Japan’s Self Defense Forces After the Great East Japan Earthquake: Toward a New Status Quo

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

Retrenchment, SDF Status Quo, Humanitarian Aid Disaster Relief, U.S.– Japan Security Alliance, Japanese Economy , Japanese Norms, Pacifism, Anti...Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear CRF Central Readiness Force DDF Dynamic Defense Force DPJ Democratic Party of Japan EAC East...LNG Liquefied Natural Gas METI Ministry of Economy , Trade, and Industry MINUSTAH United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti MOD Ministry

Physical punishment of children: can we continue to accept the status quo?

Science.gov (United States)

Oates, Kim

2011-08-01

All children require discipline, although physical punishment is just one form of discipline. Parental use of physical punishment is inter-generational. There is now evidence that physical punishment of children is not only less effective than other forms of discipline but can also lead to aggressive behaviour in childhood and adult life. Twenty-nine countries, including New Zealand, have laws against physical punishment in the home. Australian attitudes are slowly changing in favour of less use of physical punishment, but there is a long way to go. As advocates for children, paediatricians should not be content to accept the status quo. © 2011 The Author. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2011 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Good, now keep going: challenging the status quo in STEM pipeline and access programs

Science.gov (United States)

Wiseman, Dawn; Herrmann, Randy

2018-03-01

This contribution engages in conversation with McMahon, Griese, and Kenyon (this issue) to consider how the SURE program they describe represents a pragmatic approach to addressing the issue of underrepresentation of Indigenous people in STEM post-secondary programs. We explore how such programs are generally positioned and how they might be positioned differently to challenge the status quo within Western post-secondary institutions. The challenge arises from moving beyond the immediate pragmatics of addressing an identifiable issue framed as a problem to considering how post-secondary institutions and people developing access recruitment programs might begin unlearning colonialism.

Status quo of management of the human tissue banks in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, Ching-Pang; Chou, Szu-Cheng; Chen, Ying-Hua; Chen, Yu-Hsuan; Lee, Ming-Shin

2017-03-01

As the technologies associated with transplantation and biological tissue engineering continue to advance, human cells and tissues form an integral part to the practice of regenerative medicine. The patient's use of tissues entails the risk of introducing, transmitting and spreading communicable diseases. To prevent such risk and to ensure that the human organs, tissues and cells remain intact and functional after being handled and processed, the transplanted tissues must be subject to good management standards through all stages of collection, screening, processing, storage and distribution as the safety of the users is of the utmost importance. On February 2009, the government of Taiwan promulgated the Regulations for Administration on Human Organ Bank that requires all human tissues banks to adhere to the Good Tissue Practice for Human Organ, Tissue and Cell in terms of establishment and operation in order to cope with the international management trend and the development and management need of the domestic industry. Six years have passed since the law became effective. This article seeks to introduce the current management mechanism and status quo of management of human tissue banks in Taiwan. We also conducted statistical analysis of the data relating to the tissue banks to identify potential risks and the room for improvement. The study concludes that human tissue banks in Taiwan are on the right track with their management practice, leading to a state of steady development and progress.

Insect juvenile hormone: from "status quo" to high society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Hartfelder

2000-02-01

Full Text Available Juvenile hormone (JH exerts pleiotropic functions during insect life cycles. The regulation of JH biosynthesis by neuropeptides and biogenic amines, as well as the transport of JH by specific binding proteins is now well understood. In contrast, comprehending its mode of action on target organs is still hampered by the difficulties in isolating specific receptors. In concert with ecdysteroids, JH orchestrates molting and metamorphosis, and its modulatory function in molting processes has gained it the attribute "status quo" hormone. Whereas the metamorphic role of JH appears to have been widely conserved, its role in reproduction has been subject to many modifications. In many species, JH stimulates vitellogenin synthesis and uptake. In mosquitoes, however, this function has been transferred to ecdysteroids, and JH primes the ecdysteroid response of developing follicles. As reproduction includes a variety of specific behaviors, including migration and diapause, JH has come to function as a master regulator in insect reproduction. The peak of pleiotropy was definitely reached in insects exhibiting facultative polymorphisms. In wing-dimorphic crickets, differential activation of JH esterase determines wing length. The evolution of sociality in Isoptera and Hymenoptera has also extensively relied on JH. In primitively social wasps and bumble bees, JH integrates dominance position with reproductive status. In highly social insects, such as the honey bee, JH has lost its gonadotropic role and now regulates division of labor in the worker caste. Its metamorphic role has been extensively explored in the morphological differentiation of queens and workers, and in the generation of worker polymorphism, such as observed in ants.

Change and status quo in decisions with defaults: The effect of incidental emotions depends on the type of default

OpenAIRE

Shevchenko, Yury; von Helversen, Bettina; Scheibehenne, Benjamin

2014-01-01

Affective states can change how people react to measures aimed at influencing their decisions such as providing a default option. Previous research has shown that when defaults maintain the status quo positive mood increases reliance on the default and negative mood decreases it. Similarly, it has been demonstrated that positive mood enhances the preference for inaction. We extend this research by investigating how mood states influence reliance on the default if the defa...

[Instruments of management accounting in german hospitals - potentials for competitive advantage and status quo].

Science.gov (United States)

Berens, W; Lachmann, M; Wömpener, A

2011-03-01

The aim of this study is to provide an analysis of the status quo for the usage of instruments of management accounting in German hospitals. 600 managing directors of German hospitals were asked to answer a questionnaire about the usage of management accounting instruments in their hospitals. We obtained 121 usable datasets, which are evaluated in this study. A significant increase in the usage of management accounting instruments can be observed over time. The respondents have an overall positive perception of the usage of these instruments. Cost accounting and information systems are among the most widely used instruments, while widely discussed concepts like the balanced scorecard or clinical pathways show surprisingly low usage rates. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A Review Of The United States Government’s Status Quo North Korean Foreign Policy Approach And Reasons For Change

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-16

AIR WAR COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY A REVIEW OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT’S STATUS QUO NORTH KOREAN FOREIGN POLICY APPROACH AND REASONS FOR...administration DPRK policy review . Initially the Obama administration also sought negotiations through Six-party offering official US aid. In his... movies and sports, as well as being educated in Switzerland. Mr. Kim invited Dennis Rodman to visit his country, who has made several trips.44 Former

[Rationalization and rationing at the bedside. A normative and empirical status quo analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Strech, D

2014-02-01

The topic of bedside rationing is increasingly discussed in Germany. Further need for clarification exists for the question how bedside rationing (e.g., in the area of overcare) can be justified despite coexistent inefficiencies. This paper outlines and analyses the relationship of waste avoidance and rationing from an ethical perspective. Empirical findings regarding the status quo of bedside rationing and rationalization are presented. These normative and empirical explorations will then be further specified regarding opportunities for future physician-driven activities to tackle overuse. The self-government partners in Germany should communicate more explicitly within their communities and to the public how and with which benchmarks they aim to reduce inefficient health care (overuse) in an appropriate manner. Physician-driven activities such as the "Choosing Wisely®" initiative in the USA could provide a first step to raise the awareness for overuse among physicians as well as in the public.

Review of concentrating solar thermal power industry in China: Status quo, problems, trend and countermeasures

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Jiajun

2018-01-01

Concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) industry is a strategic emerging industry in China. Its further development is of great significance for promoting the energy revolution, achieving energy saving and emission reduction. In this paper, China’s CSP industry is systematically analysed. First of all, the status quo is elaborated from the perspectives of relevant policies and regulations, market and generation technology development. Secondly, the problems and the underlying reasons of China’s CSP industry are deeply studied. On this basis, the future trends of CSP are expounded on the three levels of policy, market and power generation technology. Finally, a series of feasible countermeasures are put forward, designed to promote the development of CSP industry and the transformation of energy structure.

Creative thinking in prospective teachers: the status quo and the impact of contextual factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hannetjie Meintjes

2010-01-01

Full Text Available To create unique and appropriate learning opportunities and environments and to nurture the development of creative thinking abilities among learners are some of the demands for creative thinking currently expected of teachers globally and also in South Africa. Creative thinking in academic context assumes, among other things, the ability to generate a variety of original ideas, to see different viewpoints and elaborate on ideas. We report on the findings of a quantitative pilot investigation by means of experimental research utilizing an ex post facto design to determine the status quo regarding the creative thinking abilities of a hetrogeneous group of 207 pre-service teachers studying at a South African university, using the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA and a Partial Least Squares (PLS exploration into the relationship between contextual factors and the students' creative thinking abilities. Strong correlations were found among a variety of contextual factors such as the type of school model and culture and creative thinking abilities and also between specific contextual factors such as the choice of role model and socio economic and acculturation factors and certain creative thinking abilities. This research explores a largely unknown field, namely, the creative thinking abilities of a group of South African pre-service teachers of different cultural groups and creates an awareness of the need for the development of creative thinking abilities among these prospective teachers.

Packaging related properties of commercially available biopolymers – An overview of the status quo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Jost

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Several commercially available thermoplastic biopolymers were processed in a continuous extrusion line. The molecular weight, crystallinity, and mechanical and permeation properties of the cast films were determined in order to evaluate the status quo of biopolymers currently commercially available. The biopolymers that were evaluated were polylactic acid (PLA, several polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs (Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate (PHBHB, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV, thermoplastic starch (TPS, polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT, polybutylene succinate (PBS, polycaprolactone (PCL and biobased polyethylene (BioPE. Due to its potential for biobased production, thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU was also analysed. Mechanical analysis showed the PLA and PHA films had high strength and extremely low elongation at break. These were also the materials with the highest molecular weights. Films made of TPU, PCL, TPS, PBAT and BioPE had a significantly lower Young’s modulus and significantly higher elongation at break; these films had comparatively low molecular weights. Permeation measurements showed that PHA films, and particularly PHBV, had the lowest oxygen and water vapour permeability of the biopolymers that were analysed. The biopolymers BioPE, TPS, PCL, TPU and PBAT were highly permeable to oxygen, and had comparatively low molecular weight. The biopolymers TPU, PBS, PBAT, PCL and TPS were highly permeable to water vapour.

Hygienic measures during animal transport to abattoirs - a status quo analysis of the current cleaning and disinfection of animal transporters in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Luisa; Meemken, Diana

2018-01-01

The process of cleaning and disinfection of animal transport vehicles after unloading animals at the abattoir is a critical control point regarding proper hygiene. It is an important step regarding the biosecurity. In the present study, a status quo analysis of the currently performed cleaning and disinfection measures of animal transport vehicles was carried out at the vehicle washing facilities of five different industrial abattoirs in Germany. For this purpose, a checklist was developed and validated to assess the washing procedure of transport vehicles in a standardised way. The evaluated phases of cleaning included the evaluation criteria "length of time per used floor", "visual cleaning success" and the "hygienic awareness of the driver". During disinfection, attention was paid to the internal and external surfaces of the transporter and to the methods used to disinfect them. In addition, the technical and structural equipment of the five different washing facilities were recorded using a questionnaire and compared to the legal regulations, respectively. At each location, approximately 150 vehicles of all delivery types (transport vehicles owned by the abattoir, external delivery companies and vehicles owned by the supplying farmers) were inspected so that in total a number of more than 750 vehicles were included in this study. The aim was to develop abattoir specific, as well as generally applicable intervention measures and to generate "standard-operation procedures" (SOP's) for the cleaning and disinfection of animal transporters. At two out of five locations vehicles have left the abattoir without cleaning and disinfection. In 31-97% of all vehicles, only a cleaning of the vehicle was carried out, a subsequent disinfection did not take place. A cleaning followed by disinfecting took place in only 3-59% of all vehicles. The results indicate a considerable need for improvement and standardisation in this relevant field of disease prevention.

The “New Doctorate” in Austria: Progress toward a Professional Model or Status Quo?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans Pechar

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Until recently, both policy direction and public awareness of the Bologna Process has been focused almost unilaterally on the introduction of the Bachelor’s degree to European universities. This is understandable, as for most European countries, the Bachelor is a new academic degree. However, commencing with the Berlin Ministerial Conference (Realising the European Higher Education Area, 2003, reform of doctoral studies has been highlighted as a second equal pillar in the Bologna reform process. In this paper, we begin by providing an overview of the general policy background and the rationales that underlie the attempts to restructure doctoral studies in Europe. Next, we focus on the specific situation in Austria, where peculiarities of the status quo collide with uniquely Austrian approaches to reforming doctoral education. Finally, through two case studies, we examine initial attempts – and related challenges – to implement the “New Doctorate” in Austria.

Behavioural sleep treatments and night time crying in infants: challenging the status quo.

Science.gov (United States)

Blunden, Sarah L; Thompson, Kirrilly R; Dawson, Drew

2011-10-01

In Australia, as in many Westernised industrialised nations, the majority of families encourage infants to sleep alone or 'solo' from an early age. Sleeping solo can increase night time crying, which in turn disrupts sleep for both parent and infant. Night time waking and crying are frequently culturally constructed as behavioural sleep 'problems'. The pursuit of solo sleeping is thus achieved through 'behavioural sleep treatments' that teach an infant to sleep alone. Some behavioural extinction treatments necessitate a parent leaving an infant to cry for extended periods unattended, a practice reportedly difficult for parents. Despite parent's anxieties, and the potential (though little studied) stress to the infant, the pursuit of those behavioural sleep treatments are advocated by many psychologists and clinicians as acceptable and necessary interventions. This paper questions this necessity and critically reviews and debates these methods from biological, anthropological and cultural perspectives. Specifically, it considers Foucaultian, Leidloffian, attachment and behavioural perspectives. The central debate in this paper is if and why an infant's nocturnal cries should be ignored. It challenges the aetiology and acceptance of the status quo in the hope of revisiting the underlying belief that these methods are necessary. In doing so, the paper theorises the ways in which current sleep training techniques do or do not satisfy the needs of infants and their parents and questions the extent to which they can be reconciled. The paper posits an agenda for further research in the area that may facilitate the reconciliation of the needs of parents and those of their infants. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

El acuerdo de comercio preferencial entre la Unión Europea, Colombia y Perú. Contenido y cambios al Status quo

OpenAIRE

Dieter Wolfram

2011-01-01

El acuerdo de comercio preferencial negociado y suscrito entre la Unión Europea, Colombia y Perú en mayo de 2010 aspira a profundizar y vivificar las relaciones comerciales entre las partes sin causar conflictos con convenciones internacionales multilaterales como el GATT, el GATS, el ADPIC, y la Convención sobre la Biodiversidad. . Un análisis de los cambios jurídicos impulsados por el acuerdo muestra pocas modificaciones o cambios sustanciales del status quo. Para los comerciantes andinos, ...

Zero Emission Buildings in Korea—History, Status Quo, and Future Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thorsten Schuetze

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the history, status quo, and future prospects of Zero Emission Buildings (ZEBs in the Republic of Korea. The advantages of, and requirements for ZEBs are described, concerning the factors of energy, water, nutrients, and biomass. ZEBs are characterized by net zero energy consumption through the minimization of the energy demand, as well as the onsite production and use of renewable energy. The direct water footprint is reduced by up to 100% through on-site water supply and wastewater management according to the principles of Sustainable Sanitation. The fresh water demand is reduced by using water saving technologies and by recycling of wastewater. Rainwater harvesting, utilization, and infiltration facilitates for onsite drinking water production. Nutrients and biomass from sanitation systems are recycled for local soil application. While traditional Korean buildings can be generally regarded as ZEBs, traditional know-how has been overlooked in the process of modernization and implementation of centralized infrastructure systems in the 20th century. However, the growing interest in sustainability issues in Korea since the beginning of the 21st century is reflected in a growing number of research and development activities, including the design, construction, and operation of ZEBs. The widespread implementation of ZEBs would significantly contribute to sustainable development in the Republic of Korea.

Fiber optical sensor system for shape and haptics for flexible instruments in minimally invasive surgery: overview and status quo

Science.gov (United States)

Ledermann, Christoph; Pauer, Hendrikje; Woern, Heinz

2014-05-01

In minimally invasive surgery, exible mechatronic instruments promise to improve the overall performance of surgical interventions. However, those instruments require highly developed sensors in order to provide haptic feedback to the surgeon or to enable (semi-)autonomous tasks. Precisely, haptic sensors and a shape sensor are required. In this paper, we present our ber optical sensor system of Fiber Bragg Gratings, which consists of a shape sensor, a kinesthetic sensor and a tactile sensor. The status quo of each of the three sensors is described, as well as the concept to integrate them into one ber optical sensor system.

WP 2 Report: Integrated Status Quo and Trends Assessment in Wuxi. Overview of WP 2 Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dienst, Carmen; Hoeller, Samuel; Saurat, Mathieu; Schneider, Clemens; Xia-Bauer, Chun (Wuppertal Institute (Germany)); Oberheitmann, Andreas (China Environmental Research (China)); Fischer, Tom; Gemmer, Marco; Jiang Tong (China Meteorological Administration, National Climate Centre (China)); Wang Can; Wang Haoping (Tsinghua University, Research Centre for International Environmental Policy (China)); Ren Hongyan; Sui Xinying (Wuxi Low Carbon Development Research Centre (China))

2013-04-01

The overall project will scientifically explore the Low Carbon Future City (LCFC) concept in two case studies: the German region of Dusseldorf and the Chinese city of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The Wuppertal Institute together with a consortium of Chinese scientific institutes is developing integrated low carbon city strategies for the two pilot regions. The project is funded by the German Stiftung Mercator. Provided in this report, as part of the scientific analysis of the Chinese pilot region, is a comprehensive status quo and trends assessment of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and resource use in Wuxi. It includes a GHG inventory, a business-as-usual scenario for GHG emissions, scenarios for future climate change and its impacts as well as an analysis of future resource use in the energy and buildings sector of Wuxi. Based on this assessment, the authors have selected key sectors for which low carbon scenarios as well as policy strategies will be finalised.

Normalisation and weighting in life cycle assessment: quo vadis?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pizzol, Massimo; Laurent, Alexis; Sala, Serenella

2017-01-01

Purpose: Building on the rhetoric question “quo vadis?” (literally “Where are you going?”), this article critically investigates the state of the art of normalisation and weighting approaches within life cycle assessment. It aims at identifying purposes, current practises, pros and cons, as well...

Post-harvest technologies for various crops of pakistan: status quo, employment generation and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, M.

2005-01-01

The climatic conditions of Pakistan vary from tropical to temperate, allow 40 different kinds of vegetables, 21 type of fruit, and 5 major crops (wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane, and maize) to grow. During the peak harvest-season, a great proportion of fresh agricultural/horticultural produce is lost, due to unavailability of suitable post-harvest technologies. An effort was made to present the status quo, constraints, Government policies and possible post-harvest technologies that can be developed/adopted in the country to generate employment in the rural areas. Secondary processing-industry (flour mills, sugar mills, oil mills etc.) is fairly developed in the country. However. primary processing of agricultural produce is poorly developed in the country. The higher cost of the processed products, consumers habits of eating fresh commodities, seasonability of fresh fruit and vegetables, and low quality of the processed products are the key-constraints for the slow growth of post-harvest processing industry. By removing these constraints, and by developing/adopting various technologies, identified in this paper, we may help to establish post-harvest processing industry on sound footings. Consequently, the employment-opportunities will increase in the rural areas of the country. (author)

MALAYSIA'S POST-9/11 SECURITY STRATEGY: WINNING "HEARTS AND MINDS" OR LEGITIMISING THE POLITICAL STATUS QUO?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Humphreys

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Since the Emergency, the Malaysian government has maintained a security policy which somewhat paradoxically combines the use ofcoercive, repressive legislation with a "hearts and minds" ideology.Following 9/11, I argue that the government has adapted this "heartsand minds" approach to the so-called War on Terror. The BarisanNasional governments of Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Badawi bothformulated ideological strategies designed to undermine the ideological strength of al-Qaeda and establish Malaysia as a leader of the Muslim world. Mahathir and Abdullah hinged their ideological approach on a state-constructed form of Islam and sought to portray Malaysia as a tolerant and moderate Muslim country. However, it will be shown that the use of ideology in Malaysia is often calibrated to ensure regime security rather than national security. The Malaysian government has used its ideology to promote elite interests and limit the discursive space for alternative and opposing viewpoints. Significantly, ideology has been used to justify crackdowns against genuine political opponents and to legitimise the political status quo.

Inaugurating Rationalization: Three Field Studies Find Increased Rationalization When Anticipated Realities Become Current.

Science.gov (United States)

Laurin, Kristin

2018-04-01

People will often rationalize the status quo, reconstruing it in an exaggeratedly positive light. They will even rationalize the status quo they anticipate, emphasizing the upsides and minimizing the downsides of sociopolitical realities they expect to take effect. Drawing on recent findings on the psychological triggers of rationalization, I present results from three field studies, one of which was preregistered, testing the hypothesis that an anticipated reality becoming current triggers an observable boost in people's rationalizations. San Franciscans rationalized a ban on plastic water bottles, Ontarians rationalized a targeted smoking ban, and Americans rationalized the presidency of Donald Trump, more in the days immediately after these realities became current compared with the days immediately before. Additional findings show evidence for a mechanism underlying these behaviors and rule out alternative accounts. These findings carry implications for scholarship on rationalization, for understanding protest behavior, and for policymakers.

Monument protection and energy conservation. Status quo five years after the EnEV 2007; Denkmalschutz und Energieeinsparung. Stand der Dinge fuenf Jahre nach der EnEV 2007

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-01

The meeting ''Monument conservation and energy conservation'' at 9th February 2012 in Wiesbaden (Federal Republic of Germany) focuses on the status quo five years after the revised version of the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) in the year 2007. Within this meeting the following lectures were held: (1) Monument conservation and energy conservation - Status Quo five years after the EnEV 2007 (Roswitha Kaiser); (2) Interior insulation with exterior hydrophic treatment - material appropriate and monument appropriate? (Anatol Worch, Michael Auras); (3) Hints regarding to planning, execution and quality assurance of a subsequent core insulation (Heinrich Wigger, Kerstin Stoelken, Britta Schreiber); (4) Comparison of different interior insulation materials (Rudolf Platte); (5) Urban structural energy study Winterthur (Reto Bieli); (6) Remodelling of an industrial plant protected as a historical monument - Historical window systems, exposed masonry and modern installations (Andr Kramm, Marcel Kremer); (7) Model project - Facade insulation with VIP panels at a Ernst-May building protected as a historical building in Frankfurt (Main) (Juergen Werner); (8) The former tax office Wiesbaden - Energetic strengthening (Klaus Daniels); (9) House of the Evangelical Church in Wiesbaden - Energetic strengthening of the facades (Dominik Loh); (10) Conservation versus comfort and energy demand - Potentials of optimization by means of a targeting controlled operation of plant-technical systems in a historical monument (Harald Garrecht); (11) Energy efficient construction - Compound insulation materials as a disposal problem for dismantling and renovation (Ulrich Langer, Thomas Egloffstein).

Healthcare professionals' use of health clouds: Integrating technology acceptance and status quo bias perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Pi-Jung

2015-07-01

Cloud computing technology has recently been seen as an important milestone in medical informatics development. Despite its great potential, there are gaps in our understanding of how users evaluate change in relation to the health cloud and how they decide to resist it. Integrating technology acceptance and status quo bias perspectives, this study develops an integrated model to explain healthcare professionals' intention to use the health cloud service and their intention to resist it. A field survey was conducted in Taiwan to collect data from healthcare professionals; a structural equation model was used to examine the data. A valid sample of 209 healthcare professionals was collected for data analysis. The results show that healthcare professionals' resistance to the use of the health cloud is the result of regret avoidance, inertia, perceived value, switching costs, and perceived threat. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control are shown to have positive and direct effects on healthcare professionals' intention to use the health cloud. The results also indicate a significant negative effect in the relationship between healthcare professionals' intention and resistance to using the health cloud. Our study illustrates the importance of incorporating user resistance in technology acceptance studies in general and in health technology usage studies in particular. This study also identifies key factors for practitioners and hospitals to make adoption decisions in relation to the health cloud. Further, the study provides a useful reference for future studies in this subject field. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Screening California Current fishery management scenarios using the Atlantis end-to-end ecosystem model

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Isaac C.; Horne, Peter J.; Levin, Phillip S.

2012-09-01

End-to-end marine ecosystem models link climate and oceanography to the food web and human activities. These models can be used as forecasting tools, to strategically evaluate management options and to support ecosystem-based management. Here we report the results of such forecasts in the California Current, using an Atlantis end-to-end model. We worked collaboratively with fishery managers at NOAA’s regional offices and staff at the National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS) to explore the impact of fishery policies on management objectives at different spatial scales, from single Marine Sanctuaries to the entire Northern California Current. In addition to examining Status Quo management, we explored the consequences of several gear switching and spatial management scenarios. Of the scenarios that involved large scale management changes, no single scenario maximized all performance metrics. Any policy choice would involve trade-offs between stakeholder groups and policy goals. For example, a coast-wide 25% gear shift from trawl to pot or longline appeared to be one possible compromise between an increase in spatial management (which sacrificed revenue) and scenarios such as the one consolidating bottom impacts to deeper areas (which did not perform substantially differently from Status Quo). Judged on a coast-wide scale, most of the scenarios that involved minor or local management changes (e.g. within Monterey Bay NMS only) yielded results similar to Status Quo. When impacts did occur in these cases, they often involved local interactions that were difficult to predict a priori based solely on fishing patterns. However, judged on the local scale, deviation from Status Quo did emerge, particularly for metrics related to stationary species or variables (i.e. habitat and local metrics of landed value or bycatch). We also found that isolated management actions within Monterey Bay NMS would cause local fishers to pay a cost for conservation, in terms of reductions in landed

Job satisfaction of radiologists in Germany. Status quo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beitzel, K.I.; Grosse, C.; Reiser, M.; Ertl-Wagner, B.; Ertl, L.

2011-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the work-related satisfaction of radiologists and its influencing factors in Germany. Materials and Methods: For this purpose an invitational letter for an online opinion survey was sent to all member physicians of the Deutsche Roentgengesellschaft in 2008. 1200 questionnaires were completed (response rate 21 %) and evaluated statistically. Results: 81.7 % of radiologists declared themselves as being 'very' or 'rather satisfied'. The level of satisfaction was largely independent of age, gender, status, salary or family status. It increased over the last 5 years for 37.5 % of participants and decreased for 24.8 %. Nevertheless, 72 % of respondents indicated that they would not choose to specialize in radiology again. The main reason given was the workload. 65.6 % deemed it to be 'considerably' or 'rather too high'. Concomitantly, more than 70 % of respondents indicated that the workload had increased 'a lot' or 'rather'. Further reasons for not wanting to select the radiological profession again were 'unfavorable working hours' and 'unsatisfactory career perspectives'. Conclusion: The job satisfaction of radiologists in Germany is generally very high in spite of the perception of an extensive and frequently increasing workload. The high workload was the dominant factor against a renewed selection of the field of radiology. These data have to be interpreted in light of the current lack of residents and trained radiologists in Germany to counteract the trend toward emigration. (orig.)

Legal Understanding of "Quid Pro Quo" Sexual Harassment in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Mahlangu, Vimbi Petrus

2017-01-01

This paper highlights legal understanding of quid pro quo sexual harassment in schools. Quid pro quo sexual harassment implies abuse of authority or position to gain something sexual. A duty of care rests on teachers, Schools Governing Bodies and the Department of Education to provide and maintain safe schools that are free from all forms of…

Health disparities, politics, and the maintenance of the status quo: A new theory of inequality.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Javier M

2018-03-01

Individuals participate in politics to influence the politicians that prescribe the policies and programs that distribute the public goods and services that shape the social determinants of health. But the opportunity to participate in politics is conditional on survival, and in the U.S., the haves enjoy a significant survival advantage over the have-nots. This process can be detected looking at the relationship between age and participation: It is inflated by the fact that, as time progresses, a higher proportion of low-SES, low-level participation individuals die and are therefore excluded from the available pool of participants faster than high-SES, high-level participation individuals. We analyze this mechanism applying propensity scores matching and multivariate regressions on data from MIDUS I (Midlife in the United States: A National Study of Health and Well-being) and its 10-year mortality follow-up. Results show that health differences between 10-year survivors and non-survivors explain 56% of their differences in socio-political participation. Survivors participate at higher levels than non-survivors across all age groups and SES levels; without detrimental differences in health, individuals would participate 28% more as they age. The same disadvantaged individuals whose increased participation would pressure for redistributive policies are those who die off from the available pool of participants at much higher rates than socioeconomically advantaged individuals. The proposed conceptual model helps to explain how, through the early disappearance of the poor, continuing socio-political participation of high-SES survivors helps to perpetuate inequality in the status quo. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Audit Risk Assessment in the Light of Current European Regulations

OpenAIRE

Ciprian-Costel Munteanu

2015-01-01

Recent European reforms on audit regulations have been motivated by efforts to increase audit quality, functioning and performance. We believe the adoption of Directive 2014/56 and Regulation 537/2014 strengthened the role of independent audit and risk committees, which will positively contribute towards audit quality. This paper aims to critically assess the status quo of audit risk assessment in current European standards and regulations, by conducting a theoretical analysis of different as...

Current enhancement in crystalline silicon photovoltaic by low-cost nickel silicide back contact

KAUST Repository

Bahabry, R. R.; Gumus, A.; Kutbee, A. T.; Wehbe, N.; Ahmed, S. M.; Ghoneim, M. T.; Lee, K. -T.; Rogers, J. A.; Hussain, M. M.

2016-01-01

We report short circuit current (Jsc) enhancement in crystalline silicon (C-Si) photovoltaic (PV) using low-cost Ohmic contact engineering by integration of Nickel mono-silicide (NiSi) for back contact metallization as an alternative to the status quo of using expensive screen printed silver (Ag). We show 2.6 mA/cm2 enhancement in the short circuit current (Jsc) and 1.2 % increment in the efficiency by improving the current collection due to the low specific contact resistance of the NiSi on the heavily Boron (B) doped Silicon (Si) interface.

Current enhancement in crystalline silicon photovoltaic by low-cost nickel silicide back contact

KAUST Repository

Bahabry, R. R.

2016-11-30

We report short circuit current (Jsc) enhancement in crystalline silicon (C-Si) photovoltaic (PV) using low-cost Ohmic contact engineering by integration of Nickel mono-silicide (NiSi) for back contact metallization as an alternative to the status quo of using expensive screen printed silver (Ag). We show 2.6 mA/cm2 enhancement in the short circuit current (Jsc) and 1.2 % increment in the efficiency by improving the current collection due to the low specific contact resistance of the NiSi on the heavily Boron (B) doped Silicon (Si) interface.

On Track to Become a Low Carbon Future City? First Findings of the Integrated Status Quo and Trends Assessment of the Pilot City of Wuxi in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Vallentin

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The Low Carbon Future Cities (LCFC project aims at facing a three dimensional challenge by developing an integrated city roadmap balancing: low carbon development, gains in resource efficiency and adaptation to climate change. The paper gives an overview of the first outcomes of the analysis of the status quo and assessment of the most likely developments regarding GHG emissions, climate impacts and resource use in Wuxi—the Chinese pilot city for the LCFC project. As a first step, a detailed emission inventory following the IPCC guidelines for Wuxi has been carried out. In a second step, the future development of energy demand and related CO2 emissions in 2050 were simulated in a current policy scenario (CPS. In parallel, selected aspects of material and water flows for the energy and the building sector were analyzed and modeled. In addition, recent and future climate impacts and vulnerability were investigated. Based on these findings, nine key sectors with high relevance to the three dimensions could be identified. Although Wuxi’s government has started a path to implement a low carbon plan, the first results show that, for the shift towards a sustainable low carbon development, more ambitious steps need to be taken in order to overcome the challenges faced.

Legal Understanding of Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment in Schools

OpenAIRE

Vimbi Petrus Mahlangu

2017-01-01

Paper highlights legal understanding of quid pro quo sexual harassment in schools. Quid pro quo sexual harassment implies abuse of authority or position to gain something sexual. A duty of care rests on teachers, Schools Governing Bodies and the Department of Education to provide and maintain safe schools that are free from all forms of victimisation and abuse. However, there seems to be an abuse of power by all those who are supposedly to protect learners in schools. Paper used an abuse of o...

Market perspectives of H2 vehicles. Analysis of current status and requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bunzeck, I.G.

2009-06-01

This report serves as discussion document for the workshop 'Technologies for fuel cells and hydrogen in road transport' in Paris, France, March 2009. The workshop is part of the Efonet (Energy Foresight Network, www.efonet.org ) program initiated by the European Commission. As a starting point, the status quo of fuel cell technology is analyzed from an innovation perspective, compared with the current vehicle deployment in demonstration projects worldwide. Then, cost reductions of fuel cell and drive train components that can be achieved as function over time are modelled in a learning curve approach. This provides a forecast on the expected vehicle cost by cumulative production, enabling discussion on the connection between necessary vehicle deployment and current demonstration projects, also in respect to project finance. Within the EU HyWays project, four scenarios have been developed to model the penetration rates for hydrogen vehicles in transport. All scenarios are determined by two influencing factors, policy support and level of technological learning. Depending on the scenario, it is assumed that mass production of vehicles starts either by 2013 (2016) with a group of 5 (4) first movers that achieve up to 90% plant utilization in different time frames. Given the bandwidth of scenario results, it is possible to redefine cost targets and provide recommendations for the necessary policy support. The report also provides an assessment of current hydrogen vehicle RD and D activities by different OEMs and gives an indication on the expected market entry strategies and time frame. To conclude, cost of conventional and hydrogen vehicles are compared on a euro/km level, testing several policy measures for their suitability to lower the expected high vehicle cost for the end-consumer.

Media Challenging Status Quo

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandvik, Kjetil

and Libya creating headlines like “the Facebook revolution”. On the other hand, several scholars argue that it is naive to believe that social media in themselves create change: they may at the best facilitate already existing social and political movements (Downing 2008, Christakis & Fowler 2010...... and communication research is currently engaging in a longer and deeper process of examining and assessing the cultural consequences of networked communication. One present challenge is to understand digital media and networked communication at the intersection of established and countercultural, utopian......Digital media and especially so-called ‘social media’ have on the one hand been ascribed the power to change societies and empower democratic movements following the thoughts of e.g. Rheingold (2004), recently fueled by the democratic uprising in Arabic countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Iran...

[Current status and changes of metabolic and bariatric surgery in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jingang

2017-04-25

Through continuous development, metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) has become widely recognized in academic and medical circles. In China, the volume of MBS operations has increased year by year. Therapeutic goals of MBS have evolved from treating obesity to treating Type 2 diabetes mellitus, and further to treating a series of obesity-associated metabolic diseases (including conditions in the endocrine system, circulatory system, respiratory system, reproductive system, and etc). Surgical approach of MBS has also been evolving continuously. Currently the common surgical procedures include laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB), laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and bilio-pancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS). All surgical procedures have pros and cons, and the choice of surgical procedures should be based on the conditions of patients, the surgeon's technical ability, and benefits and operative risks. With the development of MBS, the proportions of different surgical procedures also changed in China. In recent five years, the proportion of AGB has decreased continuously and LAGB is no longer a common procedure. The proportion of LSG has increased rapidly, rising from 9% in 2010 to 55% in 2015. The proportion of RYGB has increased from 57% to 64% between 2010 and 2013, and remained at 45% afterwards. Since 2010, most MBS operations are laparoscopic surgery. 3D Laparoscopic surgery, laparoendoscopic single-site surgery and da Vinci Robotic Surgery have also been introduced in MBS. This review discusses the status quo and changes of MBS in china, as well as the new technology in MBS, aiming to strengthen the information and comprehension of MBS in china.

Legal Understanding of Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment in Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vimbi Petrus Mahlangu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Paper highlights legal understanding of quid pro quo sexual harassment in schools. Quid pro quo sexual harassment implies abuse of authority or position to gain something sexual. A duty of care rests on teachers, Schools Governing Bodies and the Department of Education to provide and maintain safe schools that are free from all forms of victimisation and abuse. However, there seems to be an abuse of power by all those who are supposedly to protect learners in schools. Paper used an abuse of organisational power theory and conceptualisation framework as a lens used in analysing various forms of victimisation and abuse with an effort to provide a better understanding of behaviour that amounts to abuse. Paper concludes with guidelines for handling harassment and bullying in the school contexts.

Water resources in Central Asia - status quo and future conflicts in transboundary river catchments - the example of the Zarafshan River (Tajikistan-Uzbekistan)

Science.gov (United States)

Groll, Michael; Opp, Christian; Kulmatov, Rashid; Normatov, Inom; Stulina, Galina; Shermatov, Nurmakhmad

2014-05-01

Water is the most valuable resource in Central Asia and due to its uneven distribution and usage among the countries of the region it is also the main source of tension between upstream and downstream water users. Due to the rapidly shrinking glaciers in the Pamir, Tien-Shan and Alai mountains, the available water resources will, by 2030, be 30% lower than today while the water demand of the growing economies will increase by 30%. This will further aggravate the pressure on the water resources and increase the water deficit caused by an unsustainable water use and political agendas. These challenges can only be overcome by an integrated water resource management for the important transboundary river catchments. The basis for such an IWRM approach however needs to be a solid data base about the status quo of the water resources. To that end the research presented here provides a detailed overview of the transboundary Zarafshan River (Tajikistan-Uzbekistan), the lifeline for more than 6 mln people. The Zarafshan River is well suited for this as it is not only one of the most important rivers in Central Asia but because the public availability of hydrological and ecological data is very limited, Furthermore the catchment is characterized by the same imbalances in the Water-Energy-Food-Nexus as most river systems in that region, which makes the Zarafshan a perfect model river for Central Asia as a whole. The findings presented here are based on field measurements, existing data from the national hydrometeorological services and an extensive literature analysis and cover the status quo of the meteorological and hydrological characteristics of the Zarafshan as well as the most important water quality parameters (pH, conductivity, nitrate, phosphate, arsenic, chromate, copper, zinc, fluoride, petroleum products, phenols and the aquatic invertebrate fauna). The hydrology of the Zarafshan is characterized by a high natural discharge dynamic in the mountainous upper parts of

Political Status of Puerto Rico: Options for Congress

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-19

basis would voters select the status quo option during the second plebiscite? Second, could the inclusion of the commonwealth option on the second...Values and Institutions (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1969), p. 262. C. Arthur Borg, “The Problem of Puerto Rico’s Political Status, Revista ...University Press of Kansas, 1975), p. 185.] See also Roberta A. Johnson, “The 1967 Puerto Rican Plebiscite: The People Decide,” Revista /Review

Cancer pain management-current status

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deepak Thapa

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Cancer pain is still one of the most feared entities in cancer and about 75% of these patients require treatment with opioids for severe pain. The cancer pain relief is difficult to manage in patients with episodic or incidental pain, neuropathic pain, substance abuse and with impaired cognitive or communication skills. This non-systematic review article aims to discuss reasons for under treatment, tools of pain assessment, cancer pain and anxiety and possibly carve new approaches for cancer pain management in future. The current status of World Health Organization analgesic ladder has also been reviewed. A thorough literature search was carried out from 1998 to 2010 for current status in cancer pain management in MEDLINE, WHO guidelines and published literature and relevant articles have been included.

Outsourcing – measuring the status quo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorraine Ellery Matthews

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This article summarizes the results of a short survey completed by 94 publishers, librarians and suppliers within the international scholarly publishing community in early 2017. From a selection of 13 categories included as a multi-choice pick-list, each with additional sub-categories – a total of 57 options – the participants identified the functions they are currently outsourcing and provided a forecast of those they are considering outsourcing in the future. The survey found the top sub-category function currently outsourced across all three stakeholder groups to be ‘Content hosting/technology platform’ (one of seven sub-categories associated under the parent category 6: ‘IT – Hosting/content’, which was selected by a total of 18 survey respondents. The survey provided new insights into the issue of outsourcing in the scholarly communications field, and the author invites further participation to build on these initial findings.

QUO VADIS: STATUS JABATAN DAN SISTEM KARIR KEPANITERAAN PERADILAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Budi Suhariyanto

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Secara  normatif  status  jabatan  kepaniteraan  peradilan  diatur  secara  berbeda.  Eksplisit  ditetapkan sebagai jabatan fungsional, jabatan fungsional tanpa angka  kredit dan pejabat peradilan. Kualifikasi fungsional yang dimiliki kepaniteraan peradilan keberadaannya disetarakan dengan jabatan struktural dan  sistem  kenaikan  pangkatnya  reguler.  Pada  Mahkamah  Agung,  jabatan  kepaniteraan  disyaratkan dari  Hakim,  sehingga  Panitera  karir  mempunyai  jenjang  tertinggi  hanya  di  kepaniteraan  pengadilan tingkat banding. Sehubungan dengan adanya RUU MA 2012 yang memberikan sebagian porsi jabatan kepaniteraan  Mahkamah  Agung  kepada  Panitera  karir  dan  diberlakukannya  UU  ASN  yang berorientasi pada fungsionalisasi PNS maka perlu ada evaluasi terkait status jabatan dan sistem karir kepaniteraan  peradilan.  Kategorisasi  kepaniteraan  peradilan sebagai jabatan  fungsional  khusus perlu dipertimbangkan dalam ius constituendum.   Normatively,  judicial  registrar  status  is  set  differently.  While  explicity  defined  as  a  functional,  but without  the  credit  and  judicial  office.  Functional  qualification  held  judicial  registrar  existence  is synchronizedwith the structural position of the promotion system and regular. A clerk on the supreme of court must be a judges. So that the clerk have a career at the highest level only appellate court registry. The supreme of court regulation drafting that gaves the registrar portion to career clerk, then enactment  of  civilian  state  apparatus  regulation  get  the  civil  servants  functional  oriented.  It  is necessary to evaluate the official status to career system. On the ius constituendum,    registrar as the special functional need to be considered. Normatively,  judicial  registrar  status  is  set  differently.  While  explicity  defined  as  a  functional,  but

Predictive Toxicology: Current Status and Future Outlook (EBI ...

Science.gov (United States)

Slide presentation at the EBI-EMBL Industry Programme Workshop on Predictive Toxicology and the currently status of Computational Toxicology activities at the US EPA. Slide presentation at the EBI-EMBL Industry Programme Workshop on Predictive Toxicology and the currently status of Computational Toxicology activities at the US EPA.

[Status quo of lifestyle among women of five occupations in six provinces of China].

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Jing; Li, Ying-hua; Yang, Chong; Nie, Xue-qiong; Tao, Mao-xuan

2012-10-01

To learn the status quo of lifestyle among women of five occupations in six provinces of China. A questionnaire was administered among 7416 women from five occupations (civil servants, teachers of elementary and high schools, technical staff, enterprise managers and physical laborers) in Beijing, Hebei, Jilin, Hubei, Ningxia and Gansu of China. The sample was selected by multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method from December 2009 to June 2010. The questionnaire information included demographic characteristics, diet, sleep habit, smoking, physical exercise. The χ(2) test was used to analyze the different in life style of different occupations. There were 7416 valid questionnaires received, and the valid rate of the questionnaires was 97.58% (7416/7682). About 38.00% (2818/7416) respondents preferred to bland diet and 28.44% (2109/7416) preferred to salty and oily food and 33.56% (2489/7416) had no preference. The proportion of sleep time between seven and eight hours per day was highest (accounting for 56.23%, 4154/7416), 25.27% (1867/7416) with sleep time less than seven hours. Among the population who had the sleep time less seven hours, teacher that had the highest rate accounted for 33.19% (531/1607) and technical staff had the lowest rate accounted for 21.05% (301/1401) (P accounting for 93.10% (6869/7416). 22.73% (1671/7416) respondents passively smoked. The proportion of always passive smoking was highest among civil servants and lowest among teachers, accounting for 26.60% (404/1531) and 18.71% (298/1607), respectively. The proportion of having no physical exercises was highest, accounting for 62.87% (4637/7416). The proportion of having three times physical exercises per week was 12.68% (935/7416). The proportion of having no physical exercises among physical laborers (66.42%, 912/1386), enterprise managers (66.64%, 987/1491) and teachers (62.40%, 999/1607) were higher than others and the proportion of having physical exercises per week among

Teleradiology - current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baltadjiev, D.; Charakchiev

2000-01-01

Tele-radiology is a term becoming increasingly popular in the medical literature. Nevertheless, terminological definitions in this particular field are still rather vague. The scope of applications extend from simple image presenting via analogue telephone lines to transmission of 3-D medical images through a satellite. It is a matter of standards highly differing in terms of data transmission rates, safety, technical demands on the systems and the like. In this article new information technologies, technical aspects, as well as some major applications of tele-radiology are discussed. The current status of tele-medicine/tele-radiology in this country is likewise briefly outlined

QUO VADIS PANCASILA DALAM PENDIDIKAN AKUNTANSI?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuyung Rizka Aneswari

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Quo Vadis Pancasila in an Accounting Education in Indonesia? This research aims to give a discourse that generate values of Pancasila in the process of accounting education. This research using critical description. The results show the values of Pancasila becoming obsolete in accounting education. Textbook from western that contains no values of Indonesia ideology are taught at various universities. Accounting rules, entirely oriented to foreign guidelines without consideration of the value of ideology. This research can be used as a discourse and consideration for accounting lectures and curriculum formulator based KKNI to insert the Pancasila values in various course in Accounting.

Public participation in environmental management in China: status quo and mode innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Mei; Qian, Xin; Zhang, Longjiang

2015-03-01

Public participation in environmental management is critically important in the development of a healthy environmental governance system. However, public participation has not been well institutionalized in China and the public's role in environmental management is limited. Chinese policy-makers and researchers currently face a dilemma wherein they must determine how to fully and effectively involve the public. This paper aims to contribute an innovative approach that can effectively engage the general public, allowing them to participate more in China's environmental management. In this paper, we first review the current status of environmental management and public participation in China. Based on China's political and socio-cultural-legal dynamics, an Environmental Community Consultative Group (ECCG) was developed to be an innovative means to engage community members. A pilot study of the ECCG was carried out in Yapu village of Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province. The evaluation of the process and outcome of the ECCG showed that the group's effectiveness and influence were significant; the ECCG model was a powerful means by which to promote public environmental awareness, improve public environmental behavior and facilitate public engagement in environmental management. But the ECCG is a small local group that may not function well regarding more complex issues covering a much larger area and has limited impact on environmental policy making. The ECCG experience offers the prospect of grassroots involvement in environmental protection for China's rural areas, while also laying the foundation for further research on community participation in environmental management.

Public Participation in Environmental Management in China: Status Quo and Mode Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Mei; Qian, Xin; Zhang, Longjiang

2015-03-01

Public participation in environmental management is critically important in the development of a healthy environmental governance system. However, public participation has not been well institutionalized in China and the public's role in environmental management is limited. Chinese policy-makers and researchers currently face a dilemma wherein they must determine how to fully and effectively involve the public. This paper aims to contribute an innovative approach that can effectively engage the general public, allowing them to participate more in China's environmental management. In this paper, we first review the current status of environmental management and public participation in China. Based on China's political and socio-cultural-legal dynamics, an Environmental Community Consultative Group (ECCG) was developed to be an innovative means to engage community members. A pilot study of the ECCG was carried out in Yapu village of Changzhou City in Jiangsu Province. The evaluation of the process and outcome of the ECCG showed that the group's effectiveness and influence were significant; the ECCG model was a powerful means by which to promote public environmental awareness, improve public environmental behavior and facilitate public engagement in environmental management. But the ECCG is a small local group that may not function well regarding more complex issues covering a much larger area and has limited impact on environmental policy making. The ECCG experience offers the prospect of grassroots involvement in environmental protection for China's rural areas, while also laying the foundation for further research on community participation in environmental management.

Current status of quantum electrical metrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urano, Chiharu; Kaneko, Nobuhisa; Kiryu, Shogo

2005-01-01

Physical background, current status of proof systems and researches of the next generation standards of Josephson voltage and Quantized Hall Resistance (QHR) standard system are described. Josephson effect, the principle and theory of quantized hall effect, usual voltage standard system, standard feed of direct current resistance, and researches of voltage standard and direct current resistance standard are explained. The current-voltage of Josephson element in the usual voltage standard proof system and bias method, outline of typical Josephson voltage standard proof system and GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure used as resistance standard are stated. Cryogenic Current Comparator (CCC) and Direct Current Comparator (DCC) proofread usual resistor. New Quantum Hall Array Resistance Standard (QHARS) is studied by BNM-LNE group in French, and the other new AC Quantized Hall Resistance (AC-QHR) by the European ACQHE Project. (S.Y.)

Current status and prospects for Chernobyl Ukritiye

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jampsin, B.

1996-01-01

Current status and prospects for Chernobyl Ukritiye (sarcophagus) are described, including the following issues: the accident; the sarcophagus; the radioactive inventory; the design basis criteria; the analysis of the present state; a way forward

Current Status of On-Site Wastewater Management

Science.gov (United States)

Senn, Charles L.

1978-01-01

Wastewater management is becoming an important environmental issue nationally. This article reports the history and current status of wastewater management. Regulatory programs are discussed with specific state examples. Needs assessment is also included. (MA)

The WIMP Paradigm: Current Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Jonathan

2011-01-01

The WIMP paradigm is the glue that joins together much of the high energy and cosmic frontiers. It postulates that most of the matter in the Universe is made of weakly-interacting massive particles, with implications for a broad range of experiments and observations. I will review the WIMP paradigm's underlying motivations, its current status in view of rapid experimental progress on several fronts, and recent theoretical variations on the WIMP paradigm theme.

REMPAN at international level: current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souchkevitch, Guennadi

1997-01-01

This document describes the current status of the Radiation Emergency medical Preparedness and Assistance Network - REMPAN, for the promotion of radiation emergency medical and public health preparedness and for practical assistance and advising countries, in a case of overexposure from any sources of radiation, by initiative of the World Health Organization - WHO

Current status of ion source development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishikawa, Junzo

2001-01-01

In this report, the current status of ion source development will be discussed. In September 2001, the 9th International Conference on Ion Sources (ICIS01) was held in Oakland, U.S.A. Referring the talks presented at ICIS01, recent topics in the ion source research fields will be described. (author)

Chemical water shutoff profile research status and development trends

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, L. T.

2017-08-01

Excess water production is now a common problem encountered in almost every water flooding mature oilfield. The exploitation of oil field is faced with great challenge because of the decrease of oil field production. For the development of high water cut rare the status quo chemical water shutoff profile control technology is an important solution to solve this problem. Oilfield chemical water shutoff has important application prospects. This paper analyzes the water shutoff profile control and water shutoff profile control agent currently oilfield applications, moreover the use and development of blocking agent profile technology is to improve reservoir recovery and propose solutions. With the constant increase in water cut, profile technology should be simple, efficient, practical and profile control agent of development should be economic, environmental, and long period

White paper. Interventional MRI. Current status and potential for development considering economic perspectives. Pt. 1. General application; White Paper. Interventionelle MRT. Status Quo und Entwicklungspotenzial unter oekonomischen Perspektiven. T. 1. Generelle Anwendungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barkhausen, Joerg [Univ. Hospital Schleswig Holstein, Luebeck (Germany). Dept. of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine; Kahn, Thomas [Clinic and Policlinic for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Leipzig (Germany); Krombach, Gabriele A. [Univ. Hospital Giessen (Germany). Dept. of Radiology; Kuhl, Christiane K. [Univ. Hospital RWTH Aachen (Germany). Dept. of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology; Lotz, Joachim [Univ. Goettingen (Germany). Inst. for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology; Maintz, David [Univ. Hospital Cologne (Germany). Dept. of Radiology; Ricke, Jens [Univ. Hospital Magdeburg (Germany). Dept. of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine; Schoenberg, Stefan O. [Heidelberg Univ. - Univ. Medical Center Mannheim (Germany). Inst. of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine; Vogl, Thomas J. [Univ. Hospital Frankfurt (Germany). Dept. of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology; Wacker, Frank K. [Hannover Medical School (Germany). Dept. for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology

2017-07-15

MRI is attractive for the guiding and monitoring of interventional procedures due to its high intrinsic soft tissue contrast and the possibility to measure physiologic parameters like flow and cardiac function. The current status of interventional MRI for the clinical routine was analyzed. The effort needed for the development of MR-safe monitoring systems and instruments initially resulted in the application of interventional MRI only for procedures that could not be performed by other means. Accordingly, biopsy of lesions in the breast, which are not detectable by other modalities, has been performed under MRI guidance for decades. Currently, biopsies of the prostate under MRI guidance are established in a similar fashion. At many sites blind biopsy has already been replaced by MR-guided biopsy or at least by the fusion of MR images with ultrasound. Cardiovascular interventions are performed at several centers for ablation as a treatment for atrial fibrillation. Interventional MRI has been established in the clinical routine for a variety of indications. Broader application can be expected in the clinical routine in the future owing to the multiple advantages compared to other techniques.

Creative thinking in prospective teachers: the 'status quo' and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Creative thinking in academic context assumes, among other things, the ability to generate a variety of original ideas, to see different viewpoints and elaborate on ideas. We report on the findings of a quantitative pilot investigation by means of experimental research utilizing an ex post facto design to determine the status ...

Current status of the AUSTRON project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rauch, H.; Regler, M.; Lechner, R.E.; Weber, H.

2001-01-01

The current status of the AUSTRON spallation source project is described with reference to the need for neutrons in Europe and - due to a certain West-East imbalance of large research facilities - especially in Central Europe. A short overview about technical aspects of proton accelerator, rapid cycling synchrotron, storage ring, target and instrumentation is presented. (author)

COHERENT Experiment: current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akimov, D; Belov, V; Bolozdynya, A; Burenkov, A; Albert, J B; Del Valle Coello, M; D’Onofrio, M; Awe, C; Barbeau, P S; Cervantes, M; Becker, B; Cabrera-Palmer, B; Collar, J I; Cooper, R J; Cooper, R L; Cuesta, C; Detwiler, J; Eberhardt, A; Dean, D; Dolgolenko, A G

2017-01-01

The COHERENT Collaboration is realizing a long term neutrino physics research program. The main goals of the program are to detect and study elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS). This process is predicted by Standard Model but it has never been observed experimentally because of the very low energy of the recoil nucleus. COHERENT is using different detector technologies: CsI[Na] and NaI scintillator crystals, a single-phase liquid Ar and a Ge detectors. The placement of all the detector setups is in the basement of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The current status of the COHERENT experimental program is presented. (paper)

What's Wrong with Current Chinese College English Assessment System? Reform or Not?

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Fen

2010-01-01

The author expounds the "status quo" of college English assessment system in China and objectively points out some major problems that have negative impacts on college English teaching and learning. On the basis of pros and cons towards the issue, the author intends to come up with some effective countermeasures, including converting the…

CMS Data Analysis: Current Status and Future Strategy

CERN Document Server

Innocente, V

2003-01-01

We present the current status of CMS data analysis architecture and describe work on future Grid-based distributed analysis prototypes. CMS has two main software frameworks related to data analysis: COBRA, the main framework, and IGUANA, the interactive visualisation framework. Software using these frameworks is used today in the world-wide production and analysis of CMS data. We describe their overall design and present examples of their current use with emphasis on interactive analysis. CMS is currently developing remote analysis prototypes, including one based on Clarens, a Grid-enabled client-server tool. Use of the prototypes by CMS physicists will guide us in forming a Grid-enriched analysis strategy. The status of this work is presented, as is an outline of how we plan to leverage the power of our existing frameworks in the migration of CMS software to the Grid.

Health Status of Current National Guard Members

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Proctor, Susan P

2005-01-01

.... The objectives are to: 1) describe the current health status of this ARNG cohort, 2) examine to what extent the job strain of ARNG service affects the relationship between Civilian job strain and health and job performance outcomes and, 3...

Current status of fusion-relevant covariance data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muir, D.W.

1994-01-01

The following review of the current status of formatted data covariance files and their multigroup processing is a contribution to the IAEA Advisory Group Meeting on ''Improved Evaluations and Integral Data Testing for FENDL,'' to be held at the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, Garching, Germany, 12--16 September 1994. The draft agenda of this meeting lists as Item 6 the ''assessment of present status and role of uncertainty files, their processing and sensitivity studies related to FENDL.'' We conclude that this is an important and timely topic and recommend needed actions in this field

Current status of methods for shielding analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engle, W.W.

1980-01-01

Current methods used in shielding analysis and recent improvements in those methods are discussed. The status of methods development is discussed based on needs cited at the 1977 International Conference on Reactor Shielding. Additional areas where methods development is needed are discussed

26 CFR 1.6115-1 - Disclosure requirements for quid pro quo contributions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Disclosure requirements for quid pro quo contributions. 1.6115-1 Section 1.6115-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY... unique qualities of the goods or services that are being valued. (3) Examples. The following examples...

Current Status of Single-incision Laparoscopic Surgery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahmed, Irfan; Ciancio, Fabio; Ferrara, Vincenzo

2012-01-01

Recent advances in minimally invasive surgery have centered on reducing the number of incisions required, which has led to the development of the single-incision laparoscopic technique. A panel of European single-incision laparoscopy experts met to discuss the current status of, and the future...

Current status of Uganda Kob (Kobus Kob Thomasi Neumann) in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Current status of Uganda Kob (Kobus Kob Thomasi Neumann) in Toro Game Reserve, Uganda. ... As part of a biological assessment of Toro Game Reserve, the status of Uganda kob Kobus kob Thomasi ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Radiation processing. Current status and future possibilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woods, R.J.

2000-01-01

Radiation processing developed following the Second World War and employees gamma- or electron-irradiation to process polymers, cure alkene-based inks and coatings, sterilize medical supplies, irradiate food, and manage wastes. The current status of these applications is described with the probable direction of future developments. (author)

Current status of high-T{sub c} wire

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vase, Per [Nordic Superconductor Technologies A/S, Priorparken 685, DK 2605 Broendby (Denmark); Fluekiger, Rene [Departement de Physique de la Matiere Condensee, Universite de Geneve (Switzerland); Leghissa, Martino [Siemens AG, Corporate Technology, Erlangen (Germany); Glowacki, Bartek [Department of Material Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3QZ (United Kingdom)

2000-07-01

This paper is the result of the work of a SCENET (The European Network for Superconductivity) material working group's efforts on giving values for present and future expected performance of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires and tapes. The purpose of the work is to give input to the design of HTS applications like power cables, motors, current leads, magnets, transformers and generators. The current status performance values are supposed to be used in the design of today's prototypes and the future values for the design of fully commercial HTS applications of the future. We focus on what is expected to be the relevant parameters for HTS application design. The most successful technique by far for making HTS tapes has been on the (Bi, Pb){sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} (Bi-2223) material by the powder-in-tube (PIT) technique and this paper therefore focuses on giving the current status and expected future performance for Bi-2223 tapes. (author)

Current Status of HPV Vaccines

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Barbara; Roden, Richard; Wu, T.C.

2010-01-01

Cervical cancer is the second largest cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, with ~500,000 diagnoses and 274,000 deaths annually. It remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality despite effective screening tools and treatments for its precursor high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Increased understanding of cervical pathogenesis has led to the identification of human papillomavirus (HPV) as the etiological agent for cervical cancer and the development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines targeting HPV antigens for the control of cervical cancer. Herein, we discuss the current status of HPV vaccines. PMID:20677402

Improve processes on healthcare: current issues and future trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jason C H; Dolan, Matt; Lin, Binshan

2004-01-01

Information Technology (IT) is a critical resource for improving today's business competitiveness. However, many healthcare providers do not proactively manage or improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their services with IT. Survival in a competitive business environment demands continuous improvements in quality and service, while rigorously maintaining core values. Electronic commerce continues its development, gaining ground as the preferred means of business transactions. Embracing e-healthcare and treating IT as a strategic tool to improve patient safety and the quality of care enables healthcare professionals to benefit from technology formerly used only for management purposes. Numerous improvement initiatives, introduced by both the federal government and the private sector, seek to better the status quo in IT. This paper examines the current IT climate using an enhanced "Built to Last" model, and comments on future IT strategies within the healthcare industry.

Dose monitoring in radiology departments. Status quo and future perspectives; Dosismonitoring in der Radiologie. Status quo und Zukunftsperspektiven

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boos, J. [Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States). Dept. of Radiology; Duesseldorf Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie; Meineke, A. [Cerner Healthcare Services, Idstein (Germany); Bethge, O.T.; Antoch, G.; Kroepil, P. [Duesseldorf Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie

2016-05-15

The number of computed tomography examinations has continuously increased over the last decades and accounts for a major part of the collective radiation dose from medical investigations. For purposes of quality assurance in modern radiology a systematic monitoring and analysis of dose related data from radiological examinations is mandatory. Various ways of collecting dose data are available today, for example the Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine - Structured Report (DICOM-SR), optical character recognition and DICOM-modality performed procedure steps (MPPS). The DICOM-SR is part of the DICOM-standard and provides the DICOM-Radiation Dose Structured Report, which is an easily applicable and comprehensive solution to collect radiation dose parameters. This standard simplifies the process of data collection and enables comprehensive dose monitoring. Various commercial dose monitoring software devices with varying characteristics are available today. In this article, we discuss legal obligations, various ways to monitor dose data, current dose monitoring software solutions and future perspectives in regard to the EU Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM.

Current status of neutron scattering in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kornduangkaeo, Areeratt; Pongkasem, Somchai; Putchar, Suriya; Ampornrat, Pantip; Kajornrith, Varavuth; Chamchang, Jipawat

2006-01-01

The current neutron powder diffractometer at the Thai Research Reactor-1/Modification 1 (TRR-1/M1) has been modified from the obsolete neutron diffractometer which had been used during 1968-1975. The upgraded diffractometer has medium resolution and is appropriate for studying samples with small unit cell dimensions and training university students in the field of neutron scattering. This paper describes the current activities of neutron scattering research in Thailand, the current status of a new research reactor project at Ongkarak for enlarging the perspectives of its utilization in the future as well as the organizational reformation of the Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP). (author)

Emerging point of care tests for influenza: innovation or status quo.

Science.gov (United States)

Tayo, Adeoluwa; Ellis, Joanna; Linden Phillips, Luan; Simpson, Sue; Ward, Derek J

2012-07-01

Point of care tests (POCTs) for influenza potentially offer earlier diagnosis, enabling specific treatment, infection control measures and greater patient convenience and satisfaction. Current POCTs have limited sensitivity, some cannot distinguish influenza types, none differentiate subtypes and are relatively expensive.  To identify and characterise influenza POCTs expected to be available for clinical use in the U.K. by mid-2013, highlighting those with potential benefits over existing tests. Potential developers of influenza POCTs were identified through known manufacturers' websites, Medical Technology trade associations, the EuroScan International Network, an expert advisory group and by searching relevant online sources. Identified companies were asked to provide standard information on relevant technologies. Fifty-six companies were identified, and 29 (52%) responded, identifying 57 potentially relevant technologies. Of these, 40 (70%) were already available or had undetermined status and 5 (9%) were excluded as time to results took over 60 minutes. Of the remaining 12 emerging POCTs, 10 (83%) reportedly enabled differentiation of influenza types and eight differentiation of A subtypes. Nasopharyngeal swabs were the most commonly acceptable sample type; the sample volume ranging from 80 μl to 1.4 ml. Most identified emerging influenza POCTs offered differentiation of influenza type and subtype. Tests claiming this capability include several incorporating reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays; though, these also had the longest time to result. However, whilst some identified POCTs exhibit high sensitivity and specificity, most lack published clinical data for assessment, and the overall costs of these technologies remains largely unknown. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Meeting Students Where They Are: Analysis of Current Events in a Psychology of Women Course

Science.gov (United States)

Fuehrer, Ann

2011-01-01

A social change agenda is central in feminist psychology. In creating learning outcomes for a psychology of women course, instructors might wish to facilitate processes that have the potential to move individuals from acceptance of a status quo toward various degrees of feminist thinking. This agenda could include endorsing social constructionist…

Dark Matter Detection: Current Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akerib, Daniel S.

2011-01-01

Overwhelming observational evidence indicates that most of the matter in the Universe consists of non-baryonic dark matter. One possibility is that the dark matter is Weakly-Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) that were produced in the early Universe. These relics could comprise the Milky Way's dark halo and provide evidence for new particle physics, such as Supersymmetry. This talk focuses on the status of current efforts to detect dark matter by testing the hypothesis that WIMPs exist in the galactic halo. WIMP searches have begun to explore the region of parameter space where SUSY particles could provide dark matter candidates.

Influence of point-of-sale tobacco displays and plain black and white cigarette packaging and advertisements on adults: Evidence from a virtual store experimental study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nonnemaker, James; Kim, Annice; Shafer, Paul; Loomis, Brett; Hill, Edward; Holloway, John; Farrelly, Matthew

2016-05-01

We examined the potential impact of banning tobacco displays and mandating plain packaging and cigarette advertisements at the point of sale (POS) on adult outcomes. A virtual convenience store was created with scenarios in which the tobacco product display was either fully visible (status quo) or enclosed behind a cabinet (display ban), and cigarette packs and advertisements were either in full color (status quo) or black and white, text only (plain). A national convenience sample of 1313 adult current smokers and recent quitters was randomized to 1 of 4 conditions and given a shopping task to complete in the virtual store. Main outcomes were participants' self-reported urge to smoke and tobacco purchase attempts in the virtual store. Compared with recent quitters in the status quo conditions, recent quitters in the display ban condition had lower urges to smoke (β=-4.82, 95% CI=-8.16--1.49, padvertising at the POS may help reduce adult smoking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ATM in Europe: analysis of current status

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

1999-01-01

This deliverable provides an overview of the current status of the European market for ATM services. The offer of ATM services by principal operators in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom is described. In addition, a number...... of international providers of ATM in Europe are presented....

Current status of accreditation for drug testing in hair.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Gail; Moeller, Manfred; Kronstrand, Robert

2008-03-21

At the annual meeting of the Society of Hair Testing in Vadstena, Sweden in 2006, a committee was appointed to address the issue of guidelines for hair testing and to assess the current status of accreditation amongst laboratories offering drug testing in hair. A short questionnaire was circulated amongst the membership and interested parties. Fifty-two responses were received from hair testing laboratories providing details on the amount and type of hair tests they offered and the status of accreditation within their facilities. Although the vast majority of laboratories follow current guidelines (83%), only nine laboratories were accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for hair testing. A significant number of laboratories reporting that they were in the process of developing quality systems with a view to accrediting their methods within 2-3 years. This study provides an insight into the status of accreditation in hair testing laboratories and supports the need for guidelines to encourage best practice.

Chinese Transformation Policies for 2015 and Beyond: Quo Vadis?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Im-Soo Yoo

2015-04-01

that protests are there only means of expressing their dissatisfaction. The pro-democracy movement of 1989 was crushed by the army and the next two leaders of China pursued economic growth while keeping the status quo in the political system. The current president of China, Xi Jinping, has established a ten-year plan for China which will continue to develop the nation, while setting a new direction and fighting corruption. Xi, being new blood in the system, is believed by many to have the potential to successfully carry out reforms in China and consolidate its position as a leader in the world.

[The status of the medical profession: reinforced or challenged by the new public management?

Science.gov (United States)

Cascón-Pereira, Rosalía; Kirkpatrick, Ian; Exworthy, Mark

This article aims to assess if the status of the medical profession has been reinforced or weakened with the new public management. With this purpose, it collects the opinion of two international experts regarding situation in the United Kingdom, in order to apply some lessons to the Spanish case. Both agree that, far from losing status and power with the healthcare reform, the medical profession has protected its status and autonomy against other social agents such as managers, politicians and patients. However, the maintenance of the status quo has been at the expense of an intra-professional stratification that has caused status inequalities linked to social class within the medical profession. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. All rights reserved.

Production of microbial biosurfactants: Status quo of rhamnolipid and surfactin towards large-scale production.

Science.gov (United States)

Henkel, Marius; Geissler, Mareen; Weggenmann, Fabiola; Hausmann, Rudolf

2017-07-01

Surfactants are an important class of industrial chemicals. Nowadays oleochemical surfactants such as alkyl polyglycosides (APGs) become increasingly important. This trend towards the utilization of renewable resources continues and consumers increasingly demand for environmentally friendly products. Consequently, research in microbial surfactants has drastically increased in the last years. While for mannosylerythritol lipids and sophorolipids established industrial processes exist, an implementation of other microbially derived surfactants has not yet been achieved. Amongst these biosurfactants, rhamnolipids synthesized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and surfactin produced by Bacillus subtilis are so far the most analyzed biosurfactants due to their exceptional properties and the concomitant possible applications. In this review, a general overview is given regarding the current status of biosurfactants and benefits attributed to these molecules. Furthermore, the most recent research approaches for both rhamnolipids and surfactin are presented with respect to possible methods for industrial processes and the occurring drawbacks and limitations researchers have to address and overcome. Copyright © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Lung cancer: Current status and prospects for the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mountain, C.F.; Carr, D.T.

1986-01-01

This book contains 32 papers. Some of the titles are: Activation of cellular ras genes in human neoplasms; The valve of definitive radiation therapy of unresectable squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma of the lung; Current concepts of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for small cell lung cancer, and Current status of immunotherapy for lung cancer

Chemical Reaction Engineering: Current Status and Future Directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dudukovic, M. P.

1987-01-01

Describes Chemical Reaction Engineering (CRE) as the discipline that quantifies the interplay of transport phenomena and kinetics in relating reactor performance to operating conditions and input variables. Addresses the current status of CRE in both academic and industrial settings and outlines future trends. (TW)

The nonparametric bootstrap for the current status model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groeneboom, P.; Hendrickx, K.

2017-01-01

It has been proved that direct bootstrapping of the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of the distribution function in the current status model leads to inconsistent confidence intervals. We show that bootstrapping of functionals of the MLE can however be used to produce valid

Job monitoring on the WLCG scope: Current status and new strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreeva, Julia; Casey, James; Gaidioz, Benjamin; Karavakis, Edward; Kokoszkiewicz, Lukasz; Lanciotti, Elisa; Maier, Gerhild; Rodrigues, Daniele Filipe Rocha Da Cuhna; Rocha, Ricardo; Saiz, Pablo; Sidorova, Irina; Boehm, Max; Belov, Sergey; Tikhonenko, Elena; Dvorak, Frantisek; Krenek, Ales; Mulac, Milas; Sitera, Jiri; Kodolova, Olga; Vaibhav, Kumar

2010-01-01

Job processing and data transfer are the main computing activities on the WLCG infrastructure. Reliable monitoring of the job processing on the WLCG scope is a complicated task due to the complexity of the infrastructure itself and the diversity of the currently used job submission methods. The paper will describe current status and the new strategy for the job monitoring on the WLCG scope, covering primary information sources, job status changes publishing, transport mechanism and visualization.

Marine current energy devices: Current status and possible future applications in Ireland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rourke, Fergal O.; Boyle, Fergal; Reynolds, Anthony

2010-01-01

There is a growing demand for the use of renewable energy technologies to generate electricity due to concerns over climate change. The oceans provide a huge potential resource of energy. Energy extraction using marine current energy devices (MCEDs) offers a sustainable alternative to conventional sources and a predictable alternative to other renewable energy technologies. A MCED utilises the kinetic energy of the tides as opposed to the potential energy which is utilised by a tidal barrage. Over the past decade MCEDs have become an increasingly popular method of energy extraction. However, marine current energy technology is still not economically viable on a large scale due to its current stage of development. Ireland has an excellent marine current energy resource as it is an island nation and experiences excellent marine current flows. This paper reviews marine current energy devices, including a detailed up-to-date description of the current status of development. Issues such as network integration, economics, and environmental implications are addressed as well as the application and costs of MCEDs in Ireland. (author)

Structural Learning Theory: Current Status and New Perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Scandura, Joseph M.

2001-01-01

Presents the current status and new perspectives on the Structured Learning Theory (SLT), with special consideration given to how SLT has been influenced by recent research in software engineering. Topics include theoretical constructs; content domains; structural analysis; cognition; assessing behavior potential; and teaching and learning issues,…

Quid Pro Quo in IPOs: Why Book-Building is Dominating Auctions

OpenAIRE

Degeorge, François; Derrien, Francois; Womack, Kent L

2004-01-01

The book-building procedure for selling initial public offerings to investors has captured significant market share from auction alternatives in recent years, despite significantly lower costs in both direct fees and initial underpricing when using the auction mechanism. This paper shows that in the French market, where the frequency of book-building and auctions was about equal in the 1990s, the ostensible advantages to the issuer using book-building were advertising-related quid pro quo ben...

Neutrino astronomy current status, future prospects

CERN Document Server

Karle, Albrecht

2017-01-01

This review volume is motivated by the recent discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos by IceCube. The aim of the book is to bring together chapters on the status of current and future neutrino observatories with chapters on the implications and possible interpretations of the present observations and their upper limits. Each chapter is a mini-review of one aspect of the subject by leading experts. Taken together, the chapters constitute an up-to-date review of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos and their potential sources.

Current status and installation of dental PACS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Chang Seo; Kim, Kee Deog; Park, Hyok; Jeong, Ho Gul

2004-01-01

Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) is difficult to implement in the best of situations, but evidence is growing that the benefits are significant. The aims of this study are to analyze the current status of full PACS and establish successful installation standard of dental PACS. Materials and Methods were based on the investigation of current working status and installation standard of PACS, and observation of variable issues to installation of dental PACS. By September 30, 2004, full PACS implementations in their facilities were 88.1% in specialized general hospitals (37 installations out of total 42 hospitals), 59.8% in general hospitals (144 installations out of total 241 hospitals), 12.3% in medical hospitals (116 installations out of total 941 hospitals) and 3.6% in dental hospitals (4 installations out of total 110 hospitals). Only 4 university dental hospitals currently have installed and are operating full PACS. Major obstacle to wide spread of dental PACS is initial high investments. Clinical environments of dental PACS differed from medical situation. Because of characteristic dental practice, the initial investments for dental PACS are generally much greater than those of medical PACS. Also new economic crisis makes users scruple. The best way to overcome these limitations is to establish an economic installation standard for dental PACS. Also the clear technical communication between the customer and the supplier before both sides are committed to the obstacles are critical to its success.

Current Market Demand for Core Competencies of Librarianship—A Text Mining Study of American Library Association’s Advertisements from 2009 through 2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinghong Yang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available As librarianship evolves, it is important to examine the changes that have taken place in professional requirements. To provide an understanding of the current market demand for core competencies of librarianship, this article conducts a semi-automatic methodology to analyze job advertisements (ads posted on the American Library Association (ALA Joblist from 2009 through 2014. There is evidence that the ability to solve unexpected complex problems and to provide superior customer service gained increasing importance for librarians during those years. The authors contend that the findings in this report question the status quo of core competencies of librarianship in the US job market.

Discussion about risk-informed regulations on the nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu Yeyi

2008-01-01

The article introduces the background and status quo of regulations on the nuclear safety in China, and points out the inadequacies existing with the current regulations. The author explains the risk-informed safety management concerning its development, status quo, and achievements made, in an attempt to make out the trend of improving regulations on the nuclear safety through risk-informed methods. Combining the U.S. development program of establishing risk-informed regulations on the nuclear safety, the author narrates principles and features of the new regulations system, and provides suggestions for the promotion of risk-informed safety management and establishment of risk-informed regulations on the nuclear safety. (author)

Job satisfaction of radiologists in Germany. Status quo; Berufszufriedenheit von Radiologen in Deutschland. Aktueller Stand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beitzel, K.I.; Grosse, C.; Reiser, M.; Ertl-Wagner, B. [Klinikum der Univ. Muenchen LMU, Grosshadern (Germany). Inst. fuer Kliniksche Radiologie; Ertl, L. [Klinikum der Univ. Muenchen LMU, Grosshadern (Germany). Inst. fuer Neuroradiologie

2011-08-15

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the work-related satisfaction of radiologists and its influencing factors in Germany. Materials and Methods: For this purpose an invitational letter for an online opinion survey was sent to all member physicians of the Deutsche Roentgengesellschaft in 2008. 1200 questionnaires were completed (response rate 21 %) and evaluated statistically. Results: 81.7 % of radiologists declared themselves as being 'very' or 'rather satisfied'. The level of satisfaction was largely independent of age, gender, status, salary or family status. It increased over the last 5 years for 37.5 % of participants and decreased for 24.8 %. Nevertheless, 72 % of respondents indicated that they would not choose to specialize in radiology again. The main reason given was the workload. 65.6 % deemed it to be 'considerably' or 'rather too high'. Concomitantly, more than 70 % of respondents indicated that the workload had increased 'a lot' or 'rather'. Further reasons for not wanting to select the radiological profession again were 'unfavorable working hours' and 'unsatisfactory career perspectives'. Conclusion: The job satisfaction of radiologists in Germany is generally very high in spite of the perception of an extensive and frequently increasing workload. The high workload was the dominant factor against a renewed selection of the field of radiology. These data have to be interpreted in light of the current lack of residents and trained radiologists in Germany to counteract the trend toward emigration. (orig.)

[Status Quo, Uncertainties and Trends Analysis of Environmental Risk Assessment for PFASs].

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Xue-wen; Li, Li; Wang, Jie; Cao, Yan; Liu, Jian-guo

2015-08-01

This study systematically combed the definition and change of terms, category and application of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in international academic, focusing on the environmental risk and exposure assessment of PFASs, to comprehensively analyze the current status, uncertainties and trends of PFASs' environmental risk assessment. Overall, the risk assessment of PFASs is facing a complicated situation involving complex substance pedigrees, various types, complex derivative relations, confidential business information and risk uncertainties. Although the environmental risk of long-chain PFASs has been widely recognized, the short-chain PFASs and short-chain fluorotelomers as their alternatives still have many research gaps and uncertainties in environmental hazards, environmental fate and exposure risk. The scope of risk control of PFASs in the international community is still worth discussing. Due to trade secrets and market competition, the chemical structure and risk information of PFASs' alternatives are generally lack of openness and transparency. The environmental risk of most fluorinated and non-fluorinated alternatives is not clear. In total, the international research on PFASs risk assessment gradually transfer from long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) represented by perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to short-chain PFAAs, and then extends to other PFASs. The main problems to be solved urgently and researched continuously are: the environmental hazardous assessment indexes, such as bioaccumulation and environmental migration, optimization method, the environmental release and multimedia environmental fate of short-chain PFASs; the environmental fate of neutral PFASs and the transformation and contribution as precursors of short-chain PFASs; the risk identification and assessment of fluorinated and non-fluorinated alternatives of PFASs.

Special Education History, Current Status and Future: India

Science.gov (United States)

Antony, Pavan John

2013-01-01

Education of all children in public schools, including those with disabilities, continues to be an unresolved issue in many countries around the globe. While education of all children is mandated by law and considered a basic human right in many countries, the current status of implementation varies. India, for example, is an ancient country that…

Current status of agricultural extension services for market oriented ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Current status of agricultural extension services for market oriented agricultural development in Ethiopia: Results from a household baseline ... Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. ... http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v10i3.1.

The ENIQ pilot study: current status

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lemaitre, P; Eriksen, B; Crutzen, S [European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre, Petten (Netherlands); Hansch, M [Preussische Elektrizitaets-AG (Preussenelektra), Hannover (Germany); Whittle, J [AEA Technology, Warrington (United Kingdom)

1998-11-01

A pilot study is currently being carried out by ENIQ (European Network for Inspection Qualification) in order to explore the issues involved in inspection qualification applied along the general principles of the European methodology. The components selected for the pilot study are austenitic pipe to pipe and pipe to elbows welds typical of those in BWR recirculation loops. A range of defect parameters has been defined. A suitable inspection procedure designed to find the designated defects will be applied to geometrically representative test pieces. The procedure/equipment will be qualified through open trials and technical justification. The personnel qualification will be done in a blind way. Once all features of the inspection system will have been qualified an in-service inspection will be simulated in order to test the feasibility of the qualification approach followed. In this paper the current status of this pilot study is discussed. (orig.)

Current status of laparoscopic central pancreatectomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CAO Yang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Central pancreatectomy is an ideal surgical procedure for the treatment of benign or low-grade malignant tumors in the pancreatic neck or the proximal body of the pancreas, and it can preserve more normal pancreatic tissue in order to reduce the incidence of endocrine and exocrine insufficiency after surgery. Although some clinical studies have demonstrated the feasibility and safety of this procedure, laparoscopic central pancreatectomy was technically challenging with a few number of cases. This article reviews the current status of laparoscopic central pancreatectomy and introduces our clinical experience of laparoscopic central pancreatectomy and pancreaticojejunostomy.

Current status of pediatric minimal access surgery at Sultan Qaboos ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Keywords: current status, laparoscopy, minimal access surgery, thoracoscopy. Departments of ... Materials and methods ... procedures, the open technique was used for the creation ... operated for bilateral inguinal herniotomy had recurrence.

Current status of low energy EB machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toshiro Nishikimi; Shuichi Taniguchi; Kenichi Mizusawa

1999-01-01

Electron beam processing systems have been in use in a variety of applications such as curing of paints and printing inks, crosslinking of PE products, treating of rubber tire and so on. Low energy electron processing systems have become popular as self-shielded machines, which are compact and easy to use and do not require special facility as an irradiation room. This manuscript introduces the status of low energy EB (electron beam) machine through Nissin's products current

Regression analysis of informative current status data with the additive hazards model.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Shishun; Hu, Tao; Ma, Ling; Wang, Peijie; Sun, Jianguo

2015-04-01

This paper discusses regression analysis of current status failure time data arising from the additive hazards model in the presence of informative censoring. Many methods have been developed for regression analysis of current status data under various regression models if the censoring is noninformative, and also there exists a large literature on parametric analysis of informative current status data in the context of tumorgenicity experiments. In this paper, a semiparametric maximum likelihood estimation procedure is presented and in the method, the copula model is employed to describe the relationship between the failure time of interest and the censoring time. Furthermore, I-splines are used to approximate the nonparametric functions involved and the asymptotic consistency and normality of the proposed estimators are established. A simulation study is conducted and indicates that the proposed approach works well for practical situations. An illustrative example is also provided.

Helicopter Rotor Noise Prediction: Background, Current Status, and Future Direction

Science.gov (United States)

Brentner, Kenneth S.

1997-01-01

Helicopter noise prediction is increasingly important. The purpose of this viewgraph presentation is to: 1) Put into perspective the recent progress; 2) Outline current prediction capabilities; 3) Forecast direction of future prediction research; 4) Identify rotorcraft noise prediction needs. The presentation includes an historical perspective, a description of governing equations, and the current status of source noise prediction.

Current knowledge of US metal and nonmetal miner health: Current and potential data sources for analysis of miner health status

Science.gov (United States)

Yeoman, K. M.; Halldin, C. N.; Wood, J.; Storey, E.; Johns, D.; Laney, A. S.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Little is known about the current health status of US metal and nonmetal (MNM) miners, in part because no health surveillance systems exist for this population. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is developing a program to characterize burden of disease among MNM miners. This report discusses current knowledge and potential data sources of MNM miner health. Recent national surveys were analyzed, and literature specific to MNM miner health status was reviewed. No robust estimates of disease prevalence were identified, and national surveys did not provide information specific to MNM miners. Because substantial gaps exist in the understanding of MNM miners' current health status, NIOSH plans to develop a health surveillance program for this population to guide intervention efforts to reduce occupational and personal risks for chronic illness. PMID:25658684

Current status of radiation treatment of water and wastewater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pikaev, A.K.

1997-01-01

This is a brief review of the current status of radiation treatment of surface water, groundwater, wastewaters, and sewage sludges. Sources of ionizing radiation, and combination radiation methods for purification are described in some detail. Special attention is paid to pilot and industrial facilities. (author)

[Current status and prospects of gene doping detection].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wenjun; Zhang, Sichun; Xu, Jingjuan; Xia, Xinghua; Tian, Yaping; Zhang, Xinrong; Chen, Hong-Yuan

2008-07-01

The fast development of biotechnology promotes the development of doping. From recombinant protein to gene doping, there is a great challenge to their detection. The improvement of gene therapy and potential to enhance athletic performance open the door for gene doping. After a brief introduction of the concept of gene doping, the current status and prospects of gene doping detection are reviewed.

The status of rural garbage disposal

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Ruqiong; Chen, Hong

2018-01-01

With the development of rural construction and the improvement of the living standard of residents, the production of rural living waste is increasing day by day. These wastes not only pollute the environment, destroy the rural landscape, but also spread disease, threaten the life safety of human beings, and become one of the public hazards. The problem of rural living waste is a major environmental problem facing China and the world. This paper make a summary analysis about the present situation of municipal waste in China, this paper expounds the problems in rural garbage treatment, and in view of status quo of municipal waste in China put forward comprehensive countermeasures.

Distal protection in cardiovascular medicine: current status.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Onn Akbar; Bhindi, Ravinay; McMahon, Aisling C; Brieger, David; Kritharides, Leonard; Lowe, Harry C

2006-08-01

Iatrogenic and spontaneous downstream microembolization of atheromatous material is increasingly recognized as a source of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Devising ways of reducing this distal embolization using a variety of mechanical means--distal protection--is currently under intense and diverse investigation. This review therefore summarizes the present status of distal protection. It examines the problem of distal embolization, describes the available distal protection devices, reviews those areas of cardiovascular medicine where distal protection devices are being investigated, and discusses potential future developments.

Current (Food) Allergenic Risk Assessment: Is It Fit for Novel Foods? Status Quo and Identification of Gaps.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzucchelli, Gabriel; Holzhauser, Thomas; Cirkovic Velickovic, Tanja; Diaz-Perales, Araceli; Molina, Elena; Roncada, Paola; Rodrigues, Pedro; Verhoeckx, Kitty; Hoffmann-Sommergruber, Karin

2018-01-01

Food allergies are recognized as a global health concern. In order to protect allergic consumers from severe symptoms, allergenic risk assessment for well-known foods and foods containing genetically modified ingredients is installed. However, population is steadily growing and there is a rising need to provide adequate protein-based foods, including novel sources, not yet used for human consumption. In this context safety issues such as a potential increased allergenic risk need to be assessed before marketing novel food sources. Therefore, the established allergenic risk assessment for genetically modified organisms needs to be re-evaluated for its applicability for risk assessment of novel food proteins. Two different scenarios of allergic sensitization have to be assessed. The first scenario is the presence of already known allergenic structures in novel foods. For this, a comparative assessment can be performed and the range of cross-reactivity can be explored, while in the second scenario allergic reactions are observed toward so far novel allergenic structures and no reference material is available. This review summarizes the current analytical methods for allergenic risk assessment, highlighting the strengths and limitations of each method and discussing the gaps in this assessment that need to be addressed in the near future. © 2017 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

[The status quo and expectation of optometry research in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Jia

2015-01-01

The eye care problems related to optometry involve a wide range, including visual problems during eye disease recovery, visual quality in surgical or non-surgical refractive corrections, and the etiological investigation of functional eye diseases like myopia. This article covers the current challenges to visual health care and the academic developments and contributions of optometry in China, including fundamental researches of myopia, refractive surgery and visual quality, and functional eye disease investigations. Some of the researches have certain impacts both domestically and overseas. Furthermore, scientific evidences to solve clinical problems and the current academic focuses that we should pay attention to are provided.

Interventional radiology (IVR). The history, status quo, and prospect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furui, Shigeru; Kohtake, Hiroshi

2007-01-01

Interventional radiology (IVR) is a clinical practice that therapy and/or biopsy are performed under guidance by images obtainable by the contrast angiography, ultrasonography, CT, MRI and so on. This paper describes its history, present status and future prospect. Actual operation procedure, recent trend and progress as well are explained in the order of arterial embolization, IVR in hepatic tumors, PTA (percutaneous transluminal angiography) and MS (metallic stent indwelling), MS applied to others than artery, S-G (stent-graft), IVR in portal hypertension, development of IVR devices in Japan, and radiation exposure and its protection in IVR. Many IVR devices have been developed in Japan for as long as these 30 years, a part of which is marketed. Skin exposure in patients is unavoidable in IVR with X-ray and thereby regulations by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) are introduced for their benefit. Systems for dose estimation in patients and efforts to reduce the dose are mentioned to be important and radiologists themselves should make effort to decrease their own exposure in consideration of the dose limits defined in the law. Problems in Japan are expensiveness of IVR devices, and slow-paced approval of new devices by authority and by health insurance agent. The author recommends doctors to have expert radiologist's advice in IVR. (R.T.)

The current status of wind energy in Turkey and in the world

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilkilic, Cumali; Aydin, Hueseyin; Behcet, Rasim

2011-01-01

The rapid increase in world energy demand, the depletion of conventional energy sources and the pollution caused by conventional fuels have increased the importance of developing new and renewable energy sources. Additionally, technological developments have resulted in increased energy demand for the entire world, including Turkey, especially for electrical energy. At present, wind energy is receiving considerable attention. This report focuses on the current status of wind energy in Turkey and in the world. An overview of wind energy in Turkey is presented, and its current status, application, support mechanisms and associated legislation in Turkey are described. Wind energy and its status in the world are also addressed. It can be concluded from this analysis that wind energy utilization in Turkey and throughout world has sharply increased. Turkey has an abundance of wind energy sources. - Research highlights: →The importance of wind energy utilization. →Wind energy status, potential, applications, legislations and supports in Turkey. →An overview of wind energy the world.

Current status of neutron scattering in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ampornrat, Pantip

2000-01-01

The neutron scattering experiments in Thailand have been done continuously since the start up of the reactor. In 1977, Thai research reactor was modified into TRIGA MARK III core. After that, the neutron spectrometer was installed again under a development program. Installation of upgrading spectrometer was delayed because of some problems involving the neutron intensity and instruments. However, these problems were solved and the setup is almost completed. The paper reports the current status of neutron spectrometer, the problems and plans for the experiments. (author)

IVS: Current Status and Future Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Behrend, D.; Nothnagel, A.; Petrachenko, W. T.; Tuccari, G.

2016-12-01

The International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) is a globally operating service that coordinates and performs Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) activities through its constituent components. The VLBI activities are associated with the creation, provision, dissemination, and archiving of relevant VLBI data and products. The products mostly pertain to the determination of the celestial and terrestrial reference frames, the Earth orientation parameters (EOP), atmospheric parameters as well as other ancillary parameters. The IVS observational network currently consists of about 40 radio telescopes worldwide. Subsets of these telescopes (8-12 stations) participate in 24-hour observing sessions that are run several times per week and in 1-hour intensive sessions for UT1 determination every day. The current VLBI network was developed mainly in the 1970s and 1980s. A number of factors, including aging infrastructure and demanding new scientific requirements, started to challenge its future sustainability and relevance. In response, the IVS and other groups developed and started implementing the next generation VLBI system, called VGOS (VLBI Global Observing System), at existing and new sites. The VGOS network is expected to reach maturity in the early 2020s. We describe the current status, progress, and anticipated prospects of geodetic/astrometric VLBI and the IVS.

SUSY: Quo Vadis?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, G.G.

2014-01-01

Given that there is currently no direct evidence for supersymmetric particles at the LHC it is timely to re-evaluate the need for low scale supersymmetry and to ask whether it is likely to be discoverable by the LHC running at its full energy. We review the status of simple SUSY extensions of the Standard Model in the light of the Higgs discovery and the non-observation of evidence for SUSY at the LHC. The need for large radiative corrections to drive the Higgs mass up to 126 GeV and for the coloured SUSY states to be heavy to explain their non-observation introduces a little hierarchy problem and we discuss how to quantify the associated fine tuning. The requirement of low fine tuning requires non-minimal SUSY extensions and we discuss the nature and phenomenology of models which still have perfectly acceptable low fine tuning. A brief discussion of SUSY flavour-changing and CP-violation problems and their resolution is presented. (orig.)

Current status of RCA projects and strategies for future implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Lee, Jeong Kong

1998-12-01

This report is intended to provide basic overall information about ways to promote technical cooperation within the framework of RCA to accelerate and coordinate cooperative activities in nuclear science and technology in Asia and the Pacific region through a thorough review on the current status and through suggesting future implementation strategies. The contents of this report include an overall introduction of RCA, guidelines and operating rules for RCA programmes, current status and future plans for RCA projects as well as the RCA vision for the next 25 years. By reviewing the current status and future implementation strategies for RCA projects, it will help to set up a national nuclear policy aimed at seeking maximum benefits from participation in RCA projects and to implement programmes for nuclear cooperation with Asian-Pacific countries. It is expected that as a lead country for the energy sector, which is one of five thematic areas for the year 1999 - 2000 cycle programmes, Korea will continue to make significant contributions towards the implementation of RCA programmes in the future. With this report, we plan to keep up with future developments as well as implement an effective cooperation with the countries in the region so that the opinion of Korea, one of the nuclear advanced countries in the region, can be fully reflected in the establishment of future plans for RCA programmes. (author). 3 refs., 5 tabs., 1 fig

Current Status of Yongbyon Nuclear Complex

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hwang, Yong Soo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Non-proliferation and Control, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The DPRK has developed Yongbyon Nuclear Complex in Figure 1 since 1960's. Currently it is composed of the reactor facility, fuel fabrication facility including the enrichment center, and the radiochemistry center. Even though many facilities are not modern and economic in the western standards, Yongbyon Nuclear Complex is fully equipped with the entire life cycle of the nuclear installation. The key facilities have been added step by step. For example, the DPRK's nuclear reactor fleet started with the 2 MW IRT-2000 reactor in the middle of 80's. It started with a small scale radioactive isotope separation center nearby. But nowadays the DPRK is constructing a much more larger isotope separation center in the vicinity of its enrichment center along with a potential new UF6 conversion center. The general description over Yongbyon Nuclear Complex is given in this paper. More detailed context of the current status of the center will be discussed in the main symposium purely based on the open source information study.

Current status and future direction of the MONK software package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Nigel; Armishaw, Malcolm; Cooper, Andrew

2003-01-01

The current status of the MONK criticality software package is summarized in terms of recent and current developments and envisaged directions for the future. The areas of the discussion are physics modeling, geometry modeling, source modeling, nuclear data, validation, supporting tools and customer services. In future development plan, MONK continues to be focused on meeting the short and long-term needs of the code user community. (J.P.N.)

Cost Estimating in DoD: Current Status, Trends, and What the Future Holds

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Nussbaum, Daniel A

2005-01-01

(1) Current Status: Baseline analysis of current cost estimating community, including which organizations are responsible for developing and reviewing cost estimates, how many personnel there are, what...

Hardwood lumber supply chain: current status and market opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Urs Buehlmann; Matthew Bumgardner; Al Schuler; Mark Barford

2007-01-01

The membership of the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Association was surveyed in 2005 to determine the current status of large Appalachian sawmills. The primary focus was to assess the impacts of globalization on primary manufacturing, but attention was also paid to general issues affecting the hardwood lumber supply chain-from concerns over forest health and log...

The merit of meritocracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Son Hing, Leanne S; Bobocel, D Ramona; Zanna, Mark P; Garcia, Donna M; Gee, Stephanie S; Orazietti, Katie

2011-09-01

We argue that the preference for the merit principle is a separate construct from hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies (i.e., system justification beliefs, prejudice, social dominance orientation), including descriptive beliefs that meritocracy currently exists in society. Moreover, we hypothesized that prescriptive beliefs about merit should have a stronger influence on reactions to the status quo when hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies are weak (vs. strong). In 4 studies, participants' preference for the merit principle and hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies were assessed; later, the participants evaluated organizational selection practices that support or challenge the status quo. Participants' prescriptive and descriptive beliefs about merit were separate constructs; only the latter predicted other hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies. In addition, as hypothesized, among participants who weakly endorsed hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies, the stronger their preference for the merit principle, the more they opposed selection practices that were perceived to be merit violating but the more they supported practices that were perceived to be merit restoring. In contrast, those who strongly endorsed hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies were always motivated to support the status quo, regardless of their preference for the merit principle. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Smart wearable systems: current status and future challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Marie; Estève, Daniel; Fourniols, Jean-Yves; Escriba, Christophe; Campo, Eric

2012-11-01

Extensive efforts have been made in both academia and industry in the research and development of smart wearable systems (SWS) for health monitoring (HM). Primarily influenced by skyrocketing healthcare costs and supported by recent technological advances in micro- and nanotechnologies, miniaturisation of sensors, and smart fabrics, the continuous advances in SWS will progressively change the landscape of healthcare by allowing individual management and continuous monitoring of a patient's health status. Consisting of various components and devices, ranging from sensors and actuators to multimedia devices, these systems support complex healthcare applications and enable low-cost wearable, non-invasive alternatives for continuous 24-h monitoring of health, activity, mobility, and mental status, both indoors and outdoors. Our objective has been to examine the current research in wearable to serve as references for researchers and provide perspectives for future research. Herein, we review the current research and development of and the challenges facing SWS for HM, focusing on multi-parameter physiological sensor systems and activity and mobility measurement system designs that reliably measure mobility or vital signs and integrate real-time decision support processing for disease prevention, symptom detection, and diagnosis. For this literature review, we have chosen specific selection criteria to include papers in which wearable systems or devices are covered. We describe the state of the art in SWS and provide a survey of recent implementations of wearable health-care systems. We describe current issues, challenges, and prospects of SWS. We conclude by identifying the future challenges facing SWS for HM. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Counseling in Malaysia: History, Current Status, and Future Trends

Science.gov (United States)

See, Ching Mey; Ng, Kok-Mun

2010-01-01

This article presents an overview of the history of counseling in Malaysia, provides an update of its current status, and discusses some anticipated future trends for the profession in light of recent developments in the country. Counseling in Malaysia began with school guidance in the 1960s and has now achieved recognition as a profession in…

Current status of Pohang Neutron Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, G.N.; Lee, Y.S.; Cho, M.H. [Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang (KR)] [and others

2000-03-01

We present the current status of Pohang Neutron Facility, which is the pulsed neutron facility, based on the 70-MeV electron linear accelerator completed on Dec.1997. We have prepared the 15-m time-of-flight path, a Ta-target system, and the Data Acquisition System. Meanwhile we have measured the total cross-sections of Dy and Hf samples at the Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University and the neutron capture cross-sections of {sup 164}Dy isotope at Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors, Tokyo Institute of Technology both in Japan. We also were participated the experiment at the 122-m flight path of the IBR-30 pulsed neutron source of Joint Institute of Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia. (author)

Self-Fitting Hearing Aids: Status Quo and Future Predictions.

Science.gov (United States)

Keidser, Gitte; Convery, Elizabeth

2016-04-12

A self-contained, self-fitting hearing aid (SFHA) is a device that enables the user to perform both threshold measurements leading to a prescribed hearing aid setting and fine-tuning, without the need for audiological support or access to other equipment. The SFHA has been proposed as a potential solution to address unmet hearing health care in developing countries and remote locations in the developed world and is considered a means to lower cost and increase uptake of hearing aids in developed countries. This article reviews the status of the SFHA and the evidence for its feasibility and challenges and predicts where it is heading. Devices that can be considered partly or fully self-fitting without audiological support were identified in the direct-to-consumer market. None of these devices are considered self-contained as they require access to other hardware such as a proprietary interface, computer, smartphone, or tablet for manipulation. While there is evidence that self-administered fitting processes can provide valid and reliable results, their success relies on user-friendly device designs and interfaces and easy-to-interpret instructions. Until these issues have been sufficiently addressed, optional assistance with the self-fitting process and on-going use of SFHAs is recommended. Affordability and a sustainable delivery system remain additional challenges for the SFHA in developing countries. Future predictions include a growth in self-fitting products, with most future SFHAs consisting of earpieces that connect wirelessly with a smartphone and providers offering assistance through a telehealth infrastructure, and the integration of SFHAs into the traditional hearing health-care model. © The Author(s) 2016.

Instantaneous Project Controls: Current Status, State of the Art, Benefits, and Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Abbaszadegan, Amin

2016-01-01

Despite advancements in construction and construction-related technology, capital project performance deviations, typically overruns, remain endemic within the capital projects industry. Currently, management is generally unaware of the current status of their projects, and thus monitoring and control of projects are not achieved effectively. In…

Critical Appraisal of the System of Education and Prospects of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The main purpose of this article is to review the South African system of education and assess the country's prospects of meeting current and future manpower and developmental needs. This inquiry is based primarily on an assessment of the current status quo in education in South Africa in order to gain a better ...

Creative thinking in prospective teachers: the 'status quo' and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

To create unique and appropriate learning opportunities and environments and to nurture the development of creative thinking abilities among learners are some of the demands for creative thinking currently expected of teachers globally and also in South Africa. Creative thinking in academic context assumes, among other ...

CT colonography: current status in Europe and future perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lefere, P.; Gryspeerdt, S.; Yoshida, H.

2007-01-01

In this article, we review the current status of CT colonography (CTC) in Europe and future perspectives of CTC including fecal tagging and CAD. There are several large multi-centre studies that have been initiated. Fecal tagging has gradually become a prerequisite to perform state-of-the-art CTC. However, CAD for fecal-tagging CTC remains a subject for future research. (orig.)

Current status of application of Moessbauer effect in geology and mineralogy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Binfu

1995-01-01

The paper briefly introduces the current status of the application of Moessbauer effect in geology and mineralogy. It shows that geology and mineralogy are very active fields in the application of Moessbauer effect

'Addicted to the status quo' - academic fantasies and the primary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The current state of the Humanities in South African universities is frequently attributed to the 1997 Higher Education Act and the new educational dispensation it initiated. This article discusses some of the pervasive fantasies inhibiting the effective management, and especially the management of change, in one Faculty of ...

Ethiopia's emerging domestic biogas sector : Current status, bottlenecks and drivers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamp, L.M.; Bermúdez Forn, Esteban

2016-01-01

Ethiopia experiences an energy and environmental crisis due to the sustained reliance on woody biomass to satisfy its energy needs. This situation could be improved by using biogas. This paper analyses the current status of the domestic biogas sector in Ethiopia and identifies barriers and

Edible vaccines: Current status and future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lal P

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Edible vaccines hold great promise as a cost-effective, easy-to-administer, easy-to-store, fail-safe and socioculturally readily acceptable vaccine delivery system, especially for the poor developing countries. It involves introduction of selected desired genes into plants and then inducing these altered plants to manufacture the encoded proteins. Introduced as a concept about a decade ago, it has become a reality today. A variety of delivery systems have been developed. Initially thought to be useful only for preventing infectious diseases, it has also found application in prevention of autoimmune diseases, birth control, cancer therapy, etc. Edible vaccines are currently being developed for a number of human and animal diseases. There is growing acceptance of transgenic crops in both industrial and developing countries. Resistance to genetically modified foods may affect the future of edible vaccines. They have passed the major hurdles in the path of an emerging vaccine technology. Various technical obstacles, regulatory and non-scientific challenges, though all seem surmountable, need to be overcome. This review attempts to discuss the current status and future of this new preventive modality.

Current status of Paragonimus and paragonimiasis in Ecuador

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Calvopiña

2014-11-01

Full Text Available A review of national and international publications on paragonimiasis in Ecuador, epidemiological records from the Ministry of Public Health and unpublished research data was conducted to summarise the current status of the parasite/disease. The purpose of the review is to educate physicians, policy-makers and health providers on the status of the disease and to stimulate scientific investigators to conduct further research. Paragonimiasis was first diagnosed in Ecuador 94 years ago and it is endemic to both tropical and subtropical regions in 19 of 24 provinces in the Pacific Coast and Amazon regions. Paragonimus mexicanus is the only known species in the country, with the mollusc Aroapyrgus colombiensis and the crabs Moreirocarcinus emarginatus, Hypolobocera chilensis and Hypolobocera aequatorialis being the primary and secondary intermediate hosts, respectively. Recent studies found P. mexicanus metacercariae in Trichodactylus faxoni crabs of the northern Amazon. Chronic pulmonary paragonimiasis is commonly misdiagnosed and treated as tuberculosis and although studies have demonstrated the efficacy of praziquantel and triclabendazole for the treatment of human infections, neither drug is available in Ecuador. Official data recorded from 1978-2007 indicate an annual incidence of 85.5 cases throughout the 19 provinces, with an estimated 17.2% of the population at risk of infection. There are no current data on the incidence/prevalence of infection, nor is there a national control programme.

Parametric overdispersed frailty models for current status data.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrams, Steven; Aerts, Marc; Molenberghs, Geert; Hens, Niel

2017-12-01

Frailty models have a prominent place in survival analysis to model univariate and multivariate time-to-event data, often complicated by the presence of different types of censoring. In recent years, frailty modeling gained popularity in infectious disease epidemiology to quantify unobserved heterogeneity using Type I interval-censored serological data or current status data. In a multivariate setting, frailty models prove useful to assess the association between infection times related to multiple distinct infections acquired by the same individual. In addition to dependence among individual infection times, overdispersion can arise when the observed variability in the data exceeds the one implied by the model. In this article, we discuss parametric overdispersed frailty models for time-to-event data under Type I interval-censoring, building upon the work by Molenberghs et al. (2010) and Hens et al. (2009). The proposed methodology is illustrated using bivariate serological data on hepatitis A and B from Flanders, Belgium anno 1993-1994. Furthermore, the relationship between individual heterogeneity and overdispersion at a stratum-specific level is studied through simulations. Although it is important to account for overdispersion, one should be cautious when modeling both individual heterogeneity and overdispersion based on current status data as model selection is hampered by the loss of information due to censoring. © 2017, The International Biometric Society.

The current implementation status of the integration of sports and physical activity into Dutch rehabilitation care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoekstra, Femke; Hettinga, Florentina J; Alingh, Rolinde A; Duijf, Marjo; Dekker, Rienk; van der Woude, Lucas H V; van der Schans, Cees P

PURPOSE: To describe the current status of the nationwide implementation process of a sports and physical activity stimulation programme to gain insight into how sports and physical activity were integrated into Dutch rehabilitation care. METHODS: The current implementation status of a sports and

Indirect dark matter searches: current status and perspectives

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2016-01-01

Many theoretical ideas for the particle nature of dark matter exist. The  most popular models often predict that dark matter particles self-annihilate or decay, giving rise to potentially detectable signatures in astronomical observations.  I will summarize the current status of searches for such signatures and critically reassess recent claims for dark matter signals.  I will further provide an outlook on anticipated developments in the next 10 years, and discuss new methods to facilitate strategy development.

ZnO growth technologies: current status and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lupan, Oleg

2011-01-01

Development of new technologies for ZnO nano materials and thin films is of critical importance for further fundamental investigations and practical applications. We discuss on the main technical control of the synthesis of zinc oxide and its properties, which are of significance in understanding the growth mechanism and further developing ZnO-based devices. Next, we present a brief summary of recent research activities, current status and progress in developing improved control of technological processes for zinc oxide as advanced material.

Investigation on Current Status of World Nuclear Education and Training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, J. Y.; Min, M. J.; Noh, B. C.

2010-04-01

All over the world, the interest of nuclear energy is increasing and the expectations of it are getting more as one of the most practical alternative energy resources. However, since 1990s, as a lot of nuclear specialists are being retired, now the problem of manpower shortage is taken into consideration for all of us and will be continued until 2011. In this point of view, the good quality of the professional nuclear training and education systems and the nuclear education centers are requested in order to breed and supply the next generation nuclear scientists and engineers. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the current status of world nuclear education for both of nuclear power countries and potential nuclear power utilization countries in the near future. This report introduces the importance of nuclear energy, the current status of world nuclear power plants operation and the contribution of nuclear energy. Besides, it also includes the nuclear energy development plan of potential nuclear developing countries in the near future. In addition, this study also explores the nuclear training and education systems of the nuclear development countries and the current status of nuclear education in various fields such as government, industries, nuclear power plants ect. Especially, as considering the status of nuclear education classified such as Asia, the Americas, East and West Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it shows the different characteristics of nuclear education systems in each regions aimed to identify the good practices on the nuclear education systems. Finally, through observation of international cooperation and networks of the various nuclear organizations, this will be contributed to the development of nuclear education for member states and be suggested the various of the direction of development for nuclear education in Korea. The report presents in the basis of the recent status data of the world nuclear education systems collected

Current status of quantitative rotational spectroscopy for atmospheric research

Science.gov (United States)

Drouin, Brian J.; Wlodarczak, Georges; Colmont, Jean-Marcel; Rohart, Francois

2004-01-01

Remote sensing of rotational transitions in the Earth's atmosphere has become an important method for the retrieval of geophysical temperatures, pressures and chemical composition profiles that requires accurate spectral information. This paper highlights the current status of rotational data that are useful for atmospheric measurements, with a discussion of the types the rotational lineshape measurements that are not generally available in either online repository.

Review of the current status of radiation risk estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charles, M.W.; Little, M.P.

1988-10-01

This report reviews the current status of radiation risk estimation for low linear energy transfer radiation. Recent statements by various national and international organisations regarding risk estimates are critically discussed. The recently published revised population risk estimates from the study of Japanese bomb survivors are also reviewed and used with some unpublished data from Japan to calculate risk figures for a general work force. (author)

Current Diagnosis, Treatment and Etiology of Status Epilepticus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Çetin Kürşad Akpınar

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Status Epilepticus (SE is a medical emergency that causes significant morbidity and mortality and requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Although SE can be divided into two subgroups as convulsive and nonconvulsive, treatment principles are generally similar. Treatment should be prompt and underlying cause should be corrected. Although intravenous lorazepam is the first-line treatment due to a lower risk of relapse, diazepam becomes the first choice since loeazepan is not available in our country. Even though intravenous benzodiazepine stops seizures, intravenous antiepileptic drug (phenytoin, etc. should be administered at a loading dose. Patients with refractory status epilepticus should be supported with respect to vital, respiratory, metabolic and hemodynamic aspects and followed up in an intensive care unit to monitor cerebral electrical activity. The most common cause in the etiology is the cessation of antiepileptic drugs. The aim of SE treatment is to stop seizures and prevent complications and recurrence. In this paper, current diagnosis, treatment and etiology of SE are reviewed.

Regret in repeat purchase versus switching decisions : The attenuating role of decision justifiability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Inman, J.J.; Zeelenberg, M.

2002-01-01

The decision-making literature has consistently reported that decisions to maintain the status quo tend to be regretted less than decisions to change it. We examine the consequences of repeat purchasing (maintaining the status quo) versus switching in the context of information regarding the reason

The Current Status of Teachers and the Teaching Profession in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines the current status of teachers and the teaching sector in Tanzania. It draws on experiences of teachers, parents, and students in Dar es Salaam, Iringa and Mbeya regions. Informed by the qualitative inquiry, the paper is largely empirical in character. Data was sought through interviews and document ...

Audit Risk Assessment in the Light of Current European Regulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciprian-Costel Munteanu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Recent European reforms on audit regulations have been motivated by efforts to increase audit quality, functioning and performance. We believe the adoption of Directive 2014/56 and Regulation 537/2014 strengthened the role of independent audit and risk committees, which will positively contribute towards audit quality. This paper aims to critically assess the status quo of audit risk assessment in current European standards and regulations, by conducting a theoretical analysis of different aspects of audit risk. Our main objective is to stress the importance of detecting inherent and control risk, which lead to material misstatement at the assertion level. They need to be assessed so as to determine the nature, timing and extent of further audit procedures necessary to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence. These pieces of evidence enable the auditor to express an opinion on the financial statements at an acceptably low level of audit risk. Therefore, we point to the fact that researchers as well as practitioners and policymakers have to be careful when using audit tools and assessing risk levels, as their conclusions continuously shape the regulations.

Current Market Top Business Scopes Trend—A Concurrent Text and Time Series Active Learning Study of NASDAQ and NYSE Stocks from 2012 to 2017

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoping Du

2018-05-01

Full Text Available As information technologies evolve, it has become necessary to examine the changes which have taken place in the top business scopes for both investors and entrepreneurs. To provide an understanding for the trends of the top business scopes in the current market, this article conducts a concurrent text and time series methodology to analyze the stocks in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ from 2012 to 2017. There is evidence that artificial intelligence and blockchains gained increasing importance for companies during that period. The authors contend that their findings in this paper question the status quo of promising business scopes for companies in the U.S. market.

The Current Status of Sport Sociology within American and Canadian Colleges and Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Dana D.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of sport sociology within American and Canadian Colleges and Universities. The study investigated: (1) the number of graduate and undergraduate courses offered in sport sociology; (2) current research area(s) of interest within sport sociology; (3) current text used as reference and…

Status quo of supply technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noda, Shigeo

1987-09-01

Problems for gas supply function, activity of the Gas Association, and technological development mainly of the presented subjects are reported. According to the materials released by the Gas Associattion, demands for city gas by the 21st Century is expected to be rather high with 3.6% annual growth rate. It is premissed on an assumption that the superior quality of the city gas satisfying customer requirements would be further upgraded. The problems confronted by the supply function for this purpose are the pursuit for less cost, improvement in security, and stable gas supply. The Gas Association carried out research, investigation, preparation of standards, etc., and published instructive materials such as guide for main and branch piping, guide for supply piping, technical standards for gas related works, etc. It also has been endeavoring to popularize the use of polyethylene pipies, and studying the evaluation method for the renewal and repair of gas conduits and house regulator supply system, etc. The supply function has been working on the cutting dowm of costs, inprovement in security, and developing technologies such as underground probing radar, inteligent pipe locator, identifier for gas and water supply tubes, estimation of ground subsidence, inspection of inside of pipes by a television camera, etc. (1 tab)

Corporate Blended Learning in Portugal: Current Status and Future Directions

Science.gov (United States)

Marcal, Julia; Caetano, Antonio

2010-01-01

The aim of this study is to characterize the current status of blended learning in Portugal, given that b-learning has grown exponentially in the Portuguese market over recent years. 38 organizations (representing 68% of all institutions certified to provide distance training by the Government Labour Office--DGERT-) participated in this study. The…

The current status of mango farming business in Ghana: A case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The current status of mango farming business in Ghana: A case study of mango farming in the Dangme West District. ... Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is a crop which is assuming great economic importance in Ghana. ... HOW TO USE AJOL.

On Programmed Cell Death in Plasmodium falciparum: Status Quo

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbrecht, Dewaldt; Durand, Pierre Marcel; Coetzer, Thérèsa Louise

2012-01-01

Conflicting arguments and results exist regarding the occurrence and phenotype of programmed cell death (PCD) in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Inconsistencies relate mainly to the number and type of PCD markers assessed and the different methodologies used in the studies. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge and empirical evidence for PCD in the intraerythrocytic stages of P. falciparum. We consider possible reasons for discrepancies in the data and offer suggestions towards more standardised investigation methods in this field. Furthermore, we present genomic evidence for PCD machinery in P. falciparum. We discuss the potential adaptive or nonadaptive role of PCD in the parasite life cycle and its possible exploitation in the development of novel drug targets. Lastly, we pose pertinent unanswered questions concerning the PCD phenomenon in P. falciparum to provide future direction. PMID:22287973

Current and past menstrual status is an important determinant of femoral neck geometry in exercising women.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallinson, Rebecca J; Williams, Nancy I; Gibbs, Jenna C; Koehler, Karsten; Allaway, Heather C M; Southmayd, Emily; De Souza, Mary Jane

2016-07-01

Menstrual status, both past and current, has been established as an important determinant of bone mineral density (BMD) in young exercising women. However, little is known regarding the association between the cumulative effect of menstrual status and indices of bone health beyond BMD, such as bone geometry and estimated bone strength. This study explores the association between cumulative menstrual status and indices of bone health assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), including femoral neck geometry and strength and areal BMD (aBMD), in exercising women. 101 exercising women (22.0±0.4years, BMI 21.0±0.2kg/m(2), 520±40min/week of self-reported exercise) participated in this cross-sectional study. Women were divided into three groups as follows based on their self-reported current and past menstrual status: 1) current and past regular menstrual cycles (C+P-R) (n=23), 2) current and past irregular menstrual cycles (C+P-IR) (n=56), 3) and current or past irregular cycles (C/P-RIR) (n=22). Current menstrual status was confirmed using daily urinary metabolites of reproductive hormones. DXA was used to assess estimates of femoral neck geometry and strength from hip strength analysis (HSA), aBMD, and body composition. Cross-sectional moment of inertia (CSMI), cross-sectional area (CSA), strength index (SI), diameter, and section modulus (Z) were calculated at the femoral neck. Low CSMI, CSA, SI, diameter, and Z were operationally defined as values below the median. Areal BMD (g/cm(2)) and Z-scores were determined at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip. Low BMD was defined as a Z-score0.05). However, after controlling for confounding variables, cumulative menstrual status was not a significant predictor of low aBMD. In exercising women, the cumulative effect of current and past menstrual irregularity appears to be an important predictor of lower estimates of femoral neck geometry, as observed by smaller CSMI and CSA, which may serve as an

Thermoelectric microgenerators. Current status and prospects of application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Strutynska L. T.

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Analysis of current status and prospects of using thermoelectric microgenerators, including organic-fueled ones, is performed. Developments of thermoelectric microgenerators presented in this review demonstrate that their increasingly wide use forms a separate, very important line of thermoelectricity – micropower generation with growing potential of practical applications for charging batteries, mobile phones, digital cameras and photocameras, power supply to small radio stations, other portable devices, including medical. The ways of increasing the efficiency of such devices and relevant lines of their wide use in practice are determined.

Current status of the nuclear medicine in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torizuka, K.

1974-01-01

A brief survey of the current status of Japan nuclear medicine is given. The following data are described (from the material of the 11th Japan Conference of Radioisotopes): 1. the increase of the number of nuclear instruments between 1971 and 1973; 2. the total amount of the cobalt radiation apparatur (inclusive of the cesium apparatus) in the hospitals in 1971- and 1972; 3. the radioactive medicines and nuclids used in Japan; 4. the radioactive isotopes used generally in the therapeutics in 1971 and 1972; 5. the question of labour. (K.A.)

Controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic: current status and global challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thorsten eDemberg

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This review provides an overview of the current status of the global HIV pandemic and strategies to bring it under control. It updates numerous preventive approaches including behavioral interventions, male circumcision, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, vaccines, and microbicides. The manuscript summarizes current anti-retroviral treatment options, their impact in the western world, and difficulties faced by emerging and resource-limited nations in providing and maintaining appropriate treatment regimens. Current clinical and pre-clinical approaches towards a cure for HIV are described, including new drug compounds that target viral reservoirs and gene therapy approaches aimed at altering susceptibility to HIV infection. Recent progress in vaccine development is summarized, including novel approaches and new discoveries.

On Programmed Cell Death in Plasmodium falciparum: Status Quo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dewaldt Engelbrecht

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Conflicting arguments and results exist regarding the occurrence and phenotype of programmed cell death (PCD in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Inconsistencies relate mainly to the number and type of PCD markers assessed and the different methodologies used in the studies. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge and empirical evidence for PCD in the intraerythrocytic stages of P. falciparum. We consider possible reasons for discrepancies in the data and offer suggestions towards more standardised investigation methods in this field. Furthermore, we present genomic evidence for PCD machinery in P. falciparum. We discuss the potential adaptive or nonadaptive role of PCD in the parasite life cycle and its possible exploitation in the development of novel drug targets. Lastly, we pose pertinent unanswered questions concerning the PCD phenomenon in P. falciparum to provide future direction.

The Current Status of Classroom Inclusion Activities of Secondary Agriculture Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Hoerst, Caryn M.; Whittington, M. Susie

2009-01-01

The current status of classroom inclusion activities among agriculture teachers in comprehensive secondary agricultural education programs in Ohio is reported. The researchers describe secondary agriculture teachers' needs related to teaching learners with special needs in inclusion classes, given legislative mandates. Specifically, the…

Study of Grants, new Mexico, uranium miners: current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samet, J.M.; Morgan, M.V.; Buechley, R.W.; Key, C.R.; Valdivia, A.A.

1981-01-01

The Uranium Epidemiology Study at the University of New Mexico was initiated in 1977 with the objective of assessing health effects of uranium mining in the Grants, New Mexico, area. The planned approach was a cohort study of mortality that would capitalize on the availability of health records at the Grants Clinic. The first year's work confirmed the study's feasibility (Buechley, 1979). Subsequent efforts have focused on the health and exposure data base and comprehensive follow-up. A retrospective cohort study of early miners is in progress; a prospective cohort study of miners who began working under the current federal standard is planned. This report will summarize the current status of the Uranium Epidemiology Study

Curriculum leadership in the postgraduate: Gap between current and optimal status.

Science.gov (United States)

Avizhgan, Maryam; Jafari, Ebrahim Mirshah; Nasr, Ahmad Reza; Changiz, Tahereh

2015-04-01

Identifying the strengths and weakness points is one of the effective methods to analyze current status, and prioritizing actions based on the gap between current and optimal status is necessary for short-term and long-term planning in departments and colleges. The aim of this study was to determine the gap between current and optimal status of curriculum leadership in the postgraduate courses in two Iranian universities. In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 212 faculty members from the two Iranian universities (one medical and one nonmedical) was randomly selected through stratified random sampling method. Data were collected by using a researcher-made questionnaire, with 55 items categorized in four areas of main dimensions in curriculum leadership. The validity of the questionnaire was determined by curriculum studies scholars, and the reliability was confirmed as the Cronbach's alpha calculated 0.969. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics according to the variables. There was a gap in all dimensions and roles. The maximum gap (-1.70) with the highest frequency (98%) were related to "improving the educational atmosphere" dimension. As for items, the maximum gap (-2.41) was related to "society needs and expectations and the labor market" in "curriculum development and revision" dimension. The negative gap between all dimensions of curriculum leadership implies faculty members' dissatisfaction. Curriculum leadership at universities, colleges and departments of the study in all aspects need to be improved. Hence, it is necessary for managers to make use of the viewpoints of the faculty members to decrease the gap.

Laser Propulsion - Quo Vadis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bohn, Willy L.

2008-01-01

First, an introductory overview of the different types of laser propulsion techniques will be given and illustrated by some historical examples. Second, laser devices available for basic experiments will be reviewed ranging from low power lasers sources to inertial confinement laser facilities. Subsequently, a status of work will show the impasse in which the laser propulsion community is currently engaged. Revisiting the basic relations leads to new avenues in ablative and direct laser propulsion for ground based and space based applications. Hereby, special attention will be devoted to the impact of emerging ultra-short pulse lasers on the coupling coefficient and specific impulse. In particular, laser sources and laser propulsion techniques will be tested in microgravity environment. A novel approach to debris removal will be discussed with respect to the Satellite Laser Ranging (SRL) facilities. Finally, some non technical issues will be raised aimed at the future prospects of laser propulsion in the international community

Prognostics and Health Management of Wind Turbines: Current Status and Future Opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheng, Shuangwen

2016-10-04

This presentation was given at the 2016 Annual Conference of the Prognostics and Health Management Society. It covers the current status and challenges and opportunities of prognostics and health management of wind turbines.

Current status and perspectives of cysticercosis and taeniasis in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamasaki, Hiroshi

2013-02-01

This mini-review describes recent epidemiological trends in cysticercosis and taeniasis in Japan. Some of the topics discussed herein were presented at the first symposium on "Current perspectives of Taenia asiatica researches", that was held in Osong in Chungbuk Province, South Korea, in October 2011 and organized by Prof. K. S. Eom, Chungbuk National University School of Medicine. To better understand the trends in the occurrence of cysticercosis and taeniasis in Japan, clinical cases reported in 2005 have been updated. In addition, the current status of Taenia asiatica infections successively occurring in Japan since 2010 is also discussed.

Current status of studies on temperature fluctuation phenomena in LMFRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohshima, H.; Muramatsu, T.; Kobayashi, J.; Yamaguchi, A.

1994-01-01

This paper describes the current status of studies being performed in PNC on temperature fluctuation phenomena occurring in fast reactors. The studies concentrate on four problems: thermal stratification, thermal striping, core-plenum interaction and free surface sloshing. Both experimental and analytical approaches to reveal these phenomena and to establish design and safety evaluation methods are presented together with future works. (author)

MONK and MCBEND: Current status and recent developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richards, Simon D.; Baker, Chris M.J.; Bird, Adam J.; Cowan, Pat; Davies, Nigel; Dobson, Geoff P.; Fry, Tim C.; Kyrieleis, Albrecht; Smith, Paul N.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We describe recent developments to the Monte Carlo codes MONK and MCBEND. • MONK is a Monte Carlo code for nuclear criticality and reactor physics analyses. • MCBEND is a Monte Carlo code for radiation shielding and dosimetry analyses. • Improvements include input; physics; scoring; variance reduction; and visualisation. • Parallelisation of MONK and multi-physics coupling are described. - Abstract: MONK® and MCBEND are Monte Carlo software packages for: nuclear criticality and reactor physics; and radiation shielding and dosimetry applications, respectively. The codes are actively developed, maintained and supported by AMEC’s ANSWERS® Software Service in line with the ANSWERS vision of providing easy-to-use software that meets the current and emerging needs of the user community. This paper summarises the current status of MONK and MCBEND and the recent developments which have been carried out to the codes, and their supporting nuclear data libraries and visualisation package

Polycystic ovary syndrome: current status and future perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Barthelmess, Erin K.; Naz, Rajesh K.

2015-01-01

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a widespread reproductive disorder that encompasses many associated health conditions and has an impact on various metabolic processes. PCOS is depicted by hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovaries, and anovulation. It increases the risk of insulin resistance (IR), type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. The etiology of the disease remains unclear, and the subjective phenotype makes a united diagnosis difficult among physicians. It seems to be a familial genetic syndrome caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. It can be linked with metabolic disorders in first-degree family members. PCOS is the cause of up to 30% of infertility in couples seeking treatment. Currently, there is no cure for PCOS. Despite the growing incidence of this syndrome, limited research has been done that encompasses the entirety of PCOS spectrum. In this review, the current status and possible future perspective will be discussed. PMID:24389146

Current status of endoscopic simulation in gastroenterology fellowship training programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Jirapinyo, Pichamol; Thompson, Christopher C

2015-07-01

Recent guidelines have encouraged gastroenterology and surgical training programs to integrate simulation into their core endoscopic curricula. However, the role that simulation currently has within training programs is unknown. This study aims to assess the current status of simulation among gastroenterology fellowship programs. This questionnaire study consisted of 38 fields divided into two sections. The first section queried program directors' experience on simulation and assessed the current status of simulation at their institution. The second portion surveyed their opinion on the potential role of simulation on the training curriculum. The study was conducted at the 2013 American Gastroenterological Association Training Directors' Workshop in Phoenix, Arizona. The participants were program directors from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited gastroenterology training programs, who attended the workshop. The questionnaire was returned by 69 of 97 program directors (response rate of 71%). 42% of programs had an endoscopic simulator. Computerized simulators (61.5%) were the most common, followed by mechanical (30.8%) and animal tissue (7.7%) simulators, respectively. Eleven programs (15%) required fellows to use simulation prior to clinical cases. Only one program has a minimum number of hours fellows have to participate in simulation training. Current simulators are deemed as easy to use (76%) and good educational tools (65%). Problems are cost (72%) and accessibility (69%). The majority of program directors believe that there is a need for endoscopic simulator training, with only 8% disagreeing. Additionally, a majority believe there is a role for simulation prior to initiation of clinical cases with 15% disagreeing. Gastroenterology fellowship program directors widely recognize the importance of simulation. Nevertheless, simulation is used by only 42% of programs and only 15% of programs require that trainees use simulation prior to

Current status in Japan related to LMNPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otsuka, Takehiro

1998-01-01

Current status of nuclear power plants in Japan is presented with the basic concepts against ageing of LWR plants which are considered to continue growing into the 21st century. Life management for aged NPPs is recognized to be important for the safe and reliable operation. In April 1996 MITI published the first report regarding the measures to cope with the aged NPPs. Two BWRs and one PWR were evaluated as aged NPPs in Phase-I Technical evaluation, which concluded that safe operation is possible with correct and adequate maintenance despite operation exceeded 30 years. The technology development items towards attaining further highly reliable management were indicated including the inspection/monitoring technology, the preventive maintenance/repair technology and ageing evaluation technology

17. Dialogue on waste management MV. Current developments in waste and resources economics. Proceedings; 17. DIALOG Abfallwirtschaft MV. Aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Abfall- und Ressourcenwirtschaft. Tagungsband

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nelles, Michael (ed.)

2016-08-01

This proceedings of 17th DIALOG Waste Management Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania contains 13 lectures. The topics were: Phosphorus recycling of wastewater and sewage sludge (Robert Ristow); Current waste legislation developments (Wolfgang Siederer); Further development of the recycling industry (Andreas Bruckschen); Resource-efficient recycling business - a challenge for municipalities (Holger Thaerichen); Brick Recycling (Anette Mueller); Who has the buck? competence and responsibility in collection, transportation and recycling of waste electrical equipment (Hans-Bernhard Rhein); Recovery of biogenic waste - Development, status and prospects (Martin Kranert); Experience in the bio-waste collection in the district of Western Pomerania-Ruegen (Torsten Ewert); Biowaste concept of OVVD GmbH (Stephan Schuett); Quo vadis BAWA Schwerinum? Biowaste treatment facility Schwerin - first operation experience (Andreas Lange); Future marketing opportunities for compost (Anke Boisch); Status and prospects of waste and substance flow management (Michael Nelles); Development of separate collection of biowaste quantities in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. [German] Dieser Tagungsband von der 17. DIALOG Abfallwirtschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Rostock enthaelt 13 Vortraege. Die Themen waren: Phosphor-Recycling aus Abwasser und Klaerschlamm (Robert Ristow); Aktuelle abfallrechtliche Entwicklungen (Wolfgang Siederer); Weiterentwicklung der Recyclingwirtschaft (Andreas Bruckschen); Ressourceneffiziente Wertstoffwirtschaft ? eine Herausforderung fuer die Kommunen (Holger Thaerichen); Ziegelrecycling (Anette Mueller et. al.); Wer hat den schwarzen Peter? Zustaendigkeiten und Verantwortlichkeiten bei Sammlung, Transport und Verwertung von Elektroaltgeraeten (Hans-Bernhard Rhein); Verwertung biogener Abfaelle - Entwicklung, Stand und Perspektiven (Martin Kranert); Erfahrungen bei der Bioabfallerfassung im Landkreis Vorpommern-Ruegen (Torsten Ewert); Bioabfallkonzept der OVVD GmbH (Stephan

Current status and technology development tendency of research reactors in china

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ke Guotu; Shen Feng; Zhao Shouzhi; Zhang Weiguo; Yuan Luzheng

2009-01-01

The current status and development history of domestic and abroad research reactors (RRs) are mentioned. The representative RRs and their respective technology characteristics are introduced. The utilizations of China's RRs, mainly included as nuclear engineering technology, basic research applications of nuclear technology, teaching and personnel training, are explained. (authors)

An Empirical Study on Business English Teaching and Development in China--A Needs Analysis Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Guiyu, Dai; Yang, Liu

2016-01-01

This paper first reviews the developmental history and status quo of Business English Program in China. Then based on the theory of needs analysis, it researches on 226 questionnaires from Business English Program students from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies to investigate the problems encountered and current situation of Business English…

The association between alcohol exposure and self-reported health status: the effect of separating former and current drinkers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenbin Liang

Full Text Available To investigate the direction and degree of potential bias introducedto analyses of drinking and health status which exclude former drinkers from exposure groups.Pooled analysis of 14 waves (1997-2010 of the U.S. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS.General population-based study.404,462 participants, from 14 waves of the NHIS, who had knownself-reported health status and alcohol consumption status.Self-reported health status was used as the indicatorof health. Two approaches were used to classify alcohol consumption: (i separation of former drinkers and current drinkers, and (ii combined former and current drinkers. The prevalence of fair/poor health by alcohol use, gender and age with 95% confidence intervals was estimated. The difference in prevalence of fair/poor health status for lifetime abstainers, former drinkers, current drinkers and drinkers (former drinkers and current drinkers combined were compared using Poisson regression with robust estimations of variance.Excluding former drinkers from drinker groups exaggerates the difference in health status between abstainers and drinkers, especially for males.In cohort study analyses, former drinkers should be assigned to a drinking category based on their previous alcohol consumption patterns and not treated as a discrete exposure group.

Um modelo de programação orientado ao desenvolvimento de sistemas ubíquos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Sandro Garzão

2014-04-01

Full Text Available A tarefa de desenvolver aplicações ubíquas nos modelos tradicionais de programação torna-se um desafio pois a maioria desses modelos baseia-se em premissas estáticas de arquitetura, dados, aplicação e sistemas operacionais. Por isso o presente trabalho propõe o \\textit{Ubiquitous Oriented Programming} (abreviadamente UOP, um modelo de programação orientado ao desenvolvimento de sistemas ubíquos. O UOP utiliza os conceitos de serviços e da programação orientada a objetos, integrando-os com requisitos necessários em aplicações ubíquas como compartilhamento de informações contextuais, sensibilidade ao contexto, adaptação ao contexto, mobilidade de código e concorrência. O ambiente do UOP é composto por uma linguagem de programação (UbiL, um compilador (UbiC e por uma máquina virtual (UbiVM que suporta a execução das aplicações desenvolvidas em UbiL. O modelo foi avaliado de forma experimental, onde uma aplicação foi criada e então simulada através de um cenário de comércio ubíquo. Através desse experimento concluiu-se que o UOP facilitou o desenvolvimento dessa aplicação.

Marine renewable energy in China: Current status and perspectives

OpenAIRE

Yong-liang Zhang; Zheng Lin; Qiu-lin Liu

2014-01-01

Based on a general review of marine renewable energy in China, an assessment of the development status and amount of various marine renewable energy resources, including tidal energy, tidal current energy, wave energy, ocean thermal energy, and salinity gradient energy in China's coastal seas, such as the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, is presented. We have found that these kinds of marine renewable energy resources will play an important role in meeti...

Current status of quality assurance of treatment planning systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mijnheer, B.J.

1997-01-01

A review is given of the current status of quality assurance of treatment planning systems. At this moment only one comprehensive report is available. In order to review national activities a questionnaire has been distributed amongst national societies of medical physicists. From the 23 responding countries, 8 indicated that only limited efforts are underway, 8 answered that a working group is evaluating their specific national requirements while in 5 countries a document is drafted. The highlights of these reports have been summarized. (author)

Nuclear liability legislation in Russia - current status and expected developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karpov, A. E.; Borisov, D. G.

2000-01-01

Present report is provided by the experts of the Russian insurance business, a company member of the Russian Nuclear Pool, and not the experts of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of Russian Federation (RF Minatom). Considering the above, the following document will outline the current status of nuclear liability legislation and insurance in Russia from a viewpoint of the insurance companies and not RF Minatom. (author)

Summary of the Current Status of Lessons Learned From Fukushima Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasamehmetoglu, Kemal

2013-01-01

This presentation introduced the current status of the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident, and in particular, the recommendations released by a NRC Near-term Task Force to enhance reactor safety in the 21. century. The near-term recommendations are focused on emergency power and emergency cooling availability during station blackout accidents

Elementary particle physics and cosmology: current status and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubakov, Valerii A

1999-01-01

The current status of elementary particle physics can be briefly summarized as follows: the Standard Model of elementary particles is perfectly (at the level of radiation effects!) adequate in describing all the available experimental data except for the recent indications of neutrino oscillations. At the same time, much (and possibly most) of today's cosmology is not encompassed by the Standard Model - a fact which, together with intrinsic theoretical difficulties and the neutrino oscillation challenge, strongly indicates that the Standard Model is incomplete. It is expected that in the current decade a 'new physics', i.e. particles and interactions beyond the Standard Model, will emerge. Major advances in cosmology, both in terms of qualitatively improved observations and theoretical analysis of the structure and evolution of the Universe, are expected as well. (special issue)

Age and choice in health insurance: evidence from a discrete choice experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Karolin; Zweifel, Peter

2008-01-01

A uniform package of benefits and uniform cost sharing are elements of regulation inherent in most social health insurance systems. Both elements risk burdening the population with a welfare loss if preferences for risk and insurance attributes differ. This suggests the introduction of more choice in social health insurance packages may be advantageous; however, it is widely believed that this would not benefit the elderly.A representative telephone survey of 1000 people aged >24 years living in the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland was conducted. Participants were asked to compare the status quo (i.e. their current insurance contract) with ten hypothetical alternatives. In addition, participants were asked questions concerning utilization of healthcare services; overall satisfaction with the healthcare system, insurer and insurance policy; and a general preference for new elements in the insurance package. Socioeconomic variables surveyed were age, sex, total household income, education (seven categories ranging from primary school to university degree), place of residence, occupation, and marital status. To examine the relationship between age and willingness to pay (WTP) for additional options in Swiss social health insurance.A representative telephone survey of 1000 people aged >24 years living in the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland was conducted. Participants were asked to compare the status quo (i.e. their current insurance contract) with ten hypothetical alternatives. In addition, participants were asked questions concerning utilization of healthcare services; overall satisfaction with the healthcare system, insurer and insurance policy; and a general preference for new elements in the insurance package. Socioeconomic variables surveyed were age, sex, total household income, education (seven categories ranging from primary school to university degree), place of residence, occupation, and marital status. A discrete choice

Personalized telehealth in the future

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dinesen, B.; Nonnecke, B.; Lindeman, David

2016-01-01

of telehealth services and benefits, presents fundamental principles that must be addressed to advance the status quo, and provides a framework for current and future research initiatives within telehealth for personalized care, treatment, and prevention. A broad, multinational research agenda can provide...... research agenda for future telehealth applications within chronic disease management....

History, Current Status, and Future Prospects of Counseling in South Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sang Min; Suh, Suhyun; Yang, Eunjoo; Jang, Yoo Jin

2012-01-01

Although the counseling profession was introduced to South Korea in the 1950s by American delegates of education, counseling has been only lately recognized as a specialized field that requires distinctive knowledge and skills. In this article, the authors describe the history and the current status of counseling in South Korea and then discuss…

Online-coupled meteorology and chemistry models: history, current status, and outlook

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Zhang

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The climate-chemistry-aerosol-cloud-radiation feedbacks are important processes occurring in the atmosphere. Accurately simulating those feedbacks requires fully-coupled meteorology, climate, and chemistry models and presents significant challenges in terms of both scientific understanding and computational demand. This paper reviews the history and current status of the development and application of online-coupled meteorology and chemistry models, with a focus on five representative models developed in the US including GATOR-GCMOM, WRF/Chem, CAM3, MIRAGE, and Caltech unified GCM. These models represent the current status and/or the state-of-the science treatments of online-coupled models worldwide. Their major model features, typical applications, and physical/chemical treatments are compared with a focus on model treatments of aerosol and cloud microphysics and aerosol-cloud interactions. Aerosol feedbacks to planetary boundary layer meteorology and aerosol indirect effects are illustrated with case studies for some of these models. Future research needs for model development, improvement, application, as well as major challenges for online-coupled models are discussed.

CKM Phenomenology and B-mesons physics-present status and current issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, A.

2004-01-01

We review the status of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix elements and the CP-violating phases in the CKM-unitarity triangle. The emphasis in these lecture notes is on B-meson physics, through we also review the current status and issues in the light quark sector of this matrix. Selected applications of theoretical methods in QCD used in the interpretation of data are given and some of the issues restricting the theoretical precision on the CKM matrix elements discussed. The overall consistency of the CKM theory with the available data in flavour physics is impressive and we quantify this consistency. Current data also show some anomalies which, however, are not yet statistically significant. They are discussed briefly. some benchmark measurements that remain to be done in experiments at the B-factories and hadron colliders are listed. Together with the already achieved results, they will provide unprecedented test of the CKM theory and by the same token may lead to the discovery of new physics. (Author) 284 refs

Low-dose antibiotics: current status and outlook for the future

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Antimicrobial therapy is a key factor in our success against pathogens poised to ravage at risk or infected individuals. However, we are currently at a watershed point as we face a growing crisis of antibiotic resistance among diverse pathogens. One area of intense interest is the impact of the a......Antimicrobial therapy is a key factor in our success against pathogens poised to ravage at risk or infected individuals. However, we are currently at a watershed point as we face a growing crisis of antibiotic resistance among diverse pathogens. One area of intense interest is the impact...... of the application of antibiotics for uses other than the treatment of patients and the association with such utilization with emerging drug resistance. This Research Topic “Low- dose antibiotics: current status and outlook for the future” in Frontiers in Microbiology: Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy...

Green products in Germany. Status Quo and trends; Gruene Produkte in Deutschland. Status Quo und Trends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-04-15

The contribution under consideration supplies important insights for a systematic market monitoring of ecologic products and services. These insights are a necessary precondition for a consumer-oriented environmental policy. Living, nutrition, mobility, consumer goods also are considered as finances, total balance of green products as well as main factors and actors.

论中韩电影的优势互补及其合拍片的现状及未来%On the “Complementary Advantages”of Chinese and Korean Films and the Status-Quo and Future of Sino-Korean Co-Productions

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

陈旭光; 都性希(韩)

2017-01-01

通过对中国、韩国电影产业状况、电影类型与电影生产特征等的比较，可以看到中国、韩国电影产业各种的优势和不足。在此背景下，通过对若干具有代表性的中韩合拍片的分析，可揭示出21世纪以来中韩合拍片生产的历史、现状、存在的问题、解决的方法和前景等问题。%Through comparisons of the industrial situations,film genres and production features of Chinese and Korean films,the paper elaborates on the strengths and weaknesses in the Chinese and Korean film indus-tries.Based on this,the paper further analyzes several representative Sino-Korean co-productions and addresses such issue as the history,status-quo,existing problems,solutions and prospects of the co-productions since the new century.

Current status of multi-detector row helical CT in imaging of adult ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Current status of multi-detector row helical CT in imaging of adult acquired pancreatic diseases and assessing surgical neoplastic resectability. ... The presence of inflammation, masses, and vascular invasion was evaluated and interpreted images were obtained during each phase. Results were compared with surgery, ...

Australian shellfish ecosystems: Past distribution, current status and future direction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris L Gillies

Full Text Available We review the status of marine shellfish ecosystems formed primarily by bivalves in Australia, including: identifying ecosystem-forming species, assessing their historical and current extent, causes for decline and past and present management. Fourteen species of bivalves were identified as developing complex, three-dimensional reef or bed ecosystems in intertidal and subtidal areas across tropical, subtropical and temperate Australia. A dramatic decline in the extent and condition of Australia's two most common shellfish ecosystems, developed by Saccostrea glomerata and Ostrea angasi oysters, occurred during the mid-1800s to early 1900s in concurrence with extensive harvesting for food and lime production, ecosystem modification, disease outbreaks and a decline in water quality. Out of 118 historical locations containing O. angasi-developed ecosystems, only one location still contains the ecosystem whilst only six locations are known to still contain S. glomerata-developed ecosystems out of 60 historical locations. Ecosystems developed by the introduced oyster Crasostrea gigas are likely to be increasing in extent, whilst data on the remaining 11 ecosystem-forming species are limited, preventing a detailed assessment of their current ecosystem-forming status. Our analysis identifies that current knowledge on extent, physical characteristics, biodiversity and ecosystem services of Australian shellfish ecosystems is extremely limited. Despite the limited information on shellfish ecosystems, a number of restoration projects have recently been initiated across Australia and we propose a number of existing government policies and conservation mechanisms, if enacted, would readily serve to support the future conservation and recovery of Australia's shellfish ecosystems.

Australian shellfish ecosystems: Past distribution, current status and future direction

Science.gov (United States)

Gillies, Chris L.; McLeod, Ian M.; Alleway, Heidi K.; Cook, Peter; Crawford, Christine; Creighton, Colin; Diggles, Ben; Ford, John; Hamer, Paul; Heller-Wagner, Gideon; Lebrault, Emma; Le Port, Agnès; Russell, Kylie; Sheaves, Marcus; Warnock, Bryn

2018-01-01

We review the status of marine shellfish ecosystems formed primarily by bivalves in Australia, including: identifying ecosystem-forming species, assessing their historical and current extent, causes for decline and past and present management. Fourteen species of bivalves were identified as developing complex, three-dimensional reef or bed ecosystems in intertidal and subtidal areas across tropical, subtropical and temperate Australia. A dramatic decline in the extent and condition of Australia’s two most common shellfish ecosystems, developed by Saccostrea glomerata and Ostrea angasi oysters, occurred during the mid-1800s to early 1900s in concurrence with extensive harvesting for food and lime production, ecosystem modification, disease outbreaks and a decline in water quality. Out of 118 historical locations containing O. angasi-developed ecosystems, only one location still contains the ecosystem whilst only six locations are known to still contain S. glomerata-developed ecosystems out of 60 historical locations. Ecosystems developed by the introduced oyster Crasostrea gigas are likely to be increasing in extent, whilst data on the remaining 11 ecosystem-forming species are limited, preventing a detailed assessment of their current ecosystem-forming status. Our analysis identifies that current knowledge on extent, physical characteristics, biodiversity and ecosystem services of Australian shellfish ecosystems is extremely limited. Despite the limited information on shellfish ecosystems, a number of restoration projects have recently been initiated across Australia and we propose a number of existing government policies and conservation mechanisms, if enacted, would readily serve to support the future conservation and recovery of Australia’s shellfish ecosystems. PMID:29444143

Review of the current status of linear hybrid reactor concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, K.R.

1977-07-01

A review was made of the current status of linear fusion-fission hybrid reactor design studies in the USA. The linear hybrid reactor concepts reviewed include the linear theta-pinch hybrid reactor being studied at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, the electron beam-heated solenoid hybrid reactor under development at Physics International Co., the laser-heated solenoid hybrid reactor being investigated at Mathematical Sciences Northwest, Inc., and the linear fusion waste burning reactor being studied at General Atomic Company. The discussion addresses confinement and heating mechanisms for each concept, as well as the hybrid blanket designs. The current state of the four reactor designs is summarized and the performance of the various concepts compared

Income Inequality and Health Status in the United States: Evidence from the Current Population Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellor, Jennifer M.; Milyo, Jeffrey

2002-01-01

Current Population Survey data on self-reported health status and income for the general population and those in poverty were analyzed. No consistent association was found between income inequality and individual health status. Previous findings of such an association were attributed to ecological fallacy or failure to control for individual…

Current status of the Fastbus Micro-Vax

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siskind, E.J.

1985-01-01

The present hardware, firmware, and software design and status of the Fastbus Micro-VAX, a two board Fastbus module packaging of the DEC Micro-VAX II computing system, is described. The hardware currently features an Intel 80186, equipped with 64 kB of ROM, 32 kB of RAM, and an 82586/82501 Ethernet port, as a front end I/O processor, plus a high bandwidth Fastbus interface implemented in semi-custom ECL 100K VLSI with the Motorola MCA2500ECL macrocell array. Standard 80186 firmware implements multiple Fastbus segment drivers and interrupt receivers software compatible with the UPI, a limited Fastbus interprocessor network, and emulations of the DEC DEQNA Ethernet interface and an MSCP disk interface. Software includes device drivers for the non-DEC devices, plus appropriate standard access subroutines for the Fastbus and network devices

Current status of the IREN project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furman, W.I.

1997-01-01

A current status and a corrected time-schedule of the project of the new Intense Resonance Neutron pulsed source (IREN) realized in JINR (Dubna) for experiments dealing with fundamental and applied nuclear physics studies are discussed. This source is the upgraded variant of the existing IBR-30 pulsed booster. It consists of the 200 MeV electron linac and supplying by an electron beam the photo-neutron converter placed in the center of the very fast multiplying subcritical core. The existing buildings and beam infrastructure are planned to adopt for the new IREN source. The aim of the project is to improve essentially an energy resolution of the time-of-flight spectrometer and to increase twice (up to 10 15 n/sec) an integral neutron yield. An implementation of the IREN project has started in June 1994 with the planned end in December 1997. But due to mainly insufficient financing the approved time-schedule is shifted. Now most optimistic time of start-up of the neutron source is the end of 1999

Current Status of Family Medicine Faculty Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Paul R; Chege, Patrick; Dahlman, Bruce; Gibson, Christine; Evensen, Ann; Colon-Gonzalez, Maria C; Onguka, Stephanie; Lamptey, Roberta; Cayley, William E; Nguyen, Bich-May; Johnson, Brian; Getnet, Sawra; Hasnain, Memoona

2017-03-01

Reducing the shortage of primary care physicians in sub-Saharan Africa requires expansion of training programs in family medicine. Challenges remain in preparing, recruiting, and retaining faculty qualified to teach in these pioneering programs. Little is known about the unique faculty development needs of family medicine faculty within the sub-Saharan African context. The purpose of this study was to assess the current status and future needs for developing robust family medicine faculty in sub-Saharan Africa. The results are reported in two companion articles. A cross-sectional study design was used to conduct a qualitative needs assessment comprising 37 in-depth, semi-structured interviews of individual faculty trainers from postgraduate family medicine training programs in eight sub-Saharan African countries. Data were analyzed according to qualitative description. While faculty development opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa were identified, current faculty note many barriers to faculty development and limited participation in available programs. Faculty value teaching competency, but institutional structures do not provide adequate support. Sub-Saharan African family physicians and postgraduate trainee physicians value good teachers and recognize that clinical training alone does not provide all of the skills needed by educators. The current status of limited resources of institutions and individuals constrain faculty development efforts. Where faculty development opportunities do exist, they are too infrequent or otherwise inaccessible to provide trainers the necessary skills to help them succeed as educators.

A Sociopolitical Eclipse: The Surrendering of Two Super Systems to Promote Equity in U.S. Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, Lisa

2015-01-01

In this analysis, I argue that inequitable social and educational policies and practices hinder equity in the U.S. educational system. I challenge and critique the status quo, and the nation's current efforts toward educational equity. I then propose a radical shift in educational policy--a surrendering of social and political systems for the…

Current Status of HbA1c Biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Hua; Yi, Jun

2017-01-01

Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is formed via non-enzymatic glycosylation reactions at the α–amino group of βVal1 residues in the tetrameric Hb, and it can reflect the ambient glycemic level over the past two to three months. A variety of HbA1c detection methods, including chromatography, immunoassay, enzymatic measurement, electrochemical sensor and capillary electrophoresis have been developed and used in research laboratories and in clinics as well. In this review, we summarize the current status of HbA1c biosensors based on the recognition of the sugar moiety on the protein and also their applications in the whole blood sample measurements. PMID:28777351

Quid pro quo: tobacco companies and the black press.

Science.gov (United States)

McCandless, Phyra M; Yerger, Valerie B; Malone, Ruth E

2012-04-01

We explored the relationship between tobacco companies and the Black press, which plays an important role in conveying information and opinions to Black communities. In this archival case study, we analyzed data from internal tobacco industry documents and archives of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of the Black press. In exchange for advertising dollars and other support, the tobacco industry expected and received support from Black newspapers for tobacco industry policy positions. Beginning in the 1990s, resistance from within the Black community and reduced advertising budgets created counterpressures. The tobacco industry, however, continued to sustain NNPA support. The quid pro quo between tobacco companies and the Black press violated journalistic standards and represented an unequal trade. Although numerous factors explain today's tobacco-related health disparities, the Black press's service to tobacco companies is problematic because of the trust that the community placed in such media. Understanding the relationship between the tobacco industry and the NNPA provides insight into strategies that the tobacco industry may use in other communities and countries.

Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Tanzania: Current Status and Challenges

OpenAIRE

Kilonzo, Semvua B.; Gunda, Daniel W.; Mpondo, Bonaventura C. T.; Bakshi, Fatma A.; Jaka, Hyasinta

2018-01-01

Hepatitis B is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world with high prevalence in most of sub-Saharan Africa countries. The complexity in its diagnosis and treatment poses a significant management challenge in the resource-limited settings including Tanzania, where most of the tests and drugs are either unavailable or unaffordable. This mini review aims at demonstrating the current status of the disease in the country and discussing the concomitant challenges in diagnosis, treatm...

Current status of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behnke, W.B.

1984-01-01

The decision to devote the 1984 conference to nuclear power is timely and appropriate. Illinois has a long, and distinguished history in the development of civilian nuclear power. The concept was born at the University of Chicago, developed at Argonne National Laboratory and demonstrated on the Commonwealth Edison system at our pioneer Dresden Nuclear Station. Today, Illinois ranks number one in the nation in nuclear generation. With over a quarter century of commercial operating experience, nuclear power has proven its worth and become a significant and growing component of electric power supply domestically and throughout the world. Despite its initial acceptance, however, the nuclear power industry in the U.S. is now in the midst of a difficult period of readjustment stemming largely from the economic and regulatory problems of the past decade. As a result, the costs of plants under construction have increased dramatically, causing serious financial difficulties for several projects and their owners. At the same time, the U.S. is facing hard choices concerning its future energy supplies. Conferences such as this have an important role in clarifying the issues and helping to find solutions to today's pressing energy problems. This paper summarizes the status of nuclear power both here and abroad, discussing the implications of current events in the context of national energy policy and economic development here in Illinois

A Status Quo of Segregation: Racial and Economic Imbalance in New Jersey Schools, 1989-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Flaxman, Greg

2013-01-01

New Jersey has a curious status regarding school desegregation. It has had the nation's most venerable and strongest state law prohibiting racially segregated schooling and requiring racial balance in the schools whenever feasible. Yet, it simultaneously has had one of the worst records of racially imbalanced schools. Against the legal and…

[Molecular imaging; current status and future prospects in USA].

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Hisataka

2007-02-01

The goal of this review is to introduce the definition, current status, and future prospects of the molecular imaging, which has recently been a hot topic in medicine and the biological science in USA. In vivo imaging methods to visualize the molecular events and functions in organs or animals/humans are overviewed and discussed especially in combinations of imaging modalities (machines) and contrast agents(chemicals) used in the molecular imaging. Next, the close relationship between the molecular imaging and the nanotechnology, an important part of nanomedicine, is stressed from the aspect of united multidisciplinary sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine.

Interventional Radiology of Male Varicocele: Current Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iaccarino, Vittorio; Venetucci, Pietro

2012-01-01

Varicocele is a fairly common condition in male individuals. Although a minor disease, it may cause infertility and testicular pain. Consequently, it has high health and social impact. Here we review the current status of interventional radiology of male varicocele. We describe the radiological anatomy of gonadal veins and the clinical aspects of male varicocele, particularly the physical examination, which includes a new clinical and ultrasound Doppler maneuver. The surgical and radiological treatment options are also described with the focus on retrograde and antegrade sclerotherapy, together with our long experience with these procedures. Last, we compare the outcomes, recurrence and persistence rates, complications, procedure time and cost-effectiveness of each method. It clearly emerges from this analysis that there is a need for randomized multicentre trials designed to compare the various surgical and percutaneous techniques, all of which are aimed at occlusion of the anterior pampiniform plexus.

Current Status of Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philipps, Simon P. [Fraunhofer Inst. for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg (Germany); Bett, Andreas W. [Fraunhofer Inst. for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg (Germany); Horowitz, Kelsey [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kurtz, Sarah [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-12-01

This report summarizes the status of the concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) market and industry as well as current trends in research and technology. This report is intended to guide research agendas for Fraunhofer ISE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and other R&D organizations. Version 1.1 of this report includes recent progress in CPV. The recent record module efficiency of 38.9% at Concentrator Standard Test Conditions (CSTC) is an impressive result, demonstrating the continuing opportunity for CPV technology to improve. 38.9% at Concentrator Standard Test Conditions (CSTC) is an impressive result, demonstrating the continuing opportunity for CPV technology to improve. 38.9% at Concentrator Standard Test Conditions (CSTC) is an impressive result, demonstrating the continuing opportunity for CPV technology to improve. 38.9% at Concentrator Standard Test Conditions (CSTC) is an impressive result, demonstrating the continuing opportunity for CPV technology to improve.

Interventional Radiology of Male Varicocele: Current Status

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iaccarino, Vittorio, E-mail: vittorio.iaccarino@unina.it; Venetucci, Pietro [University of Naples ' Federico II' , Diagnostic Imaging Department-Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, School of Medicine (Italy)

2012-12-15

Varicocele is a fairly common condition in male individuals. Although a minor disease, it may cause infertility and testicular pain. Consequently, it has high health and social impact. Here we review the current status of interventional radiology of male varicocele. We describe the radiological anatomy of gonadal veins and the clinical aspects of male varicocele, particularly the physical examination, which includes a new clinical and ultrasound Doppler maneuver. The surgical and radiological treatment options are also described with the focus on retrograde and antegrade sclerotherapy, together with our long experience with these procedures. Last, we compare the outcomes, recurrence and persistence rates, complications, procedure time and cost-effectiveness of each method. It clearly emerges from this analysis that there is a need for randomized multicentre trials designed to compare the various surgical and percutaneous techniques, all of which are aimed at occlusion of the anterior pampiniform plexus.

Overview of radar intra-pulse modulation recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Zang, Hanlin; Li, Yanling

2018-05-01

This paper introduces the current radar intra-pulse modulation method, describes the status quo and development direction of the intentional modulation and unintentional modulation in the pulse, and summarizes the existing problems and prospects for the future. Looking forward to the future, and providing a reference direction for the research on radar signal recognition in the next step.

The State Education Is In: Recognising the Challenge of Achieving a Fair Educational System in Post-Brexit, Austerity England

Science.gov (United States)

Reay, Diane

2017-01-01

This article examines the problem of the wider economic and political context for any project aimed at achieving a fairer educational system. The consequences of the current status quo can be seen in diminishing funding and rising inequalities. The author argues that the answer lies not in tinkering with an unjust education system but rather in…

Regional Reproducibility of BOLD Calibration Parameter M, OEF and Resting-State CMRO2 Measurements with QUO2 MRI.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabelle Lajoie

Full Text Available The current generation of calibrated MRI methods goes beyond simple localization of task-related responses to allow the mapping of resting-state cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2 in micromolar units and estimation of oxygen extraction fraction (OEF. Prior to the adoption of such techniques in neuroscience research applications, knowledge about the precision and accuracy of absolute estimates of CMRO2 and OEF is crucial and remains unexplored to this day. In this study, we addressed the question of methodological precision by assessing the regional inter-subject variance and intra-subject reproducibility of the BOLD calibration parameter M, OEF, O2 delivery and absolute CMRO2 estimates derived from a state-of-the-art calibrated BOLD technique, the QUantitative O2 (QUO2 approach. We acquired simultaneous measurements of CBF and R2* at rest and during periods of hypercapnia (HC and hyperoxia (HO on two separate scan sessions within 24 hours using a clinical 3 T MRI scanner. Maps of M, OEF, oxygen delivery and CMRO2, were estimated from the measured end-tidal O2, CBF0, CBFHC/HO and R2*HC/HO. Variability was assessed by computing the between-subject coefficients of variation (bwCV and within-subject CV (wsCV in seven ROIs. All tests GM-averaged values of CBF0, M, OEF, O2 delivery and CMRO2 were: 49.5 ± 6.4 mL/100 g/min, 4.69 ± 0.91%, 0.37 ± 0.06, 377 ± 51 μmol/100 g/min and 143 ± 34 μmol/100 g/min respectively. The variability of parameter estimates was found to be the lowest when averaged throughout all GM, with general trends toward higher CVs when averaged over smaller regions. Among the MRI measurements, the most reproducible across scans was R2*0 (wsCVGM = 0.33% along with CBF0 (wsCVGM = 3.88% and R2*HC (wsCVGM = 6.7%. CBFHC and R2*HO were found to have a higher intra-subject variability (wsCVGM = 22.4% and wsCVGM = 16% respectively, which is likely due to propagation of random measurement errors, especially for CBFHC due to the

How to compare the social foundations of science culture: A trial with five cities in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Jinwoong; Chung, Minkyung; Choi, Eunjeong; Kim, Leekyoung; Cho, Sook-Kyoung

2013-01-01

Though there have been several indicator systems to monitor the status quo of science and technology and of scientific literacy, few are especially designed for science culture, especially for its social dimension. Furthermore there is little agreement on how to measure it. In a previous study, an indicator system, SCI (Science Culture Indicators), had been developed to monitor the status quo of the science culture of a nation at both individual and social dimensions. The purpose of this study was to explore a practical way to measure and compare local cities' social foundation of science culture by revising and standardizing the social dimension of SCI and by applying it to five metropolitan cities in Korea. Despite some limits, the results of this study appear not only to reflect the cities' current situations but also to show the strength and weakness of their social foundation of science culture.

Robotic technology in surgery: current status in 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Declan G; Hall, Rohan; Tong, Raymond; Goel, Rajiv; Costello, Anthony J

2008-12-01

There is increasing patient and surgeon interest in robotic-assisted surgery, particularly with the proliferation of da Vinci surgical systems (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) throughout the world. There is much debate over the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of these systems. The currently available robotic surgical technology is described. Published data relating to the da Vinci system are reviewed and the current status of surgical robotics within Australia and New Zealand is assessed. The first da Vinci system in Australia and New Zealand was installed in 2003. Four systems had been installed by 2006 and seven systems are currently in use. Most of these are based in private hospitals. Technical advantages of this system include 3-D vision, enhanced dexterity and improved ergonomics when compared with standard laparoscopic surgery. Most procedures currently carried out are urological, with cardiac, gynaecological and general surgeons also using this system. The number of patients undergoing robotic-assisted surgery in Australia and New Zealand has increased fivefold in the past 4 years. The most common procedure carried out is robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Published data suggest that robotic-assisted surgery is feasible and safe although the installation and recurring costs remain high. There is increasing acceptance of robotic-assisted surgery, especially for urological procedures. The da Vinci surgical system is becoming more widely available in Australia and New Zealand. Other surgical specialties will probably use this technology. Significant costs are associated with robotic technology and it is not yet widely available to public patients.

Current Status and Application of Hazard Definition Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, George C.

1997-01-01

A research is performed: to define wake non-encounter & hazard, to provide requirements for sensors, and to obtain input from the user community. This research includes: validating wake encounter simulation models, establishing a metric to quantify the upset potential of a wake encounter, applying hazard metric and simulation models to the commercial fleet for development of candidate acceptable encounter limits, and applying technology to near term problems to evaluate current status of technology. The following lessons are learned from this project: technology is not adequate to determine absolute spacing requirements; time, not distance, determines the duration of the wake hazard; Optimum standards depend on the traffic; Wing span is an important parameter for characterizing both generator and follower; and Short span "biz jets" are easily rolled.

Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Tanzania: Current Status and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Bakshi, Fatma A.; Jaka, Hyasinta

2018-01-01

Hepatitis B is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world with high prevalence in most of sub-Saharan Africa countries. The complexity in its diagnosis and treatment poses a significant management challenge in the resource-limited settings including Tanzania, where most of the tests and drugs are either unavailable or unaffordable. This mini review aims at demonstrating the current status of the disease in the country and discussing the concomitant challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. PMID:29666656

Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Tanzania: Current Status and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Semvua B. Kilonzo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Hepatitis B is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world with high prevalence in most of sub-Saharan Africa countries. The complexity in its diagnosis and treatment poses a significant management challenge in the resource-limited settings including Tanzania, where most of the tests and drugs are either unavailable or unaffordable. This mini review aims at demonstrating the current status of the disease in the country and discussing the concomitant challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Dose monitoring in radiology departments. Status quo and future perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boos, J.; Bethge, O.T.; Antoch, G.; Kroepil, P.

2016-01-01

The number of computed tomography examinations has continuously increased over the last decades and accounts for a major part of the collective radiation dose from medical investigations. For purposes of quality assurance in modern radiology a systematic monitoring and analysis of dose related data from radiological examinations is mandatory. Various ways of collecting dose data are available today, for example the Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine - Structured Report (DICOM-SR), optical character recognition and DICOM-modality performed procedure steps (MPPS). The DICOM-SR is part of the DICOM-standard and provides the DICOM-Radiation Dose Structured Report, which is an easily applicable and comprehensive solution to collect radiation dose parameters. This standard simplifies the process of data collection and enables comprehensive dose monitoring. Various commercial dose monitoring software devices with varying characteristics are available today. In this article, we discuss legal obligations, various ways to monitor dose data, current dose monitoring software solutions and future perspectives in regard to the EU Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM.

[The status quo and expectation of corneal research in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Weiyun; Xie, Lixin

2014-09-01

In China, corneal disease is currently the second leading cause of blindness. Severe donor shortage, insufficient technique supports and promotion, and the lack of corneal disease specialists due to poor systematic training are all urgent problems to be resolved. The last 5 years have witnessed a considerable progress in basic and clinical researches of corneal disease. Investigations on the pathogenesis and treatment of fungal keratitis have won an international reputation. Results from the study of corneal reconstruction with tissue-engineered and acellular matrix corneas have been tested in clinical trials with good preliminary performance. Moreover, the clinical researches of corneal refractive surgery have kept pace with the latest international progresses. However, Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty needs further promotion, and the development and application of keratoprosthesis remains a blank. Although keratoprosthesis and corneal collagen cross-linking have been widely applied in Europe with satisfactory clinical efficacy, they are still under assessment by China Food and Drug Administration for approval of use.

Civilian Power Program. Part 1, Summary, Current status of reactor concepts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Author, Not Given

1959-09-01

This study group covered the following: delineation of the specific objectives of the overall US AEC civilian power reactor program, technical objectives of each reactor concept, preparation of a chronological development program for each reactor concept, evaluation of the economic potential of each reactor type, a program to encourage the the development, and yardsticks for measuring the development. Results were used for policy review by AEC, program direction, authorization and appropriation requests, etc. This evaluation encompassed civilian power reactors rated at 25 MW(e) or larger and related experimental facilities and R&D. This Part I summarizes the significant results of the comprehensive effort to determine the current technical and economic status for each reactor concept; it is based on the 8 individual technical status reports (Part III).

Current status of ITER EC design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bosia, G.

2003-01-01

The ITER-FEAT Electron Cyclotron System employs one equatorial launcher and three upper port launchers to inject 20 + 20 MW of mm-wave power at 170 GHz through slots in the plasma-facing neutron and radiation shield. The equatorial launcher includes 3 sets of toroidally steer-able mirrors, each collecting 8 RF beams from 24 circular cross-section corrugated wave-guides. In the upper-port launcher, eight beams, reflected in pairs by four toroidally angled (∼30 angle) and poloidally steer-able (∼ 10 angle) mirrors focus of the RF power on the plasma m = 2 and m = 3/2 plasma flux rational surfaces, for neo-classical tearing mode(s) (NTM) control. Conceptual studies of remote steering that would possibly allow removing the beam- steering equipment from the vacuum vessel and locating them in more protected positions have been carried out. All EC wave transmission is based on low losses circular cross section corrugated and evacuated wave guides each connected to a 170 GHz, 1 MW CW Gyrotron tube oscillator featuring an overall efficiency of ∼ 50%, obtained by depressed-collector energy recovery. In the paper, requirements, issues and the current status of the design is reviewed. (authors)

Analysis on the Decision Making on Nuclear Material Measurements for Safeguards Efficiency and Effectiveness on Research and Power Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petit Wiringgalih; Basuki Wibowo

2004-01-01

This paper discusses three options in quantifying nuclear materials, ie. status quo, mobile unit measurement and centralised measurement. These three options are compared based on their safeguards effectiveness, timeline / efficiency, cost and safety aspects. Status quo measurement relies unverified estimation on nuclear materials, mobile unit measurement utilise NDA technique in order to obtain more accurate result while centralised measurement system transfers all measurements to another facility which posses more sophisticated equipment. Each of these three measurement options posesses relative advantages and disadvantages over the others. Status quo quantification is easy to perform but entails high inaccuracy. Mobile unit quantification is probably the best option, but it yields higher cost and radiation doses to workers. Centralised measurement facility is difficult to realise since the radioactive materials have to be coverted to their stable form. (author)

Tele-yoga for Chronic Pain: Current Status and Future Directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathersul, Danielle C; Mahoney, Louise A; Bayley, Peter J

2018-01-01

Pain is a pervasive, debilitating disorder that is resistant to long-term pharmacological interventions. Although psychological therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy demonstrate moderate efficacy, many individuals continue to have ongoing difficulties following treatment. There is a current trend to establish complementary and integrative health interventions for chronic pain, for which yoga has been found to have exciting potential. Nevertheless, an important consideration within the field is accessibility to adequate care. Telehealth can be used to provide real-time interactive video conferencing leading to increased access to health care for individuals located remotely or who otherwise have difficulty accessing services, perhaps through issues of mobility or proximity of adequate services. This article assesses the current status and feasibility of implementing tele-yoga for chronic pain. Methodological limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The Japanese artificial organs scene: current status.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitamura, Yoshinori; Murabayashi, Shun

2005-08-01

Artificial organs and regenerative medicine are the subjects of very active research and development (R&D) in Japan and various artificial organs are widely used in patients. Results of the R&D are presented at the annual conference of the Japanese Society for Artificial Organs (JSAO). Progress in the fields of artificial organs and regenerative medicine are reviewed annually in the Japanese Journal of Artificial Organs. The official English-language journal of JSAO, Journal of Artificial Organs, also publishes many original articles by Japanese researchers. Although the annual conference and the publications of JSAO provide the world with update information on artificial organs and regenerative medicine in Japan, the information is not always understood appropriately in the rest of the world, mainly due to language problems. This article therefore introduces the current status of artificial organs and regenerative medicine in Japan. Artificial hearts and metabolic support systems are reviewed here and other interesting areas such as regenerative medicine can be found elsewhere.

Current status of GALS setup in JINR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zemlyanoy, S., E-mail: zemlya@jinr.ru; Avvakumov, K., E-mail: kavvakumov@jinr.ru [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (Russian Federation); Fedosseev, V. [CERN (Switzerland); Bark, R. [Nat. Research Foundation, iThemba LABS (South Africa); Blazczak, Z. [A. Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Physics (Poland); Janas, Z. [University of Warsaw, Faculty of Physics (Poland)

2017-11-15

This is a brief report on the current status of the new GAs cell based Laser ionization Setup (GALS) at the Flerov Laboratory for Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna. GALS will exploit available beams from the U-400M cyclotron in low energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions to study exotic neutron-rich nuclei located in the “north-east” region of nuclear map. Products from 4.5 to 9 MeV/nucleon heavy-ion collisions, such as {sup 136}Xe on {sup 208}Pb, are thermalized and neutralized in a high pressure gas cell and subsequently selectively laser re-ionized. In order to choose the best scheme of ion extraction the results of computer simulations of two different systems are presented. The first off- and online experiment will be performed on osmium atoms that is regarded as a most convenient element for producing isotopes with neutron number in the vicinity of the magic N = 126.

Delivery of therapeutics for deep-seated ocular conditions - status quo.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Hubert; Eng, Shawn; Ngo, Thanh; Dass, Crispin R

2018-04-19

There is a need for research into designing effective pharmaceutical systems for delivering therapeutic drugs to the posterior of the eye for glaucoma-related pathology, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, macular oedema, retinitis and choroiditis. Conventionally, eye drops have been extensively utilised for topical drug delivery to the anterior segment of the eye, but are less effective for delivery of therapeutics to the back of the eye due to significant barriers hampering drug penetration into the target intraocular tissue. This review explores some of the current and novel delivery systems employed to deliver therapeutics to the back of the eye such as those using liposomes, ocular implants, in situ gels, and nanoparticles, and how they can overcome some of these limitations. Issues such as blinking, precorneal fluid drainage, tear dilution and turnover, conjunctiva and nasal drug absorption, the corneal epithelium, vitreous drug clearance, and the blood-ocular barriers are reviewed and discussed. Further studies are needed to address their shortcomings such as drug compatibility and stability, economic viability and patient compliance. © 2018 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Current status of large-scale cryogenic gravitational wave telescope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuroda, K; Ohashi, M; Miyoki, S; Uchiyama, T; Ishitsuka, H; Yamamoto, K; Kasahara, K; Fujimoto, M-K; Kawamura, S; Takahashi, R; Yamazaki, T; Arai, K; Tatsumi, D; Ueda, A; Fukushima, M; Sato, S; Nagano, S; Tsunesada, Y; Zhu, Zong-Hong; Shintomi, T; Yamamoto, A; Suzuki, T; Saito, Y; Haruyama, T; Sato, N; Higashi, Y; Tomaru, T; Tsubono, K; Ando, M; Takamori, A; Numata, K; Aso, Y; Ueda, K-I; Yoneda, H; Nakagawa, K; Musha, M; Mio, N; Moriwaki, S; Somiya, K; Araya, A; Kanda, N; Telada, S; Tagoshi, H; Nakamura, T; Sasaki, M; Tanaka, T; Oohara, K; Takahashi, H; Miyakawa, O; Tobar, M E

2003-01-01

The large-scale cryogenic gravitational wave telescope (LCGT) project is the proposed advancement of TAMA, which will be able to detect the coalescences of binary neutron stars occurring in our galaxy. LCGT intends to detect the coalescence events within about 240 Mpc, the rate of which is expected to be from 0.1 to several events in a year. LCGT has Fabry-Perot cavities of 3 km baseline and the mirrors are cooled down to a cryogenic temperature of 20 K. It is planned to be built in the underground of Kamioka mine. This paper overviews the revision of the design and the current status of the R and D

CT myocardial perfusion imaging: current status and future perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Dong Hyun; Kim, Young-Hak

2017-07-01

Computed tomography myocardial perfusion (CTP) combined with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) may constitute a "1-stop shop" for the noninvasive diagnosis of hemodynamically significant coronary stenosis during a single CT examination. CTP shows high diagnostic performance and provides incremental value over CCTA for the detection of hemodynamically significant coronary stenosis in patients with a high Agatston calcium score or coronary artery stents. Future studies should determine the optimal protocol and clinical value of CTP for guiding revascularization strategy and prognostication. In this article, we review the current status and future perspectives of CTP, focusing on technical considerations, clinical applications, and future research topics.

History and current status of nuclear fuel reprocessing technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funasaka, Hideyuki; Nagai, Toshihisa; Washiya, Tadahiro

2008-01-01

History and present state of fast breeder reactor was reviewed in series. As a history and current status of nuclear fuel reprocessing technology, this ninth lecture presented the progress of the FBR fuel reprocessing technology and advanced reprocessing processes. FBR fuel reprocessing technology had been developed to construct the reprocessing equipment test facilities (RETF) based on PUREX process technologies. With economics, reduction of environmental burdens and proliferation resistance taken into consideration, advanced aqueous method for nuclear fuel cycle activities has been promoted as the government's basic policy. Innovative technologies on mechanical disassembly, continuous rotary dissolver, crystallizer, solvent extraction and actinides recovery have been mainly studied. (T. Tanaka)

Community-based dental education: history, current status, and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Formicola, Allan J; Bailit, Howard L

2012-01-01

This article examines the history, current status, and future direction of community-based dental education (CBDE). The key issues addressed include the reasons that dentistry developed a different clinical education model than the other health professions; how government programs, private medical foundations, and early adopter schools influenced the development of CBDE; the societal and financial factors that are leading more schools to increase the time that senior dental students spend in community programs; the impact of CBDE on school finances and faculty and student perceptions; and the reasons that CBDE is likely to become a core part of the clinical education of all dental graduates.

Early Childhood Inclusion in the United States: Goals, Current Status, and Future Directions

Science.gov (United States)

Guralnick, Michael J.; Bruder, Mary Beth

2016-01-01

The current status and future directions of early childhood inclusion in the United States are discussed from the perspective of 4 key goals: access, accommodations and feasibility, developmental progress, and social integration. Recommendations are put forward to promote inclusion goals emphasizing administrative structures, personnel…

[Current approaches to evaluating the anatomic and functional status of the cornea].

Science.gov (United States)

Avetisov, S E; Borodina, N V; Kobzova, M V; Musaeva, G M

2010-01-01

The review provides data on current methods for evaluating the anatomic and functional status of the cornea (light refraction, light transmission, and biomechanical properties, in particular). It analyzes the main advantages and disadvantages of basic (biomicroscopy, endothelial microscopy, ophthalmometry, topography, and pachymetry) and special (confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography, ultrasound biomicroscopy, aberrometry, bidirectional corneal applanation, and keratoesthesiometry) studies.

Will MOOCs change the very DNA of higher education?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martinsen, Anders

2014-01-01

Massive open online courses create great expectations about a revolution of higher education. But is it a myth that MOOCs bring change, or is the truth about MOOCs that they simply preserve the status quo?......Massive open online courses create great expectations about a revolution of higher education. But is it a myth that MOOCs bring change, or is the truth about MOOCs that they simply preserve the status quo?...

BRIEF COMMENT ON THE INTERNET OF THINGS UNDER

OpenAIRE

Lóssio, Claudio Joel Brito; Santos, Coriolano Aurélio Almeida Camargo

2018-01-01

The current society in which we live is being taken over by a new digital society, where practically all people and machines relationships are on communication via the internet, and this situation gives rise to IoT (Internet of Things). This process is a social transformation that brings society a quo status for a new status, the ad quem, in the digital society. IOT is the acronym of Internet of Things, translating into Portuguese, Internet das Coisas, terminology aimed at all computers, mach...

Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eudy, L.; Chandler, K.; Gikakis, C.

2011-11-01

This status report, fifth in a series of annual status reports from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), discusses the achievements and challenges of fuel cell propulsion for transit and summarizes the introduction of fuel cell transit buses in the United States. Progress this year includes an increase in the number of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs), from 15 to 25, operating at eight transit agencies, as well as increased diversity of the fuel cell design options for transit buses. The report also provides an analysis of the combined results from fuel cell transit bus demonstrations evaluated by NREL with a focus on the most recent data through July 2011 including fuel cell power system reliability and durability; fuel economy; roadcall; and hydrogen fueling results. These evaluations cover 22 of the 25 FCEBs currently operating.

Current status on techniques for determining paleo-temperature using geothermometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanazawa, Sunao; Oikawa, Teruki; Umeda, Koji; Tomiyama, Shingo

2005-01-01

Development of the research technologies for geotectonic events has been carried out to evaluate the long-term stability of geological environment. In terms of the effects of geothermal activity, it is necessary to estimate the geothermal regime and thermal history on any given site. This paper describes the current status on techniques for determining paleo-temperature using geothermometer, and presents a concept of the systematic research techniques. The application of geothermometer, especially thermochronology, has been effective in the studies on the cooling history of geological body and the paleo-geothermal structure at depth. (author)

WISM - A Wideband Instrument for Snow Measurement: Past Accomplishments, Current Status, and Path Forward

Science.gov (United States)

Bonds, Quenton; Racette, Paul; Durham, Tim (Principal Investigator)

2016-01-01

Presented are the prior accomplishments, current status and path forward for GSFC's Wideband Instrument for Snow Measurement (WISM). This work is a high level overview of the project, presented via Webinar to the IEEE young professionals.

Psychological Therapies for Auditory Hallucinations (Voices): Current Status and Key Directions for Future Research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thomas, N.; Hayward, M.; Peters, E; van der Gaag, M.; Bentall, R.P.; Jenner, J.; Strauss, C.; Sommer, I.E.; Johns, L.C.; Varese, F.; Gracia-Montes, J.M.; Waters, F.; Dodgson, G.; McCarthy-Jones, S.

2014-01-01

This report from the International Consortium on Hallucinations Research considers the current status and future directions in research on psychological therapies targeting auditory hallucinations (hearing voices). Therapy approaches have evolved from behavioral and coping-focused interventions,

MDSplus integration at TCABR tokamak: Current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sá, W.P. de; Ronchi, G.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The implementation of MDSplus in TCABR tokamak, current status. • Interfaces between the system already installed and the MDSplus. • Web MDSplus interface. - Abstract: Experimental data for the TCABR tokamak is currently stored in MDSplus (Model Driven System Plus) database. The access to the data recorded during the experiments is performed using tools and libraries available by MDSplus system. The MDSplus system is widely used in different physics experiments, especially in plasmas physics and nuclear fusion. This standardized environment enables easy interaction among scientists of different experiments in different countries without the need to understand the particular characteristics of control, data acquisition and analysis, and remote access (CODAS) customized in each laboratory. In the first phase of implementation, intermediate interfaces had been developed between the legacy proprietary system and the MDSplus. In a second phase, the new diagnostic systems had been directly included in the created MDSplus system in the laboratory. After three years of use, the system installed on TCABR proved extremely efficient and significantly increased productivity in data analysis by involved scientists, regardless of whether they are locally at the TCABR, or accessing the system remotely from their home laboratories. The third phase, and subject of this article, are the development and implementation of the following systems: (i) web tools for the visualization of data, integrated with the experiment logbook, (ii) integration of MDSplus with applications (LabVIEW + MDSplus) and newer data acquisition hardware.

MDSplus integration at TCABR tokamak: Current status

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sá, W.P. de, E-mail: pires@if.usp.br; Ronchi, G., E-mail: gronchi@if.usp.br

2016-11-15

Highlights: • The implementation of MDSplus in TCABR tokamak, current status. • Interfaces between the system already installed and the MDSplus. • Web MDSplus interface. - Abstract: Experimental data for the TCABR tokamak is currently stored in MDSplus (Model Driven System Plus) database. The access to the data recorded during the experiments is performed using tools and libraries available by MDSplus system. The MDSplus system is widely used in different physics experiments, especially in plasmas physics and nuclear fusion. This standardized environment enables easy interaction among scientists of different experiments in different countries without the need to understand the particular characteristics of control, data acquisition and analysis, and remote access (CODAS) customized in each laboratory. In the first phase of implementation, intermediate interfaces had been developed between the legacy proprietary system and the MDSplus. In a second phase, the new diagnostic systems had been directly included in the created MDSplus system in the laboratory. After three years of use, the system installed on TCABR proved extremely efficient and significantly increased productivity in data analysis by involved scientists, regardless of whether they are locally at the TCABR, or accessing the system remotely from their home laboratories. The third phase, and subject of this article, are the development and implementation of the following systems: (i) web tools for the visualization of data, integrated with the experiment logbook, (ii) integration of MDSplus with applications (LabVIEW + MDSplus) and newer data acquisition hardware.

Designing Adaptable Ships: Modularity and Flexibility in Future Ship Designs

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

with motors, belts, shafts , seals, valves, hose spindles , and switches. If ship installation is not installed, the system will be status quo. Ship...Impact: the current centrifugal purifiers (Alfa-Laval) have experienced frequent failures with motor, belts, shafts , seals, valves, hose spindles ... Designing Adaptable Ships Modularity and Flexibility in Future Ship Designs John F. Schank, Scott Savitz, Ken Munson, Brian Perkinson, James

Nuclear power for sustainable development. Current status and future prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamantiades, A.; Kessides, I.

2009-01-01

Interest in nuclear power has been revived as a result of volatile fossil fuel prices, concerns about the security of energy supplies, and global climate change. This paper describes the current status and future plans for expansion of nuclear power, the advances in nuclear reactor technology, and their impacts on the associated risks and performance of nuclear power. Advanced nuclear reactors have been designed to be simpler and safer, and to have lower costs than currently operating reactors. By addressing many of the public health and safety risks that plagued the industry since the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, these reactors may help break the current deadlock over nuclear power. In that case, nuclear power could make a significant contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, significant issues persist, fueling reservations among the public and many decision makers. Nuclear safety, disposal of radioactive wastes, and proliferation of nuclear explosives need to be addressed in an effective and credible way if the necessary public support is to be obtained. (author)

五指山猪资源现状、保护及开发利用%The Status Quo, Protection, Development and Utilization of Wuzhishan Pig Resources

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

曹婷; 周汉林; 于萍; 荀文娟; 施力光; 周雄; 侯冠彧

2017-01-01

五指山猪在解剖学、生理学、病理学等方面与人类有较大的相似性,是开展生态特色养殖、杂交改良和人类比较医学研究的理想猪种.但由于其受自身生长速度缓慢、繁殖率低、饲养成本高及外来猪种充斥的影响,曾一度处于濒临灭绝状态.随着近年来政府对地方猪种保护力度的加强和人们对优质肉食品需求的增加,五指山猪产业也得到了一定程度的发展.为了更好的保护和利用五指山猪种质资源,论文从五指山猪种质特性、资源现状、存在问题及综合利用等方面进行了阐述,并提出了相应的保护和可持续发展建议.%Wuzhishan pig is similar with human in physiological,pathological and anatomical aspects.It is an ideal breed for the ecological farming,crossbreeding for improving breeds and the research of human comparative medicine.However,it would be affected by the slow growth speed,low reproduction rate,high production cost and the flood of other breeds,which was once in the endangered situation.In recent years,with the strengthening of the government's efforts to protect the local pigs and people's increasing demand for high quality meat,Wuzhishan pig industry has developed to a certain extent.In order to better protect and make full use of Wuzhishan pig germplasm resources,the paper gives a brief introduction on characteristics,the status quo,the problems and comprehensive utilization of Wuzhishan pig breed.It also put forward the corresponding suggestions on protection and sustainable development of this breed.

Current Status and Future Agenda for the Theory, Research, and Practice of Childhood Career Development

Science.gov (United States)

Schultheiss, Donna E. Palladino

2008-01-01

This article reviews the current status and a future agenda for childhood career development theory, research, and practice. The fragmented nature of the current state of the literature is noted, and a call is made for a reexamination and reconsideration of the childhood developmental pathways of life's work. It is suggested that the study of…

Status of high temperature superconductor cable and fault current limiter projects at American Superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maguire, J.F.; Yuan, J.

2009-01-01

This paper will describe the status of three key programs currently underway at American Superconductor Corp. The first program is the LIPA project which is a transmission voltage high temperature superconducting cable program, with funding support from the US Department of Energy. The 600 m cable, capable of carrying 574 MVA, was successfully installed and commissioned in LIPA grid on April 22, 2008. An overview of the project, system level design details and operational data will be provided. In addition, the status of the newly awarded LIPA II project will be described. The second program is Project Hydra, with funding support from the US Department of Homeland Security, to design, develop and demonstrate an HTS cable with fault current limiting functionality. The cable is 300 m long and is being designed to carry 96 MVA at a distribution level voltage of 13.8 kV. The cable will be permanently installed and energized in Manhattan, New York in 2010. The initial status of Project Hydra will be presented. The final program to be discussed is a transmission voltage, high temperature superconducting fault current limiter funded by the US DOE. The project encompasses the design, construction and test of a 115 kV FCL for power transmission within a time frame of 4-5 years. Installation and testing are planned for a Southern California Edison substation. A project overview and progress under the first phase will be reported.

Status of high temperature superconductor cable and fault current limiter projects at American Superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maguire, J.F., E-mail: jmaguire@amsc.co [American Superconductor Co., 64 Jackson Road, Devens, MA 01434 (United States); Yuan, J. [American Superconductor Co., 64 Jackson Road, Devens, MA 01434 (United States)

2009-10-15

This paper will describe the status of three key programs currently underway at American Superconductor Corp. The first program is the LIPA project which is a transmission voltage high temperature superconducting cable program, with funding support from the US Department of Energy. The 600 m cable, capable of carrying 574 MVA, was successfully installed and commissioned in LIPA grid on April 22, 2008. An overview of the project, system level design details and operational data will be provided. In addition, the status of the newly awarded LIPA II project will be described. The second program is Project Hydra, with funding support from the US Department of Homeland Security, to design, develop and demonstrate an HTS cable with fault current limiting functionality. The cable is 300 m long and is being designed to carry 96 MVA at a distribution level voltage of 13.8 kV. The cable will be permanently installed and energized in Manhattan, New York in 2010. The initial status of Project Hydra will be presented. The final program to be discussed is a transmission voltage, high temperature superconducting fault current limiter funded by the US DOE. The project encompasses the design, construction and test of a 115 kV FCL for power transmission within a time frame of 4-5 years. Installation and testing are planned for a Southern California Edison substation. A project overview and progress under the first phase will be reported.

Status of high temperature superconductor cable and fault current limiter projects at American Superconductor

Science.gov (United States)

Maguire, J. F.; Yuan, J.

2009-10-01

This paper will describe the status of three key programs currently underway at American Superconductor Corp. The first program is the LIPA project which is a transmission voltage high temperature superconducting cable program, with funding support from the US Department of Energy. The 600 m cable, capable of carrying 574 MVA, was successfully installed and commissioned in LIPA grid on April 22, 2008. An overview of the project, system level design details and operational data will be provided. In addition, the status of the newly awarded LIPA II project will be described. The second program is Project Hydra, with funding support from the US Department of Homeland Security, to design, develop and demonstrate an HTS cable with fault current limiting functionality. The cable is 300 m long and is being designed to carry 96 MVA at a distribution level voltage of 13.8 kV. The cable will be permanently installed and energized in Manhattan, New York in 2010. The initial status of Project Hydra will be presented. The final program to be discussed is a transmission voltage, high temperature superconducting fault current limiter funded by the US DOE. The project encompasses the design, construction and test of a 115 kV FCL for power transmission within a time frame of 4-5 years. Installation and testing are planned for a Southern California Edison substation. A project overview and progress under the first phase will be reported.

Current status of chirality in agrochemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeschke, Peter

2018-04-27

The agrochemical industry is continuously searching for new pesticides to develop products with optimal efficacy, lower application rates in the field, increased selectivity, favorable toxicological and environmental safety, enhanced user friendliness and better economic viability. One strategy to achieve these ambitious goals makes use of the unique properties of molecules containing asymmetric centers. In the past, many natural products and their congeners have been a source of inspiration for designing new active ingredients, and the molecular structure of the resulting molecules have become increasingly complex. 30% contain fragments with asymmetric centers. However, despite the enormous progress that has been made in catalytic asymmetric processes over the last decade, only few agrochemicals are produced in enantiomerically pure or enriched form on an industrial scale. Since 2007, around 43% of the 44 launched products (insecticides, acaricides, fungicides, nematicides, and herbicides) contain one or more asymmetric centers in the molecule (≈ 47 %) and most of them were launched as racemic mixtures of enantiomers or diastereomers. This review gives an overview of the current status of chiral agrochemicals launched over the past 10 years and describes the inherently connected challenges of modern agricultural chemistry by managing important aspects resulting from stereochemistry of these innovative products. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Current status of JENDL-3.3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasegawa, Akira [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1998-03-01

Current status of JENDL-3.3 is presented. Reevaluation work toward JENDL-3.3 has started last April for three years project to supply a consolidated new versions of JENDL by JAERI NDC (Nuclear Data center) with the cooperation of JNDC (Japanese Nuclear Data Committee). The working schedule has been fixed by the careful review of the summary report, `The problems of JENDL-3.2`, submitted to JNDC last March after one year discussions by a small advisory group: `Identifying the problems of JENDL-3.2`. To cope with the problems, two new subgroups are set up in the Subcommittee of Nuclear Data of JNDC. One is Heavy Mass Elements Evaluation Working Group for the re-evaluation of major actinides (Th-232, U-233,235,236,238, Pu-236,239,241,242). The other is Intermediate Mass Elements Evaluation Working Group for solving the inconsistencies between calculations and integral experiments relating to the fields of fusion neutronics and shielding applications as well as new evaluations such as Er elements. Supplying covariance data for important nuclides are one of the main feature of JENDL-3.3. Re-evaluated data will be released as JENDL-3.3 in the individual bases after the reviewing process by the experts. (author)

A psychological law of inertia and the illusion of loss aversion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Gal

2006-07-01

Full Text Available The principle of loss aversion is thought to explain a wide range of anomalous phenomena involving tradeoffs between losses and gains. In this article, I show that the anomalies loss aversion was introduced to explain --- the risky bet premium, the endowment effect, and the status-quo bias --- are characterized not only by a loss/gain tradeoff, but by a tradeoff between the status-quo and change; and, that a propensity towards the status-quo in the latter tradeoff is sufficient to explain these phenomena. Moreover, I show that two basic psychological principles --- (1 that motives drive behavior; and (2 that preferences tend to be fuzzy and ill-defined --- imply the existence of a robust and fundamental propensity of this sort. Thus, a loss aversion principle is rendered superfluous to an account of the phenomena it was

Radio Astronomy in Malaysia: Current Status and Outreach Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, N.; Abidin, Z. Z.; Ibrahim, U. F. S. U.; Umar, R.; Hassan, M. S. R.; Rosli, Z.; Hamidi, Z. S.; Ibrahim, Z. A.

2011-12-01

In this paper, we will present the current status of radio astronomical research and outreach in Malaysia. We will also present a short history of our research group, which is currently the only radio astronomical facility in Malaysia. Our group is called the Radio Cosmology Research Lab and was established in 2005 by Dr Zamri Zainal Abidin and Prof Dr Zainol Abidin Ibrahim. We will discuss the future plans for this group including our keen interest in being part of a more global network of radio astronomers. We are already an active member of the South-East Asia Astronomy Network (SEAAN) and aims to have a radio astronomical facility in order to join the Global Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) as well becoming a research hub for the future Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project. We will also present some of the scientific goals of our group including providing a platform for radio astronomers to be able to do observations of weak and high red-shifted radio objects such as galaxy clusters and supernovae.

Current status of food irradiation in overseas (2013). From the meeting report of RCA food irradiation project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todoriki, Setsuko

2013-01-01

The report introduces the activity of RCA (Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and Pacific) food irradiation project (RAS/5/057) and information obtained at the two workshops on current status of Asia and Pacific areas together with EU, USA and Japan. Also current trends of RAS/5/057 Implementing Best Practices for food irradiation for plant sanitary and phytosanitary purposes are described. Amount of food irradiation products of RCA member countries, minimum adopted doses for quarantine harmful insects (70 to 232 Gy) and import amount of fruits of USA (79 to 5500 tons) are tabulated. Finally current status of Japan is explained. (S. Ohno)

Azimuth Check: An Analysis of Military Transformation in the Republic of Korea-is it Sufficient

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

15K fighters (additional purchase) • Next Generation of Weapons Systems (sample list) • Next Tank (XK-2, Black Panther ) • Next Infantry Fighting... animation ”-status quo persists; 2) “suspended animation ” and “soft-landing” hybrid-status quo plus some reforms, regime intact; 3) “soft landing”-gradual...Fighter Advanced Trainer (T‐50) Joint Air to Surface Stand‐off Missile (JASSM) R&D Next Tank ( Black Leopard) Medium‐altitude Unmanned Aerial

Conduct of operations: The foundation of safety -- An overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willett, D.J.; Hertel, N.E.

1992-05-01

This paper discusses issues and approaches dealing with conceptualizing, implementing, and maintaining configuration control commensurate with the conduct of operations approach defined by DOE ORDER 5480.19. Specific topics reviewed will include key elements of assessments to determine the status quo such as assessment criteria, assessment personnel, and assessment scope; administrative programs to maintain the status quo such as organizational definition, responsibilities, interfaces, and priorities; oversight to determine control effectiveness via compliance and performance assessment

Research Experience in Psychiatry Residency Programs Across Canada: Current Status

Science.gov (United States)

Shanmugalingam, Arany; Ferreria, Sharon G; Norman, Ross M G; Vasudev, Kamini

2014-01-01

Objective: To determine the current status of research experience in psychiatry residency programs across Canada. Method: Coordinators of Psychiatric Education (COPE) resident representatives from all 17 psychiatry residency programs in Canada were asked to complete a survey regarding research training requirements in their programs. Results: Among the 17 COPE representatives, 15 completed the survey, representing 88% of the Canadian medical schools that have a psychiatry residency program. Among the 15 programs, 11 (73%) require residents to conduct a scholarly activity to complete residency. Some of these programs incorporated such a requirement in the past 5 years. Ten respondents (67%) reported availability of official policy and (or) guidelines on resident research requirements. Among the 11 programs that have a research requirement, 10 (91%) require residents to complete 1 scholarly activity; 1 requires completion of 2 scholarly activities. Eight (53%) residency programs reported having a separate research track. All of the programs have a research coordinator and 14 (93%) programs provide protected time to residents for conducting research. The 3 most common types of scholarly activities that qualify for the mandatory research requirement are a full independent project (10 programs), a quality improvement project (8 programs), and assisting in a faculty project (8 programs). Six programs expect their residents to present their final work in a departmental forum. None of the residency programs require publication of residents’ final work. Conclusions: The current status of the research experience during psychiatry residency in Canada is encouraging but there is heterogeneity across the programs. PMID:25565474

Radiopharmaceuticals in China. Current status and prospects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jia, Hong-Mei; Liu, Bo-Li [Beijing Normal Univ. (China). Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals

2014-04-01

The review provides an overview of the current status of radiopharmaceuticals in China for in vivo clinical use and also describes some important advances in the past three decades. Development of the diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals as well as basic research on radiopharmaceutical chemistry are being introduced. The radiotracers developed in China include: (1) Brain perfusion imaging agents and CNS radiotracers for β-amyloid plaques, σ{sub 1} receptors, and dopamine D{sub 2} or D{sub 4} receptors; (2) {sup 99m}Tc- and {sup 18}F-labeled myocardial perfusion imaging agents; (3) tumor imaging agents including integrin-targeting radiotracer, novel sentinel lymph node imaging agents, hypoxia imaging agents, {sup 99m}Tc-labeled glucose derivatives, σ{sub 2} receptor imaging agents, folate receptor imaging agents, and potential radiotracers for imaging of human telomerase reverse transcriptase expression; (4) Potential infection imaging agents; (5) Potential asialoglycoprotein receptor imaging agents; (6) Other imaging agents. Moreover, some prospects of research and development of radiopharmaceuticals in the near future are discussed. (orig.)

Current Status of Operation and Management of Dental School Clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinhardt, John W

2017-08-01

This article summarizes the current status of the operation and management of dental school clinics as schools strive to provide excellent patient-centered care in an environment that is educationally sound, efficient, and financially strong. Clinical education is a large component of dental education and an area in which many dental schools have an opportunity to enhance revenue. Clinical efficiencies and alternative models of clinical education are evolving in U.S. dental schools, and this article describes some of those evolutionary changes. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21 st Century."

Current status of electron beam treatment of flue gas in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhiguang

2006-01-01

Fossil resource especially coal will remain the main energy resource in China over the next 3 ∼4 decades. Pollution of flue gas from fossil power station is one problem being desiderated to solve since 1990's. Electron beam treatment of flue gas as an advanced technique has been developed and used by some institutes and industries in China. The current status of flue gas treatment using electron beam and the development of electron accelerator in China are reviewed. (author)

Environmental Programs: Status of Work and Current Priorities for FY13

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, Patricia [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2012-08-17

Presentation outline is: Mission/overview, Regulatory framework, Current status of cleanup, Shift in priorities to address highest risk, Removal of above-ground waste, Continued focus on protecting water resources, and Priorities for fiscal year 2013. LANL's Environmental Mission is to: (1) Repack and ship legacy transuranic waste containers; (2) Investigate and remediate Cold War (legacy) hazardous and radioactive waste areas; (3) Demolish unused buildings; (4) Disposition solid waste from Laboratory operations; and (5) Lifecycle cost nearly $3 billion.

Current status of relativistic core collapse simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Font, Jose A [Departamento de Astronomia y Astrofisica, Universidad de Valencia, Dr. Moliner 50, 46100 Burjassot (Valencia) (Spain)

2007-05-15

With the first generation of ground-based gravitational wave laser interferometers already taking data, the availability of reliable waveform templates from astrophysical sources, which may help extract the signal from the anticipated noisy data, is urgently required. Gravitational stellar core collapse supernova has traditionally been considered among the most important astrophysical sources of potentially detectable gravitational radiation. Only very recently the first multidimensional simulations of relativistic rotational core collapse have been possible (albeit for models with simplified input physics), thanks to the use of conservative formulations of the hydrodynamics equations and advanced numerical methodology, as well as stable formulations of Einstein's equations. In this paper, the current status of relativistic core collapse simulations is discussed, with the emphasis given to the modelling of the collapse dynamics and to the computation of the gravitational radiation in the existing numerical approaches. Work employing the conformally-flat approximation (CFC) of the 3+1 Einstein's equations is reported, as well as extensions of this approximation (CFC+) and investigations within the framework of the so-called BSSN formulation of the 3+1 gravitational field equations (with no approximation for the spacetime dynamics). On the other hand, the incorporation of magnetic fields and the MHD equations in numerical codes to improve the realism of core collapse simulations in general relativity, is currently an emerging field where significant progress is bound to be soon achieved. The paper also contains a brief discussion of magneto-rotational simulations of core collapse, aiming at addressing the effects of magnetic fields on the collapse dynamics and on the gravitational waveforms.

Current status of relativistic core collapse simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Font, Jose A

2007-01-01

With the first generation of ground-based gravitational wave laser interferometers already taking data, the availability of reliable waveform templates from astrophysical sources, which may help extract the signal from the anticipated noisy data, is urgently required. Gravitational stellar core collapse supernova has traditionally been considered among the most important astrophysical sources of potentially detectable gravitational radiation. Only very recently the first multidimensional simulations of relativistic rotational core collapse have been possible (albeit for models with simplified input physics), thanks to the use of conservative formulations of the hydrodynamics equations and advanced numerical methodology, as well as stable formulations of Einstein's equations. In this paper, the current status of relativistic core collapse simulations is discussed, with the emphasis given to the modelling of the collapse dynamics and to the computation of the gravitational radiation in the existing numerical approaches. Work employing the conformally-flat approximation (CFC) of the 3+1 Einstein's equations is reported, as well as extensions of this approximation (CFC+) and investigations within the framework of the so-called BSSN formulation of the 3+1 gravitational field equations (with no approximation for the spacetime dynamics). On the other hand, the incorporation of magnetic fields and the MHD equations in numerical codes to improve the realism of core collapse simulations in general relativity, is currently an emerging field where significant progress is bound to be soon achieved. The paper also contains a brief discussion of magneto-rotational simulations of core collapse, aiming at addressing the effects of magnetic fields on the collapse dynamics and on the gravitational waveforms

Seismic proving test of ultimate piping strength (current status of preliminary tests)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, K.; Namita, Y.; Abe, H.; Ichihashi, I.; Suzuki, K.; Ishiwata, M.; Fujiwaka, T.; Yokota, H.

2001-01-01

In 1998 Fiscal Year, the 6 year program of piping tests was initiated with the following objectives: i) to clarify the elasto-plastic response and ultimate strength of nuclear piping, ii) to ascertain the seismic safety margin of the current seismic design code for piping, and iii) to assess new allowable stress rules. In order to resolve extensive technical issues before proceeding on to the seismic proving test of a large-scale piping system, a series of preliminary tests of materials, piping components and simplified piping systems is intended. In this paper, the current status of the material tests and the piping component tests is reported. (author)

Current status of cerebral glioma surgery in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jin-song; Zhang, Jie; Zhuang, Dong-xiao; Yao, Cheng-jun; Qiu, Tian-ming; Lu, Jun-feng; Zhu, Feng-ping; Mao, Ying; Zhou, Liang-fu

2011-09-01

The treatment of gliomas is highly individualized. Surgery for gliomas is essentially for histological diagnosis, to alleviate mass effect, and most importantly, to favor longer survival expectancy. During the past two decades, many surgical techniques and adjuvants have been applied to glioma surgery in China, which lead to a rapid development in the field of cerebral glioma surgery. This article broadly and critically reviewed the existing studies on cerebral glioma surgery and to portrait the current status of glioma surgery in China. A literature search was conducted covering major innovative surgical techniques and adjuvants for glioma surgery in China. The following databases were searched: the Pubmed (January 1995 to date); China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database (January 1995 to date) and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (January 1995 to date). A selection criterion was established to exclude duplicates and irrelevant studies. The outcome measures were extracted from included studies. A total of 3307 articles were initially searched. After excluded by abstracts and full texts, 69 studies conducted in the mainland of China were included and went through further analysis. The philosophy of surgical strategies for cerebral gliomas in China is undergoing tremendous change. Nowadays Chinese neurosurgeons pay more attention to the postoperative neurofunctional status of the patients. The aim of the glioma surgery is not only the more extensive tumor resection but also the maximal safety of intervention. The well balance of longer overall survival and higher quality of life should be judged with respect to each individual patient.

Current status of managing food allergies in schools in Seoul, Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Soyoung; Yoon, Jihyun; Kwon, Sooyoun; Kim, Jihyun; Han, Youngshin

2012-12-01

Recently the need to manage food allergies in schools has been growing. This study aimed to examine the current status of managing food allergies in schools in Seoul, Korea. A questionnaire survey was conducted in cooperation with the School Dietician Association during April 2009. Among the participating 154 schools, a total of 109 (71%) were determining students' food allergy status through parental surveys based on self-reported food allergies. A total of 72 (47%) had experienced student visits to a school health room due to food allergies within one year before the survey. Over 80 percent of the schools relied on self-care only without any school-wide measures for food allergies in place. Among the 890 menu items most frequently served in school lunch programs, a total of 664 (75%) were found to contain more than one food allergen. It is highly suggested that preventive plans and treatment measures should be established to manage food allergies in schools.

Current status and future outlook for bonded neodymium permanent magnets (invited)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Croat, J.J.

1997-01-01

Bonded neodymium magnets can provide significant size and weight reduction and/or performance enhancement over sintered and, particularly, bonded ferrite permanent magnets and, moreover, provide these benefits at reasonable cost. Primarily for these reasons, these bonded magnets are now used in a wide and growing range of computer peripheral, office automation, and consumer electronic applications and now constitute the fastest growing segment of the permanent magnet market. The current status of these materials will be reviewed. Included is a brief overview of the manufacture of these magnetically isotropic magnets and a discussion of their unique properties and features from the perspective of both bonded magnet producer and user. Major applications are discussed as are some of the factors that will drive the market for these materials in the future. New technical developments, including the status and outlook for anisotropic bonded materials, high remanance isotropic materials and high temperature bonded magnets will also be discussed. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Current status of thermoluminescence studies on minerals and rocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sankaran, A.V.; Nambi, K.S.V.; Sunta, C.M.

1982-01-01

The usefulness of thermoluminescence (TL) in geological studies is being increasingly recognized, as may be judged from the considerable volume of literature accumulated over the past couple of decades; besides, a number of seminars, conferences and specialists' meetings have also been held on the subject of applied TL. However, these publications lie scattered over several periodicals and conference proceedings and an interested worker finds it difficult to obtain the gist of the contributions in one place. The present authors felt a need for this and have, therefore, attempted to bring together in this Report the current status of TL research about different minerals; applications in the fields of geochronology, ore-prospecting, stratigraphic correlation, geothermometry and other useful areas are also included. (author)

Cobalt 60 gamma irradiation current status, trends and insights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corley, John T.

1998-01-01

This paper discusses the current status, trends and insights into the continued, safe use of cobalt 60 gamma irradiation. Also presented are some of the many initiatives undertaken at MDS Nordion. Topics covered include our investment for the future supply of raw materials and the latest news from source production. Briefly presented are the tasks associated with the safe transport of cobalt 60 around the world. Discussed is cobalt 60 usage at the customer site; more specifically maintaining source integrity, source utilization and irradiator design trends. Highlighted are industry trends for North America, Europe and the rest of the world. Finally presented are the challenges and opportunities for the industry. Stressed in the paper is the need to work together

Current status of diuretic renography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Reilly, P.H.

1987-01-01

Percutaneous antegrade perfusion studies constitute a valuable contribution to the investigation of obstructive uropathy. In 1978, the first report of application of diuretic renogram techniques to this problem appeared in the literature. This was the first systematic report of a standardized protocol to be applied to a specific surgical problem. The purpose of the procedure, as with perfusion pressure-flow studies, is to help distinguish between a dilated urinary tract that is obstructed and requires surgery and a nonobstructed system in which urographic dilation and stasis mimic obstruction, but no genuine impedance to urine flow exists, and surgery is not required. The technique provides dual information. It gives quantitative data on individual renal function that perfusion pressure-flow studies do not, and it gives time-activity curves reflecting the urodynamics through the individual upper urinary tracts at normal and high urinary flow rates. In the early days, this information was obtained from probe studies, but the procedure is now almost exclusively performed using the gamma camera, images from which give additional information on the site of any suspected obstruction. In some ways, the development of diuretic renography and that of perfusion pressure-flow studies have proceeded in a competitive fashion, both attempting to answer the same questions by different means. In practice, however, the two tests would be regarded as complementary, as will be shown later in this chapter. The following sections describe the technique of diuretic renography, its current clinical application and status in surgical and nuclear medicine practice, and its role in comparison with other available tests for management of the dilated upper urinary tract

Current status of research and development on remote maintenance for fusion components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, Nobukazu; Kakudate, Satoshi; Nakahira, Masataka; Shibanuma, Kiyoshi

2008-01-01

There is a growing attention to remote maintenance of nuclear fusion reactors. Remote maintenance is planned in ITER tokamak to keep the health of in-vessel components like blankets and divertors. In this article, current status of the development in the remote maintenance equipments and methods, especially for ITER tokamak are reviewed. The newly developed vehicle type and boom type maintenance devices, manipulator, and transfer cask are illustrated. (J.P.N.)

Use of lecture recordings in dental education: assessment of status quo and recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Horvath, Zsuzsa; O'Donnell, Jean A; Johnson, Lynn A; Karimbux, Nadeem Y; Shuler, Charles F; Spallek, Heiko

2013-11-01

This research project was part of a planned initiative at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine to incorporate lecture recordings as standard educational support technologies. The goal of an institutional survey was 1) to gather current data about how dental educators across the United States and Canada use lecture recordings; 2) determine dental educators' perceived value and outcomes of using lecture recordings; and 3) develop recommendations based on #1 and #2 for the dental education community. Of the sixty-six North American dental schools at the time of the study, forty-five schools responded to the survey, for a 68 percent response rate. Of the respondents, twenty-eight schools were found to currently conduct lecture recording; these comprised the study sample. This study focused on the dental schools' past experiences with lecture recording; thus, those not currently engaged in lecture recording were excluded from further analysis. The survey questions covered a wide range of topics, such as the scope of the lecture recording, logistics, instructional design considerations, outcomes related to student learning, evaluation and reception, barriers to lecture recording, and issues related to copyright and intellectual property. The literature review and results from the survey showed that no common guidelines for best practice were available regarding lecture recordings in dental education. The article concludes with some preliminary recommendations based on this study.

WIMP dark matter candidates and searches—current status and future prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Roszkowski, Leszek; Sessolo, Enrico Maria; Trojanowski, Sebastian

2018-06-01

We review several current aspects of dark matter theory and experiment. We overview the present experimental status, which includes current bounds and recent claims and hints of a possible signal in a wide range of experiments: direct detection in underground laboratories, gamma-ray, cosmic ray, x-ray, neutrino telescopes, and the LHC. We briefly review several possible particle candidates for a weakly interactive massive particle (WIMP) and dark matter that have recently been considered in the literature. We pay particular attention to the lightest neutralino of supersymmetry as it remains the best motivated candidate for dark matter and also shows excellent detection prospects. Finally we briefly review some alternative scenarios that can considerably alter properties and prospects for the detection of dark matter obtained within the standard thermal WIMP paradigm.

WIMP dark matter candidates and searches-current status and future prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Roszkowski, Leszek; Sessolo, Enrico Maria; Trojanowski, Sebastian

2018-06-01

We review several current aspects of dark matter theory and experiment. We overview the present experimental status, which includes current bounds and recent claims and hints of a possible signal in a wide range of experiments: direct detection in underground laboratories, gamma-ray, cosmic ray, x-ray, neutrino telescopes, and the LHC. We briefly review several possible particle candidates for a weakly interactive massive particle (WIMP) and dark matter that have recently been considered in the literature. We pay particular attention to the lightest neutralino of supersymmetry as it remains the best motivated candidate for dark matter and also shows excellent detection prospects. Finally we briefly review some alternative scenarios that can considerably alter properties and prospects for the detection of dark matter obtained within the standard thermal WIMP paradigm.

The Case for a Joint Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

The Capstone Concept of Joint Operations stresses that “the strength of any Joint Force has always been the combining of unique Service...order. Status Quo of Service Evaluations Across the Services, officers’ careers generally begin with a focus on entry- level technical, managerial ...would retain full control of their current evalu- ation systems. However, the Services’ evaluation systems and information would be fed directly

Magnetic resonance imaging in psoriatic arthritis -- update on current status and future perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Mikkel; Poggenborg, René Panduro

2012-01-01

and future development of MRI and other modern imaging modalities in PsA. This review, presented at the GRAPPA 2010 annual meeting, describes the current status of MRI in PsA, with a focus on its use in diagnosis, monitoring, and prediction of the disease course and treatment response. Important areas...... for future research are also outlined....

Current status and requirements for position-sensitive detectors in medicine

CERN Document Server

Speller, R

2002-01-01

This review considers the current status of detector developments for medical imaging using ionising radiation. This field is divided into two major areas; the use of X-rays for transmission imaging and the use of radioactive tracers in emission imaging (nuclear medicine). Until recently, most detector developments were for applications in nuclear medicine. However, in the past 5 years new developments in large area, X-ray-sensitive detectors have meant that both application domains are equally served. In X-ray imaging, work in CT and mammography are chosen as examples of sensor developments. Photodiode arrays in multi-slice spiral CT acquisitions are described and for mammography the use of amorphous silicon flat panel arrays is considered. The latter is an excellent example where new detector developments have required a re-think of traditional imaging methods. In gamma-ray imaging the recent developments in small area, task-specific cameras are described. Their limitations and current proposals to overcome...

Plutonium metal exchange program : current status and statistical analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tandon, L. (Lav); Eglin, J. L. (Judith Lynn); Michalak, S. E. (Sarah E.); Picard, R. R.; Temer, D. J. (Donald J.)

2004-01-01

The Rocky Flats Plutonium (Pu) Metal Sample Exchange program was conducted to insure the quality and intercomparability of measurements such as Pu assay, Pu isotopics, and impurity analyses. The Rocky Flats program was discontinued in 1989 after more than 30 years. In 2001, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) reestablished the Pu Metal Exchange program. In addition to the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston, six Department of Energy (DOE) facilities Argonne East, Argonne West, Livermore, Los Alamos, New Brunswick Laboratory, and Savannah River are currently participating in the program. Plutonium metal samples are prepared and distributed to the sites for destructive measurements to determine elemental concentration, isotopic abundance, and both metallic and nonmetallic impurity levels. The program provides independent verification of analytical measurement capabilies for each participating facility and allows problems in analytical methods to be identified. The current status of the program will be discussed with emphasis on the unique statistical analysis and modeling of the data developed for the program. The discussion includes the definition of the consensus values for each analyte (in the presence and absence of anomalous values and/or censored values), and interesting features of the data and the results.

Current status and some aspects of the future energy strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antic, D. P.; Sokcic-Kostic, M. S. . E-mail address of corresponding author: dragon@vin.bg.ac.yu; Antic, D.)

2005-01-01

Current status of the energy production and of the energy sources in the world, European Union, Serbia and Montenegro and the Balkan states is analyzed. Some trends in the energy consumption and productions in some European states are analyzed. Some problems of the Serbia and Montenegro energy production system are compared with situation in neighbor states, Germany, and European Union. At present, anywhere in the world, the nuclear power in on the defensive. In some countries it has been even outlawed. Some parameters show that nuclear power, on the global scale and during this century at least, is absolutely essential and reasons for revival of nuclear energy are realistic. (author)

Current status of brachytherapy in Korea: a national survey of radiation oncologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Haeyoung; Kim, Joo Young; Kim, Juree; Park, Won; Kim, Young Seok; Kim, Hak Jae; Kim, Yong Bae

2016-07-01

The aim of the present study was to acquire information on brachytherapy resources in Korea through a national survey of radiation oncologists. Between October 2014 and January 2015, a questionnaire on the current status of brachytherapy was distributed to all 86 radiation oncology departments in Korea. The questionnaire was divided into sections querying general information on human resources, brachytherapy equipment, and suggestions for future directions of brachytherapy policy in Korea. The response rate of the survey was 88.3%. The average number of radiation oncologists per center was 2.3. At the time of survey, 28 centers (36.8%) provided brachytherapy to patients. Among the 28 brachytherapy centers, 15 (53.5%) were located in in the capital Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan areas. All brachytherapy centers had a high-dose rate system using (192)Ir (26 centers) or (60)Co (two centers). Among the 26 centers using (192)Ir sources, 11 treated fewer than 40 patients per year. In the two centers using (60)Co sources, the number of patients per year was 16 and 120, respectively. The most frequently cited difficulties in performing brachytherapy were cost related. A total of 21 centers had a plan to sustain the current brachytherapy system, and four centers noted plans to upgrade their brachytherapy system. Two centers stated that they were considering discontinuation of brachytherapy due to cost burdens of radioisotope source replacement. The present study illustrated the current status of brachytherapy in Korea. Financial difficulties were the major barriers to the practice of brachytherapy.

Medición "in situ" de la permeabilidad al aire del hormigón: status quo Concrete air permeability "in situ "test status quo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Ebensperger

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Los autores han estado involucrados en la creación y primeros ensayos y desarrollos del llamado "Método Torrent" para medir la permeabilidad al aire del hormigón. Transcurridos más de 15 años de ese trabajo fundacional, el artículo presenta una revisión de la evolución y estado de situación del método, incluido como Norma Oficial Suiza en 2003. Se presentan ejemplos de su aplicación en laboratorio y en obras (puentes, túneles, etc., con datos de valores medidos, provenientes de distintos países del mundo. Se presentan correlaciones entre el coeficiente de permeabilidad al aire kT y otros indicadores de durabilidad, tales como la migración de cloruros (ASTM C1202 y la penetración de agua a presión (EN 12390-8 o por capilaridad. Finalmente se discuten sus perspectivas de uso futuro, como herramienta de control de calidad de estructuras nuevas, con las importantes implicancias que ello acarreará, así como de diagnóstico de estructuras existentes.The authors have been involved in the creation, preliminary tests and development of the "Torrent Method", which is intended to test air permeability in concrete. It's been more than 15 years since such foundational research and, now, this paper presents a review of the evolution and current situation of the Method, included in the Switzerland standards in 2003. Application examples conducted in laboratory and civil works (bridges, tunnels, and so on are introduced, including data from different countries worldwide. Correlations between the air permeability coefficient kT and other durability indicators, such as chloride migration (ASTM C1202, penetration of water under pressure (EN 12390-8 or capillary action are presented. Finally the future prospective uses are discussed, as quality control tool for new structures, considering relevant implications they would lead to, as well as the diagnosis on existing structures.

[Status quo and influencing factors of disabilities caused by injury in Guangdong province].

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Jin-fang; Dong, Xiao-mei; Song, Zhuo-ping; Jiang, Ming-xu; Wang, Chang; Wang, Sheng-yong

2011-09-01

To analyze the epidemiology status and risk factors of disabilities caused by injury in Guangdong province. Stratified multi-stage cluster sampling was used to identify 1530 subjects with disabilities (among them, 415 disabilities caused by injury), in the villages or districts in the four regions of Guangzhou, Qingyuan, Zhaoqing and Huizhou in 2010. Subjects were interviewed by trained staff with self-made questionnaires about the status of the disabled, then 415 disabled caused by injury were interviewed about the process of the injury causing disability. The variables in this survey included gender, regions, rural (urban) residences, occupation, age and injury style. The difference of injury were analyzed through χ(2) test, and the influencing factors were explored through classification tree model. The top five causes of disability were road traffic injury, fall, work-related injury, medical accident, scald or burn, accounting for 32.53% (135/415), 21.45% (89/415), 12.77% (53/415), 8.43% (35/415) and 5.06% (21/415), respectively. The proportion of male was higher than female in all disabilities caused by injury (295 male, 117 female, 3 unknown). Female had higher proportion 8.55% (10/117) than male 3.05% (9/295) with the cause of scald or burn (χ(2) = 6.302, P = 0.012), the proportion of rural residents 38.89%(84/216)was also higher than urban residents 25.63% (51/199) in disabilities caused by traffic accident (χ(2) = 43.850, P work-injury mainly caused disability in 25 - 44 age group, 85.71% (30/35) medical accident and 76.20% (16/21) scald or burn mainly caused disability in 0 - 14 age group, the injury caused by the fall was 62.50% (5/8) in 65- age group. The proportions of fall in Qingyuan 29.09% (16/55) and Huizhou 28.23% (37/131) were significantly higher than that in Guangzhou 13.38% (21/157) and Zhaoqing 21.13% (15/71) (χ(2) = 11.904, P = 0.008). The proportions of work-injury in Guangzhou 19.11% (30/157) and Zhaoqing 19.72% (14/71) were

[Current status and potential perspectives in classical radiotherapy technology].

Science.gov (United States)

Dabić-Stanković, Kata M; Stanković, Jovan B; Radosević-Jelić, Ljiljana M

2004-01-01

After purchase of radiotherapy equipment in 2003, classic radiation therapy in Serbia will reach the highest world level. In order to define the highest standards in radiation technology, we analyzed the current status and potential perspectives of radiation therapy. An analysis of present situation in the USA, assumed as the most developed in the world, was done. Available data, collected in the last 3 years (equipment assortment, therapy modalities, workload and manpower) for 284 radiotherapy centers, out of potential 2050, were analyzed. Results were presented as crude percentage and matched to point current status. The analysis showed that CLINAC accelerators are the most popular (82.7%), as well as, ADAC (43.7%) and Focus (CMS) (27.4%) systems for therapy planning. Movement towards virtual simulation is evident (59.3%), although classic "simulation" is not fully eliminated from the radiotherapy chain. The most popular brachytherapy afterloader is Microselectron HDR (71%). About 64.4% centers use IMPAC communication/verification/record system that seems more open than Varis. All centers practice modern radiotherapy modalities and techniques (CPRT, IMRT, SRS/SRT, TBI, IORT, IVBHRT, HDR BHRT, etc.). CT and MRI availability is out of question, but PET is available in 3% of centers, however this percentage is rapidly growing. Up to 350 new patients per year are treated by one accelerator (about 35 pts. a day). Centers are relatively small and utilize 2-3 accelerators on average. Average FTE staffing norm is 4 radiation oncologists, 2-3 medical radiotherapy physicists, about 3 certified medical dosimetrists and about 6 radiotherapy technologists. In the past 5 years relative stagnation in classic radiotherapy has been observed. In spite of substantial investments in technology and consequent improvements, as well as wide introduction of computers in radiotherapy, radiotherapy results have not changed significantly. Vendor developement strategies do not point that

Current status in diabetic macular edema treatments

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Pedro; Romero-Aroca

2013-01-01

Diabetes is a serious chronic condition,which increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases,kidney failure and nerve damage leading to amputation.Furthermore the ocular complications include diabetic macular edema,is the leading cause of blindness among adults in the industrialized countries.Today,blindness from diabetic macular edema is largely preventable with timely detection and appropriate interventional therapy.The treatment should include an optimized control of glycemia,arterial tension,lipids and renal status.The photocoagulation laser is currently restricted to focal macular edema in some countries,but due the high cost of intravitreal drugs,the use of laser treatment for focal and diffuse diabetic macular edema(DME),can be valid as gold standard in many countries.The intravitreal anti vascular endothelial growth factor drugs(ranibizumab and bevacizumab),are indicated in the treatment of all types of DME,but the correct protocol for administration should be defined for the different Retina Scientific Societies.The corticosteroids for diffuse DME,has a place in pseudophakic patients,but its complications restricted the use of these drugs for some patients.Finally the intravitreal interface plays an important role and its exploration is mandatory in all DME patients.

Current status of uranium enrichment by way of chemical exchange reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Basyouny, A.; Bechthold, H.C.; Knoechel, A.; Vollmer, H.J.

1985-04-01

For this report, conference proceedings, patents and other types of literature have been collected to present an account of the current status of uranium enrichment by way of chemical exchange reactions. The report further presents a new concept along with the relevant process strategy developed by the authors. The principal process of the new concept is a chemical exchange process with crown ethers, complexed or free, playing an important part in the reactions. The authors also describe their experiments carried out for establishing suitable chemical systems. (orig./PW) [de

Dynamic Software Updating with Gosh! Current Status and the Road Ahead

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregersen, Allan Raundahl; Rasmussen, Michael; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

2013-01-01

Any non-trivial software system has to be upgraded regularly to incorporate bug fixes and security patches or simply to keep up with the inevitable evolution in end-user requirements. Software upgrading is challenging, especially when it comes to online upgrading of running systems. In this paper......, we present the current status of Gosh!, a dynamic-software-updating system for Java, which provides comprehensive support for changing class definitions of live objects, including adding, removing and moving fields, methods, classes and interfaces anywhere in the inheritance hierarchy. Prior...

Current status of the HAL/S compiler on the Modcomp classic 7870 computer

Science.gov (United States)

Lytle, P. J.

1981-01-01

A brief history of the HAL/S language, including the experience of other users of the language at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is presented. The current status of the compiler, as implemented on the Modcomp 7870 Classi computer, and future applications in the Deep Space Network (DSN) are discussed. The primary applications in the DSN will be in the Mark IVA network.

The current status of the Korean student health examination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hye-Jung Shin

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Recent trends place an emphasis on school health care, the ultimate goal of which is to protect,maintain, and promote students’ health. School health care is a program that integrates health careservices, health education, health counseling, and local social health services. The student healthexamination (SHE system is a part of school health care and schools and communities must beavailable to provide professional health services. Pediatricians also have important roles as experts inboth school health care and the SHE system. In this article, the history of school health care, its legalbasis, and the current status of the SHE system in Korea are reviewed. Furthermore, sample surveysfrom the past few years are reviewed. Through this holistic approach, future directions are proposed forthe improvement of SHE and school health care.

Current Status of Mechanical Circulatory Support: A Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyriakos Spiliopoulos

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Heart failure is a major public health problem and its management requires a significant amount of health care resources. Even with administration of the best available medical treatment, the mortality associated with the disease remains high. As therapeutical strategies for heart failure have been refined, the number of patients suffering from the disease has expanded dramatically. Although heart transplantation still represents the gold standard therapeutical approach, the implantation of mechanical circulatory support devices (MCSDs evolved to a well-established management for this disease. The limited applicability of heart transplantation caused by a shortage of donor organs and the concurrent expand of the patient population with end-stage heart failure led to a considerable utilization of MCSDs. This paper outlines the current status of mechanical circulatory support.

Marine renewable energy in China: Current status and perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-liang Zhang

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Based on a general review of marine renewable energy in China, an assessment of the development status and amount of various marine renewable energy resources, including tidal energy, tidal current energy, wave energy, ocean thermal energy, and salinity gradient energy in China's coastal seas, such as the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, is presented. We have found that these kinds of marine renewable energy resources will play an important role in meeting China's future energy needs. Additionally, considering the uneven distribution of China's marine renewable energy and the influences of its exploitation on the environment, we have suggested several sites with great potential for each kind of marine energy. Furthermore, perspectives on and challenges related with marine renewable energy in China are addressed.

Neurovirulence safety testing of mumps vaccines--historical perspective and current status.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubin, S A; Afzal, M A

2011-04-05

Many live, attenuated viral vaccines are derived from wild type viruses with known neurovirulent properties. To assure the absence of residual neurotoxicity, pre-clinical neurovirulence safety testing of candidate vaccines is performed. For mumps virus, a highly neurotropic virus, neurovirulence safety testing is performed in monkeys. However, laboratory studies suggest an inability of this test to correctly discern among virus strains of varying neurovirulence potential in man, and, further, some vaccines found to be neuroattenuated in monkeys were later found to be neurovirulent in humans when administered in large numbers. Over the past decade, concerted efforts have been made to replace monkey-based neurovirulence safety testing with more informative, alternative methods. This review summarizes the current status of mumps vaccine neurovirulence safety testing and insights into models currently approved and those under development. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Current Status of Bioinks for Micro-Extrusion-Based 3D Bioprinting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amit Panwar

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Recent developments in 3D printing technologies and design have been nothing short of spectacular. Parallel to this, development of bioinks has also emerged as an active research area with almost unlimited possibilities. Many bioinks have been developed for various cells types, but bioinks currently used for 3D printing still have challenges and limitations. Bioink development is significant due to two major objectives. The first objective is to provide growth- and function-supportive bioinks to the cells for their proper organization and eventual function and the second objective is to minimize the effect of printing on cell viability, without compromising the resolution shape and stability of the construct. Here, we will address the current status and challenges of bioinks for 3D printing of tissue constructs for in vitro and in vivo applications.

Samobójstwo estetyczne. Na marginesie Quo vadis Henryka Sienkiewicza (ESTHETICAL SUICIDE. ON THE MARGIN OF 'QUO VADIS?' BY H. SIENKIEWICZ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ireneusz Ziemiński

2006-12-01

Full Text Available The article presents the Petronius' suicide (as a character of 'Quo vadis?' in the context of ancient and Christian concept of death and dying. Petronius' death arranged as a piece of art (to realize the idea of beauty is an icon of the ancient Rome's passing culture. It is a theatre of death and that is why it can not be the pattern to follow or any resolving of human existential mortality problem. Better attitude to death is Eunice's suicide committed for love as absolute value. Petronius' conduct and way of living was dependent on philosophy of Stoics, Epicureans, and first of all Skeptics. In this context we can see weakness of ancient philosophy as 'meditatio mortis'. Esthetical suicide as a final act of life is only human and it does not point to any eternal value. On the contrary, the death of the Christian martyrs reduced to bloody performance on the arena, points to transcendent aspect of human life and dying. According to Petronius, the way of dying is the best value criterion of any religious or philosophical doctrine and you can die with dignity even if you do not believe in Christ or eternal life. He tried to demonstrate the best values of Rome but his theatric death was rather empty gesture than the evidence of death's majesty. Christians' martyr death for faith seems more authentic than Petronius' esthetical suicide.

The current status of orphan drug development in Europe and the US

OpenAIRE

Hall, Anthony K; Carlson, Marilyn R

2014-01-01

Orphan drug legislation has been introduced in a number of countries in order to stimulate the development of treatments for rare diseases by introducing commercial incentives for companies wishing to undertake that development. In order to navigate the maze of regulatory regulations and procedures so that companies can make proper use of the orphan drug incentives, specialist knowledge is required. This article will review the current status of orphan drug development in the EU and the US, e...

Nuclear power in the Asia-Pacific region. Current status and future perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Jia; Otsuki, Takashi; Irie, Kazutomo

2017-01-01

This paper presents the current status and future perspective of nuclear power in the APEC region. We design three scenarios, including Low-nuclear Scenario, Business-as-Usual Scenario (BAU) as well as High-nuclear Scenario, in order to quantitatively evaluate contribution of nuclear power to the low-carbon energy system. Preliminary results from the modeling are presented in the paper, and the drivers and challenges for nuclear power development in the APEC region are discussed. (author)

Surveys of current status in biomedical science grant review: funding organisations' and grant reviewers' perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schroter, Sara; Groves, Trish; Højgaard, Liselotte

2010-01-01

The objectives of this research were (a) to describe the current status of grant review for biomedical projects and programmes from the perspectives of international funding organisations and grant reviewers, and (b) to explore funders' interest in developing uniform requirements for grant review...

Current Status of the LOFAR EoR Key Science Project

Science.gov (United States)

Koopmans, L. V. E.; LOFAR EoR KSP Team

2018-05-01

A short status update on the LOFAR Epoch of Reionization (EoR) Key Science Project (KSP) is given, regarding data acquisition, data processing and analysis, and current power-spectrum limits on the redshifted 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen at redshifts z = 8 - 10. With caution, we present a preliminary astrophysical analysis of ~60 hr of processed LOFAR data and their resulting power spectrum, showing that potentially already interesting limits on X-ray heating during the Cosmic Dawn can already be gained. This is by no means the final analysis of this sub-set of data, but illustrates the future potential when all nearly 3000 hr of data in hand on two EoR windows will have been processed.

A commentary on the current status and the future role of the European accident code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butland, A.T.D.

1990-01-01

This paper describes the history of the project to produce the European Accident code (EAC), leading to the planned release of a version of EAC-2 at the end of 1989. The requirements of a computer code to model the initiation phase of Hypothetical Core Disruptive Accidents (HCDAs) are discussed, paying particular attention to the lessons learnt in the CABRI project. The current status and content of the EAC-2 code are examined in relation to these requirements, noting how the sophisticated modelling plans for EAC-2 make it a benchmark code. The validation status of EAC-2 and future plans are discussed, noting that currently it consists solely of stand-alone validation of the modules used in EAC-2, rather than validation of the combined code. The future role of EAC-2 is briefly discussed in relation to the fast reactor plans in the EEC countries. (author)

[Discussion about traditional Chinese medicine pharmacokinetics study based on first botanical drug approved by FDA].

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Fanghua

2010-04-01

Pharmacokinetics study is one of main components of pharmaceuticals development. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Veregen as the first botanical drug in 2006. This article introduced FDA's requirement on pharmacokinetics study of botanical drug and pharmacokinetics studies of Veregen, summarized current requirement and status quo of pharmacokinetics study on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and natural medicine in China, and discussed about pharmacokinetics study strategy for TCM and natural medicine.

Report on the French power system. Version 1.0. Country profile

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kleiner, Mara Marthe (ed.)

2015-02-15

France is currently reshaping its energy and climate policy, with a commitment to reduce the share of nuclear energy in the power mix, together with ambitious goals for the development of renewables and energy efficiency. This French energy transition paradigm (transition energetique) is serving as a common ground for stronger energy cooperation with Germany. This report describes the status quo of the French power system and provides important numbers.

Zrození kybernetické bezpečnosti jako národně bezpečnostní agendy

OpenAIRE

Schmidt, Nikola

2016-01-01

The following dissertation studies the question how cyber security has become a national security agenda and discusses implications of the observed processes to current international security status quo. I divided the research into three parts. The first part embodies theoretical and methodological approach. The second part studies three distinct discourses related to cyber security, the techno-geek discourse, the crime-espionage discourse and the nation-defense discourse using the method of ...

Current status of RTO development and its implications for Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacDougall, M.

2002-01-01

This presentation includes a corporate review of Powerex, a review of Order 2000, and the current status of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) efforts regarding Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs). Other topics of discussion include FERC's standard market design, an update of RTO West and implications for Canada. Powerex was incorporated in 1988 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of BC Hydro. British Columbia-based Powerex's heaviest trading is along the western-most states and Alberta, but it is slowly expanding into central and eastern markets. It evolved by selling and buying power at the United States Border. It received US FERC power marketing authorization in 1997 and has since seen sales jump from C$165 million to C$5.4 billion. Currently, the majority of power supply is from utilities other than BC Hydro. The presentation addresses issues such as the Federal Power Act, PUHCA and PURPA, and the 1992 Energy Policy Act which deals with expanded access to the power grid. Power Pool restructuring and FERC orders 888/889 are also discussed. 2 figs

Current status of RTO development and its implications for Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MacDougall, M. [Powerex Corp., Vancouver, BC (Canada)

2002-07-01

This presentation includes a corporate review of Powerex, a review of Order 2000, and the current status of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) efforts regarding Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs). Other topics of discussion include FERC's standard market design, an update of RTO West and implications for Canada. Powerex was incorporated in 1988 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of BC Hydro. British Columbia-based Powerex's heaviest trading is along the western-most states and Alberta, but it is slowly expanding into central and eastern markets. It evolved by selling and buying power at the United States Border. It received US FERC power marketing authorization in 1997 and has since seen sales jump from C$165 million to C$5.4 billion. Currently, the majority of power supply is from utilities other than BC Hydro. The presentation addresses issues such as the Federal Power Act, PUHCA and PURPA, and the 1992 Energy Policy Act which deals with expanded access to the power grid. Power Pool restructuring and FERC orders 888/889 are also discussed. 2 figs.

Current status of surrogacy in Japan and uterine transplantation research.

Science.gov (United States)

Kisu, Iori; Banno, Kouji; Mihara, Makoto; Iida, Takuya; Yoshimura, Yasunori

2011-10-01

Recent advances in assisted reproductive technology (ART) have made it possible to circumvent many causes of male and female infertility. The right to have a child by ART has been respected for infertile couples. However, there are currently no legal regulations concerning ART in Japan, and this has resulted in social and ethical problems. Surrogacy involves particularly complex medical, ethical, social, and legal issues, and is frequently focused on as a major social concern. Uterine transplantation (UTx) is a potential alternative for young women with uterine factor infertility due to hysterectomy for treatment of a malignant uterine tumor or massive blood loss after delivery, or because of a congenital disease such as Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster syndrome. UTx has been examined in experimental animals as a basis for establishment of fecundity for young women with uterine factor infertility. In this review, we focus on surrogacy in Japan and UTx research, and discuss the current status and concerns in this field. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbiological risk factors in dentistry. Current status of knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Szymańska, Jolanta

2005-01-01

Dentists belong to a professional group potentially exposed to harmful biological factors which most often are infectious microorganisms, less frequently - allergenic or toxic microorganisms. The fundamental routes of spreading harmful microorganisms in a dental surgery are: blood-borne, saliva-droplet, direct contact with a patient and with infected equipment, and water-droplet infections. In this paper, the current status of knowledge on microbiological hazards in a dentist's work is presented. Groups of microorganisms, such as prions, viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa, to which a dentist is, or may be exposed, are discussed. Epidemiological assessment of microbiological hazards in a dentist's work was performed and the basic principles of prevention formulated. Special attention was given to microflora in dental unit waterlines, and the biofilm persisting in them, as a source of occupational hazards specific for a dentist's workplace.

Current status of high energy nucleon-meson transport code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takada, Hiroshi; Sasa, Toshinobu [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1998-03-01

Current status of design code of accelerator (NMTC/JAERI code), outline of physical model and evaluation of accuracy of code were reported. To evaluate the nuclear performance of accelerator and strong spallation neutron origin, the nuclear reaction between high energy proton and target nuclide and behaviors of various produced particles are necessary. The nuclear design of spallation neutron system used a calculation code system connected the high energy nucleon{center_dot}meson transport code and the neutron{center_dot}photon transport code. NMTC/JAERI is described by the particle evaporation process under consideration of competition reaction of intranuclear cascade and fission process. Particle transport calculation was carried out for proton, neutron, {pi}- and {mu}-meson. To verify and improve accuracy of high energy nucleon-meson transport code, data of spallation and spallation neutron fragment by the integral experiment were collected. (S.Y.)

Current status of spent fuel management in the Republic of Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min, D.K.; You, G.S.; Ro, S.G.; Park, H.S.

1999-01-01

Due to the lack of indigenous energy sources in Korea, the government selected nuclear energy as one of the major sources of electricity generation. According to the Korean government programme of a nuclear power development, currently, 14 nuclear power plants (NPPs) are in operation and 4 NPPs are under construction. In addition, further 10 NPPs are planned to be in operation by the year 2015. The large amount of spent fuel discharged from the nuclear power plants is accumulated in at-reactor (AR) storage pools. Due to the limited capacity of these AR storage pools, the safe and economic management of spent fuel is to be resolved. The spent fuel management strategy in Korea, basically depends on the interim storage in wet and dry storage facilities, including expansion of storage capacity. This paper describes the current status and plans of the spent fuel management in Korea. (author)

A study on current status of KAERI's international cooperation programs and strategies for effective implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Park, Chun Kab; Noh, In Young; Kim, Young Min

1998-12-01

This is a report on the status and analysis of standard agreement for technical cooperation, expert mission service and technical staff attachment. This report comprises a total of six chapters. Chapter II discusses the status of the technical cooperation agreement which took effect late 1998, and various other model agreements for technical cooperation. Chapter III provides information on the status, regulations, procedures for the expert mission service, and Chapter IV details the current status of the technical staff attachment and the related procedures. Chapter V deals with the utilization status and analysis of the English Counselor, and Chapter VI is the Conclusion. This report has tow objectives. First, we have never published reference books related to standard agreement for technical cooperation, expert mission service and technical staff attachment necessary for international joint research until now. As a result, the research divisions have often asked many questions to the office of international cooperation. Therefore, we expect that many difficulties will be removed and procedures simplified if the research divisions use this report as a reference book. Second, we plan to use this report reference book for policy decisions after establishing the database. (author). 5 tabs., 9 figs

Review of Defence Plans in Europe: Current Status, Strengths and Opportunities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Boeck, Steven; Van Hertem, Dirk; Das, Kaushik

2016-01-01

interconnected, a contingency in one area can affect the whole power system and possibly lead to a wide area black out. Therefore adequate defence plans need to be designed and in place to handle these situations. This paper starts with an overview of the terminology used in defence plans. Subsequently...... the current status of defence plans in Europe and the preferred sequence of actions to mitigate contingencies, is given based on a survey conducted among several European TSOs. Furthermore his paper gives an overview of how the ongoing changes with renewables, phasor measurement units (PMUs), power flow...

Current status and recent developments of industrial radioisotope applications in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tominaga, Hiroshi

1985-01-01

The current status of application of radioisotopes to industry in Japan is briefly reviewed. Radioisotope gauges are widely used in industry, but most of the radioactive tracer applications are performed in laboratories. as for the recent developments, it is noted that the majority of them are related to high technologies in industry. Some typical examples are described. They include: high accuracy coke moisture guage--dual channel gauging on-line analyzers based on 252 Cf, simultaneous neutron and gamma radiography; tracer techniques in civil engineering field, electronics industry, automobile industry and iron and steel industry.(M.G.B.)

Current Status of TRR-1/M1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sittichai, Chaiyut

2000-01-01

In 1961, the first Thai Research Reactor, TRR-1, having power of 1 MW was established. It was located at Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP) in Bangkok. TRR-1 was completely commissioned in June 1962. Plate typed high-enriched uranium (HEU) and U 3 O 8 -Al were used as fuel. Light water used as moderator and coolant. During 1975-1977, TRR-1 was shut down for modification. The reactor core and control system were disassembled and replaced by TRIGA Mark III. It is a circular hexagonal core typed reactor designed by General Atomics Company (GA). Afterwards, TRR-1 was officially renamed to Thai Research Reactor 1/Modification 1 (TRR-1/M1). TRR-1/M1 is a multipurpose reactor with nominal power of 2 MW. This swimming pool typed reactor uses low-enriched uranium (LEU) as fuel and light water as coolant and moderator. To date, the reactor has been operated with core No.12 that released power 1135 MWD to serve the user. The reactor has been serving for various kinds of utilization, for example, to produce radioisotope, neutron beam experiments and reactor physics experiments. This report explains in detail regarding operational experience and current status of this reactor, for example, reactor operation and reactor utilization. (author)

Current status of theranostics in prostate cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Virgolini, Irene; Decristoforo, Clemens; Uprimny, Christian [Medical University of Innsbruck, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck (Austria); Haug, Alexander [Medical University of Vienna, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Vienna (Austria); Fanti, Stefano [University of Bologna, S. Orsola Hospital Bologna, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Bologna (Italy)

2018-03-15

The aim of this review is to report on the current status of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-directed theranostics in prostate cancer (PC) patients. The value of {sup 68}Ga-PSMA-directed PET imaging as a diagnostic procedure for primary and recurrent PC as well as the role of evolving PSMA radioligand therapy (PRLT) in castration-resistant (CR)PC is assessed. The most eminent data from mostly retrospective studies currently available on theranostics of prostate cancer are discussed. The current knowledge on {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT implicates that primary staging with PET/CT is meaningful in patients with high-risk PC and that the combination with pelvic multi parametric (mp)MR (or PET/mpMR) reaches the highest impact on patient management. There may be a place for {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT in intermediate-risk PC patients as well, however, only a few data are available at the moment. In secondary staging for local recurrence, {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/mpMR is superior to PET/CT, whereas for distant recurrence, PET/CT has equivalent results and is faster and cheaper compared to PET/mpMR. {sup 68}Ga-PSMA PET/CT is superior to {sup 18}F / {sup 11}Choline PET/CT in primary staging as well as in secondary staging. In patients with biochemical relapse, PET/CT positivity is directly associated with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) increase and amounts to roughly 50% when PSA is raised to ≤0.5 ng/ml and to ≥90% above 1 ng/ml. Significant clinical results have so far been achieved with the subsequent use of radiolabeled PSMA ligands in the treatment of CRPC. Accumulated activities of 30 to 50 GBq of {sup 177}Lu-PSMA ligands seem to be clinically safe with biochemical response and PERCIST/RECIST response in around 75% of patients along with xerostomia in 5-10% of patients as the only notable side effect. On the basis of the current literature, we conclude that PSMA-directed theranostics do have a major clinical impact in diagnosis and therapy of PC patients. We recommend

Bulgarian energy legislation. Status quo and problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denchev, P.

1996-01-01

The author gives a general survey of the present situation and the development tendencies in the Bulgarian nuclear legislation. The latest amendments of the Atomic Energy Act passed by the Bulgarian Parliament are discussed. Special attention is paid to the ratification of the following four groups of international documents: 1) The Convention on Nuclear Safety; 2) The Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and the Joint Protocol on the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy; 3) The Convention for the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency; 4) The European Energy Charter and its Protocol on Energy Efficiency. The need of adoption of new legislative documents regulating the supply of radioactive materials according to the EURATOM Treaty is stressed

Reducing status quo bias in choice experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bonnichsen, Ole; Ladenburg, Jacob

2015-01-01

To secure the validity and applicability of stated preference measures in economic analysis, hypothetical preferences must mimic real life preferences. For instance, people have a propensity to prefer what they already have when presented with alternatives that, all things being equal, seem to be...... preferences in our data based on Swedish ostomates’ preferences for ostomy pouch quality changes....

Current Status of Nephron-Sparing Surgery (NSS) in the Management of Renal Tumours.

Science.gov (United States)

Venkatramani, Vivek; Swain, Sanjaya; Satyanarayana, Ramgopal; Parekh, Dipen J

2017-06-01

Nephron-sparing surgery has emerged as the surgical treatment of choice for small renal masses over the past two decades, replacing the traditional teaching of radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. With time, there has been an evolution in the techniques and indications for partial nephrectomy. This review summarizes the current status of nephron-sparing surgery for renal carcinoma and also deals with the future of this procedure.

Questioning the Status Quo: Can Stakeholder Participation Improve Implementation of Small-Scale Mining Laws in Ghana?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Osei-Kojo

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Ghana’s small-scale mining sector faces complex challenges, including environmental degradation and pollution, loss of life and increased health risks, despite several years of implementation of small-scale mining laws. These challenges, generally, are known to have escalated because of illegal small-scale mining, locally known as “galamsey”. Despite the illegal status of this category of miners, this paper examines the extent to which stakeholder participation can improve implementation of mining regulations and also address the marginalization of these miners. This paper about stakeholder participation is timely because news reports in mid-2016 mentioned that the Government of Ghana, despite many years of disengagement, is now planning to engage with galamsey operators, in terms of registration, as part of measures to effectively regulate the activities of small-scale miners. Findings from fieldwork indicate that (1 chiefs are seldom consulted in the granting of mining licenses; (2 illegal miners do not participate in the implementation of small-scale mining laws; and (3 stakeholders, such as officers in district mining offices, feel distant from the implementation process. Against the backdrop of these findings, it remains useful to explore the extent to which effective stakeholder participation could help overcome the status quo—particularly its ramifications for both the implementation of ASM laws and the eradication of other underlying challenges the sector faces.

Current status and directions for fast reactor reprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burch, W.D.

1983-01-01

The development of fast breeder reactors (FBRs) for commercial electric power production has been under way in several countries for more than 20 years. In the United States (US), as elsewhere, early work was focused on small reactors to prove the feasibility of concepts and later was followed by larger reactors to test engineering features and to develop fuel technology. Because of the perceived crisis in electrical generation expected late in this century, major efforts (including fuel cycle activities) were developed in the early 1970s to ensure the capability of developing and using this new form of nuclear power. However, because of the effects of the oil price rise and subsequent emphasis on conservation, and a slowdown of industrial growth, there has been a decline in such activities, particularly in the US, which was at one time (1970s) the world leader in reactor development. This paper provides a brief history of breeder reprocessing and describes the current status, with emphasis on US programs and glimpses into the future

Gastric Cancer: Current Status of Diagnosis and Treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Tsunehiro; Saikawa, Yoshiro; Kitagawa, Yuko

2013-01-01

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of death from malignant disease worldwide and most frequently discovered in advanced stages. Because curative surgery is regarded as the only option for cure, early detection of resectable gastric cancer is extremely important for good patient outcomes. Therefore, noninvasive diagnostic modalities such as evolutionary endoscopy and positron emission tomography are utilized as screening tools for gastric cancer. To date, early gastric cancer is being treated using minimally invasive methods such as endoscopic treatment and laparoscopic surgery, while in advanced cancer it is necessary to consider multimodality treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Because of the results of large clinical trials, surgery with extended lymphadenectomy could not be recommended as a standard therapy for advanced gastric cancer. Recent clinical trials had shown survival benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy after curative resection compared with surgery alone. In addition, recent advances of molecular targeted agents would play an important role as one of the modalities for advanced gastric cancer. In this review, we summarize the current status of diagnostic technology and treatment for gastric cancer

Veterinary pharmacology: history, current status and future prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Lees, P; Fink-Gremmels, J; Toutain, P L

2013-04-01

Veterinary therapeutics, based on the art of Materia Medica, has been practised for countless centuries, but the science of veterinary pharmacology is of very recent origin. This review traces the contribution of Materia Medica to veterinary therapeutics from the Egyptian period through to the Age of Enlightenment. The first tentative steps in the development of the science of veterinary pharmacology were taken in the 18th century, but it was not until the mid 20th century that the science replaced the art of Materia Medica. This review traces the 20th century developments in veterinary pharmacology, with emphasis on the explosion of knowledge in the 35 year period to 2010. The range of factors which have influenced the current status of the discipline are reviewed. Future developments are considered from the perspectives of what might be regarded as desirable and those innovations that might be anticipated. We end with words of encouragement for young colleagues intent upon pursuing a career in veterinary pharmacology. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Collagen Cross-Linking: Current Status and Future Directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marine Hovakimyan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Collagen cross-linking (CXL using UVA light and riboflavin (vitamin B2 was introduced as a clinical application to stabilize the cornea by inducing cross-links within and between collagen fibers. CXL has been investigated extensively and has been shown clinically to arrest the progression of keratoconic or post-LASIK ectasia. With its minimal cost, simplicity, and proven positive clinical outcome, CXL can be regarded as a useful approach to reduce the number of penetrating keratoplasties performed. Small case series have also indicated that CXL is beneficial in corneal edema by reducing stromal swelling behavior and in keratitis by inhibiting pathogen growth. Despite these encouraging results, CXL remains a relatively new method that is potentially associated with complications. Aspects such as side effects and recurrence rates have still to be elucidated. In light of the growing interest in CXL, our paper summarizes present knowledge about this promising approach. We have intentionally endeavored to include the more relevant studies from the recent literature to provide an overview of the current status of CXL.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia: current status and future recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Efrati, Shai; Deutsch, Israel; Antonelli, Massimo; Hockey, Peter M; Rozenblum, Ronen; Gurman, Gabriel M

2010-04-01

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common hazardous complication in ICU patients. The aim of the current review is to give an update on the current status and future recommendations for VAP prevention. This article gives an updated review of the current literature on VAP. The first part briefly reviews pathogenesis and epidemiology while the second includes an in-depth review of evidence-based practice guidelines (EBPG) and new technologies developed for prevention of VAP. VAP remains a frequent and costly complication of critical illness with a pooled relative risk of 9-27% and mortality of 25-50%. Strikingly, VAP adds an estimated cost of more than $40,000 to a typical hospital admission. An important aetiological mechanism of VAP is gross or micro-aspiration of oropharyngeal organisms around the cuff of the endotracheal tube (ETT) into the distal bronchi. Prevention of VAP is preferable. Preventative measures can be divided into two main groups: the implemen- tation of EBPGs and use of device-based technologies. EBPGs have been authored jointly by the American Thoracic Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. The Canadian Critical Care Trials group also published VAP Guidelines in 2008. Their recommendations are detailed in this review. The current device-based technologies include drainage of subglottic secretions, silver coated ETTs aiming to influence the internal bio-layer of the ETT, better sealing of the lower airways with ultrathin cuffs and loops for optimal cuff pressure control. EBPG consensus includes: elevation of the head of the bed, use of daily "sedation vacations" and decontamination of the oropharynx. Technological solutions should aim to use the most comprehensive combination of subglottic suction of secretions, optimization of ETT cuff pressure and ultrathin cuffs. VAP is a type of hospital-acquired pneumonia that develops more than 48 h after endotracheal intubation. Its incidence is estimated to be 9-27%, with a

Current data warehousing and OLAP technologies’ status applied to spatial databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Orlando Abril Fradel

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Organisations require their information on a timely, dynamic, friendly, centralised and easy-to-access basis for analysing it and taking correct decisions at the right time. Centralisation can be achieved with data warehouse technology. On-line analytical processing (OLAP is used for analysis. Technologies using graphics and maps in data presentation can be exploited for an overall view of a company and helping to take better decisions. Geo- graphic information systems (GIS are useful for spatially locating information and representing it using maps. Data warehouses are generally implemented with a multidimensional data model to make OLAP analysis easier. A fundamental point in this model is the definition of measurements and dimensions; geography lies within such dimensions. Many researchers have concluded that the geographic dimension is another attribute for describing data in current analysis systems but without having an in-depth study of its spatial feature and without locating them on a map, like GIS does. Seen this way, interoperability is necessary between GIS and OLAP (called spatial OLAP or SOLAP and several entities are currently researching this. This document summarises the current status of such research.

Current status of regional hydrogeological studies and numerical simulations on geological disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakao, Shinsuke; Kikuchi, Tsuneo; Ishido, Tsuneo

2004-01-01

Current status of regional hydrogeological studies on geological disposal including hydrogeological modeling using numerical simulators is reviewed in this report. A regional scale and boundary conditions of numerical models are summarized mainly from the results of the RHS (regional hydrogeological study) project conducted by Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) in the Tono area. We also refer to the current conceptual modes of hydrology and numerical models of unsaturated zone flow at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, which is the arid site proposed for consideration as the United States' first underground high-level radioactive waste repository. Understanding behavior of a freshwater-saltwater transition zone seems to play a key role in the hydrogeological modeling in a coastal region. Technical features of a numerical simulator as a tool for geothermal reservoir modeling is also briefly described. (author)

Deep-well injection of liquid radwaste in Russia - current status and operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bradley, D.J.; Foley, M.G.; Rybal'chenko, A.I.

1995-01-01

This paper is submitted as part of a coordinated effort to present the topic of deep-well injection. The companion paper, open-quotes Deep-Well Injection of Liquid Radwaste in Russia - Background and Technical Basis,close quotes focuses on the original decision to inject liquid radwaste, the research behind that decision, and the design and construction of the injection facilities. The emphasis in this paper is on the current status and operation of the well facilities and the control systems used to minimize environmental impact

Advanced Gas Tungsten Arc Weld Surfacing Current Status and Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan Egerland

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Gas Shielded Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW – a process well-known providing highest quality weld results joined though by lower performance. Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW is frequently chosen to increase productivity along with broadly accepted quality. Those industry segments, especially required to produce high quality corrosion resistant weld surfacing e.g. applying nickel base filler materials, are regularly in consistent demand to comply with "zero defect" criteria. In this conjunction weld performance limitations are overcome employing advanced 'hot-wire' GTAW systems. This paper, from a Welding Automation perspective, describes the technology of such devices and deals with the current status is this field – namely the application of dual-cathode hot-wire electrode GTAW cladding; considerably broadening achievable limits.

Current status of the reactor physics code WIMS and recent developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindley, B.A.; Hosking, J.G.; Smith, P.J.; Powney, D.J.; Tollit, B.S.; Newton, T.D.; Perry, R.; Ware, T.C.; Smith, P.N.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The current status of the WIMS reactor physics code is presented. • Applications range from 2D lattice calculations up to 3D whole core geometries. • Gamma transport and thermal-hydraulic feedback models added. • Calculations methodologies described for several Gen II, III and IV reactor types. - Abstract: The WIMS modular reactor physics code has been under continuous development for over fifty years. This paper discusses the current status of WIMS and recent developments, in particular developments to the resonance shielding methodology and 3D transport solvers. Traditionally, WIMS is used to perform 2D lattice calculations, typically to generate homogenized reactor physics parameters for a whole core code such as PANTHER. However, with increasing computational resources there has been a growing trend for performing transport calculations on larger problems, up to and including 3D full core models. To this end, a number of the WIMS modules have been parallelised to allow efficient performance for whole core calculations, and WIMS includes a 3D method of characteristics solver with reflective and once-through tracking methods, which can be used to analyse problems of varying size and complexity. A time-dependent flux solver has been incorporated and thermal-hydraulic modelling capability is also being added to allow steady-state and transient coupled calculations to be performed. WIMS has been validated against a range of experimental data and other codes, in particular for water and graphite moderated thermal reactors. Future developments will include improved parallelization, enhancing the thermal-hydraulic feedback models and validating the WIMS/PANTHER code system for BWRs and fast reactors.

Taming a wicked problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maron, Martine; Ives, Christopher D.; Kujala, Heini

2016-01-01

The rising popularity of biodiversity offsetting as a tool for balancing biodiversity losses from development with equivalent gains elsewhere has sparked debate on many fronts. The fundamental questions are the following: Is offsetting good, bad, or at least better than the status quo for biodive......The rising popularity of biodiversity offsetting as a tool for balancing biodiversity losses from development with equivalent gains elsewhere has sparked debate on many fronts. The fundamental questions are the following: Is offsetting good, bad, or at least better than the status quo...

[Group psychotherapy. Experience with a changing process at a clinic of the Instituto del Servicio de Seguridad Social de los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE)].

Science.gov (United States)

Velasco de Ongay, M E

1977-01-01

The problems of an ISSSTE clinic were approached within the general systems theory and it was observed that within the group there existed forces to maintain the status-quo and forces towards change; to produce the latter the group was handled during 20 hours with a slightly directive technique. The goals were to improve interpersonal relationships, to increase communication, to make known to individuals their attitudes within a group and make them sensitive to problems they shared with others. The results were good, the status-quo was broken and change started occurring.

Evaluation and Management of Hepatic Encephalopathy: Current Status and Future Directions

Science.gov (United States)

Suraweera, Duminda; Sundaram, Vinay; Saab, Sammy

2016-01-01

Hepatic encephalopathy is a spectrum of neurocognitive manifestations often seen in patients with liver injury or rarely in patients with portosystemic shunting without liver injury. It can be divided into minimal (covert) hepatic encephalopathy and overt hepatic encephalopathy, depending on the severity. Patients with hepatic encephalopathy have compromised clinical outcomes, decreased quality of life, and increased healthcare utilization, often resulting in a heavy financial and personal burden on caregivers. The diagnosis remains largely clinical, with the exclusion of possible other causes for the altered mental status. Current treatment strategies include nonabsorbable disaccharides and antibiotics. This review will focus on the diagnosis, management and clinical impact of hepatic encephalopathy. PMID:27377741

Emerging memories: resistive switching mechanisms and current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Doo Seok; Thomas, Reji; Katiyar, R S; Scott, J F; Kohlstedt, H; Petraru, A; Hwang, Cheol Seong

2012-01-01

The resistance switching behaviour of several materials has recently attracted considerable attention for its application in non-volatile memory (NVM) devices, popularly described as resistive random access memories (RRAMs). RRAM is a type of NVM that uses a material(s) that changes the resistance when a voltage is applied. Resistive switching phenomena have been observed in many oxides: (i) binary transition metal oxides (TMOs), e.g. TiO 2 , Cr 2 O 3 , FeO x and NiO; (ii) perovskite-type complex TMOs that are variously functional, paraelectric, ferroelectric, multiferroic and magnetic, e.g. (Ba,Sr)TiO 3 , Pb(Zr x Ti 1−x )O 3 , BiFeO 3 and Pr x Ca 1−x MnO 3 ; (iii) large band gap high-k dielectrics, e.g. Al 2 O 3 and Gd 2 O 3 ; (iv) graphene oxides. In the non-oxide category, higher chalcogenides are front runners, e.g. In 2 Se 3 and In 2 Te 3 . Hence, the number of materials showing this technologically interesting behaviour for information storage is enormous. Resistive switching in these materials can form the basis for the next generation of NVM, i.e. RRAM, when current semiconductor memory technology reaches its limit in terms of density. RRAMs may be the high-density and low-cost NVMs of the future. A review on this topic is of importance to focus concentration on the most promising materials to accelerate application into the semiconductor industry. This review is a small effort to realize the ambitious goal of RRAMs. Its basic focus is on resistive switching in various materials with particular emphasis on binary TMOs. It also addresses the current understanding of resistive switching behaviour. Moreover, a brief comparison between RRAMs and memristors is included. The review ends with the current status of RRAMs in terms of stability, scalability and switching speed, which are three important aspects of integration onto semiconductors. (review article)

Emerging memories: resistive switching mechanisms and current status

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Doo Seok; Thomas, Reji; Katiyar, R. S.; Scott, J. F.; Kohlstedt, H.; Petraru, A.; Hwang, Cheol Seong

2012-07-01

The resistance switching behaviour of several materials has recently attracted considerable attention for its application in non-volatile memory (NVM) devices, popularly described as resistive random access memories (RRAMs). RRAM is a type of NVM that uses a material(s) that changes the resistance when a voltage is applied. Resistive switching phenomena have been observed in many oxides: (i) binary transition metal oxides (TMOs), e.g. TiO2, Cr2O3, FeOx and NiO; (ii) perovskite-type complex TMOs that are variously functional, paraelectric, ferroelectric, multiferroic and magnetic, e.g. (Ba,Sr)TiO3, Pb(Zrx Ti1-x)O3, BiFeO3 and PrxCa1-xMnO3 (iii) large band gap high-k dielectrics, e.g. Al2O3 and Gd2O3; (iv) graphene oxides. In the non-oxide category, higher chalcogenides are front runners, e.g. In2Se3 and In2Te3. Hence, the number of materials showing this technologically interesting behaviour for information storage is enormous. Resistive switching in these materials can form the basis for the next generation of NVM, i.e. RRAM, when current semiconductor memory technology reaches its limit in terms of density. RRAMs may be the high-density and low-cost NVMs of the future. A review on this topic is of importance to focus concentration on the most promising materials to accelerate application into the semiconductor industry. This review is a small effort to realize the ambitious goal of RRAMs. Its basic focus is on resistive switching in various materials with particular emphasis on binary TMOs. It also addresses the current understanding of resistive switching behaviour. Moreover, a brief comparison between RRAMs and memristors is included. The review ends with the current status of RRAMs in terms of stability, scalability and switching speed, which are three important aspects of integration onto semiconductors.

Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: Background and Current Status of the E/BD Terminology and Definition.

Science.gov (United States)

Forness, Steven R.; Kavale, Kenneth A.

2000-01-01

This article reviews the development and current status of alternatives to the federal definition of emotional disturbance or behavior disorders. It notes that several states are now revising their own terminologies or definitions in response to the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that dropped the term…

The current status of orphan drug development in Europe and the US.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Anthony K; Carlson, Marilyn R

2014-02-01

Orphan drug legislation has been introduced in a number of countries in order to stimulate the development of treatments for rare diseases by introducing commercial incentives for companies wishing to undertake that development. In order to navigate the maze of regulatory regulations and procedures so that companies can make proper use of the orphan drug incentives, specialist knowledge is required. This article will review the current status of orphan drug development in the EU and the US, explain the incentives and procedures, and touch on the role of patient organisations in the process.

A review on current status of municipal solid waste management in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Neha; Yadav, Krishna Kumar; Kumar, Vinit

2015-11-01

Municipal solid waste management is a major environmental issue in India. Due to rapid increase in urbanization, industrialization and population, the generation rate of municipal solid waste in Indian cities and towns is also increased. Mismanagement of municipal solid waste can cause adverse environmental impacts, public health risk and other socio-economic problem. This paper presents an overview of current status of solid waste management in India which can help the competent authorities responsible for municipal solid waste management and researchers to prepare more efficient plans. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Current Status of Postdoctoral and Graduate Programs in Dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Assael, Leon

2017-08-01

Advanced dental education has evolved in the context of societal needs and economic trends to its current status. Graduate programs have positioned their role in the context of health systems and health science education trends in hospitals, interprofessional clinical care teams, and dental schools and oral health care systems. Graduate dental education has been a critical factor in developing teams in trauma care, craniofacial disorders, pediatric and adult medicine, and oncology. The misalignment of the mission of graduate dental programs and the demands of private practice has posed a challenge in the evolution of programs as educational programs have been directed towards tertiary and indigent care while the practice community focuses on largely healthy affluent patients for complex clinical interventions. Those seeking graduate dental education today are smaller in number and include more international dental graduates than in the past. Graduate dental education in general dentistry and in the nine recognized dental specialties now includes Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) recognition of training standards as part of its accreditation process and a CODA accreditation process for areas of clinical education not recognized as specialties by the American Dental Association. Current types of programs include fellowship training for students in recognized specialties. This article was written as part of the project "Advancing Dental Education in the 21 st Century."

Current status of ITER I&C system as integration begins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, William, E-mail: william.davis@iter.org [ITER Organisation, Route de Vinon-sur Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Wallander, Anders [ITER Organisation, Route de Vinon-sur Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Yonekawa, Izuru [Nippon Advanced Technology Ltd., 3129-45 Hibara Muramatsu, Tokai, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-1112 (Japan)

2016-11-15

Highlights: • The ITER I&C system is organisationally complicated and technically challenging. • Standard technologies for the ITER I&C systems have been selected. • Supply of non-standard technologies will cause serious issues. • Differing levels of design maturity of plant I&C systems is a serious challenge. • Systems are in the final stages of design and are being delivered to site. - Abstract: The ITER I&C system is organisationally complicated and technically challenging, and integrating its many sub-systems into a single coherent system is critical for the ITER project to meet its objectives. This paper explains the integration risks being faced now and anticipated in the near future. Standardisation initiatives by the ITER central team to mitigate these risks are described. The paper also presents the architecture of the ITER I&C system, the current status of design and manufacture key developments made in recent years, and the current and future activities of the central I&C teams. Finally, a short description is given of the plant I&C systems that will be delivered to ITER in the near future.

Current Status and Research into Overcoming Limitations of Capsule Endoscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Won Gun Kwack

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Endoscopic investigation has a critical role in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal (GI diseases. Since 2001, capsule endoscopy (CE has been available for small-bowel exploration and is under continuous development. During the past decade, CE has achieved impressive improvements in areas such as miniaturization, resolution, and battery life. As a result, CE is currently a first-line tool for the investigation of the small bowel in obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and is a useful alternative to wired enteroscopy. Nevertheless, CE still has several limitations, such as incomplete examination and limited diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities. To resolve these problems, many groups have suggested several models (e.g., controlled CO2 insufflation system, magnetic navigation system, mobile robotic platform, tagging and biopsy equipment, and targeted drug-delivery system, which are in development. In the near future, new technological advances will improve the capabilities of CE and broaden its spectrum of applications not only for the small bowel but also for the colon, stomach, and esophagus. The purpose of this review is to introduce the current status of CE and to review the ongoing development of solutions to address its limitations.

Current R and D status on material motion and interactions relevant to core disruptive accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kondo, Satoru [Safety Engineering Division, O-arai Engineering Center, Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation, O-arai, Ibaraki (Japan)

1994-07-01

In this paper, the current status of research and development activities are briefly reviewed on evaluation of material-coolant interactions and material movement and relocation relevant to the safety of liquid-metal fast reactors. Since the status of European activities are well summarized in other papers submitted to the present meeting, the activities in Japan and the United States are highlighted in this paper. The review includes: out-of-pile experiments, in-pile experiments and relevant computer code development. It is emphasized that improved understanding on material motion has contributed to establishing more realistic and rational safety evaluation methods, where various mitigation mechanisms are inherently effective. (author)

Impact of Mental Poverty on Rural Economic Development

OpenAIRE

Zhao, Lan-xiang

2011-01-01

This paper introduces the definition of mental poverty and the status quo of mental poverty in China's rural areas. Mental poverty in China's rural areas embodies the following aspects: the sense of parochialism is serious; the small farmer consciousness is strong; there is misgiving about identity. This paper analyses the reason of Mental poverty influencing farmers' behavior model and rural economic development. Mental poverty influences the farmers' changing current situation; Mental pover...

'One Health’ - the Rosetta stone for 21st century health and health providers

OpenAIRE

Bruce Kaplan, DVM; Mary Echols, DVM, MPH

2009-01-01

The transformation and implementation of the One Health concept into a broad-spectrum institutional approach for health, health care and environmental health for humans and animals in society will require a paradigm shift. This represents a worldwide strategic scientific revolution vis-à-vis the status quo of traditional science-based activities of past and current medical and health endeavours that are frequently limited to provincial ‘turf’-domains. It means expanding interdisciplinary coll...

The California Central Coast Research Partnership: Building Relationships, Partnerships and Paradigms for University-Industry Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-25

chlorine tablets ). The Cal Poly Waterbag is focused on filling the gap in small-scale, point-of-use, water treatment technologies that can be...status quo. In this project, we created a virtualization platform based on MRI images to simulate a patient’s oral cavity for the development of an...anatomy, i.e. receding chin, that can lead to airway management difficulty, with corresponding MRI and X-ray images There are currently no

Renewable energy and decentralized power generation in Russia: an opportunity for German-Russian energy cooperation

OpenAIRE

Chukanov, Denis; Opitz, Petra; Pastukhova, Maria; Piani, Gianguido; Westphal, Kirsten

2017-01-01

Renewable and decentralized power generation are a centerpiece of Germany's domestic energy transition (Energiewende) and a major element of its international efforts to promote this goal. Recently, the renewables sector has also been advancing in Russia, albeit from a lower level. Thus, it is time to explore the status quo and analyze the potential for sustainable energy cooperation. In the context of the current deterioration in EURussian (energy) relations, crafting a sustainable energy pa...

The Current Status of Baculovirus and Their Implication for Insect Pest Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arman Wijonarko

2001-07-01

Full Text Available Baculovirus have been promoted as the promising bioinsecticides for their pest control potential for more than half a century. But only a few have been successful as biological control agent, and almost none has been proven as commercial success, or widely used for large-scale insect pest control. The bioinsecticides currently represent only a small fraction of the world pesticide market. The successful of the Bt crop marked a special achievement in the bioinsecticide market growth. How about the baculoviruses? The main hurdle for baculovirus to be developed as bioinsecticide is its poor performance compare to synthetic chemical ones, include the speed of kill, and host range. It is important to understand the nature of baculovirus, and explore the possibilities to develop new way in applying the baculovirus as bioinsecticides. Key words: current status, baculovirus, insect control

Altered Mental Status: Current Evidence-based Recommendations for Prehospital Care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashley Sanello

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: In the United States emergency medical services (EMS protocols vary widely across jurisdictions. We sought to develop evidence-based recommendations for the prehospital evaluation and treatment of a patient with an acute change in mental status and to compare these recommendations against the current protocols used by the 33 EMS agencies in the State of California. Methods: We performed a literature review of the current evidence in the prehospital treatment of a patient with altered mental status (AMS and augmented this review with guidelines from various national and international societies to create our evidence-based recommendations. We then compared the AMS protocols of each of the 33 EMS agencies for consistency with these recommendations. The specific protocol components that we analyzed were patient assessment, point-of-care tests, supplemental oxygen, use of standardized scoring, evaluating for causes of AMS, blood glucose evaluation, toxicological treatment, and pediatric evaluation and management. Results: Protocols across 33 EMS agencies in California varied widely. All protocols call for a blood glucose check, 21 (64% suggest treating adults at <60mg/dL, and half allow for the use of dextrose 10%. All the protocols recommend naloxone for signs of opioid overdose, but only 13 (39% give specific parameters. Half the agencies (52% recommend considering other toxicological causes of AMS, often by using the mnemonic AEIOU TIPS. Eight (24% recommend a 12-lead electrocardiogram; others simply suggest cardiac monitoring. Fourteen (42% advise supplemental oxygen as needed; only seven (21% give specific parameters. In terms of considering various etiologies of AMS, 25 (76% give instructions to consider trauma, 20 (61% to consider stroke, and 18 (55% to consider seizure. Twenty-three (70% of the agencies have separate pediatric AMS protocols; others include pediatric considerations within the adult protocol. Conclusion: Protocols

The current implementation status of the integration of sports and physical activity into Dutch rehabilitation care.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoekstra, Femke; Hettinga, Florentina J; Alingh, Rolinde A; Duijf, Marjo; Dekker, Rienk; van der Woude, Lucas H V; van der Schans, Cees P

2017-01-01

To describe the current status of the nationwide implementation process of a sports and physical activity stimulation programme to gain insight into how sports and physical activity were integrated into Dutch rehabilitation care. The current implementation status of a sports and physical activity stimulation programme in 12 rehabilitation centres and 5 hospitals with a rehabilitation department was described by scoring fidelity and satisfaction. Seventy-one rehabilitation professionals filled out a questionnaire on how sports and physical activity, including stimulation activities, were implemented into rehabilitation care. Total fidelity scores (in %) were calculated for each organization. Professionals' satisfaction was rated on a scale from 1 to 10. In most organizations sports and physical activity were to some extent integrated during and after rehabilitation (fidelity scores: median = 54%, IQR = 23%). Physical activity stimulation was not always embedded as standard component of a rehabilitation treatment. Professionals' satisfaction rated a median value of 8.0 (IQR = 0.0) indicating high satisfaction rates. The fidelity outcome showed that activities to stimulate sports and physical activity during and after rehabilitation were integrated into rehabilitation care, but not always delivered as standardized component. These findings have emphasized the importance to focus on integrating these activities into routines of organizations. Implications for Rehabilitation Components of an evidence-based programme to stimulate sports and physical activity during and after rehabilitation can be used to measure the current status of the integration of sports and physical activity in rehabilitation care in a structural and effective way. The method described in the current study can be used to compare the content of the rehabilitation care regarding the integration of sports and physical activity among organizations both on a national and international level

Current status of construction license of PEFP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, J. Y.; Cho, J. S.; Min, Y. S.; Nam, J. M.; Jeon, G. P.; Park, S. S.; Jo, J. H.; Song, I. T.

2012-01-01

Since 2010 August, PEFP(Proton Engineering Frontier Project)'s Proton Accelerator Research Center has been under construction so far. Generally, in advance of construction startup, many kinds of licenses should be acquired along with the types of construction works. To acquire a license in time, each item should meet the standard by the related regulation, including not only procedural but also content aspect. In the advent of internet era, electronic government system has been adopted in many governmental functions: So is the national construction license acquisition system. Owing to the system, both approval and documentation functions in licensing are integrated in online computer network which provide us simplification in process and easy accessibility to license data. However, aside from these construction licenses, other types of licenses still remain separately managed: Machinery, electric facilities, and so on. Moreover, all the licenses have the priority order and take legal term in processing. So, to avoid any time delay in license acquisition, we organized license hierarchy and found out the priority among them. Thereafter, according to their legal term in approval and acquisition, whole license acquisition schedule was arranged and we completed all the necessary licenses acquisition in time In this study, we summarize the current status of license acquisition on Proton Accelerator Research Center Construction, and manifest how they have been and will be managed systematically

Current status of construction license of PEFP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, J. Y.; Cho, J. S.; Min, Y. S.; Nam, J. M.; Jeon, G. P.; Park, S. S.; Jo, J. H.; Song, I. T. [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-10-15

Since 2010 August, PEFP(Proton Engineering Frontier Project)'s Proton Accelerator Research Center has been under construction so far. Generally, in advance of construction startup, many kinds of licenses should be acquired along with the types of construction works. To acquire a license in time, each item should meet the standard by the related regulation, including not only procedural but also content aspect. In the advent of internet era, electronic government system has been adopted in many governmental functions: So is the national construction license acquisition system. Owing to the system, both approval and documentation functions in licensing are integrated in online computer network which provide us simplification in process and easy accessibility to license data. However, aside from these construction licenses, other types of licenses still remain separately managed: Machinery, electric facilities, and so on. Moreover, all the licenses have the priority order and take legal term in processing. So, to avoid any time delay in license acquisition, we organized license hierarchy and found out the priority among them. Thereafter, according to their legal term in approval and acquisition, whole license acquisition schedule was arranged and we completed all the necessary licenses acquisition in time In this study, we summarize the current status of license acquisition on Proton Accelerator Research Center Construction, and manifest how they have been and will be managed systematically.

Current status and prospects of HIV treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cihlar, Tomas; Fordyce, Marshall

2016-06-01

Current antiviral treatments can reduce HIV-associated morbidity, prolong survival, and prevent HIV transmission. Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) containing preferably three active drugs from two or more classes is required for durable virologic suppression. Regimen selection is based on virologic efficacy, potential for adverse effects, pill burden and dosing frequency, drug-drug interaction potential, resistance test results, comorbid conditions, social status, and cost. With prolonged virologic suppression, improved clinical outcomes, and longer survival, patients will be exposed to antiretroviral agents for decades. Therefore, maximizing the safety and tolerability of cART is a high priority. Emergence of resistance and/or lack of tolerability in individual patients require availability of a range of treatment options. Development of new drugs is focused on improving safety (e.g. tenofovir alafenamide) and/or resistance profile (e.g. doravirine) within the existing drug classes, combination therapies with improved adherence (e.g. single-tablet regimens), novel mechanisms of action (e.g. attachment inhibitors, maturation inhibitors, broadly neutralizing antibodies), and treatment simplification with infrequent dosing (e.g. long-acting injectables). In parallel with cART innovations, research and development efforts focused on agents that target persistent HIV reservoirs may lead to prolonged drug-free remission and HIV cure. Copyright © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive function in older adults according to current socioeconomic status.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Michael; Gale, Shawn D; Erickson, Lance D; Brown, Bruce L; Woody, Parker; Hedges, Dawson W

2015-01-01

Cognitive function may be influenced by education, socioeconomic status, sex, and health status. Furthermore, aging interacts with these factors to influence cognition and dementia risk in late life. Factors that may increase or decrease successful cognitive aging are of critical importance, particularly if they are modifiable. The purpose of this study was to determine if economic status in late life is associated with cognition independent of socioeconomic status in early life. Cross-sectional demographic, socioeconomic, and cognitive function data were obtained in 2592 older adults (average age 71.6 years) from the Center for Disease Control's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and analyzed with linear regression modeling. Cognitive function, as measured with a test of processing speed, was significantly associated with poverty index scores after adjusting for educational attainment as an estimate of childhood socioeconomic status, ethnic background, age, health status, and sex (P status is independently associated with cognitive function in adults over age 60 years.

Current status of NPP generation IV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yohanes Dwi Anggoro; Dharu Dewi; Nurlaila; Arief Tris Yuliyanto

2013-01-01

Today development of nuclear technology has reached the stage of research and development of Generation IV nuclear power plants (advanced reactor systems) which is an innovative development from the previous generation of nuclear power plants. There are six types of power generation IV reactors, namely: Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR), Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR), Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR), Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR), Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), and Super Critical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR). The purpose of this study is to know the development of Generation IV nuclear power plants that have been done by the thirteen countries that are members of the Gen IV International Forum (GIF). The method used is review study and refers to various studies related to the current status of research and development of generation IV nuclear power. The result of this study showed that the systems and technology on Generation IV nuclear power plants offer significant advances in sustainability, safety and reliability, economics, and proliferation resistance and physical protection. In addition, based on the research and development experience is estimated that: SFR can be used optimally in 2015, VHTR in 2020, while NPP types GFR, LFR, MSR, and SCWR in 2025. Utilization of NPP generation IV said to be optimal if fulfill the goal of NPP generation IV, such as: capable to generate energy sustainability and promote long-term availability of nuclear fuel, minimize nuclear waste and reduce the long term stewardship burden, has an advantage in the field of safety and reliability compared to the previous generation of NPP and VHTR technology have a good prospects in Indonesia. (author)

[Current status and sustainable development countermeasures of Anoectochilus roxburghii].

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Lin; Shao, Qing-Song; Zhou, Ai-Cun; Wang, Hong-Zhen; Zhang, Ai-Lian; Xu, Jian-Wei; Huang, Yu-Qiu

2016-02-01

The current status of the domestic manufacturing and sales markets of Anoectochilus roxburghii were investigated and analyzed in the study. Some problems in the A. roxburghii industry were revealed and a variety of sustainable development countermeasures were also proposed. The main problems of A. roxburghii industry are the lack of protection for wild resources, the lag in the speed of variety breeding, the insufficient research on the quality systems, the low level of industry and product innovation capability, as well as the relatively low market cognition and brand competence. Therefore, strengthening the protection for breeding resources, establishing a dynamic monitoring system, promoting the variety breeding, constructing a propagation system for improved varieties, enhancing the quality of medicinal herbs, accelerating the adjustment of product structure, upgrading the industry technology, strengthening brand competence and expanding the market, will be the effective methods to realize the sustainable development of A. roxburghii industry. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Materials technology for fusion - Current status and future requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gold, R.E.; Bloom, E.E.; Clinard, F.W. Jr.; Smith, D.L.; Stevenson, R.D.; Wolfer, W.G.

1981-01-01

The general status of the materials research and development activities currently under way in support of controlled thermonuclear fusion reactors in the United States is reviewed. In the area of magnetic confinement configurations, attention is given to development programs for first wall materials, which are at various stages for possible austenitic stainless steels, high-strength Fe-Ni-Cr alloys, reactive and refractory metal alloys, specially designed long-range ordered and rapidly solidified alloys, and ferritic/martensitic steels, and for tritium breeding materials, electrical insulators, ceramics, and coolants. The development of materials for inertial confinement reactors is also surveyed in relation to the protection scheme employed for the first wall and the effects of pulsed neutron irradiation. Finally, the materials requirements and selection procedures for the ETF/INTOR and Starfire tokamak reactor designs are examined. Needs for the expansion of research on nonfirst-wall materials and inertial confinement fusion reactor material requirements are pointed out

The payloads of Advanced Virgo: current status and upgrades

Science.gov (United States)

Naticchioni, L.; Virgo Collaboration

2018-02-01

The development and integration of new detector payloads has been an important part of the Advanced Virgo (AdV) project, the major upgrade of the Virgo interferometric detector of Gravitational Waves, aiming to increase the detector sensitivity by one order of magnitude. During the integration phase of the new AdV payloads with monolithic suspension of mirrors we experienced systematic suspension failures later identified as caused by dust contamination of the vacuum system. In order to not postpone the detector commissioning, making possible to join the LIGO O2 observation run, the Collaboration decided to proceed with the integration of the payloads relying on steel wire suspensions for all the mirrors. In this proceeding the status of the currently integrated payloads is reported, including their angular control characterization and the Q-factor measurements for test mass steel wire suspensions. The payload upgrade for the re-integration of monolithic suspensions after the O2 run is reported in the last section.

Contrapower Sexual Harassment of Military Officers

Science.gov (United States)

2007-08-01

Sexual Harassment 1 Contrapower Sexual Harassment of Military Officers Sexual harassment is generally categorized in one of two ways: quid pro quo ...power or status over the victim (McKinney, 1992). The very definition of quid pro quo sexual harassment generally necessitates a superior harassing a...Contrapower Sexual Harassment of Military Officers A Thesis Presented by Sarah K. Clapp to the

[Nutritional screening before surgery for esophageal cancer - current status and evaluation results].

Science.gov (United States)

Shimakawa, Takeshi; Asaka, Shinich; Sagawa, Masano; Shimazaki, Asako; Yamaguchi, Kentaro; Usui, Takebumi; Yokomizo, Hajime; Shiozawa, Shunichi; Yoshimatsu, Kazuhiko; Katsube, Takao; Naritaka, Yoshihiko

2014-10-01

The incidence of postoperative complications and mortality are usually higher in patients with preoperative malnutrition. Malnutrition often preexists, particularly in patients undergoing surgery for esophageal cancer, which is substantially invasive. It is therefore important to understand the nutritional condition of patients and actively control perioperative nutrition.Our hospital has been providing nutritional status screening for patients before resection of esophageal cancer, and we report the current status and evaluation results in this article.This screening included 158 patients requiring radical resection of esophageal cancer.Age, comorbidity with diabetes, body mass index(BMI), serum albumin(Alb), Onodera's prognostic nutritional index(PNI), and Glasgow prognostic score(GPS)were used as nutritional indicators to stratify patients for analysis.Evaluation parameters included the incidence of postoperative complications(any complication, pulmonary complications, psychiatric disorder, and anastomotic leakage)and rates of long-term postoperative hospitalization.The analysis indicated that age, BMI, serum Alb, PNI, and GPS are useful for predicting the onset of postoperative complications and prolonged postoperative hospitalization.For such patients, more active nutritional control should be provided.

Quo vadis: what is the future of periodontics? How will we get there?

Science.gov (United States)

Kornman, Kenneth S; Giannobile, William V; Duff, Gordon W

2017-10-01

Approximately 40 years ago periodontists began systematically developing the evidence to treat predictably and prevent gingivitis and periodontitis. More recently, periodontists have been among a small group of skilled dental-implant surgeons leading that revolution in dentistry. Today, much of the mild/localized moderate periodontitis is not treated by periodontists, and an increasing number of implants are placed by dentists with limited surgical training. The current field of periodontics includes a broad range of surgical skills and technologies to regenerate predictably destroyed tissues and manage complex interdisciplinary treatment that may, in some way, involve the tissues that support teeth and implants. In addition, periodontal researchers have shown that moderate-to-severe periodontitis increases the systemic inflammatory burden and transient bacteremias that result in a significant independent role for periodontitis in multiple systemic diseases. Although many periodontists have very advanced practices that incorporate certain aspects of the current and near-future dimensions of periodontics, the innovations and technologies have not yet fully integrated throughout the specialty. It is an appropriate time to ask the question: Quo vadis? Which paths have the potential to deliver great value to our patients and to the health-care system? And who will be our patients in the near future? We propose some key capabilities, knowledge and clinical applications. Perhaps most importantly, we propose new partnerships. Much of the vision centers around the application of special diagnostic technologies and surgical skills to help our dental colleagues better manage complex dental and periodontal cases and to deliver on the promise of reducing systemic inflammation sufficiently to enhance medical management of certain chronic diseases and reduce preterm births. The specialty has always been about retaining teeth in good health and in recent years has focused on

Current Status of Carl Sagan Observatory in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez-Ibarra, A.

The current status of Observatory "Carl Sagan" (OCS) of University of Sonora is presented. This project was born in 1996 focused to build a small solar-stellar observatory completely operated by remote control. The observatory will be at "Cerro Azul", a 2480 m peak in one of the best regions in the world for astronomical observation, at the Sonora-Arizona desert. The OCS, with three 16 cm solar telescopes and a 55 cm stellar telescope is one of the cheapest observatories, valuated in US200,000 Added to its scientific goals to study solar coronal holes and Supernovae Type 1A, the OCS has a strong educative and cultural program in Astronomy to all levels. At the end of 2001, we started the Program "Constelacion", to build small planetariums through all the countries with a cost of only US80,000. Also, the webcast system for transmission of the solar observations from the prototype OCS at the campus, was expanded to webcast educational programs in Astronomy since July of this year, including courses and diplomats for Latin American people. All of these advances are exposed here.

The current status of theory evaluation in nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Im, Eun-Ok

2015-10-01

To identify the current status of theory evaluation in nursing and provide directions for theory evaluation for future development of theoretical bases of nursing discipline. Theory evaluation is an essential component in development of nursing knowledge, which is a critical element in development of nursing discipline. Despite earlier significant efforts for theory evaluation in nursing, a recent decline in the number of theory evaluation articles was noted and there have been few updates on theory evaluation in nursing. Discussion paper. A total of 58 articles published from 2003-2014 were retrieved through searches using the PUBMED, PsyInfo and CINAHL. The articles were sorted by the area of evaluation and analysed to identify themes reflecting the theory evaluation process. Diverse ways of theory evaluation need to be continuously used in future theory evaluation efforts. Six themes reflecting the theory evaluation process were identified: (a) rarely using existing theory evaluation criteria; (b) evaluating specifics; (c) using various statistical analysis methods; (d) developing instruments; (e) adopting in practice and education; and (f) evaluating mainly middle-range theories and situation-specific theories. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Thorium-based nuclear fuel: current status and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-03-01

Until the present time considerable efforts have already been made in the area of fabrication, utilization and reprocessing of Th-based fuels for different types of reactors, namely: by FRG and USA - for HTRs; FRG and Brazil, Italy - for LWRs; India - for HWRs and FBRs. Basic research of thorium fuels and thorium fuel cycles are also being undertaken by Australia, Canada, China, France, FRG, Romania, USSR and other countries. Main emphasis has been given to the utilization of thorium fuels in once-through nuclear fuel cycles, but in some projects closed thorium-uranium or thorium-plutonium fuel cycles are also considered. The purpose of the Technical Committee on the Utilization of Thorium-Based Nuclear Fuel: Current Status and Perspective was to review the world thorium resources, incentives for further exploration, obtained experience in the utilization of Th-based fuels in different types of reactors, basic research, fabrication and reprocessing of Th-based fuels. As a result of the panel discussion the recommendations on future Agency activities and list of major worldwide activities in the area of Th-based fuel were developed. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 9 papers in this proceedings series

1989 Joint convention record of institutes of electrical and information engineers, Japan (Part 1). Heisei gannen denki joho kanren gakkai rengo taikai koen ronbunshu (Bunsatsu 1)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1989-08-25

In this volume, part 1, reports are included on protection of communication equipment for power supply against thunderbolt, status quo of thunderbolt observation, etc. in the field of 'Protection of information communication equipment against thunderbolt and thunderbolt observation.' In the area of 'Latest trend for practical use of linear motorcars,' there are reports on the world trend for practical use, present and future aspect of superconductive magnetic levitation railway, present state and future aspect of HSST, status quo and future aspect of transrapid Maglev, present state and future aspect of linear subway, present state and future aspect of M bahn, etc. In conncetion with 'Expert system for power network system,' status quo in Japan and foreign countries and future trend are reported. Other reports are also included concerning the control of 'Present state of control theory application to the control of electric motor,' 'Technological trend for the reliability improvement in control system,' 'Superconduction and precision measurement,' and 'Latest trend of fuzzy information processing technology.' 370 refs., 224 figs., 32 tabs.

Biomonitoring of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams in Europe: Current practice and priorities to enhance ecological status assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Stubbington, Rachel; Chadd, Richard; Cid, Núria; Csabai, Zoltán; Miliša, Marko; Morais, Manuela; Munné, Antoni; Pařil, Petr; Pešić, Vladimir; Tziortzis, Iakovos; Verdonschot, Ralf C M; Datry, Thibault

2018-03-15

Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) are common across Europe and dominate some Mediterranean river networks. In all climate zones, IRES support high biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. As dynamic ecosystems that transition between flowing, pool, and dry states, IRES are typically poorly represented in biomonitoring programmes implemented to characterize EU Water Framework Directive ecological status. We report the results of a survey completed by representatives from 20 European countries to identify current challenges to IRES status assessment, examples of best practice, and priorities for future research. We identify five major barriers to effective ecological status classification in IRES: 1. the exclusion of IRES from Water Framework Directive biomonitoring based on their small catchment size; 2. the lack of river typologies that distinguish between contrasting IRES; 3. difficulties in defining the 'reference conditions' that represent unimpacted dynamic ecosystems; 4. classification of IRES ecological status based on lotic communities sampled using methods developed for perennial rivers; and 5. a reliance on taxonomic characterization of local communities. Despite these challenges, we recognize examples of innovative practice that can inform modification of current biomonitoring activity to promote effective IRES status classification. Priorities for future research include reconceptualization of the reference condition approach to accommodate spatiotemporal fluctuations in community composition, and modification of indices of ecosystem health to recognize both taxon-specific sensitivities to intermittence and dispersal abilities, within a landscape context. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Current status and future developments of small and micro hydro in southern Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Jonker Klunne, W

2012-05-01

Full Text Available -1 Current status and future developments of small and micro hydro in southern Africa Wim Jonker Klunne Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) PO Box 395 Pretoria 0001 South Africa Introduction Small and micro hydropower... are renewable energy technologies that have large potential in the south- ern African region, both for grid and off-grid applications. Within the region a good understanding exists on the potential for large scale hydro with a substantial number of plants...

A Survey on Renewable Energy Development in Malaysia: Current Status, Problems and Prospects

OpenAIRE

Alam Syed Shah; Nor Nor Fariza Mohd; Ahmad Maisarah; Hashim Nik Hazrul Nik

2016-01-01

Energy demand in Malaysia is increasing over seven per cent a year, while forty per cent of the energy is supplied from conventional fossil fuel. However, a number of social barriers have mired the social acceptance of renewable energy among the users. This study investigates the current status of renewable energy, problems and future outlook of renewable energy in Malaysia. A total of 200 respondents were surveyed from Klang Valley in Malaysia. Majority of the respondents use energy to gener...

Alternative methods for skin irritation testing: the current status : ECVAM skin irritation task force report 1

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Botham, P.A.; Earl, L.K.; Fentem, J.H.; Roguet, R.; Sandt, J.J.M.

1998-01-01

The ECVAM Skin Irritation Task Force was established in November 1996, primarily to prepare a report on the current status of the development and validation of alternative tests for skin irritation and corrosion and, in particular, to identify any appropriate non-animal tests for predicting human

Current status of food irradiation in the world. Trend in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kume, Tamikazu

2002-01-01

This review describes the current status of food irradiation in the world and particularly, its trends in Asia, based on the report of the economic scale investigation on the irradiation in United States and Japan (2001) and on the information of 12th International Meeting on Radiation Processing in France in 2001 and on personal communications. International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation promotes its activities of irradiation globally and 46 countries are affiliated. Food irradiation is allowed in 52 countries. In 1999, 257,000 t of food is irradiated in the world, of which 1/3 is due to spice. The facilities for the irradiation have such sources as 60 Co and 137 Cs γ-rays, electron beam of <10 MeV and X-ray with <5 MeV. Detection methods of irradiated foods are summarized by the project of Analytical Detection Methods for Irradiation Treatment of Foods. The US is the most advanced country in the irradiation and, in Japan, only irradiation of potato is permitted. The detailed present status is also described of Bangladesh, China (the irradiation is most widely conducted in the world), India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Recently Australia and New Zealand have started the irradiation. (K.H.)

Resident work hours: why keeping the status quo may not be such a bad thing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roshan Razik

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Resident duty hours have become an increasingly debated topic in post-graduate medical education. Work-hour restrictions have been implemented for first-year residents in the US and more recently for all residents in Quebec. Current and future work-hour rules affect a variety of stakeholders: government, hospitals, residency training programs, patients, and most of all residents. In this article, we hope to examine the issue from a Canadian perspective and delineate some of the reasons why changing the current call structure may have potentially deleterious effects to all those concerned.

Mobile Learning in Nursing Undergraduates in China: Current Status, Attitudes and Barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Qian; Zhang, Qiannan; Wang, Lanlan; Wang, Yanling; Sun, Liu; Wu, Ying

2017-01-01

To explore the current status, attitudes and barriers of nursing undergraduates toward mobile learning, 157 nursing students were investigated. more than half of them used mobile learning frequently in past half year. The mean score of students' intention towards mobile learning was 10.5 (ranged from 6 to 15), and it related to students' gender, expected effect, ease of operation, influence of other students, self-learning management and perceived interest. Some barriers affected students' mobile learning. Therefore, students had positive attitude and perception toward mobile learning, then we should create enough conditions to promote students' mobile learning.

Current Status of QA For Nuclear Power Plants in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagoshi, Hitohiko

1986-01-01

It is the current status of QA and our QA experiences with nuclear power plants against the background of the Japanese social and business environment. Accordingly, in 1972, 'The Guidance for Quality Assurance in Construction of Nuclear Power Plants' based on U. S. 10CEF50 Appendix B, was published by the Japan Electric Association. 'Jug-4101 The Guide for Quality Assurance of Nuclear Power Plants' has been prepared by referring to the IAEA QA code. The Guide has been accepted by the Japanese nuclear industry and applied to the QA programs of every organization concerned therewith. The Japanese approach to higher quality will naturally be different from that of other countries because of Japan's cultural, social, and economic conditions. Even higher quality is being aimed at through the LWR Improvement and Standardization Program and coordinated quality assurance efforts

Current status of JMTR refurbishment project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaminaga, Masanori; Niimi, Motoji; Hori, Naohiko; Takahashi, Kunihiro; Kanno, Masaru; Nakagawa, Tetsuya; Nagao, Yoshiharu; Ishihara, Masahiro; Kawamura, Hiroshi

2010-02-01

The JMTR is a light water moderated and cooled, beryllium reflected tank- type reactor using LUE silicide plate-type fuels. Its thermal power is 50 MW, maximum thermal and fast neutron flux is 4x10 18 m -2 s -1 . First criticality was achieved in March 1968, and its operation was stopped from August, 2006 for the refurbishment. The refurbishment is scheduled from the beginning of FY2007 to the end of FY2010. The renewed and upgraded JMTR will be re-started from FY2011. An investigation on aged components (aged-investigation) was carried out for concrete structures of the JMTR reactor building, exhaust stack, etc., and for tanks in the primary cooling system, heat exchangers, pipes in the secondary cooling system, cooling tower, emergency generators and so on, in order to identify their integrity. The aged-investigation was carried out at the beginning of FY2007. As a result, some components were decided to replace from viewpoints of future maintenance and improvement of reliability, and some components or structures were decided to repair. A visual inspection of inner side of the pressure vessel was carried out using an underwater camera in FY2008, and no serious damage was observed. Up to now, refurbishment works are in progress according to the planned schedule. In FY2009, motors of primary cooling pumps, secondary cooling pumps, motors of drain pumps, pump in the primary water transfer line to the water purification system, beryllium reflector frame, low-voltage motor control centers are to be replaced. A nuclear instrumentation system, process control system, safety protection system and so on are to be replaced in FY2010. In this paper, current status of JMTR refurbishment project is presented. (author)

Drugs in development for toxoplasmosis: advances, challenges, and current status.

Science.gov (United States)

Alday, P Holland; Doggett, Joseph Stone

2017-01-01

Toxoplasma gondii causes fatal and debilitating brain and eye diseases. Medicines that are currently used to treat toxoplasmosis commonly have toxic side effects and require prolonged courses that range from weeks to more than a year. The need for long treatment durations and the risk of relapsing disease are in part due to the lack of efficacy against T. gondii tissue cysts. The challenges for developing a more effective treatment for toxoplasmosis include decreasing toxicity, achieving therapeutic concentrations in the brain and eye, shortening duration, eliminating tissue cysts from the host, safety in pregnancy, and creating a formulation that is inexpensive and practical for use in resource-poor areas of the world. Over the last decade, significant progress has been made in identifying and developing new compounds for the treatment of toxoplasmosis. Unlike clinically used medicines that were repurposed for toxoplasmosis, these compounds have been optimized for efficacy against toxoplasmosis during preclinical development. Medicines with enhanced efficacy as well as features that address the unique aspects of toxoplasmosis have the potential to greatly improve toxoplasmosis therapy. This review discusses the facets of toxoplasmosis that are pertinent to drug design and the advances, challenges, and current status of preclinical drug research for toxoplasmosis.

IAEA occupational radiation protection programme: current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deboodt, P.; Mrabit, K.

2006-01-01

As stated in Art.III.A.6 of its Statute, the International Atomic Energy Agency (commonly referred to as the Agency) is authorized to establish or adopt, in consultation and, where appropriate, in collaboration with the competent organs of the United Nations and with the specialized agencies concerned, standards of safety for protection of health and minimization of danger to life and property (including such standards for labour conditions), and to provide for the application of these standards to its own operation as well as to the operations making use of materials, services, equipment, facilities, and information made available by the Agency or at its request or under its control or supervision. The Agency s Occupational Radiation Protection Programme aims at harmonizing infrastructures for the control of radiation exposure of workers and for optimizing radiation protection in situation s of exposures due to external radiation and intakes of radionuclides from both artificial and natural sources of radiation. Under its regular and technical cooperation programmes, the Agency has been assigning high priority to both the establishment of safety standards for labour conditions and for the application of these standards through, Interalia, direct assistance under its technical cooperation (TC) programme, the rendering of services, the promotion of education and training, the fostering of information exchange and the coordination of research and development. The purpose of this paper is to present the current status and future IAEA activities in support of occupational radiation protection. (authors)

Pediatric neurology training in Canada: current status and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Doja, Asif

2012-05-01

Child neurology training in Canada has changed considerably over time, with increasing requirements for standardized teaching of the fundamentals of child neurology and the CanMEDS competencies. We sought to determine the current status of child neurology training in Canada as well future directions for training. A web-based survey was sent to program directors (PD's) of active pediatric neurology training programs. General questions about the programs were asked, as well as about success at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) exam, breakdown of rotations, views on CanMEDS roles and questions on the future of pediatric neurology. 9/9 PD's completed the survey. 96.5% of all trainees successfully passed their RCPSC exam from 2001-2006. Breakdowns of the number and type of rotations for each year of training were provided. All CanMEDS roles were deemed to be important by PD's and programs have developed unique strategies to teach and assess these roles.92.6% of trainees chose to go into academic practice, with the most popular subspecialty being epilepsy. All PD's favour joint training sessions particularly for neurogenetics and neuromuscular disease. Overall, PD's suggest recruitment for future child neurologists at the medical student level but are divided as to whether we are currently training too few or too many child neurologists. This survey provides a view of the current state of pediatric neurology training in Canada and suggestions for further development of post-graduate training. In particular, attention should be given to joint educational programs as well as urgently assessing the manpower needs of child neurologists.

Acute stroke magnetic resonance imaging: current status and future perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kloska, Stephan P.; Wintermark, Max; Engelhorn, Tobias; Fiebach, Jochen B.

2010-01-01

Cerebral stroke is one of the most frequent causes of permanent disability or death in the western world and a major burden in healthcare system. The major portion is caused by acute ischemia due to cerebral artery occlusion by a clot. The minority of strokes is related to intracerebral hemorrhage or other sources. To limit the permanent disability in ischemic stroke patients resulting from irreversible infarction of ischemic brain tissue, major efforts were made in the last decade. To extend the time window for thrombolysis, which is the only approved therapy, several imaging parameters in computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been investigated. However, the current guidelines neglect the fact that the portion of potentially salvageable ischemic tissue (penumbra) is not dependent on the time window but the individual collateral blood flow. Within the last years, the differentiation of infarct core and penumbra with MRI using diffusion-weighted images (DWI) and perfusion imaging (PI) with parameter maps was established. Current trials transform these technical advances to a redefined patient selection based on physiological parameters determined by MRI. This review article presents the current status of MRI for acute stroke imaging. A special focus is the ischemic stroke. In dependence on the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia, the basic principle and diagnostic value of different MRI sequences are illustrated. MRI techniques for imaging of the main differential diagnoses of ischemic stroke are mentioned. Moreover, perspectives of MRI for imaging-based acute stroke treatment as well as monitoring of restorative stroke therapy from recent trials are discussed. (orig.)

Privacy driven internet ecosystem

OpenAIRE

Trinh, Tuan Anh; Gyarmati, Laszlo

2012-01-01

The dominant business model of today's Internet is built upon advertisements; users can access Internet services while the providers show ads to them. Although significant efforts have been made to model and analyze the economic aspects of this ecosystem, the heart of the current status quo, namely privacy, has not received the attention of the research community yet. Accordingly, we propose an economic model of the privacy driven Internet ecosystem where privacy is handled as an asset that c...

On the descriptive value of loss aversion in decisions under risk: Six clarifications

OpenAIRE

Eyal Ert; Ido Erev

2013-01-01

Previous studies of loss aversion in decisions under risk have led to mixed results. Losses appear to loom larger than gains in some settings, but not in others. The current paper clarifies these results by highlighting six experimental manipulations that tend to increase the likelihood of the behavior predicted by loss aversion. These manipulations include: (1) framing of the safe alternative as the status quo; (2) ensuring that the choice pattern predicted by loss aversion maximizes the pro...

Research on Issues concerning Social Security for Migrant Workers in Harmonious Society

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Hua

2013-01-01

This article analyzes the status quo of social security for migrant workers in China, and points out that there are deep system and concept reasons for the lack of labor rights and interests security, social security, equality and the right to development, political participation channels for the current migrant workers. This article then expounds the adverse effects of lack of social security for migrant workers on building a harmonious society: the lack of social security for migrant worker...

TomoMINT - the current status and future plan of MINT's computed tomography scanner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanesan Sinnakaruppan; Jaafar Abdullah

2000-01-01

TomoMINT, a second generation computed tomography scanner developed by MINT, is a powerful non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique for producing two-dimensional cross-sectional images of an object without physically sectioning it. Characteristics of the internal structure of an object such as dimensions, shape, internal defects, density and component distribution are readily available from the scan. Tomographs of wood, metal components and concrete slabs have been successfully obtained from TomoMINT. This paper deals with the current status and future development of this scanner. (author)

SaudiVeg ecoinformatics: Aims, current status and perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed A. El-Sheikh

2017-02-01

Full Text Available During the last decade many electronic databases of vegetation plots were established in many countries around the world. These databases contain valuable phytosociological information assisting both governmental and NGO (Non-governmental organizations agencies to formulate strategies and on-ground plans to manage and protect nature resources. This paper provides an account on aims, current status and perspectives of building of a vegetation database for the Central Region (Najd of Saudi Arabia – the founding element of the Saudi Vegetation Database (SVD. The data stored by the database are sample plots (vegetation relevés collected according to the field techniques of the Braun-Blanquet approach (lists of taxa accompanied by semi-quantitative cover assessment, and are accompanied by general vegetation characteristics such as vegetation layering and cover, information on life-form of the recorded species, geographical coordinates, altitude, soil typology, topography and many more. More than 2900 vegetation-plot records (relevés have so far been collected in the Najd region; of these more than 2000 have already been stored using the Turboveg database platform. These field records cover many habitats such as depressions, wadis (dry river beds, agricultural lands, sand dunes, sabkhas, and ruderal habitats. The ecological information collected in the database is currently the largest set of vegetation data collated into a database in the Middle East. These data are of great importance for biodiversity studies in Saudi Arabia, since the region is recording a loss of biodiversity at a fast rate due to environmental problems such as global warming and land-use changes. We envisage that this database would catalyze further data collection on vegetation of the entire Arabian Peninsula, and shall serve as one of the most important datasets for classification and mapping of the vegetation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Current status, new frontiers and challenges in radiation biodosimetry using cytogenetic, transcriptomic and proteomic technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fenech, Michael, E-mail: michael.fenech@csiro.au [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Gate 13 Kintore Avenue, Adelaide, SA 5000 (Australia)

2011-09-15

Biodosimetric methods for determining exposure dose in individuals following a radiation accident are important for the health management of the exposed cohort and prioritisation of high dose exposure cases to receive emergency medical treatment. This brief review provides a succinct outline of (i) the current status of standard cytogenetic methods used in radiation biodosimetry; (ii) development of high-throughput systems for current standard cytogenetic methods; (iii) emerging minimally invasive methods; (iv) the impact of nutrition and genotype on observed dose-response relationships and (v) new frontiers in biodosimetry using molecular biology techniques such as transcriptomics and proteomics.

Current Status of the Elevated Temperature Structure Design Codes for VHTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong-Bum; Kim, Seok-Hoon; Park, Keun-Bae; Lee, Won-Jae

2006-01-01

An elevated temperature structure design and analysis is one of the key issues in the VHTR (Very High Temperature Reactor) project to achieve an economic production of hydrogen which will be an essential energy source for the near future. Since the operating temperature of a VHTR is above 850 .deg. C, the existing code and standards are insufficient for a high temperature structure design. Thus the issues concerning a material selection and behaviors are being studied for the main structural components of a VHTR in leading countries such as US, France, UK, and Japan. In this study, the current status of the ASME code, French RCC-MR, UK R5, and Japanese code were investigated and the necessary R and D items were discussed

Current status and future prospect of electron beam sterilization in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsura, Ichiro

1998-01-01

It seems that electron beam sterilization is being current topic among all applications in Japan and that this tendency will continue until when major companies interested in the technology complete introducing electron beam. Since the Ministry of Health and Welfare(MOHW) officially issued revised regulation on GMP for medical devices in 1995, EtO has become the method regarded as time and money consuming one. On the contrary, electron beam has become as relatively economical and desirable method to achieve same result by its characteristics such as high productivity, rather easy validation and consequent cost reduction, although less penetration limit the kind of products to be treated. Status and prospect of electron beam sterilization in Japan will be presented in the paper along with accelerator related technologies

Current status of Joint FAA/NASA Runway Friction Program

Science.gov (United States)

Yager, Thomas J.; Vogler, William A.

1989-01-01

Tests with specially instrumented NASA B-737 and FAA B-727 aircraft together with several different ground friction measuring devices have been conducted for a variety of runway surface types and wetness conditions. This effort is part of the Joint FAA/NASA Aircraft Ground Vehicle Runway Friction Program aimed at obaining a better understanding of aircraft ground handling performance under adverse weather conditions and defining relationships between aircraft and ground vehicle tire friction measurements. Aircraft braking performance on dry, wet, snow-, and ice-covered runway conditions is discussed together with ground vehicle friction data obtained under similar runway conditions. For the wet, compacted snow- and ice-covered runway conditions, the relationship between ground vehicles and aircraft friction data is identified. The influence of major test parameters on friction measurements such as speed, test tire characteristics, and surface contaminant type are discussed. The test results indicate that use of properly maintained and calibrated ground vehicles for monitoring runway friction conditions should be encouraged particularly under adverse weather conditions. The current status of the runway friction program is summarized and future test plans are identified.

Plague in Iran: its history and current status

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdolrazagh Hashemi Shahraki

2016-07-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Plague remains a public health concern worldwide, particularly in old foci. Multiple epidemics of this disease have been recorded throughout the history of Iran. Despite the long-standing history of human plague in Iran, it remains difficult to obtain an accurate overview of the history and current status of plague in Iran. METHODS: In this review, available data and reports on cases and outbreaks of human plague in the past and present in Iran and in neighboring countries were collected, and information was compiled regarding when, where, and how many cases occurred. RESULTS: This paper considers the history of plague in Persia (the predecessor of today’s Iran and has a brief review of plague in countries in the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region, including a range of countries in the Middle East and North Africa. CONCLUSIONS: Since Iran has experienced outbreaks of plague for several centuries, neighboring countries have reported the disease in recent years, the disease can be silent for decades, and the circulation of Yersinia pestis has been reported among rodents and dogs in western Iran, more attention should be paid to disease monitoring in areas with previously reported human cases and in high-risk regions with previous epizootic and enzootic activity.

Plague in Iran: its history and current status.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashemi Shahraki, Abdolrazagh; Carniel, Elizabeth; Mostafavi, Ehsan

2016-01-01

Plague remains a public health concern worldwide, particularly in old foci. Multiple epidemics of this disease have been recorded throughout the history of Iran. Despite the long-standing history of human plague in Iran, it remains difficult to obtain an accurate overview of the history and current status of plague in Iran. In this review, available data and reports on cases and outbreaks of human plague in the past and present in Iran and in neighboring countries were collected, and information was compiled regarding when, where, and how many cases occurred. This paper considers the history of plague in Persia (the predecessor of today's Iran) and has a brief review of plague in countries in the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region, including a range of countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Since Iran has experienced outbreaks of plague for several centuries, neighboring countries have reported the disease in recent years, the disease can be silent for decades, and the circulation of Yersinia pestis has been reported among rodents and dogs in western Iran, more attention should be paid to disease monitoring in areas with previously reported human cases and in high-risk regions with previous epizootic and enzootic activity.

High-density matter: current status and future challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stone J. R.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available There are many fascinating processes in the Universe which we observe in more and more in detail thanks to increasingly sophisticated technology. One of the most interesting phenomena is the life cycle of stars, their birth, evolution and death. If the stars are massive enough, they end their lives in the core-collapse supernova explosion, the one of the most violent events in the Universe. As the result, the densest objects in the Universe, neutron stars and/or black holes are created. Naturally, the physical basis of these events should be understood in line with observation. The current status of our knowledge of processes in the life of stars is far from adequate for their true understanding. We show that although many models have been constructed their detailed ability to describe observations is limited or non-existent. Furthermore the general failure of all models means that we cannot tell which are heading in the right direction. A possible way forward in modeling of high-density matter is outlined, exemplified by the quark-meson-coupling model (QMC. This model has a natural explanation for the saturation of nuclear forces and depends on very few adjustable parameters, strongly constrained by the underlying physics. Latest QMC results for compact objects and finite nuclei are presented.

Current Status of Manufacturing Hazardous Waste in Shanghai

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Liu Changqing; Zhang Jiangshan; Zhao Youcai

2007-01-01

It is difficult to manage the manufacturing hazardous waste(MHW)whichis generated from a huge amount of complicated sources and causes very serious pollution.Therefore more and more attention has been paid to MHW pollution.shanghai,as an industrial and economic center and an intemational metropolis in China,has a vast industrial system spanning a multitude of sectors,which generates MHW not only in a huge magnitude but also in a large variety of types from complicated sourrces,resulting in severe pollution.In 2003,the production of MHW in Shanghai is about 3.96 x 10ton,involving 33 indices.Most of MHW in Shanghai is treated and disposed of,but a significant portion is not handled properly and effectively.This paper carries out in-field investigation on the current status of MHW production and treat ment in Shanghai,and puts forward scientific proposals that Shanghai should facilitate cleaner production and minimize haz ardous waste;strictly enforce hazardous waste registration system, strengthen monitoring the certified enterprises;strengthen intent disposal center construction and realize hazardous waste reclamation;accelerate establishing tlle technical criteria and the management policy,promote the research and development on the treatment and disposal technology,and strengthen information management,thus realizing integrated management on MHW pollution.

Medical telerobotic systems: current status and future trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Avgousti, Sotiris; Christoforou, Eftychios G; Panayides, Andreas S; Voskarides, Sotos; Novales, Cyril; Nouaille, Laurence; Pattichis, Constantinos S; Vieyres, Pierre

2016-08-12

Teleoperated medical robotic systems allow procedures such as surgeries, treatments, and diagnoses to be conducted across short or long distances while utilizing wired and/or wireless communication networks. This study presents a systematic review of the relevant literature between the years 2004 and 2015, focusing on medical teleoperated robotic systems which have witnessed tremendous growth over the examined period. A thorough insight of telerobotics systems discussing design concepts, enabling technologies (namely robotic manipulation, telecommunications, and vision systems), and potential applications in clinical practice is provided, while existing limitations and future trends are also highlighted. A representative paradigm of the short-distance case is the da Vinci Surgical System which is described in order to highlight relevant issues. The long-distance telerobotics concept is exemplified through a case study on diagnostic ultrasound scanning. Moreover, the present review provides a classification into short- and long-distance telerobotic systems, depending on the distance from which they are operated. Telerobotic systems are further categorized with respect to their application field. For the reviewed systems are also examined their engineering characteristics and the employed robotics technology. The current status of the field, its significance, the potential, as well as the challenges that lie ahead are thoroughly discussed.

Current status and future prospects on nuclear industry in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Joongjae

2006-01-01

It is ny great pleasure to have this chance of speaking at twenty-first KAIF/KNS Annual Conference, with the subject of the current status and future prospects of nuclear industry in Korea. As you all know, since the start of operation in Obninsk, the former Soviet Union, on June 26th, 1954, nuclear generation in the world has expanded continuously for the past 50 years. In 1973, when the first oil crisis hit the world, there were 147 nuclear power plants in operation, supplying only 0.8% of the world energy demand. About 30 years later, by the end of last year, 443 plants were in operation in 32 countries, supplying about 16% of the world power demand. Nuclear power generation is greatly contributing to the energy security of many countries and preservation of global environments. Recently, countries all over the world are becoming aware of the values and importance of nuclear energy which can help respond to energy crises caused by a sharp rise in oil prices and protect the earth from global warming. Due to its high energy density and ability to secure fuel supply at a lower cost, in addition to its cleanliness resulting from almost no emission of greenhouse gases, nuclear power generation is the practical alternative for energy security and the prevention of global warming. However, in the rapidly changing 21st century, the nuclear industries of the world, as well as Korea, are facing more challenges than ever before. The political and social disputes on nuclear generation are continuing while we all are facing urgent challenges, including the concerns about the safety of nuclear generation, procuring site to build nuclear power plants, and the improvement of competitiveness. Please allow me to remind you that it is very important for the world's nuclear societies to cooperate together in order to overcome diverse difficulties along our path and to contribute to the development of mankind and preservation of natural environments with nuclear power as a

Current Status and Open Issues of the 235U Evaluation. Summary Report of an IAEA Consultants’ Meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noguere, Gilles; Trkov, Andrej

2016-08-01

The objective of this consultancy meeting was to discuss the status of the 235 U neutron cross sections from the thermal to MeV energy ranges, to identify the main difficulties and to propose recommendations for improving the current experimental and evaluation works

Relationships between neighbourhood characteristics and current STI status among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women living in the Southern USA: a cross-sectional multilevel analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Haley, Danielle F; Kramer, Michael R; Adimora, Adaora A; Haardörfer, Regine; Wingood, Gina M; Ludema, Christina; Rubtsova, Anna; Hickson, DeMarc A; Ross, Zev; Golub, Elizabeth; Bolivar, Hector; Cooper, Hannah Lf

2017-12-01

Neighbourhood characteristics (eg, high poverty rates) are associated with STIs among HIV-uninfected women in the USA. However, no multilevel analyses investigating the associations between neighbourhood exposures and STIs have explored these relationships among women living with HIV infection. The objectives of this study were to: (1) examine relationships between neighbourhood characteristics and current STI status and (2) investigate whether the magnitudes and directions of these relationships varied by HIV status in a predominantly HIV-infected cohort of women living in the Southern USA. This cross-sectional multilevel analysis tests relationships between census tract characteristics and current STI status using data from 737 women enrolled at the Women's Interagency HIV Study's southern sites (530 HIV-infected and 207 HIV-uninfected women). Administrative data (eg, US Census) described the census tract-level social disorder (eg, violent crime rate) and social disadvantage (eg, alcohol outlet density) where women lived. Participant-level data were gathered via survey. Testing positive for a current STI was defined as a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis or syphilis. Hierarchical generalised linear models were used to determine relationships between tract-level characteristics and current STI status, and to test whether these relationships varied by HIV status. Eleven per cent of participants tested positive for at least one current STI. Greater tract-level social disorder (OR=1.34, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.87) and social disadvantage (OR=1.34, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.86) were associated with having a current STI. There was no evidence of additive or multiplicative interaction between tract-level characteristics and HIV status. Findings suggest that neighbourhood characteristics may be associated with current STIs among women living in the South, and that relationships do not vary by HIV status. Future research should establish the

Spent fuel management: Current status and prospects 1997. Proceedings of a regular advisory group meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-03-01

Spent fuel management has always been one of the important stages in the nuclear fuel cycle and it is still most vital problems common to all countries with nuclear reactors. It begins with the discharge of spent fuel from a power or a research reactor and ends with its ultimate disposition. Two options exist - an open, once-through cycle with direct disposal of the spent fuel and a closed cycle with reprocessing of the spent fuel, recycling of reprocessed plutonium and uranium in new mixed oxide fuels and disposal of the radioactive waste. Continuous attention is being given by the IAEA to the collection, analysis and exchange of information on spent fuel management. Its role in this area is to provide a forum for exchanging information and to co-ordinate and to encourage closer co-operation among Member States in certain research and development activities that are of common interest. Spent fuel management is recognized as a high priority IAEA activity. The Regular Advisory Group on Spent Fuel Management was established in 1982. The objective of the Regular Advisory Group is to serve as a means of exchanging information on the current status and progress of national programmes on spent fuel management and to provide advice to the IAEA. The results of the last Regular Advisory Group meeting (9-12 September 1997) are reflected in this report. It gives an overview of the status of spent fuel management programmes in a number of countries, a description of the current status and prospects of activities in this field and recommendations of the participants

Radiotherapy of Teikyo University. Second report. Experience and the current status at Itabashi Hospital. Brachytherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogata, Hitoshi; Yokokawa, Tokuzo; Shirai, Tatsuo; Furui, Shigeru

2005-01-01

To answer the big trend of information disclosure, we are trying to report the experience and the current status of Radiotherapy in Teikyo University. Since 1974, Teikyo University has installed a High-Dose-Rate Remote Afterloading System (HDR RALS) at Itabashi Hospital for brachytherapy. We analyzed the total cases comprehensively in this paper. There were 421 cases treated by Ralstron (Shimazu Co.) between 1974 and 1995 and 128 cases treated additionally between the renewal by Microselectron (Nucletron Co.) and the end of 2002. For several years from the beginning, the number of cases treated by Ralstron had been 30-35 cases annually, but since 1987, the number decreased markedly to fewer than 10 cases per year. After the installation of Microselectron, the number increased gradually to 15 cases per year. Gynecologic tumors accounted for 88.5% of the total cases, namely 96.9% by Ralstron and 60.1% by Microselectron. The others treated by Microselectron were 27 cases with Head and Neck tumors, and 21 cases with digestive tract tumors. To increase the number of the patients for brachytherapy, we should continue to open our current status, and make close relationships between the neighbor hospitals and Teikyo Hospital. (author)

The Dortmund low background facility. Current status and recent developments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goessling, Claus; Kroeninger, Kevin; Nitsch, Christian [Experimentelle Physik IV, TU Dortmund, 44221 Dortmund (Germany)

2016-07-01

The Dortmund Low Background Facility (DLB) is a low-background gamma ray spectrometry system with an artificial overburden. The overburden of ten meters of water equivalent, in combination with a multi-layer lead castle and an active muon veto are shielding a high-purity germanium detector of 60 % relative efficiency. The background level is remarkably low compared to a conventional spectrometer system without special shielding and enables sensitivities well below 1 Bq/kg. Thus, material screening measurements as well as environmental monitoring measurements are possible on an easy-accessible location above ground at the campus of the Technische Universitaet Dortmund. The integral background count rate between 40 keV and 2700 keV is 2.528±0.004 counts/kg/min, which is comparable to systems that are situated below ground. In the talk, an overview of the current status of the DLB is given and recent developments are presented.

The status quo and the prospect of extraction of resources in seawater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katoh, Shunsaku

1991-01-01

Sea is the natural storage, and the enormous quantity of river water which contains the large amount of ions and compositions flows into sea, accordingly it has been calculated that seawater is replaced with new water in about 4 x 10 4 years. Sea is always agitated by tidal current, therefore, the composition of seawater is nearly uniform in most sea areas. Almost all elements existing in nature are dissolved in seawater, and the state of dissolution of main elements and their concentration are shown. The total quantity of seawater is as enormous as 1.35 x 10 9 km 3 , accordingly even in the trace elements in seawater, the total dissolved amount is enormous. For Japan which lacks resources, it is the important subject to develop the technology of effectively utilizing the resources in sea. The methods of obtaining sodium chloride, magnesium, bromine and potassium, which are the main components of seawater, are briefly explained. As the extraction of trace components, gold and silver, uranium, lithium, boron, strontium, vanadium, molybdenum, yttrium and heavy water are taken up. The optimal system must be built including the development of high performance adsorbents. (K.I.)

Japanese status-quo and our activities in the field of nuclear fuel recycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sada, Masao; Imai, Osamu

1983-01-01

Nuclear energy is expected to take the place of current petroleum-base-energy in the near future. In order to effectively utilize the nuclear energy, nuclear fuel recycle system has to be established. The technology for reprocessing the spent fuel, which is a part of this recycle system, is very similar to the ones in chemical industry. Our company has been keeping its eyes on the field of such nuclear energy as one of the future promising businesses and recentrly established Nuclear Energy Department as a center for further expanding the business opportunity in the field of such spent fuel reprocessing as well as other fields of nuclear fuel recycle system. (author)

A study on current status of KAERI's international cooperation programs and strategies for effective implementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Park, Chun Kab; Noh, In Young; Kim, Young Min

1998-12-01

This is a report on the status and analysis of standard agreement for technical cooperation, expert mission service and technical staff attachment. This report comprises a total of six chapters. Chapter II discusses the status of the technical cooperation agreement which took effect late 1998, and various other model agreements for technical cooperation. Chapter III provides information on the status, regulations, procedures for the expert mission service, and Chapter IV details the current status of the technical staff attachment and the related procedures. Chapter V deals with the utilization status and analysis of the English Counselor, and Chapter VI is the Conclusion. This report has tow objectives. First, we have never published reference books related to standard agreement for technical cooperation, expert mission service and technical staff attachment necessary for international joint research until now. As a result, the research divisions have often asked many questions to the office of international cooperation. Therefore, we expect that many difficulties will be removed and procedures simplified if the research divisions use this report as a reference book. Second, we plan to use this report reference book for policy decisions after establishing the database. (author). 5 tabs., 9 figs.

Cyclotron facilities in Brazil: Current status and licensing aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Facure, A.; Carvalho, S.M.; Di Prinzio, R.; Silveira, C.S.; Gasparian, P.B.R.; Franca, W.F.

2017-01-01

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a highly sensitive and accurate nuclear medicine imaging technology but the major problem of this technique is the use of radioisotopes with short half-life, less than two hours. The production and selling of short half-life radioisotopes used to be monopoly of the Brazilian Government. In 2006, a Constitutional Amendment revoked the state monopoly due to the need for the use of short half-life radioisotopes in nuclear medicine centers very far from the government production facilities. The aim of this study is to describe the current status of short half-life radioisotopes production in Brazil and discuss some licensing process. In Brazil, as has been occurring worldwide, the number of nuclear medicine centers is increasing. Currently there are 123 services performing PET scans in Brazil. There are 14 cyclotrons operating in Brazil. The type of licensing process conducted in Brazil does not take into account the population density of each state, with a free competition model being adopted. Because of this there is a lot of equipment concentrated in the Southeast and no cyclotrons operating in the Northern part of the country. One of the biggest obstacles during the licensing process is the designation of qualified personnel as operation workers and radiation safety officers. The number of cyclotron accelerators and PET/CT equipment increased in recent years. However, a number of external factors such as the distance from the nuclear medicine centers, and qualified personnel have proved crucial for the economic viability of this type of facility. (author)

Cyclotron facilities in Brazil: Current status and licensing aspects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Facure, A.; Carvalho, S.M.; Di Prinzio, R.; Silveira, C.S.; Gasparian, P.B.R.; Franca, W.F., E-mail: facure@cnen.gov.br [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2017-09-01

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a highly sensitive and accurate nuclear medicine imaging technology but the major problem of this technique is the use of radioisotopes with short half-life, less than two hours. The production and selling of short half-life radioisotopes used to be monopoly of the Brazilian Government. In 2006, a Constitutional Amendment revoked the state monopoly due to the need for the use of short half-life radioisotopes in nuclear medicine centers very far from the government production facilities. The aim of this study is to describe the current status of short half-life radioisotopes production in Brazil and discuss some licensing process. In Brazil, as has been occurring worldwide, the number of nuclear medicine centers is increasing. Currently there are 123 services performing PET scans in Brazil. There are 14 cyclotrons operating in Brazil. The type of licensing process conducted in Brazil does not take into account the population density of each state, with a free competition model being adopted. Because of this there is a lot of equipment concentrated in the Southeast and no cyclotrons operating in the Northern part of the country. One of the biggest obstacles during the licensing process is the designation of qualified personnel as operation workers and radiation safety officers. The number of cyclotron accelerators and PET/CT equipment increased in recent years. However, a number of external factors such as the distance from the nuclear medicine centers, and qualified personnel have proved crucial for the economic viability of this type of facility. (author)

The Majorana Demonstrator for 0νββ: Current Status and Future Plans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, Matthew P. [ORNL; Avignone, F. T. [University of South Carolina/Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Bertrand, Jr, Fred E [ORNL; Galindo-Uribarri, Alfredo [ORNL; Radford, David C [ORNL; Romero-Romero, Elisa [ORNL; Varner, Jr, Robert L [ORNL; White, Brandon R [ORNL; Wilkerson, J. F. [UNC/Triangle Univ. Nucl. Lab, Durham, NC/ORNL; Yu, Chang-Hong [ORNL

2015-01-01

The Majorana Demonstrator will search for neutrinoless-double-beta decay (0νββ) in 76Ge, while establishing the feasibility of a future tonne-scale germanium-based 0νββ experiment, and performing searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model. The experiment, currently under construction at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, SD, will consist of a pair of modular high-purity germanium detector arrays housed inside of a compact copper, lead, and polyethylene shield. Through a combination of strict materials qualifications and assay, low-background design, and powerful background rejection techniques, the Demonstrator aims to achieve a background rate in the 0νββ region of interest (ROI) of no more than 3cnts/(ROI-t-y). The current status of the Demonstrator is discussed, as are plans for its completion.

Assessing the options for a competitive electricity market in Israel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tishler, A.; Newman, J.; Spekterman, I.; Woo, C.K.

2008-01-01

In July 2006, the Israeli government affirmed its 2003 decision to reform the Israeli electricity industry, currently dominated by the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), a government-owned vertically integrated electric utility. The reform calls for the deregulation and privatization of the generation and customer service segments of the industry, leaving transmission and distribution (T and D) regulated to provide open access to all end-users. This paper projects the performance of the post-reform market structure for the period 2007-2030 relative to that of the status quo. The post-reform generation market's prices are determined according to the Cournot conjecture. To mitigate excessive price volatility and surges, the generation market also includes a firm that is contracted to make peak electricity sales to customers at a pre-determined price, only when the competitive price exceeds the pre-determined level. Our results show (a) the post-reform retail prices for end-users will exceed those under the status quo; (b) the post-reform profits may not be sufficient to keep firms operating combined cycle generation units financially viable; and (c) the net benefit from deregulating the electricity sector in Israel will most likely be negative. (author)

Bioelectromagnetics Research within an Australian Context: The Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah P. Loughran

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Mobile phone subscriptions continue to increase across the world, with the electromagnetic fields (EMF emitted by these devices, as well as by related technologies such as Wi-Fi and smart meters, now ubiquitous. This increase in use and consequent exposure to mobile communication (MC-related EMF has led to concern about possible health effects that could arise from this exposure. Although much research has been conducted since the introduction of these technologies, uncertainty about the impact on health remains. The Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR is a National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence that is undertaking research addressing the most important aspects of the MC-EMF health debate, with a strong focus on mechanisms, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and exposure dosimetry. This research takes as its starting point the current scientific status quo, but also addresses the adequacy of the evidence for the status quo. Risk communication research complements the above, and aims to ensure that whatever is found, it is communicated effectively and appropriately. This paper provides a summary of this ACEBR research (both completed and ongoing, and discusses the rationale for conducting it in light of the prevailing science.

Bioelectromagnetics Research within an Australian Context: The Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR).

Science.gov (United States)

Loughran, Sarah P; Al Hossain, Md Shahriar; Bentvelzen, Alan; Elwood, Mark; Finnie, John; Horvat, Joseph; Iskra, Steve; Ivanova, Elena P; Manavis, Jim; Mudiyanselage, Chathuranga Keerawella; Lajevardipour, Alireza; Martinac, Boris; McIntosh, Robert; McKenzie, Raymond; Mustapic, Mislav; Nakayama, Yoshitaka; Pirogova, Elena; Rashid, M Harunur; Taylor, Nigel A; Todorova, Nevena; Wiedemann, Peter M; Vink, Robert; Wood, Andrew; Yarovsky, Irene; Croft, Rodney J

2016-09-29

Mobile phone subscriptions continue to increase across the world, with the electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by these devices, as well as by related technologies such as Wi-Fi and smart meters, now ubiquitous. This increase in use and consequent exposure to mobile communication (MC)-related EMF has led to concern about possible health effects that could arise from this exposure. Although much research has been conducted since the introduction of these technologies, uncertainty about the impact on health remains. The Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR) is a National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence that is undertaking research addressing the most important aspects of the MC-EMF health debate, with a strong focus on mechanisms, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and exposure dosimetry. This research takes as its starting point the current scientific status quo, but also addresses the adequacy of the evidence for the status quo. Risk communication research complements the above, and aims to ensure that whatever is found, it is communicated effectively and appropriately. This paper provides a summary of this ACEBR research (both completed and ongoing), and discusses the rationale for conducting it in light of the prevailing science.

Current situation and discussion of acquisition work in professional libraries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Yan; Xin Pingping

2010-01-01

The acquisition work in professional libraries is an important part of library work, and faces enormous challenges at this stage. For the status quo of the acquisition work in professional libraries, we should develop effective acquisition principles to ensure the integrity of our professional library's collection and systematic literature, and to provide more effective protection for relevant research work. We need reasonable arrangements for the procurement of books with limited funding to avoid the waste of funds. We should use the network, to actively develop the procurement channels, and to establish accurate and reliable systematic network of information resources for the reader. We need to consciously cultivate and improve the professional competence of acquisition staff, to meet the requirement of the acquisition staff in the new situation. We should carry out knowledge management in professional library, to form a competitive 'knowledge resources'. For information research, technical personnel, and scientific researchers, we provide effective information services in time, and carry out personalized services. (authors)

Lymphoma: current status of clinical and preclinical imaging with radiolabeled antibodies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

England, Christopher G. [University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medical Physics, Madison, WI (United States); Rui, Lixin [University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medicine, Madison, WI (United States); University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI (United States); Cai, Weibo [University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medical Physics, Madison, WI (United States); University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI (United States); University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Radiology, Madison, WI (United States)

2017-03-15

Lymphoma is a complex disease that arises from cells of the immune system with an intricate pathology. While lymphoma may be classified as Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin, each type of tumor is genetically and phenotypically different and highly invasive tissue biopsies are the only method to investigate these differences. Noninvasive imaging strategies, such as immunoPET, can provide a vital insight into disease staging, monitoring treatment response in patients, and dose planning in radioimmunotherapy. ImmunoPET imaging with radiolabeled antibody-based tracers may also assist physicians in optimizing treatment strategies and enhancing patient stratification. Currently, there are two common biomarkers for molecular imaging of lymphoma, CD20 and CD30, both of which have been considered for investigation in preclinical imaging studies. In this review, we examine the current status of both preclinical and clinical imaging of lymphoma using radiolabeled antibodies. Additionally, we briefly investigate the role of radiolabeled antibodies in lymphoma therapy. As radiolabeled antibodies play critical roles in both imaging and therapy of lymphoma, the development of novel antibodies and the discovery of new biomarkers may greatly affect lymphoma imaging and therapy in the future. (orig.)

Lymphoma: current status of clinical and preclinical imaging with radiolabeled antibodies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

England, Christopher G.; Rui, Lixin; Cai, Weibo

2017-01-01

Lymphoma is a complex disease that arises from cells of the immune system with an intricate pathology. While lymphoma may be classified as Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin, each type of tumor is genetically and phenotypically different and highly invasive tissue biopsies are the only method to investigate these differences. Noninvasive imaging strategies, such as immunoPET, can provide a vital insight into disease staging, monitoring treatment response in patients, and dose planning in radioimmunotherapy. ImmunoPET imaging with radiolabeled antibody-based tracers may also assist physicians in optimizing treatment strategies and enhancing patient stratification. Currently, there are two common biomarkers for molecular imaging of lymphoma, CD20 and CD30, both of which have been considered for investigation in preclinical imaging studies. In this review, we examine the current status of both preclinical and clinical imaging of lymphoma using radiolabeled antibodies. Additionally, we briefly investigate the role of radiolabeled antibodies in lymphoma therapy. As radiolabeled antibodies play critical roles in both imaging and therapy of lymphoma, the development of novel antibodies and the discovery of new biomarkers may greatly affect lymphoma imaging and therapy in the future. (orig.)

Current status and improvement of the nuclear physics experiment course for speciality of nuclear physics and nuclear technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qu Guopu; Guo Lanying

1999-01-01

The author reviews the current status of the nuclear physics experiment course for speciality of nuclear physics and nuclear technology in higher education and expresses author's views on the future improvement of the nuclear physics experiment course

Postmodern Exhibition Discourse: Anthropological Study of an Art Display Case.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Wieczorek

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article studies tendencies in contemporary museum exhibitions and art display trends. While analysing current status quo of art in the museum context, it discusses the limitations of curatorial impact on the audience perception of the displayed objects. The paper presents a case study of a permanent museum exhibition with an added performance element. As argued in the article, such approach allows a stratified narrative and provokes a dialogue between the audience, performers, and curators, fully reflecting postmodern polyphonic tendency. The aim of the article is to comment on postmodern trends in museology, the status of the displayed art (object, and contemporary exhibition identity.

Current status of fast reactor physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hummel, H.H.

1979-01-01

The subject of calculation of reactivity coefficients for fast reactors is developed, starting with a discussion of the status of relevant nuclear data and proceeding to the subjects of group cross section generation and of methods of obtaining reactivity coefficients from group cross sections. Reactivity coefficients measured in critical experiments are compared with calculated values. Dependence of reactivity coefficients on reactor design is discussed. Finally, results of the recent international comparison of calculated reactivity coefficients are presented

Quantum information processing and communication : Strategic report on current status, visions and goals for research in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kouwenhoven, L.; Mooij, J.E.

2005-01-01

e present an excerpt of the document “Quantum Information Processing and Communication: Strategic report on current status, visions and goals for research in Europe”, which has been recently published in electronic form at the website of FET (the Future and Emerging Technologies Unit of the

Current status of the US RERTR Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Travelli, A.

1982-01-01

This paper describes the status of the RERTR Program. The main objective is to provide the audience with some orientation and sense of perspective that may assist in viewing the other program presentations as part of an overall effort, rather than as separate and unrelated activities

The Case of Web-Based Course on Taxation: Current Status, Problems and Future Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Zhigang

This paper mainly introduces the case of the web-based course on taxation developed by Xiamen University. We analyze the current status, problems and future improvement of the web-based course. The web-based course has the basic contents and modules, but it has several problems including unclear object, lacking interaction, lacking examination module, lacking study management module, and the learning materials and the navigation are too simple. According to its problems, we put forward the measures to improve it.

Current R and D Status on High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal in Selected Countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Youn Myoung; Hwang, Yong Soo

2008-11-15

Current R and D status of such countries moving forward as the United States, Sweden, France, Japan and a few other countries for high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal in deep geological formation has been reviewed. Even though no HLW repositories have not practically constructed nor operated yet, lots of related R and D are being proceeded in many countries as well as in Korea. Through this brief review further progress is anticipated in this related R and D area in Korea.

The current status and prospect of nuclear power in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei, S. [State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., Beijing (China)

2014-07-01

'Full text:' China's nuclear power development has attracted world attention. This paper presented the current status of the nuclear power plant in China. By June 30, 2014, China has 20 operational units of 18.05GWe installed capacity, taking up 1.44% of the country's total. All the units have been operating well without any events above INES Level 1 in 2013. China also has 28 units of 30.5GWe installed capacity under construction, which accounts for around 40% of that in the world. The paper presented the progress of AP1000 in China. China made a national plan for 2011 to 2020 with the target to reach 58GWe operational nuclear power and 30GWe under construction by 2020. The Chinese President Xi Jinping urged recently to speed up the approval for new builds. This paper also presented the work of 'Go Global' by Chinese nuclear companies, i.e., their development of international market. (author)

The current status and prospect of nuclear power in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, S.

2014-01-01

'Full text:' China's nuclear power development has attracted world attention. This paper presented the current status of the nuclear power plant in China. By June 30, 2014, China has 20 operational units of 18.05GWe installed capacity, taking up 1.44% of the country's total. All the units have been operating well without any events above INES Level 1 in 2013. China also has 28 units of 30.5GWe installed capacity under construction, which accounts for around 40% of that in the world. The paper presented the progress of AP1000 in China. China made a national plan for 2011 to 2020 with the target to reach 58GWe operational nuclear power and 30GWe under construction by 2020. The Chinese President Xi Jinping urged recently to speed up the approval for new builds. This paper also presented the work of 'Go Global' by Chinese nuclear companies, i.e., their development of international market. (author)

Physiology and Endocrinology Symposium: The current status of heat shock in early embryonic survival and reproductive efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

The Physiology and Endocrinology Symposium entitled “The Current Status of Heat Shock in Early Embryonic Survival and Reproductive Efficiency” was held at the Joint ADSA-CSAS-AMPA-WSAS-ASAS Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, July 15 to 19, 2012. In recent years, data has accumulated suggesting a role for...

Current status of nuclear physics research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertulani, Carlos A.; Hussein, Mahir S.

2015-01-01

In this review, we discuss the current status of research in nuclear physics which is being carried out in different centers in the world. For this purpose, we supply a short account of the development in the area which evolved over the last nine decades, since the discovery of the neutron. The evolution of the physics of the atomic nucleus went through many stages as more data became available. We briefly discuss models introduced to discern the physics behind the experimental discoveries, such as the shell model, the collective model, the statistical model, the interacting boson model, etc., some of these models may be seemingly in conflict with each other, but this was shown to be only apparent. The richness of the ideas and abundance of theoretical models attests to the important fact that the nucleus is a really singular system in the sense that it evolves from two-body bound states such as the deuteron, to few-body bound states, such as 4 He, 7 Li, 9 Be, etc. and up the ladder to heavier bound nuclei containing up to more than 200 nucleons. Clearly, statistical mechanics, usually employed in systems with very large number of particles, would seemingly not work for such finite systems as the nuclei, neither do other theories which are applicable to condensed matter. The richness of nuclear physics stems from these restrictions. New theories and models are presently being developed. Theories of the structure and reactions of neutron-rich and proton-rich nuclei, called exotic nuclei, halo nuclei, or Borromean nuclei, deal with the wealth of experimental data that became available in the last 35 years. Furthermore, nuclear astrophysics and stellar and Big Bang nucleosynthesis have become a more mature subject. Due to limited space, this review only covers a few selected topics, mainly those with which the authors have worked on. Our aimed potential readers of this review are nuclear physicists and physicists in other areas, as well as graduate students interested

Current status of nuclear physics research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertulani, Carlos A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University-Commerce (United States); Hussein, Mahir S., E-mail: hussein@if.usp.br [Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica (ITA), Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil). Dept. de Fisica

2015-12-15

In this review, we discuss the current status of research in nuclear physics which is being carried out in different centers in the world. For this purpose, we supply a short account of the development in the area which evolved over the last nine decades, since the discovery of the neutron. The evolution of the physics of the atomic nucleus went through many stages as more data became available. We briefly discuss models introduced to discern the physics behind the experimental discoveries, such as the shell model, the collective model, the statistical model, the interacting boson model, etc., some of these models may be seemingly in conflict with each other, but this was shown to be only apparent. The richness of the ideas and abundance of theoretical models attests to the important fact that the nucleus is a really singular system in the sense that it evolves from two-body bound states such as the deuteron, to few-body bound states, such as {sup 4}He, {sup 7}Li, {sup 9}Be, etc. and up the ladder to heavier bound nuclei containing up to more than 200 nucleons. Clearly, statistical mechanics, usually employed in systems with very large number of particles, would seemingly not work for such finite systems as the nuclei, neither do other theories which are applicable to condensed matter. The richness of nuclear physics stems from these restrictions. New theories and models are presently being developed. Theories of the structure and reactions of neutron-rich and proton-rich nuclei, called exotic nuclei, halo nuclei, or Borromean nuclei, deal with the wealth of experimental data that became available in the last 35 years. Furthermore, nuclear astrophysics and stellar and Big Bang nucleosynthesis have become a more mature subject. Due to limited space, this review only covers a few selected topics, mainly those with which the authors have worked on. Our aimed potential readers of this review are nuclear physicists and physicists in other areas, as well as graduate

Personal dosimetric monitoring in Ukraine: current status and further development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chumak, V. V.; Musijachenkom, A. V.; Boguslavskaya, A. I.

2003-01-01

Presently Ukraine has mixed system for dosimetric monitoring. Nuclear power plants and some major nuclear facilities have their own dosimetry services, which are responsible for regular dosimetric monitoring of workers. Rest of occupationally exposed persons is monitored by dosimetry laboratories affiliated to the territorial authorities for sanitary and epidemiology supervision. In 2002-2003 Ukrainian Ministry of Health performed survey of the status of dosimetric monitoring and inventory of critical groups requiring such monitoring. Dosimetry services in Ukraine cover about 38,000 occupationally exposed workers, including 9,100 medical professionals, 16,400 employees of 5 nuclear power plants and ca.12,400 workers dealing with other sources of occupational exposure (industry, research). Territorial dosimetry services operate in 13 of 24 regions of Ukraine, using DTU-01 manual TLD readers produced with one exception in 1988-1990. The coverage of critical groups by dosimetric monitoring is variable and ranges from 38% to 100% depending on the region. Personnel of nuclear power plants (about 16,400 workers) is monitored by their own dosimetry services achieving absolute coverage of the main staff and temporary workers. Current inadequate status of dosimetric monitoring infrastructure in Ukraine demands an urgent elaboration of the united state system for monitoring and recording of individual doses. The proposed plan would allows to bring dosimetry infrastructure in Ukraine to the modern state which would be compatible with existing and future European and international radiation protection networks. Unitary structure of Ukraine, strong administrative command and good communications between regions of the country are positive factors in favour of efficient implementation of the proposed plan. Deficiencies are associated with limited funding of this effort. (authors)

Current global status of carotid artery stent placement.

Science.gov (United States)

Wholey, M H; Wholey, M; Bergeron, P; Diethrich, E B; Henry, M; Laborde, J C; Mathias, K; Myla, S; Roubin, G S; Shawl, F; Theron, J G; Yadav, J S; Dorros, G; Guimaraens, J; Higashida, R; Kumar, V; Leon, M; Lim, M; Londero, H; Mesa, J; Ramee, S; Rodriguez, A; Rosenfield, K; Teitelbaum, G; Vozzi, C

1998-05-01

Our purpose was to review the current status of carotid artery stent placement throughout the world. Surveys were sent to major interventional centers in Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Information from peer-reviewed journals was also included and supplemented the survey. The survey asked various questions regarding the patients enrolled, procedure techniques, and results of carotid stenting, including complications and restenosis. Of the centers which were sent surveys, 24 responded. The total number of endovascular carotid stent procedures that have been performed worldwide to date included 2,048 cases, with a technical success of 98.6%. Complications that occurred during carotid stent placement or within a 30-day period following placement were recorded. Overall, there were 63 minor strokes, with a rate of occurrence of 3.08%. The total number of major strokes was 27, for a rate of 1.32%. There were 28 deaths within a 30-day postprocedure period, resulting in a mortality rate of 1.37%. Restenosis rates of carotid stenting have been 4.80% at 6 mo. Endovascular stent treatment of carotid artery atherosclerotic disease is growing as an alternative to vascular surgery, especially for patients that are at high risk for standard carotid endarterectomy. The periprocedural risks for major and minor strokes and death are generally acceptable at this early stage of development.

Current status of the world's research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodd, B.

1999-01-01

Data from the IAEA's Research Reactor Database (RRDB) provides information with respect to the status of the world's research reactors. Some summary data are given. Recent initiatives by the IAEA regarding communications and information flow with respect to research reactors are discussed. Future plans and perspectives are also introduced. (author)

Sino-Japanese Relations: Cooperation, Competition, or Status Quo?

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Taylor, Fred H

2008-01-01

Over the course of their history, bilateral Sino-Japanese relations have experienced a paradoxical relationship of autonomy and interdependence, mutual respect and suspicion, and admiration and condescension...

The German Energiewende – History and status quo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hake, Jürgen-Friedrich; Fischer, Wolfgang; Venghaus, Sandra; Weckenbrock, Christoph

2015-01-01

Industrialized nations rely heavily on fossil fuels as an economic factor. Energy systems therefore play a special part in realizing visions of future sustainable societies. In Germany, successive governments have specified their ideas on sustainable development and the related energy system. Detailed objectives make the vision of the Energiewende – the transformation of the energy sector – more concrete. Many Germans hope that the country sets a positive example for other nations whose energy systems also heavily rely on fossil fuels. A glance at the historical dimensions of this transformation shows that the origins of German energy objectives lie more than thirty years in the past. The realization of these goals has not been free from tensions and conflicts. This article aims at explaining Germany's pioneering role in the promotion of an energy system largely built on renewable energy sources by disclosing the drivers that have successively led to the Energiewende. To reveal these drivers, the historical emergence of energy politics in Germany was analyzed especially with respect to path dependencies and discourses (and their underlying power relations) as well as exogenous events that have enabled significant shifts in the political energy strategy of Germany. - Highlights: • Analysis of key drivers of the German Energiewende. • Enabled by special constellation of political developments and external incidents. • Resulted in changing power constellations and discourse dynamics. • Contended political process spurred strong economic leaders to support renewables. • Their impact drove all political parties towards nuclear phase-out and Energiewende.

Comments on the current status and possible future directions of research on heavy-ion interactions near the Coulomb barrier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satchler, G.R.

1990-01-01

This paper contains comments on the current status and possible future directions of research on heavy-ion interactions near the Coulomb barrier. Fusion reactions, elastic and inelastic scattering and transfer reactions are discussed

Radiation processing in India. Current status and future program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mittal, Jai Pal

2003-01-01

Radiation processing is an alternative to conventional methods such as thermal and chemical processing in many industrial applications. In India, this technology has found extensive applications in area of healthcare, agriculture, food preservation, industry and environment. Both gamma radiation and electron beam accelerators are being utilized for this purpose. Presently, 6 commercial gamma irradiators housing about 1.5 million curie Co-60 and an annual turnover of over US$ 2 million and 3 commercial electron beam (EB) accelerators with installed capacity of 185 kW are commercially operating in India. Five demonstration plants housing a total of 0.5 million curie Co-60 have been set up to assess the techno-commercial viability of the processes such as radiation vulcanization of natural rubber latex, decontamination of spices, hygienization of sewage sludge, shelf-life extension of onions. The new areas being explored include use of electron beam treated pulp for viscose-rayon process, radiation processed 'hydrogel' burn/wound dressings and radiation processing of natural polymers. In the present paper, the current status of this program, especially the recent developments and future direction of radiation processing technology in India is reviewed. (author)

Management of reprocessed uranium. Current status and future prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-02-01

There is worldwide interest in developing advanced and innovative technologies for nuclear fuel cycles, minimizing waste and environmental impacts. As of the beginning of 2003, about 171000 tonnes heavy metal spent nuclear fuel is in storage, while smaller amounts have been reprocessed. In several countries, including France, India, Japan and the Russian Federation, spent fuel has been viewed as a national energy resource. Some countries hold reprocessed uranium as the result of their commercial reprocessing service contracts for reprocessing the spent fuel of others. Reprocessed uranium has a potential value for recycling either directly or after appropriate treatment. This report analyses the existing options, approaches and developments in the management of reprocessed uranium. It includes the technical issues involved in managing reprocessed uranium which are RepU arisings, storage, chemical conversion, re-enrichment, fuel fabrication, transport, reactor irradiation, subsequent reprocessing and disposal options, as well as assessment of holistic environmental impacts. The objective of this document is to overview the information on the current status and future trends in the management of RepU and to identify major issues to be considered for future projects

Current status of the UCSF second-generation PACS

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, H. K.; Arenson, Ronald L.; Wong, Albert W. K.; Bazzill, Todd M.; Lou, Shyhliang A.; Andriole, Katherine P.; Wang, Jun; Zhang, Jianguo; Wong, Stephen T. C.

1996-05-01

This paper describes the current status of the second generation PACS at UCSF commenced in October 1992. The UCSF PACS is designed in-house as a hospital-integrated PACS based on an open architecture concept using industrial standards including UNIX operating system, C programming language, X-Window user interface, TCP/IP communication protocol, DICOM 3.0 image standard and HL7 health data format. Other manufacturer's PACS components which conform with these standards can be easily integrated into the system. Relevant data from HIS and RIS is automatically incorporated into the PACS using HL7 data format and TCP/IP communication protocol. The UCSF system also takes advantage of state-of-the-art communication, storage, and software technologies in ATM, multiple storage media, automatic programming, multilevel processes for a better cost-performance system. The primary PACS network is the 155 Mbits/sec OC3 ATM with the Ethernet as the back-up. The UCSF PACS also connects Mt. Zion Hospital and San Francisco VA Medical Center in the San Francisco Bay area via an ATM wide area network with a T1 line as the back-up. Currently, five MR and five CT scanners from multiple sites, two computed radiography systems, two film digitizers, one US PACS module, the hospital HIS and the department RIS have been connected to the PACS network. The image data is managed by a mirrored database (Sybase). The PACS controller, with its 1.3 terabyte optical disk library, acquires 2.5 gigabytes digital data daily. Four 2K, five, 1,600-line multiple monitor display workstations are on line in neuroradiology, pediatric radiology and intensive care units for clinical use. In addition, the PACS supports over 100 Macintosh users in the department and selected hospital sites for both images and textual retrieval through a client/server mechanism. We are also developing a computation and visualization node in the PACS network for advancing radiology research.

Efforts Aimed To Reduce Attrition in Antimalarial Drug Discovery: A Systematic Evaluation of the Current Antimalarial Targets Portfolio.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaparro, María Jesús; Calderón, Félix; Castañeda, Pablo; Fernández-Alvaro, Elena; Gabarró, Raquel; Gamo, Francisco Javier; Gómez-Lorenzo, María G; Martín, Julio; Fernández, Esther

2018-04-13

Malaria remains a major global health problem. In 2015 alone, more than 200 million cases of malaria were reported, and more than 400,000 deaths occurred. Since 2010, emerging resistance to current front-line ACTs (artemisinin combination therapies) has been detected in endemic countries. Therefore, there is an urgency for new therapies based on novel modes of action, able to relieve symptoms as fast as the artemisinins and/or block malaria transmission. During the past few years, the antimalarial community has focused their efforts on phenotypic screening as a pragmatic approach to identify new hits. Optimization efforts on several chemical series have been successful, and clinical candidates have been identified. In addition, recent advances in genetics and proteomics have led to the target deconvolution of phenotypic clinical candidates. New mechanisms of action will also be critical to overcome resistance and reduce attrition. Therefore, a complementary strategy focused on identifying well-validated targets to start hit identification programs is essential to reinforce the clinical pipeline. Leveraging published data, we have assessed the status quo of the current antimalarial target portfolio with a focus on the blood stage clinical disease. From an extensive list of reported Plasmodium targets, we have defined triage criteria. These criteria consider genetic, pharmacological, and chemical validation, as well as tractability/doability, and safety implications. These criteria have provided a quantitative score that has led us to prioritize those targets with the highest probability to deliver successful and differentiated new drugs.

Stemless shoulder arthroplasty: current status.

Science.gov (United States)

Churchill, R Sean

2014-09-01

Since the original Neer humeral replacement in the 1950s, the standard primary anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty design has slowly evolved. Most recently, the humeral stem has become progressively shorter to help combat stem-related complications. Currently, there are several companies who have developed and marketed a stemless humeral arthroplasty component. Manufacturers' data for 5 stemless shoulder arthroplasty components currently on the market were analyzed and reviewed. A literature review of short-term results for stemless shoulder arthroplasty was completed. Of the stemless shoulder arthroplasty systems available on the market, 3 are currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States. The Tornier Simpliciti (Tornier, Edina, MN, USA) clinical trial began in 2011. The study with 2-year minimum follow-up results is scheduled for completion in November 2014. The Arthrex Eclipse (Arthrex, Naples, FL, USA) clinical trial was started in January 2013. The tentative study completion date is 2017. The Biomet Nano (Biomet, Warsaw, IN, USA) clinical trial began in October 2013 and also has a tentative completion date of 2017. No other clinical trial is currently under way in the United States. Early results for stemless shoulder arthroplasty indicate clinical results similar to standard stemmed shoulder arthroplasty. Radiographic analysis indicates implant stability without migration or subsidence at 2- to 3-year minimum follow-up.. Several stemless shoulder arthroplasty implants are available outside the United States. Early clinical and radiographic results are promising, but well-designed clinical studies and midterm results are lacking. Three clinical trials are currently under way in the United States with initial availability for use anticipated in 2015. Copyright © 2014 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

The current status and future plans for the Monte Carlo codes MONK and MCBEND

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, N.; Shuttleworth, T.; Grimstone, M.; Hutton, L.; Armishaw, M.; Bird, A.; France, N.; Connolly, S.

2001-01-01

MONK and MCBEND are software tools used for criticality/reactor physics and shielding/dosimetry/general radiation transport applications respectively. The codes are developed by a collaboration comprising AEA Technology and BNFL, and AEA Technology's ANSWERS Software Service supplies them to customers throughout the world on a commercial basis. In keeping with this commercial nature it is vital that the codes' development programmes evolve to meet the diverse expectations of the current and potential customer base. This involves striving to maintain an acceptable balance in the development of the various components that comprise a modern software package. This paper summarises the current status of MONK and MCBEND by indicating how the task of trying to achieve this difficult balance has been addressed in the recent past and is being addressed for the future. (orig.)

Current status of nuclear power generation in Japan and directions in water cooled reactor technology development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miwa, T.

1991-01-01

Electric power demand aspects and current status of nuclear power generation in Japan are outlined. Although the future plan for nuclear power generation has not been determined yet the Japanese nuclear research centers and institutes are investigating and developing some projects on the next generation of light water reactors and other types of reactors. The paper describes these main activities

Occupational status moderates the association between current perceived stress and high blood pressure: evidence from the IPC cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Wiernik, Emmanuel; Pannier, Bruno; Czernichow, Sébastien; Nabi, Hermann; Hanon, Olivier; Simon, Tabassome; Simon, Jean-Marc; Thomas, Frédérique; Bean, Kathy; Consoli, Silla; Danchin, Nicolas; Lemogne, Cédric

2013-01-01

Although lay beliefs commonly relate high blood pressure to psychological stress exposure, research findings are conflicting. This study examined the association between current perceived stress and high blood pressure and explored the potential impact of occupational status on this association. Resting blood pressure was measured in 122,816 adults (84,994 men), aged ≥30 years (mean age ± standard deviation: 46.8±9.9 years), without history of cardiovascular and renal disease and not on either psychotropic or antihypertensive drugs. High blood pressure was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg. Perceived stress in the past month was measured with the 4-item perceived stress scale. A total of 33,154 participants (27.0%) had high blood pressure (151±14/90±9 mmHg). After adjustment for all variables except occupational status, perceived stress was associated with high blood pressure (odds ratio for a 5-point increase: 1.06, 95% confidence interval: [1.03–1.09]). This association was no longer significant after additional adjustment for occupational status (odds ratio: 1.01 [0.99–1.04]). There was a significant interaction (phigh blood pressure among individuals of high occupational status (odds ratio: 0.91, [0.87–0.96]) but positively associated among those of low status (odds ratio: 1.10, [1.03–1.17]) or unemployed (odds ratio: 1.13, [1.03–1.24]). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar results. The association between current perceived stress and blood pressure depends upon occupational status. This interaction may account for previous conflicting results and warrants further studies to explore its underlying mechanisms. PMID:23319539

African stakeholders' views of research options to improve nutritional status in sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Holdsworth, Michelle; Kruger, Annamarie; Nago, Eunice; Lachat, Carl; Mamiro, Peter; Smit, Karlien; Garimoi-Orach, Chris; Kameli, Yves; Roberfroid, Dominique; Kolsteren, Patrick

2015-09-01

Setting research priorities for improving nutrition in Africa is currently ad hoc and there is a need to shift the status quo in the light of slow progress in reducing malnutrition. This study explored African stakeholders' views on research priorities in the context of environmental and socio-demographic changes that will impact on nutritional status in Africa in the coming years. Using Multi-Criteria Mapping, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from 91 stakeholders representing 6 stakeholder groups (health professionals, food Industry, government, civil society, academics and research funders) in Benin, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. Stakeholders appraised six research options (ecological nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, community nutrition interventions, behavioural nutrition, clinical nutrition and molecular nutrition) for how well they could address malnutrition in Africa. Impact (28.3%), research efficacy (23.6%) and social acceptability (22.4%) were the criteria chosen the most to evaluate the performance of research options. Research on the effectiveness of community interventions was seen as a priority by stakeholders because they were perceived as likely to have an impact relatively quickly, were inexpensive and cost-effective, involved communities and provided direct evidence of what works. Behavioural nutrition research was also highly appraised. Many stakeholders, particularly academics and government were optimistic about the value of ecological nutrition research (the impact of environmental change on nutritional status). Research funders did not share this enthusiasm. Molecular nutrition was least preferred, considered expensive, slow to have an impact and requiring infrastructure. South Africa ranked clinical and molecular nutrition the highest of all countries. Research funders should redirect research funds in Africa towards the priorities identified by giving precedence to develop the evidence for effective

Incremental cost and cost-effectiveness of low-dose, high-frequency training in basic emergency obstetric and newborn care as compared to status quo: part of a cluster-randomized training intervention evaluation in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Willcox, Michelle; Harrison, Heather; Asiedu, Amos; Nelson, Allyson; Gomez, Patricia; LeFevre, Amnesty

2017-12-06

Low-dose, high-frequency (LDHF) training is a new approach best practices to improve clinical knowledge, build and retain competency, and transfer skills into practice after training. LDHF training in Ghana is an opportunity to build health workforce capacity in critical areas of maternal and newborn health and translate improved capacity into better health outcomes. This study examined the costs of an LDHF training approach for basic emergency obstetric and newborn care and calculates the incremental cost-effectiveness of the LDHF training program for health outcomes of newborn survival, compared to the status quo alternative of no training. The costs of LDHF were compared to costs of traditional workshop-based training per provider trained. Retrospective program cost analysis with activity-based costing was used to measure all resources of the LDHF training program over a 3-year analytic time horizon. Economic costs were estimated from financial records, informant interviews, and regional market prices. Health effects from the program's impact evaluation were used to model lives saved and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted. Uncertainty analysis included one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis to explore incremental cost-effectiveness results when fluctuating key parameters. For the 40 health facilities included in the evaluation, the total LDHF training cost was $823,134. During the follow-up period after the first LDHF training-1 year at each participating facility-approximately 544 lives were saved. With deterministic calculation, these findings translate to $1497.77 per life saved or $53.07 per DALY averted. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis, with mean incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $54.79 per DALY averted ($24.42-$107.01), suggests the LDHF training program as compared to no training has 100% probability of being cost-effective above a willingness to pay threshold of $1480, Ghana's gross national income per capita in 2015. This

Building Evidence for Health: Green Buildings, Current Science, and Future Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Cedeño-Laurent, J G; Williams, A; MacNaughton, P; Cao, X; Eitland, E; Spengler, J; Allen, J

2018-04-01

Civilizational challenges have questioned the status quo of energy and material consumption by humans. From the built environment perspective, a response to these challenges was the creation of green buildings. Although the revolutionary capacity of the green building movement has elevated the expectations of new commercial construction, its rate of implementation has secluded the majority of the population from its benefits. Beyond reductions in energy usage and increases in market value, the main strength of green buildings may be the procurement of healthier building environments. Further pursuing the right to healthy indoor environments could help the green building movement to attain its full potential as a transformational public health tool. On the basis of 40 years of research on indoor environmental quality, we present a summary of nine environment elements that are foundational to human health. We posit the role of green buildings as a critical research platform within a novel sustainability framework based on social-environmental capital assets.

High magnetic field science and its application in the United States current status and future directions

CERN Document Server

National Research Council of the National Academies

2013-01-01

The Committee to Assess the Current Status and Future Direction of High Magnetic Field Science in the United States was convened by the National Research Council in response to a request by the National Science Foundation. This report answers three questions: (1) What is the current state of high-field magnet science, engineering, and technology in the United States, and are there any conspicuous needs to be addressed? (2) What are the current science drivers and which scientific opportunities and challenges can be anticipated over the next ten years? (3) What are the principal existing and planned high magnetic field facilities outside of the United States, what roles have U.S. high field magnet development efforts played in developing those facilities, and what potentials exist for further international collaboration in this area? A magnetic field is produced by an electrical current in a metal coil. This current exerts an expansive force on the coil, and a magnetic field is "high" if it challenges the str...

Transgenesis and paratransgenesis to control insect-borne diseases: Current status and future challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Coutinho-Abreu, Iliano V.; Zhu, Kun Yan; Ramalho-Ortigao, Marcelo

2009-01-01

Insect-borne diseases cause significant human morbidity and mortality. Current control and preventive methods against vector-borne diseases rely mainly on insecticides. The emergence of insecticide resistance in many disease vectors highlights the necessity to develop new strategies to control these insects. Vector transgenesis and paratransgenesis are novel strategies that aim at reducing insect vectorial capacity, or seek to eliminate transmission of pathogens such as Plasmodium sp., Trypanosoma sp., and Dengue virus currently being developed. Vector transgenesis relies on direct genetic manipulation of disease vectors making them incapable of functioning as vectors of a given pathogen. Paratransgenesis focuses on utilizing genetically modified insect symbionts to express molecules within the vector that are deleterious to pathogens they transmit. Despite the many successes achieved in developing such techniques in the last several years, many significant barriers remain and need to be overcome prior to any of these approaches become a reality. Here, we highlight the current status of these strategies, pointing out advantages and constraints, and also explore issues that need to be resolved before the establishment of transgenesis and paratransgenesis as tools to prevent vector-borne diseases. PMID:19819346

Current status of robotic simulators in acquisition of robotic surgical skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Anup; Smith, Roger; Patel, Vipul R

2015-03-01

This article provides an overview of the current status of simulator systems in robotic surgery training curriculum, focusing on available simulators for training, their comparison, new technologies introduced in simulation focusing on concepts of training along with existing challenges and future perspectives of simulator training in robotic surgery. The different virtual reality simulators available in the market like dVSS, dVT, RoSS, ProMIS and SEP have shown face, content and construct validity in robotic skills training for novices outside the operating room. Recently, augmented reality simulators like HoST, Maestro AR and RobotiX Mentor have been introduced in robotic training providing a more realistic operating environment, emphasizing more on procedure-specific robotic training . Further, the Xperience Team Trainer, which provides training to console surgeon and bed-side assistant simultaneously, has been recently introduced to emphasize the importance of teamwork and proper coordination. Simulator training holds an important place in current robotic training curriculum of future robotic surgeons. There is a need for more procedure-specific augmented reality simulator training, utilizing advancements in computing and graphical capabilities for new innovations in simulator technology. Further studies are required to establish its cost-benefit ratio along with concurrent and predictive validity.

Current status of the transient integral fuel element performance code URANUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preusser, T.; Lassmann, K.

1983-01-01

To investigate the behavior of fuel pins during normal and off-normal operation, the integral fuel rod code URANUS has been extended to include a transient version. The paper describes the current status of the program system including a presentation of newly developed models for hypothetical accident investigation. The main objective of current development work is to improve the modelling of fuel and clad material behavior during fast transients. URANUS allows detailed analysis of experiments until the onset of strong material transport phenomena. Transient fission gas analysis is carried out due to the coupling with a special version of the LANGZEIT-KURZZEIT-code (KfK). Fuel restructuring and grain growth kinetics models have been improved recently to better characterize pre-experimental steady-state operation; transient models are under development. Extensive verification of the new version has been carried out by comparison with analytical solutions, experimental evidence, and code-to-code evaluation studies. URANUS, with all these improvements, has been successfully applied to difficult fast breeder fuel rod analysis including TOP, LOF, TUCOP, local coolant blockage and specific carbide fuel experiments. Objective of further studies is the description of transient PCMI. It is expected that the results of these developments will contribute significantly to the understanding of fuel element structural behavior during severe transients. (orig.)

Spent fuel management: Current status and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-12-01

The main objective of the Advisory Group on Spent Fuel Management is to review the world-wide situation in Spent Fuel Management, to define the most important directions of national efforts and international cooperation in this area, to exchange information on the present status and progress in performing the back-end of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and to elaborate the general recommendations for future Agency programmes in the field of spent fuel management. This report which is a result of the third IAEA Advisory Group Meeting (the first and second were held in 1984 and 1986) is intended to provide the reader with an overview of the status of spent fuel management programmes in a number of leading countries, with a description of the past and present IAEA activities in this field of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and with the Agency's plans for the next years, based on the proposals and recommendations of Member States. A separate abstract was prepared for each of 14 papers presented at the advisory group meeting. Refs, figs and tabs

A study on the continuing education of radiologic technologists: Focused on current status and satisfaction of continuing education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min, Hye Lim; Choi, In Seok; Nam, So Ra; Kim, Hyun Ji; Yoon, Yong Su; Her, Jae; Han, Seong Gyu; Kim, Jung Min; Ahn, Duck Sun

2014-01-01

In this study, we surveyed the current status, satisfaction and demand of radiologic technologist continuing education for 93 radiologic technologists who participated in the continuing education. To understand the current status and general evaluation and to find out the improvement direction, survey was conducted on 3 categories: participation, satisfaction and demand of continuing education. In addition, we analyzed the continuing education implementation status and the management system by collecting related regulations. As a result, the education completion rates of radiologic technologists from 2010 to 2012 were respectively 42.6%, 43.4% and 34.2%; the rates were similar to other medical technician’s average education completion rates. According to the survey, in case of participation, the most frequent answer was ‘more than five times less than 10 times per year’ with 48.4% and in satisfaction section, the most common answer was ‘Average(3)’ with 34.4%. In demand of continuing education section, 32.8% of the respondents chose ‘Clinical skill training in major field’. In the results of this research, continuing education needs to be managed in the direction of helping radiologists improve their personal ability and self development. Furthermore, to meet the demand of radiologists, the quality of continuing education should be improved to satisfy the educatee

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR for 0νββ: Current Status and Future Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Green, M. P.; Abgrall, N.; Aguayo, E.; Avignone, F. T.; Barabash, A. S.; Bertrand, F. E.; Boswell, M.; Brudanin, V.; Busch, M.; Byram, D.; Caldwell, A. S.; Chan, Y.-D.; Christofferson, C. D.; Combs, D. C.; Cuesta, C.; Detwiler, J. A.; Doe, P. J.; Efremenko, Yu.; Egorov, V.; Ejiri, H.; Elliott, S. R.; Fast, J. E.; Finnerty, P.; Fraenkle, F. M.; Galindo-Uribarri, A.; Giovanetti, G. K.; Goett, J.; Gruszko, J.; Guiseppe, V. E.; Gusev, K.; Hallin, A. L.; Hazama, R.; Hegai, A.; Henning, R.; Hoppe, E. W.; Howard, S.; Howe, M. A.; Keeter, K. J.; Kidd, M. F.; Kochetov, O.; Konovalov, S. I.; Kouzes, R. T.; LaFerriere, B. D.; Leon, J.; Leviner, L. E.; Loach, J. C.; MacMullin, J.; MacMullin, S.; Martin, R. D.; Meijer, S.; Mertens, S.; Nomachi, M.; Orrell, J. L.; O'Shaughnessy, C.; Overman, N. R.; Phillips, D. G.; Poon, A. W. P.; Pushkin, K.; Radford, D. C.; Rager, J.; Rielage, K.; Robertson, R. G. H.; Romero-Romero, E.; Ronquest, M. C.; Schubert, A. G.; Shanks, B.; Shima, T.; Shirchenko, M.; Snavely, K. J.; Snyder, N.; Suriano, A. M.; Thompson, J.; Timkin, V.; Tornow, W.; Trimble, J. E.; Varner, R. L.; Vasilyev, S.; Vetter, K.; Vorren, K.; White, B. R.; Wilkerson, J. F.; Wiseman, C.; Xu, W.; Yakushev, E.; Young, A. R.; Yu, C.-H.; Yumatov, V.

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless-double-beta decay (0νββ) in 76Ge, while establishing the feasibility of a future tonne-scale germanium-based 0νββ experiment, and performing searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model. The experiment, currently under construction at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, SD, will consist of a pair of modular high-purity germanium detector arrays housed inside of a compact copper, lead, and polyethylene shield. Through a combination of strict materials qualifications and assay, low-background design, and powerful background rejection techniques, the Demonstrator aims to achieve a background rate in the 0νββ region of interest (ROI) of no more than 3 counts in the 0νββ-decay ROI per tonne of target isotope per year (cnts/(ROI-t-y)). The current status of the Demonstrator is discussed, as are plans for its completion.

Weight status and body image perceptions in adolescents: current perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Voelker, Dana K; Reel, Justine J; Greenleaf, Christy

2015-01-01

Adolescence represents a pivotal stage in the development of positive or negative body image. Many influences exist during the teen years including transitions (eg, puberty) that affect one's body shape, weight status, and appearance. Weight status exists along a spectrum between being obese (ie, where one's body weight is in the 95th percentile for age and gender) to being underweight. Salient influences on body image include the media, which can target adolescents, and peers who help shape beliefs about the perceived body ideal. Internalization of and pressures to conform to these socially prescribed body ideals help to explain associations between weight status and body image. The concepts of fat talk and weight-related bullying during adolescence greatly contribute to an overemphasis on body weight and appearance as well as the development of negative body perceptions and dissatisfaction surrounding specific body parts. This article provides an overview of the significance of adolescent development in shaping body image, the relationship between body image and adolescent weight status, and the consequences of having a negative body image during adolescence (ie, disordered eating, eating disorders, and dysfunctional exercise). Practical implications for promoting a healthy weight status and positive body image among adolescents will be discussed.

Storage and treatment of SNF of Alfa class nuclear submarines: current status and problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ignatiev, Sviatoslav; Zabudko, Alexey; Pankratov, Dmitry; Somov, Ivan; Suvorov, Gennady

2007-01-01

Available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: The current status and main problems associated with storage, defueling and following treatment of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) of Nuclear Submarines (NS) with heavy liquid metal cooled reactors are considered. In the final analysis these solutions could be realized in the form of separate projects to be funded through national and bi- and multilateral funding in the framework of the international collaboration of the Russian Federation on complex utilization of NS and rehabilitation of contaminated objects allocated in the North-West region of Russia. (authors)

Lower hybrid current drive for edge current density modification in DIII-D: Final status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fenstermacher, M.E.; Porkolab, M.

1993-01-01

Application of Lower Hybrid (LH) Current Drive (CD) in the DIII-D tokamak has been studied at LLNL, off and on, for several years. The latest effort began in February 1992 in response to a letter from ASDEX indicating that the 2.45 GHz, 3 MW system there was available to be used on another device. An initial assessment of the possible uses for such a system on DIII-D was made and documented in September 1992. Multiple meetings with GA personnel and members of the LH community nationwide have occurred since that time. The work continued through the submission of the 1995 Field Work Proposals in March 1993 and was then put on hold due to budget limitations. The purpose of this document is to record the status of the work in such a way that it could fairly easily be restarted at a future date. This document will take the form of a collection of Appendices giving both background and the latest results from the FY 1993 work, connected by brief descriptive text. Section 2 will describe the final workshop on LHCD in DIII-D held at GA in February 1993. This was an open meeting with attendees from GA, LLNL, MIT and PPPL. Summary documents from the meeting and subsequent papers describing the results will be included in Appendices. Section 3 will describe the status of work on the use of low frequency (2.45 GHZ) LH power and Parametric Decay Instabilities (PDI) for the special case of high dielectric in the edge regions of the DIII-D plasma. This was one of the critical issues identified at the workshop. Other potential issues for LHCD in the DIII-D scenarios are: (1) damping of the waves on fast ions from neutral beam injection, (2) runaway electrons in the low density edge plasma, (3) the validity of the WKB approximation used in the ray-tracing models in the steep edge density gradients

Pelletized cold moderator of the IBR-2 reactor: current status and future development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ananiev, V; Beliakov, A; Bulavin, M; Verkhogliadov, A; Kulagin, E; Kulikov, S; Mukhin, K; Shabalin, E; Loktaev, K

2016-01-01

Current status and future development of the pelletized cold moderator of the IBR-2 reactor in Neutron Physics Laboratory of JINR are represented. Nowadays cold moderator works for physical experiments and allows conducting experiments in the region of wavelengths more than 4 Å up to 10-13 times faster in comparison with the warm water moderator. Future development of the pelletized cold moderator is aimed at increasing the time of its operation for experiments and is based on three components: creation of a system of continuous charging and discharging of beads, supplementation of various additives, and use of new materials, such as triphenylmethane. (paper)

Status Epilepticus and Beyond: A Clinical Review of Status Epilepticus and an Update on Current Management Strategies in Super-refractory Status Epilepticus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roy Poblete

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Status epilepticus and refractory status epilepticus represent some of the most complex conditions encountered in the neurological intensive care unit. Challenges in management are common as treatment options become limited and prolonged hospital courses are accompanied by complications and worsening patient outcomes. Antiepileptic drug treatments have become increasingly complex. Rational polytherapy should consider the pharmacodynamics and kinetics of medications. When seizures cannot be controlled with medical therapy, alternative treatments, including early surgical evaluation can be considered; however, evidence is limited. This review provides a brief overview of status epilepticus, and a recent update on the management of refractory status epilepticus based on evidence from the literature, evidence-based guidelines, and experiences at our institution.

International migration, "domestic struggles" and status aspiration among nurses in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

The achievement of upward mobility through participation in international labour markets has become possible for nurses in the context of a 'new' democratic South Africa, but this contrasts sharply with the predicament of many in the post-apartheid context, for whom economic vulnerability and unemployment are the prevailing norm. Such a stark contrast has tended to complicate the domestic relations experienced by nurses who, as working professionals, often have significantly greater financial resources and career flexibility than their husbands. Looking at the possibilities and constraints that are created for nurses in their social relationships particularly with their husbands, I draw on Belinda Bozzoli's concept of 'domestic struggles' in order to emphasise the multiplicity and changeability of gendered relations, instead of assuming a single patriarchal status quo.1 Fixed representations of gender roles nonetheless play an important part in nurses' own commentary on migration. While many nurses speak enthusiastically of the possibilities of seeking work overseas, others draw upon familiar representations of female domestic duty to condemn migrants for neglecting their family in pursuit of financial gain. I argue that this criticism is rooted in a fear of the threat that migration presents to existing nursing hierarchies, as a new and powerful tool for status acquisition in the post-apartheid context.

Current status of international training center for nuclear security and security issues in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jong-UK; Sin, Byung Woo

2013-01-01

During the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) President Lee declared that Korea will establish an international training center (ITC) for nuclear security near the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC). It will be open to the world in 2014. The government's long term goal is to make the center a hub for education and training in the nuclear field in Asia. The ITC will accomplish this by establishing facilities for practical and realistic exercises through the use of a test bed and various other experiments. The center will also provide comprehensive educational programs for nuclear newcomers. Its main programs include: a well designed educational program, customized training courses, and on-the-job training. This paper will discuss the current status of the ITC and describe practical plans for solving current security issues in Korea. (authors)

The SNO+ experiment. Current status and future prospects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lozza, Valentina [Institut fuer Kern- und Teilchenphysik, Zellescher Weg 19, 01069 Dresden (Germany)

2016-07-01

SNO+ is a large liquid scintillator based experiment that reuses the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory detector. The detector, located 2 km underground in a mine near Sudbury, Canada, consists of a 12 m diameter acrylic vessel which will be filled with 780 tonnes of liquid scintillator. The main physics goal of SNO+ is to search for the neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay of {sup 130}Te. During the double-beta phase, the liquid scintillator will be initially loaded with 0.3-0.5% natural tellurium. In 5 years of data taking, SNO+ expects to reach a sensitivity on the effective Majorana neutrino mass of 55-133 meV, just above the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy region. Recently, the possibility to deploy up to 10 times more natural tellurium has been investigated, by which SNO+ could explore deep into the parameter space for the inverted hierarchy in the near future. Designed as a general purpose neutrino experiment, SNO+ can additionally measure the reactor antineutrino oscillations, geo-neutrinos in a geologically-interesting location, watch supernova neutrinos and measure low-energy solar neutrinos. A first commissioning phase with the detector filled with water will begin soon. The scintillator phase is expected to start after few months of water data taking. The 0νββ decay phase is foreseen for the 2017. In this talk the current status and the broad physics program of SNO+ will be presented.

The current status of proton therapy in the world, the European Union and Slovakia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruzicka, J.

2011-01-01

Proton therapy is considered to be very promising cancer treatment modality, and therefore many countries of the world are trying to (regardless of the high investment costs) to build their own atomic centre (or other proton centres if they operate already some). Proton therapy allows better control of therapeutic doses of radiation to which the patient is exposed. Proton irradiation of the tumor can kill more cancer cells while minimizing damage of healthy tissue. Currently there is about 33 facilities in operation in the world where proton therapy can be carried out. Proton therapy complex with new, highly sophisticated equipment is also being constructed in Slovakia - in The Central Military Hospital in Ruzomberok. The project is in its final stage of implementation. The paper describes the current status of proton therapy in the world, the European Union (EU) and Slovakia. In conclusion principally new Proton therapy unit complex built in Slovakia with similar facilities currently existing in EU countries (old 15 member states) is compared (especially from technical and medical aspects). (author)

Biosimilar drugs: Current status.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Rajiv; Singh, Jagjit

2014-07-01

Biologic products are being developed over the past three decades. The expiry of patent protection for many biological medicines has led to the development of biosimilars in UK or follow on biologics in USA. This article reviews the literature on biosimilar drugs that covers the therapeutic status and regulatory guidelines. Appraisal of published articles from peer reviewed journals for English language publications, search from PubMed, and guidelines from European Medicines Agency, US Food Drug Administration (FDA) and India were used to identify data for review. Literature suggest that biosimilars are similar biological products, i.e., comparable but not identical to the reference product, are not generic version of innovator product and do not ensure therapeutic equivalence. Biosimilars present more challenges than conventional generics and marketing approval is also more complicated. To improve access, US Congress passed the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation act 2009 and US FDA allowed "abbreviated pathway" for their approval. U.S law has defined new standards and terms and EMA scientific guidelines have also set detailed approval standards. India being one of the most preferred manufacturing destinations of biosimilars, there is a need for stringent safety and regulatory guidelines. The New India Guidelines "Draft Guidelines on Similar Biologics were announced in June 2012, by Department of Biotechnology at Boston bio and available online.

Current status and future trends of medical physics in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Azorin Nieto, J.

2015-01-01

Medical Physics is an area that applies the principles of physics to medicine, particularly in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases using ionizing and nonionizing radiation. The main attractive of medical physics is that it has a direct impact on the quality and safety of medical care in humans; this social component with direct implications for the population is of high value for Mexico. This paper describes the concepts of medical physics, trends and the current status of this discipline as a profession, which is directly related to the efforts of clinical research. It is also described what is, in my opinion, the future of medical physics in Mexico, emphasizing the fact that this field requires a substantial boost from universities and hospitals to recruit highly qualified young medical physicists and the support from government agencies such as Secretaria de Salud, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social and Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales para los Trabajadores del Estado through clinical research projects that allow the necessary evolution of medical physics into the hospital setting.

Neural synchrony in cortical networks: history, concept and current status

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Uhlhaas

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Following the discovery of context-dependent synchronization of oscillatory neuronal responses in the visual system, the role of neural synchrony in cortical networks has been expanded to provide a general mechanism for the coordination of distributed neural activity patterns. In the current paper, we present an update of the status of this hypothesis through summarizing recent results from our laboratory that suggest important new insights regarding the mechanisms, function and relevance of this phenomenon. In the first part, we present recent results derived from animal experiments and mathematical simulations that provide novel explanations and mechanisms for zero and nero-zero phase lag synchronization. In the second part, we shall discuss the role of neural synchrony for expectancy during perceptual organization and its role in conscious experience. This will be followed by evidence that indicates that in addition to supporting conscious cognition, neural synchrony is abnormal in major brain disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. We conclude this paper with suggestions for further research as well as with critical issues that need to be addressed in future studies.

Current status and future trends of medical physics in Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nieto, J Azorin

2015-01-01

Medical Physics is an area that applies the principles of physics to medicine, particularly in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases using ionizing and nonionizing radiation. The main attractive of medical physics is that it has a direct impact on the quality and safety of medical care in humans; this social component with direct implications for the population is of high value for Mexico. This paper describes the concepts of medical physics, trends and the current status of this discipline as a profession, which is directly related to the efforts of clinical research. It is also described what is, in my opinion, the future of medical physics in Mexico, emphasizing the fact that this field requires a substantial boost from universities and hospitals to recruit highly qualified young medical physicists and the support from government agencies such as Secretaria de Salud, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social and Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales para los Trabajadores del Estado through clinical research projects that allow the necessary evolution of medical physics into the hospital setting

Current status of animal welfare and animal rights in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jiaqi; Bayne, Kathryn; Wang, Jianfei

2013-11-01

In the past few years, new social passions have sparked on the Chinese mainland. At the centre of these burgeoning passions is a focus on animal welfare, animal treatment, and even animal rights, by the public and academic sectors. With China's rapid economic changes and greater access to information from around the world, societal awareness of animal issues is rising very fast. Hastening this paradigm shift were several highly public incidents involving animal cruelty, including exposés on bear bile harvesting for traditional Chinese medicine, the thousands of dogs rescued from China's meat trade, and the call to boycott shark fin soup and bird nest soup. This article outlines the current status of campaigning by animal advocates in China (specifically the animal rights movement) from three interlinked perspectives: wildlife conservation, companion animal protection, and laboratory animal protection. By reviewing this campaigning, we attempt to present not only the political and social impact of the concept of animal rights, but also the perceptions of, and challenges to, animal rights activities in China. 2013 FRAME.

Current status of dental caries diagnosis using cone beam computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Young Seok; Ahn, Jin Soo; Kwon, Ho Beom; Lee, Seung Pyo

2011-01-01

The purpose of this article is to review the current status of dental caries diagnosis using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). An online PubMed search was performed to identify studies on caries research using CBCT. Despite its usefulness, there were inherent limitations in the detection of caries lesions through conventional radiograph mainly due to the two-dimensional (2D) representation of caries lesions. Several efforts were made to investigate the three-dimensional (3D) image of lesion, only to gain little popularity. Recently, CBCT was introduced and has been used for diagnosis of caries in several reports. Some of them maintained the superiority of CBCT systems, however it is still under controversies. The CBCT systems are promising, however they should not be considered as a primary choice of caries diagnosis in everyday practice yet. Further studies under more standardized condition should be performed in the near future.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection in the West: Current status and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Michael X; Bourke, Michael J

2018-05-01

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) was first conceptually described almost 30 years ago in Japan and is now widely practiced throughout East Asia. ESD expands the boundaries of endoscopic resection (ER) by allowing en bloc resection of large early neoplastic lesions within the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). This offers advantages over other ER techniques by facilitating definitive histological staging and curative treatment of early cancer in selected cases. Indeed, the experience of ESD in Eastern countries is significant, and excellent outcomes from high-volume centers are reported. The potential benefits of ESD are recognized by Western endoscopists, but its adoption has been limited. A number of factors contribute to this, including epidemiological differences in GIT neoplasia between Western and Eastern populations and limitations in training opportunities. In this review, we discuss the role of ESD, its current status and the future in Western endoscopic practice. © 2017 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.

Current status of dental caries diagnosis using cone beam computed tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Young Seok; Ahn, Jin Soo; Kwon, Ho Beom; Lee, Seung Pyo [School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2011-06-15

The purpose of this article is to review the current status of dental caries diagnosis using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). An online PubMed search was performed to identify studies on caries research using CBCT. Despite its usefulness, there were inherent limitations in the detection of caries lesions through conventional radiograph mainly due to the two-dimensional (2D) representation of caries lesions. Several efforts were made to investigate the three-dimensional (3D) image of lesion, only to gain little popularity. Recently, CBCT was introduced and has been used for diagnosis of caries in several reports. Some of them maintained the superiority of CBCT systems, however it is still under controversies. The CBCT systems are promising, however they should not be considered as a primary choice of caries diagnosis in everyday practice yet. Further studies under more standardized condition should be performed in the near future.

Bio methane in the cogeneration market and heating market. Status quo, potentials and recommendations for an accelerated market penetration; Biomethan im KWK- und Waermemarkt. Status Quo, Potenziale und Handlungsempfehlungen fuer eine beschleunigte Marktdurchdringung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herr, Michael; Rostek, Sandra [comps.

2010-07-15

The current contribution of the German Energy Agency (Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany) reports on the present sale situation of bio methane on the coupled and uncoupled heating market. The contribution clarifies, why the existing support measures do not stimulate the demand for bio methane in the necessary order of magnitude. Without adjustment of the legal framework neither the considerable sales potentials can be established, nor the targets for the development of the biogas feeding can be achieved approximately. The low demand on bio methane led to a planning stop on the producer side. Direct need for action is required.

Radiation Metabolomics: Current Status and Future Directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smrithi eSugumaran Menon

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Human exposure to ionizing radiation disrupts normal metabolic processes in cells and organs by inducing complex biological responses that interfere with gene and protein expression. Conventional dosimetry, monitoring of prodromal symptoms and peripheral lymphocyte counts are of limited value as organ and tissue specific biomarkers for personnel exposed to radiation, particularly, weeks or months after exposure. Analysis of metabolites generated in known stress-responsive pathways by molecular profiling helps to predict the physiological status of an individual in response to environmental or genetic perturbations. Thus, a multi-metabolite profile obtained from a high resolution mass spectrometry-based metabolomics platform offers potential for identification of robust biomarkers to predict radiation toxicity of organs and tissues resulting from exposures to therapeutic or non-therapeutic ionizing radiation. Here, we review the status of radiation metabolomics and explore applications as a standalone technology, as well as its integration in systems biology, to facilitate a better understanding of the molecular basis of radiation response. Finally, we draw attention to the identification of specific pathways that can be targeted for the development of therapeutics to alleviate or mitigate harmful effects of radiation exposure.

Educating parents about the vaccination status of their children: A user-centered mobile application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lea Seeber

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Parents are often uncertain about the vaccination status of their children. In times of vaccine hesitancy, vaccination programs could benefit from active patient participation. The Vaccination App (VAccApp was developed by the Vienna Vaccine Safety Initiative, enabling parents to learn about the vaccination status of their children, including 25 different routine, special indication and travel vaccines listed in the WHO Immunization Certificate of Vaccination (WHO-ICV. Between 2012 and 2014, the VAccApp was validated in a hospital-based quality management program in Berlin, Germany, in collaboration with the Robert Koch Institute. Parents of 178 children were asked to transfer the immunization data of their children from the WHO-ICV into the VAccApp. The respective WHO-ICV was photocopied for independent, professional data entry (gold standard. Demonstrating the status quo in vaccine information reporting, a Recall Group of 278 parents underwent structured interviews for verbal immunization histories, without the respective WHO-ICV. Only 9% of the Recall Group were able to provide a complete vaccination status; on average 39% of the questions were answered correctly. Using the WHO-ICV with the help of the VAccApp resulted in 62% of parents providing a complete vaccination status; on average 95% of the questions were answered correctly. After using the VAccApp, parents were more likely to remember key aspects of the vaccination history. User-friendly mobile applications empower parents to take a closer look at the vaccination record, thereby taking an active role in providing accurate vaccination histories. Parents may become motivated to ask informed questions and to keep vaccinations up-to-date.

The psychology of doing nothing: forms of decision avoidance result from reason and emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Christopher J

2003-01-01

Several independent lines of research bear on the question of why individuals avoid decisions by postponing them, failing to act, or accepting the status quo. This review relates findings across several different disciplines and uncovers 4 decision avoidance effects that offer insight into this common but troubling behavior: choice deferral, status quo bias, omission bias, and inaction inertia. These findings are related by common antecedents and consequences in a rational-emotional model of the factors that predispose humans to do nothing. Prominent components of the model include cost-benefit calculations, anticipated regret, and selection difficulty. Other factors affecting decision avoidance through these key components, such as anticipatory negative emotions, decision strategies, counterfactual thinking, and preference uncertainty, are also discussed.

Apathy towards the Integration of Usability Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wale-Kolade, Adeola; Nielsen, Peter Axel

2016-01-01

In this article we report from a case study of a software development organization and we study in particular the developers’ and product managers’ attitudes towards integrating usability work into software development. We offer explanations based on system justification theory illuminating what...... would-be integrators might be up against. The analysis shows how the developers only pay lip service to usability work and how they treat users superficially. It further shows how that leads to stereotyping of usability designers and users in order to preserve status quo, and how internalization...... of inequality between the developers and usability designers rationalizes the preservation of status quo. These findings will have significant implications for managers of software development....

Current status of radiation transport tools for proliferation and terrorism prevention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sale, K.E.

2004-01-01

Full text: We will present the current status and future plans for the set of calculational tools and databases developed and maintained at LLNL. The calculational tools include the Monte Carlo codes TART 1) and COG 2) as well as the deterministic code ARDRA 3) . In addition to these codes we use currently there is a major development effort for a new massively parallel transport code. An important part of the capability we're developing is a sophisticated user interface, based on a commercial 3-D modeling product, to improve the model development process. A major part of this user interface tool is being developed by Strela 4) under the Nuclear Cities Initiative. Strela has developed a hub-and-spoke technology for code input interconversions (between COG, TART and MCNP) and will produce the plug-ins that extend the capabilities of the 3-D modeler for use as a radiation transport input generator. The major advantages of this approach are the built-in user interface for 3-D modeling and the ability to read a large variety of CAD-file formats. In addition to supporting our current radiation transport codes and developing new capabilities we are working on some nuclear data needs for homeland security. These projects are carried out and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 88' cyclotron and at the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Nation Academy of Science of Ukraine under and STCU contract. Reference: 1. http://www.llnl.gov/cullen1/mc/htm; 2. http://www-phys.llnl.gov/N_Div/COG/ETR/ETR_9306.html; 3. http://www.llnl.gov/CASC/asciturb/talks/PPT-HTML.131596/tsld030.htm; 4. http://strela.snz.ru/

Research on Integrated Analysis Method for Equipment and Tactics Based on Intervention Strategy Discussion

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

陈超; 张迎新; 毛赤龙

2012-01-01

As the increase of the complexity of the information warfare,its intervention strategy needs to be designed in an integrated environment.However,the current research always breaks the internal relation between equipment and tactics,and it is difficult to meet the requirements of their integrated analysis.In this paper,the research status quo of the integrated analysis about equipment and tactics is discussed first,some shortages of the current methods are summarized then,and an evolvement mechanism of the integrated analysis for equipment and tactics is given finally.Based on these,a framework of integrated analysis is proposed.This method＇s effectiveness is validated by an example.

THE DRAFT LAW ON THE STATUS OF NATIONAL MINORITIES VERSUS THE REAL CHALLENGES OF THE SYSTEM FOR THE PROTECTION OF MINORITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel ANDREESCU

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The study proposes an in-depth discussion of the provisions of the Draft Status of National Minorities: the definition of national minorities, the cultural autonomy system, the monopoly of political and cultural rights, and lack of transparency in the resources usage, the statements of individuals concerning their affiliation to a national community, the provisions dealing with religions “specific” to minorities, and the status of national minorities as constitutive factors of the Romanian state. The intention to reform the system for the protection of national minorities by adding cultural autonomy to other provisions is a positive one. However, the solutions put forward are dissatisfying. The Draft Status destroys democracy within the minority communities; reinforces the status quo where it should be questioned; extends the monopoly of political groups regarding decision-making in the cultural and educational areas; creates the conditions for increased ethnic business and leads to unreasonably higher costs of the national minority protection system compared to the benefits. Particularly important is the fact that the Draft Status does not tackle the specificity of the two big “nationalizing minorities”, Hungarians and Roma population. Hungarians are experiencing a continuous population decrease and are concerned about the decline of the old Hungarian civilization in Transylvania. The Roma population is facing severe issues regarding social status and poverty and need to be provided with an environment in which this fragmented community may mobilize. They need creative solutions for institutionalization.

Thermal management issues in a PEMFC stack - A brief review of current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandlikar, Satish G.; Lu Zijie

2009-01-01

Understanding the thermal effects is critical in optimizing the performance and durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). A PEMFC produces a similar amount of waste heat to its electric power output and tolerates only a small deviation in temperature from its design point. The balance between the heat production and its removal determines the operating temperature of a PEMFC. These stringent thermal requirements present a significant heat transfer challenge. In this work, the fundamental heat transfer mechanisms at PEMFC component level (including polymer electrolyte, catalyst layers, gas diffusion media and bipolar plates) are briefly reviewed. The current status of PEMFC cooling technology is also reviewed and research needs are identified

[Current status and issues in development of occupational physicians in Japan].

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, Koji

2013-10-01

Training systems for occupational physicians (OPs) have existed since the Industrial Safety and Health Act was enacted in 1972. However, it is necessary to enhance them because of changes in the business environment of Japanese corporations and working patterns have brought about new needs of occupational health (OH) activities. In this paper, OPs were classified into three categories; doctors who spend a part of working time on OH activities, i.e. "non-specialist OPs", doctors who engage in OH activities full-time, i.e. "specialists OPs", and doctors who manage corporate-wide occupational health programs or lead programs at OH service institutes, i.e. "lead OPs", and the status and the issues were reviewed. The major concern identified for each of the three categories in training were found to be quality management for non-specialist OPs, short supply for specialists OPs, and development of competencies such as leadership and management skills for lead OPs, respectively. Current efforts and ideas to improve the training systems were discussed.

The current status of studies on mitochondrial DNA with tumor, radiation biological effects and aging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Qingjie; Sang Lu

2004-01-01

The mitochondrial plays a very important role in sustaining the normal physiological function, because it is the center of energy making and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is the only genetic material outside the nuclear. The result of studies showed that many diseases have a close relationship with mtDNA mutation and deletion. This article reviewed the current status of research on mtDNA with tumor, radiation biological effects and aging, in order to initiate the application study of mtDNA in the circle of radiation medicine

Current Status of Nursing Informatics Education in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Eunjoo; Kim, Jeongeun; Park, Hyeoun-Ae; Lee, Ji-Hyun; Kim, Jungha; Jin, Meiling; Ahn, Shinae; Jun, Jooyeon; Song, Healim; On, Jeongah; Jung, Hyesil; Hong, Yeong Joo; Yim, Suran

2016-04-01

This study presents the current status of nursing informatics education, the content covered in nursing informatics courses, the faculty efficacy, and the barriers to and additional supports for teaching nursing informatics in Korea. A set of questionnaires consisting of an 18-item questionnaire for nursing informatics education, a 6-item questionnaire for faculty efficacy, and 2 open-ended questions for barriers and additional supports were sent to 204 nursing schools via email and the postal service. Nursing schools offering nursing informatics were further asked to send their syllabuses. The subjects taught were analyzed using nursing informatics competency categories and other responses were tailed using descriptive statistics. A total of 72 schools (35.3%) responded to the survey, of which 38 reported that they offered nursing informatics courses in their undergraduate nursing programs. Nursing informatics courses at 11 schools were taught by a professor with a degree majoring in nursing informatics. Computer technology was the most frequently taught subject (27 schools), followed by information systems used for practice (25 schools). The faculty efficacy was 3.76 ± 0.86 (out of 5). The most frequently reported barrier to teaching nursing informatics (n = 9) was lack of awareness of the importance of nursing informatics. Training and educational opportunities was the most requested additional support. Nursing informatics education has increased during the last decade in Korea. However, the proportions of faculty with degrees in nursing informatics and number of schools offering nursing informatics courses have not increased much. Thus, a greater focus is needed on training faculty and developing the courses.

Patient- and population-level health consequences of discontinuing antiretroviral therapy in settings with inadequate HIV treatment availability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimmel April D

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In resource-limited settings, HIV budgets are flattening or decreasing. A policy of discontinuing antiretroviral therapy (ART after HIV treatment failure was modeled to highlight trade-offs among competing policy goals of optimizing individual and population health outcomes. Methods In settings with two available ART regimens, we assessed two strategies: (1 continue ART after second-line failure (Status Quo and (2 discontinue ART after second-line failure (Alternative. A computer model simulated outcomes for a single cohort of newly detected, HIV-infected individuals. Projections were fed into a population-level model allowing multiple cohorts to compete for ART with constraints on treatment capacity. In the Alternative strategy, discontinuation of second-line ART occurred upon detection of antiretroviral failure, specified by WHO guidelines. Those discontinuing failed ART experienced an increased risk of AIDS-related mortality compared to those continuing ART. Results At the population level, the Alternative strategy increased the mean number initiating ART annually by 1,100 individuals (+18.7% to 6,980 compared to the Status Quo. More individuals initiating ART under the Alternative strategy increased total life-years by 15,000 (+2.8% to 555,000, compared to the Status Quo. Although more individuals received treatment under the Alternative strategy, life expectancy for those treated decreased by 0.7 years (−8.0% to 8.1 years compared to the Status Quo. In a cohort of treated patients only, 600 more individuals (+27.1% died by 5 years under the Alternative strategy compared to the Status Quo. Results were sensitive to the timing of detection of ART failure, number of ART regimens, and treatment capacity. Although we believe the results robust in the short-term, this analysis reflects settings where HIV case detection occurs late in the disease course and treatment capacity and the incidence of newly detected patients are

Assessment of lung ventilation by MR imaging: current status and future perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Hanke, Alexander; Beek, Edwin J.R. van

2002-01-01

The aim of this paper is to review the present status of novel MRI techniques as a new important instrument for functional ventilation imaging. The current status and future perspectives in research and clinical applications are summarized. Morphological lung imaging is based on chest radiography and computed tomography, whereas scintigraphy is used for ventilation imaging. During recent years, MRI has emerged as a new means for functional imaging of ventilation. Aerosolized contrast agents and oxygen are used in proton imaging, whereas non-proton imaging relies on fluorine compounds, such as sulfur hexafluoride and perfluorcarbons, or on hyperpolarized noble gases, such as helium-3 or xenon-129. All the gases are administered as inhaled ''contrast agents'' for imaging of the airways and airspaces. In general, straightforward images demonstrate the homogeneity of ventilation in a breath-hold and allow for determination of ventilated lung. The different properties of the different compounds enable the measurement of additional functional parameters. They comprise airspace size, regional oxygen partial pressure, and analysis of ventilation distribution, ventilation/perfusion ratios, and gas exchange, including oxygen uptake. Novel MRI techniques provide the potential for functional imaging of ventilation. The next steps include definition of the value and the potential of the different contrast mechanisms as well as determination of the significance of the functional information with regard to physiological research and patient management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and others. (orig.)

Current Status of RENO Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Soo-Bong

2010-01-01

The RENO (Reactor Experiment for Neutrino Oscillation) is under construction to measure the value of the smallest and unknown neutrino mixing angle θ 13 . The experiment will compare the measured fluxes of electron antineutrinos at two detectors located at 290 m and 1.4 km distances from the center of the Yonggwang nuclear reactors in Korea, with world-second largest thermal power output of 16.4 GW. Construction of experimental halls and access tunnels for both near and far detector sites was completed in early 2009. The detectors are near completion, and data-taking is planned to start in mid 2010. An expected number of observed antineutrino is roughly 510 and 80 per day in the near detector and far detector, respectively. An estimated systematic uncertainty associated with the measurement is less than 0.6%, and an expected statistical error is about 0.3%. With three years of data, the experiment will search for the mixing angle values of sin 2 (2θ 13 ) down to 0.02 in 90% C.L. limit. In this talk, the construction status will be presented. (author)

When Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Meets Organizational Psychology: New Frontiers in Micro-CSR Research, and Fulfilling a Quid Pro Quo through Multilevel Insights.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, David A; Willness, Chelsea R; Glavas, Ante

2017-01-01

Researchers, corporate leaders, and other stakeholders have shown increasing interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)-a company's discretionary actions and policies that appear to advance societal well-being beyond its immediate financial interests and legal requirements. Spanning decades of research activity, the scholarly literature on CSR has been dominated by meso- and macro-level perspectives, such as studies within corporate strategy that examine relationships between firm-level indicators of social/environmental performance and corporate financial performance. In recent years, however, there has been an explosion of micro-oriented CSR research conducted at the individual level of analysis, especially with respect to studies on how and why job seekers and employees perceive and react to CSR practices. This micro-level focus is reflected in 12 articles published as a Research Topic collection in Frontiers in Psychology (Organizational Psychology Specialty Section) titled "CSR and organizational psychology: Quid pro quo." In the present article, the authors summarize and integrate findings from these Research Topic articles. After describing some of the "new frontiers" these articles explore and create, the authors strive to fulfill a "quid pro quo" with some of the meso- and macro-oriented CSR literatures that paved the way for micro-CSR research. Specifically, the authors draw on insights from the Research Topic articles to inform a multilevel model that offers multiple illustrations of how micro-level processes among individual stakeholders can explain variability in meso (firm)-level relationships between CSR practices and corporate performance. The authors also explore an important implication of these multilevel processes for macro-level societal impact.

Smart Metering. Between technical challenge and societal acceptance - Interdisciplinary status quo; Smart Metering. Zwischen technischer Herausforderung und gesellschaftlicher Akzeptanz - Interdisziplinaerer Status Quo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Westermann, Dirk; Doering, Nicola; Bretschneider, Peter (eds.)

2013-04-01

The international research project RESIDENS (more efficient energy utilization by means of system technical integration of the private ultimate consumer) investigates the technology of smart metering that is the utilization of intelligent smart meters in private households. The interdisciplinary character of the RESIDENS project becomes visible by different sub-projects examining different formulations of a question from perspectives of different scientific disciplines: First of all, chapter 2 of the contribution under consideration follows up the question, what impact the media coverage on smart metering has on the perception of this technology in the population at large. Chapter 3 reports on the state of the art of the smart metering. Chapter 4 illustrates how a load control of private consumers can be performed by means of the smart meter technology. Chapter 5 reports on the impacts of the smart metering on the procurement of energy in the liberalised energy market. Chapter 6 investigates the smart metering from the customer's point of view. Concretely, the user-friendliness of an internet portal is evaluated by which the customers may follow up their consumption of electricity by means of an intelligent smart meter continuously. Chapter 7 illustrates legal aspects of smart metering from the perspective of the customer, electricity suppliers and distribution system operators. Chapter 8 presents the conception and implementation of an online gaming operation for the promotion of competency of private power customers: In line with this game, the participants may learn to handle smart metering and flexible electricity tariffs in an entertaining manner. Finally, chapter 9 reports on an expert interview in which the smart metering technology is evaluated by public utilities being involved in this project.

[Current Status and Challenges of CAR-T Immunotherapy in Hematologic Malignancies -Review].

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Xin; Wang, Ya-Jie; Feng, Shuai; Wu, Ya-Yun; Yang, Tong-Hua; Lai, Xun

2018-04-01

The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has gradually became a new trend in the treatment of refractory and relapsed hematologic malignancies by developing for 30 years. With the exciting development of genetic engineering, CAR-T technology has subjected to 4 generations of innovation. Structure of CAR-T started from a single signal molecule to 2 or more than 2 co-stimulatory molecules, and then coding the CAR gene or promoter. CAR-T can specifically recognize tumor antigens, and does not be restricted by major histocompatibility complex (MHC), thus making a breakthrough in clinical treatment. In this review, the history, structure and mechanism of action of CAR-T, as well as the current status and challenges of CAR-T immunotherapy in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma are summarized.

Urine biomarkers in the early stages of diseases: current status and perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Jian; Gao, Youhe

2018-02-01

As a noninvasive and easily available biological fluid, the urine is becoming an important source for disease biomarker study. Change is essential for the usefulness of a biomarker. Without homeostasis mechanisms, urine can accommodate more changes, especially in the early stages of diseases. In this review, we summarize current status and discuss perspectives on the discovery of urine biomarkers in the early stages of diseases. We emphasize the advantages of urine biomarkers compared to plasma biomarkers for the diagnosis of diseases at early stages, propose a urine biomarker research roadmap, and highlight a novel membrane storage technique that enables large-scale urine sample collection and storage efficiently and economically. It is anticipated that urine biomarker studies will greatly promote early diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and prognosis of a variety of diseases, and provide strong support for translational and precision medicine.

Current status of the development of international exemption principles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennedy, W.E. Jr.

1988-01-01

For the past several years, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been investigating the possibility of exempting certain radiation sources and practices from regulatory control. Initial efforts were conducted under the general heading of de minimis. Interest in this topic arises from international recognition that a significant fraction of the wastes from industry, research, medicine, and the nuclear fuel cycle are contaminated to such low levels that applying regulatory controls may be unwarranted. The IAEA evaluation has been conducted by Advisory Groups considering two interrelated topics: to establish principles for exemption, and to apply the principles to various areas of waste management. The IAEA Advisory Groups developed the criteria from modeled assessments of the potential radiation exposure pathways and scenarios for individuals and population groups following the unrestricted release of radioactive materials. Although the scenarios and models used by the IAEA are necessarily generic, consultants to the Advisory Groups attempted to identify the most important radiation exposure pathways based on available literature. This approach is intended to provide the basic framework for the numerical derivation of generic exempt quantities that would be conservative in most situations. This paper discusses the current status of the IAEA's efforts on the subject of exemption and presents the generic results expressed as overall exemption limits for municipal wastes and materials for recycle and reuse

Oil development in China: Current status and future trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Linwei; Fu Feng; Li Zheng; Liu Pei

2012-01-01

The future of oil has become an important topic of the discussion of energy policy in China. This paper attempts to present a full picture of the current status and future trends of China’s oil development through system analysis. First, we map a Sankey diagram of China’s oil flow to reveal the physical pattern of China’s oil supply and consumption. Then, we present the historical and ongoing trends of China’s oil flow from key aspects such as oil demand, oil resource availability, technology improvement, and policy adjustment. Based on these understandings, we design three scenarios of China’s oil demand in 2030, and analyze policy implications for oil saving, automotive energy development, and energy security. From the analysis, we draw some conclusions for policy decisions, such as to control the total oil consumption to avoid energy security risks, to enhance oil saving in all sectors with road transportation as the emphasis, and to increase the investment on oil production and refining to secure oil supply and reduce emissions. - Highlights: ► A Sankey Diagram to reveal the physical pattern of China’s oil supply and consumption. ► Present the ongoing trends of China’s oil development. ► Discuss important policy issues such as oil saving, energy security, and emissions reduction.

Current status of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kreiner, A. J.; Bergueiro, J.; Di Paolo, H.; Castell, W.; Vento, V. Thatar; Cartelli, D.; Kesque, J.M.; Valda, A.A.; Ilardo, J.C.; Baldo, M.; Erhardt, J.; Debray, M.E.; Somacal, H.R.; Estrada, L.; Sandin, J.C. Suarez; Igarzabal, M.; Huck, H.; Padulo, J.; Minsky, D.M.

2011-01-01

The direct use of proton and heavy ion beams for radiotherapy is a well established cancer treatment modality, which is becoming increasingly widespread due to its clear advantages over conventional photon-based treatments. This strategy is suitable when the tumor is spatially well localized. Also the use of neutrons has a long tradition. Here Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) stands out, though on a much smaller scale, being a second-generation promising alternative for tumors which are diffuse and infiltrating. On this sector, so far only nuclear reactors have been used as neutron sources. In this paper we describe the current situation worldwide as far as the use of accelerator-based neutron sources for BNCT is concerned (so-called Accelerator-Based (AB)-BNCT). In particular we discuss the present status of an ongoing project to develop a folded Tandem-ElectroStatic-Quadrupole (TESQ) accelerator at the Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina. The project goal is a machine capable of delivering 30 mA of 2.4 MeV protons to be used in conjunction with a neutron production target based on the 7 Li(p,n) 7 Be reaction. These are the specifications needed to produce sufficiently intense and clean epithermal neutron beams to perform BNCT for deep-seated tumors in less than an hour. (author)

Weight status and body image perceptions in adolescents: current perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Voelker DK

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Dana K Voelker,1 Justine J Reel,2 Christy Greenleaf3 1West Virginia University, College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Morgantown, WV, 2University of North Carolina Wilmington, College of Health and Human Services, Wilmington, NC, 3University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, College of Health Sciences, Milwaukee, WI, USA Abstract: Adolescence represents a pivotal stage in the development of positive or negative body image. Many influences exist during the teen years including transitions (eg, puberty that affect one’s body shape, weight status, and appearance. Weight status exists along a spectrum between being obese (ie, where one’s body weight is in the 95th percentile for age and gender to being underweight. Salient influences on body image include the media, which can target adolescents, and peers who help shape beliefs about the perceived body ideal. Internalization of and pressures to conform to these socially prescribed body ideals help to explain associations between weight status and body image. The concepts of fat talk and weight-related bullying during adolescence greatly contribute to an overemphasis on body weight and appearance as well as the development of negative body perceptions and dissatisfaction surrounding specific body parts. This article provides an overview of the significance of adolescent development in shaping body image, the relationship between body image and adolescent weight status, and the consequences of having a negative body image during adolescence (ie, disordered eating, eating disorders, and dysfunctional exercise. Practical implications for promoting a healthy weight status and positive body image among adolescents will be discussed. Keywords: adolescence, eating disorders, obesity, bullying, puberty, physical activity

The Current Status of the Economic Security of Poltava Region

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Bondarevska Olha M.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The status of economic security of Poltava region in 2012–2016 was analyzed, the analysis was conducted using the developed methodology for assessing economic security of region, which is based on the joint use of indicative and functional methods. In order to assess the status of economic security of region, a system of indicators, divided by economic security components, has been formed using functional approach. The information-analytical provision of assessment has been formed using statistical information on the socio-economic development of the region. The influence of factors of destabilizing and destimulative nature on the status of economic security of the region has been researched. It has been concluded that the economic security of Poltava region is unsatisfactory, despite the existence of some positive tendencies, which at present are not sustainable.

Current status of baryon spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wali, K.C.

1975-01-01

The basic ideas of some of the current models and the experimental numerical comparisons are discussed briefly. Included are realistic or constituent quark models, experimental comparison, the experimental and theoretical basis for the assignments, algebraic quark models, and confinement schemes

The Current and Historical Distribution of Special Status Amphibians at the Livermore Site and Site 300

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hattem, M V; Paterson, L; Woollett, J

2008-08-20

65 surveys were completed in 2002 to assess the current distribution of special status amphibians at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Livermore Site and Site 300. Combined with historical information from previous years, the information presented herein illustrates the dynamic and probable risk that amphibian populations face at both sites. The Livermore Site is developed and in stark contrast to the mostly undeveloped Site 300. Yet both sites have significant issues threatening the long-term sustainability of their respective amphibian populations. Livermore Site amphibians are presented with a suite of challenges inherent of urban interfaces, most predictably the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), while Site 300's erosion issues and periodic feral pig (Sus scrofa) infestations reduce and threaten populations. The long-term sustainability of LLNL's special status amphibians will require active management and resource commitment to maintain and restore amphibian habitat at both sites.

Current status of radiation transport tools for proliferation and terrorism prevention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sale, K.E.

2004-01-01

We present the current status and future plans for the set of calculational tools and data bases developed and maintained at LLNL. The calculational tools include the Monte Carlo codes TART and COG as well as the deterministic code ARDRA. In addition to these codes presently in use there is a major development effort for a new massively parallel transport code. An important part of the capability we're developing is a sophisticated user interface, based on a commercial 3-D modeling product, to improve the model development process. A major part of this user interface tool is being developed by Strela under the Nuclear Cities Initiative. Strela has developed a hub-and-spoke technology for code input interconversions (between COG, TART and MCNP) and will produce the plug-ins that extend the capabilities of the 3-D modeler for use as a radiation transport input generator. The major advantages of this approach are the built-in user interface for 3-D modeling and the ability to read a large variety of CAD-file formats. In addition to supporting our current radiation transport codes and developing new capabilities we are working on some nuclear data needs for homeland security. These projects are carried out and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 88' cyclotron and at the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Nation Academy of Science of Ukraine under and STCU contract. (author)

Current status of VHTR development in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aochi, A.; Kondo, T.

1982-01-01

The status of the program at the beginning of fiscal 1982 is reviewed. Special emphasis is placed on the altering of the output helium temperature of the experimental VHTR to 950 0 . The modification is aimed at establishing the technical basis for post-experimental VHTR output helium temperature of 1000 0 C. Notes are given on the design of the VHTR as well as various research and development efforts in Japan on multi-purpose nuclear heat applications and HTGR technology

Current status of neutron scattering in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ampornrat, Pantip

1999-01-01

Thailand's neutron spectrometer has been installed soon after the startup of the reactor. The neutron scattering experiments have been done continuously, although there were some problems involving the neutron intensity and instruments. Development program has been planned for better experimental result. This paper reports the past and present status of neutron scattering equipment and experiments in Thailand. In addition, installation of a HRPD (High Resolution Powder Diffraction) system is included within the scope of the Ongkharak Nuclear Research Center project. (author)