KoreaScience (Korea)

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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The talk will focus on spin-dependent competition between oblate and prolate shape minima in the potential energy landscape of "1"8"0Hf (the most neutron-rich stable isotope), mediated via the alignment of valence nucleons. Results of a prompt spectroscopic study, using deep inelastic reactions with Gammasphere and CHICO, bombarding a thin "2"3"2Th target with a "1"8"0Hf beam #approx#25% above the Coulomb barrier, will be presented. Nucleon alignments in both prolate and oblate minima will be discussed, as well as the favoring of oblate collective rotation at high spins, observed through a mixing with gamma vibrations built on the prolate shape.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

There are certain factors to take into account when determining the suitability of a healthy house site. Power lines, agricultural spraying, vehicle exhaust, and industrial pollution are all potential sources of indoor air contamination. It is recommended that a environmental assessment be done to determine whether there are specific sources of contamination. Good drainage is required. The surrounding landscaping should be open and sunlit, and with low maintenance requirements. Decks and fences made from pressure-treated or chemical treated lumber should be avoided. One of the early decisions in the design process is the choice of the structural system. The key with all foundation types is to control moisture, whether from rain, from the ground, or the condensation of moisture from the air with cooling. The construction frame is sealed away from the occupants by the air/vapor barrier, so only in extreme cases is it essential to use alternatives ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An unprecedented mobilization at all levels is being established in order to fight against the effects of climate change and announcements are increasing each week with proposals of ever more ambitious plans of action. A new landscape is beginning to take shape from a more varied energy supply with less carbon. This new order highlights several central R/D areas which are to be developed and which re described in the first part of this article. How are these plans of action going to be put into practice in the field, within the dynamics of the great unifying project 'Grenoble University of Innovation'? How can the innovation process be speeded up to quickly find answers to all these questions? How can all scientific disciplines be incorporated in this run-up and how can the different players be brought to interact? The new PREDIS centre in Grenoble, described in the second part of the article, is intended to answer these questions. (authors)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We present an innovative approach to estimating residential irrigation water demand for a large metropolitan area using GIS data, weather station data, and a water budget modeling approach commonly used by plant scientists and landscape management professionals. An important question addressed by our study is how a growing urban forest affects the overall irrigation water demand of a semiarid metropolitan area. To estimate the amount of water required by residential landscaping, we consider water demand to be a function of the areal extent of residential landscaping (i.e. tree/shrub or turf grass), the water-loss rate for different landscaping types, the efficiency with which the landscape is irrigated, and local climatic factors (i.e. reference evapotranspiration and precipitation). We es...

CERN Document Server

Disorder on the string theory landscape may significantly affect dynamics of eternal inflation leading to the possibility for some vacua on the landscape to become dynamically preferable over others. We systematically study effects of a generic disorder on the landscape starting by identifying a sector with built-in disorder -- a set of de Sitter vacua corresponding to compactifications of the Type IIB string theory on Calabi-Yau manifolds with a number of warped Klebanov-Strassler throats attached randomly to the bulk part of the Calabi-Yau. Further, we derive continuum limit of the vacuum dynamics equations on the landscape. Using methods of dynamical renormalization group we determine the late time behavior of the probability distribution for an observer to measure a given value of the cosmological constant. We find the diffusion of the probability distribution to significantly slow down in sectors ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Deforestation is rapidly transforming primary forests across the tropics into human-dominated landscapes. Consequently, conservationists need to understand how different taxa respond and adapt to these...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This study was undertaken to determine the scope and focus for an integrated assessment of climate change impacts on, and adaptation options for, the Cairns Great Barrier Reef (CGBR) region. To achieve this, the authors employed both technical expertise and regional stakeholder input. This document describes the study objectives and the process used to meet these objectives, and provides an overview of the CGBR region, the views of technical experts on potential climate change impacts, stakeholder prioritisation of impacts and adaptation options, a list of perceived knowledge gaps, and a recommended structure for a future integrated assessment in the region. The aim of the study was to determine the scope and focus for an integrated regional assessment of climate change impacts on, and adaptation options for, the CGBR region. The key objectives of the study were: Define and describe the study region; Develop a process for the study, which ...

CERN Document Server

Landscapes are both a synthesis and an expression of national, regional and local cultural heritages. It is therefore very important to develop techniques aimed at cataloguing and archiving their forms. This paper discusses the LDL (Landscape Digital Library) project, a Web accessible database that can present the landscapes of a territory with documentary evidence in a new format and from a new perspective. The method was tested in a case study area of the river Po valley (Northern Italy). The LDL is based on a collection of photographs taken following a systematic grid of survey points identified through topographic cartography; the camera level is that of the human eye. This methodology leads to an innovative landscape archive that differs from surveys carried out through aerial photographs or campaigns aimed at selecting "relevant" points of interest. Further developments and possible uses of the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Remediation of ground water containing anionic contaminants presents a great challenge. Because of its low cost, surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) has been studied for >10 years for potential uses as permeable barrier materials to remove anionic contaminants from water. In this study, zeolite aggregates with particle size of 3.4 to 4.8 mm were modified by hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA) bromide, a cationic surfactant, to a surfactant loading level of 80 mmol/kg and a concurrent counterion bromide loading level of 34 mmol/kg. While no retardation of chromate transport was observed for unmodified columns, a retardation factor of 60 was found for chromate transport through the SMZ columns. Slow but persistent desorption of HDTMA occurred throughout the chromate transport experimen...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czech 1985. p. 48. Czechoslovakia Sikora, J. Ustav Ekologie Prumyslove

Science.gov (United States)

Jan 12, 2010 ... Visual simulation of offshore liquefied natural gas (lng) terminals in a decision-making context. Baird, Brian E.; Sheppard, Stephen R. J.; ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The next great issue on the Russian landscape will be management of its foreign debt. In the near future the United States will be called upon to lead an international program of debt restructuring to assist Russia in overcoming the burden of its debt trap. With debt service obligations equal to 50{percent} of 1999 revenues, Russia has virtually no chance of sustaining a program of economic recovery without debt relief (Hardt, 1999). With some form of debt restructuring a foregone conclusion, Russia, the United States, and world community have a vital stake in searching for creative ways to transform the inevitability of debt restructuring into something of value and constructive to Russia and the problems it faces. This was the rationale behind debt-for-nature swaps which emerged in the early 1980s in Latin American and Eastern Europe as a means of relieving developing nations of their crippling foreign debt. Debt-for-nature swaps served both ...

Wastenet

...EPA This Area You are here: EPA Home Great Lakes The Great Lakes - Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

When constructing new high-voltage transmission lines landscape aspects play a more and more important role. The project described is particularly interesting as it demonstrates that it is possible to find acceptable solutions for everyone if all partners are prepared to make concessions. The article also describes a new concept for the connection of concrete tower elements. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The economics of renewable energy are the largest barrier to renewable penetration. Nevertheless, the strong desire to reduce environmental emissions is considered a great support for renewable energy sources. In this paper, a full analysis for the cost of the kWh of electricity generated from different systems actually used in Egypt is presented. Also renewable energy systems are proposed and their costs are analyzed. The analysis considers the external cost of emissions from different generating systems. A proposed large scale PV plant of 3.3 MW, and a wind farm 11.25 MW grid connected at different sites are investigated. A life cycle cost analysis for each system was performed using the present value criterion. The comparison results showed that wind energy generation has the lowest cost, followed by a combined cycle-natural gas fired system. A photovoltaic system still uses comparatively expensive technology for electricity generation; even ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Effective barrier pillar design is essential for safe and productive underground coal mining. This U.S. Bureau of Mines report presents an overview of available barrier pillar design methodologies that incorporate sound engineering principles while remaining practical for everyday usage. Nomographs and examples are presented to assist in the determination of proper barrier pillar sizing. Additionally, performance evaluation techniques and criteria are included to assist in determining the effectiveness of selected barrier pillar configurations.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Forest restoration efforts should aim at creating landscapes with a balanced array of forest stands at varying successional stages, thus providing habitat for a wealth of species and multiple ecosystem services. In most high-mountain ecosystems of South America, long-term livestock rearing activities that include fires, browsing, and trampling have delayed or stopped forest succession resulting in simplified landscapes. To determine appropriate restoration goals for Polylepis australis mountain forests of Central Argentina, we established 146 plots of 900 m2 plots throughout five river basins with different historic livestock stocking rates. In each plot, we measured tree heights, canopy cover, estimated age of oldest tree, volume of standing and fallen dead wood, fern cover, and abundance...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We propose new method of assessment of histological images for medical diagnostics. 2-D image is preprocessed to form 1-D landscapes or 1-D signature of the image contour and then their complexity is...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The T-loop motif is an important recurrent RNA structural building block consisting of a U-turn sub-motif and a UA trans Watson–Crick/Hoogsteen base pair. In the presence of...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The extent of our reliance on animal pollination for world crop production for human food has not previously been evaluated and the previous estimates for countries or continents have seldom used primary...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Substances cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by a variety of mechanisms. These include transmembrane diffusion, saturable transporters, adsorptive endocytosis, and the extracellular pathways. Here,...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Testing of barrier properties of insulating materials against radon is usually based on the measurement of the radon diffusion coefficient. Presented report summarizes results of radon diffusion coefficients measurements in more than 120 insulating materials obtained throughout Europe. All measurements were performed by the Czech Technical University, Faculty of Civil Engineering in cooperation with the Radiation Protection Institute. We have found out that great differences exist in diffusion properties, because the diffusion coefficients vary within eight orders from 10"-"1"5 m"2/s to 10"-"8 m"2/s. For each material category of different chemical composition statistical evaluation of results is presented. Possibilities of usage of the radon diffusion coefficient for the design of radon resisting membranes are discussed. Based on the experience from the Czech Republic the paper is trying to show that controlling applicability of membranes by ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

During the five plus years this Cooperative Agreement existed, more than 45 different projects were funded. Most projects were funded for a one year period but there were some, deemed of such quality and importance, funded for multiple years. Approximately 22 external agencies, businesses, and other entities have cooperated with or been funded through the WVU Cooperative Agreement over the five plus years. These external entities received 33% of the funding by this Agreement. The scope of this Agreement encompassed all forms of hazardous waste remediation including radioactive, organic, and inorganic contaminants. All matrices were of interest; generally soil, water, and contaminated structures. Economic, health, and regulatory aspects of technologies were also within the scope of the agreement. The highest priority was given to small businesses funded by the Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC) and Department of Energy (DOE) involved in research and development of innovative ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report describes the empirical research into barriers to energy efficiency in the German higher education (HE) sector. It is one of nine such reports in the BARRIERS project. The report contains description and analysis of six case studies of energy management in German universities. The results are analysed using the theoretical framework developed for the BARRIERS project (Sorrell et al., 2000). The report also provides brief recommendations on how these barriers to the rational use of energy (RUE) may be overcome and how energy efficiency within the sector may be improved. The results of the study for the higher education sector in Germany are summarised in this executive summary under the following headings: - Characterising the higher education sector; - Case studies of energy management in the German higher education sector; - Evidence of barriers in the German higher ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

As an unconventional surface alloying process, ion implantation has been utilized to improve the active-passive behavior and the pitting resistance of martensitic M50 engineering alloy. In a field simulation study, Cr-implantation only at 150 kev to a fluence of 2 x 10"1"7 ions/cm"2 prevented pitting. The best pitting resistance of the steel was obtained with multiple implantations of Cr and Mo. The intermixing effect of high fluence P-implantation into 304 stainless produced an amorphous surface alloy. The removal of the grain boundaries and the uniformity of the resulting structure had a great influence on corrosion properties. REED analysis indicated that the anodic passive films formed on P-implanted 304 stainless steel at 250 mV (SCE) in 0.5M H_2SO_4 was amorphous. Phosphorus and boron were implanted into 316 stainless steel to study the passivity of 316 stainless. Electrochemical experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of phosphorus and boron on ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In order to qualify corrosion resistant materials for high level waste (HLW) packagings acting as a long-term barrier in a rock salt repository, the corrosion behaviour of the preselected materials Ti 99.8-Pd, Hastelloy C4 and two unalloyed steels was investigated. The resistance of the materials to general corrosion, local corrosion and stress corrosion cracking was examined under postulated accident conditions in the repository by long-term immersion tests of up to 4 years duration and electrochemical methods. The parameters investigated were different salt brines, temperatures of 90 deg. C, 170 deg. C and 200 deg. C as well as a gamma radiation field of 10"3Gy/h (10"5rad/h). Among the materials studied, Ti 99.8-Pd exhibited the highest corrosion resistance. This material corroded at a very low rate (

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A portable barrier strip having retractable tire-puncture spikes for puncturing a vehicle tire. The tire-puncture spikes have an armed position for puncturing a tire and a retracted position for not puncturing a tire. The strip comprises a plurality of barrier blocks having the tire-puncture spikes removably disposed in a shaft that is rotatably disposed in each barrier block. The plurality of barrier blocks hare hingedly interconnected by complementary hinges integrally formed into the side of each barrier block which allow the strip to be rolled for easy storage and retrieval, but which prevent irregular or back bending of the strip. The shafts of adjacent barrier blocks are pivotally interconnected via a double hinged universal joint to accommodate irregularities in a roadway surface and to transmit torsional motion of the shaft from block to block. A single ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundDespite considerable efforts to promote and support guideline use, adherence is often suboptimal. Barriers to adherence vary not only across guidelines but also across...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The influence of insulin on unidirectional flux of glucose across the blood-brain barrier and on net uptake of glucose by the brain was investigated in seven fasting patients. The unidirectional extraction,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

ObjectiveThis study was conducted to provide a nationwide analysis on barriers to cervical cancer screening in Korea.MethodsData used for this study...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The study examines the question of whether or not civilian marketing practices and principles can be applied in the military care setting. Using the NRMC Great Lakes as a basis, the answer is yes--consumers of military medical care are ready to be the rec...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

... Ukraine Stockel, J. Hron, M. Dejamae, R. Bilykova, O. Brotankova, J.

Science.gov (United States)

... Title : Mental Health and Resilience: Soldiers' Perceptions about Psychotherapy, Medications, and Barriers to Care in the United States Military. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The analysis of plasma density oscillations and ExB rotation of U-3M torsatron plasma was performed by UHR correlation reflectometry during the transport barrier formation. The connections between these characteristics and the phenomenon of inner and edge transport barrier formation were determined experimentally at the different values of HF power and plasma density.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A multi-spectral Schottky barrier infrared detector array in which individual pixels of radiation from a remote radiating object are detected by two or more Schottky barrier infrared radiation detectors each having a different spectral response so as to provide a ''color'' discrimination for the array.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Several organophosphate and organochlorine compounds, including pesticides commonly found in the Great Lakes basin, have the potential to induce immunotoxicity. Because of biomagnification and accumulation...Full Text Available

Wastenet

... The moorland landscape looks especially colourful in late summer, while spring is the perfect time to come and see migrant birds like redstarts,...Valley This is a delightful oak woodland to walk through - especially in spring and early summer when lots of migrating birds come to breed ... Fowlmere Fowlmere's reedbeds and pools are fed by natural chalk springs, and a chalk stream runs through the reserve. Special birds ... There are common woodland birds in spring and turtle doves in spring and summer. Haweswater If you want to see a golden ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reactively sputtered tantalum nitride (Ta_2N) has been investigated as a diffusion barrier between Pd_2Si and aluminum and CoSi_2 and Al. Ta_2N is found to be an excellent matallurgical diffusion barrier for the two systems up to 555 "0C, with no intermixing observed in Rutherford backscattering and Auger electron spectroscopic studies. Schottky barrier devices n-Si/Pd_2Si/Ta_2N/Al were excellent and showed no deterioration after annealing at 500 "0C. However, similar devices with CoSi_2 contacts and Ta_2N barrier showed a creation of high contact resistance between the silicide and the as-deposited nitride.

Science.gov (United States)

Oxide charge on the sidewalls of SiO{sub 2} embedded silicon wires with 20x20 nm{sup 2} cross section is shown to influence the Schottky barrier height for Pd{sub 2}Si/Si junctions positioned on the end surfaces of the wires. Compared with results on planar silicon surfaces, the electron barrier height is 0.3 eV lower for wires investigated as fabricated. By increasing the oxide charge through irradiation by ultraviolet light, the electron barrier decreases by an additional 0.15 eV and the hole barrier correspondingly increases by about the same amount. The phenomenon is explained by assuming an oxide charge density in the range of 10{sup 12} cm{sup -2}.

ScienceCinema

...great global warming ...global warming and and uh if something is known about ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Renewable Energy Technologies (RETS) have over the years become an integral part of the energy supply chain in most developed countries. Recent projections show that 13.5% of the world's primary energy supply comes from renewable and this figure has an aggregated annual growth rate of 16%. Wind has the highest annual growth rate of 22% while the least annual growth rate of 2% is for hydropower. The main push for renewable like wind in the OECD countries are environmental concerns and the business aspect in power generation. The situation is however completely different in Africa, where the thrust for RETs is developmental based. Although the continent has abundant renewable energy resources like solar, biomass, wind and hydro potential, they have remained largely unexploited. Several efforts have been made to help African countries like Zimbabwe to exploit such resources. The main objectives of this country study included review of Zimbabwe's development of past RETs, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Theoretical analysis of the electric field bifurcation is made for the LHD plasma. For given shapes of plasma profiles, a region of bifurcation is obtained in a space of the plasma parameters. In this region of plasma parameters, the electric field domain interface is predicted to appear in the plasma column. The reduction of turbulent transport is expected to occur in the vicinity of the interface, inducing a internal transport barrier. Within this simple model, the plasma with internal barriers is predicted to be realized for the parameters of T{sub e}(0) {approx} 2 keV and n(0) {approx_equal} 10{sup 18} m{sup -3}. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

One of the major scientific and technological challenges for the production of flexible organic electronic devices is the device protection against atmospheric molecule permeation, which causes corrosion reducing its operation and lifetime. In this work, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry has been implemented to investigate the influence of silicon dioxide nanoparticles on the optical properties of hybrid polymers. The spectra analysis revealed valuable information about the electronic and vibrational response as well as the cross-linking mechanisms of these materials. The correlation of the optical properties with the synthesis parameters and the barrier response will contribute towards their optimization in order to be used as high barrier coatings for flexible organic electronics applications.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A clear and reproducible transition to a regime with an improved particle confinement is routinely observed on the CASTOR tokamak, if the biasing electrode is inserted deep enough into the plasma (r/a?0.5) and biased up to +250 V. The steepening of the radial profiles of the plasma density and potential demonstrate the formation of a transport barrier just inside the last closed flux surface. Fast relaxations of the edge plasma parameters, with a frequency of about 10 kHz, are observed when the average radial electric field within the barrier prevails values of about 20 kV/m. A detailed analysis of the spatial-temporal behaviour of these relaxations is presented.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Studies have shown that Canada's national parks are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. A wide range of biophysical climate change impacts could affect the integrity of conservation lands in each region of Canada. This report examines the potential impact of climate change on landscape alterations and vegetation distribution in Canada's wide network of conservation lands. It also presents several ways to integrate climate change into existing conservation policy and adaptation strategies. Canada's conservation lands include provincial parks, migratory bird sanctuaries, national wildlife areas and wildlife protected areas. This is the first study to examine biome changes by applying an equilibrium Global Vegetation Model (GVM) to Canada's network of national park systems. Some of the policy and planning challenges posed by changes in landscape level vegetation were also addressed. The report indicates ...

Science.gov (United States)

Internal hydrological processes in suburban watersheds and their effects on water quality warrant investigation. Instrument clusters (throughfall collectors, suction lysimeters, monitoring wells, and shallow and deep piezometers) were installed at several locations within three small (50 - 70 ha) watersheds (one forested, two with different degrees of suburban development) in the Croton Watershed, southeastern New York. Biweekly and storm samples were analyzed for base cations, selected anions, and DOC over a one-year period. The topographic index (TI) quantified landscape position; flowpath analyses determined degree of development at each cluster, using % impervious cover as the metric. Water quality degradation was observed in sites with medium and high TI values; no such effect was observed along the ridges, i.e., low TI values. At medium TI values, areas with more than 5% impervious had degraded water quality. At high TI values, the water chemistry degradation ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The primary determinants of pulmonary disease are environmental. The same thinness and delicacy of the air-blood barrier which allows rapid exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide also reduce its effectiveness...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Research was performed to assess the feasibility of barrier membrane substances, for use within mining or associated high risk environments, in restricting the diffusion transport of radon gas quantities. Specific tests were conducted to determine permeability parameters of a variety of membrane materials with reference to radon flow capabilities. Tests were conducted both within laboratory and in-situ emanation environments where concentrations and diffusion flows of radon gas were known to exist. Equilibrium radon gas concentrations were monitored in initially radon-free chambers adjacent to gas sources, but separated by specified membrane substances. Membrane barrier effectiveness was demonstrated to result in reduced emanation concentrations of radon gas within the sampling chamber atmosphere. Minimum gas concentrations were evidenced where the barrier membrane material was shown to exhibit lowest radon permeability ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An analysis system for the long-term mechanical behavior of barrier materials (MACBECE: Mechanical Analysis system considering Chemical transitions of BEntonite-based and CEment-based materials) was developed in order to improve the reliability of the evaluation of the hydraulic field which is one of the important environmental conditions in the safety assessment of the TRU waste disposal. MACBECE is the system that calculates the deformation of barrier materials using their chemical property changes as inputs, and subsequently calculates their hydraulic conductivity taking both their chemical property changes and deformation into consideration. By using MACBECE, the long-term deformation and the transition of hydraulic field for the round-type disposal cavities were evaluated, assuming some sets of chemical evolution data as input. Based on the analysis result, it is considered that the influence of the long-term deformation of the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The first task for remediation actions against underground contamination should be an effective confinement of contamination plumes. Some conventional barrier techniques have been already proved to have sufficient features to prevent such plumes from extending horizontally, but further technical development is required to construct a bottom barrier to stop plumes going deeper. Superjet{sup {trademark}} is a powerful version of the jet grouting method (1) and is characterized by prompt construction of an underground cement pile when exceeds 5 meter in diameter. Its application to a case of construction of underground lapping beams has shown satisfactory completion to sustain underground open space. The results and some basic experiments indicate that this method is technically feasible to build a bottom barrier with a certain mechanical strength.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982. p. 173-175. Israel Eisen, Y. Engler, G. Ovadia, E. Shamai, Y. Israel

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The model of `ecological forestry' has evolved as a part of the development of the concept of ecosystem management. `Ecological forestry' emphasises that manipulation of a forest ecosystem should consider, and as far as practicable work within the limits of, natural disturbance patterns prior to extensive human alteration of the landscape. This paper evaluates the extent to which forest management practices in jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) forests of south-western Australia align with this view of the characteristics and appropriate silviculture of `ecological forestry'. Characteristics and appropriate silviculture of `ecological forestry' are evaluated in relation to (i) the stand level decisions of stand structure and harvest timing and (ii) the landsc...

Wastenet

... For example, one study used aerial photographs and on-ground observation to determine that Kenai Peninsula in Alaska has been losing wetlands to a dryer, wooded landscape since at least 1950, which has also meant a reduction in habitat for migratory birds, many of which are favorites for birdwatchers (National Research Council of Canada, 2005). In the Arctic, important breeding and nesting areas for migratory birds may be lost, affecting bird watching opportunities at various latitudes in the U.S. (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, ...

Science.gov (United States)

Event-based biosurveillance is a scientific discipline in which diverse sources of data, many of which are available from the Internet, are characterized prospectively to provide information on infectious disease events. Biosurveillance complements traditional public health surveillance to provide both early warning of infectious disease events and situational awareness. The Global Health Security Action Group of the Global Health Security Initiative is developing a biosurveillance capability that integrates and leverages component systems from member nations. This work discusses these biosurveillance systems and identifies needed future studies.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

High-voltage transmission lines can pose an environmental problem, especially in countries where the electricity production is at a distance from the demand location. Planning, construction, and operation of high voltage transmission lines should be conducted within a comprehensive environmental policy, which may include assessment of visual impact, landscape and wildlife protection, and reduction of health risks. This paper reviews the environmental policies and action in planning, construction, and operation as developed by the utilities members of the Union Internationale des Producteurs et Distributeurs d'Energie Electrique (UNIPEDE). The paper also presents a brief outline of the health issues associated with the effects of electromagnetic fields to humans.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In early 2004, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Richland and Fluor Hanford requested technical assistance from the DOE Headquarters EM-23 Technical Assistance Program to provide a team of technical experts to develop recommendations for mending the In Situ Redox Manipulation (ISRM) Barrier in the 100-D Area of the Hanford Site in Washington State. To accommodate this request, EM-23 provided support to convene a group of technical experts from industry, a national laboratory, and a DOE site to participate in a 2 1/2-day workshop with the objective of identifying and recommending options to enhance the performance of the 100-D Area reactive barrier and of a planned extension to the northeast. This report provides written documentation of the team's findings and recommendations. In 1995, a plume of dissolved hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], which resulted from operation of the D/DR Reactors at the Hanford site, was discovered along the ...

CERN Document Server

Sumedh Anathpindika surveys astronomy in India and finds a lively and developing community as well as great public interest.

Science.gov (United States)

Results from scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the measurement of thermally stimulated current show that a high density of the physical defects and the chemical defects are introduced into the surface of the silicone rubber plates after they are treated by corona discharge plasma. These defects behave electrically as shallow electron traps, leading to the formation of a uniform discharge in air at higher pressure when the corona-modified silicone rubber is used in dielectric barrier discharge.

Science.gov (United States)

A liquid barrier filter for use in fluorescence microscopy of strongly autofluorescent plant tissues is described. The filter consists of a methanol solution of cupric chloride and ferric chloride and isolates fluorescein fluorescence from the strong red autofluorescence of photosynthetic plant tissues. Subcortical actin cables in the giant alga Chara are being visualized through use of this filter together with heavy meromyosin labeling. PMID:90068

Science.gov (United States)

A "hemispheres-in-cell" geometry is provided for prediction of colloid retention during transport in porous media. This new geometry preserves the utilities provided in the Happel sphere-in-cell geometry; namely, the ability to predict deposition for a range of porosities, and representation of the influence of neighboring collectors on the fluid flow field. The new geometry, which includes grain to grain contact, is justified by the eventual goal of predicting colloid deposition in the presence of energy barriers, which has been shown in previous literature to involve deposition within grain to grain contacts for colloid:collector ratios greater than approximately 0.005. In order to serve as a platform for predicting deposition in the presence of energy barriers, the model must be shown capable of quantitatively predicting deposition in the absence of energy barriers, which is a requirement that was not met by previous ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The behaviour of the packaging materials under radiation field has a great importance in radiation processing, because, in most cases, they are finally responsible for the preservation of the beneficent changes achieved in irradiated products. For example, in radiation sterilisation and food irradiation, the packages must preserve the sterilisation, respectively the sanitisation. They must preserve also the physical barrier feature. The radiation effects on plastics were extensively studied in the last decades for nuclear industry and more recently for radiation processing. The two major effects of nuclear radiation on polymeric materials are the degradation and cross-linking. The degradation consists in breaking of macromolecules after interaction with nuclear particles, amplified by the free radicals which persist long periods, especially in crystalline polymers. Oxygen could penetrate the sample and interact with free radicals so that the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Full text: Immunoassays for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) are used to detect early-stage prostate cancer, monitor disease progress, and evaluate therapeutic response. At least two forms of PSA, free PSA (F-PSA) and PSA complexed to alpha-1 anti-chymotrypsin (PSA-ACT) are detected by commercial PSA assays. The fraction of F-PSA is shown to be smaller in patients with untreated prostate cancer than in patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Thus, combined measurements of both total and free PSA are used for a better discrimination between BPH and prostate cancer. Detection of PSA for screening of prostate cancer has been a subject of debate for many years. The reason of this debate is mainly because screening for prostate cancer is not cost-effective, as was shown by studies undertaken in Europe and United States. In Lebanon, no previous programs of screening for prostate cancer were done and so the incidence of this cancer is not known. Recently, the cancer registry in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This document is a summary of the available information on the thermo-hydro-mechanical properties of the bentonite barrier of a high-level radioactive waste repository and of the processes taking place in it during the successive repository operation phases. Mainly the thermal properties, the volume change processes (swelling and consolidation), the permeability and the water retention capacity are analysed. A review is made of the existing experimental knowledge on the modification of the these properties by the effect of temperature, water salinity, humidity and density of the bentonite, and their foreseen evolution as a consequence of the processes expected in the repository. The compiled evolution refers mostly to the FEBEX (Spain), the MX-80 (USA) and the FoCa (France) bentonite, considered as reference barrier materials in several European disposal concepts. (Author) 102 refs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The influence of hydrogen ion implantation into the channel polysilicon of polysilicon thin film transistors on gate oxide conductivity has been investigated. Data for effective tunnelling barriers at the gate oxide/channel polysilicon interface are presented. A value of 1.2eV for samples with boron doped channel polysilicon is calculated. For hydrogenated boron doped samples tunnelling barriers higher than 2.1 eV are obtained. The tunnelling barriers for phosphorus doped samples are impurity concentration dependent and decrease with increasing phosphorus concentration in the range 3 x 10"1"7 to 3 x 10"1"9 cm"-"3. (Author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Defect cluster formation in 14-MeV neutron irradiated polycrystalline copper has been observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and correlated with the increase in yield stress. The measurements indicate that the radiation hardening component of the yield strength in polycrystals is not directly additive to the unirradiated yield strength. A transitional behavior was observed for radiation hardening at low fluences, which produces an anomalous variation of the defect cluster barrier strength with fluence. The behavior is attributed to the effect of grain boundaries on slip band transmission. An upper limit for the room temperature barrier strength of defect clusters in neutron-irradiated copper was determined to be #alpha#=0.23. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We demonstrate control and improvement of charge injection in organic electronic devices by utilizing self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to manipulate the Schottky energy barrier between a metal electrode and the organic electronic material. Hole injection from Cu electrodes into the electroluminescent conjugated polymer poly[2-methoxy,5-(2{sup {prime}}-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] was varied by using two conjugated-thiol based SAMs. The chemically modified electrodes were incorporated in organic diode structures and changes in the metal/polymer Schottky energy barriers and current{endash}voltage characteristics were measured. Decreasing (increasing) the Schottky energy barrier improves (degrades) charge injection into the polymer. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degradation of contacts of the electronic equipment at the raised temperatures is connected with active diffusion redistribution of components contact - metalized systems (CMS) and phase production on interphase borders. One of systems diffusion barriers (DB) are polycrystalline silicide a film, in particular silicides of the titan. Reception disilicide the titan (TiSi_2) which on the parameters is demanded for conditions of microelectronics from known silicides of system Ti-Si, is possible as a result of direct reaction of a film of the titan and a substrate of silicon, and at sedimentation of layer Ti-Si demanded stoichiometric structure. Simultaneously there is specific problem polycrystalline diffusion a barrier (PDB): the polycrystalline provides structural balance and metastability film disilicide, but leaves in it borders of grains - easy local ways of diffusion. In clause the analysis diffusion permeability polycrystalline and polyphase ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

? Introduction Old-growth forests on Changbai Mountain are economically and ecologically important but have been fragmented outside Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve. The trend of forest landscape degradation on Changbai Mountain threatens forest sustainability and biodiversity conservation in the region. Previous studies have focused mainly on the structure and function of protected forests but have ignored managed forests outside the reserve border. ? Objectives In this paper, deforestation processes are studied for two forestry enterprises, namely Baihe and Lushuihe Forestry Bureaus, with different socioeconomic structure due to their differences in proximity to Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Baihe?s income comes from b...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract This article discusses the evolution of the public debate in Italy about unemployment over a period of almost ten years (1995-2002) that was particularly crucial for the Italian labour and political systems. From the early 1980s and throughout the 1990s, the country experienced major industrial change, which dramatically restructured its labour landscape. Moreover, this industrial earthquake occurred within internal (a deep political party system re-assessment and the fluctuating importance of unions) and external (European Union-driven state budgetary limits) political constraints that have heavily influenced the debate itself. The analysis of the public policy debates allows the authors of this article to portray the agendas, concepts and strategies introduced and discussed by e...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Invasive weeds have threatened the integrity of ecosystems throughout the world. They affect not only the species diversity of native areas but also their biological integrity. In India, a number of invasive exotic weeds have been reported but some viz. Parthenium hysterophorus, Lantana camara and Ageratum conyzoides, especially those from tropical America are troublesome and have caused adverse ecological, economic and social impact. These weeds can be seen growing in different landscapes but are luxuriantly localized in unattended forests and cultivated areas. Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae, commonly known as congress grass) is perhaps the most troublesome and noxious weed of urban and rural India. Besides rapidly colonizing areas replacing the native vegetation, it is also known t...

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The goal of this study is to determine whether physicists at the Russian Nuclear Weapons Institute can profitably service the need for computer aided drug design (CADD) programs. The Russian physicists` primary competitive advantage is their ability to write particularly efficient code able to work with limited computing power; a history of working with very large, complex modeling systems; an extensive knowledge of physics and mathematics, and price competitiveness. Their primary competitive disadvantage is their lack of biology, and cultural and geographic issues. The first phase of the study focused on defining the competitive landscape, primarily through interviews with and literature searches on the key providers of CADD software. The second phase focused on users of CADD technology to determine deficiencies in the current product offerings, to understand what product they most desired, and to define the potential demand for such a product.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

RODbaffle heat exchanger is a kind of shell-and-tube heat exchanger with eminent performance. Because of the characteristics of tube bundle support structure, fluid flow on shellside is longitudinal and periodical, and fluid flow is of symmetry in landscape orientation. According to the fluid flow characteristics on shellside and ignoring the impact of inlet, outlet and shell wall, a periodic flow unit duct was taken as the simplified model of the shellside to perform numerical simulation by using CFD code, FLUENT. It was found that the both errors in magnitude of the main fluid velocities and heat transfer coefficients between results of simulation and that of experiment or correlations are less than 10%, and the errors of pressure drop between simulation and correlation are no more than 20%. The detailed characteristics and relation of fluid flow and heat transfer on shellside of the RODbaffle heat exchanger were analyzed using the simulation results. (author)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Microreserves may be useful in protecting native arthropod diversity in urbanized landscapes. However, species that do not disperse through the urban matrix may eventually be lost from these fragments. Population extinctions may be precipitated by an increase in genetic differentiation among fragments and loss of genetic diversity within fragments, and these effects should become stronger with time. We analyzed population genetic structure in the dispersal limited Jerusalem cricket Stenopelmatus n. sp. ?santa monica?? in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills north of Los Angeles, California (CA), to determine the impacts of fragmentation over the past 70 years. MtDNA divergence was greater among urban fragments than within contiguous habitat and was positively correlated with fragment ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Background, aim, and scope Soil as a landscape body contains wide ranges of physical, chemical, morphological, and mineralogical properties, both laterally and vertically. Soils with similar properties and environments are expected to behave similarly. A statement on land use potential will depend in part on the precision and accuracy of the statements that can be made about the soils. This information has some practical applications in optimizing land management and productivity improvement. The spatial patterns and dependence of some selected physicochemical properties of brackish marsh and surrounding soils were investigated using a 2-D kriging analysis in conjunction with a geostatistical (GS+, Michigan) model. Materials and methods Composite (four subsamples) surface samples (0?20?cm)...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Information technology allows national and local governments to satisfy the needs of citizens in a cost effective way. Unfortunately, citizens still tend to prefer traditional, more costly channels, such as the front desk, phone and mail. Through pilot projects government agencies attempt to influence this behavior of citizens, directing them towards the online channel. With this paper we provide insight into the possibility to influence citizens' behavior in the complex landscape of multi-channel service provision. The paper systematically compares five pilot projects using a framework that is based on organizational and marketing literature. The results show that socio-psychological factors are crucial in multi-channel management, much more than the technology itself. We conclude that ci...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Nest locations of breeding birds are often spatially clustered. This tendency to nest together has generally been related to a patchy distribution of nesting habitat in landscape studies, but behavioral studies of species with clustered breeding patterns draw attention to the importance of social and biotic factors. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the breeding system of many territorial, migrant birds may be semi-colonial. The reasons for, and extent of, spatial clustering in their breeding systems are not well understood. Our goal was to tease apart the influence of habitat availability and social drivers of clustered breeding in a neotropical migrant species, the hooded warbler (Wilsonia citrina). To test alternative hypotheses related to clustered habitat or conspecifi...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The paper describes, for the Hausa farmers of Gidan Jatau in northern Nigeria, the distinct ways in which they see and understand (a) their close and distant environment and (b) their bodies' anatomy and physiology. These ways result in 'another geography' - of both space and being - which, however, may no longer now have the resonance it had in the early 1970s when the author lived in Gidan Jatau for two years as a guest. At that time, the spiritual dimensions of daily life were deemed important to the health and prosperity of each person and to the farmstead as a whole. The argument is made that the urban-centred literature on the bori possession-cult neglects the ordinary, anonymous spirits of house and field. Any serious archaeology of the landscape will need insights into this 'altern...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Many species of entomophagous arthropods have been introduced either intentionally (through the practice of biological control) or unintentionally to new regions. We examine interactions of these aliens with their new environments in the context of rapid global change linked to human activity. We consider effects of such interactions on establishment and spread of the alien species and effects on indigenous biota and ecosystems. Major elements of global change that affect alien-environment interactions include landscape modifications by humans (e.g., cultivation, habitat loss and fragmentation) and increases in atmospheric CO2 and other gases resulting in climate change and other effects (e.g., changes in food quality for herbivores that affect higher trophic levels as well). Alien arthrop...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In the spring of 2009, the Romanian government has proposed a restructuring of the national power generation sector segment that is still owned by the state. As most of the power generation capacity is still state-owned, this restructuring will dramatically alter the competitive landscape of this sector. This paper is analyzing the rationale and principles of the restructuring as stated by government documents and officials, the assessment methodology and criteria proposed by the government, as well as the proposed final outcome of the restructuring initiative. Based on this critical assessment and the early results of the restructuring's implementation, we are able to make recommendations that can be considered for a revised restructuring approach. - Research highlights: #-># Power generation sector restructuring is proposed in 2009 by the Romanian government. #-># We assess the objectives, methodology and proposed outcome of the restructuring. #-># ...

CERN Document Server

Vehicular communication (VC) systems have recently drawn the attention of industry, authorities, and academia. A consensus on the need to secure VC systems and protect the privacy of their users led to concerted efforts to design security architectures. Interestingly, the results different project contributed thus far bear extensive similarities in terms of objectives and mechanisms. As a result, this appears to be an auspicious time for setting the corner-stone of trustworthy VC systems. Nonetheless, there is a considerable distance to cover till their deployment. This paper ponders on the road ahead. First, it presents a distillation of the state of the art, covering the perceived threat model, security requirements, and basic secure VC system components. Then, it dissects predominant assumptions and design choices and considers alternatives. Under the prism of what is necessary to render secure VC systems practical, and given possible non-technical influences, the paper attempts to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Progress is reported on: radon barrier systems for uranium mill tailings; liner evaluation for uranium mill tailings; revegetation/rock cover for stabilization of inactive U-tailings sites; and application of long-term chemical biobarriers for uranium tailings.

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The temperature dependence of the dislocation mobility threshold is investigated on the basis of a dislocation model suggested by Frenkel-Kontorova. The critical value is obtained for the stress/temperature, corresponding to the dislocation depinning from its equilibrium position. The universal behaviour of a barrier height at finite stress and temperature is revealed and investigated.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Ecological speciation is the process by which barriers to gene flow between populations evolve due to adaptive divergence via natural selection. A relatively unexplored area in ecological speciation...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. Although traditionally considered a disease of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, structural and functional changes...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Surface scientists argue about the fundamental nature of Schottky barriers, or more precisely what determines the location of the Fermi level at semiconductor surfaces and interfaces. Electrical and materials engineers worry about how to make Schottky barrier diodes and gates to field effect transistors and the control of barrier heights. There is some interesting middle ground in which the location of the surface and interface Fermi level can, for example, determine semiconductor doping characteristics during crystal growth. The authors will discuss several interesting and well known examples of doping characteristics which are still somewhat mysterious. Specifically, they address the following question: (1) why is Ge doped GaAs p type when grown from Ga melts but n type when grown from Au melts (2) why is low resistivity p type ZnSe, AlAs, and AlGaInP hard to make, and more importantly, how can the problem be fixed. In ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Though central to our understanding of how roots perform their vital function of scavenging water and solutes from the soil, no direct genetic evidence currently exists to support the foundational model...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa disseminated infections depends on bacterial interaction with blood vessels. We have hypothesized that in order to traverse the endothelial barrier, bacteria...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundSeveral aromatic amines (AA) could cause bladder cancer and are an occupational hygiene problem in the workplace. However, little is known about the percutaneous absorption...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This chapter provides a glimpse of student affairs assessment at Northern Arizona University including a specific example of assessment, tips to implementing assessment at your institution, and barriers encountered when implementing the process at Northern Arizona University.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Genes of the S100 fused-type protein (SFTP) family are clustered within the epidermal differentiation complex and encode essential components that maintain epithelial homeostasis and barrier functions....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundMethamphetamine (METH), an addictive psycho-stimulant drug with euphoric effect is known to cause neurotoxicity due to oxidative stress, dopamine accumulation and glial...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

PurposeA major obstacle in glioblastoma (GBM) therapy is the restrictive nature of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) is a novel method...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundMimivirus, a giant dsDNA virus infecting Acanthamoeba, is the prototype of the mimiviridae family, the latest addition to the family of the nucleocytoplasmic...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The treatment of brain disorders is one of the greatest challenges in drug delivery because of a variety of main barriers in effective drug transport and maintaining therapeutic concentrations in the...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Bacterial pathogens use virulence strategies to invade epithelial barriers, but active processes of epithelial cells may also contribute to the endocytosis of microbial particles. To focus on the latter,...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Described and discussed in this paper are radiation processes and their advantages over the conventional techniques. Radiation sterilization of medical products, food irradiation, wood plastic composites, and radiation treatment of sewage and waste waters are presented. The Philippine experience in using these technologies, its problems and barriers are also given. (ELC).

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundHealth-Related Quality of Life assessment is widely used in clinical research, but rarely in clinical practice. Barriers including practical difficulties administering...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

A detection theory is developed for point-contact metal-oxide-metal (MOM) systems. A system with heterogeneous oxide strongly bonded to the substrate is considered. It is shown that the form of the functional connection between the barrier heights and the ultimate compressive strength of the oxide has no substantial influence on the voltage-current characteristics of the system. Quantitative analysis indicates that a MOM system can behave as a tunnel diode and as a diode with a Schottky barrier. The model permits the determination of the optimum construction of long-life detectors based on MOM point-contacts.-

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Single photon tomography using lipophilic tracers provides tomographic representations of regional blood flow. To penetrate a healthy blood-brain barrier requires that radiotracers either are fat-soluble or have an affinity for one of the selective blood-brain barrier transport systems. In recent years there has been an increasing interest to explore the ideal physical characteristics of "9"9"mTc for diagnostic problems of brain diseases. The development of radiopharmaceuticals for brain imaging including the intensively studied "9"9"mTc-propyleneamineoxime derivatives is discussed. (author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The fusion excitation function for the radioactive projectile "8 Li on a "2"0"8 Pb target has been measured at energies near the Coulomb barrier. The results show that in the considered energy interval, the evaporation of four neutrons is the most relevant mechanism. However, at the highest energies used in the experiment, the Sn channel begins to appear. The preliminary experimental cross sections show a good agreement with the predictions of a simple evaporation calculation using the code PACE. (Author) 16 refs., 1 tab., 4 figs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isolated laevocardia combined with corrected transposition of the great arteries and complete situs inversus is rare. Due to discordant interrelationships between atria and ventricles and between ventricles and great arteries, both anomalies result in a normal circulation. In the presented case no associated cardiac malformations were present and the 55-year-old woman remained symptom-free for a long time until she developed an acquired valve disease. A systematic approach to chamber localisation in complex morphologic lesions of the heart is reviewed, and the value of CT, which can be applied successfully in older children and adults is demonstrated. (orig.).

Science.gov (United States)

and Vendors on the Web Bartleby.com "Great books online." Electronic Texts & Digital Libraries Links to the full text of books and other texts on the Web. Law and Politics...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The development of solid state chemical sensors, and more specifically of gas sensors, is carried out with great strength in the present time since the environmental pollution and the security in work and domestic ambient are problems of great interest and social impact. The main fields of application, are: automobile, domestic sensors, control of industrial process, bio medicine, environment. These chemical sensors are experimenting a great advance because of the advantages they offer, as low cost, simple operation, possibility of measure continuous and ''In situ'' and small size, in contrast with analytical techniques that need complex instrumentation and large size equipments. In the present work, a sensor for CO detecting concentrations as low as 50 p.p.m., is studied showing great interest since this gas is highly toxic even to such a low concentration. (Author)

CERN Multimedia

"Physics in America is at a crossroads and in crisis, just as humanity stands on the verge of great discoveries about the nature of matter and the universe, a panel from the National Academy of sciences concludes in a new report."

Science.gov (United States)

... a given ternary molten salt system under conditions which are greatly " different than the normal method of potentiometric titration, that is, high ...

Science.gov (United States)

Turbine Afterword The SHARP cannon. Hydrogen is compressed in the tube on top, the gun barrel is on bottom. When Jules Verne wrote in 1865 "From Earth to the Moon" he envisioned...

Science.gov (United States)

Phytoremediation, a technology using plants to remediate or stabilize contaminants in soil, groundwater, or sediments, has recently received a great deal of attention from regulators, consultants, responsible parties, and stakeholders. phytoremediation ha...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

High-throughput genomic and proteomic technologies have generated a wealth of publicly available data on ageing. Easy access to these data, and their computational analysis, is of great importance in...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must account for legally protected and endangered species. Uncertainties relating to the validity and sensitivity of EIA arise from predictions and valuation of effects on these species. This paper presents a validity and sensitivity analysis of a model (BIO-SAFE) for assessment of impacts of land use changes and physical reconstruction measures on legally protected and endangered river species. The assessment is based on links between species (higher plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, butterflies and dragon- and damselflies) and ecotopes (landscape ecological units, e.g., river dune, soft wood alluvial forests), and on value assignment to protected and endangered species using different valuation criteria (i.e., EU Habitats and Birds directive, Conventions of Bern and Bonn and Red Lists). The validity of BIO-SAFE has been tested by comparing predicted effects of landscape changes on the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radon concentration measurements were made in the interior of the great pyramid of ''Cheops'' at Giza. Measurements were carried out using CR-39 as a solid state nuclear track detector. The CR-39 sheets were placed inside the Queen's and King's chambers and along the ascending corridor leading to them. An evaluation of the radon concentration is presented and discussed. (author).

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In the context of safety assessment of radioactive waste repositories, complex radionuclide transport models covering key safety-relevant processes play a major role. In recent Swiss safety assessments, such as Kristallin-I, an important drawback was the limitation in geosphere modelling capability to account for geosphere heterogeneities. In marked contrast to this limitation in modelling capabilities, great effort has been put into investigating the heterogeneity of the geosphere as it impacts on hydrology. Structural geological methods have been used to look at the geometry of the flow paths on a small scale and the diffusion and sorption properties of different rock materials have been investigated. This huge amount of information could however be only partially applied in geosphere transport modelling. To make use of these investigations the 'PICNIC project' was established as a joint cooperation of PSI/Nagra and QuantiSci to provide a new ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Complimentary spectroscopic, microscopic and electrochemical studies were performed to characterise the barrier properties as well as the interface structure of model iron substrates covered with thin plasma polymer films. Cathodic plasma polymers were deposited which show high barrier properties. The metal surface was pre-treated by a reducing or oxidising plasma. This allowed the adjustment of the oxidation state of the interface layer. The interface structure was characterised by means of X-ray photoelectron sputter profiles, infrared spectroscopy and the application of a Kelvin probe. The investigations show that the measured Voltapotential on the plasma polymer surface can be correlated with the oxidation state of the interface. Reducing plasmas lead to an almost oxide free surface. After deposition of the plasma polymer, this reduced state of the oxide is sensitive to re-oxidation of the interface by oxygen that diffuses through the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Three reactive materials were evaluated at laboratory scale to identify the optimum treatment reagent for use in a Permeable Reactive Barrier Treatment System at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS). The contaminants of concern (COCS) are uranium, TCE, PCE, carbon tetrachloride, americium, and vinyl chloride. The three reactive media evaluated included high carbon steel iron filings, an iron-silica alloy in the form of a foam aggregate, and a peculiar humic acid based sorbent (Humasorb from Arctech) mixed with sand. Each material was tested in the laboratory at column scale using simulated site water. All three materials showed promise for the 903 Mound Site however, the iron filings were determined to be the least expensive media. In order to validate the laboratory results, the iron filings were further tested at a pilot scale (field columns) using actual site water. Pilot test results were similar to laboratory results; consequently, the iron ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The difficulty in making good Ohmic contact at the interfaces with p-doped ZnSe is an important problem hindering the realization of blue-light-emitting diode lasers based on the II-VI semiconductor technology. So far no metal or semiconductor material has been found to have a low enough barrier at the (001) interface with ZnSe. A possible solution to this problem is the insertion of a so-called {ital barrier-reduction layer} at the interface with ZnSe. We have investigated the interface formation energies and valence-band offsets at the (001) interface between Al{sub x}Ga{sub 0.5{minus}x}In{sub 0.5}P and ZnSe. The results of our calculations show the existence of a strong interdependence between the valence-band offset and the interface geometric structure. The interface is found to have structural and electronic similarities to the GaAs-ZnSe(001) system. The very low values obtained for the valence-band offset confirm the possibility of using ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lab scale mulch biofilm barriers were constructed and tested to evaluate their performance for preventing the migration of aqueous and surfactant solubilized PAHs. The spatial distribution of viable PAH degrader populations and resultant biofilm formation were also monitored to evaluate the performance of the biobarrier and the prolonged surfactant effect on the PAH degrading microorganism consortia in the biobarrier. Sorption and biodegradation of PAHs resulted in stable operation of the system for dissolved phenanthrene and pyrene during 150 days of experimentation. The nonionic surfactant could increase the solubility of phenanthrene and pyrene significantly. However, the biobarrier itself couldn't totally prevent the migration of micellar solubilized phenanthrene and pyrene. The presence of surfactant and the resultant highly increased phenanthrene or pyrene concentration didn't appear to cause toxic effects on the attached biofilm in the biobarrier. However, ...

CERN Document Server

We consider the role of quantum effects in the transfer of hyrogen-like species in enzyme-catalysed reactions. This study is stimulated by claims that the observed magnitude and temperature dependence of kinetic isotope effects imply that quantum tunneling below the energy barrier associated with the transition state significantly enhances the reaction rate in many enzymes. We use a path integral approach which provides a general framework to understand tunneling in a quantum system which interacts with an environment at non-zero temperature. Here the quantum system is the active site of the enzyme and the environment is the surrounding protein and water. Tunneling well below the barrier only occurs for temperatures less than a temperature $T_0$ which is determined by the curvature of potential energy surface near the top of the barrier. We argue that for most enzymes this temperature is less than room temperature. For ...

Science.gov (United States)

Attempt to form the Schottky barrier on mercury indium telluride (MIT) surface by deposition transparent conducting electrode (TCE) and avoid the negative results by non-rectifier contacts nature, we have investigated the oxidation of clean MIT surfaces to form an insulating layer to overcome this disadvantage by metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) photodetectors designing. Oxide film is grown on the MIT surface by plasma enhance chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Previously cleaned MIT wafers were dipped and boiled in solution, which consists of mixture of bromine and an organic solvent in ratio of 1:50. By the way of using these films as intermediate slightly conducting insulator, a fast-response MIT based surface-barrier photodetectors have been developed. Pt films were used as TCE frontal electrode by vacuum magnetron sputtering (VMS). The current-voltage characteristic is described quantitatively based on the energy diagram and the found ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The design of high level radioactive waste (HLW) repositories in deep geological media in which bentonite clay is proposed as a sealing material leads to the need of further studying the behaviour of highly compacted expansive soils when subjected to mechanical, hydraulic and thermal changes. Laboratory tests may help to understand the processes that take place in the clay barrier under simple and controlled conditions and to develop the governing equations. The laboratory tests enable to isolate the different processes, making their interpretation easier, and provide with fundamental data concerning the parameters to be used in the models. The extremely low permeability of these materials, their avidity for water (high suction) and their high swelling capacity make necessary the modification of the conventional laboratory techniques and procedures to determine basic physical parameters. The main hydraulic properties of the barrier to be ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Open pit oil sands mining involves the disturbance of thin overburden covers of Boreal forest lands that must be returned to equivalent land capability after mining activities have ceased. Before mining starts, any wetlands are drained, timber is harvested, and peat, topsoils and subsoils are stockpiled for later use. This article discussed wetland reclamation activities conducted by Suncor Energy at its open pit mining operations. Research facilities were constructed in order to determine if wetlands constructed with consolidated tailings (CT) and pond effluent water (PEW) were able to support a sustainable vegetation community. Thirty-three cat-tail plots were established at the facility as well as unplanted plots in order to determine how quickly natural establishment occurred. Shoreline plug transplants and transplants from a natural saline lake were also introduced. Within 5 years, over 23 plant species had naturally colonized the CT wetlands. However, diversity was lower in CT ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The cell's cytoskeleton, providing the cell with structure and shape, consists of a complex array of structural proteins, including microtubules, microfilaments and intermediate filaments. Intermediate filaments play a crucial role in mechanotransduction and in providing mechanical stability to cells, in particular under large deformation. By utilizing molecular simulation, here we report a nanomechanical analysis of vimentin intermediate filament dimers, the basic building blocks of intermediate filaments. We describe a detailed analysis of the mechanical properties and associated deformation mechanisms, and find that mechanical stretch induces a transition from alpha-helices to beta-sheets, a phenomenon known as alpha-beta transition. A comparison of the Young's modulus predicted from simulation with experimental measurements is provided, and good agreement is found. We present an analysis of structural changes during deformation, domain unfolding patterns, rate dependence of the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The application of fossil fuels and the simultaneous dependency on fuel imports can only be decreased through consequent utilisation of efficient hydro power which is the most efficient way to avoid CO{sub 2} emissions. Only some decades ago hydro power plants were buildings erected according to met technical demands. In the 1990s rethinking started and the new designs took into account ecology and architecture. Maintenance and/or improvement of ecological efficiency play a decisive role. Experts of ecology and environmental protection of different faculties are involved right from the beginning when planning starts in order to obtain a maximum of nature compatibility and to develop efficient ecological accompanying and compensating measures. Landscape is being recultivated sustainably during construction activities in order to offer biota optimum conditions of living. Devices supporting fish migration are state of the art and designed in such a way that even small ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An analysis on landscape level was performed to investigate the growth of Scots pine stands (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the research area of 'Duebener Heide' under the impact of rapidly changing pollution loads and to evaluate their further development. Central to the work was a spatial database, installed using a geographic information system (GIS). This database enabled the statistical analysis of relationships and correlations between the growth of the pine stands, the influence of pollution impacts and the natural site characteristics. The results of emission and immission modelling gave detailed evaluation of the pollution load over the investigated area. The spatial information database was linked with a process-based growth model called FORSANA. The resulting regional model was used to simulate forest growth on stand level for variable time periods. The plausibility of the simulation results of the model was checked for the influence of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maps of wind resources were used to develop a method of evaluating climatic changes and their potential impacts on wind energy resources. Global IPCC climate change scenarios were used to predict climatic conditions for the future, while past wind resource availability was simulated and validated using NCEP and NCAR reanalysis data as well as observed meteorological data from Environment Canada. The simulations were used to compare each 5-year period with a 50-year reference period. Regional scale climate change impacts were evaluated using a statistical dynamic down-scaling method. Advanced meteorological models were used to predict wind flow patterns across specific landscapes. The evolution of past wind resource availability was then simulated. Five-year wind resource simulations for a 50-year period were simulated at 25 km"2 wind speeds at 80 m above the ground. Average wind speed variations were then evaluated. The method has been used to simulate 5-year ...

Science.gov (United States)

Dozens of universities--primarily from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia--are eyeing the Gulf region as a largely untapped reservoir of academic potential and economic opportunity. During the last few years, UAE states like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Ras al Khaymah have spent billions to entice top universities. And many colleges are responding--examples include New York University's campus in Abu Dhabi; Michigan State University's school in Dubai; and big names like Cornell, Northwestern, and Carnegie Mellon that have set up shop in Qatar. Typically, Western universities begin their foray into the Gulf by teaming with local investors. The colleges oversee the academic infrastructure while the investors front all operational costs. The partnerships are complicated. Some investors are mining the UAE's educational zeal for profit. In other cases, schools join forces with the region's numerous royal families, who are mostly interested in furthering their states' economies ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The information gathered as operating manager when implementing the first photovoltaic rural electrification and technology transfer program carried out to date in the world in French Polynesia from 1978 to 1990 are detailed. The technical developments of equipment and the work in progress at the GENEC Cadarache within French, European or IEA programs in order to improve some components or appliances and make up for certain deficiencies are presented. This involves accelerated aging tests, Standardization work, development of high efficiency equipment. Non technical barriers are often emphasized. Technical barriers also exists. Considerable work in many domains of small PV systems remains to be done so as to combine all the conditions required to implement successful large programs in developed as well as in developing countries.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The release of {sup 222}Radon to the atmosphere is controlled by the rate of its gas transport through earthen materials. Of the many soil-related parameters, radon diffusion coefficient is the key parameter that characterizes this transport. We compared the radon diffusion coefficients measured at the laboratories for the UMTRA Project with simple empirical correlations developed by others. The empirical correlations predict the radon diffusion coefficient based on the fraction of moisture saturation and porosity. One of the more recent correlations agrees reasonably well with the measurements. In addition, by using a series of correlation curves, we studied the empirical relationships of the. radon diffusion coefficient with the saturated hydraulic conductivity, the fines content, and the moisture saturation in soil. The results reveal that a reliable determination of the long-term moisture and porosity is essential in the design of an adequate radon barrier with ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Objectives- Cyclodextrins are useful solubilizing excipients that have gained currency in the formulator's armamentarium based on their ability to temporarily camouflage undesirable physicochemical properties. In this context cyclodextrins can increase oral bioavailability, stabilize compounds to chemical and enzymatic degradation and can affect permeability through biological membranes under certain circumstances. This latter property is examined herein as a function of the published literature as well as work completed in our laboratories. Key findings- Cyclodextrins can increase the uptake of drugs through biological barriers if the limiting barrier component is the unstirred water layer (UWL) that exists between the membrane and bulk water. This means that cyclodextrins are mo...

CERN Document Server

Over three years ago, the Core Integration team of the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) implemented a digital library based on metadata aggregation using Dublin Core and OAI-PMH. The initial expectation was that such low-barrier technologies would be relatively easy to automate and administer. While this architectural choice permitted rapid deployment of a production NSDL, our three years of experience have contradicted our original expectations of easy automation and low people cost. We have learned that alleged "low-barrier" standards are often harder to deploy than expected. In this paper we report on this experience and comment on the general cost, the functionality, and the ultimate effectiveness of this architecture.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

It is known that the plant cuticle represents the first barrier that must be overcome by any chemical reaching the plant surface from the atmosphere before entering the plant. Because of the importance of the cuticle as a barrier to penetration of a wide variety of compounds, its morphology, chemistry, and permeability have been extensively studied. However, only limited information is available on the nature of functional chemical groups present and their interaction and role during the penetration process. The usefulness of in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies in identifying functional groups present in isolated cuticles is described and their relationships to the structure of the cuticular membrane are discussed. Applications of infrared spectroscopy on the presence and role of phenolics in the cuticle structure and during the cuticle development, nitrogen oxide binding to isolated cuticles, and the interactions between ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The development of a new configuration of chemical ionization (CI)-based ion source is presented. The ambient air containing the gaseous sample is sniffed into an enclosed ionization chamber which is of sub-ambient pressure, and is subsequently mixed with metastable species in front of the ion inlet of the mass spectrometer. Metastable helium atoms (He*) are used in this study as the primary ionizing agents and are generated from a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) source. The DBD is powered by an AC high-voltage supply and the configuration of the electrodes is in such a way that the generated plasma is confined within the discharge tube and is not extended into the ionization chamber. The construction of the ion source is simple, and volatile compounds released from the bulky sample can...

CERN Document Server

We report about the fabrication and analysis of the properties of Cr/CrO_x/Cr tunnel junctions and SET transistors, prepared by different variants of direct-writing multilayer technique. In all cases, the CrO_x tunnel barriers were formed in air under ambient conditions. From the experiments on single junctions, values for the effective barrier height and thickness were derived. For the Cr/CrO_x/Cr SET transistors we achieved minimal junction areas of 17 x 60 nm^2 using a scanning transmission electron microscope for the e-beam exposure on Si_3N_4 membrane substrate. We discuss the electrical performance of the transistor samples as well as their noise behavior.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The paper presents cloud structure models for Jupiter's Great Red Spot, Equatorial and North Tropical Zones, North and South Temperate Zones, and North and South Polar Regions. The models are based on images of Jupiter in three methane bands and nearby continuum radiative transfer calculations include multiple scattering and absorption from three aerosol layers. The model results include the transition in the upper-cloud altitude to 3 km lower altitude from the tropical zones to temperate zones and polar regions, a N/S asymmetry in cloud thickness in the tropical and temperature zones, and the presence of aerosols up to about 0.3 bar in the Great Red Spot and Equatorial Zone. It is concluded that polarization data are sensitive to aerosols in and above the upper cloud layer but insensitive to deeper cloud structure.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundTraumatic paediatric arterial injuries are a great challenge due to low incidence and specific characteristics of paediatric anatomy and physiology. The aim of the present...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The cattle industry in Canada has changed greatly over the past several decades. Size of the national dairy herd has reduced steadily but this reduction has been more than offset by an increase in...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

How an individual’s sex and genetic background modify cardiac adaptation to increased workload is a topic of great interest. We systematically evaluated morphological and physiological...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Rate of dehydration greatly affects desiccation tolerance of recalcitrant seeds. This effect is presumably related to two different stress vectors: direct mechanical or physical stress because of the...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The activity of mice in their home cage is influenced greatly by the cycle of light and dark. In addition, home-cage activity shows remarkable time-dependent changes that result in a prominent temporal...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundWith the advent of increasingly efficient means to obtain genetic information, a great insurgence of data has resulted, leading to the need for methods for analyzing this...Full Text Available

Wastenet

...because it had greatly contributed to the geospatial capability of coalition forces in the Global War on Terrorism by producing a system that provides high-resolution imagery for use in detecting ground changes, creating detailed maps and obtaining Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) information. ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The somatic sensory system responds to stimuli of distinct modalities, including touch, pain, itch, and temperature sensitivity. In the past century, great progress has been made in understanding the...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Background and AimsXylem vessels containing gases (embolized) must be refilled with water if they are to resume transport of water through the plant, so refilling is of great importance...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The identification of host cell factors for virus replication holds great promise for the development of new anti-viral therapies. Recently, high-throughput screening methods have emerged as...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Over the last several years, as cesarean deliveries have grown increasingly common, there has been a great deal of public and professional interest in the phenomenon of women ‘choosing’...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The display of proteins such as feed enzymes at the surface of bacterial spore systems has a great potential use for animal feed. Feed enzymes increase the digestibility of nutrients, leading to greater...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

DNA barcodes linked to genetic features greatly facilitate screening these features in pooled formats using microarray hybridization, and new tools are needed to design large sets of barcodes to allow...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Our understanding of the development of neurotransmitter systems in the central nervous system has increased greatly over the past three decades and it has become apparent that drug effects...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BACKGROUND: Accurate estimation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has assumed great significance in the era of automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (AICDs), and a low EF may...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria underlies major systemic diseases, and this clinical problem stimulates a great scientific interest in the mechanism of ROS generation....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China on 12 May 2008 left thousands of survivors requiring medical care and intensive rehabilitation. In view of this great demand, the Chinese Speaking Orthopaedic...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The focus of the present Great Lakes water quality agreement between Canada and the United States is on transboundary pollution and particularly the injury to health and property from exposures to persistent toxic substances. Several scientists and policy advisors have suggested, on the basis of the Ecosystem Approach and systems theory, that the agenda should move on to other demanding topics, such as the introduction of exotic species, biodiversity, habitat restoration, fisheries management, sustainable development, and governance of the Great Lakes basin. None of these issues, however, poses the same scale of threat to national sovereignty and bilateral interests as does transboundary pollution. Thus, none warrants the degree of attention that has been and should be paid, despite declining budgets, to assessing and controlling releases of persistent toxic substances that continue to injure fish, wildlife, and human health. Instead, it is ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Simplification of cell enumeration technologies is necessary, especially for resource-poor countries, where reliable and affordable enumeration systems are greatly needed. In this paper, an immunomagnetic...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundThe genomic organisation of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) varies greatly between different vertebrates. In mammals, the classical MHC consists of a large number...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 331 BC. The newly founded town was conceived as an orthogonal grid based on a main longitudinal axis, later called Canopic Road. We analyse here the astronomical orientation of the project and propose that the main axis was deliberately oriented towards the rising sun on the day of birth of Alexander the Great. The argument is admittedly speculative as any Archaeoastronomy argument not backed up by written sources. However, it is nested accurately into the archaeological records and into what is known on the foundation of the town. Further, a topographical analysis is given to sustain the thesis.

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lipids in the stratum corneum (SC) are of major importance for the skin barrier function. Many different methods have been used for the collection of SC for the analysis of SC lipids. The objective of the present study was to validate the cyanoacrylate method for the collection of SC in relation to lipid analysis.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The high pressure discharges (pulsed or D C corona, barrier, gliding and the others), have been studied both experimentally and theoretically as sources of low temperature plasma for pollution control technologies. The potential of electrical discharge methods has been demonstrated for the decomposition of many types of VOC. The air or oxygen are used as a feed gas in which pollutant is diluted. The ozone production in air or oxygen in such discharges is also discussed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The propagating of tachyons in an expanding universe is discussed. It is shown that a primordial tachyon in the big-bang universe cannot survive unless it had very large energy initially. In an indefinitely expanding universe the tachyon trajectory turns back in time. This time barrier is found to exist even in the quantum mechanical discussion of tachyons. This property is used to set limits on the mass of a tachyon. The possible astronomical checks on the hypothesis that neutrinos or photons may be tachyonic are also discussed. (author).

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The management of CNS tumors is limited by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a vascular interface that restricts the passage of most molecules from the blood into the brain. Here we show that phage particles...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This volume contains appendices D6 through D8 containing laboratory test data: from MK-F investigation, 1987, Old Rifle and New Rifle sites; on bentonite amended radon barrier material; and from MK-F investigation, 1987, riprap tests.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Technology of plasma sputtering, structure and properties of zirconium dioxide coatings were studied. Necessity of void number increase to enhance coating heat-resistance is shown. Optimal powder particle size (20-60 #mu#m) providing optimal coating porosity was determined. Weight part of stabilizating oxide (Y_2O_3) in ZrO_2 for formation in coating of microcracks serving as barriers for macro-cracks propagation was determined.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nexans has developed a new type of high voltage sea cable with metal barrier for dynamic application, suited for floating installations such as vessels, floating wind turbines or floating platforms. A brief presentation of the cable's design (ml)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

For higher U-loading in low-enriched U-10 wt.%Mo fuels, monolithic fuel plate clad in AA6061 is being developed as a part of Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) program. This paper reports the first characterization results from a monolithic U-10 wt.%Mo fuel plate with a Zr diffusion barrier that was fabricated as part of a plate fabrication campaign for irradiation testing in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Both scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) were employed for analysis. At the interface between the Zr barrier and U-10 wt.%Mo, going from Zr to U(Mo), UZr_2, #gamma#-UZr, Zr solid-solution and Mo_2Zr phases were observed. The interface between AA6061 cladding and Zr barrier plate consisted of four layers, going from Al to Zr, (Al, Si)_2Zr, (Al, Si)Zr_3 (Al, Si)_3Zr, and AlSi_4Zr_5. Irradiation behavior of these intermetallic phases is discussed based on their constituents. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A complete theory for waveguide laser modes for oversized metallic and dielectric waveguides with circular cross section has been developed for the submillimeter wavelength region. The experimental investigations have been done by a submillimeter heterodyne technique for the first stage using a Schottky barrier diode in an open structure mixer.

CERN Document Server

Two-dimensional generalization of the original peak finding algorithm suggested earlier is given. The ideology of the algorithm emerged from the well known quantum mechanical tunneling property which enables small bodies to penetrate through narrow potential barriers. We further merge this ``quantum'' ideology with the philosophy of Particle Swarm Optimization to get the global optimization algorithm which can be called Quantum Swarm Optimization. The functionality of the newborn algorithm is tested on some benchmark optimization problems.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper coating developments for advanced gas turbine engines (diffusion aluminide coatings, overlay coatings, and ceramic thermal barrier coatings) were desorbed, a selection of current metallic coatings was made and their performance as outlined. Finally coating developments for advanced diesel engines with a view to improved turbocharging or to low heat rejection engines (adiabatic diesel concept) were dealt with. (IHOE).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The engineering and economic feasibility of using the geothermal resources in East Mesa, California, in a new corn processing plant is evaluated. Institutional barriers were also identified and evaluated. Several alternative plant designs which used geothermal energy were developed. A capital cost estimate and rate of return type of economic analysis were performed to evaluate each alternative. (MHR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

... dwba excitation functions nitrogen 15 oxygen 16 beams oxygen 16 reactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A simple and continuous model for the on-state current of polysilicon thin-film transistors, suitable for implementation in circuit simulators, is presented. The model includes the potential barrier at the grain boundaries, the channel length modulation and the excess current due to impact ionization. Comparison between measured output characteristics and the model shows excellent agreement over wide range of bias voltages and for devices with different gate lengths.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

One of the main problems facing the mining sector is the production of acid mine drainage (AMD), which is caused by the oxidation of sulphide minerals in the presence of water. AMD can have a detrimental effect on the environment. One solution is to use soil covering over the materials that cause acid to limit the gas flux by diffusion. A capillary barrier effect is generated by using various layers of different types of soil. In the composite system till and clay normally form the basis of the fine material layer. The use of low sulphide tailings to replace the use of fine grained soil was studied to evaluate its effectiveness. Following both in situ and laboratory experiments spread over an eight-year period, the results indicated that an effective method to limit the oxygen flux and generation of AMD is the use of non-acid generating tailings as the moisture retaining layer. The main concepts that form the basis of the study, analysis and design of covers with ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Multilayer mirrors for the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) are keyelements for numerous applications of coherent EUV sources such as newtabletop lasers and free-electron lasers. However the field ofapplications is limited by the radiation and thermal stability of themultilayers. Taking into account the growing power of EUV sources thestability of the optics becomes crucial. To overcome this problem it isnecessary to study the degradation of multilayers and try to increasetheir temporal and thermal stability. In this paper we report the resultsof detailed study of structural changes in Sc/Simultilayers when exposedto intense EUV laser pulses. Various types of surface damage such asmelting, boiling, shockwave creation and ablation were observed asirradiation fluencies increase. Cross-sectional TEM study revealed thatthe layer structure was completely destroyed in the upper part ofmultilayer, but still survived below. The layers adjacent tothe substrateremained intact even through the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The broad objective of the engineered barriers studies was to demonstrate and qualify the use of different materials and techniques for sealing water flow paths in the Stripa granite, the mine excavations and the excavation disturbed zones. As may be anticipated from the application of the observational method that forms the basis for design of geotechnical structures, the programme evolved with the finding being made at Stripa and other underground laboratories. During phase 1, the engineered barriers investigations focussed on the heat affected zone of the repository. Specifically, the response of clay buffers and the interactions between waste containers, clay buffer materials and the rock were studied. The phase 2 investigations examined the feasibility of sealing boreholes shafts and tunnels with clay sealants. The phase 3, studies of the ability to grout and seal fractured granite including the excavation disturbed zone were effected and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heusler alloys are considered as interesting ferromagnetic electrode materials for magnetic tunnel junctions, because of their high spin polarization. We, therefore, investigated the micromagnetic properties in a prototypical thin film system comprising two different Heusler phases Co{sub 2}MnSi (CMS) and Co{sub 2}FeSi (CFS) separated by a MgO barrier. The magnetic microstructure was investigated by X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (XPEEM). We find a strong influence of the Heusler phase formation process on the magnetic domain patterns. SiO{sub 2}/V/CMS/MgO/CFS and SiO{sub 2}/V/CFS/MgO/CMS trilayer structures exhibit a strikingly different magnetic behavior, which is due to pinhole coupling through the MgO barrier and a strong thickness dependence of the magnetic ordering in Co{sub 2}MnSi.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This booklet outlines the position of Manitoba's heat pump market with the objective of promoting the widespread use of geothermal heat pumps in the province. It makes reference to the size of the market, customer satisfaction with heat pumps, and opinion of key players in the industry regarding the heat pump market. The information in this booklet is drawn on market research and lessons learned in Europe and the United States. In October 2001, a group of key stakeholders in Manitoba's heat pump market attended an industry working meeting to address the issues of market barriers, market enablers and market hot buttons. Market barriers include the high cost of geothermal heat pumps, lack of consumer awareness, lack of consistent standards, and public perception that heat pumps are not reliable. Market enablers include the low and stable operating costs of geothermal heat pumps, high level of comfort, high quality and reliability of geothermal ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freezing and thaw have an effect on soils, and the effect of the freeze-thaw cycle on soil covers used in the control of acid mine drainage was discussed in this poster presentation. The purpose of soil covers in cases involving acid mine drainage (AMD) is to reduce the exposure of tailings to oxygen which cause AMD. The effect of this freezing-thaw cycle on soft materials used in soil covers with capillary effect was studied. Some laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the properties of the moisture retention layer. The preliminary results were presented. The results indicated that the freeze-thaw cycle might affect the performance of soil covers in the long term, depending on the type of materials selected. Further research is undergoing. 26 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Hanford Site, Richland, Washington, contains over 1,500 identified waste sites and numerous groundwater plumes that will be characterized and remediated over the next 30 years. As a result of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) at the 200-BP-1 operable unit. The 200-BP-1 RI/FS is the first Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) investigation on the Hanford Site that involves highly radioactive and chemically contaminated soils. The initial phase of site characterization was designed to assess the nature and extent of contamination associated with the source waste sites within the 200-BP-1 operable unit. Characterization activities consisted of drilling and sampling, chemical and physical analysis of samples, and development of a conceptual vadose zone model. These data were then used. to develop remedial alternatives during ...

Science.gov (United States)

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of meningitis in newborn infants. Bacterial cell surface appendages, known as pili, have been recently described in streptococcal pathogens, including GBS. The pilus tip adhesin, PilA, contributes to GBS adherence to blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelium; however, the host receptor and the contribution of PilA in central nervous system (CNS) disease pathogenesis are unknown. Here we show that PilA binds collagen, which promotes GBS interaction with the ?(2)?(1) integrin resulting in activation of host chemokine expression and neutrophil recruitment during infection. Mice infected with the PilA-deficient mutant exhibit delayed mortality, a decrease in neutrophil infiltration and bacterial CNS dissemination. We find that PilA-mediated virulence is dependent on neutrophil influx as neutrophil depletion results in a decrease in BBB permeability and GBS-BBB penetration. Our results suggest that the bacterial pilus, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The research supported by this Department of Energy contract has primarily been devoted to the study of the electronic properties of surfaces with sub-micron size. In previous years, we have studied the photoexcitation of electrons from field emission tips by a focussed Argon-ion laser beam tuned to operate at specific photon energy. The photoexcited electrons escape into the vacuum by tunneling through a surface potential barrier which is distorted by the application of a strong electric field. The interest in these experiments lies in a better understanding of the photoexcitation process at low photon energies. The techniques that have been developed directly measure the excited state energy distribution of electrons emitted through the surface potential barrier. The basic information gained from this research is relevant to opto-electronic devices which rely on photoexcitation of electrons in the presence of strong interfacial electric ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The general usefulness of neutron activation analysis (NAA) for samples containing the platinum group elements and Au, either as major or trace constituents, is discussed. Charged particle activation is shown to be a viable or complementary alternative. Proton (6-10 MeV) and alpha particle (9-15 MeV) beams, produced in a Tandem van de Graaff accelerator, have been established to be the most effective choice. By taking advantage of the Coulomb barrier effect and the fact that many charged particle induced reactions have relatively large threshold values, the same instrumental technique can be applied, with minor modifications, to a wide range of materials.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The depositional environments of the Mesaverde Group of the Piceance Creek basin in northwestern Colorado have determined the basic morphology and characteristics of the tight gas sands reservoirs in the three Multi-Well Experiment wells. The three morphologies, in ascending stratigraphic order, are a blanket type of reservoir (marine to shoreline environment), a lenticular type of reservoir (the paludal and coastal zones of the lower and upper delta plain), and an irregular tabular/elongate reservoir produced by meandering fluvial systems. Internal reservoir discontinuities vary among these types of reservoirs, but consist primarily of permeability barriers and conduits caused by shale breaks and fractures. 10 references, 5 figures.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The response of a real time neutron dosemeter using a thin LiF target sandwiched between tow parallel surface barrier semiconductor detectors is studied for different neutron distributions and different angles of incidence. Calculations of the response function defined for a simultaneous detection by the two detectors of the particles emitted when the reaction "6Li(n,t)#alpha# occurs in the target are fulfilled by geometrical considerations of the reaction kinematics and the differential cross section variations. Finally, the efficiency of the studied detection systems is analyzed for dosimetric uses. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We investigate, from a spacetime perspective, some aspects of Horowitz's recent conjecture that black strings may catalyze the decay of Kaluza-Klein spacetimes into a bubble of nothing. We identify classical configurations that interpolate between flat space and the bubble, and discuss the energetics of the transition. We investigate the effects of winding tachyons on the size and shape of the barrier and find no evidence at large compactification radius that tachyons enhance the tunneling rate. For the interesting radii, of order the string scale, the question is difficult to answer due to the failure of the {alpha}' expansion.

Wastenet

...May 2011, 693-709 On the valuation of fader and discrete barrier options in Heston's stochastic volatility model by Susanne Griebsch & Uwe Wystup [Downloadable!... (restricted)] 863-881 Nonlinearities in stochastic clocks: trades and volume as subordinators of electronic markets by Rafael Velasco-Fuentes & Wing Lon Ng [...and estimation of stock prices and trading volume in Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard stochastic volatility models by Friedrich Hubalek & Petra Posedel [Downloadable!... (restricted)] 665-691 Generic pricing of FX, inflation and stock options under stochastic interest rates and stochastic volatility by Alexander van Haastrecht & Antoon ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geothermal heat pump systems are a promising new energy technology that has shown rapid increase in usage over the past 10 years in the United States. These systems offer substantial benefits to consumers and utilities in energy (kWh) and demand (kW) savings. The purpose of this study was to determine what existing monitored data were available mainly from electric utilities on heat pump performance, energy savings, and demand reduction for residential, school, and commercial building applications. Information was developed on the status of electric utility marketing programs, barriers to market entry, incentive programs, and benefits.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The design and first results from a Double Sided Silicon Strip Detector (DSSSD) recently installed at the Lund Nuclear Microprobe facility (NMP) are presented. The detector has 64 sector strips and 32 ring strips, which in combination give more than 2000 detector cells, each with characteristics comparable with a standard surface barrier detector (SBD). The detector has been tested both with radioactive sources and with different ion beams and energies. The most striking features are the high rate virtually pile-up free operation and also the possibility of detailed measurement of angular distributions.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The addition of carbon to samples, during imaging, presents a barrier to accurate TEM analysis, the controlled deposition of hydrocarbons by a focused electron beam can be a useful technique for local nanometer-scale sculpting of material. Here we use hydrocarbon deposition to form nanopores from larger focused ion beam (FIB) holes in silicon nitride membranes. Using this method, we close 100-200nm diameter holes to diameters of 10nm and below, with deposition rates of 0.6nm per minute. I-V characteristics of electrolytic flow through these nanopores agree quantitatively with a one dimensional model at all examined salt concentrations.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Access for independents to retail gas markets was a central concern in European policy reform efforts in the 1990s. Upstream oil and gas companies reacted with strategic intentions of forward integration. By late 2004, forward integration was still weak, however. An important explanation of the gap between announced strategic re-orientation and actual strategy implementation lies in the political failure of EU member states to dismantle market barriers to entry for independents. Variations between companies in downstream strategy implementation are explained by variations in business opportunities and internal company factors.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper is concerned with the determination of a unique scaling parameter in complex scaling analysis and with accurate calculation of dynamics resonances. In the preceding paper we have presented a theoretical analysis and provided a formalism for dynamical resonance calculations. In this paper we present accurate numerical results for two non-trivial dynamical processes, namely, models of diatomic molecular predissociation and of barrier potential scattering for resonances. The results presented in this paper confirm our theoretical analysis, remove a theoretical ambiguity on determination of the complex scaling parameter, and provide an improved understanding for dynamical resonance calculations in rigged Hilbert space.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A synthesis of scientific knowledge about petroleum biodegradation linked to uranium mineralisation is firstly done. Then the genesis of Huemul Uranium ore deposit (Malargue Town, Mendoza Province) is discussed, where Uranium ore is linked only with one type of asphaltite (there are three other types) from an oil field close by. This asphaltite type would be an efficient natural geological barrier for Uranium migration and it could be linked to a particular kind of biodegradation. The authors think that the International Wonuc Conference would be a good opportunity to discuss a way for future investigations. (author)

Science.gov (United States)

This talk will summarize key features of three conceptual fusion neutron test facilities designed in the early 1980s: TASKA,^1 TDF,^2 and TASKA-M.^3 Motivated by the accessibility and maintainability of cylindrical geometry, these magnetic-mirror designs possess a simple central cell, as in a fusion neutron test facility based on the gas dynamic trap (GDT).^4 The TASKA-M design, like today's GDT designs, included the injection of neutral beams into the central cell to create a sloshing-ion distribution that gives density peaks near the materials test modules. In TASKA and TDF, the minimum-B end-cell designs contained thermal barriers, regions of low electrostatic potential to reduce electron flow between central cell and end cells. Thermal barriers improve performance but require more complicated input power systems, and their physics basis is less well established than that of simple mirrors. For TASKA-M, a more conservative design, minimum-B ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An extensive series of pulse height measurements have been performed in partially depleted Si surface barrier detectors, using various heavy ions (Li, B, C, O, Al and Cl), at energies between 5 and 70 MeV. After correcting for the small energy loss of the incident ions in traversing the gold surface barrier layer of the detector and for the residual nuclear stopping, the resulting pulse heights per MeV for the various heavy ions were found to be up to 2.5% larger than for the {sup 241}Am (5.486 MeV) alpha particle. This increase, although significant, is smaller than had been anticipated from an extrapolation of the earlier study of H, He and Li pulse heights by Lennard et al.. A new method of analysis of pulse height data, which significantly reduces the uncertainties associated with the dead layer energy loss and nuclear stopping corrections, was used in order to determine directly the variation of the average energy for electron-hole pair ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Here we report normal-state conductance measurements of three different types of superconducting tunnel junctions that are being used or proposed for quantum computing applications: p-Al/a-AlO/p-Al, e-Re/e-AlO/p-Al, and e-V/e-MgO/p-V, where p stands for polycrystalline, e for epitaxial, and a for amorphous. All three junctions exhibited significant deviations from the parabolic behavior predicted by the WKB approximation models. In the p-Al/a-AlO/p-Al junction, we observed enhancement of tunneling conductances at voltages matching harmonics of Al-O stretching modes. On the other hand, such Al-O vibration modes were missing in the epitaxial e-Re/e-AlO/p-Al junction. This suggests that absence or existence of the Al-O stretching mode might be related to the crystallinity of the AlO tunnel barrier and the interface between the electrode and the barrier. In the e-V/e-MgO/p-V junction, which is one of the candidate systems for future superconducting ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A number of properties in steel components are detrimentally influenced when exposed to hydrogen environments. Under these conditions, atomic hydrogen is adsorbed on the steel surface, then absorbed and preferentially transported towards tri-dimensional stressed regions in the crystal lattice and into defects such as interfaces or dislocations. The hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility is strongly influenced by various microstructural parameters including the type of inclusions, steel composition and heat treating conditions. One of the alternatives employed in minimizing hydrogen embrittlement is the use of surface barriers for hydrogen permeation. In particular, the presence of surface nitride layers in steels can be considered as an effective barrier. Nitride steel surface layers can be produced by plasma nitriding with the concomitant benefits of improved surface hardness, as well as superior wear and fatigue resistance. Accordingly, in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surface analytical studies of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels exposed to deaerated 0.1M HCl have revealed that nitrogen alloying additions influence the composition of salt layers and the passive film/alloy interface. In this study the authors employ electrochemical techniques and variable angle X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to examine the passive films formed on a series of austenitic stainless steels, Fe18Cr8Ni, Fe18Cr8Ni0.2N, Fe20Cr20Ni, Fe20Cr20Ni6Mo and Fe20Cr20Ni6Mo0.2N, in acidic chloride aqueous solution. In addition, several other model alloys, Fe19Cr, Fe19Cr9Ni, Fe19Cr2.5Mo, and Fe19Cr9Ni2.5Mo, were examined before and after electrochemical surface nitriding, a technique proven to have an effect analogous to N alloying. It was shown that nitrogen, nickel and molybdenum additions independently and in certain combinations stimulate selective dissolution of iron, resulting in a significant enrichment of chromium beneath the passive film. In most cases, the ...