Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recently, under the de-regulation environment, nuclear industry has attempted various approaches to improve the economics of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). One of these efforts is the Risk Informed/Performance-Based Operation (RIPBO). This approach uses the risk and performance information to manage the resources effectively and efficiently that are used in the operation of NPP. In RIPBO, PSA quality is one of the most important things. The nuclear industry and regulatory body of U.S.A have developed a measure to evaluate the quality of PSA. NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) has developed a guidance called 'NEI PRA Peer Review Guidance,' and NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Committee) and ASME have developed the 'PRA Standard.' In Korea, several projects are on going now, such as the extension of AOT/STI of RPS/ESFAS, Risk-Informed In-Service Inspection (RI-ISI). However, in Korea, there have been no attempts to evaluate the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recently, under the de-regulation environment, nuclear industry has attempted various approaches to improve the economics of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). One of these efforts is the Risk Informed/Performance-Based operation (RIPBO). This approach uses the risk and performance information to manage the resources effectively and efficiently that are used in the operation of NPP. In RIPBO, PSA quality is one of the most important things. The nuclear industry and regulatory body of U.S.A have developed a measure to evaluate the quality of PSA. NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) has developed a guidance called 'NEI PRA Peer Review Guidance,' and NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Committee) and ASME have developed the 'PRA Standard.' In Korea, several projects are on going now, such as the extension of AOT/STI of RPS/ESFAS, Risk-Informed In-Service Inspection (RI-ISI). However, in Korea, there have been no attempts to evaluate the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In the San Joaquin River Basin, California, a realtime water quality forecasting model was developed to help improve the management of saline agricultural and wetland drainage to meet water quality objectives. Predicted salt loads from the water quality forecasting model, SJRIODAY, were consistently within +- 11 percent of actual, within +- 14 percent for seven-day forecasts, and with in +- 26 percent for 14-day forecasts for the 16-month trial period. When the 48 days dominated by rainfall/runoff events were eliminated from the data set, the error bar decreased to +- 9 percent for the model and +- 11 percent and +- 17 percent for the seven-day and 14-day forecasts, respectively. Constraints on the use of the model for salinity management on the San Joaquin River include the number of entities that control or influence ...

CERN Document Server

An approach to solving the problem of managerial control quality improvement corporate information-calculating networks (CICN) is proposed. The approach is based on the concept of a flexible toolkit. A macro-model, system-science and system-engineering models of an intelligent managerial control system (IMCS) for CICN development are considered as well as its dynamics. The practical opportunity of IMCS implementation is assessed. (5 refs).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To mitigate damages caused by agricultural runoff, private lake owners' associations are paying for inlake and instream pollution abatement measures and on land-conservation practices. This phenomenon supports the notion that individuals who benefit from improved water quality should be willing to pay part of the abatement costs. The research suggests that on land-conservation measures can substantially reduce sediment delivery at low cost. The Sediment Economics (SEDEC) model was modified and then used to select and to site management systems that achieved stated sediment goals at least cost. Other resource policies such as T value, no-till, and contouring were compared with the least-cost frontier and shown to be more costly. The noncropland areas substantially reduced sediment delivery to water channels and lowered abatement costs. Further research is needed for long-range watershed-planning ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper describes the activities for improving the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) quality in the human reliability analysis (HRA) of the pre-accident human errors for the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP). We evaluate the HRA results of the PSA for the KSNP and identify the items to be improved using the ASME PRA Standard. Evaluation results show that the ratio of items to be improved for pre-accident human errors is relatively high when compared with the ratio of those for post-accident human errors. They also show that more than 50% of the items to be improved for pre-accident human errors are related to the identification and screening analysis for them. In this paper, we develop the modeling guidelines for pre-accident human errors and apply them to the auxiliary feedwater system of the KSNP. Application results show that more than 50% of ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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KoreaScience (Korea)

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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The ISO 14001:2004 standard, like ISO 9001:2000 on quality management, transcends the preventive approach (based on a rigid and more or less adequate process-management model still mainly inspired by traditional production methods) and introduces in its stead a highly flexible approach applicable to any socio-economic activity. It is structured by processes rather than system elements, and is based on the quest for efficacy and ongoing improvement.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Background Fracture healing in osteoporosis is delayed. Quality and speed of fracture healing in osteoporotic fractures are crucial with regard to the outcome of patients. The question arises whether established antiosteoporotic drugs can further improve fracture healing. Materials and methods Osteoporosis manifests predominantly in the metaphyseal bone. Nevertheless, an established metaphyseal fracture model is lacking. A standardized metaphyseal fracture-healing model with stable plate fixation was developed for rat tibiae. The healing process was analyzed by biomechanical, gene expression, and histomorphometric methods in ovariectomized (OVX) and sham-operated rats (SHAM), compared to standardized estrogen (E)- and raloxifene (R)-supplemented diets. Results Estrogen and raloxifene impro...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, using the ASME PRA Standard, evaluated the PSA model of the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) and identified the items to be improved to enhance its quality. The new risk monitor PSA model for the KSNP of which quality was enhanced is called as PRiME-U3i. The evaluation results of human reliability analysis (HRA) of the post-accident human errors in the PSA model of the KSNP showed that 10 items among 19 items of supporting requirements for those in the ASME PRA Standard were identified as them to be improved. Thus, we newly carried out a HRA for post-accident human errors for the KSNP PSA model as the target of grading its quality above ASME PRA Standard Category I+. Following tasks were additionally major tasks performed in the HRA of post-accident ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Quality reporting tools, integrated with ambulatory electronic health records, can help clinicians and administrators understand performance, manage populations, and improve quality. Report Central...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyophilized human whole blood control material containing lead was prepared for internal and external quality assurance to evaluate and improve the analytical performance of lead. The samples were prepared in four different concentrations from outdated human whole blood stabilized with glucose and a citrate/phosphate buffer and provided under clean room conditions to avoid contamination. The lyophilized samples are easy to reconstitute with water. The materials were evaluated according to a statistical model. The lead concentrations in the specimens are close to blood lead levels usually following environmental and industrial exposure, particular in occupational health to the control of lead exposure at work regulations. The materials are available to the commercial as well as the scientific community. The Danish External Quality Assessment Scheme (DEQAS) for lead in blood is intended to complement the ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The aim of this paper is to present and evaluate control strategies for adjustment and preservation of air quality, thermal and visual comfort for buildings' occupants while, simultaneously, energy consumption reduction is achieved. Fuzzy PID, fuzzy PD and adaptive fuzzy PD control methods are applied. The inputs to any controller are: the PMV index affecting thermal comfort, the CO{sub 2} concentration affecting indoor air quality and the illuminance level affecting visual comfort. The adaptive fuzzy PD controller adapts the inputs and outputs scaling factors and is based on a second order reference model. More specifically, the scaling factors are modified according to a sigmoid type function, in such a way that the measured variable to be as closer as possible to the reference model. The adaptive fuzzy PD controller is compared to a non-adaptive fuzzy PD and to an ON-OFF one. The comparison ...

Science.gov (United States)

We propose a combined migration velocity analysis and imaging method based on Kirchhoff integral migration and reverse time migration, using the residual curvature analysis and layer stripping strategy to build the velocity model. This method improves the image resolution of Kirchhoff integral migration and reduces the computations of the reverse time migration. It combines the advantages of efficiency and accuracy of the two migration methods. Its application in tunnel seismic prediction shows good results. Numerical experiments show that the imaging results of reverse time migration are better than the imaging results of Kirchhoff integral migration in many aspects of tunnel prediction. Field data show that this method has efficient computations and can establish a reasonable velocity model and a high quality imaging section. Combination with geological information can make an accurate prediction of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Numerical models based on finite-difference or finite-element methods are used by various research groups in studies of radon-222 transport through soil and building materials. Applications range from design of radon remediation systems to more fundamental studies of radon transport. To ascertain that results obtained with these models are of good quality, it is necessary that such models are tested. This document reports on a benchmark test organized by the EU project ERRICCA: European Research into Radon in Construction Concerted Action. The test comprises the following cases: 1) Steady-state diffusive radon profiles in dry and wet soils, 2) steady-state entry of soil gas and radon into a house, 3) time-dependent radon exhalation from a building-material sample. These cases cover features such as: soil heterogeneity, anisotropy, 3D-effects, time dependency, combined advective and diffusive transport ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The flexibility of bus rapid transit (BRT) in scheduling is one of the greatest differences with traditional buses. In order to improve BRT operation quality, the paper studied the headway optimization and scheduling combination of BRT vehicles. A model has been established to minimize passengers travel costs and vehicles operation cost, and constraints included passenger volume, time, and frequency. The scheduling combination was composed by normal, zone, and express scheduling. The model was solved by genetic algorithm of variable-length coding. The result of the numerical case shows that: the optimization results can save 69.92% cost. The sensitivity analysis shows that, under higher traffic volume or lower speed, the travel cost can be reduced through reasonable scheduling combination....

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The need for safe food products has motivated food scientists and industry to find novel technologies for antimicrobial delivery for improving food safety and quality. Controlled release packaging is a novel technology that uses the package to deliver antimicrobials in a controlled manner and sustain antimicrobial stress on the targeted microorganism over the required shelf life. This work studied the effect of controlled release of nisin to inhibit growth of Micrococcus luteus (a model microorganism) using a computerized syringe pump system to mimic the release of nisin from packaging films which was characterized by an initially fast rate and a slower rate as time progressed. The results show that controlled release of nisin was strikingly more effective than instantly added (?formulated...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundStrategies to accurately identify the occurrence of specific health care events in administrative data is central to many quality improvement and research efforts. Many...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundHealth related quality of life (HRQoL) is one of the most important outcomes to measure effectiveness of an intervention, especially for islet transplantation...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

IAQ Tools for Schools Program Leaders in Improving Indoor Air Quality in Schools Baldwin Union Free School District, Baldwin, NY El Paso Independent School District, El Paso,...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The mixing process of feedwater and reactor water in the downcomer of an internal-pump BWR (Forsmark 1 and 2) has been numerically modelled by means of a CFD-code (FLUENT/UNS). Earlier studies with a very rough model, have shown that a new sparger design is necessary to achieve an effective HWC through improved mixing in the downcomer,. This requires detailed and accurate modelling of the flow, not only for determining the mixing quality but for avoiding negative effects like increased thermal loading of internal parts. Through three 22.5deg models containing a sparger end and half the region between spargers, the principles of a new design have been defined. Their length scales range from 7-14 mm to ca 12 m. Also the steam separator region has been incorporated in the models. A 90deg model shows that they are ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper develops a model of nonlinear pricing with competition. The novel element is that each consumer's willingness to pay for quality is private information and is allowed to differ across brands. The consumer's preferences are represented by a multidimensional type containing the marginal value of quality for different products. Buyers with high willingness to pay for quality also display strong preferences for particular brands, and require higher discounts in order to switch away from their favorite product. Therefore, competition is fiercer for buyers with lower tastes for quality, and hence more elastic demands. This is in sharp contrast to earlier models in which competition is fiercer for higher-taste, more valuable buyers. In equilibrium, firms either compete intensively for ...

Science.gov (United States)

... a way to model a munition's terminal effects in a ... following attributes are handled in a stochastic fashion ... be improved by managing a queue of buffers ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Remote sensing of total suspended solids (TSS) by satellite techniques in estuaries and bays plays an important role in monitoring water quality over a large area. It is valuable to the management of coastal water environment and ecosystems. In this study, remote sensing mapping of TSS was conducted to investigate the effects of rainstorm events on Apalachicola Bay. A rainstorm event (October 7-8, 2008) was selected for a period when wind speeds were weak and the river inflow was almost steady. TSS mapping of MODIS images before and after the rainstorm event showed substantial increase of TSS induced by the rainstorm. Using an image during low river discharge before the rainstorm as a reference, TSS distribution was mapped by an improved regression model using MODIS image after a rainstorm...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Water Frame work Directive (December 2000) proposes integrated water management in regard to both quality and quality. A mathematical model has therefore been produced at the CEIT and EPTISA research centre, in collaboration with the Ebro Hydrographic. Confederation (CHE), to predict water quality and thus begin integrated management of it in the river basins. A description is given of the characteristics of the simulation tool. The hydraulic model is based on the numerical (weighted, four-point implicit) resolution of the complete Saint Venant equations. The quality model is based on the IWA River Water Quality Model Number 1 which has clear advantages (consistency, mass balance and easy integration with the biological models of the waste water treatment plants and the ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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Wastenet

...and supply ensuring better food quality for the consumer developing safer and more flexible food production processes and technologies raw materials for food production; production and processing systems; by-products and wastes from fisheries and agro-industry; new food sources; packaging systems; quality monitoring; traceability Food contamination detecting and eliminating infectious and toxic agents throughout the food chain establishing the hazards and origins of food contaminants producing food more safely rapid ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Real-time neutron radiography (NTV) has been used for practical applications at the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR). At present, however, the direct image from the TV system is still poor in resolution and low in contrast. In this paper several image improvements are demonstrated, such as a frame summing technique, which are effective in increasing image quality in neutron radiography. Image integration before the A/D converter has a beneficial effect on image quality and the high quality image reveals details invisible in direct images, such as: small holes by a reversed image, defects in a neutron converter screen through a high quality image, a moving object in a contoured image, a slight difference between two low-contrast images by a subtraction technique, and so on. For the real-time application a contouring operation and an averaging approach can also be utilized effectively. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The current Risk-informed Regulation (RIR) framework employs both a Level 1 Core Damage Frequency (CDF) and a Level 2 Large Early Release Frequency (LERF) as two surrogate measures for the plant risk. For their use in making regulatory decisions for the plant risk, it has been required to maintain an appropriate level of quality for the plant risk models. The first step for this purpose is to evaluate the quality of the PSA model in a qualitative or quantitative manner. Recently, a similar type of quality evaluation has been made for the KSNP Level 1 PSA model based on an ASME PRA Standard for the RIR application, but not for the corresponding LERF model. The main objective of this paper is to provide the ASME PRA Standard-based evaluation result for the existing KSNP Level 2 LERF model and the insights obtained from the ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundParents of chronically ill children are at risk for a lower Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). Insight in the dynamics of factors influencing parental HRQoL is necessary...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

In 1991, the Peacock Hill Working Group provided the field of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) a roadmap for improving the quality of services provided to students with EBD. The working group considered issues at every level of the educational system, from the classroom to federal policy. Although many strides have been made in the past 20 years regarding the education and treatment of students with EBD, the gap has persisted between empirically validated practices and the classroom routines of teachers serving students from this population. In the authors' view, the field of EBD would benefit greatly from conceptual and empirical developments to improve the mechanisms required to bring science to the classroom. Using the theoretical underpinnings of implementation science, the authors describe a transactional model for integrating research, policy, and practice to close the research-to-practice ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Discussions were given on the current status of research systems and problems that occur in structuring the systems. The purpose is to improve efficiency and quality of the research flows, that is to better arrange the research infrastructures. Among the researches, the developmental researches of products and production techniques constitute the important factor of an integrated production system. Input information and output information must be determined in each developmental process, and the ways of internal processing must be arranged and structured. The basic proposition for structuring an aid system is to clarify what material development this system can bring about, what scenario can be drawn for the material development as its result, and what element technology is required for that scenario in what form and at what level. Discussions are required on the kinds of data base, the models of interface, and the scopes ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alluvial fans along the east side of central Death Valley are being actively back-tilted along the Death Valley fault zone. Initial modelling of the Copper Canyon and Furnace Creek fans led to recognition of distinct segments. Field reconnaissance and aerial photo mapping were conducted to check model results and improve segment discrimination. Surface roughness, relative position, vegetation distribution, and drainage patterns provided independent evidence for segment discrimination. Subsequent modelling of individual segments produced a range of tilt values from 0.275[degree] to 0.559[degree] down to the northeast. Continued analysis of these fan segments is concentrated on: (1) assigning confidence and error values to the tilt values; and (2) dating individual segments. Further work will compare the tilt rates of east-side fans with those from the west. The mean squared error (MSE) is currently being ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As the penetration of wind energy continues to increase around the world, with a trend towards large utility-scale wind farms (greater than 100 MW), effective wind energy forecasting will become increasingly important. Previous work by GH has estimated the trading benefit of high quality short-term forecasting to be EUR 7/MWh. Depending on market conditions, for a 100 MW wind farm with a capacity factor of 30%, this equates to an estimated annual trading benefit of up to EUR 1.8m. To date, a number of studies have focused on the mathematical modelling techniques for forecasting the production from wind farms, looking predominantly at the task of predicting the meteorological conditions at the site. This paper focuses on the final stage of the forecasting process, conversion from a meteorological forecast to a power production forecast. This challenge is particularly significant for utility-scale wind farms. The main body of research in ...

Science.gov (United States)

... changes in the wing shock/ separation patterns throughout ... to Reynolds number and tunnel flow quality before ... AGARD Conference Proceedings No ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This project investigated new techniques for improving seismic event locations derived from regional and local networks. The technqiues include a new approach to empirical travel-time calibration that simultaneously fits data from multiple stations and events, using a generalization of the kriging method, and predicts travel-time corrections for arbitrary event-station paths. We combined this calibration approach with grid-search event location to produce a prototype new multiple-event location method that allows the use of spatially well-distributed events and takes into account correlations between the travel-time corrections from proximate event-station paths. Preliminary tests with a high quality data set from Nevada Test Site explosions indicated that our new calibration/location method offers improvement over the conventional multiple-event location methods now in common use, and is applicable to more general ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Theatres are the most complex of all auditorium structures environmentally. They usually have high heat loads, which are of a transient nature as audiences come and go, and from lighting which changes from scene to scene, and they generally have full or nearly full occupancy. Theatres also need to perform well acoustically, both for the spoken word and for music, and as sound amplification is less used than in other auditoria, background noise control is critically important. All these factors place constraints on the ventilation design, and if this is poor, it can lead to the deterioration of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. To analyse the level of indoor air quality and thermal comfort in a typical medium-sized mechanically ventilated theatre, and to identify where improvements could typically be made, a comprehensive post-occupancy evaluation study was carried out on a theatre in Belgrade. The evaluation, based on ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Interactive seismic processing systems for editing noisy seismic traces and picking the first-break refraction events have been developed using a neural network learning algorithm. The authors employ a back propagation neural network (BNN) paradigm modified to improve the convergence rate of the BNN. The BNN is interactively trained'' to edit seismic data or pick first breaks by a human processor who judiciously selects and presents to the network examples of trace edits or refraction picks. The network then iteratively adjusts a set of internal weights until it can accurately duplicate the examples provided by the user. After the training session is completed, the BNN system an then process new data sets in a manner that mimics the human processor. Synthetic modeling studies indicated that the BNN uses many of the same subjective criteria that humans employ in editing and picking seismic data sets. Automated trace editing and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This document presents the basic Quality Assurance (QA) requirements which shall be included in the Quality Assurance Program established by sites planning to certify Transuranic (TRU) Waste to Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Waste Acceptance Criteria. These QA requirements were modeled after ANSI/ASME NQA-1-1979. The application of quality assurance to Waste Certification Programs is required by WIPP-DOE-069 and DOE Order 5700.6A, as implemented by DOE Order AL 5700.6A.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Like other Central European countries, Poland faces the twin challenges of improving environmental quality while also fostering sustainable economic development. In this study we examine the costs of different standards for air pollution control, and the cost savings from using incentive-based policy instruments in lieu of more rigid command-and-control policies. The comparisons are based on the results of a simulation model of energy use and air pollution control for the Polish economy over 1990-2015. The model simulates least-cost energy supply decisions under different environmental policy assumptions, the corresponding emissions, and the cost of achieving the specified policy objectives. The model results suggest that incentive-based policies will have efficiency gains over command policies that are at least worthy of consideration and may be quite substantial. The size of the ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Stress has been reported to be a causative factor for male infertility. Withania somnifera has been documented in Ayurveda and Unani medicine system for its stress-combating properties....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The challenge to our profession today is to improve the quality of oral health while overcoming both extrinsic and intrinsic factors which may adversely affect our progress toward this goal. The combined...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The coking plant is described with some details of coal supplies and coke quality. Engineering improvements to the by-product system and coke oven machines, major repair of two batteries, installation of a PLC-based monitoring and control system, and training of personnel are dealt with at greater length.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Sensory analysis studies are critical in the development of quality enhanced crops, and may be an important component in the public acceptance of genetically modified foods. It has recently been established...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Coke-fired cupola furnaces were improved and made suitable for the production of high-quality casting melts by numerous additional devices. Moreover, they were equipped with environmental protection systems with numerous dust separation devices and afterb...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundWe were commissioned to carry out three health assessments in urban areas of Dublin in Ireland. We required an epidemiologically robust method that could collect data rapidly...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A new prototype model system named AirGIS has been developed to support local authorities in air quality management for big Danish cities. The system is based on the Danish operational street pollution model (OSPM), technical and cadastral digital maps and Danish national administrative databases on buildings, cadastres and populations. It applies a geographic information system (GIS). AirGIS estimates ambient air pollution levels at high temporal and spatial resolutions. The model system enables mapping of traffic emissions, air quality levels and human exposures at residence addresses, at workplace addresses and in streets. Mapping and scenario results can be compared with air quality limits. Impact assessment of traffic air pollution abatement measures can also be carried out. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In order to promote the use of natural gas air-conditioning systems in the tertiary sector, Gaz de France (the French gas utility) in association with Electricite de France (EdF) and the French chamber of council engineers (CICF) have created the Acerclim organization which aims at certifying the quality of the design, realization and exploitation of air processing and air-conditioning installations according to the ISO 9001 criteria. This article describes this quality procedure named 'CHSB Air'. (J.S.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In Oslo, traffic has been one of the dominating sources of air pollution in the last decade. In one part of the city where most traffic collects, two tunnels were built. A series of before and after studies was carried out in connection with the tunnels in use. Dispersion models were used as a basis for estimating exposure to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in two fractions. Exposure estimates were based on the results of the dispersion model providing estimates of outdoor pollutant concentrations on an hourly basis. The estimates represent concentrations in receptor points and in a square kilometre grid. The estimates were used to assess development of air pollution load in the areas, compliance with air quality guidelines, and to provide a basis for quantifying exposure-effect relationships in epidemiological studies. After both tunnels were taken in use, the pollution levels in the study areas were lower than ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Application of electromagnetic forces to materials processing, so-called {open_quotes}electromagnetic processing of materials (EPM){close_quotes} has been recognized as cutting edge technology, especially in the fields of steelmaking and advanced materials processing in Japan. The history of EPM in Japan is mentioned and the background to promote EPM is described. The current status of research and development of EPM is shown briefly introducing several examples. Regarding the application of high-frequency magnetic field, two topics are dealt with. The first is the improvement of the surface quality of cast steel where an alternating magnetic field is imposed on the molten steel from the outside of the mold, and the second is the induction cold crucible where a considerably large amount of molten intermetallic compound is levitated. Examples of the application of DC magnetic field are the control of molten steel flow in a mold and the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laser-assisted processing techniques for producing high-quality solar cell metallization patterns are being investigated, developed, and characterized. A literature search was carried out on the various state-of-the-art laser-assisted techniques for metal deposition, including laser chemical vapor deposition and laser photolysis of organometallics, as well as laser-enhanced electroplating. The results of the literature survey are briefly summarized. Experiments were carried out on laser-enhanced electroplating. Deposition of metals by laser-assisted pyrolysis of a variety of metallo-organic inks and metal-bearing polymer solutions spun as films onto silicon wafers was carried out. A detailed study of the various models of localized surface temperature rise in silicon due to laser heating has been carried out. Progress is reported in fabricating laser-metallized solar cells with improved efficiencies. Cells fabricated are ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Wireless mesh networks can provide low-cost solutions for extending the reach of wireless access points by using multi-hop routing over a set of stationary wireless routers. The routing protocol for these networks may need to address quality considerations to meet the requirements of the user. In this paper, we present a quality based routing protocol for wireless mesh networks that tries to maximize the probability of successful transmissions while minimizing the end-to-end delay. The proposed routing protocol uses reactive route discoveries to collect key parameters from candidate routes to estimate the probability of success and delay of data packets transmitted over them. To achieve accurate route quality assessments, a new route quality metric is proposed that uses performance models ...

Science.gov (United States)

Percutaneous osseointegrated prostheses are being investigated as an alternative strategy to attach prosthetic limbs to patients. Although the use of these implants has shown to be promising in clinical trials, the ability to maintain a skin seal around an osseointegrated implant interface is a major challenge to prevent superficial and deep periprosthetic infections. The specific aim of this study was to establish a translational load-bearing ovine model to assess postoperative limb compensation and gait symmetry following a percutaneous osseointegrated implant. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) the animals would return to pre-amputation limb loads within 12-months; (2) the animals would return to a symmetrical gait pattern (stride length and time in stance) within 12-months. The results demonstrated that one month following surgery, the sheep loaded their amputated limb to a mean value of nearly 80% of their pre-amputation loading condition; by 12-months, ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this work, silver-montmorillonite (Ag-MMT) antimicrobial nanoparticles have been obtained by allowing silver ions from nitrate solutions to replace the Na^+ of natural montmorillonite and then to be reduced by a thermal treatment. Ag-MMT were used as active antimicrobial compounds to improve the shelf life of fresh fruit salad. In order to assess their influence on product shelf life, sensorial and microbiological quality has been monitored during the storage. The microbiological quality was determined by monitoring the principal spoilage microorganisms (mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, coliforms, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and molds). Additionally, the evolution of sensorial quality was assessed by monitoring color, odor, firmness and product overall quality. The Ag-MMT nanopa...

Science.gov (United States)

National efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care present challenges for medical education and training. Today's doctors need to be skilled communicators who know how to identify, prevent and manage adverse events and near misses, how to use evidence and information, how to work safely in a team, how to practise ethically, and how to be workplace teachers and learners. These competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes) are set out in the National Patient Safety Education Framework (NPSF) of the Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care. The NPSF is designed to help medical schools, vocational colleges, health organisations and private practitioners develop curricula to enable health professionals to work safely. The NPSF describes what doctors (depending on their level of knowledge and experience) can do to demonstrate competencies in a range of quality and safety ...

Science.gov (United States)

Bahrain's Awali oil field is one of the oldest in the Arabian Gulf region. The recent sharp increase in produced water cut at Awali has resulted in higher oil carry-over in the produced water, which is currently disposed of in an aquifer about 700 ft (210 m) deep. The steps taken by Bahrain Natl. Oil Co. (Banoco) and the problems encountered in improving the quality of effluent are described in this paper.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An important aspect of water quality modeling is forecasting water quality variables for real-time management and control applications to enhance, maintain and sustain desirable water qualities. The major objective of this research is to develop daily time series models for forecasting river dissolved-oxygen (DO). The modeling approach adopted herein combines deterministic and stochastic concepts for determining properties of the DO process based on time series data and dynamic mechanisms governing the said process. This is accomplished by deriving a general DO stochastic model structure based on a modified Streeter-Phelps DO-BOD dynamic model. Then some types of nonlinear models namely, self-exciting threshold autoregressive-moving average (SETARMA), amplitude-dependent autoregressive (ADAR) and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose - The article discusses how care programmes and integrated care pathways can be linked, finding ways to improve healthcare process professional and logistical quality from a supply chain and a network point-of-view. Design/methodology/approach - The authors argue that owing to cost containment goals and increasing healthcare demand, healthcare services systems are challenged to improve service quality, whilst at the same time finding ways to improve delivery processes. It explores if the combination of two instruments, care programmes and integrated care pathways, can meet both goals. This combination is illustrated by an example from the Institute of Mental Health Care Eindhoven en de Kempen. Findings - Analysis suggests that care programmes can be combined with integrated care pa...

Science.gov (United States)

The purpose of this study was to use high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) imaging combined with image analysis to investigate the three-dimensional (3D) trabecular structure, anisotropy, and connectivity of human vertebral, femoral, and calcaneal specimens. The goal was to determine whether: (a) MR-derived measures depict known skeletal-site-specific differences in architecture and orientation of trabeculae; (b) 3D architectural parameters combined with bone mineral density (BMD) improve the prediction of the elastic modulus using a fabric tensor formulation; (c) MR-derived 3D architectural parameters combined with BMD improve the prediction of strength using a multiple regression model, and whether these results corresponded to the results obtained using higher resolution depictions of trabecular architecture. A total of 94 specimens (12 x 12 x 12 mm cubes) consisting of trabecular bone only were obtained, of which ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper discusses key methods for sustaining quality engineering data, the fundamental principles that these methods are based on, and the methods for supporting the performance of nuclear power plants by the provision of quality engineering data at all times. The concept of an 'engineering data foundation', and a Configuration Management data model are developed. The concepts and methods for managing the integrity of engineering data across many different databases and document systems are developed, including the key concepts of data-positions and data-values, Master Data and Copy Data, and the concept of a 'partnership between people and technology'. (author). 7 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

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Agricultural runoff is a major non-point source pollutant and is the leading impairment of streams and rivers in the USA. This study examined the effects of agricultural, forest and urban land cover on water quality at the watershed level. Forty-three catchments ranging from 12 to 50?km2 were selected based on a land cover gradient within Lower Kaskaskia River Watershed in Illinois. Grab samples were collected and analyzed for nutrients, bacteria, and total suspended solids (TSS). Forest land cover was included in six of the ten regression models produced. Four of these regression models were for base flow conditions, suggesting that forest land cover had a significant impact on base flow water quality. Urban land cover was also included in six of the regression models. However, the majori...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of this project is to develop improved seismic event location techniques that can be used to generate more and better quality reference events using data from local and regional seismic networks. Their approach is to extend existing methods of multiple-event location with more general models of the errors affecting seismic arrival time data, including picking errors and errors in model-based travel-times (path corrections). Toward this end, they are integrating a grid-search based algorithm for multiple-event location (GMEL) with a new parameterization of travel-time corrections and new kriging method for estimating the correction parameters from observed travel-time residuals. Like several other multiple-event location algorithms, GMEL currently assumes event-independent path corrections and is thus restricted to small event clusters. The new parameterization assumes that travel-time ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

VSP data are usually acquired in order to obtain high-resolution images of complex structures in reservoirs and near boreholes. The authors present an elastic iterative migration scheme which has few limitations regarding the complexity of the geology, and where the macromodel for both P- and S-wave velocities is automatically improved and updated at each iteration. They avoid wavefield separation (up/down and P/S) and the simplifying assumptions of small dips underlying most such methods. The migration scheme is based on elastic inversion theory. The wavefield extrapolation is based on a high-order, coarse-grid, finite-difference solution to the elastic two-way wave equation. At each iteration, the macromodel is updated using a gradient method, in which the gradient is computed by correlation of forward-modelled fields with back-propagated residual fields. The first iteration of the migration scheme is equivalent to elastic reverse-time ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The purpose of the study was to optimise the technique employed for AP shoulder and lateral cervical spine examinations following an investigation into image quality, based on clinical assessment, and effective dose, calculated from patient entrance surface dose measurements. A study was therefore conducted in an attempt to determine whether the increased radiation dose to the patient following the introduction of an anti-scatter grid was justified by the level of improvement in image quality. The study, involving 100 patients, was able to demonstrate that the increase in radiation dose to the patient when using an anti-scatter grid for AP shoulder examinations is not justified by the improved image quality. A poor level of inter-rater reliability between the consultants scoring the lateral cervical spine images prevented a firm conclusion from being reached. The fact that all ...

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

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundIntegration of medical care across clinicians and settings could enhance the quality of care for patients. To date, there is limited data on the levels of integration in...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

ContextCost advantage has been one of the primary drivers of successful offshoring engagements of Indian software and services companies. However, the emphasis has shifted to the ability of the vendors to provide high quality over cost advantage in delivering software products and services. Meeting high quality requirements of the clients is a challenge due to the very nature of development and delivery of software through offshoring. ObjectiveThe objective of this research paper is to identify and evaluate the key determinants of quality in the case of software projects delivered through offshoring model. MethodA detailed survey was conducted among project managers/project leaders (leads) of a leading midsize Indian IT services company to evaluate the relationship of the determinants on t...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Polymeric waste materials should be considered resources for the manufacture of new products through recycling processes, with a similar status to virgin fossil-based plastics and biopolymers from renewable resources. Several efforts can be made to achieve this qualitative quantum leap in plastics recycling, and consequently introduce recycled products, with competitive performance, to the market. Scientific knowledge about the degradation processes during the life cycle and the development of fast and reliable analytical methods for the quality assessment of recycled plastics are fundamental to guarantee their performance in new applications. Different strategies-restabilisation, rebuilding, compatibilisation, and addition of elastomers and fillers-can be used to upgrade the structure and...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chest radiograms obtained by using Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR) system were compared to conventional film/screen radiograms. The FCR images showed better image quality in diagnostic information than the conventional chest images. In FCR, the radiation exposure to patient for chest examination could be reduced up to one tenths of conventional chest examination. The main advantages or FCR were considered to depend on the contrast processing and frequency processing properties. The use of FCR in clinical work may improve both diagnostic quality and radiation exposure.

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In the presented case study CRS processing was able to improve the overall data quality of the processed lines in terms of signal-to-noise ratio and imaging. The complex geology is causing serious problems in conventional NMO/DMO processing that were solved by CRS processing. Even a depth processing with velocities calculated from CRS attributes gives good results similar to those from PreSDM in terms of the velocity field. Data quality of poststack depth migrated CRS stacks is even better than the image from PreSDM. (orig.)

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The performance of a group of reference laboratories measuring lead in blood, has been monitored by an intensive external quality assessment programme, since 1974. Performance was similar to that observed in other, larger quality control surveys but rapidly improved following detailed investigations of critical factors in the analytical methodology. The introduction of a rigorous internal quality control protocol, with all laboratories using the same well-characterised materials, has produced external quality control results that are both accurate and very tightly distributed. Between-laboratory coefficients of variation of less than 5%, less than 6% and less than 20% are now obtained at concentrations of over 1.0 ..mu..mol/l (20.7 ..mu..g/dl), 0.5-1.0 ..mu..mol/l (10-20 ..mu..g/dl) and less than 0.5 ..mu..mol/l (10 ..mu..g/dl), respectively. These results represent the best that ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report is the conclusion of a three-part series that describes and attempts to explain regional coal quality variations within the foothills/mountains region of Alberta. Proximate and ultimate analysis variables, plus some vitrinite reflectance and maceral analyses, are examined for the Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Kootenay Group, Lower Cretaceous Luscar Group, the Lower Paleocene Coalspur Formation, and the Upper Paleocene Obed-Marsh coal-bearing units. The study has two major components: a statistical analysis and mapping of coal quality data provided by the Energy Resources Conservation Board; and a 'geologic models' section, in which regional and local in-seam coal quality variations are examined from a geological perspective. The first component is designed to describe, characterize, and set limits for the coal quality variables, while the second component ...

Science.gov (United States)

... Abstract : Fifty-nine Grenada veterans currently assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 75th Ranger Regiment ...

Science.gov (United States)

ground strike hazards 3) Advancements in the initialization of numerical weather prediction models through better identification of deep convection 4) Improved routing of...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

AbstractBackground: Quality of life in Parkinson patients with subthreshold depression could be improved if the prevalence and symptom profile were better understood. Methods: Our study used standard DSM-IV and Judd criteria as well as motor, depression, and quality-of-life scales to investigate a sample of 110 nondemented Parkinson patients. This led to formation of nondepressed (48.2%), subthreshold depressed (25.5%), and depressed (26.4%) groups. Results: Quality of life was seen to be significantly lower in subthreshold depressed patients than in the nondepressed, and there were differences in the frequency of depressive symptoms that partially overlapped with nonmotor symptoms of vegetative origin in Parkinson's disease (appetite, sleep disorders). Key measures of depression (diminish...

CERN Document Server

The increasing number of aspect mining techniques proposed in literature calls for a methodological way of comparing and combining them in order to assess, and improve on, their quality. This paper addresses this situation by proposing a common framework based on crosscutting concern sorts which allows for consistent assessment, comparison and combination of aspect mining techniques. The framework identifies a set of requirements that ensure homogeneity in formulating the mining goals, presenting the results and assessing their quality. We demonstrate feasibility of the approach by retrofitting an existing aspect mining technique to the framework, and by using it to design and implement two new mining techniques. We apply the three techniques to a known aspect mining benchmark and show how they can be consistently assessed and combined to increase the quality of the results. The techniques and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purpose. To validate a protocol for creating virtual models to be used in the construction of solid prototypes useful for the planning-simulation of maxillo-facial surgery, in particular for very complex anatomical and pathologic problems. To optimize communications between the radiology, engineering and surgical laboratories. Methods and materials. We studied 16 patients with different clinical problems of the maxillo-facial district. Exams were performed with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and single slice computed tomography (SDCT) with axial scans and collimation of 0.5-2 mm, and reconstruction interval of 1 mm. Subsequently we performed 2D multiplanar reconstructions and 3D volume-rendering reconstructions. We exported the DICOM images to the engineering laboratory, to recognize and isolate the bony structures by software. With these data the solid prototypes were generated using stereolitography. To date, surgery has been preformed on 12 patients ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

To estimate the success criteria of an operator's action time for a probabilistic safety/risk assessment (PSA/PRA) of a nuclear power plant, the information from a safety analysis report (SAR) and/or that by using a simplified simulation code such as the MAAP code has been used in a conventional PSA. However, the information from these is often too conservative to perform a realistic PSA for a risk-informed application. To reduce the undue conservatism, the use of a best-estimate thermal hydraulic code has become an essential issue in the latest PSA and it is now recognized as a suitable tool. In the same context, the 'ASME PRA standard' also recommends the use of a best-estimate code to improve the quality of a PSA. In Korea, a platform to use a best-estimate thermal hydraulic code called the MARS code has been developed for the PSA of the Korea standard nuclear power plant (KSNP). This study has proposed an estimation method for an operator's ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The five thermal-hydraulic concepts chosen for conceptual study of advanced PWR systems have been studied as follows: (1) Critical Heat Flux in passive PWR Conditions: review of previous works (various of correlations, analysis of parametric trends) on CHF, assessment and improvement of CHF prediction models for round tubes, development of the prediction model on bundle CHF with considering the correction factor calculated from the tube data base, design and construction of the intermediate-pressure CHF experimental loop, extension of CHF data base by performing the experiments at low-flow, and low-quality conditions (2) Passive Cooling Concepts for Concrete Containment Systems: Selection of the external condenser by comparing and reviewing between passive cooling concepts for concrete containment system concepts, survey and review of previous studies (theoretical mechanism of condensation heat transfer ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In the safety assessment of a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal system, it is required to estimate radiological impacts on future human beings arising from potential radionuclide releases from a deep repository into the surface environment. In order to estimated the impacts, a biosphere model is developed by reasonably assuming radionuclide migration processes in the surface environment and relevant human lifestyles. It is important to modify the present biosphere models or to develop alternative biosphere models applying the biosphere models according to quality and quantify of the information acquired through the siting process for constructing the repository. In this study, alternative biosphere models were developed taking geosphere-biosphere interface of marine environment into account. Moreover, the flux to dose conversion factors calculated by ...

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The existence of multipole components in the dipole and quadrupole magnets is one of the factors limiting the beam stability in the RHIC operations. So, a realistic non-linear model is crucial for understanding the beam behavior and to achieve the ultimate performance in RHIC. A procedure is developed to build a non-linear model using the available multipole component data obtained from measurements of RHIC magnets. We first discuss the measurements performed at different stages of manufacturing of the magnets in relation to their current state in RHIC. We then describe the procedure to implement these measurement data into tracking models, including the implementation of the multipole feed down effect due to the beam orbit offset from the magnet center. Finally, the field quality analysis in the RHIC interaction regions (IR) is presented.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Mouse models have dramatically improved our understanding of cancer development and tumor biology. However, these models have shown limited efficacy as tractable systems for unbiased genetic...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This project has intended to develop alternative techniques to be used in food industry for food processing and utilization by safe irradiation methods. For improvement of rheology and processing in corn starch by irradiation, the production of modified starch with low viscosity as well as with excellent viscosity stability became feasible by the control of gamma irradiation dose levels and the amount of added inorganic peroxides to starch. Also, this project was developed the improvement methods of hygienic quality and long-term storage of dried red pepper by gamma irradiation. And, in Korean medicinal plants, 10 kGy gamma irradiation was effective for improving sanitary quality and increasing extraction yield of major components. For the sanitization of health and convenience foods, gamma irradiation was more effective than ozone treatment in decontamination of microorganisms, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The advent of aberration correction for electron microscope lenses has produced a significant advance in the improvement of resolution in microscopy. This improvement, while significant in itself, promises to have its most profound impact in materials science when it delivers quantitative information to challenge models and modellers. This capability for an electron microscope-modelling synergy to deliver useful results at the atomic level is not yet firmly established. For this reason, one of the major challenges for electron microscopy in materials science over this decade is to study systems where electron microscopists and modellers can work collaboratively. This paper explores some examples.

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The Savannah River Site has successfully used robots, teleoperators, and remote video to reduce exposure to ionizing radiation, improve worker safety, and improve the quality of operations. Previous reports have described the use of mobile teleoperators in coping with a high level liquid waste spill, the removal of highly contaminated equipment, and the inspection of nuclear reactor vessels. This report will cover recent applications at the Savannah River, as well as systems which SRS has delivered to other DOE site customers.

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Characterization and performance testing of a prototype DWPF Melter No.2 Dome Heater Bus Bar are described. The prototype bus bar was designed to address the design features of the existing system which may have contributed to water leaks on Melter No.1. Performance testing of the prototype revealed significant improvement over the existing design in reduction of both bus bar and heater connection maximum temperature, while characterization revealed a few minor design and manufacturing flaws in the bar. The prototype is recommended as an improvement over the existing design. Recommendations are also made in the area of quality control to ensure that critical design requirements are met.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A modelling approach is presented that appears to have the potential to provide reliable assessments of pollution concentration in coastal zones and complex terrain, where the assumptions behind current operational air quality models often are inadequate. With the use of a numerical mesoscale model (NMM), physically consistent flow fields can be predicted, thereby providing higher spatial and temporal resolution in the meteorological fields than would be available from a limited number of observation points. These predictions are used to calculate mean trajectories of pollutant parcels, as well as to provide quantitative estimates of pollution concentration using two techniques.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The use of numerical modeling in oil spill incidents is a well established technique that has proven to provide cost-effective and reasonable estimates of oil surface drift. Good predictability of such models depends highly on the quality of the input data of the incident and on the model calibration effort. This paper presents the results of simulating oil spillage trajectory in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf. The study employed a 3-D rectilinear hydrodynamic model combined with oil spill model. Typical representative environmental conditions of the Arabian Gulf were first setup into a hydrodynamic circulation model using data from various sources. The performance of the hydrodynamic model was then tested against measurements of tidal fluctuation and sea currents at selected locations. The sp...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li shell-model calculation has been made in the isospin formalism in the complete (0 + n)#Planck constant##omega# model space with the assumption of a closed core "4He. The calculation could probably be improved by use of a better effective interaction and increasing shell model space. With the use of faster computer with large memories, the authors are in hope of calculation in spsd shell-model space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper reviews the mill flowsheet applied at the SOMAIR (Societe des Mines de l'Air) uranium mill in Niger. It focuses on the yellow cake quality improvements achieved by molybdenum and zirconium elimination through double yellow cake precipitation in tanks at first stage and through size/density control in a fluidized bed precipitator at second stage. Water saving aspects in the plant are also presented. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boiling phenomenon is responsible for impurities concentration in the liquid phase and then can involve chemically aggressive conditions. This paper presents the methodology developed by NOVATOME to know the water quality conditions in the boiling zone and under deposits, in order to improve corrosion tests and materials reliability and safety. Calculations show that concentration of chloride and sodium hydroxide for example can reach significant levels which may lead to corrosion risks. (author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The image processing system for the dynamic neutron radiography has been developed. It is based on the hardware subset, composed by the method of the pipe-line and use of algorithm of local statistics. The processing speed per one pixel is shorter than 100 n sec and video-rate processing can be executed on it. Some image processes for improving the quality of the real-time neutron image, noise reduction and contrast stretching would be attempted by the use of this system. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The influence of MeV electrons irradiation on the gate oxide layers of hydrogenated polysilicon thin film transistors (TFTs) was investigated by measuring gate leakage currents and threshold voltages. The experimental data revealed a decrease of oxide trap density and increase of positive oxide charge. Improvement in the interface roughness and in the oxide quality near the bottom interface was observed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This past year has been very exciting for the experimental free-electron laser (FEL) programs. At three Laboratories, oscillator experiments were performed with wavelengths from the visible to far infrared. The output powers are steadily advancing. The status of these programs will be discussed. As shorter wavelengths and higher powers are pursued, higher currents with improved beam quality will be required. Advanced electron linacs should be developed to meet these demands. 13 references, 5 figures, 3 tables.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Along with the shrinkage of LSI geometries, a higher quality of ultrapure water has been continuously required. Analytical technology for ultrapure water has also progressed before ultrapure water production technology improvements. In this study, we performed optimization of the analytical conditions for the direct analysis of acid droplets, and established an analytical technology for measurements of trace amounts of metallic impurities deposited on a wafer surface by means of Vapor Phase Decomposition (VPD)/Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). As a result, analytical technology for metallic elements of the 1x10"8 atoms/cm"2 level on wafer surface has been established. By applying analytical technology to the wafer that has been contacted with ultrapure water, a new evaluation technology for ultrapure water quality by means of wafer surface contamination has been established. We confirmed good ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As the surroundings of objects of oil exploration grow more complicated, seismic survey methods have turned 3-dimensional and, in this report, several models are examined using the 3-dimensional simulation technology. The result obtained by the conventional wave tracking method is different from actual wavefields, and is unrealistic. The difference method among the fullwave modelling methods demands an exorbitantly long computation time and high cost. A pseudospectral method has been developed which is superior to the difference method, and has been put to practical use thanks to the advent of parallel computers. It is found that a 3-dimensional survey is mandatory in describing faults. After examining the SEG/EAGE Salt model, it is learned that the salt is well-developed and that 3-dimensional depth migration is required for sub-salt exploration. It is also found through simulation of the EAGE/S Overthrust ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) affects health and quality of life and it has great impact on both health-care costs and costs to the society. Objectives The objective of this study was to develop a model to analyse the cost-effectiveness of a barrier-strengthening moisturizing cream as maintenance therapy compared with no treatment after initial treatment with betamethasone valerate in adult patients with AD in Sweden. A further aim was to apply a similar health-economic analysis for Denmark, Norway and Finland. Methods A Markov simulation model was developed including data from three sources: (i) efficacy data from a randomized controlled trial including patients with moderate AD treated with either a moisturizing cream or no treatment, (ii) resource utilization and quality of...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper extended models for estimating price developments on electricity markets are presented. The models consider deviations from the normality hypothesis of the prices. Based on an ARMA model combination with GARCH, Gaussian-mixture and switching-regime approaches are comparatively discussed. The comparison is based on historic electricity prices of the spot and two reserve markets in Germany. It is shown that the proposed extended models lead to significantly improved representations of the considered stochastic price processes. It is inferred that these models may be preferred for estimating price developments on electricity markets. (author)

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A model has been developed to predict the chemical composition of lakes that form in pyrite-bearing open-pit mines. Pyrite oxidation in wall rock releases sulfuric acid and metals, which mix with ground waters in the lake. Aqueous metal concentrations are calculated using MINTEQA2.

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Monitoring of groundwater quality from boreholes in and around the former Yotsugi open-pit mining site in the Ningyo-toge Environmental Engineering Center, JNC, have been carried out to estimate extent and quality of contaminated water plume from the buried heap-leaching residue. In this report, data collected from 1979 to 1998 fiscal year were listed and their spatial and time variation of physicochemical parameters, uranium and radium were also summarized. Additionally, groundwater sampler has been improved and analytical method has been modified. Some results from groundwater quality were; 1. Generally, electric conductivity and concentrations of uranium and radium outside of the site tend to lower than one from the inside area. 2. Data from borehole No. 13, installed outside of the site, exceptionally little higher than one from the inside area. (author)

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A study was conducted under the auspices of the Coordinating Research Council, Inc. (CRC) to assess the potential effects of gasoline octane quality on vehicle acceleration performance. Twelve participating laboratories, representing both the oil and the automotive industries, tested a total of 182 vehicles as part of the 1989 CRC Octane Number Requirement Survey. The vehicles consisted of 78 with electronic knock control systems and 104 without. All testing was performed using the 1989/1990 CRC FBRU fuel series. The results showed that acceleration performance of vehicles with knock sensors was significantly affected by gasoline octane quality. Octane effects on acceleration performance were most pronounced at maximum-throttle (detent) conditions and at octane levels below the vehicles' octane requirements; however, some knock-sensor vehicles did show improved acceleration performance with fuels at octane levels ...

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This paper proves that it is practicable to build a new power model which can work efficiently at night by using a type of fluorescence material. The utilization efficiency of photovoltaic cell is improved by prolonging the actual working hours of the cell within 24 hours. Both theoretical analysis and experiment on this model are carried out, and base on which the current-time curve (I-t curve) is depicted. It shows that the model which applies the fluorescence material to photovoltaic system is available. According to the analysis and comparison between the attenuating curve of the material and I-t curve of the power system, we can conclude that the weak illumination and the mismatch on wavelength are primary reasons for the low current. Finally, several improved measures of this power model for practical application are given, and it is expected to provide a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The project was designed to solve the infra structural problem required for commercialization of food irradiation. In improvement of physical properties of corn starch, gamma irradiation was effective for increasing glucose productivity and for substituting traditional modified starches (acid modified starch, oxidized starch). In immobilization of microorganisms, the mass production method of natural red pigment was developed by using immobilized mold pellets. In Korean medicinal plants, 10 kGy gamma irradiation was effective for improving sanitary quality and increasing extraction yield. In evaluation of wholesomeness, gamma irradiated red ginseng could be safe on the genotoxic point of view. And also, six items of irradiated foods approved for human consumption from Korea ministry of health and welfare in May 19, 1995. 30 figs, 20 tabs, 54 refs. (Author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In the summer of 1990, an accidental spill from the TA-3 Power Plant Environment Tank released more than 3,785 liters of sulfuric acid into upper Sandia Canyon. The Biological Resource Evaluation Team (BRET) of EM-8 at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has collected aquatic samples from the stream within Sandia Canyon since then. These field studies gather water quality measurements and collect macroinvertebrates from permanent sampling sites. An earlier report by Bennett (1994) discusses previous BRET aquatic studies in Sandia Canyon. This report updates and expands Bennett's initial findings. During 1993, BRET collected water quality data and aquatic macroinvertebrates at five permanent stations within the canyon. The substrates of the upper three stations are largely sands and silts while the substrates of the two lower stations are largely rock and cobbles. The two upstream stations are located near outfalls that discharge industrial ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This study aimed to explore the impact of perceived service quality and self-concept on consumer attitude and purchase process using channel type (physical and Internet) as a segmentation variable. From the perspective of consumer behaviour, this study attempted to estimate a relational model and perform an empirical validation using female cosmetics and skincare products as an example. It was discovered that the influence of perceived service quality and self-concept on consumer attitude, purchase intention and behaviour, satisfaction, and loyalty varied with channel type. The analysis result revealed that physical stores presented higher levels of agreement with all research perspectives than Internet stores. However, only two relational paths have a higher influencing effect in physical...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Changes in physical and chemical characteristics of aquatic habitats made to reduce or eliminate ecological risks can sometimes have unforeseen consequences. Environmental management activities on the U.S. Dept. of Energy reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,have succeeded in improving water quality in streams impacted by discharges fi-om industrial facilities and waste disposal sites. The diversity and abundance of pollution-sensitive components of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of three streams improved after new waste treatment systems or remedial actions reduced inputs of various toxic chemicals. Two of the streams were known to be mercury-contaminated from historical spills and waste disposal practices. Waterborne mercury concentrations in the third were typical of uncontaminated systems. In each case, concentrations of mercury in fish, or the apparent biological availability of mercury increased over the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Probabilistic assessment methods can be used to identify specific plant vulnerabilities. Application of such methods can also facilitate selection among system design alternatives available for safety enhancements. The quality of assessment results is however strongly dependent on realistic and accurate input data for modelling of system component behaviour and failure modes during conditions to be assessed. Use of conservative input data may not lead to results providing guidance on safety upgrades. Adequate input data for probabilistic assessments seems to be lacking for at least failure modes of some electrical components when exposed to a fire. This report presents an attempt to improve the situation with respect to such input data. In order to take advantage of information in existing documentation of fire incident occurrences some of the lessons learned from the fire at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant on March 22, ...

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

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Percutaneous coronary revascularisation [PCR] improves angina and health related quality of life [HRQOL] compared to standard medical therapy. It is unknown whether PCR has the same benefits for patients with a history of CABG. Over a period of 5?years, we assessed HRQOL of patients undergoing PCR using Part 1 of the Nottingham Health Profile [NHP] at baseline 3, 12 and 24?months. We compared HRQOL after PCR in 255 patients with CABG to 2680 without. There were more males [81.1% v 69.6% p?=?0.002] and older patients [mean age 60.1?years v. 58.0 p?=?0.03] in CABG group. Perceived HRQOL improved at 24?months for pain, energy and emotional reaction but the improvement was less in the CABG group. However, mean NHP scores at 24?months for those with CABG had returned to baseline levels for slee...

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Our work has focused on the development and analysis of domain decomposition algorithms for a variety of problems arising in continuum mechanics modeling. In particular, we have extended and analyzed FETI-DP and BDDC algorithms; these iterative solvers were first introduced and studied by Charbel Farhat and his collaborators, see [11, 45, 12], and by Clark Dohrmann of SANDIA, Albuquerque, see [43, 2, 1], respectively. These two closely related families of methods are of particular interest since they are used more extensively than other iterative substructuring methods to solve very large and difficult problems. Thus, the FETI algorithms are part of the SALINAS system developed by the SANDIA National Laboratories for very large scale computations, and as already noted, BDDC was first developed by a SANDIA scientist, Dr. Clark Dohrmann. The FETI algorithms are also making inroads in commercial engineering software systems. We also note that the analysis of these ...

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Airborne pollutants can cause failures in switching and computing equipment. This paper focuses on a subset of such pollutants - airborne fine particles (<2.5 [mu]m diameter). It begins by examining the extent to which different improvements in heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems reduce indoor concentrations of fine particles. For each modification, the consequent reduction in soiling rate is derived. The concomitant increase in operating costs is also calculated. These costs are then compared with the costs of failures in telephone switching offices, leading to estimates of failure rate reductions that would make improvements cost-effective. Finally, the reduction in failures required to offset the costs of the improvements are compared with documented differences in failure rates between unimproved and improved environments. This study suggests that, in many telephone switching ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This document presents the way which the 8th principle of the quality management system 'Process approach' is applied, the principle that is identified and used by international standard ISO 9000. In order to understand the evolution of the management system requirements, as used today in different activities namely, industry, services, and nuclear activities, the authors present an evolution of the quality concept and its traceability to different standards, applicable in time. There are described the requirements of ISO 9001 standard, that represents the most widely spread model for modern organization management and the IAEA concerns related to integration of the above standard requirements into the most recent safety IAEA standard 'The Management System for facilities and activities'. The IAEA Safety Standard GS-R-3 describes a management model considering both the evolution of the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apricot fruits usually harvested relatively mature but hard enough to withstand-post harvest handling through the marketing chain. These fruits have considerably lower edible quality than tree-ripened fruit. Fruit quality can be improved by delaying harvest least until physiological maturation is completed on the tree (Bonghi et al. 1999) Apricots containing 11% soluble solids concentration, or higher are in high demand by consumers, as fruit have developed considerable taste, aroma and handling for long distance markets. (Kader, 1999). These fruit will be highly perishable, so rapid cold storage to the lowest safe temperature and supplementary treatments (Mc Donald et al, 1999) such as irradiation with the recommend doses (Sillano et al, 1994) or pre-storage heat treatments will be necessary to retard ripening (mainly softening) during 1-2 weeks post harvest life necessary for distribution to distant markets (Mc Donald et ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper presents a method to evaluate and improve the performance of quantum dot infrared photodetectors (QDIPs). We proposed a device model for QDIPs. The developed model accounts for the self-consistent potential distribution, features of the electron capture and transport in realistic QDIPs in dark and illumination conditions. This model taking the effect of donor charges on the spatial distribution of the electric potential in the QDIP active region. The model is used for the calculation of the dark current, photocurrent and detectivity as a function of the structural parameters such as applied voltage, doping QD density, QD layers, and temperature. It explains strong sensitivity of dark current to the density of QDs and the doping level of the active region. In order to confirm our...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The effects of changes in the cetane number of liquid pilot fuels on the ignition delay period in dual fuel engines were investigated experimentally. Various pilot fuel quantities were employed with methane, propane and low heating value gaseous fuel mixtures over a wide range of engine load.the ignition delay variation with increased gaseous fuel admission showed a strong dependence on both the quantity and the quality of the pilot fuel used. It was found that the use of high cetane number pilot liquid fuels permitted smaller pilot quantities to be used satisfactorily. Engine operation on propane and low heating value gaseous fuels improved in comparison with dual fuel engine operation employing common diesel fuels.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

PurposeThe purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of submucosal versus intramuscular administration of dexamethasone sodium phosphate on patients' quality of life after surgical removal of impacted lower third molars. Patients and MethodsA randomized, non-blind, clinical trial was planned. The sample was composed of patients requiring extraction under local anesthesia of a single partial bony impacted mandibular third molar with Class II or III and position B or C, according to the Pell and Gregory classification. The patients were randomly distributed into 1 of 3 groups: submucosal dexamethasone, intramuscular dexamethasone, and a control group that received no steroid. A modified translated questionnaire was used to assess the patients' perception regarding different qual...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soybean is one of the most economical and nutritious food packed with basic nutrients that combat diseases stemming from mal- and under-nutrition. Despite its rich nutritional profile, use of soybean in food has been limited because soybean proteins are often associated with compounds, which could exert a negative impact on the nutritional quality of the protein. Trypsin inhibitor (TI) is one of the important anti-nutritional factors that exert negative effect by causing growth inhibition. Soybean cultivar VLS-2 was irradiated with 250 Gy gamma rays in a gamma cell (200) with 60Co source installed at BARC to induce mutations for low trypsin inhibitor content. Three mutants with lower levels of TI content were identified and can be utilized for developing elite varieties of soybean. (author)

Science.gov (United States)

A 33-year-old male of proven fertility suffered six attacks of malaria while resident in an African country. For this he received anti-malarial drugs. Semen analysis performed after the fourth attack, and repeated during the following 2 years after his return to Israel, revealed severe oligozoospermia, necrozoospermia and occasionally even azoospermia. Immunological examination of the patient revealed an inverse ratio of T-cell subsets and mast cell degranulation in response to palludrin. Twenty-five months after the last attack of malaria a significant improvement was found in semen quality and there was an increase in the ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor cytotoxic cells. These observations indicate that although malaria and its treatment may affect spermatogenesis, recovery may be expected eventually. PMID:3500921

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Background ?Guidelines for safe and effective management and use of point of care testing? have been recently launched in Ireland. Aims To survey point of care testing (POCT) services in the Republic of Ireland. Methods A questionnaire covering accreditation status, existence of POCT committees, quality management systems, and staff resources was distributed by the Irish External Quality Assessment Scheme (IEQAS). Results Of those that returned completed questionnaires, 56% had assigned specific POCT responsibilities to designated staff. Most support was for blood gases and glucose analysis. Compared with other published studies, Irish laboratories gave similar support for blood gases, less for glucose and much less for urinalysis. Conclusions This survey demonstrated poor IT support for P...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The loop quantum cosmology 'improved dynamics' of the Bianchi type IX model are studied. The action of the Hamiltonian constraint operator is obtained via techniques developed for the Bianchi type I and type II models, no new input is required. It is shown that the big bang and big crunch singularities are resolved by quantum gravity effects. We also present effective equations which provide quantum geometry corrections to the classical equations of motion.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Purpose - This paper seeks to provide a social network-based model for improving knowledge management in multi-level supply chains formed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach - This approach uses social network analysis techniques to propose and represent a knowledge network for supply chains. Empirical experience from an exploratory case study in the construction sector is also presented. Findings - This proposal improves the establishment of inter-organizational relationships into networks to exchange knowledge among the companies along the supply chain and to create specific knowledge by promoting confidence and motivation. Originality/value - This proposed model is useful for academics and practitioners in supply chain management to gain a better un...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

There are many factors affecting diffusion bonding in order to obtain high quality joining. Therefore, in the beginning, we constructed diffusion bonding model based on void growth mechanism to predict bonding pressures and times. In addition, in order to compare theoretical values with experimental values, diffusion bonding tests were carried out by using commercial AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets with different grain sizes, 16 and 130 {mu}m. The present AZ31 alloys were successfully diffusion bonded at several conditions, and the bonding strength was more than 0.8 of each parent materials. The experimental bonding conditions in high quality joining, times and pressures, were good agreed with prediction analysis. (orig.)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper analyses Italian interregional migration flows. The approach taken is to decompose labour mobility flows into short distance and long distance migration and to model the effects of economic variables, social capital and quality of life variables, and amenity variables, on the mobility behaviour of individuals. We estimate these different types of migration flows using a negative binomial model, augmented with instruments to control for potential endogeneity issues. Our findings demonstrate that long distance migration reflects a disequilibrium model of migration whereas short distance migration largely reflects an equilibrium model of migration. As such, attempts to model interregional migration in general will be mis-specified as the simultaneously-operating underlying mobility...

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Radiotherapy recent development in cancer treatment needs strong procedures and quality assessment to improve safety both for patients and professionals. In Ile de France territory, a coordinated action between ASN inspectors and medical doctors specialized in public health (MISP), working as civil servants in health administration, was initiated at the end of 2007. An inspection guideline was implemented in a workshop between ASN and Regional Hospital Agency (ARH). The MISP as health administrator has to verify if care organisation responds to treatment cancer regulatory framework: as a doctor he is authorized to access to patient records to know which treatment was chosen. He has to assure if the therapeutic guidelines are respected. His comprehensive approach is essentially patient-oriented. The MISP inspection coordinated with ASN inspectors is a very pertinent pluri-disciplinary approach, undeniably necessary in such a medical technic. The ...

Science.gov (United States)

The paper reviews Asia-Pacific higher education and university research, focusing principally on the "Confucian" education nations Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong China, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam. Except for Vietnam, these systems exhibit a special developmental dynamism--still playing out everywhere except Japan--and have created a distinctive model of higher education more effective in some respects than systems in North America, the English-speaking world and Europe where the modern university was incubated. The Confucian Model rests on four interdependent elements: (1) strong nation-state shaping of structures, funding and priorities; (2) a tendency to universal tertiary participation, partly financed by growing levels of household funding of tuition, sustained by a private duty, grounded in Confucian values, to invest in education; (3) "one chance" national examinations that mediate social competition and university hierarchy and focus ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The objective of this project is to develop multi-dimensional computational models in order to improve the operation of uranium electrorefiners currently used in pyroprocessing technology. These 2-D (US) and 3-D (ROK) mathematical models are based on the fundamental physical and chemical properties of the electrorefiner processes. The validated models by compiled and evaluated experimental data could provide better information for developing advanced electrorefiners for uranium recovery. The research results in this period are as follows: - Successfully assessed a common computational platform for the modeling work and identify spatial characterization requirements. - Successfully developed a 3-D electro-fluid dynamic electrorefiner model. - Successfully validated and benchmarked the two multi-dimensional models with compiled experimental ...

CERN Document Server

Proposal for the SC Improvement

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease with poor survival. The identification of therapeutic targets is essential to improving outcomes. Previous studies found that expression...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

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

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundSevere sepsis and septic shock are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In experimental sepsis there is prominent apoptosis of various cell types, and genetic...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

This article provides an historical look at how programs and practices for students with emotional or behavior disorders (E/BD) have been evaluated since 1964, leading to a codified, although not universally recognized, set of recommendations for evaluating best practices for students with E/BD set out by The Peacock Hill Working Group (1991). The authors contend that, in addition to the programmatic features of best practice, the addition of the quality indicators and standards for research in special education add a critical dimension for examining the quality of the scientific research of identified best practices. Taken together, these set of recommendations and quality indicators represent the state of the art in program evaluation for best practice and programs for students with E/BD. The goal of this article is to outline the current recommendations and apply them to current behavior intervention practices to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The real-time neutron radiography system of the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR) has been practically applied to penetrating the side plates containing boron burnable poison to test MTR type reactor fuels and to investigation of moving objects. Compared with the image obtained by the direct film method, however, the image from the TV system is in low-contrast and poor-resolution. This paper presents some digital processing approaches to improve the image quality and the neutron TV system is successfully applied to neutron computed tomography (NCT). The frame summing technique is effective to increase the quality of the radiographic image. By using the NTV system in NCT, the projection data are able to be acquired in a single measurement as observing the projection image on a CRT monitor. Two weighting functions based on the Fourier-convolution algorithm are employed to obtain the reconstructed image. The image ...

Science.gov (United States)

As part of its long-term control plan for combined sewer overflow (CSO) abatement, the city of Buffalo, New York, maintained a network of Hydrolab Datasondes (Hydrolab-Hach Company, Loveland, Colorado) to assess receiving water-quality effects by continuously logging dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, conductivity, and turbidity. Although the effect of individual CSOs could be visualized, turbidity levels entering the Buffalo River from the upper watershed often were greater than from CSO discharges. Turbidity data showed that the Buffalo River was a net-sediment sink. Low dissolved oxygen levels were observed in the summer during dry weather, baseflow, and watershed-wide storms and CSO events. Some CSOs did not produce dissolved oxygen sags in the receiving waters, but others did. This information, together with the sampling done for organic and inorganic contaminants, can aid the decisionmaking process when prioritizing outfalls for abatement work and provides a ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The goal of the Fifteenmile Creek Habitat Improvement project is to improve wild winter steelhead habitat in the Fifteenmile Creek Basin. This goal was addressed under the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, Measure 703 (c) (1) - Action Item 4.2. Construction of fish habitat structures was completed on approximately 3.5 miles of Eightmile Creek and on approximately 8.5 miles of Fifteenmile Creek. A total of 15,435 yds of rock was placed to improve rearing and spawning habitat, and to improve water quality and reduce siltation. Riparian protection fencing was completed on 1.8 miles of Dry Creek, approximately 1.75 miles on Eightmile Creek, and 4.75 miles on Fifteenmile Creek. Approximately 10 miles of stream will receive protection from the 8 miles of new fencing installed and 6.5 miles of abandoned fence repaired. Irrigation withdrawal screens were installed at six ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

During this report period our research efforts have concentrated on studies of the dissociation reactions of model peptides and other biologically important molecules. In addition, a considerable amount of research effort has been directed toward improving the apparatus used for laser-ion beam photodissociation. The instrumental improvements include some changes on the original apparatus, but most of this effort involved designing a second generation laser-ion beam photodissociation instrument.

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This paper uses multi-pass iteration particle swarm optimization (MIPSO) to solve short term hydroelectric generation scheduling of a power system with wind turbine generators. MIPSO is a new algorithm for solving nonlinear optimal scheduling problems. A new index called iteration best (IB) is incorporated into particle swarm optimization (PSO) to improve solution quality. The concept of multi-pass dynamic programming is applied to modify PSO further and improve computation efficiency. The feasible operational regions of the hydro units and pumped storage plants over the whole scheduling time range must be determined before applying MIPSO to the problem. Wind turbine power generation then shaves the power system load curves. Next, MIPSO calculates hydroelectric generation scheduling. It begins with a coarse time stage and searching space and refines the time interval between two time stages and the search spacing pass by ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Multilayer mirror coatings which reflect extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation are a key enabling technology for EUV lithography. Mo/Si multilayers with reflectances of 67.5% at 13.4 nm are now routinely achieved and reflectances of 70 2% at 11.4 nm were obtained with MO/Be multilayers. High reflectance is achieved with careful control of substrate quality, layer thicknesses, multilayer materials, interface quality, and surface termination. Reflectance and film stress were found to be stable relative to the requirements for application to EUV lithography. The run-to-run reproducibility of the reflectance peak position was characterized to be better than 0.2%, providing the required wavelength matching among the seven multilayer-coated mirrors used in the present lithography system design. Uniformity of coating was improved to better than 0.5% across 150 mm diameter substrates. These improvements in EUV ...

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At tandem cold rolling mills in Kawasaki Steel, by means of applying newly developed strip longitudinal (rolling) and transverse gauge control systems, high accuracy of thickness of within {+-}0.5 % has been achieved over the full length and full width of cold rolled strip, as gauge accuracy in a coil in longitudinal and transverse directions has become an extremely important quality control item in the manufacturing of cold rolled sheets due to the stricter quality requirements of customers, in recent years. The longitudinal gauge accuracy has been improved by the development of a high-response drive system for a mill mair motor, an all-stands gauge control system and a dynamic set-up control system. The transverse gauge accuracy has been improved by applying a one-side tapered work roll shifting method and the development of an edge drop control system in terms of the optimum use of an edge drop ...

Science.gov (United States)

Experience in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility has led to an increased understanding of the prominent role male factors play in many couples' inability to conceive. While many forms of male factor infertility are amenable to treatment, for some patients there is no corrective therapy available. For this reason, a great deal of attention has been focused on developing technologies for semen processing and sperm utilization in cases of decreased semen quality. One area of research is the development of more sophisticated methods of assessing sperm function, as well as methods of sperm preparation. Progress is also being made in the application of technologies such as intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization in the treatment of male factor infertility. Such developments have improved prospects for fertility among patients suffering from decreased semen quality, as well as those suffering from such ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We report on the improvement of Critical Dimension (CD) linearity on a photomask by applying the concept of process proximity correction to a laser lithographic process used for fabrication of photomasks. Rule-based Laser Process proximity Correction (LPC) was performed using an automated optical proximity correction tool and we obtained dramatic improvement of CD linearity on a photomask. A study on model-based LPC was executed using a two-Gaussian kernel function and we extracted model parameters for the laser lithographic process by fitting the model-predicted CD linearity data with measured ones. Model-predicted bias values of isolated space (I/S), Arrayed Contact (A/C) and Isolated Contact (I/C) were in good agreement with those obtained by the nonlinear curve-fitting method used for the rule-based LPC.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Many modern military systems used for communications, command and control, navigation, and surveillance depend on reliable and relatively noise-free transmission of radiowave signals through the earth`s ionosphere. Small-scale irregularities in the ionospheric density can cause severe distortion, known as radiowave scintillation, of both the amplitude and phase of these signals. The WBMOD computer program can he used to estimate these effects on a wide range of systems. The objective of this study is to investigate improvements to the WBMOD model based on extensive data sets covering both the equatorial and high-latitude regimes. This report summarizes the work completed during the third year of this project, which includes completion of the new model for the high-latitude (auroral and polar cap) region of the WBMOD model.

Science.gov (United States)

The dual-media approach to contaminant transport modeling has emerged over the years as a clear improvement over the conventional Fickian advection-dispersion, or single-medium model, in an increasing number of settings. Recent application to the MADE-2 tracer test at Columbus Air Force Base has extended interest to field-scale plume migration in unconsolidated sediments. Subsequent application to tritium migration from the SRS F- and H-area seepage basins within this study also demonstrated improved transport predictions.

Science.gov (United States)

This study investigated the effect of board type (unmodified vs. MAPE modified) on the surface quality and thickness swelling-water absorption properties of recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) based wood plastic composites. Additionally, two commercially available coatings (cellulosic coating and polyurethane lacquer coating) were also applied to composite surfaces and their adhesion strength, abrasion and scratch resistance, and gloss values were determined. This study showed that modification of the composites with MAPE coupling agent increased the surface smoothness and reduced the water absorption and thickness swelling of the panels. Abrasion resistance of the composites was also improved through MAPE modification. Regardless of board type, higher scratch resistance and gloss values were observed for polyurethane lacquer coated samples compared to those of cellulosic varnish coated ones. Improvement of adhesion ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scientific and technological communities have a significant role to play and responsibility for the evolution of global sustainability (continuously improving quality of life into the indefinite future). Sustainability is not possible without a substantially improved science and technology basis for industrial ecology. Society needs data and understanding of complex ecological issues to govern itself in a sustainable manner. We should: support and develop multi-disciplinary programs which create the scientific basis for understanding natural and anthropogenic complex systems and for developing environmentally and economically efficient technology; demonstrate a systems-based approach to science and technology issues which is life-cycle comprehensive, integrates environmental considerations, and promotes conservation of natural resources; and encourage development of responsible, technically and scientifically valid, ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In an environment of rapid technological change, countries in the developed and developing worlds need to improve the population's skills and competences. Since 1992, education reforms and various education sector documents and policy frameworks have been implemented to improve quality of education by getting more children into school through the abolishing of school fees, and the school feeding programme, whilst special efforts are made to deal with issues of gender inequality and the empowerment of women to meet the goals of Education for All and the education-related Millennium Development Goals 2 and 3. Though gains have been made in the area of gross enrolment ratio, there are still gross disparities in net enrolment and completion rates at regional level, with girls lagging behind bo...

CERN Document Server

Microcalcifications in mammogram have been mainly targeted as a reliable earliest sign of breast cancer and their early detection is vital to improve its prognosis. Since their size is very small and may be easily overlooked by the examining radiologist, computer-based detection output can assist the radiologist to improve the diagnostic accuracy. In this paper, we have proposed an algorithm for detecting microcalcification in mammogram. The proposed microcalcification detection algorithm involves mammogram quality enhancement using multirresolution analysis based on the dyadic wavelet transform and microcalcification detection by fuzzy shell clustering. It may be possible to detect nodular components such as microcalcification accurately by introducing shape information. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for microcalcification detection is confirmed by experimental results.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molecular simulation aims at simulating particles in interaction, describing a physico-chemical system. When considering Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling in this context, we often meet the same problem of statistical efficiency as with Molecular Dynamics for the simulation of complex molecules (polymers for example). The search for a correct sampling of the space of possible configurations with respect to the Boltzmann-Gibbs distribution is directly related to the statistical efficiency of such algorithms (i.e. the ability of rapidly providing uncorrelated states covering all the configuration space). We investigated how to improve this efficiency with the help of Artificial Evolution (AE). AE algorithms form a class of stochastic optimization algorithms inspired by Darwinian evolution. Efficiency measures that can be turned into efficiency criteria have been first searched before identifying parameters that could be optimized. Relative frequencies for each type ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An overview is given of several computer models in use in the Netherlands to determine and analyze the quality of air and the effect of air pollution abatement measures. [Dutch] Voor het vaststellen van de luchtkwaliteit of het bepalen van het effect van emissiereducerende maatregelen op die luchtkwaliteit zijn in ons land meerdere computermodellen beschikbaar. In het kader van het Vooronderzoek Innovatieprogramma Luchtkwaliteit (VIPL) wilde het ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat meer inzicht in de betrouwbaarheid en specifieke eigenschappen van deze modellen. Deze studie geeft daarom een overzicht en analyse van de verschillen, overeenkomsten en voor- en nadelen van de meest gangbare Nederlandse computermodellen om de luchtkwaliteit rond snelwegen te bepalen. Dit zijn: Het Voorspellingssysteem Luchtkwaliteit Wegtraces (VLW); CAR-II; Het TNO-verkeersmodel; Het Heaven-model van TNO; Urbis (air); en NNM+ (KEMA-STACKS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis states that pollution levels increase as a country develops, but begin to decrease as rising incomes pass beyond a turning point. In EKC analyses, the relationship between environmental degradation and income is usually expressed as a quadratic function with the turning point occurring at a maximum pollution level. Other explanatory variables have been included in these models, but income regularly has had the most significant effect on indicators of environmental quality. One variable consistently omitted in these relationships is the price of energy. This paper analyzes previous models to illustrate the importance of prices in these models and then includes prices in an econometric EKC framework testing energy/income and CO{sub 2}/income relationships. These long-run price/income models find that income is no longer the most ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to providing high quality products that satisfy customer needs and are the associated with this goal, DOE personnel must possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to ensure successful job performance. In addition, there must be recognition that the greatest obstacle to proper project performance is inadequate project definition. Without strong project definition, DOE environmental management efforts are vulnerable to fragmented solutions, duplication of effort, and wastes resources. The primary means of ensuring environmental management projects meet cost and schedule milestones is through a structured and graded approach to project definition, which is the focus of this handbook.

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Factors influencing the rooting-potential of stem cuttings of conifers were studied for the purpose of improving methods of rapid vegetative propagation. Within the bounds of hereditary limits, root regeneration depends, to a considerable extent, on the qualities of rooting-media, date of cutting excision, age and physiological conditions of the stock plant, age of the cutting-wood, its position on the plant, and chemical treatment. Hardwood cuttings, which have a relatively high content of endogenous auxin and carbohydrates, and morphological root initials, gave the best results. This method made it possible to increase the growth rate of cuttings 2.5-5 times that of cuttings taken from shoots of current growth. (Refs. 21).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Contents include: countermeasures to save energy of sintering plant and future plans in fukuyama works; improvement of surface quality of continuous-casting slab; development of direct quenching and tempering type HT80 steel with good weldability; numerical analysis of fluid flow in a geothermal reservoir; the finite-element calculation of turbulent flow using the universal law of the wall; development of PC 4 dual fuel engine; design of industrialized housing; Computer-aided Navigation system (CANSY); and new production control system in Fukuyama Works.

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This specification establishes requirements for design, testing, and quality assurance for electric heaters that will be used to maintain primary Sodium temperature in the Fast Test Facility (FFTF) reactor vessel. The Test Specification (WHC-SD-FF-SDS-003) has been revised to Rev. 1. This change modifies the fabrication of approximately 25 feet of the subject heater using ceramic insulators over the heater lead wire rather than compressed magnesium oxide. Also, 304 or 316 stainless steel can be used for the heater sheath. This change should simplify fabrication and improve the heater operational reliability.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fins serve as heat transfer augmentation features in solar air heaters; however, they increase pressure drop in flow channels. Pin fins are relatively good heat transfer augmentation features with superior aerodynamic performance, and as a result find application in some solar air heaters. The exergy optimization method is employed in sizing the pin fin. Results indicate that high efficiency of the optimized fin improves the heat absorption and dissipation potential of a solar air heater. With optimum fin efficiency and superior absorptive coating quality, useful energy losses can be minimized. Some important observations pertinent in design are made. (author)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper will track the design and results of an injection molding tool developed to manufacture microfluidic chips. The mold design and injection molding process was complicated by the presence of integrated capillary fluidic interconnects. We determined that design of the runner and gate system responsible for delivering molten plastic to the cavity had a significant impact on the quality of parts produced by the mold and the size of the process window. Numerical results confirm our findings that reducing gate lengths and increasing part thickness dramatically improved the filling profile and lowered injection pressures by 37%. Finally, the influence of gate location on part shrinkage is analyzed and discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A core preservation package was developed to maintain the reservoir characteristics of core samples and consequently to improve the quality of data obtained through laboratory core analyses. The package is a heat-sealable plastic-aluminum laminate similar to those common in the food-packaging industry. The laminated core preservation package acts as an impermeable barrier to water vapor and gases, and is resistant to chemical alteration and degradation by core fluids. These performance characteristics result in effective core preservation by maintaining the fluid content of the core. Other advantages of the laminated package are that it is fast and simple to use and eliminates the cumbersome dip-coat step used in some core preservation methods.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper the authors describe the design and development of an advanced NDA workstation, which fits into an integrated data evaluation scheme for safeguards. This kind of instrument must be sort of an intelligent assistant to the inspection procedure, be able to generate as correct as possible measurements, guide the inspector throughout the procedure, and report descriptive data to the data evaluation system. The problem of improving the quality of the measurement is tackled using a simple expert system, which should convey in the instrument some of the physicist knowledge. The authors describe the hardware and software resources which were included in their design to reach the intended goal. A prototype of the machine has been built, and a preliminary software for Plutonium Isotopic Composition is under development.

Science.gov (United States)

Patients with end stage renal failure (ESRD) require renal replacement therapy in the form of dialysis or renal transplantation. There is an increasing number of people receiving maintenance dialysis as patients with ESRD are increasing faster than the supply of transplantable organs. The mortality rate on dialysis is 4-6 times that of the general population and is substantially reduced by transplantation. For the past 8 years, dialysis research has focused on improving patient outcomes and quality of life on dialysis. This review examines recent advances in haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis in a historical context and considers future research possibilities. PMID:19329705

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Developing models for the electrical behavior of exploding bridgewire circuits requires high-quality data of a type not usually generated in routine tests of detonator hardware. To obtain a precise measurement of the time of bridgewire burst relative to current start, one must simultaneously record the current, i, and either di/dt or the voltage across the bridgewire. To fully develop and test a model it is also necessary to vary the bridgewire cross sections and geometry, firing circuit characteristics and charging voltage for the firing circuits over as wide a range as possible. As a part of developing an electrical model for aluminum and copper bridgewires, we have conducted parameter studies on some flat copper and aluminum bridgewires. Most of the work was done on aluminum bridgewires, with a few experiments on copper. We will report the experimental results from these studies and compare them with ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper introduces the application of independent component analysis mixture modelling (ICAMM) in non-destructive testing (NDT). The application consists of discriminating patterns for material quality control from homogeneous and defective materials inspected by impact-echo testing. This problem is modelled as a mixture of independent component analysis (ICA) models, representing a class of defective or homogeneous material by an ICA model whose parameters are learned from the impact-echo signal spectrum. These parameters define a kind of particular signature for the different defects. The proposed procedure is intended to exploit to the maximum the information obtained with the cost efficiency of only a single impact. To illustrate this capability, four levels of classification detail...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This thesis dealt with the metal-organic gas phase epitaxy with nitrogen as carrier gas. For this first by means of three-dimensional modelings of the epitaxy process the influence of the carrier gas on the processes was explained. The optimization of the growth parameter for the whole light-emitting-diode structure in double-hetero arrangement resulted that an a temperature of 770 C and a V/ III-ratio of 150 layers with a high crystal quality could be reached.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) describes the development and application of a methodology to systematically and quantitatively assess predictive uncertainty in groundwater flow and transport modeling that considers the combined impact of hydrogeologic uncertainties associated with the conceptual-mathematical basis of a model, model parameters, and the scenario to which the model is applied. The methodology is based on a n extension of a Maximum Likelihood implementation of Bayesian Model Averaging. Model uncertainty is represented by postulating a discrete set of alternative conceptual models for a site with associated prior model probabilities that reflect a belief about the relative plausibility of each model based on its apparent consistency with available knowledge and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Development of food preservation and processing techniques by radiation was performed. Gamma irradiation at 2-10 kGy is considered to be an effective method to control pathogenic bacteria in species including Escherichia coli O157:H7. Gamma irradiation at 5 kGy completely eliminated pathogenic bacteria in beef. Gamma irradiation at such doses and subsequent storage at less than 4 deg C could ensure hygienic quality and prolong the microbiological shelf-life resulting from the reduction of spoilage microorganisms. Gamma irradiation on pre-rigor beef shortens the aging-period, improves tenderness and enhances the beef quality. And, a new beef processing method using gamma irradiation, such as in the low salt sausage and hygienic beef patty was developed. Safety tests of gamma-irradiated meats(beefs: 0-5 kGy; porks: 0-30 kGy) in areas such as genotoxicity, acute toxicity, four-week oral toxicity, rat hepato carcinogenesis and ...

Science.gov (United States)

A butterfly valve is a type of flow control device, typically used to regulate a fluid flowing. Currently, FEA is often used to predict the safety in the design of valve disc. Also, the study about the affection of butterfly valve's disc to the valve flow characteristics by using CFD has been done by many researchers. Along with the development of computer technique, design and analysis of computer experiments has becoming more and more important in engineering design and optimization. Hereinto Kriging model is one popular analysis approach for the purpose of creating a cheap ``meta-model'' as a surrogate to a computationally expensive simulation model. In this paper, the numerical analysis considered the strength, pressure loss coefficient and weight of valve disc simultaneously is investigated to improve the shape of a traditional butterfly valve disc. Firstly, an initial model of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper we describe a modelling project to improve a nuclear waste management program in charge of the creation of a new system for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste. SADT (Structural Analysis and Design Technique) is used in order to provide a work-flow description of the functions to be performed by the waste management program. This description is then translated into a number of Coloured Petri Nets (CPN or CP-nets) corresponding to different program functions where additional behavioural inscriptions provide basis for simulation. Each of these CP-nets is simulated to produce timed event charts that are useful for understanding the behaviour of the program functions under different scenarios. Then all the CPN models are linked together to form a single stand-alone application that is useful for validating the interaction and cooperation between the different program functions. A technique for linking ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In vibration control field, magneto-rheological (MR) fluid dampers are semi-active control devices that have recently begun to receive more attention. This paper presents a black-box model (BBM) for identification of a MR fluid damper and its application to vibrating control systems using that damper with self-sensing behavior. A model named ''black-box'' is a simple direct modeling method which is designed for a typical MR fluid damper using the self-tuning fuzzy technique. The characteristics of the researched damper are directly estimated through a fuzzy mapping system. In order to improve the accuracy of the proposed model, the back propagation algorithm and gradient descent method were used to train the fuzzy parameters to minimize the model error function. Consequently, the BBM with ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purpose of this work is to investigate the role of Helical CT and the usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) imaging for pre-operative planning and follow-up of reconstructive maxillofacial surgery with alloplastic material in neoplastic disease involving this region. From 1996 to 1999 eleven patients were examined with Helical CT and 3D images for planning of maxillofacial plastic and reconstructive surgery for advanced cancer of this anatomically complex region. A 3D-modulated titanium mesh (100%) or micro nets was used to rebuild the anterior surface of maxillary bone and the orbital floor. The mesh was cut to the appropriate size and shape and curved where necessary. Within the residual sinusal cavity a siliconed filling was used surmounting an acrylic prosthesis with dental arch to rebuild the palate. A rehydrated bovine pericardium was affixed and moduled on the borders in two cases only. Three-dimensionally reconstructed CT images were obtained preoperatively and at least 6 months ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

New York City data indicate that seasonal and annual variations in dispersion-normalized air pollutant concentrations appear to accurately reflect changes in source emission patterns. The normalized concentrations make it possible to observe the impact of regulatory changes on ambient air quality without these impacts being obscured by meteorological fluctuations. It is found that numerical modeling techniques and regression analysis can be powerful tools for extracting information from large sets of air quality data. The use of differential, as opposed to absolute, pollutant concentration values will reduce artifact correlations caused by seasonal, weekly, or daily meteorological fluctuations and will permit more accurate estimation of the regression coefficients. This technique was successfully applied to a set of daily pollution measurements whose absolute concentrations were found not to yield a statistically ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The paper sets up a simulation of a geothermal heat pump with a non-azeotropic mixture. The model is modified and verified with experimental data. The results of the simulation show that the systematic model can predict the performance within {+-}12% of the experimental data. As a result, some improvements can be provided on the basis of the simulation platform. (Author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The results of the development work to improve the horizontal steam generator modelling using the CATHARE code as well as the results of the steady-state and the steam-line break calculations are presented. Also the results of the steady-state calculations are compared to the measurements performed in operating VVER power plants. (9 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Multicrystalline silicon is a very interesting material for terrestrial solar cells. Its low cost and respectable energy conversion efficiency (12-15%) makes it arguably the most cost competitive material for large-volume solar power generation. However, the solar cell efficiency of this material is severely degraded by regions of high minority carrier recombination which have been shown to possess both dislocations and microdefects. These structural defects are known to increase in recombination activity with transition metal decoration. Therefore, gettering of metal impurities from the material would be expected to greatly enhance solar cell performance. Contrary to this rationale, experiments using frontside phosphorus and/or backside aluminum treatments have been found to improve regions with low recombination activity while having little or no effect on the high recombination regions and in turn only slightly improving the overall cell ...