Delay-Limited Capacity in the Low Power Regime

KAUST Repository

Rezki, Zouheir; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2016-01-01

provide a simple characterization of the outage probability in the regime of interest. We quantify the reward due to CSI-TR over the constant-rate constant-power scheme and show that this reward increases with the delay constraint. For instance

The power to resist: The relationship between power, stigma, and negative symptoms in schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Campellone, Timothy R.; Caponigro, Janelle M.; Kring, Ann M.

2014-01-01

Stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness can be a daily struggle for people with schizophrenia. While investigations into the impact of internalizing stigma on negative symptoms have yielded mixed results, resistance to stigmatizing beliefs has received little attention. In this study, we examined the linkage between internalized stigma, stigma resistance, negative symptoms, and social power, or perceived ability to influence others during social interactions among people with schizophrenia. Further, we sought to determine whether resistance to stigma would be bolstered by social power, with greater power in relationships with other possibly buffering against motivation/pleasure negative symptoms. Fifty-one people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder completed measures of social power, internalized stigma, and stigma resistance. Negative symptoms were assessed using the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). Greater social power was associated with less internalized stigma and negative symptoms as well as more stigma resistance. Further, the relationship between social power and negative symptoms was partially mediated by stigma resistance. These findings provide evidence for the role of stigma resistance as a viable target for psychosocial interventions aimed at improving motivation and social power in people with schizophrenia. PMID:24326180

The power to resist: the relationship between power, stigma, and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Campellone, Timothy R; Caponigro, Janelle M; Kring, Ann M

2014-02-28

Stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness can be a daily struggle for people with schizophrenia. While investigations into the impact of internalizing stigma on negative symptoms have yielded mixed results, resistance to stigmatizing beliefs has received little attention. In this study, we examined the linkage between internalized stigma, stigma resistance, negative symptoms, and social power, or perceived ability to influence others during social interactions among people with schizophrenia. Further, we sought to determine whether resistance to stigma would be bolstered by social power, with greater power in relationships with other possibly buffering against motivation/pleasure negative symptoms. Fifty-one people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder completed measures of social power, internalized stigma, and stigma resistance. Negative symptoms were assessed using the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). Greater social power was associated with less internalized stigma and negative symptoms as well as more stigma resistance. Further, the relationship between social power and negative symptoms was partially mediated by stigma resistance. These findings provide evidence for the role of stigma resistance as a viable target for psychosocial interventions aimed at improving motivation and social power in people with schizophrenia. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Sliding mode load frequency control for multi-area time-delay power system with wind power integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mi, Yang; Hao, Xuezhi; Liu, Yongjuan

2017-01-01

The interconnected time-delay power system has become an important issue for the open communication network. Meanwhile, due to the output power fluctuation of integrated wind energy, load frequency control (LFC) for power system with variable sources and loads has become more complicated. The novel...

Power and delay optimisation in multi-hop wireless networks

KAUST Repository

Xia, Li; Shihada, Basem

2014-01-01

in order to minimise the power consumption and the queueing delay of the whole network. With the assumptions of interference-free links and independently and identically distributed (i.i.d.) channel states, we formulate this problem using a semi

Time delays between core power production and external detector response from Monte Carlo calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valentine, T.E.; Mihalczo, J.T.

1996-01-01

One primary concern for design of safety systems for reactors is the time response of external detectors to changes in the core. This paper describes a way to estimate the time delay between the core power production and the external detector response using Monte Carlo calculations and suggests a technique to measure the time delay. The Monte Carlo code KENO-NR was used to determine the time delay between the core power production and the external detector response for a conceptual design of the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) reactor. The Monte Carlo estimated time delay was determined to be about 10 ms for this conceptual design of the ANS reactor

Comparison of dynamic compensation methods for delayed self-powered neutron detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In, Wang Kee; Kim, Joon Sung; Auh, Geun Sun; Yoon, Tae Young

1993-01-01

Dynamic compensation methods for rhodium self-powered neutron detector have been developed by Banda and Hoppe to compensate for the time delay associated with detector signals. The time delay is due to the decay of the neutron-activated rhodium and results in delayed detector response. Two digital dynamic compensation methods, were compared for step change of neutron flux in this paper. The inverse kinetics method gave slightly better response time and noise gain. However, the inverse kinetics method also showed overshooting of neutron flux for the step change. (Author)

Power Optimization of Multimode Mobile Embedded Systems with Workload-Delay Dependency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hoeseok Yang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes to take the relationship between delay and workload into account in the power optimization of microprocessors in mobile embedded systems. Since the components outside a device continuously change their values or properties, the workload to be handled by the systems becomes dynamic and variable. This variable workload is formulated as a staircase function of the delay taken at the previous iteration in this paper and applied to the power optimization of DVFS (dynamic voltage-frequency scaling. In doing so, a graph representation of all possible workload/mode changes during the lifetime of a device, Workload Transition Graph (WTG, is proposed. Then, the power optimization problem is transformed into finding a cycle (closed walk in WTG which minimizes the average power consumption over it. Out of the obtained optimal cycle of WTG, one can derive the optimal power management policy of the target device. It is shown that the proposed policy is valid for both continuous and discrete DVFS models. The effectiveness of the proposed power optimization policy is demonstrated with the simulation results of synthetic and real-life examples.

Active high-power RF pulse compression using optically switched resonant delay lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tantawi, S.G.; Ruth, R.D.; Vlieks, A.E.

1996-11-01

The authors present the design and a proof of principle experimental results of an optically controlled high power rf pulse compression system. The design should, in principle, handle few hundreds of Megawatts of power at X-band. The system is based on the switched resonant delay line theory. It employs resonant delay lines as a means of storing rf energy. The coupling to the lines is optimized for maximum energy storage during the charging phase. To discharge the lines, a high power microwave switch increases the coupling to the lines just before the start of the output pulse. The high power microwave switch, required for this system, is realized using optical excitation of an electron-hole plasma layer on the surface of a pure silicon wafer. The switch is designed to operate in the TE 01 mode in a circular waveguide to avoid the edge effects present at the interface between the silicon wafer and the supporting waveguide; thus, enhancing its power handling capability

Investigation of the delay time distribution of high power microwave surface flashover

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, J.; Krompholz, H.; Neuber, A.

2011-01-01

Characterizing and modeling the statistics associated with the initiation of gas breakdown has proven to be difficult due to a variety of rather unexplored phenomena involved. Experimental conditions for high power microwave window breakdown for pressures on the order of 100 to several 100 torr are complex: there are little to no naturally occurring free electrons in the breakdown region. The initial electron generation rate, from an external source, for example, is time dependent and so is the charge carrier amplification in the increasing radio frequency (RF) field amplitude with a rise time of 50 ns, which can be on the same order as the breakdown delay time. The probability of reaching a critical electron density within a given time period is composed of the statistical waiting time for the appearance of initiating electrons in the high-field region and the build-up of an avalanche with an inherent statistical distribution of the electron number. High power microwave breakdown and its delay time is of critical importance, since it limits the transmission through necessary windows, especially for high power, high altitude, low pressure applications. The delay time distribution of pulsed high power microwave surface flashover has been examined for nitrogen and argon as test gases for pressures ranging from 60 to 400 torr, with and without external UV illumination. A model has been developed for predicting the discharge delay time for these conditions. The results provide indications that field induced electron generation, other than standard field emission, plays a dominant role, which might be valid for other gas discharge types as well.

The generalized correlation method for estimation of time delay in power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostic, Lj.

1981-01-01

The generalized correlation estimation is developed for determining time delay between signals received at two spatially separated sensors in the presence of uncorrelated noise in a power plant. This estimator can be realized as a pair of receiver prefilters followed by a cross correlator. The time argument at which the correlator achieves a maximum is the delay estimate. (author)

H∞ Excitation Control Design for Stochastic Power Systems with Input Delay Based on Nonlinear Hamiltonian System Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiwei Sun

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents H∞ excitation control design problem for power systems with input time delay and disturbances by using nonlinear Hamiltonian system theory. The impact of time delays introduced by remote signal transmission and processing in wide-area measurement system (WAMS is well considered. Meanwhile, the systems under investigation are disturbed by random fluctuation. First, under prefeedback technique, the power systems are described as a nonlinear Hamiltonian system. Then the H∞ excitation controller of generators connected to distant power systems with time delay and stochasticity is designed. Based on Lyapunov functional method, some sufficient conditions are proposed to guarantee the rationality and validity of the proposed control law. The closed-loop systems under the control law are asymptotically stable in mean square independent of the time delay. And we through a simulation of a two-machine power system prove the effectiveness of the results proposed in this paper.

Bounds and enhancements for negative scattering time delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muga, J.G.; Egusquiza, I.L.; Damborenea, J.A.; Delgado, F.

2002-01-01

The time of passage of the transmitted wave packet in a tunneling collision of a quantum particle with a square potential barrier becomes independent of the barrier width in a range of barrier thickness. This is the Hartman effect, which has been frequently associated with 'superluminality'. A fundamental limitation on the effect is set by nonrelativistic 'causality conditions'. We demonstrate first that the causality conditions impose more restrictive bounds on the negative time delays (time advancements) when no bound states are present. These restrictive bounds are in agreement with a naive, and generally false, causality argument based on the positivity of the 'extrapolated phase time', one of the quantities proposed to characterize the duration of the barrier's traversal. Nevertheless, square wells may in fact lead to much larger advancements than square barriers. We point out that close to the thresholds of new bound states, the time advancement increases considerably, while, at the same time, the transmission probability is large, which facilitates the possible observation of the enhanced time advancement

Power measurement in the boiling capsules in R2 using delayed neutron detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roennberg, G.

1979-03-01

LWR fuel testing is performed in the R2 reactor by irradiation in both loops and so-called boiling capsules. The loops have forced cooling, and the power can be measured calorimetrically by conventional instrumentation. The boiling capsules have convection cooling, and it has therefore been necessary to develop a special technique for power measurement, the delayed neutron detector (DND). The DND is a pneumatic rabbit system, which activates small uranium samples in the boiling capsules and counts the delayed neutrons for determination of the fission rate. This report describes the equipment used, the procedure of measurement, and the method of evaluation. (atuhor)

Is It Really Self-Control? Examining the Predictive Power of the Delay of Gratification Task

Science.gov (United States)

Duckworth, Angela L.; Tsukayama, Eli; Kirby, Teri A.

2013-01-01

This investigation tests whether the predictive power of the delay of gratification task (colloquially known as the “marshmallow test”) derives from its assessment of self-control or of theoretically unrelated traits. Among 56 school-age children in Study 1, delay time was associated with concurrent teacher ratings of self-control and Big Five conscientiousness—but not with other personality traits, intelligence, or reward-related impulses. Likewise, among 966 preschool children in Study 2, delay time was consistently associated with concurrent parent and caregiver ratings of self-control but not with reward-related impulses. While delay time in Study 2 was also related to concurrently measured intelligence, predictive relations with academic, health, and social outcomes in adolescence were more consistently explained by ratings of effortful control. Collectively, these findings suggest that delay task performance may be influenced by extraneous traits, but its predictive power derives primarily from its assessment of self-control. PMID:23813422

Robust decentralised PI based LFC design for time delay power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bevrani, Hassan; Hiyama, Takashi

2008-01-01

In this paper, two robust decentralised proportional integral (PI) control designs are proposed for load frequency control (LFC) with communication delays. In both methodologies, the PI based LFC problem is reduced to a static output feedback (SOF) control synthesis for a multiple delay system. The first one is based on the optimal H ∞ control design using a linear matrix inequalities (LMI) technique. The second control design gives a suboptimal solution using a developed iterative linear matrix inequalities (ILMI) algorithm via the mixed H 2 /H ∞ control technique. The control strategies are suitable for LFC applications that usually employ PI control. The proposed control strategies are applied to a three control area power system with time delays and load disturbance to demonstrate their robustness

Electrostatic Power Generation from Negatively Charged, Simulated Lunar Regolith

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Sang H.; King, Glen C.; Kim, Hyun-Jung; Park, Yeonjoon

2010-01-01

Research was conducted to develop an electrostatic power generator for future lunar missions that facilitate the utilization of lunar resources. The lunar surface is known to be negatively charged from the constant bombardment of electrons and protons from the solar wind. The resulting negative electrostatic charge on the dust particles, in the lunar vacuum, causes them to repel each other minimizing the potential. The result is a layer of suspended dust about one meter above the lunar surface. This phenomenon was observed by both Clementine and Surveyor spacecrafts. During the Apollo 17 lunar landing, the charged dust was a major hindrance, as it was attracted to the astronauts' spacesuits, equipment, and the lunar buggies. The dust accumulated on the spacesuits caused reduced visibility for the astronauts, and was unavoidably transported inside the spacecraft where it caused breathing irritation [1]. In the lunar vacuum, the maximum charge on the particles can be extremely high. An article in the journal "Nature", titled "Moon too static for astronauts?" (Feb 2, 2007) estimates that the lunar surface is charged with up to several thousand volts [2]. The electrostatic power generator was devised to alleviate the hazardous effects of negatively charged lunar soil by neutralizing the charged particles through capacitive coupling and thereby simultaneously harnessing power through electric charging [3]. The amount of power generated or collected is dependent on the areal coverage of the device and hovering speed over the lunar soil surface. A thin-film array of capacitors can be continuously charged and sequentially discharged using a time-differentiated trigger discharge process to produce a pulse train of discharge for DC mode output. By controlling the pulse interval, the DC mode power can be modulated for powering devices and equipment. In conjunction with a power storage system, the electrostatic power generator can be a power source for a lunar rover or other

Negative power coefficient on PHWRs with CARA fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lestani, H.A.; González, H.J.; Florido, P.C.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A PHWR fuel was optimized to obtain a negative power coefficient. • Fuel cost, being a measure of design investment efficiency, was optimized. • Influence on power coefficient of geometrical and economical parameters’ was studied. • Different neutronic absorbers were studied; pure absorbers can be used. • Thermal and economical models were developed to complement neutronic assessment. - Abstract: A study of power coefficient of reactivity in heavy water reactors is made analyzing the reactivity components of fuels with several modifications oriented at reducing the coefficient. A cell model is used for neutronics calculations; a non-linear two dimensional model is used to evaluate the thermal changes that follow a power change; and a levelized unit energy cost model is used to assess the economical feasibility of the design changes introduced to reduce power coefficient. The necessity of modelling all the aforementioned quantities in a coupled scheme is stressed, as a strong interdependence was found. A series of design changes complied with a negative power coefficient of reactivity, with a feasible power radial distribution and with low refuelling cost. Some investigation lines that exceed the fuel cell study and deal with the plant operation are marked as potentially addressing the stable operation of big heavy water reactors

Power and delay optimisation in multi-hop wireless networks

KAUST Repository

Xia, Li

2014-02-05

In this paper, we study the optimisation problem of transmission power and delay in a multi-hop wireless network consisting of multiple nodes. The goal is to determine the optimal policy of transmission rates at various buffer and channel states in order to minimise the power consumption and the queueing delay of the whole network. With the assumptions of interference-free links and independently and identically distributed (i.i.d.) channel states, we formulate this problem using a semi-open Jackson network model for data transmission and a Markov model for channel states transition. We derive a difference equation of the system performance under any two different policies. The necessary and sufficient condition of optimal policy is obtained. We also prove that the system performance is monotonic with respect to (w.r.t.) the transmission rate and the optimal transmission rate can be either maximal or minimal. That is, the ‘bang-bang’ control is an optimal control. This optimality structure greatly reduces the problem complexity. Furthermore, we develop an iterative algorithm to find the optimal solution. Finally, we conduct the simulation experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. We hope our work can shed some insights on solving this complicated optimisation problem.

Power supply system for negative ion source at IPR

Science.gov (United States)

Gahlaut, Agrajit; Sonara, Jashwant; Parmar, K. G.; Soni, Jignesh; Bandyopadhyay, M.; Singh, Mahendrajit; Bansal, Gourab; Pandya, Kaushal; Chakraborty, Arun

2010-02-01

The first step in the Indian program on negative ion beams is the setting up of Negative ion Experimental Assembly - RF based, where 100 kW of RF power shall be coupled to a plasma source producing plasma of density ~5 × 1012 cm-3, from which ~ 10 A of negative ion beam shall be produced and accelerated to 35 kV, through an electrostatic ion accelerator. The experimental system is modelled similar to the RF based negative ion source, BATMAN presently operating at IPP, Garching, Germany. The mechanical system for Negative Ion Source Assembly is close to the IPP source, remaining systems are designed and procured principally from indigenous sources, keeping the IPP configuration as a base line. High voltage (HV) and low voltage (LV) power supplies are two key constituents of the experimental setup. The HV power supplies for extraction and acceleration are rated for high voltage (~15 to 35kV), and high current (~ 15 to 35A). Other attributes are, fast rate of voltage rise (< 5ms), good regulation (< ±1%), low ripple (< ±2%), isolation (~50kV), low energy content (< 10J) and fast cut-off (< 100μs). The low voltage (LV) supplies required for biasing and providing heating power to the Cesium oven and the plasma grids; have attributes of low ripple, high stability, fast and precise regulation, programmability and remote operation. These power supplies are also equipped with over-voltage, over-current and current limit (CC Mode) protections. Fault diagnostics, to distinguish abnormal rise in currents (breakdown faults) with over-currents is enabled using fast response breakdown and over-current protection scheme. To restrict the fault energy deposited on the ion source, specially designed snubbers are implemented in each (extraction and acceleration) high voltage path to swap the surge energy. Moreover, the monitoring status and control signals from these power supplies are required to be electrically (~ 50kV) isolated from the system. The paper shall present the

Power supply system for negative ion source at IPR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gahlaut, Agrajit; Sonara, Jashwant; Parmar, K G; Soni, Jignesh; Bandyopadhyay, M; Singh, Mahendrajit; Bansal, Gourab; Pandya, Kaushal; Chakraborty, Arun

2010-01-01

The first step in the Indian program on negative ion beams is the setting up of Negative ion Experimental Assembly - RF based, where 100 kW of RF power shall be coupled to a plasma source producing plasma of density ∼5 x 10 12 cm -3 , from which ∼ 10 A of negative ion beam shall be produced and accelerated to 35 kV, through an electrostatic ion accelerator. The experimental system is modelled similar to the RF based negative ion source, BATMAN presently operating at IPP, Garching, Germany. The mechanical system for Negative Ion Source Assembly is close to the IPP source, remaining systems are designed and procured principally from indigenous sources, keeping the IPP configuration as a base line. High voltage (HV) and low voltage (LV) power supplies are two key constituents of the experimental setup. The HV power supplies for extraction and acceleration are rated for high voltage (∼15 to 35kV), and high current (∼ 15 to 35A). Other attributes are, fast rate of voltage rise (< 5ms), good regulation (< ±1%), low ripple (< ±2%), isolation (∼50kV), low energy content (< 10J) and fast cut-off (< 100μs). The low voltage (LV) supplies required for biasing and providing heating power to the Cesium oven and the plasma grids; have attributes of low ripple, high stability, fast and precise regulation, programmability and remote operation. These power supplies are also equipped with over-voltage, over-current and current limit (CC Mode) protections. Fault diagnostics, to distinguish abnormal rise in currents (breakdown faults) with over-currents is enabled using fast response breakdown and over-current protection scheme. To restrict the fault energy deposited on the ion source, specially designed snubbers are implemented in each (extraction and acceleration) high voltage path to swap the surge energy. Moreover, the monitoring status and control signals from these power supplies are required to be electrically (∼ 50kV) isolated from the system. The paper shall

Impact of Negative Sequence Current Injection by Wind Power Plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chaudhary, Sanjay; Göksu, Ömer; Teodorescu, Remus

2013-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of the impact from negative sequence current injection by wind power plants in power systems under steady-state and short-term unbalanced conditions, including faults. The separate positive and negative sequence current control capability of the grid-side converters...... of full scale converter type wind turbines may be utilized to alter voltage imbalance at the point of connection and further into the grid, in turn changing the resultant negative sequence current flow in the grid. The effects of such control actions have been analyzed and discussed through theoretical...

Estimating power capability of aged lithium-ion batteries in presence of communication delays

Science.gov (United States)

Fridholm, Björn; Wik, Torsten; Kuusisto, Hannes; Klintberg, Anton

2018-04-01

Efficient control of electrified powertrains requires accurate estimation of the power capability of the battery for the next few seconds into the future. When implemented in a vehicle, the power estimation is part of a control loop that may contain several networked controllers which introduces time delays that may jeopardize stability. In this article, we present and evaluate an adaptive power estimation method that robustly can handle uncertain health status and time delays. A theoretical analysis shows that stability of the closed loop system can be lost if the resistance of the model is under-estimated. Stability can, however, be restored by filtering the estimated power at the expense of slightly reduced bandwidth of the signal. The adaptive algorithm is experimentally validated in lab tests using an aged lithium-ion cell subject to a high power load profile in temperatures from -20 to +25 °C. The upper voltage limit was set to 4.15 V and the lower voltage limit to 2.6 V, where significant non-linearities are occurring and the validity of the model is limited. After an initial transient when the model parameters are adapted, the prediction accuracy is within ± 2 % of the actually available power.

Factors Causing Delay of Modification Projects at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ntoyanto, S.

2017-01-01

Modification project delays could lead to: disrupting the maintenance shutdown (outage) projects' schedule, affecting electricity capacity of the national grid., possible load-shedding restricting electricity supply to domestic, commercial, and industrial consumers; and detrimental consequences to the country's economic activities. To address proficiency of a project manager by improving: Understanding of the organizational processes, High-level technical knowledge of a nuclear power plant technology

Delayed gamma power measurement for sodium-cooled fast reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coulon, R., E-mail: romain.coulon@cea.f [CEA, LIST, Laboratoire Capteurs et Architectures Electroniques, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Normand, S., E-mail: stephane.normand@cea.f [CEA, LIST, Laboratoire Capteurs et Architectures Electroniques, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Ban, G., E-mail: ban@lpccaen.in2p3.f [ENSICAEN, 6 Boulevard Marechal Juin, F-14050 Caen Cedex 4 (France); Barat, E.; Montagu, T.; Dautremer, T. [CEA, LIST, Laboratoire Modelisation Simulation et Systemes, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Brau, H.-P. [ICSM, Centre de Marcoule, BP 17171 F-30207 Bagnols sur Ceze (France); Dumarcher, V. [AREVA NP, SET, F-84500 Bollene (France); Michel, M.; Barbot, L.; Domenech, T.; Boudergui, K.; Bourbotte, J.-M. [CEA, LIST, Laboratoire Capteurs et Architectures Electroniques, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Jousset, P. [CEA, LIST, Departement des Capteurs, du Signal et de l' Information, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Barouch, G.; Ravaux, S.; Carrel, F. [CEA, LIST, Laboratoire Modelisation Simulation et Systemes, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Saurel, N. [CEA, DAM, Laboratoire Mesure de Dechets et Expertise, F-21120 Is-sur-Tille (France); Frelin-Labalme, A.-M.; Hamrita, H. [CEA, LIST, Laboratoire Capteurs et Architectures Electroniques, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

2011-01-15

Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Research highlights: {sup 20}F and {sup 23}Ne tagging agents are produced by fast neutron flux. {sup 20}F signal has been measured at the SFR Phenix prototype. A random error of only 3% for an integration time of 2 s could be achieved. {sup 20}F and {sup 23}Ne power measurement has a reduced temperature influence. Burn-up impact could be limited by simultaneous {sup 20}F and {sup 23}Ne measurement. - Abstract: Previous works on pressurized water reactors show that the nitrogen 16 activation product can be used to measure thermal power. Power monitoring using a more stable indicator than ex-core neutron measurements is required for operational sodium-cooled fast reactors, in order to improve their economic efficiency at the nominal operating point. The fluorine 20 and neon 23 produced by (n,{alpha}) and (n,p) capture in the sodium coolant have this type of convenient characteristic, suitable for power measurements with low build-up effects and a potentially limited temperature, flow rate, burn-up and breeding dependence. This method was tested for the first time during the final tests program of the French Phenix sodium-cooled fast reactor at CEA Marcoule, using the ADONIS gamma pulse analyzer. Despite a non-optimal experimental configuration for this application, the delayed gamma power measurement was pre-validated, and found to provide promising results.

Asymptotic Delay Analysis for Cross-Layer Delay-Based Routing in Ad Hoc Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philippe Jacquet

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the problem of the evaluation of the delay distribution via analytical means in IEEE 802.11 wireless ad hoc networks. We show that the asymptotic delay distribution can be expressed as a power law. Based on the latter result, we present a cross-layer delay estimation protocol and we derive new delay-distribution-based routing algorithms, which are well adapted to the QoS requirements of real-time multimedia applications. In fact, multimedia services are not sensitive to average delays, but rather to the asymptotic delay distributions. Indeed, video streaming applications drop frames when they are received beyond a delay threshold, determined by the buffer size. Although delay-distribution-based routing is an NP-hard problem, we show that it can be solved in polynomial time when the delay threshold is large, because of the asymptotic power law distribution of the link delays.

Modeling delay in genetic networks: from delay birth-death processes to delay stochastic differential equations.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Chinmaya; López, José Manuel; Azencott, Robert; Bennett, Matthew R; Josić, Krešimir; Ott, William

2014-05-28

Delay is an important and ubiquitous aspect of many biochemical processes. For example, delay plays a central role in the dynamics of genetic regulatory networks as it stems from the sequential assembly of first mRNA and then protein. Genetic regulatory networks are therefore frequently modeled as stochastic birth-death processes with delay. Here, we examine the relationship between delay birth-death processes and their appropriate approximating delay chemical Langevin equations. We prove a quantitative bound on the error between the pathwise realizations of these two processes. Our results hold for both fixed delay and distributed delay. Simulations demonstrate that the delay chemical Langevin approximation is accurate even at moderate system sizes. It captures dynamical features such as the oscillatory behavior in negative feedback circuits, cross-correlations between nodes in a network, and spatial and temporal information in two commonly studied motifs of metastability in biochemical systems. Overall, these results provide a foundation for using delay stochastic differential equations to approximate the dynamics of birth-death processes with delay.

Modeling delay in genetic networks: From delay birth-death processes to delay stochastic differential equations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, Chinmaya; López, José Manuel; Azencott, Robert; Ott, William [Department of Mathematics, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77004 (United States); Bennett, Matthew R. [Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77204, USA and Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005 (United States); Josić, Krešimir [Department of Mathematics, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77004 (United States); Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204 (United States)

2014-05-28

Delay is an important and ubiquitous aspect of many biochemical processes. For example, delay plays a central role in the dynamics of genetic regulatory networks as it stems from the sequential assembly of first mRNA and then protein. Genetic regulatory networks are therefore frequently modeled as stochastic birth-death processes with delay. Here, we examine the relationship between delay birth-death processes and their appropriate approximating delay chemical Langevin equations. We prove a quantitative bound on the error between the pathwise realizations of these two processes. Our results hold for both fixed delay and distributed delay. Simulations demonstrate that the delay chemical Langevin approximation is accurate even at moderate system sizes. It captures dynamical features such as the oscillatory behavior in negative feedback circuits, cross-correlations between nodes in a network, and spatial and temporal information in two commonly studied motifs of metastability in biochemical systems. Overall, these results provide a foundation for using delay stochastic differential equations to approximate the dynamics of birth-death processes with delay.

Modeling delay in genetic networks: From delay birth-death processes to delay stochastic differential equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, Chinmaya; López, José Manuel; Azencott, Robert; Ott, William; Bennett, Matthew R.; Josić, Krešimir

2014-01-01

Delay is an important and ubiquitous aspect of many biochemical processes. For example, delay plays a central role in the dynamics of genetic regulatory networks as it stems from the sequential assembly of first mRNA and then protein. Genetic regulatory networks are therefore frequently modeled as stochastic birth-death processes with delay. Here, we examine the relationship between delay birth-death processes and their appropriate approximating delay chemical Langevin equations. We prove a quantitative bound on the error between the pathwise realizations of these two processes. Our results hold for both fixed delay and distributed delay. Simulations demonstrate that the delay chemical Langevin approximation is accurate even at moderate system sizes. It captures dynamical features such as the oscillatory behavior in negative feedback circuits, cross-correlations between nodes in a network, and spatial and temporal information in two commonly studied motifs of metastability in biochemical systems. Overall, these results provide a foundation for using delay stochastic differential equations to approximate the dynamics of birth-death processes with delay

Impact of Negative Reactance on Definiteness of B-Matrix and Feasibility of DC Power Flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Tao; Bo, Rui; Yang, Yongheng

2018-01-01

This paper reports an essential phenomenon on the existence of “negative reactance” in practical power system models. The negative reactance issue is important, as it could affect the definiteness of the B admittance matrix of power networks and the feasibility of DC power flow. With the graph th...... in “physical dis-connectivity” and make the linear system singular, so that the DC power flow will be infeasible. The results on several test systems show that the location and value of the negative reactance affect the DC power flow feasibility....

MAC layer power management schemes for efficient energy- delay tradeoffs in wireless local area networks

OpenAIRE

Sarkar, Mahasweta

2006-01-01

In order to minimize power consumption and thereby prolong the system lifetime of battery powered wireless devices, it makes sense for such devices to transit to a very low power "Sleep" state when they are not communicating with their peers. However the main challenge of the sleep mechanism lies in the wireless nodes inability to "wake up" as soon as a packet arrives for it during its sleep state. This leads to an obvious tradeoff between power saving and packet delay. In this dissertation w...

Negative sequence current control in wind power plants with VSC-HVDC connection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chaudhary, Sanjay; Teodorescu, Remus; Rodriguez, Pedro

2012-01-01

Large offshore wind power plants may have multi-MW wind turbine generators (WTG) equipped with full-scale converters (FSC) and voltage source converter (VSC) based high voltaage direct-current (HVDC) transmission for grid connection. The power electronic converters in theWTG-FSC and the VSC......-HVDC allow fast current control in the offshore grid. This paper presents a method of controlling the negative sequence current injection into the offshore grid from the VSC-HVDC as well as WTG-FSCs. This would minimize the power oscillations and hence reduce the dc voltage overshoots in the VSC-HVDC system...... as well as in the WTG-FSCs; especially when the offshore grid is unbalanced due to asymmetric faults. The formulation for negative sequence current injection is mathematically derived and then implemented in electromagnetic transients (EMT) simulation model. The simulated results show that the negative...

Delay-Tolerant, Low-Power Protocols for Large Security-Critical Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio S. Malavenda

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports the analysis, implementation, and experimental testing of a delay-tolerant and energy-aware protocol for a wireless sensor node, oriented to security applications. The solution proposed takes advantages from different domains considering as a guideline the low power consumption and facing the problems of seamless and lossy connectivity offered by the wireless medium along with very limited resources offered by a wireless network node. The paper is organized as follows: first we give an overview on delay-tolerant wireless sensor networking (DTN; then we perform a simulation-based comparative analysis of state-of-the-art DTN approaches and illustrate the improvement offered by the proposed protocol; finally we present experimental data gathered from the implementation of the proposed protocol on a proprietary hardware node.

Studying Electromechanical Wave Propagation and Transport Delays in Power Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Dasgupta, Kalyan; Kulkarni, A. M.; Soman, Shreevardhan

2013-05-01

Abstract: In this paper, we make an attempt to describe the phenomenon of wave propagation when a disturbance is introduced in an electromechanical system. The focus is mainly on generator trips in a power system. Ordering of the generators is first done using a sensitivity matrix. Thereafter, orthogonal decomposition of the ordered generators is done to group them based on their participation in different modes. Finally, we find the velocity of propagation of the wave and the transport delay associated with it using the ESPRIT method. The analysis done on generators from the eastern and western regions of India.1

Stability and bifurcation of numerical discretization of a second-order delay differential equation with negative feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding Xiaohua; Su Huan; Liu Mingzhu

2008-01-01

The paper analyzes a discrete second-order, nonlinear delay differential equation with negative feedback. The characteristic equation of linear stability is solved, as a function of two parameters describing the strength of the feedback and the damping in the autonomous system. The existence of local Hopf bifurcations is investigated, and the direction and stability of periodic solutions bifurcating from the Hopf bifurcation of the discrete model are determined by the Hopf bifurcation theory of discrete system. Finally, some numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the analytical results found

Some properties of zero power neutron noise in a time-varying medium with delayed neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitamura, Y.; Pal, L.; Pazsit, I.; Yamamoto, A.; Yamane, Y.

2008-01-01

The temporal evolution of the distribution of the number of neutrons in a time-varying multiplying system, producing only prompt neutrons, was treated recently with the master equation technique by some of the present authors. Such a treatment gives account of both the so-called zero power reactor noise and the power reactor noise simultaneously. In particular, the first two moments of the neutron number, as well as the concept of criticality for time-varying systems, were investigated and discussed. The present paper extends these investigations to the case when delayed neutrons are also taken into account. Due to the complexity of the description, only the expectation of the neutron number is calculated. The concept of criticality of a time-varying system is also generalized to systems with delayed neutrons. The temporal behaviour of the expectation of the number of neutrons and its asymptotic properties are displayed and discussed

Performance evaluation of time-delay control schemes for uninterruptible power supplies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Loh, P.C; Tang, Y.; Blaabjerg, Frede

2008-01-01

a more powerful processor. Avoiding these added complexities, this paper presents and compares a number of time-delay control schemes for UPS control, where the main building blocks needed are readily available memory storages and simple transfer functions formulated with either no or at least one......-matching characteristic, the presented control schemes are expected to be more robust and less sensitive to implementation noises. In addition, the presented control schemes are deduced to have fast dynamic response, implying that the supplypsilas output voltage is virtually not influenced by any transient load...

Impatience and Grades: Delay-Discount Rates Correlate Negatively with College Gpa

Science.gov (United States)

Kirby, K.N.; Winston, G.C.; Santiesteban, M.

2005-01-01

Because the rewards of academic performance in college are often delayed, the delay-discounting model of impulsiveness (Ainslie (1975) [Ainslie, G. Specious reward: A behavioral theory of impulsiveness and impulse control. Psychological Bulletin, 82 (4), 463-496] predicts that academic performance should tend to decrease as people place less…

Optimal robust stabilizer design based on UPFC for interconnected power systems considering time delay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koofigar Hamid Reza

2017-09-01

Full Text Available A robust auxiliary wide area damping controller is proposed for a unified power flow controller (UPFC. The mixed H2 / H∞ problem with regional pole placement, resolved by linear matrix inequality (LMI, is applied for controller design. Based on modal analysis, the optimal wide area input signals for the controller are selected. The time delay of input signals, due to electrical distance from the UPFC location is taken into account in the design procedure. The proposed controller is applied to a multi-machine interconnected power system from the IRAN power grid. It is shown that the both transient and dynamic stability are significantly improved despite different disturbances and loading conditions.

An Analysis of Delay-based and Integrator-based Sequence Detectors for Grid-Connected Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khazraj, Hesam; Silva, Filipe Miguel Faria da; Bak, Claus Leth

2017-01-01

-signal cancellation operators are the main members of the delay-based sequence detectors. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical and experimental comparative study between integrator and delay based sequence detectors. The theoretical analysis is conducted based on the small-signal modelling......Detecting and separating positive and negative sequence components of the grid voltage or current is of vital importance in the control of grid-connected power converters, HVDC systems, etc. To this end, several techniques have been proposed in recent years. These techniques can be broadly...... classified into two main classes: The integrator-based techniques and Delay-based techniques. The complex-coefficient filter-based technique, dual second-order generalized integrator-based method, multiple reference frame approach are the main members of the integrator-based sequence detector and the delay...

Finding the Energy Efficient Curve: Gate Sizing for Minimum Power under Delay Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoni Aizik

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A design scenario examined in this paper assumes that a circuit has been designed initially for high speed, and it is redesigned for low power by downsizing of the gates. In recent years, as power consumption has become a dominant issue, new optimizations of circuits are required for saving energy. This is done by trading off some speed in exchange for reduced power. For each feasible speed, an optimization problem is solved in this paper, finding new sizes for the gates such that the circuit satisfies the speed goal while dissipating minimal power. Energy/delay gain (EDG is defined as a metric to quantify the most efficient tradeoff. The EDG of the circuit is evaluated for a range of reduced circuit speeds, and the power-optimal gate sizes are compared with the initial sizes. Most of the energy savings occur at the final stages of the circuits, while the largest relative downsizing occurs in middle stages. Typical tapering factors for power efficient circuits are larger than those for speed-optimal circuits. Signal activity and signal probability affect the optimal gate sizes in the combined optimization of speed and power.

Design of power supply system for the prototype RF-driven negative ion source for neutral beam injection application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Caichao; Hu, Chundong [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China); Graduate school, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China); Wei, Jianglong, E-mail: jlwei@ipp.ac.cn [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China); Xie, Yahong; Xu, Yongjian; Liang, Lizhen; Chen, Shiyong; Liu, Sheng; Liu, Zhimin; Xie, Yuanlai [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China)

2017-04-15

Highlights: • A supporting power supply system was designed in details for a RF-driven prototype negative ion source at ASIPP. • The RF power supply for plasma generation adopts an all-solid-state power supply structure. • The extraction grid power supply adopts the pulse step modulator (PSM) technology. - Abstract: In order to study the generation and extraction of negative ions for neutral beam injection application, a prototype RF-driven negative ion source and the corresponding test bed are under construction at Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP). The target of the negative ion source is extracting a negation ion beam of 350 A/m{sup 2} for 3600 s plasma duration and 100 s beam duration. According to the required parameters of test bed, the design of power supply system is put forward for earlier study. In this paper, the performance requirements and design schemes of RF power supply for plasma generation, impedance matching network, bias voltage power supply, and extraction voltage power supply for negative beam extraction are introduced in details. The schemes provide a reference for the construction of power supply system and lay a foundation for the next phase of experimental operation.

Analysis Of Primary Coolant Suction Side Pressure In The Delay Chamber Of The RSG-GAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dibyo, Sukmanto

2000-01-01

Delay chamber is a tank to delay flow that located in the primary cooling suction side of RSG-GAS. A void occurred when operation reactor caused by too high the delta P at inlet suction pump. The condition may be avoided by using one line mode of the cooling flow. The analysis show that void volume in the delay chamber is occurred because the coolant negative pressure lowers the saturation pressure should be avoided though decreasing the delta P until about 0.1 bar at about 45 exp 0 C. Solution suggested are to use bypass flow from the spent fuel to the delay chamber. Coolant temperature can be also decreased by decreasing the power level of the reactor as well as improving the heat exchanger and cooling tower performances

Exchange of current BPA surplus power for future power from certain companies' share of WNP-3 to settle a dispute over construction delay. Record of decision. Volume I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

This Record of Decision (ROD) sets forth the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) reasons for settling litigation over the delay in constructing Washington Public Power Supply System (Supply System) Nuclear Project No. 3 (WNP-3). The litigation concerns the decision in May 1983 to defer construction until financing becomes available to the Supply System and a demonstrable need for the Project is established. The construction deferral was made at the request of the Administrator of BPA, a federal power marketing agency in the Pacific Northwest. BPA is obligated to pay principal and interest on bonds sold by the Supply System to finance 70 percent of the project. The construction delay was opposed by the project's minority owners, four Northwest investor-owned utilities (companies) which collectively own 30 percent of the project

Delayed behaviour of concrete in nuclear power plant containment: analysis and modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Granger, L.

1995-02-01

The containment of French nuclear power plant of the 1300 and 1400 MWe PWR type are made of prestressed concrete and their delayed behaviour is systematically monitored by a very complete instrumentation. In an accidental phase, the tightness of the 1.2 m thick structure, dimensioned to withstand an internal absolute pressure of 0.5 MPa depends mainly on the residual prestress of concrete. But surveillance devices reveal substantial differences from one site to another, from which the regulation calculation models cannot make satisfactory allowance. For the purpose of improving the management of the population of power stations, EDF in 1992 initiated a large study aimed at predicting the true creep behaviour of the containments already built. This study, more material oriented, includes numerous shrinkage and creep tests on reconstructed concrete in laboratory as well as on cement paste and aggregate. The main results are presented in part one. In the second part, we consider the different delayed strains of concrete one by one. A precise analysis of the physico-chemical phenomena at the origin of the delayed behaviours, leads us to propose a practical modelling of concrete in an overall equivalent continuous material approach. Secondly, the few parameters of the model are determined on the experimental results. In order to do so, two particular finite element programs in CESAR-LCPC have been developed. The first one permits to take into account the non linear diffusion of humidity in concrete as a function of temperature. The diffusion coefficient D(C) (C = water content) is fitted on the loss of weight tests as a function of time. The second step is a creep calculation; first, the program reads back the temperature and humidity results of the previous computations and then calculates the different delayed strains in time. For basic creep, we have chosen a viscoelastic model function of temperature and humidity. The numerical scheme uses the principle of

Measuring delayed part of the current of a self powered neutron detector and comparison with calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kophazi, J.; Czifrus, Sz.; Feher, S.; Por, G.

2001-01-01

The paper describes the measurement of the delayed signal of a Rh emitter Self Powered Neutron Detector (SPND) separately from other signal components originating from (n-gamma-e), (background gamma-e) and other effects. In order to separate the delayed signal, the detector was removed from the reactor core and placed to an adequately distant location during the measurement, where the radiation from the core was negligible. The experiment was carried out on the 100kW light water tank-type reactor of Technical University of Budapest and the results of the measurement were compared with the results of Monte Carlo calculations.(author)

Investigation of negative permeability metamaterials for wireless power transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Wenhui; Mi, Chunting Chris; He, Fei; Jiang, Meng; Hua, Dengxin

2017-11-01

In order to enhance the transmission efficiency of wireless power transfer (WPT), a negative permeability metamaterials (NPM) with a structure of honeycomb composed by units of hexagon-shaped spirals copper is proposed in this paper. The unit parameters of the NPM are optimized, to make sure the negative permeability at the special frequency. The S-parameters of the designed NPM are measured by a network analyzer and the permeability is extracted, it shows the honeycomb NPM has a negative permeability at 6.43 MHz. A two-coil WPT is setup and the transmission efficiency of WPT embedded with NPM at the different position and with different structure are investigated. The measured results show that the 2-slab honeycomb NPM have a good perform compared with the 1-slab NPM, and the efficiency can be increased up to 51%. The results show that honeycomb NPM embedded in the WPT help to improve the transmission efficiency remarkable.

Investigation of negative permeability metamaterials for wireless power transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenhui Xin

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In order to enhance the transmission efficiency of wireless power transfer (WPT, a negative permeability metamaterials (NPM with a structure of honeycomb composed by units of hexagon-shaped spirals copper is proposed in this paper. The unit parameters of the NPM are optimized, to make sure the negative permeability at the special frequency. The S-parameters of the designed NPM are measured by a network analyzer and the permeability is extracted, it shows the honeycomb NPM has a negative permeability at 6.43 MHz. A two-coil WPT is setup and the transmission efficiency of WPT embedded with NPM at the different position and with different structure are investigated. The measured results show that the 2-slab honeycomb NPM have a good perform compared with the 1-slab NPM, and the efficiency can be increased up to 51%. The results show that honeycomb NPM embedded in the WPT help to improve the transmission efficiency remarkable.

Limitations of rotational manoeuvrability in insects and hummingbirds: evaluating the effects of neuro-biomechanical delays and muscle mechanical power.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Pan; Cheng, Bo

2017-07-01

Flying animals ranging in size from fruit flies to hummingbirds are nimble fliers with remarkable rotational manoeuvrability. The degrees of manoeuvrability among these animals, however, are noticeably diverse and do not simply follow scaling rules of flight dynamics or muscle power capacity. As all manoeuvres emerge from the complex interactions of neural, physiological and biomechanical processes of an animal's flight control system, these processes give rise to multiple limiting factors that dictate the maximal manoeuvrability attainable by an animal. Here using functional models of an animal's flight control system, we investigate the effects of three such limiting factors, including neural and biomechanical (from limited flapping frequency) delays and muscle mechanical power, for two insect species and two hummingbird species, undergoing roll, pitch and yaw rotations. The results show that for animals with similar degree of manoeuvrability, for example, fruit flies and hummingbirds, the underlying limiting factors are different, as the manoeuvrability of fruit flies is only limited by neural delays and that of hummingbirds could be limited by all three factors. In addition, the manoeuvrability also appears to be the highest about the roll axis as it requires the least muscle mechanical power and can tolerate the largest neural delays. © 2017 The Author(s).

Single Null Negative Triangularity Tokamak for Power Handling

Science.gov (United States)

Kikuchi, Mitsuru; Medvedev, S.; Takizuka, T.; Sauter, O.; Merle, A.; Coda, S.; Chen, D.; Li, J. X.

2017-10-01

Power and particle control in fusion reactor is challenge and we proposed the negative triangularity tokamak (NTT) to eliminate ELM by operating L-mode edge with improved core confinement. The SN configuration has more flexibility in shaping by adopting rectangular-shaped TF coils. The limiting normalized beta is 3.56 with wall stabilization and 3.14 without wall. The vertical stability is assured under a reasonable control system. The wetted area on the divertor plates becomes wider in proportion to the larger major radius at the divertor strike points due to the NT configuration. In addition to the major-radius effect, the ``Flux Tune Expansion (FTE)'' is adopted to further reduce the heat load on the divertor plate by factor of 2.6 with a coil current 3 MA. L-mode edge also allows further increase in wetted area. The fusion power of 3 GW is deliverable only at normalized beta 2.1. Therefore this reactor may be operable stably against the serious MHD activities. The CD power for SS operation is 175 MW at Q = 17. AC operation is also possible option. A required HH factor is relatively modest H = 1.12.

A digital controlled negative high voltage power source for LINAC of HLS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Hui; Chen Jun; Hong Jun; Wang Weibing

2005-01-01

This paper introduces the working principle of a 10-80 kV negative high voltage power source for the electronic gun of the 200 MeV LINAC of NSRL, especially how to realize the switch power, voltage/current sampling, feedback control and microcontroller module. The firmware design for the SOC microcontroller of ADuC8xx and the application software design for PC are also presented. (authors)

Tests of the power PC theory of causal induction with negative contingencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Shanks, David R

2002-01-01

The power PC theory of causal induction (Cheng, 1997) proposes that causal estimates are based on the power p of a potential cause, where p is the contingency between the cause and effect normalized by the base rate of the effect. Previous tests of this theory have concentrated on generative causes that have positive contingencies with their associated outcomes. Here we empirically test this theory in two experiments using preventive causes that have negative contingencies for their outcomes. Contrary to the power PC theory, the results show that causal judgments vary with contingency across conditions of constant power p. This pattern is consistent, however, with several alternative accounts of causal judgment.

Delay consequencies in the construction time-schedule of nuclear power plants in relation to its safety and quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recalde, J.A.

1991-01-01

An important delay in the construction time-schedule of a Nuclear Power Plant affects its safety and quality. This mainly occurs as a consequence of four reasons: discontinuity of the personnel working for the project; discontinuities of project suppliers; new safety and quality concepts; long-term storage. This work analyses each of the above reasons so as to foresee countermeasures to garantee the non deterioration of a Nuclear Power Plant. (author)

Effect of Time Delay on Recognition Memory for Pictures: The Modulatory Role of Emotion

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bo

2014-01-01

This study investigated the modulatory role of emotion in the effect of time delay on recognition memory for pictures. Participants viewed neutral, positive and negative pictures, and took a recognition memory test 5 minutes, 24 hours, or 1 week after learning. The findings are: 1) For neutral, positive and negative pictures, overall recognition accuracy in the 5-min delay did not significantly differ from that in the 24-h delay. For neutral and positive pictures, overall recognition accuracy in the 1-week delay was lower than in the 24-h delay; for negative pictures, overall recognition in the 24-h and 1-week delay did not significantly differ. Therefore negative emotion modulates the effect of time delay on recognition memory, maintaining retention of overall recognition accuracy only within a certain frame of time. 2) For the three types of pictures, recollection and familiarity in the 5-min delay did not significantly differ from that in the 24-h and the 1-week delay. Thus emotion does not appear to modulate the effect of time delay on recollection and familiarity. However, recollection in the 24-h delay was higher than in the 1-week delay, whereas familiarity in the 24-h delay was lower than in the 1-week delay. PMID:24971457

Building Public Trust in Nuclear Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

Stakeholder involvement is recognized as a crucial process for the success of any nuclear power programme. Failing to effectively engage with stakeholders such as policy- and decision-makers, media, community members, and the public in general can have negative consequences, says Brenda Pagannone, specialist in stakeholder involvement in the IAEA's Nuclear Power Engineering Section. Shaken public trust may lead to delays, and delays are costly for the operator, and the country, and challenging for populations in need of energy. IAEA Member States are increasingly requesting IAEA assistance in their efforts to engage stakeholders. The IAEA is responding to these requests by organizing training and developing guidelines to share expertise and experience and by reviewing national communication strategies. In all of these activities, the IAEA strongly encourages Member States to involve stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the nuclear power programme. Although each country has specific sets of stakeholders with unique needs and concerns, some principles apply widely.

Examining weight concern and delay discounting in adolescent females.

Science.gov (United States)

Thamotharan, Sneha; Lange, Krista; Ramos, Ashley; Fields, Sherecce

2016-04-01

Pediatric obesity is a growing public health concern that contributes to high rates of negative long-term physical and mental health outcomes. Research focused on identifying risk for pediatric obesity has linked delay discounting, or an inclination for immediate rewards, as well as weight concern to individuals with greater Body Mass Index (BMI). The current study seeks to fill a void in the literature by examining how these two variables interact to promote higher BMI in female adolescents. Adolescent (n=60) females between the ages of 13-19years (mage=17.45, SD=1.74) of age completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the Delay Discounting Questionnaire. A mediation model examined whether delay discounting accounted for the relationship between weight concern and BMI. Results indicate that in the current study weight concern was negatively related to delay discounting and delay discounting was negatively related to BMI. The overall model revealed that a partial mediation occurred [b=1.28, t(60)=4.92, pconcerns contribute to greater BMI. Nevertheless, the results indicate that prevention and interventions should identify females with high levels of both weight concern and impulsivity as an increased risk for experiencing pediatric obesity and long-term negative health outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An economic analysis of the effects of regulatory delay on nuclear power plant construction. Technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maloney, M.T.; Walsh, M.D.

1980-08-01

In order to evaluate the impact that any government regulation has on society, an accurate measure of the costs imposed by the regulation is essential. Current government estimates of the cost of pollution control legislation have failed to include the costs of project delays that firms may experience when complying with such standards. Clearly, if these delays are the direct result of such legislation their costs should be included for a proper evaluation. The purpose of this report is to define and measure the true impact that construction deals have on the total project costs of a specific industry. The Nuclear Power Industry has been chosen to illustrate the problem. First, the industry is examined in terms of its economic and physical environment. A model is then developed to deal with the costs involved in the construction of a typical nuclear plant. The model is tested by regressing time and cost data of 31 completed plants to determine the impact that unanticipated delays have had on total project costs. These results indicate that such delays would increase the total project costs of a typical 1,000 mw plant by .8 percent per month in the initial stage of the project and 1.1 percent per month after actual construction begins

Power conditioning accessories. Construction of a delayed drop-out relay and test of constant voltage transformers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keroe, E.; Kaufmann, H.; Koeck, J.; Scarpatetti, R.; Vuister, P.

1983-10-01

A delayed drop-out relay aimed to protect electronic measuring equipment during voltage fluctuations and power failures and transients is described. The results of a test on the performance of three resonant voltage transformers (GOULD GT 3000, CVT Isoreg 15-025 and Philips 1412/00) coupled with this relay, are presented. It is found that with this set-up, instrument malfunction and breakdown can be effectively prevented under the normal power conditions met in European countries or the USA. Under more severe conditions, usually met in the developing countries, a more careful selection has to be made; the test recommends the Philips transformer. It is also recommended that for best results the constant voltage transformers should be used at 75-80% of their rated power

Multivariable predictive control considering time delay for load-frequency control in multi-area power systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniar Sabah

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a multivariable model based predictive control (MPC is proposed for the solution of load frequency control (LFC in a multi-area interconnected power system. The proposed controller is designed to consider time delay, generation rate constraint and multivariable nature of the LFC system, simultaneously. A new formulation of the MPC is presented to compensate time delay. The generation rate constraint is considered by employing a constrained MPC and economic allocation of the generation is further guaranteed by an innovative modification in the predictive control objective function. The effectiveness of proposed scheme is verified through time-based simulations on the standard 39-bus test system and the responses are then compared with the proportional-integral controller. The evaluation of the results reveals that the proposed control scheme offers satisfactory performance with fast responses.

Power-controlled transition from standard to negative refraction in reorientational soft matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Piccardi, Armando; Alberucci, Alessandro; Kravets, Nina; Buchnev, Oleksandr; Assanto, Gaetano

2014-11-25

Refraction at a dielectric interface can take an anomalous character in anisotropic crystals, when light is negatively refracted with incident and refracted beams emerging on the same side of the interface normal. In soft matter subject to reorientation, such as nematic liquid crystals, the nonlinear interaction with light allows tuning of the optical properties. We demonstrate that in such material a beam of light can experience either positive or negative refraction depending on input power, as it can alter the spatial distribution of the optic axis and, in turn, the direction of the energy flow when traveling across an interface. Moreover, the nonlinear optical response yields beam self-focusing and spatial localization into a self-confined solitary wave through the formation of a graded-index waveguide, linking the refractive transition to power-driven readdressing of copolarized guided-wave signals, with a number of output ports not limited by diffraction.

Negative-feedback control system of the high voltage power supply for ECRH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding Tonghai; Liu Baohua; Jiang Shufang

2001-01-01

A kind of high accuracy negative high voltage power supply (HVPS) was introduced. The serial feedback was regulated according to the character of the high power tetrode and a new kind of integrator with preset value, which solved the key technological problem of the HVPS that the ECRH system required a voltage of -80 kV, a pulse width of 10 - 100 ms and a precision of 99.7%. The result using a PSPICE code simulation has shown that the method is practical

Radio resource allocation over fading channels under statistical delay constraints

CERN Document Server

Le-Ngoc, Tho

2017-01-01

This SpringerBrief presents radio resource allocation schemes for buffer-aided communications systems over fading channels under statistical delay constraints in terms of upper-bounded average delay or delay-outage probability. This Brief starts by considering a source-destination communications link with data arriving at the source transmission buffer. The first scenario, the joint optimal data admission control and power allocation problem for throughput maximization is considered, where the source is assumed to have a maximum power and an average delay constraints. The second scenario, optimal power allocation problems for energy harvesting (EH) communications systems under average delay or delay-outage constraints are explored, where the EH source harvests random amounts of energy from renewable energy sources, and stores the harvested energy in a battery during data transmission. Online resource allocation algorithms are developed when the statistical knowledge of the random channel fading, data arrivals...

Advanced CANDU Design With Negative Power Feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andang-Widi-Harto; Muslim

2004-01-01

The problem of positive power feedback in the recent PHWR-CANDU design, especially related to coolant void increase, will be overcame by the use of dual moderator concept, in which two moderator systems are used, i.e. a main moderator outside the calandria tube and an annular moderator inside the annular space. Annular moderator is allowed to boil in the case of overheating. The numerical calculations have been performed for two core design namely HWR-DM-ST and HWR-DM-XI which can reach burn up of 16,000 and 17,500 MWd/ ton U respectively. The results for the two designs is that the values of k at fully annular moderator filling condition are 1.0054 (HWR-DM-ST) and 1.0019 (HWR-DM-XI), while at completely empty annular moderator condition are 0.9634 (HWR-DM-ST) and 0.9143 (HWR-DM-XI). The decrease of coolant flow rate from 3,043 kg/s to 853 kg/s decrease k values of 0.0109 (HWR-DM-ST) and 0.0232 (HWR-DM-XI). While increasing inlet coolant enthalpy from 2,950 kJ/kg to 3,175 kJ/kg decreases of k values of 0.0074 (HWR-DM-ST) and 0.0239 (HWR-DM-XI). Thus, it can be summarized that the HWR-DM design has negative power reactivity feedback.(author)

Impact of sensing errors on the queueing delay and transmit power in cognitive radio access

KAUST Repository

Hamza, Doha R.; Aissa, Sonia

2011-01-01

We study a multiple-access system with a primary user (PU) and a secondary user (SU) utilizing the same frequency band and communicating with a common receiver. Both users transmit with a fixed transmission rate by employing a channel inversion power control scheme. The SU transmits with a certain probability that depends on the sensing outcome, its queue length and whether it has a new packet arrival. We consider the case of erroneous sensing. The goal of the SU is to find the optimal transmission scheduling policy so as to minimize its queueing delay under constraints on its average transmit power and the maximum tolerable primary outage probability caused by miss-detection. The access probabilities are obtained efficiently using linear programming. © 2011 IEEE.

Impact of sensing errors on the queueing delay and transmit power in cognitive radio access

KAUST Repository

Hamza, Doha R.

2011-03-01

We study a multiple-access system with a primary user (PU) and a secondary user (SU) utilizing the same frequency band and communicating with a common receiver. Both users transmit with a fixed transmission rate by employing a channel inversion power control scheme. The SU transmits with a certain probability that depends on the sensing outcome, its queue length and whether it has a new packet arrival. We consider the case of erroneous sensing. The goal of the SU is to find the optimal transmission scheduling policy so as to minimize its queueing delay under constraints on its average transmit power and the maximum tolerable primary outage probability caused by miss-detection. The access probabilities are obtained efficiently using linear programming. © 2011 IEEE.

Virtual unit delay for digital frequency adaptive T/4 delay phase-locked loop system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Yongheng; Zhou, Keliang; Blaabjerg, Frede

2016-01-01

/processor with a fixed sampling rate considering the cost and complexity, where the number of unit delays that have been adopted should be an integer. For instance, in conventional digital control systems, a single-phase T/4 Delay Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) system takes 50 unit delays (i.e., in a 50-Hz system...... Delay PLL system should be done in its implementation. This process will result in performance degradation in the digital control system, as the exactly required number of delays is not realized. Hence, in this paper, a Virtual Unit Delay (VUD) has been proposed to address such challenges to the digital......Digital micro-controllers/processors enable the cost-effective control of grid-connected power converter systems in terms of system monitoring, signal processing (e.g., grid synchronization), control (e.g., grid current and voltage control), etc. Normally, the control is implemented in a micro-controller...

Noise transmission and delay-induced stochasticoscillations in biochemical network motifs

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Liu Sheng-Jun; Wang Qi; Liu Bo; Yan Shi-Wei; Fumihiko Sakata

2011-01-01

With the aid of stochastic delayed-feedback differential equations,we derive an analytic expression for the power spectra of reacting molecules included in a generic biological network motif that is incorporated with a feedback mechanism and time delays in gene regulation.We systematically analyse the effects of time delays,the feedback mechanism,and biological stochasticity on the power spectra.It has been clarified that the time delays together with the feedback mechanism can induce stochastic oscillations at the molecular level and invalidate the noise addition rule for a modular description of the noise propagator.Delay-induced stochastic resonance can be expected,which is related to the stability loss of the reaction systems and Hopf bifurcation occurring for solutions of the corresponding deterministic reaction equations.Through the analysis of the power spectrum,a new approach is proposed to estimate the oscillation period.

Low power interconnect design

CERN Document Server

Saini, Sandeep

2015-01-01

This book provides practical solutions for delay and power reduction for on-chip interconnects and buses.  It provides an in depth description of the problem of signal delay and extra power consumption, possible solutions for delay and glitch removal, while considering the power reduction of the total system.  Coverage focuses on use of the Schmitt Trigger as an alternative approach to buffer insertion for delay and power reduction in VLSI interconnects. In the last section of the book, various bus coding techniques are discussed to minimize delay and power in address and data buses.   ·         Provides practical solutions for delay and power reduction for on-chip interconnects and buses; ·         Focuses on Deep Sub micron technology devices and interconnects; ·         Offers in depth analysis of delay, including details regarding crosstalk and parasitics;  ·         Describes use of the Schmitt Trigger as a versatile alternative approach to buffer insertion for del...

Contralateral Delay Activity Tracks Fluctuations in Working Memory Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, Kirsten C S; Robison, Matthew K; Vogel, Edward K

2018-01-08

Neural measures of working memory storage, such as the contralateral delay activity (CDA), are powerful tools in working memory research. CDA amplitude is sensitive to working memory load, reaches an asymptote at known behavioral limits, and predicts individual differences in capacity. An open question, however, is whether neural measures of load also track trial-by-trial fluctuations in performance. Here, we used a whole-report working memory task to test the relationship between CDA amplitude and working memory performance. If working memory failures are due to decision-based errors and retrieval failures, CDA amplitude would not differentiate good and poor performance trials when load is held constant. If failures arise during storage, then CDA amplitude should track both working memory load and trial-by-trial performance. As expected, CDA amplitude tracked load (Experiment 1), reaching an asymptote at three items. In Experiment 2, we tracked fluctuations in trial-by-trial performance. CDA amplitude was larger (more negative) for high-performance trials compared with low-performance trials, suggesting that fluctuations in performance were related to the successful storage of items. During working memory failures, participants oriented their attention to the correct side of the screen (lateralized P1) and maintained covert attention to the correct side during the delay period (lateralized alpha power suppression). Despite the preservation of attentional orienting, we found impairments consistent with an executive attention theory of individual differences in working memory capacity; fluctuations in executive control (indexed by pretrial frontal theta power) may be to blame for storage failures.

Stochastic two-delay differential model of delayed visual feedback effects on postural dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulet, Jason; Balasubramaniam, Ramesh; Daffertshofer, Andreas; Longtin, André

2010-01-28

We report on experiments and modelling involving the 'visuo-postural control loop' in the upright stance. We experimentally manipulated an artificial delay to the visual feedback during standing, presented at delays ranging from 0 to 1 s in increments of 250 ms. Using stochastic delay differential equations, we explicitly modelled the centre-of-pressure (COP) and centre-of-mass (COM) dynamics with two independent delay terms for vision and proprioception. A novel 'drifting fixed point' hypothesis was used to describe the fluctuations of the COM with the COP being modelled as a faster, corrective process of the COM. The model was in good agreement with the data in terms of probability density functions, power spectral densities, short- and long-term correlations (Hurst exponents) as well the critical time between the two ranges. This journal is © 2010 The Royal Society

Power reduction and the radial limit of stall delay in revolving wings of different aspect ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruyt, Jan W; van Heijst, GertJan F; Altshuler, Douglas L; Lentink, David

2015-04-06

Airplanes and helicopters use high aspect ratio wings to reduce the power required to fly, but must operate at low angle of attack to prevent flow separation and stall. Animals capable of slow sustained flight, such as hummingbirds, have low aspect ratio wings and flap their wings at high angle of attack without stalling. Instead, they generate an attached vortex along the leading edge of the wing that elevates lift. Previous studies have demonstrated that this vortex and high lift can be reproduced by revolving the animal wing at the same angle of attack. How do flapping and revolving animal wings delay stall and reduce power? It has been hypothesized that stall delay derives from having a short radial distance between the shoulder joint and wing tip, measured in chord lengths. This non-dimensional measure of wing length represents the relative magnitude of inertial forces versus rotational accelerations operating in the boundary layer of revolving and flapping wings. Here we show for a suite of aspect ratios, which represent both animal and aircraft wings, that the attachment of the leading edge vortex on a revolving wing is determined by wing aspect ratio, defined with respect to the centre of revolution. At high angle of attack, the vortex remains attached when the local radius is shorter than four chord lengths and separates outboard on higher aspect ratio wings. This radial stall limit explains why revolving high aspect ratio wings (of helicopters) require less power compared with low aspect ratio wings (of hummingbirds) at low angle of attack and vice versa at high angle of attack. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Delay-limited capacity of fading multiple access and broadcast channels in the low power regime

KAUST Repository

Rezki, Zouheir

2015-09-11

We study delay-limited (also called zero-outage) capacity region of the fading multi-access channel (MAC) with Gaussian noise and perfect channel state information (CSI) at the receiver and at the transmitters (CSI-TR), in the low-power regime. We show that for fading channels where the MAC capacity region is strictly positive, it has a multidimensional rectangle structure and thus is simply characterized by single user capacity points. More specifically, we show that at low power, the boundary surface of the capacity region shrinks to a single point corresponding to the sum-rate maximizer and that the coordinates of this point coincide with single user capacity bounds. Using the duality of the Gaussian MAC and broadcast channels (BC), we show that time-sharing (or time division multiple access (TDMA)) is asymptotically optimal. © 2015 IEEE.

Recent progress of high-power negative ion beam development for fusion plasma heating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watanabe, Kazuhiro; Akino, Noboru; Aoyagi, Tetsuo [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka, Ibaraki (Japan). Naka Fusion Research Establishment; and others

1997-03-01

A negative-ion-based neutral beam injector (N-NBI) has been constructed for JT-60U. The N-NBI is designed to inject 500 keV, 10 MW neutral beams using two ion sources, each producing a 500 keV, 22 A D{sup -} ion beam. Beam acceleration test started in July, 1995 using one ion source. In the preliminary experiment, D{sup -} ion beam of 13.5 A has been successfully accelerated with an energy of 400 keV (5.4 MW) for 0.12 s at an operating pressure of 0.22 Pa. This is the highest D{sup -} beam current and power in the world. Co-extracted electron current was effectively suppressed to the ratio of Ie/I{sub D}- <1. The highest energy beam of 460 keV, 2.4 A, 0.44 s has also been obtained. Neutral beam injection starts in March, 1996 using two ion sources. To realize 1 MeV class NBI system for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), demonstration of ampere class negative ion beam acceleration up to 1 MeV is an important mile stone. To achieve the mile stone, a high energy test facility called MeV Test Facility (MTF) was constructed. The system consists of a 1 MV, 1 A acceleration power supply and a 100 kW power supply system for negative ion production. Up to now, an H{sup -} ion beam was accelerated up to the energy of 805 keV with an acceleration drain current of 150 mA for 1 s in a five stage electrostatic multi-aperture accelerator. (author)

Multimoded rf delay line distribution system for the Next Linear Collider

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. G. Tantawi

2002-03-01

Full Text Available The delay line distribution system is an alternative to conventional pulse compression, which enhances the peak power of rf sources while matching the long pulse of those sources to the shorter filling time of accelerator structures. We present an implementation of this scheme that combines pairs of parallel delay lines of the system into single lines. The power of several sources is combined into a single waveguide delay line using a multimode launcher. The output mode of the launcher is determined by the phase coding of the input signals. The combined power is extracted from the delay line using mode-selective extractors, each of which extracts a single mode. Hence, the phase coding of the sources controls the output port of the combined power. The power is then fed to the local accelerator structures. We present a detailed design of such a system, including several implementation methods for the launchers, extractors, and ancillary high power rf components. The system is designed so that it can handle the 600 MW peak power required by the Next Linear Collider design while maintaining high efficiency.

Noise transmission and delay-induced stochastic oscillations in biochemical network motifs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Sheng-Jun; Wang Qi; Liu Bo; Yan Shi-Wei; Sakata Fumihiko

2011-01-01

With the aid of stochastic delayed-feedback differential equations, we derive an analytic expression for the power spectra of reacting molecules included in a generic biological network motif that is incorporated with a feedback mechanism and time delays in gene regulation. We systematically analyse the effects of time delays, the feedback mechanism, and biological stochasticity on the power spectra. It has been clarified that the time delays together with the feedback mechanism can induce stochastic oscillations at the molecular level and invalidate the noise addition rule for a modular description of the noise propagator. Delay-induced stochastic resonance can be expected, which is related to the stability loss of the reaction systems and Hopf bifurcation occurring for solutions of the corresponding deterministic reaction equations. Through the analysis of the power spectrum, a new approach is proposed to estimate the oscillation period. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Perceptions and Definitions of Power Within the Context of HIV-Negative Male Couples’ Relationships

OpenAIRE

Mitchell, Jason W.; Sophus, Amber I.

2016-01-01

Examining dynamics within relationships is critical for development of effective HIV prevention interventions for male couples. The dynamic of power has received little attention in research with male couples, though power has been reported to affect HIV risk among heterosexual couples. To help address this knowledge gap, the present cross-sectional analysis used mixed methods with dyadic data from 142 HIV-negative male couples to (1) assess partnered men’s perception of who has the most powe...

Radionuclide scan findings in delayed splenic rupture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flickinger, F.W.; Jackson, G.L.

1978-01-01

An initial liver/spleen scan performed on a patient with blunt abdominal trauma was negative 3 days following the accident. A follow-up scan 7 days later showed definite evidence of splenic rupture, proved surgically. The authors conclude that, in such cases, spleen scans may be negative initially because of delayed splenic ruptures

Effects of stochastic time-delayed feedback on a dynamical system modeling a chemical oscillator

Science.gov (United States)

González Ochoa, Héctor O.; Perales, Gualberto Solís; Epstein, Irving R.; Femat, Ricardo

2018-05-01

We examine how stochastic time-delayed negative feedback affects the dynamical behavior of a model oscillatory reaction. We apply constant and stochastic time-delayed negative feedbacks to a point Field-Körös-Noyes photosensitive oscillator and compare their effects. Negative feedback is applied in the form of simulated inhibitory electromagnetic radiation with an intensity proportional to the concentration of oxidized light-sensitive catalyst in the oscillator. We first characterize the system under nondelayed inhibitory feedback; then we explore and compare the effects of constant (deterministic) versus stochastic time-delayed feedback. We find that the oscillatory amplitude, frequency, and waveform are essentially preserved when low-dispersion stochastic delayed feedback is used, whereas small but measurable changes appear when a large dispersion is applied.

Thermal Aware Floorplanning Incorporating Temperature Dependent Wire Delay Estimation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winther, AndreasThor; Liu, Wei; Nannarelli, Alberto

2015-01-01

Temperature has a negative impact on metal resistance and thus wire delay. In state-of-the-art VLSI circuits, large thermal gradients usually exist due to the uneven distribution of heat sources. The difference in wire temperature can lead to performance mismatch because wires of the same length...... can have different delay. Traditional floorplanning algorithms use wirelength to estimate wire performance. In this work, we show that this does not always produce a design with the shortest delay and we propose a floorplanning algorithm taking into account temperature dependent wire delay as one...

Investigation of delayed fission gas release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cayet, Nicolas

1996-05-01

The study of the fission gas release process in the high burnup rig IFA-562 has revealed a particular fuel behaviour: a delay in the fission gas release process. It appeared that an important release of gas was measured by the pressure transducers once the power had decreased, whereas, during steady-state operation, the pressure did not increase very much. After examinations, the gap size has been concluded to be the main parameter involving this delay. However the burnup could have been a potential factor, its role is mainly to close the gap by swelling. The observations of low burnup rods have shown the same delayed fission gas release, the gap being small by design and closed essentially by thermal expansion. The study of the kinetics has demonstrated the time-independency of the phenomenon. Thus the proposed mechanism driving this delayed fission gas release would involve three consecutives stages. During steady-state, the gas is released into the interlinkage network of grain boundary bubbles and cracks. Due to the closed gap, the gas is trapped in some void volumes, unable to escape the pellet. During power reduction, the gap and some old/new cracks open, immediately providing a path for the gas to the pressure transducers and explaining this delay in the fission gas release. (author)

Improved delayed signal cancellation-based SRF-PLL for unbalanced grid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Messo, Tuomas; Sihvo, Jussi; Yang, Dongsheng

2017-01-01

Problems with power quality in the grid have gained a lot of attention recently due to rapid increase in the amount of grid-connected power converters. The converter should produce sinusoidal currents also during abnormal conditions, such as unbalanced grid voltages. Several methods, like...... the delayed signal cancellation-based method (DSC), have been proposed to alleviate the detrimental effect of unbalance. This paper proposes an improvement to a delayed signal cancellation based synchronization algorithm for unbalanced grids. The proposed PLL structure employs only half of the delay required...

Delay analysis of a point-to-multipoint spectrum sharing network with CSI based power allocation

KAUST Repository

Khan, Fahd Ahmed

2012-10-01

In this paper, we analyse the delay performance of a point-to-multipoint cognitive radio network which is sharing the spectrum with a point-to-multipoint primary network. The channel is assumed to be independent but not identically distributed and has Nakagami-m fading. A constraint on the peak transmit power of the secondary user transmitter (SU-Tx) is also considered in addition to the peak interference power constraint. Based on the constraints, a power allocation scheme which requires knowledge of the instantaneous channel state information (CSI) of the interference links is derived. The SU-Tx is assumed to be equipped with a buffer and is modelled using the M/G/1 queueing model. Closed form expressions for the probability distribution function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the packet transmission time is derived. Using the PDF, the expressions for the moments of transmission time are obtained. In addition, using the moments, the expressions for the performance measures such as the total average waiting time of packets and the average number of packets waiting in the buffer of the SU-Tx are also obtained. Numerical simulations corroborate the theoretical results. © 2012 IEEE.

Eleven-year follow-up results in the delay of breast irradiation after conservative breast surgery in node-negative breast cancer patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vujovic, Olga; Yu, Edward; Cherian, Anil; Dar, A. Rashid; Stitt, Larry; Perera, Francisco

2006-01-01

Purpose: This retrospective review was conducted to determine if delay in the start of radiotherapy after conservative breast surgery had any detrimental effect on local recurrence or disease-free survival in node-negative breast cancer patients. Methods and Materials: A total of 568 patients with T1 and T2, N0 breast cancer were treated with breast-conserving surgery and breast irradiation, without adjuvant systemic therapy, between January 1, 1985 and December 31, 1992 at the London Regional Cancer Centre. The time intervals from definitive breast surgery to breast irradiation used for analysis were 0 to 8 weeks (201 patients), greater than 8 to 12 weeks (235 patients), greater than 12 to 16 weeks (91 patients), and greater than 16 weeks (41 patients). Kaplan-Meier estimates of time to local-recurrence and disease-free survival rates were calculated. Results: Median follow-up was 11.2 years. Patients in all 4 time intervals were similar in terms of age and pathologic features. No statistically significant difference was seen between the 4 groups in local recurrence or disease-free survival with surgery radiotherapy interval (p = 0.521 and p = 0.222, respectively). The overall local-recurrence rate at 5 and 10 years was 4.6% and 11.3%, respectively. The overall disease-free survival at 5 and 10 years was 79.6% and 67.0%, respectively. Conclusion: This retrospective study suggests that delay in the start of breast irradiation of up to 16 weeks from definitive surgery does not increase the risk of recurrence in node-negative breast cancer patients. The certainty of these results is limited by the retrospective nature of this analysis

Modeling Directional Selectivity Using Self-Organizing Delay-Aadaptation Maps

OpenAIRE

Tversky, Mr. Tal; Miikkulainen, Dr. Risto

2002-01-01

Using a delay adaptation learning rule, we model the activity-dependent development of directionally selective cells in the primary visual cortex. Based on input stimuli, a learning rule shifts delays to create synchronous arrival of spikes at cortical cells. As a result, delays become tuned creating a smooth cortical map of direction selectivity. This result demonstrates how delay adaption can serve as a powerful abstraction for modeling temporal learning in the brain.

Time delay and duration of ionospheric total electron content responses to geomagnetic disturbances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Liu

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Although positive and negative signatures of ionospheric storms have been reported many times, global characteristics such as the time of occurrence, time delay and duration as well as their relations to the intensity of the ionospheric storms have not received enough attention. The 10 years of global ionosphere maps (GIMs of total electron content (TEC retrieved at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL were used to conduct a statistical study of the time delay of the ionospheric responses to geomagnetic disturbances. Our results show that the time delays between geomagnetic disturbances and TEC responses depend on season, magnetic local time and magnetic latitude. In the summer hemisphere at mid- and high latitudes, the negative storm effects can propagate to the low latitudes at post-midnight to the morning sector with a time delay of 4–7 h. As the earth rotates to the sunlight, negative phase retreats to higher latitudes and starts to extend to the lower latitude toward midnight sector. In the winter hemisphere during the daytime and after sunset at mid- and low latitudes, the negative phase appearance time is delayed from 1–10 h depending on the local time, latitude and storm intensity compared to the same area in the summer hemisphere. The quick response of positive phase can be observed at the auroral area in the night-side of the winter hemisphere. At the low latitudes during the dawn-noon sector, the ionospheric negative phase responses quickly with time delays of 5–7 h in both equinoctial and solsticial months.

Our results also manifest that there is a positive correlation between the intensity of geomagnetic disturbances and the time duration of both the positive phase and negative phase. The durations of both negative phase and positive phase have clear latitudinal, seasonal and magnetic local time (MLT dependence. In the winter hemisphere, long durations for the positive phase are 8–11 h and 12–14 h during the daytime at

Time delay and duration of ionospheric total electron content responses to geomagnetic disturbances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Liu

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Although positive and negative signatures of ionospheric storms have been reported many times, global characteristics such as the time of occurrence, time delay and duration as well as their relations to the intensity of the ionospheric storms have not received enough attention. The 10 years of global ionosphere maps (GIMs of total electron content (TEC retrieved at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL were used to conduct a statistical study of the time delay of the ionospheric responses to geomagnetic disturbances. Our results show that the time delays between geomagnetic disturbances and TEC responses depend on season, magnetic local time and magnetic latitude. In the summer hemisphere at mid- and high latitudes, the negative storm effects can propagate to the low latitudes at post-midnight to the morning sector with a time delay of 4–7 h. As the earth rotates to the sunlight, negative phase retreats to higher latitudes and starts to extend to the lower latitude toward midnight sector. In the winter hemisphere during the daytime and after sunset at mid- and low latitudes, the negative phase appearance time is delayed from 1–10 h depending on the local time, latitude and storm intensity compared to the same area in the summer hemisphere. The quick response of positive phase can be observed at the auroral area in the night-side of the winter hemisphere. At the low latitudes during the dawn-noon sector, the ionospheric negative phase responses quickly with time delays of 5–7 h in both equinoctial and solsticial months. Our results also manifest that there is a positive correlation between the intensity of geomagnetic disturbances and the time duration of both the positive phase and negative phase. The durations of both negative phase and positive phase have clear latitudinal, seasonal and magnetic local time (MLT dependence. In the winter hemisphere, long durations for the positive phase are 8–11 h and 12–14 h during the daytime at middle

Zooming in on children's behavior during delay of gratification: Disentangling impulsigenic and volitional processes underlying self-regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Neuenschwander, Regula; Blair, Clancy

2017-02-01

When delaying gratification, both motivational and regulatory processes are likely to be at play; however, the relative contributions of motivational and regulatory influences on delay behavior are unclear. By examining behavioral responses during a delay task, this study sought to examine the motivational (anticipatory behavior) and regulatory mechanisms (executive function and self-control strategies) underlying children's self-regulation. The participants, 65 5- to 9-year-old children (M age =7.19years, SD=0.89), were video-recorded during a delay procedure and later coded for anticipatory behaviors (e.g., gazing intensely at the tablet) and self-control strategies. Children also completed two executive function (EF) tasks. We found that anticipatory behavior was curvilinearly related to delay time. Children showing either very low or very high levels of anticipatory behavior were not able to wait the entire time. Furthermore, our results indicated that anticipatory behavior interacted with EF to predict delay time. Specifically, anticipatory behavior was negatively related to delay time only if EF abilities were low. Finally, self-control strategies also interacted with EF to predict children's ability to delay. Spontaneous engagement in self-control strategies such as fidgeting and engagement in alternative activities were beneficial for children with low EF but were unrelated to delay time for children with high EF. Results indicate the value of examining motivational and regulatory influences on delay behavior. Lapses in self-regulation may be due to the combination of powerful impulsigenic (i.e., anticipatory behavior) and weak volitional processes (i.e., EF, self-control strategies). Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A novel design for randomized immuno-oncology clinical trials with potentially delayed treatment effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei He

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The semi-parametric proportional hazards model is widely adopted in randomized clinical trials with time-to-event outcomes, and the log-rank test is frequently used to detect a potential treatment effect. Immuno-oncology therapies pose unique challenges to the design of a trial as the treatment effect may be delayed, which violates the proportional hazards assumption, and the log-rank test has been shown to markedly lose power under the non-proportional hazards setting. A novel design and analysis approach for immuno-oncology trials is proposed through a piecewise treatment effect function, which is capable of detecting a potentially delayed treatment effect. The number of events required for the trial will be determined to ensure sufficient power for both the overall log-rank test without a delayed effect and the test beyond the delayed period when such a delay exists. The existence of a treatment delay is determined by a likelihood ratio test with resampling. Numerical results show that the proposed design adequately controls the Type I error rate, has a minimal loss in power under the proportional hazards setting and is markedly more powerful than the log-rank test with a delayed treatment effect.

Regret Expression and Social Learning Increases Delay to Sexual Gratification.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda J Quisenberry

Full Text Available Modification and prevention of risky sexual behavior is important to individuals' health and public health policy. This study employed a novel sexual discounting task to elucidate the effects of social learning and regret expression on delay to sexual gratification in a behavioral task.Amazon Mechanical Turk Workers were assigned to hear one of three scenarios about a friend who engages in similar sexual behavior. The scenarios included a positive health consequence, a negative health consequence or a negative health consequence with the expression of regret. After reading one scenario, participants were asked to select from 60 images, those with whom they would have casual sex. Of the selected images, participants chose one image each for the person they most and least want to have sex with and person most and least likely to have a sexually transmitted infection. They then answered questions about engaging in unprotected sex now or waiting some delay for condom-protected sex in each partner condition.Results indicate that the negative health outcome scenario with regret expression resulted in delayed sexual gratification in the most attractive and least STI partner conditions, whereas in the least attractive and most STI partner conditions the negative health outcome with and without regret resulted in delayed sexual gratification.Results suggest that the sexual discounting task is a relevant laboratory measure and the framing of information to include regret expression may be relevant for prevention of risky sexual behavior.

Generation of wideband chaos with suppressed time-delay signature by delayed self-interference.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Anbang; Yang, Yibiao; Wang, Bingjie; Zhang, Beibei; Li, Lei; Wang, Yuncai

2013-04-08

We demonstrate experimentally and numerically a method using the incoherent delayed self-interference (DSI) of chaotic light from a semiconductor laser with optical feedback to generate wideband chaotic signal. The results show that, the DSI can eliminate the domination of laser relaxation oscillation existing in the chaotic laser light and therefore flatten and widen the power spectrum. Furthermore, the DSI depresses the time-delay signature induced by external cavity modes and improves the symmetry of probability distribution by more than one magnitude. We also experimentally show that this DSI signal is beneficial to the random number generation.

Load-Dependent Increases in Delay-Period Alpha-Band Power Track the Gating of Task-Irrelevant Inputs to Working Memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J. Heinz

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Studies exploring the role of neural oscillations in cognition have revealed sustained increases in alpha-band power (ABP during the delay period of verbal and visual working memory (VWM tasks. There have been various proposals regarding the functional significance of such increases, including the inhibition of task-irrelevant cortical areas as well as the active retention of information in VWM. The present study examines the role of delay-period ABP in mediating the effects of interference arising from on-going visual processing during a concurrent VWM task. Specifically, we reasoned that, if set-size dependent increases in ABP represent the gating out of on-going task-irrelevant visual inputs, they should be predictive with respect to some modulation in visual evoked potentials resulting from a task-irrelevant delay period probe stimulus. In order to investigate this possibility, we recorded the electroencephalogram while subjects performed a change detection task requiring the retention of two or four novel shapes. On a portion of trials, a novel, task-irrelevant bilateral checkerboard probe was presented mid-way through the delay. Analyses focused on examining correlations between set-size dependent increases in ABP and changes in the magnitude of the P1, N1 and P3a components of the probe-evoked response and how such increases might be related to behavior. Results revealed that increased delay-period ABP was associated with changes in the amplitude of the N1 and P3a event-related potential (ERP components, and with load-dependent changes in capacity when the probe was presented during the delay. We conclude that load-dependent increases in ABP likely play a role in supporting short-term retention by gating task-irrelevant sensory inputs and suppressing potential sources of disruptive interference.

Reconfiguration of the NRAD delay loop for proposed 1 MW operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heidel, C.C.; Richards, W.J.; Pruett, D.P.

1984-01-01

Neutron radiography is provided by the NRAD reactor facility, which is located beneath the HFEF hot cell. The NRAD reactor is a TRIGA reactor and is operated at a steady-state power level of 250 kw solely for neutron radiography and the development of radiography techniques. When the NRAD facility was designed and constructed, an operating power level of 250 kw was considered to be adequate for obtaining radiographs of the type of specimens envisaged at that time. Since that time a second radiography station was installed and the thickness of the specimens being radiographed is greater than was initially envisaged. In order to decrease exposure times, the reactor power level is to be increased to 1 Mw. The present delay loop can not to be used at 1 Mw operation, because the passage way where the primary piping exits the reactor room must be maintained less than 1 MR/hr. To obtain the needed delay before the primary water exits the reactor room using the present internal delay loop system would require two more delay loops of the same size to be placed in series with the present delay loop. Because the NRAD reactor tank is small this is not possible; therefore, the delay must take place external to the reactor tank. The delay loop will have to be located in a shielded area to allow the decay of N 16 . The best location for the delay tank will be in the east radiography

Limited value of delayed radiothallium image in the diagnosis of nodular goiter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misaki, Takashi; Yagi, Kanji; Dokoh, Shigeharu; Koh, Toshikiyo; Shimbo, Shin-ichiro

1991-01-01

To test whether delayed thallium image can improve the diagnostic accuracy of thyroid tumor, we have reviewed 35 patients with cold nodules of proven histopathology. Early and delayed images were taken 10-20 min and 3-4 hr postinjection, respectively. In this study, a thyroid nodule was interpreted as malignant if it had normal or increased uptake on early scan and more residual radioactivity than paranodular tissue on delayed scan. In the eighteen patients who had carcinoma, a disappointing 44% false negative rate was observed. No significant difference was seen between retention-positive and negative cases in tumor size or histological type of cancer. Nor could any demographic bias explain the low sensitivity. Of the six false negatives, macroscopic cystic degeneration was seen in two cases, but tumors in the other four were grossly solid. Considering the histological heterogeneity often seen within a thyroid tumor, the portion with increased retention of radiothallium may be too small to be detected in the false negative cases. Furthermore, 3 false positive readings were obtained in 17 patients with benign conditions. We conclude that the contribution of the delayed thallium image was quite limited in predicting or ruling out malignancy in nodular goiters. (author)

The Negative Effects of Positive Reinforcement in Teaching Children with Developmental Delay.

Science.gov (United States)

Biederman, Gerald B.; And Others

1994-01-01

This study compared the performance of 12 children (ages 4 to 10) with developmental delay, each trained in 2 tasks, one through interactive modeling (with or without verbal reinforcement) and the other through passive modeling. Results showed that passive modeling produced better rated performance than interactive modeling and that verbal…

Time Delay of CGM Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Schmelzeisen-Redeker, Günther; Schoemaker, Michael; Kirchsteiger, Harald; Freckmann, Guido; Heinemann, Lutz; del Re, Luigi

2015-01-01

Background: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is a powerful tool to support the optimization of glucose control of patients with diabetes. However, CGM systems measure glucose in interstitial fluid but not in blood. Rapid changes in one compartment are not accompanied by similar changes in the other, but follow with some delay. Such time delays hamper detection of, for example, hypoglycemic events. Our aim is to discuss the causes and extent of time delays and approaches to compensate for these. Methods: CGM data were obtained in a clinical study with 37 patients with a prototype glucose sensor. The study was divided into 5 phases over 2 years. In all, 8 patients participated in 2 phases separated by 8 months. A total number of 108 CGM data sets including raw signals were used for data analysis and were processed by statistical methods to obtain estimates of the time delay. Results: Overall mean (SD) time delay of the raw signals with respect to blood glucose was 9.5 (3.7) min, median was 9 min (interquartile range 4 min). Analysis of time delays observed in the same patients separated by 8 months suggests a patient dependent delay. No significant correlation was observed between delay and anamnestic or anthropometric data. The use of a prediction algorithm reduced the delay by 4 minutes on average. Conclusions: Prediction algorithms should be used to provide real-time CGM readings more consistent with simultaneous measurements by SMBG. Patient specificity may play an important role in improving prediction quality. PMID:26243773

A Delay Line for Compression of Electromagnetic Pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pchelnikov, Yuriy N.; Nyce, David S.

2003-01-01

A novel method to obtain an electromagnetic signal delay is described. It is shown that the positive magnetic and electric coupling between impedance conductors produces an increase in the time delay. It is also shown that the increase in delay time is obtained without additional attenuation. This allows a reduction in electromagnetic losses, by a factor of several times, for a delay time. An approximate analysis of electromagnetic delay lines based on coupled impedance conductors with 'spiral' and 'meander' patterns allowed obtaining very simple expressions for the wave deceleration factor, wave impedance, and attenuation factor. The results of the analysis are confirmed by the results of measurements. It is shown that a delay line based on counter-wound radial spirals can be successfully used for compression of electromagnetic pulses. Although the offered delay line was designed to operate with a relatively small signal, the analysis of the 'coupling effect', taking place in this delay line, might be useful in devices for compression of high-power microwave pulses

New approach to design and performance assessment of delay lines for radioactive rare gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilhelmova, L.; Dvorak, Z.; Cejnar, F.

1981-01-01

The evaluation and analysis are discussed of the dynamic adsorption of rare gases in the delay lines of nuclear power plants. The method of statistical momenta was used for deriving relations for the calculation of penetration curves of radioactive isotopes of rare gases through a delay line. Relations were also derived for the calculation of the capacity of delay line adsorption beds for both continuous and discontinuous operation. The procedures for the design and the derivation of the function of delay lines take into account the actual conditions of delay line operation in nuclear power plants. (author)

Sleep Problems and Early Developmental Delay: Implications for Early Intervention Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Bonuck, Karen; Grant, Roy

2012-01-01

Sleep disorders negatively impact behavior, cognition, and growth--the same areas targeted by early intervention. Conversely, developmental delays and disabilities may themselves precipitate sleep disorders. Young children with developmental delays experience sleep disorders at a higher rate than do typically developing children; the most common…

Delayed diagnosis of childhood deafness: the value of false negatives in the Programme for Early Detection of Neonatal Hearing Loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Pacheco, María C; Ferrán de la Cierva, Luis; García-Purriños, Francisco J

Despite its importance, the existence of false negatives (patients who are told they hear well, but they have some degree of hipacusia) is rarely evaluated in programs for early detection of hearing loss. The aim of this study is to determine the variables that can lead to a delayed diagnosis, especially the existence of false negatives and the lack of registration of risk factors. A retrospective study of prevalence has been carried out, in which the medical records of children diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss born within 2005 and 2012 in the health centers of study have been analyzed. Of the 32 children with sensorineural hearing loss, 16 passed the OAE, 12 did not passed the OAE, and in four they were not carried out. Of the children who passed the OAE, 57% have severe hearing loss. 66% of children with hearing loss presented a risk factor for hearing loss at birth, being the most frecuent family history of hearing loss, but only 7% of those with family history of hearing loss were included in the risk group. The results of the study indicate that the late diagnosis of hearing loss is related to the presence of false negatives to the OAE and the non-registration of risk factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Otorrinolaringología y Cirugía de Cabeza y Cuello. All rights reserved.

Importance of delayed neutron data in transmutation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsujimoto, Kazufumi

1999-01-01

The accelerator-driven transmutation system has been studied at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. This system is a hybrid system which consists of a high intensity accelerator, a spallation target and a subcritical core region. The subcritical core is driven by neutrons generated by spallation reaction in the target region. There is no control rod in this system, so the power is controlled only by proton beam current. The beam current to keep constant power change with effective multiplication factor of subcritical core. So, the evaluation of delayed neutron fraction which is strongly connected to the measurement of subcritical level is important factor in operation of accelerator-driven system. In this paper, important nuclides for the delayed neutron fraction of ADS will be discussed, moreover, present state of delayed neutron data in evaluated nuclear data library is presented. (author)

Timing matters: The impact of immediate and delayed feedback on artificial language learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bertram Opitz

2011-02-01

Full Text Available In the present experiment, we used event-related potentials (ERP to investigate the role of immediate and delayed feedback in an artificial grammar learning task. Two groups of participants were engaged in classifying non-word strings according to an underlying rule system, not known to the participants. Visual feedback was provided after each classification either immediately or with a short delay of one second. Both groups were able to learn the artificial grammar system as indicated by an increase in classification performance. However, the gain in performance was significantly larger for the group receiving immediate feedback as compared to the group receiving delayed feedback. Learning was accompanied by an increase in P300 activity in the ERP for delayed as compared to immediate feedback. Irrespective of feedback delay, both groups exhibited learning related decreases in the feedback-related positivity (FRP elicited by positive feedback only. The feedback-related negativity (FRN, however, remained constant over the course of learning. These results suggest, first, that delayed feedback is less effective for artificial grammar learning as task requirements are very demanding, and second, that the FRP elicited by positive prediction errors decreases with learning while the FRN to negative prediction errors is elicited in an all-or-none fashion by negative feedback throughout the entire experiment.

Delay-controlled primary and stochastic resonances of the SD oscillator with stiffness nonlinearities

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tao; Cao, Qingjie

2018-03-01

This work presents analytical studies of the stiffness nonlinearities SD (smooth and discontinuous) oscillator under displacement and velocity feedback control with a time delay. The SD oscillator can capture the qualitative characteristics of quasi-zero-stiffness and negative-stiffness. We focus mainly on the primary resonance of the quasi-zero-stiffness SD oscillator and the stochastic resonance (SR) of the negative-stiffness SD oscillator. Using the averaging method, we have been analyzed the amplitude response of the quasi-zero-stiffness SD oscillator. In this regard, the optimum time delay for changing the control intensity according to the optimization standard proposed can be obtained. For the optimum time delay, increasing the displacement feedback intensity is advantageous to suppress the vibrations in resonant regime where vibration isolation is needed, however, increasing the velocity feedback intensity is advantageous to strengthen the vibrations. Moreover, the effects of time-delayed feedback on the SR of the negative-stiffness SD oscillator are investigated under harmonic forcing and Gaussian white noise, based on the Langevin and Fokker-Planck approaches. The time-delayed feedback can enhance the SR phenomenon where vibrational energy harvesting is needed. This paper established the relationship between the parameters and vibration properties of a stiffness nonlinearities SD which provides the guidance for optimizing time-delayed control for vibration isolation and vibrational energy harvesting of the nonlinear systems.

Oscillation for equations with positive and negative coefficients and with distributed delay I: General results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonid Berezansky

2003-02-01

Full Text Available We study a scalar delay differential equation with a bounded distributed delay, $$ dot{x}(t+ int_{h(t}^t x(s,d_s R(t,s - int_{g(t}^t x(s,d_s T(t,s=0, $$ where $R(t,s$, $T(t,s$ are nonnegative nondecreasing in $s$ for any $t$, $$ R(t,h(t=T(t,g(t=0, quad R(t,s geq T(t,s. $$ We establish a connection between non-oscillation of this differential equation and the corresponding differential inequalities, and between positiveness of the fundamental function and the existence of a nonnegative solution for a nonlinear integral inequality that constructed explicitly. We also present comparison theorems, and explicit non-oscillation and oscillation results. In a separate publication (part II, we will consider applications of this theory to differential equations with several concentrated delays, integrodifferential, and mixed equations.

Negative symptoms in first episode non-affective psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Malla, Ashok K; Takhar, Jatinder J; Norman, Ross M G; Manchanda, Rahul; Cortese, Leonard; Haricharan, Raj; Verdi, Mary; Ahmed, Rashid

2002-06-01

To determine the prevalence of negative symptoms and to examine secondary sources of influence on negative symptoms and the role of specific negative symptoms in delay associated with seeking treatment in first episode non-affective psychosis. One hundred and ten patients who met Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV (DSM-IV) criteria for a first episode of schizophrenia spectrum psychoses were rated for assessment of negative, positive, depressive and extrapyramidal symptoms, the premorbid adjustment scale and assessment of demographic and clinical characteristics including duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). Alogia/flat affect and avolition/anhedonia were strongly influenced by parkinsonian and depressive symptoms, respectively. A substantial proportion (26.8%) of patients showed at a least moderate level of negative symptoms not confounded by depression and Parkinsonism. DUP was related only to avolition/anhedonia while flat affect/alogia was related to male gender, diagnosis of schizophrenia, age of onset and the length of the prodrome. Negative symptoms that are independent of the influence of positive symptoms, depression and extra pyramidal symptoms (EPS) are present in a substantial proportion of first episode psychosis patients and delay in seeking treatment is associated mainly with avolition and anhedonia.

Negative reactions of men to the loss of power in gender relations: Lilith vs. Eve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Moya

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the reaction of the man when he sees he is losing power and authority over a woman and it relation with men’s sexist ideology. 83 men participated in the study and were led to believe they were interacting via computer with a woman, and answered a decision-making task about family relationships. All of them were assigned the role of someone with authority and power. In half the cases, the woman accepted the man's decisions, and, in the other half, she did not accept. The results showed that when woman did not accept the decisions of the man, she was perceived more negatively. Moreover, the more hostile sexist participants were, the more they rated negatively their female partner, especially when the woman did not accept their decisions. Hostile sexism acts as a corrective tool against those women who defy the traditionally higher status accorded to men. The valuation that woman receive in their interaction with man is determined by what man feel threatened. These results are of great interest in the field of gender violence, since it is one more step towards explaining why some men use violence to attempt to regain their threatened or lost power.

Reconstruction of the limit cycles by the delays method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castillo D, R.; Ortiz V, J.; Calleros M, G.

2003-01-01

The boiling water reactors (BWRs) are designed for usually to operate in a stable-lineal regime. In a limit cycle the behavior of the one system is no lineal-stable. In a BWR, instabilities of nuclear- thermohydraulics nature can take the reactor to a limit cycle. The limit cycles should to be avoided since the oscillations of power can cause thermal fatigue to the fuel and/or shroud. In this work the employment of the delays method is analyzed for its application in the detection of limit cycles in a nuclear power plant. The foundations of the method and it application to power signals to different operation conditions are presented. The analyzed signals are: to steady state, nuclear-thermohydraulic instability, a non linear transitory and, finally, failure of a controller plant . Among the main results it was found that the delays method can be applied to detect limit cycles in the power monitors of the BWR reactors. It was also found that the first zero of the autocorrelation function is an appropriate approach to select the delay in the detection of limit cycles, for the analyzed cases. (Author)

Delays in the operating room: signs of an imperfect system.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Janice; Khu, Kathleen Joy; Kaderali, Zul; Bernstein, Mark

2010-06-01

Delays in the operating room have a negative effect on its efficiency and the working environment. In this prospective study, we analyzed data on perioperative system delays. One neurosurgeon prospectively recorded all errors, including perioperative delays, for consecutive patients undergoing elective procedures from May 2000 to February 2009. We analyzed the prevalence, causes and impact of perioperative system delays that occurred in one neurosurgeon's practice. A total of 1531 elective surgical cases were performed during the study period. Delays were the most common type of error (33.6%), and more than half (51.4%) of all cases had at least 1 delay. The most common cause of delay was equipment failure. The first cases of the day and cranial cases had more delays than subsequent cases and spinal cases, respectively. A delay in starting the first case was associated with subsequent delays. Delays frequently occur in the operating room and have a major effect on patient flow and resource utilization. Thorough documentation of perioperative delays provides a basis for the development of solutions for improving operating room efficiency and illustrates the principles underlying the causes of operating room delays across surgical disciplines.

The delay effect on outcome evaluation: results from an Event-related Potential study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen eQu

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Behavioral studies demonstrate that the timing of receiving gains or losses affects decision-making, a phenomenon known as temporal discounting, as participants are inclined to prefer immediate rewards over delayed ones and vice versa for losses. The present study used the event-related potential (ERP technique with a simple gambling task to investigate how delayed rewards and losses affected the brain activity in outcome evaluations made by 20 young adults. Statistical analysis revealed a larger feedback related negativity (FRN effect between loss and gain following immediate outcomes than following future outcomes. In addition, delay impacted FRN only in gain conditions, with delayed winning eliciting a more negative FRN than immediatewinning. These results suggest that temporal discounting and sign effect could be encoded in the FRN in the early stage of outcome evaluation.

The design of delay-dependent wide-area DOFC with prescribed degree of stability α for damping inter-area low-frequency oscillations in power system.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Miaoping; Nian, Xiaohong; Dai, Liqiong; Guo, Hua

2017-05-01

In this paper, the delay-dependent wide-area dynamic output feedback controller (DOFC) with prescribed degree of stability is proposed for interconnected power system to damp inter-area low-frequency oscillations. Here, the prescribed degree of stability α is used to maintain all the poles on the left of s=-α in the s-plane. Firstly, residue approach is adopted to select input-output control signals and the schur balanced truncation model reduction method is utilized to obtain the reduced power system model. Secondly, based on Lyapunov stability theory and transformation operation in complex plane, the sufficient condition of asymptotic stability for closed-loop power system with prescribed degree of stability α is derived. Then, a novel method based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) is presented to obtain the parameters of DOFC and calculate delay margin of the closed-loop system considering the prescribed degree of stability α. Finally, case studies are carried out on the two-area four-machine system, which is controlled by classical wide-area power system stabilizer (WAPSS) in reported reference and our proposed DOFC respectively. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method are verified by the simulation results under different operating conditions. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Power Minimization through Packet Retention in Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks under Interference and Delay Constraints: An Optimal Stopping Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amr Y. Elnakeeb

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is twofold: First, we study the problem of packets retention in a queue with the aim of minimizing transmission power in delay-tolerant applications. The problem is classified as an optimal stopping problem. The optimal stopping rule has been derived as well. Optimal number of released packets is determined in each round through an Integer Linear Programming (ILP optimization problem. This transmission paradigm is tested via simulations in an interference-free environment leading to a significant reduction in transmission power (at least 55%. Second, we address the problem of applying the scheme of packets retention through the Optimal Stopping Policy (OSP to underlay Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks (CRSNs where strict interference threshold does exist. Simulations proved that our scheme outperforms traditional transmission method as far as dropped packet rate and Average Power per Transmitted Packet (APTP are concerned.

Perceptions and Definitions of Power Within the Context of HIV-Negative Male Couples' Relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Jason W; Sophus, Amber I

2017-07-01

Examining dynamics within relationships is critical for development of effective HIV prevention interventions for male couples. The dynamic of power has received little attention in research with male couples, though power has been reported to affect HIV risk among heterosexual couples. To help address this knowledge gap, the present cross-sectional analysis used mixed methods with dyadic data from 142 HIV-negative male couples to (1) assess partnered men's perception of who has the most power in their relationship and why, (2) examine whether partners concur about who has the most power and their reasoning for this selection, and (3) assess whether male couples' concurrence about who has the most power is associated with their engagement of condomless anal sex within and/or outside the relationship, type of relationship, and aspects of their sexual agreement. Individual- and couple-level responses about who has the most power were quantitatively assessed, whereas for why, their responses were coded qualitatively. Fifty-six percent of couples concurred about who has the most power in their relationship and of these, many said it was equal. Regarding why, themes of responses ranged from "compromise" and "shared responsibility" for those who concurred about who has the most power versus "dominant/compliant personality" and "money" among the couples who disagreed about who has the most power in their relationship. Concordance about who has the most power was only associated with condomless anal sex within the relationship. Further research is warranted to examine how power may affect other dynamics of male couples' relationships and risk-related behaviors.

Shifted Non-negative Matrix Factorization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mørup, Morten; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard; Hansen, Lars Kai

2007-01-01

Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) has become a widely used blind source separation technique due to its part based representation and ease of interpretability. We currently extend the NMF model to allow for delays between sources and sensors. This is a natural extension for spectrometry data...

Gallium-67 and subphrenic abscesses: is delayed scintigraphy necessary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, G.B.; Mende, C.W.

1975-01-01

Forty postoperative patients with clinical and roentgenographic findings suggestive of subphrenic abscess were evaluated by early and delayed 67 Ga scintigraphy. Early 67 Ga scintigraphs obtained 6 hr after injection correctly localized seven right and five left subphrenic abscesses. In no instance was an abscess present on delayed scintigraphs that was not evident on the 6-hr study. Two patients with left subphrenic abscess had false-negative results on both early and delayed scintigraphy. No false-positive studies were recorded. Early 67 Ga scintigraphy can be a valuable noninvasive adjunct in the diagnosis of subphrenic abscess. (U.S.)

Variable Delay in port-Hamiltonian Telemanipulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Secchi, C; Stramigioli, Stefano; Fantuzzi, C.

2006-01-01

In several applications involving bilateral telemanipulation, master and slave act at different power scales. In this paper a strategy for passively dealing with variable communication delay in scaled port-Hamiltonian based telemanipulation over packet switched networks is proposed.

Anteseden Dan Konsekuensi Audit Delay Pada Perusahaan Perbankan Perioda 2011-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronald Tehupuring

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Timeliness in financial reporting can contribute to efficient performance for the stock market because it can reduce the asymmetry information, mitigate insider trading, and improve the usefulness decision of information to stakeholders. There were inconsistencies in prior research and the case of delay submission on issuer financial statements to the Financial Service Authority.  There were 30 cases for each in 2013 and 2014. This study aimed to examine (1 the negative impact between the company size, profitability, leverage, and the auditor quality on audit delay; (2 the positive impact of audit delay on audit switching; and (3 the positive impact of audit delay and audit delay switching on audit quality in banking companies listed on the Stock Exchange 2011-2014 period. A purposive sampling method is used and as the sample, 30 companies are obtained in four years so the analyzed data was based on 120 observations. The data analysis technique used is multiple linear and logistic regression. Results showed that (1 the size of the company and leverage have no impact on audit delay, while the return on assets and the auditor quality have a negative impact and significantly related to audit delay; (2 audit delay has a positive impact and significantly related to audit switching; (3 audit delay has a positive impact and significantly related to audit quality, while audit switching has no impact on audit quality. This study has contributed in optimizing timeliness performance of financial information reporting, effectiveness and efficiency of audit time range so that general  information increased, and The implication for audit quality of financial statements become more reliable.

On the combination of delayed neutron and delayed gamma techniques for fission rate measurement in nuclear fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perret, G.; Jordan, K. A. [Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, 5232 (Switzerland)

2011-07-01

Novel techniques to measure newly induced fissions in spent fuel after re-irradiation at low power have been developed and tested at the Proteus zero-power research reactor. The two techniques are based on the detection of high energy gamma-rays emitted by short-lived fission products and delayed neutrons. The two techniques relate the measured signals to the total fission rate, the isotopic composition of the fuel, and nuclear data. They can be combined to derive better estimates on each of these parameters. This has potential for improvement in many areas. Spent fuel characterisation and safeguard applications can benefit from these techniques for non-destructive assay of plutonium content. Another application of choice is the reduction of uncertainties on nuclear data. As a first application of the combination of the delayed neutron and gamma measurement techniques, this paper shows how to reduce the uncertainties on the relative abundances of the longest delayed neutron group for thermal fissions in {sup 235}U, {sup 239}Pu and fast fissions in {sup 238}U. The proposed experiments are easily achievable in zero-power research reactors using fresh UO{sub 2} and MOX fuel and do not require fast extraction systems. The relative uncertainties (1{sigma}) on the relative abundances are expected to be reduced from 13% to 4%, 16% to 5%, and 38% to 12% for {sup 235}U, {sup 238}U and {sup 239}Pu, respectively. (authors)

Perceptions and Definitions of Power Within the Context of HIV-Negative Male Couples’ Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Jason W.; Sophus, Amber I.

2016-01-01

Examining dynamics within relationships is critical for development of effective HIV prevention interventions for male couples. The dynamic of power has received little attention in research with male couples, though power has been reported to affect HIV risk among heterosexual couples. To help address this knowledge gap, the present cross-sectional analysis used mixed methods with dyadic data from 142 HIV-negative male couples to (1) assess partnered men’s perception of who has the most power in their relationship and why, (2) examine whether partners concur about who has the most power and their reasoning for this selection, and (3) assess whether male couples’ concurrence about who has the most power is associated with their engagement of condomless anal sex within and/or outside the relationship, type of relationship, and aspects of their sexual agreement. Individual- and couple-level responses about who has the most power were quantitatively assessed, whereas for why, their responses were coded qualitatively. Fifty-six percent of couples concurred about who has the most power in their relationship and of these, many said it was equal. Regarding why, themes of responses ranged from “compromise” and “shared responsibility” for those who concurred about who has the most power versus “dominant/compliant personality” and “money” among the couples who disagreed about who has the most power in their relationship. Concordance about who has the most power was only associated with condomless anal sex within the relationship. Further research is warranted to examine how power may affect other dynamics of male couples’ relationships and risk-related behaviors. PMID:26186952

Statistical Delay QoS Provisioning for Energy-Efficient Spectrum-Sharing Based Wireless Ad Hoc Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yichen Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we develop the statistical delay quality-of-service (QoS provisioning framework for the energy-efficient spectrum-sharing based wireless ad hoc sensor network (WAHSN, which is characterized by the delay-bound violation probability. Based on the established delay QoS provisioning framework, we formulate the nonconvex optimization problem which aims at maximizing the average energy efficiency of the sensor node in the WAHSN while meeting PU’s statistical delay QoS requirement as well as satisfying sensor node’s average transmission rate, average transmitting power, and peak transmitting power constraints. By employing the theories of fractional programming, convex hull, and probabilistic transmission, we convert the original fractional-structured nonconvex problem to the additively structured parametric convex problem and obtain the optimal power allocation strategy under the given parameter via Lagrangian method. Finally, we derive the optimal average energy efficiency and corresponding optimal power allocation scheme by employing the Dinkelbach method. Simulation results show that our derived optimal power allocation strategy can be dynamically adjusted based on PU’s delay QoS requirement as well as the channel conditions. The impact of PU’s delay QoS requirement on sensor node’s energy efficiency is also illustrated.

Design and implementation of high-precision and low-jitter programmable delay circuitry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Yuan; Cui Ke; Zhang Hongfei; Luo Chunli; Yang Dongxu; Liang Hao; Wang Jian

2011-01-01

A programmable delay circuit design which has characteristics of high-precision, low-jitter, wide-programmable-range and low power is introduced. The delay circuitry uses the scheme which has two parts: the coarse delay and the fine delay that could be controlled separately. Using different coarse delay chip can reach different maximum programmable range. And the fine delay programmable chip has the minimum step which is down to 10 ps. The whole circuitry jitter will be less than 100 ps. The design has been successfully applied in Quantum Key Distribution experiment. (authors)

Noise-induced coherence in bistable systems with multiple time delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Yu; Dong, Shi-Hai; Lozada-Cassou, M.

2004-01-01

We study the correlation properties of noise-driven bistable systems with multiple time-delay feedbacks. For small noisy perturbation and feedback magnitude, we derive the autocorrelation function and the power spectrum based on the two-state model with transition rates depending on the earlier states of the system. A comparison between the single and double time delays reveals that the auto correlation functions exhibit exponential decay with small undulation for the double time delays, in contrast with the remarkable oscillatory behavior at small time lags for the single time delay

An Asynchronous Low Power and High Performance VLSI Architecture for Viterbi Decoder Implemented with Quasi Delay Insensitive Templates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Kalavathi Devi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Convolutional codes are comprehensively used as Forward Error Correction (FEC codes in digital communication systems. For decoding of convolutional codes at the receiver end, Viterbi decoder is often used to have high priority. This decoder meets the demand of high speed and low power. At present, the design of a competent system in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI technology requires these VLSI parameters to be finely defined. The proposed asynchronous method focuses on reducing the power consumption of Viterbi decoder for various constraint lengths using asynchronous modules. The asynchronous designs are based on commonly used Quasi Delay Insensitive (QDI templates, namely, Precharge Half Buffer (PCHB and Weak Conditioned Half Buffer (WCHB. The functionality of the proposed asynchronous design is simulated and verified using Tanner Spice (TSPICE in 0.25 µm, 65 nm, and 180 nm technologies of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture Company (TSMC. The simulation result illustrates that the asynchronous design techniques have 25.21% of power reduction compared to synchronous design and work at a speed of 475 MHz.

Graphical Evaluation of Time-Delay Compensation Techniques for Digitally Controlled Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lu, Minghui; Wang, Xiongfei; Loh, Poh Chiang

2018-01-01

A main design constraint of the digitally controlled power electronics converters is the time delay of control systems, which may lead to the reduced control loop bandwidth and even unstable dynamics. Numerous time-delay compensation methods have been developed, of which the model-free schemes...

Multi-objective optimization of MOSFETs channel widths and supply voltage in the proposed dual edge-triggered static D flip-flop with minimum average power and delay by using fuzzy non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II.

Science.gov (United States)

Keivanian, Farshid; Mehrshad, Nasser; Bijari, Abolfazl

2016-01-01

D Flip-Flop as a digital circuit can be used as a timing element in many sophisticated circuits. Therefore the optimum performance with the lowest power consumption and acceptable delay time will be critical issue in electronics circuits. The newly proposed Dual-Edge Triggered Static D Flip-Flop circuit layout is defined as a multi-objective optimization problem. For this, an optimum fuzzy inference system with fuzzy rules is proposed to enhance the performance and convergence of non-dominated sorting Genetic Algorithm-II by adaptive control of the exploration and exploitation parameters. By using proposed Fuzzy NSGA-II algorithm, the more optimum values for MOSFET channel widths and power supply are discovered in search space than ordinary NSGA types. What is more, the design parameters involving NMOS and PMOS channel widths and power supply voltage and the performance parameters including average power consumption and propagation delay time are linked. To do this, the required mathematical backgrounds are presented in this study. The optimum values for the design parameters of MOSFETs channel widths and power supply are discovered. Based on them the power delay product quantity (PDP) is 6.32 PJ at 125 MHz Clock Frequency, L = 0.18 µm, and T = 27 °C.

Delay differential systems for tick population dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Guihong; Thieme, Horst R; Zhu, Huaiping

2015-11-01

Ticks play a critical role as vectors in the transmission and spread of Lyme disease, an emerging infectious disease which can cause severe illness in humans or animals. To understand the transmission dynamics of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, it is necessary to investigate the population dynamics of ticks. Here, we formulate a system of delay differential equations which models the stage structure of the tick population. Temperature can alter the length of time delays in each developmental stage, and so the time delays can vary geographically (and seasonally which we do not consider). We define the basic reproduction number [Formula: see text] of stage structured tick populations. The tick population is uniformly persistent if [Formula: see text] and dies out if [Formula: see text]. We present sufficient conditions under which the unique positive equilibrium point is globally asymptotically stable. In general, the positive equilibrium can be unstable and the system show oscillatory behavior. These oscillations are primarily due to negative feedback within the tick system, but can be enhanced by the time delays of the different developmental stages.

Delayed neutrons in liquid metal spallation targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ridikas, D.; Bokov, P.; David, J.C.; Dore, D.; Giacri, M.L.; Van Lauwe, A.; Plukiene, R.; Plukis, A.; Ignatiev, S.; Pankratov, D.

2003-01-01

The next generation spallation neutron sources, neutrino factories or RIB production facilities currently being designed and constructed around the world will increase the average proton beam power on target by a few orders of magnitude. Increased proton beam power results in target thermal hydraulic issues leading to new target designs, very often based on flowing liquid metal targets such as Hg, Pb, Pb-Bi. Radioactive nuclides produced in liquid metal targets are transported into hot cells, past electronics, into pumps with radiation sensitive components, etc. Besides the considerable amount of photon activity in the irradiated liquid metal, a significant amount of the delayed neutron precursor activity can be accumulated in the target fluid. The transit time from the front of a liquid metal target into areas, where delayed neutrons may be important, can be as short as a few seconds, well within one half-life of many delayed neutron precursors. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the total neutron flux (including delayed neutrons) as a function of time and determine if delayed neutrons contribute significantly to the dose rate. In this study the multi-particle transport code MCNPX combined with the material evolution program CINDER'90 will be used to evaluate the delayed neutron flux and spectra. The following scientific issues will be addressed in this paper: - Modeling of a typical geometry of the liquid metal spallation target; - Predictions of the prompt neutron fluxes, fission fragment and spallation product distributions; - Comparison of the above parameters with existing experimental data; - Time-dependent calculations of delayed neutron precursors; - Neutron flux estimates due to the prompt and delayed neutron emission; - Proposal of an experimental program to measure delayed neutron spectra from high energy spallation-fission reactions. The results of this study should be directly applicable in the design study of the European MegaPie (1 MW

ZRBA1, a Mixed EGFR/DNA Targeting Molecule, Potentiates Radiation Response Through Delayed DNA Damage Repair Process in a Triple Negative Breast Cancer Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heravi, Mitra [Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, McGill University, Montreal (Canada); Segal Cancer Center, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal (Canada); Kumala, Slawomir [Department of Radiation Oncology, McGill University, Montreal (Canada); Segal Cancer Center, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal (Canada); Rachid, Zakaria; Jean-Claude, Bertrand J. [Cancer Drug Research Laboratory, McGill University Health Center, Montreal (Canada); Radzioch, Danuta [Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal (Canada); Muanza, Thierry M., E-mail: tmuanza@yahoo.com [Department of Radiation Oncology, McGill University, Montreal (Canada); Segal Cancer Center, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal (Canada)

2015-06-01

Purpose: ZRBA1 is a combi-molecule designed to induce DNA alkylating lesions and to block epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) TK domain. Inasmuch as ZRBA1 downregulates the EGFR TK-mediated antisurvival signaling and induces DNA damage, we postulated that it might be a radiosensitizer. The aim of this study was to further investigate the potentiating effect of ZRBA1 in combination with radiation and to elucidate the possible mechanisms of interaction between these 2 treatment modalities. Methods and Materials: The triple negative human breast MDA-MB-468 cancer cell line and mouse mammary cancer 4T1 cell line were used in this study. Clonogenic assay, Western blot analysis, and DNA damage analysis were performed at multiple time points after treatment. To confirm our in vitro findings, in vivo tumor growth delay assay was performed. Results: Our results show that a combination of ZRBA1 and radiation increases the radiation sensitivity of both cell lines significantly with a dose enhancement factor of 1.56, induces significant numbers of DNA strand breaks, prolongs higher DNA damage up to 24 hours after treatment, and significantly increases tumor growth delay in a syngeneic mouse model. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the higher efficacy of this combination could be partially due to increased DNA damage and delayed DNA repair process and to the inhibition of EGFR. The encouraging results of this combination demonstrated a significant improvement in treatment efficiency and therefore could be applicable in early clinical trial settings.

Effects of computing time delay on real-time control systems

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Kang G.; Cui, Xianzhong

1988-01-01

The reliability of a real-time digital control system depends not only on the reliability of the hardware and software used, but also on the speed in executing control algorithms. The latter is due to the negative effects of computing time delay on control system performance. For a given sampling interval, the effects of computing time delay are classified into the delay problem and the loss problem. Analysis of these two problems is presented as a means of evaluating real-time control systems. As an example, both the self-tuning predicted (STP) control and Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control are applied to the problem of tracking robot trajectories, and their respective effects of computing time delay on control performance are comparatively evaluated. For this example, the STP (PID) controller is shown to outperform the PID (STP) controller in coping with the delay (loss) problem.

Current Sharing inside a High Power IGBT Module at the Negative Temperature Coefficient Operating Region

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2084596; Papastergiou, Konstantinos; Bongiorno, M; Thiringer, T

2016-01-01

This work investigates the current sharing effect of a high power Soft Punch Through IGBT module in the Negative Temperature Coefficient region. The unbalanced current sharing between two of the substrates is demonstrated for different current and temperature levels and its impact on the thermal stressing of the device is evaluated. The results indicate that the current asymmetry does not lead to a significant thermal stressing unbalance between the substrates.

The impact of early powered mobility on parental stress, negative emotions, and family social interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Tefft, Donita; Guerette, Paula; Furumasu, Jan

2011-02-01

Powered mobility has been found to have positive effects on young children with severe physical disabilities, but the impact on the family has been less well documented. We evaluated the impact of early powered mobility on parental stress, negative emotions, perceived social interactions, and parental satisfaction with wheelchair characteristics such as size and durability. The participants were parents of 23 children with disabilities-10 with orthopedic disabilities (average age 30.1 months) and 13 with cerebral palsy (average age 47.0 months). Pretest assessments were completed two times: at initial wheelchair evaluation and at wheelchair delivery. A posttest assessment was completed after each child had used the wheelchair for 4-6 months. Parents reported a lower perceived level of stress at the time of wheelchair delivery, although the magnitude of this effect was fairly small, standardized mean difference (δ) = .27. They also reported an increased satisfaction with their child's social and play skills (δ = .38), ability to go where desired (δ = .86), sleep/wake pattern (δ = .61), and belief that the general public accepts their child (δ = .39) after several months using the wheelchair. Parents reported an increase in interactions within the family at the time of wheelchair delivery (δ = .66). There was no decrease in negative emotions. Parents were satisfied with most factors relating to the wheelchair itself, with areas of concern being wheelchair size and difficulty adjusting the wheelchair. The findings suggest that self-initiated powered mobility for a young child had a positive impact on the family.

Delayed radiographic diagnosis of osteoid osteoma in the lumbar spine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Louis-Ugbo, J.; Reddy, A.S.; Heller, J.G.

1998-01-01

Study design: Case report and literature review. Objectives: Describe a case of delayed diagnosis of osteoid osteoma of the spine due to misinterpretation of initial imaging studies within two months of onset of pain, and discuss the relevant imaging characteristics and their pitfalls. Summary of background data. Several cases of delayed diagnosis have been previously reported. Only one false negative bone scan has been reported; however other imaging modalities established the diagnosis. In our patient, all of the imaging modalities were initially interpreted as negative hence the delay in diagnosis. Methods: History, physical examination and imaging studies (x-rays, bone scan, MRI) of the patient were employed to evaluate the differential diagnosis of low back pain and sciatica in a 16 yr old. Repeat bone scan and CT scan were done six months after onset of symptoms because of persistent clinical suspicion of osteoid osteoma. Results: The repeat bone scan and CT scan confirmed-the diagnosis missed, during the first round of imaging. An osteoid osteoma of the L5 pedicle was removed without incident. Conclusion: Technetium bone scans remain the main stay of early diagnosis of osteoid osteoma when plain films and other imaging modalities are normal. However, when faced with persistent unexplained musculoskeletal pain in an adolescent, further follow-up and diagnostic efforts are indicated; possibly repeating a bone scan if initially interpreted as negative. (author)

Dynamics of Time Delay-Induced Multiple Synchronous Behaviors in Inhibitory Coupled Neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Huaguang; Zhao, Zhiguo

2015-01-01

The inhibitory synapse can induce synchronous behaviors different from the anti-phase synchronous behaviors, which have been reported in recent studies. In the present paper, synchronous behaviors are investigated in the motif model composed of reciprocal inhibitory coupled neurons with endogenous bursting and time delay. When coupling strength is weak, synchronous behavior appears at a single interval of time delay within a bursting period. When coupling strength is strong, multiple synchronous behaviors appear at different intervals of time delay within a bursting period. The different bursting patterns of synchronous behaviors, and time delays and coupling strengths that can induce the synchronous bursting patterns can be well interpreted by the dynamics of the endogenous bursting pattern of isolated neuron, which is acquired by the fast-slow dissection method, combined with the inhibitory coupling current. For an isolated neuron, when a negative impulsive current with suitable strength is applied at different phases of the bursting, multiple different bursting patterns can be induced. For a neuron in the motif, the inhibitory coupling current, of which the application time and strength is modulated by time delay and coupling strength, can cause single or multiple synchronous firing patterns like the negative impulsive current when time delay and coupling strength is suitable. The difference compared to the previously reported multiple synchronous behaviors that appear at time delays wider than a period of the endogenous firing is discussed. The results present novel examples of synchronous behaviors in the neuronal network with inhibitory synapses and provide a reasonable explanation. PMID:26394224

Bifurcation analysis of a delayed mathematical model for tumor growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khajanchi, Subhas

2015-01-01

In this study, we present a modified mathematical model of tumor growth by introducing discrete time delay in interaction terms. The model describes the interaction between tumor cells, healthy tissue cells (host cells) and immune effector cells. The goal of this study is to obtain a better compatibility with reality for which we introduced the discrete time delay in the interaction between tumor cells and host cells. We investigate the local stability of the non-negative equilibria and the existence of Hopf-bifurcation by considering the discrete time delay as a bifurcation parameter. We estimate the length of delay to preserve the stability of bifurcating periodic solutions, which gives an idea about the mode of action for controlling oscillations in the tumor growth. Numerical simulations of the model confirm the analytical findings

All-optical multi-wavelength conversion with negative power penalty by a commercial SOA-MZI for WDM wavelength multicast

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yan, N.; Jung, H.D.; Tafur Monroy, I.; Waardt, de H.; Koonen, A.M.J.

2007-01-01

WDM wavelength multicast is demonstrated by all-optical multi-wavelength conversion at 10 Gb/s using a commercial SOA-MZI. We report for the first time simultaneous one-to-four conversion with negative power penalty of 1.84 dB.

On the very long term delayed behavior of concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torrenti, J.M.; Benboudjema, F.; Barre, F.; Gallitre, E.

2015-01-01

The prediction of very long-term deformation of prestressed concrete structures is a major challenge considering the service life of these structures. It is therefore necessary to correctly model the delayed behavior of these structures. Using a review of laboratory tests and observations of the delayed behavior of structures (bridges and nuclear power plants), the main conclusions of this work are the following ones. First, very long term creep in laboratory or of real structures seems to be non asymptotic. In the actual Eurocode-2, creep is calculated by means of an asymptotic hyperbolic function while in the recent Model Code 2010 creep is expressed as a combination of an asymptotic and a logarithmic functions. In the latter case the logarithmic function corresponds to basic creep while drying creep is asymptotic. Secondly, using a long test (3 years) in a laboratory is not enough to assess the long term behaviour of a massive structure. We need physical relations for creep in codes in order to predict the delayed behavior of massive structures. Thirdly, the biaxial creep of nuclear power plant could be modelled but using data of the structure itself. This would allow to predict the delayed behavior of these structures. Further work is needed to improve the prediction in the design phase

Extending Femtosecond Filamentation of High Power Laser Propagating in the Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenmann, Shmuel; Sivan, Yonatan; Fibich, Gadi; Zigler, Arie

2008-06-01

We show experimentally for ultrashort laser pulses propagating in air, that the filamentation distance of intense laser pulses in the atmosphere can be extended and controlled with a simple double-lens setup. Using this method we were able to achieve a 20-fold delay of the filamentation distance of non-chirped 120 fs pulses propagating in air, from 16 m to 330 m. At 330 m, the collapsing pulse is sufficiently powerful to create plasma filaments. We also show that the scatter of the filaments at 330 m can be significantly reduced by tilting the second lens. We derive a simple formula for the filamentation distance, and confirm its agreement with the experimental results. We also observe that delaying the onset of filamentation increases the filament length. To the best of our knowledge, this is the longest distance reported in the literature at which plasma filaments were created and controlled. Finally, we show that the peak power at the onset of collapse is significantly higher with the double-lens setup, compared with the standard negative chirping approach.

Delaying information search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaniv Shani

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In three studies, we examined factors that may temporarily attenuate information search. People are generally curious and dislike uncertainty, which typically encourages them to look for relevant information. Despite these strong forces that promote information search, people sometimes deliberately delay obtaining valuable information. We find they may do so when they are concerned that the information might interfere with future pleasurable activities. Interestingly, the decision to search or to postpone searching for information is influenced not only by the value and importance of the information itself but also by well-being maintenance goals related to possible detrimental effects that negative knowledge may have on unrelated future plans.

Study of transmitting electric power utility communications in IP network. Transmission of existing electric power utility communications in best effort type IP network under delay constraint; Denryokuyo tsushin kaisen no IP mo eno shuyo kento. Chien jikan seiyakuka ni okeru best effort gata IP mo eno kison denryokuyo tsushin kaisen no shuyo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyake, H.

2000-07-01

Since IP network does best effort behavior fundamentally, it always generates delay time and delay variation. For this reason, IP network has been unsuitable to transmit real time data such as a voice. However, in recent years, the technologies which transmit real time data in IP network, e.g. VoIP, have spread. If it is possible to transmit the existing electric power utility communications in IP network using these technologies, total network cost can be reduced by the reduction of required bandwidth and the simplification of communication network systems. In this report, it is examined quantitatively whether end-end delay time of the existing electric power utility communications, e.g. on-line, telephone, carrier relay, CDT (cyclic digital transmission equipment), video conference, ITV(industrial television), is within their permission delay time when they are transmitted in the best effort type IP network. (author)

On the Delay-Energy Tradeoff in Multiuser Fading Channels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralf R. Müller

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We consider the delay-energy tradeoff on a fading channel with multiuser diversity. For fixed arbitrary rates of the users, the total transmitted energy is minimized subject to a delay constraint. To achieve this goal we propose a scheme which schedules a subset of all users simultaneously. The scheduled users are allocated power to guarantee successful separation at the detector by successive decoding. In this way, we can benefit from both multiuser diversity and the near-far situation via scheduling and simultaneous transmission, respectively. We analytically show that when the number of users goes to infinity the energy required to guarantee the required user rates can be made as small as required at the cost of a higher delay “delay-energy tradeoff”. We explicitly compute the delay under the proposed scheduling policy and discuss how delay differentiation can be achieved. We extend the results to multiband multiaccess channel. Finally, all the results can be generalized in a straightforward fashion to broadcast channel due to the Gaussian multiaccess-broadcast channel duality.

Delay generation methods with reduced memory requirements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tomov, Borislav Gueorguiev; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2003-01-01

Modern diagnostic ultrasound beamformers require delay information for each sample along the image lines. In order to avoid storing large amounts of focusing data, delay generation techniques have to be used. In connection with developing a compact beamformer architecture, recursive algorithms were......) For the best parametric approach, the gate count was 2095, the maximum operation speed was 131.9 MHz, the power consumption at 40 MHz was 10.6 mW, and it requires 4 12-bit words for each image line and channel. 2) For the piecewise-linear approximation, the corresponding numbers are 1125 gates, 184.9 MHz, 7...

Sharp conditions for global stability of Lotka-Volterra systems with distributed delays

Science.gov (United States)

Faria, Teresa

We give a criterion for the global attractivity of a positive equilibrium of n-dimensional non-autonomous Lotka-Volterra systems with distributed delays. For a class of autonomous Lotka-Volterra systems, we show that such a criterion is sharp, in the sense that it provides necessary and sufficient conditions for the global asymptotic stability independently of the choice of the delay functions. The global attractivity of positive equilibria is established by imposing a diagonal dominance of the instantaneous negative feedback terms, and relies on auxiliary results showing the boundedness of all positive solutions. The paper improves and generalizes known results in the literature, namely by considering systems with distributed delays rather than discrete delays.

Observing positive and negative AGN feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Cresci, Giovanni; Maiolino, Roberto

2018-03-01

Galaxy-scale outflows powered by actively accreting supermassive black holes are routinely detected, and they have been associated with both the suppression and triggering of star formation. Recent observational evidence and simulations are favouring a delayed mechanism that connects outflows and star formation.

Robust filtering and fault detection of switched delay systems

CERN Document Server

Wang, Dong; Wang, Wei

2013-01-01

Switched delay systems appear in a wide field of applications including networked control systems, power systems, memristive systems. Though the large amount of ideas with respect to such systems have generated, until now, it still lacks a framework to focus on filter design and fault detection issues which are relevant to life safety and property loss. Beginning with the comprehensive coverage of the new developments in the analysis and control synthesis for switched delay systems, the monograph not only provides a systematic approach to designing the filter and detecting the fault of switched delay systems, but it also covers the model reduction issues. Specific topics covered include: (1) Arbitrary switching signal where delay-independent and delay-dependent conditions are presented by proposing a linearization technique. (2) Average dwell time where a weighted Lyapunov function is come up with dealing with filter design and fault detection issues beside taking model reduction problems. The monograph is in...

Test and Diagnosis for Small-Delay Defects

CERN Document Server

Tehranipoor, Mohammad; Chakrabarty, Krishnendu

2012-01-01

This book introduces new techniques for detecting and diagnosing small-delay defects (SDD) in integrated circuits. Although this sort of timing defect is commonly found in integrated circuits manufactured with nanometer technology, this will be the first book to introduce effective and scalable methodologies for screening and diagnosing small-delay defects, including important parameters such as process variations, crosstalk, and power supply noise. This book presents new techniques and methodologies to improve overall SDD detection with very small pattern sets. These methods can result in pattern counts as low as a traditional 1-detect pattern set and long path sensitization and SDD detection similar to or even better than n-detect or timing-aware pattern sets. The important design parameters and pattern-induced noises such as process variations,power supply noise (PSN) and crosstalk are taken into account in the methodologies presented. A diagnostic flow is also presented to identify whether the failure is ...

Negatively Charged Hyperbranched Polyglycerol Grafted Membranes for Osmotic Power Generation from Municipal Wastewater

KAUST Repository

Li, Xue; Cai, Tao; Chen, Chunyan; Chung, Neal Tai-Shung

2015-01-01

Osmotic power holds great promise as a clean, sustainable and largely unexploited energy resource. Recent membrane development for pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) is making the osmotic power generation more and more realistic. However, severe performance declines have been observed because the porous layer of PRO membranes is fouled by the feed stream. To overcome it, a negatively charged antifouling PRO hollow fiber membrane has been designed and studied in this work. An antifouling polymer, derived from hyperbranched polyglycerol and functionalized by α-lipoic acid and succinic anhydride, was synthesized and grafted onto the polydopamine (PDA) modified poly(ether sulfone) (PES) hollow fiber membranes. In comparison to unmodified membranes, the charged hyperbranched polyglycerol (CHPG) grafted membrane is much less affected by organic deposition, such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption, and highly resistant to microbial growths, demonstrated by E. coli adhesion and S. aureus attachment. CHPG-g-TFC was also examined in PRO tests using a concentrated wastewater as the feed. Comparing to the plain PES-TFC and non-charged HPG-g-TFC, the newly developed membrane exhibits not only the smallest decline in water flux but also the highest recovery rate. When using 0.81 M NaCl and wastewater as the feed pair in PRO tests at 15 bar, the average power density remains at 5.6 W/m2 in comparison to an average value of 3.6 W/m2 for unmodified membranes after four PRO runs. In summary, osmotic power generation may be sustained by properly designing and anchoring the functional polymers to PRO membranes.

Negatively Charged Hyperbranched Polyglycerol Grafted Membranes for Osmotic Power Generation from Municipal Wastewater

KAUST Repository

Li, Xue

2015-11-18

Osmotic power holds great promise as a clean, sustainable and largely unexploited energy resource. Recent membrane development for pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) is making the osmotic power generation more and more realistic. However, severe performance declines have been observed because the porous layer of PRO membranes is fouled by the feed stream. To overcome it, a negatively charged antifouling PRO hollow fiber membrane has been designed and studied in this work. An antifouling polymer, derived from hyperbranched polyglycerol and functionalized by α-lipoic acid and succinic anhydride, was synthesized and grafted onto the polydopamine (PDA) modified poly(ether sulfone) (PES) hollow fiber membranes. In comparison to unmodified membranes, the charged hyperbranched polyglycerol (CHPG) grafted membrane is much less affected by organic deposition, such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption, and highly resistant to microbial growths, demonstrated by E. coli adhesion and S. aureus attachment. CHPG-g-TFC was also examined in PRO tests using a concentrated wastewater as the feed. Comparing to the plain PES-TFC and non-charged HPG-g-TFC, the newly developed membrane exhibits not only the smallest decline in water flux but also the highest recovery rate. When using 0.81 M NaCl and wastewater as the feed pair in PRO tests at 15 bar, the average power density remains at 5.6 W/m2 in comparison to an average value of 3.6 W/m2 for unmodified membranes after four PRO runs. In summary, osmotic power generation may be sustained by properly designing and anchoring the functional polymers to PRO membranes.

Negative dimensional integrals. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halliday, I.G.; Ricotta, R.M.

1987-01-01

We propose a new method of evaluating integrals based on negative dimensional integration. We compute Feynman graphs by considering analytic extensions. Propagators are raised to negative integer powers and integrated over negative integer dimensions. We are left with the problem of computing polynomial integrals and summing finite series. (orig.)

Bifurcation analysis of a delay differential equation model associated with the induction of long-term memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Lijie; Yang, Zhuoqin; Lei, Jinzhi

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A delay differentiation equation model for CREB regulation is developed. • Increasing the time delay can generate various bifurcations. • Increasing the time delay can induce chaos by two routes. - Abstract: The ability to form long-term memories is an important function for the nervous system, and the formation process is dynamically regulated through various transcription factors, including CREB proteins. In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of a delay differential equation model for CREB protein activities, which involves two positive and two negative feedbacks in the regulatory network. We discuss the dynamical mechanisms underlying the induction of long-term memory, in which bistability is essential for the formation of long-term memory, while long time delay can destabilize the high level steady state to inhibit the long-term memory formation. The model displays rich dynamical response to stimuli, including monostability, bistability, and oscillations, and can transit between different states by varying the negative feedback strength. Introduction of a time delay to the model can generate various bifurcations such as Hopf bifurcation, fold limit cycle bifurcation, Neimark–Sacker bifurcation of cycles, and period-doubling bifurcation, etc. Increasing the time delay can induce chaos by two routes: quasi-periodic route and period-doubling cascade.

Wait for It: Delay-Discounting and Academic Performance among an Irish Adolescent Sample

Science.gov (United States)

Freeney, Yseult; O'Connell, Michael

2010-01-01

Beyond cognitive ability and family background, are there other significant determinants of educational attainment? From research in psychology, economics, education and criminology, one powerful influence is the ability to delay gratification, operationalised in this paper as "delay-discounting". It is intuitively plausible that the…

The retention of radioactive noble gases in nuclear power stations by means of activated charcoal delay systems. A status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, H.J.

1983-01-01

Since the beginning of the 1970s off-gas systems using activated charcoal have been used in BWRs and PWRs to minimize the release of radioactive noble gases and the resultant exposure of the environment. In practice, the power-related noble gas emission rate achieved is 1-10 Ci/MWa in the case of BWRs and 0.1-1 Ci/MWa for PWRs. The systems are relatively simple in design and operators state that they are easy and cheap to run. The activated charcoal used shows no signs of becoming spent and, if protected from humidity, retains its full efficiency. On the basis of the information to hand it has never been necessary to replace it. Experience to date suggests that a charge of activated charcoal can last the life of the facility as a whole. All knowledge and experience gained so far indicate that off-gas systems using activated delay systems for BWR facilities are indispensable and must therefore be considered an integral part of such facilities. Capital expenditure amounts to approximately 1% of the total cost and should, therefore, not be unacceptable. In PWRs off-gas systems using pressure vessels as delay trains are in competition with off-gas systems based on activated charcoal delay systems. The activated charcoal systems have proved themselves and their use, which involves capital expenditure equivalent to approximately of 0.5% to the overall cost, can be recommended without reservation

Protection algorithm for a wind turbine generator based on positive- and negative-sequence fault components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Tai-Ying; Cha, Seung-Tae; Crossley, Peter A.

2011-01-01

A protection relay for a wind turbine generator (WTG) based on positive- and negative-sequence fault components is proposed in the paper. The relay uses the magnitude of the positive-sequence component in the fault current to detect a fault on a parallel WTG, connected to the same power collection...... feeder, or a fault on an adjacent feeder; but for these faults, the relay remains stable and inoperative. A fault on the power collection feeder or a fault on the collection bus, both of which require an instantaneous tripping response, are distinguished from an inter-tie fault or a grid fault, which...... in the fault current is used to decide on either instantaneous or delayed operation. The operating performance of the relay is then verified using various fault scenarios modelled using EMTP-RV. The scenarios involve changes in the position and type of fault, and the faulted phases. Results confirm...

Possibilities of delayed neutron fraction (βeff) calculation and measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michalek, S.; Hascik, J.; Farkas, G.

2008-01-01

The influence of the delayed neutrons on the reactor dynamics can be understood through their impact on the reactor power change rate. In spite of the fact that delayed neutrons constitute only a very small fraction of the total number of neutrons generated from fission, they play a dominant role in the fission chain reaction control. If only the prompt neutrons existed, the reactor operation would become impossible due to the fast reactor power changes. The exact determination of delayed neutrons main parameter, the delayed neutron fraction (β eff ), is very important in the field of reactor physics. The interest in the delayed neutron data accuracy improvement started to increase at the end of 80-ties and the beginning of 90-ties, after discrepancies among the results of calculations and experiments. In consequence of difficulties in β eff experimental measurement, this value in exact state use to be determined by calculations. Subsequently, its reliability depends on the calculation method and the delayed neutron data used. Determination of β eff requires criticality calculations. In the past, k eff used to be traditionally calculated by taking the ratio of the adjoint- and spectrum-weighted delayed neutron production rate to the adjoint- and spectrum- weighted total neutron production rate. An alternative method has also been used in which β eff is calculated from simple k-eigenvalue solutions. In this work, a summary of possible β eff calculation methods can be found and a calculation of β eff for VR-1 training reactor in one operation state is made using the prompt method, by MCNP5 code. Also a method of β eff kinetic measurement on VR-1 training reactor at Czech Technical University in Prague using in-pile kinetic technique is outlined (authors)

Modelling Compensation Policy for Quality and Delay Deterioration in Rail Transport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana Molkova

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The contribution deals with the customers’ claims on provided services during train delay in personal railway transport. There is comparison between the situation in the Czech Republic (Brno main station and Austria (Wien Westbahnhof in the contribution. Development of the compensation policy cannot be based only on customer requirements. If the railway company focuses on providing compensation for delays, it must follow its economic balance. However, as the passengers' opinion survey showed, the negative impact of delays can be reduced by providing adequate information to passengers. Based on the passengers' opinion survey, it is necessary to consider the Regulation 1371/2007/ES as the minimum of the possible and on the basis of this reasoning to compile a compensation policy. The costs associated with compensation for the delay should be divided according to the causes of the delay among the individual culprits, so that railway undertakings bear the responsibility even for delays arising from reasons that are beyond the control of the railway undertaking itself. 

Poor Renal Outcome of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody Negative Pauci-immune Glomerulonephritis in Taiwanese

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peir-Haur Hung

2006-01-01

Conclusion: This study illustrates the necessity for pathologic diagnosis of pauci-immune GN despite ANCA negativity. The poor prognosis associated with ANCA negativity in this study may be partly due to delayed diagnosis since these patients frequently lacked systemic involvement.

Changing Delay Discounting in the Light of the Competing Neurobehavioral Decision Systems Theory: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Koffarnus, Mikhail N.; Jarmolowicz, David P.; Mueller, E. Terry; Bickel, Warren K.

2013-01-01

Excessively devaluing delayed reinforcers co-occurs with a wide variety of clinical conditions such as drug dependence, obesity, and excessive gambling. If excessive delay discounting is a trans-disease process that underlies the choice behavior leading to these and other negative health conditions, efforts to change an individual's discount rate…

An experimental facility for studying delayed neutron emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dermendzhiev, E.; Nazarov, V.M.; Pavlov, S.S.; Ruskov, Iv.; Zamyatin, Yu.S.

1993-01-01

A new experimental facility for studying delayed neutron emission has been designed and tested. A method based on utilization of the Dubna IBR-2 pulsed reactor, has been proposed and realized for periodical irradiation of targets composed of fissionable isotopes. Such a powerful pulsed neutron source in combination with a slow neutron chopper synchronized with the reactor bursts makes possible variation of the exposure duration and effective suppression of the fast neutron background due to delay neutrons emitted from the reactor core. Detection of delayed neutrons from the target is carried out by a high-efficiency multicounter neutron detector with a near-4π geometry. Some test measurements and results are briefly described. Possible use of the facility for other tasks is also discussed. 14 refs.; 14 figs

Determination of relevant neuron-neuron connections for neural prosthetics using time-delayed mutual information: tutorial and preliminary results.

Science.gov (United States)

Taghva, Alexander; Song, Dong; Hampson, Robert E; Deadwyler, Sam A; Berger, Theodore W

2012-12-01

Identification of functional dependence among neurons is a necessary component in both the rational design of neural prostheses as well as in the characterization of network physiology. The objective of this article is to provide a tutorial for neurosurgeons regarding information theory, specifically time-delayed mutual information, and to compare time-delayed mutual information, an information theoretic quantity based on statistical dependence, with cross-correlation, a commonly used metric for this task in a preliminary analysis of rat hippocampal neurons. Spike trains were recorded from rats performing delayed nonmatch-to-sample task using an array of electrodes surgically implanted into the hippocampus of each hemisphere of the brain. In addition, spike train simulations of positively correlated neurons, negatively correlated neurons, and neurons correlated by nonlinear functions were generated. These were evaluated by time-delayed mutual information (MI) and cross-correlation. Application of time-delayed MI to experimental data indicated the optimal bin size for information capture in the CA3-CA1 system was 40 ms, which may provide some insight into the spatiotemporal nature of encoding in the rat hippocampus. On simulated data, time-delayed MI showed peak values at appropriate time lags in positively correlated, negatively correlated, and complexly correlated data. Cross-correlation showed peak and troughs with positively correlated and negatively correlated data, but failed to capture some higher order correlations. Comparison of time-delayed MI to cross-correlation in identification of functionally dependent neurons indicates that the methods are not equivalent. Time-delayed MI appeared to capture some interactions between CA3-CA1 neurons at physiologically plausible time delays missed by cross-correlation. It should be considered as a method for identification of functional dependence between neurons and may be useful in the development of neural

Negatively charged hyperbranched polyglycerol grafted membranes for osmotic power generation from municipal wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xue; Cai, Tao; Chen, Chunyan; Chung, Tai-Shung

2016-02-01

Osmotic power holds great promise as a clean, sustainable and largely unexploited energy resource. Recent membrane development for pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) is making the osmotic power generation more and more realistic. However, severe performance declines have been observed because the porous layer of PRO membranes is fouled by the feed stream. To overcome it, a negatively charged antifouling PRO hollow fiber membrane has been designed and studied in this work. An antifouling polymer, derived from hyperbranched polyglycerol and functionalized by α-lipoic acid and succinic anhydride, was synthesized and grafted onto the polydopamine (PDA) modified poly(ether sulfone) (PES) hollow fiber membranes. In comparison to unmodified membranes, the charged hyperbranched polyglycerol (CHPG) grafted membrane is much less affected by organic deposition, such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption, and highly resistant to microbial growths, demonstrated by Escherichia coli adhesion and Staphylococcus aureus attachment. CHPG-g-TFC was also examined in PRO tests using a concentrated wastewater as the feed. Comparing to the plain PES-TFC and non-charged HPG-g-TFC, the newly developed membrane exhibits not only the smallest decline in water flux but also the highest recovery rate. When using 0.81 M NaCl and wastewater as the feed pair in PRO tests at 15 bar, the average power density remains at 5.6 W/m(2) in comparison to an average value of 3.6 W/m(2) for unmodified membranes after four PRO runs. In summary, osmotic power generation may be sustained by properly designing and anchoring the functional polymers to PRO membranes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Group delay functions and its applications in speech technology

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

(iii) High resolution property: The (anti) resonance peaks (due to complex ... Resolving power of the group delay spectrum: z-plane (a, d, g), magnitude ...... speech signal into syllable-like units, without the knowledge of phonetic transcription.

Changes in the long-term delayed response of platinum self-powered detector with irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parent, G.; Serdula, K.J.; Eng, P.

1989-01-01

Two long-term delayed response characteristics have been observed for platinum, Pt, detectors in the Gentilly-2 600 MW(e) CANDU PHWR reactor. The first effect is a dip in the signal two to three hours after a shutdown, due to the (n,beta) interactions of Mn-55 and Ni-64 which exist as impurities in the detector assembly. The second effect is an increase of the delayed fraction of the signal. The low neutron absorption cross-section of Pt-196 combined with the conversion of the Pt-194 and Pt-195 results in build-up of the Pt-196. The long half-lives associated with the beta-emission in the transmutation of Pt-196 to Hg-198 or Hg-199 give rise to the observed long-term delayed response

Adaptive control strategy for ECRH negative high-voltage power supply based on CMAC neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Xiaoping; Du Pengying; Du Shaowu

2011-01-01

In order to solve the problem that the negative high-voltage power supply in an electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system can not satisfy the requirements because of the nonlinearity and sensitivity, the direct inverse model control strategy was proposed by using cerebellar model articulation controller(CMAC) for better control, and experiments were carried out to study the system performances with CMAC tracing dynamic signals. The results show that this strategy is strong in self-learning and self-adaptation and easy to be realized. (authors)

Assembly delay line pulse generators

CERN Multimedia

CERN PhotoLab

1971-01-01

Assembly of six of the ten delay line pulse generators that will power the ten kicker magnet modules. One modulator part contains two pulse generators. Capacitors, inductances, and voltage dividers are in the oil tank on the left. Triggered high-pressure spark gap switches are on the platforms on the right. High voltage pulse cables to the kicker magnet emerge under the spark gaps. In the centre background are the assembled master gaps.

Stuck in Time: Negative Income Shock Constricts the Temporal Window of Valuation Spanning the Future and the Past.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Warren K Bickel

Full Text Available Insufficient resources are associated with negative consequences including decreased valuation of future reinforcers. To determine if these effects result from scarcity, we examined the consequences of acute, abrupt changes in resource availability on delay discounting-the subjective devaluation of rewards as delay to receipt increases. In the current study, 599 individuals recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk read a narrative of a sudden change (positive, neutral, or negative to one's hypothetical future income and completed a delay discounting task examining future and past monetary gains and losses. The effects of the explicit zero procedure, a framing manipulation, was also examined. Negative income shock significantly increased discounting rates for gains and loses occurring both in the future and the past. Positive income windfalls significantly decreased discounting to a lesser extent. The framing procedure significantly reduced discounting under all conditions. Negative income shocks may result in short-term choices.

A Cross-Layer Optimized Opportunistic Routing Scheme for Loss-and-Delay Sensitive WSNs

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xin; Yuan, Minjiao; Liu, Xiao; Cai, Zhiping; Wang, Tian

2018-01-01

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), communication links are typically error-prone and unreliable, so providing reliable and timely data routing for loss- and delay-sensitive applications in WSNs it is a challenge issue. Additionally, with specific thresholds in practical applications, the loss and delay sensitivity implies requirements for high reliability and low delay. Opportunistic Routing (OR) has been well studied in WSNs to improve reliability for error-prone and unreliable wireless communication links where the transmission power is assumed to be identical in the whole network. In this paper, a Cross-layer Optimized Opportunistic Routing (COOR) scheme is proposed to improve the communication link reliability and reduce delay for loss-and-delay sensitive WSNs. The main contribution of the COOR scheme is making full use of the remaining energy in networks to increase the transmission power of most nodes, which will provide a higher communication reliability or further transmission distance. Two optimization strategies referred to as COOR(R) and COOR(P) of the COOR scheme are proposed to improve network performance. In the case of increasing the transmission power, the COOR(R) strategy chooses a node that has a higher communication reliability with same distance in comparison to the traditional opportunistic routing when selecting the next hop candidate node. Since the reliability of data transmission is improved, the delay of the data reaching the sink is reduced by shortening the time of communication between candidate nodes. On the other hand, the COOR(P) strategy prefers a node that has the same communication reliability with longer distance. As a result, network performance can be improved for the following reasons: (a) the delay is reduced as fewer hops are needed while the packet reaches the sink in longer transmission distance circumstances; (b) the reliability can be improved since it is the product of the reliability of every hop of the routing path

A Cross-Layer Optimized Opportunistic Routing Scheme for Loss-and-Delay Sensitive WSNs.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xin; Yuan, Minjiao; Liu, Xiao; Liu, Anfeng; Xiong, Neal N; Cai, Zhiping; Wang, Tian

2018-05-03

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), communication links are typically error-prone and unreliable, so providing reliable and timely data routing for loss- and delay-sensitive applications in WSNs it is a challenge issue. Additionally, with specific thresholds in practical applications, the loss and delay sensitivity implies requirements for high reliability and low delay. Opportunistic Routing (OR) has been well studied in WSNs to improve reliability for error-prone and unreliable wireless communication links where the transmission power is assumed to be identical in the whole network. In this paper, a Cross-layer Optimized Opportunistic Routing (COOR) scheme is proposed to improve the communication link reliability and reduce delay for loss-and-delay sensitive WSNs. The main contribution of the COOR scheme is making full use of the remaining energy in networks to increase the transmission power of most nodes, which will provide a higher communication reliability or further transmission distance. Two optimization strategies referred to as COOR(R) and COOR(P) of the COOR scheme are proposed to improve network performance. In the case of increasing the transmission power, the COOR(R) strategy chooses a node that has a higher communication reliability with same distance in comparison to the traditional opportunistic routing when selecting the next hop candidate node. Since the reliability of data transmission is improved, the delay of the data reaching the sink is reduced by shortening the time of communication between candidate nodes. On the other hand, the COOR(P) strategy prefers a node that has the same communication reliability with longer distance. As a result, network performance can be improved for the following reasons: (a) the delay is reduced as fewer hops are needed while the packet reaches the sink in longer transmission distance circumstances; (b) the reliability can be improved since it is the product of the reliability of every hop of the routing path

A Cross-Layer Optimized Opportunistic Routing Scheme for Loss-and-Delay Sensitive WSNs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Xu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In wireless sensor networks (WSNs, communication links are typically error-prone and unreliable, so providing reliable and timely data routing for loss- and delay-sensitive applications in WSNs it is a challenge issue. Additionally, with specific thresholds in practical applications, the loss and delay sensitivity implies requirements for high reliability and low delay. Opportunistic Routing (OR has been well studied in WSNs to improve reliability for error-prone and unreliable wireless communication links where the transmission power is assumed to be identical in the whole network. In this paper, a Cross-layer Optimized Opportunistic Routing (COOR scheme is proposed to improve the communication link reliability and reduce delay for loss-and-delay sensitive WSNs. The main contribution of the COOR scheme is making full use of the remaining energy in networks to increase the transmission power of most nodes, which will provide a higher communication reliability or further transmission distance. Two optimization strategies referred to as COOR(R and COOR(P of the COOR scheme are proposed to improve network performance. In the case of increasing the transmission power, the COOR(R strategy chooses a node that has a higher communication reliability with same distance in comparison to the traditional opportunistic routing when selecting the next hop candidate node. Since the reliability of data transmission is improved, the delay of the data reaching the sink is reduced by shortening the time of communication between candidate nodes. On the other hand, the COOR(P strategy prefers a node that has the same communication reliability with longer distance. As a result, network performance can be improved for the following reasons: (a the delay is reduced as fewer hops are needed while the packet reaches the sink in longer transmission distance circumstances; (b the reliability can be improved since it is the product of the reliability of every hop of the

A Low-Power WLAN Communication Scheme for IoT WLAN Devices Using Wake-Up Receivers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanseul Hong

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a delay- and power-efficient, multi-user, low-power wireless local area network (WLAN communication scheme for Internet of Things (IoT WLAN devices. Extremely low-power operation is one of the key requirements of emerging IoT devices. However, the current duty-cycle-based power saving approach may incur large access delay times owing to the trade-offs between the power consumption and the access delay. In order to reduce this delay and enhance the power-saving performance, wake-up receiver-based schemes have been proposed. However, because wake-up receiver-based schemes do not consider multiuser operation in dense communication environments, large delays are inevitable in the case of multiuser operation. In order to provide extremely low-power operation and under 1-mW standby power with reduced delay, we employed the optimized multiuser transmission scheduling of IEEE 802.11ax in the proposed scheme and proper enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA parameter settings. This is with the aim to reduce the delay caused by long wake-up times, and to avoid collisions caused by simultaneous transmission in uplink multiuser scenario. By using the proposed scheme, simultaneous IoT communication with multiple mobile IoT devices is possible while providing low-power operation. Simulation results verified the outstanding delay performance of the proposed scheme.

Core Power Control of the fast nuclear reactors with estimation of the delayed neutron precursor density using Sliding Mode method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ansarifar, G.R.; Nasrabadi, M.N.; Hassanvand, R.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We present a S.M.C. system based on the S.M.O for control of a fast reactor power. • A S.M.O has been developed to estimate the density of delayed neutron precursor. • The stability analysis has been given by means Lyapunov approach. • The control system is guaranteed to be stable within a large range. • The comparison between S.M.C. and the conventional PID controller has been done. - Abstract: In this paper, a nonlinear controller using sliding mode method which is a robust nonlinear controller is designed to control a fast nuclear reactor. The reactor core is simulated based on the point kinetics equations and one delayed neutron group. Considering the limitations of the delayed neutron precursor density measurement, a sliding mode observer is designed to estimate it and finally a sliding mode control based on the sliding mode observer is presented. The stability analysis is given by means Lyapunov approach, thus the control system is guaranteed to be stable within a large range. Sliding Mode Control (SMC) is one of the robust and nonlinear methods which have several advantages such as robustness against matched external disturbances and parameter uncertainties. The employed method is easy to implement in practical applications and moreover, the sliding mode control exhibits the desired dynamic properties during the entire output-tracking process independent of perturbations. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in terms of performance, robustness and stability.

Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in High Risk Patients Undergoing Panniculectomy: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-16

Complications Wounds; Negative Pressure Wound Therapy; Wound Healing Delayed; Incisional; Panniculectomy; Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy; Incisional Vac; Wound Vac; Obese; Renal Failure; Kidney Transplant; Complications; Wound Healing Complication

Delayed pneumothorax after stab wound to thorax and upper abdomen: Truth or myth?

Science.gov (United States)

Zehtabchi, Shahriar; Morley, Eric J; Sajed, Dana; Greenberg, Oded; Sinert, Richard

2009-01-01

Stab wounds to the thorax and upper abdomen have the potential to cause pneumothorax (PTX). When a CXR (CXR) obtained during initial resuscitation is negative, a second CXR (CXR-2) is commonly performed with the goal of identifying delayed PTX. To assess the diagnostic yield of the CXR-2 in identifying delayed PTX. Prospective observational study of patients (age >or=13 years) with stab wounds to the thorax (chest/back) and upper abdomen with suspected PTX, in a level 1 trauma centre. Patients were included if they had a negative initial CXR followed by a repeat CXR 3-6h after the initial one. patients who died, were transferred out of the ED, or received chest tubes before the second CXR. The outcome of interest was delayed PTX. All CXR were read by an attending radiologist. To test the inter-observer agreement, another blinded radiologist reviewed 20% of CXR. Continuous data is presented as mean+/-standard deviation and categorical data as percentages with 95% confidence interval (CI). Kappa statistics were used to measure the inter-observer agreement between radiologists. Between January 2003 and December 2006 a total of 185 patients qualified for the enrollment (mean age: 28+/-10 years, age range: 13-65, 94% male). Only 2 patients (1.1%, 95% CI, 0.4- 4.1%) had PTX on the CXR-2. Both patients received chest tubes. The inter-observer agreement for radiology reports was high (kappa: 0.79). Occurrence of delayed PTX in patients with stab wounds to the thorax and upper abdomen and negative triage CXR is rare.

Logic delays of 5-μm resistor coupled Josephson logic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sone, J.; Yoshida, T.; Tahara, S.; Abe, H.

1982-01-01

Logic delays of resistor coupled Josephson logic (RCJL) have been investigated. An experimental circuit with a cascade chain of ten RCJL OR gates was fabricated using Pb-alloy Josephson IC technology with 5-μm minimum linewidth. Logic delay was measured to be as low as 10.8 ps with power dissipation of 11.7 μW. This demonstrates a switching operation faster than those reported for other Josephson gate designs. Comparison with computer-simulation results is also presented

Optimal Joint Expected Delay Forwarding in Delay Tolerant Networks

OpenAIRE

Jia Xu; Xin Feng; Wen Jun Yang; Ru Chuan Wang; Bing Qing Han

2013-01-01

Multicopy forwarding schemes have been employed in delay tolerant network (DTN) to improve the delivery delay and delivery rate. Much effort has been focused on reducing the routing cost while retaining high performance. This paper aims to provide an optimal joint expected delay forwarding (OJEDF) protocol which minimizes the expected delay while satisfying a certain constant on the number of forwardings per message. We propose a comprehensive forwarding metric called joint expected delay (JE...

Flat-roof phenomenon of dynamic equilibrium phase in the negative bias temperature instability effect on a power MOSFET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yue; Zhuo Qing-Qing; Liu Hong-Xia; Ma Xiao-Hua; Hao Yue

2014-01-01

The effect of the static negative bias temperature (NBT) stress on a p-channel power metal—oxide—semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is investigated by experiment and simulation. The time evolution of the negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) degradation has the trend predicted by the reaction—diffusion (R—D) model but with an exaggerated time scale. The phenomena of the flat-roof section are observed under various stress conditions, which can be considered as the dynamic equilibrium phase in the R—D process. Based on the simulated results, the variation of the flat-roof section with the stress condition can be explained. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Local, zero-power void coefficient measurements in the ACPR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rivard, J B; Thome, F V [Sandia Laboratories (United States)

1974-07-01

Changes in reactivity may be stimulated in the ACPR by the local introduction of voids into the reactor coolant. The local void coefficients of reactivity which describe this effect are of interest from a reactor safety point-of-view, and their determination is the subject of this presentation. Bottled nitrogen gas was used to produce the voids. The gas was forced out of a small diameter tube which was positioned vertically in the core lattice with its open end below the fuel. The gas was passed through a pressure regulator, a valve, and a flowmeter to establish a steady flow condition, following which a delayed-critical (zero-power) reactor state was established. Correlation of the average volume of core void created by the nitrogen flow with the reactivity worth of the delayed-critical control-rod bank position produced the values of the zero-power void coefficients of reactivity. The void coefficients were determined at various core positions from {approx}6 mm to 142 mm beyond the central irradiation space and for three different flow rates. For the range of void fractions investigated, these coefficients are negative, with values ranging between -$0.02 and -$0.12. Tabular and graphical results of the measurements are presented, and details of the coefficient determination are explained. (author)

Local, zero-power void coefficient measurements in the ACPR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivard, J.B.; Thome, F.V.

1974-01-01

Changes in reactivity may be stimulated in the ACPR by the local introduction of voids into the reactor coolant. The local void coefficients of reactivity which describe this effect are of interest from a reactor safety point-of-view, and their determination is the subject of this presentation. Bottled nitrogen gas was used to produce the voids. The gas was forced out of a small diameter tube which was positioned vertically in the core lattice with its open end below the fuel. The gas was passed through a pressure regulator, a valve, and a flowmeter to establish a steady flow condition, following which a delayed-critical (zero-power) reactor state was established. Correlation of the average volume of core void created by the nitrogen flow with the reactivity worth of the delayed-critical control-rod bank position produced the values of the zero-power void coefficients of reactivity. The void coefficients were determined at various core positions from ∼6 mm to 142 mm beyond the central irradiation space and for three different flow rates. For the range of void fractions investigated, these coefficients are negative, with values ranging between -$0.02 and -$0.12. Tabular and graphical results of the measurements are presented, and details of the coefficient determination are explained. (author)

The Coordination of calculation and experimental procedures in the determination of high-negative reactivities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinegin, A.A.; Tsyganov, S.V.

1999-01-01

Usually three sources of information about the value of inserted negative reactivity (ρ) are used: dynamical experiment with reactimeters, solution of conventionally critical problems, and dynamical calculation of the process of reactivity insertion with the reactimer model. Each of them gives they own estimation of ρ. The discrepancy between these estimation could be significant, particularly noticeable in dissymmetric insertion of perturbation. The paper discusses origin of problems of estimation high negative reactivity with reactivity meter. Authors believe that correct method of high negative reactivity estimation have to include three dimensional dynamic core model for taking to account spatial effect. Moreover, some special process, such a removal of delayed neutron emitters, change in the fraction of delayed neutrons, inner source etc. (Authors)

The coordination of calculation and experimental procedures in the determination of high-negative reactivities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinegin, A.A.; Tsyganov, S.V.

1999-01-01

Usually three sources of information about the value of inserted negative reactivity (ρ) are used: dynamical experiment with reactimeters, solution of conventionally critical problems, and dynamical calculation of the process of reactivity insertion with the reactimeter model. Each of them gives they own estimation of ρ. The discrepancy between these estimations could be significant, particularly noticeable in dissymmetric insertion of perturbation. Origin of problems of estimation high negative reactivity is discussed using the reactivity meter. A correct method of high negative reactivity estimation have to include three dimensional dinamic core model for taking to account spatial effect. Moreover, some special processes, such as removal of delayed neutron emitters, change in the fraction of delayed neutrons, inner sources are considered etc. (author)

Controllability and stability of primary frequency control from thermostatic loads with delays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ziras, Charalampos; Vrettos, Evangelos; You, Shi

2017-01-01

There is an increasing interest in exploiting the flexibility of loads to provide ancillary services to the grid. In this paper we study how response delays and lockout constraints affect the controllability of an aggregation of refrigerators offering primary frequency control (PFC). First we...... examine the effect of delays in PFC provision from an aggregation of refrigerators, using a two-area power system. We propose a framework to systematically address frequency measurement and response delays and we determine safe values for the total delays via simulations. We introduce a controllability...... index to evaluate PFC provision under lockout constraints of refrigerators compressors. We conduct extensive simulations to study the effects of measurement delay, ramping times, lockout durations and rotational inertia on the controllability of the aggregation and system stability. Finally, we discuss...

Perturbations of linear delay differential equations at the verge of instability.

Science.gov (United States)

Lingala, N; Namachchivaya, N Sri

2016-06-01

The characteristic equation for a linear delay differential equation (DDE) has countably infinite roots on the complex plane. This paper considers linear DDEs that are on the verge of instability, i.e., a pair of roots of the characteristic equation lies on the imaginary axis of the complex plane and all other roots have negative real parts. It is shown that when small noise perturbations are present, the probability distribution of the dynamics can be approximated by the probability distribution of a certain one-dimensional stochastic differential equation (SDE) without delay. This is advantageous because equations without delay are easier to simulate and one-dimensional SDEs are analytically tractable. When the perturbations are also linear, it is shown that the stability depends on a specific complex number. The theory is applied to study oscillators with delayed feedback. Some errors in other articles that use multiscale approach are pointed out.

On the Behavioral Side of Procrastination: Exploring Behavioral Delay in Real-Life Settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frode Svartdal

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper examines how procrastinators behave differently from non-procrastinators in implementing intended behavior. By focusing on time-related attributes of behavior, we demonstrate in five studies (aggregated N = 965 that onset delay seems to be a preferred option for procrastinators in common daily situations. Thus, when an action possibility is available for intended behavior, procrastinators tend to delay behavior onset, both in actual behavior and in onset preferences, often instigating chains of events with negative consequences. We discuss possible mechanisms responsible for such delays and explore how such mechanisms generate and sustain dilatory behavior. We conclude that a better understanding of why behavioral delays occur in early phases of action implementation is of importance in understanding and preventing procrastination.

On the Behavioral Side of Procrastination: Exploring Behavioral Delay in Real-Life Settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Svartdal, Frode; Granmo, Sjur; Færevaag, Fredrik S

2018-01-01

This paper examines how procrastinators behave differently from non-procrastinators in implementing intended behavior. By focusing on time-related attributes of behavior, we demonstrate in five studies (aggregated N = 965) that onset delay seems to be a preferred option for procrastinators in common daily situations. Thus, when an action possibility is available for intended behavior, procrastinators tend to delay behavior onset, both in actual behavior and in onset preferences, often instigating chains of events with negative consequences. We discuss possible mechanisms responsible for such delays and explore how such mechanisms generate and sustain dilatory behavior. We conclude that a better understanding of why behavioral delays occur in early phases of action implementation is of importance in understanding and preventing procrastination.

Delayed Diagnoses: Nonspecific Findings and Diagnostic Challenges in Eating Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Schwarz

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Eating disorders commonly present with nonspecific findings, masquerading as other, more common etiologies of malnutrition and wasting. In low-prevalence populations, these ambiguities can complicate clinicians’ diagnostic reasoning, resulting in delayed or missed diagnoses. Method. We report the atypical case of a 51-year-old male with a five-year history of unexplained weight loss despite extensive past medical evaluation. Previous documentation of profound lymphopenia and bone marrow atrophy had not been linked to a known association with eating disorders. Results. Evaluation for medical etiologies of wasting was negative. Following psychiatric evaluation, the patient was diagnosed with an eating disorder, not otherwise specified, and admitted to a specialized nutritional rehabilitation program. Conclusion. The nonspecific clinical history, physical exam, and laboratory abnormalities of eating disorders can make these diagnoses challenging and delay appropriate treatment. Clinicians should consider eating disorders in patients with malnutrition, severe lymphopenias, and gelatinous marrow transformation early in their workup, so as to avoid potentially negative outcomes.

The economic effect and outcome of delaying oral food challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Couch, Christopher; Franxman, Tim; Greenhawt, Matthew

2016-05-01

Food specific IgE (sIgE) is a useful marker to assess predictability of oral food challenge (OFC) outcome. A threshold of less than 2 kUA/L for peanut, egg, and milk has been proposed as a 50% negative predictive value at which patients may pass an OFC. To assess the economic effect and outcome of delaying OFCs. A retrospective analysis was performed for peanut, egg, and milk OFCs conducted between 2001 and 2012 at a tertiary food allergy referral center. Delayed OFC was defined as greater than 12 months from the time the sIgE level became less than 2 kUA/L. Time to OFC was explored in association with skin prick test result (wheal size), OFC outcome, and the economic effect of delay. Of 319 challenges, 173 OFCs were delayed (54.2%) by a mean time of 35.5 months (range, 13-123 months) vs a mean time of 4.2 months in the 146 challenges that were not delayed (P care system. Copyright © 2016 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

System of delay difference equations with continuous time with lag function between two known functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hajnalka Péics

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The asymptotic behavior of solutions of the system of difference equations with continuous time and lag function between two known real functions is studied. The cases when the lag function is between two linear delay functions, between two power delay functions and between two constant delay functions are observed and illustrated by examples. The asymptotic estimates of solutions of the considered system are obtained.

Negative and positive pretrial publicity affect juror memory and decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruva, Christine L; McEvoy, Cathy

2008-09-01

The experiment examined the effects of exposure to pretrial publicity (PTP) and delay on juror memory and decision-making. Mock jurors read news articles containing negative PTP, positive PTP, or unrelated articles. Five days later, they viewed a videotaped murder trial, after which they made decisions about guilt. Finally, all participants independently attributed specific information as having been presented during the trial or in the news articles. Half of the jurors rendered their verdicts and completed the source-memory test immediately after the trial, while the other half did so after a 2-day delay. Exposure to PTP significantly affected guilty verdicts, perceptions of defendant credibility, juror ratings of the prosecuting and defense attorneys, and misattributions of PTP as having been presented as trial evidence. Similar effects were obtained for negative and positive PTP. Delay significantly increased source-memory errors but did not influence guilt ratings. Defendant's credibility and juror ratings of prosecuting and defense attorneys significantly mediated the effect of PTP on guilt ratings. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Imprecise Arithmetic for Low Power Image Processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albicocco, Pietro; Cardarilli, Gian Carlo; Nannarelli, Alberto

2012-01-01

Sometimes reducing the precision of a numerical processor, by introducing errors, can lead to significant performance (delay, area and power dissipation) improvements without compromising the overall quality of the processing. In this work, we show how to perform the two basic operations, additio...... and multiplication, in an imprecise manner by simplifying the hardware implementation. With the proposed ”sloppy” operations, we obtain a reduction in delay, area and power dissipation, and the error introduced is still acceptable for applications such as image processing.......Sometimes reducing the precision of a numerical processor, by introducing errors, can lead to significant performance (delay, area and power dissipation) improvements without compromising the overall quality of the processing. In this work, we show how to perform the two basic operations, addition...

Emotionally negative pictures enhance gist memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Bookbinder, S H; Brainerd, C J

2017-02-01

In prior work on how true and false memory are influenced by emotion, valence and arousal have often been conflated. Thus, it is difficult to say which specific effects are caused by valence and which are caused by arousal. In the present research, we used a picture-memory paradigm that allowed emotional valence to be manipulated with arousal held constant. Negatively valenced pictures elevated both true and false memory, relative to positive and neutral pictures. Conjoint recognition modeling revealed that negative valence (a) reduced erroneous suppression of true memories and (b) increased the familiarity of the semantic content of both true and false memories. Overall, negative valence impaired the verbatim side of episodic memory but enhanced the gist side, and these effects persisted even after a week-long delay. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

An In-Pile Kinetic Method for Determining the Delayed Neutron Fraction βeff

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilad, E.; Rivin, O.; Ettedgui, H.; Yaar, I.; Geslot, B.; Pepino, A.; Di Salvo, J.; Gruel, A.; Blaise, P.

2014-01-01

Delayed neutrons are of fundamental importance in the field of nuclear reactor dynamics and control. Although only a small fraction of the neutrons emitted by fission are not prompt, the knowledge of the delayed neutrons parameters is essential for transient analysis, such as startup or shutdown of the reactor, as well as for accidents analysis and control system design [1]. One of the main delayed neutron parameters used in the point reactor model equations is the effective delayed neutron fraction, which incorporates both delayed neutron spectral properties and core geometrical configuration [1,2]. Additional delayed neutron parameters include the fraction of fission neutrons emitted in each delayed group, and the delayed neutron precursors decay constants . Experimental efforts aimed at determining the value ofβ, which provide experimental support for the evaluation of delayed neutron parameters, are extremely valuable. This is due to the fact that unlike other fields in reactor physics, e.g. criticality safety or shielding, the availability of experimental data and benchmark problems for validating delayed neutron parameters and its implementation in different models is highly limited. Furthermore, the existing experimental data exhibit significant discrepancies between the different sets of parameter, which lead to substantial disparity in the analysis of kinetic experiments and reactor dynamic behavior]. In this work, a method for determining the effective delayed neutron fraction using in-pile reactivity oscillation and Fourier analysis is presented. The method is based on measurements of the reactor's power response to small periodic in-pile reactivity perturbations and utilizes Fourier analysis for reconstruction of the reactor zero power transfer function. Knowledge of the reactor transfer function enables the estimation of theβ value using multi-parameter nonlinear fit. The method accounts for higher harmonics, which are excited by the trapezoidal

Nine-channel mid-power bipolar pulse generator based on a field programmable gate array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haylock, Ben, E-mail: benjamin.haylock2@griffithuni.edu.au; Lenzini, Francesco; Kasture, Sachin; Fisher, Paul; Lobino, Mirko [Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University, Brisbane (Australia); Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane (Australia); Streed, Erik W. [Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University, Brisbane (Australia); Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast (Australia)

2016-05-15

Many channel arbitrary pulse sequence generation is required for the electro-optic reconfiguration of optical waveguide networks in Lithium Niobate. Here we describe a scalable solution to the requirement for mid-power bipolar parallel outputs, based on pulse patterns generated by an externally clocked field programmable gate array. Positive and negative pulses can be generated at repetition rates up to 80 MHz with pulse width adjustable in increments of 1.6 ns across nine independent outputs. Each channel can provide 1.5 W of RF power and can be synchronised with the operation of other components in an optical network such as light sources and detectors through an external clock with adjustable delay.

The ramifications of a delay in the national high-level waste repository program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vance, S.A.

1988-05-01

This thesis examines the ramifications to the nuclear power industry if a national high-level waste repository is not operational by 1998 as mandated in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The principal effect of a delay examined here is the potential shortage of spent fuel storage. In order to assess this impact, a computer model of a nuclear utility was developed. Data for 107 US reactors was then entered into the model to assess the impact for individual facilities. This model estimates that a delay to the year 2003 will cost industry between $21.4 million and $35.8 million in 1988 dollars. Similarly, a delay to the year 2010 is estimated to have between a $85.4 million and $142.4 million impact. Four other potential effects of a delay on industry are also examined: the potential inadequacy of the Nuclear Waste Fund; an increased difficulty in obtaining licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; increased friction between industry and the Department of Energy; and a decline in public acceptance of nuclear power. This thesis also presents a framework for developing a policy to deal with the potential effects of a delay. An argument is made for a policy which includes anticipation, participation, and education. 15 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs

Modelling biochemical networks with intrinsic time delays: a hybrid semi-parametric approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliveira Rui

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper presents a method for modelling dynamical biochemical networks with intrinsic time delays. Since the fundamental mechanisms leading to such delays are many times unknown, non conventional modelling approaches become necessary. Herein, a hybrid semi-parametric identification methodology is proposed in which discrete time series are incorporated into fundamental material balance models. This integration results in hybrid delay differential equations which can be applied to identify unknown cellular dynamics. Results The proposed hybrid modelling methodology was evaluated using two case studies. The first of these deals with dynamic modelling of transcriptional factor A in mammalian cells. The protein transport from the cytosol to the nucleus introduced a delay that was accounted for by discrete time series formulation. The second case study focused on a simple network with distributed time delays that demonstrated that the discrete time delay formalism has broad applicability to both discrete and distributed delay problems. Conclusions Significantly better prediction qualities of the novel hybrid model were obtained when compared to dynamical structures without time delays, being the more distinctive the more significant the underlying system delay is. The identification of the system delays by studies of different discrete modelling delays was enabled by the proposed structure. Further, it was shown that the hybrid discrete delay methodology is not limited to discrete delay systems. The proposed method is a powerful tool to identify time delays in ill-defined biochemical networks.

Self powered neutron detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passe, J.; Petitcolas, H.; Verdant, R.

1975-01-01

The self-powered neutron detectors (SPND) enable to measure continuously high fluxes of thermal neutrons. They are particularly suitable for power reactor cores because of their robustness. Description of two kinds of SPND's characterized by the electrical current production way is given here: the first SPND's which present a V, Ag or Rh emitter are sensitive enough but they offer a few minute delay time: the second SPND's which are depending on the gamma activation have a short delay time. The emitter is made of Co or Pt. In any case, the signal is linear with reaction rates. Finally, the applications are briefly repeated here: irradiation facility monitor in research reactors, and flux map and space instability control in power reactors [fr

Stability and delay sensitivity of neutral fractional-delay systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qi; Shi, Min; Wang, Zaihua

2016-08-01

This paper generalizes the stability test method via integral estimation for integer-order neutral time-delay systems to neutral fractional-delay systems. The key step in stability test is the calculation of the number of unstable characteristic roots that is described by a definite integral over an interval from zero to a sufficient large upper limit. Algorithms for correctly estimating the upper limits of the integral are given in two concise ways, parameter dependent or independent. A special feature of the proposed method is that it judges the stability of fractional-delay systems simply by using rough integral estimation. Meanwhile, the paper shows that for some neutral fractional-delay systems, the stability is extremely sensitive to the change of time delays. Examples are given for demonstrating the proposed method as well as the delay sensitivity.

Three-dimensional Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation of a two-bladed vertical axis wind turbine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, Hang; Zhou, Dai; Bao, Yan; Li, Ye; Han, Zhaolong

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation and polyhedral mesh are utilized. • Power coefficient and wake velocity are compared between experiments and simulations. • Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation shows more vortices under dynamic stall. • Different scales of flow separations are distinguished by these two models. - Abstract: The aerodynamic performance of a two-bladed vertical axis wind turbine is investigated using the turbulence model of the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation and the polyhedral mesh. The sliding mesh technique is used to simulate the rotation of the rotor. Meanwhile, the results obtained by the shear stress transport k-ω model are presented as contrast. Then, the simulated power coefficients at different tip speed ratios and the wake velocity are validated by comparison with the experimental data from available literature. It is shown that the power coefficients and wake velocity predicted by the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation are closer to the experimental data than those by the shear stress transport k-ω model. The pressure distributions predicted by the two turbulence models show different degrees of discrepancies in different scales of flow separation. By comparing the vorticity magnitude graphs, the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation is found to be able to capture more exquisite vortices after the flow separations. Limited by its inherent ability, the shear stress transport k-ω model predicts vortices that are less realistic than those of Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation. Hence, it may cause some errors in predicting the pressure distributions, especially when the blades suffer dynamic stall. It is demonstrated that the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation is regarded as a reliable model to analyze the aerodynamic performance of vertical axis wine turbines.

Wigner time-delay distribution in chaotic cavities and freezing transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Texier, Christophe; Majumdar, Satya N

2013-06-21

Using the joint distribution for proper time delays of a chaotic cavity derived by Brouwer, Frahm, and Beenakker [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4737 (1997)], we obtain, in the limit of the large number of channels N, the large deviation function for the distribution of the Wigner time delay (the sum of proper times) by a Coulomb gas method. We show that the existence of a power law tail originates from narrow resonance contributions, related to a (second order) freezing transition in the Coulomb gas.

The Strong Lensing Time Delay Challenge (2014)

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Kai; Dobler, G.; Fassnacht, C. D.; Treu, T.; Marshall, P. J.; Rumbaugh, N.; Linder, E.; Hojjati, A.

2014-01-01

Time delays between multiple images in strong lensing systems are a powerful probe of cosmology. At the moment the application of this technique is limited by the number of lensed quasars with measured time delays. However, the number of such systems is expected to increase dramatically in the next few years. Hundred such systems are expected within this decade, while the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is expected to deliver of order 1000 time delays in the 2020 decade. In order to exploit this bounty of lenses we needed to make sure the time delay determination algorithms have sufficiently high precision and accuracy. As a first step to test current algorithms and identify potential areas for improvement we have started a "Time Delay Challenge" (TDC). An "evil" team has created realistic simulated light curves, to be analyzed blindly by "good" teams. The challenge is open to all interested parties. The initial challenge consists of two steps (TDC0 and TDC1). TDC0 consists of a small number of datasets to be used as a training template. The non-mandatory deadline is December 1 2013. The "good" teams that complete TDC0 will be given access to TDC1. TDC1 consists of thousands of lightcurves, a number sufficient to test precision and accuracy at the subpercent level, necessary for time-delay cosmography. The deadline for responding to TDC1 is July 1 2014. Submissions will be analyzed and compared in terms of predefined metrics to establish the goodness-of-fit, efficiency, precision and accuracy of current algorithms. This poster describes the challenge in detail and gives instructions for participation.

Dryout delay in loss-of-coolant incidents in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belda, W.

1975-01-01

The maximum credible accident (MCA) as a result of a fault in the system is assumed to be the rupture of a pipe in the primary circuit. During the outflow process following the rupture - called blowdown - it is possible that the internals of a reactor pressure vessel are exposed to extreme mechanical and thermal stresses. The fuel rods in the core, the Zircaloy cladding tubes of which can be heated up by lack of coolant to inadmissibly high temperatures, are particularly at risk. In case of the cladding tubes being damaged, radioactive substances are released. If they escape from the outer containment, this would lead to pressures on the immediate and more distant vicinity of the nuclear pover plant. In order to eliminate the factors of uncertainty when calculating the overall blowdown process in advance, it is necessary to have a relationship valid for the instationary circumstances to work out the burnout delay which is of decisive importance for the post-incident cooling phase of the reactor. The aim of this investigation, therefore, is to develop, with the aid of a suitable model, a method of calculating the burnout delay. (orig./TK) [de

An energy-efficient MAC protocol using dynamic queue management for delay-tolerant mobile sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jie; Li, Qiyue; Qu, Yugui; Zhao, Baohua

2011-01-01

Conventional MAC protocols for wireless sensor network perform poorly when faced with a delay-tolerant mobile network environment. Characterized by a highly dynamic and sparse topology, poor network connectivity as well as data delay-tolerance, delay-tolerant mobile sensor networks exacerbate the severe power constraints and memory limitations of nodes. This paper proposes an energy-efficient MAC protocol using dynamic queue management (EQ-MAC) for power saving and data queue management. Via data transfers initiated by the target sink and the use of a dynamic queue management strategy based on priority, EQ-MAC effectively avoids untargeted transfers, increases the chance of successful data transmission, and makes useful data reach the target terminal in a timely manner. Experimental results show that EQ-MAC has high energy efficiency in comparison with a conventional MAC protocol. It also achieves a 46% decrease in packet drop probability, 79% increase in system throughput, and 25% decrease in mean packet delay.

An Energy-Efficient MAC Protocol Using Dynamic Queue Management for Delay-Tolerant Mobile Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yugui Qu

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Conventional MAC protocols for wireless sensor network perform poorly when faced with a delay-tolerant mobile network environment. Characterized by a highly dynamic and sparse topology, poor network connectivity as well as data delay-tolerance, delay-tolerant mobile sensor networks exacerbate the severe power constraints and memory limitations of nodes. This paper proposes an energy-efficient MAC protocol using dynamic queue management (EQ-MAC for power saving and data queue management. Via data transfers initiated by the target sink and the use of a dynamic queue management strategy based on priority, EQ-MAC effectively avoids untargeted transfers, increases the chance of successful data transmission, and makes useful data reach the target terminal in a timely manner. Experimental results show that EQ-MAC has high energy efficiency in comparison with a conventional MAC protocol. It also achieves a 46% decrease in packet drop probability, 79% increase in system throughput, and 25% decrease in mean packet delay.

Vaccination Confidence and Parental Refusal/Delay of Early Childhood Vaccines.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa B Gilkey

Full Text Available To support efforts to address parental hesitancy towards early childhood vaccination, we sought to validate the Vaccination Confidence Scale using data from a large, population-based sample of U.S. parents.We used weighted data from 9,354 parents who completed the 2011 National Immunization Survey. Parents reported on the immunization history of a 19- to 35-month-old child in their households. Healthcare providers then verified children's vaccination status for vaccines including measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR, varicella, and seasonal flu. We used separate multivariable logistic regression models to assess associations between parents' mean scores on the 8-item Vaccination Confidence Scale and vaccine refusal, vaccine delay, and vaccination status.A substantial minority of parents reported a history of vaccine refusal (15% or delay (27%. Vaccination confidence was negatively associated with refusal of any vaccine (odds ratio [OR] = 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54-0.63 as well as refusal of MMR, varicella, and flu vaccines specifically. Negative associations between vaccination confidence and measures of vaccine delay were more moderate, including delay of any vaccine (OR = 0.81, 95% CI, 0.76-0.86. Vaccination confidence was positively associated with having received vaccines, including MMR (OR = 1.53, 95% CI, 1.40-1.68, varicella (OR = 1.54, 95% CI, 1.42-1.66, and flu vaccines (OR = 1.32, 95% CI, 1.23-1.42.Vaccination confidence was consistently associated with early childhood vaccination behavior across multiple vaccine types. Our findings support expanding the application of the Vaccination Confidence Scale to measure vaccination beliefs among parents of young children.

Schedule Matters: Understanding the Relationship between Schedule Delays and Costs on Overruns

Science.gov (United States)

Majerowicz, Walt; Shinn, Stephen A.

2016-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between schedule delays and cost overruns on complex projects. It is generally accepted by many project practitioners that cost overruns are directly related to schedule delays. But what does "directly related to" actually mean? Some reasons or root causes for schedule delays and associated cost overruns are obvious, if only in hindsight. For example, unrealistic estimates, supply chain difficulties, insufficient schedule margin, technical problems, scope changes, or the occurrence of risk events can negatively impact schedule performance. Other factors driving schedule delays and cost overruns may be less obvious and more difficult to quantify. Examples of these less obvious factors include project complexity, flawed estimating assumptions, over-optimism, political factors, "black swan" events, or even poor leadership and communication. Indeed, is it even possible the schedule itself could be a source of delay and subsequent cost overrun? Through literature review, surveys of project practitioners, and the authors' own experience on NASA programs and projects, the authors will categorize and examine the various factors affecting the relationship between project schedule delays and cost growth. The authors will also propose some ideas for organizations to consider to help create an awareness of the factors which could cause or influence schedule delays and associated cost growth on complex projects.

Effects of time delay on stochastic resonance of the stock prices in financial system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Jiang-Cheng [Department of Physics, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091 (China); Li, Chun [Department of Computer Science, Puer Teachers' College, Puer 665000 (China); Mei, Dong-Cheng, E-mail: meidch@ynu.edu.cn [Department of Physics, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091 (China)

2014-06-13

The effect of time delay on stochastic resonance of the stock prices in finance system was investigated. The time delay is introduced into the Heston model driven by the extrinsic and intrinsic periodic information for stock price. The signal power amplification (SPA) was calculated by numerical simulation. The results indicate that an optimal critical value of delay time maximally enhances the reverse-resonance in the behaviors of SPA as a function of long-run variance of volatility or cross correlation coefficient between noises for both cases of intrinsic and extrinsic periodic information. Moreover, in both cases, being a critical value in the delay time, when the delay time takes value below the critical value, reverse-resonance increases with the delay time increasing, however, when the delay time takes value above the critical value, the reverse-resonance decrease with the delay time increasing. - Highlights: • The effects of delay time on stochastic resonance of the stock prices was investigated. • There is an optimal critical value of delay time maximally enhances the reverse-resonance • The reverse-resonance increases with the delay time increasing as the delay time takes value below the critical value • The reverse-resonance decrease with the delay time increasing as the delay time takes value above the critical value.

Effects of time delay on stochastic resonance of the stock prices in financial system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jiang-Cheng; Li, Chun; Mei, Dong-Cheng

2014-01-01

The effect of time delay on stochastic resonance of the stock prices in finance system was investigated. The time delay is introduced into the Heston model driven by the extrinsic and intrinsic periodic information for stock price. The signal power amplification (SPA) was calculated by numerical simulation. The results indicate that an optimal critical value of delay time maximally enhances the reverse-resonance in the behaviors of SPA as a function of long-run variance of volatility or cross correlation coefficient between noises for both cases of intrinsic and extrinsic periodic information. Moreover, in both cases, being a critical value in the delay time, when the delay time takes value below the critical value, reverse-resonance increases with the delay time increasing, however, when the delay time takes value above the critical value, the reverse-resonance decrease with the delay time increasing. - Highlights: • The effects of delay time on stochastic resonance of the stock prices was investigated. • There is an optimal critical value of delay time maximally enhances the reverse-resonance • The reverse-resonance increases with the delay time increasing as the delay time takes value below the critical value • The reverse-resonance decrease with the delay time increasing as the delay time takes value above the critical value

Measurement of reactor parameters of the 'Nora' reactor by noise analysis method - power spectral density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jovanovic, S.; Stormark, E.

1966-01-01

Measurements of reactor parameters the Nora reactor by Power Spectral Density (PSD) method are described. In case of critical reactor this method was applied for direct measurement of β/l ratio, β is the effective yield of delayed neutrons and l is the neutron lifetime. In case of subcritical reactor values of α+β-ρ/l were measured, ρ is the negative reactivity. Out coming PSD was measured by a filter or by ISAC. PSD was registered by ISAC as well as the auto-correlation function [sr

Extended reactivity trace curves for nuclear power control with no power shooting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratemi, W M; Elbuni, M S [Faculty of engineering, Al Fateh universty Tripoli (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)

1995-10-01

This paper introduces a new concept of reactivity trace curve (RTC) for nuclear power control with no power shooting. The concept is based on recent work of bernard et al. on the dynamic period of nuclear reactors. RTC-method is simulated for both a static effective decay constant corresponding to a one-group delayed neutrons model, and a dynamic effective decay constant corresponding to a six-group delayed neutrons model. A fitting to the RTC of a six-group reactor model resulted in a closed from formula for the RTC that couples the effect of both static and dynamic decay constants. Hence, introducing two `fingerprints` for the reactor in concern to identify a closed from RTC formula capable of controlling the reactor power. Integration of the RTC with control rod integral curves results in the {rho}-z-t diagram. This diagram relates the amount of recommended reactivity (RTC), the position of control rod, and the time required for power control. 8 figs.

Extended reactivity trace curves for nuclear power control with no power shooting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ratemi, W. M.; Elbuni, M. S.

1995-01-01

This paper introduces a new concept of reactivity trace curve (RTC) for nuclear power control with no power shooting. The concept is based on recent work of bernard et al. on the dynamic period of nuclear reactors. RTC-method is simulated for both a static effective decay constant corresponding to a one-group delayed neutrons model, and a dynamic effective decay constant corresponding to a six-group delayed neutrons model. A fitting to the RTC of a six-group reactor model resulted in a closed from formula for the RTC that couples the effect of both static and dynamic decay constants. Hence, introducing two 'fingerprints' for the reactor in concern to identify a closed from RTC formula capable of controlling the reactor power. Integration of the RTC with control rod integral curves results in the ρ-z-t diagram. This diagram relates the amount of recommended reactivity (RTC), the position of control rod, and the time required for power control. 8 figs

Examining the psychosocial determinants of women's decisions to delay childbearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kearney, Allison L; White, Katherine M

2016-08-01

What are the psychosocial determinants of women's intentions to delay childbearing until after 35 years? Attitudes, pressure from important others, perceived self-confidence and anticipated regret all influence the decision-making process of women aged 18-30 years to defer their attempts to conceive their first child until 35+ years. Research has consistently demonstrated that, for many women, the decision to delay childbearing can lead to 'unintentional childlessness' due to a failure to consider the impact of age-related fertility decline. A large body of literature has also found strong links between age-related involuntary infertility and negative psychological impacts, including an increased prevalence of anxiety, depression, guilt, stigma and poor mental health. The study initially conducted focus groups designed to ascertain important beliefs informing participants' intentions to delay childbearing. A subsequent larger-scale quantitative questionnaire followed. Participants (n = 358) were female, aged between 18 and 30 years, lived in Australia, identified as being open to the idea of having children, were heterosexual, had not already had children, were not already pregnant, and had not received a diagnosis of medical infertility prior to participating. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed strong support for psychosocial predictors of attitude, pressure from others and perceived self-confidence as predictors of women's intentions to delay childbearing, accounting for 59% of total variance. The extended model that included anticipated regret, accounted for a significant additional 4.4% variance in intention to delay childbearing past the age of 35 years. Proportionally more participants were younger, Caucasian, and were university students, thus limiting the generalizability of results to the wider Australian community. Future research in this domain is recommended to adopt a prospective design and incorporate a measure of behaviour to

Global attractivity of positive periodic solution to periodic Lotka-Volterra competition systems with pure delay

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Xianhua; Cao, Daomin; Zou, Xingfu

We consider a periodic Lotka-Volterra competition system without instantaneous negative feedbacks (i.e., pure-delay systems) x(t)=x(t)[r(t)-∑j=1na(t)x(t-τ(t))], i=1,2,…,n. We establish some 3/2-type criteria for global attractivity of a positive periodic solution of the system, which generalize the well-known Wright's 3/2 criteria for the autonomous delay logistic equation, and thereby, address the open problem proposed by both Kuang [Y. Kuang, Global stability in delayed nonautonomous Lotka-Volterra type systems without saturated equilibria, Differential Integral Equations 9 (1996) 557-567] and Teng [Z. Teng, Nonautonomous Lotka-Volterra systems with delays, J. Differential Equations 179 (2002) 538-561].

Development and validation of a parent-report measure for detection of cognitive delay in infancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schafer, Graham; Genesoni, Lucia; Boden, Greg; Doll, Helen; Jones, Rosamond A K; Gray, Ron; Adams, Eleri; Jefferson, Ros

2014-12-01

To develop a brief, parent-completed instrument (ERIC - Early Report by Infant Caregivers) for detection of cognitive delay in 10- to 24-month-olds born preterm, or of low birthweight, or with perinatal complications, and to establish ERIC's diagnostic properties. Scores for ERIC were collected from the parents of 317 children meeting ≥inclusion criterion (birthweight Toddler Development-III cognitive scale. Items were retained according to their individual associations with delay. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were estimated and a truncated ERIC was developed for use in children cognitive delay in 10- to 24-month-old preterm infants and as a screen for cognitive delay. © 2014 Mac Keith Press.

Delayed intracerebral hemorrhage as demonstrated by CT scanning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunetti, J.; Zingesser, L.; Dunn, J.; Rovit, R.L.; Saint Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center, New York

1979-01-01

Three patients are presented who developed delayed intracerebral hematomas after head injury. Two patients had essentially negative CT scans on admission and developed intracerebral hematomas within 24 h after injury. They required surgical treatment and had fatal outcomes. The third patient presented with an epidural hematoma on CT scan, developed an intracerebral hematoma 48 h after evacuation of the epidural hematoma, and did well with conservative management. (orig.) [de

The implication of sensitivity analysis on the safety and delayed-neutron parameters for fast breeder reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onega, R.J.; Florian, R.J.

1983-01-01

The delayed-neutron energy spectra for LMFBRs are not as well known as those for LWRs. These spectra are necessary for kinetics calculations which play an important role in safety and accident analyses. A sensitivity analysis was performed to study the response of the reactor power and power density to uncertainties in the delayed-neutron spectra during a rod-ejection accident. The accidents studied were central control-rod-ejections with ejection times of 2,10 and 30s. A two-energy group and two-precursor group model was formulated for the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation (INFCE) reference design MOX-fueled LMFBR. The sensitivity analysis is based on the use of adjoints so that it is not necessary to repeatedly solve the governing (kinetics) equations to obtain the sensitivity derivatives. This is of particular importance when large systems of equations are used. The power and power-density responses were found to be most sensitive to uncertainties in the spectrum of the second delayed-neutron precursor group, resulting from the fission of 238 U, producing neutrons in the first energy group. It was found, for example, that for a rod-ejection time of 30s, and uncertainty of 7.2% in the fast components of the spectra resulted in a 24% uncertainty in the predicted power and power density. These responses were recalculated by repeatedly solving the kinetics equations. The maximum discrepancy between the recalculated and the sensitivity analysis response was only 1.6%. The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate the need for improved delayed-neutron spectral data in order to reduce the uncertainties in accident analyses. (author)

Shock Tube Ignition Delay Data Affected by Localized Ignition Phenomena

KAUST Repository

Javed, Tamour

2016-12-29

Shock tubes have conventionally been used for measuring high-temperature ignition delay times ~ O(1 ms). In the last decade or so, the operating regime of shock tubes has been extended to lower temperatures by accessing longer observation times. Such measurements may potentially be affected by some non-ideal phenomena. The purpose of this work is to measure long ignition delay times for fuels exhibiting negative temperature coefficient (NTC) and to assess the impact of shock tube non-idealities on ignition delay data. Ignition delay times of n-heptane and n-hexane were measured over the temperature range of 650 – 1250 K and pressures near 1.5 atm. Driver gas tailoring and long length of shock tube driver section were utilized to measure ignition delay times as long as 32 ms. Measured ignition delay times agree with chemical kinetic models at high (> 1100 K) and low (< 700 K) temperatures. In the intermediate temperature range (700 – 1100 K), however, significant discrepancies are observed between the measurements and homogeneous ignition delay simulations. It is postulated, based on experimental observations, that localized ignition kernels could affect the ignition delay times at the intermediate temperatures, which lead to compression (and heating) of the bulk gas and result in expediting the overall ignition event. The postulate is validated through simple representative computational fluid dynamic simulations of post-shock gas mixtures which exhibit ignition advancement via a hot spot. The results of the current work show that ignition delay times measured by shock tubes may be affected by non-ideal phenomena for certain conditions of temperature, pressure and fuel reactivity. Care must, therefore, be exercised in using such data for chemical kinetic model development and validation.

Mothers' power assertion; children's negative, adversarial orientation; and future behavior problems in low-income families: early maternal responsiveness as a moderator of the developmental cascade.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sanghag; Kochanska, Grazyna

2015-02-01

Parental power assertion, a key dimension of family environment, generally sets in motion detrimental developmental cascades; however, evidence suggests that other qualities of parenting, such as responsiveness, can significantly moderate those processes. Mechanisms that account for such moderating effects are not fully understood. We propose a conceptual model of processes linking parental power assertion, parental responsiveness, children's negative, adversarial, rejecting orientation toward the parent, and behavior problems. We test that model in a short-term longitudinal design involving 186 low-income, ethnically diverse mothers and their toddlers. When children were 30 months, the dyads were observed in multiple, lengthy, naturalistic laboratory interactions to assess behaviorally mothers' responsiveness and their power-assertive control style. At 33 months, we observed behavioral indicators of children's negative, adversarial, rejecting orientation toward the mothers in several naturalistic and standardized paradigms. At 40 months, mothers rated children's behavior problems. The proposed moderated mediation sequence, tested using a new approach, PROCESS (Hayes, 2013), was supported. The indirect effect from maternal power assertion to children's negative, adversarial orientation to future behavior problems was present when mothers' responsiveness was either low or average but absent when mothers were highly responsive. This study elucidates a potential process that may link parental power assertion with behavior problems and highlights how positive aspects of parenting can moderate this process and defuse maladaptive developmental cascades. It also suggests possible targets for parenting intervention and prevention efforts. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Tracheobronchial foreign bodies in children: importance of accurate history and plain chest radiography in delayed presentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tokar, B. E-mail: btokar@ogu.edu.trbarantokar@hotmail.com; Ozkan, R.; Ilhan, H

2004-07-01

AIM: To evaluate the factors associated with delayed diagnosis of foreign body aspiration (FBA) in children and to compare clinical, radiological and bronchoscopic findings in the patients with suspected FBA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The medical records of 214 children who underwent bronchoscopy for suspected FBA were reviewed. The data were analysed in three groups: the patients with negative bronchoscopy for FBA (group I), early (group II) and delayed diagnosis (group III). RESULTS: The majority of the patients with FBA were between 1 and 3 years of age. Choking episodes, coughing and decreased breath sounds were determined in a significantly higher number of the patients with FBA. The plain chest radiography revealed radio-opaque foreign bodies (FBs) in 19.7% of all patients with FBA. Emphysema was more common in children with FBA. Clinical and radiological findings of pneumonia and atelectasis were significantly more common in the groups with negative bronchoscopy and with delayed diagnosis (p<0.01). The FBs were most frequently of vegetable origin, such as seeds and peanuts. A significant tissue reaction with inflammation was more common in the delayed cases. CONCLUSION: To prevent delayed diagnosis, characteristic symptoms, signs and radiological findings of FBA should be checked in all suspected cases. As clinical and radiological findings of FBA in delayed cases may mimic other disorders, the clinician must be aware of the likelihood of FBA. Regardless of radiological findings, bronchoscopy should be considered in patients with an appropriate history.

Torness delay is storing up trouble

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavenagh, Andrew.

1994-01-01

A recent decision by the Scottish Office to delay planning permission for the construction of a 50 million dry store for spent nuclear fuel at Torness Power Station is proving frustrating and inexplicable to many in the nuclear industry. The possible reasons for this apparent about face in government policy on spent fuel management are debated and the economic ramifications of the decision for British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), if the store were to go ahead, are outlined. (UK)

Delayed Neutron Fraction (beta-effective) Calculation for VVER 440 Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hascik, J.; Michalek, S.; Farkas, G.; Slugen, V.

2008-01-01

Effective delayed neutron fraction (β eff ) is the main parameter in reactor dynamics. In the paper, its possible determination methods are summarized and a β eff calculation for a VVER 440 power reactor as well as for training reactor VR1 using stochastic transport Monte Carlo method based code MCNP5 is made. The uncertainties in determination of basic delayed neutron parameters lead to the unwished conservatism in the reactor control system design and operation. Therefore, the exact determination of the β eff value is the main requirement in the field of reactor dynamics. The interest in the delayed neutron data accuracy improvement started to increase at the end of 80-ties and the beginning of 90-ties, after discrepancies among the results of experiments and measurements what do you mean differences between different calculation approaches and experimental results. In consequence of difficulties in β eff experimental measurement, this value in exact state is determined by calculations. Subsequently, its reliability depends on the calculation method and the delayed neutron data used. An accurate estimate of β eff is essential for converting reactivity, as measured in dollars, to an absolute reactivity and/or to an absolute k eff . In the past, k eff has been traditionally calculated by taking the ratio of the adjoint- and spectrum-weighted delayed neutron production rate to the adjoint- and spectrum-weighted total neutron production rate. An alternative method has also been used in which β eff is calculated from simple k-eigenvalue solutions. The summary of the possible β eff determination methods can be found in this work and also a calculation of β eff first for the training reactor VR1 in one operation state and then for VVER 440 power reactor in two different operation states are made using the prompt method, by MCNP5 code.(author)

Toxicity profile and treatment delays in NOPHO ALL2008-comparing adults and children with Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft, Nina; Birgens, Henrik; Abrahamsson, Jonas

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Cure rates improve when adolescents and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are treated according to pediatric protocols. Assumed risks of toxicities and associated delays in treatment have played a role in setting upper age limits. The aim of this study was to examine...... the toxicity profile and treatment delays in NOPHO ALL2008 comparing children and adults. METHODS: We collected information on 19 treatment-related toxicities, systematically captured at 3-month intervals throughout therapy, and time intervals between 12 consecutive treatment phases for 1076 patients aged 1......-45 yrs treated according to the Nordic/Baltic ALL2008 protocol. RESULTS: No adults died during induction. The duration of induction therapy and postinduction treatment phases did not differ between children and adults, except for patients 18-45 yrs being significantly delayed during two of nine high...

AD/HD and the Capture of Attention by Briefly Exposed Delay-Related Cues: Evidence from a Conditioning Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J. S.; De Houwer, Jan; De Ruiter, Karen; Ajzenstzen, Michal; Holland, Sarah

2004-01-01

Background: The selective attention of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) to briefly exposed delay-related cues was examined in two experiments using a dot-probe conditioning paradigm. Method: Colour cues were paired with negatively (i.e., imposition of delay) and positively valenced cues (i.e., escape from or avoidance…

Distinct neural systems underlying reduced emotional enhancement for positive and negative stimuli in early Alzheimer's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Mistridis, Panagiota; Taylor, Kirsten I; Kissler, Johanna M; Monsch, Andreas U; Kressig, Reto W; Kivisaari, Sasa L

2013-01-01

Emotional information is typically better remembered than neutral content, and previous studies suggest that this effect is subserved particularly by the amygdala together with its interactions with the hippocampus. However, it is not known whether amygdala damage affects emotional memory performance at immediate and delayed recall, and whether its involvement is modulated by stimulus valence. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent more distributed neocortical regions involved in e.g., autobiographical memory, also contribute to emotional processing. We investigated these questions in a group of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), which affects the amygdala, hippocampus and neocortical regions. Healthy controls (n = 14), patients with AD (n = 15) and its putative prodrome amnestic mild cognitive impairment (n = 11) completed a memory task consisting of immediate and delayed free recall of a list of positive, negative and neutral words. Memory performance was related to brain integrity in region of interest and whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses. In the brain-behavioral analyses, the left amygdala volume predicted the immediate recall of both positive and negative material, whereas at delay, left and right amygdala volumes were associated with performance with positive and negative words, respectively. Whole-brain analyses revealed additional associations between left angular gyrus integrity and the immediate recall of positive words as well as between the orbitofrontal cortex and the delayed recall of negative words. These results indicate that emotional memory impairments in AD may be underpinned by damage to regions implicated in emotional processing as well as frontoparietal regions, which may exert their influence via autobiographical memories and organizational strategies.

Surgical delay is a critical determinant of survival in perforated peptic ulcer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buck, Daniel; Vester-Andersen, M; Møller, M H

2013-01-01

Morbidity and mortality following perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) remain substantial. Surgical delay is a well established negative prognostic factor, but evidence derives from studies with a high risk of bias. The aim of the present nationwide cohort study was to evaluate the adjusted effect...

Neurodevelopmental delay in children exposed in utero to hyperemesis gravidarum.

Science.gov (United States)

Fejzo, Marlena S; Magtira, Aromalyn; Schoenberg, Frederic Paik; Macgibbon, Kimber; Mullin, Patrick M

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of emotional, behavioral, and learning disorders in children exposed in utero to hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) and to identify prognostic factors for these disorders. Neurodevelopmental outcomes of 312 children from 203 mothers with HG were compared to neurodevelopmental outcomes from 169 children from 89 unaffected mothers. Then the clinical profiles of patients with HG and a normal child outcome were compared to the clinical profiles of patients with HG and a child with neurodevelopmental delay to identify prognostic factors. Binary responses were analyzed using either a Chi-square or Fisher Exact test and continuous responses were analyzed using a t-test. Children exposed in utero to HG have a 3.28-fold increase in odds of a neurodevelopmental diagnosis including attention disorders, learning delay, sensory disorders, and speech and language delay (Pneurodevelopmental delay. We found no evidence for increased risk of 13 emotional, behavioral, and learning disorders, including autism, intellectual impairment, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, the study was not sufficiently powered to detect rare conditions. Medications, treatments, and preterm birth were not associated with an increased risk for neurodevelopmental delay. Women with HG are at a significantly increased risk of having a child with neurodevelopmental delay. Common antiemetic treatments were not linked to neurodevelopmental delay, but early symptoms may play a role. There is an urgent need to address whether aggressive treatment that includes vitamin and nutrient supplementation in women with early symptoms of severe nausea of pregnancy decreases the risk of neurodevelopmental delay. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Several key issues on implementing delay line based TDCs using FPGAs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jinyuan

2009-01-01

Several topics in FPGA delay line based TDCs are discussed in this document. First, FPGA specific issues such as considerations on the delay line choice in different FPGA families, Wave Union Launchers, 'bubble proof' encoding logic, etc. are examined. Next, common problems for both FPGA TDCs and ASIC TDCs such as schemes of coarse time counter implementation, bin-by-bin calibration and noise issues due to single ended signals are discussed. Several resource/power saving design approaches for various processing stages are described in the document.

On the choice of lens density profile in time delay cosmography

Science.gov (United States)

Sonnenfeld, Alessandro

2018-03-01

Time delay lensing is a mature and competitive cosmological probe. However, it is limited in accuracy by the well-known problem of the mass-sheet degeneracy: too rigid assumptions on the density profile of the lens can potentially bias the inference on cosmological parameters. I investigate the degeneracy between the choice of the lens density profile and the inference on the Hubble constant, focusing on double image systems. By expanding lensing observables in terms of the local derivatives of the lens potential around the Einstein radius, and assuming circular symmetry, I show that 3 degrees of freedom in the radial direction are necessary to achieve a few per cent accuracy in the time-delay distance. Additionally, while the time delay is strongly dependent on the second derivative of the potential, observables typically used to constrain lens models in time-delay studies, such as image position and radial magnification information, are mostly sensitive to the first and third derivatives, making it very challenging to accurately determine time-delay distances with lensing data alone. Tests on mock observations show that the assumption of a power-law density profile results in a 5 per cent average bias on H0, with a 6 per cent scatter. Using a more flexible model and adding unbiased velocity dispersion constraints allows me to obtain an inference with 1 per cent accuracy. A power-law model can still provide 3 per cent accuracy if velocity dispersion measurements are used to constrain its slope. Although this study is based on the assumption of axisymmetry, its main findings can be generalized to cases with moderate ellipticity.

Fuzzy delay model based fault simulator for crosstalk delay fault test ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In this paper, a fuzzy delay model based crosstalk delay fault simulator is proposed. As design trends move towards nanometer technologies, more number of new parameters affects the delay of the component. Fuzzy delay models are ideal for modelling the uncertainty found in the design and manufacturing steps.

Efficient Sample Delay Calculation for 2-D and 3-D Ultrasound Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Aya; Hager, Pascal A; Bartolini, Andrea; Angiolini, Federico; Arditi, Marcel; Thiran, Jean-Philippe; Benini, Luca; De Micheli, Giovanni

2017-08-01

Ultrasound imaging is a reference medical diagnostic technique, thanks to its blend of versatility, effectiveness, and moderate cost. The core computation of all ultrasound imaging methods is based on simple formulae, except for those required to calculate acoustic propagation delays with high precision and throughput. Unfortunately, advanced three-dimensional (3-D) systems require the calculation or storage of billions of such delay values per frame, which is a challenge. In 2-D systems, this requirement can be four orders of magnitude lower, but efficient computation is still crucial in view of low-power implementations that can be battery-operated, enabling usage in numerous additional scenarios. In this paper, we explore two smart designs of the delay generation function. To quantify their hardware cost, we implement them on FPGA and study their footprint and performance. We evaluate how these architectures scale to different ultrasound applications, from a low-power 2-D system to a next-generation 3-D machine. When using numerical approximations, we demonstrate the ability to generate delay values with sufficient throughput to support 10 000-channel 3-D imaging at up to 30 fps while using 63% of a Virtex 7 FPGA, requiring 24 MB of external memory accessed at about 32 GB/s bandwidth. Alternatively, with similar FPGA occupation, we show an exact calculation method that reaches 24 fps on 1225-channel 3-D imaging and does not require external memory at all. Both designs can be scaled to use a negligible amount of resources for 2-D imaging in low-power applications and for ultrafast 2-D imaging at hundreds of frames per second.

Negative ion beam extraction in ROBIN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bansal, Gourab; Gahlaut, Agrajit; Soni, Jignesh; Pandya, Kaushal; Parmar, Kanu G.; Pandey, Ravi; Vuppugalla, Mahesh; Prajapati, Bhavesh; Patel, Amee; Mistery, Hiren; Chakraborty, Arun; Bandyopadhyay, Mainak; Singh, Mahendrajit J.; Phukan, Arindam; Yadav, Ratnakar K.; Parmar, Deepak

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A RF based negative hydrogen ion beam test bed has been set up at IPR, India. ► Ion source has been successfully commissioned and three campaigns of plasma production have been carried out. ► Extraction system (35 kV) has been installed and commissioning has been initiated. Negative ion beam extraction is immediate milestone. -- Abstract: The RF based single driver −ve ion source experiment test bed ROBIN (Replica Of BATMAN like source in INDIA) has been set up at Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), India in a technical collaboration with IPP, Garching, Germany. A hydrogen plasma of density 5 × 10 12 cm −3 is expected in driver region of ROBIN by launching 100 kW RF power into the driver by 1 MHz RF generator. The cesiated source is expected to deliver a hydrogen negative ion beam of 10 A at 35 kV with a current density of 35 mA/cm 2 as observed in BATMAN. In first phase operation of the ROBIN ion source, a hydrogen plasma has been successfully generated (without extraction system) by coupling 80 kW RF input power through a matching network with high power factor (cos θ > 0.8) and different plasma parameters have been measured using Langmuir probes and emission spectroscopy. The plasma density of 2.5 × 10 11 cm −3 has been measured in the extraction region of ROBIN. For negative hydrogen ion beam extraction in second phase operation, extraction system has been assembled and installed with ion source on the vacuum vessel. The source shall be first operated in volume mode for negative ion beam extraction. The commissioning of the source with high voltage power supply has been initiated

RATES AND DELAY TIMES OF TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruiter, Ashley J.; Belczynski, Krzysztof; Fryer, Chris

2009-01-01

We analyze the evolution of binary stars to calculate synthetic rates and delay times of the most promising Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) progenitors. We present and discuss evolutionary scenarios in which a white dwarf (WD) reaches the Chandrasekhar mass and potentially explodes in a SNe Ia. We consider Double Degenerate (DDS; merger of two WDs), Single Degenerate (SDS; WD accreting from H-rich companion), and AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn; WD accreting from He-rich companion) scenarios. The results are presented for two different star formation histories: burst (elliptical-like galaxies) and continuous (spiral-like galaxies). It is found that delay times for the DDS in our standard model (with common envelope efficiency α CE = 1) follow a power-law distribution. For the SDS we note a wide range of delay times, while AM CVn progenitors produce a short burst of SNe Ia at early times. The DDS median delay time falls between ∼0.5 and 1 Gyr; the SDS between ∼2 and 3 Gyr; and the AM CVn between ∼0.8 and 0.6 Gyr depending on the assumed α CE . For a Milky-Way-like (MW-like) galaxy, we estimate the rates of SNe Ia arising from different progenitors as: ∼10 -4 yr -1 for the SDS and AM CVn, and ∼10 -3 yr -1 for the DDS. We point out that only the rates for two merging carbon-oxygen WDs, the only systems found in the DDS, are consistent with the observed rates for typical MW-like spirals. We also note that DDS progenitors are the dominant population in elliptical galaxies. The fact that the delay time distribution for the DDS follows a power law implies more SNe Ia (per unit mass) in young rather than in aged populations. Our results do not exclude other scenarios, but strongly indicate that the DDS is the dominant channel generating SNe Ia in spiral galaxies, at least in the framework of our adopted evolutionary models. Since it is believed that WD mergers cannot produce a thermonuclear explosion given the current understanding of accreting WDs, either the

On the cost/delay tradeoff of wireless delay tolerant geographic routing

OpenAIRE

Tasiopoulos, Argyrios; Tsiaras, Christos; Toumpis, Stavros

2012-01-01

In Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs), there is a fundamental tradeoff between the aggregate transport cost of a packet and the delay in its delivery. We study this tradeoff in the context of geographical routing in wireless DTNs.We ?rst specify the optimal cost/delay tradeoff, i.e., the tradeoff under optimal network operation, using a dynamic network construction termed the Cost/Delay Evolving Graph (C/DEG) and the Optimal Cost/Delay Curve (OC/DC), a function that gives the minimum possible agg...

Mothers’ Power Assertion, Children’s Negative, Adversarial Orientation, and Future Behavior Problems in Low-Income Families: Early Maternal Responsiveness as a Moderator of the Developmental Cascade

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sanghag; Kochanska, Grazyna

2014-01-01

Parental power assertion, a key dimension of family environment, generally sets in motion detrimental developmental cascades; however, evidence suggests that other qualities of parenting, such as responsiveness, can significantly moderate those processes. Mechanisms that account for such moderating effects are not fully understood. We propose a conceptual model of processes linking parental power assertion, parental responsiveness, children’s negative, adversarial, rejecting orientation toward the parent, and behavior problems. We test that model in a short-term longitudinal design involving 186 low-income, ethnically diverse mothers and their toddlers. When children were 30 months, the dyads were observed in multiple, lengthy, naturalistic laboratory interactions to assess behaviorally mothers’ responsiveness and their power-assertive control style. At 33 months, we observed behavioral indicators of children’s negative, adversarial, rejecting orientation toward the mothers in several naturalistic and standardized paradigms. At 40 months, mothers rated children’s behavior problems. The proposed moderated mediation sequence, tested using a new approach, PROCESS (Hayes, 2013), was supported. The indirect effect from maternal power assertion to children’s negative, adversarial orientation to future behavior problems was present when mothers’ responsiveness was either low or average but absent when mothers were highly responsive. This study elucidates a potential process that may link parental power assertion with behavior problems and highlights how positive aspects of parenting can moderate this process and defuse maladaptive developmental cascades. It also suggests possible targets for parenting intervention and prevention efforts. PMID:25401483

A New Delay Connection for Long Short-Term Memory Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jianyong; Zhang, Lei; Chen, Yuanyuan; Yi, Zhang

2017-12-17

Connections play a crucial role in neural network (NN) learning because they determine how information flows in NNs. Suitable connection mechanisms may extensively enlarge the learning capability and reduce the negative effect of gradient problems. In this paper, a new delay connection is proposed for Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) unit to develop a more sophisticated recurrent unit, called Delay Connected LSTM (DCLSTM). The proposed delay connection brings two main merits to DCLSTM with introducing no extra parameters. First, it allows the output of the DCLSTM unit to maintain LSTM, which is absent in the LSTM unit. Second, the proposed delay connection helps to bridge the error signals to previous time steps and allows it to be back-propagated across several layers without vanishing too quickly. To evaluate the performance of the proposed delay connections, the DCLSTM model with and without peephole connections was compared with four state-of-the-art recurrent model on two sequence classification tasks. DCLSTM model outperformed the other models with higher accuracy and F1[Formula: see text]score. Furthermore, the networks with multiple stacked DCLSTM layers and the standard LSTM layer were evaluated on Penn Treebank (PTB) language modeling. The DCLSTM model achieved lower perplexity (PPL)/bit-per-character (BPC) than the standard LSTM model. The experiments demonstrate that the learning of the DCLSTM models is more stable and efficient.

Predictors of Course Outcomes: Early Indicators of Delay in Online Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

McElroy, Barbara Woods; Lubich, Bruce H.

2013-01-01

Studies have long shown that students who begin or submit their work later tend to have negative academic outcomes. The measures of procrastination used in those studies may not have provided information timely enough for instructor intervention. This article focuses on delay in the online environment among graduate students. We propose two new…

Leveraging delay discounting for health: Can time delays influence food choice?

Science.gov (United States)

Appelhans, Bradley M; French, Simone A; Olinger, Tamara; Bogucki, Michael; Janssen, Imke; Avery-Mamer, Elizabeth F; Powell, Lisa M

2018-03-15

Delay discounting, the tendency to choose smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards, is theorized to promote consumption of immediately rewarding but unhealthy foods at the expense of long-term weight maintenance and nutritional health. An untested implication of delay discounting models of decision-making is that selectively delaying access to less healthy foods may promote selection of healthier (immediately available) alternatives, even if they may be less desirable. The current study tested this hypothesis by measuring healthy versus regular vending machine snack purchasing before and during the implementation of a 25-s time delay on the delivery of regular snacks. Purchasing was also examined under a $0.25 discount on healthy snacks, a $0.25 tax on regular snacks, and the combination of both pricing interventions with the 25-s time delay. Across 32,019 vending sales from three separate vending locations, the 25-s time delay increased healthy snack purchasing from 40.1% to 42.5%, which was comparable to the impact of a $0.25 discount (43.0%). Combining the delay and the discount had a roughly additive effect (46.0%). However, the strongest effects were seen under the $0.25 tax on regular snacks (53.7%) and the combination of the delay and the tax (50.2%). Intervention effects varied substantially between vending locations. Importantly, time delays did not harm overall vending sales or revenue, which is relevant to the real-world feasibility of this intervention. More investigation is needed to better understand how the impact of time delays on food choice varies across populations, evaluate the effects of time delays on beverage vending choices, and extend this approach to food choices in contexts other than vending machines. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02359916. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diagnosis delay of breast cancer and its associated factors in Malaysian women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naing Nyi N

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Malaysia. Delayed diagnosis is preventable and has major effects on patients' prognosis and survival. The objectives of our study were to identify the magnitude of delayed diagnosis and its associated factors in women with breast cancer in Malaysia. Methods This study had a cross-sectional design. Respondents had histologically confirmed breast cancer and were registered at five medical centres between 2005 and 2007. All breast cancer patients who attended hospital clinics at the East Coast were included. Patients at Kuala Lumpur hospitals were selected by systematic sampling. A standardised questionnaire was developed to interview respondents. We measured the time from the first recognition of symptoms to the first general practitioners' consultation and to the histological diagnosis of breast cancer. Diagnosis delay was defined when there was more than 6 months from the recognition of symptoms to the histological diagnosis. Multiple logistic regression was used for analysis. Results In total, 328 respondents were included. The mean (standard deviation age was 47.9 (9.4 years. Most respondents were of Malay ethnicity, were married housewives with a median family income of RM1500 a month. Most respondents had ductal carcinoma (89.3% and the stage distribution was as follows: 5.2% stage I, 38.7% stage II, 44.8% stage III and 11.3% stage IV. The median time to consultation was 2 months and the median time to diagnosis was 5.5 months. The frequency of diagnosis delay of more than 3 months was 72.6% and delay of more than 6 months occurred in 45.5% of the cases. The factors associated with diagnosis delay included the use of alternative therapy (odds ratio (OR 1.77; 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.06, 2.94, breast ulcer (OR 5.71; 95% CI: 1.59, 20.47, palpable axillary lymph nodes (OR 2.19; 95% CI: 1.23, 3.90, false-negative diagnostic test (OR 5.32; 95% CI: 2

Diagnosis delay of breast cancer and its associated factors in Malaysian women

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norsa'adah, Bachok; Rampal, Krishna G; Rahmah, Mohd A; Naing, Nyi N; Biswal, Biswa M

2011-01-01

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Malaysia. Delayed diagnosis is preventable and has major effects on patients' prognosis and survival. The objectives of our study were to identify the magnitude of delayed diagnosis and its associated factors in women with breast cancer in Malaysia. This study had a cross-sectional design. Respondents had histologically confirmed breast cancer and were registered at five medical centres between 2005 and 2007. All breast cancer patients who attended hospital clinics at the East Coast were included. Patients at Kuala Lumpur hospitals were selected by systematic sampling. A standardised questionnaire was developed to interview respondents. We measured the time from the first recognition of symptoms to the first general practitioners' consultation and to the histological diagnosis of breast cancer. Diagnosis delay was defined when there was more than 6 months from the recognition of symptoms to the histological diagnosis. Multiple logistic regression was used for analysis. In total, 328 respondents were included. The mean (standard deviation) age was 47.9 (9.4) years. Most respondents were of Malay ethnicity, were married housewives with a median family income of RM1500 a month. Most respondents had ductal carcinoma (89.3%) and the stage distribution was as follows: 5.2% stage I, 38.7% stage II, 44.8% stage III and 11.3% stage IV. The median time to consultation was 2 months and the median time to diagnosis was 5.5 months. The frequency of diagnosis delay of more than 3 months was 72.6% and delay of more than 6 months occurred in 45.5% of the cases. The factors associated with diagnosis delay included the use of alternative therapy (odds ratio (OR) 1.77; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 2.94), breast ulcer (OR 5.71; 95% CI: 1.59, 20.47), palpable axillary lymph nodes (OR 2.19; 95% CI: 1.23, 3.90), false-negative diagnostic test (OR 5.32; 95% CI: 2.32, 12.21), non-cancer interpretation

Longitudinal Associations Among Religiousness, Delay Discounting, and Substance Use Initiation in Early Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen; McCullough, Michael E; Bickel, W K; Farley, Julee P; Longo, Gregory S

2015-03-01

Prior research indicates that religiousness is related negatively to adolescent health risk behaviors, yet how such protective effects operate is not well understood. This study examined the longitudinal associations among organizational and personal religiousness, delay discounting, and substance use initiation (alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use). The sample comprised 106 early adolescents (10-13 years of age, 52% female) who were not using substances at Time 1. Path analyses suggested that high levels of personal religiousness at Time 1 were related to low levels of substance use at Time 2 (2.4 years later), mediated by low levels of delay discounting. Delay discounting appears to be an important contributor to the protective effect of religiousness on the development of substance use among adolescents.

Prevalence and correlates of delayed sleep phase in high school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Saxvig, Ingvild W; Pallesen, Ståle; Wilhelmsen-Langeland, Ane; Molde, Helge; Bjorvatn, Bjørn

2012-02-01

To investigate prevalence and correlates of delayed sleep phase, characterized by problems falling asleep in the evening and rising at adequate times in the morning, in a large sample of Norwegian high school students. A randomized sample of 1285 high school students (aged 16-19 years) participated in an internet based study answering questions about sleep habits, height, weight, smoking, alcohol use, school grades, and anxiety and depression symptoms. Delayed sleep phase was operationalized as difficulties falling asleep before 2 a.m. at least three nights per week together with much or very much difficulty waking up in the morning. The results show a prevalence of delayed sleep phase of 8.4%. In all, 68% of these students (5.7% of the total sample) also reported problems advancing their sleep period as well as one daytime consequence (oversleeping at least two days a week or experiencing much/very much sleepiness at school). Delayed sleep phase was associated with lower average school grades, smoking, alcohol usage, and elevated anxiety and depression scores. Delayed sleep phase appears to be common amongst Norwegian adolescents and is associated with negative outcomes such as lower average school grades, smoking, alcohol usage, and elevated anxiety and depression scores. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of negative emotion on the neural correlates of long-term recognition in younger and older adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grégoria eKalpouzos

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Some studies have suggested that the memory advantage for negative emotional information over neutral information (negativity effect is reduced in aging. Besides the fact that most findings are based on immediate retrieval, the neural underpinnings of long-term emotional memory in aging have so far not been investigated. To address these issues, we assessed recognition of neutral and negative scenes after one- and 3-week retention intervals in younger and older adults using fMRI. We further used an event-related design in order to disentangle successful, false and true recognition. This study revealed 4 key findings: 1 Increased retention interval induced an increased rate of false recognitions for negative scenes, cancelling out the negativity effect (present for hit rates only on discrimination in both younger and older adults; 2 In younger, but not older, adults, reduced activity of the medial temporal lobe was observed over time for neutral scenes, but not for negative scenes, where stable or increased activity was seen; 3 Engagement of amygdala was observed in older adults after a 3-week delay during successful recognition of negative scenes (hits versus misses in comparison with neutral scenes, which may indicate engagement of automatic processes, but engagement of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was unrelated to amygdala activity and performance; and 4 After 3 weeks, but not after one week, true recognition of negative scenes was characterized by more activity in left hippocampus and lateral occipito-temporal regions (hits versus false alarms. As these regions are known to be related to consolidation mechanisms, the observed pattern may indicate the presence of delayed consolidation of true memories. Nonetheless, older adults’ low performance in discrimination of negative scenes could reflect the fact that overall, after long delays of retention, they rely more on general information rather than on perceptual detail in making

Denials and Delays of Radioactive Material Shipments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Shinawy, R.M.K.

2011-01-01

delays of shipments of radioactive materials forms an important issue today. Radioactive materials need to be transported using all modes of transport for use in different applications such as public health, industry, research and production of nuclear power. The transport of radioactive materials is governed by national and international regulations, which are based on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations for safe transport of radioactive materials (TS-R-1). These regulations ensure high standards of safety. Recently there were increasing numbers of instances of denials and delays of shipments of radioactive materials even when complying with the regulations. The denials and delays can result in difficulties to patients and others who rely on products sterilized by radiation. Therefore there is an urgent need for a universally accepted approach to solve this problem. In response, the IAEA has formed an International Steering Committee (ISC) on denials and delays of radioactive materials. Also, it designate the National Focal Points (NFP) representative to help the ISC members and the IAEA by informing about denial operations and how they can help. The Steering Committee developed and adopted an action plan which includes the action to be taken. This plan is based on: Awareness, Training, Communication, Lobbying for marketing, Economic and Harmonization among member states. It is important to work within the mandate of the ISC and in the line of action plan on denials and delays. It identified the following network members such as: National Focal Points, Regional Coordinators, National Committee, National Representative for different modes of transport and similar bodies, Carriers, Producers and Suppliers, Different civil societies, NGO's, Ministry of transport and others.

Self-powered detectors for power reactors: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, J.

2006-01-01

In this paper, Self-Powered Detectors (SPDs) for applications in nuclear power reactors have been reviewed. Based on their responses to radiation, these detectors can be divided into delayed response Self-Powered Neutron Detector (SPND), prompt response SPND and Self-Powered Gamma Detector (SPGD). The operational principles of these detectors are presented and their distinctive characteristics are examined accordingly. The analytical models and Monte Carlo method to calculate the responses of these detectors to neutron flux and external gamma rays are reviewed. The paper has also considered some related signal processing techniques, such as detector calibrations and detector signal compensations. Furthermore, a couple of failure modes have also been analyzed. Finally, applications of SPD in nuclear power reactors are summarized. (author)

Self-powered detectors for power reactors: an overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, J. [Univ. of Western Ontario, Dept. of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, London, Ontario (Canada)]. E-mail: jma64@uwo.ca

2006-07-01

In this paper, Self-Powered Detectors (SPDs) for applications in nuclear power reactors have been reviewed. Based on their responses to radiation, these detectors can be divided into delayed response Self-Powered Neutron Detector (SPND), prompt response SPND and Self-Powered Gamma Detector (SPGD). The operational principles of these detectors are presented and their distinctive characteristics are examined accordingly. The analytical models and Monte Carlo method to calculate the responses of these detectors to neutron flux and external gamma rays are reviewed. The paper has also considered some related signal processing techniques, such as detector calibrations and detector signal compensations. Furthermore, a couple of failure modes have also been analyzed. Finally, applications of SPD in nuclear power reactors are summarized. (author)

A modified implementation of tristate inverter based static master-slave flip-flop with improved power-delay-area product.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Kunwar; Tiwari, Satish Chandra; Gupta, Maneesha

2014-01-01

The paper introduces novel architectures for implementation of fully static master-slave flip-flops for low power, high performance, and high density. Based on the proposed structure, traditional C(2)MOS latch (tristate inverter/clocked inverter) based flip-flop is implemented with fewer transistors. The modified C(2)MOS based flip-flop designs mC(2)MOSff1 and mC(2)MOSff2 are realized using only sixteen transistors each while the number of clocked transistors is also reduced in case of mC(2)MOSff1. Postlayout simulations indicate that mC(2)MOSff1 flip-flop shows 12.4% improvement in PDAP (power-delay-area product) when compared with transmission gate flip-flop (TGFF) at 16X capacitive load which is considered to be the best design alternative among the conventional master-slave flip-flops. To validate the correct behaviour of the proposed design, an eight bit asynchronous counter is designed to layout level. LVS and parasitic extraction were carried out on Calibre, whereas layouts were implemented using IC station (Mentor Graphics). HSPICE simulations were used to characterize the transient response of the flip-flop designs in a 180 nm/1.8 V CMOS technology. Simulations were also performed at 130 nm, 90 nm, and 65 nm to reveal the scalability of both the designs at modern process nodes.

Representing delayed force feedback as a combination of current and delayed states.

Science.gov (United States)

Avraham, Guy; Mawase, Firas; Karniel, Amir; Shmuelof, Lior; Donchin, Opher; Mussa-Ivaldi, Ferdinando A; Nisky, Ilana

2017-10-01

To adapt to deterministic force perturbations that depend on the current state of the hand, internal representations are formed to capture the relationships between forces experienced and motion. However, information from multiple modalities travels at different rates, resulting in intermodal delays that require compensation for these internal representations to develop. To understand how these delays are represented by the brain, we presented participants with delayed velocity-dependent force fields, i.e., forces that depend on hand velocity either 70 or 100 ms beforehand. We probed the internal representation of these delayed forces by examining the forces the participants applied to cope with the perturbations. The findings showed that for both delayed forces, the best model of internal representation consisted of a delayed velocity and current position and velocity. We show that participants relied initially on the current state, but with adaptation, the contribution of the delayed representation to adaptation increased. After adaptation, when the participants were asked to make movements with a higher velocity for which they had not previously experienced with the delayed force field, they applied forces that were consistent with current position and velocity as well as delayed velocity representations. This suggests that the sensorimotor system represents delayed force feedback using current and delayed state information and that it uses this representation when generalizing to faster movements. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The brain compensates for forces in the body and the environment to control movements, but it is unclear how it does so given the inherent delays in information transmission and processing. We examined how participants cope with delayed forces that depend on their arm velocity 70 or 100 ms beforehand. After adaptation, participants applied opposing forces that revealed a partially correct representation of the perturbation using the current and the

Bilingualism as a strategy to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Klimova, Blanka; Valis, Martin; Kuca, Kamil

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore original studies which provide evidence about the effects of bilingualism on the delay of the onset of dementia, specifically Alzheimer's disease (AD). A literature review was conducted in the world's acknowledged databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE. Altogether, 14 original studies focusing on the research topic were detected. These included six prospective cohort studies and eight retrospective studies. Both types of studies suggest different conclusions. The findings from the prospective cohort studies state that there is no association between bilingualism and the delay of the onset of AD, while the retrospective studies claim the opposite. Despite the negative results of the prospective cohort studies, more research should be conducted on bilingualism and its impact on the delay of the onset of AD, since the brain studies have brought positive findings as far as the enhancement of cognitive reserve is concerned.

Experimental Evaluation of a Negative Ion Source for a Heavy Ion Fusion Negative Ion Driver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grisham, L.R.; Hahto, S.K.; Hahto, S.T.; Kwan, J.W.; Leung, K.N.

2004-01-01

Negative halogen ions have recently been proposed as a possible alternative to positive ions for heavy ion fusion drivers because electron accumulation would not be a problem in the accelerator, and if desired, the beams could be photo-detached to neutrals. To test the ability to make suitable quality beams, an experiment was conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory using chlorine in an RF-driven ion source. Without introducing any cesium (which is required to enhance negative ion production in hydrogen ion sources) a negative chlorine current density of 45 mA/cm 2 was obtained under the same conditions that gave 57 45 mA/cm 2 of positive chlorine, suggesting the presence of nearly as many negative ions as positive ions in the plasma near the extraction plane. The negative ion spectrum was 99.5% atomic chlorine ions, with only 0.5% molecular chlorine, and essentially no impurities. Although this experiment did not incorporate the type of electron suppression technology that i s used in negative hydrogen beam extraction, the ratio of co-extracted electrons to Cl - was as low as 7 to 1, many times lower than the ratio of their mobilities, suggesting that few electrons are present in the near-extractor plasma. This, along with the near-equivalence of the positive and negative ion currents, suggests that the plasma in this region was mostly an ion-ion plasma. The negative chlorine current density was relatively insensitive to pressure, and scaled linearly with RF power. If this linear scaling continues to hold at higher RF powers, it should permit current densities of 100 45 mA/cm 2 , sufficient for present heavy ion fusion injector concepts. The effective ion temperatures of the positive and negative ions appeared to be similar and relatively low for a plasma source

Role of delayed indium-111 labeled leukocyte scan in the management of Crohn's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slaton, G.D.; Navab, F.; Boyd, C.M.; Diner, W.C.; Texter, E.C. Jr.

1985-01-01

Comparison of nine patients with Crohn's disease who had a positive delayed (24 hr) 111 indium leukocyte scan and 10 patients with negative scan showed no significant difference between the two groups for the Crohn's disease activity index, sedimentation rate, survival, complications, number of days in hospital, outpatient visits, or readmissions. Despite the apparent lack of statistical significance in Crohn's disease activity index, the scan was positive in nine of 16 patients with a Crohn's disease activity index more than 150, and none of three patients with Crohn's disease activity index less than 150. In the patients studied, there were no false-positive leukocyte scans. In nine of 10 patients with ileocolonic disease, scanning results correctly predicted the proper management. Six patients with positive scan and enteroclysis responded to medical treatment. Four patients had positive enteroclysis and negative scan; of these, three had radiographic features of chronic ileal stricture which was confirmed at operation. The results suggest that a negative delayed indium-111 leukocyte scan may be useful in diagnosis of chronic fibrotic ileal stricture

Hindrance of conservation biology by delays in the submission of manuscripts.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Ryan P; Supp, Sarah R; Cobbold, Stephanie M

2010-04-01

Timely dissemination of scientific findings depends not only on rapid publication of submitted manuscripts, a topic which has received much discussion, but also on rapid submission of research after the research is completed. We measured submission delay (time from the last date of data collection to the submission of a manuscript) for every paper from 14 journals in 2007 and compared these submission delays among four fields of biology (conservation, taxonomy, behavior, and evolution). Manuscripts published in leading journals in the field of conservation biology have the longest delays in publication of accepted manuscripts and the longest intervals between completion of research and submission of the manuscript. Delay in manuscript submission accounts for more than half of the total time from last date of data collection to publication. Across fields, the number of authors was significantly negatively correlated with submission delay, but conservation journals had the second highest number of authors and the greatest submission delay, so submission of conservation manuscripts was not hindered by a shortage of collaboration relative to other fields. Rejection rates were greater in conservation journals than in behavior and evolution, but rejection times were faster; thus, there were no obvious net differences among fields in the time papers spent waiting to be rejected. Publication delay has been reduced significantly in the last 7 years, but was still greater in conservation journals than in any of the other three fields we studied. Thus, the urgent field of conservation biology is hindered in both preparation and publication of manuscripts.

Design considerations for a negative ion source for dc operation of high-power, multi-megaelectron-volt neutral beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, C.C.; Stirling, W.L.; Akerman, M.A.; Becraft, W.R.; Dagenhart, W.K.; Haselton, H.H.; Ryan, P.M.; Schechter, D.E.; Whealton, J.H.

1988-03-01

A dc negative hydrogen and/or deuterium ion source is needed to prouce high-power, high-energy neutral beams for alpha diagnostics and current drive applicatiosn in fusion devices. The favorable beam particle energy for such applications extends to 1.5 MeV/amu. Continuous-wave (cw) radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) accelerators have been proposed to accelerate negative ions effeciently to this energy range. In this paper, the desired beam properties for ion beams injected into cw RFQ accelerators are summariezed. A number of candidate ion sources being developed at Culham, JAERI, LBL, and ORNL may prove useful for these applications. The properties of the Volume Ionization with Transverse Extraction (VITEX) ion sources being developed at ORNL are presented. Scaling such a dc ion source to produce ampere beams is discussed. 53 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

Design considerations for a negative ion source for dc operation of high-power, multi-megaelectron-volt neutral beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, C.C.; Stirling, W.L.; Akerman, M.A.; Becraft, W.R.; Dagenhart, W.K.; Haselton, H.H.; Ryan, P.M.; Schechter, D.E.; Whealton, J.H.

1987-01-01

A dc negative hydrogen and/or deuterium ion source is needed to produce high-power, high-energy neutral beams for alpha diagnostics and current drive applications in fusion devices. The favorable beam particle energy for such applications extends to 1.5 MeV/amu. Continuous-wave (cw) radiofrequency quadrupole (RFQ) accelerators have been proposed to accelerate negative ions efficiently to this energy range. In this paper, the desired beam properties for ion beams injected into cw RFQ accelerators are summarized. A number of candidate ion sources being developed at Culham, JAERI, LBL, and ORNL may prove useful for these applications. The properties of the Volume Ionization with Transverse Extraction (VITEX) ion sources being developed at ORNL are presented. Scaling such a dc ion source to produce ampere beams is discussed. 53 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

On the linearity of cross-correlation delay times

Science.gov (United States)

Mercerat, E. D.; Nolet, G.

2012-12-01

We investigate the question whether a P-wave delay time Δ T estimated by locating the maximum of the cross-correlation function between data d(t) and a predicted test function s(t): γ (t) = ∫ t1t_2 s(τ ) d(τ -t) \\ {d}τ, provides an estimate of the Delta T that is (quasi-)linear with the relative velocity perturbation deltaln V_P}. Such linearity is intuitive if the data d(t) is an undeformed but delayed replica of the test signal, i.e. if d(t)=s(t-Delta T). Then the maximum of gamma (t) is shifted exactly by the delay Delta T, and linearity holds even for Delta T very large. In this case, we say that the body waves are in the ray theoretical regime and their delays, because of Fermat's Principle, depend quasi-linearly on the relative velocity (or slowness) perturbations deltaln V_P in the model. However, even if we correct for dispersion induced by the instrument response and by attenuation, body waves may show frequency dependent delay times that are caused by diffraction effects around lateral heterogeneities. It is not a-priori clear that linearity holds for Delta T, as is assumed in finite-frequency theory, if the waveforms of d(t) and s(t) differ substantially because of such dispersion. To test the linearity, we generate synthetic seismograms between two boreholes, and between the boreholes and the surface, in a 3D box of 200 × 120 × 120 m. The heterogeneity is a checkerboard with cubic anomalies of size 12 × 12 × 12 m. We test two different anomaly amplitudes: ± 2% and ± 5%, and measure Delta T using a test seismogram s(t) computed for an homogeneous medium. We also predict the delays for the 5% model from those in the 2% model by multiplying with 5/2. These predictions are in error by 10-20% of the delay, which is usually acceptable for tomography when compared with actual data errors. A slight bias in the prediction indicates that the Wielandt effect - the fact that negative delays suffer less wavefront healing than positive delays - is a

Stochastic Resonance-Like and Resonance Suppression-Like Phenomena in a Bistable System with Time Delay and Additive Noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu Chang-Zheng; Nie Lin-Ru; Zhou Zhong-Rao

2012-01-01

Stochastic resonance (SR)-like and resonance suppression (RS)-like phenomena in a time-delayed bistable system driven by additive white noise are investigated by means of stochastic simulations of the power spectrum, the quality factor of the power spectrum, and the mean first-passage time (MFPT) of the system. The calculative results indicate that: (i) as the system is driven by a small periodic signal, the quality factor as a function delay time exhibits a maximal value at smaller noise intensities, i.e., an SR-like phenomenon. With the increment in additive noise intensity, the extremum gradually disappears and the quality factor decreases monotonously with delay time. (ii) As the additive noise intensity is smaller, the curve of the MFPT with respect to delay time displays a peak, i.e., an RS-like phenomenon. At higher levels of noise, however, the non-monotonic behavior is lost. (general)

Frequency adaptation in controlled stochastic resonance utilizing delayed feedback method: two-pole approximation for response function.

Science.gov (United States)

Tutu, Hiroki

2011-06-01

Stochastic resonance (SR) enhanced by time-delayed feedback control is studied. The system in the absence of control is described by a Langevin equation for a bistable system, and possesses a usual SR response. The control with the feedback loop, the delay time of which equals to one-half of the period (2π/Ω) of the input signal, gives rise to a noise-induced oscillatory switching cycle between two states in the output time series, while its average frequency is just smaller than Ω in a small noise regime. As the noise intensity D approaches an appropriate level, the noise constructively works to adapt the frequency of the switching cycle to Ω, and this changes the dynamics into a state wherein the phase of the output signal is entrained to that of the input signal from its phase slipped state. The behavior is characterized by power loss of the external signal or response function. This paper deals with the response function based on a dichotomic model. A method of delay-coordinate series expansion, which reduces a non-Markovian transition probability flux to a series of memory fluxes on a discrete delay-coordinate system, is proposed. Its primitive implementation suggests that the method can be a potential tool for a systematic analysis of SR phenomenon with delayed feedback loop. We show that a D-dependent behavior of poles of a finite Laplace transform of the response function qualitatively characterizes the structure of the power loss, and we also show analytical results for the correlation function and the power spectral density.

Delayed fission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hatsukawa, Yuichi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1997-07-01

Delayed fission is a nuclear decay process that couples {beta} decay and fission. In the delayed fission process, a parent nucleus undergoes {beta} decay and thereby populates excited states in the daughter. If these states are of energies comparable to or greater than the fission barrier of the daughter, then fission may compete with other decay modes of the excited states in the daughter. In this paper, mechanism and some experiments of the delayed fission will be discussed. (author)

Horseshoes chaos and stability of a delayed van der Pol-Duffing oscillator under a bounded double well potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwuimy, C.A. Kitio; Woafo, P.

2009-06-01

In this paper a van der Pol-Duffing oscillator with a bounded double well potential and a delayed (positive and negative) position and velocity feedback is considered. Attention is focussed on the effects of time delay on stability, escape motion and horseshoes chaos. Using Forde and Nelson's theorem, harmonic balance and Melnikov criterion for chaos, the boundary conditions for such phenomena are derived. It appears that, time delay can be used as simple switch to avoid and/or create complex behavior of the model. (author)

Determination of the decay constants and relative abundances of delayed neutrons by noise analysis in zero-power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diniz, Ricardo

2005-01-01

A reactor noise approach has been employed at the IPEN/MB-01 research reactor facility in order to determine experimentally the effective delayed neutron parameters β i and λ i in a six group model and assuming the point reactor. The method can be considered a novice one because exploits the very low frequency domain of the spectral densities. The proposed method has some advantages to other in-pile methods since it does not disturb the reactor system and consequently does not 'excite' any sort of harmonic modes. As a byproduct and a consistency check, the β eff parameter was obtained without the need of the Diven factor and the power normalization and it is in excellent agreement with independent measurements. The theory/experiment comparison shows that for the abundances the JENDL 3.3 presents the best performance while for the decay constants the revised version of ENDF/B-VI.8 shows the best agreement. The best performance for the β eff determination is obtained with JENDL3.3. In contrast, ENDF/B-VI.8 and its revised version performed at LANL overestimate β eff by as much as 4%. The β eff results of this work support totally the proposal of reducing the thermal delayed neutron number for 235 U fission as made by Sakurai and Okajima. A new observed effect related to the correlation between the fluctuations of both measurement channels is also presented and discussed. This effect can be considered as an indirect evidence for the use of the point reactor model in this work as well as a possible useful tool in the understanding of reactor dynamics. (author)

Hypothetical intertemporal choice and real economic behavior: delay discounting predicts voucher redemptions during contingency-management procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Bickel, Warren K; Jones, Bryan A; Landes, Reid D; Christensen, Darren R; Jackson, Lisa; Mancino, Michael

2010-12-01

Delay discounting rates are predictive of drug use status, the likelihood of becoming abstinent, and a variety of health behaviors. Rates of delay discounting may also be related to other relevant behaviors associated with addiction, such as the frequency at which individuals redeem contingency management voucher earnings. This study examined the discounting rates of 152 participants in a buprenorphine treatment program for opioid abuse. Participants received up to 12 weeks of buprenorphine treatment combined with contingency management. Participant's drug use was measured via urine specimens submitted three times a week. Successive negative urine specimens were reinforced with increasing amounts of money. After each negative urine specimen, a participant could either redeem his or her earnings or accumulate it in an account. Analysis of the frequency of redemptions showed that participants with higher rates of delay discounting at study intake redeemed their earnings significantly more often than participants with lower rates of discounting. Age and income also predicted redemption rates. We suggest that delay discounting rates can be used to predict redemption behaviors in a contingency management treatment program and that these findings are consistent with the recent theory of the competing neurobehavioral decision systems. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Engineering fluidic delays in paper-based devices using laser direct-writing.

Science.gov (United States)

He, P J W; Katis, I N; Eason, R W; Sones, C L

2015-10-21

We report the use of a new laser-based direct-write technique that allows programmable and timed fluid delivery in channels within a paper substrate which enables implementation of multi-step analytical assays. The technique is based on laser-induced photo-polymerisation, and through adjustment of the laser writing parameters such as the laser power and scan speed we can control the depth and/or the porosity of hydrophobic barriers which, when fabricated in the fluid path, produce controllable fluid delay. We have patterned these flow delaying barriers at pre-defined locations in the fluidic channels using either a continuous wave laser at 405 nm, or a pulsed laser operating at 266 nm. Using this delay patterning protocol we generated flow delays spanning from a few minutes to over half an hour. Since the channels and flow delay barriers can be written via a common laser-writing process, this is a distinct improvement over other methods that require specialist operating environments, or custom-designed equipment. This technique can therefore be used for rapid fabrication of paper-based microfluidic devices that can perform single or multistep analytical assays.

Different CT perfusion algorithms in the detection of delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Science.gov (United States)

Cremers, Charlotte H P; Dankbaar, Jan Willem; Vergouwen, Mervyn D I; Vos, Pieter C; Bennink, Edwin; Rinkel, Gabriel J E; Velthuis, Birgitta K; van der Schaaf, Irene C

2015-05-01

Tracer delay-sensitive perfusion algorithms in CT perfusion (CTP) result in an overestimation of the extent of ischemia in thromboembolic stroke. In diagnosing delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), delayed arrival of contrast due to vasospasm may also overestimate the extent of ischemia. We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of tracer delay-sensitive and tracer delay-insensitive algorithms for detecting DCI. From a prospectively collected series of aSAH patients admitted between 2007-2011, we included patients with any clinical deterioration other than rebleeding within 21 days after SAH who underwent NCCT/CTP/CTA imaging. Causes of clinical deterioration were categorized into DCI and no DCI. CTP maps were calculated with tracer delay-sensitive and tracer delay-insensitive algorithms and were visually assessed for the presence of perfusion deficits by two independent observers with different levels of experience. The diagnostic value of both algorithms was calculated for both observers. Seventy-one patients were included. For the experienced observer, the positive predictive values (PPVs) were 0.67 for the delay-sensitive and 0.66 for the delay-insensitive algorithm, and the negative predictive values (NPVs) were 0.73 and 0.74. For the less experienced observer, PPVs were 0.60 for both algorithms, and NPVs were 0.66 for the delay-sensitive and 0.63 for the delay-insensitive algorithm. Test characteristics are comparable for tracer delay-sensitive and tracer delay-insensitive algorithms for the visual assessment of CTP in diagnosing DCI. This indicates that both algorithms can be used for this purpose.

Attention and Word Learning in Autistic, Language Delayed and Typically Developing Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena eTenenbaum

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Previous work has demonstrated that patterns of social attention hold predictive value for language development in typically developing infants. The goal of this research was to explore how patterns of attention in autistic, language delayed, and typically developing children relate to early word learning and language abilities. We tracked patterns of eye movements to faces and objects while children watched videos of a woman teaching them a series of new words. Subsequent test trials measured participants’ recognition of these novel word-object pairings. Results indicated that greater attention to the speaker’s mouth was related to higher scores on standardized measures of language development for autistic and typically developing children (but not for language delayed children. This effect was mediated by age for typically developing, but not autistic children. When effects of age were controlled for, attention to the mouth among language delayed participants was negatively correlated with standardized measures of language learning. Attention to the speaker’s mouth and eyes while she was teaching the new words was also predictive of faster recognition of the newly learned words among autistic children. These results suggest that language delays among children with autism may be driven in part by aberrant social attention, and that the mechanisms underlying these delays may differ from those in language delayed participants without autism.

Delayed photoneutrons of the of the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngo Quang Huy; Ha Van Thong; Vu Hai Long; Ngo Phu Khang; Nguyen Nhi Dien; Pham Van Lam; Huynh Dong Phuong; Luong Ba Vien; Le Vinh Vinh

1994-01-01

Time spectrum of delayed neutrons of the Dalat nuclear research reactor is measured and analyzed. It corresponds to a shut-down neutron fluxes of about 10 5 /10 8 n/cm 2 /sec after 100 hours continuous reactor operation at steady power level of 500 kW. Data processing of experimental time neutron spectrum gives 16 exponents, of which 10, resulting from photoneutrons due to (γ,n) reactions on beryllium used inside the reactor core, are obtained by using successive exponential stripping fitting method. For the Dalat reactor, the effective delayed photoneutron fraction relative to the total effective delayed neutron fraction is β B e eff =0.49%β eff for a beryllium weight relative to U 235 fuel of m B e/m U = 8.5. This result is acceptable in comparison to those obtained for other Be-U 235 media. (author). 5 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs

Trauma patients who present in a delayed fashion: a unique and challenging population.

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Mary J; Nunez, Hector; Monaghan, Sean F; Heffernan, Daithi S; Adams, Charles A; Lueckel, Stephanie N; Stephen, Andrew H

2017-02-01

A proportion of trauma patients present for evaluation in a delayed fashion after injury, likely due to a variety of medical and nonmedical reasons. There has been little investigation into the characteristics and outcomes of trauma patients who present delayed. We hypothesize that trauma patients who present in a delayed fashion are a unique population at risk of increased trauma-related complications. This was a retrospective review from 2010-2015 at a Level I trauma center. Patients were termed delayed if they presented >24 hours after injury. Patients admitted within 24 hours of their injury were the comparison group. Charts were reviewed for demographics, mechanism, comorbidities, complications and outcomes. A subgroup analysis was done on patients who suffered falls. During the 5-y period, 11,705 patients were admitted. A total of 588 patients (5%) presented >24 h after their injury. Patients in the delayed group were older (65 versus 55 y, P fashion have unique characteristics and are more likely to suffer negative outcomes including substance withdrawal. Future goals will include exploring strategies for early intervention, such as automatic withdrawal monitoring and social work referral for all patients who present in a delayed fashion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Noise and time delay induce critical point in a bistable system

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jianqiang; Nie, Linru; Yu, Lilong; Zhang, Xinyu

2014-07-01

We study relaxation time Tc of time-delayed bistable system driven by two cross-correlated Gaussian white noises that one is multiplicative and the other is additive. By means of numerical calculations, the results indicate that: (i) Combination of noise and time delay can induce two critical points about the relaxation time at some certain noise cross-correlation strength λ under the condition that the multiplicative intensity D equals to the additive noise intensity α. (ii) For each fixed D or α, there are two symmetrical critical points which locates in the regions of positive and negative correlations, respectively. Namely, as λ equals to the critical value λc, Tc is independent of the delay time and the result of Tc versus τ is a horizontal line, but as |λ|>|λc| (or |λ|decreases) with the delay time increasing. (iii) In the presence of D = α, the change of λc with D is two symmetrical curves about the axis of λc = 0, and the critical value λc is close to zero for a smaller D, which approaches to +1 or -1 for a greater D.

Fuzzy delay model based fault simulator for crosstalk delay fault test ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In this paper, a fuzzy delay model based crosstalk delay fault simulator is proposed. As design .... To find the quality of non-robust tests, a fuzzy delay ..... Dubois D and Prade H 1989 Processing Fuzzy temporal knowledge. IEEE Transactions ...

Area efficient decimation filter based on merged delay transformation for wireless applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rashid, U.; Siddiq, F.; Muhammad, T.; Jamal, H.

2013-01-01

Expected by 2014 is the 4G standard for cellular wireless communications, which will improve bandwidth, connectivity and roaming for mobile and stationary devices, 4G and other wireless systems are currently hot topics of research and development in the communication field. In wireless technologies like Global System for Mobile (GSM), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) and Wi-Fi, decimation filters are essential part of transceivers being used. This paper describes a decimation filter which is efficient in terms of both the power consumption and the area used. The architecture is based upon Merged Delay Transformation (MDT). The existing Merged Delay Transformed Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) architecture is power efficient but requires larger area. The proposed and existing filters were implemented on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The computational cost of the proposed filter is reduced to (3N/2 + 1) and M-1 times reduction in the number of multipliers in comparison to the existing FIR filter is achieved. The power consumption and speed remain nearly the same. (author)

Felt power explains the link between position power and experienced emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bombari, Dario; Schmid Mast, Marianne; Bachmann, Manuel

2017-02-01

The approach/inhibition theory by Keltner, Gruenfeld, and Anderson (2003) predicts that powerful people should feel more positive and less negative emotions. To date, results of studies investigating this prediction are inconsistent. We fill this gap with four studies in which we investigated the role of different conceptualizations of power: felt power and position power. In Study 1, participants were made to feel more or less powerful and we tested how their felt power was related to different emotional states. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, participants were assigned to either a high or a low power role and engaged in an interaction with a virtual human, after which participants reported on how powerful they felt and the emotions they experienced during the interaction. We meta-analytically combined the results of the four studies and found that felt power was positively related to positive emotions (happiness and serenity) and negatively to negative emotions (fear, anger, and sadness), whereas position power did not show any significant overall relation with any of the emotional states. Importantly, felt power mediated the relationship between position power and emotion. In summary, we show that how powerful a person feels in a given social interaction is the driving force linking the person's position power to his or her emotional states. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Timing matters: negative emotion elicited 5 min but not 30 min or 45 min after learning enhances consolidation of internal-monitoring source memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bo; Bukuan, Sun

2015-05-01

Two experiments examined the time-dependent effects of negative emotion on consolidation of item and internal-monitoring source memory. In Experiment 1, participants (n=121) learned a list of words. They were asked to read aloud half of the words and to think about the remaining half. They were instructed to memorize each word and its associative cognitive operation ("reading" versus "thinking"). Immediately following learning they conducted free recall and then watched a 3-min either neutral or negative video clip when 5 min, 30 min or 45 min had elapsed after learning. Twenty-four hours later they returned to take surprise tests for item and source memory. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except that participants, without conducting an immediate test of free recall, took tests of source memory for all encoded words both immediately and 24 h after learning. Experiment 1 showed that negative emotion enhanced consolidation of item memory (as measured by retention ratio of free recall) regardless of delay of emotion elicitation and that negative emotion enhanced consolidation of source memory when it was elicited at a 5 min delay but reduced consolidation of source memory when it was elicited at a 30 min delay; when elicited at a 45 min delay, negative emotion had little effect. Furthermore, Experiment 2 replicated the enhancement effect on source memory in the 5 min delay even when participants were tested on all the encoded words. The current study partially replicated prior studies on item memory and extends the literature by providing evidence for a time-dependent effect of negative emotion on consolidation of source memory based on internal monitoring. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Annx IV. Delayed nuclear power plant project management experience Cernavoda 2 NPP, Romania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

The Cernavoda Unit 2 NPP work was originally started in 1982 with work coming to a halt in 1989, and a preservation program implemented in 1991 while work continued on Unit 1. In 1995 attention turned to the completion of Unit 2 and status verification reports were commissioned. Work proceeded, as funds were available, up until 2002 when an interim contract was signed. Subsequently a Contract Completion Effective Date (CCED) was signed in March 2003 with completion duration of 48 months. A project schedule is a necessity for any project whether it is a new build or a restart to a delayed project. There are 5 major elements that are included in all CANDU project schedules, Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning and the conversion from Construction to Commissioning. The Engineering schedule of deliverables was not fully defined at CCED. Design changes defined prior to CCED were not fully defined and the scope of work associated with these only became known during the actual construction program. A significant number of new design changes were introduced after CCED, which compounded the impact to the construction program. All projects require their budgets to be built up within a defined structure. Delayed projects are no different from other projects in that respect. The standard Work Brakout Structure (WBS), which is applicable to most CANDU projects, is equally applicable for a delayed project. On Cernavoda Unit 2 we used a Budget Breakdown Structure, which was a combination of a traditional WBS and an Organization Structure. This structure was adopted in order to have consistency with the structure, which had been used prior to the delay on the project and also it was a requirement of the three party agreements with funding from different sources and in different currencies. All major construction projects normally carry a contingency allowance for undefined work and a risk allowance for the possibility of major changes. Delayed projects require

Amphetamine increases schedule-induced drinking reduced by negative punishment procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Padilla, Angeles; Pellón, Ricardo

2003-05-01

d-Amphetamine has been reported to increase schedule-induced drinking punished by lick-dependent signalled delays in food delivery. This might reflect a drug-behaviour interaction dependent on the type of punisher, because no such effect has been found when drinking was reduced by lick-contingent electric shocks. However, the anti-punishment effect of amphetamine could be mediated by other behavioural processes, such as a loss of discriminative control or an increase in the value of delayed reinforcers. To test the effects of d-amphetamine on the acquisition and maintenance of schedule-induced drinking reduced by unsignalled delays in food delivery. Rats received 10-s unsignalled delays initiated by each lick after polydipsia was induced by a fixed-time 30-s food reinforcement schedule or from the outset of the experiment. Yoked-control rats received these same delays but independently of their own behaviour. d-Amphetamine (0.1-3.0 mg/kg) was then tested IP. d-Amphetamine dose-dependently increased and then decreased punished schedule-induced drinking. The drug led to dose-dependent reductions when the delays were not contingent or when they were applied from the outset of training. These results support the contention that d-amphetamine has an increasing effect on schedule-induced drinking that has been previously reduced by a negative punishment procedure. This effect cannot be attributed to other potentially involved processes, and therefore support the idea that drug effects on punished behaviour depend on punishment being delays in food or shock deliveries.

Emergence of flagellar beating from the collective behavior of individual ATP-powered dyneins

Science.gov (United States)

Namdeo, S.; Onck, P. R.

2016-10-01

Flagella are hair-like projections from the surface of eukaryotic cells, and they play an important role in many cellular functions, such as cell-motility. The beating of flagella is enabled by their internal architecture, the axoneme, and is powered by a dense distribution of motor proteins, dyneins. The dyneins deliver the required mechanical work through the hydrolysis of ATP. Although the dynein-ATP cycle, the axoneme microstructure, and the flagellar-beating kinematics are well studied, their integration into a coherent picture of ATP-powered flagellar beating is still lacking. Here we show that a time-delayed negative-work-based switching mechanism is able to convert the individual sliding action of hundreds of dyneins into a regular overall beating pattern leading to propulsion. We developed a computational model based on a minimal representation of the axoneme consisting of two representative doublet microtubules connected by nexin links. The relative sliding of the microtubules is incorporated by modeling two groups of ATP-powered dyneins, each responsible for sliding in opposite directions. A time-delayed switching mechanism is postulated, which is key in converting the local individual sliding action of multiple dyneins into global beating. Our results demonstrate that an overall nonreciprocal beating pattern can emerge with time due to the spatial and temporal coordination of the individual dyneins. These findings provide insights in the fundamental working mechanism of axonemal dyneins and could possibly open new research directions in the field of flagellar motility.

Patient Delay, Diagnosis Delay and Treatment Delay for Breast Cancer: Comparison of the Pattern between Patients in Public and Private Health Sectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iraj Harirchi

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The purpose of this study was to compare patient delay, diagnosis delay and treatment delay in breast cancer patients of selected public and private health centers in Tehran, Iran.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, female patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer in a public medical complex and a private breast clinic within one year were included. Patient delay was considered positive, if the interval between the detection of the first symptom by the patient and the first visit to a health care provider took longer than one month. Delay in diagnosis was defined as the period of more than one week between the first medical visit for the symptoms and the diagnosis of breast cancer. Following the confirmed diagnosis of breast malignancy, if the medical treatment was initiated later than one week, treatment delay had occurred. The potential reasons for patient, diagnosis and treatment delay according to the patients’ reports were also recorded.Results: Overall, 385 patients were included of whom 52.7% were recruited from the public hospitals and 47.3% from a private clinic. The prevalence of patient delay, diagnosis delay and treatment delay were 31.7%, 17.9% and 28.3%, respectively. Patient delay was significantly more common among patients with lower socio-economic status and those recruited from the public hospitals. All the patients with diagnosis delay were in the group recruited from the public hospitals.Conclusions: Gaps between women of different socio-economic levels of the society need to be addressed in order to decrease patient, diagnosis and treatment delay.

A differential-delay control for ramped magnet current

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murray, J. [State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook, NY (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Olsen, R. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)

1992-11-01

A differential-delay control system has been designed and implemented for the main dipole magnet power supply of the booster ring at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Lab. The control algorithm was implemented on a floating-point digital signal processor; in tests, the use of digital signal-processing techniques gave a factor of ten improvement in the tracking response time, together with a modest improvement in tracking accuracy.

A differential-delay control for ramped magnet current

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murray, J. (State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook, NY (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering); Olsen, R. (Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States))

1992-01-01

A differential-delay control system has been designed and implemented for the main dipole magnet power supply of the booster ring at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Lab. The control algorithm was implemented on a floating-point digital signal processor; in tests, the use of digital signal-processing techniques gave a factor of ten improvement in the tracking response time, together with a modest improvement in tracking accuracy.

Speech and Language Delay

Science.gov (United States)

... OTC Relief for Diarrhea Home Diseases and Conditions Speech and Language Delay Condition Speech and Language Delay Share Print Table of Contents1. ... Treatment6. Everyday Life7. Questions8. Resources What is a speech and language delay? A speech and language delay ...

Distinct neural systems underlying reduced emotional enhancement for positive and negative stimuli in early Alzheimer’s disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panagiota eMistridis

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Emotional information is typically better remembered than neutral content, and previous studies suggest that this effect is subserved particularly by the amygdala together with its interactions with the hippocampus. However, it is not known whether amygdala damage affects emotional memory performance at immediate and delayed recall, and whether its involvement is modulated by stimulus valence. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent more distributed neocortical regions involved in e.g. autobiographical memory, also contribute to emotional processing. We investigated these questions in a group of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD, which affects the amygdala, hippocampus and neocortical regions. Healthy controls (n = 14, patients with AD (n = 15 and its putative prodrome amnestic mild cognitive impairment (n = 11 completed a memory task consisting of immediate and delayed free recall of a list of positive, negative and neutral words. Memory performance was related to brain integrity in region of interest and whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses. In the brain-behavioral analyses, the left amygdala volume predicted the immediate recall of both positive and negative material, whereas at delay, left and right amygdala volumes were associated with performance with positive and negative words, respectively. Whole-brain analyses revealed additional associations between left angular gyrus integrity and the immediate recall of positive words as well as between the orbitofrontal cortex and the delayed recall of negative words. These results indicate that emotional memory impairments in AD may be underpinned by damage to regions implicated in emotional processing as well as frontoparietal regions, which may exert their influence via autobiographical memories and organizational strategies.

The effects of activating the money concept on perseverance and preference for delayed gratification in children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agata eTrzcińska

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The psychological model of thinking about money assumes that implicit reminders of money lead to self-sufficient motivation. Previous research has demonstrated that children react to money in similar ways to adults. The priming of young children with money related concepts or images has negatively affected their social behaviour and social preferences, leading them to make more individualist and less pro-social choices and be less willing to help others. The aim of this research was to investigate the positive influence of money activation on children’s behaviour. The participants were six to eight year old children who do not yet fully understand the instrumental function of money due to their young age. Two experimental studies were performed, the first of which analysed the effect of perseverance and performance on a challenging task and the second investigated preferences with respect to delaying gratification. Sixty-one children aged 6 took part in the first study and forty-six scout camp participants 6 to 8 years of age were involved in the second experiment. The results support the hypotheses concerning the effects of money activation stating that (1 money activation influences children’s perseverance and effectiveness in difficult individual tasks, and that (2 it increases children’s preferences for delayed gratification. These results suggest that money has a symbolic power which may exert both positive and negative effects on children’s behaviour. Since children between the ages of 6 and 8 do not understand the instrumental function of money fully, certain symbolic meanings of money may have been responsible for the money priming effects. The findings suggest that the symbolic function of money is more primal than its instrumental function and that it probably develops at an earlier stage in life.

Negative and Positive Pretrial Publicity Affect Juror Memory and Decision Making

Science.gov (United States)

Ruva, Christine L.; McEvoy, Cathy

2008-01-01

The experiment examined the effects of exposure to pretrial publicity (PTP) and delay on juror memory and decision-making. Mock jurors read news articles containing negative PTP, positive PTP, or unrelated articles. Five days later, they viewed a videotaped murder trial, after which they made decisions about guilt. Finally, all participants…

Synchronization of delayed systems in the presence of delay time modulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kye, Won-Ho; Choi, Muhan; Kim, Myung-Woon; Lee, Soo-Young; Rim, Sunghwan; Kim, Chil-Min; Park, Young-Jai

2004-01-01

We investigate synchronization in the presence of delay time modulation for application to communication. We have observed that the robust synchronization is established by a common delay signal and its threshold is presented using Lyapunov exponents analysis. The influence of the delay time modulation in chaotic oscillators is also discussed

Delayed photoneutrons of the of the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huy, Ngo Quang [Centre for Nuclear Technique Application, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam); Thong, Ha Van; Long, Vu Hai; Khang, Ngo Phu; Dien, Nguyen Nhi; Lam, Pham Van; Phuong, Huynh Dong; Vien, Luong Ba; Vinh, Le Vinh [Nuclear Research Inst., Da Lat (Viet Nam)

1994-10-01

Time spectrum of delayed neutrons of the Dalat nuclear research reactor is measured and analyzed. It corresponds to a shut-down neutron fluxes of about 10{sup 5}/10{sup 8} n/cm{sup 2}/sec after 100 hours continuous reactor operation at steady power level of 500 kW. Data processing of experimental time neutron spectrum gives 16 exponents, of which 10, resulting from photoneutrons due to ({gamma},n) reactions on beryllium used inside the reactor core, are obtained by using successive exponential stripping fitting method. For the Dalat reactor, the effective delayed photoneutron fraction relative to the total effective delayed neutron fraction is {beta}{sup B}e{sub eff}=0.49%{beta}{sub eff} for a beryllium weight relative to U{sup 235} fuel of m{sub B}e/m{sub U} = 8.5. This result is acceptable in comparison to those obtained for other Be-U{sup 235} media. (author). 5 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs.

Modeling of delayed strains of concrete under biaxial loadings. Application to the reactor containment of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benboudjema, F.

2002-12-01

The prediction of delayed strains is of crucial importance for durability and long-term serviceability of concrete structures (bridges, containment vessels of nuclear power plants, etc.). Indeed, creep and shrinkage cause cracking, losses of pre-stress and redistribution of stresses, and also, rarely, the ruin of the structure. The objective of this work is to develop numerical tools, able to predict the long-term behavior of concrete structures. Thus, a new hydro mechanical model is developed, including the description of drying, shrinkage, creep and cracking phenomena for concrete as a non-saturated porous medium. The modeling of drying shrinkage is based on an unified approach of creep and shrinkage. Basic and drying creep models are based on relevant chemo-physical mechanisms, which occur at different scales of the cement paste. The basic creep is explicitly related to the micro-diffusion of the adsorbed water between inter-hydrates and intra-hydrates and the capillary pores, and the sliding of the C-S-H gel at the nano-porosity level. The drying creep is induced by the micro-diffusion of the adsorbed water at different scales of the porosity, under the simultaneous effects of drying and mechanical loadings. Drying shrinkage is, therefore, assumed to result from the elastic and delayed response of the solid skeleton, submitted to both capillary and disjoining pressures. Furthermore, the cracking behavior of concrete is described by an orthotropic elastoplastic damage model. The coupling between all these phenomena is performed by using effective stresses which account for both external applied stresses and pore pressures. This model has been incorporated into a finite element code. The analysis of the long-term behavior is also performed on concrete specimens and prestressed concrete structures submitted to simultaneous drying and mechanical loadings. (author)

Climate models with delay differential equations.

Science.gov (United States)

Keane, Andrew; Krauskopf, Bernd; Postlethwaite, Claire M

2017-11-01

A fundamental challenge in mathematical modelling is to find a model that embodies the essential underlying physics of a system, while at the same time being simple enough to allow for mathematical analysis. Delay differential equations (DDEs) can often assist in this goal because, in some cases, only the delayed effects of complex processes need to be described and not the processes themselves. This is true for some climate systems, whose dynamics are driven in part by delayed feedback loops associated with transport times of mass or energy from one location of the globe to another. The infinite-dimensional nature of DDEs allows them to be sufficiently complex to reproduce realistic dynamics accurately with a small number of variables and parameters. In this paper, we review how DDEs have been used to model climate systems at a conceptual level. Most studies of DDE climate models have focused on gaining insights into either the global energy balance or the fundamental workings of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system. For example, studies of DDEs have led to proposed mechanisms for the interannual oscillations in sea-surface temperature that is characteristic of ENSO, the irregular behaviour that makes ENSO difficult to forecast and the tendency of El Niño events to occur near Christmas. We also discuss the tools used to analyse such DDE models. In particular, the recent development of continuation software for DDEs makes it possible to explore large regions of parameter space in an efficient manner in order to provide a "global picture" of the possible dynamics. We also point out some directions for future research, including the incorporation of non-constant delays, which we believe could improve the descriptive power of DDE climate models.

Climate models with delay differential equations

Science.gov (United States)

Keane, Andrew; Krauskopf, Bernd; Postlethwaite, Claire M.

2017-11-01

A fundamental challenge in mathematical modelling is to find a model that embodies the essential underlying physics of a system, while at the same time being simple enough to allow for mathematical analysis. Delay differential equations (DDEs) can often assist in this goal because, in some cases, only the delayed effects of complex processes need to be described and not the processes themselves. This is true for some climate systems, whose dynamics are driven in part by delayed feedback loops associated with transport times of mass or energy from one location of the globe to another. The infinite-dimensional nature of DDEs allows them to be sufficiently complex to reproduce realistic dynamics accurately with a small number of variables and parameters. In this paper, we review how DDEs have been used to model climate systems at a conceptual level. Most studies of DDE climate models have focused on gaining insights into either the global energy balance or the fundamental workings of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system. For example, studies of DDEs have led to proposed mechanisms for the interannual oscillations in sea-surface temperature that is characteristic of ENSO, the irregular behaviour that makes ENSO difficult to forecast and the tendency of El Niño events to occur near Christmas. We also discuss the tools used to analyse such DDE models. In particular, the recent development of continuation software for DDEs makes it possible to explore large regions of parameter space in an efficient manner in order to provide a "global picture" of the possible dynamics. We also point out some directions for future research, including the incorporation of non-constant delays, which we believe could improve the descriptive power of DDE climate models.

Linear time delay methods and stability analyses of the human spine. Effects of neuromuscular reflex response.

Science.gov (United States)

Franklin, Timothy C; Granata, Kevin P; Madigan, Michael L; Hendricks, Scott L

2008-08-01

Linear stability methods were applied to a biomechanical model of the human musculoskeletal spine to investigate effects of reflex gain and reflex delay on stability. Equations of motion represented a dynamic 18 degrees-of-freedom rigid-body model with time-delayed reflexes. Optimal muscle activation levels were identified by minimizing metabolic power with the constraints of equilibrium and stability with zero reflex time delay. Muscle activation levels and associated muscle forces were used to find the delay margin, i.e., the maximum reflex delay for which the system was stable. Results demonstrated that stiffness due to antagonistic co-contraction necessary for stability declined with increased proportional reflex gain. Reflex delay limited the maximum acceptable proportional reflex gain, i.e., long reflex delay required smaller maximum reflex gain to avoid instability. As differential reflex gain increased, there was a small increase in acceptable reflex delay. However, differential reflex gain with values near intrinsic damping caused the delay margin to approach zero. Forward-dynamic simulations of the fully nonlinear time-delayed system verified the linear results. The linear methods accurately found the delay margin below which the nonlinear system was asymptotically stable. These methods may aid future investigations in the role of reflexes in musculoskeletal stability.

Chaos synchronization in time-delayed systems with parameter mismatches and variable delay times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahverdiev, E.M.; Nuriev, R.A.; Hashimov, R.H.; Shore, K.A.

2004-06-01

We investigate synchronization between two undirectionally linearly coupled chaotic nonidentical time-delayed systems and show that parameter mismatches are of crucial importance to achieve synchronization. We establish that independent of the relation between the delay time in the coupled systems and the coupling delay time, only retarded synchronization with the coupling delay time is obtained. We show that with parameter mismatch or without it neither complete nor anticipating synchronization occurs. We derive existence and stability conditions for the retarded synchronization manifold. We demonstrate our approach using examples of the Ikeda and Mackey Glass models. Also for the first time we investigate chaos synchronization in time-delayed systems with variable delay time and find both existence and sufficient stability conditions for the retarded synchronization manifold with the coupling-delay lag time. (author)

A decomposition approach to analysis of competitive-cooperative neural networks with delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu Tianguang; Zhang Zongda; Wang Zhaolin

2003-01-01

Competitive-cooperative or inhibitory-excitatory configurations abound in neural networks. It is demonstrated here how such a configuration may be exploited to give a detailed characterization of the fixed point dynamics in general neural networks with time delay. The idea is to divide the connection weights into inhibitory and excitatory types and thereby to embed a competitive-cooperative delay neural network into an augmented cooperative delay system through a symmetric transformation. This allows for the use of the powerful monotone properties of cooperative systems. By the method, we derive several simple necessary and sufficient conditions on guaranteed trapping regions and guaranteed componentwise (exponential) convergence of the neural networks. The results relate specific decay rate and trajectory bounds to system parameters and are therefore of practical significance in designing a network with desired performance

[Language and behavioral difficulties at age 3 and half and reading delay in grade 2].

Science.gov (United States)

Watier, L; Dellatolas, G; Chevrie-Muller, C

2006-09-01

Early detection of specific language impairment and dyslexia in children is an important public health problem. Longitudinal studies are needed for the distinction of real impairments from simple transitory delays. Teachers filled a 29-item questionnaire on language and behavior for 695 children aged 3.5 years. Four years later (at second grade of primary school) the same children were evaluated for reading and writing. Statistical analysis focused on the relationships between teacher's early observations and reading delay 4 years later. Associated factors were age, sex, educational level and bilinguism of the parents, and area of the school. The delay in written language acquisition (8.5% of the children) was significantly associated with low educational level (but not bilinguism) of the parents and to the area of the school. In univariate analysis, most of the teacher's early negative assessments were significantly related to reading/writing delay, with the exception of some behavioral problems. However, when the effect of associated factors was taken into account only a few items, mainly concerning language expression, remained significantly associated with later reading/writing delay. These data show a major role of associated factors (educational level of the parents, area of the school) in reading delay, and help to select specific teacher's observations for an early prediction of this delay.

Negative ion based neutral beams for plasma heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prelec, K.

1978-01-01

Neutral beam systems based on negative ions have been considered because of a high expected power efficiency. Methods for the production, acceleration and neutralization of negative ions will be reviewed and possibilities for an application in neutral beam lines explored

Time-delay interferometric ranging for space-borne gravitational-wave detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tinto, Massimo; Vallisneri, Michele; Armstrong, J.W.

2005-01-01

Space-borne interferometric gravitational-wave detectors, sensitive in the low-frequency (mHz) band, will fly in the next decade. In these detectors, the spacecraft-to-spacecraft light-travel times will necessarily be unequal and time varying, and (because of aberration) will have different values on up- and down-links. In such unequal-armlength interferometers, laser-phase noise will be canceled by taking linear combinations of the laser-phase observables measured between pairs of spacecraft, appropriately time shifted by the light propagation times along the corresponding arms. This procedure, known as time-delay interferometry (TDI), requires an accurate knowledge of the light-time delays as functions of time. Here we propose a high-accuracy technique to estimate these time delays, and we study its use in the context of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. We refer to this ranging technique, which relies on the TDI combinations themselves, as time-delay interferometric ranging (TDIR). For every TDI combination, we show that, by minimizing the rms power in that combination (averaged over integration times ∼10 4 s) with respect to the time-delay parameters, we obtain estimates of the time delays accurate enough to cancel laser noise to a level well below the secondary noises. Thus TDIR allows the implementation of TDI without the use of dedicated interspacecraft ranging systems, with a potential simplification of the LISA design. In this paper we define the TDIR procedure formally, and we characterize its expected performance via simulations with the Synthetic LISA software package

Nuclear reactor power control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshi, Yuji; Sakata, Akira; Karatsu, Hiroyuki.

1987-01-01

Purpose: To control abrupt changes in neutron fluxes by feeding back a correction signal obtained from a deviation between neutron fluxes and heat fluxes for changing the reactor core flow rate to a recycling flow rate control system upon abrupt power change of a nuclear reactor. Constitution: In addition to important systems, that is, a reactor pressure control system and a recycling control system in the power control device of a BWR type power plant, a control circuit for feeding back a deviation between neutron fluxes and heat fluxes to a recycling flow rate control system is disposed. In the suppression circuit, a deviation signal is prepared in an adder from neutron flux and heat flux signals obtained through a primary delay filter. The deviation signal is passed through a dead band and an advance/delay filter into a correction signal, which is adapted to be fed back to the recycling flow rate control system. As a result, the reactor power control can be conducted smoothly and it is possible to effectively suppress the abrupt change or over shoot of the neutron fluxes and abrupt power change. (Kamimura, M.)

Bifurcation analysis of delay-induced resonances of the El-Niño Southern Oscillation.

Science.gov (United States)

Krauskopf, Bernd; Sieber, Jan

2014-09-08

Models of global climate phenomena of low to intermediate complexity are very useful for providing an understanding at a conceptual level. An important aspect of such models is the presence of a number of feedback loops that feature considerable delay times, usually due to the time it takes to transport energy (for example, in the form of hot/cold air or water) around the globe. In this paper, we demonstrate how one can perform a bifurcation analysis of the behaviour of a periodically forced system with delay in dependence on key parameters. As an example, we consider the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is a sea-surface temperature (SST) oscillation on a multi-year scale in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. One can think of ENSO as being generated by an interplay between two feedback effects, one positive and one negative, which act only after some delay that is determined by the speed of transport of SST anomalies across the Pacific. We perform here a case study of a simple delayed-feedback oscillator model for ENSO, which is parametrically forced by annual variation. More specifically, we use numerical bifurcation analysis tools to explore directly regions of delay-induced resonances and other stability boundaries in this delay-differential equation model for ENSO.

Rural Residents’ Perception of Construction Project Delays in Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahid Hussain

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The construction industry is one of the key sectors that facilitate sustainable economic and social development in the region. Currently, community development mechanisms are adopted by many developed and developing nations, aimed at enhancing economic growth and quality of life along with social welfare of the local community. This study reviews the rural residents’ perception of public construction project delays and aims to explore economic and social challenges confronted by residents, especially in rural areas in Pakistan. A questionnaire with 26 factors identified from the literature was sent to rural educated residents. Through a questionnaire survey, the opinions of rural residents were sought and tested. Based on 366 (73% valid responses, this study examined the socio-economic influencing factors. The findings of the study revealed that problems faced while traveling, increase the price of consumer goods, high transportation costs, lack of educational opportunities, more expenditures on education, and barriers to primary healthcare access were the top most important factors. Research results confirmed that the delays in construction projects negatively affect the socio-economic conditions of the rural community, which directly influence the rural dwells’ sustainable life. The research findings suggest that the practitioners in public sector organization make sure to execute the project on time and within the quality. Otherwise, it has negative socio-economic implications for the rural community.

Power Oscillation Damping from VSC-HVDC Connected Offshore Wind Power Plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeni, Lorenzo; Eriksson, Robert; Goumalatsos, Spyridon

2016-01-01

The implementation of power oscillation damping service on offshore wind power plants connected to onshore grids by voltage-source-converter-based high voltage direct current transmission is discussed. Novel design guidelines for damping controllers on voltage-source converters and wind power plant...... regarding real wind power plants are discussed: 1) robustness against control/communication delays; 2) limitations due to mechanical resonances in wind turbine generators; 3) actual capability of wind power plants to provide damping without curtailing production; and 4) power-ramp rate limiters....... controllers are derived, using phasor diagrams and a test network model and are then verified on a generic power system model. The effect of voltage regulators is analyzed, which is important for selecting the most robust damping strategy. Furthermore, other often disregarded practical implementation aspects...

Permanence of a Semi-Ratio-Dependent Predator-Prey System with Nonmonotonic Functional Response and Time Delay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuepeng Li

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Sufficient conditions for permanence of a semi-ratio-dependent predator-prey system with nonmonotonic functional response and time delay ̇1(=1([1(−11(1(−(−12(2(/(2+21(],  ̇2(=2([2(−21(2(/1(], are obtained, where 1( and 2( stand for the density of the prey and the predator, respectively, and ≠0 is a constant. (≥0 stands for the time delays due to negative feedback of the prey population.

Classic conditioning in aged rabbits: delay, trace, and long-delay conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, P R; Groccia-Ellison, M E

1996-06-01

Young (0.5 years) and aged (2+, 3+, and 4+ years) rabbits underwent acquisition of the classically conditioned nictitating membrane response in a delay (500-ms conditioned stimulus [CS], 400-ms interstimulus interval [ISI]), long-delay (1,000-ms CS, 900-ms ISI), or trace (500-ms CS, 400-ms stimulus-free period) paradigm. Collapsing across age groups, there is a general tendency for animals to acquire trace conditioning more slowly than delay conditioning. Collapsing across conditioning paradigms, there is a general tendency for aged animals to acquire more slowly than younger animals. Of greater significance, however, are the age differences in the different conditioning paradigms. In the delay and long-delay paradigms, significant conditioning deficits first appeared in the 4(+)-year-old group. In the trace conditioning paradigm, significant conditioning deficits became apparent in the 2(+)-year-old animals.

The value of auditing negative lower GI investigations preceding a final diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Somasekar, A; James, L; Stephenson, B M; Thompson, I W; Vellacott, K D; Allison, M C

2009-09-01

To review all preceding 'negative' large bowel investigations in patients with a final diagnosis of colorectal cancer, and to examine whether delayed diagnosis was associated with worse outcome. Details were gathered on all patients with a new diagnosis of colorectal adenocarcinoma presenting over 4.5 years. For each patient the hospital's clinical workstation and radiology and endoscopy databases were interrogated for all flexible sigmoidoscopies, colonoscopies and barium enemas during the 5 years prior to diagnosis. Among the 570 patients, 28 (5%) had undergone colonoscopy and/or flexible sigmoidoscopy that had not shown colorectal cancer during the 5 years preceding final diagnosis, and a further 28 (5%) had undergone 'negative' barium enemas. Polyp surveillance might have missed four lesions destined to become malignant. Correspondingly there were three patients undergoing IBD surveillance found to have CRC, having had a negative complete colonoscopy within the preceding 5 years. Among patients undergoing de novo colonoscopy for diagnosis the true miss rate was only one patient per year. At August 2007, 29 (58%) of those with delayed diagnosis were still alive, compared with 216 (42%) of those diagnosed during initial investigation (chi2 = 5.04, P auditing the quality assurance of lower gastrointestinal diagnostic services. Despite the delay, late diagnosis was found to be associated with improved survival and a lower likelihood of metastatic disease.

Delay Mitigation in the Malaysian Housing Industry: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Saar Chai

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The housing industry is one of the major contributors to the economy in Malaysia due to the constantly high housing demand. The housing demand has increased due to the rapid growth in population and urbanisation in the country. One of the major challenges in the housing industry is the late delivery of housing supply, which in some instances leads to sick and abandoned housing projects. Despite being extensively investigated, th in a negative impact, there is a strong need to review the housing delay mitigation measures practised in Malaysia. This paper aims to evaluate the current delay mitigation measures and its main objective is to explore the relationship between the mitigation measures and delay in housing via a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM approach. A questionnaire survey through an online survey tool was conducted across 13 states and three Federal Territories in Malaysia. The target respondents are the local authorities, developers, consultants (principal submitting persons and contractors. The findings show that 17 predictive, preventive, organisational or corrective. This paper demonstrates that preventive measures are the most influential mitigation measures for housing delivery delay.

Hazards of neoliberalism: delayed electric power restoration after Hurricane Ike.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Lee M; Antonio, Robert J; Bonanno, Alessandro

2011-09-01

This case study explores how neoliberal policies shape the impacts of a natural disaster. We investigate the reactions to major damages to the electric power system and the restoration of power in the wake of Hurricane Ike, which devastated the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area in September 2008. We argue that the neoliberal policy agenda insured a minimalist approach to the crisis and generated dissatisfaction among many residents. The short-term profitability imperative shifted reconstruction costs to consumers, and prevented efforts to upgrade the electric power infrastructure to prepare for future disasters. We illustrate the serious obstacles for disaster mitigation and recovery posed by neoliberal policies that privatize public goods and socialize private costs. Neoliberalism neither addresses the needs of a highly stratified public nor their long-term interests and safety. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2011.

Defect enhanced diffusion process and hydrogen delayed fracture in high strength steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lung, C.W.; Mu Zaiqin.

1985-10-01

A defect enhanced diffusion model for hydrogen delayed fracture in high strength steels is suggested. It is shown that the rate of crack growth is dependent on the square or higher power of the stress intensity factor which is consistent with recent experiments. (author)

Reconstruction of the limit cycles by the delays method; Reconstruccion de ciclos limite por el metodo de los retardos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castillo D, R.; Ortiz V, J. [ININ, 52045 Ocoyoacac, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Calleros M, G. [CFE, CNLV, Alto Lucero, Veracruz (Mexico)]. e-mail: rcd@nuclear.inin.mx

2003-07-01

The boiling water reactors (BWRs) are designed for usually to operate in a stable-lineal regime. In a limit cycle the behavior of the one system is no lineal-stable. In a BWR, instabilities of nuclear- thermohydraulics nature can take the reactor to a limit cycle. The limit cycles should to be avoided since the oscillations of power can cause thermal fatigue to the fuel and/or shroud. In this work the employment of the delays method is analyzed for its application in the detection of limit cycles in a nuclear power plant. The foundations of the method and it application to power signals to different operation conditions are presented. The analyzed signals are: to steady state, nuclear-thermohydraulic instability, a non linear transitory and, finally, failure of a controller plant . Among the main results it was found that the delays method can be applied to detect limit cycles in the power monitors of the BWR reactors. It was also found that the first zero of the autocorrelation function is an appropriate approach to select the delay in the detection of limit cycles, for the analyzed cases. (Author)

Bilingualism as a strategy to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease

Science.gov (United States)

Klimova, Blanka; Valis, Martin; Kuca, Kamil

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore original studies which provide evidence about the effects of bilingualism on the delay of the onset of dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A literature review was conducted in the world’s acknowledged databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE. Altogether, 14 original studies focusing on the research topic were detected. These included six prospective cohort studies and eight retrospective studies. Both types of studies suggest different conclusions. The findings from the prospective cohort studies state that there is no association between bilingualism and the delay of the onset of AD, while the retrospective studies claim the opposite. Despite the negative results of the prospective cohort studies, more research should be conducted on bilingualism and its impact on the delay of the onset of AD, since the brain studies have brought positive findings as far as the enhancement of cognitive reserve is concerned. PMID:29089747

Persistent Memory in Single Node Delay-Coupled Reservoir Computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovac, André David; Koall, Maximilian; Pipa, Gordon; Toutounji, Hazem

2016-01-01

Delays are ubiquitous in biological systems, ranging from genetic regulatory networks and synaptic conductances, to predator/pray population interactions. The evidence is mounting, not only to the presence of delays as physical constraints in signal propagation speed, but also to their functional role in providing dynamical diversity to the systems that comprise them. The latter observation in biological systems inspired the recent development of a computational architecture that harnesses this dynamical diversity, by delay-coupling a single nonlinear element to itself. This architecture is a particular realization of Reservoir Computing, where stimuli are injected into the system in time rather than in space as is the case with classical recurrent neural network realizations. This architecture also exhibits an internal memory which fades in time, an important prerequisite to the functioning of any reservoir computing device. However, fading memory is also a limitation to any computation that requires persistent storage. In order to overcome this limitation, the current work introduces an extended version to the single node Delay-Coupled Reservoir, that is based on trained linear feedback. We show by numerical simulations that adding task-specific linear feedback to the single node Delay-Coupled Reservoir extends the class of solvable tasks to those that require nonfading memory. We demonstrate, through several case studies, the ability of the extended system to carry out complex nonlinear computations that depend on past information, whereas the computational power of the system with fading memory alone quickly deteriorates. Our findings provide the theoretical basis for future physical realizations of a biologically-inspired ultrafast computing device with extended functionality.

The Consequence of Delayed Fixation on Subsequent Preservation of Urine Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hussain G. Ahmed,

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Degenerative changes caused by delays in urine preservation contribute to false-negative and false-positive interpretation of urothelial disease in cytology. The aim of this study is to assess whether the delay of fixation of urine samples makes any significant difference to urine cytology and morphology, and the limit of acceptability of delay for routine use in the hospital laboratory.Methods: Three cell collection fluids were evaluated by analyzing the preservation and degeneration of cells in urine samples. In this study, 50 voided urine specimens were taken at random from females complaining of vaginal discharge. Each specimen was divided into three sterile containers. The first was immediately centrifugated and the deposit was smeared onto a cleaned micro slide and immediately fixed into 95�0ethyl alcohol for 15 minutes. The remaining two were prepared in the same manner, however, the second after two hours of collection and the third after four hours of collection. The degree of degeneration and thus the preservation were assessed by a table of chosen criteria, then ranked and analyzed using Friedman's nonparametric test, atp=0.05.Results: The results showed a significant difference between the preservation and the delay in urine fixation, p<0.0001.Conclusion: Any delay in fixation of urine specimen for cytology affects the preservation of cells, which may result in miss diagnosis. It is recommended that urine samples for cytology should be fixed immediately after collection.

Elite athletes and pubertal delay.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapczuk, Karina

2017-10-01

Intensive physical training and participation in competitive sports during childhood and early adolescence may affect athletes' pubertal development. On the other hand, pubertal timing, early or late, may impact on an athlete selection for a particular sport. Genetic predisposition, training load, nutritional status and psychological stress determine athletes' pubertal timing. Athletes that practice esthetic sports, especially gymnasts, are predisposed to a delay in pubertal development. The growing evidence indicates that energy deficiency, not a systemic training per se, plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of functional hypothalamic hypogonadism in female athletes. Metabolic and psychologic stress activate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and suppress hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Female athletes who do not begin secondary sexual development by the age of 14 or menstruation by the age of 16 warrant a comprehensive evaluation and a targeted treatment. Somatic growth and sexual maturation of elite female athletes are largely sport-specific since each sport favors a particular somatotype and requires a specific training. Chronic negative energy balance resulting from a systemic physical training and inadequate energy intake may delay pubertal development in elite athletes. Youth athletes, especially those engaged in competitive sports that emphasize prepubertal or lean appearance, are at risk of developing relative energy deficiency in sport associated with disordered eating or eating disorders. Management strategies should address the complex conditions underlying functional hypothalamic hypogonadism.

Global synchronization criteria with channel time-delay for chaotic time-delay system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Jitao

2004-01-01

Based on the Lyapunov stabilization theory, matrix measure, and linear matrix inequality (LMIs), this paper studies the chaos synchronization of time-delay system using the unidirectional linear error feedback coupling with time-delay. Some generic conditions of chaos synchronization with time-delay in the transmission channel is established. The chaotic Chua's circuit is used for illustration, where the coupling parameters are determined according to the criteria under which the global chaos synchronization of the time-delay coupled systems is achieved

Delayed minocycline but not delayed mild hypothermia protects against embolic stroke

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noor Raza

2002-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Inflammatory reactions occurring in the brain after ischemia may contribute to secondary damage. In the present study, effects of minocycline, an anti-inflammatory agent, alone or in combination with mild hypothermia on focal embolic cerebral ischemia have been examined. Methods Focal ischemic injury was induced by embolizing a preformed clot into the middle cerebral artery (MCA. Infarction volume was measured at 48 h after the injury. Mortality was also recorded. Results Delayed administration of minocycline alone or delayed minocycline plus delayed mild hypothermia reduced the infarction volume significantly. However, delayed mild hypothermia alone was not protective and delayed mild hypothermia in combination with minocycline did not show any additive effect. Conclusions These results suggest that minocycline is beneficial in focal ischemic brain injury, and the lack of the enhanced neuroprotection may be due to the brief exposure to hypothermia.

Delayed Hospital Discharges of Older Patients: A Systematic Review on Prevalence and Costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Landeiro, Filipa; Roberts, Kenny; Gray, Alastair Mcintosh; Leal, José

2017-05-23

To determine the prevalence of delayed discharges of elderly inpatients and associated costs. We searched Medline, Embase, Global Health, CAB Abstracts, Econlit, Web of Knowledge, EBSCO - CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, Health Management Information Consortium, and SCIE - Social Care Online for evidence published between 1990 and 2015 on number of days or proportion of delayed discharges for elderly inpatients in acute hospitals. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted. Data on proportions of delayed discharges were pooled using a random effects logistic model and the association of relevant factors was assessed. Mean costs of delayed discharge were calculated in USD adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Of 64 studies included, 52 (81.3%) reported delayed discharges as proportions of total hospital stay and 9 (14.1%) estimated the respective costs for these delays. Proportions of delayed discharges varied widely, from 1.6% to 91.3% with a weighted mean of 22.8%. This variation was also seen in studies from the same country, for example, in the United Kingdom, they ranged between 1.6% and 60.0%. No factor was found to be significantly associated with delays. The mean costs of delayed discharge also varied widely (between 142 and 31,935 USD PPP adjusted), reflecting the variability in mean days of delay per patient. Delayed discharges occur in most countries and the associated costs are significant. However, the variability in prevalence of delayed discharges and available data on costs limit our knowledge of the full impact of delayed discharges. A standardization of methods is necessary to allow comparisons to be made, and additional studies are required-preferably by disease area-to determine the postdischarge needs of specific patient groups and the estimated costs of delays. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Effects of Activating the Money Concept on Perseverance and the Preference for Delayed Gratification in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Trzcińska, Agata; Sekścińska, Katarzyna

2016-01-01

The psychological model of thinking about money assumes that implicit reminders of money lead to self-sufficient motivation. Previous research has demonstrated that children react to money in similar ways to adults. The priming of young children with money related concepts or images has negatively affected their social behavior and social preferences, leading them to make more individualist and less pro-social choices and be less willing to help others. The aim of this research was to investigate the positive influence of money activation on children's behavior. The participants were 6-8 year old children who do not yet fully understand the instrumental function of money due to their young age. Two experimental studies were performed, the first of which analyzed the effect of perseverance and performance on a challenging task and the second investigated preferences with respect to delaying gratification. Sixty-one children aged 6 took part in the first study and forty-six scout camp participants 6-8 years of age were involved in the second experiment. The results support the hypotheses concerning the effects of money activation stating that (1) money activation influences children's perseverance and effectiveness in difficult individual tasks, and that (2) it increases children's preferences for delayed gratification. These results suggest that money has a symbolic power which may exert both positive and negative effects on children's behavior. Since children between the ages of 6 and 8 do not understand the instrumental function of money fully, certain symbolic meanings of money may have been responsible for the money priming effects. The findings suggest that the symbolic function of money is more primal than its instrumental function and that it probably develops at an earlier stage in life.

Is "Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping" Beneficial for Premature Newborns?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir-Mohammad Armanian

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The appropriate moment for clamping the umbilical cord is controversial. Immediate cord clamping (ICC is an item of active management of the third stage of labor (AMTSL. Unclamped umbilical cord may cause inconvenience in preterm neonates because they commonly need some levels of emergent services. Some studies revealed delayed cord clamping (DCC of preterm neonates results in better health conditions like lower rates of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS, less morbidities in labor room and lower risk of postpartum hemorrhage. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of delayed umbilical cord clamping on premature neonatal outcomes. Materials and Methods: In this single‑center randomized control trial study, sixty premature neonates (gestational age ≤ 34 weeks were randomly assigned to ICC (cord clamped at 5–10 seconds or DCC (30–45 seconds groups and followed up in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU. Primary outcomes were 1st and 5th minute Apgar score, average of level of hematocrit after birth, intra ventricle hemorrhage and need some levels of resuscitation. Results: Differences in demographic characteristics were not statistically significant. After birth, neonates who had delayed clamping had significantly higher mean hematocrit after at 4-hour of birth (49.58+5.15gr/dl vs. 46.58+5.40gr/dlin DCC vs. ICC groups, respectively (P=0.031. Delayed cord clamping reduced the duration of need to nasal continues positive airway pressure (NCPAP (86.7% and 60.0% in ICC and DCC groups, respectively, P= 0.039. Attractively, the results showed lower incidence of clinical sepsis in delayed cord clamping neonates (53.3% vs. 23.3% in ICC and DCC groups, respectively, P=0.033. Conclusion: Prematurity complications might decrease by delay umbilical cord clamping which improve the hematocrit, duration of need to NCPAP and incidence of clinical sepsis. Furthermore, DCC may have no negative impact on neonatal resuscitation.

Delayed puberty in girls

Science.gov (United States)

... sexual development - girls; Pubertal delay - girls; Constitutional delayed puberty ... In most cases of delayed puberty, growth changes just begin later than usual, sometimes called a late bloomer. Once puberty begins, it progresses normally. This pattern runs ...

Delayed hepatobiliary imaging in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, S.; Ma, Z.; Tang, Z.

2000-01-01

In recent years, the use of ultrasonography (US), X-CT and MRI has reduced the employment of isotopic explorations in the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). But sometime the results of US, X-CT or MRI were different and diagnosis was very difficult. This present investigation was aimed to assess the usefulness of delayed hepatobiliary imaging in the diagnosis of HCC in these patients. Forty-eight patients consisting of 33 males and 15 females were entered into the research protocol. The mean age was 46 yr old (range 12-71 yr old). All of the patients were performed by surgery and verified histologically after nuclear examination. The subject was in a supine position under a gamma camera (Elscint, Apex Ap-6) and 555 MBq of Tc-99m-PMT were injected intravenously. The initial scinphotos obtained within 1 min after injection were used to image the blood pool phase. Subsequently, hepatic scans were obtained at 5 min, 1,2 and 5 hr. Anterior, right lateral and posterior hepatic images were recorded. According to the radioactive uptake by the lesion in delayed phase, the negative (no or minor uptake), positive (equal or greater uptake) or very strong positive (almost equal to the activity, of gallbladder) were judged. The positive were considered as diagnostic of HCC. And the very strong positive, were considered as diagnostic of benign hepatoma, such as adenoma or FNH. Thirty-seven of the forty-eight patients were HCC based on histology. Delayed imaging revealed increased or equilibrated uptake of radioactivity by the tumors in 22 of 37 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The sensitivity was 59.5%. One patient final diagnosis based on histology was focal nodular regenerative hyperplasia, and only the diagnosis with delayed hepatobiliary imaging before surgery was correct. Compared with US, X-CT and MRI, delayed hepatobiliary imaging had the highest specificity for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. In recent group, the specificity of Tc-99m-PMT delayed

Analysis of deterministic cyclic gene regulatory network models with delays

CERN Document Server

Ahsen, Mehmet Eren; Niculescu, Silviu-Iulian

2015-01-01

This brief examines a deterministic, ODE-based model for gene regulatory networks (GRN) that incorporates nonlinearities and time-delayed feedback. An introductory chapter provides some insights into molecular biology and GRNs. The mathematical tools necessary for studying the GRN model are then reviewed, in particular Hill functions and Schwarzian derivatives. One chapter is devoted to the analysis of GRNs under negative feedback with time delays and a special case of a homogenous GRN is considered. Asymptotic stability analysis of GRNs under positive feedback is then considered in a separate chapter, in which conditions leading to bi-stability are derived. Graduate and advanced undergraduate students and researchers in control engineering, applied mathematics, systems biology and synthetic biology will find this brief to be a clear and concise introduction to the modeling and analysis of GRNs.

Delaying Payments after the Financial Crisis: Evidence from EU Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isaac Kwame Essien Obeng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper investigates economic impact of delayed payments caused by liquidity crisis in the European Union. Using micro data sets on financial statements of 54,277 firms for the period of 2005 to 2014 inclusive, we perform panel data analysis by estimating fixed effects regression models with selected macroeconomic shocks. The results show high variability of late payments during financial crisis compare to period of relative stable economic situations and late payments is significantly evident across countries under different economic conditions. Additionally, we identify positive relationship between the response variable, late payments, and firm profitability measured with returns on assets, but negative relationship with firm total assets as it depends on the speed of collections from receivables. The results suggest delays in payment of invoices beyond the given credit period across the different European Union member countries.

Determination of delayed neutrons source in the frequency domain based on in-pile oscillation measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yedvab, Y.; Reiss, I.; Bettan, M.; Harari, R.; Grober, A.; Ettedgui, H.; Caspi, E. N.

2006-01-01

A method for determining delayed neutrons source in the frequency domain based on measuring power oscillations in a non-critical reactor is presented. This method is unique in the sense that the delayed neutrons source is derived from the dynamic behavior of the reactor, which serves as the measurement system. An algorithm for analyzing power oscillation measurements was formulated, which avoids the need for a multi-parameter non-linear fit process used by other methods. Using this algorithm results of two sets of measurements performed in IRR-I and IRR-II (Israeli Research Reactors I and II) are presented. The agreement between measured values from both reactors and calculated values based on Keepin (and JENDL-3.3) group parameters is very good. (authors)

Delayed Puberty (For Teens)

Science.gov (United States)

... Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Delayed Puberty KidsHealth / For Teens / Delayed Puberty What's in this ... wonder if there's anything wrong. What Is Delayed Puberty? Puberty is the time when your body grows ...

A structural equation model of the relationship between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoid thinking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander J Scott

Full Text Available A growing body of evidence points to relationships between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoid thinking. However, studies are needed to examine (i whether negative affect mediates the relation between insomnia and paranoid thinking, (ii whether different types of insomnia exert different effects on paranoia, and (iii to compare the impact of objective and self-reported sleeping difficulties.Structural equation modelling was therefore used to test competing models of the relationships between self-reported insomnia, negative affect, and paranoia. n = 348 participants completed measures of insomnia, negative affect and paranoia. A subset of these participants (n = 91 went on to monitor their sleep objectively (using a portable sleep monitor made by Zeo for seven consecutive nights. Associations between objectively recorded sleep, negative affect, and paranoia were explored using linear regression.The findings supported a fully mediated model where self-reported delayed sleep onset, but not self-reported problems with sleep maintenance or objective measures of sleep, was directly associated with negative affect that, in turn, was associated with paranoia. There was no evidence of a direct association between delayed sleep onset or sleep maintenance problems and paranoia.Taken together, the findings point to an association between perceived (but not objective difficulties initially falling asleep (but not maintaining sleep and paranoid thinking; a relationship that is fully mediated by negative affect. Future research should seek to disentangle the causal relationships between sleep, negative affect, and paranoia (e.g., by examining the effect of an intervention using prospective designs that incorporate experience sampling. Indeed, interventions might profitably target (i perceived sleep quality, (ii sleep onset, and / or (iii emotion regulation as a route to reducing negative affect and, thus, paranoid thinking.

Delayed transitions in non-linear replicator networks: About ghosts and hypercycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sardanyes, Josep; Sole, Ricard V.

2007-01-01

In this paper we analyze delayed transition phenomena associated to extinction thresholds in a mean field model for hypercycles composed of three and four units, respectively. Hence, we extend a previous analysis carried out with the two-membered hypercycle [see Sardanyes J, Sole RV. Ghosts in the origins of life? Int J Bifurcation Chaos 2006;16(9), in press]. The models we analyze show that, after the tangent bifurcation, these hypercycles also leave a ghost in phase space. These ghosts, which actually conserve the dynamical properties of the coalesced coexistence fixed point, delay the flows before hypercycle extinction. In contrast with the two-component hypercycle, both ghosts show a plateau in the delay as φ → 0, thus displacing the power-law dependence to higher values of φ, in which the scaling law is now given by τ ∼ φ β , with β = -1/3 (where τ is the delay and φ = ε - ε c , the parametric distance above the extinction bifurcation point). These results suggest that the presence of the ghost is a general property of hypercycles. Such ghosts actually cause a memory effect which might increase hypercycle survival chances in fluctuating environments

Influences of adding negative couplings between cliques of Kuramoto-like oscillators

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Li-xin; Lin, Xiao-lin; Jiang, Jun

2018-06-01

We study the dynamics in a clustered network of coupled oscillators by considering positive and negative coupling schemes. Second order oscillators can be interpreted as a model of consumers and generators working in a power network. Numerical results indicate that coupling strategies play an important role in the synchronizability of the clustered power network. It is found that the synchronizability can be enhanced as the positive intragroup connections increase. Meanwhile, when the intragroup interactions are positive and the probability p that two nodes belonging to different clusters are connected is increased, the synchronization has better performance. Besides, when the intragroup connections are negative, it is observed that the power network has poor synchronizability as the probability p increases. Our simulation results can help us understand the collective behavior of the power network with positive and negative couplings.

Sensitivity analysis of power excursion in RSG-GAS reactor due to reactivity insertion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinem, Surian; Sembiring, Tagor Malem

2002-01-01

Reactor kinetics has a very important role in reactor operation safety and nuclear reactor control. One of the important aspects in reactor kinetics is power behavior as function of time due to chain reaction in the core. The calculation was performed using kinetic equation and feedback reactivity and evaluated using static power coefficient. Analysis was performed for oxide 250 g, silicide 250 g and silicide 300 g fuel elements with insertion of positive reactivity, negative reactivity and reactivity close to delay neutron fraction. The calculation of power excursion sensitivity showed that the insertion of 0,5 % Δk/k, in the fuel element of silicide 300 g is bigger 5 % than the one of oxide 250 g or silicide 250 g. If inserted by - 1,2 % Δk/k, there is no change among three fuel elements. Therefore, in kinetic point of view, it is showed there is no significant influence in the RSG-GAS reactor operation safety is the current core of oxide 250 g is converted to silicide 250 g or to silicide 300 g

Brain and behavioral inhibitory control of kindergartners facing negative emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Farbiash, Tali; Berger, Andrea

2016-09-01

Inhibitory control (IC) - one of the most critical functions underlying a child's ability to self-regulate - develops significantly throughout the kindergarten years. Experiencing negative emotions imposes challenges on executive functioning and may specifically affect IC. In this study, we examined kindergartners' IC and its related brain activity during a negative emotional situation: 58 children (aged 5.5-6.5 years) performed an emotion-induction Go/NoGo task. During this task, we recorded children's performance and brain activity, focusing on the fronto-central N2 component in the event-related potential (ERP) and the power of its underlying theta frequency. Compared to Go trials, inhibition of NoGo trials was associated with larger N2 amplitudes and theta power. The negative emotional experience resulted in better IC performance and, at the brain level, in larger theta power. Source localization of this effect showed that the brain activity related to IC during the negative emotional experience was principally generated in the posterior frontal regions. Furthermore, the band power measure was found to be a more sensitive index for children's inhibitory processes than N2 amplitudes. This is the first study to focus on kindergartners' IC while manipulating their emotional experience to induce negative emotions. Our findings suggest that a kindergartner's experience of negative emotion can result in improved IC and increases in associated aspects of brain activity. Our results also suggest the utility of time-frequency analyses in the study of brain processes associated with response inhibition in young children. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Defining Tolerance: Impacts of Delay and Disruption when Managing Challenged Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Birrane, Edward J. III; Burleigh, Scott C.; Cerf, Vint

2011-01-01

Challenged networks exhibit irregularities in their communication performance stemming from node mobility, power constraints, and impacts from the operating environment. These irregularities manifest as high signal propagation delay and frequent link disruption. Understanding those limits of link disruption and propagation delay beyond which core networking features fail is an ongoing area of research. Various wireless networking communities propose tools and techniques that address these phenomena. Emerging standardization activities within the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) and the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) look to build upon both this experience and scalability analysis. Successful research in this area is predicated upon identifying enablers for common communication functions (notably node discovery, duplex communication, state caching, and link negotiation) and how increased disruptions and delays affect their feasibility within the network. Networks that make fewer assumptions relating to these enablers provide more universal service. Specifically, reliance on node discovery and link negotiation results in network-specific operational concepts rather than scalable technical solutions. Fundamental to this debate are the definitions, assumptions, operational concepts, and anticipated scaling of these networks. This paper presents the commonalities and differences between delay and disruption tolerance, including support protocols and critical enablers. We present where and how these tolerances differ. We propose a set of use cases that must be accommodated by any standardized delay-tolerant network and discuss the implication of these on existing tool development.

Environmental enrichment decreases asphyxia-induced neurobehavioral developmental delay in neonatal rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiss, Peter; Vadasz, Gyongyver; Kiss-Illes, Blanka; Horvath, Gabor; Tamas, Andrea; Reglodi, Dora; Koppan, Miklos

2013-11-13

Perinatal asphyxia during delivery produces long-term disability and represents a major problem in neonatal and pediatric care. Numerous neuroprotective approaches have been described to decrease the effects of perinatal asphyxia. Enriched environment is a popular strategy to counteract nervous system injuries. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether enriched environment is able to decrease the asphyxia-induced neurobehavioral developmental delay in neonatal rats. Asphyxia was induced in ready-to-deliver mothers by removing the pups by caesarian section after 15 min of asphyxia. Somatic and neurobehavioral development was tested daily and motor coordination weekly. Our results show that rats undergoing perinatal asphyxia had a marked developmental delay and worse performance in motor coordination tests. However, pups kept in enriched environment showed a decrease in the developmental delay observed in control asphyctic pups. Rats growing up in enriched environment did not show decrease in weight gain after the first week and the delay in reflex appearance was not as marked as in control rats. In addition, the development of motor coordination was not as strikingly delayed as in the control group. Short-term neurofunctional outcome are known to correlate with long-term deficits. Our results thus show that enriched environment could be a powerful strategy to decrease the deleterious developmental effects of perinatal asphyxia.

Radar time delays in the dynamic theory of gravity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haranas I.I.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available There is a new theory gravity called the dynamic theory, which is derived from thermodynamic principles in a five dimensional space, radar signals traveling times and delays are calculated for the major planets in the solar system, and compared to those of general relativity. This is done by using the usual four dimensional spherically symmetric space-time element of classical general relativistic gravity which has now been slightly modified by a negative inverse radial exponential term due to the dynamic theory of gravity potential.

A liquid lens switching-based motionless variable fiber-optic delay line

Science.gov (United States)

Khwaja, Tariq Shamim; Reza, Syed Azer; Sheikh, Mumtaz

2018-05-01

We present a Variable Fiber-Optic Delay Line (VFODL) module capable of imparting long variable delays by switching an input optical/RF signal between Single Mode Fiber (SMF) patch cords of different lengths through a pair of Electronically Controlled Tunable Lenses (ECTLs) resulting in a polarization-independent operation. Depending on intended application, the lengths of the SMFs can be chosen accordingly to achieve the desired VFODL operation dynamic range. If so desired, the state of the input signal polarization can be preserved with the use of commercially available polarization-independent ECTLs along with polarization-maintaining SMFs (PM-SMFs), resulting in an output polarization that is identical to the input. An ECTL-based design also improves power consumption and repeatability. The delay switching mechanism is electronically-controlled, involves no bulk moving parts, and can be fully-automated. The VFODL module is compact due to the use of small optical components and SMFs that can be packaged compactly.

Projects Delay Factors of Saudi Arabia Construction Industry Using PLS-SEM Path Modelling Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Rahman Ismail

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the development of PLS-SEM Path Model of delay factors of Saudi Arabia construction industry focussing on Mecca City. The model was developed and assessed using SmartPLS v3.0 software and it consists of 37 factors/manifests in 7 groups/independent variables and one dependent variable which is delay of the construction projects. The model was rigorously assessed at measurement and structural components and the outcomes found that the model has achieved the required threshold values. At structural level of the model, among the seven groups, the client and consultant group has the highest impact on construction delay with path coefficient β-value of 0.452 and the project management and contract administration group is having the least impact to the construction delay with β-value of 0.016. The overall model has moderate explaining power ability with R2 value of 0.197 for Saudi Arabia construction industry representation. This model will able to assist practitioners in Mecca city to pay more attention in risk analysis for potential construction delay.

Robust Controller for Delays and Packet Dropout Avoidance in Solar-Power Wireless Network

OpenAIRE

Al-Azzawi, Waleed

2013-01-01

Solar Wireless Networked Control Systems (SWNCS) are a style of distributed control systems where sensors, actuators, and controllers are interconnected via a wireless communication network. This system setup has the benefit of low cost, flexibility, low weight, no wiring and simplicity of system diagnoses and maintenance. However, it also unavoidably calls some wireless network time delays and packet dropout into the design procedure. Solar lighting system offers a clean environment, therefo...

Reward acts as a signal to control delay-period activity in delayed-response tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Ichihara-Takeda, Satoe; Takeda, Kazuyoshi; Funahashi, Shintaro

2010-03-31

Prefrontal delay-period activity represents a neural mechanism for the active maintenance of information and needs to be controlled by some signal to appropriately operate working memory. To examine whether reward-delivery acts as this signal, the effects of delay-period activity in response to unexpected reward-delivery were examined by analyzing single-neuron activity recorded in the primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Among neurons that showed delay-period activity, 34% showed inhibition of this activity in response to unexpected reward-delivery. The delay-period activity of these neurons was affected by the expectation of reward-delivery. The strength of the reward signal in controlling the delay-period activity is related to the strength of the effect of reward information on the delay-period activity. These results indicate that reward-delivery acts as a signal to control delay-period activity.

Propagation of optical pulses in a resonantly absorbing medium: Observation of negative velocity in Rb vapor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, H.; Hayami, K.; Furue, S.; Nakayama, K.; Niwa, H.; Kohmoto, T.; Kunitomo, M.; Fukuda, Y.

2003-01-01

Propagation of optical pulses in a resonantly absorbing medium is studied. Propagation time of nanosecond pulses was measured for the Rb D 1 transition. At the center of two absorption lines, delay of the pulse peak which is about ten times as large as the pulse width was observed, where zero delay is defined for the propagation with the light velocity in vacuum. On the other hand, at the peak of an absorption line, negative delay was observed for large absorption, where the advance time is as large as 25% of the pulse width. Simulation including the effect of absorption and phase shift reproduced well the experimental results

Hydrogen-powered road vehicles. Positive and negative health effects of new fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-09-01

Because of the political, social and environmental problems associated with dependency on fossil fuels, there is considerable interest in alternative energy sources. Hydrogen is regarded as a promising option, particularly as a fuel for road vehicles. The Dutch Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) recently published a vision of the future, in which it suggested that by 2050 more than half of all cars in the Netherlands could be running on hydrogen. Assuming that the hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources, migration to hydrogen-powered vehicles would also curb carbon dioxide emissions. In the United States, Japan and Europe, considerable public and private investment is therefore being made with a view to developing the technologies needed to make the creation of a hydrogen-based economy possible within a few decades. A switch to using hydrogen as the primary energy source for road vehicles would have far-reaching social consequences. As with all technological developments, opportunities would be created, but drawbacks would inevitably be encountered as well. Some of the disadvantages associated with hydrogen are already known, and are to some degree manageable. It is likely, however, that other drawbacks would come to light only once hydrogen-powered cars were actually in use With that thought in mind, and in view of the social significance of a possible transition to hydrogen, it was decided that the Health Council should assess the positive and negative effects that hydrogen use could have on public health. It is particularly important to make such an assessment at the present early stage in the development of hydrogen technologies, so that gaps in existing scientific knowledge may be identified and appropriate strategies may be developed for addressing such gaps. This report has been produced by the Health and Environment Surveillance Committee, which has special responsibility for the identification of important correlations between

Delay-dependent exponential stability of cellular neural networks with time-varying delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Qiang; Wei Xiaopeng; Xu Jin

2005-01-01

The global exponential stability of cellular neural networks (CNNs) with time-varying delays is analyzed. Two new sufficient conditions ensuring global exponential stability for delayed CNNs are obtained. The conditions presented here are related to the size of delay. The stability results improve the earlier publications. Two examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the obtained results

A 1MeV, 1A negative ion accelerator test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanada, M.; Dairaku, M.; Inoue, T.; Miyamoto, K.; Ohara, Y.; Okumura, Y.; Watanabe, K.; Yokoyama, K.

1995-01-01

For the Proof-of-Principle test of negative ion acceleration up to 1 MeV, the beam energy required for ITER, a negative ion test facility named MeV Test Facility (MTF) and an ion source/accelerator have been designed and constructed. They are designed to produce a 1 MeV H- beam at a low source pressure of 0.13Pa. The MTF has a power supply system, which constituts of a 1MV, 1A, 60 s Cockcroft-Walton type dc high energy generator and power supplies for negative ion generation and extraction (ion source power supplies). The negative ion source/accelerator is composed of a cesiated volume source and a 5-stage, multi-aperture, electrostatic accelerator. The MTF and the ion source/accelerator have been completed, and the accelertion test up to 1 MeV of the H- ions has started. (orig.)

Persistent Memory in Single Node Delay-Coupled Reservoir Computing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André David Kovac

Full Text Available Delays are ubiquitous in biological systems, ranging from genetic regulatory networks and synaptic conductances, to predator/pray population interactions. The evidence is mounting, not only to the presence of delays as physical constraints in signal propagation speed, but also to their functional role in providing dynamical diversity to the systems that comprise them. The latter observation in biological systems inspired the recent development of a computational architecture that harnesses this dynamical diversity, by delay-coupling a single nonlinear element to itself. This architecture is a particular realization of Reservoir Computing, where stimuli are injected into the system in time rather than in space as is the case with classical recurrent neural network realizations. This architecture also exhibits an internal memory which fades in time, an important prerequisite to the functioning of any reservoir computing device. However, fading memory is also a limitation to any computation that requires persistent storage. In order to overcome this limitation, the current work introduces an extended version to the single node Delay-Coupled Reservoir, that is based on trained linear feedback. We show by numerical simulations that adding task-specific linear feedback to the single node Delay-Coupled Reservoir extends the class of solvable tasks to those that require nonfading memory. We demonstrate, through several case studies, the ability of the extended system to carry out complex nonlinear computations that depend on past information, whereas the computational power of the system with fading memory alone quickly deteriorates. Our findings provide the theoretical basis for future physical realizations of a biologically-inspired ultrafast computing device with extended functionality.

Contributions from eye movement potentials to stimulus preceding negativity during anticipation of auditory stimulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engdahl, Lis; Bjerre, Vicky K; Christoffersen, Gert R J

2007-01-01

Cognitive anticipation of a stimulus has been associated with an ERP called "stimulus preceding negativity" (SPN). A new auditory delay task without stimulus-related motor activity demonstrated a prefrontal SPN, present during attentive anticipation of sounds with closed eyes, but absent during d...

Assessing delay discounting in mice

OpenAIRE

Mitchell, Suzanne H.

2014-01-01

Delay discounting (also intertemporal choice or impulsive choice) is the process by which delayed outcomes, such as delayed food delivery, are valued less than the same outcomes delivered immediately or with a shorter delay. This process is of interest because many psychopathologies, including substance dependence, pathological gambling, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder, are characterized by heightened levels of delay discounting. Some of these disorders are herit...

Modelling delays in pharmacokinetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farooqi, Z.H.; Lambrecht, R.M.

1990-01-01

Linear system analysis has come to form the backbone of pharmacokinetics. Natural systems usually involve time delays, thus models incorporating them would be an order closer approximation to the real world compared to those that do not. Delays may be modelled in several ways. The approach considered in this study is to have a discrete-time delay dependent rate with the delay respresenting the duration between the entry of a drug into a compartment and its release in some form (may be as a metabolite) from the compartment. Such a delay may be because of one or more of several physiological reasons, like, formation of a reservoir, slow metabolism, or receptor binding. The mathematical structure this gives rise to is a system of delay-differential equations. Examples are given of simple one and two compartment systems with drugs like bumetanide, carbamazepine, and quinolone-caffeine interaction. In these examples generally a good fit is obtained and the suggested models form a good approximation. 21 refs., 6 figs

Dissociation of immediate and delayed effects of emotional arousal on episodic memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Schümann, Dirk; Bayer, Janine; Talmi, Deborah; Sommer, Tobias

2018-02-01

Emotionally arousing events are usually better remembered than neutral ones. This phenomenon is in humans mostly studied by presenting mixed lists of neutral and emotional items. An emotional enhancement of memory is observed in these studies often already immediately after encoding and increases with longer delays and consolidation. A large body of animal research showed that the more efficient consolidation of emotionally arousing events is based on an activation of the central noradrenergic system and the amygdala (Modulation Hypothesis; Roozendaal & McGaugh, 2011). The immediately superior recognition of emotional items is attributed primarily to their attraction of attention during encoding which is also thought to be based on the amygdala and the central noradrenergic system. To investigate whether the amygdala and noradrenergic system support memory encoding and consolidation via shared neural substrates and processes a large sample of participants (n = 690) encoded neutral and arousing pictures. Their memory was tested immediately and after a consolidation delay. In addition, they were genotyped in two relevant polymorphisms (α 2B -adrenergic receptor and serotonin transporter). Memory for negative and positive emotional pictures was enhanced at both time points where these enhancements were correlated (immediate r = 0.60 and delayed test r = 0.46). Critically, the effects of emotional arousal on encoding and consolidation correlated only very low (negative r = 0.14 and positive r = 0.03 pictures) suggesting partly distinct underlying processes consistent with a functional heterogeneity of the central noradrenergic system. No effect of genotype on either effect was observed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Negative ion mass spectra and particulate formation in rf silane plasma deposition experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howling, A.A.; Dorier, J.L.; Hollenstein, C.

1992-09-01

Negative ions have been clearly identified in silane rf plasmas used for the deposition of amorphous silicon. Mass spectra were measured for monosilicon up to pentasilicon negative ion radical groups in power-modulated plasmas by means of a mass spectrometer mounted just outside the glow region. Negative ions were only observed over a limited range of power modulation frequency which corresponds to particle-free conditions. The importance of negative ions regarding particulate formation is demonstrated and commented upon. (author) 3 figs., 19 refs

Amplification of weak signals via the non-adiabatic regime of stochastic resonance in a bistable dynamical system with time delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Luchun; Mei Dongcheng

2011-01-01

The non-adiabatic regime of stochastic resonance (SR) in a bistable system with time delay, an additive white noise and a periodic signal was investigated. The signal power amplification η was employed to characterize the SR of the system. The simulation results indicate that (i) in the case of intermediate frequency Ω of the periodic signal, the typical behavior of SR is lowered monotonically by increasing the delay time τ; in the case of large Ω, τ weakens the SR behavior and then enhances it, with a non-monotonic behavior as a function of time delay; (ii) time delay induces SR when A is above the threshold, whereas no such resonance exists in the absence of time delay; (iii) time delay induces a transition from bimodal to unimodal configuration of η; (iv) varying the particular form of time delay results in different phenomena.

REASONS FOR PATIENT DELAYS & HEALTH SYSTEM DELAYS FOR TUBERCULOSIS IN SOUTH INDIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kapil Goel

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Globally, the burden of Tuberculosis is escalating. Early diagnosis and prompt initiation of tuberculosis treatment is essential for an effective tuberculosis control programme. Objectives: To study the self reported reasons for patient and health system (diagnosis & treatment delays in Tuberculosis patients. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 98 new sputum positive TB cases aged > 15 years registered under RNTCP from Oct 2006 to June 2007 & receiving treatment under DOTS in Udupi taluk by interviewing them. Results: Total 98 patients were recruited and 68% were males. Out of 17 patients with patient delays, 82% felt that their symptoms were not severe, 71% felt that patient delay was due to lack of awareness and 71% did not take it seriously. Out of 86 patients with health system delays, 82.6% of patients mentioned that doctor has not advised for sputum examination, 76.7% of patients told that they first consulted a private doctor, 21% of them mentioned that doctor was unaware to diagnose TB. Conclusion: Symptoms not severe is the main reason for the patient delay and doctor didn’t advise for sputum examination is the main reason for health system delays.

Evaluation of performance of distributed delay model for chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression.

Science.gov (United States)

Krzyzanski, Wojciech; Hu, Shuhua; Dunlavey, Michael

2018-04-01

The distributed delay model has been introduced that replaces the transit compartments in the classic model of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression with a convolution integral. The maturation of granulocyte precursors in the bone marrow is described by the gamma probability density function with the shape parameter (ν). If ν is a positive integer, the distributed delay model coincides with the classic model with ν transit compartments. The purpose of this work was to evaluate performance of the distributed delay model with particular focus on model deterministic identifiability in the presence of the shape parameter. The classic model served as a reference for comparison. Previously published white blood cell (WBC) count data in rats receiving bolus doses of 5-fluorouracil were fitted by both models. The negative two log-likelihood objective function (-2LL) and running times were used as major markers of performance. Local sensitivity analysis was done to evaluate the impact of ν on the pharmacodynamics response WBC. The ν estimate was 1.46 with 16.1% CV% compared to ν = 3 for the classic model. The difference of 6.78 in - 2LL between classic model and the distributed delay model implied that the latter performed significantly better than former according to the log-likelihood ratio test (P = 0.009), although the overall performance was modestly better. The running times were 1 s and 66.2 min, respectively. The long running time of the distributed delay model was attributed to computationally intensive evaluation of the convolution integral. The sensitivity analysis revealed that ν strongly influences the WBC response by controlling cell proliferation and elimination of WBCs from the circulation. In conclusion, the distributed delay model was deterministically identifiable from typical cytotoxic data. Its performance was modestly better than the classic model with significantly longer running time.

Small-Signal Analysis of the Microgrid Secondary Control Considering a Communication Time Delay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coelho, Ernane Antônio Alves; Wu, Dan; Guerrero, Josep M.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a small-signal analysis of an islanded microgrid composed of two or more voltage-source inverters connected in parallel. The primary control of each inverter is integrated through an internal current and voltage loops using proportional resonant compensators, a virtual impedance......, and an external power controller based on frequency and voltage droops. The frequency restoration function is implemented at the secondary control level, which executes a consensus algorithm that consists of a load-frequency control and a single time delay communication network. The consensus network consists...... the behavior of the system considering control parameters and time delay variation....

Delayed orgasm and anorgasmia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Lawrence C; Mulhall, John P

2015-11-01

Delayed orgasm/anorgasmia defined as the persistent or recurrent difficulty, delay in, or absence of attaining orgasm after sufficient sexual stimulation, which causes personal distress. Delayed orgasm and anorgasmia are associated with significant sexual dissatisfaction. A focused medical history can shed light on the potential etiologies, which include medications, penile sensation loss, endocrinopathies, penile hyperstimulation, and psychological etiologies. Unfortunately, there are no excellent pharmacotherapies for delayed orgasm/anorgasmia, and treatment revolves largely around addressing potential causative factors and psychotherapy. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anxiety type modulates immediate versus delayed engagement of attention-related brain regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Spielberg, Jeffrey M; De Leon, Angeline A; Bredemeier, Keith; Heller, Wendy; Engels, Anna S; Warren, Stacie L; Crocker, Laura D; Sutton, Bradley P; Miller, Gregory A

2013-09-01

Background Habituation of the fear response, critical for the treatment of anxiety, is inconsistently observed during exposure to threatening stimuli. One potential explanation for this inconsistency is differential attentional engagement with negatively valenced stimuli as a function of anxiety type. Methods The present study tested this hypothesis by examining patterns of neural habituation associated with anxious arousal, characterized by panic symptoms and immediate engagement with negatively valenced stimuli, versus anxious apprehension, characterized by engagement in worry to distract from negatively valenced stimuli. Results As predicted, the two anxiety types evidenced distinct patterns of attentional engagement. Anxious arousal was associated with immediate activation in attention-related brain regions that habituated over time, whereas anxious apprehension was associated with delayed activation in attention-related brain regions that occurred only after habituation in a worry-related brain region. Conclusions Results further elucidate mechanisms involved in attention to negatively valenced stimuli and indicate that anxiety is a heterogeneous construct with regard to attention to such stimuli.

Numerical renormalization group method for entanglement negativity at finite temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Jeongmin; Sim, H.-S.; Lee, Seung-Sup B.

2018-04-01

We develop a numerical method to compute the negativity, an entanglement measure for mixed states, between the impurity and the bath in quantum impurity systems at finite temperature. We construct a thermal density matrix by using the numerical renormalization group (NRG), and evaluate the negativity by implementing the NRG approximation that reduces computational cost exponentially. We apply the method to the single-impurity Kondo model and the single-impurity Anderson model. In the Kondo model, the negativity exhibits a power-law scaling at temperature much lower than the Kondo temperature and a sudden death at high temperature. In the Anderson model, the charge fluctuation of the impurity contributes to the negativity even at zero temperature when the on-site Coulomb repulsion of the impurity is finite, while at low temperature the negativity between the impurity spin and the bath exhibits the same power-law scaling behavior as in the Kondo model.

Construction scheduled delay risk assessment by using combined AHP-RII methodology for an international NPP project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hossen, Mufazal Muhammed; Kang, Sun Koo; Kim, Jong Hyun [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School (KINGS), Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-04-15

In this study, Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) construction schedule delay risk assessment methodology is developed and the construction delay risk is assessed for turnkey international NPP projects. Three levels of delay factors were selected through literature review and discussions with nuclear industry experts. A questionnaire survey was conducted on the basis of an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Relative Importance Index (RII) methods and the schedule delay risk is assessed qualitatively and quantitatively by severity and frequency of occurrence of delay factors. This study assigns four main delay factors to the first level: main contractor, utility, regulatory authority, and financial and country factor. The second and the third levels are designed with 12 sub-factors and 32 sub-sub-factors, respectively. This study finds the top five most important sub-sub-factors, which are as follows: policy changes, political instability and public intervention; uncompromising regulatory criteria and licensing documents conflicting with existing regulations; robust design document review procedures; redesign due to errors in design and design changes; and worldwide shortage of qualified and experienced nuclear specific equipment manufacturers. The proposed combined AHP-RII methodology is capable of assessing delay risk effectively and efficiently. Decision makers can apply risk informed decision making to avoid unexpected construction delays of NPPs.

Construction scheduled delay risk assessment by using combined AHP-RII methodology for an international NPP project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hossen, Mufazal Muhammed; Kang, Sun Koo; Kim, Jong Hyun

2015-01-01

In this study, Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) construction schedule delay risk assessment methodology is developed and the construction delay risk is assessed for turnkey international NPP projects. Three levels of delay factors were selected through literature review and discussions with nuclear industry experts. A questionnaire survey was conducted on the basis of an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Relative Importance Index (RII) methods and the schedule delay risk is assessed qualitatively and quantitatively by severity and frequency of occurrence of delay factors. This study assigns four main delay factors to the first level: main contractor, utility, regulatory authority, and financial and country factor. The second and the third levels are designed with 12 sub-factors and 32 sub-sub-factors, respectively. This study finds the top five most important sub-sub-factors, which are as follows: policy changes, political instability and public intervention; uncompromising regulatory criteria and licensing documents conflicting with existing regulations; robust design document review procedures; redesign due to errors in design and design changes; and worldwide shortage of qualified and experienced nuclear specific equipment manufacturers. The proposed combined AHP-RII methodology is capable of assessing delay risk effectively and efficiently. Decision makers can apply risk informed decision making to avoid unexpected construction delays of NPPs

Power efficient and high performance VLSI architecture for AES algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Kalaiselvi

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Advanced encryption standard (AES algorithm has been widely deployed in cryptographic applications. This work proposes a low power and high throughput implementation of AES algorithm using key expansion approach. We minimize the power consumption and critical path delay using the proposed high performance architecture. It supports both encryption and decryption using 256-bit keys with a throughput of 0.06 Gbps. The VHDL language is utilized for simulating the design and an FPGA chip has been used for the hardware implementations. Experimental results reveal that the proposed AES architectures offer superior performance than the existing VLSI architectures in terms of power, throughput and critical path delay.

Stage effects of negative emotion on spatial and verbal working memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chan Raymond CK

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The effects of negative emotion on different processing periods in spatial and verbal working memory (WM and the possible brain mechanism of the interaction between negative emotion and WM were explored using a high-time resolution event-related potential (ERP technique and time-locked delayed matching-to-sample task (DMST. Results Early P3b and late P3b were reduced in the negative emotion condition for both the spatial and verbal tasks at encoding. At retention, the sustained negative slow wave (NSW showed a significant interaction between emotional state and task type. Spatial trials in the negative emotion condition elicited a more negative deflection than they did in the neutral emotion condition. However, no such effect was observed for the verbal tasks. At retrieval, early P3b and late P3b were markedly more attenuated in the negative emotion condition than in the neutral emotion condition for both the spatial and verbal tasks. Conclusions The results indicate that the differential effects of negative emotion on spatial and verbal WM mainly take place during information maintenance processing, which implies that there is a systematic association between specific affects (e.g., negative emotion and certain cognitive processes (e.g., spatial retention.

Effects of delayed polymerization time and bracket manipulation on orthodontic resin modified glass ionomer adhesive

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Danielle Wiggins

This study examined the effect of varying delayed polymerization times in combination with bracket manipulation on shear bond strength (SBS), degree of conversion (DC), and adhesive remnant index (ARI) score when using a resin modified glass ionomer (RMGI) adhesive. Specimens were divided into three groups of clinically relevant delay times (0.5, 2, and 4-min) to simulate the delay that frequently occurs between bracket placement and manipulation and subsequent light curing. Based on an analysis of variance (alpha=.05), the SBS was not significantly different between the three groups. While one of the goals of this study was to be the first study to quantify DC of RMGI using Raman microspectroscopy, several challenges, including weak peak signal with and without fluorescence, were encountered and as a result, DC could not be determined. A significant difference (pbracket with increasing delay time. A Spearman correlation between SBS and ARI indicated no positive association between SBS and ARI measures across delay times. The results of this study suggest that clinically relevant delay times of 0.5, 2, and 4-min do not negatively impact the SBS of a RMGI adhesive. However, with increasing delay time, the results suggest that more adhesive might remain on the bracket during debonding. With more adhesive remaining on the bracket, this could be beneficial in that less adhesive needs to be removed from enamel by grinding at the time of bracket removal when orthodontic treatment is completed.

Experimental and numerical assessment of ignition delay period for pure diesel and biodiesel B20

Science.gov (United States)

Aldhaidhawi, Mohanad; Brabec, Marek; Lucian, Miron; Chiriac, Radu; Bădescu, Viorel

2017-10-01

The ignition delay period for a compression ignition engine fueled alternatively with pure diesel and with biodiesel B20 has been experimentally and numerically investigated. The engine was operated under full load conditions for two speeds, 1400 rpm speed for maximum brake torque and 2400 rpm speed for maximum brake power. Different parameters suggested as important to define the start of combustion have been considered before the acceptance of a certain evaluation technique of ignition delay. Correlations between these parameters were analyzed and concluded about the best method to identify the start of combustion. The experimental results were further compared with the ignition delay predicted by some correlations. The results showed that the determined ignition delays are in good agreement with those of the Arrhenius type expressions for pure diesel fuel, while for biodiesel B20 the correlation results are significantly different than the experimental results.

The rates and time-delay distribution of multiply imaged supernovae behind lensing clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xue; Hjorth, Jens; Richard, Johan

2012-11-01

Time delays of gravitationally lensed sources can be used to constrain the mass model of a deflector and determine cosmological parameters. We here present an analysis of the time-delay distribution of multiply imaged sources behind 17 strong lensing galaxy clusters with well-calibrated mass models. We find that for time delays less than 1000 days, at z = 3.0, their logarithmic probability distribution functions are well represented by P(log Δt) = 5.3 × 10-4Δttilde beta/M2502tilde beta, with tilde beta = 0.77, where M250 is the projected cluster mass inside 250 kpc (in 1014M⊙), and tilde beta is the power-law slope of the distribution. The resultant probability distribution function enables us to estimate the time-delay distribution in a lensing cluster of known mass. For a cluster with M250 = 2 × 1014M⊙, the fraction of time delays less than 1000 days is approximately 3%. Taking Abell 1689 as an example, its dark halo and brightest galaxies, with central velocity dispersions σ>=500kms-1, mainly produce large time delays, while galaxy-scale mass clumps are responsible for generating smaller time delays. We estimate the probability of observing multiple images of a supernova in the known images of Abell 1689. A two-component model of estimating the supernova rate is applied in this work. For a magnitude threshold of mAB = 26.5, the yearly rate of Type Ia (core-collapse) supernovae with time delays less than 1000 days is 0.004±0.002 (0.029±0.001). If the magnitude threshold is lowered to mAB ~ 27.0, the rate of core-collapse supernovae suitable for time delay observation is 0.044±0.015 per year.

Approximate Controllability of Semilinear Neutral Stochastic Integrodifferential Inclusions with Infinite Delay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meili Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The approximate controllability of semilinear neutral stochastic integrodifferential inclusions with infinite delay in an abstract space is studied. Sufficient conditions are established for the approximate controllability. The results are obtained by using the theory of analytic resolvent operator, the fractional power theory, and the theorem of nonlinear alternative for Kakutani maps. Finally, an example is provided to illustrate the theory.

Evaluation of power history during power burst experiments in TRACY by combination of gamma-ray and thermal neutron detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanagisawa, Hiroshi; Ohno, Akio

2002-01-01

A combination method using γ-ray and thermal neutron detectors was newly applied to the accurate evaluation of power histories during reactivity-initiated power burst experiments in the Transient Experiment Critical Facility (TRACY). During an initial power burst, the power history was determined using a fast response γ-ray ionization chamber, which was used because of its ability to exactly trace the power history within a short duration of the initial burst. After the initial burst, a micro fission chamber containing highly enriched uranium was used for the determination of the power history because the γ-ray ionization chamber could not be applied due to the contribution of delayed γ-rays from fission products. By the present method, the power histories were evaluated for the experiments in the range of 1.50 to 2.93$ of the reactivity insertion. It was found that the peak power and integrated power as determined by the previous method using only the micro fission chamber were underestimated to be 40% and 30% in maximum, respectively, in comparison with the results from the present evaluation. The numerical simulation performed by using the Monte Carlo method indicated that the underestimation could be comprehended by considering the time delay of thermal neutron detection of the fission chamber, which arose from the flight-time of neutrons from the TRACY core to the fission chamber. (author)

Delay-dependent stability of neural networks of neutral type with time delay in the leakage term

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xiaodi; Cao, Jinde

2010-01-01

This paper studies the global asymptotic stability of neural networks of neutral type with mixed delays. The mixed delays include constant delay in the leakage term (i.e. 'leakage delay'), time-varying delays and continuously distributed delays. Based on the topological degree theory, Lyapunov method and linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach, some sufficient conditions are derived ensuring the existence, uniqueness and global asymptotic stability of the equilibrium point, which are dependent on both the discrete and distributed time delays. These conditions are expressed in terms of LMI and can be easily checked by the MATLAB LMI toolbox. Even if there is no leakage delay, the obtained results are less restrictive than some recent works. It can be applied to neural networks of neutral type with activation functions without assuming their boundedness, monotonicity or differentiability. Moreover, the differentiability of the time-varying delay in the non-neutral term is removed. Finally, two numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method

Ischemic preconditioning provides both acute and delayed protection against renal ischemia and reperfusion injury in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Joo, Jin Deok; Kim, Mihwa; D'Agati, Vivette D; Lee, H Thomas

2006-11-01

Acute as well as delayed ischemic preconditioning (IPC) provides protection against cardiac and neuronal ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury. This study determined whether delayed preconditioning occurs in the kidney and further elucidated the mechanisms of renal IPC in mice. Mice were subjected to IPC (four cycles of 5 min of ischemia and reperfusion) and then to 30 min of renal ischemia either 15 min (acute IPC) or 24 h (delayed IPC) later. Both acute and delayed renal IPC provided powerful protection against renal IR injury. Inhibition of Akt but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation prevented the protection that was afforded by acute IPC. Neither extracellular signal-regulated kinase nor Akt inhibition prevented protection that was afforded by delayed renal IPC. Pretreatment with an antioxidant, N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)-glycine, to scavenge free radicals prevented the protection that was provided by acute but not delayed renal IPC. Inhibition of protein kinase C or pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins attenuated protection from both acute and delayed renal IPC. Delayed renal IPC increased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as well as heat-shock protein 27 synthesis, and the renal protective effects of delayed preconditioning were attenuated by a selective inhibitor of iNOS (l-N(6)[1-iminoethyl]lysine). Moreover, delayed IPC was not observed in iNOS knockout mice. Both acute and delayed IPC were independent of A(1) adenosine receptors (AR) as a selective A(1)AR antagonist failed to block preconditioning and acute and delayed preconditioning occurred in mice that lacked A(1)AR. Therefore, this study demonstrated that acute or delayed IPC provides renal protection against IR injury in mice but involves distinct signaling pathways.

Parietal and premotor cortices: activation reflects imitation accuracy during observation, delayed imitation and concurrent imitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Krüger, Britta; Bischoff, Matthias; Blecker, Carlo; Langhanns, Christine; Kindermann, Stefan; Sauerbier, Isabell; Reiser, Mathias; Stark, Rudolf; Munzert, Jörn; Pilgramm, Sebastian

2014-10-15

This study investigated whether activation within areas belonging to the action observation and imitation network reveals a linear relation to the subsequent accuracy of imitating a bimanual rhythmic movement measured via a motion capturing system. 20 participants were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when asked to imitate observed bimanual movements either concurrently versus with a delay (2s) or simply to observe the movements without imitation. Results showed that action observation relates to activation within classic mirror-related areas. Activation patterns were more widespread when participants were asked to imitate the movement. During observation with concurrent imitation, activation in the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) was associated negatively with imitation accuracy. During observation in the delayed imitation condition, higher subsequent imitation accuracy was coupled with higher activation in the right superior parietal lobe (SPL) and the left parietal operculum (POp). During the delayed imitation itself, a negative association between imitation accuracy and brain activation was revealed in the right ventral premotor cortex (vPMC). We conclude that the IPL is involved in online comparison and visuospatial attention processes during imitation, the SPL provides a kinesthetic blueprint during movement observation, the POp preserves body identity, and the vPMC recruits motor representations--especially when no concurrent visual guidance is possible. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

American Dream Delayed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khorunzhina, Natalia; Miller, Robert A.

This paper investigates the delay in homeownership and a subsequent reduction in homeownership rate observed over the past decades. We focus on the delay in giving birth to children and increased labor market participation as contributing factors to homeownership dynamics for prime-age female hou...

Delayed Orgasm and Anorgasmia

OpenAIRE

Jenkins, Lawrence C.; Mulhall, John P.

2015-01-01

Delayed orgasm/anorgasmia defined as the persistent or recurrent difficulty, delay in, or absence of attaining orgasm after sufficient sexual stimulation, which causes personal distress. Delayed orgasm and anorgasmia are associated with significant sexual dissatisfaction. A focused medical history can shed light on the potential etiologies; which include: medications, penile sensation loss, endocrinopathies, penile hyperstimulation and psychological etiologies, amongst others. Unfortunately, ...

Public Acceptance on Nuclear Power: A Strategic Need to Shift to 5Ps (Politicians, Policy Makers, Professionals, Public and Press) Acceptance on Nuclear Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dato Syed Ahmad Idid, S.N. K. A.-I.

2015-01-01

Business should not be as usual in formulating strategies and plans to enhance awareness regarding the benefits of nuclear power as an option for energy mix. Although, presently 435 nuclear power reactors in operation in 30 countries are delivering cost competitive electricity to consumers, creating significant job, investment and business opportunities, supporting enterprises, contributing significantly to these nations economic growth, however these positive impacts and benefits have not be sufficiently transmitted to the various stakeholders and population, who have until recently only received unbalanced views and news from an uninformed press. Negative and generally unbalanced press coverage of isolated nuclear incidents and accidents such as TMI, Chernobyl and most recently Fukushima has resulted in public protests to nuclear power, contributing to several nuclear power programmes being delayed or not able to take off. This situation is further exacerbated by uninformed politicians and policy makers who have the influence but were not able to harness their positions to assure the public due to lack of knowledge regarding the economic and social benefits of nuclear power. As the challenges to the nuclear industry presently also include ageing nuclear professionals, lack of updates regarding business and financing opportunities to business and financing professionals, thus the benefits of career, business and financing opportunities must also be disseminated to these Professionals. This paper aims to highlight the fundamental need to expand present Public Awareness Programme to become the 5Ps (Politicians, Policy makers, Professionals, Public and Press) Awareness Programme on Nuclear Power. (author)

Development of a subway operation incident delay model using accelerated failure time approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Jinxian; Zheng, Yang; Yan, Xuedong; Meng, Qiang

2014-12-01

This study aims to develop a subway operational incident delay model using the parametric accelerated time failure (AFT) approach. Six parametric AFT models including the log-logistic, lognormal and Weibull models, with fixed and random parameters are built based on the Hong Kong subway operation incident data from 2005 to 2012, respectively. In addition, the Weibull model with gamma heterogeneity is also considered to compare the model performance. The goodness-of-fit test results show that the log-logistic AFT model with random parameters is most suitable for estimating the subway incident delay. First, the results show that a longer subway operation incident delay is highly correlated with the following factors: power cable failure, signal cable failure, turnout communication disruption and crashes involving a casualty. Vehicle failure makes the least impact on the increment of subway operation incident delay. According to these results, several possible measures, such as the use of short-distance and wireless communication technology (e.g., Wifi and Zigbee) are suggested to shorten the delay caused by subway operation incidents. Finally, the temporal transferability test results show that the developed log-logistic AFT model with random parameters is stable over time. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term trajectories of positive and negative symptoms in first episode psychosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Austin, Stephen; Mors, Ole; Budtz-Jørgensen, Esben

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge about course of illness can help clinicians to develop effective interventions and improve treatment outcomes. The goal of this study was to construct positive and negative symptom trajectories based on structured clinical assessments collected over 10years within a cohort....... Positive symptoms showed a general pattern of reduction and stabilization over time while negative symptoms typically showed less variation over the ten years. Results have implications for the focus, timing and length of interventions in first episode psychosis....... was assessed using the Scales for Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms. Symptom trajectories were constructed using Latent Class Analysis. RESULTS: Five distinct trajectories were identified for positive symptoms (response - 47%, delayed response - 12%, relapse - 15%, non-response - 13% and episodic...

Derivation and computation of discrete-delay and continuous-delay SDEs in mathematical biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Edward J

2014-06-01

Stochastic versions of several discrete-delay and continuous-delay differential equations, useful in mathematical biology, are derived from basic principles carefully taking into account the demographic, environmental, or physiological randomness in the dynamic processes. In particular, stochastic delay differential equation (SDDE) models are derived and studied for Nicholson's blowflies equation, Hutchinson's equation, an SIS epidemic model with delay, bacteria/phage dynamics, and glucose/insulin levels. Computational methods for approximating the SDDE models are described. Comparisons between computational solutions of the SDDEs and independently formulated Monte Carlo calculations support the accuracy of the derivations and of the computational methods.

High-power copper vapour lasers and applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, J.J.; Warner, B.E.; Boley, C.D.; Dragon, E.P.

1995-08-01

Expanded applications of copper vapor lasers has prompted increased demand for higher power and better beam quality. This paper reports recent progress in laser power scaling, MOPA operation, beam quality improvement, and applications in precision laser machining. Issues such as gas heating, radial delay, discharge instability, and window heating will also be discussed.

Attosecond Delays in Molecular Photoionization.

Science.gov (United States)

Huppert, Martin; Jordan, Inga; Baykusheva, Denitsa; von Conta, Aaron; Wörner, Hans Jakob

2016-08-26

We report measurements of energy-dependent photoionization delays between the two outermost valence shells of N_{2}O and H_{2}O. The combination of single-shot signal referencing with the use of different metal foils to filter the attosecond pulse train enables us to extract delays from congested spectra. Remarkably large delays up to 160 as are observed in N_{2}O, whereas the delays in H_{2}O are all smaller than 50 as in the photon-energy range of 20-40 eV. These results are interpreted by developing a theory of molecular photoionization delays. The long delays measured in N_{2}O are shown to reflect the population of molecular shape resonances that trap the photoelectron for a duration of up to ∼110 as. The unstructured continua of H_{2}O result in much smaller delays at the same photon energies. Our experimental and theoretical methods make the study of molecular attosecond photoionization dynamics accessible.

Effective delayed neutron fraction and prompt neutron lifetime of Tehran research reactor mixed-core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lashkari, A.; Khalafi, H.; Kazeminejad, H.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Kinetic parameters of Tehran research reactor mixed-core have been calculated. ► Burn-up effect on TRR kinetics parameters has been studied. ► Replacement of LEU-CFE with HEU-CFE in the TRR core has been investigated. ► Results of each mixed core were compared to the reference core. ► Calculation of kinetic parameters are necessary for reactivity and power excursion transient analysis. - Abstract: In this work, kinetic parameters of Tehran research reactor (TRR) mixed cores have been calculated. The mixed core configurations are made by replacement of the low enriched uranium control fuel elements with highly enriched uranium control fuel elements in the reference core. The MTR P C package, a nuclear reactor analysis tool, is used to perform the analysis. Simulations were carried out to compute effective delayed neutron fraction and prompt neutron lifetime. Calculation of kinetic parameters is necessary for reactivity and power excursion transient analysis. The results of this research show that effective delayed neutron fraction decreases and prompt neutron lifetime increases with the fuels burn-up. Also, by increasing the number of highly enriched uranium control fuel elements in the reference core, the prompt neutron lifetime increases, but effective delayed neutron fraction does not show any considerable change

Power system integration of VSC-HVDC connected offshore wind power plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeni, Lorenzo; Kjær, Philip Carne

This report presents an overview of challenges and solutions for the integration into the power system of offshore wind power plants (WPPs) connected to onshore grids through a voltage-source converter based high voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC) transmission system. Aspects that are touched upon...... of the network in the vicinity of the HVDC station and (iii) limiting characteristics of WPPs such as inherent control and communication delays, presence of mechanical resonances at the same frequency as POD and active power ramp-rate limitations. Clustering of wind power plants The proof of concept...... introduction to justify the study, describe the state-of-art and formulate the project’s objectives, the report is essentially divided into three parts, as follows. Control principles of offshore AC networks The control of offshore AC networks relies purely on power electronics, especially if Type 4 wind...

Survival among patients with HIV infection and smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis - United States, 1993-2006.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Sean Cavanaugh

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In patients with HIV and tuberculosis (TB in resource-constrained settings, smear-negative disease has been associated with higher mortality than smear-positive disease. Higher reported mortality may be due to misdiagnosis, diagnostic delays, or because smear-negative disease indicates more advanced immune suppression. METHODS: We analyzed culture-confirmed, pulmonary TB among patients with TB and HIV in the United States from 1993-2008 to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs for smear-negative disease by demographic and clinical characteristics. Allowing two years for treatment outcome to be reported, we determined hazard ratios (HRs for survival by smear status, adjusted for significant covariates on patients before 2006. RESULTS: Among 16,710 cases with sputum smear results, 6,739 (39% were sputum smear-negative and 9,971 (58% were sputum smear-positive. The prevalence of smear-negative disease was lower in male patients (PR: 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.86-0.93 and in those who were homeless (PR: 0.92, CI: 0.87-0.97 or used alcohol excessively (PR: 0.91, CI: 0.87-0.95, and higher in persons diagnosed while incarcerated (PR: 1.20, CI: 1.13-1.27. Patients with smear-negative disease had better survival compared to patients with smear-positive disease, both before (HR: 0.82, CI: 0.75-0.90 and after (HR: 0.81, CI: 0.71-0.92 the introduction of combination anti-retroviral therapy. CONCLUSIONS: In the United States, smear-negative pulmonary TB in patients with HIV was not associated with higher mortality, in contrast to what has been documented in high TB burden settings. Smear-negative TB can be routinely and definitively diagnosed in the United States, whereas high-burden countries often rely solely on AFB-smear microscopy. This difference could contribute to diagnostic and treatment delays in high-burden countries, possibly resulting in higher mortality.

Enhancement of delayed-rectifier potassium conductance by low concentrations of local anaesthetics in spinal sensory neurones

Science.gov (United States)

Olschewski, Andrea; Wolff, Matthias; Bräu, Michael E; Hempelmann, Gunter; Vogel, Werner; Safronov, Boris V

2002-01-01

Combining the patch-clamp recordings in slice preparation with the ‘entire soma isolation' method we studied action of several local anaesthetics on delayed-rectifier K+ currents in spinal dorsal horn neurones.Bupivacaine, lidocaine and mepivacaine at low concentrations (1–100 μM) enhanced delayed-rectifier K+ current in intact neurones within the spinal cord slice, while exhibiting a partial blocking effect at higher concentrations (>100 μM). In isolated somata 0.1–10 μM bupivacaine enhanced delayed-rectifier K+ current by shifting its steady-state activation characteristic and the voltage-dependence of the activation time constant to more negative potentials by 10–20 mV.Detailed analysis has revealed that bupivacaine also increased the maximum delayed-rectifier K+ conductance by changing the open probability, rather than the unitary conductance, of the channel.It is concluded that local anaesthetics show a dual effect on delayed-rectifier K+ currents by potentiating them at low concentrations and partially suppressing at high concentrations. The phenomenon observed demonstrated the complex action of local anaesthetics during spinal and epidural anaesthesia, which is not restricted to a suppression of Na+ conductance only. PMID:12055132

Information transfer via implicit encoding with delay time modulation in a time-delay system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kye, Won-Ho, E-mail: whkye@kipo.go.kr [Korean Intellectual Property Office, Government Complex Daejeon Building 4, 189, Cheongsa-ro, Seo-gu, Daejeon 302-701 (Korea, Republic of)

2012-08-20

A new encoding scheme for information transfer with modulated delay time in a time-delay system is proposed. In the scheme, the message is implicitly encoded into the modulated delay time. The information transfer rate as a function of encoding redundancy in various noise scales is presented and it is analyzed that the implicit encoding scheme (IES) has stronger resistance against channel noise than the explicit encoding scheme (EES). In addition, its advantages in terms of secure communication and feasible applications are discussed. -- Highlights: ► We propose new encoding scheme with delay time modulation. ► The message is implicitly encoded with modulated delay time. ► The proposed scheme shows stronger resistance against channel noise.

Acute Stress Modulates Feedback Processing in Men and Women: Differential Effects on the Feedback-Related Negativity and Theta and Beta Power

Science.gov (United States)

Banis, Stella; Geerligs, Linda; Lorist, Monicque M.

2014-01-01

Sex-specific prevalence rates in mental and physical disorders may be partly explained by sex differences in physiological stress responses. Neural networks that might be involved are those underlying feedback processing. Aim of the present EEG study was to investigate whether acute stress alters feedback processing, and whether stress effects differ between men and women. Male and female participants performed a gambling task, in a control and a stress condition. Stress was induced by exposing participants to a noise stressor. Brain activity was analyzed using both event-related potential and time-frequency analyses, measuring the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and feedback-related changes in theta and beta oscillatory power, respectively. While the FRN and feedback-related theta power were similarly affected by stress induction in both sexes, feedback-related beta power depended on the combination of stress induction condition and sex. FRN amplitude and theta power increases were smaller in the stress relative to the control condition in both sexes, demonstrating that acute noise stress impairs performance monitoring irrespective of sex. However, in the stress but not in the control condition, early lower beta-band power increases were larger for men than women, indicating that stress effects on feedback processing are partly sex-dependent. Our findings suggest that sex-specific effects on feedback processing may comprise a factor underlying sex-specific stress responses. PMID:24755943

Acute stress modulates feedback processing in men and women: differential effects on the feedback-related negativity and theta and beta power.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stella Banis

Full Text Available Sex-specific prevalence rates in mental and physical disorders may be partly explained by sex differences in physiological stress responses. Neural networks that might be involved are those underlying feedback processing. Aim of the present EEG study was to investigate whether acute stress alters feedback processing, and whether stress effects differ between men and women. Male and female participants performed a gambling task, in a control and a stress condition. Stress was induced by exposing participants to a noise stressor. Brain activity was analyzed using both event-related potential and time-frequency analyses, measuring the feedback-related negativity (FRN and feedback-related changes in theta and beta oscillatory power, respectively. While the FRN and feedback-related theta power were similarly affected by stress induction in both sexes, feedback-related beta power depended on the combination of stress induction condition and sex. FRN amplitude and theta power increases were smaller in the stress relative to the control condition in both sexes, demonstrating that acute noise stress impairs performance monitoring irrespective of sex. However, in the stress but not in the control condition, early lower beta-band power increases were larger for men than women, indicating that stress effects on feedback processing are partly sex-dependent. Our findings suggest that sex-specific effects on feedback processing may comprise a factor underlying sex-specific stress responses.

Controlling chaos in a nonlinear pendulum using an extended time-delayed feedback control method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souza de Paula, Aline; Savi, Marcelo Amorim

2009-01-01

Chaos control is employed for the stabilization of unstable periodic orbits (UPOs) embedded in chaotic attractors. The extended time-delayed feedback control uses a continuous feedback loop incorporating information from previous states of the system in order to stabilize unstable orbits. This article deals with the chaos control of a nonlinear pendulum employing the extended time-delayed feedback control method. The control law leads to delay-differential equations (DDEs) that contain derivatives that depend on the solution of previous time instants. A fourth-order Runge-Kutta method with linear interpolation on the delayed variables is employed for numerical simulations of the DDEs and its initial function is estimated by a Taylor series expansion. During the learning stage, the UPOs are identified by the close-return method and control parameters are chosen for each desired UPO by defining situations where the largest Lyapunov exponent becomes negative. Analyses of a nonlinear pendulum are carried out by considering signals that are generated by numerical integration of the mathematical model using experimentally identified parameters. Results show the capability of the control procedure to stabilize UPOs of the dynamical system, highlighting some difficulties to achieve the stabilization of the desired orbit.

Response-Retrieval in Identity Negative Priming is Modulated by Temporal Discriminability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias eMittner

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Reaction times to previously ignored information are often delayed, a phenomenon referred to as negative priming (NP. Rothermund, Wentura & De Houwer (2005 proposed that negative priming is caused by the retrieval of incidental stimulus-response associations when consecutive displays share visual features but require different responses. In two experiments we examined whether the features (color, shape that reappear in consecutive displays, or their level of processing (early-perceptual, late-semantic moderate the likelihood that stimulus-response associations are retrieved. Using a perceptual matching task (experiment 1, negative priming occurred independently of whether responses were repeated or switched. Only when implementing a semantic-matching task (experiment 2, negative priming was determined by response-repetition as predicted by response-retrieval theory. The results can be explained in terms of a task-dependent temporal discrimination process (Milliken et al., 1998: Response-relevant features are encoded more strongly and/or are more likely to be retrieved than irrelevant features.

Toxicity profile and treatment delays in NOPHO ALL2008-comparing adults and children with Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Toft, Nina; Birgens, Henrik; Abrahamsson, Jonas; Griškevičius, Laimonas; Hallböök, Helene; Heyman, Mats; Klausen, Tobias Wirenfeldt; Jónsson, Ólafur Gísli; Palk, Katrin; Pruunsild, Kaie; Quist-Paulsen, Petter; Vaitkeviciene, Goda; Vettenranta, Kim; Asberg, Ann; Helt, Louise Rold; Frandsen, Thomas; Schmiegelow, Kjeld

2016-02-01

Cure rates improve when adolescents and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are treated according to pediatric protocols. Assumed risks of toxicities and associated delays in treatment have played a role in setting upper age limits. The aim of this study was to examine the toxicity profile and treatment delays in NOPHO ALL2008 comparing children and adults. We collected information on 19 treatment-related toxicities, systematically captured at 3-month intervals throughout therapy, and time intervals between 12 consecutive treatment phases for 1076 patients aged 1-45 yrs treated according to the Nordic/Baltic ALL2008 protocol. No adults died during induction. The duration of induction therapy and postinduction treatment phases did not differ between children and adults, except for patients 18-45 yrs being significantly delayed during two of nine high-risk blocks (median number of days for patients 1-9, 10-17, and 18-45 yrs; the glucocorticosteroid/antimetabolite-based block B1: 24, 26, and 29 d, respectively, P = 0.001, and Block 5 (in most cases also a B block): 29, 29, and 37 d, respectively, P = 0.02). A higher incidence of thrombosis with increasing age was found; highest odds ratio 5.4 (95% CI: (2.6;11.0)) for patients 15-17 yrs compared with children 1-9 yrs (P children, although thrombosis and avascular osteonecrosis was most common among adolescents. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ultra-long-pulse microwave negative high voltage power supply with fast protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Weihua; Wu Junshuan; Zheng Guanghua; Huang Qiaolin; Yang Chunsheng; Zhou Yuanwei; Chen Yonghao

1998-01-01

Two 1.4 MW high voltage power supply (HVPS) modules with 3-5 s pulse duration have been developed for LHCD experiment in the HT-7 tokamak. The power source consists of a pulsed generator and the electric circuit. Duration of the ultra-long-pulse is controlled by switching-on dc relay immediately and switching-off ac contactor after a given time, and the fast protection is executed by a crowbar. Due to the soft starting of the power source, the problem of overvoltage induced by dc relay switching-on has been solved. Each power supply module outputs a rated power (-35 kV, 40 A) on the dummy load. With the klystrons connected as the load of the power supply modules, LHCD experiments have been conducted successfully in the HT-7 tokamak

Genetic Spot Optimization for Peak Power Estimation in Large VLSI Circuits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael S. Hsiao

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Estimating peak power involves optimization of the circuit's switching function. The switching of a given gate is not only dependent on the output capacitance of the node, but also heavily dependent on the gate delays in the circuit, since multiple switching events can result from uneven circuit delay paths in the circuit. Genetic spot expansion and optimization are proposed in this paper to estimate tight peak power bounds for large sequential circuits. The optimization spot shifts and expands dynamically based on the maximum power potential (MPP of the nodes under optimization. Four genetic spot optimization heuristics are studied for sequential circuits. Experimental results showed an average of 70.7% tighter peak power bounds for large sequential benchmark circuits was achieved in short execution times.

Impulsive control of time-delay systems using delayed impulse and its application to impulsive master-slave synchronization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Jitao; Han Qinglong; Jiang Xiefu

2008-01-01

This Letter is concerned with impulsive control of a class of nonlinear time-delay systems. Some uniform stability criteria for the closed-loop time-delay system under delayed impulsive control are derived by using piecewise Lyapunov functions. Then the criteria are applied to impulsive master-slave synchronization of some secure communication systems with transmission delays and sample delays under delayed impulsive control. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the derived results

The hyperbolic step potential: Anti-bound states, SUSY partners and Wigner time delays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gadella, M. [Departamento de Física Teórica, Atómica y Óptica and IMUVA, Universidad de Valladolid, E-47011 Valladolid (Spain); Kuru, Ş. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ankara University, 06100 Ankara (Turkey); Negro, J., E-mail: jnegro@fta.uva.es [Departamento de Física Teórica, Atómica y Óptica and IMUVA, Universidad de Valladolid, E-47011 Valladolid (Spain)

2017-04-15

We study the scattering produced by a one dimensional hyperbolic step potential, which is exactly solvable and shows an unusual interest because of its asymmetric character. The analytic continuation of the scattering matrix in the momentum representation has a branch cut and an infinite number of simple poles on the negative imaginary axis which are related with the so called anti-bound states. This model does not show resonances. Using the wave functions of the anti-bound states, we obtain supersymmetric (SUSY) partners which are the series of Rosen–Morse II potentials. We have computed the Wigner reflection and transmission time delays for the hyperbolic step and such SUSY partners. Our results show that the more bound states a partner Hamiltonian has the smaller is the time delay. We also have evaluated time delays for the hyperbolic step potential in the classical case and have obtained striking similitudes with the quantum case. - Highlights: • The scattering matrix of hyperbolic step potential is studied. • The scattering matrix has a branch cut and an infinite number of poles. • The poles are associated to anti-bound states. • Susy partners using antibound states are computed. • Wigner time delays for the hyperbolic step and partner potentials are compared.

Criterial noise effects on rule-based category learning: the impact of delayed feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Ell, Shawn W; Ing, A David; Maddox, W Todd

2009-08-01

Variability in the representation of the decision criterion is assumed in many category-learning models, yet few studies have directly examined its impact. On each trial, criterial noise should result in drift in the criterion and will negatively impact categorization accuracy, particularly in rule-based categorization tasks, where learning depends on the maintenance and manipulation of decision criteria. In three experiments, we tested this hypothesis and examined the impact of working memory on slowing the drift rate. In Experiment 1, we examined the effect of drift by inserting a 5-sec delay between the categorization response and the delivery of corrective feedback, and working memory demand was manipulated by varying the number of decision criteria to be learned. Delayed feedback adversely affected performance, but only when working memory demand was high. In Experiment 2, we built on a classic finding in the absolute identification literature and demonstrated that distributing the criteria across multiple dimensions decreases the impact of drift during the delay. In Experiment 3, we confirmed that the effect of drift during the delay is moderated by working memory. These results provide important insights into the interplay between criterial noise and working memory, as well as providing important constraints for models of rule-based category learning.

Prehospital delay in acute coronary syndrome--an analysis of the components of delay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ottesen, Michael Mundt; Dixen, Ulrik; Torp-Pedersen, Christian

2004-01-01

BACKGROUND: Prompt hospital admission is essential when treating acute coronary syndrome. Delay prior to admission is unnecessarily long. Therefore, a thorough scrutiny of the influence of characteristics, circumstantial and subjective variables on elements of prehospital delay among patients...... admitted with acute coronary syndrome is warranted. METHODS: A structured interview was conducted on 250 consecutive patients admitted alive with acute coronary syndrome. RESULTS: Median prehospital, decision, physician and transportation delays were 107, 74, 25 and 22 min, respectively. Women (n=77) had...... of acute coronary syndrome among women, and thereby contributes to unnecessary long delay to treatment. The patient's prior experience and interpretation has a significant influence on behaviour....

Communication key using delay times in time-delayed chaos synchronization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Chil-Min; Kye, Won-Ho; Rim, Sunghwan; Lee, Soo-Young

2004-01-01

We propose an efficient key scheme, which can generate a great number of communication keys, for communication using chaos synchronization. We have attained the keys from delay times of time-delay coupled chaotic systems. We explain the scheme and the efficiency by coupling Henon and logistic maps and illustrate them by coupling Navier-Stokes and Lorenz equations as a continuous system

Patient delay is the main cause of treatment delay in acute limb ischemia: an investigation of pre- and in-hospital time delay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Londero, Louise Skovgaard; Nørgaard, Birgitte; Houlind, Kim Christian

2014-01-01

Abstract BACKGROUND: The prognosis of acute limb ischemia is severe, with amputation rates of up to 25% and in-hospital mortality of 9-15%. Delay in treatment increases the risk of major amputation and may be present at different stages, including patient delay, doctors´ delay and waiting time...... in the emergency department. It is important to identify existing problems in order to reduce time delay. The aim of this study was to collect data for patients with acute limb ischemia and to evaluate the time delay between the different events from onset of symptoms to specialist evaluation and further treatment...... (median (range)) was identified. From onset of symptoms to first contact with a doctor the time for all patients were 24 (0-1200) hours. Thirty patients needed immediate intervention. In the group of fourteen patients who had immediate operation, the median time from vascular evaluation...

Long-pulse operation of an intense negative ion source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takeiri, Yasuhiko; Osakabe, Masaki; Tsumori, Katsuyoshi; Kaneko, Osamu; Oka, Yoshihide; Asano, Eiji; Kawamoto, Toshikazu; Akiyama, Ryuichi; Kuroda, Tsutomu [National Inst. for Fusion Science, Nagoya (Japan)

1997-02-01

In the National Institute for Fusion Science, as the heating system for the Large Helical Device (LHD), the negative ion NBI system of 20 MW incident power has been planned, and the development of a large current, large size negative ion source has been advanced. Based on the results obtained so far, the design of the LHD-NBI system was reconsidered, and the specification of the actual negative ion source was decided as 180 KeV-40A. This time, the grounding electrode with heightened heat removal capacity was made, and the long pulse operation was attempted, therefore, its results are reported. The structure of the external magnetic filter type large negative ion source used for the long pulse experiment is explained. In order to form the negative ion beam of long pulses, it is necessary to form stable are discharge plasma for long time, and variable resistors were attached to the output side of arc power sources of respective filament systems. By adjusting the resistors, uniform are discharge was able to be caused for longer than 10 s stably. The results of the long pulse experiment are reported. The dependence of the characteristics of negative ion beam on plasma electrode temperature was small, and the change of the characteristics of negative ion beam due to beam pulse width was not observed. (K.I.)

Encoded low swing for ultra low power interconnect

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krishnan, R.; Pineda de Gyvez, J.

2003-01-01

We present a novel encoded-low swing technique for ultra low power interconnect. Using this technique and an efficient circuit implementation, we achieve an average of 45.7% improvement in the power-delay product over the schemes utilizing low swing techniques alone, for random bit streams. Also, we

Vehicle barrier with access delay

Science.gov (United States)

Swahlan, David J; Wilke, Jason

2013-09-03

An access delay vehicle barrier for stopping unauthorized entry into secure areas by a vehicle ramming attack includes access delay features for preventing and/or delaying an adversary from defeating or compromising the barrier. A horizontally deployed barrier member can include an exterior steel casing, an interior steel reinforcing member and access delay members disposed within the casing and between the casing and the interior reinforcing member. Access delay members can include wooden structural lumber, concrete and/or polymeric members that in combination with the exterior casing and interior reinforcing member act cooperatively to impair an adversarial attach by thermal, mechanical and/or explosive tools.

Delay-line cables for the fast bumpers in the PS.

CERN Multimedia

CERN PhotoLab

1976-01-01

For 'continuous transfer' to the SPS, the beam accelerated in the PS is shaved off over several turns, so as to form a continuous sequence of bunches several times the length of the PS circumference. Fast bumpers, powered in a 'staircase' way, displace the PS beam stepwise towards the ejection septum. Each step lasts 2.1 microsec and the cable drums in this picture contain some of the bumper delay-lines of altogether 10 km.

Effects of wake effect and time delay on output characteristics of doubly fed induction generators in wind power plant%尾流效应和时滞对双馈机组风电场输出特性的影响

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2013-01-01

　　由于双馈机组已成为国内主流机型且大型双馈机组风电场通常占地面积比较大，需要研究双馈风电机组间的尾流效应及时滞对双馈机组风电场的并网点输出特性的影响情况。通过搭建了30台2 MW双馈风电机组组成的风电场模型，对风速波动和电网故障下双馈机组风电场输出特性进行分析和比较。通过仿真表明，机组间的尾流效应导致双馈机组风电场的风能损失；风速时滞平缓了风电场输出功率。%Because doubly fed induction generator has become the mainstream type and a large wind power plant usually covers a larger area,the impacts of wake effects among wind turbines and time delay on output characteristics of wind power plant need to be studied. With a wind power plant model composed of thirty 2⁃MW double fed induction generator wind tur⁃bines,the output characteristic of wind power plant under the conditions of wind speed fluctuation and grid faults is analyzed and compared. The simulation results show that the wake effects among wind turbines can cause the wind energy loss of wind farm and the wind speed time delay will smooth the power output of wind farm;wake effects among wind turbines and wind speed time delays needs to be considered when the grid⁃connection stability of wind farms with double fed induction generator wind turbines is analyzed.

Electron and Negative Ion Densities in C2F6 and CHF3 Containing Inductively Coupled Discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HEBNER, GREGORY A.; MILLER, PAUL A.

1999-01-01

Electron and negative ion densities have been measured in inductively coupled discharges containing C 2 F 6 and CHF 3 . Line integrated electron density was determined using a microwave interferometer, negative ion densities were inferred using laser photodetachment spectroscopy, and electron temperature was determined using a Langmuir probe. For the range of induction powers, pressures and bias power investigated, the electron density peaked at 9 x 10 12 cm -2 (line-integrated) or approximately 9 x 10 11 cm -3 . The negative ion density peaked at approximately 1.3 x 10 11 cm -3 . A maximum in the negative ion density as a function of induction coil power was observed. The maximum is attributed to a power dependent change in the density of one or more of the potential negative ion precursor species since the electron temperature did not depend strongly on power. The variation of photodetachment with laser wavelength indicated that the dominant negative ion was F - . Measurement of the decay of the negative ion density in the afterglow of a pulse modulated discharge was used to determine the ion-ion recombination rate for CF 4 , C 2 F 6 and CHF 3 discharges

Precise delay measurement through combinatorial logic

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Gary R. (Inventor); Chen, Yuan (Inventor); Sheldon, Douglas J. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A high resolution circuit and method for facilitating precise measurement of on-chip delays for FPGAs for reliability studies. The circuit embeds a pulse generator on an FPGA chip having one or more groups of LUTS (the "LUT delay chain"), also on-chip. The circuit also embeds a pulse width measurement circuit on-chip, and measures the duration of the generated pulse through the delay chain. The pulse width of the output pulse represents the delay through the delay chain without any I/O delay. The pulse width measurement circuit uses an additional asynchronous clock autonomous from the main clock and the FPGA propagation delay can be displayed on a hex display continuously for testing purposes.

Stochastic Wilson–Cowan models of neuronal network dynamics with memory and delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goychuk, Igor; Goychuk, Andriy

2015-01-01

We consider a simple Markovian class of the stochastic Wilson–Cowan type models of neuronal network dynamics, which incorporates stochastic delay caused by the existence of a refractory period of neurons. From the point of view of the dynamics of the individual elements, we are dealing with a network of non-Markovian stochastic two-state oscillators with memory, which are coupled globally in a mean-field fashion. This interrelation of a higher-dimensional Markovian and lower-dimensional non-Markovian dynamics is discussed in its relevance to the general problem of the network dynamics of complex elements possessing memory. The simplest model of this class is provided by a three-state Markovian neuron with one refractory state, which causes firing delay with an exponentially decaying memory within the two-state reduced model. This basic model is used to study critical avalanche dynamics (the noise sustained criticality) in a balanced feedforward network consisting of the excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Such avalanches emerge due to the network size dependent noise (mesoscopic noise). Numerical simulations reveal an intermediate power law in the distribution of avalanche sizes with the critical exponent around −1.16. We show that this power law is robust upon a variation of the refractory time over several orders of magnitude. However, the avalanche time distribution is biexponential. It does not reflect any genuine power law dependence. (paper)

Improving Delay-Range-Dependent Stability Condition for Systems with Interval Time-Varying Delay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Qian

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the delay-range-dependent stability for systems with interval time-varying delay. Through defining the new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and estimating the derivative of the LKF by introducing new vectors, using free matrices and reciprocally convex approach, the new delay-range-dependent stability conditions are obtained. Two well-known examples are given to illustrate the less conservatism of the proposed theoretical results.

Modeling of delays in PKPD: classical approaches and a tutorial for delay differential equations.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Gilbert; Krzyzanski, Wojciech; Pérez-Ruixo, Juan Jose; Schropp, Johannes

2014-08-01

In pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PKPD) the measured response is often delayed relative to drug administration, individuals in a population have a certain lifespan until they maturate or the change of biomarkers does not immediately affects the primary endpoint. The classical approach in PKPD is to apply transit compartment models (TCM) based on ordinary differential equations to handle such delays. However, an alternative approach to deal with delays are delay differential equations (DDE). DDEs feature additional flexibility and properties, realize more complex dynamics and can complementary be used together with TCMs. We introduce several delay based PKPD models and investigate mathematical properties of general DDE based models, which serve as subunits in order to build larger PKPD models. Finally, we review current PKPD software with respect to the implementation of DDEs for PKPD analysis.

A delay fractioning approach to global synchronization of delayed complex networks with stochastic disturbances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yao; Wang Zidong; Liang Jinling

2008-01-01

In this Letter, the synchronization problem is investigated for a class of stochastic complex networks with time delays. By utilizing a new Lyapunov functional form based on the idea of 'delay fractioning', we employ the stochastic analysis techniques and the properties of Kronecker product to establish delay-dependent synchronization criteria that guarantee the globally asymptotically mean-square synchronization of the addressed delayed networks with stochastic disturbances. These sufficient conditions, which are formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), can be solved efficiently by the LMI toolbox in Matlab. The main results are proved to be much less conservative and the conservatism could be reduced further as the number of delay fractioning gets bigger. A simulation example is exploited to demonstrate the advantage and applicability of the proposed result

A distributed delay approach for modeling delayed outcomes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Shuhua; Dunlavey, Michael; Guzy, Serge; Teuscher, Nathan

2018-04-01

A distributed delay approach was proposed in this paper to model delayed outcomes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics studies. This approach was shown to be general enough to incorporate a wide array of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic models as special cases including transit compartment models, effect compartment models, typical absorption models (either zero-order or first-order absorption), and a number of atypical (or irregular) absorption models (e.g., parallel first-order, mixed first-order and zero-order, inverse Gaussian, and Weibull absorption models). Real-life examples were given to demonstrate how to implement distributed delays in Phoenix ® NLME™ 8.0, and to numerically show the advantages of the distributed delay approach over the traditional methods.

Deterministic and stochastic control of chimera states in delayed feedback oscillator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Semenov, V. [Department of Physics, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya Str. 83, 410012 Saratov (Russian Federation); Zakharova, A.; Schöll, E. [Institut für Theoretische Physik, TU Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 36, 10623 Berlin (Germany); Maistrenko, Y. [Institute of Mathematics and Center for Medical and Biotechnical Research, NAS of Ukraine, Tereschenkivska Str. 3, 01601 Kyiv (Ukraine)

2016-06-08

Chimera states, characterized by the coexistence of regular and chaotic dynamics, are found in a nonlinear oscillator model with negative time-delayed feedback. The control of these chimera states by external periodic forcing is demonstrated by numerical simulations. Both deterministic and stochastic external periodic forcing are considered. It is shown that multi-cluster chimeras can be achieved by adjusting the external forcing frequency to appropriate resonance conditions. The constructive role of noise in the formation of a chimera states is shown.

Novel delay-distribution-dependent stability analysis for continuous-time recurrent neural networks with stochastic delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Shen-Quan; Feng Jian; Zhao Qing

2012-01-01

In this paper, the problem of delay-distribution-dependent stability is investigated for continuous-time recurrent neural networks (CRNNs) with stochastic delay. Different from the common assumptions on time delays, it is assumed that the probability distribution of the delay taking values in some intervals is known a priori. By making full use of the information concerning the probability distribution of the delay and by using a tighter bounding technique (the reciprocally convex combination method), less conservative asymptotic mean-square stable sufficient conditions are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Two numerical examples show that our results are better than the existing ones. (general)

Delay Insensitive Ternary CMOS Logic for Secure Hardware

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ravi S. P. Nair

2015-09-01

Full Text Available As digital circuit design continues to evolve due to progress of semiconductor processes well into the sub 100 nm range, clocked architectures face limitations in a number of cases where clockless asynchronous architectures generate less noise and produce less electro-magnetic interference (EMI. This paper develops the Delay-Insensitive Ternary Logic (DITL asynchronous design paradigm that combines design aspects of similar dual-rail asynchronous paradigms and Boolean logic to create a single wire per bit, three voltage signaling and logic scheme. DITL is compared with other delay insensitive paradigms, such as Pre-Charge Half-Buffers (PCHB and NULL Convention Logic (NCL on which it is based. An application of DITL is discussed in designing secure digital circuits resistant to side channel attacks based on measurement of timing, power, and EMI signatures. A Secure DITL Adder circuit is designed at the transistor level, and several variance parameters are measured to validate the efficiency of DITL in resisting side channel attacks. The DITL design methodology is then applied to design a secure 8051 ALU.

Multifractal structure of multiplicity distributions and negative binomials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malik, S.; Delhi, Univ.

1997-01-01

The paper presents experimental results of the multifractal structure analysis in proton-emulsion interactions at 800 GeV. The multiplicity moments have a power law dependence on the mean multiplicity in varying bin sizes of pseudorapidity. The values of generalised dimensions are calculated from the slope value. The multifractal characteristics are also examined in the light of negative binomials. The observed multiplicity moments and those derived from the negative-binomial fits agree well with each other. Also the values of D q , both observed and derived from the negative-binomial fits not only decrease with q typifying multifractality but also agree well each other showing consistency with the negative-binomial form

Delay-Dependent Guaranteed Cost Control of an Interval System with Interval Time-Varying Delay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao Min

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper concerns the problem of the delay-dependent robust stability and guaranteed cost control for an interval system with time-varying delay. The interval system with matrix factorization is provided and leads to less conservative conclusions than solving a square root. The time-varying delay is assumed to belong to an interval and the derivative of the interval time-varying delay is not a restriction, which allows a fast time-varying delay; also its applicability is broad. Based on the Lyapunov-Ktasovskii approach, a delay-dependent criterion for the existence of a state feedback controller, which guarantees the closed-loop system stability, the upper bound of cost function, and disturbance attenuation lever for all admissible uncertainties as well as out perturbation, is proposed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs. The criterion is derived by free weighting matrices that can reduce the conservatism. The effectiveness has been verified in a number example and the compute results are presented to validate the proposed design method.

Delay-Dependent Control for Networked Control Systems with Large Delays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yilin Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We consider the problems of robust stability and control for a class of networked control systems with long-time delays. Firstly, a nonlinear discrete time model with mode-dependent time delays is proposed by converting the uncertainty of time delay into the uncertainty of parameter matrices. We consider a probabilistic case where the system is switched among different subsystems, and the probability of each subsystem being active is defined as its occurrence probability. For a switched system with a known subsystem occurrence probabilities, we give a stochastic stability criterion in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs. Then, we extend the results to a more practical case where the subsystem occurrence probabilities are uncertain. Finally, a simulation example is presented to show the efficacy of the proposed method.

On the outage capacity of the block fading channel at low-power regime

KAUST Repository

Rezki, Zouheir

2014-06-01

Outage performance of the M-block fading with additive white Gaussian noise (BF-AWGN) is investigated at low-power regime. We consider delay-constrained constant-rate communications with perfect channel state information (CSI) at both the transmitter and the receiver (CSI-TR), under a short-term power constraint. We show that selection diversity that allocates all the power to the strongest block is asymptotically optimal. Then, we provide a simple characterization of the outage probability in the regime of interest. We quantify the reward due to CSI-TR over the constant-rate constant-power scheme and show that this reward increases with the delay constraint. For instance, for Rayleigh fading, we find that a power gain up to 4.3 dB is achievable. © 2014 IEEE.

Quad nanosecond delay module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, R.J.; Hunter, J.B.; Wozniak, G.J.

1986-04-01

Four nanosecond (ns) delay units have been designed to fit in a single-width NIM module. This module is particularly suited for use in conjunction with quad constant fraction timing discriminators (CFTDs) since it has four delay units that can be placed adjacent to the four units of the CFTD. A series of different length cables connected via DIP toggle switches provide delays of 0.60 ns in 4 ns increments. Thus, the CFTD delay can be optimized for pulses of different rise times from approx.10-100 ns. Design work for the PC board and silkscreening of the front panel were done with the MacDraw program on the Apple Mackintosh computer and printed with the Lasewriter printer. 6 refs

Multiple relay selection for delay-limited applications

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2013-12-01

A multiple relay selection system model that implements the decode-and-forward mode is investigated. All communication nodes are assumed to be equipped by multiple antennas. Furthermore, lattices space-time coded multiple-input multiple-output half duplex channel is applied. The main goal is to increase the throughput of the system by selecting multiple number of relays. The selection criteria depends on the maximum decoding delay at relays where the system implements a decoding time-out algorithm at each relay. This leads to a significant saving in the overall system power consumptions and attempts to solve the relays synchronization problem. All results are presented using numerical simulations. © 2012 IEEE.

Rasagiline in the Treatment of the Persistent Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchanan, Robert W; Weiner, Elaine; Kelly, Deanna L; Gold, James M; Keller, William R; Waltz, James A; McMahon, Robert P; Gorelick, David A

2015-07-01

The current study examined the efficacy and safety of rasagiline, a selective MAO-B inhibitor, for the treatment of persistent negative symptoms. Sixty people with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, who met a priori criteria for persistent negative symptoms, were randomized to receive rasagiline, 1mg/d (n = 31) or placebo (n = 29) in a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) total score was used to assess change in negative symptoms. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), N-Back test, a probabilistic learning task, and a delayed discounting task were used to assess cognition. In a mixed model analysis of covariance (MM-ANCOVA), with time as a continuous variable, there was a significant treatment × time effect for SANS total score (F = 5.61(df = 1,40.3), P = .023). The treatment × time interaction effect was also significant for the SANS avolition subscale score (F(1,40.2) = 10.41, P = .002). In a post hoc MM-ANCOVA analyses, with time as a categorical variable, group differences were significant at week 12 for SANS total score (t(37.3) = 2.15; P = .04; d = -0.41) and SANS avolition subscale score (t(49.0) = 3.06; P = .004; d = -0.46). There was a significant difference in number of participants with a ≥20% reduction in SANS avolition score (χ(2)(1) = 10.94; P = .0009), but not in SANS total score (χ(2)(1) = 1.11; P = .29). There were no significant group differences on the RBANS, N-Back, probabilistic learning, or delayed discounting tasks. Study results support future studies of the utility of rasagiline for the treatment of negative symptoms, including avolition (clinicaltrials.gov trial number: NCT00492336). © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please

UAVs and Control Delays

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

de Vries, S. C

2005-01-01

.... Delays of about 250-300 ms often lead to unacceptable airplane handling qualities. Techniques such as filtering and predictive displays may extend the range of acceptable delays up to about 400 ms...

Analytical applications for delayed neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eccleston, G.W.

1983-01-01

Analytical formulations that describe the time dependence of neutron populations in nuclear materials contain delayed-neutron dependent terms. These terms are important because the delayed neutrons, even though their yields in fission are small, permit control of the fission chain reaction process. Analytical applications that use delayed neutrons range from simple problems that can be solved with the point reactor kinetics equations to complex problems that can only be solved with large codes that couple fluid calculations with the neutron dynamics. Reactor safety codes, such as SIMMER, model transients of the entire reactor core using coupled space-time neutronics and comprehensive thermal-fluid dynamics. Nondestructive delayed-neutron assay instruments are designed and modeled using a three-dimensional continuous-energy Monte Carlo code. Calculations on high-burnup spent fuels and other materials that contain a mix of uranium and plutonium isotopes require accurate and complete information on the delayed-neutron periods, yields, and energy spectra. A continuing need exists for delayed-neutron parameters for all the fissioning isotopes

Sea Ice Detection Based on Differential Delay-Doppler Maps from UK TechDemoSat-1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongchao Zhu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS signals can be exploited to remotely sense atmosphere and land and ocean surface to retrieve a range of geophysical parameters. This paper proposes two new methods, termed as power-summation of differential Delay-Doppler Maps (PS-D and pixel-number of differential Delay-Doppler Maps (PN-D, to distinguish between sea ice and sea water using differential Delay-Doppler Maps (dDDMs. PS-D and PN-D make use of power-summation and pixel-number of dDDMs, respectively, to measure the degree of difference between two DDMs so as to determine the transition state (water-water, water-ice, ice-ice and ice-water and hence ice and water are detected. Moreover, an adaptive incoherent averaging of DDMs is employed to improve the computational efficiency. A large number of DDMs recorded by UK TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1 over the Arctic region are used to test the proposed sea ice detection methods. Through evaluating against ground-truth measurements from the Ocean Sea Ice SAF, the proposed PS-D and PN-D methods achieve a probability of detection of 99.72% and 99.69% respectively, while the probability of false detection is 0.28% and 0.31% respectively.

49 CFR 236.563 - Delay time.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Delay time. 236.563 Section 236.563 Transportation... Cab Signal Systems Rules and Instructions; Locomotives § 236.563 Delay time. Delay time of automatic... requirements of § 236.24 shall take into consideration the delay time. ...

Prospect for introduction of nuclear power in Southeast Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuo, Yuji; Kouno, Seiji; Murakami, Tomoko

2008-01-01

Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam plan to introduce nuclear power by around 2020 with government's lead to cope with increase of electricity demand and secure energy resources. However in reality, the plan will be delayed more than several years by issues related with introduction of nuclear power. Taking into consideration of energy policy and prospect, political and economic conditions, infrastructure preparation, social and industrial systems of each country, the situation differs in countries largely. As for Viet Nam and Thailand with promotion systems prepared nuclear programs may proceed rather smoothly with some possible delay, while as for Philippines with the promotion system not well prepared it may be difficult to make earlier progress smoothly although there exists possibility of utilization of a nuclear power plant with construction works suspended. There seems no need of earlier introduction of nuclear energy in Malaysia and in Indonesia possibility of great delay of the program due to infrastructure preparation and investment environments. Japanese nuclear industry may contribute the programs through efforts of personnel training, system design and information dissemination. (T. Tanaka)

Delayed puberty in boys

Science.gov (United States)

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007695.htm Delayed puberty in boys To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Delayed puberty in boys is when puberty does not begin ...

Delay-range-dependent exponential H∞ synchronization of a class of delayed neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karimi, Hamid Reza; Maass, Peter

2009-01-01

This article aims to present a multiple delayed state-feedback control design for exponential H ∞ synchronization problem of a class of delayed neural networks with multiple time-varying discrete delays. On the basis of the drive-response concept and by introducing a descriptor technique and using Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, new delay-range-dependent sufficient conditions for exponential H ∞ synchronization of the drive-response structure of neural networks are driven in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The explicit expression of the controller gain matrices are parameterized based on the solvability conditions such that the drive system and the response system can be exponentially synchronized. A numerical example is included to illustrate the applicability of the proposed design method.

New Results on Passivity Analysis of Stochastic Neural Networks with Time-Varying Delay and Leakage Delay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YaJun Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The passivity problem for a class of stochastic neural networks systems (SNNs with varying delay and leakage delay has been further studied in this paper. By constructing a more effective Lyapunov functional, employing the free-weighting matrix approach, and combining with integral inequality technic and stochastic analysis theory, the delay-dependent conditions have been proposed such that SNNs are asymptotically stable with guaranteed performance. The time-varying delay is divided into several subintervals and two adjustable parameters are introduced; more information about time delay is utilised and less conservative results have been obtained. Examples are provided to illustrate the less conservatism of the proposed method and simulations are given to show the impact of leakage delay on stability of SNNs.

Modeling and Model Predictive Power and Rate Control of Wireless Communication Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cunwu Han

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A novel power and rate control system model for wireless communication networks is presented, which includes uncertainties, input constraints, and time-varying delays in both state and control input. A robust delay-dependent model predictive power and rate control method is proposed, and the state feedback control law is obtained by solving an optimization problem that is derived by using linear matrix inequality (LMI techniques. Simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Representation of Power in Media to Cast a Negative Light on Obama’s 2016 Presidential Election Race: A Discourse Analysis of “Lame Duck…”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liza Der Khachadourian

2016-11-01

Full Text Available “Lame Duck …” is a political analysis of Obama’s 2016 presidential election race, published by CNN online news, on June 13, 2015. The aim of this paper was to highlight the power of the media reflected in this article. The framework that we employed was Van Dijk’s (2001 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA theory. The analysis of the language at the micro-level, as well as the employment of negative semantic prosody of extended lexical units were studied to reveal how news discourse may cast a negative light on Obama’s 2016 presidential election race. At the same time, at the macro-level, the choice of the topic was studied to see how CNN manipulated its readership, pointing to Obama’s failure and his near defeat in the upcoming 18 months of America’s presidential elections. The findings revealed that the media power, reflected in this article, attempted to undermine Obama’s political role and demoralize his supporters, by revealing his failure and near defeat in the upcoming presidential elections.

Improvement of ionizer and power supply of 860 A sputtering negative ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An Kun; Yu Lingda; Wu Bingbing; Wang Guangfu

2014-01-01

A transmission surface type ionizer was developed with a φ2.5 mm stainless steel sheath core heating cable, and the ion source power supply was also improved. A continuous adjustable DC switching power supply was employed instead of the original AC power supply as the ionizer power supply, and a 0 - -20 kV DC power supply at the ground potential as the power of the immersion lens replaced the original 10 kV DC power supply suspended in -20 kV. The variation of the beam intensity of H"- in the front Faraday cup of the GIC4117 2 × 1.7 MV tandetron with the ionizer heating current was also shown. (authors)

Drought-caused delay in nesting of Sonoran Desert birds and its facilitation of parasite- and predator-mediated variation in reproductive success

Science.gov (United States)

McCreedy, Chris; van Riper, Charles

2015-01-01

As our understanding of climate change has increased, so has our awareness of the impacts of these changes on biotic systems. Climate models are nearly unanimous in their predictions for increased drought frequency in southwestern North America, and delays in nest initiation due to drought may influence nesting success and productivity for many Sonoran Desert bird species. In southeastern California and western Arizona in 2004–2009, we found negative correlations for 13 of 13 species between nest initiation date and rainfall accumulation during the preceding 4-month winter rainy season. Nesting was delayed more than 3 weeks for some species during extreme droughts in 2006 and 2007. During 2004–2009, we found a significant negative effect of nest initiation date on nest survival probability (β̂ = −0.031 ± 0.005 SE, P nesting delay in nesting success and productivity, in 2010 we conducted a manipulative experiment with Black-tailed Gnatcatchers (Polioptila melanura; BTGN) and Verdins (Auriparus flaviceps; VERD). Following a wet winter, we delayed clutch initiation dates for treatment pairs to match first-egg dates that we observed during droughts in 2006 and 2007. Nest initiation date had a significant negative effect on nest survival of both species (BTGN: β̂ = −1.18 ± 0.27 SE, P nest predation and Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism were the most common causes of nest failure, we conclude that the impacts of climate change–caused drought on annual reproductive output in the Sonoran Desert will be further compounded by parasitism and predation for Black-tailed Gnatcatchers and by predation for Verdins.

Changing delay discounting in the light of the competing neurobehavioral decision systems theory: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Koffarnus, Mikhail N; Jarmolowicz, David P; Mueller, E Terry; Bickel, Warren K

2013-01-01

Excessively devaluing delayed reinforcers co-occurs with a wide variety of clinical conditions such as drug dependence, obesity, and excessive gambling. If excessive delay discounting is a trans-disease process that underlies the choice behavior leading to these and other negative health conditions, efforts to change an individual's discount rate are arguably important. Although discount rate is often regarded as a relatively stable trait, descriptions of interventions and environmental manipulations that successfully alter discount rate have begun to appear in the literature. In this review, we compare published examples of procedures that change discount rate and classify them into categories of procedures, including therapeutic interventions, direct manipulation of the executive decision-making system, framing effects, physiological state effects, and acute drug effects. These changes in discount rate are interpreted from the perspective of the competing neurobehavioral decision systems theory, which describes a combination of neurological and behavioral processes that account for delay discounting. We also suggest future directions that researchers could take to identify the mechanistic processes that allow for changes in discount rate and to test whether the competing neurobehavioral decision systems view of delay discounting is correct. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Does delaying the first mowing date benefit biodiversity in meadowland?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Humbert Jean-Yves

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Meadows are regularly mown in order to provide fodder or litter for livestock and to prevent vegetation succession. However, the time of year at which meadows should be first mown in order to maximize biological diversity remains controversial and may vary with respect to context and focal taxa. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of delaying the first mowing date upon plants and invertebrates in European meadowlands. Methods Following a CEE protocol, ISI Web of Science, Science Direct, JSTOR, Google and Google Scholar were searched. We recorded all studies that compared the species richness of plants, or the species richness or abundance of invertebrates, between grassland plots mown at a postponed date (treatment vs plots mown earlier (control. In order to be included in the meta-analysis, compared plots had to be similar in all management respects, except the date of the first cut that was (mostly experimentally manipulated. They were also to be located in the same meadow type. Meta-analyses applying Hedges’d statistic were performed. Results Plant species richness responded differently to the date to which mowing was postponed. Delaying mowing from spring to summer had a positive effect, while delaying either from spring to fall, or from early summer to later in the season had a negative effect. Invertebrates were expected to show a strong response to delayed mowing due to their dependence on sward structure, but only species richness showed a clearly significant positive response. Invertebrate abundance was positively influenced in only a few studies. Conclusions The present meta-analysis shows that in general delaying the first mowing date in European meadowlands has either positive or neutral effects on plant and invertebrate biodiversity (except for plant species richness when delaying from spring to fall or from early summer to later. Overall, there was also strong between

Menarche delay and menstrual irregularities persist in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McFann Kim

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Menarche delay has been reported in adolescent females with type 1 diabetes (T1DM, perhaps due to poor glycemic control. We sought to compare age at menarche between adolescent females with T1DM and national data, and to identify factors associated with delayed menarche and menstrual irregularity in T1DM. Methods This was a cross-sectional study and females ages 12- 24 years (n = 228 with at least one menstrual period were recruited during their outpatient diabetes clinic appointment. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2001-2006 data (n = 3690 for females 12-24 years were used as a control group. Results Age at menarche was later in adolescent females with T1DM diagnosed prior to menarche (12.81 +/- 0.09 years (mean+/- SE (n = 185 than for adolescent females diagnosed after menarche (12.17 0.19 years, p = 0.0015 (n = 43. Average age of menarche in NHANES was 12.27 +/- 0.038 years, which was significantly earlier than adolescent females with T1DM prior to menarche (p p = 0.77. Older age at menarche was negatively correlated with BMI z-score (r = -0.23 p = 0.0029 but not hemoglobin A1c (A1c at menarche (r = 0.01, p = 0.91. Among 181 adolescent females who were at least 2 years post menarche, 63 (35% reported usually or always irregular cycles. Conclusion Adolescent females with T1DM had a later onset of menarche than both adolescent females who developed T1DM after menarche and NHANES data. Menarche age was negatively associated with BMI z-score, but not A1c. Despite improved treatment in recent decades, menarche delay and high prevalence of menstrual irregularity is still observed among adolescent females with T1DM.