.1 and 18.5 meV.
Urban heritage areas throughout the world have experienced cycles of neglect and upgrade that were at times intentional and at other times due to economic difficulties or an unbalanced ideological focus on technological, social or political developments. Modernism of the early and mid-1900s was clearly against keeping heritage areas as they were perceived to hinder future developments. Postmodernist thinking afterwards was more sympathetic to heritage as a means of countering the 'placelessness' of the modern city. Global appreciation of urban heritage and the world's cultural diversity at the end of the century made the occurrence of 'physical neglect' cycles very unlikely in the future. This research paper takes the stand that urban planners and designers face cycles of higher or lower u...
Many organizations are challenged with the tasks of identifying customer needs and expectations for their products, anticipating future product needs, communicating a future product vision to clients, and designing with today's technology to bring a future vision to successful realization. The design evolution of plant control centres is one aspect of CANDU development that faces such challenges. The Disney Corporation is an example of an organization that has been successful in consistently meeting these challenges for over fifty years; and some of the design practices proven in moviemaking, theme park and resort layout, and vacation experience organization may be helpful and effective when applied in other domains. This paper summarizes the findings from an examination of Disney Corporation design practices, and suggests how some practices could be used to simplify and enhance the design of future CANDU control centres. (author)
A 340-watt CO_2 laser is being used to generate PuO_2-UO_2 condensation aerosol from the surface of a Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) fuel pellet. A wide range of concentrations is achieved by varying the laser power, pulse width, and/or pulse period. The resulting aerosol is composed of branch chain-like aggregates, with the primary particle size ranging between 0.005 and 0.15 #mu#m. X-ray diffraction analyses show that these aerosols condense into a face-centered cubic crystal structure. The activity mean aerodynamic diameter (AMAD), for most power levels, is approximately 0.85 #mu#m with a geometric standard deviation of 1.5.
The costs of greenhouse gas emission-reductions vary among countries depending on emission levels, technologies used, past emission-reduction achievements, path of economic development, fuel mix, and initial endowment of hydrocarbon resources. The criterion of cost-effectiveness therefore suggests that the ways should be found to encourage emission reductions in the countries where the required costs of reduction of additional unit of emissions are the lowest. These countries usually face crucial capital constraints and have other development priorities than investing in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Developed countries could invest their resources in the former Soviet Union and the east European countries to achieve the same level of reduction of greenhouse gases with lower costs than they could in their own countries.
High-resolution electron microscope observations confirm the presence of small crystallites in thin TbFeCo films protected by Si_3N_4 overcoats. Selected area electron diffraction patterns in top-view projection indicate that the crystals have a face-centered-cubic structure. Microscope analysis reveals grain growth following annealing of these protected thin films at 200 degree C in vacuum, and Kerr measurements yield large reductions in coercivity relative to the room-temperature value. The typical grain size visible in top-view observations increases from about 3 nm in the as-deposited samples to about 30 nm after annealing at 200 degree C for 36 h while the static coercivity, H_c, drops by about 40%. The fcc structure of the crystals is retained after annealing.
Interest in the tribological properties of plasma nitriding has increased substantially over the past years because plasma nitriding provides a high nitride depth and improved hard facing. The present study examines the tribological properties of AISI H11 plasma nitrided, hot-worked steel. Different nitriding temperatures and durations were considered. Characterization of the composite structures was investigated with wear tests, x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and microhardness tests. The depth profile of the nitrided zone was measured using the nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) technique. Plasma nitriding affected the microhardness, wear properties, and morphology considerably. Increase in process temperature increased the nitride zone depth.
Electric supply industry is facing deregulation all over the world. Under deregulated power supply scenario, power transmission congestion has become more intensified and recurrent, as compared to conventional regulated power system. Congestion may lead to violation of voltage or transmission capacity limits, thus threatens the power system security and reliability. Also the growing congestion may lead to unanticipated divergent electricity pricing. Owing to these facts congestion management has become a crucial issue in the deregulated power system scenario. Fast and precise prediction of nodal congestion prices in real time deregulated/spot power market may enable market participants and system operators to keep pace with the congestion by taking preventive measures like transaction resc...
Nuclear energy generates 30% of the electricity in the EU. Still, different countries of EU27 have very different attitudes towards the future use of nuclear energy for electricity generation or other uses. However, independently of the political decision of continuation or phase out of the nuclear energy, all countries using nuclear energy to generate electricity are facing the question of the final management of its spent nuclear fuel and other high level radioactive wastes. Partition and Transmutation are emerging technologies that when integrated in advanced fuel cycles can strongly influence on the final wastes from the nuclear industry and its management. A review of the progress on the understanding of their real potentialities and main conclusions from a large number of internation...
Determination of the maximum temperature and temperature distribution along the rake face of the cutting tool is of particular importance because of its controlling influence on tool life, as well as, the quality of the machined part. Numerous attempts have been made to approach the problem with different methods including experimental, analytical and numerical analysis. Although considerable research effort has been made on the thermal problem in metal cutting, there is hardly a consensus on the basics principles. The unique tribological contact phenomenon, which occur in metal cutting is highly localized and non-linear, and occurs at high temperatures, high pressures and high strains. This has made it extremely difficult to predict in a precise manner or even assess the performance of va...
Large single crystals of PETN, RDX, and TNT can be grown easily from evaporating ethyl acetate solutions. The crystals all share a similar type of defect that may not be commonly recognized. The defect generates conical faces ideally mosaic crystals, and may account for the polymorphs'' of TNT and detonator grades of PETN. TATB crystals manufactured by the amination of trichlorotrinitrobenzene in dry toluene entrain two forms of ammonium chloride. One of these forms causes worm holes'' in the TATB crystals that may be the reason for its unusually low failure diameters. Strained HMX crystals form mechanical twins that can spontaneously revert back to the untwinned form when the straining force is removed. Large strains or temperatures above 100[degrees]C lock in the mechanical twins.
Large single crystals of PETN, RDX, and TNT can be grown easily from evaporating ethyl acetate solutions. The crystals all share a similar type of defect that may not be commonly recognized. The defect generates conical faces ideally mosaic crystals, and may account for the ``polymorphs`` of TNT and detonator grades of PETN. TATB crystals manufactured by the amination of trichlorotrinitrobenzene in dry toluene entrain two forms of ammonium chloride. One of these forms causes ``worm holes`` in the TATB crystals that may be the reason for its unusually low failure diameters. Strained HMX crystals form mechanical twins that can spontaneously revert back to the untwinned form when the straining force is removed. Large strains or temperatures above 100{degrees}C lock in the mechanical twins.
Environmental and security concerns are stimulating global interest in hydrogen power, renewable energy, and advanced transportation technologies, but no significant movement away from oil and a carbon-based world economy is expected soon. Over the longer-term, however, a transition from fossil fuels to a non-carbon-based economy will likely occur, affecting the type of environment future generations may encounter. Key challenges will face the world's energy industry over the next few decades to ensure a smooth transition-challenges which will require government and industry solutions beginning as early as today. This paper identifies four critical challenges in energy and the choices which will have to be made on how best to confront growing pollution caused by fossil fuels and how to facilitate an eventual revolutionary-like transition to a non-carbon-based global economy.
ATLAS Experiment is an international collaboration where more than 37 countries, 172 institutes and laboratories, 2900 physicists, engineers, and computer scientists plus 700 students participate. The management of this teamwork involves several aspects such as institute contribution, employment records, members' appointment, authors' list, preparation and publication of papers and speakers nomination. Previously, most of the information was accessible by a limited group of people and the system used was not designed to handle new requirements easily. Moreover, developers had to face problems such as different terminology, diverse data modeling, heterogeneous databases and unlike users needs. Besides that, the maintenance has to be an easy task considering the long lifetime experiment and professionals turnover. The Glance system, a generic mechanism for accessing any database, acts as an intermediate layer isolating the user from the particularities of each ...
Herein, we demonstrate the structure of the PS colloidal crystals which were fabricated on the hydrophilic/hydrophobic Si wafers by a spin-coating technique. Monodisperse PS colloids are spin-coated onto self-assembled monolayers of 3-(aminopropyl)triethoxysilane and propyltrimethoxysilane coated Si wafers. PS spheres organized as ordered close-packed face-centered cubic structure with (111) planes on the hydrophilic surface while they gathered without the crystal structure on the hydrophobic surface. This paper also reports a simple and rapid method to fabricate the close-packed structure of hollow TiO2 spheres. The colloidal crystal of TiO2 hollow spheres was prepared using the PS sphere template on the hydrophobic surface. The mechanism for the growing multilayers of self-assembled PS p...
Abstract- In our reply to M. H. van IJzendoorn and M. J. Bakermans-Kranenburg (this issue) and R. A. Thompson (this issue), we highlight 2 challenges that attachment researchers face today: (a) closing the gap between the developmental and social psychological traditions and (b) connecting attachment theory to the broader field of evolutionary psychology. We contend that an evolutionary life history approach can contribute to both goals and argue that attachment researchers should consider moving beyond some of Bowlby's original formulations in order to permit further advancement of the field. Finally, we review van IJzendoorn and Bakermans-Kranenburg's criticism of the hypothesis that sex differences in attachment arise in middle childhood; we conclude that the claim that the hypothesis h...
Purpose ? The purpose of this article is to expand the base of supply chain knowledge by applying chaos theory principles to selected supply chain functions. Design/methodology/approach ? Researchers borrow chaos theory from the natural sciences, provide a basic explanation, and then examine how it may be applied to enhance supply chain management techniques. Findings ? Chaos theory principles are used to assist in the examination of forecasting, product design, and inventory management challenges currently facing supply chain practitioners. Research limitations/implications ? Application of chaos theory to various supply chain issues and key functional areas may produce an increase in the level of understanding of supply chain ambiguity and how chaos theory may provide valuable insight in...
The article examines the limits and challenges small powers face when they adjust to systemic changes. Specifically, this article discusses the Philippines' conduct of a diplomatic strategy of equi balancing between the USA and China. In this strategy, the Philippines enhances and deepens its security relations with its strategic ally, the USA and at the same time, obtains economic assistance and politico diplomatic concessions from East Asia's emergent power, China. The Philippines' diplomatic gambit, however, is restrained by its formal alliance with the USA and its chronic territorial dispute with China over the Spratly Islands. At present, several developments are undermining Manila's efforts in playing this balancing game with Washington and Beijing. These are: the Philippines' passiv...
There are two fundamental reasons or motivations for energy conservation: (1) economics; and (2) consideration of energy - its sources and availability. Economics speaks for itself and needs little explanation: a project is undertaken, the cost is recovered in a given period of time (we hope) and our company realizes cost savings thereafter. We study and propose a project; we estimate the payback. If approved, we implement the project. Then, we eagerly watch for its effectiveness - for the proposed payback. The second consideration in regard to energy conservation might - in the foreseeable future - become by far the most important - that of availability. Very knowledgeable persons have stated that this - in reality - is the most serious problem facing our nation today. Readily available, reasonably priced energy has given to the US the high form of living experienced today. An interruption in this flow could catapult our nation in an awesome catastrophe. The ...
Waste electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) constitutes 4% of the municipal waste in Europe, being increased by 16-28% every five years. Nowadays, Europe produces 6,5 million tonnes of WEEE per year and currently 90% goes to landfill. WEEE waste is growing 3 times faster than municipal waste and this figure is expected to be increased up to 12 million tones by 2015. Applying a new technology to separate non-ferrous metal Waste from WEEE is the aim of this paper, by identifying multi-and hyper-spectral materials and inserting them in a recycling plant. This technology will overcome the shortcomings passed by current methods, which are unable to separate valuable materials very similar in colour, size or shape. For this reason, it is necessary to develop new algorithms able to distinguish among these materials and to face the timing requirements. (Author). 22 refs.
Nuclear generation operators are facing a challenging business environment at the beginning of the new millennium. Evolving changes in business context, competitive commercial pressures, and changes in technology have dictated recurring evaluation of operational practices and the adequacy of supporting tools, and the pursuit of opportunities for operational improvement. A key area of utility operations that has been impacted by these changes is the nuclear plant control centre. Changes to workspace layout, equipment provisions, staffing, and work organization are examples of some of the adjustments being introduced to improve operational and safety effectiveness. This paper discusses some of the key factors influencing these changes and identifies additional design principles for CANDU control centres that will enable new control centre designs and retrofits of existing control centres to remain relevant and responsive to utility needs. (author)
One of the major challenges facing the proposed high-energy linear e^+e^ colliders is the preservation of the extremely small vertical emittance from the damping rings to the interaction point (IP). This emittance must be transported through bunch compression sections, the main linac and finally through the beam delivery system to the IP. Historically, the beam dynamics issues of each subsystem have been studied quasi-independently, with the beam conditions and tolerances being specified at the boundaries. As part of the recent International Linear Collider Technical Review Committee, new simulation tools have been developed to simulate the beam transport through the integrated system, including static and dynamic errors, stabilization systems, and tuning algorithms.
Applied science may once again play a decisive role in changing the face of armed conflict, and the rest of human affairs, by shifting the battlefield to our very brains. The national-security establishment--and particularly the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)--supports research at the intersection of neuroscience and national security that could ultimately enable authorities to do things like enhance (or muddle, or erase) memory, monitor crowds for individuals whose brain patterns correlate with aggressive behaviors, or control weapons from afar merely with thoughts. What are the dangers of such information falling into "the wrong hands," and are there any "right hands" for this kind of knowledge? Is any extension of human abilities justified by the need for government to protect its society? PMID:15986543
Considering beryllium as plasma facing armour this paper presents recent results obtained in Russia. A special process of joining beryllium to a Cu-alloy material structure is described and recent results of thermal cycling tests of such joints are presented. Summarizing the results, the authors show that a Cu-alloy heat sink structure armoured with beryllium can survive high heat fluxes ({>=}10 MW/m{sup 2}) during 1000 heating/cooling cycles without serious damage to the armour material and its joint. The principal feasibility of thermal cycling of beryllium grades and their joints directly in the core of a nuclear reactor is demonstrated and the main results of this test are presented. The paper also describes the thermal cycling of different beryllium grades having cracks initiated by previously applied high heat loads simulating plasma disruptions. (orig.)
Abstract A 3-month, open-label, single-center study was conducted to determine whether a uniquely formulated and physiologically balanced topical treatment serum containing multiple growth factors, cytokines, peptides, antioxidants and depigmenting agents could improve the visible signs of facial photodamage. Thirty-seven females, aged 32-55 years, with mild to severe, fine and coarse peri-ocular wrinkles were enrolled and completed the study. Subjects applied the treatment serum to the face twice daily for 3 months in conjunction with a basic skincare regimen. Clinical evaluations of photodamage were performed at baseline and months 1, 2 and 3. Cutometer measurements and subject self-assessment questionnaires were also conducted during the study. Clinical evaluations showed statistically ...
Despite the current global economic crisis, the Cleantech industry has excellent growth prospects. Especially technologies for water treatment, energy efficiency in buildings and combined heat and power will face high demand and high growth rates in the coming years, just like the suppliers for the wind and solar industry. Today German companies are market leaders in these segments. However, there is a threat that they will lose this competitive position as international competition increases. Besides attractive incentive schemes and regulatory framework, access to venture capital and the fast expansion to international markets is an important factor to secure the leading market position of German Cleantech companies. (orig.)
ALLEYNE G., HANCOCK C. & HUGHES P. (2011) Chronic and non-communicable diseases: a critical challenge for nurses globally. International Nursing Review58, 328-331 Background:- Chronic and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a growing and enormous challenge that faces countries across the world. Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected. Contributory factors:- Three risk factors - tobacco use, poor diet (including excessive alcohol intake) and lack of physical activity - contribute to four major chronic diseases - cardiovascular, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and some cancers, which are responsible for over 50% of deaths worldwide. Potential solutions:- International governmental and non-governmental agencies are becoming increasingly concerned and ...
This paper describes stable strontium as composed of four stable isotopes ( Sr 88, Sr 87, Sr 86, and Sr 84), of which Sr 88 contributes more than 82% to its composition. Strontium exists in three crystalline, plymorphic forms; face-centered cubic alpha form, hexagonal beta form and body-centered cubic gamma form. Strontium occupies in many physicochemical aspects an intermediate position between calcium and barium, as does the solubility of strontium salts. As a result of its oxidation potential, strontium readily forms oxides, halides, and sulfide. The author proposes that the slight discrimination against strontium incorporation into bony tissues may be due to the difference in ionic potential (14%) between strontium and calcium. Ionic potential is an indicator of the strength of ionic bonds: strontium has a smaller ratio of ionic charge to ionic radius when compared with calcium.
This presentation focuses on the steps taken by the Westinghouse Hanford Company to meet an accelerated schedule for configuration and implementation of the MULTI LIMS in a multiple laboratory environment. The Westinghouse Hanford Company purchased the MULTI LIMS Laboratory Information Management System in August, 1993. Hardware delivery began in October, 1993. Less than four months later, the initial configuration was released for use in two Westinghouse Hanford Company laboratories. Several major obstacles were overcome during implementation. These include information gathering for base table loading, user training, acceptance of the new system by users of a legacy system, and hardware configuration issues. In summary, steps needed to be taken to meet the accelerated implementation schedule of the MULTI LIMS at the Hanford Site. The obstacles faced were overcome through the in-depth knowledge and help of the vendor and the dedication and drive of the technical ...
Carbohydrate and nucleotide structural determination using modern spectroscopic techniques is dependent on our ability to label oligonucleotides and oligosaccharides with stable isotopes. Uniform Carbon 13 and Nitrogen 15 labeling of oligonucleotides is important to present-day efforts, which are focused on determining the structure of relatively small oligosaccharides and oligonucleotides, which form the elements of larger structures. Because of the relatively recent interest in three-dimensional structure, the development of techniques used to label them has lagged behind parallel techniques used to label peptides and proteins. Therefore, this group`s discussion focused primarily on problems faced today in obtaining oligonucleotides labeled uniformly with carbon 13 and nitrogen 15.
The majority of research on homeless youth has focused on the multitude of problems faced by this vulnerable population. The current study, while acknowledging the hazards of life on the streets, seeks to explore the personal strengths and informal resources street youth rely on to navigate their environments. Qualitative data from seven focus groups conducted with street youth ages 18?24 were analyzed using content analysis. These data, rich with interactions among youth participants, highlight three important themes: developing ?street smarts,?? existence of personal strengths, and informal resources relied upon by youth to survive. Results provide valuable insights into the strengths of homeless youth that can be useful to providers in assessing street youths? service needs and increasi...
CT findings were compared retrospectively between 9 cases with malignant lymphoma of the anterior mediastinum and 8 cases with invasive thymoma. CT findings of malignant lymphoma were as follows: (1) The majority of the tumors were bilateral and extended beyond the anterior mediastinum to the other mediastinum compartments. (2) Their margin was either smooth or lobulated. (3) Their density was either homogeneous or heterogeneous. In the case with heterogeneous density, ring, triangle and/or band-like low density areas, just like interspace of fused lymph nodes, were demonstrated. Calcification or cysts could not be shown. (4) Patent inherent vessels without deviation were occasionally demonstrated running through the tumors. (5) The tumors faced and contacted widely to anterior chest wall and often pressed the lung laterally at the anterior parietomediastinal pleural reflection. (6) Pleural implants were not demonstrated. (author).
Acid mine drainage is probably the most important problem facing the mining industry. In this study, the authors evaluated different techniques for the remediation of mine tailings. An in situ characterization of the Aldermac mine tailings was conducted and the results were presented in this poster presentation. The site characterization was performed to determine the extent of the contamination, and sampling of soils was also performed for laboratory experiments in soil covers. The authors described the methodology followed in the laboratory experiments. Chemical analysis of the leaching water was performed to determine its composition in metals. Microbiological analysis was also conducted, as well as the determination of the water saturation index. The authors indicated that they will analyze the results further. tabs., 12 figs.
Three holes the size of deposition holes (depth 7.5 m and diameter 1.5 m) were bored in the Research Tunnel at Olkiluoto, Finland. A novel full-face boring technique was used based on rotary crushing of rock and removal of crushed rock by vacuum flushing through the drill string. The purpose of the work was to demonstrate the feasibility of the technique. During the boring test procedures were carried out in order to determine the effect of changes in operating parameters on the performance of the boring machine and the quality of the hole. The boring method was found to be technically feasible and efficient. Evaluation of the quality of the hole included studies of the geometry of the hole, measurements of the surface roughness using a laser profilometer and study of excavation disturbances in the zone adjacent to the surface of the holes using two novel methods, He-gas diffusion and the {sup 14}C-polymethylmethacrylate methods. 43 refs.
Using a case-study, inductive, narrative approach, this article explores the history, drivers, benefits, and barriers to the Bakun Hydroelectric Project in East Malaysia. Situated on the island of Borneo, Bakun Dam is a 204m high concrete face, rock filled dam on the Balui River in the Upper Rajang Basin in the rainforests of Sarawak. Bakun Dam and its affiliated infrastructure could be the single largest and most expensive energy project ever undertaken in Southeast Asia. Based on data collected through site visits, original field research in Sarawak, and more than 80 research interviews, the article begins by teasing out the complex history and drivers behind the Bakun project before identifying a set of potential social, political, and economic benefits the project could deliver. It the...
Adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) often fail to master literacy skills, in part because disruptive behaviors interfere with task engagement and persistence. The theory of behavioral momentum explains the persistence of behavior in the face of changing environmental conditions. The current exploratory study examined variables related to behavioral momentum in the context of a continuous reading task. Participants were three adolescents identified with EBD who were instructional on fifth-grade material. Results indicated that when participants read a third-grade paragraph immediately before a fifth-grade paragraph, they decreased the latency to initiate reading of the fifth-grade paragraph and increased words read correctly per minute on the first 10 words of the fifth-grade paragraph. Results are discussed in terms of the theory of behavioral momentum and the nature of interventions that may be developed to increase reading persistence.
Real-time object detection is one of the core problems in computer vision. The cascade boosting framework proposed by Viola and Jones has become the standard for this problem. In this framework, the learning goal for each node is asymmetric, which is required to achieve a high detection rate and a moderate false positive rate. We develop new boosting algorithms to address this asymmetric learning problem. We show that our methods explicitly optimize asymmetric loss objectives in a totally corrective fashion. The methods are totally corrective in the sense that the coefficients of all selected weak classifiers are updated at each iteration. In contract, conventional boosting like AdaBoost is stage-wise in that only the current weak classifier's coefficient is updated. At the heart of the totally corrective boosting is the column generation technique. Experiments on face detection show that our methods outperform the state-of-the-art asymmetric boosting methods.
A new German-engineered articulated drilling tool that can take the vertical to the horizontal, using about eight metres of curve, was described. The Articulate Downhole Motor has the capability to run radii as long as 57 metres (the usual requirement is 15 metres), under full control. Its ability to rotate and slide while maintaining control is one of the major positives of the technology. The technology also includes a `positive` communication system in its steering tool. The deployment of the positive pulse retrievable measurement-while-drilling (MWD) system brings real-time tool face orientation and hole direction to the surface. In using the tool, formation composition is not an issue; it is designed to withstand any environment.
The effects of reservoir layering and gravity segregation on nonisothermal injection and falloff tests are investigated. Results show that layering does not affect injection or falloff data if all the layers are permeable and accept fluids from the wellbore. In such cases, the average permeability, skin factor, and distance to the thermal front can be calculated using the techniques developed for homogeneous reservoirs. Special considerations have to be taken for cases where several layers are impermeable or are permeable but do not accept fluids of the well face. In the first case (impermeable layers), knowledge of the total thickness of the permeable layers is required for the existing techniques to be applied successfully. In the second case, the existing techniques cannot be applied, but characteristic responses from injection and falloff test are seen; therefore, this case can be identified easily. 13 refs., 8 figs.
Abstract Amicrobial pustulosis of the folds (APF) is a recently described entity characterized by relapsing pustular lesions predominantly involving the cutaneous flexures and scalp. This disease typically occurs in association with systemic lupus erythematosus and a variety of other autoimmune diseases. We here describe an APF-like pustular eruption predominantly affecting the scalp, face and trunk, occurring during long-term infliximab treatment for Crohn's disease. Immunohistochemical staining of skin biopsy specimens for myxovirus resistance protein A, a marker for type 1 interferon-inducible proteins, showed increased staining in the epidermis and dermal mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate. Our observation further extends the spectrum of cutaneous adverse reactions potentially related...
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 analyst to more accurately assess the ...
A complete code based on the finite element method (FEM) is used to study the attenuation of gamma rays, of source energy 9 MeV, in simple homogeneous lead and water systems. The results are compared, in tables and graphs, with those produced by a Monte Carlo method of solution. In the comparison, particular attention is paid to the annihilation gamma rays generated by the pair production process, to energy deposition, and to the leakage spectra. A model, multilayer, slab shield, having a fission neutron source impinging on the left-hand face, is also solved by the FEM code, using data from a coupled neutron/gamma ray cross section library. The resulting neutron and gamma ray flux distributions, and the leakage spectra, are shown graphically. (author).
The flexible, insulated, single strand cables are electrically connected with a cylindrical polar tip (PN) by means of cylindrical and conical shafts for the polar tips, which enter the faces of the divided, multiwire strand, clamped by tension half couplings. The flat ends of the polar tips being joined are positioned in two concentric mandrel bushings, an internal fixed one and an external, axially movable bushing (PV). The internal bushing is rigidly attached to the end of the left polar tip and equipped with three or four rounded, radial openings, whose diameter is determined by the external diameter of the locking device hinges (ShF) of the connecting couplings. The right polar tip is equipped with an annular channel of trapezoidal section into which the locking device hinges enter. The external movable bushing on the right side has a conical turning and on the left, a cylindrical into which the cylindrical spring which holds the movable bushing in the extreme ...
This paper addresses the influence of CHC on how the insider/outsider distinction is drawn and what consequences follow for the conduct of research. The paper outlines the methodological complexities faced by us whilst conducting our respective research projects in Hong Kong. In the studies reported in this paper we, the researchers, were insiders at one level as both of us have a degree of familiarity with Hong Kong being residents of the city. We were also insiders on a professional level in the contexts under study. However being ethnically non-Chinese positioned us as outsiders. Additionally, our Western-trained research selves accepted certain normative paradigms, whilst our own personal ethno-centricities tended to question these self-same paradigms. In sum, the research context for ...
One-electron reduction of the square-planar nickel precursor (PNP)NiCl ( 1) (PNP (-) = N[2-P(CHMe 2) 2-4-methylphenyl] 2) with KC 8 effects ligand reorganization of the pincer ligand to assemble a Ni(I) dimer, [Ni(mu 2-PNP)] 2 ( 2), containing a Ni 2N 2 core structure, as inferred by its solid-state X-ray structure. Solution magnetization measurements are consistent with a paramagnetic Ni(I) system likely undergoing a monomer dimer equilibrium. The room-temperature and 4 K solid-state X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra display anisotropic signals. Low-temperature solid-state X-band EPR data at 4 K reveal rhombic values g z = 1.980(4), g x = 2. 380(4), and g y = 2.225(4), as well as a forbidden signal at g = 4.24 for the Delta M S = 2 half field transition, in accord with 2 having two weakly interacting metal centers. Utilizing an S = 1 model, full spin Hamiltonian simulation of the low-temperature EPR spectrum on the solid sample was achieved by applying a nonzero ...
The extracts from kinnow peel, kinnow seeds, litchi pericarp, litchi seeds, grape seeds, and banana peel were screened for total phenolic content (TPC), trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), 1,1 diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, as well as reducing power. Kinnow peel extract exhibited the highest reducing power, TEAC, and DPPH free radical scavenging activity, whereas, the phenolic content of 37.4 mg GAE/g-dw was highest for grape seed extract. Banana peel extract with a low TPC showed the lowest reducing power, TEAC as well as DPPH free radical scavenging activity among the fruit residue extracts examined in the present study. Correlation analysis between the reducing power and DPPH radical scavenging ability; reducing power and ABTS radical scavengin...
The objectives of this project were to develop technologies to manufacture self-reducing briquettes out of waste iron oxides and to recycle them in an electric arc furnace or a cupola furnace. CRM has investigated and determined the optimal characteristics (binder, size, grain size, compositions and activator for the reduction reaction) for briquettes containing mixtures of mill scales, mill sludges, electric arc furnace (EAF) dust and coal as reduction agent. The goal of obtaining briquettes, in which iron oxides are totally reduced when these briquettes are loaded with the scrap into an electric arc furnace, was achieved. Trials at ProfilARBED have shown that it is possible to recycle mill and EAF by-products conditioned in self-reducing briquettes in an electric arc furnace without influence on the performance and on the environment. The iron content of the slag does not increase as the iron of the by-product is almost ...
Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present ...
For the construction of underground facilities comprising access tunnels, connecting tunnels, main tunnels and disposal tunnels, a large number of tunnels will be excavated in deep rock formations. These excavations will extend hundreds kilometers in total length. Therefore, special attention must be paid, to transporting large volume of debris, ventilation, emergency escape routes in case of accident, and other factors. In addition, special attention must also paid to potential accidents which might in underground excavations, including unstable facing phenomena (such as collapse and swelling of facing at weak layer sections), spring water flow resulting collapse of rock, gas eruption, and rock burst. While considering these factors to be emphasized during the construction of geological disposal facilities, the investigation reviewed the existing working methods on individual construction technologies of access tunnels, main tunnels, ...
For the construction of underground facilities comprising access tunnels, connecting tunnels, main tunnels and disposal tunnels, a large number of tunnels will be excavated in deep rock formations. These excavations will extend hundreds kilometers in total length. Therefore, special attention must be paid, to transporting large volume of debris, ventilation, emergency escape routes in case of accident, and other factors. In addition, special attention must also paid to potential accidents which might in underground excavations, including unstable facing phenomena (such as collapse and swelling of facing at weak layer sections), spring water flow resulting collapse of rock, gas eruption, and rock burst. While considering these factors to be emphasized during the construction of geological disposal facilities, the investigation reviewed the existing working methods on individual construction technologies of access tunnels, main tunnels, ...
Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 nanodots dispersed in a SiO_2 film (Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 nanodot film) were formed by a self-assembled nanodot deposition (SAND) method in which Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 and SiO_2 are cosputtered in a high vacuum rf magnetron sputtering equipment. Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 pellets are laid on a SiO_2 target in a sputtering chamber to form the Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 nanodot film in the SAND method. The size and density of Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 nanodot were controlled by changing the ratio of the total area of Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 pellets to that of SiO_2 target. The Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 nanodot size decreases and its density increases when the ratio decreases. As-deposited Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 nanodots self-assembled to a face-centered-cubic phase of single-crystal structure. The Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 nanodot films were annealed to evaluate the nanodot size controllability, the magnetic anisotropy, and the thermal stability. Fully ordered L1_0 face-centered-tetragonal Fe_5_0Pt_5_0 nanodots with high ...
This paper presents a technical feasibility study project for the large scale rooftop photovoltaics (PV) grid connected system at Charoenphol-Rama I green building super store of TESCO LOTUS (TL) in Thailand. The objective of this project is (i) to study the technical feasibility of installation 350 kWp PV systems on the top of the roof in this site (ii) and to determine the energy produce from this system. The technical factors are examined using a computerized PVS 2000 simulation and assessment tool. This super store building located in Bangkok, with latitude 14 N, longitude 100 E and the building direction is 16 from North direction. The building roof area is 14,000 m2; with 3 degree face East and 3 degree face West pitch. Average daily solar energy in this area is approximately 5.0 kWh. The study team for this project consists of educational institution as School of Renewable Energy Technology (SERT) and private institution as Panya ...
The ceramic composite armor has been lucubrated in the past 40 years. Ceramic can provide the same protection as metal, but it has lighter weight than metal. Ceramic has excellent ability of resisting kinetic energy projectile, because it can transfer energy to a large range by its fragmented cone and has higher ability of eroding the projectile than metal. But the researches indicated the full potential of the ceramic hard face has not been achieved because the significant interface between ceramic and metal has the unfavorable impedance effects and would induce tensile failure. FGM is a new type composite with continuous transition from ceramic to metal; it has no significant discrete materials interfaces between ceramic and metal. This paper deals with the impact response of Ceramic/FGM/Metal armor by numerical and theoretical methods. Firstly, the ability of TiB{sub 2}/FGM/Metal armor resisting KE projectile is analyzed by Dytran FEM program. The comparison ...
The hard-sphere radial distribution functions, g_H_S(r/d,#eta#), for the face-centered cubic and hexagonal close-packed phases have been computed by the Monte Carlo method at nine values of the packing fraction, #eta#[=(#pi#/6)#rho#d"3], ranging from 4% below the melting density to 99% of the close-packed density. The Monte Carlo data are used to improve available analytic expressions for g_H_S(r/d,#eta#). By utilizing the new g_H_S(r/d,#eta#) in the Henderson and Grundke method [J. Chem. Phys. 63, 601 (1975)], we next derive an expression for y_H_S(r/d,#eta#) [=g_H_S(r/d)exp#left brace##beta#V_H_S(r)#right brace#] inside the hard-sphere diameter, d. These expressions are employed in a solid-state perturbation theory [J. Chem. Phys. 84, 4547 (1986)] to compute solid-state and melting properties of the Lennard-Jones and inverse-power potentials. Results are in close agreement with Monte Carlo and lattice-dynamics calculations performed in this and previous work. The ...
The mantis shrimp Squilla mantis shows a graded series of avoidance/escape responses to visual and mechanical (vibration and touch) rostral stimuli. A low-threshold response is mediated by the simultaneous protraction of the thoracic walking legs and abdominal swimmerets and telson, producing a backwards 'lurch' or jump that can displace the animal by up to one-third of its body length, but leaves it facing in the same direction. A stronger response starts with similar limb protraction, but is followed by partial abdominal flexion. The maximal response also consists of limb protraction followed by abdominal flexion, but in this case the abdominal flexion is sufficiently vigorous to pull the animal into a tight vertical loop, which leaves it inverted and facing away from the stimulus. The animal then swims forward (away from the stimulus) and rights itself by executing a half-roll. A bilaterally paired, large-diameter, rapidly conducting axon in ...
The wear behaviour of metallic material is influenced by the friction force, which in turn, is governed by the hardness and oxidation kinetics of the mating surface. In view of this, present investigation is undertaken to find the influence of mating surface on the high temperature wear of 253 MA alloy. This alloy is developed for high temperature application. In this work 253 MA alloy is made to slide against two different types of counter face material, namely 100Cr6 steel and PM 1000 alloy, at five different temperatures. 100Cr6 steel gets soften with increase of temperature whereas PM 1000 alloy retains its strength even at high temperature. The friction coefficient and the thickness loss of 253 MA alloy is measured and compared against both variety of mating surfaces as function of temperatures. The morphology of the worn surfaces and the transverse section of the worn surfaces are examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM) to identify the material ...
In this work the development of a third order scheme of finite differences centered in mesh is presented and it is applied in the numerical solution of those diffusion equations in multi groups in stationary state and X Y geometry. Originally this scheme was developed by Hennart and del Valle for the monoenergetic diffusion equation with a well-known source and they show that the one scheme is of third order when comparing the numerical solution with the analytical solution of a model problem using several mesh refinements and boundary conditions. The scheme by them developed it also introduces the application of numeric quadratures to evaluate the rigidity matrices and of mass that its appear when making use of the finite elements method of Galerkin. One of the used quadratures is the open quadrature of 4 points, no-standard, of Newton-Cotes to evaluate in approximate form the elements of the rigidity matrices. The other quadrature is that of 3 points of Radau that it is used to ...
The present position paper addresses contemporary waste management options, weaknesses and opportunities faced by Hellenic local authorities. It focuses on state-of-the-art, tested as well as innovative, environmental management tools on a municipal scale and identifies a range of different collaboration schemes between local authorities and related service providers. Currently, a policy implementation gap is still experienced among Hellenic local authorities; it appears that administration at the local level is inadequate to manage and implement many of the general policies proposed; identify, collect, monitor and assess relevant data; and safeguard efficient and effective implementation of MSWM practices in the framework of integrated environmental management as well. This shortfall is partly due to the decentralisation of waste management issues to local authorities without a parallel substantial budgetary and capacity support, thus resulting in local activity ...
This article is a case study of an Internet chat room outreach project in Perth, Western Australia. The CyberReach project sought to adapt current peer based health promotion outreach, training and supervision frameworks to an online outreach setting in a way that was effective and supported by the online community. It targeted marginalised groups to trial the provision of online mental and sexual health promotion incorporating a participatory action research model into its development and implementation. Three 6-week trial periods were conducted and significant changes were made in response to changes in the online environment and to improve sustainability and effectiveness of the protocols. Four themes arose from CyberReach's experience: online group processes are unique due to the creation of extensive personal networks and occurrence of disclosure without face-to-face contact across potentially large geographic barriers; flexibility is required to adapt to ...
The use of ceramics as energy absorbents has been studied by many researchers and some improvements in the ballistic performance of ceramic tiles have been made by coating them with different classes of materials (e.g. E-glass/epoxy, carbon-fiber/epoxy, etc.). Using ceramics for energy absorbing applications leads to a significant weight reduction of the system. Therefore, any modification to the ceramic configuration in the system which leads to more energy absorption with the same or less areal density is significant. On the other hand, polyurea has been proved to be an excellent energy dissipating agent in many applications. Inspired by this, we are studying the effect of coating ceramics with polyurea and other materials, on the energy absorption and ballistic performance of the resulting ceramic-based composites. In this study, we investigate the effect of polyurea on ballistic efficiency of ceramic tiles. To this end, we have performed a set of penetration tests on ...
A study was made investigate a relationship existing in the dentoskeletal framework and the soft tissue profile around the face, and compared the sexual differences between boys and girls having the normal occlusion in the mixed dentition. The lateral cephalograms were composed of 67 boys aged 10.3 years and 68 girls aged 10.4 years, respectively. By means of the lateral cephalograms, both the hard-and soft tissue structures were simultaneously analyzed, measured and evaluated by introducing the several reference items: S-N plane, palatal plane, mandibular plane, N-A line and A-P line for the dentoskeletal structures and N'-P' line for the soft tissue, and the 21 measuring points for the both structures. The significant findings were as follows: 1. In general the boys showed the larger nasal component dimension than did the girls, but the length and height of nose(N'-Prn and NA-Prn) showed the significant sexual difference among those when evaluated statistically. ...
The radioprotective effects of Liv.52 on tissue-reduced glutathione (GSH) levels were studied in rats. Adult female Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to whole body gamma radiation of 4 Gy and 8 Gy. Prior to radiation exposure, Liv.52 was fed, one ml per rat, daily for 15 days. Three days after radiation exposure, reduced glutathione levels in the liver, spleen, kidney and blood were studied. Liv.52 was beneficial in restoring the spleen weight to body weigh t ratio in the animals of the 4 Gy group. In the spleen and liver, Liv.52 helped to restore reduced glutathione in sub-lethally exposed rats. Blood-reduced glutathione was found to be normal in both groups of experimental rats who received Liv.52. The above results exhibit the radioprotective effects of Liv.52 in relation to tissue-reduced glutathione in experimental rats exposed to sub-lethal doses of radiation. (author). 3 ...
When withdrawing a fluid sample (for additional chromatographic analyses) from an apparatus operated at a reduced pressure, a typical syringe proves to be ineffective (even if it is equipped with a gas tight plunger). It simply does not create enough pressure differential to remove a fluid sample from a reduced pressure environment. We encountered such a situation as part of efforts to extend the operation of the advanced distillation curve protocol to reduced pressures. The problem was solved by the development of a pressure balance syringe that allows reliable and precise sampling from an apparatus operating at sub-ambient pressures. This new device uses an external vacuum source to evacuate a syringe barrel, allowing a user to withdraw fluid samples from environments with pressures as low as 0.5kPa. To demonstrate the operation of the newly developed device, distillate analyses were performed on two fluids at low ...
The interaction between a pair of counter-rotating vortices and a lean premixed CH{sub 4}/O{sub 2}/N{sub 2} flame ({Phi} = + 0.55) has been studied by direct numerical simulations using detailed and reduced chemical reaction schemes. Results from the complex chemistry simulation are discussed with respect to earlier experiments and differences in the simulations using detailed and reduces chemistry are investigated. Transient evolutions of the flame surface and the total heat release rate are compared and modifications in the evolution of the local flame structure are displayed. (authors) 22 refs.
An improved ion funnel design is disclosed that decreases the axial RF (parasite) fields at the ion funnel exit. This is achieved by addition of one or more compensation electrodes after the conductance limit electrode. Various RF voltage profiles may be applied to the various electrodes minimizing the parasite axial potential wells. The smallest RF aperture that serves as the conductance limiting electrode is further reduced over standard designs. Overall, the ion funnel improves transmission ranges of both low m/z and high m/z ions, reducing RF activation of ions and decreasing the gas load to subsequent differential pumping stages.
In this paper, the control scheme of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-diesel dual-fuel engine with electronic control is illustrated, the external characteristics and load characteristics of the LPG-diesel dual-fuel engine and the diesel engine are compared and analysed, and the results of automobile road tests are also given. The experimental results show that, compared with diesel, the output performance of dual fuel is not reduced, while smoke emission of dual fuel is significantly reduced, NO{sub x} emission of dual fuel is hardly changed, but HC emission and CO emission of dual fuel are increased and fuel consumption of dual fuel is reduced. (Author)
Why we sleep remains one of the enduring unanswered questions in biology. At its core, sleep can be defined behaviorally as a homeostatically regulated state of reduced movement and sensory...Full Text Available
The primary determinants of pulmonary disease are environmental. The same thinness and delicacy of the air-blood barrier which allows rapid exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide also reduce its effectiveness...Full Text Available
... on a hot day. It's also filled with antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin A, and lycopene. ... snack alone or blended into a smoothie, provide antioxidants and phytonutrients that can reduce inflammation in your ...
This paper summarizes the main features of four current REDD proposals: Compensated Reduction, Papua New Guinea et al; Joint Research Center; and Brazil. ... ...
Object: To permit a valve operation test to be periodically made during plant operation without causing variations in plant power by detecting flow control valve defect on the basis of a valve aperture alteration instruction. Structure: Step signals which are equal in absolute value and opposite in sign are coupled to the input side of flow controllers provided on the recycling loops of two or more recycling flow control systems. With these inputs the aperture of the flow control valve on one side is increased (or reduced) while the aperture of the valve on the other side is reduced (or increased). As a result, the recycling flow rate in the loop on one side is increased (or reduced) while that on the other side is reduced (or increased). Whether the valve is normally operating or not is confirmed by checking the recycling flow rate and valve aperture. (Nakamura, S.).
ObjectiveTo assess whether 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate reduces the rate of preterm birth in women carrying triplets.MethodsFull Text Available
The goal of this experiment is to evaluate the usefulness of existing normal gravity two-phase flow heat transfer augmentation techniques under microgravity ...
Here, a general approach for the preparation of reduced graphite oxide (rGO)-silver nanocomposite has been investigated. Graphite oxide (GO) sheets are used as the nanoscale substrates for the formation of rGO-silver composite. GO sheets and Ag ions can be reduced at the same time, under a mild condition using l-ascorbic acid (l-AA) as reducing agent. This simple approach should find practical applications in the production of rGO-silver nanocomposite. The SEM analysis indicates that the silver particles are dispersed on graphene sheets. Raman signals of rGO in the composite are increased by the attached silver nanoparticles, displaying surface-enhanced Raman scattering activity. The degree of enhancement can be adjusted by varying the quantity of silver nanoparticles in the composite. In ...
(e.g. enclosed cooktop with built in emissions capture and treatment) . " Test hardware in laboratory, reduced pressure and analog habitat. " Objective 1. ...
This paper provides an alternative approach to Duffie and Lando [Econometrica 69 (2001) 633-664] for obtaining a reduced form credit risk model from a structural model. Duffie and Lando obtain a reduced form model by constructing an economy where the market sees the manager's information set plus noise. The noise makes default a surprise to the market. In contrast, we obtain a reduced form model by constructing an economy where the market sees a reduction of the manager's information set. The reduced information makes default a surprise to the market. We provide an explicit formula for the default intensity based on an Azema martingale, and we use excursion theory of Brownian motions to price risky debt.
Immunomodulatory drugs lenalidomide and pomalidomide are synthetic compounds derived by modifying the chemical structure of thalidomide to improve its potency and reduce its side effects. Lenalidomide...Full Text Available
The Bantam System Technology Project is one element of the Advanced Space Transportation Program -- a NASA initiative to reduce the cost of space launch and ...
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. CHF is marked by atrial and ventricular enlargement and reduced cardiac contractility, as well as an association...Full Text Available
All treatments for obesity, including dietary restriction of carbohydrates, have a goal of reducing the storage of fat in adipocytes. The chief enzyme responsible for the mobilization of FFA from adipose...Full Text Available
Fresh and fresh-cut tomatoes have been associated with numerous outbreaks of salmonellosis in recent years. One effective post harvest treatment to reduce Salmonella enterica in tomatoes may be high pressure processing (HPP). The objectives of the study were to determine the potential for HPP to reduce S. enterica serovars Newport, Javiana, Braenderup and Anatum in tryptic soy broth (TSB) and to determine the effect of HPP to reduce the most pressure resistant of the four serovars from fresh diced and whole tomatoes. To evaluate pressure resistance, TSB containing 8 log CFU/ml of one of the four serovars was packaged in sterile stomacher bags and subjected to one of three different pressures (350, 450 or 550MPa) for 120s. The most pressure resistant S. enterica serovar evaluated was Braend...
strives to reduce our "environmental footprint" in the following areas: EPA Facilities Energy Conservation Requirements | Goals and Strategies | Results | Reports Green Power...
According to classical concepts of physiologic control, healthy systems are self-regulated to reduce variability and maintain physiologic constancy. Contrary to the predictions of homeostasis, however,...Full Text Available
and used to reduce or replace petroleum-based transportation fuel, heating oil or jet fuel). In addition, this rule includes a new regulatory provision establishing a...
The effect of a series of complexing and reducing agents on the extraction-chemical behavior of technetium as applied to extraction splitting of uranium and plutonium in the Purex process was examined. Kinetic parameters of the catalytic decomposition of N2H5NO3 under the action of Tc in the presence of these agents were evaluated. Variation of the ratio of the oxidized and reduced Tc species in the course of the process and in the hydrazine-free systems was determined. Reagents preventing oxidation of the reduced technetium and decomposition of N2H5NO3 in nitric acid solutions (acetohydroxamic acid, hydroxylamine, ascorbic acid, etc.), inhibiting the reduction of Tc with hydrazine nitrate (H2O2, HN3, etc.), and known as complexing agents toward quadrivalent actinides but indifferent to Tc...
Contact precautions are implemented to reduce transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms but may also increase hospital costs and patient complications. The goal of this study was to determine...Full Text Available
Fuel treatments are being implemented on public and private lands across the western United States. Although scientists and managers have an understanding ... ...
... 1 1 if on-line printout is desired (data will also be stored on tape) = 0 or blank, reduced data will be stored on a listable tape P3 M Codes B - Corivert ...