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PMID:3716246

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundUsing a transcriptional profiling approach, we recently identified myeloid-related protein-8/14 (MRP-8/14) to be expressed by platelets during acute MI....Full Text Available

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Background Identifying susceptibility genes for endophenotypes by studying analogous behaviors across species is an important strategy for understanding the pathophysiology underlying psychiatric disorders. This approach provides novel biological pathways plus validated animal models critical for selective drug development. One such endophenotype is avoidance behavior. Methods In the present study, novel automated registration methods for longitudinal behavioral assessment in home cages are used to screen a panel of recently generated mouse chromosome substitution strains that are very powerful in quantitative trait loci (QTL) detection of complex traits. In this way, we identified chromosomes regulating avoidance behavior (increased sheltering preference) independent of motor activity lev...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background and objectives: Despite potential significance of fatigue and its underlying components in the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, epidemiologic data showing the link are virtually limited....Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Hypertension is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. We investigated the potential antihypertensive effect of the purple passion fruit peel (PFP) extract, a mixture of bioflavonoids, phenolic acids, and anthocyanins, in spontaneously hypertensive rats and human. A high-performance liquid chromatography analysis was performed to identify the active ingredients of the PFP extract. In a rat liver toxicity assay, no hepatotoxicity was observed after 9 hours incubation in the presence of PFP extract (20 ?g/mL). The PFP extract also revealed hepatoprotection against chloroform (1 mmol/L)-induced liver injury. In the experimental model, 24 spontaneously hypertensive rats were divided into 3 treatment groups for a period of 8weeks: cont...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundMore optimistic perceptions of cardiovascular disease risk are associated with substantively lower rates of cardiovascular death among men. It remains unknown whether this...Full Text Available

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Cardiac Arrest; Coronary Disease; Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In order to apply chemical-looping combustion to a practical power plant, carbon deposition on the solid particle is one of the key problems to be overcome. Six kinds of solid particles were examined to clarify the kinetic behavior of carbon deposition. The effects of the solid composition, feed gas composition, and reaction temperature on carbon deposition were investigated by thermogravimetrical reactor on the basis of NiO/YSZ particle. From the viewpoints of both reactivity and resistance against carbon deposition, the particle of NiO mixed with YSZ (i.e., yttria-stabilized zirconia) was found to be a good candidate for chemical-looping combustion. It has been observed that carbon deposition could be completely avoided with very low concentration of water vapor. By means of a proposed model, the condition that carbon deposition would be avoided was identified. 12 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Syndrome X is a combination or co-occurrence of several known cardiovascular risk factors (including central obesity, dyslipidemias, fatty liver disease, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundHealthcare professionals can play a crucial role in optimizing the health status of patients with cardiovascular risk factors (abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, low...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundExcessive television (TV) viewing might play an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to examine the independent...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

ObjectiveTo determine whether erectile dysfunction (ED) predicts cardiovascular disease (CVD) beyond traditional risk factors.BackgroundFull Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

PurposeWe assessed the cardiovascular safety profile of degarelix, a new gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist.Materials...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background:Erectile dysfunction in type-2 diabetes may be an independent marker for coronary artery disease. Present study was undertaken to investigate whether type-2 diabetic...Full Text Available

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PMID:534760

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper presents a dynamic displacement influence line method for moving load identification on bridge. The finite element model of Poyang Lake continuous truss bridge-train systems is established and the dispersed modal shapes are acquired by modal analysis. Multi-axle moving train loads are identified with simulated annealing genetic algorithm by minimizing the errors between the measured displacements and the reconstructed displacements from the identified moving loads. In the identification process, the dynamic displacement influence line technique is used to calculate the time history displacement responses of the bridge to avoid solving equations of motion of the bridge repetitively. Several important parameters of the bridge-train system are discussed to investigate their effects...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

[alpha]-Melanocyte stimulating hormone ([alpha]-MSH), a hormone originally named for its ability to regulate pigmentation of melanocytes, is a 13-amino-acid post-translational product of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene. [alpha]-MSH and the other products of POMC processing, which share the core heptapeptide amino acid sequence Met-Glu (Gly)-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly (Asp), the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), [beta]-MSH, and [gamma]-MSH, are collectively referred to as melanocortins. While best known for their effects on the melanocyte (pigmentation) and adrenal cortical cells (steroidogenesis), melanocortins have been postulated to function in diverse activities, including enhancement of learning and memory, control of the cardiovascular system, analgesia, thermoregulation, immunomodulation, parturition, and neurotrophism. To identify the chromosomal band encoding the human melanocortin-1 receptor gene, 1 [mu]g of an EMBL clone coding region ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A number of herbal drugs are used in the Unani (Greco-Arab) System of Medicine for cardiovascular diseases. The herbs were analyzed by flame AAS and ICP-AES to determine if their therapeutic actions can be associated with the elements present in them. Cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, sodium, nickel, phosphorus, lead and zinc were some of the elements which play various roles in cardiovascular affections. An effort was made to correlate the role of these elements in cardiac diseases. (Auth.). 2 tabs., 32 refs.

Science.gov (United States)

implications for treatment. In M.A. Chesney 8,. R. H. Rosenman (Eds.) Anqer and hostility in cardiovascular and behavioral disorders (pp. 103-126). ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Aging is the most significant risk factor for a range of degenerative disease such as cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders. While the cause of aging and its associated diseases...Full Text Available

Medline Plus

... Pressure Monitoring Better Than Office-Based, Stressful Work Environment Increases Cardiovascular Risks, Diesel Exhaust Linked to COPD ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundAlterations in protein composition and oxidative damage of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) have been proposed to impair the cardioprotective properties of...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Excessive dietary phosphorus may increase cardiovascular risk in healthy individuals as well as in patients with chronic kidney disease, but the mechanisms underlying this risk are not completely understood....Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We present our initial experience with a new biodegradable (BD) esophageal stent in two patients, one for a therapy-resistant benign esophageal stricture, and the other as a temporary measure during curative radiotherapy for oesophageal carcinoma. The BD stents need to be loaded into a conventional pull-back delivery system but are then placed in a standard fashion. Pre-dilatation should be avoided to reduce the risk of migration, however if migration occurs the stents can be left to dissolve in the stomach. The stents are radiolucent but easily identified on CT with minimal artefact and thus might even aid with radiotherapy planning. BD stents offer an exciting new strategy for therapy-resistant benign strictures as well as a supportive measure for oesophageal cancer undergoing non-surgical treatment. (orig.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calculating work-function modifications for flat-lying conjugated molecules on extended metal surfaces using density functional theory (DFT) is an extremely resource intensive task. This prevents fast screening of new molecules for their potential to optimize metal work functions for good electron or hole injection in organic electronic devices. We present a semi-classical model, which avoids that problem. This is achieved by identifying the dominant processes occurring at the interface between metal and adsorbate in the pinning-regime, which are then parameterizing their description using band-structure DFT calculations for a small training set With the resulting interdependent equations at hand, only simple gas-phase calculations are needed to predict the work-function changes induced by new molecules. The model is tested for ten molecules on three different metal surfaces, where it shows excellent agreement with photoelectron spectroscopy ...

CERN Multimedia

The last of our series on the Task Forces. PS accelerator 'We had a clear mandate, which we could approach in a logical way', explains Steve Myers, Head of SL Division and convenor of Task Force 5, 'To avoid duplication of effort in the accelerator sector through a restructuring that would lead to greater efficiency and flexibility and so release resources for the LHC.' The implementation of all their recommendations is already underway, albeit with different time scales. In 2001 the accelerator sector involved more than 900 staff members in three divisions (LHC, PS and SL) and one unit (AC), working in 141 sections within 34 groups. The first step for the Task Force was to identify major activities within the sector and to set up inter-divisional working groups to review these activities (16 in all), identifying the technologies and the numbers of staff associated with each activity. The working groups were also asked ...

Science.gov (United States)

Sep 1, 2011 ... We estimate the avoided fuel treatment cost for 10 ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stands on the Umatilla National Forest in the Pacific ...

Wastenet

Country-led, national-based (programmatic) approach to avoid in-country in country leakage BUT also accepts

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PMID:19147296

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Background: Cardio-respiratory interactions are weak at the earliest stages of human development, suggesting that assessment of their presence and integrity may be an important indicator of development in infants. Despite the valuable research devoted to infant development, there is still a need for specifically targeted standards and methods to assess cardiopulmonary functions in the early stages of life. We present a new methodological framework for the analysis of cardiovascular variables in preterm infants. Our approach is based on a set of mathematical tools that have been successful in quantifying important cardiovascular control mechanisms in adult humans, here specifically adapted to reflect the physiology of the developing cardiovascular system.Methods: We applied our methodology ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The most serious challenges in the design of chambers for inertial fusion energy (IFE) are 1) protecting the first wall from fusion energy pulses on the order of several hundred megajoules released in the form of x rays, target debris, and high energy neutrons, and 2) operating the chamber at a pulse repetition rate of 5-10 Hz (i.e., re-establishing, the wall protection and chamber conditions needed for beam propagation to the target between pulses). In meeting these challenges, designers have capitalized on the ability to separate the fusion burn physics from the geometry and environment of the fusion chamber. Most recent conceptual designs use gases or flowing liquids inside the chamber. Thin liquid layers of molten salt or metal and low pressure, high-Z gases can protect the first wall from x rays and target debris, while thick liquid layers have the added benefit of protecting structures from fusion neutrons thereby significantly reducing the radiation damage and activation. The ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundAntioxidant vitamins are often described as having “independent” associations with risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. We aimed...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Five standard, non-invasive tests of cardiovascular, autonomic function were performed in each of four groups of 30 subjects: controls, group 1, diabetics without clinical evidence of neuropathy; group...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractBackgroundGender concordance between patients and their physicians is related to prevention screening and other quality indicators. Research suggests female...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The noninvasive assessment of cardiac function is of first importance for the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Among all medical scanners only a few enables radiologists to evaluate the local cardiac...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background. Detection of subjects with early chronic kidney disease (CKD) is important because some will progress up to stage 5 CKD, and most are at high risk of cardiovascular morbidity...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cardiovascular modelling has been a major research subject for the last decades. Different cardiac models have been developed at a cellular level as well as at the whole organ level. Most of...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BACKGROUND: Each component of metabolic syndrome (MS) conveys increased cardiovascular disease risk, but as a combination they become much more powerful. Vigorous early management of the syndrome may...Full Text Available

Medline Plus

... different personal wellness goals for you. HIV Health Management With a good medical team and a desire to reach wellness goals , people with HIV can have a virtually normal lifespan. Take the HIV Wellness Quiz Test your knowledge and find out where you need to learn ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This book provides differential diagnostic possibilities of specific scan abnormalities in one volume for easy reference. This book is organized by organ systems and covers the central nervous system, the endocrine, skeletal, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and cardiovascular systems. The gamuts are designed to teach differential diagnosis and to assist in the actual interpretation of patient slides.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

OBJECTIVE: The risk of cardiovascular and renal diseases has been shown to be higher for systolic blood pressure than diastolic blood pressure. The aim of this study was to assess the differential control...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Catheter ablation is a first line treatment for many cardiac arrhythmias and is generally performed under x-ray fluoroscopy guidance. However, current techniques for ablating complex arrhythmias such...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The major emphasis of this past year's research effort toward characterizing the responses of the cardiovascular system of the military working dog has been to obtain renal hemodynamic information from dogs involved in various stages of obedience, scoutin...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Objective: Determine and compare the prevalence of known risk factors for cardiovascular disease among unselected individuals presenting with their first ever episode of...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Chagas disease, caused by infection with Trypanosoma cruzi, is an important cause of cardiovascular disease. It is increasingly clear that parasite-derived prostaglandins potently modulate...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundInsurance coverage of tobacco cessation medications increases their use and reduces smoking prevalence in a population. However, uncertainty about the impact of this coverage...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A variety of special regulations exist in Costa Rica for registration and transport of hazardous substances; these set the requirements for entry into the country and the security of transport units. However, the regulations mentioned no specific rules for storing hazardous substances. Tax deposits have been the initial place where are stored the substances that enter the country.The creation of basic rules that would be regulating the storage of hazardous substances has taken place through the analysis of regulations and national and international laws governing hazardous substances. The regulatory domain that currently exists will be established with a field research in fiscal deposits in the metropolitan area. The storage and security measures that have been used by the personnel handling the substances will be identified to be putting the reality with that the hazardous substances have been handled in tax deposits. A rule base for the storage of hazardous ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study presents a dynamic analysis of a rotor supported by two turbulent flow model journal bearings and lubricated with couple stress fluid under nonlinear suspension. The dynamics of the rotor center and bearing center is studied. The dynamic equations are solved using the Runge-Kutta method. The analysis methods employed in this study is inclusive of the dynamic trajectories of the rotor center and bearing center, power spectra, Poincare maps and bifurcation diagrams. The maximum Lyapunov exponent analysis is also used to identify the onset of chaotic motion. The results show that the values of dimensionless parameters l* strongly influence dynamic motions of bearing and rotor centre. It is found that couple stress fluid improve the stability of the system when l* > 0.4 even if the flow of this system is turbulent. We also demonstrated that the dimensionless rotational speed ratios s and the dimensionless unbalance parameter {beta} are also ...

Science.gov (United States)

Fault symptoms of running gearboxes must be detected as early as possible to avoid serious accidents. Diverse advanced methods are developed for this challenging task. However, for multiwavelet transforms, the fixed basis functions independent of the input dynamic response signals will possibly reduce the accuracy of fault diagnosis. Meanwhile, for multiwavelet denoising technique, the universal threshold denoising tends to overkill important but weak features in gear fault diagnosis. To overcome the shortcoming, a novel method incorporating customized (i.e., signal-based) multiwavelet lifting schemes with sliding window denoising is proposed in this paper. On the basis of Hermite spline interpolation, various vector prediction and update operators with the desirable properties of biorthogonality, symmetry, short support and vanishing moments are constructed. The customized lifting-based multiwavelets for feature matching are chosen by the minimum entropy ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This study presents a dynamic analysis of a flexible rotor supported by two porous squeeze couple stress fluid film journal bearings with non-linear suspension. The dynamics of the rotor center and bearing center are studied. The analysis of the rotor-bearing system is investigated under the assumptions of non-Newtonian fluid and a short bearing approximation. The spatial displacements in the horizontal and vertical directions are considered for various non-dimensional speed ratios. The dynamic equations are solved using the Runge-Kutta method. The analysis methods employed in this study is inclusive of the dynamic trajectories of the rotor center and bearing center, power spectra, Poincare maps and bifurcation diagrams. The maximum Lyapunov exponent analysis is also used to identify the onset of chaotic motion. The numerical results show that the stability of the system varies with the non-dimensional speed ratios, the non-dimensional parameter l* and the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Menopause is characterized by the progressive reduction of estrogens resulting to cessation of menses. It is associated with an increase of cardiovascular risk factors such as hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia and of abdominal and/or selective visceral fat mass deposition. Obesity, a modern day epidemic, is promoted by an obesogenic environment that interacts with the genetic background. The result is a positive energy balance materialized by the accumulation of the adipose tissue. This process is marked by great individual variation. Obesity is also associated with the presence of cardiovascular risk factors. In this review, the main pathophysiologic processes for the increase of obesity in menopause and the possible effects of pre-menopausal obesity regarding the cessation of ova...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

In a Swedish community-based program for the treatment of dental phobic patients, a clinical trial was performed among 99 severely phobic individuals with long-standing avoidance of dental treatment....Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The Pawtucket Heart Health Program is one of the community studies examining whether population-based efforts to lower cardiovascular risk factors will reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The Pawtucket Heart Health Program intervention is based on a blend of social learning theory, community organization models, community psychology tenets, and diffusion research. This model allows for multifaceted programs that target individuals, groups, organizations, and the entire community to alter their cardiovascular risk through managing blood pressure, lowering blood cholesterol, quitting smoking, increasing fitness, and maintaining desirable weight levels. A dominant feature of the intervention is the emphasis that it places on volunteers for program delivery. The role of volunteers in providing direct services to help citizens lower their blood pressure and lose weight is highlighted to demonstrate the feasibility and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Aims We tested cardiovascular and visceromotor reflex (VMR) responses to urinary bladder distension (UBD) in urethane anesthetized rats to see if it can replicate the response pattern and the inhibition of bladder nociceptive transmission by analgesics seen in isoflurane anesthetized animals. Methods Female Sprague-Dawley rats under 3% isoflurane anesthesia were acutely instrumented with jugular venous, carotid arterial, and bladder cannulas for drug administration, blood pressure (BP) measurement, and bladder distension, respectively. Needle electrodes were placed directly into the abdominal musculature to measure myoelectrical activity subsequent to phasic UBD (30 sec in 3 min intervals). A cardiovascular response (pressor) and a VMR response (a contraction of abdominal and hind limb mus...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Aims.- To examine the relationships between depression, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and quality of life in Taiwanese adults from a cardiovascular department of a major hospital in Taiwan. Background.- Research suggests associations between depression, metabolic syndrome and quality of life. Despite this fact, few studies have investigated these relationships among Taiwanese. Design.- A cross-sectional descriptive correlational design was used to conduct this study. Methods.- A convenience sample of 140 adults participated in the study. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics, Pearson-s correlations, hierarchical regression and t-tests. Results.- Almost a half of the subjects (465%) had metabolic syndrome. The most common combination of metabolic synd...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper the main design requirements concerning the setting up of a telemetry ECG monitoring system are presented. The design's most important technical solutions as well as some details are also discussed. This system is intended to provide skilled medical assistance during the cardiac rehabilitation of both asymptomatic and high risk coronary patients

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cell therapy is a promising novel option for treatment of cardiovascular disease. Because the role of bone marrow-derived circulating progenitor cells (BM-CPCs) after cell therapy is less clear, we...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background: Hypertriglyceridemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Variation in the apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) and glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR)...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This article presents the results of analyses of large-scale integration of wind power, photo voltaic (PV) and wave power into a Danish reference energy system. The possibility of integrating Renewable Energy Sources (RES) into the electricity supply is expressed in terms of the ability to avoid excess electricity production. The different sources are analysed in the range of an electricity production from 0 to 100% of the electricity demand. The excess production is found from detailed energy system analyses on the computer model EnergyPLAN. The analyses have taken into account that certain ancillary services are needed in order to secure the electricity supply system. The idea is to benefit from the different patterns in the fluctuations of different renewable sources. And the purpose is to identify optimal mixtures from a technical point of view. The optimal mixture seems to be when onshore wind power produces approximately 50% of the total ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The goal of this paper is to explore how compliance with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA), especially Title IV and emission trading under it, will affect the current relationship between state and federal regulation. It is difficult, with the limited experience we have had under Title IV, to be definitive about or to be a very strong advocate of too many policy positions. What may be most helpful at this point is to identify where the difficult issues in state/federal relations might arise; and then to explore ways in which tensions might be either avoided or resolved. One anticipated conclusion is that a traditional regulatory mindset could be very destructive if applied to this new area of oversight without due sensitivity to what Congress is trying to achieve in Title IV. That concern pervaded the early legislative debates; and it persists today. Title IV presents some unique challenges to state regulators and will require some ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of this project is to eliminate three closely inter-related barriers to oil production in Alaska through the use of a geographic information system (GIS) and other information technology strategies. These barriers involve identification of oil development potential from existing wells, planning projects to efficiently avoid conflicts with other interests, and gaining state approvals for exploration and development projects. Each barrier is the result of either current labor-intensive methods or poorly accessible information. This project brings together three parts of the oil exploration, development, and permitting process to form the foundation for a more fully integrated information technology infrastructure for the State of Alaska. This web-based system will enable the public and other review participants to track permit status, submit and view comments, and obtain important project information online. By automating several functions of the ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

While autophagy has been shown to act as an anti-viral defense, the Picornaviridae avoid and, in many cases, subvert this pathway to promote their own replication. Evidence indicates...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... 2008. Characterizing the relative contributions of large vessels to total ocean noise fields: a case study using the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Many family physicians are considering purchasing a computer in the near future. This article explains some of the jargon of the computer industry and describes the various specifications that will...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

In this paper we study the enumeration and the construction, according to the number of ones, of particular binary words avoiding a fixed pattern. The growth of such words can be described by particular jumping and marked succession rules. This approach enables us to obtain an algorithm which constructs all binary words having a fixed number of ones and then kills those containing the forbidden pattern.

Science.gov (United States)

Abstract Anesthetics affect outcomes from central nervous system (CNS) injuries differently. This is the first study to show how two commonly used anesthetics affect continuously recorded hemodynamic parameters and locomotor recovery during a 2-week period after two levels of contusion spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. We hypothesized that the level of cardiovascular depression and recovery of locomotor function would be dependent upon the anesthetic used during SCI. Thirty-two adult female rats were subjected to a sham, 25-mm or 50-mm SCI at T3-4 under pentobarbital or isoflurane anesthesia. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were telemetrically recorded before, during, and after SCI. Locomotor function recovered best in the 25-mm-injured isoflurane-anesthetized animals. There was no significant difference in locomotor recovery between the 25-mm-injured pentobarbital-anesthetized animals and the 50-mm-injured isoflurane-anesthetized animals. White ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The placental transfer of a single intravenous injection of 14C-hexoprenaline was studied in eight pregnant New Zealand white rabbits. Maternal and fetal blood was sampled intermittently for 60 minutes after the injection. An initial rapid decrease in the levels of 14C-hexoprenaline in maternal blood was followed by a second slower phase, whereas fetal levels remained insignificant. The conclusion, therefore, is that the rapid improvement in fetal heart rate after the administration of a single maternal intravenous injection of hexoprenaline in the treatment of fetal distress is due to the action on the uterus and/or on maternal cardiovascular function, and not to direct stimulation of the fetus.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract This article summarizes the results of a Nutrient Biomarker Study in the Women's Health Initiative, and its application to studies of the association between energy and protein consumption and the risk of major cancers and cardiovascular diseases. The presentation emphasizes measurement error modeling and related data analysis methods, since addressing measurement issues appears to be central to these topics and to progress in nutritional epidemiology more generally. The manner in which body mass index is modeled in disease association analysis is particularly challenging, since it could serve as a mediator or as a confounder of the association, and at the same time contributes valuably to energy and protein consumption assessment. A hazard ratio parameter estimation procedure tha...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Regular physical activity (PA) decreases the risk of several chronic diseases including some cancers, type II diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease; however, the majority of US adults are not meeting the recommended levels to experience these benefits. To address this public health concern, the underlying mechanisms for behavior change need to be understood, translated and disseminated into appropriately tailored interventions. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) provides a framework for both the conceptualization and the measurement of behavior change, as well as facilitating promotion strategies that are individualized and easily adapted. The purpose of this manuscript is to present the constructs of the TTM as they relate to PA behavior change. We begin with a brief synopsis of rec...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steel structures immersed in seawater are protected from corrosion using cathodic protection systems (sacrificial anodes or impressed current), by paint coatings or by duplex systems in which cathodic protection hinders corrosion at coating's failure sites. The main problem related to those duplex systems is how to avoid cathodic delamination due to the alkalinity generated at cathodic sites. The present paper analyses the effectiveness of red mud suspensions as pre-treatment to avoid cathodic delamination. The study was conducted using mainly electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The evolution of the electrode potential with immersion time was also recorded because it concerns the practical aspect of current density necessary to reach the protection potential. The study shows that red mud pre-treatments are effective in avoiding coating's delamination. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The economics of renewable energy technologies when deployed in a decentralised manner are more favourable than the simple cost of the fossil fuel generated electricity displaced. They have capital and maintenance cost savings associated with the electrical transmission in infrastructures which are avoided. Worked examples are presented. (UK)

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Bone remodeling is necessary to avoid microdamage accumulation, which could lead to whole-bone failure. Previous studies have shown that this bone-repair mechanism is triggered by osteocyte apoptosis....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

This paper summarizes the findings for the African Region of the WPA Task Force on Steps, Obstacles and Mistakes to Avoid in the Implementation of Community Mental Health Care. We present an overview...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The induction of voltages on pipelines and railroad signal wires can be a problem when high-voltage transmission lines share the right of way. A handbook and two computer programs provide the analytic tools for utilities to avoid the problem.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Genome-wide association studies are designed to discover SNPs that are associated with a complex trait. Employing strict significance thresholds when testing individual SNPs avoids false positives at...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Instrumented treadmills offer significant advantages for analysis of human locomotion, including recording consecutive steady-state gait cycles, precisely controlling walking speed, and avoiding...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Picocyanobacteria of the genus Synechococcus are important contributors to marine primary production and are ubiquitous in the world's oceans. This genus is genetically diverse, and...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This research investigates the impact of national culture and several institutional factors on the safety performance of society and establishes statistically significant relationships between those variables. As expected, the research results reveal that some cultural variables such as uncertainty avoidance, gender orientation and institutional variables such as the degree of law avoidance can directly influence the safety performance of the society. The findings also support the inverted u-curve (Safety Kuznet curve) hypothesis indicating even if we expect a negative trend at the beginning stage of industrialization, we can expect a positive trend in safety performance as their income level continues to improve beyond a certain point.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Normal human aging is accompanied by progressive brain tissue loss and cognitive decline; however, several factors are thought to influence brain aging. We applied tensor-based morphometry to high-resolution brain MRI scans to determine whether educational level or physical activity was associated with brain tissue volumes in the elderly, particularly in regions susceptible to age-related atrophy. We mapped the 3D profile of brain volume differences in 226 healthy elderly subjects (130F/96M; 77.9 3.6 SD years) from the Cardiovascular Health Study-Cognition Study. Statistical maps revealed the 3D profile of brain regions whose volumes were associated with educational level and physical activity (based on leisure-time energy expenditure). After controlling for age, sex, and physical...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The objective of this study was to determine whether walking and running at different treadmill speeds resulted in different metabolic and cardiovascular responses in the vastus lateralis (VL) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) by examining metabolite accumulation and tissue oxygen saturation. Ten healthy subjects (6 males, 4 females) completed a submaximal treadmill exercise test, beginning at 3.2?km?h?1 and increasing by 1.6?km?h?1 increments every 3?min until reaching 85% of age-predicted maximal heart rate. Muscle tissue oxygenation (SO2), total hemoglobin (HbT) and interstitial hydrogen ion concentration ([H+]) were calculated from near infrared spectra collected from VL and LG. The [H+] threshold for each muscle was determined using a simultaneous bilinear regression. Muscle and treadmil...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The results of nine years of study of the 237 patients who suffered from acute radiation syndrome (ARS) as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident are reported. Thirty-eight of these patients have died, 28 in the acute period in 1986, 5 in 1987-90 and 5 in 1992-93. The reasons for death show no clear tendencies. They include: gangrene of the lung, organic disease of the brain and spinal chord, hypoplasia of haematopoeisis, coronary heart disease, sarcoma and an automobile accident. Investigations have been carried out on an annual obligatory basis of the patients` haemopoietic, immune, nervous and endocrine systems. An analysis of the data is presented. Histograms are included showing the incidence of digestive tract, nervous system, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, the frequency and degree of disablement and serum prolactin concentration. The types of skin damage sustained by 39 of the patients are listed. (6 figures, 3 tables). (UK).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract A series of studies performed at our center demonstrates that gaseous microemboli (GME) remain a challenge in cardiac surgical procedures. Evaluation of novel oxygenators must address hemodynamic parameters and microemboli capture capability. The objective of this study is to compare two neonatal membrane oxygenators, the Quadrox i (MAQUET Cardiopulmonary AG, Hirrlingen, Germany) and the Capiox RX05 (Terumo Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), with respect to GME capture and hemodynamic energy delivery. The experimental circuit included a Maquet HL 20 heart lung machine, a Heater Cooler Unit HCU 30 (MAQUET Cardiopulmonary AG), a membrane oxygenator (Quadrox i Neonatal or Capiox RX05), and inch tubing from the COBE Heart/Lung Perfusion Pack (COBE Cardiovascular, Inc., Arvada, CO, USA). A Ca...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary A prospective and randomized trial design is of utmost interest when it comes to evaluating new developments in the management of cardiovascular medicine. By defining the primary end point and a profound related statistic new therapeutic options can be tested with an adequate number of patients. The course of the trial is supervised by a Clinical Events Committee and a Data and Safety Monitoring Board. Registries are promising tools for describing how the results of clinical trials are translated into daily practice. Their drawbacks include lack of control of the clinical endpoints and their uniform definition and lack of a control group. There are numerous examples from cardiology of the limited usefulness of data obtained from registry studies with their often unexpected results ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

ALLEYNE G., HANCOCK C. & HUGHES P. (2011) Chronic and non-communicable diseases: a critical challenge for nurses globally. International Nursing Review58, 328-331 Background:- Chronic and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a growing and enormous challenge that faces countries across the world. Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected. Contributory factors:- Three risk factors - tobacco use, poor diet (including excessive alcohol intake) and lack of physical activity - contribute to four major chronic diseases - cardiovascular, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and some cancers, which are responsible for over 50% of deaths worldwide. Potential solutions:- International governmental and non-governmental agencies are becoming increasingly concerned and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Alcohol drinking is highly prevalent in many cultures and contributes to the global burden of disease. In fact, it was shown that alcohol constitutes 3.2% of all worldwide deaths in the year 2006 and is linked to more than 60 diseases, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, liver cirrhosis, neuropsychiatric disorders, injuries and foetal alcohol syndrome. Alcoholism, which has been proven to have a high genetic load, is one potentially fatal consequence of chronic heavy alcohol consumption, and may be regarded as one of the most prevalent neuropsychiatric diseases afflicting our society today. The aim of the integrated genome research network -Genetics of Alcohol Addiction--which is a German inter-/trans-disciplinary life science consortium consisting of molecular biologists,...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ExternE is a pan{sub E}uropean project aimed at identifying and quantifying external effects from different energy production technologies around Europe. The Swedish implementation carried out case studies on a biomass plant, a coal plant and a hydro power plant. The conventional approach within the ExternE project is to estimate impacts for each priority pathway associated with the fuel cycle, and then economic methods to obtain estimates for the economic damage of each particular impact pathway. However, in the case of hydro power, it is generally not possible to estimate the most important impacts quantitatively. Therefore, a contingent valuation (CV) study was initiated. In a typical CV-study, a selection of individuals are asked to state their willingness to pay for a certain environmental improvement or to avoid an environmental damage. Welfare economic theory suggests that the well-being effects on people from a change from one situation ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We present a technique for identifying the amino acids responsible for a loss of immunoreactivity in response to treating an antigen with a chemical modifier. This is of particular interest...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Four major natriuretic peptides have been isolated: atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), and Dendroaspis-type natriuretic peptide (DNP). Natriuretic peptides play an important role in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis maintaining blood pressure and extracellular fluid volume. The classical endocrine effects of natriuretic peptides to modulate fluid and electrolyte balance and vascular smooth muscle tone are complemented by autocrine and paracrine actions that include regulation of coronary blood flow and, therefore, myocardial perfusion; modulation of proliferative responses during myocardial and vascular remodeling; and cytoprotective anti-ischemic effects. The actions of natriuretic peptides are mediated by the specific binding of these peptides to three cell surface receptors: type A natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-A), type B natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-B), and type C natriuretic ...

Science.gov (United States)

A computer was built for use with the NRU reactor to solve the problem of Xe/sup 135/ concentrations. The effect of any changes in reactor on Xe/sup 135/ concentration can be predicted and steps taken to avoid poisoning out. An electromechanical system was used for the computer to avoid the inherent disadvantages that electronic analog computers present for problems of very long solution times. The electromechanical analog computer has a high order of reliability and contains no vaccum tubes, commutators, slip rings, relays, or aluminum electrolytic capacitors. It is insensitive to transient disturbarce. In the event of failure of components or interruption of line voltage, it will retain existing information. The computer was designed for ~ 1% accuracy in Xe/ sup 135/ concentration readings. (W.D.M.)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We examine the short-term price behaviour of three, size-conditioned Indian stock market indices, in response to informational shocks. A standard mean-adjusted returns model as well as the GJR-GARCH specification point towards underreaction to negative events in the medium and small capitalization indices. Also, the pre-event coefficients are generally negative and statistically significant, regardless of the sign of the shock, thus ruling out information leaks. We uncover a stable abnormal volatility pattern which increases monotonically a few days before the shock before suddenly decreasing in magnitude on the event day and beyond. We suggest uncertainty avoidance as a potential explanation of these features. The results are fairly robust across alternative event selection procedures, ti...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper, the design of large thin PIN detector with a membrane stress avoidance configuration is proposed, and the related device fabrication process is developed. Ultra-thin PIN detector {approx} 1.13 cm{sup 2} in area is fabricated on a thin ( {approx} 35{mu}m) silicon membrane, and characterized. Detector performance improvement has been successfully demonstrated. With the membrane stress avoidance design, the improved detector exhibits a leakage of 6nA, which is at least 5 times lower than that of detector of identical junction area. The new detector features a full depleted capacitance of 110 pF, and a FWHM of 40.86 keV energy resolution for 5.486 MeV alpha particle spectrography.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The aim of this study was to measure the nociceptive response (avoidance latency) of the land snail Megalobulimus abbreviatus (N=8 in each group) after topical capsaicin exposure (0.1% and 0.5% in 20% ethanol) and to compare it to a well-studied stressful (50??C) thermal stimulus model. We also tested if ruthenium red, and capsazepine, respectively nonselective and selective TRPV1 receptor antagonists, could modify both capsaicin- and thermal-evoked responses. Finally, animals were pretreated with morphine, naloxone or morphine plus naloxone prior to capsaicin stimuli. Latencies were measured when the animal lifted its head?foot complex 1?cm from the substrate. Data were compared using ANOVA and LSD post hoc, and the Student T Test (pM. abbreviatus.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The use of absorbable polyglactin 910 mesh (Vicryl) is described in a case of Ewing's sarcoma of the pelvis. An operation was performed to hold the small bowel and colon out of the pelvis for a temporary period during which radical radiotherapy was delivered. The mesh allowed the temporary displacement of bowel and obviated bowel radiation morbidity. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper is concerned with methods of limiting the build-up of transient voltages between sheath and armor in long armored power cables. Calculations by a frequency dependent cable model demonstrate that this voltage can be efficiently limited to an acceptable level by introducing sheath-armor bondings at regular intervals, or by using a semiconductive sheath-armor interlayer. The paper investigates the required minimum length between bondings, as well as the required conductivity of the sheath-armor interlayer if the use of bondings is to be avoided.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As waste disposal methods and long-term precautionary care of the environment are closely related, disposal of non-avoidable and intractable residual products is to be viewed primarily from a safety angle. Also, thermal processes airm mainly at treatment, not utilization. 'Safety' in this context addresses both the environmental compatibility of the products and the process itself. In other words, only mature techniques (i.e., safe, proven ones) are employed. (orig.)

CERN Document Server

Fragile volatile aggregates with extremely low albedo, gravitationally drawn into the solar system are likely from the dark matter dominating the universal mass. Characteristics of this meteoric population permitted avoiding detection through a half-century's search. Measurements from space probes and in the upper atmosphere prove their existence and confirm their elusive properties.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

It is shown that the existence of faster-than-light signals (tachyons) would imply the existence (and detectability) of a privileged inertial frame and that one can avoid all problems with reversed-time order only by using absolute synchronization instead of the standard one. The connection between these results and the EPR-paradox is discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The preliminary results of a feasibility study of nighttime and/or daytime accelerated ventilation for reducing or even avoiding air conditioning energy consumption in commercial buildings, is presented. The first part of the study is based on computerized simulations and in-situ experimentations which are described. The second part is aimed at determining technological limitations to the various components and optimizing building environmental quality in terms of energy conservation, acoustics and air quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The relativistic motion of an electron is numerically analyzed in a tokamak having macroscopic magnetic turbulence. Stochasticity induced by the relativistic motion overwhelms the phase averaging effect, which provides a tokamak with an effective loss mechanism for the avoidance/suppression of runaway electron generation at a major disruption. On the other hand, electrons in the KAM (Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser) region will be observed as a runaway snake. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The invention deals with a pumping plant for oil filled power cables. An air driven piston type pump is used as primary pump. A PLS (Programmable Logic control System) is used to control the oil flow to the cable(s). Improvements of the pump includes means for ensuring that the pump piston is operated also at low pressure and flow, and means for sealing off the piston rod to ensure maximum life of seals, to facilitate detection of possible leakages and to avoid contamination of the cable oil. 3 figs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

To optimize the emergency care of patients with multiple injuries, a special emergency room with integrated radiological equipment has been developed. It consists of a linear array of a computed tomography system, a mobile C-arm with an integrated scattered radiation grid for conventional films and a C-arm fluorographic system. The intent is to avoid delay caused by transport and repositioning of the patient. It enables all necessary diagnostic procedures to be performed within a minimal amount of time. (orig./MG).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Despite successful reduction of the general lead exposure, this heavy metal is still a matter of public concern due to the fact that associations with intellectual impairment or delayed puberty are found to correlate with very low lead blood concentrations. Lead in tap water is still an important contribution to lead exposure which may cause health risk for infants. Therefore, lead pipes should be completely sanitated by exchange against pipes made from more healthy materials. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

It is desirable to avoid vibration problems by following appropriate guidelines and specifications at the design stage. Accordingly, design specifications were developed to prevent tube failures due to vibration in nuclear steam generators and liquid heat exchangers. These specifications are outlined in this report. (author). 14 refs., 2 figs.

Wastenet

... Bob, who also teaches the Computer Networks and Security course in the Department, has some concerns when it comes to these large monolithic social-networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace . He would prefer to see people using a more distributed (or federated) approach to avoid single sites being able to gather lots of personal information, including relationships between people . However, most ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A new approach is introduced to study QCD amplitudes at high energy and comparatively small momentum transfer. Novel cut diagrams, representing the resummation of Feynman diagrams, are used to simplify the calculation and to avoid delicate cancellations encountered in the usual approach. An explicit calculation to the sixth order is carried out to demonstrate the advantage of cut diagrams over Feynman diagrams. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society.

Science.gov (United States)

Metadata can be used to support accessibility in connection with improved discovery. ...certain metadata elements provide information about what capabilities are needed--either perceptual-motor, cognitive, socio-economic or geographic--to make use of a resource. This cam improve the ability of users who are disadvantaged in these ways to find resources that meet their needs--and avoid ones [resources] that do not.

Science.gov (United States)

The ability to use an acoustic stethoscope to detect lung and/or heart sounds, and then to then communicate one's interpretation of those sounds is an essential skill for many medical professionals. Interpretation of lung and heart sounds, in the context of history and other examination findings, often aids the differential diagnosis. Bedside assessment of changing auscultation findings may also guide treatment. Learning lung and heart auscultation skills typically involves listening to pre-recorded normal and adventitious sounds, often followed by laboratory instruction to guide stethoscope placement, and finally correlating the sounds with the associated pathophysiology and pathology. Recently, medical simulation has become an important tool for teaching prior to clinical practice, and for evaluating bedside auscultation skills. When simulating cardiovascular or pulmonary problems, high-quality lung and heart sounds should be able to accurately corroborate other ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this updated second edition, the order of contents of the textbook has been reorganized. It has been divided into main parts: Basic Science and Clinical Nuclear Medicine. Basic Science, Part I, encompasses basic physics, radiation protection, interaction of radiation with matter and radiation detection, imaging, nuclear pharmacy, and radiation biology. Part II, Clinical Nuclear Medicine, covers the central nervous system, bone, gastroenterology (liver/spleen), cardiovascular system, pulmonary system, genitourinary system, thyroid and endocrine systems, gallium studies, radioassay, hematology, and therapy. The total number of pages of the current edition is increased to 250 from the 213 of the first edition but there are fewer questions because those in the basic science area have been carefully selected to 60 of the original 98 questions. Compared with the previous edition, there are two advantages in the current one: (1) the addition of explanatory answers; and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Introduccion y objetivos Aunque los bloqueos de rama (BR) se consideran hallazgos frecuentes, la informacion sobre su prevalencia real en la poblacion general es escasa, y es inexistente en los pacientes en dialisis. El objetivo es establecer la prevalencia del BR completo en la poblacion que inicia dialisis y los factores relacionados con su aparicion. Como analisis adicional, se explora su asociacion con la mortalidad y con la aparicion de un evento cardiovascular. Metodos Se incluyo a los pacientes que iniciaron dialisis en nuestro centro entre el 1 de noviembre de 2003 y el 31 de diciembre de 2006. Todos fueron sometidos a valoracion cardiologica al inicio de dialisis. Determinamos el BR y su relacion con factores clinicos y parametros ecocardiograficos y bioquimicos. Los pacientes fue...

Science.gov (United States)

CD-NP is a novel chimeric natriuretic peptide (NP) consisting of the 22-amino-acid (AA) human C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), a venodilating peptide with limited renal actions and minimal effects on blood pressure, and the 15-AA C-terminus of Dendroaspis NP (DNP). The rationale for the design of CD-NP was to enhance the renal actions of CNP, the ligand for natriuretic peptide receptor-B, but without inducing excessive hypotension. Here we report the first-in-human studies for CD-NP, which represent the first successful clinical testing of a chimeric NP demonstrating in normal human volunteers that CD-NP possesses cyclic guanosine monophosphate-activating, natriuretic, and aldosterone-suppressing properties without inducing excessive hypotension, laying the foundation for additional studies on this first-in-class new cardiovascular therapeutic in human heart failure, which are now underway worldwide. PMID:19395584

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Electrographic R-R interval variation was examined in a total of 915 A-bomb survivors exposed at {<=}2,000 m from the hypocenter (the {<=} 2,000 m group) and a total of 1,162 A-bomb survivors exposed at >3,000 m or entered the city after the A-bombing (the >3,000 m group). Coefficient of variation (CV) for R-R interval variation on ECG tended to be decreased with advancing age in the >3,000 m group, irrespective of sex. Especially for men in this group, CV values were significantly lower for the age group of 45 to 54 years than the groups of 65 to 74 years and 75 to 84 years. Similar tendency was observed for CV values at deep breath. Decreased CV values tended to be associated with a decrease in glucose tolerance in both men and women of the >3,000 m group. In comparing the aforementioned CV values with those in the {<=}2,000 m group, there was no significant difference between the groups. R-R interval variation on ECG was found independent of exposure condition, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report is a survey of the English language literature of radiation biology between 1947 and 1987, for the purpose of compiling a literature base on the effects of radiation on animals, which have yielded results that can expand our knowledge about similar radiation effects on human beings. Articles were sought that reported exposure of adult mammals to external sources of ionizing radiation, having endpoints that included effects on the brain, the spinal cord, and behavior of the gastrointestinal, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems and the hematopoietic and immune systems. Effects of interest were those that occurred within the first 12 months after exposure. The survey does not include articles reporting chronic or long term delayed effects of radiation unless they provided insight into mechanisms of morphological and/or functional derangement. Information presented in the report is divided into subtopics (i.e., Brain-Morphological Changes). The brief ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reporting of the first nuclear trafficking incidents began in the early 1990's. The incidents were handled on a national level, using the resources and expertise available in the respective states. However, it soon became evident that fighting this illicit movement of nuclear material across borders would require international cooperation and a systematic and methodological approach. To this end, the G-8 states encouraged the creation of a dedicated group of experts. The Nuclear Smuggling International Technical Working Group (ITWG) was created in the mid 1990's under the auspices of the G-8, following the 1995 Ottawa summit and the 1996 nuclear security summit held in Moscow. The group reports regularly to the Nuclear Safety and Security Group (NSSG) of the G-8. The ITWG has been working towards a sustainable mechanism to help resolve the international problem surrounding combating the illicit trafficking of nuclear material. In consequence, the technical focus has been on ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Motivation: The identification of gene regulatory modules is an important yet challenging problem in computational biology. While many computational methods have been proposed to identify...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

While genomic alterations identified in human tumors using techniques such as comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) may be recurrent, they frequently encompass large regions, in some cases...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A method to identify hadronic molecules in the particle spectrum is reviewed and the conditions for its applicability discussed. Special emphasis is put on the discussion of molecule candidates in the baryon spectrum. (orig.)

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cancers are highly heterogeneous and contain many passenger and driver mutations. To functionally identify tumor suppressor genes relevant to human cancer, we compiled pools of short harpin...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

...dates of the implementation of the standard unique health identifier for health care providers. 162.404 Section 162.404 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ADMINISTRATIVE DATA...

Science.gov (United States)

digital libraries, which was identified as a national challenge in the Information ... The linkages between the many digital libraries and information services are ...

Science.gov (United States)

... These are abnormal and an indication of NAVAIRINST 13340.3 identifies these laboratories a possible breakdown in the fuel-handling equip- ...

CERN Document Server

This paper presents an uplink capacity analysis and interference avoidance technique for a femtocell based two-tier DS-CDMA network using shared spectrum. Assuming randomly distributed macrocell users and femtocell base stations (BS), we evaluate a network-wide area spectral efficiency metric called the operating contour (OC) defined as the feasible combinations of the average macrocell users and femtocell BS per cell-site that meet a target outage constraint $\\epsilon$. A contribution of this work is an accurate characterization of the uplink outage probability taking cross-tier power control, path-loss and shadowing effects into account. We show that a time-hopped CDMA physical layer coupled with sectorized receive antennas shows dramatic performance improvements in both light and heavily loaded two-tier networks, relative to a split spectrum two-tier network with omnidirectional femtocell antennas. These results provide insights into design of robust shared ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In order to establish the optimum fueling in a natural gas fueled dual fuel engine, tests were made for some operational parameters and their combination on the engine performances and the exhaust emissions. The results show that the gas oil quantity should be increased and gas oil injection timing should be advanced to suppress unburned hydrocarbon emission at middle and low output range, while the quantity should be reduced and the timing should be retarded to avoid onset of knock at high loads. The unburned hydrocarbon emission and the thermal efficiency are improved at the same load avoiding too lean natural gas premixture by restriction of intake charge air. However the improvement is limited because the ignition and initial combustion of pilot diesel fuel is deteriorated when the cylinder pressure is excessively lowered by throttling. The increase in pilot gas oil amount is effective for low-load operation and the adequate combination of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Megavoltage photon intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is typically used in the treatment of prostate cancer at our institution. Approximately 1% to 2% of patients with prostate cancer have hip prostheses. The presence of the prosthesis usually complicates the planning process because of dose perturbation around the prosthesis, radiation attenuation through the prosthesis, and the introduction of computed tomography artifacts in the planning volume. In addition, hip prostheses are typically made of materials of high atomic number, which add uncertainty to the dosimetry of the prostate and critical organs in the planning volume. When the prosthesis is bilateral, treatment planning is further complicated because only a limited number of beam angles can be used to avoid the prostheses. In this case study, we will report the observed advantages of using noncoplanar beams in the delivery of IMRT to a prostate cancer patient with bilateral hip prostheses. The ...

CERN Document Server

With information revolution, increased globalization and competition, supply chain has become longer and more complicated than ever before. These developments bring supply chain management to the forefront of the managements attention. Inventories are very important in a supply chain. The total investment in inventories is enormous, and the management of inventory is crucial to avoid shortages or delivery delays for the customers and serious drain on a companys financial resources. The supply chain cost increases because of the influence of lead times for supplying the stocks as well as the raw materials. Practically, the lead times will not be same through out all the periods. Maintaining abundant stocks in order to avoid the impact of high lead time increases the holding cost. Similarly, maintaining fewer stocks because of ballpark lead time may lead to shortage of stocks. This also happens in the case of lead time involved in supplying raw ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Numerical investigations of three-dimensional flow and heat transfer in a finned tube with punched longitudinal vortex generators (LVG`s) are carried out for Reynolds number of 250 and 300. Air with a Prandtl number of 0.7 is used as the fluid. The flow is both thermally and hydrodynamically developing. The LVG is a delta winglet pair (DWP) punched out of the fin and is located directly behind the tube, symmetrically separated by one tube diameter. The DWP generates longitudinal vortices in the wake of the tube, defers flow separation on the tube, deflects the main stream into the tube wake, and strong reduces the ``dead water zone.`` Heat transfer reversal is avoided by the DWP. Comparison of the span-averaged Nusselt numbers for the fin with and without DWP shows significant local heat transfer enhancement of several hundred percent in the tube wake. For Re = 300 and Fi = 200 the global heat transfer augmentation by a DWP, which amounts to only 2.5% of the fin ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Twenty-five patients with ovarian carcinoma who had been operated and treated with chemotherapy underwent clinical examination and CT before reintervention (second-look laparotomy) to detect the presence of eventual recurrences. The prediction of recurrence based on CT and clinical findings was compared with the surgical findings at reintervention. CT proved to be more accurate than clinical examination in detecting recurrences; this was especially true for masses in the abdominal cavity, with the exception of small peritoneal nodules. The authors suggest the use of CT for staging the patients candidate to reintervention. This might help to avoid reintervantion in patients with persistent disease and to plan treatment.

CERN Document Server

An electroweak model with running coupling constants described by an energy dependent entire function is utraviolet complete and avoids unitarity violations for energies above 1 TeV. The action contains no physical scalar fields and no Higgs particle and the physical electroweak model fields are local and satisfy microcausality. The $W$ and $Z$ masses are compatible with a symmetry breaking $SU(2)_L\\times U(1)_Y \\rightarrow U(1)_{\\rm em}$, which retains a massless photon. The vertex couplings possess an energy scale $\\Lambda_W > 1$ TeV predicting scattering amplitudes that can be tested at the LHC.

Science.gov (United States)

Two avowable quantum communication schemes are proposed. One is an avowable teleportation protocol based on the quantum cryptography. In this protocol one teleports a set of one-particle states based on the availability of an honest arbitrator, the keys and the Einstein Podolsky Rosen pairs shared by the communication parties and the arbitrator. The key point is that the fact of the teleportation can neither be disavowed by the sender nor be denied by the receiver. Another is an avowable quantum secure direct communication scheme. A one-way Hash function chosen by the communication parties helps the receiver to validate the truth of the information and to avoid disavowing for the sender.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A respected veteran among state utility regulators raises a sober warning that it may not be possible for the telecommunications industry to survive half regulated and half unregulated, which is its posture for the present. He foresees a danger that the unregulated sector may be successful in capturing all the profitable portions of the market, leaving only the unprofitable areas to the regulated sector, which will then experience serious dislocations and even system breakdowns. Avoidance of such an outcome to the deregulatory steps presently being taken will require an uncommon degree of prudence and wisdom in those state officials who remain charged with regulatory responsibility for local exchange telephone facilities and service.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract The term -stem cell- most commonly refers to embryonic stem cells, particularly in the lay media; however, it also describes other cell types. A stem cell represents a cell of multi-lineage potential with the ability for self-renewal. It is now clear that the plasticity and immortality of a given stem cell will depend on what type of stem cell it is, whether an embryonic stem cell, a fetal-placental stem cell or an adult stem cell. Stem cells offer great promise as cell-based therapies for the future. With evolving technology, much of the socio-political debate regarding stem cells can now be avoided.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In connection with some applications of asymptotic numbers and asymptotic functions, proposed by Khr.Khristov, the problem of describing subsets of asymptotic numbers closed with respect to algebraic operations arises. The algebraic operations with asymptotic numbers are defined by classes of their representatives. All trivial or noncharacteristic solutions are avoided. A procedure for constructing sets of elements closed under action of an algebraic operation or a combination of two or more of them is given. It turns out that the closed sets are given by their kernels, the last being the minimal subsets which generate the whole set by the introduced algebraic operations. It is proved that such kernels exist always. . The closed sets are described by their correspondence with the kernels. (S.P.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The use of canisters filled with a charge of activated charcoal for field measurements of radon surface-emanation rates is well known. The performance of a canister, which is in current use by uranium mining companies and statutory authorities throughout Australia, was investigated using various charcoal thicknesses. To avoid the lower counting efficiencies associated with the smaller charges when measured at the exposed end, the canisters were counted from the closed end, which has become current practice for this canister.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Much as it is accepted for pollution control reasons air pollution abatement still is the subject of heated debates. Pollutant emissions can considerably be reduced with the help of electric power supplies. In order not to prejudice electric power users tariffs have to be adapted to the prices of other energy sources available on the market. There is a general need for energy conservation, resource conservation and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Thermal insulation is among the remedial measures. Fundamental air pollution abatement measures will have to be avoiding smog warnings which are known to considerably interfere with both economic and private activities.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taiwan`s LNG consumption is planned to rise more than threefold over the next four years as medium-term plans to develop power generation facilities increasingly rely on gas-fired combined-cycle stations to avoid the threat of power shortages. State-run Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) expects its LNG consumption to rise from 1.1 mn tonnes in 1996 to 3.4 mn tonnes in the year 2000. By then the first of several gas-fired private power stations is expected to enter service, further increasing Taiwan`s total LNG requirement for power generation. (Author)

Science.gov (United States)

Acute agitation is a frequent reason for emergency psychiatric intervention. It is important to intervene early to avoid escalation of agitation to aggression. Reducing risk by using effective treatments will result in fewer instances of seclusion and restraint, and fewer injuries to staff and patients. This paper will first review the epidemiology of aggressive behavior and mental disorders, followed by a discussion of assessment and diagnostic considerations. The pathophysiology of safety risk is discussed within the context of the model of the "triune brain." Pharmacological treatment strategies for acute episodes of agitated behavior will be discussed in detail. This includes newer formulations of novel antipsychotics such as liquids and rapidly disintegrating tablets, as well as intramuscular preparations. PMID:15335224

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steam generator tube denting is primarily caused by build-up of corrosion products at the tubesheet and the tube support plates. The mechanism of dent growth and the identification of tubes which should be removed from service have been studied. The practical outcome has been to prevent in-service tube leaks and to avoid unnecessary plugging of large numbers of tubes. A finite element study of tubesheet deformation (of pulled leaking tubes from reactors) was undertaken. Profilometry results for characterizing dents are given. Although several modifications have been made the high resolution profilometry system performance and the results obtained have proved satisfactory. (U.K.).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Ascochyta blight causes significant yield loss in pulse crops worldwide. Integrated disease management is essential to take advantage of cultivars with partial resistance to this disease. The most effective practices, established by decades of research, use a combination of disease-free seed, destruction or avoidance of inoculum sources, manipulation of sowing dates, seed and foliar fungicides, and cultivars with improved resistance. An understanding of the pathosystems and the inter-relationship between host, pathogen and the environment is essential to be able to make correct decisions for disease control without compromising the agronomic or economic ideal. For individual pathosystems, some components of the integrated management principles may need to be given greater consideration tha...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tube failures due to excessive flow-induced vibration must be avoided to assure the reliable performance of heat exchangers. Such components must be thoroughly analysed for vibration at the design stage. Several flow-induced vibration mechanisms are possible. In this paper, particular attention is given to fluidelastic instability of tube bundles subjected to liquid and two-phase cross-flow. The performance of ten operating heat exchanger components is reviewed to validate our recommended vibration analysis guidelines. Both tube failure histories and satisfactory performances are considered. The results show that a fluidelastic instability constant K=3.3 is a reasonable design criterion. (auth).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Progress reports on the European Research Centre for Air Pollution Control Measures project are presented. Topics covered were: assessment and analysis of the impacts of airborne pollutants on forest trees, and distinction from other potential causes of recent forest dieback; research into atmospheric dispersion, conversion and deposition of airborne pollutants; development and optimization of industrial technical processes to reduce or avoid emissions; and providing instruments and making recommendations to the industrial and political sectors.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To evaluate the effect of porosity on superplasticity behavior, it is essential to use materials of similar initial grain sizes. This can be achieved by HIPing, which provides an effective way of reducing initial porosity while avoiding appreciable grain growth; various levels of porosity can be achieved for similar grain sizes. This note is concerned with the influence of porosity on superplasticity tensile deformation of a fine grained high-purity alumina doped with copper oxide and containing a grain growth inhibitor. Specimens were prepared by slip casting to net-shape and sintering; some presintered specimens were HIPed to reduce porosity. The subsequent superplasticity behavior is related to porosity in the material.

CERN Document Server

If fourth family condensates are responsible for electroweak symmetry breaking then they may also break approximate global symmetries. Among the resulting pseudo-Goldstone bosons are those that can have diquark quantum numbers. We describe the variety of diquarks and their decay modes, and we find aspects that are particular to the fourth family framework. Spectacular signatures at the LHC appear and are explored for color sextet diquarks with 600 GeV mass. We consider a simple search strategy which avoids diquark reconstruction. We also consider 350 GeV mass diquarks that are accessible at the Tevatron.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The operation of steam turbines is technically controllable. The manufacturers specify reliable operating ranges as well as demands on the implementation of steam turbines into the power plant process for the respective steam turbines. The VGB guidelines describe the generally valid procedures for the operation of steam turbines in detail. Important insights at some steam turbines are not or only insufficiently converted nevertheless. Damage and extended downtimes at revisions are the result. The author of the contribution under consideration describes some more and more occurring problems. Recommendations and suggestions are given with respect to the avoidance of such findings.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Three cases of primitive suprasellar germinomas are reported: the tumors show typical clinical signs (diabetes insipidus, disfunctions), but CT findings are not so specific. It is very important to reach a correct diagnosis based on clinical and radiological findings, because of very high radiosensibility of the tumor. The accuracy of preoparative diagnosis has been enhanced by CT in addition to conventional neuroradiological examinations. Due to the possible risk of meningeal spreading following biopsy, some authors prefer to avoid biopsy and to treat directly the patient by radiotherapy; a rapid reduction of the tumor size at the dose of 30 Gy suggest a possible germinoma.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This is the final report covering work performed on research into methods of attaining clean ferrous castings. In this program methods were developed to minimize the formation of inclusions in steel castings by using a variety of techniques which decreased the tendency for inclusions to form during melting, casting and solidification. In a second project, a reaction chamber was built to remove inclusions from molten steel using electromagnetic force. Finally, a thorough investigation of the causes of sand penetration defects in iron castings was completed, and a program developed which predicts the probability of penetration formation and indicates methods for avoiding it.

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The report traces the documented incidences of brittle fracture in composite suspension insulators for use on high voltage transmission lines, and presents the subsequent investigations. It describes the part played by electrical activity, stress corrosion and humidity, and compares similar failures that have taken place in electric traction insulators. It then goes on to review related work on the humidity effects, stress corrosion, fatigue and partial discharges in glass fiber reinforced plastics in general. The final section summarizes the present understanding of the problem and the various measures taken by different manufactures to avoid it in the future. The need for acceptance criteria in this respect is outlined.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A commonly reported consequence of post-treatment nausea or vomiting is the development of anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV). In most published work, nausea is reported to occur before chemotherapy drugs are administered by approximately 20% of patients at any one chemotherapy cycle and by 25?30% of patients by their fourth chemotherapy cycle. Most studies in adult patients strongly support the view that the development of ANV involves elements of classical conditioning. The best method to avoid development of ANV is to adequately prevent both vomiting and nausea from the first exposure to chemotherapy. If anticipatory side effects develop, behavioral treatment techniques, such as systematic desensitization, have been shown effective. Benzodiazepines used in combination with behaviora...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Control of pressure transients in a hydraulic system may be important and necessary to avoid failures and to improve the efficiency of operation. Flow restricting devices can result in a decrease in the peak pressure, but may change the response time. The response time has an important effect on both operator and operator perceived smoothness. The response time should correspond to how fast a system responds to a given disturbance at the system boundary. Occasionally the appropriate response time is not easily determined. This study is on the response time characteristics in the hydraulic system studied for the control of response time.

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...

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Emerging high-power microwave technologies require that bioeffects of exposure to this type of radiation be investigated for health and safety considerations. Disruption of animal behavior is reported to be a sensitive indicator of microwave exposure. Three behavioral tasks were chosen for this initial investigation of exposure to U.S. Air Force high-power microwave emitters. The tasks were: (1) single-trail avoidance, (2) water satiation, and (3) rotarod performance. Exposure to high-power microwave radiation from the USAFSAM peak-power simulator significantly affected the single-trail avoidance task. Neither the single-trail avoidance task nor rotarod performance was affected by the Gypsy emitter. However, animals exposed to 9-kW and 11-kW outputs from the USAFSAM emitter spent significantly less time imbibing water postexposure than sham-exposed animals. The most consistent finding in the animals exposed to the Gypsy ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

These Appendices describe various technologies that may be applicable to the Mixed Waste Treatment Plant (MWTP) Chemical/Physical Treatment System (CPTS). These technologies were identified by the CPTS Technical Support Group (TSG) as potentially applicable to a variety of separation, volume reduction, and decontamination requirements. The purpose was to identify all available and developing technologies, and their characteristics, for subsequent evaluation for specific requirements identified for the CPTS. However, the technologies described herein are not necessarily all inclusive, nor are they necessarily all applicable.

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A primary goal of noninvasive studies of human vision is to identify and characterize multiple visual areas in the human brain analogous to those identified in studies of nonhuman primates. By combining functional MEG measurements with images of individual anatomy derived from MRI, the authors hope to determine the location and arrangement of multiple visual areas in human cortex and to probe their functional significance. The authors have identified several different visual areas thus far which appear to be topographically organized. This paper focuses on the retinotopic characterization of the primary visual area (V1) in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Timber Compartment Boundary This data set identifies the 90 timber compartment boundaries in a 200 square-mile study ... Kawishiwi Ranger Districts, Superior National ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Recessive mutations of the early phase change (epc) gene in maize affect several aspects of plant development. These mutations were identified initially because of...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... Information behavior in dynamic group work contexts: Interwoven situational awareness, dense social networks and contested collaboration in ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence and identify the determinants of non-prescription use of antibiotics for children in Mongolia.MethodsA...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper first discusses the challenge offered by natural and anthropogenic systems in all of their complexity and then indicates some areas of research in which specific scientific and technological needs are identifiable.

Science.gov (United States)

... The variogram analysis of the high resolution imagery has shown that although more spatial scales have been identified than from the SPOT image ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

To express growth-related changes in physiologic or other functions in forms usable for kinetic modeling, we are interested in identifying regular relationships that take the form of simple mathematical...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

An almost linear optimization problem of importance in vibration isolation has been identified and algorithms were developed to minimize the forced vibrational response of structural systems. The constraints can be either displacements of accelerations. T...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundAs long-term nursing home care is likely to increase with the aging of the population, identifying chronic medical conditions is of particular interest. Although need factors...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

English 1 Jul 1997 [vp.] United States McLaughlin, KW Yenen, O. Samson,

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration (BWID) is a program of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Development whose mission is to evaluate different new and existing technologies and determine how well they address DOE community waste remediation problems. Twenty-three Technical Task Plans (TTPs) have been identified to support this mission during FY-92; 10 of these have identified some support requirements when demonstrations take place. Section 1 of this report describes the tasks supported by BWID, determines if a technical demonstration is proposed, and if so, identifies the support requirements requested by the TTP Principal Investigators. Section 2 of this report is an evaluation identifying facility characteristics of existing Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) facilities that may be considered for use in BWID technology demonstration activities.

Science.gov (United States)

... company. To automate this initial cutup requires a computer vision system that can locate and identify surface defects ... ...

Science.gov (United States)

This report provides procedures for evaluating metal, consumable, and combustible cartridge cases. It identifies supporting tests, facilities, and equipment required. Subtests include weapon and ammunition preparation, initial inspection, ammunition chara...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We identify new organelles associated with the vacuolar system in plant cells. These organelles are defined biochemically by their internal content of three integral membrane proteins: a chimeric reporter...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

...identified as oil when the shipment document accurately describes the material as: aviation fuel, diesel fuel, fuel oil, gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, motor fuel, or...

Science.gov (United States)

The field of stem cell research was revolutionized with the advent of induced pluripotent stem cells. By reprogramming somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells, most ethical concerns associated with the use of embryonic stem cells are overcome, such that many hopes from the stem cell field now seem a step closer to reality. Several methods and cell sources have been described to create induced pluripotent stem cells and we discuss their characteristics in terms of feasibility and efficiency. From these cells, cardiac progenitors and cardiomyocytes can be derived by several protocols and most recent advances as well as remaining limitations are being discussed. However in the short time period this technology has been around, evidence emerges that induced pluripotent stem cells may be more prone to genetic defects and maintain an epigenetic memory and thus may not be entirely the same as embryonic stem cells. Despite the lack of a complete fundamental understanding of stem cell biology, ...

Science.gov (United States)

Bariatric surgical procedures have become important therapeutic options for treatment of morbid obesity in both adults and adolescents co-morbidities of obesity such as glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes (T2DM), metabolic syndrome, steatohepatitis, hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disease. These co-morbidities of obesity have significant impacts on the overall quality of life of the individual and our society at large. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and the relatively newer procedures of gastric banding (GB) and vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) have proven to be efficacious in achieving rapid weight loss and reversing the comorbidities of obesity. Unfortunately, bariatric procedures are not without risks including micronutrient deficiency, failure to maintain lost weight, and mortality. Further, the resolution of T2DM has long been understood to precede weight loss, and this finding provides important clues about the physiologic underpinnings of the ...

Science.gov (United States)

Designer natriuretic peptides (NPs) represent an active area of drug development. In canine and human studies, the designer natriuretic peptide CD-NP demonstrated more desirable therapeutic potential than recombinant B-type NP (BNP), which is known as nesiritide and is approved for treatment of acute decompensated heart failure. However, why CD-NP is more effective than BNP is not known. We previously reported that CD-NP is a poorer activator of human guanylyl cyclase-A (GC-A) and a better activator of human guanylyl cyclase-B than BNP. Here, guanylyl cyclase bioassays were used to compare the susceptibility of CD-NP verses ANP, BNP, CNP and DNP to inactivation by human kidney membranes. The half time (t(1/2)) for CD-NP inactivation was increased by factors of 13, 3 and 4 compared to ANP, BNP and CNP, respectively, when measured in the same assay. Surprisingly, DNP failed to undergo complete inactivation and was the most degradation resistant of the peptides tested. The neutral ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Most waste water treatment plants have processes to remove nutrients in order to avoid eutrophication in water receiving bodies. Regarding phosphorus removal. the most common option is chemical precipitation with ferric or aluminical precipitation with ferric or aluminium salts. We show here the successful experience carried out by the WWTP of Blanes and the company Safloc. A method ato remove phosphorus from waste water was developed by adding sodium aluminate. The use of this compound has turned out to be a sustainable way for this purpose in terms of costs, reliability and minimization of sludge production. (Author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The fatigue life variability of the #alpha#+#beta# titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo increased with decreasing stress level. The variability in life was found to be due to segregation of lives due to two failure mechanisms. A bimodal cumulative distribution model was shown to accurately describe the combined failure modes. The nominal failure processes for the two regimes were similar, with crack nucleation occurring in equiaxed #alpha#p particles, irrespective of life or stress level. However the variability in life was not controlled by the size of the crack-nucleating #alpha#p, but rather by the ability of the material to distribute deformation and avoid early crack nucleation.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We present results from a kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of boron transient enhanced diffusion (TED) in silicon. Our approach avoids the use of phenomenological fits to experimental data by using a complete and self-consistent set of values for defect and dopant energetics derived mostly from ab initio calculations. The results predict that, during annealing of 40 keV B-implanted Si at 800 degree C, there exists a time window during which all the implanted boron atoms are substitutional. At earlier or later times, the interactions between free silicon self-interstitials and boron atoms drive the growth of boron clusters and result in an inactive boron fraction. The results show that the majority of boron TED takes place during the growth period of interstitial clusters and not during their dissolution. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Political leaders in numerous nations argue for an upper limit of the global average surface temperature of 2 K above the pre-industrial level, in order to attempt to avoid the most serious impacts of climate change. This paper analyzes what this limit implies in terms of radiative forcing, emissions pathways and abatement costs, for a range of assumptions on rate of ocean heat uptake and climate sensitivity. The primary aim is to analyze the importance of ocean heat uptake for radiative forcing pathways that temporarily overshoot the long-run stabilization forcing, yet keep the temperature increase at or below the 2 K limit. In order to generate such pathways, an integrated climate-economy model, MiMiC, is used, in which the emissions pathways generated represent the least-cost solution o...

CERN Document Server

A major goal in optomechanics is to observe and control quantum behavior in a system consisting of a mechanical resonator coupled to an optical cavity. Work towards this goal has focused on increasing the strength of the coupling between the mechanical and optical degrees of freedom; however, the form of this coupling is crucial in determining which phenomena can be observed in such a system. Here we demonstrate that avoided crossings in the spectrum of an optical cavity containing a flexible dielectric membrane allow us to realize several different forms of the optomechanical coupling. These include cavity detunings that are (to lowest order) linear, quadratic, or quartic in the membrane's displacement, and a cavity finesse that is linear in (or independent of) the membrane's displacement. All these couplings are realized in a single device with extremely low optical loss and can be tuned over a wide range in situ; in particular, we find that the quadratic ...

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An uncomfortable thermal climate, draft complaints and a bad airquality are often related to the climate installation. To avoid badfunctioning of the system a number of preconditions has to be fulfilledwith regard to design, planning and execution, adjustments, completion,control, maintenance and management of the installations. First threetypes of health problems in buildings are shortly discussed: buildingrelated illness, sick building syndrome and building or installationrelated complaints. Then some functions of the climate installationsare described: air filtration, filter classes and filter quality, aswell as investment costs for better filters. Next the causes for thecomplaints are dealt with: air conditioning, ventilation, air quality,and temperatures. Subsequently health affecting aspects in relation tothe climate systems are discussed: outdoor air pollution,microorganisms, bacteria (legionella pneumophila), allergies, ionneutralization and performance of ...

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The performance of five well-known photosynthesis-light equations is compared by presenting a wide range of solutions in the form of dimensionless nomographs for the case where photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) reduces exponentially down the water column and is distributed sinusoidally through the photoperiod. These provide a simple means of calculating daily photosynthesis at any depth (e.g. at a benthic layer), or through a water column, avoiding the need to perform complex integrations. An examination is made of the accuracy of common approximate methods for calculating daily photosynthesis, assuming constant PAR. For optically deep water a modification is proposed to Talling's planimetric solution, to enable daily photosynthesis to be calculated more accurately, yet simply, over the whole range of possible PAR values. The errors induced by approximating the daily PAR distribution as a half-sinusoid are also reported. 13 refs., 9 figs., 5 ...

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The catalytic oxygen transfer properties of vanadium containing zeolites and vanadium based sol-gel catalysts with hydrogen peroxides are well known. The severe problem of vanadium leaching caused by the presence of the by-product water has been addressed. To avoid any interference with homogeneously catalyzed reactions, our study focusses on selective oxidations in a moisture-free medium with tert.-butylhydroperoxide. We have investigated the catalytic properties of amorphous microporous materials based on SiO{sub 2}, TiO{sub 2}, ZrO{sub 2} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} as matrix material and studied the effects of surface polarity on the oxidation of 1-octene and cyclohexane. (orig.)

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This paper quantifies the avoided CO{sub 2} emission due to the using, as vehicle fuel, of the alcohol produced in Brazil during the period 1995 - 2025. With this purpose, internal demand sceneries were elaborated for Otto cycle engines. The results suggest that the introduction of the flex-fuel and the increasing of the production and using of hydrated alcohol can reduce up to 1.23 Gt of CO{sub 2} equivalent during the period 2003 - 2025, representing an annual average of 53.5 Mt CO{sub 2} equivalent.

CERN Document Server

The ALICE experimental area management team faces various challenges when it comes to sharing scarce resources, indispensable to any efficient installation in a category one worksite. Space, cranes, jigs, and personnel with key competences have to be carefully allocated to activities so as to avoid slowing down work progress. To this intent, a resource loaded planning has been developed that allows highlighting coactivities and prioritizing critical tasks. It uses the built-in capabilities of Microsoft Project. The use of this scheduling tool leads to a more efficient use of time and a safer work environment. The installation sequence resulting from this schedule is presented in this paper. The first part of the sequence focuses on the revision of the coils in the SX2 building. The dipole has then to be installed in the RB26 side of the UX25 cavern. This complex and resource intensive activity has to be performed in parallel with the services installation inside ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper, research on pass schedule of tandem cold mill (TCM) is carried out. According to load (reduction, rolling force, motor power) balance, non-linear equations set with variables of inter-stand thickness is constructed. The pass schedule optimization is carried out by solving the non-linear equations set. As the traditional method, the Newton-Raphson method is used for solving the non-linear equations set. In this paper a new simple method is brought up. On basis of the monotone relations between thickness and load, the inter-stands thickness is adjusted dynamically. The solution of non-linear equations set can be converged by iterative calculation. This method can avoid the derivative calculation used by traditional method. So, this method is simple and calculation speed is high. It is suitable for on-line control. (author)

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In the course of designing a catalytic porous membrane reactor for experimental studies, both inside and outside of the non-reaction zones as well as the two ends of the membrane need to be completely sealed to ensure that there is no flow across the membrane in the non-reaction zone. Experiments show that up to 50% of the total flow across the membrane may be contributed by the axial flow along the wall of the non-reaction zones if only one side of the membrane is sealed. Another problem that cannot be solved by sealing is the capillary flow of the catalyst along the tube wall into the non-reaction zones when the catalyst is doped on the membrane. One of the best ways to avoid this axial flow of catalyst would be to use non-porous tubes in the non-reaction zones and join them with the porous membrane tube. In doing so, the cost of the membrane reactor could be reduced simply because shorter membrane tube is needed.

CERN Document Server

The goal of this work is to minimize the energy dissipation of embedded controllers without jeopardizing the quality of control (QoC). Taking advantage of the dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) technology, this paper develops a performance-aware power management scheme for embedded controllers with processors that allow multiple voltage levels. The periods of control tasks are adapted online with respect to the current QoC, thus facilitating additional energy reduction over standard DVS. To avoid the waste of CPU resources as a result of the discrete voltage levels, a resource reclaiming mechanism is employed to maximize the CPU utilization and also to improve the QoC. Simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme. Compared with the optimal standard DVS scheme, the proposed scheme is shown to be able to save remarkably more energy while maintaining comparable QoC.

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A three-light, three-lever discrete avoidance behavioral task was initiated to study the effects of a 500-675 rad neutron pulse upon performance. Eight primates performed the task for 4 h(3.5 h postexposure) on exposure day and for 4 h on each of 3 d postexposure. For the exposure day, five subjects had a decrease in correct responses, seven had increased reaction times, and six experienced productive emesis within 3.5 hours postexposure. Although the performance degradations were not severe, these data suggest that the performance of time critical tasks could be significantly impaired.

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Epiphyseal plates of growing bones are sensitive to ionizing radiation and this poses problems for the paediatric radiotherapist. In this case report we describe a child in whom electron beam therapy to the groin delivered only low dose radiation to the proximal hip epiphyses - 130 cGy fractionated over 5 weeks - but who suffered late maldevelopment. We explore the success of various radiotherapy techniques in minimizing the dose to the hip epiphyses in four other children. The appropriate positioning of the limb, the choice of treatment modality and, where possible, individual shielding blocks are considered and their effect on the dose to the hip estimated. Absorbed doses of radiation delivered to the midpoint of the proximal femoral epiphyses have been retrospectively determined. (author).

CERN Document Server

We investigate opportunistic cooperation between unlicensed secondary users and legacy primary users in a cognitive radio network. Specifically, we consider a model of a cognitive network where a secondary user can cooperatively transmit with the primary user in order to improve the latter's effective transmission rate. In return, the secondary user gets more opportunities for transmitting its own data when the primary user is idle. This kind of interaction between the primary and secondary users is different from the traditional dynamic spectrum access model in which the secondary users try to avoid interfering with the primary users while seeking transmission opportunities on vacant primary channels. In our model, the secondary users need to balance the desire to cooperate more (to create more transmission opportunities) with the need for maintaining sufficient energy levels for their own transmissions. Such a model is applicable in the emerging area of cognitive ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The roughness length at air-sea interface during free convection (Z0fc) is mainly related to the convective velocity (w) rather than the friction velocity (u). The parameterization of Z0fc with (w)2/g as proposed by Abdella and D'Alessio (2003) is evaluated. It is shown that the field measurements at MM Lab, Tarapur Maharashtra Site (TMS) coastal site using Metek GmbH, Ultra sonic anemometers are consistent with the proposed formula. In order to avoid self-correlation by using u, a new parameterization of w with ?u and ?v and gustiness parameter as given by Fairall et al. (1996) is used. The mean values of w and Z0fc estimated using new parameterization were observed to be 0.97 m/s and 2.3E-4 m respectively for the year 2009 at TMS. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Both the price of nickel and the allergic reaction that it can cause to human beings make it desirable to develop and use nickel-free austenitic stainless steels. The steels should be austenitic so as to avoid ferro-magnetism, a condition which has to be fulfilled for a number of requirements, including its use as implants in the human body, for wrist watch cases and many others. The paper presents the development of a nickel-free steel containing 11 percent manganese, 17 percent chromium, 4 percent molybdenum, and 0.9 percent nitrogen. This austenitic stainless steel has exceptional strength and corrosion resistance. These properties could result in numerous applications of the steel. A limitation, however, is that the steel is not weldable.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oil and gas production and processing operations sometimes cause naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) to accumulate at elevated concentrations in by-product waste streams. The sources of most of the radioactivity are isotopes of "2"3"8U and "2"3"2Th series, which are naturally present in the subsurface formations from which oil and gas are produced. NORM waste may cause problems in the operations of installations by plugging perforations, clogging tubular and valves then restricting flow. Therefore, plants or equipment have to be refurbished and decontaminated before reuse to avoid radioactive waste or surface contaminated object. There are two options for safe disposal of scale and sludge produced from NORM Descaling Facility : 1- Injection into an abandoned production well. 2- The construction of a near surface depository. These options are assumed to be environmental friendly disposal options. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The PERMCAT is a membrane reactor proposed for processing fusion reactor plasma exhaust gas: tritium removal is obtained by isotopic swamping operating in counter-current mode. In this work, a membrane reactor using a permeator tube of length about 500 mm produced via diffusion welding of Pd-Ag thin foils is described. An appropriate mechanical design of the membrane module has been developed in order to avoid any significant compressive and bending stresses on the very long and thin wall permeator tube: two expanded bellows have been applied to the Pd-Ag tube, so that it has been pre-tensioned before operating. The elongation of the metal permeator under hydrogenation has been theoretically estimated and experimentally verified for properly designing the membrane reactor.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Causal paradoxes arising in the tachyon theory have been systematically solved by using the reinterpretation principle as a consequence of which cause and effect no longer retain an absolute meaning. However, even in the tachyon theory, a cause is always seen to chronologically precede its effect, but this is obtained at the price of allowing cause and effect to be interchanged when required. A recent result has shown that this interchange-ability of cause and effect must not be unlimited if heavy paradoxes are to be avoided. This partial recovery of the classical concept of causality has been expressed by the conjecture that transcendent tachyons cannot be absorbed by a tachyon detector. In this paper the directional properties of the flow of information between two observers in relative motion and its consequences on the logical self-consistency of the theory of superluminal particles are analyzed. It is shown that the above conjecture does not provide a ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Results of calculational investigations into circulation of water and steam-and-water mixture in the PGV-1000 steam generator heat exchanger bundle used at NPPs with the WWER-1000 reactors, are considered. Model of water circulation in horizontal steam generator with submerged heating surface under conditions of steam generation irregularity along the heat transfer tubes is made. On the basis of the obtained data the assumption is made about water essential overflows from the hot collector zone into the cold one. Overflow rate over the upper line of the heat transfer tubes may constitute 0.7 m/s. The conclusion is made about the necessity to set up the vertical barrier which divides hot and cold sections of heat transfer tubes and helps to avoid water transverse overflows.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A thermal neutron imaging facility for real-time neutron radiography and computed tomography has been developed at the University of Texas reactor. The facility produced a good-quality radiographs and two-dimensional tomograms. Further developments have been recently accomplished. Further developments have been recently accomplished. A computer software has been developed to automate and expedite the data acquisition and reconstruction processes. Volume tomographic visualization using Interactive Data Language (IDL) software has been demonstrated and will be further developed. Volume tomography provides the additional flexibility of producing slices of the object using software and thus avoids redoing the measurements.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract: It seems that if abortion is permissible, then stem cell research must be as well: it involves the death of a less significant thing (an embryo rather than a fetus) for a greater good (lives saved rather than nine months of physical imposition avoided). However, I argue in this essay that this natural thought is mistaken. In particular, on the assumption that embryos and fetuses have the full moral status of persons, abortion is permissible but one form of stem cell research is not-the practice of creating embryos and then destroying them to extract cell material. Furthermore, I argue that the same is true on the assumption that embryos and fetuses have at least some moral status. I conclude that this form of stem cell research is permissible only if the embryos in question lack ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Fault symptoms of running gearboxes must be detected as early as possible to avoid serious accidents. Diverse advanced methods are developed for this challenging task. However, for multiwavelet transforms, the fixed basis functions independent of the input dynamic response signals will possibly reduce the accuracy of fault diagnosis. Meanwhile, for multiwavelet denoising technique, the universal threshold denoising tends to overkill important but weak features in gear fault diagnosis. To overcome the shortcoming, a novel method incorporating customized (i.e., signal-based) multiwavelet lifting schemes with sliding window denoising is proposed in this paper. On the basis of Hermite spline interpolation, various vector prediction and update operators with the desirable properties of biorthog...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Flame retardant recycled PET blends containing PC and triphenyl phosphite (TPP) have been designed using the following sequential processing strategy: PET and PC are first melt blended with a transesterification catalyst, allowing the compatibilisation of the blend, before adding TPP. The presence of this last component was shown to stop the transesterification reaction between PET and PC, avoiding chain breaking. In addition, TPP acts as a chain extender of PET, allowing the average chain length to be increased. The optimized blends obtained present "V-0" UL94 rating due to a better thermal stability leading to low flammability and to the development of an important, stable and covering char layer, resulting in self-extinguishability and very low Heat Release Rates during combustion.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This book is mainly a comparison of the cost of pollution with the cost of environmental protection. As to the causes of pollution, a difference is made between pollutants that accumulate and pollutants that do not accumulate. Because of pollutant accumulation it is necessary to carry out both subsequent pollution abatement measures and to take preventive action which helps to avoid pollutant emission. Growth models serve to substantiate why such preventive action is both ecologically and economically useful as a rule. Finally the study makes a comparison between some tools of environmental protection. It stresses in particular that, if a duty on emissions is levied, the polluter has to bear all the cost of the pollution, while at the same time the quality of the environment can be more successfully improved than by emission standards alone.

CERN Document Server

Recently there has been considerable interest in the design of efficient carrier sense multiple access(CSMA) protocol for wireless network. The basic assumption underlying recent results is availability of perfect carrier sense information. This allows for design of continuous time algorithm under which collisions are avoided. The primary purpose of this note is to show how these results can be extended in the case when carrier sense information may not be perfect, or equivalently delayed. Specifically, an adaptation of algorithm in Rajagopalan, Shah, Shin (2009) is presented here for time slotted setup with carrier sense information available only at the end of the time slot. To establish its throughput optimality, in additon to method developed in Rajagopalan, Shah, Shin (2009), understanding properties of stationary distribution of a certain non-reversible Markov chain as well as bound on its mixing time is essential. This note presents these key results. A ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Nanocomposites based on SnO2 with carbon scaffold were used as highly porous anode films on Ni substrates. The films were obtained by in situ deposition of the particles without any binder or excess carbon black avoiding any secondary treatment. Compared to similarly prepared uncoated SnO2 nanoparticles as well as conventionally prepared powder samples the capacity loss of the in situ deposited nanocomposite films is significantly reduced. Thus, this newly developed anode material combined with in situ film formation is a promising approach for high capacity anodes in Li-ion batteries. SEM-micrograph of a SnO2/C nanoparticle film.