Free energy evaluation in polymer translocation via Jarzynski equality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mondaini, Felipe; Moriconi, L.

2014-01-01

We perform, with the help of cloud computing resources, extensive Langevin simulations, which provide free energy estimates for unbiased three-dimensional polymer translocation. We employ the Jarzynski equality in its rigorous setting, to compute the variation of the free energy in single monomer translocation events. In our three-dimensional Langevin simulations, the excluded-volume and van der Waals interactions between beads (monomers and membrane atoms) are modeled through a repulsive Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential and consecutive monomers are subject to the Finite-Extension Nonlinear Elastic (FENE) potential. Analysing data for polymers with different lengths, the free energy profile is noted to have interesting finite-size scaling properties.

Reduction of the elevator illusion from continued hypergravity exposure and visual error-corrective feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, R. B.; Cohen, M. M.; DeRoshia, C. W.

1996-01-01

Ten subjects served as their own controls in two conditions of continuous, centrifugally produced hypergravity (+2 Gz) and a 1-G control condition. Before and after exposure, open-loop measures were obtained of (1) motor control, (2) visual localization, and (3) hand-eye coordination. During exposure in the visual feedback/hypergravity condition, subjects received terminal visual error-corrective feedback from their target pointing, and in the no-visual feedback/hypergravity condition they pointed open loop. As expected, the motor control measures for both experimental conditions revealed very short lived underreaching (the muscle-loading effect) at the outset of hypergravity and an equally transient negative aftereffect on returning to 1 G. The substantial (approximately 17 degrees) initial elevator illusion experienced in both hypergravity conditions declined over the course of the exposure period, whether or not visual feedback was provided. This effect was tentatively attributed to habituation of the otoliths. Visual feedback produced a smaller additional decrement and a postexposure negative after-effect, possible evidence for visual recalibration. Surprisingly, the target-pointing error made during hypergravity in the no-visual-feedback condition was substantially less than that predicted by subjects' elevator illusion. This finding calls into question the neural outflow model as a complete explanation of this illusion.

Equality and gender amongst young Basque people: A crossroads of continuities, conflicts and ruptures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mari Luz Esteban Galarza

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of the research we present in this article is to offer a general overview of the situation in the Basque Country concerning gender equality/inequality among young people. This paper is based on qualitative research conducted with young Basque people (15-30 years old. In the first part, a portrait of the young Basque population is presented with regard to formal equality and changes occurring in Spanish and Basque society over the last three decades, as well as a brief review of youth studies focusing on gender analysis. In the second part, the main results of this research are outlined, following three main lines of enquiry in relation to the maintenance or transformation of asymmetrical gender models: continuities, conflicts and ruptures.

A solid criterion based on strict LMI without invoking equality constraint for stabilization of continuous singular systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xuefeng; Chen, YangQuan

2017-11-01

The paper considers the stabilization issue of linear continuous singular systems by dealing with strict linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) without invoking equality constraint and proposes a complete and effective solved LMIs formulation. The criterion is necessary and sufficient condition and can be directly solved the feasible solutions with LMI toolbox and is much more tractable and reliable in numerical simulation than existing results, which involve positive semi-definite LMIs with equality constraints. The most important property of the criterion proposed in the paper is that it can overcome the drawbacks of the invalidity caused by the singularity of Ω=PE T +SQ for stabilization of singular systems. Two counterexamples are presented to avoid the disadvantages of the existing condition of stabilization of continuous singular systems. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Securing Gender Equality through a Nexus of Energy Policy Performance and Relative Political Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Perkins-Ozuagiemhe, Andrea Christen

This dissertation presents what is believed to be the first empirical study that measures the effect of increasing access to modern household energy sources upon advancing gender equality within developing countries. As a powerful and fundamental public infrastructural socio-economic building block, improved access to modern energy in developing countries delivers the necessary economic ingredient of time as a major component of household production and consumption and captures the interdependence between market and household economies. Thus, because it has been empirically proven that men and women differ in their utilization of household energy with women spending more time engaged in non-market household labor than men, improving access to modern household energy in developing countries, especially in rural areas, theoretically would disproportionately affect women's lives. Essentially, the element of "time" not only extends the day for women to use towards more economically and educationally productive activities, but also lessens the burden of domestic chores from women with technological advancements in more time-efficient household appliances and cleaner modern energy sources. This dissertation introduces gender differentiation in a model in the form of a gender relative status composite measure comparing socio-economic achievements in secondary education, life expectancy, and labor force participation rates by varying degree of demographic transition, thereby, measuring the effect of improved access to modern household energy upon overall gender equality. Fixed effects panel regressions employing a Driscoll-Kraay non-parametric covariance matrix, and estimated and interpreted adjusted predictions and marginal effects of the two-way interaction between a country's available access to residential electric power (kWh per capita) and the level of relative political performance against predicted values of gender relative status are employed. The models confirm

Metallothionein-Like Proteins and Energy Reserve Levels after Ni and Pb Exposure in the Pacific White Prawn Penaeus vannamei

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Nunez-Nogueira

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This study analyzed the changes in metallothionein-like proteins (MTLPs and Energy Reserves (ERs in hepatopancreas and abdominal muscle of the white prawn Penaeus vannamei. Realistic metal concentration exposure for 10 days to Ni and Pb in solution revealed that juvenile prawns partially induce MTLP in hepatopancreas after Pb exposure. Ni was distributed equally between soluble and insoluble fractions, while Pb was present only in the insoluble fraction, suggesting different detoxification strategy. No changes in lipids and glycogen concentration were detected under these experimental conditions in both tissues analyzed. MTLP could not be considered as a suitable indicator for lead exposure in hepatopancreas.

Equalized Energy Consumption in Wireless Body Area Networks for a Prolonged Network Lifetime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam El Azhari

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The phenomenal advances in electronics contributed to a widespread use of distributed sensors in wireless communications. A set of biosensors can be deployed or implanted in the human body to form a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN, where various WBAN PHY layers are utilized. The WBAN allows the measurement of physiological data, which is forwarded by the gateway to the base station for analysis purposes. The main issue in conceiving a WBAN communication mechanism is to manage the residual energy of sensors. The mobile agent system has been widely applied for surveillance applications in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs. It consists in dispatching one or more mobile agents simultaneously to collect data, while following a predetermined optimum itinerary. The continuous use of the optimal itinerary leads to a rapid depletion of sensor nodes batteries, which minimizes the network lifetime. This paper presents a new algorithm to equalize the energy consumption among sensor motes. The algorithm exploits all the available paths towards the destination and classifies them with respect to the end-to-end delay and the overall energy consumption. The proposed algorithm performs better compared to the optimal routing path. It increases the network lifetime to the maximum by postponing routing of data via the most-recently used path, and it also maintains data delivery within the delay interval threshold.

Effect of area x-ray beam equalization on image quality and dose in digital mammography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wong, Jerry; Xu Tong; Husain, Adeel; Le, Huy; Molloi, Sabee [Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States)

2004-08-21

In mammography, thick or dense breast regions persistently suffer from reduced contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) because of degraded contrast from large scatter intensities and relatively high noise. Area x-ray beam equalization can improve image quality by increasing the x-ray exposure to under-penetrated regions without increasing the exposure to other breast regions. Optimal equalization parameters with respect to image quality and patient dose were determined through computer simulations and validated with experimental observations on a step phantom and an anthropomorphic breast phantom. Three parameters important in equalization digital mammography were considered: attenuator material (Z = 13-92), beam energy (22-34 kVp) and equalization level. A Mo/Mo digital mammography system was used for image acquisition. A prototype 16 x 16 piston driven equalization system was used for preparing patient-specific equalization masks. Simulation studies showed that a molybdenum attenuator and an equalization level of 20 were optimal for improving contrast, CNR and figure of merit (FOM = CNR{sup 2}/dose). Experimental measurements using these parameters showed significant improvements in contrast, CNR and FOM. Moreover, equalized images of a breast phantom showed improved image quality. These results indicate that area beam equalization can improve image quality in digital mammography.

Comparison of the monotonic and cyclic mechanical properties of ultrafine-grained low carbon steels processed by continuous and conventional equal channel angular pressing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niendorf, T.; Böhner, A.; Höppel, H.W.; Göken, M.; Valiev, R.Z.; Maier, H.J.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► UFG low-carbon steel was successfully processed by continuous ECAP-Conform. ► Continuously processed UFG steel shows high performance. ► High monotonic strength and good ductility. ► Microstructural stability under cyclic loading in the LCF regime. ► Established concepts can be used for predicting the properties. - Abstract: In the current study the mechanical properties of ultra-fine grained low carbon steel processed by conventional equal channel angular pressing and a continuous equal channel angular pressing-Conform process were investigated. Both monotonic and cyclic properties were determined for the steel in either condition and found to be very similar. Microstructural analyses employing electron backscatter diffraction were used for comparison of the low carbon steels processed by either technique. Both steels feature very similar grain sizes and misorientation angle distributions. With respect to fatigue life the low carbon steel investigated shows properties similar to ultra-fine grained interstitial-free steel processed by conventional equal channel angular pressing, and thus, the general fatigue behavior can be addressed following the same routines as proposed for interstitial-free steel. In conclusion, the continuously processed material exhibits very promising properties, and thus, equal channel angular pressing-Conform is a promising tool for production of ultra-fine grained steels in a large quantity

Biological assessment of continuous exposure to tritium and lead in the rat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cahill, D.F.; Reiter, L.W.; Santolucito, J.A.; Rehnberg, G.I.; Ash, M.E.; Favor, M.J.; Bursian, S.J.; Wriht, J.F.; Laskey, J.W.

1976-01-01

A broad investigation of the effects of simultaneous exposure to two potentially synergistic environmental pollutants, tritiated water (HTO) and lead, was conducted. Sprague-Dawley rats were continuously exposed to HTO and/or Pb in drinking water from conception of the F 1 through adulthood of the F 2 generation. A l2-cell exposure matrix was used employing HTO activities calculated to provide approximately 3-300 mrad/d whole-body irradiation and Pb levels of 5 or 50 ppm in drinking water. Observations were made on the reproductive capacity of the F 1 generation and the effects of lifetime parental exposure to HTO and/or lead on the F 2 neonates. The effects of single and combined exposures on the development and function of the central nervous system, some brain catecholamine levels and electroencephalogram patterns were also examined in both generations. The results indicate that, in both generations, continuous HTO exposures as low as 3 mrad/d delayed development of righting reflexes in young rats; 30 mrad/d additionally depressed the spontaneous activity of adult male rats. Continuous exposure to 5 ppm lead produced similar effects on righting reflex development and adult spontaneous activity. The relative brain weight of F 2 neonates was decreased after lifetime parental exposure to 300 mrad/d or 5 and 50 ppm lead. Chronic lead exposure also appears to induce superovulation and increase preimplantation deaths in F 1 dams. Dose-effect responses to both HTO and lead were less than additive in their interactive effects on the parameters measured. (author)

Energy Management System with Equalization Algorithm for Distributed Energy Storage Systems in PV-Active Generator Based Low Voltage DC Microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aldana, Nelson Leonardo Diaz; Hernández, Adriana Carolina Luna; Vasquez, Juan Carlos

2015-01-01

This paper presents a centralized strategy for equalizing the state of charge of distributed energy storage systems in an islanded DC microgrid. The proposed strategy is based on a simple algorithm called equalization algorithm, which modifies the charge or discharge rate by weighting the virtual...... results of a low voltage DC microgrid are presented in order to verify the performance of the proposed approach....

Dynamic exposure model analysis of continuous laser direct writing in Polar-coordinate

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shan; Lv, Yingjun; Mao, Wenjie

2018-01-01

In order to exactly predict the continuous laser direct writing quality in Polar-coordinate, we take into consideration the effect of the photoresist absorbing beam energy, the Gaussian attribute of the writing beam and the dynamic exposure process, and establish a dynamic exposure model to describe the influence of the tangential velocity of the normal incident facular center and laser power on the line width and sidewall angle. Numerical simulation results indicate that while writing velocity remains unchanged, the line width and sidewall angle are all increased as the laser power increases; while laser power remains unchanged, the line width and sidewall angle are all decreased as the writing velocity increases; at the same time the line profile in the exposure section is asymmetry and the center of the line has tiny excursion toward the Polar-coordinate origin compared with the facular center. Then it is necessary to choose the right writing velocity and laser power to obtain the ideal line profile. The model makes up the shortcomings of traditional models that can only predict line width or estimate the profile of the writing line in the absence of photoresist absorption, and can be considered as an effect analysis method for optimizing the parameters of fabrication technique of laser direct writing.

Generation and Testing of the ENDF/B-VI Continuous-Energy Cross-Section Library for Use with Continuous-Energy Versions of KENO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goluoglu, Sedat; Dunn, Michael E.; Greene, Norman Maurice; Petrie Jr, Lester M.; Hollenbach, Daniel F.

2007-01-01

KENO V.a and KENO-VI are Monte Carlo codes that solve the multigroup form of the Boltzmann transport equation. These codes are part of the SCALE system of codes and are used for performing criticality calculations of systems with fissionable material. In general, continuous-energy Monte Carlo methods are preferred because such an approach avoids many of the assumptions inherent in the multigroup treatment. On the other hand, continuous-energy treatment is much more demanding in terms of computer storage space for data, memory requirements, and calculation speed. Continuous-energy versions of KENO V.a and KENO-VI have been created and are being extensively tested. Generation of ENDF/B-VI continuous-energy cross sections is explained, and the results of the validation and verification of the codes and the data are presented

Effects of continuous exposure to carbon monoxide on auditory vigilance in man

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davies, D.M.; Jolly, E.J.; Pethybridge, R.J.; Colquhoun, W.P.

1981-02-01

Six different groups of non-smoking young male subjcts were stutied separately for 18 consecutive days each in a closed controlled-environment human exposure chamber. Each group was subjected to a 5-day control period in fresh air followed successively by an 8-day period of continuous exposure to 50 ppm, 15 ppm or 0 ppm (controll) by volume of carbon monoxide (CO) in air, and a 5-day recovery period in fresh air. The subjects performed a 1-h auditory vigilance task every day at the same time of day in a fixed qualitative, quantitative, and temporal relationship with food intake, consumption of stimulating beverages, physical activity, and sleep. It was concluded that such CO exposure, involving the continuous carriage of carboxyhaemoglobin loads up to 70%, was without significant effect on auditory vigilance.

Dis-Equality: Exploring the Juxtaposition of Disability and Equality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bronagh Byrne

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The (inequality issues facing disabled people are extensive and long-enduring. The way(s in which equality is conceptualised has important consequences for understandings of disability. The ambiguity of what I call dis-equality theory is two-fold; the apparent failure of mainstream equality theorising in, firstly, embracing disability concepts at all, and secondly, in fully incorporating the logistics of disability, particularly in relation to the social construction of such. Practices of institutional and more complex forms of discrimination are part of those deeper structures of domination and oppression which maintain disabled people in positions of disadvantage. Everyday practices, in the ‘ordinary order of things’ (Bourdieu, 2000, continue to be misrecognised as natural and taken for granted. This article critically explores the complexity of dis-equality theorising utilising a Bourdieusian lens which explicitly incorporates complex and subtle forms of discrimination, and by examining the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ approach to equality. I argue that the way forward for dis-equality theorising in today’s rights based era must be one that considers the nuances of the ‘rules of the game’ (Young, 1990 if it is to be effective in challenging the inequalities to which disabled people have long been subject.

A High-Efficiency Voltage Equalization Scheme for Supercapacitor Energy Storage System in Renewable Generation Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liran Li

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Due to its fast charge and discharge rate, a supercapacitor-based energy storage system is especially suitable for power smoothing in renewable energy generation applications. Voltage equalization is essential for series-connected supercapacitors in an energy storage system, because it supports the system’s sustainability and maximizes the available cell energy. In this paper, we present a high-efficiency voltage equalization scheme for supercapacitor energy storage systems in renewable generation applications. We propose an improved isolated converter topology that uses a multi-winding transformer. An improved push-pull forward circuit is applied on the primary side of the transformer. A coupling inductor is added on the primary side to allow the switches to operate under the zero-voltage switching (ZVS condition, which reduces switching losses. The diodes in the rectifier are replaced with metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs to reduce the power dissipation of the secondary side. In order to simplify the control, we designed a controllable rectifying circuit to achieve synchronous rectifying on the secondary side of the transformer. The experimental results verified the effectiveness of the proposed design.

47 CFR 25.601 - Equal employment opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Equal employment opportunities. 25.601 Section 25.601 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Equal Employment Opportunities § 25.601 Equal employment opportunities...

Ultra-low-energy wide electron exposure unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yonago, Akinobu; Oono, Yukihiko; Tokunaga, Kazutoshi; Kishimoto, Junichi; Wakamoto, Ikuo

2001-01-01

Heat and ultraviolet ray processes are used in surface dryness of paint, surface treatment of construction materials and surface sterilization of food containers. A process using a low-energy wide-area electron beam (EB) has been developed that features high speed and low drive cost. EB processing is not widespread in general industry, however, due to high equipment cost and difficult maintenance. We developed an ultra-low-energy wide-area electron beam exposure unit, the Mitsubishi Wide Electron Exposure Unit (MIWEL) to solve these problems. (author)

29 CFR 1620.25 - Equalization of rates.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Equalization of rates. 1620.25 Section 1620.25 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION THE EQUAL PAY ACT § 1620.25 Equalization of rates. Under the express terms of the EPA, when a prohibited sex-based wage differential has...

Radon-daughter exposures in energy-efficient buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nero, A.V.; Berk, J.V.; Boegel, M.L.; Hollowell, C.D.; Ingersoll, J.G.; Nazaroff, W.W.

1981-10-01

A radon concentration of 1 pCi/1 (37 Bq/m 3 ) appears to lie in the range that is typical for air inside US residential buildings. Moreover, some US residences have concentrations higher than 1 pCi/1, sometimes by an order of magnitude, implying significant individual risk to occupants. For typical radon daughter equilibrium ratios, this concentration corresponds to a radon daughter exposure rate of 0.2 working level months (WLM) per year. This exposure rate may account for a significant lung cancer incidence if data on lung cancers per unit exposure in miners are applicable to such low exposures. Reductions in air exchange rates may rise the typical exposure rate and even increase it to unacceptable levels in some cases. Measures that reduce energy use by reducing natural infiltration or mechanical ventilation in new or retrofit buildings are therefore undergoing severe scrutiny. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory has performed measurements in buildings specifically designed to use energy efficiently or utilize solar heating. In many of these buildings radon concentrations appear to arise primarily from soil underlying the buildings. Measures to control higher levels, e.g., by mechanical ventilation with heat recuperation, appear to be economical. However, to evaluate energy-saving programs adequately requires a much more comprehensive characterization of radon sources (for example, by geographical area) and a much fuller understanding of the dynamics of radon and its daughters indoors than now exist

A low power CMOS 3.3 Gbps continuous-time adaptive equalizer for serial link

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ju Hao; Zhou Yumei; Zhao Jianzhong

2011-01-01

This paper describes using a high-speed continuous-time analog adaptive equalizer as the front-end of a receiver for a high-speed serial interface, which is compliant with many serial communication specifications such as USB2.0, PCI-E2.0 and Rapid IO. The low and high frequency loops are merged to decrease the effect of delay between the two paths, in addition, the infinite input impedance facilitates the cascade stages in order to improve the high frequency boosting gain. The implemented circuit architecture could facilitate the wide frequency range from 1 to 3.3 Gbps with different length FR4-PCB traces, which brings as much as 25 dB loss. The replica control circuits are injected to provide a convenient way to regulate common-mode voltage for full differential operation. In addition, AC coupling is adopted to suppress the common input from the forward stage. A prototype chip was fabricated in 0.18-μm 1P6M mixed-signal CMOS technology. The actual area is 0.6 x 0.57 mm 2 and the analog equalizer operates up to 3.3 Gbps over FR4-PCB trace with 25 dB loss. The overall power dissipation is approximately 23.4 mW. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

A low power CMOS 3.3 Gbps continuous-time adaptive equalizer for serial link

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Ju; Yumei, Zhou; Jianzhong, Zhao

2011-09-01

This paper describes using a high-speed continuous-time analog adaptive equalizer as the front-end of a receiver for a high-speed serial interface, which is compliant with many serial communication specifications such as USB2.0, PCI-E2.0 and Rapid IO. The low and high frequency loops are merged to decrease the effect of delay between the two paths, in addition, the infinite input impedance facilitates the cascade stages in order to improve the high frequency boosting gain. The implemented circuit architecture could facilitate the wide frequency range from 1 to 3.3 Gbps with different length FR4-PCB traces, which brings as much as 25 dB loss. The replica control circuits are injected to provide a convenient way to regulate common-mode voltage for full differential operation. In addition, AC coupling is adopted to suppress the common input from the forward stage. A prototype chip was fabricated in 0.18-μm 1P6M mixed-signal CMOS technology. The actual area is 0.6 × 0.57 mm2 and the analog equalizer operates up to 3.3 Gbps over FR4-PCB trace with 25 dB loss. The overall power dissipation is approximately 23.4 mW.

Distributed continuous energy scheduling for dynamic virtual power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niesse, Astrid

2015-01-01

This thesis presents DynaSCOPE as distributed control method for continuous energy scheduling for dynamic virtual power plants (DVPP). DVPPs aggregate the flexibility of distributed energy units to address current energy markets. As an extension of the Virtual Power Plant concept they show high dynamics in aggregation and operation of energy units. Whereas operation schedules are set up for all energy units in a day-ahead planning procedure, incidents may render these schedules infeasible during execution, like deviation from prognoses or outages. Thus, a continuous scheduling process is needed to ensure product fulfillment. With DynaSCOPE, software agents representing single energy units solve this problem in a completely distributed heuristic approach. Using a stepped concept, several damping mechanisms are applied to allow minimum disturbance while continuously trying to fulfill the product as contracted at the market.

Complex energy eigenstates in a model with two equal mass particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gleiser, R J; Reula, D A; Moreschi, O M [Universidad Nacional de Cordoba (Argentina). Inst. de Matematica, Astronomia y Fisica

1980-09-01

The properties of a simples quantum mechanical model for the decay of two equal mass particles are studied and related to some recent work on complex energy eigenvalues. It consists essentially in a generalization of the Lee-Friedrichs model for an unstable particle and gives a highly idealized version of the K/sup 0/-anti K/sup 0/ system, including CP violations. The model is completely solvable, thus allowing a comparison with the well known Weisskopf-Wigner formalism for the decay amplitudes. A different model, describing the same system is also briefly outlined.

Equal employment opportunity plan development guidance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1978-09-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide instructions for the development of EEO Plans for Fiscal Year 1979. It supplements the National EEO Plan for the Department of Energy issued in August 1978 (DOE/S-0002). The material included should be used immediately as guidance to develop, document, and implement subordinate echelon commitments to EEO. A schedule for the development and submission of EEO Plans is included. Most of the continuing requirements will be published at a later date as part of the directives system. Any comments or helpful suggestions concerned with the program outlined would be appreciated by the Office of Equal Opportunity.

Infrared skin damage thresholds from 1319-nm continuous-wave laser exposures

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Jeffrey W.; Vincelette, Rebecca; Noojin, Gary D.; Clark, Clifton D.; Harbert, Corey A.; Schuster, Kurt J.; Shingledecker, Aurora D.; Kumru, Semih S.; Maughan, Justin; Kitzis, Naomi; Buffington, Gavin D.; Stolarski, David J.; Thomas, Robert J.

2013-12-01

A series of experiments were conducted in vivo using Yucatan miniature pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) to determine thermal damage thresholds to the skin from 1319-nm continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser irradiation. Experiments employed exposure durations of 0.25, 1.0, 2.5, and 10 s and beam diameters of ˜0.6 and 1 cm. Thermal imagery data provided a time-dependent surface temperature response from the laser. A damage endpoint of fifty percent probability of a minimally visible effect was used to determine threshold for damage at 1 and 24 h postexposure. Predicted thermal response and damage thresholds are compared with a numerical model of optical-thermal interaction. Resultant trends with respect to exposure duration and beam diameter are compared with current standardized exposure limits for laser safety. Mathematical modeling agreed well with experimental data, predicting that though laser safety standards are sufficient for exposures <10 s, they may become less safe for very long exposures.

Energy absorption and exposure build-up factors in teeth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manjunatha, H.C.; Rudraswamy, B.

2010-01-01

Full text: Gamma and X-radiation are widely used in medical imaging and radiation therapy. The user of radioisotopes must have knowledge about how radiation interacts with matter, especially with the human body, because when photons enter the medium/body, they degrade their energy and build up in the medium, giving rise to secondary radiation which can be estimated by a factor which is called the 'build-up factor'. It is essential to study the exposure build up factor in radiation dosimetry. G.P. fitting method has been used to compute energy absorption and exposure build-up factor of teeth (enamel outer surface (EOS), enamel middle (EM), enamel dentin junction towards enamel (EDJE), enamel dentin junction towards dentin (EDJD), dentin middle (DM) and dentin inner surface (DIS)) for wide energy range (0.015 MeV-15 MeV) up to the penetration depth of 40 mean free path. The dependence of energy absorption and exposure build up factor on incident photon energy, Penetration depth and effective atomic number has also been assessed. The relative dose distribution at a distance r from the point source is also estimated. The computed exposure and absorption build-up factors are useful to estimate the gamma and Bremsstrahlung radiation dose distribution teeth which is useful in clinical dosimetry

29 CFR 1620.14 - Testing equality of jobs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION THE EQUAL PAY ACT § 1620.14... must be met in order for the equal pay standard to apply. It should be kept in mind that “equal” does..., or responsibility required for the performance of jobs will not render the equal pay standard...

EU initiative on energy infrastructures and continuity of supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heller, W.

2004-01-01

On December 10, 2003, the European Commission presented a comprehensive legislative package about energy infrastructure and continuity of supply. The proposals result in an agglomeration and extension of Community law provisions in the energy sector. A key role is played by the proposed directive ensuring the continuity of electricity supply and investments into infrastructure. This implies the need for the member countries henceforth to define the roles and responsibilities of grid operators and suppliers. The Energy Services Directive is to create a harmonized framework in the field of energy services and energy efficiency by providing common definitions, instruments, and methods. The legislative package has been forwarded to the European Parliament and to the Council. A first reading in the European Parliament is to be completed still in this legislative term by early May 2004. The Energy Ministers of the EU member countries were presented the package on continuity of supply on December 15, 2003. European legislation in the energy sector is keeping member countries busy, leaving them fewer and fewer possibilities for shaping policies of their own. There is danger of overregulation. (orig.)

Lactate and pH evaluation in exhausted humans with prolonged TASER X26 exposure or continued exertion.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Jeffrey D; Dawes, Donald M; Cole, Jon B; Hottinger, Julie C; Overton, Kenneth G; Miner, James R

2009-09-10

Safety concerns about TASER Conducted Electrical Weapon (CEW) use and media reports of deaths after exposure have been expressed. CEWs are sometimes used on exhausted subjects to end resistance. The alternative is often a continued struggle. It is unclear if CEW use is metabolically different than allowing a continued struggle. We sought to determine if CEW exposure on exhausted humans caused worsening acidosis when compared with continued exertion. This was a prospective study of human volunteers recruited during a CEW training course. Volunteers were from several different occupations and represented a wide range of ages and body mass index characteristics. Medical histories, baseline pH and lactate values were obtained. Patients were assigned to one of four groups: 2 control groups consisting of Exertion only and CEW Exposure only, and the 2 experimental groups that were Exertion plus CEW Exposure and Exertion plus additional Exertion. Blood sampling occurred after Exertion and after any CEW exposure. This was repeated every 2-min until 20 min after protocol completion. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the four groups. The experimental groups and the control groups were compared individually at each time point using Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Lactate and pH association was assessed using multiple linear regression. Forty subjects were enrolled. There were no median pH or lactate differences between CEW Exposure groups at baseline, or between Exertion protocol groups immediately after completion. The CEW Exposure only group had higher pH and lower lactate values at all time points after exposure than the Exertion only group. After completing the Exertion protocol, there was no difference in the pH or lactate values between the continued Exertion group and the CEW Exposure group at any time points. Subjects who had CEW Exposure only had higher pH and lower lactate values than subjects who completed the Exertion protocol only. CEW exposure does not appear

The design of a miniature personal exposure monitor for continuous real-time data acquisition in electromagnetic field exposure assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, N.H.; Conroy, T.J.; Wilson, B.W.

1994-06-01

The design of a small, light-weight personal exposure monitor suitable for use in EMF exposure assessment studies is nearing completion at Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The monitor is designed to be non-obtrusive, battery operated, and able to continuously record extremely low-frequency (ELF) (1Ohz--500hz) magnetic-field data. It also captures high-frequency (500hz--1OMhz) transients that exceed a preset threshold, retaining the largest transients in memory. The monitor can record one or more days of data on a single easily replaceable, credit-card-size memory (PCMCIA). A battery charge will last a minimum of one day. Batteries are rechargeable and easily replaced. A data-compression algorithm is under development that will be tailored to the efficient compression of low-frequency EMF signals and will permit data to be logged for at least one day before swapping memory cards. The memory cards are readable by a base- station computer that can perform analysis of the data. The monitor is designed to accommodate four inputs supporting full-field sensors as well as a proposed ocular exposure measurement system. Our design effort has shown that a practical personal exposure monitor for EMF can be built based on current technology, continuous logging of real-time ELF waveforms is both feasible and practical, and such a device is appropriate for proposed EMF exposure studies

Jarzynski equality: connections to thermodynamics and the second law.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmieri, Benoit; Ronis, David

2007-01-01

The one-dimensional expanding ideal gas model is used to compute the exact nonequilibrium distribution function. The state of the system during the expansion is defined in terms of local thermodynamics quantities. The final equilibrium free energy, obtained a long time after the expansion, is compared against the free energy that appears in the Jarzynski equality. Within this model, where the Jarzynski equality holds rigorously, the free energy change that appears in the equality does not equal the actual free energy change of the system at any time of the process. More generally, the work bound that is obtained from the Jarzynski equality is an upper bound to the upper bound that is obtained from the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The cancellation of the dissipative (nonequilibrium) terms that result in the Jarzynski equality is shown in the framework of response theory. This is used to show that the intuitive assumption that the Jarzynski work bound becomes equal to the average work done when the system evolves quasistatically is incorrect under some conditions.

Prioritizing environmental justice and equality: diesel emissions in southern California.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Julian D; Swor, Kathryn R; Nguyen, Nam P

2014-04-01

Existing environmental policies aim to reduce emissions but lack standards for addressing environmental justice. Environmental justice research documents disparities in exposure to air pollution; however, little guidance currently exists on how to make improvements or on how specific emission-reduction scenarios would improve or deteriorate environmental justice conditions. Here, we quantify how emission reductions from specific sources would change various measures of environmental equality and justice. We evaluate potential emission reductions for fine diesel particulate matter (DPM) in Southern California for five sources: on-road mobile, off-road mobile, ships, trains, and stationary. Our approach employs state-of-the-science dispersion and exposure models. We compare four environmental goals: impact, efficiency, equality, and justice. Results indicate potential trade-offs among those goals. For example, reductions in train emissions produce the greatest improvements in terms of efficiency, equality, and justice, whereas off-road mobile source reductions can have the greatest total impact. Reductions in on-road emissions produce improvements in impact, equality, and justice, whereas emission reductions from ships would widen existing population inequalities. Results are similar for complex versus simplified exposure analyses. The approach employed here could usefully be applied elsewhere to evaluate opportunities for improving environmental equality and justice in other locations.

Light equalization radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruger, R.A.; Reinecke, D.R.; Power, R.L.

1989-01-01

An electro-optical, radiographic film dodging technique has been developed that can restore lost image contrast on underexposed regions of radiographs. The device consists of a low-resolution x-ray camera and a scanning, light-exposure array. Both are controlled by a microcomputer. The theory of operation has been developed, and technical requirements for implementing light-equalization radiogrpahy have been defined. Initial clinical results with a prototype have been analyzed and compared with results of conventional films

Effects of oral exposure duration and gastric energy content on appetite ratings and energy intake in lean men

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijlens, Anne G.M.; Graaf, de Kees; Erkner, Alfrun; Mars, Monica

2016-01-01

Studies show that longer oral exposure to food leads to earlier satiation and lowers energy intake. Moreover, higher energy content of food has been shown to lead to higher satiety. Up to now, it has not been studied systematically how oral exposure duration and gastric energy content interact in

Some Equalities Are More Equal Than Others: Quality Equality Emerges Later Than Numerical Equality.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheskin, Mark; Nadal, Amber; Croom, Adam; Mayer, Tanya; Nissel, Jenny; Bloom, Paul

2016-09-01

By age 6, children typically share an equal number of resources between themselves and others. However, fairness involves not merely that each person receive an equal number of resources ("numerical equality") but also that each person receive equal quality resources ("quality equality"). In Study 1, children (N = 87, 3-10 years) typically split four resources "two each" by age 6, but typically monopolized the better two resources until age 10. In Study 2, a new group of 6- to 8-year-olds (N = 32) allocated resources to third parties according to quality equality, indicating that children in this age group understand that fairness requires both types of equality. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Development of a continuous energy version of KENO V.a

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, M.E.; Bentley, C.L.; Goluoglu, S.; Paschal, L.S.; Dodds, H.L.

1997-01-01

KENO V.a is a multigroup Monte Carlo code that solves the Boltzmann transport equation and is used extensively in the nuclear criticality safety community to calculate the effective multiplication factor k eff of systems containing fissile material. Because of the smaller amount of disk storage and CPU time required in calculations, multigroup approaches have been preferred over continuous energy (point) approaches in the past to solve the transport equation. With the advent of high-performance computers, storage and CPU limitations are less restrictive, thereby making continuous energy methods viable for transport calculations. Moreover, continuous energy methods avoid many of the assumptions and approximations inherent in multigroup methods. Because a continuous energy version of KENO V.a does not exist, the objective of the work is to develop a new version of KENO V.a that utilizes continuous energy cross sections. Currently, a point cross-section library, which is based on a raw continuous energy cross-section library such as ENDF/B-V is not available for implementation in KENO V.a; however, point cross-section libraries are available for MCNP, another widely used Monte Carlo transport code. Since MCNP cross sections are based on ENDF data and are readily available, a new version of KENO V.a named PKENO V.a has been developed that performs the random walk using MCNP cross sections. To utilize point cross sections, extensive modifications have been made to KENO V.a. At this point in the research, testing of the code is underway. In particular, PKENO V.a, KENO V.a, and MCNP have been used to model nine critical experiments and one subcritical problem. The results obtained with PKENO V.a are in excellent agreement with MCNP, KENO V.a, and experiments

45 CFR 1616.6 - Equal employment opportunity.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Equal employment opportunity. 1616.6 Section 1616.6 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION ATTORNEY HIRING § 1616.6 Equal employment opportunity. A recipient shall adopt employment qualifications, procedures, and policies that meet the...

29 CFR 1620.19 - Equality of wages-application of the principle.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Section 1620.19 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION THE EQUAL PAY ACT § 1620.19 Equality of wages—application of the principle. Equal wages must be paid... paying employees of the opposite sex a bonus. Comparison can be made for equal pay purposes between...

Effects of Oral Exposure Duration and Gastric Energy Content on Appetite Ratings and Energy Intake in Lean Men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne G. M. Wijlens

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Studies show that longer oral exposure to food leads to earlier satiation and lowers energy intake. Moreover, higher energy content of food has been shown to lead to higher satiety. Up to now, it has not been studied systematically how oral exposure duration and gastric energy content interact in satiety regulation. Thirty-seven men (22 ± 4 years, 22 ± 2 kg/m2 participated in a randomized cross-over trial, in which we independently manipulated: (1 oral exposure duration by modified sham feeding (MSF for 1 or 8 min; and (2 energy content of gastric load (GL by a nasogastric tube: 100 kcal/500 mL or 700 kcal/500 mL. Outcome measures were appetite ratings and subsequent energy intake from an ad libitum meal. Energy intake was 35% lower after the GLs with 700 kcal than with 100kcal (p < 0.0001. All appetite ratings were lower in the 700 kcal than in the 100 kcal treatments (area under the curve (AUC; p-values ≤ 0.002; fullness was higher and prospective consumption was lower in the 8 min than in the 1 min MSF treatments (AUC; p-values ≤ 0.02. In conclusion, the current showed that a GL of 700 kcal/500 mL vs. 100 kcal/500 mL increased satiety and lowered energy intake. No additional effects of oral exposure duration could be observed, presumably due to the high contrast in energy between the manipulations. Future research should also focus on the role of oral exposure as such and not only the duration.

Effects of Oral Exposure Duration and Gastric Energy Content on Appetite Ratings and Energy Intake in Lean Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijlens, Anne G M; de Graaf, Cees; Erkner, Alfrun; Mars, Monica

2016-01-26

Studies show that longer oral exposure to food leads to earlier satiation and lowers energy intake. Moreover, higher energy content of food has been shown to lead to higher satiety. Up to now, it has not been studied systematically how oral exposure duration and gastric energy content interact in satiety regulation. Thirty-seven men (22 ± 4 years, 22 ± 2 kg/m²) participated in a randomized cross-over trial, in which we independently manipulated: (1) oral exposure duration by modified sham feeding (MSF) for 1 or 8 min; and (2) energy content of gastric load (GL) by a nasogastric tube: 100 kcal/500 mL or 700 kcal/500 mL. Outcome measures were appetite ratings and subsequent energy intake from an ad libitum meal. Energy intake was 35% lower after the GLs with 700 kcal than with 100 kcal (p < 0.0001). All appetite ratings were lower in the 700 kcal than in the 100 kcal treatments (area under the curve (AUC); p-values ≤ 0.002); fullness was higher and prospective consumption was lower in the 8 min than in the 1 min MSF treatments (AUC; p-values ≤ 0.02). In conclusion, the current showed that a GL of 700 kcal/500 mL vs. 100 kcal/500 mL increased satiety and lowered energy intake. No additional effects of oral exposure duration could be observed, presumably due to the high contrast in energy between the manipulations. Future research should also focus on the role of oral exposure as such and not only the duration.

World Energy Roadmap - A Perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alharthi, A.A.; Alfehaid, M.A.

2007-07-01

The dialogue between energy consumers and producers that has been going on for the past fifteen years has revealed the basic parameters of the complex energy scene. While the consumers are concerned with security of supply, the producers have equal concern with access to markets. A common ground for the two groups is sustainable development because both aim at the continuous flow of oil to ensure continued economic growth. Both have valid concerns and share equal responsibility towards the world at large where competitive advantages available to both groups are employed to achieve global sustainable development. The key to achieving this goal in a world of competing and (to some extent) conflicting priorities is not only a sizable and irreversible investment by both groups, but also the desire to relax unwarranted regulations that have hindered progress in the energy industry. (auth)

The Future of Exposure Assessment: Perspectives from the ...

Science.gov (United States)

The British Occupational Hygiene Society, in collaboration with the Institute of Occupational Medicine, the University of Manchester, the UK Health and Safety Executive, and the University of Aberdeen hosted the 7th International Conference on the Science of Exposure Assessment (X2012) on 2 July–5 July 2012 in Edinburgh, UK. The conference ended with a special session at which invited speakers from government, industry, independent research institutes, and academia were asked to reflect on the conference and discuss what may now constitute the important highlights or drivers of future exposure assessment research. This article summarizes these discussions with respect to current and future technical and methodological developments. For the exposure science community to continue to have an impact in protecting public health, additional efforts need to be made to improve partnerships and cross-disciplinary collaborations, although it is equally important to ensure that the traditional occupational exposure themes are still covered as these issues are becoming increasingly important in the developing world. To facilitate this the ‘X’ conferences should continue to retain a holistic approach to occupational and non-occupational exposures and should actively pursue collaborations with other disciplines and professional organizations to increase the presence of consumer and environmental exposure scientists. The National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL′

Sensitivity of continuous performance test (CPT) at age 14years to developmental methylmercury exposure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Julvez, Jordi; Debes, Frodi; Weihe, Pal

2010-01-01

Hit Reaction Time latencies (HRT) in the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) measure the speed of visual information processing. The latencies may involve different neuropsychological functions depending on the time from test initiation, i.e., first orientation, learning and habituation, then cogni......Hit Reaction Time latencies (HRT) in the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) measure the speed of visual information processing. The latencies may involve different neuropsychological functions depending on the time from test initiation, i.e., first orientation, learning and habituation......, then cognitive processing and focused attention, and finally sustained attention as the dominant demand. Prenatal methylmercury exposure is associated with increased reaction time (RT) latencies. We therefore examined the association of methylmercury exposure with the average HRT at age 14years at three...

29 CFR 1620.1 - Basic applicability of the Equal Pay Act.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Basic applicability of the Equal Pay Act. 1620.1 Section 1620.1 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION THE EQUAL PAY ACT § 1620.1 Basic applicability of the Equal Pay Act. (a) Since the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C...

Automated Area Beam Equalization Mammography for Improved Imaging of Dense Breasts

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Molloi, Sabee

2005-01-01

...) because of degraded contrast from large scatter intensities and relatively high noise. Area x-ray beam equalization can improve image quality by increasing the x-ray exposure to underpenetrated regions without increasing the exposure to the breast regions...

Automated Area Beam Equalization Mammography for Improved Imaging of Dense Breast

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Molloi, Sabee

2004-01-01

...) because of degraded contrast from large scatter intensities and relatively high noise. Area x-ray beam equalization can improve image quality by increasing the x-ray exposure to under-penetrated regions without increasing the exposure to other breast regions...

Resistance to asbestos-induced apoptosis with continuous exposure to crocidolite on a human T cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maeda, Megumi [Department of Biofunctional Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 1-1-1 Tsushima-Naka, Okayama 700-8530 (Japan); Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan); Yamamoto, Shoko [Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan); Chen, Ying [Division of Pneumoconiosis, School of Public Health, China Medical University, 92 North 2nd, Heping District, Shenyang 110001 (China); Kumagai-Takei, Naoko [Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan); Hayashi, Hiroaki [Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan); Department of Dermatology, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan); Matsuzaki, Hidenori; Lee, Suni; Hatayama, Tamayo; Miyahara, Naomi; Katoh, Minako [Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan); Hiratsuka, Juni-ichi [Department of Radiation Oncology, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan); Nishimura, Yasumitsu [Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan); Otsuki, Takemi, E-mail: takemi@med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp [Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki 701-0192 (Japan)

2012-07-01

We have been investigating the immunological effects of asbestos. The establishment of a low-dose and continuously exposed human T cell line, HTLV-1 immortalized MT-2, to chrysotile (CB) revealed reduction of CXCR3 chemokine receptor and production of IFN-{gamma} that caused a decline of tumor immunity. These effects were coupled with upregulation of IL-10, TGF-{beta}, and BCL-2 in asbestos-exposed patients. To observe the immunological effects of crocidolite (CR) on human T cells, a trial to establish a low-dose and continuously exposed model was conducted and compared with a previously reported CB-exposed model (MT-2CB). Transient exposure of MT-2 original cells to CB or CR induced a similar level of apoptosis and growth inhibition. The establishment of a continuously exposed subline to CR (MT-2CR) revealed resistance against CR-induced apoptosis and upregulation of the BCL-2/BAX ratio similar to that recorded for MT-2CB. Both sublines showed reduced production of IFN-{gamma}, TNF-{alpha}, and IL-6 with increased IL-10. cDNA microarray with network/pathway analyses focusing on transcription factors revealed that many similar factors related to cell proliferation were involved following continuous exposure to asbestos in both MT-2CB and MT-2CR. These results indicate that both CB and CR fibers affect human T cells with similar degrees even though the carcinogenic activity of these substances differs due to their chemical and physical forms. Trials to identify early detection markers for asbestos exposure or the occurrence of asbestos-inducing malignancies using these findings may lead to the development of clinical tools for asbestos-related diseases and chemoprevention that modifies the reduced tumor immunity. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Comparison of effects of chrysotile and crocidolite on human T cell was done. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Both fibers caused apoptosis of T cells by transient exposure. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer T cells

China cuts energy intensity, but overall energy growth continues, report notes

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

2012-02-01

A new report states that China has cut its energy intensity—defined as energy use per unit of economic output—by 19.1% from 2006 to 2010, reversing the previous upward trend. However, energy use and carbon emissions in the country continue to grow sharply, according to the Climate Policy Initiative's (CPI) Annual Review of Low-Carbon Development in China: 2010, the second of such reports. China nearly hit its goal of a 20% target reduction in energy intensity during that time period, which spanned the country's eleventh Five-Year Period (FYP) for social and economic development, but during that same period energy-related growth in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in China increased by 33.6%, from 5.15 billion tons to 6.88 billion tons, said Qi Ye, CPI's Beijing office director, at a 2 February briefing held at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D. C.

Fish energy budget under ocean warming and flame retardant exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Anacleto, Patrícia; Figueiredo, Cátia; Baptista, Miguel; Maulvault, Ana Luísa; Camacho, Carolina; Pousão-Ferreira, Pedro; Valente, Luísa M P; Marques, António; Rosa, Rui

2018-07-01

Climate change and chemical contamination are global environmental threats of growing concern for the scientific community and regulatory authorities. Yet, the impacts and interactions of both stressors (particularly ocean warming and emerging chemical contaminants) on physiological responses of marine organisms remain unclear and still require further understanding. Within this context, the main goal of this study was to assess, for the first time, the effects of warming (+ 5 °C) and accumulation of a polybrominated diphenyl ether congener (BDE-209, brominated flame retardant) through dietary exposure on energy budget of the juvenile white seabream (Diplodus sargus). Specifically, growth (G), routine metabolism (R), excretion (faecal, F and nitrogenous losses, U) and food consumption (C) were calculated to obtain the energy budget. The results demonstrated that the energy proportion spent for G dominated the mode of the energy allocation of juvenile white seabream (56.0-67.8%), especially under the combined effect of warming plus BDE-209 exposure. Under all treatments, the energy channelled for R varied around 26% and a much smaller percentage was channelled for excretion (F: 4.3-16.0% and U: 2.3-3.3%). An opposite trend to G was observed to F, where the highest percentage (16.0 ± 0.9%) was found under control temperature and BDE-209 exposure via diet. In general, the parameters were significantly affected by increased temperature and flame retardant exposure, where higher levels occurred for: i) wet weight, relative growth rate, protein and ash contents under warming conditions, ii) only for O:N ratio under BDE-209 exposure via diet, and iii) for feed efficiency, ammonia excretion rate, routine metabolic rate and assimilation efficiency under the combination of both stressors. On the other hand, decreased viscerosomatic index was observed under warming and lower fat content was observed under the combined effect of both stressors. Overall, under future

ACCOUNTING FOR THE ENDOGENEITY OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE EXPOSURE IN CHILDREN: AN APPLICATION TO CONTINUOUS LUNG FUNCTION

Science.gov (United States)

The goal of this study is to estimate an unbiased exposure effect of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure on children's continuous lung function. A majority of the evidence from health studies suggests that ETS exposure in early life contributes significantly to childhood ...

Prospects for quantitative and time-resolved double and continuous exposure off-axis electron holography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Migunov, Vadim, E-mail: v.migunov@fz-juelich.de [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Dwyer, Christian [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Boothroyd, Chris B. [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Pozzi, Giulio [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, viale B. Pichat 6/2, Bologna 40127 (Italy); Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E. [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Peter Grünberg Institute, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany)

2017-07-15

The technique of double exposure electron holography, which is based on the superposition of two off-axis electron holograms, was originally introduced before the availability of digital image processing to allow differences between electron-optical phases encoded in two electron holograms to be visualised directly without the need for holographic reconstruction. Here, we review the original method and show how it can now be extended to permit quantitative studies of phase shifts that oscillate in time. We begin with a description of the theory of off-axis electron hologram formation for a time-dependent electron wave that results from the excitation of a specimen using an external stimulus with a square, sinusoidal, triangular or other temporal dependence. We refer to the more general method as continuous exposure electron holography, present preliminary experimental measurements and discuss how the technique can be used to image electrostatic potentials and magnetic fields during high frequency switching experiments. - Highlights: • Double and continuous exposure electron holography are described in detail. • The ability to perform quantitative studies of phase shifts that are oscillating in time is illustrated. • Theoretical considerations related to noise are presented. • Future high frequency electromagnetic switching experiments are proposed.

Effective energies and exposure determinations of two different energy X-ray beams incident on a personnel monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuno, E.; Cruz, M.T. da

1984-01-01

The effective energy of one X or gamma ray beam can be determined by means of two thermoluminescent (TL) dosemeters mounted between suitable filters. However, it has been observed that personnel monitors exposed to two different energy ionizing radiations provide different effective energies depeding on the type of TL phosphor used. This fact could be a powerful tool for identifying exposures to radiation with quite different effective energies which are very common in practice. Two types of TL dosemeters were used : pellets of cold pressed natural fluoride and NaCl developed in our own laboratory, and LiF, TLD-100 from Harshaw Chemical Co.. Experimental results obtained with these combined dosemeters after irradiation with different sets of exposures and energy values of ionizing radiations are also presented. (Author) [pt

Detection of simulated pulmonary nodules by single-exposure dual-energy computed radiography of the chest: effect of a computer-aided diagnosis system (Part 2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kido, Shoji; Kuriyama, Keiko; Kuroda, Chikazumi; Nakamura, Hironobu; Ito, Wataru; Shimura, Kazuo; Kato, Hisatoyo

2002-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the performance of the computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) scheme on the detection of pulmonary nodules (PNs) in single-exposure dual-energy subtraction computed radiography (CR) images of the chest, and to evaluate the effect of this CAD scheme on radiologists' detectabilities. Methods and material: We compared the detectability by the CAD scheme with the detectability by 12 observers by using conventional CR (C-CR) and bone-subtracted CR (BS-CR) images of 25 chest phantoms with a low-contrast nylon nodule. Results: Both in the CAD scheme and for the observers, the detectability of BS-CR images was superior to that of C-CR images (P<0.005). The detection performance of the CAD scheme was equal to that of the observers. The nodules detected by the CAD did not necessarily coincide with those by the observers. Thus, if observers can use the results of the CAD system as a 'second opinion', their detectabilities increase. Conclusion: The CAD system for detection of PNs in the single-exposure dual-energy subtraction method is promising for improving radiologists' detectabilities of PNs

A comparison of hydrogen with alternate energy forms from coal and nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, K.E.

1976-01-01

Alternate energy forms that can be produced from coal and nuclear energy have been analyzed on efficiency, economic and end-use grounds. These forms include hydrogen, methane, electricity, and EVA-ADAM, a 'chemical heat pipe' approach to energy transmission. The EVA-ADAM system for nuclear heat appears to be economically competitive with the other energy carriers except over very large distances. The cost of hydrogen derived from coal is approximately equal to that of methane derived from the same source when compared on an equal BTU basis. Thermochemically derived hydrogen from nuclear energy shows a break-even range with hydrogen derived from coal at coal costs of from Pound33 to 80/ton depending on the cost of nuclear heat. Electricity and electrolytically derived hydrogen are the most expensive energy carriers and electricity's use should be limited to applications involving work rather than heat. Continued work in thermochemical hydrogen production schemes should be supported as an energy option for the future. (author)

Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap

OpenAIRE

Polachek, Solomon W.

2014-01-01

Despite equal pay legislation dating back 50 years, American women still earn 22% less than their male counterparts. In the UK, with its Equal Pay Act of 1970, and France, which legislated in 1972, the gap is 21% and 17% respectively, and in Australia it remains around 17%. Thus, the gender pay gap continues to be an important policy issue.

Effect of continuous gamma-ray exposure on performance of learned tasks and effect of subsequent fractionated exposures on blood-forming tissue

Science.gov (United States)

Spalding, J. F.; Holland, L. M.; Prine, J. R.; Farrer, D. N.; Braun, R. G.

1972-01-01

Sixteen monkeys trained to perform continuous and discrete-avoidance and fixed-ratio tasks with visual and auditory cues were performance-tested before, during, and after 10-day gamma-ray exposures totaling 0, 500, 750, and 1000 rads. Approximately 14 months after the performance-test exposures, surviving animals were exposed to 100-rad gamma-ray fractions at 56-day intervals to observe injury and recovery patterns of blood-forming tissues. The fixed-ratio, food-reward task performance showed a transient decline in all dose groups within 24 hours of the start of gamma-ray exposure, followed by recovery to normal food-consumption levels within 48 to 72 hours. Avoidance tasks were performed successfully by all groups during the 10-day exposure, but reaction times of the two higher dose-rate groups in which animals received 3 and 4 rads per hour or total doses of 750 and 1000 rads, respectively, were somewhat slower.

Prolonged continuous exposure to high fine particulate matter associated with cardiovascular and respiratory disease mortality in Beijing, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jinfeng; Yin, Qian; Tong, Shilu; Ren, Zhoupeng; Hu, Maogui; Zhang, Hongrui

2017-11-01

Although many studies examined the effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on the deaths of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and respiratory disease (RD), few research has paid attention to the effects of prolonged continuous exposure to high PM2.5 pollution. This study estimated the excess risks (ER) of CVD and RD mortalities associated with prolonged continuous exposure to high PM2.5 pollution for the whole population and specific subsociodemographic groups in Beijing, which is the capital city of China with over 20 million residents and having severe PM2.5 pollution problems. Our results suggested that when high PM2.5 pollution occurred continuously, at various thresholds and durations, the adverse effects on CVD and RD mortalities varied significantly. The CVD mortality risks in association with prolonged continuous high PM2.5 pollution exposure were more serious for single individuals (including unmarried, divorced, and widowed), illiterate and outdoor workers than for other specific subsociodemographic groups. When the daily PM2.5 concentration higher than 105 μg/m3 consecutively occurs, at the ninth day, the ERs of CVD death for single individuals, illiterate and outdoor workers groups reached to 45% (95% CI: 22, 71), 51% (95% CI: 28, 79) and 53% (95% CI: 29, 82) respectively. On the other hand, prolonged continuous high PM2.5 pollution level appeared to contribute a higher proportion of RD deaths among illiterate and outdoor workers, but less significant for the other specific subsociodemographic groups. When the duration with daily PM2.5 pollution higher than 115 μg/m3 reached to six days, the ERs for outdoor workers and illiterate attributed to prolonged continuous PM2.5 pollution exposure increased 36% (95% CI: 5, 76) and 49% (95% CI: 16, 91) respectively.

Continuous-energy version of KENO V.a for criticality safety applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, Michael E.; Greene, N. Maurice; Petrie, Lester M.

2003-01-01

KENO V.a is a multigroup Monte Carlo code that solves the Boltzmann transport equation and is used extensively in the criticality safety community to calculate the effective multiplication factor of systems with fissionable material. In this work, a continuous-energy or pointwise version of KENO V.a has been developed by first designing a new continuous-energy cross-section format and then by developing the appropriate Monte Carlo transport procedures to sample the new cross-section format. In order to generate pointwise cross sections for a test library, a series of cross-section processing modules were developed and used to process 50 ENDF/B-6 Release 7 nuclides for the test library. Once the cross-section processing procedures were in place, a continuous-energy version of KENO V.a was developed and tested by calculating 21 critical benchmark experiments. The point KENO-calculated results for the 21 benchmarks are in agreement with calculated results obtained with the multigroup version of KENO V.a using the 238-group ENDF/B-5 and 199-group ENDF/B-6 Release 3 libraries. Based on the calculated results with the prototypic cross-section library, a continuous-energy version of the KENO V.a code has been successfully developed and demonstrated for modeling systems with fissionable material. (author)

Secondary electrons monitor for continuous electron energy measurements in UHF linac

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimek, Zbigniew; Bulka, Sylwester; Mirkowski, Jacek; Roman, Karol

2001-01-01

Continuous energy measurements have now became obligatory in accelerator facilities devoted to radiation sterilization process. This is one of several accelerator parameters like dose rate, beam current, bean scan parameters, conveyer speed which must be recorded as it is a required condition of accelerator validation procedure. Electron energy measurements are rather simple in direct DC accelerator, where the applied DC voltage is directly related to electron energy. High frequency linacs are not offering such opportunity in electron energy measurements. The analyzing electromagnet is applied in some accelerators but that method can be used only in off line mode before or after irradiation process. The typical solution is to apply the non direct method related to control and measurements certain accelerator parameters like beam current and microwave energy pulse power. The continuous evaluation of electron energy can be performed on the base of calculation and result comparison with calibration curve

Suppression and recovery of the alveolar macrophage phagocytic system during continuous exposure to 0. 5 ppm ozone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilmour, M.I.; Hmieleski, R.R.; Stafford, E.A.; Jakab, G.J. (Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD (USA))

1991-05-01

Short-term exposures to ozone (O3) are known to impair pulmonary antibacterial defenses and alveolar macrophage (AM) phagocytosis in a dose-related manner. To determine the effect of prolonged O3 exposure, Swiss mice were exposed continuously to 0.5 ppm O3. At 1, 3, 7, and 14 days, intrapulmonary killing was assessed by inhalation challenge with Staphylococcus aureus or Proteus mirabilis and by comparing the number of viable bacteria remaining in the lungs at 4 h between O3-exposed and control animals. To evaluate the effects of O3 on the functional capacity of the AMs, Fc-receptor mediated phagocytosis was assessed. Ozone exposure impaired the intrapulmonary killing of S. aureus at 1 and 3 days; however, with prolonged exposure, the bactericidal capacity of the lungs returned to normal. This trend of an initial suppression followed by recovery was reflected in the phagocytic capacity of the AMs. In contrast to S. aureus, when P. mirabilis was used as the challenge organism, O3 exposure had no suppressive effect on pulmonary bactericidal activity, which correlated with an increase in the phagocytic cell population in the lungs. Morphologic examination of the lavaged macrophages showed that after 1 day of O3 exposure, the AMs were more foamy, and contained significantly more vacuoles. There was also a significant increase in binucleated cells at 3 days. These studies demonstrate that continuous exposure to O3 modulates AM-dependent lung defenses and points to the importance of the challenge organism and exposure protocol in establishing the adverse effect of O3.

MCB. A continuous energy Monte Carlo burnup simulation code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cetnar, J.; Wallenius, J.; Gudowski, W.

1999-01-01

A code for integrated simulation of neutrinos and burnup based upon continuous energy Monte Carlo techniques and transmutation trajectory analysis has been developed. Being especially well suited for studies of nuclear waste transmutation systems, the code is an extension of the well validated MCNP transport program of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Among the advantages of the code (named MCB) is a fully integrated data treatment combined with a time-stepping routine that automatically corrects for burnup dependent changes in reaction rates, neutron multiplication, material composition and self-shielding. Fission product yields are treated as continuous functions of incident neutron energy, using a non-equilibrium thermodynamical model of the fission process. In the present paper a brief description of the code and applied methods are given. (author)

Equalization method for Medipix3RX

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rinkel, Jean, E-mail: jean.rinkel@lnls.br [Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS/CNPEM), Rua Giuseppe Máximo Scolfaro, 10.000, Caixa Postal 6192, 13083-970 Campinas, SP (Brazil); Magalhães, Debora; Wagner, Franz [Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS/CNPEM), Rua Giuseppe Máximo Scolfaro, 10.000, Caixa Postal 6192, 13083-970 Campinas, SP (Brazil); Frojdh, Erik; Ballabriga Sune, Rafael [CERN, Route de Meyrin 385, Geneva (Switzerland)

2015-11-21

This paper describes a new method of threshold equalization for X-ray detectors based on the Medipix3RX ASIC, using electrical pulses to calibrate and correct for the threshold dispersion between pixels. This method involves a coarse threshold tuning, based on two 8 bits global DACs and which sets the range of variation of the threshold values; and a fine-tuning, based on two 5-bits adjustment DACs per pixel. As our fine-tuning approach is based on a state-of-the-art methodology, our coarse tuning relies on an original theoretical model. This model takes into account the noise level of the ASIC, which varies with temperature and received radiation dose. The experimental results using 300 μm Si sensor and Kα fluorescence of Zn show a global energy resolution improvement of 14% compared to previous equalization methods. We compared these results with the best achievable global energy resolution given by the resolution of individual pixels and concluded that the remaining 14% difference was due to the discretization error limited by the number of equalization bits.

Effects of exposure to intermittent versus continuous red light on human circadian rhythms, melatonin suppression, and pupillary constriction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho Mien, Ivan; Chua, Eric Chern-Pin; Lau, Pauline; Tan, Luuan-Chin; Lee, Ivan Tian-Guang; Yeo, Sing-Chen; Tan, Sara Shuhui; Gooley, Joshua J

2014-01-01

Exposure to light is a major determinant of sleep timing and hormonal rhythms. The role of retinal cones in regulating circadian physiology remains unclear, however, as most studies have used light exposures that also activate the photopigment melanopsin. Here, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to alternating red light and darkness can enhance circadian resetting responses in humans by repeatedly activating cone photoreceptors. In a between-subjects study, healthy volunteers (n = 24, 21-28 yr) lived individually in a laboratory for 6 consecutive days. Circadian rhythms of melatonin, cortisol, body temperature, and heart rate were assessed before and after exposure to 6 h of continuous red light (631 nm, 13 log photons cm(-2) s(-1)), intermittent red light (1 min on/off), or bright white light (2,500 lux) near the onset of nocturnal melatonin secretion (n = 8 in each group). Melatonin suppression and pupillary constriction were also assessed during light exposure. We found that circadian resetting responses were similar for exposure to continuous versus intermittent red light (P = 0.69), with an average phase delay shift of almost an hour. Surprisingly, 2 subjects who were exposed to red light exhibited circadian responses similar in magnitude to those who were exposed to bright white light. Red light also elicited prolonged pupillary constriction, but did not suppress melatonin levels. These findings suggest that, for red light stimuli outside the range of sensitivity for melanopsin, cone photoreceptors can mediate circadian phase resetting of physiologic rhythms in some individuals. Our results also show that sensitivity thresholds differ across non-visual light responses, suggesting that cones may contribute differentially to circadian resetting, melatonin suppression, and the pupillary light reflex during exposure to continuous light.

Effects of exposure to intermittent versus continuous red light on human circadian rhythms, melatonin suppression, and pupillary constriction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Ho Mien

Full Text Available Exposure to light is a major determinant of sleep timing and hormonal rhythms. The role of retinal cones in regulating circadian physiology remains unclear, however, as most studies have used light exposures that also activate the photopigment melanopsin. Here, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to alternating red light and darkness can enhance circadian resetting responses in humans by repeatedly activating cone photoreceptors. In a between-subjects study, healthy volunteers (n = 24, 21-28 yr lived individually in a laboratory for 6 consecutive days. Circadian rhythms of melatonin, cortisol, body temperature, and heart rate were assessed before and after exposure to 6 h of continuous red light (631 nm, 13 log photons cm(-2 s(-1, intermittent red light (1 min on/off, or bright white light (2,500 lux near the onset of nocturnal melatonin secretion (n = 8 in each group. Melatonin suppression and pupillary constriction were also assessed during light exposure. We found that circadian resetting responses were similar for exposure to continuous versus intermittent red light (P = 0.69, with an average phase delay shift of almost an hour. Surprisingly, 2 subjects who were exposed to red light exhibited circadian responses similar in magnitude to those who were exposed to bright white light. Red light also elicited prolonged pupillary constriction, but did not suppress melatonin levels. These findings suggest that, for red light stimuli outside the range of sensitivity for melanopsin, cone photoreceptors can mediate circadian phase resetting of physiologic rhythms in some individuals. Our results also show that sensitivity thresholds differ across non-visual light responses, suggesting that cones may contribute differentially to circadian resetting, melatonin suppression, and the pupillary light reflex during exposure to continuous light.

The effects of continuous and intermittent ethanol exposure in adolesence on the aversive properties of ethanol during adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz-Granados, Jaime L; Graham, Danielle L

2007-12-01

Alcohol abuse among adolescents is prevalent. Epidemiological studies suggest that alcohol abuse during the adolescent developmental period may result in long-term changes such as an increased susceptibility to alcohol-related problems in adulthood. Laboratory findings suggest that alcohol exposure during the adolescent developmental period, as compared with adulthood, may differentially impact subsequent neurobehavioral responses to alcohol. The present study was designed to examine whether ethanol exposure, continuous versus intermittent, during the adolescent developmental period would alter the aversive properties of ethanol in adult C3H mice. Periadolescent (PD28) male C3H mice were exposed to 64 hours of continuous or intermittent ethanol vapor. As a comparison, adult (PD70) C3H mice were also exposed to 64 hours of continuous or intermittent ethanol vapor. Six weeks after ethanol exposure, taste aversion conditioning was carried out on both ethanol pre-exposed and ethanol-naive animals using a 1-trial, 1-flavor taste-conditioning procedure. Ethanol exposure during the periadolescent period significantly attenuated a subsequent ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion, as compared with control animals. Adult animals exposed to chronic ethanol vapor during adolescence showed less of an aversion to an ethanol-paired flavor than ethanol-naive adults. Intermittent exposure to ethanol vapor during periadolescence produced a greater attenuation. It is suggested that ethanol exposure during the periadolescent period results in long-term neurobehavioral changes, which lessen a conditioned aversion to ethanol in adulthood. It is suggested that this age-related effect may underlie the increased susceptibility to alcohol-related problems which is negatively correlated with the age of onset for alcohol abuse.

Population exposure from the fuel cycle: Review and future direction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richmond, C.R.

1987-01-01

The legacy of radiation exposures confronting man arises from two historical sources of energy, the sun and radioactive decay. Contemporary man continues to be dependent on these two energy sources, which include the nuclear fuel cycle. Radiation exposures from all energy sources should be examined, with particular emphasis on the nuclear fuel cycle, incidents such as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. In addition to risk estimation, concepts such as de minimis, life shortening as a measure of risk, and competing risks as projected into the future must be considered in placing radiation exposures in perspective. The utility of these concepts is in characterizing population exposures for decision makers in a manner that the public may judge acceptable. All these viewpoints are essential in the evaluation of population exposure from the nuclear fuel cycle

Oscillations of the energy, magnetic moment, and current with a period equal to the normal or superconducting flux quantum in cyclic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svirskii, M.S.

1985-01-01

Oscillations with a period equal to the normal or superconducting flux quantum occur in the current density and the orbital parts of the energy and the magnetic moment in cyclic systems. Transitions between these regimes can be induced by changing the number of electrons or by switching between states with different energies

Energy storage connection system

Science.gov (United States)

Benedict, Eric L.; Borland, Nicholas P.; Dale, Magdelena; Freeman, Belvin; Kite, Kim A.; Petter, Jeffrey K.; Taylor, Brendan F.

2012-07-03

A power system for connecting a variable voltage power source, such as a power controller, with a plurality of energy storage devices, at least two of which have a different initial voltage than the output voltage of the variable voltage power source. The power system includes a controller that increases the output voltage of the variable voltage power source. When such output voltage is substantially equal to the initial voltage of a first one of the energy storage devices, the controller sends a signal that causes a switch to connect the variable voltage power source with the first one of the energy storage devices. The controller then causes the output voltage of the variable voltage power source to continue increasing. When the output voltage is substantially equal to the initial voltage of a second one of the energy storage devices, the controller sends a signal that causes a switch to connect the variable voltage power source with the second one of the energy storage devices.

Acupuncture attenuates hyperglycaemia and improves ovarian function in female rats subjected to continuous light exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Xuezhi; Jia, Lina; Li, Yaming; Zhang, Xu

2017-10-01

Exposure to unnatural light cycles is increasingly associated with obesity and the metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on glucose metabolism and ovarian function in female rats subjected to long-term continuous light exposure. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (n=24) were divided into three experimental groups: an LD group that was maintained under a normal light-dark cycle (healthy control); an LL group that was exposed to continuous light for 21 weeks but remained untreated; and an LL+EA group that received EA at ST36 and SP6 during weeks 17 to 21 of continuous light exposure. Oestrous cycles of female rats kept in a continuously lit environment for 21 weeks were disordered and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)-like changes occurred, accompanied by increased fasting blood glucose (6.23±0.33 vs 5.27±0.40 mmol/L in week 17, p=0.015) and reduced fasting levels of serum testosterone (0.07±0.018 vs 0.12±0.058 ng/L, p=0.043) and insulin (0.89±0.20 vs 1.43±0.46 ng/L, p=0.006). After 5 weeks of EA treatment at ST36 and SP6, ovarian cycle disruption was mitigated and blood glucose levels showed a gradual decline (5.18±0.37 vs 5.80±0.55 mmol/L, p=0.017; and 5.73±0.31 vs 6.62±0.13 mmol/L, p=0.004; in the fourth and fifth weeks of EA treatment, respectively). EA also attenuated the reductions otherwise seen in serum insulin and testosterone levels. Prolonged exposure to light can lead to a decline in ovarian and pancreatic function. EA at ST36 and SP6 may reduce abnormally elevated blood glucose levels and improve ovarian and pancreatic hormone levels. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Improvement of Strength and Energy Absorption Properties of Porous Aluminum Alloy with Aligned Unidirectional Pores Using Equal-Channel Angular Extrusion

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, Tomonori; Muto, Daiki; Tamai, Tomoya; Suzuki, Shinsuke

2018-06-01

Porous aluminum alloy with aligned unidirectional pores was fabricated by dipping A1050 tubes into A6061 semi-solid slurry. The porous aluminum alloy was processed through Equal-channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) while preventing cracking and maintaining both the pore size and porosity by setting the insert material and loading back pressure. The specific compressive yield strength of the sample aged after 13 passes of ECAE was approximately 2.5 times higher than that of the solid-solutionized sample without ECAE. Both the energy absorption E V and energy absorption efficiency η V after four passes of ECAE were approximately 1.2 times higher than that of the solid-solutionized sample without ECAE. The specific yield strength was improved via work hardening and precipitation following dynamic aging during ECAE. E V was improved by the application of high compressive stress at the beginning of the compression owing to work hardening via ECAE. η V was improved by a steep increase of stress at low compressive strain and by a gradual increase of stress in the range up to 50 pct of compressive strain. The gradual increase of stress was caused by continuous shear fracture in the metallic part, which was due to the high dislocation density and existence of unidirectional pores parallel to the compressive direction in the structure.

Improvement of Strength and Energy Absorption Properties of Porous Aluminum Alloy with Aligned Unidirectional Pores Using Equal-Channel Angular Extrusion

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, Tomonori; Muto, Daiki; Tamai, Tomoya; Suzuki, Shinsuke

2018-04-01

Porous aluminum alloy with aligned unidirectional pores was fabricated by dipping A1050 tubes into A6061 semi-solid slurry. The porous aluminum alloy was processed through Equal-channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) while preventing cracking and maintaining both the pore size and porosity by setting the insert material and loading back pressure. The specific compressive yield strength of the sample aged after 13 passes of ECAE was approximately 2.5 times higher than that of the solid-solutionized sample without ECAE. Both the energy absorption E V and energy absorption efficiency η V after four passes of ECAE were approximately 1.2 times higher than that of the solid-solutionized sample without ECAE. The specific yield strength was improved via work hardening and precipitation following dynamic aging during ECAE. E V was improved by the application of high compressive stress at the beginning of the compression owing to work hardening via ECAE. η V was improved by a steep increase of stress at low compressive strain and by a gradual increase of stress in the range up to 50 pct of compressive strain. The gradual increase of stress was caused by continuous shear fracture in the metallic part, which was due to the high dislocation density and existence of unidirectional pores parallel to the compressive direction in the structure.

ICT energy efficiency in higher education. Continuous measurement and monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ter Hofte, H. [Novay, Enschede (Netherlands)

2011-11-15

Power consumption of information and communications technology (ICT) is rising rapidly worldwide. Reducing (the growth in) energy demand helps to achieve sustainability goals in the area of energy resource depletion, energy security, economy, and ecology. Various governments and industry consortia have set out policies and agreements to reduce the (growth in) demand for energy. In the MJA3 agreements in the Netherlands, various organizations, including all 14 universities and 39 universities of applied sciences pledged to achieve 30% increase in energy efficiency in 2020 compared to 2005. In this report, we argue that using the number of kilowatt-hours of final electricity used for ICT per enrolled student per day (kWh/st/d), should be used as the primary metric for ICT energy efficiency in higher education. For other uses of electricity than ICT in higher education, we express electricity use in kilowatthours per person per day (kWh/p/d). Applying continuous monitoring and management of ICT energy is one approach one could take to increase ICT energy efficiency in education. In households, providing direct (i.e. real-time) feedback about energy use typically results in 5-15% energy savings, whereas indirect feedback (provided some time after consumption occurs), results in less energy savings, typically 0-10%. Continuous measurement of ICT electricity use can be done in a variety of ways. In this report, we distinguish and describe four major measurement approaches: (1) In-line meters, which require breaking the electrical circuit to install the meter; (2) clamp-on-meters, which can be wrapped around a wire; (3) add-ons to existing energy meters, which use analog or digital ports of existing energy meters; (4) software-only measurement, which uses existing network interfaces, protocols and APIs. A measurement approach can be used at one or more aggregation levels: at building level (to measure all electrical energy used in a building, e.g. a datacenter); at

Exposures to natural radiation in Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murith, Ch.; Gurtner, A.

1999-01-01

The exposure of human beings to ionising radiation from natural sources is a continuing and inescapable feature of life on earth. There are two main sources that contribute to this exposure: high-energy cosmic-ray particles incident to the earth's atmosphere and radioactive nuclides that originated in the earth's crust and are present everywhere in the environment, including human body itself. Both external and internal exposures to humans arise from these sources. Exposures to natural radiation sources in Switzerland and some of their variations are here summarised and the resulting effective doses are compared to those from man-made sources exposures. It results that the natural background exposures are more significant for the population than most exposures to man-made sources. (authors)

On the solution of the Schroedinger equation through continued fractions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mignaco, J.A.

1979-05-01

The domain of interest for the applications of a method to solve the Schroedinger equation through continued fractions is studied. It is argued that the method applies almost equally well to quantum mechanical regimes (lower energy levels, low energy scattering) as well as to semiclassical ones simultaneously; this is illustrated by the example of the central power law potentials r sup(ν)(ν>o). The explanation of this behaviour is given in terms of the mathematical approximations involved and its relationship to physically interesting quantities. (Author) [pt

Beam density equalization in a channel with nonlinear optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batygin, Yu.K.; Kushin, V.V.; Nesterov, N.A.; Plotnikov, S.V.

1993-01-01

Simulation of beam density equalization in 2.85 m length transport channel covering two quadrupole lenses and two octupole lenses was carried out to obtain irradiation homogeneous field of track membrane materials. 0.3 MeV/nucleon energy and 1/8 electron-charge-mass ratio ion beam was supplied to the system inlet. Equalization of beam density function equal to about 80% was obtained. 4 refs., 1 fig

Developments in dual-energy, single-exposure chest radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho Jungtsuoe.

1990-01-01

Conventional chest radiography (CCR), the most commonly performed technique for the diagnosis of lung cancer, does not detect a high percentage of these tumors. One reason for errors is the overlap of tumor image with bone image in a chest radiograph. Dual-energy (DE) radiography has been suggested as the most effective method to eliminate bone contrast for better lung tumor visualization. DE radiography also provides a bone image from which benign nodules can be identified by the presence of nodule calcification. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of a film-screen based DE, single exposure technique in lung nodule detection and to improve its performance by both hardware (HD) and software developments (SD) to increase the accuracy of lung cancer diagnosis. Previous implementation of the technique resulted in small residual tissue contrast and incomplete tissue subtraction due to screen selection and x-ray beam hardening, respectively. HD, including uses of a new screen pair (Y 2 O 2 S/CaWO 4 ) and a K-edge filter (europium), were studied to improve residual tissue contrast by increasing the energy separation. Successful SD included a three-dimensional interpolation algorithm and noise suppression methods to achieve complete tissue subtraction and noise reduction, respectively. The results show that the new screen pair performed better than LaOBr/CaWo 4 ; the use of K-edge filter produced more residual tissue contrast than that obtained without it. Even though the dual exposure technique performed better than the single exposure technique in a simulated lung nodule detection study, the difference between the two techniques was statistically insignificant and they both performed better than CCR. Based on these encouraging results, the author concludes that the film-screen based DE, single exposure technique, with the HD and SD holds promise for further clinical study

Variability and uncertainty in Swedish exposure factors for use in quantitative exposure assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Filipsson, Monika; Öberg, Tomas; Bergbäck, Bo

2011-01-01

Information of exposure factors used in quantitative risk assessments has previously been compiled and reported for U.S. and European populations. However, due to the advancement of science and knowledge, these reports are in continuous need of updating with new data. Equally important is the change over time of many exposure factors related to both physiological characteristics and human behavior. Body weight, skin surface, time use, and dietary habits are some of the most obvious examples covered here. A wealth of data is available from literature not primarily gathered for the purpose of risk assessment. Here we review a number of key exposure factors and compare these factors between northern Europe--here represented by Sweden--and the United States. Many previous compilations of exposure factor data focus on interindividual variability and variability between sexes and age groups, while uncertainty is mainly dealt with in a qualitative way. In this article variability is assessed along with uncertainty. As estimates of central tendency and interindividual variability, mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, and multiple percentiles were calculated, while uncertainty was characterized using 95% confidence intervals for these parameters. The presented statistics are appropriate for use in deterministic analyses using point estimates for each input parameter as well as in probabilistic assessments. © 2010 Society for Risk Analysis.

Mouse fecal microbiome after exposure to high LET radiation

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Space travel is associated with continuous low-dose-rate exposure to high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiation. Pathophysiological manifestations after low-dose...

Comparative response of dogs and monkeys to sublethal acute and continuous low dose-rate gamma-ray exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spalding, J.F.; Holland, L.M.; Johnson, O.S.; LaBauve, P.M.; London, J.E.; Prine, J.R.; Vigil, E.A.

1977-02-01

Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and dogs (beagle) were given thirteen 100-rad gamma-ray doses at 28-day intervals. The comparative response (injury and recovery) of the hematopoietic system of the two species was observed at 7-day intervals during the exposure regime. At 84 days after the thirteenth gamma-ray dose, the 1300-rad conditioned and control dogs and monkeys were challenged continuously with 35 R/day until death to determine the amount of radiation-induced injury remaining in conditioned animals as a reduction in mean survival time. Dogs (50 percent) and monkeys (8 percent) died from injury incurred during the conditioning exposures. Thus, the comparative response of dogs and monkeys to dose protraction by acute dose fractionation was similar to what might be expected from a single acute dose. Mean survival times for nonconditioned dogs and monkeys during continuous exposure at 35 R/day were the same (approximately 1400 h). Thus, hematopoietic response of the two species by this method of dose protraction was not significantly different. Mean survival times of conditioned dogs and monkeys during the continuous 35 R/day gamma-ray challenge exposure were greater than for their control counterparts. Thus, the long-term radiation-induced injury was not measurable by this method. Conditioning doses of more than four times the acute LD 50 - 30 in dogs and approximately two times that of monkeys served only to increase both mean survival time and variance in a gamma-ray stress environment with a dose rate of 35 R/day

Exposure and perceptions of marketing for caffeinated energy drinks among young Canadians.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammond, David; Reid, Jessica L

2018-02-01

To examine exposure to energy drink marketing among youth and young adults, and test perceptions of energy drink advertisements (ads) regarding target audience age and promoting energy drink use during sports. A between-group experiment randomly assigned respondents to view one of four energy drink ads (sport-themed or control) and assessed perceptions of the ad. Regression models examined marketing exposure and perceptions. Online survey (2014). Canadians aged 12-24 years (n 2040) from a commercial panel. Overall, 83 % reported ever seeing energy drink ads through at least one channel, including on television (60 %), posters/signs in stores (49 %) and online (44 %). Across experimental conditions, most respondents (70·1 %) thought the ad they viewed targeted people their age or younger, including 42·2 % of those aged 12-14 years. Two sport-themed ads were more likely to be perceived as targeting a younger audience (adjusted OR (95 % CI): 'X Games' 36·5 %, 4·16 (3·00, 5·77); 'snowboard' 19·2 %, 1·50 (1·06, 2·13)) v. control (13·3 %). Participants were more likely to believe an ad promoted energy drink use during sports if they viewed any sport-themed ad ('X Games' 69·9 %, 8·29 (6·24, 11·02); 'snowboard' 76·7 %, 11·85 (8·82, 15·92); 'gym' 66·8 %, 7·29 (5·52, 9·64)) v. control (22·0 %). Greater reported exposure to energy drink marketing was associated with perceiving study ads as promoting energy drink use during sports. Energy drink marketing has a high reach among young people. Ads for energy drinks were perceived as targeting youth and promoting use during sports. Such ads may be perceived as making physical performance claims, counter to Canadian regulations.

Population exposure from the nuclear fuel cycle: Review and future direction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richmond, C.R.

1988-01-01

The legacy of radiation exposures confronting man arises from two historical sources of energy, the sun and radioactive decay. Contemporary man continues to be dependent on these two energy sources, which include the nuclear fuel cycle. Radiation exposures from all energy sources should be examined, with particular emphasis on the nuclear fuel cycle, including incidents such as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. In addition to risk estimation, concepts such as de minimis, life shortening as a measure of risk, and competing risks as projected into the future must be considered in placing radiation exposures in perspective. The utility of these concepts is in characterizing population exposures for decision makers in a manner that the public may judge acceptable. All these viewpoints are essential in the evaluation of population exposure from the nuclear fuel cycle

Continuous Energy Photon Transport Implementation in MCATK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, Terry R. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Trahan, Travis John [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Sweezy, Jeremy Ed [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Nolen, Steven Douglas [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Hughes, Henry Grady [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Pritchett-Sheats, Lori A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Werner, Christopher John [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-10-31

The Monte Carlo Application ToolKit (MCATK) code development team has implemented Monte Carlo photon transport into the MCATK software suite. The current particle transport capabilities in MCATK, which process the tracking and collision physics, have been extended to enable tracking of photons using the same continuous energy approximation. We describe the four photoatomic processes implemented, which are coherent scattering, incoherent scattering, pair-production, and photoelectric absorption. The accompanying background, implementation, and verification of these processes will be presented.

Energy-balance check for continuous energy cross section library CENACE-1.0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Qiujuan; Wu Haicheng; Ge Zhigang

2014-01-01

In order to verify the reliability of the multiple-temperature continuous energy cross section library CENACE-1.0 when used for calculating nuclear heating in reactor core, NJOY99/HEATR module and auxiliary code chkACEheat developed locally were used to perform energy-balance check for all materials in the library. The test results show that the pass rate of KERMA factors and heat production cross sections of the CENACE-1.0 library is better than that of the other ACE libraries used as comparison. However, unreasonable KERMA factors still exist in various evaluation libraries, and methods to directly revise the calculation results of KERMA factors need to be developed. (authors)

Safety research in the field of energy production. Plan for continued Nordic projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahlstroem, P E [Statens Vattenfallsverk, Stockholm (Sweden); Berg, J [Institutt for Atomenergi, Kjeller (Norway); Eckered, T [Statens Kaernkraftinspektion, Stockholm (Sweden)

1980-01-01

NGS, an ad hoc group of the Nordic Co-ordination Committee for Atomic Energy, has prepared this survey of proposed cooperative projects as a continuation of previous projects. New areas to be given priority are:- reactor safety, environmental effects in energy production and human reliability. Continued projects are:- quality assurance, radioactive waste and radioecology. (JIW)

Instrumentation for continuous monitoring of low energy cosmic ray intensity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, S; Prasad, R; Yadav, R S [Aligarh Muslim Univ. (India). Dept. of Physics; Naqvi, T H [Z.H. Engineering Coll., Aligarh (India); Ahmed, Rais [National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi (India)

1975-12-01

A high counting rate neutron monitor developed at Aligarh for continuous monitoring of low energy nucleonic component of cosmic rays is described. Transistorized electronic circuits used are described.

Long term impairment of cognitive functions and alterations of NMDAR subunits after continuous microwave exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hui; Tan, Shengzhi; Xu, Xinping; Zhao, Li; Zhang, Jing; Yao, Binwei; Gao, Yabing; Zhou, Hongmei; Peng, Ruiyun

2017-11-01

The long term effects of continuous microwave exposure cannot be ignored for the simulation of the real environment and increasing concerns about the negative cognitive effects of microwave exposure. In this study, 220 male Wistar rats were exposed by a 2.856GHz radiation source with the average power density of 0, 2.5, 5 and 10mW/cm 2 for 6min/day, 5days/week and up to 6weeks. The MWM task, the EEG analysis, the hippocampus structure observation and the western blot were applied until the 12months after microwave exposure to detect the spatial learning and memory abilities, the cortical electrical activity, changes of hippocampal structure and the NMDAR subunits expressions. Results found that the rats in the 10mW/cm 2 group showed the decline of spatial learning and memory abilities and EEG disorders (the decrease of EEG frequencies, and increase of EEG amplitudes and delta wave powers). Moreover, changes of basic structure and ultrastructure of hippocampus also found in the 10 and 5mW/cm 2 groups. The decrease of NR 2A, 2B and p-NR2B might contribute to the impairment of cognitive functions. Our findings suggested that the continuous microwave exposure could cause the dose-dependent long term impairment of spatial learning and memory, the abnormalities of EEG and the hippocampal structure injuries. The decrease of NMDAR key subunits and phosphorylation of NR 2B might contribute to the cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instrumentation for continuous monitoring of low energy cosmic ray intensity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, S.; Prasad, R.; Yadav, R.S.; Ahmed, Rais

1975-01-01

A high counting rate neutron monitor developed at Aligarh for continuous monitoring of low energy nucleonic component of cosmic rays is described. Transistorized electronic circuits used are described. (author)

Theory and application of the RAZOR two-dimensional continuous energy lattice physics code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zerkle, M.L.; Abu-Shumays, I.K.; Ott, M.W.; Winwood, J.P.

1997-01-01

The theory and application of the RAZOR two-dimensional, continuous energy lattice physics code are discussed. RAZOR solves the continuous energy neutron transport equation in one- and two-dimensional geometries, and calculates equivalent few-group diffusion theory constants that rigorously account for spatial and spectral self-shielding effects. A dual energy resolution slowing down algorithm is used to reduce computer memory and disk storage requirements for the slowing down calculation. Results are presented for a 2D BWR pin cell depletion benchmark problem

Use of nuclear photoemulsions for low energy deuteron detection in vacuum and helium medium in case of time exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barit, I.Ya.; Balashko, Yu.G.; Dul'kova, L.S.; Zavarzina, V.P.; Romanova, T.A.

1975-01-01

An investigation is described of a possibility of recording 700 to 950 keV deuterons with fine-grain type T-3 and P-9 photoemulsion in vacuum and in a helium atmosphere, allowance being made for a possible variation in photolayer parameters during long exposures of an 10 to 14 days. To eliminate the exfoliation of emulsions from the glass as a result of staying for long in vacuum, they have been first kept in an spirit-glycerine mixture and then dried in a special drier at room temperature. Such pretreatment may result in changes in photoemulsion moderating capability as well as in the shrinkage coefficient. Therefore the moderating capability and the shrinkage coefficients of the photoemulsions treated by the method described above have been estimated. The obtained results show that the treatment with spirit-glycerine mixture may cause an increse in track length not more than by 1.5 to 3%, if at all, this value being within the accuracy limits of track measurements. The shrinkage coefficient for plates soaked with spirit-glycerine mixture turns out to be equal to that of untreated ones. Investigation of a possible change in emulsion layer thickness during long exposure in helium atmosphere (240 hours) and in vacuum (approximately 100 hours) show a 15% decrease in the shrinkage coefficient. Investigation of the effect of long staying of plates in vacuum and dry helium atmosphere indicates the decrease in track length due to pumping various additives the emulsions contain. The investigation carried out proves the possibility of using types T-3 and P-9 nuclear emulsions for recording low-energy charged particles at long exposures in vacuum (approximately 0.01 torr) and a dry neutral gas medium accounting for possible changes in the photolayer nuclear emulsions for recording low-energy charged particles at long exposures in vacuum (approximately 0.01 torr) and a dry neutral gas medium accounting for possible changes in the photolayer [ru

ENERGY RECOVERY FOR CONTINUOUS DYEING PROCESS IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY ENTERPRISES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Romaniuk

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper ascertains and presents alteration in the energy consumption as a consequence of utilizing the low-temperature waste streams commonly used in the lines of continuous dyeing at the finishing shops of textile enterprises of Belarus. The utilization realizes through the engagement of lithium-bromide absorption heat pumps with various energy characteristics such as the heating coefficient (relative conversion ratio COPhp = 1,15; 1,7; 2,2 and the heating capacity. The latter associates with the converted heat-flow energy utilization variant with the heat-transfer medium heating system scheme (one-, twoand multistage heating. The article considers transition to previously not applied service-water preheating due to the technological acceptance of feeding higher temperature water into the dyeing machine and widening specification of the heattransfer media. The authors adduce variants of internal and external energy use and their evaluation based on the relative energy and exergy characteristics. With results of the thermodynamic analysis of the modernized production effectiveness the researchers prove that alongside with traditional and apparent interior utilization of the energy associated with the stream heat recuperation, it is advisable to widen the range of applied heat-transfer media. The transition to the service water twoand multi-stage preheating is feasible. The study shows that the existing energy supply efficiency extremely low index-numbers improve by one or two degrees. Since they are conditioned, inter alia, by the machinery design, traditional approach to energy supply and heat-medium usage as well as the enterprise whole heating system answering requirements of the bygone era of cheap energy resources. The authors examine the continuous dyeing line modernization options intending considerable investments. Preliminary economic assessment of such inevitable modernization options for the enterprise entire heat-and-power system

Smarandache Continued Fractions

OpenAIRE

Ibstedt, H.

2001-01-01

The theory of general continued fractions is developed to the extent required in order to calculate Smarandache continued fractions to a given number of decimal places. Proof is given for the fact that Smarandache general continued fractions built with positive integer Smarandache sequences baving only a finite number of terms equal to 1 is convergent. A few numerical results are given.

Attention-related modulation of auditory brainstem responses during contralateral noise exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikeda, Kazunari; Sekiguchi, Takahiro; Hayashi, Akiko

2008-10-29

As determinants facilitating attention-related modulation of the auditory brainstem response (ABR), two experimental factors were examined: (i) auditory discrimination; and (ii) contralateral masking intensity. Tone pips at 80 dB sound pressure level were presented to the left ear via either single-tone exposures or oddball exposures, whereas white noise was delivered continuously to the right ear at variable intensities (none--80 dB sound pressure level). Participants each conducted two tasks during stimulation, either reading a book (ignoring task) or detecting target tones (attentive task). Task-related modulation within the ABR range was found only during oddball exposures at contralateral masking intensities greater than or equal to 60 dB. Attention-related modulation of ABR can thus be detected reliably during auditory discrimination under contralateral masking of sufficient intensity.

Picture quality in mammography, and interrelation of radiation exposure. Invisible patient care

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsura, Takahide; Yamamoto, Y.

2006-01-01

In these days when there are rumors about medical radiation exposure, it is the greatest keyword which it was inflicted with to radioactive ray's worker to secure radiation exposure reduction. I assume International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) BSS (Basic Safety Standards) guidance level, the medical radiation exposure reduction targeted value by JART (Japan Association of Radiological Technologists) a reasonable standard and, besides, must be able to tie equality and high quality medical care to an offer of security for a patient by getting rid of a difference in each institution. In mammography that needs is high in cancer death rate high rank of a woman as a background, authorization engineer system and institution authorization system establish it with a made guideline by a mammography precision management central committee, and not only an offer of a high quality picture depicting a minute mental change caused by a disease but also consideration of radiation exposure with the photography is done. Radiation exposure dose of radioactivity reduction by operation of a picture is nominated for possibility in digital system, but that radiation exposure dose of radioactivity increase than S/F system is felt uneasy about because actually I aim at the institution authorization acquisition. Maintain the high quality picture and to consider radiation exposure reduction are real invisible patient care, and I report the picture quality and interrelation of radiation exposure, and also speak a consideration method of the picture of the always equal tolerance level/tolerance level of the radiation exposure that a gap is not over in each institution. (author)

Characterizing health impacts from indoor and outdoor exposure to fine particulates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vigon, Bruce; Fantke, Peter; McKone, Thomas E

2016-01-01

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution is a major contributor to human disease burden as continuously shown in the Global Burden of Disease study series. Exposures to PM2.5 concentration outdoors and indoors contribute almost equally to this burden. Despite the importance, health...... impacts from exposure to PM2.5 are often excluded from life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) characterization profiles. This is in large part because of the lack of well-vetted harmonized guidance about how to consistently assess the exposures and impacts of indoor and outdoor emissions of PM2.5 and its...... precursors. We present a framework for calculating characterization factors for indoor and outdoor emissions of primary PM2.5 and secondary PM2.5 precursors, and a roadmap for further refining this modelling framework for operational use in LCIA. The framework was developed over the last three years...

Population of the LEAP system to model energy futures in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Taviv, R

2008-05-01

Full Text Available . These are to be undertaken against the backdrop of an insatiable global appetite for energy. Security of energy supplies and services are equally necessary for the continued economic growth and development that the country has been enjoying. The primary objectives...

Maxwell’s equal area law for Lovelock thermodynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Hao; Xu, Zhen-Ming

We present the construction of Maxwell’s equal area law for the Guass-Bonnet AdS black holes in d = 5, 6 and third-order Lovelock AdS black holes in d = 7, 8. The equal area law can be used to find the number and location of the points of intersection in the plots of Gibbs free energy, so that we can get the thermodynamically preferred solution which corresponds to the first-order phase transition. We obtain the radius of the small and large black holes in the phase transition which share the same Gibbs free energy. The case with two critical points is explored in much more details. The latent heat is also studied.

Interaction Effects between Exposure to Sexually Explicit Online Materials and Individual, Family, and Extrafamilial Factors on Hong Kong High School Students' Beliefs about Gender Role Equality and Body-Centered Sexuality

Science.gov (United States)

To, Siu-ming; Kan, Siu-mee Iu; Ngai, Steven Sek-yum

2015-01-01

This study examined the interaction effects between Hong Kong adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit online materials (SEOM) and individual, family, peer, and cultural factors on their beliefs about gender role equality and body-centered sexuality. Based on a survey design with a sample of 503 high school students in Hong Kong, the results…

The continuous tower of scalar fields as a system of interacting dark matter–dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Paulo

2015-01-01

This paper aims to introduce a new parameterisation for the coupling Q in interacting dark matter and dark energy models by connecting said models with the Continuous Tower of Scalar Fields model. Based upon the existence of a dark matter and a dark energy sectors in the Continuous Tower of Scalar Fields, a simplification is considered for the evolution of a single scalar field from the tower, validated in this paper. This allows for the results obtained with the Continuous Tower of Scalar Fields model to match those of an interacting dark matter–dark energy system, considering that the energy transferred from one fluid to the other is given by the energy of the scalar fields that start oscillating at a given time, rather than considering that the energy transference depends on properties of the whole fluids that are interacting.

Exposure to digital marketing enhances young adults' interest in energy drinks: An exploratory investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchanan, Limin; Kelly, Bridget; Yeatman, Heather

2017-01-01

Young adults experience faster weight gain and consume more unhealthy food than any other age groups. The impact of online food marketing on "digital native" young adults is unclear. This study examined the effects of online marketing on young adults' consumption behaviours, using energy drinks as a case example. The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion was used as the theoretical basis. A pre-test post-test experimental research design was adopted using mixed-methods. Participants (aged 18-24) were randomly assigned to control or experimental groups (N = 30 each). Experimental group participants' attitudes towards and intended purchase and consumption of energy drinks were examined via surveys and semi-structured interviews after their exposure to two popular energy drink brands' websites and social media sites (exposure time 8 minutes). Exposure to digital marketing contents of energy drinks improved the experimental group participants' attitudes towards and purchase and consumption intention of energy drinks. This study indicates the influential power of unhealthy online marketing on cognitively mature young adults. This study draws public health attentions to young adults, who to date have been less of a focus of researchers but are influenced by online food advertising.

Exposure to digital marketing enhances young adults’ interest in energy drinks: An exploratory investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Buchanan, Limin; Kelly, Bridget; Yeatman, Heather

2017-01-01

Young adults experience faster weight gain and consume more unhealthy food than any other age groups. The impact of online food marketing on “digital native” young adults is unclear. This study examined the effects of online marketing on young adults’ consumption behaviours, using energy drinks as a case example. The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion was used as the theoretical basis. A pre-test post-test experimental research design was adopted using mixed-methods. Participants (aged 18–24) were randomly assigned to control or experimental groups (N = 30 each). Experimental group participants’ attitudes towards and intended purchase and consumption of energy drinks were examined via surveys and semi-structured interviews after their exposure to two popular energy drink brands’ websites and social media sites (exposure time 8 minutes). Exposure to digital marketing contents of energy drinks improved the experimental group participants’ attitudes towards and purchase and consumption intention of energy drinks. This study indicates the influential power of unhealthy online marketing on cognitively mature young adults. This study draws public health attentions to young adults, who to date have been less of a focus of researchers but are influenced by online food advertising. PMID:28152016

45 CFR 2543.81 - Equal employment opportunity.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Equal employment opportunity. 2543.81 Section 2543.81 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Statutory Compliance §...

A Crossed Pack-to-Cell Equalizer Based on Quasi-Resonant LC Converter with Adaptive Fuzzy Logic Equalization Control for Series-connected Lithium-Ion Battery Strings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shang, Yunlong; Zhang, Chenghui; Cui, Naxin

2015-01-01

The equalization speed, efficiency, and control are the key issues of battery equalization. This paper proposes a crossed pack-to-cell equalizer based on quasi-resonant LC converter (QRLCC). The battery string is divided into M modules, and each module consists of N series-connected cells....... The energy can be transferred directly from a battery module to the lowest voltage cell (LVC) in the next adjacent module, which results in an enhancement of equalization efficiency and current. The QRLCC is employed to gain zero-current switching (ZCS), leading to a reduction of power losses......-equalization. A prototype with eight lithiumion battery cells is implemented. Experimental results show the proposed scheme exhibits outstanding balancing performance, and the equalization efficiency is higher than 98%. The proposed AFLC algorithm abridges the total equalization time about 47%, and reduces the switching...

Hoelder continuity of energy minimizer maps between Riemannian polyhedra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouziane, Taoufik

2004-10-01

The goal of the present paper is to establish some kind of regularity of an energy minimizer map between Riemannian polyhedra. More precisely, we will show the Hoelder continuity of local energy minimizers between Riemannian polyhedra with the target spaces without focal points. With this new result, we also complete our existence theorem obtained elsewhere, and consequently we generalize completely, to the case of target polyhedra without focal points (which is a weaker geometric condition than the nonpositivity of the curvature), the Eells-Fuglede's existence and regularity theorem which is the new version of the famous Eells-Sampson's theorem. (author)

Radiation exposures for DOE [Department of Energy] and DOE contractor employees, 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merwin, S.E.; Traub, R.J.; Millet, W.H.

1990-12-01

This is the 21st in a series of annual radiation exposure reports published by the Department of Energy (DOE) or its predecessors. This report summarizes the radiation exposures received at DOE and DOE contractor facilities in 1988. Radiation exposures to both employees and visitors are included. Trends in radiation exposures are evaluated by comparing the doses received in 1988 to those received in previous years. The significance of the doses is addressed by comparing them to the DOE limits and by correlating the doses to health risks based on risk estimates from expert groups. This report represents a significant advancement from previous reports because it is the first for which detailed exposure data are available for each individual monitored at a DOE facility. This reports contains information on different types of radiation doses, such as penetrating, shallow, and neutron doses. It also contains analysis of exposures by age, sex, and occupation of the exposed individuals. This report is the first of any federal organization that presents such detailed exposure data. The purpose of this report is to disseminate information regarding radiation exposures received at US Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE contractor facilities. The primary purpose of this practice is to ensure that the DOE occupational dose limits are not exceeded and that as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) goals are met. A secondary purpose, however, is to provide information that can be used by other organizations and individuals who wish to collect and analyze such information. This information may be useful for estimating the effect of changing dose limits on operations at DOE facilities, determining the progress of DOE with respect to the ALARA principle, or, in combination with epidemiological information, assisting researchers in determining whether or not low doses of ionizing radiation are harmful. 23 refs., 20 figs., 23 tabs

New strategies of sensitivity analysis capabilities in continuous-energy Monte Carlo code RMC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu, Yishu; Liang, Jingang; Wang, Kan; Yu, Jiankai

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Data decomposition techniques are proposed for memory reduction. • New strategies are put forward and implemented in RMC code to improve efficiency and accuracy for sensitivity calculations. • A capability to compute region-specific sensitivity coefficients is developed in RMC code. - Abstract: The iterated fission probability (IFP) method has been demonstrated to be an accurate alternative for estimating the adjoint-weighted parameters in continuous-energy Monte Carlo forward calculations. However, the memory requirements of this method are huge especially when a large number of sensitivity coefficients are desired. Therefore, data decomposition techniques are proposed in this work. Two parallel strategies based on the neutron production rate (NPR) estimator and the fission neutron population (FNP) estimator for adjoint fluxes, as well as a more efficient algorithm which has multiple overlapping blocks (MOB) in a cycle, are investigated and implemented in the continuous-energy Reactor Monte Carlo code RMC for sensitivity analysis. Furthermore, a region-specific sensitivity analysis capability is developed in RMC. These new strategies, algorithms and capabilities are verified against analytic solutions of a multi-group infinite-medium problem and against results from other software packages including MCNP6, TSUANAMI-1D and multi-group TSUNAMI-3D. While the results generated by the NPR and FNP strategies agree within 0.1% of the analytic sensitivity coefficients, the MOB strategy surprisingly produces sensitivity coefficients exactly equal to the analytic ones. Meanwhile, the results generated by the three strategies in RMC are in agreement with those produced by other codes within a few percent. Moreover, the MOB strategy performs the most efficient sensitivity coefficient calculations (offering as much as an order of magnitude gain in FoMs over MCNP6), followed by the NPR and FNP strategies, and then MCNP6. The results also reveal that these

First validation of the new continuous energy version of the MORET5 Monte Carlo code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miss, Joachim; Bernard, Franck; Forestier, Benoit; Haeck, Wim; Richet, Yann; Jacquet, Olivier

2008-01-01

The 5.A.1 version is the next release of the MORET Monte Carlo code dedicated to criticality and reactor calculations. This new version combines all the capabilities that are already available in the multigroup version with many new and enhanced features. The main capabilities of the previous version are the powerful association of a deterministic and Monte Carlo approach (like for instance APOLLO-MORET), the modular geometry, five source sampling techniques and two simulation strategies. The major advance in MORET5 is the ability to perform calculations either a multigroup or a continuous energy simulation. Thanks to these new developments, we now have better control over the whole process of criticality calculations, from reading the basic nuclear data to the Monte Carlo simulation itself. Moreover, this new capability enables us to better validate the deterministic-Monte Carlo multigroup calculations by performing continuous energy calculations with the same code, using the same geometry and tracking algorithms. The aim of this paper is to describe the main options available in this new release, and to present the first results. Comparisons of the MORET5 continuous-energy results with experimental measurements and against another continuous-energy Monte Carlo code are provided in terms of validation and time performance. Finally, an analysis of the interest of using a unified energy grid for continuous energy Monte Carlo calculations is presented. (authors)

Gender equality and equal opportunity mechanisms in Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mršević Zorica

2007-01-01

Full Text Available As a country of Southern European mentality Italy may be taken as the nearest-to-the-Balkans model of the gender equality mechanisms and necessity of their existence. Italy also might be taken as a model of domain and methods of functioning of the gender equality mechanisms as well as their connections with the EU development funds. Besides the Italian Ministry for Rights and Equal opportunities and the National Committee, the attention was paid to the whole range of local mechanisms and legal regulations dealing with advancement of women’s employment and counteracting discrimination on the labor market. In the text are analyzed through the five chapters the Italian mechanisms/institutions for gender equality as located within the European institutional environment but also within the context of Italian recent history of struggle against gender based discrimination. It was stressed that the essence of the accumulated European institutional wisdom is in diversity of the gender equality bodies rather then in their uniformity. Although the Italian mechanisms for gender equality are part of the European institutional environment their aim is to meet the internal needs for advancement of gender equality. Besides, the mechanisms also meet the demands of the international standards comprised in the documents issued by the UN and the EU. In European countries these mechanisms are frequently established and function in the domains of the labor and employment regulations, but also are located within the human rights portfolios while somewhere are connected with the minority rights and equal opportunity implementation.

VIM: a continuous energy Monte Carlo code at ANL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomquist, R.N.; Lell, R.M.; Gelbard, E.M.

1980-01-01

The continuous-energy Monte Carlo neutron transport code VIM and its auxiliaries are briefly described. The ENDF/B cross section data processing procedure is summarized and its benchmarking against MC 2 -2 is reviewed. Several representative applications at ANL are described, including fast critical assembly benchmark calculations and STF and TREAT Upgrade benchmark calculations. 2 figures

Noise and hand-arm vibration exposure in relation to the risk of hearing loss

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans Pettersson

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine the possible association of combined exposure of noise and hand-arm vibration (HAV and the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Workers in a heavy engineering industry were part of a dynamic cohort. Of these workers, 189 had HAV exposure, and their age and hearing status were recorded in the same year and were, therefore, included in the analysis. Data on HAV duration and acceleration was gathered through questionnaires, observations, and measurements. All available audiograms were categorized into normal and hearing loss. The first exposure variable included the lifetime HAV exposure. The lifetime HAV exposure was multiplied by the acceleration of HAV for the second and third exposure variable. Logistic regression using the Generalized Estimation Equations method was chosen to analyze the data to account for the repeated measurements. The analysis was performed with both continuous exposure variables and with exposure variables grouped into exposure quartiles with hearing loss as an outcome and age as a covariate. With continuous exposure variables, the odds ratio (OR with a 95% confidence interval (CI for hearing loss was equal to or greater than one for all exposure variables. When the exposure variables were grouped into quartiles, the OR with a 95% CI was greater than one at the third and fourth quartile. The results show that working with vibrating machines in an environment with noise exposure increases the risk of hearing loss, supporting an association between exposure to noise and HAV, and the noise-induced hearing loss.

Application of wavelet scaling function expansion continuous-energy resonance calculation method to MOX fuel problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, W.; Wu, H.; Cao, L.

2012-01-01

More and more MOX fuels are used in all over the world in the past several decades. Compared with UO 2 fuel, it contains some new features. For example, the neutron spectrum is harder and more resonance interference effects within the resonance energy range are introduced because of more resonant nuclides contained in the MOX fuel. In this paper, the wavelets scaling function expansion method is applied to study the resonance behavior of plutonium isotopes within MOX fuel. Wavelets scaling function expansion continuous-energy self-shielding method is developed recently. It has been validated and verified by comparison to Monte Carlo calculations. In this method, the continuous-energy cross-sections are utilized within resonance energy, which means that it's capable to solve problems with serious resonance interference effects without iteration calculations. Therefore, this method adapts to treat the MOX fuel resonance calculation problem natively. Furthermore, plutonium isotopes have fierce oscillations of total cross-section within thermal energy range, especially for 240 Pu and 242 Pu. To take thermal resonance effect of plutonium isotopes into consideration the wavelet scaling function expansion continuous-energy resonance calculation code WAVERESON is enhanced by applying the free gas scattering kernel to obtain the continuous-energy scattering source within thermal energy range (2.1 eV to 4.0 eV) contrasting against the resonance energy range in which the elastic scattering kernel is utilized. Finally, all of the calculation results of WAVERESON are compared with MCNP calculation. (authors)

Continuous energy adjoint Monte Carlo for coupled neutron-photon transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoogenboom, J.E. [Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands). Interfaculty Reactor Inst.

2001-07-01

Although the theory for adjoint Monte Carlo calculations with continuous energy treatment for neutrons as well as for photons is known, coupled neutron-photon transport problems present fundamental difficulties because of the discrete energies of the photons produced by neutron reactions. This problem was solved by forcing the energy of the adjoint photon to the required discrete value by an adjoint Compton scattering reaction or an adjoint pair production reaction. A mathematical derivation shows the exact procedures to follow for the generation of an adjoint neutron and its statistical weight. A numerical example demonstrates that correct detector responses are obtained compared to a standard forward Monte Carlo calculation. (orig.)

Neutron-photon multigroup cross sections for neutron energies less than or equal to400 MeV. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alsmiller, R.G. Jr.; Barnes, J.M.; Drischler, J.D.

1986-01-01

For a variety of applications, e.g., accelerator shielding design, neutrons in radiotherapy, radiation damage studies, etc., it is necessary to carry out transport calculations involving medium-energy (greater than or equal to20 MeV) neutrons. A previous paper described neutron-photon multigroup cross sections in the ANISN format for neutrons from thermal to 400 MeV. In the present paper the cross-section data presented previously have been revised to make them agree with available experimental data. 7 refs., 1 fig

Emissions from residential energy use dominate exposure to ambient fine particulate matter in India

Science.gov (United States)

Conibear, L.; Butt, E. W.; Knote, C. J.; Arnold, S.; Spracklen, D. V.

2017-12-01

Exposure to ambient particulate matter of less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) is a leading cause of disease burden in India. Information on the source contributions to the burden of disease attributable to ambient PM2.5 exposure is critical to support the national and sub-national control of air pollution. Previous studies analysing the contributions of different emission sectors to disease burden in India have been limited by coarse model resolutions and a lack of extensive PM2.5 observations before 2016. We use a regional numerical weather prediction model online-coupled with chemistry, evaluated against extensive surface observations, to make the first high resolution study of the contributions of seven emission sectors to the disease burden associated with ambient PM2.5 exposure in India. We find that residential energy use is the dominant contributing emission sector. Removing air pollution emissions from residential energy use would reduce population-weighted annual mean ambient PM2.5 concentrations by 52%, reducing the number of premature mortalities caused by exposure to ambient PM2.5 by 26%, equivalent to 268,000 (95% uncertainty interval (95UI): 167,000-360,000) lives every year. The smaller fractional reduction in mortality burden is due to the non-linear exposure-response relationship at the high PM2.5 concentrations observed across India and consequently large reductions in emissions are required to reduce the health burden from ambient PM2.5 exposure in India. Keywords: ambient air quality, India, residential energy use, health impact, particulate matter, WRF-Chem

Domestic gender equality and childbearing in Sweden

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frances Goldscheider

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Sweden, which is among the most gender-equal societies in the world, combines 'modern' family patterns such as unmarried cohabitation, delayed parenthood, high maternal labor force participation, and high break-up rates - all usually linked with low birth rates - with relatively high fertility. Sweden also has a high level of shared parental responsibility for home and children. Objective: After decades of late 20th century research showing that increasing gender equality in the workplace was linked with lower fertility, might gender equality in the home increase fertility? Methods: Using data from the Swedish Young Adult Panel Study (YAPS, we use Cox regression to examine the effects on first, second, and third births of 1 holding attitudes about sharing equally in the care of the home and children, and 2 actual sharing in these domestic tasks. Results: Our analysis shows that, measuring attitudes before the transition to parenthood and actual practice four years later, it is inconsistency between sharing attitudes and the actual division of housework that reduces the likelihood of continued childbearing, especially on second births among women. Conclusions: As women are most likely to confront an inconsistent situation, with egalitarian ideals in a household without equal sharing, it is clear that having a partner who does not share housework is depressing Swedish fertility.

Assessment of energy supply and continuity of service in distribution network with renewable distributed generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdullah, M.A.; Agalgaonkar, A.P.; Muttaqi, K.M.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Difficulties in assessing distribution network adequacy with DG are addressed. • Indices are proposed to assess adequacy of energy supply and service continuity. • Analytical methodology is developed to assess the proposed indices. • Concept of joint probability distribution of demand and generation is applied. - Abstract: Continuity of electricity supply with renewable distributed generation (DG) is a topical issue for distribution system planning and operation, especially due to the stochastic nature of power generation and time varying load demand. The conventional adequacy and reliability analysis methods related to bulk generation systems cannot be applied directly for the evaluation of adequacy criteria such as ‘energy supply’ and ‘continuity of service’ for distribution networks embedded with renewable DG. In this paper, new indices highlighting ‘available supply capacity’ and ‘continuity of service’ are proposed for ‘energy supply’ and ‘continuation of service’ evaluation of generation-rich distribution networks, and analytical techniques are developed for their quantification. A probability based analytical method has been developed using the joint probability of the demand and generation, and probability distributions of the proposed indices have been used to evaluate the network adequacy in energy supply and service continuation. A data clustering technique has been used to evaluate the joint probability between coincidental demand and renewable generation. Time sequential Monte Carlo simulation has been used to compare the results obtained using the proposed analytical method. A standard distribution network derived from Roy Billinton test system and a practical radial distribution network have been used to test the proposed method and demonstrate the estimation of the well-being of a system for hosting renewable DG units. It is found that renewable DG systems improve the ‘energy supply’ and ‘continuity

Determination of personnel exposures in the lower energy ranges of X-ray by photographic dosimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, C.W.; Kim, J.R.; Suk, K.W.

1986-01-01

This paper described an improved technical method required for proper evaluation of personnel exposures by means of the photographic dosimeter developed by KAERI in lower gamma or X-ray energy regions, with which response of the dosimeter varies significantly. With calibration of the dosimeter in the energy range from 30 to 300 keV, the beam spectrum was carefully selected and specified it adequately. The absorber combinations and absorber thickness used to obtain the specified X-ray spectra from a constant potential X-ray machine were determined theoretically and also experimentally. A correlation between the density and exposure for the four separate energies, such as 49 keV eff , 154 keV eff 250 keV eff and 662 keV, is experimentally determined. As a result, it can be directly evaluated the exposure from the measured response of dosimeter. (Author)

36 CFR 254.12 - Value equalization; cash equalization waiver.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Value equalization; cash... AGRICULTURE LANDOWNERSHIP ADJUSTMENTS Land Exchanges § 254.12 Value equalization; cash equalization waiver. (a..., either with or without adjustments of relative values as compensation for various costs, the parties to...

Equalization method for Medipix3RX

CERN Document Server

Rinkel, Jean; Wagner, Franz; Frojdh, Erik; Ballabriga Sune, Rafael

2015-01-01

This paper describes a new method of threshold equalization for X-ray detectors based on the Medipix3RX ASIC, using electrical pulses to calibrate and correct for the threshold dispersion between pixels. This method involves a coarse threshold tuning, based on two 8 bits global DACs and which sets the range of variation of the threshold values; and a fine-tuning, based on two 5-bits adjustment DACs per pixel. As our fine-tuning approach is based on a state-of-the-art methodology, our coarse tuning relies on an original theoretical model. This model takes into account the noise level of the ASIC, which varies with temperature and received radiation dose. The experimental results using 300 μm Si sensor and Kα fluorescence of Zn show a global energy resolution improvement of 14% compared to previous equalization methods. We compared these results with the best achievable global energy resolution given by the resolution of individual pixels and concluded that the remaining 14% difference was due to the discreti...

Equality of the sexes in Sweden under a new government.

Science.gov (United States)

Mccrea, J M

1979-07-01

Although the Social Democratic Party lost its long control of Parliament, Sweden is a country with a strong egalitarian philosophy which transcends party politics, and it is felt that the loss of the election had virtually no affect on policy toward women or other aspects of social policy. A review of the Swedish political situation, including political parties; election issues; aftermath of the election; and labor force participation precedes consideration of developments in the economic status of women, 1976-1978. Factors considered include Labour Market Board equality measures; parenthood insurance; work hours; the Committee on Equality Between Men and Women; proposed legislation on equality; private agreements between employers and trade unions on family policy; and womens' participation. It is concluded that the new government has merely continued the equality programs of the previous government, with the only meaningful contribution of the new Equality Committee to draft legislation prohibiting discrimination. The law on equality is a vital issue for the Liberal Party and they will have to persuade the Social Democrats that its enactment will provide the basis of an egalitarian society.

Excitation of high energy levels under laser exposure of suspensions of nanoparticles in liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shafeev, G.A. [Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, 38, Vavilov Street, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation)], E-mail: shafeev@kapella.gpi.ru; Simakin, A.V. [Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, 38, Vavilov Street, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Bozon-Verduraz, F. [ITODYS, UMR CNRS 7086, Universite Paris 7-Denis Diderot, 2, place Jussieu, 75251 Paris cedex 05 (France); Robert, M. [Laboratoire d' Electrochimie Moleculaire, UMR CNRS 7591, Universite Paris 7 Denis Diderot, 2, place Jussieu, 75251 Paris cedex 05 (France)

2007-12-15

Laser exposure of suspensions of nanoparticles in liquids leads to excitation of high energy levels in both liquid and nanoparticle material. The emission spectrum of the colloidal solution under exposure of a suspension metallic nanoparticles in water to radiation of a Nd:YAG laser of a picosecond range of pulse duration is discussed. Excitation of nuclear energy levels and neutron release is experimentally studied on the model system of transmutation of Hg into Au that occurs under exposure of Hg nanodrops suspended in D{sub 2}O. The proposed mechanism involves: (i) emission of X-ray photons by Hg nanoparticles upon laser exposure, leading to neutron release from D{sub 2}O, (ii) initiation of Hg {yields} Au transmutation by the capture of neutrons. The effect of transmutation is more pronounced using {sup 196}Hg isotope instead of Hg of natural isotope composition. The influence of laser pulse duration on the degree of transmutation (from fs through ns range) is discussed.

Continued growth expected for wood energy despite turbulence of the economic crisis : wood energy markets, 2008-2009

Science.gov (United States)

Rens Hartkamp; Bengt Hillring; Warren Mabee; Olle Olsson; Kenneth Skog; Henry Spelter; Johan Vinterback; Antje Wahl

2009-01-01

The economic crisis has not reduced the demand for wood energy, which is expected to continue to grow. The downturn in sawmill production caused a shortage of raw material supply for wood pellet producers. With decreased demand for pulpwood-quality roundwood for wood and paper products in 2009, some pulpwood is being converted into wood energy. Economies of scale are...

Equal access to the energy infrastructure as a precondition to promote competition in the energy market. The case of European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowak, Bartlomiej

2010-01-01

In many EU countries, the infrastructures for supplying electricity and gas (electricity networks, gas pipelines, and storage facilities) are still properties of the so-called vertically integrated undertakings (VIU) responsible for the extraction or generation, supply, and transmission and distribution of the energy. While competition can be promoted in the generation/production and supply side of the vertical integration, transmission and distribution segments remain natural monopolies that hinder market mechanisms. Vertical integration simply raises the possibility for incumbents to favor their own divisions and to block new entrants. As a result, non-discriminatory and equal access to the electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks, also LNG and storage facilities, is crucial to foster competition in politically delicate structures of the electricity and gas markets. (author)

Equal access to the energy infrastructure as a precondition to promote competition in the energy market. The case of European Union

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nowak, Bartlomiej [Kozminski University, Warsaw (Poland)

2010-07-15

In many EU countries, the infrastructures for supplying electricity and gas (electricity networks, gas pipelines, and storage facilities) are still properties of the so-called vertically integrated undertakings (VIU) responsible for the extraction or generation, supply, and transmission and distribution of the energy. While competition can be promoted in the generation/production and supply side of the vertical integration, transmission and distribution segments remain natural monopolies that hinder market mechanisms. Vertical integration simply raises the possibility for incumbents to favor their own divisions and to block new entrants. As a result, non-discriminatory and equal access to the electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks, also LNG and storage facilities, is crucial to foster competition in politically delicate structures of the electricity and gas markets. (author)

Power and pay: The union and equal pay at B.C. Electric/Hydro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Creese, G.

1993-01-01

The struggle for equal pay for women in one large office union, the Office and Technical Employees' Union (OTEU), at British Columbia Electric/Hydro is analyzed. The analysis concentrates on the second phase of the equal pay movement that preoccupied the union for over 30 years starting in 1949. Equal pay for equal job-evaluation was finally achieved in 1981, yet this struggle did not produce a subsequent questioning of gender bias within the job evaluation process or the structure of the existing hierarchy of jobs. The study illustrates some of the ways that gender hierarchies and inequities are defined and reinforced by employers seeking to maintain profits by keeping labor costs down, as BC Electric/Hydro resisted eliminating the differential in male and female pay, systematically restructured unequal pay, and continually resorted to lower community standards even when the company's own job evaluation system suggested equal comparators with male jobs. Gendered jobs are also shaped by union practices, as evidenced by the OTEU's role in restructuring the postwar gender division of labor in the late 1940s, as well as their early and persistent challenges to the female differential but, at the same time, the continued marginalization of equal pay as a women's issue rather than a general union issue. 66 refs

From equality to 'equality'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panov Slobodan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Pursuant to lucid statement of a Serbian academician that the ideals of mankind have always been justice, freedom, virtues and that life was less noble, the work analyses whether there is both 'equality', as morosofo exist (stupid wise men, profitable altruists and evil humanists and admirers of freedom of monistic thinking. Is there a dialectics: from equality to 'equality'? At the time of profitable altruists, evil humanists and excellent actors of virtues, it is worthwhile to remember Nietzsche's attitude about the pose of morality: subordination to morality may be slavish, proud, sordid, and resigned. In theological literature it is said that both patriarchate and matriarchate are the same denial of thankful supplemental gifts to a man and a woman. There is no love and sacrifice in government. There is no fortune in slavery, but there is no happiness in mastery either. Can a 'hymn' of individualism, with empty concepts and legal formulations that encourage and sharpen the conflict of family members be an introductory tact of the dictatorship ballade? Is the projection of conflicts into a family and micro-environment a project against emotional solidarity, strength, independence, courage and will for freedom? If we cannot rely upon family are we strong enough to confront totalitarian in democratic?.

Perinatal exposure of mice to the pesticide DDT impairs energy expenditure and metabolism in adult female offspring.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele La Merrill

Full Text Available Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT has been used extensively to control malaria, typhus, body lice and bubonic plague worldwide, until countries began restricting its use in the 1970s. Its use in malaria control continues in some countries according to recommendation by the World Health Organization. Individuals exposed to elevated levels of DDT and its metabolite dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE have an increased prevalence of diabetes and insulin resistance. Here we hypothesize that perinatal exposure to DDT disrupts metabolic programming leading to impaired metabolism in adult offspring. To test this, we administered DDT to C57BL/6J mice from gestational day 11.5 to postnatal day 5 and studied their metabolic phenotype at several ages up to nine months. Perinatal DDT exposure reduced core body temperature, impaired cold tolerance, decreased energy expenditure, and produced a transient early-life increase in body fat in female offspring. When challenged with a high fat diet for 12 weeks in adulthood, female offspring perinatally exposed to DDT developed glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, and altered bile acid metabolism. Perinatal DDT exposure combined with high fat feeding in adulthood further impaired thermogenesis as evidenced by reductions in core temperature and in the expression of numerous RNA that promote thermogenesis and substrate utilization in the brown adipose tissue of adult female mice. These observations suggest that perinatal DDT exposure impairs thermogenesis and the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids which may increase susceptibility to the metabolic syndrome in adult female offspring.

Perinatal Exposure of Mice to the Pesticide DDT Impairs Energy Expenditure and Metabolism in Adult Female Offspring

Science.gov (United States)

La Merrill, Michele; Karey, Emma; Moshier, Erin; Lindtner, Claudia; La Frano, Michael R.; Newman, John W.; Buettner, Christoph

2014-01-01

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) has been used extensively to control malaria, typhus, body lice and bubonic plague worldwide, until countries began restricting its use in the 1970s. Its use in malaria control continues in some countries according to recommendation by the World Health Organization. Individuals exposed to elevated levels of DDT and its metabolite dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) have an increased prevalence of diabetes and insulin resistance. Here we hypothesize that perinatal exposure to DDT disrupts metabolic programming leading to impaired metabolism in adult offspring. To test this, we administered DDT to C57BL/6J mice from gestational day 11.5 to postnatal day 5 and studied their metabolic phenotype at several ages up to nine months. Perinatal DDT exposure reduced core body temperature, impaired cold tolerance, decreased energy expenditure, and produced a transient early-life increase in body fat in female offspring. When challenged with a high fat diet for 12 weeks in adulthood, female offspring perinatally exposed to DDT developed glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, and altered bile acid metabolism. Perinatal DDT exposure combined with high fat feeding in adulthood further impaired thermogenesis as evidenced by reductions in core temperature and in the expression of numerous RNA that promote thermogenesis and substrate utilization in the brown adipose tissue of adult female mice. These observations suggest that perinatal DDT exposure impairs thermogenesis and the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids which may increase susceptibility to the metabolic syndrome in adult female offspring. PMID:25076055

Quantum Jarzynski equality of measurement-based work extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Morikuni, Yohei; Tajima, Hiroyasu; Hatano, Naomichi

2017-03-01

Many studies of quantum-size heat engines assume that the dynamics of an internal system is unitary and that the extracted work is equal to the energy loss of the internal system. Both assumptions, however, should be under scrutiny. In the present paper, we analyze quantum-scale heat engines, employing the measurement-based formulation of the work extraction recently introduced by Hayashi and Tajima [M. Hayashi and H. Tajima, arXiv:1504.06150]. We first demonstrate the inappropriateness of the unitary time evolution of the internal system (namely, the first assumption above) using a simple two-level system; we show that the variance of the energy transferred to an external system diverges when the dynamics of the internal system is approximated to a unitary time evolution. Second, we derive the quantum Jarzynski equality based on the formulation of Hayashi and Tajima as a relation for the work measured by an external macroscopic apparatus. The right-hand side of the equality reduces to unity for "natural" cyclic processes but fluctuates wildly for noncyclic ones, exceeding unity often. This fluctuation should be detectable in experiments and provide evidence for the present formulation.

Non conventional energy sources and energy conservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bueno M, F.

1995-01-01

Geographically speaking, Mexico is in an enviable position. Sun, water, biomass and geothermal fields main non conventional energy sources with commercial applications, are presents and in some cases plentiful in national territory. Moreover the coastal tidal power which is in research stage in several countries. Non conventional energy sources are an alternative which allow us to reduce the consumption of hydrocarbons or any other type of primary energetic, are not by oneself choices for the energy conservation, but energy replacements. At the beginning of this year, CONAE created the Direction of Non conventional Energy Sources, which main objective is to promote and impulse programs inclined towards the application of systems based in renewable energy sources. The research centers represent a technological and consultative support for the CONAE. They have an infrastructure developed along several years of continuous work. The non conventional energy sources will be a reality at the same time that their cost be equal or lower than the cost for the traditional generating systems. CONAE (National Commission for Energy Conservation). (Author)

Gender Summit 2011: Equality Research and Innovation Through Equality

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Tenglerová, Hana

2011-01-01

Roč. 19, č. 2 (2011), s. 72-74 ISSN 1210-6658. [European Gender Summit 2011: Equality Research and Innovation Through Equality . Brusel, 07.11.2011-08.11.2011] R&D Projects: GA MŠk OK08007 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70280505 Keywords : gender equality * science * policy Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography

Experimental continuous sludge microwave system to enhance dehydration ability and hydrogen production from anaerobic digestion of sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Cuihong; Huang, Xintong; Zeng, Meng

2018-05-01

Dehydrating large amounts of sludge produced by sewage treatment plants is difficult. Microwave pretreatment can effectively and significantly improve the dewaterability and hydrogen production of sludge subjected to anaerobic digestion. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different microwave conditions on hydrogen production from anaerobic digestion and dewaterability of sludge. Based on an analysis of the electric field distribution, a spiral reactor was designed and a continuous microwave system was built to conduct intermittent and continuous experiments under different conditions. Settling Volume, Capillary Suction Time, particle size, and moisture content of the sludge were measured. The results show that sludge pretreatment in continuous experiments has equally remarkable dehydration performance as in intermittent experiments; the minimum moisture content was 77.29% in the intermittent experiment under a microwave power of 300W and an exposure time of 60sec, and that in the continuous experiment was 77.56% under a microwave power of 400W and an exposure time of 60sec. The peak measured by Differential Scanning Calorimeter appeared earliest under a microwave power of 600W and an exposure time of 180sec. The heat flux at the peak was 4.343W/g, which is relatively small. This indicates that microwave pretreatment induced desirable effects. The maximum yield of hydrogen production was 7.967% under the conditions of microwave power of 500W, exposure time of 120sec, and water bath at 55°C. This research provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the development of a continuous microwave sludge-conditioning system. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Why Does Exposure to Arsenic from Drinking Groundwater in Asian Megadeltas Continue to be High?

Science.gov (United States)

van Geen, A.; Ahmed, K. M.; Ahmed, E. B.; Choudhury, I.; Mozumder, M. R. H.; Bostick, B. C.; Mailloux, B. J.; Knappett, P. S.; Schlosser, P.

2014-12-01

Concentrations of arsenic in groundwater pumped from a significant fraction of the millions of shallow tubewells installed, mostly privately, across S/SE Asia exceed the WHO guideline value of 10 ug/L by a factor of 10 to 100. The resulting exposure has been linked to cancers and cardio-vascular disease in adults and inhibited intellectual function in children. In Bangladesh, the most affected country, the impact of early mitigation efforts relying on water treatment has been limited by the cost and logistics of maintenance. A simpler approach based on switching human consumption to low-arsenic wells has proved to be more resilient although it remains far from sufficiently adopted. A decade ago, there was concern that low-arsenic wells might become contaminated upon use. Observations and modeling have since shown that groundwater arsenic concentrations are likely to rise only in certain hydrogeologically vulnerable areas and then only gradually. Our recently completed blanket-testing campaign of 50,000 wells in 300 villages of Bangladesh has shown that, instead, a leading cause of current exposure is that households have continued to install wells and typically have nowhere to turn for a reliable arsenic test. The same campaign has shown that another reason for continued exposure is that deeper wells that are low in arsenic and whose installation has been subsidized by the Bangladesh government are not located to maximize public access. The geographic clustering of these deep wells suggests that, all too often, their location is decided on the basis of political allegiance rather than need. Such obstacles to lowering arsenic exposure might be overcome with more widespread testing and the public posting of maps of test results also showing where deep wells have been installed. We will show that obtaining and sharing such information has been greatly facilitated by a reliable field-kit for arsenic and the increasing use of smartphones in Bangladesh.

Equal Opportunities Questionnaire

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

The initiative to promote Equal Opportunities at CERN started in 1993. The first Equal Opportunities Officer was appointed in 1996 followed by the creation of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel in 1998. Initially the concern was mainly the fair treatment of women in the work-place. Today the emphasis has evolved to ensuring that diversity is used to increase creativity and productivity in the work-place. In order to ensure that all aspects of Equal Opportunities and Diversity are covered, CERN’s Equal Opportunities team has prepared a survey to obtain your input. Your answers are confidential and will only be used for generating statistics. The questionnaire is on-line and can be accessed via: https://espace.cern.ch/EOQ. We hope that you will take a few minutes of your time to give your input and would be grateful if you could reply before 15/10/07. For further information about Equal Opportunities at CERN see: http://cern.ch/equal-opportunities The Equal Opportuni...

Getting to Equal : Promoting Gender Equality through Human Development

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2011-01-01

To achieve gender equality and empower women, it is essential to invest in human development. The World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development (hereafter WDR 2012) brings the best global evidence to bear on the relationship between gender equality and development. A central theme running through the report is how investments and outcomes in human development namely health...

Relative significance of natural irradiation vs all human exposures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jammet, H.

1985-01-01

A review is made of the fundamentals allowing to quantitatively express the importance of the various sources of human exposure by an individual or collective approach. Following a summary of the components of normal exposure to natural sources, the various human actions at the origin of enhanced exposure are studied: 1) those modifying the relationship between natural sources and man (dwelling conditions, coal burning, geothermal energy production, exploitation of phosphate rock); 2) those creating new artificial sources (nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, nuclear power production, medical use of radiation and radionuclides). The effective dose equivalent commitments for these sources are compared with those necessarily involved by continuous normal exposure to the natural sources of exposure [fr

Lesions in Porcine Liver Tissues Created by Continuous High Intensity Ultrasound Exposures in Vitro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhe; Chen Tao; Zhang Dong

2013-01-01

Lesions in porcine liver tissues created by continuous high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) exposures in vitro are theoretically and experimentally investigated, with the transmitter moving along a linear path at a fixed speed. Numerical simulations of the lesion formation are performed based on the Khokhlov—Zabolotskaya—Kuznetov equation and the bio-heat equation. In order to verify the theoretical predictions, experiments are performed in the one-dimensional scanning mode to measure the cross-sectional area of lesions created in the in vitro porcine liver exposed to 1.01-MHz HIFU pulses with the acoustic power of 70 W. The results indicate that, compared to the traditional discrete treatment protocol, the application of a continuous scanning model can create more uniform lesions in tissues and significantly reduces the total treatment time from 47s to 30s

The effect of sensory-nutrient congruency on food intake after repeated exposure: do texture and/or energy density matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Hogenkamp, P S

2014-09-01

Sensory properties guide the amount that people eat. In particular, food texture plays an important role in a food's 'expected satiation', which in turn affects the food-related decision making process. One hypothesis is that incongruent pairing of a textural cue with a post-ingestive outcome compromises this process, leading to poor energy compensation. Several studies examined the effect of both energy density and sensory characteristics (i.e. increased creaminess and thickness) on expectations, subjective appetite and food intake. To add to this literature, a re-analysis of data assessed whether the effect of sensory-nutrient pairings on energy intake compensation persisted after repeated exposure to a food. In this cross-over design, 27 participants consumed two preloads with 'congruent' (low-energy/liquid; high-energy/semi-solid) and two preloads with 'incongruent' (low-energy/semi-solid; high-energy/liquid) texture-nutrient combinations for nine subsequent meals, during which ad libitum intake was measured. Intake at first exposure did not differ between the low-energy (280±150kcal) and high-energy preloads (292±183kcal) in the incongruent conditions. By contrast, it was greater after the low-energy (332±203kcal) than after the high-energy (236±132kcal) preload in the congruent conditions (energy∗incongruent/congruent, p=0.04). Post-exposure, this pattern changed: intake depended on the energy density of the preloads in all conditions, and was greater after low-energy preloads (day∗energy∗incongruent/congruent-interaction for breakfast: p=0.02). Thus, manipulating the sensory properties of a food influenced energy compensation and meal size, but only at initial exposure. Repeated exposure 'corrected' the initial lack of compensation observed in conditions with incongruent sensory-nutrient pairings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Near-term and late biological effects of acute and low-dose-rate continuous gamma-ray exposure in dogs and monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spalding, J.F.; Holland, L.M.

1979-07-01

Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and dogs (beagle) were given thirteen 100-rad gamma-ray doses at 28-day intervals. The comparative response (inury and recovery) of the hematopoietic system of the two species was observed at 7-day intervals during the exposure regime. At 84 days after the thirteenth gamma-ray dose, the 1300-rad conditioned and control dogs and monkeys were challenged continuously with gamma rays at 35 r/day until death to determine the amount of radiation-induced injry remaining in conditioned animals as a reduction in mean survival time. Dogs (50%) and monkeys (8%) died from injury incurred during conditioning exposures. Thus, the comparative response (in terms of lethality) of dogs and monkeys to dose protraction by acute dose fractionation was similar to what we would expect from a single acute dose. The mean survival times for nonconditioned dogs and monkeys during continuous exposure at 35 R/day were the same (approx. 1400 h). Thus, the hematopoietic response of the two species by this method of dose protraction was not significantly different. Mean survival times of conditioned dogs and monkeys during the continuous 35-R/day gamma-ray challenge exposure were greater (significant in dogs but not in monkeys) than for their control counterparts. Thus, long-term radiation-induced injury was not measurable by this method. Conditioning doses of more than 4 times the acute LD 50 30 in dogs and approximately 2 times that in monkeys served only to increase both mean survival time and variance in a gamma-ray stress environment with a dose rate of 35 Rat/day

POLIDENT: A Module for Generating Continuous-Energy Cross Sections from ENDF Resonance Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunn, M.E.; Greene, N.M.

2000-12-01

POLIDENT (Point Libraries of Data from ENDF/B Tapes) is an AMPX module that accesses the resonance parameters from File 2 of an ENDF/B library and constructs the continuous-energy cross sections in the resonance energy region. The cross sections in the resonance range are subsequently combined with the File 3 background data to construct the cross-section representation over the complete energy range. POLIDENT has the capability to process all resonance reactions that are identified in File 2 of the ENDF/B library. In addition, the code has the capability to process the single- and multi-level Breit-Wigner, Reich-Moore and Adler-Adler resonance formalisms that are identified in File 2. POLIDENT uses a robust energy-mesh-generation scheme that determines the minimum, maximum and points of inflection in the cross-section function in the resolved-resonance region. Furthermore, POLIDENT processes all continuous-energy cross-section reactions that are identified in File 3 of the ENDF/B library and outputs all reactions in an ENDF/B TAB1 format that can be accessed by other AMPX modules.

Estimating the continuous-time dynamics of energy and fat metabolism in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Juen; Hall, Kevin D

2009-09-01

The mouse has become the most popular organism for investigating molecular mechanisms of body weight regulation. But understanding the physiological context by which a molecule exerts its effect on body weight requires knowledge of energy intake, energy expenditure, and fuel selection. Furthermore, measurements of these variables made at an isolated time point cannot explain why body weight has its present value since body weight is determined by the past history of energy and macronutrient imbalance. While food intake and body weight changes can be frequently measured over several weeks (the relevant time scale for mice), correspondingly frequent measurements of energy expenditure and fuel selection are not currently feasible. To address this issue, we developed a mathematical method based on the law of energy conservation that uses the measured time course of body weight and food intake to estimate the underlying continuous-time dynamics of energy output and net fat oxidation. We applied our methodology to male C57BL/6 mice consuming various ad libitum diets during weight gain and loss over several weeks and present the first continuous-time estimates of energy output and net fat oxidation rates underlying the observed body composition changes. We show that transient energy and fat imbalances in the first several days following a diet switch can account for a significant fraction of the total body weight change. We also discovered a time-invariant curve relating body fat and fat-free masses in male C57BL/6 mice, and the shape of this curve determines how diet, fuel selection, and body composition are interrelated.

Photo-double ionisation of the Ne 2s studied in equal-energy-sharing condition at 20 eV above threshold

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolognesi, P. [CNR-IMIP, Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, CP10, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo (Italy); Otranto, S. [CONICET and Depto. de Fisica, Universidad Nacional del Sur, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Garibotti, C.R. [CONICET and Centro Atomico Bariloche, 8400 S.C. de Bariloche (Argentina); Flammini, R. [CNR-IMIP, Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, CP10, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo (Italy); Alberti, G. [CNR-IMIP, Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, CP10, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo (Italy); Avaldi, L. [CNR-IMIP, Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, CP10, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo (Italy)]. E-mail: lorenzo.avaldi@imip.cnr.it

2005-06-15

The triple differential cross-section (TDCS) for the photo-double ionisation of Ne leading to the Ne{sup 2+}(2s{sup -2}2p{sup 6}) has been measured 20 eV above threshold in equal-energy-sharing conditions. The results are compared with the recently introduced SC3 model, which can be used to study targets different from He since it allows an easy implementation with different initial-state wavefunctions.

Power and pay: The union and equal pay at B. C. Electric/Hydro

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Creese, G

The struggle for equal pay for women in one large office union, the Office and Technical Employees' Union (OTEU), at British Columbia Electric/Hydro is analyzed. The analysis concentrates on the second phase of the equal pay movement that preoccupied the union for over 30 years starting in 1949. Equal pay for equal job-evaluation was finally achieved in 1981, yet this struggle did not produce a subsequent questioning of gender bias within the job evaluation process or the structure of the existing hierarchy of jobs. The study illustrates some of the ways that gender hierarchies and inequities are defined and reinforced by employers seeking to maintain profits by keeping labor costs down, as BC Electric/Hydro resisted eliminating the differential in male and female pay, systematically restructured unequal pay, and continually resorted to lower community standards even when the company's own job evaluation system suggested equal comparators with male jobs. Gendered jobs are also shaped by union practices, as evidenced by the OTEU's role in restructuring the postwar gender division of labor in the late 1940s, as well as their early and persistent challenges to the female differential but, at the same time, the continued marginalization of equal pay as a women's issue rather than a general union issue. 66 refs.

Continuous Improvement in Battery Testing at the NASA/JSC Energy System Test Area

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, William; Cook, Joseph

2003-01-01

The Energy Systems Test Area (ESTA) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas conducts development and qualification tests to fulfill Energy System Division responsibilities relevant to ASA programs and projects. EST A has historically called upon a variety of fluid, mechanical, electrical, environmental, and data system capabilities spread amongst five full-service facilities to test human and human supported spacecraft in the areas of propulsion systems, fluid systems, pyrotechnics, power generation, and power distribution and control systems. Improvements at ESTA are being made in full earnest of offering NASA project offices an option to choose a thorough test regime that is balanced with cost and schedule constraints. In order to continue testing of enabling power-related technologies utilized by the Energy System Division, an especially proactive effort has been made to increase the cost effectiveness and schedule responsiveness for battery testing. This paper describes the continuous improvement in battery testing at the Energy Systems Test Area being made through consolidation, streamlining, and standardization.

The primary exposure standard of ENEA for medium energy X-ray: characteristics and measurements procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laitano, R.F.; Toni, M.P.

1983-01-01

A description is given of a medium energy X-ray free-air chamber used, as primary exposure standard, at the Laboratorio di Metrologia delle Radiazioni Ionizzanti of the Enea in Italy. The main features of an X-ray facility for the production of radiation between 40 KeV and 400 KeV are also described. The measurements procedures are then analyzed with respect to the realization of the exposure unit in the relevant energy range. Finally the results of some international comparisons are reported

Electrons with continuous energy distribution from energetic heavy ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berenyi, D.

1984-01-01

The properties and origin of continuous electron spectrum emitted in high energy heavy ion collisions are reviewed. The basic processes causing the characteristic regions of the continuous spectrum are described. The contribution of electrons ejected from the target and from the projectile are investigated in detail in the cases of light and heavy projectiles. The recently recognized mechanisms, electron-capture-to-continuum (ECC) and electron-loss-to-continuum (ELC), leading to a cusp in forward direction, and their theoretical interpretations are discussed. The importance of data from ion-atom collisions in the field of atomic physics and in applications are briefly summarized. (D.Gy)

Equal Opportunities Questionnaire

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

The initiative to promote Equal Opportunities at CERN started in 1993. The first Equal Opportunities Officer was appointed in 1996, which was followed by the creation of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel in 1998. Initially the concern was mainly the fair treatment of women in the work-place. Today the emphasis has evolved to ensuring that diversity is used to increase creativity and productivity in the work-place. In order to ensure that all aspects of Equal Opportunities and Diversity are covered, CERN’s Equal Opportunities team has prepared a survey to obtain your input. Your answers are confidential and will only be used for generating statistics. The questionnaire is on-line and can be accessed via: https://espace.cern.ch/EOQ. We hope that you will take a few minutes of your time to give your input and would be grateful if you could reply before 15/10/07. For further information about Equal Opportunities at CERN see: http://cern.ch/equal-opportunities The Equa...

Golden mean energy equals highest atomic electron orbital energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malinowski, Leonard J. [Interdisciplinary Research Club, P.O. Box 371, Monroeville, PA 15146 (United States)], E-mail: LJMalinowski@gmail.com

2009-12-15

The golden mean numerical value {phi} = 0.5({radical}5 - 1) has been given a physical manifestation through E infinity theory. This short paper relates the golden mean energy 0.618034 MeV to atomic electron orbitals.

Golden mean energy equals highest atomic electron orbital energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malinowski, Leonard J.

2009-01-01

The golden mean numerical value φ = 0.5(√5 - 1) has been given a physical manifestation through E infinity theory. This short paper relates the golden mean energy 0.618034 MeV to atomic electron orbitals.

Continuous thermal hydrolysis and energy integration in sludge anaerobic digestion plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Fdz-Polanco, F; Velazquez, R; Perez-Elvira, S I; Casas, C; del Barrio, D; Cantero, F J; Fdz-Polanco, M; Rodriguez, P; Panizo, L; Serrat, J; Rouge, P

2008-01-01

A thermal hydrolysis pilot plant with direct steam injection heating was designed and constructed. In a first period the equipment was operated in batch to verify the effect of sludge type, pressure and temperature, residence time and solids concentration. Optimal operation conditions were reached for secondary sludge at 170 degrees C, 7 bar and 30 minutes residence time, obtaining a disintegration factor higher than 10, methane production increase by 50% and easy centrifugation In a second period the pilot plant was operated working with continuous feed, testing the efficiency by using two continuous anaerobic digester operating in the mesophilic and thermophilic range. Working at 12 days residence time, biogas production increases by 40-50%. Integrating the energy transfer it is possible to design a self-sufficient system that takes advantage of this methane increase to produce 40% more electric energy. (c) IWA Publishing 2008.

Equal pay for work of equal value in terms of the Employment Equity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Lastly, this article seeks to ascertain whether the EEA (including the Employment Equity Regulations) provides an adequate legal framework for determining an equal pay for work of equal value claim. Keywords: Equal pay; Employment Equity Act; Equality Act; International Labour Organisation; Equal Pay Guide; Equal ...

Intraocular energy-exposure distribution during YAG-laser eye microsurgery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadaner, G.I.; Leont`eva, T.V.; Ovchinnikov, B.V. [and others

1995-06-01

A detailed theoretical analysis is carried out of the transmission of laser radiation, formed by a laser perforator and by ophthalmological lenses, through all the optical media and parts of the eye. The results of the analysis made it possible to determine the energy-exposure distribution functions along the optical axis of the eye needed to correctly evaluate the degree of risk of injury of sections of the eye adjacent to that operated on. 5 refs., 2 figs.

A discrete-continuous choice model of climate change impacts on energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison, W.N.; Mendelsohn, R.

1998-01-01

This paper estimates a discrete-continuous fuel choice model in order to explore climate impacts on the energy sector. The model is estimated on a national data set of firms and households. The results reveal that actors switch from oil in cold climates to electricity and natural gas in warm climates and that fuel-specific expenditures follow a U-shaped relationship with respect to temperature. The model implies that warming will increase American energy expenditures, reflecting a sizable welfare damage

Quantum energy teleportation with an electromagnetic field: discrete versus continuous variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hotta, Masahiro

2010-01-01

It is well known that usual quantum teleportation protocols cannot transport energy. Recently, new protocols called quantum energy teleportation (QET) have been proposed, which transport energy by local operations and classical communication with the ground states of many-body quantum systems. In this paper, we compare two different QET protocols for transporting energy with the electromagnetic field. In the first protocol, a 1/2 spin (a qubit) is coupled with the quantum fluctuation in the vacuum state and measured in order to obtain one-bit information about the fluctuation for the teleportation. In the second protocol, a harmonic oscillator is coupled with the fluctuation and measured in order to obtain continuous-variable information about the fluctuation. In the spin protocol, the amount of teleported energy is suppressed by an exponential damping factor when the amount of input energy increases. This suppression factor becomes power damping in the case of the harmonic oscillator protocol. Therefore, it is concluded that obtaining more information about the quantum fluctuation leads to teleporting more energy. This result suggests a profound relationship between energy and quantum information.

Crystal growth nucleation and Fermi energy equalization of intrinsic spherical nuclei in glass-forming melts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert F Tournier

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The energy saving resulting from the equalization of Fermi energies of a crystal and its melt is added to the Gibbs free-energy change ΔG2ls associated with a crystal formation in glass-forming melts. This negative contribution being a fraction ε ls(T of the fusion heat is created by the electrostatic potential energy −U0 resulting from the electron transfer from the crystal to the melt and is maximum at the melting temperature Tm in agreement with a thermodynamics constraint. The homogeneous nucleation critical temperature T2, the nucleation critical barrier ΔG2ls*/kBT and the critical radius R*2ls are determined as functions of εls(T. In bulk metallic glass forming melts, εls(T and T2 only depend on the free-volume disappearance temperature T0l, and εls(Tm is larger than 1 (T0l>Tm/3; in conventional undercooled melts εls(Tm is smaller than 1 (T0l>Tm/3. Unmelted intrinsic crystals act as growth nuclei reducing ΔG2ls*/kBT and the nucleation time. The temperature-time transformation diagrams of Mg65Y10 Cu25, Zr41.2Ti13.8 Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5, Pd43Cu27 Ni10P20, Fe83B17 and Ni melts are predicted using classic nucleation models including time lags in transient nucleation, by varying the intrinsic nucleus contribution to the reduction of ΔG2ls*/kBT. The energy-saving coefficient ε nm(T of an unmelted crystal of radius Rnm is reduced when Rnm LtR*2ls; εnm is quantified and corresponds to the first energy level of one s-electron moving in vacuum in the same spherical attractive potential −U0 despite the fact that the charge screening is built by many-body effects.

High resolution observations of cosmic rays of Z greater than or equal to 30

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Love, P.T.

1977-01-01

Results of two high altitude balloon flights of a 6.6 m 2 steradian detector designed to measure the charge composition of the elements with 30 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 60 are reported. For charge groups with 30 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 60 we observe lower abundances of 30 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 32 and 32 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 34 and higher abundances of 35 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 39, 45 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 49, and 50 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 54 compared to previous measurements. Measurements of these abundances agree within one sigma with the solar system abundances apart from the significantly lower cosmic ray abundances of 30 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 32 and the less significant lower abundances of 32 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 34 and 40 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 44. Individual elemental abundances measured for 26 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 40 are consistent with the solar system composition apart from a significant underabundance of cosmic-ray zinc (Z = 30). A superposition of the theoretically postulated helium burning s-process and the r-process compositions, both the result of nucleosynthesis at supernovae, altered slightly by interstellar propagation, seem to fit the measurements, except for the underabundance of cosmic-ray zinc. It was impossible to distinguish between cosmic ray compositions resulting from the acceleration of solar system like interstellar material and those resulting from the acceleration of material synthesized in a supernova event. Finally, no evidence was observed for an energy dependence of the abundance ratios 30 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 32 to iron and 33 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 40 to iron over energy ranges 560 to 1030 MeV/amu and bigger than 590 MeV/ amu

Energy utilization associated with regular activity breaks and continuous physical activity: A randomized crossover trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenemor, S P; Homer, A R; Perry, T L; Skeaff, C M; Peddie, M C; Rehrer, N J

2018-06-01

To quantify and compare energy utilization associated with prolonged sitting alone, or interrupted with regular activity breaks and/or an additional bout of continuous physical activity. Thirty six adults (11 males, BMI 24.1 ± 4.6) completed four interventions: (1) prolonged sitting (SIT), (2) sitting with 2-min of walking every 30 min (RAB), (3) prolonged sitting with 30-min of continuous walking at the end of the day (SIT + PA), (4) a combination of the activities in (2) and (3) above (RAB + PA). All walking was at a speed and incline corresponding to 60% V̇O 2max . Energy utilization over 7 h for each intervention was estimated using indirect calorimetry. Compared to SIT, SIT + PA increased total energy utilization by 709 kJ (95% CI 485-933 kJ), RAB by 863 kJ (95% CI 638-1088 kJ), and RAB + PA by 1752 kJ (95% CI 1527-1927 kJ) (all p energy utilization between SIT + PA and RAB, however, post-physical activity energy utilization in RAB was 632 kJ greater than SIT + PA (95% CI 561-704 kJ; p energy utilization compared to a single bout of continuous activity; however the total energy utilization is similar. Combining activity breaks with a longer continuous bout of activity will further enhance energy utilization, and in the longer term, may positively affect weight management of a greater magnitude than either activity pattern performed alone. ANZCTR12614000624684. Copyright © 2018 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling the transmitted and stored energy in multilayer protective clothing under low-level radiant exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, Yun; He, Jiazhen; Li, Jun

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A numerical model from heating source to skin tissues through multilayer fabric system is developed. • The numerical model is comprehensively validated with experimental data. • The model is used to investigate the relationship between the transmitted and stored energy and the influencing factors. - Abstract: A finite difference model was introduced to simulate the transmitted and stored energy in firefighters' protective clothing exposed to low-level thermal radiation. The model domain consists of a three-layer fire-resistant fabric system (outer shell, moisture barrier, and thermal liner), the human skin, and the air gap between clothing and the skin. The model accounted for the relationship between the transmitted heat during the exposure and the discharged heat during the cooling-down period. The numerical model predictions were compared with experimental data. Additionally, the parameters that affect the transmitted and stored energy of protective clothing were investigated. The results demonstrate that for the typical multilayer firefighter protective clothing, the transmitted heat during exposure and the discharged heat after exposure totally determine the skin burn under low-level heat exposure, especially for third-degree skin burns. The findings obtained in this study can be used to engineer fabric systems that provide better protection for the stored thermal burn.

Continuous, environmental radon monitoring program at the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, N.; Sorensen, C.D.; Tung, C.H.; Orchard, C.R.

1995-01-01

A continuous, environmental radon monitoring program has been established in support of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP). The monitoring program is to characterize the natural radon emissions at the YMP site, to understand the existing radon concentrations in the environmental background, and to assess and control the potential work exposure. Based upon a study of the monitoring results, this paper presents a preliminary understanding of the magnitudes, characteristics, and exposure levels of radon at the YMP site

Reframing Inclusive Education: Educational Equality as Capability Equality

Science.gov (United States)

Terzi, Lorella

2014-01-01

In this paper, I argue that rethinking questions of inclusive education in the light of the value of educational equality--specifically conceived as capability equality, or genuine opportunities to achieve educational functionings--adds some important insights to the current debate on inclusive education. First, it provides a cohesive value…

PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY TROUGH EQUAL LIFE STANDARD IN EU COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandar Dashtevski

2018-06-01

Full Text Available After the World War II, especially in the early fifties there is an expansion of gender rights. Women are massively employed all over the world in all sectors of social life, contributing to an increase in both their own standard of living and the standard in their own countries. As the importance and role of women grows, this is achieved with increasing respect for its rights. Gender means elimination of inequality and promote equality between women and men in all areas of social life. If we want to achieve gender equality as a whole, it is inevitable to achieve an economic consolidation of the two sexes. Economic strengthening is possible trough equal pay. Experience shows that payments are not equal when it comes to wages for men and women. Therefore, the EU is constantly working to regulate this area, with special regulations, which are mandatory for the member states, but should also be respected by countries that would like to join the union. This led to the promotion of gender equality through an equal life.

Periodic Discordance Between Vote Equality and Representational Equality in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah K. Cowan

2015-08-01

Full Text Available American democracy has two central values that are often in tension: vote equality, that each vote has equal influence, and representational equality, that each elected official represents equal numbers of people. The electoral standard of “one person, one vote” ensures representational equality, and that often ensures vote equality. This relationship fails, however, under certain demographic conditions, namely, when a large, non-enfranchised population resides unevenly across jurisdictions. Then, representational equality is preserved and vote equality is violated. Prior to women’s suffrage, for example, western states had relatively fewer women than the remainder of the country, contributing to gross vote inequality, though rectified through extension of the franchise. Given recent high rates of immigration to some states, I ask whether the two values are in tension. I find that they are, and quantify the electoral consequences of this disjuncture at 13 House seats in 2010.

Device and Method for Continuously Equalizing the Charge State of Lithium Ion Battery Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Paul D. (Inventor); Martin, Mark N. (Inventor); Roufberg, Lewis M. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A method of equalizing charge states of individual cells in a battery includes measuring a previous cell voltage for each cell, measuring a previous shunt current for each cell, calculating, based on the previous cell voltage and the previous shunt current, an adjusted cell voltage for each cell, determining a lowest adjusted cell voltage from among the calculated adjusted cell voltages, and calculating a new shunt current for each cell.

Is Equality Fair?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arthur Tarasov

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This paper attempts to answer the question whether people consider decisions that lead to equal outcomes fair. I find that this is not always the case. In an experiment where subjects are given equal opportunities to choose how to divide money between each other in a two-player game, any strategy is perceived to be fair more than half the time, including the profit-maximizing strategy. The equal divisions that lead to equal outcomes are sometimes considered unfair by both players. Moreover, players frequently punished the others, whose decisions led to equal outcomes. I hypothesize that such punishments occur because people have different conceptions of what a fair outcome and fair punishment are

Daily exposure to either a high- or low-energy-dense snack food reduces its reinforcing value in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Temple, Jennifer L; Van der Kloet, Erika; Atkins, Amanda M; Crandall, Amanda K; Ziegler, Amanda M

2017-02-01

To examine the impact of daily exposure to a low-energy-dense (LED) or a high-energy-dense (HED) snack food on its reinforcing value (RRV) in adolescents with healthy weight, overweight, or obesity. A parallel-group, randomized trial was used to assess RRV of LED or HED snack food at baseline and again after exposure to that snack food daily for 2 weeks in 77 adolescents, aged 13 to 17 years. Information on eating-related subject characteristics was also collected at baseline. After 2 weeks of daily exposure, the RRV of the snack foods was significantly reduced in all participants, regardless of energy density or participant weight status. Among individuals who were high in dietary restraint only, those randomized to LED food found their snack food less reinforcing at baseline than those who were randomized to HED food. Baseline eating-related variables also differed as a function of weight status. Daily exposure to snack food in adolescents reduces the RRV of that food regardless of snack food energy density or weight status of the adolescent. This finding differs from adults, suggesting that increases in RRV of HED food after repeated exposure may develop after adolescence. © 2017 The Obesity Society.

Continuous approximation for interaction energy of adamantane encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Baowan, Duangkamon; Hill, James M.; Bacsa, Wolfgang

2018-02-01

The interaction energy for two adjacent adamantane molecules and that of adamantane molecules encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes are investigated considering only dipole-dipole induced interaction. The Lennard-Jones potential and the continuous approximation are utilised to derive analytical expressions for these interaction energies. The equilibrium distance 3.281 Å between two adamantane molecules is determined. The smallest carbon nanotube radius b0 that can encapsulate the adamantane molecule and the radius of the tube bmax that gives the maximum suction energy, linearly depend on the adamantane radius, are calculated. For larger diameter tubes, the off axis position has been calculated, and equilibrium distance between molecule and tube wall is found to be close to the interlayer spacing in graphene.

Effect of intermittent cold exposure on brown fat activation, obesity, and energy homeostasis in mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yann Ravussin

Full Text Available Homeotherms have specific mechanisms to maintain a constant core body temperature despite changes in thermal environment, food supply, and metabolic demand. Brown adipose tissue, the principal thermogenic organ, quickly and efficiently increases heat production by dissipating the mitochondrial proton motive force. It has been suggested that activation of brown fat, via either environmental (i.e. cold exposure or pharmacologic means, could be used to increase metabolic rate and thus reduce body weight. Here we assess the effects of intermittent cold exposure (4°C for one to eight hours three times a week on C57BL/6J mice fed a high fat diet. Cold exposure increased metabolic rate approximately two-fold during the challenge and activated brown fat. In response, food intake increased to compensate fully for the increased energy expenditure; thus, the mice showed no reduction in body weight or adiposity. Despite the unchanged adiposity, the cold-treated mice showed transient improvements in glucose homeostasis. Administration of the cannabinoid receptor-1 inverse agonist AM251 caused weight loss and improvements in glucose homeostasis, but showed no further improvements when combined with cold exposure. These data suggest that intermittent cold exposure causes transient, meaningful improvements in glucose homeostasis, but without synergy when combined with AM251. Since energy expenditure is significantly increased during cold exposure, a drug that dissociates food intake from metabolic demand during cold exposure may achieve weight loss and further metabolic improvements.

Radiation exposure during equine radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ackerman, N.; Spencer, C.P.; Hager, D.A.; Poulos, P.W. Jr.

1988-01-01

All personnel present in the X-ray examination room during equine radiography were monitored using low energy direct reading ionization chambers (pockets dosimeters) worn outside the lead apron at neck level. The individuals' task and dosimeter readings were recorded after each examination. Average doses ranged from 0 to 6 mrad per study. The greatest exposures were associated with radiography of the shoulder and averaged less than 4 mrad. The individual extending the horse's limb was at greatest risk although the individual holding the horse's halter and the one making the X-ray exposure received similar exposures. A survey of the overhead tube assembly used for some of the X-ray examinations also was performed. Meter readings obtained indicated an asymetric dose distribution around the tube assembly, with the highest dose occurring on the side to which the exposure cord was attached. Although the exposures observed were within acceptable limits for occupational workers, we have altered our protocol and no longer radiograph the equine shoulder unless the horse is anesthetized. Continued use of the pocket dosimeters and maintenance of a case record of radiation exposure appears to make the technologists more aware of radiation hazards

Health effects from indoor and outdoor exposure to fine particulate matter in life cycle impact assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fantke, Peter; McKone, T.E.; Jolliet, Olivier

2016-01-01

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution is a major contributor to human disease burden as continuously shown in the Global Burden of Disease study series. Exposures to PM2.5 concentration outdoors and indoors contribute almost equally to this burden. Despite the importance, health...... impacts from exposure to PM2.5 are often excluded from life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) characterization profiles. This is in large part because of the lack of well-vetted harmonized guidance about how to consistently assess the exposures and impacts of indoor and outdoor emissions of PM2.5 and its...... precursors. We present a framework for calculating characterization factors for indoor and outdoor emissions of primary PM2.5 and secondary PM2.5 precursors, and a roadmap for further refining this modelling framework for operational use in LCIA. The framework was developed over the last three years...

Continuous Energy, Multi-Dimensional Transport Calculations for Problem Dependent Resonance Self-Shielding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Downar, T.

2009-01-01

The overall objective of the work here has been to eliminate the approximations used in current resonance treatments by developing continuous energy multi-dimensional transport calculations for problem dependent self-shielding calculations. The work here builds on the existing resonance treatment capabilities in the ORNL SCALE code system. The overall objective of the work here has been to eliminate the approximations used in current resonance treatments by developing continuous energy multidimensional transport calculations for problem dependent self-shielding calculations. The work here builds on the existing resonance treatment capabilities in the ORNL SCALE code system. Specifically, the methods here utilize the existing continuous energy SCALE5 module, CENTRM, and the multi-dimensional discrete ordinates solver, NEWT to develop a new code, CENTRM( ) NEWT. The work here addresses specific theoretical limitations in existing CENTRM resonance treatment, as well as investigates advanced numerical and parallel computing algorithms for CENTRM and NEWT in order to reduce the computational burden. The result of the work here will be a new computer code capable of performing problem dependent self-shielding analysis for both existing and proposed GENIV fuel designs. The objective of the work was to have an immediate impact on the safety analysis of existing reactors through improvements in the calculation of fuel temperature effects, as well as on the analysis of more sophisticated GENIV/NGNP systems through improvements in the depletion/transmutation of actinides for Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiatives.

Equality Matters: The Critical Implications of Precisely Defining Equality

Science.gov (United States)

Faulkner, Valerie; Walkowiak, Temple; Cain, Chris; Lee, Carrie

2016-01-01

Equality is such an important concept for children to develop. In this article it is argued that a precise definition is needed to ensure that students are provided with a consistent "picture" of what it is that equality really means.

Simulation of the fluctuations of energy and charge deposited during e-beam exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borisov, S. S.; Zaitsev, S. I.; Grachev, E. A.

2007-01-01

The stochastic nature of an energy and charge deposition process is examined using a model based on discrete loss approximation (DLA). Deposited energy deviations computed using the continuous slowing down approximation (CSDA) and DLA are compared. It is shown that CSDA underestimates fluctuations in deposited energy

Nationalism’s Challenge to European Citizenship, Democracy and Equality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siim, Birte

2017-01-01

in skepticism about the continuing capacity of the nation-state to promote equality and social justice. In this essay, I explore the conflict between attachment to national identity on the one hand and the inability of nations on the other to secure the social, civil, and political rights of their people. I ask...

Air pollution exposure estimation using dispersion modelling and continuous monitoring data in a prospective birth cohort study in the Netherlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Van den Hooven Edith H

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Previous studies suggest that pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of air pollution. A prospective cohort study in pregnant women and their children enables identification of the specific effects and critical periods. This paper describes the design of air pollution exposure assessment for participants of the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study from early pregnancy onwards in 9778 women in the Netherlands. Individual exposures to PM10 and NO2 levels at the home address were estimated for mothers and children, using a combination of advanced dispersion modelling and continuous monitoring data, taking into account the spatial and temporal variation in air pollution concentrations. Full residential history was considered. We observed substantial spatial and temporal variation in air pollution exposure levels. The Generation R Study provides unique possibilities to examine effects of short- and long-term air pollution exposure on various maternal and childhood outcomes and to identify potential critical windows of exposure.

Energy drink exposures reported to Texas poison centers: Analysis of adverse incidents in relation to total sales, 2010-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Borron, Stephen W; Watts, Susan H; Herrera, Jessica; Larson, Joshua; Baeza, Salvador; Kingston, Richard L

2018-05-21

The ill-defined term "energy drink" includes a disparate group of products (beverages, shots, concentrates, and workout powders) having large differences in caffeine content and concentration and intended use. Hence, inaccurate conclusions may be drawn when describing adverse events associated with "energy drinks". The FDA is considering new regulation of these products but product specificity is needed to evaluate safety. To help address this, we queried Texas Poison Center Network data for single substance exposures to "energy drinks" from 2010 to 2014, then analyzed adverse events by product type. We specifically compared energy beverage exposures with sales data for the same time period to evaluate the safety profile of this category of energy drinks. Among 855 documented "energy drink" exposures, poison center-determined outcome severity revealed 291 with no/minimal effects, 417 judged nontoxic or minor/not followed, 64 moderate and 4 major effects, and no deaths. Serious complications included 2 seizures and 1 episode of ventricular tachycardia. Outcome severity by category for beverages: 11 moderate/1 major effects (none in children energy drinks". Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for Breweries: An ENERGY STAR(R) Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galitsky, Christina; Martin, Nathan; Worrell, Ernst; Lehman, Bryan

2003-09-01

Annually, breweries in the United States spend over $200 million on energy. Energy consumption is equal to 38 percent of the production costs of beer, making energy efficiency improvement an important way to reduce costs, especially in times of high energy price volatility. After a summary of the beer making process and energy use, we examine energy efficiency opportunities available for breweries. We provide specific primary energy savings for each energy efficiency measure based on case studies that have implemented the measures, as well as references to technical literature. If available, we have also listed typical payback periods. Our findings suggest that given available technology, there are still opportunities to reduce energy consumption cost-effectively in the brewing industry. Brewers value highly the quality, taste and drinkability of their beer. Brewing companies have and are expected to continue to spend capital on cost-effective energy conservation measures that meet these quality, taste and drinkability requirements. For individual plants, further research on the economics of the measures, as well as their applicability to different brewing practices, is needed to assess implementation of selected technologies.

External and internal exposure to natural radiations inside ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abo-Elmagd, M [National Institute for Standard, Radiation Measurements Department, P.O. Box 136 Giza code no. 12211 (Egypt); Metwally, S M [Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Ain Shams University, P.O. Box 11566, Cairo (Egypt); Elmongy, S A [Atomic Energy Authority, Nuclear Safety, Cairo (Egypt); Salama, E [Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Ain Shams University, P.O. Box 11566, Cairo (Egypt); El-Fiki, S A [Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Ain Shams University, P.O. Box 11566, Cairo (Egypt)

2006-02-15

Some ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara are closed for visit to undergo fixation processes. The workers inside these tombs exposed to natural radiations from natural Gamma emitters (external exposure) and inhale unknown radon doses (internal exposure) for long periods. The external exposure in all studied tombs is lower than the maximum recommended action level. The internal exposure in terms of annual effective dose in the south tomb is equal to 28.83mSv/year which highly exceed the recommended level (3-10mSv/year). In this tomb, the external exposure is equal to 21.43{mu}Sv/year. This reflects the hazards of radon over the other natural radiations in the closed area. Among the workers inside the studied tombs, the expected morality is equal to 0.0033%, 0.0199% and 0.0724% for the south entrance of Zoser pyramid, the Serapeum tomb, and the south tomb respectively. ctively.

External and internal exposure to natural radiations inside ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abo-Elmagd, M.; Metwally, S.M.; Elmongy, S.A.; Salama, E.; El-Fiki, S.A.

2006-01-01

Some ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara are closed for visit to undergo fixation processes. The workers inside these tombs exposed to natural radiations from natural Gamma emitters (external exposure) and inhale unknown radon doses (internal exposure) for long periods. The external exposure in all studied tombs is lower than the maximum recommended action level. The internal exposure in terms of annual effective dose in the south tomb is equal to 28.83mSv/year which highly exceed the recommended level (3-10mSv/year). In this tomb, the external exposure is equal to 21.43μSv/year. This reflects the hazards of radon over the other natural radiations in the closed area. Among the workers inside the studied tombs, the expected morality is equal to 0.0033%, 0.0199% and 0.0724% for the south entrance of Zoser pyramid, the Serapeum tomb, and the south tomb respectively. ctively

Fostering Gender Equality as a Means to Counter Radical Religious Islamic Movements

OpenAIRE

Wolfgeher, Stephane

2010-01-01

This essay appeared in the 2010 JSOU and NDIA SO/LIC Division Essays Report / JSPU Report 10-4. The U.S. has implemented various strategies in countries where radical religious threats abound and yet still continues to fight the same threats. Studies indicate states with higher levels of gender equality engage in less severe or lower levels of inter- and intrastate violence. This suggests that fostering gender equality may be a viable long-term alternative strategy to target...

Energy, innovation, and microprocessors: continuity in the research policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hauff, V [Bundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie, Bonn-Bad Godesberg (Germany, F.R.)

1978-07-01

The present West German Minister for Research and Technology took up his official duties three months ago. So Umschau asked some questions concerning his future policies. First, the minister confirmed the continuity of the existing science policies. In the field of energy he claimed that efficient and frugal use of energy is the priority. The second priority concerns the utilization of domestic coal. No hindrances in the further development of fast breeder reactors and nuclear recycling are expected. The Minister layed stress on the encouragement of technological innovations, which are indispensable for economic growth, given the present worldwide structural change in the division of labor; the country must search for very new products. Microelectronics will play a major role in future developments. The Minister gave some examples of new fields that present chances for innovative endeavors. Another field of interest is the forecasting models.

Midwives, gender equality and feminism.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Denis

2016-03-01

Gender inequality and the harmful effects of patriarchy are sustaining the wide spread oppression of women across the world and this is also having an impact on maternity services with unacceptable rates of maternal mortality, the continued under investment in the midwifery profession and the limiting of women's place of birth options. However alongside these effects, the current zeitgeist is affirming an alignment of feminism and gender equality such that both have a high profile in public discourse. This presents a once in a generation opportunity for midwives to self-declare as feminists and commit to righting the wrongs of this most pernicious form of discrimination.

Equal treatment of shareholders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arsić Zoran

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Equal treatment of shareholders is regulated in Art.269 of Company Act (2011 of Republic of Serbia. Equal treatment of shareholders means that all shareholders are to be treated equally under same circumstances. Obligation to treat all shareholders equally rests on all company bodies, predominantly general meeting. The standard whether an action violates the principle of equal treatment of all shareholders regarding the main rights of shareholders (such as voting right etc. is the nominal value of shares, or the equal treatment per person regarding ancillary rights (such as right to speak in shareholders' meeting etc.. Any action deviating from this standard is unlawful if the unequal treatment is not justified on the facts. If the principle of equal treatment is violated by general meeting resolution, such resolution may be annulled by the court.

Shorter exposures to harder X-rays trigger early apoptotic events in Xenopus laevis embryos.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JiaJia Dong

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A long-standing conventional view of radiation-induced apoptosis is that increased exposure results in augmented apoptosis in a biological system, with a threshold below which radiation doses do not cause any significant increase in cell death. The consequences of this belief impact the extent to which malignant diseases and non-malignant conditions are therapeutically treated and how radiation is used in combination with other therapies. Our research challenges the current dogma of dose-dependent induction of apoptosis and establishes a new parallel paradigm to the photoelectric effect in biological systems. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We explored how the energy of individual X-ray photons and exposure time, both factors that determine the total dose, influence the occurrence of cell death in early Xenopus embryo. Three different experimental scenarios were analyzed and morphological and biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis were evaluated. Initially, we examined cell death events in embryos exposed to increasing incident energies when the exposure time was preset. Then, we evaluated the embryo's response when the exposure time was augmented while the energy value remained constant. Lastly, we studied the incidence of apoptosis in embryos exposed to an equal total dose of radiation that resulted from increasing the incoming energy while lowering the exposure time. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, our data establish that the energy of the incident photon is a major contributor to the outcome of the biological system. In particular, for embryos exposed under identical conditions and delivered the same absorbed dose of radiation, the response is significantly increased when shorter bursts of more energetic photons are used. These results suggest that biological organisms display properties similar to the photoelectric effect in physical systems and provide new insights into how radiation-mediated apoptosis should be understood and

Jarzynski equality in the context of maximum path entropy

Science.gov (United States)

González, Diego; Davis, Sergio

2017-06-01

In the global framework of finding an axiomatic derivation of nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics from fundamental principles, such as the maximum path entropy - also known as Maximum Caliber principle -, this work proposes an alternative derivation of the well-known Jarzynski equality, a nonequilibrium identity of great importance today due to its applications to irreversible processes: biological systems (protein folding), mechanical systems, among others. This equality relates the free energy differences between two equilibrium thermodynamic states with the work performed when going between those states, through an average over a path ensemble. In this work the analysis of Jarzynski's equality will be performed using the formalism of inference over path space. This derivation highlights the wide generality of Jarzynski's original result, which could even be used in non-thermodynamical settings such as social systems, financial and ecological systems.

Performance of JEF2.2 based continuous energy cross sections in predicting the multiplication factor of critical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

John, T.M.; de Leege, P.F.A.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

1996-01-01

The continuous energy representation of cross sections for neutronics calculations avoids the requirement of resonance self shielding and the assumptions about the neutron spectrum used for weighing cross sections, required in the preparation of a multigroup cross sections library. The cross sections library prepared for a particular temperature of the nuclide is valid irrespective of the environment of the nuclide and can be used in calculations for many types of reactors. It is comparatively easier to incorporate them in Monte Carlo simulation of neutron transport. The Monte Carlo code MCNP is capable of using a continuous energy representation of nuclear cross sections in simulation of neutron or photon transport. The ACER module of NJOY is able to generate the continuous energy cross section of any nuclide in a format that can be used by MCNP, from any evaluated data file in ENDF/B format. Continuous energy cross sections prepared from the evaluated data file JEF2.2 was used to analyse some standard critical benchmarks and also the critical configuration of the HOR, a 2 MW research reactor at Delft, the Netherlands. Results show that continuous energy cross sections prepared from JEF2.2 evaluated file predicts the multiplication factor of critical systems very close to unity. (author). 6 refs., 2 tabs., 1 fig

On FDP energy and nuclear power policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirche, W.

2002-01-01

A liberal energy policy as proclaimed by the FDP, the Free Democratic Party, is based on the principle of sustainability and, in equal measure, serves to ensure economic viability, continuity of supply, and environmental as well as societal compatibility. The possibilities open for national action are determined by the framework conditions of globalization and liberalization, and by the contribution of Germany to the implementation of the sustainability goals. Liberal policies take into account the protection of the environment and of the climate. Levies imposed to protect the environment and the climate must serve specific purposes; the present eco-tax has no controlling function whatsoever. Political measures must not seek to impose government conditions, but rather strengthen public awareness of sustainable action. Liberal research policy focuses on the four areas of fossil energy sources, nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, renewable energy sources, and new technologies. A balanced energy mix as seen by the FDP constitutes the basic of sufficient, safe, non-polluting, and low-cost energy supply. Nuclear power is, and will continue to be, a component of this energy mix. (orig.) [de

Equal opportunities in diversity

CERN Multimedia

Laëtitia Pedroso

2010-01-01

Promoting equal opportunities at CERN and advising the Director-General on all related matters is the task of the Equal Opportunities Officer, Doris Chromek-Burckhart, and Tim Smith, chair of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel. Changes are being introduced: in future, the focus of their work will be broadened to cover all aspects of diversity promotion.   The term "equal opportunities" has always been broader in scope than the equal treatment of men and women but this is what it has traditionally been confined to in practice. "We wanted to change how people see our mission", explains Doris Chromek-Burckhart. The word "diversity" has much wider connotations than "equal opportunities" and makes it clearer that we are also dealing with differences in nationality, religion, age, culture and physical ability”. Getting away from the old clichés is vital to ensuring equal treatment for everyone. The diversit...

Cobalt exposure and lung disease in tungsten carbide production. A cross-sectional study of current workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sprince, N.L.; Oliver, L.C.; Eisen, E.A.; Greene, R.E.; Chamberlin, R.I.

1988-01-01

A cross-sectional study of 1,039 tungsten carbide (TC) production workers was carried out. The purposes were (1) to evaluate the prevalence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and work-related wheezing, (2) to assess correlations between cobalt exposure and pulmonary disease, (3) to compare lung disease in grinders of hard carbide versus nongrinders, and (4) to evaluate the effects of new and previous threshold limit values for cobalt of 50 and 100 micrograms/m3. We obtained medical and occupational histories, flow-volume loops, single breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO), and chest radiographs. Time-weighted average cobalt levels were determined at every step in the production process. Work-related wheeze occurred in 113 participants (10.9%). Profusion greater than or equal to 1/0 occurred in 26 (2.6%) and interstitial lung disease (defined as profusion greater than or equal to 1M, FVC or DLCO less than or equal to 70%, and FEV1/FVC% greater than or equal to 75) in 7 (0.7%). The relative odds of work-related wheeze was 2.1 times for present cobalt exposures exceeding 50 micrograms/m3 compared with exposures less than or equal to 50 micrograms/m3. The relative odds of profusion greater than or equal to 1/0 was 5.1 times for average lifetime cobalt exposures exceeding 100 micrograms/m3 compared with exposures less than or equal to 100 micrograms/m3 in those with latency exceeding 10 yr. ILD was found in three workers with very low average lifetime exposures (less than 8 micrograms/m3) and shorter latencies. Grinders of hard carbide had lower mean DLCO than nongrinders, even though their cobalt exposures were lower

Synchronization of conference presentation sequence using delay equalization approach

Science.gov (United States)

Godavari, Rakesh K.; Celenk, Mehmet

2001-11-01

In this paper, a delay equalization approach is proposed for cohesive conference presentation with minimal screen- freezing effect. The underlying screen-freezing effect is due to varying delays in the communication channels involved in broadcasting. In turn, this poses a threat to the goal of uniform delay distribution among data packets for synchronized presentation broadcast. We wish to achieve uniformity among packet arrival times to the recipients. This objective is achieved by transforming a given input delay distribution (D) to the desired output density through a delay equalization process. Considering a general case of between packet and frame delay distributions for a given input, the desired output is obtained through a delay equalization process. In case of a specific normal delay distribution, a memory-less system g(D) is determined as an approximation to the delay equalizer such that the equalizer output O(t)equalsg[D(t)] is uniformly distributed in the allowable delay limits of (a,b) assuring the specified quality of service (QoS) parameters. The corresponding delay is added at each recipient workstation, which acts as the wait period required before it begins its designated presentation.For a zero mean normal delay density case, the equalizer transfer function can be given in a closed from solution as O(t)equalsg[D(t)[equals(b-a)]0.5+eft(-D/$RO OTR(0)))[+a, where erf(x) is the standard error function. The histogram approximation is adopted as an asymptotically delay equalization means for general cases. This technique provides a means for modifying the dynamic range of data acquired by altering it into a desired distribution. In experimentation, equalizer characteristic functions are derived for a set of selected input delays to obtain the desired output. The delay equalizer system developed here is suited for deployment in a distributed hierarchical conferencing environment. To accommodate a broadcast continuity, the multimedia presentation is

Occupational exposure assessment: Practices in Malaysian nuclear agency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarowi, S. Muhd, E-mail: suzie@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my; Ramli, S. A.; Kontol, K. Mohamad [Radiation Safety & Health Division, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, 43000 Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia); Rahman, N. A. H. Abd. [Faculty of Science & Mathematics, Sultan Idris of Education Universit, 35900, Tanjong Malim, Perak Darul Ridzuan (Malaysia)

2016-01-22

Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) is the leading agency in introducing and promoting the application of nuclear science technology in Malaysia. The agency provides major nuclear facilities purposely for research and commercialisation such as reactor, irradiation plants and radioisotope production laboratory. When dealing with ionizing radiation, there is an obligatory requirement to monitor and assess the radiation exposure to the workers. The personal dose of radiation workers were monitored monthly by assessing their Thermoluminescence Dosimeter (TLD) dose reading. This paper will discuss the current practice in managing, assessing, record keeping and reporting of the occupational exposure in Nuclear Malaysia including the Health Physic Group roles and challenges. The statistics on occupational radiation exposure of monitored workers working in different fields in Nuclear Malaysia from 2011 - 2013 will also be presented. The results show that the null hypothesis (H{sub 0}) was accepted which the means of every populations are all equal or not differ significantly. This hypothesis states that the dose exposure received by the radiation workers in Nuclear Malaysia is similar and there were no significant changes from 2011 to 2013. The radiation monitoring programme correlate with the requirement of our national law, the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304)

Occupational exposure assessment: Practices in Malaysian nuclear agency

Science.gov (United States)

Sarowi, S. Muhd; Ramli, S. A.; Kontol, K. Mohamad; Rahman, N. A. H. Abd.

2016-01-01

Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) is the leading agency in introducing and promoting the application of nuclear science technology in Malaysia. The agency provides major nuclear facilities purposely for research and commercialisation such as reactor, irradiation plants and radioisotope production laboratory. When dealing with ionizing radiation, there is an obligatory requirement to monitor and assess the radiation exposure to the workers. The personal dose of radiation workers were monitored monthly by assessing their Thermoluminescence Dosimeter (TLD) dose reading. This paper will discuss the current practice in managing, assessing, record keeping and reporting of the occupational exposure in Nuclear Malaysia including the Health Physic Group roles and challenges. The statistics on occupational radiation exposure of monitored workers working in different fields in Nuclear Malaysia from 2011 - 2013 will also be presented. The results show that the null hypothesis (H₀) was accepted which the means of every populations are all equal or not differ significantly. This hypothesis states that the dose exposure received by the radiation workers in Nuclear Malaysia is similar and there were no significant changes from 2011 to 2013. The radiation monitoring programme correlate with the requirement of our national law, the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304).

Occupational exposure assessment: Practices in Malaysian nuclear agency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarowi, S. Muhd; Ramli, S. A.; Kontol, K. Mohamad; Rahman, N. A. H. Abd.

2016-01-01

Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) is the leading agency in introducing and promoting the application of nuclear science technology in Malaysia. The agency provides major nuclear facilities purposely for research and commercialisation such as reactor, irradiation plants and radioisotope production laboratory. When dealing with ionizing radiation, there is an obligatory requirement to monitor and assess the radiation exposure to the workers. The personal dose of radiation workers were monitored monthly by assessing their Thermoluminescence Dosimeter (TLD) dose reading. This paper will discuss the current practice in managing, assessing, record keeping and reporting of the occupational exposure in Nuclear Malaysia including the Health Physic Group roles and challenges. The statistics on occupational radiation exposure of monitored workers working in different fields in Nuclear Malaysia from 2011 - 2013 will also be presented. The results show that the null hypothesis (H 0 ) was accepted which the means of every populations are all equal or not differ significantly. This hypothesis states that the dose exposure received by the radiation workers in Nuclear Malaysia is similar and there were no significant changes from 2011 to 2013. The radiation monitoring programme correlate with the requirement of our national law, the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304)

Final Report to t he Department of Energy Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaughen, Shasta

2018-03-30

The Pala Band of Mission Indians was awarded a DOE-EERE Solar Energy Grant for FY 2016 and 2017. The project involved installing a 94.8 kW DC photovoltaic (PC) solar system on the Pala Fire Station to offset up to 95% of grid-derived energy and reduce overall CO2 generation from the facility. Pala successfully installed rooftop and carport-mounted solar panels at the fire station, and to date has generated of 219,227 kWh of energy and offset 274,034 pounds of CO2. The project was successfully executed, and we recommend other tribes to undertake similar projects if they are located in areas with sufficient solar exposure. DOE should continue to make these funds available to tribes.

Kilovoltage energy imaging with a radiotherapy linac with a continuously variable energy range.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, D A; Hansen, V N; Thompson, M G; Poludniowski, G; Niven, A; Seco, J; Evans, P M

2012-03-01

In this paper, the effect on image quality of significantly reducing the primary electron energy of a radiotherapy accelerator is investigated using a novel waveguide test piece. The waveguide contains a novel variable coupling device (rotovane), allowing for a wide continuously variable energy range of between 1.4 and 9 MeV suitable for both imaging and therapy. Imaging at linac accelerating potentials close to 1 MV was investigated experimentally and via Monte Carlo simulations. An imaging beam line was designed, and planar and cone beam computed tomography images were obtained to enable qualitative and quantitative comparisons with kilovoltage and megavoltage imaging systems. The imaging beam had an electron energy of 1.4 MeV, which was incident on a water cooled electron window consisting of stainless steel, a 5 mm carbon electron absorber and 2.5 mm aluminium filtration. Images were acquired with an amorphous silicon detector sensitive to diagnostic x-ray energies. The x-ray beam had an average energy of 220 keV and half value layer of 5.9 mm of copper. Cone beam CT images with the same contrast to noise ratio as a gantry mounted kilovoltage imaging system were obtained with doses as low as 2 cGy. This dose is equivalent to a single 6 MV portal image. While 12 times higher than a 100 kVp CBCT system (Elekta XVI), this dose is 140 times lower than a 6 MV cone beam imaging system and 6 times lower than previously published LowZ imaging beams operating at higher (4-5 MeV) energies. The novel coupling device provides for a wide range of electron energies that are suitable for kilovoltage quality imaging and therapy. The imaging system provides high contrast images from the therapy portal at low dose, approaching that of gantry mounted kilovoltage x-ray systems. Additionally, the system provides low dose imaging directly from the therapy portal, potentially allowing for target tracking during radiotherapy treatment. There is the scope with such a tuneable system

Exposure to atrazine affects the expression of key genes in metabolic pathways integral to energy homeostasis in Xenopus laevis tadpoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaya, Renee M.; Amini, Zakariya; Whitaker, Ashley S.; Ide, Charles F.

2011-01-01

In our laboratory, Xenopus laevis tadpoles exposed throughout development to 200 or 400 μg/L atrazine, concentrations reported to periodically occur in puddles, vernal ponds and runoff soon after application, were smaller and had smaller fat bodies (the tadpole's lipid storage organ) than controls. It was hypothesized that these changes were due to atrazine-related perturbations of energy homeostasis. To investigate this hypothesis, selected metabolic responses to exposure at the transcriptional and biochemical levels in atrazine-exposed tadpoles were measured. DNA microarray technology was used to determine which metabolic pathways were affected after developmental exposure to 400 μg/L atrazine. From these data, genes representative of the affected pathways were selected for assay using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to measure changes in expression during a 2-week exposure to 400 μg/L. Finally, ATP levels were measured from tadpoles both early in and at termination of exposure to 200 and 400 μg/L. Microarray analysis revealed significant differential gene expression in metabolic pathways involved with energy homeostasis. Pathways with increased transcription were associated with the conversion of lipids and proteins into energy. Pathways with decreased transcription were associated with carbohydrate metabolism, fat storage, and protein synthesis. Using qRT-PCR, changes in gene expression indicative of an early stress response to atrazine were noted. Exposed tadpoles had significant decreases in acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (AD) and glucocorticoid receptor protein (GR) mRNA after 24 h of exposure, and near-significant (p = 0.07) increases in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β (PPAR-β) mRNA by 72 h. Decreases in AD suggested decreases in fatty acid β-oxidation while decreases in GR may have been a receptor desensitization response to a glucocorticoid surge. Involvement of PPAR-β, an energy homeostasis regulatory molecule

Exposure to atrazine affects the expression of key genes in metabolic pathways integral to energy homeostasis in Xenopus laevis tadpoles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zaya, Renee M., E-mail: renee.zaya@wmich.edu [Great Lakes Environmental and Molecular Sciences Center, Department of Biological Sciences, 3425 Wood Hall, Western Michigan University, 1903 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (United States); Amini, Zakariya, E-mail: zakariya.amini@wmich.edu [Great Lakes Environmental and Molecular Sciences Center, Department of Biological Sciences, 3425 Wood Hall, Western Michigan University, 1903 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (United States); Whitaker, Ashley S., E-mail: ashley.s.whitaker@wmich.edu [Great Lakes Environmental and Molecular Sciences Center, Department of Biological Sciences, 3425 Wood Hall, Western Michigan University, 1903 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (United States); Ide, Charles F., E-mail: charles.ide@wmich.edu [Great Lakes Environmental and Molecular Sciences Center, Department of Biological Sciences, 3425 Wood Hall, Western Michigan University, 1903 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (United States)

2011-08-15

In our laboratory, Xenopus laevis tadpoles exposed throughout development to 200 or 400 {mu}g/L atrazine, concentrations reported to periodically occur in puddles, vernal ponds and runoff soon after application, were smaller and had smaller fat bodies (the tadpole's lipid storage organ) than controls. It was hypothesized that these changes were due to atrazine-related perturbations of energy homeostasis. To investigate this hypothesis, selected metabolic responses to exposure at the transcriptional and biochemical levels in atrazine-exposed tadpoles were measured. DNA microarray technology was used to determine which metabolic pathways were affected after developmental exposure to 400 {mu}g/L atrazine. From these data, genes representative of the affected pathways were selected for assay using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to measure changes in expression during a 2-week exposure to 400 {mu}g/L. Finally, ATP levels were measured from tadpoles both early in and at termination of exposure to 200 and 400 {mu}g/L. Microarray analysis revealed significant differential gene expression in metabolic pathways involved with energy homeostasis. Pathways with increased transcription were associated with the conversion of lipids and proteins into energy. Pathways with decreased transcription were associated with carbohydrate metabolism, fat storage, and protein synthesis. Using qRT-PCR, changes in gene expression indicative of an early stress response to atrazine were noted. Exposed tadpoles had significant decreases in acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (AD) and glucocorticoid receptor protein (GR) mRNA after 24 h of exposure, and near-significant (p = 0.07) increases in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor {beta} (PPAR-{beta}) mRNA by 72 h. Decreases in AD suggested decreases in fatty acid {beta}-oxidation while decreases in GR may have been a receptor desensitization response to a glucocorticoid surge. Involvement of PPAR-{beta}, an energy

A study of the energy absorption and exposure buildup factors of some anti-inflammatory drugs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekinci, Neslihan; Kavaz, Esra; Özdemir, Yüksel

2014-01-01

Human radiation exposure is increasing due to radiation development in science and technology. The development of radioprotective agents is important for protecting patients from the side effects of radiotherapy and for protecting the public from unwanted irradiation. Radioprotective agents are used to reduce the damage caused by radiation in healthy tissues. There are several classes of radioprotective compounds that are under investigation. Analgesics and anti-inflammatory compounds are being considered for treating or preventing the effects of damage due to radiation exposure, or for increasing the chance of survival after exposure to a high dose of radiation. In this study, we investigated the radioprotective effects of some analgesic and anti-inflammatory compounds by evaluating buildup factors. The gamma ray energy absorption (EABF) and exposure buildup factors (EBF) were calculated to select compounds in a 0.015–15 MeV energy region up to a penetration depth of 40 mfp (mean free path). Variations of EABF and EBF with incident photon energy and penetration depth elements were also investigated. Significant variations in both EABF and EBF values were observed for several compounds at the moderate energy region. At energies below 0.15 MeV, EABF and EBF values increased with decreasing equivalent atomic number (Z eq ) of the samples. In addition, EABF and EBF were the largest for ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol, naproxen and ketoprofen at 0.05 and 0.06 MeV, respectively, and the EABF value was 0.1 MeV for aceclofenac. From these results, we concluded that the buildup of photons is less for aceclofenac compared to other materials. - Highlights: • Buildup factors of anti-inflammatory drugs have been calculated by a G-P fitting method. • Z eff of diclofenac was observed higher than other compounds. • It was found that buildup of photons is less for aceclofenac and diclofenac. • It would be appealing to use aceclofenac and diclofenac as radioprotective

Equality = Inequality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khaled, Rilla

2011-01-01

A number of design and development methods, including participatory design and agile software development, are premised on an underlying assumption of equality amongst relevant stakeholders such as designers, developers, product owners, and end users. Equality, however, is not a straightforwardly...... an ethnography conducted during the workshop, including location, cultural and classroom hierarchies, gender, “girl games”, stakeholders and boundaries, and risk mitigation....

Continuous energy Monte Carlo method based lattice homogeinzation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Mancang; Yao Dong; Wang Kan

2014-01-01

Based on the Monte Carlo code MCNP, the continuous energy Monte Carlo multi-group constants generation code MCMC has been developed. The track length scheme has been used as the foundation of cross section generation. The scattering matrix and Legendre components require special techniques, and the scattering event method has been proposed to solve this problem. Three methods have been developed to calculate the diffusion coefficients for diffusion reactor core codes and the Legendre method has been applied in MCMC. To the satisfaction of the equivalence theory, the general equivalence theory (GET) and the superhomogenization method (SPH) have been applied to the Monte Carlo method based group constants. The super equivalence method (SPE) has been proposed to improve the equivalence. GET, SPH and SPE have been implemented into MCMC. The numerical results showed that generating the homogenization multi-group constants via Monte Carlo method overcomes the difficulties in geometry and treats energy in continuum, thus provides more accuracy parameters. Besides, the same code and data library can be used for a wide range of applications due to the versatility. The MCMC scheme can be seen as a potential alternative to the widely used deterministic lattice codes. (authors)

Are Disadvantaged Students Given Equal Opportunities to Learn Mathematics? PISA in Focus. No. 63

Science.gov (United States)

OECD Publishing, 2016

2016-01-01

Socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students are not equally exposed to mathematics problems and concepts at school. Exposure to mathematics at school has an impact on performance, and disadvantaged students' relative lack of familiarity with mathematics partly explains their lower performance. Widening access to mathematics content…

Biochemical and pathological changes in the male rat kidney and bladder following exposure to continuous 900-MHz electromagnetic field on postnatal days 22-59.

Science.gov (United States)

Türedi, Sibel; Kerimoğlu, Gökçen; Mercantepe, Tolga; Odacı, Ersan

2017-09-01

To investigate the effect on male rat kidney and bladder tissues of exposure to 900-megahertz (MHz) electromagnetic field (EMF) applied on postnatal days 22-59, inclusive. Twenty-four male Sprague Dawley rats, aged 21 days, were used. These were divided equally into one of three groups, control (CG), sham (SG) or EMF (EMFG). CG was not exposed to any procedure. SG rats were kept inside a cage, without being exposed to the effect of EMF, for 1 h a day on postnatal days 22-59, inclusive. EMFG rats were exposed to continuous 900-MHz EMF for 1 h a day under the same conditions as those for the SG rats. Rats were sacrificed on postnatal day 60, and the kidney and bladder tissues were removed. Tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson trichrome for histomorphological evaluation. The TUNEL method was used to assess apoptosis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was also used for the kidney tissue. Oxidant/antioxidant parameters were studied in terms of biochemical values. The findings showed that tissue malondialdehyde increased in EMFG compared to CG and SG in both kidney (p = 0.004 and p = 0.004, respectively) and bladder tissue (p = 0.004, p = 0.006, respectively), while catalase and glutathione levels decreased compared to CG (p = 0.004; p = 0.004, respectively) and SG (p = 0.004; p = 0.004, respectively). In the EMF group, pathologies such as dilatation and vacuolization in the distal and proximal tubules, degeneration in glomeruli and an increase in cells tending to apoptosis were observed in kidney tissue. In bladder tissue, degeneration in the transitional epithelium and stromal irregularity and an increase in cells tending to apoptosis were observed in EMFG. Additionally, EMFG samples exhibited glomerular capillary degeneration with capillary basement membranes under TEM. We conclude that continuous exposure to the effect of 900-MHz EMF for 1 h a day on postnatal days 22-59, inclusive, causes an

The high energy multicharged particle exposure of the microbial ecology evaluation device on board the Apollo 16 spacecraft

Science.gov (United States)

Benton, E. V.; Henke, R. P.

1973-01-01

The high energy multicharged cosmic-ray-particle exposure of the Microbial Ecology Evaluation Device package on board the Apollo 16 spacecraft was monitored using cellulose nitrate, Lexan polycarbonate, nuclear emulsion, and silver chloride crystal nuclear-track detectors. The results of the analysis of these detectors include the measured particle fluences, the linear energy transfer spectra, and the integral atomic number spectrum of stopping particle density. The linear energy transfer spectrum is used to compute the fractional cell loss in human kidney (T1) cells caused by heavy particles. Because the Microbial Ecology Evaluation Device was better shielded, the high-energy multicharged particle exposure was less than that measured on the crew passive dosimeters.

Intake during repeated exposure to low- and high-energy-dense yogurts by different means of consumption

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hogenkamp, P.S.; Mars, M.; Stafleu, A.; Graaf, C.de

2010-01-01

Background: An important question in the regulation of energy intake is whether dietary learning of energy content depends on the food's characteristics, such as texture. Texture might affect the duration of sensory exposure and eating rate. Objective: The objective was to investigate whether a long

Continuous exposure to a novel stressor based on water aversion induces abnormal circadian locomotor rhythms and sleep-wake cycles in mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koyomi Miyazaki

Full Text Available Psychological stressors prominently affect diurnal rhythms, including locomotor activity, sleep, blood pressure, and body temperature, in humans. Here, we found that a novel continuous stress imposed by the perpetual avoidance of water on a wheel (PAWW affected several physiological diurnal rhythms in mice. One week of PAWW stress decayed robust circadian locomotor rhythmicity, while locomotor activity was evident even during the light period when the mice are normally asleep. Daytime activity was significantly upregulated, whereas nighttime activity was downregulated, resulting in a low amplitude of activity. Total daily activity gradually decreased with increasing exposure to PAWW stress. The mice could be exposed to PAWW stress for over 3 weeks without adaptation. Furthermore, continuous PAWW stress enhanced food intake, but decreased body weight and plasma leptin levels, indicating that sleep loss and PAWW stress altered the energy balance in these mice. The diurnal rhythm of corticosterone levels was not severely affected. The body temperature rhythm was diurnal in the stressed mice, but significantly dysregulated during the dark period. Plasma catecholamines were elevated in the stressed mice. Continuous PAWW stress reduced the duration of daytime sleep, especially during the first half of the light period, and increased nighttime sleepiness. Continuous PAWW stress also simultaneously obscured sleep/wake and locomotor activity rhythms compared with control mice. These sleep architecture phenotypes under stress are similar to those of patients with insomnia. The stressed mice could be entrained to the light/dark cycle, and when they were transferred to constant darkness, they exhibited a free-running circadian rhythm with a timing of activity onset predicted by the phase of their entrained rhythms. Circadian gene expression in the liver and muscle was unaltered, indicating that the peripheral clocks in these tissues remained intact.

The effects of intermittent compared to continuous energy restriction on glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes; a pragmatic pilot trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, S; Clifton, P M; Keogh, J B

2016-12-01

Weight loss improves glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, as achieving and maintaining weight loss is difficult, alternative strategies are needed. Our primary aim was to investigate the effects of intermittent energy restriction (IER) compared to continuous energy restriction (CER) on glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Secondary aims were to assess effects on weight loss, body composition, medication changes and subjective measures of appetite. Using a 2-day IER method, we expected equal improvements to HbA1c and weight in both groups. Sixty-three overweight or obese participants (BMI 35.2±5kg/m 2 ) with T2DM (HbA1c 7.4±1.3%) (57mmol/mol) were randomised to a 2-day severe energy restriction (1670-2500kJ/day) with 5days of habitual eating, compared to a moderate CER diet (5000-6500kJ/day) for 12weeks. At 12weeks HbA1c (-0.7±0.9% P<0.001) and percent body weight reduction (-5.9±4% P<0.001) was similar in both groups with no group by time interaction. Similar reductions were also seen for medication dosages, all measures of body composition and subjective reports of appetite. In this pilot trial, 2days of IER compared with CER resulted in similar improvements in glycaemic control and weight reduction offering a suitable alternative treatment strategy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous Hydrothermal Flow Synthesis of Functional Oxide Nanomaterials Used in Energy Conversion Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Yu

Continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis (CHFS) was used to prepare functional oxide nanoparticles. Materials synthesized include NiO, Y-doped ZrO2, Gd-doped CeO2, LaCrO3 and Ni-substituted CoFe2O4. These types of oxides can be applied in several energy conversion devices, e.g. as active materials...... as materials are continuously produced, and the technology can be scaled-up to an industrial-relevant production capacity. The thesis starts with investigating the most appropriate mixer design for a novel two-stage reactor by computational fluid dynamics modelling. On basis of the modelling results, a two......, dense continuous layers (

ECONOMIC EQUALITY OR JUSTICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekrem Tufan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available From the beginning of economic life, equality has been a matter for human. Intrinsically human has two legs: Selfish and Groupish. Our selfish side does not care equality while Groupish side cares. What about the justice? Does human wants justice more than equalities in economic life? In this research, we have applied a questionnaire to find these two questions answer. As a result we can report that respondents prefer equality rather than justice in negative outcomes. On the other hand, they tend to prefer justice if there is possibility for positive outcomes. We cannot give evidence about gender, education and age differences effect on equality and justice preference.

Gender Equality a case study of Sweden : Gender Equality Gender Equity and policies of combating inequality at workplace to make the society equal.

OpenAIRE

Sultan, Tipu

2010-01-01

The paper analyses Gender Equality, Gender Equity and policies of combating inequality at workplace to make the society equal as a case study of Sweden. The aim of paper is see the gender equality, gender equity, discrimination against women at workplace and to describe the policies combating inequality in the welfare state of Sweden. This work highlights the gender equality in terms of institutionalizing gender equality, gender equity, gender and pay gap, parental leave, gender and the pensi...

Search for continuous and single day emission from ultra-high-energy sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Mei-Li.

1993-01-01

Data from the CYGNUS experiment has been used to search the northern sky for point sources of continuous ultra-high-energy gamma radiation and to examine 51 candidate sources on a daily basis to search for episodic emission. In this paper, we make use of our most recent data to update our previously published results from these searches. The data sample is approximately twice as large as the published data set for continuous emission, and contains an additional year for the daily search. The latest results, up to the time of the conference, will be presented at the meeting

Relation between equal-time and light-front wave functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, Gerald A.; Tiburzi, Brian C.

2010-01-01

The relation between equal-time and light-front wave functions is studied using models for which the four-dimensional solution of the Bethe-Salpeter wave function can be obtained. The popular prescription of defining the longitudinal momentum fraction using the instant-form free kinetic energy and third component of momentum is found to be incorrect except in the nonrelativistic limit. One may obtain light-front wave functions from rest-frame, instant-form wave functions by boosting the latter wave functions to the infinite momentum frame. Despite this difficulty, we prove a relation between certain integrals of the equal-time and light-front wave functions.

Using Flow Electrodes in Multiple Reactors in Series for Continuous Energy Generation from Capacitive Mixing

KAUST Repository

Hatzell, Marta C.

2014-12-09

Efficient conversion of “mixing energy” to electricity through capacitive mixing (CapMix) has been limited by low energy recoveries, low power densities, and noncontinuous energy production resulting from intermittent charging and discharging cycles. We show here that a CapMix system based on a four-reactor process with flow electrodes can generate constant and continuous energy, providing a more flexible platform for harvesting mixing energy. The power densities were dependent on the flow-electrode carbon loading, with 5.8 ± 0.2 mW m–2 continuously produced in the charging reactor and 3.3 ± 0.4 mW m–2 produced in the discharging reactor (9.2 ± 0.6 mW m–2 for the whole system) when the flow-electrode carbon loading was 15%. Additionally, when the flow-electrode electrolyte ion concentration increased from 10 to 20 g L–1, the total power density of the whole system (charging and discharging) increased to 50.9 ± 2.5 mW m–2.

Canada’s Equalization Formula: Peering Inside the Black Box.. and Beyond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jim Feehan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Ontario only started receiving equalization payments, for the first time in its history, in 2009. As soon as Ontario slipped into that “have-not” status, the federal government imposed a cap on the growth of equalization payouts. That led to substantial federal savings, but has cost Ontario and other recipients what would have been much larger payments since then. The federal government’s move to rein in the potential ballooning cost of equalization may have been understandable, from a cost-control perspective, but it ultimately defied the very purpose of equalization. The fixed-growth rule imposed by the federal government is just one of several elements within the current equalization arrangement that should be corrected. The federal government should end that practice and absorb any resulting increase in cost. However, if that cost is onerous, then it could consider adjustments of its other major transfers to the provinces – Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer – and reduce those per-capita transfers to provinces that are well ahead of the equalization norm. That would be better than shifting the entire burden to the those below the norm. Another flaw in the current equalization arrangement is the inclusion of Crown-owned hydro corporations’ remittances of earnings to their provincial owners in the natural resources category of equalization calculations. Many of these corporations are not simply energy producers, but are also vertically integrated, with transmission and retail sales operations, and some have no resources at all, but rely instead on fuel purchased in the marketplace. Moreover, taxes paid by private energy corporations are not considered part of the natural resource category but are included in the business income tax category. This means the formula is essentially inconsistent, discriminating based on the ownership profile. Hydro remittances should be removed from the natural resource revenue

Exposure to atrazine affects the expression of key genes in metabolic pathways integral to energy homeostasis in Xenopus laevis tadpoles.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaya, Renee M; Amini, Zakariya; Whitaker, Ashley S; Ide, Charles F

2011-08-01

In our laboratory, Xenopus laevis tadpoles exposed throughout development to 200 or 400 μg/L atrazine, concentrations reported to periodically occur in puddles, vernal ponds and runoff soon after application, were smaller and had smaller fat bodies (the tadpole's lipid storage organ) than controls. It was hypothesized that these changes were due to atrazine-related perturbations of energy homeostasis. To investigate this hypothesis, selected metabolic responses to exposure at the transcriptional and biochemical levels in atrazine-exposed tadpoles were measured. DNA microarray technology was used to determine which metabolic pathways were affected after developmental exposure to 400 μg/L atrazine. From these data, genes representative of the affected pathways were selected for assay using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to measure changes in expression during a 2-week exposure to 400 μg/L. Finally, ATP levels were measured from tadpoles both early in and at termination of exposure to 200 and 400 μg/L. Microarray analysis revealed significant differential gene expression in metabolic pathways involved with energy homeostasis. Pathways with increased transcription were associated with the conversion of lipids and proteins into energy. Pathways with decreased transcription were associated with carbohydrate metabolism, fat storage, and protein synthesis. Using qRT-PCR, changes in gene expression indicative of an early stress response to atrazine were noted. Exposed tadpoles had significant decreases in acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (AD) and glucocorticoid receptor protein (GR) mRNA after 24 h of exposure, and near-significant (p=0.07) increases in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β (PPAR-β) mRNA by 72 h. Decreases in AD suggested decreases in fatty acid β-oxidation while decreases in GR may have been a receptor desensitization response to a glucocorticoid surge. Involvement of PPAR-β, an energy homeostasis regulatory molecule, also

Non-equal-time Poisson brackets

OpenAIRE

Nikolic, H.

1998-01-01

The standard definition of the Poisson brackets is generalized to the non-equal-time Poisson brackets. Their relationship to the equal-time Poisson brackets, as well as to the equal- and non-equal-time commutators, is discussed.

Technological ways for the efficient use of energy in the Mexican petrochemical industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escobar T, C.

1991-01-01

Several analysis have shown that soon after the year 2000, all around the world there will be a deficit of the supply of energy with respect to the demand, specially the one related to hydrocarbons. This deficit will not be able to continue, and therefore, the real demand will decrease until it equals the existing supply. Thus, the urgent need to continue, as in other countries, with a program destined to save energy. For this reason, it has been developed a theory of conservation that combines thermodynamics with different studies of manufacturing costs, products and services, that are necessary for our society. (Author)

The Equity-Equality Conflict

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheuer, Steen

2013-01-01

-for-performance systems) perceived as fair and when are they not? When can differences in contribution (equity) overrule the social norm of equality? Which contingent reward structure should be applied for teamwork members, if any? Which structure to motivate employees to a continuous search for smarter working......This article investigatesthe factors that determine workplace actors’ appeal to social norms of fairness in some situations and what ‘fairness’ is perceived as consisting of. When is a pay level considered as relativity fair, and when is it not? When are contingent pay systems (i.e. pay...... procedures and solutions? These are central concerns of motivation theory, where rational choice decisions are counterbalanced by endowment effectsor other fairness concerns. Management is placed in a dilemma between what is, e.g., an economically rational structure of incentives, on the one hand, and what...

Tangible and fungible energy: Hybrid energy market and currency system for total energy management. A Masdar City case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sgouridis, Sgouris; Kennedy, Scott

2010-01-01

We propose the introduction of an energy-based parallel currency as a means to ease the transition to energy-conscious living. Abundant fossil energy resources mask the internal and external energy costs for casual energy consumers. This situation is challenging communities that draw a significant fraction of their primary energy consumption from renewable energy sources. The Masdar Energy Credit (MEC) system is a way of translating the fundamental aspects behind energy generation and usage into a tangible reality for all users with built-in fungibility to incentivize collectively sustainable behavior. The energy credit currency (ergo) corresponds with a chosen unit of energy so that the total amount of ergos issued equals the energy supply of the community. Ergos are distributed to users (residents, commercial entities, employees, and visitors) on a subscription basis and can be surrendered in exchange for the energy content of a service. A spot market pricing mechanism is introduced to relate ergos to 'fiat' currency using a continuously variable exchange rate to prevent depletion of the sustainable energy resource. The MEC system is intended to: (i) meet the sustainable energy balance targets of a community (ii) support peak shaving or load shifting goals, and (iii) raise energy awareness.

Fast exposure time decision in multi-exposure HDR imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Piao, Yongjie; Jin, Guang

2012-10-01

Currently available imaging and display system exists the problem of insufficient dynamic range, and the system cannot restore all the information for an high dynamic range (HDR) scene. The number of low dynamic range(LDR) image samples and fastness of exposure time decision impacts the real-time performance of the system dramatically. In order to realize a real-time HDR video acquisition system, this paper proposed a fast and robust method for exposure time selection in under and over exposure area which is based on system response function. The method utilized the monotony of the imaging system. According to this characteristic the exposure time is adjusted to an initial value to make the median value of the image equals to the middle value of the system output range; then adjust the exposure time to make the pixel value on two sides of histogram be the middle value of the system output range. Thus three low dynamic range images are acquired. Experiments show that the proposed method for adjusting the initial exposure time can converge in two iterations which is more fast and stable than average gray control method. As to the exposure time adjusting in under and over exposed area, the proposed method can use the dynamic range of the system more efficiently than fixed exposure time method.

Respiratory health equality in the United States. The American thoracic society perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Celedón, Juan C; Roman, Jesse; Schraufnagel, Dean E; Thomas, Alvin; Samet, Jonathan

2014-05-01

Because the frequency of major risk factors for respiratory diseases (e.g., tobacco use) differs across demographic groups (defined by socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, health care access, occupation, or other characteristics), health disparities are commonly encountered in pediatric and adult pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. As part of its policy on respiratory health disparities, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Executive Committee created a Health Equality Subcommittee of the Health Policy Committee, with an initial mandate of defining respiratory health equality and, as a subsequent task, providing recommendations to the ATS leadership as to how our society may help attain such equality in the United States. After receiving input from the ATS assemblies and committees, the subcommittee developed this document on respiratory health equality. This document defines respiratory health disparities and respiratory health equality, and expands on a recent ATS and European Respiratory Society policy statement on disparities in respiratory health. Attainment of respiratory health equality requires the ending of respiratory health disparities, which can be achieved only through multidisciplinary efforts to eliminate detrimental environmental exposures while promoting a healthy lifestyle, implementing all components of high-quality health care (prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment), and conducting research that will lead to better prevention and management of respiratory diseases for everyone. The ATS recognizes that such efforts must include all stakeholders: members of society at large, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and other professional societies. The ATS urges all of its members and those of sister societies to work to achieve this laudable goal.

Equality Hypocrisy, Inconsistency, and Prejudice: The Unequal Application of the Universal Human Right to Equality

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

In Western culture, there appears to be widespread endorsement of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which stresses equality and freedom). But do people really apply their equality values equally, or are their principles and application systematically discrepant, resulting in equality hypocrisy? The present study, conducted with a representative national sample of adults in the United Kingdom (N = 2,895), provides the first societal test of whether people apply their value of “equality for all” similarly across multiple types of status minority (women, disabled people, people aged over 70, Blacks, Muslims, and gay people). Drawing on theories of intergroup relations and stereotyping we examined, relation to each of these groups, respondents’ judgments of how important it is to satisfy their particular wishes, whether there should be greater or reduced equality of employment opportunities, and feelings of social distance. The data revealed a clear gap between general equality values and responses to these specific measures. Respondents prioritized equality more for “paternalized” groups (targets of benevolent prejudice: women, disabled, over 70) than others (Black people, Muslims, and homosexual people), demonstrating significant inconsistency. Respondents who valued equality more, or who expressed higher internal or external motivation to control prejudice, showed greater consistency in applying equality. However, even respondents who valued equality highly showed significant divergence in their responses to paternalized versus nonpaternalized groups, revealing a degree of hypocrisy. Implications for strategies to promote equality and challenge prejudice are discussed. PMID:25914516

Equality Hypocrisy, Inconsistency, and Prejudice: The Unequal Application of the Universal Human Right to Equality.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrams, Dominic; Houston, Diane M; Van de Vyver, Julie; Vasiljevic, Milica

2015-02-01

In Western culture, there appears to be widespread endorsement of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which stresses equality and freedom). But do people really apply their equality values equally, or are their principles and application systematically discrepant, resulting in equality hypocrisy? The present study, conducted with a representative national sample of adults in the United Kingdom ( N = 2,895), provides the first societal test of whether people apply their value of "equality for all" similarly across multiple types of status minority (women, disabled people, people aged over 70, Blacks, Muslims, and gay people). Drawing on theories of intergroup relations and stereotyping we examined, relation to each of these groups, respondents' judgments of how important it is to satisfy their particular wishes, whether there should be greater or reduced equality of employment opportunities, and feelings of social distance. The data revealed a clear gap between general equality values and responses to these specific measures. Respondents prioritized equality more for "paternalized" groups (targets of benevolent prejudice: women, disabled, over 70) than others (Black people, Muslims, and homosexual people), demonstrating significant inconsistency. Respondents who valued equality more, or who expressed higher internal or external motivation to control prejudice, showed greater consistency in applying equality. However, even respondents who valued equality highly showed significant divergence in their responses to paternalized versus nonpaternalized groups, revealing a degree of hypocrisy. Implications for strategies to promote equality and challenge prejudice are discussed.

Centring radiological protection on today's global challenges in energy, climate change, environment and health-with nuclear energy playing a key role

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saint-Pierre, S.

2011-01-01

The climate change issue includes meeting the growing demand for electricity while reducing the impacts from energy sources. Applying carbon capture and storage technology to fossil fuel energy and increasing renewable energy pose greater challenges than increasing nuclear energy. International Energy Agency's (IEA) electricity demand of 30 000 TWh by 2030 can be met with 10 000 TWh each from renewable, nuclear and fossil fuel energy. However, the ill-imposed very strict control of tiny public exposure to ionising radiation from nuclear energy continues to pose a serious hindrance. Effort needs to be re-balanced to produce an even-handed control of public exposure with emphasis on the most significant sources (i.e. natural background radiation and medical use) and vice versa. The on-going revision of the International Atomic Energy Agency Basic Safety Standards (BSS) provides an opportunity to achieve this internationally so that national regulations can be subsequently remediated. There can be no urgency in a BSS revision that fails to encompass such perspective. (authors)

Centring radiological protection on today's global challenges in energy, climate change, environment and health--with nuclear energy playing a key role.

Science.gov (United States)

Saint-Pierre, Sylvain

2011-07-01

The climate change issue includes meeting the growing demand for electricity while reducing the impacts from energy sources. Applying carbon capture and storage technology to fossil fuel energy and increasing renewable energy pose greater challenges than increasing nuclear energy. International Energy Agency's (IEA) electricity demand of 30 000 TWh by 2030 can be met with 10 000 TWh each from renewable, nuclear and fossil fuel energy. However, the ill-imposed very strict control of tiny public exposure to ionising radiation from nuclear energy continues to pose a serious hindrance. Effort needs to be re-balanced to produce an even-handed control of public exposure with emphasis on the most significant sources (i.e. natural background radiation and medical use) and vice versa. The on-going revision of the International Atomic Energy Agency Basic Safety Standards (BSS) provides an opportunity to achieve this internationally so that national regulations can be subsequently remediated. There can be no urgency in a BSS revision that fails to encompass such perspective.

Effect of intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss, maintenance and cardiometabolic risk: A randomized 1-year trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundfør, T M; Svendsen, M; Tonstad, S

2018-07-01

Long-term adherence to conventional weight-loss diets is limited while intermittent fasting has risen in popularity. We compared the effects of intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss, maintenance and cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with abdominal obesity and ≥1 additional component of metabolic syndrome. In total 112 participants (men [50%] and women [50%]) aged 21-70 years with BMI 30-45 kg/m 2 (mean 35.2 [SD 3.7]) were randomized to intermittent or continuous energy restriction. A 6-month weight-loss phase including 10 visits with dieticians was followed by a 6-month maintenance phase without additional face-to-face counselling. The intermittent energy restriction group was advised to consume 400/600 kcal (female/male) on two non-consecutive days. Based on dietary records both groups reduced energy intake by ∼26-28%. Weight loss was similar among participants in the intermittent and continuous energy restriction groups (8.0 kg [SD 6.5] versus 9.0 kg [SD 7.1]; p = 0.6). There were favorable improvements in waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol with no difference between groups. Weight regain was minimal and similar between the intermittent and continuous energy restriction groups (1.1 kg [SD 3.8] versus 0.4 kg [SD 4.0]; p = 0.6). Intermittent restriction participants reported higher hunger scores than continuous restriction participants on a subjective numeric rating scale (4.7 [SD 2.2] vs 3.6 [SD 2.2]; p = 0.002). Both intermittent and continuous energy restriction resulted in similar weight loss, maintenance and improvements in cardiovascular risk factors after one year. However, feelings of hunger may be more pronounced during intermittent energy restriction. www.clinicaltrials.govNCT02480504. Copyright © 2018 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine

Energy and low carbon development efforts in Ghana: institutional arrangements, initiatives, challenges and the way forward

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tutu Benefoh, Daniel; Ackom, Emmanuel

2016-01-01

, clearer institutional mandates, continuous improvements in institutional coordination (intra and inter), capacity and skills development, sustained visibility of the essence of energy and LCD at high political levels as well as engagement by civil societies. Equally important are the issues of finance...

Why the Equal Rights Amendment?

Science.gov (United States)

Denmark, Florence L.

The Equal Rights Amendment proposes to ensure constitutional protection against all legislative sex discrimination. "Separate but Equal" standards, be they legal, social or psychological, are inevitably incompatable with equal protection under the law and act as a barrier to each individual's freedom for self determination. Equal rights,…

Americans misperceive racial economic equality.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Michael W; Rucker, Julian M; Richeson, Jennifer A

2017-09-26

The present research documents the widespread misperception of race-based economic equality in the United States. Across four studies ( n = 1,377) sampling White and Black Americans from the top and bottom of the national income distribution, participants overestimated progress toward Black-White economic equality, largely driven by estimates of greater current equality than actually exists according to national statistics. Overestimates of current levels of racial economic equality, on average, outstripped reality by roughly 25% and were predicted by greater belief in a just world and social network racial diversity (among Black participants). Whereas high-income White respondents tended to overestimate racial economic equality in the past, Black respondents, on average, underestimated the degree of past racial economic equality. Two follow-up experiments further revealed that making societal racial discrimination salient increased the accuracy of Whites' estimates of Black-White economic equality, whereas encouraging Whites to anchor their estimates on their own circumstances increased their tendency to overestimate current racial economic equality. Overall, these findings suggest a profound misperception of and unfounded optimism regarding societal race-based economic equality-a misperception that is likely to have any number of important policy implications.

TROUBLING GENDER EQUALITY: REVISITING GENDER EQUALITY WORK IN THE FAMOUS NORDIC MODEL COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlotta Edström

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article concerns gender equality work, that is, those educational and workplace activities that involve the promotion of gender equality. It is based on research conducted in Sweden and Finland, and focuses on the period during which the public sector has become more market-oriented and project-based all over the Nordic countries. The consequences of this development on gender equality work have not yet been thoroughly analysed. Our joint empirical analysis is based on discourse-analytic methodology and two previous empirical studies. By analysing interviews conducted with people involved in gender equality work, this article emphasises the effects of market-oriented and project-based gender equality work in education and working life in Sweden and in Finland. The findings highlight an alliance between projectisation and heteronormativity that acts to regulate how gender equality ought to be talked about in order for its issues to be heard. A persistently constructed ‘remedy’ to ‘the gender equality problem’ is that girls and women are positioned as ‘needing’ to change more than boys and men, by adopting more traditionally ‘masculine manners’ and choosing to work in more ‘masculine sectors’. The findings also show that the constitutive forces of these discourses provide little leeway for critical perspectives.

Continuity equations for bound electromagnetic field and the electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kholmetskii, A L; Missevitch, O V; Yarman, T

2011-01-01

We analyze the application of the Poynting theorem to the bound (velocity-dependent) electromagnetic (EM) field and show that an often-used arbitrary elimination of the term of self-interaction in the product j·E (where j is the current density and E the electric field) represents, in general, an illegitimate operation, which leads to incorrect physical consequences. We propose correct ways of eliminating the terms of self-interaction from the Poynting theorem to transform it into the form that is convenient for problems with bound EM field, which yield the continuity equations for the proper EM energy density, the interaction part of EM energy density and the total EM energy density of bound fields, respectively. These equations indicate the incompleteness of the common EM energy-momentum tensor, and in our analysis, we find a missed term in its structure, which makes its trace non-vanished. Some implications of these results are discussed, in particular, in view of the notion of EM mass of charged particles.

Exploring replay value: Shifts and continuities in user experiences between first and second exposure to an interactive story

OpenAIRE

Roth, C.; Vermeulen, I.E.; Vorderer, P.A.; Klimmt, C.

2012-01-01

While replay value is a common term in interactive entertainment, psychological research on its meaning in terms of user experiences is sparse. An exploratory experiment using the interactive drama "Façade" was conducted (n=50) to examine shifts and continuities in entertainment-related user experiences between first and second exposure to the same system. A questionnaire with brief scales measuring various user-experience dimensions (interaction-related facets such as usability, flow, and pr...

Scan equalization digital radiography (SEDR) implemented with an amorphous selenium flat-panel detector: initial experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Xinming; Lai Chaojen; Chen Lingyun; Han Tao; Zhong Yuncheng; Shen Youtao; Wang Tianpeng; Shaw, Chris C [Department of Imaging Physics, Digital Imaging Research Laboratory, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030-4009 (United States)], E-mail: xliu@di.mdacc.tmc.edu

2009-11-21

It is well recognized in projection radiography that low-contrast detectability suffers in heavily attenuating regions due to excessively low x-ray fluence to the image receptor and higher noise levels. Exposure equalization can improve image quality by increasing the x-ray exposure to heavily attenuating regions, resulting in a more uniform distribution of exposure to the detector. Image quality is also expected to be improved by using the slot-scan geometry to reject scattered radiation effectively without degrading primary x-rays. This paper describes the design of a prototype scan equalization digital radiography (SEDR) system implemented with an amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-film transistor (TFT) array-based flat-panel detector. With this system, slot-scan geometry with alternate line erasure and readout (ALER) technique was used to achieve scatter rejection. A seven-segment beam height modulator assembly was mounted onto the fore collimator to regulate exposure regionally for chest radiography. The beam modulator assembly, consisting of micro linear motors, lead screw cartridge with lead (Pb) beam blockers attached, position feedback sensors and motor driver circuitry, has been tested and found to have an acceptable response for exposure equalization in chest radiography. An anthropomorphic chest phantom was imaged in the posterior-anterior (PA) view under clinical conditions. Scatter component, primary x-rays, scatter-to-primary ratios (SPRs) and primary signal-to-noise ratios (PSNRs) were measured in the SEDR images to evaluate the rejection and redistribution of scattered radiation, and compared with those for conventional full-field imaging with and without anti-scatter grid methods. SPR reduction ratios (SPRRRs, defined as the differences between the non-grid full-field SPRs and the reduced SPRs divided by the former) yielded approximately 59% for the full-field imaging with grid and 82% for the SEDR technique in the lungs, and 77% for the full

Experimental Verification of a Jarzynski-Related Information-Theoretic Equality by a Single Trapped Ion.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, T P; Yan, L L; Zhou, F; Rehan, K; Liang, D F; Chen, L; Yang, W L; Ma, Z H; Feng, M; Vedral, V

2018-01-05

Most nonequilibrium processes in thermodynamics are quantified only by inequalities; however, the Jarzynski relation presents a remarkably simple and general equality relating nonequilibrium quantities with the equilibrium free energy, and this equality holds in both the classical and quantum regimes. We report a single-spin test and confirmation of the Jarzynski relation in the quantum regime using a single ultracold ^{40}Ca^{+} ion trapped in a harmonic potential, based on a general information-theoretic equality for a temporal evolution of the system sandwiched between two projective measurements. By considering both initially pure and mixed states, respectively, we verify, in an exact and fundamental fashion, the nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics relevant to the mutual information and Jarzynski equality.

Catalyzing Gender Equality-Focused Clean Energy Development in West Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-06-01

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) partnered with the Clean Energy Solutions Center (Solutions Center), the African Development Bank and other institutions to develop a Situation Analysis of Energy and Gender Issues in ECOWAS Member States. Through a systematic approach to assess interlinked gender and energy issues in the region, the report puts forth a number of key findings. This brochure highlights ECREEE's partnership with the Solutions Center and key findings from the report.

Continuous solid-state phase transitions in energy storage materials with orientational disorder – Computational and experimental approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Harpreet; Talekar, Anjali; Chien, Wen-Ming; Shi, Renhai; Chandra, Dhanesh; Mishra, Amrita; Tirumala, Muralidhar; Nelson, Daryl J.

2015-01-01

We report on TES (thermal energy storage) in new CT (continuous phase transitions) in multicomponent tetrahederally configured (orientationally disordered) crystals of NPG-neopentylglycol-C 5 H 12 O 2 , PG-pentaglycerine-C 5 H 12 O 3 , and PE-pentaerythritol-C 5 H 12 O 4 . This discovery is applicable in thermal energy storage in many systems which do not require conventional isothermal first-order phase transition energy storage. The above compounds exhibit polymorphs of orientationally disordered phases in which O–H…O bond rotation around the C–C bond stores significant amount of energy; for example, in PE 41.26 kJ/mol are absorbed isothermally during solid–solid transitions. In this paper we show, anisothermal continuous phase transitions (CT), due to compositional changes with changes in temperature, associated with a measurable amount of energy, not reported earlier. The correlation of phase stability regions in pseudo-binaries, calculated from ternary NPG–PG–PE phase diagrams, is validated by experimental ternary DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) and in-situ x-ray diffraction data. We established equations for determining the CT in a temperature range, and their respective enthalpies of transitions for any composition of the ternaries. Thermodynamic calculations of the Gibbs energies of the solution phases are modeled as substitutional solid solutions, in which the excess Gibbs energies are expressed by the Redlich–Kister–Muggianu polynomial. There is excellent agreement between the experimental and CALPHAD calculated data. - Highlights: • Continuous phase transition (CT) thermal energy storage in organic ternary system. • Anisothermal temperature ramping leads to CT transitions as per lever rule. • Orientationally disordered phases store energy in O–H…O bond rotation/oscillation. • Validated calculated data with measured thermodynamic properties in ternary system. • Used CALPHAD methodology to calculate Gibbs energies of

Pulmonary tolerance in man to continuous oxygen exposure at 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, and 1.5 ATA in Predictive Studies V

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, J. M.; Gelfand, R.; Flores, N. D.; Lambertsen, C. J.; Pisarello, J. B.

1987-01-01

Oxygen effects on pulmonary function were measured in normal, resting men who breathed oxygen continuously at 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, and 1.5 ATA to predefined limits of CNS, cardiac, or pulmonary tolerance. Rates of pulmonary symptom intensification and decrease in vital capacity (VC) increased progressively with elevation of inspired oxygen pressure. Although VC decrements occurred concurrently with symptoms, the lung volume changes became prominent when symptoms were still mild. The observed effects were consistent with the interpretation that small airway function is impaired more selectively by oxygen exposure at 3.0 and 2.5 ATA than by exposure at 2.0 and 1.5 ATA. Despite similar VC changes after oxygen exposure at 2.0 ATA for nearly 10 hr and exposure at 1.5 ATA for almost 18 hr, the 2.0 ATA exposure caused greater impairment of pulmonary function and required a longer recovery period.

Equal Pay for Equal Work in Academic Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Eichelberger, Kacey Y

2018-02-01

The most compelling data suggest women in academic obstetrics and gynecology earn approximately $36,000 less than male colleagues per year in regression models correcting for commonly cited explanatory variables. Although residual confounding may exist, academic departments in the United States should consider rigorous examination of their own internal metrics around salary to ensure gender-neutral compensation, commonly referred to as equal pay for equal work.

Plane-wave spectrum approach for the calculation of electromagnetic absorption under near-field exposure conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatterjee, I.; Gandhi, O.P.; Hagmann, M.J.; Riazi, A.

1980-01-01

The exposure of humans to electromagnetic near fields has not been sufficiently emphasized by researcher. We have used the plane-wave-spectrum approach to evaluate the electromagnetic field and determine the energy deposited in a lossy, homogeneous, semi-infinite slab placed in the near field of a source leaking radiation. Values of the fields and absorbed energy in the target are obtained by vector summation of the contributions of all the plane waves into which the prescribed field is decomposed. Use of a fast Fourier transform algorithm contributes to the high efficiency of the computations. The numerical results show that, for field distributions that are nearly constant over a physical extent of at least a free-space wavelength, the energy coupled into the target is approximately equal to the resulting from plane-wave exposed

A minimax technique for time-domain design of preset digital equalizers using linear programming

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughn, G. L.; Houts, R. C.

1975-01-01

A linear programming technique is presented for the design of a preset finite-impulse response (FIR) digital filter to equalize the intersymbol interference (ISI) present in a baseband channel with known impulse response. A minimax technique is used which minimizes the maximum absolute error between the actual received waveform and a specified raised-cosine waveform. Transversal and frequency-sampling FIR digital filters are compared as to the accuracy of the approximation, the resultant ISI and the transmitted energy required. The transversal designs typically have slightly better waveform accuracy for a given distortion; however, the frequency-sampling equalizer uses fewer multipliers and requires less transmitted energy. A restricted transversal design is shown to use the least number of multipliers at the cost of a significant increase in energy and loss of waveform accuracy at the receiver.

Managing and monitoring equality and diversity in UK sport: An evaluation of the sporting equals Racial Equality Standard and its impact on organizational change

OpenAIRE

Spracklen, K; Hylton, K; Long, J

2006-01-01

Despite greater attention to racial equality in sport in recent years, the progress of national sports organizations toward creating equality of outcomes has been limited in the United Kingdom. The collaboration of the national sports agencies, equity organizations and national sports organizations (including national governing bodies of sport) has focused on Equality Standards. The authors revisit an earlier impact study of the Racial Equality Standard in sport and supplement it with another...

Human disease from radon exposures: the impact of energy conservation in buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budnitz, R.J.; Berk, J.V.; Hollowell, C.D.; Nazaroff, W.W.; Nero, A.V.; Rosenfeld, A.H.

1978-01-01

The level of radon and its daughters inside conventional buildings is often higher than the ambient background level. Interest in conserving energy is motivating home-owners and builders to reduce the rate of infiltration of fresh air into homes, and hence to increase the concentration of indoor air contaminants, including radon. It is unlikely, but possible, that the present radiation levels from radon daughters account for much of the lung cancer rate in non-smokers. In any event, it is likely that some increased lung cancer risk would result from increased radon exposures; hence, it is desirable not to allow radon concentrations to rise significantly. There are several ways to circumvent the increased risk without compromising energy conservation considerations

Energy efficiency opportunities in the brewery industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Worrell, Ernst; Galitsky, Christina; Martin, Nathan

2002-06-28

Breweries in the United States spend annually over $200 Million on energy. Energy consumption is equal to 3-8% of the production costs of beer, making energy efficiency improvement an important way to reduce costs, especially in times of high energy price volatility. After a summary of the beer making process and energy use, we examine energy efficiency opportunities available for breweries. We provide specific primary energy savings for each energy efficiency measure based on case studies that have implemented the measures, as well as references to technical literature. If available, we have also listed typical payback periods. Our findings suggest that there may still be opportunities to reduce energy consumption cost-effectively for breweries. Major brewing companies have and will continue to spend capital on cost effective measures that do not impact the quality of the beer. Further research on the economics of the measures, as well as their applicability to different brewing practices, is needed to assess implementation of selected technologies at individual breweries.

Biological monitoring of occupational exposure to N,N-dimethylformamide--the effects of co-exposure to toluene or dermal exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, J S; Kim, E A; Lee, M Y; Park, I J; Kang, S K

2000-09-01

The objective of this study is to assess the exposure and intake dose of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and the correlation between them, according to the type of exposure for the workers in the DMF industry. We monitored 345 workers occupationally exposed to DMF, from 15 workshops in the synthetic fiber, fiber coating, synthetic leather and paint manufacturing industries. Ambient monitoring was carried out with personal samplers to monitor the external exposure. Biological monitoring was done to determine the internal dose by analyzing N-methylformamide (NMF) in end-shift urine. Work procedure and exposure type of each DMF workshop was carefully surveyed, to classify workers by exposure type according to work details. Workers were classified into three groups (Group A: continuous and direct exposure through inhalation and skin; Group B: intermittent and short-term exposure through inhalation and skin; Group C: continuous and indirect exposure mostly through inhalation). Geometric mean of DMF concentration in air was 2.62 (GSD 5.30) ppm and that of NMF in urine was 14.50 (GSD 3.89) mg/l. In the case of continuous absorption through inhalation and dermal exposure (Group A), the value of NMF in urine corresponding to 10 ppm of DMF was 45.3 mg/l (r = 0.524, n = 178), 39.1 mg/g creatinine (r = 0.424), while it was 37.7 mg/l (r = 0.788, n = 37), 24.2 mg/g creatinine (r = 0.743) in the case of absorption mostly through inhalation (Group C). Creatinine correction reduced the correlation between two parameters. The NMF in urine corresponding to 10 ppm DMF, of the dermal and inhalation exposure group was 39.1 mg/g creatinine (r = 0.424, n = 178), while that of the inhalation exposure-only group was 24.2 mg/g creatinine (r = 0.743, n = 37). Co-exposure with toluene reduced the NMF excretion in urine.

Gender equality and meritocracy

OpenAIRE

Powell, Stina

2016-01-01

This thesis examines how gender equality measures and discourses are reconciled with notions of merit in academia. Gender equality is often defined as equal rights for women and men and has become a widely accepted political goal and vision. Meritocratic principles build on the assumption that everyone, regardless of gender, class, race and sexuality, has the same opportunities to advance provided they are sufficiently hardworking and intelligent. Meritocratic principles thus build on the ass...

Experimental research on energy circled fraction of continuous phase plates in focal spot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yuanhang; Yang Chunlin; Wen Shenglin; Shi Qikai; Wang Jian

2013-01-01

In inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research process, the form of focal spot is extremely crucial. Especially in the indirect driven implosion, energy circled fraction is higher than 95% in focal spot. Based on the offline test platform, the focusing spot of continuous phase plates with different application error is clearly imaged on CCD. By experimental analysis, it is found that the beam rotation error, caliber error, translational error and inclination error have a high tolerance in affecting focal plane of CPP. Energy circled fraction is higher than 95%, the range is less than 0.5%. Nevertheless, the waterfront aberration seriously affects the shaping ability of the CPP. Clearly, the main factor of reducing energy circled fraction to less than 90% is waterfront aberration. (authors)

Derivation of pulse height to exposure rate conversion functions for aerial radiological surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Artuso, J.F.

1985-01-01

A method is described for deriving conversion functions that can be used to convert pulse height spectra taken at altitude to the exposure rate at the 1-m level. An integral equation is set up which involves the integration of a calculated pulse height spectrum multiplied by an unknown conversion function and then set equal to the exposure rate at ground level. This equation is then solved for the conversion function by assuming as a solution a three-term polynomial. Conversion functions have been derived for various source distributions, including surface, uniform, and exponentially distributed sources. These conversion functions are independent of source energy, which means that a conversion can be made without any knowledge of the isotopic content of the source. In the case of a uniform distribution, these conversion functions provide conversions that agree to within 10% with ground truth measurements

Continuity equations for bound electromagnetic field and the electromagnetic energy-momentum tensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kholmetskii, A L [Department of Physics, Belarusian State University, 4 Nezavisimosti Avenue, 220030 Minsk (Belarus); Missevitch, O V [Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, 11 Bobruiskaya Street, 220030 Minsk (Belarus); Yarman, T, E-mail: khol123@yahoo.com [Department of Engineering, Okan University, Akfirat, Istanbul, Turkey and Savronik, Eskisehir (Turkey)

2011-05-01

We analyze the application of the Poynting theorem to the bound (velocity-dependent) electromagnetic (EM) field and show that an often-used arbitrary elimination of the term of self-interaction in the product j{center_dot}E (where j is the current density and E the electric field) represents, in general, an illegitimate operation, which leads to incorrect physical consequences. We propose correct ways of eliminating the terms of self-interaction from the Poynting theorem to transform it into the form that is convenient for problems with bound EM field, which yield the continuity equations for the proper EM energy density, the interaction part of EM energy density and the total EM energy density of bound fields, respectively. These equations indicate the incompleteness of the common EM energy-momentum tensor, and in our analysis, we find a missed term in its structure, which makes its trace non-vanished. Some implications of these results are discussed, in particular, in view of the notion of EM mass of charged particles.

Development of nuclear energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wakeham, John [Secretary of State for Energy, London (UK)

1991-06-01

The Government's views on the development of nuclear energy are outlined. In this country, we continue to see some important advantages in maintaining nuclear power generation. It increases diversity, and so helps to maintain security of energy supply. It does not produce greenhouse gases or contribute to acid rain. But it is equally clear that nuclear costs must be brought under control whilst at the same time maintaining the high standards of safety and environmental protection which we have come to expect in the UK. The three main elements which the nuclear industry must address in the future are summarized. First the costs of nuclear generation must be reduced. Secondly, once the feasibility and costings of PWRs have been established consideration must be given to the choices for the future energy policy and thirdly new reactor designs should be standardized so the benefits of replication can be realised. (author).

Exercise during Short-Term and Long-Term Continuous Exposure to Hypoxia Exacerbates Sleep-Related Periodic Breathing

Science.gov (United States)

Tellez, Helio Fernandez; Morrison, Shawnda A.; Neyt, Xavier; Mairesse, Olivier; Piacentini, Maria Francesca; Macdonald-Nethercott, Eoin; Pangerc, Andrej; Dolenc-Groselj, Leja; Eiken, Ola; Pattyn, Nathalie; Mekjavic, Igor B.; Meeusen, Romain

2016-01-01

Study Objectives: Exposure to hypoxia elevates chemosensitivity, which can lead to periodic breathing. Exercise impacts gas exchange, altering chemosensitivity; however, interactions between sleep, exercise and chronic hypoxic exposure have not been examined. This study investigated whether exercise exacerbates sleep-related periodic breathing in hypoxia. Methods: Two experimental phases. Short-Term Phase: a laboratory controlled, group-design study in which 16 active, healthy men (age: 25 ± 3 y, height: 1.79 ± 0.06 m, mass: 74 ± 8 kg) were confined to a normobaric hypoxic environment (FIO2 = 0.139 ± 0.003, 4,000 m) for 10 days, after random assignment to a sedentary (control, CON) or cycle-exercise group (EX). Long-Term Phase: conducted at the Concordia Antarctic Research Station (3,800 m equivalent at the Equator) where 14 men (age: 36 ± 9 y, height: 1.77 ± 0.09 m, mass: 75 ± 10 kg) lived for 12–14 months, continuously confined. Participants were stratified post hoc based on self-reported physical activity levels. We quantified apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and physical activity variables. Results: Short-Term Phase: mean AHI scores were significantly elevated in the EX group compared to CON (Night1 = CON: 39 ± 51, EX: 91 ± 59; Night10 = CON: 32 ± 32, EX: 92 ± 48; P = 0.046). Long-Term Phase: AHI was correlated to mean exercise time (R2 = 0.4857; P = 0.008) and the coefficient of variation in night oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2; R2 = 0.3062; P = 0.049). Conclusions: Data indicate that exercise (physical activity) per se affects night SpO2 concentrations and AHI after a minimum of two bouts of moderate-intensity hypoxic exercise, while habitual physical activity in hypobaric hypoxic confinement affects breathing during sleep, up to 13+ months' duration Citation: Tellez HF, Morrison SA, Neyt X, Mairesse O, Piacentini MF, Macdonald-Nethercott E, Pangerc A, Dolenc-Groselj L, Eiken O, Pattyn N, Mekjavic IB, Meeusen R. Exercise during short-term and long

Loudspeaker Equalization with Post-Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ser Wee

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Loudspeaker equalization is an essential technique in audio system design. A well-known equalization scheme is based on the deconvolution of the desired equalized response with the measured impulse response of the loudspeaker. In this paper, a post-processing scheme is combined with the deconvolution-based algorithm to provide a better equalization effect. Computer simulation results are given to demonstrate the significant improvement that can be achieved using this method.

[Equal rights for women and the United Nations convention in Latin America].

Science.gov (United States)

Plata, M I

1991-12-01

Although Latin American institutions have, directly or indirectly, established the juridical equality of the sexes, institutional power continues to be concentrated in the hands of men. It is necessary that Latin American governments seek ways to eliminate the legal, cultural, economic, political and social discrimination that persists against women in these patriarchal societies if men and women are to enjoy equality of rights. Today, instruments such as the Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women approved by the UN in 1979 and ratified by all Latin American countries, have succeeded in establishing the concept of improvement of the status of women as a legislative right supported by international juridical principles. International recognition of human rights has meant that all restrictions against women in the public and private realms are to be regarded as discrimination. Previously, family law was based on traditional customs which accepted that the roles and obligations of men and women were different. Although most Latin American countries now have laws recognizing the equality of rights and obligations of men and women, women continue to be in a secondary position. Poverty, scarcity of resources, and the economic crisis not only impede improvement in the status of women but have led to increases in female unemployment. Another obstacle is the lack of a true political will to improve the status of women. The UN convention on elimination of discrimination obliges each ratifying nation to strive not just for equality or rights but for equality of enjoyment of these rights. Each government should adopt measures to overcome discrimination. Among measures adopted by governments to achieve equality have been incorporation of the principle of equality into the national constitution and creation of offices or ministries for women that are distinct from those for the family or youth. The Committee for Elimination of Discrimination

Dilemmas in the Danish approach to gender equality : gender equality without gender quota

OpenAIRE

ROLANDSEN AGUSTÍN, Lise; SIIM, Birte

2015-01-01

The paper addresses the dilemmas, contradictions and paradoxes in the Danish approach to gender quotas and gender equality and discusses the intersections of citizenship, democracy and gender justice. Gender research understands gender quota as a means to achieve equal rights, gender equality and gender parity. Gender theory has conceptualized gender parity as one step towards achieving gender justice in all arenas of social, political and economic life. The Danish cases illustrate that conte...

Troubling gender equality: Revisiting gender equality work in the famous Nordic model countries

OpenAIRE

Edström, Charlotta; Brunila, Kristiina

2016-01-01

This article concerns gender equality work, that is, those educational and workplace activities that involve the promotion of gender equality. It is based on research conducted in Sweden and Finland, and focuses on the period during which the public sector has become more market-oriented and project-based all over the Nordic countries. The consequences of this development on gender equality work have not yet been thoroughly analysed. Our joint empirical analysis is based on discourse-analytic...

A comprehensive study on energy absorption and exposure buildup factors for some essential amino acids, fatty acids and carbohydrates in the energy range 0.015-15 MeV up to 40 mean free path

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurudirek, Murat; Ozdemir, Yueksel

2011-01-01

The gamma ray energy absorption (EABF) and exposure buildup factors (EBF) have been calculated for some essential amino acids, fatty acids and carbohydrates in the energy region 0.015-15 MeV up to a penetration depth of 40 mfp (mean free path). The five parameter geometric progression (G-P) fitting approximation has been used to calculate both EABF and EBF. Variations of EABF and EBF with incident photon energy, penetration depth and weight fraction of elements have been studied. While the significant variations in EABF and EBF for amino acids and fatty acids have been observed at the intermediate energy region where Compton scattering is the main photon interaction process, the values of EABF and EBF appear to be almost the same for all carbohydrates in the continuous energy region. It has been observed that the fatty acids have the largest EABF and EBF at 0.08 and 0.1 MeV, respectively, whereas the maximum values of EABF and EBF have been observed for aminoacids and carbohydrates at 0.1 MeV. At the fixed energy of 1.5 MeV, the variation of EABF with penetration depth appears to be independent of the variations in chemical composition of the amino acids, fatty acids and carbohydrates. Significant variations were also observed between EABF and EBF which may be due to the variations in chemical composition of the given materials.

Incorporation of glucose carbons into rat lung lipids after exposure to 0.6 ppm ozone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassett, D.J.; Rabinowitz, J.L.

1985-01-01

Continuous exposure to low concentrations of ozone has previously been associated with proliferation of lung alveolar type II epithelial cells. In this study, 14 C incorporation into tissue lipids was determined in isolated rat lungs by perfusion with [U- 14 C]glucose, at a time of maximal hyperplasia brought about by 3 days continuous exposure to 0.6 ppm ozone. Ozone exposed lungs exhibited increased rates of glycolytic energy production, indicated by an 89% increase in 3 H 2 O generation on perfusion with [5-3H]glucose. Ozone exposure resulted in enhanced 14 C incorporations into glyceride-glycerol and fatty acid moieties of lung lipids of 95 and 180%, respectively, with a greater proportion of label being recovered in shorter chain fatty acids. Although increased labeling was observed in both neutral and phospholipids, the pattern of 14 C recovery suggested a relative increased glucose carbon incorporation into lung free fatty acids, phosphatidic acid, and such membrane associated lipids as phosphatidylinositol and those containing sphingosine. These results are consistent with the needs of a dividing cell population for enhanced energy production and synthesis of new lipids

Continuing research on the classical spiraling photon model

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongrui

2014-11-01

Based no the classical spiraling photon model proposed by Hongrui Li, the laws of reflection, refraction of a single photon can be derived. Moreover, the polarization, total reflection, evanescent wave and Goos-Hanchen shift of a single photon can be elucidated. However, this photon model is still unfinished. Especially, the spiraling diameter of a photon is not definite. In this paper, the continuous research works on this new theory are reported. According to the facts that the diffraction limit of light and the smallest diameter of the focal spot of lenses are all equal to the wavelength λ of the light, we can get that the spiraling diameter of a photon equals to the wavelength λ, so we gain that the angle between the linear velocity of the spiraling photon υ and the component of the linear velocity in the forward direction υb is 45°, and the energy of a classical spiraling photon E = (1/2)mυ2 = (1/2)m2c2 = mc2. This coincides with Einstein's mass-energy relation. While it is obtained that the velocity of the evanescent wave in the vacuum is slower than the velocity of light in glass in straight line. In such a way, the optical fiber can slow the light down. In addition, the force analysis of a single photon in optical tweezers system is discussed. And the reason that the laser beam can capture the particle slightly downstream from the focal point can be explained.

Production of continuous piezoelectric ceramic fibers for smart materials and active control devices

Science.gov (United States)

French, Jonathan D.; Weitz, Gregory E.; Luke, John E.; Cass, Richard B.; Jadidian, Bahram; Bhargava, Parag; Safari, Ahmad

1997-05-01

Advanced Cerametrics Inc. has conceived of and developed the Viscous-Suspension-Spinning Process (VSSP) to produce continuous fine filaments of nearly any powdered ceramic materials. VSSP lead zirconate titanate (PZT) fiber tows with 100 and 790 filaments have been spun in continuous lengths exceeding 1700 meters. Sintered PZT filaments typically are 10 - 25 microns in diameter and have moderate flexibility. Prior to carrier burnout and sintering, VSSP PZT fibers can be formed into 2D and 3D shapes using conventional textile and composite forming processes. While the extension of PZT is on the order of 20 microns per linear inch, a woven, wound or braided structure can contain very long lengths of PZT fiber and generate comparatively large output strokes from relatively small volumes. These structures are intended for applications such as bipolar actuators for fiber optic assembly and repair, vibration and noise damping for aircraft, rotorcraft, automobiles and home applications, vibration generators and ultrasonic transducers for medical and industrial imaging. Fiber and component cost savings over current technologies, such as the `dice-and-fill' method for transducer production, and the range of unique structures possible with continuous VSSP PZT fiber are discussed. Recent results have yielded 1-3 type composites (25 vol% PZT) with d33 equals 340 pC/N, K equals 470, and g33 equals 80 mV/N, kt equals 0.54, kp equals 0.19, dh equals 50.1pC/N and gh equals 13 mV/N.

The Colour of Equality : Racial Classification and Natural Equality in Enlightenment Encyclopaedias

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vartija, D.J.

2018-01-01

While it may seem obvious that human beings should be treated equally before the law and given equal opportunities to succeed, much of recorded history actually demonstrates the exact opposite: hierarchy and innate inequalities were generally seen as both natural and inevitable. It was only during

Internal conversion coefficients for atomic numbers Z less than or equal to 30

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Band, I.M.; Trzhaskovskaya, M.B.; Listengarten, M.A.

1976-01-01

Presented here are internal conversion coefficients (ICC) of gamma rays for 20 values of atomic number, Z, in the range 3 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 30, including all Z greater than or equal to 14. The tables provide the previously missing data for light elements. Coefficients are given for 19 values of gamma-ray transition energies up to 6 MeV for the K-electron shell and 18 values up to 2 MeV for three L-subshells. The minimum enegy is 15 keV. The first five electric and magnetic nuclear transition multipolarities are covered. The calculations are relativistic, with screening and finite nuclear size effect taken into account

Trends in exposure to television food advertisements in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Euna; Powell, Lisa M; Kim, Tae Hyun

2013-03-01

Given the increased concern about the impact of TV food advertisements (ads) on individual food choices, we provide important evidence on TV food ad exposure between 2004 and 2009 in South Korea. We used monthly targeted ratings data by age group as the number of ads seen daily from Korean Nielsen Media Research. We generated six food groups: beverages (milk, soda, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks, water, coffee/tea products, and other); snacks/sweets (cookies/chips, candy, and chewing gum); fast food (Domino's pizza, Lotteria, McDonald's, Mr. Pizza, Pizza Hut, local chicken and pizza franchises, and other); instant noodle; full-service restaurants; and other. From 2004 to 2009, overall exposure to television food ads fell by 19.0% (from 6.8 to 5.5 ads daily), although exposure to full-service restaurant ads increased over that time period by 45.7%. While fast-food ad exposure fell overall, exposure to ads for local fried chicken franchises nearly doubled, making them the most commonly seen fast-food ads by 2009. Fast-food and instant noodle ads made up larger proportions of total ad exposure in 2009 than in 2004 in all age groups, with the largest increase among adolescents. Beverage ads continue to be the most prevalent food ads seen in South Korea. Differential trends found in exposure across and within food product categories and differences by age groups highlight the need for continued monitoring to help inform the regulatory policy debate on food advertising, particularly with regards to ads directed at children and adolescents. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Health Impacts of Energy Policy Pathways in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: A Total Exposure Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, L. A.; Damdinsuren, Y.; Olkhanud, P. B.; Smith, K. R.; Turner, J. R.; Edwards, R.; Odsuren, M.; Ochir, C.

2015-12-01

Ulaanbaatar is home to nearly half of Mongolia's 2.8 million residents. The city's rapid growth, frigid winters, valley topography, and reliance on coal-fired stoves have led to some of the worst winter pollution levels in the world. To better understand this issue, we modeled integrated PM2.5exposures and related health impacts for various city-wide heating policies through 2024. This assessment is one of the first to employ a total exposure approach and results of the 2014 Comparative Risk Assessments of the Global Burden of Disease Project (CRA/GBD) in a policy-relevant energy study. Emissions related to heating, traffic, and power generation were considered under Business as Usual, Moderate Improvement, and Max Improvement scenarios. Calibrated outdoor models were combined with indoor models, local infiltration and time activity estimates, and demographic projections to estimate PM2.5exposures in 2014 and 2024. Indoor exposures were assigned by heating type, home type, and smoking status; outdoor exposures were assigned through geocoding. Population average annual exposures were calculated and applied to local disease rates and integrated exposure-response curves (2014 CRA/GBD) to arrive at annual projections of premature deaths and DALYs. We estimate 2014 annual average exposures at 68 μg/m3, dictated almost exclusively by indoor winter exposures. Under current trends, annual exposures increase 10% to 75 μg/m3 in 2024. This is in stark contrast to the moderate and max improvement scenarios, which lead to 2024 annual exposures that are 31%, and 68% lower, respectively. Under the Moderate scenario, 2024 per capita annual DALY and death burdens drop 26% and 22%, respectively, from 2014 levels. Under the Max scenario, 2024 per capita annual DALY and death burdens drop 71% and 66%, respectively, from 2014. SHS becomes a major contributor as emissions from other sectors decrease. Reductions are dominated by cardiovascular and lower respiratory diseases in children.

Distributed energy resources for a zero-energy neighbhourhood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morales Gonzalez, R.M.D.G.; Asare-Bediako, B.; Cobben, J.F.G.; Kling, W.L.; Scharrenberg, G.R.; Dijkstra, D.

2012-01-01

Zero energy buildings are on the increasing trend. They are perceived as appropriate technology to reducing CO2 emissions, improving energy efficiency and alleviating energy poverty. The main goal is that a grid-connected building produces enough energy on site to equal or exceed its annual energy

38 CFR 58.17 - VA Form 10-0144A-Statement of Assurance of Compliance with Equal Opportunity Laws.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false VA Form 10-0144A-Statement of Assurance of Compliance with Equal Opportunity Laws. 58.17 Section 58.17 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) FORMS § 58.17 VA Form 10-0144A—Statement of Assurance of Compliance with Equal...

Changes in clot lysis levels of reteplase and streptokinase following continuous wave ultrasound exposure, at ultrasound intensities following attenuation from the skull bone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roijer Anders

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Ultrasound (US has been used to enhance thrombolytic therapy in the treatment of stroke. Considerable attenuation of US intensity is however noted if US is applied over the temporal bone. The aim of this study was therefore to explore possible changes in the effect of thrombolytic drugs during low-intensity, high-frequency continuous-wave ultrasound (CW-US exposure. Methods Clots were made from fresh venous blood drawn from healthy volunteers. Each clot was made from 1.4 ml blood and left to coagulate for 1 hour in a plastic test-tube. The thrombolytic drugs used were, 3600 IU streptokinase (SK or 0.25 U reteplase (r-PA, which were mixed in 160 ml 0.9% NaCl solution. Continuous-wave US exposure was applied at a frequency of 1 MHz and intensities ranging from 0.0125 to 1.2 W/cm2. For each thrombolytic drug (n = 2, SK and r-PA and each intensity (n = 9 interventional clots (US-exposed, n = 6 were submerged in thrombolytic solution and exposed to CW-US while control clots (also submerged in thrombolytic solution, n = 6 were left unexposed to US. To evaluate the effect on clot lysis, the haemoglobin (Hb released from each clot was measured every 20 min for 1 hour (20, 40 and 60 min. The Hb content (mg released was estimated by spectrophotometry at 540 nm. The difference in effect on clot lysis was expressed as the difference in the amount of Hb released between pairs of US-exposed clots and control clots. Statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon's signed rank test. Results Continuous-wave ultrasound significantly decreased the effects of SK at intensities of 0.9 and 1.2 W/cm2 at all times (P 2 and at 1.2 W/cm2, following 40 min exposure at 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 and at 1.2 W/cm2, and following 60 min of exposure at 0.05 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 and at 1.2 W/cm2 (all P Conclusion Increasing intensities of CW-US exposure resulted in increased clot lysis of r-PA-treated blood clots, but decreased clot lysis of SK-treated clots.

Access for All! Neuro-architecture and Equal Enjoyment of Public Facilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria Gillen

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990, many impaired Americans are no longer disabled by socially condoned conditions in the built environment. However, many people with cognitive and neurological impairments continue to face significant barriers to access, due to disabling environmental hyper-sensitivity and sensory processing disorders. These people are equally protected under the ADA, therefore mitigation is required. Neuroarchitecture, where consideration of the impact of the built environment on the central nervous system informs design paradigms, must complement current ADA compliance guidelines. This paper serves to open the topic to discussion, and is a call for attention, and action, for the removal of these generally unrecognized barriers to access and the equal use and enjoyment of public facilities.

Prevalidation of in vitro continuous flow exposure systems as alternatives to in vivo inhalation safety evaluation experimentations: outcome from MAAPHRI-PCRD5 research program.

Science.gov (United States)

Morin, Jean-Paul; Hasson, Virginie; Fall, Mamadou; Papaioanou, Eleni; Preterre, David; Gouriou, Frantz; Keravec, Veronika; Konstandopoulos, Athanasios; Dionnet, Frédéric

2008-06-01

Diesel engine emission aerosol-induced toxicity patterns were compared using both in vitro (organotypic cultures of lung tissue) and in vivo experimentations mimicking the inhalation situation with continuous aerosol flow exposure designs. Using liquid media resuspended diesel particles, we show that toxic response pattern is influenced by the presence of tensioactive agent in the medium which alter particle-borne pollutant bioavailability. Using continuous aerosol exposure in vitro, we show that with high sulfur fuel (300ppm) in the absence of oxidation catalysis, particulate matter was the main toxic component triggering DNA damage and systemic inflammation, while a very limited oxidant stress was evidenced. In contrast, with ultra-low sulfur fuel in the presence of strong diesel oxidation catalysis, the specific role of particulate matter is no longer evidenced and the gas phase then becomes the major component triggering strong oxidant stress, increased NO(2) being the most probable trigger. In vivo, plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), lung superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity levels varied in agreement with in vitro observations. Diesel emission treatment with oxycat provokes a marked systemic oxidant stress. Again NO(2) proved to account for a major part of these impacts. In conclusion, similar anti-oxidant responses were observed in in vitro and in vivo experiments after diesel emission aerosol continuous flow exposures. The lung slice organotypic culture model-exposed complex aerosol appears to be a very valuable alternative to in vivo inhalation toxicology experimentations in rodents.

The relationship between amygdala activation and passive exposure time to an aversive cue during a continuous performance task.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina A Strigo

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The allocation of attention modulates negative emotional processing in the amygdala. However, the role of passive exposure time to emotional signals in the modulation of amygdala activity during active task performance has not been examined. In two functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI experiments conducted in two different groups of healthy human subjects, we examined activation in the amygdala due to cued anticipation of painful stimuli while subjects performed a simple continuous performance task (CPT with either a fixed or a parametrically varied trial duration. In the first experiment (N = 16, engagement in the CPT during a task with fixed trial duration produced the expected attenuation of amygdala activation, but close analysis suggested that the attenuation occurred during the period of active engagement in CPT, and that amygdala activity increased proportionately during the remainder of each trial, when subjects were passively exposed to the pain cue. In the second experiment (N = 12, the duration of each trial was parametrically varied, and we found that amygdala activation was linearly related to the time of passive exposure to the anticipatory cue. We suggest that amygdala activation during negative anticipatory processing depends directly on the passive exposure time to the negative cue.

Measurement of the exposure rate due to low energy x-rays emitted from video display terminals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campos, L.L.

1988-01-01

Thermoluminescent dosimeters of CaSO 4 :Dy have been used to measure the low energy x-rays emitted from Video Display Terminals (VDTs). For each terminal, three points were measured with five dosimeters at each point. The points were at distances of 5 and 50 cm in front of the screen and at 65 cm with an angle of approximately 50 0 . The last two positions approximate to positions of the lenses of the eye and the gonads respectively. A survey of 50 VDTs at a distance of 5 cm from the screen resulted in exposure rates nearly fifteen times below the exposure rate of 0.5 mR h -1 (0.129 μC kg -1 h -1 ) which is the limit recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Safety Series No. 9 (1967) Basic Safety Standards for Radiation Protection. (author)

The Paradox of Equal Opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitja Sardoč

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The basic assumption of the idea of equal opportunities is based on the assertion that all individuals competing for an advantaged social position should have equal opportunities, i.e., that each and every one of them should have fair opportunities to achieve a particular goal. Despite the fact that equal opportunities is one of the basic mechanisms for a just distribution of advantageous social positions, the idea of fair equality of opportunity remains divided between different competing political projects, e.g., egalitarian liberalism, libertarian political theory, multiculturalism, etc. This paper examines two basic dimensions of equal opportunities to which existing conceptions fail to offer a unanimous answer, i.e., a the issue of fairness and b the issue of the currency of fairness. The concluding part of this paper presents two basic paradoxes that determine both the direction of the discussion as well as the possible solutions to the achievement of fair equal opportunities as part of any process for competing for advantageous social positions.

Online dynamic equalization adjustment of high-power lithium-ion battery packs based on the state of balance estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Shunli; Shang, Liping; Li, Zhanfeng; Deng, Hu; Li, Jianchao

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A novel concept (SOB, State of Balance) is proposed for the LIB pack equalization. • Core parameter detection and filtering is analyzed to identify the LIB pack behavior. • The electrical UKF model is adopted for the online dynamic estimation. • The equalization target model is built based on the optimum preference. • Comprehensive imbalance state calculation is implemented for the adjustment. - Abstract: A novel concept named as state of balance (SOB) is proposed and its online dynamic estimation method is presented for the high-power lithium-ion battery (LIB) packs, based on which the online dynamic equalization adjustment is realized aiming to protect the operation safety of its power supply application. The core parameter detection method based on the specific moving average algorithm is studied because of their identical varying characteristics on the individual cells due to the manufacturing variability and other factors, affecting the performance of the high-power LIB pack. The SOB estimation method is realized with the detailed deduction, in which a dual filter consisting of the Unscented Kalman filter (UKF), equivalent circuit model (ECM) and open circuit voltage (OCV) is used in order to predict the SOB state. It is beneficial for the energy operation and the energy performance state can be evaluated online prior to the adjustment method based on the terminal voltage consistency. The energy equalization is realized that is based on the credibility reasoning together with the equalization model building process. The experiments including the core parameter detection, SOB estimation and equalization adjustment are done and the experimental results are analyzed. The experiment results show that the numerical Coulomb efficiency is bigger than 95%. The cell voltage measurement error is less than 5 mV and the terminal voltage measurement error of the LIB pack is less than 1% FS. The measurement error of the battery discharge and charge

Evaluation of the HTTR criticality and burnup calculations with continuous-energy and multigroup cross sections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiang, Min-Han; Wang, Jui-Yu [Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kung-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Sheu, Rong-Jiun, E-mail: rjsheu@mx.nthu.edu.tw [Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kung-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Department of Engineering System and Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kung-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Liu, Yen-Wan Hsueh [Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kung-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Department of Engineering System and Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kung-Fu Road, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China)

2014-05-01

The High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) in Japan is a helium-cooled graphite-moderated reactor designed and operated for the future development of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Two detailed full-core models of HTTR have been established by using SCALE6 and MCNP5/X, respectively, to study its neutronic properties. Several benchmark problems were repeated first to validate the calculation models. Careful code-to-code comparisons were made to ensure that two calculation models are both correct and equivalent. Compared with experimental data, the two models show a consistent bias of approximately 20–30 mk overestimation in effective multiplication factor for a wide range of core states. Most of the bias could be related to the ENDF/B-VII.0 cross-section library or incomplete modeling of impurities in graphite. After that, a series of systematic analyses was performed to investigate the effects of cross sections on the HTTR criticality and burnup calculations, with special interest in the comparison between continuous-energy and multigroup results. Multigroup calculations in this study were carried out in 238-group structure and adopted the SCALE double-heterogeneity treatment for resonance self-shielding. The results show that multigroup calculations tend to underestimate the system eigenvalue by a constant amount of ∼5 mk compared to their continuous-energy counterparts. Further sensitivity studies suggest the differences between multigroup and continuous-energy results appear to be temperature independent and also insensitive to burnup effects.

Evaluation of the HTTR criticality and burnup calculations with continuous-energy and multigroup cross sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiang, Min-Han; Wang, Jui-Yu; Sheu, Rong-Jiun; Liu, Yen-Wan Hsueh

2014-01-01

The High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) in Japan is a helium-cooled graphite-moderated reactor designed and operated for the future development of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Two detailed full-core models of HTTR have been established by using SCALE6 and MCNP5/X, respectively, to study its neutronic properties. Several benchmark problems were repeated first to validate the calculation models. Careful code-to-code comparisons were made to ensure that two calculation models are both correct and equivalent. Compared with experimental data, the two models show a consistent bias of approximately 20–30 mk overestimation in effective multiplication factor for a wide range of core states. Most of the bias could be related to the ENDF/B-VII.0 cross-section library or incomplete modeling of impurities in graphite. After that, a series of systematic analyses was performed to investigate the effects of cross sections on the HTTR criticality and burnup calculations, with special interest in the comparison between continuous-energy and multigroup results. Multigroup calculations in this study were carried out in 238-group structure and adopted the SCALE double-heterogeneity treatment for resonance self-shielding. The results show that multigroup calculations tend to underestimate the system eigenvalue by a constant amount of ∼5 mk compared to their continuous-energy counterparts. Further sensitivity studies suggest the differences between multigroup and continuous-energy results appear to be temperature independent and also insensitive to burnup effects

The Department of Energy`s Rocky Flats Plant: A guide to record series useful for health-related research. Volume VII. Employee occupational exposure and health

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-08-01

This is the seventh in a series of seven volumes which constitute a guide to records of the Rocky Flats Plant useful for conducting health-related research. The primary purpose of Volume VII is to describe record series pertaining to employee occupational exposure and health at the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Rocky Flats Plant, now named the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, near Denver, Colorado. History Associates Incorporated (HAI) prepared this guide as part of its work as the support services contractor for DOE`s Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project. This introduction briefly describes the Epidemiologic Records Inventory Project and HAI`s role in the project, provides a history of occupational exposure monitoring and health practices at Rocky Flats, and identifies organizations contributing to occupational exposure monitoring and health policies and activities. Other topics include the scope and arrangement of the guide and the organization to contact for access to these records. Comprehensive introductory and background information is available in Volume 1. Other volumes in the guide pertain to administrative and general subjects, facilities and equipment, production and materials handling, environmental and workplace monitoring, and waste management. In addition, HAI has produced a subject-specific guide, titled The September 1957 Rocky Flats Fire: A Guide to Record Series of the Department of Energy and Its Contractors, which researchers should consult for further information about records related to this incident.

Evaluation of an integrated continuous stirred microbial electrochemical reactor: Wastewater treatment, energy recovery and microbial community.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haiman; Qu, Youpeng; Li, Da; Zhou, Xiangtong; Feng, Yujie

2015-11-01

A continuous stirred microbial electrochemical reactor (CSMER) was developed by integrating anaerobic digestion (AD) and microbial electrochemical system (MES). The system was capable of treating high strength artificial wastewater and simultaneously recovering electric and methane energy. Maximum power density of 583±9, 562±7, 533±10 and 572±6 mW m(-2) were obtained by each cell in a four-independent circuit mode operation at an OLR of 12 kg COD m(-3) d(-1). COD removal and energy recovery efficiency were 87.1% and 32.1%, which were 1.6 and 2.5 times higher than that of a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). Larger amount of Deltaproteobacteria (5.3%) and hydrogenotrophic methanogens (47%) can account for the better performance of CSMER, since syntrophic associations among them provided more degradation pathways compared to the CSTR. Results demonstrate the CSMER holds great promise for efficient wastewater treatment and energy recovery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuing growth for world energy consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon

2000-01-01

The World Energy Outlook of the global energy markets from 1971 to 2020, recently released by the International Energy Agency, is summarised. Covering demand, supply and energy prices, it provides an in-depth review of oil, gas, coal, biomass and power generation. With projections for all energy sectors, it offers a valuable insight into the development of the international energy business. The projections cover all world regions, including industrial and developing countries, and provide a comprehensive view of the main developments and issues affecting demand and supply on a global basis. The Outlook's projections have been derived from a 'reference scenario' that assumes global economic growth of more than 3% per annum, but a slowdown in population growth. Fossil-fuel prices are generally assumed to remain flat throughout the first decade of the projection period (to 2020), with oil and gas prices increasing after 2010 in response to the supply-side pressures. The scenario takes account of a range of major new policies and measures adopted in OECD countries, many of which relate to commitments under the Kyoto Protocol enacted or announced up to mid-2000. Despite the policies and measures in the OECD countries, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will increase, averaging 2.1% per annum to 2020. This amounts to 60% increase between 1997 and 2020. Fast-growing developing countries heavily contributing to increase in carbon dioxide, as they do in global energy demand

Gamma-ray energy absorption and exposure buildup factor studies in some human tissues with endometriosis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurudirek, Murat, E-mail: mkurudirek@gmail.co [Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum (Turkey); Dogan, Bekir [Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum (Turkey); Ingec, Metin [Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum (Turkey); Ekinci, Neslihan; Ozdemir, Yueksel [Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum (Turkey)

2011-02-15

Human tissues with endometriosis have been analyzed in terms of energy absorption (EABF) and exposure (EBF) buildup factors using the five-parameter geometric progression (G-P) fitting formula in the energy region 0.015-15 MeV up to a penetration depth of 40 mfp (mean free path). Chemical compositions of the tissue samples were determined using a wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (WDXRFS). Possible conclusions were drawn due to significant variations in EABF and EBF for the selected tissues when photon energy, penetration depth and chemical composition changed. Buildup factors so obtained may be of use when the method of choice for treatment of endometriosis is radiotherapy.

Equalities in Scotland’s Growth Economic Sectors: Final Report

OpenAIRE

Sutherland, Victoria; McGregor, Alan; Kromydas, Theocharis; Macdougall, Lynne; McTier, Alexander

2015-01-01

Aims\\ud The purpose of the study was to examine equality issues in Scotland’s growth sectors since baseline research carried out in 2009, focusing on trends in the following protected characteristics: gender; age; disabilities; ethnic minorities; gender reassignment; marital and civil partnership status; maternity and pregnancy; religion and belief; and sexual orientation. Scotland’s growth sectors are identified as: creative industries; energy; financial and business services; food and drink...

Reduction of occupational radiation exposure to staff - a quality management approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crouch, J.

2007-01-01

Positron Emission. Tomography (PET) imaging has expanded in Australia in recent years and is a recognised technique to diagnose cancer, neurological and heart disease. The high-energy gamma rays (51 I KeV) produced from the annihilation reaction in PET and their increased penetration compared to Tc- 99 m (HOKeV) emissions results in a higher radiation exposure to staff compared to other types of imaging such as X-Ray, CT (computer tomography) and MR1 (magnetic resonance imaging) and general nuclear medicine. The project scope was to reduce the occupational radiation exposure to staff working within the imaging section of the WA PET/Cyclotron Service by utilising a continuous quality improvement, process. According to the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) continual quality improvement is critical for healthcare in Australia (The EQUIP Guide, 2002, p. 1-1 ). The continuous quality improvement approach selected is appropriate for the organisation and the PET imaging process based on the Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP) which is the recognised standard for the health care industry in Australia

High-resolution simulations of the thermophysiological effects of human exposure to 100 MHz RF energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, David A; Curran, Allen R; Nyberg, Hans A; Marttila, Eric A; Mason, Patrick A; Ziriax, John M

2013-01-01

Human exposure to radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic energy is known to result in tissue heating and can raise temperatures substantially in some situations. Standards for safe exposure to RF do not reflect bio-heat transfer considerations however. Thermoregulatory function (vasodilation, sweating) may mitigate RF heating effects in some environments and exposure scenarios. Conversely, a combination of an extreme environment (high temperature, high humidity), high activity levels and thermally insulating garments may exacerbate RF exposure and pose a risk of unsafe temperature elevation, even for power densities which might be acceptable in a normothermic environment. A high-resolution thermophysiological model, incorporating a heterogeneous tissue model of a seated adult has been developed and used to replicate a series of whole-body exposures at a frequency (100 MHz) which approximates that of human whole-body resonance. Exposures were simulated at three power densities (4, 6 and 8 mW cm −2 ) plus a sham exposure and at three different ambient temperatures (24, 28 and 31 °C). The maximum hypothalamic temperature increase over the course of a 45 min exposure was 0.28 °C and occurred in the most extreme conditions (T amb = 31 °C, PD = 8 mW cm −2 ). Skin temperature increases attributable to RF exposure were modest, with the exception of a ‘hot spot’ in the vicinity of the ankle where skin temperatures exceeded 39 °C. Temperature increases in internal organs and tissues were small, except for connective tissue and bone in the lower leg and foot. Temperature elevation also was noted in the spinal cord, consistent with a hot spot previously identified in the literature. (paper)

New sampling method in continuous energy Monte Carlo calculation for pebble bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murata, Isao; Takahashi, Akito; Mori, Takamasa; Nakagawa, Masayuki.

1997-01-01

A pebble bed reactor generally has double heterogeneity consisting of two kinds of spherical fuel element. In the core, there exist many fuel balls piled up randomly in a high packing fraction. And each fuel ball contains a lot of small fuel particles which are also distributed randomly. In this study, to realize precise neutron transport calculation of such reactors with the continuous energy Monte Carlo method, a new sampling method has been developed. The new method has been implemented in the general purpose Monte Carlo code MCNP to develop a modified version MCNP-BALL. This method was validated by calculating inventory of spherical fuel elements arranged successively by sampling during transport calculation and also by performing criticality calculations in ordered packing models. From the results, it was confirmed that the inventory of spherical fuel elements could be reproduced using MCNP-BALL within a sufficient accuracy of 0.2%. And the comparison of criticality calculations in ordered packing models between MCNP-BALL and the reference method shows excellent agreement in neutron spectrum as well as multiplication factor. MCNP-BALL enables us to analyze pebble bed type cores such as PROTEUS precisely with the continuous energy Monte Carlo method. (author)

A stochastic model for neutron simulation considering the spectrum and nuclear properties with continuous dependence of energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camargo, Dayana Q. de; Bodmann, Bardo E.J.; Vilhena, Marco T. de; Froehlich, Herberth B.

2011-01-01

In this work we developed a stochastic model to simulate neutron transport in a heterogeneous environment, considering continuous neutron spectra and the nuclear properties with its continuous dependence on energy. This model was implemented using the Monte Carlo method for the propagation of neutrons in different environments. Due to restrictions with respect to the number of neutrons that can be simulated in reasonable computational time we introduced a variable control volume together with (pseudo-) periodic boundary conditions in order to overcome this problem. This study allowed a detailed analysis of the influence of energy on the neutron population and its impact on the life cycle of neutrons. From the results, even for a simple geometrical arrangement, we can conclude that there is need to consider the energy dependence and hence defined a spectral effective multiplication factor per Monte Carlo step. (author)

10 CFR 850.24 - Exposure monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Exposure monitoring. 850.24 Section 850.24 Energy... Exposure monitoring. (a) General. The responsible employer must ensure that: (1) Exposure monitoring is... activities properly. (b) Initial monitoring. The responsible employer must perform initial monitoring in...

The changing face of employment relations: equality and diversity

OpenAIRE

Moore, Sian; Tailby, Stephanie

2015-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what has happened to the notion and reality of equal pay over the past 50 years, a period in which women have become the majority of trade union members in the UK. It does so in the context of record employment levels based upon women’s increased labour market participation albeit reflecting their continued over-representation in part-time employment, locating the narrowed but persistent overall gender pay gap in the broader picture of pay ine...

Equal-Time and Equal-Space Poisson Brackets of the N -Component Coupled NLS Equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Ru-Guang; Li Pei-Yao; Gao Yuan

2017-01-01

Two Poisson brackets for the N-component coupled nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation are derived by using the variantional principle. The first one is called the equal-time Poisson bracket which does not depend on time but only on the space variable. Actually it is just the usual one describing the time evolution of system in the traditional theory of integrable Hamiltonian systems. The second one is equal-space and new. It is shown that the spatial part of Lax pair with respect to the equal-time Poisson bracket and temporal part of Lax pair with respect to the equal-space Poisson bracket share the same r-matrix formulation. These properties are similar to that of the NLS equation. (paper)

Monte Carlo simulations used to calculate the energy deposited in the coronary artery lumen as a function of iodine concentration and photon energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hocine, Nora; Meignan, Michel; Masset, Hélène

2018-04-01

To better understand the risks of cumulative medical X-ray investigations and the possible causal role of contrast agent on the coronary artery wall, the correlation between iodinated contrast media and the increase of energy deposited in the coronary artery lumen as a function of iodine concentration and photon energy is investigated. The calculations of energy deposition have been performed using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation codes, namely PENetration and Energy LOss of Positrons and Electrons (PENELOPE) and Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX). Exposure of a cylinder phantom, artery and a metal stent (AISI 316L) to several X-ray photon beams were simulated. For the energies used in cardiac imaging the energy deposited in the coronary artery lumen increases with the quantity of iodine. Monte Carlo calculations indicate a strong dependence of the energy enhancement factor (EEF) on photon energy and iodine concentration. The maximum value of EEF is equal to 25; this factor is showed for 83 keV and for 400 mg Iodine/mL. No significant impact of the stent is observed on the absorbed dose in the artery for incident X-ray beams with mean energies of 44, 48, 52 and 55 keV. A strong correlation was shown between the increase in the concentration of iodine and the energy deposited in the coronary artery lumen for the energies used in cardiac imaging and over the energy range between 44 and 55 keV. The data provided by this study could be useful for creating new medical imaging protocols to obtain better diagnostic information with a lower level of radiation exposure.

Early Understanding of Equality

Science.gov (United States)

Leavy, Aisling; Hourigan, Mairéad; McMahon, Áine

2013-01-01

Quite a bit of the arithmetic in elementary school contains elements of algebraic reasoning. After researching and testing a number of instructional strategies with Irish third graders, these authors found effective methods for cultivating a relational concept of equality in third-grade students. Understanding equality is fundamental to algebraic…

Asynchronous LMS adaptive equalization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bergmans, J.W.M.; Lin, M.Y.; Modrie, D.; Otte, R.

2005-01-01

Digital data receivers often operate at a fixed sampling rate 1/Ts that is asynchronous to the baud rate 1/T. A digital equalizer that processes the incoming signal will also operate in the asynchronous clock domain. Existing adaptation techniques for this equalizer involve an error sequence ek that

Incentives, health promotion and equality.

Science.gov (United States)

Voigt, Kristin

2012-07-01

The use of incentives to encourage individuals to adopt 'healthier' behaviours is an increasingly popular instrument in health policy. Much of the literature has been critical of 'negative' incentives, often due to concerns about equality; 'positive' incentives, however, have largely been welcomed as an instrument for the improvement of population health and possibly the reduction of health inequalities. The aim of this paper is to provide a more systematic assessment of the use of incentives from the perspective of equality. The paper begins with an overview of existing and proposed incentive schemes. I then suggest that the distinction between 'positive' and 'negative' incentives - or 'carrots' and 'sticks' - is of limited use in distinguishing those incentive schemes that raise concerns of equality from those that do not. The paper assesses incentive schemes with respect to two important considerations of equality: equality of access and equality of outcomes. While our assessment of incentive schemes will, ultimately, depend on various empirical facts, the paper aims to advance the debate by identifying some of the empirical questions we need to ask. The paper concludes by considering a number of trade-offs and caveats relevant to the assessment of incentive schemes.

Adaptation of radish Raphanus sativus L. in response to continuous exposure to ozone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walmsley, L.; Ashmore, M.R.; Bell, J.N.B.

1980-01-01

A comparison was made between the development of radish Raphanus sativus L. cv. Cherry Belle in clean air and under continuous exposure to 0 x 17 ppm (340 ..mu..g m/sup -3/) of ozone. The area and dry weight of the individual leaves, and the dry weight of other plant organs, were determined at frequent, regular intervals throughout the experiment. Although the commercial yield of the ozone-treated plants, expressed as hypocotyl dry weight, was significantly reduced, changes in the pattern of development of these plants were observed which were of adaptive value. The pattern of assimilate distribution was altered so that new leaves were produced more rapidly in the ozone-treated plants. These later leaves were more resistant to ozone, showing a slower rate of senescence than the cotyledons or first leaves. Measurements of stomatal resistance suggested that this was an acquired, rather than an inherent, characteristic of the later leaves. By the end of the experiment, the relative growth rates in the two treatments did not differ significantly.

Medical Need, Equality, and Uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Horne, L Chad

2016-10-01

Many hold that distributing healthcare according to medical need is a requirement of equality. Most egalitarians believe, however, that people ought to be equal on the whole, by some overall measure of well-being or life-prospects; it would be a massive coincidence if distributing healthcare according to medical need turned out to be an effective way of promoting equality overall. I argue that distributing healthcare according to medical need is important for reducing individuals' uncertainty surrounding their future medical needs. In other words, distributing healthcare according to medical need is a natural feature of healthcare insurance; it is about indemnity, not equality. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hearing effects from intermittent and continuous noise exposure in a study of Korean factory workers and firefighters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung In-Sung

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background South Korea and surrounding countries in East Asia are believed to have the highest proportion in the world of high frequency hearing loss due to occupational noise exposure, yet there has been limited information published in international journals, and limited information for control of noise in local workplaces beyond strategies from western countries. We exploit medical surveillance information from two worker groups to enhance local knowledge about noise-induced hearing loss and explore the possible importance of shift work to risk. Methods Four-years of hearing data were evaluated for 81 male farm machine factory workers and 371 male firefighters who had successfully completed a health examination and questionnaires for the duration of the study period. The averages of hearing thresholds at 2, 3, and 4 kHz were used as the primary end-point for comparison. Repeat measure analysis adjusted for age, exposure duration and smoking status was used to measure the difference in hearing threshold between the two groups. Results Noise levels were measured in the factory at a mean of 82 dBA, with a range of 66-97. No concurrent measurements were taken for the firefighters, but historic comparison values showed a wider range but a similar mean of 76-79 dBA. Although losses during follow-up were negligible, the factory workers had significantly (P 25 dB loss. Firefighters also showed increased losses associated with longer exposure duration, but these were significantly less marked. Losses at lower frequencies ( Conclusions Korean work environments with continuous noise exposure in the measured range should consider implementation of a hearing conservation program. Further evaluation of hearing loss in workers exposed to irregular or intermittent high noise levels, such as firefighters, is also warranted.

Developmental Timing and Continuity of Exposure to Interparental Violence and Externalizing Behavior as Prospective Predictors of Dating Violence

Science.gov (United States)

Narayan, Angela J.; Englund, Michelle M.; Egeland, Byron

2014-01-01

This study investigated the prospective pathways of children's exposure to interparental violence (EIPV) in early and middle childhood and externalizing behavior in middle childhood and adolescence as developmental predictors of dating violence perpetration and victimization at ages 23 and 26 years. Participants (N = 168) were drawn from a longitudinal study of low-income families. Path analyses examined whether timing or continuity of EIPV predicted dating violence and whether timing or continuity of externalizing behavior mediated these pathways. Results indicated that EIPV in early childhood directly predicted perpetration and victimization at age 23. There were significant indirect effects from EIPV to dating violence through externalizing behavior in adolescence and life stress at age 23. Independent of EIPV, externalizing behavior in middle childhood also predicted dating violence through externalizing behavior in adolescence and life stress at age 23, but this pathway stemmed from maltreatment. These results highlight that the timing of EIPV and both the timing and continuity of externalizing behavior are critical risks for the intergenerational transmission of dating violence. Findings support a developmental perspective that negative early experiences and children's externalizing behavior are powerful influences for dating violence in early adulthood. PMID:24229543

Developmental timing and continuity of exposure to interparental violence and externalizing behavior as prospective predictors of dating violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Narayan, Angela J; Englund, Michelle M; Egeland, Byron

2013-11-01

This study investigated the prospective pathways of children's exposure to interparental violence (EIPV) in early and middle childhood and externalizing behavior in middle childhood and adolescence as developmental predictors of dating violence perpetration and victimization at ages 23 and 26 years. Participants (N = 168) were drawn from a longitudinal study of low-income families. Path analyses examined whether timing or continuity of EIPV predicted dating violence and whether timing or continuity of externalizing behavior mediated these pathways. Results indicated that EIPV in early childhood directly predicted perpetration and victimization at age 23. There were significant indirect effects from EIPV to dating violence through externalizing behavior in adolescence and life stress at age 23. Independent of EIPV, externalizing behavior in middle childhood also predicted dating violence through externalizing behavior in adolescence and life stress at age 23, but this pathway stemmed from maltreatment. These results highlight that the timing of EIPV and both the timing and the continuity of externalizing behavior are critical risks for the intergenerational transmission of dating violence. The findings support a developmental perspective that negative early experiences and children's externalizing behavior are powerful influences for dating violence in early adulthood.

Minimum Energy Control of 2D Positive Continuous-Discrete Linear Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaczorek Tadeusz

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The minimum energy control problem for the 2D positive continuous-discrete linear systems is formulated and solved. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the reachability at the point of the systems are given. Sufficient conditions for the existence of solution to the problem are established. It is shown that if the system is reachable then there exists an optimal input that steers the state from zero boundary conditions to given final state and minimizing the performance index for only one step (q = 1. A procedure for solving of the problem is proposed and illustrated by a numerical example.

COLOUR IMAGE ENHANCEMENT BASED ON HISTOGRAM EQUALIZATION

OpenAIRE

Kanika Kapoor and Shaveta Arora

2015-01-01

Histogram equalization is a nonlinear technique for adjusting the contrast of an image using its histogram. It increases the brightness of a gray scale image which is different from the mean brightness of the original image. There are various types of Histogram equalization techniques like Histogram Equalization, Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization, Brightness Preserving Bi Histogram Equalization, Dualistic Sub Image Histogram Equalization, Minimum Mean Brightness Error Bi Histog...

Environmental assessment for the Satellite Power System (SPS): studies of honey bees exposed to 2. 45 GHz continuous-wave electromagnetic energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gary, N E; Westerdahl, B B

1980-12-01

A system for small animal exposure was developed for treating honey bees, Apis mellifera L., in brood and adult stages, with 2.45 GHz continuous wave microwaves at selected power densities and exposure times. Post-treatment brood development was normal and teratological effects were not detected at exposures of 3 to 50 mw/cm/sup 2/ for 30 minutes. Post-treatment survival, longevity, orientation, navigation, and memory of adult bees were also normal after exposures of 3 to 50 mw/cm/sup 2/ for 30 minutes. Post-treatment longevity of confined bees in the laboratory was normal after exposures of 3 to 50 mw/cm/sup 2/ for 24 hours. Thermoregulation of brood nest, foraging activity, brood rearing, and social interaction were not affected by chronic exposure to 1 mw/cm/sup 2/ during 28 days. In dynamic behavioral bioassays the frequency of entry and duration of activity of unrestrained, foraging adult bees was identical in microwave-exposed (5 to 40 mw/cm/sup 2/) areas versus control areas.

A hybrid method of incorporating extended priority list into equal incremental principle for energy-saving generation dispatch of thermal power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Chuntian; Li, Shushan; Li, Gang

2014-01-01

The energy-saving generation dispatch (ESGD) policy released by Chinese Government in 2007 is a new code for optimally dispatching electric power generation portfolio in the country with the dual objectives of improving energy efficiency and reducing environmental pollution. The ESGD is substantially different from the competitive market in the developed economies, the traditional economic dispatching or the rational dispatching principle implemented in China prior to the new policy. This paper develops a hybrid method that integrates the extended priority list (EPL), the equal incremental principle (EIP) and a heuristic method to optimize daily generation schedules under ESGD. The EPL is presented to search desirable units set that satisfies the complicated duration period requirements based on thermal unit generation priority list. The EIP is developed to allocate load among the committed units within the combined set. A heuristic method is proposed to deal with inequality constraints, which usually result in difficulty for power allocation, and used to improve these results. The algorithm has been embedded into a newly developed decision support system that is currently being used by operators of the Guizhou Province Power Grid to make day-ahead quarter-hourly generation schedules. - Highlights: • Electric power industry is one of key and important fields for energy conservation and emission reduction in China. • The energy-saving generation dispatch policy was released by Chinese government in 2007. • A Hybrid algorithm for energy-saving generation dispatch scheduling of thermal power system is presented. • The algorithm has been embedded into a newly developed decision support system

Trust, Welfare States and Income Equality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bergh, Andreas; Bjørnskov, Christian

2014-01-01

The cross-country correlation between social trust and income equality is well documented, but few studies examine the direction of causality. We show theoretically that by facilitating cooperation, trust may lead to more equal outcomes, while the feedback from inequality to trust is ambiguous....... Using a structural equation model estimated on a large country sample, we find that trust has a positive effect on both market and net income equality. Larger welfare states lead to higher net equality but neither net income equality nor welfare state size seems to have a causal effect on trust. We...

Iterative Estimation in Turbo Equalization Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MORGOS Lucian

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the iterative estimation in turbo equalization process. Turbo equalization is the process of reception in which equalization and decoding are done together, not as separate processes. For the equalizer to work properly, it must receive before equalization accurate information about the value of the channel impulse response. This estimation of channel impulse response is done by transmission of a training sequence known at reception. Knowing both the transmitted and received sequence, it can be calculated estimated value of the estimated the channel impulse response using one of the well-known estimation algorithms. The estimated value can be also iterative recalculated based on the sequence data available at the output of the channel and estimated sequence data coming from turbo equalizer output, thereby refining the obtained results.

Analysis of changed bio-signal to radiation exposure of nuclear medicine worker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hwun Jae; Lee, Sang Bock

2007-01-01

In this paper, we are evaluated about bio-signal between general workers and nuclear medicine workers which is more radiation exposure relatively. In order to reciprocal evaluated two group, we experimented nuclear medicine workers in Chung-Buk National University Hospital at department of nuclear medicine and worker in Chon-Nam National University Hospital at CT room, general radiographic room, medical recording room, receipt room, general office room. Used of experimental equipments as follows, for a level of radiation measurement by pocket dosimeter which made by Arrow-Tech company, for heart rate and blood pressure measurement by TONOPORT V which made by GE medical systems company, for heat flux and skin temperature and energy expenditure measurement by Armband senseware 2000 which made by Bodymedia company. Result of experiment obtains as follows : 1) Individual radiation exposure is recorded 3.05 uSv at department of nuclear medicine and order as follows CT room, general radiograpic room, medical recording room, receipt room, general office room. Department of nuclear medicine more 1.5 times than other places. 2) Radiation accumulated dose is not related to Heat flux, Skin temperature, Energy expenditure. 3) Blood pressure is recorded equal to nuclear medical workers, general officer, general people about systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Compared to blood pressure between nuclear medical works which is more radiation exposure and other workers was not changed. Consequently, more radiation exposed workers at nuclear medicine field doesn't have hazard

Continuing professional development | Hellenberg | South African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It would be unlikely that many of today\\'s practicing family doctors have not been involved in Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities. It would be equally unlikely, however, that these activities were part of any contextually structured educational plan towards professional development. Often driven by external need ...

An application of dichotomous and polytomous Rasch models for scoring energy insecurity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, Anthony G.; Mills, Bradford F.

2012-01-01

Household food security in the United States has been extensively researched and a number of indexes have been generated. However, household energy security has been largely ignored even though low-income households spend almost equal income shares on food and energy. This paper uses Rasch models and household responses to energy security questions in the 2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey to generate an energy insecurity index that is consistent with those found in the food insecurity literature. The analysis yields several important findings for the generation of policy relevant household energy insecurity indexes. Questions that indicate reduction of basic expenditures, such as food, clothing, and shelter, are easiest for households to affirm implying low exposure to energy insecurity. Conversely, questions that concern households leaving the residence due to extreme temperatures consistently imply high exposure to energy insecurity. Households that score in the top decile of the energy insecurity index are more likely to be headed by single-females, be younger, and have a Black household head. Rasch models also identify flaws within survey. Particularly, the scope of the questions is quite broad and a refinement of the survey questions to focus on specific attributes of energy insecurity would likely improve future energy security indexes. - Highlights: ► A novel household energy insecurity index is generated for low-income U.S. families. ► Severely energy insecure households have unique characteristics. ► Energy insecure households are more likely to participate in LIHEAP. ► RECS survey questions should be modified for an improved energy insecurity index.

Solving the radiation diffusion and energy balance equations using pseudo-transient continuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shestakov, A.I.; Greenough, J.A.; Howell, L.H.

2005-01-01

We develop a scheme for the system coupling the radiation diffusion and matter energy balance equations. The method is based on fully implicit, first-order, backward Euler differencing; Picard-Newton iterations solve the nonlinear system. We show that iterating on the radiation energy density and the emission source is more robust. Since the Picard-Newton scheme may not converge for all initial conditions and time steps, pseudo-transient continuation (Ψtc) is introduced. The combined Ψtc-Picard-Newton scheme is analyzed. We derive conditions on the Ψtc parameter that guarantee physically meaningful iterates, e.g., positive energies. Successive Ψtc iterates are bounded and the radiation energy density and emission source tend to equilibrate. The scheme is incorporated into a multiply dimensioned, massively parallel, Eulerian, radiation-hydrodynamic computer program with automatic mesh refinement (AMR). Three examples are presented that exemplify the scheme's performance. (1) The Pomraning test problem that models radiation flow into cold matter. (2) A similar, but more realistic problem simulating the propagation of an ionization front into tenuous hydrogen gas with a Saha model for the equation-of-state. (3) A 2D axisymmetric (R,Z) simulation with real materials featuring jetting, radiatively driven, interacting shocks

Nuclear energy and radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, D.K.; Johnson, J.R.

1980-01-01

Both the light water reactor and the Canadian heavy water reactor systems produce electricity cheaply and efficiently. They produce some fissionable byproducts, which can be recycled to extend energy sources many-fold. Besides the production of electrical power, the nuclear industry produces various radioistopes used for treatment of cancer, in diagnostic procedures in nuclear medicine, in ionization smoke detectors, and as radioactive tracers with various technological applications including the study of the mechanisms of life. The increment in environmental radiation levels resulting from operation of nuclear power reactors represents a very small fraction of the radiation levels to which we are all exposed from natural sources, and of the average radiation exposures resulting from diagnostic procedures in the healing arts. The total health hazard of the complete nuclear power cycle is generally agreed to be smaller than the hazards associated with the generation of an equal amount of electricity from most other currently available sources of energy. The hazards from energy production in terms of shortened life expectancy are much smaller in all cases than the resulting increase in health and life expectancy. (auth)

Equality of Opportunity and Equality of Outcome

Science.gov (United States)

Kodelja, Zdenko

2016-01-01

The report on the findings of extensive empirical research on equality of educational opportunities carried out in the United States on a very large sample of public schools by Coleman and his colleagues has had a major impact on education policy and has given rise to a large amount of research and various interpretations. However, as some…

Doppler Temperature Coefficient Calculations Using Adjoint-Weighted Tallies and Continuous Energy Cross Sections in MCNP6

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzales, Matthew Alejandro

The calculation of the thermal neutron Doppler temperature reactivity feedback co-efficient, a key parameter in the design and safe operation of advanced reactors, using first order perturbation theory in continuous energy Monte Carlo codes is challenging as the continuous energy adjoint flux is not readily available. Traditional approaches of obtaining the adjoint flux attempt to invert the random walk process as well as require data corresponding to all temperatures and their respective temperature derivatives within the system in order to accurately calculate the Doppler temperature feedback. A new method has been developed using adjoint-weighted tallies and On-The-Fly (OTF) generated continuous energy cross sections within the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP6) transport code. The adjoint-weighted tallies are generated during the continuous energy k-eigenvalue Monte Carlo calculation. The weighting is based upon the iterated fission probability interpretation of the adjoint flux, which is the steady state population in a critical nuclear reactor caused by a neutron introduced at that point in phase space. The adjoint-weighted tallies are produced in a forward calculation and do not require an inversion of the random walk. The OTF cross section database uses a high order functional expansion between points on a user-defined energy-temperature mesh in which the coefficients with respect to a polynomial fitting in temperature are stored. The coefficients of the fits are generated before run- time and called upon during the simulation to produce cross sections at any given energy and temperature. The polynomial form of the OTF cross sections allows the possibility of obtaining temperature derivatives of the cross sections on-the-fly. The use of Monte Carlo sampling of adjoint-weighted tallies and the capability of computing derivatives of continuous energy cross sections with respect to temperature are used to calculate the Doppler temperature coefficient in a research

Longer Oral Exposure with Modified Sham Feeding Does Not Slow Down Gastric Emptying of Low- and High-Energy-Dense Gastric Loads in Healthy Young Men

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijlens, G.M.; Erkner, A.; Mars, M.; Graaf, de C.

2015-01-01

Background: A long oral exposure to food and a high-energy density of food are shown to increase satiety feelings. The effect of energy density is predominantly caused by an inhibition of gastric emptying. It is hypothesized that prolonging oral exposure may have an additional effect on this

131I distribution in mice after continuous exposure to ionizing radiation of 0.39 C/kg

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mraz, L.; Stollarova, N.

1982-01-01

The distribution of 131 I in mice has been investigated under the condition of continuous exposure to daily doses of 0.013 C/kg up to a total dose of 0.39 C/kg. Radioiodine distribution in exposed animals was compared with that in laboratory and field controls at intervals ranging from 0.5 to 24 hours. The group of experimental animals was simultaneously exposed to ionizing radiation and the climatic conditions of the open-air gamma field. Consequently, the metabolic activity of organs decreased during the distribution measurements as is also shown by the low radioiodine level in the thyroid gland. Differences in the distribution in exposed animals as compared with field controls are characteristic of changes caused by ionizing radiation. (author)

Historical reconstruction of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposures for workers in a capacitor manufacturing plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopf, Nancy B; Ruder, Avima M; Waters, Martha A

2014-05-01

We developed a semiquantitative job exposure matrix (JEM) for workers exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a capacitor manufacturing plant from 1946 to 1977. In a recently updated mortality study, mortality of prostate and stomach cancer increased with increasing levels of cumulative exposure estimated with this JEM (trend p values = 0.003 and 0.04, respectively). Capacitor manufacturing began with winding bales of foil and paper film, which were placed in a metal capacitor box (pre-assembly), and placed in a vacuum chamber for flood-filling (impregnation) with dielectric fluid (PCBs). Capacitors dripping with PCB residues were then transported to sealing stations where ports were soldered shut before degreasing, leak testing, and painting. Using a systematic approach, all 509 unique jobs identified in the work histories were rated by predetermined process- and plant-specific exposure determinants; then categorized based on the jobs' similarities (combination of exposure determinants) into 35 job exposure categories. The job exposure categories were ranked followed by a qualitative PCB exposure rating (baseline, low, medium, and high) for inhalation and dermal intensity. Category differences in other chemical exposures (solvents, etc.) prevented further combining of categories. The mean of all available PCB concentrations (1975 and 1977) for jobs within each intensity rating was regarded as a representative value for that intensity level. Inhalation (in microgram per cubic milligram) and dermal (unitless) exposures were regarded as equally important. Intensity was frequency adjusted for jobs with continuous or intermittent PCB exposures. Era-modifying factors were applied to the earlier time periods (1946-1974) because exposures were considered to have been greater than in later eras (1975-1977). Such interpolations, extrapolations, and modifying factors may introduce non-differential misclassification; however, we do believe our rigorous method

Gender equality revisited:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rostgaard, Tine; B. Eydal, G.

2011-01-01

The Nordic childcare policy model is often reviewed and even recommended internationally for its contribution to gender equality, high female labour force participation and, perhaps more indirectly, to a high fertility rate. Nordic childcare services and parental leave schemes have thus been...... portrayed in the literature as policies which have managed to facilitate a work–family model of dual earners and dual carers. However, the recent introduction of cash-for-care schemes seems to go against the Nordic dual earner/dual carer model and ideals of gender equality, in supporting parental (maternal...

Equality in the Framework of Justice

OpenAIRE

Aşik, Kübra

2015-01-01

This thesis assesses the relation between equality and justice by exploring and identifying the relation between equality and justice in Rawls's theory of justice, Sandel's communitarian account of Justice and Sen's capability approach. And these accounts of justice are evaluated from an egalitarian point of view. The main argument defended in the thesis is that justice requires equality. Accordingly, these three accounts of justice are evaluated by taking their understanding of equality into...

Equal Protection of the Law: The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities Act, 2014, Bahamas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernadette Bain

2016-10-01

This analysis of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities Act, 2014, examines the nature and scope of equal rights and whether the Act provides adequate enforcement. The aim of the provisions is to restrict discrimination against persons with disabilities by providing opportunities on an equal basis and to require persons having dealings with the disabled to accommodate their needs. It is questionable whether the Act fulfils its purpose and whether penalties for failure to comply with the Act are adequate, as there is a lacuna or gap in the law, which hinders purposeful rights.

Continuous energy Neutron Transport Monte Carlo Simulator Project: Decomposition of the neutron energy spectrum by target nuclei tagging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barcellos, Luiz Felipe F.C.; Bodmann, Bardo E.J.; Vilhena, Marco T.M.B., E-mail: luizfelipe.fcb@gmail.com, E-mail: bardo.bodmann@ufrgs.br, E-mail: mtmbvilhena@gmail.com [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil). Grupo de Estudos Nucleares; Leite, Sergio Q. Bogado, E-mail: sbogado@ibest.com.br [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2017-07-01

In this work a Monte Carlo simulator with continuous energy is used. This simulator distinguishes itself by using the sum of three probability distributions to represent the neutron spectrum. Two distributions have known shape, but have varying population of neutrons in time, and these are the fission neutron spectrum (for high energy neutrons) and the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution (for thermal neutrons). The third distribution has an a priori unknown and possibly variable shape with time and is determined from parametrizations of Monte Carlo simulation. It is common practice in neutron transport calculations, e.g. multi-group transport, to consider that the neutrons only lose energy with each scattering reaction and then to use a thermal group with a Maxwellian distribution. Such an approximation is valid due to the fact that for fast neutrons up-scattering occurrence is irrelevant, being only appreciable at low energies, i.e. in the thermal energy region, in which it can be regarded as a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution for thermal equilibrium. In this work the possible neutron-matter interactions are simulated with exception of the up-scattering of neutrons. In order to preserve the thermal spectrum, neutrons are selected stochastically as being part of the thermal population and have an energy attributed to them taken from a Maxwellian distribution. It is then shown how this procedure can emulate the up-scattering effect by the increase in the neutron population kinetic energy. Since the simulator uses tags to identify the reactions it is possible not only to plot the distributions by neutron energy, but also by the type of interaction with matter and with the identification of the target nuclei involved in the process. This work contains some preliminary results obtained from a Monte Carlo simulator for neutron transport that is being developed at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. (author)

Equal pay for work of equal value in terms of the Employment Equity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Equal pay for work of equal value in terms of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998: lessons from the International Labour Organisation and the United Kingdom. ... Alternatively, you can download the PDF file directly to your computer, from where it can be opened using a PDF reader. To download the PDF, click the ...

Troubling Gender Equality: Revisiting Gender Equality Work in the Famous Nordic Model Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Edström, Charlotta; Brunila, Kristiina

2016-01-01

This article concerns gender equality work, that is, those educational and workplace activities that involve the promotion of gender equality. It is based on research conducted in Sweden and Finland, and focuses on the period during which the public sector has become more market-oriented and project-based all over the Nordic countries. The…

Transforming equality logic to propositional logic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zantema, H.; Groote, J.F.

2003-01-01

Abstract We investigate and compare various ways of transforming equality formulas to propositional formulas, in order to be able to solve satisfiability in equality logic by means of satisfiability in propositional logic. We propose equality substitution as a new approach combining desirable

The neural bases for valuing social equality.

Science.gov (United States)

Aoki, Ryuta; Yomogida, Yukihito; Matsumoto, Kenji

2015-01-01

The neural basis of how humans value and pursue social equality has become a major topic in social neuroscience research. Although recent studies have identified a set of brain regions and possible mechanisms that are involved in the neural processing of equality of outcome between individuals, how the human brain processes equality of opportunity remains unknown. In this review article, first we describe the importance of the distinction between equality of outcome and equality of opportunity, which has been emphasized in philosophy and economics. Next, we discuss possible approaches for empirical characterization of human valuation of equality of opportunity vs. equality of outcome. Understanding how these two concepts are distinct and interact with each other may provide a better explanation of complex human behaviors concerning fairness and social equality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Further assessment of the effects of occupational radiation exposure in the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority mortality study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inskip, Hazel; Beral, Valerie; Fraser, Patricia; Booth, Margaret; Coleman, D.; Brown, Ann

1987-01-01

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority mortality study was designed to investigate the relation between exposure to ionising radiation and mortality among the Authority's employees. The study covered the years 1946 to 1979 during which time the frequency with which personal film dosimeters were issued changed from weekly to monthly, and the threshold level below which measurements were not made decreased 20-fold. Exposure from 'below threshold' readings made an important contribution to total exposure in the early years. Estimates, based on the remeasurement of a sample of old films, indicated that the average whole body exposure before 1961 may have been about double that which was measured. Furthermore, although records were kept of when dosimeters were lost or damaged, the associated exposures were unknown and could only be estimated. Workers whose dosimeter readings were missing for more than 5% of the time during which they were monitored had higher all cause mortality and higher mortality from accidents and violence than other radiation workers. The results of analyses of mortality in relation to whole body exposure were compared when (a) the exposures included estimates of the below threshold and missing exposures and (b) when these exposures were assumed to be zero. (author)

Recent Activities of the Physical Society of Japan for the Promotion of Gender Equality (abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Maeda, Atsutaka; Yonenaga, Ichiro; Tajima, Setsuko; Hiyama, Emiko; Torikai, Eiko

2009-04-01

We present activities of the Gender Equality Promotion Committee of the Physical Society of Japan (JPS) untaken after the Second IUPAP Women in Physics Conference, Rio de Janiero, 2005. These include: (1) summer and spring classes for high school girls, (2) symposia on the promotion of gender equality at annual JPS meetings, (3) continuous cooperation with the Japan Inter-Society Liaison Association Committee for Promoting Equal Participation of Men and Women in Science and Engineering (EPMEWSE), (4) consultation for JPS members on the Restart Postdoctoral Fellowship (RPD) program conducted by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), (5) publication of a series of articles in the JPS membership journal, and (6) presentation at international meetings such as the Asia Pacific Physics Conference 10 (APPC10). We report that these activities were successful.

Unjust Equalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albertsen, Andreas; Midtgaard, Søren Flinch

2014-01-01

In the luck egalitarian literature, one influential formulation of luck egalitarianism does not specify whether equalities that do not reflect people’s equivalent exercises of responsibility are bad with regard to inequality. This equivocation gives rise to two competing versions of luck egalitar......In the luck egalitarian literature, one influential formulation of luck egalitarianism does not specify whether equalities that do not reflect people’s equivalent exercises of responsibility are bad with regard to inequality. This equivocation gives rise to two competing versions of luck....... The symmetrical view, we argue, is by far the more compelling, both by internal luck egalitarian standards and in light of the external rightist emphasis on choice and responsibility to which luck egalitarianism may partly be seen as a response. Our main case for the symmetrical view is that when some people...

["Education" in an age of increasing equality--a path towards 'ochlocracy"?].

Science.gov (United States)

Mertz, Dieter Paul

2012-03-01

A philosophical and scientific analysis of how the concept of equality has developed from biological, political, sociological, social, economic and--not least--cultural points of view. The focus here is on the German chronic shortage of educational facilities continuing for decades, a cultural revolution without any foreseeable end. These reflections encompass a period of around two and a half millennia, beginning with the Ancient Greek state philosophy, reaching into our epoch of advanced globalisation with momentous changes in Western social welfare states. In consideration of a biochemical and intrinsic individuality based on genetic and epi-genetic factors, equal opportunities are an unlikely prerequisite in evolution. With regard to free education, equality can only be a starting point since, due to individual differences, egalitarian aims of education within a "group university" can never open up equally good chances to everybody. Because of a misunderstanding of equality, the student revolt in 1968 brought forth an egalitarian remodeling of school and university careers accompanied by a leveling, among other things a "university of education for the masses". Instead of "educational knowledge" based on scientific nature, an education towards vocational knowledge and regulation of studies took place. At present, a socialistic reversal of the school system aimed at learning together in ,community schools" until the 10th grade is in progress. The unity of (pure) research and teaching no longer exists. The change in the system supported by a welfare state will have consequences in worldwide competition. The final point of the Cultural Revolution, following historical examples, could be the emergence of a degenerate form of democracy: Ochlocracy.

Perceptions of gender equality and attitudes toward equal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this study was to explain consciousness of gender inequality in school sport and predict pro-equality attitudes among 1580 respondents (934 girls and 646 boys) from 45 Botswana secondary schools. Results of separate multiple regression models indicate that girls' sport participation is negatively correlated with ...

Indoor PM2.5 exposure in London's domestic stock: Modelling current and future exposures following energy efficient refurbishment

Science.gov (United States)

Shrubsole, C.; Ridley, I.; Biddulph, P.; Milner, J.; Vardoulakis, S.; Ucci, M.; Wilkinson, P.; Chalabi, Z.; Davies, M.

2012-12-01

Simulations using CONTAM (a validated multi-zone indoor air quality (IAQ) model) are employed to predict indoor exposure to PM2.5 in London dwellings in both the present day housing stock and the same stock following energy efficient refurbishments to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2050. We modelled interventions that would contribute to the achievement of these targets by reducing the permeability of the dwellings to 3 m3 m-2 h-1 at 50 Pa, combined with the introduction of mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) systems. It is assumed that the current mean outdoor PM2.5 concentration of 13 μg m-3 decreased to 9 μg m-3 by 2050 due to emission control policies. Our primary finding was that installation of (assumed perfectly functioning) MVHR systems with permeability reduction are associated with appreciable reductions in PM2.5 exposure in both smoking and non-smoking dwellings. Modelling of the future scenario for non-smoking dwellings show a reduction in annual average indoor exposure to PM2.5 of 18.8 μg m-3 (from 28.4 to 9.6 μg m-3) for a typical household member. Also of interest is that a larger reduction of 42.6 μg m-3 (from 60.5 to 17.9 μg m-3) was shown for members exposed primarily to cooking-related particle emissions in the kitchen (cooks). Reductions in envelope permeability without mechanical ventilation produced increases in indoor PM2.5 concentrations; 5.4 μg m-3 for typical household members and 9.8 μg m-3 for cooks. These estimates of changes in PM2.5 exposure are sensitive to assumptions about occupant behaviour, ventilation system usage and the distributions of input variables (±72% for non-smoking and ±107% in smoking residences). However, if realised, they would result in significant health benefits.

Occupational exposures during routine activities in coal-fueled power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bird, M.J.; MacIntosh, D.L.; Williams, P.L. [University of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Environmental Health Science

2004-06-15

Limited information is available on occupational exposures during routine, nonoutage work activities in coal-fueled power plants. This study evaluated occupational exposures to the principal contaminants in the facilities, including respirable dust (coal dust), arsenic, noise, asbestos, and heat stress. The data were collected over a 3-month period, during the summer of 2001. Each of the 5 facilities was divided into 5 similar exposure groups based on previous exposure assessments and job tasks performed. Of the nearly 400 air samples collected, only 1 exceeded the allowable occupational exposure value. For the noise samples, 55 (about 18%) were equal to or greater than the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 8-hour hearing conservation program level of 85 dBA, and 12 (about 4%) were equal to or greater than the OSHA 8-hour permissible exposure level of 90 dBA. Heat stress monitoring at the facilities indicates that 26% of the 1-hour TWAs were exceeded for one or all of the recommended heat stress limits. The data also concluded that some work sites were above the heat stress ceiling values recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Four of the 20 employees personally monitored exceeded the recommended limits for heart rate or body core temperature. This suggests there is a potential for heat strain if signs and symptoms are ignored. Recommendations are made to better control the heat stress exposure.

Advanced Performance Hydraulic Wind Energy

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Jack A.; Bruce, Allan; Lam, Adrienne S.

2013-01-01

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, has developed a novel advanced hydraulic wind energy design, which has up to 23% performance improvement over conventional wind turbine and conventional hydraulic wind energy systems with 5 m/sec winds. It also has significant cost advantages with levelized costs equal to coal (after carbon tax rebate). The design is equally applicable to tidal energy systems and has passed preliminary laboratory proof-of-performance tests, as funded by the Department of Energy.

Development of an on-line exposure system to determine freshly produced diesel engine emission-induced cellular effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Oostingh, Gertie J; Papaioannou, Eleni; Chasapidis, Leonidas; Akritidis, Theofylaktos; Konstandopoulos, Athanasios G; Duschl, Albert

2013-09-01

Diesel engine emission particle filters are often placed at exhaust outlets to remove particles from the exhaust. The use of filters results in the exposure to a reduced number of nanometer-sized particles, which might be more harmful than the exposure to a larger number of micrometer-sized particles. An in vitro exposure system was established to expose human alveolar epithelial cells to freshly generated exhaust. Computer simulations were used to determine the optimal flow characteristics and ensure equal exposure conditions for each well of a 6-well plate. A selective particle size sampler was used to continuously deliver diesel soot particles with different particle size distributions to cells in culture. To determine, whether the system could be used for cellular assays, alterations in cytokine production and cell viability of human alveolar A549 cells were determined after 3h on-line exposure followed by a 21-h conventional incubation period. Data indicated that complete diesel engine emission slightly affected pre-stimulated cells, but naive cells were not affected. The fractions containing large or small particles never affected the cells. The experimental set-up allowed a reliable exposure of the cells to the complete exhaust fraction or to the fractions containing either large or small diesel engine emission particles. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous 3-day exposure assessment of workplace manufacturing silver nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Ji Hyun; Ahn, Kangho; Kim, Sun Man; Jeon, Ki Soo; Lee, Jong Seong; Yu, Il Je

2012-01-01

With the increased production and widespread use of nanomaterials, human and environmental exposure to nanomaterials is inevitably increasing. Therefore, this study monitored the possible nanoparticle exposure at a workplace that manufactures silver nanoparticles. To estimate the potential exposure of workers, personal sampling, area monitoring, and real-time monitoring were conducted over 3 days using a scanning mobility particle sizer and dust monitor at a workplace where the workers handle nanomaterials. The area sampling concentrations obtained from the injection room showed the highest concentration, ranging from 0.00501 to 0.28873 mg/m 3 . However, apart from the injection room, none of the area samplings obtained from other locations showed a concentration higher than 0.0013 mg/m 3 . Meanwhile, the personal sampling concentrations ranged from 0.00004 to 0.00243 mg/m 3 over the 3 days of sampling, which was much lower than the silver TLV. The particle number concentrations at the silver nanoparticle manufacturing workplace were 911,170 (1st day), 1,631,230 (2nd day), and 1,265,024 (3rd day) particles/cm 3 with a size range of 15–710.5 nm during the operation of the reactor, while the concentration decreased to 877,364.9 (1st day), 492,732 (2nd day), and 344,343 (3rd day) particles/cm 3 when the reactor was stopped.

Justifications of Gender Equality in Academia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Mathias Wullum

2014-01-01

and Swedish universities juxtapose arguments of utility, innovation, justice, and anti-discrimination, the Danish universities primarily refer to aspects of competitiveness, utility, and innovation when justifying activities on gender equality. The article suggests that the lack of justice......Gender equality in academia is often perceived as receiving more emphasis in Norway and Sweden than in Denmark. But how do the public research institutions in the three countries approach issues of gender equality differently? This study investigates how activities related to gender equality...... are articulated and justified in the policy statements of six Scandinavian universities. The analysis reveals some interesting disparities between the countries. In short, the Danish universities seem to be reluctant to deal with gender equality on the basis of rights-based assumptions. While the Norwegian...

Gender Roles, Gender (In)equality and Fertility: An Empirical Test of Five Gender Equity Indices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mills, M.

2010-01-01

The division of gender roles in the household and societal level gender (in)equality have been situated as one of the most powerful factors underlying fertility behaviour. Despite continued theoretical attention to this issue by demographers, empirical research integrating gender roles and equity in

Pressure-equalizing earplugs do not prevent barotrauma on descent from 8000 ft cabin altitude.

Science.gov (United States)

Klokker, Mads; Vesterhauge, Søren; Jansen, Erik C

2005-11-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pressure-equalizing earplugs available in major airports and drugstores. No previous study has focused on preventing barotrauma using these earplugs. Blinded and double-blinded, one type of pressure-equalizing earplugs (JetEars) was studied in 27 volunteers disposed to ear barotrauma. They acted as their own controls with an active earplug in one ear and a placebo earplug in the other ear at random. All were exposed to the same well-defined pressure profile for 1 h at 8000 ft, comparable to the environment in civil commercial air travel in a pressurized cabin. Satisfaction was assessed by questionnaire and objective results were evaluated prior to and after the pressure exposure by tympanometry and otoscopy using the Teed classification. The majority of the volunteers (78%) reported a pleasant noise-reducing feeling using the earplugs. However, 75% also experienced ear pain during descent. In comparing the middle ear pressure before and after pressurization, a decrease was found in ears with both active earplugs and placebo earplugs. No difference between the active and the placebo earplugs were found. Furthermore, after evaluation of the two groups of ears using otoscopy, no prevention of barotrauma was found. In fact, the ears using an active pressure-equalizing earplug scored significantly worse (p = 0.033). Feelings of noise reduction were reported, but no prevention of barotrauma could be demonstrated with the use of pressure-equalizing earplugs. Pressure-equalizing earplugs cannot be recommended in air travel for preventing ear barotrauma.

[Quantitative image of bone mineral content--dual energy subtraction in a single exposure].

Science.gov (United States)

Katoh, T

1990-09-25

A dual energy subtraction system was constructed on an experimental basis for the quantitative image of bone mineral content. The system consists of a radiography system and an image processor. Two radiograms were taken with dual x-ray energy in a single exposure using an x-ray beam dichromized by a tin filter. In this system, a film cassette was used where a low speed film-screen system, a copper filter and a high speed film-screen system were layered on top of each other. The images were read by a microdensitometer and processed by a personal computer. The image processing included the corrections of the film characteristics and heterogeneity in the x-ray field, and the dual energy subtraction in which the effect of the high energy component of the dichromized beam on the tube side image was corrected. In order to determine the accuracy of the system, experiments using wedge phantoms made of mixtures of epoxy resin and bone mineral-equivalent materials in various fractions were performed for various tube potentials and film processing conditions. The results indicated that the relative precision of the system was within +/- 4% and that the propagation of the film noise was within +/- 11 mg/cm2 for the 0.2 mm pixels. The results also indicated that the system response was independent of the tube potential and the film processing condition. The bone mineral weight in each phalanx of the freshly dissected hand of a rhesus monkey was measured by this system and compared with the ash weight. The results showed an error of +/- 10%, slightly larger than that of phantom experiments, which is probably due to the effect of fat and the variation of focus-object distance. The air kerma in free air at the object was approximately 0.5 mGy for one exposure. The results indicate that this system is applicable to clinical use and provides useful information for evaluating a time-course of localized bone disease.

Energy-Efficient Integration of Continuous Context Sensing and Prediction into Smartwatches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Rawassizadeh

2015-09-01

Full Text Available As the availability and use of wearables increases, they are becoming a promising platform for context sensing and context analysis. Smartwatches are a particularly interesting platform for this purpose, as they offer salient advantages, such as their proximity to the human body. However, they also have limitations associated with their small form factor, such as processing power and battery life, which makes it difficult to simply transfer smartphone-based context sensing and prediction models to smartwatches. In this paper, we introduce an energy-efficient, generic, integrated framework for continuous context sensing and prediction on smartwatches. Our work extends previous approaches for context sensing and prediction on wrist-mounted wearables that perform predictive analytics outside the device. We offer a generic sensing module and a novel energy-efficient, on-device prediction module that is based on a semantic abstraction approach to convert sensor data into meaningful information objects, similar to human perception of a behavior. Through six evaluations, we analyze the energy efficiency of our framework modules, identify the optimal file structure for data access and demonstrate an increase in accuracy of prediction through our semantic abstraction method. The proposed framework is hardware independent and can serve as a reference model for implementing context sensing and prediction on small wearable devices beyond smartwatches, such as body-mounted cameras.

Energy-Efficient Integration of Continuous Context Sensing and Prediction into Smartwatches.

Science.gov (United States)

Rawassizadeh, Reza; Tomitsch, Martin; Nourizadeh, Manouchehr; Momeni, Elaheh; Peery, Aaron; Ulanova, Liudmila; Pazzani, Michael

2015-09-08

As the availability and use of wearables increases, they are becoming a promising platform for context sensing and context analysis. Smartwatches are a particularly interesting platform for this purpose, as they offer salient advantages, such as their proximity to the human body. However, they also have limitations associated with their small form factor, such as processing power and battery life, which makes it difficult to simply transfer smartphone-based context sensing and prediction models to smartwatches. In this paper, we introduce an energy-efficient, generic, integrated framework for continuous context sensing and prediction on smartwatches. Our work extends previous approaches for context sensing and prediction on wrist-mounted wearables that perform predictive analytics outside the device. We offer a generic sensing module and a novel energy-efficient, on-device prediction module that is based on a semantic abstraction approach to convert sensor data into meaningful information objects, similar to human perception of a behavior. Through six evaluations, we analyze the energy efficiency of our framework modules, identify the optimal file structure for data access and demonstrate an increase in accuracy of prediction through our semantic abstraction method. The proposed framework is hardware independent and can serve as a reference model for implementing context sensing and prediction on small wearable devices beyond smartwatches, such as body-mounted cameras.

Struggles for Equal Rights and Social Justice as Unrepresented and Represented in Psychological Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Turiel, Elliot; Chung, Eunkyung; Carr, Jessica A

2016-01-01

Issues of equality and social justice remain important concerns for contemporary societies. Struggles for equal rights and fair treatment continue in both organized movements and in acts of everyday life. We first consider trends in psychological research that fail to address such struggles and may even impede theoretical understanding of the complex processes of thought and action involved when individuals confront situations of welfare, justice, and rights. Then, we consider research, which attempts to address these issues. We review studies on the development of moral judgments and on understandings of equality and distributive justice. We also discuss research that accounts for the varying social contexts of individual lives and conceives of human behavior as engaged in moral judgments, which often produce resistance and opposition to injustice. In conclusion, we call for more attention in psychological research to issues of equity and social justice. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Regression analysis with categorized regression calibrated exposure: some interesting findings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hjartåker Anette

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Regression calibration as a method for handling measurement error is becoming increasingly well-known and used in epidemiologic research. However, the standard version of the method is not appropriate for exposure analyzed on a categorical (e.g. quintile scale, an approach commonly used in epidemiologic studies. A tempting solution could then be to use the predicted continuous exposure obtained through the regression calibration method and treat it as an approximation to the true exposure, that is, include the categorized calibrated exposure in the main regression analysis. Methods We use semi-analytical calculations and simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach compared to the naive approach of not correcting for measurement error, in situations where analyses are performed on quintile scale and when incorporating the original scale into the categorical variables, respectively. We also present analyses of real data, containing measures of folate intake and depression, from the Norwegian Women and Cancer study (NOWAC. Results In cases where extra information is available through replicated measurements and not validation data, regression calibration does not maintain important qualities of the true exposure distribution, thus estimates of variance and percentiles can be severely biased. We show that the outlined approach maintains much, in some cases all, of the misclassification found in the observed exposure. For that reason, regression analysis with the corrected variable included on a categorical scale is still biased. In some cases the corrected estimates are analytically equal to those obtained by the naive approach. Regression calibration is however vastly superior to the naive method when applying the medians of each category in the analysis. Conclusion Regression calibration in its most well-known form is not appropriate for measurement error correction when the exposure is analyzed on a

12 CFR 268.202 - Equal Pay Act.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Equal Pay Act. 268.202 Section 268.202 Banks... REGARDING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Provisions Applicable to Particular Complaints § 268.202 Equal Pay Act. Complaints alleging violations of the Equal Pay Act shall be processed under this part. ...

Turbo Equalization Using Partial Gaussian Approximation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Chuanzong; Wang, Zhongyong; Manchón, Carles Navarro

2016-01-01

This letter deals with turbo equalization for coded data transmission over intersymbol interference (ISI) channels. We propose a message-passing algorithm that uses the expectation propagation rule to convert messages passed from the demodulator and decoder to the equalizer and computes messages...... returned by the equalizer by using a partial Gaussian approximation (PGA). We exploit the specific structure of the ISI channel model to compute the latter messages from the beliefs obtained using a Kalman smoother/equalizer. Doing so leads to a significant complexity reduction compared to the initial PGA...

Study of the hearing losses of industrial workers with occupational noise exposure, using statistical methods for the analysis of qualitative data.

Science.gov (United States)

Rop, I; Raber, A; Fischer, G H

1979-01-01

The application of a polychotomous generalization of the linear probabilistic model of Cox is described, which allows the investigation of the effects of different noise levels with various durations of exposure on hearing. If the model assumptions are not rejected, it is possible to separate the effect of noise exposure from the effect of age. The results will thus show to what extent the hearing losses of an industrial worker are due to presbyacusis or to noise exposure. An empirical investigation was based on the evaluation of hearing losses at the audiometric frequencies 1, 2 and 3 kHz in 35 212 industrial workers of both sexes. It was attempted to predict the distribution of hearing losses in the left and the right ear as an additive function of the effect of noise exposure, age and sex. The parameters describing the effect of age increased linearly. Noise levels equal to and above 85 dB(A) have a noxious influence on hearing. Furthermore, hearing loss does not increase continuously with duration of exposure; from 15 years onwards, no essential increase in hearing loss appears which can be attributed to noise at work.

Radon daughter exposure estimation and its relation to the exposure limit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stocker, H.

1981-10-01

Under current Atomic Energy Control Regulations, the annual limit for individual exposure to radon daughters is 4 WLM. The Regulations do not specify how the exposure is to be determined nor to what accuracy the measurements should be made. This paper discusses the historical and conventional grab-sampling and time-weighting methods for assigning exposures to radon daughters in uranium mines in Canada. As a further step in the evolution of exposure assignments, the system of personal radon daughter dosimetry is introduced as the more accurate means of assigning individual exposures and of adhering to the intent of the exposure limit

Medical students' perceptions of racial diversity and gender equality.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, May; Coulehan, John L

2006-07-01

To assess attitudes of medical students toward issues of racial diversity and gender equality and to ascertain changes in these attitudes during the pre-clinical curriculum. Attitudes toward multiculturalism and gender equality were assessed using a 43-item questionnaire. The survey was completed by incoming Year 1 students in 2000 and 2001, and was completed again in 2002 by the students who had entered in 2000. Mean scores were analysed at baseline by gender, ethnic group and political affiliation using analysis of variance. The paired scores of the first and follow-up surveys of the 2000 entering class were compared using paired t-tests. Upon entry into medical school, women, minority group students and Democrats scored significantly higher on the cultural sensitivity scale than their comparison groups. No significant changes were seen overall in the matched data. However, minority groups showed a significant increase in scores, while Republicans and white men experienced a non-significant decline. In addition, incoming students judged cultural competency education to be important. The perceived need to increase the numbers of minority group doctors varied by gender, ethnic group and political affiliation. Among incoming medical students, perceptions of racial diversity and gender equality vary along ethnic, gender and political lines. Additionally, pre-clinical education was associated with increased cultural sensitivity by minority group students, but not by others. These findings demonstrate the continuing need for diversity in medical school and for medical students to recognise and address their personal and group biases.

Certifying Equality With Limited Interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brody, Joshua Eric; Chakrabarti, Amit; McGregor, Andrew

2012-01-01

The \\textsc{equality} problem is usually one's first encounter with communication complexity and is one of the most fundamental problems in the field. Although its deterministic and randomized communication complexity were settled decades ago, we find several new things to say about the problem...... cost bounds, we obtain new bounded-round randomized lower bounds for the \\textsc{or-equality} problem that have a direct-sum flavor. Such lower bounds were previously known only for deterministic protocols or one-round randomized protocols. The \\textsc{or-equality} problem is in turn closely related...

Use of dose constraints in medical exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mutanga, N. V. T.

2013-04-01

Medical-related radiation is the largest source of controllable radiation exposure to humans and it accounts for more than 95% of radiation exposure from man-made sources. Medical exposure to radiation is exposure incurred by patients as part of their own medical or dental diagnosis or treatment; by persons, other than those occupationally exposed, knowingly, while voluntarily helping in the support and comfort of patients; and by volunteers in a programme of biomedical research involving their exposure. Because it is planned exposure, medical exposure has to conform to a set of principles of protection that apply equally to all controllable exposure situations: the principle of justification, the principle of optimisation of protection, and the principle of application of limits on maximum doses in planned situations. In this study the concept of dose constraints is being scrutinized to see if it can be applied in medical exposures and the benefits of such restrictions. Dose constraints can only be applied to exposure to persons voluntary helping in the support and comfort of patients as well as volunteers in the programme of biomedical research. There are no dose constraints for patients but the concept of reference levels applies. (au)

Radiation exposure profile and dose estimates to flyers en route Frankfurt to Mumbai

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, D.D.; Hegde, A.G.

2010-01-01

The earth is continuously bombarded by the high energy radiation (galactic radiation) from solar system commonly known as cosmic radiation. Intensity of cosmic ray radiation exposures change with altitude and increases rapidly with the increase in altitude from the earth. Passenger and cargo flights fly at different altitudes and therefore the crew and passengers are exposed to radiation levels significantly higher than the average background levels on the earth. A typical commercial jet aircraft fly at an altitude of 30,000 - 40,000 feet (9-12 km) and at these heights radiation exposure rates increase by about 100 times from the background levels. European countries have guidelines and suggestions on radiation exposure to air crew members in sectors that may potentially expose them to levels exceeding 1 mSv per annum. The paper details the radiation exposure profile recorded in Frankfurt-Dubai-Mumbai sector and evaluation of average radiation exposure received by the flyers and air crew members

Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of fission neutrons and gamma rays at occupational exposure levels: Volume 1, Studies on the genetic effects in mice of 60 equal once-weekly exposures to fission neutrons and gamma rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grahn, D.; Carnes, B.A.

1987-10-01

The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values for low doses of fission neutrons compared to 60 Co gamma rays were determined with four separate assessments of genetic damage induced in young hybrid male mice. Both radiations were delivered at low dose levels over about one-half the adult lifetime as 60 once-weekly exposures. Genetic damage assessed included both transient and residual injury. The latter is more critical, as residual genetic injury can be transmitted to subsequent generations long after the radiation exposures have ceased. Assays were performed periodically during the 60-week exposure period and at 10 or more weeks after the irradiations had terminated. RBE values, with few exceptions, ranged between 5 and 15 for transient injury and between 25 and 50 for different types of residual genetic injury. The most important form of residual genetic damage in this study was the balanced reciprocal chromosome translocation. These translocations continue to be transmitted throughout reproductive life and can lead to reduced fertility and increased prenatal mortality. The best estimate of the RBE value for translocations was 45 +- 10. Implications and recommendations with regard to the neutron quality factor will be presented conjointly with the findings from the data obtained in this same project on life shortening and on the risks of incidence or death from neoplastic disease. 64 refs., 23 tabs

Educational Equality: Luck Egalitarian, Pluralist and Complex

Science.gov (United States)

Calvert, John

2014-01-01

The basic principle of educational equality is that each child should receive an equally good education. This sounds appealing, but is rather vague and needs substantial working out. Also, educational equality faces all the objections to equality per se, plus others specific to its subject matter. Together these have eroded confidence in the…

24 CFR 960.103 - Equal opportunity requirements and protection for victims of domestic violence.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Equal opportunity requirements and protection for victims of domestic violence. 960.103 Section 960.103 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING...

24 CFR 982.53 - Equal opportunity requirements and protection for victims of domestic violence.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Equal opportunity requirements and protection for victims of domestic violence. 982.53 Section 982.53 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND...

An All-vanadium Continuous-flow Photoelectrochemical Cell for Extending State-of-charge in Solar Energy Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Zi; Shen, Yi; Liu, Dong; Liu, Fuqiang

2017-04-04

Greater levels of solar energy storage provide an effective solution to the inherent nature of intermittency, and can substantially improve reliability, availability, and quality of the renewable energy source. Here we demonstrated an all-vanadium (all-V) continuous-flow photoelectrochemical storage cell (PESC) to achieve efficient and high-capacity storage of solar energy, through improving both photocurrent and photocharging depth. It was discovered that forced convective flow of electrolytes greatly enhanced the photocurrent by 5 times comparing to that with stagnant electrolytes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study revealed a great reduction of charge transfer resistance with forced convective flow of electrolytes as a result of better mass transport at U-turns of the tortuous serpentine flow channel of the cell. Taking advantage of the improved photocurrent and diminished charge transfer resistance, the all-V continuous-flow PESC was capable of producing ~20% gain in state of charge (SOC) under AM1.5 illumination for ca. 1.7 hours without any external bias. This gain of SOC was surprisingly three times more than that with stagnant electrolytes during a 25-hour period of photocharge.

Equal Protection Under the Law: Do Female Justices have a Different Voice?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine Jorgensen

2012-01-01

Full Text Available As women take on a continuously larger role in the legal field, it has become tremendously important to study and understand the impact women are having on the judicial system. This work explores the role of women in the judiciary. Specifically, I examine the Supreme Court of the United States to find out whether women’s jurisprudence differs from that of their male colleagues. For this paper, I limit my examination to cases involving equal protection under the law. The theory I employ is that of Carol Gilligan, who argues that across many realms, women have a uniquely different voice than men (1982. Through a quantitative analysis of 49 cases dealing with issues of equal protection under the law, I show that Gilligan’s theory helps us understand how cases are decided in the United States Supreme Court. Additionally, I show how the “Different Voice” model improves upon existing models of judicial decision making by Lee Epstein, Jeffrey Segal, and Harold Spaeth. This paper expands current gender and politics literature, which had previously used Gilligan’s insights to examine U.S. state legislatures, by analyzing decision making in the Supreme Court. This paper thus illustrates that women, due to their unique life experiences, have a different understanding of the law in regards to equality and equal protection under the law.

Does 0.999... Really Equal 1?

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, Anderson; Baldwin, Michael

2012-01-01

This article confronts the issue of why secondary and post-secondary students resist accepting the equality of 0.999... and 1, even after they have seen and understood logical arguments for the equality. In some sense, we might say that the equality holds by definition of 0.999..., but this definition depends upon accepting properties of the real…

Effectiveness of Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Science.gov (United States)

Rutt, Benjamin T; Oehlert, Mary E; Krieshok, Thomas S; Lichtenberg, James W

2018-04-01

Objective This study evaluated the effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure in conditions reflective of current clinical practice within the Veterans Health Administration. Method This study involved a retrospective review of 2030 charts. A total of 750 veterans from 10 U.S. states who received cognitive processing therapy or prolonged exposure in individual psychotherapy were included in the study (participants in cognitive processing therapy, N = 376; participants in prolonged exposure, N = 374). The main dependent variable was self-reported posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms as measured by total scores on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. The study used multilevel modeling to evaluate the absolute and relative effectiveness of both treatments and determine the relationship between patient-level variables and total Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist scores during treatment. Results Cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure were equally effective at reducing total Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist scores. Veterans who completed therapy reported significantly larger reductions in the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist than patients who did not complete therapy. There were no significant differences in the improvement of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms with respect to age and three racial/ethnic groups (Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic). Conclusions Cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure were shown to be effective in conditions highly reflective of clinical practice and with a highly diverse sample of veterans. Challenges related to dropout from trauma focused therapy should continue to be researched.

Consideration on a limit for lifetime occupational radiation exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kellerer, A.M.

1998-01-01

Annual dose limits in occupational radiation exposure are merely a secondary constraint in addition to the primary rule of dose reduction and justification. The limits may, therefore, be reached only in rare, special cases. However, in principle, there might be cases in which the annual limit is continuously exhausted throughout a working life; a high total dose of 0.8 Sv could then be reached. In view of this possibility, there have been considerations of an added restriction by limiting the lifetime occupational dose to 0.4 Sv. The implications of such lifetime doses are considered, and it is shown that an exposure up to the maximum of 0.8 Sv will lead to the need for compensation, if a leukaemia were to occur in the exposed worker. A lifetime dose of 0.4 Sv equally spread over a working life will not lead to the critical value of the probability of causation in excess of 0.5. Nevertheless, it could cause such critical values when it is accumulated during shorter periods. More decisive than the probabilities of causation are, however, the absolute numbers of excess cases of leukaemia due to the occupational exposure. It is seen that less than one excess case would be expected if a group of 100 workers were all exposed to the maximum of 0.8 Sv. Since lifetime doses of 0.8 or 0.4 Sv will be accumulated in very few cases and only with special justification, there appears to be little need to introduce a further limit of lifetime exposure in addition to the current annual limit. (orig.)

The policy on gender equality in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agustin, Lise Rolandsen

The briefing paper describes current Danish policies, practices and legislation within the area of gender equality. It addresses economic independence, reconciliation policies, participation in decision-making, gender-based violence and trafficking, gender stereotypes, and gender equality...... in development policies. The former liberal-conservative government (2001-2011) has focused on equal opportunities, gender equality as a means to economic growth, voluntary measures and freedom of choice. Increased attention has been paid in recent years to ethnic minorities and to men’s role in gender equality....

[Accumulative effects and long-term persistence of subliminal mere exposure].

Science.gov (United States)

Kawakami, Naoaki; Yoshida, Fujio

2011-10-01

We examined the accumulative effects and long-term persistence of subliminal mere exposure. An accumulative exposure condition (100 exposures distributed over five days) and a massed exposure condition (100 exposures in one day) were used in a Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT), with assessments of likability from Time 1 (just after) to Time 6 (after three months). First, a single stimulus was shown subliminally for a total of 100 times. The results indicated that mere exposure effects occurred equally often at Time 1. However, after Time 2, likability gradually decreased under the massed exposure condition, while it did not decrease under the accumulative exposure condition until Time 6. Second, in order to investigate the effect of multiple exposure, five stimuli belonging to a common category were shown 20 times each, for a total of 100 times. An ANOVA suggested that massed exposure had an instantaneous effect on likability, whereas accumulative exposure had a long-term persistence effect. Also, multiple exposures strengthened the mere exposure effect.

Long-term exposure of the isopod Porcellionides pruinosus to nickel: Costs in the energy budget and detoxification enzymes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Nuno G C; Cardoso, Diogo N; Morgado, Rui; Soares, Amadeu M V M; Loureiro, Susana

2015-09-01

Terrestrial isopods from the species Porcellionides pruinosus were exposed to the maximum allowed nickel concentration in the Canadian framework guideline (50 mg Ni/kg soil) and to 5× this concentration (250 mg Ni/kg soil). The exposure lasted for 28 days and was followed by a recovery period of 14 days where organisms were changed to clean soil. Organisms were sampled after 24 h, 48 h, 96 h, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, and 28 days of exposure, and at days 35 and 42 during the recovery period. For each sampling time the acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione-S-transferases (GST), catalase (CAT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were determined as well as lipid peroxidation rate (LPO) along with lipids, carbohydrates, proteins content, energy available (Ea), energy consumption (Ec) and cellular energy allocation (CEA). The integrated biomarker response (IBR) was calculated for each sampling time as well as for each one of the above parameters. In addition, mortality was also recorded throughout the assay. The results obtained showed that nickel induced oxidative stress, evidenced by results on GST, GPx, CAT or LPO, but also on changes in the energy reserves content of these organisms. In addition, this study showed that these organisms possess a specific strategy to handle nickel toxicity. In this case, biomarkers were associated with costs in the energy budget, and the increase of energy reserves has a compensation for that cost. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous-Integration Laser Energy Lidar Monitor

Science.gov (United States)

Karsh, Jeremy

2011-01-01

This circuit design implements an integrator intended to allow digitization of the energy output of a pulsed laser, or the energy of a received pulse of laser light. It integrates the output of a detector upon which the laser light is incident. The integration is performed constantly, either by means of an active integrator, or by passive components.

Gender equality in couples and self-rated health - A survey study evaluating measurements of gender equality and its impact on health.

Science.gov (United States)

Sörlin, Ann; Lindholm, Lars; Ng, Nawi; Ohman, Ann

2011-08-26

Men and women have different patterns of health. These differences between the sexes present a challenge to the field of public health. The question why women experience more health problems than men despite their longevity has been discussed extensively, with both social and biological theories being offered as plausible explanations. In this article, we focus on how gender equality in a partnership might be associated with the respondents' perceptions of health. This study was a cross-sectional survey with 1400 respondents. We measured gender equality using two different measures: 1) a self-reported gender equality index, and 2) a self-perceived gender equality question. The aim of comparison of the self-reported gender equality index with the self-perceived gender equality question was to reveal possible disagreements between the normative discourse on gender equality and daily practice in couple relationships. We then evaluated the association with health, measured as self-rated health (SRH). With SRH dichotomized into 'good' and 'poor', logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with the outcome. For the comparison between the self-reported gender equality index and self-perceived gender equality, kappa statistics were used. Associations between gender equality and health found in this study vary with the type of gender equality measurement. Overall, we found little agreement between the self-reported gender equality index and self-perceived gender equality. Further, the patterns of agreement between self-perceived and self-reported gender equality were quite different for men and women: men perceived greater gender equality than they reported in the index, while women perceived less gender equality than they reported. The associations to health were depending on gender equality measurement used. Men and women perceive and report gender equality differently. This means that it is necessary not only to be conscious of the methods and measurements

Incomplete equalization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Anders; Jæger, Mads Meier; Karlson, Kristian Bernt

2013-01-01

improve access to lower-tier higher education for low-SES students. These findings point to an interesting paradox in that tracking has adverse effects at the micro-level but equalizes educational opportunities at the macro-level. We also discuss whether similar mechanisms might exist in other educational...

Measurements of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure at Work and at Leisure in Danish Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Grandahl, Kasper; Eriksen, Paul; Ibler, Kristina Sophie; Bonde, Jens Peter; Mortensen, Ole Steen

2018-03-30

Exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation is the main cause of skin cancer and may well present an occupational health and safety problem. In Denmark, skin cancer is a common disease in the general population, but detailed data on solar ultraviolet radiation exposure among outdoor workers are lacking. The aim of this study was to provide objective measurements of solar ultraviolet radiation exposure on working days and at leisure and compare levels of exposure between groups of mainly outdoor, equal-parts-outdoor-and-indoor and indoor workers. To this end, UV-B dosimeters with an aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) photodiode detector were used to measure the solar ultraviolet radiation exposure of 457 workers in the Danish summer season. Presented as semi-annual standard erythemal dose (SED) on working days, respectively, at leisure, the results are for mainly outdoor workers 214.2 SED and 64.8 SED, equal-parts-outdoor-and-indoor workers 131.4 SED and 64.8 SED, indoor workers 55.8 SED and 57.6 SED. The daily SED by month is significantly different (α = 0.05) between mainly outdoor, equal-parts-outdoor-and-indoor and indoor workers and across professional groups; some of which are exposed at very high levels that is roofers 361.8 SED. These findings substantiate that exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation is indeed an occupational health and safety problem in Denmark. © 2018 The Authors. Photochemistry and Photobiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Photobiology.

Protein design using continuous rotamers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Gainza

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Optimizing amino acid conformation and identity is a central problem in computational protein design. Protein design algorithms must allow realistic protein flexibility to occur during this optimization, or they may fail to find the best sequence with the lowest energy. Most design algorithms implement side-chain flexibility by allowing the side chains to move between a small set of discrete, low-energy states, which we call rigid rotamers. In this work we show that allowing continuous side-chain flexibility (which we call continuous rotamers greatly improves protein flexibility modeling. We present a large-scale study that compares the sequences and best energy conformations in 69 protein-core redesigns using a rigid-rotamer model versus a continuous-rotamer model. We show that in nearly all of our redesigns the sequence found by the continuous-rotamer model is different and has a lower energy than the one found by the rigid-rotamer model. Moreover, the sequences found by the continuous-rotamer model are more similar to the native sequences. We then show that the seemingly easy solution of sampling more rigid rotamers within the continuous region is not a practical alternative to a continuous-rotamer model: at computationally feasible resolutions, using more rigid rotamers was never better than a continuous-rotamer model and almost always resulted in higher energies. Finally, we present a new protein design algorithm based on the dead-end elimination (DEE algorithm, which we call iMinDEE, that makes the use of continuous rotamers feasible in larger systems. iMinDEE guarantees finding the optimal answer while pruning the search space with close to the same efficiency of DEE.Software is available under the Lesser GNU Public License v3. Contact the authors for source code.

Public hospital care: equal for all or equal for some? Evidence from the Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Chris D; Peabody, John; Hanson, Kara; Solon, Orville

2015-03-01

In low- and middle-income countries, government budgets are rarely sufficient to cover a public hospital's operating costs. Shortfalls are typically financed through a combination of health insurance contributions and user charges. The mixed nature of this financing arrangement potentially creates financial incentives to treat patients with equal health need unequally. Using data from the Philippines, the authors analyzed whether doctors respond to such incentives. After controlling for a patient's condition, they found that patients using insurance, paying more for hospital accommodation, and being treated in externally monitored hospitals were likely to receive more care. This highlights the worrying possibility that public hospital patients with equal health needs are not always equally treated. © 2011 APJPH.

Development of continuous energy Monte Carlo burn-up calculation code MVP-BURN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okumura, Keisuke; Nakagawa, Masayuki; Sasaki, Makoto

2001-01-01

Burn-up calculations based on the continuous energy Monte Carlo method became possible by development of MVP-BURN. To confirm the reliably of MVP-BURN, it was applied to the two numerical benchmark problems; cell burn-up calculations for High Conversion LWR lattice and BWR lattice with burnable poison rods. Major burn-up parameters have shown good agreements with the results obtained by a deterministic code (SRAC95). Furthermore, spent fuel composition calculated by MVP-BURN was compared with measured one. Atomic number densities of major actinides at 34 GWd/t could be predicted within 10% accuracy. (author)

Equal opportunities group. His mission : accelerating equal opportunities at CERN

CERN Multimedia

Patrice Loïez

2000-01-01

L. to r.: Michel Mayoud, Christine Petit-Jean-Genaz, the Equal Opportunities Officer Sudeshna Datta-Cockerill, Elena Wildner, Anne-Sylvie Cerne, Karl-Heinz Kissler, the Chairman John Ellis and Eva-Maria Groniger-Voss

Temperature dependent energy levels of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite

Science.gov (United States)

Foley, Benjamin J.; Marlowe, Daniel L.; Sun, Keye; Saidi, Wissam A.; Scudiero, Louis; Gupta, Mool C.; Choi, Joshua J.

2015-06-01

Temperature dependent energy levels of methylammonium lead iodide are investigated using a combination of ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and optical spectroscopy. Our results show that the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum shift down in energy by 110 meV and 77 meV as temperature increases from 28 °C to 85 °C. Density functional theory calculations using slab structures show that the decreased orbital splitting due to thermal expansion is a major contribution to the experimentally observed shift in energy levels. Our results have implications for solar cell performance under operating conditions with continued sunlight exposure and increased temperature.

Energy and rate dependence of diagnostic x-ray exposure meters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, L.K.; Cerra, F.; Conway, B.; Fewell, T.R.; Ohlhaber, T.R.

1988-01-01

Variations in x-ray exposure measurements among a variety of contemporary diagnostic exposure meters are investigated. Variations may result from systematic errors due to calibration, beam-quality dependence and exposure-rate dependence. It is concluded that the majority of general purpose diagnostic meters will agree to within 10% of each other if exposure rates are below 1.3 mC kg-1S-1 of air (5 R s-1) and beam qualities are typical for general purpose radiology, excluding mammography. For exposure rates comparable to those in barium enema radiography the variations can range up to 25% or more. Variations up to 40% were observed among general purpose exposure meters at mammographic beam qualities. In the mammographic range, mammographic (thin window) exposure meters varied by no more than 2%

Energy and sustainable development: issues and options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Appert, O.

2001-01-01

Future development needs to be sustainable in all of its dimensions if it is to continue to fully contribute to human welfare. In the achievement of this objective, the manner in which energy is produced and consumed is of crucial importance. In the wake of these insights, first attempts begin to provide concrete options for steps towards sustainability in the energy sector. Two criteria can be identified for developing sustainable development policies. First, such policies need to strike a balance between the three dimensions of sustainable development - economic, environmental and social - acknowledging that all three are intrinsically linked. Second, policies in the energy sector need to reduce exposure to large-scale risks and improve the resilience of the energy system through active risk management and diversification. (authors)

Biological effects of repeated exposure of beagle dogs to relatively insoluble aerosols of 144Ce. IV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boecker, B.B.; Hahn, F.F.; Hanika-Rebar, C.; McClellan, R.O.; Mauderly, J.L.; Pickrell, J.A.

1977-01-01

This experiment is being conducted to study the behavior and long-term biological effects in Beagle dogs of 144 Ce inhaled in fused aluminosilicate particles in repeated inhalation exposures for comparison with similar data from dogs that were exposed only once to a similar aerosol. Four groups of nine dogs each were exposed once every eight weeks for two years (13 exposures) to achieve specified exposure goals. The 144 Ce-exposed dogs received increasing or relatively constant beta radiation dose rates in contrast to the steadily decreasing dose rate seen after a single inhalation exposure. Exposures in the first and second groups were planned to yield a cumulative absorbed dose to lung of approximately equal to 35,000 rads and those in the third group approximately equal to 17,000 rads within two years after the first exposure. Singly exposed dogs that had died with pulmonary tumors when this experiment was initiated had cumulative doses to death of 29,000 to 61,000 rads. All 13 exposures have been completed. One dog in the 4.5-μCi 144 Ce/kg body weight group died at 771 days after first exposure with emaciation, adrenal cortical degeneration and bone marrow aplasia. One control dog died accidentally during anesthesia. During the past year, two additional dogs have died. One dog in the repeated 2.5-μCi 144 Ce/kg body weight group died at 1256 days after the first exposure with radiation pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis and a control dog died at 1052 days with autoimmune hemolytic anemia. The remaining 32 dogs appear to be in good physical condition except for a persistent lymphopenia at approximately equal to 4 years after the first exposure. They are being maintained for life span observations

Mechanism of equalization of proton and neutron radii and the Coulomb anomaly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caurier, E.; Poves, A.; Zuker, A.

1980-01-01

It is shown that a one parameter modification of the effective forces allows to resolve the Coulomb energy anomalies in the Ca region within the framework of Hartree Fock (HF) and isospin projected Hartree Fock (IPHF) theories. A simple microscopic mechanism of equalization of neutron and proton radii is invoked to produce results consistent with available data

Near equality of ion phase space densities at earth, Jupiter, and Saturn

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, A. F.; Krimigis, S. M.; Armstrong, T. P.

1985-01-01

Energetic-ion phase-space density profiles are strikingly similar in the inner magnetospheres of earth, Jupiter, and Saturn for ions of first adiabatic invariant near 100 MeV/G and small mirror latitudes. Losses occur inside L approximately equal to 7 for Jupiter and Saturn and inside L approximately equal to 5 at earth. At these L values there exist steep plasma-density gradients at all three planets, associated with the Io plasma torus at Jupiter, the Rhea-Dione-Tethys torus at Saturn, and the plasmasphere at earth. Measurements of ion flux-tube contents at Jupiter and Saturn by the low-energy charged-particle experiment show that these are similar (for O ions at L = 5-9) to those at earth (for protons at L = 2-6). Furthermore, the thermal-ion flux-tube contents from Voyager plasma-science data at Jupiter and Saturn are also very nearly equal, and again similar to those at earth, differing by less than a factor of 3 at the respective L values. The near equality of energetic and thermal ion flux-tube contents at earth, Jupiter, and Saturn suggests the possibility of strong physical analogies in the interaction between plasma and energetic particles at the plasma tori/plasma sheets of Jupiter and Saturn and the plasmasphere of earth.

Earl occurring and continuing effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, B.R.; Hahn, F.F.

1989-01-01

This chapter develops health-risk models for early and continuing effects of exposure to beta or gamma radiation that could be associated with light water nuclear power plant accidents. The main purpose of the chapter is to provide details on each health-risk model and on the data used. Early and continuing effects considered are prodromal symptoms and nonneoplastic diseases that usually occur soon after a brief radiation exposure. These effects are generally associated with relatively high (greater than 1 Gy) absorbed organ doses. For most of the effects considered, there is an absorbed organ dose threshold below which no effects are seen. Some information is provided on health effects observed in victims of the Chernobyl power plant accident. Organs of primary interest, because of their high sensitivity or their potential for receiving large doses, are bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract, thyroid glands, lungs, skin, gonads, and eyes. Exposure of the fetus is also considered. Additional data and modeling techniques available since publication of the Reactor Safety Study were used to obtain models for morbidity and mortality

Hypoglycemic Exposure and Risk of Asymptomatic Hypoglycemia in Type 1 Diabetes assessed by Continuous Glucose Monitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Marie Moth; Andersen, Henrik Ullits; Thorsteinsson, Birger

2018-01-01

: To explore the association between hypoglycemic exposure and proportion of asymptomatic hypoglycemia and relation to risk of severe hypoglycemia. Design: Prospective observational trial. Setting: Outpatient clinic. Patients: 153 unselected subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). Intervention: Six days...... of blinded continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and recording of hypoglycemia symptoms. Main Outcome Measure: Proportion of asymptomatic hypoglycemic events (≤70 mg/dl). Results: Patients were grouped by the number of hypoglycemic events during the recording period (group 1: 1 event, group 2: 2-3 events...... positively associated with risk of severe hypoglycemia (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.3 (95% CI 1.1-1.5); p=0.003). Group 4 consisted of patients characterized by classical risk factors of severe hypoglycemia (longer duration of diabetes, lower HbA1c and more frequent impaired awareness of hypoglycemia...

Solution of the Kolmogorov-Nikol'skii problem for the Poisson integrals of continuous functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stepanets, A I

2001-01-01

Asymptotic equalities are obtained for upper bounds of the deviations of Fourier sums in the classes of convolutions of Poisson kernels and continuous functions with moduli of continuity not exceeding fixed majorants

Energy objectives Europe 2020: France must continue its efforts for renewable energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dussud, Francois-Xavier; Rabai, Yacine

2014-08-01

After having recalled the European objectives for 2020 related to climate change and sustainable energies (reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, share of renewable energies, and increase of energy efficiency), data are presented under the form of tables and graphs and discussed. These data concern the share of the different energy sources (coal, oil and oil products, gas, non renewable electricity, renewable energies, non renewable wastes) in the energy consumption for each of the 28 European countries, the evolutions of energy consumption and GDP between 2005 and 2012, the share of renewable energies in each European country, the level of greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 in each country and the target level for 2020, the evolution of greenhouse gas emissions and of GDP between 2005 and 2012. It appears that oil remains the main source in European energy consumption, that the share of renewable energies is nearly twice as it was in 2005, that three member states have already reached their objective in terms of share of renewable energies, and that fifteen countries have already reached their objectives of greenhouse gas emissions

SIHTI 2. Energy and environmental technology. Yearbook 1995. Project presentations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korhonen, M.; Thun, R.

1997-01-01

Detrimental impacts of various energy production forms, their prevention and costs to enterprises and to the society are studied in the National Research Programme on Energy and Environmental Technology - SIHTI 2. For this evaluation work databases on Finland's energy production, fuels and boilers and emissions of various production forms are needed. This is one of the main subtasks of the SIHTI Programme. Development of methods and tools required for environmental decision making and for the assessment of environmental costs and testing of their usability and reliability are equally important. Emission measurements are a problem field that continuously sets new challenges. In addition to energy production and its environmental impacts, environmental issues of the woodprocessing industries form another important research field of SIHTI 2 programme. A common aim of both fields is to reduce emissions of detrimental substances, to recycle raw materials, and to minimise and reuse wastes. Research and development projects are being carried out by a number of universities of different fields of science and technology, by research organisations and enterprises, and many projects are realised in close co-operation. In 1995, the programme comprised 28 R and D projects by universities and 22 enterprise-led projects. Results of these projects are presented in this yearbook. Part of the research projects continued from the preceding year and part were new projects continuing in 1996

Continuous Cropping and Moist Deep Convection on the Canadian Prairies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devon E. Worth

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Summerfallow is cropland that is purposely kept out of production during a growing season to conserve soil moisture. On the Canadian Prairies, a trend to continuous cropping with a reduction in summerfallow began after the summerfallow area peaked in 1976. This study examined the impact of this land-use change on convective available potential energy (CAPE, a necessary but not sufficient condition for moist deep convection. All else being equal, an increase in CAPE increases the probability-of-occurrence of convective clouds and their intensity if they occur. Representative Bowen ratios for the Black, Dark Brown, and Brown soil zones were determined for 1976: the maximum summerfallow year, 2001: our baseline year, and 20xx: a hypothetical year with the maximum-possible annual crop area. Average mid-growing-season Bowen ratios and noon solar radiation were used to estimate the reduction in the lifted index (LI from land-use weighted evapotranspiration in each study year. LI is an index of CAPE, and a reduction in LI indicates an increase in CAPE. The largest reductions in LI were found for the Black soil zone. They were −1.61 ± 0.18, −1.77 ± 0.14 and −1.89 ± 0.16 in 1976, 2001 and 20xx, respectively. These results suggest that, all else being equal, the probability-of-occurrence of moist deep convection in the Black soil zone was lower in 1976 than in the base year 2001, and it will be higher in 20xx when the annual crop area reaches a maximum. The trend to continuous cropping had less impact in the drier Dark Brown and Brown soil zones.

Radiation exposures for DOE and DOE contractor employees, 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, M.H.; Hui, T.E.; Millet, W.H.; Scholes, V.A.

1994-03-01

This is the 23rd in a series of annual radiation exposure reports published by the Department of Energy (DOE) or its predecessors. This report summarizes the radiation exposures received by both employees and visitors at DOE and DOE contractor facilities during 1990. Trends in radiation exposures are evaluated by comparing the doses received in 1990 to those received in previous years. The significance of the doses is addressed by comparing them to the DOE limits and by correlating the doses to health risks based on risk estimated from expert groups. This report is the third that is based on detailed exposure data for each individual monitored at a DOE facility. Prior to 1988, only summarized data from each facility were available. This report contains information on different types of radiation doses, including total effective, internal, penetrating, shallow, neutron, and extremity doses. It also contains analysis of exposures by age, sex, and occupation of the exposed individuals. This report also continues the precedent established in the Twenty-First (1988) Annual Report by conducting a detailed, one-time review and analysis of a particular topic of interest. The special topic for this report is a comparison of total effective, internal, and extremity dose equivalent values against penetrating dose equivalent values

Energy efficiency in India: Assessing the policy regimes and their impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balachandra, P.; Ravindranath, Darshini; Ravindranath, N.H.

2010-01-01

In the recent years, India has emerged as one of the fast growing economies of the world necessitating equally rapid increase in modern energy consumption. With an imminent global climate change threat, India will have difficulties in continuing with this rising energy use levels towards achieving high economic growth. It will have to follow an energy-efficient pathway in attaining this goal. In this context, an attempt is made to present India's achievements on the energy efficiency front by tracing the evolution of policies and their impacts. The results indicate that India has made substantial progress in improving energy efficiency which is evident from the reductions achieved in energy intensities of GDP to the tune of 88% during 1980-2007. Similar reductions have been observed both with respect to overall Indian economy and the major sectors of the economy. In terms of energy intensity of GDP, India occupies a relatively high position of nine among the top 30 energy consuming countries of the world.

Estimation of the contribution of neutrons to the equivalent dose for personnel occupationally exposed and public in medical facilities: X-ray with energy equal or greater than 10MV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, Alfonso Mayer; Jimenez, Roberto Ortega; Sanchez, Mario A. Reyes; Moranchel y Mejia, Mario

2013-01-01

In Mexico the use of electron accelerators for treating cancerous tumors had grown enormously in the last decade. When the treatments are carried out with X-ray beam energy below 10 MV the design of the shielding of the radioactive facility is determined by analyzing the interaction of X-rays, which have a direct impact and dispersion, with materials of the facility. However, when it makes use of X-ray beam energy equal to or greater than 10 MV the neutrons presence is imminent due to their generation by the interaction of the primary beam X-ray with materials head of the accelerator and of the table of treatment, mainly. In these cases, the design and calculation of shielding considers the generation of high-energy neutrons which contribute the equivalent dose that public and Occupationally Staff Exposed (POE) will receive in the areas surrounding the facility radioactive. However, very few measurements have been performed to determine the actual contribution to the neutron dose equivalent received by POE and public during working hours. This paper presents an estimate of the actual contribution of the neutron dose equivalent received by public and POE facilities in various radioactive medical use, considering many factors. To this end, measurements were made of the equivalent dose by using a neutron monitor in areas surrounding different radioactive installations (of Mexico) which used electron accelerators medical use during treatment with X-ray beam energy equal to or greater than 10 MV. The results are presented after a statistical analysis of a wide range of measures in order to estimate more reliability real contribution of the neutron dose equivalent for POE and the public. (author)

Controllable continuous evolution of electronic states in a single quantum ring

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Tapash; Manaselyan, Aram; Barseghyan, Manuk; Laroze, David

2018-02-01

An intense terahertz laser field is shown to have a profound effect on the electronic and optical properties of quantum rings where the isotropic and anisotropic quantum rings can now be treated on equal footing. We have demonstrated that in isotropic quantum rings the laser field creates unusual Aharonov-Bohm oscillations that are usually expected in anisotropic rings. Furthermore, we have shown that intense laser fields can restore the isotropic physical properties in anisotropic quantum rings. In principle, all types of anisotropies (structural, effective masses, defects, etc.) can evolve as in isotropic rings in our present approach. Most importantly, we have found a continuous evolution of the energy spectra and intraband optical characteristics of structurally anisotropic quantum rings to those of isotropic rings in a controlled manner with the help of a laser field.

Minimum detectable activity and false alarm rate relationships for alpha continuous air monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoover, M.D.; Newton, G.J.

1994-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy rule for Occupational Radiation Protection (10 CFR Part 835, December 1993) and the DOE Radiological Control Manual (the RCM) (DOE/EH-0256T, Rev. 1, April 1994) require the use of continuous air monitors (CAMs) in normally occupied areas where an individual is likely to be exposed to a concentration of airborne radioactivity exceeding the derived air concentration (DAC) or where there is a need to alert potentially exposed individuals to unexpected increases in airborne radioactivity levels. The DAC is the airborne concentration that equals the annual limit on intake divided by the volume of air breathed by an average worker for a working year of 2000 h (assuming a breathing volume of 2400 m 3 ). It is equivalent to the airborne concentration to which a worker could be exposed for an entire working year (2000 h) without exceeding the allowable annual limit on intake. The rule and the RCM further require that real-time air monitors have an alarm capability and sufficient sensitivity to alert potentially exposed individuals that immediate action is necessary in order to minimize or terminate inhalation exposures. The RCM also recommends that real-time air monitors should be capable of measuring 1 DAC when averaged over 8 h (8 DAC-h) under laboratory conditions. In response to these recommendations, we are developing procedures for determining the basic sensitivity of alpha CAMs under laboratory conditions and for documenting practical alarm set points for routine use of CAMs under a range of radon and thoron concentrations

Nonlinear mode interaction in equal-leg angle struts susceptible to cellular buckling.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, L; Wang, F; Wadee, M A; Yang, J

2017-11-01

A variational model that describes the interactive buckling of a thin-walled equal-leg angle strut under pure axial compression is presented. A formulation combining the Rayleigh-Ritz method and continuous displacement functions is used to derive a system of differential and integral equilibrium equations for the structural component. Solving the equations using numerical continuation reveals progressive cellular buckling (or snaking) arising from the nonlinear interaction between the weak-axis flexural buckling mode and the strong-axis flexural-torsional buckling mode for the first time-the resulting behaviour being highly unstable. Physical experiments conducted on 10 cold-formed steel specimens are presented and the results show good agreement with the variational model.

Experimental Investigation Of Microbially Induced Corrosion Of Test Samples And Effect Of Self-assembled Hydrophobic Monolayers. Exposure Of Test Samples To Continuous Microbial Cultures, Chemical Analysis, And Biochemical Studies

CERN Document Server

Laurinavichius, K S

1998-01-01

Experimental Investigation Of Microbially Induced Corrosion Of Test Samples And Effect Of Self-assembled Hydrophobic Monolayers. Exposure Of Test Samples To Continuous Microbial Cultures, Chemical Analysis, And Biochemical Studies

Distributive Equality, Relational Equality and Preferences about Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Voigt, Kristin

2017-01-01

Are scenarios in which disadvantaged students prefer not to attend (certain) universities a concern from the perspective of an egalitarian theory of justice? I consider this question from the respective perspectives of two prominent approaches to equality: distributive theories, which focus on the fairness of inequalities in outcomes, and…

Enhanced natural radiation exposure enhanced by human activity: the largest contributor to the Chinese population dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Ziqiang; Liu Yanyang

2011-01-01

For the radiation exposure caused by human activities, the enhanced natural radiation exposure is the largest contributor to Chinese population dose. This problem has attracted social attention in recent years. Efforts have been made in several fields, such as radon indoors and in workplace, environmental problems associated with NORMs, occupational radiation hazards of non-uranium mine, and radiation dose evaluation for energy chain, but there are still many problems to be solved. In order to protect the health of workers and the public, while ensuring industrial production and economic development, it is also necessary to continue to strengthen research in all aspects above mentioned, and gradually promote the control of natural radiation exposure enhanced by human activities. (authors)

The Uneasy Marriage between Law and Equality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pauline C. Westerman

2015-02-01

Full Text Available There are two ways in which the social ideal of equality has found expression in the law: in the principle of equal treatment and in the principle of non-discrimination. In this article the meaning of these two legal principles is analysed, in order to answer the question to what extent they can be said to contribute to equality in the sense of an equal distribution of collective resources. It is argued that whereas the first just requires decision-making to be rule-based, the second principle demands that rules should be based on sound categorical distinctions. Neither of the two can, however, sensibly be linked to equality as equal distribution. The article concludes that the only way to establish such a link is by adding to the principle of non-discrimination “financial resources” as a suspect ground.

A stochastic model for neutron simulation considering the spectrum and nuclear properties with continuous dependence of energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camargo, Dayana Queiroz de

2011-01-01

This thesis has developed a stochastic model to simulate the neutrons transport in a heterogeneous environment, considering continuous neutron spectra and the nuclear properties with its continuous dependence on energy. This model was implemented using Monte Carlo method for the propagation of neutrons in different environment. Due to restrictions with respect to the number of neutrons that can be simulated in reasonable computational processing time introduced the variable control volume along the (pseudo-) periodic boundary conditions in order to overcome this problem. The choice of class physical Monte Carlo is due to the fact that it can decompose into simpler constituents the problem of solve a transport equation. The components may be treated separately, these are the propagation and interaction while respecting the laws of energy conservation and momentum, and the relationships that determine the probability of their interaction. We are aware of the fact that the problem approached in this thesis is far from being comparable to building a nuclear reactor, but this discussion the main target was to develop the Monte Carlo model, implement the code in a computer language that allows extensions of modular way. This study allowed a detailed analysis of the influence of energy on the neutron population and its impact on the life cycle of neutrons. From the results, even for a simple geometrical arrangement, we can conclude the need to consider the energy dependence, i.e. an spectral effective multiplication factor should be introduced each energy group separately. (author)

DOE 2008 Occupational Radiation Exposure October 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

A major priority of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is to ensure the health, safety, and security of DOE employees, contractors, and subcontractors. The Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS) provides the corporate-level leadership and strategic vision necessary to better coordinate and integrate health, safety, environment, security, enforcement, and independent oversight programs. One function that supports this mission is the DOE Corporate Operating Experience Program that provides collection, analysis, and dissemination of performance indicators, such as occupational radiation exposure information. This analysis supports corporate decision-making and synthesizes operational information to support continuous environment, safety, and health improvement across the DOE complex.

Getting to Gender Equality in Energy Infrastructure : Lessons from Electricity Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Projects

OpenAIRE

Orlando, Maria Beatriz; Janik, Vanessa Lopes; Vaidya, Pranav; Angelou, Nicolina; Zumbyte, Ieva; Adams, Norma

2018-01-01

Getting to Gender Equality in Electricity Infrastructure: Lessons from Electricity Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Projects examines the social and gender footprint of large-scale electricity generation, transmission, and distribution projects to establish a foundation on which further research and replication of good practices can be built. The main impact pathways analyzed are...

Radioactive effluents and present and future radiation exposure to the population from nuclear facilities in the Federal Republic of Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonka, H.; Edelhauser, H.; Gans, I.; Wolter, R.

1977-01-01

As this time ten light water cooled nuclear power plants are operated outside of nuclear research centers in the Federal Republic of Germany. A review of the releases of radioactivity in gaseous and liquid effluents shows that increasing operational experience and improved technology combined with restrictive licensing policy and comprehensive control systems have resulted in decreasing release rates. Therefore radiation exposure to the population and critical groups calculated from these release rates on a local scale via different exposure pathways have been low until now. Predictions of future radiation exposure are based on the energy program of the Federal Republic of Germany up to 1985 and continuing forecasts for future energy demands, release rates of new reactor types and reprocessing plants being taken into account. In calculations of exposures to the population local models are combined with regional models superimposing contributions from sources in the Federal Republic and neighbouring countries and with a global multi-compartment model. If, with view to a continued development of the present state of science and technology in connection with major reprocessing plants, retention rates from 90-99% are assumed to be obtainable for H 3 and Kr 85, 99,5-99,9% for iodine and approximately 90% for C 14 from reprocessing plants, it can be demonstrated that also the future radiation exposure can be kept below the dose limits established in the Federal Republic of Germany

Governing Equality: Mathematics for All?

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz, Jennifer D.

2013-01-01

With the notion of governmentality, this article considers how the equal sign (=) in the U.S. math curriculum organizes knowledge of equality and inscribes cultural rules for thinking, acting, and seeing in the world. Situating the discussion within contemporary math reforms aimed at teaching mathematics for all, I draw attention to how the…

Equality in Sport for Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Geadelmann, Patricia L.; And Others

The subject of equal rights and opportunities for women in the field of physical education is discussed in nine articles. The major emphasis is on the legal aspects of sex discrimination. Defining equality, knowing the laws regarding enforcement, understanding the court procedures, and realizing the avenues for change are the essential tools…

Luck, Choice, and Educational Equality

Science.gov (United States)

Calvert, John

2015-01-01

Harry Brighouse discusses two conceptions of educational equality. The first is a type of equality of opportunity, heavily influenced by the work of John Rawls, which he calls the meritocratic conception. According to this conception, an individual's educational prospects should not be influenced by factors such as their social class background.…

Reduction of 3-methoxytyramine concentrations in the caudate nucleus of rats after exposure to high-energy iron particles: evidence for deficits in dopaminergic neurons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, W.A.; Dalton, T.K.; Joseph, J.A.; Rabin, B.M.

1990-01-01

Exposure to low doses of high-energy iron particles can alter motor behavior. The ability of rats to hang from a wire has been reported to be significantly degraded after exposure to doses as low as 0.5 Gy. In addition, deficits in the ability of acetylcholine to regulate dopamine release in the caudate nucleus (an area in the brain important for motor function) have been found. The concentrations of 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT), a metabolite of dopamine whose concentrations reflect dopamine release in vivo, were measured after rats were exposed to different doses of high-energy iron particles to gain further information about the effect of radiation on the dopaminergic system. Concentrations of 3-MT were significantly reduced 3 days after exposure to 5 Gy but returned to control values by 8 days. After 6 months, concentrations were again less than control values. Exposure to 5 Gy of high-energy electrons or gamma photons had no effect 3 days after exposure. Very high doses of electrons were needed to alter 3-MT concentrations. One hundred grays of electrons decreased 3-MT 30 min after irradiation but levels returned to control values by 60 min. Gamma photons had no effect after doses up to 200 Gy. These results provide further evidence that exposure to heavy particles can degrade motor behavior through an action on dopaminergic mechanisms and that this can occur after doses much lower than those needed for low-LET radiation

The Gender-Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education.

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Stoet, Gijsbert; Geary, David C

2018-04-01

The underrepresentation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is a continual concern for social scientists and policymakers. Using an international database on adolescent achievement in science, mathematics, and reading ( N = 472,242), we showed that girls performed similarly to or better than boys in science in two of every three countries, and in nearly all countries, more girls appeared capable of college-level STEM study than had enrolled. Paradoxically, the sex differences in the magnitude of relative academic strengths and pursuit of STEM degrees rose with increases in national gender equality. The gap between boys' science achievement and girls' reading achievement relative to their mean academic performance was near universal. These sex differences in academic strengths and attitudes toward science correlated with the STEM graduation gap. A mediation analysis suggested that life-quality pressures in less gender-equal countries promote girls' and women's engagement with STEM subjects.

Gender Equality and the Corporate Sector

OpenAIRE

Lisa Warth

2009-01-01

This paper focuses on how the commitment of businesses to promote gender equality within their organisations can be strengthened. A dual approach of encouraging voluntary measures and corporate social responsibility for gender equality on the one hand, and regulating and enforcing change through legislative reforms on the other hand are reviewed, focusing mainly on the European region. There are arguments for a business case for gender equality in terms of better financial performance and com...

Universal Linear Precoding for NBI-Proof Widely Linear Equalization in MC Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donatella Darsena

2007-09-01

Full Text Available In multicarrier (MC systems, transmitter redundancy, which is introduced by means of finite-impulse response (FIR linear precoders, allows for perfect or zero-forcing (ZF equalization of FIR channels (in the absence of noise. Recently, it has been shown that the noncircular or improper nature of some symbol constellations offers an intrinsic source of redundancy, which can be exploited to design efficient FIR widely-linear (WL receiving structures for MC systems operating in the presence of narrowband interference (NBI. With regard to both cyclic-prefixed and zero-padded transmission techniques, it is shown in this paper that, with appropriately designed precoders, it is possible to synthesize in both cases WL-ZF universal equalizers, which guarantee perfect symbol recovery for any FIR channel. Furthermore, it is theoretically shown that the intrinsic redundancy of the improper symbol sequence also enables WL-ZF equalization, based on the minimum mean output-energy criterion, with improved NBI suppression capabilities. Finally, results of numerical simulations are presented, which assess the merits of the proposed precoding designs and validate the theoretical analysis carried out.

Optical Response of Metakaolin after Ultraviolet and High Energy Electron Exposure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. T. Cesul

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Metakaolin, which is part of a class of inorganic polymers called geopolymers, is being tested currently for its use as a lightweight mirror material in spacecraft applications. Metakaolin, as with most geopolymers, has the advantages of low initial coefficient of thermal expansion, easy preparation at room temperature and pressure, and high specific strength. Even though metakaolin has been known as a structural material for millennia, it has not been properly vetted for use as a material in spacecraft applications, especially with respect to exposure to its environments. This research highlights one particular aspect of response to the space environment; that is, how do the optical properties of metakaolin change after subjugation to bombardment by ultraviolet and high energy electron radiation? These two radiation sources are common in low earth orbit and a primary cause of degradation of organic polymers in space. Photospectroscopic analysis showed that ultraviolet in combination with high energy electrons causes changes in the metakaolin which need to be accounted for due to their potential impacts on the thermal management of a spacecraft and during application in composite mirror structures.

A Tale of Two Studies: Equal Opportunity Climate and Mission Readiness

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2012-07-24

we explored a relationship-oriented, stylistic aspect of a leader, leader equal opportunity behavior (LEOB), as a tone-setter that determines the...unnecessary cognitive resources in deciding what, how, and when to invest their energy, time, and attention (i.e., all valued resources) at work...relationship-oriented, stylistic aspect of a leader that acts as a tone-setter that affects the way in which task-oriented leadership is delivered by the

Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity

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Opportunity Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity Home About ODMEO Leadership Documents News Skip to main content (Press Enter). Toggle navigation Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity Search Search ODMEO: Search Search ODMEO: Search Office of Diversity Management and Equal

Energy-efficiency in inductive heating of forging ingots; Energieeffizienz bei der induktiven Erwaermung von Schmiedebloecken

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Padberg, Michael; Doetsch, Erwin [ABP Induction Systems, Dortmund (Germany)

2012-03-15

The continuously increasing importance of the CO{sub 2} balance and of conservation of resources is resulting in ever greater demands for high energy-efficiency in the process used for heating of forging ingots. Plant and process engineering play roles of parallel significance in the fulfillment of these requirements, and this article focuses on both in equal degree. The shares of the individual components in the overall energy consumption of an induction heating installation are therefore firstly determined, and their respective potentials for optimization then discussed. The quality of the heating process itself, and its optimum design for reduction of energy consumption, are then examined. (orig.)

Skin exposure to isocyanates: reasons for concern.

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Bello, Dhimiter; Herrick, Christina A; Smith, Thomas J; Woskie, Susan R; Streicher, Robert P; Cullen, Mark R; Liu, Youcheng; Redlich, Carrie A

2007-03-01

Isocyanates (di- and poly-), important chemicals used worldwide to produce polyurethane products, are a leading cause of occupational asthma. Respiratory exposures have been reduced through improved hygiene controls and the use of less-volatile isocyanates. Yet isocyanate asthma continues to occur, not uncommonly in settings with minimal inhalation exposure but opportunity for skin exposure. In this review we evaluate the potential role of skin exposure in the development of isocyanate asthma. We reviewed the published animal and human literature on isocyanate skin-exposure methods, workplace skin exposure, skin absorption, and the role of skin exposure in isocyanate sensitization and asthma. We selected relevant articles from computerized searches on Medline, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and Google databases using the keywords "isocyanate," "asthma," "skin," "sensitization," and other synonymous terms, and our own extensive collection of isocyanate publications. Isocyanate production and use continues to increase as the polyurethane industry expands. There is substantial opportunity for isocyanate skin exposure in many work settings, but such exposure is challenging to quantify and continues to be underappreciated. Isocyanate skin exposure can occur at work, even with the use of personal protective equipment, and may also occur with consumer use of certain isocyanate products. In animals, isocyanate skin exposure is an efficient route to induce sensitization, with subsequent inhalation challenge resulting in asthma-like responses. Several lines of evidence support a similar role for human isocyanate skin exposure, namely, that such exposure occurs and can contribute to the development of isocyanate asthma in certain settings, presumably by inducing systemic sensitization. Integrated animal and human research is needed to better understand the role of skin

Effect of continuous exposure to very low dose rates of gamma rays on life span and neoplasia in mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, I.B. III; Tanaka, Satoshi; Ichinohe, Kazuaki; Matsumoto, Tsuneya; Otsu, Hiroshi; Oghiso, Yoichi; Sato, Fumiaki; Matsushita, Satoru

2008-01-01

Late effects of continuous exposure to ionizing radiation are potential hazards to workers in radiation facilities as well as to the general public. In the recent years, low-dose-rate and low-dose effects have become a serious concern. Using a total of 4,000 mice, we studied the late biological effects of chronic exposure to low-dose-rate radiation on life span and neoplasia. Two thousand male and 2000 female 8-week-old specific pathogen free (SPF) B6C3F1 mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, one non-irradiated (control) and three irradiated. The irradiated groups were exposed to 137 Cs gamma rays at dose-rates of 21, 1.1 and 0.05 mGy day -1 for approximately 400 days with total doses equivalent to 8000, 400 and 20 mGy, respectively. All mice were kept under SPF conditions until natural death and pathological examination was performed to determine the cause of death. Statistical analyses showed that the life spans of mice of both sexes irradiated with 21 mGy day -1 (P -1 (P 86.7% of all deaths. Compared to the non-irradiated controls, incidences of lethal neoplasms were significantly increased for myeloid leukaemia and hemangiosarcoma in males, soft tissue neoplasms and malignant granulosa cell tumors in females exposed to 21 mGy day -1 . The number of multiple primary neoplasms per mouse was significantly increased in mice irradiated at 21 mGy day -1 . Our results suggest that life shortening in mice continuously exposed to low dose-rate gamma rays is due to early death from a variety of neoplasms and not from increased incidence of specific lethal neoplasms. (author)

Multicultural Challenges - new gender equality dilemmas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siim, Birte

In my research have been interested in exploring tensions between diversity and gender equality from a theoretical and comparative approach, looking at the Nordic welfare, citizenship and gender regimes from a cross-national European perspective. In this key-note presentation I draw on results...... and inspiration from a number of comparative research projects and networks. In the following I address three issues that have been central in academic debates: 1) The challenges from multiculturalism to gender equality, 2) gendering citizenship and migration and 3) Nordic feminist debates about diversity....... In the last section I argue that one solution to the new gender equality dilemma posed by increased diversity among women is a simultaneous re-framing of multiculturalism and gender equality....

The 5-day continuous infusion of cis-platinum: An update on toxicity pattern

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salem, P.; Hashimi, L.; Jabboury, K.; Khalyl, M.

1986-01-01

In an attempt to further diminish the toxicity of Cis-Diamminodichloroplatinum (II) (DDP), clinical trials with the drug administered by 5-day continuous IV infusion were initiated in 1976. DDP cytotoxicity to asynchronous human lymphoma cells in culture was enhanced by prolonged exposure to the drug. Ninety-six patients patients with a varioty of histologically proven neoplastic diseases were intered in this study. All patients had a serum creatinine less than or equal to 1.5 mg/dl. Prior treatment was discontinued 3 to 4 weeks before initiation of cisplatin (DDP). Toxicity tables are presented of the general pattern of toxicity produced by 5-day DDP infustion and the gastrointestinal toxicity produced during the same period. A new dose schedule is presented which is apparently much less toxic than the bolus IV injection, in terms of immediate and delayed toxicities and allows the use of DDP for more prolonged periods of time in conjunction with radiation therapy

Equal rights as the center of democratization

OpenAIRE

Alan Gilbert

2010-01-01

Well-stated modern political or democratic theory is rights-based. Meaningful democracy rests as a precondition on the equal rights of citizens. This idea stems from Rousseau’s distinction between a general will*one which is impersonal and tends toward equality, that is, the equal basic rights of citizens*and a transitory will of all. For instance, absent equal basic rights, one might imagine a possible world in which what I have called a self-undermining series of wills of all, or the ...

Nuclear Material Accountability Applications of a Continuous Energy and Direction Gamma Ray Detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerts, David; Bean, Robert; Paff, Marc

2010-01-01

The Idaho National Laboratory has recently developed a detector system based on the principle of a Wilson cloud chamber that gives the original energy and direction to a gamma ray source. This detector has the properties that the energy resolution is continuous and the direction to the source can be resolved to desired fidelity. Furthermore, the detector has low power requirements, is durable, operates in widely varying environments, and is relatively cheap to produce. This detector is expected, however, to require significant time to perform measurements. To mitigate the significant time for measurements, the detector is expected to scale to very large sizes with a linear increase in cost. For example, the proof of principle detector is approximately 30,000 cm3. This work describes the technical results that lead to these assertions. Finally, the applications of this detector are described in the context of nuclear material accountability.

49 CFR 236.792 - Reservoir, equalizing.

Science.gov (United States)