A common property of aging in all animals is that chronologically and genetically identical individuals age at different rates. To unveil mechanisms that influence aging variability, we identified markers...Full Text Available
The paper examines science fiction literature as a product and part of the social consciousness of the modern capitalist world order. This world order is seen as emphasizing science, technology, movement, growth, urbanization, industrialization, complex organization, and progress. The document is organized into two sections. The first section reviews theories of the sociology of knowledge and discusses knowledge as a process of self-production and reproduction of society. Influential theorists include Hegel, Marx, Lukacs, Mannheim, Gramsci, Habermas, and Touraine. Touraine's (1977) dynamic conflict-based systematic theory of society is based on three concepts: historicity, which defines the instruments of society's self-production; the system of historical action which is the totality of social and cultural orientations, by means of which historicity exercises its control of historicity and the system of historical action. The second section discusses science ...
The health of professional bus drivers is a critical factor in their driving performance; any impairment may lead to undesired consequences. In an attempt to develop and prioritize health and wellness programs, this study investigates the factors significantly affecting the health conditions of professional bus drivers, as well as the strength of these factors. This study uses self-rated health as the examination measurement. This simple assessment is an inclusive measure of health status for judging health trajectory, and is highly associated with changes in functional ability, including perceived control over driving. This study evaluates driver responses of self-rated health with ordered response models that consider factors such as the driver reported health problems, physical and psychological conditions, demographic factors, driving experience, and working environment. Analysis of a sample of 785 drivers shows that age, body mass index, depression, daily working hours, perceived ...
Statistical design of experiments is widely used among scientists and engineers to understand influential factors in a laboratory or manufacturing process. One of the underlying principles of...Full Text Available
An influential neural model of face perception suggests that the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is sensitive to those aspects of faces that produce transient visual changes, including facial...Full Text Available
Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic yeast that often causes devastating meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. We have previously identified the C. neoformans...Full Text Available
Exercise is essential for health, yet the amount, duration, and intensity that individuals engage in are strikingly variable, even under prescription. Our focus was to identify the locations and effects...Full Text Available
We present an algorithm to identifyindividual neural spikes observed on high-density multi-electrode arrays (MEAs). Our method can distinguish large numbers of distinct neural units, even when spikes...Full Text Available
The development of rapid and specific diagnostic tests to identifyindividuals infected with malaria is of paramount importance in efforts to control the severe public health impact of this disease....Full Text Available
Humans are remarkably adept at identifyingindividuals by the sound of their voice, a behavior supported by the nervous system’s ability to integrate information from voice and speech...Full Text Available
Human IgG specific for beta-endorphin was identified by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay and isolated by affinity chromatography. From a sample of 27 subjects, three individuals with major depression...Full Text Available
Abstract The success of software projects is quite subjective in nature and is fettered by many risks, the perception of which varies from individual to individual and largely depends on the demographic characteristics of the executives and even the characteristics of the project. This study aims to identify and gauge the software risk dimensions and analyze the differences of perception among executives toward software risks. The contributions of this study untangle the issues underlying risks in the software industry and associates these issues with the perception of the -human- factor present in the industry.
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.
A series of studies conducted to identify the factors that block and unblock problem solving is described. Through the construction of an isomorph of the classic "water jar" problems developed by A. S. Luchins (1942) as a dynamic graphic micro-world, several factors involved in producing blocked states were identified. Subjects included 10 individuals and 10 pairs of subjects. By comparing the behavior of individuals tackling the "missionaries and cannibals" problem to that of pairs of subjects solving this problem, a study identified means by which problem solvers operating in a social context are able to overcome blocks that discourage individuals. These studies point to the importance of "reflection" (evaluation of problem-solving results) for flexible problem solving. This research suggests that teaching students to analyze what they have done will help ...
We tested two approaches to forecast species distributions while balancing the impact of climate change against the inertia promoted by other influential factors that have been forecast as not changing. Given that mountain species are presumed to be more at risk due to climate warming, we selected an amphibian, a reptile, a bird, and a mammal species present in the Spanish mountains, to model their distributional response to climate change during this century. The climatic forecasts were made according to the general circulation models CGCM2 and ECHAM4 and to the A2 and B2 emission scenarios. We modelled the response of the species to spatial, topographic, human, and climatic variables separately. In our first approach, we compared each of these single-factor models using the Akaike Inform...
Abstract Copy number variants (CNVs) are known to be associated with complex neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia and autism) but have not been explored in the isolated features of aggressive behaviors such as intermittent explosive disorder (IED). IED is characterized by recurrent episodes of aggression in which individuals act impulsively and grossly out of proportion from the involved stressors. Previous studies have identified genetic variants in the serotonergic pathway that play a role in susceptibility to this behavior, but additional contributors have not been identified. Therefore, to further delineate possible genetic influences, we investigated CNVs in individuals diagnosed with IED and/or personality disorder (PD). We carried out array comparative genomic hybridizati...
The mz8310 device support module provides support for the following record types: event, pulseCounter, pulseDelay, and pulseTrain. No driver support is needed. Up to 4 mz8310 modules are supported. Each 8310 module contains 10 channels, which are identified as signals O,...9. Each channel is individually configurable. Each mz83 10 has two Am9513 Timing Controller chips. Each Am9513 has 5 counters.
This paper describes a simple analysis procedure that transforms a set of beamline orbit data into a set of harmonic orbits of first, second, and third order or higher. Each harmonic orbit can be studied individually to identify errors of the specific order with minimum interference from other orders. Effectively these are orbits caused by kicks, due to harmonic errors, propagated through linear lattice. Examples from accelerator study will be presented. The application and inherent limitations of this analysis procedure are discussed.
The research project had the aim to develop a standard for measuring individual, inner stresses from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at work. The employed method was by characterizing PAHs and metabolites of PAHs to be identified in urine with a view to developing a biological monitoring of professionally exposured persons. Using a number of PAHs relevant to work, the following questions were studied in cell culture systems and different animal-experimental models: Which metabolites are formed from the PAHs used in cell culture systems and the different animal-experimental models, and what are their ratios in percent? What percentage of a PAH is excreted by experimental animals in their urine and faeces on the first, second, and third day following different forms of application? What is the scale of the individual range of variation of PAH mass excretion? Are these results transferable to man? (orig.).
The sensitivity analysis summarized in this paper was made to determine the parameters of greatest influence in the prediction of radon barrier cover thickness for the stabilization of uranium mill tailings piles. Such information provides the basis for setting priorities and levels of effort for data collection, and improves knowledge of the sources of uncertainty in the calculation of cover thickness. In the context of this paper, the influence of a parameter on cover thickness incorporates two effects: (1) the sensitivity of the mathematical formulation to changes in a parameter's value, and (2) the range of values that a parameter may take on under site-specific conditions. Of the several parameters that are used in the calculations, the most influential are cover moisture content, cover radon diffusion coefficient, tailings radium concentration and tailings radon emanating fraction, in order of decreasing relative influence. Less ...
In recent years, the influences of acid rain such as the acidification of lake water, on bio-system by the heavy metals from effluent of soils with acid rain and also on the structural materials of buildings are seriously discussed. Sulfur and nitrogen that are contained in fossil fuels are released into the atmosphere by the fuel combustion as their oxides dissolve in rain drops as sulfite and nitrous ions, where they are further oxidized into sulfate and nitrate ions These ions lower the pH of rain water resulting so-called acid rain. Therefore, it is important to accurately determine these ions in rain water for the investigation of reality of acid rain. However, it is not easy to accurately determine these ions, especially for sulfite ions in rain water, since they are quickly oxidized by the catalytic action of metallic ions such as ferric and manganous ions. And light, temperature, pH of solution and also species and concentrations of dissolved metallic ions as catalysts, must be ...
Abstract Smoke is a mixture of toxic gases and suspended particulate matter of solids and liquids that evolves from a fire of flammable materials. This article presents real-time consequence modeling to track the concentration of individual species in smoke as well as its soot deposition. In the modeling process presented, the burning rate or vapor mass is fed into a combustion model in which the combustion of products has been identified and quantified along with the temperature of the fire. The output of the combustion model is the smoke that will be dispersed into the ambient. The fire geometry, which depends on the type of fire (e.g., pool or flare), is identified. A dispersion model with the capability of determining particulate deposition is then used for tracking the smoke plume. Th...
Alcohol dependence (AD) is clinically and etiologically heterogeneous. The goal of this study was to explore AD subtypes among a sample of 1221 participants in the Irish Affected Sib Pair Study of Alcohol Dependence, all of whom met DSM-IV criteria for AD. Variables used to identify the subtypes included major depressive disorder, antisocial personality disorder, illicit drug dependence (cannabis, sedatives, stimulants, cocaine, opioids, and hallucinogens), nicotine dependence, the personality traits of neuroticism and novelty seeking, and early alcohol use. Using latent class analysis, a 3-class solution was identified as the most parsimonious description of the data. Individuals in a Mild class were least likely to have comorbid psychopathology, whereas a severe class had highest probabi...
Purpose: The DBA/2J mice have been used as an animal model for human pigmentary glaucoma. However, these mice develop various degrees of disease symptoms at different ages, making it difficult to detect pathological changes of retinal degeneration at glaucoma onset. The purpose of this study is to develop a non-invasive assay to identifyindividual mice that develop visual deficits. Materials and Methods: We apply two behavioral tests, a swimming test of visual discrimination and a test of optomotor response, to identify glaucomatous DBA/2J mice. We then examine whether the elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP), the common risk factor for glaucoma, affects visual performances of the DBA/2J mice. We further compare the retinal ganglion cell death, one of the signature glaucoma symptoms, i...
Action potentials from the brain control the activity of spinal neural networks to produce, by as yet unknown mechanisms, a variety of motor behaviors. Particularly lacking are details on how identified descending neurons integrate diverse sensory inputs to generate specific locomotor patterns. We have examined the operations of the principal neurons in an intriguing midbrain nucleus, the nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (nMLF), in the larval zebrafish. The nMLF is the most rostral grouping of neurons that projects from the brain well into the spinal cord of teleost fishes, yet there is little direct physiological data available regarding its function. We report here that a distinct set of large, individually-identifiable neurons in nMLF (the MeL and MeM neurons) are activated...
Based on an multivariate statistical evaluation of binary and metric data relating to the soil cover of the European Community five regionally representative reference soils (EURO-Soils) have been identified for chemicals testing in the EC. The soil material sampled at representative localities in Italy, Greece, Great Britain, France and Germany was treated and prepared according to OECD Test Guideline 106 and analysed in detail. The homogenised specimens were subject to an EC-wide ring test to evaluate the feasibility of the modified guideline and to validate the physical-chemical amenability of the reference soils for sorption tests. The results proved the validity of the soils selected for assessing the potential behaviour of new chemicals in soil on the basis of a comparative evaluation of the individual test results obtained. In the light of this parametric assessment potential test soils were subsequently identified ...
The Department of Energy (DOE) currently operates four thermal treatment facilities that are permitted under regulations for hazardous waste combustors. As regulations become more stringent and public stakeholders become more influential, permitting these facilities is increasingly difficult. As they become more available, continuous emission monitors (CEMs) may offer the potential to assure regulators and the public of the safe operation of treatment facilities. The Mixed Waste Focus Area (MWFA) has participated in the development and testing of a variety of CEMs that could have application to DOE facilities.
Standard radiation monitoring has been conducted at Sendai nuclear power station for the purpose of estimation of 'source activity' during refueling outage and evaluation of countermeasures to reduce dose rate. Selected objects of the monitoring are radiation dose rate at maintenance area, radiation field at each equipment and piping, coolant chemistry and plant operation condition. Monitored data indicates that 'source activity' variation can be estimated to some extent using influential factors, and that evaluation of change of loose crud activity, which is presumed to be represented by the dose rate at letdown heat exchanger, is necessary to further explain change in radiation field at main work area. (author).
The effective integration of technology into the teaching and learning of mathematics remains one of the critical challenges facing contemporary tertiary mathematics. This article reports on some significant findings of a wider study investigating the use of technology in undergraduate mathematics. It first discusses a taxonomy developed to describe and compare technology use within individual courses and departments that identifies a complex range of factors, summarized under six defining characteristics of an integrated technology mathematics curriculum (ITMC). An instrument for a simple comparison of technology use employing the elements of this taxonomy is provided. It then presents evidence gathered from an observational study of technology implementation at The University of Auckland...
This study reconceptualizes the native/nonnative dichotomy and provides a powerful lens to examine linguistic identities. In a study of 25 linguistically diverse teacher candidates in Canada, the respondents' native and nonnative self-ascription and self-assessed level of proficiency was juxtaposed with the judgment of their instructors. This process revealed that the native/nonnative dichotomy falls short in capturing the multifaceted nature of individuals' diverse linguistic identities and tends to misrepresent them. Within the specific social context under investigation, 6 linguistic categories that better represented the true linguistic identity of participants were identified. This inquiry reconceptualizes the controversial native/nonnative dichotomy by suggesting that linguistic iden...
Nuclear forensics aims at identifying origin and intended use of nuclear material using information inherent to the nuclear material.The information gathered in nuclear forensics include isotopic composition, elemental composition, impurities and age of the material, macroscopic appearance and microstructure. The information so collected helps to solve criminal cases and put the individuals involved in nuclear trafficking in jails. The information also helps to improve safeguards and physical protection measures at place of theft or diversion to prevent future thefts or diversions.
The functioning of animal as well as human societies fundamentally relies on cooperation. Yet, defection is often favorable for the selfish individual, and social dilemmas arise. Selection by individuals' fitness, usually the basic driving force of evolution, quickly eliminates cooperators. However, evolution is also governed by fluctuations that can be of greater importance than fitness differences, and can render evolution effectively neutral. Here, we investigate the effects of selection versus fluctuations in social dilemmas. By studying the mean extinction times of cooperators and defectors, a variable sensitive to fluctuations, we are able to identify and quantify an emerging 'edge of neutral evolution' that delineates regimes of neutral and Darwinian evolution. Our results reveal that cooperation is significantly maintained in the neutral regimes. In contrast, the classical predictions of ...
The purpose of organization and management development activities in the commercial nuclear power industry is to foster high levels of power plant performance and safety through improved human performance. The NRC has been working to develop assessment tools to assay the effects of organizational factors on plant safety. The utility industry has been working on initiatives targeting individual accountability, the improvement of plant performance and the elimination of the items identified through the NRC assessment process. Organization and management activities do not focus on industry organizational charts, but on the personnel processes and dimensions (factors) that affect safety and economic performance. As individual terms these activities are often combined and referred to as organizational factors. As an area of study, organizational factors has become more prominent as the industry emphasis has switched in recent ...
The research project had the aim to develop a standard for measuring individual, inner stresses from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at work. The employed method was by characterizing PAHs and metabolites of PAHs to be identified in urine with a view to developing a biological monitoring of professionally exposured persons. Using a number of PAHs relevant to work, the following questions were studied in cell culture systems and different animal-experimental models: Which metabolites are formed from the PAHs used in cell culture systems and the different animal-experimental models, and what are their ratios in percent What percentage of a PAH is excreted by experimental animals in their urine and faeces on the first, second, and third day following different forms of application What is the scale of the individual range of variation of PAH mass excretion Are these results transferable to man (orig.).
A new method is being developed to quickly screen for the human exposure potential to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorines (OCs). The development involves two key elements: identifying suitable signals that represent intracellular changes that are specific to PAH and OC exposure, and constructing a device to guide the biological cell growth so that signals from individual cells are consistent and reproducible. We are completing the identification of suitable signals by using synchrotron radiation-based (SR) Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectromicroscopy in the mid-infrared region (4000-400 cm-1). Distinct changes have been observed in the IR spectra after treatment of human cells in culture medium with PAHs and OCs. The potential use of this method for detecting exposure to PAHs and OCs has been tested and compared to a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay that quantifies increased ...
As part of the Nondestructive Evaluation Reliability Program sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Pacific Northwest Laboratory is developing a method that uses risk-based approaches to establish in-service inspection plans for nuclear power plant components. This method uses probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) results and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FEMA) techniques to identify and prioritize the most risk-important systems and components for inspection. The Surry Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 was selected for pilot applications of this method. The specific systems addressed in this report are the reactor pressure vessel, the reactor coolant, the low-pressure injection, and the auxiliary feedwater. The results provide a risk-based ranking of components within these systems and relate the target risk to target failure probability values for individual components. These results will be used to guide the development of ...
The integrity of the RPV head and reactor internals was assessed by means of fluid-structural analyses using a coupled method to evaluate the water hammer phenomenon arising from high burnup fuel failure under RIA conditions. The fluid viscosity effect on the water column burst as well as the complex three-dimensional flow paths caused by a core shroud and standpipes were considered in this study. The three analysis scenarios were designed to investigate the above mentioned influential factors separately. In the first scenario, a two-dimensional axisymmetric reactor vessel model without any reactor internals was modeled to assess the influence of the fluid dynamics in the NSC RIA regulatory evaluation. This model has an actual RPV geometry and can be simply separated from other influential factors in order to concentrate only on investigation of the fluid viscosity effect. In the second scenario, a two-dimensional axisymmetric reactor vessel ...
The Department of Energy has issued a Quality Assurance (QA) specification for organizations involved in making a canistered high-level waste form product that is acceptable for storage in a deep geologic federal repository. The logic for the waste form acceptance process is described. In addition to NQA-1 requirements, fourteen supplemental QA requirements have been drafted to fit the waste form production process. A review plan for assuring complicance with the QA specification is provided. Guidelines for preparation of a waste form producer QA program are also presented. It is expected that the QA program description that result will be influential in supporting the acceptybility of the product to OCRWM and for ultimate disposal of the high-level waste in a deep geologic repository. (author) 3 figs., 4 refs.
This report updates the status of 32 large projects having EPRI authorizations of $5 million or more. It also describes 86 smaller projects that have EPRI authorizations of less than $5 million and that have a high likelihood of producing a utility-useful new near-term accomplishment within the next two years. Finally, there are 45 examples of analytical, experimental and bench-scale projects that were influential in confirming or redirecting EPRI's research program. These examples cover the entire spectrum of electric R and D: (1) fuel processing, (2) electric power generation, (3) transmission and distribution, (4) energy storage and management, (5) energy analysis, and (6) environmental assessment and control.
A prerequisite for a sensible estimate of moisture induced stresses in timber members is an accurate prediction of the members' moisture states during their service life. There are, however, an infinite number of possible moisture states for an arbitrary timber member in a natural varying climate. The naturally varying humidity is possible to describe as harmonic cycles, with different periods, superimposed. This work presents realizations of envelop curves over the possible moisture states in a timber member for some carefully chosen harmonic humidity variations. The calculations, on which the realizations were made, are based on a fully coupled transport model including a model for the influential sorption hysteresis of wood. A format containing required information suitable for assessin...
The objective of the inspection qualification is to ensure that applied non-destructive methods (NDT) have the required performance. The approach of the qualification process is systematic and carefully documented and therefore some new requirements can be seen concerning the composition of the documentation. There are also new document types, that only application of the inspection qualification requires. The most important of these is the technical justification, that includes the documented evidences concerning the performance of the inspection system. This publication includes two reports: 'Compilation of the inspection procedure' and 'Essential/influential parameters in NDT qualification'. The former of these discusses the issues to be considered in an inspection procedure especially from the point of view of the mechanised ultrasonic testing. The later report explains the parameters formulated to analyse in the technical ...
After having discussed the peculiarities of children in X-ray diagnosis the application of the effective as well as the mean equivalent doses as to the determination of the radiation exposure in children is represented. In using computerized tomograms to determine position and extent of an organ the exposure by repeated X-raying was calculated referring to the entrance dose. Entrance dose measurements for all types of X-ray examination in hospitals and ascertainments of the frequency of radiograms in 20 X-ray departments were used to determine per capita and collective doses, resp., in several age groups. Alltogether, the per capita dose of children in the GDR amounts to 30% of that of adults. Conclusions were drawn as to taking measures to further reduction of radiation exposure: (1) Technical measures, such as positioning of patients, shielding of organs, quality assurance; (2) elaboration of regulations concerning the execution of X-raying in children and adolescents; (3) measures ...
The study evaluates 160 cases of positive spermioculture taken from 522 sterile individuals examined by the authors at the Couple Sterility Outpatient unit in Department A of the Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Turin University during the period between January 1984 and December 1993. The germs responsible for infection were assayed in order to evaluate the strains which showed the highest incidence every year. Whereas there was no significant change in the absolute number of cases of sterility over the period, the number of cases caused by infection increased significantly during the second five-year period. It was found that the germs predominantly implicated in the genesis of male sterility formed part of the so-called mixed flora group, responsible in women for syndromes of often asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis which are not identified and consequently not treated. PMID:8559444
The purpose of this hearing was to bring to the public`s attention a better understanding of both the shortcomings as well as the benefits of the existing wetlands regulations programs, policies and regulations. In addition an attempt was made to highlight those areas where there have been problems with restrictive or confusing regulations, time delays, and costs involved. Ultimately, the purpose is to identify areas in the federal regulations, and if necessary in the federal wetlands related laws, that can be amended, so these work better.
In this study, the influences of cultivar on the phenolic composition and antioxidant properties of 15 different basil varieties was determined. Cultivar had a statistically significant effect on total phenolic levels (p<0.001) and anthocyanin concentrations (p<0.001). Analysis of individual phenolic acid levels by high-performance liquid chromatography showed substantial variations in the phenolic acid profiles among cultivars. Rosmarinic (p<0.001), chicoric (p=0.002) and caffeic (p=0.001) acid concentrations were affected by cultivar, although caftaric acid levels (p=0.083) were not. Nine of the cultivars in this study contained chicoric acid in higher concentrations than rosmarinic acid. These are the first basil cultivars that have been identified in which rosmarinic acid is not the do...
Four-enzyme section of the shikimate pathway (Aro B, D, E, and K) of Streptococcus pneumoniae has been studied. Kinetic properties of the individual enzymes and three- and four-enzyme linked reactions have been characterized in vitro. On the basis of the data measured in spectrophotometric and LC-MS experiments, kinetic mechanisms of the enzymes have been suggested and all kinetic parameters have been identified. Kinetic models for these three- and four-enzyme sections of the shikimate pathway have been constructed and validated. The model of the four-enzyme section of shikimate pathway has been employed to design an inhibition-sensitive reconstituted pathway for a high-throughput screening effort on the shikimate pathway. It was demonstrated that using the model it was possible to optimize this reconstituted pathway in such a way to provide equal sensitivity of the enzymes to inhibition. PMID:16921527
Diet overlap and niche breadth are well-known species traits from trophic ecology that can assist in explaining how species interact and coexist as well as the ecological mechanisms that influence biodiversity. In the present study, we analyzed the relationships between these trophic variables and indicators of resource availability with some attributes of fish assemblages (species richness, Shannon diversity index, evenness, density and individual body size). The physical and chemical characteristics of the biotopes (topography, water quality and conservation of slopes) were examined to identify possible patterns. Monthly sampling using electrofishing was conducted in 2003 along five streams located in the Cuiab? River watershed. The relationships between environmental variables and attri...
Individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) depend on technology to meet their daily needs and form relationships. Speech generating devices (SGDs) are integral components of communication systems. Reliability of SGDs is critical for effective use in everyday life. This study examined the reliability of new SGDs and found that mean time to first failure was 42.7 (SD = 41.2) weeks and at least 40% required repairs within the first year of use. The components that most frequently broke down were touch screens, wiring, main boards, batteries, memory cards, and AC adaptors. The costs of repairing SGDs were analyzed. The clinical implications of device breakdown are identified for key stakeholders, including clients, families, service providers, funding agencies, and ma...
Personal health information management (PHIM) refers to activities that support consumers' access, integration, organization, and use of their personal health information. We investigated PHIM in the health consumer population using a focus group and participatory design. In collaboration with health consumers, we identified PHIM activities and explored the design of new supportive technology. Our findings describe prominent PHIM activities such as monitoring and assessing health, as well as health-related decision making, planning, and action. We describe design principles our participants used during the participatory design of a PHIM tool. These include individual control, sharing, integration, security and flexibility. These findings provide new insights into emerging ideas in consumer health informatics research and technology design. Understanding health consumers' PHIM needs is an important step in creating technology to support these ...
Objective: To describe the meaning of the theme of empowerment from research on health promotion in nursing from the perspective of nurses participating in the study. Methods: Manual data analysis and QSR NUD*IST Vivo were used to analyse the data generated by individual and focus group interviews and the critical incident technique with 32 qualified nurses working in an acute hospital setting in the UK. Results: The participants identified a number of issues related to the theme of empowerment. These included the nurse as patient informer, psychological supporter and rapport builder and the concepts of informed choice/decision making, gatekeeping, coping, patient assertiveness, self-esteem and confidence. Conclusion: Empowerment is a complex, multi-dimensional, contested concept which can...
On efficient glass capillary columns packed with graphitized thermal carbon black (GTCB) the stereoisomers of aromatic and saturated tricyclic hydrocarbons are completely separated and identified. The Henry's adsorption constants of the individual isomers were determined from mixture at different temperatures. Five isomers of perhydroanthracene, five isomers of perhydrofluorene, two isomers of perhydrophenalene, four isomers of perhydroacenaphthene, as well as phenalene, dihydrophenalene, acenaphthene and acenaphthylene were investigated. The increase of the hydrogenization degree of unsaturated tricyclic hydrocarbons reduces the retention. Among the saturated tricyclic isomers the retention becomes shorter with the larger bending of the molecules, i.e. from the molecule having more equatorial bonds to the molecules having more axial connections. The experimentally determined Henry's constants were qualitatively compared with ...
This article investigates the missing link in the literature - whether informal institutions, or what is known as culture, can affect the level of financial development for a country? Our hypothesis stresses that the cultural dimensions of a country can have an impact on its financial set-up. We consider multiple dimensions of culture, identified in the literature by Tabellini (2008), to test our hypothesis. As culture evolves in the form of greater trust, control and other traits, individuals' attitudes towards financial market change, and they engage in greater financial transactions. This, in turn, leads to better financial development. Using quantile estimation technique for a cross section of 90 countries, we find that culture significantly influences the level of financial developmen...
Medical Science Liaison (MSL) teams are a well-recognized function within the pharmaceutical and medical products industries. While in most organizations, MSLs have focused on the development of relationships with individual Key Opinion Leaders, progressive companies have realized the value that MSLs can also bring to Key Account Management (KAM). This article discusses the five steps that should be followed in order to successfully integrate the support of Key Accounts into an MSL function. These include understanding the business approach to KAM, identifying what MSL resources are available, developing a comprehensive strategic plan, implementing the plan, and evaluating and making any necessary adjustments. Finally, a case example outlining the experience of a small pharmaceutical compa...
The Lesch-Nyhan (LN) syndrome is a severe X chromosome-linked disease that results from a deficiency of the purine salvage enzyme hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). The mutations leading to the disease are heterogeneous and frequently arise as de novo events. The authors have identified nucleotide alterations in 15 independently arising HPRT-deficiency cases by direct DNA sequencing of in vitro amplified HPRT cDNA. They also demonstrate that the direct DNA sequence analysis can be automated, further simplifying the detection of new mutations at this locus. The mutations include DNA base substitutions, small DNA deletions, a single DNA base insertion, and errors in RNA splicing. The application of these procedures allows DNA diagnosis and carrier identification by the direct detection of the mutant alleles within individual families affected by LN.
Individual canine synovial villi were used to establish short-term synovial organ cultures. These villi incorporated /sup 3/H-glucosamine into highly-polymerized /sup 3/H-hyaluronic acid (/sup 3/H-HA), which was the only /sup 3/H-glycosaminoglycan identified in the culture medium. Some /sup 3/H-HA, and larger amounts of other /sup 3/H-glycosaminoglycans, were recovered from cultured tissues. Culture medium /sup 3/H-HA content was proportional to the surface area of cultured villi. Organ cultures of nonvillous synovium were compared with villi; nonvillous cultures synthesized less /sup 3/H-HA per mm2 of their synovial intimal surface than villi. These cultures complement cell culture techniques for in vitro studies of synovial lining cell function.
Meningococcal disease is an infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis. Genetic factors contribute to host susceptibility and progression to disease, but the genes responsible for disease development are largely unknown. We report here a genome-wide association study for host susceptibility to meningococcal disease using 475 individuals with meningococcal disease (cases) and 4,703 population controls from the UK. We performed, in Western European and South European cohorts (consisting of 968 cases and 1,376 controls), two replication studies for the most significant SNPs. A cluster of complement factor SNPs replicated independently in both cohorts, including SNPs within complement factor H (CFH) (rs1065489 (p.936D
Microstructural observations of damage around indentations in Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2} are presented. The Vickers hardness decreased with increasing load and asymptotically approached 4 GPa at the highest loads. No indentation cracks were observed even at loads as high as 300 N. Preliminary strength versus indentation plots indicate that, at least for the large-grained material ({approx}100 {micro}m) studied here, Ti{sub 3}SiC{sub 2} is a damage-tolerant material able to contain the extent of microdamage to a small area around the indent. The following multiple energy-absorbing mechanisms have been identified from scanning electron micrographs of areas in the vicinity of the indentation: diffuse microcracking, delamination, crack deflection, grain push-out, grain pull-out, and the buckling of individual grains.
For 170 years, scientists have attempted to explain why consistent temporal patterns of death are observed among individuals within populations. Historical efforts to identify a {open_quotes}law of mortality{close_quotes} from these patterns ended in 1935 when it was declared that such a law did not exist. These empirical tests for a law of mortality were constructed using mortality curves based on all causes of death. We predicted that patterns of mortality consistent with the historical concept of a law would be revealed if mortality curves for species were constructed using only senescent causes of death. Using data on senescent mortality for laboratory animals and humans, we demonstrate that patterns of mortality overlap when compared on a biologically comparable time scale. These results are consistent with the existence of a law of mortality following sexual maturity as asserted by Benjamin Gompertz and Raymond Pearl. The societal, ...
for 170 years, scientists have attempted to explain why consistent temporal patterns of death are observed among individuals within populations. Historical efforts to identify a `law of mortality` from these patterns ended in 1935 when it was declared that such a law did not exist. These empirical tests for a law of mortality were constructed using mortality curves based on all causes of death. We predicted patterns of mortality consistent with the historical concept of a law would be revealed if mortality curves for species were constructed using only senescent causes of death. Using data on senescent mortality for laboratory animals and humans, we demonstrate patterns of mortality overlap when compared on a biologically comparable time scale. The results are consistent with the existence of a law of mortality following sexual maturity. The societal, medical, and research implications of such a law are discussed.
Measurement of serum biochemical parameters in response to metal exposures can be especially useful to help identify target organs of toxicity as well as the general health status of animals. Oreochromis niloticus were exposed to 5.0?mg/L?Zn, 1.0?mg/L?Cd, and 5.0?mg/L?Zn?+?1.0?mg/L?Cd mixture for 7 and 28?days, and alterations in serum enzyme activities and ion levels were measured. Significant changes in all the biochemical parameters were found to be time dependent. Following metal exposure, alkaline phosphatase activity was elevated at both exposure periods. No changes in activities of lactate dehydrogenase and lipase were observed in response to single or combined Zn and Cd exposure at 7?days while they increased at 28?days. Fish exposed to metals showed a decrease in cholinesterase ac...
Abstract Question: How do the diversity, size structure, and spatial pattern of woody species in a temperate (Mediterranean climate) forest compare to temperate and tropical forests? Location: Mixed evergreen coastal forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA. Methods: We mapped, tagged, identified, and measured all woody stems (?1 cm diameter) in a 6-ha forest plot, following Center for Tropical Forest Science protocols. We compared patterns to those found in 14 tropical and 12 temperate forest plots. Results: The forest is dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and three species of Fagaceae (Quercus agrifolia, Q. parvula var. shrevei, and Lithocarpus densiflorus), and includes 31 woody species and 8180 individuals. Much of the diversity was in small-diameter shrubs,...
Background. Every year, millions of people travel to countries where rabies is enzootic. However, the quality of rabies-specific information provided by travel health advisors and the extent of their knowledge about pre- and postexposure prophylaxis have not been examined on a large-scale basis up to now. Methods. 5,780 German physicians and pharmacists, who identified themselves as active travel health advisors, were chosen from a database. The selected providers were asked to complete an Internet-based questionnaire. The form requested both demographic information and the assessment of different concrete scenarios, each of which featured individuals seeking pretravel advice on rabies or appropriate postexposure treatment after returning from abroad. Results. Overall, 496 physicians and p...
Abstract Aims To determine, in the context of a trial in which counseling did not improve smoking cessation outcomes, whether this was due to a failure of the conceptual theory identifying treatment targets or the action theory specifying interventions. Design Data from a randomized clinical trial of smoking cessation counseling and bupropion SR were submitted to multi level modeling to test whether counseling influenced real time reports of cognitions, emotions and behaviors, and whether these targets predicted abstinence. Setting Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, Madison, WI. Participants A total of 403 adult, daily smokers without contraindications to bupropion SR use. Participants were assigned randomly to receive individual counseling or no counseling and a 9 week course o...
Network tomography aims at inferring internal network characteristics based on measurements at the edge of the network. In loss tomography, in particular, the characteristic of interest is the loss rate of individual links. There is a significant body of work dedicated to this problem using multicast and/or unicast end-to-end probes. Independently, recent advances in network coding have shown that there are several advantages from allowing intermediate nodes to process and combine, in addition to just forward, packets. In this paper, we pose the problem of loss tomography in networks that have network coding capabilities. We design a framework for estimating link loss rates, which leverages network coding capabilities and we show that it improves several aspects of tomography, including the identifiability of links, the tradeoff between estimation accuracy and bandwidth efficiency, and the complexity of probe path selection. We discuss the ...
An important early step in the assessment of ecological risks at contaminated sites is the screening of chemicals detected on the site to identify those that constitute a potential risk. Part of this screening process is the comparison of measured ambient concentrations to concentrations that are believed to be nonhazardous, termed benchmarks. This article discusses 13 methods by which benchmarks may be derived for aquatic biota and presents benchmarks for 105 chemicals. It then compares them with respect to their sensitivity, availability, magnitude relative to background concentrations, and conceptual bases. This compilation is limited to chemicals that have been detected on the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) and to benchmarks derived from studies of toxic effects on freshwater organisms. The list of chemicals includes 45 metals and 56 industrial organic chemicals but only four pesticides. Although some individual ...
We present a spectroscopic catalog of 70,841 visually inspected M dwarfs from the seventh data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). For each spectrum, we provide measurements of the spectral type, a number of molecular bandheads, and the H-alpha, H-beta, H-gamma, H-delta and Ca II K emission lines. In addition, we calculate the metallicity-sensitive parameter zeta and identify a relationship between zeta and the g-r and r-z colors of M dwarfs. We assess the precision of our spectral types (which were assigned by individual examination), review the bulk attributes of the sample, and examine the magnetic activity properties of M dwarfs, in particular those traced by the higher order Balmer transitions. Our catalog is cross-matched to Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) infrared data, and contains photometric distances for each star. Lastly, we identify eight new late-type M dwarfs that are possibly within 25 pc of ...
This report presents the preliminary findings from the first phase of the Environmental Survey of the United States Department of Energy's (DOE) Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), conducted March 29, 1987 through April 17, 1987. The Survey is being conducted by an interdisciplinary team of environmental specialists, led and managed by the Office of Environment, Safety and Health's Office of Environmental Audit. Individual team components are outside experts being supplied by a private contractor. The objective of the Survey is to identify environmental problems and areas of environmental risk associated with the LANL. The Survey covers all environmental media and all areas of environmental regulation. It is being performed in accordance with the DOE Environmental Survey Manual. The on-site phase of the Survey involves the review of existing site environmental data, observations of the operations carried on at the LANL, and ...
Recognizing the importance of energy as a vital component in economic development, the Taiwanese government has been continuously revising its energy policy, seeking to balance economic development, energy supply, and environmental protection (3E). Some measures, in an attempt to achieve the 3E balance, were previously implemented in Taiwan; nevertheless, some unresolved issues departing from certain core principles of Taiwan's sustainable energy policy and an international initiative for a low carbon society remain. The aim of this paper is to examine the energy supply and demand structure of Taiwan and the present status of individual energy carriers (including coal, petroleum, natural gas and electricity). In addition, it investigates the current energy policy framework and its implementation in Taiwan, identifies unresolved issues regarding sustainable energy development, and formulates key policy solutions for certain ...
Salinisation of freshwater has been identified as a serious environmental issue in Australia and around the world. Protective concentrations (trigger values) for salinity can be used to manage salinity impacts, though require locally relevant salinity tolerance information. 72-h acute salinity tolerance values were determined for 102 macroinvertebrates collected from 11 locations in four biologically distinct freshwater bio-regions in Northeast Australia and compared with sensitivities observed in Southeast Australia. The salinity tolerance of individual taxa was consistent across Northeast Australia and between Northeast and Southeast Australia. However, two distinct communities were identified in Northeast Australia using distributions of the acute tolerance values and a calculated index of salinity sensitivity. Salinity trigger values should therefore be representative of local or regionally relevant communities and may ...
This report identifiesindividual contaminants and contaminant mixtures that have been measured in the ground at 91 waste sites at 18 US Department of Energy (DOE) facilities within the weapons complex. The inventory of chemicals and mixtures was used to identify generic chemical mixtures to be used by DOE's Subsurface Science Program in basic research on the subsurface geochemical and microbiological behavior of mixed contaminants (DOE 1990a and b). The generic mixtures contain specific radionuclides, metals, organic ligands, organic solvents, fuel hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in various binary and ternary combinations. The mixtures are representative of in-ground contaminant associations at DOE facilities that are likely to exhibit complex geochemical behavior as a result of intercontaminant reactions and/or microbiologic activity stimulated by organic substances. Use of the generic mixtures ...
The HIPAA privacy rule (HIPAA) has had both positive and negative effects on the release of patient information by healthcare facilities. Although the intention of HIPAA was to protect patient privacy and to promote security and confidentiality of patient information, it has had unintended consequences for facilities. To identify some of these unintended effects, two expert panels of health information management directors from healthcare facilities participated in the nominal group technique meetings. They identified 70 barriers related to release of patient information associated with the implementation of HIPAA. The perceived biggest barriers were increases in the public's misunderstanding about release of patient information, lack of an umbrella policy or regulation defining infractions and enforcement that allows individual institutions to make their own interpretations, and challenges to health information management ...
Laron syndrome (LS) is an autosomal recessively inherited condition characterized by insensitivity to endogenous and exogenous GH. Affected individuals have severe episodes and other characteristic features. GH receptor gene mutations are present in all affected individuals in whom molecular studies have been reported. The GH receptor is a plasma membrane-spanning protein in which the extracellular domain binds circulating GH and the intracellular domain interacts with the JAK-2 kinase and possibly other intracellular signaling molecules. GH receptor dimerization occurs on GH binding and is thought to be required for normal signal transduction. We have studied the GH receptor genes of four unrelated individuals affected with LS from the United States, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and India. We have identified four different missense mutations that alter consecutive amino acids 152 to 155 in or near the ...
In neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and prion disease it has been shown that host genetic background can have a significant effect on susceptibility. Indeed, human genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated several candidate genes. Understanding such genetic susceptibility is relevant to risks of developing variant CJD (vCJD) in populations exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and understanding mechanisms of neurodegeneration. In mice, aspects of prion disease susceptibility can be modelled by examining the incubation period following experimental inoculation. Quantitative trait linkage studies have already identified multiple candidate genes; however, it is also possible to take an individual candidate gene approach. Rarb and Stmn2 were selected as candidates based on the known association with vCJD. Because of the increasing overlap described between prion and Alzheimer's diseases we also chose Clu, ...
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), recently announced by DOE Secretary Bodman, poses significant new challenges with regard to securing, safeguarding, monitoring and tracking nuclear materials. In order to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation, new technologies must be developed to reduce the risk that nuclear material can be diverted from its intended use. Regardless of the specific nature of the fuel cycle, nuclear forensics and attribution will play key roles to ensure the effectiveness of nonproliferation controls and to deter the likelihood of illicit activities. As the leader of the DHS nuclear and radiological pre-detonation attribution program, LLNL is uniquely positioned to play a national leadership role in this effort. Ensuring that individuals or organizations engaged in illicit trafficking are rapidly identified and apprehended following theft or diversion of nuclear material provides a strong deterrent against ...
Rice is a very important food staple that feeds more than half the world's population. Two major Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) subspecies, japonica and indica, show significant phenotypic variation in their stress responses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenotypic variation are still largely unknown. A common link among different stresses is that they produce an oxidative burst and result in an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, methyl viologen (MV) as a ROS agent was applied to investigate the rice oxidative stress response. We observed that 93-11 (indica) seedlings exhibited leaf senescence with severe lesions under MV treatment compared to Nipponbare (japonica). Whole-genome microarray experiments were conducted, and 1,062 probe sets were identified with gene expression level polymorphisms between the two rice cultivars in addition to differential expression under MV treatment, which were assigned as Core ...
Threat characterization is a key component in evaluating the threat faced by control systems. Without a thorough understanding of the threat faced by critical infrastructure networks, adequate resources cannot be allocated or directed effectively to the defense of these systems. Traditional methods of threat analysis focus on identifying the capabilities and motivations of a specific attacker, assessing the value the adversary would place on targeted systems, and deploying defenses according to the threat posed by the potential adversary. Too many effective exploits and tools exist and are easily accessible to anyone with access to an Internet connection, minimal technical skills, and a significantly reduced motivational threshold to be able to narrow the field of potential adversaries effectively. Understanding how hackers evaluate new IT security research and incorporate significant new ideas into their own tools provides a means of anticipating how IT systems ...
The United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) has recently implemented a series of strategic initiatives to address long-term radiological surveillance needs at former U.S. nuclear test sites in the Marshall Islands. The plan is to engage local atoll communities in developing shared responsibilities for implementing radiation protection monitoring programs for resettled and resettling populations in the northern Marshall Islands. Using the pooled resources of the U.S. DOE and local atoll governments, individual radiological surveillance programs have been developed in whole body counting and plutonium urinalysis in order to accurately assess radiation doses resulting from the ingestion and uptake of fallout radionuclides contained in locally grown foods. Permanent whole body counting facilities have been established at three separate locations in the Marshall Islands including Rongelap Atoll (Figure 1). These facilities are operated and maintained by ...
There are few studies on coke's micro-pore structure in recent years, however, micro-pore structure of foundry coke determines its macroscopically quality index and reactivity in cupola furnace. Effect of such factors on micro-pore structure were investigated under different carbonization conditions with certain ratio of raw materials and material forming process in this article as charging temperature (A); braised furnace time (B); heating rate of the first stage (C)and the second stage (D) and holding time of ultimate temperature (E). Research showed that charging temperature was the most influential factor on the coke porosity, pore volume, pore size and specific surface area. It is suggested that formation of plastic mass and releasing rate of volatile during carbonization period are two main factors on microstructure of foundry coke while charging temperature contributes most to the above factors. 6 refs., 4 figs., 9 tabs.
The paper summarizes the results obtained in two interview studies conducted in the communities of Storuman and Malaa in northern Sweden, 1995 and 1997. It highlights the similarities and differences with respect to the public participation and decision processes which preceded the respective referenda in the two communities. The presentation includes the arguments used by proponents and opponents, the changes over time, as well as the time frame and the information involved in the processes. It is concluded e.g. that local cultures, life-styles, knowledge of similar events, and the time for and management of the participation process are important and salient factors in the resulting social dynamics. Factors of possibly more fundamental importance were also discerned, however, including overall attitude to and valuation of nuclear power, perceptions of development, solidarity, power and power distribution in relation to current as well as future situations. It is furthermore concluded ...
Large-scale field tracer experiments have been conducted on Ulchin and Wolsung nuclear sites for the purpose of validating FADAS and of analyzing the environmental characteristics around the nuclear site. The most influential factor in atmospheric dispersion is the meteorological condition. During the experiment, meteorological data were measured on the release point and the selected positions among sampling points. Once radioactive materials are released to the atmosphere, members of public may be exposed through the environmental media such as air, soil and foods. Therefore, to protect the public, adequate countermeasures should be taken at due time for those exposure pathways. Both processes of justification and optimization are applied to a countermeasure simultaneously for decision-making. The work scope of biological research for the radiation protection had contained the search of biological microanalytic methods for the assessment of health effect by ...
Aqueous mineral carbonation is a potentially attractive sequestration technology to reduce CO2 emissions. In this paper, the energy consumption and costs of this technology were assessed using either wollastonite (CaSiO3) or steel slag as feedstock. The major energy-consuming process steps were found to be the grinding of the feedstock and the compression of the CO2. Within ranges of experimentally investigated process conditions, optimum energetic CO2 sequestration efficiencies were 79 and 74% for wollastonite and steel slag, respectively. It was shown that the energetic performance for both feedstock might be improved up to >90% by e.g. further grinding of the feedstock and reducing the amount of process water applied. At energetically optimized process conditions, a preliminary cost estimate was made of 93 and 66 euro/ton CO2 avoided for wollastonite and steel slag, respectively (sequestration costs excluding possible capture). For wollastonite, major costs were associated ...
Jurisdictional wetlands of the Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E) site in DuPage County, Illinois, were delineated in the summer and autumn of 1993 in accordance with the 1987 US Army Corps of Engineers methodology. Potential wetland sites with an area greater than 500 m{sup 2} (0.05 ha [0.124 acre]) were identified for delineation on the basis of aerial photographs, the DuPage County soil survey, and reconnaissance-level field studies. To qualify as a jurisdictional wetland, an area had to support a predominance of hydrophytic vegetation as well as have hydric soil and wetland hydrology. Thirty-five individual jurisdictional wetlands were delineated at ANL-E, totaling 180,604 m{sup 2} (18.1 ha [44.6 acres]). These wetlands were digitized onto the ANL-E site map for use in project planning. Characteristics of each wetland are presented -- including size, dominant plant species and their indicator status, hydrologic characteristics ...
Biological monitoring has been conducted in industrially impacted streams near US Department of Energy facilities in Tennessee and Kentucky for almost ten years. A comprehensive Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program, which was developed to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements, includes tasks on (1 ) toxicity testing; (2) bioaccumulation in aquatic and terrestrial biota; (3) bioindicators of fish health; and (4) fish, macroinvertebrate, and periphyton community surveys. These studies have been used successfully to characterize spatial trends and demonstrate temporal recovery resulting from remedial actions and pollution abatement activities, identify contaminant sources, and provide data for conducting ecological risk assessments. The program uses multiple lines of evidence to evaluate stream recovery and illustrates the importance of using an integrated approach when determining stream health. An overview of data collected ...
This document is intended to provide an overview of the workshop entitled 'The Coming Nuclear Renaissance for the Next Generation Safeguards Experts-Maximizing Benefits While Minimizing Proliferation Risks', conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in partnership with the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). This document presents workshop objectives; lists the numerous participant universities and individuals, the nuclear nonproliferation lecture topics covered, and the facilities tours taken as part of the workshop; and discusses the university partnership sessions and proposed areas for collaboration between the universities and ORNL for 2009. Appendix A contains the agenda for the workshop; Appendix B lists the workshop attendees and presenters with contact information; Appendix C contains graphics of the evaluation form results and survey areas; and Appendix D summarizes the ...
Studies on the multivariate autoregressive (MAR) analysis are carried out for the choice of the parameters for modelling the data obtained from various sensors optimally. Accordingly, the roles of the parameters on the analysis results are identified and the related ambiguities are reduced. Experimental investigations are carried out by means of synthesized reactor noise-like data obtained from a digital simulator providing simulated stochastic signals of an operating nuclear reactor so that the simulator constitutes a favourable tool for the present studies aimed. As the system is well defined with its known structure, precise comparison of the MAR analysis results with the true values is performed. With the help of the information gained through the studies carried out, conditions to be taken care of for optimal signal processing in MAR modelling are determined. Although the parameters involved are related among themselves and they have to be given different ...
Throughout their history, Americans have believed that citizens' fulfillment of their individual duties in a participatory democracy is at least partly met through the forming of groups around important societal issues. Given the complex nature of political socialization, this study investigated identifiable determinants of social action that might be used to advantage in educating young people for citizenship in a democracy. This study attempted to differentiate among junior high, high school and college students (N=517) who were inclined and not inclined to act on their concerns about nuclear threat with selected demographic, psychological, political, and educational variables. The results of a discriminant functional analysis indicated that in comparison with the non-action group, students in the action group were characterized by reporting less trust in government, more exposure to sources of nuclear war information, more political ...
Gas-insulated systems employing SF/sub 6/ are utilized in a variety of applications in power delivery systems. Because electric arcs, sparks or corona can decompose SF/sub 6/ into by-products having chemical properties different from SF/sub 6/, environmental concerns arise regarding inadvertent human exposures to electrically-decomposed SF/sub 6/. Biological assays in our laboratory using mammalian cell culture systems have revealed that SF/sub 6/, spark-decomposed under specific experimental conditions, can produce cell death. Chemical analysis of spark-decomposed SF/sub 6/ has identified the major decomposition pathways and by-products. Biological testing of individual by-products or by-product mixtures has indicated that these major decomposition products may not account for the majority of the cell killing effects seen in our assays. Further experiments have suggested that S/sub 2/F/sub 10/ may be produced and accumulate under our specific ...
Entropy generation is equivalent to destruction of available work (exergy). The useful energy is destroyed due to the intrinsic irreversibility associated within thermodynamic systems. Exergy analysis can be used as an effective basis for the development and improvement of systems design not only in the overall perspective but also in the individual component level. Second law analysis provides a useful tool to identify the irreversibility in any thermal system. This study presents the investigation of local and total entropy generation in compressible flow through a diffuser. Air is used as the fluid. Uniform heat flux boundary condition is applied at the wall. Two dimensional solution of velocity and temperature fields are obtained using the CFD code FLUENT. Distribution of entropy generation rate is investigated throughout the volume of the fluid as it flows through the diffuser. Regions of high entropy generation in the diffuser have been ...
Physiological functions are carried out by differentiated cells, with finite lifespans, which age and need to be replaced. In young individuals, tissue functions are sustained at optimal levels because cellular dysfunction and cell loss are balanced by the emergence of newly differentiated cells as stem cells and their partially differentiated descendants replicate. However, with the passage of time the mitotic rates of these cells diminish. Eventually, replications occur too infrequently to offset the loss. It is at this point that the tissue begins to show structural changes and declining function which, as they become pervasive, are identified as ageing. In this paper the theory is set forth that: (1) Diminishing mitotic activity in older tissues results from limited stem cell replicative capacity. (2) All stem cells, regardless of tissue, exhibit similar replicative patterns over time, progressing from the actively proliferating to the ...
This report describes the conclusion of a two-part programme, begun in 1994 with the overall aim of assisting in the development of an acceptable public participation strategy for use in Sweden for the siting of contentious facilities, with particular reference to the ongoing siting programme for a deep repository for spent nuclear fuel. The first part of the work programme, a global review of siting practice, was reported as SSI Rapport 94-15, in November 1994. This recommended further detailed studies of at least two individual programmes, which have now been carried out in Canada and the United States, and are reported on here. They involved face to face meetings with many of the main stake holders in the two programmes and enabled valuable insight to be gained into the potential problems associated with increased public participation, as well as identifying good practice where it exists. The lessons learned have then been applied to the ...
The usefulness of psychoanalysis to psychosomatic medicine has been limited by the longstanding assumption that the psychological disorder in psychosomatic patients resembles the conflict-based psychopathology that Freud identified in psychoneurotic patients. Recent investigations of the alexithymia construct, and the discovery that social relationships can influence health over the entire life span, have challenged this assumption and created an opportunity for a new and active involvement of psychoanalysis with psychosomatic medicine. In this contribution, I offer a synthesis of contemporary psychoanalytic observations and theories with concepts and research findings from developmental psychology, developmental biology, and the biomedical sciences. The proposed synthesis is consistent with the view that living organisms are self-regulating cybernetic systems; it also extends an evolving new psychosomatic model that conceptualizes illnesses and diseases as ...
This report documents the Proceedings of the 1995 Oil Heat Technology Conference and Workshop, held on March 22-23 at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy - Office of Building Technologies (DOE-OBT), in cooperation with the Petroleum Marketers Association of America. This Conference, which was the ninth held since 1984, is a key technology transfer activity supported by the ongoing Combustion Equipment Technology (Oil-Heat R&D) program at BNL, and is aimed at providing a forum for the exchange of information among international researchers, engineers, manufacturers, and marketers of oil-fired space-conditioning equipment. The objectives of the Conference were to: (1) Identify and evaluate the state-of-the-art and recommend new initiatives for higher efficiency, a cleaner environment, and to satisfy consumer needs cost-effectively, reliably, and safely; (2) Foster cooperation among federal and industrial ...
Purpose: The present research aims to identify the difficulties and obstacles for developing digital libraries in the seven regional branches of Islamic Azad University (IAU), Iran, and to study the status of librarians' skills and education programmes at these institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The 40 individuals working in the regional branch libraries of IAU were surveyed by a questionnaire consisting of 34 questions, and the collected data were analysed using SPSS software (version 16). Findings: It was found that the most important difficulties are the lack of suitable equipment and untrained personnel (i.e. a lack of sufficient training programmes). Research limitations/implications: Because of the small number of participants, it is suggested that a larger scale study is carried out. It is also proposed that the suggestions made by the participants will be considered and implemented, based on the digital library (DL) developments ...
The E and P industry has high levels of uncertainty and risk, which oil companies attempt to quantify before embarking on each individual E and P project. However, the actual return on investment often falls well short of the hurdle rate. This discrepancy has been attributed to systemic limitations in decision analysis processes and workflow, which result in repeated underestimation of risk and overestimation of the predicted production of the project. Well designed decision analysis processes in association with clearly defined, multi-scenario analyses of significant technical uncertainties are required. However, simulation of these uncertainties is not realistic given the performance and infrastructure limitations of conventional technology (Begg et al., 2001; Floris and Peersmann, 2000). During the past five years, more than 20 companies have attempted to map the requirements of new technology that is needed to improve uncertainty assessment and decision ...
A voice-tracking algorithm was developed and tested for the purposes of electronically separating the voice signals of simultaneous talkers. Many individuals suffer from hearing disorders that often inhibit their ability to focus on a single speaker in a multiple speaker environment (the cocktail party effect). Digital hearing aid technology makes it possible to implement complex algorithms for speech processing in both the time and frequency domains. In this work, an average magnitude difference function (AMDF) was performed on mixed voice signals in order to determine the fundamental frequencies present in the signals. A time prediction neural network was trained to recognize normal human voice inflection patterns, including rising, falling, rising-falling, and falling-rising patterns. The neural network was designed to track the fundamental frequency of a single talker based on the training procedure. The output of the neural network can be used to design an ...
Sonography, subtraction scintigraphy, computed tomography and MRI were compared in 100 patients who had surgery 105 times for hyperparathyroidism (HPT). Surgical and pathological data were available for all operations. A total of 105 MR, 77 CT, 84 sonograms and 70 subtraction scintigrams were performed. The ability of the imaging modalities, individually and in combination, to detect HPT, histology, size, concomitant thyroid disease and location of the diseased glands has been evaluated. For primary HPT, sensitivity ranged from 68% for MRI to 40% for scintigraphy but was much lower for tertiary HPT with all modalities. The ability to identify diseased glands was strongly size dependent for all methods. If patients had had previous neck surgery, the most sensitive methods were MRI and scintigraphy and this also held true for patients with concomitant thyroid disease and ectopically located glands. The findings presented suggest that while ...
The chicken extracellular matrix glycoprotein ES/130 is necessary for epithelial-mesenchymal transformation in the developing hear and is also expressed in noncardiac chicken tissues such as limb and notochord. We have identified hES, the human homology of chicken ES/130. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis (FISH) localizes hES to human chromosome 20p11.2-p12. FISH analyses of individuals with 20p12 deletions and affected by Alagille syndrome exclude hES as a candidate gene for this disorder. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction studies reveal that hES is expressed in both fetal and adult human tissues and that hES expression in the left ventricle is increased in the failing adult heart. Further studies will evaluate how hES mutations may relate to congenital human cardiac and skeletal anomalies as well as cardiac remodeling in the adult. 16 refs., 2 figs.
Measuring gene expression using microarrays is relevant to many areas of biology and medicine, such as follow up of developmental stages and diseases onset, and treatment study. Since there can be tens of thousands of distinct probes on an array, each micro array experiment can accomplish the equivalent number of genetic tests in parallel. Arrays have therefore dramatically accelerated many types of investigations. For example, microarrays can be used to identify stress response genes by comparing gene expression in challenged versus normal cells. In the Molecular and Cellular Biology lab (MCB), the micro array experiments are performed within the Genomic Platform, fully equipped to analyse either the behaviour of bacteria during long space flight, the effect of low dose ionising radiation on the developing organism in mice, or the human individual radiation sensitivity. For the low dose effect, two main stages of development are of interest; ...
Cervical cancer is emerging as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women worldwide. Toll-like Receptor (TLR) gene polymorphisms may contribute to subsequent inter-individual variability in cancer susceptibility. The present study aimed to identify the role of TLR 3 (c.1377C/T) [rs3775290] and TLR 9 (G2848A) [rs352140] gene polymorphisms in the risk of developing cervical cancer in North India. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 200 histopathologically confirmed cervical cancer patients from North India and 200 unrelated, cancer-free, age-matched healthy female controls of similar ethnicity. Genomic DNA was extracted using the salting-out method, and genotyped for TLR 3 and TLR 9 using polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). O...
Both the increased complexity of integrated circuits, resulting in six or more levels of integration, and the increasing use of flip-chip packaging have driven the development of integrated circuit (IC) failure analysis tools that can be applied to the backside of the chip. Among these new approaches are focused ion beam (FIB) tools and processes for performing chip edits/repairs from the die backside. This paper describes the use of backside FIB for a failure analysis application rather than for chip repair. Specifically, they used FIB technology to prepare an IC for inspection of voided metal interconnects (lines) and vias. Conventional FIB milling was combined with a super-enhanced gas assisted milling process that uses XeF{sub 2} for rapid removal of large volumes of bulk silicon. This combined approach allowed removal of the TiW underlayer from a large number of Ml lines simultaneously, enabling rapid localization and plan view imaging of voids in lines and vias with backscattered ...
The subjects covered in this Symposium range through almost every clinical medical specialty. From an average of one paper in each of the past three Symposiums, the explosive interest in cerebral amyloidosis has led to the presentation of 12 papers on this subject in the present volume. The genetically predisposed familial amyloidotic processes, such as the polyneuropathies and familial Mediterranean fever have also stimulated extensive and intriguing investigations which have revealed the striking effect of a single amino acid substitution in transforming a normal protein into a lethal ''amyloidogenic'' one. This Symposium clearly depicts the advances since the first amyloid fibril protein was definitively identified and defined 14 years ago. Since all amyloid fibril proteins so far described are variants of normal proteins, attention to gene abnormalities now becomes a significant focus as well as the pathogenic sequences which lead in these cases to twisted ...
A method for express determination of "2"3"4"-"2"3"8U, "2"3"8"-"2"4"2Pu, "2"4"1"-"2"4"3Am and "2"4"2"-"2"4"4Cm content in fuel 'hot' particles and spent nuclear fuel is offered. The method is based on precision measurement of a sample #alpha# activity followed by estimate of relative contributions of individual nuclides, or groups of radionuclides, to total activity. Segregation in separate fractions of uranium, plutonium, americium and curium was made with the help of ion-exchange chromatography. Results are presented of "2"3"4"U, "2"3"8U, "2"3"8"Pu,"2"3"9"+"2"4"0Pu, "2"4"1Pu, "2"4"2Pu, "2"4"1"Am, "2"4"2"mAm, "2"4"3Am "2"4"2"Cm and "2"4"4Cm definition in 'hot' particles sampled in Chernobyl NPP surroundings, Opportunities to apply this method for identifying radionuclide content of spent nuclear fuel are discussed.
This paper reports on the detection of optical novae in our neighbour galaxy M31 based on digitized historical Tautenburg Schmidt plates. The accurate positions of the detected novae lead to a much larger database for searches for recurrent novae in M31. We conducted a systematic search for novae on 306 digitized Tautenburg Schmidt plates covering a time span of 36 years from 1960 to 1996. From the database of both ~ 300 000 light curves and about one million detections on only one plate per colour band, nova candidates were efficiently selected by automated algorithms and subsequently individually inspected by eye. We report the detection of 84 nova candidates. In detail we found 55 nova candidates from the automated analysis of the light curves. Among these, 22 were previously unknown, 12 were known but have not been identified on Tautenburg Schmidt plates before and 21 novae have been discovered on Tautenburg plates previously. An additional ...
In conjunction with the US Enviromental Protection Agency sponsored Shawnee test program, Bechtel National, Inc., and the Tennessee Valley Authority jointly developed a computer model capable of projecting preliminary design and economics for lime- and limestone-scrubbing flue gas desulfurization systems. The model is capable of projecting relative economics for spray tower, turbulent contact absorber, and venturi-spray tower scrubbing options. It may be used to project the effect on system design and economics of variations in required SO/sub 2/ removal, scrubber operating parameters (gas velocity, liquid-to-gas (L/G) ration, alkali stoichiometry, liquor hold time in slurry recirculation tanks), reheat temperature, and scrubber bypass. It may also be used to evaluate alternative waste disposal methods or additives (MgO or adipic acid) on costs for the selected process. Although the model is not intended to project the economics of an individual system to a high ...
Guidelines for uranium residual radioactive material in soil were derived for the B&T Metals Company site in Columbus, Ohio. This site has been identified for remedial action under the US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Single-nuclide and total-uranium guidelines were derived on the basis of the requirement that following remedial action, the 50-year committed effective dose equivalent to a hypothetical individual living or working in the immediate vicinity of the site should not exceed a dose constraint of 30 mrem/yr for the current use and likely future use scenarios or a dose limit of 100 n-mrem/yr for less likely future use scenarios. The DOE residual radioactive material guideline computer code, RESRAD, was used in this evaluation. RESRAD implements the methodology described in the DOE manual for establishing residual radioactive material guidelines. Three scenarios were ...
The Carassius auratus complex in natural populations includes diploid triploid and polyploidy individuals. Diploid individuals belong to the species Carassius auratus...Full Text Available
The Phase I feasibility study has focused on determining the availability of information for estimating exposures of the public to chemicals and radionuclides released as a result of historical operation of the facilities at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). The estimation of such past exposures is frequently called dose reconstruction. The initial project tasks, Tasks 1 and 2 were designed to identify and collect information that documents the history of activities at the ORR that resulted in the release of contamination and to characterize the availability of data that could be used to estimate the magnitude of the contaminant releases or public exposures. A history of operations that are likely to have generated off-site releases has been documented as a result of Task 1 activities. The activities required to perform this task involved the extensive review of historical operation records and interviews with present and past employees as well as other ...
Populations living close to high-voltage transmission lines often have residential magnetic field exposures in excess of 1 [mu]T, and sometimes over 2 [mu]T. Yet, populations studied in most epidemiologic investigations of the association between residential magnetic field exposure and cancer typically have exposures below 1 [mu]T and frequently below 0.5 [mu]T. To improve statistical power and precision, it would be useful to compare high exposure populations with low exposure population. Toward this end, we have developed an automated method for identifying populations living near high-voltage transmissions lines. These populations likely have more highly exposed individuals that the population at large. The method uses a geographic information system (GIS) to superimpose digitized transmission line locations on U.S. Census block location data and then extract relevant demographic data. Analysis of data from a pilot study of the population ...
This analysis report is one of a series of technical reports that document the Environmental Radiation Model for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (ERMYN), a biosphere model supporting the total system performance assessment (TSPA) for the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. This report is one of the five biosphere reports that develop input parameter values for the biosphere model. The ''Biosphere Model Report'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169460]) describes the conceptual model, as well as the mathematical model and its input parameters. Figure 1-1 is a graphical representation of the documentation hierarchy for the ERMYN. This figure shows relationships among the products (i.e., scientific analyses and model reports) developed for biosphere modeling and biosphere abstraction products for TSPA, as identified in the ''Technical Work Plan: for Biosphere Modeling and Expert Support'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169573]). The ...
The subjective experience of one's environment is constructed by interactions among sensory, cognitive, and affective processes. For centuries, meditation has been thought to influence such processes by enabling a nonevaluative representation of sensory events. To better understand how meditation influences the sensory experience, we used arterial spin labeling functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the neural mechanisms by which mindfulness meditation influences pain in healthy human participants. After 4 d of mindfulness meditation training, meditating in the presence of noxious stimulation significantly reduced pain unpleasantness by 57% and pain intensity ratings by 40% when compared to rest. A two-factor repeated-measures ANOVA was used to identify interactions between meditation and pain-related brain activation. Meditation reduced pain-related activation of the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex. Multiple regression analysis was used to ...
This paper presents an integrated exposure monitoring system, based on an expansion of existing air quality monitoring systems using dispersion modelling. The system allows: (1) identifying geographical areas whose inhabitants are most exposed to ambient pollution; (2) identifying how many people in an area are exposed to concentrations of pollution exceeding air quality guidelines: (3) describing the exposure of population subgroups (e.g. children): (4) planning pollution abatement measures and quantifying their effects; (5) establishing risk assessment and management programs, and (6) investigating the short- and long-term effects of both pollutants and pollution sources on public health. The effect of pollution is rarely very large and in order to discover it, exposure estimation must provide data that reflects both spatial and temporal variations. Estimates of pollution exposure are obtained using an integrated approach that combines ...
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, using the ANS low power and shutdown (LPSD) probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) Standard, evaluated the LPSD PSA model of the KSNP, Yonggwang Units 5 and 6, and identified the items to be improved. The evaluation results of human reliability analysis (HRA) of the post-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP showed that 10 items among 19 items of supporting requirements for those in the ANS PRA Standard were identified as them to be improved. Thus, we newly carried out a HRA for post-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP. Following tasks are the improvements in the HRA of post-accident human errors of the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP compared with the previous one: Interviews with operators in the interpretation of the procedure, modeling of operator actions, and the quantification results of human errors, site visit. Applications of limiting value to the combined ...
Institutional and organizational models ... Review individual centre institutional and organizational models in the light of the tasks to be performed by
This analysis report is one of a series of technical reports that document the Environmental Radiation Model for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (ERMYN), a biosphere model supporting the total system performance assessment (TSPA) for the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. This report is one of the five biosphere reports that develop input parameter values for the biosphere model. The ''Biosphere Model Report'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169460]) describes the conceptual model, as well as the mathematical model and its input parameters. Figure 1-1 is a graphical representation of the documentation hierarchy for the ERMYN. This figure shows relationships among the products (i.e., scientific analyses and model reports) developed for biosphere modeling and biosphere abstraction products for TSPA, as identified in the ''Technical Work Plan for Biosphere Modeling and Expert Support'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 172782]). The ...
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, using the ASME PRA Standard, evaluated the PSA model of the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) and identified the items to be improved to enhance its quality. The new risk monitor PSA model for the KSNP of which quality was enhanced is called as PRiME-U3i. The evaluation results of human reliability analysis (HRA) of the post-accident human errors in the PSA model of the KSNP showed that 10 items among 19 items of supporting requirements for those in the ASME PRA Standard were identified as them to be improved. Thus, we newly carried out a HRA for post-accident human errors for the KSNP PSA model as the target of grading its quality above ASME PRA Standard Category I+. Following tasks were additionally major tasks performed in the HRA of post-accident human errors of PRiME-U3i compared with the previous PSA model of the KSNP: interviews with operators in the collection and review of input data need ...
BackgroundWe examined the effects of short-term consumption of whey protein isolate on muscle proteins and force recovery after eccentrically-induced muscle damage in healthy individuals.MethodsSeventeen...Full Text Available
Between 1970 and 1975, the incidence of new Schistosoma mansoni infections was reduced in 5 villages after each household was provided with its individual water supply and community...Full Text Available
We use high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping microarrays to demonstrate the ability to accurately and robustly determine whether individuals are in a complex genomic DNA mixture....Full Text Available
ABSTRACTPurpose: To describe previously reported locomotor muscle and whole-body composition factors related to mobility in older individuals.Methods:...Full Text Available
The following subjects are dealt with: physics of indoor air flow, flow in individual rooms, exchange of air and pollution between individual building zones and with the outside world, thermal coupling with the building shell, thermal comfort and air quality, evaluation of the ventilation. figs., tabs., refs.
Using a theoretical framework of social support, and content analysis, the content and pattern of support in messages posted in a 4-week period on a commercial health network for individuals concerned...Full Text Available
Background/AimsTo explore different definitions of intra-individual variability (IIV) to summarize performance on commonly utilized cognitive tests (Mini Mental State Exam; Clock...Full Text Available
Individuals from families recruited for the Long Life Family Study (LLFS) (n= 4559) were examined and compared to individuals from other cohorts to determine whether the recruitment targeting longevity...Full Text Available
... 16223, 16292, and 16295, which classify them as haplogroup W (Richards et al. 2000). The sample that was ... belonged to haplogroup B, 2 individuals belonged to haplogroup W, and 1 individual belonged to ...
In the context of social dilemmas, previous research has shown that human cooperation is mainly based on the social norm of conditional cooperation. While in most cases individuals behave according...Full Text Available
Health education and awareness involves providing knowledge about causes of illness and choices to promote a change in individual behaviour and, thus, improves survival of individuals. Studies have,...Full Text Available
Proposals that adaptation with left-shifting prisms induces neglect-like symptoms in normal individuals rely on a dissociation between the post-adaptation performance of individuals trained...Full Text Available
Large-scale field tracer experiments have been conducted on Ulchin, Wolsung and Daeduk sites for the purpose of validating FADAS and of analyzing the environmental characteristics around the nuclear sites. The most influential factor in atmospheric dispersion is the meteorological condition. During the experiment, meteorological data were measured on the release point and the selected positions among sampling points. Once radioactive materials are released to the atmosphere, members of public may be exposed through the environmental media such as air, soil and foods. Therefore, to protect the public, adequate countermeasures should be taken at due time for those exposure pathways. both processes, of justification and optimization are applied to a countermeasure simultaneously for decision-making. The work scope of Biological research for the radiation protection had contained the search of biological microanalytic methods for assessing the health effect by ...
Experimental and analytical studies in convection cooling and boiling cooling conditions have been performed on natural convection heat transfer with solidified crust formation in the molten metal pool. The present experimental results on the relationship between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool were compared with existing correlations on Rayleigh-Bebard natural convection in an enclosure. A new correlation on the relationship between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool with crust formation has been developed using the experimental data. The experimental results were verified by the analytical study. The experimental study has shown that the bottom surface temperature of the molten metal layer, in all experiments, is the major influential parameter in the crust formation, due to the natural convection flow. The Nusselt number of the case without a crust formation in the molten metal pool is greater than ...
Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy is a powerful in situ probe of sulfur biochemistry in intact cells and tissues. Under favorable circumstances the technique can provide quantitative information on the chemical identify of the sulfur species that are present in a sample. Prange et al. have recently reported an X-ray absorption spectroscopic study of bacterial sulfur storage globules. Unfortunately there are substantial problems with the experimental technique employed that, they contend, lead to completely erroneous conclusions. In the more recent of their two papers Prange et al. employed a curve-fitting method similar to that used by us (for more than 10 years). In essence, the method employs simply fitting a linear combination of the spectra of standard compounds to that of the unknown, in this case cultures of bacterial cells. This type of analysis can provide quantitative estimates of the individual sulfur types in the sample, ...
Genomic instability can be produced by ionising radiation, so-called radiation-induced genomic instability, and chemical mutagens. Radiation-induced genomic instability occurs in both germinal and somatic cells and also in the offspring of irradiated individuals, and it is characterised by genetic changes including chromosomal rearrangements. The majority of studies of trans-generational, radiation-induced genomic instability have been described in the male germ line, whereas the authors who have chosen the female as a model are scarce. The aim of this work is to find out the radiation-induced effects in the foetal offspring of X-ray-treated female rats and, at the same time, the possible impact of this radiation-induced genomic instability on the action of a chemical mutagen. In order to achieve both goals, the quantity and quality of chromosomal damage were analysed. In order to detect trans-generational genomic instability, a total of 4806 metaphases from foetal ...
On 21 October 1994, three brothers entered a waste repository at Tammiku, Estonia, without authorization and removed a metal container enclosing a caesium-137 source. During the removal the source was dislodged and fell to the ground. One of the men picked up the source, placed it in his pocket and took it to his home in the nearby village of Kiisa. Very soon after entry into the repository he began to feel ill, and few hours later he began to vomit. The man was subsequently admitted to hospital with severe injuries to his leg and hip and died on 2 November 1994. The injury and subsequent death were not attributed to radiation exposure, and the source remained in the man's house with his wife and stepson and the boy's great-grandmother. The boy was hospitalized on 17 November with severe burns on his hands, and these were identified by a doctor as radiation induced. The authorities were alerted, and the Estonian Rescue Board recovered the source from the house. The ...
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share genetic risk, brain vulnerability, and clinical symptoms. The ZNF804A risk variant, rs1344706, confers susceptibility for both disorders. This study aimed to identify neural mechanisms common to both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder through this variant's potential effects on cortical thickness, white matter tract integrity, and cognitive function. Imaging, genetics, and cognitive measures were ascertained in 62 healthy adults aged between 18 and 59 years. High-resolution multimodal MRI/DTI imaging was used to measure cortical thickness and major frontotemporal and interhemispheric white matter tracts. The general linear model was used to examine the influence of the ZNF804A rs1344706 risk variant on cortical thickness, white matter tract integrity, and cognitive measures. Individuals homozygous for the risk variant ('A' allele) demonstrated reduced cortical gray matter thickness in the superior ...
Although polybrominated naphthalenes (PBNs) are contaminants of the commercial fire retardant fireMaster BP-6, the individual PBN isomers have not been identified. In order to study PBNs possessing an analogous level of bromination to those found in fireMaster BP-6, three synthetic PBN mixtures, averaging 5.0, 5.3, and 5.6 bromines per naphthalene were synthetized and partially characterized. The PBN mixtures were administered to immature male Wistar rats and found to be potent inducers of cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenases. At the lowest dose tested, 30 mumol X kg-1, each PBN mixture caused maximal induction of benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase activity. On the basis of enzyme activities, ligand-binding spectra and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the PBN mixtures were determined to be 3-methylcholanthrene-type inducers of cytochrome P-450 (P-448), resembling qualitatively the most toxic polyhalogenated biphenyls, ...
Gas-insulated systems employing SF/sub 6/ are utilized in a variety of applications in power delivery systems. Because electric arcs, sparks or corona can decompose SF/sub 6/ into byproducts having chemical properties different from SF/sub 6/, environmental concerns arise regarding inadvertent human exposures to electrically-decomposed SF/sub 6/. Biological assays in our laboratory using mammalian cell culture systems have revealed that spark-decomposed SF/sub 6/ produces cell death, and the extent of cell killing increases with increasing spark energy. Chemical analysis of spark-decomposed SF/sub 6/ has identified the major decomposition pathways and byproducts, but biological testing of individual or byproduct mixtures has indicated that these major decomposition products do not contribute, in a significant fashion, to the cell lethality seen in our assays. Further experiments have suggested that S/sub 2/F/sub 10/ may be produced under our ...
Exposure to crystalline silica dust causes multiple diseases, but silicosis and silica dust-associated tuberculosis (TB), in particular, are the two diseases that remain high on the list of occupational health priorities in low-income countries and that still occur in some high-income countries. The prevalence of silica-related TB is exacerbated by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in low-income countries. This review describes the morphology of silica and the variable potency of the different forms. Sources of crystalline silica are discussed, with emphasis on less commonly recognised sources, such as small-scale mining operations and agriculture. Trends in the prevalence of silicosis are also presented. Although efforts have been made for many years in most countries to reduce silica dust levels, silicosis continues to occur even in young people. The clinical and pathological features and diagnosis of silicosis, with emphasis on chest radiography, are described. The ...
BACKGROUND: Immune suppressant medications such as thiopurines and anti-tumor necrosis factor agents are important for maintaining disease control in most patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs); however, their use has been associated with the development of malignant lymphoma. The purpose of this Dutch nationwide study was to estimate the relative risk of malignant lymphoma in IBD patients. METHODS: IBD patients who developed a lymphoma between 1997 and 2004 were identified using the Dutch National Database of PALGA. Data from confirmed cases were collected from individual hospitals, including data on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The age-adjusted 8-year incidence of malignant lymphoma in the Netherlands was retrieved from the Central Bureau of Statistics. RESULTS: Forty-two hospitals were visited and 285 matches evaluated in the total cohort of 17,834 IBD patients. Forty-four lymphomas were observed, resulting in a relative risk of 1.27 ...
In January 2001, Husky Oil Operations Limited (Husky), in joint-venture with Petro-Canada, submitted a Benefits Plan for the White Rose Development to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB). It was prepared following the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation (Newfoundland) Act. In December 2001, the C-NLOPB approved the White Rose Benefits Plan. This document described the work that Husky proposes to undertake within its significant discovery license areas 1043 and 1044 for the development of the South White Rose Extension (SWRX) Tie-back to the White Rose Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel as it will require an amendment to the original White Rose Development Plan and is subject to the review and approval of the C-NLOPB. The statutory requirements as well as the actual policies and procedures were identified ...
A graphic approach, terms a Genetic Activity Profile (GAP), was developed to display a matrix of data on the genetic and related effects of selected chemical agents. The profiles provide a visual overview of the quantitative (doses) and qualitative (test results) data for each chemical. Either the lowest effective dose or highest ineffective dose is recorded for each agent and bioassay. Up to 200 different test systems are represented across the GAP. Bioassay systems are organized according to the phylogeny of the test organisms and the end points of genetic activity. The methodology for producing and evaluating genetic activity profile was developed in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Data on individual chemicals were compiles by IARC and by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Data are available on 343 compounds selected from volumes 1-53 of the IARC Monographs and on 115 compounds identified ...
Since 1984 a number of studies have been performed to investigate residual contamination at the former atomic weapons test site at Maralinga in South Australia, and to aid in the rehabilitation of the area. The largest site of plutonium contamination at Maralinga results from twelve Vixen B trials conduced at Taranaki in 1960, 1961 and 1963. Plutonium was dispersed along four major plumes from these trials. Measurements of the ratios of activities of "2"3"9Pu and "2"4"0Pu to "2"4"1Am are presented for the plumes. These are identified with individual trials where possible. Some measurements have also been made of "2"3"5U activities. An examination of meteorological and health physics survey data suggests that the most extensive part of the north-west plume results from a single trial, viz. Vixen B2 round 5 of 1961. It appears that the level of contamination in this plume was augmented by rainout of material, and the extent of the plume was ...
When a plasma becomes contaminated by foreign particles, generically referred to as dust, the result is called a dusty plasma. At the present time there is a great deal of interest in dusty plasmas because of their roles in terrestrial and extra-terrestrial processes - semiconductor processing, high temperature fusion experiments, stellar formation and the rings of Saturn. This thesis is concerned with the role of dust in processing type plasmas. In the following experiments, artificial dust is introduced into a parallel electrode plasma chamber. Ions and electrons in the plasma charge the dust particles and they become suspended in the plasma due to the balancing of electric and gravitational forces. By illuminating the suspended dust with laser light and using an extremely high speed camera fitted with a macro lens to look at the scattered light, the dust particles are observed directly. Specially written computer software is then able to track and analyse the particles' ...
The Stardust sample return capsule will return to Earth in January 2006 with primitive debris collected from Comet 81P/Wild-2 during the fly-by encounter in 2004. In addition to the cometary particles embedded in low-density silica aerogel, there will be microcraters preserved in the Al foils (1100 series; 100 {micro}m thick) that are wrapped around the sample tray assembly. Soda lime spheres ({approx}49 {micro}m in diameter) have been accelerated with a Light Gas Gun into flight-grade Al foils at 6.35 km s{sup -1} to simulate the capture of cometary debris. The experimental craters have been analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) to locate and characterize remnants of the projectile material remaining within the craters. In addition, ion beam induced secondary electron imaging has proven particularly useful in identifying areas within the craters that contain residue material. Finally, high-precision ...
Background: Recent studies have developed a murine model of IgE-mediated food allergy based on oral coadministration of antigen and cholera toxin (CT) to establish a maximal response for studying immunopathogenic mechanisms and immunotherapeutic strategies. However, for studying subtle immunomodulating factors or factors effective during response initiation, this maximal response-based model is less suitable due to a lack of sensitivity. Therefore, in attempts to identify essential parameters to fine-tune the immune response towards a submaximal level, potentially more sensitive, we were interested in characterizing the individual effects of the parameters in the CT-based model: CT dose, antigen type and dose, and number of immunizations. Methods: BALB/c mice were orally sensitized weekly for 3 or 7 weeks with graded doses of CT and various food antigens (soy-trypsin inhibitor, ovalbumin or ovomucoid). Antigen-specific lgG1, IgG2a, IgA and IgE ...
Oryctes agamemnon (Burmeister 1847) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) was accidentally introduced in the southwestern oases of Tunisia (Tozeur) around 1980 and spread to the Rjim Maatoug region. In these areas O. agamemnon was specific to date palm trees causing severe damage that can result in potential danger due to collapse of the tree. This study was conducted from April 2004 to March 2006 in 4 sites in the region of Rjim Maatoug. Different levels of palm tree attack were determined, ovioposition sites were identified, and pest damage was described in detail to specify their relative importance and to indicate factors governing palm tree attack. Eggs were individually oviposited in the attacked parts. Dead parts of palm trees were the main target of O. agamemnon including the respiratory roots, tough, trunk bark, dry petiole and the periphery of the crown. The crown itself was not attacked. Feeding by larvae caused significant damage. The biggest ...
The physics and technology of this new Cerenkov detector are discussed, including materials studies, construction techniques, and resolution measurements. Sources of resolution error are individuallyidentified and measured where possible. The results of all studied indicate that the measurement resolution is understood. This work has led to the adoption of a large scale ring imaging detector as part of a new high energy physics spectrometer, the SLD, at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Results from an amplitude analysis of strange meson final states in K/sup /minus//p ..-->.. /ovr K/sub 0//..pi../sup /minus//p interactions are presented. The data derive from a 4 event/nb exposure of the LASS (large Aperture Superconducting Solenoid) spectrometer to an 11 GeV/c K/sup /minus// beam. The data sample consists of /approximately/100,000 vents distributed over the Dalitz plot of the channel. The process is observed to be dominated by the ...
The vast majority of fundamental studies of metal oxide selective oxidation catalysts have been performed with single phase systems. These investigations established the basic tenents of the redox mechanism of selective oxidation and ammoxidation catalysis. By comparison, structural and kinetic investigations of multiphase oxide catalysts are less numerous because of the inherent difficulties in understanding the relative contributions of separate phases to the catalytic behavior of the composite catalyst. Some attempts have been made in the past to understand the complex chemistry of multiphase catalysts and additional important insights have been realized more recently. However, a clear understanding of the most significant catalytic interactions between individual phases of a multiphase multicomponent redox catalyst is still lacking. In an effort to provide an understanding and a physical basis for the observed synergism in multiphase oxide catalysts, the ...
Detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanisms have been developed to describe the pyrolysis and oxidation of the n-alkanes, including n-octane (n-C{sub 8}H{sub 18}), n-nonane (n-C{sub 9}H{sub 20}), n-decane (n-C{sub 10}H{sub 22}), n-undecane (n-C{sub 11}H{sub 24}), n-dodecane (n-C{sub 12}H{sub 26}), n-tridecane (n-C{sub 13}H{sub 28}), n-tetradecane (n-C{sub 14}H{sub 30}), n-pentadecane (n-C{sub 15}H{sub 32}), and n-hexadecane (n-C{sub 16}H{sub 34}). These mechanisms include both high temperature and low temperature reaction pathways. The mechanisms are based on previous mechanisms for n-heptane, using the same reaction class mechanism construction developed initially for n-heptane. Individual reaction class rules are as simple as possible in order to focus on the parallelism between all of the n-alkane fuels included in the mechanisms, and there is an intent to develop these mechanisms further in the future to incorporate greater levels of accuracy and predictive ...
... Tanzania, and the attack on the USS COLE. ... vis another has no bearing on the legality of the attack. If the person attacked is a combatant, the use of ...
Sep 16, 2010 ... Taking military operations as an example, there is evidence that stress-related behavioral disorders and mental conditions such as anxiety, ...
... A classic example is rewriting the missionaries and cannibals (M and C) problem [Ama68] phrased in terms of individuals into a formulation that is ...
The authors report the individual monitoring data management system (IDOSE) at Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station. The components of the individual monitoring system, the design requirements of IDOSE, the characteristics and application of this computerized management system are mainly presented. Its application shows that IDOSE meets the requirements of the concerning occupational standards of the state and matches with the requirements of IAEA/ISOE.
This paper introduces an occupational exposure information system in detail, which is developed and in operation presently by Daya Bay nuclear power plant. It is presented in the paper that individual dose monitoring items and method, design and classification of database configuration, statistics and analysis of individual dose, and management of staff entering and exiting controlled area. The system is instructive to analysing individual dose and optimizing radiation protection measures. (authors)
... It is well camouflaged and each individual has unique back pattern markings. It eats mainly spiders and insects. The Eastern Lined Earless Dragon is a small dragon lizard measuring up to 21cm in length. It is well camouflaged and each individual has unique back ... It is well camouflaged and each individual has unique back pattern markings. It eats mainly spiders and insects. It lives in and around grass tussocks as well as small holes in the ground that are also used by invertebrates such as wolf spiders and crickets....
Full text: The US commercial nuclear industry has just completed an outstanding decade of plant performance. Safety levels and electric production are at unprecedented high levels and continue to exceed even high industry goals. Nuclear energy continues to keep the highest priority on performance improvement programs and highly trained/qualified people that maintain its record setting safety and reliability of operations. While the industry has maintained a consistently high level of performance, the advent of deregulation and the consolidation of NPP ownership, as well as the current climate of concern about both rising energy costs and availability of power, has raised the standard for nuclear energy's level of competitiveness in today's market place. The resulting challenge is how to more effectively manage risk and improve performance even further in a generally high performing organization. Newer technology and more training by themselves are not the answer. Rather, the answer ...
The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program intends to develop new designs for automobiles that will reduce fuel consumption by two thirds but otherwise have price, comfort, safety, and other measures of performance similar to the typical automobile now on the market. PNGV vehicle designs are expected to substitute lightweight materials, such as aluminum, magnesium, carbon-reinforced polymer composites, glass-reinforced polymer composites, and ultra- light steel, for heavier materials such as steel and iron in automobile components. The target mass of a PNGV vehicle is 1,960 pounds, as compared to the average current vehicle that weights 3,240 pounds. Other changes could include the use of different ferrous alloys, engineering changes, or incorporation of advanced ceramic components. Widespread adoption of these vehicle designs would affect materials markets and require concurrent development and adoption of supporting technologies to supply the materials and to use ...
The objective of this research project is to demonstrate sensing, communication, information and control technologies to achieve a seamless integration of multivendor distributed energy resource (DER) units at aggregation levels that meet individual user requirements for facility operations (residential, commercial, industrial, manufacturing, etc.) and further serve as resource options for electric and natural gas utilities. The fully demonstrated DER aggregation system with embodiment of communication and control technologies will lead to real-time, interactive, customer-managed service networks to achieve greater customer value. Work on this Advanced Communication and Control Project (ACCP) consists of a two-phase approach for an integrated demonstration of communication and control technologies to achieve a seamless integration of DER units to reach progressive levels of aggregated power output. Phase I involved design and proof-of-design, and Phase II involves ...
We consider a general, neutral, dynamical model of biodiversity. Individuals have i.i.d. lifetime durations, which are not necessarily exponentially distributed, and each individual gives birth independently at constant rate \\lambda. We assume that types are clonally inherited. We consider two classes of speciation models in this setting. In the immigration model, new individuals of an entirely new species singly enter the population at constant rate \\mu (e.g., from the mainland into the island). In the mutation model, each individual independently experiences point mutations in its germ line, at constant rate \\theta. We are interested in the species abundance distribution, i.e., in the numbers, denoted I_n(k) in the immigration model and A_n(k) in the mutation model, of species represented by k individuals, k=1,2,...,n, when there are n individuals in the ...
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
The Integrated Status and Effectiveness Monitoring Program (ISEMP - BPA project No.2003-0017) has been created as a cost effective means of developing protocols and new technologies, novel indicators, sample designs, analytical, data management and communication tools and skills, and restoration experiments that support the development of a region-wide Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (RME) program to assess the status of anadromous salmonid populations, their tributary habitat and restoration and management actions. The most straightforward approach to developing a regional-scale monitoring and evaluation program would be to increase standardization among status and trend monitoring programs. However, the diversity of species and their habitat, as well as the overwhelming uncertainty surrounding indicators, metrics, and data interpretation methods, requires the testing of multiple approaches. Thus, the approach ISEMP has adopted is to develop a broad template that may differ in the ...
Calcined and sulfided Ni-Mo catalysts supported on ultrastable Y zeolite (USY), NaY zeolite, mordenite, and ZSM-5 were studied by high-resolution electron transmission microscopy (HRTEM) with selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Ni and Mo oxide aggregates were rarely observed in the USY-supported Ni-Mo catalyst, indicating that most of Ni and Mo may be incorporated into USY, e.g., supercavities and possibly sodalite cages. However, there were a large number of {alpha}-NiMoO{sub 4} aggregates of different particle sizes in NaY-, mordenite-, and ZSM-5-supported catalysts, and the mordenite-supported catalyst also contained MoO{sub 3} crystals. The {alpha}-NiMoO{sub 4} may be attached to the surface of substrates as individual particles or needle aggregates, it may be disseminated into mordenite particles, or it may even form an isolated sphere (in Ni-Mo/NaY) or a needle (in Ni-Mo/ZSM-5) aggregates. Thus, most of Ni and ...
Identification of factors that determine individual patient risk for recurrence and progression in superficial papillary carcinoma of the bladder is a subject of extensive research as it would be a major outcome in patient management. It has been well recognized that traditional prognostic markers as tumor grade and stage are not accurate enough in predicting biological behavior. A large number of markers have been investigated as potential prognostic factors and relatively few can help in predicting outcome. Material and Methods: Forty-nine cases undergoing complete transurethral resection for primary superficial papillary transitional cell carcinoma were subjected to clinicopathologic evaluation as well as immunohistochemical staining for p53, bcl-2, cytokeratin 20 and Ki-67. The CAS-200 image analyzer was used to estimate the Ki-67 labeling index. Results: Recurrence was observed in 19 cases (38.8%) and progression in 7 cases (14.3%) with a median followup of 49 ...
The identification, and hence origin determination, of unknown nuclear material that might be found undeclared away from designated locations in the nuclear fuel cycle, is an important task in the frame of nuclear forensics. Material with forensic importance can be found at the microscopic level as particles in environmental samples indicating possible clandestine production of fissile material, and as bulky samples in the case of illicit trafficking of nuclear material. The objective of this work is to present, at a theoretical level, an isotopic finger-printing methodology which would determine the origin of unknown nuclear material with forensic importance. This is demonstrated for the case when the unknown nuclear material is spent nuclear fuel. The methodology is based on multivariate statistics, such as cluster and factor analysis, complemented by spent fuel isotopic composition simulations using the zero-dimensional depletion computer code ORIGEN2. A major source of error in the ...
Individual laser cooled atoms are delivered on demand from a single atom magneto-optic trap to a high-finesse optical cavity using an atom conveyor. Strong coupling of the atom with the cavity field allows simultaneous cooling and detection of individual atoms for time scales exceeding 15 s. The single atom scatter rate is studied as a function of probe-cavity detuning and probe Rabi frequency, and the experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. We demonstrate the ability to manipulate the position of a single atom relative to the cavity mode with excellent control and reproducibility.
The individuality of production devices should be taken into account when statistical models are designed for parallelized devices. In the present work, a new clustering method, referred to as NC-spectral clustering, is proposed for discriminating the individuality of production devices. The key idea is to classify samples according to the differences of the correlation among measured variables, since the individuality of production devices is expressed by the correlation. In the proposed NC-spectral clustering, the nearest correlation (NC) method and spectral clustering are integrated. The NC method generates the weighted graph that expresses the correlation-based similarities between samples, and the constructed graph is partitioned by spectral clustering. A new statistical process monit...
BackgroundDuplications of stretches of the genome are an important source of individual genetic variation, but their unrecognized presence in laboratory organisms would be a confounding...Full Text Available
flow and changing scheulingparameters during real-time ..... illustrative purposes, only two minimum separation ..... Individual Flights and Air Traffic, AGARD. No. ...
In the wake of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, medical relief organizations and individual practitioners mobilized to provide assistance. Here, an emergency medicine physician who worked with a Louisiana-based...Full Text Available
To evaluate the contribution of genetic influences on the individual variation in plateau serum salicylate levels, salicylate metabolism was studied in seven pairs of identical and six pairs of fraternal...Full Text Available
ContextCorticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), through the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and other brain stress systems, is involved in the emotional dysregulation...Full Text Available
This issue is the collection of the papers on progress of researches by common utilization of JAERI nuclear facilities. The 43 of the papers are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)
Several recent studies have documented that non-human primates can individuate objects according to property and/or kind information in much the same way as human infants do from around one year of age when they begin to acquire language. Some studies suggest, however, that only some properties are used for the individuation of food items: color, but not shape. The present study investigated whether these findings reveal a true competence problem with shape properties in the food domain or whether they merely reveal a performance problem (e.g., lack of attention to shapes). We tested 25 great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas) in two food individuation tasks. We manipulated subjects? experience with differences in color and shape properties of food items. Results indicated (i) that a...
Costs of parasitism are commonly measured by comparing the performance of infected groups of individuals to that of uninfected control groups. This measure potentially underestimates the cost of parasitism...Full Text Available
Age-associated changes within an individual are inherently complex and occur at multiple levels of organismal function. The overall decline in function of various tissues is known to play a...Full Text Available
ObjectiveTo examine the extent to which the regional and neighborhood distribution of HIV in Tanzania is caused by the differential distribution of individual correlates...Full Text Available
your eye to the SCN in your brain, so that light ... Owls are individuals who go to bed late, like to get up late in the moming. And the moming types, ...
Individual strains of the plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae vary in their ability to produce toxins, nucleate ice, and resist antimicrobial compounds. These phenotypes...Full Text Available
The identification of individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is essential for the timely administration of treatment approaches aimed at slowing the onset or progression of the disease....Full Text Available
... system size exhibit a stochastic decomposition property ... to manage congestion in the primary queue. ... video at individual computer network terminals. ...
The purpose of this article is to critically review the available evidence pertaining to occupational, environmental, and individual factors that can affect the development of occupational asthma (OA)....Full Text Available
The muscles of three different arthropods, a mite, a fly, and an ostracod, show variations in the length of the A region within a given individual. There is no indication that the observed differences...Full Text Available
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare cholestatic liver disease with major morbidity and mortality. Therapeutic management is difficult, due to lack of conclusive data and individual disease...Full Text Available
new technologies being evaluated by the ADTT. (d) Prepare the ... (g) Have final approval of the individual nominated for the position of Deputy. ADTT. (4) The ...
Apr 18, 2008 ... The FSS was produced by point-source filtering the individual detector data ... a 1-sigma noise map; and a coverage map giving the count of ...
Jan 12, 2010 ... Visual simulation of offshore liquefied natural gas (lng) terminals in a decision-making context. Baird, Brian E.; Sheppard, Stephen R. J.; ...
Genetics, Genomics, and Molecular Biology USGS scientists develop and integrate new genetic and molecular techniques into systematic analyses to describe individuals and populations of fish .....
BackgroundGender is a critically important moderator of psychopathology. However, gender similarities and differences in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) have received...Full Text Available
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
Even when a healthy individual is studied, his/her erythrocytes in capillaries continually change their shape in a synchronized erratic fashion. In this work, the problem of characterizing the cell...Full Text Available
Ether extracts of cultures of 29 strains representing 6 species of Bacillus, and of individual strains of Escherichia coli, Aerobacter aerogenes, and Pseudomonas...Full Text Available
Does the cultural background influence the success with which genetically unrelated individuals cooperate in social dilemma situations? In this paper, we provide an answer by analysing the data of Full Text Available
BackgroundInternet-based depression communities provide a forum for individuals to communicate and share information and ideas. There has been little research into the health status...Full Text Available
AimsThis article provides a brief review of recent cross-cultural research on personality traits at both individual and culture levels, highlighting the relevance...Full Text Available
Prolonged disability is best understood as an illness that exists independently of the initiating disease. The disabled individual goes through predictable stages of disability before resolution occurs....Full Text Available
Aging can be defined as a progressive decline in physiological efficiency regulated by an extremely complex multifactorial process. The genetic makeup of an individual appears to dictate this rate...Full Text Available
Previous research with individuals undergoing surgery or diagnostic procedures provided a conceptual framework for analysis of radiation therapy, a common form of cancer treatment. The present...Full Text Available
Measurements of the taste thresholds of blowflies for a wide variety of carbohydrates, presented individually and in combination, showed that the stimulating effects of the compounds are not always...Full Text Available
The authors reviewed the literature on psychological and psychosocial outcomes for individuals undergoing cosmetic surgery, to address whether elective cosmetic procedures improve psychological...Full Text Available
Air Show. The exhibit will feature 16 fuel companies showcasing cutting-edge alternative jet fuel technologies. In addition to individual company exhibits, the Showcase will...
A system and method for enabling human beings to communicate by way of their monitored brain activity. The brain activity of an individual is monitored and transmitted to a remote location (e.g. by satellite). At the remote location, the monitored brain activity is compared with pre-recorded normalized brain activity curves, waveforms, or patterns to determine if a match or substantial match is found. If such a match is found, then the computer at the remote location determines that the individual was attempting to communicate the word, phrase, or thought corresponding to the matched stored normalized signal.
This patent describes a system for controlling erosion of the slope between the waterline of a shoreline. The system comprises an elongated conduit; means to pivotably secure the conduit to the shoreline approximately at the waterline; a plurality of individual armor bags attached to the conduit; and means for filling all of the individual armor bags with a grout material whereby the armor bags when filled with the grout material will be positioned as a unit onto the slope below the waterline.
The Commission of the European Communities has submitted a directive for the protection against microwaves. According to this directive, exposures above the upper limit established for the protection of individuals and the general population are permissible only if the respective individuals are required to submit to occupational medical control. An introductory overview is presented giving information on microwaves, applied techniques and available protective means.
Evaluation procedures used to produce sets of evaluated data for the 33 heavy isotopes that fall in the range Z = 90 to Z = 98 are described. At the beginning of the discussion for each individual isotope, a computer-generated listing is given which summarizes the main properties of the data sets that are contained in the evaluation. (RWR)
The concept of frailty offers a convenient way to introduce unobserved heterogeneity and associations into models for survival data. In its simplest form, frailty is an unobserved random proportionality factor that modifies the hazard function of an individual or a group of related individuals. "Frailty Models in Survival Analysis" presents a comprehensive overview of the fundamental approaches in the area of frailty models. The book extensively explores how univariate frailty models can represent unobserved heterogeneity. It also emphasizes correlated frailty models as extensions of
The low potency of many man-made estrogenic chemicals, so-called xenoestrogens, has been used to suggest that risks arising from exposure to individual chemicals are negligible. Another argument used...Full Text Available
Previous studies have been conducted in gene expression profiling to identify groups of genes that characterize the colorectal carcinoma disease. Despite the success of previous attempts to identify...Full Text Available
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
This plan details the methods and procedures necessary to ensure a safe transition in the operation of the Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) System. The steps identified here outline the work scope and identify responsibilities to complete startup, and turnover of the LDUA to Characterization Project Operations (CPO).
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
The development of a computational intelligent tools based on neural network to identify commercial losses or fraud (theft energy), considering information from a database electric utility, is presented.
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.)
Descriptive assessment methods have been used in applied settings to identify consequences for problem behavior, thereby aiding in the design of effective treatment programs. Consensus has not been...Full Text Available
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
Large-scale cancer genome projects will soon be able to sequence many cancer genomes to comprehensively identify genetic changes in human cancer. Genome-wide association studies have also identified...Full Text Available
...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...
digital libraries, which was identified as a national challenge in the Information ... The linkages between the many digital libraries and information services are ...
This report describes the results obtained during Stage 13 of a long-term research and development program concerning the development of diagnostics and monitoring methods for nuclear reactors. A brief proposal for the continuation of this program in Stage 14 is also given at the end of the report. The program executed in Stage 13 consists of three parts and the work performed in each part is summarized below. 1. Study of criticality, neutron kinetics and neutron noise in molten salt reactors (MSR). Although the original goal of the investigations of the MSR in Stage 13 was to calculate the neutron noise induced by the fluctuations of the fuel temperature, the study, solution and interpretation of the static problem, as well as to define an approximate version of the point kinetic approximation was necessary to perform. As it turned out, these tasks in themselves were more involved, and also very edifying, to solve. Hence, in this report, we confine the study of the reactor physics of ...
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (composed of automakers Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler) announced in January 2002 a new cooperative research effort. Known as 'FreedomCAR' (derived from 'Freedom' and 'Cooperative Automotive Research'), it represents DOE's commitment to developing public/private partnerships to fund high-risk, high-payoff research into advanced automotive technologies. Efficient fuel cell technology, which uses hydrogen to power automobiles without air pollution, is a very promising pathway to achieving the ultimate vision. The new partnership replaces and builds upon the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles initiative that ran from 1993 through 2001. The Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines (APEEM) subprogram within the FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program provides support and guidance for many cutting-edge automotive ...
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 ...
As both computer and mobile phone reach nearly ubiquity in the U.S. market, the slow uptake of mobile video, in contrast to the thriving usage of PC-based video, warrants a deeper understanding of user-oriented factors contributing to the two diffusion paths. Unlike the majority of existing diffusion research practices, the dissertation examines the differences between mobile and PC video diffusion patterns through the lenses of user-oriented influences in the user-technology relationship. Built upon the established adoption user group classification, the research is informed by the Uses and Gratification theory, the Social Technical theory, and the Technical Affordance perspective. These synergistic theoretical arguments share the recognition of the role of user in the dynamic, usually socially intertwined user-technology interactions. The key research questions that the dissertation sets out to answer include: Does the importance of quality of viewing experience in adoption ...
This paper very briefly outlines hazardous waste management issues, including regulations, in Mongolia. Air, water, and soil pollutants are identified and placed in context with climatic, social, and economic circumstances. The primary need identified is technology for the collection and disposal of solid wastes. Municipal waste problems include rapid urbanization and lack of sanitary landfills. Industrial wastes of concern are identified from the mining and leather industries. 4 refs., 2 tabs.
Difficulty in recalling the names of people is very common in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, it is not known whether the difficulty in naming people in MCI reflects problems associated with lexical access or with semantic access. The aims of the present study were to investigate semantic and phonological access to proper names by use of a Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) task in individuals with multidomain amnestic MCI, individuals with amnestic MCI, and healthy controls, as well as to study the relationships between TOT production and performance in a free recall verbal memory test. In the individuals with multidomain amnestic MCI, the main process affected was phonological access; failures in phonological access were related to deficits i...
Previous research demonstrates that we tend to derogate individuals who are perceived to be in a social relationship with stigmatized persons. Two experiments examined whether this phenomenon also occurs for individuals seen in the presence of an obese person and whether a social relationship is necessary for stigmatization to spread. The results from both experiments revealed that a male job applicant was rated more negatively when seen with an overweight compared to a normal weight female and that just being in the mere proximity of an overweight woman was enough to trigger stigmatization toward the male applicant. Experiment 2 examined possible moderating effects of the proximity finding. Applicants seated next to heavy (vs. average weight) individuals were denigrated consistently regardless of the perceived depth of the relationship, the participant's anti-fat attitudes or gender, and whether or not positive information ...
This paper outlines an approach to develop estimates of individual customer contestability using a combined statistical and engineering analysis. The approach is targeted for use for mid-size commercial and industrial customers who are not being considered for individual flexible pricing contracts. Contestability is defined as the potential lost revenue associated with customers leaving the utility or significantly reducing electricity purchases. Contestability is modeled from the customer`s perspective using a two-stage decision process. In the first stage, the customer decides if he will continue to purchase electricity from the utility (referred to as customer retention), and in the second stage, the customer determines the amount of electricity purchased (referred to as load retention). Measures of individual customer contestability will be key factors in developing market segments and new rate offerings in future ...
We have at hand the tools for development of both a single amino acid substitution and a gene loss type assay for somatic cell mutations in human red cells. We are close to being able to assess the assays as possible means for screening the human population for individuals who may be a risk of acquiring abnormally high frequencies of mutant cells. The cause for such a high frequency of mutant cells could be a prior exposure of the individual to large amount of mutagen, or it could indicate a member of a vulnerable subpopulation that may have poor DNA repair systems. Either of these cases could well be an indication that the particular individual is at high risk that exposure to mutagens could lead to potential pathology. In the near future we expect to determine the reliability of the assays and to perform experiments to confirm the validity of flow cytometry in measuring real somatic mutagenic events that occur in vivo. ...
Radiation damage is considered to be the major problem that still prevents imaging an individual biological molecule for structural analysis. So far, all known mapping techniques using sufficient short wave-length radiation, be it X-rays or high energy electrons, circumvent this problem by averaging over many molecules. Averaging, however, leaves conformational details uncovered. Even the anticipated use of ultra-short but extremely bright X-ray bursts of a Free Electron Laser shall afford averaging over 10^6 molecules to arrive at atomic resolution. Here we present direct experimental evidence for non-destructive imaging of individual DNA molecules. In fact, we show that DNA withstands coherent low energy electron radiation with deBroglie wavelength in the Angstrom regime despite a vast dose of 10^8 electrons/nm^2 accumulated over more than one hour.
Aim: This paper aims to describe self-rated health (SRH) status among older adults in a rural community of Vietnam, and examine individual and household-level factors associated with good health rating among the study populations. Methods: The study was carried out in the Bavi district, a rural community located 60 km west of Hanoi, the capital, within the Epidemiological Field Laboratory of Bavi (FilaBavi) in Vietnam in 2006. All people aged 50 years and over who lived within the district were surveyed. Face-to-face household interviews were conducted by trained surveyors using standard World Health Organization/INDEPTH network questionnaire-summary version. A logistic multilevel modeling approach was applied to analyze the association between SRH and both individual and household-level f...
The biological half-life of "1"3"7Cs in the total body of human subjects was determined in 23 individuals of Japanese male adult in their normal works by measuring amount of "1"3"7Cs in both their total body and daily urine in the same period. For the group, the value was determined by averaging the half-lives for individuals, by comparing the mean body burden and the mean daily urinary excretion, or by applying a curve fitting method to the body burden estimate. The biological half-life averaged 86 days, ranging from 50 to 161 days. The averages of the biological half-lives for the group were 83, 87 and 82 days in the different periods of observation. By the curve fitting method, 85 days was found for the group. The biological half-life for the individuals depended on both body weight and age, to a lesser extent, of the subjects. (author).
The objective of this study was to develop full body CAD geometry of a seated 50th percentile male. Model development was based on medical image data acquired for this study, in conjunction with extensive data from the open literature. An individual (height, 174.9?cm, weight, 78.6???0.77?kg, and age 26?years) was enrolled in the study for a period of 4?months. 72 scans across three imaging modalities (CT, MRI, and upright MRI) were collected. The whole-body dataset contains 15,622 images. Over 300 individual components representing human anatomy were generated through segmentation. While the enrolled individual served as a template, segmented data were verified against, or augmented with, data from over 75 literature sources on the average morphology of the human body. Non-Uniform Rational...
ABSTRACT Purpose: There is a consensus in the community of dental research that the selection of undersized artificial maxillary anterior teeth offers an unnatural appearance to the denture. Several methods to select the adequate width of these teeth are of questionable validity, and many dentures have an obviously artificial appearance. This article assessed the relationship between the individual and the combined width of maxillary anterior teeth. Materials and Methods: Impressions were made of the anterior dentition of 69 dentate undergraduate students with rubber impression silicon, and casts were formed. The individual widths of the maxillary anterior teeth were measured by using a digital caliper (SC-6 digital caliper, Mitutoyo Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), and the combined width was r...
Summary Large body size hinders locomotor performance in ways that may lead to trade-offs in predator foraging ability that limit the net predatory benefit of larger size. For example, size-related improvements in handling prey may come at the expense of pursuing prey and thus negate any enhancement in overall predatory performance due to increasing size. This hypothesis was tested with longitudinal data from repeated observations of 94 individually known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park, USA. Wolf size was estimated from an individually based sex-specific growth model derived from body mass measurements of 304 wolves. Larger size granted individual wolves a net predatory advantage despite substantial variation in its effect on the performance ...
Individual photophysical parameters of the chromophore of a fluorescent protein mRFP1 and its two mutants (amino-acid substitution at position 66 - mRFP1/ Q66C and mRFP1/Q66S proteins) are determined. For this purpose, apart from conventional methods of fluorimetry and spectrophotometry, nonlinear laser fluorimetry is used. It is shown that the individual extinction coefficients of the chromophore of proteins correlate (correlation coefficient above 0.9) with the volume of the substituted amino-acid residue at position 66 (similar to the positions of the absorption, fluorescence excitation and emission maxima). (laser biology and medicine)
Abstract: In many biological processes heterogeneity within clonal cell populations is an important issue. One of the most striking examples is a population of cancer cells in which after a common, identical death signal some cells die whereas others survive. The reason for this heterogeneity is intrinsic and extrinsic noise. In this paper we present a mechanistic multi-scale modeling framework for cell populations, in which the dynamics of every individual cell is captured by a parameter dependent stochastic differential equation (SDE). Heterogeneity among individual cells is accounted for by differences in parameter values, modeling extrinsic influences. Based on the statistical properties of the extrinsic noise and the SDE model for the individual cell, a partial differential equation (...
Driving is a complex task that can be a significant challenge for individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A slight lapse in attention or inhibition while driving (not uncommon in individuals with ADHD) can result in hazardous consequences for these individuals and their families. This is also an interesting clinical scenario for the treating physician, who is always trying to optimize the various treatment options for the patient. Despite such potentially perilous consequences for society, this subject only recently has received researchers? attention. This review paper highlights the psychological differences between drivers with and without ADHD and examines differences between these groups in various driving simulation models. Research updates involving pharmac...
Social learning (learning through observation or interaction with other individuals) is widespread in nature and is central to the remarkable success of humanity, yet it remains unclear why...Full Text Available
Mating signals are often directed at numerous senses and provide information about species identity, gender, receptiveness, individual identity and mate quality. Given the diversity of colourful body...Full Text Available
BackgroundCongenital microcoria (CMC) is due to a maldevelopment of the dilator pupillae muscle of the iris, with a pupil diameter of less than 2 mm. It is associated with juvenile...Full Text Available
ObjectivesUse of prescription opioids for chronic pain is increasing, as is abuse of these medications, though the nature of the link between these trends is unclear....Full Text Available
HIV-1 nonsubtype B variants account for the majority of HIV infections worldwide. Drug resistance in individuals who have never undergone antiretroviral therapy can lead to early failure and...Full Text Available
While it has been established that microRNAs (miRNAs) play key roles throughout development and are dysregulated in many human pathologies, the specific processes and pathways regulated by individual...Full Text Available
Demographic and health surveillance (DS) systems monitor and document individual and group-level processes in well-defined populations over long periods of time. The resulting data are complex...Full Text Available
A community health survey of 438 individuals was taken to detect health problems related to high voltage electrical transmission among an adjacent residential population. Results revealed no significant...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE. This study examines variations in the efficient use of hospital resources across individual physicians. DATA SOURCES AND SETTING. The study is conducted over a two-year period (1989-1990)...Full Text Available
Chronically elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6) affects lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. Individuals genetically predisposed to higher IL-6 secretion may be at risk of dyslipidemia, especially during the...Full Text Available
Introduction:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem. It imparts a substantial economic burden on individuals and society. Acute exacerbations...Full Text Available
The University of North Carolina Comprehensive Pain Center, which has been in existence since 1972, is a pain evaluation, treatment and research program based upon individual diagnosis, comprehensive...Full Text Available
The clinical management of adults with low-grade gliomas (LGGs) remains a challenge. There is no curative treatment, and management of individual patients is a matter of deciding optimal timing as well...Full Text Available
The fungal pathogen Candida albicans is one of the leading causative agents of death in immunocompromised individuals. It harbors an arsenal of cell wall anchored factors that are implicated...Full Text Available
BackgroundPatients’ general tendency to adhere to health care provider-recommended treatments is associated with a number of health outcomes, but whether it influences pain...Full Text Available
The ice cover in high mountain lakes breaks up and disappears in about an hour, in part because it has been divided into fragile vertical spindles, which are individual crystals. Contributing to this...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe variety of ways in which faces are categorized makes face recognition challenging for both synthetic and biological vision systems. Here we focus on two face processing...Full Text Available
AbstractIndividual informed consent is a key ethical obligation for clinical studies, but empirical studies show that key requirements are often not met. Common recommendations to strengthen...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe molecular mechanisms of variations in individual longevity are not well understood, even though longevity can be increased substantially by means of diverse experimental...Full Text Available
Current concepts of the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis suggest that the expanded numbers of activated T-helper/inducer cells at sites of disease activity result, at least in part, from their proliferation...Full Text Available
This article examines social stratification in individual health trajectories for multiple cohorts in the context of China’s dramatically changing macro-social environment. Using data...Full Text Available
Significant asymptomatic bacteriuria is a risk factor for symptomatic urinary infection and septicemia among predisposed individuals such as diabetics. We investigated the pattern of asymptomatic bacteriuria...Full Text Available
Sexual conflict is a conflict between the evolutionary interests of individuals of the two sexes. The sexes can have different trait optima but this need not imply conflict if their optima can be attained...Full Text Available
How an individual’s sex and genetic background modify cardiac adaptation to increased workload is a topic of great interest. We systematically evaluated morphological and physiological...Full Text Available
BackgroundSeverely disabling chronic pain in the adult population is strongly associated with a range of negative health consequences for individuals and high health care costs,...Full Text Available
This report for the month of June 1995 presents information on the typical topics of tritium processing, environmental studies, waste management issues, and miscellaneous projects. The document consists many small reports by individuals or small groups.
The classic evolutionary theory of aging explains why mortality rises with age: as individuals grow older, less lifetime fertility remains, so continued survival contributes less to reproductive fitness....Full Text Available
Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) often exhibit impaired executive function, particularly in experimental tasks that involve response conflict and require adaptive behavioral...Full Text Available
It has been suggested that individual recognition based on song may be constrained by repertoire size in songbirds with very large song repertoires. This hypothesis has been difficult to test...Full Text Available
While making economic choices, individuals assign subjective values to the available options. Values computed in different behavioral conditions, however, can vary substantially. The same person...Full Text Available
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
The paper reviews the main observational data on pulsars, both the individual characteristics of pulsars and the properties they possess as members of the Galaxy. Consideration is then given to pulsar ages and to pulsar initial periods. An attempt is made to clarify the 'true' ages of pulsars.
Forty species of anaerobes were screened for the ability to produce an ether-extractable mutagen which is present in the feces of 15 to 20% of individuals in populations at high risk for colon cancer....Full Text Available
Medical treatment of heroin addiction with methadone and other pharmacotherapies has important benefits for individuals and society. However, regulatory policies have separated this treatment from the...Full Text Available
In terms of managing thrombotic disorders, genotype-based individualized patient care emerged as early as 1994 when the association of factor V Leiden (G1691A), and later, prothrombin (G20210A),...Full Text Available
Diseases of man caused by the virus of herpes simplex fall into two broad categories. The primary disease occurs only once in any individual's life and is caused by transmission of virus from an already...Full Text Available
The analysis of individual molecules is evolving into an important tool for biological research, and presents conceptually new ways of approaching experimental design strategies. However, more...Full Text Available
Pain and pain-related interference with physical function have not been thoroughly studied in individuals who have undergone knee-disarticulation amputations. The principal aim of this study...Full Text Available
Sewage waste disposal facilities in the Florida Keys include septic tanks and individual package plants in place of municipal collection facilities in most locations. In Key Largo, both facilities discharge...Full Text Available
The in vitro response of melatonin synthesis was assessed by incubation of individual whole pineal glands for 4 hr without or with different concentrations of isoproterenol in the medium. Pineals were taken either at the end of the 14-hr light phase (day)...
The number of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in individual nuclei of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was determined by computer-aided reconstruction of entire nuclei from electron...Full Text Available
...Quality = $290,604 to improve permit compliance and appropriate preservation of wetlands by providing a spatial dataset to locate individual wetland permits on a property using high resolution imagery within specific regions of Virginia; this data set will be compared with the permit Comprehensive Environmental Database System that is currently used ...
BackgroundIndividuals living in malaria endemic areas generally harbour multiple parasite strains. Multiplicity of infection (MOI) can be an indicator of immune status. However,...Full Text Available
A number of studies have examined the functional roles of individual muscles during normal walking, but few studies have examined which are the primary muscles that respond to changes in external...Full Text Available
Method for description of X-ray radiation dose distribution based on semiempirical description of dose fields is suggested. At that dose field description parameters can be easily individualized for concrete X-ray device.
Equipped with terahertz sensors, the Aura mission will see far more ... We introduce you to a few amazing individuals, all sharing the dubious title of rocket scientist . And a ..... similar thing happens with incoming light. Astronomers call it the ...
BackgroundA key question in the risk assessment of exposures to multiple chemicals is whether mixture effects may occur when chemicals are combined at low doses which individually...Full Text Available
Retinal degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis, are a leading cause of untreatable blindness with substantive impact on the quality of life of affected individuals...Full Text Available
IntroductionThe presence of erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction may indicate physical problems; however, individual perceptions (e.g., sexual satisfaction) may reflect...Full Text Available
A short survey of the energy situation in Iran is given with the aid of some interesting figures. Following remarks on the national and international energy policy, the developments regarding individual energy sources and electricity production are described.
Segments of the chick basilar papilla were isolated and maintained in culture medium. The sensory hair bundle of individual hair cells was observed with light microscopy and stimulated with a water...Full Text Available
Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) allows researchers to determine the genome-wide binding locations of individual transcription factors (TFs) at high resolution....Full Text Available
BackgroundIn retrospective studies of the health effects of home and garden pesticides, self-reported information typically forms the basis for exposure assessment. Study participants...Full Text Available
While levels of weight bias vary among individuals, it is not clear why one person possesses stronger anti-fat attitudes than another person. This investigation examined whether individual differences commonly associated with greater anti-fat bias are also associated with a greater preference for thinness among people of varying levels of weight. Young adults (62% women; 84% Caucasian) recruited from psychology classes (N=308) rated four male and female figures with approximate BMIs of 18.5, 25, 30, and 40, on measures of dislike and personality characteristics and completed measures assessing weight controllability, attitudes toward the obese, and perceptual reliance. Greater negative attitudes, weight controllability beliefs, and perceptual reliance were positively associated with greater dislike and negative personality attributes among obese/severely obese figures, but inversely related among low normal weight figures. ...
BackgroundMuch of our current understanding of the epidemiology of Ascaris lumbricoides infections in humans has been acquired by analyzing worm count data. These...Full Text Available
SummaryMycobacterium tuberculosis has 10 universal stress proteins, whose function is unknown. However, proteomic and transcriptomic analyses have shown that a number...Full Text Available
Research programs, presented at the contractor's review meeting on indirect liquefaction, are presented on the following topics: oxygenates (methanol) synthesis; Fischer-Tropsch synthesis; product upgrading; and process support engineering evaluations. A total of 18 reports are included. Individual projects are processed separately for the data bases. (CBS)
This volume contains the proceedings of a symposium entitled In Vivo Imaging of Neurotransmitter Function in Brain, Heart, and Tumors'' held August 24--25, 1990 in Montreal Canada. The six individual papers contained herein are separately abstracted and indexed for the database.
BackgroundThe prevalence of tobacco use among individuals with mental illness remains a serious public health concern. Tobacco control has received little attention in community...Full Text Available
Life history theory proposes that early-life cues induce highly integrated responses in traits associated with energy partitioning, maturation, reproduction, and aging such that the individual phenotype...Full Text Available
BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) substantially increases the risk of ischemic stroke but this risk varies among individual patients with AF. Existing risk stratification...Full Text Available
The full impact of secondary stigma (stigma directed at family) on an HIV-positive individual is unknown. This qualitative research explores perceptions of secondary stigma in the Vietnamese...Full Text Available
In the State Laboratory of North Rhine-Westphalia for Food, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Chemistry (Chemisches Landesuntersuchungsamt), more than 600 individual human milk samples have been analyzed...Full Text Available
The compromised abilities to localize sounds and to understand speech are two hallmark deficits in aged individuals. The auditory cortex is necessary for these processes, yet we know little...Full Text Available
Emissions of sulphur and nitrogen oxides are continuing to fall in Europe but rise in Asia, according to calculations based on individual countries' predictions of economic development. The upward trend is slower than in previous predictions. 2 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.
DNA from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 17 different individuals infected with human T-cell lymphoma/leukemia virus type II (HTLV-II) was successfully amplified by the polymerase chain reaction...Full Text Available
Concern is building about high rates of schizophrenia in large cities, and among immigrants, cannabis users, and traumatized individuals, some of which likely reflects the causal influence of environmental...Full Text Available
BackgroundAlthough ivermectin is distributed free of charge through the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), not all eligible individuals within communities receive...Full Text Available
ObjectiveTo examine the role of first trimester bacterial vaginosis (BV) and level of BV-associated microorganisms diagnosed using the Nugent’s Gram stain...Full Text Available
BackgroundA goal of human genetics is to discover genetic factors that influence individuals' susceptibility to common diseases. Most common diseases are thought to result from the...Full Text Available
Antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) are found in a variety of collagen vascular diseases. Determining the individual specificities of these antibodies is extremely useful in establishing...Full Text Available
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
Both deficiency and excess of growth hormone (GH) are associated with increased mortality and morbidity. GH replacement in otherwise healthy subjects leads to complications, whereas individuals with...Full Text Available
Chemoprevention strategies to prevent the development of lung cancer in at-risk individuals are a key component in disease management. In addition to being highly effective, an ideal chemopreventive...Full Text Available
Air pollution abatement measures are not an end in themselves, and undesirable side effects should be taken into account. The proposed emission index takes into account the total emissions caused by a technical project as well as the effects of the individual pollutants.
IntroductionRadiotherapy outcomes might be further improved by a greater understanding of the individual variations in normal tissue reactions that determine tolerance. Most published...Full Text Available
Research programs on coal liquefaction are presented. Major topics include: coprocessing, two-stage liquefaction, low severity liquefaction, coal/catalyst and liquefaction chemistry. Individual projects are processed separately for the data bases. (CBS)
Research programs, presented at the contractor's review meeting on direct liquefaction, are presented under the following topics: two-stage liquefaction; coprocessing; and advanced research on coal liquefaction. A total of 20 reports are included. Individual projects are processed separately for the data bases. (CBS)
BackgroundStudies conducted in developed countries using economic models show that individual- and household- level variables are important determinants of health insurance ownership....Full Text Available
BackgroundLung volume reduction surgery is effective at improving lung function, quality of life, and mortality in carefully selected individuals with advanced emphysema. Recently,...Full Text Available
Carney-Stratakis syndrome, an inherited condition predisposing affected individuals to gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and paraganglioma, is caused by germline mutations in succinate dehydrogenase...Full Text Available
Accurate prediction of the pathogenic effects of specific genotypes is important for the design and execution of clinical trials as well as for meaningful counseling of individual patients. However,...Full Text Available
BackgroundManagement of nightlife in UK cities focuses on creating safe places for individuals to drink. Little is known about intoxication levels as measuring total alcohol consumption...Full Text Available
Nuclear transfer (NT) is a procedure by which genetically identical individuals can be created. The technology of pig somatic NT, including in vitro maturation of oocytes, isolation and treatment of...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn classical mathematical epidemiology, individuals do not adapt their contact behavior during epidemics. They do not endogenously engage, for example, in social distancing...Full Text Available
BackgroundThere is a dearth of data relating UK general practice workload to personal and social markers of individual patients.AimTo test whether there is a significant association...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn animal groups such as herds, schools, and flocks, a certain distance is maintained between adjacent individuals, allowing them to move as a cohesive unit. Proximate...Full Text Available
The objectives of this study were to characterize the changes of VOC material emission profiles over time and develop a method to account for such changes in order to enhance a source identification technique that is based on the measurements of mixed air samples and the emission signatures of individual building materials determined by PTRMS. Source models, including powerlaw model, doubleexponential decay model and mechanistic diffusion model, were employed to track the change of individual material emission signatures by PTRMS over a ninemonth period. Samples of nine typical building materials were tested individually for nine months and later in combination to obtain actual mixture emissions. VOC emissions from each material were measured in a 50liter smallscale chamber. Chamber air was sampled by PTRMS over a 28day period to determine their emission rate decay characteristics as well as to establish the initial profile ...
The report provides and overview of calculation models for the simulation of airflows and deals comprehensively with field and multi-zone models as well as the coupling of individual zone and multi-zone models. Examples of calculations are given. figs., tabs., refs.
Johne disease, caused by Mycobacterium avium, subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is becoming increasingly widespread on dairy farms worldwide, due in part, to the absence...Full Text Available
BackgroundComplex situations that follow war and natural disasters have a psychosocial impact on not only the individual but also on the family, community and society. Just as the...Full Text Available
Psychopathic individuals are generally unresponsive to motivational and emotional cues that facilitate behavioral regulation. A putative mechanism for this deficiency is Gray’s (1971)...Full Text Available
Results of feasibility experiments for determining the mineral content of individual stains on special Sensitized Paper are presented. The stains were formed on the paper by the impaction of laboratory generated salt water droplets. Of the techniques exam...
The use of cementless threaded cups in THA is a well-established treatment. Fractures of the cups are rare complications recorded in individual cases with material defects being discussed as the primary...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe occurrence of diabetes has greatly increased in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Asia, as has the prevalence of overweight and obesity; in European-derived...Full Text Available
The tendency for some individuals to partake in high-risk behaviors (eg, substance abuse, gambling, risky sexual activities) is a matter of great public health concern, yet the characteristics and neural...Full Text Available
In Iran, microscopic examination of skin scrapings from 2202 individuals with clinically diagnosed cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) lesions revealed the presence of amastigotes in 1123 cases (51.0%). Bacteriological...Full Text Available
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
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
Validation of body-mass relationships requires a careful statistical analysis of data of normal weight individuals. BMI (ratio between body mass and square of body height) and BSI values (ratio between...Full Text Available
Numerous epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated that individuals who eat more fruits and vegetables (which are rich in carotenoids) and who have higher serum β-carotene levels...Full Text Available
Signatures of natural selection occur throughout the human genome and can be detected at the sequence level. We have re-sequenced ABCE1, a host candidate gene essential for...Full Text Available
ContextWhile opioids are increasingly used for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP), we know little about opioid dosing patterns among individuals with CNCP in usual care...Full Text Available
Decreased cognitive performance reduces independence and quality of life for aging individuals. Healthy brain aging does not involve significant neuronal loss, but little is known about the...Full Text Available
Even in healthy individuals, aging leads to deterioration in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, visual field, and dark adaptation. Little is known about the neural mechanisms that drive the...Full Text Available
Objectives.To understand how “cumulative inequality” (CI), expressed as individual advantage and choice, and “external social supports” contribute...Full Text Available
We describe the Phase II HapMap, which characterizes over 3.1 million human single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in 270 individuals from four geographically diverse populations and...Full Text Available
The sequences of the peptide binding domains of 33 70 kd heat shock proteins (hsp70) have been aligned and a consensus secondary structure has been deduced. Individual members showed no significant...Full Text Available
BackgroundTraffic injuries can cause physical, psychological, and economical impairment, and affected individuals may also experience shortcomings in their post-accident care and...Full Text Available
ObjectiveMaintaining weight loss is a major challenge in obesity treatment. Individuals often indicate that waning motivation prompts cessation of effective weight...Full Text Available
Structural variants which cause changes in copy numbers constitute an important component of genomic variability. They account for 0.7% of genomic differences in two individual genomes, of which...Full Text Available
"The focus of this study was to examine the structural, social, and attitudinal factors that influence an individual?s decision to choose an IT career. The findings revealed many differences among male and female high school students? attitudes and intentions. Although many stereotypes existed among the male and female students, perceptions appeared to be similar within the population. For boys, computer and technical skills had a stronger association with attitudes toward IT than for girls. For girls, social issues showed a strong association with attitudes toward IT. Overall, the intention to pursue IT as a career was most likely to prevail within the population of the high school boys."
Search engine researchers typically depict search as the solitary activity of an individual searcher. In contrast, results from our critical-incident survey of 150 users on Amazon's Mechanical Turk service suggest that social interactions play an important role throughout the search process. Our main contribution is that we have integrated models from previous work in sensemaking and information seeking behavior to present a canonical social model of user activities before, during, and after search, suggesting where in the search process even implicitly shared information may be valuable to individual searchers.
The determinants of the velocity of money have been examined based on life-cycle hypothesis. The velocity of money can be expressed by reciprocal of the average value of holding time which is defined as interval between participating exchanges for one unit of money. This expression indicates that the velocity is governed by behavior patterns of economic agents and open a way to constructing micro-foundation of it. It is found that time pattern of income and expense for a representative individual can be obtained from a simple version of life-cycle model, and average holding time of money resulted from the individual's optimal choice depends on the expected length of relevant planning periods.
The discussion focuses on the ways in which the 3 panelists in their lives and work embody fourth wave feminism, which combines politics, psychology, and spirituality in an overarching vision of change. Jane Fonda's emphasis on the importance of making narratives of gender a central organizer for personal and societal transformation, Hedda Bolgar's insistence that psychoanalysts recognize the complex dialectic between unconscious dynamics and sociocultural realities in order not to conflate conflicts rooted in social inequalities with individual issues, and Sue Shapiro's understanding of the ambiguous role of individual therapy in situations of historical and social trauma such as the tsunami in Indonesia are all examples of fourth wave feminism in practice. The unfinished business of the ...
Transdifferentiation of an individual's own cells into functional differentiated cells to replace an organ's lost function would be a personalized approach to therapeutics. In this two part series, we will describe the progress toward establishing functional transdifferentiated adrenal cortical cells. In this article (Part 2), we describe the disorders of the adrenal cortex, therefore establishing why there is the need for personalized cell-based therapy for individuals with these disorders. We then present our pilot studies of cell transdifferentiation toward an adrenal cortical fate using genes described in the first article of this pair (Part 1).
The importance of radiation management for nuclear facilities including nuclear power plants has increased as the general public understanding has progressed, and necessary information for management must be processed exactly and quickly. In nuclear power plants, radiation management is performed by each individual operation, and collected information is managed by the system of each operation. The distributed-processing radiation management system has been developed aiming to use a general-purpose LAN and make quick and efficient use of information managed by individual operations. This paper describes the system configuration and functions. (author)
The conceptual design of the support structures of the EM muon chambers is presented. On each side of the detector the EM chambers are arranged in four layers: one layer of MDTs and the three layers of TGCs. The chambers are mounted on four individual wheel structures per side. The four wheels are inclined by 1.23% and suspended from two longitudinal beams parallel to the beam axis. In order to allow for the opening of the ATLAS detector the wheels can be displaced longitudinally over a distance of 6 m. In addition individual wheels can be separated from each other by up to 1 m for maintenance purposes.
The compressive and torsional buckling behavior of carbon nanotube bundles at room temperature is examined with classical molecular dynamics simulation. The critical compressive load and stiffness of a single carbon nanotube in the bundle are found to be similar to those of individual carbon nanotubes. However, the critical torsional moment and stiffness of a single carbon nanotube in the bundle are found to be higher than those of individual carbon nanotubes. In addition, this study demonstrates that van der Waals interactions between the nanotubes in the bundle significantly affect the critical compressive load of the nanotube bundle.
Abstract The white sea bream, Diplodus sargus (Teleostei, Sparidae), is a species with a high commercial importance in Mediterranean aquaculture. There is currently little information available about the genetic characteristics of cultured populations. In this survey, we have developed eight polymorphic microsatellites for the white sea bream using an enriched genome library protocol. All of them were polymorphic in the 67 individuals tested, 32 of which were wild specimens, and 35 were individuals from a captive F1 broodstock. These markers can potentially be useful tools for use in population genetic studies.
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.
This report describes an improved method of remotely identifying irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies. The method uses existing in-cell TV cameras to input an image of the notch-coded top of the fuel assemblies into a computer vision system, which then produces the identifying number for that assembly. This system replaces systems that use either a mechanical mechanism to feel the notches or use human operators to locate notches visually. The system was developed for identifying fuel assemblies from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) and the Clinch River Breeder Reactor, but could be used for other reactor assembly identification, as appropriate.
Timber Compartment Boundary This data set identifies the 90 timber compartment boundaries in a 200 square-mile study ... Kawishiwi Ranger Districts, Superior National ...
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
Though notes in electronic medical record systems (EMRs) have advantages, they are often criticized for their unattractive and unprofessional appearance. We sought to identify notes regarded by physicians...Full Text Available
... that operated in Pakistan, Dubai, and throughout the Middle East ... identifies 'funds' as one of eight major terrorist ... techniques, and procedures (TTP). ...
AbstractObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence and identify the determinants of non-prescription use of antibiotics for children in Mongolia.MethodsA...Full Text Available
BackgroundTo identify the differential tuberculosis (TB) characteristics within the immigrant population with respect to natives in Spain.Methodology/Principal...Full Text Available
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.
AIM: To analyze the contribution of Orvosi Hetilap (Hungarian Medical Journal) to the field of gastroenterology.METHODS: All issues of the journal between 1857 and 2008 and identified...Full Text Available
... The variogram analysis of the high resolution imagery has shown that although more spatial scales have been identified than from the SPOT image ...
A strain of Pseudomonas syringae was recently identified as the cause of a new foliar blight of impatiens. The bacterium was resistant to copper compounds, which are used on a variety...Full Text Available
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
PurposeTo identify the extent of persistence (period of time of continuous therapy with the drug prescribed) of glaucoma patients treated with prostaglandins (latanoprost, bimatoprost,...Full Text Available
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...
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
The general methods used to complete measurements of human exposures are identified and illustrations are provided for the cases of indirect and direct methods used for exposure analysis. The application...Full Text Available
Objectives. The purposes of this study were to test the hypothesis that vaginal douching is linked to bacterial vaginosis in both symptomatic and asymptomatic women and to identify...Full Text Available
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.
This exploratory research paper investigated the coping strategies of families of hospitalized psychiatric patients and identified their positive and negative coping strategies. In this paper, the coping...Full Text Available
BackgroundA mycovirus previously identified in brown discolored fruiting bodies of the cultivated mushroom Flammulina velutipes was characterized. We tentatively...Full Text Available
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...
Pathways of salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis and metabolism in tobacco have been recently identified. SA, an endogenous regulator of disease resistance, is a product of phenylpropanoid metabolism formed...Full Text Available
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
Alpha-toxin, the major cytotoxic agent elaborated by Staphylococcus aureus, was the first bacterial exotoxin to be identified as a pore former. The protein is secreted as a single-chain, water-soluble...Full Text Available
...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...
We present a sample preparation method for measuring magnesium in individual whole lymphocytes by electron probe X-ray microanalysis. We use Burkitt's lymphoma cells in culture as the test sample and compare X-ray microanalysis of individual cells with atomic absorption analysis of pooled cell populations. We determine the magnesium peak-to-local continuum X-ray intensity ratio by electron probe X-ray microanalysis and calculate a mean cell magnesium concentration of 39 +/- 19 mmol/kg dry weight from analysis of 100 cells. We determine a mean cell magnesium concentration of 34 +/- 4 mmol/kg dry weight by atomic absorption analysis of pooled cells in three cell cultures. The mean cell magnesium concentrations determined by the two methods are not significantly different. We find a 10% coefficient of variation for both methods of analysis and a 30% coefficient of variation in magnesium concentration among individual cells by ...
We present a sample preparation method for measuring magnesium in individual whole lymphocytes by electron probe X-ray microanalysis. We use Burkitt's lymphoma cells in culture as the test sample and compare X-ray microanalysis of individual cells with atomic absorption analysis of pooled cell populations. We determine the magnesium peak-to-local continuum X-ray intensity ratio by electron probe X-ray microanalysis and calculate a mean cell magnesium concentration of 39 +- 19 mmol/kg dry weight from analysis of 100 cells. We determine a mean cell magnesium concentration of 34 +- 4 mmol/kg dry weight by atomic absorption analysis of pooled cells in three cell cultures. The mean cell magnesium concentrations determined by the two methods are not significantly different. We find a 10% coefficient of variation for both methods of analysis and a 30% coefficient of variation in magnesium concentration among individual cells by ...
The pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) consists of horizontal calandria vessel containing a large number of pressure tubes (fuel channels) connected to the reactor inlet and outlet headers by individual feeders. Coolant flow distribution among the pressure tubes play a vital role in extraction of thermal power. For these reactors one of the design objectives is to achieve uniform coolant outlet temperatures by providing coolant flows according to the channel power. This is achieved by the design process known as feeder sizing. This basically consists of accounting for the individual channel power and centre line geometry of individual feeder and iteratively adjusting the feeder hydraulic resistances within the design constraints such as limiting flow velocities, channel flows. Recently, the first unit of 540 MWe i.e Tarapur Atomic Power Project (unit 4) has been commissioned. This paper discusses the verification of the ...
Safety assessments for clearance of H-beam and valves, main radioactive metal wastes in Kori nuclear power plants, were carried out to derivate a decontamination factor for satisfying the dose limits of clearance level (Maximum individual dose: 10 {mu}Sv/y, collective dose: 1 man{center_dot}Sv/y) in Korea. Maximum individual dose and collective dose were evaluated by internal dose conversion factor which based on the concept of effective dose in ICRP publication 60. The results of maximum individual dose and collective dose is 139 {mu}Sv per year and 0.166 man{center_dot}Sv per year about H-beam, and 158 {mu}Sv per year and 0.468 man{center_dot}Sv per year about valves respectively. Demand decontamination factor satisfied with, which is respectively more than 13.9 and 15.8 for satisfying clearance level.
Safety assessments for clearance of H-beam and valves, main radioactive metal wastes in Kori nuclear power plants, were carried out to derivate a decontamination factor for satisfying the dose limits of clearance level (Maximum individual dose: 10 #mu#Sv/y, collective dose: 1 man#centre dot#Sv/y) in Korea. Maximum individual dose and collective dose were evaluated by internal dose conversion factor which based on the concept of effective dose in ICRP publication 60. The results of maximum individual dose and collective dose is 139 #mu#Sv per year and 0.166 man#centre dot#Sv per year about H-beam, and 158 #mu#Sv per year and 0.468 man#centre dot#Sv per year about valves respectively. Demand decontamination factor satisfied with, which is respectively more than 13.9 and 15.8 for satisfying clearance level.
Individual monitoring of personal exposure to inhalation of uranium oxides throughout the manufacture of fuel for pressurized water reactor (PWR) includes lung gamma-spectrometry, fecal analysis and urine analysis. Examination of the results shows the following: internal exposure is the consequence of repeated intake incidents as revealed by early peaks of urinary and particularly fecal elimination; a shift is often observed with the results of aerosol concentration measured through air collectors; the measured variations of uranium lung incorporations are relatively fast (apparent mean period 165 d). Correct evaluation of the effective dose equivalent from inhalation requires further information concerning the aerosol size distribution at work stations, the physico-chemical characteristics of the product leading to an estimate of its actual biological solubility, and the measurement of the fraction of aerosol liable to intake with an ...
Preschool-age children hold negative attitudes toward overweight peers (i.e., anti-fat attitudes), but little is known about individual differences in these attitudes. The current study investigated actual weight status and perceived body size in relation to preschool-age children's anti-fat attitudes. Sixty-nine 4-6 year-olds (61% girls) were individually interviewed about their body size perceptions using a figure rating scale and anti-fat attitudes using multiple methods (including an adjective rating scale and ratings of acceptability for different body shapes). Results suggested that children's perceived body size, not actual body size, was related to their attitudes about an overweight figure and the number of figures rated as acceptable. Children who perceived themselves as heavier held fewer anti-fat attitudes. Perceived and actual body size ratings were not related to ratings of a thin figure. This study suggests the importance of ...
A technique has been developed for high resolution alpha particle spectroscopy from track length determination in CR-39 plastic. On individual tracks an energy resolution deltaE close to the range straggling limit is obtainable. For 6 MeV alpha-particle deltaE is proportional 35 keV on individual particles and for groups of particles deltaE proportional 20 keV can be achieved using certain data selection criteria. At 100 keV on individual particles deltaE is proportional 20 keV. The analysis requires 1) a knowledge of the track-etch rate (Vsub(T))-range relationship and 2) a theoretical understanding of alpha-particle track structure in CR-39 as a function of particle energy, dip angle and degree of etching. The structure of alpha-particle etched tracks in CR-39 is described and two methods of analysis discussed. Examples are given of the resolution attainable on tracks of alpha-particles as natural decay energy and from ...
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) operates a number of research and development (R and D) facilities for the Department of Energy on the Hanford Site. According to DOE Order 5400.1, a Facility Effluent Monitoring Plan is required for each site, facility, or process that uses, generates, releases, or manages significant pollutants or hazardous materials. Three of the R and D facilities: the 325, 331, and 3720 Buildings, are considered major emission points for radionuclide air sampling and thus individual Facility Effluent Monitoring Plans (FEMPs) have been developed for them. Because no definition of ''significant'' is provided in DOE Order 5400.1 or the accompanying regulatory guide DOE/EH-0173T, this FEMP was developed to describe monitoring requirements in the DOE-owned, PNNL-operated facilities that do not have individual FEMPs. The remainder of the DOE-owned, PNNL-operated facilities are ...
A contamination event in a water distribution system can result in adverse health impacts to individuals consuming contaminated water from the system. Assessing impacts to such consumers requires accounting for the timing of exposures of individuals to tap-water contaminants that have time-varying concentrations. Here we present a probabilistic model for the timing of ingestion of tap water that we developed for use in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Threat Ensemble Vulnerability Assessment and Sensor Placement Tool, which is designed to perform consequence assessments for contamination events in water distribution systems. We also present a statistical analysis of the timing of ingestion activity using data collected by the American Time Use Survey. The results of the analysis provide the basis for our model, which accounts for individual variability in ingestion timing and provides a series of ...
It has recently been found that many buildings in Taiwan were constructed with radioactively contaminated rebar, which raised great concern among the residents as well as governmental officials. In order to investigate the possible cytogenetic damage to the residents of contaminated buildings, a G-banding method was carried out on the lymphocytes of 30 radiation-exposed individuals from four families and one office building, as well as 15 control individuals from laboratory personnel. The estimated cumulative radiation doses for the exposed people range from 19.63 to 280.50 mSv. Altogether, 13 females and 17 males belonging to the radiation-exposed group, and 7 females and 8 males in the control group, were included in this study. With the exception of one sample, at least 500 metaphase spreads were scored and analyzed for each individual. All the recognizable structural aberrations of chromosomes or chromatids were ...
It has recently been found that many buildings in Taiwan were constructed with radioactively contaminated rebar, which raised great concern among the residents as well as governmental officials. In order to investigate the possible cytogenetic damage to the residents of contaminated buildings, a G-banding method was carried out on the lymphocytes of 30 radiation-exposed individuals from four families and one office building, as well as 15 control individuals from laboratory personnel. The estimated cumulative radiation doses for the exposed people range from 19.63 to 280.50 mSv. Altogether, 13 females and 17 males belonging to the radiation-exposed group, and 7 females and 8 males in the control group, were included in this study. With the exception of one sample, at least 500 metaphase spreads were scored and analyzed for each individual. All the recognizable structural aberrations of chromosomes or chromatids were ...
We introduce the notion of watching systems in graphs, which is a generalization of that of identifying codes. We give some basic properties of watching systems, an upper bound on the minimum size of a watching system, and results on the graphs which achieve this bound; we also study the cases of the paths and cycles, and give complexity results.
Due to the large number of chemicals in commerce without adequate toxicity characterization data, coupled with an ineffective federal policy for chemical management in the United States, many states are grappling with the challenge to identify toxic chemicals that may pose a risk to human health and the environment. Specific populations (e.g., children, elderly) are particularly sensitive to these toxic chemicals. In 2008, the Children's Safe Product Act (CSPA) was passed in Washington State. The CSPA included specific requirements to identify High Priority Chemicals (HPCs) and Chemicals of High Concern to Children (CHCCs). To implement this legislation, a methodology was developed to identify HPCs from authoritative scientific and regulatory sources on the basis of toxicity criteria. Another set of chemicals of concern was then identified from authoritative sources, based on their potential exposure to ...
Defects in mismatch repair genes cause the genetic instability characteristic of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer and a subset of sporadic colon tumors. The newest member of the mismatch repair gene family, GTBP, has recently been identified as a partial cDNA. Here, we describe the isolation of its 5{prime} terminus, allowing definition of the entire coding region. Several polymorphisms within the 5{prime} end were identified and are presented. 13 refs., 1 fig.
A new study identifies and ranks the 10 security gaps responsible for most outsider attacks on college computer networks. The list is intended to help campus system administrators establish priorities as they work to increase security. One network security expert urges that institutions utilize multiple security layers. (DB)
Twenty-six unclassified Campylobacter-like strains previously isolated from 15 chicken carcasses and caecal contents, together with two more strains isolated from chicken faeces on a different occasion, were identified as Helicobacter pullorum using various phenotypic identification methods. API Campy identification kits and a 16-test identification scheme developed for campylobacters failed to identify these bacteria, or identified them as Campylobacter spp. Eighteen strains (including the two isolated on a different occasion) were chosen for examination using a more comprehensive probabilistic identification scheme. Using this method, 14 of the 18 strains were identified as H. pullorum with ID scores > 95%; two strains were also identified as H. pullorum with lower ID scores. Of the remaining two strains, one was not identified with this scheme and the ...
Laboratory-based surveillance of Lyme disease in Connecticut during 1984 and 1985 identified 3,098 persons with suspected Lyme disease; 1,149 were defined as cases. Lyme disease incidence in Connecticut...Full Text Available
The motivation for this design study has been to identify magnet designs for useful magnetic fusion experiments which minimize capital cost. Some possibly useful novel design features have been identified. 5 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.
The objective of this work was to identify methods of improving the performance of gas-fired radiant burners through the use of Continuous Fiber Ceramic Composites (CFCCs). Methods have been identified to improve the price and performance characteristics of the porous surface burner. Results are described.
Objectives This paper examines the determinants of the insureds decision to use their health insurance card when seeking outpatient and inpatient health care in Vietnam. Methods Uses Vietnams latest Household Living Standard Survey data and random-intercept logistic regression to assess the influence of the observed individual, household and commune/ward factors on the insureds decision to access health insurance benefits while controlling for the unobserved commune/ward-specific factors. Results Compared to the compulsory enrollees, the voluntary enrollees and the beneficiaries of the Health Care Fund for the Poor are less likely to use their card when seeking inpatient care. An individuals likelihood of accessing insurance benefits varies inversely with income and the level of education,...
In this article based on extensive ethnographic interviewing of eighty-six Japanese adults, I analyze the different ways in which they understand life after death, and consider the societal implications of their views. I examine senses of life after death as based in communion with departed family members as linked to practices of ancestor veneration and ideologies of Japaneseness. I consider heaven/hell or reincarnation as linked, through the idea of impartial judgment of the individual, to meritocracy and the examination system. I examine agnosticism and relativism in senses of life after death as linked to the idea that individual freedom of choice may exist in the next world if not necessarily within the constraints of this Japanese world. I examine disbelief in any realm beyond the gr...
Woven Kevlar fabrics exhibit a number of beneficial mechanical properties which include strength, flexibility, and relatively low density. The desire to engineer or design Kevlar fabrics for specific applications has stimulated interest in the development of theoretical models which relate their effective mechanical properties to specific aspects of the fabric morphology and microstructure. In this work the author provides a theoretical investigation of the large deformation elastic response of a plane woven Kevlar fabric and compares these theoretical results with experimental data obtained from uniaxially loaded Kevlar fabrics. The theoretical analysis assumes the woven fabric to be a regular network of orthogonal interlaced yarns and the individual yarns are modeled as extensible elastica, thus coupling stretching and bending effects at the outset. This comparison of experiment with theory indicates that the deformation of woven fabric can be quite accurately ...
Individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) have problems in following conversation, especially in the situations where several people are talking. This might result from impairments in audiovisual speech perception, especially from difficulties in focusing attention to speech-relevant visual information and ignoring distracting information. We studied the effect of visual spatial attention on the audiovisual speech perception of adult individuals with AS and matched control participants. Two faces were presented side by side, one uttering /aka/ and the other /ata/, while an auditory stimulus of /apa/ was played. The participants fixated on a central cross and directed their attention to the face that an arrow pointed to, reporting which consonant they heard. We hypothesized that the adults wi...
Identity is one of the most important matters in social theory, especially in recent decades. Identity is a fluid phenomenon which forms in the process of every day activities. Individuals get practical knowledge of society to do intentional practices. They operate actively in identitizing process. Gender identity is one of important dimensions of individual identities constituting in social relations to others. Different socio-economic classes experience different social relations and engage in different identity processes. This research studies the formation process of feminine identity in the process of marriage (in contrast with the concept of virginity) in lower socio-economic classes of Bam. Body as site of identity and focus of close contact between agency and structure becomes the ...
In defining criteria for good protection against ionizing radiation, it is important to assess quantitatively the likely risk of any radiation exposure. The 'somatic' risks to the individual result mainly from induction of cancer in the organs irradiated, and these risks can now be estimated on the basis of numerous detailed epidemiological surveys of exposed human populations. Estimates of the risk of hereditary effects, from genetic changes induced in germ cells, are based largely on the frequency with which such effects are induced in other species. In both cases the risk at very low dose can be inferred using knowledge of the way in which radiation damage is caused in tissues. Coherent systems of radiation protection are based on a restriction of doses to the whole body and to individual organs, such that the induction of cancer and genetic harm is infrequent, and the threshold dose for causing other, 'non-stochastic', effects is not ...
This study examined the psychometric properties of the Anti-fat Attitudes Scale (AFAS), a 5-item instrument developed by the authors to measure negative attitudes toward overweight individuals. A total of 4 studies were conducted among Canadian adolescents (n = 1,452) and university students (n = 424). Results suggested that the AFAS possessed a unidimensional factor structure and satisfactory reliability for both men and women. As predicted, men obtained higher scores than women on the AFAS, and antifat attitudes were positively associated with authoritarianism, homonegativity, and political conservatism. Participants who were overweight had lower scores on the AFAS than participants who were thin or average weight. Responses on the AFAS did not appear to be contaminated by social desirability bias. PMID:10457760
One of the central issues in radiation protection consists in determining what weight should be given to individual doses in relation to collective or aggregated doses. A mathematical framework is introduced in which such assessments can be made precisely in terms of comparisons between alternative distributions of individual doses. In addition to evaluation principles that are well known from radiation protection, a series of principles that are derived from parallel discussions in moral philosophy and welfare economics is investigated. A battery of formal properties is then used to investigate the evaluative principles. The results indicate that one of the new principles, bilinear prioritarianism, may be preferable to current practices, since it satisfies efficiency-related properties better without sacrificing other desirable properties.
Abstract It is well established that ageing handicaps the ability of prey to escape predators, yet surprisingly little is known about how ageing affects the ability of predators to catch prey. Research into long-lived predators has assumed that adults have uniform impacts on prey regardless of age. Here we use longitudinal data from repeated observations of individually-known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to demonstrate that adult predatory performance declines with age and that an increasing ratio of senescent individuals in the wolf population depresses the rate of prey offtake. Because this ratio fluctuates independently of population size, predatory senescence may cause wolf populations of equal size but different age structure to have d...
An imaging position sensitive detector for charged particles, neutrons, X-and gamma rays has been developed. The novel feature of this scintillation imaging radiation detector is its ability to detect individual nuclear particle scintillations with a h igh degree of spatial resolution. The key elements of this detector system are a high gain, low noise image intensifier tube, a CCD camera and commercially available image processing hardware and software. This detector system is highly effective for applications such as low fluence and real time neutron radiography, mapping of radioactive contamination in nuclear reactor fuel rods, X-ray diffraction imaging, high speed autoradiography and in general position sensitive detection of nuclear radiation. Results of some of the exploratory experiments carried out using this detector system are presented in this paper. (orig.).
A methodology and hypothetical case study are presented for incorporation of uncertainty and variability into calculations of human health risk appropriate for regional, or basin-scale, groundwater management problems. Uncertainty in well water concentration is introduced through complex contaminant migration patterns in the subsurface. Variability is considered in parameters related to individual behavior patterns and biological effects and to groundwater extraction and distribution networks. A joint uncertainty and variability (JUV) analysis is used to generate a two-dimensional distribution or risk surface that spans both transport uncertainty as well as individual variability. Cuts in this distributional surface (fractiles of variability and percentiles of uncertainty) are presented and discussed. Comparisons with alternative approaches based upon deterministic transport models are also made. In addition, important distinctions are made ...
Objective This report investigates epidemiologically whether exposure to silica is associated with lung cancer risks in individuals without silicosis. Methods We searched the PubMed reference data base from 1966 through 1/2007 for reports of lung cancer in silica-exposed persons without and with silicosis. To explore heterogeneity between studies, a multi-stage strategy was employed. First, fixed-effect summaries (FES) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for various combinations of studies were calculated, weighting individual results by their precision. The homogeneity of the contributing results was examined using ?2 statistics. Where there was evidence of substantial heterogeneity, the CI around the FES was increased to take account of the between-study variability. Random-e...
The current research addressed age differences in internet use among Same Sex Attracted (SSA) individuals. In general, online communities are found to be a source of social support, especially for minority group members. However, it is unclear whether younger and older SSA people differ in their use of these communities. The present research examined age differences in use of online communities, hypothesizing that young SSA people primarily use these for social interaction and support, whereas older SSA people use online communities to seek sexual contacts. Study 1 examined age differences in motives to start using these websites. Study 2 examined age differences in use of online profiles and online social support. Results of both studies confirmed our hypotheses. Younger compared to older...
The contribution examines whether the construction of high-voltage transmission lines without formal participation of local authorities is permissible. In this connection the question is also treated to what extent municipal co-determination in transmission line construction represents a precondition for the permissibility of compulsory purchase measures. The individual issues treated are: the formal legal situation and current practice in the construction of electricity pylons; individual legal protection in connection with compulsory purchase; the construction of pylons without a construction licence as an infringement of the municipal right to self-government of local authorities; and the effects on the execution of compulsory purchase procedures of the illegality under Building Law of pylons constructed without approval. (RST).
This paper aims to estimate the prevalence of cigarette smoking among students in Vietnam ages 13-15 and examines its relationship with compositional and contextual factors. The data used in this paper were obtained from the 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in nine provinces in Vietnam. A multilevel logistic regression model was applied to analyse the association between the current incidence of cigarette smoking and factors on both the individual and school level. The prevalence of cigarette smoking among students was 3.3% overall. The prevalence of smoking among male students (5.9%) was higher than that among females (1.2%). Parental smoking was a significant risk factor for smoking among the students. Having a friend who smoked was the strongest predictor of smoking status amo...
Background: Ventricular repolarization (VR) is strongly influenced by heart rate (HR) and autonomic nervous activity, both of which also are important for arrhythmogenesis. Their relative influence on VR is difficult to separate, but might be crucial for understanding while some but not other individuals are at risk for life-threatening arrhythmias at a certain HR. This study was therefore designed to assess the -pure- effect of HR increase by atrial pacing on the ventricular gradient (VG) and other vectorcardiographically (VCG) derived VR parameters during an otherwise unchanged condition. Methods: In 19 patients with structurally normal hearts, a protocol with stepwise increased atrial pacing was performed after successful arrhythmia ablation. Conduction intervals were measured on averag...
Summary 1.-Traditional views of ecological disturbance emphasize the role that physical disturbances play in reducing competition between populations and maintaining species coexistence. I present an alternative view that employs a simple Lotka-Volterra model to demonstrate how disturbance resistance, disturbance resilience and resource storage can increase competition between individual perennial plants of similar growth form along a resource supply gradient. 2.-In contrasting the growth of individual genets of two hypothetical species, I assumed that traits associated with inherently low module (i.e. plant part) mortality in infertile soils resulted in greater resource storage, but traded off with maximum potential net photosynthesis rates and thus disturbance resilience. 3.-The species ...
The stock market has been known to form homogeneous stock groups with a higher correlation among different stocks according to common economic factors that influence individual stocks. We investigate the role of common economic factors in the market in the formation of stock networks, using the arbitrage pricing model reflecting essential properties of common economic factors. We find that the degree of consistency between real and model stock networks increases as additional common economic factors are incorporated into our model. Furthermore, we find that individual stocks with a large number of links to other stocks in a network are more highly correlated with common economic factors than those with a small number of links. This suggests that common economic factors in the stock market can be understood in terms of deterministic factors.
In many online systems, individuals provide services for each other. Typically, the recipient of the service obtains a benefit while the provider of the service incurs a cost. Assuming that benefit exceeds cost, provision of the service increases social welfare and should therefore be encouraged -- but the individuals providing the service gain no (immediate) benefit from providing the service and hence have an incentive to withhold service. This paper studies the design of a system to encourage provision of service; the emphasis is on how the system designer should choose a protocol -- a supply of tokens and suggested strategies -- to maximize social welfare. In choosing this protocol, the system designer must take into account that agents are self-interested, and hence will comply with the protocol if and only if it is in their interests to do so. Moreover, we insist that the chosen protocol must be consistent with (small) errors in the ...
Both cultural inheritance and cultural diversification of diets may play an important role in animal evolution. Here we studied how diet innovation and cultural change relate to cultural inheritance in a changing environment. We did this by studying diet cultures in group foragers adapting to environmental change through learning, and the consequences this has for diet differentiation between groups. We used an individual-based model of `monkeys' that learn what to eat in a rich environment, and we changed resource species that are available in the environment. Relative to social influences on learning that arise spontaneously in groups, we found that more direct social learning, in the sense of observing another individual and copying what it eats, helps groups deal with high levels of en...
Objective Over recent years the Internet has become an increasingly popular source of support and information for infertility, with a growing number of online support groups now available to individuals affected by fertility problems. The aims of the present study were therefore to explore the online experiences of individuals accessing infertility support groups via the Internet. Methods Ninety-five participants who were recruited from several online infertility support groups completed an online questionnaire containing a series of open-ended questions. Responses to the open-ended questions were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results The thematic analysis revealed five recurrent themes, which were labelled: `unique features of online social support', `improved relationship w...
In conjunction with the constellation of lawsuits within the administrative court system, and based on modern environmental protection laws, emission control laws, and foremost, the atomic energy laws, we are confronted with a variety of constitutional and administrative problems. However, the fundamental questions of individual rights within the potentially incriminating environmental utilization or exploitation by individuals could be relatively clearly answered by observing the basic principles of our legal order. It is to be expected that the administrative courts will arrive at acceptable decisions reflecting the full protection of the law and the basic constitutional principles, and that these - once made - may serve as orientation in superior court actions.
AbstractBACKGROUND: Disparities in treatment and mortality for colorectal cancer (CRC) may reflect differences in access to specialized care or other characteristics of the area where an individual lives. METHODS: Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program-Medicare data for seniors diagnosed with CRC were linked to area measures of the sociodemographic characteristics and the capacity of surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists. Outcomes included receipt of stage-appropriate CRC care and mortality. RESULTS: After adjustment, blacks and Hispanics were less likely than whites to undergo surgery (odds ratio [OR] 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.52-0.63 and OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.70-0.95, respectively). Individuals who lived in areas with the highest tertile of surgeon c...
Adventure based counselling is a short-term experiential psychotherapeutic approach, which utilises adventurous activities and being in natural environmental in order to facilitate therapeutic change in clients. The present paper critically appraises the results of a qualitative study that investigated how clients with self-reported anxiety and depression experienced participating in an innovative counselling intervention with combined individual counselling with such an adventurous outdoor transaction. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, as described by Smith and Osborn (2008), was used in order record and analyse the experiences of four male and six female students who were treated at the Teesside's University Counselling Service. Interviewees perceived the counselling sessions as ...
Weakly penetrating radiation monitoring and investigating with area monitors and individual dosimeters were carried out at Daya Bay nuclear power plant during its refueling outages. This paper introduces monitoring methods, measuring results, data analysis and assessment, presents some suggestions for monitoring plan and protection measures in the future as well. (authors)
Aircraft constitute a unique environment which places stringent requirements on the instruments used to measure the concentrations of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols. Some of these requirements such as minimization of size, weight, and power consumption are general; others are specific to individual techniques. This review presents the basic principles and considerations governing the deployment of trace gas and aerosol instrumentation on an aircraft. An overview of common instruments illustrates these points and provides guidelines for designing and using instruments on aircraft-based measurement programs.
The method of treatment of uteral cancer by the brake irradiation of 25 MeV betatrone using original devices which promote forming therapeutic figured bunches is presented. The binding of the protective blocks with a special adjusting frame within the aperture of the diaphragm provided for low relative entering dose which is the advantage of high energy irradiation bunch. The use of the forming devices makes it possible to practice individual treatment and decrease the levels of irradiation doses for intact organs and tissues.
A community health survey of 438 individuals was taken to detect health problems related to high voltage electrical transmission among an adjacent residential population. Results revealed no significant or consistent relationships between exposure to a high voltage DC power line and the perceived health problems that were measured. The sample was not, however, large enough to draw statistically significant conclusions regarding possible health effects with a very low incidence.
BackgroundThe association between infertility and sperm disomy is well documented. Results vary but most report that men with severely compromised semen parameters have a significantly...Full Text Available
... By applying non-market valuation methods, we focus on analysing individual preferences in respect of (environmental) non-market goods. The principal object of research interest is the valuation of pollution impacts and effects of working processes on human health resulting in premature deaths, risk alterations, and various disease symptoms. We also deal with valuation of non-production ecosystem (forest) functions and benefits, inter alia ...
I report on a lattice computation of the energy of a system of two light quarks and two static antiquarks as a function of the separation of the static antiquarks. In terms of hadrons such a system corresponds to a pair of B mesons and its energy to the hadronic potential. I present selected results for different isospin, spin and parity combinations of the individual B mesons mainly focusing on those channels relevant to determine, whether two B mesons may form a bound tetraquark state.
The individual contributions in these proceedings are indexed separately. Main topics covered include the measurement of biological nitrogen fixation, studies of soil organic matter, investigations of nutrient uptake and use by plants, studies of plant metabolism and new methodologies in the analysis of stable isotopes. Refs, figs and tabs.
The concept of the minimum propagating zone (MPZ) is used to examine the causes of quenches in ISABELLE cosine theta superconducting dipole magnets. The size of disturbances large enough to exceed the MPZ and initiate quenches is estimated and compared with the size of disturbances which may be produced in the magnets. A suggestion for reducing the size of these disturbances through individual support of the coil block is outlined.
Involving effects of media, opinion leader and other agents on the opinion of individuals of market society, a trader based model is developed and utilized to simulate price via supply and demand. Pronounced effects are considered with several weights and some personal differences between traders are taken into account. Resulting time series and probabilty distribution function involving a power law for price come out similar to the real ones.
The actual mechanisms that maintain the individual disparities in home computer use and internet access that are collectively termed “the digital divide” remain unclear. We hypothesized...Full Text Available
This study was intended to help explain individual differences in susceptibility to irritant effects of ozone (O3), by determining whether prior ambient O3 exposures and/or recent acute respiratory illness modified response to laboratory O3 exposures. Response was measured in terms of lung function changes and irritant symptoms. Initially, 59 adult volunteer Los Angeles area residents underwent screening exposures in spring, before the season of frequent high ambient O3 levels. Unusually responsive and nonresponsive individuals (N = 12 and 13 respectively) underwent followup exposures in autumn (late in the high-O3 season) and in winter (low-O3 season). All exposures were to 0.18 ppm O3 for 2 hr with intermittent heavy exercise at 31 degrees C and 35% relative humidity. Nonresponders tended to remain nonresponsive throughout. In fall, responders had lost much of their reactivity, as if they had adapted to summer ambient O3 exposures. They did ...
The differing susceptibility of individuals to the toxic effects of chronic lead exposure has never been fully understood. As the major intake of lead in the human is from food and beverages, any variation between individuals of the quantity of lead absorbed from the gut, and of the distribution and excretion of this lead, may account for the differences in individual susceptibility. The food and beverages themselves may have an influence, and to investigate their effects on absorption, distribution and excretion of lead, experiments were performed on normal subjects using a short lived radionuclide of lead, "2"0"3Pb, and instruments generally available in Nuclear Medicine. Lead absorption between different individuals showed a wide variation when "2"0"3Pb was taken as a single dose between meals. Minerals were found to be mainly responsible for affecting absorption when one subject ingested "2"0"3Pb in ...
The method of spectral disentangling has now created the opportunity for studying the chemical composition in previously inaccessible components of binary and multiple stars. This in turn makes it possible to trace their chemical evolution, a vital aspect in understanding the evolution of stellar systems. We review different ways to reconstruct individual spectra from eclipsing and non-eclipsing systems, and then concentrate on some recent applications to detached binaries with high-mass and intermediate-mass stars, and Algol-type mass-transfer systems.
Sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency the Image Understanding Workshop is a forum for the presentation of new research in vision, image analysis, and geometric modeling. Leading scientists present overviews of projects underway at major universities and corporate research sites, as well as results of individual work. The 1987 volume contains 94 articles and technical reports in two volumes.
This document contains eleven papers on various aspects of low-level radioactive waste regulation. Topics include: EPA environmental standards; international exemption principles; the concept of below regulatory concern; envirocare activities in Utah; mixed waste; FUSRAP and the Superfund; and a review of various incentive programs. Individual papers are processed separately for the data base. (TEM)
SummaryExposure to stress during prenatal or early postnatal life can dramatically impact adult behavior and neuroendocrine function. We recently began to selectively breed Sprague-Dawley...Full Text Available
An original evaluating method of gain degradation has been found for neutron irradiated transistors. It establishes a correlation between degradation and the product of two coefficients: spectra factor and an electrical parameter which is measured or directly deduced from manufacturer's data. Equivalence for several type of spectra (fission, 14MeV and degradation sensitivity to electrical parameters values of individual components of a batch are obtained.
... OnlineFirst PDF Synthesis of low-temperature, fast, single-firing body for porcelain stoneware tiles... Wei et al. Waste Manag Res.2009; 0: 0734242X09351734v1 To view this item, select one of the options below: ISWA Member Sign In ISWA Members, please sign in at ISWA to access the journal online. Sign In Already an individual subscriber? If so, please sign in to ...
A multi-spectral Schottky barrier infrared detector array in which individual pixels of radiation from a remote radiating object are detected by two or more Schottky barrier infrared radiation detectors each having a different spectral response so as to provide a ''color'' discrimination for the array.
A multi-spectral Schottky barrier infrared detector array in which individual pixels of radiation from a remote radiating object are detected by two or more Schottky barrier infrared radiation detectors each having a different spectral response so as to provide a ''color'' discrimination for the array.
This study evaluates the frequency and functions of immunocompetent T cells at the clonal level in solid human lung tissue versus peripheral blood. Enzymatic digestion of slices of histologically normal...Full Text Available
Information technology plays an important role in medicine because of the advanced decision support systems (DSS) it can provide. We provide an overview of the building blocks necessary for a medical decision support system and introduce seven research articles in this special issue that describe the development and evaluation of individual medical DSS building blocks or complete medical DSS.
The standard protocol in multislice spiral CT (MSCT) angiography for coronary arteries with fixed tube current-time settings leads to an overexposure and thus to an unnecessary high radiation dose in patients with lower weight when compared to heavier patients. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of reducing the radiation dose by adapting the tube current-time settings individually. Fifty patients underwent retrospectively ECG-gated MSCT of the heart. In 25 patients (group A{sub 1}) a standard protocol with constant tube current-time settings was used (4 x 1-mm collimation, 120 kV, 400 mAs{sub eff}). Subsequently, artificial image noise was added to the data of these patients simulating a directive for weight-adapted tube current-time settings (group A{sub 2}). In the other 25 patients (group B) an alternative protocol with individually weight-adapted tube current-time settings was applied. The data of all groups were evaluated ...
The standard protocol in multislice spiral CT (MSCT) angiography for coronary arteries with fixed tube current-time settings leads to an overexposure and thus to an unnecessary high radiation dose in patients with lower weight when compared to heavier patients. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of reducing the radiation dose by adapting the tube current-time settings individually. Fifty patients underwent retrospectively ECG-gated MSCT of the heart. In 25 patients (group A_1) a standard protocol with constant tube current-time settings was used (4 x 1-mm collimation, 120 kV, 400 mAs_e_f_f). Subsequently, artificial image noise was added to the data of these patients simulating a directive for weight-adapted tube current-time settings (group A_2). In the other 25 patients (group B) an alternative protocol with individually weight-adapted tube current-time settings was applied. The data of all groups were evaluated by a ...
HCV-Ag-specific TH17 cells secrete IL17, a cytokine involved in autoimmune diseases and regulated by IL10 and TGF-b. 5–12% of patients with chronic HCV infection have hypothyroidism. We evaluated...Full Text Available
Biomedical science researchers often express frustration that health physics practices vary widely between individual institutions. A survey examining both internal and external dose assessment practices was devised and mailed to fifty institutions supporting biomedical science research. The results indicate that health physics dose assessment practices and policies are highly variable. Factors which may contribute to the degree of variation are discussed. 2 tabs.
A great deal of energy is necessary to manufacture castings, the greater part of which is wasted. Some general instructions are given on how to keep this part as low as possible. This is discussed particularly using the example of a heat recovery plant for foundries, especially in the melting and cooling of castings with the use of cupola furnace stack gas to produce hot gas. Further variants for recovering heat from the individual stages of a foundry process are listed. There are data on using this heat in operation.
BackgroundThe beta-defensin gene cluster (DEFB) at chromosome 8p23.1 is one of the most copy number (CN) variable regions of the human genome. Whereas individual DEFB CNs have been...Full Text Available
... Social Capital Social capital describes circumstances in which individuals and organisations can use membership in groups and networks to secure benefits. Connections within and between networks reinforce the belief that these social networks have a value and can be used as a platform for further social progress. In this light, natural capital and social capital are closely related, and policies that build or destroy one often build ...
A self-selected sample of 417 urban and 379 rural preschool children attending the under-5s clinics was weighed in Sierra Leone. The individual weights were related to the weight-for-age Harvard 3rd...Full Text Available
The Baldwin Effect, a negative correlation between emission-line equivalent width and luminosity in active galactic nuclei, is still of interest as a diagnostic of accretion physics nearly thirty years after its discovery. This review examines recent developments in the study of correlations between line and continuum emission in AGNs, as measured both in ensembles and in individual sources.
Passive dosimeters for personal and area radiation monitor in space have been developed mainly for dosimetry in low-earth-orbit (LEO) radiation environments of Space Shuttles and the International Space Station. The responses of several dosimeters have been evaluated by heavy ions and also its variation for individual dosimeter element. (author)
In spite of extensive cooling water studies premature damage due to corrosion occurred on the CuZn20Al condenser tubes. It was then decided to incorporate new titanium-tubed condensers during the annual overhauls of 1983 and 1985 and also take ameliorating measures up to the exchange of individual condensers. (orig.).
In the medical and occupational exposures, there is a tradition to use the genetically significant dose as an index of harm to the population although it only includes the genetical effects from ionizing radiations. A similar significant dose for somatic effects such as radiation leukemogenesis and carcinogenesis should be added to the genetically significant dose in order to approach an index of total harm to the population from medical and occupational exposures. For this purpose, leukemia and malignant significant factors were determined based on the induction of malignant diseases including leukemia for the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the life expectancy of individuals subject to medical examinations or treatments as well as radiation workers, taking account of the possibility of their deaths due to other diseases or accidents during a latent period of malignant diseases. The resultant significant factors were tabulated as a function of life ...
Fatty acid biosynthesis is crucial for all living cells. In contrast to higher organisms, bacteria use a type II fatty acid synthase (FAS II) composed of a series of individual proteins, making...Full Text Available
Literature references related to definition, generation, and use of evaluated cross section uncertainty (variance-covariance) files are listed with comments intended primarily to guide the reader toward materials of immediate interest. Papers are also cited that cover covariance information for individual experiments and that relate to production and use of multigroup covariance matrices. Titles are divided among several major categories.
This paper reports new formulas of adiabatic flame temperature. They are functionally expressed in terms of fuel/air ratio, reaction pressure, and the number of carbon atoms in the individual fuel. Among the fuels presently considered for the formulas are members of paraffin, aromatic and olefin families, acetylene, alcohols, and hydrogen.
Proceeding from commercially available instruments, a simple measuring system has been established, which renders possible fast and simple discontinuous analysis of individual elements. This measuring system is described, giving some examples of utilization in nonferrous metallurgy (mining, ore dressing, metallurgical treatment), and specific details, such as error of measurement, ranges of measurement and limits of utilization. (author).
Abstract: The clustered logrank test is a nonparametric method of significance testing for correlated survival data. Examples of its application include cluster randomized trials where groups of patients rather than individuals are randomized to either a treatment or a control intervention. We describe a SAS macro that implements the 2-sample clustered logrank test for data where the entire cluster is randomized to the same treatment group. We discuss the theory and applications behind this test as well as details of the SAS code.
We have studied the nucleation and growth processes in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond film using a tomographic electron backscattering diffraction method (3D EBSD). The approach is based on the combination of a focused ion beam (FIB) unit for serial sectioning in conjunction with high-resolution EBSD. Individual diamond grains were investigated in 3-dimensions particularly with regard to the role of twinning.
...to roam. (iv) All dogs must be on a leash when...posted. (v) We allow working a dog in refuge waters by tossing...has occurred. (f) Military, fire or emergency vehicles...prohibited. (r) Pets. Dogs and other pets, on a...
In a 4-wk oral toxicity study, 4-wk-old male and female Wistar rats were exposed to a combination of arbitrarily chosen chemicals comprising sodium metabisulphite, Mirex, Loperamide, metaldehyde, di-n-octyltin dichloride, stannous chloride, lysinoalanine and potassium nitrite. The dose levels used were based on the "no-observed-adverse-effect level" (NOAEL) and the "minimum-observed-adverse-effect level" (MOAEL) of the individual compounds obtained in similar studies with Wistar rats previously performed at TNO-CIVO, and comprised 0 (controls), 1/10 and 1/3 of the NOAEL, the NOAEL and the MOAEL. In comparison with the adverse effects of the individual compounds, both more severe and less severe adverse effects were observed at the MOAEL of the combined compounds, indicating interaction of effects at this exposure level. Slightly decreased haemoglobin content and slightly increased relative kidney weight were the only treatment-related adverse ...