International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Immunoassays are versatile analytical techniques that had a leading role in various clinical applications, during the last four decades. The studies carried out by Rosalyn Yalow, Solomon Berson and Roger Ekins in the 1960s gave a breakthrough in the development of this novel analytical method. Sensitivity up to femtomolar concentrations, high specificity and universal application to different classes of molecular species made immunoassay a very useful tool in analytical investigation. The expertise acquired by immunochemists in producing antibodies against any antigen and the ability of radiochemists in labeling the antigens with "1"2"5I without affecting the active site are the two main factors responsible for the above development. There are concerns about the safety and health of humans due to the high-level contamination of environment by pesticides, industrial compounds and metals, anabolic steroids in milk and meat products, and presence ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundThe link between maternal factors and birth outcomes is well established. Substantial changes in society and medical care over time have influenced women's reproductive...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Customer knowledge has become an important topic for both academicians and practitioners in recent years. However, there has been little academic research on the utilization of customer-specific knowledge. This study adds to our understanding in focusing on the relationships between various intra-organizational factors and customer knowledge utilization in the context of key account management. The results of the study show, that the use of teams, top management involvement, KAM formalization and CRM technology enhance the utilization of customer knowledge in the management of large industrial key account customers.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) 4α is a key transcription factor regulating endo/xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes and transporters. We investigated whether microRNAs are involved in the regulation...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

It has become increasing clear that alterations in cellular metabolism have a key role in the generation and maintenance of cancer. Some of the metabolic changes can be attributed to the activation...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundDysregulation of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system, a common consequence of adiposity-induced insulin resistance, may be a key underlying mechanism...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background and aims: Serotonin (5-hydroxtryptamine, 5-HT) is an important factor in gut function, playing key roles in intestinal peristalsis and secretion, and in sensory...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Visceral hypersensitivity is currently considered a key pathophysiological mechanism involved in pain perception in large subgroups of patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In IBS, visceral hypersensitivity has been described in 20%?90% of patients. The contribution of the central nervous system and psychological factors to visceral hypersensitivity in patients with IBS may be significant, although still debated. Peripheral factors have gained increasing attention following the recognition that infectious enteritis may trigger the development of persistent IBS symptoms, and the identification of mucosal immune, neural, endocrine, microbiological, and intestinal permeability abnormalities. Growing evidence suggests that these factors ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Plant pathogenic bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas cause a variety of diseases in economically important monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crop plants worldwide. Successful infection and bacterial multiplication in the host tissue often depend on the virulence factors secreted including adhesins, polysaccharides, LPS and degradative enzymes. One of the key pathogenicity factors is the type III secretion system, which injects effector proteins into the host cell cytosol to manipulate plant cellular processes such as basal defense to the benefit of the pathogen. The coordinated expression of bacterial virulence factors is orchestrated by quorum-sensing pathways, multiple two-component systems and transcriptional regulators such as Clp, Zur, FhrR, HrpX and HpaR. Furthermore, virule...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1 is a key transcription factor for the regulation of lipogenic enzyme genes in the liver. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) selectively suppress hepatic...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

To determine a rat strain appropriate for carcinogenicity testing of FYX-051, a xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitor, we performed a 4-week oral toxicity study by administering 0.3, 1 and 3?mg/kg, and 1, 3 and 10?mg/kg of FYX-051 to male Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Fischer (F344) rats, respectively. Histopathology revealed that the degree of FYX-051-induced nephropathy was 3-fold stronger in SD rats than in F344 rats. Our previous study demonstrated that the key factor of species differences in FYX-051-induced nephropathy is purine metabolism. This observation led us to examine the involvement of purine metabolism in differences among two strains of rats. However, purine metabolism was proven not to be implicated as an important factor. Subsequently, other factors responsible for the strain diffe...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nuclear generation operators are facing a challenging business environment at the beginning of the new millennium. Evolving changes in business context, competitive commercial pressures, and changes in technology have dictated recurring evaluation of operational practices and the adequacy of supporting tools, and the pursuit of opportunities for operational improvement. A key area of utility operations that has been impacted by these changes is the nuclear plant control centre. Changes to workspace layout, equipment provisions, staffing, and work organization are examples of some of the adjustments being introduced to improve operational and safety effectiveness. This paper discusses some of the key factors influencing these changes and identifies additional design principles for CANDU control centres that will enable new control centre designs and retrofits of existing control centres to remain relevant and responsive to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Microcomputers are beginning to be used for energy analysis in many developing countries, and have the potential for making a significant contribution to the resolution of difficult analytical and data problems, and to improving communications between analyst and decision maker. Successful introduction of a microcomputer based on analytical capability, however, requires attention to several important factors in order to avoid the mistakes of the earlier mainframe computer era. This paper reviews the key issues of matching models to staff capabilities, of training, and of the operating environment, based on the author's first-hand experience with microcomputer projects in Uruguay, Haiti and Sri Lanka. 3 figures, 3 tables.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper presents an approach to comparing computer run time of building simulation programs. The computing run time of a simulation program depends on several key factors, including the calculation algorithm and modeling capabilities of the program, the run period, the simulation time step, the complexity of the energy models, the run control settings, and the software and hardware configurations of the computer that is used to make the simulation runs. To demonstrate the approach, simulation runs are performed for several representative DOE-2.1E and EnergyPlus energy models. The computer run time of these energy models are then compared and analyzed.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

During the 1990s, a debate took place in Sweden concerning Conductive Education. Proponents of this method focused their critique on the role and methods of physiotherapists but this profession was not active in the debate. Instead, the medical profession came out as defenders of habilitation services and methods. Departing from sociology of the professions, our objective in this article is to analyze the physiotherapists' silence in relation to the profession's position and its relation to the medical profession. The analysis is based on data from interviews with members of habilitation teams and other key persons, and on documents. The relative silence of physiotherapists is found to be related to both interprofessional factors (the subordination under the medical profession paired with ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polarized electron sources for high energy accelerators took a significant step forward with the introduction of a new laser-driven photocathode source for the SLC in 1992. With an electron beam polarization of >80% and with {approximately}99% uptime during continuous operation, this source is a key factor in the success of the current SLC high-energy physics program. The SLC source performance is used to illustrate both the capabilities and the limitations of solid-state sources. The beam requirements for future colliders are similar to that of the SLC with the addition in most cases of multiple-bunch operation. A design for the next generation accelerator source that can improve the operational characteristics and at least minimize some of the inherent limitations of present sources is presented. Finally, the possibilities for producing highly polarized electron beams for high-duty-factor accelerators are discussed.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

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

CERN Document Server

Anti-proton and positron Galactic cosmic ray (GCR) spectra are among the key targets for indirect detection of dark matter (DM). The boost factors, corresponding to an enhancement of the signal|linked to the clumpiness properties of the dark matter distribution|, have been taken as high as thousands in the past. The dramatic impact of these boost factors for indirect detection of antiparticles, for instance with the PAMELA satellite or the coming AMS-02 experiment, asks for their detailed calculation. We take into account the state-of-the-art results of high resolution N-body dark matter simulations to calculate the most likely energy dependent boost factors|linked to the GCR propagation properties|, for anti-protons and positrons. The results from extreme, but still possible, configurations of the clumpy dark matter component is also discussed. Starting from the mass and space distributions of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Because of the environmental hazard of organic solvents such as chlorinated or aromatic hydrocarbons, water soluble and biodegradable substitutes have come into use. It should be assessed how they affect soil and aquifer when spilled in leaks or accidents. This was simulated in a model system using methanol and percolation columns, one filled with material from the unsaturated subsurface and two with different materials from aquifers. The results reveal that a spill of the substitutes can also cause problems. In homogeneous soils and at long retention times until the substance reaches the aquifer, sorption and biological degradation are most likely to prevent contamination of the groundwater. When oxygen supply in the subsurface is insufficient, reducing conditions occur and sulphide is formed. The data show that much more methanol was eliminated than reflected by the consumption of electron acceptors. This indicates that sorption and anabolic turnover of the ...

Science.gov (United States)

New interest by Australians in the state of rural education requires new understanding of factors affecting rural education and its related issues. Educational programs have not been flexible enough to cope with rural diversity, a key element in the milieu. Standards such as "equality of opportunity" and "uniformity" have been misapplied to rural Australian education, which is made distinctive by the inter-relatedness of many factors. Three dimensions of isolation are discussed: (1) types of isolation (geographic, cultural, social, and professional isolation); (2) ways of coping with isolation (understanding isolation, developing a sense of community, developing awareness of options, training the isolated, application, and technology); and (3) conditions affecting educational changes in isolated communities (social and political climate, pedagogy, finance, and incentives for change). All these concerns focus on the issue ...

Science.gov (United States)

This paper summarizes the progress to date by CH2M HILL and the UKAEA in development of a parametric modelling capability for estimating the costs of large nuclear decommissioning projects in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe. The ability to successfully apply parametric cost estimating techniques will be a key factor to commercial success in the UK and European multi-billion dollar waste management, decommissioning and environmental restoration markets. The most useful parametric models will be those that incorporate individual components representing major elements of work: reactor decommissioning, fuel cycle facility decommissioning, waste management facility decommissioning and environmental restoration. Models must be sufficiently robust to estimate indirect costs and overheads, permit pricing analysis and adjustment, and accommodate the intricacies of international monetary exchange, currency fluctuations and contingency. The development ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In order to practice design-by-analysis of thermohydraulics design of BWR fuel rod bundles, the subchannel analysis would play a major role. There, one of the immediate concerns is improvement in its predictive capability of boiling transition phenomena on the fuel rod surface. This capability strongly depends on the modeling of thermohydraulics phenomena of interests: 1) vapor-liquid redistribution by inter-subchannel exchanges due to the diversion cross flow, turbulent mixing and void drift, 2) liquid film behaviors, 3) transition of two-phase flow regimes, 4) droplet entrainment and deposition and 5) spacer-droplet interactions. These are considered to be five key factors in understanding the BT in BWR fuel rod bundles. This paper describes a progress and current status in the second year of the three year project on developing generalized boiling transition models with the above five key factors ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alloy 800 has been used for steam generator (SG) tubing for more than 30 years, primarily in CANDU reactors worldwide and in reactors in Germany. Extensive laboratory testing and in-service experience suggest that the Alloy 800 tubing has excellent resistance to corrosion-related degradation under appropriate operating conditions. In planning refurbishment of nuclear plants stations, a key concern is the longevity of existing SGs up to the 60-year lifetime of the refurbished plant. The paper reviews an existing methodology based on the concept of the improvement factor, and refines its estimation based on data specific to CANDU operating conditions. The paper presents a more advanced Bayesian probabilistic approach to estimate the degradation free lifetime distribution of Alloy 800 tubing, which is used to quantify the probability of degradation during the service life and to evaluate the impact of potential occurrences of degradation on ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Effective integration of nonproliferation management into the design process is key to the broad deployment of advanced nuclear energy systems, and is an explicit goal of the Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) project at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The nuclear explosives utility of a nuclear material to a state (proliferator) or sub-state (terrorist) is a critical factor to be assessed and is one aspect of material attractiveness. In this work, we approached nuclear explosives utility through the calculation of a ''figure of merit'' (FOM) that has recently been developed to capture the relative viability and difficulty of constructing nuclear explosives starting from various nuclear material forms and compositions. We discuss the integration of the figure of merit into an asse...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper outlines an approach to develop estimates of individual customer contestability using a combined statistical and engineering analysis. The approach is targeted for use for mid-size commercial and industrial customers who are not being considered for individual flexible pricing contracts. Contestability is defined as the potential lost revenue associated with customers leaving the utility or significantly reducing electricity purchases. Contestability is modeled from the customer`s perspective using a two-stage decision process. In the first stage, the customer decides if he will continue to purchase electricity from the utility (referred to as customer retention), and in the second stage, the customer determines the amount of electricity purchased (referred to as load retention). Measures of individual customer contestability will be key factors in developing market segments and new rate offerings in future energy markets.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Environmental assessment in an arid coal mining area requires an understanding of the influences of coal mining, the arid climate and ecological remediation. To that end, we selected vegetation as the key environmental factor to observe. Remote sensing approaches to monitoring the spatio-temporal variation of vegetation caused by mining activities, the arid climate and ecological remediation in the Shengdong coal mining area are described. Over a large regional scale it was found that the vegetation was improved as a result of ecological remediation activities. At the local scale, however, the vegetation coverage and soil moisture in the mined areas were slightly lower than those in un-mined areas due to mining subsidence. These differences are partly attributed to ground fissures that inj...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The key factors of enzymatic lysis of cells are the interaction between the enzyme and the cell - catalytic and non-catalytic adsorption of enzyme on cell surface. Here, the studies of lysis of intact Escherichia coli cells by chicken egg white lysozyme were performed. It was found that the ionic strength has a dual effect onto the system. On the one hand, the desorption constant of the enzyme increases with the increase of the solution ionic strength, which results in a better enzyme performance. On the other hand, due to the higher osmosis, the cell lysis rate decreases with the increasing of ionic strength of the system. It was found that pH 8.6 and 30mM NaCl are optimal conditions for lysis of E. coli cells by lysozyme.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This experimental research investigates mixed convection and heat transfer augmentation by gaseous forced jets in a large enclosure, at conditions simulating those of passive containment cooling systems for Gen III+ passively safe reactors. The experiment is designed to measure the key parameters governing heat transfer augmentation by forced jets, and to investigate the effects of geometric factors, including the jet diameter, jet injection orientation, interior structures, and enclosure aspect ratio. The tests cover a variety of injection modes leading to flow configurations of interest for mixing and stratification phenomena in containments under accident conditions. Correlations for heat transfer augmentation by forced jets are developed and compared with experimental data. The characteristic recirculation speed inside the enclosure is introduced and analyzed. Steady stratified temperature distributions are compared with model simulations ...

CERN Document Server

The finite element method and dimensional analysis have been applied in the present paper to study a hydraulic impact, which is utilized in a non-explosive rock breaking technology in mining industry. The impact process of a high speed piston on liquid water, previously introduced in a borehole drilled in rock, is numerically simulated. The research is focused on the influences of all the parameters involved in the technology on the largest principal stress in the rock, which is considered as one of the key factors to break the rock. Our detailed parametric investigation reveals that the variation of the isotropic rock material properties, especially its density, has no significant influence on the largest principal stress. The influences of the depth of the hole and the depth of the water column are also very small. On the other hand, increasing the initial kinetic energy of the piston can dramatically increase the largest principal stress and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

One proposed solution to the problem of ballast-mediated aquatic invasions involves chemically treating ballast water to kill key target organisms. Here, we examine the efficacy of three commercially available ballast water biocides using vegetative microalgae, dinoflagellate resting cysts and bacteria as test organisms. Chemicals tested were the ballast water biocides SeaKleen and Peraclean Ocean, and the chlorine dioxide biocide Vibrex. Results demonstrate that the applicability of each of the three chemical biocides as a routine ballast water treatment is limited by factors such as cost, biological effectiveness and possible residual toxicity of the discharged ballast water (assessed on the basis of impact on motility of vegetative marine microalgae). Of the three biocides tested, Perac...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this investigation, a forward osmosis (FO) dewatering process is evaluated as an alternative for dewatering orange peel press liquor. The press liquor is concentrated by removing water via osmosis into a concentrated ''draw solution'' across a polymeric cellulose acetate membrane. For this investigation, the draw solution consisted of sodium chloride at two different concentrations (2M and 4M). These draw solutions were used to concentrate synthetic press liquor. Concentration factors up to 3.7 resulted when using a 4M NaCl draw solution and the synthetic press liquor. Also during this investigation, fouling behavior was observed and the mechanisms of fouling elucidated through a systematic approach. This approach identified the key components of the press liquor that were primarily res...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

For early-stage firms, successful commercialization of each new product is critically important, given the shortage of financial resources, the limited product portfolio, and small staffs typical of such firms. This paper investigates two key contributing factors for new product success in entrepreneurial firms: designing products that are appealing to target users in both form and function and designing products that can be manufactured at an attractive margin so that the new enterprise can generate much needed positive cash flow. These two practices-industrial design and cost engineering-are well studied in the context of larger, established corporations but have not been explored in the context of new ventures. This study focuses on the intensity of individual and combined adoption of d...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alloy 800 has been used for steam generator (SG) tubing for more than 30 years, primarily in CANDU reactors and in reactors in Germany. Extensive laboratory testing and in-service experience suggest that the Alloy 800 tubing has excellent resistance to corrosion-related degradation under specified and appropriate operating conditions. In planning refurbishment of CANDU stations, a key concern is the longevity of existing SGs up to the 60 year lifetime of the refurbished plant. The paper reviews an existing methodology based on the concept of the improvement factor, and estimates it based on experimental data specific to CANDU operating conditions. The paper presents a more advanced probabilistic approach to estimate the degradation free lifetime distribution of Alloy 800 tubing, which is used to quantify the probability of degradation during the service life and to evaluate the impact of potential occurrences of degradation on reliability of SG ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The report presents a long-range plan for a broad-based, coordinated research, development and market transformation program for reducing the lighting energy intensities in commercial and residential buildings in California without compromising lighting quality. An effective program to advance lighting energy efficiency in California must be based on an understanding that lighting is a mature field and the lighting industry has developed many specialized products that meet a wide variety of light needs for different building types. Above all else, the lighting field is diverse and there are applications for a wide range of lighting products, systems, and strategies. Given the range of existing lighting solutions, an effective energy efficient lighting research portfolio must be broad-based and diverse to match the diversity of the lighting market itself. The belief that there is one solution--a magic bullet, such as a better lamp, for example--that will propel lighting efficiency ...

Science.gov (United States)

Poncirin, flavanone glycoside, isolated from the fruit of Poncirus trifoliata, has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, the effects of poncirin on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells were investigated. The C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells and primary bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were studied. In the C3H10T1/2 cells, poncirin prevented adipocyte differentiation, as demonstrated by inhibition of cytoplasm lipid droplet accumulation and peroxisome proliferator-activating receptor-? (PPAR-?) and CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein-? (C/EBP-?) mRNA expression. By contrast, poncirin enhanced the expression of the key osteogenic transcription factors, runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ). Poncirin also enhanced expression of the osteogenic marker genes including alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OC). Poncirin ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The studies of forced jet augmentation of natural convection heat transfer are introduced. It investigates experimentally mixed convection and heat transfer augmentation by forced jets in a large rectangular enclosure with a vertical cooling surface. The experiment is designed to measure the key parameters governing the heat transfer augmentation by a forced jet, and to investigate the effects of geometric factors, including the jet diameter, jet injection orientation, interior structures, and enclosure aspect ratio, on conditions simulating those of actual passive containment cooling systems and scales approaching those of actual containment buildings or compartments. The tests that cover a variety of injection modes will contribute to reveal the nature of mixing and stratification phenomena under accident conditions to a new generation of inherently safe reactors. With similarity considerations on governing equations, the heat transfer of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Nuclear Renaissance is stumbling at the very same time it should speed up in order to help control the climate change and meet a fast growing energy need in a large part of the world. Rising costs of projects, uncertainties about their completion, rocketing safety requirements, and financial constraints are key factors which slow down the Nuclear Renaissance. Furthermore, the legal infrastructure required from any country to enter a commercial nuclear programme (safety authorities, fuel cycle, and waste disposal) is a major hurdle s which impedes consideration for small to mid size reactors, well suited for many countries. The paper prepared and presented by Alain Bugat (Chairman of NucAdvisor and former Head of the French Atomic Energy Commission), Dominique Vignon (CEO of NucAdvisor and former President and CEO of AREVA NP) and Michel Lecomte (Co-founder NucAdvisor) reviews the present status of the Nuclear Renaissance. Based on an ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Sewage waste disposal facilities in the Florida Keys include septic tanks and individual package plants in place of municipal collection facilities in most locations. In Key Largo, both facilities discharge...Full Text Available

Wastenet

...Key Phrase page for Kidney Failure: Books containing the phrase Kidney Failure Kidney Failure,Key Phrase Kidney Failure,Books containing Kidney Failure,Amazon....com: \\

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Background: Recent studies have developed a murine model of IgE-mediated food allergy based on oral coadministration of antigen and cholera toxin (CT) to establish a maximal response for studying immunopathogenic mechanisms and immunotherapeutic strategies. However, for studying subtle immunomodulating factors or factors effective during response initiation, this maximal response-based model is less suitable due to a lack of sensitivity. Therefore, in attempts to identify essential parameters to fine-tune the immune response towards a submaximal level, potentially more sensitive, we were interested in characterizing the individual effects of the parameters in the CT-based model: CT dose, antigen type and dose, and number of immunizations. Methods: BALB/c mice were orally sensitized weekly for 3 or 7 weeks with graded doses of CT and various food antigens (soy-trypsin inhibitor, ovalbumin or ovomucoid). Antigen-specific lgG1, IgG2a, IgA and IgE ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As the 20th century draws to a close, both individual countries and the world community face challenging problems related to the supply and use energy. These include local and regional environmental impacts, the prospect of global climate and sea level change associated with the greenhouse effect, and threats to international relations in connection with oil supply or nuclear proliferation. For developing countries, the financial cost of providing energy to provide basic needs and fuel economic development pose an additional burden. To assess the magnitude of future problems and the potential effectiveness of response strategies, it is important to understand how and why energy use has changed in the post and where it is heading. This requires study of the activities for which energy is used, and of how people and technology interact to provide the energy services that are desired. The authors and their colleagues have analyzed trends in energy use by sector for most of the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper, we put forward a systematic method to analyze, control and evaluate the safety issues of medical robotics. We created a safety model that consists of three axes to analyze safety factors. Software and hardware are the two material axes. The third axis is the policy that controls all phases of design, production, testing and application of the robot system. The policy was defined as hazard identification and safety insurance control (HISIC) that includes seven principles: definitions and requirements, hazard identification, safety insurance control, safety critical limits, monitoring and control, verification and validation, system log and documentation. HISIC was implemented in the development of a robot for urological applications that was known as URObot. The URObot is a universal robot with different modules adaptable for 3D ultrasound image-guided interstitial laser coagulation, radiation seed implantation, laser resection, and electrical ...

CERN Document Server

We study the structure of the medium surrounding sites of high-mass star formation to determine the interrelation between the HII regions and the environment from which they were formed. The density distribution of the surroundings is key in determining how the radiation of the newly formed stars interacts with the surrounds in a way that allows it to be used as a star formation tracer. We present new Herschel/SPIRE 250, 350 and 500 mum data of LHA 120-N44 and LHA 120-N63 in the LMC. We construct average spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for annuli centered on the IR bright part of the star formation sites. The annuli cover ~10-~100 pc. We use a phenomenological dust model to fit these SEDs to derive the dust column densities, characterise the incident radiation field and the abundance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules. We see a factor 5 decrease in the radiation field energy density as a function of radial distance around N63. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

One of the key features of ANL's Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) concept is a close-coupled fuel cycle. The proposed fuel cycle is similar to that demonstrated over the first five to six years of operation of EBR-II, when a fuel cycle facility adjacent to EBR-II was operated to reprocess and refabricate rapidly fuel discharged from the EBR-II. Locating the IFR and its fuel cycle facility on the same site makes the IFR a self-contained system. Because the reactor fuel and the uranium blanket are metals, pyrometallurgical processes (shortned to ''pyroprocesses'') have been chosen. The objectives of the IFR processes for the reactor fuel and blanket materials are to (1) recover fissionable materials in high yield; (2) remove fission products adequately from the reactor fuel, e.g., a decontamination factor of 10 to 100; and (3) upgrade the concentration of plutonium in uranium sufficiently to replenish the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Results on the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane on rare-earth oxide (REO) based catalysts (Na-P-Sm-O, Sm-Sr(Ca)-O, La-Sr-O and Nd-Sr-O) are described. Oxygen adsorption was found to be a key factor which determines the activity of this type of catalysts. Continuous flow experiments in the presence of catalysts which reveal strong oxygen adsorption showed that the reaction mixture is ignited resulting in an enhanced heat generation at the reactor inlet. The heat produced by the oxidative reactions was sufficient under the conditions chosen for the endothermic thermal pyrolysis which takes place preferentially in the gas phase. Ignition of the reaction mixture is an important catalyst function. Contrary to non-catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation, reaction temperatures above 700 C could be achieved without significant external heat input. Ethylene yields of up to 34-45% (S=66-73%) were obtained on REO-based catalysts under non-isothermal ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The ability to monitor the corrosion degradation of key components in fossil fuel power plants is of utmost importance for Futuregen and ultra-supercritical power plants. Fireside corrosion occurs in the high temperature sections of energy production facilities due to a number of factors: ash deposition, coal composition, thermal gradients, and low NOx conditions, among others. Problems occur when equipment designed for either oxidizing or reducing conditions is exposed to alternating oxidizing and reducing conditions. This can happen especially near the burners. The use of low NOx burners is becoming more commonplace and can produce reducing environments that accelerate corrosion. One method of addressing corrosion of these surfaces is the use of corrosion probes to monitor when process changes cause corrosive conditions. In such a case, corrosion rate could become a process control variable that directs the operation of a coal combustion or ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Excellent silicided shallow p{sup +}n junctions have been successfully achieved by the implantation of BF{sub 2}{sup +} ions into thin Pd{sub 2}Si films on Si substrates to a dose of 5 {times} 10{sup 15} cm{sup {minus}2} and subsequent low temperature (even at 550 C) furnace annealing. The formed junctions have been characterized for respective implantation conditions. In this experiment, the implant energy is the key role in obtaining a low leakage diode. Reverse current density of about 3 nA/cm{sup 2} and an ideality factor of about 1.05 can be attained by the implantation of BF{sub 2}{sup +} ions at 80 keV and subsequent annealing at 550 C. The junction depth is about 0.09 {mu}m, measured by the spread resistance method. As compared with the results of unimplanted specimens, the implantation of BF{sub 2}{sup +} ions into a thin Pd{sub 2}Si layer can stabilize the silicide film and prevent it from forming islands during high temperature ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The results of an extensive, detailed geologic and geophysical evaluation of the offshore South Florida basin show this area to have considerable hydrocarbon exploration potential. Geophysical mapping on six key horizons identified numerous structural closures at Dollar Bay through Bone Island mapping levels. Geologic evaluation indicated at least four viable potential reservoir horizons, including the Sunniland formation - the main producing unit onshore in what is called the Sunniland trend. Mature, organic rich carbonate source rocks are found in several stratigraphic intervals throughout the basin, and extensively developed seals consisting of micritic limestones and anhydrites are also common in the stratigraphic section. All the critical factors for hydrocarbon accumulation - source, reservoir, trap, and seal - appear to be present in the offshore Pulley ridge area of the South Florida basin. Using high-resolution seismic data, additional ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Over the past few years, NPCIL has performed comprehensive Level-1 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) for a 220 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) and for the first 540 MWe PHWR at Tarapur Atomic Power Project (TAPP- 3 and 4). The major objective of these PSAs was to present an integrated picture of the safety of the plant to identify and understand key plant vulnerabilities. As a result of the availability of these PSAs, there is a desire to use them to operate the plants in the most efficient manner practicable. In recent years, the operation of Indian Nuclear Power Plants has been characterized by improved availability/capacity factors and reduced forced outages. Frequency of planned outages is also being reduced. In order to achieve this, the PSAs are now being used as an engineering tool for optimization of Technical Specifications with regard to Allowed Outage Time (AOT) and Surveillance ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The fuel composition heterogeneity effect on reactor performance parameters was assessed by refueling simulations for three DUPIC fuel options of fuel composition heterogeneity control: the fissile content adjustment, the reactivity control by slightly enriched and depleted uranium, and the reactivity control by natural uranium. For each DUPIC fuel option, the simulations were performed using 30 heterogeneous fuel types which were determined by the agglomerative hierarchical clustering method. The heterogeneity effect was considered during the refueling simulation by randomly selecting fuel types for the refueling operation. The refueling simulations of the heterogeneous core have shown that the key performance parameters such as the maximum channel power (MCP), maximum bundle power (MBP), and channel power peaking factor (CPPF) are close to those of the core that has single fuel type. For the three DUPIC fuel options, the uncertainties of MCP, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A key factor that demands special attention in the pipeline construction is the cold bending process, since 30 to 40% of the pipes use this process in the field. This study aimed to evaluate the X80 cold bending operational parameters, in order make viable the use of this process in the installation of future onshore pipelines. Three 34''OD x 0,750'' pipes were bended. The bending was conducted using a hydraulic equipment with application of equally spaced punches, recording the correspondent angles related to the elastic and plastic deformations in order to assess the spring-back effect and performing dimensional inspection. Samples from pipe and the weld were subjected to mechanical and metallographic tests. It was possible to obtain a 19 deg curve and 27D radius without presenting any evidence of wrinkles, out of roundness or any type of mechanical damage. After analysis, all criteria established from ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Safety studies related to the disposal of low- and intermediate waste indicate that the long term risk is determined by the presence of long-lived nuclides such as "1"4C, "5"9Ni, "6"3Ni, "9"9Tc, "1"2"9I and the transuranium elements. As most of these nuclides are difficult to measure, the correlation between these critical nuclides and some other easily measurable key nuclides such as "6"0Co and "1"3"7Cs has been investigated for typical waste streams of Paks Nuclear Power Plant (Hungary) and scaling factors have been proposed. An automated gamma-scanning monitor has been purchased and calibrated to determine the gamma-emitting radionuclides. Radiochemical methods have been developed to determine significant difficult-to-measure radionuclides. The radionuclides of interest have been "3H, "1"4C, "9"0Sr, "5"5Fe, "5"9Ni, "9"9Tc, "1"2"9I and TRUs. The measurements taken so far have revealed brand new information and data on radiological composition ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Strategic management of key accounts has become an important component of many companies' sales efforts. This research introduces a strategic framework of key account performance that integrates theory from relationship marketing, key account management, and customer equity. Using the three drivers of customer equity - value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity - the framework captures both the relational outcomes (relationship commitment and trust) and financial performance outcomes (profitability and share of spend) of strategic decisions made in key account programs. Implications and future research are then discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Mixed Waste Integrated Program (MWIP) has as one of its tasks the identification of a decision methodology and key decision criteria for the selection methodology. The aim of a multicriteria analysis is to provide an instrument for a systematic evaluation of distinct alternative projects. Determination of this methodology will clarify (1) the factors used to evaluate these alternatives, (2) the evaluator`s view of the importance of the factors, and (3) the relative value of each alternative. The selected methodology must consider the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) decision-making criteria for application to the analysis technology subsystems developed by the DOE Office of Technology Development. This report contains a compilation of several decision methodologies developed in various national laboratories, institutions, and universities. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This research investigates experimentally mixed convection and heat transfer augmentation by forced jets in a large enclosure, at conditions simulating those of actual passive containment cooling systems and scales approaching those of actual containment buildings or compartments. The experiment was designed to measure the key parameters governing the heat transfer augmentation by forced jets and investigate the effects of geometric factors, including the jet diameter, jet injection orientation, interior structures, and enclosure aspect ratio. The tests cover a variety of injection modes leading to flow configurations of interest that contribute to reveal the nature of mixing and stratification phenomena in the containment under accident conditions of interest. The heat transfer of mixed convection can be predicted to be controlled by jet Archimedes number and geometric factors. Using a combining rule for mixed convection ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

To determine a rat strain appropriate for carcinogenicity testing of FYX-051, a xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitor, we performed a 4-week oral toxicity study by administering 0.3, 1 and 3 mg/kg, and 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg of FYX-051 to male Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Fischer (F344) rats, respectively. Histopathology revealed that the degree of FYX-051-induced nephropathy was 3-fold stronger in SD rats than in F344 rats. Our previous study demonstrated that the key factor of species differences in FYX-051-induced nephropathy is purine metabolism. This observation led us to examine the involvement of purine metabolism in differences among two strains of rats. However, purine metabolism was proven not to be implicated as an important factor. Subsequently, other factors responsible for the strain differences were examined. FYX-051-induced increases in plasma xanthine concentrations were higher in SD rats than in ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AMP-activated-protein-kinase (AMPK) is a key sensor and regulator of cellular and whole-body energy metabolism and plays a key role in regulation of lipid metabolism. Since lipid metabolism...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Subcritical cryogenic fluid management has long been recognized as an enabling technology for key

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We present a protocol for quantum key distribution using discrete modulation of coherent states of light. Information is encoded in the variable phase of coherent states which can be chosen from a regular discrete set ranging from binary to continuous modulation similar to phase-shift keying in classical communication. Information is decoded by simultaneous homodyne measurement of both quadratures and requires no active choice of basis. The protocol utilizes either direct or reverse reconciliation both with and without postselection. We analyze the security of the protocol and show how to enhance it by the optimal choice of all variable parameters of the quantum signal.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In 1998, EU legislation initiated a liberalisation process among European energy markets. The process of market opening has significantly changed the functioning of the markets and the competition conditions of the energy sector. At the same time, the industry witnessed a surge of mergers and far-reaching changes in the structure of German electricity and natural gas markets occurred. Against this background, the doctoral thesis at hand surveys the merger activities in the energy sector as well as the merger control policy of the German Federal Cartel Office during the first years of liberalisation. The study starts with a portrayal of the institutional framework of the German merger control regime and a survey of the relevant economic literature on horizontal and vertical mergers. Subsequent to the legal and theoretical considerations, the merger activities and the merger control policy of the German Federal Cartel Office are investigated empirically. The data set is based on ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

... dose rates inhalation iodine 134 krypton 88 nuclear decay quality factor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The CASTOC project addresses environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) phenomena in low alloy steels used for pressure boundary components in both Western type boiling water reactors (BWR) and Russian type pressurised water reactors (VVER). It comprises the four work packages (WP): inter-laboratory comparison test (WP1); EAC behaviour under static load (WP2), EAC behaviour under cyclic load and load transients (WP3); evaluation of the results with regard to their relevance for components in practice (WP4). The use of sophisticated test facilities and measurement techniques for the on-line detection of crack advances have provided a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms of environmentally assisted cracking and provided quantitative data of crack growth rates as a function of loading events and time, respectively. The effect of several major parameters controlling EAC was investigated with particular emphasis on the transferability of the results to components in service. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radio-biologists have pointed out a novel radiobiological phenomenon observed in many tumor and normal cell lines: hyper-radiosensitivity to very low-dose (H.R.S.) followed by induced radioresistance (I.R.R.) after a threshold dose of 0.1-0.3 Gy that depends on the cell line. Radioresistance at high dose (i.e. higher than 0.5 Gy) and metastatic potential of tumor cells are likely major factors of failure in radiotherapy. A careful review of literature suggests that: 1) radiotherapy does not increase the metastatic potential of tumor cells; 2) radioresistance at high dose and metastatic potential are not related. However, inside a given tumor cell line, highly metastatic clones may elicit more cells showing H.R.S; or are more radiosensitive at high dose than poorly metastatic ones. Recent data obtained from molecular techniques (comet and immunofluorescence assays) applied to single cells irradiated at very low radiation doses (1-100 mGy) suggest that DNA ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A computationally efficient dynamic adaptive chemistry (DAC) scheme is described that permits on-the-fly mechanism reduction during reactive flow calculations. The scheme reduces a globally valid full mechanism to a locally, instantaneously applicable smaller mechanism. Previously we demonstrated its applicability to homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) problems with n-heptane [L. Liang, J.G. Stevens, J.T. Farrell, Proc. Combust. Inst. 32 (2009) 527-534]. In this work we demonstrate the broader utility of the DAC scheme through the simulation of HCCI and shock tube ignition delay times (IDT) for three gasoline surrogates, including two- and three-component blends of primary reference fuels (PRF) and toluene reference fuels (TRF). Both a detailed 1099-species mechanism and a skeletal 150-species mechanism are investigated as the full mechanism to explore the impact of fuel complexity on the DAC scheme. For all conditions studied, pressure and key species ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Utilities looking to thrive in increasingly competitive markets are reexamining their approach to pricing. To compete effectively, utilities will need to both control costs and offer customers pricing options that are competitive and reflect the diversity in their customer base. These price structures must reflect two key factors -- marginal costs, which will increasingly reflect market prices, and consumers` responsiveness to those price structures. To accomplish this requires the capability to forecast customers` response to price structures that often provide complex signals to customers about how changes in their energy consumption and maximum power demand affect their bill, and to calculate corresponding changes in utility profits and customer net benefits. Much discussion of competitive pricing focuses on innovative new rate structures. However, significant opportunities are present to improve matters by simply redesigning current ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To prepare porous carbons with high adsorption capacity from rice straws, two different kinds of precursors, i.e. one as the raw rice straws (one-stage process) and the other as pre-carbonized rice straws (two-stage process), were active with KOH of various impregnation ratios. The two-stage process was found very effective for manufacturing porous carbons with high surface area and adsorption capacities for MB and I{sub 2}. For example, the porous carbon that was carbonized at 700{sup o}C and subsequently activated at 900{sup o}C exhibited the surface area of 2410 m{sup 2}/g, the adsorption capacities of 800 and 1720 mg/g for MB and I{sub 2}, respectively, and the total pore volume of 1.4 ml/g. In the two-stage method, there was a preferential optimum impregnation ratio of KOH to a precursor carbon, i.e. 4:1, with which high surface area of porous carbons could be achieved. The formation of uni- and bidentate carboxylic salt structure, induced by reaction between KOH and oxygen ...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Colorectal cancer is the third most common malignant tumor and the fourth-leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The crucial role of fatty acids for a number of important biological processes suggests a more in depth analysis of inter-individual differences in fatty acid metabolizing genes as contributing factor to colon carcinogenesis. We examined the association between genetic variability in 43 fatty acid metabolism-related genes and colorectal risk in 1225 CRC cases and 2032 controls participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. 392 single nucleotide polymorphisms were selected using pairwise tagging with an r(2) cutoff of 0.8 and a minor allele frequency of >5%. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Haplotype analysis was performed using a generalized linear model framework. On the genotype level, HPGD, PLA2G6, and TRPV3 were ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MOX fuel for FBR is allowed to contain impurities within several thousand ppm, which means less than 1000 of decontamination factor (DF) in reprocessing is enough for Pu and U recycle use. The Advanced Fuel Recycle proposed by PNC is on this basis. The concept consists of innovations on both MOX fuel fabrication and aqueous reprocessing technologies based on the Purex process and it is believed that successful optimization of fuel cycle interface condition is the key issue to realize the concept. The lower DF such as 1000 can be easily obtained by the simplified Purex flowsheet which has no purification steps. However, new subject arises in MOX fuel fabrication, that is, fabrication is conducted in the shielding cell using equipment which is maintained remotely. A simplified fabrication technology becomes essential to establish the remote maintenance system and is one of the critical path for achieving the Advanced Fuel Recycle. The PNC`s ...

Science.gov (United States)

The thermostable Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase (Taq Pol) has been the key factor in transforming the initial PCR method into one with huge impact in molecular biology and biotechnology. Therefore, the development of effective affinity adsorbents for the purification of Taq Pol, as well as other DNA polymerases, attracts the attention of the enzyme manufacturers and the research laboratories. In this report we describe a simple protocol for the purification of Taq Pol from E. coli lysates, leading to enzymes of high specific activity and purity. The protocol is based on a single affinity chromatography step, featuring an immobilized ligand selected from a structure-biased combinatorial library of dNTP-mimetic synthetic ligands. The ligand library was screened for its ability to bind and purify Taq Pol from E. coli lysates. One immobilized ligand (mABSGu) of the general formula X-Trz-Y, bearing 9-aminoethylguanine (AEGu) and aniline-2-sulfonic ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Climates at regional scale are strongly dependent on the interaction between atmosphere and its lower boundary, the oceans and the land surface mosaic. Land surfaces influence climate through their albedo, and the aerodynamic roughness, the processes of the biosphere and many soil hydrological properties; all these factors vary considerably geographically. Land surfaces receive a certain portion of the solar irradiance depending on the cloudiness, atmospheric transparency and surface albedo. Short-wave solar irradiance is the source of the heat energy exchange at the earth`s surface and also regulates many biological processes, e.g. photosynthesis. Methods for estimating solar irradiance, atmospheric transparency and surface albedo were reviewed during the course of this project. The solar energy at earth`s surface is consumed for heating the soil and the lower atmosphere. Where moisture is available, evaporation is one of the key components of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

From 1977 through 1984, 293 previously untreated patients with biopsy proven carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated by whole pelvis irradiation and high intensity 60Co remote afterloading (RAL) intrauterine tandem techniques in Haiti. The treatment results were analyzed retrospectively to evaluate the therapeutic results and prognostic factors of a strict protocol involving 40 Gy to the whole pelvis (2 Gy/day, 5 days/week). In addition, on the 5th day of the 3rd week, the first outpatient 60Co remote afterloading intracavitary insertion, delivering 7.5 Gy to point A with each insertion, repeated 3 times by a week separation for a total of 4 times. The total TDF for external beam plus RAL was 158 and 175 for early and late effects respectively. One hundred-four patients were evaluable after 1 year or more follow-up, with a median of 26.5 months. No evidence of disease (NED) by Stage at 1 year was: Stage I of 100% (3/3), Stage II of 82% (9/11), Stage III of 80% ...

Science.gov (United States)

The kinetics of benzoate degradation by the anaerobic syntrophic bacterium, Syntrophus buswellii, was studied in coculture with Desulfovibrio strain G11. The threshold value for benzoate degradation was dependent on the acetate concentration with benzoate threshold values ranging from 2.4 [mu]M at 20 mM acetate to 30.0 [mu]M at 65 mM acetate. Increasing acetate concentrations also inhibited the rate of benzoate degradation with a apparent K[sub i] for acetate inhibition of 7.0 mM. Lower threshold values were obtained when nitrate rather than sulfate was the terminal electron acceptor. These data are consistent with a thermodynamic explanation for the threshold, and suggest that there is a minimum Gibbs free energy value required for the degradation of benzoate. An acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase has been isolated from Syntrophomonas wolfei; it is apparently a key enzyme controlling the synthesis of poly-B-hydroxyalkanoate from acetyl-CoA in this organism. Kinetic ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purpose: To develop, test, evaluate and implement effective state-of-the-art teacher training in didactic skills and methods. The training concept should be designed and beneficial for medical teachers' postgraduate medical education (CME). Materials and methods: A 5-day workshop with 12 theoretical and 9 'hands-on' modules was designed and stepwise improved, according to the trainees' feedback. All trainees were trained in small groups (6 to 10 participants per workshop). The workshops consisted of mini-lectures, repeated micro teaching exercises and video-supported feedback concerning the following key-competencies: Communication of goals; methods to trigger interactivity; design of slides in power point presentations; effective feedback-techniques; and use of media, time-management, skills teaching, assessment methods (e.g. OSCE and others), evaluation and general presentation skills. The evaluation was based on two components: (A) trainees' scores in two ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper provided an outline of the Canadian natural gas commodity market and a forecast for Canadian natural gas supply and prices for the 2007 winter heating season. Since 2001, steady demand growth and slow supply growth have contributed to higher North American natural gas commodity prices. The loss of natural gas supply due to hurricanes pushed North American natural gas commodity prices to record levels in 2005. Canadian natural gas production levels currently exceed domestic gas consumption. In 2005, Canada produced 16.5 billion cubic feet per day of marketable natural gas. Approximately 45 per cent was consumed domestically, and the remainder was exported to the United States. Despite high levels of drilling activity, production of natural gas from western Canada has flattened out since 2001. In 2006, natural gas prices in Canada declined due to the restoration of United States Gulf Coast natural gas production; the absence of any major hurricanes; and a mild winter which ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Research highlights: #-># The building occupancy affecting the cooling load prediction is studied. #-># PENN model is adopted in this study for predicting the building cooling load. #-># Statistical approach is adopted to result a less prejudice prediction performance. #-># Results show that occupancy data can significantly improve the prediction. -- Abstract: Building cooling load prediction is one of the key factors in the success of energy-saving measures. Many computational models available in the industry today have been developed from either forward or inverse modeling approaches. However, most of these models require extensive computer resources and involve lengthy computation. This paper discusses the use of data-driven intelligent approaches, a probabilistic entropy-based neural (PENN) model to predict the cooling load of a building. Although it is common knowledge that the presence and activity of building occupants have a ...

Science.gov (United States)

... TITLE (Indlude Security Classifkcation) Human Factors in Network Security 12. ... FIELD GROUP SUBGROUP Human Factors, Network, Security 19. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We prove that the 1984 protocol of Bennett and Brassard (BB84) for quantum key distribution is secure. We first give a key distribution protocol based on entanglement purification, which can be proven secure using methods from Lo and Chau's proof of security for a similar protocol. We then show that the security of this protocol implies the security of BB84. The entanglement purification based protocol uses Calderbank-Shor-Steane codes, and properties of these codes are used to remove the use of quantum computation from the Lo-Chau protocol. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A key comparison has been made between the air-kerma standards of the ARPANSA and the BIPM in the low-energy X-ray range. The results show the standards to be in agreement at the level of the combined standard uncertainty of 7.0 parts in 10"3 for the 10 kV radiation quality and 3.7 parts in 10"3 for all other beam qualities. The results are analysed and presented in terms of degrees of equivalence, suitable for entry in the BIPM key comparison database. (authors)

Science.gov (United States)

... On specific R&D topics, coordination sometimes takes place through the multiagency Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), overseen by the ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background and PurposeHemodynamic insults at arterial bifurcations are hypothesized to play a key role in intracranial aneurysm formation. This study investigates...Full Text Available

Medline Plus

... elevated blood sugar levels, but not full-blown diabetes. What are the keys to preventing the disease? ... been well studied, in a study called The Diabetes Prevention Program, in several thousand people with this ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of this report is to provide management with performance data on key performance indicators selected from the FFTF Early Warning System performance indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

... Uninterrupted access to and use of critical infrastructure in the Arabian Gulf region are key to the successful prosecution of the Global War on Terror ...

Medline Plus

... very difficult to help get better and to rehabilitate and sometimes even need surgery. 00:04:21 ... step of treatment, from our standpoint, is to rehabilitate, to strengthen the shoulder. And the real key ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

In the CNS, there are widespread and diverse interactions between growth factors and estrogen. Here we examine the interactions of estrogen and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), two...Full Text Available

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A measuring-basis encrypted quantum key distribution scheme is proposed by using twelve nonorthogonal states in a four-state system and the measuring-basis encryption technique. In this scheme, two bits of classical information can be encoded on one four-state particle and the transmitted particles can be fully used.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report describes and analyzes renewable energy seen as emerging markets, focusing on wind, solar and wave power. The conclusions are that: Wind and solar energy has reached critical mass. They are already large markets, and has a high growth rate. There are growth areas that may become among the world's largest industries in the future. This summary report and the underlying studies of wind, solar and wave power show that there is a large potential market for renewable energy sources. Wind power is already a market worth around 36.5 billion Euro. Solar energy is growing strongly and solar cells in 2008 had a market worth around 24 billion Euro. Wave power is at present a very small market and the in the actual development stage the potential of wave power is uncertain. But if the wave would become commercially viable, it could represent a significant part of the world's energy capacity, with associated large investments. In the foreseeable future, all areas have ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Within the Annual Conference 2009 of the VGB PowerTech e.V. (Essen, Federal Republic of Germany) from 23rd to 25th May, 2009, in Lyon (France) the following lectures were held: (1) Electricity demand, consequences of the financial and economic crisis - Current overview 2020 for the EU-27 (Hans ten Berge); (2) Status and perspectives of the electricity generation mix in France (Bernard Dupraz); (3) European electricity grid - status and perspective (Dominique Maillard); (4) Technologies and acceptance in the European energy market (Gordon MacKerran); (5) EPR construction in Finland, China, France, (Claude Jaouen); (6) EPR Flamanville 3: A project on the path towards nuclear revival (Jacques Alary); (7) Worldwide nuclear Revival and acceptance (Luc Geraets); (8) An overview on the status of final disposal of radioactive wastes worldwide (Piet Zuidema); (9) Who needs pumped storage plants? PSP are partner to grid stability and renewable energies (Hans-Christoph Funke); (10) Sustainable ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of this project is to increase oil recovery from fractured reservoirs through improved fundamental understanding of the process of spontaneous imbibition by which oil is displaced from the rock matrix into the fractures. Spontaneous imbibition is fundamentally dependent on the reservoir surface free energy but this has never been investigated for rocks. In this project, the surface free energy of rocks will be determined by using liquids that can be solidified within the rock pore space at selected saturations. Thin sections of the rock then provide a two-dimensional view of the rock minerals and the occupant phases. Saturations and oil/rock, water/rock, and oil/water surface areas will be determined by advanced petrographic analysis and the surface free energy which drives spontaneous imbibition will be determined as a function of increase in wetting phase saturation. The inherent loss in surface free energy resulting from capillary instabilities at the microscopic (pore ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Full text of publication follows:In order to practice a design-by-analysis of thermohydraulics design of BWR fuel rod bundles, the subchannel analysis would play a major role. There, the immediate concern is improvement in its predictive capability of CHF due in particular to the film dryout (boiling transition phenomena: BT) on the fuel rod surface. Constitutive equations in the subchannel analysis formulation are responsible for the quality of calculated results. The constitutive equations are a result of integration of the local and instantaneous description of two-phase flows over the subchannel control volume. In general, they are expressed in terms of subchannel-control-volume- as well as area-averaged two-phase flow state variables. In principle the information on local and instantaneous physical phenomena taking place inside subchannels must be counted for in the algebraic form of the equations on the basis of a more mechanistic modeling approach. They should include also ...

Science.gov (United States)

As both computer and mobile phone reach nearly ubiquity in the U.S. market, the slow uptake of mobile video, in contrast to the thriving usage of PC-based video, warrants a deeper understanding of user-oriented factors contributing to the two diffusion paths. Unlike the majority of existing diffusion research practices, the dissertation examines the differences between mobile and PC video diffusion patterns through the lenses of user-oriented influences in the user-technology relationship. Built upon the established adoption user group classification, the research is informed by the Uses and Gratification theory, the Social Technical theory, and the Technical Affordance perspective. These synergistic theoretical arguments share the recognition of the role of user in the dynamic, usually socially intertwined user-technology interactions. The key research questions that the dissertation sets out to answer include: Does the importance of ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Objective: Given the increasing popularity of motorcycle riding and heightened risk of injury or death associated with being a rider, this study explored rider behavior as a determinant of rider safety and, in particular, key beliefs and motivations that influence such behavior. To enhance the effectiveness of future education and training interventions, it is important to understand riders' own views about what influences how they ride. Specifically, this study sought to identify key determinants of riders' behaviors in relation to the social context of riding, including social and identity-related influences relating to the group (group norms and group identity) as well as the self (moral/personal norm and self-identity). Method: Qualitative research was undertaken via group discussions ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose - Key account management (KAM) programmes are a way for companies to develop existing relationships and increase sales, thus being proactive and searching for opportunities (which is often expected of KAM). It is also a way to meet changing customer demands arising from changes in purchasing strategy, buyers' mergers and acquisitions and the search for synergies in order to reduce costs. The purpose of this article is to analyse different key account management programmes on how they manage the sales process complexity and customer expectations. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on qualitative data collected during a field study of ABB and six of their major customers, based on annual or biannual interviews with 50 individuals within ABB from 1996 to 2006 and three to t...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The phenomenon of key supply management (KSM) in business companies is far less investigated than the phenomenon of key account management (KAM) which beneficiates, both in practice and in an academic context, from a growing interest. This article is based on the empirical analysis of a sample of 10 international companies which have recently launched KSM programmes or are currently working on launching such programs. It examines the difficulties these companies come up against when implementing such programmes and proposes to organize these difficulties around three dimensions: 1) the difficulties in implementing real supplier portfolio approaches; 2) the narrow view of value co-creation with suppliers, and 3) the persistent lack of integration of the purchasing function with other intern...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Replication of plus-strand RNA viruses depends on host factors that are recruited into viral replicase complexes. Previous studies showed that eukaryotic translation elongation factor (eEF1A) is one...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The experiments at the incinerator for low-level wastes processing, (containing transuranium radionuclides) are described. Air decontamination factors and detector readings correction factors for efficiency and absorption are indicated.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The ternary complex factor (TCF) Elk-1 is a transcription factor that regulates immediate early gene (IEG) expression via the serum response element (SRE) DNA consensus site. Elk-1 is associated with...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background and objectives: Higher urinary calcium is a risk factor for nephrolithiasis. This study delineated associations between demographic, dietary, and urinary factors and 24-h urinary calcium.Design,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Because of the instability of Factor VIII (antihaemophilic factor) in plasma in vitro, and since evidence has accumulated that the level of activity varies significantly between samples...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The data base for the form factors of the nucleon obtained from elastic ep scattering is discussed, as well as some recent developments in their calculation.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This is a presentation on Human Factors in reactor operations. It discusses issues that deal with power plant operations, training and design, operational effectiveness and safety, supporting people to achieve effective and error free performance.

CERN Document Server

The stock market has been known to form homogeneous stock groups with a higher correlation among different stocks according to common economic factors that influence individual stocks. We investigate the role of common economic factors in the market in the formation of stock networks, using the arbitrage pricing model reflecting essential properties of common economic factors. We find that the degree of consistency between real and model stock networks increases as additional common economic factors are incorporated into our model. Furthermore, we find that individual stocks with a large number of links to other stocks in a network are more highly correlated with common economic factors than those with a small number of links. This suggests that common economic factors in the stock market can be understood in terms of deterministic factors.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

OmpU porins are increasingly recognized as key determinants of pathogenic host Vibrio interactions. Although mechanisms remain incompletely understood, various species, including the...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The UK government's economy-wide 60% carbon dioxide reduction target by 2050 requires a paradigm shift in the whole energy system. Numerous analytical studies have concluded that the power sector is a critical contributor to a low carbon energy system, and electricity generation has dominated the policy discussion on UK decarbonisation scenarios. However, range of technical, social and market challenges, combined with alternate market investment strategies mean that large scale deployment of key classes of low carbon electricity technologies is fraught with uncertainty. The UK MARKAL energy systems model has been used to investigate these long-term uncertainties in key electricity generation options. A range of power sector specific parametric sensitivities have been performed under a 'what-if' framework to provide a systematic exploration of least-cost energy system configurations under a broad, integrated set of input assumptions. In this ...

Science.gov (United States)

The astronomical number of letters handled by the Post Office makes automatic sorting technology essential. Key roles are played by the postcode system and an ink-jet printer that has been developed to use phosphorescent inks.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SummaryIn vivo tumor cell migration through integrin-dependent pathways is key to the metastatic behavior of malignant cells. Using quantitative in vivo...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

By analysis of crossovers in key recombinant families and by homozygosity analysis of inbred families, the Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) locus was localized in a 300-kb interval between the X104 gene and...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

This paper describes the deliverables framework developed by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in its IAIMS planning process. The key deliverables include: visions for the future; mission,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundHyaluronic acid capsule plays a key role in Streptococcus pyogenes virulence. Circulation of mucoid or highly encapsulated strains has been related to...Full Text Available

Wastenet

...A directory of University social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube facebook, twitter, blog Social media - Social media, The ... Key: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blog, LinkedIn, Flickr Missed you out? If you'd like to be included on this ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundCurrently used indicators of iron status have limitations. Hepcidin, a key regulator of iron metabolism, is reduced in iron deficiency. We sought to determine the properties...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Bacteria expressing type III secretion systems (T3SS) have been responsible for the deaths of millions worldwide, acting as key virulence elements in diseases ranging from plague to typhoid...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The establishment of the primary meristems through proliferation after germination is essential for plant post-embryonic development. Cytokinins have long been considered a key regulator of...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... presumed first instar Geocharidius. Anillines occur in deep forest litters, beneath rocks and in soil (endogean), or as ... their small size and cryptic mode of life. Forest litter inhabiting anillines ma...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Science and technology could be revolutionized by quantum computers, but building them from solid-state devices will not be easy. Robert W Keyes of IBM's research division outlines the challenges in scaling up the technology from lab experiments to practical devices. (U.K.)

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Breast cancer is a progressive and potentially fatal disease that affects women of all ages. Like all progressive diseases, early and reliable diagnosis is the key for successful treatment and annihilation....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Eukaryotic cells can massively transport their own cytoplasmic contents into a lytic compartment, the vacuole/lysosome, for recycling through a conserved system called autophagy. The key process in...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Mice and rats are important mammalian models in biomedical research. In contrast to other biomedical fields, work on sexual differentiation of brain and behavior has traditionally utilized comparative...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Objective: To highlight the key differences in history, examination, and management of pyoderma gangrenosum and necrotizing fasciitis and to outline the importance of distinguishing these...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractIntrathymic expression of tissue-restricted antigens (TRAs) has been viewed as the key element in the induction of central tolerance and recently, a central role for the autoimmune...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background Little is known about how migrants adapt to first-world public health systems. In Norway, patients are assigned a registered general practitioner (RGP) to provide basic care...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background/Objective:To determine the utility of certain instruments to assess sexuality and fertility after SCI, an expert panel identified key areas to study and evaluated...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundNeuropeptide Y is a key neurotransmitter of the central nervous system which plays a vital role in the feed energy homeostasis in mammals. Mutations in the regulatory and...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Blunt chest-wall trauma is common; however, resultant tricuspid valve rupture is rare and can be subtle in its presentation. Transthoracic echocardiography plays a key role in diagnosis.Herein,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a switch of polarized epithelial cells to a migratory, fibroblastoid phenotype, is considered a key process driving tumor cell invasiveness and metastasis....Full Text Available

Wastenet

KOREA-JAPAN NUCLEAR WEAPON FREE ZONE (KJNWFZ) CONCEPT PAPER ...A Korea-Japan2 Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (hereafter KJNWFZ) is a new concept.Once realized, ...Finally, we outline the key elements of the Korea-Japan NWFZ proposed in this paper, noting

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle is a key phenotype associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) for which the molecular mediators remain unclear. We therefore conducted an expression analysis of human...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The spliced alignment of expressed sequence data to genomic sequence has proven a key tool in the comprehensive annotation of genes in eukaryotic genomes. A novel algorithm was developed to assemble...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background:The cardiac sodium–calcium exchanger (NCX1) is a key sarcolemmal protein for the maintenance of calcium homeostasis in the heart. Since heart failure...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundDue to the high morbidity and mortality of fulminant hepatitis, early diagnosis followed by early effective treatment is the key for prognosis improvement. So far, little...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Rapid place encoding by hippocampal neurons, as reflected by place-related firing, has been intensely studied, whereas the substrates that translate hippocampal place codes into behavior have received...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) constitute a key antibiotic-resistance mechanism affecting Gram-negative bacteria, and also an excellent model for studying evolution in real time. A shift in...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Chemoprevention strategies to prevent the development of lung cancer in at-risk individuals are a key component in disease management. In addition to being highly effective, an ideal chemopreventive...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... Steady State 16.0-28.0 5.05 to 5.36 0 Key switch turned on. ... version may have been the better choice since the acousto-optic modulator also ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) pathway plays a key role in mediating estrogen actions in the brain and neuronal sensitization during inflammation....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Under anaerobic conditions, several species of green algae perform a light-dependent hydrogen production catalyzed by a special group of [FeFe] hydrogenases termed HydA. Although highly interesting...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We review the application of C. elegans as a model system to understand key aspects of stem cell biology. The only bona fide stem cells in C. elegans...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

To establish secure (point-to-point and/or broadcast) communication channels among the nodes of a wireless sensor network is a fundamental task. To this end, a plethora of (socalled) key pre-distribution schemes have been proposed in the past. All these schemes, however, rely on shared secret(s), which are assumed to be somehow pre-loaded onto the sensor nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel method for secure initialization of sensor nodes based on a visual out-of-band channel. Using the proposed method, the administrator of a sensor network can distribute keys onto the sensor nodes, necessary to bootstrap key pre-distribution. Our secure initialization method requires only a little extra cost, is efficient and scalable with respect to the number of sensor nodes. Moreover, based on a usability study that we conducted, the method turns out to be quite user-friendly and easy to use by naive human users.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The aim of the overview is to give a perspective of global biobank development is given in a view of positioning biobanking as a key resource for healthcare to identify new potential markers that can...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Sep 9, 2009 ... You are here: GES DISC Home Geomorphology from Space By Location Landforms by Location: Asia. Info. Landforms by Location: Asia. KEY, ASIA ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key regulator of energy metabolism; its activity is regulated by a plethora of physiological conditions, exercises and many anti-diabetic drugs. Recent...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundStable transgenesis is an undeniable key to understanding any genetic system. Retrovirus-based insertional strategies, which feature several technical challenges when they...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The vanilloid receptor-1 (VR1, or transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 receptor, TRPV1) is activated by capsaicin, the key ingredient of hot peppers. TRPV1 was originally described on sensory neurons...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper summarizes the establishment and current development of space activities in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Space activities in Venezuela are focused on the areas of telecommunications, Earth observation and research on the physical properties of the Earth, and have as a primary goal the satisfaction of social needs. Current development of space activities started in 1999 when the new National Constitution recognized the value of outer space as the common heritage of mankind, and the key role of science and technology in promoting human welfare. The Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities (ABAE) was created in 2007. Its legal framework recognizes three key elements that drive its policy: the participation of society, capacity building and human training, and international c...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To assist the Department of Energy (DOE) in fulfilling its responsibilities under the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985, the National Low-Level Waste Management Program (NLLWMP) outlines the key activities tat the NLLWMP will accomplish in the following fiscal year. Additional activities are added during the fiscal year as necessary to accomplish programmatic goals. This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the NLLWMP during Fiscal Year 1996.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Five nomographs have been prepared that facilitate the estimation of cover thickness and cover material volume for the Uranium Mill Tailing Remedial Action Program. Key parameters determined include the cover thickness with either a surface radon flux or a boundary radon air concentration criterion and the total volume of cover material required for two different treatments of the edge slopes. Also included in the engineering guide are descriptions and representative values for the radon source term, the diffusion coefficients and the key meteorological parameters. 16 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

Science.gov (United States)

In this paper, we proposed a novel quantum secure direct communication scheme with one-time pad in stabilizer formalism. Based on the reuse of qubit sequence, an efficient secure communication of secret messages without first producing a shared secret key can be achieved. One hence may find that the amount of private key needed for quantum communication is smaller than that in the general case. Therefore, the present protocol which is feasible with the present-day techniques may be applied to quantum communication with short-length encoding.

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 ...

Science.gov (United States)

Measurements using radioactive targets are important for the determination of key reaction path ways associated with the synthesis of the elements in nuclear astrophysics (sprocess), advanced fuel cycle initiative (transmutation of radioactive waste), and stockpile stewardship. High precision capture cross-section measurements are needed to interpret observations, predict elemental or isotopical ratios, and unobserved abundances. There are two new detector systems that are presently being commissioned at Los Alamos National Laboratory for very precise measurements of (n,{gamma}) and (n,f) cross-sections using small quantities of radioactive samples. DANCE (Detector for Advanced Neutron-Capture Experiments), a 4 {pi} gamma array made up of 160 BaF{sub 2} detectors, is designed to measure neutron capture cross-sections of unstable nuclei in the low-energy range (thermal to {approx}500 keV). The high granularity and high detection efficiency of DANCE, combined with ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

On 7 May 2009, the Ministry of the Environment set up a working group to evaluate the possible use of biodegradable waste and other biodegradable material flows for energy production and obstacles to promoting their use in the whole production cycle. The deadline for the working group was 31 January 2010. According to its mandate, the working group had to make proposals for the measures needed to promote the energy use of biodegradable waste in order to fulfil the targets of the Government Foresight Report on Long-term Climate and Energy Policy. The working group proposes thirteen measures to be put into operation so that the investments aimed at the energy use of biodegradable waste would grow significantly from the present level. The most important measure is a full ban on depositing biodegradable waste in landfills. The working group sees that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills should, in any case, be made more effective and that the planning procedures for ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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International Science & Technology Center (ISTC)

Determination of the Ecology Factor for the Magistral Oil Pipelines, Working in Difficult Hilly and Geology Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Short communication.

KoreaScience (Korea)

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KoreaScience (Korea)

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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collection, analysis and quantification of human factor data are important compositions of human reliability analysis (HRA) and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). Various human factor databases have been set up, but there are comparatively little human factor data management systems which can be uses for collection, classification, analysis, calculation and predication of the human factor data. Therefore, the human factor data management system for Daya Bay NPP is developed, with the following three modules and four databases: original data module, computing module, introduced data module, and basic database, other data source of the plant, external database and introduced database. The foundational problems about human factor data and the systemic structure and function are described. The data structure in the database is also discussed, because it is of the ...

Science.gov (United States)

Elastic electromagnetic form factors of nucleons are investigated for both the time-like and the space-like momenta by using the unsubtracted dispersion relation with QCD constraints. It is shown that the calculated form factors reproduce the experimental data reasonably well; they agree with recent experimental data for the neutron magnetic form factors for the space-like data obtained by the CLAS Collaboration and are compatible with the ratio of the electric and magnetic form factors for the time-like momentum obtained by the BABAR Collaboration.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polarization measurements are allowing the electric to magnetic form factor ratio of the proton to be determined with unprecedented precision. Recent results indicate that there is a large deviation from unity in the proton form factor ratio around Q{sup 2}{approx_equal}0.35 GeV{sup 2}. Furthermore, the deviation from unity is attributed to a deviation of the electric form factor from standard fits and calculations. A new, partially completed, experiment will significantly improve the existing data and will determine the presence, if any, of a narrow structure in the form factor ratio. The new measurement, combined with the expected high precision cross section measurements, will allow the extraction of individual form factors with unprecedented accuracy at low Q{sup 2}.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The aim of this study is to develop the methodology which enables to identify the mechanical properties of element such as stress intensity factor by using the AE parameters. Considering the multivariate and nonlinear properties of AE parameters such as ringdown count, rise time, energy, event duration and peak amplitude from fatigue cracks of machine element the principal component regression(PCR) and artificial neural network(ANN) models for the estimation of stress intensity factor were developed and validated. The AE parameters were found to be very significant to estimate the stress intensity factor. Since the statistical values including correlation coefficients, standard mr of calibration, standard error of prediction and bias were stable, the PCR and ANN models for stress intensity factor were very robust. The performance of ANN model for unknown data of stress intensity ...

Science.gov (United States)

A ground-breaking study was recently completed as part of the Seabrook Level 2 PRA update. This study updates the post-core damage phenomena to be consistent with the most recent information and includes accident management activities that should be modeled in the Level 2 PRA. Overall, the result is a Level 2 PRA that fully meets the requirements of the ASME PRA Standard with respect to modeling accident management in the LERF assessment and NRC requirements in Regulatory Guide 1.174 for considering late containment failures. This technical paper deals only with the incorporation of operator actions into the Level 2 PRA based on a comprehensive study of the Seabrook Station accident response procedures and guidance. The paper describes the process used to identify the key operator actions that can influence the Level 2 PRA results and the development of success criteria for these key operator actions. This addresses a key ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This report presented some quick facts about oil and gas pipelines in Turkey and presented opportunities for trade. The key players and customers in the oil and gas sector were described along with an export check list. Turkey is looking into becoming an energy bridge between oil and gas producing countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. The oil and gas sectors are dominated by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, a public enterprise dealing with exploration and production, and the State Pipeline Corporation which deals with energy transmission. They are also the key buyers of oil and gas equipment in Turkey. There are several pipelines connecting countries bordering the Caspian Sea. Opportunities exist in the areas of engineering consulting as well as contracting services for oil and gas pipeline transmission and distribution. Other opportunities lie in the area of pipeline construction, rehabilitation, materials, equipment, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quantum key distribution (QKD) can, in principle, provide unconditional security based on the fundamental laws of physics. Unfortunately, a practical QKD system may contain overlooked imperfections and may thus violate some of the assumptions in the security proofs of QKD. It is important to explore these assumptions. One key assumption is that the sender (Alice) can prepare the required quantum states without errors. However, such an assumption may be violated in a practical QKD system. In this paper, we perform a proof-of-principle experiment to demonstrate a technically feasible 'intercept- and-resend' attack that exploits such a security loophole in a commercial 'plug and play' QKD system. The resulting quantum bit error rate is 19.7%, which is substantially lower than the well-known 25% error rate for an intercept-and-resend attack in BB84. The attack we utilize is the phase-remapping attack (Fung et al 2007 Phys. Rev. A 75 32314) proposed ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Cyst nematodes are troublesome parasites that live on, and destroy, a range of important host vegetable plants. Damage caused by the potato cyst nematode has now been reported in over 50 countries. One approach to eliminating the problem is to stimulate early hatching of the nematodes, but key hatching stimuli are not naturally available in sufficient quantities to do so. Here, we report the first chemical synthesis of solanoeclepin A, the key hatch-stimulating substance for potato cyst nematode. The crucial steps in our synthesis are an intramolecular cyclization reaction for construction of the highly strained tricyclo[5.2.1.01,6]decane skeleton (DEF ring system) and an intramolecular Diels???Alder reaction of a furan derivative for the synthesis of the ABC carbon framework. The present ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels offer a cost-effective field development solution, especially in deepwater areas lacking an adequate pipeline network. Most FPSOs are permanently moored, i.e. the complete system is designed to withstand any kind of extreme environment at the field location. FPSOs that can be quickly disconnected from their moorings and risers have also been designed and deployed. The key feature of this type of disconnectable FPSO is that it can be disconnect and so avoid dangerous environmental conditions such as icebergs, hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and typhoons in the South China Sea. In this paper, the concept of disconnectable FPSOs for deepwater field development is presented. Key technologies and their engineering analyses are highlight...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Remote sensing is the most practical method available to managers of fire-prone forests for quantifying and mapping fire impacts. Differenced Normalised Burn Ratio (?NBR) is among the most widely used spectral indices for the mapping of burn severity but is difficult to interpret in terms of fire-related changes in key biophysical attributes and processes. We propose to quantify burn severity as a change in the leaf area index (?LAI) of a stand. LAI is a key biophysical attribute of forests, and is central to understanding their water and carbon cycles. Previous studies have suggested that changes in canopy LAI may be a major contributor to ?NBR and to the composite burn index (CBI) that is frequently used in combination with the NBR to assess burn severity on the ground. We applied remote...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

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

Environmental Research Database

Objectives1. We will use reduction of lysosomal stability as an indicator of cell injury induced by C-60 fullerenes and carbon nanotubes in the liver analogue or digestive gland (hepatopancreas) of marine mussels. Molluscan hepatopancreatic digestive cells are key to normal function and are a sensitive key interface with the environment. Reduction of lysosomal stability is mechanistically linked with impaired health of the whole animal. 2. We will also test the hepatopancreatic digestive cells for evide [continued...]DescriptionNanotechnology is a major innovative scientific and economic growth area, which may present a variety of hazards for environmental and human health. The surface properties and very small size of nanoparticles and nanotubes provides surfaces that may bind and transport toxic chemical pollutants, as well as possibly being toxic in their own right by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). There is a wealth of evidence ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Until recently, the wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) transmission system has reached record capacities and distances due to innovations such as FEC (Forward Error Correction), distributed Raman amplification, new transmission fiber and advanced optical format. Optical-communication systems exclusively employed conventional On-Off Keying signals in either Non-Return-To-Zero (NRZ) or Return-To-Zero (RZ) format. Recently a number of advanced modulation formats have attracted attention. Some of these formats carry information through On-Off-Keying but also modulate the optical phase in order to enhance the robustness of signal to chromatic dispersion, optical filtering and non-linearities. Through extensive sets of simulation results, we showed that it is possible to replace a channel wit...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) is a key multipurpose species for the African region. In the recent years there has been an extended commercial interest for different A. digitata products. As a spectacular African key species there has been a growing interest from NGO?s and various research groups. A research group, focussing on the following countries Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, has participated in a concerted research action with cross counter disciplinary cooperation between plant physiology, population genetics, tree breeding, food science, and socioeconomics. This paper presents a review and the way knowledge gaps are being addressed using the above mentioned approach. The overall work was initiated in 2005?2006 when a large collection of A. digitata seeds was carried out in...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The objective of the present investigation was to develop a Bayesian framework for updating and integrating covariate information into key parameters of metabolizable energy (ME) systems for dairy cows. The study addressed specifically the effects of genetic improvements and feed quality on key parameters in current ME systems. These are net and metabolizable energy for maintenance (NEM and MEM, respectively), efficiency of utilization of ME for milk production (kL) and growth (kG), and efficiency of utilization of body stores for milk production (kT). Data were collated from 38 studies, yielding 701 individual cow observations on milk energy, ME intake, and tissue gain and loss. A function based on a linear relationship between milk energy and ME intake and correcting for tissue energy lo...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Vascular permeability factor (VPF) is an Mr 40-kD protein that has been purified from the conditioned medium of guinea pig line 10 tumor cells grown in vitro, and increases fluid permeability from blood...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundPerichondrium is recognized as a tissue with chondrogenic potential yielding cells which can be used for osteochondral repair. Factors which influence the proliferative...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) promotes tumor cell adaptation to microenvironmental stress. HIF-1 is up-regulated in irradiated tumors and serves as a promising target for radiosensitization....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The specific binding of transcription factors to cognate sequence elements is thought to be critical for the generation of specific gene expression programs. Members of the nuclear factor κB...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The stability of prothrombin and factor VII was studied using accelerated degradation tests in three preparations of freeze-dried pooled normal plasmas. In a previous report (Brozović, Gurd,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundCognitive impairment is an age-related condition as the rate of cognitive decline rapidly increases with aging. It is especially important to better understand factors...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is one of the most important prognostic and predictive factors for breast cancer patients. Recently, serum HER2...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

To evaluate the role of putative group A streptococcal virulence factors in the initiation of skin infections, we compared the adherence of a wild-type M49-protein skin-associated strain to that of...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging problem with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This study determined risk factors for the recovery of piperacillin-tazobactam-resistant P. aeruginosa...Full Text Available