Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The paper presents a description of the physical processes governing the variations of the pulse rise-time which occur during the operation of the proportional counter and are due to varying either the count rate or the applied voltage. On the basis of the rise-time concept the differences in the count rate effect observed in various types of proportional counters are discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Short communication.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In the laboratory of Elementary Particle Physics and Detectors at the Faculty of Physics and Nuclear Techniques of the University of Mining and Metallurgy, research works on the development of proportional counters for the detection of X- and soft {gamma}-rays and {alpha}, {beta} particles have been carried out As a result of optimization of counters characteristic parameters such as: energy resolution, life time, count rate effect and temperature effect the operating stability has been reached and the elaborated detectors have been applied not only in research laboratories, but also in Polish industry, medicine and agriculture. Examples of above mentioned applications have been presented in the paper. (author). 7 refs, 7 figs, 1 tab.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The multicell proportional chambers at the backing calorimeter of the ZEUS experiment at the storage ring HERA are supplied with a gas mixture of Ar/CO[sub 2] by an open gas system. Flow proportional counters with the build-up [sup 55]Fe sources are used as gas system monitoring detectors. The ZEUS experiment is planned to collect data for about 10 years. Therefore, the lifetime of the Ar/CO[sub 2] mixture should be known. In this paper, the results of laboratory tests and preliminary measurements of the aging effects for monitoring counters are presented. ((orig.))

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ASTROSAT, India's first dedicated astronomy satellite is slated for launch in 2007. The primary science objective of ASTROSAT is to explore the Universe using broad-band instruments covering optical, UV, soft X-ray and hard X-ray studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radiation portal monitors used for interdiction of illicit materials at borders include highly sensitive neutron detection systems. The main reason for having neutron detection capability is to detect fission neutrons from plutonium. The currently deployed radiation portal monitors (RPMs) from Ludlum and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) use neutron detectors based upon 3He-filled gas proportional counters, which are the most common large neutron detector. There is a declining supply of 3He in the world, and thus, methods to reduce the use of this gas in RPMs with minimal changes to the current system designs and sensitivity to cargo-borne neutrons are being investigated. Four technologies have been identified as being currently commercially available, potential alternative neutron detectors to replace the use of 3He in RPMs. These technologies are: 1) Boron trifluoride (BF3)-filled proportional ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We describe the continued development of a portable, real-time neutron spectrometer. The spectrometer is composed of two distinct detector systems: a Helium 3 gas filled proportional counter for the lower neutron energy interval between 20 KeV and 2 MeV and a bulk silicon solid state detector for the higher energy interval between 2 MeV and 500 MeV. Modeling and experimental results with mono-energetic neutron beams are reported.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Measurements have been made of certain parameters relevant to the operation of electron-counting detectors. An experimental chamber consisting of a uniform-field drift tube and a coaxial proportional counter thas been employed to obtain data, at very low drift fields (E/p<0.02 V/cm Torr), on electron mobility and lifetimes in a range of gas mixtures. These mixtures included argon, methane, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Measurements of single-electron spectra showed that, unexpectedly for the standard gas mixtures employed, useful departure from an exponential spectrum was not possible without the production of cathode secondaries. Although the present studies employed only the counter electrical signal the information obtained should be directly relevant to the operation of practical light-pulse systems. Examples of electron-counting spectra for soft X-rays are shown. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The phenomenology of wire chamber aging is discussed and fundamentals of proportional counters are presented. Free-radical polymerization and plasma polymerization are discussed. The chemistry of wire aging is reviewed. Similarities between wire chamber plasma (>1 atm dc-discharge) and low-pressure rf-discharge plasmas, which have been more widely studied, are suggested. Construction and use of a system to allow study of the plasma reactions occurring in wire chambers is reported. A proportional tube irradiated by an {sup 55}Fe source is used as a model wire chamber. Condensable species in the proportional tube effluent are concentrated in a cryotrap and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Several different wire chamber gases (methane, argon/methane, ethane, argon/ethane, propane, argon/isobutane) are tested and their reaction products qualitatively identified. For all gases tested ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radiation portal monitors used for interdiction of illicit materials at borders include highly sensitive neutron detection systems. The main reason for having neutron detection capability is to detect fission neutrons from plutonium. The currently deployed radiation portal monitors (RPMs) from Ludlum and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) use neutron detectors based upon 3He-filled gas proportional counters, which are the most common large neutron detector. There is a declining supply of 3He in the world, and thus, methods to reduce the use of this gas in RPMs with minimal changes to the current system designs and sensitivity to cargo-borne neutrons are being investigated. Four technologies have been identified as being currently commercially available, potential alternative neutron detectors to replace the use of 3He in RPMs. Reported here are the results of tests of a newly designed boron-lined ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The procedure followed by the Laboratorio de Metrologia Nuclear in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the standardization of {sup 242g} Am is described. The calibration system was composed of a 4 {pi} gas-flow proportional counter coupled to a pair of NaI(Tl) crystals operating in coincidence. The samples were produced by irradiating dried aliquots of {sup 241} Am with thermal and epithermal neutrons at the IEA-R1 research reactor. The efficiency tracer technique has been applied using {sup 60} Co as tracer. The beta detection efficiency was changed by external absorbers and extrapolated to unity by linear least square fitting applying covariance methodology. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Researchers at the Laboratory of Nuclear Microanalysis in Besancon (France) are developing and improving radon measurements in order to detect and analyse, more precisely radon emanation anomalies in both fields of Earth Sciences and Radioprotection. In order to characterize radon emanation, two complementary techniques are developed; continuous measurement through a portable proportional counter and passive measurements by nuclear track detectors for both fieldwork and laboratory analysis. A mathematical model is being devised to interpret the nuclear track detector response. This model is performed according to the device characteristics: type of detectors, shape and size of cells and whether a membrane is used or not. In addition to the theoritical study, experimental radon concentration measurements will be reported. (author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The nuclide "2"4"1Am decays by alpha emission to "2"3"7Np. Most of the decays (84.6%) populate the excited level of "2"3"7Np with energy of 59.54 keV. Digital coincidence counting was applied to standardize a solution of "2"4"1Am by alpha-gamma coincidence counting with efficiency extrapolation. Electronic discrimination was implemented with a pressurized proportional counter and the results were compared with two other independent techniques: Liquid scintillation counting using the logical sum of double coincidences in a TDCR array and defined solid angle counting taking into account activity inhomogeneity in the active deposit. The results show consistency between the three methods within a limit of a 0.3%. An ampoule of this solution will be sent to the International Reference System (SIR) during 2009. Uncertainties were analysed and compared in detail for the three applied methods.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Attention was focused on the fission process in light nuclear systems. A model calculation based on the transition-state model of nuclear fission was applied to {sup 47}V fission as populated through multiple entrance channels and to fusion-fission cross sections for production of {sup 28}Al through three different entrance channels. Angular distributions are shown for different mass channels of the {sup 29}Si+{sup 27}Al reaction at E{sub lab} = 125 MeV. Pronounced structure is seen in the symmetric and near-symmetric fission channels from the {sup 24}Mg+{sup 24}Mg reaction; cross sections for binary fragment emission are shown for E{sub lab} = 90 MeV. A large Bragg-curve detector was used in this experiment. Ways to optimize detector response were studied; in addition, the Bragg detector was instrumented with an internal position-sensitive multiwire proportional counter.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The 10.3-h "1"6"5Er, decaying by electron capture to stable "1"6"5Ho, offers an excellent promise for use in diagnostic nuclear medicine, especially in conjuction with multiwire proportional-counter cameras. Using an ultra-high-resolution Si(Li) photon spectrometer, L and K x-ray photon yields in "1"6"5Er decay have been measured. The ratio P/sub L//P/sub K/ of electron-capture probabilities in L and K shells is determined to be 0.196 +- 0.030, in good agreement with theory. Estimates of Auger electron yields and yields of very-low-energy electrons from Coster--Kronig transitions are presented. Levels of "1"6"9Er and "1"7"1Er radioactive impurities in the reactor-produced "1"6"5Er sample are experimentally determined. Whole-body dose estimates for "1"6"5Er are given. These compare favorably with "9"9Tc dose.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Precise measurements of alpha particle counting efficiencies have been made using isotropic, infinitely thin alpha emitting sources placed in direct contact with a thin, end-window, gas flow proportional detector. Except for alpha particle absorption in the window material, this geometry approaches 2#pi#, such that the only other variation in the response of the counter is from the random decay of the source. The data are fitted to the expected linear function of count rate versus window thickness and the resulting fitting parameters are used to calculate the counting efficiencies for a given thickness of window material. Counting efficiencies for 5.31, 6.06, and 8,78 MeV alpha particles have been determined from sources of "2"1"0Po and the progeny of "2"1"2Pb. For the particular counter used, the counting efficiencies in counts per alpha and their respective relative standard deviations were 0.401 #+-# 0.12%, 0.418 #+-# ...

Science.gov (United States)

... Tanzania, and the attack on the USS COLE. ... vis another has no bearing on the legality of the attack. If the person attacked is a combatant, the use of ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The Cox proportional hazards model is the most widely used model for survival analysis because of its simplicity. The fundamental assumption in this model is the proportionality of the hazard function....Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The ability of the Packard 2000 CA/LL liquid scintillation counter to reduce background count rates relies on pulse shape/duration analysis in which short duration organic scintillation events are discriminated from longer duration non-quenchable background events. A consequence of this is a loss in the counting efficiency. The results of this investigation indicate that much of the lost efficiency can be regained by sharpening the true #beta#"- pulse widths via the use of different scintillant combinations and by certain counter modifications. (author).

Science.gov (United States)

... keyboards, door knobs and counter tops, such surfaces should be cleaned with common household disinfectants regularly and after increased crowd contact. ...

Science.gov (United States)

... Page 25. US Department of Defense, Joint Operation Planning and Execution System, Vol 1, Planning Policies and Procedures (CJCSM 3122.01A). ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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Science.gov (United States)

The mz8310 device support module provides support for the following record types: event, pulseCounter, pulseDelay, and pulseTrain. No driver support is needed. Up to 4 mz8310 modules are supported. Each 8310 module contains 10 channels, which are identified as signals O,...9. Each channel is individually configurable. Each mz83 10 has two Am9513 Timing Controller chips. Each Am9513 has 5 counters.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The effect of counter-ion species on the local conformation of fully-charged poly(L-glutamate) in added-salt aqueous solutions were studied by small-angle X-ray scattering(SAXS). In the case of presence of monovalent counter-ion, the scattering behaviour could be explained by taking into consideration the excluded volume effect and intermolecular-interface interaction on the scattering function of wormlike chain. On the other hand, since SAXS profile of the solution in the presence of divalent counter-ion well fitted to the scattering function of dendrimer, it suggested that the conformation of polymer chain in such solution would be more compact conformation than that of presence of monovalent ion.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundAcetaminophen, the major active metabolite of acetanilide in man, has become one of the most popular over-the-counter analgesic and antipyretic agents, consumed by millions...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

In systems of fast decimal counters, there are three problems to be resolved: to study a bistable having a short switching time, to form with the aid of three bistables a circuit divisible by 5, and to normalize the input pulses. The solutions to these problems for the nonsecond scaler are presented. (J.S.R.)

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cellular hypertrophy is regulated by coordinated pro- and antigrowth machineries. Foxo transcription factors initiate an atrophy-related gene program to counter hypertrophic growth. This study was designed...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The most important developments in gaseous detectors at LNL are reviewed. Some aspects of timing, pulse height and position resolutions of avalanche counters are reported. The experimental work on heavy-ion identification by Bragg curve spectroscopy is summarized.

Science.gov (United States)

In this study, different proportions of silver-palladium alloy used as an inner electrode are adopted to fabricate (Zn,Mg)TiO3-based multilayer ceramic capacitors. Effects of sintering temperature, and measuring frequency on the dielectric properties of the samples with different proportions of the Pd-Ag inner electrode are investigated. The continuity of the inner electrode and the proportion of Pd-Ag of the inner electrode of samples sintered at different temperatures play important roles in determining the dielectric properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Description: Hurricane Hugo, which struck South Carolina in September of 1989, destroyed a significant proportion of the State's timber. Primary wood-products ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Because the proportion of Hispanic patients is increasing rapidly, most physicians are now coming into daily contact with Hispanics. In addition to obvious difficulty with oral communication, Hispanics...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Budding yeasts are highly suitable for aging studies, because the number of bud scars (stage) proportionally correlates with age. Its maximum stages are known ...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

Counting is among the most fundamental operations in computing. For example, counting the pth frequency moment has been a very active area of research, in theoretical computer science, databases, and data mining. When p=1, the task (i.e., counting the sum) can be accomplished using a simple counter. Compressed Counting (CC) is proposed for efficiently computing the pth frequency moment of a data stream signal A_t, where 0= 0, which includes the strict Turnstile model as a special case. For natural data streams encountered in practice, this restriction is minor. The underly technique for CC is what we call skewed stable random projections, which captures the intuition that, when p=1 a simple counter suffices, and when p = 1+/\\Delta with small \\Delta, the sample complexity of a counter system should be low (continuously as a function of \\Delta). We show at small \\Delta the sample complexity (number of projections) k = ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

An experimental investigation on the air/water counter-current two-phase flow in a horizontal rectangular channel connected to an inclined riser has been conducted. This test-section representing a model of the hot leg of a pressurized water reactor is mounted between two separators in a pressurized experimental vessel. The cross-section and length of the horizontal part of the test-section are (0.25mx0.05m) and 2.59m, respectively, whereas the inclination angle of the riser is 50degree. The flow was captured by a high-speed camera in the bended region of the hot leg, delivering a detailed view of the stratified interface as well as of dispersed structures like bubbles and droplets. Countercurrent flow limitation (CCFL), or the onset of flooding, was found by analyzing the water levels mea...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A comparison is made of the response of a count ratemeter and a pulse counter using the mathematical tool of the Z transform. Transform Z is used for the solution of the convolution integral interpreting the analog output of the count ratemeter used for recording characteristic radiation, excited in the moving beam. The comparison of count rates obtained by the count ratemeter during continuous analysis and the pulse counter during discontinuous measurement gave the transfer function of the count ratemeter in the actual range of count rate. Also discussed is the use of the transfer function for localizing concentration changes in the sample. The use of the described method is demonstrated on the determination of the tin content in tungsten using continuous radionuclide X-ray fluorescence analysis. (B.S.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The prototype Bragg Curve Counter (BCC) has been tested by {alpha}-source ({sup 241}Am) with a continuous gas flow system (P-10: 90% Ar+10% CH{sub 4}, at 300Torr). Two types of the Frisch grid were prepared for the BCC. One was made of expanded metal meshes, which consist of 175 meshes/inch{sup 2} with a 100{mu}m{sup t} nickel sheet. The other was made of a 1mm pitch wire with {phi} 50 {mu}m of the tungsten. The shape of Bragg peak signal was compared each other. It was found that the energy spectrum obtained by the wire grid is a little sharper than that obtained by the meshes grid. However the meshes grid is superior than the wire grid so far as handling and durability are concerned. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daylight responsive dimming systems have been used in few buildings to date because they require improvements to improve reliability. The key underlying factor contributing to poor performance is the variability of the ratio of the photosensor signal to daylight workplane illuminance in accordance with sun position, sky condition, and fenestration condition. Therefore, this paper describes the integrated systems between automated roller shade systems and daylight responsive dimming systems with an improved closed-loop proportional control algorithm, and the relative performance of the integrated systems and single systems. The concept of the improved closed-loop proportional control algorithm for the integrated systems is to predict the varying correlation of photosensor signal to daylight workplane illuminance according to roller shade height and sky conditions for improvement of the system accuracy. In this study, the performance of the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Recent developments in design and production of thermal neutron detectors based on a crystalline Si diode coupled to a Gd converter are reviewed. The most significant results of neutron test measurements carried out on prototype systems and pointing out the performances of the device are reported. Progress through various detection schemes and technological solutions for the production of a real time neutron counter for routine operation are outlined.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A new method of particle identification of heavy ions through the measurement of the Bragg curve centroid and particle energy has been developed using a gas ionization chamber with a resistive anode layer. Z-resolutions comparable to the conventional ..delta..E-E counter telescope could be rather easily attained.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This study mainly concerns medical explorations by radioisotopes. Detectors with medical exams and applications are described. Ionisation chambers, semiconductor detectors and scintillation counters are also presented. Uses of radioisotopes in medicine in vivo and in vitro techniques are explained. Examples of scintiscanning are given like: angiography, nuclear cardiography and thyroid scintiscanning. The importance of the study is to present a panorama of nuclear medicine laboratories -at the time- in hospitals in Lebanon.

Science.gov (United States)

Ionization counters employing Bragg curve spectroscopy have been constructed for use in a 4? geometry. These detectors compare very favorably in terms of both energy and charge resolution with small solid angle devices. These detectors have a large dynamic range because they are backed by scintillation detectors, and are thus capable of detecting and identifying particles with energies from 1 MeV/nucleon up to 200 MeV/nucleon.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ionization counters employing Bragg curve spectroscopy have been constructed for use in a 4#pi# geometry. These detectors compare very favorably in terms of both energy and charge resolution with small solid angle devices. These detectors have a large dynamic range because they are backed by scintillation detectors, and are thus capable of detecting and identifying particles with energies from 1 MeV/nucleon up to 200 MeV/nucleon. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A search for tachyons, or other particles detectable by G-M counter tubes or liquid scintillators, arriving during the approximately 100#mu#s immediately preceding extensive air showers (primary energy approximately 10"1"5 eV) has provided no positive evidence for the existence of such particles. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This investigation of a brain cancer cluster in Missouri used two approaches to investigate associations with potential risk factors. In a case-control study in a rural town, we interviewed surrogates of cases and controls about potential risk factors. We found a statistically significant positive association of brain cancer with reported exposure to dental x-rays. Occupation was not associated with the cluster in the rural town. In a standardized proportional mortality study for the state of Missouri, we calculated the observed and expected proportion of brain cancers by occupation and industry in Missouri decedents. We found that motor vehicle manufacturers, beauty shop workers, managers and administrators, elementary school teachers, and hairdressers and cosmetologists had significantly elevated proportions of brain cancer. Brain tumors are inconsistently associated with occupation in the literature. Further study of ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary Background:- Cholinesterase inhibitors form the mainstay of treatment for persons with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer-s disease (AD). The rivastigmine patch may increase compliance and the proportion of patients maintaining an efficacious dose compared with oral cholinesterase inhibitors. Objective:- To investigate the proportion of patients who reached and maintained the target rivastigmine patch dose compared with the target rivastigmine capsule dose reported in clinical trials. Methods:- This was a multicentre, 24-week, open-label study in persons with probable AD and a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of --10 and --26. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients (ITT population) treated with 9.5-mg/24-h rivastigmine patch for at least 8-weeks at week 24. Secondary ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Experience with multiwire proportional chambers at high rates at the Argonne Zero Gradient Synchrotron is described. A buildup of silicon on the sense wires was observed where the beam passed through the chamber. Analysis of the chamber gas indicated that the density of silicon was probably less than 10 ppM.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A substantial proportion of lymph node-negative patients who receive adjuvant chemotherapy do not derive any benefit from this aggressive and potentially toxic treatment. However, standard histopathological...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Within the next 30 years, the proportion of urban dwellers will rise from under half to two thirds of the world’s population. Such a shift will entail massive public health consequences,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Genetic effects on mechanical properties have been demonstrated in rodents, but not confirmed in primates. Our aim was to quantify the proportion of variation in vertebral trabecular bone mechanical...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundSize and body proportions at birth are partly determined by maternal body composition, but most studies of mother-baby relationships have only considered...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Despite the recent success of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in identifying loci consistently associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), a large proportion of the genetic components of...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundObesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. It is implicated in the development of a variety of chronic disease states and is associated with increased...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We discuss the relationship between the dynamically changing tension gradients required to move water rapidly through the xylem conduits of plants and the proportion of conduits lost through embolism...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

It was recently reported that the proportion of dark-coloured Soay sheep (Ovis aries) in the Hebrides has decreased, despite the fact that dark sheep tend to be larger than lighter...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The antibiotic resistance patterns of gram-negative fecal bacteria from pigs in three herds with different histories of antibiotic exposure were examined. In general, smaller proportions of antibiotic-resistant...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Platelet Factor VIII-related antigen (VIIIR:Ag) represents a significant proportion of the total circulating VIIIR:Ag pool. However, its participation in the events of primary hemostasis has not been...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundIntrapartum fetal hypoxia remains an important cause of death and permanent handicap and in a significant proportion of cases there is evidence of suboptimal care related...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

Data from the power output of the radioisotope thermoelectric generators aboard the Cassini spacecraft are used to test the conjecture that small deviations observed in terrestrial measurements of the exponential radioactive decay law are correlated with the Earth-Sun distance. No significant deviations from exponential decay are observed over a range of 0.7 - 1.6 A.U. A 90% Cl upper limit of 0.84 x 10^-4 is set on a term in the decay rate of Pu-238 proportional to 1/R^2 and 0.99 x 10^-4 for a term proportional to 1/R.

Science.gov (United States)

An electronic computer circuit is described for producing an output voltage proportional to the product or quotient of tbe voltages of a pair of input signals. ln essence, the disclosed invention provides a computer having two channels adapted to receive separate input signals and each having amplifiers with like fixed amplification factors and like negatlve feedback amplifiers. One of the channels receives a constant signal for comparison purposes, whereby a difference signal is produced to control the amplification factors of the variable feedback amplifiers. The output of the other channel is thereby proportional to the product or quotient of input signals depending upon the relation of input to fixed signals in the first mentioned channel.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The superplastic characteristics and diffusion bonding behaviors were investigated in commercial 7475 aluminum alloy and AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets. In this study, the presently used materials behaved in a superplastic manner at {proportional_to} 773 K (7475Al) and {proportional_to} 523 K (AZ31). Then, by the theoretical relationship between pressure and time, these materials were successfully diffusion bonded at the superplastic temperatures. The bonding strength was more than 65 MPa. The experimental bonding conditions in high quality joining, times and pressures, were good agreed with prediction analysis. (orig.)

Science.gov (United States)

Vildagliptin is a potent and selective dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor in development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that improves glycemic control by enhancing alpha- and beta-cell responsiveness to glucose. Two open-label, single-dose, randomized, crossover studies in healthy subjects (ages 18-45 years) investigated the dose proportionality of vildagliptin pharmacokinetics (n = 20) and the effect of food (n = 24) on vildagliptin pharmacokinetics. There was a linear relationship (r(2) = 0.999) between vildagliptin doses of 25, 50, 100, and 200 mg and area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC(0-infinity)) and maximum plasma concentration (C(max)). Dose proportionality was assessed using a statistical power model [X = alpha x (dose)(beta)]. The 90% confidence intervals of the proportionality coefficient, beta, for AUC(0-infinity) (1.15-1.19) and C(max) (1.04-1.14) indicated that ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Service water, 100 l each, was collected at an intake of a water treatment plant and at a tap after water was left running for five minutes. The carriers of strontium and cesium were added to water immediately after sampling, and the sample was vigorously stirred and filtered. Then it was passed through a cation exchange column at a rate of 80 ml/min. Strontium and cesium were eluted with hydrochloric acid from the cation exchange column, and separated. After the radiochemical separation, the mounted precipitates were counted for activity using low background beta counters normally for 60 min. Net sample counting rates were corrected for counter efficiency, recovery, self absorption and decay to obtain the content of strontium-90 and cesium-137 radioactivity per sample aliquot. From the results, concentrations of these nuclides in the original sample were calculated. The maximum values obtained were 0.29 pCi/l of Sr-90 in Kyoto in August, 1981, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A complete heavy ion identification system in heavy ion reaction studies consists, in general, of: 1) a position sensitive avalanche counter, and 2) ionization chamber to obtain total energy as well as a heavy ion identifier signal (such as the E#DELTA#E signal from a E-#DELTA#E type detector or the height of the Bragg peak that scales as Z of the heavy ion in a Bragg curve ionization chamber). In addition, a time-of-flight information may be needed to resolve the masses of the ions. With this motivation in mind, a composite detector system consisting of a Bragg curve spectroscopy ionization chamber (BCS-IC) and a one dimensional position sensitive parallel grid avalanche counter (XPS-PGAC) has been developed and used successfully at the BARC-TIFR pelletron accelerator facility. The design and performance of this gas detector system are reported. (author). 4 refs., 2 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A new focal plane detector for an Enge split pole spectrograph has been developed which is able to resolve individual elements and isotopes up to the mass 100 region. It consists of a 60 cm long position sensitive parallel plate avalanche counter backed by a large Bragg curve detector. Compared with other position sensitive focal plane counters the new detector system has a very good time resolution (less than 300 ps) and can be operated at much higher counting rates (up to 25 kHz). The intrinsic resolution of the position detector is less than 1 mm. In addition to the energy and the nuclear charge signal obtained from the Bragg curve detector the angle of incidence into the detector can be measured with an accuracy of better than 1/sup 0/. The detector has already been used in a variety of experiments where good timing, counting rate behavior, and excellent mass resolution over a large energy range were essential.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This patent describes an energy storage device. It comprises: a working electrode, a counter electrode, electrically isolated from the working electrode; an electrolyte in contact with the working electrode and the counter electrode, and means for collecting electrical current therefrom; the working electrode consisting essentially of an amorphous metal alloy of the formula: A{sub {ital a}}M{sub {ital b}}M{prime}{sub {ital c}}, wherein A is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ag, Hg and Pt; M is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Pb, Cu, Cr, Mo, W, Ni, Al, Co, Fe, Zn, Ru, Cd and Mn; M{prime} is at lest one of the elements selected from the group consisting of Ca, Mg, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb and Ta; and wherein a ranges from about 0.005 to about 0.80; b ranges from 0.05 to about 0.70; and c ranges from about 0.08 to about 0.95.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A Bragg curve counter equipped with an internal production target was developed for the measurements of double-differential cross-sections of fragment production induced by neutrons at energies of tens of MeV. The internal target permitted a large detection solid angle and thus the registration of processes at low production rates. In this specific geometry, the detection solid angle depends on the emission angle and the range of the particle. Therefore the energy, atomic number, and angle of trajectory of the particle have to be taken into account for the determination of the solid angle. For the selection of events with tracks confined within a defined cylindrical volume around the detector axis, a segmented anode was applied. The double-differential cross-sections for neutron-induced production of lithium, beryllium, and boron fragments from a carbon target were measured at 0 deg. for 65 MeV neutrons. The results are in good agreement with theoretical ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The interaction between a pair of counter-rotating vortices and a lean premixed CH{sub 4}/O{sub 2}/N{sub 2} flame ({Phi} = + 0.55) has been studied by direct numerical simulations using detailed and reduced chemical reaction schemes. Results from the complex chemistry simulation are discussed with respect to earlier experiments and differences in the simulations using detailed and reduces chemistry are investigated. Transient evolutions of the flame surface and the total heat release rate are compared and modifications in the evolution of the local flame structure are displayed. (authors) 22 refs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Copper alloys are a suitable tubing material for turbine condensers and heat exchangers. Due to problems with corrosions copper alloys increasingly are displaced by high-grade steel and titanium. Blockages and surface formation in the pipes, disturbance of the oxide coating formation, erosion and quality faults with the production are the causes for the corrosion. In the contribution under consideration counter measures are designated for the solution of the problems with corrosions. The application limits for different copper alloys are designated. Recommendations for the optimized operation are given.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This patent describes an ignition system of an internal combustion engine which consists of: a permanent magnet supported by a rotary member of the engine adapted to rotate in synchronism with a rotary shaft of the engine; a generating coil for generating an electromotive force to produce an electric current as the permanent magnet acts on the generating coil during the rotation of the rotary member; an ignition capacitor charged by the electric current generated by the generating coil; a thyristor caused to turn on by a counter electromotive force generated by the generating coil to thereby cause the ignition capacitor to begin to discharge; and an ignition coil generating a high voltage as the ignition capacitor begins to discharge, to cause a spark discharge to take place in an ignition plug of the internal combustion engine.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The combination of wood gasification and high temperature fuel cells like solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) is an interesting approach to achieve high electrical efficiencies (40%) in small scale combined heat and power plants. This combination is called 'Biomass - Integrated Gasification Fuel Cell System' (B-IGFC). The main challenge is the adjustment of the three main components gasification, gas cleaning and fuel cell. In this technology, the first proof of principle by combining a gasifier with a SOFC in a laboratory scale for more than 100 hours was achieved. During this period, no deactivation of the system was found. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lead-acid batteries, one of eight types, account for about 70% of annualized control costs facing the battery manufacturing industry as a result of EPA's guidelines. This report is the industry's response. It makes counter recommendations for effluent limitations, discusses selected control technologies and effluent limitations, makes control cost estimates, and provides an economic impact analysis and a benefits effectiveness analysis.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Supplementing the collection of artificial neural network methodologies devised for monitoring energy producing installations, a general regression artificial neural network is proposed for the identification of the two-phase flow that occurs in the coolant channels of boiling water reactors. The utilization of a limited number of image features derived from radiography images affords the proposed approach with efficiency and non-invasiveness. Additionally, the application of counter-clustering to the input patterns prior to training accomplishes an 80% reduction in network size as well as in training and test time. Cross-validation tests confirm accurate on-line flow regime identification.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The existing theoretical and experimental basis for predicting the levels of resonant static error field at different components m,n that stop plasma rotation and produce a locked mode is reviewed. For ITER ohmic discharges, the slow rotation of the very large plasma is predicted to incur a locked mode (and subsequent disastrous large magnetic islands) at a simultaneous weighted error field ({Sigma}{sub 1}{sup 3}w{sub m1}B{sup 2}{sub rm1}){sup {1/2}}/B{sub T} {ge} 1.9 x 10{sup -5}. Here the weights w{sub m1} are empirically determined from measurements on DIII-D to be w{sub 11} = 0. 2, w{sub 21} = 1.0, and w{sub 31} = 0. 8 and point out the relative importance of different error field components. This could be greatly obviated by application of counter injected neutral beams (which adds fluid flow to the natural ohmic electron drift). The addition of 5 MW of 1 MeV beams at 45{degrees} injection would increase the error field limit by a factor of 5; 13 MW would ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atomization of liquid fuel in aircraft engines requires application of airblast atomizers, where the kerosene is supplied into the shear layer between two swirling airstreams. The transfer of this functional principle towards gaseous fuel, as illustrated in Fig. 1, yielded a strong influence of the swirl arrangement of the airflows on flame stability and homogeneity of the fuel/air-mixture. Compared to the co-swirl configuration the flow field of the counter-swirl arrangement exhibits a marked increase of the mass flow recirculated in the internal recirculation zone and a reduction of its length in axial direction. This is attributed to the faster decay of tangential velocity maxima in case of counter-rotating airflows. This generates a stronger positive axial pressure gradient dp/dx, thus enhancing the internal recirculation zone. Analysis of local turbulence quantities yields a restriction of turbulent exchange to smaller radial sections and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The microstructures and mechanical properties of the AZ31 Mg tubes fabricated by one-pass forward piercing tube extrusion operated at 250-400 C and 10{sup -2}-10{sup 0} s{sup -1} are examined. The grain size is refined from the initial {proportional_to}75 {mu}m grain size down to {proportional_to}1.5 {mu}m. The room temperature tensile elongation along the extrusion direction also increases from {proportional_to}13% for the as-received billet up to 51%. The highest superplastic elongation of 610% was obtained as tensile loaded at 300 C and 2 x 10{sup -4} s{sup -1}, and high strain rate superplasticity of 406% and 502% was achieved at 300 C and 400 C with a high strain rate of 1 x 10{sup -2} s{sup -1}. Preliminary hydroforming or tube bulging at room temperature has demonstrated the feasibility. Hydroforming at elevated temperature of 200 C or above should exhibit much more promising results, utilizing the capability of LTSP ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A technique has been developed for high resolution alpha particle spectroscopy from track length determination in CR-39 plastic. On individual tracks an energy resolution deltaE close to the range straggling limit is obtainable. For 6 MeV alpha-particle deltaE is proportional 35 keV on individual particles and for groups of particles deltaE proportional 20 keV can be achieved using certain data selection criteria. At 100 keV on individual particles deltaE is proportional 20 keV. The analysis requires 1) a knowledge of the track-etch rate (Vsub(T))-range relationship and 2) a theoretical understanding of alpha-particle track structure in CR-39 as a function of particle energy, dip angle and degree of etching. The structure of alpha-particle etched tracks in CR-39 is described and two methods of analysis discussed. Examples are given of the resolution attainable on tracks of alpha-particles as natural decay energy and from ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Bragg Curve Spectrometer (BCS) is an ionization chamber long enough to stop particles of interest. Particles enter through the cathode window and leave an ionization track parallel to the electric field. The ionization electrons drift through a Frisch grid and are collected on an anode. The anode current, as a function of time, is proportional to the specific ionization along the track. The preamp output is split and used as input for two amplifiers, one with a long integration time constant for energy measurement, and one with a short time constant to pick off the maximum ionization or Bragg peak. The Bragg peak, which is proportional to the nuclear charge, is used for particle identification. Several versions of the BCS have been constructed and tested. Test results, detector characteristics and some design problems are discussed.

Science.gov (United States)

In terms of the reduced potential energy barrier ? = ?uTS/kT, the rate coefficients for chemical reactions are usually expressed as proportional to e-?. The coupling between vibrational modes of the medium to the reaction coordinate leads to a proportionality of the regularized gamma function of Euler Q(a,?) = ?(a,?)/?(a), with a being the number of modes coupled to the reaction coordinate. In this work, the experimental rate coefficients at various temperatures for several chemical reactions were fitted to the theoretical expression in terms of Q(a,?) to determine the extent of its validity and generality. The new expression affords lower deviations from the experimental points in 29 cases out of 38 and it accounts for the curvature in the logarithmic plots of rate coefficients versus inverse temperature. In the absence of tunneling, conventional theories predict the curvature of these plots to be identically zero.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An Effect of pinhole(perforation or pit penetration) that might be formed outside the package on the nuclide leaching from paraffin waste form was investigated. In case of single pinhole, the leached mass and cumulative fraction leached (CFL) increased with the larger diameter of pinhole, but they were not in direct proportion to the size or area of pinhole. If the total area of multiple pinholes was fixed, the leached mass showed a tendency to increase as each size was smaller and the number was more. It was also found that the leached mass was not in direct proportion to the number of pinhole in case of constant size. In order to analyze the test results, the shrinking core model(SCM) was derived from the diffusion-controlled dissolution reaction and compared with previous diffusion model.

CERN Document Server

The junction conditions for General Relativity in the presence of domain walls with intrinsic spin are derived in three and higher dimensions. A stress tensor and a spin current can be defined just by requiring the existence of a well defined volume element instead of an induced metric, so as to allow for generic torsion sources. In general, when the torsion is localized on the domain wall, it is necessary to relax the continuity of the tangential components of the vielbein. In fact it is found that the spin current is proportional to the jump in the vielbein and the stress-energy tensor is proportional to the jump in the spin connection. The consistency of the junction conditions implies a constraint between the direction of flow of energy and the orientation of the spin. As an application, we derive the circularly symmetric solutions for both the rotating string with tension and the spinning dust string in three dimensions. The rotating ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is employed to study the changes in enthalpy of natural rubber latex samples when heated under a controlled temperature program. It is found that the mass normalized areas of the DSC curves between room temperature and 170??C for different latex samples are inversely proportional to the dry rubber content (DRC) of the samples, measured following the weighing and drying method. The changes in total enthalpy of the samples in this temperature range are interpreted as due to the variations in the quantity of water present in the samples. The measurements have been repeated by diluting selected samples with known quantities of water, and it is found that the normalized areas of the DSC curves are directly proportional to the amount of water added to the ...

Science.gov (United States)

This paper applies White's (1982, Econometrica 50, 1-25) information matrix (IM) test for correct model specification to proportional hazards models of univariate and multivariate censored survival data. Several alternative estimators of the test statistic are presented and their size performance examined. White also suggested an estimator of the parameter covariance matrix that was robust to certain forms of model misspecification. This has been subsequently proposed by others (e.g., Royall, 1986, International Statistical Review 54, 221-226) and applied by Huster, Brookmeyer, and Self (1989, Biometrics 45, 145-156) as part of an independence working model (IWM) approach to multivariate censored survival data. We illustrate how the IM test can be used for both univariate data and as part of the IWM approach to multivariate data. PMID:8117901

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The superconducting Tevatron accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) has surpassed twenty years of operation. The Tevatron is still the highest energy particle accelerator in the world and will remain so until the commissioning of the LHC in Europe later this decade. The Tevatron has operated in a Fixed Target mode, accelerating a proton beam into stationary targets/detectors, as well as a Colliding Beam mode, continuously colliding counter rotating beams of protons and antiprotons. Upon completion, the Tevatron cryogenic system became the world's largest helium refrigeration system. In 1993, the Tevatron cryogenic system was given the designation of International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The operational history, experiences and statistics of the Tevatron, with an emphasis on the cryogenic system, is presented. Improvements, upgrades and current challenges of the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper discusses the application of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code (FLUENT) to predict temperature and velocity profiles, and particle trajectories in an industrial fired by a low NO{sub x} pulverized coal swirl burner. The predictions of the code were compared to experimental measurements of gas temperature, particle size distribution, and particle velocities. The diagnostics employed were a suction pyrometer and a Particle Counter Sizer Velocimeter Probe (PCSV-P). Good agreement was found between the temperature predictions and the measurements. In situ particle size distributions were predicted accurately using the Baum and Street model with a swelling factor of zero. The numerical modeling indicated that the Type II flow issued from the burner could be transformed into Type III flow, by eliminating swirl from the primary air stream, which provided the preferred particle trajectories and increased the combustion efficiency.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Water chemistry of nuclear power plants has played an important role in reduction of personnel doses, structural materials and fuel integrity assurance, and reduction of radioactive wastes production. Further contributions are requested for advanced utilization of the LWR, advanced fuels and aging management of plants. Since water chemistry has an effect on all structure and materials immersed and at the same time affected by them, the optimum control not sticking to specific issues and covering the whole plant is required for these requests. Taking account of roles and activities of the industry, governmental institutes and academia, road maps on research and development plans for water chemistry were compiled into identified eleven items with targets and counter measures taken, such as common basic technologies, dose reduction, SCC mitigation, fuel cans corrosion/hydrogen absorption mitigation, condition based maintenance and flow accelerated corrosion ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The crystal structure of Ca{sub 2}RuD{sub 6} has been determined by neutron powder diffraction: space group Fm3m, K{sub 2}PtCl{sub 6} structure, as found for other hexahydride salts of group 8 metals with alkaline earth or lanthanide counter ions. No structural phase transition was observed between 340 K and 50 K. The deuterium nuclear quadrupole coupling constant, 54.7 kHz, leads to an ionic character of the Ru-D bond of 76%. The known trends in the behaviour of A{sub 2}MH{sub 6} salts are interpreted in terms of the ionization energies of the cation and the central metal atom.

CERN Document Server

Research shows that comment spamming (comments which are unsolicited, unrelated, abusive, hateful, commercial advertisements etc) in online discussion forums has become a common phenomenon in Web 2.0 applications and there is a strong need to counter or combat comment spamming. We present a method to automatically detect comment spammer in YouTube (largest and a popular video sharing website) forums. The proposed technique is based on mining comment activity log of a user and extracting patterns (such as time interval between subsequent comments, presence of exactly same comment across multiple unrelated videos) indicating spam behavior. We perform empirical analysis on data crawled from YouTube and demonstrate that the proposed method is effective for the task of comment spammer detection.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Urban heritage areas throughout the world have experienced cycles of neglect and upgrade that were at times intentional and at other times due to economic difficulties or an unbalanced ideological focus on technological, social or political developments. Modernism of the early and mid-1900s was clearly against keeping heritage areas as they were perceived to hinder future developments. Postmodernist thinking afterwards was more sympathetic to heritage as a means of countering the 'placelessness' of the modern city. Global appreciation of urban heritage and the world's cultural diversity at the end of the century made the occurrence of 'physical neglect' cycles very unlikely in the future. This research paper takes the stand that urban planners and designers face cycles of higher or lower u...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Methods for improving the sensitivity of scintillation cells for radon concentration measurements were studied with emphasis on improving light collection efficiency. This allows the length and hence the volume of the cell to be increased. Variables studied were choice of scintillator material, its method of application and thickness, length of cell, cell material, type and configuration of reflectors, choice of photomultipliers, and factors affecting background. Response from various areas of the cell surface was studied with an alphy source and with radon filling. Coating the window with phosphor was found to be counter-productive. The optimum results obtained were with the inside of the cell (other than the window) covered with a thick layer of ZnS(Ag), or with a thick layer of reflective material coated with a thin layer of phosphor. With it, a 10 cm diameter plexiglass cell can be extended to at least 50 cm length without difficulty from insufficient pulse ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Virtualized infrastructure providers demand new methods to increase the accuracy of the accounting models used to charge their customers. Future data centers will be composed of many-core systems that will host a large number of virtual machines (VMs) each. While resource utilization accounting can be achieved with existing system tools, energy accounting is a complex task when per-VM granularity is the goal. In this paper, we propose a methodology that brings new opportunities to energy accounting by adding an unprecedented degree of accuracy on the per-VM measurements. We present a system - which leverages CPU and memory power models based in performance monitoring counters (PMCs) - to perform energy accounting in virtualized systems. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, w...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Fluorocarbon polymers are used to enhance thermal stability and electrostatic protection of composite propellant compositions. A precipitation technique has been developed to coat ammonium perchlorate (AP) using a copolymer of hexafluoropropylene and vinylidene fluoride (HFP-VF) with the help of solvent-counter solvent method. The coated AP has been used to prepare propellant compositions in different ratio based on hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), aluminium powder along with uncoated AP and studied for viscosity build-up and visco-elastic behaviour as well as mechanical, ballistic, thermal and sensitivity properties keeping 86% solid loading. The data on viscosity build-up indicate that as the percentage of viton coated AP increases end of mix viscosity and viscosity build-up inc...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Normal butylamine compounds are studied as salt-free wash reagents for degraded solvent used in PUREX process in spent fuel reprocessing. The solvent wash tests were carried out with two types of butylamine compounds, n-butylamine oxalate and n-butylamine bicarbonate, by counter-current mode using a small size mixer-settler composed of two 4-stage wash steps. Di-n-butyl phosphoric acid (HDBP), the main degradation product from TBP, was removed from real degraded solvent with decontamination factor of 2.5 {approx} 7.9. The study on electrolytic decomposition of butylamine compounds was also conducted for waste treatment.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A study of the stability of conducting fabrics of polyester (PES) coated with polypyrrole/PW12O40^3^- (organic/inorganic hybrid material) in different pH solutions (1, 7, 13) has been done. Washing tests were also done in views of its possible application in electronic textiles such as antistatic clothing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies have been done to quantify the amount of counter ion that remains in the polymer matrix and determine the doping ratio (N^+/N) after the different tests. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was also used to observe morphological differences after the different tests. Surface resistivity changes were measured by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) was employed to measure changes in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This chapter consists of some points including an introduction, the basic parts of mass spectroscope device, sample introduction into the inductively coupled plasma, pneumatic nebuliser, ultrasonic nebuliser, dry gas cloud system, laser ablation unit, inductively coupled plasma-ion source, extraction of ions from ion source, mass analysis, quad-polar mass spectrometer, dual assembly mass spectrometer, mass spectrometer by calculation of time of flight, ion interferences and the ability of resolution, ion counter, working conditions of inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscope device, efficiency of ion transportation in an inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscope device and applications of analysis using mass spectroscope of induced plasma including nuclear, industrial, geological, environmental and archaeological applications, measurement of isotopes ratio and applications in tracing crimes.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Alkylaldehyde-bisulfite adducts with octyl, decyl, and dodecyl groups (CnS: n=8,10,12) were synthesized and the surface-active properties of the water-soluble compounds were compared. Exchange of the counter anions of C10S and C12S from sodium to tetramethylammonium solubilized them in water. The latter ammonium salt (C12S-QA) had surface activities as good as a classical surfactant, sodium dodecylsulfate, and dissociated promptly in weakly basic solution at room temperature to be a non-surfactant. It was also found that C12S-QA solubilized a hydrophobic substrate (solid), N,N-dimethyl-3-nitroaniline, in water and then separated it as a precipitate after alkali treatment.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Counter rotating longitudinal vortices produced by winglet in a channel are known to enhance heat transfer. In the present investigation the flow structure and heat-transfer enhancement by a winglet pair of non-zero thickness has been studied. A delta winglet pair type vortex generator is placed in a hydrodynamically developed and thermally developing laminar channel flow. Computations are done by solving the unsteady, three-dimensional, incompressible Navier-Strokes equations and energy equation using a modified Marker-and-Cell (MAC) method. The flow structure is complex and consists of main, corner and induced vortices. It is observed that as compared to a channel without winglets, the heat transfer is enhanced by 33% when single winglet is used and by 67% when a winglet pair is employed. Effects of thickness of the winglets and Reynolds number on the heat transfer augmentation are presented.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A large area Bragg curve spectroscopy (BCS) detector and a position sensitive parallel grid avalanche counter have been developed to study heavy ion reactions, such as inelastic excitations and few nucleon transfer reactions near the Coulomb barrier. Reasonably good resolutions have been achieved for energy, atomic number and angle. A theoretical investigation on the mass dependence of the Bragg peak signal from the BCS detector, shows that there is a negligible mass dependence related to the geometry of the detector. The mass number of the heavy ions which cannot be obtained by the above method, has been identified by detecting the corresponding characteristic gamma rays from the product nuclei with two large solid angle gamma ray detectors. (orig.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A process is claimed for stabilizing fuels during storage by blending therewith oxalic acid derivatives of mono- or bis-succinimides of polyalkylpolyamines. The fuels are stabilized by the presence of 10 to 100 parts per thousand barrels of these oxamides. For particular applications mixtures of monoand bis-succinimides in varying proportions can be used.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We report acceleration of electrons moving in free space near an active Nd:YAG slab. The power of a non-relativistic beam of electrons has increased by more than 30% when the medium was excited. It is demonstrated experimentally that the energy gained by the electrons is linearly proportional to the energy stored in the medium. Moreover, the energy gain traces closely the population inversion inferred by monitoring the spontaneous radiation.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We report on measurements of the mixing of fuel oil with air at atmospheric pressure in an industrial premixed gas turbine burner. The concentration of the vaporized fuel oil was measured with laser induced fluorescence. We reason that the fuel oil concentration can be considered with good accuracy as proportional to the fluorescence intensity. (author) 6 fig., 3 refs.

CERN Document Server

We construct a chaotic inflation model in which the Higgs fields play the role of the inflaton in the singlet extension of the supersymmetric standard model. The key idea is to impose a shift symmetry on the D-flat direction Hu Hd in the Kahler potential. The model is a realization of the recently proposed running kinetic inflation, in which the coefficient of the kinetic term grows as the inflaton field. The inflaton potential depends on the structure of the Higgs sector. For instance, the inflaton potential is proportional to phi^{2/3} during inflation in the NMSSM.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A radiometric method was elaborated for surface density determinations of the adhesive layer of plasters by radionuclide X-ray fluorescence using the 17.47 keV bremsstrahlung of "1"4"7Pm/Mo. The bremsstrahlung line excites the 8.63 keV characteristic K#alpha# line of Zn contained in the adhesive layer of the plaster as a filling material in the form of ZnO. In homogeneous adhesive layers the Zn content is proportional to surface density. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Statistical detail is given of the electricity generation and transmission systems in the UK. Breakdown by type of station, by fuel and the proportion generated by others apart from the generating or area boards is presented. Figures are provided for the various high voltage transmission lines in terms of route and circuit length as well as the number of towers and the capacity of mains transformers.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Individuals with male factor infertility resulting from idiopathic oligo-, astheno- or teratozoospermia are frequently offered IVF in an attempt to increase their chances of having a child. A concern remains whether these infertile males have an elevated risk of transmitting chromosomal abnormalities to their offspring. Sperm chromosomal complements from these men were assayed using the human sperm/hamster oocyte fusion system and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on sperm nuclei. For each of 5 infertile patients, 100 sperm karyotypes were analyzed and multicolour FISH analysis was performed on a minimum of 10,000 sperm nuclei for each chromosome-specific DNA probe for chromosomes 1 (pUC1.77), 12 (D12Z3), X (XC) and Y (DYZ3). As a group, the infertile patients showed increased frequencies of both numerical ({chi}{sup 2}=17.26, {proportional_to} <0.001) and total abnormalities ({chi}{sup 2}=7.78, {proportional_to} <0.01) relative ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A zinc-air battery using zinc regeneration electrolysis with propanol oxidation as a counter electrode reaction is reported in this paper. It possesses functions of both zincate reduction and electrochemical preparation, showing the potential for increasing the electronic energy utilization. Charge/discharge tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs reveal that when a nickel sheet plated with the high-H{sub 2}-overpotential metal, cadmium, was used as the negative substrate electrode, the dendritic formation and hydrogen evolution are suppressed effectively, and granular zinc deposits become larger but relatively dense with the increase of charge time. The performance of batteries is favorable even if the charge time is as long as 5 h at the current density of 20 mA cm{sup -2}. Better discharge performance is achieved using a 'cavity-opening' configuration for the discharge cell rather than a 'gas-introducing' ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The wear behaviour of metallic material is influenced by the friction force, which in turn, is governed by the hardness and oxidation kinetics of the mating surface. In view of this, present investigation is undertaken to find the influence of mating surface on the high temperature wear of 253 MA alloy. This alloy is developed for high temperature application. In this work 253 MA alloy is made to slide against two different types of counter face material, namely 100Cr6 steel and PM 1000 alloy, at five different temperatures. 100Cr6 steel gets soften with increase of temperature whereas PM 1000 alloy retains its strength even at high temperature. The friction coefficient and the thickness loss of 253 MA alloy is measured and compared against both variety of mating surfaces as function of temperatures. The morphology of the worn surfaces and the transverse section of the worn surfaces are examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM) to identify the material ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Counter-current two-phase flows of air-water in narrow rectangular channels with offset-strip fins have been experimentally investigated in a 760 mm long and 100 mm wide test section with 3.0 and 5.0 mm gap widths. The two-phase flow regime, channel-average void fractions and two-phase pressure gradients were studied. Flow regime transition occurred at lower superficial velocities of air than in the channels without fins. In the bubbly and slug flow regimes, elongated bubbles rose along the subchannel formed by fins without lateral movement. The critical void fraction for the bubbly-to-slug transition was about 0.14 for the 3 mm gap channel and 0.2 for the 5 mm gap channel, respectively. Channel-average void fractions in the channels with fins were almost the same as those in the channels without fins. Void fractions increased as the gap width increased, especially at high superficial velocity of air. The presence of fins enhanced the two-phase distribution ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper reported on a new cutting mechanism that cuts fresh wood into small pieces instead of wood chips in order to avoid the problem of fermentation that occurs in storage. The prototype cutting device performs a gradual and oblique cut. It consists of a large auger in which a knife is inserted on the outer edge of the helicoid. Tree trunks up to 20 cm in diameter are fed perpendicularly into the machine and are pushed along the axis where slices are cut off against a fixed sharp-edged counter blade. The cylinder enclosing the auger is the main frame of the machine, and is closed at one end, where a heavy flywheel delivers the energy coming from the tractor's power take-off (PTO). The wood pieces ranging in length from 4 to 19 cm exit through the opposite end. The auger is 700 mm in diameter with a 300 mm pitch spacing. The logs are pushed into the machine by counter-rotating rollers placed in the feed funnel. Tests were conducted ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The kinetics of calcium sulfate crystal growth is of importance in various fields, such as geochemistry, desalination technology, petroleum industry, and water and wastewater treatment. The seeded crystal growth rate of calcium sulfate dihydrate was measured as a function of supersaturation in NaCl electrolyte solutions from 0 to 6 m at temperatures of 25, 50, 70, and 90 C. The growth followed a second-order parabolic rate law with activation energies greater than 53 kJ/mol which suggested the surface reaction as the rate-limiting step. It was observed that the rate constant and the activation energy are solution composition dependent. The rate constant increases with NaCl concentration up to 3 molal and then begins to fall slightly. The activation energy dropped from 61 kJ/mol in the pure Ca-SO[sub 4]H[sub 2]O system to 53 kJ/mol in 3.0 m NaCl solutions. The electrolyte effect was similar to the crystal solubility behavior in aqueous electrolyte solutions resulting from the variation ...

Science.gov (United States)

Sperm competition occurs when a female copulates with two or more males and the sperm of those males compete within the female's reproductive tract to fertilize her eggs. The frequent occurrence of sperm competition has forced males of many species to develop different strategies to overcome the sperm of competing males. A prevalent strategy is for males to increase their sperm investment (total number of sperm allocated by a male to a particular female) after detecting a risk of sperm competition. It has been shown that the proportion of sperm that one male contributes to the sperm pool of a female is correlated with the proportion of offspring sired by that male. Therefore, by increasing his sperm investment a male may bias a potential sperm competition in his favour. Here we show that male meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, increase their sperm investment when they mate in the presence of another male's odours. Such an increase in sperm ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This article describes in situ heating and observation of a LiNH{sub 2}-2LiH mixture in an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). The LiNH{sub 2}-2LiH mixture showed extensive morphological changes with heating and attendant hydrogen desorption. Static images and real-time movies were obtained during the dehydrogenation process. H{sub 2} evolution commences at {proportional_to}150 C (LiNH{sub 2} + 2LiH {yields} Li{sub 2}NH + H{sub 2} + LiH), and continues until {proportional_to}410 C. Dramatic morphological changes are observed at 220 and 410 C (Li{sub 2}NH + LiH {yields} Li{sub 3}N + H{sub 2}). The material converts to a microcrystalline phase at higher temperatures (>500 C). The observed H{sub 2} desorption and morphological changes occur at temperatures in good agreement with those measured by complementary analytical methods. This is the first time the major structural and morphological changes attendant on H{sub 2} loss ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Two important greenhouse gases, CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4}, are closely connected to the carbon cycling of wetlands. Although virgin wetlands are mostly carbon accumulating ecosystems, major proportion of the CO{sub 2} bound annually in photosynthesis is released back to the atmosphere. Main portion of the carbon cycling in wetlands is quite fast while a small proportion of carbon diffusing from soil is released from organic matter, which may be ten thousand years old. Methane is formed in the anaerobic layers of wetlands, from where it is released gradually to the atmosphere. The decomposition in anaerobic conditions is very slow, which means that usually only a few percent of the annual carbon cycling takes place as methane. Research on CO{sub 2} fluxes of different virgin and managed peatlands was the main topic of this project during the first phase of SILMU. The measurements were made during two seasons in varying conditions in c. 30 study ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The main drawback of Ni/YSZ anode supports for solid oxide fuel cell application is their low tolerance to reducing and oxidizing (RedOx) atmosphere changes, owing to the Ni/NiO volume variation. This work describes a structured approach based on design of experiments for optimizing the microstructure for RedOx stability enhancement. A full factorial hypercube design and the response surface methodology are applied with the variables and their variation range defined as: (1) NiO proportion (40-60wt% of the ceramic powders), (2) pore-former proportion (0-30wt% corresponding to 0-64vol.%), (3) NiO particle size (0.5-8mm) and (4) 8YSZ particle size (0.6-9mm). To obtain quadratic response models, 25 different compositions were prepared forming a central composite design. The measured responses...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Experiments on aqueous TiO{sup 2} photocatalytic reaction characteristics of 4 nitrogen-containing and 12 aromatic organic compounds were carried out. Based on the values calculated for the distribution of ionic species and atomic charge, the characteristics of their photocatalytic decomposition were estimated. It was shown that the dependence of decomposition of the N-containing compounds were linearly proportional to their nitrogen atomic charge values, while that of the aromatic compounds were inversely proportional. The effects of aqueous pH, oxygen content and concentration on the TiO{sup 2} photocatalytic characteristics of EDTA-Cu(II) and EDTA-Fe(III) were experimentally investigated. All EDTA systems were decomposed better in the pH range of 2.5{approx}3.0 and with more dissolved oxygen. These results could be applied to a unit process for removal of organic impurities dissolved in a source water of the system water, and for treatment ...

CERN Document Server

We report on the results of a simultaneous monitoring campaign employing eight Chandra X-ray (0.5-10 keV) and six VLA/EVLA (8.4 GHz) radio observations of NGC 4051 over seven months. Evidence for compact jets is observed in the 8.4 GHz radio band; This builds on mounting evidence that jet production may be prevalent even in radio-quiet Seyferts. Assuming comparatively negligible local diffuse emission in the nucleus, the results also demonstrate an inverse correlation of L_radio proportional to L_X-ray ^(-0.72+/-0.04) . Current research linking the mass of supermassive black holes and stellar-mass black holes in the "low/hard" state to X-ray luminosities and radio luminosities suggest a "fundamental plane of accretion onto black holes" that has a positive correlation of L_radio proportional to L_X-ray^(0.67+/-0.12) . Our simultaneous results differ from this relation by more than 11 sigma, indicating that a separate mode of accretion and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An automatic loading roller for transmitting torque in traction drive devices in manipulator arm joints includes a two-part camming device having a first cam portion rotatable in place on a shaft by an input torque and a second cam portion coaxially rotatable and translatable having a rotating drive surface thereon for engaging the driven surface of an output roller with a resultant force proportional to the torque transmitted. Complementary helical grooves in the respective cam portions interconnected through ball bearings interacting with those grooves effect the rotation and translation of the second cam portion in response to rotation of the first. 14 figs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomson scattering is the process in which a low-energy photon scatters from a free electron. When a laser pulse propagates through a plasma, the spectrum of the scattered light due to the Thomson scattering is proportional to the power spectrum of the electron density fluctuations, i.e., dynamic form factor, from which various plasma parameters can be inferred, such as electron temperature and plasma flow velocity. After years of development. Thomson scattering has now become a powerful diagnostic tool of plasma physics. (authors)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Effect of strain rate, temperature and grain size in the climb-controlled dislocation creep region for AZ31 magnesium alloy was examined at lower temperature of {proportional_to}473 K. The flow stress was not affected by the difference in grain size. The strain rate sensitivity, m, was obtained 0.14 and 0.2 at low temperatures in high strain rate and at high temperature in low strain rate, respectively. It was found that the notion of effective diffusivity could express the dominant diffusion process during climb-controlled dislocation creep behavior uniquely. (orig.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Double-crystal high-resolution x-ray fluorescence spectrometry was applied to the state analysis of sulfur in coal and related fly ash. For total sulfur, a proportional relationship exists between fluorescence intensities and the analytical values obtained by the oxygen-combustion method. Two oxidation states of sulfur were identified by a least square curve fitting method, by assuming that the spectrum profile is identical for each sulfur state but the intensity and position are different. The chemical state of sulfur in coal and remaining in fly ash is discussed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Bragg Curve Spectrometer (BCS) is an ionization chamber long enough to stop particles of interest. Particles enter through the cathode window and leave an ionization track parallel to the electric field. The ionization electrons drift through a Frisch grid and are collected on an anode. The anode current, as a function of time, is split and used as input for two amplifiers, one with a long integration time constant for energy measurement, and one with a short time constant to pick off the maximum ionization or Bragg peak. The Bragg peak, which is proportional to the nuclear charge, is used for particle identification. We have constructed and tested several versions of the BCS. The results are described.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In the Aqueous Self-Cooled Blanket (ASCB) concept, an aqueous "6Li solution in a metallic structure is used as a shielding-breeding blanket for fusion reactors. The experimental results of this study indicate that the radiolytic gas production in an ASCB will be proportional to the absorbed radiation energy. The observed radiation chemical yields allow the preliminary estimation of the radiolysis effects for a specific ASCB design. Contrary to the theoretical predictions, the use of hydrogen as a cover gas at up to 1 MPa had no measurable effect on the radiolytic gas production. Probably it will thus not be possible to suppress the radiolytic decomposition of a low-pressure ASCB by the addition of hydrogen. Catalytic recombination will be required. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A process is claimed for selectively preparing a mixture of two-carbon atom oxygenated hydrocarbons, namely, acetic acid, ethanol and acetaldehyde, by continuously contacting a gaseous reaction mixture containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide with a solid catalyst comprising rhodium in combination with one or more alkali metals selected from the group consisting of lithium, potassium, cesium and rubidium at reaction conditions correlated so as to favor the formation of a substantial proportion of such two-carbon atom products.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Posttraumatic tibia valga is a well-recognized complication following fracture of the upper tibial metaphysis in young children. We present a case of a child who developed a valgus deformity following fracture of the proximal tibia and fibula in which quantitative bone scintigraphy at 5 months after injury demonstrated increased uptake at the proximal tibial growth plate with proportionally greater uptake on the medial side. This finding suggests that the valgus deformity in this patient was due to a relative increase in vascularity and consequent overgrowth of the medial portion of the proximal tibial physis.

Science.gov (United States)

The viability of osteocytes can be demonstrated in sawn decalcified sections of bone by their lactate dehydrogenase activity. In the cancellous bone of the femoral head, the proportion of lacunae containing viable osteocytes decreased from 88 +/- 7% (mean +/- SD) at 10-29 years to 58 +/- 12% (P Ultimate compressive strength did not correlate with osteocyte viability. In the femoral head there is gradual, age-related reduction in osteocyte viability that can be more pronounced in hip fracture. Osteocyte death may affect bone quality by impairing repair of fatigue damage. PMID:8275364

CERN Document Server

The magnetic field strengths of most millisecond pulsars(MSP) are about $10^{8-9}$ Gauss. The accretion induced magnetic field evolution scenario here concludes that the field decay is invesely related to the accreted mass and the minimum field or bottom field stops at about $10^{8}$ Gauss if accreted with the Eddington accretion rate, which is proportionally related with the accretion rate as $\\dot{M}^{1/2}$. The possibility of the low field $\\sim 10^{7}$ Gauss MSPs has been proposed for the future radio observation.

Science.gov (United States)

A plethora of experimental studies use mtDNA as a marker of demographic processes without questioning the possibility that selection may bias their interpretations. We studied four lines of Drosophila melanogaster that have a standardized nuclear DNA but variable mtDNA. We completed the sequencing of the mitochondrial genomes (excluding the A+T rich region) and compiled the differences. We then assayed male influence on oviposition, starvation resistance, lipid proportion and physical activity. We discuss these results in terms of the known differences between the lines and conclude that naturally occurring mtDNA variants in D. melanogaster are expressed at the level of the organismal phenotype. PMID:21757031

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The magnetic excitations of the Kondo compound CePd{sub 2}Si{sub 2} below its Neel temperature (T{sub N} = 10 K) have been studied by inelastic neutron scattering. At T = 1.6 K the data are best represented by two dispersive inelastic modes. Their linewidth ({proportional to} 0.5 meV) indicates substantial broadening, which is ascribed to Kondo-type local fluctuations. (orig.).

Science.gov (United States)

Coke petrography could be useful for improving blast furnace coke properties and for solving cokemaking production problems. To do this, quantitative correlations between coke structure, coal properties and carbonization conditions, and coke properties are useful, if not essential. Some examples of correlations of this type were presented in this paper. Specifically, microstructural parameters of cokes produced in Inland Steel Company's pilot scale coke oven were correlated with the rank and blend proportions of the parent coal, with the reactivity of the coke, and with the ASTM stability of cokes prepared from single coals.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In an ionization chamber with the electric field parallel to the particle trajectories, the time dependence of the anode signal contains all the information about the energy and the nuclear charge of the ionizing particle. By proper pulse shaping with a long and a short time constant the total ionization charge and the ionization charge integrated around the Bragg maximum, respectively, can be obtained. The former signal is proportional to the total energy, whereas the latter allows the nuclear charge to be deduced directly. An energy resolution of 0.4% and a Z resolution ..delta..Z/Z = 1/82 was achieved for 130 MeV /sup 32/S ions and argon-methane as the stopping medium.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Characteristics of lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) elements were studied by directly irradiating them with a 400 MeV/n Xe beam. The elements were sensitive to 10{sup 4} Xe ions and their output amplitudes were proportional to the beam intensity. An ensemble of those output amplitudes displayed a Bragg-curve-like response towards the range of 400 MeV/n Xe ion. We discuss the potential of PZT elements as a radiation detector and their application to high-intensity and high-energy detectors. (author)

CERN Document Server

We have implemented a virtual Young's double slit experiment for hard X-ray photons with micro-fabricated bi-prisms. We observe fringe patterns with a scintillator, and quantify interferograms by detecting X-ray fluorescence from a scanned 30nm Cr metal film. The observed intensities are best modeled with a near-field, Fresnel analysis. The maximum fringe number in the overlap region is proportional to the ratio of real to imaginary parts refractive index of the prism material. The horizontal and vertical transverse coherence lengths at beamline APS 8-ID are measured.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The processes of lung growth, injury, and repair are characterized by alterations in fibroblast synthesis and interstitial distribution of extracellular matrix components. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), which is postulated to play a role in modulating lung repair, alters the distribution of several matrix components such as collagen and fibronectin. We studied the effect of TGF-beta on the synthesis and distribution of the various glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and whether these effects may explain its role in lung repair. Human diploid lung fibroblasts (IMR-90) were exposed to various concentrations of TGF-beta (0-5 nM) for variable periods of time (0-18 h). Newly synthesized GAGs were labeled with either (3H)glucosamine or (35S)sulfate. Individual GAGs were separated by size exclusion chromatography after serial enzymatic and chemical digestions and quantitated using scintillation counting. There was a dose-dependent increase in total GAG synthesis with maximal levels ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

N/C and S/C ratios show only minor differences between asphaltenes and coal on this basis, the asphaltenes continue to appear to be good surrogates for the characterization of organic acid rain precursors in coal. Alkylmethoxythiophene carboxylic acids (ATCA) are detected in all dichromate oxidation products analyzed to date. Relative concentrations of ATCA compounds are directly proportional to the sample`s bulk organic sulfur contents. Concentrations of ATCA compounds in oxidation products decrease upon repeated oxidation. This may indicate that the thiophenic groups tend to be located in external positions on the coal macromolecular structure and a high proportion of them can be stripped away with only one mild oxidation step. If true, this may make industrial-scale removal of organic sulfur easier than expected. Using analytical micropyrolysis-gas chromatography with a sulfur-selective flame photometric detector, it is possible to easily ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The development of a flat response small size, real time neutron dosimeter and ratemeter for the energy range of about 1 eV to 14 MeV is presented. This dosimeter is adequate for measuring neutron dose equivalents of 3 mRem up to 100 Rem and dose rates of 300 mRem/h to 50 Rem/h or more. The dosimeter consists of four Si surface barrier detectors. _1_0B radiators are placed in front of three of the detectors and a polyethylene radiator is placed in front of the fourth one. The _1_0B pellets are used for dose equivalent measurements in the energy range 1 eV to proportional1 MeV. The polyethylene radiator, made in two parts having thicknesses of 10 and 100 mg/cm_2 in an area ratio of 8 to 1, flattens the response to +-40% in the energy range 1-14 MeV. The signal-to-background ratio for different Si surface barrier detectors and for _1_0B polyethylene radiators was investigated. This dosimeter can give a rough estimation of the neutron spectrum by separating the total ...

Science.gov (United States)

AbstractOBJECTIVETo provide an overview of the 2009 edition of the Rourke Baby Record (RBR), which incorporates recent research in the literature relating to preventive health care for children aged 0 to 5 years.QUALITY OF EVIDENCERecommendations are identified as supported by good, fair, or consensus evidence, according to the classification of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.MAIN MESSAGENew information and recommendations are given for growth monitoring, nutrition, developmental surveillance, physical examination maneuvers, immunization schedules, and advice for parents. Anticipatory guidance updates relate to injury prevention, infant swaddling, literacy facilitation, nonparental child care, parenting skills programs, serum lead levels, over-the-counter cough and cold medications, pacifiers, antipyretics, insect repellents, and dental care and oral health. The 2009 RBR is available in English and French in both National and Ontario versions and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

One of the design targets for the ITER Tokamak Exhaust Processing system is not to lose more than 10{sup -5} g h{sup -1} into the Normal Vent Detritiation System of the Tritium Plant. The plasma exhaust gas, therefore, needs to be processed in a way that an overall tritium removal efficiency of about 10{sup 8} is reached. Such a high decontamination factor can only be achieved by multistage processes. The third step of the three step CAPER process developed at the TLK is based on a so-called permeator catalyst (PERMCAT) reactor, a direct combination of a Pd/Ag permeation membrane and a catalyst bed. The PERMCAT principle is based on isotopic swamping in a counter current mode. Previous tritium experiments employing laboratory scale PERMCAT reactors have revealed decontamination factors as high as 10{sup 5} for the third CAPER step. First tritium tests with a technical scale PERMCAT reactor led to similar decontamination factors and clearly demonstrated that the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Phase relations in the ternary system Ce-Pd-Si have been established for the isothermal section at 800degreeC based on X-ray powder diffraction and EMPA techniques on about 130 alloys, which were prepared by arc-melting under argon or powder reaction sintering. Eighteen ternary compounds have been observed to participate in the phase equilibria at 800degreeC. Atom order was determined by direct methods from X-ray single-crystal counter data for the crystal structures of t8-Ce3Pd4Si4 (U3Ni4Si4-type, Immm; a=0.41618(1), b=0.42640(1), c=2.45744(7)nm), t16-Ce2Pd14Si (own structure type, P4/nmm; a=0.88832(2), c=0.69600(2)nm) and also for t18-CePd1-xSix (x=0.07; FeB-type, Pnma; a=0.74422(5), b=0.45548(3), c=0.58569(4)nm). Rietveld refinements established the atom arrangement in the structures of...

CERN Document Server

We examine the star clusters in the irregular galaxy NGC 4449. We use a near-infrared spectrum and broad-band images taken with the HST to place a limit of 8--15 Myrs on the age of the bright central ojbect in NGC 4449. Its luminosity and size suggest that it is comparable to young super star clusters. However, there is a peculiar nucleated-bar structure at the center of this star cluster, and we suggest that this structure is debris from the interaction that has produced the counter-rotating gas systems and extended gas streamers in the galaxy. From the images we identify 60 other candidate compact star clusters in NGC 4449. Fourteen of these could be background elliptical galaxies or old globular star clusters. Of the star clusters, three, in addition to the central object, are potentially super star clusters, and many others are comparable to the populous clusters found in the LMC. The star clusters span a large range in ages with no obvious peak in cluster ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The goal of this DOE-supported exhibition is to demystify Einstein`s formula E = mc{sup 2} by illustrating the interchangeability of matter (m) and energy (E), c{sup 2} being the exchange rate. The exhibition has two major parts, {open_quotes}matter into energy{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}energy into matter{close_quotes}, plus a video to connect them. {open_quotes}Matter into energy{close_quotes} has now been completed and has been placed on the museum floor. Positrons from a {sup 22}Na source are annihilated to produce gamma rays that are caught in NaI detectors. The viewer can alter the alignment of the detectors and observe the consequences for the rates of single and coincident counts. The viewer can also observe the effects of placing absorbers in front of the counters. Prototype explanatory graphics were placed around the exhibit and those will probably be changed after we have some experience with their effectiveness. The connecting video is in the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Copper(II) complex coordinated with cyclam-type macrocyclic tetramine, C-meso-1,5,8,12-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (2Cdmc) has been synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallographic analysis and UV?Vis absorption spectra. Solved molecular structure of [Cu(2Cdmc)(H2O)]Cl2?2H2O (1) revealed that macrocyclic ligand 2Cdmc was in the most stable trans-III structure, but the C-methyl groups of 2Cdmc adopted energetically unfavorable axial configuration (C-axial). This complex 1 is the second example of complex of cyclam-type tetramine with only axially oriented C-methyl groups. This complex adopted five-coordinated square-pyramidal geometry with one water molecule occupying one of the two apical sites. Network of hydrogen bonds involving counter anions (Cl?...

Science.gov (United States)

The Vortec Cyclone Melting System (CMS) facility; to be located at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, is designed to treat soil contaminated with low levels of heavy metals and radioactive elements, as well as organic waste. The primary components of Vortec`s CMS are a counter rotating vortex (CRV) reactor and cyclone melter. In the CMS process, granular glass forming ingredients and other feedstocks are introduced into the CRV reactor where the intense CRV mixing allows the mixture to achieve a stable reaction and rapid heating of the feedstock materials. Organic contaminants in the feedstock are effectively oxidized, and the inert inorganic solids are melted. The University of North Dakota Energy {ampersand} Environmental Research Center (EERC) has been contacted to help in the development of sampling plans and to conduct the sampling at the facility. This document is written in a format that assumes that the EERC will perform ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This human investigation of lead absorption from the lungs utilized two forms of lead, lead chloride and lead hydroxide; the former was used in picogram amounts and the latter at microgram levels. These two species of lead were selected in an attempt to simulate the range of physicochemical properties found in atmospheric lead (urban air). Aerosols labeled with lead-203 were made of comparable aerodynamic size by using sodium chloride as the deposition-determining aerosol. After brief, mouthpiece exposures, 17 subjects were followed by serial counting with a thoracic array of scintillation detectors and two leg counters. Serial blood samples were also taken. The two exposure groups showed similar total deposition values (23 vs 26%) and the same biological retention halftimes, viz., 22.6 hr. When the retention data were corrected for blood-borne /sup 203/Pb, the biological halftimes for lung lead retention averaged 13.1 and 14.2 hr, respectively, and were not ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pharmacokinetics is studied, radiation doses to patients when using domestic thallium-201 chloride in diagnosis of the heart ischemic disease is estimated; contribution into the total dose of thallium-201 (1.5 %), thallium-201 (0.2 %) and lead-201 + lead-203 (0.05 %) radionuclide impurities is also determined. Internal doses were estimated for a heterogeneous phantom of a standard man; the calculations were carried out using a computer. Scanning of patients which were treated with radiopharmaceuticals to be diagnosed was carried out using a whole body counter and gamma-chamber. Large intestine, kidneys and thyroid are the critical organs when using thallium-201 chloride. The highest contribution into the dose to organs and the whole body from thallium-200 and thallium-202 impurities being contained in thallium-201, doesn't exceed 8.6 %. The contribution into the dose from lead-201 and lead-203 may be ignored. Doses from thallium-199 preparation per activity unit ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A major problem in the maintenance and rehabilitation of pipelines is the removal of the original coating system, particularly in cases where the coating contains sticky components or adhesives. It has been found that such coatings can be removed by use of a cleaning machine with a plurality of counter-rotating carbide-tipped tools mounted to an oscillating head embracing the pipe, and which is operable at the same time to travel along the length of the pipe. Such a machine can be designed to effect a positive, gentle milling operation on the pipe surface to remove the coating efficiently and at relatively low power consumption. A particular advantage of the pipe cleaning machine of the invention is that its design and manner of operation allows it to be used in the field to clean an uncovered section of pipeline, for example a natural gas pipeline, without the requirement of removing the pipeline section from the ditch in which it is seated. The machine of the ...

CERN Document Server

PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature in a wide energy range protons: 80 MeV-700 GeV, electrons 50 MeV-400 GeV). Main objective is the study of the antimatter component: antiprotons (80 MeV-190 GeV), positrons (50 MeV-270 GeV) and search for antimatter with a precision of the order of 10^-8). The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched on June, 15, 2006 in a 350*600 km orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. The detector is composed of a series of scintillator counters arranged at the extremities of a permanent magnet spectrometer to provide charge, Time-of-Flight and rigidity information. Lepton/hadron identification is performed by a Silicon-Tungsten calorimeter and a Neutron detector placed at the bottom of the device. An Anticounter system is used offline to reject false triggers coming from the satellite. In self-trigger mode the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Nuclear Smuggling International Technical Working Group (ITWG) is an international group of nuclear forensic experts that cooperate to deter the illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. The objective of the ITWG is to provide a common approach and effective technical solutions to governments who request assistance in nuclear forensics. The ITWG was chartered in 1996 and since that time more than 28 nations and organizations have participated in 9 international meetings and 2 analytical round-robin trials. Soon after its founding the ITWG adopted a general framework to guide nuclear forensics investigations that includes recommendations for nuclear crime scene security and analysis, the best application of radioanalytical methods, the conduct of traditional forensic analysis of contaminated materials, and effective data analysis to interpret the history of seized nuclear materials. This approach has been adopted by many nations as they respond to incidents of illicit nuclear ...

CERN Document Server

Context: The colliding-wind binary Eta Car exhibits soft X-ray thermal emission that varies strongly around periastron, and non-thermal emission seen in hard X-rays and gamma-rays. Aims: To definitively identify Eta Car as the source of the hard X-ray emission, to examine how changes in the 2-10 keV band influence changes in the hard X-ray band, and to understand more clearly the mechanisms producing the non-thermal emission using new INTEGRAL observations obtained close to periastron. Methods: A Chandra observation encompassing the ISGRI error circle was analysed, and all other soft X-ray sources (including the outer shell of Eta Car itself) were discarded as likely counter-parts. New hard X-ray images of Eta Car were studied close to periastron, and compared to previous observations far from periastron. Results: The INTEGRAL component, when represented by a power law (with a photon index of 1.8), would produce more emission in the Chandra band than observed from ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper the authors present a design study on the longitudinal dynamics of a relativistic klystron two-beam accelerator (RK-TBA) scheme which has been proposed as a power source candidate for a 1 TeV next linear collider (NLC). They address the issue of maintaining stable power output at desired level for a 300-m long TBA with 150 extraction cavities and present their simulation results to demonstrate that it can be achieved by inductively detuning the extraction cavities to counter the space charge debunching effect on the drive beam. They then carry out simulation study to show that the beam bunches desired by the RK-TBA can be efficiently obtained by first chopping an initially uniform beam of low energy into a train of beam bunches with modest longitudinal dimension and then using the open-quotes adiabatic captureclose quotes scheme to bunch and accelerate these beam bunches into tight bunches at the operating energy of the drive beam. The authors have ...

Science.gov (United States)

Aimed at some typical constraints of police dogs and robots used in the areas of reconnaissance and counterterrorism currently, the multifunction anti-terrorism robotic system based on police dog has been introduced. The system is made up of two parts: portable commanding device and police dog robotic system. The portable commanding device consists of power supply module, microprocessor module, LCD display module, wireless data receiving and dispatching module and commanding module, which implements the remote control to the police dogs and takes real time monitor to the video and images. The police dog robotic system consists of microprocessor module, micro video module, wireless data transmission module, power supply module and offence weapon module, which real time collects and transmits video and image data of the counter-terrorism sites, and gives military attack based on commands. The system combines police dogs" biological intelligence with micro robot. Not ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

During 17 years since the start of operation of the first commercial LWR in Japan, many LWRs have experienced various corrosion damages, but the causes of them were clarified, and the counter-measures were executed effectively in actual plants, as the results, the cause of corrosion damage decreased remarkably, and now, the high rate of operation has become to be maintained. In this paper, the major cases of corrosion damage experienced in LWRs in Japan and foreign countries, the causes of them and the countermeasures, the problems of hereafter and so on are described. The corrosion damage of metallic materials in the environment of LWRs occurs in the parts in contact with high temperature, high pressure water and steam, such as stainless steel piping in the primary cooling system of BWRs, and nickel alloy heating tubes of steam generators, carbon steel feed water piping and zirconium alloy fuel cladding tubes in PWRs. Recently, accompanying the advance of LWR ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The present article describes the specialities in various chemical process equipment fabricated by Hitachi. It introduces the thin-film evaporator which heats, vaporizes and concentrates high viscosity fluid and slurry under thin-film conditions, the centrifugal extractor which uses a high speed rotating rotor to separate two kinds of immiscible liquids effectively in counter current contact conditions under a gravitational force ranging from 2,000G to 4,500G, the process gas boiler and heat pipe equipment which recovers exhausted heat effectively from various plants, the furnace and quench systems which are applied to olefin plants, EDC cracking and steam reforming, and the equipment which has been supplied to chemical plants operated under severe conditions, such as high temperature, high pressure and corrosive atmosphere. It was demonstrated that these technologies and know-hows accumulated from Hitachi's extensive experiences in chemical process ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heat transfer augmentation in a rib-roughened duct is affected by the rib configurations, such as rib height, angle of attack, shape, rib to rib pitch, and aspect ratio of a duct. These have been the main subjects in studying the average heat transfer and the friction loss of the fully developed flow. Investigating distributions of local heat transfer coefficients and flow patterns in a duct with the rib turbulators is necessary to find the characteristics of heat transfer augmentation and to decide the optimal configurations of ribs. In the present study the numerical analyses and the mass transfer experiments are performed to understand the flow through a rib roughened duct and the heat transfer characteristics with various angles of attack of ribs. A pair of counter-rotating secondary flow in a duct has a main effect on the lateral distributions of local mass transfer coefficients. Downwash of the rotating secondary flow, reattachment of main flow between ribs ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to investigate the electrodeposition of Eu and Al in an LiCl-KCl eutectic melt containing Eu2+ and Al3+ at 450 deg. C. In order to deposit a pure Eu and Al alloy, the stoichiometrically lower concentration of Al3+ than that of Eu2+ and Al wires as a counter electrode was introduced into the bath of LiCl-KCl melt for the electrodeposition. The electrodeposition takes place at a potential more negative than -1.95 V vs. Ag|Ag+ while the deposit is oxidized at more positive potential than -1.92 V. Two new reduction peaks and an anodic peak on a W working electrode were observed at -2.39 V, -2.42 V, and -2.1 V, vs. Ag|Ag+, respectively, suggesting that the potential window of the Al system in LiCl-KCl melt can be extended to -2.43 V vs. Ag|Ag+. The EDS analysis indicated that AlEu can be deposited at the potential more negative than -2.37 V.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A unified model is presented for a class of combined energy systems, in which the systems mainly consist of a heat engine, a combustor and a counter-flow heat exchanger and the heat engine in the systems may have different thermodynamic cycle modes such as the Brayton cycle, Carnot cycle, Stirling cycle, Ericsson cycle, and so on. Not only the irreversibilities of the heat leak and finite-rate heat transfer but also the different cycle modes of the heat engine are considered in the model. On the basis of Newton's law, expressions for the overall efficiency and power output of the combined energy system with an irreversible Brayton cycle are derived. The maximum overall efficiency and power output and other relevant parameters are calculated. The general characteristic curves of the system are presented for some given parameters. Several interesting cases are discussed in detail. The results obtained here are very general and significant and can be used to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The main objectives of this project are to quantify the changes in fracture porosity and multi-phase transport properties as a function of confining stress. These changes will be integrated into conceptual and numerical models that will improve our ability to predict and optimize fluid transport in fractured system. This report details our progress on: (a) developing the direct experimental measurements of fracture aperture and topology and fluid occupancy using high-resolution x-ray micro-tomography, (b) counter-current fluid transport between the matrix and the fracture, (c) studying the effect of confining stress on the distribution of fracture aperture and two-phase flow, and (d) characterization of shear fractures and their impact on multi-phase flow. The three-dimensional surface that describes the large-scale structure of the fracture in the porous medium can be determined using x-ray micro-tomography with significant accuracy. Several fractures have been ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The nuclear structure of A {proportional_to} 100 nuclei has been studied in the frame of this thesis with a recently developed {beta} - {gamma} - {gamma} triple coincidence fast timing technique and different models such as shell model, hydrodynamic model, Nilsson and particle-rotor models. This technique which allows the measurement of the level lifetimes in the ps range has been applied at JOSEF at the research reactor DIDO of KFA Juelich in studes of the short-lived neutron-rich nuclei in the A {approx_equal} 100 region. Lifetimes of level in {sup 96},{sup 98},{sup 100} ZR, {sup 99},{sup 101}-{sup 104} Nb, {sup 100}-{sup 105} Mo have been measured, which are in many cases completely new, and otherwise more precise than previously published data. From the lifetimes of the members of rotational bands, the size of the nuclear deformations has been deduced. (orig./HSI). [Deutsch] Im Rahmen dieser Doktorarbeit wurde die Kernstruktur der A ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is an immune sensor for gram-positive bacterial cell wall components. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TLR2 gene that impair its function may, therefore, influence the risk and outcomes of gram-positive bacterial infections. In a cohort of 694 liver transplant recipients, we assessed the TLR2 SNP that is translated into an amino acid substitution of arginine for glutamine at position 753 (R753Q), and we found that its presence was associated with the clinical characteristics and outcomes of gram-positive bacterial infections. The proportions of patients with the TLR2 R753Q SNP did not significantly differ between those with gram-positive bacterial infections and those without gram-positive bacterial infections (9.6% versus 9.6%, P = 0.999)....

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Polyurethane (PU) foam was combined with protein drug-loaded pH-sensitive alginate-bentonite hydrogel for wound dressings. Alginate is a linear copolymer composed of 1?4-linked ?-D-mannuronic acid (M) and its c-5-epimer ?-Lguluronic acid (G). The amount of (M) and (G) and their sequential distribution are varied depending on the alginate source. Soluble sodium alginate can become a hydrogel when cross-linked with divalent cations and has widespread applications in the food, drink, pharmaceutical and bioengineering industries. Recently, it has been also proposed as a biomaterial for drug delivery systems. Bentonites are the natural inorganic polymers consisting of a large proportion of expandable clay minerals with a three-layer structure such as montmorillonite, beidellite, nontronite, etc...

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Extruded and hot-rolled 200 C {proportional_to} 500 C AZ31B plates were studied their texture using ODFs analysis. The as-extruded specimen has the strongest intensity of (0001)-ND fiber and 300 C and 400 C hot-rolled ones have the next, but the 200 C hot-rolled one has the lowest intensity. Compared with the corresponding tensile properties, this feature evidents that a pronounced (0001) basal texture will reduce ductility of AZ31B alloy. The ODFs results also indicate that (05 anti 52)- and (01 anti 10)-ND fibers are related to the ductility of AZ31B alloy. (orig.)

CERN Document Server

The Proportional-Integral-Derivative Controller is widely used in industries for process control applications. Fractional-order PID controllers are known to outperform their integer-order counterparts. In this paper, we propose a new technique of fractional-order PID controller synthesis based on peak overshoot and rise-time specifications. Our approach is to construct an objective function, the optimization of which yields a possible solution to the design problem. This objective function is optimized using two popular bio-inspired stochastic search algorithms, namely Particle Swarm Optimization and Differential Evolution. With the help of a suitable example, the superiority of the designed fractional-order PID controller to an integer-order PID controller is affirmed and a comparative study of the efficacy of the two above algorithms in solving the optimization problem is also presented.

Science.gov (United States)

Spontaneous radiation emitted from relativistic electrons undergoing betatron motion in a plasma-focusing channel is analyzed, and applications to plasma wake-field accelerator experiments and to the ion-channel laser (ICL) are discussed. Important similarities and differences between a free electron laser (FEL) and an ICL are delineated. It is shown that the frequency of spontaneous radiation is a strong function of the betatron strength parameter a(beta), which plays a role similar to that of the wiggler strength parameter in a conventional FEL. For a(beta) > or approximately 1, radiation is emitted in numerous harmonics. Furthermore, a(beta) is proportional to the amplitude of the betatron orbit, which varies for every electron in the beam. The radiation spectrum emitted from an electron beam is calculated by averaging the single-electron spectrum over the electron distribution. This leads to a frequency broadening of the radiation spectrum, which places ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The effects of vibration isolation of the new type of mechanical damper applied to a single-degree-of-freedom system and a simple beam are discussed numerically and experimentally. The damper is composed of a ball screw, a flywheel and centrifugal brakes, and possesses nonlinear characteristics. The Continuous System Simulation Language is used for the digital simulations of the nonlinear vibration systems. The results may be summarized as follows: (1) The damper is effective for suppressing the amplitude of the single-degree-of-freedom system as well as of the beam at the point of attachment of the damper, at the resonances. (2) The damper approaches a snubber for smaller values of lead L of the ball screw (or larger values of moment of inertia J of the flywheel), and acts like a damper whose damping force is proportional to the square of the velocity for larger values of L (or smaller values of J). (author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

It is found that below 80 K o-TaS_3 demonstrates spontaneous resistance fluctuations growing when the temperature is decreasing. The average relaxation time, #tau#_0, obtained from the noise spectra demonstrates activated behavior, #tau#_0 #propor to# exp(W/T), W #approx# 1300 K for 50 < or #approx# T < or #approx# 70 K. In the vicinity of the threshold the average frequency of the fluctuations, f_0, grows with increasing the voltage, revealing onset of the Froehlich current. log(f_0) is found to be proportional to the increase of conductivity. We conclude that the main source of the resistance fluctuations are thermally-assisted jumps of dislocations of the charge-density waves. (orig.).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

BackgroundSince implementation of the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD), the number of simultaneous liver-kidney transplantations (SLKT) has increased in the United States. However, predictors and survival benefit of SLKT compared to liver transplantation alone (LTA) are not well defined. MethodsOrgan Procurement and Transplantation Network data of patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 who had not been on dialysis while on the waiting list and underwent liver transplantation between 2002 and 2008 were analyzed. To identify predictors of undergoing SLKT versus LTA, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the association between...

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PurposeTo conduct a retrospective analysis within a large university teaching hospital, comparing outcomes between patients receiving either radical surgery or radiotherapy as curative treatment for bladder cancer.Patients and MethodsBetween March 1996 and December 2000, 169 patients were treated radically for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Data were collected from patient notes. Statistical analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to compare radiotherapy and surgical outcome data.ResultsThere was no difference in overall, cause-specific, and distant recurrence-free survival at 5 years between the two groups, despite the radiotherapy group being older (median age, 75.3 years vs. 68.2 years). There were 31 local bladder recurrences...

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One hypothesis for the decline of the North American greater (Aythya marila) and lesser (A. affinis) scaup population is that contaminant burdens acquired on wintering or staging areas impair reproduction or cause lethal or sublethal health effects. Recent studies have found increased selenium (Se) concentrations in scaup but have focused on the fall and spring staging periods. From January to March 2006 and December to March 2006 and 2007, we analyzed liver tissues collected from greater scaup wintering in western Lake Ontario for 16 trace elements. We also measured Se concentrations in greater scaup blood and Dreissenid mussel tissue. Se was the only trace element that occurred at increased concentrations (>10??g/g liver dry weight) in a substantial proportion (99%) of greater scaup live...

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Whilst unwashed preparations of biomass from a local brewery had an apparent maximum biosorption capacity for uranium of 360 mg/g (dry weight biomass) washing reduced this maximum to 150 mg/g. Homogenization of both biomass preparations and recovery of cellular debris had no significant effect on the maximum biosorption capacities although at lower equilibrium concentrations of uranium differences in the biosorption capacities were detected. When unwashed biomass was retained by a semi-permeable membrane 40% of uranium used in the experiments precipitated outside that membrane. Therefore a significant proportion of the uranium removed from solution, and previously attributed to biosorption by the yeast biomass, resulted from precipitation brought about by interaction with low molecular weight components loosely associated with the biomass. (Author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serum heat-stable alkaline phosphatase (HSAP) level in 649 cases of normal pregnancy and 164 cases of high-risk pregnancy is measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The results indicate that the HSAP level in normal pregnancy increased proportionally with gestation weeks (r = 0.9843). In 33 cases of pregnancy induced hypertension and 21 cases of intrauterine fetal growth retardation, the HSAP level is significantly low. In 7 cases of neonatal asphyxia and 26 cases of fetal distress, the HSAP level in the mother's serum is also low. In 53 cases of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, the HSAP level is similar to those of normal pregnancy. This study illustrates that HSAP RIA can play an important role in the evaluation of placental function and fetal prognosis for cases of high-risk pregnancy.

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The non-perturbative validity of covariant BRST-quantization of gauge theories on compact Euclidean space-time manifolds is reviewed. BRST-quantization is related to the construction of a Topological Quantum Field Theory (TQFT) of Witten type on the gauge group. The criterion for the non-perturbative validity of the quantization is that the partition function of the corresponding TQFT does not vanish and that its (equi-variant) BRST-algebra is free of anomalies. I sketch the construction of a TQFT whose partition function is proportional to the generalized Euler-characteristic of the coset space S U (n){sub gauge} / SU(n){sub global} with an associated equi-variant BRST-algebra that manifestly preserves translational symmetry. Some non-perturbative consequences of this approach are discussed. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Optimum processing parameters were searched for the pilot-scale production of wood-polyester composites by irradiation of resin-impregnated wood material. The radiation initiation of the following systems were examined in wood and without wood matrix: methyl methacrylate, mixture of styrene and acrylonitryle, and their combination with unsaturated polyester. In the most cases the over-all rate of the complete polymerization process in wood matrix is proportional to the square root of the initiation rate. The parameters of the radiation technology of wood-polyester composites have been determined, using 260 TBq (7 kCi) "6"0Co radiation source. A pilot plant has been constructed using an underwater irradiation system of 1.85 PBq (50 kCi) "6"0Co. The successful production rate of 200 kg wood-polyester composite per day, as well as the application tests have demonstrated the technical feasibility of this new structural material. (author).

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An automotive powertrain includes a conventional piston engine, a continuously variable ratio transmission, an engine speed sensor and a feedback control system. The control system adjusts both the transmission ratio and the throttle valve in the engine carburetor or fuel metering system in response to the position of the accelerator pedal and in response to the crankshaft speed as measured by the engine sensor. The transmission provides extreme overdrive gear ratios which allow the engine to be operated at wide open throttle even during moderate cruising, and, in addition, the engine carburetor or fuel metering system is calibrated to deliver to the engine a stoichiometric air-fuel mixture which is combined, before combustion, with a special proportion of recirculated exhaust gas. As a result of extensive wide open throttle engine operation with the above mentioned intake charge composition, combustion variables are optimized to produce exceptional fuel economy.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thermoluminescence of inorganic dust extract from herbs and spices has been demonstrated to be a useful method to discriminate irradiated food products as well as to estimate the total dose exposure. The time evolution of infrared stimulated luminescence has been systematically investigated in potassium feldspar and albite minerals subjected to different doses of gamma irradiation (ranging from 0 to 8 kGy). Experimental results reveal a 300-600 nm signal which is greatly intensified for irradiated samples, following the same irradiation dose dependence observed in thermoluminescence. The luminescence intensity disappears after few seconds of illumination, following a time evolution which is proportional to (1 + Bt)"-"P. The influence of both B and P factors upon the irradiation dose has been systematically analysed. (author)

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To determine the proportion of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving preventive health care according to US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations compared with a community-based population sample, with emphasis on dyslipidemia testing, given the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in RA patients. Patients with RA (ICD-9 code 714.0 at ?2 office visits with a rheumatologist) and a primary care physician (PCP) at the Geisinger Health System (GHS) were identified through electronic health records. The records were searched back from 3/31/08 for the length of time required to satisfy each outcome measure. Percentages were compared with population testing rates using the Pearson Chi-square test. Eight hundred and thirty-one RA patients were compared to 169,476 subjects...

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Objectives The optimal timing of pyeloplasty for children diagnosed with ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) after workup for antenatal hydronephrosis is disputed. We sought to examine the potential costs and clinical outcomes of treatment protocols featuring different indications for pediatric pyeloplasty using Markov models. Methods Cost and outcomes analysis using Markov modeling was performed for three treatment algorithms: medical management, immediate pyeloplasty (during the first year of life), and pyeloplasty after no improvement on imaging. The costs were determined from the perspective of the medical institution. The variables tracked during Markov model simulation included age at resolution of UPJO, the proportion of patients with worsened hydronephrosis, the number of pye...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors describe a new method which makes it possible to determine the radial distribution of the diffuse component of galactic gamma rays outside the solar circle. They use the observation that a good correlation exists between gamma-ray intensities and total column densities of the local interstellar gas and that the fractional column density of H_2<0.1 HI outside the solar circle. Thus the gamma-ray intensities are shown to be proportional to N(HI). The authors use the kinematics of the HI to determine the distances from which various fractions of the emission originate in the second and third galactic quadrants. Preliminary results of our analysis show that a significant flux of gamma rays originates from distances as large as 18 kpc from the galactic centre. (Auth.).

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The hybrid squeeze-film damper bearing with active control is proposed in this paper and the lubricating with couple stress fluid is also taken into consideration. The pressure distribution and the dynamics of a rigid rotor supported by such bearing are studied. A PD (proportional-plus-derivative) controller is used to stabilize the rotor-bearing system. Numerical results show that, due to the nonlinear factors of oil film force, the trajectory of the rotor demonstrates a complex dynamics with rotational speed ratio s. Poincare maps, bifurcation diagrams, and power spectra are used to analyze the behavior of the rotor trajectory in the horizontal and vertical directions under different operating conditions. The maximum Lyapunov exponent and fractal dimension concepts are used to determine ...

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Plants are capable of taking up nitrogen (N) in both organic and inorganic forms, so the concentrations and relative proportions of different N forms in soils are likely to be important determinants of their N nutrition. Therefore, there is a need for greater knowledge of the N profiles of soils. In the study presented here we examined the potential plant-available N in soils from four sites with various agricultural histories (one recently fertilized), using small tension lysimeters to collect free and bound amino acids and inorganic N forms in solution, with minimal soil disturbance and with intact plants present. Subsequent analysis showed that concentrations of free amino acids ranged from 0.1 to 12.7 ?M, whereas concentrations of bound amino acids were on average 50 times higher, and ...

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The Sputter coefficient of accelerated CO{sub 2} cluster ions hitting surfaces of various materials is investigated. For copper it varies proportional to the 2nd power of the energy between 155 and 260 keV. The rate of erosion for different target materials varies by two orders of magnitude from tungsten to PMMA. Diamond is eroded fairly quickly, while aluminum is eroded less than corundum (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}). No simple correlation of the sputter coefficient on the bulk material properties is found. For copper the angular distribution of sputtered material is measured and found to be following roughly a cosine distribution. By using masks different microstructures have been produced in cobalt-samarium magnets, diamond and glass. (orig.)

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Abstract Aim- According to the revised Bethesda Guidelines, colorectal cancer (CRC) occurring under age 50-years should be screened to exclude Lynch syndrome. However, in current practice in East Anglia, tumour screening is initiated only after genetics referral, reserved for those with a strong pedigree. This study aimed to determine how many patients with young-onset CRC undergo tumour screening in hospitals in East Anglia. Method- A retrospective case notes review over 5-years in four hospitals was undertaken to determine what proportion of those with young-onset CRC underwent referral for tumour screening and to assess local practices in terms of patient counselling and management. Results- One hundred and twenty-two patients were included. There was an average yearly caseload of 6-9 p...

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The low-cycle fatigue behaviour of copper and a-brass CuZn30 was investigated in uniaxial and biaxial tests. Planar biaxial fatigue tests were carried out using cruciform samples with proportional stain paths with and without phase shift between the two axes. Microcharacterisation was performed by electron microscopy as well as by high-resolution X-ray line profile analysis. The biaxial cyclic stress-strain curves show good agreement with the uniaxial ones using the von Mises equivalent strain hypothesis. The dislocation densities and microhardness values of the biaxial case, however, show significantly lower values compared to the uniaxial case at equivalent von Mises stresses.

Science.gov (United States)

1,3-Dienes derived from steroidal D-ring C17-ketones undergo Ni(II)-catalyzed hydrovinylation to give 1,2- or 1,4-addition of ethylene. Using finely tuned phosphoramidite ligands it is possible to synthesize either the C20 (R)- or the C20 (S)-derivatives without mutual contamination. The proportion of the 1,4-adduct, which is also formed stereoselectively, can be minimized by optimizing the reaction conditions. Since the two alkenes in the resultant dienes have differing steric demands for many potential reactions, and are ideally juxtaposed for further D-ring functionalization, these intermediates could be useful for the preparation of biologically important compounds such as vitamin D analogs and various antitumor steroidal glycosides.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Using the method of statistic planning of an experiment, the SrSO_4 desulfurization process has been studied in the case of reductive roasting of celestine with the use blast-furnace coke. The main factors that determine the rate of the SrSO_4 desulfurization are the roasting temperature and charge components dispersity. The desulfurization rate increases proportionally to the increase in the roasting temperature and dispersity of the reaction mixture components. To decrease the SrSO_4 desulfurization and the concentration of sulfur-containing components in gases released at rather a high celestine reduction rate, the roasting is recommended to proceed at the temperature of 1100 to 1150 deg, in this case it is necessary to limit the content of small (less than 3.2 mm) fractions of reagents.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Co-current stratified flow of liquid metal and water was investigated in a horizontal rectangular channel. Position of the interface pressure drop and direct contact heat transfer between these immisci ble liquids were measured in a fully developed flow. A turbulence model was proposed to explain the experimental results considering that the turbulence is damped near the liquid-liquid interface by surface tension. The analytical results showed good agreement with the experimental ones. Main results are that (1) position of the interface mainly depends on the flow rate ratio of both liquids, that (2) the pressure drop is approximately proportional to square of the average velocity of water, and that (3) heat transfer rate at direct contact interface is several times higher than that of co-current flow separated by a thin solid plate. (author).

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The development of 'Green Chemistry' requires new materials to replace the conventional organic chemistry by biological catalysts, to produce fine chemicals in an environmentally friendly manner. Microbial whole cells can be directly used as biocatalysts, providing a simple and cheap methodology since enzyme isolation and purification are avoided. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a very stable polymer though it can be activated by gamma radiation to induce grafting. Glycidyl methacrylate was grafted onto macroporous HDPE and PP in the range of 1-6%, proportional to the initial monomer concentration. Grafted polymers were further chemically modified with ethylenediamine to generate a cationic hydrogel of micron-size thickness onto the internal polymer surfaces. Modified polymers were able to immobilize Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria that can catalyze a chemical reaction as efficient as free cells do.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract The World Bank is the largest international funder of biodiversity conservation. It invests in protected areas to conserve species and spaces, protect ecosystems, and provide food, shelter, and other ecosystem services to local communities. It spends on average, $275 million annually supporting parks in developing countries. We examined their protected areas investment portfolio from 1988 to 2008 to understand how they allocate these funds. We found that more money is allocated to countries with progressively larger GDPs. Many, but not all, of these investments correlate with consensus opinions of high biodiversity priorities. But the World Bank's investments are not proportional; poorer countries receive relatively more funds than richer ones, regardless of biodiversity importanc...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gravitational waves are propagating fluctuations of gravitational fields, that is, '' ripples '' in space-time, generated mainly by moving massive bodies. These distortions of space-time travel with the speed of light. Every body in the path of such a wave feels a tidal gravitational force that acts perpendicular to the wave's direction of propagation; these forces change the distance between points, and the size of the changes is proportional to the distance between these points thus gravitational waves can be detected by devices which measure the induced length changes. The frequencies and the amplitudes of the waves are related to the motion of the masses involved. Thus, the analysis of gravitational waveforms allows us to learn about their source and, if there are more than two detectors involved in observation, to estimate the distance and position of their source on the sky. (author)

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This study has confirmed large seasonal and daily variations of Rn in soil gas, developed models for the effects of temperature and moisture on air-water Rn partition, inhibited Rn diffusion from wet soil into sparse large air-filled pores and effects of diffusion into bedrock, demonstrated that organic matter is a major host for 226Ra in soils and that organic-bound Ra largely determines the proportion of 222Rn emanated to pore space, shown that in contrast 220Rn is emanated mainly from 224Ra in Fe-oxides, detected significant disequilibrium between 226Ra and 238U in organic matter and in some recent glacial soils, demonstrated by computer models that air convection driven by temperature differences is expected in moderately permeable soils on hillsides.

Science.gov (United States)

A new approach of gear fault diagnosis based on continuous wavelet transform is presented. Continuous wavelet transform can provide a finer scale resolution than orthogonal wavelet transform. It is more suitable for extracting mechanical fault information. In this paper, the concept of time-averaged wavelet spectrum (TAWS) based on Morlet continuous wavelet transform is proposed. Two fault diagnosis methods named spectrum comparison method (SCM) and feature energy method (FEM) based on TAWS are established. The results of the application to gearbox gear fault diagnosis show that TAWS can effectively extract gear fault information. The feature energy of the TAWS features the gear fault advancement very well and is conically proportional to the gear fault advancement.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Contents The study aimed at testing the effectiveness of dimethylformamide, alone or combined with glycerol, as cryoprotectant for freezing ram semen. Ejaculates from nine rams were cryopreserved in Tris-based extenders, containing 5% of glycerol, association of dimethylformamide with glycerol, in four proportions achieving 5% of cryoprotectors in the media and pure dimethylformamide (2, 3, 4 and 5%) in replacement to glycerol. The samples were diluted to 100--106 sptz/ml and stored in 0.25-ml straws in liquid nitrogen. After thawing (37C for 30-s), motility was preserved better by the extender containing 5% of glycerol (p-<-0.05). The extenders containing pure dimethylformamide, or more than 2% in combination with glycerol, provided sperm motilities close to zero. Plasma and acrosomal mem...

Science.gov (United States)

The change in the energy flow on land used for brown coal mining is examined. Terrain mapping was used to obtain land use data for a 14 km{sup 2} mining area and its surroundings. The focus is on the proportion of incident solar energy that is changed to latent heat during evapotranspiration. Each land use unit was assigned an average value for evapotranspiration for the growing season. Satellite data of surface temperature and surface wetness values show incident radiation converted to heat. Relationships between evapotranspiration and surface temperature and between wetness index and evapotranspiration were verified. The results confirm the hypothesis that changes in land use can have a significant effect on total average evapotranspiration. 18 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The properties of negative-ion beams are very important for designing negative-ion apparatus and applications of negative-ion beams, especially, electron detachment cross-sections at the interaction between negative-ion beams and gas particles in the transport system, and secondary-electron emission factors when negative ions are incident on solid surfaces. These properties of negative-ion beams were investigated experimentally as a function of the ion energy under 50 keV. The single electron detachment cross-sections are almost constant in the other of 10"-"1"5 cm"2 in this energy range, but double electron detachment cross-sections increase in proportion to the ion velocity and much smaller than the single one. As for the secondary-electron emission factor, the emission factors for negative-ion beam are found to be larger by 1 than those for positive-ion beams. (author).

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Accidents of free-rolling cars against walls with friction are special cases of the general problem of the dynamic behavior (elastic or plastic) of car motion. Using particle modeling of the car body it is shown that large rotations, contact friction and plastic deformations can be computed. Because of the limitations of FEM it is necessary to model the car as a system of mass points connected by central force systems which are non-linear. The wall is formulated as a rigid body producing constraints for the contacting particles, while the contact force is given by the defined force system. Every contacting particle produces a plastic impact on the wall. The friction force is proportional to the contact force and lies in the direction of the sliding velocity on the wall. Time integration is carried out using a second order Gear method. ((orig.))

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Pulsed DC-plasma nitriding has been applied to form nitride layer having only a diffusion layer. The discharge current with the variation of discharge gases is proportional to the intensity of N{sub 2}{sup +} peak in optical emission spectroscopy during the plasma nitriding. The discharge current, microhardness in surface of substrate and depth of nitride layer increased with the ratio of N{sub 2} to H{sub 2} gas in discharge gases. When the ratio of N{sub 2} to H{sub 2} is lower than 60% in the discharge gases, high microhardness value of 1100Hv nitride layer which contains no compound layer has been formed. (author). 20 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Thirty fattened one humped desert camels were used to examine the effect of season on contractile and metabolic properties of Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle. Ten camels were slaughtered according to seasons of the year (winter, summer and autumn). Season significantly influenced muscle chemical composition, ultimate pH (pHu) and color. Activities of metabolic enzymes were higher during autumn season compared to summer and winter for phosphofructokinase (+64% compared to both seasons) and for isocitrate dehydrogenase (+35% and +145% in autumn vs. summer and winter, respectively). Quantification of muscle myosin heavy chain isoforms by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis showed only presence of type I and type IIa MyHC in camel muscle and indicated high proportion in winter for type I and in autumn f...

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The effects of antimony addition on the microstructures and creep behavior of AZ31 have been studied. Constant load creep tests were carried out at 200 C and an initial stress of 50MPa for AZ31 alloys containing antimony up to 0.84% by weight. Results show that Small additions of antimony to AZ31 effectively decreased the creep extension and steady state creep rates. The steady state creep rate of AZ31 was reduced 2.5 times by the addition of 0.84% of antimony by weight. The main reason for the higher creep resistance is due to the presence of high volume fraction ({proportional_to} 20%) of second phases including Mg{sub 3}Sb{sub 2}, which effectively hindered the movement of dislocations during the elevated temperature creep. (orig.)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract When both sexes mate with multiple partners, theory predicts that males should adjust their investment in ejaculates in response to the risk and/or intensity of sperm competition. Here, we demonstrate that, in the harlequin beetle riding pseudoscorpion, Cordylochernes scorpioides, males use cues deposited on females by previous males to distinguish between virgin, once-mated, and multiply-mated females and adjust sperm allocation accordingly. Sperm number declined in direct proportion to the number of previous males, with virgin females receiving nearly three times more sperm than females exposed to three previous males. Given the lack of first-male sperm precedence in C.scorpioides, this pattern is not consistent with current sperm competition models and appears best explained by...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The incidence of columnar cell lesions in breast core needle biopsies since full-field digital mammography in comparison with screen-filmed mammography was analyzed. As tiny microcalcifications characterize columnar cell lesions at mammography, we hypothesized that more columnar cell lesions are diagnosed since full-field digital mammography due to its higher sensitivity for microcalcifications. In all, 3437 breast core needle biopsies performed in three hospitals and resulting from in total 55?159 mammographies were revised: 1424 taken in the screen-filmed mammography and 2013 in the full-field digital mammography period. Between the screen-filmed mammography and full-field digital mammography periods, we compared the proportion of mammographies that led to core needle biopsies, the...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In order to develop a numerical tool for the fast evaluation of CANDU refuelling schemes, a Linear Sensitivity Matrix method (LSM) is developed. It assumes that all the effects caused by various perturbations to the core state are independent to each other and the core response to a perturbation is proportional to its magnitude. In this way, the main core parameters of a refuelling scheme can be derived by simple algebraic operations with the use of pre-calculated sensitivity matrices, without resorting to the complicated and time-consuming 3D core calculation. Verification against the Qinshan CANDU reactor operation history demonstrates that LSM is capable of generating accurate results and running very fast for evaluating a refuelling scheme. (authors)

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The black carbon continuum is composed of a series of carbon-rich components derived from combustion or metamorphism and characterized by contrasting environmental behavior and susceptibility to oxidation. In this work, we present a micro-scale density fractionation method that allows isolating the small quantities of soot-like and graphitic material usually found in natural samples. Organic carbon and {delta}{sup 13}C mass balance calculations were used to quantify the relative contributions of the two fractions to thermally-stable organic matter from a series of aquatic sediments. Varying proportions of soot-like and graphitic material were found in these samples, with large variations in {delta}{sup 13}C signatures suggesting important differences in their origin and/or dynamics in the environment.