Divertor ‘death-ray’ explained: An artifact of a Langmuir probe operating at negative bias in a high-recycling divertor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, D.; Umansky, M.V.; LaBombard, B.; Rognlien, T.D.

2013-01-01

The divertor ‘death-ray’, enhanced plasma pressure near the outer strike-point relative to ‘upstream’ values, was thought to correspond to axisymmetric increased divertor heat flux. Recent measurements on Alcator C-Mod show that the ‘death-ray’ is localized to biased Langmuir probes. Heat fluxes deduced from plasma-sheath theory and surface thermocouples agree in sheath-limited and moderate-recycling regimes. They diverge in high-recycling and detached regimes; surface thermocouples measure reduced heat flux while a ‘death-ray’ appears on Langmuir probes. The ‘death-ray’ is caused by the probe’s negative bias affecting the local flux tube. With the bias, electron heat flux to the probe surface is reduced. Thus, the local electron temperature is raised, enhancing neutral ionization and increasing the ion flux to the probe. The plasma fluid code UEDGE is used to simulate and reproduce many of the features of this integrated biased probe/divertor system

Probing spin-vibronic dynamics using femtosecond X-ray spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Penfold, T. J.; Pápai, Mátyás Imre; Rozgonyi, T.

2016-01-01

Ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy within the X-ray regime is now possible owing to the development of X-ray Free Electrons Lasers (X-FELs) and is opening new opportunities for the direct probing of femtosecond evolution of the nuclei, the electronic and spin degrees of freedom. In this contributi...

Systematic spatial bias in DNA microarray hybridization is caused by probe spot position-dependent variability in lateral diffusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Steger, Doris; Berry, David; Haider, Susanne; Horn, Matthias; Wagner, Michael; Stocker, Roman; Loy, Alexander

2011-01-01

The hybridization of nucleic acid targets with surface-immobilized probes is a widely used assay for the parallel detection of multiple targets in medical and biological research. Despite its widespread application, DNA microarray technology still suffers from several biases and lack of reproducibility, stemming in part from an incomplete understanding of the processes governing surface hybridization. In particular, non-random spatial variations within individual microarray hybridizations are often observed, but the mechanisms underpinning this positional bias remain incompletely explained. This study identifies and rationalizes a systematic spatial bias in the intensity of surface hybridization, characterized by markedly increased signal intensity of spots located at the boundaries of the spotted areas of the microarray slide. Combining observations from a simplified single-probe block array format with predictions from a mathematical model, the mechanism responsible for this bias is found to be a position-dependent variation in lateral diffusion of target molecules. Numerical simulations reveal a strong influence of microarray well geometry on the spatial bias. Reciprocal adjustment of the size of the microarray hybridization chamber to the area of surface-bound probes is a simple and effective measure to minimize or eliminate the diffusion-based bias, resulting in increased uniformity and accuracy of quantitative DNA microarray hybridization.

A split-beam probe-pump-probe scheme for femtosecond time resolved protein X-ray crystallography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasper J. van Thor

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In order to exploit the femtosecond pulse duration of X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFEL operating in the hard X-ray regime for ultrafast time-resolved protein crystallography experiments, critical parameters that determine the crystallographic signal-to-noise (I/σI must be addressed. For single-crystal studies under low absorbed dose conditions, it has been shown that the intrinsic pulse intensity stability as well as mode structure and jitter of this structure, significantly affect the crystallographic signal-to-noise. Here, geometrical parameters are theoretically explored for a three-beam scheme: X-ray probe, optical pump, X-ray probe (or “probe-pump-probe” which will allow experimental determination of the photo-induced structure factor amplitude differences, ΔF, in a ratiometric manner, thereby internally referencing the intensity noise of the XFEL source. In addition to a non-collinear split-beam geometry which separates un-pumped and pumped diffraction patterns on an area detector, applying an additional convergence angle to both beams by focusing leads to integration over mosaic blocks in the case of well-ordered stationary protein crystals. Ray-tracing X-ray diffraction simulations are performed for an example using photoactive yellow protein crystals in order to explore the geometrical design parameters which would be needed. The specifications for an X-ray split and delay instrument that implements both an offset angle and focused beams are discussed, for implementation of a probe-pump-probe scheme at the European XFEL. We discuss possible extension of single crystal studies to serial femtosecond crystallography, particularly in view of the expected X-ray damage and ablation due to the first probe pulse.

Ultrafast laser pump/x-ray probe experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsson, J.; Judd, E.; Schuck, P.J.

1997-01-01

In an ongoing project aimed at probing solids using x-rays obtained at the ALS synchrotron with a sub-picosecond time resolution following interactions with a 100 fs laser pulse, the authors have successfully performed pump-probe experiments limited by the temporal duration of ALS-pulse. They observe a drop in the diffraction efficiency following laser heating. They can attribute this to a disordering of the crystal. Studies with higher temporal resolution are required to determine the mechanism. The authors have also incorporated a low-jitter streakcamera as a diagnostic for observing time-dependant x-ray diffraction. The streakcamera triggered by a photoconductive switch was operated at kHz repetition rates. Using UV-pulses, the authors obtain a temporal response of 2 ps when averaging 5000 laser pulses. They demonstrate the ability to detect monochromatized x-ray radiation from a bend-magnet with the streak camera by measuring the pulse duration of a x-ray pulse to 70 ps. In conclusion, the authors show a rapid disordering of an InSb crystal. The resolution was determined by the duration of the ALS pulse. They also demonstrate that they can detect x-ray radiation from a synchrotron source with a temporal resolution of 2ps, by using an ultrafast x-ray streak camera. Their set-up will allow them to pursue laser pump/x-ray probe experiments to monitor structural changes in materials with ultrafast time resolution

Attentional bias in excessive Internet gamers: Experimental investigations using an addiction Stroop and a visual probe.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeromin, Franziska; Nyenhuis, Nele; Barke, Antonia

2016-03-01

Background and aims Internet Gaming Disorder is included in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5 th edition) as a disorder that merits further research. The diagnostic criteria are based on those for Substance Use Disorder and Gambling Disorder. Excessive gamblers and persons with Substance Use Disorder show attentional biases towards stimuli related to their addictions. We investigated whether excessive Internet gamers show a similar attentional bias, by using two established experimental paradigms. Methods We measured reaction times of excessive Internet gamers and non-gamers (N = 51, 23.7 ± 2.7 years) by using an addiction Stroop with computer-related and neutral words, as well as a visual probe with computer-related and neutral pictures. Mixed design analyses of variance with the between-subjects factor group (gamer/non-gamer) and the within-subjects factor stimulus type (computer-related/neutral) were calculated for the reaction times as well as for valence and familiarity ratings of the stimulus material. Results In the addiction Stroop, an interaction for group × word type was found: Only gamers showed longer reaction times to computer-related words compared to neutral words, thus exhibiting an attentional bias. In the visual probe, no differences in reaction time between computer-related and neutral pictures were found in either group, but the gamers were faster overall. Conclusions An attentional bias towards computer-related stimuli was found in excessive Internet gamers, by using an addiction Stroop but not by using a visual probe. A possible explanation for the discrepancy could lie in the fact that the visual probe may have been too easy for the gamers.

A compact, smart Langmuir Probe control module for MAST-Upgrade

Science.gov (United States)

Lovell, J.; Stephen, R.; Bray, S.; Naylor, G.; Elmore, S.; Willett, H.; Peterka, M.; Dimitrova, M.; Havranek, A.; Hron, M.; Sharples, R.

2017-11-01

A new control module for the MAST-Upgrade Langmuir Probe system has been developed. It is based on a Xilinx Zynq FPGA, which allows for excellent configurability and ease of retrieving data. The module is capable of arbitrary bias voltage waveform generation, and digitises current and voltage readings from 16 probes. The probes are biased and measured one at a time in a time multiplexed fashion, with the multiplexing sequence completely configurable. In addition, simultaneous digitisation of the floating potential of all unbiased probes is possible. A suite of these modules, each coupled with a high voltage amplifier, enables biasing and digitisation of 640 Langmuir Probes in the MAST-Upgrade Super-X divertor. The system has been successfully tested on the York Linear Plasma Device and on the COMPASS tokamak. It will be installed on MAST-Upgrade ready for operations in 2018.

Anxiety-related biases in visual orienting and spatial motor response selection independently assessed by a probe-classification task

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schrooten, M.G.S.; Smulders, F.T.Y.; Mogg, K.; Bradley, B.P.

2012-01-01

This dot-probe study assessed anxiety-related biases in visual attentional orienting and spatial motor response selection (motor attention) in high- and low-trait-anxious adults, and whether anxiety-related biases depend on response speed. Emotional-neutral word pairs appeared for 14 or 500 ms, with

Development of X-ray mini-probes for the Digiray RGX system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wojcik, R.; Kross, B.; Majewski, L.; Majewski, S.; Weisenberger, A.G.; Zorn, C.; Birt, E.A.; Parker, F.R.; Winfree, W.P.; Albert, R.D.; Albert, T.M.

1994-01-01

We have developed and tested a variety of X-ray mini-probes for the Reverse Geometry X-radiography trademark ,1 (RGX) system each having their own advantages and disadvantages. These mini-probes consist of small scintillators (as small as 2 mm in diameter and 5 mm long) attached to optical light guides (as long as 14 m) coupled to photomultipliers. Images produced with these probes show that even smaller probes and/or longer light guides may be fashioned. Such probes may be useful in both non-destructive evaluation and medical imaging. ((orig.))

TiO2 Nanoparticles as a Soft X-ray Molecular Probe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larabell, Carolyn; Ashcroft, Jared M.; Gu, Weiwei; Zhang, Tierui; Hughes, Steven M.; Hartman, Keith B.; Hofmann, Cristina; Kanaras, Antonios G.; Kilcoyne, David A.; Le Gros, Mark; Yin, Yadong; Alivisatos, A. Paul; Larabell, Carolyn A.

2007-06-30

With the emergence of soft x-ray techniques for imaging cells, there is a pressing need to develop protein localization probes that can be unambiguously identified within the region of x-ray spectrum used for imaging. TiO2 nanocrystal colloids, which have a strong absorption cross-section within the "water-window" region of x-rays, areideally suited as soft x-ray microscopy probes. To demonstrate their efficacy, TiO2-streptavidin nanoconjugates were prepared and subsequently labeled microtubules polymerized from biotinylated tubulin. The microtubules were imaged using scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM), and the TiO2 nanoparticle tags were specifically identified using x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES). These experiments demonstrate that TiO2 nanoparticles are potential probes for protein localization analyses using soft x-ray microscopy.

Characteristics Testing of the ECT Bobbin Probe for S/G Tube Inspection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nam, Min Woo; Lee, Hee Jong; Cho, Chan Hee; Yoo, Hyun Joo [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2010-05-15

The bobbin probe technique is basically one of the important ECT methods for the steam generator tube integrity assessment that is practiced during each plant outage. The bobbin probe also is the essential component which consists of the whole ECT examination system, and provides a decisive data for the evaluation of tube integrity in compliance with acceptance criteria described in specific procedures. The selection of probe is especially important because the quality of acquired ECT data is determined by the probe design characteristics, such as geometry and operation frequency, and has an important effect on examination results. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has recently defined the procedures for the qualification of eddy current hardware and technique. These procedures provide two basic methods for qualification. Flawed tube removed from operation, or artificial flaw is required for the original qualification of technique combined with related flaw mechanism. In case where the original qualification has been completed, the concept of equivalency may be used to extend the original qualification to similar probe designs. The qualified acquisition technique may be modified to substitute or replace instruments or probes without re-qualification provided that the range of essential variables defined in the examination technique specification sheet are met. In this case, both the original and replaced instrument or probe shall be characterized utilizing EPRI Guideline supplement 'H1'. This study is the result of the comparative performance evaluation of bobbin coil eddy current probes manufactured by KEPRI and a foreign manufacturer. As a result of this study, although there were minor differences between the two probe types, it was evaluated that the two probes were almost identical in the significant performance characteristics described in the EPRI guideline

Qualification of high heat flux components: application to target elements of W7-X divertor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Missirlian, M; Durocher, A; Grosman, A; Schlosser, J; Boscary, J; Escourbiac, F; Cismondi, F

2007-01-01

The development of actively cooled plasma-facing components (PFC) represents one of fusion's most challenging engineering efforts. In this frame, a high-quality bonding between the refractory armour and the heat sink is essential to ensure the heat removal capability and the thermal performances of PFC. Experience gained during manufacturing of Tore Supra actively cooled PFC led to the establishment of a qualification methodology and provided a large experience of acceptance criteria using an active infrared thermography (systeme d'acquisition de traitement infra-rouge, SATIR). This paper presents the application of this qualification process to the W7-X pre-series components, with the objective of assessing and defining workable acceptance criteria that enable reliable predictions of performance at the nominal heat flux requirements in W7-X. Finally, to check the reliability of the non-destructive examination (NDE) method by transient infrared thermography, the newly defined acceptance criteria were applied to W7-X pre-series target elements (batch no. 3). The SATIR results, benchmarked with HHF tests performed on the GLADIS ion beam facility were discussed to assess the ability to detect critical defects at the interface between tiles and heat sink

Forced Attention to Specific Applicant Qualifications: Impact on Physical Attractiveness and Sex of Applicant Biases.

Science.gov (United States)

Cann, Arnie; And Others

1981-01-01

Undergraduates evaluated the qualifications of an attractive, average, or unattractive male or female applicant. Ratings of specific qualifications preceded or followed an overall and hiring decision rating. The order variable influenced ratings of specific qualifications but not the overall or hiring decision. Male and attractive applicants were…

Behavioral and ERP measures of attentional bias to threat in the dot-probe task: Poor reliability and lack of correlation with anxiety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily S. Kappenman

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The dot-probe task is often considered a gold standard in the field for investigating attentional bias to threat. However, serious issues with the task have been raised. Specifically, a number of studies have demonstrated that the traditional reaction time measure of attentional bias to threat in the dot-probe task has poor internal reliability and poor test-retest reliability. In addition, although threatening stimuli capture attention in other paradigms, attentional bias to threat has not usually been found in typical research participants in the dot-probe task. However, when attention is measured in the dot-probe task with the N2pc component of the event-related potential (ERP waveform, substantial attentional orienting to threat is observed, and the internal reliability is moderate. To provide a rigorous comparison of the reliability of this N2pc measure and the conventional behavioral measure, as well as to examine the relationship of these measures to anxiety, the present study examined the N2pc in conjunction with reaction time in the dot-probe task in a large sample of participants (N = 96. As in previous studies, reaction time showed no bias to threatening images across the sample and exhibited poor internal reliability. Moreover, this measure did not relate to trait anxiety. By contrast, the N2pc revealed a significant initial shift of attention to threat, and this measure was internally reliable. However, the N2pc was not correlated with trait anxiety, indicating that it does not provide a meaningful index of individual differences in anxiety in the dot-probe task. Together, these results indicate a serious need to develop new tasks and methods to more reliably investigate attentional bias to threat and its relationship to anxiety in both clinical and non-clinical populations.

Probing Biased Signaling in Chemokine Receptors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amarandi, Roxana Maria; Hjortø, Gertrud Malene; Rosenkilde, Mette Marie

2016-01-01

The chemokine system mediates leukocyte migration during homeostatic and inflammatory processes. Traditionally, it is described as redundant and promiscuous, with a single chemokine ligand binding to different receptors and a single receptor having several ligands. Signaling of chemokine receptors...... of others has been termed signaling bias and can accordingly be grouped into ligand bias, receptor bias, and tissue bias. Bias has so far been broadly overlooked in the process of drug development. The low number of currently approved drugs targeting the chemokine system, as well as the broad range...... of failed clinical trials, reflects the need for a better understanding of the chemokine system. Thus, understanding the character, direction, and consequence of biased signaling in the chemokine system may aid the development of new therapeutics. This review describes experiments to assess G protein...

Female-biased expression of long non-coding RNAs in domains that escape X-inactivation in mouse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Lu

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Sexual dimorphism in brain gene expression has been recognized in several animal species. However, the relevant regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. To investigate whether sex-biased gene expression in mammalian brain is globally regulated or locally regulated in diverse brain structures, and to study the genomic organisation of brain-expressed sex-biased genes, we performed a large scale gene expression analysis of distinct brain regions in adult male and female mice. Results This study revealed spatial specificity in sex-biased transcription in the mouse brain, and identified 173 sex-biased genes in the striatum; 19 in the neocortex; 12 in the hippocampus and 31 in the eye. Genes located on sex chromosomes were consistently over-represented in all brain regions. Analysis on a subset of genes with sex-bias in more than one tissue revealed Y-encoded male-biased transcripts and X-encoded female-biased transcripts known to escape X-inactivation. In addition, we identified novel coding and non-coding X-linked genes with female-biased expression in multiple tissues. Interestingly, the chromosomal positions of all of the female-biased non-coding genes are in close proximity to protein-coding genes that escape X-inactivation. This defines X-chromosome domains each of which contains a coding and a non-coding female-biased gene. Lack of repressive chromatin marks in non-coding transcribed loci supports the possibility that they escape X-inactivation. Moreover, RNA-DNA combined FISH experiments confirmed the biallelic expression of one such novel domain. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the amount of genes with sex-biased expression varies between individual brain regions in mouse. The sex-biased genes identified are localized on many chromosomes. At the same time, sexually dimorphic gene expression that is common to several parts of the brain is mostly restricted to the sex chromosomes. Moreover, the study uncovered

Quantitative energy-dispersive electron probe X-ray microanalysis ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. An energy-dispersive electron probe X-ray microanalysis (ED-EPMA) technique us- ing an energy-dispersive X-ray detector with an ultra-thin window, designated as low-Z particle. EPMA, has been developed. The low-Z particle EPMA allows the quantitative determination of concentrations of low-Z elements such ...

Food-related attentional bias. Word versus pictorial stimuli and the importance of stimuli calorific value in the dot probe task.

Science.gov (United States)

Freijy, Tanya; Mullan, Barbara; Sharpe, Louise

2014-12-01

The primary aim of this study was to extend previous research on food-related attentional biases by examining biases towards pictorial versus word stimuli, and foods of high versus low calorific value. It was expected that participants would demonstrate greater biases to pictures over words, and to high-calorie over low-calorie foods. A secondary aim was to examine associations between BMI, dietary restraint, external eating and attentional biases. It was expected that high scores on these individual difference variables would be associated with a bias towards high-calorie stimuli. Undergraduates (N = 99) completed a dot probe task including matched word and pictorial food stimuli in a controlled setting. Questionnaires assessing eating behaviour were administered, and height and weight were measured. Contrary to predictions, there were no main effects for stimuli type (pictures vs words) or calorific value (high vs low). There was, however, a significant interaction effect suggesting a bias towards high-calorie pictures, but away from high-calorie words; and a bias towards low-calorie words, but away from low-calorie pictures. No associations between attentional bias and any of the individual difference variables were found. The presence of a stimulus type by calorific value interaction demonstrates the importance of stimuli type in the dot probe task, and may help to explain inconsistencies in prior research. Further research is needed to clarify associations between attentional bias and BMI, restraint, and external eating. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Photoinduced molecular chirality probed by ultrafast resonant X-ray spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jérémy R. Rouxel

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Recently developed circularly polarized X-ray light sources can probe the ultrafast chiral electronic and nuclear dynamics through spatially localized resonant core transitions. We present simulations of time-resolved circular dichroism signals given by the difference of left and right circularly polarized X-ray probe transmission following an excitation by a circularly polarized optical pump with the variable time delay. Application is made to formamide which is achiral in the ground state and assumes two chiral geometries upon optical excitation to the first valence excited state. Probes resonant with various K-edges (C, N, and O provide different local windows onto the parity breaking geometry change thus revealing the enantiomer asymmetry.

Experiment of bias probe method at NIRS-18 GHz ECR ion source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jincho, Kaoru; Yamamoto, Mitsugu; Okada, Takanori; Takasugi, Wataru; Sakuma, Tetsuya; Miyoshi, Tomohiro [Accelerator Engineering Corp., Chiba (Japan); Kitagawa, Atsushi; Muramatsu, Masayuki [National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan); Biri, Sandor [Institute of Nuclear Research (ATOMKI), Debrecen (Hungary)

2000-11-01

An 18 GHz ECR ion source (NIRS-HEC) has been developed to produce highly charged heavy ions from Ar to Xe. In order to increase the beam intensity of highly charged ion, we tried a technique of supplying cold electrons into the ECR plasma. In this paper, enhancement of the beam intensity is discussed in detail. The bias voltage is applied on the probe to repel cold electrons which flow from a plasma. The output beam current is 130 e{mu}A for Ar{sup 11+}. (J.P.N.)

Experiment of bias probe method at NIRS-18 GHz ECR ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jincho, Kaoru; Yamamoto, Mitsugu; Okada, Takanori; Takasugi, Wataru; Sakuma, Tetsuya; Miyoshi, Tomohiro; Kitagawa, Atsushi; Muramatsu, Masayuki; Biri, Sandor

2000-01-01

An 18 GHz ECR ion source (NIRS-HEC) has been developed to produce highly charged heavy ions from Ar to Xe. In order to increase the beam intensity of highly charged ion, we tried a technique of supplying cold electrons into the ECR plasma. In this paper, enhancement of the beam intensity is discussed in detail. The bias voltage is applied on the probe to repel cold electrons which flow from a plasma. The output beam current is 130 eμA for Ar 11+ . (J.P.N.)

Characteristics of a molybdenum X-pinch X-ray source as a probe source for X-ray diffraction studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zucchini, F.; Chauvin, C.; Combes, P.; Sol, D.; Loyen, A.; Roques, B.; Grunenwald, J.; Bland, S. N.

2015-01-01

X-ray emission from a molybdenum X-pinch has been investigated as a potential probe for the high pressure states made in dynamic compression experiments. Studies were performed on a novel 300 kA, 400 ns generator which coupled the load directly to a low inductance capacitor and switch combination. The X-pinch load consisted of 4 crossed molybdenum wires of 13 μm diameter, crossed at an angle of 62°. The load height was 10 mm. An initial x-ray burst generated at the wire crossing point, radiated in the soft x-ray range (hυ < 10 keV). This was followed, 2–5 ns later, by at least one harder x-ray burst (hυ > 10 keV) whose power ranged from 1 to 7 MW. Time integrated spectral measurements showed that the harder bursts were dominated by K-alpha emission; though, a lower level, wide band continuum up to at least 30 keV was also present. Initial tests demonstrated that the source was capable of driving Laue diffraction experiments, probing uncompressed samples of LiF and aluminium

X-rays as a probe of the Universe

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. X-rays as a probe of the Universe. K. Kasturirangan; ISRO; Presidential address at the Indian Academy of Sciences meeting, Chandigarh, Nov 8 2002. Notes:

Probing channel temperature profiles in Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N/GaN high electron mobility transistors on 200 mm diameter Si(111) by optical spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kyaw, L. M., E-mail: a0048661@nus.edu.sg [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576 (Singapore); Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology, and Research), Singapore 117602 (Singapore); Bera, L. K.; Dolmanan, S. B.; Tan, H. R.; Bhat, T. N.; Tripathy, S., E-mail: tripathy-sudhiranjan@imre.a-star.edu.sg [Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology, and Research), Singapore 117602 (Singapore); Liu, Y.; Bera, M. K.; Singh, S. P.; Chor, E. F. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576 (Singapore)

2014-08-18

Using micro-Raman and photoluminescence (PL) techniques, the channel temperature profile is probed in Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) fabricated on a 200 mm diameter Si(111) substrate. In particular, RuO{sub x}-based gate is used due to the semitransparent nature to the optical excitation wavelengths, thus allowing much accurate thermal investigations underneath the gate. To determine the channel temperature profile in devices subjected to different electrical bias voltages, the GaN band-edge PL peak shift calibration with respect to temperature is used. PL analyses show a maximum channel temperature up to 435 K underneath the gate edge between gate and drain, where the estimated thermal resistance in such a HEMT structure is about 13.7 KmmW{sup −1} at a power dissipation of ∼10 W/mm. The temperature profiles from micro-Raman measurements are also addressed from the E{sub 2}-high optical phonon peak shift of GaN, and this method also probes the temperature-induced peak shifts of optical phonon from Si thus showing the nature of thermal characteristics at the AlN/Si substrate interface.

Facial expression movement enhances the measurement of temporal dynamics of attentional bias in the dot-probe task.

Science.gov (United States)

Caudek, Corrado; Ceccarini, Francesco; Sica, Claudio

2017-08-01

The facial dot-probe task is one of the most common experimental paradigms used to assess attentional bias toward emotional information. In recent years, however, the psychometric properties of this paradigm have been questioned. In the present study, attentional bias to emotional face stimuli was measured with dynamic and static images of realistic human faces in 97 college students (63 women) who underwent either a positive or a negative mood-induction prior to the experiment. We controlled the bottom-up salience of the stimuli in order to dissociate the top-down orienting of attention from the effects of the bottom-up physical properties of the stimuli. A Bayesian analysis of our results indicates that 1) the traditional global attentional bias index shows a low reliability, 2) reliability increases dramatically when biased attention is analyzed by extracting a series of bias estimations from trial-to-trial (Zvielli, Bernstein, & Koster, 2015), 3) dynamic expression of emotions strengthens biased attention to emotional information, and 4) mood-congruency facilitates the measurement of biased attention to emotional stimuli. These results highlight the importance of using ecologically valid stimuli in attentional bias research, together with the importance of estimating biased attention at the trial level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attention bias for sleep-related stimuli in primary insomnia and delayed sleep phase syndrome using the dot-probe task.

Science.gov (United States)

MacMahon, Kenneth M A; Broomfield, Niall M; Espie, Colin A

2006-11-01

Cognitive models of primary insomnia (PI) suggest attention bias as a maintaining process. This study used a hallmark measure of attention bias, the dot-probe task, to determine whether attention bias to sleep-related stimuli is present in individuals with PI. Control groups of good sleepers (GS) and individuals with delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), a sleep disorder with no presumed cognitive pathway and, hence, no predicted association with attention bias, were included. A between-groups (PI, DSPS, GS) design was employed. Participants completed a dot-probe task with stimuli comprising sleep-related and neutral words, balanced for length and frequency of usage. It was predicted a priori that PI would show greater attention bias to sleep stimuli compared with GS and DSPS groups. No difference between GS and DSPS was predicted. Sixty-three individuals completed the study (PI = 21; DSPS = 22; GS = 20), with those in PI and DSPS classified by International Classification of Sleep Disorders criteria according to self-report sleep diaries and actigraphy. GS scored Sleep Quality Index, reported being good sleepers, and met no criteria for a current or previous sleep disorder. N/A. As predicted, PI showed increased vigilance for sleep-related stimuli relative to GS and DSPS. No differences between GS and those with DSPS were found. The PI group showed shorter response latencies relative to the GS and DSPS groups. Results support an association between attention bias and PI. Further work must determine whether or not attention bias is a causal factor. Speeded responses in the PI group suggest heightened arousal, indicating that physiologic factors may play a related role.

X-ray Pump–Probe Investigation of Charge and Dissociation Dynamics in Methyl Iodine Molecule

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Fang

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Molecular dynamics is of fundamental interest in natural science research. The capability of investigating molecular dynamics is one of the various motivations for ultrafast optics. We present our investigation of photoionization and nuclear dynamics in methyl iodine (CH3I molecule with an X-ray pump X-ray probe scheme. The pump–probe experiment was realized with a two-mirror X-ray split and delay apparatus. Time-of-flight mass spectra at various pump–probe delay times were recorded to obtain the time profile for the creation of high charge states via sequential ionization and for molecular dissociation. We observed high charge states of atomic iodine up to 29+, and visualized the evolution of creating these high atomic ion charge states, including their population suppression and enhancement as the arrival time of the second X-ray pulse was varied. We also show the evolution of the kinetics of the high charge states upon the timing of their creation during the ionization-dissociation coupled dynamics. We demonstrate the implementation of X-ray pump–probe methodology for investigating X-ray induced molecular dynamics with femtosecond temporal resolution. The results indicate the footprints of ionization that lead to high charge states, probing the long-range potential curves of the high charge states.

Cognitive bias measurement and social anxiety disorder: Correlating self-report data and attentional bias

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Miloff

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Social anxiety disorder (SAD and attentional bias are theoretically connected in cognitive behavioral therapeutic models. In fact, there is an emerging field focusing on modifying attentional bias as a stand-alone treatment. However, it is unclear to what degree these attentional biases are present before commencing treatment. The purpose of this study was to measure pre-treatment attentional bias in 153 participants diagnosed with SAD using a home-based Internet version of the dot-probe paradigm. Results showed no significant correlation for attentional bias (towards or away from negative words or faces and the self-rated version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-SR. However, two positive correlations were found for the secondary measures Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7 and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9. These indicated that those with elevated levels of anxiety and depression had a higher bias towards negative faces in neutral–negative and positive–negative valence combinations, respectively. The unreliability of the dot-probe paradigm and home-based Internet delivery are discussed to explain the lack of correlations between LSAS-SR and attentional bias. Changes to the dot-probe task are suggested that could improve reliability.

Magnetization reversal and tunable exchange bias in GdCr{sub 1−x}Mn{sub x}O{sub 3} (x=0−0.50)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dash, Bibhuti B.; Ravi, S., E-mail: sravi@iitg.ernet.in

2017-05-01

Single phase samples of GdCr{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}O{sub 3} (x=0−0.50) were prepared and their magnetic properties were studied by measuring temperature and field variations of magnetization. The Neel temperature, T{sub N} is found to decrease from T{sub N}=174 K for x=0 to 91 K for x=0.50. The magnetization reversal persists upto 5 at% of Mn substitution with a magnetic compensation temperature, T{sub comp} of 136 K and 139 K for x=0 and 0.05 respectively. However, spin reorientation induced magnetization reversal emerges for x=0.40 and 0.50 samples around 30 K. Tunable positive and negative exchange bias fields in the range of −1.0 kOe to +1.6 kOe have been observed. The origin of magnetization reversal and exchange bias field is explained in terms of antiparallel alignment of canted ferromagnetic component of Cr{sup 3+} ions and the paramagnetic moments of Gd{sup 3+} and Mn{sup 3+} ions under the influence of negative internal field due to antiferromagnetically ordered Cr{sup 3+} ions. - Highlights: • Magnetization reversal and bipolar switching in Mn substituted GdCrO{sub 3} • Tunable exchange bias field in the range of −1.0 kOe to +1.6 kOe. • Low temperature spin reorientation transition is observed.

Untangling the Contributions of Sex-Specific Gene Regulation and X-Chromosome Dosage to Sex-Biased Gene Expression in Caenorhabditis elegans

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Maxwell; Rao, Prashant; Ercan, Sevinc

2016-01-01

Dosage compensation mechanisms equalize the level of X chromosome expression between sexes. Yet the X chromosome is often enriched for genes exhibiting sex-biased, i.e., imbalanced expression. The relationship between X chromosome dosage compensation and sex-biased gene expression remains largely unexplored. Most studies determine sex-biased gene expression without distinguishing between contributions from X chromosome copy number (dose) and the animal’s sex. Here, we uncoupled X chromosome dose from sex-specific gene regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans to determine the effect of each on X expression. In early embryogenesis, when dosage compensation is not yet fully active, X chromosome dose drives the hermaphrodite-biased expression of many X-linked genes, including several genes that were shown to be responsible for hermaphrodite fate. A similar effect is seen in the C. elegans germline, where X chromosome dose contributes to higher hermaphrodite X expression, suggesting that lack of dosage compensation in the germline may have a role in supporting higher expression of X chromosomal genes with female-biased functions in the gonad. In the soma, dosage compensation effectively balances X expression between the sexes. As a result, somatic sex-biased expression is almost entirely due to sex-specific gene regulation. These results suggest that lack of dosage compensation in different tissues and developmental stages allow X chromosome copy number to contribute to sex-biased gene expression and function. PMID:27356611

Attentional Bias in Psychopathy: An Examination of the Emotional Dot-Probe Task in Male Jail Inmates.

Science.gov (United States)

Edalati, Hanie; Walsh, Zach; Kosson, David S

2016-08-01

Numerous studies have identified differences in the identification of emotional displays between psychopaths and non-psychopaths; however, results have been equivocal regarding the nature of these differences. The present study investigated an alternative approach to examining the association between psychopathy and emotion processing by examining attentional bias to emotional faces; we used a modified dot-probe task to measure attentional bias toward emotional faces in comparison with neutral faces, among a sample of male jail inmates assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Results indicated a positive association between psychopathy and attention toward happy versus neutral faces, and that this association was attributable to Factor 1 of the psychopathy construct. © The Author(s) 2015.

Qualification criteria for persons responsible for radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wehner, G

1980-01-01

A survey of the qualification criteria included in the German atomic law (Atomic Energy Act, Radiological Protection Ordinance and X-ray Protection Ordinance) for persons responsible for radiation protection is given. Especially the various activities for which a health physics officer is required, the range of qualification in each case and the way the qualification has to be proved, are pointed out. Also the different guides that are issued to complete the legal requirements are mentioned. The definitions of the term qualification for health physics given in the different guides are cited and it is shown, that the qualification of a healt physics officer has to be based on the three criteria (I) vocational training. (II) professional experience and (III) the necessary knowledge in radiation protection. (orig./HP) [de

In situ electrical probing and bias-mediated manipulation of dielectric nanotubes in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golberg, D.; Mitome, M.; Kurashima, K.; Zhi, C.Y.; Tang, C.C.; Bando, Y.; Lourie, O.

2006-01-01

Boron nitride nanotubes filled with magnesium oxides [MgO, MgO 2 ] and/or hydroxide [Mg(OH) 2 ] are electrically probed and delicately manipulated inside a 300 kV JEOL-3000F high-resolution transmission analytical electron microscope equipped with a side-entry 'Nanofactory Instruments' piezoholder. At a low bias the nanotubes demonstrate truly insulating behavior. At a high bias of ±30 V they show reversible breakdown current of several dozens of nA. Under 300 kV electron beam irradiation the nanotubes are positively charged that allows us to perform on-demand manipulation with them through tuning of polarity and/or value of a bias voltage on a gold counterelectrode from -140 to +140 V, owing to the prominent electrostatic nanotube-electrode interactions

Ternary NiFeX as soft biasing film in a magnetoresistive sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Mao-Min; Gharsallah, Neila; Gorman, Grace L.; Latimer, Jacquie

1991-04-01

The properties of NiFeX ternary films (X being Al, Au, Nb, Pd, Pt, Si, and Zr) have been studied for soft-film biasing of the magnetoresistive (MR) trilayer sensor. In general, the addition of the element X into the NiFe alloy film decreases the saturation magnetization Bs and magnetoresistance coefficient of the film, while increasing the film's electrical resistivity ρ. One of the desirable properties of a soft film for biasing is high sheet resistance for minimum current flow. A figure of merit Bsρ that takes into account both the rate of increase in Bs and the rate of decrease in ρ when adding X element was derived to compare the effectiveness of various X elements in reducing the current shunting through the soft-film layer. Using this criterion, NiFeNb and NiFeZr emerge as good soft-film materials having a maximum sheet resistance relative to the MR layer. Other critical properties such as magnetoresistance coefficient, magnetostriction, coercivity, and anisotropy field were also examined and are discussed in this paper.

Tumor suppressor genes that escape from X-inactivation contribute to cancer sex bias

Science.gov (United States)

Dunford, Andrew; Weinstock, David M.; Savova, Virginia; Schumacher, Steven E.; Cleary, John P.; Yoda, Akinori; Sullivan, Timothy J.; Hess, Julian M.; Gimelbrant, Alexander A.; Beroukhim, Rameen; Lawrence, Michael S.; Getz, Gad; Lane, Andrew A.

2016-01-01

There is a striking and unexplained male predominance across many cancer types. A subset of X chromosome (chrX) genes can escape X-inactivation, which would protect females from complete functional loss by a single mutation. To identify putative “Escape from X-Inactivation Tumor Suppressor” (EXITS) genes, we compared somatic alterations from >4100 cancers across 21 tumor types for sex bias. Six of 783 non-pseudoautosomal region (PAR) chrX genes (ATRX, CNKSR2, DDX3X, KDM5C, KDM6A, and MAGEC3) more frequently harbored loss-of-function mutations in males (based on false discovery rate <0.1), compared to zero of 18,055 autosomal and PAR genes (P<0.0001). Male-biased mutations in genes that escape X-inactivation were observed in combined analysis across many cancers and in several individual tumor types, suggesting a generalized phenomenon. We conclude that biallelic expression of EXITS genes in females explains a portion of the reduced cancer incidence compared to males across a variety of tumor types. PMID:27869828

Characteristics Testing of the ECT Bobbin Probe for Steam Generator Tube Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nam, Min Woo; Lee, Hee Jong; Cho, Chan hee; Yoo, Hyun Joo

2010-01-01

The steam generator management program(SGMP) has recently defined the procedures for the qualification of eddy current hardware and technique. These procedures provide two basic methods for qualification. The first way is to qualify the equipment or the probe by using the flaw mechanism and method of the pulled tubes from the heat exchangers or the artificial flawed tubes. The second way is to verify the equivalency with the characteristics of the qualified equipment or probe. In this case, the qualified equipment or probe may be modified to substitute or replace instruments or probes without re-qualification provided that the range of essential variables defined in the examination technique specification sheet are met. This study is to describe the result of the comparative performance evaluation of bobbin coil eddy current probes manufactured by KEPCO Research Institute and probes manufactured by a foreign manufacturer. As a result of this study, although there were minor differences between the two kinds of probes, it was evaluated that the two kinds of probes were almost identical in the significant performance characteristics described in the KEPCO Research Institute guideline

Characteristics Testing of the ECT Bobbin Probe for Steam Generator Tube Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nam, Min Woo; Lee, Hee Jong; Cho, Chan hee; Yoo, Hyun Joo [KEPCO, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2010-08-15

The steam generator management program(SGMP) has recently defined the procedures for the qualification of eddy current hardware and technique. These procedures provide two basic methods for qualification. The first way is to qualify the equipment or the probe by using the flaw mechanism and method of the pulled tubes from the heat exchangers or the artificial flawed tubes. The second way is to verify the equivalency with the characteristics of the qualified equipment or probe. In this case, the qualified equipment or probe may be modified to substitute or replace instruments or probes without re-qualification provided that the range of essential variables defined in the examination technique specification sheet are met. This study is to describe the result of the comparative performance evaluation of bobbin coil eddy current probes manufactured by KEPCO Research Institute and probes manufactured by a foreign manufacturer. As a result of this study, although there were minor differences between the two kinds of probes, it was evaluated that the two kinds of probes were almost identical in the significant performance characteristics described in the KEPCO Research Institute guideline

Attentional bias in math anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubinsten, Orly; Eidlin, Hili; Wohl, Hadas; Akibli, Orly

2015-01-01

Cognitive theory from the field of general anxiety suggests that the tendency to display attentional bias toward negative information results in anxiety. Accordingly, the current study aims to investigate whether attentional bias is involved in math anxiety (MA) as well (i.e., a persistent negative reaction to math). Twenty seven participants (14 with high levels of MA and 13 with low levels of MA) were presented with a novel computerized numerical version of the well established dot probe task. One of six types of prime stimuli, either math related or typically neutral, was presented on one side of a computer screen. The prime was preceded by a probe (either one or two asterisks) that appeared in either the prime or the opposite location. Participants had to discriminate probe identity (one or two asterisks). Math anxious individuals reacted faster when the probe was at the location of the numerical related stimuli. This suggests the existence of attentional bias in MA. That is, for math anxious individuals, the cognitive system selectively favored the processing of emotionally negative information (i.e., math related words). These findings suggest that attentional bias is linked to unduly intense MA symptoms.

Performance of an X-ray single pixel TES microcalorimeter under DC and AC biasing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gottardi, L.; Kuur, J. van der; Korte, P. A. J. de; Den Hartog, R.; Dirks, B.; Popescu, M.; Hoevers, H. F. C.; Bruijn, M.; Borderias, M. Parra; Takei, Y.

2009-01-01

We are developing Frequency Domain Multiplexing (FDM) for the read-out of TES imaging microcalorimeter arrays for future X-ray missions like IXO. In the FDM configuration the TES is AC voltage biased at a well defined frequencies (between 0.3 to 10 MHz) and acts as an AM modulating element. In this paper we will present a full comparison of the performance of a TES microcalorimeter under DC bias and AC bias at a frequency of 370 kHz. In both cases we measured the current-to-voltage characteristics, the complex impedance, the noise, the X-ray responsivity, and energy resolution. The behaviour is very similar in both cases, but deviations in performances are observed for detector working points low in the superconducting transition (R/R N <0.5). The measured energy resolution at 5.89 keV is 2.7 eV for DC bias and 3.7 eV for AC bias, while the baseline resolution is 2.8 eV and 3.3 eV, respectively.

In situ X-ray probing reveals fingerprints of surface platinum oxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Friebel, Daniel; Miller, Daniel J; O'Grady, Christopher P; Anniyev, Toyli; Bargar, John; Bergmann, Uwe; Ogasawara, Hirohito; Wikfeldt, Kjartan Thor; Pettersson, Lars G M; Nilsson, Anders

2011-01-07

In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the Pt L(3) edge is a useful probe for Pt-O interactions at polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) cathodes. We show that XAS using the high energy resolution fluorescence detection (HERFD) mode, applied to a well-defined monolayer Pt/Rh(111) sample where the bulk penetrating hard X-rays probe only surface Pt atoms, provides a unique sensitivity to structure and chemical bonding at the Pt-electrolyte interface. Ab initio multiple-scattering calculations using the FEFF code and complementary extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) results indicate that the commonly observed large increase of the white-line at high electrochemical potentials on PEMFC cathodes originates from platinum oxide formation, whereas previously proposed chemisorbed oxygen-containing species merely give rise to subtle spectral changes.

Tumor-suppressor genes that escape from X-inactivation contribute to cancer sex bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunford, Andrew; Weinstock, David M; Savova, Virginia; Schumacher, Steven E; Cleary, John P; Yoda, Akinori; Sullivan, Timothy J; Hess, Julian M; Gimelbrant, Alexander A; Beroukhim, Rameen; Lawrence, Michael S; Getz, Gad; Lane, Andrew A

2017-01-01

There is a striking and unexplained male predominance across many cancer types. A subset of X-chromosome genes can escape X-inactivation, which would protect females from complete functional loss by a single mutation. To identify putative 'escape from X-inactivation tumor-suppressor' (EXITS) genes, we examined somatic alterations from >4,100 cancers across 21 tumor types for sex bias. Six of 783 non-pseudoautosomal region (PAR) X-chromosome genes (ATRX, CNKSR2, DDX3X, KDM5C, KDM6A, and MAGEC3) harbored loss-of-function mutations more frequently in males (based on a false discovery rate < 0.1), in comparison to zero of 18,055 autosomal and PAR genes (Fisher's exact P < 0.0001). Male-biased mutations in genes that escape X-inactivation were observed in combined analysis across many cancers and in several individual tumor types, suggesting a generalized phenomenon. We conclude that biallelic expression of EXITS genes in females explains a portion of the reduced cancer incidence in females as compared to males across a variety of tumor types.

Exploring transient X-ray sky with Einstein Probe

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, W.; Zhang, C.; Ling, Z.; Zhao, D.; Chen, Y.; Lu, F.; Zhang, S.

2017-10-01

The Einstein Probe is a small satellite in time-domain astronomy to monitor the soft X-ray sky. It is a small mission in the space science programme of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It will carry out systematic survey and characterisation of high-energy transients at unprecedented sensitivity, spatial resolution, Grasp and monitoring cadence. Its wide-field imaging capability is achieved by using established technology of micro-pore lobster-eye X-ray focusing optics. Complementary to this is X-ray follow-up capability enabled by a narrow-field X-ray telescope. It is capable of on-board triggering and real time downlink of transient alerts, in order to trigger fast follow-up observations at multi-wavelengths. Its scientific goals are concerned with discovering and characterising diverse types of X-ray transients, including tidal disruption events, supernova shock breakouts, high-redshift GRBs, and of particular interest, X-ray counterparts of gravitational wave events.

X-31 Kiel Probe Side View

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

A photograph of the noseboom on the X-31 shows the Kiel air data probe angled at 10 degrees to better align the tip with the airflow at very high angles of attack. The devices were mounted on the nose of the X-31s to measure air pressure. Icing in the unheated Kiel probe on the first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584), caused that aircraft to crash on January 19, 1995. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. Each had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden

Probe manipulators for Wendelstein 7-X and their interaction with the magnetic topology

Science.gov (United States)

M, RACK; D, HÖSCHEN; D, REITER; B, UNTERBERG; J, W. COENEN; S, BREZINSEK; O, NEUBAUER; S, BOZHENKOV; G, CZYMEK; Y, LIANG; M, HUBENY; Ch, LINSMEIER; the Wendelstein 7-X Team

2018-05-01

Probe manipulators are a versatile addition to typical plasma edge diagnostics. Equipped with material samples they allow for detailed investigation of plasma–wall interaction processes, such as material erosion, deposition or impurity transport pathways. When combined with electrical probes, a study of scrape-off layer and plasma edge density, temperature and flow profiles as well as magnetic topologies is possible. A mid-plane manipulator is already in operation on Wendelstein 7-X. A system in the divertor region is currently under development. In the present paper we discuss the critical issue of heat and power loads, power redistribution and experimental access to the complex magnetic topology of Wendelstein 7-X. All the aforementioned aspects are of relevance for the design and operation of a probe manipulator in a device like Wendelstein 7-X. A focus is put on the topological region that is accessible for the different coil current configurations at Wendelstein 7-X and the power load on the manipulator with respect to the resulting different magnetic configurations. Qualitative analysis of power loads on plasma-facing components is performed using a numerical tracer particle diffusion tool provided via the Wendelstein 7-X Webservices.

Absolute calibration of sniffer probes on Wendelstein 7-X

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moseev, D.; Laqua, H.P.; Marsen, S.; Stange, T.; Braune, H.; Erckmann, V.; Gellert, F.J.; Oosterbeek, J.W.

Here we report the first measurements of the power levels of stray radiation in the vacuum vessel of Wendelstein 7-X using absolutely calibrated sniffer probes. The absolute calibration is achieved by using calibrated sources of stray radiation and the implicit measurement of the quality factor of

Tumor suppressor genes that escape from X-inactivation contribute to cancer sex bias

OpenAIRE

Dunford, Andrew; Weinstock, David M.; Savova, Virginia; Schumacher, Steven E.; Cleary, John P.; Yoda, Akinori; Sullivan, Timothy J.; Hess, Julian M.; Gimelbrant, Alexander A.; Beroukhim, Rameen; Lawrence, Michael S.; Getz, Gad; Lane, Andrew A.

2016-01-01

There is a striking and unexplained male predominance across many cancer types. A subset of X chromosome (chrX) genes can escape X-inactivation, which would protect females from complete functional loss by a single mutation. To identify putative “Escape from X-Inactivation Tumor Suppressor” (EXITS) genes, we compared somatic alterations from >4100 cancers across 21 tumor types for sex bias. Six of 783 non-pseudoautosomal region (PAR) chrX genes (ATRX, CNKSR2, DDX3X, KDM5C, KDM6A, and MAGEC3) ...

Attentional Bias in Math Anxiety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orly eRubinsten

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Cognitive theory from the field of general anxiety suggests that the tendency to display attentional bias toward negative information results in anxiety. Accordingly, the current study aims to investigate whether attentional bias is involved in math anxiety as well (i.e., a persistent negative reaction to math. Twenty seven participants (14 with high levels of math anxiety and 13 with low levels of math anxiety were presented with a novel computerized numerical version of the well established dot probe task. One of 6 types of prime stimuli, either math related or typically neutral, were presented on one side of a computer screen. The prime was preceded by a probe (either one or two asterisks that appeared in either the prime or the opposite location. Participants had to discriminate probe identity (one or two asterisks. Math anxious individuals reacted faster when the probe was at the location of the numerical related stimuli. This suggests the existence of attentional bias in math anxiety. That is, for math anxious individuals, the cognitive system selectively favored the processing of emotionally negative information (i.e., math related words. These findings suggest that attentional bias is linked to unduly intense math anxiety symptoms.

Theory of pump–probe ultrafast photoemission and X-ray absorption spectra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujikawa, Takashi, E-mail: tfujikawa@faculty.chiba-u.jp; Niki, Kaori

2016-01-15

Highlights: • Pump–probe ultrafast XAFS and XPS spectra are theoretically studied. • Keldysh Green's function theory is applied. • Important many-body effects are explicitly included. - Abstract: Keldysh Green's function approach is extensively used in order to derive practical formulas to analyze pump–probe ultrafast photoemission and X-ray absorption spectra. Here the pump pulse is strong enough whereas the probe X-ray pulse can be treated by use of a perturbation theory. We expand full Green's function in terms of renormalized Green's function without the interaction between electrons and probe pulse. The present theoretical formulas allow us to handle the intrinsic and extrinsic losses, and furthermore resonant effects in X-ray Absorption Fine Structures (XAFS). To understand the radiation field screening in XPS spectra, we have to use more sophisticated theoretical approach. In the ultrafast XPS and XAFS analyses the intrinsic and extrinsic loss effects can interfere as well. In the XAFS studies careful analyses are necessary to handle extrinsic losses in terms of damped photoelectron propagation. The nonequilibrium dynamics after the pump pulse irradiation is well described by use of the time-dependent Dyson orbitals. Well above the edge threshold, ultrafast photoelectron diffraction and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) provide us with transient structural change after the laser pump excitations. In addition to these slow processes, the rapid oscillation in time plays an important role related to pump electronic excitations. Near threshold detailed information could be obtained for the combined electronic and structural dynamics. In particular high-energy photoemission and EXAFS are not so influenced by the details of excited states by pump pulse. Random-Phase Approximation (RPA)-boson approach is introduced to derive some practical formulas for time-dependent intrinsic amplitudes.

ECR plasma diagnostics with Langmuir probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenez, L.; Biri, S.; Valek, A.

2000-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. An Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) Ion Source is a tool to generate highly charged ions. The ion beam is extracted from the plasma chamber of the ECRIS. Higher charge states and beam intensities are the main objectives of ECR research. The heart of an ion source is the confined plasma which should be well known to reach those objectives. Information about the plasma can be obtained by plasma diagnostics methods. Langmuir probes were successfully used in case of other plasmas, e.g. TOKAMAK. Until last year plasma diagnostics at the ATOMKI ECRIS was performed by X-ray and visible light measurements. While X-ray measurements give global information, the Langmuir probe method can give information on the local plasma parameters. This is an advantage because the local parameters are not known in detail. By Langmuir probe measurements it is possible to get information on plasma density, plasma potential and partly on the electron temperature. From the experimental point of view a Langmuir probe is very simple. However, the precise positioning of the probe in the plasma chamber (HV platform, strong magnetic field, RF waves) is a difficult task. Also the theory of probes is complicated: the ECR plasma is a special one because the confining magnetic field is inhomogeneous, beside hot electrons it contains cold ions with different charge states and it is heated with high frequency EM waves. What can be measured with a probe is a voltage-current (U-I) characteristics. Figure 1 shows a typical U-I curve measured in our lab. As it can be seen in the figure the diagram has three main parts. An ion saturation current region (I.), an electron saturation current region (III.) and a transition region (II.) between them. These measurements were performed using two different power supplies to bias the probe to positive and negative voltage. To perform more precise U-I measurements we need a special power supply which is presently being built in

Depth Probing Soft X-ray Microprobe (DPSXRM) for High Resolution Probing of Earth's Microstructural Samples

Science.gov (United States)

Dikedi, P. N.

2015-12-01

The Cambrian explosion; occurrence of landslides in very dry weather conditions; rockslides; dead, shriveled-up and crumbled leaves possessing fossil records with the semblance of well preserved, flat leaves; abundance of trilobite tracks in lower and higher rock layers; and sailing stones are enigmas demanding demystifications. These enigmas could be elucidated when data on soil structure, texture and strength are provided by some device with submicrometre accuracy; for these and other reasons, the design of a Depth Probing Soft X-ray Microprobe (DPSXRM), is being proposed; it is expected to deliver soft X-rays, at spatial resolution, ϛ≥600nm and to probe at the depth of 0.5m in 17s. The microprobe is portable compared to a synchrotron radiation facility (Diamond Light Source has land size of 43,300m2); spatial resolution,ϛ , of the DPSXRM surpasses those of the X-ray Fluorescence microanalysis (10µm), electron microprobe (1-3µm) and ion microprobe (5->30µm); the DPSXRM has allowance for multiple targets. Vanadium and Manganese membranes are proposed owing to respective 4.952KeV VKα1 and 5.899KeV MnKα1 X-rays emitted, which best suits micro-probing of Earth's microstructural samples. Compound systems like the Kirk-Patrick and Baez and Wolter optics, aspheric mirrors like elliptical and parabolic optics, small apertures and Abbe sine condition are employed to reduce or remove astigmatism, obliquity, comatic and spherical aberrations—leading to good image quality. Results show that 5.899KeV MnKα1 and 4.952KeV VKα1 soft X-rays will travel a distance of 2.75mm to form circular patches of radii 2.2mm and 2.95mm respectively. Zone plate with nth zone radius of 1.5mm must be positioned 1.5mm and 2mm from the electron gun if circular patches must be formed from 4.952KeV VKα1 and 5.899KeV MnKα1 soft X-rays respectively. The focal lengths of 0.25μm≤ƒ≤1.50μm and 0.04μm≤ƒ≤0.2μm covered by 4.952KeV VKα1 and 5.899KeV Mn Kα1 soft X-Rays, will

LH2 Tank Composite Coverplate Development and Flight Qualification for the X-33

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Richard J.; Roule, Gerard M.

2000-01-01

In this paper, the development history for the first cryogenic pressurized fuel tank coverplates is presented along with a synopsis of the development strategy and technologies which led to success on this program. Coverplates are the large access panels used to access launch vehicle fuel tanks. These structures incorporate all of the requirements for a pressure vessel as well as the added requirement to mount all of the miscellaneous access points required for a fuel management system. The first composite coverplates to meet the requirements for flight qualification were developed on the X-33 program. The X-33 composite coverplates went from an open requirement to successful finished flight hardware with multiple unique configurations, complete with verification testing, in less than eighteen months. Besides the rapid development schedule, these components introduced several new technologies previously unseen in cryogenic composites including solutions to cryogenic shrinkage, self-supporting sealing surfaces, and highly loaded composite bosses with precision sealing interfaces. These components were proven to seal liquid hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures under maximum loading and pressure conditions.

New Worlds / New Horizons Science with an X-ray Astrophysics Probe

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Randall K.; Bookbinder, Jay A.; Hornschemeier, Ann E.; Bandler, Simon; Brandt, W. N.; Hughes, John P.; McCammon, Dan; Matsumoto, Hironori; Mushotzky, Richard; Osten, Rachel A.;

Characterisation of corrosion processes of using electron micro-probe, scanning probe microscopy and synchrotron-generated x-ray fluorescence imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neufeld, A.K.; Cole, I.S.; Furman, S.A.; Isaacs, H.S.

2002-01-01

Full text: With recent advances in computerized technology, the study of chemical reactions can now be visualized as they occur in real time and has resulted in analytical techniques with orders of magnitude greater sensitivity and resolution. This ability offers the corrosion scientist a unique opportunity to study the processes relevant to degradation science which could only be theoretically considered. Neufeld el al (1,2) have attempted to explain in great detail the mechanism of corrosion initiation of zinc by using X-ray micro-probe, Scanning Kelvin probe, and more recently by using synchrotron-generated X-rays and X-ray fluorescence imaging. New results are presented from the synchrotron studies where the transport of ions in-situ has been investigated. The synthesis of information from the techniques will also be discussed in its relevance to atmospheric corrosion processes. Copyright (2002) Australian Society for Electron Microscopy Inc

Dark electrical bias effect on moisture-induced degradation in inverted lead halide perovskite solar cells measured by advanced chemical probes

KAUST Repository

Barbe, Jeremy; Kumar, Vikas; Newman, Michael; Lee, Harrison; Jain, Sagar Motilal; Chen, Hu; Charbonneau, Cé cile; Rodenburg, C; Tsoi, Wing

2018-01-01

Emerging lead halide perovskite materials have enormous potential for a range of optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, transistors and lasers. However, the large-scale commercialization of these technologies will depend on the ability of the active material to be stable under environmental and operating conditions. In this work, we measured the first time the electrical bias-induced degradation of inverted perovskite solar cells in the dark in different environments and concluded that humidity coupled with electrical bias results in fast degradation of CH3NH3PbI3 into PbI2. Micro-Raman and photoluminescence show that the degradation starts from the edge of the cell due to moisture ingress. By using novel local Raman-transient photocurrent measurements, we were able to probe local ion migration at the degraded region and non-degraded region and found that the formation of PbI2 can passivate perovskite by reducing ion migration. The degradation is far from uniform across different grains as revealed by secondary electron hyperspectral imaging, an advanced scanning electron microscopy technique which allows probing the composition of individual grain from the cross-section. By using potential step chronoamperometry, we also found that the bias degradation is closely related to the density of mobile ions. The unique combination of established methods with several novel analytical tools provides an insight into the origin of the bias-degradation of inverted perovskite solar cells from nano-scale to cell level, and demonstrates the potential of these novel tools for studying the degradation in other perovskite systems.

Dark electrical bias effect on moisture-induced degradation in inverted lead halide perovskite solar cells measured by advanced chemical probes

KAUST Repository

Barbe, Jeremy

2018-02-12

Emerging lead halide perovskite materials have enormous potential for a range of optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, transistors and lasers. However, the large-scale commercialization of these technologies will depend on the ability of the active material to be stable under environmental and operating conditions. In this work, we measured the first time the electrical bias-induced degradation of inverted perovskite solar cells in the dark in different environments and concluded that humidity coupled with electrical bias results in fast degradation of CH3NH3PbI3 into PbI2. Micro-Raman and photoluminescence show that the degradation starts from the edge of the cell due to moisture ingress. By using novel local Raman-transient photocurrent measurements, we were able to probe local ion migration at the degraded region and non-degraded region and found that the formation of PbI2 can passivate perovskite by reducing ion migration. The degradation is far from uniform across different grains as revealed by secondary electron hyperspectral imaging, an advanced scanning electron microscopy technique which allows probing the composition of individual grain from the cross-section. By using potential step chronoamperometry, we also found that the bias degradation is closely related to the density of mobile ions. The unique combination of established methods with several novel analytical tools provides an insight into the origin of the bias-degradation of inverted perovskite solar cells from nano-scale to cell level, and demonstrates the potential of these novel tools for studying the degradation in other perovskite systems.

Edge biasing in the WEGA stellarator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lischtschenko, Oliver

2009-01-01

The WEGA stellarator is used to confine low temperature, overdense (densities exceeding the cut-off density of the heating wave) plasmas by magnetic fields in the range of B=50-500 mT. Microwave heating systems are used to ignite gas discharges using hydrogen, helium, neon or argon as working gases. The produced plasmas have been analyzed using Langmuir and emissive probes, a single-channel interferometer and ultra-high resolution Doppler spectroscopy. For a typical argon discharge in the low field operation, B=56 mT, the maximum electron density is n e ∝10 18 m -3 with temperatures in the range of T=4-12 eV. The plasma parameters are determined by using Langmuir probes and are cross-checked with interferometry. It is demonstrated within this work that the joint use of emissive probes and ultra-high resolution Doppler spectroscopy allows a precise measurement of the radial electric field. The focus of this work is on demonstrating the ability to modify the existing radial electric field in a plasma by using the biasing probe. This work commences with a basic approach and first establishes the diagnostic tools in a well-known discharge. Then the perturbation caused by the biasing probe is assessed. Following the characterization of the unperturbed plasmas, plasma states altered by the operation of the energized biasing probe are characterized. During biasing the plasma two different stable plasma states have been found. The two observed plasma states differ in plasma parameter profiles, such as density, temperature, electric field and confined energy. (orig.)

Doping dependent magnetism and exchange bias in CaMn{sub 1−x}W{sub x}O{sub 3} manganites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markovich, V., E-mail: markoviv@bgu.ac.il; Gorodetsky, G. [Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84105 Beer-Sheva (Israel); Fita, I. [Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Aleja Lotnikow 32/46, PL-02-668 Warsaw (Poland); Donetsk Institute for Physics and Technology, National Academy of Sciences, 83114 Donetsk (Ukraine); Wisniewski, A.; Puzniak, R. [Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Aleja Lotnikow 32/46, PL-02-668 Warsaw (Poland); Mogilyansky, D. [The Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105 (Israel); Naumov, S. V.; Mostovshchikova, E. V.; Telegin, S. V. [Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Branch of RAS, Kovalevskaya Street 18, Ekaterinburg 620990 (Russian Federation); Jung, G. [Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84105 Beer-Sheva (Israel); Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Aleja Lotnikow 32/46, PL-02-668 Warsaw (Poland)

2014-09-07

Magnetic properties of CaMn{sub 1−x}W{sub x}O{sub 3} (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) have been investigated, and the research was focused on the exchange bias (EB) phenomenon in CaMn{sub 0.93}W{sub 0.07}O{sub 3}. Magnetic ground state was found to be dependent on tungsten doping level and the following states were distinguished: (i) G-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) state with a weak ferromagnetic (FM) component at x = 0 and 0.04; (ii) mostly orbitally ordered C-type AFM at x = 0.07 and 0.1. For the studied manganites, spontaneous magnetization increases sharply with increasing doping level reaching M{sub 0} ≈ 9.5 emu/g at T = 10 K for x = 0.04, and then decreases rapidly reaching zero for x = 0.1. Exchange bias effect, manifested by vertical and horizontal shifts in the hysteresis loop for field cooled sample, has been observed in CaMn{sub 0.93}W{sub 0.07}O{sub 3}. Exchange bias field, coercivity, remanence asymmetry, and magnetic coercivity depend strongly on temperature, cooling field, and maximal measuring field. Horizontal and vertical shifts of magnetization loop sharply decrease with increasing temperature and vanish above 70 K, whereas coercivity and magnetic coercivity disappear only above 100 K (temperature of transition to the G-type AFM state). The exchange bias field H{sub EB} increases with increasing cooling field H{sub cool} and goes through a broad maximum at 40 kOe, while the remanence asymmetry increases monotonously in the entire investigated cooling field range, up to 50 kOe. For the compound with x = 0.07, the size of the FM regions ≈2 nm was estimated from the dependence of exchange bias field H{sub EB} upon H{sub cool}. It is suggested that the exchange bias originates from interface exchange coupling between small FM clusters and the G-type AFM phase inside the primary C-type orbitally ordered AFM phase.

Deceleration of probe beam by stage bias potential improves resolution of serial block-face scanning electron microscopic images.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouwer, James C; Deerinck, Thomas J; Bushong, Eric; Astakhov, Vadim; Ramachandra, Ranjan; Peltier, Steven T; Ellisman, Mark H

2017-01-01

Serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBEM) is quickly becoming an important imaging tool to explore three-dimensional biological structure across spatial scales. At probe-beam-electron energies of 2.0 keV or lower, the axial resolution should improve, because there is less primary electron penetration into the block face. More specifically, at these lower energies, the interaction volume is much smaller, and therefore, surface detail is more highly resolved. However, the backscattered electron yield for metal contrast agents and the backscattered electron detector sensitivity are both sub-optimal at these lower energies, thus negating the gain in axial resolution. We found that the application of a negative voltage (reversal potential) applied to a modified SBEM stage creates a tunable electric field at the sample. This field can be used to decrease the probe-beam-landing energy and, at the same time, alter the trajectory of the signal to increase the signal collected by the detector. With decelerated low landing-energy electrons, we observed that the probe-beam-electron-penetration depth was reduced to less than 30 nm in epoxy-embedded biological specimens. Concurrently, a large increase in recorded signal occurred due to the re-acceleration of BSEs in the bias field towards the objective pole piece where the detector is located. By tuning the bias field, we were able to manipulate the trajectories of the  primary and secondary electrons, enabling the spatial discrimination of these signals using an advanced ring-type BSE detector configuration or a standard monolithic BSE detector coupled with a blocking aperture.

Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy probe for in situ mechanism study of graphene-oxide-based resistive random access memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Nho, Hyun Woo; Kim, Jong Yun; Wang, Jian; Shin, Hyun-Joon; Choi, Sung-Yool; Yoon, Tae Hyun

2014-01-01

Here, an in situ probe for scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) has been developed and applied to the study of the bipolar resistive switching (BRS) mechanism in an Al/graphene oxide (GO)/Al resistive random access memory (RRAM) device. To perform in situ STXM studies at the C K- and O K-edges, both the RRAM junctions and the I0 junction were fabricated on a single Si3N4 membrane to obtain local XANES spectra at these absorption edges with more delicate I0 normalization. Using this probe combined with the synchrotron-based STXM technique, it was possible to observe unique chemical changes involved in the BRS process of the Al/GO/Al RRAM device. Reversible oxidation and reduction of GO induced by the externally applied bias voltages were observed at the O K-edge XANES feature located at 538.2 eV, which strongly supported the oxygen ion drift model that was recently proposed from ex situ transmission electron microscope studies.

Probing nucleobase photoprotection with soft x-rays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osipov T.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Nucleobases absorb strongly in the ultraviolet region, leading to molecular excitation into reactive states. The molecules avoid the photoreactions by funnelling the electronic energy into less reactive states on an ultrafast timescale via non-Born-Oppenheimer dynamics. Current theory on the nucleobase thymine discusses two conflicting pathways for the photoprotective dynamics. We present our first results of our free electron laser based UV-pump soft x-ray-probe study of the photoprotection mechanism of thymine. We use the high spatial sensitivity of the Auger electrons emitted after the soft x-ray pulse induced core ionization. Our transient spetra show two timescales on the order of 200 fs and 5 ps, in agreement with previous (all UV ultrafast experiments. The timescales appear at different Auger kinetic energies which will help us to decipher the molecular dynamics.

Using acoustic levitation in synchrotron based laser pump hard x-ray probe experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Bin; Lerch, Jason; Suthar, Kamlesh; Dichiara, Anthony

Acoustic levitation provides a platform to trap and hold a small amount of material by using standing pressure waves without a container. The technique has a potential to be used for laser pump x-ray probe experiments; x-ray scattering and laser distortion from the container can be avoided, sample consumption can be minimized, and unwanted chemistry that may occur at the container interface can be avoided. The method has been used at synchrotron sources for studying protein and pharmaceutical solutions using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). However, pump-probe experiments require homogeneously excited samples, smaller than the absorption depth of the material that must be held stably at the intersection of both the laser and x-ray beams. We discuss 1) the role of oscillations in acoustic levitation and the optimal acoustic trapping conditions for x-ray/laser experiments, 2) opportunities to automate acoustic levitation for fast sample loading and manipulation, and 3) our experimental results using SAXS to monitor laser induced thermal expansion in gold nanoparticles solution. We also performed Finite Element Analysis to optimize the trapping performance and stability of droplets ranging from 0.4 mm to 2 mm. Our early x-ray/laser demonstrated the potential of the technique for time-resolved X-ray science.

Essential elements of an effective data qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, E.W.

1994-01-01

Before data is used in any statistical evaluation, it should be subjected to a thorough data qualification to ensure its integrity. Data Qualification efforts may vary in scope but should all contain certain basic elements. Outliers should be eliminated so that any estimates obtained from the data will not be overly biased. Plots may be generated to uncover potential outliers, and these observations can be confirmed as being anomalous through the use of statistical testing. Non-stationarity of the data (i.e., time trends) may also be initially identified through the use of plots and confirmed by the results of statistical analyses, e.g., the use of the Kendall's tau statistic. When the dataset has been qualified, replicates and duplicates should be averaged to create a pseudo-independence between data points. An algorithm based on the groundwater data from the Savannah River Site has been used by the Applied Statistics Group at Westinghouse Savannah River Company for this

Transmission X-ray scattering as a probe for complex liquid-surface structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fukuto, Masafumi; Yang, Lin; Nykypanchuk, Dmytro; Kuzmenko, Ivan

2016-01-28

The need for functional materials calls for increasing complexity in self-assembly systems. As a result, the ability to probe both local structure and heterogeneities, such as phase-coexistence and domain morphologies, has become increasingly important to controlling self-assembly processes, including those at liquid surfaces. The traditional X-ray scattering methods for liquid surfaces, such as specular reflectivity and grazing-incidence diffraction, are not well suited to spatially resolving lateral heterogeneities due to large illuminated footprint. A possible alternative approach is to use scanning transmission X-ray scattering to simultaneously probe local intermolecular structures and heterogeneous domain morphologies on liquid surfaces. To test the feasibility of this approach, transmission small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (TSAXS/TWAXS) studies of Langmuir films formed on water meniscus against a vertically immersed hydrophilic Si substrate were recently carried out. First-order diffraction rings were observed in TSAXS patterns from a monolayer of hexagonally packed gold nanoparticles and in TWAXS patterns from a monolayer of fluorinated fatty acids, both as a Langmuir monolayer on water meniscus and as a Langmuir–Blodgett monolayer on the substrate. The patterns taken at multiple spots have been analyzed to extract the shape of the meniscus surface and the ordered-monolayer coverage as a function of spot position. These results, together with continual improvement in the brightness and spot size of X-ray beams available at synchrotron facilities, support the possibility of using scanning-probe TSAXS/TWAXS to characterize heterogeneous structures at liquid surfaces.

RF compensation of single Langmuir probe in low density helicon plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghosh, Soumen, E-mail: soumen@ipr.res.in; Chattopadhyay, Prabal K.; Ghosh, Joydeep; Bora, Dhiraj

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Appropriate density and temperature measurement with Langmuir probe in RF Eenvironment. • Necessity of large auxiliary electrode for RF compensation at low densities (∼10{sup 16} m{sup −3}). • Measured two temperature electrons in low pressure helicon antenna produced RF plasma. • Tail electrons are localized only at off-axis in our cylindrical plasma system. - Abstract: Interpretations of Single Langmuir probe measurements in electrode-less radio frequency (RF) plasmas are noteworthy tricky and require adequate compensation of RF. Conventional RF compensation technique is limited only at high density (>10{sup 17} m{sup −3}) RF plasmas. RF compensation of single Langmuir probe at low density RF plasmas (∼10{sup 16} m{sup −3}) is presented in this paper. In RF driven plasmas, where the RF voltage is high (∼50 V) and density is in the range (∼10{sup 16} m{sup −3}), the primary RF compensation condition (Z{sub ck} > >Z{sub sh}) is very difficult to fulfill, because of high sheath impedance (Z{sub sh}) at 13.56 MHz and the construction limitation of a self-resonant tiny chock (Z{sub ck}) with very high impedance. Introducing a large auxiliary electrode (A{sub x}), (A{sub x} >>> A{sub p}), close to the small Langmuir probe (A{sub p}) tip, connected in parallel with probe via a coupling capacitor (C{sub cp}), significantly reduces the effective sheath impedance (Z{sub sh}) and allows probe bias to follow the RF oscillation. Dimensional requirements of the auxiliary electrode and the role of suitable coupling capacitor are discussed in this paper. Observations show proper compensation leads to estimation of more positive floating potentials and lower electron temperatures compared to uncompensated probe. The electron energy probability function (EEPF) is also obtained by double differentiating the collected current with respect to the applied bias voltage using an active analog circuit.

Pre-service baseline inspection using x-probe of Oconee replacement steam generators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Addario, M.; Shipp, P.; Davis, K.; Fogal, C.

2003-01-01

The eddy current method has been the industry standard for inspecting steam generator tubing for many years and the level of sophistication of coil technology has continued to evolve during that time. State of the art array probe systems now employ multiple sensitivity zones in the probe to better detect and characterize defects in an efficient manner. Owners and regulators of nuclear power plants are interested in the most effective and efficient inspection possible. The ultimate goal has been to meet or exceed new and existing regulatory and design requirements by maximizing the quantity and quality of eddy current data collected while minimizing both the time needed to perform the inspection and the radiation exposure. The X-Probe is an example of this new eddy current array technology. Qualified to detect all types of known defects in steam generator tubing, the technology is comprised of a system of probe, data acquisition instrumentation, computer and human interface software. Recently, Duke Power, along with Babcock and Wilcox Canada and the system developer R/D Tech, collaborated to implement this technology in a first of a kind full scale pre-service inspection of replacement steam generators for Duke Power's Oconee nuclear generating station at Babcock and Wilcox Canada's Cambridge plant. The discussion in this paper will briefly describe the X-Probe technology, describe the system required to perform the inspection, present the general results of the inspection and finally draw some comparative benefit conclusions for both pre-service and in-service applications. (author)

Cataclysmic variables as probes of x-ray properties of interstellar grains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bode, M.F.; Evans, A.; Norwell, G.A.

1983-01-01

Interstellar-grain properties have previously been probed at wavelengths ranging from the infrared to the ultraviolet. Recent work by other authors has shown that we may also observe the effects of scattering by such grains at x-ray wavelengths. In this paper we suggest that investigations of the x-ray properties of interstellar grains may profitably be conducted in sight lines to variable sources. Particular emphasis is given in this context to cataclysmic variables and related objects

Workshop on the coupling of synchrotron radiation IR and X-rays with tip based scanning probe microscopies X-TIP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Comin, F.; Martinez-Criado, G.; Mundboth, K.; Susini, J. [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 38 - Grenoble (France); Purans, J.; Sammelselg, V. [Tartu Univ. (Estonia); Chevrier, J.; Huant, S. [Universite Joseph-Fourier, Grenoble I, LEPES, 38 (France); Hamilton, B. [School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Manchester (United Kingdom); Saito, A. [Osaka Univ., RIKEN/SPring8 (Japan); Dhez, O. [OGG, INFM/CNR, 38 - Grenoble (France); Brocklesby, W.S. [Southampton Univ., Optoelectronics Research Centre (United Kingdom); Alvarez-Prado, L.M. [Ovieado, Dept. de Fisica (Spain); Kuzmin, A. [Institute of Solid State Physics - Riga (Latvia); Pailharey, D. [CRMC-N - CNRS, 13 - Marseille (France); Tonneau, D. [CRMCN - Faculte des sciences de Luminy, 13 - Marseille (France); Chretien, P. [Laboratoire de Genie Electrique de Paris, 75 - Paris (France); Cricenti, A. [ISM-CNR, Rome (Italy); DeWilde, Y. [ESPCI, 75 - Paris (France)

2005-07-01

The coupling of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) with synchrotron radiation is attracting increasing attention from nano-science community. By combining these 2 tools one can visualize, for example, the sample nano-structure prior to any X-ray characterization. Coupled with focusing devices or independently, SPM can provide spatial resolution below the optical limits. Furthermore, the possibility of employing SPM to manipulate nano-objects under X-ray beams is another exciting perspective. This document gathers the transparencies of 6 of the presentations made at the workshop: 1) the combination of atomic force microscopy and X-ray beam - experimental set-up and objectives; 2) the combination of scanning probe microscope and X-rays for detection of electrons; 3) towards soft X-ray scanning microscopy using tapered capillaries and laser-based high harmonic sources; 4) near-field magneto-optical microscopy; 5) near-field scanning optical microscopy - a brief overview -; and 6) from aperture-less near-field optical microscopy to infra-red near-field night vision. 4 posters entitled: 1) development of laboratory setup for X-ray/AFM experiments, 2) towards X-ray diffraction on single islands, 3) nano-XEOL using near-field detection, and 4) local collection with a STM tip of photoelectrons emitted by a surface irradiated by visible of UV laser beam, are included in the document.

Workshop on the coupling of synchrotron radiation IR and X-rays with tip based scanning probe microscopies X-TIP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comin, F.; Martinez-Criado, G.; Mundboth, K.; Susini, J.; Purans, J.; Sammelselg, V.; Chevrier, J.; Huant, S.; Hamilton, B.; Saito, A.; Dhez, O.; Brocklesby, W.S.; Alvarez-Prado, L.M.; Kuzmin, A.; Pailharey, D.; Tonneau, D.; Chretien, P.; Cricenti, A.; DeWilde, Y.

2005-01-01

The coupling of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) with synchrotron radiation is attracting increasing attention from nano-science community. By combining these 2 tools one can visualize, for example, the sample nano-structure prior to any X-ray characterization. Coupled with focusing devices or independently, SPM can provide spatial resolution below the optical limits. Furthermore, the possibility of employing SPM to manipulate nano-objects under X-ray beams is another exciting perspective. This document gathers the transparencies of 6 of the presentations made at the workshop: 1) the combination of atomic force microscopy and X-ray beam - experimental set-up and objectives; 2) the combination of scanning probe microscope and X-rays for detection of electrons; 3) towards soft X-ray scanning microscopy using tapered capillaries and laser-based high harmonic sources; 4) near-field magneto-optical microscopy; 5) near-field scanning optical microscopy - a brief overview -; and 6) from aperture-less near-field optical microscopy to infra-red near-field night vision. 4 posters entitled: 1) development of laboratory setup for X-ray/AFM experiments, 2) towards X-ray diffraction on single islands, 3) nano-XEOL using near-field detection, and 4) local collection with a STM tip of photoelectrons emitted by a surface irradiated by visible of UV laser beam, are included in the document

Legal directives in the X-ray regulation for the field of X-ray diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huhn, Walter

2012-01-01

The operation of each X-ray device is subject to the requirements of the X-ray regulations (RoeV); for different operational modes or applications like curative diagnostics, X-ray serial examinations, X-ray radiotherapy and teleradiology different directives exist and have to be respected. The report discusses the issues licensing and notification procedures, radiation protection representative, requirements for the commissioning (teleradiology, serial X.ray examinations), technical qualification and radiation protection knowledge of physicians, technical qualification of the assistant personnel.

Key electronic states in lithium battery materials probed by soft X-ray spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Wanli; Liu, Xiaosong; Qiao, Ruimin; Olalde-Velasco, Paul; Spear, Jonathan D.; Roseguo, Louis; Pepper, John X.; Chuang, Yi-de; Denlinger, Jonathan D.; Hussain, Zahid

2013-01-01

Highlights: •Key electronic states in battery materials revealed by soft X-ray spectroscopy. •Soft X-ray absorption consistently probes Mn oxidation states in different systems. •Soft X-ray absorption and emission fingerprint battery operations in LiFePO 4 . •Spectroscopic guidelines for selecting/optimizing polymer materials for batteries. •Distinct SEI formation on same electrode material with different crystal orientations. -- Abstract: The formidable challenges for developing a safe, low-cost, high-capacity, and high-power battery necessitate employing advanced tools that are capable of directly probing the key electronic states relevant to battery performance. Synchrotron based soft X-ray spectroscopy directly measures both the occupied and unoccupied states in the vicinity of the Fermi level, including transition-metal-3d and anion-p states. This article presents the basic concepts on how fundamental physics in electronic structure could provide valuable information for lithium-ion battery applications. We then discuss some of our recent studies on transition-metal oxide based cathodes, silicon based anode, and solid-electrolyte-interphase through soft X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy. We argue that spectroscopic results reveal the evolution of electronic states for fingerprinting, understanding, and optimizing lithium-ion battery operations

Monochromatic X-ray probing of a superdense plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pikuz, S.A.; Shelkovenko, T.A.; Romanova, V.M.; Faenov, A.Ya.; Dyakin, V.A.; Pikuz, T.A.

1995-01-01

Investigation results are presented of the superdense plasma of an exploding wire by means of a new scheme of X-ray monochromatic probing. The scheme permits not only to obtain the shadow images of bright plasma objects in separate spectral lines with a high spatial resolution but and to lower requirements to a radiation source. Experimental results confirm existence of a small-dense plasma coronae, appeared during the initial stage of a discharge through a wire, and a dense core, existing at the pinch axis in the discharge process. 13 refs.; 3 figs

Micro-X-ray absorption near edge structure as a suitable probe to monitor live organisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oger, Phil M.; Daniel, I.; Simionovici, A.; Picard, A.

2008-01-01

X-ray spectroscopies are very powerful tools to determine the chemistry of complex dilute solutes in abiotic and biotic systems. We have assayed their suitability to monitor the chemistry of complex solutions in a live biotic system. The impact of the probe on cells was quantified for 4 different cellular organisms differing in their resistance level to environmental stresses. We show that none of the organisms tested can survive the radiation doses needed for the acquisition of meaningful spectroscopic data. Therefore, on one hand, X-ray spectroscopy cannot be applied to the monitoring of single cells, and cellular damages have to be taken into account in the interpretation of the evolution of such systems. On the other hand, due to the limited extension of X-ray induced cellular damages in the culture volume, it is possible to probe a population of live cells provided that the culture to beam probe ratio is large enough to minimize the impact of mortality on the evolution of the biological system. Our results suggest that it could be possible to probe the volume in the close vicinity of a cell without affecting its activity. Using this setup we could monitor the reduction of selenite by the X-ray sensitive bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58, for 24 h. This method has a great potential to monitor the respiration of various metals, such as iron, manganese and arsenic, in situ under relevant environmental conditions by live microorganisms

Micro-X-ray absorption near edge structure as a suitable probe to monitor live organisms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oger, Phil M. [Laboratoire de Sciences de la Terre, UMR CNRS 5570, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon-Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, F-69364 (France)], E-mail: poger@ens-lyon.fr; Daniel, I.; Simionovici, A.; Picard, A. [Laboratoire de Sciences de la Terre, UMR CNRS 5570, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon-Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, F-69364 (France)

2008-04-15

X-ray spectroscopies are very powerful tools to determine the chemistry of complex dilute solutes in abiotic and biotic systems. We have assayed their suitability to monitor the chemistry of complex solutions in a live biotic system. The impact of the probe on cells was quantified for 4 different cellular organisms differing in their resistance level to environmental stresses. We show that none of the organisms tested can survive the radiation doses needed for the acquisition of meaningful spectroscopic data. Therefore, on one hand, X-ray spectroscopy cannot be applied to the monitoring of single cells, and cellular damages have to be taken into account in the interpretation of the evolution of such systems. On the other hand, due to the limited extension of X-ray induced cellular damages in the culture volume, it is possible to probe a population of live cells provided that the culture to beam probe ratio is large enough to minimize the impact of mortality on the evolution of the biological system. Our results suggest that it could be possible to probe the volume in the close vicinity of a cell without affecting its activity. Using this setup we could monitor the reduction of selenite by the X-ray sensitive bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58, for 24 h. This method has a great potential to monitor the respiration of various metals, such as iron, manganese and arsenic, in situ under relevant environmental conditions by live microorganisms.

Novel Acoustic Feedback Cancellation Approaches In Hearing Aid Applications Using Probe Noise and Probe Noise Enhancement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Meng; Jensen, Søren Holdt; Jensen, Jesper

2012-01-01

. In many cases, this bias problem causes the cancellation system to fail. The traditional probe noise approach, where a noise signal is added to the loudspeaker signal can, in theory, prevent the bias. However, in practice, the probe noise level must often be so high that the noise is clearly audible...... and annoying; this makes the traditional probe noise approach less useful in practical applications. In this work, we explain theoretically the decreased convergence rate when using low-level probe noise in the traditional approach, before we propose and study analytically two new probe noise approaches...... the proposed approaches much more attractive in practical applications. We demonstrate this through a simulation experiment with audio signals in a hearing aid acoustic feedback cancellation system, where the convergence rate is improved by as much as a factor of 10....

Study of ablation and implosion stages in wire arrays using coupled ultraviolet and X-ray probing diagnostics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, A. A.; Ivanov, V. V.; Astanovitskiy, A. L.; Wiewior, P. P.; Chalyy, O. [University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada 89557 (United States); Papp, D. [University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada 89557 (United States); ELI-ALPS, ELI-Hu Nkft., H-6720 Szeged (Hungary)

2015-11-15

Star and cylindrical wire arrays were studied using laser probing and X-ray radiography at the 1-MA Zebra pulse power generator at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Leopard laser provided backlighting, producing a laser plasma from a Si target which emitted an X-ray probing pulse at the wavelength of 6.65 Å. A spherically bent quartz crystal imaged the backlit wires onto X-ray film. Laser probing diagnostics at the wavelength of 266 nm included a 3-channel polarimeter for Faraday rotation diagnostic and two-frame laser interferometry with two shearing interferometers to study the evolution of the plasma electron density at the ablation and implosion stages. Dynamics of the plasma density profile in Al wire arrays at the ablation stage were directly studied with interferometry, and expansion of wire cores was measured with X-ray radiography. The magnetic field in the imploding plasma was measured with the Faraday rotation diagnostic, and current was reconstructed.

X-31 Kiel Probe Close-up Showing Inside

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

A close-up photograph of the Kiel air data probe on the noseboom on the X-31 aircraft shows the orifices used to collect air pressure measurements. Icing in the unheated Kiel probe on the first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584) caused that aircraft to crash. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. Each has a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled

QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT AND QUALIFICATIONS RATING IN THE LAND MANAGEMENT SPHERE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Myrasheva

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the research is to observe the existing approaches to qualifications framework development in the sphere of land management, cadastres and real estate management, as well as the qualifications framework adaptation to European system. The relevance of the issue is related to the specific professional and institutional problems facing Russian educational establishments engaged in personnel training in the given sphere. The authors demonstrate the qualifications framework development in the land management sector regarding it as a key mechanism of educational mobility and the router for knowledge acquisition and updates. The qualifications framework is referred to as a systematic and structured description of recognized qualifications. The accepted worldwide methodology of organizing the educational process and quality control system is given. The emphasis is on the need to comply the qualifications framework with the Russian State Educational Standards.

Large Observatory for x-ray Timing (LOFT-P): a Probe-class mission concept study

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.; Ray, Paul S.; Chakrabarty, Deepto; Feroci, Marco; Alvarez, Laura; Baysinger, Michael; Becker, Chris; Bozzo, Enrico; Brandt, Soren; Carson, Billy; Chapman, Jack; Dominguez, Alexandra; Fabisinski, Leo; Gangl, Bert; Garcia, Jay; Griffith, Christopher; Hernanz, Margarita; Hickman, Robert; Hopkins, Randall; Hui, Michelle; Ingram, Luster; Jenke, Peter; Korpela, Seppo; Maccarone, Tom; Michalska, Malgorzata; Pohl, Martin; Santangelo, Andrea; Schanne, Stephane; Schnell, Andrew; Stella, Luigi; van der Klis, Michiel; Watts, Anna; Winter, Berend; Zane, Silvia

2016-07-01

LOFT-P is a mission concept for a NASA Astrophysics Probe-Class (matter? What are the effects of strong gravity on matter spiraling into black holes? It would be optimized for sub-millisecond timing of bright Galactic X-ray sources including X-ray bursters, black hole binaries, and magnetars to study phenomena at the natural timescales of neutron star surfaces and black hole event horizons and to measure mass and spin of black holes. These measurements are synergistic to imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy instruments, addressing much smaller distance scales than are possible without very long baseline X-ray interferometry, and using complementary techniques to address the geometry and dynamics of emission regions. LOFT-P would have an effective area of >6 m2, > 10x that of the highly successful Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). A sky monitor (2-50 keV) acts as a trigger for pointed observations, providing high duty cycle, high time resolution monitoring of the X-ray sky with 20 times the sensitivity of the RXTE All-Sky Monitor, enabling multi-wavelength and multimessenger studies. A probe-class mission concept would employ lightweight collimator technology and large-area solid-state detectors, segmented into pixels or strips, technologies which have been recently greatly advanced during the ESA M3 Phase A study of LOFT. Given the large community interested in LOFT (>800 supporters*, the scientific productivity of this mission is expected to be very high, similar to or greater than RXTE ( 2000 refereed publications). We describe the results of a study, recently completed by the MSFC Advanced Concepts Office, that demonstrates that such a mission is feasible within a NASA probe-class mission budget.

Inspector qualification guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batty, A.C.; Van Binnebeek, J.J.; Ericsson, P.O.; Fisher, J.C.; Geiger, P.; Grandame, M.; Grimes, B.K.; Joode, A. de; Kaufer, B.; Kinoshita, M.; Klonk, H.; Koizumi, H.; Maeda, N.; Maqua, M.; Perez del Moral, C.; Roselli, F.; Warren, T.; Zimmerman, R.

1994-07-01

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) has a Working Group on Inspection Practices (WGIP). The WGIP provides a forum for the exchange of Information and experience on the safety Inspection practices of regulatory authorities In the CNRA member countries. A consistent qualification process and well defined level of training for all Inspectors who participate In the safety Inspections are needed to provide consistent Inspections and reliable Inspection results. The WGIP organized in 1992 a workshop on the conduct of inspections, inspector qualification and training, and shutdown inspections at the Technical Training Center of the US NRC in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the connection of workshop the WGIP identified a need to develop guidance for inspector qualification which could be used as a model by those who are developing their qualification practices. The inspector qualification journals of US NRC provided a good basis for the work. The following inspector qualification guideline has been developed for guidance of qualification of a new inspector recruited to the regulatory body. This guideline has been developed for helping the supervisors and training officers to give the initial training and familiarization to the duties of a new inspector in a controlled manner. US NRC inspector qualification journals have been used to define the areas of attention. This guideline provides large flexibility for application in different type organizations. Large organizations can develop separate qualification journals for each inspector positions. Small regulatory bodies can develop individual training programmes by defining the necessary training topics on case by case basis. E.g. the guideline can be used to define the qualifications of contracted inspectors used in some countries. The appropriate part would apply. Annex 1 gives two examples how this guideline could be applied

Inspector qualification guidelines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batty, A. C.; Van Binnebeek, J. J.; Ericsson, P. O.; Fisher, J. C.; Geiger, P.; Grandame, M.; Grimes, B. K.; Joode, A. de; Kaufer, B.; Kinoshita, M.; Klonk, H.; Koizumi, H.; Maeda, N.; Maqua, M.; Perez del Moral, C.; Roselli, F.; Warren, T.; Zimmerman, R.

1994-07-15

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) has a Working Group on Inspection Practices (WGIP). The WGIP provides a forum for the exchange of Information and experience on the safety Inspection practices of regulatory authorities In the CNRA member countries. A consistent qualification process and well defined level of training for all Inspectors who participate In the safety Inspections are needed to provide consistent Inspections and reliable Inspection results. The WGIP organized in 1992 a workshop on the conduct of inspections, inspector qualification and training, and shutdown inspections at the Technical Training Center of the US NRC in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the connection of workshop the WGIP identified a need to develop guidance for inspector qualification which could be used as a model by those who are developing their qualification practices. The inspector qualification journals of US NRC provided a good basis for the work. The following inspector qualification guideline has been developed for guidance of qualification of a new inspector recruited to the regulatory body. This guideline has been developed for helping the supervisors and training officers to give the initial training and familiarization to the duties of a new inspector in a controlled manner. US NRC inspector qualification journals have been used to define the areas of attention. This guideline provides large flexibility for application in different type organizations. Large organizations can develop separate qualification journals for each inspector positions. Small regulatory bodies can develop individual training programmes by defining the necessary training topics on case by case basis. E.g. the guideline can be used to define the qualifications of contracted inspectors used in some countries. The appropriate part would apply. Annex 1 gives two examples how this guideline could be applied.

Maximum material thickness for extreme ultra-violet and X-ray backlighter probing of dense plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, H.; Tallents, G.J.

2008-01-01

Extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lasers, X-ray lasers and other backlighter sources can be used to probe high-energy density materials if their brightness can overcome self-emission from the material. We investigate the maximum plasma thickness of aluminum, silicon and iron that can be probed with EUV or X-ray photons of energy 89-1243 eV before self-emission from the plasma overwhelms the backlighter output. For a uniform plasma, backlighter transmission decreases exponentially with increasing thickness of the material following Beer's law at a rate dependent on the plasma opacity. We evaluate the plasma opacity with the Los Alamos TOPS opacity data. The self-emission is assumed to be either that of a black body to arise from a plasma in LTE or to only consist of free-free and free-bound emission. It is shown that at higher plasma temperature (≥40 eV), EUV radiation (e.g. photon energy=89 eV) can probe a greater thickness of plasma than X-ray radiation (e.g. photon energy=1243 eV)

X-ray absorption and reflection as probes of the GaN conduction bands: Theory and experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lambrecht, W.R.L.; Rashkeev, S.N.; Segall, B. [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] [and others

1997-04-01

X-ray absorption measurements are a well-known probe of the unoccupied states in a material. The same information can be obtained by using glancing angle X-ray reflectivity. In spite of several existing band structure calculations of the group III nitrides and previous optical studies in UV range, a direct probe of their conduction band densities of states is of interest. The authors performed a joint experimental and theoretical investigation using both of these experimental techniques for wurtzite GaN.

Introducing a standard method for experimental determination of the solvent response in laser pump, x-ray probe time-resolved wide-angle x-ray scattering experiments on systems in solution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Kasper Skov; Brandt van Driel, Tim; Kehres, Jan

2013-01-01

In time-resolved laser pump, X-ray probe wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments on systems in solution the structural response of the system is accompanied by a solvent response. The solvent response is caused by reorganization of the bulk solvent following the laser pump event, and in order...... response-the solvent term-experimentally when applying laser pump, X-ray probe time-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering. The solvent term describes difference scattering arising from the structural response of the solvent to changes in the hydrodynamic parameters: pressure, temperature and density. We...... is demonstrated to exhibit first order behaviour with respect to the amount of energy deposited in the solution. We introduce a standardized method for recording solvent responses in laser pump, X-ray probe time-resolved X-ray wide-angle scattering experiments by using dye mediated solvent heating. Furthermore...

Does neurocognitive function affect cognitive bias toward an emotional stimulus? Association between general attentional ability and attentional bias toward threat

OpenAIRE

Hakamata, Yuko; Matsui, Mie; Tagaya, Hirokuni

2014-01-01

Background: Although poorer cognitive performance has been found to be associated with anxiety, it remains unclear whether neurocognitive function affects biased cognitive processing toward emotional information. We investigated whether general cognitive function evaluated with a standard neuropsychological test predicts biased cognition, focusing on attentional bias toward threat. Methods: One hundred and five healthy young adults completed a dot-probe task measuring attentional bias and ...

The rapid evolution of X-linked male-biased gene expression and the large-X effect in Drosophila yakuba, D. santomea, and their hybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Llopart, Ana

2012-12-01

The X chromosome has a large effect on hybrid dysfunction, particularly on hybrid male sterility. Although the evidence for this so-called large-X effect is clear, its molecular causes are not yet fully understood. One possibility is that, under certain conditions, evolution proceeds faster in X-linked than in autosomal loci (i.e., faster-X effect) due to both natural selection and their hemizygosity in males, an effect that is expected to be greatest in genes with male-biased expression. Here, I study genome-wide variation in transcript abundance between Drosophila yakuba and D. santomea, within these species and in their hybrid males to evaluate both the faster-X and large-X effects at the level of expression. I find that in X-linked male-biased genes (MBGs) expression evolves faster than in their autosomal counterparts, an effect that is accompanied by a unique reduction in expression polymorphism. This suggests that Darwinian selection is driving expression differences between species, likely enhanced by the hemizygosity of the X chromosome in males. Despite the recent split of the two sister species under study, abundant changes in both cis- and trans-regulatory elements underlie expression divergence in the majority of the genes analyzed, with significant differences in allelic ratios of transcript abundance between the two reciprocal F(1) hybrid males. Cis-trans coevolution at molecular level, evolved shortly after populations become isolated, may therefore contribute to explain the breakdown of the regulation of gene expression in hybrid males. Additionally, the X chromosome plays a large role in this hybrid male misexpression, which affects not only MBG but also, to a lesser degree, nonsex-biased genes. Interestingly, hybrid male misexpression is concentrated mostly in autosomal genes, likely facilitated by the rapid evolution of sex-linked trans-acting factors. I suggest that the faster evolution of X-linked MBGs, at both protein and expression levels

Electrical equipment qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farmer, W.S.

1983-01-01

Electrical equipment qualification research programs being carried out by CEA, JAERI, and Sandia Laboratories are discussed. Objectives of the program are: (1) assessment of accident simulation methods for electrical equipment qualification testing; lower coarse (2) evaluation of equipment aging and accelerated aging methods; (3) determine radiation dose spectrum to electrical equipment and assess simulation methods for qualification; (4) identify inadequacies in electrical equipment qualification procedures and standards and potential failure modes; and (5) provide data for verifying and improving standards, rules and regulatory guides

Magnification bias as a novel probe for primordial magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camera, S.; Fedeli, C.; Moscardini, L.

2014-01-01

In this paper we investigate magnetic fields generated in the early Universe. These fields are important candidates at explaining the origin of astrophysical magnetism observed in galaxies and galaxy clusters, whose genesis is still by and large unclear. Compared to the standard inflationary power spectrum, intermediate to small scales would experience further substantial matter clustering, were a cosmological magnetic field present prior to recombination. As a consequence, the bias and redshift distribution of galaxies would also be modified. Hitherto, primordial magnetic fields (PMFs) have been tested and constrained with a number of cosmological observables, e.g. the cosmic microwave background radiation, galaxy clustering and, more recently, weak gravitational lensing. Here, we explore the constraining potential of the density fluctuation bias induced by gravitational lensing magnification onto the galaxy-galaxy angular power spectrum. Such an effect is known as magnification bias. Compared to the usual galaxy clustering approach, magnification bias helps in lifting the pathological degeneracy present amongst power spectrum normalisation and galaxy bias. This is because magnification bias cross-correlates galaxy number density fluctuations of nearby objects with weak lensing distortions of high-redshift sources. Thus, it takes advantage of the gravitational deflection of light, which is insensitive to galaxy bias but powerful in constraining the density fluctuation amplitude. To scrutinise the potentiality of this method, we adopt a deep and wide-field spectroscopic galaxy survey. We show that magnification bias does contain important information on primordial magnetism, which will be useful in combination with galaxy clustering and shear. We find we shall be able to rule out at 95.4% CL amplitudes of PMFs larger than 5 × 10 −4 nG for values of the PMF power spectral index n B ∼ 0

Seismic qualification of equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heidebrecht, A.C.; Tso, W.K.

1983-03-01

This report describes the results of an investigation into the seismic qualification of equipment located in CANDU nuclear power plants. It is particularly concerned with the evaluation of current seismic qualification requirements, the development of a suitable methodology for the seismic qualification of safety systems, and the evaluation of seismic qualification analysis and testing procedures

Probing New Physics with Single Top + X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, D.G.E.; Yu, Jiang-Hao; Yuan, C.P.

2012-01-01

We investigate single top production in association with a variety of Standard Model final states with a focus on the early LHC run. Here X can be jets, large missing transverse momentum and/or electroweak gauge bosons. For this review, we focus on searches for new W' gauge bosons and heavy B' quarks. A general survey of the possible new physics with associated single top production can be found in literature. In essence, the channel probes a variety of new physics, is intricately tied to the new physics at the TeV scale and is essential for maximizing the potential of the early LHC for new physics. We showed TeV W' bosons and B' heavy quarks are easily accessible during the early LHC running

MIB Probes for measurements of particle and energy fluxes in plasma of Wendelstein 7-X

Science.gov (United States)

Demidov, V. I.; Koepke, M. E.; Kurlyandskaya, I. P.; Raitses, Y.

2014-10-01

Magnetically insulated baffled (MIB) probes and probe arrays that share the simplicity of simple Langmuir probes but supersede them in their ability to make real-time measurements of plasma potential, temperature and energy/particle fluxes in W7-X stellarator plasma are being developed. The probes offer the advantages of direct measurements of the plasma fluid observables, while being non-emitting and electrically floating. The principle of operation of the probe is based on the dependence of the voltage drop in the plasma-probe sheath on the direction of the local magnetic field. The core technology for these probes rests with the use of a special baffling configuration such that electron current to the probe is fully controllable in the closed, open or partially open orientation, by a simple rotation of the baffle with respect to the magnetic field alignment in the plasma. The baffled-probe designs proposed for edge diagnostics will increase the capability to characterize separately plasma properties in real-time for understanding of underlying physics in the edge plasma.

Laser wakefield generated X-ray probe for femtosecond time-resolved measurements of ionization states of warm dense aluminum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mo, M. Z.; Chen, Z.; Tsui, Y. Y.; Fedosejevs, R. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2V4 (Canada); Fourmaux, S.; Saraf, A.; Otani, K.; Kieffer, J. C. [INRS-EMT, Université du Québec, 1650 Lionel Boulet, Varennes, Québec J3X 1S2 (Canada); Ng, A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, British Columbia V6T 1Z1 (Canada)

2013-12-15

We have developed a laser wakefield generated X-ray probe to directly measure the temporal evolution of the ionization states in warm dense aluminum by means of absorption spectroscopy. As a promising alternative to the free electron excited X-ray sources, Betatron X-ray radiation, with femtosecond pulse duration, provides a new technique to diagnose femtosecond to picosecond transitions in the atomic structure. The X-ray probe system consists of an adjustable Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) microscope for focusing the Betatron emission to a small probe spot on the sample being measured, and a flat Potassium Acid Phthalate Bragg crystal spectrometer to measure the transmitted X-ray spectrum in the region of the aluminum K-edge absorption lines. An X-ray focal spot size of around 50 μm was achieved after reflection from the platinum-coated 10-cm-long KB microscope mirrors. Shot to shot positioning stability of the Betatron radiation was measured resulting in an rms shot to shot variation in spatial pointing on the sample of 16 μm. The entire probe setup had a spectral resolution of ∼1.5 eV, a detection bandwidth of ∼24 eV, and an overall photon throughput efficiency of the order of 10{sup −5}. Approximately 10 photons were detected by the X-ray CCD per laser shot within the spectrally resolved detection band. Thus, it is expected that hundreds of shots will be required per absorption spectrum to clearly observe the K-shell absorption features expected from the ionization states of the warm dense aluminum.

Hybrid Qualifications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Against the background of increasing qualification needs there is a growing awareness of the challenge to widen participation in processes of skill formation and competence development. At the same time, the issue of permeability between vocational education and training (VET) and general education...... has turned out as a major focus of European education and training policies and certainly is a crucial principle underlying the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). In this context, «hybrid qualifications» (HQ) may be seen as an interesting approach to tackle these challenges as they serve «two...

Sequential electrochemical oxidation and site-selective growth of nanoparticles onto AFM probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haitao; Tian, Tian; Zhang, Yong; Pan, Zhiqiang; Wang, Yong; Xiao, Zhongdang

2008-08-19

In this work, we reported an approach for the site-selective growth of nanoparticle onto the tip apex of an atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe. The silicon AFM probe was first coated with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) through a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Subsequently, COOH groups were selectively generated at the tip apex of silicon AFM probes by applying an appropriate bias voltage between the tip and a flat gold electrode. The transformation of methyl to carboxylic groups at the tip apex of the AFM probe was investigated through measuring the capillary force before and after electrochemical oxidation. To prepare the nanoparticle terminated AFM probe, the oxidized AFM probe was then immersed in an aqueous solution containing positive metal ions, for example, Ag+, to bind positive metal ions to the oxidized area (COOH terminated area), followed by chemical reduction with aqueous NaBH 4 and further development (if desired) to give a metal nanoparticle-modified AFM probe. The formation of a metal nanoparticle at the tip apex of the AFM probe was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA).

Absolute calibration of sniffer probes on Wendelstein 7-X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moseev, D.; Laqua, H. P.; Marsen, S.; Stange, T.; Braune, H.; Erckmann, V.; Gellert, F.; Oosterbeek, J. W.

2016-01-01

Here we report the first measurements of the power levels of stray radiation in the vacuum vessel of Wendelstein 7-X using absolutely calibrated sniffer probes. The absolute calibration is achieved by using calibrated sources of stray radiation and the implicit measurement of the quality factor of the Wendelstein 7-X empty vacuum vessel. Normalized absolute calibration coefficients agree with the cross-calibration coefficients that are obtained by the direct measurements, indicating that the measured absolute calibration coefficients and stray radiation levels in the vessel are valid. Close to the launcher, the stray radiation in the empty vessel reaches power levels up to 340 kW/m 2 per MW injected beam power. Furthest away from the launcher, i.e., half a toroidal turn, still 90 kW/m 2 per MW injected beam power is measured.

Absolute calibration of sniffer probes on Wendelstein 7-X

Science.gov (United States)

Moseev, D.; Laqua, H. P.; Marsen, S.; Stange, T.; Braune, H.; Erckmann, V.; Gellert, F.; Oosterbeek, J. W.

2016-08-01

Here we report the first measurements of the power levels of stray radiation in the vacuum vessel of Wendelstein 7-X using absolutely calibrated sniffer probes. The absolute calibration is achieved by using calibrated sources of stray radiation and the implicit measurement of the quality factor of the Wendelstein 7-X empty vacuum vessel. Normalized absolute calibration coefficients agree with the cross-calibration coefficients that are obtained by the direct measurements, indicating that the measured absolute calibration coefficients and stray radiation levels in the vessel are valid. Close to the launcher, the stray radiation in the empty vessel reaches power levels up to 340 kW/m2 per MW injected beam power. Furthest away from the launcher, i.e., half a toroidal turn, still 90 kW/m2 per MW injected beam power is measured.

Absolute calibration of sniffer probes on Wendelstein 7-X

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moseev, D., E-mail: dmitry.moseev@ipp.mpg.de; Laqua, H. P.; Marsen, S.; Stange, T.; Braune, H.; Erckmann, V. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Greifswald (Germany); Gellert, F. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Greifswald (Germany); Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Greifswald (Germany); Oosterbeek, J. W. [Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2016-08-15

Here we report the first measurements of the power levels of stray radiation in the vacuum vessel of Wendelstein 7-X using absolutely calibrated sniffer probes. The absolute calibration is achieved by using calibrated sources of stray radiation and the implicit measurement of the quality factor of the Wendelstein 7-X empty vacuum vessel. Normalized absolute calibration coefficients agree with the cross-calibration coefficients that are obtained by the direct measurements, indicating that the measured absolute calibration coefficients and stray radiation levels in the vessel are valid. Close to the launcher, the stray radiation in the empty vessel reaches power levels up to 340 kW/m{sup 2} per MW injected beam power. Furthest away from the launcher, i.e., half a toroidal turn, still 90 kW/m{sup 2} per MW injected beam power is measured.

Soft X-Ray Second Harmonic Generation as an Interfacial Probe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lam, R. K.; Raj, S. L.; Pascal, T. A.; Pemmaraju, C. D.; Foglia, L.; Simoncig, A.; Fabris, N.; Miotti, P.; Hull, C. J.; Rizzuto, A. M.; Smith, J. W.; Mincigrucci, R.; Masciovecchio, C.; Gessini, A.; Allaria, E.; De Ninno, G.; Diviacco, B.; Roussel, E.; Spampinati, S.; Penco, G.; Di Mitri, S.; Trovò, M.; Danailov, M.; Christensen, S. T.; Sokaras, D.; Weng, T. -C.; Coreno, M.; Poletto, L.; Drisdell, W. S.; Prendergast, D.; Giannessi, L.; Principi, E.; Nordlund, D.; Saykally, R. J.; Schwartz, C. P.

2018-01-01

Nonlinear optical processes at soft x-ray wavelengths have remained largely unexplored due to the lack of available light sources with the requisite intensity and coherence. Here we report the observation of soft x-ray second harmonic generation near the carbon K edge (~284 eV) in graphite thin films generated by high intensity, coherent soft x-ray pulses at the FERMI free electron laser. Our experimental results and accompanying first-principles theoretical analysis highlight the effect of resonant enhancement above the carbon K edge and show the technique to be interfacially sensitive in a centrosymmetric sample with second harmonic intensity arising primarily from the first atomic layer at the open surface. This technique and the associated theoretical framework demonstrate the ability to selectively probe interfaces, including those that are buried, with elemental specificity, providing a new tool for a range of scientific problems.

Exchange bias and bistable magneto-resistance states in amorphous TbFeCo thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Xiaopu, E-mail: xl6ba@virginia.edu; Ma, Chung T.; Poon, S. Joseph, E-mail: sjp9x@virginia.edu [Department of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904 (United States); Lu, Jiwei [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904 (United States); Devaraj, Arun [Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352 (United States); Spurgeon, Steven R.; Comes, Ryan B. [Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352 (United States)

2016-01-04

Amorphous TbFeCo thin films sputter deposited at room temperature on thermally oxidized Si substrate are found to exhibit strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Atom probe tomography, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping have revealed two nanoscale amorphous phases with different Tb atomic percentages distributed within the amorphous film. Exchange bias accompanied by bistable magneto-resistance states has been uncovered near room temperature by magnetization and magneto-transport measurements. The exchange anisotropy originates from the exchange interaction between the ferrimagnetic and ferromagnetic components corresponding to the two amorphous phases. This study provides a platform for exchange bias and magneto-resistance switching using single-layer amorphous ferrimagnetic thin films that require no epitaxial growth.

Qualification of γ-heating calculation in nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravaux, Simon

2013-01-01

During the last few years, the γ-heating issue has gained in stature, mainly for the safety of the 3. generation reactors in which a stainless steel reflector is inserted. The purpose of this work is the qualification of the needed tools for calculation of the γ-heating in the nuclear reactors. In a nuclear reactor, all the photons are directly or indirectly produced by the neutron-matter interactions. Thus, the first phase of this work is a critical analysis of the photon production data in the standard nuclear data library. New evaluations have been proposed to the next version of the JEFF library after that some omissions have been found. They have partly been accepted for JEFF-3.2. Two particle-transport codes are currently developed in the CEA: the deterministic code APOLLO2 and the Monte Carlo code TRIPOLI4. The second part of this work is the qualification of both these codes by interpreting an integral experiment called PERLE. The experimental set-up is made by a LWR pin assembly surrounded by a stainless steel reflector in which the γ-heating is measured by Thermo-luminescent Detector (TLD). A calculation scheme has been proposed for both APOLLO2 and TRIPOLI4 in order to calculate the TLD's responses. Comparisons between calculations and measurements have shown that TRIPOLI4 gives a satisfactory estimation of the γ-heating in the reflector. These discrepancies are within the experimental 1 σ uncertainty. Before the qualification, APOLLO2 has been previously validated against TRIPOLI4 reference calculation. This validation gives an estimation of the bias due to the deterministic approximations of the transport equation resolution. The qualification has shown that the discrepancies between APOLLO2 predictions and TLD's measurements are in the same range as experimental uncertainties. (author) [fr

Australian Qualifications Framework Lower-Level Qualifications: Pathways to Where for Young People?

Science.gov (United States)

Stanwick, John

2005-01-01

This study investigates where certificate I and II qualifications lead young people aged 15-24 years in terms of employment and further study. A prime motivation for young people undertaking these qualifications is to facilitate transition into the labour market. These qualifications are aimed at developing basic vocational skills or preparatory…

Weighing galaxy clusters with gas. II. On the origin of hydrostatic mass bias in ΛCDM galaxy clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, Kaylea; Nagai, Daisuke; Yu, Liang; Lau, Erwin T.; Rudd, Douglas H.

2014-01-01

The use of galaxy clusters as cosmological probes hinges on our ability to measure their masses accurately and with high precision. Hydrostatic mass is one of the most common methods for estimating the masses of individual galaxy clusters, which suffer from biases due to departures from hydrostatic equilibrium. Using a large, mass-limited sample of massive galaxy clusters from a high-resolution hydrodynamical cosmological simulation, in this work we show that in addition to turbulent and bulk gas velocities, acceleration of gas introduces biases in the hydrostatic mass estimate of galaxy clusters. In unrelaxed clusters, the acceleration bias is comparable to the bias due to non-thermal pressure associated with merger-induced turbulent and bulk gas motions. In relaxed clusters, the mean mass bias due to acceleration is small (≲ 3%), but the scatter in the mass bias can be reduced by accounting for gas acceleration. Additionally, this acceleration bias is greater in the outskirts of higher redshift clusters where mergers are more frequent and clusters are accreting more rapidly. Since gas acceleration cannot be observed directly, it introduces an irreducible bias for hydrostatic mass estimates. This acceleration bias places limits on how well we can recover cluster masses from future X-ray and microwave observations. We discuss implications for cluster mass estimates based on X-ray, Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, and gravitational lensing observations and their impact on cluster cosmology.

A novel probe of intrinsic electronic structure: hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takata, Y.; Tamasaku, K.; Nishino, Y.; Miwa, D.; Yabashi, M.; Ikenaga, E.; Horiba, K.; Arita, M.; Shimada, K.; Namatame, H.; Nohira, H.; Hattori, T.; Soedergren, S.; Wannberg, B.; Taniguchi, M.; Shin, S.; Ishikawa, T.; Kobayashi, K.

2005-01-01

We have realized hard X-ray (HX) photoemission spectroscopy (PES) with high throughput and high-energy resolution for core level and valence band studies using high-energy and high-brilliance synchrotron radiation at SPring-8. This is a brand new method because large escape depth of high-energy photoelectrons enables us to probe intrinsic bulk states free from surface condition. By use of a newly developed electron energy analyzer and well-focused X-rays, high-energy resolution of 75 meV (E/ΔE 79,000) was realized for 5.95 keV photoelectrons

Attentional bias for craving-related (chocolate) food cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemps, Eva; Tiggemann, Marika

2009-12-01

In this study, we investigated attentional biases for craving-related food cues. A pictorial dot probe task was used to assess selective attentional processing of one particular highly desired food, namely chocolate, relative to that of other highly desired foods. In Experiment 1, we examined biased processing of chocolate cues in habitual (trait) chocolate cravers, whereas in Experiment 2 we investigated the effect of experimentally induced (state) chocolate cravings on such processing. As predicted, habitual chocolate cravers (Experiment 1) and individuals in whom a craving for chocolate was temporarily induced (Experiment 2) showed speeded detection of probes replacing chocolate-related pictures, demonstrating an attentional bias for chocolate cues. Subsequent examination indicated that in both experiments the observed attentional biases stemmed from difficulty in disengaging attention from chocolate cues rather than from a shift of attention toward such cues. The findings have important theoretical and practical implications.

Continual training of attentional bias in social anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Songwei; Tan, Jieqing; Qian, Mingyi; Liu, Xinghua

2008-08-01

Using the dot-probe paradigm, it has been shown that high social anxiety is associated with an attentional bias toward negative information. In the present study, individuals with high social anxiety were divided into two groups randomly. One group was the attentional bias training group (Group T), and the other was the control group (Group C). For Group T, 7 days' continuous training of attentional bias was conducted using the dot-probe paradigm to make socially anxious individuals focus more on positive face pictures. The results showed that the training was effective in changing attentional bias in Group T. Scores of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) in Group T were reduced compared to Group C, while the scores of Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and scores of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE) showed no difference between the two groups, which suggested a limited reduction of social anxiety.

Probing electron acceleration and x-ray emission in laser-plasma accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thaury, C.; Ta Phuoc, K.; Corde, S.; Brijesh, P.; Lambert, G.; Malka, V.; Mangles, S. P. D.; Bloom, M. S.; Kneip, S.

2013-01-01

While laser-plasma accelerators have demonstrated a strong potential in the acceleration of electrons up to giga-electronvolt energies, few experimental tools for studying the acceleration physics have been developed. In this paper, we demonstrate a method for probing the acceleration process. A second laser beam, propagating perpendicular to the main beam, is focused on the gas jet few nanosecond before the main beam creates the accelerating plasma wave. This second beam is intense enough to ionize the gas and form a density depletion, which will locally inhibit the acceleration. The position of the density depletion is scanned along the interaction length to probe the electron injection and acceleration, and the betatron X-ray emission. To illustrate the potential of the method, the variation of the injection position with the plasma density is studied

Infrared-x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy of the NO molecule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guimaraes, F.F.; Felicissimo, V.C.; Kimberg, V.; Gel'mukhanov, F.; Aagren, H.; Cesar, A.

2005-01-01

Two color infrared-x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy of the NO molecule is studied theoretically and numerically in order to obtain a deeper insight of the underlying physics and of the potential of this suggested technology. From the theoretical investigation a number of conclusions could be drawn: It is found that the phase of the infrared field strongly influences the trajectory of the nuclear wave packet, and hence, the x-ray spectrum. The trajectory experiences fast oscillations with the vibrational frequency with a modulation due to the anharmonicity of the potential. The dependences of the x-ray spectra on the delay time, the duration, and the shape of the pulses are studied in detail. It is shown that the x-ray spectrum keep memory about the infrared phase after the pump field left the system. This memory effect is sensitive to the time of switching-off the pump field and the Rabi frequency. The phase effect takes maximum value when the duration of the x-ray pulse is one-fourth of the infrared field period, and can be enhanced by a proper control of the duration and intensity of the pump pulse. The manifestation of the phase is different for oriented and disordered molecules and depends strongly on the intensity of the pump radiation

Infrared x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy of the NO molecule

Science.gov (United States)

Guimarães, F. F.; Kimberg, V.; Felicíssimo, V. C.; Gel'Mukhanov, F.; Cesar, A.; Ågren, H.

2005-07-01

Two color infrared x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy of the NO molecule is studied theoretically and numerically in order to obtain a deeper insight of the underlying physics and of the potential of this suggested technology. From the theoretical investigation a number of conclusions could be drawn: It is found that the phase of the infrared field strongly influences the trajectory of the nuclear wave packet, and hence, the x-ray spectrum. The trajectory experiences fast oscillations with the vibrational frequency with a modulation due to the anharmonicity of the potential. The dependences of the x-ray spectra on the delay time, the duration, and the shape of the pulses are studied in detail. It is shown that the x-ray spectrum keep memory about the infrared phase after the pump field left the system. This memory effect is sensitive to the time of switching-off the pump field and the Rabi frequency. The phase effect takes maximum value when the duration of the x-ray pulse is one-fourth of the infrared field period, and can be enhanced by a proper control of the duration and intensity of the pump pulse. The manifestation of the phase is different for oriented and disordered molecules and depends strongly on the intensity of the pump radiation.

Turbulent transport reduction by E x B velocity shear during edge plasma biasing in tokamaks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Oost, G. [Dept. of Applied Physics, Ghent Univ., Ghent (Belgium); Adamek, J.; Antoni, V.; Balan, P.; Boedo, J.A.; Devynck, P.; Duran, I.; Eliseev, L.; Gunn, J.P.; Hron, M.; Ionita, C.; Jachmich, S.; Kirnev, G.S.; Martines, E.; Melnikov, A.; Peleman, P.; Schrittwieser, R.; Silva, C.; Stoeckel, J.; Tendler, M.; Varandas, C.; Van Schoor, M.; Vershkov, V.; Weynants, R.R.

2004-07-01

Experiments in the tokamaks TEXTOR, CASTOR, T-10 and ISTTOK have provided new and complementary evidence on the physics of the universal mechanism of E x B velocity shear stabilization of turbulence, concomitant transport barrier formation and radial conductivity by using various edge biasing techniques. (orig.)

Probing echoic memory with different voices.

Science.gov (United States)

Madden, D J; Bastian, J

1977-05-01

Considerable evidence has indicated that some acoustical properties of spoken items are preserved in an "echoic" memory for approximately 2 sec. However, some of this evidence has also shown that changing the voice speaking the stimulus items has a disruptive effect on memory which persists longer than that of other acoustical variables. The present experiment examined the effect of voice changes on response bias as well as on accuracy in a recognition memory task. The task involved judging recognition probes as being present in or absent from sets of dichotically presented digits. Recognition of probes spoken in the same voice as that of the dichotic items was more accurate than recognition of different-voice probes at each of three retention intervals of up to 4 sec. Different-voice probes increased the likelihood of "absent" responses, but only up to a 1.4-sec delay. These shifts in response bias may represent a property of echoic memory which should be investigated further.

Bias versus bias: harnessing hindsight to reveal paranormal belief change beyond demand characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Michael J; Core, Tammy J; Hunt, R Reed

2010-04-01

Psychological change is difficult to assess, in part because self-reported beliefs and attitudes may be biased or distorted. The present study probed belief change, in an educational context, by using the hindsight bias to counter another bias that generally plagues assessment of subjective change. Although research has indicated that skepticism courses reduce paranormal beliefs, those findings may reflect demand characteristics (biases toward desired, skeptical responses). Our hindsight-bias procedure circumvented demand by asking students, following semester-long skepticism (and control) courses, to recall their precourse levels of paranormal belief. People typically remember themselves as previously thinking, believing, and acting as they do now, so current skepticism should provoke false recollections of previous skepticism. Given true belief change, therefore, skepticism students should have remembered themselves as having been more skeptical than they were. They did, at least about paranormal topics that were covered most extensively in the course. Our findings thus show hindsight to be useful in evaluating cognitive change beyond demand characteristics.

Probing Ultrafast Electron Dynamics at Surfaces Using Soft X-Ray Transient Reflectivity Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, L. Robert; Husek, Jakub; Biswas, Somnath; Cirri, Anthony

The ability to probe electron dynamics with surface sensitivity on the ultrafast time scale is critical for understanding processes such as charge separation, injection, and surface trapping that mediate efficiency in catalytic and energy conversion materials. Toward this goal, we have developed a high harmonic generation (HHG) light source for femtosecond soft x-ray reflectivity. Using this light source we investigated the ultrafast carrier dynamics at the surface of single crystalline α-Fe2O3, polycrystalline α-Fe2O3, and the mixed metal oxide, CuFeO2. We have recently demonstrated that CuFeO2 in particular is a selective catalyst for photo-electrochemical CO2 reduction to acetate; however, the role of electronic structure and charge carrier dynamics in mediating catalytic selectivity has not been well understood. Soft x-ray reflectivity measurements probe the M2,3, edges of the 3d transition metals, which provide oxidation and spin state resolution with element specificity. In addition to chemical state specificity, these measurements are also surface sensitive, and by independently simulating the contributions of the real and imaginary components of the complex refractive index, we can differentiate between surface and sub-surface contributions to the excited state spectrum. Accordingly, this work demonstrates the ability to probe ultrafast carrier dynamics in catalytic materials with element and chemical state specificity and with surface sensitivity.

Environmental/dynamic mechanical equipment qualification and dynamic electrical equipment qualification program (EDQP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunter, J.A.

1984-01-01

Equipment qualification research is being conducted to investigate acceptable criteria, requirements, and methodologies for the dynamic (including seismic) and environmental qualification of mechanical equipment and for the dynamic (including seismic) qualification of electrical equipment. The program is organized into three elements: (1) General Research, (2) Environmental Research, and (3) Dynamic Research. This paper presents the highlights of the results to date in these three elements of the program

Direct imaging of thermally-activated grain-boundary diffusion in Cu/Co/IrMn/Pt exchange-bias structures using atom-probe tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Letellier, F.; Lardé, R.; Le Breton, J.-M., E-mail: jean-marie.lebreton@univ-rouen.fr [Groupe de Physique des Matériaux, UMR 6634 CNRS/Université et INSA de Rouen, F-76801 Saint Etienne du Rouvray (France); Lechevallier, L. [Groupe de Physique des Matériaux, UMR 6634 CNRS/Université et INSA de Rouen, F-76801 Saint Etienne du Rouvray (France); Département de GEII, Université de Cergy-Pontoise, F-95031 Cergy-Pontoise (France); Akmaldinov, K. [SPINTEC, Univ. Grenoble-Alpes/CNRS/INAC-CEA, F-38000 Grenoble (France); CROCUS Technology, F-38025 Grenoble (France); Auffret, S.; Dieny, B.; Baltz, V., E-mail: vincent.baltz@cea.fr [SPINTEC, Univ. Grenoble-Alpes/CNRS/INAC-CEA, F-38000 Grenoble (France)

2014-11-28

Magnetic devices are often subject to thermal processing steps, such as field cooling to set exchange bias and annealing to crystallize amorphous magnetic electrodes. These processing steps may result in interdiffusion and the subsequent deterioration of magnetic properties. In this study, we investigated thermally-activated diffusion in Cu/Co/IrMn/Pt exchange biased polycrystalline thin-film structures using atom probe tomography. Images taken after annealing at 400 °C for 60 min revealed Mn diffusion into Co grains at the Co/IrMn interface and along Pt grain boundaries for the IrMn/Pt stack, i.e., a Harrison type C regime. Annealing at 500 °C showed further Mn diffusion into Co grains. At the IrMn/Pt interface, annealing at 500 °C led to a type B behavior since Mn diffusion was detected both along Pt grain boundaries and also into Pt grains. The deterioration of the films' exchange bias properties upon annealing was correlated to the observed diffusion. In particular, the topmost Pt capping layer thickness turned out to be crucial since a faster deterioration of the exchange bias properties for thicker caps was observed. This is consistent with the idea that Pt acts as a getter for Mn, drawing Mn out of the IrMn layer.

Legal directives in the X-ray regulation for the field of X-ray diagnostics; Rechtsvorschriften der Roentgenverordnung fuer den Bereich der Roentgendiagnostik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huhn, Walter [Ministerium fuer Arbeit, Integration und Soziales des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Duesseldorf (Germany)

2012-11-01

The operation of each X-ray device is subject to the requirements of the X-ray regulations (RoeV); for different operational modes or applications like curative diagnostics, X-ray serial examinations, X-ray radiotherapy and teleradiology different directives exist and have to be respected. The report discusses the issues licensing and notification procedures, radiation protection representative, requirements for the commissioning (teleradiology, serial X.ray examinations), technical qualification and radiation protection knowledge of physicians, technical qualification of the assistant personnel.

X-Ray Emission Spectrometer Design with Single-Shot Pump-Probe and Resonant Excitation Capabilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spoth, Katherine; /SUNY, Buffalo /SLAC

2012-08-28

Core-level spectroscopy in the soft X-ray regime is a powerful tool for the study of chemical bonding processes. The ultrafast, ultrabright X-ray pulses generated by the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) allow these reactions to be studied in greater detail than ever before. In this study, we investigated a conceptual design of a spectrometer for the LCLS with imaging in the non-dispersive direction. This would allow single-shot collection of X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) measurements with varying laser pump X-ray probe delay or a variation of incoming X-ray energy over the illuminated area of the sample. Ray-tracing simulations were used to demonstrate how the components of the spectrometer affect its performance, allowing a determination of the optimal final design. These simulations showed that the spectrometer's non-dispersive focusing is extremely sensitive to the size of the sample footprint; the spectrometer is not able to image a footprint width larger than one millimeter with the required resolution. This is compatible with a single shot scheme that maps out the laser pump X-ray probe delay in the non-dispersive direction as well as resonant XES applications at normal incidence. However, the current capabilities of the Soft X-Ray (SXR) beamline at the LCLS do not produce the required energy range in a small enough sample footprint, hindering the single shot resonant XES application at SXR for chemical dynamics studies at surfaces. If an upgraded or future beamline at LCLS is developed with lower monochromator energy dispersion the width can be made small enough at the required energy range to be imaged by this spectrometer design.

REGULATION OF NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna A. Muravyeva

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper looks into the diverse aspects of qualifications system regulation, designed for balancing the supply and demand in the labor and educational service markets. Both the objects and mechanisms of such regulation are described. Special attention is given to institutions, involved in regulation of qualifications, and their jurisdiction. Another emphasis is on the industry-related regulation of qualifications which proved to be effective both on the national and European level. Such structures were first established on the national levels to regulate the qualifications and ensure their comparability and compatibility, given the economic globalization and growing labor and academic mobility. The author points out the role of the ministries of education and labor in maintaining a steady qualifications system, and outlines the positive experience of Great Britain using the industry councils for continuing development of qualifications system.

Pump-flow-probe x-ray absorption spectroscopy as a tool for studying aintermediate states of photocatalytic systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smolentsev, Grigory; Guda, Alexander; Zhang, Xiaoyi

2013-01-01

-millimolar concentrations. A continuous wave laser is used for the photoexcitation, with the distance between laser and X-ray beams and velocity of liquid flow determining the time delay, while the focusing of both beams and the flow speed profile define the time resolution. This method is compared with the alternative...... measurement technique that utilizes a 1 kHz repetition rate laser and multiple X-ray probe pulses. Such an experiment was performed at beamline 11ID-D of the Advanced Photon Source. Advantages, limitations, and potential for improvement of the pump-flow-probe setup are discussed by analyzing the photon...... statistics. Both methods with Co K-edge probing were applied to the investigation of a cobaloxime-based photocatalytic reaction. The interplay between optimizing for efficient photoexcitation and time resolution as well and the effect of sample degradation for these two setups are discussed. © 2013 American...

14 CFR 417.311 - Flight safety crew roles and qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight safety crew roles and qualifications. 417.311 Section 417.311 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION... vehicles in flight under the influence of aerodynamic forces; and (x) The application of flight termination...

Probing molecular orientations in thin films by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Y.; Li, P.; Lu, Z.-H.

2018-03-01

A great number of functional organic molecules in active thin-film layers of optoelectronic devices have highly asymmetric structures, such as plate-like, rod-like, etc. This makes molecular orientation an important aspect in thin-films as it can significantly affect both the optical and electrical performance of optoelectronic devices. With a combination of in-situ ultra violet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigations for organic molecules having a broad range of structural properties, we discovered a rigid connection of core levels and frontier highest occupied molecular orbital levels at organic interfaces. This finding opens up opportunities of using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy as an alternative tool to UPS for providing an easy and unambiguous data interpretation in probing molecular orientations.

Solving the Capacitive Effect in the High-Frequency sweep for Langmuir Probe in SYMPLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pramila; Patel, J J; Rajpal, R; Hansalia, C J; Anitha, V P; Sathyanarayana, K

2017-01-01

Langmuir Probe based measurements need to be routinely carried out to measure various plasma parameters such as the electron density (n e ), the electron temperature (T e ), the floating potential (V f ), and the plasma potential (V p ). For this, the diagnostic electronics along with the biasing power supplies is installed in standard industrial racks with a 2KV isolation transformer. The Signal Conditioning Electronics (SCE) system is populated inside the 4U-chassis based system with the front-end electronics, designed using high common mode differential amplifiers which can measure small differential signal in presence of high common mode dc- bias or ac ramp voltage used for biasing the probes. DC-biasing of the probe is most common method for getting its I-V characteristic but method of biasing the probe with a sweep at high frequency encounters the problem of corruption of signal due to capacitive effect specially when the sweep period and the discharge time is very fast and die down in the order of μs or lesser. This paper presents and summarises the method of removing such effects encountered while measuring the probe current. (paper)

Solving the Capacitive Effect in the High-Frequency sweep for Langmuir Probe in SYMPLE

Science.gov (United States)

Pramila; Patel, J. J.; Rajpal, R.; Hansalia, C. J.; Anitha, V. P.; Sathyanarayana, K.

2017-04-01

Langmuir Probe based measurements need to be routinely carried out to measure various plasma parameters such as the electron density (ne), the electron temperature (Te), the floating potential (Vf), and the plasma potential (Vp). For this, the diagnostic electronics along with the biasing power supplies is installed in standard industrial racks with a 2KV isolation transformer. The Signal Conditioning Electronics (SCE) system is populated inside the 4U-chassis based system with the front-end electronics, designed using high common mode differential amplifiers which can measure small differential signal in presence of high common mode dc- bias or ac ramp voltage used for biasing the probes. DC-biasing of the probe is most common method for getting its I-V characteristic but method of biasing the probe with a sweep at high frequency encounters the problem of corruption of signal due to capacitive effect specially when the sweep period and the discharge time is very fast and die down in the order of μs or lesser. This paper presents and summarises the method of removing such effects encountered while measuring the probe current.

Attentional bias in snus users: an experimental study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rune Aune Mentzoni

Full Text Available The use of nicotine in the form of "snus" is substantial and increasing in some geographic areas, in particular among young people. It has previously been suggested that addictions may operate through a mechanism of attentional bias, in which stimuli representative of the dependent substance increase in salience, thus increasing the addictive behavior. However, this hypothesis has not been tested for the case of snus. The current experiment used a modified Stroop task and a dot-probe task to investigate whether 40 snus users show an attentional bias towards snus-relevant stimuli, compared to 40 non-snus users. There were no significant differences between the two groups on reaction times or accuracy on either Stroop or dot-probe task, thus failing to show an attentional bias towards snus-relevant stimuli for snus users. This could imply that other mechanisms may contribute to maintenance of snus use than for other addictions. However, this is the first experimental study investigating attentional bias in snus users, and more research is warranted.

A Common Probe Design for Multiple Planetary Destinations

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, H. H.; Allen, G. A., Jr.; Alunni, A. I.; Amato, M. J.; Atkinson, D. H.; Bienstock, B. J.; Cruz, J. R.; Dillman, R. A.; Cianciolo, A. D.; Elliott, J. O.;

G-stack modulated probe intensities on expression arrays - sequence corrections and signal calibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fasold Mario

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The brightness of the probe spots on expression microarrays intends to measure the abundance of specific mRNA targets. Probes with runs of at least three guanines (G in their sequence show abnormal high intensities which reflect rather probe effects than target concentrations. This G-bias requires correction prior to downstream expression analysis. Results Longer runs of three or more consecutive G along the probe sequence and in particular triple degenerated G at its solution end ((GGG1-effect are associated with exceptionally large probe intensities on GeneChip expression arrays. This intensity bias is related to non-specific hybridization and affects both perfect match and mismatch probes. The (GGG1-effect tends to increase gradually for microarrays of later GeneChip generations. It was found for DNA/RNA as well as for DNA/DNA probe/target-hybridization chemistries. Amplification of sample RNA using T7-primers is associated with strong positive amplitudes of the G-bias whereas alternative amplification protocols using random primers give rise to much smaller and partly even negative amplitudes. We applied positional dependent sensitivity models to analyze the specifics of probe intensities in the context of all possible short sequence motifs of one to four adjacent nucleotides along the 25meric probe sequence. Most of the longer motifs are adequately described using a nearest-neighbor (NN model. In contrast, runs of degenerated guanines require explicit consideration of next nearest neighbors (GGG terms. Preprocessing methods such as vsn, RMA, dChip, MAS5 and gcRMA only insufficiently remove the G-bias from data. Conclusions Positional and motif dependent sensitivity models accounts for sequence effects of oligonucleotide probe intensities. We propose a positional dependent NN+GGG hybrid model to correct the intensity bias associated with probes containing poly-G motifs. It is implemented as a single-chip based calibration

Self-face Captures, Holds, and Biases Attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Wójcik, Michał J; Nowicka, Maria M; Kotlewska, Ilona; Nowicka, Anna

2017-01-01

The implicit self-recognition process may take place already in the pre-attentive stages of perception. After a silent stimulus has captured attention, it is passed on to the attentive stage where it can affect decision making and responding. Numerous studies show that the presence of self-referential information affects almost every cognitive level. These effects may share a common and fundamental basis in an attentional mechanism, conceptualized as attentional bias: the exaggerated deployment of attentional resources to a salient stimulus. A gold standard in attentional bias research is the dot-probe paradigm. In this task, a prominent stimulus (cue) and a neutral stimulus are presented in different spatial locations, followed by the presentation of a target. In the current study we aimed at investigating whether the self-face captures, holds and biases attention when presented as a task-irrelevant stimulus. In two dot-probe experiments coupled with the event-related potential (ERP) technique we analyzed the following relevant ERPs components: N2pc and SPCN which reflect attentional shifts and the maintenance of attention, respectively. An inter-stimulus interval separating face-cues and probes (800 ms) was introduced only in the first experiment. In line with our predictions, in Experiment 1 the self-face elicited the N2pc and the SPCN component. In Experiment 2 in addition to N2pc, an attentional bias was observed. Our results indicate that unintentional self-face processing disables the top-down control setting to filter out distractors, thus leading to the engagement of attentional resources and visual short-term memory.

Self-face Captures, Holds, and Biases Attention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał J. Wójcik

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The implicit self-recognition process may take place already in the pre-attentive stages of perception. After a silent stimulus has captured attention, it is passed on to the attentive stage where it can affect decision making and responding. Numerous studies show that the presence of self-referential information affects almost every cognitive level. These effects may share a common and fundamental basis in an attentional mechanism, conceptualized as attentional bias: the exaggerated deployment of attentional resources to a salient stimulus. A gold standard in attentional bias research is the dot-probe paradigm. In this task, a prominent stimulus (cue and a neutral stimulus are presented in different spatial locations, followed by the presentation of a target. In the current study we aimed at investigating whether the self-face captures, holds and biases attention when presented as a task-irrelevant stimulus. In two dot-probe experiments coupled with the event-related potential (ERP technique we analyzed the following relevant ERPs components: N2pc and SPCN which reflect attentional shifts and the maintenance of attention, respectively. An inter-stimulus interval separating face-cues and probes (800 ms was introduced only in the first experiment. In line with our predictions, in Experiment 1 the self-face elicited the N2pc and the SPCN component. In Experiment 2 in addition to N2pc, an attentional bias was observed. Our results indicate that unintentional self-face processing disables the top-down control setting to filter out distractors, thus leading to the engagement of attentional resources and visual short-term memory.

Investigation of E x B transport with a multi-electrode probe in the plasma boundary of TEXTOR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanov, R.S.; Moyer, R.A.; Nieuwenhove, R. van; Oost, G. van; Fuchs, G.; Hoethker, K.; Samm, U.

1991-01-01

A movable multi-element Langmuir probe was implemented in TEXTOR in order to study properties of the edge and scrape-off plasma. The probe has five graphite electrode pins allowing the simultaneous measurement of main parameters such as plasma densities, electron temperatures, floating potentials, poloidal and radial electric fields. Both time-averaged and fluctuating quantities have been considered in order to evaluate the DC and turbulence-driven cross-field particle fluxes. The spectral analysis of the fluctuating floating potentials at spatially separated probe pins allows to determine the velocity associated with the rotations of the boundary plasma. The investigations have been focused on the variations of plasma boundary properties in plasmas with pure ohmic heating as well as auxiliary heating (ICRH). Special attention has been paid to the change of transport properties with the transition to a detached plasma. In particular, a significant reduction of the poloidal phase velocity at the limited edge has been observed for detached plasmas. Preliminary data on physical effects near the plasma boundary, which occur when the toroidal belt limiter (ALT-II) is biased, are reported. (orig.)

Hot and dense plasma probing by soft X-ray lasers

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krůs, Miroslav; Kozlová, Michaela; Nejdl, Jaroslav; Rus, B.

2018-01-01

Roč. 13, č. 1 (2018), č. článku C01004. ISSN 1748-0221. [International Symposium on Laser-Aided Plasma Diagnostics/18./. Prague, 24.09.2017-28.09.2017] R&D Projects: GA MŠk LM2010014; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2015083 Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : Plasma diagnostics - interferometry * spectroscopy and imaging * Plasma diagnostics - probes * Plasma generation (laser-produced, RF, x ray-produced) Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers OBOR OECD: 2.11 Other engineering and technologies Impact factor: 1.220, year: 2016 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-0221/13/01/C01004

Cognitive biases to healthy and unhealthy food words predict change in BMI.

Science.gov (United States)

Calitri, Raff; Pothos, Emmanuel M; Tapper, Katy; Brunstrom, Jeffrey M; Rogers, Peter J

2010-12-01

The current study explored the predictive value of cognitive biases to food cues (assessed by emotional Stroop and dot probe tasks) on weight change over a 1-year period. This was a longitudinal study with undergraduate students (N = 102) living in shared student accommodation. After controlling for the effects of variables associated with weight (e.g., physical activity, stress, restrained eating, external eating, and emotional eating), no effects of cognitive bias were found with the dot probe. However, for the emotional Stroop, cognitive bias to unhealthy foods predicted an increase in BMI whereas cognitive bias to healthy foods was associated with a decrease in BMI. Results parallel findings in substance abuse research; cognitive biases appear to predict behavior change. Accordingly, future research should consider strategies for attentional retraining, encouraging individuals to reorient attention away from unhealthy eating cues.

Plasma monitoring of the RLVIP-process with a Langmuir probe

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, D.; Hallbauer, A.; Pulker, H. K.

2005-09-01

The aim of this investigation was to study the characteristics of a reactive-low-voltage-high-current-ion-plating plasma and to correlate the observed plasma data with the properties of films deposited under such conditions. A Langmuir probe system (Smart Probe - Scientific Systems) was inserted into a Balzers BAP 800 ion plating plant above the e-gun evaporation source close to the insulated substrate holder. In this position during RLVIP deposition, plasma potential, floating potential, self-bias voltage, electron temperature, ion current density, and particle number density were measured and calculated, respectively. All measurements were performed in dependence of arc current (20-80A) and oxygen partial pressure (1 - 36 x 10-4mbar). With rising arc current the number of charged particles, the self-bias voltage between plasma and substrates as well as the energy of the condensing and bombarding species were increased. These data explain the increase of density, refractive index and mechanical stress of RLVIP-metal-oxide-layers, like Ta2O5 and Nb2O5, deposited with higher arc currents. An increase of gas pressure decreased the energy of the particles and therefore reduced slightly film density and refractive index. However, it improved chemistry and eliminated unwanted residual optical absorption and also decreased compressive mechanical film stress.

Probing molecular orientations in thin films by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Li

2018-03-01

Full Text Available A great number of functional organic molecules in active thin-film layers of optoelectronic devices have highly asymmetric structures, such as plate-like, rod-like, etc. This makes molecular orientation an important aspect in thin-films as it can significantly affect both the optical and electrical performance of optoelectronic devices. With a combination of in-situ ultra violet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS investigations for organic molecules having a broad range of structural properties, we discovered a rigid connection of core levels and frontier highest occupied molecular orbital levels at organic interfaces. This finding opens up opportunities of using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy as an alternative tool to UPS for providing an easy and unambiguous data interpretation in probing molecular orientations.

Soft x-ray spectroscopy for probing electronic and chemical states of battery materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Wanli; Qiao Ruimin

2016-01-01

The formidable challenge of developing high-performance battery system stems from the complication of battery operations, both mechanically and electronically. In the electrodes and at the electrode–electrolyte interfaces, chemical reactions take place with evolving electron states. In addition to the extensive studies of material synthesis, electrochemical, structural, and mechanical properties, soft x-ray spectroscopy provides unique opportunities for revealing the critical electron states in batteries. This review discusses some of the recent soft x-ray spectroscopic results on battery binder, transition-metal based positive electrodes, and the solid-electrolyte-interphase. By virtue of soft x-ray’s sensitivity to electron states, the electronic property, the redox during electrochemical operations, and the chemical species of the interphases could be fingerprinted by soft x-ray spectroscopy. Understanding and innovating battery technologies need a multimodal approach, and soft x-ray spectroscopy is one of the incisive tools to probe the chemical and physical evolutions in batteries. (topical review)

Measurement of total calcium in neurons by electron probe X-ray microanalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Pivovarova, Natalia B; Andrews, S Brian

2013-11-20

In this article the tools, techniques, and instruments appropriate for quantitative measurements of intracellular elemental content using the technique known as electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) are described. Intramitochondrial calcium is a particular focus because of the critical role that mitochondrial calcium overload plays in neurodegenerative diseases. The method is based on the analysis of X-rays generated in an electron microscope (EM) by interaction of an electron beam with the specimen. In order to maintain the native distribution of diffusible elements in electron microscopy specimens, EPMA requires "cryofixation" of tissue followed by the preparation of ultrathin cryosections. Rapid freezing of cultured cells or organotypic slice cultures is carried out by plunge freezing in liquid ethane or by slam freezing against a cold metal block, respectively. Cryosections nominally 80 nm thick are cut dry with a diamond knife at ca. -160 °C, mounted on carbon/pioloform-coated copper grids, and cryotransferred into a cryo-EM using a specialized cryospecimen holder. After visual survey and location mapping at ≤-160 °C and low electron dose, frozen-hydrated cryosections are freeze-dried at -100 °C for ~30 min. Organelle-level images of dried cryosections are recorded, also at low dose, by means of a slow-scan CCD camera and subcellular regions of interest selected for analysis. X-rays emitted from ROIs by a stationary, focused, high-intensity electron probe are collected by an energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer, processed by associated electronics, and presented as an X-ray spectrum, that is, a plot of X-ray intensity vs. energy. Additional software facilitates: 1) identification of elemental components by their "characteristic" peak energies and fingerprint; and 2) quantitative analysis by extraction of peak areas/background. This paper concludes with two examples that illustrate typical EPMA applications, one in which mitochondrial calcium analysis

Design and analysis of a BLPC vocoder-based adaptive feedback cancellation with probe noise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Anand, Ankita; Kar, Asutosh; Swamy, M.N.S.

2017-01-01

a BLPC vocoderbased adaptive feedback canceller with probe noise with an objective of reducing the low-frequency bias in digital hearing-aids. A step-wise mathematical analysis of the proposed feedback canceller is presented employing the recursive least square and normalized least mean square adaptive......The band-limited linear predictive coding (BLPC) vocoder-based adaptive feedback cancellation (AFC) removes the high-frequency bias, while the low frequency bias persists between the desired input signal and the loudspeaker signal in the estimate of the feedback path. In this paper, we present...... algorithms. It is observed that the optimal solution of the feedback path is unbiased for an unshaped probe noise, but is biased for a shaped probe signal; the bias term does not consist of correlation between the desired input and the loudspeaker output. The identifiability conditions are analysed...

Commercial Parts Technology Qualification Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Mark S.

2013-01-01

Many high-reliability systems, including space systems, use selected commercial parts (including Plastic Encapsulated Microelectronics or PEMs) for unique functionality, small size, low weight, high mechanical shock resistance, and other factors. Predominantly this usage is subjected to certain 100% tests (typically called screens) and certain destructive tests usually (but not always) performed on the flight lot (typically called qualification tests). Frequently used approaches include those documented in EEE-INST-002 and JPL DocID62212 (which are sometimes modified by the particular aerospace space systems manufacturer). In this study, approaches from these documents and several space systems manufacturers are compared to approaches from a launch systems manufacturer (SpaceX), an implantable medical electronics manufacturer (Medtronics), and a high-reliability transport system process (automotive systems). In the conclusions section, these processes are outlined for all of these cases and presented in tabular form. Then some simple comparisons are made. In this introduction section, the PEM technology qualification process is described, as documented in EEE-INST-002 (written by the Goddard Space Flight Center, GSFC), as well as the somewhat modified approach employed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Approaches used at several major NASA contractors are also described

Probing Local Ionic Dynamics in Functional Oxides: From Nanometer to Atomic Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinin, Sergei

2014-03-01

Vacancy-mediated electrochemical reactions in oxides underpin multiple applications ranging from electroresistive memories, to chemical sensors to energy conversion systems such as fuel cells. Understanding the functionality in these systems requires probing reversible (oxygen reduction/evolution reaction) and irreversible (cathode degradation and activation, formation of conductive filaments) electrochemical processes. In this talk, I summarize recent advances in probing and controlling these transformations locally on nanometer level using scanning probe microscopy. The localized tip concentrates the electric field in the nanometer scale volume of material, inducing local transition. Measured simultaneously electromechanical response (piezoresponse) or current (conductive AFM) provides the information on the bias-induced changes in material. Here, I illustrate how these methods can be extended to study local electrochemical transformations, including vacancy dynamics in oxides such as titanates, LaxSr1-xCoO3, BiFeO3, and YxZr1-xO2. The formation of electromechanical hysteresis loops and their bias-, temperature- and environment dependences provide insight into local electrochemical mechanisms. In materials such as lanthanum-strontium cobaltite, mapping both reversible vacancy motion and vacancy ordering and static deformation is possible, and can be corroborated by post mortem STEM/EELS studies. In ceria, a broad gamut of electrochemical behaviors is observed as a function of temperature and humidity. The possible strategies for elucidation ionic motion at the electroactive interfaces in oxides using high-resolution electron microscopy and combined ex-situ and in-situ STEM-SPM studies are discussed. In the second part of the talk, probing electrochemical phenomena on in-situ grown surfaces with atomic resolution is illustrated. I present an approach based on the multivariate statistical analysis of the coordination spheres of individual atoms to reveal

Plasma gradient effects on double-probe measurements in the magnetosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Laakso

1995-02-01

Full Text Available The effects on double-probe electric field measurements induced by electron density and temperature gradients are investigated. We show that on some occasions such gradients may lead to marked spurious electric fields if the probes are assumed to lie at the same probe potential with respect to the plasma. The use of a proper bias current will decrease the magnitude of such an error. When the probes are near the plasma potential, the magnitude of these error signals, ∆E, can vary as ∆E ~ Te(∆ne/ne+0.5∆Te, where Te is the electron temperature, ∆ne/ne the relative electron density variation between the two sensors, and ∆Te the electron temperature difference between the two sensors. This not only implies that the error signals will increase linearly with the density variations but also that such signatures grow with Te, i.e., such effects are 10 times larger in a 10-eV plasma than in a 1-eV plasma. This type of error is independent of the probe separation distance provided the gradient scale length is much larger than this distance. The largest errors occur when the probes are near to the plasma potential. At larger positive probe potentials with respect to the plasma potential, the error becomes smaller if the probes are biased, as is usually the case with spherical double-probe experiments in the tenuous magnetospheric plasmas. The crossing of a plasma boundary (like the plasmapause or magnetopause yields an error signal of a single peak. During the crossing of a small structure (e.g., a double layer the error signal appears as a bipolar signature. Our analysis shows that errors in double-probe measurements caused by plasma gradients are not significant at large scale (»1 km plasma boundaries, and may only be important in cases where small-scale (<1 km, internal gradient structures exist. Bias currents tailored for each plasma parameter regime (i.e., variable bias current would o1q1improve the double-probe response to gradient

Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS): a novel probe for local structure of glassy solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, J.

1979-01-01

The extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) is the oscillation in the absorption coefficient extending a few hundred eVs on the high energy side of an x-ray absorption edge. This mode of spectroscopy has recently been realized to be a powerful tool in probing the local atomic structure of all states of matter, particularly with the advent of intense synchrotron radiation. More importantly is the unique ability of EXAFS to probe the structure and dynamics around individual atomic species in a multi-atomic system. In this paper, the physical processes associated with the EXAFS phenomenon will be discussed. Experimental results obtained at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory on some oxide and metallic glasses will be presented. The local structure in these materials are elucidated using a Fourier transform technique

An analysis of the relationship between staff qualification and export readiness of pharmaceutical companies: the case of iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadzadeh, Mehdi

2012-01-01

Export and the readiness to export constitute the first step of international marketing, which are affected by both internal and external factors of firms. One of the most important internal factors is the presence of skilled personnel. The purpose of this study was to define the relationship between staff qualification and encouragment with the readiness level of Iranian pharmacuetical firms for engagement in export marketing. The research was based on a single case study on a basket of seven leading domestic firms. For the bias reduction, questionnaires as well as interviews with managers were used. The performance of the studied factor was lower than the desired level for export readiness and there was much scope for improvement in staff qualifications to achieve such readiness. The results of this research enable small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies to evaluate their staff qualification levels needed for export readiness and to detect their shortcomings in order to improve them.

Fluctuations on the X-ray intensity beam using a portable X-ray probe based on {sup 6}LiI(Eu) crystal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araujo, Geraldo P.; Oliveira, Arno H. [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (PCTN/UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Ciencias e Tecnicas Nucleares; Carneiro, Andre C.; Carneiro, Clemente J.G.; Milian, Felix M.; Velasco, Fermin G., E-mail: fermin@uesc.b [Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (CPqCTR/UESC), Ilheus, BA (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisa em Ciencias e Tecnologias das Radiacoes

2011-07-01

X-rays are produced by accelerating electrons with a high voltage and allowing them to collide with a metal target. This high voltage presents fluctuations that define peak, minimum, and average voltages. Different voltages are applied to the X-ray tube depending on the radiographic applications. A rectifier circuit converts the alternating high voltage to unidirectional high voltage to accelerate electrons in this tube. The fluctuations on the energy in the electron beam depend on the mode of rectification. Both energy of the electrons and X rays intensity fluctuates. A portable probe built with a {sup 6}LiI(Eu) detector coupled to a 10 m light guide and a Hamamatsu photon counting head H9319 was used to measuring X ray intensities. This system is designed to collect up to 10000 counts in intervals of 10 ms to 1 s. Counts were accumulated in time intervals of 10 ms during 10 s. The system starts the count before activating the X-ray apparatus, which is on during a time interval of 100ms. During this period, counts may overflow in consequence high voltage was adjusted to be 40kV, in order to avoid such a problem. For each of these points dose was measured using an ionization chamber. The objectives of this work are to study fluctuations on the X-ray beam and to calibrate the portable probe for measuring radiation doses. Counting rates measured for each 10 ms presented strong variations due to high voltages fluctuations. Both dose and counting rate when correlated with distances between source and detector followed the inverse square law and presented values of R2 near of unit. A calibration curve of the portable system for dose measurements showed also R2 value near of unity. (author)

5 CFR 302.403 - Qualifications for promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Qualifications for promotion. 302.403... EMPLOYMENT IN THE EXCEPTED SERVICE Selection and Appointment; Reappointment; and Qualifications for Promotion § 302.403 Qualifications for promotion. In determining qualifications for promotion with respect to an...

Influence of X and gamma radiation and bias conditions on dropout voltage of voltage regulators serial transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vukic, V.; Osmokrovic, P.; Stankovic, S.; Kovacevic, M.

2005-01-01

Research topic presented in this paper is degradation of characteristics of low-dropout voltage regulator's serial transistor during exposure of device to the ionizing radiation. Voltage regulators were exposed to X and γ radiation in two modes: without bias conditions, and with bias conditions and load. Tested circuits are representatives of the first and the second generation of low-dropout voltage regulators, with lateral and vertical PNP serial transistor: LM2940 and L4940. Experimental results of output voltage and serial dropout voltage change in function of total ionizing dose, during the medium-dose-rate exposure, were presented. (author) [sr

Feasibility of a Heavy Ion Beam Probe for W7-X

Science.gov (United States)

Crowley, T. P.; Demers, D. R.; Fimognari, P. J.; Grulke, O.; Laube, R.

2017-10-01

A feasibility study of a Heavy Ion Beam Probe (HIBP) diagnostic for the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) superconducting stellarator, incorporating the accelerator and energy analyzer (currently in Greifswald) from the 2 MeV TEXT-U HIBP, is being carried out. The study's results are positive: beam trajectory simulations in the W7-X standard magnetic configuration, with central densities up to 1020 m-3, predict that it will be possible to measure the equilibrium plasma potential and Er at all radii, and simultaneously measure temporally and spatially resolved fluctuations of ne and potential for r / a >0.5. This will provide a unique capability to advance understanding of neoclassical and turbulent particle and energy transport in W7-X. Within this feasibility study, the beam is injected and detected through the K11 and N11 ports respectively, and the toroidal magnetic field is in the ` + φ ' direction. Additional beam simulations reveal that most radii can be accessed in 7 other paradigm magnetic configurations. It's anticipated that electrostatic beam steering suitable for studying all these configurations is plausible; it will have plate dimensions comparable to TEXT-U's with smaller electric fields and higher voltages. Initial estimates of anticipated heat load from the W7-X plasma on the steering systems indicate it will be significant, but tractable. Our conclusion from these studies is that an HIBP diagnostic for W7-X is feasible. This work is supported by US DoE Award DE-SC0013918.

The french safety approach regarding equipment qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jalouneix, J.; Deletre, G.; Henry, J.Y.; Rousseau, L.

1989-10-01

The qualification of the equipment, used in France on nuclear reactors and reactor components, is discussed. The approach on safety involves the qualification of mechanical and electrical components, under operating and under seismic conditions. The principles of the qualification program and the list of the equipment concerned, are given. The conditions in which qualification tests are performed and the methods applied, are summarized. The actions for preserving the qualification procedures, are considered

Study of the Dependency on Magnetic Field and Bias Voltage of an AC-Biased TES Microcalorimeter

Science.gov (United States)

Gottardi, L.; Bruijn, M.; denHartog, R.; Hoevers, H.; deKorte, P.; vanderKuur, J.; Linderman, M.; Adams, J.; Bailey, C.; Bandler, S.;

Treatment with escitalopram improves the attentional bias toward negative facial expressions in patients with major depressive disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhenhe; Cao, Suxia; Li, Hengfen; Li, Youhui

2015-10-01

We hypothesized that treatment with escitalopram would improve cognitive bias and contribute to the recovery process for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Many previous studies have established that patients with MDD tend to pay selective attention to negative stimuli. The assessment of the level of cognitive bias is regarded as a crucial dimension of treatment outcomes for MDD. To our knowledge, no prior studies have been reported on the effects of treatment with escitalopram on attentional bias in MDD, employing a dot probe task of facial expression. We studied 25 patients with MDD and 25 controls, and used a dot probe task of facial expression to measure cognitive bias. The patients' psychopathologies were rated using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment with escitalopram. All participants performed the facial expression dot probe task. The results revealed that the 8 week escitalopram treatment decreased the HAMD scores. The patients with MDD at baseline exhibited an attentional bias towards negative faces, however, no significant bias toward either negative or happy faces were observed in the controls. After the 8 week escitalopram treatment, no significant bias toward negative faces was observed in the patient group. In conclusion, patients with MDD pay more attention to negative facial expressions, and treatment with escitalopram improves this attentional bias toward negative facial expressions. This is the first study, to our knowledge, on the effects of treatment with escitalopram on attentional bias in patients with MDD that has employed a dot probe task of facial expression. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radiation protection technology. Specific course for authorized radiation protection representatives according the qualification guidelines technology for the radiation protection regulations (StrlSchV) and X-ray regulation (RoeV). 2. rev. ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahn, Hans-Joachim

2012-01-01

The specific course for authorized radiation protection representatives according the qualification guidelines technology for the radiation protection regulations (StrlSchV) and X-ray regulation (RoeV). Covers the following issues: radiation protection - generally; licenses and notifications; scientific fundamentals; dosimetry, surveillance, control, documentation; technical radiation protection; radiation protection calculations.

Attentional bias to moving spiders in spider fearful individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Vrijsen, Janna N; Fleurkens, Pascal; Nieuwboer, Wieteke; Rinck, Mike

2009-05-01

We investigated if an attentional bias for spiders in spider fearful individuals (SFs) can also be found for moving spiders, rather than static images. In Study 1, 28 SFs and 33 non-anxious controls (NACs) participated in a modified version of the dot probe paradigm: they had to react to a probe that appeared either in the next, previous, or side position of a spider's or a wheel's path. 24 SFs and 29 NACs participated in Study 2, in which a fourth, highly predictable, probe position was added. We expected that moving spiders would capture the attention of SFs. In addition, we tested whether SFs try to predict the movement of the spider to make it less threatening. As expected, SFs showed an attentional bias towards moving spiders. However, both groups reacted fastest to unpredictable movements, indicating that SFs and NACs alike anticipate unpredictable spider movements.

Automatic emissive probe apparatus for accurate plasma and vacuum space potential measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Jianquan, LI; Wenqi, LU; Jun, XU; Fei, GAO; Younian, WANG

2018-02-01

We have developed an automatic emissive probe apparatus based on the improved inflection point method of the emissive probe for accurate measurements of both plasma potential and vacuum space potential. The apparatus consists of a computer controlled data acquisition card, a working circuit composed by a biasing unit and a heating unit, as well as an emissive probe. With the set parameters of the probe scanning bias, the probe heating current and the fitting range, the apparatus can automatically execute the improved inflection point method and give the measured result. The validity of the automatic emissive probe apparatus is demonstrated in a test measurement of vacuum potential distribution between two parallel plates, showing an excellent accuracy of 0.1 V. Plasma potential was also measured, exhibiting high efficiency and convenient use of the apparatus for space potential measurements.

Time-resolved pump-probe X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy of Gaq3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dicke, Benjamin

2013-01-01

Gallium(tris-8-hydroxyquinoline) (Gaq 3 ) belongs to a class of metal organic compounds, used as electron transport layer and emissive layer in organic light emitting diodes. Many research activities have concentrated on the optical and electronic properties, especially of the homologue molecule aluminum(tris-8-hydroxyquinoline) (Alq 3 ). Knowledge of the first excited state S 1 structure of these molecules could provide deeper insight into the processes involved into the operation of electronic devices, such as OLEDs and, hence, it could further improve their efficiency and optical properties. Until now the excited state structure could not be determined experimentally. Most of the information about this structure mainly arises from theoretical calculations. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy is a well developed technique to determine both, the electronic and the geometric properties of a sample. The connection of ultrashort pulsed X-ray sources with a pulsed laser system offers the possibility to use XAFS as a tool for studying the transient changes of a sample induced by a laser pulse. In the framework of this thesis a new setup for time-resolved pump-probe X-ray absorption spectroscopy at PETRA III beamline P11 was developed for measuring samples in liquid form. In this setup the sample is pumped into its photo-excited state by a femtosecond laser pump pulse with 343 nm wavelength and after a certain time delay probed by an X-ray probe pulse. In this way the first excited singlet state S 1 of Gaq 3 dissolved in benzyl alcohol was analyzed. A structural model for the excited state structure of the Gaq 3 molecule based on the several times reproduced results of the XAFS experiments is proposed. According to this model it was found that the Ga-N A bond length is elongated, while the Ga-O A bond length is shortened upon photoexcitation. The dynamics of the structural changes were not the focus of this thesis. Nevertheless the excited state lifetime

Environmental qualification program for new designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doerffer, K.

2007-01-01

Qualification of nuclear power plant equipment and components important to safety (ITS) is an integral part of the design process. The qualification methodology differs based on the severity of service conditions (operational and ambient), to which the ITS equipment is exposed. In Canada, the licensing requirements for environmental qualification for new designs are governed by the Canadian Standard Association (CSA) standard, N290.13-2005 titled 'Environmental Qualification of Equipment for CANDU Nuclear Power Plants' and the pre-consultation draft, 'Requirements for Design of Nuclear Power Plants'(DRD), issued for trial use by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in March 2005. This paper will describe AECL's current Environmental Qualification program developed to comply with the above licensing requirements as applied to new designs. The focus will be given to qualification of ITS systems structures and components (SSC) to harsh conditions occurring due to the Design Basis Accidents (DBA). (author)

Instructed fear stimuli bias visual attention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deltomme, Berre; Mertens, G.; Tibboel, Helen; Braem, Senne

We investigated whether stimuli merely instructed to be fear-relevant can bias visual attention, even when the fear relation was never experienced before. Participants performed a dot-probe task with pictures of naturally fear-relevant (snake or spider) or -irrelevant (bird or butterfly) stimuli.

5 CFR 319.302 - Individual qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Individual qualifications. 319.302... Individual qualifications. Agency heads are delegated authority to approve the qualifications of individuals appointed to SL and ST positions. The agency head must determine that the individual meets the...

VHDL basics applied design by SIPAC qualification system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, In Ha; Mun, Da Cheol; Lee, Gwang Yeob

2005-12-01

This book has six chapters, which are about Flowrian of SIPAC qualification system including internet CAD system and remote server service, logic circuit on design and qualification of device such as gate circuit, multiplex and decoder, order logic circuit with D type flip-flop design and qualification and Rom and RAM's design and qualification, finite state machine such as odd checker, sequence detector, test clock generator and traffic light controller, design and qualification about data path, design of application circuit. It has two appendixes on install and the way to use SIPAC qualification system and remote service for SIPAC qualification system.

Qualification guideline of the German X-ray association (DRG) und the German association for interventional radiology and minimal invasive therapy (DeGIR) for the performance of interventional-radiological minimal invasive procedures on arteries and veins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buecker, A.; Gross-Fengels, W.; Haage, P.; Huppert, P.; Landwehr, P.; Loose, R.; Reimer, P.; Tacke, J.; Vorwerk, D.; Fischer, J.

2012-01-01

The topics covered in the qualification guideline of the German X-ray association (DRG) und the German association for interventional radiology and minimal invasive therapy (DeGIR) for the performance of interventional-radiological minimal invasive procedures on arteries and veins are the following: Practical qualification: aorta iliac vessels and vessels in the upper and lower extremities, kidney and visceral arteries, head and neck arteries, dialysis shunts, veins and pulmonary arteries, aorta aneurysms and peripheral artery aneurysms. Knowledge acquisition concerning radiation protection: legal fundamentals, education and training, knowledge actualization and quality control, definition of the user and the procedure, competence preservation.

Effects of Rating Training on Inter-Rater Consistency for Developing a Dental Hygiene Clinical Rater Qualification System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeong Ran Park

2007-12-01

Full Text Available We tried to develop itemized evaluation criteria and a clinical rater qualification system through rating training of inter-rater consistency for experienced clinical dental hygienists and dental hygiene clinical educators. A total of 15 clinical dental hygienists with 1-year careers participated as clinical examination candidates, while 5 dental hygienists with 3-year educations and clinical careers or longer participated as clinical raters. They all took the clinical examination as examinees. The results were compared, and the consistency of competence was measured. The comparison of clinical competence between candidates and clinical raters showed that the candidate group?占퐏 mean clinical competence ranged from 2.96 to 3.55 on a 5-point system in a total of 3 instruments (Probe, Explorer, Curet, while the clinical rater group?占퐏 mean clinical competence ranged from 4.05 to 4.29. There was a higher inter-rater consistency after education of raters in the following 4 items: Probe, Explorer, Curet, and insertion on distal surface. The mean score distribution of clinical raters ranged from 75% to 100%, which was more uniform in the competence to detect an artificial calculus than that of candidates (25% to 100%. According to the above results, there was a necessity in the operating clinical rater qualification system for comprehensive dental hygiene clinicians. Furthermore, in order to execute the clinical rater qualification system, it will be necessary to keep conducting a series of studies on educational content, time, frequency, and educator level.

Laser-produced Sm{sub 1-x}Nd{sub x}NiO{sub 3} plasma dynamic through Langmuir probe and ICCD imaging combined analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ngom, B.D. [Universite Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Laboratoire de Photonique et Nano-Fabrication, Groupe de Physique du Solide et Sciences des Materiaux (GPSSM), Faculte des Sciences et Techniques, Dakar-Fann Dakar (Senegal); University of South Africa, UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences/Nanotechnology, College of Graduate Studies, Pretoria (South Africa); National Research Foundation, Nanosciences African Network (NANOAFNET), iThemba LABS, Somerset West, Western Cape (South Africa); Lafane, S.; Abdelli-Messaci, S.; Kerdja, T. [Centre de Developpement des Technologies Avancees, Division des Milieux Ionises et Laser, Baba Hassen (Algeria); Maaza, M. [University of South Africa, UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences/Nanotechnology, College of Graduate Studies, Pretoria (South Africa); National Research Foundation, Nanosciences African Network (NANOAFNET), iThemba LABS, Somerset West, Western Cape (South Africa)

2016-01-15

The dynamics of laser-produced plasma of Sm{sub 1-x}Nd{sub x}NiO{sub 3} is studied over oxygen pressure ranging from vacuum up to 2 mbar via Langmuir probe, and intensified charge-coupled device-imaging techniques. The analysis of the oxygen pressure dependence of the ion yield points out to four different regimes. More accurately, the specific ionic current shows a first drop at about 2 x 10{sup -2} mbar corresponding to the appearance of two peaks in the profile of the ionic signal. Likewise, this pressure marks the early stage of the plume splitting into two prominent components as observed by the ICCD imaging. Below 2 x 10{sup -2} mbar, the dynamic of the plume is directive (1D), while a quasi-stable behavior on the ionic current signal is observed. In the 0.2- to 0.5-mbar region, a quasi-stationary regime is obtained. More accurately, both the ionic yield and the plume stopping distance vary very slowly in such pressures range. Above 0.5 mbar, the ionic yield is altered again corresponding to the appearance of the diffusion regime. At a pressure of 1.5 mbar we observe a second appearance of an ionic signal peak. A correlation between the results obtained by Langmuir probe and ICCD imaging is made, presented, and discussed within this contribution. (orig.)

Objective, Quantitative, Data-Driven Assessment of Chemical Probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Antolin, Albert A; Tym, Joseph E; Komianou, Angeliki; Collins, Ian; Workman, Paul; Al-Lazikani, Bissan

2018-02-15

Chemical probes are essential tools for understanding biological systems and for target validation, yet selecting probes for biomedical research is rarely based on objective assessment of all potential compounds. Here, we describe the Probe Miner: Chemical Probes Objective Assessment resource, capitalizing on the plethora of public medicinal chemistry data to empower quantitative, objective, data-driven evaluation of chemical probes. We assess >1.8 million compounds for their suitability as chemical tools against 2,220 human targets and dissect the biases and limitations encountered. Probe Miner represents a valuable resource to aid the identification of potential chemical probes, particularly when used alongside expert curation. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Influence of Plasma Biasing on Coherent Structures in TJ-K

Science.gov (United States)

Ramisch, M.; Greiner, F.; Lechte, C.; Mahdizadeh, N.; Rahbarnia, K.; Stroth, U.

2003-10-01

Poloidal shear flows play an important role in the improvement of plasma confinement in fusion devices. They limit the radial correlation length via the shear decorrelation mechanism [1] and can trigger transitions into transport barriers. External biasing can be used to drive poloidal shear flows [2] in order to study the decorrelation mechanism. The torsatron TJ-K is operated with low-temperature plasmas produced by ECRH. Coherent and quasi-coherent structures have been observed [3]. Their structure size varies according to the drift scale ρ_s. The influence of biasing on these structures is investigated by means of electrostatic probes. Electron density fluctuations as well as fluctuations of the floating potential tend to decrease in the presence of a positively biased probe. The evolution of radial electric field, poloidal flow and radial transport are investigated for different plasma parameters using a 2D Langmuir probe array with 64 tips in comparison with two-point correlation measurements. First results are presented. [1] H. Biglari et al., Phys. Fluids B 2, p. 1 (1990); [2] R. J. Taylor et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 21, p. 2365 (1989); [3] C. Lechte, PhD-Thesis, CAU Kiel (2003)

Computer modelling of eddy current probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, S.P.

1992-01-01

Computer programs have been developed for modelling impedance and transmit-receive eddy current probes in two-dimensional axis-symmetric configurations. These programs, which are based on analytic equations, simulate bobbin probes in infinitely long tubes and surface probes on plates. They calculate probe signal due to uniform variations in conductor thickness, resistivity and permeability. These signals depend on probe design and frequency. A finite element numerical program has been procured to calculate magnetic permeability in non-linear ferromagnetic materials. Permeability values from these calculations can be incorporated into the above analytic programs to predict signals from eddy current probes with permanent magnets in ferromagnetic tubes. These programs were used to test various probe designs for new testing applications. Measurements of magnetic permeability in magnetically biased ferromagnetic materials have been performed by superimposing experimental signals, from special laboratory ET probes, on impedance plane diagrams calculated using these programs. (author). 3 refs., 2 figs

Scanning probe lithography for fabrication of Ti metal nanodot arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, B.; Jo, W.; Gwon, M.J.; Lee, E.; Kim, D.-W.

2010-01-01

We report fabrication of Ti metal nanodot arrays by scanning probe microscopic indentation. A thin poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA) layer was spin-coated on Si substrates with thickness of 70 nm. Nanometer-size pore arrays were formed by indenting the PMMA layer using a cantilever of a scanning probe microscope. Protuberances with irregular boundaries appeared during the indentation process. Control of approach and pulling-out speed during indentation was able to dispose of the protrusions. Ti metal films were deposited on the patterned PMMA layers by a radio-frequency sputtering method and subsequently lifted off to obtain metal nanodot arrays. The fabricated metal nanodot arrays have 200 nm of diameter and 500 nm of interdistance, which corresponds to a density of 4x10 8 /cm 2 . Scanning probe-based measurement of current-voltage (I-V) behaviors for a single Ti metal nanodot showed asymmetric characteristics. Applying external bias is likely to induce oxidation of Ti metal, since the conductance decreased and volume change of the dots was observed. I-V behaviors of Ti metal nanodots by conventional e-beam lithography were also characterized for comparison.

Addressing Unconscious Bias: Steps toward an Inclusive Scientific Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Abigail

2011-01-01

In this talk I will outline the nature of unconscious bias, as it operates to exclude or marginalize some participants in the scientific community. I will show how bias results from non-conscious expectations about certain groups of people, including scientists and astronomers. I will outline scientific research in psychology, sociology and economics that has identified the impact these expectations have on interpersonal judgments that are at the heart of assessment of individuals' qualifications. This research helps us understand not only how bias operates within a single instance of evaluation, but how evaluation bias can accumulate over a career if not checked, creating an appearance of confirmation of biased expectations. Some research has focused on how best to interrupt and mitigate unconscious bias, and many institutions--including the University of Michigan--have identified strategic interventions at key points of institutional decision-making (particularly hiring, annual review, and promotion) that can make a difference. The NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation program encouraged institutions to draw on the social science literature to create experimental approaches to addressing unconscious bias. I will outline four approaches to intervention that have arisen through the ADVANCE program: (1) systematic education that increases awareness among decisionmakers of how evaluation bias operates; (2) development of practices that mitigate the operation of bias even when it is out of conscious awareness; (3) creation of institutional policies that routinize and sanction these practices; and (4) holding leaders accountable for these implementation of these new practices and policies. Although I will focus on ways to address unconscious bias within scientific institutions (colleges and universities, laboratories and research centers, etc.), I will close by considering how scientific organizations can address unconscious bias and contribute to creating an

Optical afterburner for an x-ray free electron laser as a tool for pump-probe experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. L. Saldin

2010-03-01

Full Text Available We propose a new scheme for two-color operation of an x-ray self-amplified spontaneous emission free electron laser (SASE FEL. The scheme is based on an intrinsic feature of such a device: chaotic modulations of electron beam energy and energy spread on the scale of FEL coherence length are converted into large density modulations on the same scale with the help of a dispersion section, installed behind the x-ray undulator. Powerful radiation is then generated with the help of a dedicated radiator (like an undulator that selects a narrow spectral line, or one can simply use, for instance, broadband edge radiation. A typical radiation wavelength can be as short as a FEL coherence length, and can be redshifted by increasing the dispersion section strength. In practice it means the wavelength ranges from vacuum ultraviolet to infrared. The long-wavelength radiation pulse is naturally synchronized with the x-ray pulse and can be either directly used in pump-probe experiments or cross correlated with a high-power pulse from a conventional laser system. In this way experimenters overcome jitter problems and can perform pump-probe experiments with femtosecond resolution. Additional possibilities like on-line monitoring of x-ray pulse duration (making “optical replica” of an x-ray pulse are also discussed in the paper. The proposed scheme is very simple, cheap, and robust, and therefore can be easily realized in facilities like FLASH, European XFEL, LCLS, and SCSS.

Synchronized and configurable source of electrical pulses for x-ray pump-probe experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strachan, J. P.; Chembrolu, V.; Yu, X. W.; Tyliszczak, T.; Acremann, Y.

2007-01-01

A method is described for the generation of software tunable patterns of nanosecond electrical pulses. The bipolar, high repetition rate (up to 250 MHz), fast rise time (<30 ps), square pulses are suitable for applications such as the excitation sequence in dynamic pump-probe experiments. Synchronization with the time structure of a synchrotron facility is possible as well as fine control of the relative delay in steps of 10 ps. The pulse generator described here is used to excite magnetic nanostructures with current pulses. Having an excitation system which can match the high repetition rate of a synchrotron allows for utilization of the full x-ray flux and is needed in experiments which require a large photon flux. The fast rise times allow for picosecond time resolution in pump-probe experiments. All pulse pattern parameters are configurable by software

Monte Carlo simulation of the electron and X-ray depth distribution for quantitative electron probe microanalysis of PWR spent fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Hyoung Mun; Lee, Hyung Kwon; Son, Young Zoon; Chun, Yong Bum [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-10-15

Electron probe microanalysis requires several corrections to quantify an element of a specimen. The X-rays produced by the primary beam are created at some depth in the specimen. This distribution is usually represented as the function {Phi}(pz), and it is possible to calculate the correction factors for atomic number and absorption effects. The electron and X-ray depth distributions for a quantitative electron probe micro analysis were simulated by the CASINO Monte Carlo program to quantify some elements of the PWR spent fuel with 50 GWd/tU of burnup and 2 years of cooling time

Monte Carlo simulation of the electron and X-ray depth distribution for quantitative electron probe microanalysis of PWR spent fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Hyoung Mun; Lee, Hyung Kwon; Son, Young Zoon; Chun, Yong Bum

2011-01-01

Electron probe microanalysis requires several corrections to quantify an element of a specimen. The X-rays produced by the primary beam are created at some depth in the specimen. This distribution is usually represented as the function Φ(pz), and it is possible to calculate the correction factors for atomic number and absorption effects. The electron and X-ray depth distributions for a quantitative electron probe micro analysis were simulated by the CASINO Monte Carlo program to quantify some elements of the PWR spent fuel with 50 GWd/tU of burnup and 2 years of cooling time

Attentional bias to emotional stimuli is altered during moderate- but not high-intensity exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Qu; Smith, J Carson

2011-12-01

Little is known regarding how attention to emotional stimuli is affected during simultaneously performed exercise. Attentional biases to emotional face stimuli were assessed in 34 college students (17 women) using the dot-probe task during counterbalanced conditions of moderate- (heart rate at 45% peak oxygen consumption) and high-intensity exercise (heart rate at 80% peak oxygen consumption) compared with seated rest. The dot-probe task consisted of 1 emotional face (pleasant or unpleasant) paired with a neutral face for 1,000 ms; 256 trials (128 trials for each valence) were presented during each condition. Each condition lasted approximately 10 min. Participants were instructed to perform each trial of the dot-probe task as quickly and accurately as possible during the exercise and rest conditions. During moderate-intensity exercise, participants exhibited significantly greater attentional bias scores to pleasant compared with unpleasant faces (p bias scores to emotional faces did not differ at rest or during high-intensity exercise (p > .05). In addition, the attentional bias to unpleasant faces was significantly reduced during moderate-intensity exercise compared with that during rest (p emotional stimuli and away from unpleasant emotional stimuli. Future work is needed to determine whether acute exercise may be an effective treatment approach to reduce negative bias or enhance positive bias in individuals diagnosed with mood or anxiety disorders, or whether attentional bias during exercise predicts adherence to exercise. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Influence of bias voltage on structural and optical properties of TiN{sub x} thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Omveer, E-mail: poonia.omveer@gmail.com [Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi – 110016 (India); Dahiya, Raj P. [Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi – 110016 (India); Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal – 131039 (India); Malik, Hitendra K.; Kumar, Parmod [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi – 110016 (India)

2015-08-28

In the present work, Ti thin films were deposited on Si substrate using DC sputtering technique. Indigenous hot cathode arc discharge plasma system was used for nitriding over these samples, where the plasma parameters and work piece can be controlled independently. A mixture of H{sub 2} and N{sub 2} gases (in the ratio of 80:20) was supplied into the plasma chamber. The effect of bias voltage on the crystal structure, morphology and optical properties was investigated by employing various physical techniques such as X-ray Diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy and UV-Vis spectrometry. It was found that bias voltage affects largely the crystal structure and band gap which in turn is responsible for the modifications in optical properties of the deposited films.

Vacancy behavior in Cu(In{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x})Se{sub 2} layers grown by a three-stage coevaporation process probed by monoenergetic positron beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uedono, Akira; Islam, Muhammad M.; Sakurai, Takeaki [Division of Applied Physics, Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan); Hugenschmidt, Christoph [Physics Department E21 and Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany); Egger, Werner [Universität der Bundeswehr München, Institut für Angewandte Physik und Messtechnik, 85577 Neubiberg (Germany); Scheer, Roland; Krause-Rehberg, Reinhard [Department of Physics, Martin Luther University Halle, 06099 Halle (Germany); Akimoto, Katsuhiro [Division of Applied Physics, Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan)

2016-03-31

Vacancy-type defects in Cu(In{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x})Se{sub 2} (x ≅ 0.45 and 1) grown by a three-stage coevaporation process were probed using monoenergetic positron beams. Measurements of Doppler broadening spectra of the annihilation radiation and positron lifetime spectra showed that two different defect species coexist in the Cu(In{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x})Se{sub 2} layers, and these were identified as mono/divacancy-type defects and vacancy clusters, respectively. The vacancy clusters were mainly introduced during the third growth stage, and were located in the subsurface region. The concentration of the defects affected the short-circuit current density and the conversion efficiency of the solar cells. The defect concentration and their depth distributions varied depending on Se beam equivalent pressure, growth time, and post-growth annealing time. The behavior of the vacancy-type defects is discussed also with respect to results obtained using an electron probe micro-analyzer. - Highlights: • We applied positron annihilation to characterize Cu(In{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x})Se{sub 2}. • Defect species were identified as mono/divacancy-type defects and vacancy clusters. • The conversion efficiency increased with a decreasing vacancy concentration.

Experiences from start-up and use of fail-safe reactor level meter with KNITU probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badiar, S.; Sipka, J.; Vanco, P.; Slanina, Marek; Liska, L.; Gavora, D.

2001-01-01

Within the framework of the reconstruction of both V1 Bohunice units with WWER-440/V-230 reactors, the VUJE-SIEMENS consortium implemented measurement systems for coolant level monitoring in reactor pressure vessels with 1E qualification, resp. with the qualification of category 1 according to NUSS RG1.97. The solution uses KNITU 11 probes made by Russian POZIT company. In operating plants, the installation causes problems in relation to the existing technology and quality assurance system. In the phase of implementation, the most important tasks were to resolve component quality, to commission the system, and to check its performance. (Authors)

Establishment of nuclear equipment qualification system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joo, Po Kook; Lim, Nam Jin; Lee, Young Gun

2003-04-01

This study is carried out by KEARI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) as the lead organization in cooperation with KIMM(Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials), KTL(Korea Testing Laboratory) and KRISS(Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science) to construct a basis of efficient management of nuclear equipment qualification business by expanding test equipment of each of participating organization, and developing qualification technologies. As for KIMM, control system of large scale shaker was replaced with advanced system, and LOCA(Loss of Coolant Accident) test facility was installed. KTL is now capable of conducting seismic tests of nuclear I and C as a result of installation of seismic test equipment during the first two project years. KRISS participated in the Project with a view to have large scale EMI test equipment and related technologies. In parallel with expansion of test equipment, a industrial-educational-research cooperation committee, as an intermediate step toward integrated equipment qualification system to maximize the usage of test equipment, was established and cooperation methods were investigated. As a result, Korea Nuclear Equipment Qualification Association, an corporate juridical person, was established. Research on development of thermal and radiation aging test technology of nuclear materials was carried out by Hanyang University and SECO(Saehan Engineering and Qualification Co., Ltd.). Integrated Equipment Qualification Database was developed which contains material test data, equipment qualification data and other EQ related informations. Standard qualification procedures were developed in order for test laboratories and manufacturers to establish design requirements and to efficiently perform tests

Qualification of ISI for Bulgarian NPP: UK support

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Booler, R.

2000-01-01

UK Regulator (NII) Phare project provides an assistance to the Bulgarian Regulator in setting up the technical infrastructure for inspection qualification consistent with IAEA Guidelines and western European practice. The Strategy Document defines the methodology for inspection qualification and general roles and responsibilities of the involved organizations. The Qualification Inputs Document describes the information required for the Technical Specifications (component details, inspection aims and limitations). It applies the idea of qualification level - level 1(lowest) to level 3 (highest). The Qualification Procedure Document provides a guidance to the utility ('Kozloduy' NPP) on the preparation of Qualification Procedures (QP). The appendix provides a specific guidance on the performance of the all aspects of qualification at different levels and recommendations for technical justification. QB Method Working Document provides guidance for the Qualification Body. Facilities and Resources Document defines the facilities and resources required for the Qualification Body to perform the tasks described in the Method Working Document. High level QA Document defines the principles of quality control. Other issues and progress report are also presented

Development of an X-ray delay unit for correlation spectroscopy and pump-probe experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roseker, Wojciech

2008-07-15

Probing condensed matter on time scales ranging from femtoseconds to nanoseconds will be one of the key topics for future X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) sources. The accessible time windows are, however, compromised by the intrinsic time structure of the sources. One way to overcome this limitation is the usage of a time delay unit. A prototype device capable of splitting an X-ray pulse into two adjustable fractions, delaying one of them with the aim to perform X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy and pump-probe type studies was designed and manufactured. The device utilizes eight perfect crystals in vertical 90 scattering geometry. Its performance has been verified with 8.39 keV and 12.4 keV Xrays at various synchrotron sources. The measured throughput of the device with a Si(333) monochromator at 8.39 keV under ambient conditions is 0.6%. The stability was verified at 12.4 keV and operation without realignment and feedback was possible for more than 30 minutes. Time delays up to 2.95 ns have been achieved. The highest resolution achieved in an experiment was 15.4 ps, a value entirely determined by the diagnostics system. The influence of the delay unit optics on the coherence properties of the beam was investigated by means of Fraunhofer diffraction and static speckle analysis. The obtained high fringe visibility and contrast values larger than 23% indicate the feasibility of performing coherence based experiments with the delay line. (orig.)

Pilot study approach and qualification dossier components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ammirato, F.; Ashwin, P.

2000-01-01

The aim of the Pilot Project is to evaluate the IAEA Guidelines and methodology for the benefit of IAEA Member States trough a simulation of qualification activities. The Project is based on a real component and available data - NPP Kozloduy unit 5, weld 3. The initial phase is limited to the Qualification dossier. The Project relies on the input from the team members and Member States. Team organization and responsibilities are presented. The components of the Qualification Dossier (technical specification, inspection procedure and preliminary review, qualification procedure) and their current status are also presented. A comparison is done with their qualification programs. The characteristics of performance demonstrations are discussed. The results show that the teamwork has been successful and the IAEA methodology covers all situations. It is expected that the End Project will become 'Benchmark's' for future qualification activities

Laser-Hole Boring into Overdense Plasmas Measured with Soft X-Ray Laser Probing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, K [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada Oka 2-6, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, (Japan); Kodama, R [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada Oka 2-6, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, (Japan); Tanaka, K A [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada Oka 2-6, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, (Japan); Hashimoto, H [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada Oka 2-6, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, (Japan); Kato, Y [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada Oka 2-6, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, (Japan); Mima, K [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Yamada Oka 2-6, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, (Japan); Weber, F A [University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Barbee, Jr, T W [University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Da Silva, L B [University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

2000-03-13

A laser self-focused channel formation into overdense plasmas was observed using a soft x-ray laser probe system with a grid image refractometry (GIR) technique. 1.053 {mu}m laser light with a 100 ps pulse duration was focused onto a preformed plasma at an intensity of 2x10{sup 17} W /cm{sup 2} . Cross sections of the channel were obtained which show a 30 {mu}m diameter in overdense plasmas. The channel width in the overdense region was kept narrow as a result of self-focusing. Conically diverging density ridges were also observed along the channel, indicating a Mach cone created by a shock wave due to the supersonic propagation of the channel front. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.

Laser-Hole Boring into Overdense Plasmas Measured with Soft X-Ray Laser Probing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, K.; Kodama, R.; Tanaka, K. A.; Hashimoto, H.; Kato, Y.; Mima, K.; Weber, F. A.; Barbee, T. W. Jr.; Da Silva, L. B.

2000-01-01

A laser self-focused channel formation into overdense plasmas was observed using a soft x-ray laser probe system with a grid image refractometry (GIR) technique. 1.053 μm laser light with a 100 ps pulse duration was focused onto a preformed plasma at an intensity of 2x10 17 W /cm 2 . Cross sections of the channel were obtained which show a 30 μm diameter in overdense plasmas. The channel width in the overdense region was kept narrow as a result of self-focusing. Conically diverging density ridges were also observed along the channel, indicating a Mach cone created by a shock wave due to the supersonic propagation of the channel front. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

Does neurocognitive function affect cognitive bias toward an emotional stimulus? Association between general attentional ability and attentional bias toward threat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuko eHakamata

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Although poorer cognitive performance has been found to be associated with anxiety, it remains unclear whether neurocognitive function affects biased cognitive processing toward emotional information. We investigated whether general cognitive function evaluated with a standard neuropsychological test predicts biased cognition, focusing on attentional bias toward threat.Methods: One hundred and five healthy young adults completed a dot-probe task measuring attentional bias and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS measuring general cognitive function, which consists of five domains: immediate memory, visuospatial/constructional, language, attention, and delayed memory. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationships between attentional bias and cognitive function. Results: The attentional domain was the best predictor of attentional bias toward threat (β = -0.26, p = 0.006. Within the attentional domain, digit symbol coding was negatively correlated with attentional bias (r = -0.28, p = 0.005.Conclusions: The present study provides the first evidence that general attentional ability, which was assessed with a standard neuropsychological test, affects attentional bias toward threatening information. Individual cognitive profiles might be important for the measurement and modification of cognitive biases.

IVVS probe mechanical concept design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rossi, Paolo, E-mail: paolo.rossi@enea.it; Neri, Carlo; De Collibus, Mario Ferri; Mugnaini, Giampiero; Pollastrone, Fabio; Crescenzi, Fabio

2015-10-15

Highlights: • ENEA designed, developed and tested a laser based In Vessel Viewing System (IVVS). • IVVS mechanical design has been revised from 2011 to 2013 to meet ITER requirements. • Main improvements are piezoceramic actuators and a step focus system. • Successful qualification activities validated the concept design for ITER environment. - Abstract: ENEA has been deeply involved in the design, development and testing of a laser based In Vessel Viewing System (IVVS) required for the inspection of ITER plasma-facing components. The IVVS probe shall be deployed into the vacuum vessel, providing high resolution images and metrology measurements to detect damages and possible erosion. ENEA already designed and manufactured an IVVS probe prototype based on a rad-hard concept and driven by commercial micro-step motors, which demonstrated satisfying viewing and metrology performances at room conditions. The probe sends a laser beam through a reflective rotating prism. By rotating the axes of the prism, the probe can scan all the environment points except those present in a shadow cone and the backscattered light signal is then processed to measure the intensity level (viewing) and the distance from the probe (metrology). During the last years, in order to meet all the ITER environmental conditions, such as high vacuum, gamma radiation lifetime dose up to 5 MGy, cumulative neutron fluence of about 2.3 × 10{sup 17} n/cm{sup 2}, temperature of 120 °C and magnetic field of 8 T, the probe mechanical design was significantly revised introducing a new actuating system based on piezo-ceramic actuators and improved with a new step focus system. The optical and mechanical schemes have been then modified and refined to meet also the geometrical constraints. The paper describes the mechanical concept design solutions adopted in order to fulfill IVVS probe functional performance requirements considering ITER working environment and geometrical constraints.

Advanced qualification techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winokur, P.S.; Shaneyfelt, M.R.; Meisenheimer, T.L.; Fleetwood, D.M.

1993-01-01

This paper demonstrates use of the Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) methodology to qualify commercial and military microelectronics for use in space applications. QML ''builds in'' the hardness of product through statistical process control (SPC) of technology parameters relevant to the radiation response, test structure to integrated circuit (IC) correlations, and techniques for extrapolating laboratory test results to low-dose-rate space scenarios. Each of these elements is demonstrated and shown to be a cost-effective alternative to expensive end-of-line IC testing. Several examples of test structured-IC correlations are provided and recent work on complications arising from transistor scaling and geometry is discussed. The use of a 10-keV x-ray wafer-level test system to support SPC and establish ''process capability'' is illustrated and a comparison of 10-keV x-ray and Co 60 gamma irradiations is provided for a wide range of CMOS technologies. The x-ray tester is shown to be cost-effective and its use in lot acceptance/qualification is recommended. Finally, a comparison is provided between MIL-STD-883D, Test Method 1019.4, which governs the testing of packaged semiconductor microcircuits in the DoD, and ESA/SSC Basic Specification No. 22900, Europe's Total Dose Steady-State Irradiation Test Method. Test Method 1019.4 focuses on conservative estimates of MOS hardness for space and tactical applications, while Basic Specification 22900 focuses on improved simulation of low-dose-rate space environments

Laser-pump/X-ray-probe experiments with electrons ejected from a Cu(111) target: space-charge acceleration.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiwietz, G; Kühn, D; Föhlisch, A; Holldack, K; Kachel, T; Pontius, N

2016-09-01

A comprehensive investigation of the emission characteristics for electrons induced by X-rays of a few hundred eV at grazing-incidence angles on an atomically clean Cu(111) sample during laser excitation is presented. Electron energy spectra due to intense infrared laser irradiation are investigated at the BESSY II slicing facility. Furthermore, the influence of the corresponding high degree of target excitation (high peak current of photoemission) on the properties of Auger and photoelectrons liberated by a probe X-ray beam is investigated in time-resolved pump and probe measurements. Strong electron energy shifts have been found and assigned to space-charge acceleration. The variation of the shift with laser power and electron energy is investigated and discussed on the basis of experimental as well as new theoretical results.

Measurements of the asymmetric dynamic sheath around a pulse biased sphere immersed in flowing metal plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hongchen; Anders, André

2008-08-01

A long-probe technique was utilized to record the expansion and retreat of the dynamic sheath around a spherical substrate immersed in pulsed cathode arc metal plasma. Positively biased, long cylindrical probes were placed on the side and downstream of a negatively pulsed biased stainless steel sphere of 1 in. (25.4 mm) diameter. The amplitude and width of the negative high voltage pulses (HVPs) were 2 kV, 5 kV, 10 kV, and 2 µs, 4 µs, 10 µs, respectively. The variation of the probe (electron) current during the HVP is a direct measure for the sheath expansion and retreat. Maximum sheath sizes were determined for the different parameters of the HVP. The expected rarefaction zone behind the biased sphere (wake) due to the fast plasma flow was clearly established and quantified.

Sex differences in event-related potentials and attentional biases to emotional facial stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfabigan, Daniela M; Lamplmayr-Kragl, Elisabeth; Pintzinger, Nina M; Sailer, Uta; Tran, Ulrich S

2014-01-01

Attentional processes play an important role in the processing of emotional information. Previous research reported attentional biases during stimulus processing in anxiety and depression. However, sex differences in the processing of emotional stimuli and higher prevalence rates of anxiety disorders among women, compared to men, suggest that attentional biases may also differ between the two sexes. The present study used a modified version of the dot probe task with happy, angry, and neutral facial stimuli to investigate the time course of attentional biases in healthy volunteers. Moreover, associations of attentional biases with alexithymia were examined on the behavioral and physiological level. Event-related potentials were measured while 21 participants (11 women) performed the task, utilizing also for the first time a difference wave approach in the analysis to highlight emotion-specific aspects. Women showed overall enhanced probe P1 amplitudes compared to men, in particular after rewarding facial stimuli. Using the difference wave approach, probe P1 amplitudes appeared specifically enhanced with regard to congruently presented happy facial stimuli among women, compared to men. Both methods yielded enhanced probe P1 amplitudes after presentation of the emotional stimulus in the left compared to the right visual hemifield. Probe P1 amplitudes correlated negatively with self-reported alexithymia, most of these correlations were only observable in women. Our results suggest that women orient their attention to a greater extent to facial stimuli than men and corroborate that alexithymia is a correlate of reduced emotional reactivity on a neuronal level. We recommend using a difference wave approach when addressing attentional processes of orientation and disengagement also in future studies.

Sex differences in event-related potentials and attentional biases to emotional facial stimuli

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela M. Pfabigan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Attentional processes play an important role in the processing of emotional information. Previous research reported attentional biases during stimulus processing in anxiety and depression. However, sex differences in the processing of emotional stimuli and higher prevalence rates of anxiety disorders among women, compared to men, suggest that attentional biases may also differ between the two sexes. The present study used a modified version of the dot probe task with happy, angry, and neutral facial stimuli to investigate the time course of attentional biases in healthy volunteers. Moreover, associations of attentional biases with alexithymia were examined on the behavioral and physiological level. Event-related potentials were measured while 21 participants (11 women performed the task, utilizing also for the first time a difference wave approach in the analysis to highlight emotion-specific aspects. Women showed overall enhanced probe P1 amplitudes compared to men, in particular after rewarding facial stimuli. Under the difference wave approach, probe P1 amplitudes appeared specifically enhanced with regard to congruently presented happy facial stimuli among women, compared to men. Both methods yielded enhanced probe P1 amplitudes after presentation of the emotional stimulus in the left compared to the right visual hemifield. Probe P1 amplitudes correlated negatively with self-reported alexithymia, most of these correlations were only observable in women. Our results suggest that women orient their attention to a greater extent to facial stimuli than men and corroborate that alexithymia is a correlate of reduced emotional reactivity on a neuronal level. We recommend using a difference wave approach when addressing attentional processes of orientation and disengagement also in future studies.

Benefits of Digital Equipment Generic Qualification Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, James E.; Steiman, Samuel C.

2002-01-01

As a result of nuclear power plant instrumentation and control obsolescence issues, there have been numerous activities during recent years relating to the qualification of digital equipment. Some of these activities have been 'generic' in nature in that the qualification was not limited to plant specific applications, but was intended to cover a broad base of potential applications of the digital equipment. These generic qualifications have been funded by equipment manufacturers and by utility groups and organizations. The generic activities sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have been pilot projects for an overall generic qualification approach. The primary benefit resulting from the generic qualification work to date is that a number of digital platforms and digital devices are now available for use in various nuclear safety-related applications. Many of the tests and evaluations necessary to support plant specific applications have been completed. The amount of data and documentation that each utility must develop on a case by case basis has been significantly reduced. There are also a number of additional benefits resulting from these industry efforts. The challenges and difficulties in qualifying digital equipment for safety-related applications are now more clearly understood. EPRI has published a lessons learned document (EPRI Report 1001452, Generic Qualification of Commercial Grade Digital Devices: Lessons Learned from Initial Pilots, which covers several different qualification areas, including device selection, project planning, vendor surveys and design reviews, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) qualification. Application of the experience and lessons learned from the EPRI pilot activities should help reduce the effort and cost required for future qualification work. Most generic qualification activities for commercial equipment have been conducted using the approach of EPRI TR-106439, Guideline on Evaluation and Acceptance

The Sheath-less Planar Langmuir Probe

Science.gov (United States)

Cooke, D. L.

2017-12-01

The Langmuir probe is one of the oldest plasma diagnostics, provided the plasma density and species temperature from analysis of a current-voltage curve as the voltage is swept over a practically chosen range. The analysis depends on a knowledge or theory of the many factors that influence the current-voltage curve including, probe shape, size, nearby perturbations, and the voltage reference. For applications in Low Earth Orbit, the Planar Langmuir Probe, PLP, is an attractive geometry because the ram ion current is very constant over many Volts of a sweep, allowing the ion density and electron temperature to be determined independently with the same instrument, at different points on the sweep. However, when the physical voltage reference is itself small and electrically floating as with a small spacecraft, the spacecraft and probe system become a double probe where the current collection theory depends on the interaction of the spacecraft with the plasma which is generally not as simple as the probe itself. The Sheath-less PLP, SPLP, interlaces on a single ram facing surface, two variably biased probe elements, broken into many small and intertwined segments on a scale smaller than the plasma Debye length. The SPLP is electrically isolated from the rest of the spacecraft. For relative bias potentials of a few volts, the ion current to all segments of each element will be constant, while the electron currents will vary as a function of the element potential and the electron temperature. Because the segments are small, intertwined, and floating, the assembly will always present the same floating potential to the plasma, with minimal growth as a function of voltage, thus sheath-less and still planar. This concept has been modelled with Nascap, and tested with a physical model inserted into a Low Earth Orbit-like chamber plasma. Results will be presented.

49 CFR 180.507 - Qualification of tank cars.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Qualification of tank cars. 180.507 Section 180... QUALIFICATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PACKAGINGS Qualification and Maintenance of Tank Cars § 180.507 Qualification of tank cars. (a) Each tank car marked as meeting a “DOT” specification or any other tank car used...

Sex Attracts: Investigating Individual Differences in Attentional Bias to Sexual Stimuli

Science.gov (United States)

Kagerer, Sabine; Wehrum, Sina; Klucken, Tim; Walter, Bertram; Vaitl, Dieter; Stark, Rudolf

2014-01-01

We investigated the impact of sexual stimuli and the influence of sexual motivation on the performance in a dot-probe task and a line-orientation task in a large sample of males and females. All pictures (neutral, erotic) were rated on the dimensions of valence, arousal, disgust, and sexual arousal. Additionally, questionnaires measuring sexual interest/desire/motivation were employed. The ratings of the sexual stimuli point to a successful picture selection because sexual arousal did not differ between the sexes. The stimuli were equally arousing for men and women. Higher scores in the employed questionnaires measuring sexual interest/desire/motivation led to higher sexual arousal ratings of the sex pictures. Attentional bias towards sex pictures was observed in both experimental tasks. The attentional biases measured by the dot-probe and the line-orientation task were moderately intercorrelated suggesting attentional bias as a possible marker for a sex-attention trait. Finally, only the sexual sensation seeking score correlated with the attentional biases of the two tasks. Future research is needed to increase the predictive power of these indirect measures of sexual interest. PMID:25238545

Gene by cognition interaction on stress-induced attention bias for food: Effects of 5-HTTLPR and ruminative thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Schepers, Robbie; Markus, C Rob

2017-09-01

Stress is often found to increase the preference and intake of high caloric foods. This effect is known as emotional eating and is influenced by cognitive as well as biological stress vulnerabilities. An S-allele of the 5-HTTLPR gene has been linked to decreased (brain) serotonin efficiency, leading to decreased stress resilience and increased risks for negative affect and eating related disturbances. Recently it has been proposed that a cognitive ruminative thinking style can further exacerbate the effect of this gene by prolonging the already increased stress response, thereby potentially increasing the risk of compensating by overeating high palatable foods. This study was aimed at investigating whether there is an increased risk for emotional eating in high ruminative S/S-allele carriers reflected by an increased attention bias for high caloric foods during stress. From a large (N=827) DNA database, participants (N=100) were selected based on genotype (S/S or L/L) and ruminative thinking style and performed an eye-tracking visual food-picture probe task before and after acute stress exposure. A significant Genotype x Rumination x Stress-interaction was found on attention bias for savory food; indicating that a stress-induced attention bias for specifically high-caloric foods is moderated by a gene x cognitive risk factor. Both a genetic (5-HTTLPR) and cognitive (ruminative thinking) stress vulnerability may mutually increase the risk for stress-related abnormal eating patterns. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New measurements in plutonium L X ray emission spectrum using an electron probe micro-analyser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobin, J.L.; Despres, J.

1966-01-01

Further studies by means of an electron-probe micro-analyser, allowed report CEA-R--1798 authors to set up a larger plutonium X ray spectrum table. Measurements of plutonium L II and L III levels excitation potentials have also been achieved. Some remarks about apparatus performance data (such as spectrograph sensibility, resolving power and accuracy) will be found in the appendix. (authors) [fr

ENIQ: European Network for Inspection Qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Champigny, F.; Crutzen, S.; Lemaitre, P.

1995-01-01

Many countries are currently considering their own approach to inspection qualification and are carefully assessing experience to date. ENIQ, which stands for European Network for Inspection Qualification, groups the major part of the utilities in Western Europe. The general objective of ENIQ is to coordinate and manage at European level expertise and resources for the assessment and qualification of NDE inspection techniques and procedures, primarily for nuclear components. Also non-nuclear heavy duty components will be considered. Within ENIQ there is a growing consensus of opinion on the general principles of a European approach towards inspection qualification. In this paper the main activities, organization and actual status of ENIQ will be discussed

Effects of Bias Modification Training in Binge Eating Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitz, Florian; Svaldi, Jennifer

2017-09-01

Food-related attentional biases have been identified as maintaining factors in binge eating disorder (BED) as they can trigger a binge episode. Bias modification training may reduce symptoms, as it has been shown to be successful in other appetitive disorders. The aim of this study was to assess and modify food-related biases in BED. It was tested whether biases could be increased and decreased by means of a modified dot-probe paradigm, how long such bias modification persisted, and whether this affected subjective food craving. Participants were randomly assigned to a bias enhancement (attend to food stimulus) group or to a bias reduction (avoid food stimulus) group. Food-related attentional bias was found to be successfully reduced in the bias-reduction group, and effects persisted briefly. Additionally, subjective craving for food was influenced by the intervention, and possible mechanisms are discussed. Given these promising initial results, future research should investigate boundary conditions of the experimental intervention to understand how it could complement treatment of BED. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Impact of the draft DOE Training and Qualification Standard on an established training and qualification program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, R.G.; Worley, C.A.

1999-01-01

One of the provisions of Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Recommendation 97-2 was that the US Department of Energy (DOE) hor e llipsis Develop and institute ahor e llipsiscourse in criticality and criticality safety hor e llipsis to serve as the foundation for a program of formal qualification of criticality engineers. In response, a draft DOE standard establishing requirements for a formal qualification program for nuclear criticality safety (NCS) engineers has been prepared and is currently in review. The Oak Ridge Y-12 plant implemented a formal training and qualification program for NCS engineers in 1995. The program complies with existing DOE requirements. The program was developed using a performance-based systematic approach to training and is accomplished through structured mentoring where experienced personnel interact with candidates through various learning exercises. Self-study, exercises, and work under instruction are all utilized. The candidate's performance is evaluated by mentors and oral boards. Competency gained through experience at other sites can also be credited. Technical portions of the program are primarily contained in an initial Engineer-in-Training segment and in subsequent task-specific qualifications. The Engineer-in-Training segment exposes the candidate to fundamental NCS concepts through example problems; ensures the initial compliance training requirements are met; and includes readings from applicable procedures, technical documents, and standards. Upon completion of this initial training, candidates proceed to task qualifications. Tasks are defined NCS activities such as operational reviews, criticality safety evaluations, criticality safety computations, criticality accident alarm system (CAAS) evaluations, support for emergency management, etc. Qualification on a task basis serves to break up training into manageable pieces and expedites qualification of candidates to perform specific production activities. The

Fluorescence imaging of reactive oxygen species by confocal laser scanning microscopy for track analysis of synchrotron X-ray photoelectric nanoradiator dose: X-ray pump-optical probe.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Jae Kun; Han, Sung Mi; Kim, Jong Ki

2016-09-01

Bursts of emissions of low-energy electrons, including interatomic Coulomb decay electrons and Auger electrons (0-1000 eV), as well as X-ray fluorescence produced by irradiation of large-Z element nanoparticles by either X-ray photons or high-energy ion beams, is referred to as the nanoradiator effect. In therapeutic applications, this effect can damage pathological tissues that selectively take up the nanoparticles. Herein, a new nanoradiator dosimetry method is presented that uses probes for reactive oxygen species (ROS) incorporated into three-dimensional gels, on which macrophages containing iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) are attached. This method, together with site-specific irradiation of the intracellular nanoparticles from a microbeam of polychromatic synchrotron X-rays (5-14 keV), measures the range and distribution of OH radicals produced by X-ray emission or superoxide anions ({\\rm{O}}_2^-) produced by low-energy electrons. The measurements are based on confocal laser scanning of the fluorescence of the hydroxyl radical probe 2-[6-(4'-amino)phenoxy-3H-xanthen-3-on-9-yl] benzoic acid (APF) or the superoxide probe hydroethidine-dihydroethidium (DHE) that was oxidized by each ROS, enabling tracking of the radiation dose emitted by the nanoradiator. In the range 70 µm below the irradiated cell, ^\\bullet{\\rm{OH}} radicals derived mostly from either incident X-ray or X-ray fluorescence of ION nanoradiators are distributed along the line of depth direction in ROS gel. In contrast, {\\rm{O}}_2^- derived from secondary electron or low-energy electron emission by ION nanoradiators are scattered over the ROS gel. ROS fluorescence due to the ION nanoradiators was observed continuously to a depth of 1.5 mm for both oxidized APF and oxidized DHE with relatively large intensity compared with the fluorescence caused by the ROS produced solely by incident primary X-rays, which was limited to a depth of 600 µm, suggesting dose enhancement as well as more

Equipment qualification testing methodology research at Sandia Laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeppesen, D.

1983-01-01

The Equipment Qualification Research Testing (EQRT) program is an evolutionary outgrowth of the Qualification Testing Evaluation (QTE) program at Sandia. The primary emphasis of the program has been qualification methodology research. The EQRT program offers to the industry a research-oriented perspective on qualification-related component performance, as well as refinements to component testing standards which are based upon actual component testing research

14 CFR 121.453 - Flight engineer qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight engineer qualifications. 121.453... REQUIREMENTS: DOMESTIC, FLAG, AND SUPPLEMENTAL OPERATIONS Crewmember Qualifications § 121.453 Flight engineer qualifications. (a) No certificate holder may use any person nor may any person serve as a flight engineer on an...

Probing the ground state and zero-field cooled exchange bias by magnetoresistance measurement in Mn{sub 50}Ni{sub 41}Sn{sub 9} ribbon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Jiyun [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116 (China); Tu, Ruikang [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215000 (China); Fang, Xiaoting [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); Gu, Quanchao [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215000 (China); Zhou, Yanying [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); Cui, Rongjing [Department of Chemistry, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); Han, Zhida, E-mail: han@cslg.edu.cn [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); Zhang, Lei; Fang, Yong [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); Qian, Bin, E-mail: njqb@cslg.edu.cn [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China); Zhang, Chengliang [School of Science, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122 (China); Jiang, Xuefan [Jiangsu Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500 (China)

2017-03-15

Recently, a new type of exchange bias (EB) after zero-field cooling has attracted considerable interest mainly in bulk magnetic competing systems. Here, we use a detailed magnetotransport investigation to probe the ground state and zero-field cooled EB (ZEB) in Mn{sub 50}Ni{sub 41}Sn{sub 9} ribbon. Both ZEB and field cooled EB were detected in magnetoresistance results consistent with magnetic measurement. A pure spin-glass ground state is proposed based on parabolic shape of low-field magnetoresistance combined with AC magnetization, memory effect. The appearance of ZEB is attributed to the field-induced nucleation and growth of ferromagnetic domains in the spin glass matrix forming unidirectional anisotropy at the interface. - Highlights: • Magnetoresistance was first used to probe the ground state and ZEB in Ni-Mn-based alloys. • A pure spin-glass ground state is proposed in Mn{sub 50}Ni{sub 41}Sn{sub 9} ribbon. • Field-induced nucleation and growth of ferromagnetic domains in SG results in ZEB.

Phase diagram of a two-dimensional liquid in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs biased double quantum wells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Timofeev, V. B.; Larionov, A. V.; Alessi, M. G.

2000-01-01

Photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation (PLE) measurements have been performed in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs biased double quantum well heterostructures. The recombination of electrons, e, with holes, h, located in the same or in two adjacent wells, has been investigated for different exciting power...

Measurements of the asymmetric dynamic sheath around a pulse biased sphere immersed in flowing metal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Hongchen; Anders, Andre

2008-01-01

A long-probe technique was utilized to record the expansion and retreat of the dynamic sheath around a spherical substrate immersed in pulsed cathode arc metal plasma. Positively biased, long cylindrical probes were placed on the side and downstream of a negatively pulsed biased stainless steel sphere of 1 in. (25.4 mm) diameter. The amplitude and width of the negative high voltage pulses (HVPs) were 2 kV, 5 kV, 10 kV, and 2 μs, 4 μs, 10 μs, respectively. The variation of the probe (electron) current during the HVP is a direct measure for the sheath expansion and retreat. Maximum sheath sizes were determined for the different parameters of the HVP. The expected rarefaction zone behind the biased sphere (wake) due to the fast plasma flow was clearly established and quantified.

Synergistic Development, Test, and Qualification Approaches for the Ares I and V Launch Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Cockrell, Charles E.; Taylor, James L.; Patterson, Alan; Stephens, Samuel E.; Tyson, Richard W.; Hueter, Uwe

2009-01-01

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration is designing and developing the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles for access to the International Space Station (ISS) and human exploration of the Moon. The Ares I consists of a first stage reusable five-segment solid rocket booster, a upper stage using a J-2X engine derived from heritage experience (Saturn and Space Shuttle External Tank programs), and the Orion crew exploration vehicle (CEV). The Ares V is designed to minimize the development and overall life-cycle costs by leveraging off of the Ares I design. The Ares V consists of two boosters, a core stage, an earth departure stage (EDS), and a shroud. The core stage and EDS use LH2/LO2 propellants, metallic propellant tanks, and composite dry structures. The core stage has six RS-68B upgraded Delta IV engines while the EDS uses a J-2X engine for second stage ascent and trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn. System and propulsion tests and qualification approaches for Ares V elements are being considered as follow-on extensions of the Ares I development program. Following Ares I IOC, testing will be conducted to verify the J-2X engine's orbital restart and TLI burn capability. The Ares I upper stage operation will be demonstrated through integrated stage development and acceptance testing. The EDS will undergo similar development and acceptance testing with additional testing to verify aspects of cryogenic propellant management, operation of sub-systems in a space simulation environment, and orbital re-start of the main propulsion system. RS-68B certification testing will be conducted along with integrated core stage development and acceptance testing. Structural testing of the Ares V EDS and core stage propellant tanks will be conducted similar to the Ares I upper stage. The structural qualification testing may be accomplished with separate propellant tank test articles. Structural development and qualification testing of the dry structure will be pursued as

Probing the graphite band structure with resonant soft-x-ray fluorescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carlisle, J.A.; Shirley, E.L.; Hudson, E.A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States)] [and others

1997-04-01

Soft x-ray fluorescence (SXF) spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation offers several advantages over surface sensitive spectroscopies for probing the electronic structure of complex multi-elemental materials. Due to the long mean free path of photons in solids ({approximately}1000 {angstrom}), SXF is a bulk-sensitive probe. Also, since core levels are involved in absorption and emission, SXF is both element- and angular-momentum-selective. SXF measures the local partial density of states (DOS) projected onto each constituent element of the material. The chief limitation of SXF has been the low fluorescence yield for photon emission, particularly for light elements. However, third generation light sources, such as the Advanced Light Source (ALS), offer the high brightness that makes high-resolution SXF experiments practical. In the following the authors utilize this high brightness to demonstrate the capability of SXF to probe the band structure of a polycrystalline sample. In SXF, a valence emission spectrum results from transitions from valence band states to the core hole produced by the incident photons. In the non-resonant energy regime, the excitation energy is far above the core binding energy, and the absorption and emission events are uncoupled. The fluorescence spectrum resembles emission spectra acquired using energetic electrons, and is insensitive to the incident photon`s energy. In the resonant excitation energy regime, core electrons are excited by photons to unoccupied states just above the Fermi level (EF). The absorption and emission events are coupled, and this coupling manifests itself in several ways, depending in part on the localization of the empty electronic states in the material. Here the authors report spectral measurements from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite.

Probing the random distribution of half-metallic Co2Mn1-xFexSi Heusler alloys

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wurmehl, S.; Kohlhepp, J.T.; Swagten, H.J.M.; Koopmans, B.; Wójcik, M.; Balke, B.; Blum, C.G.F.; Ksenofontov, V.; Fecher, G.H.; Felser, C.

2007-01-01

Co2Mn1-xFexSi Heusler alloys crystallize in the L21 structure. This structure type requires random distribution of Mn and Fe in case of the mixed alloys. The spin echo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique probes the direct local environments of the active atoms and is thus able to resolve next

Asymmetry reversal of ion collection by mach probes in flowing unmagnetized plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, E; Hershkowitz, N

2006-01-01

Measurements of ion current in flowing unmagnetized plasmas were performed with planar and spherical Mach probes in two different devices, one a dc multi-dipole plasma device for subsonic flow within a presheath region and the other a double plasma device for supersonic flow. Asymmetry reversal, which is higher ion current to the downstream side of the probe compared with the upstream side current, was observed for high probe bias compared with the electron temperature, relatively low ion drift velocity and Debye length comparable to probe radius. These data are in qualitative agreement with a recent numerical calculation by Hutchinson. As suggested by Hutchinson, it was found that the current ratio depended on the plasma parameters, especially for finite Debye length and high probe bias. Asymmetry reversal emphasizes the lack of validity of using the current ratio except for narrow parameter ranges. This study is the first experiment to demonstrate the non-intuitive phenomenon predicted by Hutchinson's numerical calculation

RELIC: a novel dye-bias correction method for Illumina Methylation BeadChip.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zongli; Langie, Sabine A S; De Boever, Patrick; Taylor, Jack A; Niu, Liang

2017-01-03

The Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip and its successor, Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip, have been extensively utilized in epigenome-wide association studies. Both arrays use two fluorescent dyes (Cy3-green/Cy5-red) to measure methylation level at CpG sites. However, performance difference between dyes can result in biased estimates of methylation levels. Here we describe a novel method, called REgression on Logarithm of Internal Control probes (RELIC) to correct for dye bias on whole array by utilizing the intensity values of paired internal control probes that monitor the two color channels. We evaluate the method in several datasets against other widely used dye-bias correction methods. Results on data quality improvement showed that RELIC correction statistically significantly outperforms alternative dye-bias correction methods. We incorporated the method into the R package ENmix, which is freely available from the Bioconductor website ( https://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/ENmix.html ). RELIC is an efficient and robust method to correct for dye-bias in Illumina Methylation BeadChip data. It outperforms other alternative methods and conveniently implemented in R package ENmix to facilitate DNA methylation studies.

Stimulus-Driven Attention, Threat Bias, and Sad Bias in Youth with a History of an Anxiety Disorder or Depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Sylvester, Chad M; Hudziak, James J; Gaffrey, Michael S; Barch, Deanna M; Luby, Joan L

2016-02-01

Attention biases towards threatening and sad stimuli are associated with pediatric anxiety and depression, respectively. The basic cognitive mechanisms associated with attention biases in youth, however, remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that threat bias (selective attention for threatening versus neutral stimuli) but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. We collected measures of stimulus-driven attention, threat bias, sad bias, and current clinical symptoms in youth with a history of an anxiety disorder and/or depression (ANX/DEP; n = 40) as well as healthy controls (HC; n = 33). Stimulus-driven attention was measured with a non-emotional spatial orienting task, while threat bias and sad bias were measured at a short time interval (150 ms) with a spatial orienting task using emotional faces and at a longer time interval (500 ms) using a dot-probe task. In ANX/DEP but not HC, early attention bias towards threat was negatively correlated with later attention bias to threat, suggesting that early threat vigilance was associated with later threat avoidance. Across all subjects, stimulus-driven orienting was not correlated with early threat bias but was negatively correlated with later threat bias, indicating that rapid stimulus-driven orienting is linked to later threat avoidance. No parallel relationships were detected for sad bias. Current symptoms of depression but not anxiety were related to decreased stimulus-driven attention. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that threat bias but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. These results inform the design of attention bias modification programs that aim to reverse threat biases and reduce symptoms associated with pediatric anxiety and depression.

Stimulus-driven attention, threat bias, and sad bias in youth with a history of an anxiety disorder or depression

Science.gov (United States)

Sylvester, Chad M.; Hudziak, James J.; Gaffrey, Michael S.; Barch, Deanna M.; Luby, Joan L.

2015-01-01

Attention biases towards threatening and sad stimuli are associated with pediatric anxiety and depression, respectively. The basic cognitive mechanisms associated with attention biases in youth, however, remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that threat bias (selective attention for threatening versus neutral stimuli) but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. We collected measures of stimulus-driven attention, threat bias, sad bias, and current clinical symptoms in youth with a history of an anxiety disorder and/or depression (ANX/DEP; n=40) as well as healthy controls (HC; n=33). Stimulus-driven attention was measured with a non-emotional spatial orienting task, while threat bias and sad bias were measured at a short time interval (150 ms) with a spatial orienting task using emotional faces and at a longer time interval (500 ms) using a dot-probe task. In ANX/DEP but not HC, early attention bias towards threat was negatively correlated with later attention bias to threat, suggesting that early threat vigilance was associated with later threat avoidance. Across all subjects, stimulus-driven orienting was not correlated with early threat bias but was negatively correlated with later threat bias, indicating that rapid stimulus-driven orienting is linked to later threat avoidance. No parallel relationships were detected for sad bias. Current symptoms of depression but not anxiety were related to decreased stimulus-driven attention. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that threat bias but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. These results inform the design of attention bias modification programs that aim to reverse threat biases and reduce symptoms associated with pediatric anxiety and depression. PMID:25702927

Materials qualification for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braconi, F.

1987-01-01

The supply of materials to be used in the fabrication of components submitted to pressure destined to Atucha II nuclear power plant must fulfill the quality assurance requirements in accordance with the international standards. With the aim of promoting the national participation in CNA II, ENACE had the need to adapt these requirements to the national industry conditions and to the availability of official entities' qualification and inspection. As a uniform and normalized assessment for the qualification of materials did not exist in the country, ENACE had to develop a materials suppliers qualification system. This paper presents a suppliers qualification procedure, its application limits and the alternative procedures for the acceptance of individual stock and for the stock materials purchase. (Author)

Attentional Bias towards Positive Emotion Predicts Stress Resilience.

Science.gov (United States)

Thoern, Hanna A; Grueschow, Marcus; Ehlert, Ulrike; Ruff, Christian C; Kleim, Birgit

2016-01-01

There is extensive evidence for an association between an attentional bias towards emotionally negative stimuli and vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology. Less is known about whether selective attention towards emotionally positive stimuli relates to mental health and stress resilience. The current study used a modified Dot Probe task to investigate if individual differences in attentional biases towards either happy or angry emotional stimuli, or an interaction between these biases, are related to self-reported trait stress resilience. In a nonclinical sample (N = 43), we indexed attentional biases as individual differences in reaction time for stimuli preceded by either happy or angry (compared to neutral) face stimuli. Participants with greater attentional bias towards happy faces (but not angry faces) reported higher trait resilience. However, an attentional bias towards angry stimuli moderated this effect: The attentional bias towards happy faces was only predictive for resilience in those individuals who also endorsed an attentional bias towards angry stimuli. An attentional bias towards positive emotional stimuli may thus be a protective factor contributing to stress resilience, specifically in those individuals who also endorse an attentional bias towards negative emotional stimuli. Our findings therefore suggest a novel target for prevention and treatment interventions addressing stress-related psychopathology.

Picosecond time-resolved laser pump/X-ray probe experiments using a gated single-photon-counting area detector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ejdrup, T.; Lemke, H.T.; Haldrup, Martin Kristoffer

2009-01-01

The recent developments in X-ray detectors have opened new possibilities in the area of time-resolved pump/probe X-ray experiments; this article presents the novel use of a PILATUS detector to achieve X-ray pulse duration limited time-resolution at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), USA...... limited time-resolution of 60 ps using the gated PILATUS detector. This is the first demonstration of X-ray pulse duration limited data recorded using an area detector without the use of a mechanical chopper array at the beamline........ The capability of the gated PILATUS detector to selectively detect the signal from a given X-ray pulse in 24 bunch mode at the APS storage ring is demonstrated. A test experiment performed on polycrystalline organic thin films of [alpha]-perylene illustrates the possibility of reaching an X-ray pulse duration...

Thickness and bilayer number dependence on exchange bias in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic multilayers based on La{sub 1−x}Ca{sub x}MnO{sub 3}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Restrepo-Parra, E., E-mail: erestrepopa@unal.edu.co [Departamento de Física y Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Sede Manizales, A.A. 127 Manizales (Colombia); Agudelo-Giraldo, J.D. [Departamento de Física y Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Sede Manizales, A.A. 127 Manizales (Colombia); Grupo de Investigación y Desarrollo en Informática y Telecomunicaciones, Universidad de Manizales, Manizales (Colombia); Restrepo, J. [Grupo de Magnetismo y Simulación, Instituto de Física, Universidad de Antioquia, A.A. 1226 Medellín (Colombia)

2014-05-01

In this work, simulations of ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic multilayers of La{sub 1−x}Ca{sub x}MnO{sub 3} have been carried out by using the Monte Carlo method combined with the Metropolis algorithm and the classical Heisenberg model. In the Hamiltonian we have considered three contributions: nearest neighbor exchange interaction, magnetocrystalline anisotropy and Zeeman interaction. Samples were built by including three types of Mn ions depending on their valence state and type of ionic orbital. Both the number of layers and the antiferromagnetic layer thickness influence on the exchange bias phenomenon are analyzed. Hysteresis loops results exhibit not only a shift as evidence of exchange bias but also the formation of plateaus or steps caused by the presence of more than one interface and the low layers thickness. Each layer presents a strong magnetic behavior because the magneto static energy favors formation of multi-domains in contrast with the single-domains of a single layer FM producing one sub-Loop of each domain (each layer). On the other hand, as the number of layers (n) increases, the sub-cycles tend to disappear. As the plateaus disappear, the system is more effective, increasing the coercive and bias fields. Moreover, domain sizes (layers thickness) also affect the shape of the hysteresis loop. On increasing the thickness of the AFM layer, a decrease in the plateaus produced by the uncoupling is generated.

Unintended Consequences: How Qualification Constrains Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Brice, Craig A.

2011-01-01

The development and implementation of new materials and manufacturing processes for aerospace application is often hindered by the high cost and long time span associated with current qualification procedures. The data requirements necessary for material and process qualification are extensive and often require millions of dollars and multiple years to complete. Furthermore, these qualification data can become obsolete for even minor changes to the processing route. This burden is a serious impediment to the pursuit of revolutionary new materials and more affordable processing methods for air vehicle structures. The application of integrated computational materials engineering methods to this problem can help to reduce the barriers to rapid insertion of new materials and processes. By establishing predictive capability for the development of microstructural features in relation to processing and relating this to critical property characteristics, a streamlined approach to qualification is possible. This paper critically examines the advantages and challenges to a modeling-assisted qualification approach for aerospace structural materials. An example of how this approach might apply towards the emerging field of additive manufacturing is discussed in detail.

Establishment of an unrelated umbilical cord blood bank qualification program: ensuring quality while meeting Food and Drug Administration vendor qualification requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabe, Fran; Kadidlo, Diane; Van Orsow, Lisa; McKenna, David

2013-10-01

Qualification of a cord blood bank (CBB) is a complex process that includes evaluation of multiple aspects of donor screening and testing, processing, accreditation and approval by professional cell therapy groups, and results of received cord blood units. The University of Minnesota Medical Center Cell Therapy Laboratory has established a CBB vendor qualification process to ensure the CBB meets established regulatory and quality requirements. The deployed qualification of CBBs is based on retrospective and prospective review of the CBB. Forty-one CBBs were evaluated retrospectively: seven CBBs were disqualified based on failed quality control (QC) results. Eight CBBs did not meet the criteria for retrospective qualification because fewer than 3 cord blood units were received and the CBB was not accredited. As of March 2012, three US and one non-US CBBs have been qualified prospectively. One CBB withdrew from the qualification process after successful completion of the comprehensive survey and subsequent failure of the provided QC unit to pass the minimum criteria. One CBB failed the prospective qualification process based on processing methods that were revealed during the paper portion of the evaluation. A CBB qualification process is necessary for a transplant center to manage the qualification of the large number of CBBs needed to support a umbilical cord blood transplantation program. A transplant center that has utilized cord blood for a number of years before implementation of a qualification process should use a retrospective qualification process along with a prospective process. © 2013 American Association of Blood Banks.

Attention bias to emotional information in children as a function of maternal emotional disorders and maternal attention biases.

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, Allison M; Forrest, Kylee; Peters, Rosie-Mae; Bradley, Brendan P; Mogg, Karin

2015-03-01

Children of parents with emotional disorders have an increased risk for developing anxiety and depressive disorders. Yet the mechanisms that contribute to this increased risk are poorly understood. The present study aimed to examine attention biases in children as a function of maternal lifetime emotional disorders and maternal attention biases. There were 134 participants, including 38 high-risk children, and their mothers who had lifetime emotional disorders; and 29 low-risk children, and their mothers without lifetime emotional disorders. Mothers and children completed a visual probe task with emotional face pairs presented for 500 ms. Attention bias in children did not significantly differ solely as a function of whether or not their mothers had lifetime emotional disorders. However, attention bias in high-risk children was significantly related to their mothers' attention bias. Specifically, children of mothers with lifetime emotional disorders showed a greater negative attention bias if their mothers had a greater tendency to direct attention away from positive information. This study was cross-sectional in nature, and therefore unable to assess long-term predictive effects. Also, just one exposure duration of 500 ms was utilised. Attention bias for negative information is greater in offspring of mothers who have lifetime emotional disorders and a reduced positive bias, which could be a risk marker for the development of emotional disorders in children.

Instrumentation qualification. Seismic qualification of C-E instrumentation equipment. Part One

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-05-01

A summary of the C-E seismic qualification program utilized to demonstrate the seismic design adequacy of the instrumentation and control equipment used in C-E supplied Nuclear Steam Supply Systems (NSSS) is presented. The report is divided into two parts. Part One includes the equipment seismic requirements and a description of the qualification methods. Part Two lists the specific equipment by nuclear station in which it is used and the equipment test results are summarized in a standard data sheet format to facilitate review. The seismic requirements are based on individual contract commitments with C-E customers and the NRC Standard Review Plan, Section 3.10 ''Seismic Qualification of Category I Instrumentation and Electrical Equipment.'' Equipment is qualified for use in a seismic environment where damage potential to the equipment is less than or equal to that simulated seismic environment to which it has been qualified. The anticipated Safe Shutdown Earthquake (SSE) environment at the inservice location of equipment should be confirmed by each applicant as not exceeding that to which it is qualified

Profile Control by Biased Electrodes in Large Diameter RF Produced Pl asma

Science.gov (United States)

Shinohara, Shunjiro; Matsuoka, Norikazu; Yoshinaka, Toshiro

1998-10-01

Control of the plasma profile has been carried out, using the voltage biasing method in the large diameter (45 cm) RF (radio frequency) produced plasma in the presence of the uniform magnetic field (less than 1200 G). Under the low filling pressure condition of 0.16 mTorr, changing the biasing voltages to the three individual end plates with concentric circular ring shapes, the radial electron density (about 10^10 cm-3) profile could be changed from the hollow to the peaked one. On the contrary, the nearly flat electron temperature (several eV) profile did not change appreciably. The azimuthal rotation velocity measured by the Mach probe, i.e. directional probe, showed the different radial profiles (but nearly uniform along the axis) depending on the biasing voltage. This velocity became slower with the low magnetic field (less than 200 G) or in the higher pressure regime up to 20 mTorr with the higher electron density. The experimental results by other biasing methods will also be presented.

Current challenges for radiographers and following changes in the education and the qualification requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taneva, E.; Gagova, E.

2006-01-01

Full text: The communication is intended to present the new requisites for the activity of the X-ray laboratory assistant, laying changes in the educational background and the qualification of the respective medical specialists. The need of new knowledge and skills lead to changes in the competence of the X-ray laboratory assistants and call for urgent measures for updating the curriculum, programmes and exercises. The implementation of new technologies in the profession requires an education of new quality that complies with the needs of the health care in the country and harmonizing it with the requirements of the European Union. Having made an analysis of the education so far and comparing its condition with that of the leading European countries we came to the conclusion that not only the contents of the education should be changed, but also the teaching hours and the qualification of the X-ray laboratory assistants. Knowing the new realities and challenges in the health care system, the professors of the medical colleges and the health specialists are aware of the need to introduce changes in the medical practice and work together for its implementation

Comparison of attraction capabilities associated with high-speed, dual-pneumatic vitrectomy probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Dugel, Pravin U; Abulon, Dina J K; Dimalanta, Ramon

2015-05-01

To measure membrane attraction capabilities of enhanced 27-gauge, enhanced 25-gauge, and 23-gauge vitrectomy probes under various parameters. A membrane-on-cantilever apparatus was used to measure membrane attraction for enhanced 27-, enhanced 25-, and 23-gauge UltraVit probes (n = 6 for each). The following parameters were evaluated: effects of cut rates and duty cycles on membrane attraction distances, and flow rates and vacuum levels required to attract a membrane at a fixed distance. The enhanced 27-gauge probe had the shortest attraction distance across all cutting speeds and duty cycles. To attract a membrane at a fixed distance, increasing vacuum was necessary with higher cutting rates and smaller probe gauges but flow rate remained relatively constant. The biased open duty cycle was associated with a longer attraction distance than 50/50 or biased closed modes. The shorter membrane attraction distance of the enhanced 27-gauge probe versus 23-gauge and enhanced 25-gauge probes may permit greater membrane dissection precision while providing improved access to small tissue planes. Equivalent fluid flow capabilities of the 27-gauge probe compared with the 23-gauge and 25-gauge probes may provide efficient aspiration. Surgeon selection of duty cycle modes may improve intraoperative fluid control and expand the cutter utility as a multifunctional tool.

An improved probe noise approach for acoustic feedback cancellation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Meng; Jensen, Søren Holdt; Jensen, Jesper

2012-01-01

The perhaps most challenging problem in acoustic feedback cancellation using adaptive filters is the bias problem. It is well-known that a probe noise approach can effectively prevent this problem. However, when the probe noise must be inaudible and the steady-state error of the adaptive filter...... expressions for its system behavior, and through a simulation experiment in an acoustic feedback cancellation system....

Sex attracts: investigating individual differences in attentional bias to sexual stimuli.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabine Kagerer

Full Text Available We investigated the impact of sexual stimuli and the influence of sexual motivation on the performance in a dot-probe task and a line-orientation task in a large sample of males and females. All pictures (neutral, erotic were rated on the dimensions of valence, arousal, disgust, and sexual arousal. Additionally, questionnaires measuring sexual interest/desire/motivation were employed. The ratings of the sexual stimuli point to a successful picture selection because sexual arousal did not differ between the sexes. The stimuli were equally arousing for men and women. Higher scores in the employed questionnaires measuring sexual interest/desire/motivation led to higher sexual arousal ratings of the sex pictures. Attentional bias towards sex pictures was observed in both experimental tasks. The attentional biases measured by the dot-probe and the line-orientation task were moderately intercorrelated suggesting attentional bias as a possible marker for a sex-attention trait. Finally, only the sexual sensation seeking score correlated with the attentional biases of the two tasks. Future research is needed to increase the predictive power of these indirect measures of sexual interest.

Nuclear energy electricity technical regulation on the qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

It tells the range of application purpose and of the qualification. It describes how to qualify of the class 1 E equipment, which are type test, operating experience, analysis and combined method. Next it deals with qualification procedure, which are specification requirement, requirement of qualification program, type testing, operating experience, analysis and combined qualification, acceptance criteria modification and extension with qualified life, simulated test profiles and document about type test data, operating experience data and extrapolation.

Changing existing qualifications into outcomes-based qualifications ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Various workshops were facilitated to determine the outcomes of each level of our qualification, B Tech: Policing. This led to the formulation of a purpose statement, exit level outcomes and specific outcomes as well as assessment criteria and the critical outcomes embedded in each level identified. Using the specific ...

Scanning vector Hall probe microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cambel, V.; Gregusova, D.; Fedor, J.; Kudela, R.; Bending, S.J.

2004-01-01

We have developed a scanning vector Hall probe microscope for mapping magnetic field vector over magnetic samples. The microscope is based on a micromachined Hall sensor and the cryostat with scanning system. The vector Hall sensor active area is ∼5x5 μm 2 . It is realized by patterning three Hall probes on the tilted faces of GaAs pyramids. Data from these 'tilted' Hall probes are used to reconstruct the full magnetic field vector. The scanning area of the microscope is 5x5 mm 2 , space resolution 2.5 μm, field resolution ∼1 μT Hz -1/2 at temperatures 10-300 K

Qualification of the testing process by a new rotating probe for the 900 MW PWR steam generators tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caston, D.

2001-01-01

In 1997, EDF invites bids for the development of eddy current probes, in order to better control the steam generator tubes rolling zone of the PWR. After examination of the response, EDF accepted a prototype of a rotating probe. The EDF specifications of the new steam generators contract, fix the inspection performance and rhythm of the rotating probe, which implements two different technic: the STL (long rotating prob)e for the detection and characterization of longitudinal defects; the STT (transverse rotating probe) for the detection and characterization of circumferential defects. The new rotating probe should not increase the control time. Two new equipments have been developed to implement this new probe: a new support and a software of online inspection with data processing and analyzing. Abstract only. (A.L.B.)

Effect of electro-acupuncture intervention on cognition attention bias in heroin addiction abstinence-a dot-probe-based event-related potential study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Ying-Ping; Liu, Hao; Xu, Ping; Wang, Yan; Lu, Guang-Hua

2011-04-01

To study the changes of cognitive attention-related brain function in the heroin addicts before and after electro-acupuncture (EA) intervention for exploring the concerned neuro-mechanism of addictive relapse and the central action role of EA intervention. Adopting event-related potential (ERP) technique, the ERP at 64 electrode spots in 10 heroin addicts (test group) were recorded before and after EA intervention with dot-probe experimental form during implementing cognitive task on positive emotional clue (PEC), negative emotional clues (NEC), and heroin-related clue (HRC). The P200 amplitude components on the selected observation points (Fz, Cz, and Pz) were analyzed and compared with those obtained from 10 healthy subjects as the control. Before EA, the ERP of attention on HRC in the test group was higher than that on PEC and NEC (Pattention on HRC at Cz and Pz was significantly lowered (P PEC > HRC, but in the control group, it showed PEC > HRC at all three observation points and PEC > NEC at Pz. Heroin addicts show attention bias to HRC, which could be significantly reduced by EA intervention, illustrating that EA could effectively inhibit the attention bias to heroin and so might have potential for lowering the relapse rate.

48 CFR 1553.209 - Contractor qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Contractor qualifications. 1553.209 Section 1553.209 Federal Acquisition Regulations System ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CLAUSES AND FORMS FORMS Prescription of Forms 1553.209 Contractor qualifications. ...

On relaxing the Mangasarian-Fromovitz constraint qualification

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kruger, A.Y.; Minchenko, L.; Outrata, Jiří

2014-01-01

Roč. 18, č. 1 (2014), s. 171-189 ISSN 1385-1292 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP402/12/1309 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Nonlinear programming * Regularity conditions * Constraint qualifications * Lagrange multipliers * Mangasarian–Fromovitz constraint qualification * Constant rank constraint qualification Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.679, year: 2014 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2014/MTR/outrata-0426110.pdf

5 CFR 317.502 - Qualifications Review Board certification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... REGULATIONS EMPLOYMENT IN THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE Career Appointments § 317.502 Qualifications Review Board certification. (a) A Qualification Review Board (QRB) convened by OPM must certify the executive... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Qualifications Review Board certification...

Nuclear Criticality Safety Department Qualification Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carroll, K.J.; Taylor, R.G.; Worley, C.A.

1996-01-01

The Nuclear Criticality Safety Department (NCSD) is committed to developing and maintaining a staff of highly qualified personnel to meet the current and anticipated needs in Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. This document defines the Qualification Program to address the NCSD technical and managerial qualification as required by the Y-1 2 Training Implementation Matrix (TIM). This Qualification Program is in compliance with DOE Order 5480.20A and applicable Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (LMES) and Y-1 2 Plant procedures. It is implemented through a combination of WES plant-wide training courses and professional nuclear criticality safety training provided within the department. This document supersedes Y/DD-694, Revision 2, 2/27/96, Qualification Program, Nuclear Criticality Safety Department There are no backfit requirements associated with revisions to this document

48 CFR 53.209 - Contractor qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contractor qualifications. 53.209 Section 53.209 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (CONTINUED) CLAUSES AND FORMS FORMS Prescription of Forms 53.209 Contractor qualifications. ...

Effects of nicotine and nicotine expectancy on attentional bias for emotional stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Sally; Attwood, Angela S; Munafò, Marcus R

2015-06-01

Nicotine's effects on mood are thought to enhance its addictive potential. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of nicotine on affect regulation have not been reliably demonstrated in human laboratory studies. We investigated the effects of nicotine abstinence (Experiment 1), and nicotine challenge and expectancy (Experiment 2) on attentional bias towards facial emotional stimuli differing in emotional valence. In Experiment 1, 46 nicotine-deprived smokers were randomized to either continue to abstain from smoking or to smoke immediately before testing. In Experiment 2, 96 nicotine-deprived smokers were randomized to smoke a nicotinized or denicotinized cigarette and to be told that the cigarette did or did not contain nicotine. In both experiments participants completed a visual probe task, where positively valenced (happy) and negatively valenced (sad) facial expressions were presented, together with neutral facial expressions. In Experiment 1, there was evidence of an interaction between probe location and abstinence on reaction time, indicating that abstinent smokers showed an attentional bias for neutral stimuli. In Experiment 2, there was evidence of an interaction between probe location, nicotine challenge and expectation on reaction time, indicating that smokers receiving nicotine, but told that they did not receive nicotine, showed an attentional bias for emotional stimuli. Our data suggest that nicotine abstinence appears to disrupt attentional bias towards emotional facial stimuli. These data provide support for nicotine's modulation of attentional bias as a central mechanism for maintaining affect regulation in cigarette smoking. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Qualification of a high-efficiency, gated spectrometer for x-ray Thomson scattering on the National Ignition Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Döppner, T.; Kritcher, A. L.; Bachmann, B.; Burns, S.; Hawreliak, J.; House, A.; Landen, O. L.; LePape, S.; Ma, T.; Pak, A.; Swift, D. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Neumayer, P. [Gesellschaft für Schwerionenphysik, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Kraus, D. [University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Falcone, R. W. [University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Glenzer, S. H. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94309 (United States)

2014-11-15

We have designed, built, and successfully fielded a highly efficient and gated Bragg crystal spectrometer for x-ray Thomson scattering measurements on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). It utilizes a cylindrically curved Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite crystal. Its spectral range of 7.4–10 keV is optimized for scattering experiments using a Zn He-α x-ray probe at 9.0 keV or Mo K-shell line emission around 18 keV in second diffraction order. The spectrometer has been designed as a diagnostic instrument manipulator-based instrument for the NIF target chamber at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA. Here, we report on details of the spectrometer snout, its novel debris shield configuration and an in situ spectral calibration experiment with a Brass foil target, which demonstrated a spectral resolution of E/ΔE = 220 at 9.8 keV.

Assessment of homogeneity of candidate reference material at the nanogram level and investigation on representativeness of single particle analysis using electron probe X ray microanalysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ro, Chul-Un; Hoornaerta, S.; Griekena, R. van

2002-01-01

Particulate samples of a candidate reference material are evaluated on their homogeneity from bottle to bottle using electron probe X ray microanalysis technique. The evaluation on the homogeneity is done by the utilization of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics to the processing of the quantitative electron probe X ray microanalysis data. Due to a limitation, existing even in computer controlled electron probe X ray microanalysis, in terms of analysis time and expenses, the number of particles analyzed is much smaller compared to that in the sample. Therefore, it is investigated whether this technique provides representative analysis results for the characteristics of the sample, even though a very small portion of the sample is really analyzed. Furthermore, the required number of particles for the analysis, to insure a certain level of reproducibility, e.g. 5% relative standard deviation, is determined by the application of the Ingamells sampling theory. (author)

TOMS/Earth Probe UV Reflectivity Daily L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid V008

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/Earth Probe UV Reflectivity Daily L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid Version 8 data in ASCII format. (The shortname for this Level-3...

In situ scanning tunnelling microscopy of redox molecules. Coherent electron transfer at large bias voltages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jingdong; Kuznetsov, A.M.; Ulstrup, Jens

2003-01-01

Theories of in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) of molecules with redox levels near the substrate and tip Fermi levels point to 'spectroscopic' current-overpotential features. Prominent features require a narrow 'probing tip', i.e. a small bias voltage, eV(bias), compared...

Evaluation of ion collection area in Faraday probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Daniel L; Gallimore, Alec D

2010-06-01

A Faraday probe with three concentric rings was designed and fabricated to assess the effect of gap width and collector diameter in a systematic study of the diagnostic ion collection area. The nested Faraday probe consisted of two concentric collector rings and an outer guard ring, which enabled simultaneous current density measurements on the inner and outer collectors. Two versions of the outer collector were fabricated to create gaps of 0.5 and 1.5 mm between the rings. Distribution of current density in the plume of a low-power Hall thruster ion source was measured in azimuthal sweeps at constant radius from 8 to 20 thruster diameters downstream of the exit plane with variation in facility background pressure. A new analytical technique is proposed to account for ions collected in the gap between the Faraday probe collector and guard ring. This method is shown to exhibit excellent agreement between all nested Faraday probe configurations, and to reduce the magnitude of integrated ion beam current to levels consistent with Hall thruster performance analyses. The technique is further studied by varying the guard ring bias potential with a fixed collector bias potential, thereby controlling ion collection in the gap. Results are in agreement with predictions based on the proposed analytical technique. The method is applied to a past study comparing the measured ion current density profiles of two Faraday probe designs. These findings provide new insight into the nature of ion collection in Faraday probe diagnostics, and lead to improved accuracy with a significant reduction in measurement uncertainty.

Evaluation of ion collection area in Faraday probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, Daniel L.; Gallimore, Alec D.

2010-01-01

A Faraday probe with three concentric rings was designed and fabricated to assess the effect of gap width and collector diameter in a systematic study of the diagnostic ion collection area. The nested Faraday probe consisted of two concentric collector rings and an outer guard ring, which enabled simultaneous current density measurements on the inner and outer collectors. Two versions of the outer collector were fabricated to create gaps of 0.5 and 1.5 mm between the rings. Distribution of current density in the plume of a low-power Hall thruster ion source was measured in azimuthal sweeps at constant radius from 8 to 20 thruster diameters downstream of the exit plane with variation in facility background pressure. A new analytical technique is proposed to account for ions collected in the gap between the Faraday probe collector and guard ring. This method is shown to exhibit excellent agreement between all nested Faraday probe configurations, and to reduce the magnitude of integrated ion beam current to levels consistent with Hall thruster performance analyses. The technique is further studied by varying the guard ring bias potential with a fixed collector bias potential, thereby controlling ion collection in the gap. Results are in agreement with predictions based on the proposed analytical technique. The method is applied to a past study comparing the measured ion current density profiles of two Faraday probe designs. These findings provide new insight into the nature of ion collection in Faraday probe diagnostics, and lead to improved accuracy with a significant reduction in measurement uncertainty.

Evaluation of the qualification of SPERT [Special Power Excursion Reactor Test] fuel for use in non-power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-08-01

This report summarizes the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff's evaluation of the qualification of the stainless-steel-clad uranium/oxide (UO 2 ) fuel pins for use in non-power reactors. The fuel pins were originally procured in the 1960's as part of the Special Power Excursion Reactor Test (SPERT) program. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) examined 600 SPERT fuel pins to verify that the pins were produced according to specification and to assess their present condition. The pins were visually inspected under 6X magnification and by X-radiographic, destructive, and metallographic examinations. Spectrographic and chemical analyses were performed on the UO 2 fuel. The results of the qualification examinations indicated that the SPERT fuel pins meet the requirements of Phillips Specification No. F-1-SPT and have suffered no physical damage since fabrication. Therefore, the qualification results give reasonable assurance that the SPERT fuel rods are suitable for use in non-power reactors provided that the effects of thin-wall defects in the region of the upper end cap and low-density fuel pellets are evaluated for the intended operating conditions. 1 ref., 4 figs., 11 tabs

Spin pumping through a topological insulator probed by x-ray detected ferromagnetic resonance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Figueroa, A.I., E-mail: aifigueg@gmail.com [Magnetic Spectroscopy Group, Diamond Light Source, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Baker, A.A. [Magnetic Spectroscopy Group, Diamond Light Source, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Collins-McIntyre, L.J.; Hesjedal, T. [Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Laan, G. van der [Magnetic Spectroscopy Group, Diamond Light Source, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom)

2016-02-15

In the field of spintronics, the generation of a pure spin current (without macroscopic charge flow) through spin pumping of a ferromagnetic (FM) layer opens up the perspective of a new generation of dissipation-less devices. Microwave driven ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) can generate a pure spin current that enters adjacent layers, allowing for both magnetization reversal (through spin-transfer torque) and to probe spin coherence in non-magnetic materials. However, standard FMR is unable to probe multilayer dynamics directly, since the measurement averages over the contributions from the whole system. The synchrotron radiation-based technique of x-ray detected FMR (XFMR) offers an elegant solution to this drawback, giving access to element-, site-, and layer-specific dynamical measurements in heterostructures. In this work, we show how XFMR has provided unique information to understand spin pumping and spin transfer torque effects through a topological insulator (TI) layer in a pseudo-spin valve heterostructure. We demonstrate that TIs function as efficient spin sinks, while also allowing a limited dynamic coupling between ferromagnetic layers. These results shed new light on the spin dynamics of this novel class of materials, and suggest future directions for the development of room temperature TI-based spintronics. - Highlights: • X-ray detected ferromagnetic resonance is used to study the spin pumping phenomenon. • We show a powerful way to get information of spin transfer between magnetic layers. • We observe spin pumping through a topological insulators at room temperature. • Topological insulators function as efficient spin sinks.

Spin pumping through a topological insulator probed by x-ray detected ferromagnetic resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Figueroa, A.I.; Baker, A.A.; Collins-McIntyre, L.J.; Hesjedal, T.; Laan, G. van der

2016-01-01

In the field of spintronics, the generation of a pure spin current (without macroscopic charge flow) through spin pumping of a ferromagnetic (FM) layer opens up the perspective of a new generation of dissipation-less devices. Microwave driven ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) can generate a pure spin current that enters adjacent layers, allowing for both magnetization reversal (through spin-transfer torque) and to probe spin coherence in non-magnetic materials. However, standard FMR is unable to probe multilayer dynamics directly, since the measurement averages over the contributions from the whole system. The synchrotron radiation-based technique of x-ray detected FMR (XFMR) offers an elegant solution to this drawback, giving access to element-, site-, and layer-specific dynamical measurements in heterostructures. In this work, we show how XFMR has provided unique information to understand spin pumping and spin transfer torque effects through a topological insulator (TI) layer in a pseudo-spin valve heterostructure. We demonstrate that TIs function as efficient spin sinks, while also allowing a limited dynamic coupling between ferromagnetic layers. These results shed new light on the spin dynamics of this novel class of materials, and suggest future directions for the development of room temperature TI-based spintronics. - Highlights: • X-ray detected ferromagnetic resonance is used to study the spin pumping phenomenon. • We show a powerful way to get information of spin transfer between magnetic layers. • We observe spin pumping through a topological insulators at room temperature. • Topological insulators function as efficient spin sinks.

Application of operating experience in environmental qualification program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.Y.; Wise, R.

2000-01-01

Environmental qualification (EQ) of equipment related to nuclear safety has been carried out in the nuclear community since the 70's. It started with electrical equipment and then expanded to include mechanical equipment. During this evolutionary process, the methods used for EQ have gone through a long period of refinement and clarification. Prior to 1971, qualification for equipment in licensed nuclear power plants was based on the use of electrical components of commonly accepted high industrial quality without the benefit of specific environmental qualification standards. Between 1971 and 1974, most plants used the criteria of IEEE Standard 323-1971 as the basis for demonstrating qualification. Also during this period related 'daughter' standards, mainly by IEEE, became available which addressed qualification for specific equipment items. After July 1974, plants were required to meet the more comprehensive guidelines specified in IEEE Standard 323-1974 and the related 'daughter' standards. IEEE Standard 323-1974 later evolved into IEEE Standard 323-1983. For nuclear power plants built in Ontario during the 70's, i.e. Pickering B and Bruce B, has included the environmental qualification requirements in their respective nuclear safety design guides. It is now recognized that they are not up to the current EQ standards. Darlington, constructed during the 80's, implemented the environmental qualification program in its project. An Environmental Qualification (EQ) Program is now under way in Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to formally implement the Environmental Qualification for Bruce B, Pickering B, and Pickering A and to preserve the Qualification for Darlington G.S. This paper makes a thorough a review of the standard methods used in the past by utilities for environmental qualification. These methods include type testing, analysis, and operating experience. Both type testing and analysis have been clearly defined in standards listed in References [2] to [6] and

Qualification tests for a dosimetry system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2005-01-01

The report of qualification tests for personnel dosemeters is detailed. Qualification test for the energy response and the incidence angle is given. The procedure of test is resumed. Different coefficients of conversion used in these tests are given in tables. (N.C.)

48 CFR 253.209 - Contractor qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contractor qualifications. 253.209 Section 253.209 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CLAUSES AND FORMS FORMS Prescription of Forms 253.209 Contractor qualifications. ...

Eye Movement Evidence of Attentional Bias for Substance-Related Cues in Heroin Dependents on Methadone Maintenance Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hui; Yang, Bo; Zhu, Qian; Zhang, Guangqun; Xiao, Yuqin; Guo, Xiao; Huang, Xiu; Zhang, Zhuo

2017-03-21

Attentional biases toward substance-related stimuli might play a contributing role in addictive behaviors. This study investigated the selective attention to substance-related stimuli in heroin dependents receiving methadone maintenance therapy. Thirty outpatients receiving methadone maintenance treatment for heroin dependence and 38 healthy controls completed a visual probe task with concurrent eye movement monitoring. The results showed that the heroin group reacted faster to probes associated with substance-related pictures than neutral pictures, and they directed more initial fixations and maintained longer initial fixation durations toward substance-related pictures than neutral pictures. However, attentional bias was not correlated with addiction severity in the heroin group. These findings suggest that attentional bias towards substance-related cues occurs in heroin dependents, although this bias might not be associated with the severity of drug-using behavior.

Inspection qualification and implementation of ENIQ in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zettervall, Tommy

2013-01-01

Many countries are currently considering their approaches to inspection qualification and risk-informed in-service inspection (RI-ISI) and are carefully assessing experience data. In Europe most of the utilities operating nuclear power plants have joined together to form the European Network for Inspection Qualification ENIQ. In practice, qualification can be performed with varying degrees of complexity and cost, varying from capability statement based on existing evidence, through to an extensive qualification consisting of a detailed Technical Justification (TJ) together with open and blind trials on full-scale test blocks. An Inspection Qualification is an investigation and demonstration, which confirm that an inspection system has the ability to solve its specific tasks. The qualification is a Quality Assurance of an inspection system based on documents and practical trials. A reliable inspection system, based on a reliable qualification and correct prerequisites, will reduce total costs for Licensees and increase the credibility of the inspection result. To get such inspection system, which could be valid for many years, it's of necessity to fulfil all included parts in the process. It begins with the Technical Specification from Licensee, where input data and requirements about the actual component are specified. To get an inspection system that could live over time, the Technical Justification is of importance. Finally the test blocks and used simulation techniques play an important part of the final result, and these test blocks together with TJ form the basis for qualification body's decision. (author)

Bias against foreign-born or foreign-trained doctors: experimental evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Louis, Winnifred R; Lalonde, Richard N; Esses, Victoria M

2010-12-01

Bias against foreign-born or -trained medical students and doctors is not well understood, despite its documented impact on recruitment, integration and retention. This research experimentally examines the interaction of location of medical education and nationality in evaluations of doctors' competence and trustworthiness. A convenience sample of prospective patients evaluated fictitious candidates for a position as a doctor in community practice at a new local health clinic. All applicants were described as having the same personality profile, legal qualifications to practise, a multi-degree education and relevant work experience. The location of medical education (the candidate's home country or the UK) and national background (Australia or Pakistan) of the applicants were independently experimentally manipulated. Consistent with previous research on skills discounting and bias, foreign-born candidates were evaluated less favourably than native-born candidates, despite their comparable education level, work experience and personality. However, overseas medical education obtained in the First World both boosted evaluations (of competence and trustworthiness) and attenuated bias based on nationality. The present findings demonstrate the selective discounting of foreign-born doctors' credentials. The data show an interaction of location of medical education and birth nationality in bias against foreign doctors. On an applied level, the data document that the benefits of medical education obtained in the First World can extend beyond its direct outcomes (high-quality training and institutional recognition) to the indirect benefit of the attenuation of patient bias based on nationality. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010.

Light Driven Energy Research at LCLS: Planned Pump-Probe X-ray Spectroscopy Studies on Photosynthetic Water Splitting

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, Uwe

2010-02-01

Arguably the most important chemical reaction on earth is the photosynthetic splitting of water to molecular oxygen by the Mn-containing oxygen-evolving complex (Mn-OEC) in the protein known as photosystem II (PSII). It is this reaction which has, over the course of some 3.8 billion years, gradually filled our atmosphere with O2 and consequently enabled and sustained the evolution of complex aerobic life. Coupled to the reduction of carbon dioxide, biological photosynthesis contributes foodstuffs for nutrition while recycling CO2 from the atmosphere and replacing it with O2. By utilizing sunlight to power these energy-requiring reactions, photosynthesis also serves as a model for addressing societal energy needs as we enter an era of diminishing fossil hydrocarbon resources. Understanding, at the molecular level, the dynamics and mechanism of how nature has solved this problem is of fundamental importance and could be critical to aid in the design of manufactured devices to accomplish the conversion of sunlight into useful electrochemical energy and transportable fuel in the foreseeable future. In order to understand the photosynthetic splitting of water by the Mn-OEC we need to be able to follow the reaction in real time at an atomic level. A powerful probe to study the electronic and molecular structure of the Mn-OEC is x-ray spectroscopy. Here, in particular x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) has two crucial qualities for LCLS based time-dependent pump-probe studies of the Mn-OEC: a) it directly probes the Mn oxidation state and ligation, b) it can be performed with wavelength dispersive optics to avoid the necessity of scanning in pump probe experiments. Recent results and the planned time dependent experiments at LCLS will be discussed. )

The Effect of Colour and Size on Attentional Bias to Alcohol-Related Pictures

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Neil R.; McCann, Amy

2014-01-01

Attentional bias plays an important role in the development and maintenance of alcohol addiction, and has often been measured with a visual probe task, where reaction times are compared for probes replacing either a substance-related cue or a neutral cue. Systematic low-level differences between image classes are a potential cause of low internal…

Similarity principles for equipment qualification by experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kana, D.D.; Pomerening, D.J.

1988-07-01

A methodology is developed for seismic qualification of nuclear plant equipment by applying similarity principles to existing experience data. Experience data are available from previous qualifications by analysis or testing, or from actual earthquake events. Similarity principles are defined in terms of excitation, equipment physical characteristics, and equipment response. Physical similarity is further defined in terms of a critical transfer function for response at a location on a primary structure, whose response can be assumed directly related to ultimate fragility of the item under elevated levels of excitation. Procedures are developed for combining experience data into composite specifications for qualification of equipment that can be shown to be physically similar to the reference equipment. Other procedures are developed for extending qualifications beyond the original specifications under certain conditions. Some examples for application of the procedures and verification of them are given for certain cases that can be approximated by a two degree of freedom simple primary/secondary system. Other examples are based on use of actual test data available from previous qualifications. Relationships of the developments with other previously-published methods are discussed. The developments are intended to elaborate on the rather broad revised guidelines developed by the IEEE 344 Standards Committee for equipment qualification in new nuclear plants. However, the results also contribute to filling a gap that exists between the IEEE 344 methodology and that previously developed by the Seismic Qualification Utilities Group. The relationship of the results to safety margin methodology is also discussed. (author)

Probing Photoinduced Structural Phase Transitions by Fast or Ultra-Fast Time-Resolved X-Ray Diffraction

Science.gov (United States)

Cailleau, Hervé Collet, Eric; Buron-Le Cointe, Marylise; Lemée-Cailleau, Marie-Hélène Koshihara, Shin-Ya

A new frontier in the field of structural science is the emergence of the fast and ultra-fast X-ray science. Recent developments in time-resolved X-ray diffraction promise direct access to the dynamics of electronic, atomic and molecular motions in condensed matter triggered by a pulsed laser irradiation, i.e. to record "molecular movies" during the transformation of matter initiated by light pulse. These laser pump and X-ray probe techniques now provide an outstanding opportunity for the direct observation of a photoinduced structural phase transition as it takes place. The use of X-ray short-pulse of about 100ps around third-generation synchrotron sources allows structural investigations of fast photoinduced processes. Other new X-ray sources, such as laser-produced plasma ones, generate ultra-short pulses down to 100 fs. This opens the way to femtosecond X-ray crystallography, but with rather low X-ray intensities and more limited experimental possibilities at present. However this new ultra-fast science rapidly progresses around these sources and new large-scale projects exist. It is the aim of this contribution to overview the state of art and the perspectives of fast and ultra-fast X-ray scattering techniques to study photoinduced phase transitions (here, the word ultra-fast is used for sub-picosecond time resolution). In particular we would like to largely present the contribution of crystallographic methods in comparison with optical methods, such as pump-probe reflectivity measurements, the reader being not necessary familiar with X-ray scattering. Thus we want to present which type of physical information can be obtained from the positions of the Bragg peaks, their intensity and their shape, as well as from the diffuse scattering beyond Bragg peaks. An important physical feature is to take into consideration the difference in nature between a photoinduced phase transition and conventional homogeneous photoinduced chemical or biochemical processes where

Attentional bias for caffeine-related stimuli in high but not moderate or non-caffeine consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeomans, Martin R; Javaherian, Shabnam; Tovey, Heather M; Stafford, Lorenzo D

2005-09-01

Attentional bias for drug-related cues has been reported with a wide range of drugs, but to date the extent to which caffeine consumers show similar biases for caffeine-related stimuli has not been tested. The present study therefore examined this issue in terms of differences in attentional bias for caffeine-related words in High, Moderate and Non-caffeine consumers using a dot-probe word task following overnight caffeine abstinence. This study was conducted to test whether caffeine consumers show an attentional bias for caffeine-related words, and whether such biases relate to habitual levels of caffeine use. Sixteen High, Moderate and Non-consumers of caffeine were asked to complete a modified dot-probe task in order to measure attentional bias for caffeine-related relative to neutral control word groups. The task was completed following overnight caffeine abstinence, and participants also completed mood and caffeine-craving measures. The High consumer group showed a significant attentional bias for the caffeine-related words, but no such bias was seen in Moderate or Non-consumer groups. As expected, craving for caffeine was strongest in the High consumers and weakest in the Non-consumers. Attentional bias in the High group correlated with self-reported caffeine consumption and with craving for caffeine, but neither effect was significant in the Moderate group. These data confirm that High caffeine consumers show attentional bias for caffeine-related stimuli, consistent with current theories of drug addiction.

Equipment qualification testing - a practical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, G.A.; McDougall, R.I.; Poirier, M.P.

1996-01-01

When nuclear safety equipment is credited with a Required Safety Function it must properly perform that function to facilitate safe control and/or shutdown of the plant during a design basis accident. When such equipment is required to be environmentally (EQ) and/or seismically qualified (SQ) for safety related use in CANDU nuclear power plants, the preferred method of qualification is by type testing. The qualification testing process requires that the test specimen equipment be subjected to the aging stressors associated with the normal service conditions that it would experience during it's required qualified (or service) life. Following the aging process, the test specimen is in a condition representative of that in which it would be at the end of its service life in the plant. The test specimen is then subjected to a simulated accident during which it must satisfy performance requirements thereby demonstrating that it can perform its required safety function. The performance requirements specified for the qualification testing must be designed to ensure that satisfactory performance of the safety function is demonstrated during the qualification program. This paper provides descriptions of practical methods used in the deriving and satisfying of relevant performance requirements during the qualification testing of safety related equipment. (author)

Ion acceleration in a helicon source due to the self-bias effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiebold, Matt; Sung, Yung-Ta; Scharer, John E. [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)

2012-05-15

Time-averaged plasma potential differences up to 165 V over several hundred Debye lengths are observed in low pressure (p{sub n} < 1 mTorr) expanding argon plasmas in the Madison Helicon eXperiment (MadHeX). The potential gradient leads to ion acceleration greater than that predicted by ambipolar expansion, exceeding E{sub i} Almost-Equal-To 7 kT{sub e} in some cases. RF power up to 500 W at 13.56 MHz is supplied to a half-turn, double-helix antenna in the presence of a nozzle magnetic field, adjustable up to 1 kG. A retarding potential analyzer (RPA) measures the ion energy distribution function (IEDF) and a swept emissive probe measures the plasma potential. Single and double probes measure the electron density and temperature. Two distinct mode hops, the capacitive-inductive (E-H) and inductive-helicon (H-W) transitions, are identified by jumps in density as RF power is increased. In the capacitive (E) mode, large fluctuations of the plasma potential (V{sub p-p} Greater-Than-Or-Equivalent-To 140V, V{sub p-p}/V{sub p} Almost-Equal-To 150%) exist at the RF frequency and its harmonics. The more mobile electrons can easily respond to RF-timescale gradients in the plasma potential whereas the inertially constrained ions cannot, leading to an initial flux imbalance and formation of a self-bias voltage between the source and expansion chambers. In the capacitive mode, the ion acceleration is not well described by an ambipolar relation, while in the inductive and helicon modes the ion acceleration more closely follows an ambipolar relation. The scaling of the potential gradient with the argon flow rate and RF power are investigated, with the largest potential gradients observed for the lowest flow rates in the capacitive mode. The magnitude of the self-bias voltage agrees with that predicted for RF self-bias at a wall. Rapid fluctuations in the plasma potential result in a time-dependent axial electron flux that acts to 'neutralize' the accelerated ion

Probing of multiple magnetic responses in magnetic inductors using atomic force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Seongjae; Seo, Hosung; Seol, Daehee; Yoon, Young-Hwan; Kim, Mi Yang; Kim, Yunseok

2016-02-08

Even though nanoscale analysis of magnetic properties is of significant interest, probing methods are relatively less developed compared to the significance of the technique, which has multiple potential applications. Here, we demonstrate an approach for probing various magnetic properties associated with eddy current, coil current and magnetic domains in magnetic inductors using multidimensional magnetic force microscopy (MMFM). The MMFM images provide combined magnetic responses from the three different origins, however, each contribution to the MMFM response can be differentiated through analysis based on the bias dependence of the response. In particular, the bias dependent MMFM images show locally different eddy current behavior with values dependent on the type of materials that comprise the MI. This approach for probing magnetic responses can be further extended to the analysis of local physical features.

Total qualification of class 1E electric equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chauvin, G.

1982-09-01

For nuclear power plant projects in France, Framatome and its partners Electricite de France (EDF) and the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA) have responded to the present qualification context by implementing a wide-ranging qualification program to acquire significant organizational and practical experience. The following sections detail Framatome's approach to the activities of an organization mandated to provide a complete spectrum of qualification services. Thorough implementation of a Class 1E electric equipment qualification program by the competent organization or qualifier entails completion of three consecutive steps: 1) program preparation, 2) program implementation, and 3) analysis of test results and conclusion. The qualifier assumes extensive responsibility for each of these steps. The following sections present test facilities used in France to conduct a total qualification program for Class 1E electric equipment

Validation of a novel attentional bias modification task: the future may be in the cards.

Science.gov (United States)

Notebaert, Lies; Clarke, Patrick J F; Grafton, Ben; MacLeod, Colin

2015-02-01

Attentional bias modification (ABM) is a promising therapeutic tool aimed at changing patterns of attentional selectivity associated with heightened anxiety. A number of studies have successfully implemented ABM using the modified dot-probe task. However others have not achieved the attentional change required to achieve emotional benefits, highlighting the need for new ABM methods. The current study compared the effectiveness of a newly developed ABM task against the traditional dot-probe ABM task. The new person-identity-matching (PIM) task presented participants with virtual cards, each depicting a happy and angry person. The task encourages selective attention toward or away from threat by requiring participants to make matching judgements between two cards, based either on the identities of the happy faces, or of the angry faces. Change in attentional bias achieved by both ABM tasks was measured by a dot-probe assessment task. Their impact on emotional vulnerability was assessed by measuring negative emotional reactions to a video stressor. The PIM task succeeded in modifying attentional bias, and exerting an impact on emotional reactivity, whereas this was not the case for the dot-probe task. These results are considered in relation to the potential clinical utility of the current task in comparison to traditional ABM methodologies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurements of plasma profiles using a fast swept Langmuir probe in the VINETA-II magnetic reconnection experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Shesterikov, I.; Von Stechow, A.; Grulke, O.; Stenzel, R.; Klinger, T.

2017-07-01

A fast-swept Langmuir probe capable to be biased at a high voltages has been constructed and successfully operated at the VINETA-II magnetic reconnection experiment. The presented circuit has two main features beneficial for fast transient parameter changes in laboratory experiments as, e.g., plasma guns or magnetic reconnection: the implementation simplicity and the high voltage sweep range. This work presents its design and performance for time-dependent measurements of VINETA-II plasmas. The probe is biased with a sinusoidal voltage at a fixed frequency. Current - voltage characteristics are measured along the falling and rising slopes of the probe bias. The sweep frequency is fsweep= 150 kHz. The spatiotemporal evolution of radial plasma profiles is obtained by evaluation of the probe characteristics. The plasma density measurements agree with those derived from a microwave interferometer, demonstrating the reliability of the measurements. As a model plasma system, a plasma gun discharge with typical pulse times of 60 μ s is chosen.

Revealing the Cosmic Web-dependent Halo Bias

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaohu; Zhang, Youcai; Lu, Tianhuan; Wang, Huiyuan; Shi, Feng; Tweed, Dylan; Li, Shijie; Luo, Wentao; Lu, Yi; Yang, Lei

2017-10-01

Halo bias is the one of the key ingredients of the halo models. It was shown at a given redshift to be only dependent, to the first order, on the halo mass. In this study, four types of cosmic web environments—clusters, filaments, sheets, and voids—are defined within a state-of-the-art high-resolution N-body simulation. Within these environments, we use both halo-dark matter cross correlation and halo-halo autocorrelation functions to probe the clustering properties of halos. The nature of the halo bias differs strongly between the four different cosmic web environments described here. With respect to the overall population, halos in clusters have significantly lower biases in the {10}11.0˜ {10}13.5 {h}-1 {M}⊙ mass range. In other environments, however, halos show extremely enhanced biases up to a factor 10 in voids for halos of mass ˜ {10}12.0 {h}-1 {M}⊙ . Such a strong cosmic web environment dependence in the halo bias may play an important role in future cosmological and galaxy formation studies. Within this cosmic web framework, the age dependency of halo bias is found to be only significant in clusters and filaments for relatively small halos ≲ {10}12.5 {h}-1 {M}⊙ .

Alcohol-cue exposure effects on craving and attentional bias in underage college-student drinkers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, Jason J; Monti, Peter M; Colwill, Ruth M

2015-06-01

The effect of alcohol-cue exposure on eliciting craving has been well documented, and numerous theoretical models assert that craving is a clinically significant construct central to the motivation and maintenance of alcohol-seeking behavior. Furthermore, some theories propose a relationship between craving and attention, such that cue-induced increases in craving bias attention toward alcohol cues, which, in turn, perpetuates craving. This study examined the extent to which alcohol cues induce craving and bias attention toward alcohol cues among underage college-student drinkers. We designed within-subject cue-reactivity and visual-probe tasks to assess in vivo alcohol-cue exposure effects on craving and attentional bias on 39 undergraduate college drinkers (ages 18-20). Participants expressed greater subjective craving to drink alcohol following in vivo cue exposure to a commonly consumed beer compared with water exposure. Furthermore, following alcohol-cue exposure, participants exhibited greater attentional biases toward alcohol cues as measured by a visual-probe task. In addition to the cue-exposure effects on craving and attentional bias, within-subject differences in craving across sessions marginally predicted within-subject differences in attentional bias. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Attention and memory bias to facial emotions underlying negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Seon-Kyeong; Park, Seon-Cheol; Lee, Seung-Hwan; Cho, Yang Seok; Choi, Kee-Hong

2016-01-01

This study assessed bias in selective attention to facial emotions in negative symptoms of schizophrenia and its influence on subsequent memory for facial emotions. Thirty people with schizophrenia who had high and low levels of negative symptoms (n = 15, respectively) and 21 healthy controls completed a visual probe detection task investigating selective attention bias (happy, sad, and angry faces randomly presented for 50, 500, or 1000 ms). A yes/no incidental facial memory task was then completed. Attention bias scores and recognition errors were calculated. Those with high negative symptoms exhibited reduced attention to emotional faces relative to neutral faces; those with low negative symptoms showed the opposite pattern when faces were presented for 500 ms regardless of the valence. Compared to healthy controls, those with high negative symptoms made more errors for happy faces in the memory task. Reduced attention to emotional faces in the probe detection task was significantly associated with less pleasure and motivation and more recognition errors for happy faces in schizophrenia group only. Attention bias away from emotional information relatively early in the attentional process and associated diminished positive memory may relate to pathological mechanisms for negative symptoms.

Demasculinization of the Anopheles gambiae X chromosome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magnusson Kalle

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In a number of organisms sex-biased genes are non-randomly distributed between autosomes and the shared sex chromosome X (or Z. Studies on Anopheles gambiae have produced conflicting results regarding the underrepresentation of male-biased genes on the X chromosome and it is unclear to what extent sexual antagonism, dosage compensation or X-inactivation in the male germline, the evolutionary forces that have been suggested to affect the chromosomal distribution of sex-biased genes, are operational in Anopheles. Results We performed a meta-analysis of sex-biased gene expression in Anopheles gambiae which provides evidence for a general underrepresentation of male-biased genes on the X-chromosome that increased in significance with the observed degree of sex-bias. A phylogenomic comparison between Drosophila melanogaster, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus also indicates that the Anopheles X chromosome strongly disfavours the evolutionary conservation of male-biased expression and that novel male-biased genes are more likely to arise on autosomes. Finally, we demonstrate experimentally that transgenes situated on the Anopheles gambiae X chromosome are transcriptionally silenced in the male germline. Conclusion The data presented here support the hypothesis that the observed demasculinization of the Anopheles X chromosome is driven by X-chromosome inactivation in the male germline and by sexual antagonism. The demasculinization appears to be the consequence of a loss of male-biased expression, rather than a failure in the establishment or the extinction of male-biased genes.

X-FEL revolution - X-ray lasers to probe matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collet, E.; Cammarata, M.; Harmand, M.; Couprie, M.E.

2015-01-01

X-ray free electron lasers (X-FEL) are now able to generate X-ray pulses of a few femto-seconds (1 fs = 10"-"1"5 s), which allows the real-time observation of the movements of atoms. The changes in the structure of a material can be seen whatever the material, this is illustrated with the PYP protein (that is the photo-receptor of a bacterium), the changes between an initial state and 100 ps after light excitation show the displacement of the atoms of the protein. The brightness of X-FEL can be so high that it allows the study of nano-metric structures but it enables X-FEL radiation to ionize matter and the crystal sample may be destroyed, this becomes the new limit of X-FEL applied to crystallography. Another application of X-FEL to structure studies is to allow the study of systems that are not crystal systems like macromolecules, proteins or even viruses. Hundreds of patterns of X-ray diffractions of an object are combined to form a 3-dimensional image of the object in the wave vector space and it is then possible but very complex to deduce the real 3-dimensional structure of the object. (A.C.)

Safety design guides for environmental qualification for CANDU 9

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Duk Su; Chang, Woo Hyun; Lee, Nam Young; A. C. D. Wright

1996-03-01

This safety design guide describes the safety philosophy and requirements for the environmental qualification of safety related systems and components for CANDU 9. The environmental qualification program identifies the equipments to be qualified and conditions to be used for qualification and provides comprehensive set of documentation to ensure that the qualification is complete and can be maintained for the life of the plant. A summary of the system, components and structures requiring environmental qualification is provided in the table for the guidance of the system design, and this table will be subject to change or confirmation by the environmental qualification program. Also, plant ares subject to harsh environment is provided in the figure. The change status of the regulatory requirements, code and standards should be traced and this safety design guide shall be updated accordingly. 1 tab., 5 figs. (Author) .new

TCABR Tokamak scrape-off layer turbulence with DC biasing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heller, M.V.A.P.; Ferreira, A.A.; Caldas, I.L.; Nascimento, I.C.

2004-01-01

Turbulence and particle transport in plasma scrape-off layer have been controlled by external electric fields. This control can be achieved by a biasing electrode located inside the plasma. We investigate plasma turbulence changes in the scrape-off layer of TCABR tokamak introduced by DC biasing an electrode inside the plasma. Our investigation is based on the alterations observed on the wavelet power spectra and on the intermittent burst sequences of plasma potential and density fluctuations measured by a set of Langmuir probes. Biasing the electrode changes the turbulence statistics and the bursts intermittence. With the imposed external electric field, fluctuation amplitudes, phase velocities, and anomalous particle transport are modified. Transport reduction for higher frequencies induced by the biasing could be due to the strong de-phasing between density and potential fluctuations. The mode coupling increases with the perturbation for the high frequency broadband fluctuations. The total (laminar and bursting) radial particle transport is reduced by about 25% by DC biasing. Bursts contribution to total transport is 15% and for the studied conditions this contribution does not change much with the bias perturbation

Attention bias modification in specific fears: Spiders versus snakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Xijia; Ikani, Nessa; Barth, Anja; Rengers, Lea; Becker, Eni; Rinck, Mike

2015-12-01

Attention Bias Modification (ABM) is used to manipulate attention biases in anxiety disorders. It has been successful in reducing attention biases and anxious symptoms in social anxiety and generalized anxiety, but not yet in specific fears and phobias. We designed a new version of the dot-probe training task, aiming to train fearful participants' attention away from or towards pictures of threatening stimuli. Moreover, we studied whether the training also affected participants' avoidance behavior and their physical arousal upon being confronted with a real threat object. In Experiment 1, students with fear of spiders were trained. We found that the attention manipulation was successful, but the training failed to affect behavior or arousal. In Experiment 2, the same procedure was used on snake-fearful students. Again, attention was trained in the expected directions. Moreover, participants whose attention had been trained away from snakes showed lower physiological arousal upon being confronted with a real snake. The study involved healthy students with normal distribution of the fear of spider/snake. Future research with clinical sample could help with determining the generalizability of the current findings. The effect of ABM on specific phobia is still in question. The finding in the present study suggested the possibility to alter attentional bias with a dot-probe task with general positive stimuli and this training could even affect the behavior while encountering a real threat. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Equipment Qualification Data Base user manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decker, Q.R.; Fackrell, L.J.; Fitch, L.R.; Meeky, O.B.

1985-09-01

This manual details the Equipment Qualification Data Base (EQDB), its usage, and contents. The EQDB consists of two files; the Plant Qualification File (PQF) and the Equipment Qualification File (EQF). The PQF contains plant specific environmental data and the EQF contains summaries of various test results. Two data management systems are used to manipulate the data and are discussed in this manual. SAS Institute System 2000 (S2K) is the management system for the PQF and Query Update (QU) is the operating system for the EQF. Each management system contains report writers. These writers and how to use them are discussed in detail in this manual

Solar array qualification through qualified analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zijdemans, J.; Cruijssen, H. J.; Wijker, J. J.

1991-04-01

To achieve qualification is in general a very expensive exercise. For solar arrays this is done by a dedicated test program through which final qualification is achieved. Due to severe competition on the solar array market, cheaper means are looked for to achieve a qualified product for the customers. One of the methods is to drastically limit the environmental test program and to qualify the solar-array structure against its environmental loads by analysis. Qualification by analysis is possible. The benefits are that a significant amount of development effort can be saved in case such a powerful tool is available. Extensive testing can be avoided thus saving time and money.

TOMS/Earth Probe UV Aerosol Index Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid V008

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/Earth Probe UV Aerosol Index Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid Version 8 data in ASCII format. (The shortname for this...

TOMS/Earth Probe Total Column Ozone Daily L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid V008

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/Earth Probe Total Column Ozone Daily L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid Version 8 data in ASCII format. (The shortname for this...

Constricted double loop hysteresis and exchange bias attributed to the surface anisotropy in nanocrystalline La1/3Sr2/3Fe1−xCrxO3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabyasachi, Sk.; Patra, M.; Majumdar, S.; Giri, S.

2013-01-01

We investigate magnetic properties of nanocrystalline ferrites with composition La 1/3 Sr 2/3 Fe 1−x Cr x O 3 (LSFCO) for x=0, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06. Thermal variation of zero field cooled magnetization displays a weak signature close to the charge (T CO ) as well as antiferromagnetic ordering for x=0, 0.02 and 0.04. In addition, another disordered glassy magnetic transition (T g ) is noticed for all the compositions. T g is predominantly observed, although signature of charge ordering almost disappears for x=0.06. Interestingly, a constricted double loop type magnetic hysteresis loop is observed for x=0.02. This structure in the hysteresis loop disappears with further increase in Cr substitution. A systematic shift in the magnetic hysteresis loop is observed for all the compositions, while samples are cooled in a static magnetic field, which is the manifestation of exchange bias (EB) effect. The EB field (H E ) and magnetization (M E ) decrease remarkably due to minor Cr substitution at x=0.02 and then it reveals a sluggish increase with increasing x. For x=0.04 the EB effect emerges below ∼T CO , increases sluggishly with lowering of temperature and below ∼T g , it increases rapidly. The cooling field dependence exhibits significant increase of H E and M E for x=0.04, which is associated with the considerable increase of coercivity. Possible origin of EB correlated with the magnetic phase coexistence has been argued for nanocrystalline LSFCO. - Highlights: • Constricted double loop structure is observed for minor Cr substitution. • Exchange bias decreases significantly due to Cr substitution. • Intricate magnetic phase coexistence leads to the exchange bias effect

DC Langmuir Probe for Measurement of Space Plasma: A Brief Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koichiro Oyama

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Herein, we discuss the in situ measurement of the electron temperature in the ionosphere/plasmasphere by means of DC Langmuir probes. Major instruments which have been reported are a conventional DC Langmuir probe, whose probe voltage is swept; a pulsed probe, which uses pulsed bias voltage; a rectification probe, which uses sinusoidal signal; and a resonance cone probe, which uses radio wave propagation. The content reviews past observations made with the instruments above. We also discuss technical factors that should be taken into account for reliable measurement, such as problems related to the contamination of electrodes and the satellite surface. Finally, we discuss research topics to be studied in the near future.

Implementation plans for the Korean certified tumor registrar qualification system.

Science.gov (United States)

Boo, Yoo-Kyung; Lim, Hyun-Sook; Won, Young-Joo

2014-01-01

Cancer registration data is used to understand the nation's cancer burden, and to provide significant baseline data for cancer control efforts, as well as, research on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, and prevalence. A system that approves, assesses, and manages the qualification of specialists, responsible for performing cancer registration, has not been developed in Korea. This study presents ways to implement a certification system designed for the qualification of tumor registrars in Korea. Requirements for implementing a certified tumor registrar qualification system were determined by reviewing the system for establishing qualifications in Korea and the American qualification system via the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA). Moreover, a survey was conducted on Korean medical records administrators, who had taken the U.S. Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR) examination, in order to review their opinions regarding these requirements. This study verified the feasibility of a qualification examination based on the opinions of CTR specialists by determining the following: items, and the associated ratings, of the qualifications necessary to register individuals as certified tumor registrars in a private qualification system; status of human resources required for the examination or training processes; plans regarding the organization needed for management, and operation of qualifications, examination standards, subject areas, examination methods, examination qualifications, or education and training programs. The implementation of a certified tumor registrar qualification system will lead to enhanced job competency for specialists and a qualitative improvement of cancer registration data. It will also reliably foster human resources that will lay the groundwork needed to establish scientific and reasonable national cancer management policies.

Selective processing of smoking-related cues in smokers: manipulation of deprivation level and comparison of three measures of processing bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Mogg, Karin; Bradley, Brendan P

2002-12-01

Recent theories of addiction suggest that an attentional bias for drug-related cues plays an important role in maintaining drug-taking behaviours. A key feature of the present study is that it used three different measures of processing bias for linguistic and pictorial smoking-related cues: masked and unmasked conditions of the modified Stroop task, and a pictorial version of the visual probe task. Participants were smokers (n = 27), who were tested twice, with deprivation level manipulated as a within-subjects variable. They were asked to abstain from smoking for 12 h before one session, and to smoke normally before the other. Results were consistent with an attentional bias for smoking-related pictures on the visual probe task, and for smoking-related words in the unmasked condition of the modified Stroop task. The latter bias was most strongly predicted by self-reported urge to smoke, rather than by the deprivation manipulation. There was no evidence of a preconscious bias for smoking cues. The three measures of cognitive bias (from masked and unmasked Stroop and visual probe tasks) were not significantly correlated with each other, which suggests they may tap different underlying mechanisms. We discuss the results with respect to conceptualizations of selective attention, addiction and motivational states in general.

Age-differences in cognitive flexibility when overcoming a preexisting bias through feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Cristina G; Nusbaum, Amy T; Whitney, Paul; Hinson, John M

2018-08-01

Older adults are often worse than younger adults at adapting to changing situational demands, and this difference is commonly attributed to an age-related decline in acquiring and updating information. Previous research on aging and cognitive flexibility has used measures that require adapting to novel associations learned during a laboratory task (e.g., choice X led to positive outcomes but now leads to negative outcomes). However, in everyday life people must frequently overcome associations based on preexisting beliefs and biases (e.g., you like to eat cake, but your doctor said to limit your sugar intake). The goal of the present study was to examine possible age-differences in overcoming a preexisting bias and determine whether age-related changes in the acquisition and updating of information influence this form of flexibility. Older (n = 20) and younger (n = 20) adults completed a novel task in which repeated choices were made between a sure option (gain or loss) and one of two risky options that were initially ambiguous. Optimal performance required overcoming a framing bias toward being risk seeking to avoid a sure loss and risk averse when offered a sure gain. Probe questions assessed knowledge of choice outcomes, while skin conductance assessed physiological reactions to choices and choice outcomes. Both older and younger adults demonstrated flexibility by reducing the impact of bias over trials, but younger adults had better performance overall. Age-differences were associated with distinct aspects of processing. Young adults had more precise knowledge of choice outcomes and developed skin conductance responses in anticipation of bad choices that were not apparent in older adults. Older adults showed significant improvement over trials in their ability to decrease bias-driven choices, but younger showed greater flexibility. Age-differences in task performance were based on differences in learning and corresponding representations of task

Approach to customer qualification of the BNFL Sellafield Mox Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, P.

2003-01-01

BNFL started plutonium commissioning of its Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) in December 2001, with the first MOX pellets being produced in May 2002. SMP was designed to manufacture a range of both PWR and BWR fuel types for a number of different customers. During commissioning and early MOX fuel manufacturing BNFL has been demonstrating its ability to both automatically manufacture and inspect MOX fuel to meet the requirements of different customers' specifications and fuel types. The qualification project consisted of common and project specific qualification. Common qualification was carried out to demonstrate BNFL could meet several customers' requirements during the same qualification test. Project specific qualification was carried out for one customer only as the fabrication or inspection equipment was specific to their fuel type. An example is the fuel assembly process. The reasons for BNFL carrying out common qualification were: - Develop a common qualified process to meet different customer specifications. - Minimise future qualifications prior to starting future fuel campaigns. - Ensure BNFL understands and effectively manages different customer requirements in SMP. BNFL has approached qualification of SMP systematically. Firstly the inspection system was qualified, and once completed the inspection system was then used in the qualification of the manufacturing process. (orig.)

Spin pumping through a topological insulator probed by x-ray detected ferromagnetic resonance

Science.gov (United States)

Figueroa, A. I.; Baker, A. A.; Collins-McIntyre, L. J.; Hesjedal, T.; van der Laan, G.

2016-02-01

In the field of spintronics, the generation of a pure spin current (without macroscopic charge flow) through spin pumping of a ferromagnetic (FM) layer opens up the perspective of a new generation of dissipation-less devices. Microwave driven ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) can generate a pure spin current that enters adjacent layers, allowing for both magnetization reversal (through spin-transfer torque) and to probe spin coherence in non-magnetic materials. However, standard FMR is unable to probe multilayer dynamics directly, since the measurement averages over the contributions from the whole system. The synchrotron radiation-based technique of x-ray detected FMR (XFMR) offers an elegant solution to this drawback, giving access to element-, site-, and layer-specific dynamical measurements in heterostructures. In this work, we show how XFMR has provided unique information to understand spin pumping and spin transfer torque effects through a topological insulator (TI) layer in a pseudo-spin valve heterostructure. We demonstrate that TIs function as efficient spin sinks, while also allowing a limited dynamic coupling between ferromagnetic layers. These results shed new light on the spin dynamics of this novel class of materials, and suggest future directions for the development of room temperature TI-based spintronics.

49 CFR 214.351 - Training and qualification of flagmen.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Training and qualification of flagmen. 214.351... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD WORKPLACE SAFETY Roadway Worker Protection § 214.351 Training and qualification of flagmen. (a) The training and qualification for roadway workers assigned the...

Experimental investigation on NO{sub x} emission and carbon burnout from a radially biased pulverized coal whirl burner

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xue, Shan; Hui, Shi' en; Zhou, Qulan; Xu, Tongmo; Hu, Hongli [State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Liu, Taisheng [Dongfang Boiler Group Co., Ltd., Zigong, Sichuan 643001 (China)

2009-09-15

Experiments have been performed on 1 MW pulverized coal (pc) furnace in order to investigate the characteristics of coal combustion and NO{sub x} emission from a new type of radially biased dual register whirl burner. The burner is characterized by a primary air pipe with a continuously changing cross-section and an impact ring. The mixture of pulverized coal and air inside the primary pipe is split into two streams, which are the outer pc rich annular jet and the inner pc lean annular jet respectively. Three Chinese coals, which are high rank bituminous coal, low rank bituminous coal and meager coal respectively, are used in the experiments. We examine the influences of various parameters such as the relative position of the over-fire air (OFA) nozzle, over-fire air ratio (19.1%), primary air ratio, inner secondary air ratio, outer secondary air ratio, inner secondary air swirling intensity, and outer secondary air swirling intensity on NO{sub x} formation and unburned carbon in fly ash. With the primary air ratio increasing from 13.4% to 23.4%, the value of the NO{sub x} emission of the SH coal decreases by 26.7% at first, and then increases by 21.7%. In contrast, the value of the carbon in fly ash (C{sub FA}) increases by 40.1% at first, and then decreases by 58.3%. According to the experimental results, the influence of each individual parameter on NO{sub x} formation and unburned carbon in fly ash agrees well with the existing literature. In this study, the influences of various combinations of these parameters are also examined, thus providing some reference for the design of the radial biased whirl burner, the configuration of the furnace and the distribution of the air. (author)

On safety 1E qualification of electrical equipment for nuclear power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Segarceanu, D.; Geambasu, C.; Avramescu, M.

1995-01-01

Electrical equipment and systems for the emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor are qualified according to safety class 1E. Methods of qualification meeting the requirements should be used, either individually or in combination include, type-test qualification, qualification by operating experience, qualification by analysis, combined qualification. These methods qualification principles, procedures and documents are discussed. (N.T.). 1 fig

Sex-biased gene expression during head development in a sexually dimorphic stalk-eyed fly.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerald S Wilkinson

Full Text Available Stalk-eyed flies (family Diopsidae are a model system for studying sexual selection due to the elongated and sexually dimorphic eye-stalks found in many species. These flies are of additional interest because their X chromosome is derived largely from an autosomal arm in other flies. To identify candidate genes required for development of dimorphic eyestalks and investigate how sex-biased expression arose on the novel X, we compared gene expression between males and females using oligonucleotide microarrays and RNA from developing eyestalk tissue or adult heads in the dimorphic diopsid, Teleopsis dalmanni. Microarray analysis revealed sex-biased expression for 26% of 3,748 genes expressed in eye-antennal imaginal discs and concordant sex-biased expression for 86 genes in adult heads. Overall, 415 female-biased and 482 male-biased genes were associated with dimorphic eyestalk development but not differential expression in the adult head. Functional analysis revealed that male-biased genes are disproportionately associated with growth and mitochondrial function while female-biased genes are associated with cell differentiation and patterning or are novel transcripts. With regard to chromosomal effects, dosage compensation occurs by elevated expression of X-linked genes in males. Genes with female-biased expression were more common on the X and less common on autosomes than expected, while male-biased genes exhibited no chromosomal pattern. Rates of protein evolution were lower for female-biased genes but higher for genes that moved on or off the novel X chromosome. These findings cannot be due to meiotic sex chromosome inactivation or by constraints associated with dosage compensation. Instead, they could be consistent with sexual conflict in which female-biased genes on the novel X act primarily to reduce eyespan in females while other genes increase eyespan in both sexes. Additional information on sex-biased gene expression in other tissues and

Guidelines for seismic qualification by experience in ALWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandyopadhyay, K.K.

1994-01-01

The methodologies and acceptance criteria for seismic qualification of equipment are provided in IEEE Std. 344 endorsed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the Standard Review Plan. The IEEE Standard allows seismic qualification by use of the similarity analysis method. Data available from past earthquake events or vibration tests can be used in this regard. The nuclear industry has collected a vast amount of earthquake experience and test data in the last decade, and is planning to use it for seismic qualification of equipment in advanced light water reactor (ALWR) plants. This paper discusses the existing data bases including their limitations and describes the ways these data bases can be used for equipment qualification in ALWR plants

Guidelines for seismic qualification by experience in ALWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandyopadhyay, K.K.

1993-01-01

The methodologies and acceptance criteria for seismic qualification of equipment are provided in IEEE Std. 344 endorsed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the Standard Review Plan. The IEEE Standard allows seismic qualification by use of the similarity analysis method. Data available from past earthquake events or vibration tests can be used in this regard. The nuclear industry has collected a vast amount of earthquake experience and test data in the last decade, and is planning to use it for seismic qualification of equipment in advanced light water reactor (ALWR) plants. This paper discusses the existing data bases including their limitations and describes the ways these data bases can be used for equipment qualification in ALWR plants

Safety review for seismic qualification on nuclear power plant equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Qingxian

1995-01-01

The standards and requirements for seismic qualification of nuclear power plant's component have been fully addressed, including the scope of seismic qualification, the approach and the method of common seismic qualification, the procedure of the seismic tests, and the criteria for the seismic qualification review. The problems discovered in the safety review and the solution for these problems and some other issues are also discussed

The breadth and mnemonic consequences of the youth bias

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koppel, Jonathan; Berntsen, Dorthe

2016-01-01

.e., deaths of public figures, US Presidential elections, and sporting events). We then investigated the possible role of the youth bias in structuring recall for public events, by probing, within-subjects, for the relation between: (1) These expectations of the timing, in a typical person’s life, of the most...

Internet-delivered attention bias modification training in individuals with social anxiety disorder - a double blind randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlbring Per

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Computerized cognitive bias modification for social anxiety disorder has in several well conducted trials shown great promise with as many as 72% no longer fulfilling diagnostic criteria after a 4 week training program. To test if the same program can be transferred from a clinical setting to an internet delivered home based treatment the authors conducted a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Methods After a diagnostic interview 79 participants were randomized to one of two attention training programs using a probe detection task. In the active condition the participant was trained to direct attention away from threat, whereas in the placebo condition the probe appeared with equal frequency in the position of the threatening and neutral faces. Results Results were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis, including all randomized participants. Immediate and 4-month follow-up results revealed a significant time effect on all measured dimensions (social anxiety scales, general anxiety and depression levels, quality of life. However, there were no time x group interactions. The lack of differences in the two groups was also mirrored by the infinitesimal between group effect size both at post test and at 4-month follow-up. Conclusion We conclude that computerized attention bias modification may need to be altered before dissemination for the Internet. Trial registration ISRCTN01715124

Preparation of erosion and deposition investigations on plasma facing components in Wendelstein 7-X

Science.gov (United States)

Dhard, C. P.; Balden, M.; Braeuer, T.; Brezinsek, S.; Coenen, J. W.; Dudek, A.; Ehrke, G.; Hathiramani, D.; Klose, S.; König, R.; Laux, M.; Linsmeier, Ch; Manhard, A.; Masuzaki, S.; Mayer, M.; Motojima, G.; Naujoks, D.; Neu, R.; Neubauer, O.; Rack, M.; Ruset, C.; Schwarz-Selinger, T.; Pedersen, T. Sunn; Tokitani, M.; Unterberg, B.; Yajima, M.; W7-X Team1, The

2017-12-01

In the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator with its twisted magnetic geometry the investigation of plasma wall interaction processes in 3D plasma configurations is an important research subject. For the upcoming operation phase i.e. OP1.2, three different types of material probes have been installed within the plasma vessel for the erosion/deposition investigations in selected areas with largely different expected heat load levels, namely, ≤10 MW m-2 at the test divertor units (TDU), ≤500 kW m-2 at the baffles, heat shields and toroidal closures and ≤100 kW m-2 at the stainless steel wall panels. These include 18 exchangeable target elements at TDU, about 30 000 screw heads at graphite tiles and 44 wafer probes on wall panels, coated with marker layers. The layer thicknesses, surface morphologies and the impurity contents were pre-characterized by different techniques and subjected to various qualification tests. The positions of these probes were fixed based on the strike line locations on the divertor predicted by field line diffusion and EMC3/EIRENE modeling calculations for the OP1.2 plasma configurations and availability of locations on panels in direct view of the plasma. After the first half of the operation phase i.e. OP1.2a the probes will be removed to determine the erosion/deposition pattern by post-mortem analysis and replaced by a new set for the second half of the operation phase, OP1.2b.

Reaction Qualifications Revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lippert-Rasmussen, Kasper

2009-01-01

to a person's effectiveness by causing a favourable reaction in customers, co-workers etc. (for short: recipients) - are involved, this assumption is false. Building on work by Wertheimer, Mason, and Miller, this paper proposes an account of the reaction qualifications that count, from the point of view...... preferences, recipients should not respond to the applicant actually hired on the basis of their (the recipients') racial preferences. My account decomposes the meritocratic ideal into four separate norms, one of which applies to recipients rather than to selectors. Finally, it defends the view that reaction...... qualifications based on antimeritocratic reactions, while not unproblematic, are not entirely irrelevant from the point of view of merit. Notably, selectors need not discount them when no one - including the targets of the objectionable preferences - is unfairly disadvantaged. Because not all problematic...

QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKS FOR LIFELONG LEARNING CONQUERING THE WORLD?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arjen Deij

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper reveals the international prospects of developing and spreading the qualifications frameworks across the globe. It introduces the key terms and concepts related to the given issue, and examines both the benefits and challenges of qualifications frameworks implementation. The author looks into the origins and causes of the worldwide interest in qualifications framework application, and gives the overview of related recent publications and their conclusions to reinforce the provided argumentation.

Qualification of safety-related valve actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1981-01-01

This Standard describes the qualification of all types of power-driven valve actuators, including damper actuators, for safety-related functions in nuclear power generating stations. It may also be used to separately qualify actuator components. This Standard establishes the minimum requirements for, and guidance regarding, the methods and procedures for qualification of all safety-related functions of power-driven valve actuators

LTP fibre injector qualification and status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogenstahl, J; Cunningham, L; Fitzsimons, E D; Hough, J; Killow, C J; Perreur-Lloyd, M; Robertson, D; Rowan, S; Ward, H

2009-01-01

This paper presents the current state of the LISA Technology Package (LTP) fibre injector qualification project in terms of vibration and shock tests. The fibre injector is a custom built part and therefore must undergo a full space qualification process. The mounting structure and method for sinusoidal vibration and random vibration tests as well as shock tests will be presented. Furthermore a proposal will be presented to use the fibre injector pair qualification model to build an optical prototype bench. The optical prototype bench is a full-scale model of the flight model. It will be used for development and rehearsal of all the assembly stages of the flight model and will provide an on-ground simulator for investigation as an updated engineering model.

Constraining hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters with high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Ota, Naomi; Nagai, Daisuke; Lau, Erwin T.

2018-04-01

Gas motions in galaxy clusters play important roles in determining the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) and in the constraint of cosmological parameters via X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect observations of galaxy clusters. The Hitomi measurements of gas motions in the core of the Perseus Cluster have provided new insights into the physics in galaxy clusters. The XARM mission, equipped with the Resolve X-ray micro-calorimeter, will continue Hitomi's legacy by measuring ICM motions through Doppler shifting and broadening of emission lines in a larger number of galaxy clusters, and at larger radii. In this work, we investigate how well we can measure bulk and turbulent gas motions in the ICM with XARM, by analyzing mock XARM simulations of galaxy clusters extracted from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We assess how photon counts, spectral fitting methods, multiphase ICM structure, deprojections, and region selection affect the measurements of gas motions. We first show that XARM is capable of recovering the underlying spherically averaged turbulent and bulk velocity profiles for dynamically relaxed clusters to within ˜50% with a reasonable amount of photon counts in the X-ray emission lines. We also find that there are considerable azimuthal variations in the ICM velocities, where the velocities measured in a single azimuthal direction can significantly deviate from the true value even in dynamically relaxed systems. Such variation must be taken into account when interpreting data and developing observing strategies. We will discuss the prospect of using the upcoming XARM mission to measure non-thermal pressure and to correct for the hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters. Our results are broadly applicable for future X-ray missions, such as Athena and Lynx.

Constraining hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters with high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Ota, Naomi; Nagai, Daisuke; Lau, Erwin T.

2018-06-01

Gas motions in galaxy clusters play important roles in determining the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) and in the constraint of cosmological parameters via X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect observations of galaxy clusters. The Hitomi measurements of gas motions in the core of the Perseus Cluster have provided new insights into the physics in galaxy clusters. The XARM mission, equipped with the Resolve X-ray micro-calorimeter, will continue Hitomi's legacy by measuring ICM motions through Doppler shifting and broadening of emission lines in a larger number of galaxy clusters, and at larger radii. In this work, we investigate how well we can measure bulk and turbulent gas motions in the ICM with XARM, by analyzing mock XARM simulations of galaxy clusters extracted from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We assess how photon counts, spectral fitting methods, multiphase ICM structure, deprojections, and region selection affect the measurements of gas motions. We first show that XARM is capable of recovering the underlying spherically averaged turbulent and bulk velocity profiles for dynamically relaxed clusters to within ˜50% with a reasonable amount of photon counts in the X-ray emission lines. We also find that there are considerable azimuthal variations in the ICM velocities, where the velocities measured in a single azimuthal direction can significantly deviate from the true value even in dynamically relaxed systems. Such variation must be taken into account when interpreting data and developing observing strategies. We will discuss the prospect of using the upcoming XARM mission to measure non-thermal pressure and to correct for the hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters. Our results are broadly applicable for future X-ray missions, such as Athena and Lynx.

Qualification of software and hardware

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gossner, S.; Schueller, H.; Gloee, G.

1987-01-01

The qualification of on-line process control equipment is subdivided into three areas: 1) materials and structural elements; 2) on-line process-control components and devices; 3) electrical systems (reactor protection and confinement system). Microprocessor-aided process-control equipment are difficult to verify for failure-free function owing to the complexity of the functional structures of the hardware and to the variety of the software feasible for microprocessors. Hence, qualification will make great demands on the inspecting expert. (DG) [de

Background information for NDT qualification of Finnish disposal canisters of spent fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkimo, M.; Pitkaenen, J.

2013-12-01

This report presents a review to basic concepts, which are applied in the qualification of non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques. The qualification systems developed and used in some countries are briefly described in the beginning of the report. Anyway the report mainly discusses the qualification practices applied in the Finnish nuclear industry. The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) in the YVL Guide 3.8 define the Finnish qualification approach applied for the in-service inspections. The principles presented in this document follow the views of the international organisations: Nuclear Regulator Working Group (NRWG) and European Network for Inspection and Qualification (ENIQ). For the practical qualification work a national guideline is established using so called SP-documents that include specific rules and instructions for execution of qualifications in accordance with YVL Guide 3.8 principles. Altogether the Finnish qualification system can be seen very well to follow the European (ENIQ) methodology. The report discusses several qualification terms and documents. Thus the normally necessary tasks and parts of a qualification are described. The qualification can be seen as a project that includes several tasks, which will be performed by different parties. Enough resources and time should be reserved for the planning and control of a qualification project to ensure its fluent progress. Some tasks are discussed in the report taking into account the situation in the qualification cases that are seen to be linked to the inspections of disposal canisters of spent fuel. (orig.)

Background information for NDT qualification of Finnish disposal canisters of spent fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarkimo, M. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland); Pitkaenen, J.

2013-12-15

This report presents a review to basic concepts, which are applied in the qualification of non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques. The qualification systems developed and used in some countries are briefly described in the beginning of the report. Anyway the report mainly discusses the qualification practices applied in the Finnish nuclear industry. The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) in the YVL Guide 3.8 define the Finnish qualification approach applied for the in-service inspections. The principles presented in this document follow the views of the international organisations: Nuclear Regulator Working Group (NRWG) and European Network for Inspection and Qualification (ENIQ). For the practical qualification work a national guideline is established using so called SP-documents that include specific rules and instructions for execution of qualifications in accordance with YVL Guide 3.8 principles. Altogether the Finnish qualification system can be seen very well to follow the European (ENIQ) methodology. The report discusses several qualification terms and documents. Thus the normally necessary tasks and parts of a qualification are described. The qualification can be seen as a project that includes several tasks, which will be performed by different parties. Enough resources and time should be reserved for the planning and control of a qualification project to ensure its fluent progress. Some tasks are discussed in the report taking into account the situation in the qualification cases that are seen to be linked to the inspections of disposal canisters of spent fuel. (orig.)

48 CFR 1437.7001 - Contractor qualification requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contractor qualification requirements. 1437.7001 Section 1437.7001 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... Contractor qualification requirements. (a) Prior to award of a contract for real property appraisal services...

HTI CONE PENETROMETER PROBES PREPARATION DEVELOPMENTAL TESTING REPORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

IWATATE, D.F.

1998-10-26

The HTI subsurface characterization task will use the Hanford Cone Penetrometer platform (CPP) to deploy soil sensor and sampling probes into the vadose zone/soils around AX-104 during FY-99. This report provides the data and information compiled during vendor field development tests and laboratory/bench checkout. This document is a vendor deliverable item identified in the ARA Statement of Work HNF-2881, Revision 1. This version of the DTR includes to-be-determined items and some incomplete sections. The Rev. 0 is being released to support the concurrent task of procedure preparation and Qualification Test Plan preparation. Revision 1 is planned to contain all data and information.

Measurement of gas phase characteristics using new monofiber optical probes and real time signal processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cartellier, A.

1998-01-01

Single optical or impedance phase detection probes are able to measure gas velocities provided that their sensitive length L is accurately known. In this paper, it is shown that L can be controlled during the manufacture of optical probes. Beside, for a probe geometry in the form of a cone + a cylinder + a cone, the corresponding rise time / velocity correlation becomes weakly sensitive to uncontrollable parameter such as the angle of impact on the interface. A real time signal processing performing phase detection as well as velocity measurements is described. Since its sensitivity to the operator inputs is less than the reproducibility of measurements, it is a fairly objective tool. Qualifications achieved in air/water flows with various optical probes demonstrate that the void fraction is detected with a relative error less than 10 %. For bubbly flows, the gas flux is accurate within ±10%, but this uncertainty increases when large bubbles are present in the flow. (author)

Europeans come together on qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whittle, J.

1996-01-01

Utilities operating nuclear power plants in Europe have formed the European Network for Inspection Qualification (ENIQ) to produce a common approach to demonstrating that non-destructive testing is capable providing the information to ensure the absence of significant defects in nuclear plants. Major developments over recent months have included the issue by ENIQ of a formal document defining the methodology for the conduct of qualification which sets out the principles that detailed systems, within an individual country context, should embody. A pilot study on pipe welds typical of those in BWR recirculation loops is being conducted to explore the issues involved in the practical application of the methodology. In parallel with ENIQ, the European Nuclear Regulators Working Group has set up a Task Force in an attempt to define a common regulatory position on non-destructive testing qualifications and has produced its own document which is wider in scope than that of ENIQ. (UK)

Strategy for Qualification of the Plutonium Immobilized Form

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marra, J.C.; Marra, S.L.; Bibler, N.E.; Strachan, D.M.; Shaw, H.F.

1998-01-01

In order to dispose of a radioactive waste form in a federal high- level waste repository, a waste form qualification strategy and program must be developed. The waste form qualification program must include the acceptance specifications for the product, show how compliance with these specifications will be met, and then demonstrate compliance. An important element of this program is developing a measure to demonstrate product consistency. For the can- in-canister option, waste form qualification is needed not only for the Pu immobilized form but also for the high-level waste glass canister containing the Pu waste form. The latter will require close interaction and coordination with the U.S. Department of Energy - Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) who, through their contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS), is the producer of the high-level waste form at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). In this paper a waste form qualification strategy for the plutonium ceramic form is described that utilizes, as much as possible, the qualification strategy successfully used for vitrified high-level waste

49 CFR 214.349 - Training and qualification of watchmen/lookouts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Training and qualification of watchmen/lookouts...) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD WORKPLACE SAFETY Roadway Worker Protection § 214.349 Training and qualification of watchmen/lookouts. (a) The training and qualification for...

Enhanced Corrosion Resistance and Interfacial Conductivity of TiC x/a-C Nanolayered Coatings via Synergy of Substrate Bias Voltage for Bipolar Plates Applications in PEMFCs.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Peiyun; Zhang, Weixin; Bi, Feifei; Peng, Linfa; Lai, Xinmin

2018-06-06

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells are one kind of renewable and clean energy conversion device, whose metallic bipolar plates are one of the key components. However, high interfacial contact resistance and poor corrosion resistance are still great challenges for the commercialization of metallic bipolar plates. In this study, we demonstrated a novel strategy for depositing TiC x /amorphous carbon (a-C) nanolayered coatings by synergy of 60 and 300 V bias voltage to enhance corrosion resistance and interfacial conductivity. The synergistic effects of bias voltage on the composition, microstructure, surface roughness, electrochemical corrosion behaviors, and interfacial conductivity of TiC x /a-C coatings were explored. The results revealed that the columnar structures in the inner layer were suppressed and the surface became rougher with the 300 V a-C layer outside. The composition analysis indicated that the sp 2 content increased with an increase of 300 V sputtering time. Due to the synergy strategy of bias voltage, lower corrosion current densities were achieved both in potentiostatic polarization (1.6 V vs standard hydrogen electrode) and potentiodynamic polarization. With the increase of 300 V sputtering time, the interfacial conductivity was improved. The enhanced corrosion resistance and interfacial conductivity of the TiC x /a-C coatings would provide new opportunities for commercial bipolar plates.

SRS H1616 Hydride Transport Vessel Qualification Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, A.C.

1999-01-01

This report serves as the design qualification basis for both transport and facility use. Headings identify report sections as containing qualification information for transport use, facility use, or both transport and facility use

SRS H1616 Hydride Transport Vessel Qualification Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Alstine, M.N.

1998-01-01

This report serves as the design qualification basis for both transport and facility use. Headings identify report sections as containing qualification information for transport use, facility use, or both transport and facility use

Engineering iodine-doped carbon dots as dual-modal probes for fluorescence and X-ray CT imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Miaomiao; Ju, Huixiang; Zhang, Li; Sun, Mingzhong; Zhou, Zhongwei; Dai, Zhenyu; Zhang, Lirong; Gong, Aihua; Wu, Chaoyao; Du, Fengyi

2015-01-01

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is the most commonly used imaging technique for noninvasive diagnosis of disease. In order to improve tissue specificity and prevent adverse effects, we report the design and synthesis of iodine-doped carbon dots (I-doped CDs) as efficient CT contrast agents and fluorescence probe by a facile bottom-up hydrothermal carbonization process. The as-prepared I-doped CDs are monodispersed spherical nanoparticles (a diameter of ~2.7 nm) with favorable dispersibility and colloidal stability in water. The aqueous solution of I-doped CDs showed wavelength-dependent excitation and stable photoluminescence similar to traditional carbon quantum dots. Importantly, I-doped CDs displayed superior X-ray attenuation properties in vitro and excellent biocompatibility. After intravenous injection, I-doped CDs were distributed throughout the body and excreted by renal clearance. These findings validated that I-doped CDs with high X-ray attenuation potency and favorable photoluminescence show great promise for biomedical research and disease diagnosis.

Integrated Information System for Higher Education Qualifications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catalin Ionut SILVESTRU

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In the present article we aim to study thoroughly and detail aspects related to architectures specific for e-learning and management of human resources training interconnected to management of qualifications. In addition, we take into consideration combining e-learning architectures with software in an e-learning system interconnected with the National Registry of Qualifications of Higher Education, in view of developing and information system that correlates educational supply from higher education from Romania with labor market demands through qualifications. The scientific endeavor consists of original architectural solutions to integrate data, systems, processes, services from various sources and to use them in the proposed system. The practical result of the scientific endeavor is represented by design of architectures required for developing an e-learning system interconnected with the National Registry of Qualifications from Romania, which involve in first stage the qualifications provided by higher education. The proposed innovative solution consists in the fact that the proposed information system combines the advantages of content management system (CMS with learning content management system (LCMS and with reusable learning objects (RLO. Thus, the architecture proposed in the research ensures the integration of a content management system with a portal for information, guidance and support in making a professional project. The integration enables correlation of competences with content areas and specific items from various teaching subjects, thus evaluating the usefulness for this registry from learning/educational perspective. Using the proposed information system in enables correlation among qualifications, content of educational program and continuous self-evaluation opportunities, which facilitate monitoring of progress and adjustment of learning content.

Sheath-lens probe for negative ion detection in reactive plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamate, E.; Sugai, H.; Takai, O.; Ohe, K.

2004-01-01

A method that allows easy and inexpensive detection of negative ions is introduced. The method is based upon the electrostatic lens effect of the sheath layer evolving to a positively biased planar probe that focuses the negative charges to distinct regions on the surface. Trajectories of negative ions inside the sheath are obtained after computing the potential and electric field distribution by solving in three dimensions the nonlinear Poisson equation. The negative ions' flux to square and disk probes is developed in Ar/SF 6 and O 2 plasmas. The method allows negative ion detection with sensitivity higher than that of Langmuir probes

Developing competence based qualification system in the nuclear energy sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceclan, Mihail

2016-01-01

The Institute for Energy and Transport of the Joint Research Centre, European Commission, developed a strategy and road map for ECVET implementation. The JRC road map for European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) implementation has reached the stage of Competence-Based Qualification System development. The Competence-Based Qualification System can help bridge the gap between Human Resources demand and supply in the nuclear market by structuring qualifications in small independent parts. This very specific ECVET feature of a qualification, facilitates the process of competences accumulation and the lifelong learning, mobility and flexible learning pathways. New developments are presented about the Competence-Based Qualification System development for the nuclear energy sector.

Developing competence based qualification system in the nuclear energy sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ceclan, Mihail [European Commission, Petten (Netherlands). Inst. for Energy and Transport

2016-04-15

The Institute for Energy and Transport of the Joint Research Centre, European Commission, developed a strategy and road map for ECVET implementation. The JRC road map for European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) implementation has reached the stage of Competence-Based Qualification System development. The Competence-Based Qualification System can help bridge the gap between Human Resources demand and supply in the nuclear market by structuring qualifications in small independent parts. This very specific ECVET feature of a qualification, facilitates the process of competences accumulation and the lifelong learning, mobility and flexible learning pathways. New developments are presented about the Competence-Based Qualification System development for the nuclear energy sector.

Biases in Visual, Auditory, and Audiovisual Perception of Space

Science.gov (United States)

Odegaard, Brian; Wozny, David R.; Shams, Ladan

2015-01-01

Localization of objects and events in the environment is critical for survival, as many perceptual and motor tasks rely on estimation of spatial location. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that spatial localizations should generally be accurate. Curiously, some previous studies have reported biases in visual and auditory localizations, but these studies have used small sample sizes and the results have been mixed. Therefore, it is not clear (1) if the reported biases in localization responses are real (or due to outliers, sampling bias, or other factors), and (2) whether these putative biases reflect a bias in sensory representations of space or a priori expectations (which may be due to the experimental setup, instructions, or distribution of stimuli). Here, to address these questions, a dataset of unprecedented size (obtained from 384 observers) was analyzed to examine presence, direction, and magnitude of sensory biases, and quantitative computational modeling was used to probe the underlying mechanism(s) driving these effects. Data revealed that, on average, observers were biased towards the center when localizing visual stimuli, and biased towards the periphery when localizing auditory stimuli. Moreover, quantitative analysis using a Bayesian Causal Inference framework suggests that while pre-existing spatial biases for central locations exert some influence, biases in the sensory representations of both visual and auditory space are necessary to fully explain the behavioral data. How are these opposing visual and auditory biases reconciled in conditions in which both auditory and visual stimuli are produced by a single event? Potentially, the bias in one modality could dominate, or the biases could interact/cancel out. The data revealed that when integration occurred in these conditions, the visual bias dominated, but the magnitude of this bias was reduced compared to unisensory conditions. Therefore, multisensory integration not only improves the

Biases in Visual, Auditory, and Audiovisual Perception of Space.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Odegaard

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Localization of objects and events in the environment is critical for survival, as many perceptual and motor tasks rely on estimation of spatial location. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that spatial localizations should generally be accurate. Curiously, some previous studies have reported biases in visual and auditory localizations, but these studies have used small sample sizes and the results have been mixed. Therefore, it is not clear (1 if the reported biases in localization responses are real (or due to outliers, sampling bias, or other factors, and (2 whether these putative biases reflect a bias in sensory representations of space or a priori expectations (which may be due to the experimental setup, instructions, or distribution of stimuli. Here, to address these questions, a dataset of unprecedented size (obtained from 384 observers was analyzed to examine presence, direction, and magnitude of sensory biases, and quantitative computational modeling was used to probe the underlying mechanism(s driving these effects. Data revealed that, on average, observers were biased towards the center when localizing visual stimuli, and biased towards the periphery when localizing auditory stimuli. Moreover, quantitative analysis using a Bayesian Causal Inference framework suggests that while pre-existing spatial biases for central locations exert some influence, biases in the sensory representations of both visual and auditory space are necessary to fully explain the behavioral data. How are these opposing visual and auditory biases reconciled in conditions in which both auditory and visual stimuli are produced by a single event? Potentially, the bias in one modality could dominate, or the biases could interact/cancel out. The data revealed that when integration occurred in these conditions, the visual bias dominated, but the magnitude of this bias was reduced compared to unisensory conditions. Therefore, multisensory integration not only

Communication: The electronic structure of matter probed with a single femtosecond hard x-ray pulse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Szlachetko

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Physical, biological, and chemical transformations are initiated by changes in the electronic configuration of the species involved. These electronic changes occur on the timescales of attoseconds (10−18 s to femtoseconds (10−15 s and drive all subsequent electronic reorganization as the system moves to a new equilibrium or quasi-equilibrium state. The ability to detect the dynamics of these electronic changes is crucial for understanding the potential energy surfaces upon which chemical and biological reactions take place. Here, we report on the determination of the electronic structure of matter using a single self-seeded femtosecond x-ray pulse from the Linac Coherent Light Source hard x-ray free electron laser. By measuring the high energy resolution off-resonant spectrum (HEROS, we were able to obtain information about the electronic density of states with a single femtosecond x-ray pulse. We show that the unoccupied electronic states of the scattering atom may be determined on a shot-to-shot basis and that the measured spectral shape is independent of the large intensity fluctuations of the incoming x-ray beam. Moreover, we demonstrate the chemical sensitivity and single-shot capability and limitations of HEROS, which enables the technique to track the electronic structural dynamics in matter on femtosecond time scales, making it an ideal probe technique for time-resolved X-ray experiments.

A system for personnel qualification of non-destructive testing procedures from testing and and qualification system in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuna, M.; Kubis, S.; Plasek, J.

1999-01-01

The method for qualification of non-destructive testing personnel carrying out inspections by means of ultrasonic and eddy-current tests to inspect cladding in BWR reactor pressure vessel and core shroud lid. Development of procedures tests with real artificial cracks, blind tests. Evaluation of results by the Swedish Qualification Commission. Performance of the tests at Oskarshamn-1

YY1 binding association with sex-biased transcription revealed through X-linked transcript levels and allelic binding analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chih-Yu; Shi, Wenqiang; Balaton, Bradley P; Matthews, Allison M; Li, Yifeng; Arenillas, David J; Mathelier, Anthony; Itoh, Masayoshi; Kawaji, Hideya; Lassmann, Timo; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Carninci, Piero; Forrest, Alistair R R; Brown, Carolyn J; Wasserman, Wyeth W

2016-11-18

Sex differences in susceptibility and progression have been reported in numerous diseases. Female cells have two copies of the X chromosome with X-chromosome inactivation imparting mono-allelic gene silencing for dosage compensation. However, a subset of genes, named escapees, escape silencing and are transcribed bi-allelically resulting in sexual dimorphism. Here we conducted in silico analyses of the sexes using human datasets to gain perspectives into such regulation. We identified transcription start sites of escapees (escTSSs) based on higher transcription levels in female cells using FANTOM5 CAGE data. Significant over-representations of YY1 transcription factor binding motif and ChIP-seq peaks around escTSSs highlighted its positive association with escapees. Furthermore, YY1 occupancy is significantly biased towards the inactive X (Xi) at long non-coding RNA loci that are frequent contacts of Xi-specific superloops. Our study suggests a role for YY1 in transcriptional activity on Xi in general through sequence-specific binding, and its involvement at superloop anchors.

Spatial attention can bias search in visual short-term memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna C Nobre

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Whereas top-down attentional control is known to bias perceptual functions at many levels of stimulus analysis, its possible influence over memory-related functions remains uncharted. Our experiment combined behavioral measures and event-related potentials (ERPs to test the ability of spatial orienting to bias functions associated with visual short-term memory (VSTM, and to shed light on the neural mechanisms involved. In particular, we investigated whether orienting attention to a spatial location within an array maintained in VSTM could facilitate the search for a specific remembered item. Participants viewed arrays of one, two or four differently colored items, followed by an informative spatial (100% valid or uninformative neutral retro-cue (1500–2500 ms after the array, and later by a probe stimulus (500–1000 ms after the retro-cue. The task was to decide whether the probe stimulus had been present in the array. Behavioral results showed that spatial retro-cues improved both accuracy and response times for making decisions about the presence of the probe item in VSTM, and significantly attenuated performance decrements caused by increasing VSTM load. We also identified a novel ERP component (N3RS specifically associated with searching for an item within VSTM. Paralleling the behavioral results, the amplitude and duration of the N3RS systematically increased with VSTM load in neutral retro-cue trials. When spatial retro-cues were provided, this “retro-search” component was absent. Our findings clearly show that the infl uence of top-down attentional biases extends to mnemonic functions, and, specifically, that searching for items within VSTM can be under flexible voluntary control.

Radiological Control Technician: Standardized technician Qualification Standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-10-01

The Qualification Standard states and defines the knowledge and skill requirements necessary for successful completion of the Radiological Control Technician Training Program. The standard is divided into three phases: Phase I concerns RCT Academic training. There are 13 lessons associated with the core academics program and 19 lessons associated with the site academics program. The staff member should sign the appropriate blocks upon successful completion of the examination for that lesson or group of lessons. In addition, facility specific lesson plans may be added to meet the knowledge requirements in the Job Performance Measures (JPM) of the practical program. Phase II concerns RCT core/site practical (JPMs) training. There are thirteen generic tasks associated with the core practical program. Both the trainer/evaluator and student should sign the appropriate block upon successful completion of the JPM. In addition, facility specific tasks may be added or generic tasks deleted based on the results of the facility job evaluation. Phase III concerns the oral examination board successful completion of the oral examination board is documented by the signature of the chairperson of the board. Upon completion of all of the standardized technician qualification requirements, final qualification is verified by the student and the manager of the Radiological Control Department and acknowledged by signatures on the qualification standard. The completed Qualification Standard shall be maintained as an official training record

10 CFR 50.76 - Licensee's change of status; financial qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... the financial qualifications information that would be required for obtaining an initial operating license as specified in § 50.33(f)(2). The financial qualifications information must address the first... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Licensee's change of status; financial qualifications. 50...

Test report: Electron-proton spectrometer qualification test unit, qualification test

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, D. L.

1972-01-01

Qualification tests of the electron-proton spectrometer test unit are presented. The tests conducted were: (1) functional, (2) thermal/vacuum, (3) electromagnetic interference, (4) acoustic, (5) shock, (6) vibration, and (7) humidity. Results of each type of test are presented in the form of data sheets.

Probing symmetry and symmetry breaking in resonant soft-x-ray fluorescence spectra of molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glans, P.; Gunnelin, K.; Guo, J. [Uppsala Univ. (Sweden)] [and others

1997-04-01

Conventional non-resonant soft X-ray emission brings about information about electronic structure through its symmetry and polarization selectivity, the character of which is governed by simple dipole rules. For centro-symmetric molecules with the emitting atom at the inversion center these rules lead to selective emission through the required parity change. For the more common classes of molecules which have lower symmetry or for systems with degenerate core orbitals (delocalized over identical sites), it is merely the local symmetry selectivity that provides a probe of the local atomic orbital contribution to the molecular orbital. For instance, in X-ray spectra of first row species the intensities essentially map the p-density at each particular atomic site, and, in a molecular orbital picture, the contribution of the local p-type atomic orbitals in the LCAO description of the molecular orbitals. The situation is different for resonant X-ray fluorescence spectra. Here strict parity and symmetry selectivity gives rise to a strong frequency dependence for all molecules with an element of symmetry. In addition to symmetry selectivity the strong frequency dependence of resonant X-ray emission is caused by the interplay between the shape of a narrow X-ray excitation energy function and the lifetime and vibrational broadenings of the resonantly excited core states. This interplay leads to various observable effects, such as linear dispersion, resonance narrowing and emission line (Stokes) doubling. Also from the point of view of polarization selectivity, the resonantly excited X-ray spectra are much more informative than the corresponding non-resonant spectra. Examples are presented for nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide molecules.

Program plan for environmental qualification of mechanical and dynamic (including seismic) qualification of mechanical and electrical equipment program (EDQP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weidenhamer, G.H.

1986-06-01

The equipment qualification program described in this plan is intended to provide the technical basis for resolving uncertainties in existing equipment qualification standards. In addition, research results are contributing to the resolution of safety issues GI-23, GI-87, USI-A44, titled, ''Reactor Coolant Pump Seal Failure,'' ''Failure of HPCI Steam Line Without Isolation,'' and ''Station Blackout,'' respectively. Also, research effort is being directed at providing information on the behavior of containment isolation valves under severe accident environments. Although the results of the latter research will not contribute to resolving uncertainties in qualification standards, it has proven cost effective to obtain this information under this program

Probing Transient Valence Orbital Changes with Picosecond Valence-to-Core X-ray Emission Spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

March, Anne Marie; Assefa, Tadesse A.; Boemer, Christina

2017-01-01

We probe the dynamics of valence electrons in photoexcited [Fe(terpy)2]2+ in solution to gain deeper insight into the Fe ligand bond changes. We use hard X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), which combines element specificity and high penetration with sensitivity to orbital structure, making...... valence orbitals to the nascent core-hole. Vtc-XES offers particular insight into the molecular orbitals directly involved in the light-driven dynamics; a change in the metal ligand orbital overlap results in an intensity reduction and a blue energy shift in agreement with our theoretical calculations...... and more subtle features at the highest energies reflect changes in the frontier orbital populations....

Asymmetry of edge plasma turbulence in biasing experiments on tokamak TF-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budaev, V.P.

1994-01-01

It was observed in tokamaks the suppression of edge turbulence causes by setting a radial electric field at the plasma edge. The poloidal plasma rotation governed by this electric field is likely to result in changes in edge convention and poloidal asymmetry, however there is no experimental evidence about that of the experimental database concerning the biasing and conditions of edge plasma electrostatic turbulence excitation is not still complete. Also a relation between macroscopic convection and small-scale electrostatic turbulence have not yet revealed both in biasing and non biasing plasmas. In this paper results from biasing experiments carried on on ohmically heated tokamak TF-2 are presented. Changes in both equilibrium and fluctuated edge plasma parameters also convection and turbulence driven particle flux were demonstrated in probe measurements with biasing of electrode immersed within Last Closed Flux Surface (LCFS). Poloidal edge plasma structure and charge in asymmetry have demonstrated in the biasing experiments. (author). 6 refs, 4 figs

AGR-1 Data Qualification Interim Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbott, Machael

2009-01-01

Projects for the very-high-temperature reactor (VHTR) program provide data in support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the VHTR. Fuel and materials to be used in the reactor are tested and characterized to quantify performance in high temperature and high fluence environments. The VHTR Program has established the NGNP Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) to ensure that VHTR data are (1) qualified for use, (2) stored in a readily accessible electronic form, and (3) analyzed to extract useful results. This document focuses on the first NDMAS objective. It describes the data streams associated with the first Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR-1) experiment, the processing of these data within NDMAS, and reports the interim FY09 qualification status of the AGR-1 data to date. Data qualification activities within NDMAS for specific types of data are determined by the data qualification category, which is assigned by the data generator, and include: (1) capture testing, to confirm that the data stored within NDMAS are identical to the raw data supplied, (2) accuracy testing, to confirm that the data are an accurate representation of the system or object being measured, and (3) documentation that the data were collected under an NQA-1 or equivalent QA program. The interim qualification status of the following four data streams is reported in this document: (1) fuel fabrication data, (2) fuel irradiation data, (3) fission product monitoring system (FPMS) data, and (4) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) operating conditions data. A final report giving the NDMAS qualification status of all AGR-1 data (including cycle 145A) is planned for February 2010

T25 Qualification of old containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoerning, T.; Kasparek, E.M.; Voelzke, H.

2013-01-01

Radioactive waste for final disposal in the repository Konrad has to be packaged in licensed containers. The qualification of containers is performed according the respective standards and BfS requirements. The latter ones differ for different container types with respect to accident resistance based on the release behavior of the waste. Usually qualification of container types is performed before series production. The qualification of already produced containers (''old containers'') is significantly more complicated. The differences of quality assurance and materials properties of the older containers have to be evaluated. A main tool for this evaluation is the numerical re-calculation of accident scenarios for estimation of the safety margins. The validation of appropriate finite element models is available. Based on these date it might be possible to abandon additional drop tests with the existing old containers to prove the structural integrity.

Effects of Cognitive Bias Modification Training via Smartphones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ranming Yang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Negative cognitive biases have been linked to anxiety and mood problems. Accumulated data from laboratory studies show that positive and negative interpretation styles with accompanying changes in mood can be induced through cognitive bias modification (CBM paradigms. Despite the therapeutic potential of positive training effects, few studies have explored training paradigms administered via smartphones. The current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of three different types of training programmes (cognitive bias modification-attention, CBM-A; cognitive bias modification-interpretation, CBM-I; attention and interpretation modification, AIM administered via smart-phones by using a control condition (CC.Methods:Seventy-six undergraduate participants with high social anxiety (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, LSAS ≥ 30 were randomly assigned to four groups: CBM-A (n = 20, CBM-I (n = 20, AIM (n = 16, and CC (n = 20.Results: The results showed that the effects of CBM training, CBM-I training, or AIM training vs. CC for attention yielded no significant differences in dot-probe attention bias scores. The CBM-I group showed significantly less threat interpretation and more benign interpretation than the CC group on interpretation bias scores.Conclusions: The present results supported the feasibility of delivering CBM-I via smartphones, but the effectiveness of CBM-A and AIM training via smartphones was limited.

Inspection procedure and essential parameters in NDT qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkimo, M.

2000-06-01

The objective of the inspection qualification is to ensure that applied non-destructive methods (NDT) have the required performance. The approach of the qualification process is systematic and carefully documented and therefore some new requirements can be seen concerning the composition of the documentation. There are also new document types, that only application of the inspection qualification requires. The most important of these is the technical justification, that includes the documented evidences concerning the performance of the inspection system. This publication includes two reports: 'Compilation of the inspection procedure' and 'Essential/influential parameters in NDT qualification'. The former of these discusses the issues to be considered in an inspection procedure especially from the point of view of the mechanised ultrasonic testing. The later report explains the parameters formulated to analyse in the technical justification all aspects of the inspection application. (orig.)

Correlated microradiography, X-ray microbeam diffraction and electron probe microanalysis of calcifications in an odontoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoba, T.; Yoshioka, C.; Yagi, T.

1980-01-01

Using microradiography, X-ray microbeam diffraction and electron probe microanalysis, a correlated morphologic and crystallographic study was performed on dysplastic enamel in a compound odontoma. The tumor was found in the lateral incisor-canine region of the left mandible of a 36-year-old woman. A conspicuous feature was the presence of hypomineralized areas, which were situated in the proximity of enamel surface and distinctly demarcated from the adjacent enamel. X-ray microbeam diffraction and electron microanalysis showed that these lesions have a lower crystallinity and a higher concentration of magnesium as compared with the adjacent enamel. In addition, the present study revealed the presence of two other types of calcifications: 1) calcified structures within the fissure or on the enamel surface, which include lacunae of varying size and which resemble a form of coronal cementum, and 2) spherical calcifications which may be an epithelial product. (author)

Similarity principles for seismic qualification of equipment by experience data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kana, D.D.; Pomerening, D.J.

1989-01-01

A methodology is developed for seismic qualification of nuclear plant equipment by applying similarity principles to existing experience data. Experience data is that available from previous qualifications by analysis or testing, or from actual earthquake events. Similarity principles are defined in terms of excitation, equipment physical characteristics, and equipment response. Physical similarity is further defined in terms of a critical transfer function for response at a location on a primary structure, whose response can be assumed directly related to fragility of the item under elevated levels of excitation. Procedures are developed for combining experience data into composite specifications for qualification of equipment that can be shown to be physically similar to the reference equipment. Other procedures are developed for extending qualifications beyond the original specifications under certain conditions. Some examples for application and verification of the procedures are given for actual test data available from previous qualifications. The developments are intended to elaborate on the rather broad guidelines by the IEEE 344 Standards Committee for equipment qualification in new nuclear plants. The results also contribute to filling a gap that exists between the IEEE 344 methodology and that which was previously developed for equipment in existing plants by the Seismic Qualification Utilities Group. 10 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab

Binding sites for luminescent amyloid biomarkers from non-biased molecular dynamics simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

König, Carolin; Skånberg, Robin; Hotz, Ingrid; Ynnerman, Anders; Norman, Patrick; Linares, Mathieu

2018-03-25

A very stable binding site for the interaction between a pentameric oligothiophene and an amyloid-β(1-42) fibril has been identified by means of non-biased molecular dynamics simulations. In this site, the probe is locked in an all-trans conformation with a Coulombic binding energy of 1200 kJ mol -1 due to the interactions between the anionic carboxyl groups of the probe and the cationic ε-amino groups in the lysine side chain. Upon binding, the conformationally restricted probes show a pronounced increase in molecular planarity. This is in line with the observed changes in luminescence properties that serve as the foundation for their use as biomarkers.

Field ion microscopy and imaging atom-probe mass spectroscopy of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7/sub -//sub x/

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kellogg, G.L.; Brenner, S.S.

1987-01-01

The structure and composition of the superconducting oxide YBa 2 Cu 3 O/sub 7-//sub x/ have been examined in atomic detail by field ion microscopy and imaging atom-probe mass spectroscopy. The field ion samples were prepared from hot-pressed disks of the oxide powders. Atomic resolution images were obtained with either argon or hydrogen as the imaging gas. Individual layers of atoms were observed which could be field evaporated in a uniform, layer-by-layer manner. Imaging atom-probe analysis of the field ion tips indicated a metal composition which varied noticeably from sample to sample and an oxygen concentration which was consistently much too low

Factors Influencing Pitot Probe Centerline Displacement in a Turbulent Supersonic Boundary Layer

Science.gov (United States)

Grosser, Wendy I.

1997-01-01

When a total pressure probe is used for measuring flows with transverse total pressure gradients, a displacement of the effective center of the probe is observed (designated Delta). While this phenomenon is well documented in incompressible flow and supersonic laminar flow, there is insufficient information concerning supersonic turbulent flow. In this study, three NASA Lewis Research Center Supersonic Wind Tunnels (SWT's) were used to investigate pitot probe centerline displacement in supersonic turbulent boundary layers. The relationship between test conditions and pitot probe centerline displacement error was to be determined. For this investigation, ten circular probes with diameter-to-boundary layer ratios (D/delta) ranging from 0.015 to 0.256 were tested in the 10 ft x 10 ft SWT, the 15 cm x 15 cm SWT, and the 1 ft x 1 ft SWT. Reynolds numbers of 4.27 x 10(exp 6)/m, 6.00 x 10(exp 6)/in, 10.33 x 10(exp 6)/in, and 16.9 x 10(exp 6)/m were tested at nominal Mach numbers of 2.0 and 2.5. Boundary layer thicknesses for the three tunnels were approximately 200 mm, 13 mm, and 30 mm, respectively. Initial results indicate that boundary layer thickness, delta, and probe diameter, D/delta play a minimal role in pitot probe centerline offset error, Delta/D. It appears that the Mach gradient, dM/dy, is an important factor, though the exact relationship has not yet been determined. More data is needed to fill the map before a conclusion can be drawn with any certainty. This research provides valuable supersonic, turbulent boundary layer data from three supersonic wind tunnels with three very different boundary layers. It will prove a valuable stepping stone for future research into the factors influencing pitot probe centerline offset error.

Behaviour of a planar Langmuir probe in a laser ablation plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doggett, B.; Budtz-Joergensen, C.; Lunney, J.G.; Sheerin, P.; Turner, M.M.

2005-01-01

We have investigated some aspects of the behaviour of planar Langmuir probes in the supersonic plasma flow produced by laser ablation of solid materials in vacuum. The ablation was done using a 26 ns, 248 nm excimer laser, irradiating a silver target at 1 J cm -2 . We have compared the behaviour of the probe when it is orientated perpendicular and parallel to the plasma flow. In particular, we have shown that it is possible to adapt an analytical model, developed for plasma immersion ion implantation, to quantitatively describe the variation of the ion current with probe bias for the case when the plasma flow is along the probe surface. The electron temperature was also measured

Effect of applied bias voltage on corrosion-resistance for TiC 1- xN x and Ti 1- xNb xC 1- yN y coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Caicedo, J. C.; Amaya, C.; Yate, L.; Aperador, W.; Zambrano, G.; Gómez, M. E.; Alvarado-Rivera, J.; Muñoz-Saldaña, J.; Prieto, P.

2010-02-01

Corrosion-resistance behavior of titanium carbon nitride (Ti-C-N) and titanium niobium carbon nitride (Ti-Nb-C-N) coatings deposited onto Si(1 0 0) and AISI 4140 steel substrates via r.f. magnetron sputtering process was analyzed. The coatings in contact with a solution of sodium chloride at 3.5% were studied by Tafel polarization curves and impedance spectroscopy methods (EIS). Variations of the bias voltage were carried out for each series of deposition to observe the influence of this parameter upon the electrochemical properties of the coatings. The introduction of Nb in the ternary Ti-C-N film was evaluated via X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The structure was characterized by using Raman spectroscopy to identify ternary and quaternary compounds. Surface corrosion processes were characterized using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD results show conformation of the quaternary phase, change in the strain of the film, and lattice parameter as the effect of the Nb inclusion. The main Raman bands were assigned to interstitial phases and "impurities" of the coatings. Changes in Raman intensities were attributed to the incorporation of niobium in the Ti-C-N structure and possibly to resonance enhancement. Finally, the corrosion data obtained for Ti-C-N were compared with the results of corrosion tests of Ti-Nb-C-N coating. The results obtained showed that the incorporation of niobium to Ti-C-N coatings led to an increase in the corrosion-resistance. On another hand, an increase in the bias voltage led to a decrease in the corrosion-resistance for both Ti-C-N and Ti-Nb-C-N coatings.

Probing single magnon excitations in Sr₂IrO₄ using O K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, X; Dean, M P M; Liu, J; Chiuzbăian, S G; Jaouen, N; Nicolaou, A; Yin, W G; Rayan Serrao, C; Ramesh, R; Ding, H; Hill, J P

2015-05-27

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the L-edge of transition metal elements is now commonly used to probe single magnon excitations. Here we show that single magnon excitations can also be measured with RIXS at the K-edge of the surrounding ligand atoms when the center heavy metal elements have strong spin-orbit coupling. This is demonstrated with oxygen K-edge RIXS experiments on the perovskite Sr2IrO4, where low energy peaks from single magnon excitations were observed. This new application of RIXS has excellent potential to be applied to a wide range of magnetic systems based on heavy elements, for which the L-edge RIXS energy resolution in the hard x-ray region is usually poor.

Effectiveness of attentional bias modification and cognitive behavioral therapy on the reduction of pain intensity in patients with chronic pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fateme Babai

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of Attentional Bias Modification (ABM and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT on the reduction of pain intensityin patients with chronic pain. This study was a quasiexperimental pretest-posttest design with control group. All patients who referred to physiotherapy clinics for pain during 2015 were participated in the study. They completed the Brief Pain Inventory-short form (BPI-SF for assessing severity of pain. Attentional bias was evaluated using computerized Dot-Probe task. The patients with chronic pain were screened by diagnostic criteria of DSM-V; neurologic diagnosis, and interview. 36 people were selected and randomly divided to three groups computer-based ABM, CBT, and control (12 cases in each group. Group A was trained in 8 sessions-each 15 minutes with the modified computerized Dot-Probe task for attentional bias modification. Group B was trained in 11 sessions-each 45 minutes with CBT program of Turk and Ferry for the chronic pain treatment. And Placebo program was administered for group C in which they completed 8 classic DotProbe sessions. In the end, for the posttest (T2 the participants were tested to identify the changes in biased attention to the emotional stimuli using classing Dot-Probe tasks, and BPI questionnaire to evaluate the changes of severity of pain. Data were analyzed using one-way variance analysis(ANOVA. On the BPI-SF, CBT more reduced the pain intensitythan computer-based ABM.In addition ABM treatment is more effective in reduction of attentional bias.Both of treatments are effective but CBT is more effective than ABM in reduction of pain intensity.

The relationship between attentional bias toward safety and driving behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Tingting; Qu, Weina; Zhang, Kan; Ge, Yan

2016-11-01

As implicit cognitive processes garner more and more importance, studies in the fields of healthy psychology and organizational safety research have focused on attentional bias, a kind of selective allocation of attentional resources in the early stage of cognitive processing. However, few studies have explored the role of attentional bias on driving behavior. This study assessed drivers' attentional bias towards safety-related words (ABS) using the dot-probe paradigm and self-reported daily driving behaviors. The results revealed significant negative correlations between attentional bias scores and several indicators of dangerous driving. Drivers with fewer dangerous driving behaviors showed greater ABS. We also built a significant linear regression model between ABS and the total DDDI score, as well as ABS and the number of accidents. Finally, we discussed the possible mechanism underlying these associations and several limitations of our study. This study opens up a new topic for the exploration of implicit processes in driving safety research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 391.11 - General qualifications of drivers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and... QUALIFICATIONS OF DRIVERS AND LONGER COMBINATION VEHICLE (LCV) DRIVER INSTRUCTORS Qualification and... motor vehicle unless he/she is qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle. Except as provided in...

29 CFR 1926.1076 - Qualifications of dive team.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Qualifications of dive team. 1926.1076 Section 1926.1076 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION... § 1926.1076 Qualifications of dive team. Note: The requirements applicable to construction work under...

Luminescent Cd{sub 1−x}Zn{sub x}S quantum dots synthesized by a nanoemulsion method, assisted by an ultrasonic probe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosiles-Perez, C. [Universidad de Guanajuato, Departamento de Quimica, Unidad Pueblito de Rocha, Campus Guanajuato, Cerro de la Venada s/n, Col. Pueblito de Rocha, CP 36040 Guanajuato (Mexico); Lambert, J. [CIATEC, A.C, Omega no. 201 Colonia: Industrial Delta, C.P. 37545 León, Guanajuato (Mexico); Alatorre-Ordaz, A., E-mail: alatorre@ugto.mx [Universidad de Guanajuato, Departamento de Quimica, Unidad Pueblito de Rocha, Campus Guanajuato, Cerro de la Venada s/n, Col. Pueblito de Rocha, CP 36040 Guanajuato (Mexico); Gutierrez, J.A. [Universidad de Guanajuato, Departamento de Quimica, Unidad Pueblito de Rocha, Campus Guanajuato, Cerro de la Venada s/n, Col. Pueblito de Rocha, CP 36040 Guanajuato (Mexico); López-Luke, T. [Centro de Investigaciones en Óptica, A.P. 1-948, León, Gto. 37160 (Mexico); Ramirez-Fuentes, R. [Universidad de Guanajuato, Departamento de Quimica, Unidad Pueblito de Rocha, Campus Guanajuato, Cerro de la Venada s/n, Col. Pueblito de Rocha, CP 36040 Guanajuato (Mexico); Kobayashi, T. [Department of Materials Science and Technology, Nagaoka University of Technology, Kamitomioka, Nagaoka 940-2188 (Japan)

2017-04-15

A series of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) of CdS, ZnS, and the ternary chalcogenide Cd{sub 1−x}Zn{sub x}S were synthesized by a nanoemulsion method, using a sonication probe as shearing power source. Quantum dots with diameters between 4 and 5 nm and cubic crystal structure were obtained and measured by HRTEM and XRD. In all cases, homogeneous solid solutions were obtained, as revealed by Vegard's Law, except with Cd{sub 0.39}Zn{sub 0.61}S. Optical properties of colloidal QDs were measured; the absorption edge is blue shifted, as the content of Zn increases, and showed a quantum confinement. Different emitted colors under UV light was observed, from dark brown with CdS to deep blue with ZnS. QDs of Cd{sub 0.39}Zn{sub 0.61}S show a white photoluminescence. Photoluminescence of the colloidal QDs is due to the combination of the direct band emissions and the trap emissions.

Cognitive interference and a food-related memory bias in binge eating disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Svaldi, Jennifer; Schmitz, Florian; Trentowska, Monika; Tuschen-Caffier, Brunna; Berking, Matthias; Naumann, Eva

2014-01-01

The present study was concerned with cognitive interference and a specific memory bias for eating-related stimuli in binge eating disorder (BED). Further objectives were to find out under which circumstances such effects would occur, and whether they are related with each other and with reported severity of BED symptoms. A group of women diagnosed with BED and a matched sample of overweight controls completed two paradigms, an n-back task with lures and a recent-probes task. The BED group generally experienced more interference in the n-back task. Additionally, they revealed selectively increased interference for food items in the recent-probes task. Findings can be reconciled with the view that control functions are generally impaired in BED, and that there is an additional bias for eating-related stimuli, both of which were related with reported severity of BED symptoms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review of qualifications for fuel assembly fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slabu, Dan; Zemek, Martin; Hellwig, Christian

2013-01-01

The required quality of nuclear fuel in industrial production can only be assured by applying processes in fabrication and inspection, which are well mastered and have been proven by an appropriate qualification. The present contribution shows the understanding and experiences of Axpo with respect to qualifications in the frame of nuclear fuel manufacturing and reflects some related expectations of the operator. (orig.)

Qualification tests for PWR control element drive mechanism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, In Yong; Jin, Choon Eon; Choi Suhn [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1996-01-01

It is necessary to perform the qualification test for the magnetic jack type CEDM to show the design compatibility because the CEDM is composed of many mechanical and electrical components complicatedly. ABB-CE performed various qualification tests during the development of the System80 CEDM to which Korea Standard Nuclear Plant (KSNP) CEDM referred. The qualification test for the CEDM is classified into the performance test and the dynamic test. The performance test is to verify operability of the CEDM, and the dynamic test is to find dynamic characteristics and to verify the structural integrity if the CEDM for the seismic accidents. Described in this report are the test requirements, the test facilities and the test methods for the performance and the dynamic qualification tests of the PWR magnetic jack type CEDM. The impacts of the design changes in the Korea Next Generation Reactor (KNGR) on the KSNP CEDM were analyzed to present the necessity for the tests. This report also proposes the facilities to perform the tests in KAERI including reasonable schedule for the tests. Attached to this report is the summary of qualification tests of System 80 CEDM performed by ABB-CE. 20 figs., 16 tabs., 21 refs. (Author) .new.

Qualification tests for PWR control element drive mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, In Yong; Jin, Choon Eon; Choi Suhn

1996-01-01

It is necessary to perform the qualification test for the magnetic jack type CEDM to show the design compatibility because the CEDM is composed of many mechanical and electrical components complicatedly. ABB-CE performed various qualification tests during the development of the System80 CEDM to which Korea Standard Nuclear Plant (KSNP) CEDM referred. The qualification test for the CEDM is classified into the performance test and the dynamic test. The performance test is to verify operability of the CEDM, and the dynamic test is to find dynamic characteristics and to verify the structural integrity if the CEDM for the seismic accidents. Described in this report are the test requirements, the test facilities and the test methods for the performance and the dynamic qualification tests of the PWR magnetic jack type CEDM. The impacts of the design changes in the Korea Next Generation Reactor (KNGR) on the KSNP CEDM were analyzed to present the necessity for the tests. This report also proposes the facilities to perform the tests in KAERI including reasonable schedule for the tests. Attached to this report is the summary of qualification tests of System 80 CEDM performed by ABB-CE. 20 figs., 16 tabs., 21 refs. (Author) .new

Re-qualification of switchgear equipment following field modification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tulk, J.D.; El Bestawi, M.A.

1984-01-01

A set of 4.16 kV switchgear was seismically qualified by shaker table test for use in a nuclear power plant. Later, the equipment was modified by the addition of two extra switches and enclosures. This paper describes the methods used to extend the qualification achieved in the original proof test to the new configuration. Qualification of the modified switchgear depended on demonstrating that the intensity of the shaking that would be experienced by equipment mounted in the extended enclosure during a design basis earthquake (DBE) would be no stronger than the shaking that occurred during the original qualification testing. This was accomplished by a combination of analysis and experiment. Natural frequencies and mode-shapes of the original and extended enclosure structures were determined through in-situ modal tests on the equipment. Mathematical models based on the experimental results were then used for dynamic analyses which generated two sets of in-equipment response spectra: one set representing the original qualification test; and one set representing the response of the modified equipment to a hypothetical DBE. Qualification was confirmed by demonstrating that the test-based response spectra for the original configuration exceeded the response spectra developed for the extended structure subjected to DBE level excitation

Development of hard X-ray photoelectron SPLEED-based spectrometer applicable for probing of buried magnetic layer valence states

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kozina, Xeniya, E-mail: kozina@uni-mainz.de [Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, SPring-8, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan); Ikenaga, Eiji [Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, SPring-8, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan); Viol Barbosa, Carlos Eduardo; Ouardi, Siham; Karel, Julie [Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, 01187 Dresden (Germany); Yamamoto, Masafumi [Division of Electronics for Informatics, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0814 (Japan); Kobayashi, Keisuke [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, SPring-8, Hyogo 679-5148 (Japan); Elmers, Hans Joachim; Schönhense, Gerd [Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg – Universität, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Felser, Claudia [Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, 01187 Dresden (Germany)

2016-08-15

Highlights: • A high-voltage compatible spin-HAXPES detector based on SPLEED from W(001) has been developed. • Magnetic properties of a TMR device were studied by core-level photoemission on the Fe 2p{sub 3/2} states. • The developed instrument enabled probing of buried layers in the region of the valence states. - Abstract: A novel design of high-voltage compatible polarimeter for spin-resolved hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (Spin-HAXPES) went into operation at beamline BL09XU of SPring-8 in Hyogo, Japan. The detector is based on the well-established principle of electron diffraction from a W(001) single-crystal at a scattering energy of 103.5 eV. It's special feature is that it can be operated at a high negative bias potential up to 10 kV, necessary to access the HAXPES range. The polarimeter is operated behind a large hemispherical analyzer (Scienta R-4000). It was optimized for high transmission of the transfer optics. A delay-line detector (20 mm dia.) is positioned at the exit plane of the analyzer enabling conventional multichannel intensity spectroscopy simultaneously with single-channel spin analysis. The performance of the combined setup is demonstrated by the spin-resolved data for the valence-region of a FeCo functional layer of a tunneling device, buried beneath 3 nm of oxidic material. The well-structured spin polarization spectrum validates Spin-HAXPES in the valence energy range as powerful method for bulk electronic structure analysis. The spin polarization spectrum exhibits a rich structure, originating from clearly discernible transitions in the majority and minority partial spin spectra.

Open-Source RTOS Space Qualification: An RTEMS Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zemerick, Scott

2017-01-01

NASA space-qualification of reusable off-the-shelf real-time operating systems (RTOSs) remains elusive due to several factors notably (1) The diverse nature of RTOSs utilized across NASA, (2) No single NASA space-qualification criteria, lack of verification and validation (V&V) analysis, or test beds, and (3) different RTOS heritages, specifically open-source RTOSs and closed vendor-provided RTOSs. As a leader in simulation test beds, the NASA IV&V Program is poised to help jump-start and lead the space-qualification effort of the open source Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS) RTOS. RTEMS, as a case-study, can be utilized as an example of how to qualify all RTOSs, particularly the reusable non-commercial (open-source) ones that are gaining usage and popularity across NASA. Qualification will improve the overall safety and mission assurance of RTOSs for NASA-agency wide usage. NASA's involvement in space-qualification of an open-source RTOS such as RTEMS will drive the RTOS industry toward a more qualified and mature open-source RTOS product.

Ligand-field symmetry effects in Fe(ii) polypyridyl compounds probed by transient X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Hana; Strader, Matthew L.; Hong, Kiryong; Jamula, Lindsey; Gullikson, Eric M.; Kim, Tae Kyu; de Groot, Frank M. F.; McCusker, James K.; Schoenlein, Robert W.; Huse, Nils

2012-01-01

Ultrafast excited-state evolution in polypyridyl FeII complexes are of fundamental interest for understanding the origins of the sub-ps spin-state changes that occur upon photoexcitation of this class of compounds as well as for the potential impact such ultrafast dynamics have on incorporation of these compounds in solar energy conversion schemes or switchable optical storage technologies. We have demonstrated that ground-state and, more importantly, ultrafast time-resolved x-ray absorption methods can offer unique insights into the interplay between electronic and geometric structure that underpin the photo-induced dynamics of this class of compounds. The present contribution examines in greater detail how the symmetry of the ligand field surrounding the metal ion can be probed using these x-ray techniques. In particular, we show that steady-state K-edge spectroscopy of the nearest-neighbour nitrogen atoms reveals the characteristic chemical environment of the respective ligands and suggests an interesting target for future charge-transfer femtosecond and attosecond spectroscopy in the x-ray water window.

14 CFR 135.247 - Pilot qualifications: Recent experience.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot qualifications: Recent experience... Flight Crewmember Requirements § 135.247 Pilot qualifications: Recent experience. (a) No certificate holder may use any person, nor may any person serve, as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying...

49 CFR 214.343 - Training and qualification, general.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Training and qualification, general. 214.343... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD WORKPLACE SAFETY Roadway Worker Protection § 214.343 Training and qualification, general. (a) No employer shall assign an employee to perform the duties of a...

27 CFR 19.823 - Changes after original qualification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Changes after original... Vaporizing Process Qualification Documents § 19.823 Changes after original qualification. When there is a change in the information recorded in the original approved application, the proprietor shall make a...

Diagnostics for the Biased Electrode Experiment on NSTX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roquemore, A.L.; Zweben, S.J.; Bush, C.E.; Kaita, R.; Marsalsa, R.J.; Maqueda, R.J.

2009-01-01

A linear array of four small biased electrodes was installed in NSTX in an attempt to control the width of the scrape-off layer (SOL) by creating a strong local poloidal electric field. The set of electrodes were separated poloidally by a 1 cm gap between electrodes and were located slightly below the midplane of NSTX, 1 cm behind the RF antenna and oriented so that each electrode is facing approximately normal to the magnetic field. Each electrode can be independently biased to ± 100 volts. Present power supplies limit the current on two electrodes to 30 amps the other two to 10 amps each. The effect of local biasing was measured with a set of Langmuir probes placed between the electrodes and another set extending radially outward from the electrodes, and also by the gas puff imaging diagnostic (GPI) located 1 m away along the magnetic field lines intersecting the electrodes. Two fast cameras were also aimed directly at the electrode array. The hardware and controls of the biasing experiment will be presented and the initial effects on local plasma parameters will be discussed

Selection of equipment for equipment qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torr, K.G.

1989-01-01

This report describes the methodology applied in selecting equipment in the special safety systems for equipment qualification in the CANDU 600 MW nuclear generating stations at Gentilly 2 and Point Lepreau. Included is an explanation of the selection procedure adopted and the rationale behind the criteria used in identifying the equipment. The equipment items on the list have been grouped into three priority categories as a planning aid to AECB staff for a review of the qualification status of the special safety systems

Modulation of Charge Recombination in CsPbBr3 Perovskite Films with Electrochemical Bias

KAUST Repository

Scheidt, Rebecca A

2017-11-13

The charging of mesoscopic TiO2 layer in a metal halide perovskite solar cell can influence the overall power conversion efficiency. By employing CsPbBr3 films deposited on a mesoscopic TiO2 film, we have succeeded in probing the influence of electrochemical bias on the charge carrier recombination process. The transient absorption spectroscopy experiments conducted at different applied potentials indicate a decrease in the charge carrier lifetimes of CsPbBr3 as we increase the potential from -0.6 V to + 0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The charge carrier lifetime increased upon reversing the applied bias, thus indicating the reversibility of the photoresponse to charging effects. The ultrafast spectroelectrochemical experiments described here offer a convenient approach to probe the charging effects in perovskite solar cells.

Modulation of Charge Recombination in CsPbBr3 Perovskite Films with Electrochemical Bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheidt, Rebecca A; Samu, Gergely F; Janáky, Csaba; Kamat, Prashant V

2018-01-10

The charging of a mesoscopic TiO 2 layer in a metal halide perovskite solar cell can influence the overall power conversion efficiency. By employing CsPbBr 3 films deposited on a mesoscopic TiO 2 film, we have succeeded in probing the influence of electrochemical bias on the charge carrier recombination process. The transient absorption spectroscopy experiments conducted at different applied potentials indicate a decrease in the charge carrier lifetimes of CsPbBr 3 as we increase the potential from -0.6 to +0.6 V vs Ag/AgCl. The charge carrier lifetime increased upon reversing the applied bias, thus indicating the reversibility of the photoresponse to charging effects. The ultrafast spectroelectrochemical experiments described here offer a convenient approach to probe the charging effects in perovskite solar cells.

An investigation of individual functionality football referees qualifications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.M. Berezka

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: determine the level of individual functionality referees qualifications. Objective of the study was to determine the physiological parameters characterizing the functionality of football referees qualifications. Material : mainly experiment involved 29 highly qualified referees aged 21-45 years. In the main experiment participated 29 referees and 40 assistant referees (n = 69 Ukrainian Premier League. Results: found that the means and methods that use Ukrainian football referee high qualification in the special physical training for a competition, are not effective enough. Consequence of poorly planned training process is to increase the number of wrong decisions of the referees during the match associated with poor motor activity. Conclusions: data obtained in the course of educational research confirmed our theory about the necessity of individualization process special physical training qualifications of referees, which would entail increasing the functional and motor abilities of the referees, and as a consequence of better and successful completion of the work.

Buried Waste Program (BWP) data qualification manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casey, C.; Larson, R.A.; Harris, G.A.

1989-06-01

The Data Qualification Manual (DQM) has been developed to discuss the process required to qualify data generated for the Buried Waste Program (BWP). The data from the BWP tasks conducted at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) and elsewhere will lead to remedial decisions being made which are governed by federal regulations administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Data qualification is the process of insuring that only data of planned and known qualities are used to make a decision or answer a question. Although it is the Data Integrity Review Committee's (DIRC) responsibility to insure that the quality of all BWP data is ultimately verified and validated, all personnel who participate in the data gathering process will affect the quality of the data and must be responsible for knowing what is required to produce data of the planned quality. Therefore this manual is addressed to all participants in a data-gathering task. This manual discusses requirements to support data qualification in several areas, including: the sampling and analysis plan; data quality objectives and PARCC goals; sample custody documentation; quality assurance; assembly of the data qualification package; and existing data. 23 refs., 4 figs., 6 tabs

Static mechanical properties of 30 x 11.5-14.5, type VII, aircraft tires of bias-ply and radial-belted design

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Pamela A.; Lopez, Mercedes C.

1987-01-01

An investigation was conducted to determine the static mechanical characteristics of 30 x 115-14.5 bias-ply and radial aircraft tires. The tires were subjected to vertical and lateral loads and mass moment of inertia tests were conducted. Static load deflection curves, spring rates, hysteresis losses, and inertia data are presented along with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of one tire over the other.

AGR-1 Data Qualification Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbott, Michael

2010-01-01

Projects for the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office (TDO) program provide data in support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the VHTR. Fuel and materials to be used in the reactor are tested and characterized to quantify performance in high temperature and high fluence environments. The VHTR program has established the NGNP Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) to ensure that VHTR data are (1) qualified for use, (2) stored in a readily accessible electronic form, and (3) analyzed to extract useful results. This document focuses on the first NDMAS objective. It describes the data streams associated with the first Advanced Gas Reactor experiment (AGR-1), the processing of these data within NDMAS, and reports the qualification status of the data. Data qualification activities within NDMAS for specific types of data are determined by the data qualification category assigned by the data generator. They include: (1) capture testing, to confirm that the data stored within NDMAS are identical to the raw data supplied, (2) accuracy testing, to confirm that the data are an accurate representation of the system or object being measured, and (3) documentation that the data were collected under an NQA-1 or equivalent quality assurance program. The NDMAS database processing and qualification status of the following five data streams is reported in this document: (1) Fuel fabrication data. All data have been processed into the NDMAS database and qualified (1,819 records). (2) Fuel irradiation data. Data from all 13 AGR-1 reactor cycles have been processed into the NDMAS database and tested. Of these, 85% have been qualified and 15% have failed NDMAS accuracy testing. (3) FPMS data. Reprocessed (January 2010) data from all 13 AGR-1 reactor cycles have been processed into the database and capture tested. Final qualification of these data will be recorded after QA approval of an Engineering Calculations and Analysis Report currently

Dual-electrode biasing experiments in KT-5C device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Yi; Lu Ronghua; Wang Chen; Pan Geshen; Wen Yizhi; Yu Changxuan; Ma Jinxiu; Wan Shude; Liu Wandong

2005-01-01

Based on the single biasing electrode experiments to optimize the confinement of plasma in the device of KT-5C tokamak, dual-biasing electrodes were inserted into the KT5C plasma for the first time to explore the enhancement of the effects of biasing and the mechanisms of the biasing. By means of applying different combinations of biasing voltages to the dual electrodes, the changes in E r , which is the key factor for boosting up the Er x B flow shear, were observed. The time evolution showed the inner electrode played a major role in dual-biasing, for it always drew a larger current than the outer one. The outer electrode made little influence. It turned out that the dual-biasing electrodes were as effective as a single one, in improving plasma confinement, for the mechanism of biasing was essentially an edge effect. (author)

Qualification standard for photovoltaic concentrator modules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McConnell, R.; Kurtz, S.; Bottenberg, W. R.; Hammond, R.; Jochums, S. W.; McDanal, A. J.; Roubideaux, D.; Whitaker, C.; Wohlgemuth, J.

2000-05-05

The paper describes a proposed qualification standard for photovoltaic concentrator modules. The standard's purpose is to provide stress tests and procedures to identify any component weakness in photovoltaic concentrator modules intended for power generation applications. If no weaknesses are identified during qualification, both the manufacturer and the customer can expect a more reliable product. The qualification test program for the standard includes thermal cycles, humidity-freeze cycles, water spray, off-axis beam damage, hail impact, hot-spot endurance, as well as electrical tests for performance, ground continuity, isolation, wet insulation resistance, and bypass diodes. Because concentrator module performance can not be verified using solar simulator and reference cell procedures suitable for flat-plate modules, the standard specifies an outdoor I-V test analysis allowing a performance comparison before and after a test procedure. Two options to this complex analysis are the use of a reference concentrator module for side-by-side outdoor comparison with modules undergoing various tests and a dark I-V performance check.

Reward Devaluation: Dot-Probe Meta-Analytic Evidence of Avoidance of Positive Information in Depressed Persons

Science.gov (United States)

Winer, E. Samuel; Salem, Taban

2015-01-01

Cognitive theories of depression and anxiety have traditionally emphasized the role of attentional biases in the processing of negative information. The dot-probe task has been widely used to study this phenomenon. Recent findings suggest that biased processing of positive information might also be an important aspect of developing psychopathological symptoms. However, despite some evidence suggesting persons with symptoms of depression and anxiety may avoid positive information, many dot-probe studies have produced null findings. The present review used conventional and novel meta-analytic methods to evaluate dot-probe attentional biases away from positive information and, for comparison, toward negative information, in depressed and anxious individuals. Results indicated that avoidance of positive information is a real effect exhibiting substantial evidential value among persons experiencing psychopathology, with individuals evidencing primary symptoms of depression clearly demonstrating this effect. Different theoretical explanations for these findings are evaluated, including those positing threat-processing structures, even-handedness, self-regulation, and reward devaluation, with the novel theory of reward devaluation emphasized and expanded. These novel findings and theory suggest that avoidance of prospective reward helps to explain the cause and sustainability of depressed states. Suggestions for future research and methodological advances are discussed. PMID:26619211

14 CFR 121.437 - Pilot qualification: Certificates required.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot qualification: Certificates required... Pilot qualification: Certificates required. (a) No pilot may act as pilot in command of an aircraft (or... pilots) unless he holds an airline transport pilot certificate and an appropriate type rating for that...

14 CFR 125.285 - Pilot qualifications: Recent experience.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot qualifications: Recent experience... Requirements § 125.285 Pilot qualifications: Recent experience. (a) No certificate holder may use any person, nor may any person serve, as a required pilot flight crewmember unless within the preceding 90...

Qualification Users' Perceptions and Experiences of Assessment Reliability

Science.gov (United States)

Chamberlain, Suzanne

2013-01-01

This paper presents the findings of a study designed to explore qualification users' perceptions and experiences of reliability in the context of national assessment outcomes in England. The study consisted of 17 focus groups conducted across six sectors of qualification users: students, teachers, trainee teachers, job-seekers, employers and…

TOMS/Earth Probe UV-B Erythemal Local Noon Irradiance Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid V008

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/Earth Probe UV-B Erythemal Local Noon Irradiance Monthly L3 Global 1x1.25 deg Lat/Lon Grid Version 8 data in ASCII format. (The...

Revision of the qualification framework at the Technical University of Denmark Part 2

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henneberg, Kaj-Åge; Kuhn, Luise Theil; Jungersen, Gregers

2017-01-01

Using a revised Qualification Framework (QF) with four main categories: -to know, - to be, -to interact, and -to do, this paper demonstrates how to use the elements of the QF to construct Programme-Qualification Matrices. A general Programme- Qualification Matrix defines the qualifications and th...

Biasing of Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers.

Science.gov (United States)

Caliano, Giosue; Matrone, Giulia; Savoia, Alessandro Stuart

2017-02-01

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) represent an effective alternative to piezoelectric transducers for medical ultrasound imaging applications. They are microelectromechanical devices fabricated using silicon micromachining techniques, developed in the last two decades in many laboratories. The interest for this novel transducer technology relies on its full compatibility with standard integrated circuit technology that makes it possible to integrate on the same chip the transducers and the electronics, thus enabling the realization of extremely low-cost and high-performance devices, including both 1-D or 2-D arrays. Being capacitive transducers, CMUTs require a high bias voltage to be properly operated in pulse-echo imaging applications. The typical bias supply residual ripple of high-quality high-voltage (HV) generators is in the millivolt range, which is comparable with the amplitude of the received echo signals, and it is particularly difficult to minimize. The aim of this paper is to analyze the classical CMUT biasing circuits, highlighting the features of each one, and to propose two novel HV generator architectures optimized for CMUT biasing applications. The first circuit proposed is an ultralow-residual ripple (generator that uses an extremely stable sinusoidal power oscillator topology. The second circuit employs a commercially available integrated step-up converter characterized by a particularly efficient switching topology. The circuit is used to bias the CMUT by charging a buffer capacitor synchronously with the pulsing sequence, thus reducing the impact of the switching noise on the received echo signals. The small area of the circuit (about 1.5 cm 2 ) makes it possible to generate the bias voltage inside the probe, very close to the CMUT, making the proposed solution attractive for portable applications. Measurements and experiments are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new approaches presented.

The effects of the dopamine D₃ receptor antagonist GSK598809 on attentional bias to palatable food cues in overweight and obese subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Nathan, Pradeep J; O'Neill, Barry V; Mogg, Karin; Bradley, Brendan P; Beaver, John; Bani, Massimo; Merlo-Pich, Emilio; Fletcher, Paul C; Swirski, Bridget; Koch, Annelize; Dodds, Chris M; Bullmore, Edward T

2012-03-01

The mesolimbic dopamine system plays a critical role in the reinforcing effects of rewards. Evidence from pre-clinical studies suggests that D₃ receptor antagonists may attenuate the motivational impact of rewarding cues. In this study we examined the acute effects of the D₃ receptor antagonist GSK598809 on attentional bias to rewarding food cues in overweight to obese individuals (n=26, BMI mean=32.7±3.7, range 27-40 kg/m²) who reported binge and emotional eating. We also determined whether individual differences in restrained eating style modulated the effects of GSK598809 on attentional bias. The study utilized a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design with each participant tested following acute administration of placebo and GSK598809 (175 mg). Attentional bias was assessed by the visual probe task and modified Stroop task using food-related words. Overall GSK598809 had no effects on attentional bias in either the visual probe or food Stroop tasks. However, the effect of GSK598809 on both visual probe and food Stroop attentional bias scores was inversely correlated with a measure of eating restraint allowing the identification of two subpopulations, low- and high-restrained eaters. Low-restrained eaters had a significant attentional bias towards food cues in both tasks under placebo, and this was attenuated by GSK598809. In contrast, high-restrained eaters showed no attentional bias to food cues following either placebo or GSK598809. These findings suggest that excessive attentional bias to food cues generated by individual differences in eating traits can be modulated by D₃ receptor antagonists, warranting further investigation with measures of eating behaviour and weight loss.

Questions of qualification exam for non-destructive testing and materials science - the first level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaaban, H.I.; Addarwish, J.M.A.

2013-01-01

The book contains seven chapters: Questions of qualification for magnetic particles testing method - Questions of qualification for liquids penetrant testing method - Questions of qualification for the visual inspection testing method - Questions of qualification for the ultrasonic testing method - Questions of qualification for the eddy current testing method - Questions of rehabilitation for industrial radiographic testing method - Qualification questions about materials science and manufacturing defects of castings and welding and comparison between non-destructive testing methods.

Seismic qualification of existing nuclear installations in India - a proposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basu, P.C.

2001-01-01

In India, the work toward seismic qualification of existing nuclear facilities has been started. Preliminary work is being undertaken with respect to identifying the facilities which would be taken up for seismic qualification, approach and methodology for re-evaluation for seismic safety, acceptance criteria, etc. Work has also been started for framing up the criteria and methodology of the seismic qualification of these facilities. Present paper contains the proposal in this respect. This proposal is on similar lines of the present practice of seismic qualification of NPP, as summarized in the Appendix, but has been modified to suit the special requirements of Indian nuclear installations. (author)

Biased attention retraining in dysphoria: a failure to replicate.

Science.gov (United States)

Mastikhina, Liza; Dobson, Keith

2017-04-01

The present study replicated Wells and Beevers [(2010). Biased attention and dysphoria: Manipulating selective attention reduces subsequent depressive symptoms. Cognition & Emotion, 24, 719-728] and examined the longitudinal effects of attentional retraining on symptoms of depression. Dysphoric undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned into either a neutral or control training condition. Training was administered using a dot-probe task that presented participants with pairs of pictures (of sad and neutral content) that were followed by a probe that participants had to respond to. Training took place over four sessions during a two-week period, followed by a final follow-up session two weeks later. Mood was measured at baseline, post-training, and at follow-up. All participants showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms throughout the study, F(1.7, 73.55) = 21.19, p attentional retraining did not demonstrate any advantage over the control condition. Results were inconsistent with those of Wells and Beevers [(2010). Biased attention and dysphoria: Manipulating selective attention reduces subsequent depressive symptoms. Cognition & Emotion, 24, 719-728]. Implications of the findings on research on attentional retraining in the context of depression are discussed.

14 CFR 121.439 - Pilot qualification: Recent experience.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pilot qualification: Recent experience. 121... Pilot qualification: Recent experience. (a) No certificate holder may use any person nor may any person serve as a required pilot flight crewmember, unless within the preceding 90 days, that person has made...

30 CFR 75.155 - Qualified hoisting engineer; qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Qualified hoisting engineer; qualifications. 75... Persons § 75.155 Qualified hoisting engineer; qualifications. (a)(1) A person is a qualified hoisting engineer within the provisions of subpart O of this part, for the purpose of operating a steam-driven hoist...

32 CFR 935.139 - Motor vehicle operator qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Motor vehicle operator qualifications. 935.139... AND INSULAR REGULATIONS WAKE ISLAND CODE Motor Vehicle Code § 935.139 Motor vehicle operator qualifications. (a) No person may operate a privately owned motor vehicle on Wake Island unless he has an island...

Dosage compensation and demasculinization of X chromosomes in Drosophila.

Science.gov (United States)

Bachtrog, Doris; Toda, Nicholas R T; Lockton, Steven

2010-08-24

The X chromosome of Drosophila shows a deficiency of genes with male-biased expression, whereas mammalian X chromosomes are enriched for spermatogenesis genes expressed premeiosis and multicopy testis genes. Meiotic X-inactivation and sexual antagonism can only partly account for these patterns. Here, we show that dosage compensation (DC) in Drosophila may contribute substantially to the depletion of male genes on the X. To equalize expression between X-linked and autosomal genes in the two sexes, male Drosophila hypertranscribe their single X, whereas female mammals silence one of their two X chromosomes. We combine fine-scale mapping data of dosage compensated regions with genome-wide expression profiles and show that most male-biased genes on the D. melanogaster X are located outside dosage compensated regions. Additionally, X-linked genes that have newly acquired male-biased expression in D. melanogaster are less likely to be dosage compensated, and parental X-linked genes that gave rise to an autosomal male-biased retrocopy are more likely located within compensated regions. This suggests that DC contributes to the observed demasculinization of X chromosomes in Drosophila, both by limiting the emergence of male-biased expression patterns of existing X genes, and by contributing to gene trafficking of male genes off the X. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bias correction by use of errors-in-variables regression models in studies with K-X-ray fluorescence bone lead measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamadrid-Figueroa, Héctor; Téllez-Rojo, Martha M; Angeles, Gustavo; Hernández-Ávila, Mauricio; Hu, Howard

2011-01-01

In-vivo measurement of bone lead by means of K-X-ray fluorescence (KXRF) is the preferred biological marker of chronic exposure to lead. Unfortunately, considerable measurement error associated with KXRF estimations can introduce bias in estimates of the effect of bone lead when this variable is included as the exposure in a regression model. Estimates of uncertainty reported by the KXRF instrument reflect the variance of the measurement error and, although they can be used to correct the measurement error bias, they are seldom used in epidemiological statistical analyzes. Errors-in-variables regression (EIV) allows for correction of bias caused by measurement error in predictor variables, based on the knowledge of the reliability of such variables. The authors propose a way to obtain reliability coefficients for bone lead measurements from uncertainty data reported by the KXRF instrument and compare, by the use of Monte Carlo simulations, results obtained using EIV regression models vs. those obtained by the standard procedures. Results of the simulations show that Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression models provide severely biased estimates of effect, and that EIV provides nearly unbiased estimates. Although EIV effect estimates are more imprecise, their mean squared error is much smaller than that of OLS estimates. In conclusion, EIV is a better alternative than OLS to estimate the effect of bone lead when measured by KXRF. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bias against research on gender bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Cislak, Aleksandra; Formanowicz, Magdalena; Saguy, Tamar

2018-01-01

The bias against women in academia is a documented phenomenon that has had detrimental consequences, not only for women, but also for the quality of science. First, gender bias in academia affects female scientists, resulting in their underrepresentation in academic institutions, particularly in higher ranks. The second type of gender bias in science relates to some findings applying only to male participants, which produces biased knowledge. Here, we identify a third potentially powerful source of gender bias in academia: the bias against research on gender bias. In a bibliometric investigation covering a broad range of social sciences, we analyzed published articles on gender bias and race bias and established that articles on gender bias are funded less often and published in journals with a lower Impact Factor than articles on comparable instances of social discrimination. This result suggests the possibility of an underappreciation of the phenomenon of gender bias and related research within the academic community. Addressing this meta-bias is crucial for the further examination of gender inequality, which severely affects many women across the world.

Competition at the Wireless Sensor Network MAC Layer: Low Power Probing interfering with X-MAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zacharias, Sven; Newe, Thomas

2011-01-01

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) combine sensors with computer networks and enable very dense, in-situ and live measurements of data over a large area. Since this emerging technology has the potential to be embedded almost everywhere for numberless applications, interference between different networks can become a serious issue. For most WSNs, it is assumed today that the network medium access is non-competitive. On the basis of X-MAC interfered by Low Power Probing, this paper shows the danger and the effects of different sensor networks communicating on a single wireless channel of the 2.4 GHz band, which is used by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

Competition at the Wireless Sensor Network MAC Layer: Low Power Probing interfering with X-MAC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zacharias, Sven; Newe, Thomas, E-mail: Sven.Zacharias@ul.ie [University of Limerick (Ireland)

2011-08-17

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) combine sensors with computer networks and enable very dense, in-situ and live measurements of data over a large area. Since this emerging technology has the potential to be embedded almost everywhere for numberless applications, interference between different networks can become a serious issue. For most WSNs, it is assumed today that the network medium access is non-competitive. On the basis of X-MAC interfered by Low Power Probing, this paper shows the danger and the effects of different sensor networks communicating on a single wireless channel of the 2.4 GHz band, which is used by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

Competition at the Wireless Sensor Network MAC Layer: Low Power Probing interfering with X-MAC

Science.gov (United States)

Zacharias, Sven; Newe, Thomas

2011-08-01

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) combine sensors with computer networks and enable very dense, in-situ and live measurements of data over a large area. Since this emerging technology has the potential to be embedded almost everywhere for numberless applications, interference between different networks can become a serious issue. For most WSNs, it is assumed today that the network medium access is non-competitive. On the basis of X-MAC interfered by Low Power Probing, this paper shows the danger and the effects of different sensor networks communicating on a single wireless channel of the 2.4 GHz band, which is used by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

Global Trend In The Qualifications Of Medical Educators | Issa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

NPMCN) or its equivalents is the highest educational and professional qualification of clinical Medical Educators in Nigeria while PhD is the acceptable highest qualification for their basic medical sciences counterparts. This had been the status ...

Design and performance of low-wattage electrical heater probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biddle, R.; Wetzel, J.R.; Cech, R.

1997-01-01

A mound electrical calibration heater (MECH) has been used in several EG and G Mound developed calorimeters as a calibration tool. They are very useful over the wattage range of a few to 500 W. At the lower end of the range, a bias develops between the MECH probe and calibrated heat standards. A low-wattage electrical calibration heater (L WECH) probe is being developed by the Safeguards Science and Technology group (NIS-5) of Los Alamos National Laboratory based upon a concept proposed by EG and G Mound personnel. The probe combines electrical resistive heating and laser-light powered heating. The LWECH probe is being developed for use with power settings up to 2W. The electrical heater will be used at the high end of the range, and laser-light power will be used low end of the wattage range. The system consists of two components: the heater probe and a control unit. The probe is inserted into the measuring cavity through an opening in the insulating baffle, and a sleeve is required to adapt to the measuring chamber. The probe is powered and controlled using electronics modules located separately. This paper will report on the design of the LWECH probe, initial tests, and expected performance

A fast spatial scanning combination emissive and mach probe for edge plasma diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehmer, R.D.; LaBombard, B.; Conn, R.W.

1989-04-01

A fast spatially scanning emissive and mach probe has been developed for the measurement of plasma profiles in the PISCES facility at UCLA. A pneumatic cylinder is used to drive a multiple tip probe along a 15cm stroke in less than 400msec, giving single shot profiles while limiting power deposition to the probe. A differentially pumped sliding O-ring seal allows the probe to be moved between shots to infer two and three dimensional profiles. The probe system has been used to investigate the plasma potential, density, and parallel mach number profiles of the presheath induced by a wall surface and scrape-off-layer profile modifications in biased limiter simulation experiments. Details of the hardware, data acquisition electronics, and tests of probe reliability are discussed. 30 refs., 24 figs

Assessing mathematics within advanced school science qualifications

OpenAIRE

McAlinden, Mary; Noyes, Andrew

2017-01-01

Following sustained discussion regarding the relationship between advanced mathematics and science learning in England, the government has pursued a reform agenda in which mathematics is embedded in national, high stakes A-level science qualifications and their assessments for 18-year-olds. For example, A-level Chemistry must incorporate the assessment of relevant mathematics for at least 20% of the qualification. Other sciences have different mandated percentages. This embedding policy is ru...

SRNL PHASE 1 Assessment Of The WTP Waste Qualification Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peeler, D.; Hansen, E.; Herman, C.; Marra, S.; Wilmarth, B.

2012-01-01

The Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Project is currently transitioning its emphasis from an engineering design and construction phase toward facility completion, start-up and commissioning. With this transition, the WTP Project has initiated more detailed assessments of the requirements that must be met during the actual processing of the Hanford Site tank waste. One particular area of interest is the waste qualification program. In general, the waste qualification program involves testing and analysis to demonstrate compliance with waste acceptance criteria, determine waste processability, and demonstrate laboratory-scale unit operations to support WTP operations. The testing and analysis are driven by data quality objectives (DQO) requirements necessary for meeting waste acceptance criteria for transfer of high-level wastes from the tank farms to the WTP, and for ensuring waste processability including proper glass formulations during processing within the WTP complex. Given the successful implementation of similar waste qualification efforts at the Savannah River Site (SRS) which were based on critical technical support and guidance from the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), WTP requested subject matter experts (SMEs) from SRNL to support a technology exchange with respect to waste qualification programs in which a critical review of the WTP program could be initiated and lessons learned could be shared. The technology exchange was held on July 18-20, 2011 in Richland, Washington, and was the initial step in a multi-phased approach to support development and implementation of a successful waste qualification program at the WTP. The 3-day workshop was hosted by WTP with representatives from the Tank Operations Contractor (TOC) and SRNL in attendance as well as representatives from the US DOE Office of River Protection (ORP) and the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) Site Representative office. The purpose of the

Dynamic Characterizations of an 8-frame, Half-Strip, High-speed X-ray Microchannel Plate Imager

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ken Moy; Ming Wu; Craig Kruschwitz; Aric Tibbits; Matt Griffin; Greg Rochau

2008-01-01

High-speed microchannel plate (MCP)-based imagers are critical detectors for x-ray diagnostics employed on Z-experiments at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to measure time-resolved x-ray spectra and to image dynamic hohlraums. A multiframe design using eight half strips in one imager permits recordings of radiation events in discrete temporal snapshots to yield a time-evolved movie. We present data using various facilities to characterize the performance of this design. These characterization studies include DC and pulsed-voltage biased measurements in both saturated and linear operational regimes using an intense, short-pulsed UV laser. Electrical probe measurements taken to characterize the shape of the HV pulse propagating across the strips help to corroborate the spatial gain dependence

Strategi Mengatasi Common Measures Bias dalam Balanced Scorecard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sekar Akrom Faradiza

2016-06-01

Balanced Scorecard (BSC is a comprehensive performance measurement. BSC is not only used financial indicators but also non financial indicators there are customer, internal process business and learning and growth perspective. By using BSC, evaluators have common and unique measures. When evaluate manager performance, evaluator tends to only use common measures and ignore unique measures. This is called common measures bias. This study aims to investigate whether dissaggregated and aggregated BSC and management communication can overcome common measures bias and intent to BSC approach. This study also will evaluate whether these approach will affect evaluator decision when allocated compensation. We conduct 2x2x2 experiment of undergraduate accounting students. Participant act as a senior manager and evaluate the performance of two divisions and then allocated the bonus. ANOVA repeated measurement are used to conduct hypothesis test. The results showed that dissaggregated BSC and management communication could not overcome common measures bias but effected  management decision when allocated compensation.

Payload charging events in the mesosphere and their impact on Langmuir type electric probes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. A. Bekkeng

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Three sounding rockets were launched from Andøya Rocket Range in the ECOMA campaign in December 2010. The aim was to study the evolution of meteoric smoke particles during a major meteor shower. Of the various instruments onboard the rocket payload, this paper presents the data from a multi-Needle Langmuir Probe (m-NLP and a charged dust detector. The payload floating potential, as observed using the m-NLP instrument, shows charging events on two of the three flights. These charging events cannot be explained using a simple charging model, and have implications towards the use of fixed bias Langmuir probes on sounding rockets investigating mesospheric altitudes. We show that for a reliable use of a single fixed bias Langmuir probe as a high spatial resolution relative density measurement, each payload should also carry an additional instrument to measure payload floating potential, and an instrument that is immune to spacecraft charging and measures absolute plasma density.

High-spatial-resolution electron density measurement by Langmuir probe for multi-point observations using tiny spacecraft

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, H.; Røed, K.; Bekkeng, T. A.; Trondsen, E.; Clausen, L. B. N.; Miloch, W. J.; Moen, J. I.

2017-11-01

A method for evaluating electron density using a single fixed-bias Langmuir probe is presented. The technique allows for high-spatio-temporal resolution electron density measurements, which can be effectively carried out by tiny spacecraft for multi-point observations in the ionosphere. The results are compared with the multi-needle Langmuir probe system, which is a scientific instrument developed at the University of Oslo comprising four fixed-bias cylindrical probes that allow small-scale plasma density structures to be characterized in the ionosphere. The technique proposed in this paper can comply with the requirements of future small-sized spacecraft, where the cost-effectiveness, limited space available on the craft, low power consumption and capacity for data-links need to be addressed. The first experimental results in both the plasma laboratory and space confirm the efficiency of the new approach. Moreover, detailed analyses on two challenging issues when deploying the DC Langmuir probe on a tiny spacecraft, which are the limited conductive area of the spacecraft and probe surface contamination, are presented in the paper. It is demonstrated that the limited conductive area, depending on applications, can either be of no concern for the experiment or can be resolved by mitigation methods. Surface contamination has a small impact on the performance of the developed probe.

Data Qualification Report: Calculated Porosity and Porosity-Derived Values for Lithostratigraphic Units for use on the Yucca Mountain Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P. Sanchez

2001-05-30

report uses technical assessment and corroboration to evaluate the original subject DTN. Rael (1999) provides many technical details of the technical assessment and corroboration methods and partially satisfies the intent of the qualification plan for this analysis. Rael presents a modified method based on Nelson (1996) to recompute porosity and porosity-derived values and uses some of the same inputs. Rael's (1999) intended purpose was to document porosity output relatively free of biases introduced by differing computational methods or parameter selections used for different boreholes. The qualification report necessarily evaluates the soundness of the pre-Process Validation and Re-engineering (PVAR) analyses and methodology, as reported in Rael (1999).

Data Qualification Report: Calculated Porosity and Porosity-Derived Values for Lithostratigraphic Units for use on the Yucca Mountain Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

P. Sanchez

2001-01-01

technical assessment and corroboration to evaluate the original subject DTN. Rael (1999) provides many technical details of the technical assessment and corroboration methods and partially satisfies the intent of the qualification plan for this analysis. Rael presents a modified method based on Nelson (1996) to recompute porosity and porosity-derived values and uses some of the same inputs. Rael's (1999) intended purpose was to document porosity output relatively free of biases introduced by differing computational methods or parameter selections used for different boreholes. The qualification report necessarily evaluates the soundness of the pre-Process Validation and Re-engineering (PVAR) analyses and methodology, as reported in Rael (1999)

Ultrafast spin injection from Cd1-x Mn x Te magnetic barriers into a CdTe quantum well studied by pump-probe spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoshima, I.; Nishibayashi, K.; Souma, I.; Murayama, A.; Oka, Y.

2006-01-01

Spin injection from diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) barriers of Cd 1- x Mn x Te into a quantum well (QW) of CdTe is studied, by means of pump-probe absorption spectroscopy in magnetic fields. Fast decay characteristics of circularly polarized differential absorbances of spin-polarized excitons in the DMS barrier show the exciton injection time of 6 ps from the barriers into the QW. In accordance with the fast relaxation of the spin-polarized excitons from the barrier, we observe the rise of circular polarization degree for the differential absorption of the CdTe QW in magnetic fields, evidently indicating the spin injection. In addition, the circular polarization degree up to 0.3 is developed in the well immediately after pumping, originating from the fast relaxation of a heavy hole (hh) spin less than 0.2 ps, due to the giant Zeeman effect caused by the penetration of the hh wave function into the DMS barriers

29 CFR 1910.410 - Qualifications of dive team.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Qualifications of dive team. 1910.410 Section 1910.410... Requirements § 1910.410 Qualifications of dive team. (a) General. (1) Each dive team member shall have the experience or training necessary to perform assigned tasks in a safe and healthful manner. (2) Each dive team...

AGR-2 Data Qualification Interim Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbott, Michael L.

2010-01-01

Projects for the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office program provide data in support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the VHTR. Fuel and materials to be used in the reactor are tested and characterized to quantify performance in high temperature and high fluence environments. The VHTR program established the NGNP Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) to manage and document VHTR data qualification, for storage of the data in a readily accessible electronic form, and to assist in the analysis and presentation of the data. This document gives the status of NDMAS processing and qualification of data associated with the initial reactor cycle (147A) of the second Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR-2) experiment which began on June 21, 2010. Because it is early in the AGR-2 experiment, data from only two AGR-2 data streams are reported on: Fuel Fabrication and Fuel Irradiation data. As of August 1, 2010, approximately 311,000 irradiation data records have been stored in NDMAS, and qualification tests are in progress. Preliminary information indicates that TC 2 in Capsule 2 failed prior to start of the experiment, and NDMAS testing has thus far identified only two invalid data values from the METSO data collection system Data from the Fission Product Monitoring System (FPMS) are not currently processed until after reactor cycle shutdown and have not yet been received. A description of the ATR operating conditions data associated with the AGR-2 experiment (e.g., power levels) are summarized in the AGR-1 data qualification report (INL/EXT-09-16460). Since ATR data are collected under ATR program data quality requirements (i.e., outside the VHTR program), the NGNP program and NDMAS do not take additional actions to qualify these data other than NDMAS capture testing. Data qualification of graphite characterization data collected under the Graphite Technology Development Project is reported in a separate status report (Hull 2010).

AGR-2 Data Qualification Interim Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michael L. Abbott

2010-09-01

Projects for the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office program provide data in support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the VHTR. Fuel and materials to be used in the reactor are tested and characterized to quantify performance in high temperature and high fluence environments. The VHTR program established the NGNP Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) to manage and document VHTR data qualification, for storage of the data in a readily accessible electronic form, and to assist in the analysis and presentation of the data. This document gives the status of NDMAS processing and qualification of data associated with the initial reactor cycle (147A) of the second Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR-2) experiment which began on June 21, 2010. Because it is early in the AGR-2 experiment, data from only two AGR-2 data streams are reported on: Fuel Fabrication and Fuel Irradiation data. As of August 1, 2010, approximately 311,000 irradiation data records have been stored in NDMAS, and qualification tests are in progress. Preliminary information indicates that TC 2 in Capsule 2 failed prior to start of the experiment, and NDMAS testing has thus far identified only two invalid data values from the METSO data collection system Data from the Fission Product Monitoring System (FPMS) are not currently processed until after reactor cycle shutdown and have not yet been received. A description of the ATR operating conditions data associated with the AGR-2 experiment (e.g., power levels) are summarized in the AGR-1 data qualification report (INL/EXT-09-16460). Since ATR data are collected under ATR program data quality requirements (i.e., outside the VHTR program), the NGNP program and NDMAS do not take additional actions to qualify these data other than NDMAS capture testing. Data qualification of graphite characterization data collected under the Graphite Technology Development Project is reported in a separate status report (Hull 2010).

Qualification of Electrical Components in Nuclear Power Plants. Management of Ageing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spaang, Kjell [Ingemansson Technology AB, Goeteborg (Sweden); Staahl, Gunnar [Westinghouse Atom, Vaesteraas (Sweden)

2002-05-01

This report reviews R and D results and experiences forming the bases for the preparation of a report on management of ageing. It includes basic information and descriptions of value for persons who work with the questions and some data from investigations of the ageing characteristics of various materials: limit levels, dose-rate effects, activation energies, methods for condition monitoring, etc. This report is restricted to safety related components containing ageing sensitive parts, mainly organic materials (polymers). For components located in the containment, the possibilities of continuous supervision are limited. The accessibility for regular inspections is also limited in many cases. Therefore, the main part of this report deals with the qualification of such components. In addition, some material is given on qualification located outside containment with better possibilities for frequent inspection and supervision. A survey is made of activities, programs and tools for ageing qualification in connection with initial environmental qualification (type testing) as well as after installation (condition monitoring, extension of qualified life through on-going qualification). Tools are also given for supplementary ageing qualification of already installed components.

Qualification of Electrical Components in Nuclear Power Plants. Management of Ageing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spaang, Kjell; Staahl, Gunnar

2002-05-01

This report reviews R and D results and experiences forming the bases for the preparation of a report on management of ageing. It includes basic information and descriptions of value for persons who work with the questions and some data from investigations of the ageing characteristics of various materials: limit levels, dose-rate effects, activation energies, methods for condition monitoring, etc. This report is restricted to safety related components containing ageing sensitive parts, mainly organic materials (polymers). For components located in the containment, the possibilities of continuous supervision are limited. The accessibility for regular inspections is also limited in many cases. Therefore, the main part of this report deals with the qualification of such components. In addition, some material is given on qualification located outside containment with better possibilities for frequent inspection and supervision. A survey is made of activities, programs and tools for ageing qualification in connection with initial environmental qualification (type testing) as well as after installation (condition monitoring, extension of qualified life through on-going qualification). Tools are also given for supplementary ageing qualification of already installed components

X Chromosome Dose and Sex Bias in Autoimmune Diseases: Increased 47,XXX in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Sjögren’s Syndrome

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ke; Kurien, Biji T.; Zimmerman, Sarah L.; Kaufman, Kenneth M.; Taft, Diana H.; Kottyan, Leah C.; Lazaro, Sara; Weaver, Carrie A.; Ice, John A.; Adler, Adam J.; Chodosh, James; Radfar, Lida; Rasmussen, Astrid; Stone, Donald U.; Lewis, David M.; Li, Shibo; Koelsch, Kristi A.; Igoe, Ann; Talsania, Mitali; Kumar, Jay; Maier-Moore, Jacen S.; Harris, Valerie M.; Gopalakrishnan, Rajaram; Jonsson, Roland; Lessard, James A.; Lu, Xianglan; Gottenberg, Jacques-Eric; Anaya, Juan-Manuel; Cunninghame-Graham, Deborah S.; Huang, Andrew J. W.; Brennan, Michael T.; Hughes, Pamela; Illei, Gabor G.; Miceli-Richard, Corinne; Keystone, Edward C.; Bykerk, Vivian P.; Hirschfield, Gideon; Xie, Gang; Ng, Wan-Fai; Nordmark, Gunnel; Eriksson, Per; Omdal, Roald; Rhodus, Nelson L.; Rischmueller, Maureen; Rohrer, Michael; Segal, Barbara M.; Vyse, Timothy J.; Wahren-Herlenius, Marie; Witte, Torsten; Pons-Estel, Bernardo; Alarcon-Riquelme, Marta E.; Guthridge, Joel M.; James, Judith A.; Lessard, Christopher J.; Kelly, Jennifer A.; Thompson, Susan D.; Gaffney, Patrick M.; Montgomery, Courtney G.; Edberg, Jeffrey C; Kimberly, Robert P; Alarcón, Graciela S.; Langefeld, Carl L.; Gilkeson, Gary S.; Kamen, Diane L.; Tsao, Betty P.; McCune, W. Joseph; Salmon, Jane E.; Merrill, Joan T.; Weisman, Michael H; Wallace, Daniel J; Utset, Tammy O; Bottinger, Erwin P.; Amos, Christopher I.; Siminovitch, Katherine A.; Mariette, Xavier; Sivils, Kathy L.

2016-01-01

Objective More than 80% of autoimmune disease is female dominant, but the mechanism for this female bias is poorly understood. We suspected an X chromosome dose effect and hypothesized that trisomy X (47,XXX , 1 in ~1,000 live female births) would be increased in female predominant diseases (e.g. systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE], primary Sjögren’s syndrome [SS], primary biliary cirrhosis [PBC] and rheumatoid arthritis [RA]) compared to diseases without female predominance (sarcoidosis) and controls. Methods We identified 47,XXX subjects using aggregate data from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays and confirmed, when possible, by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) or quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR). Results We found 47,XXX in seven of 2,826 SLE and three of 1,033 SS female patients, but only in two of the 7,074 female controls (p=0.003, OR=8.78, 95% CI: 1.67-86.79 and p=0.02, OR=10.29, 95% CI: 1.18-123.47; respectively). One 47,XXX subject was present for ~404 SLE women and ~344 SS women. 47,XXX was present in excess among SLE and SS subjects. Conclusion The estimated prevalence of SLE and SS in women with 47,XXX was respectively ~2.5 and ~2.9 times higher than in 46,XX women and ~25 and ~41 times higher than in 46,XY men. No statistically significant increase of 47,XXX was observed in other female-biased diseases (PBC or RA), supporting the idea of multiple pathways to sex bias in autoimmunity. PMID:26713507

Probing the Cosmic X-Ray and MeV Gamma-Ray Background Radiation through the Anisotropy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inoue, Yoshiyuki [Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Kavli Inst. for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology; SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Murase, Kohta [Inst. for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ (United States). School of Natural Sciences; Madejski, Grzegorz M. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Kavli Inst. for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology; SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Uchiyama, Yasunobu [Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Kavli Inst. for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology; SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Rikkyo Univ., Tokyo (Japan). Dept. of Physics

2013-09-24

While the cosmic soft X-ray background is very likely to originate from individual Seyfert galaxies, the origin of the cosmic hard X-ray and MeV gamma-ray background is not fully understood. It is expected that Seyferts including Compton thick population may explain the cosmic hard X-ray background. At MeV energy range, Seyferts having non-thermal electrons in coronae above accretion disks or MeV blazars may explain the background radiation. We propose that future measurements of the angular power spectra of anisotropy of the cosmic X-ray and MeV gamma-ray backgrounds will be key to deciphering these backgrounds and the evolution of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). As AGNs trace the cosmic large-scale structure, spatial clustering of AGNs exists. We show that e-ROSITA will clearly detect the correlation signal of unresolved Seyferts at 0.5-2 keV and 2-10 keV bands and will be able to measure the bias parameter of AGNs at both bands. Once the future hard X-ray all sky satellites achieve the sensitivity better than 10^-12 erg/cm²/s^-1 at 10-30 keV or 30-50 keV - although this is beyond the sensitivities of current hard X-ray all sky monitors - angular power spectra will allow us to independently investigate the fraction of Compton-thick AGNs in all Seyferts. We also find that the expected angular power spectra of Seyferts and blazars in the MeV range are different by about an order of magnitude, where the Poisson term, so-called shot noise, is dominant. Current and future MeV instruments will clearly disentangle the origin of the MeV gamma-ray background through the angular power spectrum.

Probing the cosmic x-ray and MeV gamma ray background radiation through the anisotropy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inoue, Yoshiyuki [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Murase, Kohta [Inst. for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ (United States); Madejski, Grzegorz M. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Uchiyama, Yasunobu [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Rikkyo Univ., Tokyo (Japan)

2013-09-24

While the cosmic soft X-ray background is very likely to originate from individual Seyfert galaxies, the origin of the cosmic hard X-ray and MeV gamma-ray background is not fully understood. It is expected that Seyferts including Compton thick population may explain the cosmic hard X-ray background. At MeV energy range, Seyferts having non-thermal electrons in coronae above accretion disks or MeV blazars may explain the background radiation. We propose that future measurements of the angular power spectra of anisotropy of the cosmic X-ray and MeV gamma-ray backgrounds will be key to deciphering these backgrounds and the evolution of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). As AGNs trace the cosmic large-scale structure, spatial clustering of AGNs exists. We show that e-ROSITA will clearly detect the correlation signal of unresolved Seyferts at 0.5-2 keV and 2-10 keV bands and will be able to measure the bias parameter of AGNs at both bands. Once future hard X-ray all sky satellites achieve a sensitivity better than 10–12 erg cm–2 s–1 at 10-30 keV or 30-50 keV—although this is beyond the sensitivities of current hard X-ray all sky monitors—angular power spectra will allow us to independently investigate the fraction of Compton-thick AGNs in all Seyferts. We also find that the expected angular power spectra of Seyferts and blazars in the MeV range are different by about an order of magnitude, where the Poisson term, so-called shot noise, is dominant. Current and future MeV instruments will clearly disentangle the origin of the MeV gamma-ray background through the angular power spectrum.

Economies of using seismic experience data qualification methods at Department of Energy facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loceff, F.; Antaki, G.; Goen, L.

1995-01-01

This paper summarizes the implementation of the seismic qualification of existing equipment using experience data techniques. The emphasis is on the economies of this approach compared with standard qualification methods of analysis and testing or replacement with qualified equipment. Seismic qualification of existing equipment using experience data is a technical necessity and is the most economically attractive of the options. Representative costs for seismic qualification at two facilities show costs are substantially lower than the costs for qualification using conventional methods. Because of the experience to date, the authors recommend that the Department of Energy continue to sponsor the Existing Facilities Program for applying qualification using experience data techniques at DOE facilities

Quantitative dopant profiling in semiconductors. A new approach to Kelvin probe force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baumgart, Christine

2012-07-01

Failure analysis and optimization of semiconducting devices request knowledge of their electrical properties. To meet the demands of today's semiconductor industry, an electrical nanometrology technique is required which provides quantitative information about the doping profile and which enables scans with a lateral resolution in the sub-10 nm range. In the presented work it is shown that Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is a very promising electrical nanometrology technique to face this challenge. The technical and physical aspects of KPFM measurements on semiconductors required for the correct interpretation of the detected KPFM bias are discussed. A new KPFM model is developed which enables the quantitative correlation between the probed KPFM bias and the dopant concentration in the investigated semiconducting sample. Quantitative dopant profiling by means of the new KPFM model is demonstrated by the example of differently structured, n- and p-type doped silicon. Additionally, the transport of charge carriers during KPFM measurements, in particular in the presence of intrinsic electric fields due to vertical and horizontal pn junctions as well as due to surface space charge regions, is discussed. Detailed investigations show that transport of charge carriers in the semiconducting sample is a crucial aspect and has to be taken into account when aiming for a quantitative evaluation of the probed KPFM bias.

Qualifications of Subject Teachers in Special Education Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, Meryem Uçar; Kis, Arzu

2018-01-01

Teacher qualifications are essential to be able to teach children with special needs efficiently. Therefore the aim of this study is to determine the qualifications of subject teachers in special education schools in Turkey. In the study 20 subject teachers within the field of music, art and sports who worked in special education schools in Turkey…

14 CFR 121.909 - Approval of Advanced Qualification Program.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... criteria. Each AQP must have separate curriculums for indoctrination, qualification, and continuing... the training and evaluation of CRM and technical skills and knowledge. An application for approval of... must meet all the requirements of this subpart. (2) Each indoctrination, qualification, and continuing...

Development of a pump-probe facility with sub-picosecond time resolution combining a high-power ultraviolet regenerative FEL amplifier and a soft X-ray SASE FEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faatz, B.; Fateev, A.A.; Feldhaus, J.; Krzywinski, J.; Pflueger, J.; Rossbach, J.; Saldin, E.L.; Schneidmiller, E.A.; Yurkov, M.V.

2001-01-01

This paper presents the conceptual design of a high power radiation source with laser-like characteristics in the ultraviolet spectral range at the TESLA Test Facility (TTF). The concept is based on the generation of radiation in a regenerative FEL amplifier (RAFEL). The RAFEL described in this paper covers a wavelength range of 200-400 nm and provides 200 fs pulses with 2 mJ of optical energy per pulse. The linac operates at 1% duty factor and the average output radiation power exceeds 100 W. The RAFEL will be driven by the spent electron beam leaving the soft X-ray FEL, thus providing minimal interference between these two devices. The RAFEL output radiation has the same time structure as the X-ray FEL and the UV pulses are naturally synchronized with the soft X-ray pulses from the TTF FEL. Therefore, it should be possible to achieve synchronization close to the duration of the radiation pulses (200 fs) for pump-probe techniques using either an UV pulse as a pump and soft X-ray pulse as a probe, or vice versa

A Technology Development Roadmap for a Near-Term Probe-Class X-ray Astrophysics Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Daelemans, Gerard J.; Petre, Robert; Bookbinder, Jay; Ptak, Andrew; Smith, Randall

2013-01-01

This document presents a roadmap, including proposed budget and schedule, for maturing the instrumentation needed for an X-ray astrophysics Probe-class mission. The Physics of the Cosmos (PCOS) Program Office was directed to create this roadmap following the December 2012 NASA Astrophysics Implementation Plan (AIP). Definition of this mission is called for in the AIP, with the possibility of selection in 2015 for a start in 2017. The overall mission capabilities and instrument performance requirements were defined in the 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey report, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (NWNH), in connection with the highly ranked International X-ray Observatory (IXO). In NWNH, recommendations were provided regarding the size of, and instrumentation needed by, the next large X-ray observatory. Specifically, the key instrumental capability would be an X-ray calorimeter spectrometer at the focus of a large mirror with angular resolution of 10 arc seconds (arcsec) or better. If possible, a grating spectrometer should also be incorporated into the instrument complement. In response to these recommendations, four instrumentation technologies are included in this roadmap. Three of these are critical for an X-ray mission designed to address NWNH questions: segmented X-ray mirrors, transition edge sensor calorimeters, and gratings. Two approaches are described for gratings, which represent the least mature technology and thus most in need of a parallel path for risk reduction. Also, while current CCD detectors would likely meet the mission needs for grating spectrum readout, specific improvements are included as an additional approach for achieving the grating system effective area requirement. The technical steps needed for these technologies to attain technology readiness levels (TRL) of 5 and 6 are described, as well as desirable modest risk reduction steps beyond TRL-6. All of the technology development efforts are currently

HICOSMO - X-ray analysis of a complete sample of galaxy clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Schellenberger, G.; Reiprich, T.

2017-10-01

Galaxy clusters are known to be the largest virialized objects in the Universe. Based on the theory of structure formation one can use them as cosmological probes, since they originate from collapsed overdensities in the early Universe and witness its history. The X-ray regime provides the unique possibility to measure in detail the most massive visible component, the intra cluster medium. Using Chandra observations of a local sample of 64 bright clusters (HIFLUGCS) we provide total (hydrostatic) and gas mass estimates of each cluster individually. Making use of the completeness of the sample we quantify two interesting cosmological parameters by a Bayesian cosmological likelihood analysis. We find Ω_{M}=0.3±0.01 and σ_{8}=0.79±0.03 (statistical uncertainties) using our default analysis strategy combining both, a mass function analysis and the gas mass fraction results. The main sources of biases that we discuss and correct here are (1) the influence of galaxy groups (higher incompleteness in parent samples and a differing behavior of the L_{x} - M relation), (2) the hydrostatic mass bias (as determined by recent hydrodynamical simulations), (3) the extrapolation of the total mass (comparing various methods), (4) the theoretical halo mass function and (5) other cosmological (non-negligible neutrino mass), and instrumental (calibration) effects.

In situ scanning tunnelling microscopy of redox molecules. Coherent electron transfer at large bias voltages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jingdong; Kuznetsov, A.M.; Ulstrup, Jens

2003-01-01

Theories of in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) of molecules with redox levels near the substrate and tip Fermi levels point to 'spectroscopic' current-overpotential features. Prominent features require a narrow 'probing tip', i.e. a small bias voltage, eV(bias), compared...... a broad tunnelling current-overpotential range at a constant (large) bias voltage of +0.2 V. The current is found to be constant over a 0.25 V overpotential range, which covers roughly the range where the oxidised and reduced redox levels are located within the energy tip. STM contrast and apparent...... of previous theoretical work on in situ STM of redox molecules, to large bias voltages, \\eV(bias)\\ > E-r. Large bias voltages give tunnelling contrasts independent of the overpotential over a broad range, as both the oxidised and reduced redox levels are located within the 'energy tip' between the substrate...

42 CFR 21.47 - Examination; anticipation of meeting qualifications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Examination; anticipation of meeting qualifications. 21.47 Section 21.47 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PERSONNEL COMMISSIONED OFFICERS Appointment § 21.47 Examination; anticipation of meeting qualifications. A...

Labelling of HBV-DNA probe using reagent made in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Quanshi

1991-01-01

The labelling hepatitis Bvirus DNA (HBV-DNA) probe was studied by using reagent made in China. The results showed that: (1) The dNTPs with high specific activity was necessary for the labelling of nigh specific activity HBV-DNA probe; (2) reaction of labelling HBV-DNA probe was completed in a few minutes; (3) 0.37 MBq 3 H dTTP (specific activity 1.554TBq/mmol) was enough to label 1 μg HBV-DNA and the specific activity of probe reached 3.4 x 10 cpm/μg; (4) 7 MBqα- 32 P dATP (specific activity > 111 TBq/mmol) can label HBV-DNA probe to specific activity 1.35 x 10 cpm/μg. It was concluded that the reagent made in China can be used for the study in molecular biology

Investigation of multifunctional properties of Mn{sub 50}Ni{sub 40−x}Co{sub x}Sn{sub 10} (x = 0–6) Heusler alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, Jyoti; Suresh, K.G., E-mail: suresh@phy.iitb.ac.in

2015-01-25

Highlights: • Mn{sub 50}Ni{sub 40−x}Co{sub x}Sn{sub 10} Heusler alloys exhibit multifunctional properties. • Co doping results decrease in martensitic transition temperature and increase in T{sub C}{sup A}. • Ferromagnetic coupling increases with increase in Co concentration. • Large positive ΔS{sub M} of 10.5 J/kg K and large RCP of 125 J/kg was obtained for x = 1. • Large exchange bias field of 833 Oe was observed for Mn{sub 50}Ni{sub 39}Co{sub 1}Sn{sub 10} alloy. - Abstract: A series of Co doped Mn{sub 50}Ni{sub 40−x}Co{sub x}Sn{sub 10} (x = 0, 1, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 6) Heusler alloys has been investigated for their structural, magnetic, magnetocaloric and exchange bias properties. The martensitic transition temperatures are found to decrease with the increase in Co concentration due to the decrease in valence electron concentration (e/a ratio). The Curie temperature of austenite phase increases significantly with increasing Co concentration. A large positive magnetic entropy change (ΔS{sub M}) of 8.6 and 10.5 J/kg K, for a magnetic field change of 50 kOe is observed for x = 0 and 1 alloys, and ΔS{sub M} values decreases for higher Co concentrations. The relative cooling power shows a monotonic increase with the increase in Co concentration. Large exchange bias fields of 920 Oe and 833 Oe have been observed in the alloys with compositions x = 0 and 1, after field cooling in presence of 10 kOe. The unidirectional anisotropy arising at the interface between the frustrated and ferromagnetic phases is responsible for the large exchange bias observed in these alloys. With increase in Co, the magnetically frustrated phase diminishes in strength, giving rise to a decrease in the exchange bias effect for larger Co concentration. The exchange bias fields observed for compositions x = 0 and 1, in the present case are larger than that reported for Co doped Ni–Mn–Z (Z = Sn, Sb, and Ga) alloys. Temperature and cooling field dependence of the exchange bias