WorldWideScience

Sample records for changing transmission settings

  1. The transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in high burden settings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yates, Tom A.; Khan, Palwasha Y.; Knight, Gwenan M.; Taylor, Jonathon G.; McHugh, Timothy D.; Lipman, Marc; White, Richard G.; Cohen, Ted; Cobelens, Frank G.; Wood, Robin; Moore, David A. J.; Abubakar, Ibrahim

    2016-01-01

    Unacceptable levels of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission are noted in high burden settings and a renewed focus on reducing person-to-person transmission in these communities is needed. We review recent developments in the understanding of airborne transmission. We outline approaches to measure

  2. Malaria diagnostic testing and treatment practices in three different Plasmodium falciparum transmission settings in Tanzania: before and after a government policy change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bousema Teun

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Patterns of decreasing malaria transmission intensity make presumptive treatment of malaria an unjustifiable approach in many African settings. The controlled use of anti-malarials after laboratory confirmed diagnosis is preferable in low endemic areas. Diagnosis may be facilitated by malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs. In this study, the impact of a government policy change, comprising the provision of RDTs and advice to restrict anti-malarial treatment to RDT-positive individuals, was assessed by describing diagnostic behaviour and treatment decision-making in febrile outpatients Methods Prospective data from Biharamulo and Rubya Designated District Hospital (DDH were collected before and after policy change, in Sumve DDH no new policy was implemented. Diagnosis of malaria was confirmed by RDT; transmission intensity was evaluated by a serological marker of malaria exposure in hospital attendees. Results Prior to policy change, there was no evident association between the actual level of transmission intensity and drug-prescribing behaviour. After policy change, there was a substantial decrease in anti-malarial prescription and an increase in prescription of antibiotics. The proportion of parasite-negative individuals who received anti-malarials decreased from 89.1% (244/274 to 38.7% (46/119 in Biharamulo and from 76.9% (190/247 to 10.0% (48/479 in Rubya after policy change. Conclusion This study shows that an official policy change, where RDTs were provided and healthcare providers were advised to adhere to RDT results in prescribing drugs can be followed by more rational drug-prescribing behaviour. The current findings are promising for improving treatment policy in Tanzanian hospitals.

  3. Vulnerability to changes in malaria transmission due to climate change in West Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamana, T. K.; Eltahir, E. A.

    2012-12-01

    Malaria transmission in West Africa is strongly tied to climate; temperature affects the development rate of the malaria parasite, as well as the survival of the mosquitoes that transmit the disease, and rainfall is tied to mosquito abundance, as the vector lays its eggs in rain-fed water pools. As a result, the environmental suitability for malaria transmission in this region is expected to change as temperatures rise and rainfall patterns are altered. The vulnerability to changes in transmission varies throughout West Africa. Areas where malaria prevalence is already very high will be less sensitive to changes in transmission. Increases in environmental suitability for malaria transmission in the most arid regions may still be insufficient to allow sustained transmission. However, areas were malaria transmission currently occurs at low levels are expected to be the most sensitive to changes in environmental suitability for transmission. Here, we use data on current environment and malaria transmission rates to highlight areas in West Africa that we expect to be most vulnerable to an increase in malaria under certain climate conditions. We then analyze climate predictions from global climate models in vulnerable areas, and make predictions for the expected change in environmental suitability for malaria transmission using the Hydrology, Entomology and Malaria Transmission Simulator (HYDREMATS), a mechanistic model developed to simulate village-scale response of malaria transmission to environmental variables in West Africa.

  4. Effectiveness of reactive case detection for malaria elimination in three archetypical transmission settings: a modelling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerardin, Jaline; Bever, Caitlin A; Bridenbecker, Daniel; Hamainza, Busiku; Silumbe, Kafula; Miller, John M; Eisele, Thomas P; Eckhoff, Philip A; Wenger, Edward A

    2017-06-12

    Reactive case detection could be a powerful tool in malaria elimination, as it selectively targets transmission pockets. However, field operations have yet to demonstrate under which conditions, if any, reactive case detection is best poised to push a region to elimination. This study uses mathematical modelling to assess how baseline transmission intensity and local interconnectedness affect the impact of reactive activities in the context of other possible intervention packages. Communities in Southern Province, Zambia, where elimination operations are currently underway, were used as representatives of three archetypes of malaria transmission: low-transmission, high household density; high-transmission, low household density; and high-transmission, high household density. Transmission at the spatially-connected household level was simulated with a dynamical model of malaria transmission, and local variation in vectorial capacity and intervention coverage were parameterized according to data collected from the area. Various potential intervention packages were imposed on each of the archetypical settings and the resulting likelihoods of elimination by the end of 2020 were compared. Simulations predict that success of elimination campaigns in both low- and high-transmission areas is strongly dependent on stemming the flow of imported infections, underscoring the need for regional-scale strategies capable of reducing transmission concurrently across many connected areas. In historically low-transmission areas, treatment of clinical malaria should form the cornerstone of elimination operations, as most malaria infections in these areas are symptomatic and onward transmission would be mitigated through health system strengthening; reactive case detection has minimal impact in these settings. In historically high-transmission areas, vector control and case management are crucial for limiting outbreak size, and the asymptomatic reservoir must be addressed through

  5. Developing a tuberculosis transmission model that accounts for changes in population health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oxlade, Olivia; Schwartzman, Kevin; Benedetti, Andrea; Pai, Madhukar; Heymann, Jody; Menzies, Dick

    2011-01-01

    Simulation models are useful in policy planning for tuberculosis (TB) control. To accurately assess interventions, important modifiers of the epidemic should be accounted for in evaluative models. Improvements in population health were associated with the declining TB epidemic in the pre-antibiotic era and may be relevant today. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a TB transmission model that accounted for changes in population health. We developed a deterministic TB transmission model, using reported data from the pre-antibiotic era in England. Change in adjusted life expectancy, used as a proxy for general health, was used to determine the rate of change of key epidemiological parameters. Predicted outcomes included risk of TB infection and TB mortality. The model was validated in the setting of the Netherlands and then applied to modern Peru. The model, developed in the setting of England, predicted TB trends in the Netherlands very accurately. The R(2) value for correlation between observed and predicted data was 0.97 and 0.95 for TB infection and mortality, respectively. In Peru, the predicted decline in incidence prior to the expansion of "Directly Observed Treatment Short Course" (The DOTS strategy) was 3.7% per year (observed = 3.9% per year). After DOTS expansion, the predicted decline was very similar to the observed decline of 5.8% per year. We successfully developed and validated a TB model, which uses a proxy for population health to estimate changes in key epidemiology parameters. Population health contributed significantly to improvement in TB outcomes observed in Peru. Changing population health should be incorporated into evaluative models for global TB control.

  6. Photosynthesis-related infrared light transmission changes in spinach leaf segments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akimoto, T.

    1985-01-01

    The time courses of infrared light transmission changes and fluorescence induced by light in spinach leaf segments were measured. The illumination by red light exhibited a complex wave pattern. The transmission approached the baseline after repeating decreases and increases. Illumination by far-red light decreased the transmission. One of the differences between the two responses was the difference between the two amplitudes of the first increasing component. The component in the red light response was larger than the component in the far-red light response. The transmission decrease by far-red light is supposed to correspond to ''red drop.'' The transmission decrease by far-red light was suppressed by red light. This is due to an activation of a transmission-increasing component. This probably corresponds to ''enhancement.'' A proportional correlation existed between the intensity of far-red light and the minimum intensity of red light that suppressed the transmission decrease induced by far-red light. The component which made Peak D in the time course of fluorescence yield and the first increasing component in the transmission changes were suppressed by intense light

  7. Simulating the Effects of Cross-Generational Cultural Transmission on Language Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Tao; Shuai, Lan

    Language evolves in a socio-cultural environment. Apart from biological evolution and individual learning, cultural transmission also casts important influence on many aspects of language evolution. In this paper, based on the lexicon-syntax coevolution model, we extend the acquisition framework in our previous work to examine the roles of three forms of cultural transmission spanning the offspring, parent, and grandparent generations in language change. These transmissions are: those between the parent and offspring generations (PO), those within the offspring generation (OO), and those between the grandparent and offspring generations (GO). The simulation results of the considered model and relevant analyses illustrate not only the necessity of PO and OO transmissions for language change, thus echoing our previous findings, but also the importance of GO transmission, a form of cross-generational cultural transmission, on preserving the mutual understandability of the communal language across generations of individuals.

  8. Influence of contact definitions in assessment of the relative importance of social settings in disease transmission risk.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsty J Bolton

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Realistic models of disease transmission incorporating complex population heterogeneities require input from quantitative population mixing studies. We use contact diaries to assess the relative importance of social settings in respiratory pathogen spread using three measures of person contact hours (PCH as proxies for transmission risk with an aim to inform bipartite network models of respiratory pathogen transmission. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Our survey examines the contact behaviour for a convenience sample of 65 adults, with each encounter classified as occurring in a work, retail, home, social, travel or "other" setting. The diary design allows for extraction of PCH-interaction (cumulative time in face-face conversational or touch interaction with contacts--analogous to the contact measure used in several existing surveys--as well as PCH-setting (product of time spent in setting and number of people present and PCH-reach (product of time spent in setting and number of people in close proximity. Heterogeneities in day-dependent distribution of risk across settings are analysed using partitioning and cluster analyses and compared between days and contact measures. Although home is typically the highest-risk setting when PCH measures isolate two-way interactions, its relative importance compared to social and work settings may reduce when adopting a more inclusive contact measure that considers the number and duration of potential exposure events. CONCLUSIONS: Heterogeneities in location-dependent contact behaviour as measured by contact diary studies depend on the adopted contact definition. We find that contact measures isolating face-face conversational or touch interactions suggest that contact in the home dominates, whereas more inclusive contact measures indicate that home and work settings may be of higher importance. In the absence of definitive knowledge of the contact required to facilitate transmission of various

  9. Combined reflection and transmission microscope for telemedicine applications in field settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biener, Gabriel; Greenbaum, Alon; Isikman, Serhan O; Lee, Kelvin; Tseng, Derek; Ozcan, Aydogan

    2011-08-21

    We demonstrate a field-portable upright and inverted microscope that can image specimens in both reflection and transmission modes. This compact and cost-effective dual-mode microscope weighs only ∼135 grams (image of the specimen onto an opto-electronic sensor-array that is positioned above the beam-splitter cube. In addition to this, the illumination beam is also partially transmitted through the same specimen, which then casts lensfree in-line holograms of the same objects onto a second opto-electronic sensor-array that is positioned underneath the beam-splitter cube. By rapid digital reconstruction of the acquired lensfree holograms, transmission images (both phase and amplitude) of the same specimen are also created. We tested the performance of this field-portable microscope by imaging various micro-particles, blood smears as well as a histopathology slide corresponding to skin tissue. Being compact, light-weight and cost-effective, this combined reflection and transmission microscope might especially be useful for telemedicine applications in resource limited settings. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

  10. Comparative population structure of Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium falciparum under different transmission settings in Malawi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molyneux Malcolm E

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Described here is the first population genetic study of Plasmodium malariae, the causative agent of quartan malaria. Although not as deadly as Plasmodium falciparum, P. malariae is more common than previously thought, and is frequently in sympatry and co-infection with P. falciparum, making its study increasingly important. This study compares the population parameters of the two species in two districts of Malawi with different malaria transmission patterns - one seasonal, one perennial - to explore the effects of transmission on population structures. Methods Six species-specific microsatellite markers were used to analyse 257 P. malariae samples and 257 P. falciparum samples matched for age, gender and village of residence. Allele sizes were scored to within 2 bp for each locus and haplotypes were constructed from dominant alleles in multiple infections. Analysis of multiplicity of infection (MOI, population differentiation, clustering of haplotypes and linkage disequilibrium was performed for both species. Regression analyses were used to determine association of MOI measurements with clinical malaria parameters. Results Multiple-genotype infections within each species were common in both districts, accounting for 86.0% of P. falciparum and 73.2% of P. malariae infections and did not differ significantly with transmission setting. Mean MOI of P. falciparum was increased under perennial transmission compared with seasonal (3.14 vs 2.59, p = 0.008 and was greater in children compared with adults. In contrast, P. malariae mean MOI was similar between transmission settings (2.12 vs 2.11 and there was no difference between children and adults. Population differentiation showed no significant differences between villages or districts for either species. There was no evidence of geographical clustering of haplotypes. Linkage disequilibrium amongst loci was found only for P. falciparum samples from the seasonal transmission

  11. Comparing Effects of TCR and TSC on MHO Distance Protection Setting in 400 kV Algerian Transmission Line

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed ZELLAGUI

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a study on the performances of distance relays setting in 400 kV in Eastern Algerian transmission networks at Sonelgaz Group (Algerian company of Electrical and Gas compensated by shunt Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS. The facts are used for controlling transmission voltage, power flow, reactive power, and damping of power system oscillations in high power transfer levels. The effects of SVC devices i.e. Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR and the Thyristor Switched Capacitors (TSC insertion, on the total impedance of a transmission line protected by MHO distance relay are investigated. The modified setting zones protections for three forward zones (Z1, Z2 and Z3 have been calculated in order to improve the performances of distance relay protection and prevent circuit breaker nuisance tripping.

  12. An Empirical Study of the Transmission Power Setting for Bluetooth-Based Indoor Localization Mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo-Cara, Manuel; Lovón-Melgarejo, Jesús; Bravo-Rocca, Gusseppe; Orozco-Barbosa, Luis; García-Varea, Ismael

    2017-06-07

    Nowadays, there is a great interest in developing accurate wireless indoor localization mechanisms enabling the implementation of many consumer-oriented services. Among the many proposals, wireless indoor localization mechanisms based on the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) are being widely explored. Most studies have focused on the evaluation of the capabilities of different mobile device brands and wireless network technologies. Furthermore, different parameters and algorithms have been proposed as a means of improving the accuracy of wireless-based localization mechanisms. In this paper, we focus on the tuning of the RSSI fingerprint to be used in the implementation of a Bluetooth Low Energy 4.0 (BLE4.0) Bluetooth localization mechanism. Following a holistic approach, we start by assessing the capabilities of two Bluetooth sensor/receiver devices. We then evaluate the relevance of the RSSI fingerprint reported by each BLE4.0 beacon operating at various transmission power levels using feature selection techniques. Based on our findings, we use two classification algorithms in order to improve the setting of the transmission power levels of each of the BLE4.0 beacons. Our main findings show that our proposal can greatly improve the localization accuracy by setting a custom transmission power level for each BLE4.0 beacon.

  13. An Empirical Study of the Transmission Power Setting for Bluetooth-Based Indoor Localization Mechanisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Castillo-Cara

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, there is a great interest in developing accurate wireless indoor localization mechanisms enabling the implementation of many consumer-oriented services. Among the many proposals, wireless indoor localization mechanisms based on the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI are being widely explored. Most studies have focused on the evaluation of the capabilities of different mobile device brands and wireless network technologies. Furthermore, different parameters and algorithms have been proposed as a means of improving the accuracy of wireless-based localization mechanisms. In this paper, we focus on the tuning of the RSSI fingerprint to be used in the implementation of a Bluetooth Low Energy 4.0 (BLE4.0 Bluetooth localization mechanism. Following a holistic approach, we start by assessing the capabilities of two Bluetooth sensor/receiver devices. We then evaluate the relevance of the RSSI fingerprint reported by each BLE4.0 beacon operating at various transmission power levels using feature selection techniques. Based on our findings, we use two classification algorithms in order to improve the setting of the transmission power levels of each of the BLE4.0 beacons. Our main findings show that our proposal can greatly improve the localization accuracy by setting a custom transmission power level for each BLE4.0 beacon.

  14. Planetary Transmission Diagnostics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewicki, David G. (Technical Monitor); Samuel, Paul D.; Conroy, Joseph K.; Pines, Darryll J.

    2004-01-01

    This report presents a methodology for detecting and diagnosing gear faults in the planetary stage of a helicopter transmission. This diagnostic technique is based on the constrained adaptive lifting algorithm. The lifting scheme, developed by Wim Sweldens of Bell Labs, is a time domain, prediction-error realization of the wavelet transform that allows for greater flexibility in the construction of wavelet bases. Classic lifting analyzes a given signal using wavelets derived from a single fundamental basis function. A number of researchers have proposed techniques for adding adaptivity to the lifting scheme, allowing the transform to choose from a set of fundamental bases the basis that best fits the signal. This characteristic is desirable for gear diagnostics as it allows the technique to tailor itself to a specific transmission by selecting a set of wavelets that best represent vibration signals obtained while the gearbox is operating under healthy-state conditions. However, constraints on certain basis characteristics are necessary to enhance the detection of local wave-form changes caused by certain types of gear damage. The proposed methodology analyzes individual tooth-mesh waveforms from a healthy-state gearbox vibration signal that was generated using the vibration separation (synchronous signal-averaging) algorithm. Each waveform is separated into analysis domains using zeros of its slope and curvature. The bases selected in each analysis domain are chosen to minimize the prediction error, and constrained to have the same-sign local slope and curvature as the original signal. The resulting set of bases is used to analyze future-state vibration signals and the lifting prediction error is inspected. The constraints allow the transform to effectively adapt to global amplitude changes, yielding small prediction errors. However, local wave-form changes associated with certain types of gear damage are poorly adapted, causing a significant change in the

  15. Knowledge production and transmission in a changing society ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Knowledge production and transmission in a changing society: challenges facing law lecturers in a distance education environment in South Africa. S Scott. Abstract. In this article I highlight the challenges facing a law lecturer in a multicultural society in transformation where the student is being prepared to serve society in ...

  16. Public transportation and tuberculosis transmission in a high incidence setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamudio, Carlos; Krapp, Fiorella; Choi, Howard W; Shah, Lena; Ciampi, Antonio; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Heymann, Jody; Seas, Carlos; Brewer, Timothy F

    2015-01-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) transmission may occur with exposure to an infectious contact often in the setting of household environments, but extra-domiciliary transmission also may happen. We evaluated if using buses and/or minibuses as public transportation was associated with acquiring TB in a high incidence urban district in Lima, Peru. Newly diagnosed TB cases with no history of previous treatment and community controls were recruited from August to December 2008 for a case-control study. Crude and adjusted odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using logistic regression to study the association between bus/minibus use and TB risk. One hundred forty TB cases and 80 controls were included. The overall use of buses/minibuses was 44.9%; 53.3% (72/135) among cases and 30.4% (24/79) among controls [OR: 3.50, (95% CI: 1.60-7.64)]. In the TB group, 25.7% (36/140) of subjects reported having had a recent household TB contact, and 13% (18/139) reported having had a workplace TB contact; corresponding figures for controls were 3.8% (3/80) and 4.1% (3/73), respectively[OR: 8.88 (95% CI: 2.64-29.92), and OR: 3.89 (95% CI: 1.10-13.70)]. In multivariate analyses, age, household income, household contact and using buses/minibuses to commute to work were independently associated with TB [OR for bus/minibus use: 11.8 (95% CI: 1.45-96.07)]. Bus/minibus use to commute to work is associated with TB risk in this high-incidence, urban population in Lima, Peru. Measures should be implemented to prevent TB transmission through this exposure.

  17. Epidemiological and ecological determinants of Zika virus transmission in an urban setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lourenço, José; Maia de Lima, Maricelia; Faria, Nuno Rodrigues; Walker, Andrew; Kraemer, Moritz Ug; Villabona-Arenas, Christian Julian; Lambert, Ben; Marques de Cerqueira, Erenilde; Pybus, Oliver G; Alcantara, Luiz Cj; Recker, Mario

    2017-09-09

    The Zika virus has emerged as a global public health concern. Its rapid geographic expansion is attributed to the success of Aedes mosquito vectors, but local epidemiological drivers are still poorly understood. Feira de Santana played a pivotal role in the Chikungunya epidemic in Brazil and was one of the first urban centres to report Zika infections. Using a climate-driven transmission model and notified Zika case data, we show that a low observation rate and high vectorial capacity translated into a significant attack rate during the 2015 outbreak, with a subsequent decline in 2016 and fade-out in 2017 due to herd-immunity. We find a potential Zika-related, low risk for microcephaly per pregnancy, but with significant public health impact given high attack rates. The balance between the loss of herd-immunity and viral re-importation will dictate future transmission potential of Zika in this urban setting.

  18. Modeling seasonal behavior changes and disease transmission with application to chronic wasting disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oraby, Tamer; Vasilyeva, Olga; Krewski, Daniel; Lutscher, Frithjof

    2014-01-07

    Behavior and habitat of wildlife animals change seasonally according to environmental conditions. Mathematical models need to represent this seasonality to be able to make realistic predictions about the future of a population and the effectiveness of human interventions. Managing and modeling disease in wild animal populations requires particular care in that disease transmission dynamics is a critical consideration in the etiology of both human and animal diseases, with different transmission paradigms requiring different disease risk management strategies. Since transmission of infectious diseases among wildlife depends strongly on social behavior, mechanisms of disease transmission could also change seasonally. A specific consideration in this regard confronted by modellers is whether the contact rate between individuals is density-dependent or frequency-dependent. We argue that seasonal behavior changes could lead to a seasonal shift between density and frequency dependence. This hypothesis is explored in the case of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal disease that affects deer, elk and moose in many areas of North America. Specifically, we introduce a strategic CWD risk model based on direct disease transmission that accounts for the seasonal change in the transmission dynamics and habitats occupied, guided by information derived from cervid ecology. The model is composed of summer and winter susceptible-infected (SI) equations, with frequency-dependent and density-dependent transmission dynamics, respectively. The model includes impulsive birth events with density-dependent birth rate. We determine the basic reproduction number as a weighted average of two seasonal reproduction numbers. We parameterize the model from data derived from the scientific literature on CWD and deer ecology, and conduct global and local sensitivity analyses of the basic reproduction number. We explore the effectiveness of different culling strategies for the management of CWD

  19. Blood-borne virus transmission in healthcare settings in Ireland: review of patient notification exercises 1997-2011.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Donohue, S

    2012-01-21

    A review of patient notification exercises (PNEs) carried out in Ireland between 1997 and 2011 to investigate potential exposure to blood-borne viruses (BBVs) in healthcare settings was undertaken to inform future policy and practice. A questionnaire was sent to key informants in the health services to identify all relevant PNEs. Structured interviews were conducted with key investigators, and available documentation was examined. Ten BBV-related PNEs were identified. Despite testing over 2000 patients, only one case of transmission was found. However, in-depth local investigations before undertaking the PNEs identified six cases of healthcare-associated transmission.

  20. Symmetry in farm-retail price transmission: pork in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Tey, (John) Yeong-Sheng

    2009-01-01

    This study intends to determine the farm-retail price transmission behaviors of pork in Malaysia to serve as a good implication for pork pricing system in Malaysia. Using data from January 1997 to December 2008, both the Houck and ECM approaches were found symmetric where a change in farm price of pork was observed to have similar change in retail price of pork in Malaysia. The price setting system of pork can therefore be further described by the estimated price transmission elasticities whe...

  1. Age-related changes in the transmission properties of the human lens and their relevance to circadian entrainment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kessel, Line; Lundeman, Jesper Holm; Herbst, Kristina

    2010-01-01

    To characterize age-related changes in the transmission of light through noncataractous human lenses.......To characterize age-related changes in the transmission of light through noncataractous human lenses....

  2. Changes in Variable Number of Tandem Repeats in 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' through Insect Transmission.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroshi Katoh

    Full Text Available Citrus greening (huanglongbing is the most destructive citrus disease worldwide. The disease is associated with three species of 'Candidatus Liberibacter' among which 'Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus' has the widest distribution. 'Ca. L. asiaticus' is commonly transmitted by a phloem-feeding insect vector, the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri. A previous study showed that isolates of 'Ca. L. asiaticus' were clearly differentiated by variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR profiles at four loci in the genome. In this study, the VNTR analysis was further validated by assessing the stability of these repeats after multiplication of the pathogen upon host-to-host transmission using a 'Ca. L. asiaticus' strain from Japan. The results showed that some tandem repeats showed detectable changes after insect transmission. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate that the repeat numbers VNTR 002 and 077 of 'Ca. L. asiaticus' change through psyllid transmission. VNTRs in the recipient plant were apparently unrelated to the growing phase of the vector. In contrast, changes in the number of tandem repeats increased with longer acquisition and inoculation access periods, whereas changes were not observed through psyllid transmission after relatively short acquisition and inoculation access periods, up to 20 and 19 days, respectively.

  3. Design of synchromesh mechanism to optimization manual transmission's electric vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zainuri, Fuad; Sumarsono, Danardono A.; Adhitya, Muhammad; Siregar, Rolan

    2017-03-01

    Significant research has been attempted on a vehicle that lead to the development of transmission that can reduce energy consumption and improve vehicle efficiency. Consumers also expect safety, convenience, and competitive prices. Automatic transmission (AT), continuously variable transmission (CVT), and dual clutch transmission (DCT) is the latest transmission developed for road vehicle. From literature reviews that have been done that this transmission is less effective on electric cars which use batteries as a power source compared to type manual transmission, this is due to the large power losses when making gear changes. Zeroshift system is the transmission can do shift gears with no time (zero time). It was developed for the automatic manual transmission, and this transmission has been used on racing vehicles to eliminate deceleration when gear shift. Zeroshift transmission still use the clutch to change gear in which electromechanical be used to replace the clutch pedal. Therefore, the transmission is too complex for the transmission of electric vehicles, but its mechanism is considered very suitable to increase the transmission efficiency. From this idea, a new innovation design transmission will be created to electric car. The combination synchromesh with zeroshift mechanism for the manual transmission is a transmission that is ideal for improving the transmission efficiency. Installation synchromesh on zeroshift mechanism is expected to replace the function of the clutch MT, and assisted with the motor torque setting when to change gear. Additionally to consider is the weight of the transmission, ease of manufacturing, ease of installation with an electric motor, as well as ease of use by drivers is a matter that must be done to obtain a new transmission system that is suitable for electric cars.

  4. Disposable gendine antimicrobial gloves for preventing transmission of pathogens in health care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reitzel, Ruth; Rosenblatt, Joel; Jiang, Ying; Hachem, Ray; Raad, Issam

    2014-01-01

    Transmission of organisms by contact of gloves with surfaces following contact with a pathogen source has been recognized as an important vector for pathogenesis of health care-associated infections. In these cases, the gloves protect the wearer from contact with the pathogenic organisms; however, this personal protection can facilitate the wearer unwittingly becoming a carrier of the pathogens from one location to another. A novel gendine (combination of chlorhexidine and gentian violet) antiseptic coating for the external surface of the glove was developed as a potential intervention to prevent this mode of transmission. We characterized the ability of the coating to rapidly kill bacterial and fungal pathogens within 1 minute of contact with the glove surface. The International Organization of Standardization 22196 concentrated inoculum contact testing methodology was followed. The gendine-coated gloves were able to fully eradicate multidrug-resistant organisms included methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterocci, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase producing. In addition, Candida albicans, Candida glabarata, and 2 pathogenic Escherichia coli strains commonly associated with invasive gastroenteritis were also fully eradicated within 1 minute of contact. The gendine coating did not adversely impact the finish or integrity of the disposable gloves. The highly efficacious gendine-coated antimicrobial gloves potentially provide an additional means of protection against horizontal transmission of common pathogens in a hospital setting. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Using goal setting as a strategy for dietary behavior change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, K W; Baranowski, T; Smith, S P

    2001-05-01

    Recent reviews have noted that behavioral theory-based nutrition education programs are more successful at achieving food behavior change than knowledge-based programs and that a clear understanding of the mechanisms of behavior change procedures enable dietetics professionals to more effectively promote change. Successful dietary behavior change programs target 1 or more of the personal, behavioral, or environmental factors that influence the behavior of interest and apply theory-based strategies to influence or change those factors. Goal setting is a strategy that is frequently used to help people change. A 4-step goal-setting process has been identified: recognizing a need for change; establishing a goal; adopting a goal-directed activity and self-monitoring it; and self-rewarding goal attainment. The applications of goal setting in dietary interventions for adults and children are reviewed here. Because interventions using goal setting appear to promote dietary change, dietitians should consider incorporating the goal-setting strategies to enhance the behavior change process in nutrition education programs.

  6. Health Care Workers and Researchers Traveling to Developing-World Clinical Settings: Disease Transmission Risk and Mitigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    INVITED ARTICLE James M. Hughes and Mary E. Wilson, Section Editors Health Care Workers and Researchers Traveling to Developing-World Clinical...for risk mitigation. Few data on the epidemiology of infectious diseases occurring among traveling health care workers (HCWs) exist. Surveillance... Health Care Workers and Researchers Traveling to Developing-World Clinical Settings: Disease Transmission Risk and Mitigation 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b

  7. Is the virulence of HIV changing? A meta-analysis of trends in prognostic markers of HIV disease progression and transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbeck, Joshua T.; Müller, Viktor; Maust, Brandon S.; Ledergerber, Bruno; Torti, Carlo; Di Giambenedetto, Simona; Gras, Luuk; Günthard, Huldrych F.; Jacobson, Lisa P.; Mullins, James I.; Gottlieb, Geoffrey S.

    2013-01-01

    Objective The potential for changing HIV-1 virulence has significant implications for the AIDS epidemic, including changing HIV transmission rates, rapidity of disease progression, and timing of ART. Published data to date have provided conflicting results. Design We conducted a meta-analysis of changes in baseline CD4+ T-cell counts and set point plasma viral RNA load over time in order to establish whether summary trends are consistent with changing HIV-1 virulence. Methods We searched PubMed for studies of trends in HIV-1 prognostic markers of disease progression and supplemented findings with publications referenced in epidemiological or virulence studies. We identified 12 studies of trends in baseline CD4+ T-cell counts (21 052 total individuals), and eight studies of trends in set point viral loads (10 785 total individuals), spanning the years 1984–2010. Using random-effects meta-analysis, we estimated summary effect sizes for trends in HIV-1 plasma viral loads and CD4+ T-cell counts. Results Baseline CD4+ T-cell counts showed a summary trend of decreasing cell counts [effect=−4.93 cells/µl per year, 95% confidence interval (CI) −6.53 to −3.3]. Set point viral loads showed a summary trend of increasing plasma viral RNA loads (effect=0.013 log10 copies/ml per year, 95% CI −0.001 to 0.03). The trend rates decelerated in recent years for both prognostic markers. Conclusion Our results are consistent with increased virulence of HIV-1 over the course of the epidemic. Extrapolating over the 30 years since the first description of AIDS, this represents a CD4+ T cells loss of approximately 148 cells/µl and a gain of 0.39 log10 copies/ml of viral RNA measured during early infection. These effect sizes would predict increasing rates of disease progression, and need for ART as well as increasing transmission risk. PMID:22089381

  8. Impacts of Climate Change on Malaria Transmission in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eltahir, E. A. B.; Endo, N.; Yamana, T. K.

    2017-12-01

    Malaria is a major vector-borne parasitic disease transmitted to humans by Anopheles spp mosquitoes. Africa is the hotspot for malaria transmission where more than 90% of malaria deaths occur every year. Malaria transmission is an intricate function of climatic factors, which non-linearly affect the development of vectors and parasites. We project that the risk of malaria will increase towards the end of the 21st century in east Africa, but decrease in west Africa. We combine a novel malaria transmission simulator, HYDREMATS, that has been developed based on comprehensive multi-year field surveys both in East Africa and West Africa, and the most reliable climate projections through regional dynamical downscaling and rigorous selection of GCMs from among CMIP5 models. We define a bell-shaped relation between malaria intensity and temperature, centered around a temperature of 30°C. Future risks of malaria are projected for two highly populated regions in Africa: the highlands in East Africa and the fringes of the desert in West Africa. In the highlands of East Africa, temperature is substantially colder than this optimal temperature; warmer future climate exacerbate malaria conditions. In the Sahel fringes in West Africa, temperature is around this optimal temperature; warming is not likely to exacerbate and might even reduce malaria burden. Unlike the highlands of East Africa, which receive significant amounts of annual rainfall, dry conditions also limit malaria transmission in the Sahel fringes in West Africa. This disproportionate risk of malaria due to climate change should guide strategies for climate adaptation over Africa.

  9. Series Transmission Line Transformer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckles, Robert A.; Booth, Rex; Yen, Boris T.

    2004-06-29

    A series transmission line transformer is set forth which includes two or more of impedance matched sets of at least two transmissions lines such as shielded cables, connected in parallel at one end ans series at the other in a cascading fashion. The cables are wound about a magnetic core. The series transmission line transformer (STLT) which can provide for higher impedance ratios and bandwidths, which is scalable, and which is of simpler design and construction.

  10. Can antibodies against flies alter malaria transmission in birds by changing vector behavior?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Suma; Waite, Jessica L; Clayton, Dale H; Adler, Frederick R

    2014-10-07

    Transmission of insect-borne diseases is shaped by the interactions among parasites, vectors, and hosts. Any factor that alters movement of infected vectors from infected to uninfeced hosts will in turn alter pathogen spread. In this paper, we study one such pathogen-vector-host system, avian malaria in pigeons transmitted by fly ectoparasites, where both two-way and three-way interactions play a key role in shaping disease spread. Bird immune defenses against flies can decrease malaria prevalence by reducing fly residence time on infected birds or increase disease prevalence by enhancing fly movement and thus infection transmission. We develop a mathematical model that illustrates how these changes in vector behavior influence pathogen transmission and show that malaria prevalence is maximized at an intermediate level of defense avoidance by the flies. Understanding how host immune defenses indirectly alter disease transmission by influencing vector behavior has implications for reducing the transmission of human malaria and other vectored pathogens. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Characterizing the transmission dynamics and control of ebola virus disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerardo Chowell

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Carefully calibrated transmission models have the potential to guide public health officials on the nature and scale of the interventions required to control epidemics. In the context of the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD epidemic in Liberia, Drake and colleagues, in this issue of PLOS Biology, employed an elegant modeling approach to capture the distributions of the number of secondary cases that arise in the community and health care settings in the context of changing population behaviors and increasing hospital capacity. Their findings underscore the role of increasing the rate of safe burials and the fractions of infectious individuals who seek hospitalization together with hospital capacity to achieve epidemic control. However, further modeling efforts of EVD transmission and control in West Africa should utilize the spatial-temporal patterns of spread in the region by incorporating spatial heterogeneity in the transmission process. Detailed datasets are urgently needed to characterize temporal changes in population behaviors, contact networks at different spatial scales, population mobility patterns, adherence to infection control measures in hospital settings, and hospitalization and reporting rates.

  12. The changing U.S. financial system : some implications for the monetary transmission mechanism

    OpenAIRE

    Gordon H. Sellon

    2002-01-01

    An important part of monetary policy is the monetary transmission mechanism, the process by which monetary policy actions influence the economy. While the transmission mechanism involves a number of channels, including exchange rates, bank credit, and asset prices, most economists consider interest rates to be the principal avenue by which monetary policy affects economic activity.> In recent decades, significant changes in the structure of financial markets and institutions in the United Sta...

  13. Transmission eigenvalues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cakoni, Fioralba; Haddar, Houssem

    2013-10-01

    In inverse scattering theory, transmission eigenvalues can be seen as the extension of the notion of resonant frequencies for impenetrable objects to the case of penetrable dielectrics. The transmission eigenvalue problem is a relatively late arrival to the spectral theory of partial differential equations. Its first appearance was in 1986 in a paper by Kirsch who was investigating the denseness of far-field patterns for scattering solutions of the Helmholtz equation or, in more modern terminology, the injectivity of the far-field operator [1]. The paper of Kirsch was soon followed by a more systematic study by Colton and Monk in the context of developing the dual space method for solving the inverse scattering problem for acoustic waves in an inhomogeneous medium [2]. In this paper they showed that for a spherically stratified media transmission eigenvalues existed and formed a discrete set. Numerical examples were also given showing that in principle transmission eigenvalues could be determined from the far-field data. This first period of interest in transmission eigenvalues was concluded with papers by Colton et al in 1989 [3] and Rynne and Sleeman in 1991 [4] showing that for an inhomogeneous medium (not necessarily spherically stratified) transmission eigenvalues, if they existed, formed a discrete set. For the next seventeen years transmission eigenvalues were ignored. This was mainly due to the fact that, with the introduction of various sampling methods to determine the shape of an inhomogeneous medium from far-field data, transmission eigenvalues were something to be avoided and hence the fact that transmission eigenvalues formed at most a discrete set was deemed to be sufficient. In addition, questions related to the existence of transmission eigenvalues or the structure of associated eigenvectors were recognized as being particularly difficult due to the nonlinearity of the eigenvalue problem and the special structure of the associated transmission

  14. DGA-based VAR rescheduling for transmission loss reduction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mishra, S. [Indian Inst. of Technology, Delhi (India); Taylor, G.A. [Brunel Univ., London (United Kingdom). Brunel Inst. of Power Systems; Reddy, J.B.V. [Government of India, New Delhi (India). Dept. of Science and Technology; Naeem, M.H. [Multimedia Univ. (Malaysia). Faculty of Engineering

    2009-07-01

    Power losses in power transmission lines can be minimized by adjusting transformer taps and switchable VAR sources. Optimal power flow (OPF) is a static, nonlinear, multi-objective optimization challenge in which the optimal settings of control variables must be determined for minimizing the cost of generation, emissions, transmission losses and voltage and power flow deviations. OPF is important in power system operation because a small savings per hour can mean a large annual savings. This paper presented a method to reduce transmission power losses using a Differential Genetic Algorithm (DGA) for VAR rescheduling. The New England 39-bus power system was used as a test case. Power losses were minimized by changing the tap settings of various transformers and by varying the injected reactive power. The paper showed that certain buses in the system can improve the voltage profile and reduce transmission losses through reactive power injections from capacitor banks. In this study, minimum reactive power output of generators was maintained at zero to ensure that the generators did not draw reactive power. The DGA was shown to produce better results than the Conventional Genetic Algorithm in terms of power loss minimization. 12 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

  15. Force transmissibility versus displacement transmissibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lage, Y. E.; Neves, M. M.; Maia, N. M. M.; Tcherniak, D.

    2014-10-01

    It is well-known that when a single-degree-of-freedom (sdof) system is excited by a continuous motion of the foundation, the force transmissibility, relating the force transmitted to the foundation to the applied force, equals the displacement transmissibility. Recent developments in the generalization of the transmissibility to multiple-degree-of-freedom (mdof) systems have shown that similar simple and direct relations between both types of transmissibility do not appear naturally from the definitions, as happens in the sdof case. In this paper, the authors present their studies on the conditions under which it is possible to establish a relation between force transmissibility and displacement transmissibility for mdof systems. As far as the authors are aware, such a relation is not currently found in the literature, which is justified by being based on recent developments in the transmissibility concept for mdof systems. Indeed, it does not appear naturally, but the authors observed that the needed link is present when the displacement transmissibility is obtained between the same coordinates where the applied and reaction forces are considered in the force transmissibility case; this implies that the boundary conditions are not exactly the same and instead follow some rules. This work presents a formal derivation of the explicit relation between the force and displacement transmissibilities for mdof systems, and discusses its potential and limitations. The authors show that it is possible to obtain the displacement transmissibility from measured forces, and the force transmissibility from measured displacements, opening new perspectives, for example, in the identification of applied or transmitted forces. With this novel relation, it becomes possible, for example, to estimate the force transmissibility matrix with the structure off its supports, in free boundary conditions, and without measuring the forces. As far as force identification is concerned, this

  16. In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy Observation of Nanostructural Changes in Phase-Change Memory

    KAUST Repository

    Meister, Stefan

    2011-04-26

    Phase-change memory (PCM) has been researched extensively as a promising alternative to flash memory. Important studies have focused on its scalability, switching speed, endurance, and new materials. Still, reliability issues and inconsistent switching in PCM devices motivate the need to further study its fundamental properties. However, many investigations treat PCM cells as black boxes; nanostructural changes inside the devices remain hidden. Here, using in situ transmission electron microscopy, we observe real-time nanostructural changes in lateral Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) PCM bridges during switching. We find that PCM devices with similar resistances can exhibit distinct threshold switching behaviors due to the different initial distribution of nanocrystalline and amorphous domains, explaining variability of switching behaviors of PCM cells in the literature. Our findings show a direct correlation between nanostructure and switching behavior, providing important guidelines in the design and operation of future PCM devices with improved endurance and lower variability. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  17. Secondary mapping of lymphatic filariasis in Haiti-definition of transmission foci in low-prevalence settings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naomi Drexler

    Full Text Available To eliminate Lymphatic filariasis (LF as a public health problem, the World Health Organization (WHO recommends that any area with infection prevalence greater than or equal to 1% (denoted by presence of microfilaremia or antigenemia should receive mass drug administration (MDA of antifilarial drugs for at least five consecutive rounds. Areas of low-antigen prevalence (< 1% are thought to pose little risk for continued transmission of LF. Five low-antigen prevalence communes in Haiti, characterized as part of a national survey, were further assessed for transmission in this study. An initial evaluation of schoolchildren was performed in each commune to identify antigen-positive children who served as index cases for subsequent community surveys conducted among households neighboring the index cases. Global positioning system (GPS coordinates and immunochromatographic tests (ICT for filarial antigenemia were collected on approximately 1,600 persons of all ages in the five communes. The relationship between antigen-positive cases in the community and distance from index cases was evaluated using multivariate regression techniques and analyses of spatial clustering. Community surveys demonstrated higher antigen prevalence in three of the five communes than was observed in the original mapping survey; autochthonous cases were found in the same three communes. Regression techniques identified a significantly increased likelihood of being antigen-positive when living within 20 meters of index cases when controlling for age, gender, and commune. Spatial clustering of antigen-positive cases was observed in some, but not all communes. Our results suggest that localized transmission was present even in low-prevalence settings and suggest that better surveillance methods may be needed to detect microfoci of LF transmission.

  18. Three-phase receiving coil of wireless power transmission system for gastrointestinal robot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Z. W.; Jiang, T.; Liu, Y.

    2017-11-01

    Power shortage is the bottleneck for the wide application of gastrointestinal (GI) robot. Owing to the limited volume and free change of orientation of the receiving set in GI trace, the optimal of receiving set is the key point to promote the transmission efficiency of wireless power transmission system. A new type of receiving set, similar to the winding of three-phase asynchronous motor, is presented and compared with the original three-dimensional orthogonal coil. Considering the given volume and the space utilization ratio, the three-phase and the three-orthogonal ones are the parameters which are optimized and compared. Both the transmission efficiency and stability are analyzed and verified by in vitro experiments. Animal experiments show that the new one could provide at least 420 mW power in volume of Φ11 × 13mm with a uniformity of 78.3% for the GI robot.

  19. Price transmission in the agri-food value chain - from a farmer perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Henning Otte

    2015-01-01

    Price transmission in the agri-food value chain - when changes in one price cause another price downstream to change - is an important issue for farmers, markets and the economy as an efficient market price setting is crucial for all market players. However, there are numerous examples of price...... transmission in the agriculture value chain not working optimally, and there are several different forms of incompleteness and imperfection. There are a number of possible causes, but it is difficult to document on the basis of empirical data. The aim of this article is therefore to document the presence...... of imperfect price transmission, to determine some of the underlying causes and driving forces behind the phenomenon as well as highlight farmers’ interests, role and opportunities in connection with ensuring more effective price transmission. On the basis of an example of a grain-bread value chain...

  20. Analysis to Inform CA Grid Integration Rules for PV: Final Report on Inverter Settings for Transmission and Distribution System Performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Jeff [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Rylander, Matthew [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Boemer, Jens [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Broderick, Robert Joseph [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Reno, Matthew J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Mather, Barry [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-09-01

    The fourth solicitation of the California Solar Initiative (CSI) Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment (RD&D) Program established by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) supported the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) with data provided from Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) conducted research to determine optimal default settings for distributed energy resource advanced inverter controls. The inverter functions studied are aligned with those developed by the California Smart Inverter Working Group (SIWG) and those being considered by the IEEE 1547 Working Group. The advanced inverter controls examined to improve the distribution system response included power factor, volt-var, and volt-watt. The advanced inverter controls examined to improve the transmission system response included frequency and voltage ride-through as well as Dynamic Voltage Support. This CSI RD&D project accomplished the task of developing methods to derive distribution focused advanced inverter control settings, selecting a diverse set of feeders to evaluate the methods through detailed analysis, and evaluating the effectiveness of each method developed. Inverter settings focused on the transmission system performance were also evaluated and verified. Based on the findings of this work, the suggested advanced inverter settings and methods to determine settings can be used to improve the accommodation of distributed energy resources (PV specifically). The voltage impact from PV can be mitigated using power factor, volt-var, or volt-watt control, while the bulk system impact can be improved with frequency/voltage ride-through.

  1. HIV transmission in the dental setting and the HIV-infected oral health care professional: workshop 1C.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Flint, S R

    2011-04-01

    This workshop addressed two important issues: first, the global evidence of HIV transmission from health care provider to patient and from patient to health care provider in the general health care environment and the dental practice setting; second, in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, whether oral health care professionals living with HIV pose a risk of transmission to their patients and whether standard infection control is adequate to protect both the patient and the oral health care professional in dental practice. The workshop culminated in a general discussion and the formulation of a consensus statement from the participating delegates, representing more than 30 countries, on the criteria under which an HIV-infected oral health care professional might practice dentistry without putting patients at risk. This consensus statement, the Beijing Declaration, was agreed nem con.

  2. Electricity transmission arrangements in Great Britain: Time for change?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strbac, Goran; Pollitt, Michael; Konstantinidis, Christos Vasilakos; Konstantelos, Ioannis; Moreno, Rodrigo; Newbery, David; Green, Richard

    2014-01-01

    In Great Britain (GB) and across Europe significant investment in electricity transmission is expected over the coming years as decarbonisation and market integration efforts are intensified. However, there is also significant uncertainty with the amount, location and timing of new generation connection, which in turn will drive the transmission investment needs. Given the absence of efficient market design, we identify three key areas of concern with the current transmission investment arrangements: (i) a mis-aligned incentives framework for transmission investment and operation; (ii) lack of coordination of investment and operation; and (iii) conflicts of interest. We then propose three options for future evolution of transmission regimes, which cover the full spectrum of institutional arrangements with respect to transmission planning and delivery, i.e. how and who plans, owns, builds and operates the transmission system. For each option we present: key characteristics; evolution of the current regimes; the ability of the option to address the concerns; and key strengths and weaknesses. Overall, we conclude in the case of GB (this conclusion could be extended to other European countries) that the most appropriate option would be that of an Independent System Operator (ISO) who would be responsible for planning and operating the transmission system. - Highlights: • We identify three key areas of concern with the current transmission arrangements. • We then propose three options for transmission network planning and delivery. • Key strengths and weaknesses of each above option are identified and studied. • We conclude that the most appropriate option for GB would be that of an ISO

  3. The effects of demographic change on disease transmission and vaccine impact in a household structured population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geard, Nicholas; Glass, Kathryn; McCaw, James M; McBryde, Emma S; Korb, Kevin B; Keeling, Matt J; McVernon, Jodie

    2015-12-01

    The demographic structure of populations in both more developed and less developed countries is changing: increases in life expectancy and declining fertility have led to older populations and smaller households. The implications of these demographic changes for the spread and control of infectious diseases are not fully understood. Here we use an individual based model with realistic and dynamic age and household structure to demonstrate the marked effect that demographic change has on disease transmission at the population and household level. The decline in fertility is associated with a decrease in disease incidence and an increase in the age of first infection, even in the absence of vaccination or other control measures. Although large households become rarer as fertility decreases, we show that there is a proportionate increase in incidence of disease in these households as the accumulation of susceptible clusters increases the potential for explosive outbreaks. By modelling vaccination, we provide a direct comparison of the relative importance of demographic change and vaccination on incidence of disease. We highlight the increased risks associated with unvaccinated households in a low fertility setting if vaccine behaviour is correlated with household membership. We suggest that models that do not account for future demographic change, and especially its effect on household structure, may potentially overestimate the impact of vaccination. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Long-term effects of penicillin resistance and fitness cost on pneumococcal transmission dynamics in a developed setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Tilevik

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: The increasing prevalence of penicillin non-susceptible pneumococci (PNSP throughout the world threatens successful treatment of infections caused by this important bacterial pathogen. The rate at which PNSP clones spread in the community is thought to mainly be determined by two key determinants; the volume of penicillin use and the magnitude of the fitness cost in the absence of treatment. The aim of the study was to determine the impacts of penicillin consumption and fitness cost on pneumococcal transmission dynamics in a developed country setting. Methods: An individual-based network model based on real-life demographic data was constructed and applied in a developed country setting (Sweden. A population structure with transmission of carriage taking place within relevant mixing groups, i.e. families, day care groups, school classes, and other close contacts, was considered to properly assess the transmission dynamics for susceptible and PNSP clones. Several scenarios were simulated and model outcomes were statistically analysed. Results: Model simulations predicted that with an outpatient penicillin use corresponding to the sales in Sweden 2010 (118 recipes per 1,000 inhabitants per year, the magnitude of a fitness cost for resistance must be at least 5% to offset the advantage of penicillin resistance. Moreover, even if there is a fitness cost associated with penicillin resistance, a considerable reduction of penicillin usage appears to be required to significantly decrease the incidence of PNSP in a community. Conclusion: The frequency of PNSP clones is hard to reverse by simply reducing the penicillin consumption even if there is a biological cost associated with resistance. However, because penicillin usage does promote further spread of PNSP clones, it is important to keep down penicillin consumption considering future resistance problems.

  5. Towards a Framework for Change Detection in Data Sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böttcher, Mirko; Nauck, Detlef; Ruta, Dymitr; Spott, Martin

    Since the world with its markets, innovations and customers is changing faster than ever before, the key to survival for businesses is the ability to detect, assess and respond to changing conditions rapidly and intelligently. Discovering changes and reacting to or acting upon them before others do has therefore become a strategical issue for many companies. However, existing data analysis techniques are insufflent for this task since they typically assume that the domain under consideration is stable over time. This paper presents a framework that detects changes within a data set at virtually any level of granularity. The underlying idea is to derive a rule-based description of the data set at different points in time and to subsequently analyse how these rules change. Nevertheless, further techniques are required to assist the data analyst in interpreting and assessing their changes. Therefore the framework also contains methods to discard rules that are non-drivers for change and to assess the interestingness of detected changes.

  6. Impact of vegetable crop agriculture on anopheline agressivity and malaria transmission in urban and less urbanized settings of the South region of Cameroon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akono, Patrick Ntonga; Mbida, Jean Arthur Mbida; Tonga, Calvin; Belong, Philippe; Ngo Hondt, Odette Etoile; Magne, Gaëlle Tamdem; Peka, Marie Florence; Lehman, Leopold Gustave

    2015-05-28

    The use of inland valley swamps for vegetable crop agriculture contributes to food security in urban and less urbanized settings in Africa. The impact of this agriculture on aggressive mosquitoes' diversity and malaria transmission in central Africa is poorly documented. This study is aimed at assessing the impact of vegetable crop agriculture on these entomological parameters in urban and less urbanized settings of the forest area, south of Cameroon. The human bait technique was used for the capture of aggressive mosquitoes from January to December 2012. For three consecutive days each month, captures were performed on volunteers in hydro-agricultural and river bank sites of Akonolinga and Yaoundé. Physico-chemical characteristics of mosquito breeding sites were recorded. Molecular alongside morpho-taxonomic techniques were used for the identification of mosquito species; ELISA test was used to reveal Plasmodium falciparum infected mosquitoes through the detection of CSP. Mosquito diversity, aggressivity and malaria transmission in sites and settings were determined and compared. Biting rates were higher in hydro-agricultural sites of less urbanized and urban settings (31.8 b/p/n and 28.6 b/p/n respectively) than in river banks sites (6.83 b/p/n and 3.64 b/p/n respectively; p agricultural sites 2 species were captured in the urban setting versus 4 in the less urbanized setting, meanwhile in river bank sites, 3 species were captured in the urban setting versus 4 species in the less urbanized setting. An. nili s.s. was found in river banks only. An. hancocki was not found to insure Plasmodium falciparum Welch transmission. EIR in hydro-agricultural sites varied from 1.86 ib/p/n (urban area) to 2.13 ib/p/n (less urbanized area) with higher rates in April/May and August. Overall, EIR was higher in less urbanized areas (p agriculture (p = 0.2). These results highlight the need for specific preventive measures that take into account the ecological peculiarities

  7. Hysteresis in simulations of malaria transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamana, Teresa K.; Qiu, Xin; Eltahir, Elfatih A. B.

    2017-10-01

    Malaria transmission is a complex system and in many parts of the world is closely related to climate conditions. However, studies on environmental determinants of malaria generally consider only concurrent climate conditions and ignore the historical or initial conditions of the system. Here, we demonstrate the concept of hysteresis in malaria transmission, defined as non-uniqueness of the relationship between malaria prevalence and concurrent climate conditions. We show the dependence of simulated malaria transmission on initial prevalence and the initial level of human immunity in the population. Using realistic time series of environmental variables, we quantify the effect of hysteresis in a modeled population. In a set of numerical experiments using HYDREMATS, a field-tested mechanistic model of malaria transmission, the simulated maximum malaria prevalence depends on both the initial prevalence and the initial level of human immunity in the population. We found the effects of initial conditions to be of comparable magnitude to the effects of interannual variability in environmental conditions in determining malaria prevalence. The memory associated with this hysteresis effect is longer in high transmission settings than in low transmission settings. Our results show that efforts to simulate and forecast malaria transmission must consider the exposure history of a location as well as the concurrent environmental drivers.

  8. Framing climate change in a popularised setting:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laursen, Anne Lise; Rasmussen, Kirsten Wølch; Engberg, Jan

    of the conference. In our part of the project, we look at how knowledge is created via the choice of metaphors. On the basis of an analysis of the framing of the COP15 conference and its goals as presented in the introductory statements by the two Danish presidents of the conference we have found a range of salient......Framing climate change in a popularised setting: The case of the COP conferences The major project from which this presentation has emerged intends to analyze the media communication in connection with mainly the COP15 conference in Copenhagen on climate change 2009 in a number of European...... and with the introductory statement by the president of the Cancún conference in 2010 in order to assess possible influences in the framing from the national and the political setting....

  9. Socioeconomic risk factors for cholera in different transmission settings: An analysis of the data of a cluster randomized trial in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Amit; Hayen, Andrew; Ali, Mohammad; Rosewell, Alexander; Clemens, John D; Raina MacIntyre, C; Qadri, Firdausi

    2017-09-05

    Cholera remains a threat globally, and socioeconomic factors play an important role in transmission of the disease. We assessed socioeconomic risk factors for cholera in vaccinated and non-vaccinated communities to understand whether the socioeconomic risk factors differ by transmission patterns for cholera. We used data from a cluster randomized control trial conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh. There were 90 geographic clusters; 30 in each of the three arms of the study: vaccine (VAC), vaccine plus behavioural change (VBC), and non-intervention. The data were analysed for the three populations: (1) vaccinees in the vaccinated communities (VAC and VBC arms), (2) non-vaccinated individuals in the vaccinated communities and (3) all individuals in the non-vaccinated communities (non-intervention arm). A generalized estimating equation with logit link function was used to evaluate the risk factors for cholera among these different populations adjusting for household level correlation in the data. A total of 528 cholera and 226 cholera with severe dehydration (CSD) in 268,896 persons were observed during the two-year follow-up. For population 1, the cholera risk was not associated with any socioeconomic factors; however CSD was less likely to occur among individuals living in a household having ≤4 members (aOR=0.55, 95% CI=0.32-0.96). Among population 2, younger participants and individuals reporting diarrhoea during registration were more likely to have cholera. Females and individuals reporting diarrhoea during registration were at increased risk of CSD. Among population 3, individuals living in a household without a concrete floor, in an area with high population density, closer to the study hospital, or not treating drinking water were at significantly higher risk for both cholera and CSD. The profile of socioeconomic factors associated with cholera varies by individuals' vaccination status as well as the transmission setting. In a vaccinated community where

  10. Monkeypox disease transmission in an experimental setting: prairie dog animal model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina L Hutson

    Full Text Available Monkeypox virus (MPXV is considered the most significant human public health threat in the genus Orthopoxvirus since the eradication of variola virus (the causative agent of smallpox. MPXV is a zoonotic agent endemic to forested areas of Central and Western Africa. In 2003, MPXV caused an outbreak in the United States due to the importation of infected African rodents, and subsequent sequential infection of North American prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus and humans. In previous studies, the prairie dog MPXV model has successfully shown to be very useful for understanding MPXV since the model emulates key characteristics of human monkeypox disease. In humans, percutaneous exposure to animals has been documented but the primary method of human-to-human MPXV transmission is postulated to be by respiratory route. Only a few animal model studies of MPXV transmission have been reported. Herein, we show that MPXV infected prairie dogs are able to transmit the virus to naive animals through multiple transmission routes. All secondarily exposed animals were infected with MPXV during the course of the study. Notably, animals secondarily exposed appeared to manifest more severe disease; however, the disease course was very similar to those of experimentally challenged animals including inappetence leading to weight loss, development of lesions, production of orthopoxvirus antibodies and shedding of similar levels or in some instances higher levels of MPXV from the oral cavity. Disease was transmitted via exposure to contaminated bedding, co-housing, or respiratory secretions/nasal mucous (we could not definitively say that transmission occurred via respiratory route exclusively. Future use of the model will allow us to evaluate infection control measures, vaccines and antiviral strategies to decrease disease transmission.

  11. An integrated risk and vulnerability assessment framework for climate change and malaria transmission in East Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onyango, Esther Achieng; Sahin, Oz; Awiti, Alex; Chu, Cordia; Mackey, Brendan

    2016-11-11

    Malaria is one of the key research concerns in climate change-health relationships. Numerous risk assessments and modelling studies provide evidence that the transmission range of malaria will expand with rising temperatures, adversely impacting on vulnerable communities in the East African highlands. While there exist multiple lines of evidence for the influence of climate change on malaria transmission, there is insufficient understanding of the complex and interdependent factors that determine the risk and vulnerability of human populations at the community level. Moreover, existing studies have had limited focus on the nature of the impacts on vulnerable communities or how well they are prepared to cope. In order to address these gaps, a systems approach was used to present an integrated risk and vulnerability assessment framework for studies of community level risk and vulnerability to malaria due to climate change. Drawing upon published literature on existing frameworks, a systems approach was applied to characterize the factors influencing the interactions between climate change and malaria transmission. This involved structural analysis to determine influential, relay, dependent and autonomous variables in order to construct a detailed causal loop conceptual model that illustrates the relationships among key variables. An integrated assessment framework that considers indicators of both biophysical and social vulnerability was proposed based on the conceptual model. A major conclusion was that this integrated assessment framework can be implemented using Bayesian Belief Networks, and applied at a community level using both quantitative and qualitative methods with stakeholder engagement. The approach enables a robust assessment of community level risk and vulnerability to malaria, along with contextually relevant and targeted adaptation strategies for dealing with malaria transmission that incorporate both scientific and community perspectives.

  12. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Transmission in a Ghanaian Burn Unit: The Importance of Active Surveillance in Resource-Limited Settings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nana Ama Amissah

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Objectives:Staphylococcus aureus infections in burn patients can lead to serious complications and death. The frequency of S. aureus infection is high in low- and middle-income countries presumably due to limited resources, misuse of antibiotics and poor infection control. The objective of the present study was to apply population genomics to precisely define, for the first time, the transmission of antibiotic resistant S. aureus in a resource-limited setting in sub-Saharan Africa.Methods:Staphylococcus aureus surveillance was performed amongst burn patients and healthcare workers during a 7-months survey within the burn unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana.Results: Sixty-six S. aureus isolates (59 colonizing and 7 clinical were obtained from 31 patients and 10 healthcare workers. Twenty-one of these isolates were ST250-IV methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA. Notably, 25 (81% of the 31 patients carried or were infected with S. aureus within 24 h of admission. Genome comparisons revealed six distinct S. aureus clones circulating in the burn unit, and demonstrated multiple transmission events between patients and healthcare workers. Further, the collected S. aureus isolates exhibited a wide range of genotypic resistances to antibiotics, including trimethoprim (21%, aminoglycosides (33%, oxacillin (33%, chloramphenicol (50%, tetracycline (59% and fluoroquinolones (100%.Conclusion: Population genomics uncovered multiple transmission events of S. aureus, especially MRSA, within the investigated burn unit. Our findings highlight lapses in infection control and prevention, and underscore the great importance of active surveillance to protect burn victims against multi-drug resistant pathogens in resource-limited settings.

  13. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Transmission in a Ghanaian Burn Unit: The Importance of Active Surveillance in Resource-Limited Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amissah, Nana Ama; Buultjens, Andrew H; Ablordey, Anthony; van Dam, Lieke; Opoku-Ware, Ampomah; Baines, Sarah L; Bulach, Dieter; Tetteh, Caitlin S; Prah, Isaac; van der Werf, Tjip S; Friedrich, Alexander W; Seemann, Torsten; van Dijl, Jan Maarten; Stienstra, Ymkje; Stinear, Timothy P; Rossen, John W

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus infections in burn patients can lead to serious complications and death. The frequency of S. aureus infection is high in low- and middle-income countries presumably due to limited resources, misuse of antibiotics and poor infection control. The objective of the present study was to apply population genomics to precisely define, for the first time, the transmission of antibiotic resistant S. aureus in a resource-limited setting in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: Staphylococcus aureus surveillance was performed amongst burn patients and healthcare workers during a 7-months survey within the burn unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Results: Sixty-six S. aureus isolates (59 colonizing and 7 clinical) were obtained from 31 patients and 10 healthcare workers. Twenty-one of these isolates were ST250-IV methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Notably, 25 (81%) of the 31 patients carried or were infected with S. aureus within 24 h of admission. Genome comparisons revealed six distinct S. aureus clones circulating in the burn unit, and demonstrated multiple transmission events between patients and healthcare workers. Further, the collected S. aureus isolates exhibited a wide range of genotypic resistances to antibiotics, including trimethoprim (21%), aminoglycosides (33%), oxacillin (33%), chloramphenicol (50%), tetracycline (59%) and fluoroquinolones (100%). Conclusion: Population genomics uncovered multiple transmission events of S. aureus , especially MRSA, within the investigated burn unit. Our findings highlight lapses in infection control and prevention, and underscore the great importance of active surveillance to protect burn victims against multi-drug resistant pathogens in resource-limited settings.

  14. Changes in the transmission properties of multi-tooth plasmonic nano-filters (multi-TPNFs) caused by geometrical imperfection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khaksar, A; Fatemi, H

    2012-01-01

    To model the filtering behavior of a multi-tooth plasmonic nano-filter (multi-TPNF), an equivalent circuitry composed of a set of serried impedances is considered. The changes caused in its filtering behavior are proposed as a measuring tool to investigate the effect of the geometrical imperfections occurring during the manufacture of the device. Consequently, the effects of changes in the nominal size of each of the geometrical parameters of a multi-TPNF sample, such as its tooth height, d, its tooth width, w, and the separation between two successive teeth, Δ, on its transmittance are investigated. It is observed that each single tooth of the multi-TPNF and also the waveguide between any of its two successive teeth exhibit a very Fabry–Perot interferometer like behavior. The variation of the transmission spectra of a multi-TPNF whose geometrical parameters are imperfect is compared with the desired filter, and also the effect of the number of geometrically imperfect teeth of the multi-TPNF on the filtering spectra is examined. (paper)

  15. Effects of the addition of nanoparticulate calcium carbonate on setting time, dimensional change, compressive strength, solubility and pH of MTA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernardi, A; Bortoluzzi, E A; Felippe, W T; Felippe, M C S; Wan, W S; Teixeira, C S

    2017-01-01

    To evaluate nanoparticulate calcium carbonate (NPCC) using transmission electron microscopy and the effects of NPCC addition to MTA in regard to the setting time, dimensional change, compressive strength, solubility and pH. The experimental groups were G1 (MTA), G2 (MTA with 5% NPCC) and G3 (MTA with 10% NPCC). The tests followed ISO and ADA standards. The specimens in the dimensional change and compressive strength tests were measured immediately after setting, after 24 h and after 30 days. In the solubility test, rings filled with cement were weighed after setting and after 30 days. The pH was measured after 24 h and 30 days. The data were analysed with the ANOVA, Tukey's and Kruskal-Wallis tests (α = 5%). The setting time was reduced (P  G2 > G3). The solubility test revealed a difference amongst the groups when the specimens were hydrated: G2 > G1 > G3 and dehydrated: G3 > G2 > G1. The pH of the groups was similar at 24 h with higher values in each group after 30 days (P calcium carbonate had a cubic morphology with few impurities. The addition of nanoparticulate calcium carbonate to MTA accelerated the setting time, decreased compressive strength and, after 30 days, resulted in lower dimensional change (G2), higher solubility and a higher pH. © 2015 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Changes in corticospinal transmission following 8 weeks of ankle joint immobilization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leukel, Christian; Taube, Wolfgang; Rittweger, Jörn

    2015-01-01

    ) of the primary motor cortex (Hcond). This method allows assessment of transmission in fast (monosynaptic) and slow(er) (polysynaptic) corticospinal pathways. METHODS: 9 subjects underwent 8weeks of unilateral ankle joint immobilization during daytime, 7 subjects served as controls. The measures obtained before...... and after immobilization included stretch- and H-reflexes assessing excitability of the spinal reflex circuitries, TMS recruitment curves estimating overall changes in corticospinal excitability, and Hcond. RESULTS: TMS recruitment curves showed an overall increase in corticospinal excitability following...

  17. Anisotropic Shape Changes of Silica Nanoparticles Induced in Liquid with Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zecevic, J.; Hermannsdorfer, Justus; Schuh, Tobias; de Jong, Krijn P.; de Jonge, Niels

    2017-01-01

    Liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used for in-situ imaging of nanoscale processes taking place in liquid, such as the evolution of nanoparticles during synthesis or structural changes of nanomaterials in liquid environment. Here, it is shown that the focused electron beam of

  18. Transmission dynamics and changing epidemiology of West Nile virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blitvich, Bradley J

    2008-06-01

    West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus that is maintained in a bird-mosquito transmission cycle. Humans, horses and other non-avian vertebrates are usually incidental hosts, but evidence is accumulating that this might not always be the case. Historically, WNV has been associated with asymptomatic infections and sporadic disease outbreaks in humans and horses in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. However, since 1994, the virus has caused frequent outbreaks of severe neuroinvasive disease in humans and horses in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. In 1999, WNV underwent a dramatic expansion of its geographic range, and was reported for the first time in the Western Hemisphere during an outbreak of human and equine encephalitis in New York City. The outbreak was accompanied by extensive and unprecedented avian mortality. Since then, WNV has dispersed across the Western Hemisphere and is now found throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and parts of Central and South America. WNV has been responsible for >27,000 human cases, >25,000 equine cases and hundreds of thousands of avian deaths in the USA but, surprisingly, there have been only sparse reports of WNV disease in vertebrates in the Caribbean and Latin America. This review summarizes our current understanding of WNV with particular emphasis on its transmission dynamics and changing epidemiology.

  19. Priority interventions to reduce HIV transmission in sex work settings in sub-Saharan Africa and delivery of these services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chersich, Matthew F; Luchters, Stanley; Ntaganira, Innocent; Gerbase, Antonio; Lo, Ying-Ru; Scorgie, Fiona; Steen, Richard

    2013-03-04

    Virtually no African country provides HIV prevention services in sex work settings with an adequate scale and intensity. Uncertainty remains about the optimal set of interventions and mode of delivery. We systematically reviewed studies reporting interventions for reducing HIV transmission among female sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa between January 2000 and July 2011. Medline (PubMed) and non-indexed journals were searched for studies with quantitative study outcomes. We located 26 studies, including seven randomized trials. Evidence supports implementation of the following interventions to reduce unprotected sex among female sex workers: peer-mediated condom promotion, risk-reduction counselling and skills-building for safer sex. One study found that interventions to counter hazardous alcohol-use lowered unprotected sex. Data also show effectiveness of screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and syndromic STI treatment, but experience with periodic presumptive treatment is limited. HIV testing and counselling is essential for facilitating sex workers' access to care and antiretroviral treatment (ART), but testing models for sex workers and indeed for ART access are little studied, as are structural interventions, which create conditions conducive for risk reduction. With the exception of Senegal, persistent criminalization of sex work across Africa reduces sex workers' control over working conditions and impedes their access to health services. It also obstructs health-service provision and legal protection. There is sufficient evidence of effectiveness of targeted interventions with female sex workers in Africa to inform delivery of services for this population. With improved planning and political will, services - including peer interventions, condom promotion and STI screening - would act at multiple levels to reduce HIV exposure and transmission efficiency among sex workers. Initiatives are required to enhance access to HIV testing and ART for

  20. Priority interventions to reduce HIV transmission in sex work settings in sub-Saharan Africa and delivery of these services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chersich, Matthew F; Luchters, Stanley; Ntaganira, Innocent; Gerbase, Antonio; Lo, Ying-Ru; Scorgie, Fiona; Steen, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Virtually no African country provides HIV prevention services in sex work settings with an adequate scale and intensity. Uncertainty remains about the optimal set of interventions and mode of delivery. Methods We systematically reviewed studies reporting interventions for reducing HIV transmission among female sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa between January 2000 and July 2011. Medline (PubMed) and non-indexed journals were searched for studies with quantitative study outcomes. Results We located 26 studies, including seven randomized trials. Evidence supports implementation of the following interventions to reduce unprotected sex among female sex workers: peer-mediated condom promotion, risk-reduction counselling and skills-building for safer sex. One study found that interventions to counter hazardous alcohol-use lowered unprotected sex. Data also show effectiveness of screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and syndromic STI treatment, but experience with periodic presumptive treatment is limited. HIV testing and counselling is essential for facilitating sex workers’ access to care and antiretroviral treatment (ART), but testing models for sex workers and indeed for ART access are little studied, as are structural interventions, which create conditions conducive for risk reduction. With the exception of Senegal, persistent criminalization of sex work across Africa reduces sex workers’ control over working conditions and impedes their access to health services. It also obstructs health-service provision and legal protection. Conclusions There is sufficient evidence of effectiveness of targeted interventions with female sex workers in Africa to inform delivery of services for this population. With improved planning and political will, services – including peer interventions, condom promotion and STI screening – would act at multiple levels to reduce HIV exposure and transmission efficiency among sex workers. Initiatives are

  1. Mathematical modeling of climate change and malaria transmission dynamics: a historical review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eikenberry, Steffen E; Gumel, Abba B

    2018-04-24

    Malaria, one of the greatest historical killers of mankind, continues to claim around half a million lives annually, with almost all deaths occurring in children under the age of five living in tropical Africa. The range of this disease is limited by climate to the warmer regions of the globe, and so anthropogenic global warming (and climate change more broadly) now threatens to alter the geographic area for potential malaria transmission, as both the Plasmodium malaria parasite and Anopheles mosquito vector have highly temperature-dependent lifecycles, while the aquatic immature Anopheles habitats are also strongly dependent upon rainfall and local hydrodynamics. A wide variety of process-based (or mechanistic) mathematical models have thus been proposed for the complex, highly nonlinear weather-driven Anopheles lifecycle and malaria transmission dynamics, but have reached somewhat disparate conclusions as to optimum temperatures for transmission, and the possible effect of increasing temperatures upon (potential) malaria distribution, with some projecting a large increase in the area at risk for malaria, but others predicting primarily a shift in the disease's geographic range. More generally, both global and local environmental changes drove the initial emergence of P. falciparum as a major human pathogen in tropical Africa some 10,000 years ago, and the disease has a long and deep history through the present. It is the goal of this paper to review major aspects of malaria biology, methods for formalizing these into mathematical forms, uncertainties and controversies in proper modeling methodology, and to provide a timeline of some major modeling efforts from the classical works of Sir Ronald Ross and George Macdonald through recent climate-focused modeling studies. Finally, we attempt to place such mathematical work within a broader historical context for the "million-murdering Death" of malaria.

  2. Theory of direct sunlight transmission through orthogonal screen cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aljofi, E.K.

    2006-01-01

    The Purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using the Rawshan screens to control high light intensity and to avoid excessive solar radiation penetrating inside the building interior. The exploration of the environmental characteristics of this device indicates an ideal solution to utilize available daylight in the arid atmosphere, reduces energy consumption due to the us of artificial light and ensures the continuity of the traditional architecture and the country heritage. A systematic analysis of direct sunlight transmission has been explored using a mathematical approach. The study intends to construct a predictive tool for the architects through which different specifications of the Rawshan screens were identified as far as direct beam of light concerned. The predictive tool was set-up to investigate various parameters of the screen such as the screen configurations, the aperture configurations, the change in orientation and the effect of the sky condition. The analysis of light transmission through the screen were set-up for orthogonal shapes

  3. Outside-In Signal Transmission by Conformational Changes in Integrin Mac-11

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefort, Craig T.; Hyun, Young-Min; Schultz, Joanne B.; Law, Foon-Yee; Waugh, Richard E.; Knauf, Philip A.; Kim, Minsoo

    2010-01-01

    Intracellular signals associated with or triggered by integrin ligation can control cell survival, differentiation, proliferation, and migration. Despite accumulating evidence that conformational changes regulate integrin affinity to its ligands, how integrin structure regulates signal transmission from the outside to the inside of the cell remains elusive. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer, we addressed whether conformational changes in integrin Mac-1 are sufficient to transmit outside-in signals in human neutrophils. Mac-1 conformational activation induced by ligand occupancy or activating Ab binding, but not integrin clustering, triggered similar patterns of intracellular protein tyrosine phosphorylation, including Akt phosphorylation, and inhibited spontaneous neutrophil apoptosis, indicating that global conformational changes are critical for Mac-1-dependent outside-in signal transduction. In neutrophils and myeloid K562 cells, ligand ICAM-1 or activating Ab binding promoted switchblade-like extension of the Mac-1 extracellular domain and separation of the αM and β2 subunit cytoplasmic tails, two structural hallmarks of integrin activation. These data suggest the primacy of global conformational changes in the generation of Mac-1 outside-in signals. PMID:19864611

  4. Malaria PCR Detection in Cambodian Low-Transmission Settings: Dried Blood Spots versus Venous Blood Samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canier, Lydie; Khim, Nimol; Kim, Saorin; Eam, Rotha; Khean, Chanra; Loch, Kaknika; Ken, Malen; Pannus, Pieter; Bosman, Philippe; Stassijns, Jorgen; Nackers, Fabienne; Alipon, SweetC; Char, Meng Chuor; Chea, Nguon; Etienne, William; De Smet, Martin; Kindermans, Jean-Marie; Ménard, Didier

    2015-01-01

    In the context of malaria elimination, novel strategies for detecting very low malaria parasite densities in asymptomatic individuals are needed. One of the major limitations of the malaria parasite detection methods is the volume of blood samples being analyzed. The objective of the study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of a malaria polymerase chain reaction assay, from dried blood spots (DBS, 5 μL) and different volumes of venous blood (50 μL, 200 μL, and 1 mL). The limit of detection of the polymerase chain reaction assay, using calibrated Plasmodium falciparum blood dilutions, showed that venous blood samples (50 μL, 200 μL, 1 mL) combined with Qiagen extraction methods gave a similar threshold of 100 parasites/mL, ∼100-fold lower than 5 μL DBS/Instagene method. On a set of 521 field samples, collected in two different transmission areas in northern Cambodia, no significant difference in the proportion of parasite carriers, regardless of the methods used was found. The 5 μL DBS method missed 27% of the samples detected by the 1 mL venous blood method, but most of the missed parasites carriers were infected by Plasmodium vivax (84%). The remaining missed P. falciparum parasite carriers (N = 3) were only detected in high-transmission areas. PMID:25561570

  5. Assessing the Role of Climate Change in Malaria Transmission in Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. T. Ngarakana-Gwasira

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The sensitivity of vector borne diseases like malaria to climate continues to raise considerable concern over the implications of climate change on future disease dynamics. The problem of malaria vectors shifting from their traditional locations to invade new zones is of important concern. A mathematical model incorporating rainfall and temperature is constructed to study the transmission dynamics of malaria. The reproduction number obtained is applied to gridded temperature and rainfall datasets for baseline climate and future climate with aid of GIS. As a result of climate change, malaria burden is likely to increase in the tropics, the highland regions, and East Africa and along the northern limit of falciparum malaria. Falciparum malaria will spread into the African highlands; however it is likely to die out at the southern limit of the disease.

  6. Transmission design in a multimode HFC network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cambron, G. Keith

    1996-11-01

    Contemporary hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) networks are capable of supporting a wide range of services including traditional analog video, telephony, digital video, and data services. Each service has unique performance or service requirements. This contribution examines transmission design for one such network. Pacific Bell's advanced communications network (ACN). The design methodology begins with a set of end to end service quality objectives. Network impairments, such as noise, distortion and delay, are allocated across the network elements using a set of standard network models. These models are a representative set of the actual field designs and bound the network operating parameters. Network components, headend equipment, and customer premises equipment are specified analytically or characterized empirically in relationship to the chosen impairment set. The component parameters are then included in analytical models to estimate overall network performance. In addition to the forward path transmission considerations examined by traditional coaxial network designers, other dimensions including power consumption, traffic demand, and message latency are taken into account. Analytical models are used to estimate the effects of multiple modulation schemes within the unified network. The variability introduced by on demand services such as telephony and interactive digital services changes the base computational domain from deterministic models to stochastic ones. These models are then used to set operating parameters at measurable points throughout the network for proof of performance prior to turn up, and for ongoing performance monitoring. For closure, empirical results are compared with model projections as a way of verifying and improving the predictive models.

  7. Evaluation of 4 weeks' neonatal antiretroviral prophylaxis as a component of a prevention of mother-to-child transmission program in a resource-rich setting.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Ferguson, Wendy

    2011-05-01

    In resource-rich settings, universal adoption of a 4- rather than 6-week neonatal antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis regimen could reduce toxicity and results in cost savings, provided prevention of mother-to-child transmission program effectiveness is not compromised.

  8. Effect of the one-child policy on influenza transmission in China: a stochastic transmission model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fengchen Liu

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: China's one-child-per-couple policy, introduced in 1979, led to profound demographic changes for nearly a quarter of the world's population. Several decades later, the consequences include decreased fertility rates, population aging, decreased household sizes, changes in family structure, and imbalanced sex ratios. The epidemiology of communicable diseases may have been affected by these changes since the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases depend on demographic characteristics of the population. Of particular interest is influenza because China and Southeast Asia lie at the center of a global transmission network of influenza. Moreover, changes in household structure may affect influenza transmission. Is it possible that the pronounced demographic changes that have occurred in China have affected influenza transmission? METHODS AND FINDINGS: To address this question, we developed a continuous-time, stochastic, individual-based simulation model for influenza transmission. With this model, we simulated 30 years of influenza transmission and compared influenza transmission rates in populations with and without the one-child policy control. We found that the average annual attack rate is reduced by 6.08% (SD 2.21% in the presence of the one-child policy compared to a population in which no demographic changes occurred. There was no discernible difference in the secondary attack rate, -0.15% (SD 1.85%, between the populations with and without a one-child policy. We also forecasted influenza transmission over a ten-year time period in a population with a two-child policy under a hypothesis that a two-child-per-couple policy will be carried out in 2015, and found a negligible difference in the average annual attack rate compared to the population with the one-child policy. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that the average annual attack rate is slightly lowered in a population with a one-child policy, which may have resulted from a

  9. Effect of surface roughness variation on the transmission characteristics of D-shaped fibers with ambient index change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyun-Joo; Kwon, Oh-Jang; Han, Young-Geun

    2010-01-01

    The influence of surface roughness on the sensitivity of D-shaped fibers to changes in the ambient index was investigated. In order to obtain D-shaped fibers with different surface roughness, we polished one side of the fibers by using different abrasive grits. The topographies of the surfaces of the polished D-shaped fibers were then observed by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The light scattered from the rough surfaces of the D-shaped fibers was measured by using optical microscopy. The effect of an ambient index change on the transmission characteristics of D-shaped fibers was measured for various values of the surface roughness. The experimental results indicate that variations in the surface roughness have a considerable influence on the sensitivity of the transmission characteristics of D-shaped fibers to changes in the ambient index.

  10. Transmission of vocational skills at the end of career: horizon effect and technological or organisational change

    OpenAIRE

    Greenan , Nathalie; Messe , Pierre-Jean

    2014-01-01

    The main contribution of this paper is to study empirically how the horizon effect and the technological or organisational changes interact to explain the probability of being an internal trainer at the end of career. We use data from a French matched employer-employee survey on Organisational Changes and Computerisation (COI) conducted in 2006. It contains information both on employees’ knowledge transmission practices and employers’ technological or organisational changes. We find that the ...

  11. Development of land data sets for studies of global climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadowski, F.G.; Watkins, A.H.

    1991-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey has begun a major initiative to organize, produce, and distribute land data sets that will support the land data requirements of the global change science community. Satellite image data sets, produced from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer sensors, will be developed to provide repetitive, synoptic coverage of regional, continental, and global land areas. These data sets, integrated with related land data and supplemented by coregistered Landsat data sets, will enable scientists to quantify the fundamental land surface attributes that are needed to model land surface processes, to detect and monitor land surface change, and to map land cover. These well-structured, consistent land data sets will form the historical record of land observations prior to the era of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Earth Observing System sensors

  12. Climate change, population immunity, and hyperendemicity in the transmission threshold of dengue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oki, Mika; Yamamoto, Taro

    2012-01-01

    It has been suggested that the probability of dengue epidemics could increase because of climate change. The probability of epidemics is most commonly evaluated by the basic reproductive number (R(0)), and in mosquito-borne diseases, mosquito density (the number of female mosquitoes per person [MPP]) is the critical determinant of the R(0) value. In dengue-endemic areas, 4 different serotypes of dengue virus coexist-a state known as hyperendemicity-and a certain proportion of the population is immune to one or more of these serotypes. Nevertheless, these factors are not included in the calculation of R(0). We aimed to investigate the effects of temperature change, population immunity, and hyperendemicity on the threshold MPP that triggers an epidemic. We designed a mathematical model of dengue transmission dynamics. An epidemic was defined as a 10% increase in seroprevalence in a year, and the MPP that triggered an epidemic was defined as the threshold MPP. Simulations were conducted in Singapore based on the recorded temperatures from 1980 to 2009 The threshold MPP was estimated with the effect of (1) temperature only; (2) temperature and fluctuation of population immunity; and (3) temperature, fluctuation of immunity, and hyperendemicity. When only the effect of temperature was considered, the threshold MPP was estimated to be 0.53 in the 1980s and 0.46 in the 2000s, a decrease of 13.2%. When the fluctuation of population immunity and hyperendemicity were considered in the model, the threshold MPP decreased by 38.7%, from 0.93 to 0.57, from the 1980s to the 2000s. The threshold MPP was underestimated if population immunity was not considered and overestimated if hyperendemicity was not included in the simulations. In addition to temperature, these factors are particularly important when quantifying the threshold MPP for the purpose of setting goals for vector control in dengue-endemic areas.

  13. Social transmission of avoidance behavior under situational change in learned and unlearned rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akira Masuda

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Rats receive information from other conspecifics by observation or other types of social interaction. Such social interaction may contribute to the effective adaptation to changes of environment such as situational switching. Learning to avoid dangerous places or objects rapidly occurs with even a single conditioning session, and the conditioned memory tends to be sustained over long periods. The avoidance is important for adaptation, but the details of the conditions under which the social transmission of avoidance is formed are unknown. We demonstrate that the previous experience of avoidance learning is important for the formation of behaviors for social transmission of avoidance and that the experienced rats adapt to a change of situation determined by the presence or absence of aversive stimuli. We systematically investigated social influence on avoidance behavior using a passive avoidance test in a light/dark two-compartment apparatus. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Rats were divided into two groups, one receiving foot shocks and another with no aversive experience in a dark compartment. Experienced and inexperienced rats were further divided into subjects and partners. In Experiment 1, each subject experienced (1 interaction with an experienced partner, (2 interaction with an inexperienced partner, or (3 no interaction. In Experiment 2, each subject experienced interaction with a partner that received a shock. The entering latency to a light compartment was measured. The avoidance behavior of experienced rats was inhibited by interaction with inexperienced or experienced partners in a safely-changed situation. The avoidance of experienced rats was reinstated in a dangerously-changed situation by interaction with shocked rats. In contrast, the inexperienced rats were not affected by any social circumstances. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that transmitted information among rats can be updated under a

  14. Accounting-related transmission issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niehaus, M.; Bjorn, P.; Pate, G.

    1999-01-01

    Various initiatives have been undertaken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to deregulate wholesale electric energy markets. These initiatives have focused on restructuring the transmission systems in the US and recently have culminated in a proposal requiring formation of and participation in regional transmission organizations. The overall form of regulation selected to determine rates for transmission entities as well as underlying regulatory decisions reached on key issues will have profound implications for transmission entities. For example, traditional cost-based regulation would require one set of accounting and reporting rules, while incentive-based regulation may not be subject to those same rules. An overview of some of the major accounting and financial reporting issues that will need to be considered is presented

  15. Climate, environmental and socio-economic change: weighing up the balance in vector-borne disease transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parham, Paul E.; Waldock, Joanna; Christophides, George K.; Hemming, Deborah; Agusto, Folashade; Evans, Katherine J.; Fefferman, Nina; Gaff, Holly; Gumel, Abba; LaDeau, Shannon; Lenhart, Suzanne; Mickens, Ronald E.; Naumova, Elena N.; Ostfeld, Richard S.; Ready, Paul D.; Thomas, Matthew B.; Velasco-Hernandez, Jorge; Michael, Edwin

    2015-01-01

    Arguably one of the most important effects of climate change is the potential impact on human health. While this is likely to take many forms, the implications for future transmission of vector-borne diseases (VBDs), given their ongoing contribution to global disease burden, are both extremely important and highly uncertain. In part, this is owing not only to data limitations and methodological challenges when integrating climate-driven VBD models and climate change projections, but also, perhaps most crucially, to the multitude of epidemiological, ecological and socio-economic factors that drive VBD transmission, and this complexity has generated considerable debate over the past 10–15 years. In this review, we seek to elucidate current knowledge around this topic, identify key themes and uncertainties, evaluate ongoing challenges and open research questions and, crucially, offer some solutions for the field. Although many of these challenges are ubiquitous across multiple VBDs, more specific issues also arise in different vector–pathogen systems. PMID:25688012

  16. Resource Manual for Handling Body Fluids in the School Setting To Prevent the Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maryland State Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore.

    Guidelines to prevent the transmission of blood-borne diseases, especially those caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), in the school setting are provided in this resource manual for school staff. Sections include information on the reasons for the development of this manual; a summary of the means of HIV…

  17. Combined reflection and transmission microscope for telemedicine applications in field settings

    OpenAIRE

    Biener, Gabriel; Greenbaum, Alon; Isikman, Serhan O.; Lee, Kelvin; Tseng, Derek; Ozcan, Aydogan

    2011-01-01

    We demonstrate a field-portable upright and inverted microscope that can image specimens in both reflection and transmission modes. This compact and cost-effective dual-mode microscope weighs only ~135 grams (

  18. Resource Manual for Handling Body Fluids in the School Setting To Prevent Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B Virus. Revised Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maryland State Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore.

    This Maryland resource manual provides local education agencies with guidelines on how to handle body fluids to prevent the transmission of diseases, especially Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), in the school setting. The first section summarizes the reasons for development of the manual. The second section summarizes…

  19. Transmission dynamics and resistance in staphylococci

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hetem, D.J.

    2015-01-01

    This thesis will focus on nosocomial transmission and resistance of S. aureus and CoNS. After the general introduction on S. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci, part II focuses on the nosocomial transmission capacity of different MRSA clones in the hospital setting. In chapter 2 the

  20. Airspace: Antarctic Sound Transmission

    OpenAIRE

    Polli, Andrea

    2009-01-01

    This paper investigates how sound transmission can contribute to the public understanding of climate change within the context of the Poles. How have such transmission-based projects developed specifically in the Arctic and Antarctic, and how do these works create alternative pathways in order to help audiences better understand climate change? The author has created the media project Sonic Antarctica from a personal experience of the Antarctic. The work combines soundscape recordings and son...

  1. Impacts of Demand-Side Resources on Electric Transmission Planning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hadley, Stanton W. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Sanstad, Alan H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Will demand resources such as energy efficiency (EE), demand response (DR), and distributed generation (DG) have an impact on electricity transmission requirements? Five drivers for transmission expansion are discussed: interconnection, reliability, economics, replacement, and policy. With that background, we review the results of a set of transmission studies that were conducted between 2010 and 2013 by electricity regulators, industry representatives, and other stakeholders in the three physical interconnections within the United States. These broad-based studies were funded by the US Department of Energy and included scenarios of reduced load growth due to EE, DR, and DG. While the studies were independent and used different modeling tools and interconnect-specific assumptions, all provided valuable results and insights. However, some caveats exist. Demand resources were evaluated in conjunction with other factors, and limitations on transmission additions between scenarios made understanding the role of demand resources difficult. One study, the western study, included analyses over both 10- and 20-year planning horizons; the 10-year analysis did not show near-term reductions in transmission, but the 20-year indicated fewer transmission additions, yielding a 36percent capital cost reduction. In the eastern study the reductions in demand largely led to reductions in local generation capacity and an increased opportunity for low-cost and renewable generation to export to other regions. The Texas study evaluated generation changes due to demand, and is in the process of examining demand resource impacts on transmission.

  2. What We Know About Tuberculosis Transmission: An Overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Churchyard, Gavin; Kim, Peter; Shah, N Sarita; Rustomjee, Roxana; Gandhi, Neel; Mathema, Barun; Dowdy, David; Kasmar, Anne; Cardenas, Vicky

    2017-11-03

    Tuberculosis remains a global health problem with an enormous burden of disease, estimated at 10.4 million new cases in 2015. To stop the tuberculosis epidemic, it is critical that we interrupt tuberculosis transmission. Further, the interventions required to interrupt tuberculosis transmission must be targeted to high-risk groups and settings. A simple cascade for tuberculosis transmission has been proposed in which (1) a source case of tuberculosis (2) generates infectious particles (3) that survive in the air and (4) are inhaled by a susceptible individual (5) who may become infected and (6) then has the potential to develop tuberculosis. Interventions that target these events will interrupt tuberculosis transmission and accelerate the decline in tuberculosis incidence and mortality. The purpose of this article is to provide a high-level overview of what is known about tuberculosis transmission, using the tuberculosis transmission cascade as a framework, and to set the scene for the articles in this series, which address specific aspects of tuberculosis transmission. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  3. Minimal intervention for controlling nosocomial transmission of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus in resource limited setting with high endemicity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent Chi-Chung Cheng

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To control nosocomial transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA in resource-limited healthcare setting with high endemicity. METHODS: Three phases of infection control interventions were implemented in a University-affiliated hospital between 1-January-2004 and 31-December-2012. The first phase of baseline period, defined as the first 48-months of the study period, when all MRSA patients were managed with standard precautions, followed by a second phase of 24-months, when a hospital-wide hand hygiene campaign was launched. In the third phase of 36-months, contact precautions in open cubicle, use of dedicated medical items, and 2% chlorhexidine gluconate daily bathing for MRSA-positive patients were implemented while hand hygiene campaign was continued. The changes in the incidence rates of hospital-acquired MRSA-per-1000-patient admissions, per-1000-patient-days, and per-1000-MRSA-positive-days were analyzed using segmented Poisson regression (an interrupted time series model. Usage density of broad-spectrum antibiotics was monitored. RESULTS: During the study period, 4256 MRSA-positive patients were newly diagnosed, of which 1589 (37.3% were hospital-acquired. The reduction of hospital-acquired MRSA per 1000-patient admissions, per 1000-patient-days, and per 1000-MRSA-positive-days from phase 1 to 2 was 36.3% (p<0.001, 30.4% (p<0.001, and 19.6% (p = 0.040, while the reduction of hospital-acquired MRSA per 1000-patient admissions, per 1000-patient-days, and per 1000-MRSA-positive-days from phase 2 to 3 was 27.4% (p<0.001, 24.1% (p<0.001, and 21.9% (p = 0.041 respectively. This reduction is sustained despite that the usage density of broad-spectrum antibiotics has increased from 132.02 (phase 1 to 168.99 per 1000 patient-days (phase 3. CONCLUSIONS: Nosocomial transmission of MRSA can be reduced with hand hygiene campaign, contact precautions in open cubicle, and 2% chlorhexidine gluconate daily bathing

  4. Changes in Dopamine Transmission in the Nucleus Accumbens Shell and Core during Ethanol and Sucrose Self-Administration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentina Bassareo

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Ethanol, like other substances of abuse, preferentially increases dopamine (DA transmission in the rat nucleus accumbens (NAc following passive administration. It remains unclear, however, whether ethanol also increases NAc DA transmission following operant oral self-administration (SA. The NAc is made-up of a ventro-medial compartment, the shell and a dorso-lateral one, the core, where DA transmission responds differentially following exposure to drugs of abuse. Previous studies from our laboratory investigated changes in dialysate DA in the NAc shell and core of rats responding for sucrose pellets and for drugs of abuse. As a follow up to these studies, we recently investigated the changes in NAc shell and core DA transmission associated to oral SA of a 10% ethanol solution. For the purpose of comparison with literature studies utilizing sucrose + ethanol solutions, we also investigated the changes in dialysate DA associated to SA of 20% sucrose and 10% ethanol + 20% sucrose solutions. Rats were trained to acquire oral SA of the solutions under a Fixed Ratio 1 (FR1 schedule of nose-poking. After training, rats were monitored by microdialysis on three consecutive days under response contingent (active, reward omission (extinction trial and response non-contingent (passive presentation of ethanol, sucrose or ethanol + sucrose solutions. Active and passive ethanol administration produced a similar increase in dialysate DA in the two NAc subdivisions, while under extinction trial DA increased preferentially in the shell compared to the core. Conversely, under sucrose SA and extinction DA increased exclusively in the shell. These observations provide unequivocal evidence that oral SA of 10% ethanol increases dialysate DA in the NAc, and also suggest that stimuli conditioned to ethanol exposure contribute to the increase of dialysate DA observed in the NAc following ethanol SA. Comparison between the pattern of DA changes detected in the NAc

  5. Climate change effects on Chikungunya transmission in Europe: geospatial analysis of vector's climatic suitability and virus' temperature requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Dominik; Thomas, Stephanie M; Suk, Jonathan E; Sudre, Bertrand; Hess, Andrea; Tjaden, Nils B; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Semenza, Jan C

    2013-11-12

    Chikungunya was, from the European perspective, considered to be a travel-related tropical mosquito-borne disease prior to the first European outbreak in Northern Italy in 2007. This was followed by cases of autochthonous transmission reported in South-eastern France in 2010. Both events occurred after the introduction, establishment and expansion of the Chikungunya-competent and highly invasive disease vector Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) in Europe. In order to assess whether these outbreaks are indicative of the beginning of a trend or one-off events, there is a need to further examine the factors driving the potential transmission of Chikungunya in Europe. The climatic suitability, both now and in the future, is an essential starting point for such an analysis. The climatic suitability for Chikungunya outbreaks was determined by using bioclimatic factors that influence, both vector and, pathogen. Climatic suitability for the European distribution of the vector Aedes albopictus was based upon previous correlative environmental niche models. Climatic risk classes were derived by combining climatic suitability for the vector with known temperature requirements for pathogen transmission, obtained from outbreak regions. In addition, the longest potential intra-annual season for Chikungunya transmission was estimated for regions with expected vector occurrences.In order to analyse spatio-temporal trends for risk exposure and season of transmission in Europe, climate change impacts are projected for three time-frames (2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100) and two climate scenarios (A1B and B1) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These climatic projections are based on regional climate model COSMO-CLM, which builds on the global model ECHAM5. European areas with current and future climatic suitability of Chikungunya transmission are identified. An increase in risk is projected for Western Europe (e.g. France and Benelux-States) in the

  6. Transmission access issues: Present and future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahl, P.K.; Gray, R.G.

    1992-01-01

    In recent years, the electric industry has undergone dramatic changes as the federal and state governments have encouraged bulk power production by Independent Power Producers (IPPS) and Qualified Facilities (QFs). With decentralization and the consequent competition in the field of bulk power production, there has emerged the problem of non-utility generators (NUGS) and of transmission dependent utilities accessing the existing transmission systems owned by electric utilities. This paper presents current and future issues related to transmission access by IPPS, QFs and transmission dependent utilities. These issues include: (a) impact on system reliability, (b) impact of pricing strategies, (c) changes in state and federal regulations, (d) transmission proposals by various entities, (e) present access arrangements, (f) formation of the Western Systems Power Pool (WSPP), and (g) siting difficulties. The transmission access problem warrants consideration of transmission services, coordination among electric utilities, joint planning on a regional basis, and accommodation of IPPs and NUGs

  7. Poverty and price transmission

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elleby, Christian

    A key parameter determining the welfare impact from a world market shock is the transmission elasticity which measures the average domestic response to an international price change. Many studies have estimated price transmission elasticities for a large number of countries but the variation in t...

  8. Transmission dose estimation algorithm for in vivo dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, Hyong Geun; Shin, Kyo Chul; Huh, Soon Nyung; Woo, Hong Gyun; Ha, Sung Whan; Lee, Hyoung Koo

    2002-01-01

    Measurement of transmission dose is useful for in vivo dosimetry of QA purpose. The objective of this study is to develope an algorithm for estimation of tumor dose using measured transmission dose for open radiation field. Transmission dose was measured with various field size (FS), phantom thickness (Tp), and phantom chamber distance (PCD) with an acrylic phantom for 6 MV and 10 MV X-ray. Source to chamber distance (SCD) was set to 150 cm. Measurement was conducted with a 0.6 cc Farmer type ion chamber. Using measured data and regression analysis, an algorithm was developed for estimation of expected reading of transmission dose. Accuracy of the algorithm was tested with flat solid phantom with various settings. The algorithm consisted of quadratic function of log(A/P) (where A/P is area-perimeter ratio) and tertiary function of PCD. The algorithm could estimate dose with very high accuracy for open square field, with errors within ±0.5%. For elongated radiation field, the errors were limited to ±1.0%. The developed algorithm can accurately estimate the transmission dose in open radiation fields with various treatment settings

  9. Transmission dose estimation algorithm for in vivo dosimetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yun, Hyong Geun; Shin, Kyo Chul [Dankook Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Huh, Soon Nyung; Woo, Hong Gyun; Ha, Sung Whan [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hyoung Koo [Catholic Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2002-07-01

    Measurement of transmission dose is useful for in vivo dosimetry of QA purpose. The objective of this study is to develope an algorithm for estimation of tumor dose using measured transmission dose for open radiation field. Transmission dose was measured with various field size (FS), phantom thickness (Tp), and phantom chamber distance (PCD) with an acrylic phantom for 6 MV and 10 MV X-ray. Source to chamber distance (SCD) was set to 150 cm. Measurement was conducted with a 0.6 cc Farmer type ion chamber. Using measured data and regression analysis, an algorithm was developed for estimation of expected reading of transmission dose. Accuracy of the algorithm was tested with flat solid phantom with various settings. The algorithm consisted of quadratic function of log(A/P) (where A/P is area-perimeter ratio) and tertiary function of PCD. The algorithm could estimate dose with very high accuracy for open square field, with errors within {+-}0.5%. For elongated radiation field, the errors were limited to {+-}1.0%. The developed algorithm can accurately estimate the transmission dose in open radiation fields with various treatment settings.

  10. Impact of anthropogenic and natural environmental changes on Echinococcus transmission in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the People's Republic of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yu Rong; Clements, Archie C A; Gray, Darren J; Atkinson, Jo-An M; Williams, Gail M; Barnes, Tamsin S; McManus, Donald P

    2012-07-24

    Echinococcus transmission is known to be affected by various environmental factors, which may be modified by human influence or natural events including global warming. Considerable population growth in the last fifty years in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), the People's Republic of China (PRC), has led to dramatic increases in deforestation and modified agricultural practices. In turn, this has resulted in many changes in the habitats for the definitive and intermediate hosts of both Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis, which have increased the risks for transmission of both parasites, affecting echinococcosis prevalence and human disease. Ecological environmental changes due to anthropogenic activities and natural events drive Echinococcus transmission and NHAR provides a notable example illustrating how human activity can impact on a parasitic infection of major public health significance. It is very important to continually monitor these environmental (including climatic) factors that drive the distribution of Echinococcus spp. and their impact on transmission to humans because such information is necessary to formulate reliable future public health policy for echinococcosis control programs and to prevent disease spread.

  11. Kansas Electric Transmission Lines

    Data.gov (United States)

    Kansas Data Access and Support Center — This data set is a digital representation of the EletcircTransmission lines for the State of Kansas as maintained by the Kansas Corporation Commission. Data is...

  12. Climate, environmental and socio-economic change: weighing up the balance in vector-borne disease transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parham, Paul E; Waldock, Joanna; Christophides, George K; Hemming, Deborah; Agusto, Folashade; Evans, Katherine J; Fefferman, Nina; Gaff, Holly; Gumel, Abba; LaDeau, Shannon; Lenhart, Suzanne; Mickens, Ronald E; Naumova, Elena N; Ostfeld, Richard S; Ready, Paul D; Thomas, Matthew B; Velasco-Hernandez, Jorge; Michael, Edwin

    2015-04-05

    Arguably one of the most important effects of climate change is the potential impact on human health. While this is likely to take many forms, the implications for future transmission of vector-borne diseases (VBDs), given their ongoing contribution to global disease burden, are both extremely important and highly uncertain. In part, this is owing not only to data limitations and methodological challenges when integrating climate-driven VBD models and climate change projections, but also, perhaps most crucially, to the multitude of epidemiological, ecological and socio-economic factors that drive VBD transmission, and this complexity has generated considerable debate over the past 10-15 years. In this review, we seek to elucidate current knowledge around this topic, identify key themes and uncertainties, evaluate ongoing challenges and open research questions and, crucially, offer some solutions for the field. Although many of these challenges are ubiquitous across multiple VBDs, more specific issues also arise in different vector-pathogen systems. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  13. Drivers of Tuberculosis Transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathema, Barun; Andrews, Jason R; Cohen, Ted; Borgdorff, Martien W; Behr, Marcel; Glynn, Judith R; Rustomjee, Roxana; Silk, Benjamin J; Wood, Robin

    2017-11-03

    Measuring tuberculosis transmission is exceedingly difficult, given the remarkable variability in the timing of clinical disease after Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection; incident disease can result from either a recent (ie, weeks to months) or a remote (ie, several years to decades) infection event. Although we cannot identify with certainty the timing and location of tuberculosis transmission for individuals, approaches for estimating the individual probability of recent transmission and for estimating the fraction of tuberculosis cases due to recent transmission in populations have been developed. Data used to estimate the probable burden of recent transmission include tuberculosis case notifications in young children and trends in tuberculin skin test and interferon γ-release assays. More recently, M. tuberculosis whole-genome sequencing has been used to estimate population levels of recent transmission, identify the distribution of specific strains within communities, and decipher chains of transmission among culture-positive tuberculosis cases. The factors that drive the transmission of tuberculosis in communities depend on the burden of prevalent tuberculosis; the ways in which individuals live, work, and interact (eg, congregate settings); and the capacity of healthcare and public health systems to identify and effectively treat individuals with infectious forms of tuberculosis. Here we provide an overview of these factors, describe tools for measurement of ongoing transmission, and highlight knowledge gaps that must be addressed. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  14. The evolution of transmission mode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forbes, Mark R.; Hauffe, Heidi C.; Kallio, Eva R.; Okamura, Beth; Sait, Steven M.

    2017-01-01

    This article reviews research on the evolutionary mechanisms leading to different transmission modes. Such modes are often under genetic control of the host or the pathogen, and often in conflict with each other via trade-offs. Transmission modes may vary among pathogen strains and among host populations. Evolutionary changes in transmission mode have been inferred through experimental and phylogenetic studies, including changes in transmission associated with host shifts and with evolution of the unusually complex life cycles of many parasites. Understanding the forces that determine the evolution of particular transmission modes presents a fascinating medley of problems for which there is a lack of good data and often a lack of conceptual understanding or appropriate methodologies. Our best information comes from studies that have been focused on the vertical versus horizontal transmission dichotomy. With other kinds of transitions, theoretical approaches combining epidemiology and population genetics are providing guidelines for determining when and how rapidly new transmission modes may evolve, but these are still in need of empirical investigation and application to particular cases. Obtaining such knowledge is a matter of urgency in relation to extant disease threats. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Opening the black box: re-examining the ecology and evolution of parasite transmission’. PMID:28289251

  15. Innovative Phase Change Approach for Significant Energy Savings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-01

    related to the production, use, transmission , storage, control, or conservation of energy that will – (A) reduce the need for additional energy supplies...Conditions set for operation were: a. The computer with the broadband wireless card is to be used for data collection, transmission and...FINAL REPORT Innovative Phase Change Approach for Significant Energy Savings ESTCP Project EW-201138 SEPTEMBER 2016 Dr. Aly H Shaaban Applied

  16. Climate change, population immunity, and hyperendemicity in the transmission threshold of dengue.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mika Oki

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that the probability of dengue epidemics could increase because of climate change. The probability of epidemics is most commonly evaluated by the basic reproductive number (R(0, and in mosquito-borne diseases, mosquito density (the number of female mosquitoes per person [MPP] is the critical determinant of the R(0 value. In dengue-endemic areas, 4 different serotypes of dengue virus coexist-a state known as hyperendemicity-and a certain proportion of the population is immune to one or more of these serotypes. Nevertheless, these factors are not included in the calculation of R(0. We aimed to investigate the effects of temperature change, population immunity, and hyperendemicity on the threshold MPP that triggers an epidemic. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We designed a mathematical model of dengue transmission dynamics. An epidemic was defined as a 10% increase in seroprevalence in a year, and the MPP that triggered an epidemic was defined as the threshold MPP. Simulations were conducted in Singapore based on the recorded temperatures from 1980 to 2009 The threshold MPP was estimated with the effect of (1 temperature only; (2 temperature and fluctuation of population immunity; and (3 temperature, fluctuation of immunity, and hyperendemicity. When only the effect of temperature was considered, the threshold MPP was estimated to be 0.53 in the 1980s and 0.46 in the 2000s, a decrease of 13.2%. When the fluctuation of population immunity and hyperendemicity were considered in the model, the threshold MPP decreased by 38.7%, from 0.93 to 0.57, from the 1980s to the 2000s. CONCLUSIONS: The threshold MPP was underestimated if population immunity was not considered and overestimated if hyperendemicity was not included in the simulations. In addition to temperature, these factors are particularly important when quantifying the threshold MPP for the purpose of setting goals for vector control in dengue-endemic areas.

  17. Implementing culture change in long-term dementia care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGreevy, Jessica

    2016-01-06

    The approach to nursing in long-term care settings for people living with dementia continues to evolve from a traditional, task-oriented culture to one that is person-centred. Such change can be difficult to manage and may encounter considerable opposition; having an understanding of change management and leadership styles may help to make this transition easier. This article discusses the differences between task-oriented and person-centred care, theories of management, motivation and leadership styles, and focuses on those that are most appropriate for this type of change. An improved understanding of these theories will enable nurses to support others in the delivery of person-centred care.

  18. Impact of anthropogenic and natural environmental changes on Echinococcus transmission in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the People’s Republic of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Echinococcus transmission is known to be affected by various environmental factors, which may be modified by human influence or natural events including global warming. Considerable population growth in the last fifty years in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has led to dramatic increases in deforestation and modified agricultural practices. In turn, this has resulted in many changes in the habitats for the definitive and intermediate hosts of both Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis, which have increased the risks for transmission of both parasites, affecting echinococcosis prevalence and human disease. Ecological environmental changes due to anthropogenic activities and natural events drive Echinococcus transmission and NHAR provides a notable example illustrating how human activity can impact on a parasitic infection of major public health significance. It is very important to continually monitor these environmental (including climatic) factors that drive the distribution of Echinococcus spp. and their impact on transmission to humans because such information is necessary to formulate reliable future public health policy for echinococcosis control programs and to prevent disease spread. PMID:22827890

  19. Impact of anthropogenic and natural environmental changes on Echinococcus transmission in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the People’s Republic of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Yu

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Echinococcus transmission is known to be affected by various environmental factors, which may be modified by human influence or natural events including global warming. Considerable population growth in the last fifty years in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR, the People’s Republic of China (PRC, has led to dramatic increases in deforestation and modified agricultural practices. In turn, this has resulted in many changes in the habitats for the definitive and intermediate hosts of both Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis, which have increased the risks for transmission of both parasites, affecting echinococcosis prevalence and human disease. Ecological environmental changes due to anthropogenic activities and natural events drive Echinococcus transmission and NHAR provides a notable example illustrating how human activity can impact on a parasitic infection of major public health significance. It is very important to continually monitor these environmental (including climatic factors that drive the distribution of Echinococcus spp. and their impact on transmission to humans because such information is necessary to formulate reliable future public health policy for echinococcosis control programs and to prevent disease spread.

  20. Empowering community settings: agents of individual development, community betterment, and positive social change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maton, Kenneth I

    2008-03-01

    The pathways and processes through which empowering community settings influence their members, the surrounding community and the larger society are examined. To generate the proposed pathways and processes, a broad range of studies of community settings were reviewed, in the domains of adult well-being, positive youth development, locality development, and social change. A set of organizational characteristics and associated processes leading to member empowerment across domains were identified, as well as three pathways through which empowering settings in each domain contribute to community betterment and positive social change. The paper concludes with an examination of the ways that community psychology and allied disciplines can help increase the number and range of empowering settings, and enhance the community and societal impact of existing ones.

  1. Picture this: Managed change and resistance in business network settings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kragh, Hanne; Andersen, Poul Houman

    2009-01-01

    This paper discusses change management in networks. The literature on business networks tends to downplay the role of managerial initiative in network change. The change management literature addresses such initiative, but with its single-firm perspective it overlooks the interdependence of network...... actors. In exploring the void between these two streams of literature, we deploy the concept of network pictures to discuss managed change in network settings. We analyze a change project from the furniture industry and address the consequences of attempting to manage change activities in a network...... context characterized by limited managerial authority over these activities. Our analysis suggests that change efforts unfold as a negotiated process during which the change project is re-negotiated to fit the multiple actor constituencies. The degree of overlap in the co-existing network pictures...

  2. Life satisfaction set point: stability and change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujita, Frank; Diener, Ed

    2005-01-01

    Using data from 17 years of a large and nationally representative panel study from Germany, the authors examined whether there is a set point for life satisfaction (LS)--stability across time, even though it can be perturbed for short periods by life events. The authors found that 24% of respondents changed significantly in LS from the first 5 years to the last 5 years and that stability declined as the period between measurements increased. Average LS in the first 5 years correlated .51 with the 5-year average of LS during the last 5 years. Height, weight, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and personality traits were all more stable than LS, whereas income was about as stable as LS. Almost 9% of the sample changed an average of 3 or more points on a 10-point scale from the first 5 to last 5 years of the study.

  3. Dengue transmission in the small-island setting: investigations from the Caribbean island of Grenada

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schiøler, Karin Linda; Macpherson, Calum N

    2009-01-01

    The Caribbean region has experienced a major surge in dengue activity in recent decades. Yet, for many, and especially the smaller islands, the true extent and general epidemiology of dengue transmission remains unclear because of inadequate systems of surveillance and reporting. We established...... benign dengue fever. A shift in serotype activity and modal age was evident during the noted transition, with the more densely populated south end of the island presenting the focus of transmission....

  4. Literature survey: Relations between stress change, deformation and transmissivity for fractures and deformation zones based on in situ investigations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fransson, Aasa (Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden))

    2009-02-15

    This literature survey is focused upon relations between stress change, deformation and transmissivity for fractures and deformation zones and aims at compiling and commenting on relevant information and references with focus on data from in situ investigations. Main issues to investigate are: - Impact of normal stress change and deformation on transmissivity, for fractures and deformation zones. - Impact of shear stress and displacement on transmissivity, for fractures and deformation zones for different normal load conditions. Considering the line of research within the area, the following steps in the development can be identified. During the 1970's and 1980's, the fundamentals of rock joint deformation were investigated and identification and description of mechanisms were made in the laboratory. In the 1990's, coupling of stress-flow properties of rock joints were made using hydraulic testing to identify and describe the mechanisms in the field. Both individual fractures and deformation zones were of interest. In situ investigations have also been the topic of interest the last ten years. Further identification and description of mechanisms in the field have been made including investigation and description of system of fractures, different types of fractures (interlocked/mated or mismatched/unmated) and how this is coupled to the hydromechanical behavior. In this report, data from in situ investigations are compiled and the parameters considered to be important to link fracture deformation and transmissivity are normal stiffness, k{sub n} and hydraulic aperture, b{sub h}. All data except for those from one site originate from investigations performed in granitic rock. Normal stiffness, k{sub n}, and hydraulic aperture, b{sub h}, are correlated, even though data are scattered. In general, the largest variation is seen for small hydraulic apertures and high normal stiffness. The increasing number of contact points (areas) and fracture filling are

  5. Determinants of the accuracy of rapid diagnostic tests in malaria case management: evidence from low and moderate transmission settings in the East African highlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rapuoda Beth

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The accuracy of malaria diagnosis has received renewed interest in recent years due to changes in treatment policies in favour of relatively high-cost artemisinin-based combination therapies. The use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs based on histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2 synthesized by Plasmodium falciparum has been widely advocated to save costs and to minimize inappropriate treatment of non-malarial febrile illnesses. HRP2-based RDTs are highly sensitive and stable; however, their specificity is a cause for concern, particularly in areas of intense malaria transmission due to persistence of HRP2 antigens from previous infections. Methods In this study, 78,454 clinically diagnosed malaria patients were tested using HRP2-based RDTs over a period of approximately four years in four highland sites in Kenya and Uganda representing hypoendemic to mesoendemic settings. In addition, the utility of the tests was evaluated in comparison with expert microscopy for disease management in 2,241 subjects in two sites with different endemicity levels over four months. Results RDT positivity rates varied by season and year, indicating temporal changes in accuracy of clinical diagnosis. Compared to expert microscopy, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the RDTs in a hypoendemic site were 90.0%, 99.9%, 90.0% and 99.9%, respectively. Corresponding measures at a mesoendemic site were 91.0%, 65.0%, 71.6% and 88.1%. Although sensitivities at the two sites were broadly comparable, levels of specificity varied considerably between the sites as well as according to month of test, age of patient, and presence or absence of fever during consultation. Specificity was relatively high in older age groups and increased towards the end of the transmission season, indicating the role played by anti-HRP2 antibodies. Patients with high parasite densities were more likely to test positive with RDTs than

  6. Natural ventilation reduces high TB transmission risk in traditional homes in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lygizos, Melissa; Shenoi, Sheela V; Brooks, Ralph P; Bhushan, Ambika; Brust, James C M; Zelterman, Daniel; Deng, Yanhong; Northrup, Veronika; Moll, Anthony P; Friedland, Gerald H

    2013-07-01

    Transmission of drug susceptible and drug resistant TB occurs in health care facilities, and community and households settings, particularly in highly prevalent TB and HIV areas. There is a paucity of data regarding factors that may affect TB transmission risk in household settings. We evaluated air exchange and the impact of natural ventilation on estimated TB transmission risk in traditional Zulu homes in rural South Africa. We utilized a carbon dioxide decay technique to measure ventilation in air changes per hour (ACH). We evaluated predominant home types to determine factors affecting ACH and used the Wells-Riley equation to estimate TB transmission risk. Two hundred eighteen ventilation measurements were taken in 24 traditional homes. All had low ventilation at baseline when windows were closed (mean ACH = 3, SD = 3.0), with estimated TB transmission risk of 55.4% over a ten hour period of exposure to an infectious TB patient. There was significant improvement with opening windows and door, reaching a mean ACH of 20 (SD = 13.1, p ventilation conditions (windows/doors open) and window to volume ratio. Expanding ventilation increased the odds of achieving ≥12 ACH by 60-fold. There is high estimated risk of TB transmission in traditional homes of infectious TB patients in rural South Africa. Improving natural ventilation may decrease household TB transmission risk and, combined with other strategies, may enhance TB control efforts.

  7. 77 FR 11517 - Rapid Response Team for Transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-27

    ...-governmental reviews and approvals to run concurrently; setting clear schedules for completing steps in the... timelines for generation and attendant transmission are often not coordinated or run concurrently. Because... Incongruent Development Times? d. How is the financing for developing the attendant transmission influenced by...

  8. Optical transmission through multi-component generalized Thue-Morse superlattices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang Guogang [MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science and Institute of Laser Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631 (China); Yang Xiangbo, E-mail: xbyang@scnu.edu.c [MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science and Institute of Laser Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631 (China); Li Yuhong; Song Huanhuan [MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science and Institute of Laser Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631 (China)

    2010-09-01

    In this paper, by the three kinds of basic components (BCs) of three-component Thue-Morse (3CTM) sequence we construct a type of interesting optical basic-structural-units (BSUs) and propose multi-component generalized Thue-Morse (mCGTM) model. Based on the conventional electromagnetic wave theory we investigate the optical transmission vertically through the one-dimensional (1D) mCGTM superlattices. It is found that the optical transmission possesses an interesting pseudo-constant characteristic at the central wavelength. mCGTM sequence exhibits a cantor-set structure which results in the system possessing certain kinds of effective component pairs (ECPs), and each kind of ECP brings about certain contribution towards the optical transmission. The cantor-set structure is the reason that mCGTM multilayers exhibit the optical transmission pseudo-constant property. For the pseudo-constant optical transmission of mCGTM superlattices, there would be a potential application in the designing of some complex optical devices.

  9. 42 CFR 413.196 - Notification of changes in rate-setting methodologies and payment rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notification of changes in rate-setting... NURSING FACILITIES Payment for End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Services and Organ Procurement Costs § 413.196 Notification of changes in rate-setting methodologies and payment rates. Link to an amendment...

  10. Interference-Robust Transmission in Wireless Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Jin-Seok; Lee, Yong-Hwan

    2016-11-14

    Low-power wireless sensor networks (WSNs) operating in unlicensed spectrum bands may seriously suffer from interference from other coexisting radio systems, such as IEEE 802.11 wireless local area networks. In this paper, we consider the improvement of the transmission performance of low-power WSNs by adjusting the transmission rate and the payload size in response to the change of co-channel interference. We estimate the probability of transmission failure and the data throughput and then determine the payload size to maximize the throughput performance. We investigate that the transmission time maximizing the normalized throughput is not much affected by the transmission rate, but rather by the interference condition. We adjust the transmission rate and the transmission time in response to the change of the channel and interference condition, respectively. Finally, we verify the performance of the proposed scheme by computer simulation. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme significantly improves data throughput compared with conventional schemes while preserving energy efficiency even in the presence of interference.

  11. Reducing Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission in Africa: a model-based evaluation of intervention strategies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamie T Griffin

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Over the past decade malaria intervention coverage has been scaled up across Africa. However, it remains unclear what overall reduction in transmission is achievable using currently available tools.We developed an individual-based simulation model for Plasmodium falciparum transmission in an African context incorporating the three major vector species (Anopheles gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis, and An. funestus with parameters obtained by fitting to parasite prevalence data from 34 transmission settings across Africa. We incorporated the effect of the switch to artemisinin-combination therapy (ACT and increasing coverage of long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs from the year 2000 onwards. We then explored the impact on transmission of continued roll-out of LLINs, additional rounds of indoor residual spraying (IRS, mass screening and treatment (MSAT, and a future RTS,S/AS01 vaccine in six representative settings with varying transmission intensity (as summarized by the annual entomological inoculation rate, EIR: 1 setting with low, 3 with moderate, and 2 with high EIRs, vector-species combinations, and patterns of seasonality. In all settings we considered a realistic target of 80% coverage of interventions. In the low-transmission setting (EIR approximately 3 ibppy [infectious bites per person per year], LLINs have the potential to reduce malaria transmission to low levels (90% or novel tools and/or substantial social improvements will be required, although considerable reductions in prevalence can be achieved with existing tools and realistic coverage levels.Interventions using current tools can result in major reductions in P. falciparum malaria transmission and the associated disease burden in Africa. Reduction to the 1% parasite prevalence threshold is possible in low- to moderate-transmission settings when vectors are primarily endophilic (indoor-resting, provided a comprehensive and sustained intervention program is achieved through

  12. Socioeconomic and environmental determinants of dengue transmission in an urban setting: An ecological study in Nouméa, New Caledonia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raphaël M Zellweger

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Dengue is a mosquito-borne virus that causes extensive morbidity and economic loss in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Often present in cities, dengue virus is rapidly spreading due to urbanization, climate change and increased human movements. Dengue cases are often heterogeneously distributed throughout cities, suggesting that small-scale determinants influence dengue urban transmission. A better understanding of these determinants is crucial to efficiently target prevention measures such as vector control and education. The aim of this study was to determine which socioeconomic and environmental determinants were associated with dengue incidence in an urban setting in the Pacific.An ecological study was performed using data summarized by neighborhood (i.e. the neighborhood is the unit of analysis from two dengue epidemics (2008-2009 and 2012-2013 in the city of Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia. Spatial patterns and hotspots of dengue transmission were assessed using global and local Moran's I statistics. Multivariable negative binomial regression models were used to investigate the association between dengue incidence and various socioeconomic and environmental factors throughout the city.The 2008-2009 epidemic was spatially structured, with clusters of high and low incidence neighborhoods. In 2012-2013, dengue incidence rates were more homogeneous throughout the city. In all models tested, higher dengue incidence rates were consistently associated with lower socioeconomic status (higher unemployment, lower revenue or higher percentage of population born in the Pacific, which are interrelated. A higher percentage of apartments was associated with lower dengue incidence rates during both epidemics in all models but one. A link between vegetation coverage and dengue incidence rates was also detected, but the link varied depending on the model used.This study demonstrates a robust spatial association between dengue

  13. A large proportion of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections with low and sub-microscopic parasite densities in the low transmission setting of Temotu Province, Solomon Islands: challenges for malaria diagnostics in an elimination setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harris Ivor

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many countries are scaling up malaria interventions towards elimination. This transition changes demands on malaria diagnostics from diagnosing ill patients to detecting parasites in all carriers including asymptomatic infections and infections with low parasite densities. Detection methods suitable to local malaria epidemiology must be selected prior to transitioning a malaria control programme to elimination. A baseline malaria survey conducted in Temotu Province, Solomon Islands in late 2008, as the first step in a provincial malaria elimination programme, provided malaria epidemiology data and an opportunity to assess how well different diagnostic methods performed in this setting. Methods During the survey, 9,491 blood samples were collected and examined by microscopy for Plasmodium species and density, with a subset also examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs. The performances of these diagnostic methods were compared. Results A total of 256 samples were positive by microscopy, giving a point prevalence of 2.7%. The species distribution was 17.5% Plasmodium falciparum and 82.4% Plasmodium vivax. In this low transmission setting, only 17.8% of the P. falciparum and 2.9% of P. vivax infected subjects were febrile (≥38°C at the time of the survey. A significant proportion of infections detected by microscopy, 40% and 65.6% for P. falciparum and P. vivax respectively, had parasite density below 100/μL. There was an age correlation for the proportion of parasite density below 100/μL for P. vivax infections, but not for P. falciparum infections. PCR detected substantially more infections than microscopy (point prevalence of 8.71%, indicating a large number of subjects had sub-microscopic parasitemia. The concordance between PCR and microscopy in detecting single species was greater for P. vivax (135/162 compared to P. falciparum (36/118. The malaria RDT detected the 12 microscopy and

  14. 76 FR 58424 - Transmission Relay Loadability Reliability Standard

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-21

    ... distribution providers to set load-responsive phase protection relays according to specific criteria to ensure...-part R.1.10 allows transmission owners, generation owners and distribution providers to set transformer.... Thus, requiring that transformer fault protection relays are set to not expose the transformer to a...

  15. Dengue transmission based on urban environmental gradients in different cities of Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalid, Bushra; Ghaffar, Abdul

    2015-03-01

    This study focuses on the dengue transmission in different regions of Pakistan. For this purpose, the data of dengue cases for 2009-2012 from four different cities (Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi) of the country is collected, evaluated, and compiled. To identify the reasons and regions of higher risk of Dengue transmission, land use classification, analysis of climate covariates and drainage patterns was done. Analysis involves processing of SPOT 5 10 m, Landsat TM 30 m data sets, and SRTM 90 m digital elevation models by using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The results are based on the change in urbanization and population density, analysis of temperature, rainfall, and wind speed; calculation of drainage patterns including stream features, flow accumulation, and drainage density of the study areas. Results suggest that the low elevation areas with calm winds and minimum temperatures higher than the normal, rapid increase in unplanned urbanization, low flow accumulation, and higher drainage density areas favor the dengue transmission.

  16. Transmission positron microscopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doyama, Masao; Kogure, Yoshiaki; Inoue, Miyoshi; Kurihara, Toshikazu; Yoshiie, Toshimasa; Oshima, Ryuichiro; Matsuya, Miyuki

    2006-01-01

    Immediate and near-future plans for transmission positron microscopes being built at KEK, Tsukuba, Japan, are described. The characteristic feature of this project is remolding a commercial electron microscope to a positron microscope. A point source of electrons kept at a negative high voltage is changed to a point source of positrons kept at a high positive voltage. Positional resolution of transmission microscopes should be theoretically the same as electron microscopes. Positron microscopes utilizing trapping of positrons have always positional ambiguity due to the diffusion of positrons

  17. Ideas for Testing of Planetary Gear Sets of Automotive Transmissions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Achtenová Gabriela

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the concept of modular stand, where is possible to provide tests of gear pairs with fixed axes from mechanical automotive gearboxes, as well as tests of separate planetary sets from automatic gearboxes. Special attention in the article will be paid to the variant dedicated for testing of planetary gear sets. This variant is particularly interesting because: 1 it is rarely described in the literature, and 2 this topology allows big simplification with respect to testing of standard gearwheels. In the planetary closed-loop stand it is possible to directly link two identical planetary sets. Without any bracing flange or other connecting clutches, shafts or gear sets, just two planetary sets face-to-face will be assembled and connected to the electric motor.

  18. Power Split Based Dual Hemispherical Continuously Variable Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douwe Dresscher

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available In this work, we present a new continuously variable transmission concept: the Dual-Hemi Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT. It is designed to have properties we believe are required to apply continuously variable transmissions in robotics to their full potential. These properties are a transformation range that includes both positive and negative ratios, back-drivability under all conditions, kinematically decoupled reconfiguration, high efficiency of the transmission, and a reconfiguration mechanism requiring little work for changing the transmission ratio. The design of the Dual-Hemi CVT and a prototype realisation are discussed in detail. We show that the Dual-Hemi CVT has the aforementioned desired properties. Experiments show that the efficiency of the CVT is above 90% for a large part of the range of operation of the CVT. Significant stiction in the transmission, combined with a relatively low bandwidth for changing the transmission ratio, may cause problems when applying the DH-CVT as part of an actuator in a control loop.

  19. Improving the Energy Market: Algorithms, Market Implications, and Transmission Switching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipka, Paula Ann

    corresponding to the accuracy and AC-feasiblity of the solution. This linearization was tested on the IEEE and Polish systems, which range from 14 to 3375 buses and 20 to 4161 transmission lines. It had an accuracy of 0.5% or less for all but the 30-bus system. It also solved in linear time with CPLEX, while the non-linear version solved in O(n1.11) to O(n1.39). The sequential linearization is slower than the nonlinear formulation for smaller problems, but faster for larger problems, and its linear computational time means it would continue solving faster for larger problems. A major consideration to implementing algorithms to solve the optimal generator dispatch is ensuring that the resulting prices from the algorithm will support the market. Since the sequential linearization is linear, it is convex, its marginal values are well-defined, and there is no duality gap. The prices and settlements obtained from the sequential linearization therefore can be used to run a market. This market will include extra prices and settlements for reactive power and voltage, compared to the present-day market, which is based on real power. An advantage of this is that there is a very clear pool that can be used for reactive power/voltage support payments, while presently there is not a clear pool to take them out of. This method also reveals how valuable reactive power and voltage are at different locations, which can enable better planning of reactive resource construction. Transmission switching increases the feasible region of the generator dispatch, which means there may be a better solution than without transmission switching. Power flows on transmission lines are not directly controllable; rather, the power flows according to how it is injected and the physical characteristics of the lines. Changing the network topology changes the physical characteristics, which changes the flows. This means that sets of generator dispatch that may have previously been infeasible due to the flow

  20. Non-invasive assessment of changes in corticomotoneuronal transmission in humans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Taube, Wolfgang; Leukel, Christian; Nielsen, Jens Bo

    2017-01-01

    The corticospinal pathway is the major pathway connecting the brain with the muscles and is therefore highly relevant for movement control and motor learning. There exists a number of noninvasive electrophysiological methods investigating the excitability and plasticity of this pathway. However...... cortical and spinal effects but also assessment of transmission at the corticomotoneural synapse. In this manuscript, we describe how this method can be used to assess corticomotoneural transmission after low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, a method that was previously shown...

  1. Contract networks for competition in transmission grids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hogan, W.W.

    1992-01-01

    Increased reliance on competition in energy markets requires pricing, access, and investment reform for the essential transmission grids. Due to the complexity of the network interactions, the usual analogies to economic concepts from other settings have little or no meaning in transmission grids. A contract network framework builds from first principles to define the conditions of an efficient market. 8 refs

  2. Goal setting for health behavior change: evidence from an obesity intervention for rural low-income women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ries, A V; Blackman, L T; Page, R A; Gizlice, Z; Benedict, S; Barnes, K; Kelsey, K; Carter-Edwards, L

    2014-01-01

    Rural, minority populations are disproportionately affected by overweight and obesity and may benefit from lifestyle modification programs that are tailored to meet their unique needs. Obesity interventions commonly use goal setting as a behavior change strategy; however, few have investigated the specific contribution of goal setting to behavior change and/or identified the mechanisms by which goal setting may have an impact on behavior change. Furthermore, studies have not examined goal setting processes among racial/ethnic minorities. Using data from an obesity intervention for predominately minority women in rural North Carolina, this study sought to examine whether intervention participation resulted in working on goals and using goal setting strategies which in turn affected health behavior outcomes. It also examined racial/ethnic group differences in working on goals and use of goal setting strategies. Data came from a community-based participatory research project to address obesity among low-income, predominately minority women in rural North Carolina. A quasi-experimental intervention design was used. Participants included 485 women aged 18 years and over. Intervention participants (n=208) received health information and goal setting support through group meetings and tailored newsletters. Comparison participants (n = 277) received newsletters on topics unrelated to obesity. Surveys assessed physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, goal-related stage of change, and use of goal setting strategies. Chi squared statistics were used to assess intervention group differences in changes in goal-related stage of change and use of goal setting strategies as well as racial/ethnic group differences in stage of change and use of goal setting strategies at baseline. The causal steps approach of Baron and Kenny was used to assess mediation. Intervention compared to comparison participants were more likely to move from contemplation to action/maintenance for the

  3. Remodelling core group theory: the role of sustaining populations in HIV transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Charlotte; Zimmerman, Cathy; Foss, Anna M; Hossain, Mazeda; Cox, Andrew; Vickerman, Peter

    2010-12-01

    Core group theory describes the central role of groups with high rates of sexual partner change in HIV transmission. Research illustrates the heterogeneous and dynamic nature of commercial sex, and that some men involved in the organisation or policing of sex work regularly have sex with sex workers. These findings are used to explore gaps in core group theory. Evidence from developing countries on the duration that women sell and men buy sex was reviewed. Simple compartmental dynamic models were used to derive analytical expressions for the relative HIV equilibrium levels among sex workers and partners, incorporating partner change rates and duration in commercial sex settings. Simulations explored the degree to which HIV infection can be attributable to men with low partner change rates who remain in sex work settings for long periods, and their influence on the impact of HIV intervention. Partner change rates and duration of time in a setting determine equilibrium HIV levels. Modelling projections suggest that men with low mobility can substantially contribute to HIV prevalence among sex workers, especially in settings with prevalences group theory. Men who control the sex industry and regular clients may form an important 'sustaining population' that increases infection and undermines the impact of intervention. Intervention activities should include these groups, and examine the social organisation of sex work that underpins many of these relationships.

  4. Transmission delays in hardware clock synchronization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Kang G.; Ramanathan, P.

    1988-01-01

    Various methods, both with software and hardware, have been proposed to synchronize a set of physical clocks in a system. Software methods are very flexible and economical but suffer an excessive time overhead, whereas hardware methods require no time overhead but are unable to handle transmission delays in clock signals. The effects of nonzero transmission delays in synchronization have been studied extensively in the communication area in the absence of malicious or Byzantine faults. The authors show that it is easy to incorporate the ideas from the communication area into the existing hardware clock synchronization algorithms to take into account the presence of both malicious faults and nonzero transmission delays.

  5. The impact of climate change on infectious disease transmission: perceptions of CDC health professionals in Shanxi Province, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junni Wei

    Full Text Available There have been increasing concerns about the challenge of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases due to climate change, especially in developing countries including China. Health professionals play a significant role in the battle to control and prevent infectious diseases. This study therefore aims to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of health professionals at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC in different levels in China, and to consider adaptation measures to deal with the challenge of climate change. In 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken among 314 staff in CDCs in Shanxi Province, China, whose routine work involves disease control and prevention. Data were analyzed using descriptive methods and logistic regression. A majority of the CDC staff were aware of the health risks from climate change, especially its impacts on infectious disease transmission in their jurisdictions, and believed climate change might bring about both temporal and spatial change in transmission patterns. It was thought that adaptation measures should be established including: strengthening/improving currently existing disease surveillance systems and vector monitoring; building CDC capacity in terms of infrastructure and in-house health professional training; development and refinement of relevant legislation, policies and guidelines; better coordination among various government departments; the involvement of the community in infectious disease interventions; and collaborative research with other institutions. This study provides a snapshot of the understanding of CDC staff regarding climate change risks relevant to infectious diseases and adaptation in China. Results may help inform future efforts to develop adaptation measures to minimize infectious disease risks due to climate change.

  6. The impact of climate change on infectious disease transmission: perceptions of CDC health professionals in Shanxi Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Junni; Hansen, Alana; Zhang, Ying; Li, Hong; Liu, Qiyong; Sun, Yehuan; Xue, Shulian; Zhao, Shufang; Bi, Peng

    2014-01-01

    There have been increasing concerns about the challenge of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases due to climate change, especially in developing countries including China. Health professionals play a significant role in the battle to control and prevent infectious diseases. This study therefore aims to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of health professionals at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in different levels in China, and to consider adaptation measures to deal with the challenge of climate change. In 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken among 314 staff in CDCs in Shanxi Province, China, whose routine work involves disease control and prevention. Data were analyzed using descriptive methods and logistic regression. A majority of the CDC staff were aware of the health risks from climate change, especially its impacts on infectious disease transmission in their jurisdictions, and believed climate change might bring about both temporal and spatial change in transmission patterns. It was thought that adaptation measures should be established including: strengthening/improving currently existing disease surveillance systems and vector monitoring; building CDC capacity in terms of infrastructure and in-house health professional training; development and refinement of relevant legislation, policies and guidelines; better coordination among various government departments; the involvement of the community in infectious disease interventions; and collaborative research with other institutions. This study provides a snapshot of the understanding of CDC staff regarding climate change risks relevant to infectious diseases and adaptation in China. Results may help inform future efforts to develop adaptation measures to minimize infectious disease risks due to climate change.

  7. Seroprevalence of Antibodies against Plasmodium falciparum Sporozoite Antigens as Predictive Disease Transmission Markers in an Area of Ghana with Seasonal Malaria Transmission.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwadwo A Kusi

    Full Text Available As an increasing number of malaria-endemic countries approach the disease elimination phase, sustenance of control efforts and effective monitoring are necessary to ensure success. Mathematical models that estimate anti-parasite antibody seroconversion rates are gaining relevance as more sensitive transmission intensity estimation tools. Models however estimate yearly seroconversion and seroreversion rates and usually predict long term changes in transmission, occurring years before the time of sampling. Another challenge is the identification of appropriate antigen targets since specific antibody levels must directly reflect changes in transmission patterns. We therefore investigated the potential of antibodies to sporozoite and blood stage antigens for detecting short term differences in malaria transmission in two communities in Northern Ghana with marked, seasonal transmission.Cross-sectional surveys were conducted during the rainy and dry seasons in two communities, one in close proximity to an irrigation dam and the other at least 20 Km away from the dam. Antibodies against the sporozoite-specific antigens circumsporozoite protein (CSP and Cell traversal for ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS and the classical blood stage antigen apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1 were measured by indirect ELISA. Antibody levels and seroprevalence were compared between surveys and between study communities. Antibody seroprevalence data were fitted to a modified reversible catalytic model to estimate the seroconversion and seroreversion rates.Changes in sporozoite-specific antibody levels and seroprevalence directly reflected differences in parasite prevalence between the rainy and dry seasons and hence the extent of malaria transmission. Seroconversion rate estimates from modelled seroprevalence data did not however support the above observation.The data confirms the potential utility of sporozoite-specific antigens as useful markers for monitoring short term

  8. Housing and the Monetary Transmission Mechanism

    OpenAIRE

    Frederic S. Mishkin

    2007-01-01

    The housing market is of central concern to monetary policy makers. To achieve the dual goals of price stability and maximum sustainable employment, monetary policy makers must understand the role that housing plays in the monetary transmission mechanism if they are to set policy instruments appropriately. In this paper, I examine what we know about the role of housing in the monetary transmission mechanism and then explore the implications of this knowledge for the conduct of monetary policy...

  9. A lesson from Argentina: Setting transmission tolls in a competitive auction is much better than regulating them

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galetovic, Alexander [Facultad de Ciencias Economicas y Empresariales, Av. San Carlos de Apoquindo 2200, Santiago (Chile); Inostroza, Juan Ricardo [AES Gener S.A., Sanchez Fontecilla 310, piso 3, Santiago (Chile)

    2008-07-15

    There are at least two procedures for setting the tolls paid by power line users. One consists of regulating them in a standard process. The other, which is used in Argentina, involves auctioning the lines to the lowest toll. In this paper we show that an auction yields higher expected social welfare if n {>=} 2 bid. Expected social welfare is even higher if, as in Argentina, those who benefit from the line can also bid and build. Moreover, when the social welfare is utilitarian, an auction beats regulation even when the regulator can perfectly audit costs ex post. We describe and examine the auction of the fourth Comahue transmission line in Argentina. Assuming that the regulator's information about costs is similar to the information held by the industry, the model suggests that had tolls been regulated, they would have been at least 61% higher. (author)

  10. Modification of transmission dose algorithm for irregularly shaped radiation field and tissue deficit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yun, Hyong Geon; Shin, Kyo Chul [Dankook Univ., College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Huh, Soon Nyung; Woo, Hong Gyun; Ha, Sung Whan [Seoul National Univ., College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hyoung Koo [The Catholic Univ., College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2002-07-01

    Algorithm for estimation of transmission dose was modified for use in partially blocked radiation fields and in cases with tissue deficit. The beam data was measured with flat solid phantom in various conditions of beam block. And an algorithm for correction of transmission dose in cases of partially blocked radiation field was developed from the measured data. The algorithm was tested in some clinical settings with irregular shaped field. Also, another algorithm for correction of transmission dose for tissue deficit was developed by physical reasoning. This algorithm was tested in experimental settings with irregular contours mimicking breast cancer patients by using multiple sheets of solid phantoms. The algorithm for correction of beam block could accurately reflect the effect of beam block, with error within {+-}1.0%, both with square fields and irregularly shaped fields. The correction algorithm for tissue deficit could accurately reflect the effect of tissue deficit with errors within {+-}1.0% in most situations and within {+-}3.0% in experimental settings with irregular contours mimicking breast cancer treatment set-up. Developed algorithms could accurately estimate the transmission dose in most radiation treatment settings including irregularly shaped field and irregularly shaped body contour with tissue deficit in transmission dosimetry.

  11. Modification of transmission dose algorithm for irregularly shaped radiation field and tissue deficit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, Hyong Geon; Shin, Kyo Chul; Huh, Soon Nyung; Woo, Hong Gyun; Ha, Sung Whan; Lee, Hyoung Koo

    2002-01-01

    Algorithm for estimation of transmission dose was modified for use in partially blocked radiation fields and in cases with tissue deficit. The beam data was measured with flat solid phantom in various conditions of beam block. And an algorithm for correction of transmission dose in cases of partially blocked radiation field was developed from the measured data. The algorithm was tested in some clinical settings with irregular shaped field. Also, another algorithm for correction of transmission dose for tissue deficit was developed by physical reasoning. This algorithm was tested in experimental settings with irregular contours mimicking breast cancer patients by using multiple sheets of solid phantoms. The algorithm for correction of beam block could accurately reflect the effect of beam block, with error within ±1.0%, both with square fields and irregularly shaped fields. The correction algorithm for tissue deficit could accurately reflect the effect of tissue deficit with errors within ±1.0% in most situations and within ±3.0% in experimental settings with irregular contours mimicking breast cancer treatment set-up. Developed algorithms could accurately estimate the transmission dose in most radiation treatment settings including irregularly shaped field and irregularly shaped body contour with tissue deficit in transmission dosimetry

  12. Biosignatures of Exposure/Transmission and Immunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Christopher L; Davies, D Huw; Felgner, Phil; Baum, Elizabeth; Jain, Aarti; Randall, Arlo; Tetteh, Kevin; Drakeley, Christopher J; Greenhouse, Bryan

    2015-09-01

    A blood test that captures cumulative exposure over time and assesses levels of naturally acquired immunity (NAI) would provide a critical tool to monitor the impact of interventions to reduce malaria transmission and broaden our understanding of how NAI develops around the world as a function of age and exposure. This article describes a collaborative effort in multiple International Centers of Excellence in Malaria Research (ICEMRs) to develop such tests using malaria-specific antibody responses as biosignatures of transmission and immunity. The focus is on the use of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax protein microarrays to identify a panel of the most informative antibody responses in diverse malaria-endemic settings representing an unparalleled spectrum of malaria transmission and malaria species mixes before and after interventions to reduce malaria transmission. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

  13. Minimizing the Risk of Disease Transmission in Emergency Settings: Novel In Situ Physico-Chemical Disinfection of Pathogen-Laden Hospital Wastewaters.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emanuele Sozzi

    Full Text Available The operation of a health care facility, such as a cholera or Ebola treatment center in an emergency setting, results in the production of pathogen-laden wastewaters that may potentially lead to onward transmission of the disease. The research presented here evaluated the design and operation of a novel treatment system, successfully used by Médecins Sans Frontières in Haiti to disinfect CTC wastewaters in situ, eliminating the need for road haulage and disposal of the waste to a poorly-managed hazardous waste facility, thereby providing an effective barrier to disease transmission through a novel but simple sanitary intervention. The physico-chemical protocols eventually successfully treated over 600 m3 of wastewater, achieving coagulation/flocculation and disinfection by exposure to high pH (Protocol A and low pH (Protocol B environments, using thermotolerant coliforms as a disinfection efficacy index. In Protocol A, the addition of hydrated lime resulted in wastewater disinfection and coagulation/flocculation of suspended solids. In Protocol B, disinfection was achieved by the addition of hydrochloric acid, followed by pH neutralization and coagulation/flocculation of suspended solids using aluminum sulfate. Removal rates achieved were: COD >99%; suspended solids >90%; turbidity >90% and thermotolerant coliforms >99.9%. The proposed approach is the first known successful attempt to disinfect wastewater in a disease outbreak setting without resorting to the alternative, untested, approach of 'super chlorination' which, it has been suggested, may not consistently achieve adequate disinfection. A basic analysis of costs demonstrated a significant saving in reagent costs compared with the less reliable approach of super-chlorination. The proposed approach to in situ sanitation in cholera treatment centers and other disease outbreak settings represents a timely response to a UN call for onsite disinfection of wastewaters generated in such

  14. Changing Default Fluoroscopy Equipment Settings Decreases Entrance Skin Dose in Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canales, Benjamin K; Sinclair, Lindsay; Kang, Diana; Mench, Anna M; Arreola, Manuel; Bird, Vincent G

    2016-04-01

    Proper fluoroscopic education and protocols may reduce the patient radiation dose but few prospective studies in urology have been performed. Using optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters we tested whether fluoroscopy time and/or entrance skin dose would decrease after educational and radiation reduction protocols. At default manufacturer settings fluoroscopy time and entrance skin dose were prospectively measured using optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters in patients undergoing ureteroscopy, retrograde pyelogram/stent or percutaneous nephrolithotomy with access for stone disease. A validated radiation safety competency test was administered to urology faculty and residents before and after web based, hands-on fluoroscopy training. Default fluoroscopy settings were changed from continuous to intermittent pulse rate and from standard to half-dose output. Fluoroscopy time and entrance skin dose were then measured again. The cohorts of 44 pre-protocol and 50 post-protocol patients with stones were similarly matched. The change in mean fluoroscopy time and entrance skin dose from pre-protocol to post-protocol was -0.6 minutes and -11.6 mGy (33%) for percutaneous nephrolithotomy (p = 0.62 and default settings to intermittent pulse rate (12 frames per second) and half-dose lowered the entrance skin dose by 30% across all endourology patients but most significantly during percutaneous nephrolithotomy. To limit patient radiation exposure fluoroscopy default settings should be decreased before all endourology procedures and image equipment manufacturers should consider lowering standard default renal settings. Copyright © 2016 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Political science. When contact changes minds: an experiment on transmission of support for gay equality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaCour, Michael J; Green, Donald P

    2014-12-12

    Can a single conversation change minds on divisive social issues, such as same-sex marriage? A randomized placebo-controlled trial assessed whether gay (n = 22) or straight (n = 19) messengers were effective at encouraging voters (n = 972) to support same-sex marriage and whether attitude change persisted and spread to others in voters' social networks. The results, measured by an unrelated panel survey, show that both gay and straight canvassers produced large effects initially, but only gay canvassers' effects persisted in 3-week, 6-week, and 9-month follow-ups. We also find strong evidence of within-household transmission of opinion change, but only in the wake of conversations with gay canvassers. Contact with gay canvassers further caused substantial change in the ratings of gay men and lesbians more generally. These large, persistent, and contagious effects were confirmed by a follow-up experiment. Contact with minorities coupled with discussion of issues pertinent to them is capable of producing a cascade of opinion change. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  16. Transmission congestion management in the electricity market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yue

    2018-04-01

    In this paper we mainly discuss how to optimize the arrangement to decrease the loss of each line when the power generation side of the system transmission congestion occurs in a safe and economical manner. We respectively set the adjust model if the transmission can be eliminated which can calculate the best scheme and safety margin model when transmission cannot be eliminated which is a multi-objective planning problem. We solve the two models on the condition of the load power demands are 982.4MW and 1052.8 MW by Lingo and get the optimal management scheme.

  17. Analysis on Dynamic Transmission Accuracy for RV Reducer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Fengshou

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available By taking rotate vector (RV reducer as the research object, the factors affecting the transmission accuracy are studied, including the machining errors of the main parts, assembly errors, clearance, micro-displacement, gear mesh stiffness and damping, bearing stiffness. Based on Newton second law, the transmission error mathematical model of RV reducer is set up. Then, the RV reducer transmission error curve is achieved by solving the mathematical model using the Runge-Kutta methods under the combined action of various error factors. Through the analysis of RV reducer transmission test, it can be found that there are similar variation trend and frequency components compared the theoretical research and experimental result. The presented method is useful to the research on dynamic transmission accuracy of RV reducer, and also applies to research the transmission accuracy of other cycloid drive systems.

  18. Tracing Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission by whole genome sequencing in a high incidence setting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjorn-Mortensen, K; Soborg, B; Koch, A

    2016-01-01

    In East Greenland, a dramatic increase of tuberculosis (TB) incidence has been observed in recent years. Classical genotyping suggests a genetically similar Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain population as cause, however, precise transmission patterns are unclear. We performed whole genome...

  19. Investigation of unique hue setting changes with ageing

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Chenyang Fu; Kaida Xiao; Dimosthenis Karatzas; Sophie Wuerger

    2011-01-01

    Clromatic sensitivity along the protan, deutan, and tritan lines and the loci of the unique hues (red, green,yellow, blue) for a very large sample (n = 185) of colour-normal observers ranging from 18 to 75 years of age are assessed. Visual judgments are obtained under normal viewing conditions using colour patches on self-luminous display under controlled adaptation conditions. Trivector discrimination thresholds show an increase as a function of age along the protan, deutan, and tritan axes, with the largest increase present along the tritan line, less pronounced shifts in unique hue settings are also observed. Based on the chromatic (protan, deutan, tritan) thresholds and using scaled cone signals, we predict the unique hue changes with ageing. A dependency on age for unique red and unique yellow for predicted hue angle is found. We conclude that the chromatic sensitivity deteriorates significantly with age, whereas the appearance of unique hues is much less affected, remaining almost constant despite the known changes in the ocular media.%@@ Clromatic sensitivity along the protan, deutan, and tritan lines and the loci of the unique hues (red, green,yellow, blue) for a very large sample (n = 185) of colour-normal observers ranging from 18 to 75 years of age are assessed.Visual judgments are obtained under normal viewing conditions using colour patches on self-luminous display under controlled adaptation conditions.Trivector discrimination thresholds show an increase as a function of age along the protan, deutan, and tritan axes, with the largest increase present along the tritan line, less pronounced shifts in unique hue settings are also observed.

  20. Registering coherent change detection products associated with large image sets and long capture intervals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkins, David Nikolaus; Gonzales, Antonio I

    2014-04-08

    A set of co-registered coherent change detection (CCD) products is produced from a set of temporally separated synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of a target scene. A plurality of transformations are determined, which transformations are respectively for transforming a plurality of the SAR images to a predetermined image coordinate system. The transformations are used to create, from a set of CCD products produced from the set of SAR images, a corresponding set of co-registered CCD products.

  1. Signal transmissibility in marginal granular materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinson, Matthew B.; Witten, Thomas A.

    2016-12-01

    We examine the ‘transmissibility’ of a simulated two-dimensional pack of frictionless disks formed by confining dilute disks in a shrinking, periodic box to the point of mechanical stability. Two opposite boundaries are then removed, thus allowing a set of free motions. Small free displacements on one boundary then induce proportional displacements on the opposite boundary. Transmissibility is the ability to distinguish different perturbations by their distant responses. We assess transmissibility by successively identifying free orthonormal modes of motion that have the smallest distant responses. The last modes to be identified in this ‘pessimistic’ basis are the most transmissive. The transmitted amplitudes of these most transmissive modes fall off exponentially with mode number. Similar exponential falloff is seen in a simple elastic medium, though the responsible modes differ greatly in structure in the two systems. Thus the marginal pack’s transmissibility is qualitatively similar to that of a simple elastic medium. We compare our results with recent findings based on the projection of the space of free motion onto interior sites.

  2. Signal transmissibility in marginal granular materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinson, Matthew B; Witten, Thomas A

    2016-01-01

    We examine the ‘transmissibility’ of a simulated two-dimensional pack of frictionless disks formed by confining dilute disks in a shrinking, periodic box to the point of mechanical stability. Two opposite boundaries are then removed, thus allowing a set of free motions. Small free displacements on one boundary then induce proportional displacements on the opposite boundary. Transmissibility is the ability to distinguish different perturbations by their distant responses. We assess transmissibility by successively identifying free orthonormal modes of motion that have the smallest distant responses. The last modes to be identified in this ‘pessimistic’ basis are the most transmissive. The transmitted amplitudes of these most transmissive modes fall off exponentially with mode number. Similar exponential falloff is seen in a simple elastic medium, though the responsible modes differ greatly in structure in the two systems. Thus the marginal pack’s transmissibility is qualitatively similar to that of a simple elastic medium. We compare our results with recent findings based on the projection of the space of free motion onto interior sites. (paper)

  3. Optical analog transmission device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikawa, Shinji.

    1994-01-01

    The present invention concerns a device such as electro-optical conversion elements, optoelectric-electric elements and optical transmission channel, not undergoing deleterious effects on the efficiency of conversion and transmission due to temperature, and aging change. That is, a sine wave superposing means superposes, on a detector signal to be transmitted, a sine-wave signal having a predetermined amplitude and at a frequency lower than that of the detector signal. An optoelectric conversion means converts the electric signal as the signal of the sine-wave signal superposing means into an optical signal and outputs the same to an optical transmitting channel. The optoelectric conversion means converts the transmitted signal to an electric signal. A discriminating means discriminates the electric signal into a detector signal and a sine-wave signal. A calculating means calculates an optical transmitting efficiency of the transmitting channel based on the amplitude of the discriminated sine-wave signal. A processing means compensates an amplitude value of the detector signals discriminated by the discriminating means based on the optical transmission efficiency. As a result, an optical analog transmission device can be attained, which conducts optical transmission at a high accuracy without undergoing the defective effects of the optical transmission efficiency. (I.S.)

  4. Change in settings for early-season influenza vaccination among US adults, 2012 to 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah J. Clark, MPH

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Vaccination in non-medical settings is recommended as a strategy to increase access to seasonal influenza vaccine. To evaluate change in early-season influenza vaccination setting, we analyzed data from the National Internet Flu Survey. Bivariate comparison of respondent characteristics by location of vaccination was assessed using chi-square tests. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to compare the predicted probability of being vaccinated in medical, retail, and mobile settings in 2012 vs 2013. In both 2012 and 2013, vaccination in medical settings was more likely among elderly adults, those with chronic conditions, and adults with a high school education or less. Adults 18–64 without a chronic condition had a lower probability of vaccination in the medical setting, and higher probability of vaccination in a retail or mobile setting, in 2013 compared to 2012. Adults 18–64 with a chronic condition had no change in their location of flu vaccination. Elderly adults had a lower probability of vaccination in the medical setting, and higher probability of vaccination in a retail setting, in 2013 compared to 2012. Non-medical settings continue to play an increasing role in influenza vaccination of adults, particularly for adults without a chronic condition and elderly adults. Retail and mobile settings should continue to be viewed as important mechanisms to ensure broad access to influenza vaccination.

  5. From Fall to Spring, or Spring to Fall? Seasonal Cholera Transmission Cycles and Implications for Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akanda, A. S.; Jutla, A. S.; Huq, A.; Colwell, R.; Islam, S.; WE Reason

    2010-12-01

    Cholera remains a major public health threat in many developing countries around the world. The striking seasonality and the annual recurrence of this infectious disease in endemic areas continues to be of considerable interest to scientists and public health workers. Despite major advances in the ecological, and microbiological understanding of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent, the role of underlying macro-scale hydroclimatic processes in propagating the disease in different seasons and years is not well understood. The incidence of cholera in the Bengal Delta region, the ‘native homeland’ of cholera, shows distinct biannual peaks in the southern floodplains, as opposed to single annual peaks in coastal areas and the northern parts of Bangladesh, as well as other cholera-endemic regions in the world. A coupled analysis of the regional hydroclimate and cholera incidence reveals a strong association of the spatio-temporal variability of incidence peaks with seasonal processes and extreme events. At a seasonal scale, the cycles indicate a spring-fall transmission pattern, contrary to the prevalent notion of a fall-spring transmission cycle. We show that the asymmetric seasonal hydroclimatology affects regional cholera dynamics by providing a coastal growth environment for bacteria in spring, while propagating transmission to fall by flooding. This seasonal interpretation of the progression of cholera has important implications, for formulating effective cholera intervention and mitigation efforts through improved water management and understanding the impacts of changing climate patterns on seasonal cholera transmission. (Water Environental Research Education Actionable Solutions Network)

  6. Mandating influenza vaccinations for health care workers: analysing opportunities for policy change using Kingdon's agenda setting framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson-Lee, Angela; Barr, Neil G; Randall, Glen E

    2016-09-29

    The consequences of annual influenza outbreaks are often underestimated by the general public. Influenza poses a serious public health threat around the world, particularly for the most vulnerable populations. Fortunately, vaccination can mitigate the negative effects of this common infectious disease. Although inoculating frontline health care workers (HCWs) helps minimize disease transmission, some HCWs continue to resist participating in voluntary immunization programs. A potential solution to this problem is government-mandated vaccination for HCWs; however, in practice, there are substantial barriers to the adoption of such policies. The purpose of this paper is to identify the likelihood of adopting a policy for mandatory immunization of HCWs in Ontario based on a historical review of barriers to the agenda setting process. Documents from secondary data sources were analysed using Kingdon's agenda setting framework of three converging streams leading to windows of opportunity for possible policy adoption. The problems, politics, and policies streams of Kingdon's framework have converged and diverged repeatedly over an extended period (policy windows have opened and closed several times). In each instance, a technically feasible solution was available. However, despite the evidence supporting the value of HCW immunization, alignment of the three agenda setting streams occurred for very short periods of time, during which, opposition lobby groups reacted, making the proposed solution less politically acceptable. Prior to the adoption of any new policies, issues must reach a government's decision agenda. Based on Kingdon's agenda setting framework, this only occurs when there is alignment of the problems, politics, and policies streams. Understanding this process makes it easier to predict the likelihood of a policy being adopted, and ultimately implemented. Such learning may be applied to policy issues in other jurisdictions. In the case of mandatory influenza

  7. Challenges of implementing routine health behavior change support in a children's hospital setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elwell, Laura; Powell, Jane; Wordsworth, Sharon; Cummins, Carole

    2014-07-01

    Evidence indicates that health behavior change initiatives are often not implemented successfully. This qualitative study aims to understand the barriers and facilitators to implementation of health behavior change brief advice into routine practice in an acute children's hospital setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with health professionals working at a UK children's hospital (n=33). Participants were purposively sampled to incorporate a range of specialties, job roles and training. An inductive thematic framework analysis identified two emergent themes. These capture the challenges of implementing routine health behavior change support in a children's hospital setting: (1) 'health professional knowledge, beliefs and behaviors' and (2) 'patient and family related challenges'. This study enhances findings from previous research by outlining the challenges pediatric health professionals face in relation to supporting health behavior change. Challenges include failure to assume responsibility, low confidence, prioritization of the health provider relationship with patients and families, health provider and patient knowledge, and low patient and family motivation. Skills-based behavior change training is needed for pediatric health professionals to effectively support health behavior change. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Transmission of tuberculosis within family-households.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Augustynowicz-Kopec, E.; Jagielski, T.; Kozinska, M.; Kremer, K.; Soolingen, D. van; Bielecki, J.; Zwolska, Z.

    2012-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The introduction of molecular typing methods in the 1990s to study the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) has significantly improved the possibilities of quantifying transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in different human settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate

  9. Aerobiology and Its Role in the Transmission of Infectious Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron Fernstrom

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Aerobiology plays a fundamental role in the transmission of infectious diseases. As infectious disease and infection control practitioners continue employing contemporary techniques (e.g., computational fluid dynamics to study particle flow, polymerase chain reaction methodologies to quantify particle concentrations in various settings, and epidemiology to track the spread of disease, the central variables affecting the airborne transmission of pathogens are becoming better known. This paper reviews many of these aerobiological variables (e.g., particle size, particle type, the duration that particles can remain airborne, the distance that particles can travel, and meteorological and environmental factors, as well as the common origins of these infectious particles. We then review several real-world settings with known difficulties controlling the airborne transmission of infectious particles (e.g., office buildings, healthcare facilities, and commercial airplanes, while detailing the respective measures each of these industries is undertaking in its effort to ameliorate the transmission of airborne infectious diseases.

  10. Pressure transmission area and maximum pressure transmission of different thermoplastic resin denture base materials under impact load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasution, Hubban; Kamonkhantikul, Krid; Arksornnukit, Mansuang; Takahashi, Hidekazu

    2018-01-01

    The purposes of the present study were to examine the pressure transmission area and maximum pressure transmission of thermoplastic resin denture base materials under an impact load, and to evaluate the modulus of elasticity and nanohardness of thermoplastic resin denture base. Three injection-molded thermoplastic resin denture base materials [polycarbonate (Basis PC), ethylene propylene (Duraflex), and polyamide (Valplast)] and one conventional heat-polymerized acrylic resin (PMMA, SR Triplex Hot) denture base, all with a mandibular first molar acrylic resin denture tooth set in were evaluated (n=6). Pressure transmission area and maximum pressure transmission of the specimens under an impact load were observed by using pressure-sensitive sheets. The modulus of elasticity and nanohardness of each denture base (n=10) were measured on 15×15×15×3mm 3 specimen by using an ultramicroindentation system. The pressure transmission area, modulus of elasticity, and nanohardness data were statistically analyzed with 1-way ANOVA, followed by Tamhane or Tukey HSD post hoc test (α=.05). The maximum pressure transmission data were statistically analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis H test, followed by Mann-Whitney U test (α=.05). Polymethyl methacrylate showed significantly larger pressure transmission area and higher maximum pressure transmission than the other groups (Pelasticity and nanohardness among the four types of denture bases (Pelasticity and nanohardness of each type of denture base were demonstrated. Copyright © 2017 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Managing Occupational Risks for Hepatitis C Transmission in the Health Care Setting

    OpenAIRE

    Henderson, David K.

    2003-01-01

    Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant contemporary health problem in the United States and elsewhere. Because it is primarily transmitted via blood, hepatitis C infection presents risks for both nosocomial transmission to patients and occupational spread to health care workers. Recent insights into the pathogenesis, immunopathogenesis, natural history, and treatment of infection caused by this unique flavivirus provide a rationale for the use of new strategies for managing occupa...

  12. Mechanisms, Transmissions and Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Corves, Burkhard

    2012-01-01

    The first Workshop on Mechanisms, Transmissions and Applications -- MeTrApp-2011 was organized by the Mechatronics Department at the Mechanical Engineering Faculty, “Politehnica” University of Timisoara, Romania, under the patronage of the IFToMM Technical Committees Linkages and Mechanical Controls and Micromachines. The workshop brought together researchers and students who work in disciplines associated with mechanisms science and offered a great opportunity for scientists from all over the world to present their achievements, exchange innovative ideas and create solid international links, setting the trend for future developments in this important and creative field. The topics treated in this volume are mechanisms and machine design, mechanical transmissions, mechatronic and biomechanic applications, computational and experimental methods, history of mechanism and machine science and teaching methods.

  13. Solar Integration Data Sets | Grid Modernization | NREL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solar Integration Data Sets Solar Integration Data Sets NREL provides the energy community with for Integration Studies Modeled solar data for energy professionals-such as transmission planners , utility planners, project developers, and university researchers-who perform solar integration studies and

  14. Border Malaria Associated with Multidrug Resistance on Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia Borders: Transmission Dynamic, Vulnerability, and Surveillance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhumiratana, Adisak; Intarapuk, Apiradee; Sorosjinda-Nunthawarasilp, Prapa; Maneekan, Pannamas; Koyadun, Surachart

    2013-01-01

    This systematic review elaborates the concepts and impacts of border malaria, particularly on the emergence and spread of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax multidrug resistance (MDR) malaria on Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia borders. Border malaria encompasses any complex epidemiological settings of forest-related and forest fringe-related malaria, both regularly occurring in certain transmission areas and manifesting a trend of increased incidence in transmission prone areas along these borders, as the result of interconnections of human settlements and movement activities, cross-border population migrations, ecological changes, vector population dynamics, and multidrug resistance. For regional and global perspectives, this review analyzes and synthesizes the rationales pertaining to transmission dynamics and the vulnerabilities of border malaria that constrain surveillance and control of the world's most MDR falciparum and vivax malaria on these chaotic borders. PMID:23865048

  15. The effect of electric transmission constraints on how power generation companies bid in the Colombian electrical power market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Eduardo Gallego Vega

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the results of research about the effect of transmission constraints on both expected electrical energy to be dispatched and power generation companies’ bidding strategies in the Colombian electrical power market. The proposed model simulates the national transmission grid and economic dispatch by means of optimal power flows. The proposed methodology allows structural problems in the power market to be analyzed due to the exclusive effect of trans- mission constraints and the mixed effect of bidding strategies and transmission networks. A new set of variables is proposed for quantifying the impact of each generation company on system operating costs and the change in expected dispatched energy. A correlation analysis of these new variables is presented, revealing some interesting linearities in some generation companies’ bidding patterns.

  16. ORIGINAL ARTICLES HIV transmission during paediatric health ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    prevalence in paediatric health care settings in Africa, risks for horizontal ... 29 West Governer Road, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA. David Gisselquist, PhD ..... tolerance policy for HIV transmission through health care. February 2004, Vol.

  17. Integrated powertrain control for hybrid electric vehicles with electric variable transmission

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kessels, J.T.B.A.; Foster, D.L.; Bosch, van den P.P.J.

    2009-01-01

    The electric variable transmission (EVT) offers a powersplit for hybrid electric vehicles by integrating two motor/ generator sets into one electric machine. This double rotor concept implements a continuously variable transmission between the engine and the driveline, including the possibility for

  18. Asset life and pricing the use of electricity transmission infrastructure in Chile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raineri, Ricardo

    2010-01-01

    Beyond the different approaches to set regulated prices for the use of infrastructure, a key parameter to determine regulated tariffs is the concept of asset life and how it changes with changes in the economic and regulatory context, which determines the optimal infrastructure investment and replacement policies. In this paper we look at the effects that changes in demand, the presence of substitutes and complements, the regulatory framework - both a pro or an anticompetitive framework -, scale economies, and the investment planning horizon, have on the economic service life of an asset and the tariffs for its use. We find that as the electric industry becomes more competitive, a negative effect on the economic service life of electric electricity transmission should be expected. Also, numerical experiments illustrate an inverse relation between scale economies on investment and the ESL of electricity transmission infrastructure. Further, we look at the biases on optimal investment that happen when optimal plans do not observe the life cycle of the investments and the ESL of the equipment, as well as the inconsistency and biases on optimal investment and replacement policies that might result when the Social Planner optimal investment plan lacks of a long-term commitment. (author)

  19. Asset life and pricing the use of electricity transmission infrastructure in Chile

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raineri, Ricardo [Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Av. Vicuna Mackenna 4860, Santiago (Chile)

    2010-01-15

    Beyond the different approaches to set regulated prices for the use of infrastructure, a key parameter to determine regulated tariffs is the concept of asset life and how it changes with changes in the economic and regulatory context, which determines the optimal infrastructure investment and replacement policies. In this paper we look at the effects that changes in demand, the presence of substitutes and complements, the regulatory framework - both a pro or an anticompetitive framework -, scale economies, and the investment planning horizon, have on the economic service life of an asset and the tariffs for its use. We find that as the electric industry becomes more competitive, a negative effect on the economic service life of electric electricity transmission should be expected. Also, numerical experiments illustrate an inverse relation between scale economies on investment and the ESL of electricity transmission infrastructure. Further, we look at the biases on optimal investment that happen when optimal plans do not observe the life cycle of the investments and the ESL of the equipment, as well as the inconsistency and biases on optimal investment and replacement policies that might result when the Social Planner optimal investment plan lacks of a long-term commitment. (author)

  20. Pricing and Capacity Planning Problems in Energy Transmission Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Villumsen, Jonas Christoffer

    strategy. In the Nordic electricity system a market with zonal prices is adopted. We consider the problem of designing zones in an optimal way explicitly considering uncertainty. Finally, we formulate the integrated problem of pipeline capacity expansion planning and transmission pricing in natural gas...... necessitates a radical change in the way we plan and operate energy systems. Another paradigm change which began in the 1990’s for electricity systems is that of deregulation. This has led to a variety of different market structures implemented across the world. In this thesis we discuss capacity planning...... and transmission pricing problems in energy transmission networks. Although the modelling framework applies to energy networks in general, most of the applications discussed concern the transmission of electricity. A number of the problems presented involves transmission switching, which allows the operator...

  1. Malaria surveillance-response strategies in different transmission zones of the People's Republic of China: preparing for climate change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Guo-Jing

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A sound understanding of malaria transmission patterns in the People’s Republic of China (P.R. China is crucial for designing effective surveillance-response strategies that can guide the national malaria elimination programme (NMEP. Using an established biology-driven model, it is expected that one may design and refine appropriate surveillance-response strategies for different transmission zones, which, in turn, assist the NMEP in the ongoing implementation period (2010–2020 and, potentially, in the post-elimination stage (2020–2050. Methods Environmental data obtained from 676 locations across P.R. China, such as monthly temperature and yearly relative humidity (YRH, for the period 1961–2000 were prepared. Smoothed surface maps of the number of months suitable for parasite survival derived from monthly mean temperature and YRH were generated. For each decade, the final malaria prediction map was overlaid by two masked maps, one showing the number of months suitable for parasite survival and the other the length of YRH map in excess of 60%. Results Considering multiple environmental factors simultaneously, the environmental variables suitable for malaria transmission were found to have shifted northwards, which was especially pronounced in northern P.R. China. The unstable suitable regions (transmission periods between five and six months showed increased transmission intensity due to prolonged suitable periods, especially in the central part of the country. Conclusion Adequate and effective surveillance-response strategies for NMEP should be designed to achieve the goal of malaria elimination in P.R. China by 2020, especially in the zones predicted to be the most vulnerable for climate change.

  2. Examination of SUV of regional activity concentration for simultaneous emission/transmission acquisition using the mask technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abe, Shinji; Nishino, Masanari; Yamashita, Masato; Yamaguchi, Hiroshi

    2003-01-01

    To achieve quantitative accuracy of simultaneous emission/transmission (SET) acquisition using the mask technique, we determined the factor of expression that derives the true transmission data from the measured transmission and emission data. We then evaluated the standardized uptake value (SUV) of the regional activity concentration derived respectively from the SET scans and conventional scans. First, to determine the attenuation factor for the transmission source when the photons of the cylindrical phantom filled with 18 F solution reached emission memory, SET scans were performed with a dummy transmission source and under the blank status of the transmission source. Second, to evaluate the SUV, we used a hollow-sphere phantom filled with 18 F solution whose activity concentrations were approximately 3 and 5 times that of the background. Then we performed conventional and SET scans of the phantom for solutions ranging from the higher concentration to the lower concentration. All of the data were reconstructed with the decay correction, and the SUV of each sphere was derived. The results demonstrated that, when the conventional factor was used, SUV was underestimated according to the increasing activity concentration of the solution. However, when a new factor that took into account the attenuation of the transmission source was used, there was no significant difference in the SUV. We estimated the SUV derived from the SET scans was within 3% for the large spheres and within 16% for the small spheres. (author)

  3. Burst Transmission and Frame Aggregation for VANET Communications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Kuang Lai

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs, due to highly mobile and frequently changing topology, available resources and transmission opportunities are restricted. To address this, we propose a burst transmission and frame aggregation (FAB scheme to enhance transmission opportunity (TXOP efficiency of IEEE 802.11p. Aggregation and TXOP techniques are useful for improving transmission performance. FAB aggregates frames in the relay node and utilizes the TXOP to transmit these frames to the next hop with a burst transmission. Simulation results show that the proposed FAB scheme can significantly improve the performance of inter-vehicle communications.

  4. One-to-one dietary interventions undertaken in a dental setting to change dietary behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Rebecca; Gamboa, Ana; Dailey, Yvonne; Ashcroft, Angela

    2012-03-14

    The dental care setting is an appropriate place to deliver dietary assessment and advice as part of patient management. However, we do not know whether this is effective in changing dietary behaviour. To assess the effectiveness of one-to-one dietary interventions for all ages carried out in a dental care setting in changing dietary behaviour. The effectiveness of these interventions in the subsequent changing of oral and general health is also assessed. The following electronic databases were searched: the Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register (to 24 January 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 1), MEDLINE via OVID (1950 to 24 January 2012), EMBASE via OVID (1980 to 24 January 2012), CINAHL via EBSCO (1982 to 24 January 2012), PsycINFO via OVID (1967 to 24 January 2012), and Web of Science (1945 to 12 April 2011). We also undertook an electronic search of key conference proceedings (IADR and ORCA between 2000 and 13 July 2011). Reference lists of relevant articles, thesis publications (Dissertations Abstracts Online 1861 to 2011) were searched. The authors of eligible trials were contacted to identify any unpublished work. Randomised controlled trials assessing the effectiveness of one-to-one dietary interventions delivered in a dental care setting. Abstract screening, eligibility screening and data extraction decisions were all carried out independently and in duplicate by two review authors. Consensus between the two opinions was achieved by discussion, or involvement of a third review author. Five studies met the criteria for inclusion in the review. Two of these were multi-intervention studies where the dietary intervention was one component of a wider programme of prevention, but where data on dietary behaviour change were reported. One of the single intervention studies was concerned with dental caries prevention. The other two concerned general health outcomes. There were no studies

  5. Can the BestGrid Process Improve Stakeholder Involvement in Electricity Transmission Projects?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadejda Komendantova

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The European Union has set ambitious targets for deployment of renewable energy sources to reach goals of climate change mitigation and energy security policies. However, the current state of electricity transmission infrastructure is a major bottleneck for further scaling up of renewable energy in the EU. Several thousands of kilometers of new lines have to be constructed and upgraded to accommodate growing volumes of intermittent renewable electricity. In many countries, construction of electricity transmission projects has been delayed for several years due to concerns of local stakeholders. The innovative BESTGRID approach, reported here, brings together transmission system operators (TSOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs to discuss and understand the nature of stakeholder concerns. This paper has three objectives: (1 to understand stakeholder concerns about the deployment of electricity transmission grids in four pilot projects according to five guiding principles: need, transparency, engagement, environment, and impacts on human health as well as benefits; (2 to understand how these principles can be addressed to provide a basis for better decision-making outcomes; and (3 to evaluate the BESTGRID process based on feedback received from stakeholders and the level of participation achieved according to the ladder of Arnstein. This paper goes beyond a discussion of “measures to mitigate opposition” to understand how dialogue between TSOs and the public—represented mainly by NGOs and policy-makers—might lead to a better decision-making process and more sustainable electricity transmission infrastructure deployment.

  6. THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF A MODEL TO PREDICT SUSTAINABILITY OF CHANGE IN HEALTH CARE SETTINGS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molfenter, Todd; Ford, James H; Bhattacharya, Abhik

    2011-01-01

    Innovations adopted through organizational change initiatives are often not sustained leading to diminished quality, productivity, and consumer satisfaction. Research explaining variance in the use of adopted innovations in health care settings is sparse, suggesting the need for a theoretical model to guide research and practice. In this article, we describe the development of a hybrid conjoint decision theoretic model designed to predict the sustainability of organizational change in health care settings. An initial test of the model's predictive validity using expert scored hypothetic profiles resulted in an r-squared value of .77. The test of this model offers a theoretical base for future research on the sustainability of change in health care settings.

  7. Pregnancy and transmission of Human Immunodefiency Virus (HIV ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Serodiscordant couples, have been used to study heterosexual transmission risk because of the high frequency of sexual acts that occur in stable relationships. The hormonal changes during pregnancy could influence heterosexual transmission in serodiscordant relationships. The prevalence of ...

  8. Experimental investigation of alternative transmission functions: Quantitative evidence for the importance of nonlinear transmission dynamics in host-parasite systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orlofske, Sarah A; Flaxman, Samuel M; Joseph, Maxwell B; Fenton, Andy; Melbourne, Brett A; Johnson, Pieter T J

    2018-05-01

    Understanding pathogen transmission is crucial for predicting and managing disease. Nonetheless, experimental comparisons of alternative functional forms of transmission remain rare, and those experiments that are conducted are often not designed to test the full range of possible forms. To differentiate among 10 candidate transmission functions, we used a novel experimental design in which we independently varied four factors-duration of exposure, numbers of parasites, numbers of hosts and parasite density-in laboratory infection experiments. We used interactions between amphibian hosts and trematode parasites as a model system and all candidate models incorporated parasite depletion. An additional manipulation involving anaesthesia addressed the effects of host behaviour on transmission form. Across all experiments, nonlinear transmission forms involving either a power law or a negative binomial function were the best-fitting models and consistently outperformed the linear density-dependent and density-independent functions. By testing previously published data for two other host-macroparasite systems, we also found support for the same nonlinear transmission forms. Although manipulations of parasite density are common in transmission studies, the comprehensive set of variables tested in our experiments revealed that variation in density alone was least likely to differentiate among competing transmission functions. Across host-pathogen systems, nonlinear functions may often more accurately represent transmission dynamics and thus provide more realistic predictions for infection. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

  9. Economic Costs of Patients Attending the Prevention of Mother-to- Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT Services in Ethiopia: Urban-Rural Settings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elias Asfaw Zegeye

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Economic analyses of patients’ costs are pertinent to improve effective healthcare services including the prevention of mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission (PMTCT. This study assessed the direct and non-direct medical costs borne by pregnant women attending PMTCT services in urban (high-HIV prevalence and rural (low-HIV prevalence settings, in Ethiopia. Patient-level direct medical costs and direct non-medical data were collected from HIV-positive pregnant women in six regions. The cost estimation was classified as direct medical (service fee, drugs and laboratory and direct non-medical (food, transportation and accommodation. The mean direct medical expense per patient per year was Ethiopian birr (ETB 746 (US$ 38 in the urban settings, as compared to ETB 368 (US$ 19 in the rural settings. On average, a pregnant woman from urban and rural catchments incurred direct non-medical costs of ETB 6,435 (US$ 327 and ETB 2,154 (US$ 110 per year, respectively. On average, non-medical costs of friend/relative/guardian were ETB 2,595 (US$ 132 and ETB 2,919 (US$ 148.39 in the urban and rural settings, respectively. Although the PMTCT service is provided free of charge, HIV-positive pregnant women and infant pairs still face a substantial amount of out-of-pocket spending due to direct medical and non-medical costs.

  10. Sero-epidemiological evaluation of changes in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax transmission patterns over the rainy season in Cambodia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cook Jackie

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In Cambodia, malaria transmission is low and most cases occur in forested areas. Sero-epidemiological techniques can be used to identify both areas of ongoing transmission and high-risk groups to be targeted by control interventions. This study utilizes repeated cross-sectional data to assess the risk of being malaria sero-positive at two consecutive time points during the rainy season and investigates who is most likely to sero-convert over the transmission season. Methods In 2005, two cross-sectional surveys, one in the middle and the other at the end of the malaria transmission season, were carried out in two ecologically distinct regions in Cambodia. Parasitological and serological data were collected in four districts. Antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum Glutamate Rich Protein (GLURP and Plasmodium vivax Merozoite Surface Protein-119 (MSP-119 were detected using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA. The force of infection was estimated using a simple catalytic model fitted using maximum likelihood methods. Risks for sero-converting during the rainy season were analysed using the Classification and Regression Tree (CART method. Results A total of 804 individuals participating in both surveys were analysed. The overall parasite prevalence was low (4.6% and 2.0% for P. falciparum and 7.9% and 6.0% for P. vivax in August and November respectively. P. falciparum force of infection was higher in the eastern region and increased between August and November, whilst P. vivax force of infection was higher in the western region and remained similar in both surveys. In the western region, malaria transmission changed very little across the season (for both species. CART analysis for P. falciparum in the east highlighted age, ethnicity, village of residence and forest work as important predictors for malaria exposure during the rainy season. Adults were more likely to increase their antibody responses to P. falciparum during the

  11. Helminth-infected patients with malaria: a low profile transmission hub?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nacher, Mathieu

    2012-11-15

    Eclipsed by the debates about malaria incidence and severity in individual patients, malaria transmission in helminth-infected persons has so far received very little attention. Studies in humans have shown increased malaria incidence and prevalence, and a trend for a reduction of symptoms in patients with malaria. This suggests that such patients could possibly be less likely to seek treatment thus carrying malaria parasites and their gametocytes for longer durations, therefore, being a greater potential source of transmission. In addition, in humans, a study showed increased gametocyte carriage, and in an animal model of helminth-malaria co-infection, there was increased malaria transmission. These elements converge towards the hypothesis that patients co-infected with worms and malaria may represent a hub of malaria transmission. The test of this hypothesis requires verifying, in different epidemiological settings, that helminth-infected patients have more gametocytes, that they have less symptomatic malaria and longer-lasting infections, and that they are more attractive for the vectors. The negative outcome in one setting of one of the above aspects does not necessarily mean that the other two aspects may suffice to increase transmission. If it is verified that patients co-infected by worms and malaria could be a transmission hub, this would be an interesting piece of strategic information in the context of the spread of anti-malarial resistance and the malaria eradication attempts.

  12. Transfusion transmissible viral infections among potential blood ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    effective approach for prevention and control of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs). Also, it has been documented that sub-standard test kits are mostly used in resource limited settings for transfusion related diagnosis. However, the role of ...

  13. Determination of the sputter rate variation pattern of a silicon carbide target for radio frequency magnetron sputtering using optical transmission measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galvez de la Puente, G.; Guerra Torres, J.A.; Erlenbach, O.; Steidl, M.; Weingaertner, R.; De Zela, F.; Winnacker, A.

    2010-01-01

    We produce amorphous silicon carbide thin films (a-SiC) by radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering from SiC bulk target. We present the emission pattern of the rf magnetron with SiC target as a function of process parameters, like target sample distance, rf power, sputtering rate and process gas pressure. The emission pattern is determined by means of thickness distribution of the deposited a-SiC films obtained from optical transmission measurements using a slightly improved method of Swanepoel concerning the determination of construction of the envelopes in the interference pattern of the transmission spectra. A calibration curve is presented which allows the conversion of integrated transmission to film thickness. Holding constant a set of process parameters and only varying the target sample distance the emission pattern of the rf magnetron with SiC target was determined, which allowed us to predict the deposition rate distribution for a wide range of process parameters and target geometry. In addition, we have found that the transmission spectra of the a-SiC films change with time and saturate after approximately 10 days. Within this process no change in thickness is involved, so that the determination of thickness using transmission data is justified.

  14. Cultural Transmission and Evolution of Melodic Structures in Multi-generational Signaling Games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lumaca, Massimo; Baggio, Giosuè

    2017-01-01

    It has been proposed that languages evolve by adapting to the perceptual and cognitive constraints of the human brain, developing, in the course of cultural transmission, structural regularities that maximize or optimize learnability and ease of processing. To what extent would perceptual and cognitive constraints similarly affect the evolution of musical systems? We conducted an experiment on the cultural evolution of artificial melodic systems, using multi-generational signaling games as a laboratory model of cultural transmission. Signaling systems, using five-tone sequences as signals, and basic and compound emotions as meanings, were transmitted from senders to receivers along diffusion chains in which the receiver in each game became the sender in the next game. During transmission, structural regularities accumulated in the signaling systems, following principles of proximity, symmetry, and good continuation. Although the compositionality of signaling systems did not increase significantly across generations, we did observe a significant increase in similarity among signals from the same set. We suggest that our experiment tapped into the cognitive and perceptual constraints operative in the cultural evolution of musical systems, which may differ from the mechanisms at play in language evolution and change.

  15. Platelet Function Analyzed by Light Transmission Aggregometry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvas, Anne-Mette; Favaloro, Emmanuel J

    2017-01-01

    function can also be assessed for hyper-aggregability, but this is less often evaluated. Light transmission aggregometry (LTA) was introduced in the early 1960s and has since been considered the gold standard. This optical detection system is based on changes in turbidity measured as a change in light...... transmission, which is proportional to the extent of platelet aggregation induced by addition of an agonist. LTA is a flexible method, as different agonists can be used in varying concentrations, but performance of the test requires large blood volumes and experienced laboratory technicians as well...

  16. Gender Writ Small: Gender Enactments and Gendered Narratives about Lab Organization and Knowledge Transmission in a Biomedical Engineering Research Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malone, Kareen Ror; Nersessian, Nancy J.; Newstetter, Wendy

    This article presents qualitative data and offers some innovative theoretical approaches to frame the analysis of gender in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) settings. It begins with a theoretical discussion of a discursive approach to gender that captures how gender is lived "on the ground." The authors argue for a less individualistic approach to gender. Data for this research project was gathered from intensive interviews with lab members and ethnographic observations in a biomedical engineering lab. Data analysis relied on a mixed methodology involving qualitative approaches and dialogues with findings from other research traditions. Three themes are highlighted: lab dynamics in relation to issues of critical mass, the division of labor, and knowledge transmission. The data illustrate how gender is created in interactions and is inflected through forms of social organization.

  17. Transmission of Neurodegenerative Disorders Through Blood Transfusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edgren, Gustaf; Hjalgrim, Henrik; Rostgaard, Klaus

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The aggregation of misfolded proteins in the brain occurs in several neurodegenerative disorders. Aberrant protein aggregation is inducible in rodents and primates by intracerebral inoculation. Possible transfusion transmission of neurodegenerative diseases has important public health...... implications. OBJECTIVE: To investigate possible transfusion transmission of neurodegenerative disorders. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Nationwide registers of transfusions in Sweden and Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: 1 465 845 patients who received transfusions between 1968 and 2012. MEASUREMENTS.......9% received a transfusion from a donor diagnosed with one of the studied neurodegenerative diseases. No evidence of transmission of any of these diseases was found, regardless of approach. The hazard ratio for dementia in recipients of blood from donors with dementia versus recipients of blood from healthy...

  18. Transmission of Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus in the Immunocompromised Ferret Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Waal, Leon; Smits, Saskia L.; Veldhuis Kroeze, Edwin J. B.; van Amerongen, Geert; Pohl, Marie O.; Osterhaus, Albert D. M. E.; Stittelaar, Koert J.

    2018-01-01

    Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) causes substantial morbidity and mortality in vulnerable patients, such as the very young, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals of any age. Nosocomial transmission of HRSV remains a serious challenge in hospital settings, with intervention strategies largely limited to infection control measures, including isolation of cases, high standards of hand hygiene, cohort nursing, and use of personal protective equipment. No vaccines against HRSV are currently available, and treatment options are largely supportive care and expensive monoclonal antibody or antiviral therapy. The limitations of current animal models for HRSV infection impede the development of new preventive and therapeutic agents, and the assessment of their potential for limiting HRSV transmission, in particular in nosocomial settings. Here, we demonstrate the efficient transmission of HRSV from immunocompromised ferrets to both immunocompromised and immunocompetent contact ferrets, with pathological findings reproducing HRSV pathology in humans. The immunocompromised ferret-HRSV model represents a novel tool for the evaluation of intervention strategies against nosocomial transmission of HRSV. PMID:29301313

  19. Border Malaria Associated with Multidrug Resistance on Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia Borders: Transmission Dynamic, Vulnerability, and Surveillance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adisak Bhumiratana

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This systematic review elaborates the concepts and impacts of border malaria, particularly on the emergence and spread of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax multidrug resistance (MDR malaria on Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia borders. Border malaria encompasses any complex epidemiological settings of forest-related and forest fringe-related malaria, both regularly occurring in certain transmission areas and manifesting a trend of increased incidence in transmission prone areas along these borders, as the result of interconnections of human settlements and movement activities, cross-border population migrations, ecological changes, vector population dynamics, and multidrug resistance. For regional and global perspectives, this review analyzes and synthesizes the rationales pertaining to transmission dynamics and the vulnerabilities of border malaria that constrain surveillance and control of the world’s most MDR falciparum and vivax malaria on these chaotic borders.

  20. Nosocomial transmission of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Danish Hospitals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hetem, David J; Westh, Henrik; Boye, Kit

    2012-01-01

    exposure. Despite obvious epidemiological differences, it is unknown whether differences in nosocomial transmissibility exist. We have, therefore, quantified the transmissibility, expressed by the single admission reproduction number (R(A)), of CA-MRSA and HA-MRSA in hospital settings in Denmark....

  1. Gradient augmented level set method for phase change simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anumolu, Lakshman; Trujillo, Mario F.

    2018-01-01

    A numerical method for the simulation of two-phase flow with phase change based on the Gradient-Augmented-Level-set (GALS) strategy is presented. Sharp capturing of the vaporization process is enabled by: i) identification of the vapor-liquid interface, Γ (t), at the subgrid level, ii) discontinuous treatment of thermal physical properties (except for μ), and iii) enforcement of mass, momentum, and energy jump conditions, where the gradients of the dependent variables are obtained at Γ (t) and are consistent with their analytical expression, i.e. no local averaging is applied. Treatment of the jump in velocity and pressure at Γ (t) is achieved using the Ghost Fluid Method. The solution of the energy equation employs the sub-grid knowledge of Γ (t) to discretize the temperature Laplacian using second-order one-sided differences, i.e. the numerical stencil completely resides within each respective phase. To carefully evaluate the benefits or disadvantages of the GALS approach, the standard level set method is implemented and compared against the GALS predictions. The results show the expected trend that interface identification and transport are predicted noticeably better with GALS over the standard level set. This benefit carries over to the prediction of the Laplacian and temperature gradients in the neighborhood of the interface, which are directly linked to the calculation of the vaporization rate. However, when combining the calculation of interface transport and reinitialization with two-phase momentum and energy, the benefits of GALS are to some extent neutralized, and the causes for this behavior are identified and analyzed. Overall the additional computational costs associated with GALS are almost the same as those using the standard level set technique.

  2. Use of the azimuthal resistivity technique for determination of regional azimuth of transmissivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, D.

    2010-01-01

    Many bedrock units contain joint sets that commonly act as preferred paths for the movement of water, electrical charge, and possible contaminants associated with production or transit of crude oil or refined products. To facilitate the development of remediation programs, a need exists to reliably determine regional-scale properties of these joint sets: azimuth of transmissivity ellipse, dominant set, and trend(s). The surface azimuthal electrical resistivity survey method used for local in situ studies can be a noninvasive, reliable, efficient, and relatively cost-effective method for regional studies. The azimuthal resistivity survey method combines the use of standard resistivity equipment with a Wenner array rotated about a fixed center point, at selected degree intervals, which yields an apparent resistivity ellipse from which joint-set orientation can be determined. Regional application of the azimuthal survey method was tested at 17 sites in an approximately 500 km2 (193 mi2) area around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with less than 15m (50 ft) overburden above the dolomite. Results of 26 azimuthal surveys were compared and determined to be consistent with the results of two other methods: direct observation of joint-set orientation and transmissivity ellipses from multiple-well-aquifer tests. The average of joint-set trend determined by azimuthal surveys is within 2.5?? of the average of joint-set trend determined by direct observation of major joint sets at 24 sites. The average of maximum of transmissivity trend determined by azimuthal surveys is within 5.7?? of the average of maximum of transmissivity trend determined for 14 multiple-well-aquifer tests. Copyright ?? 2010 The American Association of Petroleum Geologists/Division of Environmental Geosciences. All rights reserved.

  3. How Settings Change People: Applying Behavior Setting Theory to Consumer-Run Organizations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Louis D.; Shepherd, Matthew D.; Wituk, Scott A.; Meissen, Greg

    2007-01-01

    Self-help initiatives stand as a classic context for organizational studies in community psychology. Behavior setting theory stands as a classic conception of organizations and the environment. This study explores both, applying behavior setting theory to consumer-run organizations (CROs). Analysis of multiple data sets from all CROs in Kansas…

  4. FEV's new parallel hybrid transmission with single dry clutch and electric torque support

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hellenbroich, Gereon [VKA, RWTH Aachen (Germany); Rosenburg, Volker [FEV Motorentechnik GmbH, Aachen (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    FEV is currently developing a new 7-speed hybrid transmission for transverse installation. The transmission with a design torque of 320 Nm is based on AMT (automated manual transmission) technology and uses a single electric motor. The innovative gear set layout combines the advantages of modern AMTs such as best efficiency, low costs and few components with full hybrid capabilities and electric torque support during all gear shifts. Furthermore, the gear set layout allows for very short-shift-times due to the favorable distribution of inertias. Other features include an A/C compressor being electrically driven by the electric motor of the transmission during start/stop phases. (orig.)

  5. 4th International Conference on Power Transmissions

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    This books contains the Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Power Transmissions, that was held in Sinaia, Romania from June 20 -23, 2012. Power Transmissions is a very complex and multi-disciplinary scientific field of Mechanical Engineering that covers the different types of transmissions (mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic) as well as all the machine elements involved, such as gears, bearings, shafts, couplings and a lot more. It concerns not only their basic theory but also their design, analysis, testing, application and maintenance. The requirements set to modern power transmissions are really tough to meet: They need to be more efficient, stronger, smaller, noiseless, easier to produce and to cost less. There is a strong demand to become easier in operation and maintenance, or even automatic and in maintenance-free. Last but not least, they should be easily recycled and respect the environment. Joint efforts of specialists from both academia and industry can significantly contribute to fulf...

  6. Degradation of rural and urban great tit song: testing transmission efficiency.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily J Mockford

    Full Text Available Acoustic signals play a fundamental role in avian territory defence and mate attraction. Several studies have now shown that spectral properties of bird song differ between urban and rural environments. Previously this has been attributed to competition for acoustic space as a result of low-frequency noise present in cities. However, the physical structure of urban areas may have a contributory effect. Here we investigate the sound degradation properties of woodland and city environments using both urban and rural great tit song. We show that although urban surroundings caused significantly less degradation to both songs, the transmission efficiency of rural song compared to urban song was significantly lower in the city. While differences between the two songs in woodland were generally minimal, some measures of the transmission efficiency of rural song were significantly lower than those of urban song, suggesting additional benefits to singing rural songs in this setting. In an attempt to create artificial urban song, we mimicked the increase in minimum frequency found several times previously in urban song. However, this did not replicate the same transmission properties as true urban song, suggesting changes in other song characteristics, such as temporal adjustments, are needed to further increase transmission of an avian signal in the city. We suggest that the structure of the acoustic environment, in addition to the background noise, plays an important role in signal adaptation.

  7. Performance analysis of a model-sized superconducting DC transmission system based VSC-HVDC transmission technologies using RTDS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dinh, Minh-Chau; Ju, Chang-Hyeon; Kim, Sung-Kyu; Kim, Jin-Geun; Park, Minwon; Yu, In-Keun

    2012-01-01

    The combination of a high temperature superconducting DC power cable and a voltage source converter based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) creates a new option for transmitting power with multiple collection and distribution points for long distance and bulk power transmissions. It offers some greater advantages compared with HVAC or conventional HVDC transmission systems, and it is well suited for the grid integration of renewable energy sources in existing distribution or transmission systems. For this reason, a superconducting DC transmission system based HVDC transmission technologies is planned to be set up in the Jeju power system, Korea. Before applying this system to a real power system on Jeju Island, system analysis should be performed through a real time test. In this paper, a model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system, which consists of a small model-sized VSC-HVDC connected to a 2 m YBCO HTS DC model cable, is implemented. The authors have performed the real-time simulation method that incorporates the model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system into the simulated Jeju power system using Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The performance analysis of the superconducting VSC-HVDC systems has been verified by the proposed test platform and the results were discussed in detail.

  8. Performance analysis of a model-sized superconducting DC transmission system based VSC-HVDC transmission technologies using RTDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dinh, Minh-Chau, E-mail: thanchau7787@gmail.com [Changwon National University, 9 Sarim-Dong, Changwon 641-733 (Korea, Republic of); Ju, Chang-Hyeon; Kim, Sung-Kyu; Kim, Jin-Geun; Park, Minwon [Changwon National University, 9 Sarim-Dong, Changwon 641-733 (Korea, Republic of); Yu, In-Keun, E-mail: yuik@changwon.ac.kr [Changwon National University, 9 Sarim-Dong, Changwon 641-733 (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-08-15

    The combination of a high temperature superconducting DC power cable and a voltage source converter based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) creates a new option for transmitting power with multiple collection and distribution points for long distance and bulk power transmissions. It offers some greater advantages compared with HVAC or conventional HVDC transmission systems, and it is well suited for the grid integration of renewable energy sources in existing distribution or transmission systems. For this reason, a superconducting DC transmission system based HVDC transmission technologies is planned to be set up in the Jeju power system, Korea. Before applying this system to a real power system on Jeju Island, system analysis should be performed through a real time test. In this paper, a model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system, which consists of a small model-sized VSC-HVDC connected to a 2 m YBCO HTS DC model cable, is implemented. The authors have performed the real-time simulation method that incorporates the model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system into the simulated Jeju power system using Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The performance analysis of the superconducting VSC-HVDC systems has been verified by the proposed test platform and the results were discussed in detail.

  9. Mass spectrometer and method with improved ion transmission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Douglas, D.J.; French, J.B.

    1992-01-01

    This invention relates to a mass analyzer, and to a method of operating a mass analyzer, of the kind in which ions are transmitted through a first rod set for focussing and separation from an accompanying gas, before passing through a mass filter rod set which which permits transmission only of ions of a selected mass to charge ratio. (author). 19 figs

  10. Bragg reflection transmission filters for variable resolution monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, D.

    1989-01-01

    There are various methods for improving the angular and spectral resolution of monochromator and analyzer systems. The novel system described here, though limited to higher x-ray energies (>20keV), is based on a dynamical effect occurring on the transmitted beam with a thin perfect crystal plate set in the Bragg reflection case. In the case of Bragg reflection from a perfect crystal, the incident beam is rapidly attenuated as it penetrates the crystal in the range of reflection. This extinction length is of the order of microns. The attenuation length, which determines the amount of normal transmission through the plate is generally much longer. Thus, in the range of the Bragg reflection the attenuation of the transmitted beam can change by several orders of magnitude with a small change in energy or angle. This thin crystal plate cuts a notch in the transmitted beam with a width equal to its Darwin width, thus acting as a transmission filter. When used in a non-dispersive mode with other monochromator crystals, the filter when set at the Bragg angle will reflect the entire Darwin width of the incident beam and transmit the wings of the incident beam distribution. When the element is offset in angle by some fraction of the Darwin width, the filter becomes useful in adjusting the angular width of the transmitted beam and removing a wing. Used in pairs with a symmetric offset, the filters can be used to continuously adjust the intrinsic angular divergence of the beam with good wing reduction. Instances where such filters may be useful are in improving the angular resolution of a small angle scattering camera. These filters may be added to a Bonse-Hart camera with one pair on the incident beam to reduce the intrinsic beam divergence and a second pair on the analyzer arm to improve the analyzer resolution. 2 refs., 3 Figs

  11. Change of cholinergic transmission and memory deficiency induced by injection of b-amyloid protein into NBM of rats

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2001-01-01

    The change of cholinergic transmission of b-amyloid protein (b-AP) treated rats was studied by intracerebral microdialysis sampling combined with HPLC analysis. b-AP1-40 was injected into nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM). Passive avoidance response test (step-down test) and delayed alternation task were used for memory testing. The impairment of memory after injection of b-AP1-40 into NBM exhibited mainly the deficiency of short-term working memory. One week after injection of b-AP1-40 the release of acetylcholine (ACh) from frontal cortex of freely-moving rats decreased significantly, and the response of cholinergic nerve ending to the action of high [K+] solution was rather weak. In control animals the percentage of increase of ACh- release during behavioral performance was 57%, while in b-AP1-40 - treated rats it was 34%. The temporary in-crease of the ACh-release of the rat put into a new place was also significantly diminished in b-AP1-40 -treated rats. The results show that the injection of b-AP1-40 into NBM impairs the cholinergic transmission in frontal cortex, and the impairment of cholinergic transmission may be the main cause of the deficit of working memory.

  12. Tunable electronic transmission gaps in a graphene superlattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Weitao; Wang Shunjin; Li Wen; Wang Yonglong; Jiang Hua

    2012-01-01

    The transmission in graphene superlattices with adjustable barrier height is investigated using transfer-matrix method. It is found that one could control the angular range of transmission by changing the ratio of incidence energy and barrier height. The transmission as a function of incidence energy has more than one gaps, due to the appearance of evanescent waves in different barriers. Accordingly, more than one conductivity minimums are induced. The transmission gaps could be controlled by adjusting the incidence angle, the barrier height, and the barrier number, which gives the possibility to construct an energy-dependent wavevector filter.

  13. Climate and dengue transmission: evidence and implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morin, Cory W; Comrie, Andrew C; Ernst, Kacey

    2013-01-01

    Climate influences dengue ecology by affecting vector dynamics, agent development, and mosquito/human interactions. Although these relationships are known, the impact climate change will have on transmission is unclear. Climate-driven statistical and process-based models are being used to refine our knowledge of these relationships and predict the effects of projected climate change on dengue fever occurrence, but results have been inconsistent. We sought to identify major climatic influences on dengue virus ecology and to evaluate the ability of climate-based dengue models to describe associations between climate and dengue, simulate outbreaks, and project the impacts of climate change. We reviewed the evidence for direct and indirect relationships between climate and dengue generated from laboratory studies, field studies, and statistical analyses of associations between vectors, dengue fever incidence, and climate conditions. We assessed the potential contribution of climate-driven, process-based dengue models and provide suggestions to improve their performance. Relationships between climate variables and factors that influence dengue transmission are complex. A climate variable may increase dengue transmission potential through one aspect of the system while simultaneously decreasing transmission potential through another. This complexity may at least partly explain inconsistencies in statistical associations between dengue and climate. Process-based models can account for the complex dynamics but often omit important aspects of dengue ecology, notably virus development and host-species interactions. Synthesizing and applying current knowledge of climatic effects on all aspects of dengue virus ecology will help direct future research and enable better projections of climate change effects on dengue incidence.

  14. Helminth-infected patients with malaria: a low profile transmission hub?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nacher Mathieu

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Eclipsed by the debates about malaria incidence and severity in individual patients, malaria transmission in helminth-infected persons has so far received very little attention. Studies in humans have shown increased malaria incidence and prevalence, and a trend for a reduction of symptoms in patients with malaria. This suggests that such patients could possibly be less likely to seek treatment thus carrying malaria parasites and their gametocytes for longer durations, therefore, being a greater potential source of transmission. In addition, in humans, a study showed increased gametocyte carriage, and in an animal model of helminth-malaria co-infection, there was increased malaria transmission. These elements converge towards the hypothesis that patients co-infected with worms and malaria may represent a hub of malaria transmission. The test of this hypothesis requires verifying, in different epidemiological settings, that helminth-infected patients have more gametocytes, that they have less symptomatic malaria and longer-lasting infections, and that they are more attractive for the vectors. The negative outcome in one setting of one of the above aspects does not necessarily mean that the other two aspects may suffice to increase transmission. If it is verified that patients co-infected by worms and malaria could be a transmission hub, this would be an interesting piece of strategic information in the context of the spread of anti-malarial resistance and the malaria eradication attempts.

  15. Price formation and transmission along the food commodity chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Blažková

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is focused on analysis of price transmission along the wheat commodity chain in the Czech Republic, with the distinction on wheat products with low value added (wheat flour, respectively high value added (wheat rolls. The degree of vertical price transmission is measured to identify potential market failures, because asymmetric price transmission can be the result of existence of market power within the food commodity chain. The data basis is made up from monthly prices on partial markets of the analyzed commodity chain published by Czech Statistical Office and Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. The monitored time period is from January 2000 till October 2009. The analysis is based on calculation of the price transmission elasticity coefficient (evaluation of price transmission along the chain and the intensity of dependency of positive and negative inter-market price differences (evaluation whether positive or negative price changes are better transmitted among particular vertical markets. Time lag is tested as well. The assessment of price transmission along the wheat commodity chain confirmed the existence of market power especially on the retail stage and low impact of price changes of farm prices on final consumer food prices.

  16. Opening the Door to Zero New HIV Infections in Closed Settings

    OpenAIRE

    Torriente, Anna; Tadion, Alexander; Hsu, Lee-Nah

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Prisons and other closed settings are high-risk environments for HIV and tuberculosis (TB) transmission. Prisoners often experience overcrowded living conditions and violence?including sexual assault?increasing their vulnerability to HIV and TB. However, high infection rates in prisons affect both prisoners and prison employees. Both groups, in interacting with their families and their communities, represent a potential risk of HIV transmission outside the prison setting. National HI...

  17. Design and Transmission Analysis of an Asymmetrical Spherical Parallel Manipulator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, Guanglei; Caro, Stéphane; Wang, Jiawei

    2015-01-01

    analysis and optimal design of the proposed manipulator based on its kinematic analysis. The input and output transmission indices of the manipulator are defined for its optimum design based on the virtual coefficient between the transmission wrenches and twist screws. The sets of optimal parameters......This paper presents an asymmetrical spherical parallel manipulator and its transmissibility analysis. This manipulator contains a center shaft to both generate a decoupled unlimited-torsion motion and support the mobile platform for high positioning accuracy. This work addresses the transmission...... are identified and the distribution of the transmission index is visualized. Moreover, a comparative study regarding to the performances with the symmetrical spherical parallel manipulators is conducted and the comparison shows the advantages of the proposed manipulator with respect to its spherical parallel...

  18. Basic functions of telecommunication channel elements for successful information transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milorad S. Markagić

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The challenge in the field of multimedia telecommunications is an attempt to integrate texts, sound, images and videos coherently and consistently and to ensure simplicity and interactivity of operation. In order to make the proposed multimedia applications acceptable to end-users, the quality of transmission through the network and message presentation should have special attention. The main aims of this paper are the introduction to the communication channel with its basic elements, a detailed description of the information source and the presentation of possible approaches to the analysis of the telecommunication channel. Introduction In the age of mass application of various communication means, end-users of telecommunication channel elements rarely pay attention to the processes taking place in everyday communication and the elements presented in the channel. In order to discuss all the factors that influence the establishment and maintenance of the links, this paper will explain the basic elements of telecommunication channels. Source Every object that generates messages to be transferred to a recipient is called the source of the message. Directors, writers, speakers, books, newspapers, various instruments (thermometer, barometer, ammeter, etc., computers, a man himself - these are all sources of various messages. In relation to facilities that generate messages, there are different sources of messages. All the messages that they generate belong to discrete or continuous modes of messages. Discrete messages can be presented with element sets, where elements can be considered through different values of observed messages. Each text message of arbitrary length, for example, is made of a finite number of elements - symbols (letters, numbers, punctuation marks, from the set of symbols called the alphabet message source. Continuous messages can be presented with an infinite number of sets of elements where elements can have different values of

  19. Dynamic simulation of hvdc transmission systems on digital computers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hingorani, N G; Hay, J L; Crosbie, R E

    1966-05-01

    A digital computer technique is based on the fact that the operation of an hvdc converter consists of similar consecutive processes, each process having features which are common to all processes. Each bridge converter of an hvdc system is represented by a central process, and repetitive use of the latter simulates continuous converter operation. This technique may be employed to obtain the waveforms of transient or steady state voltages and currents anywhere in the dc system. To illustrate the method, an hvdc link is considered; the link which connects two independent ac systems conprises two converters with their control systems, and a dc transmission line. As an example, the transient behavior of the system is examined following changes in the current settings of the control system.

  20. A current controlled variable delay superconducting transmission line

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anlage, S.M.; Snortland, H.J.; Beasley, M.R.

    1989-01-01

    The authors present a device concept for a current-controlled variable delay for superconducting transmission line. The device makes use of the change in kinetic inductance of a superconducting transmission line under the application of a DC bias current. The relevant materials parameters and several promising superconducting materials have been identified

  1. The effectiveness of motivational interviewing for health behaviour change in primary care settings: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Katie; Beauchamp, Mark; Prothero, Anna; Joyce, Lauren; Saunders, Laura; Spencer-Bowdage, Sarah; Dancy, Bernadette; Pedlar, Charles

    2015-01-01

    Motivational interviewing (MI) is a patient-centred approach to behaviour change that was originally developed in the addiction field but has increasingly been applied to public health settings with a focus on health promotion. The purpose of this review was to examine the evidence base for MI interventions in primary care settings with non-clinical populations to achieve behaviour change for physical activity, dietary behaviours and/or alcohol intake. We also sought to explore the specific behaviour change techniques included in MI interventions within primary care. Electronic databases were searched for relevant articles and 33 papers met inclusion criteria and were included. Approximately 50% of the included studies (n = 18) demonstrated positive effects in relation to health behaviour change. The efficacy of MI approaches is unclear given the inconsistency of MI descriptions and intervention components. Furthermore, research designs that do not isolate the effects of MI make it difficult to determine the effectiveness of such approaches. We offer a number of recommendations for researchers and practitioners seeking to include MI within behaviour change interventions to help improve the quality of the research and the effectiveness of MI-based interventions within primary care settings.

  2. Essays in financial transmission rights pricing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Posner, Barry

    This work examines issues in the pricing of financial transmission rights in the PJM market region. The US federal government is advocating the creation of large-scale, not-for-profit regional transmission organizations to increase the efficiency of the transmission of electricity. As a non-profit entity, PJM needs to allocate excess revenues collected as congestion rents, and the participants in the transmission markets need to be able to hedge their exposure to congestion rents. For these purposes, PJM has developed an instrument known as the financial transmission right (FTR). This research, utilizing a new data set assembled by the author, looks at two aspects of the FTR market. The first chapter examines the problem of forecasting congestion in a transmission grid. In the PJM FTR system firms bid in a competitive auction for FTRs that cover a period of one month. The auctions take place in the middle of the previous month; therefore firms have to forecast congestion rents for the period two to six weeks after the auction. The common methods of forecasting congestion are either time-series models or full-information engineering studies. In this research, the author develops a forecasting system that is more economically grounded than a simple time-series model, but requires less information than an engineering model. This method is based upon the arbitrage-cost methodology, whereby congesting is calculated as the difference of two non-observable variables: the transmission price difference that would exist in the total absence of transmission capacity between two nodes, and the ability of the existing transmission to reduced that price difference. If the ability to reduce the price difference is greater than the price difference, then the cost of electricity at each node will be the same, and congestion rent will be zero. If transmission capacity limits are binding on the flow of power, then a price difference persists and congestion rents exist. Three

  3. Transmission scenarios of major vector-borne diseases in Colombia, 1990-2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julio César Padilla

    2017-03-01

    Conclusions: Persistent epidemic and endemic transmission of vector-borne diseases in urban and rural settings in Colombia was observed mainly in the case of malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. Such transmission was focused and had variable intensity patterns. On the other hand, the conditions that have favored the emergence of new arboviruses persist.

  4. General motors front wheel drive 2-mode hybrid transmission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hendrickson, James [General Motors Corp., Pontiac, MI (United States). New Transmission Products Group.; Holmes, Alan G. [General Motors Corp., Pontiac, MI (United States). Powertrain Hybrid Architecture

    2009-07-01

    General Motors now expands the application of two-mode hybrid technology to front wheel drive vehicles with the development of a hybrid electric transmission packaged into essentially the same space as a conventional automatic transmission for front wheel drive. This was accomplished using a space-efficient arrangement based on two planetary gear sets and electric motor-generators with large internal diameters. A combination of damper and hydraulically-controlled clutch allow comfortable shutdown and restarting of large-displacement engines in front wheel drive vehicles. The hybrid system delivers electric low-speed urban driving, two continuously variable ranges of transmission speed ratios, four fixed transmission speed ratios, electric acceleration boosting, and regenerative braking. In the first vehicle application, the two-mode hybrid helps to reduce vehicle fuel consumption by approximately one-third. (orig.)

  5. Mechanisms of change in cognitive therapy for major depressive disorder in the community mental health setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crits-Christoph, Paul; Gallop, Robert; Diehl, Caroline K; Yin, Seohyun; Gibbons, Mary Beth Connolly

    2017-06-01

    This study examined the relation of change in theory-relevant cognitive variables to depressive symptom change over the course of cognitive therapy, as well as the specificity of change mechanisms to cognitive therapy as compared with dynamic therapy. There were 237 adult outpatients who were randomized to either cognitive (n = 119) or dynamic (n = 118) therapy for major depressive disorder in a community mental health setting. Assessments of compensatory skills (Ways of Responding Community Version and Self-Report Version), dysfunctional attitudes (Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale), and depressogenic schemas (Psychological Distance Scaling Task) were obtained at baseline and months 1, 2, and 5 following baseline. Primary outcome was measured using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Across both therapy conditions, change in all 3 cognitive domains was associated with concurrent change in depressive symptoms. After controlling for other cognitive variables, increased interconnectedness of the positive achievement-related schema was significantly associated with concurrent symptom change in cognitive (rp = .26, p therapy (rp = .08, p = .29). Increases in positive compensatory skills were associated with subsequent change in depressive symptoms in cognitive therapy (rp = -.36, p = .003), but not in dynamic therapy (rp = .11, p = .386). Results provide support for the compensatory skills model of cognitive therapy (CT) within a community mental health setting. Additional research is necessary to understand other possible mechanisms of change in CT in the community setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Simultaneous emission transmission tomography using technetium-99m for both emission and transmission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnden, L.R.; Ong, P.L.; Rowe, C.C.

    1997-01-01

    This phantom study investigates whether attenuation maps from transmission data degraded by increased noise from subtraction of emission counts can still provide useful attenuation correction in the regular and obese chest. Technetium-99m was used for both emission and transmission on a triple head simultaneous emission transmission tomography (Tc-Tc SETT) system. Fanbeam transmission counts were computed by subtracting emission counts estimated from the two parallel collimator heads. Radioactive decay was used to simulate organ counts from injections of 900 and 400 MBq sestamibi for regular and obese chest sizes. Line source activity was 350 MBq. Control attenuation maps were obtained with no emission activity. Noise control included catering for negative and zero transmission counts, pre-filtering and segmentation of mu maps. Pre-filtering was tried before and after subtraction and before and after setting negative pixels to zero. Mean±SD count/pixel at the heart in anterior transmission projections was typically 33±18 for the regular and 1±7 for the obese chest. For the obese chest, pre-filtering before resetting negative counts best preserved mean mu in soft tissue and lung. Tc-Tc SETT mu mean±SD for the regular chest were 0.144±0.012 and 0.058±0.004 for soft tissue and lung and for the obese chest, 0.152±0.075 and 0.059±0.017. The accuracy of the Tc-Tc SETT bullseye plots for the regular chest was the same as with control map attenuation correction and 3 times better than with no correction. For the obese chest it was as good as with control map correction only if mu map segmentation was applied. Tc-Tc SETT soft tissue and lung mu in 28 patient studies indicated that segmentation is practical for a wide range of chest sizes. Tc-Tc SETT on a triple-head system offers an accurate, inexpensive method of attenuation correction for the majority of chest sizes. (orig.)

  7. Is ankle contracture after stroke due to abnormal intermuscular force transmission?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diong, Joanna; Herbert, Robert D

    2015-02-01

    Contracture after stroke could be due to abnormal mechanical interactions between muscles. This study examined if ankle plantarflexor muscle contracture after stroke is due to abnormal force transmission between the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Muscle fascicle lengths were measured from ultrasound images of soleus muscles in five subjects with stroke and ankle contracture and six able-bodied subjects. Changes in soleus fascicle length or pennation during passive knee extension at fixed ankle angle were assumed to indicate intermuscular force transmission. Changes in soleus fascicle length or pennation were adjusted for changes in ankle motion. Subjects with stroke had significant ankle contracture. After adjustment for ankle motion, 9 of 11 subjects demonstrated small changes in soleus fascicle length with knee extension, suggestive of intermuscular force transmission. However, the small changes in fascicle length may have been artifacts caused by movement of the ultrasound transducers. There were no systematic differences in change in fascicle length (median between-group difference adjusting for ankle motion = -0.01, 95% CI -0.26-0.08 mm/degree of knee extension) or pennation (-0.05, 95% CI -0.15-0.07 degree/ degree of knee extension). This suggests ankle contractures after stroke were not due to abnormal (systematically increased or decreased) intermuscular force transmission between the gastrocnemius and soleus.

  8. Temporal Changes in the Modes of Hepatitis C Virus Transmission in the USA and Northern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Elizabeth; Yang, Ming; Rao, Huiying; Fu, Sherry; Feng, Bo; Fei, Ran; Lin, Andy; Fontana, Robert J; Wei, Lai; Lok, Anna S

    2017-08-01

    Predominant modes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission vary between countries and over time. To compare HCV transmission modes in the USA and northern China. We conducted a prospective study enrolling two cohorts of chronic HCV patients in the USA, and in China at Beijing, and at Gu'an and Kuancheng counties in Hebei. Patients self-reported the most likely source and year of infection. A total of 1957 patients were studied (1000 USA; 957 China-428 Beijing, 387 Gu'an, 142 Kuancheng). The predominant infection sources were transfusion (23.0%) and injection drug use (IDU) (32.1%) in the USA and transfusion (64.5%) in northern China. Within China, transfusion was the most common source in Beijing (62.1%) and Gu'an (88.1%), and medical procedures (35.9%) and IDU (12.0%) in Kuancheng. Infection via transfusion decreased significantly in the USA (35.1-4.6%) and Beijing (84.2-14.3%) but remained frequent in Gu'an (90.5-72.5%) over time. Infection via IDU decreased from 32.4% in those ≥61 years to 25.0% in those 41-50 years but increased to 46.5% in those ≤40 years in US patients and decreased over time from 38.7 to 1.9% in Kuancheng. Infection via medical procedures increased over time in Beijing (7.0-33.3%) and remained frequent in Kuancheng (45.2-31.1%). There are major differences in presumed HCV infection source between the USA and northern China. Favorable as well as worrisome changes in the modes of HCV transmission in both countries were observed.

  9. ICP curve morphology and intracranial flow-volume changes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Unnerbäck, Mårten; Ottesen, Johnny T.; Reinstrup, Peter

    2018-01-01

    proposed to shape the ICP curve. This study tested the hypothesis that the ICP curve correlates to intracranial volume changes. METHODS: Cine phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations were performed in neuro-intensive care patients with simultaneous ICP monitoring. The MRI was set......BACKGROUND: The intracranial pressure (ICP) curve with its different peaks has been extensively studied, but the exact physiological mechanisms behind its morphology are still not fully understood. Both intracranial volume change (ΔICV) and transmission of the arterial blood pressure have been...

  10. Dynamic sex roles among men who have sex with men and transmissions from primary HIV infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alam, Shah Jamal; Romero-Severson, Ethan; Kim, Jong-Hoon; Emond, Gilbert; Koopman, James S

    2010-09-01

    Previous studies estimating the fraction of transmissions from persons with primary HIV have not focused on the effects of switching sex role in male homosexual populations. Such behavioral fluctuations can increase the contribution of primary HIV in the overall population. We modeled HIV transmission with 8 compartments defined by 4 behavioral groups, with different anal-insertive and anal-receptive combinations, and 2 stages of infection. We explored the effects of fluctuating behavioral categories on endemic prevalence and the fraction of transmissions from primary HIV. We varied transition rates to develop the theory on how behavioral fluctuation affects infection patterns, and we used the transition rates in a Netherlands cohort to assess overall effects in a real setting. The dynamics of change in behavior-group status over time observed in the Netherlands cohort amplifies the prevalence of infection and the fraction of transmissions from primary HIV, resulting in the highest proportions of transmissions being from people with primary HIV. Fluctuation between dual- or receptive-role periods and no-anal-sex periods mainly determines this amplification. In terms of the total transmissions, the dual-role risk group is dominant. Fluctuation between insertive and receptive roles decreases the fraction of transmissions from primary HIV, but such fluctuation is infrequently observed. The fraction of transmissions from primary HIV is considerably raised by fluctuations in insertive and receptive anal sex behaviors. This increase occurs even when primary HIV or later infection status does not influence risk behavior. Thus, it is not simply biology but also behavior patterns and social contexts that determine the fraction of transmissions from primary HIV. Moreover, each primary HIV transmission has a larger population effect than each later infection transmission because the men to whom one transmits from primary HIV carry on more chains of transmissions than the men

  11. Transmission access raises unresolved economic issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Happ, H.H.

    1994-01-01

    The electric utility industry is in the process of gradual change from a fully regulated industry to one of partial deregulation. Instead of relying on regulation to achieve a fair and equitable price to the consumer for electric energy, the reliance is placed more and more on market forces, through competition, to provide wholesale energy at the best market price. Clearly, open transmission access is required to create a viable competitive wholesale market for new generation resources. This article describes four unresolved, or at least partially unresolved, issues associated with transmission access for wholesale wheeling. Wheeling has been defined as the use of a utility's transmission facilities to transmit power for other buyers and sellers. At least three parties are involved in a wheeling transaction: a seller, a buyer, and one or more wheeling utilities that transmit the power from the seller to the buyer. This article considers wholesale or bulk wheeling only, and does not consider retail wheeling. The four unresolved economic issues described in this article pertain to transmission access: Actual cost of providing transmission services, Methodology or methodologies used in evaluating the cost of wheeling, Contract path versus the actual power flows of the wheel, Issues associated with the formation of transmission regions

  12. Temporal variability and social heterogeneity in disease transmission: the case of SARS in Hong Kong.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Cori

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available The extent to which self-adopted or intervention-related changes in behaviors affect the course of epidemics remains a key issue for outbreak control. This study attempted to quantify the effect of such changes on the risk of infection in different settings, i.e., the community and hospitals. The 2002-2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, where 27% of cases were healthcare workers, was used as an example. A stochastic compartmental SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infectious-removed model was used: the population was split into healthcare workers, hospitalized people and general population. Super spreading events (SSEs were taken into account in the model. The temporal evolutions of the daily effective contact rates in the community and hospitals were modeled with smooth functions. Data augmentation techniques and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC methods were applied to estimate SARS epidemiological parameters. In particular, estimates of daily reproduction numbers were provided for each subpopulation. The average duration of the SARS infectious period was estimated to be 9.3 days (+/-0.3 days. The model was able to disentangle the impact of the two SSEs from background transmission rates. The effective contact rates, which were estimated on a daily basis, decreased with time, reaching zero inside hospitals. This observation suggests that public health measures and possible changes in individual behaviors effectively reduced transmission, especially in hospitals. The temporal patterns of reproduction numbers were similar for healthcare workers and the general population, indicating that on average, an infectious healthcare worker did not infect more people than any other infectious person. We provide a general method to estimate time dependence of parameters in structured epidemic models, which enables investigation of the impact of control measures and behavioral changes in different settings.

  13. Maternal and fetal determinants of perinatal transmission of HIV ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    All effort should be geared toward identifying those positive and minimized or modify risks factors through behavior change, prompt initiation of treatment and prophylaxis for those found positive with a view to reduce the incidence of perinatal transmission. Key Words: perinatal transmission, HIV, maternal, fetal determinants, ...

  14. 18 CFR 35.34 - Regional Transmission Organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Regional Transmission Organizations. 35.34 Section 35.34 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY... accommodates the open architecture condition set forth in paragraph (l) of this section. (2) Market participant...

  15. HIV-1 transmitting couples have similar viral load set-points in Rakai, Uganda.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T Déirdre Hollingsworth

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available It has been hypothesized that HIV-1 viral load set-point is a surrogate measure of HIV-1 viral virulence, and that it may be subject to natural selection in the human host population. A key test of this hypothesis is whether viral load set-points are correlated between transmitting individuals and those acquiring infection. We retrospectively identified 112 heterosexual HIV-discordant couples enrolled in a cohort in Rakai, Uganda, in which HIV transmission was suspected and viral load set-point was established. In addition, sequence data was available to establish transmission by genetic linkage for 57 of these couples. Sex, age, viral subtype, index partner, and self-reported genital ulcer disease status (GUD were known. Using ANOVA, we estimated the proportion of variance in viral load set-points which was explained by the similarity within couples (the 'couple effect'. Individuals with suspected intra-couple transmission (97 couples had similar viral load set-points (p = 0.054 single factor model, p = 0.0057 adjusted and the couple effect explained 16% of variance in viral loads (23% adjusted. The analysis was repeated for a subset of 29 couples with strong genetic support for transmission. The couple effect was the major determinant of viral load set-point (p = 0.067 single factor, and p = 0.036 adjusted and the size of the effect was 27% (37% adjusted. Individuals within epidemiologically linked couples with genetic support for transmission had similar viral load set-points. The most parsimonious explanation is that this is due to shared characteristics of the transmitted virus, a finding which sheds light on both the role of viral factors in HIV-1 pathogenesis and on the evolution of the virus.

  16. Global change data sets: Excerpts from the Master Directory, version 2.0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beier, J.

    1992-02-01

    The recent awakening to the reality of human-induced changes to the environment has resulted in an organized effort to promote global change research. The goal of this research as outlined by NASA's Earth System Science Committee (Earth System Science: A closer View, 1988) is to understand the entire Earth system on a global scale by describing how its component parts and their interactions have evolved, how they function, and how they may be expected to evolve on all timescales. The practical result is the capacity to predict that evolution over the next decade to century. Key variables important for the study of global change include external forcing factors (solar radiance, UV flux), radiatively and chemically important trace species (CO2, CH4, N2O, etc.), atmospheric response variables (temperature, pressure, winds), landsurface properties (river run-off, snow cover, albedo, soil moisture, vegetation cover), and oceanic variables (sea surface temperature, sea ice extent, sea level ocean wind stress, currents, chlorophyll, biogeochemical fluxes). The purpose of this document is to identify existing data sets available (both remotely sensed and in situ data) covering some of these variables. This is not intended to be a complete list of global change data, but merely a highlight of what is available. The information was extracted from the Master Directory (MD), an on-line scientific data information service which may be used by any researcher. This report contains the coverage dates for the data sets, sources (satellites, instruments) of the data and where they are archived

  17. Global change data sets: Excerpts from the Master Directory, version 2.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beier, Joy

    1992-01-01

    The recent awakening to the reality of human-induced changes to the environment has resulted in an organized effort to promote global change research. The goal of this research as outlined by NASA's Earth System Science Committee (Earth System Science: A closer View, 1988) is to understand the entire Earth system on a global scale by describing how its component parts and their interactions have evolved, how they function, and how they may be expected to evolve on all timescales. The practical result is the capacity to predict that evolution over the next decade to century. Key variables important for the study of global change include external forcing factors (solar radiance, UV flux), radiatively and chemically important trace species (CO2, CH4, N2O, etc.), atmospheric response variables (temperature, pressure, winds), landsurface properties (river run-off, snow cover, albedo, soil moisture, vegetation cover), and oceanic variables (sea surface temperature, sea ice extent, sea level ocean wind stress, currents, chlorophyll, biogeochemical fluxes). The purpose of this document is to identify existing data sets available (both remotely sensed and in situ data) covering some of these variables. This is not intended to be a complete list of global change data, but merely a highlight of what is available. The information was extracted from the Master Directory (MD), an on-line scientific data information service which may be used by any researcher. This report contains the coverage dates for the data sets, sources (satellites, instruments) of the data and where they are archived.

  18. Design and implementation on wireless transmission platform of area radiation monitoring data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Dan; Ge Liangquan; Lai Wanchang; Ren Yong; Liu Huijun; Wang Guangxi

    2011-01-01

    To solve data transmission problems of radiation area monitoring system, Wireless transmission platform is built based on ZigBee module, thus wireless transmission between the radiation area central node and the monitoring points is achieved. It introduces the framework of ZigBee protocol, APL applications between FFD and RFD module, FFD, module and central node host, and RFD module and monitoring equipment, are developed using simplified protocol stack. Wireless network is set up using a FFD module and two RFD modules, the results show that RSSI are above 50, and the data communication is normal for the transmission distance of 60 m. (authors)

  19. Transmission planning in a deregulated environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Zhao

    2006-01-01

    The worldwide trend for the deregulation of the electricity generation and transmission industries has led to dramatic changes in system operation and planning procedures. The optimum approach to transmission-expansion planning in a deregulated environment is an open problem especially when the r...... electricity market grid are performed. In addition, the proposed method is compared with a traditional planning method to further verify its effectiveness....... the responsibilities of the organisations carrying out the planning work need to be addressed. To date there is a consensus that the system operator and network manager perform the expansion planning work in a centralised way. However, with an increasing input from the electricity market, the objectives, constraints...... and approaches toward transmission planning should be carefully designed to ensure system reliability as well as meeting the market requirements. A market-oriented approach for transmission planning in a deregulated environment is proposed. Case studies using the IEEE 14-bus system and the Australian national...

  20. Joint HVAC transmission EMF environmental study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stormshak, F.; Thompson, J. (Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States))

    1992-05-01

    This document describes the rationale, procedures, and results of a carefully controlled study conducted to establish whether chronic exposure of female (ewe) Suffolk lambs to the environment of a 500-kV 60-Hz transmission line would affect various characteristics of growth, endocrine function, and reproductive development. This experiment used identical housing and management schemes for control and line-exposed ewes, thus minimizing these factors as contributors to between-group experimental error. Further, throughout the 10-month duration of this study, changes in electric and magnetic fields, audible noise, and weather conditions were monitored continuously by a computerized system. Such measurements provided the opportunity to identify any relationship between environmental factors and biological responses. Because of reports in the literature that electric and magnetic fields alter concentrations of melatonin in laboratory animals, the primary objective of this study was to ascertain whether a similar effect occurs in lambs exposed to a 500-kV a-c line in a natural setting. In addition, onset of puberty, changes in body weight, wool growth, and behavior were monitored. To determine whether the environment of a 500-kV line caused stress in the study animals, serum levels of cortisol were measured. The study was conducted at Bonneville Power Administration's Ostrander Substation near Estacada, Oregon.

  1. Multistage Mechanical Transmissions with Automatic Control for Advanced Trucks and Buses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blokhin Aleksandr

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The study considers the basic trends of development of modern mechanical transmissions of trucks and buses. It provides the developed various series of multispeed transmissions with automatic control and a number of transmissions from 6 to 16 for trucks and buses. The paper shows the basic parameters of the standard series of new transmissions received on the basis of innovative technical solutions. It provides the results of experimental studies of 16-speed transmissions on a special test stand and on the road as part of a truck transmission. Theoretical and experimental data on the gear change time are compared.

  2. Vector independent transmission of the vector-borne bluetongue virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluijs, Mirjam Tineke Willemijn; de Smit, Abraham J; Moormann, Rob J M

    2016-01-01

    Bluetongue is an economically important disease of ruminants. The causative agent, Bluetongue virus (BTV), is mainly transmitted by insect vectors. This review focuses on vector-free BTV transmission, and its epizootic and economic consequences. Vector-free transmission can either be vertical, from dam to fetus, or horizontal via direct contract. For several BTV-serotypes, vertical (transplacental) transmission has been described, resulting in severe congenital malformations. Transplacental transmission had been mainly associated with live vaccine strains. Yet, the European BTV-8 strain demonstrated a high incidence of transplacental transmission in natural circumstances. The relevance of transplacental transmission for the epizootiology is considered limited, especially in enzootic areas. However, transplacental transmission can have a substantial economic impact due to the loss of progeny. Inactivated vaccines have demonstrated to prevent transplacental transmission. Vector-free horizontal transmission has also been demonstrated. Since direct horizontal transmission requires close contact of animals, it is considered only relevant for within-farm spreading of BTV. The genetic determinants which enable vector-free transmission are present in virus strains circulating in the field. More research into the genetic changes which enable vector-free transmission is essential to better evaluate the risks associated with outbreaks of new BTV serotypes and to design more appropriate control measures.

  3. Choice architecture as a means to change eating behaviour in self-service settings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, Laurits Rohden; Lourenco, Sofia; Laub Hansen, Gitte

    2013-01-01

    Summary: The primary objective of this review was to investigate the current evidence-base for the use of choice architecture as a means to change eating behaviour in self-service eating settings, hence potentially reduce calorie intake. 12 databases were searched systematically for experimental ...

  4. The interior transmission spectrum in one dimension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hickmann, Kyle S

    2012-01-01

    This paper seeks conditions on acoustic profiles c(x) and b(x) which imply the existence of intervals free of transmission eigenvalues. The existence of intervals free of transmission eigenvalues has important implications in the question of unique recovery of the acoustic profile for inverse acoustic scattering theory using the linear sampling method and for the inverse source problem in thermoacoustic tomography. We examine the interior transmission spectrum relative to two acoustic profiles on the unit interval. This research includes the case when the difference of the two acoustic profiles changes sign and is, to the author's knowledge, the only work to date on the interior transmission spectrum allowing this behavior. It is shown that for a large class of acoustic profiles the transmission spectrum is asymptotically sparse. The spectrum exhibits three distinct types of behavior dependent on the relation of the two acoustic profiles. Numerical examples of each type of behavior are given which show how the transmission eigenvalues are distributed depending on the relation between c(x) and b(x). Our method of study is to reduce the interior transmission problem on [0, 1] to a problem of finding roots of a determinant of fundamental solutions to a Sturm–Liouville problem. The asymptotic expansion of solutions of the Sturm–Liouville problem then allows us to analyze properties of the transmission spectrum for large values of the wavenumber. (paper)

  5. Exploration of resource and transmission expansion decisions in the Western Renewable Energy Zone initiative

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mills, Andrew; Phadke, Amol; Wiser, Ryan

    2011-01-01

    The Western Renewable Energy Zone (WREZ) initiative brings together a diverse set of voices to develop data, tools, and a unique forum for coordinating transmission expansion in the Western Interconnection. In this paper we use a new tool developed in the WREZ initiative to evaluate possible renewable resource selection and transmission expansion decisions. We evaluate these decisions under a number of alternative future scenarios centered on meeting 33% of the annual load in the Western Interconnection with new renewable resources located within WREZ-identified resource hubs. Our analysis finds that wind energy is the largest source of renewable energy procured to meet the 33% RE target across nearly all scenarios analyzed (38-65%). Solar energy is almost always the second largest source (14-41%). We find several load zones where wind energy is the least cost resource under a wide range of sensitivity scenarios. Load zones in the Southwest, on the other hand, are found to switch between wind and solar, and therefore to vary transmission expansion decisions, depending on uncertainties and policies that affect the relative economics of each renewable option. Further, we find that even with total transmission expenditures of $17-34 billion these costs still represent just 10-19% of the total delivered cost of renewable energy. - Research highlights: → We describe a new tool to evaluate transmission expansion and renewable resource selection. → We examine a scenario where 33% of the energy in the Western Interconnection comes from renewables. → Wind energy provides the majority of new renewable energy. → For some loads, the decision to procure wind and the required transmission is insensitive to assumptions. → For other loads, assumptions can shift toward more solar, which also changes the needed transmission.

  6. Structural and functional changes in the intenstine of irradiated and hypothermic irradiated rats : a scanning and transmission electron microscopic study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhuri, S.; Chaudhuri, Swapna; Roy, Bijon

    1982-01-01

    Severe destructive changes in the intestine of rats following whole body exposure to gamma rays (832 rads) were observed by light microscope, scanning and transmission electron microscope studies. Hypothermia (15deg C rectal temperature) induced prior to irradiation protected the intestinal mucosa from destruction. A simultaneous study showed that glucose absorption decreased significantly in irradiated rats, whereas it was increased in hypothermic irradiated animals. (author)

  7. Measles transmission in health care waiting rooms: implications for public health response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen Conaty

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Seventeen cases of locally acquired measles occurred in South Western Sydney and Sydney local health districts between July and October 2011. Three of the cases were known to have at least one dose of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR vaccine. Seven cases were infected within a health care setting waiting room by five index cases. Current national protocols require follow-up of all susceptible contacts in the same waiting room for any length of time for up to two hours after the index case has left.Methods: Cases were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. Information included: demographics, illness and activities during the exposure and infectious periods. Health care settings provided arrival and discharge times, maps of floor layouts and location of patients during stay.Results: All health care setting transmission occurred in cases who were present at the same time as their index cases, with cross-over time ranging from 20 to 254 minutes. No index case was isolated. Index cases were between day four and six of illness when transmission occurred. None of the five index cases and one of seven secondary cases had received at least one dose of MMR vaccine. Of the seven secondary cases, two were one year of age, one was 17 years old and four were between 30 and 39 years old.Conclusion: As Australia moves towards measles elimination, follow-up of cases is important; however, with limited public health resources a targeted response is vital. In this small but well-documented series of secondary cases acquired in a health care setting, all were infected following direct, proximate contact of at least 20 minutes. Changes to the national guidelines may be warranted, ensuring that limited resources are focused on following up contacts at greatest risk of disease.

  8. Effect of screening of immigrants on tuberculosis transmission

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verver, S.; van Soolingen, D.; Borgdorff, M. W.

    2002-01-01

    SETTING: In The Netherlands all immigrants from highly endemic countries undergo obligatory entry screening by X-ray, followed by voluntary half-yearly screening for 2 years. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the contribution of screening of immigrants to reductions in tuberculosis transmission. DESIGN: All

  9. Hand hygiene to reduce community transmission of influenza and acute respiratory tract infection: a systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren‐Gash, Charlotte; Fragaszy, Ellen; Hayward, Andrew C.

    2012-01-01

    Please cite this paper as: Warren‐Gash et al. (2012) Hand hygiene to reduce community transmission of influenza and acute respiratory tract infection: a systematic review. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses DOI: 10.1111/irv.12015. Hand hygiene may be associated with modest protection against some acute respiratory tract infections, but its specific role in influenza transmission in different settings is unclear. We aimed to review evidence that improving hand hygiene reduces primary and secondary transmission of (i) influenza and (ii) acute respiratory tract infections in community settings. We searched Medline, Embase, Global Health and Cochrane databases up to 13 February 2012 for reports in any language of original research investigating the effect of hand hygiene on influenza or acute respiratory tract infection where aetiology was unspecified in community settings including institutions such as schools, and domestic residences. Data were presented and quality rated across outcomes according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Sixteen articles met inclusion criteria. There was moderate to low‐quality evidence of a reduction in both influenza and respiratory tract infection with hand hygiene interventions in schools, greatest in a lower–middle‐income setting. There was high‐quality evidence of a small reduction in respiratory infection in childcare settings. There was high‐quality evidence for a large reduction in respiratory infection with a hand hygiene intervention in squatter settlements in a low‐income setting. There was moderate‐ to high‐quality evidence of no effect on secondary transmission of influenza in households that had already experienced an index case. While hand hygiene interventions have potential to reduce transmission of influenza and acute respiratory tract infections, their effectiveness varies depending on setting, context and compliance. PMID:23043518

  10. Issues affecting the electricity transmission system in Mexico under a competitive integrated model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Avila Rosales, M.A.; Gonzalez Flores, J. [Federal Electricity Commission, Mexico City (Mexico)

    2008-07-01

    The electricity sector in Mexico is undergoing a process of significant structural change. The traditional industry framework has been exposed to new market structures and greater competition, both of which are being introduced by changing regulations regarding who can generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity. Mexico's power industry is changing to a competitive integrated model. Electricity industry restructuring is partly based on the assumption that transmission systems should be flexible, reliable, and open to all exchanges no matter where the suppliers and consumers of energy are located and who they are. However, neither the existing transmission systems nor its management infrastructure can fully support this open exchange. This paper described the primary issues affecting the transmission system in Mexico under a competitive environment and a transmission expansion planning approach that took the uncertainties associated with the location and size of new generating power stations into consideration in order to produce least-cost and robust transmission plans. The paper described the planning process, including a rigorous analysis of the economics of the resulting transmission plans. Specifically, the paper described the current regulatory framework and supply adequacy as well as current procedures and methodologies for transmission management and expansion planning. The transmission planning methodology was also presented. This included a minimum cost analysis; profit analysis; and least-cost transmission plan. It was concluded that the transmission expansion planning approach stressed that a horizon year viewpoint was important because transmission additions have long-term use. The transmission expansion planning approach, further defined the process of selecting transmission projects as one of comparing and optimizing attributes such as near-term needs; long-term utilization; contribution to overall reliability; and favorable or least

  11. Small passenger car transmission test-Chevrolet 200 transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bujold, M. P.

    1980-01-01

    The small passenger car transmission was tested to supply electric vehicle manufacturers with technical information regarding the performance of commerically available transmissions which would enable them to design a more energy efficient vehicle. With this information the manufacturers could estimate vehicle driving range as well as speed and torque requirements for specific road load performance characteristics. A 1979 Chevrolet Model 200 automatic transmission was tested per a passenger car automatic transmission test code (SAE J651b) which required drive performance, coast performance, and no load test conditions. The transmission attained maximum efficiencies in the mid-eighty percent range for both drive performance tests and coast performance tests. Torque, speed and efficiency curves map the complete performance characteristics for Chevrolet Model 200 transmission.

  12. Analysis of main dynamic parameters of split power transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Janulevičius

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The review carried out had shown one basic approach of split power transmission to the organization of drive which is applied to stepless transmissions of tractors and parallel hybrid cars. In the split power transmission the power split device uses a planetary gear. Tractor engine power in the split power transmission is transmitted to the drive shaft via a mechanical and hydraulic path. The theoretical analysis of main parameters of the split power transmission of the tractor is presented. The angular velocity of sun and coronary gears of the differential set is estimated by solution of the system of equations in which one equation is made for planetary differential gear, and another – for hydrostatic drive. The analysis of the transmission gear-ratio dependencies on the ratio of hydraulic machines capacities is carried out. Dependence of the variation of angular velocity of the coronary and the sun gears on the ground speed of the tractor is presented. Dependence of sum shaft torque and its constituents, carried by mechanical and hydraulic lines, on sum shaft angular velocity and ground speed of tractor and engine speed is also presented.

  13. In situ transmission electron microscope studies of ion irradiation-induced and irradiation-enhanced phase changes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, C.W.

    1992-01-01

    Motivated at least initially by materials needs for nuclear reactor development, extensive irradiation effects studies employing transmission electron microscopes (TEM) have been performed for several decades, involving irradiation-induced and irradiation-enhanced microstructural changes, including phase transformations such as precipitation, dissolution, crystallization, amorphization, and order-disorder phenomena. From the introduction of commercial high voltage electron microscopes (HVEM) in the mid-1960s, studies of electron irradiation effects have constituted a major aspect of HVEM application in materials science. For irradiation effects studies two additional developments have had particularly significant impact; the development of TEM specimen holder sin which specimen temperature can be controlled in the range 10-2200 K and the interfacing of ion accelerators which allows in situ TEM studies of irradiation effects and the ion beam modification of materials within this broad temperature range. This paper treats several aspects of in situ studies of electron and ion beam-induced and enhanced phase changes and presents two case studies involving in situ experiments performed in an HVEM to illustrate the strategies of such an approach of the materials research of irradiation effects

  14. Pressure control of a pneumatic control system with a long transmission line

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang, Ji Seong; Lee, Kwang Kuk; Choi, Myung Soo

    2003-01-01

    In this study, a robust controller to control pressure in a pneumatic pressure vessel with a long transmission line is proposed. Frequency response of transmission line using compressible fluid is changed by the flowing state of the fluid. So, if a fixed gain controller designed based on a model supposed the flowing state to a specific state, the performance of the control system could be degraded because of the modelling error. The controller designed in this study is composed of two parts. One is a feedback controller to improve a feedback characteristics and to compensate the influence of the variation of transfer characteristics of a transmission line owing to the change of flowing state and the other is a feed forward controller to regulate command following performance. The experimental results with the designed controller show that the robustness of the control system is achieved regardless of the change of the model of the transmission line. Therefore, the designed controller can be utilized for the performance improvement of a pressure control system with a long transmission line using compressible fluid

  15. Rich Dad, Smart Dad: Decomposing the Intergenerational Transmission of Income

    OpenAIRE

    Lefgren, Lars; Lindquist, Matthew; Sims, David

    2009-01-01

    We construct a simple model, consistent with Becker and Tomes (1979), that decomposes the intergenerational income elasticity into the causal effect of financial resources, the mechanistic transmission of human capital, and the role that human capital plays in the determination of father’s permanent income. We show how a particular set of instrumental variables could separately identify the money and human capital transmission effects. We further outline two instrumental variables methods for...

  16. The effect of recruitment rate and other demographic parameters on the transmission of dengue disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Supriatna, A. K.; Anggriani, N.

    2015-03-01

    One of important factors which always appears in most of dengue transmission mathematical model is the number of new susceptible recruited into the susceptible compartment. In this paper we discuss the effect of different rates of recruitment on the transmission of dengue disease. We choose a dengue transmission model with the most realistic form of recruitment rate and analyze the effect of environmental change to the transmission of dengue based on the selected model. We model the effect of environmental change by considering that it can alter the value of mosquito's carrying capacity and mosquito's death rate. We found that the most prevalent effect of the environmental change to the transmission of dengue is when it can alter the death rate of the mosquitoes.

  17. Consideration of future climatic changes in three geologic settings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrie, G.M.

    1984-09-01

    Staff at Pacific Northwest Laboratory are evaluating the potential for climatic change to affect the integrity of a nuclear waste repository at: (1) the Gibson Dome area of Utah; (2) the Palo Duro Basin of Texas; and (3) the Gulf Coast. Because a major assumption in this analysis is that a glacial age will recur, the climate of the last glacial period is examined for each location. Combining these paleoclimatic data with the current climatic data, each location is evaluated in light of the criteria given in Draft Revised General Guidelines for Recommendation of Sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories (10 CFR 960). The results of this analysis suggest that sites located in these areas are likely to meet the climate requirements set forth in the guidelines. However, further study is needed before a definitive statement can be made. In particular, modeling the effect of sea level change on the Gulf Coast groundwater system and obtaining an improved estimation for the increase in recharge during glacier times at the Texas and Utah locations would be useful. Several stragegies are presented for accomplishing this work. 94 references, 27 figures, 5 tables

  18. Electromagnetic analysis using transmission line variables

    CERN Document Server

    Weiner, Maurice

    2010-01-01

    This book employs a relatively new method for solving electromagnetic problems, one which makes use of a transmission line matrix (TLM). The propagation space is imagined to be filled with this matrix. The propagating fields and physical properties are then mapped onto the matrix. Mathematically, the procedures are identical with the traditional numerical methods; however, the interpretation and physical appeal of the transmission line matrix are far superior. Any change in the matrix has an immediate physical significance. What is also very important is that the matrix becomes a launching pad

  19. Designing and Evaluating Interventions to Halt the Transmission of Tuberculosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dowdy, David W; Grant, Alison D; Dheda, Keertan; Nardell, Edward; Fielding, Katherine; Moore, David A J

    2017-11-03

    To reduce the incidence of tuberculosis, it is insufficient to simply understand the dynamics of tuberculosis transmission. Rather, we must design and rigorously evaluate interventions to halt transmission, prioritizing those interventions most likely to achieve population-level impact. Synergy in reducing tuberculosis transmission may be attainable by combining interventions that shrink the reservoir of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (preventive therapy), shorten the time between disease onset and treatment initiation (case finding and diagnosis), and prevent transmission in key settings, such as the built environment (infection control). In evaluating efficacy and estimating population-level impact, cluster-randomized trials and mechanistic models play particularly prominent roles. Historical and contemporary evidence suggests that effective public health interventions can halt tuberculosis transmission, but an evidence-based approach based on knowledge of local epidemiology is necessary for success. We provide a roadmap for designing, evaluating, and modeling interventions to interrupt the process of transmission that fuels a diverse array of tuberculosis epidemics worldwide. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  20. Estimating Plasmodium falciparum transmission rates in low-endemic settings using a combination of community prevalence and health facility data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua Yukich

    Full Text Available As some malaria control programs shift focus from disease control to transmission reduction, there is a need for transmission data to monitor progress. At lower levels of transmission, it becomes increasingly more difficult to measure precisely, for example through entomological studies. Many programs conduct regular cross sectional parasite prevalence surveys, and have access to malaria treatment data routinely collected by ministries of health, often in health management information systems. However, by themselves, these data are poor measures of transmission. In this paper, we propose an approach for combining annual parasite incidence and treatment data with cross-sectional parasite prevalence and treatment seeking survey data to estimate the incidence of new infections in the human population, also known as the force of infection. The approach is based on extension of a reversible catalytic model. The accuracy of the estimates from this model appears to be highly dependent on levels of detectability and treatment in the community, indicating the importance of information on private sector treatment seeking and access to effective and appropriate treatment.

  1. Reflexões e problemas da "transmissão" intergeracional no feminismo brasileiro Reflections and problems of intergenerational "transmission" in Brazilian feminism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliane Gonçalves

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo parte de uma observação situada do presente e de algumas indagações acerca das possibilidades e limites da transmissão de um ideário - princípios, valores, metodologias, saberes, etc. - através do tempo. O feminismo, enquanto um movimento político coletivo, cujas demandas por reconhecimento e legitimação pressupõem estratégias de formação contínuas, enfrenta, de tempos em tempos, impasses que estão relacionados à sua existência no presente e continuidade no futuro. O artigo pretende problematizar conceitos e questões em torno do "envelhecimento" das gerações que deram sustentação à política feminista a partir da redemocratização, no Brasil, ao final dos anos 1970, constituindo, no País, o legado da chamada "segunda onda". Nossa perspectiva busca interrogar sobre os processos de mudança social, contingentes e necessários a uma política de "transmissão" e formação de novas gerações.This article is based on an observation of the present and on some questions about the possibilities and limits of the transmission of a set of ideas - principles, values, methodologies, knowledge etc. - over time. Feminism, as a political and collective movement, which demands recognition and legitimacy, presumes strategies of permanent formation, and is confronted from time to time, with struggles that are related to its existence in the present and to its continuity in the future. The article aims at questioning concepts about the aging of the generations who gave support to feminist politics during the Brazilian re-democratization process in the late 1970s, which constituted itself the heritage of the so called "second wave". Our perspective aims to interrogate processes of social change, understood as contingent and also necessary, to a politics of intergenerational transmission.

  2. Survey of Transmission Cost Allocation Methodologies for Regional Transmission Organizations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fink, S.; Porter, K.; Mudd, C.; Rogers, J.

    2011-02-01

    The report presents transmission cost allocation methodologies for reliability transmission projects, generation interconnection, and economic transmission projects for all Regional Transmission Organizations.

  3. Adaptation of H9N2 AIV in guinea pigs enables efficient transmission by direct contact and inefficient transmission by respiratory droplets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sang, Xiaoyu; Wang, Airong; Ding, Jie; Kong, Huihui; Gao, Xiaolong; Li, Lin; Chai, Tongjie; Li, Yuanguo; Zhang, Kun; Wang, Chengyu; Wan, Zhonghai; Huang, Geng; Wang, Tiecheng; Feng, Na; Zheng, Xuexing; Wang, Hualei; Zhao, Yongkun; Yang, Songtao; Qian, Jun; Hu, Guixue; Gao, Yuwei; Xia, Xianzhu

    2015-01-01

    H9N2 avian influenza viruses circulate worldwide in poultry and have sporadically infected humans, raising concern whether H9N2 viruses have pandemic potential. Here, we use a guinea pig model to examine whether serial passage results in adaptive viral changes that confer a transmissible phenotype to a wild-type H9N2 virus. After nine serial passages of an H9N2 virus through guinea pigs, productive transmission by direct contact occurred in 2/3 guinea pig pairs. The efficiency of transmission by direct contact increased following the fifteenth passage and occurred in 3/3 guinea pig pairs. In contrast, airborne transmission of the passaged virus was less efficient and occurred in 1/6 guinea pig pairs and 0/6 ferret pairs after the fifteenth passage. Three amino acid substitutions, HA1-Q227P, HA2-D46E, and NP-E434K, were sufficient for contact transmission in guinea pigs (2/3 pairs). The two HA amino acid substitutions enhanced receptor binding to α2,3-linked sialic acid receptors. Additionally, the HA2-D46E substitution increased virus thermostability whereas the NP-E434K mutation enhanced viral RNA polymerase activity in vitro. Our findings suggest that adaptive changes that enhance viral receptor binding, thermostability, and replicative capacity in mammalian cells can collectively enhance the transmissibility of H9N2 AIVs by direct contact in the guinea pig model. PMID:26552719

  4. [Accuracy of attenuation coefficient obtained by 137Cs single-transmission scanning in PET: comparison with conventional germanium line source].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsumoto, Keiichi; Kitamura, Keishi; Mizuta, Tetsuro; Shimizu, Keiji; Murase, Kenya; Senda, Michio

    2006-02-20

    Transmission scanning can be successfully performed with a Cs-137 single-photon-emitting point source for three-dimensional PET imaging. This method was effective for postinjection transmission scanning because of differences in physical energy. However, scatter contamination in the transmission data lowers measured attenuation coefficients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the influence of object scattering by measuring the attenuation coefficients on the transmission images. We also compared the results with the conventional germanium line source method. Two different types of PET scanner, the SET-3000 G/X (Shimadzu Corp.) and ECAT EXACT HR(+) (Siemens/CTI) , were used. For the transmission scanning, the SET-3000 G/X and ECAT HR(+) were the Cs-137 point source and Ge-68/Ga-68 line source, respectively. With the SET-3000 G/X, we performed transmission measurement at two energy gate settings, the standard 600-800 keV as well as 500-800 keV. The energy gate setting of the ECAT HR(+) was 350-650 keV. The effects of scattering in a uniform phantom with different cross-sectional areas ranging from 201 cm(2) to 314 cm(2) to 628 cm(2) (apposition of the two 20 cm diameter phantoms) and 943 cm(2) (stacking of the three 20 cm diameter phantoms) were acquired without emission activity. First, we evaluated the attenuation coefficients of the two different types of transmission scanning using region of interest (ROI) analysis. In addition, we evaluated the attenuation coefficients with and without segmentation for Cs-137 transmission images using the same analysis. The segmentation method was a histogram-based soft-tissue segmentation process that can also be applied to reconstructed transmission images. In the Cs-137 experiment, the maximum underestimation was 3% without segmentation, which was reduced to less than 1% with segmentation at the center of the largest phantom. In the Ge-68/Ga-68 experiment, the difference in mean attenuation

  5. Accuracy of attenuation coefficient obtained by 137Cs single-transmission scanning in PET. Comparison with conventional germanium line source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Keiichi; Shimizu, Keiji; Senda, Michio; Kitamura, Keishi; Mizuta, Tetsuro; Murase, Kenya

    2006-01-01

    Transmission scanning can be successfully performed with a Cs-137 single-photon-emitting point source for three-dimensional PET imaging. This method was effective for postinjection transmission scanning because of differences in physical energy. However, scatter contamination in the transmission data lowers measured attenuation coefficients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the influence of object scattering by measuring the attenuation coefficients on the transmission images. We also compared the results with the conventional germanium line source method. Two different types of PET scanner, the SET-3000 G/X (Shimadzu Corp.) and ECAT EXACT HR + (Siemens/CTI), were used. For the transmission scanning, the SET-3000 G/X and ECAT HR + were the Cs-137 point source and Ge-68/Ga-68 line source, respectively. With the SET-3000 G/X, we performed transmission measurement at two energy gate settings, the standard 600-800 keV as well as 500-800 keV. The energy gate setting of the ECAT HR 2 + was 350-650 keV. The effects of scattering in a uniform phantom with different cross-sectional areas ranging from 201 cm 2 to 314 cm 2 to 628 cm 2 (apposition of the two 20 cm diameter phantoms) and 943 cm 2 (stacking of the three 20 cm diameter phantoms) were acquired without emission activity. First, we evaluated the attenuation coefficients of the two different types of transmission scanning using region of interest (ROI) analysis. In addition, we evaluated the attenuation coefficients with and without segmentation for Cs-137 transmission images using the same analysis. The segmentation method was a histogram-based soft-tissue segmentation process that can also be applied to reconstructed transmission images. In the Cs-137 experiment, the maximum underestimation was 3% without segmentation, which was reduced to less than 1% with segmentation at the center of the largest phantom. In the Ge-68/Ga-68 experiment, the difference in mean attenuation coefficients

  6. Health professional perspectives on lifestyle behaviour change in the paediatric hospital setting: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elwell, Laura; Powell, Jane; Wordsworth, Sharon; Cummins, Carole

    2014-03-13

    Research exists examining the challenges of delivering lifestyle behaviour change initiatives in practice. However, at present much of this research has been conducted with primary care health professionals, or in acute adult hospital settings. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators associated with implementing routine lifestyle behaviour change brief advice into practice in an acute children's hospital. Thirty-three health professionals (nurses, junior doctors, allied health professionals and clinical support staff) from inpatient and outpatient departments at a UK children's hospital were interviewed about their attitudes and beliefs towards supporting lifestyle behaviour change in hospital patients and their families. Responses were analysed using thematic framework analysis. Health professionals identified a range of barriers and facilitators to supporting lifestyle behaviour change in a children's hospital. These included (1) personal experience of effectiveness, (2) constraints associated with the hospital environment, (3) appropriateness of advice delivery given the patient's condition and care pathway and (4) job role priorities, and (5) perceived benefits of the advice given. Delivery of lifestyle behaviour change advice was often seen as an educational activity, rather than a behaviour change activity. Factors underpinning the successful delivery of routine lifestyle behaviour change support must be understood if this is to be implemented effectively in paediatric acute settings. This study reveals key areas where paediatric health professionals may need further support and training to achieve successful implementation.

  7. Assessment of proactive transmission power control for wireless sensor networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    kotian, Roshan; Exarchakos, Georgios; Liotta, Antonio

    2014-01-01

    In order to prolong lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), Transmission Power Control (TPC) techniques are employed. The existing TPC schemes adjust the transmission power mostly reacting to changes at link quality between communicating nodes. Proactive TPC has been proposed in the recent past

  8. Development of transmission dose estimation algorithm for in vivo dosimetry in high energy radiation treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, Hyong Geun; Shin, Kyo Chul; Hun, Soon Nyung; Woo, Hong Gyun; Ha, Sung Whan; Lee, Hyoung Koo

    2004-01-01

    In vivo dosimetry is very important for quality assurance purpose in high energy radiation treatment. Measurement of transmission dose is a new method of in vivo dosimetry which is noninvasive and easy for daily performance. This study is to develop a tumor dose estimation algorithm using measured transmission dose for open radiation field. For basic beam data, transmission dose was measured with various field size (FS) of square radiation field, phantom thickness (Tp), and phantom chamber distance (PCD) with a acrylic phantom for 6 MV and 10 MV X-ray. Source to chamber distance (SCD) was set to 150 cm. Measurement was conducted with a 0.6 cc Farmer type ion chamber. By using regression analysis of measured basic beam data, a transmission dose estimation algorithm was developed. Accuracy of the algorithm was tested with flat solid phantom with various thickness in various settings of rectangular fields and various PCD. In our developed algorithm, transmission dose was equated to quadratic function of log(A/P) (where A/P is area-perimeter ratio) and the coefficients of the quadratic functions were equated to tertiary functions of PCD. Our developed algorithm could estimate the radiation dose with the errors within ±0.5% for open square field, and with the errors within ±1.0% for open elongated radiation field. Developed algorithm could accurately estimate the transmission dose in open radiation fields with various treatment settings of high energy radiation treatment. (author)

  9. Current issues and strategies for transmission planning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Isaacs, A.L. [Electranix, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Rajapakse, A. [Manitoba Univ., Winnipeg, MB (Canada)

    2008-07-01

    Following the widespread deregulation of the electric power industry in the early 1990s, significant changes occurred in the regulatory and planning environments of the industry. Several regions of North America remain fully or partially regulated in the traditional sense including most Canadian provinces, except for Alberta and Ontario. Although the Mexican system has separate generation and transmission companies and current restructuring efforts are underway, all companies are state-owned, and private investment in energy is heavily constrained by the Mexican constitution. In these regulated regions, traditional generation and transmission expansion planning methods remain in use. This paper presented an overview of current trends in transmission planning strategies that have evolved in response to the restructuring of the power industry, and a conceptual framework of a procedure that would guide planners faced with the challenges of incorporating large scale wind generation in deregulated environments. The paper provided background information on the effect of deregulation on transmission planning. Planning strategies that were discussed included quantifying risk to help identify best alternatives; use of reference systems to estimate generator costs and reduce uncertainty; project based transmission expansion; transmission construction ahead of generation; and generation ahead of transmission. The impact of wind on transmission planning as well as future work addressing challenges posed by wind were also addressed. Research is continuing in this area to illustrate the concepts proposed through a detailed case study. 15 refs., 2 figs.

  10. Contact tracing of tuberculosis: a systematic review of transmission modelling studies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matt Begun

    Full Text Available The WHO recommended intervention of Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS appears to have been less successful than expected in reducing the burden of TB in some high prevalence settings. One strategy for enhancing DOTS is incorporating active case-finding through screening contacts of TB patients as widely used in low-prevalence settings. Predictive models that incorporate population-level effects on transmission provide one means of predicting impacts of such interventions. We aim to identify all TB transmission modelling studies addressing contact tracing and to describe and critically assess their modelling assumptions, parameter choices and relevance to policy. We searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, COMPENDEX, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases for relevant English language publications up to February 2012. Of the 1285 studies identified, only 5 studies met our inclusion criteria of models of TB transmission dynamics in human populations designed to incorporate contact tracing as an intervention. Detailed implementation of contact processes was only present in two studies, while only one study presented a model for a high prevalence, developing world setting. Some use of relevant data for parameter estimation was made in each study however validation of the predicted impact of interventions was not attempted in any of the studies. Despite a large body of literature on TB transmission modelling, few published studies incorporate contact tracing. There is considerable scope for future analyses to make better use of data and to apply individual based models to facilitate more realistic patterns of infectious contact. Combined with a focus on high burden settings this would greatly increase the potential for models to inform the use of contract tracing as a TB control policy. Our findings highlight the potential for collaborative work between clinicians, epidemiologists and modellers to gather data required to enhance model development

  11. Contact tracing of tuberculosis: a systematic review of transmission modelling studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Begun, Matt; Newall, Anthony T; Marks, Guy B; Wood, James G

    2013-01-01

    The WHO recommended intervention of Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS) appears to have been less successful than expected in reducing the burden of TB in some high prevalence settings. One strategy for enhancing DOTS is incorporating active case-finding through screening contacts of TB patients as widely used in low-prevalence settings. Predictive models that incorporate population-level effects on transmission provide one means of predicting impacts of such interventions. We aim to identify all TB transmission modelling studies addressing contact tracing and to describe and critically assess their modelling assumptions, parameter choices and relevance to policy. We searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, COMPENDEX, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases for relevant English language publications up to February 2012. Of the 1285 studies identified, only 5 studies met our inclusion criteria of models of TB transmission dynamics in human populations designed to incorporate contact tracing as an intervention. Detailed implementation of contact processes was only present in two studies, while only one study presented a model for a high prevalence, developing world setting. Some use of relevant data for parameter estimation was made in each study however validation of the predicted impact of interventions was not attempted in any of the studies. Despite a large body of literature on TB transmission modelling, few published studies incorporate contact tracing. There is considerable scope for future analyses to make better use of data and to apply individual based models to facilitate more realistic patterns of infectious contact. Combined with a focus on high burden settings this would greatly increase the potential for models to inform the use of contract tracing as a TB control policy. Our findings highlight the potential for collaborative work between clinicians, epidemiologists and modellers to gather data required to enhance model development and validation and

  12. Application of beta transmission for quality assurance of TLD tape dosemeters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagpal, J.S.; Gupta, S.K.; Supe, S.J. (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay (India). Div. of Radiological Protection)

    1993-03-01

    Transmission of [sup 204]Tl [beta] radiation enables measurement of differences of [+-] 2 mg/cm[sup 2] in thermoluminescent tape dosemeter thickness. This thickness variation gives rise to a maximum variation of [+-] 5% in the TL output per unit area of the dosemeters. Measurements of [beta] transmission on dosemeter samples drawn from several batches of skived tape as well as those prepared by compressing technique have given consistent results. The [beta] transmission method itself can be used for quality assurance and selection of a uniform set of dosemeters over thickness range 30-150 mg/cm[sup 2]. (author).

  13. Hand hygiene to reduce community transmission of influenza and acute respiratory tract infection: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren-Gash, Charlotte; Fragaszy, Ellen; Hayward, Andrew C

    2013-09-01

    Hand hygiene may be associated with modest protection against some acute respiratory tract infections, but its specific role in influenza transmission in different settings is unclear. We aimed to review evidence that improving hand hygiene reduces primary and secondary transmission of (i) influenza and (ii) acute respiratory tract infections in community settings. We searched Medline, Embase, Global Health and Cochrane databases up to 13 February 2012 for reports in any language of original research investigating the effect of hand hygiene on influenza or acute respiratory tract infection where aetiology was unspecified in community settings including institutions such as schools, and domestic residences. Data were presented and quality rated across outcomes according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Sixteen articles met inclusion criteria. There was moderate to low-quality evidence of a reduction in both influenza and respiratory tract infection with hand hygiene interventions in schools, greatest in a lower-middle-income setting. There was high-quality evidence of a small reduction in respiratory infection in childcare settings. There was high-quality evidence for a large reduction in respiratory infection with a hand hygiene intervention in squatter settlements in a low-income setting. There was moderate- to high-quality evidence of no effect on secondary transmission of influenza in households that had already experienced an index case. While hand hygiene interventions have potential to reduce transmission of influenza and acute respiratory tract infections, their effectiveness varies depending on setting, context and compliance. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Superconducting power transmission: the perils and promise

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Forsyth, E B

    1976-06-01

    The development of bulk electricity transmission systems must be considered in the light of changing growth rates, increasing resistances to ehv overhead transmission and the tendency to concentrate generation in fewer sites. Helium-cooled or superconducting cables possess technical characteristics which will make them suitable as utility network components for power transmission over distances of ten to several hundred miles. These properties are illustrated by considering two applications in existing electrical networks. The first is a 43 mile system to transmit 4800 MVA and the second is a potential application under study in Pennsylvania to transmit 10,000 MVA over a distance of 350 miles or so. Helium-cooled versions of these transmission systems were designed to permit technical and economic evaluations. The major groups and institutions throughout the world engaged in the development of helium-cooled cables are listed and aspects of the technical approaches are briefly described.

  15. Airborne transmission of a highly pathogenic avian influenza strain H5N1 between groups of chickens quantified in an experimental setting.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spekreijse, D.; Bouma, A.; Koch, G.; Stegeman, J.A.

    2011-01-01

    Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a devastating viral disease of poultry and quick control of outbreaks is vital. Airborne transmission has often been suggested as a route of transmission between flocks, but knowledge of the rate of transmission via this route is sparse. In the current

  16. In situ Electrical measurements in Transmission Electron Microscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rudneva, M.

    2013-01-01

    In the present thesis the combination of real-time electricalmeasurements on nano-sampleswith simultaneous examination by transmission electron microscope (TEM) is discussed. Application of an electrical current may lead to changes in the samples thus the possibility to correlate such changes with

  17. Lost in transmission? : the role of Ofgem in a changing climate

    OpenAIRE

    Sustainable Development Commission

    2007-01-01

    In September 2007, the Sustainable Development Commission published its review of the role of Ofgem, the regulator for the gas and electricity markets. The report identified the key opportunities for government to reduce UK carbon emissions through electricity and heat generation, transmission, distribution and use. Publisher PDF

  18. Analysis of step-up transformer tap change on the quantities at the point of connection to transmission grid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đorđević Dragan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of a step-up transformer tap change on the quantities at the point of connection to the transmission grid is presented in this paper. The point of connection of generator TENT A6 has been analyzed, and a detailed model of this generator is available in software package DIgSILENT Power Factory. The comparison between the effect of a step-up transformer tap change on the quantities at the point of connection during automatic and manual operation of voltage regulator has been conducted. In order to conduct the analysis of the manual operation of the voltage regulator, the comparison between the different methods of modeling of these modes has been performed. Several generator operating points, selected in order to represent the need for tap change, have been analyzed. Also, previously mentioned analyses have been performed taking into account the voltage-reactive stiffness at the point of connection.

  19. Recognising and managing increased HIV transmission risk in newborns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Max Kroon

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT programmes have improved maternalhealth outcomes and reduced the incidence of paediatric HIV, resulting in improved childhealth and survival. Nevertheless, high-risk vertical exposures remain common and areresponsible for a high proportion of transmissions. In the absence of antiretrovirals (ARVs,an 8- to 12-hour labour has approximately the same 15% risk of transmission as 18 monthsof mixed feeding. The intensity of transmission risk is highest during labour and delivery;however, the brevity of this intra-partum period lends itself to post-exposure interventions toreduce such risk. There is good evidence that infant post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP reducesintra-partum transmission even in the absence of maternal prophylaxis. Recent reports suggestthat infant combination ARV prophylaxis (cARP is more efficient at reducing intra-partumtransmission than a single agent in situations of minimal pre-labour prophylaxis. Guidelinesfrom the developed world have incorporated infant cARP for increased-risk scenarios. Incontrast, recent guidelines for low-resource settings have rightfully focused on reducingpostnatal transmission to preserve the benefits of breastfeeding, but have largely ignored thepotential of augmented infant PEP for reducing intra-partum transmissions. Minimal prelabourprophylaxis, poor adherence in the month prior to delivery, elevated maternal viralload at delivery, spontaneous preterm labour with prolonged rupture of membranes andchorioamnionitis are simple clinical criteria that identify increased intra-partum transmissionrisk. In these increased-risk scenarios, transmission frequency may be halved by combiningnevirapine and zidovudine as a form of boosted infant PEP. This strategy may be important toreduce intra-partum transmissions when PMTCT is suboptimal.

  20. Modelling the transmission of healthcare associated infections: a systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Dynamic transmission models are increasingly being used to improve our understanding of the epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections (HCAI). However, there has been no recent comprehensive review of this emerging field. This paper summarises how mathematical models have informed the field of HCAI and how methods have developed over time. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL plus and Global Health databases were systematically searched for dynamic mathematical models of HCAI transmission and/or the dynamics of antimicrobial resistance in healthcare settings. Results In total, 96 papers met the eligibility criteria. The main research themes considered were evaluation of infection control effectiveness (64%), variability in transmission routes (7%), the impact of movement patterns between healthcare institutes (5%), the development of antimicrobial resistance (3%), and strain competitiveness or co-colonisation with different strains (3%). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly modelled HCAI (34%), followed by vancomycin resistant enterococci (16%). Other common HCAIs, e.g. Clostridum difficile, were rarely investigated (3%). Very few models have been published on HCAI from low or middle-income countries. The first HCAI model has looked at antimicrobial resistance in hospital settings using compartmental deterministic approaches. Stochastic models (which include the role of chance in the transmission process) are becoming increasingly common. Model calibration (inference of unknown parameters by fitting models to data) and sensitivity analysis are comparatively uncommon, occurring in 35% and 36% of studies respectively, but their application is increasing. Only 5% of models compared their predictions to external data. Conclusions Transmission models have been used to understand complex systems and to predict the impact of control policies. Methods have generally improved, with an increased use of stochastic models, and

  1. FPGA Implementation of Video Transmission System Based on LTE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Yan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to support high-definition video transmission, an implementation of video transmission system based on Long Term Evolution is designed. This system is developed on Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA ML605 Evaluation Board. The paper elaborates the features of baseband link designed in Xilinx ISE and protocol stack designed in Xilinx SDK, and introduces the process of setting up hardware and software platform in Xilinx XPS. According to test, this system consumes less hardware resource and is able to transmit bidirectional video clearly and stably.

  2. Climate Change and Aedes Vectors: 21st Century Projections for Dengue Transmission in Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Liu-Helmersson

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Warming temperatures may increase the geographic spread of vector-borne diseases into temperate areas. Although a tropical mosquito-borne viral disease, a dengue outbreak occurred in Madeira, Portugal, in 2012; the first in Europe since 1920s. This outbreak emphasizes the potential for dengue re-emergence in Europe given changing climates. We present estimates of dengue epidemic potential using vectorial capacity (VC based on historic and projected temperature (1901–2099. VC indicates the vectors' ability to spread disease among humans. We calculated temperature-dependent VC for Europe, highlighting 10 European cities and three non-European reference cities. Compared with the tropics, Europe shows pronounced seasonality and geographical heterogeneity. Although low, VC during summer is currently sufficient for dengue outbreaks in Southern Europe to commence–if sufficient vector populations (either Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were active and virus were introduced. Under various climate change scenarios, the seasonal peak and time window for dengue epidemic potential increases during the 21st century. Our study maps dengue epidemic potential in Europe and identifies seasonal time windows when major cities are most conducive for dengue transmission from 1901 to 2099. Our findings illustrate, that besides vector control, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions crucially reduces the future epidemic potential of dengue in Europe.

  3. Small passenger car transmission test; Chevrolet LUV transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bujold, M. P.

    1980-01-01

    A 1978 Chevrolet LUV manual transmission tested per the applicable portions of a passenger car automatic transmission test code (SAE J65lb) which required drive performance, coast performance, and no load test conditions. Under these test conditions, the transmission attained maximum efficiencies in the upper ninety percent range for both drive performance tests and coast performance tests. The major results of this test (torque, speed, and efficiency curves) are presented. Graphs map the complete performance characteristics for the Chevrolet LUV transmission.

  4. Transmission versus reflectance spectroscopy for quantitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Craig M.

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this work was to compare the accuracy of analyte concentration estimation when using transmission versus diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of a scattering medium. Monte Carlo ray tracing of light through the medium was used in conjunction with pure component absorption spectra and Beer-Lambert absorption along each ray's pathlength to generate matched sets of pseudoabsorbance spectra, containing water and six analytes present in skin. PLS regression models revealed an improvement in accuracy when using transmission compared to reflectance for a range of medium thicknesses and instrument noise levels. An analytical expression revealed the source of the accuracy degradation with reflectance was due both to the reduced collection efficiency for a fixed instrument etendue and to the broad pathlength distribution that detected light travels in the medium before exiting from the incident side.

  5. [Gonococcal vulvovaginitis in prepubertal girls: sexual abuse or accidental transmission?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daval-Cote, M; Liberas, S; Tristan, A; Vandenesch, F; Gillet, Y

    2013-01-01

    Vulvovaginitis is the most frequent gynecologic pathology among prepubertal females. An infectious cause is found in 30% of cases and is highly associated with the presence of vaginal discharge upon examination. Neisseria gonorrhoeae may be one of the causative agents. Since N. gonorrhoeae is a common sexually transmitted disease, sexual abuse should be considered in the pediatric setting. We report the case of a 5-year-old girl with N. gonorrhoeae vulvovaginitis. Her previous history, multiple interviews with the patient and her parents, and clinical examination showed no evidence or signs of sexual abuse. Both parents presented gonorrhea, urethritis for the father and vaginitis for the mother. The discrepancy between pediatric evaluation and the presence of a bacterium associated with sexually transmitted disease led us to consider other means of contamination. Previous studies have shown that other routes of transmission are possible but are often neglected. Hence, contamination can be transmitted by the hands or mostly through passive means (towels, rectal thermometer, etc.). Many epidemics have been noted in group settings with young girls with no evidence of sexual transmission. Therefore, we concluded that this patient's infection was likely an accidental transmission within her family. The acknowledgement of these transmission routes is very important in order to avoid misguided suspicion of sexual abuse and the possible traumatic family and psychosocial consequences. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  6. Food Prices Transmission In Rwanda: Econometric Analysis

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ahavugimana

    (2010) found that if markets are efficient and policies are not an obstacle to their operation, changes in the world price of any given commodity should be similarly reflected in changes in domestic prices – phenomenon known as 'price transmission'. In many poor countries, the recent increases in prices of staple foods have ...

  7. Development and Application of Wireless Power Transmission Systems for Wireless ECG Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin-Chul Heo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the variations in the magnetic field distribution and power transmission efficiency, resulting from changes in the relative positions of the transmitting and receiving coils, for electromagnetic induction-type wireless power transmission using an elliptical receive coil. Results of simulations using a high-frequency structure simulator were compared to actual measurement results. The simulations showed that the transmission efficiency could be maintained relatively stable even if the alignment between the transmitting and receiving coils was changed to some extent. When the centre of the receiving coil was perfectly aligned with the centre of the transmitting coil, the transmission efficiency was in the maximum; however, the degree of decrease in the transmission efficiency was small even if the centre of the receiving coil moved by ±10 mm from the centre of the transmitting coil. Therefore, it is expected that the performance of the wireless power transmission system will not be degraded significantly even if perfect alignment is not maintained. Animal experiments confirmed good ECG signals for the simulation conditions. The results suggested a standardized application method of wireless transmission in the utilization of wireless power for implantable sensors.

  8. Transmission issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bradford, J.; Wilson, L.; Thon, S.; Millar, N.

    2005-01-01

    This session on transmission issues focused on the role that transmission plays in electricity markets and the importance of getting the market structure right in terms of generation divestiture with buy back contracts, demand side responsive programs, transmission upgrades and long term contracts. The difficulties of distinguishing between market power and scarcity were examined along with some of the complications that ensue if transmission experiences congestion, as exemplified by the August 2003 blackout in eastern North America. The presentations described the best ways to handle transmission issues, and debated whether transmission should be deregulated or follow market forces. Issues of interconnections and reliability of connections were also debated along with the attempt to integrate renewables into the grid. Some presentations identified what new transmission must be built and what must be done to ensure that transmission gets built. The challenges and business opportunities for transmission in Alberta were discussed with reference to plans to invest in new infrastructure, where it is going outside of the province and how it works with other jurisdictions. Manitoba's Conawapa Hydro Project and its 2000 MW tie line to Ontario was also discussed. Some examples of non-optimal use of interconnections in Europe were also discussed in an effort to learn from these mistakes and avoid them in Canada. tabs., figs

  9. Influence of Weaving Loom Setting Parameters on Changes of Woven Fabric Structure and Mechanical Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aušra ADOMAITIENĖ

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available During the manufacturing of fabric of different raw material there was noticed, that after removing the fabric from weaving loom and after stabilization of fabric structure, the changes of parameters of fabric structure are not regular. During this investigation it was analysed, how weaving loom technological parameters (heald cross moment and initial tension of warp should be chosen and how to predict the changes of fabric structure parameters and its mechanical properties. The dependencies of changes of half-wool fabric structure parameters (weft setting, fabric thickness and projections of fabric cross-section and mechanical properties (breaking force, elongation at break, static friction force and static friction coefficient on weaving loom setting parameters (heald cross moment and initial warp tension were analysed. The orthogonal Box plan of two factors was used, the 3-D dependencies were drawn, and empirical equations of these dependencies were established.http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.17.4.780

  10. An efficient transmission power control scheme for temperature variation in wireless sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jungwook; Chung, Kwangsue

    2011-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks collect data from several nodes dispersed at remote sites. Sensor nodes can be installed in harsh environments such as deserts, cities, and indoors, where the link quality changes considerably over time. Particularly, changes in transmission power may be caused by temperature, humidity, and other factors. In order to compensate for link quality changes, existing schemes detect the link quality changes between nodes and control transmission power through a series of feedback processes, but these approaches can cause heavy overhead with the additional control packets needed. In this paper, the change of the link quality according to temperature is examined through empirical experimentation. A new power control scheme combining both temperature-aware link quality compensation and a closed-loop feedback process to adapt to link quality changes is proposed. We prove that the proposed scheme effectively adapts the transmission power to the changing link quality with less control overhead and energy consumption.

  11. An Efficient Transmission Power Control Scheme for Temperature Variation in Wireless Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jungwook Lee

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Wireless sensor networks collect data from several nodes dispersed at remote sites. Sensor nodes can be installed in harsh environments such as deserts, cities, and indoors, where the link quality changes considerably over time. Particularly, changes in transmission power may be caused by temperature, humidity, and other factors. In order to compensate for link quality changes, existing schemes detect the link quality changes between nodes and control transmission power through a series of feedback processes, but these approaches can cause heavy overhead with the additional control packets needed. In this paper, the change of the link quality according to temperature is examined through empirical experimentation. A new power control scheme combining both temperature-aware link quality compensation and a closed-loop feedback process to adapt to link quality changes is proposed. We prove that the proposed scheme effectively adapts the transmission power to the changing link quality with less control overhead and energy consumption.

  12. Rural emergency medical technician pre-hospital electrocardiogram transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, A M; Halon, J M; Nelson, J

    2014-01-01

    Emergent care of the acute heart attack patient continues to be at the forefront of quality and cost reduction strategies throughout the healthcare industry. Although the average cardiac door-to-balloon (D2B) times have decreased substantially over the past few years, there are still vast disparities found in D2B times in populations that reside in rural areas. Such disparities are mostly related to prolonged travel time and subsequent delays in cardiac catherization lab team activation. Urban ambulance companies that are routinely staffed with paramedic level providers have been successful in the implementation of pre-hospital 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) protocols as a strategy to reduce D2B times. The authors sought to evaluate the evidence related to the risk and benefits associated with the replication of an ECG transmission protocol in a small rural emergency medical service. The latter is staffed with emergency medical technician-basics (EMT-B), emergency medical technician-advanced (EMT-A), and emergency medical technician-intermediate (EMT-I) level. The evidence reviewed was limited to studies with relevant data regarding the challenges and complexities of the ECG transmission process, the difficulties associated with ECG transmission in rural settings, and ECG transmission outcomes by provider level. The evidence supports additional research to further evaluate the feasibility of ECG transmission at the non-paramedic level. Multiple variables must be investigated including equipment cost, utilization, and rural transmission capabilities. Clearly, pre-hospital ECG transmission and early activation of the cardiac catheterization laboratory are critical components to successfully decreasing D2B times.

  13. Electric and magnetic field reduction by alternative transmission line options

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stewart, J.R. (Power Technologies, Inc., Schenectady, NY (United States)); Dale, S.J. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)); Klein, K.W. (Energetics, Inc., Columbia, MD (United States))

    1991-01-01

    Ground level electric, and more recently magnetic, fields from overhead power transmission lines are increasingly important considerations in right of way specification, with states setting or planning to set edge of right of way limits. Research has been conducted in high phase order power transmission wherein six of twelve phases are used to transmit power in less physical space and with reduced electrical environmental effects than conventional designs. The first magnetic field testing, as reported in this paper, has verified predictive methods for determination of magnetic fields from high phase order lines. Based on these analytical methods, field profiles have been determined for lines of different phase order of comparable power capacity. Potential advantages of high phase order as a means of field mitigation are discussed. 10 refs., 12 figs., 3 tabs.

  14. Marked microevolution of a unique Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain in 17 years of ongoing transmission in a high risk population.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolina Mehaffy

    Full Text Available The transmission and persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within high risk populations is a threat to tuberculosis (TB control. In the current study, we used whole genome sequencing (WGS to decipher the transmission dynamics and microevolution of M. tuberculosis ON-A, an endemic strain responsible for an ongoing outbreak of TB in an urban homeless/under-housed population. Sixty-one M. tuberculosis isolates representing 57 TB cases from 1997 to 2013 were subjected to WGS. Sequencing data was integrated with available epidemiological information and analyzed to determine how the M. tuberculosis ON-A strain has evolved during almost two decades of active transmission. WGS offers higher discriminatory power than traditional genotyping techniques, dividing the M. tuberculosis ON-A strain into 6 sub-clusters, each defined by unique single nucleotide polymorphism profiles. One sub-cluster, designated ON-ANM (Natural Mutant; 26 isolates from 24 cases was also defined by a large, 15 kb genomic deletion. WGS analysis reveals the existence of multiple transmission chains within the same population/setting. Our results help validate the utility of WGS as a powerful tool for identifying genomic changes and adaptation of M. tuberculosis.

  15. Transmission cost allocation based on power flow tracing considering reliability benefit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leepreechanon, N.; Singharerg, S.; Padungwech, W.; Nakawiro, W.; Eua-Arporn, B.; David, A.K.

    2007-01-01

    Power transmission networks must be able to accommodate the continuously growing demand for reliable and economical electricity. This paper presented a method to allocate transmission use and reliability cost to both generators and end-consumers. Although transmission cost allocation methods change depending on the local context of the electric power industry, there is a common principle that transmission line capacity should be properly allocated to accommodate actual power delivery with an adequate reliability margin. The method proposed in this paper allocates transmission embedded cost to both generators and loads in an equitable manner, incorporating probability indices to allocate transmission reliability margin among users in both supply and demand sides. The application of the proposed method was illustrated using Bialek's tracing method on a multiple-circuit, six-bus transmission system. Probabilistic indices known as the transmission internal reliability margin (TIRM) and transmission external reliability margin (TERM) decomposed from the transmission reliability margin (TRM) were introduced, making true cost of using overall transmission facilities. 6 refs., 11 tabs., 5 figs

  16. TD-LTE Wireless Private Network QoS Transmission Protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jianming; Cheng, Chao; Wu, Zanhong

    With the commencement of construction of the smart grid, the demand power business for reliability and security continues to improve, the reliability transmission of power TD-LTE Wireless Private Network are more and more attention. For TD-LTE power private network, it can provide different QoS services according to the user's business type, to protect the reliable transmission of business. This article describes in detail the AF module of PCC in the EPC network, specifically introduces set up AF module station and QoS mechanisms in the EPS load, fully considers the business characteristics of the special power network, establishing a suitable architecture for mapping QoS parameters, ensuring the implementation of each QoS business. Through using radio bearer management, we can achieve the reliable transmission of each business on physical channel.

  17. Influence of birth rates and transmission rates on the global seasonality of rotavirus incidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitzer, Virginia E; Viboud, Cécile; Lopman, Ben A; Patel, Manish M; Parashar, Umesh D; Grenfell, Bryan T

    2011-11-07

    Rotavirus is a major cause of mortality in developing countries, and yet the dynamics of rotavirus in such settings are poorly understood. Rotavirus is typically less seasonal in the tropics, although recent observational studies have challenged the universality of this pattern. While numerous studies have examined the association between environmental factors and rotavirus incidence, here we explore the role of intrinsic factors. By fitting a mathematical model of rotavirus transmission dynamics to published age distributions of cases from 15 countries, we obtain estimates of local transmission rates. Model-predicted patterns of seasonal incidence based solely on differences in birth rates and transmission rates are significantly correlated with those observed (Spearman's ρ = 0.65, p birth rates and transmission rates and explore how vaccination may impact these patterns. Our results suggest that the relative lack of rotavirus seasonality observed in many tropical countries may be due to the high birth rates and transmission rates typical of developing countries rather than being driven primarily by environmental conditions. While vaccination is expected to decrease the overall burden of disease, it may increase the degree of seasonal variation in the incidence of rotavirus in some settings.

  18. Microcontroller Based Proportional Derivative Plus Conditional Integral Controller for Electro-Mechanical Dual Acting Pulley Continuously Variable Transmission Ratio Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budianto, A; Tawi, K B; Hussein, M; Supriyo, B; Kob, M S Che; Zulkifli, Mohd Ezlamy; Khairuldean A K; Daraoh, Aishah; Ariyono, S

    2012-01-01

    Electro-Mechanical Dual Acting Pulley (EMDAP) Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is a transmission utilized by electro-mechanical actuated system. It has a potential to reduce energy consumption because it only needs power during changing CVT ratio and no power is needed to maintain CVT ratio due to self lock mechanism design. This paper proposed simple proportional derivative plus conditional integral (PDCI) controller to control EMDAP CVT ratio which can be simply implemented on a microcontroller. This proposed controller used Astrom-Hagglund method and Ziegler-Nichols formula to tune PDCI gain. The Proportional Derivative controller is directly activated from the start but Integral controller is only activated when the error value reaches error value setting point. Simulation using Matlab/Simulink software was conducted to evaluate PDCI system performance. The simulation results showed PDCI controller has ability to perform maximum overshoot 0.1%, 0.001 steady state error and 0.5s settling time. For clamping condition, settling time is about 11.46s during changing ratio from 2.0 to 0.7, while for release condition, settling time is about 8.33s during changing ratio from 0.7 to 2.0.

  19. Parenting with style: Altruism and paternalism in intergenerational preference transmission

    OpenAIRE

    Doepke, Matthias; Zilibotti, Fabrizio

    2012-01-01

    We develop a theory of intergenerational transmission of preferences that rationalizes the choice between alternative parenting styles (as set out in Baumrind 1967). Parents maximize an objective function that combines Beckerian altruism and paternalism towards children. They can affect their children's choices via two channels: either by influencing children's preferences or by imposing direct restrictions on their choice sets. Different parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, and pe...

  20. Optimized Matching Lift Unit Transmission Ratio of Engine Driven Ducted Fan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao Senlin

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available As a kind of VTOL technology, ducted fan is not only used by many kinds of aircrafts, but also one of the trends of the future aircraft lift system, and attracts more and more attention. For an engine driven ducted fan lift unit, involving the engine and ducted fan matching problem, the form of transmission and transmission ratio are the key design parameters. In order to design and develop a ducted fan aircraft reasonably, a thrust test platform was set up to connect the engine with the ducted fan through the belt driving. The matching relationship between the engine and the transmission system was experimentally studied and the optimal transmission ratio was determined. The results showed that the optimal transmission ratio for the engine 1 is 2.2:1, and for the engine 2, the optimal transmission ratio should be 2.95:1 based on the current ducted and movable blade aerofoil design. At this time, the lift will exceed 130 kg•f, meeting the aircraft's original design requirements.

  1. Evaluation of intensified behaviour change communication strategies in an artemisinin resistance setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canavati, Sara E; de Beyl, Celine Zegers; Ly, Po; Shafique, Muhammad; Boukheng, Thavrin; Rang, Chandary; Whittaker, Maxine Anne; Roca-Feltrer, Arantxa; Sintasath, David

    2016-04-30

    In Cambodia, behaviour change communication (BCC) represents an integral component of malaria efforts aimed at fighting artemisinin resistant parasites and achieving elimination. The multi-pronged BCC interventions include interpersonal communication through village health volunteers (VHVs) and village malaria workers (VMWs), broadcasting malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment messages via TV, radio and mobile broadcasting units (MBUs), distributing information education and communication (IEC) materials and introducing mobile malaria workers (MMWs) in endemic villages. This was a cross sectional household survey using a stratified multi-stage cluster sampling approach, conducted in December 2012. A stratified multi-stage cluster sampling approach was used; 30 villages were selected (15 in each stratum) and a total of 774 households were interviewed. This survey aimed to assess the potential added effect of 'intense' BCC interventions in three Western provinces. Conducted 2 years after start of these efforts, 'non-intense' BCC (niBBC) interventions (e.g., radio or TV) were compared to "intense" BCC (iBBC) implemented through a set of interpersonal communication strategies such as VMWs, VHVs, mobile broadcasting units and listener viewer clubs. In both groups, the knowledge of the mode of malaria transmission was high (96.9 vs 97.2 %; p = 0.83), as well as of fever as a symptom (91.5 vs 93.5 %; p = 0.38). Knowledge of local risk factors, such as staying in the forest (39.7 vs 30.7 %; p = 0.17) or the farm (7.1 vs 5.1 %; p = 0.40) was low in both groups. Few respondents in either group knew that they must get tested if they suspected malaria (0.3 vs 0.1; p = 0.69). However, iBBC increased the discussions about malaria in the family (51.7 vs 35.8 %; p = 0.002) and reported prompt access to treatment in case of fever (77.1 vs 59.4 %; p Strategic Plan in the Cambodia Malaria Elimination Action Framework (2016-2020). Therefore, this study

  2. Panel: challenging criminal charges for HIV transmission and exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwardh, Marlys; Adam, Barry; Joncas, Lucie; Clayton, Michaela

    2009-12-01

    Justice Edwin Cameron, of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, served as moderator. He said that this topic was particularly relevant for "an African/Canadian setting" because African countries may use Canadian developments as justification for their efforts to address HIV transmission and exposure through criminal law. Justice Cameron said that Canada is internationally perceived as a human rights-respecting state and, thus, sets an example, particularly for African nations, on how to comply with human rights issues. He added that in this particular case, however, Canada was sending the wrong message. This article contains summaries of the four presentations made during this panel. Marlys Edwardh reviews how the Supreme Court of Canada in Cuerrier interpreted the concepts of "endangering life" and "fraud". Barry Adam discusses the notion of a "duty to disclose" and how this affects HIV prevention. Lucie Joncas examines how the Supreme Court defined "fraud" in Cuerrier and describes a case before the Quebec Court of Appeal which may turn on whether the use of a condom or having a low viral load is considered not to constitute a significant risk of transmission. Finally, Michaela Clayton describes the trend in Southern African countries to adopt laws criminalizing HIV transmission or exposure, and explains that criminalization endangers women's health and lives.

  3. Household Transmission of Vibrio cholerae in Bangladesh.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan D Sugimoto

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Vibrio cholerae infections cluster in households. This study's objective was to quantify the relative contribution of direct, within-household exposure (for example, via contamination of household food, water, or surfaces to endemic cholera transmission. Quantifying the relative contribution of direct exposure is important for planning effective prevention and control measures.Symptom histories and multiple blood and fecal specimens were prospectively collected from household members of hospital-ascertained cholera cases in Bangladesh from 2001-2006. We estimated the probabilities of cholera transmission through 1 direct exposure within the household and 2 contact with community-based sources of infection. The natural history of cholera infection and covariate effects on transmission were considered. Significant direct transmission (p-value<0.0001 occurred among 1414 members of 364 households. Fecal shedding of O1 El Tor Ogawa was associated with a 4.9% (95% confidence interval: 0.9%-22.8% risk of infection among household contacts through direct exposure during an 11-day infectious period (mean length. The estimated 11-day risk of O1 El Tor Ogawa infection through exposure to community-based sources was 2.5% (0.8%-8.0%. The corresponding estimated risks for O1 El Tor Inaba and O139 infection were 3.7% (0.7%-16.6% and 8.2% (2.1%-27.1% through direct exposure, and 3.4% (1.7%-6.7% and 2.0% (0.5%-7.3% through community-based exposure. Children under 5 years-old were at elevated risk of infection. Limitations of the study may have led to an underestimation of the true risk of cholera infection. For instance, available covariate data may have incompletely characterized levels of pre-existing immunity to cholera infection. Transmission via direct exposure occurring outside of the household was not considered.Direct exposure contributes substantially to endemic transmission of symptomatic cholera in an urban setting. We provide the first estimate of

  4. Long lasting insecticidal bed nets ownership, access and use in a high malaria transmission setting before and after a mass distribution campaign in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wanzira, Humphrey; Eganyu, Thomas; Mulebeke, Ronald; Bukenya, Fred; Echodu, Dorothy; Adoke, Yeka

    2018-01-01

    Uganda is conducting a second mass LLIN distribution campaign and Katakwi district recently received LLINs as part of this activity. This study was conducted to measure the success of the campaign in this setting, an area of high transmission, with the objectives to estimate LLIN ownership, access and use pre and post campaign implementation. Two identical cross sectional surveys, based on the Malaria Indicator Survey methodology, were conducted in three sub-counties in this district (Kapujan, Magoro and Toroma), six months apart, one before and another after the mass distribution campaign. Data on three main LLIN indicators including; household LLIN ownership, population with access to an LLIN and use were collected using a household and a women's questionnaire identical to the Malaria Indicator Survey. A total of 601 and 607 households were randomly selected in survey one and two respectively. At baseline, 60.57% (56.53-64.50) of households owned at least one net for every two persons who stayed in the household the night before the survey which significantly increased to 70.35% (66.54-73.96) after the campaign (p = 0.001). Similarly, the percentage of the household population with access to an LLIN significantly increased from 84.76% (82.99-86.52) to 91.57% (90.33-92.81), p = 0.001 and the percentage of household population that slept under an LLIN the night before the survey also significantly increased from 56.85% (55.06-58.82) to 81.72% (76.75-83.21), p = 0.001. The LLIN mass campaign successfully achieved the national target of over eighty-five percent of the population with access to an LLIN in this setting, however, universal household coverage and use were fourteen and three percent points less than the national target respectively. This is useful for malaria programs to consider during the planning of future campaigns by tailoring efforts around deficient areas like mechanisms to increase universal coverage and behavior change communication.

  5. Evaluating changes in the monetary transmission mechanism in the Czech Republic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Franta, M.; Horváth, Roman; Rusnák, M.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 46, č. 3 (2014), s. 827-842 ISSN 0377-7332 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/09/0965 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : monetary transmission * Sign restrictions * Time-varying parameters Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 0.693, year: 2014 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2015/E/horvath-0449955.pdf

  6. Improving UDP/IP Transmission Without Increasing Congestion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burleigh, Scott

    2006-01-01

    Datagram Retransmission (DGR) is a computer program that, within certain limits, ensures the reception of each datagram transmitted under the User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol. [User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is considered unreliable because it does not involve a reliability-ensuring connection-initiation dialogue between sender and receiver. UDP is well suited to issuing of many small messages to many different receivers.] Unlike prior software for ensuring reception of UDP datagrams, DGR does not contribute to network congestion by retransmitting data more frequently as an ever-increasing number of messages and acknowledgements is lost. Instead, DGR does just the opposite: DGR includes an adaptive timeout-interval- computing component that provides maximum opportunity for reception of acknowledgements, minimizing retransmission. By monitoring changes in the rate at which message-transmission transactions are completed, DGR detects changes in the level of congestion and responds by imposing varying degrees of delay on the transmission of new messages. In addition, DGR maximizes throughput by not waiting for acknowledgement of a message before sending the next message. All DGR communication is asynchronous, to maximize efficient utilization of network connections. DGR manages multiple concurrent datagram transmission and acknowledgement conversations.

  7. The diagnosis of autism in community pediatric settings: does advanced training facilitate practice change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, Amy R; Warren, Zachary E; Stone, Wendy L; Vehorn, Alison C; Dohrmann, Elizabeth; Humberd, Quentin

    2014-07-01

    The increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder and documented benefits of early intensive intervention have created a need for flexible systems for determining eligibility for autism-specific services. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a training program designed to enhance autism spectrum disorder identification and assessment within community pediatric settings across the state. Twenty-seven pediatric providers participated in regional trainings across a 3.5-year period. Trainings provided clinicians with strategies for conducting relatively brief within-practice interactive assessments following positive autism spectrum disorder screenings. Program evaluation was measured approximately 1.5 years following training through (a) clinician self-reports of practice change and (b) blind diagnostic verification of a subset of children assessed. Pediatric providers participating in the training reported significant changes in screening and consultation practices following training, with a reported 85% increase in diagnostic identification of children with autism spectrum disorder within their own practice setting. In addition, substantial agreement (86%-93%) was found between pediatrician diagnostic judgments and independent, comprehensive blinded diagnostic evaluations. Collaborative training methods that allow autism spectrum disorder identification within broader community pediatric settings may help translate enhanced screening initiatives into more effective and efficient diagnosis and treatment. © The Author(s) 2013.

  8. Characteristics of the transmission of autoregressive sub-patterns in financial time series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Xiangyun; An, Haizhong; Fang, Wei; Huang, Xuan; Li, Huajiao; Zhong, Weiqiong

    2014-09-01

    There are many types of autoregressive patterns in financial time series, and they form a transmission process. Here, we define autoregressive patterns quantitatively through an econometrical regression model. We present a computational algorithm that sets the autoregressive patterns as nodes and transmissions between patterns as edges, and then converts the transmission process of autoregressive patterns in a time series into a network. We utilised daily Shanghai (securities) composite index time series to study the transmission characteristics of autoregressive patterns. We found statistically significant evidence that the financial market is not random and that there are similar characteristics between parts and whole time series. A few types of autoregressive sub-patterns and transmission patterns drive the oscillations of the financial market. A clustering effect on fluctuations appears in the transmission process, and certain non-major autoregressive sub-patterns have high media capabilities in the financial time series. Different stock indexes exhibit similar characteristics in the transmission of fluctuation information. This work not only proposes a distinctive perspective for analysing financial time series but also provides important information for investors.

  9. Effects of acamprosate on attentional set-shifting and cellular function in the prefrontal cortex of chronic alcohol-exposed mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Wei

    Background: The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) inhibits impulsive and compulsive behaviors that characterize drug abuse and dependence. Acamprosate is the leading medication approved for the maintenance of abstinence, shown to reduce craving and relapse in animal models and human alcoholics. Whether acamprosate can modulate executive functions that are impaired by chronic ethanol exposure is unknown. Here we explored the effects of acamprosate on an attentional set-shifting task, and tested whether these behavioral effects are correlated with modulation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission and intrinsic excitability of mPFC neurons. Methods: We induced alcohol dependence in mice via chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure in vapor chambers and measured changes in alcohol consumption in a limited access 2-bottle choice paradigm. Impairments of executive function were assessed in an attentional set-shifting task. Acamprosate was applied subchronically for 2 days during withdrawal before the final behavioral test. Alcohol-induced changes in cellular function of layer 5/6 pyramidal neurons, and the potential modulation of these changes by acamprosate, were measured using patch clamp recordings in brain slices. Results: Chronic ethanol exposure impaired cognitive flexibility in the attentional set-shifting task. Acamprosate improved overall performance and reduced perseveration. Recordings of mPFC neurons showed that chronic ethanol exposure increased use-dependent presynaptic transmitter release and enhanced postsynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) function. Moreover, CIE-treatment lowered input resistance, and decreased the threshold and the afterhyperpolarization (AHP) of action potentials, suggesting chronic ethanol exposure also impacted membrane excitability of mPFC neurons. However, acamprosate treatment did not reverse these ethanol-induced changes cellular function. Conclusion: Acamprosate improved attentional control of ethanol exposed animals

  10. REACH, non-testing approaches and the urgent need for a change in mind set

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaafsma, G.; Kroese, E.D.; Tielemans, E.L.J.P.; Sandt, J.J.M. van de; Leeuwen, C.J. van

    2009-01-01

    The objectives of REACH cannot be achieved under the current risk assessment approach. A change in mind set among all the relevant stakeholders is needed: risk assessment should move away from a labor-intensive and animal-consuming approach to intelligent and pragmatic testing, by combining exposure

  11. On the Energy Efficiency of Dual Clutch Transmissions and Automated Manual Transmissions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabio Vacca

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The main benefits of dual clutch transmissions (DCTs are: (i a higher energy efficiency than automatic transmission systems with torque converters; and (ii the capability to fill the torque gap during gear shifts to allow seamless longitudinal acceleration profiles. Therefore, DCTs are viable alternatives to automated manual transmissions (AMTs. For vehicles equipped with engines that can generate considerable torque, large clutch-slip energy losses occur during power-on gear shifts and, as a result, DCTs need wet clutches for effective heat dissipation. This requirement substantially reduces DCT efficiency because of the churning and ancillary power dissipations associated with the wet clutch pack. To the knowledge of the authors, this study is the first to analyse the detailed power loss contributions of a DCT with wet clutches, and their relative significance along a set of driving cycles. Based on these results, a novel hybridised AMT (HAMT with a single dry clutch and an electric motor is proposed for the same vehicle. The HAMT architecture combines the high mechanical efficiency typical of AMTs with a single dry clutch, with the torque-fill capability and operational flexibility allowed by the electric motor. The measured efficiency maps of a case study DCT and HAMT are compared. This is then complemented by the analysis of the respective fuel consumption along the driving cycles, which is simulated with an experimentally validated vehicle model. In its internal combustion engine mode, the HAMT reduces fuel consumption by >9% with respect to the DCT.

  12. Electricity transmission pricing and technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Einhorn, M.; Siddiqi, R.

    1996-01-01

    The electric utility industry and its stake holders in the United States appear to be at a critical juncture in time. Powerful forces of global proportions are propelling the industry instinctively and in a secular fashion towards restructuring. That the industry will change is a fait accomplii. The nature and timing of the change is still a matter of intense debate, however. Because of the evolution of the industry into its present-day form, i.e. regulated local monopolies in their designated franchise service territories, the relative roles and expectations of various institutions would have to change to conform to the new state in the future. In either encouraging, or allowing this change to happen, society is essentially saying that future societal welfare would be better served by the changed structure contemplated. What that assumption translates into in more direct terms is that creation of future wealth would be better accomplished through redistribution of wealth today. Thoughtful individuals recognize the enormous responsibility placed upon the various entities empowered with jurisdiction over the timing and nature of the structural change. They are trying hard to bring analytical rigor to bear on the debate. One very critical element of this debate on restructuring is the issue of the treatment of transmission. The issue has been variously labeled transmission access, or pricing. Volumes have been written and spoken on this topic. We felt that there was a pressing need to assemble a volume which would serve as a one-stop source for varied viewpoints and comprehensive coverage of the subject, both technical and economic. 58 figs., 23 tabs., 103 refs

  13. Neuroglial Transmission

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gundersen, Vidar; Storm-Mathisen, Jon; Bergersen, Linda Hildegard

    2015-01-01

    as a signaling substance recently shown to act on specific lactate receptors in the brain. Complementing neurotransmission at a synapse, neuroglial transmission often implies diffusion of the transmitter over a longer distance and concurs with the concept of volume transmission. Transmission from glia modulates...... synaptic neurotransmission based on energetic and other local conditions in a volume of tissue surrounding the individual synapse. Neuroglial transmission appears to contribute significantly to brain functions such as memory, as well as to prevalent neuropathologies....

  14. 47 CFR 25.212 - Narrowband analog transmissions, digital transmissions, and video transmissions in the GSO Fixed...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Narrowband analog transmissions, digital transmissions, and video transmissions in the GSO Fixed-Satellite Service. 25.212 Section 25.212 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS...

  15. Transmission of power at high voltages

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lane, F J

    1963-01-01

    High voltage transmission is considered to be concerned with circuits and systems operating at or above 132 kV. While the general examination is concerned with ac transmission, dc systems are also included. The choice of voltage for a system will usually involve hazardous assessments of the future requirements of industry, commerce and a changing population. Experience suggests that, if the estimated economic difference between two voltages is not significant, there is good reason to choose the higher voltage, as this will make the better provision for unexpected future expansion. Two principal functions served by transmission circuits in a supply system are: (a) the transportation of energy in bulk from the generator to the reception point in the distribution system; and (b) the interconnection and integration of the generating plant and associated loads. These functions are considered and various types of system are discussed in terms of practicability, viability, quality and continuity of supply. Future developments requiring transmission voltages up to 750 kV will raise many problems which are in the main empirical. Examples are given of the type of problem envisaged and it is suggested that these can only be partially solved by theory and model operation.

  16. Adaptive multi-node multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) transmission for mobile wireless multimedia sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Sunghyun; Choi, Ji-Woong; You, Cheolwoo

    2013-10-02

    Mobile wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs), which consist of mobile sink or sensor nodes and use rich sensing information, require much faster and more reliable wireless links than static wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This paper proposes an adaptive multi-node (MN) multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) transmission to improve the transmission reliability and capacity of mobile sink nodes when they experience spatial correlation. Unlike conventional single-node (SN) MIMO transmission, the proposed scheme considers the use of transmission antennas from more than two sensor nodes. To find an optimal antenna set and a MIMO transmission scheme, a MN MIMO channel model is introduced first, followed by derivation of closed-form ergodic capacity expressions with different MIMO transmission schemes, such as space-time transmit diversity coding and spatial multiplexing. The capacity varies according to the antenna correlation and the path gain from multiple sensor nodes. Based on these statistical results, we propose an adaptive MIMO mode and antenna set switching algorithm that maximizes the ergodic capacity of mobile sink nodes. The ergodic capacity of the proposed scheme is compared with conventional SN MIMO schemes, where the gain increases as the antenna correlation and path gain ratio increase.

  17. Retracing the evolutionary path that led to flea-borne transmission of Yersinia pestis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yi-Cheng; Jarrett, Clayton O; Bosio, Christopher F; Hinnebusch, B Joseph

    2014-05-14

    Yersinia pestis is an arthropod-borne bacterial pathogen that evolved recently from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, an enteric pathogen transmitted via the fecal-oral route. This radical ecological transition can be attributed to a few discrete genetic changes from a still-extant recent ancestor, thus providing a tractable case study in pathogen evolution and emergence. Here, we determined the genetic and mechanistic basis of the evolutionary adaptation of Y. pestis to flea-borne transmission. Remarkably, only four minor changes in the bacterial progenitor, representing one gene gain and three gene losses, enabled transmission by flea vectors. All three loss-of-function mutations enhanced cyclic-di-GMP-mediated bacterial biofilm formation in the flea foregut, which greatly increased transmissibility. Our results suggest a step-wise evolutionary model in which Y. pestis emerged as a flea-borne clone, with each genetic change incrementally reinforcing the transmission cycle. The model conforms well to the ecological theory of adaptive radiation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Fuzzy Failure Probability of Transmission Pipelines in the Niger ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    We undertake the apportioning of failure possibility on twelve identified third party activities contributory to failure of transmission pipelines in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, using the concept of fuzzy possibility scores. Expert elicitation technique generates linguistic variables that are transformed using fuzzy set theory ...

  19. A model of the transmission of micro-organisms in a public setting and its correlation to pathogen infection risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerhardts, A; Hammer, T R; Balluff, C; Mucha, H; Hoefer, D

    2012-03-01

    Gastro-intestinal infections are widespread in the community and have considerable economic consequences. In this study, we followed chains of infection from a public toilet scenario, looking at infection risks by correlating the transmission of bacteria, fungi and viruses to our current knowledge of infectious doses. Transmission of Escherichia coli, Bacillus atrophaeus spores, Candida albicans and bacteriophage MS2 from hands to surfaces was examined in a transmission model, that is toilet brush, door handle to water tap. The load of viable pathogens was significantly reduced during transfer from hands to objects. Nevertheless, it was shown that pathogens were successfully transferred to other people in contagious doses by contact with contaminated surfaces. Our results suggest that infection risks are mainly dependent on current infectious doses of pathogens. For enteritic viruses or bacteria, for example Norovirus or EHEC, only a few particles or cells are sufficient for infection in public lavatories, thus bearing a high risk of infection for other persons. However, there seems to be only a low probability of becoming infected with pathogens that have a high infectious dose whilst sharing the same bathroom. The transmission model for micro-organisms enables a risk assessment of gastro-intestinal infections on the basis of a practical approach. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  20. Transmission Bottleneck Size Estimation from Pathogen Deep-Sequencing Data, with an Application to Human Influenza A Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobel Leonard, Ashley; Weissman, Daniel B; Greenbaum, Benjamin; Ghedin, Elodie; Koelle, Katia

    2017-07-15

    The bottleneck governing infectious disease transmission describes the size of the pathogen population transferred from the donor to the recipient host. Accurate quantification of the bottleneck size is particularly important for rapidly evolving pathogens such as influenza virus, as narrow bottlenecks reduce the amount of transferred viral genetic diversity and, thus, may decrease the rate of viral adaptation. Previous studies have estimated bottleneck sizes governing viral transmission by using statistical analyses of variants identified in pathogen sequencing data. These analyses, however, did not account for variant calling thresholds and stochastic viral replication dynamics within recipient hosts. Because these factors can skew bottleneck size estimates, we introduce a new method for inferring bottleneck sizes that accounts for these factors. Through the use of a simulated data set, we first show that our method, based on beta-binomial sampling, accurately recovers transmission bottleneck sizes, whereas other methods fail to do so. We then apply our method to a data set of influenza A virus (IAV) infections for which viral deep-sequencing data from transmission pairs are available. We find that the IAV transmission bottleneck size estimates in this study are highly variable across transmission pairs, while the mean bottleneck size of 196 virions is consistent with a previous estimate for this data set. Furthermore, regression analysis shows a positive association between estimated bottleneck size and donor infection severity, as measured by temperature. These results support findings from experimental transmission studies showing that bottleneck sizes across transmission events can be variable and influenced in part by epidemiological factors. IMPORTANCE The transmission bottleneck size describes the size of the pathogen population transferred from the donor to the recipient host and may affect the rate of pathogen adaptation within host populations. Recent

  1. Using Perceptual and Neuromuscular Responses to Estimate Mechanical Changes During Continuous Sets in the Bench Press.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Mark; Larumbe-Zabala, Eneko; Gosss-Sampson, Mark; Triplett, N Travis; Naclerio, Fernando

    2018-02-22

    The present study analyzed the effectiveness of the OMNI-RES (0-10) and the electromyographic signal for monitoring changes in the movement velocity during a set to muscular failure performed with different relative loads in the bench press exercise (BP). Ten males (30.8 ± 5.7 years) were evaluated on eight separate days with 48 hours of rest between sessions. After determining the 1RM value, participants performed seven sets to failure with the following relative loads ranges: 3090%. The mean accelerative velocity (MAV), the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and the normalized root mean square (N-RMS) signal from the anterior deltoids were measured for every repetition of each set. The RPE expressed after the first repetition and when the maximum value of MAV was achieved over the sets was lower (p 0.80) than the RPE associated with a 10% drop in MAV and at failure. Furthermore, the initial RPE was useful to distinguish different loading zones between the light relative loads (3090%). Similar, but less clear, differences were observed for the N-RMS. In conclusion, apart from differentiating between relative loads, the RPE and in some cases N-RMS can both reflect changes associated with the initial, maximal, 10% drop in movement velocity and muscular failure during a continuous set in the BP.

  2. Comparative Analysis of Dengue and Zika Outbreaks Reveals Differences by Setting and Virus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Funk

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The pacific islands of Micronesia have experienced several outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases over the past decade. In outbreaks on small islands, the susceptible population is usually well defined, and there is no co-circulation of pathogens. Because of this, analysing such outbreaks can be useful for understanding the transmission dynamics of the pathogens involved, and particularly so for yet understudied pathogens such as Zika virus. Here, we compared three outbreaks of dengue and Zika virus in two different island settings in Micronesia, the Yap Main Islands and Fais, using a mathematical model of transmission dynamics and making full use of commonalities in disease and setting between the outbreaks. We found that the estimated reproduction numbers for Zika and dengue were similar when considered in the same setting, but that, conversely, reproduction number for the same disease can vary considerably by setting. On the Yap Main Islands, we estimated a reproduction number of 8.0-16 (95% Credible Interval (CI for the dengue outbreak and 4.8-14 (95% CI for the Zika outbreak, whereas for the dengue outbreak on Fais our estimate was 28-102 (95% CI. We further found that the proportion of cases of Zika reported was smaller (95% CI 1.4%-1.9% than that of dengue (95% CI: 47%-61%. We confirmed these results in extensive sensitivity analysis. They suggest that models for dengue transmission can be useful for estimating the predicted dynamics of Zika transmission, but care must be taken when extrapolating findings from one setting to another.

  3. The Karlsruhe Neutron Transmission Experiment (KANT): Spherical shell transmission measurements with 14 MeV neutrons on beryllium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moellendorff, U. von; Fischer, U.; Giese, H.; Kappler, F.; Tayama, R.; Wiegner, E.; Klein, H.; Alevra, A.

    1996-01-01

    This is a set of viewgraphs (no additional text) of a presentation on spherical shell transmission measurements with 14 MeV neutrons on beryllium; the cross for 9 Be(n,2n)2α for the energy range between threshold (1.85 MeV) and 20 MeV neutron energy is measured and the measurement is compared with the literature. Also, neutron leakage multiplication in spherical Be shells with various thicknesses are presented. Figs, tabs

  4. Transmission system planning in Ontario

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrie, D; Macedo, F X; Mcconnach, J S [Ontario Hydro, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    1994-12-31

    In recent years, new and modified approaches to planning the large transmission system that serves the province of Ontario, Canada, have been necessary to accommodate the rapidly changing planning environment including slower uncertain growth, ageing of facilities, integration of demand side management and non utility generation options, increased competitiveness, increased financial stresses and affordable constraints. This paper describes some of the new and modified approaches and tools that have been adopted or are being developed by Ontario Hydro to cope with this changing environment. (author) 9 refs., 4 figs.

  5. Infection Prevention and Control in Pediatric Ambulatory Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathore, Mobeen H; Jackson, Mary Anne

    2017-11-01

    Since the American Academy of Pediatrics published its statement titled "Infection Prevention and Control in Pediatric Ambulatory Settings" in 2007, there have been significant changes that prompted this updated statement. Infection prevention and control is an integral part of pediatric practice in ambulatory medical settings as well as in hospitals. Infection prevention and control practices should begin at the time the ambulatory visit is scheduled. All health care personnel should be educated regarding the routes of transmission and techniques used to prevent the transmission of infectious agents. Policies for infection prevention and control should be written, readily available, updated every 2 years, and enforced. Many of the recommendations for infection control and prevention from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for hospitalized patients are also applicable in the ambulatory setting. These recommendations include requirements for pediatricians to take precautions to identify and protect employees likely to be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials while on the job. In addition to emphasizing the key principles of infection prevention and control in this policy, we update those that are relevant to the ambulatory care patient. These guidelines emphasize the role of hand hygiene and the implementation of diagnosis- and syndrome-specific isolation precautions, with the exemption of the use of gloves for routine diaper changes and wiping a well child's nose or tears for most patient encounters. Additional topics include respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette strategies for patients with a respiratory tract infection, including those relevant for special populations like patients with cystic fibrosis or those in short-term residential facilities; separation of infected, contagious children from uninfected children when feasible; safe handling and disposal of needles and other sharp medical devices; appropriate use of personal

  6. Enhanced middle-infrared light transmission through Au/SiO(x)N(y)/Au aperture arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Gongli; Yao, Xiang; Ji, Xinming; Zhou, Jia; Bao, Zongming; Huang, Yiping

    2011-12-01

    The enhanced middle-infrared light transmission through Au/SiO(x)N(y)/Au aperture arrays by changing the refractive index and the thickness of a dielectric layer was studied experimentally. The results indicated that the transmission spectra was highly dependent on the refractive index and the thickness of SiO(x)N(y). We found that the transmission peaks redshifted regularly along with the refractive index from 1.6 to 1.8, owing to the role of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) coupling in the Au/SiO(x)N(y)/Au cascaded metallic structure. Simultaneously, a higher transmission efficiency and narrower transmission peak was obtained in Au/SiO2.1N0.3/Au cascaded metallic structure with small refractive index (1.6) than in Au/SiO0.6N1/Au cascaded metallic structure with large refractive index (1.8). When the thickness of SiO(x)N(y) changes from 0.2 to 0.4 microm, the shape of transmission spectra exhibits a large change. It was found that a higher transmission efficiency and narrower transmission peak was obtained in Au/SiO(x)N(y)/Au cascaded metallic structure with a thin dielectric film (0.2 microm), with the increase of SiO(x)N(y) film's thickness, the transmission peak gradually widened and disappeared finally. This effect is useful in applications of biochemical sensing and tunable integrated plasmonic devices in the middle-infrared region.

  7. Quantifying Transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woolhouse, Mark

    2017-07-01

    Transmissibility is the defining characteristic of infectious diseases. Quantifying transmission matters for understanding infectious disease epidemiology and designing evidence-based disease control programs. Tracing individual transmission events can be achieved by epidemiological investigation coupled with pathogen typing or genome sequencing. Individual infectiousness can be estimated by measuring pathogen loads, but few studies have directly estimated the ability of infected hosts to transmit to uninfected hosts. Individuals' opportunities to transmit infection are dependent on behavioral and other risk factors relevant given the transmission route of the pathogen concerned. Transmission at the population level can be quantified through knowledge of risk factors in the population or phylogeographic analysis of pathogen sequence data. Mathematical model-based approaches require estimation of the per capita transmission rate and basic reproduction number, obtained by fitting models to case data and/or analysis of pathogen sequence data. Heterogeneities in infectiousness, contact behavior, and susceptibility can have substantial effects on the epidemiology of an infectious disease, so estimates of only mean values may be insufficient. For some pathogens, super-shedders (infected individuals who are highly infectious) and super-spreaders (individuals with more opportunities to transmit infection) may be important. Future work on quantifying transmission should involve integrated analyses of multiple data sources.

  8. Transmission line undergrounding : rate impact investigation and analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    In response to concerns expressed by the residents of Markham, Ontario regarding the possible environmental and health impacts of a proposed 230 kV overhead transmission line, Hydro One Networks Inc. (HONI) has proposed to place the line underground as an alternative. This analysis was prepared to evaluate the potential impacts on transmission rates and consumer prices related to changes in the level of underground construction of transmission lines by HONI, as opposed to overhead construction. The report presents the approach to data collection; cost estimates and projections; the modeling and projecting of HONI's regulated rate base and revenue requirement on a basis that reflects the manner in which its future transmission rates are expected to be established; estimates of the incremental cost of undergrounding reflecting a range of reasonable assumptions; and a comparison of the resulting transmission costs and total customer bill. To address the issue of potential demand in other municipalities for additional undergrounding, the study also examined the cumulative effects of ten years' incremental undergrounding costs (i.e. effects on 2014 rates). It was concluded that if HONI were to implement an undergrounding program beginning in 2005, resulting in the installation of 80 km of underground lines by 2014, and shared costs by all users of HONI's system through the network transmission charges, the 2014 transmission rates would be higher. 5 tabs

  9. Relay-Assisted Primary and Secondary Transmissions in Cognitive Radio Networks

    KAUST Repository

    Shafie, Ahmed El; Khattab, Tamer; Salem, Ahmed Sultan

    2016-01-01

    We assume a set of cognitive relay nodes that assists both primary and secondary transmissions in a time-slotted cognitive radio networks. To regulate the channel access of the various nodes in the network, we propose an overlapped spectrum sensing

  10. Horizontal and vertical transmissions in the US oil supply chain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaufmann, Robert K.; Dees, Stephane; Mann, Micheal

    2009-01-01

    Oil prices, inventory levels, and utilization rates are influenced by changes that are transmitted horizontally and/or vertically through the energy supply chain. We define horizontal transmissions as changes that are generated by linkages among fuels at a similar stage of processing while vertical transmissions are changes that are generated by upstream/downstream linkages in the oil supply chain. Here, we investigate vertical and horizontal transmissions by estimating vector error correction models (VECMs) that represent relationships among the price of crude oil, US refinery utilization rates, US stocks of crude oil, US stocks of motor gasoline, the US price of motor gasoline, and the US price of a substitute fuel, natural gas. Causal relationships estimated from both weekly and quarterly observations indicate that the price of crude oil is an important gateway for disturbances to the oil supply chain. Impulse response functions indicate that disturbances to crude oil prices ripple down the oil supply chain and affect inventory behaviors, refinery utilization rates, and the price of motor gasoline, and are transmitted laterally to the natural gas market. (author)

  11. Transmission channels through Na and Al atom wire

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kobayashi, N.; Brandbyge, Mads; Tsukada, M.

    1999-01-01

    First-principles calculations of the transmission channels of single-atom-width Na and Al atom wires bridged between metallic jellium electrodes are presented. For the Na wire, a single channel contributes to the conduction with an almost full quantization value, 2e(2)/h. The conductance...... is insensitive to the geometrical change since the Fermi energy is located above the onset energy of the channel showing the quantization of conductance. On the other hand, for the Al wire. three channels contribute to the conduction. The Fermi energy is placed just at the onset of the second and the third...... channels, and the channel transmissions are very sensitive to the geometrical changes of the wires. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved....

  12. Transmission Line Series Compensation for Wind Energy Transmission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palanichamy, C; Wong, Y C

    2015-01-01

    Wind energy has demonstrated to be a clean, copious and absolutely renewable source of energy, and the large penetration of it into the power grid indicates that wind energy is considered an effective means of power generation, Transmission of wind energy from remote locations to load centers necessitates long transmission lines. Series compensation is a proven and economical transmission solution to address system power transfer strength, grid stability, and voltage profile issues of long transmission lines. In this paper, a programmable approach to determine the capacitive reactance of series capacitor and optimum location for its placement to achieve maximum power transfer gas been presented. The respective program with sample solutions has been provided for real-time applications. (paper)

  13. Characterization of Plasmodium vivax transmission-blocking activity in low to moderate malaria transmission settings of the Colombian Pacific coast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arévalo-Herrera, Myriam; Solarte, Yezid; Rocha, Leonardo; Alvarez, Diego; Beier, John C; Herrera, Sócrates

    2011-02-01

    Malaria infection induces antibodies capable of suppressing the infectivity of gametocytes and gametes, however, little is known about the duration of the antibody response, the parasite specificity, and the role of complement. We report the analyses of the transmission-blocking (TB) activity of sera collected from 105 Plasmodium vivax-infected and 44 non-infected individuals from a malaria endemic region of Colombia, using a membrane feeding assay in Anopheles albimanus mosquitoes. In infected donors we found that TB activity was antibody dose dependent (35%), lasted for 2-4 months after infection, and in 70% of the cases different P. vivax wild isolates displayed differential susceptibility to blocking antibodies. Additionally, in a number of assays TB was complement-dependent. Twenty-seven percent of non-infected individuals presented TB activity that correlated with antibody titers. Studies here provide preliminary data on factors of great importance for further work on the development of TB vaccines.

  14. Space power transmission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuribayashi, Shizuma [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Tokyo, (Japan)

    1989-10-05

    There being a conception to utilize solar energy by use of a space power station (SPS), a method to bring that universal grace to mankind is wireless energy transmission. The wireless energy transmission is regarded to be microwave transmission or laser beam transmission. The microwave transmission is to transmit 2.45GHz band microwave from the SPS to a receiving station on the ground to meet power demand on earth. The microwave, as small in attenuation in atmosphere and resistant against rain and cloud, is made candidate and, however, problematic in influence on organism, necessary large area of receiving antenna and many other points to be studied. While the laser transmission, as more convergent of beam than the microwave transmission, is advantageous with enabling the receiving area to be small and, however, disadvantageous with being not resistant against dust, rain and cloud, if used for the energy transmission between the space and earth. 2 refs., 2 figs.

  15. Wireless Transmission of Big Data: A Transmission Time Analysis over Fading Channel

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Wen-Jing; Yang, Hong-Chuan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the transmission time of a large amount of data over fading wireless channel with adaptive modulation and coding (AMC). Unlike traditional transmission systems, where the transmission time of a fixed amount of data is typically regarded as a constant, the transmission time with AMC becomes a random variable, as the transmission rate varies with the fading channel condition. To facilitate the design and optimization of wireless transmission schemes for big data applications, we present an analytical framework to determine statistical characterizations for the transmission time of big data with AMC. In particular, we derive the exact statistics of transmission time over block fading channels. The probability mass function (PMF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of transmission time are obtained for both slow and fast fading scenarios. We further extend our analysis to Markov channel, where transmission time becomes the sum of a sequence of exponentially distributed time slots. Analytical expression for the probability density function (PDF) of transmission time is derived for both fast fading and slow fading scenarios. These analytical results are essential to the optimal design and performance analysis of future wireless transmission systems for big data applications.

  16. Wireless Transmission of Big Data: A Transmission Time Analysis over Fading Channel

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Wen-Jing

    2018-04-10

    In this paper, we investigate the transmission time of a large amount of data over fading wireless channel with adaptive modulation and coding (AMC). Unlike traditional transmission systems, where the transmission time of a fixed amount of data is typically regarded as a constant, the transmission time with AMC becomes a random variable, as the transmission rate varies with the fading channel condition. To facilitate the design and optimization of wireless transmission schemes for big data applications, we present an analytical framework to determine statistical characterizations for the transmission time of big data with AMC. In particular, we derive the exact statistics of transmission time over block fading channels. The probability mass function (PMF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of transmission time are obtained for both slow and fast fading scenarios. We further extend our analysis to Markov channel, where transmission time becomes the sum of a sequence of exponentially distributed time slots. Analytical expression for the probability density function (PDF) of transmission time is derived for both fast fading and slow fading scenarios. These analytical results are essential to the optimal design and performance analysis of future wireless transmission systems for big data applications.

  17. Pain-related increase of excitatory transmission and decrease of inhibitory transmission in the central nucleus of the amygdala are mediated by mGluR1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neugebauer Volker

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Neuroplasticity in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA, particularly its latero-capsular division (CeLC, is an important contributor to the emotional-affective aspects of pain. Previous studies showed synaptic plasticity of excitatory transmission to the CeLC in different pain models, but pain-related changes of inhibitory transmission remain to be determined. The CeLC receives convergent excitatory inputs from the parabrachial nucleus in the brainstem and from the basolateral amygdala (BLA. In addition, feedforward inhibition of CeA neurons is driven by glutamatergic projections from the BLA area to a cluster of GABAergic neurons in the intercalated cell masses (ITC. Using patch-clamp in rat brain slices we measured monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs and polysynaptic inhibitory currents (IPSCs that were evoked by electrical stimulation in the BLA. In brain slices from arthritic rats, input-output functions of excitatory synaptic transmission were enhanced whereas inhibitory synaptic transmission was decreased compared to control slices from normal untreated rats. A non-NMDA receptor antagonist (NBQX blocked the EPSCs and reduced the IPSCs, suggesting that non-NMDA receptors mediate excitatory transmission and also contribute to glutamate-driven feed-forward inhibition of CeLC neurons. IPSCs were blocked by a GABAA receptor antagonist (bicuculline. Bicuculline increased EPSCs under normal conditions but not in slices from arthritic rats, which indicates a loss of GABAergic control of excitatory transmission. A metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 (mGluR1 antagonist (LY367385 reversed both the increase of excitatory transmission and the decrease of inhibitory transmission in the arthritis pain model but had no effect on basal synaptic transmission in control slices from normal rats. The inhibitory effect of LY367385 on excitatory transmission was blocked by bicuculline suggesting the involvement of a GABAergic

  18. Alberta's transmission development policy : review and recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stubbings, R.V.

    2004-01-01

    Alberta's Department of Energy (ADOE) released a policy paper in November 2003 regarding power transmission development for the province. The transmission development policy (TDP) is intended to promote economic growth in Alberta while ensuring consumers with reliable, reasonably priced electricity. This presentation reviewed the main features of the policy and then focused on the allocation of costs to generation customers. The author argued that the proposed changes would result in a sub-optimal development of generation and higher total electricity bills for consumers. He argued that the policy will spare generation customers of any obligation to pay wire-related costs other than local interconnection costs. This would weaken a long-standing ADOE policy which requires generators to pay costs that depend on their location on the transmission system. With the new proposal, generators would not be responsible for ancillary service costs even when they provide direct benefits, and they would pay for system losses on a zonal basis. The author recommended that location charges should be large enough to influence the siting decisions of generators. He also recommended that generators should pay their fare share of transmission use-of-system charges, including ancillary services that provide benefits to generators in the form of a stable, reliable transmission system. 2 tabs., 2 figs

  19. Analysis and Modeling of Urban Land Cover Change in Setúbal and Sesimbra, Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yikalo H. Araya

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The expansion of cities entails the abandonment of forest and agricultural lands, and these lands’ conversion into urban areas, which results in substantial impacts on ecosystems. Monitoring these changes and planning urban development can be successfully achieved using multitemporal remotely sensed data, spatial metrics, and modeling. In this paper, urban land use change analysis and modeling was carried out for the Concelhos of Setúbal and Sesimbra in Portugal. An existing land cover map for the year 1990, together with two derived land cover maps from multispectral satellite images for the years 2000 and 2006, were utilized using an object-oriented classification approach. Classification accuracy assessment revealed satisfactory results that fulfilled minimum standard accuracy levels. Urban land use dynamics, in terms of both patterns and quantities, were studied using selected landscape metrics and the Shannon Entropy index. Results show that urban areas increased by 91.11% between 1990 and 2006. In contrast, the change was only 6.34% between 2000 and 2006. The entropy value was 0.73 for both municipalities in 1990, indicating a high rate of urban sprawl in the area. In 2006, this value, for both Sesimbra and Setúbal, reached almost 0.90. This is demonstrative of a tendency toward intensive urban sprawl. Urban land use change for the year 2020 was modeled using a Cellular Automata based approach. The predictive power of the model was successfully validated using Kappa variations. Projected land cover changes show a growing tendency in urban land use, which might threaten areas that are currently reserved for natural parks and agricultural lands.

  20. Transmission of climate risks across sectors and borders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Challinor, Andy J.; Adger, W. Neil; Benton, Tim G.; Conway, Declan; Joshi, Manoj; Frame, Dave

    2018-06-01

    Systemic climate risks, which result from the potential for cascading impacts through inter-related systems, pose particular challenges to risk assessment, especially when risks are transmitted across sectors and international boundaries. Most impacts of climate variability and change affect regions and jurisdictions in complex ways, and techniques for assessing this transmission of risk are still somewhat limited. Here, we begin to define new approaches to risk assessment that can account for transboundary and trans-sector risk transmission, by presenting: (i) a typology of risk transmission that distinguishes clearly the role of climate versus the role of the social and economic systems that distribute resources; (ii) a review of existing modelling, qualitative and systems-based methods of assessing risk and risk transmission; and (iii) case studies that examine risk transmission in human displacement, food, water and energy security. The case studies show that policies and institutions can attenuate risks significantly through cooperation that can be mutually beneficial to all parties. We conclude with some suggestions for assessment of complex risk transmission mechanisms: use of expert judgement; interactive scenario building; global systems science and big data; innovative use of climate and integrated assessment models; and methods to understand societal responses to climate risk. These approaches aim to inform both research and national-level risk assessment.

  1. Transmission analysis in WDM networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Christian Jørgen

    1999-01-01

    This thesis describes the development of a computer-based simulator for transmission analysis in optical wavelength division multiplexing networks. A great part of the work concerns fundamental optical network simulator issues. Among these issues are identification of the versatility and user...... the different component models are invoked during the simulation of a system. A simple set of rules which makes it possible to simulate any network architectures is laid down. The modelling of the nonlinear fibre and the optical receiver is also treated. The work on the fibre concerns the numerical solution...

  2. Oral Transmission: A Marriage of Music, Language, Tradition, and Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma E. Patterson

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available There are a number of misunderstandings about ancient oral transmission that negatively affect the way musicians view music history but also the process of how music was and currently is conceived, recorded, and shared. A common misconception is that oral transmission of music is an ancient practice that occurred before written notation of music was developed. However, I seek to prove that there is a false dichotomy between oral transmission and written notation and I focus on the changing definition and importance of oral tradition. Firstly, I discuss the misconceptions of ancient oral transmission. Secondly, I examine the continuing development of research and definitions of oral transmission—which is changing our concept of ancient as well contemporary oral traditions. Thirdly, I demonstrate how these traditions are still relevant in present, late modern times. Thoughout this discussion I examine and engage with the pivotal specialists and research that has developed our view of oral tradition through time. To better understand these scholars’ commentary as well as my own, it is important to note the combined concepts of oral and aural tradition. Oral culture refers to what is spoken and sung, and aural culture refers to what is heard and comprehended. Both are necessary for effective transmission to occur, and oral and aural methods are almost always simultaneously present in most societies. When aural culture is discussed here, it refers to the combination of both elements and is closely related to aural tradition. The most notable terms to differentiate are oral transmission and oral tradition. Typically oral transmission refers to the basic action of passing information, in this case music, through oral and aural means. Oral tradition, however, is the more general concept that synthesizes oral transmission, tradition, and culture. Despite misconceptions that music was primitive before composers started documenting it, oral

  3. Research on Travel Control System of Hydrostatic Transmission Chassis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao Liang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aiming at the control problem of driving system of hydrostatic transmission chassis, the composition of the control system of hydrostatic transmission chassis is introduced and the control method of dual engine is solved. According to the number of driving axles in driving process, The external characteristic curve of the engine controls the variable hydraulic pump by one parameter, controls the rotational speed of the variable hydraulic motor according to the change of the vehicle speed, and introduces the control flow of the brake system. It provides a reference for the design of driving control system of multi-axis hydrostatic transmission chassis.

  4. Modelling H5N1 in Bangladesh across spatial scales: Model complexity and zoonotic transmission risk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward M. Hill

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 remains a persistent public health threat, capable of causing infection in humans with a high mortality rate while simultaneously negatively impacting the livestock industry. A central question is to determine regions that are likely sources of newly emerging influenza strains with pandemic causing potential. A suitable candidate is Bangladesh, being one of the most densely populated countries in the world and having an intensifying farming system. It is therefore vital to establish the key factors, specific to Bangladesh, that enable both continued transmission within poultry and spillover across the human–animal interface. We apply a modelling framework to H5N1 epidemics in the Dhaka region of Bangladesh, occurring from 2007 onwards, that resulted in large outbreaks in the poultry sector and a limited number of confirmed human cases. This model consisted of separate poultry transmission and zoonotic transmission components. Utilising poultry farm spatial and population information a set of competing nested models of varying complexity were fitted to the observed case data, with parameter inference carried out using Bayesian methodology and goodness-of-fit verified by stochastic simulations. For the poultry transmission component, successfully identifying a model of minimal complexity, which enabled the accurate prediction of the size and spatial distribution of cases in H5N1 outbreaks, was found to be dependent on the administration level being analysed. A consistent outcome of non-optimal reporting of infected premises materialised in each poultry epidemic of interest, though across the outbreaks analysed there were substantial differences in the estimated transmission parameters. The zoonotic transmission component found the main contributor to spillover transmission of H5N1 in Bangladesh was found to differ from one poultry epidemic to another. We conclude by discussing possible explanations for

  5. Long distance transmission through distributed erbium-doped fibers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rottwitt, Karsten; Povlsen, Jørn Hedegaard; Bjarklev, Anders Overgaard

    1993-01-01

    High bit rate, all-optical long-distance transmission could be created through the combined use of loss-compensating gain in erbium-doped fibers and solitons. A detailed analysis of the distributed erbium-doped fiber, including the spectral-gain dependency, is combined with an optimum design...... of the transmission fiber and general bit-error-rate calculations. Changes in wavenumber, group velocity, and fiber dispersion due to erbium doping in a single-mode fiber are evaluated, and a reduction in bit-error rates due to the erbium spectral-gain profile is shown. Transmission through distributed erbium......-doped fiber with 100-km separation between each pump-power station is shown, with a total bit-rate distance product of 55 Gb/s · Mm...

  6. Integration of new nuclear power plants into transmission grids part I: Transmission system issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abi-Samra, N.

    2008-01-01

    Integration of new nuclear plants into a transmission system is a two sided problem. On one side, adding the nuclear plant into an existing grid will change the attributes of that grid: e.g., loading of certain transmission lines will increase; voltages will be affected, etc. On the other side, the grid itself will affect the plant, and the plant needs to be designed to accommodate the specifics of the grid. Based on that, this paper is divided into two parts. Part I addresses the grid issues with the integration of the new plant, with emphasis on the electrical aspects of these issues. Part II of this paper, concentrates on the vulnerability of the plant from grid disturbances. Part II reintroduces a relatively new concept by this author called the Zone of Vulnerability (ZoV) for the new nuclear plants. (authors)

  7. A Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Preventing Transmission of Scabies in Pesantren Darul Fatwa, Jatinangor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahirah Binti Mohd Yusof

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Scabies is caused by infestation and sensitization of Sarcoptess cabiei and is an endemic in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Several factors in the disease transmission are overcrowded living conditions, poor personal hygiene, unhealthy behaviors and population density. Pesantren is a spesific name for an educational Islamic institution in Indonesia and which w could be one of the risk factors of the transmission the disease. Most of the students (santri are staying at the institution for a long time. The objective of this study was to know the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of santri in preventing scabies. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on 45 santri in Pesantren Darul Fatwa in Jatinangor during September–December 2012. A questionnaire was set up consisting of questions about age, sex, basic knowledge, attitude, and practice of preventing the transmission of scabies. Data were analyzed using frequency distribution. Results: The level of knowledge and attitude of the respondents to prevent the transmission of scabies were good, meanwhile the level of practice was moderate. There were still questions that could not be answer by the respondents those were the etiology (31.1%, the cut off chain of transmission (40%, and how to prevent scabies (37.8%. Not washing the towel, changing the bed linen and pillow case every 2 weeks were the less good practice performed by the respondents. Conclusions: The knowledge and attitude towards the prevention of transmission of scabies are good while the practices are moderate. A further study with more sample size should be carried out including enviromental assessment.

  8. The infrared transmission through gold films on ordered two-dimensional non-close-packed colloidal crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ju Jing; Zhou Yuqin; Dong Gangqiang

    2014-01-01

    We studied the infrared transmission properties of gold films on ordered two-dimensional non-close-packed polystyrene (PS) colloidal crystal. The gold films consist of gold half-shells on the PS spheres and gold film with 2D arrays of holes on the glass substrate. An extraordinary optical transmission phenomenon could be found in such a structure. Simulations with the finite-difference time-domain method were also employed to get the transmission spectra and electric field distribution. The transmission response of the samples can be adjusted by controlling the thickness of the gold films. Angle-resolved measurements were performed using polarized light to obtain more information about the surface plasmon polariton resonances of the gold films. As the angle changes, the transmission spectra change a lot. The transmission spectra of p-polarized light have quite different properties compared to those of s-polarized light. (semiconductor physics)

  9. The year in review: Electric transmission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hebert, C. Jr.

    1999-01-01

    This writing and the comments contained herein support the conclusion that mandating a solution to transmission woes is not the proper choice. Even if it were the right choice, it would not be the way to go. FERC exists in a sophisticated energy world and must comprehend that without the help of the energy industry it is doomed to fail. Technology changes, economies change, and even the FERC itself changes, and will again. This is all part of the energy journey. RTOs, pools, ISOs, RTOs, and, yes, Transcos are a part of the evolution of energy regulation and perhaps deregulation to some degree

  10. DEFINITION OF THE GEAR’S GEOMETRY IN THE PLANETARY CYCLOIDAL TRANSMISSION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sławomir BEDNARCZYK

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In the paper, the design and operation of the planetary cycloidal transmission have been discussed. The transmission is a synthesis of the planetary and the straight-line mechanism. The planetary mechanism is made of a planetary gear set with rollers, which is critical for the proper work of the transmission. Its basic and most important element is the planetary cycloidal gear. Influence of the parameters determining the cycloidal profile of the gear on the gear’s geometry and the forces has been presented. The straight-line mechanism carrying the motion from the driving onto the driven unit of the transmission is made of the pins and bushes located in the holes of the planetary gears. The influence of the number and geometry of the elements on the forces and occuring in the holes of the planetary gears has been presented. Therefore, the properly defined geometry of the gear and of the material of which the gear is made is crucial for the safe operation of the planetary cycloidal transmission.

  11. On the Performance Evaluation of a MIMO-WCDMA Transmission Architecture for Building Management Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsampasis, Eleftherios; Gkonis, Panagiotis K; Trakadas, Panagiotis; Zahariadis, Theodοre

    2018-01-08

    The goal of this study was to investigate the performance of a realistic wireless sensor nodes deployment in order to support modern building management systems (BMSs). A three-floor building orientation is taken into account, where each node is equipped with a multi-antenna system while a central base station (BS) collects and processes all received information. The BS is also equipped with multiple antennas; hence, a multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) system is formulated. Due to the multiple reflections during transmission in the inner of the building, a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) physical layer protocol has been considered, which has already been adopted for third-generation (3G) mobile networks. Results are presented for various MIMO orientations, where the mean transmission power per node is considered as an output metric for a specific signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) requirement and number of resolvable multipath components. In the first set of presented results, the effects of multiple access interference on overall transmission power are highlighted. As the number of mobile nodes per floor or the requested transmission rate increases, MIMO systems of a higher order should be deployed in order to maintain transmission power at adequate levels. In the second set of results, a comparison is performed among transmission in diversity combining and spatial multiplexing mode, which clearly indicate that the first case is the most appropriate solution for indoor communications.

  12. Implication of health care personnel in measles transmission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torner, Núria; Solano, Ruben; Rius, Cristina; Domínguez, Angela; Surveillance Network of Catalonia, Spain, the Measles Elimination Program

    2014-01-01

    Healthcare personnel (HCP) play an important role in transmission of highly contagious diseases such as measles. Current immunization guidelines in Catalonia include Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) immunization for HCP born after 1967 without evidence of immunity. Despite high vaccination coverage (90%) a high burden of measles cases related to outbreaks have occurred. The aim of this study was to assess the implication of HCP in measles transmission related to healthcare setting. A review of surveillance case data from 2001 to 2013 gathered through the Measles Elimination Program in Catalonia was performed. Twenty six outbreaks involving 797 cases were reported, 52 (6.5%) were HCP aged 21–41 years, 72,5% (38) patient were care personnel (doctors and nurses) and 22,5% (14) other health care related personnel. Forty six 87%) were unvaccinated, 4(10%) had only one dose and 2 had two doses of MMR. In community outbreaks 30 clusters with HCP involved were observed, yet none were identified as index cases. Non-vaccinated HCPs against measles were all under 45 years of age. Vaccination is the only reliable protection against nosocomial spread of measles from HCPs. Assessing vaccination status of HCPs and implementing a 2 dose vaccination in those lacking evidence of immunity is needed in order to set to zero the risk of acquiring and spreading measles in healthcare (HC) settings. PMID:25483548

  13. Prehospital ECG transmission: comparison of advanced mobile phone and facsimile devices in an urban Emergency Medical Service System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Väisänen, Olli; Mäkijärvi, Markku; Silfvast, Tom

    2003-05-01

    To compare the speed and reliability of electrocardiogram (ECG) transmissions from the prehospital setting to a conventional table facsimile device and to an advanced mobile phone in a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service System (HEMS). Eighteen authentic ECGs stored in the memory module of a monitor defibrillator were used. The ECGs were (1) sent directly from the monitor defibrillator to a table fax and an advanced mobile phone at the HEMS base; (2) printed out and sent from a mobile fax connected to an ordinary mobile phone to the table fax and the advanced mobile phone at the HEMS base; (3) printed out and sent from an ordinary table fax as well as from a table fax connected to a satellite phone system to the receiving devices at the HEMS base. When the ECGs were sent from the table fax via satellite, the transmission times were longer to the advanced mobile phone than to the table fax at the HEMS base (1 min 54 s+/-0 min 21 s vs. 1 min 37 s+/-0 min 20 s, (mean+/-SD), (Ptransmission from the other fax devices, there were no differences in transmission times between the two receiving devices. The fastest way to transmit ECGs to the advanced mobile phone was to send it from conventional table fax (1 min 22 s+/-0 min 18 s) and the longest transmission times were with mobile fax connected to mobile phone (5 min 23 s+/-3 min 5 s). In all ECGs transmitted except one the cardiac rhythm and ST-changes could be recognised. An advanced mobile phone is as fast and reliable as a conventional table fax in receiving ECGs. A mobile phone with advanced features is a practical tool for HEMS physicians who need to evaluate ECGs in the prehospital setting.

  14. Available transmission capacity assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Škokljev Ivan

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Effective power system operation requires the analysis of vast amounts of information. Power market activities expose power transmission networks to high-level power transactions that threaten normal, secure operation of the power system. When there are service requests for a specific sink/source pair in a transmission system, the transmission system operator (TSO must allocate the available transfer capacity (ATC. It is common that ATC has a single numerical value. Additionally, the ATC must be calculated for the base case configuration of the system, while generation dispatch and topology remain unchanged during the calculation. Posting ATC on the internet should benefit prospective users by aiding them in formulating their requests. However, a single numerical value of ATC offers little for prospect for analysis, planning, what-if combinations, etc. A symbolic approach to the power flow problem (DC power flow and ATC offers a numerical computation at the very end, whilst the calculation beforehand is performed by using symbols for the general topology of the electrical network. Qualitative analysis of the ATC using only qualitative values, such as increase, decrease or no change, offers some new insights into ATC evaluation, multiple transactions evaluation, value of counter-flows and their impact etc. Symbolic analysis in this paper is performed after the execution of the linear, symbolic DC power flow. As control variables, the mathematical model comprises linear security constraints, ATC, PTDFs and transactions. The aim is to perform an ATC sensitivity study on a five nodes/seven lines transmission network, used for zonal market activities tests. A relatively complicated environment with twenty possible bilateral transactions is observed.

  15. The influence of structural and institutional change on teaching and culture in clinical settings: an exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldie, J; Dowie, A; Goldie, Anne; Cotton, Phil; Morrison, Jill

    2015-02-01

    Learning in clinical settings is a function of activity, context and culture. Glasgow University's Medical School has undergone significant curricular change in recent years. This has coincided with change to National Health Service consultants' contracts, the introduction of the European Working Time Directive and the Modernising Medical Careers training initiative. We wished to explore teachers' and students' perspectives on the effects of change on our clinical teachers' capacity for teaching and on medical culture. A qualitative approach using individual interviews with educational supervisors and focus groups with senior clinical students was used. Data were analysed using a "framework" technique. Curricular change has led to shorter clinical attachments in the senior clinical rotation, which combined with more centralised teaching have had adverse effects on both formal and informal teaching during attachments. Consultants' NHS contract changes the implementation of the European Working Time Directive and changes to postgraduate training have adversely affected consultants' teaching capacity, which has had a detrimental effect on their relationships with students. Medical culture has also changed as a result of these and other societal influences. The apprenticeship model was still felt to be relevant in clinical settings. This has to be balanced against the need for systematic teaching. Structural and institutional change affects learning. Faculty needs to be aware of the socio-historical context of their institutions.

  16. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy of semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadana, D.K.

    1982-10-01

    A method to prepare cross-sectional (X) semiconductor specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been described. The power and utility of XTEM has been demonstrated. It has been shown that accuracy and interpretation of indirect structural-defects profiling techniques, namely, MeV He + channeling and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) can be greatly enhanced by comparing their results with those obtained by XTEM from the same set of samples

  17. A systematic review of transmission dynamic studies of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in non-hospital residential facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwok, Kin On; Read, Jonathan M; Tang, Arthur; Chen, Hong; Riley, Steven; Kam, Kai Man

    2018-04-18

    Non-hospital residential facilities are important reservoirs for MRSA transmission. However, conclusions and public health implications drawn from the many mathematical models depicting nosocomial MRSA transmission may not be applicable to these settings. Therefore, we reviewed the MRSA transmission dynamics studies in defined non-hospital residential facilities to: (1) provide an overview of basic epidemiology which has been addressed; (2) identify future research direction; and (3) improve future model implementation. A review was conducted by searching related keywords in PUBMED without time restriction as well as internet searches via Google search engine. We included only articles describing the epidemiological transmission pathways of MRSA/community-associated MRSA within and between defined non-hospital residential settings. Among the 10 included articles, nursing homes (NHs) and correctional facilities (CFs) were two settings considered most frequently. Importation of colonized residents was a plausible reason for MRSA outbreaks in NHs, where MRSA was endemic without strict infection control interventions. The importance of NHs over hospitals in increasing nosocomial MRSA prevalence was highlighted. Suggested interventions in NHs included: appropriate staffing level, screening and decolonizing, and hand hygiene. On the other hand, the small population amongst inmates in CFs has no effect on MRSA community transmission. Included models ranged from system-level compartmental models to agent-based models. There was no consensus over the course of disease progression in these models, which were mainly featured with NH residents /CF inmates/ hospital patients as transmission pathways. Some parameters used by these models were outdated or unfit. Importance of NHs has been highlighted from these current studies addressing scattered aspects of MRSA epidemiology. However, the wide variety of non-hospital residential settings suggest that more work is needed before

  18. A novel Chirped Return-to-Zero Transmitter and Transmission Experiments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Fenghai; Peucheret, Christophe; Xueyan, Zheng

    2000-01-01

    A new 10 Gb/s chirped return-to-zero transmitter using CW light modulated by only one external modulator is proposed. Transmission over 3600 km of standard single mode fibre is performed in a re-circulating loop set-up with 80 km amplifier span....

  19. Transmission dosimetry with a liquid-filled electronic portal imaging device

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boellaard, R; Van Herk, M; Mijnheer, B J [Nederlands Kanker Inst. ` Antoni van Leeuwenhoekhuis` , Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    1995-12-01

    The aim of transmission dosimetry is to correlate transmission dose values with patient dose values. A liquid-filled electronic portal imaging device (EPID) has been developed. After determination of the dose response relationship, i.e. the relation between pixel value and dose rate, for clinical situations it was found that the EPID is applicable for two-dimensional dosimetry with an accuracy of about 1%. The aim of this study was to investigate transmission dose distributions at different phantom-detector distances to predict exit dose distributions from transmission dose images. An extensive set of transmission dose measurements below homogeneous phantoms were performed with the EPID. The influence of several parameters such as field size, phantom thickness, phantom-detector distance and phantom-source distance on the transmission dose and its distribution were investigated. The two-dimensional transmission dose images were separated into two components: a primary dose and a scattered dose distribution. It was found that the scattered dose is maximal at a phantom thickness of about 10 cm. The scattered dose distribution below a homogeneous phantom has a Gaussian shape. The width of the Gaussian is small at small phantom-detector distances and increases for larger phantom-detector distances. The dependence of the scattered dose distribution on the field size at various phantom-detector distances has been used to estimate the dose distribution at the exit site of the phantom. More work is underway to determine the exit dose distributions for clinical situations, including the presence of inhomogeneities.

  20. Transmission dosimetry with a liquid-filled electronic portal imaging device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boellaard, R.; Van Herk, M.; Mijnheer, B.J.

    1995-01-01

    The aim of transmission dosimetry is to correlate transmission dose values with patient dose values. A liquid-filled electronic portal imaging device (EPID) has been developed. After determination of the dose response relationship, i.e. the relation between pixel value and dose rate, for clinical situations it was found that the EPID is applicable for two-dimensional dosimetry with an accuracy of about 1%. The aim of this study was to investigate transmission dose distributions at different phantom-detector distances to predict exit dose distributions from transmission dose images. An extensive set of transmission dose measurements below homogeneous phantoms were performed with the EPID. The influence of several parameters such as field size, phantom thickness, phantom-detector distance and phantom-source distance on the transmission dose and its distribution were investigated. The two-dimensional transmission dose images were separated into two components: a primary dose and a scattered dose distribution. It was found that the scattered dose is maximal at a phantom thickness of about 10 cm. The scattered dose distribution below a homogeneous phantom has a Gaussian shape. The width of the Gaussian is small at small phantom-detector distances and increases for larger phantom-detector distances. The dependence of the scattered dose distribution on the field size at various phantom-detector distances has been used to estimate the dose distribution at the exit site of the phantom. More work is underway to determine the exit dose distributions for clinical situations, including the presence of inhomogeneities

  1. Occult hepatitis B infection and transfusion-transmission risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Candotti, D; Boizeau, L; Laperche, S

    2017-09-01

    Advances in serology and viral nucleic acid testing (NAT) over the last decades significantly reduced the risk of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis B virus (HBV). The combination of HBsAg testing and NAT efficiently prevents the majority of HBV transmission. However, a specific residual risk remains associated with extremely low viral DNA levels in blood donors with occult HBV infection (OBI) that are intermittently or not detectable even by highly sensitive individual donation (ID) NAT. Studies have reported HBV transfusion-transmission with blood components from donors with OBI that contained low amount of viruses (transfusion-transmission seems to depend on a combination of several factors including the volume of plasma associated with the infected blood components transfused, the anti-HBV immune status of both recipient and donor, and possibly the viral fitness of the infecting HBV strain. Models based on clinical and experimental evidences estimate a residual transmission risk of 3-14% associated with OBI donations testing HBsAg and ID-NAT non-reactive. Anti-HBc testing has the potential to improve further blood safety but it may also compromise blood availability in settings with medium/high HBV prevalence. Pathogen reduction procedures might be considered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  2. Dynamics of Pertussis Transmission in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magpantay, F. M. G.; Rohani, P.

    2015-01-01

    Past patterns of infectious disease transmission set the stage on which modern epidemiologic dynamics are played out. Here, we present a comprehensive account of pertussis (whooping cough) transmission in the United States during the early vaccine era. We analyzed recently digitized weekly incidence records from Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports from 1938 to 1955, when the whole-cell pertussis vaccine was rolled out, and related them to contemporary patterns of transmission and resurgence documented in monthly incidence data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. We found that, during the early vaccine era, pertussis epidemics in US states could be categorized as 1) annual, 2) initially annual and later multiennial, or 3) multiennial. States with predominantly annual cycles tended to have higher per capita birth rates, more household crowding, more children per family, and lower rates of school attendance than the states with multiennial cycles. Additionally, states that exhibited annual epidemics during 1938–1955 have had the highest recent (2001–2010) incidence, while those states that transitioned from annual cycles to multiennial cycles have had relatively low recent incidence. Our study provides an extensive picture of pertussis epidemiology in the United States dating back to the onset of vaccination, a back-story that could aid epidemiologists in understanding contemporary transmission patterns. PMID:26022662

  3. A review of typhoid fever transmission dynamic models and economic evaluations of vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Conall H; Edmunds, W John

    2015-06-19

    Despite a recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO) that typhoid vaccines be considered for the control of endemic disease and outbreaks, programmatic use remains limited. Transmission models and economic evaluation may be informative in decision making about vaccine programme introductions and their role alongside other control measures. A literature search found few typhoid transmission models or economic evaluations relative to analyses of other infectious diseases of similar or lower health burden. Modelling suggests vaccines alone are unlikely to eliminate endemic disease in the short to medium term without measures to reduce transmission from asymptomatic carriage. The single identified data-fitted transmission model of typhoid vaccination suggests vaccines can reduce disease burden substantially when introduced programmatically but that indirect protection depends on the relative contribution of carriage to transmission in a given setting. This is an important source of epidemiological uncertainty, alongside the extent and nature of natural immunity. Economic evaluations suggest that typhoid vaccination can be cost-saving to health services if incidence is extremely high and cost-effective in other high-incidence situations, when compared to WHO norms. Targeting vaccination to the highest incidence age-groups is likely to improve cost-effectiveness substantially. Economic perspective and vaccine costs substantially affect estimates, with disease incidence, case-fatality rates, and vaccine efficacy over time also important determinants of cost-effectiveness and sources of uncertainty. Static economic models may under-estimate benefits of typhoid vaccination by omitting indirect protection. Typhoid fever transmission models currently require per-setting epidemiological parameterisation to inform their use in economic evaluation, which may limit their generalisability. We found no economic evaluation based on transmission dynamic modelling, and no

  4. The effectiveness of multi-component goal setting interventions for changing physical activity behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEwan, Desmond; Harden, Samantha M; Zumbo, Bruno D; Sylvester, Benjamin D; Kaulius, Megan; Ruissen, Geralyn R; Dowd, A Justine; Beauchamp, Mark R

    2016-01-01

    Drawing from goal setting theory (Latham & Locke, 1991; Locke & Latham, 2002; Locke et al., 1981), the purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of multi-component goal setting interventions for changing physical activity (PA) behaviour. A literature search returned 41,038 potential articles. Included studies consisted of controlled experimental trials wherein participants in the intervention conditions set PA goals and their PA behaviour was compared to participants in a control group who did not set goals. A meta-analysis was ultimately carried out across 45 articles (comprising 52 interventions, 126 effect sizes, n = 5912) that met eligibility criteria using a random-effects model. Overall, a medium, positive effect (Cohen's d(SE) = .552(.06), 95% CI = .43-.67, Z = 9.03, p goal setting interventions in relation to PA behaviour was found. Moderator analyses across 20 variables revealed several noteworthy results with regard to features of the study, sample characteristics, PA goal content, and additional goal-related behaviour change techniques. In conclusion, multi-component goal setting interventions represent an effective method of fostering PA across a diverse range of populations and settings. Implications for effective goal setting interventions are discussed.

  5. Planning Electric Transmission Lines: A Review of Recent Regional Transmission Plans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eto, Joseph H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2017-04-13

    The first Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) recommends that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conduct a national review of transmission plans and assess the barriers and incentives to their implementation. DOE tasked Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to prepare two reports to support the agency’s response to this recommendation. This report reviews regional transmission plans and regional transmission planning processes that have been directed by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order Nos. 890 and 1000. We focus on the most recent regional transmission plans (those issued in 2015 and through approximately mid-year 2016) and current regional transmission planning processes. A companion report focuses on non-plan-related factors that affect transmission projects.

  6. A single base-pair change in 2009 H1N1 hemagglutinin increases human receptor affinity and leads to efficient airborne viral transmission in ferrets.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akila Jayaraman

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus continues to circulate among the human population as the predominant H1N1 subtype. Epidemiological studies and airborne transmission studies using the ferret model have shown that the transmission efficiency of 2009 H1N1 viruses is lower than that of previous seasonal strains and the 1918 pandemic H1N1 strain. We recently correlated this reduced transmission efficiency to the lower binding affinity of the 2009 H1N1 hemagglutinin (HA to α2→6 sialylated glycan receptors (human receptors. Here we report that a single point mutation (Ile219→Lys; a base pair change in the glycan receptor-binding site (RBS of a representative 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus, A/California/04/09 or CA04/09, quantitatively increases its human receptor-binding affinity. The increased human receptor-affinity is in the same range as that of the HA from highly transmissible seasonal and 1918 pandemic H1N1 viruses. Moreover, a 2009 H1N1 virus carrying this mutation in the RBS (generated using reverse genetics transmits efficiently in ferrets by respiratory droplets thereby reestablishing our previously observed correlation between human receptor-binding affinity and transmission efficiency. These findings are significant in the context of monitoring the evolution of the currently circulating 2009 H1N1 viruses.

  7. Apiculture knowledge transmission in a changing world: Can family-owned knowledge be opened?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuta Uchiyama

    2017-12-01

    Conclusion: The results implied a challenge to open the knowledge transmission channels beyond families, potentially transforming the knowledge from tacit knowledge among limited members to an explicit manualized knowledge in an aging society.

  8. The Manitoba-Ontario intertie : perspectives of a merchant transmission developer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Beers, R.

    2006-01-01

    This presentation discussed merchant transmission models for the Manitoba-Ontario intertie. Merchant transmission involves the reallocation of risk from rate payers to investors and facility users. Merchant transmission is now a niche market due to the fact that the power industry is now more centrally planned. However, merchant transmission structures limit the ability to fully assess congestion and nodal values, and governments continue to retain control of the power sector. Power generation and contracting trends are now changing as a result of market liberalization. In order to be successful, power merchants require financial markets that possess an understanding of the electricity sector. In a merchant transmission scenario, the sizing, timing, connection points, and tariffs will be determined by demonstrated commercial value, and not by central planning principles. The presentation included consideration of government block contracts and reverse block contracts. Details of the Montana-Alberta intertie project were also provided. tabs., figs

  9. A linear laser-driver array for optical transmission in the LHC experiments

    CERN Document Server

    Cervelli, G; Moreira, P; Vasey, F

    2000-01-01

    A 4-way linear laser driver has been designed and implemented in a commercial 0.25 mu m CMOS technology. The full-custom IC is intended for analogue and digital data transmission as part of the 50 000 optical fibre links of the CMS particle tracking system. Intrinsic radiation tolerance and specific design methodologies enable the device to operate over 10 years in the harsh radiation environment of the innermost LHC detectors. Although optimised for analogue operation the driver is compatible with LVDS digital signalling. A combination of linearization methods achieves good analogue performance (8-bit equivalent dynamic range with a bandwidth of 100 MHz), while maintaining wide input common-mode range (+or-350 mV) and limited power dissipation. The linearly amplified signal is added to a DC current, which can be set over a wide range (-60 mA to +60 mA). The latter capability allows tracking of changes in laser threshold due to ageing or radiation damage. The driver gain and bias current are set via a serial ...

  10. A new position-sensitive transmission detector for epithermal neutron imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schooneveld, E M; Kockelmann, W; Rhodes, N; Tardocchi, M; Gorini, G; Perelli Cippo, E; Nakamura, T; Postma, H; Schillebeeckx, P

    2009-01-01

    A new neutron resonant transmission (NRT) detector for epithermal neutron imaging has been designed and built for the ANCIENT CHARM project, which is developing a set of complementary neutron imaging methods for analysis of cultural heritage objects. One of the techniques being exploited is NRT with the aim of performing bulk elemental analysis. The 16-pixel prototype NRT detector consists of independent crystals of 2 x 2 mm pixel size, which allow for 2D position-sensitive transmission measurements with epithermal neutrons. First results obtained at the ISIS pulsed spallation neutron source are presented. (fast track communication)

  11. Analysis of HIV early infant diagnosis data to estimate rates of perinatal HIV transmission in Zambia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwasi Torpey

    role in HIV transmission. The overall change in the proportions of positive PCR results over time is more likely an indication of better PMTCT implementation. Determination of the outcomes of PMTCT in program settings is feasible but requires accurate documentation and analysis.

  12. Reviews Book: SEP Communications: Transmitting and Receiving Signals Book: Gliding for Gold Book: Radioactivity: A History of a Mysterious Science Book: The New Quantum Age Books: The Art of Science and The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing Equipment: SEP Analogue/digital transmission unit Equipment: SEP Optical signal transmission set Book: Stars and their Spectra Book: Voicebox: The Physics and Evolution of Speech Web Watch

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    WE RECOMMEND Transmitting and Receiving Signals SEP booklet transmits knowledge The New Quantum Age Understanding modern quantum theory The Art of Science and The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing Anthologies bring science to life SEP Analogue/digital transmission unit Kit transmits signal between two points SEP Optical signal transmission set Optical kit shows light transmission Stars and their Spectra New book for teaching astrophysics WORTH A LOOK Gliding for Gold Take a journey through the physics of winter sports Radioactivity: A History of a Mysterious Science Book looks at history of radioactivity Voicebox: The Physics and Evolution of Speech TExploring the evolution of the voice WEB WATCH An interactive program with promise?

  13. Material characterization using cold neutron transmission spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiyanagi, Yoshiaki; Kamiyama, Takashi; Nagata, Toshiyuki; Hiraga, Fujio; Suzuki, Shun

    2006-01-01

    Transmission data using a pulsed neutron source have information on neutron cross-section that reflects the crystal structure of the object, and combined with area detector we can obtain the structural change depending on the position in the object. We performed several experimental studies to observe the change of the structure. We demonstrate position-dependent structural change of the lead in solid. It was indicated that the structure changed largely within few millimeters region. Furthermore, we observed the cross-section change of stainless steel (SS) samples with different treatments, which may be the effect of crystal grain structure of the SS samples caused by different treatment

  14. Transmission of human respiratory syncytial virus in the immunocompromised ferret model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Waal, L. (Leon); S.L. Smits (Saskia); E.J.B. Veldhuis Kroeze (Edwin); G. van Amerongen (Geert); Pohl, M.O. (Marie O.); Osterhaus, A.D.M.E. (Albert D. M. E.); K.J. Stittelaar (Koert)

    2018-01-01

    textabstractHuman respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) causes substantial morbidity and mortality in vulnerable patients, such as the very young, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals of any age. Nosocomial transmission of HRSV remains a serious challenge in hospital settings, with

  15. Transmission of stress between cagemates: a study in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akyazi, Ibrahim; Eraslan, Evren

    2014-01-17

    The neuroendocrine responses triggered by stressors cause significant behavioral changes in animals. Considering the continuous behavioral interaction between social animals, it would be reasonable to suggest that the aforementioned behavioral changes can lead to transmission of stress between individuals. In the present study the aim is to investigate the outcomes of the behavioral interaction between stressed and unstressed animals housed together. A total of 28 adult male Wistar rats were used in the study. The animals were randomly allocated to four groups. Two of the groups were exposed to white noise stress in a period of 15days, while the other two groups remained unstressed. One of the stress exposed groups served as the stress control (SC) group and one of the non-stressed groups served as the reference value (RV) group. The remaining two groups were transmission groups. Every two animals of the non-stressed transmission group (TC) have been housed with two other animals of the stress exposed transmission group (TS) during the experimental period. After the stress exposure period, six animals from each group were subjected to behavioral assessment in an elevated plus maze (EPM), and subsequently, their cortisol levels were determined. White noise exposure of animals in the SC group induced a stress response indicated by an 1.8 fold increase of plasma cortisol level compared to the RV group (2.11±0.43 and 1.16±0,02, respectively). The transmission groups (TS and TC) entered the open arms more frequently and spent more time in open arms compared to the RV group. White noise exposure caused a stress response characterized by an elevation of cortisol level in rats. The gradual decrease of cortisol level from the SC towards the RV group may be interpreted as an evidence supporting the hypothesis of stress-transmission between cagemates. The moderate stress levels of the transmission groups, but not low and high levels of the SC and RV groups, decreased the

  16. Controllable SET process in O-Ti-Sb-Te based phase change memory for synaptic application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Kun; Li, Ruiheng; Chen, Xin; Wang, Yong; Shen, Jiabin; Xia, Mengjiao; Lv, Shilong; Ji, Zhenguo; Song, Zhitang

    2018-02-01

    The nonlinear resistance change and small bit resolution of phase change memory (PCM) under identical operation pulses will limit its performance as a synaptic device. The octahedral Ti-Te units in Ti-Sb-Te, regarded as nucleation seeds, are degenerated when Ti is bonded with O, causing a slower crystallization and a controllable SET process in PCM cells. A linear resistance change under identical pulses, a resolution of ˜8 bits, and an ON/OFF ratio of ˜102 has been achieved in O-Ti-Sb-Te based PCM, showing its potential application as a synaptic device to improve recognition performance of the neural network.

  17. Identifying the age cohort responsible for transmission in a natural outbreak of Bordetella bronchiseptica.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gráinne H Long

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Identifying the major routes of disease transmission and reservoirs of infection are needed to increase our understanding of disease dynamics and improve disease control. Despite this, transmission events are rarely observed directly. Here we had the unique opportunity to study natural transmission of Bordetella bronchiseptica--a directly transmitted respiratory pathogen with a wide mammalian host range, including sporadic infection of humans--within a commercial rabbitry to evaluate the relative effects of sex and age on the transmission dynamics therein. We did this by developing an a priori set of hypotheses outlining how natural B. bronchiseptica infections may be transmitted between rabbits. We discriminated between these hypotheses by using force-of-infection estimates coupled with random effects binomial regression analysis of B. bronchiseptica age-prevalence data from within our rabbit population. Force-of-infection analysis allowed us to quantify the apparent prevalence of B. bronchiseptica while correcting for age structure. To determine whether transmission is largely within social groups (in this case litter, or from an external group, we used random-effect binomial regression to evaluate the importance of social mixing in disease spread. Between these two approaches our results support young weanlings--as opposed to, for example, breeder or maternal cohorts--as the age cohort primarily responsible for B. bronchiseptica transmission. Thus age-prevalence data, which is relatively easy to gather in clinical or agricultural settings, can be used to evaluate contact patterns and infer the likely age-cohort responsible for transmission of directly transmitted infections. These insights shed light on the dynamics of disease spread and allow an assessment to be made of the best methods for effective long-term disease control.

  18. Designing regulatory frameworks for merchant transmission investments by real options analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pringles, Rolando; Olsina, Fernando; Garcés, Francisco

    2014-01-01

    In deregulated electricity markets, the transmission network is a key infrastructure for enabling competition in the generation sector. A deficient expansion of the transmission grid prevents the realization of the benefits in terms of efficiency associated with market mechanisms. Consequently, it is essential to provide clear investment policies and economic signals to attract timely and efficient transmission investments in order to develop the system at minimum cost meeting the requirements of generators and consumers, while keeping adequate levels of service quality and reliability. This paper proposes a modern tool of economic evaluation based on real options analysis that provides the regulator the ability to assess various incentives that would lead transmission investors to make efficient decisions in highly uncertain environments. Real options properly values partially irreversible investment decisions, such as to defer, modify or abandon an investment project in response to the arrival of new information or as uncertainties are resolved. Decisions are evaluated from the point of view of a transmission investor trying to maximize its own profits in the time period set to recover the capital invested. The results allow the study of the behavior of transmission investors regarding their decision making when they have the possibility to manage the option to defer, under different regulatory schemes that encourage the expansion of the transmission system. - Highlights: • Regulatory frameworks for efficient and timely transmission expansions are designed. • Irreversibility and uncertainty of transmission investment is properly accounted for. • Response of network investors to regulatory incentives is quantitatively established

  19. A transaction assessment method for allocation of transmission services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banunarayanan, Venkatasubramaniam

    The purpose of this research is to develop transaction assessment methods for allocating transmission services that are provided by an area/utility to power transactions. Transmission services are the services needed to deliver, or provide the capacity to deliver, real and reactive power from one or more supply points to one or more delivery points. As the number of transactions increase rapidly in the emerging deregulated environment, accurate quantification of the transmission services an area/utility provides to accommodate a transaction is becoming important, because then appropriate pricing schemes can be developed to compensate for the parties that provide these services. The Allocation methods developed are based on the "Fair Resource Allocation Principle" and they determine for each transaction the following: the flowpath of the transaction (both real and reactive power components), generator reactive power support from each area/utility, real power loss support from each area/utility. Further, allocation methods for distributing the cost of relieving congestion on transmission lines caused by transactions are also developed. The main feature of the proposed methods is representation of actual usage of the transmission services by the transactions. The proposed method is tested extensively on a variety of systems. The allocation methods developed in this thesis for allocation of transmission services to transactions is not only useful in studying the impact of transactions on a transmission system in a multi-transaction case, but they are indeed necessary to meet the criteria set forth by FERC with regard to pricing based on actual usage. The "consistency" of the proposed allocation methods has also been investigated and tested.

  20. Default settings of computerized physician order entry system order sets drive ordering habits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Jordan; Hollenbeak, Christopher; Donaldson, Keri; Abendroth, Thomas; Castellani, William

    2015-01-01

    Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems are quickly becoming ubiquitous, and groups of orders ("order sets") to allow for easy order input are a common feature. This provides a streamlined mechanism to view, modify, and place groups of related orders. This often serves as an electronic equivalent of a specialty requisition. A characteristic, of these order sets is that specific orders can be predetermined to be "preselected" or "defaulted-on" whenever the order set is used while others are "optional" or "defaulted-off" (though there is typically the option is to "deselect" defaulted-on tests in a given situation). While it seems intuitive that the defaults in an order set are often accepted, additional study is required to understand the impact of these "default" settings in an order set on ordering habits. This study set out to quantify the effect of changing the default settings of an order set. For quality improvement purposes, order sets dealing with transfusions were recently reviewed and modified to improve monitoring of outcome. Initially, the order for posttransfusion hematocrits and platelet count had the default setting changed from "optional" to "preselected." The default settings for platelet count was later changed back to "optional," allowing for a natural experiment to study the effect of the default selections of an order set on clinician ordering habits. Posttransfusion hematocrit values were ordered for 8.3% of red cell transfusions when the default order set selection was "off" and for 57.4% of transfusions when the default selection was "preselected" (P default order set selection was "optional," increased to 59.4% when the default was changed to "preselected" (P default selection was returned to "optional." The posttransfusion platelet count rates during the two "optional" periods: 7.0% versus 7.5% - were not statistically different (P = 0.620). Default settings in CPOE order sets can significantly influence physician selection of

  1. Ultrasound beam transmission using a discretely orthogonal Gaussian aperture basis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, R. A.

    2018-04-01

    Work is reported on development of a computational model for ultrasound beam transmission at an arbitrary geometry transmission interface for generally anisotropic materials. The work addresses problems encountered when the fundamental assumptions of ray theory do not hold, thereby introducing errors into ray-theory-based transmission models. Specifically, problems occur when the asymptotic integral analysis underlying ray theory encounters multiple stationary phase points in close proximity, due to focusing caused by concavity on either the entry surface or a material slowness surface. The approach presented here projects integrands over both the transducer aperture and the entry surface beam footprint onto a Gaussian-derived basis set, thereby distributing the integral over a summation of second-order phase integrals which are amenable to single stationary phase point analysis. Significantly, convergence is assured provided a sufficiently fine distribution of basis functions is used.

  2. Dynamic Model for the Z Accelerator Vacuum Section Based on Transmission Line Code%Dynamic Model for the Z Accelerator Vacuum Section Based on Transmission Line Code

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    呼义翔; 雷天时; 吴撼宇; 郭宁; 韩娟娟; 邱爱慈; 王亮平; 黄涛; 丛培天; 张信军; 李岩; 曾正中; 孙铁平

    2011-01-01

    The transmission-line-circuit model of the Z accelerator, developed originally by W. A. STYGAR, P. A. CORCORAN, et al., is revised. The revised model uses different calculations for the electron loss and flow impedance in the magnetically insulated transmission line system of the Z accelerator before and after magnetic insulation is established. By including electron pressure and zero electric field at the cathode, a closed set of equations is obtained at each time step, and dynamic shunt resistance (used to represent any electron loss to the anode) and flow impedance are solved, which have been incorporated into the transmission line code for simulations of the vacuum section in the Z accelerator. Finally, the results are discussed in comparison with earlier findings to show the effectiveness and limitations of the model.

  3. Mosquito transmission of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium chabaudi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spence Philip J

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Serial blood passage of Plasmodium increases virulence, whilst mosquito transmission inherently regulates parasite virulence within the mammalian host. It is, therefore, imperative that all aspects of experimental malaria research are studied in the context of the complete Plasmodium life cycle. Methods Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi displays many characteristics associated with human Plasmodium infection of natural mosquito vectors and the mammalian host, and thus provides a unique opportunity to study the pathogenesis of malaria in a single infection setting. An optimized protocol that permits efficient and reproducible vector transmission of P. c. chabaudi via Anopheles stephensi was developed. Results and conclusions This protocol was utilized for mosquito transmission of genetically distinct P. c. chabaudi isolates, highlighting differential parasite virulence within the mosquito vector and the spectrum of host susceptibility to infection initiated via the natural route, mosquito bite. An apposite experimental system in which to delineate the pathogenesis of malaria is described in detail.

  4. Community perceptions on outdoor malaria transmission in Kilombero Valley, Southern Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moshi, Irene R; Ngowo, Halfan; Dillip, Angel; Msellemu, Daniel; Madumla, Edith P; Okumu, Fredros O; Coetzee, Maureen; Mnyone, Ladslaus L; Manderson, Lenore

    2017-07-04

    The extensive use of indoor residual spraying (IRS) and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in Africa has contributed to a significant reduction in malaria transmission. Even so, residual malaria transmission persists in many regions, partly driven by mosquitoes that bite people outdoors. In areas where Anopheles gambiae s.s. is a dominant vector, most interventions target the reduction of indoor transmission. The increased use of ITNs/LLINs and IRS has led to the decline of this species. As a result, less dominant vectors such as Anopheles funestus and Anopheles arabiensis, both also originally indoor vectors but are increasingly biting outdoors, contribute more to residual malaria transmission. The study reports the investigated community perceptions on malaria and their implications of this for ongoing outdoor malaria transmission and malaria control efforts. This was a qualitative study conducted in two rural villages and two peri-urban areas located in Kilombero Valley in south-eastern Tanzania. 40 semi-structured in-depth interviews and 8 focus group discussions were conducted with men and women who had children under the age of five. The Interviews and discussions focused on (1) community knowledge of malaria transmission, and (2) the role of such knowledge on outdoor malaria transmission as a contributing factor to residual malaria transmission. The use of bed nets for malaria prevention has been stressed in a number of campaigns and malaria prevention programmes. Most people interviewed believe that there is outdoor malaria transmission since they use interventions while indoors, but they are unaware of changing mosquito host-seeking behaviour. Participants pointed out that they were frequently bitten by mosquitoes during the evening when outdoors, compared to when they were indoors. Most participants stay outdoors in the early evening to undertake domestic tasks that cannot be conducted indoors. House structure, poor ventilation and warm weather conditions

  5. Transmission solutions : a 10 year plan for the province of Ontario 2005-2014

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-02-01

    This paper present a 10 year transmission plan for Ontario by Hydro One Networks Inc., the largest electricity delivery company in the province. A history of Hydro One Network's activities during the past century was provided as well as information about the company and details of their mission and objectives. A list of their accomplishments during 2004 was also presented. An outline of the current transmission infrastructure system was presented. Elements of the plan include customer connections; area supply reliability; facilitation of electricity supply; and transmission needs and solutions. Plans specific to central, western, eastern and northeastern zones were also presented, including zone maps of transmission lines and generating stations. Changes included: Bill 100, the Electricity Restructuring Act in 2004 and the establishment of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA); changes to the Ontario Energy Board's Transmission System Code (TSC); government measures to increase the supply of electricity through requests for proposals (RFPs) for new renewable and clean energy; and the announcement of an increase in the amount of wind energy through the Wind Power Production Incentive program. refs., tabs., figs

  6. Weather Regulates Location, Timing, and Intensity of Dengue Virus Transmission between Humans and Mosquitoes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Karen M; Haldeman, Kristin; Lehnig, Chris; Munayco, Cesar V; Halsey, Eric S; Laguna-Torres, V Alberto; Yagui, Martín; Morrison, Amy C; Lin, Chii-Dean; Scott, Thomas W

    2015-01-01

    Dengue is one of the most aggressively expanding mosquito-transmitted viruses. The human burden approaches 400 million infections annually. Complex transmission dynamics pose challenges for predicting location, timing, and magnitude of risk; thus, models are needed to guide prevention strategies and policy development locally and globally. Weather regulates transmission-potential via its effects on vector dynamics. An important gap in understanding risk and roadblock in model development is an empirical perspective clarifying how weather impacts transmission in diverse ecological settings. We sought to determine if location, timing, and potential-intensity of transmission are systematically defined by weather. We developed a high-resolution empirical profile of the local weather-disease connection across Peru, a country with considerable ecological diversity. Applying 2-dimensional weather-space that pairs temperature versus humidity, we mapped local transmission-potential in weather-space by week during 1994-2012. A binary classification-tree was developed to test whether weather data could classify 1828 Peruvian districts as positive/negative for transmission and into ranks of transmission-potential with respect to observed disease. We show that transmission-potential is regulated by temperature-humidity coupling, enabling epidemics in a limited area of weather-space. Duration within a specific temperature range defines transmission-potential that is amplified exponentially in higher humidity. Dengue-positive districts were identified by mean temperature >22°C for 7+ weeks and minimum temperature >14°C for 33+ weeks annually with 95% sensitivity and specificity. In elevated-risk locations, seasonal peak-incidence occurred when mean temperature was 26-29°C, coincident with humidity at its local maximum; highest incidence when humidity >80%. We profile transmission-potential in weather-space for temperature-humidity ranging 0-38°C and 5-100% at 1°C x 2

  7. Weather Regulates Location, Timing, and Intensity of Dengue Virus Transmission between Humans and Mosquitoes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen M Campbell

    Full Text Available Dengue is one of the most aggressively expanding mosquito-transmitted viruses. The human burden approaches 400 million infections annually. Complex transmission dynamics pose challenges for predicting location, timing, and magnitude of risk; thus, models are needed to guide prevention strategies and policy development locally and globally. Weather regulates transmission-potential via its effects on vector dynamics. An important gap in understanding risk and roadblock in model development is an empirical perspective clarifying how weather impacts transmission in diverse ecological settings. We sought to determine if location, timing, and potential-intensity of transmission are systematically defined by weather.We developed a high-resolution empirical profile of the local weather-disease connection across Peru, a country with considerable ecological diversity. Applying 2-dimensional weather-space that pairs temperature versus humidity, we mapped local transmission-potential in weather-space by week during 1994-2012. A binary classification-tree was developed to test whether weather data could classify 1828 Peruvian districts as positive/negative for transmission and into ranks of transmission-potential with respect to observed disease. We show that transmission-potential is regulated by temperature-humidity coupling, enabling epidemics in a limited area of weather-space. Duration within a specific temperature range defines transmission-potential that is amplified exponentially in higher humidity. Dengue-positive districts were identified by mean temperature >22°C for 7+ weeks and minimum temperature >14°C for 33+ weeks annually with 95% sensitivity and specificity. In elevated-risk locations, seasonal peak-incidence occurred when mean temperature was 26-29°C, coincident with humidity at its local maximum; highest incidence when humidity >80%. We profile transmission-potential in weather-space for temperature-humidity ranging 0-38°C and 5

  8. Opening the Door to Zero New HIV Infections in Closed Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torriente, Anna; Tadion, Alexander; Hsu, Lee-Nah

    2016-06-01

    Prisons and other closed settings are high-risk environments for HIV and tuberculosis (TB) transmission. Prisoners often experience overcrowded living conditions and violence-including sexual assault-increasing their vulnerability to HIV and TB. However, high infection rates in prisons affect both prisoners and prison employees. Both groups, in interacting with their families and their communities, represent a potential risk of HIV transmission outside the prison setting. National HIV and TB strategies should therefore include measures to prevent transmission and increase access to HIV-related services in prisons. Courts have progressively recognized the human rights of prisoners, including the right to health and access to HIV-related services. A number of national and regional court decisions have affirmed that prison authorities have a duty of care to prisoners and an obligation to ensure that prisoners have access to HIV prevention measures and treatment. Policies and programs on HIV, AIDS, and TB for prison workplaces that are aligned with the ILO's international labor standards can benefit both prisoners and prison employees. In particular, the ILO's HIV and AIDS Recommendation, 2010 (No. 200) affirms the principle of universal access to HIV services and provides guidance for the HIV/TB response in prison settings.

  9. EC Transmission Line Risk Identification and Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bigelow, Tim S [ORNL

    2012-04-01

    The purpose of this document is to assist in evaluating and planning for the cost, schedule, and technical project risks associated with the delivery and operation of the EC (Electron cyclotron) transmission line system. In general, the major risks that are anticipated to be encountered during the project delivery phase associated with the implementation of the Procurement Arrangement for the EC transmission line system are associated with: (1) Undefined or changing requirements (e.g., functional or regulatory requirements) (2) Underperformance of prototype, first unit, or production components during testing (3) Unavailability of qualified vendors for critical components Technical risks associated with the design and operation of the system are also identified.

  10. Design of Chebychev’s Low Pass Filters Using Nonuniform Transmission Lines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Said Attamimi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Transmission lines are utilized in many applications to convey energy as well as information. Nonuniform transmission lines (NTLs are obtained through variation of the characteristic quantities along the axial direction. Such NTLs can be used to design network elements, like matching circuits, delay equalizers, filters, VLSI interconnections, etc. In this work, NTLs were analyzed with a numerical method based on the implementation of method of moment. In order to approximate the voltage and current distribution along the transmission line, a sum of basis functions with unknown amplitudes was introduced. As basis function, a constant function was used. In this work, we observed several cases such as lossless and lossy uniform transmission lines with matching and arbitrary load. These cases verified the algorithm developed in this work. The second example consists of nonuniform transmission lines in the form of abruptly changing transmission lines. This structure was used to design a Chebychev’s low pass filter. The calculated reflection and transmission factors of the filters showed some coincidences with the measurements.

  11. VECTOR BORNE TRANSMISSIBLE ZOONOSES IN MONTENEGRO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gordana Mijovic

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Vector borne transmissible zoonoses are becoming more and more important in the group of emerging and re-emerging infections. We present the characteristics and actuality of this group of infectious diseases in Montenegro for the period 1998 - 2011. In examinations, standard epidemiological, clinical, serological, pathohistological diagnostic methods are employed. Natural conditions in Montenegro make it an important endemic area for more vector borne transmissible zoonoses. The changes of ecological characteristics, the vectors and infective agents, present the accidence for expansion and increasing importance of these infections in national pathology. According to the fact that it is an international port of nautical, continental and air traffic, Montenegro has responsibility for control and management of diseases belonging to the group of the travel and tropical diseases.

  12. paleoenvironmental settings and assemblage changes

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Kasanzu

    shallow borehole drilled in the southern coastal basin of Tanzania with the aim of characterizing foraminifera and palynomorphs assemblage changes aiming at reconstructing ..... decline in temperature at EOT which caused the extinction of ...

  13. HIV and Pregnancy in Resource-Poor Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jennifer; Nour, Nawal M

    2010-01-01

    There are 33.4 million people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Globally, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age. In the United States and other developed countries, aggressive efforts to treat HIV-positive pregnant women with highly active antiretroviral therapy have decreased the maternal-to-child transmission (MTCT) from over 20% to less than 2%. However, in resource-poor settings, access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is not readily available, and perinatal transmission rates remain as high as 45%. Women are at greater risk of heterosexual transmission of HIV, which is compounded by lack of condom use, imbalance of social power, and the high fertility rate. Prevention programs are needed to empower and educate women and engender community awareness for condom use. Prenatal screening and treatment, intrapartum ART, and postpartum prophylaxis must be made available to all women and children to prevent MTCT. PMID:20842284

  14. Extended Delivery Time Analysis for Cognitive Packet Transmission With Application to Secondary Queuing Analysis

    KAUST Repository

    Usman, Muneer

    2015-05-21

    Cognitive radio transceiver can opportunistically access the underutilized spectrum resource of primary systems for new wireless services. With interweave implementation, the secondary transmission may be interrupted by the primary user\\'s transmission. To facilitate the delay analysis of such secondary transmission for fixed-size secondary packets, we study the resulting extended delivery time that includes both transmission time and waiting time. In particular, we derive the exact distribution functions of extended delivery time of secondary transmission for both continuous sensing and periodic sensing cases. Selected numerical and simulation results are presented for illustrating the mathematical formulation. Finally, we consider an M/G/1 queueing set-up at the secondary transmitter and formulate the closed-form expressions for the expected delay with Poisson traffic. The analytical results will greatly facilitate the design of the secondary system for particular target application. © 2015 IEEE.

  15. LVDS tester: a systematic test of cable signal transmission at the ALICE experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Barnby, L; Bombara, M; Evans, D; Jones, G T; Jones, P G; Jovanović, P; Jusko, A; Kour, R; Králik, I; Krivda, M; Lazzeroni, C; Lietava, R; Matthews, Z L; Navin, S; Palaha, A; Petrov, P; Platt, R; Šándor, L; Scott, P; Urbán, J; Villalobos Baillie, O; Tapia Takaki, J D

    2010-01-01

    In the ALICE experiment, the Low-Voltage Differential Signalling (LVDS) format is used for the transmission of trigger inputs from the detectors to the Central Trigger Processor (CTP), the L0 trigger outputs from Local Trigger Units (LTU) boards back to the detectors and the BUSY inputs from the sub-detectors to the CTP. ALICE has designed a set-up, called the LVDS transmission tester, that aims to measure various transmission quality parameters and the bit-error rate (BER) for long period runs in an automatic way. In this paper, this method is described and the conclusions from these tests for the ALICE LVDS cables are discussed

  16. LVDS tester: a systematic test of cable signal transmission at the ALICE experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnby, L; Bhasin, A; Evans, D; Jones, G T; Jones, P G; Jovanovic, P; Jusko, A; Kour, R; Krivda, M; Lazzeroni, C; Lietava, R; Matthews, Z L; Navin, S; Palaha, A; Petrov, P; Platt, R; Scott, P; Bombara, M; Kralik, I; Sandor, L

    2010-01-01

    In the ALICE experiment, the Low-Voltage Differential Signalling (LVDS) format is used for the transmission of trigger inputs from the detectors to the Central Trigger Processor (CTP), the L0 trigger outputs from Local Trigger Units (LTU) boards back to the detectors and the BUSY inputs from the sub-detectors to the CTP. ALICE has designed a set-up, called the LVDS transmission tester, that aims to measure various transmission quality parameters and the bit-error rate (BER) for long period runs in an automatic way. In this paper, this method is described and the conclusions from these tests for the ALICE LVDS cables are discussed.

  17. Remarks on interior transmission eigenvalues, Weyl formula and branching billiards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lakshtanov, E; Vainberg, B

    2012-01-01

    This paper contains the Weyl formula for the counting function of the interior transmission problem when the latter is parameter elliptic. Branching billiard trajectories are constructed, and the second term of the Weyl asymptotics is estimated from above under some conditions on the set of periodic billiard trajectories. (paper)

  18. [Studies on the changes of adaptation with children in the dental setting. The relationship between the changes of adaptation and various psychological tests].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchida, T; Mukai, Y; Sasa, R

    1991-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to discover the changes in the adaptation of children to the Dental setting, and to discover the relationship between the adaptation, and the personality of the child, the personality of the mother, as well as the relationship between the mother and child. The subjects were 60 two to six year old children and their mothers who visited at the Department of Pedodontics, School of Dentistry, Showa University. The results were as follows: 1) The changes of adaptation were classified in groups of four classes. Four groups: Continuous Adaptability (45.0%) Acquired Adaptability (18.3%) Continuous Inadaptability (16.7%) Extreme Inadaptability (20.0%) 2) The inadaptability groups (Continuous Inadaptability and Extreme Inadaptability) of the two to three year old children did not correlate to the change of adaptation and personality of the child, and the relationship between the mother and child. 3) The extreme inadaptability group with the four year old children showed a connection with the change of adaptation and the various Psychological Tests. Concerning personality, the children showed elements of "dependence" "retrogression" and "maladaptation to school (kindergarten)". Concerning the mother child relationship, there were elements of "anxiety" "dotage" "follow blindly" "disagreement". 4) Nobody showed extreme inadaptability in the group of five to six year old children. Continuous Inadaptability group with the five to six year old children showed scarcely any problems. 5) The Personality of mother did not correlate to the change of adaptation of children in the dental setting.

  19. Analysis of Changes in Recent Tuberculosis Transmission Patterns after a Sharp Increase in Immigration▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iñigo, Jesús; García de Viedma, Darío; Arce, Araceli; Palenque, Elia; Alonso Rodríguez, Noelia; Rodríguez, Elena; Ruiz Serrano, María Jesús; Andrés, Sandra; Bouza, Emilio; Chaves, Fernando

    2007-01-01

    We conducted a population-based molecular epidemiological study of tuberculosis (TB) in Madrid, Spain (2002 to 2004), to define transmission patterns and factors associated with clustering. We particularly focused on examining how the increase in TB cases among immigrants in recent years (2.8% in 1997 to 1999 to 36.2% during the current study) was modifying transmission patterns. Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates obtained from patients living in nine districts of Madrid (1,459,232 inhabitants) were genotyped. The TB case rate among foreign-born people was three to four times that of Spanish-born people, and the median time from arrival to the onset of treatment was 22.4 months. During the study period, 227 (36.3%) patients were grouped in 64 clusters, and 115 (50.7%) of them were in 21 clusters with mixed Spanish-born and foreign-born patients. Three of the 21 mixed clusters accounted for 21.1% of clustered patients. Twenty-two of 38 (57.9%) immigrants in mixed clusters were infected with TB strains that had already been identified in the native population in 1997 to 1999, including the three most prevalent strains. Factors identified as independent predictors of clustering were homelessness (odds ratio [OR], 2.3; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.2 to 4.5; P = 0.011) and to be born in Spain (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.6; P = 0.002). The results indicated that (i) TB transmission was higher in Spanish-born people, associated mainly with homelessness, (ii) that foreign-born people were much less likely to be clustered, suggesting a higher percentage of infection before arriving in Spain, and (iii) that an extensive transmission between Spanish- and foreign-born populations, caused mainly by autochthonous strains, was taking place in Madrid. PMID:17108076

  20. Transmission of vibration through gloves: effects of contact area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Md Rezali, Khairil Anas; Griffin, Michael J

    2017-01-01

    For three samples of material (12.5, 25.0 and 37.5 mm diameter) from each of three gloves, the dynamic stiffnesses and the vibration transmissibilities of the materials (to both the palm of the hand and the thenar eminence) were measured at frequencies from 10 to 300 Hz. Additional measurements showed the apparent masses of the hand at the palm and the thenar eminence were independent of contact area at frequencies less than about 40 Hz, but increased with increasing area at higher frequencies. The stiffness and damping of the glove materials increased with increasing area. These changes caused material transmissibilities to the hand to increase with increasing area. It is concluded that the size of the area of contact has a large influence on the transmission of vibration through a glove to the hand. The area of contact should be well-defined and controlled when evaluating the transmission of vibration through gloves. Practitioner Summary: The transmission of vibration through gloves depends on both the dynamic stiffness of glove material and the dynamic response of the hand. Both of these depend on the size of the contact area between a glove material and the hand, which should be taken into account when assessing glove transmissibility.

  1. Transmission embedded cost allocation methodology with consideration of system reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hur, D.; Park, J.-K.; Yoo, C.-I.; Kim, B.H.

    2004-01-01

    In a vertically integrated utility industry, the cost of reliability, as a separate service, has not received much rigorous analysis. However, as a cornerstone of restructuring the industry, the transmission service pricing must change to be consistent with, and supportive of, competitive wholesale electricity markets. This paper focuses on the equitable allocation of transmission network embedded costs including the transmission reliability cost based on the contributions of each generator to branch flows under normal conditions as well as the line outage impact factor under a variety of load levels. A numerical example on a six-bus system is given to illustrate the applications of the proposed methodology. (author)

  2. Evolution in a transmissible cancer: a study of the chromosomal changes in devil facial tumor (DFT) as it spreads through the wild Tasmanian devil population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearse, Anne-Maree; Swift, Kate; Hodson, Pamela; Hua, Bobby; McCallum, Hamish; Pyecroft, Stephen; Taylor, Robyn; Eldridge, Mark D B; Belov, Katherine

    2012-03-01

    Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) are the largest extant marsupial carnivores. This species, now confined to Tasmania, is endangered from the emergence of a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). In the present study, we use cytogenetic and molecular techniques to examine the stability of devil facial tumor (DFT) cell lines across time and space. This article describes disease progression from February 2004 to June 2011. We demonstrate evolutionary changes in the disease, which affects devils in different sites across Tasmania and over a period of several years, producing several chromosomal variants (strains) that are capable of transmission between devils. We describe the evolution of DFTs in the field and speculate on the possible impacts on the disease, including (1) development of less aggressive forms of the disease; (2) development of more aggressive forms of the disease; (3) development of forms capable of affecting closely related species of dasyurids (e.g., quolls); (4) extinction of the disease as it acquires additional deleterious mutations that affect either cell viability or transmissibility; and (5) co-evolution of the disease and the host. We also speculate about the future of the Tasmanian devil in the wild. We note that although DFTs are regarded as unstable by comparison with another much older transmissible cancer, canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT), the potential for development of less aggressive forms of DFTs or for development of resistance in devils is limited by devils' small numbers, low genetic diversity, and restricted geographical distribution. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Horizontal versus familial transmission of Helicobacter pylori.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Schwarz

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Transmission of Helicobacter pylori is thought to occur mainly during childhood, and predominantly within families. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining H. pylori isolates from large population samples and to the extensive genetic diversity between isolates, the transmission and spread of H. pylori remain poorly understood. We studied the genetic relationships of H. pylori isolated from 52 individuals of two large families living in a rural community in South Africa and from 43 individuals of 11 families living in urban settings in the United Kingdom, the United States, Korea, and Colombia. A 3,406 bp multilocus sequence haplotype was determined for a total of 142 H. pylori isolates. Isolates were assigned to biogeographic populations, and recent transmission was measured as the occurrence of non-unique isolates, i.e., isolates whose sequences were identical to those of other isolates. Members of urban families were almost always infected with isolates from the biogeographic population that is common in their location. Non-unique isolates were frequent in urban families, consistent with familial transmission between parents and children or between siblings. In contrast, the diversity of H. pylori in the South African families was much more extensive, and four distinct biogeographic populations circulated in this area. Non-unique isolates were less frequent in South African families, and there was no significant correlation between kinship and similarity of H. pylori sequences. However, individuals who lived in the same household did have an increased probability of carrying the same non-unique isolates of H. pylori, independent of kinship. We conclude that patterns of spread of H. pylori under conditions of high prevalence, such as the rural South African families, differ from those in developed countries. Horizontal transmission occurs frequently between persons who do not belong to a core family, blurring the pattern of familial

  4. Novel pulse amplifying circuits based on transmission lines of different characteristic impedance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belloni, F.; Doria, D.; Lorusso, A.; Nassisi, V.

    2006-01-01

    Two novel circuits used to amplify electric pulses by the coupling of transmission lines of different characteristic impedance are described. The circuits are intended for doubling voltage pulses and for doubling current pulses. The former is composed by a R 0 transmission line closed on a set of two 2R 0 storage lines connected in parallel, while the latter is composed by a R 0 transmission line closed on a set of two R 0 /2 storage lines connected in series. The length of every storage line is half of input-pulse length. In both circuits, one storage line is characterized by an open extremity and the other line by a closed extremity. Connecting opportunely the storage lines to suitable load resistors, 4R 0 and R 0 /4, for the circuit having parallel and series connected lines, respectively, a twice of the output pulse intensity is obtained. Such devices are very suitable to generate high intensity voltage and/or current peaks which are very interesting in the field of the accelerators. Both circuit behaviours have been theoretically studied and verified by computer simulations

  5. Network information analysis reveals risk perception transmission in a behaviour-influenza dynamics system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, C-M; You, S-H; Cheng, Y-H

    2015-01-01

    Influenza poses a significant public health burden worldwide. Understanding how and to what extent people would change their behaviour in response to influenza outbreaks is critical for formulating public health policies. We incorporated the information-theoretic framework into a behaviour-influenza (BI) transmission dynamics system in order to understand the effects of individual behavioural change on influenza epidemics. We showed that information transmission of risk perception played a crucial role in the spread of health-seeking behaviour throughout influenza epidemics. Here a network BI model provides a new approach for understanding the risk perception spread and human behavioural change during disease outbreaks. Our study allows simultaneous consideration of epidemiological, psychological, and social factors as predictors of individual perception rates in behaviour-disease transmission systems. We suggest that a monitoring system with precise information on risk perception should be constructed to effectively promote health behaviours in preparation for emerging disease outbreaks.

  6. Clinical and molecular epidemiology of Acinetobacter baumannii bloodstream infections in an endemic setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchaim, Dror; Levit, Dana; Zigron, Roy; Gordon, Michal; Lazarovitch, Tsillia; Carrico, Joao A; Chalifa-Caspi, Vered; Moran-Gilad, Jacob

    2017-03-01

    The transmission dynamics of Acinetobacter baumannii in endemic settings, and the relation between microbial properties and patients' clinical outcomes, are yet obscure and hampered by insufficient metadata. Of 20 consecutive patients with A. baumannii bloodstream infection that were thoroughly analyzed at a single center, at least one transmission opportunity was evident for 85% of patients. This implies that patient-to-patient transmission is the major mode of A. baumannii acquisitions in health facilities. Moreover, all patients who died immediately (baumannii ST457 lineage compared with other strains.

  7. Detecting emerging transmissibility of avian influenza virus in human households.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michiel van Boven

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Accumulating infections of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in humans underlines the need to track the ability of these viruses to spread among humans. A human-transmissible avian influenza virus is expected to cause clusters of infections in humans living in close contact. Therefore, epidemiological analysis of infection clusters in human households is of key importance. Infection clusters may arise from transmission events from (i the animal reservoir, (ii humans who were infected by animals (primary human-to-human transmission, or (iii humans who were infected by humans (secondary human-to-human transmission. Here we propose a method of analysing household infection data to detect changes in the transmissibility of avian influenza viruses in humans at an early stage. The method is applied to an outbreak of H7N7 avian influenza virus in The Netherlands that was the cause of more than 30 human-to-human transmission events. The analyses indicate that secondary human-to-human transmission is plausible for the Dutch household infection data. Based on the estimates of the within-household transmission parameters, we evaluate the effectiveness of antiviral prophylaxis, and conclude that it is unlikely that all household infections can be prevented with current antiviral drugs. We discuss the applicability of our method for the detection of emerging human-to-human transmission of avian influenza viruses in particular, and for the analysis of within-household infection data in general.

  8. Simultaneous inference of phylogenetic and transmission trees in infectious disease outbreaks

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Whole-genome sequencing of pathogens from host samples becomes more and more routine during infectious disease outbreaks. These data provide information on possible transmission events which can be used for further epidemiologic analyses, such as identification of risk factors for infectivity and transmission. However, the relationship between transmission events and sequence data is obscured by uncertainty arising from four largely unobserved processes: transmission, case observation, within-host pathogen dynamics and mutation. To properly resolve transmission events, these processes need to be taken into account. Recent years have seen much progress in theory and method development, but existing applications make simplifying assumptions that often break up the dependency between the four processes, or are tailored to specific datasets with matching model assumptions and code. To obtain a method with wider applicability, we have developed a novel approach to reconstruct transmission trees with sequence data. Our approach combines elementary models for transmission, case observation, within-host pathogen dynamics, and mutation, under the assumption that the outbreak is over and all cases have been observed. We use Bayesian inference with MCMC for which we have designed novel proposal steps to efficiently traverse the posterior distribution, taking account of all unobserved processes at once. This allows for efficient sampling of transmission trees from the posterior distribution, and robust estimation of consensus transmission trees. We implemented the proposed method in a new R package phybreak. The method performs well in tests of both new and published simulated data. We apply the model to five datasets on densely sampled infectious disease outbreaks, covering a wide range of epidemiological settings. Using only sampling times and sequences as data, our analyses confirmed the original results or improved on them: the more realistic infection times place more

  9. Simultaneous inference of phylogenetic and transmission trees in infectious disease outbreaks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klinkenberg, Don; Backer, Jantien A; Didelot, Xavier; Colijn, Caroline; Wallinga, Jacco

    2017-05-01

    Whole-genome sequencing of pathogens from host samples becomes more and more routine during infectious disease outbreaks. These data provide information on possible transmission events which can be used for further epidemiologic analyses, such as identification of risk factors for infectivity and transmission. However, the relationship between transmission events and sequence data is obscured by uncertainty arising from four largely unobserved processes: transmission, case observation, within-host pathogen dynamics and mutation. To properly resolve transmission events, these processes need to be taken into account. Recent years have seen much progress in theory and method development, but existing applications make simplifying assumptions that often break up the dependency between the four processes, or are tailored to specific datasets with matching model assumptions and code. To obtain a method with wider applicability, we have developed a novel approach to reconstruct transmission trees with sequence data. Our approach combines elementary models for transmission, case observation, within-host pathogen dynamics, and mutation, under the assumption that the outbreak is over and all cases have been observed. We use Bayesian inference with MCMC for which we have designed novel proposal steps to efficiently traverse the posterior distribution, taking account of all unobserved processes at once. This allows for efficient sampling of transmission trees from the posterior distribution, and robust estimation of consensus transmission trees. We implemented the proposed method in a new R package phybreak. The method performs well in tests of both new and published simulated data. We apply the model to five datasets on densely sampled infectious disease outbreaks, covering a wide range of epidemiological settings. Using only sampling times and sequences as data, our analyses confirmed the original results or improved on them: the more realistic infection times place more

  10. Simultaneous inference of phylogenetic and transmission trees in infectious disease outbreaks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Don Klinkenberg

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Whole-genome sequencing of pathogens from host samples becomes more and more routine during infectious disease outbreaks. These data provide information on possible transmission events which can be used for further epidemiologic analyses, such as identification of risk factors for infectivity and transmission. However, the relationship between transmission events and sequence data is obscured by uncertainty arising from four largely unobserved processes: transmission, case observation, within-host pathogen dynamics and mutation. To properly resolve transmission events, these processes need to be taken into account. Recent years have seen much progress in theory and method development, but existing applications make simplifying assumptions that often break up the dependency between the four processes, or are tailored to specific datasets with matching model assumptions and code. To obtain a method with wider applicability, we have developed a novel approach to reconstruct transmission trees with sequence data. Our approach combines elementary models for transmission, case observation, within-host pathogen dynamics, and mutation, under the assumption that the outbreak is over and all cases have been observed. We use Bayesian inference with MCMC for which we have designed novel proposal steps to efficiently traverse the posterior distribution, taking account of all unobserved processes at once. This allows for efficient sampling of transmission trees from the posterior distribution, and robust estimation of consensus transmission trees. We implemented the proposed method in a new R package phybreak. The method performs well in tests of both new and published simulated data. We apply the model to five datasets on densely sampled infectious disease outbreaks, covering a wide range of epidemiological settings. Using only sampling times and sequences as data, our analyses confirmed the original results or improved on them: the more realistic infection

  11. Helicobacter pylori genomic microevolution during naturally occurring transmission between adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bodo Linz

    Full Text Available The human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is usually acquired during childhood and, in the absence of treatment, chronic infection persists through most of the host's life. However, the frequency and importance of H. pylori transmission between adults is underestimated. Here we sequenced the complete genomes of H. pylori strains that were transmitted between spouses and analysed the genomic changes. Similar to H. pylori from chronic infection, a significantly high proportion of the determined 31 SNPs and 10 recombinant DNA fragments affected genes of the hop family of outer membrane proteins, some of which are known to be adhesins. In addition, changes in a fucosyltransferase gene modified the LPS component of the bacterial cell surface, suggesting strong diversifying selection. In contrast, virulence factor genes were not affected by the genomic changes. We propose a model of the genomic changes that are associated with the transmission and adaptation of H. pylori to a new human host.

  12. Effects of gravity-induced upper-limb blood pressure changes on wave transmission and arterial radial waveform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pucci, Giacomo; Battista, Francesca; Anastasio, Fabio; Sanesi, Leandro; Gavish, Benjamin; Butlin, Mark; Avolio, Alberto; Schillaci, Giuseppe

    2016-06-01

    Local blood pressure (BP) changes induced by arm tilting may influence pressure wave transmission and reflection. We investigated the effects of upper-limb tilting on radial augmentation index (rAIx) and related central measures [aortic augmentation index (aAIx)]. In 45 volunteers (age 49 ± 19 years), supine brachial BP and radial artery waveforms were obtained by applanation tonometry with the dominant arm stretched and gently supported in three different positions: at the heart level, with the BP cuff 15 cm above heart level (approximately +30°), and 15 cm below heart level (-30°). Brachial SBP/DBP was 120/68 ± 17/8 mmHg. Mean arterial pressure changed predictably with arm tilting (99 ± 12 mmHg at -30°, 88 ± 10 mmHg at 0°, 77 ± 11 mmHg at +30°, all P < 0.001). rAIx decreased at -30° (69 ± 22%), and increased at +30° (93 ± 20%) compared with 0° (82 ± 20%, all P less than 0.001). Changes in rAIx (value at +30° minus value at -30°) showed an inverse relationship with age (r = -0.32, P = 0.03). Heart rate, BP and rAIx did not change in the contralateral arm, which was held at the heart level during the examination. aAIx followed the same pattern as rAIx (123 ± 27% at -30°, 144 ± 33% at +30°, 136 ± 31% at 0°, all P less than 0.001); changes in rAIx and aAIx were strongly related each other (r = 0.82, P < 0.001). Acute gravitational upper-limb BP changes generate opposite, profound changes in rAIx, and major artifactual changes in aAIx. These findings provide a rationale for recommending to keep the upper limb at the heart level during radial waveform assessment.

  13. Short-range airborne transmission of expiratory droplets between two people

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Li; Li, Yuguo; Nielsen, Peter Vilhelm

    2017-01-01

    , ventilation, and breathing mode. Under the specific set of conditions studied, we found a substantial increase in airborne exposure to droplet nuclei exhaled by the source manikin when a susceptible manikin is within about 1.5 m of the source manikin, referred to as the proximity effect. The threshold...... distance of about 1.5 m distinguishes the two basic transmission processes of droplets and droplet nuclei, that is, short-range modes and the long-range airborne route. The short-range modes include both the conventional large droplet route and the newly defined short-range airborne transmission. We thus...... reveal that transmission occurring in close proximity to the source patient includes both droplet-borne (large droplet) and short-range airborne routes, in addition to the direct deposition of large droplets on other body surfaces. The mechanisms of the droplet-borne and short-range airborne routes...

  14. Changes in setting time of alginate impression material with different water temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Decky J. Indrani

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Previous studies showed that setting process of alginates can be influenced by temperature. Purpose: To determine the changes in setting time due to differences in water temperature and to determine the correlation between water temperature and the setting time. Methods: Seven groups of dough alginate were prepared by mixing alginate powder and water, each using a temperature between 13° C–28° C with a interval of 2.5° C. A sample mold (Θ = 30 mm, t = 16 mm was placed on a flat plate and filled with doug alginate. Immediately the flat end of a polished acrylic rod was placed in contact with the surface of dough alginate. Setting time of alginat was measured from the starting of the mix to the time when the alginate does not adhere to the end of the rod. Setting time alginate data were analyzed using one way ANOVA, LSD and Pearson. Results: Setting time of alginate with water temperature between 13° C–28° C were 87 to 119.4 seconds and were significantly different (p < 0.01. The setting time between group were also significantly different (p<0.01. There was an inverse correlation between water temperature and the setting time (r = -0.968. Conclusion: Water temperature between 13° C–28°C with a difference of 2.5° C produced significant differences in alginate setting time; the lower the water temperature being used the longer the setting time was produced.Latar belakang: Penelitian-penelitian sebelumnya menunjukkan bahwa proses pengerasan alginat dapat dipengaruhi oleh suhu. Tujuan: Mengetahui perubahan waktu pengerasan alginat akibat perbedaan suhu air serta mengetahui hubungan antara suhu air dan waktu pengerasan. Metode: Tujuh kelompok adonan alginat yang dipersiapkan dengan mencampur bubuk alginat dan air, masingmasing menggunakan suhu antara 13°C–28° C dengan interval 2,5° C. Pengukuran waktu pengerasan alginat dilakukan sesuai dengan spesifikasi ADA no.18. Sebuah cetakan sampel terbuat dari pralon berbentuk

  15. Downlink Transmission of Short Packets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trillingsgaard, Kasper Fløe; Popovski, Petar

    2017-01-01

    Cellular wireless systems rely on frame-based transmissions. The frame design is conventionally based on heuristics, consisting of a frame header and a data part. The frame header contains control information that provides pointers to the messages within the data part. In this paper, we revisit...... the principles of frame design and show the impact of the new design in scenarios that feature short data packets, which are central to various 5G and Internet of Things applications. We~treat framing for downlink transmission in an AWGN broadcast channel with $K$ users, where the sizes of the messages....... This requires changes in the way control information is sent, and it requires that the users need to spend power decoding other messages, thereby increasing the average power consumption. We~show that the common heuristic design is only one point on a curve that represents the tradeoff between latency and power...

  16. Characterizing the transmission potential of zoonotic infections from minor outbreaks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam J Kucharski

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The transmission potential of a novel infection depends on both the inherent transmissibility of a pathogen, and the level of susceptibility in the host population. However, distinguishing between these pathogen- and population-specific properties typically requires detailed serological studies, which are rarely available in the early stages of an outbreak. Using a simple transmission model that incorporates age-stratified social mixing patterns, we present a novel method for characterizing the transmission potential of subcritical infections, which have effective reproduction number R<1, from readily available data on the size of outbreaks. We show that the model can identify the extent to which outbreaks are driven by inherent pathogen transmissibility and pre-existing population immunity, and can generate unbiased estimates of the effective reproduction number. Applying the method to real-life infections, we obtained accurate estimates for the degree of age-specific immunity against monkeypox, influenza A(H5N1 and A(H7N9, and refined existing estimates of the reproduction number. Our results also suggest minimal pre-existing immunity to MERS-CoV in humans. The approach we describe can therefore provide crucial information about novel infections before serological surveys and other detailed analyses are available. The methods would also be applicable to data stratified by factors such as profession or location, which would make it possible to measure the transmission potential of emerging infections in a wide range of settings.

  17. Wealth Transmission and Inequality Among Hunter-Gatherers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Kim; Marlowe, Frank; Nolin, David; Wiessner, Polly; Gurven, Michael; Bowles, Samuel; Mulder, Monique Borgerhoff; Hertz, Tom; Bell, Adrian

    2010-01-01

    We report quantitative estimates of intergenerational transmission and population-wide inequality for wealth measures in a set of hunter-gatherer populations. Wealth is defined broadly as factors that contribute to individual or household well-being, ranging from embodied forms such as weight and hunting success to material forms such household goods, as well as relational wealth in exchange partners. Intergenerational wealth transmission is low to moderate in these populations, but is still expected to have measurable influence on an individual’s life chances. Wealth inequality (measured with Gini coefficients) is moderate for most wealth types, matching what qualitative ethnographic research has generally indicated (if not the stereotype of hunter-gatherers as extreme egalitarians). We discuss some plausible mechanisms for these patterns, and suggest ways in which future research could resolve questions about the role of wealth in hunter-gatherer social and economic life. PMID:21151711

  18. Developmental programming and transgenerational transmission of obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vickers, M H

    2014-01-01

    The global obesity pandemic is often causally linked to marked changes in diet and lifestyle, namely marked increases in dietary intakes of high-energy diets and concomitant reductions in physical activity levels. However, far less attention has been paid to the role of developmental plasticity and alterations in phenotypic outcomes resulting from environmental perturbations during the early-life period. Human and animal studies have highlighted the link between alterations in the early-life environment and increased susceptibility to obesity and related metabolic disorders in later life. In particular, altered maternal nutrition, including both undernutrition and maternal obesity, has been shown to lead to transgenerational transmission of metabolic disorders. This association has been conceptualised as the developmental programming hypothesis whereby the impact of environmental influences during critical periods of developmental plasticity can elicit lifelong effects on the physiology of the offspring. Further, evidence to date suggests that this developmental programming is a transgenerational phenomenon, with a number of studies showing transmission of programming effects to subsequent generations, even in the absence of continued environmental stressors, thus perpetuating a cycle of obesity and metabolic disorders. The mechanisms responsible for these transgenerational effects remain poorly understood; evidence to date suggests a number of potential mechanisms underpinning the transgenerational transmission of the developmentally programmed phenotype through both the maternal and paternal lineage. Transgenerational phenotype transmission is often seen as a form of epigenetic inheritance with evidence showing both germline and somatic inheritance of epigenetic modifications leading to phenotype changes across generations. However, there is also evidence for non-genomic components as well as an interaction between the developing fetus with the in utero

  19. Reprint of “Performance analysis of a model-sized superconducting DC transmission system based VSC-HVDC transmission technologies using RTDS”

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dinh, Minh-Chau; Ju, Chang-Hyeon; Kim, Sung-Kyu; Kim, Jin-Geun; Park, Minwon; Yu, In-Keun

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► A model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system was designed and fabricated. ► A real-time simulation using Real Time Digital Simulator has been performed. ► The AC loss characteristics of HTS DC power cable caused by harmonics were analyzed. ► The AC loss of the HTS DC power cable will be used as a parameter to design the cable cooling system. -- Abstract: The combination of a high temperature superconducting DC power cable and a voltage source converter based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) creates a new option for transmitting power with multiple collection and distribution points for long distance and bulk power transmissions. It offers some greater advantages compared with HVAC or conventional HVDC transmission systems, and it is well suited for the grid integration of renewable energy sources in existing distribution or transmission systems. For this reason, a superconducting DC transmission system based HVDC transmission technologies is planned to be set up in the Jeju power system, Korea. Before applying this system to a real power system on Jeju Island, system analysis should be performed through a real time test. In this paper, a model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system, which consists of a small model-sized VSC-HVDC connected to a 2 m YBCO HTS DC model cable, is implemented. The authors have performed the real-time simulation method that incorporates the model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system into the simulated Jeju power system using Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The performance analysis of the superconducting VSC-HVDC systems has been verified by the proposed test platform and the results were discussed in detail

  20. Reprint of “Performance analysis of a model-sized superconducting DC transmission system based VSC-HVDC transmission technologies using RTDS”

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dinh, Minh-Chau, E-mail: thanchau7787@gmail.com [Changwon National University, 9 Sarim-Dong, Changwon 641-733 (Korea, Republic of); Ju, Chang-Hyeon; Kim, Sung-Kyu; Kim, Jin-Geun; Park, Minwon [Changwon National University, 9 Sarim-Dong, Changwon 641-733 (Korea, Republic of); Yu, In-Keun, E-mail: yuik@changwon.ac.kr [Changwon National University, 9 Sarim-Dong, Changwon 641-733 (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-01-15

    Highlights: ► A model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system was designed and fabricated. ► A real-time simulation using Real Time Digital Simulator has been performed. ► The AC loss characteristics of HTS DC power cable caused by harmonics were analyzed. ► The AC loss of the HTS DC power cable will be used as a parameter to design the cable cooling system. -- Abstract: The combination of a high temperature superconducting DC power cable and a voltage source converter based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) creates a new option for transmitting power with multiple collection and distribution points for long distance and bulk power transmissions. It offers some greater advantages compared with HVAC or conventional HVDC transmission systems, and it is well suited for the grid integration of renewable energy sources in existing distribution or transmission systems. For this reason, a superconducting DC transmission system based HVDC transmission technologies is planned to be set up in the Jeju power system, Korea. Before applying this system to a real power system on Jeju Island, system analysis should be performed through a real time test. In this paper, a model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system, which consists of a small model-sized VSC-HVDC connected to a 2 m YBCO HTS DC model cable, is implemented. The authors have performed the real-time simulation method that incorporates the model-sized superconducting VSC-HVDC system into the simulated Jeju power system using Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The performance analysis of the superconducting VSC-HVDC systems has been verified by the proposed test platform and the results were discussed in detail.

  1. Visitor preferences for visual changes in bark beetle-impacted forest recreation settings in the United States and Germany

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arne Arnberger; Martin Ebenberger; Ingrid E. Schneider; Stuart Cottrell; Alexander C. Schlueter; Eick von Ruschkowski; Robert C. Venette; Stephanie A. Snyder; Paul H. Gobster

    2018-01-01

    Extensive outbreaks of tree-killing insects are increasing across forests in Europe and North America due to climate change and other factors. Yet, little recent research examines visitor response to visual changes in conifer forest recreation settings resulting from forest insect infestations, how visitors weigh trade-offs between physical and social forest...

  2. Multiple mechanisms of transmission of the Caribbean coral disease white plague

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clemens, E.; Brandt, M. E.

    2015-12-01

    White plague is one of the most devastating coral diseases in the Caribbean, and yet important aspects of its epidemiology, including how the disease transmits, remain unknown. This study tested potential mechanisms and rates of transmission of white plague in a laboratory setting. Transmission mechanisms including the transport of water, contact with macroalgae, and predation via corallivorous worms and snails were tested on the host species Orbicella annularis. Two of the tested mechanisms were shown to transmit disease: water transport and the corallivorous snail Coralliophila abbreviata. Between these transmission mechanisms, transport of water between a diseased coral and a healthy coral resulted in disease incidence significantly more frequently in exposed healthy corals. Transmission via water transport also occurred more quickly and was associated with higher rates of tissue loss (up to 3.5 cm d-1) than with the corallivorous snail treatment. In addition, water that was in contact with diseased corals but was filtered with a 0.22-μm filter prior to being introduced to apparently healthy corals also resulted in the transmission of disease signs, but at a much lower rate than when water was not filtered. This study has provided important information on the transmission potential of Caribbean white plague disease and highlights the need for a greater understanding of how these processes operate in the natural environment.

  3. Essays on electricity transmission investment and financial transmission rights

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Wenzhuo

    The U.S. electric power industry has been going through fundamental restructuring and realignment since the 1990's. Many issues and problems have emerged during the transition, and both economists and engineers have been looking for the solutions fervently. In this dissertation, which consists primarily of three essays, we apply economics theory and techniques to the power industry and address two related issues, transmission investment and financial transmission rights (FTRs). The first essay takes the decentralized perspective and investigates the efficiency attribute of market-based transmission investment under perfect competition. We clarify, for the first time, the nature of the externality created by loop flows that causes transmission investment to be inefficient. Our findings have important implications for better understanding of transmission market design and creating incentives for efficient transmission investment. In the second essay, we define several rules for allocating transmission investment cost within the framework of cooperative game theory. These rules provide fair, stable or efficient cost allocations in theory and are good benchmarks against which the allocation mechanism in practice can be compared and improved upon. In the last essay, we make exploratory efforts in analyzing and assessing empirically the performance of the Midwest independent system operator (MISO) FTR auction market. We reveal some stylized facts about this young market and find that it is not efficient under the risk-neutrality assumption. We also point out and correct the drawbacks in previous related work and suggest about more complete empirical work in future. In all, this dissertation makes both theoretic and empirical analysis of the two hot issues related to the power industry and comes up with findings that have important implications for the development of this industry.

  4. Transmission of high-power electron beams through small apertures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tschalär, C.; Alarcon, R.; Balascuta, S.; Benson, S.V.; Bertozzi, W.; Boyce, J.R.; Cowan, R.; Douglas, D.; Evtushenko, P.; Fisher, P.; Ihloff, E.; Kalantarians, N.; Kelleher, A.; Legg, R.; Milner, R.G.; Neil, G.R.; Ou, L.; Schmookler, B.; Tennant, C.; Williams, G.P.

    2013-01-01

    Tests were performed to pass a 100 MeV, 430 kWatt c.w. electron beam from the energy-recovery linac at the Jefferson Laboratory's FEL facility through a set of small apertures in a 127 mm long aluminum block. Beam transmission losses of 3 p.p.m. through a 2 mm diameter aperture were maintained during a 7 h continuous run

  5. Surveillance of vector populations and malaria transmission during the 2009/10 El Niño event in the western Kenya highlands: opportunities for early detection of malaria hyper-transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wanjala Christine L

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Vector control in the highlands of western Kenya has resulted in a significant reduction of malaria transmission and a change in the vectorial system. Climate variability as a result of events such as El Niño increases the highlands suitability for malaria transmission. Surveillance and monitoring is an important component of early transmission risk identification and management. However, below certain disease transmission thresholds, traditional tools for surveillance such as entomological inoculation rates may become insensitive. A rapid diagnostic kit comprising Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite surface protein and merozoite surface protein antibodies in humans was tested for early detection of transmission surges in the western Kenya highlands during an El Niño event (October 2009-February 2010. Methods Indoor resting female adult malaria vectors were collected in western Kenya highlands in four selected villages categorized into two valley systems, the U-shaped (Iguhu and Emutete and the V-shaped valleys (Marani and Fort Ternan for eight months. Members of the Anopheles gambiae complex were identified by PCR. Blood samples were collected from children 6-15 years old and exposure to malaria was tested using a circum-sporozoite protein and merozoite surface protein immunchromatographic rapid diagnostic test kit. Sporozoite ELISA was conducted to detect circum-sporozoite protein, later used for estimation of entomological inoculation rates. Results Among the four villages studied, an upsurge in antibody levels was first observed in October 2009. Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites were then first observed in December 2009 at Iguhu village and February 2010 at Emutete. Despite the upsurge in Marani and Fort Ternan no sporozoites were detected throughout the eight month study period. The antibody-based assay had much earlier transmission detection ability than the sporozoite-based assay. The proportion of An. arabiensis

  6. Changes in malaria burden and transmission in sentinel sites after the roll-out of long-lasting insecticidal nets in Papua New Guinea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hetzel, Manuel W; Reimer, Lisa J; Gideon, Gibson; Koimbu, Gussy; Barnadas, Céline; Makita, Leo; Siba, Peter M; Mueller, Ivo

    2016-06-14

    Papua New Guinea exhibits a complex malaria epidemiology due to diversity in malaria parasites, mosquito vectors, human hosts, and their natural environment. Heterogeneities in transmission and burden of malaria at various scales are likely to affect the success of malaria control interventions, and vice-versa. This manuscript assesses changes in malaria prevalence, incidence and transmission in sentinel sites following the first national distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). Before and after the distribution of LLINs, data collection in six purposively selected sentinel sites included clinical surveillance in the local health facility, household surveys and entomological surveys. Not all activities were carried out in all sites. Mosquitoes were collected by human landing catches. Diagnosis of malaria infection in humans was done by rapid diagnostic test, light microscopy and PCR for species confirmation. Following the roll-out of LLINs, the average monthly malaria incidence rate dropped from 13/1,000 population to 2/1,000 (incidence rate ratio = 0.12; 95 % CI: 0.09-0.17; P < 0.001). The average population prevalence of malaria decreased from 15.7 % pre-LLIN to 4.8 % post-LLIN (adjusted odds ratio = 0.26; 95 % CI: 0.20-0.33; P < 0.001). In general, reductions in incidence and prevalence were more pronounced in infections with P. falciparum than with P. vivax. Additional morbidity indicators (anaemia, splenomegaly, self-reported fever) showed a decreasing trend in most sites. Mean Anopheles man biting rates decreased from 83 bites/person/night pre-LLIN to 31 post-LLIN (P = 0.008). Anopheles species composition differed between sites but everywhere diversity was lower post-LLIN. In two sites, post-LLIN P. vivax infections in anophelines had decreased but P. falciparum infections had increased despite the opposite observation in humans. LLIN distribution had distinct effects on P. falciparum and P. vivax. Higher resilience of

  7. Neutron transmission through pyrolytic graphite crystal II

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adib, M., E-mail: mamdouhshihata@yahoo.com [Reactor Physics Department, NRC, AEAE, Cairo (Egypt); Habib, N. [Reactor Physics Department, NRC, AEAE, Cairo (Egypt); Bashter, I.; Saleh, A. [Faculty of Science, Zagazig University (Egypt)

    2011-04-15

    The measured neutron transmissions through 6.7 mm thick pyroletic graphite (PG) crystal set at different take-off-angles with respect to the beam, as a function of wavelength, were compared with the calculated values using a general formula. An adapted version of the computer package graphite was developed in order to provide the required calculations in the neutron energy range from 0.1 MeV to 10 eV. An overall agreement was obtained between the formula fits and the measured data at different take-off-angles. The major dips in transmission caused by various reflections were identified. From the shape of the dips due to 0 0 l reflections, the mosaic spread of the used PG crystal has been determined within an accuracy of 0.12{sup o}. A feasibility study is carried out on using two PG crystals to select from the reactor spectrum a neutron monochromatic beam with wavelengths longer than 0.3 nm and almost free from accompanying higher-order reflections. Calculation shows that 2 mm thick highly oriented PG (0.5{sup o} FWHM on mosaic spread) crystal set at glancing angle 20.0{sup o} reflects first-order monochromatic neutrons with 0.3 nm wavelengths. When 6.0 cm thick PG crystal (2{sup o} FWHM on mosaic spread) set at 60.63{sup o} take-off-angle is inserted on the way of the reflected neutrons, it transmits more than 70% of the first-order neutrons while attenuating the high- order ones by more than 20 times. Similar results were obtained when the selected monochromatic neutrons had wavelengths longer than 0.3 nm.

  8. Cross-layer Energy Optimization Under Image Quality Constraints for Wireless Image Transmissions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Na; Demirkol, Ilker; Heinzelman, Wendi

    2012-01-01

    Wireless image transmission is critical in many applications, such as surveillance and environment monitoring. In order to make the best use of the limited energy of the battery-operated cameras, while satisfying the application-level image quality constraints, cross-layer design is critical. In this paper, we develop an image transmission model that allows the application layer (e.g., the user) to specify an image quality constraint, and optimizes the lower layer parameters of transmit power and packet length, to minimize the energy dissipation in image transmission over a given distance. The effectiveness of this approach is evaluated by applying the proposed energy optimization to a reference ZigBee system and a WiFi system, and also by comparing to an energy optimization study that does not consider any image quality constraint. Evaluations show that our scheme outperforms the default settings of the investigated commercial devices and saves a significant amount of energy at middle-to-large transmission distances.

  9. A Proposal on Low Frequency AC Transmission as a Multi-Terminal Transmission System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Achara Pichetjamroen

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper is focused on the discussion and comparison of characteristics and behavior of three low frequency ac (LFAC transmission system configurations operating under the same control scheme and conditions to identify the most promising operation system for LFAC. Merits of LFAC over high voltage direct current (HVDC are mentioned first. By changing power flow direction without auxiliary switches in multi-terminal application and easiness of short circuit protection are explained. The three configurations of LFACs are described and applied by the control scheme with the aid of the tool of the PSCAD/EMTDC software to consider the behavior of each LFAC system on line frequency and low frequency sides. For two-phase system, no fluctuation occurs on the line frequency side, which is the advantage over single-phase system. Furthermore, current rating on thyristor devices during operation and number of devices that used in each type of LFAC are calculated and compared. These results can lead to determine the most suitable transmission system for the LFAC system operation.

  10. 75 FR 4375 - Transmission Loading Relief Reliability Standard and Curtailment Priorities

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-27

    ... the curtailment priorities set forth in the Commission's pro forma open access transmission tariff... prevent or manage potential or actual system operating limit or interconnection reliability operating...). \\2\\ A System Operating Limit or SOL is the value (such as MW, MVar, amperes, frequency or volts) that...

  11. Sexual transmission of hepatitis C Transmissão sexual da hepatite C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norma de Paula Cavalheiro

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available It is generally agreed that the hepatitis C virus (HCV can be efficiently transmitted parenterally, although data on viral transmission by sexual or non-sexual intrafamilial contact are conflicting. Since data collection began in 1989, the first study dealt with the risk of sexual transmission among multiple sex partners. Other investigations followed, emphasizing that risk increases in specific groups such as patients co-infected with HIV and HBV, sex workers, homosexuals, illicit drug users and patients attended at sexually transmittable disease clinics. The question arises as to what might be the risk for monogamous heterosexuals in the general population, in which one of the partners has HCV? The literature provides overall rates that vary from zero to 27%; however, most studies affirm that the chances of sexual transmission are low or almost null, with rates for this mode fluctuating from zero to 3%. Intrafamilial transmission is strongly considered but inconclusive, since when mentioning transmission between sex partners within the same household, specific situations also should be considered, such as the sharing of personal hygiene items, like razorblades, toothbrushes, nail clippers and manicure pliers, which are important risk factors in HCV transmission. In this review, we discuss the hypotheses of sexual and/or intrafamilial transmission.A eficiência da transmissão parenteral da hepatite C é consenso, porém dados na literatura sobre transmissão sexual e intrafamiliar são conflitantes. Data de 1989 o primeiro trabalho que relaciona o risco de transmissão sexual a múltiplos parceiros sexuais, na seqüência, outros estudos também reforçam que os riscos aumentam em populações específicas como co-infectados HIV, HBV, profissionais do sexo, homossexuais, usuários de drogas ilícitas e populações de clínicas de doenças sexualmente transmissíveis. Agora, na população geral qual seria o risco para casais monog

  12. Research of pneumatic control transmission system for small irradiation samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bai Zhongxiong; Zhang Haibing; Rong Ru; Zhang Tao

    2008-01-01

    In order to reduce the absorbed dose damage for the operator, pneumatic control has been adopted to realize the rapid transmission of small irradiation samples. On/off of pneumatic circuit and directions for the rapid transmission system are controlled by the electrical control part. The main program initializes the system and detects the location of the manual/automatic change-over switch, and call for the corresponding subprogram to achieve the automatic or manual operation. Automatic subprogram achieves the automatic sample transmission; Manual subprogram completes the deflation, and back and forth movement of the radiation samples. This paper introduces in detail the implementation of the system, in terms of both hardware and software design. (authors)

  13. The reduction of measles transmission during school vacations.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klinkenberg, Don; Hahné, Susan Jm; Woudenberg, Tom; Wallinga, Jacco

    2018-01-01

    Historically, measles incidence has shown clear seasonal patterns driven by the school calendar, but since the start of mass vaccination in developed countries there are only occasional outbreaks, which may have changed the effect of school vacations on transmission. In 2013-2014 a large measles

  14. Computer System For Diagnostics of Mobile Machinery Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. L. Antipenko

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available A new method for diagnostics of mechanical transmissions of mobile machinery is proposed in the paper. The method presupposes an application of computing equipment and its purpose is to decrease labor-consumption of diagnostics procedure and increase diagnostics efficiency.The method is based on comparison of duration of impulse periods picked up at primary transducers which are installed at transmission input and output. A signal picked up at a flywheel ring gear is taken as a reference signal.While selecting clearances of one and then the direction in speed-up - braking transmission regime changes in number of reference impulses at output provide data on angular clearance value in every gearing. As data are supplied registration and processing of results and forecasting of residual resource are to be done with the help of a program on the basis of realized algorithms for every gearing.

  15. Localised transmission hotspots of a typhoid fever outbreak in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Introduction: in a semi-urban setting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this study aims to understand the dynamic of a typhoid fever (TF) outbreak and to assess: a) the existence of hot spots for TF transmission and b) the difference between typhoid cases identified within those hot spots and the general population in ...

  16. Reduced evolutionary rate in reemerged Ebola virus transmission chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackley, David J; Wiley, Michael R; Ladner, Jason T; Fallah, Mosoka; Lo, Terrence; Gilbert, Merle L; Gregory, Christopher; D'ambrozio, Jonathan; Coulter, Stewart; Mate, Suzanne; Balogun, Zephaniah; Kugelman, Jeffrey; Nwachukwu, William; Prieto, Karla; Yeiah, Adolphus; Amegashie, Fred; Kearney, Brian; Wisniewski, Meagan; Saindon, John; Schroth, Gary; Fakoli, Lawrence; Diclaro, Joseph W; Kuhn, Jens H; Hensley, Lisa E; Jahrling, Peter B; Ströher, Ute; Nichol, Stuart T; Massaquoi, Moses; Kateh, Francis; Clement, Peter; Gasasira, Alex; Bolay, Fatorma; Monroe, Stephan S; Rambaut, Andrew; Sanchez-Lockhart, Mariano; Scott Laney, A; Nyenswah, Tolbert; Christie, Athalia; Palacios, Gustavo

    2016-04-01

    On 29 June 2015, Liberia's respite from Ebola virus disease (EVD) was interrupted for the second time by a renewed outbreak ("flare-up") of seven confirmed cases. We demonstrate that, similar to the March 2015 flare-up associated with sexual transmission, this new flare-up was a reemergence of a Liberian transmission chain originating from a persistently infected source rather than a reintroduction from a reservoir or a neighboring country with active transmission. Although distinct, Ebola virus (EBOV) genomes from both flare-ups exhibit significantly low genetic divergence, indicating a reduced rate of EBOV evolution during persistent infection. Using this rate of change as a signature, we identified two additional EVD clusters that possibly arose from persistently infected sources. These findings highlight the risk of EVD flare-ups even after an outbreak is declared over.

  17. Transmission line sag calculations using interval mathematics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaalan, H. [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Washington, DC (United States)]|[US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY (United States)

    2007-07-01

    Electric utilities are facing the need for additional generating capacity, new transmission systems and more efficient use of existing resources. As such, there are several uncertainties associated with utility decisions. These uncertainties include future load growth, construction times and costs, and performance of new resources. Regulatory and economic environments also present uncertainties. Uncertainty can be modeled based on a probabilistic approach where probability distributions for all of the uncertainties are assumed. Another approach to modeling uncertainty is referred to as unknown but bounded. In this approach, the upper and lower bounds on the uncertainties are assumed without probability distributions. Interval mathematics is a tool for the practical use and extension of the unknown but bounded concept. In this study, the calculation of transmission line sag was used as an example to demonstrate the use of interval mathematics. The objective was to determine the change in cable length, based on a fixed span and an interval of cable sag values for a range of temperatures. The resulting change in cable length was an interval corresponding to the interval of cable sag values. It was shown that there is a small change in conductor length due to variation in sag based on the temperature ranges used in this study. 8 refs.

  18. “Computerized Counseling Reduces HIV-1 Viral Load and Sexual Transmission Risk: Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial”

    Science.gov (United States)

    KURTH, Ann E.; SPIELBERG, Freya; CLELAND, Charles M.; LAMBDIN, Barrot; BANGSBERG, David R.; FRICK, Pamela A.; SEVERYNEN, Anneleen O.; CLAUSEN, Marc; NORMAN, Robert G.; LOCKHART, David; SIMONI, Jane M.; HOLMES, King K.

    2014-01-01

    Objective Evaluate a computerized intervention supporting antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and HIV transmission prevention. Design Longitudinal RCT. Settings An academic HIV clinic and a community-based organization in Seattle. Subjects 240 HIV-positive adults on ART; 209 completed nine-month follow-up (87% retention). Intervention Randomization to computerized counseling or assessment-only, 4 sessions over 9 months. Main Outcome Measures HIV-1 viral suppression, and self-reported ART adherence, and transmission risks, compared using generalized estimating equations. Results Overall, intervention participants had reduced viral load (VL): mean 0.17 log10 decline, versus 0.13 increase in controls, p = 0.053, and significant difference in ART adherence baseline to 9 months (p = 0.046). Their sexual transmission risk behaviors decreased (OR = 0.55, p = 0.020), a reduction not seen among controls (OR = 1.1, p = 0.664), and a significant difference in change (p = 0.040). Intervention effect was driven by those most in need: among those with detectable virus at baseline (>30 copies/milliliter, n=89), intervention effect was mean 0.60 log10 VL decline versus 0.15 increase in controls, p=0.034. ART adherence at the final follow-up was 13 points higher among intervention participants versus controls, p = 0.038. Conclusions Computerized counseling is promising for integrated ART adherence and safer sex, especially for individuals with problems in these areas. This is the first intervention to report improved ART adherence, viral suppression, and reduced secondary sexual transmission risk behavior. PMID:24384803

  19. SETS reference manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Worrell, R.B.

    1985-05-01

    The Set Equation Transformation System (SETS) is used to achieve the symbolic manipulation of Boolean equations. Symbolic manipulation involves changing equations from their original forms into more useful forms - particularly by applying Boolean identities. The SETS program is an interpreter which reads, interprets, and executes SETS user programs. The user writes a SETS user program specifying the processing to be achieved and submits it, along with the required data, for execution by SETS. Because of the general nature of SETS, i.e., the capability to manipulate Boolean equations regardless of their origin, the program has been used for many different kinds of analysis

  20. Iatrogenic Hepatitis C Virus Transmission and Safe Injection Practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Defendorf, Charles M; Paul, Sindy; Scott, George J

    2018-05-01

    Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection poses significant adverse health effects. Improper use of vials, needles, syringes, intravenous bags, tubing, and connectors for injections and infusions is a current preventable cause of iatrogenic HCV transmission. Numerous cases have demonstrated the need for continued vigilance and the widespread nature of this iatrogenic infection risk across a variety of medical practice settings in the United States. Failure to implement the evidence-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infection prevention guidelines exposes patients to preventable harm. The guidelines establish the requirement to notify patients in cases of suspected virus transmission, as well as to screen those patients who would not otherwise have been at risk for HCV seroconversion and other bloodborne pathogens. Legal and regulatory ramifications, including state, criminal, and tort laws, hold physicians and other health care professionals accountable to use safe injection practices. This article reviews the major health risks of HCV infection, significant effects of iatrogenic infection transmission, CDC guidelines for safe injection practices, and legal regulations and ramifications designed to promote safe injection practices.

  1. Can generalized distribution factors lead to ''objective'' transmission toll allocations? Some lessons from the recent Chilean experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galetovic, Alexander; Palma-Behnke, Rodrigo

    2008-01-01

    How to charge for transmission lines in a liberalized electricity market is still a conceptually unresolved issue and the literature offers many methods to determine who ''uses'' a given line and how to allocate tolls among users. But there seems to be some agreement that once a given method is chosen, calculating use and toll allocations is a mere technical matter. We suggest, by contrast that this belief is not warranted. We apply one power flow identification method - generalized load distribution factors - to allocate transmission tolls among the users of the Chilean transmission system and show that almost any allocation of tolls can be achieved by suitably choosing parameter values. Essentially, the method affords many degrees of freedom to the person responsible for setting the parameters needed to apply it. We argue that this suggests that setting parameter values is a central feature of transmission regulation. Moreover, our results suggest that an allocation method cannot answer the key unresolved question in the literature: what is the structure of tolls that gives economically adequate expansion incentives. (author)

  2. Slanted annular aperture arrays as enhanced-transmission metamaterials: Excitation of the plasmonic transverse electromagnetic guided mode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ndao, Abdoulaye; Salut, Roland; Baida, Fadi I., E-mail: fbaida@univ-fcomte.fr [Département d' Optique P.M. Duffieux, Institut FEMTO-ST, UMR 6174 CNRS, Université de Franche–Comté, 25030 Besançon Cedex (France); Belkhir, Abderrahmane [Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Quantique, Université Mouloud Mammeri, Tizi-Ouzou (Algeria)

    2013-11-18

    We present here the fabrication and the optical characterization of slanted annular aperture arrays engraved into silver film. An experimental enhanced transmission based on the excitation of the cutoff-less plasmonic guided mode of the nano-waveguides (the transmission electron microscopy mode) is demonstrated and agrees well with the theoretical predicted results. By the way, even if it is less efficient (70% → 20%), an enhanced transmission can occur at larger wavelength value (720 nm–930 nm) compared to conventional annular aperture arrays structure by correctly setting the metal thickness.

  3. The Influence of Dams on Malaria Transmission in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kibret, Solomon; Wilson, G Glenn; Ryder, Darren; Tekie, Habte; Petros, Beyene

    2017-06-01

    The construction of dams in sub-Saharan Africa is pivotal for food security and alleviating poverty in the region. However, the unintended adverse public health implications of extending the spatial distribution of water infrastructure are poorly documented and may minimize the intended benefits of securing water supplies. This paper reviews existing studies on the influence of dams on the spatial distribution of malaria parasites and vectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Common themes emerging from the literature were that dams intensified malaria transmission in semi-arid and highland areas with unstable malaria transmission but had little or no impact in areas with perennial transmission. Differences in the impacts of dams resulted from the types and characteristics of malaria vectors and their breeding habitats in different settings of sub-Saharan Africa. A higher abundance of a less anthropophilic Anopheles arabiensis than a highly efficient vector A. gambiae explains why dams did not increase malaria in stable areas. In unstable areas where transmission is limited by availability of water bodies for vector breeding, dams generally increase malaria by providing breeding habitats for prominent malaria vector species. Integrated vector control measures that include reservoir management, coupled with conventional malaria control strategies, could optimize a reduction of the risk of malaria transmission around dams in the region.

  4. The automotive transmission book

    CERN Document Server

    Fischer, Robert; Jürgens, Gunter; Najork, Rolf; Pollak, Burkhard

    2015-01-01

    This book presents essential information on systems and interactions in automotive transmission technology and outlines the methodologies used to analyze and develop transmission concepts and designs. Functions of and interactions between components and subassemblies of transmissions are introduced, providing a basis for designing transmission systems and for determining their potentials and properties in vehicle-specific applications: passenger cars, trucks, buses, tractors, and motorcycles. With these fundamentals the presentation provides universal resources for both state-of-the-art and future transmission technologies, including systems for electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

  5. Feasible, Efficient and Necessary, without Exception - Working with Sex Workers Interrupts HIV/STI Transmission and Brings Treatment to Many in Need.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steen, Richard; Wheeler, Tisha; Gorgens, Marelize; Mziray, Elizabeth; Dallabetta, Gina

    2015-01-01

    High rates of partner change in sex work-whether in professional, 'transactional' or other context-disproportionately drive transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Several countries in Asia have demonstrated that reducing transmission in sex work can reverse established epidemics among sex workers, their clients and the general population. Experience and emerging research from Africa reaffirms unprotected sex work to be a key driver of sexual transmission in different contexts and regardless of stage or classification of HIV epidemic. This validation of the epidemiology behind sexual transmission carries an urgent imperative to realign prevention resources and scale up effective targeted interventions in sex work settings, and, given declining HIV resources, to do so efficiently. Eighteen articles in this issue highlight the importance and feasibility of such interventions under four themes: 1) epidemiology, data needs and modelling of sex work in generalised epidemics; 2) implementation science addressing practical aspects of intervention scale-up; 3) community mobilisation and 4) the treatment cascade for sex workers living with HIV. Decades of empirical evidence, extended by analyses in this collection, argue that protecting sex work is, without exception, feasible and necessary for controlling HIV/STI epidemics. In addition, the disproportionate burden of HIV borne by sex workers calls for facilitated access to ART, care and support. The imperative for Africa is rapid scale-up of targeted prevention and treatment, facilitated by policies and action to improve conditions where sex work takes place. The opportunity is a wealth of accumulated experience working with sex workers in diverse settings, which can be tapped to make up for lost time. Elsewhere, even in countries with strong interventions and services for sex workers, an emerging challenge is to find ways to sustain them in the face of declining global resources.

  6. BPA/Puget Power Northwest Washington Transmission Project Final Environmental Impact Statement.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

    1995-08-01

    Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and Puget Sound Power & Light Company (Puget Power) propose to upgrade the existing high-voltage transmission system in the Whatcom and Skagit counties area between the towns of Custer and Sedro Woolley, including some areas within the City of Bellingham, starting in 1995. A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the project was issued in November 1993, followed by a 45-day public comment period. Public response to the DEIS included the identification of several new transmission route alternatives in the Lake Whatcom area. BPA issued a Supplemental DEIS in April 1995 to provide a second public review-and-comment period. Rebuilding an existing 230-kV line to a double-circuit 230-kV transmission line was identified in the Supplemental DEIS as the Proposed Action. The Supplemental DEIS also examined in detail a North Shore Road alternative which was proposed by some members of the public. Public comments on the EIS were listed and responded to in the Supplemental DEIS. In May 1995, a second set of open houses and public meetings was held to review the Supplemental DEIS. Electromagnetic field (EMF) effects raised as an issue in the DEIS continued to be an issue of public concern in the meetings. The EIS has identified impacts that would generally be classified as low to moderate and localized. Effects on soils and water resources in sensitive areas (e.g., near Lake Whatcom) would be low to moderate; there would be little change in magnetic fields; noise levels would remain at existing levels; and land use and property value impacts would be minimal. Threatened and endangered species would not be adversely affected, and all proposed actions in wetlands would be covered by a Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit. Visual and socioeconomic would be low to moderate. There would be no effect on cultural resources.

  7. CystiSim - an agent-based model for Taenia solium transmission and control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Braae, Uffe Christian; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Gabriël, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    Taenia solium taeniosis/cysticercosis was declared eradicable by the International Task Force for Disease Eradication in 1993, but remains a neglected zoonosis. To assist in the attempt to regionally eliminate this parasite, we developed cystiSim, an agent-based model for T. solium transmission...... interventions in both hosts, mass drug administration to humans, and vaccination and treatment of pigs, have a high probability of success if coverage of 75% can be maintained over at least a four year period. In comparison with an existing mathematical model for T. solium transmission, cystiSim also includes...... and control. The model was developed in R and available as an R package (http://cran.r-project.org/package=cystiSim). cystiSim was adapted to an observed setting using field data from Tanzania, but adaptable to other settings if necessary. The model description adheres to the Overview, Design concepts...

  8. Development of a coordinated control system for BWR nuclear power plant and HVDC transmission system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishikawa, M.; Hara, T.; Hirayama, K.; Sekiya, K.

    1986-01-01

    The combined use of dc and ac transmissions or so-called hybrid transmission was under study, employing both dc and ac systems to enable stable transmission of 10,000 MW of electric power generated by the BWR nuclear plant, scheduled to be built about 800 km away from the center of the load. It was thus necessary to develop a hybrid power transmission control system, the hybrid power transmission system consisting of a high voltage dc transmission system (HVDC) and an ultrahigh ac transmission system (UHVAC). It was also necessary to develop a control system for HVDC transmission which protects the BWR nuclear power plant from being influenced by any change in transmission mode that occurs as a result of faults on the UHVAC side when the entire power of the BWR plant is being sent by the HVDC transmission. This paper clarifies the requirements for the HVDC system control during hybrid transmission and also during dc transmission. The control method that satisfies these requirements was studied to develop a control algorithm

  9. Auctionable fixed transmission rights for congestion management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alomoush, Muwaffaq Irsheid

    Electric power deregulation has proposed a major change to the regulated utility monopoly. The change manifests the main part of engineers' efforts to reshape three components of today's regulated monopoly: generation, distribution and transmission. In this open access deregulated power market, transmission network plays a major role, and transmission congestion is a major problem that requires further consideration especially when inter-zonal/intra-zonal scheme is implemented. Declaring that engineering studies and experience are the criteria to define zonal boundaries or defining a zone based on the fact that a zone is a densely interconnected area (lake) and paths connecting these densely interconnected areas are inter-zonal lines will render insufficient and fuzzy definitions. Moreover, a congestion problem formulation should take into consideration interactions between intra-zonal and inter-zonal flows and their effects on power systems. In this thesis, we introduce a procedure for minimizing the number of adjustments of preferred schedules to alleviate congestion and apply control schemes to minimize interactions between zones. In addition, we give the zone definition a certain criterion based on the Locational Marginal Price (LMP). This concept will be used to define congestion zonal boundaries and to decide whether any zone should be merged with another zone or split into new zones. The thesis presents a unified scheme that combines zonal and FTR schemes to manage congestion. This combined scheme is utilized with LMPs to define zonal boundaries more appropriately. The presented scheme gains the best features of the FTR scheme, which are providing financial certainty, maximizing the efficient use of the system and making users pay for the actual use of congested paths. LMPs may give an indication of the impact of wheeling transactions, and calculations of and comparisons of LMPs with and without wheeling transactions should be adequate criteria to approve

  10. Pellicle transmission uniformity requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Thomas L.; Ito, Kunihiro

    1998-12-01

    Controlling critical dimensions of devices is a constant battle for the photolithography engineer. Current DUV lithographic process exposure latitude is typically 12 to 15% of the total dose. A third of this exposure latitude budget may be used up by a variable related to masking that has not previously received much attention. The emphasis on pellicle transmission has been focused on increasing the average transmission. Much less, attention has been paid to transmission uniformity. This paper explores the total demand on the photospeed latitude budget, the causes of pellicle transmission nonuniformity and examines reasonable expectations for pellicle performance. Modeling is used to examine how the two primary errors in pellicle manufacturing contribute to nonuniformity in transmission. World-class pellicle transmission uniformity standards are discussed and a comparison made between specifications of other components in the photolithographic process. Specifications for other materials or parameters are used as benchmarks to develop a proposed industry standard for pellicle transmission uniformity.

  11. CHANGE IN CONDYLAR POSITION AND SKELETAL STABILITY ASSESSMENT FOLLOWING BSSO FOR MANDIBULAR SET BACK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manjunath

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Change in condylar position following mandibular bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO has been implicated as an important factor in the appearance of immediate postoperative relapse during rigid fixation. It has been suggested that the control of the condylar segment following BSSO is the most important aspect in preventing relapse. The study was done to evaluate changes in position of condyle taken with lateral and frontal cephalograms with 20 patients were assessed, 10 male and 10 female patients wer e divided as group 1 and group 2. Patients undergoing sagittal split ramus osteotomy for mandibular set back were selected; radiographs before operation/surgery, immediately after surgery, 3 months and 6 months post - surgery. Differences between groups were measured by PAIRED ‘T’ TEST a nd time dependent changes in cephalometric measurements were examined by FISCHERS TEST. The present study results conclude significant difference occurring in both proximal and distal segment including condyle. Occlusal stabil ity and skeletal stability also maintained post operatively

  12. Sound transmission in porcine thorax through airway insonification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Ying; Dai, Zoujun; Mansy, Hansen A; Henry, Brian M; Sandler, Richard H; Balk, Robert A; Royston, Thomas J

    2016-04-01

    Many pulmonary injuries and pathologies may lead to structural and functional changes in the lungs resulting in measurable sound transmission changes on the chest surface. Additionally, noninvasive imaging of externally driven mechanical wave motion in the chest (e.g., using magnetic resonance elastography) can provide information about lung structural property changes and, hence, may be of diagnostic value. In the present study, a comprehensive computational simulation (in silico) model was developed to simulate sound wave propagation in the airways, lung, and chest wall under normal and pneumothorax conditions. Experiments were carried out to validate the model. Here, sound waves with frequency content from 50 to 700 Hz were introduced into airways of five porcine subjects via an endotracheal tube, and transmitted waves were measured by scanning laser Doppler vibrometry at the chest wall surface. The computational model predictions of decreased sound transmission with pneumothorax were consistent with experimental measurements. The in silico model can also be used to visualize wave propagation inside and on the chest wall surface for other pulmonary pathologies, which may help in developing and interpreting diagnostic procedures that utilize sound and vibration.

  13. Sound transmission in porcine thorax through airway insonification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Zoujun; Mansy, Hansen A.; Henry, Brian M.; Sandler, Richard H.; Balk, Robert A.; Royston, Thomas J.

    2015-01-01

    Many pulmonary injuries and pathologies may lead to structural and functional changes in the lungs resulting in measurable sound transmission changes on the chest surface. Additionally, noninvasive imaging of externally driven mechanical wave motion in the chest (e.g., using magnetic resonance elastography) can provide information about lung structural property changes and, hence, may be of diagnostic value. In the present study, a comprehensive computational simulation (in silico) model was developed to simulate sound wave propagation in the airways, lung, and chest wall under normal and pneumothorax conditions. Experiments were carried out to validate the model. Here, sound waves with frequency content from 50 to 700 Hz were introduced into airways of five porcine subjects via an endotracheal tube, and transmitted waves were measured by scanning laser Doppler vibrometry at the chest wall surface. The computational model predictions of decreased sound transmission with pneumothorax were consistent with experimental measurements. The in silico model can also be used to visualize wave propagation inside and on the chest wall surface for other pulmonary pathologies, which may help in developing and interpreting diagnostic procedures that utilize sound and vibration. PMID:26280512

  14. Towards an optimal transmission system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calviou, M.

    2005-01-01

    This presentation provided background on National Grid USA and discussed transmission investment in the United States (US) and United Kingdom. It also discussed barriers to transmission investments and improvements, thoughts on solutions and a long-term vision. The presentation identified that transmission investment should follow from clear reliability rules designed to promote better operation and management; investment does not necessarily mean new rights-of-way; and transmission investment should target benefits to customers. It was stated that US transmission investment levels have decreased. A comparison between US and UK transmission investment was presented along with a chart of increasing US congestion costs. Barriers to investment in US transmission include vertical integration; misperception of transmission as a market product; federal and state jurisdiction issues; fragmentation in transmission ownership and operation; rate cap based plans that impact transmission; lack of clarity in cost allocation; and the site selection process. Possible solutions include policy and incentives, promoting independence and resolving structural issues. tabs., figs

  15. Transmission dynamics of Schistosoma japonicum in the lakes and marshlands of China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darren J Gray

    Full Text Available Schistosoma japonicum is a major public health concern in China, with over one million people infected and another 40 million living in areas at risk of infection. Unlike the disease caused by S. mansoni and S. haematobium, schistosomiasis japonica is a zoonosis, involving a number of different mammalian species as reservoir hosts. As a result of a number of published reports from China, it has long been considered that bovines, particularly water buffaloes, play a major role in human S. japonicum transmission there, and a drug-based intervention study (1998-2003 around the Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province provided proof of concept that water buffaloes are, indeed, major reservoirs of human infection in this setting.In this study we incorporated recently obtained epidemiological information to model the steady-state S. japonicum transmission as well as the impact of the removal of S. japonicum transmission attributable to water buffaloes on human infection rates across six different endemic scenarios within three villages in the Dongting (Hunan and Poyang (Jiangxi lakes of southern China. Similar results were obtained for all scenarios. Steady-state S. japonicum infection rates remained constant and human prevalence and incidence were predicted to fall considerably over time. The model showed that the contribution of S. japonicum water buffalo transmission to human infection ranged from 39.1% to 99.1% and predicted that the removal of water buffalo transmission would reduce parasite reproductive rates below 1. This indicates that without the contribution of water buffaloes, S. japonicum transmission is interrupted and unsustainable. These scenarios are generalizable to other endemic villages in the lake and marshland areas of China where a similar cycle of snail infection and infection/reinfection of humans and bovines occurs.Along with previous epidemiological data, our findings strongly support water buffaloes as an important component of the

  16. In the case of transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans in Buruli ulcer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Also, Acanthamoeba-pathogen association has a long evolutionary history because the same set of bacterial genes and gene products e.g. in L. pneumophila are required for survival in both mammalian and protozoan host cells. We suggest that the involvement of Acanthamoeba in the transmission of M. ulcerans to ...

  17. The Effects of Cultural Transmission Are Modulated by the Amount of Information Transmitted

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Thomas L.; Lewandowsky, Stephan; Kalish, Michael L.

    2013-01-01

    Information changes as it is passed from person to person, with this process of cultural transmission allowing the minds of individuals to shape the information that they transmit. We present mathematical models of cultural transmission which predict that the amount of information passed from person to person should affect the rate at which that…

  18. Method for fabricating five-level microelectromechanical structures and microelectromechanical transmission formed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, M. Steven; Sniegowski, Jeffry J.; Miller, Samuel L.; McWhorter, Paul J.

    2000-01-01

    A process for forming complex microelectromechanical (MEM) devices having five layers or levels of polysilicon, including four structural polysilicon layers wherein mechanical elements can be formed, and an underlying polysilicon layer forming a voltage reference plane. A particular type of MEM device that can be formed with the five-level polysilicon process is a MEM transmission for controlling or interlocking mechanical power transfer between an electrostatic motor and a self-assembling structure (e.g. a hinged pop-up mirror for use with an incident laser beam). The MEM transmission is based on an incomplete gear train and a bridging set of gears that can be moved into place to complete the gear train to enable power transfer. The MEM transmission has particular applications as a safety component for surety, and for this purpose can incorporate a pin-in-maze discriminator responsive to a coded input signal.

  19. Method for fabricating five-level microelectromechanical structures and microelectromechanical transmission formed

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodgers, M.S.; Sniegowski, J.J.; Miller, S.L.; McWhorter, P.J.

    2000-07-04

    A process is disclosed for forming complex microelectromechanical (MEM) devices having five layers or levels of polysilicon, including four structural polysilicon layers wherein mechanical elements can be formed, and an underlying polysilicon layer forming a voltage reference plane. A particular type of MEM device that can be formed with the five-level polysilicon process is a MEM transmission for controlling or interlocking mechanical power transfer between an electrostatic motor and a self-assembling structure (e.g. a hinged pop-up mirror for use with an incident laser beam). The MEM transmission is based on an incomplete gear train and a bridging set of gears that can be moved into place to complete the gear train to enable power transfer. The MEM transmission has particular applications as a safety component for surety, and for this purpose can incorporate a pin-in-maze discriminator responsive to a coded input signal.

  20. Transmission fidelity is the key to the build-up of cumulative culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Hannah M; Laland, Kevin N

    2012-08-05

    Many animals have socially transmitted behavioural traditions, but human culture appears unique in that it is cumulative, i.e. human cultural traits increase in diversity and complexity over time. It is often suggested that high-fidelity cultural transmission is necessary for cumulative culture to occur through refinement, a process known as 'ratcheting', but this hypothesis has never been formally evaluated. We discuss processes of information transmission and loss of traits from a cognitive viewpoint alongside other cultural processes of novel invention (generation of entirely new traits), modification (refinement of existing traits) and combination (bringing together two established traits to generate a new trait). We develop a simple cultural transmission model that does not assume major evolutionary changes (e.g. in brain architecture) and show that small changes in the fidelity with which information is passed between individuals can lead to cumulative culture. In comparison, modification and combination have a lesser influence on, and novel invention appears unimportant to, the ratcheting process. Our findings support the idea that high-fidelity transmission is the key driver of human cumulative culture, and that progress in cumulative culture depends more on trait combination than novel invention or trait modification.

  1. Local and global effects of climate on dengue transmission in Puerto Rico.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A Johansson

    Full Text Available The four dengue viruses, the agents of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever in humans, are transmitted predominantly by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The abundance and the transmission potential of Ae. aegypti are influenced by temperature and precipitation. While there is strong biological evidence for these effects, empirical studies of the relationship between climate and dengue incidence in human populations are potentially confounded by seasonal covariation and spatial heterogeneity. Using 20 years of data and a statistical approach to control for seasonality, we show a positive and statistically significant association between monthly changes in temperature and precipitation and monthly changes in dengue transmission in Puerto Rico. We also found that the strength of this association varies spatially, that this variation is associated with differences in local climate, and that this relationship is consistent with laboratory studies of the impacts of these factors on vector survival and viral replication. These results suggest the importance of temperature and precipitation in the transmission of dengue viruses and suggest a reason for their spatial heterogeneity. Thus, while dengue transmission may have a general system, its manifestation on a local scale may differ from global expectations.

  2. Microwave energy transmission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsumoto, Hiroshi [Kyoto Univ. (Japan)

    1989-03-05

    Laying stress on the technological problems and effect on the environment of microwave energy transmission, recent scientific and engineering problems and related subjects are described. Because no fuel is required for the solar power generation, the power generation system can not be considered as an expensive one when the unit cost of energy is taken into consideration. Some of the important technological problems in the microwave energy transmission are accurate microwave beam control technology to receiving stations and improvement in the efficiency of transmission system. Microwave energy beam has effects on living bodies, communication, and plasma atmosphere of the earth. Microwave energy transmission using a space flyer unit is scheduled. Its objective is the development of microwave wireless transmission technology and the study of the correlation between high power microwave and ionosphere plasma. Experiments on such a small scale application as a microwave driven space ship to bring results seem also important. 12 refs., 13 figs.

  3. Electric transmission technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, K.R.

    1990-01-01

    Electric transmission technology has matured and can transmit bulk power more reliably and economically than the technology 10 years ago.In 1882, Marcel Depres transmitted 15 kW electric power at 2 kV, using a constant direct current; present transmission voltages have risen to ± 600 kV direct current (DC) and 765 kV alternating current (AC), and it is now possible to transmit bulk electric power at voltages as high as ± 1000 kV DC and 1500 kV AC. Affordable computer systems are now available to optimize transmission reliably. New materials have reduced the bulk of insulation for lines and equipment. New conducting materials and configurations have reduced losses in transmission. Advances in line structures and conductor motion, understanding of flashover characteristics of insulators and air-gaps and electrical performance of lines have resulted in more compact urban transmission lines. (author). 15 refs., 7 tabs., 11 figs

  4. Transmission as a basic process in microbial biology. Lwoff Award Prize Lecture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baquero, Fernando

    2017-11-01

    Transmission is a basic process in biology and evolution, as it communicates different biological entities within and across hierarchical levels (from genes to holobionts) both in time and space. Vertical descent, replication, is transmission of information across generations (in the time dimension), and horizontal descent is transmission of information across compartments (in the space dimension). Transmission is essentially a communication process that can be studied by analogy of the classic information theory, based on 'emitters', 'messages' and 'receivers'. The analogy can be easily extended to the triad 'emigration', 'migration' and 'immigration'. A number of causes (forces) determine the emission, and another set of causes (energies) assures the reception. The message in fact is essentially constituted by 'meaningful' biological entities. A DNA sequence, a cell and a population have a semiotic dimension, are 'signs' that are eventually recognized (decoded) and integrated by receiver biological entities. In cis-acting or unenclosed transmission, the emitters and receivers correspond to separated entities of the same hierarchical level; in trans-acting or embedded transmission, the information flows between different, but frequently nested, hierarchical levels. The result (as in introgressive events) is constantly producing innovation and feeding natural selection, influencing also the evolution of transmission processes. This review is based on the concepts presented at the André Lwoff Award Lecture in the FEMS Microbiology Congress in Maastricht in 2015. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Electric power transmission for a Hanford Nuclear Energy Center (HNEC)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harty, H.; Dowis, W.J.

    1983-06-01

    The original study of transmission for a Hanford Nuclear Energy Center (HNEC), which was completed in September 1975, was updated in June 1978. The present 1983 revision takes cognizance of recent changes in the electric power situation of the PNW with respect to: (1) forecasts of load growth, (2) the feasibility of early use of 1100 kV transmission, and (3) the narrowing opportunities for siting nuclear plants in the region. The purpose of this update is to explore and describe additions to the existing transmission system that would be necessary to accommodate three levels of generation at HNEC. Comparisons with a PNW system having new thermal generating capacity distributed throughout the marketing region are not made as was done in earlier versions

  6. Autochthonous Chikungunya Transmission and Extreme Climate Events in Southern France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roiz, David; Boussès, Philippe; Simard, Frédéric; Paupy, Christophe; Fontenille, Didier

    2015-06-01

    Extreme precipitation events are increasing as a result of ongoing global warming, but controversy surrounds the relationship between flooding and mosquito-borne diseases. A common view among the scientific community and public health officers is that heavy rainfalls have a flushing effect on breeding sites, which negatively affects vector populations, thereby diminishing disease transmission. During 2014 in Montpellier, France, there were at least 11 autochthonous cases of chikungunya caused by the invasive tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus in the vicinity of an imported case. We show that an extreme rainfall event increased and extended the abundance of the disease vector Ae. albopictus, hence the period of autochthonous transmission of chikungunya. We report results from close monitoring of the adult and egg population of the chikungunya vector Ae. albopictus through weekly sampling over the entire mosquito breeding season, which revealed an unexpected pattern. Statistical analysis of the seasonal dynamics of female abundance in relation to climatic factors showed that these relationships changed after the heavy rainfall event. Before the inundations, accumulated temperatures are the most important variable predicting Ae. albopictus seasonal dynamics. However, after the inundations, accumulated rainfall over the 4 weeks prior to capture predicts the seasonal dynamics of this species and extension of the transmission period. Our empirical data suggests that heavy rainfall events did increase the risk of arbovirus transmission in Southern France in 2014 by favouring a rapid rise in abundance of vector mosquitoes. Further studies should now confirm these results in different ecological contexts, so that the impact of global change and extreme climatic events on mosquito population dynamics and the risk of disease transmission can be adequately understood.

  7. Interference Cancellation for Coexisting Wireless Data and Power Transmission in the Same Frequency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamazaki, Keita; Sugiyama, Yusuke; Saruwatari, Shunsuke; Kawahara, Yoshihiro; Watanabe, Takashi

    2014-01-01

    Combining wireless transmission of data and power signals enables wireless sensor networks to drive perpetually without changing batteries. To achieve the simultaneous data and power transmission, the present paper proposes power signal interference cancellation for wireless data and power transmission at the same time in the same frequency. We evaluate the performance of the proposed power signal interference cancellation using Universal Software Radio Peripheral N200 (USRP N200) software defined radio. Evaluations show that the proposed interference cancellation is feasible to receive data while transmitting power

  8. Dynamics of tuberculosis transmission with exogenous reinfections and endogenous reactivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khajanchi, Subhas; Das, Dhiraj Kumar; Kar, Tapan Kumar

    2018-05-01

    We propose and analyze a mathematical model for tuberculosis (TB) transmission to study the role of exogenous reinfection and endogenous reactivation. The model exhibits two equilibria: a disease free and an endemic equilibria. We observe that the TB model exhibits transcritical bifurcation when basic reproduction number R0 = 1. Our results demonstrate that the disease transmission rate β and exogenous reinfection rate α plays an important role to change the qualitative dynamics of TB. The disease transmission rate β give rises to the possibility of backward bifurcation for R0 < 1, and hence the existence of multiple endemic equilibria one of which is stable and another one is unstable. Our analysis suggests that R0 < 1 may not be sufficient to completely eliminate the disease. We also investigate that our TB transmission model undergoes Hopf-bifurcation with respect to the contact rate β and the exogenous reinfection rate α. We conducted some numerical simulations to support our analytical findings.

  9. Transmission of influenza reflects seasonality of wild birds across the annual cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Nichola J.; Ma, Eric J.; Meixell, Brandt W.; Lindberg, Mark S.; Boyce, Walter M.; Runstadler, Jonathan A.

    2016-01-01

    Influenza A Viruses (IAV) in nature must overcome shifting transmission barriers caused by the mobility of their primary host, migratory wild birds, that change throughout the annual cycle. Using a phylogenetic network of viral sequences from North American wild birds (2008–2011) we demonstrate a shift from intraspecific to interspecific transmission that along with reassortment, allows IAV to achieve viral flow across successive seasons from summer to winter. Our study supports amplification of IAV during summer breeding seeded by overwintering virus persisting locally and virus introduced from a wide range of latitudes. As birds migrate from breeding sites to lower latitudes, they become involved in transmission networks with greater connectivity to other bird species, with interspecies transmission of reassortant viruses peaking during the winter. We propose that switching transmission dynamics may be a critical strategy for pathogens that infect mobile hosts inhabiting regions with strong seasonality.

  10. Wireless data signal transmission system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2014-01-01

    The present invention relates to a method for providing a radio frequency signal for transmission, a system for providing a radio frequency signal for transmission and a method for wireless data transmission between a transmitter and a receiver.......The present invention relates to a method for providing a radio frequency signal for transmission, a system for providing a radio frequency signal for transmission and a method for wireless data transmission between a transmitter and a receiver....

  11. Transmission cost allocation for an efficient tariff action of electricity in a liberalised market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bassi, C.; Caldon, R.; Lorenzoni, A.

    1999-01-01

    The work is focused on the evaluation of the costs of an electricity transmission system operator and on their allocation among the users of the grid in liberalized market. After a recall of the goals of an efficient tariff for transmission, an original method for the cost allocation is proposed called ZI. Based on the marginal cost approach, this method could be the base for setting an efficient transmission tariff that at the same time covers costs and stimulates efficient behaviours. The performances of such an approach have been tested on a real 47 bus grid and ZI tariffs have been compared to the traditional postage stamp ones, highlighting the strong differences between them [it

  12. Effect of the Primary User Traffic on Cognitive Relaying with Adaptive Transmission

    KAUST Repository

    Rao, Anlei

    2012-09-08

    In a cognitive-relay system, the secondary user is permitted to transmit data via a relay when the spectrum bands are detected to be free. The miss detection of spectrum sensing and the primary user traffic will affect the data transmission performance of the secondary user. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the status change of the primary user on the bit error rate (BER) of the adaptive transmission of the secondary user in a cognitive-relay system. Numerical results show that the primary user traffic can significantly degrade the BER of the secondary user transmission.

  13. Impact of the choice of the precipitation reference data set on climate model selection and the resulting climate change signal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gampe, D.; Ludwig, R.

    2017-12-01

    Regional Climate Models (RCMs) that downscale General Circulation Models (GCMs) are the primary tool to project future climate and serve as input to many impact models to assess the related changes and impacts under such climate conditions. Such RCMs are made available through the Coordinated Regional climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX). The ensemble of models provides a range of possible future climate changes around the ensemble mean climate change signal. The model outputs however are prone to biases compared to regional observations. A bias correction of these deviations is a crucial step in the impact modelling chain to allow the reproduction of historic conditions of i.e. river discharge. However, the detection and quantification of model biases are highly dependent on the selected regional reference data set. Additionally, in practice due to computational constraints it is usually not feasible to consider the entire ensembles of climate simulations with all members as input for impact models which provide information to support decision-making. Although more and more studies focus on model selection based on the preservation of the climate model spread, a selection based on validity, i.e. the representation of the historic conditions is still a widely applied approach. In this study, several available reference data sets for precipitation are selected to detect the model bias for the reference period 1989 - 2008 over the alpine catchment of the Adige River located in Northern Italy. The reference data sets originate from various sources, such as station data or reanalysis. These data sets are remapped to the common RCM grid at 0.11° resolution and several indicators, such as dry and wet spells, extreme precipitation and general climatology, are calculate to evaluate the capability of the RCMs to produce the historical conditions. The resulting RCM spread is compared against the spread of the reference data set to determine the related uncertainties and

  14. Protocol for a population-based molecular epidemiology study of tuberculosis transmission in a high HIV-burden setting: the Botswana Kopanyo study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zetola, N M; Modongo, C; Moonan, P K; Click, E; Oeltmann, J E; Shepherd, J; Finlay, A

    2016-05-09

    Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is transmitted from person to person via airborne droplet nuclei. At the community level, Mtb transmission depends on the exposure venue, infectiousness of the tuberculosis (TB) index case and the susceptibility of the index case's social network. People living with HIV infection are at high risk of TB, yet the factors associated with TB transmission within communities with high rates of TB and HIV are largely undocumented. The primary aim of the Kopanyo study is to better understand the demographic, clinical, social and geospatial factors associated with TB and multidrug-resistant TB transmission in 2 communities in Botswana, a country where 60% of all patients with TB are also infected with HIV. This manuscript describes the methods used in the Kopanyo study. The study will be conducted in greater Gaborone, which has high rates of HIV and a mobile population; and in Ghanzi, a rural community with lower prevalence of HIV infection and home to the native San population. Kopanyo aims to enrol all persons diagnosed with TB during a 4-year study period. From each participant, sputum will be cultured, and for all Mtb isolates, molecular genotyping (24-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number of tandem repeats) will be performed. Patients with matching genotype results will be considered members of a genotype cluster, a proxy for recent transmission. Demographic, behavioural, clinical and social information will be collected by interview. Participant residence, work place, healthcare facilities visited and social gathering venues will be geocoded. We will assess relationships between these factors and cluster involvement to better plan interventions for reducing TB transmission. Ethical approval from the Independent Review Boards at the University of Pennsylvania, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botswana Ministry of Health and University of Botswana has been obtained. Published by the BMJ

  15. Possibilities for Advanced Encoding Techniques at Signal Transmission in the Optical Transmission Medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Filip Čertík

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a possible simulation of negative effects in the optical transmission medium and an analysis for the utilization of different signal processing techniques at the optical signal transmission. An attention is focused on the high data rate signal transmission in the optical fiber influenced by linear and nonlinear environmental effects presented by the prepared simulation model. The analysis includes possible utilization of OOK, BPSK, DBPSK, BFSK, QPSK, DQPSK, 8PSK, and 16QAM modulation techniques together with RS, BCH, and LDPC encoding techniques for the signal transmission in the optical fiber. Moreover, the prepared simulation model is compared with real optical transmission systems. In the final part, a comparison of the selected modulation techniques with different encoding techniques and their implementation in real transmission systems is shown.

  16. Transmissions in vehicles 2010

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2010-07-01

    Within the international VDI congress 'Gears in vehicles 2010' of the VDI Wissensforum GmbH (Duesseldorf, Federal Republic of Germany) between 22nd and 23rd June, 2010, in Friedrichshafen (Federal Republic of Germany), the following lectures were held: (1) 8HP70H - The moldhybrid transmission from ZF - Cjallenges and achievements (P. Gutmann); (2) GETRAG boosted range extender - A highly flexible electric powertrain for maximum CO{sub 2} reduction (S. Huepkes); (3) E-Transmission between full-hybrid and E-drive (P. Tenberge); (4) Reducing NO{sub x} and particulate emissions in electrified drivelines (R. Kuberczyk); (5) Simulation aided HEV and EV development: from the component to the whole powertrain (A. Gacometti); (6) Investigations on operating behaviour of the optimized CVT hybrid driveline (B.-R. Hoehn); (7) Customer-oriented dimensioning of electrified drivetrains (M. Eghtessad); (8) Decentralized optimal control strategy for parallel hybrid electric vehicles (A. Frenkel); (9) The new generation 6-speed automatic transmission AF40 (G. Bednarek); (10) Customized mechatronic solutions for integrated transmission control units (M. Wieczorek); (11) The optimal automatic transmission for front-transverse applications - Planetary transmissions or dual clutch transmissions? (G. Gumpoltsberger); (12) The new shift-by-wire gearshift lever for the Audi A8 - Requirements and concept (T. Guttenbergere); (13) The new shift-by-wire gearshift lever for the Audi A8 - Realization (A. Giefer); (14) Fuel-efficient transmissions of the future: Calculation of the efficiency factor for vehicle transmissions (B. Volpert); (15) HT-ACM: A new polymer generation for static and dynamic gearbox sealing solutions (E. Osen); (16) 'Energy efficiency equipped solutions by SKF' for power train applications - A contribution to CO{sub 2} - emission reduction and sustainability (T. Bobke); (17) 6-Ratio planetary shift transmission controlled by 4 external brakes, and design

  17. CASA Forest Cover Change Data Sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potter, Christopher S.

    2012-01-01

    Deforestation and forest fires are global land cover changes that can be caused by both natural and human factors. Although monitoring forest fires in near-real time is critical for operational wildfire management, mapping historical wildfires in a spatially explicit fashion is also important for a number of reasons, including climate change studies (e.g., examining the relationship between rising temperatures and frequency of fires), fuel load management (e.g., deciding when and where to conduct controlled burns), and carbon cycle studies (e.g., quantifying how much CO2 is emitted by fires and for emissions reduction efforts under the United Nations programs for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation -- REDD).

  18. Feasible, Efficient and Necessary, without Exception – Working with Sex Workers Interrupts HIV/STI Transmission and Brings Treatment to Many in Need

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steen, Richard; Wheeler, Tisha; Gorgens, Marelize; Mziray, Elizabeth; Dallabetta, Gina

    2015-01-01

    Background and Overview High rates of partner change in sex work—whether in professional, ‘transactional’ or other context—disproportionately drive transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Several countries in Asia have demonstrated that reducing transmission in sex work can reverse established epidemics among sex workers, their clients and the general population. Experience and emerging research from Africa reaffirms unprotected sex work to be a key driver of sexual transmission in different contexts and regardless of stage or classification of HIV epidemic. This validation of the epidemiology behind sexual transmission carries an urgent imperative to realign prevention resources and scale up effective targeted interventions in sex work settings, and, given declining HIV resources, to do so efficiently. Eighteen articles in this issue highlight the importance and feasibility of such interventions under four themes: 1) epidemiology, data needs and modelling of sex work in generalised epidemics; 2) implementation science addressing practical aspects of intervention scale-up; 3) community mobilisation and 4) the treatment cascade for sex workers living with HIV. Conclusion Decades of empirical evidence, extended by analyses in this collection, argue that protecting sex work is, without exception, feasible and necessary for controlling HIV/STI epidemics. In addition, the disproportionate burden of HIV borne by sex workers calls for facilitated access to ART, care and support. The imperative for Africa is rapid scale-up of targeted prevention and treatment, facilitated by policies and action to improve conditions where sex work takes place. The opportunity is a wealth of accumulated experience working with sex workers in diverse settings, which can be tapped to make up for lost time. Elsewhere, even in countries with strong interventions and services for sex workers, an emerging challenge is to find ways to sustain them in the face of

  19. Singularities of the transmission coefficient and anomalous scattering by a dielectric slab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shestopalov, Yury

    2018-03-01

    We prove the existence and describe the distribution on the complex plane of the singularities, resonant states (RSs), of the transmission coefficient in the problem of the plane wave scattering by a parallel-plate dielectric slab in free space. It is shown that the transmission coefficient has isolated poles all with nonzero imaginary parts that form countable sets in the complex plane of the refraction index or permittivity of the slab with the only accumulation point at infinity. The transmission coefficient never vanishes and anomalous scattering, when its modulus exceeds unity, occurs at arbitrarily small loss of the dielectric filling the layer. These results are extended to the cases of scattering by arbitrary multi-layer parallel-plane media. Connections are established between RSs, spectral singularities, eigenvalues of the associated Sturm-Liouville problems on the line, and zeros of the corresponding Jost function.

  20. Finite element simulation of laser transmission welding of dissimilar ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    materials between polyvinylidene fluoride and titanium ... finite element (FE) thermal model is developed to simulate the laser ... Keywords: Laser transmission welding, Temperature field, Weld dimension, Finite element analysis, Thermal modeling. 1. .... 4) The heating phenomena due to the phase changes are neglected.

  1. The Transmission Chain Analysis of 2014–2015 Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone: An Observational Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ifeanyi-Stanley Muoghalu

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available IntroductionSierra Leone experienced an unprecedented Ebola virus disease (EVD outbreak in all its districts. Koinadugu District was the last to report an EVD case. Several outbreak response strategies were implemented. As part of lessons learnt, we conducted an observational study to describe the transmission chain in the district and the impact of the control measures implemented to contain the outbreak.MethodsWe reconstructed the transmission chain, positioning both confirmed and probable cases, described the distribution of the EVD confirmed cases in the context of the routes of transmission (Community, Funeral or Health facility setting and assessed the impact of control measures using the surveillance data collected during the outbreak.ResultsAll 142 confirmed and probable EVD cases registered were fully resolved in the transmission chain. 72.5% of all the EVD cases in the district were exposed in the community, 26.1% exposed during funerals, and 1.4% exposed in the health facility setting. Health-care workers contributed little to the EVD outbreak. 71.1% of EVD transmission occurred among family members. Female EVD cases generated more secondary cases than their male counterparts (P = 0.03. With removal of EVD cases from the community and admission to the community care center (CCC, the EVD transmission in the community decreased to substantially lower rates. In addition, transmission due to exposure in health facilities was further reduced with the implementation of full infection and prevention controls.ConclusionThis study details the transmission chain of EVD in a rural district setting and the public health interventions implemented to successfully limit the outbreak to just one of 11 chiefdoms. Heightened community-based surveillance for early case detection, swift isolation of suspect cases, efficient contact tracing and monitoring, and good infection prevention and control measures in health facilities were highly effective in

  2. Theoretical vibro-acoustic modeling of acoustic noise transmission through aircraft windows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aloufi, Badr; Behdinan, Kamran; Zu, Jean

    2016-06-01

    In this paper, a fully vibro-acoustic model for sound transmission across a multi-pane aircraft window is developed. The proposed model is efficiently applied for a set of window models to perform extensive theoretical parametric studies. The studied window configurations generally simulate the passenger window designs of modern aircraft classes which have an exterior multi-Plexiglas pane, an interior single acrylic glass pane and a dimmable glass ("smart" glass), all separated by thin air cavities. The sound transmission loss (STL) characteristics of three different models, triple-, quadruple- and quintuple-paned windows identical in size and surface density, are analyzed for improving the acoustic insulation performances. Typical results describing the influence of several system parameters, such as the thicknesses, number and spacing of the window panes, on the transmission loss are then investigated. In addition, a comparison study is carried out to evaluate the acoustic reduction capability of each window model. The STL results show that the higher frequencies sound transmission loss performance can be improved by increasing the number of window panels, however, the low frequency performance is decreased, particularly at the mass-spring resonances.

  3. Opportunities and Challenges of AC/DC Transmission Network Planning Considering High Proportion Renewable Energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arslan Habib

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The time and space distribution characteristics of future high proportion of renewable energy sources will bring unprecedented challenges to the electric power system’s processing and planning, the basic form of electric power system and operating characteristics will have fundamental changes. Based on the research status quo at home and abroad, this paper expounds the four scientific problems of the transmission network planning with high proportion of renewable energy. Respectively, from the network source collaborative planning, transmission network flexible planning. With the distribution network in conjunction with the transmission network planning, transmission planning program comprehensive evaluation and decision-making methods. This paper puts forward the research ideas and framework of transmission network planning considering the high proportion of renewable energy. At the end, the future high proportion of (renewable energy grid-connected transmission network’s opportunities and challenges are presented.

  4. Video transmission on ATM networks. Ph.D. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yun-Chung

    1993-01-01

    The broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN) is expected to provide high-speed and flexible multimedia applications. Multimedia includes data, graphics, image, voice, and video. Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is the adopted transport techniques for B-ISDN and has the potential for providing a more efficient and integrated environment for multimedia. It is believed that most broadband applications will make heavy use of visual information. The prospect of wide spread use of image and video communication has led to interest in coding algorithms for reducing bandwidth requirements and improving image quality. The major results of a study on the bridging of network transmission performance and video coding are: Using two representative video sequences, several video source models are developed. The fitness of these models are validated through the use of statistical tests and network queuing performance. A dual leaky bucket algorithm is proposed as an effective network policing function. The concept of the dual leaky bucket algorithm can be applied to a prioritized coding approach to achieve transmission efficiency. A mapping of the performance/control parameters at the network level into equivalent parameters at the video coding level is developed. Based on that, a complete set of principles for the design of video codecs for network transmission is proposed.

  5. Adaptation of Plasmodium falciparum to its transmission environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rono, Martin K; Nyonda, Mary A; Simam, Joan J; Ngoi, Joyce M; Mok, Sachel; Kortok, Moses M; Abdullah, Abdullah S; Elfaki, Mohammed M; Waitumbi, John N; El-Hassan, Ibrahim M; Marsh, Kevin; Bozdech, Zbynek; Mackinnon, Margaret J

    2018-02-01

    Success in eliminating malaria will depend on whether parasite evolution outpaces control efforts. Here, we show that Plasmodium falciparum parasites (the deadliest of the species causing human malaria) found in low-transmission-intensity areas have evolved to invest more in transmission to new hosts (reproduction) and less in within-host replication (growth) than parasites found in high-transmission areas. At the cellular level, this adaptation manifests as increased production of reproductive forms (gametocytes) early in the infection at the expense of processes associated with multiplication inside red blood cells, especially membrane transport and protein trafficking. At the molecular level, this manifests as changes in the expression levels of genes encoding epigenetic and translational machinery. Specifically, expression levels of the gene encoding AP2-G-the transcription factor that initiates reproduction-increase as transmission intensity decreases. This is accompanied by downregulation and upregulation of genes encoding HDAC1 and HDA1-two histone deacetylases that epigenetically regulate the parasite's replicative and reproductive life-stage programmes, respectively. Parasites in reproductive mode show increased reliance on the prokaryotic translation machinery found inside the plastid-derived organelles. Thus, our dissection of the parasite's adaptive regulatory architecture has identified new potential molecular targets for malaria control.

  6. Transmission Integration | Grid Modernization | NREL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Transmission Integration Transmission Integration The goal of NREL's transmission integration integration issues and provide data, analysis, and models to enable the electric power system to more and finding solutions to address them to enable transmission grid integration. Capabilities Power

  7. Exploration of Mechanisms behind Changes after Participation in a Parenting Intervention: A Qualitative Study in a Low-Resource Setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mejia, Anilena; Ulph, Fiona; Calam, Rachel

    2016-03-01

    Parenting interventions are effective for preventing psychological difficulties in children. However, their active ingredients have not been comprehensively explored. How do they work? What are the mechanisms operating behind changes? In 2012, a randomized controlled trial of a parenting intervention was conducted in low-resource communities of Panama. Effects on child behavioral difficulties, parental stress, and parenting practices were large in the short and long term. This was an ideal opportunity to explore potential mechanisms operating behind effects found in this low-resource setting. Twenty-five parents were interviewed. Data were analyzed through an inductive semantic thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from the data: (a) psychological mechanisms behind changes, (b) behavioral changes in parent, and (c) changes in the children. Parents described that the intervention triggered changes in emotion regulation, self-efficacy, and problem solving. Parents also reported behavioral changes such as praising their children more often, who in turn seemed more responsible and better at following instructions. The study offers participant-driven insight into potential pathways of change after participation in this parenting intervention, pathways that are often overlooked in quantitative studies. Future studies should further explore these pathways, through mediator and moderator analyses, and determine how much is shared across interventions and across different cultural settings. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

  8. Improving outcomes in infants of HIV-infected women in a developing country setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noel, Francine; Mehta, Sapna; Zhu, Yuwei; Rouzier, Patricia De Matteis; Marcelin, Abdias; Shi, Jian R; Nolte, Claudine; Severe, Linda; Deschamps, Marie Marcelle; Fitzgerald, Daniel W; Johnson, Warren D; Wright, Peter F; Pape, Jean W

    2008-01-01

    Since 1999 GHESKIO, a large voluntary counseling and HIV testing center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has had an ongoing collaboration with the Haitian Ministry of Health to reduce the rate of mother to child HIV transmission. There are limited data on the ability to administer complex regimens for reducing mother to child transmission and on risk factors for continued transmission and infant mortality within programmatic settings in developing countries. We analyzed data from 551 infants born to HIV-infected mothers seen at GHESKIO, between 1999 and 2005. HIV-infected mothers and their infants were given "short-course" monotherapy with antiretrovirals for prophylaxis; and, since 2003, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) when clinical or laboratory indications were met. Infected women seen in the pre-treatment era had 27% transmission rates, falling to 10% in this cohort of 551 infants, and to only 1.9% in infants of women on HAART. Mortality rate after HAART introduction (0.12 per year of follow-up [0.08-0.16]) was significantly lower than the period before the availability of such therapy (0.23 [0.16-0.30], Pbirth weight on mortality and transmission were determined using univariate and multivariate analysis. Infant HIV-1 infection and low birth weight were associated with infant mortality in less than 15 month olds in multivariate analysis. Our findings demonstrate success in prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission and mortality in a highly resource constrained setting. Elements contributing to programmatic success include provision of HAART in the context of a comprehensive program with pre and postnatal care for both mother and infant.

  9. Efficiency of financial transmission rights markets in centrally coordinated periodic auctions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adamson, Seabron; Noe, Thomas; Parker, Geoffrey

    2010-01-01

    Electricity market design in the United States is increasingly dominated by locational marginal pricing (LMP) of energy and transmission. LMP markets are typically coupled with periodic auctions of financial transmission rights (FTRs) to hedge transmission price risks. While LMP designs offer considerable advantages, forward price discovery in these markets requires participants to form efficient expectations on spot congestion price differences. In this paper, we examine trends in the efficiency of one of the early LMP markets, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), analyzing a panel data set of over 9000 contracts over a six-year period beginning September 2000. We show that NYISO FTR markets were inefficient in their early years, but that market participants learned to predict forward prices and thus efficiency improved for FTRs not solely within the New York City/Long Island sub-region. FTRs within this sub-region, which has a number of special characteristics, remain relatively inefficient. (author)

  10. Modeling effective transmission pathways and control of the world's most successful parasite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Matthew; Lenhart, Suzanne; Rosenthal, Benjamin; Zhao, Xiaopeng

    2013-06-01

    Toxoplasma gondii(T. gondii) is a single-celled, intracellular protozoan responsible for the disease toxoplasmosis. The parasite is prevalent worldwide, and it infects all warm-blooded vertebrates. Consumption of meats in which this parasite has encysted confers risk of infection to people and other animals, as does ingestion of water or foods contaminated with environmentally resistant oocysts excreted by cats. Vertical transmission (from mother to offspring) is also possible, leading to disease risk and contributing additional means of ensuring perpetuation of transmission. In this work, we adopt a differential equation model to investigate the effective transmission pathways of T. gondii, as well as potential control mechanisms. Detailed analyses are carried out to examine the significance of transmission routes, virulence, vertical transmission, parasite-induced changes in host behavior, and controls based on vaccination and harvesting. Modeling and analysis efforts may shed insights into understanding the complex life cycle of T. gondii. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. A novel concept for a translational continuously variable transmission

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dresscher, Douwe; de Vries, Theodorus J.A.; Stramigioli, Stefano

    2015-01-01

    Continuously Variable Transmissions have the potential to change robotics. When used in a drive train in combination with a spring, they could significantly reduce energy consumption. However, so far these advantages have been shown in theory only. To exploit the concept of a Continuously Variable

  12. The transmission of vertical vibration through seats: Influence of the characteristics of the human body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toward, Martin G. R.; Griffin, Michael J.

    2011-12-01

    The transmission of vibration through a seat depends on the impedance of the seat and the apparent mass of the seat occupant. This study was designed to determine how factors affecting the apparent mass of the body (age, gender, physical characteristics, backrest contact, and magnitude of vibration) affect seat transmissibility. The transmission of vertical vibration through a car seat was measured with 80 adults (41 males and 39 females aged 18-65) at frequencies between 0.6 and 20 Hz with two backrest conditions (no backrest and backrest), and with three magnitudes of random vibration (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m s -2 rms). Linear regression models were used to study the effects of subject physical characteristics (age, gender, and anthropometry) and features of their apparent mass (resonance frequency, apparent mass at resonance and at 12 Hz) on the measured seat transmissibility. The strongest predictor of both the frequency of the principal resonance in seat transmissibility and the seat transmissibility at resonance was subject age, with other factors having only marginal effects. The transmissibility of the seat at 12 Hz depended on subject age, body mass index, and gender. Although subject weight was strongly associated with apparent mass, weight was not strongly associated with seat transmissibility. The resonance frequency of the seat decreased with increases in the magnitude of the vibration excitation and increased when subjects made contact with the backrest. Inter-subject variability in the resonance frequency and transmissibility at resonance was less with greater vibration excitation, but was largely unaffected by backrest contact. A lumped parameter seat-person model showed that changes in seat transmissibility with age can be predicted from changes in apparent mass with age, and that the dynamic stiffness of the seat appeared to increase with increased loading so as to compensate for increases in subject apparent mass associated with increased sitting

  13. Mixed raster content segmentation, compression, transmission

    CERN Document Server

    Pavlidis, George

    2017-01-01

    This book presents the main concepts in handling digital images of mixed content, traditionally referenced as mixed raster content (MRC), in two main parts. The first includes introductory chapters covering the scientific and technical background aspects, whereas the second presents a set of research and development approaches to tackle key issues in MRC segmentation, compression and transmission. The book starts with a review of color theory and the mechanism of color vision in humans. In turn, the second chapter reviews data coding and compression methods so as to set the background and demonstrate the complexity involved in dealing with MRC. Chapter three addresses the segmentation of images through an extensive literature review, which highlights the various approaches used to tackle MRC segmentation. The second part of the book focuses on the segmentation of color images for optimized compression, including multi-layered decomposition and representation of MRC and the processes that can be employed to op...

  14. Analysis of the Single Toggle Jaw Crusher Force Transmission Characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moses Frank Oduori

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper sets out to perform a static force analysis of the single toggle jaw crusher mechanism and to obtain the force transmission characteristics of the mechanism. In order to obtain force transmission metrics that are characteristic of the structure of the mechanism, such influences as friction, dead weight, and inertia are considered to be extraneous and neglected. Equations are obtained by considering the balance of forces at the moving joints and appropriately relating these to the input torque and the output torque. A mechanical advantage, the corresponding transmitted torque, and the variations thereof, during the cycle of motion of the mechanism, are obtained. The mechanical advantage that characterizes the mechanism is calculated as the mean value over the active crushing stroke of the mechanism. The force transmission characteristics can be used as criteria for the comparison of different jaw crusher mechanism designs in order to select the most suitable design for a given application. The equations obtained can also be used in estimating the forces sustained by the components of the mechanism.

  15. Interference Cancellation Schemes for Single-Carrier Block Transmission with Insufficient Cyclic Prefix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hayashi Kazunori

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This paper proposes intersymbol interference (ISI and interblock interference (IBI cancellation schemes at the transmitter and the receiver for the single-carrier block transmission with insufficient cyclic prefix (CP. The proposed scheme at the transmitter can exterminate the interferences by only setting some signals in the transmitted signal block to be the same as those of the previous transmitted signal block. On the other hand, the proposed schemes at the receiver can cancel the interferences without any change in the transmitted signals compared to the conventional method. The IBI components are reduced by using previously detected data signals, while for the ISI cancellation, we firstly change the defective channel matrix into a circulant matrix by using the tentative decisions, which are obtained by our newly derived frequency domain equalization (FDE, and then the conventional FDE is performed to compensate the ISI. Moreover, we propose a pilot signal configuration, which enables us to estimate a channel impulse response whose order is greater than the guard interval (GI. Computer simulations show that the proposed interference cancellation schemes can significantly improve bit error rate (BER performance, and the validity of the proposed channel estimation scheme is also demonstrated.

  16. Soil compaction: Evaluation of stress transmission and resulting soil structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naveed, Muhammad; Schjønning, Per; Keller, Thomas; Lamande, Mathieu

    2016-04-01

    Accurate estimation of stress transmission and resultant deformation in soil profiles is a prerequisite for the development of predictive models and decision support tools for preventing soil compaction. Numerous studies have been carried out on the effects of soil compaction, whilst relatively few studies have focused on the cause (mode of stress transmission in the soil). We have coupled both cause and effects together in the present study by carrying out partially confined compression tests on (1) wet aggregates, (2) air dry aggregates, and (3) intact soils to quantify stress transmission and compaction-resulted soil structure at the same time. Stress transmission was quantified using both X-ray CT and Tactilus sensor mat, and soil-pore structure was quantified using X-ray CT. Our results imply that stress transmission through soil highly depends on the magnitude of applied load and aggregate strength. As soon as the applied load is lower than the aggregate strength, the mode of stress transmission is discrete as stresses were mainly transmitted through chain of aggregates. With increasing applied load soil aggregates start deforming that transformed heterogeneous soil into homogenous, as a result stress transmission mode was shifted from discrete towards more like a continuum. Continuum-like stress transmission mode was better simulated with Boussinesq (1885) model based on theory of elasticity compared to discrete. The soil-pore structure was greatly affected by increasing applied stresses. Total porosity was reduced 5-16% and macroporosity 50-85% at 620 kPa applied stress for the intact soils. Similarly, significant changes in the morphological indices of the macropore space were also observed with increasing applied stresses.

  17. [Ecology and transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsollier, L; Aubry, J; Saint-André, J-P; Robert, R; Legras, P; Manceau, A-L; Bourdon, S; Audrain, C; Carbonnelle, B

    2003-10-01

    Mycobacterium ulcerans is an environmental pathogen concerning mainly the tropical countries; it is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, which has become the third most important mycobacterial disease. In spite of water-linked epidemiological studies to identify the sources of M. ulcerans, the reservoir and the mode of transmission of this organism remain elusive. To determine the ecology and the mode of transmission of M. ulcerans we have set up an experimental model. This experimental model demonstrated that water bugs were able to transmit M. ulcerans by bites. In insects, the bacilli were localized exclusively within salivary glands, where it could both multiply contrary to other mycobacteria species. In another experimental study, we report that the crude extracts from aquatic plants stimulate in vitro the growth of M. ulcerans as much as the biofilm formation by M. ulcerans has been observed on aquatic plants. Given that the water bugs are essentially carnivorous, it is difficult to imagine a direct contact in the contamination of aquatic bugs and plants. It seems very likely that an intermediate host exists. In an endemic area of Daloa in Côte d'Ivoire, our observations were confirmed.

  18. Multi-Speed Transmission For Commercial Delivery Medium Duty PEDVs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chavdar, Bulent [Eaton Corp., Menomonee Falls, WI (United States)

    2017-12-31

    Successful completion of the proposed project will set a course for improving quality of life by overcoming key challenges in the gearbox for commercial-delivery, medium-duty, plug-in electric drive vehicles: It will reduce US dependency on foreign oil through the use of electric driven propulsion instead of fuel driven. It will reduce health risks by replacing tailpipe emissions in densely populated city centers. Finally, it will improve the performance-cost basis to meet or exceed the expectations of the targeted medium duty vehicle fleet owners and the independent customers. The proposed multi-speed transmission will narrow motor operation to the peak efficiency region, thereby increasing the electric powertrain efficiency to help close the range gap. Further, it will enhance customer satisfaction by improving vehicle acceleration, top speed and gradeability over the baseline. The project was conducted in three budget periods: In BP1: Technology Development, High-level vehicle powertrain models were used to optimize candidate transmission architectures and ratios along with a variety of traction motor characteristics for concept selection. The detailed driveline designs and component dynamics were investigated to meet medium-duty EV requirements; In BP2: Technology Development and Prototype Demonstration, The modeling and simulations with multi-speed transmissions were extended to other MD and HD EV platforms. Clean sheet design of a compact, lightweight, flexible, and modular, four-speed transmission was completed. Development of novel shifting and controls strategies were started and procurement of the prototype transmission and the controller hardware was begun; In BP3: Technology Integration, Testing, and Demonstration, Prototyping the four-speed automated mechanical transmission was completed. The transmission controls system and software development and preliminary gearbox dyno tests were done at Eaton. ORNL conducted integrated powertrain HIL tests. One

  19. The development of structures and the prospects of automatic transmissions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. I. Girutskiy

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available At the present stage development of transport technology has a rapid change of production models along with intensification of modification processes of vehicles, increasing number of new developments thereby providing vehicles with higher consumer qualities and competitiveness at the markets. Automation control of car transmissions is an important task. It raises the life of the engine and transmission, increased permeability and comfort due to a smoother change of torque to the drive wheels, driving off, and acceleration, etc.The article analyzes the promising schemes rotary shaft and planetary gearboxes of leading companies in the world automotive industry, the advantages of automated transmissions. It offers the prospects of creating the control systems of transmissions based on artificial intelligence methods.To design modern vehicles equipped with automatically controlled fluid transmission is a challenge. It requires various technologies to be applied using new technical solutions and scientific principles. An analysis to solve the problem of automation control of various technical objects shows that the classical theory of automatic control does not allow taking into account the diversity of vehicles operating conditions. In this regard, the effectiveness of the systems based on its scientific principles becomes often lower than expected.Implementation of modern design technology is based on a number of scientific and philosophical principles. The most important and most common of them is the principle of hierarchy, which means to structure representations of objects by degree of detailed descriptions and the principle of decomposition (blocking, which means to decompose representations of each level on the number of components (blocks with the possibility for the separate (sub-block designing.In order to create a design of control systems for the cars and synthesize its control algorithms within the framework of the developed concept

  20. Transmission rights and market power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bushnell, J.

    1999-01-01

    Most of the concerns about physical transmission rights relate to the ability to implicitly or explicitly remove that transmission capacity from the market-place. Under a very strict form of physical right, owners could simply choose not to sell it if they don't want to use it. Modifications that require the release of spare capacity back into an open market could potentially alleviate this problem but there is concern that such releases would not occur far enough in advance to be of much use to schedulers. Similarly, the transmission capacity that is made available for use by non-rights holders can also be manipulated by the owners of transmission rights. The alternative form, financial transmission rights, provide to their owners congestion payments, but physical control of transmission paths. In electricity markets such as California's, even financial transmission rights could potentially be utilized to effectively withhold transmission capacity from the marketplace. However, methods for withholding transmission capacity are somewhat more convoluted, and probably more difficult, for owners of financial rights than for owners of physical rights. In this article, the author discusses some of the potential concerns over transmission rights and their use for the exercise of various forms of market power

  1. Appreciative Inquiry as an intervention to change nursing practice in in-patient settings: An integrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watkins, Sarah; Dewar, Belinda; Kennedy, Catriona

    2016-08-01

    High profile accounts of failures in patient care reflect an urgent need for transformational development in healthcare. Appreciative Inquiry is promoted as an approach to exploring and bringing about change in social systems. Appreciative Inquiry has been used extensively in North American business since the late 1980s. The application of Appreciative Inquiry may have merit in the complex world of human health experiences. To identify, evaluate and synthesise the evidence about the impact of Appreciative Inquiry on changing clinical nursing practice in in-patient settings. An integrative review and narrative synthesis. In-patient settings including paediatrics, maternity and mental health. Nurses of all grades, patients, carers, relatives, other healthcare professionals including allied healthcare staff, management and students. An electronic search of the following electronic databases was performed in January 2015 and updated in July 2015: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library (Cochrane database of systematic reviews), Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, Amed, Assia, Scopus and Web of Science. Hand searching of reference lists of included studies was undertaken. Limits were set to include literature published in English only and publications from 1990 to July 2015. Three reviewers independently assessed eligibility for inclusion and extracted data. Full text articles were systematically appraised using a standardised data extraction instrument in conjunction with criteria to assess whether change using Appreciative Inquiry is transformational. Eight studies (reported in 11 papers) met the inclusion criteria. Overall, these studies demonstrate poor application of Appreciative Inquiry criteria in a nursing context. This makes judgement of the impact difficult. One study achieved transformation against agreed criteria for Appreciative Inquiry. Other included studies demonstrated that Appreciative Inquiry is being

  2. Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Attitudes: Evidence from India

    OpenAIRE

    Diva Dhar; Tarun Jain; Seema Jayachandran

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines the intergenerational transmission of gender attitudes in India, a setting where discrimination against women and girls is severe. We use survey data on gender attitudes (specifically, views about the appropriate roles and rights of women and girls) collected from adolescents attending 314 schools in the state of Haryana, and their parents. We find that when a parent holds a more discriminatory attitude, his or her child is about 15 to 20 percentage points more likely to h...

  3. Porosity measurement of amorphous materials by gamma ray transmission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poettker, Walmir Eno

    2000-01-01

    In this work it is presented the measurement of the total porosity of TRe soil, Sandstone Berea rocks and porous ceramics samples. For the determination of the total porosity, the Arquimedes method (conventional) and the gamma ray transmission methodology were employed. The porosity measurement using the gamma methodology has a significant advantage respect to the conventional method due to the fast and non-destructive determination, and also for supplying results with a greater characterization in small scales, in relation to the heterogeneity of the porosity. The conventional methodology presents good results only for homogeneous samples. The experimental set up for the gamma ray transmission technique consisted of a 241 Am source (59,53 keV), a NaI (Tl) scintillation detector, collimators, a XYZ, micrometric table and standard gamma spectrometry electronics connected to a multichannel analyser. (author)

  4. A multi-objective framework for dynamic transmission expansion planning in competitive electricity market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foroud, Asghar Akbari; Abdoos, Ali Akbar; Keypour, Reza; Amirahmadi, Meisam

    2010-01-01

    Restructuring of power system has changed the traditional planning objectives and introduced challenges in the field of Transmission Expansion Planning (TEP). Due to these changes, new approaches and criteria are needed for transmission planning in deregulated environment. Therefore, in this paper, a dynamic expansion methodology is presented using a multi-objective optimization framework. Investment cost, congestion cost and reliability are considered in the optimization as three objectives. To overcome the difficulties in solving the non-convex and mixed integer nature of the optimization problems, a Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA II) approach is used followed by a fuzzy decision making analysis to obtain the final optimal solution. The planning methodology has been demonstrated on the IEEE 24-bus test system and north-east of Iran national 400 kV transmission grid to show the feasibility and capabilities of the proposed algorithm in electricity market environment. (author)

  5. Propagation of disturbances as voltage fluctuations in transmission networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albert Hermina

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Significant changes occurred in the power system in Romania in recent years by reducing the power used in the system, the number of classic power sources in operation as well as by implementing renewable energy sources, have determined short circuit power reduction (node rigidity in the points where disturbing users are connected, that in the absence of adequate measures, result in disturbances above acceptable levels. The paper analyzes two power systems areas in which are connected users that cause voltage fluctuation. Disturbances as voltage fluctuations resulting in these nodes may exceed the acceptable values and can spread in the transmission network affecting power quality over large system areas. The analysis conducted reveals the influence of short circuit power in nodes where these users are connected and highlights the fact that in some cases (e.g. lines out of operation for maintenance, shutdown of classic units in the area the disturbances in the transmission network sent to the users at lower voltages may have values above those allowed. Technical Code of existing power transmission network makes no reference to voltage fluctuations, as a rule, in the electricity transmission network was considered that this phenomenon should not exist.

  6. Alternative approaches to transmission investment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Welch, J.L. [International Transmission Co., Detroit, MI (United States)

    2004-07-01

    The International Transmission Company (ITC) is an independent power transmission company that owns, operates and maintains the high voltage transmission system in southeastern Michigan. The company's current focus is on investing in the transmission infrastructure to improve reliability, relieve congestion, improve access to generation and reduce energy costs for consumers. There is a need for investment in power transmission. Trends indicate that power transactions are on the rise while transmission investment is lagging because pricing protocols are inadequate and there is no regional tariff mechanism to allocate the benefits of new investment. The presentation reviewed the applicability of FTRs to transmission owners and the pitfalls of participant funding pricing. It also outlined the regional benefit allocation mechanism (RBAM) with an illustrative example. It was concluded that existing pricing policies must be improved to address the growing need for transmission investment. RBAM is needed to help investors recover costs from project beneficiaries. figs.

  7. SU-E-P-09: Radiation Transmission Measurements and Evaluation of Diagnostic Lead-Based and Lead-Free Aprons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Syh, J [Willis-Knighton Medical Center, Shreveport, LA (United States)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: This study was conducted to ensure that various lead shield apron manufacturers provided accurate attenuation factors regardless of whether the apron was made of lead-based or lead-free equivalent material. Methods: A calibrated ionization survey meter was placed at chest height and 36 cm horizontally away from a solid water phantom on a simulator couch. Measurements were done with or without apron. Radiation field was set to 24cmx24cm with the phantom at 100cm source-to-surface distance. Irradiation time was set for 1 minute at voltages of 60, 80, 100 and 120 kVp. Current was set at 6mA. Results: Between 60 kVp and 120 kVp, the transmission through 0.50 mm of lead-based apron was between 1.0% and 6.5% with a mean value of 3.2% and a standard deviation (s.d.) of 1.4%. The transmissions through the 0.50 mm lead-free aprons were 1.0 % to 12.0% with a mean value of 6.1% and s.d. of 2.6%. At 120 kVp, the transmission value was 6.5% for 0.50 mm lead-based apron and 11.1% to 12.0% for 0.50 mm lead-free aprons. The radiation transmissions at 80 kVp, measured in two different 0.5 mm lead-free aprons, were 4.3% each. However, only 1.4% transmission was found through the lead-based apron. Overall, the radiation transmitted through the lead-based apron was 1/3 transmission of lead-free at 80kVp, and half value of lead-free aprons at 100 and 120 kVp. Conclusion: Even though lead-based and lead-free aprons all claimed to have the same lead equivalent thickness, the transmission might not be the same. The precaution was needed to exercise diligence in quality assurance program to assure adequate protection to staff who wear it during diagnostic procedures. The requirement for aprons not only should be in certain thickness to meet state regulation but also to keep reasonably achievable low exposure with the accurate labeling from manufacturers.

  8. SU-E-P-09: Radiation Transmission Measurements and Evaluation of Diagnostic Lead-Based and Lead-Free Aprons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Syh, J

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: This study was conducted to ensure that various lead shield apron manufacturers provided accurate attenuation factors regardless of whether the apron was made of lead-based or lead-free equivalent material. Methods: A calibrated ionization survey meter was placed at chest height and 36 cm horizontally away from a solid water phantom on a simulator couch. Measurements were done with or without apron. Radiation field was set to 24cmx24cm with the phantom at 100cm source-to-surface distance. Irradiation time was set for 1 minute at voltages of 60, 80, 100 and 120 kVp. Current was set at 6mA. Results: Between 60 kVp and 120 kVp, the transmission through 0.50 mm of lead-based apron was between 1.0% and 6.5% with a mean value of 3.2% and a standard deviation (s.d.) of 1.4%. The transmissions through the 0.50 mm lead-free aprons were 1.0 % to 12.0% with a mean value of 6.1% and s.d. of 2.6%. At 120 kVp, the transmission value was 6.5% for 0.50 mm lead-based apron and 11.1% to 12.0% for 0.50 mm lead-free aprons. The radiation transmissions at 80 kVp, measured in two different 0.5 mm lead-free aprons, were 4.3% each. However, only 1.4% transmission was found through the lead-based apron. Overall, the radiation transmitted through the lead-based apron was 1/3 transmission of lead-free at 80kVp, and half value of lead-free aprons at 100 and 120 kVp. Conclusion: Even though lead-based and lead-free aprons all claimed to have the same lead equivalent thickness, the transmission might not be the same. The precaution was needed to exercise diligence in quality assurance program to assure adequate protection to staff who wear it during diagnostic procedures. The requirement for aprons not only should be in certain thickness to meet state regulation but also to keep reasonably achievable low exposure with the accurate labeling from manufacturers

  9. The Transfer efficiency analysis and modeling technology of new non - contact power transmission equipment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cao Shi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the shortcomings of current power transmission which is used in ultrasound - assisted machining and the different transfer efficiency caused by the related parameters of the electromagnetic converter, this paper proposes an analysis model of the new non-contact power transmission device with more stable output and higher transmission efficiency. Then By utilizing Maxwell finite element analysis software, this paper studies the law of the transfer efficiency of the new non-contact transformer and compares new type with traditional type with the method of setting the boundary conditions of non-contact power supply device. At last, combining with the practical application, the relevant requirements which have a certain reference value in the application are put forward in the actual processing.

  10. Simulation of Changes in the Near-Surface Soil Freeze/Thaw Cycle Using CLM4.5 With Four Atmospheric Forcing Data Sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Donglin; Wang, Aihui; Li, Duo; Hua, Wei

    2018-03-01

    Change in the near-surface soil freeze/thaw cycle is critical for assessments of hydrological activity, ecosystems, and climate change. Previous studies investigated the near-surface soil freeze/thaw cycle change mostly based on in situ observations and satellite monitoring. Here numerical simulation method is tested to estimate the long-term change in the near-surface soil freeze/thaw cycle in response to recent climate warming for its application to predictions. Four simulations are performed at 0.5° × 0.5° resolution from 1979 to 2009 using the Community Land Model version 4.5, each driven by one of the four atmospheric forcing data sets (i.e., one default Climate Research Unit-National Centers for Environmental Prediction [CRUNCEP] and three newly developed Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications, Climate Forecast System Reanalysis, and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis Interim). The observations from 299 weather stations in both Russia and China are employed to validate the simulated results. The results show that all simulations reasonably reproduce the observed variations in the ground temperature, the freeze start and end dates, and the freeze duration (the correlation coefficients range from 0.47 to 0.99, and the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiencies range from 0.19 to 0.98). Part of the simulations also exactly simulate the trends of the ground temperature, the freeze start and end dates, and the freeze duration. Of the four simulations, the results from the simulation using the CRUNCEP data set show the best overall agreement with the in situ observations, indicating that the CRUNCEP data set could be preferentially considered as the basic atmospheric forcing data set for future prediction. The simulated area-averaged annual freeze duration shortened by 8.03 days on average from 1979 to 2009, with an uncertainty (one standard deviation) of 0.67 days caused by the different atmospheric forcing data sets. These

  11. Transmission market support system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reinschmidt, K.F.; Coles, B.C.

    1995-01-01

    An interactive, computer-based market support system has been developed for transmission access that is efficient, equitable, and fair to all parties concerned with electrical transmission: utilities, electric generators, owners of transmission networks, and wholesale purchasers of electrical power. Each participant transmits electronically to the computer system his proposed price schedule for buying, selling, or transmitting power for each future time period. The price for transmission on a single line in one direction can differ from the price in the other direction. The total quantity offered in the transmission bid represents the capacity of the line, and the flow on the line cannot exceed this value. The system automatically computes the prices that clear the market; that is, the price that each generator receives at each bus, the price that each transmission operator receives on each line, and the price that each customer pays at each bus. The computer system maximizes the benefits to all three classes while satisfying the electrical characteristics of the transmission system by means of load flow calculations. Customers never pay more than their bid prices (but may pay less), and generators and transmission operators never receive less than their bid prices (but may receive more). The price at each bus applies to all buyers and sellers at that bus: all buyers at the same bus pay the same price and all generators at a bus receive the same price

  12. Simulated Benefits of Green Infrastructure for Urban Stormwater Management under Climate Change in Different Hydroclimatic and Archetypal Urban Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, T. E.; Butcher, J.; Sarkar, S.; Clark, C.

    2015-12-01

    Climate change could significantly alter the occurrence and management of urban stormwater runoff quantity and quality. Responding to this challenge requires an improved understanding of potential changes together with the effectiveness of management responses for reducing impacts under range of potential future climatic conditions. Traditional gray stormwater infrastructure generally uses single-purpose, hard structures including detention basins and storm sewers to dispose of rainwater. Green infrastructure (GI) uses vegetation and soil to manage rainwater where it falls. GI has been gaining in popularity, and has been shown to provide a number of benefits for adapting to climate change including effects on stormwater quantity, quality and carbon and nutrient biogeochemical cycling. Uncertainty remains, however, due to limited understanding of GI performance in different hydroclimatic and urban settings, and in response to changes in climate. In this study we use simulation modeling to assess the impacts of climate change on both gray (wet ponds) and green infrastructure practices (green roofs, swales, bioretention) in different hydroclimatic and urban settings. Simulations were conducted using RHESSYs, a mechanistic, hydrologic and biogeochemical model, for 36 characteristic urban "archetypes" (AUSs) representing different development patterns and GI practices found in typical U.S. cities. Climate change scenarios are based on dynamically and temporally downscaled, mid-21st century climate model output from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP). Results suggest altered mass and energy inputs will cause changes in performance of these practices for water quantity, water quality, and carbon sequestration that vary across the country. Infrastructure design should take these potential changes into consideration.

  13. Transmission Control of Transport and Technological Cars in Acceleration Mode

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. I. Plujnikov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In most structures a transmission of the transport-technological machine (TTM is controlled by automatic systems. In their creating it is necessary to specify the appropriate parameters and algorithms. In the total balance of the machine run time the acceleration mode is the most important. Therefore, an algorithm of the transmission gear ratio change during acceleration largely provides desirable rating of machines.It is known that the process of acceleration is estimated by its dynamic quality and fuel economy. To reach the best rating of both simultaneously is impossible. Therefore, as the criteria of estimate, were chosen the time and fuel consumption during acceleration to a fixed speed value.From a mathematical point of view, these criteria represent the sum of integrals, each of which defines the time or the fuel consumption during acceleration with a certain transmission gear ratio. The problem is formulated as follows: to determine the speed values of the TTM at the moments when the transmission gear ratio is changed providing the minimum values during fixed fuel supply for the estimate criteria. The latter condition in a certain way limits the task, but in explicit form there is no this control action in the dependence data.Given the variety of possible design options for the TTM, the solution is given by a specific example that simplifies the mathematics and makes it easier to understand the results obtained. As a TTM, is considered a passenger car with petrol engine and automatic transmission, which includes a hydrodynamic transformer and three-speed gearbox.A chosen way of solving the problem involves using the theory of ordinary maxima and minima, which allows finding the unknown values of independent variables. The expressions of sub-integral functions are in explicit form obtained and studied for meeting the necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of the extreme point. The result was a proof that in the case of

  14. Transmission ethnic-cultural senses throught national cuisine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. I. Burdeyna

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Global society requires acceleration and diversification of ways data’s transmission, erasing the boundaries between people and nations. However, there always will be a certain sign that distinguishes one ethnic group among others. Ethno­cultural specificity is kept and transmitted by various means. Cuisine as one of the most important everyday realities is also transmitting ethnic and cultural meanings. Moreover, each dish is a kind of special semiotic text content. Are there reasons that motivate each of us to choose the dishes? Do our choices genetically depend on our ancestors? Or just have a set of personal culinary preferences? The national dish is one of the cultural and historical features. Every national cuisine established concepts that have appeared in the process of communication. Borsch is such a concept and the ethnic mark for Ukrainians at the same time. Cooking and eating is a synthetic type of communication that produces transmission and perception of information kinesthetic, auditory and visual methods. Except the usual everyday dishes there are festive that are becoming solemn, not average.

  15. Sero-epidemiological evaluation of changes in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax transmission patterns over the rainy season in Cambodia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cook, Jackie; Speybroeck, Nico; Sochanta, Tho

    2012-01-01

    In Cambodia, malaria transmission is low and most cases occur in forested areas. Sero-epidemiological techniques can be used to identify both areas of ongoing transmission and high-risk groups to be targeted by control interventions. This study utilizes repeated cross-sectional data to assess...

  16. Karakteristik Traksi dan Kinerja Transmisi pada Sistem Gear Transmission dan Gearless Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.A.I.A. Sri Komaladewi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstrak : Sistem transmisi adalah salah satu komponen penting pada sistem drive train, yang fungsiutamanya adalah mentramsmisikan atau mentransformasikan torsi yang keluar dari mesin sampaike torsi yang terjadi pada roda penggerak. Ratio transmisi berpengaruh terhadap besarnya torsiyang dapat ditransmisikan, sedangkan jumlah tingkat kecepatannya berpengaruh terhadapkehalusan (smoothness proses transmisi dan transformasi daya pada sistem transmisi tersebut.Karakteristik traksi dan kinerja transmisi kendaraan yang diuji adalah Toyota Kijang Inova tahun2012, Pemodelan kinerja traksi dilakukan dengan metode simulasi. Karakteristik traksi dari sistemtransmisi kendaraan dianalisa paada beberapa tingkat kecepatan untuk mengatasi berbagaihambatan sepanjang kondisi operasi kendaraan. Perhitungan awal dari ratio gigi antara yangtertinggi dan terendah dapat dicari dengan menggunakan hukum Progresi Geometri. Ratio dariroda gigi akhir (terendah ditentukan oleh kecepatan maksimum kendaraan yang akan dirancang.Sedangkan traksi maksimum atau tanjakan maksimum menentukan besar ratio roda gigi awal(tertinggi. Kemudian ratio diantara kedua batas tersebut dibuat sedemikian rupa agar traksi yangdihasilkan kendaraan dapat mendekati karakteristik idealnya. Modifikasi ratio gigi transmisi daristandarnya mendapatkan kebutuhan traksi yang lebih kecil untuk kecepatan yang sama, baikpemasangan 4 tingkat, 5 tingkat, maupun 6 tingkat kecepatan. Jarak kurva traksi antara dua ratiogigi menunjukkan besarnya traksi yang tidak terpakai. Dari grafik kinerja transmisi menunjukkansemakin banyak tingkat transmisi, semakin kecil traksi yang terbuang.Karakteristik traksi mendekatikarakteristik idealnya pada gearless transmission system dengan 10 stages.Kata kunci: drive train, rasio transmisi, kinerja traksi, progresi geometri, gearless transmission Abstract : The transmission system is one of the important components in the drive train system, whose mainfunction is to transmit or to

  17. Regulatory issues in merchant transmission investment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brunekreeft, G.

    2005-01-01

    Merchant investment in electricity transmission networks (MTI) is now legally allowed. Predominantly driven by the fear of underinvestment, regulators examine this possibility and given that MTI is a possibility, the regulators face a new set of questions. This paper raises and examines regulatory questions especially from a European institutional framework. The regulatory issues concern the competition effect, the ownership, access regime and the must-offer provision. The paper argues to leave light-handed unregulated MTI light handed and refrain from additional measures. In most cases, it is justified to refrain from sector-specific arrangements because competition,law, if necessary at all, will suffice. However, details matter. (author)

  18. The Transmission of Real Estate Shocks Through Multinational Banks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bertay, A.C.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract: This paper investigates the credit supply of banks in response to domestic and foreign real estate price changes. Using a large international dataset of multinational banks, we find evidence of a significant transmission of domestic real estate shocks into lending abroad. A 1% decrease in

  19. Microstructural changes in CdSe-coated ZnO nanowires evaluated by in situ annealing in transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Majidi, Hasti; Baxter, Jason B; Winkler, Christopher R; Taheri, Mitra L

    2012-01-01

    We report on the crystallite growth and phase change of electrodeposited CdSe coatings on ZnO nanowires during annealing. Both in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) reveal that the nanocrystal size increases from ∼3 to ∼10 nm upon annealing at 350 °C for 1 h and then to more than 30 nm during another 1 h at 400 °C, exhibiting two distinct growth regimes. Nanocrystal growth occurs together with a structural change from zinc blende to wurtzite. The structural transition begins at 350 °C, which results in the formation of stacking faults. Increased crystallite size, comparable to the coating thickness, can improve charge separation in extremely thin absorber solar cells. We demonstrate a nearly two-fold improvement in power conversion efficiency upon annealing. (paper)

  20. Microstructural changes in CdSe-coated ZnO nanowires evaluated by in situ annealing in transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majidi, Hasti; Winkler, Christopher R.; Taheri, Mitra L.; Baxter, Jason B.

    2012-07-01

    We report on the crystallite growth and phase change of electrodeposited CdSe coatings on ZnO nanowires during annealing. Both in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) reveal that the nanocrystal size increases from ˜3 to ˜10 nm upon annealing at 350 °C for 1 h and then to more than 30 nm during another 1 h at 400 °C, exhibiting two distinct growth regimes. Nanocrystal growth occurs together with a structural change from zinc blende to wurtzite. The structural transition begins at 350 °C, which results in the formation of stacking faults. Increased crystallite size, comparable to the coating thickness, can improve charge separation in extremely thin absorber solar cells. We demonstrate a nearly two-fold improvement in power conversion efficiency upon annealing.