Wastenet

...food waste recycling schemes; (3) Six in-depth site visits to authorities operating collection schemes in order to capture information on scheme design, operational issues and factors affecting public engagement. The case study areas were: Bexley, Cambridge, Fenland, Hackney, Taunton Deane and Weymouth & Portland;...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Data were collected on 154 adoptive families with gay/lesbian and straight adoptive parents (154 parent respondents and 210 adolescent respondents). This study was principally interested in factors affecting adolescent attachment including parent sexual orientation, adolescent and parent life satisfaction, and parent level of relationship satisfaction with their adopted child as well as other key parent, child and adoption characteristics. The results suggest that higher level of adopted adolescent attachment to parents is not related to adoptive parent sexual orientation. Adolescent attachment to parents is related to adolescent life satisfaction; parent level of relationship satisfaction with their adopted child, number of placements prior to adoption, and adolescent's current age. Adole...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of this research is to clarify how psychological factor's impact on public acceptance of nuclear energy varies with people's degree of knowledge. For this purpose, we carried out questionnaire survey about nuclear energy at Suginami ward, Tokyo. After collecting data, we applied factor analysis to the data, and found 4 factors: Trust in the Authorities, Superiority of Nuclear Power Generation, Benefit for Nuclear Power Plants' Siting Areas, and Risk Perception about Nuclear Technology. In addition, using multiple regression analysis, we evaluated the impact of the 4 factors on 2 issues: the decision for or against nuclear policy and the reaction to nuclear power plant siting. Consequently, we found the change of impact of all 4 factors on the 2 issues. Especially, the impact of the 4 factors to the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A large acceptance, high stopping power Bragg curve spectrometer has been developed for use in coincidence experiments with heavy ions. The electron collection fields are radial and position information is obtained from a resistive anode. The detector is 60 cm deep and operates at pressures of up to 2.5 atm of P-10 gas. It is mated to a scattering chamber which allows it to be moved out of plane during coincidence measurements. Factors affecting the performance of the detector are discussed, and results obtained with the detector are presented. (orig.).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect the adoption of cloud computing by firms belonging to the high-tech industry. The eight factors examined in this study are relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, top management support, firm size, technology readiness, competitive pressure, and trading partner pressure. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire-based survey was used to collect data from 111 firms belonging to the high-tech industry in Taiwan. Relevant hypotheses were derived and tested by logistic regression analysis. Findings - The findings revealed that relative advantage, top management support, firm size, competitive pressure, and trading partner pressure characteristics have a significant effect on the adoption of cloud computing...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Methods for improving the sensitivity of scintillation cells for radon concentration measurements were studied with emphasis on improving light collection efficiency. This allows the length and hence the volume of the cell to be increased. Variables studied were choice of scintillator material, its method of application and thickness, length of cell, cell material, type and configuration of reflectors, choice of photomultipliers, and factors affecting background. Response from various areas of the cell surface was studied with an alpha source and with radon filling. Coating the window with phosphor was found to be counter-productive. The optimum results obtained were with the inside of the cell (other than the window) covered with a thick layer of ZnS(Ag), or with a thick layer of reflective material coated with a thin layer of phosphor. With it, a 10 cm diameter plexiglass cell can be extended to at least 50 cm length ...

Science.gov (United States)

Background: Accountability demands are increasingly pushing school leaders to explore more data and do more sophisticated analyses. Data-driven decision making (DDDM) has become an emerging field of practice for school leadership and a central focus of education policy and practice. Purpose: This study examined principals' DDDM practices and identified the factors influencing DDDM using the theoretical frame of information use environments. Participants: Participants were 183 public high school principals in a Midwestern state. Research Design: The research design was cross-sectional survey research. Data Collection and Analysis: Survey instruments were developed and administered to principals. Structural equation modeling was conducted to determine what factors significantly affect principals' DDDM practices in different leadership dimensions. Findings: Principals used data more frequently in ...

Science.gov (United States)

... implementation." 4 1 Factors Affecting Rural Construction. Two new factors profoundly modify today's pacification equa- tion. ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Various factors affecting the aggregation of Actinomyces naeslundii strain 12104 were studied. When the pH of glucose-supplemented growth medium fell below 5.5, the cells aggregated and formed microbial...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... The moisture content-dimension relationship of two laminate components, phenolic core and melamine overlay, are compared. (Author, modified). ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

These proceedings collect papers on the subject of lymphokines. Topics include: DNA-cloning of mouse and human lymphokine genes, inteferons, interleukins, gene expression, tumor necrosis factors, and recombinant DNA.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

While it is difficult to prove that a specific material is causing contamination in a landfill, tests have been conducted at waste-to-energy facilities that indicate that household batteries contribute significant amounts of heavy metals to both air emissions and ash residue. Hennepin County, MN, used a dual approach for developing and implementing a special household battery collection. Alternative collection methods were examined; test collections were conducted. The second phase examined operating and disposal policy issues. This report describes the results of the grant project, moving from a broad examination of the construction and content of batteries, to a description of the pilot collection programs, and ending with a discussion of variables affecting the cost and operation of a comprehensive battery collection program. Three out-of-state companies (PA, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Full text: The general population is daily exposed to chronic, low doses of ionizing radiation (IR) from both natural and artificial sources. The biological consequences of acute, high dose IR exposure can be readily determined; however, the nature and significance of low dose, low dose-rate IR effects are still the subject of debate. Confounding the issue, are the phenomena collectively referred to as the Radiation-induced Bystander Effect (RIBE). The RIBE describes a collection of in vitro observations that suggest the presence of a soluble, transmissible factor(s) released from irradiated cells that can induce a biological response in un-irradiated cells. The induction, nature and magnitude of the RIBE varies between cell culture systems, radiation sources and end-points measured. Efforts to confirm the presence of the RIBE in vivo have been confined to in vivo-like culture systems and limited work with tumour and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper we present results of our investigation into the relationship between urban microclimate and the local density of tree cover as measured in Sacramento, California. These results were obtained through analysis of data collected in a two-month long monitoring program with automatic weather stations installed at 15 residential locations throughout the city. Measured wind speeds showed a highly negative correlation with respect to tree cover. Daily peak air temperatures showed significant variation often differing from site to site by 2 to 4{degrees}C ({approx}3.5 to 7{degrees}F). A complex interaction between several competing factors is discussed leading to the conclusion that additional tree cover may actually increase urban air temperatures on synoptically cool days. It is suggested that this does not have a significant adverse affect in terms of overall summer urban cooling load. This is supported by an ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This study was undertaken to collect emissions performance data for Canadian and comparable American refineries. The objective was to examine parameters that affect refinery air emissions performance and develop methods or correlations to normalize emissions performance. Another objective was to correlate and compare the performance of Canadian refineries to comparable American refineries. For the purpose of this study, benchmarking involved the determination of levels of emission performance that are being achieved for generic groups of facilities. A total of 20 facilities were included in the benchmarking analysis, and 74 American refinery emission correlations were developed. The recommended benchmarks, and the application of those correlations for comparison between Canadian and American refinery performance, were discussed. The benchmarks were: sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate, volatile organic compounds, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

(1978). United States Hukai, D. Boston Univ., MA Simmons, RE Hukai, RY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

... for mediating the effects of early adverse experiences since they are affected

Science.gov (United States)

... 2. Help women become accepted by providing job-related training, creating flexible work groups with good climates, and encourage supervisors to ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

... University, Fracture and Reliability Research Institute, Sendai, Miyagi (Japan)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Opinions on factors affecting public power systems are presented. Social, economic, and political factors are discussed in terms of their impact on public power. Competition with investor-owned utilities is the primary focus of the paper. Privatization and regulations are other issues discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radium is known to be taken up by aquatic animals, and tends to accumulate in bone, shell and exoskeleton. The most common approach to estimating the uptake of a radionuclide by aquatic animals for use in health and environmental risk assessments is the concentration factor method. The concentration factor method relates the concentration of a contaminant in an organism to the concentration in the surrounding water. Site specific data are not usually available, and generic, default values are often used in risk assessment studies. This paper describes the concentration factor method, summarizes some of the variables which may influence the concentration factor for radium, reviews reported concentration factors measured in marine environments and presents concentration factors derived from data collected in a study in coastal Louisiana. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The set of activities performed by SENTECH, Inc. addressed the specific recommendations provided to the Department of Energy (DOE) by its advisors, including the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel and the review panel members of the DOE Annual Hydrogen Program Review. SENTECH`s efforts were conducted under five tasks: Task 1: Technology and Process Analysis; Task 2: Hydrogen Information Development and Transfer; Task 3: Educational Products; Task 4: Systems Analysis; and Task 5: Life Cycle Costs. SENTECH activities were executed in two broad areas--analysis and technology transfer. The analytical tasks undertaken in FY97 were focused on two types of analysis--systems analysis and technical/economic assessments. These analytical activities benefit DOE by providing data that allow it to define the strategic goals of the hydrogen R and D program. By collecting analysis of the energy efficiency, environmental externality, and economic competitiveness ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Reference failures, and their increase in affectively negative conditions (known as affective reactivity of speech), are more frequently observed in schizophrenia patients than in normal controls, but no information is available comparing schizophrenia with depression, ie, a mental disorder closely linked to the concept of affective reactivity. To address this gap in the literature, the present study compared 24 schizophrenia inpatients, 21 unipolar depression inpatients and 21 normal controls. Two 10-minute conversational speech samples (1 on negative and 1 on positive memories) were collected from each patient. The transcripts of the audiotaped interviews were analyzed blindly for frequencies of 6 types of referential failures, employing the Communication Disturbances Index, adapted for ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurobehavioral disorder affecting 5% to 10% of children. Although considered to be a highly familial disorder, ADHD heritability estimates of 60% to 80% highlight the considerable role that environmental factors may still play in disorder susceptibility. Proposed ADHD environmental risk factors include prenatal substance exposures, heavy metal and chemical exposures, nutritional factors, and lifestyle/psychosocial factors. This paper reviews the literature published in 2010 investigating the association between environmental risk factors and ADHD or related symptomatology. Sources of risk factor exposure and the proposed mechanism by which each exposure is linked to ADHD-related neurobehavioral changes are also reported. Metho...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Evolutionary conservation of DNA sequences provides a tool for the identification of functional elements in genomes. We have created a database of evolutionary conserved regions (ECRs) in vertebrate genomes entitled ECRbase that is constructed from a collection of pairwise vertebrate genome alignments produced by the ECR Browser database. ECRbase features a database of syntenic blocks that recapitulate the evolution of rearrangements in vertebrates and a collection of promoters in all vertebrate genomes presented in the database. The database also contains a collection of annotated transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) in all ECRs and promoter elements. ECRbase currently includes human, rhesus macaque, dog, opossum, rat, mouse, chicken, frog, zebrafish, and two pufferfish genomes. It is freely accessible at http://ECRbase.dcode.org.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An apparatus for measuring the overall decontamination factors of first and second filters located in a plenum. The first filter separates the plenum's upstream and intermediate chambers. The second filter separates the plenum's intermediate and downstream chambers. The apparatus comprises an aerosol generator that generates a challenge aerosol. An upstream collector collects unfiltered aerosol which is piped to first and second dilution stages and then to a laser aerosol spectrometer. An intermediate collector collects challenge aerosol that penetrates the first filter. The filtered aerosol is piped to the first dilution stage, diluted, and then piped to the laser aerosol spectrometer which detects single particles. A downstream collector collects challenge aerosol that penetrates both filters. The twice-filtered aerosol is piped to the aerosol spectrometer. A pump and several valves ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report summarises nearly 20 biosphere reports and gives a synthesis of the work performed within the SR-Site Biosphere project, i.e. the biosphere part of SR-Site. SR-Site Biosphere provides the main project with dose conversion factors (LDFs), given a unit release rate, for calculation of human doses under different release scenarios, and assesses if a potential release from the repository would have detrimental effects on the environment. The intention of this report is to give sufficient details for an overview of methods, results and major conclusions, with references to the biosphere reports where methods, data and results are presented and discussed in detail. The philosophy of the biosphere assessment was to make estimations of the radiological risk for humans and the environment as realistic as possible, based on the knowledge of present-day conditions at Forsmark and the past and expected future development of the site. This was achieved by using the ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Ophthalmologic abnormalities have been described in patients with dementia, but the extent to which poor vision and treatment for visual disorders affect cognitive decline is not well defined. Linked...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

From view on Organization Behavior theory, the concept, development and affecting factors of safety culture are introduced. The focuses are on the establishment, development and management practice for safety culture at Daya Bay NPP. A strong safety culture, also demonstrated, has contributed greatly to improving performance at Daya Bay

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Factors affecting the membrane filtration of food suspensions were studied for 58 foods and 13 membrane filters. Lot number within a brand, pore size (0.45 or 0.8 micrometer), and time elapsed before...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The report discusses the capabilities of equipment vendors to supply and install the quantity of flue gas desulfurization systems required to meet alternative standards for coal-fired steam generators. It analyzes limiting factors affecting supply capabilities (such as the availa...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the failure of trials (<50% pain reduction in pain for trial period) to improve success rate of spinal...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundType 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) affects persons of all ages, while also placing heavy economic burdens on national economies and healthcare systems. The study aims to investigate...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The H-SAPS (Hydrogen Stand-Alone Power System) project, an EU project within the ALTENER programme in the period 2002-2004, was initiated to determine the potential for the introduction of environmentally benign hydrogen technology in what is believed to be a near-term market, namely stand-alone power systems (SAPS). The objective of the project was to examine the technological, political, social and economical factors affecting the emergence of hydrogen technology in the stand-alone power system market today and in the future. The scope of the project was limited to small and medium sized stand-alone power systems, up to a few hundred kilowatts (kW) power rating and based on renewable energy as the primary energy source. The work was divided into five phases: (1) Inception, (2) Data collection and analysis, (3) Market analysis and barrier removal, (4) Dissemination, and (5) Final report. Separate reports were written on ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundComplaints of arm, neck and/or shoulders (CANS) affects millions of computer office workers. However its prevalence and associated risk factors in developing countries...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Safety assessments for clearance of H-beam and valves, main radioactive metal wastes in Kori nuclear power plants, were carried out to derivate a decontamination factor for satisfying the dose limits of clearance level (Maximum individual dose: 10 {mu}Sv/y, collective dose: 1 man{center_dot}Sv/y) in Korea. Maximum individual dose and collective dose were evaluated by internal dose conversion factor which based on the concept of effective dose in ICRP publication 60. The results of maximum individual dose and collective dose is 139 {mu}Sv per year and 0.166 man{center_dot}Sv per year about H-beam, and 158 {mu}Sv per year and 0.468 man{center_dot}Sv per year about valves respectively. Demand decontamination factor satisfied with, which is respectively more than 13.9 and 15.8 for satisfying clearance level.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper presents case studies of economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic systems using the software AVES-F (Analysis of Economic Feasibility of Photovoltaic Systems), developed by the authors, considering cases of stand-alone and grid-connected systems. The software takes into account several factors that can influence the economic feasibility of these kind of systems, like load to be supplied, distance to the grid, the use regime of the system, applied subsidies and others. The main goal of this paper is to analyze some of these factors and to observe how they can affect the economics of PV systems for electricity generation. (authors)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) is decommissioning many of its excess facilities through removal of the facility structures leaving only the concrete-slab foundations in place. Site-specific, risk-based derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs) for radionuclides have been determined for a future industrial worker potentially exposed to residual contamination on these concrete slabs as described in Jannik. These risk-based DCGLs were estimated for an exposure area of 100 m2. During deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) operations at SRS, the need for area factors for larger and smaller contaminated areas arose. This paper compares the area factors determined for an industrial worker exposed to a concrete slab end-state for several radionuclides of concern at SRS with 1) the illustrative area factors provided in MARSSIM, 2) the area correction factors provided in ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In many applications, the experimenter has limited options about what factor combinations can be chosen for a designed study. Consider a screening study for a production process involving five input factors whose levels have been previously established. The goal of the study is to understand the effect of each factor on the response, a variable that is expensive to measure and results in destruction of the part. From an inventory of available parts with known factor values, we wish to identify a best collection of factor combinations with which to estimate the factor effects. Though the observational nature of the study cannot establish a causal relationship involving the response and the factors, the study can increase understanding of the underlying process. The study can also help determine where investment should be ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

While underground power transmission lines have become to use CV cables as the mainstream, existing facilities still use OF cables. Factors of OF cable deterioration include heat cycles during operation and surge intrusion. As a method to diagnose this deterioration in insulation, characteristics tests are performed by collecting insulation oil in a cable connection box. The insulation oil collection work has been done conventionally with the power line stopped to prevent danger from induction voltage. A power uninterruptible oil collection tool was developed recently. The tool consists mainly of an insulator made of epoxy resin, wherein a connection box connector is rotated and loosened by operating an insulating operation rod, with the structure not contacted directly with metallic sheath, so that insulation oil can go through the oil collecting tool and gets ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

There is a need to reduce air pollutant emissions in some U.S. urban regions to meet federal and state air quality guidelines. Opportunities exist for reducing pollutant emissions from natural gas appliances in the residential sector. A cost-benefit analysis on various pollutant-reducing strategies is needed to evaluate these opportunities. The effectiveness of these pollutant-reducing strategies (e.g., low-emission burners, energy conservation) can then be ranked among themselves and compared with other pollutant-reducing strategies available for the region. A key step towards conducting a cost-benefit analysis is to collect information on pollutant emissions from existing residential natural gas appliances. An extensive literature search was conducted to collect data on residential natural-gas-appliance pollutant emission factors. The literature primarily describes laboratory tests and may not reflect actual emission ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The visual impact of wind turbines is one of the main factors affecting public acceptance of wind parks. This paper evaluates the visual impact of a wind park in Chania, Crete, using the Spanish method of evaluation. The outcomes are combined with the psychometric testing of the residents by the use of questionnaires and with the values of the Spanish method about various scenarios concerning the size of the wind park (double, half, one wind turbine). The results of the study prove that the quantification of the potential visual impact could minimize this, apparently, main reason that affects public acceptance. (author)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

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...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Despite the proven utility of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) to predict soil rainfall erosion, it has limited precision in predicting soil loss in some soil series. Also, runoff is a factor in rainfall erosion and some models, such as the modified USLE (USLE-M), include runoff in predicting soil erosion. The soil erodibility factor is an essential component in both models and this may be affected by application of soil conditioners, such as polyacrylamide (PAM). The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of different rates of PAM (0, 1, 2, 4, and 6kgha-1) applied with sprinkler irrigation water, followed by two sprinkler irrigations with no PAM, on the erodibility of a loam soil under a rainfall simulator in a laboratory. The range of erodibility factor Ku obtained...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A method based on the collection of [sup 99]Tc from 500 l sea water samples by anion exchange and further extraction of TcO[sub 4][sup -] into 5% triisooctylamine-xylene has been improved to include a decontamination factor 6.5x10[sup 5] for uranium. The detection limit for [sup 99]Tc is thereby reduced to 3 mBq/m[sup 3].

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Energy deposition process by relativistic fast electrons produced by ultra-intense laser pulses is discussed. The process is calculated with a two dimensional Fokker-Planck simulation code including binary and collective collisions coupled with electromagnetic field. We focused on Velocity Distribution Function (VDF) dependence in the simulation. The results show that the spread angle of the fast electrons distribution affects energy deposition area and deposited energy is concentrated in the vicinity of the propagation axis of the fast electrons. It may be also suggested that self-pinch effect of a fast electron beam causes large deposition energy. (author)

Science.gov (United States)

We studied two-photon exchange for elastic electron-proton scattering at low Q{sup 2}. Compact approximate formulas for the amplitudes were obtained. Numerical calculations were done for Q{sup 2}{<=}0.1 GeV{sup 2} with several realistic form factor parametrizations, yielding similar results. They indicate that the corrections to the magnetic form factor can visibly affect the cross-section and proton radii. For low-Q{sup 2} electron-neutron scattering two-photon exchange corrections were shown to be negligibly small00.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The main objective of this paper is to identify conditions which affect public concern (either increase or decrease) and political acceptance for developing and implementing programmes for geologic disposal of long-lived radioactive waste. It also looks how citizens and relevant actors can be associated in the decision making process in such a way that their input is enriching the outcome towards a more socially robust and sustainable solution. Finally, it aims at learning from the interaction how to optimise risk management addressing needs and expectations of the public and of other relevant stakeholders. In order to meet these objectives, factors of relevance for societal acceptance conditions are identified, described and analysed. Subsequently these factors are looked for in the real world of nuclear waste management through cases in several countries. The analysis is conducted for six stages of a repository programme ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Presented are some preliminary studies made in preparation for the design of a solar powered loop for desalination by humidification - dehumidification process. The studies concentrated on the evaluation of different parameters affecting the performance of the combination of different components in such a loop in the hope of outlining the most decisive factors for the choice or design of solar collectors or heat source. The results presented relate to the performance of two of the most important components in a loop of such purpose, that is: the humidifying and the dehumidifying columns or stacks. 4 refs.

Science.gov (United States)

Addresses factors affecting rural education in Tasmania (Australia), including population trends, financial support, student enrollment, socioeconomic status of rural residents, and geographic isolation. Issues that need to be addressed include the status of small schools in Tasmania, costs associated with transporting students, staffing, low student retention, and limited availability of special services. (LP)

Science.gov (United States)

Friction opposes tooth motion whenever sliding mechanics is employed. Understanding what friction is and how to manage it is of paramount importance to the successful practitioner. In this article, the coefficients of friction are summarized between different arch wire-bracket couples as a function of material, geometric, and external parameters. From this vantage point, friction can then be evaluated within the context of other factors that affect sliding-binding and notching. PMID:9573878

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper reviews the main studies on entrepreneurship conducted during the past two decades that are relevant for the understanding of various macroeconomic issues. I organize the discussion by distinguishing three groups of contributions. The first group includes studies whose main purpose is to understand the factors that affect the decision to become an entrepreneur. The second group includes studies that look at the aggregate and distributional implications of entrepreneurship for savings and investment. The third group deals with issues of economic development and growth.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The iron foundry industry is considered to be a potential source of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). This study investigated the emission factors and total emission amounts of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) from iron foundries in China. The concentrations and the World Health Organization toxicity equivalents (WHO-TEQs) are presented and the congener profiles are discussed in this paper. In the present work, 26 fly ash samples were collected and tested to quantify the PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs generated by 14 plants of different scales, and five stack gas samples were collected from two (named as EFG and LFG) of those plants. The emission levels of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs indicated that hot-air cupolas had lower emissions than cold-air cupol...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A large acceptance, high stopping power, Bragg curve spectrometer has been developed for use in coincidence experiments with heavy ions. The electron collection fields are radial and position information is obtained from a resistive anode. The detector is 60 cm deep and operates at pressures of up to 2.5 atm of P-10 gas. It is mated to a scattering chamber which allows it to be moved out of plane during coincidence measurements. The detector design was aided by the results of computer simulations of the electron collection process in the detector, and of the signal processing in the electronics. The signals from the Bragg curve spectrometer are recorded in a waveform digitizer and the Bragg peak height, range, position and pileup rejection information are determined from software analysis of the recorded signals. Factors limiting the performance of the detector are discussed, and results obtained with the detector are ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The aim of this paper is to present and evaluate control strategies for adjustment and preservation of air quality, thermal and visual comfort for buildings' occupants while, simultaneously, energy consumption reduction is achieved. Fuzzy PID, fuzzy PD and adaptive fuzzy PD control methods are applied. The inputs to any controller are: the PMV index affecting thermal comfort, the CO{sub 2} concentration affecting indoor air quality and the illuminance level affecting visual comfort. The adaptive fuzzy PD controller adapts the inputs and outputs scaling factors and is based on a second order reference model. More specifically, the scaling factors are modified according to a sigmoid type function, in such a way that the measured variable to be as closer as possible to the reference model. The adaptive fuzzy PD controller is compared to a non-adaptive fuzzy PD and to an ON-OFF ...

Science.gov (United States)

This paper addresses the major issues beginning teachers face in their first postings to rural areas in Australia. The issues go beyond pedagogy. Beginning teachers need to understand social factors affecting rural communities so they can link lessons to the realities experienced by students. Geographic isolation affects the provision of education in terms of time taken to travel, cost, terrain, and technology. Rural communities have groups that are socially isolated from each other and from the staff in schools. In order to teach effectively, teachers need to be aware of the social context of the community in which they live and work. Teachers in rural areas suffer from professional isolation and often confront teaching situations for which they have had little formal preparation. Communities in remote places often move quickly to adopt technological means to overcome their isolation. Teachers in rural areas need to ...

Science.gov (United States)

BackgroundThe interactions between torus and several factors such as age, gender, and dental status have not been studied comprehensively. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of gender on the mandibular cortical index (MCI) and to investigate a possible association between torus mandibularis (TM) and MCI.MethodsThe study consisted of 189 consecutive patients referred to Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology of Hacettepe University within 30 workdays. Patients who did not have systemic disorders affecting bone density were included; and the age, gender, dental status and existing TM of the patients were recorded. Morphology of the mandibular inferior cortex was determined according to Klemitti's classification on panoramic radiographs.ResultsMCI was affected by age and gender (P 0.05).ConclusionIn the study population, MCI was affected by age and gender. As age increased, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A G-matrix, derived from a meson-exchange potential in nuclear matter, is applied to finite, semi-magic nuclei. For the open shell the broken-pair model, which can accommodate many single-particle levels, is used. The excitations of the closed shell are treated as particle-hole states. Energy spectra and electromagnetic transition densities are calculated for /sup 88/Sr and /sup 58/Ni. The energies of the non-collective states are well described. Pairing correlations in the ground state have almost the correct strength in a multishell model space. To improve the energies of the collective 2/sup +/ and 3/sup -/ states the inclusion of core-polarisation effects in the force is required. Transition charge densities for collective states become strongly surface-peaked by core-polarisation effects, as is observed in experiments. The effects of pairing correlations and core polarisation on the magnetic form ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Operations at the Savannah River Site (SRS) result in releases of small amounts of radioactive materials to the atmosphere and to the Savannah River. For regulatory compliance purposes, potential offsite radiological doses are estimated annually using computer models that follow U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regulatory Guides. Within the regulatory guides, default values are provided for many of the dose model parameters but the use of site-specific values by the applicant is encouraged. A detailed survey of land and water use parameters was conducted in 1991 and is being updated here. These parameters include local characteristics of meat, milk and vegetable production; river recreational activities; and meat, milk and vegetable consumption rates as well as other human usage parameters required in the SRS dosimetry models. In addition, the preferred elemental bioaccumulation factors and transfer factors to be used in human health ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

E-35 reported the specific air flow analysis program using a CFSV model (including a human body model) to develop a high-accuracy evaluation simulator for heterogeneous thermal environment based on human thermal physiological conditions. E-36 reported development of the radiation heat transfer analysis module by using a numerical integral method to calculate shape factors. Radiation heat transfer characteristics every body part were clarified quantitatively by this module. E-37 reported the results on continuous measurement of physiological conditions and thermal environment factors every monitor under controlled indoor thermal environment, to collect measurement data necessary for improving the accuracy of a prediction program for human body temperatures. E-38 reported the study result on physiological reaction and subjective evaluation through an examinee experiment in a blood controlled region, to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An experimental evaluation of the Fano factor F in silicon at hard X-ray energies (5.9-136.5 keV) has been performed by means of a low-noise, high charge collection efficiency silicon drift detector with on-chip electronics. A dependence of F from the detector temperature as well as from the energy of the X-ray photons has been found. Assuming a pair creation energy equal to 3.64 eV, at +20 deg. C the F factor was observed to vary from 0.124{+-}0.006 at 5.9 keV up to 0.159{+-}0.002 at 122 keV. At -35 deg. C, the change of F with respect to the photon energy was less remarkable but nevertheless statistically significant, from 0.123{+-}0.002 at 5.9 keV up to 0.134{+-}0.001 at 122 keV. To our knowledge, the present results represent the first experimental evidence of an energy dependence of the Fano factor in silicon at hard X-ray energies.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Several nuclear power plants are operating in Wolsung area, a south-east coastland of Korea. In addition, a medium-level radioactive waste repository is under construction there. If radionuclides are released from these facilities, food crops could be radioactively contaminated, leading to human exposure to internal radiations via food consumption. There are a number of rice fields around the Wolsung nuclear sites. However, almost nothing has yet been reported on the transfer of radionuclides to rice plants from Wolsung soils. In this study, 85Sr and 137Cs transfer factors (TFs) were measured for the rice in three paddy soils collected around the Wolsung nuclear sites

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Acid-treated cobia (Rachycentron canadum) skin was extracted in a retort (121C) to obtain retorted skin gelatin hydrolysates (RSGHs) containing antioxidant peptides with noticeable antioxidant properties. To improve the antioxidant activity of cobia RSGHs, five processing factors including alkali concentration, alkali pretreatment time, phosphoric acid concentration (PC), water/skin ratio (WS) and retorting time (RT) in RSGH production were screened using a fractional factorial design to identify critical factors. It indicated that PC, WS and RT had significant effects on ,-diphenyl--picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging by RSGHs. Subsequently, the optimization of PC, WS and RT on the DPPH scavenging of RSGHs was studied using a central composite design to collect data that resulted in...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lichens were collected in France in the surroundings of a military nuclear facility in Burgundy, near the la Hague reprocessing plant and in an area away from any direct source of contamination. Organically bound tritium (OBT) has been analysed on 18 samples and radiocarbon on 11. It appeared that on the most contaminated spots, the OBT activity in lichens was higher than the background by a factor of 1000 and was still a factor 10-100 at a distance of 20 km from the source. Radiocarbon from la Hague could be traced by lichens. The slow metabolism of lichens makes them suitable for the follow-up of {sup 3}H and {sup 14}C, which have been incorporated by photosynthesis.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this study we investigated cultural, familial, and individual beliefs that influenced international students? perceptions of therapy and help-seeking behaviors. Included were changes in perception or behavior before and after the students came to the US, and factors that influenced help-seeking behaviors. Six international students from East Asian countries where English is a foreign language, including Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, and South Korea, were interviewed. We used semi-structured interviews and participant observations for collecting data. The findings indicated changes after students came to the US. Further discussions focus on encouraging and discouraging factors relative to seeing therapists, and culturally sensitive interventions for family therapy clinicians.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A new band gap profile (exponential profile) for the active layer of the a-SiGe:H single junction cell has been designed and experimentally demonstrated. By computer simulations we show how bending the grading of the band gap in the i-layer contributes to the enhancement of the carrier collection, improving the fill factor and efficiency. The differences observed between experiments and simulations are studied using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). The results highlight weak points during the deposition process, whose control enables us to bring together experimental and computational results.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper analyzes the diffusion of mobile telecommunications services in Vietnam and examines how telecommunications regulation and potential substitute/complement services affect the growth of the number of mobile telephone subscribers. Using a logistic diffusion model, it is found that fixed telephone services are a complement while data services have a negative relation to mobile telephone services in Vietnam. As for regulation, the policy of introducing competition has been found to be the most effective in influencing the adoption of mobile services. Another important result is that the estimated potential market is roughly 76% of the total population. The findings suggest that suitable regulation that guarantees competition in the mobile telecommunications market in a developing co...

Science.gov (United States)

Although Bois noir is one of the main phytoplasma diseases of grapevine, the gene expression and enzyme activities that underlie physiological changes occurring in symptomatic and recovered (with spontaneous or induced symptom remission) plants are mostly unknown. Bois noir symptomatic leaves (September 2006, 2007) and symptomless leaves from infected symptomatic plants (September 2007) of Sangiovese (moderately susceptible) and Chardonnay (highly susceptible) cultivars were collected. Moreover, leaves from infected symptomless plants of both cultivars were harvested in June 2007. Leaves from recovered plants were also collected in the same periods. In recovered plants of both cultivars, class III chitinase and almost every time phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and chalcone synthase expression were increased for all collection periods. In symptomatic leaves of both cultivars, the expressions of the same genes were up-regulated ...

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The first analysis of inelastic J/{psi} meson production in photoproduction (Q{sup 2}<2.5 GeV{sup 2}) of the H1 experiment for the second phase of HERA (HERA II) is presented. The analysis is carried out at low and medium elasticities. The production of heavy quarks (charm, or bottom) is of special interest since the mass of the quarks provides a hard scale for the application of perturbative QCD. The muonic decay channel is used to select the J/{psi} mesons. The data was collected by the H1 detector during the period 2003-2005, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 133 pb{sup -1}. However only a subset of this data could be analysed. At the start of HERA II the trigger system was affected by a sizeable background. Then a fault was introduced in the trigger software during the summer 2004 and was only discovered and solved in April 2006. This means that approximately 80 % of the triggered events at medium elasticities and 65 % ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Performance of electric vehicles (EVs) is being studied in an ongoing Site Operator Program, as part of the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). More than 200 EVs are being operated by Site Operators in various geographical and climatic regions of the United States. Cold-weather operation of EVs is of particular interest. As expected, low temperatures affect a battery`s ability to accept a charge, which decreases EV range and increases operating costs. Battery types other than lead-acid are being evaluated such as nickel-iron, gelled electrolyte lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, and sodium-sulfur. Also, improved methods of collecting EV performance data are being implemented, thermal management systems are being tested, and a prototype ultracapacitor is being tested as a possible alternative to conventional batteries.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We collected female greater scaup (Aythya marila) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska during two breeding seasons to determine if concentrations of 18 trace elements in livers and eggs were elevated and if hepatic concentrations correlated with body condition or affected reproductive status. Fifty-six percent, 5%, and 42% of females, respectively, had elevated hepatic cadmium (Cd: >3mgg-1 dry weight [dw]), mercury (Hg: >3mgg-1dw), and selenium (Se: >10mgg-1dw). Somatic protein and lipid reserves were not correlated with hepatic Cd or Hg, but there was a weak negative correlation between protein and Se. Hepatic Cd, Hg, and Se were similar in females that had and had not initiated egg production. In a sample of six eggs, 33% and 100%, respectively, contained Se and Hg, but concentrations we...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary Objective To find out whether there was over-reporting of SARS patients in mainland China in view of the relatively low case fatality ratio in mainland China, in comparison with other affected countries and areas. Methods We searched PubMed for all SARS antibody detection papers (in English or Chinese language) using the keywords `SARS' and `antibody'. Then the resulting articles were further read through to select the SARS detection results using ELISA methods of serum samples collected at least 1 month after disease onset. A multi-level logistic regression was applied to test for possible differences in the proportions positive between locations of the study. Results A total of 48 studies were identified, including 39 from mainland China and nine from elsewhere (Hong Kong, Taiwan...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We investigated the impacts of forest thinning, prescribed fire, and contour ripping on community level physiological profiles (CLPP) of the soil microbial population in postmining forest rehabilitation. We hypothesized that these management practices would affect CLPP via an influence on the quality and quantity of soil organic matter. The study site was an area of Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm.) forest rehabilitation that had been mined for bauxite 12?years previously. Three replicate plots (20???20?m) were established in nontreated forest and in forest thinned from 3,000?8,000 stems ha?1 to 600?800 stems ha?1 in April (autumn) of 2003, followed either by a prescribed fire in September (spring) of 2003 or left nonburned. Soil samples were collected in August 2004 from two soil ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Fatalities resulted from aluminium phosphide (ALP) intoxication in completely healthy children with no preceded clinical sings or symptoms were presented. Data regarding circumstances, autopsy reports, histopathological examination, toxicological investigation, and police enquiries were also collected and evaluated. The affected children were females, and 6-16 years old. They were completely healthy and died suddenly in relation to some physical activities such as running, walking, and bathing, without any prior complain. The viscera showed intense congestion with moderate to severe pulmonary edema. The cause of the sudden termination of life in the reported cases is mostly cardiac ones. Physical exertion may precipitate death due to increased cardiac stress, increased oxygen demand, and b...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The potential to increase the productivity of fuel straw harvest and transportation was examined. When harvesting straw for energy purposes, only the long fraction is currently collected. However, technological improvements have now rendered it possible to harvest chaff, thus increasing the amount of harvest residues and bale density. The purpose of this study was to determine how harvest yield, bale density, field-drying behaviour and combustion characteristics are affected by the simultaneous harvest of straw and chaff. Field experiments were conducted in 2009 for long- and short-stalked winter wheat crops. Combine harvesting was carried out with 2 different types of combine harvesters. A high-density baler was used to bale the crop residues. Mixing chaff in with the straw swath by combine harvesting gave a lower initial moisture content compared with straw only. The density and the weight of each bale were not affected ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

With using artificial neural networks (ANNs), an analytical study related to the heated length effect on critical heat flux (CHF) has been carried out to make an improvement of the CHF prediction accuracy based on local condition correlations or table. It has been carried out to suggest a feasible criterion of the threshold length-to-diameter (L/D) value in which heated length could affect CHF. And within the criterion, a L/D correction factor has been developed through conventional regression. In order to validate the developed L/D correction factor, CHF experiments for various heated lengths have been carried out under low and intermediate pressure conditions. The developed threshold L/D correlation provides a new feasible criterion of L/D threshold value. The developed correction factor gives a reasonable accuracy for the original database, showing the error of -2.18% for average and 27.75% for RMS, ...

Wastenet

1 to the operator of a waste collective system by an agreement or contract. The conditions for the ...Fees of the waste collective system are subject to the supervision of the authority responsible for market surveillance. ...The operator of waste collection system collects wastes from producers and holder and transports these to a collection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Effect of different factors on survival of patients with Ewing sarcoma (20 people), primary bone reticulosarcoma (43) and myeloma (10) of pelvic bones, has been studied. Independently of the method of treatment, the rate of 3-year survival from reticulosarcoma start constituted (31.5+-7.1)%, Ewing sarcoma - (33.0+-10.8)%, myeloma - (36.0+-15.9)%. Index of 5-year survival in case of reticulosarcoma constituted (20.9+-6.4)%, Ewing sarcoma - (23.6+-11.0)%, myeloma - (36.0+-15.9)%. Improvement of delayed results after prophylactic therapy courses is pointed out. Degree of pelvic bone affection is of a very important prognostic value.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper reports that there are four combustion technologies upon which U.S. electric utilities are expected to rely for the majority of their future power generating needs. These technologies are pulverized coal- fired combustion (PC); coal-fired fluidized bed combustion (AFBC); coal gasification, combined cycle systems (CGCC); and natural gas-fired combined cycle systems (NGCC). The engineering and economic parameters which affect the choice of a technology include capital costs, operating and maintenance costs, fuel costs, construction schedule, process risk, environmental and site impacts, fuel efficiency and flexibility, plant availability, capacity factors, timing of startup, and the importance of utility economic and financial factors.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The study was conducted during 2000 to determine the role of various chemical plant factors viz., total minerals, nitrogen, fat contents, carbohydrate, macro an micro nutrients in the leaves of five genotypes of sugarcane i.e., BF-162, SPSG-26, L-118, CP-43/33 and CP-72/2086 by correlating the infestation of top borer, Scirpophaga Nivella F. at tillering stage. None of the genotype was found completely resistant to the pest. CP-43/33 and BF-162 proved susceptible and resistant varieties, respectively. Total mineral, manganese and copper contents did not show significant correlation with the pest infestation, whereas nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium and ferrous contents played a positive and significant role. Phosphorous, carbohydrates, fats and zinc contents played a significant and negative effect on the pest infestation at tillering stage. (author)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) has been proposed several years ago as an approach for quantitative analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra. Recently developed refinement of the spectral processing method is described in the present work. Accurate quantitative results have been demonstrated for several metallic alloys. However, the degree of accuracy that can be achieved with Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of generic samples still needs to be thoroughly investigated. The authors have undertaken a systematic study of errors and biasing factors affecting the calculation in the Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra processing. These factors may be classified in three main groups: 1) experi...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Up to now the retention of radioactive material for nuclear facilities has been based on the maximum individual dose. The maximum individual dose can locally be lowered considerably by higher dissolution. In general, the collective doses are not lowered by this. In order to set up regulations concerning collective doses, the new recommmendations of the ICRP are very welcome. However, the costs of detriment and the period to be considered have not yet been defined. Therefore there are no fixed methods for carrying out a cost-benefit analysis. Furthermore, for nuclear technology the costs and the effectiveness of the retention of radioactive material for non-realized facilities can only be quoted roughly, which makes a cost-benefit analysis more difficult. A cost-benefit analysis for the retention of radioactive material in nuclear power plants with LWRs and reprocessing plants of the PUREX process has been carried out with best estimate data. ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The thermal degradation and crystallisation behaviours of polyamide12/isotactic polypropylene (PA12/PP) blends were studied. Effects of blend ratio and compatibiliser concentration on the thermal degradation properties of the blends were analysed. The activation energy for degradation in compatibilised and uncompatibilised blends computed using Horowitz-Metzger equation was reported. The blend ratio as well as the presence of compatibiliser has significant effect on the thermal stability of the blends. Phase morphology was found to be one of the decisive factors that affected the thermal stability of both uncompatibilised and compatibilised blends. Melting and crystallisation behaviours of the blends in the presence and absence of compatibiliser were evaluated. It was observed that blendin...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study was initiated to provide empirical data and analyses on the dam passage timing, travel rate, survival, and life history variation of fall Chinook salmon that are produced in the Clearwater River. The area of interest for this study focuses on the lower four miles of the Clearwater River and its confluence with the Snake River because this is an area where many fish delay their seaward migration. The goal of the project is to increase our understanding of the environmental and biological factors that affect juvenile life history of fall Chinook salmon in the Clearwater River. The following summaries are provided for each of the individual chapters in this report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A detailed examination of the aging processes that may take place in solid-dielectric extruded-type high voltage transmission cables under dry conditions is presented. Particular emphasis is placed on the aging process as affected by the separate and simultaneous action of four main aging factors, namely the electrical, mechanical and thermal stresses, and the physical and chemical environment. A number of pertinent aging models are considered and their validity and applicability to accelerated aging tests on solid-type transmission cables are discussed.

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The various factors that affect the open-circuit voltage ([ital V][sub oc]) of a two-terminal GaInP[sub 2]/GaAs tandem cell are examined. These include a) an anomalous problem associated with the GaAs bottom cell and b) back surface passivation of the thin GaInP[sub 2] top cell. Solutions to these problems are presented and yield tandem [ital V][sub oc]s close to the practical theoretical limits.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of the chapter is to explain briefly the various considerations that enter into determining the general layout or arrangement of typical hydroelectric powerplants, pumping plants, and pumped-storage plants. Some of the important factors that affect or determine the location, type, and layout of the plant and the selection of the major items of equipment included in the installation are outlined in this chapter. The first consideration in the design of a powerplant, pumping plant, or pumped-storage plant is that it adequately perform its function and be structurally safe. The structure is also designed to give a pleasing architectural appearance.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We study uncertainties surrounding competition on business networks and board games. We investigate these uncertainties using concepts of fuzzy logic and game theory. We investigate how the payoff of the players is affected by a number of factors. These include the level of connectivity or number of links, the number of competitors, possible constraints on the networks and on the boards, as well as choice of strategy adopted by competitors. We introduce one fuzzy player in the game. This player uses fuzzy rules to make strategic decisions. We introduce learning to train and analyze how the fuzzy player adapts over time during the game.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

There is increasing pressure to operate laboratory facilities in environmentally and financially sustainable ways. A key factor in achieving this goal is careful consideration of how energy is used by the buildings' ventilation system, both for conditioning air supplied to the laboratories and the energy used moving air through the building. Traditionally, laboratory energy use is treated as an engineering concern within the scope of the building's overall design and operation. However, this approach limits the involvement of key stakeholders in many important decisions and can lead to unexpected safety concerns for the laboratory's users. We believe that a broad view of the parties affected by a laboratory building's operations is necessary to avoid having the various stakeholders working...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Estuaries and coastal regions are highly variable in the physical and hydrographic conditions. As a result of heavy urbanization and industrialization of the head waters of most estuaries, there are substantial localized inputs of contaminants to the estuary. These factors combined with the flushing characteristics of individual estuaries to create relatively unique features that result in variation in the typical levels of trace metals for these systems. This makes intercomparison of the estuaries difficult. Comparability among estuaries becomes even more difficult when metals analyses are conducted without proper control of field and laboratory contamination, now firmly established in the trace metal analytical literature as a prerequisite for reliable marine trace metals analysis. This paper compares the concentrations of selected trace metal (Ag, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) concentrations in the waters of several major estuaries of the United States. The basis of ...

Science.gov (United States)

Water Mites collected by Dr.Taiji Imamura...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We describe a model of damage in rf cavities and show how this damage can limit cavity operation. We first present a review of mechanisms that may or may not affect the ultimate fields that can be obtained in rf cavities, assuming that mechanical stress explains the triggers of rf breakdown events. We present a method of quantifying the surface damage caused by breakdown events in terms of the spectrum of field enhancement factors, Beta, for asperities on the surface. We then model an equilibrium that can develop between damage and conditioning effects, and show how this equilibrium can determine cavity performance and show experimental evidence for this mechanism. We define three functions that quantify damage, and explain how the parameters that determine this performance can be factored out and measured. We then show how this model can quantitatively explain the dependence of cavity performance on material, frequency, ...

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Attacks by herbivorous insects reduce biomass production in willow plantations. The long-term goal of our research is to develop sustainable plant protection against these insect pests. Two lines of research are pursued. The first concentrates on identifying factors involved in the regulation of leaf-eating beetles. These insects vary in density among plantations, sometimes reaching outbreak levels resulting in complete defoliation. Mortality factors of eggs and larvae in plantations with low and high beetle densities have been investigated. The importance of plant resistance has also been investigated. The second line of research considers the mechanisms behind an earlier demonstrated resistance in certain willow clones against a gall midge. By using molecular techniques we have searched for markers of resistance. Promising results have been found concerning so called PR proteins; in particular chitinase seems to be present in high activities ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The deactivation rate of a resid hydrotreating catalyst is determined by a complex set of factors involving both chemical and physical changes in the catalyst structure. The various chemical changes that are associated with resid conversion involve thermal and catalytic steps of relatively large molecular weight species with the overall rates significantly affected by mass transfer limitations. The deposition of coke and the variation in the effective promoter level by the accumulation of metals deposited from the resid are the principal factors governing deactivation. The relative importance of mass transfer restrictions on activity and catalyst deactivation can be observed in studies where the average pore diameter of the catalyst has been varied. Several models have been proposed to characterize the deactivation of resid hydroprocessing catalysts. In this paper, the authors discuss some accelerated aging tests with a ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

When exposure-calibrated ionization chambers are used to calibrate megavoltage X-ray and electron beam therapy machines, the calibration factor can be divided into a chamber-dependent and a chamber-independent component. Until recently, only the chamber-independent part, which has been derived theoretically, has been used; the chamber-dependent component has been ignored. Recent experimental and theoretical considerations, however, have indicated that the dependent component must be taken into account and can affect the calibration by as much as 4%. The calibration can change due to (i) the thickness of the chamber wall, (ii) the chamber wall composition, i.e. whether the chamber is constructed of air-equivalent material, or tissue- or water-equivalent material, and (iii) the size of the chamber changing the displacement factor. Theoretical and experimental evidence indicates that the third factor ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A preliminary investigation was conducted on ion specific membranes. This investigation concentrated on testing candidate organic compounds for transporting cesium ions through a membrane composed of the organic compound supported on a substrate. Solid PVC membranes were initially tried, but were found to be too slow. Thereafter, only liquid membranes were tested. These were faster and cesium concentration factors up to 2.96 were achieved in a single membrane cell. A cell with two membranes achieved a cesium concentration factor of 4.19. Cesium precipitation with sodium tetraphenyl borate in high sodium concentrations was explored. No interference from sodium was found until the sodium nitrite concentration reached 4.5 moles. Concurrently, cesium concentrations as high as 5.4 g/L were precipitated. Potassium tetraphenyl borate is being investigated for use in exchange columns for the removal of cesium from solutions. Initial investigations show ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Sphere-forming abilities in culture condition are considered a hallmark of cancer stem-like cells, which represents tumor cell invasiveness and stem-like characteristics. We aimed to show that the sphere-forming subpopulation of human malignant melanoma cell line WM-266-4 acts differently to zebrafish embryo extracts compared with their bulk counterpart. Spheres were maintained in neural stem cell culture conditions. The embryos of zebrafish at specific developmental stages were collected and the extracts were purified under 100 kDa. Spheres were treated with embyo extracts and proliferation assay and immunocytochemistry were conducted. Spheroid cells expressed nestin and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) but not melanoma antigen recognized by T-cells (MART)1, indicating their stem-l...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

There is limited information on the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) although AKI may contribute to morbidity and mortality. We investigated the incidence of AKI in patients with moderate and severe TBI and the association of AKI with risk factors and outcomes in these patients. We studied all TBI patients over 16 years of age admitted to the two designated trauma hospitals in the state of Victoria, Australia from 1 January to 31 December 2008. Patients were included if they had head trauma and presented with a Glasgow coma scale (GCS) <13. Prospectively collected data from the hospital trauma registries, ICUs, and pathology databases were analyzed retrospectively. Risk injury failure loss end (RIFLE) criteria were used to categorize rena...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study examined the feasibility of using triticale straw for production of electricity in Canada. Triticale is a manmade hybrid of wheat and rye and it has a high potential of growth in Canada. The cost ($/MWh) of producing electricity from triticale straw was estimated using a data intensive techno-economic model. The study also determined the optimum size of a biomass power plant (MW) which is a trade-off between capital cost of the plant and transportation cost of biomass. Cost curves were also developed in order to evaluate the impact of scale on power production costs. The location of the power plant and the future expansion of triticale were among the factors considered in the techno-economic mode. The scope of the work included all the processes beginning with the collection of straw to the conversion to electricity through direct combustion at the power plant. According to the preliminary results, the cost of producing power from ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

With the ubiquitous availability of commercial VME modules and interface chips many experiments in all branches of Experimental Physics are turning to VME as the module packaging and backplane protocol of choice for application specific modules. The current VME backplane, electrical, and mechanical standards are clearly lacking when it comes to implementing the analogue and digital front end modules that Physics experiments rely on to provide the needed high speed and intelligent solutions to their data collection requirements. To address these needs the European ESONE and American VME-P committees are collaborating with the ANSII and ISO standards committees, and the VME VITA/VSO manufacturers associations, to define standard extensions to the VME protocols for such HEP needs as ``sparse data scans``, standard uses and implementations of previously user defined pins and connectors, standardization of the 9U form factor VME cards etc. This ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This document includes the following topics: Background; Data Collection; Scope/Applicability of the Proposed Regulation; Description of the Industry; Industry Subcategorization; Pollutants of Concern for the Centralized Waste Treatment Industry; Pollutants Selected for Regulation; Wastewater Treatment Technologies; Regulatory Options Considered and Selected for Basis of Regulation; Long-Term Averages, Variability Factors, and Limitations and Standards; Cost of Treatment Technologies; Pollutant Loading and Removal Estimates; Non-Water Quality Impacts; Implementation; Analytical Methods and Baseline Values; List of Definitions; List of Acronyms; Appendix A--Pollutant Groups; Appendix B--Listing of Characerization Data From Non-Hazardous Oils Facilities; Appendix C--Listing of Daily Influent and Effluent Measuements; Appendix D--Facility-Specific Compliance Costs; Appendix E--Attachements to Chapter 10; and Appendix F--Listing of Pollutants of ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Municipal waste charges in Spain are very widespread, although their application varies significantly among different municipalities. Most commonly, waste charges are implemented as a flat rate, but some of them depend on indicators such as household water consumption, the land area of the property or the value of the real estate. Only one residential pay-as-you-throw scheme has been applied so far. It was a pay-per-bag scheme implemented in Torrelles de Llobregat, Barcelona. A number of other systems focussing only on commercial waste have been implemented in Spain. Several factors suggest that new pay-as-you-throw schemes will be adopted in the near future. In 2000 no municipalities had door-to-door collection schemes; since then over 70 municipalities have implemented them. In addition ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper discusses a database of information collected and organized during the past eight years from 2,000 producing oil wells in the United States, all of which have been treated with special applications techniques developed to improve the effectiveness of MEOR technology. The database, believed to be the first of its kind, has been generated for the purpose of statistically evaluating the effectiveness and economics of the MEOR process in a wide variety of oil reservoir environments, and is a tool that can be used to improve the predictability of treatment response. The information in the database has also been evaluated to determine which, if any, reservoir characteristics are dominant factors in determining the applicability of MEOR.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The penetrance of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) in families with primary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations is very complex. Matrilineal and nuclear genetic background, as well as environmental factors, have been reported to be involved in different affected pedigrees. Here we describe two large Chinese families that show a striking difference in the penetrance of LHON, in which 53.3% and 15.0% of members were affected (P < 0.02), respectively. Analysis of the complete mtDNA genome of the two families revealed the presence of the primary mutation G11778A and several other variants suggesting the same haplogroup status G2a. The family with higher penetrance contained a previously described secondary mutation G13708A, which presents a polymorphism in normal Chinese samples and does not affect in vivo mitochondrial oxidative metabolism as described in a previous study. Evolutionary ...

Science.gov (United States)

Featured Collections Featured collections are information sources that use federated search or are known for presenting exceptional, authoritative information for...

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The Department of Energy selected caustic-side solvent extraction (CSSX) as the preferred cesium-removal technology for SRS high-level waste. In the pretreatment step of the CSSX flowsheet, the incoming salt solution, which contains entrained sludge, is contacted with MST to adsorb strontium and selected actinides. An alternative approach replaces MST with the addition of sodium permanganate, strontium nitrate, and hydrogen peroxide. The pretreatment operation then filters the resulting slurry to remove the sludge and MST or manganese oxide and strontium carbonate solids. The filtrate receives further treatment in the solvent extraction system. SRTC personnel coordinated tests using a SpinTek rotary microfilter at the vendor location in FY01. These tests demonstrated a significant improvement - 2.5 to 6 times increase - in performance relative to the conventional cross-flow filter units. Rotary microfilter testing used a filter disk with nominal pore size of either 0.1-micron or 0. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DF (decontamination factor) of two types of air filter was investigated against /sup 198/Au aerosol particles with AMAD (activity median aerodynamic diameter) = 1.2 ..mu..m and sigmag (geometric standard deviation) = 2.0. One of the filters, SO filter, is HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter media with 46 mmphi, and the other is HE-40T (cellulose-glass fiber filter for dust sampling) filter media with 40 mmphi. DF of the SO filter was found to be over 5 x 10/sup 4/ at air flow rate of 1 lmin. And DF of HE-40 T filter was determined to be 94+-4 at the same airflow rate. In the multistage HE-40 T filter system, DF decreased at each succeeding stage. It was confirmed by numerical simulation that the decrease of DF was not inconsistent with the decrease of collection performance in each successive filter. It was also confirmed that DF could be predicted by the numerical simulaiton, if particle penetration function of filter and size ...

Science.gov (United States)

It is currently unclear if the potential for West Nile virus transmission by mosquito vectors in the eastern United States is related to landscape or climate factors or both. We compared abundance of vector species between urban and suburban neighborhoods of Henrico County, VA, in relation to the following factors: temperature, precipitation, canopy cover, building footprint, and proximity to drainage infrastructure. Mosquitoes were collected throughout the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons and tested for West Nile virus (WNV) in pools of 10-50. Test results of mosquito pools were compared to average site abundance from 37 sites in Henrico County, VA; abundance was then examined in relation to ecological variables. Urban infrastructure was positively correlated with the abundance of Culex pipiens L./Cx. restuans, and our findings implicate combined sewer overflow systems as large contributors to Culex vector populations. No ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Although the public generally hold positive attitudes towards wind energy, proposals for the construction of new wind farms are often met with strong resistance. In New Zealand, where the government has recently introduced ambitious policy targets for renewable energy generation, negative perceptions of wind farms are increasingly evident and have the potential to prevent the achievement of these targets. This research sets out to examine what influences social resistance to wind farms in New Zealand. Drawing from public submissions on three wind farm proposals, a framework developed by Devine-Wright [Devine-Wright, P., 2005a. Beyond NIMBYism: towards an integrated Framework for Understanding Public Perceptions of Wind Energy. Wind Energy 8, 125-139.] was used as the basis for identification of factors affecting public perceptions of wind farms. The research found firstly that there was no apparent relationship between the proximity of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Water repellency en the microstructure super-hydrophobic cured surface is important for research and industrial purposes. This microstructure film can be cured on polyethylene terephthalate PET surface by electron beam (EB) at different irradiation doses 10-100 kGy. The microstructure formulation composed from hydrophobic acrylate oligomer (EB 244) and monomer (SR 440). The irradiation induced cross linking of the prepared microstructure was proved by FTIR spectroscopy and the adhesion force by abrasion test. Some factors affecting the adhesion force of the prepared microstructure film such as oligomer/monomer composition ratio and the thickness of the microstructure cured film were studied. The contact angles (8) were measured on cured surfaces before and after adding the super hydrophobic nanoparticles (Zonyl 9361). The super-hydrophobic cured surface showed the self-cleaning property. The volume of water droplet affected ...

CERN Document Server

Neutrino emission drives neutron star cooling for the first several hundreds of years after its birth. Given the low energy ($\\sim$ keV) nature of this process, one expects very few nonstandard particle physics contributions which could affect this rate. Requiring that any new physics contributions involve light degrees of freedom, one of the likely candidates which can affect the cooling process would be a nonzero magnetic moment for the neutrino. To illustrate, we compute the emission rate for neutrino pair bremsstrahlung in neutron-neutron scattering through photon-neutrino magnetic moment coupling. We also present analogous differential rates for neutrino scattering off nucleons and electrons that determine neutrino opacities in supernovae. Employing current upper bounds from collider experiments on the tau magnetic moment, we find that the neutrino emission rate can exceed the rate through neutral current electroweak interaction by a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This technology development plan is designed to provide a clear understanding of the research and development direction necessary for the qualification of nuclear grade graphite for use within the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) reactor. The NGNP will be a helium gas cooled Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) with a large graphite core. Graphite physically contains the fuel and comprises the majority of the core volume. Considerable effort will be required to ensure that the graphite performance is not compromised during operation. Based upon the perceived requirements the major data needs are outlined and justified from the perspective of reactor design, reatcor performance, or the reactor safety case. The path forward for technology development can then be easily determined for each data need. How the data will be obtained and the inter-relationships between the experimental and modeling activities will define the technology development for graphite R&D. Finally, the ...

CERN Document Server

This study compares the spatial characteristics of industrial R&D networks to those of public research R&D networks (i.e. universities and research organisations). The objective is to measure the impact of geographical separation effects on the constitution of cross-region R&D collaborations for both types of collaboration. We use data on joint research projects funded by the 5th European Framework Programme (FP) to proxy cross-region collaborative activities. The study area is composed of 255 NUTS-2 regions that cover the EU-25 member states (excluding Malta and Cyprus) as well as Norway and Switzerland. We adopt spatial interaction models to analyse how the variation of cross-region industry and public research networks is affected by geography. The results of the spatial analysis provide evidence that geographical factors significantly affect patterns of industrial R&D collaboration, while in the public ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This document describes the contents of a digital climatological data set that may be used by raster or vector geographic information systems (GISs). The primary focus of the data set is the quantification of the occurrence of synoptic storms and other climatological factors that affect coastlines. However, recent demands for new and/or improved climatologies of storm events as well as an increase in the availability of source data have made it useful to extend the domain of most of the data variables to that of regional and/or global coverage. The expansion of the data makes the data set applicable in several areas of climatic research. The data set contains eight data groups. Spatial coverage of data varies by data group. All data groups except one are referred to 1{degree} {times} 1{degree} or 5{degree} {times} 5{degree} grid cells of latitude and longitude. (Data group (3) is referenced by state.) 19 refs., 12 figs., 26 tabs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

At the Borssele Nuclear Power Station, which has been in operation since 1973, a comprehensive program of modifications, one of the most extensive of its kind worldwide, was conducted in 1997 within the framework of an integral safety evaluation carried out at ten-year intervals, especially in the nuclear section. The collective dose associated with this activity was greatly reduced by Alara measures, one of which was chemical decontamination of part of the emergency and residual heat removal systems. An average decontamination factor (DF) of 17 was achieved by using the Siemens Cord UV process. Two decontamination cycles were required. The decontamination program took three days to be completed. The planned collective dose was reduced from 1029 mSv (without decontamination) to 335 mSv (on the basis of a DF of 8). Based on the DF of 17 achieved, the planned dose was corrected downward to 270 mSv. The dose finally achieved ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meteorological and air-quality data, as well as surface tracer concentration values, were collected during 1990 to assess the impact of Navajo Generating Station (NGS) emissions on Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) air quality. These data have been used in the present investigation to determine between direct and indirect transport routes taken by the NGS plume to produce measured high-tracer concentration events at GCNP. Results show that complex-terrain features affect local wind-flow patterns during winter in the Grand Canyon area. Local channelling, decoupled canyon winds, and slope and valley flows dominate in the region when synoptic systems are weak. Direct NGS plume transport to GCNP occurs with northeasterly plume-height winds, while indirect transport to the park is caused by wind direction shifts associated with passing synoptic systems. Calculated polluted airmass positions along the modeled streak lines match measured ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Design and procurement of equipment for nuclear power plant took place in late 1970's. A large number of originally installed equipment is obsolete. The manufacturer's do not support their products or have discontinued their production due to technological evolutions or lack of product demand. Lack of spares affects the performance of obsolete equipment and has a negative impact on plant safety and plant production. A proactive approach to address obsolescence is necessary to ensure critical spares are always available when needed. This is an ongoing effort and requires a program to be in place to resolve immediate and longterm issues. A cross-functional team with adequate external exposure is needed to administer the obsolescence program. CANDU utilities and CANDU Owners Group(COG) has taken initiatives to identify lack of equipment spares in the members' plant. The equipment replacement information collected from each CANDU nuclear power ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The sensitivity analysis summarized in this paper was made to determine the parameters of greatest influence in the prediction of radon barrier cover thickness for the stabilization of uranium mill tailings piles. Such information provides the basis for setting priorities and levels of effort for data collection, and improves knowledge of the sources of uncertainty in the calculation of cover thickness. In the context of this paper, the influence of a parameter on cover thickness incorporates two effects: (1) the sensitivity of the mathematical formulation to changes in a parameter's value, and (2) the range of values that a parameter may take on under site-specific conditions. Of the several parameters that are used in the calculations, the most influential are cover moisture content, cover radon diffusion coefficient, tailings radium concentration and tailings radon emanating fraction, in order of decreasing relative influence. Less influential parameters for ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The project was designed to quantify the impacts of longwall mine subsidence (LWMS) on the production and quality of agricultural vegetated environments. This project utilised a variety of traditional ground based sampling techniques including biomass harvests and estimates, leaf area index (LAI), pasture height, species composition and soil sampling along with proximal sensor data capture using a Crop Circle{trademark} and an EM38. Satellite imagery was collected using the Quickbird satellite and the high resolution imagery was used to monitor large areas of LWMS affected areas and adjacent un-mined land. Two landscapes were investigated using a whole of mine site technique including remote sensing, ground survey and traditional agricultural monitoring methods. The landscapes were at the Kestrel site in Emerald, QLD including a forage sorghum and an improved pasture and at Beltana in the Hunter Valley, NSW including an irrigated lucerne ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A field-based microcosm approach was tested to identify deterioration of sediment quality in waterways using freshwater macroinvertebrates. The method can potentially identify the nature of contaminants based on species-specific responses. Sediments were collected from the Murray and Darling Rivers and irrigation drains within the Sunraysia region of south-eastern Australia and compared to non-polluted reference sediment. Clean sediments were also spiked with fertiliser to test whether nutrients affected the aquatic fauna. Seven of the eight sediments from the Sunraysia region had a negative impact on the macroinvertebrates, in particular sediment from the Darling River, which supported an impoverished fauna. Three species of chironomid showed varied responses to sediment quality and, although it was hypothesised that nutrients may have impacted on the macroinvertebrate fauna, the results suggest that other pollutants are also involved. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of this investigation was to simulate a machining front from an abrasive waterjet and its movements in a ceramic material. Wear factors affecting the abrasive waterjet nozzle were also to be established. Therefore, a low inclination angle (9[degree]) was used between the nozzle and test sample, simulating a moving machine front. A standard nozzle with an inner diameter of 0.76 mm was used in the test, and it was placed close to the samples. The outer diameter of the abrasive nozzle was 9.5 mm. The high wear rate from abrasive waterjets makes it possible to machine hard ceramics-including dense alumina, titanium boride, silicon nitride, and composites-at high machining speeds.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Water?rock interaction is one of the prime factors affecting the fluoride contents of surface and groundwater. If fluoride concentration of drinking water has been neglected, excess fluoride can cause serious dental and medical problems on human health, which is well known at Golcuk-Isparta region. In the research area, Egirdir lake, Golcuk lake and surrounding springs have been utilized as drinking water sources. Golcuk lake water and surrounding groundwaters have high fluoride content (1.4?4.6?mg/l), which is above the WHO standards. Fluoride is predominantly supplied by dissolution of fluoride within the fluormicas of volcanics during the circulation of water. Fluoride concentrations of waters have shown variations for dry and rainy seasons depending on the degree of interaction between...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The factors affecting the rate of silica leaching in alkaline aqueous media from surface silanized, nanoporous, amorphous, silica gels and from silanized silica gels that have been modified with polyamines to form the previously reported silica polyamine composites (SPCs), BP-1 and BP-2 have been investigated. Silanization with alkyl trichlorosilanes slows the rate of silica leaching relative to the unmodified silica gels. The use of bulkier aryl silanes somewhat decreases the silica leaching under the same conditions. Interestingly, after modification of the silanized silica with poly(allylamine) (PAA) to make BP-1, the leaching increases, but subsequent modification of the SPC with chloroacetic acid to make BP-2, quenches this increase. A mechanism explaining these results is discussed. ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Lyme disease is a perfect model of the complex relationship between host, vector, and the vector-borne bacteria. Both dogs and horses in Romania are exposed to infection. The aim of the present study was to assess the seroreactivity against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in dogs and horses from different regions of Romania. 276 samples from dogs and 260 samples from horses located in different regions of Romania were analyzed by ELISA and IFA, respectively. The effect of several factors potentially affecting seroreactivity (location, age, gender, occupation, and vector exposition risk) was evaluated using Fisher's exact test (R 2.12.0). The overall prevalence of anti-Borrelia antibodies was 6.52% (18/276) in dogs, with a significantly higher positivity (46.15%, 6/13, p=0.0005) re...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract The overstory of the jarrah forest is dominated by Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) with a smaller proportion of Marri (Corymbia calophylla). There are also several smaller tree species in the areas where Alcoa mines. Alcoa's restoration aims to restore all these species at densities similar to the unmined forest. This paper describes the establishment, survival, and growth of these trees with particular focus on Jarrah. Factors affecting the growth and form of Jarrah are also discussed. Establishment of Jarrah from seed in restored sites is variable (mean 10%), and once established, survival is high over two summer droughts (96%) and still high (mean 83%) after about a decade regardless of the presence of the Jarrah dieback disease Phytophthora cinnamomi. High establishment densitie...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Environmental radon monitoring activities at the DOE Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) have been conducted extensively since the early 1980`s. Monitoring has been conducted at ambient concentration levels (< 1 pCi/L Rn-222), inside buildings, and at significantly elevated levels (hundreds of thousands pCi/L Rn-222) within the K-65 silo that store concentrated radium bearing wastes. The purpose of this paper/presentation is to present and discuss some of the difficulties encountered/solutions (e.g. reliability, detection limits, affects of environmental factors, data transfer, etc.) that have been discovered while taking measurements using both alpha track-etch passive integrating detectors and alpha scintillation real-time detectors. A short summary and conclusion section is provided following each topic presented.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Improved radionuclide generator include a substantially insoluble salt of a radioactive parent which may be directly packed in column for subsequent elution of the daughter radionuclide. An improved 188Re generator was prepared by reacting a radioactive tungsten (188W) as parent radionuclide incorporated with aluminum chloride to obtain an insoluble radioactive aluminum tungstate matrix. The investigated matrix was characterized on the basis of the chemical composition, IR, thermal analysis and mechanical stabilities. The factors affecting the elution performance were studied such as influence of pH, molar ratio and drying temperature. From the obtained data, the molar ratio W:Al was 1.5:1 at pH?=?4, the matrix dried at 105??C for 2 h. Chromatographic and multichannel analysis has been cur...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A novel composite charged mosaic membrane (CCMM) was prepared via interfacial polymerization (IP) of polyamine [poly(epichlorohydrin amine)] and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on the polyethersulfone (PES) support. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle analysis were applied to characterize the resulted CCMM. The FT-IR spectrum indicates that TMC reacts sufficiently with polyamine. ESEM and AFM pictures show that the IP process produces a dense selective layer on the support membrane. The water contact angle of the CCMM is smaller than that of the substrate membrane because of the cross-linked hydrophilic polyamine network. Several factors affecting the IP reaction and the performan...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Objectives Vietnamese patients? views on healthcare are changing as surgical interventions become more commonplace, but their views on perioperative care have remained largely unstudied during this period of rapid change. This study assesses Vietnamese patients? impression of anesthesia safety and postoperative pain in relation to clinical outcomes with the aim of improving patient-centered perioperative care. Methods The study cohort consisted of 180 hospitalized patients who were followed for 24?h following abdominal surgery. The assessments of these patients on the use of anesthesia and postoperative pain were measured by means of a 5-point Likert scale survey. Perioperative events were recorded on standardized forms by medical staff. The relationship between relevant factors affecting ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A central composite design was employed to optimize the extraction of pectin with citric acid. The independent variables were citric acid concentration (0.086-2.91% w/v) and extraction time (17-102min). The combined effect of these variables on the degree of esterification was investigated. Results have shown that the generated regression models adequately explained the data variation and significantly represented the actual relationship between the independent variables and the responses. Besides that, the citric acid concentration was the most important factor to affect the degree of esterification, as it exerted a significant influence on the dependent variable. Lower citric acid concentration increased the pectin degree of esterification. The surface response showed the relationships b...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this study, Nylon 66/Polyester (Ny 66/PET) hybrid cord design and production was investigated to obtain new cord with better performance than conventional cord. The factors affecting cord properties and cord production process were examined. Taguchi design of experiment method was implemented in order to minimize the required number of experiments. Different sets of 4 reference cords conventionally used in tyre industry were prepared and resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex (RFL) treated in order to make a comparison of performance. Mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid cords were measured and compared with the values of reference cords. It was found that the twist level of high modulus PET component in the hybrid cords should be the same or above of the nylon in order to obtain maximum ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the various models or simulations for predicting drug release from bulk-degrading systems. A brief description of bulk degradation processes and factors affecting the degradation rate, and consequently the release kinetics, is presented first. Next, several important classical models, often used as the basis for subsequent model development, are discussed. Both mathematical models and Monte-Carlo based simulations have been developed for controlled release from bulk-degrading systems. The mathematical models can be further subdivided into two categories. First, the diffusion-based models whose transport mechanism is mainly governed by diffusion, but with degradation-dependent diffusion coefficients. These are generally simpler and easier...

Science.gov (United States)

To quantify the opportunities for natural gas and identify technological advances needed to capture such opportunities, the mineral-wool industry was analyzed with respect to the principal companies, their capabilities, and markets. The mineral-wool industry is stable with a slightly declining market. Of its market segments, only commercial acoustic insulation (which is currently dominant) is likely to be affected by growth in the next ten years. The principal process is based on treatment of blast-furnace slags in a cupola furnace using coke as the fuel and reducing agent. Expanded use of gas, as a substitute for coke, would eliminate environmental problems and expand the latitude of suitable raw materials. The study provides insights into the mineral-wool industry and identifies factors that may constitute bases for future usage of natural gas.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AISI 316L stainless steel was welded by the electron beam (EB) and laser techniques. Microstructural characteristics, hardness profile, creep rupture properties and creep damage of the welds were investigated. Fully austenitic microstructure was obtained in the two welds. The solidification structure of the welds consisted of the cellular and equiaxed dendrites. The creep rupture lives of the two welds were almost the same, and they were reduced by a factor of about two compared to the base metal. Moreover, the rupture elongation of the welds was lower than that of the base metal. Creep damage was observed in the ''parting'' region of the welds and in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), respectively. Final creep fracture occurred in the ''parting'' region of the welds. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MRI diagnosis for malignant tumors are made possible by direct comparison to the results obtained by the brain and it seems possible to differentiate malignant tumors from other benign lesions. Cystic lesions, and mycotic sinusitis sometimes resemble malignant tumors in MR Image. In the present report, we investigated the relationships between the biochemical contents of cystic lesions and NMR-parameters to clarify why some inflammatory lesions appeared similar to malignant tumors in MRI. The variation of relaxation time depends upon the amount of protein in the cystic contents and the amount of glucose affects the relaxation time. We conclude that NMR-parameters are useful for the differential diagnosis of malignant tumors, cystic lesions and mycositic sinusitis by using the multiple variation analysis.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The Sulige gas field and the Yulin gas field are located in the north of the Ordos Basin. Reservoir pressure in the Sulige area is subnormal, whereas reservoirs in the Yulin area have normal hydrostatic pressure. This paper provides an explanation of this difference. The characteristics of reservoir sediment and formation water chemistry in the gas reservoirs of these two areas were analyzed. The results showed that both reservoirs have good sealing ability. Data of numerical simulation showed that tectonic uplift resulted in a great reduction in formation pressure in the northern Ordos Basin during the late Cretaceous period, and the decrease was greater in the Yulin gas field than in the Sulige gas field. However, because the total hydrocarbon-generating intensity of the Sulige area (<24...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A linear diffusion model serves as the basis for determination of an effective radon diffusion coefficient in concrete. The coefficient was needed to later allow quantitative prediction of radon accumulation within and behind concrete walls after application of an impervious radon barrier. A resolution of certain discrepancies noted in the literature in the use of an effective diffusion coefficient to model diffusion of a radioactive gas through a porous medium is suggested. An outline of factors expected to affect the concrete physical structure and the effective diffusion coefficient of radon through it is also presented. Finally, a field method for evaluating effective radon diffusion coefficients in concrete is proposed and results of measurements performed on a concrete foundation wall are compared with similar published values of gas diffusion coefficients in concrete. (author).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose: The DBA/2J mice have been used as an animal model for human pigmentary glaucoma. However, these mice develop various degrees of disease symptoms at different ages, making it difficult to detect pathological changes of retinal degeneration at glaucoma onset. The purpose of this study is to develop a non-invasive assay to identify individual mice that develop visual deficits. Materials and Methods: We apply two behavioral tests, a swimming test of visual discrimination and a test of optomotor response, to identify glaucomatous DBA/2J mice. We then examine whether the elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP), the common risk factor for glaucoma, affects visual performances of the DBA/2J mice. We further compare the retinal ganglion cell death, one of the signature glaucoma symptoms, i...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An overview of climatic factors and impact relative to river ice engineering and science is presented. An explanation of the fundamentals of climatic change is followed by a review of direct and indirect climatic influences that govern river ice breakup and related trends. Known responses of river ice to climatic change and potential future changes to ice breakup processes are described along with the probable ecological and socio-economic consequences of these changes. Changes in engineering approaches to accommodate the present ice regime and predicted changes in climatic variables that affect river ice processes and reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure and ecosystems to climatic change are examined. Future research on the links between river ice and stream ecology is suggested to identify ecological concerns that may result from changes in river ice regimes induced by climatic change. 60 refs., 3 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The emittances of hydrogen and deuterium negative ion beams produced by volume ion sources have been measured in a transverse plane normal to the beam trajectory. The extraction voltage was varied from 10 to 40 kV, and the transverse magnetic field in the Penning discharges was varied from 0.1 to 0.2 T. Measurements were made on beams with current densities up to 60 mA/cm/sup 2/ at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with an emittance scanner originally developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The beam profile at the scanner can be used to improve the accuracy of the emittance measurements. Other factors affecting emittance measurements are discussed. This analysis may be applicable to other ion sources. 6 figs.

CERN Document Server

This paper presents an application of the state of the art and new trends for risk management of safety-related control and monitoring systems, currently applied in the industry. These techniques not only enable to manage safety and reliability issues but they also help in the control of quality and economic factors affected by the availability and maintenance of the system. The method includes an unambiguous definition of the system in terms of functions and a systematic analysis of hazardous situations, undesired events and possible malfunctions. It also includes the identification and quantification of the risk associated to the system. The required risk reduction is specified in terms of safety integrity levels. The safety integrity level results in requirements, preventive measures, possible improvements and recommendations to assure the satisfactory management of the risk.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corrosion is said to be the most dominant factor which affects the physical life of ships and offshore structures. In order to secure the structural safety of ships and offshore structures, it is necessary to take measures to corrosion based on the prediction of condition of progressive corrosion. But such prediction is difficult because the behavior of corrosion`s progress is probabilistic. In this paper, probabilistic model, which could evaluate the degradation of coatings and the successive corrosion of steel members, was proposed in order to explain the tendency of the actual corrosion conditions of existing ships. Then, statistical inferences on the proposed model were made by applying the actual data on plate thickness measurements of Bulk Carriers` Cargo Hold. And validity of the proposed model was verified.

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

BACKGROUND: The aetiologies of glioma and meningioma tumors are largely unknown. Although reproductive hormones are thought to influence the risk of these tumors, epidemiologic data are not supportive of this hypothesis; however, few cohort studies have published on this topic. We examined the relation between reproductive factors and risk of glioma and meningioma among women in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).METHODS: After a mean of 8.4 years of follow-up, 193 glioma and 194 meningioma were identified among 276,212 women. Information on reproductive factors and hormone use was collected at baseline. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to determine hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: No associations were observed between glioma or meningioma risk and reproductive factors, including age at menarche, parity, age at first birth, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The large number of forms and types of pump equipment in common use have different purposes and varying application requirements. This text has been prepared to bring together necessary information for those who are required to select and apply pumps in systems for all kinds of fluids and purposes. It is not a design manual. It limits the discussion of design to those factors which are necessary for an understanding of pump operation. The book contains not only descriptive information of many types of designs, but also the effect of design variation on use, economy, and reliability. Systems, an integral part of application, are discussed, so that the user of such equipment may properly select and install machines to reliably and economically satisfy his requirements. Reading of appropriate sections of the text will indicate possible problems to be avoided, and economics to be gained. The engineering design of pumps is a science; their proper application is an art. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoogenstraaten's heating rate method has generally been considered as a reliable method for determining thermoluminescence trapping parameters of first order glow peaks. However, experience has shown that in some cases the deviation between the heating rate method and glow curve fitting method can be quite significant (considering only the linear part of the heating rate plot, of course). In this study it is shown that one of the main reasons for this deviation can be a systematic increase of a temperature lag between the measured and real temperature of the sample with increasing heating rate. It appears that this systematic increase of the temperature lag affects the method in the range of low heating rates (linear part of the heating rates plots) more than has been previously realised. The effect of the temperature lag on Hoogenstraaten's heating rate method is a decrease in activation energy and frequency factor and is more important for ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH`s) are ubiquitous hydrophobic organic pollutants in the marine environment. Many of the PAM`s are classified as possible carcinogens or mutagens, therefore they are of considerable concern to human and environmental health. The highest concentrations are found in coastal regions due to anthropogenic activities including oil spills, tanker operations, incomplete fossil fuel combustion and runoff. The sources and distribution of PAM`s in sediments are fairly well known, while the fate and transport of PAH`s in the marine environment are less known. Desorption is an important factor influencing the fate and transport of hydrophobic molecules at the seawater/sediment interface. The desorption of PAH`s from contaminated marine sediments to the water column/pore water affects the availability of the pollutant to biota. The sorption of PAH`s is determined in part by the organic carbon content of the sediments. The ...

Science.gov (United States)

Grassroots education is imperative if economic development is to be actualized. Therefore, it becomes necessary to study the primary school teachers' perception of the Universal Basic Education (UBE). This study attempted to find out the primary school teachers' perception of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme and their perceived contribution towards the success of the programme. It further examined how favorable perception towards the scheme could be a catalyst in the successful implementation of the UBE. To accomplish this task, two research questions and a hypothesis were raised to guide the study. The opinion of one hundred and eighteen (118) teachers, out of four hundred and forty-seven teachers (447) that constituted the population of the teachers in Esan West Public Primary Schools was obtained. The respondents were randomly selected. The questionnaire was used for data collection. A 1-4 Likert-type scale ranging from Strongly Agreed to Strongly ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The particulate matter of a light-duty diesel engine was characterized in its morphology, sizes, internal microstructures, and fractal geometry. A thermophoretic sampling system was employed to collect particulates directly from the exhaust manifold of a 1.7-liter turbocharged common-rail direct-injection diesel engine. The particulate samples collected at various engine-operating conditions were then analyzed by using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM) and an image processing/data acquisition system. Results showed that mean primary particle diameters (dp), and radii of gyration (Rg), ranged from 19.4 nm to 32.5 nm and 77.4 nm to 134.1 nm, respectively, through the entire engine-operating conditions of 675 rpm (idling) to 4000 rpm and 0% to 100% loads. It was also revealed that the other important parameters sensitive to the particulate formation, such as exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) rate, equivalence ratio, and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The traditional process for developing large-scale simulations is cumbersome, time consuming, costly, and in some cases, inadequate. The topics of software components and component-based software engineering are being explored by software professionals in academic and industrial settings. A component is a well-delineated, relatively independent, and replaceable part of a software system that performs a specific function. Many researchers have addressed the potential to derive a component-based approach to simulations in general, and a few have focused on military simulations in particular. In a component-based approach, functional or logical blocks of the simulation entities are represented as coherent collections of components satisfying explicitly defined interface requirements. A simulation is a top-level aggregate comprised of a collection of components that interact with each other in the context of a simulated environment. A component may ...

Science.gov (United States)

As part of the Wisconsin road weather safety initiative, the objective of this study is to assess the effects of rainfall on the severity of single-vehicle crashes on Wisconsin interstate highways utilizing polychotomous response models. Weather-related factors considered in this study include estimated rainfall intensity for 15 min prior to a crash occurrence, water film depth, temperature, wind speed/direction, stopping sight distance and deficiency of car-following distance at the crash moment. For locations with unknown weather information, data were interpolated using the inverse squared distance method. Non-weather factors such as road geometrics, traffic conditions, collision types, vehicle types, and driver and temporal attributes were also considered. Two types of polychotomous response models were compared: ordinal logistic and sequential logistic regressions. The sequential logistic regression was tested with forward and backward ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The core bypass flow in a prismatic very high temperature reactor (VHTR) is an important design consideration and can have considerable impact on the condition of reactor core internals including fuels. The interstitial gaps are an inherent presence in the reactor core because of tolerances in manufacturing the blocks and the inexact nature of their installation. Furthermore, the geometry of the graphite blocks changes over the lifetime of the reactor because of thermal expansion and irradiation damage. The occurrence of hot spots in the core and lower plenum and hot streaking in the lower plenum (regions of very hot gas flow) are affected by bypass flow. In the present study, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) calculations of a typical prismatic VHTR are conducted to better understand bypass flow phenomena and establish an evaluation method for the reactor core using the commercial CFD code FLUENT. Parametric calculations changing several ...

Science.gov (United States)

Explicitly defining virtual collections in a digital library can benefit both users and contributors. This paper outlines the costs and benefits for defining virtual collections and describes an implementation of collection-level metadata in two digital libraries. Our work suggests that component repositories of NSDL would profit by describing their collection, and sub-collections, using a schema such as the one we implemented. This would enable NSDL to provide a rich, cross-linked hierarchy of virtual collections. By sharing collection-level, rather than item-level, metadata, collections would provide detailed resource information, presumably keeping most of their viewership, while NSDL would provide a broad description of resources.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Measurements were made of the cross sections for the /sup 27/Al(/sup 16/O,/sup 15/N)/sup 28/Si, /sup 89/Y(/sup 15/N,/sup 16/O)/sup 88/Sr and /sup 89/Y(/sup 27/Al,/sup 28/Si)/sup 88/Sr reactions at energies near and below the Coulomb barrier. The first reaction required separate measurements of the transfer to elastic cross section ratio for particular charge states, the charge state distribution for /sup 27/Al and /sup 28/Si ions, and the absolute elastic scattering cross section for the /sup 27/Al + /sup 16/O system. The ratio measurement required the combined use of two relatively new scientific instruments: the momentum filter and the Bragg curve spectrometer. The latter two transfer measurements were performed using the same setup involving surface barrier detectors at backward angles. Additional elastic scattering data for the /sup 15/N + /sup 28/Si, /sup 89/Y + /sup 15/N, /sup 89/Sr + /sup 27/Al, and /sup 88/Sr + /sup 28/Si systems was collected to provide ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Most of the low-level liquid radioactive wastes generated from PWR plants are classified into high or low total suspended solid(HTDS or LTDS), radio-chemical waste and radioactive laundry waste. Although the evaporation process has a high decontamination ability, it has several problems such as corrosion, foaming, and congestion. A new liquid waste disposal process using the ion-exchange demineralizer(IED) has been introduced into the Yonggwang NPP 5 and 6 to complement the current evaporation process. To determine the differences, these two methods have been compared in this study. Those aspects compared here were the released radioactivity volume of the liquid radioactive wastes, The dose of off-site residents, the decontamination factor, and the amount of the solid radioactive wastes. While it was expected that the liquid radioactive waste volume in the evaporating system would be 20 percent higher than in the IED, the actual volume of the liquid radioactive ...

Science.gov (United States)

GEOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGIES LEGACY COLLECTION - Related Links Geothermal Technologies Legacy Collection Help/FAQ | Site Map | Contact Us | Admin Log On Home/Basic Search About...

Science.gov (United States)

GEOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGIES LEGACY COLLECTION - Contact Us Geothermal Technologies Legacy Collection Help/FAQ | Site Map | Contact Us | Admin Log On Home/Basic Search About...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green building (GB) is part of the concept of promoting sustainability. Although GB and the concept of sustainability are well studied for environmental concerns, their business rationale and related social concerns have not been fully explored or widely accepted by the parties involved in the building sector. In this study, the situation of GB market in relation to the general building market is reviewed and the business rationales of stakeholders to invest in the GB market have been investigated from the perspective of building designers. In addition, the factors that enhance the popularity of GB have been explored and the obstacles that hinder its market have been examined. The data are collected by a questionnaire survey covering building designers in Hong Kong and Singapore, the cities that are categorized as economically developed cities in Asia. After data analysis of the survey, this paper presents the findings of the business reasons ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spent fuel management has always been one of the most important stages in the nuclear fuel cycle and it is still one of the most vital problems common to all countries with nuclear reactors. It begins with the discharge of spent fuel from a power or a research reactor and ends with its ultimate disposition, either by direct disposal or by reprocessing of the spent fuel. Two options exist at present - an open, once-through cycle with direct disposal of the spent fuel and a closed cycle with reprocessing of the spent fuel and recycling of plutonium and uranium in new mixed oxide fuels. The selection of a spent fuel strategy is a complex procedure in which many factors have to be weighed, including political, economic and safeguards issues as well as protection of the environment. Continuous attention is being given by the IAEA to the collection, analysis and exchange of information on spent fuel management. Its role in this area is to provide a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The authors present a search for excited and exotic muon states {mu}*, conducted using an integrated luminosity of 371 pb{sup -1} of data collected in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV at the Tevatron with the CDF II detector. They search for associated production of {mu}{mu}* followed by the decay {mu}* {yields} {mu}{gamma}, resulting in the {mu}{mu}{gamma} final state. They compare the data to model predictions as a function of the mass of the excited muon M{sub {mu}*}, the compositeness energy scale {Lambda}, and the gauge coupling factor f. No signal above the standard model expectation is observed in the {mu}{gamma} mass spectrum. In the contact interaction model, they exclude 107 < M{sub {mu}*} < 853 GeV/c{sup 2} for {Lambda} = M{sub {mu}*}; in the gauge-mediated model, they exclude 100 < M{sub {mu}*} < 410 GeV/c{sup 2} for f/{Lambda} = 10{sup -2} GeV{sup -1}. These 95% confidence level exclusions ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Physicochemical and benthos data were collected from 12 marine monitoring stations in Daya Bay, during 2001-2004. 12 stations in Daya Bay could be grouped into three clusters: cluster I consisted of stations in the southern part of Daya Bay (stations S1, S2 and S6); cluster II consisted of stations in the cage culture areas (stations S3, S4, S5 and S8); cluster III consisted of stations in the southwest, the middle and the northeast of the Bay (stations S7, S9, S10, S11 and S12). Calculation with bivariate correlations between benthos and major physicochemical factors showed that the density of benthos in all stations correlated positively with temperature, DO, pH, NH4-N, SiO3-Si, SiO3-Si /PO4-P and chlorophyll a and was negatively correlated with salinity, Secchi, COD, NO3-N, NO2-N, TIN, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neutron semiconductor detectors for neutron counting and neutron radiography have an increasing importance. Simple silicon neutron detectors are combination of a planar diode with a layer of an appropriate neutron converter such as 6LiF. These devices have limited detection efficiency of not more than 5%. The detection efficiency can be increased by creating a 3D microstructure of dips, trenches or pores in the detector and filling it with a neutron converter. The first results related to the development of such devices are presented. Silicon detectors were fabricated with pyramidal dips on the surface covered with 6LiF and then irradiated by thermal neutrons. Pulse height spectra of the energy deposited in the sensitive volume were compared with simulations. The detection efficiency of these devices was about 6.3%. Samples with different column sizes were fabricated to study the electrical properties of 3D structures. Charge collection efficiencies in silicon ...

Science.gov (United States)

Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is a relatively sensitive explosive used in many electroexplosive devices as well as in medicine. Of primary interest to LLNL is its use in items such as exploding bridgewire (EBW) detonators and exploding bridge foil initiators (EFI). In these devices the crystalline powder is pressed into a granular, low-density compact that can be initiated by an exploding wire or foil. The long-term stability of this pressed compact is of interest to weapon stockpile lifetime prediction studies. Key points about potential aging mechanisms can be summarized as follows: (1) There are a number of factors that can contribute to PETN instability. These include particle size, polymorphic phase transitions, crystal structure, impurities, moisture, occlusions, chemical incompatibility and biological (microorganism) action. of these factors the most important for long-term aging of high surface area powders used in detonators ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purpose: To assess the role of CT in the evaluation of traumatic and spontaneous oesophageal perforation. Materials and methods: From March 2001 to May 2003, we studied 12 patients (7 males and 5 females; age range: 25-66 years, mean age: 43.5 years) with suspected oesophageal perforation due to motor-vehicle accidents (4 cases), stab wound (one case), post-intubation (2 cases), foreign body ingestion (2 cases) and spontaneous (3 cases). Five patients underwent standard chest and cervical radiography; two patients with suspected foreign body ingestion also underwent a gastrografin swallow study; all of the 12 patients underwent CT of the neck, chest and abdomen before and after intravenous, and in four cases oral, administration of contrast material. Results: In 5 patients with cervical, thoracic and abdominal trauma, the CT examination showed the presence of pleuroparenchymal injury (pneumothorax, pleural effusion and subcutaneous emphysema) as well as findings suggestive of ...

Science.gov (United States)

Language: English ...

CERN Document Server

We describe a large-scale application of methods for finding plagiarism in research document collections. The methods are applied to a collection of 284,834 documents collected by arXiv.org over a 14 year period, covering a few different research disciplines. The methodology efficiently detects a variety of problematic author behaviors, and heuristics are developed to reduce the number of false positives. The methods are also efficient enough to implement as a real-time submission screen for a collection many times larger.

Science.gov (United States)

The Java Mission Evaluation Workstation System (JMEWS) is a collection of applications designed to

Science.gov (United States)

Situation Management is a rapidly developing science combining new techniques for data collection

Science.gov (United States)

Visual experiments based on the smoke wire way were carried out on a small model of Straight-blade Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (SB-VAWT) to invest the relationship between the static flow field characteristics and the rotor azimuth angle. The test rotor had 3 blades with NACA0018 aerofoil. The rotor diameter and blade chord were 0.3m and 0.07m, respectively. Visual photos of the static flow path lines in and around the rotor were obtained at every 5 degrees of the azimuth angle. Further, numerical computations of the static flow filed were also carried out for comparison with the same situation as the visual tests and the static torques at different azimuth angles were calculated. According to the results of visual tests and computations, the dependence of the starting performance on the azimuth angle was discussed. The solidity is an important factor affecting the starting performance of the SB-VAWT.

CERN Document Server

(abridged) The accretion disk in AGN is expected to produce strong outflows, in particular a UV-line driven wind. Despite providing a good fit to the data, current spectral models of the X-ray spectrum of AGN observed through an accretion disk wind are ad-hoc in their treatment of the properties of the wind material. In order to address these limitations we adopt a numerical computation method that links a series of radiative transfer calculations, incorporating the effect of a global velocity field in a self-consistent manner (XSCORT). We present a series of example spectra from the XSCORT code that allow us to examine the shape of AGN X-ray spectra seen through a wind, for a range of velocity and density distributions, total column densities and initial ionization parameters. These detailed spectral models clearly show considerable complexity and structure that is strongly affected by all these factors. The presence of sharp features in the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

There is currently considerable interest in identifying and quantifying the effects of welding procedure parameters and steel composition factors on the risk of cracking in pipeline girth welds that may be experienced during winter construction. Although low ambient temperatures, that may be experienced during winter construction, are generally assumed to increase the risk of cracking there has been little work to quantify the effects and to suggest how welding procedures should be modified for winter conditions. The present work was undertaken to calculate the effects of changes in welding parameters on the thermal cycle and the diffusion of hydrogen for a typical pipeline girth weld. A simple analytical method and the finite element method (FEM) were used. Both methods gave similar results but the simple method was very sensitive to the value of heat transfer coefficient. The results showed that the relation between the hydrogen diffusion parameter (tau) and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper examines the correlation between mechanical properties and the density, phase, and hydrogen content of deposited alumina layers, and compares them to those of sapphire and amorphous alumina synthesized through ion-beam irradiation of sapphire. Alumina films were deposited using electron beam evaporation of aluminum and co-bombardment with O{sub 2}{sup +} ions (30-230 eV) from an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma. The H content and phase were controlled by varying the deposition temperature and the ion energy. Sapphire was amorphized at 84 K by irradiation with Al and O ions (in stoichiometric ratio) to a defect level of 4 dpa in order to form an amorphous layer 370 nm thick. Nanoindentation was performed to determine the elastic modulus, yield strength and hardness of all materials. Sapphire and amorphized sapphire have a higher density and exhibit superior mechanical properties in comparison to the deposited alumina films. Density was determined to be the primary ...

CERN Document Server

Terrestrial planets form in a series of dynamical steps from the solid component of circumstellar disks. First, km-sized planetesimals form likely via a combination of sticky collisions, turbulent concentration of solids, and gravitational collapse from micron-sized dust grains in the thin disk midplane. Second, planetesimals coalesce to form Moon- to Mars-sized protoplanets, also called "planetary embryos". Finally, full-sized terrestrial planets accrete from protoplanets and planetesimals. This final stage of accretion lasts about 10-100 Myr and is strongly affected by gravitational perturbations from any gas giant planets, which are constrained to form more quickly, during the 1-10 Myr lifetime of the gaseous component of the disk. It is during this final stage that the bulk compositions and volatile (e.g., water) contents of terrestrial planets are set, depending on their feeding zones and the amount of radial mixing that occurs. The main ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The transfer kinetics of the negatively charged glycosphingolipid II"3-N-acetylneuraminosyl-gangliotetraosylceramide (GM_1) were investigated by monitoring tritiated GM_1 movement between donor and acceptor vesicles. After appropriate incubation times at 45 "0C, donor and acceptor vesicles were separated by molecular sieve chromatography. Donors were small unilamellar vesicles produced by sonication, whereas acceptors were large unilamellar vesicles produced by either fusion or ethanol injection. Initial GM_1 transfer to acceptors followed first-order kinetics with a half-time of about 40 h assuming that GM_1 is present in equal mole fractions in the exterior and interior surfaces of the donor vesicle bilayer and that no glycolipid flip-flop occurs. GM_1 net transfer was calculated relative to that of ["1"4C]cholesteryl oleate, which served as a nontransferable marker in the donor vesicles. Factors affecting the GM_1 interbilayer transfer rate ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This conference was attended by decision makers throughout the supply chain in the natural gas industry who face the continuing challenges of changes in market mechanisms, pricing options, and transmission alternatives. It provided an opportunity to review issues affecting producers, shippers, marketers, and end-users in an environment of tight energy markets and high, inelastic demand. The constraints on adequate energy supplies are influenced by economic factors, current and future resources, materials, equipment, skilled labour, technology and financial capital. The 8 sessions of the conference dealt with the tight North American gas supply; the slow development of new supplies; resource access issues, including politics and supply security; the geopolitics of natural gas; impacts of high prices on the North American economy; energy industry impacts of high natural gas prices; domestic politics and high natural gas prices; and, radical ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The preparation of wood-plastic combinations (WPC) using combined methods for curing intermediate products and final products is described. In the first step, impregnated wood was irradiated using doses of 1 to 10 kGy in the presence of chemical initiators of polymerization. Thereafter, curing of this partly cured impregnating mixture was accomplished in the wood at elevated temperatures with the aid of chemical initiators of polymerization. Impregnation mixtures based on unsaturated polyester resins and methyl methacrylate, and the wood species European Beech (Fagus silvatica) and Black Alder (Alnus glutinosa) were used. The results indicate that this method of preparing WPC allows substantially lower radiation doses to be used, i.e., doses in the range of 1 to 2.5 kGy. These doses gelatinate the impregnation mixture in the wood so that the subsequent curing by chemical polymerization initiators proceeds without the impregnation mixture flowing out of the wood, and without forming ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A book has been written to introduce the physical aspects of the radiotherapy electron beam by presenting a summary of the developments in this field. The first chapter is a brief introduction to the technology of medical accelerators with emphasis on the electron beam production facilities. Chapter 2 describes the interaction processes at the atomic level once the electron beam enters the medium. Chapter 3 is concerned with the various properties of the electron beam purely from the clinical point of view. The electron beam algorithms and models for distribution calculations are covered in Chapter 4 with inclusion of age diffusion and multiple scattering approaches. The factors affecting the beam distribution in a patient, with inhomogeneities, surface irregularities, backscattering etc. are discussed in Chapter 5. The last two chapters are devoted to electron beam dosimetry including various dosimetric methods, specification and measurement ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Projected scenarios for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository include significant periods of time when high relative humidity atmospheres will be present, thus the reaction processes of interest will include those known to occur under these conditions. The ideal natural analog for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository would consist of natural borosilicate glasses exposed to expected repository conditions for thousands of years; however, the prospects for identifying such an analog are remote, but an important caveat for using natural analog studies is to relate the reaction processes in the analog to those in the system of interest, rather than a strict comparison of the glass compositions. In lieu of this, identifying natural glasses that have reacted via reaction processes expected in the repository is the most attractive option. The goal of this study is to quantify molecular water diffusion in the natural analogs obsidian and tektites. Results from this study can be used in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Among in uterus exposed A-bomb survivors, fetal week is the most important factor to clarify the effects of A-bomb radiation on developmental process of the fetal brain. The study population of in utero exposed A-bomb survivors has first been established in 1953 in Hiroshima and in 1955 in Nagasaki. According to the estimated DS86 uterus absorption doses, fetal absorption doses obtained from the uterus doses, and intelligence quotient. Various studies on brain damage, including microcephaly, have been undertaken among in uterus exposed A-bomb survivors. Brain development has been shown to be affected during the fetal weeks 8-15 and 16-25. A review of the literature has revealed that 80% of the children with mental retardation and 15 of 18 cases of microcephaly (83%) were exposed in utero during the fetal week 8-15. Among children exposed at the fetal weeks 8-15 and 16-25, average learning was significantly decreased. The incidence of spasm was ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swirling speed in a direct injection diesel engine was measured by a laser doppler velocimeter. Intake port geometry and engine speed were changed as factors affecting the swirling flow to study the distribution of swirling flow speed. The distribution of swirling flow speed changes complicatedly owing to axial nonsymmetry during intake process but becomes simple shape of axial symmetry during compression process after closing intake valve. But if this is assumed as the rigid swirl shape, the difference due to each intake port cannot be expressed but also large error may be possible to appear close to the cylinder wall. The distribution of swirling flow speed during compression process changes similarly, nearly proportinal to engine speed. But the similarity is higher at the middle period in compression process than at the end period in compression period. Axial distribution of local swirling ratio during compression process is nearly uniform. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fitness, (biometric measurements, reproduction) and behaviour that are ecologically relevant biomarkers in assessing the quality of estuarine sediments were studied by comparing the responses of the polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor - a key species in estuaries - along a pollution gradient. Intersite differences were shown for all the measured parameters: size-weight relationships, energy reserves as glycogen and lipids, sexual maturation patterns, total number of oocytes per female, total and relative fecundity, burrowing behaviour. The physiological and behavioural status of N. diversicolor was consistently disturbed in the larger, most contaminated estuaries (Loire and Seine, Fr.) compared to reference sites (Bay of Bourgneuf, Goyen estuary, Fr.). Many classes of potentially toxic chemicals present in these estuaries most likely contribute to these impairments but food availability may act as a confounding factor, interfering with the potential impact of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Most designers are not schooled in the area of human-interaction psychology and therefore tend to rely on the traditional ergonomic aspects of human factors when designing complex human-interactive workstations. Unfortunately, by ignoring the importance of the integration of the user interface at the psychophysiological level, the result can be ineffective use of a system leading to an inherently error- and failure-prone system. Therefore, to minimize failures in a human-interactive system, it is essential that designers understand how each user`s processing characteristics affect how the user gathers and processes information. By understanding the significant processing characteristics of the user, designers can implement practical and effective visual displays (or any other type of system) that are more desirable to all users. The material presented in this paper is based on a general study that involved users` perspective views of how visual ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brittleness and poor low-temperature thermal conductivity of A-15 compounds remain the major obstacles preventing the effective use of these superconductors in large-scale engineering applications. In order to circumvent these difficulties, a new type of ductile superconducting filamentary alloy has been developed recently by a simple metallurgical process which consists of melting the constituent elements and subsequent cold working and appropriate heat treatment. These superconducting materials are essentially Cu-base alloys containing a few percent of A-15 phase such as Nb_3Sn or V_3Ga which is in the form of fine filaments embedded in the Cu matrix. The emphasis of this work is on the formation of the A-15 phase in the Cu-base alloys and its correlation with superconducting properties such as transition temperature and critical current density. The formation of Nb_3Sn, Nb_3Al, V_3Si, and V_3Ga will serve as examples to illustrate the importance of some features in the phase ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The current--density profile of a focused ion beam (FIB) has a central peak accompanied by broader ''wings'' that, while unimportant in lithographic applications, can lead to unwanted effects during an implantation operation. The origin of the wings, and hence the best way to minimize them, is not clear and needs further study. We have measured the line profiles of several of the ions available in our FIB machine as a function of a number of variables, under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. No effects are observed from changes in emission current or deliberate defocusing of the objective lens. There are some changes with beam aperture and/or current, but the biggest differences seem to be associated with a change of source type and hence, possibly, with a change in the source/extractor configuration or in the alloy and the emission process. The wing amplitudes are appreciably lower than many previously observed, and their profiles, at least for the lighter ions studied (Be"+"+, Be"+, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An experimental rig was set up to study the performance of a thermal storage unit using stearic acid as the heat storage medium. The unit mainly consists of an electrical heating rod and an outer tube, and the space between is an annulus that is filled with stearic acid. The thermal performance of the unit is measured, and the heat transfer characteristics of the melting processes of stearic acid are studied under different heat flux conditions to determine the influence of heat flux on the melting processes. A new type of fin is designed and fixed to the electrical heating rod to enhance the thermal response of the stearic acid. The experimental results show that the fin can improve the heat transfer of the melting process of the thermal storage unit greatly. The equivalent thermal conductivity of the PCM can be augmented by a factor up to 3. The analysis of the experimental results shows that the enhancement mechanism of the fin is attributed to its ability to ...

Science.gov (United States)

One of the energy-saving devices used on gas cooking appliances to eliminate the standing pilot is a spark ignition system. For safety, an ignition system must start promptly and be active whenever flowing gas is not ignited. To minimize noise and nuisance shock hazard, ignition must occur quickly and the sparking must be stopped as soon as ignition occurs and remain off as long as the flame is present. To accomplish both of these requirements, ignition systems have been devised which use the electrical current rectification property of a flame to sense it. These systems spark whenever the gas valve is on and a flame is not present. The factors affecting the performance of a spark ignition system are numerous, complex, and transient. All of these properties make quantification of performance difficult. A system is described which can evaluate the overall performance of ignition systems over significant periods of time and varieties of operating ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty(PTA) and to determine the factors affecting the long-term patency rate in the management of insufficient hemodialytic arteriovenous fistula(AVF). Forty-nine cases of insufficient hemodialytic AVF were treated in 44 patients(native AVF:20, graft AVF:29, M:17, F:27, Age:22-70 years). In 28 thrombus patients, thrombolysis was performed with urokinase, and was followed by PTA. The initial success rate and complications of PTA were evaluated. According to the site and length of the stenosis, type and age of the AVF, the presence or abscence of thrombus, a history of diabetic mellitus, the patient's age, and the duration of renal failure, patency rates were compared within each subgroup using the Kaplan-Meier logrank test. The initial success rate of PTA for insufficient hemodialytic AVF was 88%(43/49), the patency rate of PTA was 67% at 6 months, and 50% at 12 months. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As a three-year joint university-industry effort, development of a generalized boiling transition analysis method has been started in 2002 aiming at enhanced capabilities of subchannel analysis for a wide variety of BWR-type fuel bundle geometry from ordinary BWR to tight lattice fuel bundles. For this purpose, five dominant factors affecting boiling transition phenomena have been identified on which our efforts of experimentation and numerical analyses are focused. In this report, as the first-year achievement, we will describe a master plan of the development and contents for experimental approaches to construct thermal-hydraulic databases. The databases will be utilized for the developments of constitutive equations to describe the basic characteristics of the elementary processes. The planned experiments are divided into two groups. One is air-water experiments at atmospheric pressure, and the other is steam-water experiments up to 1 MPa. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The interrelations between the factors causing the main effects on the primary circuit coolant flow rate distribution in the horizontal steam generator pipes in reactor facilities with the WWER type reactors under the modes with natural circulation are discussed. The criterion showing the presence or absence of coolant circulation reversal in bottom rows of the steam generator pipes is obtained. It is shown that large hydraulic non-uniformity in steam generator pipes operating in parallel under coolant natural circulation leads to decreasing the heat transfer surface efficiency under reactor facility emergency cooling, restricts its servicing capabilities. The circulation reverse in steam generator pipes under coolant natural circulation mode can give unfavourable effect on separate structural elements of the steam generators and as a result it can cause additional temperature strains in metal. The conclusion on provisions for improving the conditions for coolant ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radon exposure assessment in case-control studies on radon and lung cancer is generally based on contemporary radon concentration measurements, which can be affected by significant changes in the building structures or in living habits. Another method to estimate the radon exposure of the subjects is the recently developed retrospective dosimetry technique based on the {sup 210}Po surface activity from glass objects. In order to compare the results obtained by the two methods, a study has been carried out in a sample of 26 dwellings in Rome, with radon concentration values ranging from 28 to 623 Bq m{sup -3}. Retrospective detectors based on CR-39 and LR 115 were exposed on 50 glass objects in bedrooms and living rooms. The correlation factor between the two sets of data, after removing six extreme values, is 0.67, which is similar to results obtained in other validation studies of similar sample size. The correlation increases to 0.83 if the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Changes in the physical and chemical processes during the ignition delay period of a gas-fueled diesel engine (dual-fuel engine) due to the increased admission of the gaseous fuels and diluents are examined. The extension to the chemical aspects of the ignition delay with the added gaseous fuels and the diluents into the cylinder charge is evaluated using detailed reaction kinetics for the oxidation of dual-fuel mixtures at an adiabatic constant volume process while employing n-heptane as a representative of the main components of the diesel fuel. In the examination of the physical aspects of the delay period, the relative contributions of changes in charge temperature, pressure, physical properties, pre-ignition energy release, heat transfer, and the residual gas effects due to the admission of the gaseous fuels are discussed and evaluated. It is shown that the introduction of gaseous fuels and diluents into the diesel engine can substantially affect both the ...