Science.gov (United States)

Antibodies to Rickettsia rickettsii were detected by indirect immunofluorescence in sera from 149 of 467 dogs (32%) examined from 4 military installations located in Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The prevalence at individual installations ranged from 4.3% at Fort Knox, Ky, to 63.4% at Fort Bragg, NC. Most of the seropositive dogs were in the working and sporting groups of dogs. The difference in antibody prevalence between sexes was not significant. Serologic responses were related to R rickettsii infection, although antibodies to R montana also were detected in a few of the sera. Comparison of serodiagnostic methods indicated that the indirect fluorescent antibody test was more sensitive than was the indirect hemagglutination test for obtaining survey data on the prevalence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the area. PMID:6808878

Science.gov (United States)

A rickettsia related to but distinct from the spotted fever agent, Rickettsia rickettsii, has been detected in 167 (18.9%) of 884 Rhipicephalus sanguineus taken off dogs in central and northern Mississippi. The organisms could readily be isolated in male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), where it produced massive infections in the tissues of tunica vaginalis. It was practically nonpathogenic for male guinea pigs, although inoculation of these animals with infected tunica vaginalis of voles afforded in 30 of 38 instances solid immunity to challenge with virulent R. rickettsii. The Rhipicephalus rickettsia grew well in monolayers of chicken embryo fibroblast, Vero, mouse L, and HeLa cells. Cytopathogenic effects were minimal unless large concentrations of rickettsiae were used as inocula. It also could be established in embryonated hen eggs but only after injection of massive doses of L cell-propagated organisms. Serological tests ...

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KoreaScience (Korea)

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KoreaScience (Korea)

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UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The increased transmission and geographic spread of dengue fever (DF) and its more severe presentation, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), make it the most important mosquito-borne viral disease of humans...Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

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UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundMarburg virus (MARV), a zoonotic pathogen causing severe hemorrhagic fever in man, has emerged in Angola resulting in the largest outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to identify factors that place a dairy cow with uncomplicated milk fever (MF) at significant risk of becoming an alert downer cow (ADC) and to verify...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundThe diagnosis of typhoid fever is confirmed by culture of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S. typhi). However, a more rapid, simpler,...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Marburg virus belongs to the genus Marburgvirus in the family Filoviridae and causes a severe hemorrhagic fever, known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF), in both humans and nonhuman primates. Similar to the more widely known Ebola hemorrhagic fever, MHF is characterized by systemic viral replication, immunosuppression and abnormal inflammatory responses. These pathological features of the disease contribute to a number of systemic dysfunctions including hemorrhages, edema, coagulation abnormalities and, ultimately, multiorgan failure and shock, often resulting in death. A detailed understanding of the pathological processes that lead to this devastating disease remains elusive, a fact that contributes to the lack of licensed vaccines or effective therapeutics. This article will review the...

Science.gov (United States)

Brucela serology using ELISA and standard agglutination test was performed on 23 patients with prolonged fever where the test was requested, on 26 randomly chosen patients with prolonged fever where it was not requested and on 17 controls. ELISA was positive in 39.1, 26.9 and 0 per cent respectively in these groups. Brucellosis may often be unsuspected because of its varied clinical manifestations and may be a more important cause of fever than previously considered. Our data reaffirm that ELISA is superior to the standard agglutination test for the diagnosis of brucellosis. PMID:8707374

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A 6-week-old girl with fever, hypernatraemia, dehydration, and polyuria failed to concentrate urine in response to exogenous vasopressin administration. There was no family history of nephrogenic diabetes...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Japanese (Mar 1974). Japan Mabuchi, Toshio Kuwada, Hikaru . Kagawa Univ.,

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Japanese (Mar 1986). Japan Tomiyoshi, Tsukasa Kakoi, Iwao Fukushima,

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Japanese (Jan 1986). Japan Taniguchi, Yoshiyuki Torizumi, Kazutami Katu,

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The first reported Far East scarlet-like fever (FESLF) epidemic swept the Pacific coastal region of Russia in the late 1950s. Symptoms of the severe infection included erythematous skin rash and desquamation,...Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

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UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AimsTo describe nurse burnout, job dissatisfaction, and quality of care in Japanese hospitals, and to determine how these outcomes are associated with work environment...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... Tokyo Report: Japanese Government Budget for Materials R&D Date: 6/17/97 The National Science ... Graded Materials Area coordinator: Dr. Toshio Hirai, Professor, Institute for Materials Research ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A nonmammalian test system for germ-cell mutagenesis has been developed by using the Japanese medaka fish. We describe a system for detecting DNA alterations in F1 progeny descended from the gamma-irradiated...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Japanese ... Authors Kuno, Yusuke; Esaka, Konomi (Tokyo Univ., Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo (Japan))

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Japanese May 2009 p. 386-390 Japan Mitani, Shinji Japan Nuclear Energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Evaluating the need for remedial cleanup at a waste site involves both finding the average contaminant concentration and identifying highly contaminated areas, or hot spots. A nomographic procedure to determine the sample configuration needed to locate a hot spot is presented. The technique can be used to develop a waste-site sampling plant - to determine either the grid spacing required to detect a hot spot at a given level of confidence, or the probability of finding a hot spot of a certain size, given a particular grid spacing. The method and computer program (ELIPGRID) were developed for locating geologic deposits, but the basic procedure can also be used to detect hot spots at chemical- or nuclear-waste disposal sites. Nomographs based on the original program are presented for three sampling-grid configurations - square, rectangular and triangular.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Brucella abortus is a facultative, intracellular zoonotic pathogen which can cause undulant fever in humans and abortions in cattle. A 14-kDa protein of B. abortus...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We analyzed prospective data on 17,228 European patients who sought treatment at GeoSentinel sites from 1997 to 2007. Gastrointestinal illness (particularly in tourists), fever (those visiting friends...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundDengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness that places significant burden on tropical developing countries with unplanned urbanization. A surveillance system using Google...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Bhanja virus (BHAV) is pathogenic for young domestic ruminants and also for humans, causing fever and affections of the central nervous system. This generally neglected arbovirus of the family Bunyaviridae...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

An ultrasmall spot size scanning laser ophthalmoscope has been developed that employs an annular aberration-corrected incident beam to increase the effective numerical aperture of the eye thereby reducing...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundWhite spot syndrome (WSS) is a viral disease that affects most of the commercially important shrimps and causes serious economic losses to the shrimp farming industry worldwide....Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The objective of this animation is to develop a QTL mapping population for locating and characterizing the genes responsible for resistance to tan spot disease of wheat.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

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...

Science.gov (United States)

... The following report, filed by the Labor Inspector of the local Employment Security Office, cites S3 me of "the harsh disciplinary methods used by the ...

Science.gov (United States)

... The Aum Shinryko sarin gas attack on the Ginza Subway line in Tokyo in 1995 brought home to the Japanese a sense of immediate vulnerability. ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Pyogenic sacroiliitis is a rare entity in children. Diagnosis is often delayed because of its variable clinical presentation, low suspicion by the examining physician, and rare findings on radiographs. Delayed diagnosis, however, results in complications such as iliopsoas abscess. We report the case of a 12-year-old girl hospitalized with a 21-day history of fever, pain in the left iliac fossa, and flexion contracture of the hip. On examination, she had fever (38.9 ^oC), psoitis, localized tenderness at the left sacroiliac joint, and pain elicited by lateral compression of the pelvis. The abdominal examination was normal. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 130mm in the first hour, C-reactive protein was 186mg/l, and the white blood cell count was 18,400/mm^3, with 79% neutrophils. Urin...

Science.gov (United States)

PMID:4428360

Science.gov (United States)

... terminals, popular tourist spots, political rallies, and subway ... Dynamic scheduling of a two-class queue with ... Stochastic Processes 2nd ed. Wiley. ...

Science.gov (United States)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

(Jan 1974). United States Ashraf, M. Anwar, M. Siddiqui, QH Atomic Energy

Science.gov (United States)

... Hutchinson, V. H., A. Vinegar, and R. J. Kosh. 1966. Critical thermal maxima in turtles. Herpetologica 22: ... ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Discussion is presented of world crude steel production, the Japanese steel industry and its expectations of the Canadian coal industry. It is concluded that the Canadian coal industry should pay attention to the trend in customer's requirements regarding coal quality, maintain price competitiveness in the international market place, and remain flexible with regard to the market trend.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Past and current development of coal utilization technology in the Japanese steel industry is reviewed and some projects currently under research and development briefly described. These include DIOS, an iron making process which directly utilizes both iron ore and coal without a sintering plant or a coke oven; and the development of a new generation coke oven. 15 figs.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundThe Prospective Space-Time scan statistic (PST) is widely used for the evaluation of space-time clusters of point event data. Usually a window of cylindrical shape is employed,...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Brucellosis is a common worldwide zoonotic disease. Cutaneous manifestations are not specific and affect 1-14% of patients with brucellosis. Here, we describe 49-year-old female with fever and a diffuse maculopapular rash due to Brucella melitensis infection. Histopathology of skin biopsy revealed leukocytoclastic vasculitis; positive blood cultures for B. melitensis established the diagnosis of brucellosis. We provide a review of the relevant literature. PMID:21772606

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...Keeping chickens: a beginner's guide : Directgov - Environment and greener living chickens, feeding chickens, egg marking, registering a ...flock, battery hens Chickens; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Registrations; Animals; Livestock; Local government; Local ...authorities A guide for people keeping chickens on the laws for registering and feeding them, and how to spot key diseases. A ...guide for people keeping chickens on the laws for registering and feeding them, and how to spot key diseases. Keeping chickens: ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this article, the isotope geochemical study for Iceland is reviewed. Iceland is geologically unique because it is a subaerial exposure of Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is caused by the interaction between the ridge and the Icelandic hot spot. To investigate what is happening beneath Iceland, many geochemical studies have been done. The geochemical studies using conventional Sr, Nd, Pb, He and O isotope tracers revealed the heterogeneity not only of the oceanic mantle, but also of the Icelandic hot spot mantle itself. Furthermore, the oxygen isotope studies revealed the reworking of the Icelandic crust which is altered by meteoritic water. The characterization of the Icelandic hot spot from the isotope geochemistry is very important in testing the hypothesis of the mantle-crust recycling. In near future, new tracers such as Li, B or Ce will be applied to this problem, and new constraints will be obtained. 37 refs., 7 figs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The author considers the possibility that Japanese nuclear armament might be a realistic political option. Firstly introducing various issues on Japanese nuclear armament existing since long time ago, he classifies them according to the view point from internal and international problems. Internally, the armament is not possible at present on the ground of the nation's non-nuclear policy but it might be conditionally a choice in such case as the reliability of US nuclear deterrence declines or possibility of nuclear attack to Japan actually may be predicted. The armament may be possible technically and legally based on the consensus of the people. Various concerns by neighboring countries are discussed. Finally, the author stresses the importance of continuing to consolidate bilateral relationship with US, to deploy missile defensive system and to make every effort in the diplomatic activity for strong international ties and cooperation. (S. ...

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Incorporating Environmentally Conscious Materials Selection in CAD System Narito Shibaike, Matsushita Electric, Japan ...Ikeda, Matsushita Erectric H.Ishida, INAX Y.Ishikawa, Japan Techno-Economics ...Tsuchiya*, Matsushita Electric Com- ponents Y.Tsuchiya*, Society of Japanese Value

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Japan has upwards of 40 pumped storage plants in operation and new river sites are becoming scarce, but peak demand is still rising. A plant under construction in Okinawa offers a solution: make use of the head between the coastal cliffs and sea level, using seawater as the medium. (author)

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Chemicals having a capacity to disturb the endocrine system have attracted considerable interest during recent years. There is a shortage of well-characterized in vivo tests with which to study such...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Testosterone has been shown to increase the volume of steroid-sensitive brain nuclei in adulthood in several vertebrate species. In male Japanese quail the volume of the male-biased sexually...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundWithin the last 25 years, after the introduction of the swimbladder nematode Anguillicoloides crassus from East-Asia to Europe, a body of work has aggregated...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The DNA sequences were determined for the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene from five unrelated Japanese patients with familial LPL deficiency. The results demonstrated that all five patients are homozygotes...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The Japanese medaka fish Oryzias latipes has an XX/XY sex-determination system. The Y-linked sex-determination gene DMY is a duplicate of the autosomal gene DMRT1, which encodes a DM-domain-containing...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) embryos exposed to ethanol have developed craniofacial, cardiovascular and skeletal defects which can be compared with the phenotypic features...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Japanese (Jul 1976). Japan Kametani, Katsuaki Tomura, Kayoko . National

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Several investigations suggested abnormalities in circadian rhythms are related to the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, including drug addiction. Recently, orphan nuclear receptor rev-erb alpha...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report presents the results of a study of the Japanese MLU magnetic-levitation (maglev) system. The development of the MLU system is reviewed, and the dynamic circuit model then is introduced and applied to the figure-eight-shaped null-flux coil suspension system. Three different types of figure-eight-shaped null-flux suspension systems are discussed in detail: (1) the figure-eight-shaped null-flux coil suspension system without cross-connection; (2) the combined suspension and guidance system; and (3) the combined propulsion, levitation, and guidance system. The electrodynamic-suspension maglev systems developed in Japan seem to be very promising and could result in a commercial application in the near future.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Government facilities such as the US Department of Energy's Savannah River Plant (SRP) near Aiken, South Carolina, often use remote sensing data to assist in environmental management. Airborne multispectral scanner (MSS) data have been acquired at SRP since 1981. Various types of remote sensing data have been used to map and characterize wetlands. Regional Landsat MSS and TM satellite data have been used for wetlands mapping by various government agencies and private organizations. Furthermore, SPOT MSS data are becoming available and provide opportunities for increased spacial resolution and temporal coverage for wetlands mapping. This paper summarizes the initial results from using five dates of SPOT MSS data from April through October, 1987, as a means to monitor seasonal wetland changes in freshwater wetlands of the SRP. 11 refs., 4 figs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

It is known that a high-power laser propagating through an underdense plasma can acquire a minimum spot size due to relativistic self-focusing. Beyond the focus, the nonlinear refraction starts weakening, and the spot size of the laser increases, showing periodic self-focusing/ defocusing behavior with the distance of propagation. To overcome the defocusing, we propose the introduction of a localized upward plasma density ramp. In the presence of an upward ramp of plasma density, the laser beam obtains a minimum spot size and maintains it with only a mild ripple. For suitable parameters of the laser and the plasma, we have deduced conditions for the self-focusing. This kind of plasma density ramp may be observed in a gas-jet plasma experiment and resembles a plasma lens.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper, we present the work carried out within the framework of the FEVER project (Fuel cell Electric Vehicle for Efficiency and Range), an European project coordinated by Renault, joining Ecole des Mines de Paris, Ansaldo, De Nora, Air Liquide and Volvo. For the FEVER project, where an electrical air compressor is used for oxidant supply, there is no need for hydrogen spill over, meaning that the hydrogen stoichiometry has to be as close to one as possible. To determine the optimum hydrogen utilization efficiency for a 10 kW Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) fed with pure hydrogen, a 4 kW prototype fuel cell was tested with and without a hydrogen recirculator at the test facility of Ecole des Mines de Paris. Nitrogen cross over from the cathodic compartment to the anodic compartment limits the hydrogen utilization of the fuel cell without recirculator to 97.4 % whereas 100% is feasible when a recirculator is used. 5 refs.

Science.gov (United States)

The advanced technologies of Ka-Band systems such as high gain spot .... sometimes used based on link requirements for a specific application. .... received at NASA LeRC from a Ku-band satellite and retransmitted to the USAT at Ka-Band. .... and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The performance of the PSI/ETH focused ion beam (FIB) system has been improved to produce ion beams of very low energies down to 40 eV with a reasonable spot size of 1 {mu}m at 200 eV. (author) 2 figs., 1 ref.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The longitudinal and transverse dynamics of a heavy ion fusion beam during the drift compression and final focus phase is studied. A lattice design with four time-dependent magnets is described that focuses the entire beam pulse onto a single focal point with the same spot size.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Non-linear autoregressive Markov regime-switching models are intuitive. Time-series approaches for the modelling of electricity spot prices are frequently proposed. In this paper, such models are compared with an ordinary linear autoregressive model with regard to their forecast performances. The study is carried out using German daily spot-prices from the European Energy Exchange in Leipzig. Four non-linear models are used for the forecast study. The results of the study suggest that Markov regime-switching models provide better forecasts than linear models. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We report on a new experimental approach to the size estimation of the hot spot induced by ionizing particles in a Josephson tunnel junction. Here, in contrast to the case of a superconducting strip, it is possible to investigate the hot spot dynamics in absence of effects due to the heating induced by the bias current. The reported experiment is based on the motion of Abrikosov vortices, trapped in the thin films constituting the junction electrodes, under 5.6 MeV {alpha}-particle irradiation. The fast time evolution of a hot spot, combined with the presence of Abrikosov vortices, produces a change of the static magnetic field in the junction area and thus a change of the critical current value, I{sub c}. Measurements of I{sub c} during the {alpha}-particle irradiation and in presence of trapped Abrikosov vortices allow to determine the rate of appearance of those I{sub c} changes. The behavior of the average appearance ...

Science.gov (United States)

This study looks at how education policies in colonial Korea changed over time in order to accommodate the needs of the colonial authorities during the period of Japanese colonial rule in Korea (1910-1945). The colonial experience can be divided into four different periods according to the four Educational Ordinances issued in 1911, 1922, 1938, and 1943 by the colonial government with each period corresponding to a historic event or context. The constitutive relevance of colonial discourse for an understanding of education can be found in the gradual transformation of the education sector in Korea under colonial rule. It is evident that Japanese colonial policy was inherently contradictory in principle and in practice. On the one hand it sought the assimilation of the Koreans, while on the other it maintained its discriminatory and exploitative practices. Such contradiction was obvious within the colonial education system. As the principal ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The current status and prospects for Japan`s economy and steel industry, forecast for demand and supply of coking coal, directions in steel making technology, and Japan`s expectations for Canadian coal are discussed. The PCI system, the Coal Moisture Control System (CMC) to increase coke density before it is fed into coke ovens, a feeder that allows use of lower quality coke on the outskirts of blast furnaces, the Direct Iron Ore Smelting (DIOS) Process, and the `Next Generation Coke Oven`, where coke is heated rapidly and coked at 700-800{degree}C are considered. By 2000, semi-soft coking coals are expected to account for over half of total coal consumption by Japanese steel mills.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract: The current financial crisis has now led most major central banks to rely on quantitative easing. The unique Japanese experience of quantitative easing is the only experience which enables us to judge this therapy's effectiveness and the timing of the exit strategy. In this paper, we provide a new empirical framework to examine the effectiveness of Japanese monetary policy during the ''lost'' decade and quantify the effect of quantitative easing on Japan's activity and prices. We combine advantages of Markov-switching VAR methodology with those of factor analysis to establish two major findings. First, we show that the decisive change in regime occurred in two steps: it crept out from late 1995 and established itself durably in February 1999. Second, we show for the first time th...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

One of vector-borne avian protozoa, Leucocytozoon lovati, has been found in the Japanese rock ptarmigans (Lagopus mutus japonicus), the endangered bird species distributed in the alpine regions in Japan. Vector arthropod species of L. lovati has also been estimated as Simuliidae black flies distributed in the same habitat of the host bird, however, possible blood meals of the black flies were not identified yet. To reveal host animals of black flies, we estimated the blood resources by using molecular techniques. Black flies were collected at Mt. Chogatake, one of the alpine regions of Japan in which Japanese rock ptarmigans live in June 2005. The analyzed 144 specimens were morphologically identified into five species including Simulium japonicum (n?=?87), Prosimulium hirtipes (n?=?48), P...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors report an effort to determine the basis for the altered migration of seven inherited albumin variants detected by one-dimensional electrophoresis in population surveys involving tribal Amerindians and Japanese children. An amino acid substitution has thus far been determined for four of the variants. The randomness in the albumin polypeptide of these and the other sixteen independently ascertained amino acid substitutions of albumin and proalbumin thus far established was analyzed; the clustering of eight of these at two positions in the six-amino acid propeptide sequence seems noteworthy. By comparison with other proteins studied by electrophoresis, albumin exhibits average variability. It is a paradox that individuals who, for genetic reasons, lack albumin exhibit no obvious ill effects; yet, electrophoretic variants of albumin are no more numerous than are variants of proteins, the absence of which results in severe disease.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phase contrast X-ray imaging has been studied intensively using X-rays from synchrotron radiation and micro-focus X-ray tubes. However, these studies have revealed the difficulty of this technique's application to practical medical imaging. We have created a phase contrast imaging technique using a molybdenum X-ray tube with a small focal spot size for mammography. We identified the radiographic conditions in phase contrast magnification mammography with a screen-film system, where edge effect due to phase contrast overcomes geometrical unsharpness caused by the 0.1 mm-focal spot of a molybdenum X-ray tube. The edge enhancement due to phase imaging was observed in an image of a plastic tube, and then geometrical configuration of the X-ray tube, the object and the screen-film system was determined for phase imaging of mammography. In order to investigate a potential for medical application of this method, we conducted evaluation of the images of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The accurate prediction of local hot spot during normal operation is important to ensure core thermal margin in a very high temperature gas-cooled reactor because of production of its high temperature output. The active cooling of the reactor core determining local hot spot is strongly affected by core bypass flows through the inter-column gaps between graphite blocks and the cross gaps between two stacked fuel blocks. The bypass gap sizes vary during core life cycle by the thermal expansion at the elevated temperature and the shrinkage/swelling by fast neutron irradiation. This study is to investigate the impacts of the variation of bypass gaps during core life cycle as well as core restraint mechanism on the amount of bypass flow and thus maximum fuel temperature. The core thermo fluid analysis is performed using the GAMMA+ code for the PMR200 block-core design. For the analysis not only are some modeling features, developed for solid ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

One of the most profound features of electricity spot prices are the price spikes. Markov regime-switching (MRS) models seem to be a natural candidate for modeling this spiky behavior. However, in the studies published so far, the goodness-of-fit of the proposed models has not been a major focus. While most of the models were elegant, their fit to empirical data has either been not examined thoroughly or the signs of a bad fit ignored. With this paper we want to fill the gap. We calibrate and test a range of MRS models in an attempt to find parsimonious specifications that not only address the main characteristics of electricity prices but are statistically sound as well. We find that the best structure is that of an independent spike 3-regime model with time-varying transition probabilities, heteroscedastic diffusion-type base regime dynamics and shifted spike regime distributions. Not only does it allow for a seasonal spike intensity throughout the year and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract In this brief report, we have described the fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of a hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) in a 60-year-old female patient. The patient complained of fever and heaviness of left upper abdomen. Ultrasound-guided FNAC of the spleen showed immature lymphoid cells, and a diagnosis of primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma of spleen was offered. Subsequently, the patient underwent splenectomy and wedge biopsy of liver that confirmed the cytological diagnosis. The lymphoma cells were positive for CD3 immunostain. Primary hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma is a rare entity and may often pose diagnostic problems on FNAC. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010. 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Ethnopharmacological relevance: For thousands of years, medicinal plants have played an important role throughout the world in treating and preventing a variety of diseases. Kani tribal people in Tirunelveli hills still depend on medicinal plants and most of them have a general knowledge of medicinal plants which are used for first aid remedies, to treat cough, cold, fever, headache, poisonous bites and some simple ailments. Aim of the study: The present study was initiated with an aim to identify traditional healers who are practicing herbal medicine among the Kani tribals in Tirunelveli hills of Western Ghats, India and quantitatively document their indigenous knowledge on the utilization of medicinal plants particularly most common ethnomedicinal plants. Methods: Field study was carried...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A programme to optimize the short-term operation planning of hydrothermal system scheduling is presented. Based on heuristics, an operational planning of pumped storage plants and a method for fast evaluations of spot market deals under consideration of load forecast errors was developed. (orig.) [German] Vorgestellt wird ein Programm, das - basierend auf Heuristiken - den kurzfristigen Einsatz eines hydrothermischen Kraftwerksparks optimiert. Im Programm wurde dazu ein Verfahren zur Pumpseichereinsatzplanung und zur sekundenschnellen Bewertung von Spot-Markt-Geschaeften unter Beruecksichtigung von Lastprognosefehlern entwickelt. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowadays, diamond and the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) colour centres constitute the best solid-state system in view of quantum-computing applications. It has also been shown recently that single NV centres could be used as nanoscale magnetic sensors. Such applications require the creation of single NV centres with very high resolution and with a high efficiency. The nano-implanter at the university of Bochum provides low energy nitrogen ions which can be implanted through a hole pierced in the tip of an atomic force microscope. Ultrapure diamond samples have been implanted with spot sizes of 50nm and less. Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy has been used to characterise and resolve the implanted spots.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We present the case of a 68-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with cancer of the descending colon in July 1994 and underwent partial resection of the colon (type 2, moderately to well differentiated...Full Text Available

Wastenet

... Westinghouse Electric is already majority owned by Toshiba Corp the maker of flash memory chips, laptops, nuclear reactors and rice cookers and Shaw Group. A deal could erase any U.S. ownership of Westinghouse, the Wall Street Journal said. Shaw partnered with Toshiba, and another Japanese company to buy Westinghouse from British Nuclear Fuels PLC for $5.4 billion five years ago, the paper ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A nationwide surveillance for antimicrobial susceptibility in Escherichia coli strains isolated from food-producing animals in Japan was conducted from 1999 to 2002. Eighteen cefazolin-resistant...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This book explores the development, present, and future applications of proton microprobes in the micrometer range. Among the topics discussed: the use of proton beams for analytical purposes; techniques of focusing or collimating ion beams; improving and measuring beam spots; the analytical capabilities of the nuclear microprobe in comparison to other micro techniques; and applications and results by several internationally known microprobe laboratories.

Science.gov (United States)

Sixty-Hz magnetic field exposures were measured for 45 adult residents of Maine. Thirty of the subjects resided near rights-of-way (ROWs) with either 345- and 115-kV transmission lines, or ROWs with only 115-kV transmission lines; fifteen resided far from any transmission lines. Personal exposure data for a single 24-hour period was acquired with the EMDEX. The EMDEX's event-marker button was used to partition exposures into Home and Away components. Also, three area measurements were taken for each subject during the personal exposure measurement period: (1) 24-hr fixed-site bedroom measurement with a second EMDEX; (2) Spot measurements in at least three rooms of every residence; and (3) Spot measurements outside each residence. Residence near transmission lines highly loaded during the measurement period was associated with increased Home and Total exposure relative to a far-away population. Average exposure level while away from ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

High-brightness negative ion beams, especially O{sup -} beams, from a compact gaseous plasma source are studied to evaluate the suitability for high-resolution SIMS. Ion-optical calculations are made using the beam parameters from the new source. Results suggest that sub-100 nm spot with O{sup -} beam current of 10 pA is achievable. Beam focusing, the resulting beam current distributions at the target and the expected instrumental performance are discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Theoretical and experimental results of investigating a cylindrical heat receiver with secondary reflectors are presented. One important element of solar thermal power plants (STPP) is the heat receiver. Several forms of heat receiver exist; the main form is the heat receiver of cavity form (including cylindrical, rectangular, and cubic heat receivers with a noncircular aperture). The linear dimension of such heat receivers is equal to, or larger than, the theoretical diameter of the concentrator focal spot.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magnesium alloys have replaced resins as a material for the components of electronic products such as cell phone and notebook personal computer mainly, because of their lightness and rigidity. Thin walls, a complicated shape, and high appearance quality are all needed in the external parts. Die-casting and injection molding are the main method of manufacturing magnesium alloy parts. The optimal cast conditions and mold design have been investigated in order that a few defects such as surface cracks and mold cavities in casting parts would be reduced. Instead of cast, plastic forming technologies such as warm drawing and hot forging have been developed to form thinner walls and less defects. Plastic formability of magnesium alloy in hot working is dependent on a grain size of material. The material with fine grains has advantage of being formed at high strain rate. The characteristics of forming processes of magnesium parts for Japanese home electric appliances are ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

It is reported that due to the large demand for electricity in Japanese homes and given the fact that the energy consumption rate of air conditioners to the total energy consumption rate in an average home exceeds 20%, an energy saving-type room air conditioner is essential, also for environmental reasons. Japanese customers ranked high running costs as a major drawback of conventional equipment. Toshiba started developing the first generation energy saving air conditioners in 1993. Improvements to the concept were made and the 1995 model offers a heating COP of 4.65 and a cooling COP of 4.3 at rated conditions, an improvement of more than 30% compared to the conventional model. Various component improvements have led to this high performance including the indoor fan design, a DC compressor motor and inverter using digital sampling, advanced (PMV) control technology, and compact heat exchangers. The latest feature is genetic algorithm control. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

These summary descriptive data of ethnically similar cohorts of indigenous and migrant Japanese males have shown similarities or slight differences in characteristics wholly or largely genetically determined, such as blood groups, stature, and skeletal size. Differences have been noted in characteristics largely environmental or behavioral, such as diet and cigarette smoking habit, as well as in characteristics determined by a varying mixture of genetic and environmental influences, such as weight, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, and serum lipid and uric acid levels. Detailed analyses of the distributions of laboratory variables, of dietary data obtained by different methods, and of correlations among laboratory, dietary, physical, and demographic variables are currently in progress. Also part of the study plan are determinations of disease prevalence from evaluation of examination, laboratory, and electrocardiographic findings, of disease incidence from repeat ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As the first step for development of the corrosion resistant superheater tube materials of 500 C, 100 ata used in high efficient waste-to-energy plants, field corrosion tests of six conventional alloys were carried out at metal temperatures of 450 C and 550 C for 700 and 3,000 hours in four typical Japanese waste incineration plants. The test results indicate that austenitic alloys containing approximately 80 wt% [Cr+Ni] show excellent corrosion resistance. When the corrosive environment is severe, intergranular corrosion of 40{approximately}200 {micro}m depth occurs in stainless steel and high alloyed materials. It is confirmed quantitatively that corrosion behavior is influenced by environmental corrosion factors such as Cl concentration and thickness of deposits on tube surface, metal temperature, and flue gas temperature. The excellent corrosion resistance of high [Cr+Ni+Mo] alloys such as Alloy 625 is explained by the stability of its protective oxide, such ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) are promoting the joint project integrating both the Neutron Science Project (NSP) of JAERI and the Japan Hadron Facility Project (JHF) of KEK for comprehensive studies on basic science and technology using high-intensity proton accelerator. This document describes the joint project prepared by the Joint Project Team of JAERI and KEK to construct accelerators and research facilities necessary both for the NSP and the JHF at the site of JAERI Tokai Establishment. It was originally written in English and translated into Japanese with some corrections. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An account of problems arising in the use of coal ash and red mud as filling or banking materials. The soil engineering properties of these materials are explained. Problems encountered in on-site use include difficulty in controlling moisture content, absorption swelling and strongly alkaline atmospheres. For long-term use, it will be necessary to minimize the variations in engineering characteristics and in quality that result from the method of discharge and from the raw materials themselves. There must also be thorough quality control during shipment. (7 refs.) (In Japanese)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gasification and hydrogenation are the two basic routes for coal processing. Accounts are given of various low-temperature processes in coal gasification route A: air separation, removal of sour gas by the Rectisol process, liquid nitrogen washing, the material balance and utility consumption of these processes, plus low-temperature gas separation, partial condensation and methane washing. There are also accounts of the low-temperature processes involved in gasification route B: i.e., in the indirect coal liquefaction and direct liquefaction carried out in the Sasol II and III processes. (3 refs.) (In Japanese)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Epoxy-resin based neutron shielding material, NS-4-FR, is used for spent fuel transport and/or storage cask. In this paper the outline of thermal aging test performed to evaluate the heating effect on this neutron shielding material, NS-4-FR, is introduced. The test is consisted of two kinds of thermal aging test, one is 'Basic Test' and the other is 'Block Heating Test'. The former is cooperatively performed by ten Japanese Electrical Power Companies, and the latter is done by GESC and NOF Corporation. (authors)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The world steel industry and market and the current status and prospects for the Japanese steel industry are discussed with particular reference to China, Europe, and the US. Trends in coking coal supply from Australia, Canada, and Mongolia and changes in demand for hard and semi-soft coking coals are considered. Canadian coal plays a significant role in the hard coking coal and PCI coal markets. This is expected to continue. Emerging concerns include the strong Canadian dollar and increases in fuel and materials costs. Canadian suppliers are asked to improve efficiencies, be competitive in the overall coal chain, and diversify their PCI coal reserves. 14 figs.

Science.gov (United States)

Of 1850 patients with cholelithiasis diagnosed in the past 17 years, 1116 female and 734 male, 598 patients (32.3%) presented with one or more of three major symptoms, i.e., abdominal pain, fever and jaundice, whereas the remainder (67.7%) had none of these symptoms. The proportion of the asymptomatic patients was similar in all age groups, being around 70%. Only 20 per cent of 680 asymptomatic patients, followed for 10 to 17 years (median 13.3 years), developed biliary symptoms. Older patients over 70 years of age had a higher rate of change to the symptomatic group, as compared with younger patients under 70, 29.5% vs. 19.3%, respectively. During this period, carcinoma of the gallbladder developed in one of the asymptomatic patients (0.1%). Oral dissolution therapy was successful in only 4.2 per cent of attempted cases and associated with a recurrence rate of as high as 20%. We conclude that asymptomatic gallstone patients should only be followed up by ultrasound ...

Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)

Abstract in english Cytokines are molecules that were initially discovered in the immune system as mediators of communication between various types of immune cells. However, it soon became evident that cytokines exert profound effects on key functions of the central nervous system, such as food intake, fever, neuroendocrine regulation, long-term potentiation, and behavior. In the 80's and 90's our group and others discovered that the genes encoding various cytokines and their receptors are e (more) xpressed in vascular, glial, and neuronal structures of the adult brain. Most cytokines act through cell surface receptors that have one transmembrane domain and which transduce a signal through the JAK/STAT pathway. Of particular physiological and pathophysiological relevance is the fact that cytokines are potent regulators of hypothalamic neuropeptidergic systems that maintain neuroendocrine homeostasis and which regulate the body's response to stress. The mechanisms ...

CERN Multimedia

IMPORTANT REMINDER If you have just come back from one of the regions identified by the WHO as being infected with SARS, it is essential to monitor your state of health for ten days after your return. The syndrome manifests itself in the rapid onset of a high fever combined with respiratory problems (coughing, breathlessness, breathing difficulty). Should these signs appear, you must contact the CERN Medical Service as quickly as possible on number 73802 or 73186 during normal working hours, and the fire brigade at all other times on number 74444, indicating that you have just returned from one of the WHO-identified areas with recent local transmission.China: Beijing, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region), Guangdong Province, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi Province, Tianjin ProvinceTaiwan:TaipeiMoreover, until further notice the CERN Management requests that all trips to these various regions of the world be reduced to a strict minimum and then only with the consent ...

Science.gov (United States)

Bone matrix gelatin, prepared by sequential chemical treatment including decalcification with 0.6 N hydrochloric acid [9], was used as an alloimplant for the treatment of benign bone tumours, tumorous conditions of bone, acetabular dysplasia, delayed union, traumatic bone defects and other disorders. The bone matrix gelatin implanted into bone defects was incorporated successfully in 98% of implantations, excluding cases of infection, tumour recurrence and recurrence of tumorous conditions. The material was also implanted into ten bone sites as an onlay but in five it was resorbed without new bone formation. The incorporation of the bone matrix gelatin into the recipient bed was completed from 6 to 33 months (average 14.9 months) after implantation. Wound infection complicated 5 of 165 implantations (3%) in previously uninfected sites. Low grade fever persisting after the tenth post-operative day (a probable sign of immunological reaction) occurred in 4 of 160 ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Computerized Tomography has gained an important role in the diagnosis of the complications of prosthetic surgery of the abdominal aorta: the importance of such complications come from their frequency, which is proportional to the increasing number of interventions, and their severity. The authors investigated the CT patterns of the most frequent complications. 24 patients referred for strongly suspected postoperative complications were examined in 2 years: fever and leukocytosis (20 cases) and progressive anemia (4 cases) were the most frequent findings. The operation had been performed 7#+-# 12 weeks before (2 patients were excluded because surgery dated less than 3 weeks. 14 patients had infective complications: thickening (57%) and inhomogeneity (43%) of the periprosthetic wrap and ectopic gas bubble (78%) were the most frequent Computerized Tomography findings. The authors also observed 2 periprosthetic hematomas, 1 aneurysm relapse and 1 prosthetic graft ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Production of intense negative ion beams in magnetically insulated diodes was studied in order to develop an understanding of this process by measuring the ion-beam parameters as a function of diode and cathode plasma conditions in different magnetically insulated diodes. A coral diode, a racetrack diode, and an annular diode were used. The UCI APEX pulse line, with a nominal output of 1MV, 140kA, was used under matched conditions with a pulse length of 50 nsec. Negative-ion intensity and divergence were measured with Faraday cups and CR-39 track detectors. Cathode plasma was produced by passive dielectric cathodes and later, by an independent plasma gun. Negative-ion currents had an intensity of a few A/cm{sup 2} with a divergence ranging between a few tenths milliradians for an active TiH{sub 2} plasma gun and 300 milliradians for a passive polyethelene cathode. Negative ions were usually emitted from a few hot spots on the cathode surface. These hot ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Background: the authors report on the conception and first clinical application of a donut-shaped high-dose configuration for proton therapy (PT). This approach allows one to intensify target volume dose coverage for targets encompassing a critical, dose-limiting structure - like here, the cauda equina -, whilst delivering minimal dose to other healthy structures surrounding the target, thereby reducing the integral dose. Methods and results: intensity-modulated PT methods (IMPT) for spot scanning were applied to create and deliver a donut-shaped high-dose configuration with protons, allowing treating > 75% of the target with at least 95% of the prescribed dose of 72.8 CGE, whilst restricting dose to the cauda equina to 60-65 CGE. Integral dose was lower by a factor of 3.3 as compared to intensity-modulated radiotherapy with photons (IMXT). Conclusion: IMPT and spot scanning technology allow a potentially clinically useful approach which ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Present day mammography has not been able to make use of the advantages of digital luminescence radiography because of the limited spatial resolution. The recent development of electromagnetic focusing X-ray tube with effective focal spot sizes from 0.04 to 0.12 mm allows radiographic direct magnification with less geometric blur. It is now possible to combine direct magnification mammography with digital luminescence radiography. By combining high quality storage phosphor screens with an HQ-workstation a spatial resolution of 8 lp/mm is possible for 1.7-fold magnification. For 4-fold spot magnification views spatial resolution can be theoretically increased to approx. 20 lp/mm. One important advantage of digital radiography is the possibility of image-postprocessing. This article presents two sets of standard parameters and three sets of image dependent parameters for better imaging of specific lesions, such as microcalcifications. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spot 14 (S14) is a protein that is abundantly expressed in lipogenic tissues and is regulated in a manner similar to other enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis. Deletion of S14 in mice decreased lipid synthesis in lactating mammary tissue, but the mechanism of S14's action is unknown. Here we present the crystal structure of S14 to 2.65 {angstrom} and biochemical data showing that S14 can form heterodimers with MIG12. MIG12 modulates fatty acid synthesis by inducing the polymerization and activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, the first committed enzymatic reaction in the fatty acid synthesis pathway. Coexpression of S14 and MIG12 leads to heterodimers and reduced acetyl-CoA carboxylase polymerization and activity. The structure of S14 suggests a mechanism whereby heterodimer formation with MIG12 attenuates the ability of MIG12 to activate ACC.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A computerized system for monitoring dose-area product (DAP) has been developed for region of interest (ROI) fluoroscopy in which patient exposure is reduced using an x-ray attenuating filter with an aperture. The system includes an IBM compatible computer which is connected through an IEEE-488 interface to an electrometer which measures the charge from a DAP ionization chamber. A digital input/output board connects the computer to the filter placement device to determine whether the filter is in or out of the beam, and to the x-ray generator to determine when the exposure is due to spot filming. The computer logs the DAP from conventional fluoroscopy, ROI fluoroscopy and spot filming separately, applying the appropriate calibration factor for each. Measured DAPs, fluoroscopic DAP rates and exposure times are displayed in real-time. The system has been installed in a GI fluoroscopic room so that the dose-reduction potential of ROI imaging can ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This article analyzes the impact of crowdfunding on journalism. Crowdfunding is defined as a way to harness collective intelligence for journalism, as readers' donations accumulate into judgments about the issues that need to be covered. The article is based on a case study about Spot.Us, a platform pioneering community-funded reporting. The study concludes that a crowdfunded journalistic process requires journalists to renegotiate their role and professional identity to succeed in the changing realm of creative work. The study concludes that reader donations build a strong connection from the reporters to the donors, which creates a new sense of responsibility to the journalists. The journalists perceive donors as investors, that cannot be let down. From the donor's perspective, donating ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The results of the examination of 23 children with Ewing's sarcoma of the rib were analyzed: panoramic chest X-rays in 4 projections, spot radiographs of the robs, superexposed pictures, laterograms, urography, angiography, computerized tomography, and scanning of the skeleton. Causes of diagnostic errors made at the first consultation by a physician, were identified. Peculiarities of X-ray signs of tumors of this site in children were studied. Diagnostic difficulties in tumors complicated by pleurisy and in tumors of small sizes with extrapleural growth were shown. Inclusions in the extraoseous tumor component were noted in 8.7% of the cases.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The failure took place on a welded elbow pipe which exhibited a catastrophic transverse rupture. The failure was located on the welding HAZ region, parallel to the welding path. Branching cracks were detected at the edge of the rupture area. Deposits of corrosion products were also spotted. The optical microscope analysis showed the presence of transgranular failures which were related to the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and were predominantly caused by the welding residual stress. The significant difference in hardness between the welded area and the pipe confirmed the findings. Moreover, the failure was also caused by the low Mo content in the stainless steel pipe which was detected by means of spark emission spectrometer. (orig.)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Pippenger (2011) recently proposed a solution to the longstanding forward-bias puzzle. He argues that the puzzling estimates obtained using the standard equation for the efficient markets hypothesis are due to omitted variable bias. He identifies the missing variables as the future change in the forward exchange rate and the future interest differential. When these are added to the standard equation, he finds a one-to-one relationship between the future change in the spot rate and the forward premium. However, we argue that his equation can only test covered interest parity and offers no insight into the forward-bias puzzle.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Impact of some heavy metals like zinc, lead, copper, chromium and cadmium were studied at four spots on the macro-invertebrate fauna of the Thaddo stream, a tributary of Malir River. This was in correlation with an earlier study on the physico-chemical aspects of water which showed a severe pollution in this stream. Present data for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of macro-invertebrates and the ranges of heavy metals (Zn 0.5-3.5, Pb 0.90-1.42, Cu 0.35-0.93, Cr 0.0-0.08 and Cd 0.003-0.01 ppm) in the water samples also indicate high level of pollution in the stream. Macro-invertebrate fauna comprises only of aquatic insects which include larvae of Chironomus spp., adults of the Notonectus sp., and nymphs of Gomphus sp. (dragon fly) belonging to the order Diptera , Hemiptera and Odonata, respectively. Quantitatively Notonectus sp. predominated and followed by Chironomus larvae. The maximum concentrations of all heavy metals were recorded at ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Purpose. We have tested a procedure of focal injection of the contrast medium Lipiodol as a fiducial marker for image-guided boost of the tumor in bladder cancer radiotherapy (RT). In this study, we have evaluated the feasibility and the safety of the method as well as the inter- and intra-fraction shift of the bladder tumor. Materials and methods. Five patients with muscle invasive urinary bladder cancer were included in the study. Lipiodol was injected during flexible cystoscopy into the submucosa of the bladder wall at the periphery of the tumor or the post resection tumor-bed. Cone-beam CT (CBCT) scans were acquired daily throughout the course of RT. Results. Lipiodol demarcation of the bladder tumor was feasible and safe with only a minimum of side effects related to the procedure. The Lipiodol spots were visible on CT and CBCT scans for the duration of the RT course. More than half of all the treatment fractions required a geometric shift of 5 mm or more to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babcock and Wilcox Volund is a major European provider of energy producing plants based on biomass and waste materials, which was founded in 1898 and today employs about 400 persons with headquarters and manufacturing in Esbjerg, Denmark. The R and D staff is about 10 persons, concentrating on gasification and improvement of traditional products. The Company turnover is about 120 mio. Euro annually, of which about 80 % is exported (50 % outside Europe - mostly far East). In 2000 the Company was acquired by US Company Babcock and Wilcox. In 1988 Volund initiated the development of updraft wood-chips gasifier Technology, which led to the commissioning of the Harboore gasifier early 1994. The work was supported in part by the Danish ELKRAFT Power Utilities and the Danish Energy Agency. The development process was carried out until 2002 and Volund now just concluded a license agreement with the Japanese engineering Company JFE. The overall layout for the Harboore plant ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The present study has investigated metal contamination at nine sites (10 sampling stations) from the English Channel to the Mediterranean Sea, including low level and highly contaminated sediments. Both total and labile concentrations of metals were determined in superficial sediments. The influence of different pHs was tested and metal lability at pHs encountered in the gut of invertebrates (the ragworm Nereis diversicolor, the blue mussel Mytilus edulis, the Japanese oyster Crassostrea gigas) was compared with the distribution of metals in various operationally defined geochemical fractions. Cd showed the highest lability and Cu the lowest, whereas Zn lability was intermediate. Metal concentrations were determined in bivalves at six sites and in worms at three sites. Cd in living organis...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is the most lethal form of diffuse lung fibrosis, killing approximately half of those affected within 2-3 years of diagnosis. Until recently, no therapies had been shown to have an impact on disease progression. The Clinical Studies Assessing Pirfenidone (Esbriet) in IPF: Research of Efficacy and Safety Outcomes (CAPACITY) program comprised two almost identical double-blind placebo-controlled studies assessing the effects of pirfenidone on change in forced vital capacity, the primary end point, over a 72-week period. One of these studies was positive, matching in magnitude the benefit seen in two previous positive Japanese studies. The other study did not meet its primary end point but positive trends were consistent in this and a number of secondary end point...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long term indoor radon gas measurements using a passive monitor were conducted in the basement rooms of five hospitals, which are built in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The ventilation rate averaged over all hospital was 12.3 air change per hour (ACH). The highest radon concentration was 56.3 Bq/m"3. The value averaged concentration over all hospital and all season was 20 Bq/m"3. But the average of the two hospitals were twice as high as those of three others. Since the total ventilation rate integrated over a day is not different much, the reason of the concentration difference is considered to be the difference in radon emission rate from concrete wall and soil of the each hospital. Though we inquired workers about 'Environmental complaints', it do not show the direct relation between radon and environmental complaints. (author)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Results of numerous experiments conducted over the past 15-years by using behavioural as well as brain imaging methods have shown that musical expertise influences brain anatomy, brain functions and behaviour. The musician- brain is thus considered as a very good model of brain plasticity. Moreover, many results have demonstrated that musical expertise not only impacts on music processing but also on several aspects of speech processing including lexical pitch, sentence intonation and the metric structure of words. Conversely, recent results indicated that linguistic expertise with tone or quantity languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Finnish and Japanese, influences the processing of harmonic tones and musical intervals. We discuss possible interpretations of these findings ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Background The Committee for the Standardization of Renal Pathological Diagnosis and the Working Group for Renal Biopsy Database of the Japanese Society of Nephrology started the first nationwide, web-based, and prospective registry system, the Japan Renal Biopsy Registry (J-RBR), to record the pathological, clinical, and laboratory data of renal biopsies in 2007. Methods The patient data including age, gender, laboratory data, and clinical and pathological diagnoses were recorded on the web page of the J-RBR, which utilizes the system of the Internet Data and Information Center for Medical Research in the University Hospital Medical Information Network. We analyzed the clinical and pathological diagnoses registered on the J-RBR in 2007 and 2008. Results Data were collected from 818 patien...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this paper I argue that when a researcher is a research instrument, it is likely that the researcher would develop a heightened awareness of his/her own cultural conditioning, especially in the case of cross-cultural studies. And that such awareness would make him/her realise that one's own cultural background may indeed have an influence on formulating his/her research methodology. The paper is based on my own research project on development cooperation between Japan and Cambodia, whereby I examined the perceptions of Cambodians and Japanese on what an appropriate power relationship between donors and recipients should be. At the outset of my research project, I paid little attention to my own cultural condition and the role it might play in my study, though I was aware that being Japa...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of this paper is to check up a GPS (global positioning system) impact on scientific research activities of the Geodetic Society of Japan. First, it is mentioned that the conventional geoid-based concept of 'gravity anomaly' should be changed to a new definition, according to the GPS-determined ellipsoidal height system. Secondly, the results of many experiments, which have been made to monitor ocean-plate motions relative to the Japanese island-arcs, demonstrate that GPS is a powerful tool for obtaining temporal changes in horizontal displacement induced by the plate motion. Therefore, it is suggested that terrestrial measurements, such as triangulation and long-range leveling, would be replaced by GPS measurements in near future. Moreover, it is pointed out that GPS geodesy should play an important role in monitoring secular sea level trend due to global warming of the atmosphere and ocean. 19 refs., 4 figs.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The static corrosion tests in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) were conducted from 450degreeC to 600degreeC to understand corrosion behavior and develop corrosion resistant materials for heavy liquid metal systems. While increase of Cr content in steels enhances corrosion resistance in LBE, the effect approaches a constant value above 12wt% of Cr. Corrosion depth in LBE increases with increasing temperature and corrosion attack becomes severe above 550degreeC even under the condition of high oxygen concentration. Nickel dissolution and Pb-Bi penetration occur in 316SS and JPCA above 550degreeC under the condition of high oxygen concentration. When oxygen concentration decreases below the level of Fe oxide formation, corrosion attack on these steels also becomes violent due to dissolution of var...

CERN Document Server

We have conducted an agent-based simulation of chain bankruptcy. The propagation of credit risk on a network, i.e., chain bankruptcy, is the key to nderstanding largesized bankruptcies. In our model, decrease of revenue by the loss of accounts payable is modeled by an interaction term, and bankruptcy is defined as a capital deficit. Model parameters were estimated using financial data for 1,077 listed Japanese firms. Simulations of chain bankruptcy on the real transaction network consisting of those 1,077 firms were made with the estimated model parameters. Given an initial bankrupt firm, a list of chain bankrupt firms was obtained. This model can be used to detect high-risk links in a transaction network, for the management of chain bankruptcy.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Theoretical and experimental data which have defined and/or extended the effectiveness of remote sensing operations are explored, with consideration given to both scientific and commercial activities. The remote sensing of soil moisture, the sea surface, and oil slicks is discussed, as are programs using satellites for studying geodynamics and geodesy, currents and waves, and coastal zones. NASA, Canadian, and Japanese radar and microwave passive and active systems are described, together with algorithms and techniques for image processing and classification. The SAR-580 project is outlined, and attention is devoted to satellite applications in investigations of the structure of the atmosphere, agriculture and land use, and geology. Design and performance features of various optical scanner, radar, and multispectral data processing systems and procedures are detailed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The General Electric Test Reactor emergency cooling system performance was tested by intentionally scramming the reactor and then terminating the power to the primary pump. Certain transient thermal-hydraulic data were obtained preceding and during the established natural convection cooling loop composed of the upward flow through the core and the downward flow through the pool. An analysis was performed to permit the data to be extrapolated to obtain distributed fuel element flow rates and bulk temperature rises during the established cooling loop. The earliest time for the quasi-steady natural cooling loop to develop is about 2.5 min following scram. The cladding hot-spot temperature does not exceed the local saturation temperature after quasi-steady flow is established. Data are presented to assist in the modeling of the GETR natural convection loop. Semi-empirical relationships for friction factor and Nusselt number are also presented.

CERN Document Server

Spatial Fluorescence Cross Correlation Spectroscopy is a rarely investigated version of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy, in which the fluorescence signals from differ-ent observation volumes are cross-correlated. In the reported experiments, two observation volumes, typically shifted by a few $\\mu$m, are produced, with a Spatial Light Modulator and two adjustable pinholes. We illustrated the feasibility and potentiality of this technique by: i) measuring molecular flows, in the range 0.2 - 1.5 $\\mu$m/ms, of solutions seeded with fluorescent nanobeads or rhodamine molecules (simulating active transport phenomenons); ii) investigating the perme-ability of phospholipidic membrane of Giant Unilamellar Vesicles versus hydrophilic or hydrophobic molecules (in that case the laser spots were set on both sides of the mem-brane). Theoretical descriptions are proposed together with a discussion about FCS based, alternative methods.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which obtain their fuel from the grid by charging a battery, are set to be introduced into the mass market and expected to contribute to oil consumption reduction. In this research, scenarios for 2020 EVs penetration and charging profiles are studied integrated with different hypotheses for electricity production mix. The impacts in load profiles, spot electricity prices and emissions are obtained for the Portuguese case study. Simulations for year 2020, in a scenario of low hydro production and high prices, resulted in energy costs for EVs recharge of 20cents/kWh, with 2 million EVs charging mainly at evening peak hours. On the other hand, in an off-peak recharge, a high hydro production and low wholesale prices'...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The exceptional ability of marine sponges to adapt to often drastic changes of their environments could be due to special structural features in cell membranes, including firstly phospholipids (PL). Thus, PL class composition was investigated in marine sponges (22 species from 19 genera to 15 families) originating from various locations (East Atlantic, North Atlantic, South-West Pacific, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arabian?Persian Gulf). The quantitative determination of PL class composition was obtained by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) with scanning densitometry of the different spots. Previous reports have shown phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) as the major PL class in marine sponges, followed by phosphatidylcholine (PC), while other papers described PC as a minor class...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

During this quarter, work began on the regional structural and geologic analysis of the greater Green River basin (GGRB) in southwestern Wyoming, northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah. The ultimate objective of the regional analysis is to apply the techniques developed and demonstrated during earlier phases of the project to sweet-spot delineation in a relatively new and underexplored play: tight gas from continuous-type Upper Cretaceous reservoirs of the GGRB. The primary goal of this work is to partition and high-grade the greater Green River basin for exploration efforts in the Cretaceous tight gas play. The work plan for the quarter of January 1, 1998--March 31, 1998 consisted of three tasks: (1) Acquire necessary data and develop base map of study area; (2) Process data for analysis; and (3) Initiate structural study. The first task and second tasks were completed during this reporting period. The third task was initiated and work continues.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Localized beam-processed areas using chemical reactions induced by a 30 keV Ga"+ focused ion beam (FIB) with and without I_2 (etching) and (CH_3)_3CH_3C_5H_5Pt gases (Pt deposition) have been analyzed using a 300 keV Be"2"+ microprobe with a beam spot size of 50-80 nm. The analyzed results have been compared with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis using an electron beam. The EDX analysis only indicated incorporated impurities at high fluence such as Ga, Pt and C, while microprobe RBS analysis could detect residual iodine with low concentration which couldn't be detected by EDS analysis because of the lower sensitivity of the EDX analysis for heavy atoms.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Laser welding of AISI 904 L super austenitic stainless steel using a diffusion cooled slab 3.5kW CO2 laser and employing two different shielding gases, namely argon and helium, was carried out. The laser weld bead profile depends on various parameters such as beam power (BP), travel speed (TS) and focal position (FP) of the laser spot. These parameters have to be selected suitably to obtain the desirable output. The cross sectioned area of the bead profiles measured using an optical microscope to determine the bead width and depth of penetration. X-ray diffraction used for phase identification confirmed that the weld structure was fully austenitic and dendritic. Hardness was observed to increase in the weld bead with respect to the parent metal and it was related to the microstructural ref...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Electric supply industry is facing deregulation all over the world. Under deregulated power supply scenario, power transmission congestion has become more intensified and recurrent, as compared to conventional regulated power system. Congestion may lead to violation of voltage or transmission capacity limits, thus threatens the power system security and reliability. Also the growing congestion may lead to unanticipated divergent electricity pricing. Owing to these facts congestion management has become a crucial issue in the deregulated power system scenario. Fast and precise prediction of nodal congestion prices in real time deregulated/spot power market may enable market participants and system operators to keep pace with the congestion by taking preventive measures like transaction resc...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In tomato crop, the induction of resistance emerges as an important alternative for achieving the reduction of chemicals in disease control. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of 28 Trichoderma isolates to promote the growth of tomato seedlings and to induce systemic resistance (ISR) against Xanthomonas euvesicatoria and Alternaria solani, the causal agents of bacterial spot and early blight, respectively. Twelve isolates promoted the increase of plant dry matter mass (DMM) above 100%, showing the great potential of these strains. All isolates were able to colonize the root system of tomato plants. The plant growth-promoting isolates were further evaluated for potential elicitation of ISR. Treatment of the soil with all Trichoderma isolates provided protection in tomato plants from 2...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A focused ion beam (FIB) system produces a final beam spot size down to 0.1 .mu.m or less and an ion beam output current on the order of microamps. The FIB system increases ion source brightness by properly configuring the first (plasma) and second (extraction) electrodes. The first electrode is configured to have a high aperture diameter to electrode thickness aspect ratio. Additional accelerator and focusing electrodes are used to produce the final beam. As few as five electrodes can be used, providing a very compact FIB system with a length down to only 20 mm. Multibeamlet arrangements with a single ion source can be produced to increase throughput. The FIB system can be used for nanolithography and doping applications for fabrication of semiconductor devices with minimum feature sizes of 0.1 .mu.m or less.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The site-selective growth of InAs quantum dots (QDs) by a combined focused ion beam (FIB) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process has been demonstrated. An array of FIB modified spots on MBE grown GaAs was fabricated. Thereafter, an in situ annealing step followed by InAs deposition was performed. The InAs QDs were preferentially formed in the holes generated by the FIB. The influences of ion dose, annealing parameters, and InAs amount were investigated. With optimized parameters, the authors observe more than 50% single dot occupancy per holes. Photoluminescence spectra confirm the good optical quality of the QDs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A three-component seismic line acquired over the Zamora gas field, northern Sacramento Valley, California, displays conventional (P-P) and converted-wave (P-SV) seismic anomalies. Well log and seismic modeling results indicate that bright-spot reflection strengths are related to variations in fluid saturation and lithology. The P-SV reflection strengths and interval velocities provide valuable information that complements more conventional strategies such as amplitude with offset and polarity analysis. This integrated strategy can improve risk evaluation and well-site selection in areas where rapid changes in reservoir quality impact resource evaluation.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The full length cDNA of the Brn1 was first cloned, and then expression of the Brn1 was analyzed and the function was identified by silencing technology. Results show that the full length cDNA of the C. lunata Brn1 gene contains 1001 base pairs and an 801?bp open reading frame encoding 267 amino acids. Semi-quantitative PCR analysis shows that the expression of Brn1 at 96?h is significantly higher than at 24 and 72?h (p?Brn1-silenced transformants were light brown in culture filtrate, and have significantly reduced toxin production relative to the wild-type. These results imply that Brn1 gene in C. lunata is not only involved in 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene melanin synthesis, but is also relatively associated with toxin biosynthesis of the pathogen.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Oral vaccination is the most desirable immunization method by which to prevent fish disease occurring at the early larval stage. We developed an Escherichia coli-based oral nervous necrosis virus (NNV) subunit vaccine and demonstrated its effectiveness in orange spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) fry. However, the incubation period was determined to be over 2weeks. To enhance the efficacy and shorten the incubation period, a safe and digestible biological adjuvant should be found. Vibrio anguillarum, a common marine bacterium with immune-stimulatory capability was selected as an expression host. An expression vector containing its heat shock protein 60 gene (groE) as an inducible promoter was constructed to express recombinant NNV coat protein as an antigen. The recombinant V. anguilla...

CERN Document Server

A set of mode-coupled excitation equations for the slowly-growing amplitudes of dielectric waveguide eigenmodes is derived as a description of the electromagnetic signal field of a high-gain free-electron laser, or FEL, including the effects of longitudinal space-charge. This approach to describing the field basis set has notable advantages for FEL analysis in providing an efficient characterization of such eigenmodes, and in allowing a clear connection to free-space propagation of the input (seeding) and output radiation. A simple transformation converts the coupled differential excitation equations into a set of coupled algebraic equations and yields a matrix determinant equation for the FEL eigenmodes. A quadratic index medium is used as a model dielectric waveguide to obtain an expression for the predicted spot size of the dominant eigenmode, in the approximation that it consists of a single gaussian mode.

Science.gov (United States)

The R&D in satellite communications in Korea has been driven mainly by KCC (Korea Communications Commission) but in a small scale compared to Korea space development program organized by MEST (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology). Public and civilian satcom sector R&D has been led mainly by ETRI with small/medium companies contrary to rare investment in private sector while military sector R&D has been orchestrated by ADD with defense industry. By the COMS (Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite) experimental Ka-band payload, Korea pursues a space qualification of own technology for national infrastructure evolution as well as industrialization of space R&D results. Once COMS launched and space qualified in 2009, subsequent application experiments and new technology R&D like UHDTV will entail service and industry promotion. The payload technology is expected for the next Korean commercial satellites or for new OBP satellites. The COMS ground ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Technical Cooperation Project on Reduction of Seismic Risk for Buildings and Structures started in Romania on October 1, 2002. The aim of the Project is to strengthen the capacity of earthquake disaster related activities in Romania. The Project approval is the result of four years of intensive efforts made by professionals from Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest (UTCB), Ministry of Transport, Constructions and Tourism (MTCT), Romania, National Building Research Institute (INCERC) Bucharest, JICA, Building Research Institute (BRI), Tsukuba, and National Institute for Land, Infrastructure and Management (NILIM), Tsukuba, Japan. The duration of the Project is five years. The implementing agency is the National Center for Seismic Risk Reduction (NCSRR) as a public institution of national interest under MTCT. The activities are carried out by NCSRR in partnership with UTCB and INCERC. During the Project period, 29 young ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In 2004, the Southeastern France regional council asked the regional health observatory to conduct an environmental health inventory to i) identify environmental health problems in this area; ii) examine the relations between environmental exposure to pollutants and human health; and iii) help public officials to identify priorities in this area. We collected and validated data from national, regional and local institutions, constructed environmental (levels of emissions and pollutants), health (mortality, incidence, prevalence) and behavioral indicators (e.g., complaints about odors), and compared these over time and between places when possible. For each topic, we summarized current knowledge about the links between environment and health. In southeastern France, as in other French areas, indoor air pollution, home and leisure injuries and other home-related risks are public health issues. Other topics are more significant or particular to southeastern France: transportation (air ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To assess the utility of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the study of pediatric patients with clinical suspicion of pituitary disease. We studied 18 patients aged 7 to 18 years.Fifteen had hormonal disturbances, two presented amenorrhea and 1 complained of headache, fever and symptoms of polyuria and polydipsia. All the patients were examined using a Siemens SP 42 1-Tesla MRI scanner. Sagittal and coronal T1-weighted spin-echo images were obtained; in addition T2-weighted spin-echo or fast spin-echo imaging was performed in ten cases and intravenous gadolinium was administered in nine. We found 9 patients with hypothalamic-pituitary dysgenesis, 2 with germinoma, 2 cases of pituitary hemosiderosis in patients with thalassemia, 2 cases of microadenoma, one abscess, one case of idiopathic central diabetes insipidus and one of Langerhans cell histiocytosis. MR enabled us to assess pituitary structural alterations in children with hypothalamic-pituitary hormone ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In a given species, injected opioid peptides usually cause changes in temperature similar to those caused by nonpeptide opioids. The main effect in those species most studied, the cat, rat, and mouse, is an increase in the level about which body temperature is regulated; there is a coordinated change in the activity of thermoregulatory effectors such that hyperthermia is produced in both hot and cold environments. Larger doses may depress thermoregulation, thereby causing body temperature to decrease in the cold. Elicitation of different patterns of response over a range of environmental temperatures and studies with naloxone and naltrexone indicate that stimulation of a number of different receptors by both peptide and nonpeptide opioids can evoke thermoregulatory responses. ..beta..-Endorphin is readily antagonized by naloxone whereas methionine-enkephalin can act on naloxone-insensitive receptors. Moreover, synthetic peptide analogs do not necessarily evoke the same response as does ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vacuum arc with cathode spots on the cold electrode is widely used as a plasma generator in a such kind of devices like metal ion sources, plasma cathode electron guns, thing films deposition facilities and others. Most vacuum arc devices utilize a high voltage discharge across an insulator surface to provide a trigger plasma which in turn initiates the main arc discharge. Operation of vacuum arc in a repetitively pulsed mode required a stable triggering system for the long time. But with a discharge across the insulators the number of stable pulses is limited by 100,000 or little bit more. The better method for vacuum arc ignition is low pressure discharge. As shown in this paper it is possible to increase the lifetime of the ignition system in 10 times at least, but negative characteristic of this system is a relatively high pressure (about 0.1 mtorr). In some kinds of vacuum arc applications it is impermissible because it leads to the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The adhesion of a Mg:Ag cathode to the tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq{sub 3}) in organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) can be greatly enhanced by a remote plasma treatment of the Alq{sub 3} layer using either air or N{sub 2} prior to metal deposition. The altered surface properties which lead to increased sticking coefficients of Mg and Ag, as well as enhanced adhesion, are attributed to the introduction of new functional groups into the organic layer, as observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The storage life of the plasma treated devices in air without any capping treatment, as judged by a visible deterioration of the cathode, was increased by approximately five to six times compared to untreated OLEDs. Current-voltage characteristics and EL efficiency, however, were shown to deteriorate for devices incorporating either an air or an N{sub 2} plasma treated Alq{sub 3} layer. For OLEDs subjected to short treatment times with an N{sub 2} plasma, only a very slight ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An intensified integration of renewable energies and a more extensive use of combined heat and power lead to an increasingly decentralized power economy. Such an economy is characterized by the conversion of energy at the point of the energy demand and depending on the energy system, by the possibility of balancing the fluctuating supply of renewable energies. In the long run, there is no doubt that fuel cells will be part of such a sustainable and flexible energy concept. The scope of this dissertation includes an analysis of the flexibility of fuel cells in energy supply (1,5 kW{sub el}), an assessment of the potential to compensate for the fluctuating supply of wind energy by an aggregation of decentralized fuel cells and a participation as a contractor in the spot and balance energy markets. Therefore two fuel cells were monitored and tested in order to obtain their characteristics and distributions for the energy demand of households in the federal states, in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The effect of anode length and operating gas pressure on the x-ray emission from a nitrogen-filling modified plasma focus device has been investigated. The time-resolved investigation of x ray was carried out by using a five-channel photodiode x-ray spectrometer. The maximum x-ray yield is seen to increase with the increase in the anode length from 110 to 125 mm. Further increase in the anode length to 130 mm causes the x-ray yields to decrease. The highest x-ray yield of 4.5 J into 4#pi# sr was found for 125 mm anode length, which is 0.2% of the input energy. The average x-ray photon energy was estimated by using half-value thickness method and found to be 8.4 keV. The electron temperature of the plasma was estimated to be around 3 keV by x-ray intensity ratio method. The space-resolved x-ray-emitting zones for all the anodes were captured by a pinhole-based x-ray imaging camera and the images were scanned for different gray levels by using a MATLAB computing software. These gray ...

Science.gov (United States)

Six species having characteristics of plants with the C4 dicarboxylic photosynthetic pathway, Echinochloa utilis L. Ohwi et Yabuno (Japanese millet), Cynodon dactylon L. (Bermuda grass), Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb., Amaranthus tricolor L. cv. Early splendour, Kochia childsii Hort., and Portulaca grandiflora Hook (rose moss), responded decisively to 0.1 milliequivalent per liter NaCl supplied to their culture solutions initially containing less than 0.08 microequivalent per liter Na. Chlorosis and necrosis occurred in leaves of plants not receiving sodium. Portulaca failed to set flower in the sodium-deficient cultures. Under similar conditions Poa pratensis L. (Kentucky blue grass) having characteristics of the C3 photosynthetic pathway made normal growth and did not respond to the addition of sodium. It is concluded from these results and previously reported work that sodium is generally essential for species having the C4 pathway but not for species with the C3 ...

CERN Document Server

This document concerns the proposal to negotiate an amendment to an existing contract for the supply of thick 6 inch silicon micro-strip sensors for the CMS tracker. For the reasons explained in this document, the Finance Committee is invited to approve an amendment to an existing contract with HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS (CH) for the supply of 7 000 thick 6 inch silicon micro-strip sensors for the CMS tracker, for an amount of 3 248 000 euros (5 131 840 Swiss francs), not subject to revision, with an option for up to 11 000 additional sensors, for a maximum amount of 4 708 000 euros (7 438 640 Swiss francs), not subject to revision, bringing the total maximum amount of the amendment to 7 956 000 euros (12 570 480 Swiss francs) not subject to revision. This total maximum amount will be added to the initial contract amount of 415 835 000 Japanese yen (4 879 824 Swiss francs), not subject to revision. The amounts in Swiss francs have been calculated using the present rate of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Upon request by the Science and Technology Agency of Japanese Government, the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute has conducted Piping Reliability Test Program to demonstrate the safety and reliability of light water reactor primary pipings. In this report, the results of the program are summarized. In the test program, pipe fatigue tests, Leak-Before-Break (LBB) verification tests and pipe rupture tests were carried out to examine the integrity of pipings, to verify the LBB concept and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the protective measures against jet impingement and pipe whip under pipe rupture event, respectively. In the pipe fatigue tests, a procedure to predict the fatigue crack growth was developed and the integrity of piping during plant service life was demonstrated. In the LBB verification tests, pipe fracture tests and leak rate tests were performed using cracked pipes. Based on the test results, LBB in the primary pipings was demonstrated. In the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A new type of passive integrating cup monitors was developed to measure indoor thoron("2"2"0Rn) and radon("2"2"2Rn) concentrations. By placing a pair of cup monitors with different size a air exchange windows in the same place during a sufficient period of time the concentrations of both gases can be assessed from the alpha track densities on the CN films of the two monitors. The lower detection limit with a 3 months measurement period is for "2"2"0Rn 26.1 Bq*m"-"3 and is for "2"2"2Rn 6.1 Bq*m"-"3. Radon-220 and "2"2"2Rn concentrations have been measured in about 20 different types of dwellings around the Nagoya area with these monitors. The results suggest that the "2"2"0Rn concentrations were rather high in traditional Japanese dwellings made of a timber frame and mud. (orig.). (4 refs., 4 figs.).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Background & aims: Hepatitis B or C virus infection is considered to be the main cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a carcinogen associated with HCC in regions with high exposure. Mutations in codon 249, exon 7 are a hallmark of AFB1 exposure. Therefore, to clarify the role of AFB1 in hepatocarcinogenesis, we examined AFB1-DNA in liver tissue and sequenced TP53 in Japanese patients with HCC. Methods: Hepatocyte AFB1-DNA adducts were determined immunohistochemically and direct sequencing of TP53 was done to determine mutations in 188 of 279 patients who underwent hepatic resection for HCC. We assessed hepatitis C virus antibodies (HCV Ab) and HBSAg expression; patients without either were defined as having non-B non-C hepatocellular carcinoma (...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

It is one of the most important subjects to estimate the flow-related stability of the heat exchanger tubes. A large scale model steam generator has been developed to verify the stability of the tubes in the Japanese PWR steam generators for the two-phase flow-induced vibration and to accumulate related technical data of thermal-hydraulic and flow-induced vibration of U-bend tube bundle. The model steam generator has 230 U-bend tubes of 46 different radius and 5 columns for each of practical diameter and material, and the anti vibration bars are inserted into each spacing between tube arrays. The freon R123 has been used as the secondary side fluid in stead of water-steam two-phase. In the test, void fraction and interfacial velocities in U-bend and straight tube-bundle are measured with bi-optical probes, and vibration responses of some selected tubes are measured with strain gauges and accelerators. It is verified that the U-bend tubes are stable when they are ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The effect of two iron catalysts, red mud and CGS S-G, as well as Co-Mo/Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ and Ni-Mo/Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ commercial catalysts on the composition of oil derived from the liquefaction of Japanese subbituminous coal have been investigated comparatively by conventional autoclave experiments at 440 and 450C under initial hydrogen pressure of 85kg/cm/sup 2/ . G with tetralin to coal weight ratio of 3. From the results obtained at 450C, total conversion and the yield of gas revealed almost same level with four catalysts, but the oil product from molybdenum catalysts showed higher yield than that from iron catalysts. CGS S-G catalyst also showed higher yield of oil product than red mud catalyst. Reaction behavior of two iron catalysts were also tested by solvent recycle mode experiments.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

For the purpose of risk estimates from radiation carcinogenesis including leukemogenesis and radiation genetic effects, the biological significant dose is not the tissue kerma in air but the absorbed dose in organ or tissue with respect to carcinogenic and leukemogenic effects or genetic effects. In order to estimate organ or tissue dose from the tissue kerma in air, a ratio of the organ or tissue dose to the tissue kerma in air for survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was calculated with the aid of the Snyder's mathematical phantoms constructed so as to simulate the body shape of survivors aged 5, 10 years old and adult at the time of atomic bomb detonations. The ratios were corrected for the angular distribution of atomic bomb radiations, assuming an anisotropic angular distribution for the survivors exposed to the atomic bombs in open air and the isotropic distribution for the survivors incide a Japanese house or other structures. The resultant ratios are ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deformation of the ground can be considered as a sum of volume deformation and shear deformation. At circumferential ground of pile axis, simple shear type of shear deformation becomes main factor of settlement. As shear forces with reverse direction are overlapped at parallel face for pile around face of the ground between the piles, the shear deformation is relaxed. At deeper place from top of the pile, volume deformation becomes larger and component of shear deformation approaches to a pure shear type. In case of the land surface loading type consolidation settlement calculation, a method adopting one dimensional consolidation calculating method using only vertical component within stress obtained by elasticity theory even when investigating multi dimensionally is used widely. In Japanese design standards, the method calculating the consolidation settlement by presuming imaginary loading face for land surface is widely adopted. In case of abrasion pile, the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Comparisons were made between various LH and FSH radioimmunoassays currently being used to measure avian hormones. The two LH assays were the homologous chicken system of Follett et al. (1972) and the turkey assay of Burke et al. (1979). These assays were also used in heterologous arrangement by interchanging the iodinated LH fractions and antisera. Five FSH assays were analyzed: two homologous chicken systems (Scanes et al., 1977; Sakai and Ishii, 1980) an assay based on mammalian materials (rat FSH and anti-ovine FSH antiserum, and one using labelled turkey FSH (Burke et al., 1979) with an anti-chicken FSH antiserum. The potencies of purified chicken and turkey gonadotrophin preparations and of a range of plasma samples from Japanese quail were measured in each assay. The two LH systems showed some degree of species specificity, such that chicken LH was more active than turkey LH in the chicken assay, whereas the reverse was true in the turkey LH assay. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The interaction of intense, sub-picosecond laser pulses with solid targets produces intense picosecond x-ray pulses. With focused laser pulses of several 10 {sup 18} W/cm{sup 2}, He-like and H-like line radiation from targets such as aluminum and silicon has been produced. The energy conversion efficiency from the laser pulse energy to the 1--2 keV line x-rays is nearly one percent. The duration of the line x-ray radiation is of the order of ten picoseconds, although this may be an upper estimate because of the temporal resolution of the x-ray streak camera. The spatial extent of the x-ray source region is only slightly larger than the laser focal spot, or about 10 {mu}m in diameter. With these characteristics, such x-ray sources emit an intensity of nearly 10{sup 14} W/cm{sup 2}. Experiments and modeling which led to the above conclusions will be discussed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A homogeneous turbulent mixing of coolant flows with different temperatures at the fuel assembly inlets is an important requirement to minimize hot spots in a fuel assembly of a High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR). Therefore, the mixing chamber between lower core plate, flow adjuster and the mixing chamber within the cluster foot piece diffuser have been investigated using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-code Fluent 6.1 and its implemented k-#epsilon# model. The previously presented 3D-CAD-geometry has been simplified using Gambit 2.1.2 and consists of various inlet and outlet tubes or channels in the foot piece bottom plate, the lower core plate and the flow adjuster establishing the boundaries of two consecutive mixing chambers. The temperature distribution at the inlet of the sub-channels of the cluster fuel assemblies is presented. It reveals temperature variations at the coolant inlet of the nine fuel assemblies which are not acceptable. ...

CERN Document Server

Heating during frictional sliding is a major component of the energy budget of earthquakes and represents a potential weakening mechanism. It is therefore important to investigate how heat dissipates during sliding on simulated faults. We present results from laboratory friction experiments where a halite (NaCl) slider held under constant load is dragged across a coarse substrate. Surface evolution and frictional resistance are recorded. Heat emission at the sliding surface is monitored using an infra-red camera. We demonstrate a link between plastic deformations of halite and enhanced heating characterized by transient localized heat spots. When sand 'gouge' is added to the interface, heating is more diffuse. Importantly, when strong asperities concentrate deformation, significantly more heat is produced locally. In natural faults such regions could be nucleation patches for melt production and hence potentially initiate weakening during earthquakes at much ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Performance of SRF cavities are limited by non-linear localized effects. The variation of local material characters between "hot" and "cold" spots is thus of intense interest. Such locations were identified in a BCP-etched large-grain single-cell cavity and removed for examination by high resolution electron microscopy (SEM), electron-back scattering diffraction microscopy (EBSD), optical microscopy, and 3D profilometry. Pits with clearly discernable crystal facets were observed in both "hotspot" and "coldspot" specimens. The pits were found in-grain, at bi-crystal boundaries, and on tri-crystal junctions. They are interpreted as etch pits induced by surface crystal defects (e.g. dislocations). All "coldspots" examined had qualitatively low density of etching pits or very shallow tri-crystal boundary junction. EBSD revealed the crystal structure surrounding the pits via crystal phase orientation mapping, while 3D profilometry gave information on the depth and size ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Proteomic changes in proteins secreted by human hepatocellular carcinomas (HepG2) cells exposed to butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) were evaluated. HepG2 cells were treated with three different concentrations of BBP (0, 10, or 25 ?M) for 24 or 48 h. Following incubation, the cells were subjected to proteomic analysis using two different pI ranges (4-7 and 6-9) and large-size two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Results showed resolution of a total of 2776 protein spots. Of these, 29, including 19 upregulated and 10 downregulated proteins, were identified by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Among these, the identities of cystatin C, Rho guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor, gelsolin, DEK protein, Raf kinase inhibitory protein, triose phosphate ...

Science.gov (United States)

The work reported in this paper addresses the problem of structure-borne sound transmission between vibrating sources and ribbed-plate receiver structures. Vibrating sources, such as pumps, motors, fans, etc., transmit vibro-acoustic power, causing noise complaints by occupants in cars, trains, aircraft, buildings and/or material fatigue and damage. The transmission process is complicated in that sources transmit power through several contacts and by up to six components of excitation at each contact. The structure-borne sound power is a function of source activity, source mobility and receiver mobility, and all three quantities must be known to some degree. For non-homogeneous receiver structures, such as thin-plate cavity constructions or lightweight framed constructions, the sheathing plates are typically fastened to the framing members using bolts, screws or spot-welded joints. Hence the resulting system is a point-connected ribbed plate structure and the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this experiment, a beam incident from an oblique direction is reflected by a spherical lens toward the direction of incidence. When the surface of a matter is vibrated by elastic waves, the spherical lens comes into a translation motion that accompanies the vibration. It follows accordingly that the vibration on the surface of the matter may be detected by sensing the spherical lens travelling speed. Three components of the vibration may be determined if beams are focused at one spot from three directions. Detection of the S-wave component by LDV (laser Doppler vibrometer) discloses the complicated wave field in a heterogeneous material, and this physical model experiment may be utilized in various fields of study. For instance, information about problems that may surface in the field work may be collected beforehand in a physical model experiment for developing an S-wave-aided probing method. For the study of seismic wave propagation in a complicated ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper reports on the generator condition monitor (GCM) developed in an attempt to detect overheating inside large turbine generators. As part of a broader study on rotating machinery diagnostics, generator condition monitors were evaluated under field conditions in a 550 MW turbogenerator. Small 100 W resistors coated with insulating paints and varnishes were mounted inside the generator to simulate insulation overheating. The GCM responded very rapidly to an overheating event, typically within two minutes, even for hot spots as small s 10 cm{sup 2}. Similarly the aerosols produced on overheating were found extremely short lived, decaying within two to three minutes after overheating was discontinued. Use of heated ion chambers was found to desensitize the GCM regardless of the nature of the overheated insulation and in some cases would altogether prevent the GCM from reaching the 50% pre-set alarm level commonly used on GCMs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An x-ray fluorescence spectrometer was designed and fabricated which nondestructively determines the thickness of aluminum cladding at small suspected thin spots in the inner or outer surface of actinide reactor tubes. The analysis method is based on the difference in absorption of actinide L/sub #alpha#/ and L/sub #beta#/ fluorescent x-rays in passing through the cladding. Calibration plots of the logarithm of the L/sub #beta#//L/sub #alpha#/ x-ray intensity ratio versus cladding thickness are linear to at least 40 mils for U-Al, U_3O_8-Al, and PuO_2-Al substrates. Accuracy and precision of the experimentally determined cladding thickness and evaluated for both uranium and plutonium substrates. Experimental thickness data are reported for 618 quality assurance analyses on six Mark 41 PuO_2-Al target tubes. An x-ray fluorescence cladding thickness monitor operated with a computer-controlled fluoroscope holds considerable promise for quality assurance because (1) a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper analyses the complex, non-linear effects of spot price drivers in wholesale electricity markets: their intra-day dynamics and transient irregularities. The context is the UK market, after the reforms introduced in March 2001, analysed with an original set of price drivers reflecting economic, technical, strategic, risk, behavioural and market design effects. Models are estimated separately as daily time-series of the 48 half-hourly trading periods. All coefficients exhibit substantial intra-day variation, relating to the heterogeneity of operating plants and market design aspects. This reveals a market responding to economic fundamentals and plant operating properties, with learning and emergent financial characteristics, as well as some strategic manipulation of capacity, most effectively exercised by the more flexible plants. Using regime-switching parameters, the effects of capacity margin and inter-day capacity adjustment are elucidated, suggesting ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The described heat transfer model supplies plausible results for the size distribution of active nucleation spots. For boiling states for which a comparison with measured bubble covering density is possible, that is for low boiling pressures and low heat flux densities, the bubble covering densities calculated by model on the basis of heat transfer measurements agree relatively well with the values observed. (orig.) [Deutsch] Das beschriebene Waermeuebergangsmodell liefert plausible Ergebnisse fuer die Groessenverteilung der aktiven Keimstellen. Fuer die Siedezustaende, fuer die ein Vergleich mit gemessenen Blasenbelegungsdichten moeglich ist, d.h. fuer niedrige Siededruecke und kleine Waermestromdichten, stimmen die aufgrund der Waermeuebergangsmessungen mit dem Modell berechneten Blasenbelegungsdichten verhaeltnismaessig gut mit den beobachteten Werten ueberein. (orig.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The video documents the results of a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR-Phase II) project conducted for DARPA focusing on the use of all-source overhead remote sensor imagery for monitoring underground nuclear tests and related activities. The documentation includes: (1) the main unclassified body of the report; (2) a separate ground truth Annex; and (3) a separate classified Annex. Autometric's approach was to investigate the exploitation potential of the various sensors, especially the fusion of products from them in combination with each other and other available collateral data. This approach featured empirical analyses of multisensor/multispectral imagery and collateral data collected before, during, and after an actual underground nuclear test (named 'BEXAR'). Advanced softcopy digital image processing and hardcopy image interpretation techniques were investigated for the research. These included multispectral (Landsat, SPOT), ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tritium, a beta emitting gas at room temperature causes a biological hazard in the locations where it is present beyond acceptable limits. The hazard can be due to inhalation, and absorption by skin. Hence is the necessity of Tritium monitoring instruments/systems for ensuring safety in the PHWRs and the nuclear research plants and laboratories. It is desirable that the instruments address satisfactorily to certain factors like the following: (i) Wide range of Tritium concentrations - 1 to 104 DAC ( Derived Air Concentration) (ii) On-line monitoring features (iii) Small response time (On-spot instantaneous measurements) (iv) Portability (v) Mitigation of memory effects. This paper presents an overview of the Online Tritium in Air Monitoring Systems manufactured by ECIL for Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors at Tarapur, Kaiga, and Rawatbhata. Significant aspects of design, function, testing, limitations of the detectors and electronics and the further development work ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The 2,860-acre Conforth Ranch near Umatilla, Oregon is being considered for acquisition and management to partially mitigate wildlife losses associated with McNary Hydroelectric Project. The Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) estimated that management for wildlife would result in habitat unit gains of 519 for meadowlark, 420 for quail, 431 for mallard, 466 for Canada goose, 405 for mink, 49 for downy woodpecker, 172 for yellow warbler, and 34 for spotted sandpiper. This amounts to a total combined gain of 2,495 habitat units -- a 110 percent increase over the existing values for these species combined of 2,274 habitat units. Current water delivery costs, estimated at $50,000 per year, are expected to increase to $125,000 per year. A survey of local interest indicated a majority of respondents favored the concept with a minority opposed. No contaminants that would preclude the Fish and Wildlife Service from agreeing to accept the property were identified. 21 refs., ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The localized Pt deposition on Si by 30 keV Ga"+ focused ion beam (FIB), 10 keV electron beam (EB) or dual beams (FIB and EB) using precursor gas has been compared by analysis using a 300 keV Be"2"+ microprobe with a beam spot size of 80 nm. The distribution of deposited Pt, Ga from the ion beam itself, and C from the precursor gas was obtained at and nearby the deposited areas by micro-RBS spectra and RBS mapping. All of the beam processed areas showed a uniform Pt distribution at the deposited areas. The amount of Pt atoms increased with the increase in ion or electron dose due to the decomposition of precursor gas. The thickness of Pt layer by EB is considerably less than that by FIB due to the reduced deposition rate. Ga atoms from the center of processed areas partly redeposited at and nearby the FIB processed areas within #approx#3 #mu#m. The Ga incorporation by dual beam processing was reduced compared with that by FIB processing. The lateral distribution of ...

Science.gov (United States)

N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis has led to the elucidation of several regulator genes for melanocyte and skin development. Here we characterized a mutant from ENU mutagenesis with similar phenotype as that of Splotch mutant, including exencephaly, spina bifida and abnormal limbs in homozygotes as well as white belly spotting and occasionally loop-tail in heterozygotes. This novel mutant was named as Sp(xG). Through genome-wide linkage analysis in backcross progenies with microsatellite markers, the Sp(xG) was confined to a region between D1MIT415 and D1MIT7 on chromosome 1, where notable Pax3 gene was located. Direct sequencing revealed that Sp(xG) carried a nucleotide A894G missense transition in exon 6 of Pax3 gene that resulted in Asn to Asp substitution at amino acid 269 within the highly-conserved homeodomain (HD) DNA recognition module, which was the first point mutation found in this domain in mice. This N269D mutation impaired the transactivation ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The relative abundance and variation of Cr, Co, Cd and Pb in Ascophyllum nodosum and intertidal surface sediments from six locations around the coast were assessed over six seasons. Higher Cd and Pb levels in Galway Docks and Cork Harbour were attributed to localised inputs of these metals from municipal and domestic waste, while at a reference site (Ballyconneely), high algal Cr concentrations were considered a function of geological setting rather than anthropogenic loading. Little seasonal variation was observed, with the exception of higher Co levels in plants in winter, associated with growth dynamics and increased fluvial inputs. In comparison with previously published data for metals in A. nodosum from the North Atlantic, with the exception of localised hot spots, the Irish coastline is still a relatively pristine environment. A. nodosum may be successfully and easily used as a biomonitor of metal contamination in coastal waters. - This paper provides ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ewing's sarcoma classically presents as a hot spot on bone scan as a result of increased vascularity of the tumor and new bone formation. Purpose We report and analyze an uncommon pattern of a 'cold' lesion in Ewing's sarcoma on bone scan and its pathophysiologic significance. Case report A 15-year-old boy complaining of thigh pain. CT scan evoked Ewing's sarcoma or osteitis. MRI evoked chronic osteitis. Scintigraphy showed a fairly intense and heterogeneous uptake on the femoral lesion and no abnormal uptake elsewhere. Biopsy showed none pathologic pattern. Three months later, a second biopsy concluded to Ewing's sarcoma. Bone scan showed a larger lesion with peripheral intense uptake centered by enlarged 'cold' area in the left femoral diaphysis and no evident bone metastasis. The patient underwent chemotherapy and surgery. Three months later, bone scan showed extensive skeletal metastasis. Conclusion Ewing's sarcoma appears usually as an intense lesion on bone ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The aim of this study was to search for a sorbent that could act as an extraction phase and as a support for solid-matrix time-resolved luminescence (SMTRL). Four potential sorbents were investigated for this purpose using tetracycline (TC) as a model analyte. Sorbents prepared from C18 silica gel or calcium cross-linked pectin gel were able to extract TC from dilute solutions. Europium(III)-TC complex adsorbed on the surface of C18 generated the most intense TRL signal when measured at {lambda}{sub ex} = 388 nm and {lambda}{sub em} = 615 nm. This method achieved a 1 ng/ml limit of detection (LOD) with a 100 {mu}l sample solution in a repeated spotting mode. Hyphenation of sorbent extraction and SMTRL was demonstrated using C18. This method is suitable for screening of TC in foods or aqueous solutions and can be extended to other luminescent lanthanide-chelating analytes in physiological or environmental samples.

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IMRT with inverse planning allows simultaneous integrated boost strategies that exploit the heterogeneous dose distribution within the planning target volumes (PTVs). In this scenario, the location of cold spots within the target becomes a crucial issue and has to be related to the distribution of the clonogenic cell density (CCD). The main aim of this work is to provide the means to calculate the optimal prescription dose in a relative inhomogeneous dose distribution. To achieve this, the prescription dose has to be assigned to obtain the same tumor control probability (TCP) as the ideal homogeneous distribution, taking into account different CCDs in different PTVs (i.e. visible and subclinical regions). An adapted formulation of the linear-quadratic model, within the F-factor formalism, has been derived to preserve a chosen TCP value for the whole target volume. The F-factor has been investigated to show its potential applications in clinical practice.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A divergence correction is conventionally applied to zero-offset data in an effort to preserved amplitude information. The conventional divergence correction compensates for the geometrical spreading of a point source in a horizontally layered medium where velocity varies with depth only. The dip-dependent divergence correction extends the conventional correction for improved amplitude processing of dipping beds. The dip-dependent divergence correction is computed by dynamic ray tracing, and applied to stacked data using a dip decomposition technique. This correction decreases amplitudes relative to the conventional correction for steep dips and late times. In a data example from the Gulf of Mexico, the conventional correction over- amplified the reflection off a salt dome flank by a factor of 1.6. High amplitudes near salt flanks are also associated with the presence of hydrocarbons. Applying the dip-dependent divergence correction ensures that ``bright spots`` ...

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Gantries in the proton/carbon cancer therapy machines represent the major cost and are of the largest size. This report explains a new way to the gantry design. The size and cost of the gantries are reduced and their use is simplified by using the fixed magnetic field. The ''new'' gantry is made of a very large momentum acceptance non-scaling Fixed Field Alternating Gradient (FFAG) quarter and half arc beam lines. The gantry is made of combined function magnets with a very strong focusing and small dispersion function. Additional magnets with a fast response are required to allow adjustments of the beam position for different energies at the beginning of the gantry. Additional strong focusing magnets following the gantry have also to be adjustable to provide required spot size and radial scanning above the patients. The fixed field combined function magnets could be made of small permanent magnets for the proton machine, or of ...

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We performed a comparative study of digitally and conventionally acquired images in gastrointestinal examinations. Radiation dose and spatial resolution were determined in a water phantom. In 676 examinations with either conventional or digital imaging (system: Diagnost 76, DSI) the number of images and the duration of the fluoroscopy time were compared. 101 examinations with digital as well as conventional documentation were evaluated by using 5 criteria describing the diagnostic performance. The entrance dose of the DSI is 12% to 36% of the film/screen system and the spatial resolution of the DSI may be better than that of a film/screen system with a speed of 200. The fluoroscopy time shows no significant difference between DSI and the film/screen technique. In 2 of 4 examination modes significantly more images were produced by the DSI. With exception of the criterion of edge sharpness, DSI yields a significantly inferior assessment compared with the film/screen technique. (orig./MG) ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) is decommissioning many of its excess facilities through removal of the facility structures leaving only the concrete-slab foundations in place. Site-specific, risk-based derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs) for radionuclides have been determined for a future industrial worker potentially exposed to residual contamination on these concrete slabs as described in Jannik. These risk-based DCGLs were estimated for an exposure area of 100 m2. During deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) operations at SRS, the need for area factors for larger and smaller contaminated areas arose. This paper compares the area factors determined for an industrial worker exposed to a concrete slab end-state for several radionuclides of concern at SRS with 1) the illustrative area factors provided in MARSSIM, 2) the area correction factors provided in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Soil Screening Guidance, and 3) the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The aetiology of childhood leukaemia remains generally unknown, although exposure to moderate and high levels of ionising radiation, such as was experienced during the atomic bombings of Japan or from radiotherapy, is an established cause. Risk models based primarily upon studies of the Japanese A-bomb survivors imply that low-level exposure to ionising radiation, including to ubiquitous natural background radiation, also raises the risk of childhood leukaemia. In a recent paper (Wakeford et al 2009 Leukaemia 23 770-6) we estimated the proportion of childhood leukaemia incidence in Great Britain attributable to natural background radiation to be about 20%. In this paper we employ the two sets of published leukaemia risk models used previously, but use recently published revised estimates of natural background radiation doses received by the red bone marrow of British children to update the previous results. Using the newer dosimetry we calculate that the best ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recently the troubles related to the network security have often occurred at KEK. According to their security policy, the authors have started the strategy against the daily attacks. It consists of two fundamental things; the monitoring and the access control. To monitor the network, the authors have installed the intrusion detection system and have managed it since 1998. For the second thing, the authors arranged three categories to classify all hosts (about 5000 hosts) at KEK according to their security level. To realize these three categories, the authors filter the incoming packet from outside KEK whether it has a SYN flag or not. The network monitoring and the access control produced good effects in keeping the security level high. Since 2000 the authors have started the transition of LAN from shared-media network to switched network. Now almost part of LAN was re-configured and in this new LAN 10 Mbps 100 Mbps/1Gbps Ethernet are supported. Currently the authors are planning ...

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The Reduced-Moderation Water Reactor (RMWR) is a next generation water-cooled reactor, based on the experienced light water reactor (LWR) technology, aiming at effective utilization of uranium resources, high burn-up and long operation cycle and plutonium multiple recycling. These characteristics can be achieved by the high conversion ratio from {sup 238}U to {sup 239}Pu resulted from the higher neutron energy spectrum in comparison to conventional LWRs. Considering the extension of LWR utilization, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) started the research on it in 1997 and then started a collaboration in the conceptual design study with the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) in 1998, under technical cooperation with three Japanese reactor vendors. In the core design study of the RMWR, several basic core designs with the high conversion ratio more than 1 and the negative void reactivity coefficient have been proposed, and then, subsequent investigation on ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The present situation of the researches that have been made for predicting the process and range of diffusion of warm drain is reviewed. This review is divided into eight sections. The first section deals with the present situation of warm drain from power plants. For the establishment of drainage standard, there are many difficult problems to be solved because water temperature differs in its nature from other regulation items. In the second section, the process of diffusion and cooling of warm drain is explained. The third section deals with the diffusion characteristics of warm drain in Japanese coastal sea due to water temperature. Two types of diffusion are known. One is dominant irregular current, and the other is periodical reciprocating stream. The fourth section deals with the methods of prediction of diffusion. Research methods and simulation models are described. The fifth section deals with the prediction with single layer model. Fundamental ...

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The purpose of this memo is to give an update on our work on ceramic laser materials--feasibility proposal 04-FS-006. Transparent ceramic materials have several major advantages over single crystals in laser applications including, ease and robustness of manufacturing, large apertures, design flexibility, fracture toughness, high activator concentrations, uniformity of composition, no residual stress, and others discussed in the proposal. After a decade of working on making transparent YAG:Nd in 1995 Japanese workers demonstrated samples for the first time that performed as well in lasers as their single crystal counterparts. Since then several laser materials have been made and evaluated. For these reasons, developing ceramic laser materials is the most exciting and futuristic materials topic in today's major solid-state laser conferences. The highlights and executive summary of our work to date are: (1) Ordered a slab of transparent YAG:Nd from Konoshima ...

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Copper tubes have been widely used for water supply and heat exchangers. In such systems copper tubes often suffer from type 1 pitting-corrosion. A mechanism, of the type I pitting-corrosion on copper tubing has been presented, but a initiation mechanism of the pitting corrosion is still unknown. In this paper we aimed to clarify the initiation mechanism of the pitting corrosion. Copper-tube specimens were immersed in a circulating solution. The solution had been used for heat exchangers at a Japanese factory where the water leakage occurred by the pitting corrosion on copper tubes. The solution contained tiny precipitates resulted from corrosion of galvanized steel pipe. During the immersion test changes in the surface state of a copper tube was analyzed by in situ RAMAN (in situ Raman Spectroscopy), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), EPMA (Electron Probe Microanalysis), AES (Auger Electron Spectroscopy) and XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy). The pitting ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dual fuel operation, in which natural gas is mixed with the diesel engine intake air and ignition is by diesel fuel spray, has the advantage that engine conversion is simple. Under high load it has the same high efficiency as a diesel engine and it can be switched to normal diesel operation for long distance running. Also, NO{sub x} and black smoke emissions can also be reduced. However, the disadvantages are to increase HC and CO emissions, to reduce efficiency under low load, and to emit the large amount of NO{sub x} under high load. Waseda University was commissioned by Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. to conduct research program involving experimentation ragarding a dual fuel engine. It was then discovered that the most effective means of solving the problems mentioned above is Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and that the effect can be increased by heating the intake air. An old engine before the current emission standard was converted to dual fuel operation. It was found that these measures ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The population doses and risks of stochastic effects from occupational exposures in Japan in 1978 were estimated on the basis of a nation-wide survey. The survey was conducted on annual collective dose equivalents by sex, age group and type of radiation work for about 82,500 workers other than the workers in nuclear power stations. The data on the workers in nuclear power stations were obtained from the offitial publication of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission. The total number of workers except for nuclear power stations was estimated to be about 170,000 persons. Radiation works were subdivided as follows: medical works including dental; nondestructive inspectional; non-atomic energy industrial; research and educational; atomic energy industrial and nuclear power industrial. The annual collective dose equivalents were estimated to be about 6,000 man rem for medical workers, 450 man rem for non-destructive inspectional, 450 man rem for non-atomic energy industrial and 13,300 man rem ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This article gives an account of the recent development of light water reactors new concepts in the world. Different projects are being studied. The CE80+ from Combustion Engineering (CE) is a 1350 MWe-PWR-type reactor whose primary circuit is confined in a spherical metallic containment. This reactor was certified by NRC (national regulatory commission) in mid-1996. The APWR (advanced pressurized water reactor) is developed by MHI (Mitsubishi heavy industries) in a collaboration with Westinghouse, this PWR-type reactor fitted with 4 loops derived from the SP90 model that was developed by Westinghouse during the eighties. 2 units of ABWR (advanced boiling water reactor) were commissioned in Japan in 1996 and 1997, ABWR was certified by NRC in mid-1996. The BWR90+ is developed by ABB-atom (Sweden) and it represents a cautious advanced version of the BWR75. Passive reactors are reactors that rely only on potential energy (compressed gas, gravitational flow or electric batteries) to feed ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Numerous studies have investigated degradation of individual endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in lab or natural waters. However, natural variations in water matrices and mixtures of EDCs in the environment may confound analysis of the treatment efficiency. Because chemical based analytical methods cannot represent the combined or synergistic activities between water quality parameters and/or the EDC mixtures at environmentally relevant concentrations ({mu}g L{sup -1}-ng L{sup -1}), bioanalytical assessments of residual estrogenic activity in treated water were used to evaluate the performance of the UV based advanced oxidation process for estrogenic contaminants in water. Four EDCs including estradiol (E{sub 2}), ethinyl estradiol (EE{sub 2}), bisphenol-A (BPA) and nonylphenol (NP) were spiked individually or as a mixture at {mu}g L{sup -1}-ng L{sup -1} in laboratory or natural river water. The removal rates of estrogenic activity were quantitatively evaluated by in vitro yeast ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Based upon the existing regulatory cleanup criteria, remediation of this wetlands was proposed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy (NJDEPE). This remedial process would have totally destroyed a thriving Old Field Wetlands. Site-Specific evaluation of the chemicals of potential concern (CPC), remaining source areas, potential environmental fate and transport (EF and T), toxicology (including oral absorption and bioaccumulation) and potential land use scenarios were conducted. It was determined that although the analytical chemistry data reported soil concentrations of arsenic, the compound used by the facility and discharged to the wetlands sediments was in fact gallium arsenide. Secondly, all remaining source areas and hot spots had previously been remediated. Vertical migration to soils had not progressed past a depth of 3 feet and groundwater/surface water did not contain significantly elevated concentrations of gallium arsenide. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

For a given linac design, the dosimetric characteristics of a photon beam are determined uniquely by the energy and radial distributions of the electron beam striking the x-ray target. However, in the usual commissioning of a beam from measured data, a large number of variables can be independently tuned, making it difficult to derive a unique and self-consistent beam model. For example, the measured dosimetric penumbra in water may be attributed in various proportions to the lateral secondary electron range, the focal spot size and the transmission through the tips of a non-divergent collimator; the head-scatter component in the tails of the transverse profiles may not be easy to resolve from phantom scatter and head leakage; and the head-scatter tails corresponding to a certain extra-focal source model may not agree self-consistently with in-air output factors measured on the central axis. To reduce the number of adjustable variables in beam modelling, we replace ...

Science.gov (United States)

Most of the general population is exposed to carbaryl and other contemporary-use insecticides at low levels. Studies of laboratory animals, in addition to limited human data, show an association between carbaryl exposure and decreased semen quality. In the present study we explored whether environmental exposures to 1-naphthol (1N), a metabolite of carbaryl and naphthalene, and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY), a metabolite of chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, are associated with decreased semen quality in humans. Subjects (n=272) were recruited through a Massachusetts infertility clinic. Individual exposures were measured as spot urinary concentrations of 1N and TCPY adjusted using specific gravity. Semen quality was assessed as sperm concentration, percent motile sperm, and percent sperm with normal morphology, along with sperm motion parameters (straight-line velocity, curvilinear velocity, and linearity). Median TCPY and 1N concentrations were 3.22 and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We have used polished stainless steel as a mirror substrate to provide focusing of soft x-rays in grazing incidence reflection. The substrate is bent to an elliptical shape with large curvature and high stresses in the substrate require a strong elastic material. Conventional material choices of silicon or of glass will not withstand the stress required. The use of steel allows the substrates to be polished and installed flat, using screws in tapped holes. The ultra-high-vacuum bender mechanism is motorized and computer controlled. These mirrors are used to deliver focused beams of soft x-rays onto the surface of a sample for experiments at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). They provide an illumination field that can be as small as the mirror demagnification allows, for localized study, and can be enlarged, under computer control,for survey measurements over areas of the surface up to several millimeters. The critical issue of the quality of the steel surface, polished and coated with ...