77 FR 21277 - Customer Clearing Documentation, Timing of Acceptance for Clearing, and Clearing Member Risk...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-09

..., 23, 37, et al. Customer Clearing Documentation, Timing of Acceptance for Clearing, and Clearing..., 38, and 39 RIN 3038-0092, -0094 Customer Clearing Documentation, Timing of Acceptance for Clearing... implement new statutory provisions enacted by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer...

Providing Demonstrable Return-on-Investment for Organisational Learning and Training

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Michael; Dawson, Ray; Edwards, Janet

2009-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present a holistic approach to training, that clearly demonstrates cost savings with improved effectiveness and efficiencies that are aligned to business objectives. Design/methodology/approach: Extending Kirkpatrick's evaluation framework with Phillips's return-on-investment (ROI) concepts, the paper conveys a…

Pediatric evaluation of the ClearVoice™ speech enhancement algorithm in everyday life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathalie Noël-Petroff

2013-12-01

Full Text Available ClearVoice™ enables Advanced Bionics cochlear implant users to improve their speech understanding in difficult listening environments, without compromising performance in quiet situations. The aim of the study was to evaluate the benefits of ClearVoice in children. Children between six and fourteen years of age randomly tested two modalities of ClearVoice for one month each. The baseline program, HiRes 120™, and both ClearVoice programs were evaluated with a sentence test in quiet and noise. Parents and teachers completed a questionnaire related to everyday noisy situations. The switchover to ClearVoice was uneventful for both modalities. Adjustments to thresholds and comfort levels were required. Seven out of the nine children preferred a ClearVoice program. No impact of ClearVoice on performance in quiet was observed and both modalities of ClearVoice improved speech understanding in noise compared to the baseline program, significantly with ClearVoice high. Positive outcomes were obtained from the questionnaires and discussions with parents and children. This study showed that children benefited from using ClearVoice in their daily life. There was a clear trend towards improved speech understanding in noise with ClearVoice, without affecting performance in quiet; therefore ClearVoice can be used by children all day, without having to change programs.

Chemical clearing and dehydration of GFP expressing mouse brains.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Klaus; Jährling, Nina; Saghafi, Saiedeh; Weiler, Reto; Dodt, Hans-Ulrich

2012-01-01

Generally, chemical tissue clearing is performed by a solution consisting of two parts benzyl benzoate and one part benzyl alcohol. However, prolonged exposure to this mixture markedly reduces the fluorescence of GFP expressing specimens, so that one has to compromise between clearing quality and fluorescence preservation. This can be a severe drawback when working with specimens exhibiting low GFP expression rates. Thus, we screened for a substitute and found that dibenzyl ether (phenylmethoxymethylbenzene, CAS 103-50-4) can be applied as a more GFP-friendly clearing medium. Clearing with dibenzyl ether provides improved tissue transparency and strikingly improved fluorescence intensity in GFP expressing mouse brains and other samples as mouse spinal cords, or embryos. Chemical clearing, staining, and embedding of biological samples mostly requires careful foregoing tissue dehydration. The commonly applied tissue dehydration medium is ethanol, which also can markedly impair GFP fluorescence. Screening for a substitute also for ethanol we found that tetrahydrofuran (CAS 109-99-9) is a more GFP-friendly dehydration medium than ethanol, providing better tissue transparency obtained by successive clearing. Combined, tetrahydrofuran and dibenzyl ether allow dehydration and chemical clearing of even delicate samples for UM, confocal microscopy, and other microscopy techniques.

A Demonstration of Improved Precision of Word Recognition Scores

Science.gov (United States)

Schlauch, Robert S.; Anderson, Elizabeth S.; Micheyl, Christophe

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate improved precision of word recognition scores (WRSs) by increasing list length and analyzing phonemic errors. Method: Pure-tone thresholds (frequencies between 0.25 and 8.0 kHz) and WRSs were measured in 3 levels of speech-shaped noise (50, 52, and 54 dB HL) for 24 listeners with normal…

IL-15 STIMULATED NATURAL KILLER CELLS CLEAR HIV-1 INFECTED CELLS FOLLOWING LATENCY REVERSAL EX VIVO.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrido, Carolina; Abad-Fernandez, Maria; Tuyishime, Marina; Pollara, Justin J; Ferrari, Guido; Soriano-Sarabia, Natalia; Margolis, David M

2018-03-28

Current efforts towards HIV eradication include approaches to augment immune recognition and elimination of persistently infected cells following latency reversal. Natural killer (NK) cells, the main effectors of the innate immune system, recognize and clear targets using different mechanisms than CD8 + T cells, offering an alternative or complementary approach for HIV clearance strategies. We assessed the impact of IL-15 treatment on NK cell function and the potential of stimulated NK cells to clear the HIV reservoir. We measured NK cell receptor expression, antibody-dependent cell-dependent cytotoxicity (ADCC), cytotoxicity, IFN-γ production and antiviral activity in autologous HIV replication systems. All NK cell functions were uniformly improved by IL-15, and more importantly, IL-15-treated NK cells were able to clear latently HIV infected cells after exposure to vorinostat, a clinically relevant latency reversing agent. We also demonstrate that NK cells from HIV infected individuals aviremic on antiretroviral therapy can be efficiently stimulated with IL-15. Our work opens a promising line of investigation towards future immunotherapies to clear persistent HIV infection using NK cells. IMPORTANCE In the search for an HIV cure, strategies to enhance immune function to allow recognition and clearance of HIV infected cells following latency reversal are being evaluated. Natural killer (NK) cells possess characteristics that can be exploited for immunotherapy against persistent HIV infection. We demonstrate that NK cells from HIV-positive donors can be strongly stimulated with IL-15, improving their antiviral and cytotoxic potential, and more importantly, clearing HIV infected cells after latency reversal with a clinically relevant drug. Our results encourage further investigation to design NK cell-based immunotherapies to achieve HIV eradication. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

The managed clearing: An overlooked land-cover type in urbanizing regions?

Science.gov (United States)

Madden, Marguerite; Gray, Josh; Meentemeyer, Ross K.

2018-01-01

Urban ecosystem assessments increasingly rely on widely available map products, such as the U.S. Geological Service (USGS) National Land Cover Database (NLCD), and datasets that use generic classification schemes to detect and model large-scale impacts of land-cover change. However, utilizing existing map products or schemes without identifying relevant urban class types such as semi-natural, yet managed land areas that account for differences in ecological functions due to their pervious surfaces may severely constrain assessments. To address this gap, we introduce the managed clearings land-cover type–semi-natural, vegetated land surfaces with varying degrees of management practices–for urbanizing landscapes. We explore the extent to which managed clearings are common and spatially distributed in three rapidly urbanizing areas of the Charlanta megaregion, USA. We visually interpreted and mapped fine-scale land cover with special attention to managed clearings using 2012 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) images within 150 randomly selected 1-km2 blocks in the cities of Atlanta, Charlotte, and Raleigh, and compared our maps with National Land Cover Database (NLCD) data. We estimated the abundance of managed clearings relative to other land use and land cover types, and the proportion of land-cover types in the NLCD that are similar to managed clearings. Our study reveals that managed clearings are the most common land cover type in these cities, covering 28% of the total sampled land area– 6.2% higher than the total area of impervious surfaces. Managed clearings, when combined with forest cover, constitutes 69% of pervious surfaces in the sampled region. We observed variability in area estimates of managed clearings between the NAIP-derived and NLCD data. This suggests using high-resolution remote sensing imagery (e.g., NAIP) instead of modifying NLCD data for improved representation of spatial heterogeneity and

Chemical clearing and dehydration of GFP expressing mouse brains.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klaus Becker

Full Text Available Generally, chemical tissue clearing is performed by a solution consisting of two parts benzyl benzoate and one part benzyl alcohol. However, prolonged exposure to this mixture markedly reduces the fluorescence of GFP expressing specimens, so that one has to compromise between clearing quality and fluorescence preservation. This can be a severe drawback when working with specimens exhibiting low GFP expression rates. Thus, we screened for a substitute and found that dibenzyl ether (phenylmethoxymethylbenzene, CAS 103-50-4 can be applied as a more GFP-friendly clearing medium. Clearing with dibenzyl ether provides improved tissue transparency and strikingly improved fluorescence intensity in GFP expressing mouse brains and other samples as mouse spinal cords, or embryos. Chemical clearing, staining, and embedding of biological samples mostly requires careful foregoing tissue dehydration. The commonly applied tissue dehydration medium is ethanol, which also can markedly impair GFP fluorescence. Screening for a substitute also for ethanol we found that tetrahydrofuran (CAS 109-99-9 is a more GFP-friendly dehydration medium than ethanol, providing better tissue transparency obtained by successive clearing. Combined, tetrahydrofuran and dibenzyl ether allow dehydration and chemical clearing of even delicate samples for UM, confocal microscopy, and other microscopy techniques.

Evaluation of Clear Sky Models for Satellite-Based Irradiance Estimates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sengupta, Manajit [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Gotseff, Peter [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2013-12-01

This report describes an intercomparison of three popular broadband clear sky solar irradiance model results with measured data, as well as satellite-based model clear sky results compared to measured clear sky data. The authors conclude that one of the popular clear sky models (the Bird clear sky model developed by Richard Bird and Roland Hulstrom) could serve as a more accurate replacement for current satellite-model clear sky estimations. Additionally, the analysis of the model results with respect to model input parameters indicates that rather than climatological, annual, or monthly mean input data, higher-time-resolution input parameters improve the general clear sky model performance.

Tissue clearing for confocal imaging of native and bio-artificial skeletal muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

Decroix, L; Van Muylder, V; Desender, L; Sampaolesi, M; Thorrez, L

2015-01-01

Novel clearing techniques have revolutionized three-dimensional confocal imaging of the brain without the need for physical tissue sectioning. We evaluated three clearing methods, ScaleA2, Clear(T2), and 3DISCO for visualizing native and tissue engineered muscle by confocal microscopy. We found that Clear(T2) treatment improved the depth of visualization of immunohistochemical staining slightly, but did not improve depth of visualization of endogenous green fluorescent protein (GFP). ScaleA2 preserved endogenous GFP signal better and permitted significantly deeper GFP imaging, but it was incompatible with tropomyosin immunohistochemical staining. 3DISCO treatment preserved both endogenous GFP and immunohistochemical staining, and permitted significantly deeper imaging. Clearing time for the 3DISCO procedure is short compared to ScaleA2 and Clear(T2). We suggest that 3DISCO is the preferable clearing method for native and tissue engineered skeletal muscle tissue.

Using quality improvement methods to reduce clear fluid fasting times in children on a preoperative ward.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Richard J G; Stuart, Grant M; Willdridge, Daniel J; Thomas, Mark

2017-08-01

We applied quality improvement (QI) methodology to identify the different aspects of why children fasted for prolonged periods in our institution. Our aim was for 75% of all children to be fasted for clear fluid for less than 4 hours. Prolonged fasting in children can increase thirst and irritability and have adverse effects on haemodynamic stability on induction. By reducing this, children may be less irritable, more comfortable and more physiologically stable, improving the preoperative experience for both children and carers. We conducted a QI project from January 2014 until August 2016 at a large tertiary pediatric teaching hospital. Baseline data and the magnitude of the problem were obtained from pilot studies. This allowed us to build a key driver diagram, a process map and conduct a failure mode and effects analysis. Using a framework of Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles our key interventions primarily focused on reducing confusion over procedure start times, giving parents accurate information, empowering staff and reducing variation by allowing children to drink on arrival (up to one hour) before surgery. Prior to this project, using the 6,4,2 fasting rule for solids, breast milk, and clear fluids, respectively, 19% of children were fasted for fluid for less than 4 hours, mean fluid fasting time was 6.3 hours (SD 4.48). At the conclusion 72% of patients received a drink within 4 hours, mean fluid fasting reduced to 3.1 hours (SD 2.33). The secondary measures of aspiration (4.14:10 000) and cancellations have not increased since starting this project. By using established QI methodology we reduced the mean fluid fasting time for day admissions at our hospital to 3.1 hours and increased the proportion of children fasting for less than 4 hours from 19% to 72%. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Demonstration of Intelligent Control and Fan Improvements in Computer Room Air Handlers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coles, Henry [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Division; Greenberg, Steve [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Division; Vita, Corinne [Vigilent, Oakland, CA (United States)

2012-11-30

This report documents a demonstration of the energy-efficiency improvement provided by a new control system for computer room air handling devices. It also analyzes measured and reported air handling device fan power associated with changing the fan type. A 135,000 square foot commercial data center was used for the demonstration. All air handling units were upgraded with improved efficiency fans, and a control system that automatically adjusts the fan speed for the air handling units was added. Power measurements were collected for a baseline and for a period with the fan speed control system active. Changing the fan type resulted in a savings of 47 percent of energy used by the air handling equipment and associated chiller plant energy needed to cool the air handlers themselves. The addition of the fan speed control resulted in an additional 37 percent savings in the same two categories. The combined savings for the two improvements for the same categories was 66 percent compared to the data center fitted with the original fans without a control system. The energy use reduction provided by the complete air handling device improvement program for the whole data center site is estimated to be 2.9 million kilowatt hours per year—an overall data center site savings of 8.0 percent. The reduced electrical energy use at the site provides a 1.9 million pound yearly reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. This demonstration showed that fan upgrades and a control system addition provide cost-effective improvements for data centers, with a payback reported to be under two years without utility incentives. In addition to the control system providing energy savings, the data collection and visual analysis capabilities provided immediate and long-term benefits. It is recommended that data center operators consider investing in fan upgrades and/or adding fan speed control for computer room air handlers.

An Improved Clearing and Mounting Solution to Replace Chloral Hydrate in Microscopic Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas S. Villani

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Premise of the study: This study presents Visikol™, a new proprietary formulation that can be used as an efficient replacement for chloral hydrate as a clearing agent for microscopic examination. In the United States, chloral hydrate is regulated and therefore difficult to acquire. Methods and Results: Fresh and dry samples of the following plants: ginger (Zingiber officinale, maté (Ilex paraguariensis, lime basil (Ocimum americanum, oregano (Origanum vulgare, and mouse-ear cress (Arabidopsis thaliana, were cleared using Visikol or chloral hydrate solution and compared using a light microscope. Conclusions: This new method can be used successfully to clear specimens, allowing identification of diagnostic characteristics for the identification of plant materials. Visikol is as effective as chloral hydrate in providing clarity and resolution of all tissues examined. Tissues become transparent, allowing observation of deeper layers of cells and making it effective in research, botanical and quality control, and for educational applications.

Acoustic properties of naturally produced clear speech at normal speaking rates

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Jean C.; Braida, Louis D.

2004-01-01

Sentences spoken ``clearly'' are significantly more intelligible than those spoken ``conversationally'' for hearing-impaired listeners in a variety of backgrounds [Picheny et al., J. Speech Hear. Res. 28, 96-103 (1985); Uchanski et al., ibid. 39, 494-509 (1996); Payton et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 1581-1592 (1994)]. While producing clear speech, however, talkers often reduce their speaking rate significantly [Picheny et al., J. Speech Hear. Res. 29, 434-446 (1986); Uchanski et al., ibid. 39, 494-509 (1996)]. Yet speaking slowly is not solely responsible for the intelligibility benefit of clear speech (over conversational speech), since a recent study [Krause and Braida, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 112, 2165-2172 (2002)] showed that talkers can produce clear speech at normal rates with training. This finding suggests that clear speech has inherent acoustic properties, independent of rate, that contribute to improved intelligibility. Identifying these acoustic properties could lead to improved signal processing schemes for hearing aids. To gain insight into these acoustical properties, conversational and clear speech produced at normal speaking rates were analyzed at three levels of detail (global, phonological, and phonetic). Although results suggest that talkers may have employed different strategies to achieve clear speech at normal rates, two global-level properties were identified that appear likely to be linked to the improvements in intelligibility provided by clear/normal speech: increased energy in the 1000-3000-Hz range of long-term spectra and increased modulation depth of low frequency modulations of the intensity envelope. Other phonological and phonetic differences associated with clear/normal speech include changes in (1) frequency of stop burst releases, (2) VOT of word-initial voiceless stop consonants, and (3) short-term vowel spectra.

Rapid and prodium iodide-compatible optical clearing method for brain tissue based on sugar/sugar-alcohol

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Tingting; Qi, Yisong; Wang, Jianru; Feng, Wei; Xu, Jianyi; Zhu, Jingtan; Yao, Yingtao; Gong, Hui; Luo, Qingming; Zhu, Dan

2016-08-01

The developed optical clearing methods show great potential for imaging of large-volume tissues, but these methods present some nonnegligible limitations such as complexity of implementation and long incubation times. In this study, we tried to screen out rapid optical clearing agents by means of molecular dynamical simulation and experimental demonstration. According to the optical clearing potential of sugar and sugar-alcohol, we further evaluated the improvement in the optical clearing efficacy of mouse brain samples, imaging depth, fluorescence preservation, and linear deformation. The results showed that drops of sorbitol, sucrose, and fructose could quickly make the mouse brain sample transparent within 1 to 2 min, and induce about threefold enhancement in imaging depth. The former two could evidently enhance the fluorescence intensity of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and prodium iodide (PI) nuclear dye. Fructose could significantly increase the fluorescence intensity of PI, but slightly decrease the fluorescence intensity of GFP. Even though the three agents caused some shrinkage in samples, the contraction in horizontal and longitudinal directions are almost the same.

One Clear Image? Challenging Simplicity in Place Branding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ren, Carina Bregnholm; Blichfeldt, Bodil Stilling

2011-01-01

Unique selling points! Simplicity sells! One clear identity! One clear image! These are some of the place branding mantras of today. In this paper, this “simplicity trend” is critically examined and challenged by raising the question whether clear images and simplicity are truly the only options...... in destination branding. After a short introduction and discussion of the underlying assumptions of destination branding strategy, an illustrative case is used to demonstrate how tourism stakeholders create several different “versions” of the tourist destination through a multiplicity of discursive, performative...... and socio-material practices at the tourist destination. Based on these findings, place marketers are encouraged to embrace and benefit from the multiple destination rather than seeking to reduce its multiplicity. It is argued that diversity branding might actually be deployed, strategically, in order...

Clear retainer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priyakorn Chaimongkol

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A clear retainer is a removable retainer that is popular in the present day. Compared with conventional fixed and removable orthodontic retainers, it is a more esthetic, comfortable, and inexpensive appliance. Although several studies have been published about clear retainers, it could be difficult to interpret the results because of the variety of study designs, sample sizes, and research methods. This article is intended to compile the content from previous studies and discuss advantages, disadvantages, fabrication, insertion, and adjustment. Moreover, the effectiveness in maintaining dental position, occlusion, retention protocols, thickness, and survival rate of clear retainers is discussed.

ClearFuels-Rentech Integrated Biorefinery Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pearson, Joshua [Project Director

2014-02-26

The project Final Report describes the validation of the performance of the integration of two technologies that were proven individually on a pilot scale and were demonstrated as a pilot scale integrated biorefinery. The integrated technologies were a larger scale ClearFuels’ (CF) advanced flexible biomass to syngas thermochemical high efficiency hydrothermal reformer (HEHTR) technology with Rentech’s (RTK) existing synthetic gas to liquids (GTL) technology.

Comprehensive evaluation of peripheral nerve regeneration in the acute healing phase using tissue clearing and optical microscopy in a rodent model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yookyung Jung

Full Text Available Peripheral nerve injury (PNI, a common injury in both the civilian and military arenas, is usually associated with high healthcare costs and with patients enduring slow recovery times, diminished quality of life, and potential long-term disability. Patients with PNI typically undergo complex interventions but the factors that govern optimal response are not fully characterized. A fundamental understanding of the cellular and tissue-level events in the immediate postoperative period is essential for improving treatment and optimizing repair. Here, we demonstrate a comprehensive imaging approach to evaluate peripheral nerve axonal regeneration in a rodent PNI model using a tissue clearing method to improve depth penetration while preserving neural architecture. Sciatic nerve transaction and end-to-end repair were performed in both wild type and thy-1 GFP rats. The nerves were harvested at time points after repair before undergoing whole mount immunofluorescence staining and tissue clearing. By increasing the optic depth penetration, tissue clearing allowed the visualization and evaluation of Wallerian degeneration and nerve regrowth throughout entire sciatic nerves with subcellular resolution. The tissue clearing protocol did not affect immunofluorescence labeling and no observable decrease in the fluorescence signal was observed. Large-area, high-resolution tissue volumes could be quantified to provide structural and connectivity information not available from current gold-standard approaches for evaluating axonal regeneration following PNI. The results are suggestive of observed behavioral recovery in vivo after neurorrhaphy, providing a method of evaluating axonal regeneration following repair that can serve as an adjunct to current standard outcomes measurements. This study demonstrates that tissue clearing following whole mount immunofluorescence staining enables the complete visualization and quantitative evaluation of axons throughout

Advances and perspectives in tissue clearing using CLARITY

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reveles Jensen, Kristian; Berg, Rune W.

2017-01-01

CLARITY is a tissue clearing method, which enables immunostaining and imaging of large volumes for 3D-reconstruction. The method was initially time-consuming, expensive and relied on electrophoresis to remove lipids to make the tissue transparent. Since then several improvements and simplifications...

A study of metalized electrode self-clearing in electroactive polymer (EAP) based actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Saad; Ounaies, Zoubeida

2016-04-01

Electroactive polymer (EAP) based technologies have shown promise in areas such as artificial muscles, actuator, aerospace, medical and soft robotics. Still challenges remain such as low induced forces and defects-driven electrical breakdown, which impede the practical implementation of this technology. Multilayered or stacked configuration can address the low induced force issue whereas self-clearing can be a technique to improve breakdown limit of EAP based actuators. Self-clearing refers to the partial local breakdown of dielectric medium due to the presence of impurities, which in turn results in the evaporation of some of the metalized electrode. After this evaporation, the impurity is cleared and any current path would be safely cut off, which means the actuator continues to perform. It is a widely studied concept in the capacitor community, while it has not been studied much for EAP technologies. In this paper we report a systematic approach to precondition a silver-metalized electroactive polymer (EAP), more specifically P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) terpolymer, using self-clearing concept. First, we show improvement in the dielectric breakdown strength of EAP based unimorph actuators after pre-clearing the impurities using low electric field (lower than dielectric breakdown of the terpolymer). Inspired by this improvement, we used Weibull statistics to systematically estimate the self-clearing/ preconditioning field needed to clear the defects. Then electrical breakdown experiments are conducted with and without preconditioning the samples to investigate its effect on the breakdown strength of the sample.

Renal cell carcinoma: evolving approaches to advanced non-clear cell carcinoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Y.C. Heng

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC has changed dramatically with the introduction of targeted therapies including sunitinib, sorafenib, and temsirolimus. Because patients with conventional clear cell histology account for 75- 80% of all patients with RCC, there has been little accumulated evidence on the treatment of patients with non-clear cell histologies. Most clinical trials have excluded them from enrolment, except for randomized studies investigating temsirolimus. Many retrospective studies on the use of all three of these targeted therapies in patients with non-clear cell histology have demonstrated response rates ranging from 3.7%–16%. Although response rates may not be as high compared to patients with clear cell histologies, targeted therapy does provide a clinically meaningful response.

Clear speech and lexical competition in younger and older adult listeners.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Engen, Kristin J

2017-08-01

This study investigated whether clear speech reduces the cognitive demands of lexical competition by crossing speaking style with lexical difficulty. Younger and older adults identified more words in clear versus conversational speech and more easy words than hard words. An initial analysis suggested that the effect of lexical difficulty was reduced in clear speech, but more detailed analyses within each age group showed this interaction was significant only for older adults. The results also showed that both groups improved over the course of the task and that clear speech was particularly helpful for individuals with poorer hearing: for younger adults, clear speech eliminated hearing-related differences that affected performance on conversational speech. For older adults, clear speech was generally more helpful to listeners with poorer hearing. These results suggest that clear speech affords perceptual benefits to all listeners and, for older adults, mitigates the cognitive challenge associated with identifying words with many phonological neighbors.

Cellulose Degradation by Cellulose-Clearing and Non-Cellulose-Clearing Brown-Rot Fungi

OpenAIRE

Highley, Terry L.

1980-01-01

Cellulose degradation by four cellulose-clearing brown-rot fungi in the Coniophoraceae—Coniophora prasinoides, C. puteana, Leucogyrophana arizonica, and L. olivascens—is compared with that of a non-cellulose-clearing brown-rot fungus, Poria placenta. The cellulose- and the non-cellulose-clearing brown-rot fungi apparently employ similar mechanisms to depolymerize cellulose; most likely a nonenzymatic mechanism is involved.

Confocal Raman microscopy supported by optical clearing treatment of the skin—influence on collagen hydration

Science.gov (United States)

Sdobnov, Anton Yu; Tuchin, Valery V.; Lademann, Juergen; E Darvin, Maxim

2017-07-01

Confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) is employed to study the skin physiology, drug permeation and skin disease monitoring. In order to increase the depth of investigations, the effect of optical clearing was observed on porcine ear skin ex vivo. The optical clearing agents (OCAs) glycerol and iohexol (Omnipaque™) were applied to the porcine ear skin and investigated by CRM after 30 and 60 min of treatment. The extent of optical clearing by utilizing concentrations of 70% glycerol and 100% Omnipaque™ was evaluated. The intensity of the skin-related Raman peaks significantly increased starting from the depth 160 µm for Omnipaque™ and 40 µm for glycerol (p  ⩽  0.05) after 60 min of treatment. The OCAs’ influence on the collagen hydration in the deep-located dermis was investigated. Both OCAs induce skin dehydration, but the effect of glycerol treatment (30 min and 60 min) is stronger. The obtained results demonstrate that with increasing the treatment time, both glycerol and Omnipaque™ solutions improve the optical clearing of porcine skin making the deep-located dermal regions able for investigations. At the used concentrations and time intervals, glycerol is more effective than Omnipaque™. However, Omnipaque™ is more promising than glycerol for future in vivo applications as it is an already approved pharmaceutic substance without any known impact on the skin structure.

Stiffness of RBC optical confinement affected by optical clearing

Science.gov (United States)

Grishin, Oleg V.; Fedosov, Ivan V.; Tuchin, Valery V.

2017-03-01

In vivo optical trapping is a novel applied direction of an optical manipulation, which enables one to noninvasive measurement of mechanical properties of cells and tissues in living animals directly. But an application area of this direction is limited because strong scattering of many biological tissues. An optical clearing enables one to decrease the scattering and therefore increase a depth of light penetration, decrease a distortion of light beam, improve a resolution in imaging applications. Now novel methods had appeared for a measurement an optical clearing degree at a cellular level. But these methods aren't applicable in vivo. In this paper we present novel measurement method of estimate of the optical clearing, which are based on a measurement of optical trap stiffness. Our method may be applicable in vivo.

Fluorescent-protein stabilization and high-resolution imaging of cleared, intact mouse brains.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin K Schwarz

Full Text Available In order to observe and quantify long-range neuronal connections in intact mouse brain by light microscopy, it is first necessary to clear the brain, thus suppressing refractive-index variations. Here we describe a method that clears the brain and preserves the signal from proteinaceous fluorophores using a pH-adjusted non-aqueous index-matching medium. Successful clearing is enabled through the use of either 1-propanol or tert-butanol during dehydration whilst maintaining a basic pH. We show that high-resolution fluorescence imaging of entire, structurally intact juvenile and adult mouse brains is possible at subcellular resolution, even following many months in clearing solution. We also show that axonal long-range projections that are EGFP-labelled by modified Rabies virus can be imaged throughout the brain using a purpose-built light-sheet fluorescence microscope. To demonstrate the viability of the technique, we determined a detailed map of the monosynaptic projections onto a target cell population in the lateral entorhinal cortex. This example demonstrates that our method permits the quantification of whole-brain connectivity patterns at the subcellular level in the uncut brain.

76 FR 47529 - Customer Clearing Documentation and Timing of Acceptance for Clearing; Correction

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-05

... COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 17 CFR Parts 1, 23, and 39 RIN 3038-AD51 Customer Clearing Documentation and Timing of Acceptance for Clearing; Correction AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission... published in the Federal Register of August 1, 2011, regarding Customer Clearing Documentation and Timing of...

Residential Energy Efficiency Demonstration: Hawaii and Guam Energy Improvement Technology Demonstration Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Earle, L. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sparn, B. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rutter, A. [Sustainability Solutions LLC (Guam); Briggs, D. [Naval Base Guam, Santa Rita (Guam)

2014-03-01

In order to meet its energy goals, the Department of Defense (DOD) has partnered with the Department of Energy (DOE) to rapidly demonstrate and deploy cost-effective renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies. The scope of this project was to demonstrate tools and technologies to reduce energy use in military housing, with particular emphasis on measuring and reducing loads related to consumer electronics (commonly referred to as 'plug loads'), hot water, and whole-house cooling.

CLEAR test facility

CERN Multimedia

Ordan, Julien Marius

2017-01-01

A new user facility for accelerator R&D, the CERN Linear Electron Accelerator for Research (CLEAR), started operation in August 2017. CLEAR evolved from the former CLIC Test Facility 3 (CTF3) used by the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). The new facility is able to host and test a broad range of ideas in the accelerator field.

Enhancing facial features by using clear facial features

Science.gov (United States)

Rofoo, Fanar Fareed Hanna

2017-09-01

The similarity of features between individuals of same ethnicity motivated the idea of this project. The idea of this project is to extract features of clear facial image and impose them on blurred facial image of same ethnic origin as an approach to enhance a blurred facial image. A database of clear images containing 30 individuals equally divided to five different ethnicities which were Arab, African, Chines, European and Indian. Software was built to perform pre-processing on images in order to align the features of clear and blurred images. And the idea was to extract features of clear facial image or template built from clear facial images using wavelet transformation to impose them on blurred image by using reverse wavelet. The results of this approach did not come well as all the features did not align together as in most cases the eyes were aligned but the nose or mouth were not aligned. Then we decided in the next approach to deal with features separately but in the result in some cases a blocky effect was present on features due to not having close matching features. In general the available small database did not help to achieve the goal results, because of the number of available individuals. The color information and features similarity could be more investigated to achieve better results by having larger database as well as improving the process of enhancement by the availability of closer matches in each ethnicity.

Improved Estimates of Clear Sky Longwave Flux and Application to the Tropical Greenhouse Effect

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, W. D.

1997-01-01

The first objective of this investigation is to eliminate the clear-sky offset introduced by the scene-identification procedures developed for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). Estimates of this systematic bias range from 10 to as high as 30 W/sq m. The initial version of the ScaRaB data is being processed with the original ERBE algorithm. Since the ERBE procedure for scene identification is based upon zonal flux averages, clear scenes with longwave emission well below the zonal mean value are mistakenly classified as cloudy. The erroneous classification is more frequent in regions with deep convection and enhanced mid- and upper-tropospheric humidity. We will develop scene identification parameters with zonal and/or time dependence to reduce or eliminate the bias in the clear- sky data. The modified scene identification procedure could be used for the ScaRaB-specific version of the Earth-radiation products. The second objective is to investigate changes in the clear-sky Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) associated with decadal variations in the tropical and subtropical climate. There is considerable evidence for a shift in the climate state starting in approximately 1977. The shift is accompanied by higher SSTs in the equatorial Pacific, increased tropical convection, and higher values of atmospheric humidity. Other evidence indicates that the humidity in the tropical troposphere has been steadily increasing over the last 30 years. It is not known whether the atmospheric greenhouse effect has increased during this period in response to these changes in SST and precipitable water. We will investigate the decadal-scale fluctuations in the greenhouse effect using Nimbus-7, ERBE, and ScaRaB measurements spaning 1979 to the present. The data from the different satellites will be intercalibrated by comparison with model calculations based upon ship radiosonde observations. The fluxes calculated from the radiation model will also be used for validation of the

Confocal Raman microscopy supported by optical clearing treatment of the skin—influence on collagen hydration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sdobnov, Anton Yu; Tuchin, Valery V; Lademann, Juergen; Darvin, Maxim E

2017-01-01

Confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) is employed to study the skin physiology, drug permeation and skin disease monitoring. In order to increase the depth of investigations, the effect of optical clearing was observed on porcine ear skin ex vivo . The optical clearing agents (OCAs) glycerol and iohexol (Omnipaque ™ ) were applied to the porcine ear skin and investigated by CRM after 30 and 60 min of treatment. The extent of optical clearing by utilizing concentrations of 70% glycerol and 100% Omnipaque ™ was evaluated. The intensity of the skin-related Raman peaks significantly increased starting from the depth 160 µ m for Omnipaque ™ and 40 µ m for glycerol ( p   ⩽  0.05) after 60 min of treatment. The OCAs’ influence on the collagen hydration in the deep-located dermis was investigated. Both OCAs induce skin dehydration, but the effect of glycerol treatment (30 min and 60 min) is stronger. The obtained results demonstrate that with increasing the treatment time, both glycerol and Omnipaque ™ solutions improve the optical clearing of porcine skin making the deep-located dermal regions able for investigations. At the used concentrations and time intervals, glycerol is more effective than Omnipaque ™ . However, Omnipaque ™ is more promising than glycerol for future in vivo applications as it is an already approved pharmaceutic substance without any known impact on the skin structure. (paper)

Clear-Sky Narrowband Albedo Variations Derived from VIRS and MODIS Data

Science.gov (United States)

Sun-Mack, Sunny; Chen, Yan; Arduini, Robert F.; Minnis, Patrick

2004-01-01

A critical parameter for detecting clouds and aerosols and for retrieving their microphysical properties is the clear-sky radiance. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project uses the visible (VIS; 0.63 m) and near-infrared (NIR; 1.6 or 2.13 m) channels available on same satellites as the CERES scanners. Another channel often used for cloud and aerosol, and vegetation cover retrievals is the vegetation (VEG; 0.86- m) channel that has been available on the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) for many years. Generally, clear-sky albedo for a given surface type is determined for conditions when the vegetation is either thriving or dormant and free of snow. Snow albedo is typically estimated without considering the underlying surface type. The albedo for a surface blanketed by snow, however, should vary with surface type because the vegetation often emerges from the snow to varying degrees depending on the vertical dimensions of the vegetation. For example, a snowcovered prairie will probably be brighter than a snowcovered forest because the snow typically falls off the trees exposing the darker surfaces while the snow on a grassland at the same temperatures will likely be continuous and, therefore, more reflective. Accounting for the vegetation-induced differences should improve the capabilities for distinguishing snow and clouds over different surface types and facilitate improvements in the accuracy of radiative transfer calculations between the snow-covered surface and the atmosphere, eventually leading to improvements in models of the energy budgets over land. This paper presents a more complete analysis of the CERES spectral clear-sky reflectances to determine the variations in clear-sky top-of-atmosphere (TOA) albedos for both snow-free and snow-covered surfaces for four spectral channels using data from Terra and Aqua.. The results should be valuable for improved cloud retrievals and for modeling radiation fields.

Identification of novel therapeutic targets in microdissected clear cell ovarian cancers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael P Stany

Full Text Available Clear cell ovarian cancer is an epithelial ovarian cancer histotype that is less responsive to chemotherapy and carries poorer prognosis than serous and endometrioid histotypes. Despite this, patients with these tumors are treated in a similar fashion as all other ovarian cancers. Previous genomic analysis has suggested that clear cell cancers represent a unique tumor subtype. Here we generated the first whole genomic expression profiling using epithelial component of clear cell ovarian cancers and normal ovarian surface specimens isolated by laser capture microdissection. All the arrays were analyzed using BRB ArrayTools and PathwayStudio software to identify the signaling pathways. Identified pathways validated using serous, clear cell cancer cell lines and RNAi technology. In vivo validations carried out using an orthotopic mouse model and liposomal encapsulated siRNA. Patient-derived clear cell and serous ovarian tumors were grafted under the renal capsule of NOD-SCID mice to evaluate the therapeutic potential of the identified pathway. We identified major activated pathways in clear cells involving in hypoxic cell growth, angiogenesis, and glucose metabolism not seen in other histotypes. Knockdown of key genes in these pathways sensitized clear cell ovarian cancer cell lines to hypoxia/glucose deprivation. In vivo experiments using patient derived tumors demonstrate that clear cell tumors are exquisitely sensitive to antiangiogenesis therapy (i.e. sunitinib compared with serous tumors. We generated a histotype specific, gene signature associated with clear cell ovarian cancer which identifies important activated pathways critical for their clinicopathologic characteristics. These results provide a rational basis for a radically different treatment for ovarian clear cell patients.

Experimental demonstration of an improved EPON architecture using OFDMA for bandwidth scalable LAN emulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deng, Lei; Zhao, Ying; Yu, Xianbin

2011-01-01

We propose and demonstrate an improved Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) architecture supporting bandwidth-scalable physical layer local area network (LAN) emulation. Due to the use of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technology for the LAN traffic transmission, there i...

Changes in biotic and abiotic processes following mangrove clearing

Science.gov (United States)

Granek, Elise; Ruttenberg, Benjamin I.

2008-12-01

Mangrove forests, important tropical coastal habitats, are in decline worldwide primarily due to removal by humans. Changes to mangrove systems can alter ecosystem properties through direct effects on abiotic factors such as temperature, light and nutrient supply or through changes in biotic factors such as primary productivity or species composition. Despite the importance of mangroves as transitional habitats between land and sea, little research has examined changes that occur when they are cleared. We examined changes in a number of biotic and abiotic factors following the anthropogenic removal of red mangroves ( Rhizophora mangle) in the Panamanian Caribbean, including algal biomass, algal diversity, algal grazing rates, light penetration, temperature, sedimentation rates and sediment organic content. In this first study examining multiple ecosystem-level effects of mangrove disturbance, we found that areas cleared of mangroves had higher algal biomass and richness than intact mangrove areas. This increase in algal biomass and richness was likely due to changes in abiotic factors (e.g. light intensity, temperature), but not biotic factors (fish herbivory). Additionally the algal and cyanobacterial genera dominating mangrove-cleared areas were rare in intact mangroves and included a number of genera that compete with coral for space on reefs. Interestingly, sedimentation rates did not differ between intact and cleared areas, but the sediments that accumulated in intact mangroves had higher organic content. These findings are the first to demonstrate that anthropogenic clearing of mangroves changes multiple biotic and abiotic processes in mangrove forests and that some of these changes may influence adjacent habitats such as coral reefs and seagrass beds. Additional research is needed to further explore the community and ecosystem-level effects of mangrove clearing and their influence on adjacent habitats, but it is clear that mangrove conservation is an

77 FR 37803 - Customer Clearing Documentation, Timing of Acceptance for Clearing, and Clearing Member Risk...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-25

..., 202-418-6703, [email protected] , Division of Clearing and Risk, and Camden Nunery, Economist, 202-418-5723, Office of the Chief Economist, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155...

Clearing and vegetation management issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1994-01-01

Clearing and continued management of incompatible plant species is critical to maintaining safe and reliable transmission and distribution lines at British Columbia Hydro. As part of a general review of policies regarding rights-of-way, the clearing of BC Hydro rights-of-way was studied by a task team in order to formulate a set of recommended policies and procedures to guide employees in all rights-of-way decisions, and to provide clear direction for resolution of all rights-of-way issues in a cost-effective manner. Issues reviewed were: clearing standards and line security standardization for transmission circuits; clearing rights for removal of trees or management of vegetation beyond the statutory right-of-way; clearing and vegetation management procedures; tree replacement; arboricultural techniques; periodic reviewing of clearing practices; compensation for tree removal; herbicide use; and heritage and wildlife trees. Justification for the recommendation is provided along with alternate options and costs of compliance

Rubber trees demonstrate a clear retranslocation under seasonal drought and cold stresses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuwu Li

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Having been introduced to the northern edge of Asian tropics, the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis has become deciduous in this climate with seasonal drought and cold stresses. To determine its internal nutrient strategy during leaf senescence and deciduous periods, we investigated mature leaf and senescent leaf nutrients, water-soluble soil nutrients and characteristics of soil microbiota in nine different ages of monoculture rubber plantations. Rubber trees demonstrate complicated retranslocation of N, P and K during foliar turnover. Approximately 50.26% of leaf nutrients and 21.47% of soil nutrients were redistributed to the rubber tree body during the leaf senescence and withering stages. However, no significant changes in the structure- or function-related properties of soil microbes were detected. These nutrient retranslocation strategy may be important stress responses. In the nutrient retranslocation process, soil plays a dual role as nutrient supplier and nutrient bank. Soil received the nutrients from abscissed leaves, and also supplied nutrients to trees in the non-growth stage. Nutrient absorption and accumulation began before the leaves started to wither and fall.

Improvement of Cerebral Hypoperfusion with Levothyroxine Therapy in Hashimoto's Encephalopathy Demonstrated by 99mTc-HMPAO-SPECT

Science.gov (United States)

Schnedl, Wolfgang J.; Mirzaei, Siroos; Wallner-Liebmann, Sandra J.; Tafeit, Erwin; Mangge, Harald; Krause, Robert; Lipp, Rainer W.

2013-01-01

Background Hashimoto's encephalopathy (HE) is a rare immune-mediated encephalopathy associated with autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Objectives and Methods We report on a patient with HE and significant clinical improvement correlating with an increase in cerebral blood flow demonstrated by hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). HMPAO-SPECT was performed with 740 MBq of technetium-99m-HMPAO. To demonstrate the improvement in regional cerebral blood flow, individual regions of interest were drawn around visually diminished HMPAO uptake, the lesion to reference region ratio was calculated and transverse section images and semi-quantitative measurements were performed. Results We show a 5-year follow-up with significant clinical improvement, a 10-fold reduction in autoantibodies to thyroid peroxidase and an approximately 20% improvement in cerebral blood flow with HMPAO-SPECT. Conclusion Adequate levothyroxine treatment achieving and maintaining euthyroidism should be considered as therapy to lower autoantibodies and improve clinical outcome in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and encephalopathy. PMID:24783049

APLIKASI SIX SIGMA PADA PRODUK CLEAR FILE DI PERUSAHAAN STATIONARY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desy Emilasari

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the application of the Six Sigma methods is used in order to improve quality in manufacturing company that produce stationary product. DMAIC approach is utilized to analyze and improve 'Pocket Clear File' product since this product has more variability and defects. Quality improvement also monitor the process that influenced pocket defect in Bag Making, Kami-ire, Karidome, and Pocket after Karidome Inspections section. Determining of Six Sigma project is based in process and defect type in each section. FMEA also gave the recommendation for quality improvement we need to evaluate the final result of the improvement since some of them were not working properly. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Paper ini menggambarkan bagaimana aplikasi metode Six Sigma digunakan untuk melakukan perbaikan kualitas pada perusahaan manufaktur yang memproduksi produk stationary. Pendekatan DMAIC dipakai untuk menganalisa dan melakukan perbaikan produk 'Pocket Clear File' karena tingginya variabilitas dan cacat dibanding produk lain. Perbaikan kualitas juga memperhatikan proses yang mempengaruhi terjadinya cacat pocket pada section Bag Making, Kami-ire, Karidome, dan Pocket after Karidome Inspection. Penentuan proyek Six Sigma didasarkan atas proses dan jenis cacat pada setiap section. Pendekatan FMEA mampu memberi rekomendasi perbaikan kualitas. Evaluasi dari hasil perbaikan penting untuk dilakukan karena beberapa implementasi perbaikan kualitas tidak berjalan sesuai dengan rencana. kata kunci: six sigma, DMAIC, perusahaan stationary.

Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney: patients' characteristics and improved outcome in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Zekri, Wael; Alfaar, Ahmad Samir; Yehia, Dina; Elshafie, Maged M; Zaghloul, Mohamed Saad; El-Kinaai, Naglaa; Taha, Hala; Refaat, Amal; Younes, Alaa A

2014-12-01

Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK) is a rare and aggressive tumor accounting for 5% of pediatric renal tumors with an incidence of 20 patients per year in the USA. It is bone metastasizing with poor prognosis. Our aim was to show characteristics of patients in relation to improved outcome in one of the developing countries. We included all patients diagnosed as CCSK in the period between July 2007 and March 2012 at Children's Cancer Hospital, Egypt. Patients' demographics, clinical presentation, pathology, and management were reviewed. Follow up was continued until April 2013. Twenty-five patients were identified in the defined time interval, accounting for 7% all renal tumors diagnosed at the hospital. Mean age was 36 months. Abdominal swelling and hematuria were the most common presentations. Stages I, II, III, IV, and V represented 9 (36%), 3 (12%), 8 (32%), 3 (12%), and 2 (8%), respectively. Twenty-four patients had radical nephrectomy either upfront or after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Surgery was followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. Abdominal radiotherapy was given for local stages II and III. Twenty-two patients reached complete remission, while one patient had stationary disease and two patients died due to progression and relapse. Overall survival was 88.5% and event-free survival was 87.8% at 45 months. Although previous studies indicate poor prognosis of CCSK, our experience shows that those patients can be treated using extensive chemotherapy combined with proper local control. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Perceived gender in clear and conversational speech

Science.gov (United States)

Booz, Jaime A.

with making adjustments to improve speech clarity have a larger impact on perceived femininity than others. Using a clear speech strategy alone may not be sufficient for a male speaker to be perceived as female, but could be used as one of many tools to help speakers achieve more "feminine" speech, in conjunction with more specific strategies targeting the acoustic parameters outlined in this study.

Experimental demonstration of improved fiber nonlinearity tolerance for unique-word DFT-spread OFDM systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xi; Li, An; Gao, Guanjun; Shieh, William

2011-12-19

In this paper we experimentally demonstrate transmission performance of optical DFT-spread OFDM systems in comparison with conventional OFDM systems. A 440.8-Gb/s superchannel consisting of 8 x 55.1-Gb/s densely-spaced DFT-S OFDM signal is successfully received after 1120-km transmission with a spectral efficiency of 3.5 b/s/Hz. It is shown that DFT-S OFDM can achieve an improvement of 1 dB in Q factor and 1 dB in launch power over conventional OFDM. Additionally, unique word aided phase estimation algorithm is proposed and demonstrated enabling extremely long OFDM symbol transmission.

Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) System Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Oeftering, Richard C.; Bradish, Martin A.; Juergens, Jeffrey R.; Lewis, Michael J.; Vrnak, Daniel R.

2011-01-01

This document captures the system architecture for a Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) capability needed for electronics maintenance and repair of the Constellation Program (CxP). CLEAR is intended to improve flight system supportability and reduce the mass of spares required to maintain the electronics of human rated spacecraft on long duration missions. By necessity it allows the crew to make repairs that would otherwise be performed by Earth based repair depots. Because of practical knowledge and skill limitations of small spaceflight crews they must be augmented by Earth based support crews and automated repair equipment. This system architecture covers the complete system from ground-user to flight hardware and flight crew and defines an Earth segment and a Space segment. The Earth Segment involves database management, operational planning, and remote equipment programming and validation processes. The Space Segment involves the automated diagnostic, test and repair equipment required for a complete repair process. This document defines three major subsystems including, tele-operations that links the flight hardware to ground support, highly reconfigurable diagnostics and test instruments, and a CLEAR Repair Apparatus that automates the physical repair process.

Clear aligners in orthodontic treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Weir, T

2017-03-01

Since the introduction of the Tooth Positioner (TP Orthodontics) in 1944, removable appliances analogous to clear aligners have been employed for mild to moderate orthodontic tooth movements. Clear aligner therapy has been a part of orthodontic practice for decades, but has, particularly since the introduction of Invisalign appliances (Align Technology) in 1998, become an increasingly common addition to the orthodontic armamentarium. An internet search reveals at least 27 different clear aligner products currently on offer for orthodontic treatment. The present paper will highlight the increasing popularity of clear aligner appliances, as well as the clinical scope and the limitations of aligner therapy in general. Further, the paper will outline the differences between the various types of clear aligner products currently available. © 2017 Australian Dental Association.

17 CFR 39.4 - Procedures for implementing derivatives clearing organization rules and clearing new products.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Procedures for implementing derivatives clearing organization rules and clearing new products. 39.4 Section 39.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION DERIVATIVES CLEARING ORGANIZATIONS § 39.4 Procedures for...

Clear cell chondrosarcoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, R.; David, R.; Cierney, G. III

1985-01-01

The clinical, radiologic, and histopathologic features of three cases of clear cell chondrosarcoma are described. On radiographs, this rather benign-appearing tumor resembles a chondroblastoma when it occurs at the end of a long bone, and may occasionally show a calcified matrix. However, it has distinctive tumor cells with a centrally placed vesicular nucleus surrounded by clear cytoplasm. The lesion has a low-grade malignancy and is amenable to en bloc surgical resection, which results in a much better prognosis than that of conventional chondrosarcoma.

Demonstration Technique to Improve Vocabulary and Grammar Element in Teaching Speaking at EFL Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Husnu, Muhammad

2018-01-01

This study aimed at examining the effectiveness of demonstration technique to improve vocabulary and grammar element in teaching speaking at EFL learners. This research applied true-experimental design. The respondents of the study were 32 students (class IIA) as experimental group and 32 students (class IIB) as control group from the second…

77 FR 12896 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Midwest Clearing Corporation; Order Cancelling Clearing Agency...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-02

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34-66458; File No. 600-9] Self-Regulatory Organizations; Midwest Clearing Corporation; Order Cancelling Clearing Agency Registration February 24, 2012. I... Act provides that in the event any self- regulatory organization is no longer in existence or has...

Quantitative evaluation of enhanced laser tattoo removal by skin optical clearing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caihua Liu

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Lasers have been widely used for tattoo removal, but the limited light penetration depth caused by high skin scattering property restricts the therapeutic outcome of deep tattoo. Skin optical clearing method, by introducing optical clearing agent (OCA into skin, has shown some improvement in the effect of laser tattoo removal. In this study, the enhanced laser tattoo removal has been quantitatively assessed. OCA was applied to the skin of tattoo animal model and Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm irradiation was used to remove the tattoo. The skin evaluation instrument (Mexameter probe, MPA580 was applied to measure the content of tattoo pigment before and after laser treatment, and then the clearance rate of pigment was calculated. Further, Monte Carlo (MC method was utilized to simulate the effect of skin optical clearing on light transmission in tattoo skin model. By comparing the pigment change of tattoo areas respectively treated with OCA plus laser and single laser, it was found that pigment clearance of the former tattoo area was increased by 1.5-fold. Further, the MC simulation verified that the reduced light scattering in skin could increase the effective dose of luminous flux reaching to the deep tattoo regions. It can be concluded from both experiment and theoretical simulations that skin optical clearing technique could improve the outcome of laser tattoo removal, which should be beneficial for clinical laser tattoo removal and other laser pigment elimination.

Prototype nickel component demonstration. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boss, D.E.

1994-01-01

We have been developing a process to produce high-purity nickel structures from nickel carbonyl using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The prototype demonstration effort had been separated into a number of independent tasks to allow Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) the greatest flexibility in tailoring the project to their needs. LANL selected three of the proposed tasks to be performed--Task 1- system modification and demonstration, Task 2-stainless steel mandrel trials, and Task 4-manufacturing study. Task 1 focused on converting the CVD system from a hot-wall to a cold-wall configuration and demonstrating the improved efficiency of the reactor type by depositing a 0.01-inch-thick nickel coating on a cylindrical substrate. Since stainless steel substrates were preferred because of their low α-emitter levels, Task 2 evaluated mandrel configurations which would allow removal of the nickel tube from the substrate. The manufacturing study was performed to develop strategies and system designs for manufacturing large quantities of the components needed for the Sudbury Nuetrino Observatory (SNO) program. Each of these tasks was successfully completed. During these efforts, BIRL successfully produced short lengths of 2-inch-diameter tubing and 6-inch-wide foil with levels of α-radiation emitting contaminants lower than either conventional nickel alloys or electroplated materials. We have produced both the tubing and foil using hot-substrate, cold-wall reactors and clearly demonstrated the advantages of higher precursor efficiency and deposition rate associated with this configuration. We also demonstrated a novel mandrel design which allowed easy removal of the nickel tubing and should dramatically simplify the production of 1.5-meter-long tubes in the production phase of the program

Demonstration of the improved PID method for the accurate temperature control of ADRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shinozaki, K.; Hoshino, A.; Ishisaki, Y.; Mihara, T.

2006-01-01

Microcalorimeters require extreme stability (-bar 10μK) of thermal bath at low temperature (∼100mK). We have developed a portable adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) system for ground experiments with TES microcalorimeters, in which we observed residual temperature between aimed and measured values when magnet current was controlled with the standard Proportional, Integral, and Derivative control (PID) method. The difference increases in time as the magnet current decreases. This phenomenon can be explained by the theory of the magnetic cooling, and we have introduced a new functional parameter to improve the PID method. With this improvement, long-term stability of the ADR temperature about 10μK rms is obtained up to the period of ∼15ks down to almost zero magnet current. We briefly describe our ADR system and principle of the improved PID method, showing the temperature control result. It is demonstrated that the controlled time of the aimed temperature can be extended by about 30% longer than the standard PID method in our system. The improved PID method is considered to be of great advantage especially in the range of small magnet current

Use of fractional laser microablation of skin for improvement of its immersion clearing

Science.gov (United States)

Kolesnikova, Ekaterina A.; Kolesnikov, Aleksandr S.; Genina, Elina A.; Dolotov, Leonid E.; Tuchina, Darya K.; Bashkatov, Alexey N.; Tuchin, Valery V.

2013-02-01

We are proposing a new method for enhancement of optical clearing agent delivery into the skin using fractional laser microablation of the skin surface. The Palomar Lux2940 erbium laser with the wavelength 2940 nm and pulse duration of 5 ms was used as a light source. Two regimes of laser action were used in the experiments: the first one realized microablation of skin upper layer and the second one created microchannels in skin. As optical clearing agents mineral oil and PEG-300 were used. In vivo studies were carried out with white outbred rats. Both parameters: the permeability coefficient of the agents in the tissue and the optical probing depth were measured using the OCT system at a wavelength of 930 nm. The following values of the permeability coefficient of the skin with microablation were obtained: (3.41+/-0.46)×10-5 cm/s and (2.35+/-0.30)×10-5 cm/s for mineral oil and PEG-300, respectively, at the use of the surface microablation and (3.32+/-0.09)×10-5 cm/s and (3.61+/-0.34)×10-5 cm/s for mineral oil and PEG-300, respectively, at the use of the microporation. The results have shown that the joint application of mineral oil with microablation in the first regime promotes maximal (nearly 2-folds) increasing of optical probing depth in 30 min. Obtained data can be used for development of optical diagnostic methods of skin diseases.

Improvements to the Whoosh Bottle Rocket Car Demonstration

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Dean J.; Staiger, Felicia A.; Jujjavarapu, Chaitanya N.

2015-01-01

The whoosh bottle rocket car has been redesigned to be more reusable and more robust, making it even easier to use as a demonstration. Enhancements of this demonstration, including the use of heat sensitive ink and electronic temperature probes, enable users to find warmer and cooler regions on the surface of the whoosh bottle.

After The Demonstration: What States Sustained After the End of Federal Grants to Improve Children's Health Care Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ireys, Henry T; Brach, Cindy; Anglin, Grace; Devers, Kelly J; Burton, Rachel

2018-02-01

Introduction Under the CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Grant Program, CMS awarded $100 million through 10 grants that 18 state Medicaid agencies implemented between 2010 and 2015. The program's legislatively-mandated purpose was to evaluate promising ideas for improving the quality of children's health care provided through Medicaid and CHIP. As part of the program's multifaceted evaluation, this study examined the extent to which states sustained key program activities after the demonstration ended. Methods We identified 115 potentially sustainable elements within states' CHIPRA demonstrations and analyzed data from grantee reports and key informant interviews to assess sustainment outcomes and key influential factors. We also assessed sustainment of the projects' intellectual capital. Results 56% of potentially sustainable elements were sustained. Sustainment varied by topic area: Elements related to quality measure reporting and practice facilitation were more likely to be sustained than others, such as parent advisors. Broad contextual factors, the state's Medicaid environment, implementation partners' resources, and characteristics of the demonstration itself all shaped sustainment outcomes. Discussion Assessing sustainment of key elements of states' CHIPRA quality demonstration projects provides insight into the fates of the "promising ideas" that the grant program was designed to examine. As a result of the federal government's investment in this grant program, many demonstration states are in a strong position to extend and spread specific strategies for improving the quality of care for children in Medicaid and CHIP. Our findings provide insights for policymakers and providers working to improve the quality of health care for low income children.

Evaluation of Smart Grid Technologies Employed for System Reliability Improvement: Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agalgaonkar, Yashodhan P.; Hammerstrom, Donald J.

2017-06-01

The Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration (PNWSGD) was a smart grid technology performance evaluation project that included multiple U.S. states and cooperation from multiple electric utilities in the northwest region. One of the local objectives for the project was to achieve improved distribution system reliability. Toward this end, some PNWSGD utilities automated their distribution systems, including the application of fault detection, isolation, and restoration and advanced metering infrastructure. In light of this investment, a major challenge was to establish a correlation between implementation of these smart grid technologies and actual improvements of distribution system reliability. This paper proposes using Welch’s t-test to objectively determine and quantify whether distribution system reliability is improving over time. The proposed methodology is generic, and it can be implemented by any utility after calculation of the standard reliability indices. The effectiveness of the proposed hypothesis testing approach is demonstrated through comprehensive practical results. It is believed that wider adoption of the proposed approach can help utilities to evaluate a realistic long-term performance of smart grid technologies.

Tumor signatures of PTHLH overexpression, high serum calcium, and poor prognosis were observed exclusively in clear cell but not non clear cell renal carcinomas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, Masahiro; Murakami, Takayuki; Shioi, Koichi; Mizuno, Nobuhiko; Ito, Hiroki; Kondo, Keiichi; Hasumi, Hisashi; Sano, Futoshi; Makiyama, Kazuhide; Nakaigawa, Noboru; Kishida, Takeshi; Nagashima, Yoji; Yamanaka, Shoji; Kubota, Yoshinobu

2014-01-01

High serum calcium (Ca) due to aberrant secretion of tumor parathyroid hormone-like hormone (PTHLH) is a well-known paraneoplastic sign and is associated with poor prognosis in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the status of serum Ca and tumor PTHLH expression have not been verified using the 2004 World Health Organization (WHO) renal tumor classification. We retrospectively reviewed corrected serum Ca levels at initial onset (n = 683) and/or as of recurrence (n = 71) in patients with RCC. We also examined a total of 623 renal parenchymal tumor samples for PTHLH mRNA expressions by quantitative real-time PCR. High serum Ca concomitant with PTHLH overexpression in tumors was observed exclusively in clear cell RCC but not in other non clear cell subtype tumors, including papillary, chromophobe, collecting-duct, unclassified, and other rare subtype RCCs or in benign oncocytomas and angiomyolipomas. In clear cell RCC, PTHLH expression was significantly high in male patients, and was associated with a symptomatic presentation, higher grade, and higher stage cases, whereas it was not associated with VHL gene status. Univariate analyses demonstrated that high PTHLH expression was strongly associated with poor outcome both in overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) for patients who underwent standard nephrectomy. Further multivariate Cox analyses revealed that the PTHLH expressions remained as independent prognostic parameters for OS but not for DFS. These data suggest that the previously characterized tumor signatures of high serum Ca due to high PTHLH expression and poor prognosis are clear cell RCC-specific features, whereas these characteristics are rare in non clear cell RCCs

Rapidly curable electrically conductive clear coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowman, Mark P.; Anderson, Lawrence G.; Post, Gordon L.

2018-01-16

Rapidly curable electrically conductive clear coatings are applied to substrates. The electrically conductive clear coating includes to clear layer having a resinous binder with ultrafine non-stoichiometric tungsten oxide particles dispersed therein. The clear coating may be rapidly cured by subjecting the coating to infrared radiation that heats the tungsten oxide particles and surrounding resinous binder. Localized heating increases the temperature of the coating to thereby thermally cure the coating, while avoiding unwanted heating of the underlying substrate.

Time for Stability in Derivatives Markets – a New Look at Central Counterparty Clearing for Securities Markets

OpenAIRE

Thorsten V. Koeppl

2011-01-01

The recent financial crisis has driven many plans for improving the stability and resilience of the global financial system. One concept, managing the risk of default in securities or financial derivatives markets through central counterparties, receives scrutiny in this report. The author examines the role centralized clearing parties could play in improving system resilience. These centralized clearing parties are institutions that interpose themselves between counterparties in financial tr...

Quantitative assessment of hyaline cartilage elasticity during optical clearing using optical coherence elastography

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chih-Hao; Singh, Manmohan; Li, Jiasong; Han, Zhaolong; Wu, Chen; Wang, Shang; Idugboe, Rita; Raghunathan, Raksha; Zakharov, Valery P.; Sobol, Emil N.; Tuchin, Valery V.; Twa, Michael; Larin, Kirill V.

2015-03-01

We report the first study on using optical coherence elastography (OCE) to quantitatively monitor the elasticity change of the hyaline cartilage during the optical clearing administrated by glucose solution. The measurement of the elasticity is verified using uniaxial compression test, demonstrating the feasibility of using OCE to quantify the Young's modulus of the cartilage tissue. As the results, we found that the stiffness of the hyaline cartilage increases during the optical clearing of the tissue. This study might be potentially useful for the early detection of osteoarthritis disease.

Feasibility of a clearing house for improved cooperation between telemedicine networks delivering humanitarian services: acceptability to network coordinators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Wootton

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Telemedicine networks, which deliver humanitarian services, sometimes need to share expertise to find particular experts in other networks. It has been suggested that a mechanism for sharing expertise between networks (a ‘clearing house’ might be useful. Objective: To propose a mechanism for implementing the clearing house concept for sharing expertise, and to confirm its feasibility in terms of acceptability to the relevant networks. Design: We conducted a needs analysis among eight telemedicine networks delivering humanitarian services. A small proportion of consultations (5–10% suggested that networks may experience difficulties in finding the right specialists from within their own resources. With the assistance of key stakeholders, many of whom were network coordinators, various methods of implementing a clearing house were considered. One simple solution is to establish a central database holding information about consultants who have agreed to provide help to other networks; this database could be made available to network coordinators who need a specialist when none was available in their own network. Results: The proposed solution was examined in a desktop simulation exercise, which confirmed its feasibility and probable value. Conclusions: This analysis informs full-scale implementation of a clearing house, and an associated examination of its costs and benefits.

Vent clearing analysis of a Mark III pressure suppression containment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quintana, R.

1979-01-01

An analysis of the vent clearing transient in a Mark III pressure suppression containment after a hypothetical LOCA is carried out. A two-dimensional numerical model solving the transient fluid dynamic equations is used. The geometry of the pressure suppression pool is represented and the pressure and velocity fields in the pool are obtained from the moment the LOCA occurs until the first vent in the drywell wall clears. The results are compared to those obtained with the one-diemensional model used for containment design, with special interest on two-dimensional effects. Some conclusions concerning the effect of the water discharged into the suppression pool through the vents on submerged structures are obtained. Future improvements to the model are suggested. (orig.)

Regeneration of Silver fir (Abies Alba Mill. on Clear-cut Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Vaněk

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper evaluates the growth of Silver fir plantations on clear-cut areas in the regime of different sheltering and mixing with the European larch. The experiment was carried out on a permanent research plot where Silver fir was planted on an unsheltered open space, on an open space sheltered by the gradually overgrowing European larch, alternating in rows and mixed within the row with the gradually overgrowing European larch. It was also planted in a SW corner of the clear-cut area sheltered on two sides by a mature spruce stand. Results of measurements demonstrated that the conditions of the unsheltered clear-cut area or only partly sheltered clear-cut area have no principal adverse influence on the growth of Silver fir. However, a considerably higher mortality, more severe frost injury and impaired vitality of plants were observed. The most suitable option for the regeneration of Silver fir on a clear-cut area, i.e. the option in which Silver fir individuals would exhibit good growth, low mortality, low frost injury and high vitality (needle length and colour appeared to be the plantation of Silver fir in mixed rows with the European larch (N-S direction of rows, where the larch starts to overgrow the fir very rapidly, thus providing the necessary shelter. Pure fir groups are then recommended to be planted in marginal stand parts that are sheltered for a greater part of the day by the surrounding stand.

After The Demonstration: What States Sustained After the End of Federal Grants to Improve Children’s Health Care Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Brach, Cindy; Anglin, Grace; Devers, Kelly J.; Burton, Rachel

2018-01-01

Introduction Under the CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Grant Program, CMS awarded $100 million through 10 grants that 18 state Medicaid agencies implemented between 2010 and 2015. The program’s legislatively-mandated purpose was to evaluate promising ideas for improving the quality of children’s health care provided through Medicaid and CHIP. As part of the program’s multifaceted evaluation, this study examined the extent to which states sustained key program activities after the demonstration ended. Methods We identified 115 potentially sustainable elements within states’ CHIPRA demonstrations and analyzed data from grantee reports and key informant interviews to assess sustainment outcomes and key influential factors. We also assessed sustainment of the projects’ intellectual capital. Results 56% of potentially sustainable elements were sustained. Sustainment varied by topic area: Elements related to quality measure reporting and practice facilitation were more likely to be sustained than others, such as parent advisors. Broad contextual factors, the state’s Medicaid environment, implementation partners’ resources, and characteristics of the demonstration itself all shaped sustainment outcomes. Discussion Assessing sustainment of key elements of states’ CHIPRA quality demonstration projects provides insight into the fates of the “promising ideas” that the grant program was designed to examine. As a result of the federal government’s investment in this grant program, many demonstration states are in a strong position to extend and spread specific strategies for improving the quality of care for children in Medicaid and CHIP. Our findings provide insights for policymakers and providers working to improve the quality of health care for low income children. PMID:29119478

17 CFR 39.7 - Fraud in connection with the clearing of transactions on a derivatives clearing organization.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fraud in connection with the clearing of transactions on a derivatives clearing organization. 39.7 Section 39.7 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION DERIVATIVES CLEARING ORGANIZATIONS § 39.7 Fraud in connection...

Demonstrating Success: Web Analytics and Continuous Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Loftus, Wayne

2012-01-01

As free and low-cost Web analytics tools become more sophisticated, libraries' approach to user analysis can become more nuanced and precise. Tracking appropriate metrics with a well-formulated analytics program can inform design decisions, demonstrate the degree to which those decisions have succeeded, and thereby inform the next iteration in the…

Temporal co-registration for TROPOMI cloud clearing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Genkova

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI is anticipated to provide high-quality and timely global atmospheric composition information through observations of atmospheric constituents such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, formaldehyde and aerosol properties. The methane and the aerosol retrievals require very precise cloud clearing, which is difficult to achieve at the TROPOMI spatial resolution (7 by 7 km and without thermal IR measurements. The TROPOMI carrier – the Sentinel 5 Precursor (S5P, does not include a cloud imager, thus it is planned to fly the S5P mission in a constellation with an instrument yielding an accurate cloud mask. The cloud imagery data will be provided by the US NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP mission, which will have the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS on board (Scalione, 2004. This paper investigates the temporal co-registration requirements for suitable time differences between the VIIRS measurements of clouds and the TROPOMI methane and aerosol measurements, so that the former could be used for cloud clearing. The temporal co-registration is studied using Meteosat Second Generation (MSG Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI data with 15 min temporal resolution (Veefkind, 2008b, and with data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – 10 (GOES-10 having 1 min temporal resolution. The aim is to understand and assess the relation between the amount of allowed cloud contamination and the required time difference between the two satellites' overflights. Quantitative analysis shows that a time difference of approximately 5 min is sufficient (in most conditions to use the cloud information from the first instrument for cloud clearing in the retrievals using data from the second instrument. In recent years the A-train constellation demonstrated the benefit of flying satellites in formation. Therefore this study's findings will be

3D on-chip microscopy of optically cleared tissue

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yibo; Shin, Yoonjung; Sung, Kevin; Yang, Sam; Chen, Harrison; Wang, Hongda; Teng, Da; Rivenson, Yair; Kulkarni, Rajan P.; Ozcan, Aydogan

2018-02-01

Traditional pathology relies on tissue biopsy, micro-sectioning, immunohistochemistry and microscopic imaging, which are relatively expensive and labor-intensive, and therefore are less accessible in resource-limited areas. Low-cost tissue clearing techniques, such as the simplified CLARITY method (SCM), are promising to potentially reduce the cost of disease diagnosis by providing 3D imaging and phenotyping of thicker tissue samples with simpler preparation steps. However, the mainstream imaging approach for cleared tissue, fluorescence microscopy, suffers from high-cost, photobleaching and signal fading. As an alternative approach to fluorescence, here we demonstrate 3D imaging of SCMcleared tissue using on-chip holography, which is based on pixel-super-resolution and multi-height phase recovery algorithms to digitally compute the sample's amplitude and phase images at various z-slices/depths through the sample. The tissue clearing procedures and the lens-free imaging system were jointly optimized to find the best illumination wavelength, tissue thickness, staining solution pH, and the number of hologram heights to maximize the imaged tissue volume, minimize the amount of acquired data, while maintaining a high contrast-to-noise ratio for the imaged cells. After this optimization, we achieved 3D imaging of a 200-μm thick cleared mouse brain tissue over a field-of-view of based microscope (20× 0.75NA). Moreover, the lens-free microscope achieves an order-of-magnitude better data efficiency compared to its lens-based counterparts for volumetric imaging of samples. The presented low-cost and high-throughput lens-free tissue imaging technique enabled by CLARITY can be used in various biomedical applications in low-resource-settings.

Improving Web-Based Student Learning Through Online Video Demonstrations

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Scott; Redman, S.

2010-01-01

Students in online courses continue to lag their peers in comparable face-to-face (F2F) courses (Ury 2004, Slater & Jones 2004). A meta-study of web-based vs. classroom instruction by Sitzmann et al (2006) discovered that the degree of learner control positively influences the effectiveness of instruction: students do better when they are in control of their own learning. In particular, web-based courses are more effective when they incorporate a larger variety of instructional methods. To address this need, we developed a series of online videos to demonstrate various astronomical concepts and provided them to students enrolled in an online introductory astronomy course at Penn State University. We found that the online students performed worse than the F2F students on questions unrelated to the videos (t = -2.84), but that the online students who watched the videos performed better than the F2F students on related examination questions (t = 2.11). We also found that the online students who watched the videos performed significantly better than those who did not (t = 3.43). While the videos in general proved helpful, some videos were more helpful than others. We will discuss our thoughts on why this might be, and future plans to improve upon this study. These videos are freely available on iTunesU, YouTube, and Google Video.

Media Language, Clear or Obscure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Bjarne le Fevre; Ejstrup, Michael

2015-01-01

Abstract— Be clear, not obscure. One of the four maxims for optimal communication is that it is essential to develop proficiency in being concise and clear. The question is whether this is really a good idea in all contexts. There is some evidence to the contrary. Undoubtedly, we have many contexts...

Diet - clear liquid

Science.gov (United States)

... Group. Clear liquid diet. In: Morrison. Manual of Clinical Nutrition Management. Updated 2013. bscn2k15.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/9/2/12924787/manual_of_clinical_nutrition2013.pdf . Accessed August 20, 2016. Schattner MA, ...

SNOW CLEARING SERVICE WINTER 2001-2002

CERN Multimedia

ST-HM Group; Tel. 72202

2001-01-01

As usual at this time of the year, the snowing clearing service, which comes under the control of the Transport Group (ST-HM), is preparing for the start of snow-clearing operations (timetable, stand-by service, personnel responsible for driving vehicles and machines, preparation of useful and necessary equipment, work instructions, etc.) in collaboration with the Cleaning Service (ST-TFM) and the Fire Brigade (TIS-FB). The main difficulty for the snow-clearing service is the car parks, which cannot be properly cleared because of the presence of CERN and private vehicles parked there overnight in different parts of the parking areas. The ST-HM Transport Group would therefore like to invite you to park vehicles together in order to facilitate the access of the snow ploughs, thus allowing the car parks to be cleared more efficiently before the personnel arrives for work in the mornings.

77 FR 7652 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Europe Limited; Notice of Proposed Rule Change To Revise...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-13

... Procedures Related to Certain Technical and Operational Changes Relating to Credit Default Swap Contracts... changes described below with its Clearing Members. These changes seek to improve drafting and cross... purpose of specifying technical operational changes relating to CDS Contracts (as defined at ICE Clear...

Development of ClearPEM-Sonic, a multimodal mammography system for PET and Ultrasound

Science.gov (United States)

Cucciati, G.; Auffray, E.; Bugalho, R.; Cao, L.; Di Vara, N.; Farina, F.; Felix, N.; Frisch, B.; Ghezzi, A.; Juhan, V.; Jun, D.; Lasaygues, P.; Lecoq, P.; Mensah, S.; Mundler, O.; Neves, J.; Paganoni, M.; Peter, J.; Pizzichemi, M.; Siles, P.; Silva, J. C.; Silva, R.; Tavernier, S.; Tessonnier, L.; Varela, J.

2014-03-01

ClearPEM-Sonic is an innovative imaging device specifically developed for breast cancer. The possibility to work in PEM-Ultrasound multimodality allows to obtain metabolic and morphological information increasing the specificity of the exam. The ClearPEM detector is developed to maximize the sensitivity and the spatial resolution as compared to Whole-Body PET scanners. It is coupled with a 3D ultrasound system, the SuperSonic Imagine Aixplorer that improves the specificity of the exam by providing a tissue elasticity map. This work describes the ClearPEM-Sonic project focusing on the technological developments it has required, the technical merits (and limits) and the first multimodal images acquired on a dedicated phantom. It finally presents selected clinical case studies that confirm the value of PEM information.

Development of ClearPEM-Sonic, a multimodal mammography system for PET and Ultrasound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cucciati, G; Vara, N Di; Ghezzi, A; Paganoni, M; Pizzichemi, M; Auffray, E; Frisch, B; Lecoq, P; Bugalho, R; Neves, J; Cao, L; Peter, J; Farina, F; Felix, N; Juhan, V; Mundler, O; Siles, P; Jun, D; Lasaygues, P; Mensah, S

2014-01-01

ClearPEM-Sonic is an innovative imaging device specifically developed for breast cancer. The possibility to work in PEM-Ultrasound multimodality allows to obtain metabolic and morphological information increasing the specificity of the exam. The ClearPEM detector is developed to maximize the sensitivity and the spatial resolution as compared to Whole-Body PET scanners. It is coupled with a 3D ultrasound system, the SuperSonic Imagine Aixplorer that improves the specificity of the exam by providing a tissue elasticity map. This work describes the ClearPEM-Sonic project focusing on the technological developments it has required, the technical merits (and limits) and the first multimodal images acquired on a dedicated phantom. It finally presents selected clinical case studies that confirm the value of PEM information

Primary clear cell sarcoma of bone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, J.H.; Gu, M.J.; Kim, M.J.; Bae, Y.K.; Choi, W.H.; Shin, D.S.; Cho, K.H.

2003-01-01

Clear cell sarcoma is a rare soft tissue sarcoma of young adults with melanocytic differentiation. It occurs predominantly in the soft tissue of extremities, typically involving tendons and aponeuroses. Primary clear cell sarcoma of bone is extremely rare. We report a case of primary clear cell sarcoma of the right first metatarsal in a 48-year-old woman and provide a literature review of the entity. (orig.)

MODIS Collection 6 Clear Sky Restoral (CSR): Filtering Cloud Mast 'Not Clear' Pixels

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Kerry G.; Platnick, Steven Edward; Wind, Galina; Riedi, Jerome

2014-01-01

Correctly identifying cloudy pixels appropriate for the MOD06 cloud optical and microphysical property retrievals is accomplished in large part using results from the MOD35 1km cloud mask tests (note there are also two 250m subpixel cloud mask tests that can convert the 1km cloudy designations to clear sky). However, because MOD35 is by design clear sky conservative (i.e., it identifies "not clear" pixels), certain situations exist in which pixels identified by MOD35 as "cloudy" are nevertheless likely to be poor retrieval candidates. For instance, near the edge of clouds or within broken cloud fields, a given 1km MODIS field of view (FOV) may in fact only be partially cloudy. This can be problematic for the MOD06 retrievals because in these cases the assumptions of a completely overcast homogenous cloudy FOV and 1-dimensional plane-parallel radiative transfer no longer hold, and subsequent retrievals will be of low confidence. Furthermore, some pixels may be identified by MOD35 as "cloudy" for reasons other than the presence of clouds, such as scenes with thick smoke or lofted dust, and should therefore not be retrieved as clouds. With such situations in mind, a Clear Sky Restoral (CSR) algorithm was introduced in C5 that attempts to identify pixels expected to be poor retrieval candidates. Table 1 provides SDS locations for CSR and partly cloudy (PCL) pixels.

Pursuit of improvement in uranium bulk analysis at the clear facility for safeguards environmental samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, S.; Takahashi, M.; Sakakibara, T.; Magara, M.; Kurosawa, S.; Esaka, F.; Takai, K.; Watanabe, K.; Usuda, S.; Adachi, T.

2002-01-01

with flexible tube (FIG. 1). By scanning the surface of Texwipe-304 with the top of the tip, the particles are sucked up through the tip and collected on to the filter. Figure 2 shows micrographs of Texwipe-304 surface: (a) new one, (b) particle-swiped one, and (c) particle-recovered one by the Vacuum Suction Method. As seen in the figure, most of the particles were removed from Texwipe-304. Preliminary examination suggested that the particle recovery yield is in acceptable level and that the process blank is low. The method will provide a useful means to improve the reliability in bulk analysis of ultra-trace amount of uranium, even in the case that Texwipe-304 is not replaceable. At the presentation, further results and other activities related to minimize the blank values at the CLEAR facility will be reported. (author)

A giant benign clear cell hidradenoma on the anterior trunk.

Science.gov (United States)

Demirci, Gulsen Tukenmez; Atis, Guldehan; Altunay, Ilknur Kivanç; Sakiz, Damlanur

2011-10-05

Clear cell hidradenoma (CCH) is an uncommon variant of benign cutaneous adnexal tumors. These tumors are clinically asymptomatic, solitary dermal nodules. They occur most frequently on the scalp, face abdomen and extremities. Growth is slow and malignant change is rare. 45-year-old woman presented with a nodule which had begun 4 years ago as a small nodular asymptomatic lesion and had a central ulceration and a minimal hemorrhagic discharge on her anterior abdomen wall. On dermatologic examination there was a 6.5×5×4 cm non-tender, soft reddish purple nodule, with lobular appearance and ulceration. In the laboratory investigations, all hematologic and biochemical tests were normal. A computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated a cystic tumor with lobulated contour with contrast enhancement. The lesion was excised totally. In histopathological examination, the tumor was composed of biphasic smaller dark polygonal cells and larger clear cells and coarse nuclear chromatine. There were duct like structures. Immunohistochemical investigation was done for the suspicion of malignancy. Cytoplasm of clear cells and of duct like structures showed PAS-positive and d-PAS resistant staining. There was a positive reaction to epithelial membrane antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen. The mitotic index in Ki 67 examination was low. All these findings confirmed the diagnosis of benign CCH.

Field demonstration of improved shallow land burial practices for low-level radioactive solid wastes: preliminary site characterization and progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaughan, N.D.; Haase, C.S.; Huff, D.D.; Lee, S.Y.; Walls, E.C.

1982-12-01

A 5-year field demonstration (ETF) of improved shallow land burial practices for low-level radioactive solid wastes in a humid environment evaluates the use of a trench liner and grout as alternate trench treatments for improving shallow land burial site performance in the humid East. The ETF is located within the Copper Creek thrust block of the Valley and Ridge Province of east Tennessee and is underlain by strata of the Middle to Late Cambrian Conasauga Group. The Maryville Limestone formation, which is composed of ribbon-bedded and interclastic limestones and dark grey shales and mudstones, comprises the bedrock immediately beneath the site. The bedrock and residuum structure are characterized by anticlinal folds with numerous joints and fractures, some of which are filled with calcite. Seismic and electrical resistivity geophysical methods were useful in characterizing the thickness of residuum and presence of structural features. Soils are illitic and range from podzolic to lithosols to alluvial in the vicinity of the ETF, but the original soil solum was removed in 1975 when the mixed hardwood forest was cleared and the site was planted in grasses. The remaining residuum consists of acidic soil aggregate and extensively weathered siltstone and sandstone which exhibit the original rock structure. Mean annual precipitation at the site is 1500 mm, although during the initial study period (10-1-80 to 9-30-81) the annual total was 939 mm. Runoff was estimated to be about 50% of the precipitation total, based on observations at two Parshall flumes installed at the site. Storm runoff is quite responsive to rainfall, and the lag time between peak rainfall and runoff is less than 15 min during winter storms. Tracer studies of the ground-water system, suggest that ground-water flow has two distinct components, one associated with fracture flow and the other with intergranular flow

Possibility of increasing the efficiency of laser-induced tattoo removal by optical skin clearing

Science.gov (United States)

Genina, E. A.; Bashkatov, A. N.; Tuchin, V. V.; Altshuler, G. B.; Yaroslavskii, I. V.

2008-06-01

The possibility of selective laser photothermolysis improvement for the removal of tattoo pigments due to the optical clearing of human skin is investigated. It is shown experimentally that the optical skin clearing increases the tattoo image contrast. Computer Monte Carlo simulations show that by decreasing the laser beam scattering in upper skin layers, it is possible to reduce the radiation power required for tattoo removal by 30%—40% and, therefore, to increase the the photothermolysis efficiency.

H2Oh!: Classroom demonstrations and activities for improving student learning of water concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Chan-Hilton, A.; Neupauer, R. M.; Burian, S. J.; Lauer, J. W.; Mathisen, P. P.; Mays, D. C.; Olson, M. S.; Pomeroy, C. A.; Ruddell, B. L.; Sciortino, A.

2012-12-01

Research has shown that the use of demonstrations and hands-on activities in the classroom enhances student learning. Students learn more and enjoy classes more when visual and active learning are incorporated into the lecture. Most college-aged students prefer visual modes of learning, while most instruction is conducted in a lecture, or auditory, format. The use of classroom demonstrations provides opportunities for incorporating visual and active learning into the classroom environment. However, while most instructors acknowledge the benefits of these teaching methods, they typically do not have the time and resources to develop and test such activities and to develop plans to incorporate them into their lectures. Members of the Excellence in Water Resources Education Task Committee of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) have produced a publication that contains a collection of activities aimed to foster excellence in water resources and hydrology education and improve student learning of principles. The book contains forty-five demonstrations and activities that can be used in water-related classes with topics in fluid mechanics, hydraulics, surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology, and water quality. We present examples of these activities, including topics such as conservation of momentum, buoyancy, Bernoulli's principle, drag force, pipe flow, watershed delineation, reservoir networks, head distribution in aquifers, and molecular diffusion in a porous medium. Unlike full laboratory exercises, these brief demonstrations and activities (most of which take less than fifteen minutes) can be easily incorporated into classroom lectures. For each demonstration, guidance for preparing and conducting the activity, along with a brief overview of the principles that are demonstrated, is provided. The target audience of the activities is undergraduate students, although the activities also may be

A new computational method for reactive power market clearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, T.; Elkasrawy, A.; Venkatesh, B.

2009-01-01

After deregulation of electricity markets, ancillary services such as reactive power supply are priced separately. However, unlike real power supply, procedures for costing and pricing reactive power supply are still evolving and spot markets for reactive power do not exist as of now. Further, traditional formulations proposed for clearing reactive power markets use a non-linear mixed integer programming formulation that are difficult to solve. This paper proposes a new reactive power supply market clearing scheme. Novelty of this formulation lies in the pricing scheme that rewards transformers for tap shifting while participating in this market. The proposed model is a non-linear mixed integer challenge. A significant portion of the manuscript is devoted towards the development of a new successive mixed integer linear programming (MILP) technique to solve this formulation. The successive MILP method is computationally robust and fast. The IEEE 6-bus and 300-bus systems are used to test the proposed method. These tests serve to demonstrate computational speed and rigor of the proposed method. (author)

Experimental characterization of the Clear-PEM scanner spectrometric performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bugalho, R; Carrico, B; Ferreira, C S; Frade, M; Ferreira, M; Moura, R; Ortigao, C; Pinheiro, J F; Rodrigues, P; Rolo, I; Silva, J C; Trindade, A; Varela, J [Laboratorio de Instrumentacao e Fisica Experimental de Particulas (LIP), Av. Elias Garcia 14-1, 1000-149 Lisboa (Portugal)], E-mail: frade@lip.pt

2009-10-15

In the framework of the Clear-PEM project for the construction of a high-resolution and high-specificity scanner for breast cancer imaging, a Positron Emission Mammography tomograph has been developed and installed at the Instituto Portugues de Oncologia do Porto hospital. The Clear-PEM scanner is mainly composed by two planar detector heads attached to a robotic arm, trigger/data acquisition electronics system and computing servers. The detector heads hold crystal matrices built from 2 x 2 x 20 mm{sup 3} LYSO:Ce crystals readout by Hamamatsu S8550 APD arrays. The APDs are optically coupled to both ends of the 6144 crystals in order to extract the DOI information for each detected event. Each one of 12288 APD's pixels is read and controlled by Application Specific Integrated Circuits water-cooled by an external cooling unit. The Clear-PEM frontend boards innovative design results in a unprecedented integration of the crystal matrices, APDs and ASICs, making Clear-PEM the PET scanner with the highest number of APD pixels ever integrated so far. In this paper, the scanner's main technical characteristics, calibration strategies and the first spectrometric performance evaluation in a clinical environment are presented. The first commissioning results show 99.7% active channels, which, after calibration, have inter-pixel and absolute gain distributions with dispersions of, respectively, 12.2% and 15.3%, demonstrating that despite the large number of channels, the system is uniform. The mean energy resolution at 511 keV is of 15.9%, with a 8.8% dispersion, and the mean C{sub DOI}{sup -1} is 5.9%/mm, with a 7.8% dispersion. The coincidence time resolution, at 511 keV, for a energy window between 400 and 600 keV, is 5.2 ns FWHM.

Clear cell and endometrioid carcinomas: are their differences attributable to distinct cells of origin?

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Dawn R; Tessier-Cloutier, Basile; Lawrence, Katherine M; Nazeran, Tayyebeh; Karnezis, Anthony N; Salamanca, Clara; Cheng, Angela S; McAlpine, Jessica N; Hoang, Lien N; Gilks, C Blake; Huntsman, David G

2017-09-01

Endometrial epithelium is the presumed tissue of origin for both eutopic and endometriosis-derived clear cell and endometrioid carcinomas. We had previously hypothesized that the morphological, biological and clinical differences between these carcinomas are due to histotype-specific mutations. Although some mutations and genomic landscape features are more likely to be found in one of these histotypes, we were not able to identify a single class of mutations that was exclusively present in one histotype and not the other. This lack of genomic differences led us to an alternative hypothesis that these cancers could arise from distinct cells of origin within endometrial tissue, and that it is the cellular context that accounts for their differences. In a proteomic screen, we identified cystathionine γ-lyase (CTH) as a marker for clear cell carcinoma, as it is expressed at high levels in clear cell carcinomas of the ovary and endometrium. In the current study, we analysed normal Müllerian tissues, and found that CTH is expressed in ciliated cells of endometrium (both eutopic endometrium and endometriosis) and fallopian tubes. We then demonstrated that other ciliated cell markers are expressed in clear cell carcinomas, whereas endometrial secretory cell markers are expressed in endometrioid carcinomas. The same differential staining of secretory and ciliated cells was demonstrable in a three-dimensional organoid culture system, in which stem cells were stimulated to differentiate into an admixture of secretory and ciliated cells. These data suggest that endometrioid carcinomas are derived from cells of the secretory cell lineage, whereas clear cell carcinomas are derived from, or have similarities to, cells of the ciliated cell lineage. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Snow-clearing operations

CERN Multimedia

EN Department

2010-01-01

To facilitate snow clearing operations, which commence at 4.30 in the morning, all drivers of CERN cars are kindly requested to park them together in groups. This will help us greatly assist us in our work. Thank-you for your help. Transport Group / EN-HE Tel. 72202

Improvement of shipborne sky radiometer and its demonstration aboard the Antarctic research vessel Shirase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noriaki Tanaka

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The sun-tracking performance of a shipborne sky radiometer was improved to attain accurate aerosol optical thickness (AOT from direct solar measurements on a pitching and rolling vessel. Improvements were made in the accuracy of sun-pointing measurements, field-of-view expansion, sun-tracking speed, and measurement method. Radiometric measurements of direct solar and sky brightness distribution were performed using the shipborne sky radiometer onboard the Antarctic research vessel (R/V Shirase during JARE-51 (2009-2010 and JARE-52 (2010-2011. The temporal variation of signal intensity measured by the radiometer under cloudless conditions was smooth, demonstrating that the radiometer could measure direct sunlight onboard the R/V. AOT at 500 nm ranged from 0.01 to 0.34, and values over Southeast Asia and over the western Pacific Ocean in spring were higher than those over other regions. The Angstrom exponent ranged from －0.06 to 2.00, and values over Southeast Asia and off the coast near Sydney were the highest. The improved shipborne sky radiometer will contribute to a good understanding of the nature of aerosols over the ocean.

The demonstration of the auditory ossicles by high resolution CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lloyd, G.A.S.; Boulay, G.H. du; Phelps, P.D.; Pullicino, P.

1979-01-01

The high resolution CT scanning system introduced by EMI in 1978 has added a new dimension to computerised tomography in otology. The apparatus used for this study was an EMI CT 5005 body scanner adapted for head and neck scanning and incorporating a high resolution facility. The latter has proved most advantageous in areas of relatively high differential absorption, so that its application to the demonstration of abnormalities in the petrous temporal bone, and in particular middle ear disease, has been very rewarding. Traumatic ossicular disruptions may now be demonstrated and the high contrast of CT often shows them better than conventional hypocycloidal tomography. The stapes is also better visualised and congenital abnormalities of its superstructure have been recorded. These studies have been achieved with a very acceptable level of radiation to the eye, lens and cornea and the technique is clearly a rival to conventional pluridirectional tomography in the assessment of the petrous temporal bone. With further design improvements high resolution CT could completely replace existing techniques. (orig.) [de

Laryngeal Sensation Before and After Clearing Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Bonilha, Heather Shaw; Gerlach, Terri Treman; Sutton, Lori Ellen; Dawson, Amy Elizabeth; Nietert, Paul J

2013-01-01

Purpose People frequently present to voice clinics with complaints of irritating laryngeal sensations. Clinicians attempt to reduce the irritating sensations and their common sequela, coughing and throat clearing, by advocating for techniques that remove the irritation with less harm to the vocal fold tissue. Despite the prevalence of patients with these complaints, it is not known if the less harmful techniques recommended by clinicians are effective at clearing irritating laryngeal sensations or that irritating laryngeal sensations are, in fact, more frequent in people with voice disorders than people without voice disorders. Method Assessments of participant reported laryngeal sensation, pre- and post- clearing task, were obtained from 22 people with and 24 people without a voice disorder. Six clearing tasks were used to preliminarily evaluate the differing effects of tasks believed to be deleterious and ameliorative. Results People with and without voice disorders reported pre-clear laryngeal sensation at a similar rate. Post-clear sensation was less likely to be completely or partially removed in people with voice disorders than in the non-voice disordered group. Hard throat clear and swallow with water were the most effective techniques at removing laryngeal sensation. Conclusions The findings provide initial evidence for some of the clinical practices common to treating patients with voice disorders and chronic clearing such as advocating for swallowing a sip of water as a replacement behavior instead of coughing or throat clearing. However, the findings raise questions about other practices such as associating irritating laryngeal sensation with a voice disorder. PMID:22717491

RESOLVING THE QUESTION OF DOUBT: GEOMETRICAL DEMONSTRATION IN THE MEDITATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven BURGESS

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The question of what Descartes did and did not doubt in the Meditations has received a significant amount of scholarly attention in recent years. The process of doubt in Meditation I gives one the impression of a rather extreme form of skepticism, while the responses Descartes offers in the Objections and Replies make it clear that there is in fact a whole background of presuppositions that are never doubted, including many that are never even entertained as possible candidates of doubt. This paper resolves the question of this undoubted background of rationality by taking seriously Descartes’ claim that he is carrying out demonstrations modeled after the great geometers. The rational order of geometrical demonstration demands that we first clear away previous demonstrations not proven with the certainty necessary for genuine science. This is accomplished by the method of doubt, which is only applied to the results of possible demonstrations. What cannot be doubted are the very concepts and principles employed in carrying out geometrical demonstration, which enable it to take place. It would be senseless to ask whether we can doubt the essential components of the structure through which questioning, doubting, and demonstration are made possible.

Alveolar architecture of clear cell renal carcinomas (≤5.0 cm) show high attenuation on dynamic CT scanning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimoto, Hiroyuki; Wakao, Fumihiko; Moriyama, Noriyuki; Tobisu, Kenichi; Kakizoe, Tadao; Sakamoto, Michiie

1999-01-01

To establish the correlation between tumor appearance on CT and tumor histology in renal cell carcinomas. The density and attenuation patterns of 96 renal cell carcinomas, each ≤5 cm in greatest diameter, were studied by non-enhanced CT and early and late after bolus injection of contrast medium using dynamic CT. The density and attenuation patterns and pathological maps of each tumor were individually correlated. High attenuated areas were present in 72 of the 96 tumors on early enhanced dynamic CT scanning. All 72 high attenuated areas were of the clear cell renal cell carcinoma and had alveolar architecture. The remaining 24 tumors that did not demonstrate high attenuated foci on early enhanced scanning included three clear cell, nine granular cell, six papillary, five chromophobe and one collecting duct type. With respect to tumor architecture, all clear cell tumors of alveolar architecture demonstrated high attenuation on early enhanced scanning. Clear cell renal cell carcinomas of alveolar architecture show high attenuation on early enhanced dynamic CT scanning. A larger number of patients are indispensable to obtaining clear results. However, these findings seem to be an important clue to the diagnosis of renal cell carcinomas as having an alveolar structure. (author)

Central Limit Theorem: New SOCR Applet and Demonstration Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Dinov, Ivo D.; Christou, Nicolas; Sanchez, Juana

2011-01-01

Modern approaches for information technology based blended education utilize a variety of novel instructional, computational and network resources. Such attempts employ technology to deliver integrated, dynamically linked, interactive content and multifaceted learning environments, which may facilitate student comprehension and information retention. In this manuscript, we describe one such innovative effort of using technological tools for improving student motivation and learning of the theory, practice and usability of the Central Limit Theorem (CLT) in probability and statistics courses. Our approach is based on harnessing the computational libraries developed by the Statistics Online Computational Resource (SOCR) to design a new interactive Java applet and a corresponding demonstration activity that illustrate the meaning and the power of the CLT. The CLT applet and activity have clear common goals; to provide graphical representation of the CLT, to improve student intuition, and to empirically validate and establish the limits of the CLT. The SOCR CLT activity consists of four experiments that demonstrate the assumptions, meaning and implications of the CLT and ties these to specific hands-on simulations. We include a number of examples illustrating the theory and applications of the CLT. Both the SOCR CLT applet and activity are freely available online to the community to test, validate and extend (Applet: http://www.socr.ucla.edu/htmls/SOCR_Experiments.html and Activity: http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index.php/SOCR_EduMaterials_Activities_GeneralCentralLimitTheorem). PMID:21833159

Demonstration of improved seismic source inversion method of tele-seismic body wave

Science.gov (United States)

Yagi, Y.; Okuwaki, R.

2017-12-01

Seismic rupture inversion of tele-seismic body wave has been widely applied to studies of large earthquakes. In general, tele-seismic body wave contains information of overall rupture process of large earthquake, while the tele-seismic body wave is inappropriate for analyzing a detailed rupture process of M6 7 class earthquake. Recently, the quality and quantity of tele-seismic data and the inversion method has been greatly improved. Improved data and method enable us to study a detailed rupture process of M6 7 class earthquake even if we use only tele-seismic body wave. In this study, we demonstrate the ability of the improved data and method through analyses of the 2016 Rieti, Italy earthquake (Mw 6.2) and the 2016 Kumamoto, Japan earthquake (Mw 7.0) that have been well investigated by using the InSAR data set and the field observations. We assumed the rupture occurring on a single fault plane model inferred from the moment tensor solutions and the aftershock distribution. We constructed spatiotemporal discretized slip-rate functions with patches arranged as closely as possible. We performed inversions using several fault models and found that the spatiotemporal location of large slip-rate area was robust. In the 2016 Kumamoto, Japan earthquake, the slip-rate distribution shows that the rupture propagated to southwest during the first 5 s. At 5 s after the origin time, the main rupture started to propagate toward northeast. First episode and second episode correspond to rupture propagation along the Hinagu fault and the Futagawa fault, respectively. In the 2016 Rieti, Italy earthquake, the slip-rate distribution shows that the rupture propagated to up-dip direction during the first 2 s, and then rupture propagated toward northwest. From both analyses, we propose that the spatiotemporal slip-rate distribution estimated by improved inversion method of tele-seismic body wave has enough information to study a detailed rupture process of M6 7 class earthquake.

Superabsorbent Polymers as a Means of Improving Frost Resistance of Concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hasholt, Marianne Tange; Jensen, Ole Mejlhede; Laustsen, Sara

2015-01-01

resistance of concrete. The improvement was attributed to voids created by SAP. As was clearly demonstrated in the paper, it was crucial to document the void structure of the hardened concrete. Other factors than SAP could lead to void formation. For example, residue of surfactant on SAP particles...... as regards total void volume and void size. However, the optimum SAP void structure in relation to frost resistance is not known, and as long as the target is not clear, it is hard to use the design option of controlled void structure in a constructive way....

A case report of the clear cell variant of gallbladder carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Maharaj, Ravi; Cave, Christo; Sarran, Kevin; Bascombe, Nigel; Dan, Dilip; Greaves, Wesley; Warner, Wayne A

2017-01-01

Clear cell gallbladder carcinoma accounts for less than 1% of all gallbladder malignancies and demonstrates its unique histopathological characteristics in patients with no prior medical illness or familial predisposition. Here we present a case of a 56-year-old female, with no prior medical conditions presented with a 2-month history of upper abdominal pain. Routine hematological and biochemical tests were unremarkable. An abdominal ultrasound revealed the presence of a gallbladder calculi, and a fundic mass while magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography revealed a 8.0cm×3.5cm gallbladder mass. Computed tomography imaging excluded any distant haematogenous metastases. An open cholecystectomy with lymphadenectomy was proceeded by staging laparoscopy. Upon pathologic investigation, the morphologic and immunophenotypic features supported a diagnosis of clear cell variant of gallbladder carcinoma. Pathological prognostications for primary clear cell gall bladder carcinomas are not well defined due to the rarity of cases and possible misidentification as secondary metastases. Foci of adenocarcinoma within the tumor along with immunohistochemical staining probes can be informative in consideration of differential diagnosis. In these cases, clinical case management should be personalized for increased survival with the possible incorporation of next generation sequencing approaches to guide therapeutic algorithms. We discuss this exceedingly rare case of the clear cell variant of gallbladder carcinoma in detail, highlighting some of the diagnostic, and clinical challenges. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

CLEARING OF ELECTRON CLOUD IN SNS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

WANG, L.; LEE, Y.Y.; RAPRIA, D.

2004-01-01

In this paper we describe a mechanism using the clearing electrodes to remove the electron cloud in the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) accumulator ring, where strong multipacting could happen at median clearing fields. A similar phenomenon was reported in an experimental study at Los Alamos laboratory's Proton Synchrotron Ring (PSR). We also investigated the effectiveness of the solenoid's clearing mechanism in the SNS, which differs from the short bunch case, such as in B-factories. The titanium nitride (TiN) coating of the chamber walls was applied to reduce the secondary electron yield (SEY)

‘Gamma Anna’: a classroom demonstration for teaching the concepts of gamma imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Wolff, Nicola; Griffiths, Jennifer; Yerworth, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Gamma imaging is at the interface of medicine and physics and thus its teaching is important in both fields. Pedagogic literature highlights the benefits of interactive demonstrations in teaching: an increase in enjoyment and interest, as well as improvement in academic achievement. However gamma imaging uses radioactive sources, which are potentially dangerous and thus their use is tightly controlled. We have developed a demonstration which uses a localised exothermic reaction within a rag doll as an analogue of radioactivity. This can be safely used in classrooms to demonstrate the principles of gamma imaging. The tool is easy to make, cheap, robust and portable. The supplementary material in this paper gives teacher notes and a description of how to make the rag doll demonstrator. We have tested the tool using six participants, acting as ‘teachers’, who carried out the demonstration and described the doll as easy to use, and the ‘tumour’ clearly identifiable. The teaching tool was separately demonstrated to a group of 12 GCSE physics students and a group of 12 medical students. Feedback showed increased student engagement, enjoyment and understanding of gamma imaging. Previous research has shown that these benefits have an impact on learning and academic outcomes.

Intelligibility of clear speech: effect of instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Jennifer; Tjaden, Kris

2013-10-01

The authors investigated how clear speech instructions influence sentence intelligibility. Twelve speakers produced sentences in habitual, clear, hearing impaired, and overenunciate conditions. Stimuli were amplitude normalized and mixed with multitalker babble for orthographic transcription by 40 listeners. The main analysis investigated percentage-correct intelligibility scores as a function of the 4 conditions and speaker sex. Additional analyses included listener response variability, individual speaker trends, and an alternate intelligibility measure: proportion of content words correct. Relative to the habitual condition, the overenunciate condition was associated with the greatest intelligibility benefit, followed by the hearing impaired and clear conditions. Ten speakers followed this trend. The results indicated different patterns of clear speech benefit for male and female speakers. Greater listener variability was observed for speakers with inherently low habitual intelligibility compared to speakers with inherently high habitual intelligibility. Stable proportions of content words were observed across conditions. Clear speech instructions affected the magnitude of the intelligibility benefit. The instruction to overenunciate may be most effective in clear speech training programs. The findings may help explain the range of clear speech intelligibility benefit previously reported. Listener variability analyses suggested the importance of obtaining multiple listener judgments of intelligibility, especially for speakers with inherently low habitual intelligibility.

Demonstration of Advanced CO₂ Capture Process Improvements for Coal-Fired Flue Gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carroll, John [Southern Company Services, Inc., Wilsonville, AL (United States)

2017-10-01

This document summarizes the activities of Cooperative Agreement DE-FE0026590, “Demonstration of Advanced CO₂ Capture Process Improvements for Coal-Fired Flue Gas” during the performance period of October 1, 2015 through May 31, 2017. This project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Southern Company Services, Inc. (SCS) was the prime contractor and co-funder of the project. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA) and AECOM were project team members. The overall project objective was to improve costs, energy requirements, and performance of an existing amine-based CO₂ capture process. This will occur via improvements in three areas: 1. Reboiler design – The first objective of the program was to demonstrate performance of an integrated stripper/reboiler (termed Built-in Reboiler, or BIR) to reduce footprint, capital costs, and integration issues of the current technology. 2. Particulate management – The second objective was to carry out a Particulate Matter Management (PMM) test. This has the potential to reduce operating costs and capital costs due to the reduced or eliminated need for mechanical filtration. 3. Solvent – The third objective was to carry out a new solvent test plan (referred to as NSL) to demonstrate a new solvent (termed New Solvent A), which is expected to reduce regeneration steam. The bulk price is also expected to be lower than KS-1, which is the current solvent used in this process. NSL testing would include baseline testing, optimization, long term testing, solvent reclamation testing, and final inspection. These combine to form the Advanced Carbon Capture (ACC) technology. Much of this work will be applicable to generic solvent processes, especially in regards to improved reboiler design, and focused to meet or exceed the DOE’s overall carbon capture performance goals of 90% CO₂ capture rate with 95% CO₂ purity at a cost of

CO2 efflux from cleared mangrove peat.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine E Lovelock

Full Text Available CO(2 emissions from cleared mangrove areas may be substantial, increasing the costs of continued losses of these ecosystems, particularly in mangroves that have highly organic soils.We measured CO(2 efflux from mangrove soils that had been cleared for up to 20 years on the islands of Twin Cays, Belize. We also disturbed these cleared peat soils to assess what disturbance of soils after clearing may have on CO(2 efflux. CO(2 efflux from soils declines from time of clearing from ∼10,600 tonnes km(-2 year(-1 in the first year to 3000 tonnes km(2 year(-1 after 20 years since clearing. Disturbing peat leads to short term increases in CO(2 efflux (27 umol m(-2 s(-1, but this had returned to baseline levels within 2 days.Deforesting mangroves that grow on peat soils results in CO(2 emissions that are comparable to rates estimated for peat collapse in other tropical ecosystems. Preventing deforestation presents an opportunity for countries to benefit from carbon payments for preservation of threatened carbon stocks.

Internalization, Clearing and Settlement, and Liquidity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Degryse, H.A.; van Achter, M.; Wuyts, G.

2012-01-01

Abstract: We study the relation between liquidity in financial markets and post-trading fees (i.e. clearing and settlement fees). The clearing and settlement agent (CSD) faces different marginal costs for different types of transactions. Costs are lower for an internalized transaction, i.e. when

Surgically induced astigmatism after phacoemulsification by temporal clear corneal and superior clear corneal approach: a comparison

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikose AS

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Archana Sunil Nikose, Dhrubojyoti Saha, Pradnya Mukesh Laddha, Mayuri Patil Department of Ophthalmology, N.K.P. Salve Institute and LMH, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India Introduction: Cataract surgery has undergone various advances since it was evolved from ancient couching to the modern phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Surgically induced astigmatism (SIA remains one of the most common complications. The introduction of sutureless clear corneal incision has gained increasing popularity worldwide because it offers several advantages over the traditional sutured limbal incision and scleral tunnel. A clear corneal incision has the benefit of being bloodless and having an easy approach, but SIA is still a concern.Purpose: In this study, we evaluated the SIA in clear corneal incisions with temporal approach and superior approach phacoemulsification. Comparisons between the two incisions were done using keratometric readings of preoperative and postoperative refractive status.Methodology: It was a hospital-based prospective interventional comparative randomized control trial of 261 patients conducted in a rural-based tertiary care center from September 2012 to August 2014. The visual acuity and detailed anterior segment and posterior segment examinations were done and the cataract was graded according to Lens Opacification Classification System II. Patients were divided for phacoemulsification into two groups, group A and group B, who underwent temporal and superior clear corneal approach, respectively. The patients were followed up on day 1, 7, 30, and 90 postoperatively. The parameters recorded were uncorrected visual acuity, best-corrected visual acuity, slit lamp examination, and keratometry. The mean difference of SIA between 30th and 90th day was statistically evaluated using paired t-test, and all the analyses were performed using SPSS 18.0 (SPSS Inc. software.Results: The mean postoperative SIA in group A was 0.998 D on the 30th day, which

Possibility of increasing the efficiency of laser-induced tattoo removal by optical skin clearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genina, E A; Bashkatov, A N; Tuchin, V V; Yaroslavskii, I V; Altshuler, G B

2008-01-01

The possibility of selective laser photothermolysis improvement for the removal of tattoo pigments due to the optical clearing of human skin is investigated. It is shown experimentally that the optical skin clearing increases the tattoo image contrast. Computer Monte Carlo simulations show that by decreasing the laser beam scattering in upper skin layers, it is possible to reduce the radiation power required for tattoo removal by 30%-40% and, therefore, to increase the the photothermolysis efficiency. (special issue devoted to application of laser technologies in biophotonics and biomedical studies)

Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma of the Urethra: Review of the Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony Kodzo-Grey Venyo

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Clear cell adenocarcinoma of the urethra (CCAU is extremely rare and a number of clinicians may be unfamiliar with its diagnosis and biological behaviour. Aims. To review the literature on CCAU. Methods. Various internet databases were used. Results/Literature Review. (i CCAU occurs in adults and in women in the great majority of cases. (ii It has a particular association with urethral diverticulum, which has been present in 56% of the patients; is indistinguishable from clear cell adenocarcinoma of the female genital tract but is not associated with endometriosis; and probably does not arise by malignant transformation of nephrogenic adenoma. (iii It is usually, readily distinguished from nephrogenic adenoma because of greater cytological a-typicality and mitotic activity and does not stain for prostate-specific antigen or prostatic acid phosphatase. (iv It has been treated by anterior exenteration in women and cystoprostatectomy in men and at times by radiotherapy; chemotherapy has rarely been given. (v CCAU is aggressive with low 5-year survival rates. (vi There is no consensus opinion of treatment options that would improve the prognosis. Conclusions. Few cases of CCAU have been reported. Urologists, gynaecologists, pathologists, and oncologists should report cases of CCAU they encounter and enter them into a multicentric trial to determine the best treatment options that would improve the prognosis.

Viscous optical clearing agent for in vivo optical imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Zijian; Jing, Lijia; Wu, Ning; lv, Pengyu; Jiang, Xiaoyun; Ren, Qiushi; Li, Changhui

2014-07-01

By allowing more photons to reach deeper tissue, the optical clearing agent (OCA) has gained increasing attention in various optical imaging modalities. However, commonly used OCAs have high fluidity, limiting their applications in in vivo studies with oblique, uneven, or moving surfaces. In this work, we reported an OCA with high viscosity. We measured the properties of this viscous OCA, and tested its successful performances in the imaging of a living animal's skin with two optical imaging modalities: photoacoustic microscopy and optical coherence tomography. Our results demonstrated that the viscous OCA has a great potential in the study of different turbid tissues using various optical imaging modalities.

Parallel Solver for Diffuse Optical Tomography on Realistic Head Models With Scattering and Clear Regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Placati, Silvio; Guermandi, Marco; Samore, Andrea; Scarselli, Eleonora Franchi; Guerrieri, Roberto

2016-09-01

Diffuse optical tomography is an imaging technique, based on evaluation of how light propagates within the human head to obtain the functional information about the brain. Precision in reconstructing such an optical properties map is highly affected by the accuracy of the light propagation model implemented, which needs to take into account the presence of clear and scattering tissues. We present a numerical solver based on the radiosity-diffusion model, integrating the anatomical information provided by a structural MRI. The solver is designed to run on parallel heterogeneous platforms based on multiple GPUs and CPUs. We demonstrate how the solver provides a 7 times speed-up over an isotropic-scattered parallel Monte Carlo engine based on a radiative transport equation for a domain composed of 2 million voxels, along with a significant improvement in accuracy. The speed-up greatly increases for larger domains, allowing us to compute the light distribution of a full human head ( ≈ 3 million voxels) in 116 s for the platform used.

Establishment of a clean chemistry laboratory at JAERI. Clean laboratory for environmental analysis and research (CLEAR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanzawa, Yukiko; Magara, Masaaki; Watanabe, Kazuo [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; and others

2003-02-01

The JAERI has established a facility with a cleanroom: the Clean Laboratory for Environmental Analysis and Research (CLEAR). This report is an overview of the design, construction and performance evaluation of the CLEAR in the initial stage of the laboratory operation in June 2001. The CLEAR is a facility to be used for analyses of ultra trace amounts of nuclear materials in environmental samples for the safeguards, for the CTBT verification and for researches on environmental sciences. One of the special features of the CLEAR is that it meets double requirements of a cleanroom and for handling of nuclear materials. As another feature of the CLEAR, much attention was paid to the construction materials of the cleanroom for trace analysis of metal elements using considerable amounts of corrosive acids. The air conditioning and purification system, specially designed experimental equipment to provide clean work surfaces, utilities and safety systems are also demonstrated. The potential contamination from the completed cleanroom atmosphere during the analytical procedure was evaluated. It can be concluded that the CLEAR has provided a suitable condition for reliable analysis of ultra trace amounts of nuclear materials and other heavy elements in environmental samples. (author)

Imaging the Traumatized Spine'Clearing The Cervical Spine'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monu, U.V.J.

2015-01-01

Failure to recognize and diagnose injury to the cervical spine on plain radiographs can lead to severe and devastating consequences to the patient in particular and to the radiologist financially and otherwise. CT examination of the cervical spine aids and significantly improves diagnoses in many instances. it is neither economically feasible nor desirable to obtain CT on all patients. Meticulous attention to detail and zero tolerance for deviations from the usual radiographic landmarks will help select cases that should obtain additional imaging in form of CT or MRI scans. Faced with a task of clearing a cervical spine, a number of options are available. The first discriminator is whether or not the patient can be cleared clinically. If that is not possible, radiographic evaluation is needed. Strict adherence to a minimum three view plain radiograph for C-spine series must be maintained. Deviation from established norms for cervical spine radiographs should trigger a CT for additional evaluation

Primary clear cell sarcoma of rib

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hersekli, Murat Ali; Ozkoc, Gurkan; Akpinar, Sercan; Ozalay, Metin; Tandogan, Reha N.; Bircan, Sema; Tuncer, Ilhan

2005-01-01

Clear cell sarcoma (malignant melanoma of soft tissues) is a very rare soft tissue neoplasm. It generally arises in tendons and aponeuroses. Although metastasis of malignant melanoma to bone is not uncommon, primary clear cell sarcoma of bone is an extremely rare neoplasm. To our knowledge five cases have been reported in the English literature. We present a case of primary clear cell sarcoma of bone in a 28-year-old woman arising in the left ninth rib. We treated the patient with total excision of the mass and postoperative radiotherapy. The patient is alive and well without local recurrence or distant metastasis at 33 months after surgery. (orig.)

A Franco-German unmanned countermine system demonstrator

Science.gov (United States)

Le Gusquet, F.; Neugebauer, K.; Gerard, F.; Marion, V.; Kaspari, A.; Hembise, D.

2005-05-01

In May 2003, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of France awarded a contract to RHEINMETALL LANDSYSTEME GmbH, Germany), MBDA (France; THALES, France) for the joint development and manufacturing of a technology demonstrator for a vehicle-based close-in countermine system. The objective of this cooperation project, known as MMSR-SYDERA, is to show that, in a full-scale development program, it will be possible to fulfill the joint operational requirements issued by the German and French armies, which are based on the following missions: Fast route opening, Sensitive route opening and Area Clearing . In order to fulfill the three different missions and deal with an extensive array of mine threats, the MMSR-SYDERA countermine system combines two modes of countermine operation, i.e. triggering mines by decoying or detecting mines with sensors for low-order clearing. Thus, the plan calls for the MMSR-SYDERA system to be composed of five vehicles deployed in different configurations in a convoy on the roads to be cleared. This program takes advantage of the latest technologies to reach the objective performances: some innovative decoy tools already validated during real trials and optimized for MMSRSYDERA program, the latest ambitious technologies for detection and confirmation, and state-of-the-art remote-control capabilities, including tele-operation and semi-autonomous autofollow mode, with the highest established performances. An evaluation of the system demonstrator will be carried out at the beginning of 2007.

Clear-air lidar dark band

Science.gov (United States)

Girolamo, Paolo Di; Scoccione, Andrea; Cacciani, Marco; Summa, Donato; Schween, Jan H.

2018-04-01

This paper illustrates measurements carried out by the Raman lidar BASIL in the frame of HOPE, revealing the presence of a clear-air dark band phenomenon (i.e. the appearance of a minimum in lidar backscatter echoes) in the upper portion of the convective boundary layer. The phenomenon is clearly distinguishable in the lidar backscatter echoes at 1064 nm. This phenomenon is attributed to the presence of lignite aerosol particles advected from the surrounding open pit mines in the vicinity of the measuring site.

Optical clearing of tissues and blood using the immersion method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuchin, Valery V

2005-01-01

This paper aims to review recent results on the optical clearing of the naturally turbid biological tissues and blood using the optical immersion technique, which is well known in physical science and is applied for the reduction of light scattering and undesirable reflections in the optical system. Basic principles of the technique, its advantages, limitations and future are discussed. The refractive index matching concept for enhancement of in-depth light penetration into tissues and blood is presented on the basis of in vitro and in vivo studies using optical spectroscopy, polarization and coherence-domain techniques. The index matching of scatterers and ground matter by means of administration of clearing agents is under discussion. The optical properties of tissues with basic multiple scattering, which are transformed to a low scattering mode, are analysed. It is shown that light reflection, transmission, scattering and polarization can be effectively controlled. The possibilities of using the optical immersion method for diagnostic purposes based on contrasting of abnormalities, on in-depth profiling of tissue and blood and on monitoring of endogenous and exogenous matter diffusion within tissue are demonstrated

Clear-cell variant urothelial carcinoma of the bladder: a case report and review of the literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Tezval

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Clear cell variants of transitional cell carcinomas (TCC of the bladder are extremely rare tumors. Only 6 cases have been reported until now. We report of a 67 year old man who presented with fast growing tumor disease. While initial diagnosis showed localized bladder tumor, final histopathology revealed pT4, G3, L1 urothelial carcinoma with clear cell differentiation. No more than 14 weeks after initial diagnosis the patient died from multi-organ failure after unsuccessful salvage laparotomy which showed massive tumor burden within the pelvis and peritoneal carcinosis. This case demonstrated an extremely fast tumor growth. Therefore, patients with clear cell urothelial carcinoma should be treated vigorously and without time delay. We present a case of clear cell variant of TCC which exhibited an extremely aggressive behavior. To our knowledge this is the fifth report of this rare disease.

A novel, modernized Golgi-Cox stain optimized for CLARITY cleared tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Kassem, Mustafa S; Fok, Sandra Y Y; Smith, Kristie L; Kuligowski, Michael; Balleine, Bernard W

2018-01-15

High resolution neuronal information is extraordinarily useful in understanding the brain's functionality. The development of the Golgi-Cox stain allowed observation of the neuron in its entirety with unrivalled detail. Tissue clearing techniques, e.g., CLARITY and CUBIC, provide the potential to observe entire neuronal circuits intact within tissue and without previous restrictions with regard to section thickness. Here we describe an improved Golgi-Cox stain method, optimised for use with CLARITY and CUBIC that can be used in both fresh and fixed tissue. Using this method, we were able to observe neurons in their entirety within a fraction of the time traditionally taken to clear tissue (48h). We were also able to show for the first-time that Golgi stained tissue is fluorescent when visualized using a multi-photon microscope, allowing us to image synaptic spines with a detail previously unachievable. These novel methods provide cheap and easy to use techniques to investigate the morphology of cellular processes in the brain at a new-found depth, speed, utility and detail, without previous restrictions of time, tissue type and section thickness. This is the first application of a Golgi-Cox stain to cleared brain tissue, it is investigated and discussed in detail, describing different methodologies that may be used, a comparison between the different clearing techniques and lastly the novel interaction of these techniques with this ultra-rapid stain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

76 FR 45730 - Customer Clearing Documentation and Timing of Acceptance for Clearing

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-01

... proposing regulations to facilitate customer access to clearing and to bolster risk management through... and execution of customer transactions on a DCM or SEF on terms that have a reasonable relationship to... a reasonable relationship to the best terms available by prohibiting restrictions in customer...

EBM, HTA, and CER: clearing the confusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Luce, Bryan R; Drummond, Michael; Jönsson, Bengt; Neumann, Peter J; Schwartz, J Sanford; Siebert, Uwe; Sullivan, Sean D

2010-06-01

The terms evidence-based medicine (EBM), health technology assessment (HTA), comparative effectiveness research (CER), and other related terms lack clarity and so could lead to miscommunication, confusion, and poor decision making. The objective of this article is to clarify their definitions and the relationships among key terms and concepts. This article used the relevant methods and policy literature as well as the websites of organizations engaged in evidence-based activities to develop a framework to explain the relationships among the terms EBM, HTA, and CER. This article proposes an organizing framework and presents a graphic demonstrating the differences and relationships among these terms and concepts. More specific terminology and concepts are necessary for an informed and clear public policy debate. They are even more important to inform decision making at all levels and to engender more accountability by the organizations and individuals responsible for these decisions.

CLEAR PM: Teaching, Outreach, and Research Through Real-Time Particulate Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

DeCarlo, P. F.

2013-12-01

matter in the atmosphere as well as in the laboratory. This presentation will discuss the ways in which CLEAR PM spans the outreach-teaching-research continuum and future improvements as we plan new measurements and modules for the system. CLEAR PM in the laboratory with a propane flame in the sampling volume

75 FR 65881 - Ownership Limitations and Governance Requirements for Security-Based Swap Clearing Agencies...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-26

... it determines they are necessary or appropriate to improve the governance of, or to mitigate systemic... Part IV Securities and Exchange Commission 17 CFR Part 242 Ownership Limitations and Governance... Ownership Limitations and Governance Requirements for Security- Based Swap Clearing Agencies, Security-Based...

Anterior Crossbite and Crowding Correction with a Series of Clear Aligners Involving Lower Incisor Extraction: "The Clear Way" Case Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Bawaskar, Naval Suresh

2015-01-01

The Clear Aligner can be used to correct tooth movement without involving extraction, surgery, and other adjunct orthopaedic appliances. Some forms ofattachments are required with clear aligners to achieve all major types of orthodontic tooth movements. The Clear Aligner is a procedure that can be performed by a clinician with computer simulation/calculation. Since the Clear Aligner can be fabricated in steps, it is readily available to change the treatment sequence throughout the course of the treatment in cases of complex malocclusions. The patient can receive any necessary dental procedures with ease during the course of the treatment. The treatment can also be easily resumed even if the patient has not worn the aligners for a period of time. The purpose of this article is to report dental anterior crossbite correction with a series of Clear Aligners without the use of any forms of attachments. The Clear Aligner could be used as an alternative in appropriate cases for those who are reluctant with conventional appliances.

Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) Operational Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Oeftering, Richard C.; Bradish, Martin A.; Juergens, Jeffrey R.; Lewis, Michael J.; Vrnak, Daniel R.

2011-01-01

This Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) Operational Concept document was developed as a first step in developing the Component-Level Electronic-Assembly Repair (CLEAR) System Architecture (NASA/TM-2011-216956). The CLEAR operational concept defines how the system will be used by the Constellation Program and what needs it meets. The document creates scenarios for major elements of the CLEAR architecture. These scenarios are generic enough to apply to near-Earth, Moon, and Mars missions. The CLEAR operational concept involves basic assumptions about the overall program architecture and interactions with the CLEAR system architecture. The assumptions include spacecraft and operational constraints for near-Earth orbit, Moon, and Mars missions. This document addresses an incremental development strategy where capabilities evolve over time, but it is structured to prevent obsolescence. The approach minimizes flight hardware by exploiting Internet-like telecommunications that enables CLEAR capabilities to remain on Earth and to be uplinked as needed. To minimize crew time and operational cost, CLEAR exploits offline development and validation to support online teleoperations. Operational concept scenarios are developed for diagnostics, repair, and functional test operations. Many of the supporting functions defined in these operational scenarios are further defined as technologies in NASA/TM-2011-216956.

Demonstrating Earth Connections and Fuses Working Together

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Mark

2017-01-01

Earth wires and fuses work together in UK mains circuits to keep users safe from electric shocks and are taught in many school contexts. The subject can be quite abstract and difficult for pupils to grasp, and a simple but visually clear and direct demonstration is described which would be easy for most physics departments to build and which can…

Clear sky solar insolation data for Islamabad

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhter, P.; Baig, A.; Mufti, A.

1990-09-01

Monthly average values of both integrated and instantaneous clear sky solar radiation components for Islamabad territory have been presented and discussed. The components include total, direct normal, direct horizontal, global and diffuse radiations, sun hours, number of clear days and temperature for solar energy applications. Beam irradiance values are used to get clear sky (maximum) sun hours by ab-initio. The need for replacing the conventional sunshine recorder is discussed. (author). 8 refs, 1 fig, 2 tabs

Improving asthma-related health outcomes among low-income, multiethnic, school-aged children: results of a demonstration project that combined continuous quality improvement and community health worker strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Patrick; Porter, Patricia G; Lob, Sibylle H; Boer, Jennifer Holloman; Rocha, David A; Adelson, Joel W

2007-10-01

The purpose of this work was to improve asthma-related health outcomes in an ethnically and geographically disparate population of economically disadvantaged school-aged children by using a team-based approach using continuous quality improvement and community health workers. A demonstration project was conducted with 7 community clinics treating approximately 3000 children with asthma 5 to 18 years of age. The overall clinic population with asthma was assessed for care-process changes through random cross-sectional chart reviews at baseline and 24 months (N = 560). A subset of patients with either moderate or severe persistent asthma or poorly controlled asthma (N = 405) was followed longitudinally for specific asthma-related clinical outcomes, satisfaction with care, and confidence managing asthma by family interview at baseline and at 12 or 24 months. Patient-centered and care-process outcomes included patient/parent assessment of quality of care and confidence in self-management, asthma action plan review, and documentation of guideline-based indicators of quality of care. Direct clinical outcomes included daytime and nighttime symptoms, use of rescue medications, acute care and emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and missed school days. Each clinic site's degree of adherence to the intervention model was evaluated and ranked to examine the correlation between model adherence and outcomes. Cross-sectional data showed clinic-wide improvements in the documentation of asthma severity, review of action plans, health services use, and asthma symptoms. At follow-up in the longitudinal sample, fewer patients reported acute visits, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, frequent daytime and nighttime symptoms, and missed school days compared with baseline. More patients reported excellent or very good quality of care and confidence in asthma self-management. Linear regression analysis of the clinical sites' model adherence ranks against site

76 FR 12645 - Ownership Limitations and Governance Requirements for Security-Based Swap Clearing Agencies...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-08

... 3235-AK74 Ownership Limitations and Governance Requirements for Security- Based Swap Clearing Agencies... the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commission shall adopt such rules if it determines that they are necessary or appropriate to improve the governance of, or to mitigate systemic risk, promote competition or mitigate...

Potential application of Chinese traditional medicine (CTM) as enhancer for tissue optical clearing

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Jiang, Jingying; Wang, Ruikang K.; Xu, Kexin

2009-02-01

Many biocompatible hyperosmotic agents such as dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) have been used as enhancers for tissue optical clearing technique. However, previous investigations showed that DMSO can induce bradycardia, respiratory problems, and alterations in blood pressure. Also, DMSO could potentially alter the chemical structure, and hence the functional properties, of cell membranes. In this talk, Borneol among natural and nontoxic CTMs was introduced as new enhancer for optical clearing of porcine skin tissue since it has been widely used as new penetration promoter in the field of trandermial drug delivery system(TDDS) and been proved to be effective. In the first, the spectral characteristics of borneol was obtained and analyzed by Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer. And further experimental studies were performed to probe if borneol is capable of optical clearing of porcine skin tissue in vitro with near infrared spectroscopy, double integrating-spheres system and Inverse Adding-Doubling(IAD) algorithm. Spectral results show that light penetration depth into skin tissue got the increase. Meanwhile, absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of porcine skin treated by borneol got the decrease during the permeation of Borneol. Therefore, Borneol could be potentially used as enhancer for tissue optical clearing to improve non-invasive light-based diagnostic and imaging techniques while practically optical application and clinical safety are under consideration.

Reconstruction of Clear-PEM data with STIR

CERN Document Server

Martins, M V; Rodrigues, P; Trindade, A; Oliveira, N; Correia, M; Cordeiro, H; Ferreira, N C; Varela, J; Almeida, P

2006-01-01

The Clear-PEM scanner is a device based on planar detectors that is currently under development within the Crystal Clear Collaboration, at CERN. The basis for 3D image reconstruction in Clear-PEM is the software for tomographic image reconstruction (STIR). STIR is an open source object-oriented library that efficiently deals with the 3D positron emission tomography data sets. This library was originally designed for the traditional cylindrical scanners. In order to make its use compatible with planar scanner data, new functionalities were introduced into the library's framework. In this work, Monte Carlo simulations of the Clear-PEM scanner acquisitions were used as input for image reconstruction with the 3D OSEM algorithm available in STIR. The results presented indicate that dual plate PEM data can be accurately reconstructed using the enhanced STIR framework.

76 FR 45724 - Clearing Member Risk Management

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-01

... proposed rules address risk management for cleared trades by futures commission merchants, swap dealers... Commission has proposed extensive regulations addressing open access and risk management at the derivatives..., 2011) (Risk Management Requirements for Derivatives Clearing Organizations). These proposed regulations...

Five-year results from a prospective multicentre study of percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation demonstrate sustained removal of significant pulmonary regurgitation, improved right ventricular outflow tract obstruction and improved quality of life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hager, Alfred; Schubert, Stephan; Ewert, Peter

2017-01-01

. The EQ-5D quality of life utility index and visual analogue scale scores were both significantly improved six months post PPVI and remained so at five years. CONCLUSIONS: Five-year results following PPVI demonstrate resolved moderate or severe pulmonary regurgitation, improved right ventricular outflow...

Comparison of seven optical clearing methods for mouse brain

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Peng; Zhu, Jingtan; Yu, Tingting; Zhu, Dan

2018-02-01

Recently, a variety of tissue optical clearing techniques have been developed to reduce light scattering for imaging deeper and three-dimensional reconstruction of tissue structures. Combined with optical imaging techniques and diverse labeling methods, these clearing methods have significantly promoted the development of neuroscience. However, most of the protocols were proposed aiming for specific tissue type. Though there are some comparison results, the clearing methods covered are limited and the evaluation indices are lack of uniformity, which made it difficult to select a best-fit protocol for clearing in practical applications. Hence, it is necessary to systematically assess and compare these clearing methods. In this work, we evaluated the performance of seven typical clearing methods, including 3DISCO, uDISCO, SeeDB, ScaleS, ClearT2, CUBIC and PACT, on mouse brain samples. First, we compared the clearing capability on both brain slices and whole-brains by observing brain transparency. Further, we evaluated the fluorescence preservation and the increase of imaging depth. The results showed that 3DISCO, uDISCO and PACT posed excellent clearing capability on mouse brains, ScaleS and SeeDB rendered moderate transparency, while ClearT2 was the worst. Among those methods, ScaleS was the best on fluorescence preservation, and PACT achieved the highest increase of imaging depth. This study is expected to provide important reference for users in choosing most suitable brain optical clearing method.

Clear Liquor Scrubbing with Anhydrite Production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hargrove, O. W.; Carey, T. R.; Lowell, P. S.; Meserole, F. B.; Rhudy, R. G.; Feeley, Thomas J.

1997-01-01

The objective of this project to develop an advanced flue gas desulfurization (FGD) process that has decreased capital and operating costs, higher SO 2 removal efficiency, and better by-product solids quality than existing, commercially available technology. A clear liquor process (which uses a scrubbing liquid with no solids) will be used to accomplish this objective rather than a slurry liquor process (which contains solids). This clear liquor scrubbing (CLS) project is focused on three research areas: (1) Development of a clear liquor scrubbing process that uses a clear solution to remove SO 2 from flue gas and can be operated under inhibited-oxidation conditions; (2) Development of an anhydrite process that converts precipitated calcium sulfite to anhydrous calcium sulfate (anhydrite); and (3) Development of an alkali/humidification process to remove HCl from flue gas upstream of the FGD system. The anhydrite process also can be retrofit into existing FGD systems to produce a valuable by-product as an alternative to gypsum. This fits well into another of FETC's PRDA objectives of developing an advanced byproduct recovery subsystem capable of transforming SO 2 into a useable byproduct or high-volume valuable commodities of interest. This paper describes the proposed processes, outlines the test approach, and preliminary Phase I test results

The development of skin immersion clearing method for increasing of laser exposure efficiency on subcutaneous objects

Science.gov (United States)

Kozina, Alexandra M.; Genina, Elina A.; Terentyuk, Georgy S.; Terentyuk, Artem G.; Bashkatov, Alexey N.; Tuchin, Valery V.; Khlebtsov, Boris N.

2012-06-01

In this paper we have studied effect of a hyperosmotic optical clearing agent (OCA), such as polyethylene glycol, on the fluorescence intensity from a target located in subcutaneous area in the model experiments. As a fluorescence agent the nanocomposite including gold nanorods with hematophorphyrin was used. The remitted fluorescent signal traveling to the tissue surface was monitored over time as the tissue was treated with the OCA. The detected fluorescent signal increased as the scattering in tissue samples was substantially reduced. The study has shown how OCA can be used to improve the detected signal at localization of subcutaneous target tissue at the photothermal or photodynamic therapy. Immersion clearing of skin can be also useful for improvement of laser exposure efficiency due to the increasing of light penetration depth.

Open bite treatment using clear aligners.

Science.gov (United States)

Guarneri, Maria Paola; Oliverio, Teresa; Silvestre, Ivana; Lombardo, Luca; Siciliani, Giuseppe

2013-09-01

A 35-year-old female patient with dentoalveolar open bite of 4 mm, molar Class I malocclusion, centered midlines, moderate crowding, and labial inclination of the lower incisor was treated with clear aligners to reduce protrusion and close the anterior open bite. The result showed that clear aligners were an effective method with which to correct this malocclusion. The treatment was complete after 18 months. The patient was satisfied with her new appearance and function.

The combined use of corticotomy and clear aligners: A case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Cassetta, Michele; Altieri, Federica; Barbato, Ersilia

2016-09-01

To describe an orthodontic treatment that combines an esthetic approach (clear aligners) with surgery (alveolar corticotomy). A patient with moderate dental crowding and Class I skeletal and molar relationships was selected. Orthodontic records of the patient were taken. Periodontal indexes, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and treatment time were evaluated. After we reflected a full-thickness flap beyond the teeth apices, the cortical bone was exposed on the buccal aspect and a modified corticotomy procedure was performed. Interproximal corticotomy cuts were extended through the entire thickness of the cortical layer, just barely penetrating into medullary bone. Orthodontic force was applied on the teeth immediately after surgery. Total treatment time was 2 months. Periodontal indexes were improved after correction of crowding. A deterioration of OHRQoL was limited to 3 days following surgery. This case report may encourage the use, limited to selected cases, of corticotomy associated with clear aligners to treat moderate crowding.

Clear cell hidradenocarcinoma:

OpenAIRE

Lamovec, Janez; Pohar-Marinšek, Živa

2003-01-01

A case of eccrine clear cell hidradenocarcinoma of sweat gland origin is presented, disclosing its clinical behavior and morphologic characteristics asevidenced by fine needle aspiration biopsy and tissue section histology. Thepatient was a 53-years old male who had a tumor on his fifth toe for 16 years. The tumor recurred 18 months after excision and metastasized widely 17 months following the amputation of the toe due to the recurrence. In spite of chemotherapy the patient died 37 months af...

Prediction of loop seal formation and clearing during small break loss of coolant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Suk Ho; Kim, Hho Jung

1992-01-01

Behavior of loop seal formation and clearing during small break loss of coolant accident is investigated using the RELAP5/MOD2 and /MOD3 codes with the test of SB-CL-18 of the LSTF(Large Scale Test Facility). The present study examines the thermal-hydraulic mechanisms responsible for early core uncovery includeing the manometric effect due to an asymmetric coolant holdup in the steam generator upflow and downflow side. The analysis with the RELAP5/ MOD2 demonstrates the main phenomena occuring in the depressurization transient including the loop seal formation and clearing with sufficient accuracy. Nevertheless, several differences regarding the evolution of phenomena and their timing have been pointed out in the base calculations. The RELAP5/MOD3 predicts overall phenomena, particularly the steam generator liquid holdup better than the RELAP5/MOD2. The nodalization study in the components of the steam generator U-tubes and the cross-over legs with the RELAP5/MOD3 results in good prediction of the loop seal clearing phenomena and their timing. (Author)

The Clearing : Heidegger’s Lichtung and the big scrub

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garbutt, Rob

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Clearings make settlement possible. Whether on a small scale using an axe and other hand implements to make way for a dwelling and a garden, or on a large scale with a chain strung between two D9 bulldozers in preparation for a major agribusiness development, the process of clearing creates spaces for installing something new. This paper uses the idea of (the clearing, as practice, process, outcome and metaphor, to examine the installation of the locals in a settler society. Using Lismore on the far-north coast of New South Wales, Australia, as a case example, the particular work of clearing that is discussed here is a practice that enables a form of colonisation and settlement that distances itself from its history of migration. This is a history of settler locals who were 'always here', and a colonial form of clearing clears the land and the mind of troubling pasts and of troubling presences. For the locals within a place, then, clearing manages and simplifies a complex set of social and material relations, histories and identities.Using Anthony Appiah's concept the 'space clearing gesture', the paper concludes with a reflection on the space in which the idea of "the clearing" and this paper appears. Do places, in this instance rural places, provide a type of clearing in which certain ideas might appear that may not appear elsewhere? If situatedness matters then the diversity of places where thinking is done is important for our ecology of thought, and in connection with this, perhaps what 'rural cultural studies' does is clear a particular type of space for thinking.

The Clearing: Heidegger’s Lichtung and The Big Scrub

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rob Garbutt

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Clearings make settlement possible. Whether on a small scale using an axe and other hand implements to make way for a dwelling and a garden, or on a large scale with a chain strung between two D9 bulldozers in preparation for a major agribusiness development, the process of clearing creates spaces for installing something new. This paper uses the idea of (the clearing, as practice, process, outcome and metaphor, to examine the installation of the locals in a settler society. Using Lismore on the far-north coast of New South Wales, Australia, as a case example, the particular work of clearing that is discussed here is a practice that enables a form of colonisation and settlement that distances itself from its history of migration. This is a history of settler locals who were 'always here', and a colonial form of clearing clears the land and the mind of troubling pasts and of troubling presences. For the locals within a place, then, clearing manages and simplifies a complex set of social and material relations, histories and identities. Using Anthony Appiah's concept the 'space clearing gesture', the paper concludes with a reflection on the space in which the idea of "the clearing" and this paper appears. Do places, in this instance rural places, provide a type of clearing in which certain ideas might appear that may not appear elsewhere? If situatedness matters then the diversity of places where thinking is done is important for our ecology of thought, and in connection with this, perhaps what 'rural cultural studies' does is clear a particular type of space for thinking.

78 FR 59401 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Europe Limited; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-26

... program designed to improve the safety and soundness of the European derivatives markets, ICE Clear Europe..., the Decomp Model provides portfolio risk coverage against at least 5-day market realizations. ICE... clearance and settlement of securities transactions and, to the extent applicable, derivative agreements...

Clearing margin system in the futures markets—Applying the value-at-risk model to Taiwanese data

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Chien-Liang; Chiang, Shu-Mei; Hung, Jui-Cheng; Chen, Yu-Lung

2006-07-01

This article sets out to investigate if the TAIFEX has adequate clearing margin adjustment system via unconditional coverage, conditional coverage test and mean relative scaled bias to assess the performance of three value-at-risk (VaR) models (i.e., the TAIFEX, RiskMetrics and GARCH-t). For the same model, original and absolute returns are compared to explore which can accurately capture the true risk. For the same return, daily and tiered adjustment methods are examined to evaluate which corresponds to risk best. The results indicate that the clearing margin adjustment of the TAIFEX cannot reflect true risks. The adjustment rules, including the use of absolute return and tiered adjustment of the clearing margin, have distorted VaR-based margin requirements. Besides, the results suggest that the TAIFEX should use original return to compute VaR and daily adjustment system to set clearing margin. This approach would improve the funds operation efficiency and the liquidity of the futures markets.

A simple formula for determining globally clear skies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Long, C.N.; George, A.T.; Mace, G.G. [Penn State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] [and others

1996-04-01

Surface measurements to serve as {open_quotes}ground truth{close_quotes} are of primary importance in the development of retrieval algorithms using satellite measurements to predict surface irradiance. The most basic algorithms of this type deal with clear sky (i.e., cloudless) top-to-surface shortwave (SW) transfer, serving as a necessary prerequisite towards treating both clear and cloudy conditions. Recently, atmosphere SW cloud forcing to infer the possibility of excess atmospheric absorption (compared with model results) in cloudy atmospheres. The surface component of this ratio relies on inferring the expected clear sky SW irradiance to determine the effects of clouds on the SW energy budget. Solar renewable energy applications make use of clear and cloud fraction climatologies to assess solar radiation resources. All of the above depend to some extent on the identification of globally clear sky conditions and the attendant measurements of downwelling SW irradiance.

RM12-2703 Advanced Rooftop Unit Control Retrofit Kit Field Demonstration: Hawaii and Guam Energy Improvement Technology Demonstration Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doebber, I. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dean, J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dominick, J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Holland, G. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2014-03-01

As part of its overall strategy to meet its energy goals, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) partnered with U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to rapidly demonstrate and deploy cost-effective renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. This was one of several demonstrations of new and underutilized commercial energy efficiency technologies. The consistent year-round demand for air conditioning and dehumidification in Hawaii provides an advantageous demonstration location for advanced rooftop control (ARC) retrofit kits to packaged rooftop units (RTUs). This report summarizes the field demonstration of ARCs installed on nine RTUs serving a 70,000-ft² exchange store (large retail) and two RTUs, each serving small office buildings located on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH).

Optimized optical clearing method for imaging central nervous system

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Tingting; Qi, Yisong; Gong, Hui; Luo, Qingming; Zhu, Dan

2015-03-01

The development of various optical clearing methods provides a great potential for imaging entire central nervous system by combining with multiple-labelling and microscopic imaging techniques. These methods had made certain clearing contributions with respective weaknesses, including tissue deformation, fluorescence quenching, execution complexity and antibody penetration limitation that makes immunostaining of tissue blocks difficult. The passive clarity technique (PACT) bypasses those problems and clears the samples with simple implementation, excellent transparency with fine fluorescence retention, but the passive tissue clearing method needs too long time. In this study, we not only accelerate the clearing speed of brain blocks but also preserve GFP fluorescence well by screening an optimal clearing temperature. The selection of proper temperature will make PACT more applicable, which evidently broaden the application range of this method.

clearScience: Infrastructure for Communicating Data-Intensive Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Bot, Brian M; Burdick, David; Kellen, Michael; Huang, Erich S

2013-01-01

Progress in biomedical research requires effective scientific communication to one's peers and to the public. Current research routinely encompasses large datasets and complex analytic processes, and the constraints of traditional journal formats limit useful transmission of these elements. We are constructing a framework through which authors can not only provide the narrative of what was done, but the primary and derivative data, the source code, the compute environment, and web-accessible virtual machines. This infrastructure allows authors to "hand their machine"- prepopulated with libraries, data, and code-to those interested in reviewing or building off of their work. This project, "clearScience," seeks to provide an integrated system that accommodates the ad hoc nature of discovery in the data-intensive sciences and seamless transitions from working to reporting. We demonstrate that rather than merely describing the science being reported, one can deliver the science itself.

Functional imaging in bulk tissue specimens using optical emission tomography: fluorescence preservation during optical clearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakhalkar, H S; Dewhirst, M; Oliver, T; Cao, Y; Oldham, M

2007-01-01

. The optimized optical clearing procedure of ethanol fixation followed by methyl salicylate clearing preserved the fluorescence of constitutive RFP in whole xenograft tumour specimens, about 1 cc in dimension, indicating successful extension from cell plating experiments to whole tissue samples. Finally, the feasibility of imaging the 3D distribution of viable tumour cells (as indicated by the RFP emission) is demonstrated by optical-ECT imaging of cleared xenograft tumours using an in-house system

Functional imaging in bulk tissue specimens using optical emission tomography: fluorescence preservation during optical clearing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakhalkar, H S [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710 (United States); Dewhirst, M [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710 (United States); Oliver, T [Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710 (United States); Cao, Y [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710 (United States); Oldham, M [Department of Radiation Oncology Physics, and Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710 (United States)

2007-04-21

or BABB. The optimized optical clearing procedure of ethanol fixation followed by methyl salicylate clearing preserved the fluorescence of constitutive RFP in whole xenograft tumour specimens, about 1 cc in dimension, indicating successful extension from cell plating experiments to whole tissue samples. Finally, the feasibility of imaging the 3D distribution of viable tumour cells (as indicated by the RFP emission) is demonstrated by optical-ECT imaging of cleared xenograft tumours using an in-house system.

Segmentized Clear Channel Assessment for IEEE 802.15.4 Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Kyou Jung; Hong, Sung Hyeuck; Moon, Seong-Pil; Chang, Tae Gyu; Cho, Hanjin

2016-06-03

This paper proposed segmentized clear channel assessment (CCA) which increases the performance of IEEE 802.15.4 networks by improving carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA). Improving CSMA/CA is important because the low-power consumption feature and throughput performance of IEEE 802.15.4 are greatly affected by CSMA/CA behavior. To improve the performance of CSMA/CA, this paper focused on increasing the chance to transmit a packet by assessing precise channel status. The previous method used in CCA, which is employed by CSMA/CA, assesses the channel by measuring the energy level of the channel. However, this method shows limited channel assessing behavior, which comes from simple threshold dependent channel busy evaluation. The proposed method solves this limited channel decision problem by dividing CCA into two groups. Two groups of CCA compare their energy levels to get precise channel status. To evaluate the performance of the segmentized CCA method, a Markov chain model has been developed. The validation of analytic results is confirmed by comparing them with simulation results. Additionally, simulation results show the proposed method is improving a maximum 8.76% of throughput and decreasing a maximum 3.9% of the average number of CCAs per packet transmission than the IEEE 802.15.4 CCA method.

Treatment results and prognostic factors of clear cell ovarian carcinomas and ovarian carcinomas with clear cell component

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. D. Ahmedova

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The most important prognostic factors for clear cell carcinoma (CCC are clinical and morphological signs and clinical stage of the disease. Analyses of 5-year survival in patients with I stage of CCC is 69 %, in II stage – 55 %, in III stage – 14 % and in IV stage – 4 % patients. We analyzed distant results of treatment of 71 patients with CCC and of 25 patients with mixed malignant ovaries neoplasm with obligatory clear cell component taking into consideration main clinical and morphological sings of disease. On the base of performed reseal we revealed that morphological structure of the tumors and stage of the disease exerted heist influence on the exponent of survival of the patients with clear CCC ovaries neoplasm. Besides, there is a correlation between exponent of patients’ survival and radicalized of surgery, character of tumor growth, differentiation degree, cell anaplasia and mitotic activity of tumor cells.

Research and demonstration to improve air quality for the U.S. animal feeding operations in the 21st century – A critical review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni, Ji-Qin

2015-01-01

There was an increasing interest in reducing production and emission of air pollutants to improve air quality for animal feeding operations (AFOs) in the U.S. in the 21st century. Research was focused on identification, quantification, characterization, and modeling of air pollutions; effects of emissions; and methodologies and technologies for scientific research and pollution control. Mitigation effects were on pre-excretion, pre-release, pre-emission, and post-emission. More emphasis was given on reducing pollutant emissions than improving indoor air quality. Research and demonstrations were generally continuation and improvement of previous efforts. Most demonstrated technologies were still in a limited scale of application. Future efforts are needed in many fundamental and applied research areas. Advancement in instrumentation, computer technology, and biological sciences and genetic engineering is critical to bring major changes in this area. Development in research and demonstration will depend on the actual political, economic, and environmental situations. - Highlights: • More emphasis was placed on pollutant emissions than indoor air quality. • Basic research dedicated to new pollutants, modeling, and baseline emissions. • Applied research focused on developing monitoring and mitigation technologies. • Field demonstrations combined with projects to evaluate new mitigation approaches. • Future efforts are needed in many fundamental and applied research areas. - Different scales of basic and applied research were conducted and 15 mitigation technologies were demonstrated. Future work is needed in many fundamental and applied research areas

Dragnet: A Case Study of the CLEAR System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Musa, Samuel; Keegan, Matt; Kyser, Giles

2007-01-01

...). The quickest way to describe CLEAR is to mention a quote from Ron Huberman, assistant deputy superintendent, Office of Information and Strategic Services at CPD "CLEAR automates everything we do in...

Geophysical study of the Clear Lake region, California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chapman, R.H.

1975-01-01

Results of geophysical studies in the Clear Lake region of California, north of San Francisco, have revealed a prominent, nearly circular negative gravity anomaly with an amplitude of more than 25 milligals (mgal) and an areal extent of approximately 250 square miles and, in addition, a number of smaller positive and negative anomalies. The major negative gravity anomaly is closely associated with the Clear Lake volcanic field and with an area characterized by hot springs and geothermal fields. However, the anomaly cannot be explained by mapped surface geologic features of the area. Aeromagnetic data in the Clear Lake region show no apparent correlation with the major negative gravity anomaly; the local magnetic field is affected principally by serpentine. An electrical resistivity low marks the central part of the gravity minimum, and a concentration of earthquake epicenters characterizes the Clear Lake volcanic field area. The primary cause of the major negative gravity anomaly is believed to be a hot intrusive mass, possibly a magma chamber, that may underlie the Clear Lake volcanic field and vicinity. This mass may serve as a source of heat for the geothermal phenomena in the area. Other smaller gravity anomalies in the Clear Lake region are apparently caused by near-surface geologic features, including relatively dense units of the Franciscan Formation and less dense Cenozoic sedimentary and volcanic rock units.

Development of a team-based framework for conducting self-assessment of Continuous Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Frances; Gertsen, Frank; Boer, Harry

2004-01-01

The study presented in this article is based on two basic premises. First, successful continuous improvement (CI) is dependent on shop floor level involvement and participation in improvement efforts. Second, the term "self-assessment" clearly implies that those whose performance is being measured......, and who are involved in conducting the assessment process. Excerpts from longitudinal case studies in a single Danish manufacturing organization demonstrate how teams involved in the process of conducting self-assessment of CI developed a better understanding of the basic principles of CI. Furthermore...

Comparative study of lubricating properties of tear substitutes Systane® Ultra and Visine® Clear Tears

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. A. Pavlova

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To compare tear substitutive properties of Systane® Ultra and Visine® Clear Tears in dry eye therapy.Methods: 20 patients with dry eye due to chronic blepharoconjunctivitis and 20 patients with neurotrophic dry eye following corneal refractive surgery were examined. Treatment schedule was the following: in the first 7 days, Systane® Ultra was instilled in the right eye and Visine® Clear Tears was instilled in the left eye, while from day 8 to day 30, only one medicine selected by the patient was applied. Their efficacy was measured by tear film stability and patients’ subjective sensations.Results: Norn test results improved to day 7 in patients with dry eye following corneal refractive surgery and to day 30 in patients with dry eye due to blepharoconjunctivitis regardless of eye drops used. As to patients’ comfort, Systane® Ultra is preferable to Visine® Clear Tears.Conclusion: Systane® Ultra is therapeutically similar to but preferable to Visine® Clear Tears due to good tolerability.

Comparative study of lubricating properties of tear substitutes Systane® Ultra and Visine® Clear Tears

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. A. Pavlova

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To compare tear substitutive properties of Systane® Ultra and Visine® Clear Tears in dry eye therapy.Methods: 20 patients with dry eye due to chronic blepharoconjunctivitis and 20 patients with neurotrophic dry eye following corneal refractive surgery were examined. Treatment schedule was the following: in the first 7 days, Systane® Ultra was instilled in the right eye and Visine® Clear Tears was instilled in the left eye, while from day 8 to day 30, only one medicine selected by the patient was applied. Their efficacy was measured by tear film stability and patients’ subjective sensations.Results: Norn test results improved to day 7 in patients with dry eye following corneal refractive surgery and to day 30 in patients with dry eye due to blepharoconjunctivitis regardless of eye drops used. As to patients’ comfort, Systane® Ultra is preferable to Visine® Clear Tears.Conclusion: Systane® Ultra is therapeutically similar to but preferable to Visine® Clear Tears due to good tolerability.

Coastal sediment elevation change following anthropogenic mangrove clearing

Science.gov (United States)

Hayden, Heather L.; Granek, Elise F.

2015-11-01

Coastal mangrove forests along tropical shorelines serve as an important interface between land and sea. They provide a physical buffer protecting the coastline from erosion and act as sediment "traps" catching terrestrial sediment, thus preventing smothering of subtidal coral reefs. Coastal development that removes mangrove habitat may impact adjacent nearshore coral reefs through sedimentation and nutrient loading. We examined differences in sediment elevation change between patches of open-coast intact and anthropogenically cleared red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) on the east side of Turneffe Atoll, Belize, to quantify changes following mangrove clearing. Samples were collected over a 24 month period at five study sites, each containing paired intact (+mangrove) and cleared (-mangrove) plots. Five sediment elevation pins were deployed in each plot: behind areas cleared of mangroves (-mangrove) and behind adjacent intact mangroves (+mangrove). Sediment elevation increased at intact mangrove sites (M = +3.83 mm, SE = 0.95) whereas cleared mangrove areas suffered elevation loss (M = -7.30 mm, SE = 3.38). Mangroves inshore of partial or continuous gaps in the adjacent fringing reefs had higher rates of elevation loss (M = -15.05 mm) than mangroves inshore of continuous fringing reefs (M = -1.90 mm). Our findings provide information on potential effects of mangrove clearing and the role of offshore habitat characteristics on coastal sediment trapping and maintenance of sediment elevation by mangroves. With implications for coastline capacity to adjust to sea level rise, these findings are relevant to management of coastal fringing mangrove forests across the Caribbean.

Clear cell HCC: an imitator of hepatic adenoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Incedayi, M.; Sivrioglu, A.

2012-01-01

Full text: A 60-year old male patient was complaining of a postprandial heartburn and of abdominal distension. Physical examination was normal except for nodular, painless hepatomegaly. Ultrasonographic examination of the liver showed diffuse increased echogenicity and coarse echotexture. A large mixed echogenic mass is seen in the right hepatic lobe. Computerized tomography showed heterogeneously hypodense mass lesions with fatty change on non-contrast scans and enhance heterogeneously on both arterial phase and venous phase postcontrast scans. Following true-cut biopsy, it was ascertained to be a clear cell HCC. Clear cell HCC may include large fatty areas and this is often misdiagnosed to be an adenoma. Clear cell HCC is characterized by high female prevalence, high rate of association with liver cirrhosis and has no significant difference in prognosis compared with non-clear cell HCC

The art of thinking clearly

CERN Document Server

Dobelli, Rolf

2013-01-01

The Art of Thinking Clearly by world-class thinker and entrepreneur Rolf Dobelli is an eye-opening look at human psychology and reasoning — essential reading for anyone who wants to avoid “cognitive errors” and make better choices in all aspects of their lives. Have you ever: Invested time in something that, with hindsight, just wasn’t worth it? Or continued doing something you knew was bad for you? These are examples of cognitive biases, simple errors we all make in our day-to-day thinking. But by knowing what they are and how to spot them, we can avoid them and make better decisions. Simple, clear, and always surprising, this indispensable book will change the way you think and transform your decision-making—work, at home, every day. It reveals, in 99 short chapters, the most common errors of judgment, and how to avoid them.

Passengers' perception of the safety demonstration on board an aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Ruenruoy, Ratchada

The cabin safety demonstration on board an aircraft is one of the methods to provide safety information for passengers before aircraft takeoff. However, passengers' enthusiasm toward safety demonstrations is normally low. Therefore, the study of passengers' perception toward safety briefings on board an aircraft is important in increasing the safety awareness for the travelling public on commercial aircraft. A survey was distributed to measure the perceptions of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) faculty and staff, Aerospace students, and international students who have traveled in the last year. It was generally found that watching the cabin safety demonstration before aircraft takeoff was believed to be important for passengers. However, the attention to the safety demonstration remained low because the safety briefings were not good enough in terms of clear communication, particularly in the recorded audio demonstration and the live safety demonstration methods of briefing.

A new simple parameterization of daily clear-sky global solar radiation including horizon effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez, Gabriel; Javier Batlles, F.; Tovar-Pescador, Joaquin

2007-01-01

Estimation of clear-sky global solar radiation is usually an important previous stage for calculating global solar radiation under all sky conditions. This is, for instance, a common procedure to derive incoming solar radiation from remote sensing or by using digital elevation models. In this work, we present a new model to calculate daily values of clear-sky global solar irradiation. The main goal is the simple parameterization in terms of atmospheric temperature and relative humidity, Angstroem's turbidity coefficient, ground albedo and site elevation, including a factor to take into account horizon obstructions. This allows us to obtain estimates even though a free horizon is not present as is the case of mountainous locations. Comparisons of calculated daily values with measured data show that this model is able to provide a good level of accurate estimates using either daily or mean monthly values of the input parameters. This new model has also been shown to improve daily estimates against those obtained using the clear-sky model from the European Solar Radiation Atlas and other accurate parameterized daily irradiation models. The introduction of Angstroem's turbidity coefficient and ground albedo should allow us to use the increasing worldwide aerosol information available and to consider those sites affected by snow covers in an easy and fast way. In addition, the proposed model is intended to be a useful tool to select clear-sky conditions

A giant benign clear cell hidradenoma on the anterior trunk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damlanur Sakiz

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Clear cell hidroadenoma (CCA is a uncommon variant of bening cutaneous adnexial tumors. These tumors are clinically asymptomatic, solitary dermal nodules. they occur most frequently on the scalp, face, abdomen and the extremities. Growth is slow and malignant change is rare. 45- year-old woman presented us with a nodule with a central ulceration and a minimal hemoragic discharge on her anterior abdomen wall which had begun 4 years ago as a small nodular asymptomatic lesion. On dermatological examination there was a 6.5x4x5 cm non-tender, soft reddish purple nodule with lobular appearence and ulceration. In the laboratory investigations, all the hematologic and biochemical tests were normal. A CT scan demonstrated a cyctic tumor with lobulated countour with contrast enhancement. The lesion excised totally. In histopathological examination the tumor was composed of biphasic  smaller dark polygonal cells and larger clera cells and coarse nuclear chromatine. There were duct like structures. Immunohistochemical investigation was done for the suspicion of malignancy. Cytoplasm of clear cells and duct like structures showed PAS positive and d-Pas resistant staining. There was a positive reactivity to epithelial membrane antigen and carcinoembrionic antigen. The mitotic index in Ki 67 examination was low. All these findings confirmed the diagnosis of bening CCA. 

Virtual Lab Demonstrations Improve Students’ Mastery of Basic Biology Laboratory Techniques

OpenAIRE

Maldarelli, Grace A.; Hartmann, Erica M.; Cummings, Patrick J.; Horner, Robert D.; Obom, Kristina. M.; Shingles, Richard; Pearlman, Rebecca S.

2009-01-01

Biology laboratory classes are designed to teach concepts and techniques through experiential learning. Students who have never performed a technique must be guided through the process, which is often difficult to standardize across multiple lab sections. Visual demonstration of laboratory procedures is a key element in teaching pedagogy. The main goals of the study were to create videos explaining and demonstrating a variety of lab techniques that would serve as teaching tools for undergradu...

Study of the epidermis ablation effect on the efficiency of optical clearing of skin in vivo

Science.gov (United States)

Genina, E. A.; Ksenofontova, N. S.; Bashkatov, A. N.; Terentyuk, G. S.; Tuchin, V. V.

2017-06-01

We present the results of a comparative analysis of optical immersion clearing of skin in laboratory animals in vivo with and without preliminary ablation of epidermis. Laser ablation is implemented using a setup based on a pulsed erbium laser (λ = 2940 nm). The size of the damaged region amounted to 6 × 6 mm, the depth being smaller than 50 μm. As an optical clearing agent (OCA), use is made of polyethylene glycol (PEG-300). Based on optical coherence tomography, we use the single scattering model to estimate the scattering coefficient in the process of optical clearing in 2 regions at depths of 50-170 μm and 150-400 μm. The results show that skin surface ablation leads to the local oedema of the affected region that increases the scattering coefficient. However, the intense evaporation of water from the ablation zone facilitates the optical clearing at the expense of tissue dehydration, particularly in the upper layers. The assessment of the optical clearing efficiency shows that the efficiency exceeding 30% can be achieved at a depth from 50 to 170 μm in 120 min after ablation, as well as after the same ablation with subsequent application of PEG-300, which increases the efficiency of the immersion method by almost 1.8 times. At a depth from 150 to 400 μm, dehydration of upper layers cannot completely compensate for an increase in light scattering by dermis after epidermis ablation. The additional effect of OCA enhances the optical clearing of skin at the expense of improving the refractive index matching between dermis components, but the maximal efficiency of optical clearing in 120 min does not exceed 6%.

Clear aligners generations and orthodontic tooth movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennessy, Joe; Al-Awadhi, Ebrahim A

2016-03-01

Clear aligner technology has evolved over the last 15 years, with these appliances continually being modified to increase the range of tooth movements that they can achieve. However, there is very little clinical research available to show how these appliances achieve their results. This article describes the different generations of clear aligners that are available and highlights their use. However, until more clinical research becomes available, aligners cannot be routinely prescribed as an effective alternative to fixed labial appliances.

Assessment of laser-induced acceleration effects in optical clearing of in vivo human skin by optical coherence tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhan, Zhigang; Wei, Huajiang; Jin, Ying

2015-01-01

Laser irradiation is considered to be a promising innovative technology which has been developed in an attempt to increase transdermal drug delivery. In this study, a near-infrared CW diode laser (785 nm) was applied to increase permeability of glycerol solutions in human skin in vivo and improve the optical clearing efficacy. Results show that for both 15%v/v and 30%v/v glycerol, the permeability coefficient increased significantly if the detected area of the skin tissue was treated with laser irradiation before optical clearing agents (OCAs) were applied. This study based on optical coherence tomography imaging technique and optical clearing effect finds laser irradiation a new approach for enhancing the penetration of OCAs and accelerating the rate of transdermal drug delivery. (paper)

Assessment of laser-induced acceleration effects in optical clearing of in vivo human skin by optical coherence tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Zhigang; Wei, Huajiang; Jin, Ying

2015-02-01

Laser irradiation is considered to be a promising innovative technology which has been developed in an attempt to increase transdermal drug delivery. In this study, a near-infrared CW diode laser (785 nm) was applied to increase permeability of glycerol solutions in human skin in vivo and improve the optical clearing efficacy. Results show that for both 15%v/v and 30%v/v glycerol, the permeability coefficient increased significantly if the detected area of the skin tissue was treated with laser irradiation before optical clearing agents (OCAs) were applied. This study based on optical coherence tomography imaging technique and optical clearing effect finds laser irradiation a new approach for enhancing the penetration of OCAs and accelerating the rate of transdermal drug delivery.

Roadmap-Based Level Clearing of Buildings

KAUST Repository

Rodriguez, Samuel

2011-01-01

In this paper we describe a roadmap-based approach for a multi-agent search strategy to clear a building or multi-story environment. This approach utilizes an encoding of the environment in the form of a graph (roadmap) that is used to encode feasible paths through the environment. The roadmap is partitioned into regions, e.g., one per level, and we design region-based search strategies to cover and clear the environment. We can provide certain guarantees within this roadmap-based framework on coverage and the number of agents needed. Our approach can handle complex and realistic environments where many approaches are restricted to simple 2D environments. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

Use of subvoxel registration and subtraction to improve demonstration of contrast enhancement in MRI of the brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curati, W.L.; Williams, E.J.; Oatridge, A.; Hajnal, J.V.; Saeed, N.; Bydder, G.M.

1996-01-01

To assess the potential of registration of images before and after contrast medium for improving the demonstration of contrast enhancement, we compared conventional 2 D T 1-weighted spin-echo images with precisely registered 3 D volume images and subtraction images derived from them in 2 normal subjects and 30 patients with a variety of brain disease. The volume images were registered to subvoxel accuracy using a rigid body translation and rotation, sinc interpolation and a least-squares fit; subtraction images were obtained from these. Normal contrast enhancement was demonstrated better with positionally registered volume and subtraction images than with conventional images in the meninges, ependyma, diploic veins, scalp, skin, orbit and sinuses. Abnormal enhancement was seen better in meningeal disease, multiple sclerosis and tumours as well as on follow-up studies. Subvoxel registration of images before and after contrast medium may be of considerable value in the recognition of contrast enhancement where there are small changes, or where the changes affect tissues with high or low baseline signal values. The technique also appears likely to be of value in demonstrating contrast enhancement in tissues at inferfaces and at other areas of complex anatomy, and in follow-up studies. (orig.). With 4 figs., 4 tabs

Modeling and control simulation of the China CLEAR-IB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, Shoujun; Wan, Jiashuang; Wang, Pengfei; Fang, Huawei; Sun, Changyi; Zhao, Fuyu

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A model for the reactor for CLEAR-IB was developed. • A PI controller was designed to control the power. • A control strategy was adopted to control the water enthalpy of air cooler. • Dynamic simulation of the whole system was performed. - Abstract: To investigate the dynamic and control characteristics of the plant, a model for the main components of the reactor and the most relevant interactions among them is developed. The system comprises of the primary system with lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) as the coolant, the secondary circuit with steam water mixture as the coolant and the associated air cooling system for an effective rejection of thermal power to the environment as a final heat sink. A Proportional-Integral (PI) controller is designed to keep the power following the set value as quickly as possible. To keep outlet coolant of air coolers and inlet coolant of HXs being saturated water, a control strategy based on a simultaneous feed-forward and feedback scheme has been adopted. Based on the developed model and control strategy, dynamic simulation of the whole system in the cases of step changes of external source and load is performed. The simulation results show that the proposed model is accurate enough to describe the dynamic behaviors of the plant in spite of its simplicity. It has also been demonstrated that the developed controllers for the CLEAR-IB can provide superior reactor control capabilities due to the efficiency of the control strategy adopted

The Effectiveness of Clear Speech as a Masker

Science.gov (United States)

Calandruccio, Lauren; Van Engen, Kristin; Dhar, Sumitrajit; Bradlow, Ann R.

2010-01-01

Purpose: It is established that speaking clearly is an effective means of enhancing intelligibility. Because any signal-processing scheme modeled after known acoustic-phonetic features of clear speech will likely affect both target and competing speech, it is important to understand how speech recognition is affected when a competing speech signal…

How to Measure and Interpret Quality Improvement Data.

Science.gov (United States)

McQuillan, Rory Francis; Silver, Samuel Adam; Harel, Ziv; Weizman, Adam; Thomas, Alison; Bell, Chaim; Chertow, Glenn M; Chan, Christopher T; Nesrallah, Gihad

2016-05-06

This article will demonstrate how to conduct a quality improvement project using the change idea generated in "How To Use Quality Improvement Tools in Clinical Practice: How To Diagnose Solutions to a Quality of Care Problem" by Dr. Ziv Harel and colleagues in this Moving Points feature. This change idea involves the introduction of a nurse educator into a CKD clinic with a goal of increasing rates of patients performing dialysis independently at home (home hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis). Using this example, we will illustrate a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle in action and highlight the principles of rapid cycle change methodology. We will then discuss the selection of outcome, process, and balancing measures, and the practicalities of collecting these data in the clinic environment. We will also introduce the PDSA worksheet as a practical way to oversee the progress of a quality improvement project. Finally, we will demonstrate how run charts are used to visually illustrate improvement in real time, and how this information can be used to validate achievement, respond appropriately to challenges the project may encounter, and prove the significance of results. This article aims to provide readers with a clear and practical framework upon which to trial their own ideas for quality improvement in the clinical setting. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Parenteral structured triglyceride emulsion improves nitrogen balance and is cleared faster from the blood in moderately catabolic patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruimel, J W; Naber, T H; van der Vliet, J A; Carneheim, C; Katan, M B; Jansen, J B

2001-01-01

Most postoperative patients lose net protein mass, which reflects loss of muscle tissue and organ function. Perioperative parenteral nutrition may reduce the loss of protein, but in general, with conventional lipid emulsions a waste of protein still remains. We compared the effects on nitrogen balance of an emulsion containing structured triglycerides, a new type of synthesized triglycerides, with an emulsion of a physical mixture of medium- and long-chain triglycerides as part of parenteral feeding in moderately catabolic patients. The first 5 days after placement of an aortic prosthesis patients received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) providing 0.2 g of nitrogen per kg body weight per day; energy requirement was calculated using Harris and Benedict's equation, adding 300 kcal per day for activity. Twelve patients were treated with the structured triglyceride emulsion and 13 patients with the emulsion of the physical mixture of medium- and long-chain triglycerides. The design was a randomized, double-blind parallel study. In the patients who completed the study, the mean cumulative nitrogen balance over the first 5 postoperative days was -8+/-2 g in 10 patients on the structured triglyceride emulsion and -21+/-4 g in 9 patients on the emulsion of the physical mixture of medium- and long-chain triglycerides; the mean difference was 13 g of nitrogen (95% confidence interval 4 to 22, p = .015) in favor of the structured triglyceride emulsion. On the first postoperative day serum triglyceride and plasma medium-chain free fatty acid levels increased less during infusion of the structured triglyceride emulsion than with the physical mixture emulsion. The parenteral structured triglyceride emulsion improves the nitrogen balance and is cleared faster from the blood, compared with the emulsion of the physical mixture of medium- and long-chain triglycerides, in moderately catabolic patients.

High-fidelity hybrid simulation of allergic emergencies demonstrates improved preparedness for office emergencies in pediatric allergy clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Joshua L; Jones, Stacie M; Porter, Nicholas; White, Marjorie L; Gephardt, Grace; Hill, Travis; Cantrell, Mary; Nick, Todd G; Melguizo, Maria; Smith, Chris; Boateng, Beatrice A; Perry, Tamara T; Scurlock, Amy M; Thompson, Tonya M

2013-01-01

Simulation models that used high-fidelity mannequins have shown promise in medical education, particularly for cases in which the event is uncommon. Allergy physicians encounter emergencies in their offices, and these can be the source of much trepidation. To determine if case-based simulations with high-fidelity mannequins are effective in teaching and retention of emergency management team skills. Allergy clinics were invited to Arkansas Children's Hospital Pediatric Understanding and Learning through Simulation Education center for a 1-day workshop to evaluate skills concerning the management of allergic emergencies. A Clinical Emergency Preparedness Team Performance Evaluation was developed to evaluate the competence of teams in several areas: leadership and/or role clarity, closed-loop communication, team support, situational awareness, and scenario-specific skills. Four cases, which focus on common allergic emergencies, were simulated by using high-fidelity mannequins and standardized patients. Teams were evaluated by multiple reviewers by using video recording and standardized scoring. Ten to 12 months after initial training, an unannounced in situ case was performed to determine retention of the skills training. Clinics showed significant improvements for role clarity, teamwork, situational awareness, and scenario-specific skills during the 1-day workshop (all P clinics (all P ≤ .004). Clinical Emergency Preparedness Team Performance Evaluation scores demonstrated improved team management skills with simulation training in office emergencies. Significant recall of team emergency management skills was demonstrated months after the initial training. Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clear-PEM, a dedicated PET camera for mammography

CERN Document Server

Lecoq, P

2002-01-01

Preliminary results suggest that Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) can offer a noninvasive method for the diagnosis of breast cancer. Metabolic images from PEM contain unique information not available from conventional morphologic imaging techniques and aid in expeditiously establishing the diagnosis of cancer. A dedicated machine seems to offer better perspectives in terms of position resolution and sensitivity. This paper describes the concept of Clear-PEM, the system presently developed by the Crystal Clear Collaboration at CERN for an evaluation of this approach. This device is based on new crystals introduced by the Crystal Clear as well as on modern data acquisition techniques developed for the large experiments in high energy physics experiments.

Virtual Lab Demonstrations Improve Students’ Mastery of Basic Biology Laboratory Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grace A. Maldarelli

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Biology laboratory classes are designed to teach concepts and techniques through experiential learning. Students who have never performed a technique must be guided through the process, which is often difficult to standardize across multiple lab sections. Visual demonstration of laboratory procedures is a key element in teaching pedagogy. The main goals of the study were to create videos explaining and demonstrating a variety of lab techniques that would serve as teaching tools for undergraduate and graduate lab courses and to assess the impact of these videos on student learning. Demonstrations of individual laboratory procedures were videotaped and then edited with iMovie. Narration for the videos was edited with Audacity. Undergraduate students were surveyed anonymously prior to and following screening to assess the impact of the videos on student lab performance by completion of two Participant Perception Indicator surveys. A total of 203 and 171 students completed the pre- and posttesting surveys, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed to compare student perceptions of knowledge of, confidence in, and experience with the lab techniques before and after viewing the videos. Eleven demonstrations were recorded. Chi-square analysis revealed a significant increase in the number of students reporting increased knowledge of, confidence in, and experience with the lab techniques after viewing the videos. Incorporation of instructional videos as prelaboratory exercises has the potential to standardize techniques and to promote successful experimental outcomes.

Improvements in brain and behavior following eradication of hepatitis C.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, Taylor; Sayegh, Philip; Jones, Jacob D; Smith, Jason; Sarma, Manoj K; Ragin, A; Singer, Elyse J; Albert Thomas, M; Thames, April D; Castellon, Steven A; Hinkin, Charles H

2017-08-01

Despite recent advances in treatment, hepatitis C remains a significant public health problem. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is known to infiltrate the brain, yet findings from studies on associated neurocognitive and neuropathological changes are mixed. Furthermore, it remains unclear if HCV eradication improves HCV-associated neurological compromise. This study examined the longitudinal relationship between neurocognitive and neurophysiologic markers among healthy HCV- controls and HCV+ adults following successful HCV eradication. We hypothesized that neurocognitive outcomes following treatment would be related to both improved cognition and white matter integrity. Participants included 57 HCV+ participants who successfully cleared the virus at the end of treatment (sustained virologic responders [SVRs]) and 22 HCV- controls. Participants underwent neuropsychological testing and, for a nested subset of participants, neuroimaging (diffusion tensor imaging) at baseline and 12 weeks following completion of HCV therapy. Contrary to expectation, group-level longitudinal analyses did not reveal significant improvement in neurocognitive performance in the SVRs compared to the control group. However, a subgroup of SVRs demonstrated a significant improvement in cognition relative to controls, which was related to improved white matter integrity. Indeed, neuroimaging data revealed beneficial effects associated with clearing the virus, particularly in the posterior corona radiata and the superior longitudinal fasciculus. Findings suggest that a subgroup of HCV+ patients experienced improvements in cognitive functioning following eradication of HCV, which appears related to positive changes in white matter integrity. Future research should examine whether any additional improvements in neurocognition and white matter integrity among SVRs occur with longer follow-up periods.

Automated clearing system and the banking sector performance: the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Automated clearing system and the banking sector performance: the Nigerian experience. ... Abstract. This study investigated the impact of automated clearing system on the Nigerian banking system. ... AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO ...

Clear aligners for orthodontic treatment?

Science.gov (United States)

Javidi, Hanieh; Graham, Elizabeth

2015-12-01

PubMed/Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical trials (CENTRAL), Web of Knowledge, SCOPUS, Google Scholar and LILACS databases. Clinical prospective and retrospective studies of orthodontic treatment with clear aligners on patients over the age of 15 that included clear descriptions of the materials and applied technique were included. Selection was undertaken independently by two reviewers. Two reviewers extracted data independently with study quality being assessed using the grading system described by the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU). A narrative summary of the findings was presented. Eleven studies involving a total of 480 patients were included consisting of two randomised controlled trials, five prospective studies and four retrospective studies. Six studies were considered to be of moderate quality, the remainder of limited quality. Most of the studies presented with methodological problems: small sample size, bias and confounding variables, lack of method error analysis, blinding in measurements, and deficient or missing statistical methods. The quality level of the studies was not sufficient to draw any evidence-based conclusions.

Clear-Sky Narrowband Albedo Datasets Derived from Modis Data

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y.; Minnis, P.; Sun-Mack, S.; Arduini, R. F.; Hong, G.

2013-12-01

Satellite remote sensing of clouds requires an accurate estimate of the clear-sky radiances for a given scene to detect clouds and aerosols and to retrieve their microphysical properties. Knowing the spatial and angular variability of clear-sky albedo is essential for predicting the clear-sky radiance at solar wavelengths. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project uses the near-infrared (NIR; 1.24, 1.6 or 2.13 μm) and visible (VIS; 0.63 μm) channels available on the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) to help identify clouds and retrieve their properties. Generally, clear-sky albedo for a given surface type is determined for conditions when the vegetation is either thriving or dormant and free of snow. The clear-sky albedos are derived using a radiative transfer parameterization of the impact of the atmosphere, including aerosols, on the observed reflectances. This paper presents the method of generating monthly clear-sky overhead albedo maps for both snow-free and snow-covered surfaces of these channels using one year of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) CERES products. Maps of 1.24 and 1.6 μm are being used as the background to help retrieve cloud properties (e.g., effective particle size, optical depth) in CERES cloud retrievals in both snow-free and snow-covered conditions.

Quality improvement in pediatrics: past, present, and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Stephanie P; Rehder, Kyle J

2017-01-01

Almost two decades ago, the landmark report "To Err is Human" compelled healthcare to address the large numbers of hospitalized patients experiencing preventable harm. Concurrently, it became clear that the rapidly rising cost of healthcare would be unsustainable in the long-term. As a result, quality improvement methodologies initially rooted in other high-reliability industries have become a primary focus of healthcare. Multiple pediatric studies demonstrate remarkable quality and safety improvements in several domains including handoffs, catheter-associated blood stream infections, and other serious safety events. While both quality improvement and research are data-driven processes, significant differences exist between the two. Research utilizes a hypothesis driven approach to obtain new knowledge while quality improvement often incorporates a cyclic approach to translate existing knowledge into clinical practice. Recent publications have provided guidelines and methods for effectively reporting quality and safety work and improvement implementations. This review examines not only how quality improvement in pediatrics has led to improved outcomes, but also looks to the future of quality improvement in healthcare with focus on education and collaboration to ensure best practice approaches to caring for children.

Two cases of seborrheic keratosis with basal clear cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Anan, Takashi; Fukumoto, Takaya; Kimura, Tetsunori

2017-03-01

Seborrheic keratosis with basal clear cells (SKBCC) is an extremely rare histopathological variant of seborrheic keratosis that has histological similarities to melanoma in situ. We herein report two cases of SKBCC and provide the first description of the dermoscopic features of this condition, in addition to the histopathological findings. Both of the two lesions showed typical histological architectures of seborrheic keratosis with rows or focal clusters of monomorphic clear cells with abundant pale cytoplasm and small round nucleus in the basal layer. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that most clear cells were positive for high molecular weight cytokeratin (34βE12) in a peripheral pattern but were negative tor Melan-A. Dermoscopy revealed typical features of ordinary seborrheic keratosis, while unfortunately did not reflect the presence of basal clear cells. © 2016 Japanese Dermatological Association.

Simulated Pitot tube designed to detect blockage by ice, volcanic dust, sand, insects and to clear it: phase 1

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, David A.

2014-05-01

A simulated coaxial Pitot tube has been developed using fibre optic sensors combined with actuators to monitor and maintain its correct operation under different environmental conditions. Experiments are reported showing that the dynamic and static tubes can be cleared of ice. It is also demonstrated that the dynamic tube can be cleared of dust and sand which is not the case for the static tube in the coaxial configuration. An approach is proposed to overcome this problem involving a conventional configuration where the static tube is operated independently orthogonal to the dynamic tube with a second set of sensors and actuators.

A pilot study comparing opaque, weighted bottles with conventional, clear bottles for infant feeding.

Science.gov (United States)

Ventura, Alison K; Pollack Golen, Rebecca

2015-02-01

It is hypothesized that the visual and weight cues afforded by bottle-feeding may lead mothers to overfeed in response to the amount of liquid in the bottle. The aim of the present pilot study was to test this hypothesis by comparing mothers' sensitivity and responsiveness to infant cues and infants' intakes when mothers use opaque, weighted bottles (that remove visual and weight cues) compared to conventional, clear bottles to feed their infants. We also tested the hypothesis that mothers' pressuring feeding style would moderate the effect of bottle type. Formula-feeding dyads (N = 25) visited our laboratory on two separate days. Mothers fed their infants from a clear bottle one day and an opaque, weighted bottle on the other; bottle-order was counterbalanced across the two days. Infant intake was assessed by weighing each bottle before and after the feeding. Maternal sensitivity and responsiveness to infant cues was objectively assessed using the Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale. Mothers were significantly more responsive to infant cues when they used opaque compared to clear bottles (p = .04). There was also a trend for infants to consume significantly less formula when fed from opaque compared to clear bottles (p = .08). Mothers' pressuring feeding style moderated the effect of bottle type on maternal responsiveness to infant cues (p = .02) and infant intake (p = .03). Specifically, mothers who reported higher levels of pressuring feeding were significantly more responsive to their infants' cues (p = .02) and fed their infants significantly less formula when using opaque versus clear bottles (p = .01); no differences were seen for mothers who reported lower levels of pressuring feeding. This study highlights a simple, yet effective intervention for improving the bottle-feeding practices of mothers who have pressuring feeding styles. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Controling the scattering of Intralipid by using optical clearing agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wen Xiang; Luo Qingming; Zhu Dan; Tuchin, Valery V

2009-01-01

Optical clearing agents (OCAs) with high refractive indices and hyperosmolarity can enhance the penetration of light in tissues by reducing scattering in tissues. However, the mechanism of tissue optical clearing is not much clear for the complex interaction between tissues and OCAs. In this work, Intralipid was mixed with different concentrations of OCAs, i.e. dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), glycerol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,2-propanediol, poly-ethylene glycol 200 (PEG200) and poly-ethylene glycol 400 (PEG400). Except for PEG200 and PEG400 that make aggregation of particles, the others kept the mixture uniform. The reduced scattering coefficients of uniform mixtures were predicted with Mie theory and measured by a commercially available spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere. The results show that all of the OCAs used enhance the optical clearing effect of Intralipid. If OCAs do not change the structure of Intralipid, Mie theory prediction matches well with the measurements. And the higher the refractive index of OCA, the smaller the reduced scattering coefficient. A simple formula deduced can quantitatively predict the optical clearing effect caused by OCAs. This work is helpful for clarifying the mechanism of tissue optical clearing, which will make the effect of optical clearing of tissue predictable and controllable.

High Altitude Clear Air Turbulence Project

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory conducted the High Altitude Clear Air Turbulence Project in the mid 1960s with the intention of better understanding air...

Clearness index in cloudy days estimated with meteorological information by multiple regression analysis; Kisho joho wo riyoshita kaiki bunseki ni yoru dontenbi no seiten shisu no suitei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakagawa, S [Maizuru National College of Technology, Kyoto (Japan); Kenmoku, Y; Sakakibara, T [Toyohashi University of Technology, Aichi (Japan); Kawamoto, T [Shizuoka University, Shizuoka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1996-10-27

Study is under way for a more accurate solar radiation quantity prediction for the enhancement of solar energy utilization efficiency. Utilizing the technique of roughly estimating the day`s clearness index from forecast weather, the forecast weather (constituted of weather conditions such as `clear,` `cloudy,` etc., and adverbs or adjectives such as `afterward,` `temporary,` and `intermittent`) has been quantified relative to the clearness index. This index is named the `weather index` for the purpose of this article. The error high in rate in the weather index relates to cloudy days, which means a weather index falling in 0.2-0.5. It has also been found that there is a high correlation between the clearness index and the north-south wind direction component. A multiple regression analysis has been carried out, under the circumstances, for the estimation of clearness index from the maximum temperature and the north-south wind direction component. As compared with estimation of the clearness index on the basis only of the weather index, estimation using the weather index and maximum temperature achieves a 3% improvement throughout the year. It has also been learned that estimation by use of the weather index and north-south wind direction component enables a 2% improvement for summer and a 5% or higher improvement for winter. 2 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs.

Modelled female sale options demonstrate improved profitability in northern beef herds.

Science.gov (United States)

Niethe, G E; Holmes, W E

2008-12-01

To examine the impact of improving the average value of cows sold, the risk of decreasing the number weaned, and total sales on the profitability of northern Australian cattle breeding properties. Gather, model and interpret breeder herd performances and production parameters on properties from six beef-producing regions in northern Australia. Production parameters, prices, costs and herd structure were entered into a herd simulation model for six northern Australian breeding properties that spay females to enhance their marketing options. After the data were validated by management, alternative management strategies were modelled using current market prices and most likely herd outcomes. The model predicted a close relationship between the average sale value of cows, the total herd sales and the gross margin/adult equivalent. Keeping breeders out of the herd to fatten generally improves their sale value, and this can be cost-effective, despite the lower number of progeny produced and the subsequent reduction in total herd sales. Furthermore, if the price of culled cows exceeds the price of culled heifers, provided there are sufficient replacement pregnant heifers available to maintain the breeder herd nucleus, substantial gains in profitability can be obtained by decreasing the age at which cows are culled from the herd. Generalised recommendations on improving reproductive performance are not necessarily the most cost-effective strategy to improve breeder herd profitability. Judicious use of simulation models is essential to help develop the best turnoff strategies for females and to improve station profitability.

IMPROVING LEARNING PROCESS AND STUDENT RESULTS LEARNING TO TUNE-UPMOTORCYCLE USING DEMONSTRATION METHODOF CLASS XI SMA N 1 PLAYEN YEAR STUDY2013/2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haryono Haryono

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This research is to improve the learning process and results in learning a tune-up motorcycle  using the demonstrationmethod of class XI SMA 1 Playen.              This research is a classroom action research (PTK, using the demonstration method.Subyek this study were students of class XI SMA Negeri 1 Playen.Theimplementationofthisstudyusing3cycles,there is a (planning, implementation (actuating, observation (observing, and reflection (reflecting. Collecting data in this study are observations of student learning process and student learning outcomes test data pre-test, postesI, II, III and documentation as a support to the two data. Further observation data based on the observation of student learning just learning the positive process of learning student and test data were analyzed for comparison. Indicators of success in this classroom action research that student learning increases towards positive along with the use of methods of demonstration, is to see an increase from the pre-cycle to end the first cycle, the first cycle to the second cycle and the secondcyclebycycle III.             From the results of this study concluded that the method could improve the demonstration of positive student learning, from the first cycle of 30%, 50% second cycle and third cycle of 80%. Learning is also more effective with students indicated more quickly adapt as a positive activity, especially in terms of increased student asked, noting the test and work on the problems. Demonstration method can improve the learning outcomes  students of class XI SMA 1 Playen as evidenced by an increase in the average yield final test first cycle of 64.09; second cycle of 77.82 and 78.86 for the third cycle. So it proved with the increasing positive student learning canalso improve student learning outcomes.

AVN-322 is a Safe Orally Bio-Available Potent and Highly Selective Antagonist of 5-HT6R with Demonstrated Ability to Improve Impaired Memory in Animal Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivachtchenko, Alexandre V; Ivanenkov, Yan A; Veselov, Mark S; Okun, I M

2017-01-01

In recent years, 5-hydroxytryptamine subtype 6 receptor (5-HT6 receptor, 5- HT6R) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of neuropathological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and schizophrenia. 5-HT6 receptors were hypothesized to be implicated in the processes of learning, memory, and cognition with 5-HT6R antagonists being effective in animal models of cognition and memory impairment. Several selective 5-HT6R ligands are currently undergoing clinical trials for treatment of AD. We describe results of preclinical development of a novel and highly selective and potent 5- HT6R antagonist, AVN-322, as a clinical candidate for the treatment of AD to improve concurrent debilitation of memory and cognition in the AD patients, and schizophrenia as a substance with antipsychotic effect. In the manuscript, we present its in vitro and vivo efficacy, ADME, pharmacokinetics in animals and in humans, and toxicity. While having high binding affinity in medium picomolar range, the lead compound demonstrates substantially better selectivity index then the reference drug candidates currently being tested in clinical studies. AVN-322 showed high oral bioavailability and favorable blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration. In vivo testing revealed its clear cognition enhancing effect. AVN-322 significantly restored both scopolamine- and MK-801-induced cognitive dysfunction and demonstrated antipsychotic potential. Taking into account its good safety profile and favorable pharmacokinetics, AVN-322 can be reasonably considered as a novel drug candidate for the treatment of neurological disorders such as AD and/or schizophrenia. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

CLEARING MAGNET DESIGN FOR APS-U

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abliz, M.; Grimmer, J.; Jaski, Y.; Westferro, F.; Ramanathan, M.

2017-06-25

The Advanced Photon Source is in the process of developing an upgrade (APS-U) of the storage ring. The upgrade will be converting the current double bend achromat (DBA) lattice to a multi-bend achromat (MBA) lattice. In addition, the storage ring will be operated at 6 GeV and 200 mA with regular swap-out injection to keep the stored beam current constant [1]. The swap-out injection will take place with beamline shutters open. For radiation safety to ensure that no electrons can exit the storage ring, a passive method of protecting the beamline and containing the electrons inside the storage ring is proposed. A clearing magnet will be located in all beamline front ends inside the storage ring tunnel. This article will discuss the features and design of the clearing magnet scheme for APS-U.

Improvement of chronic corneal opacity in ocular surface disease with prosthetic replacement of the ocular surface ecosystem (PROSE) treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cressey, Anna; Jacobs, Deborah S; Remington, Crystal; Carrasquillo, Karen G

2018-06-01

To demonstrate clearing of chronic corneal opacities and improvement of visual acuity with the use of BostonSight prosthetic replacement of the ocular surface ecosystem (PROSE) treatment in ocular surface disease. We undertook retrospective analysis of the medical records of a series of patients who underwent PROSE treatment from August 2006 to December 2014. Patients were referred for ocular surface disease of various etiologies. Primary inclusion criterion was corneal opacity that improved with PROSE treatment. Patients were excluded if topical steroids or adjuvant therapy used once PROSE treatment was initiated. Underlying disease, prior treatment, clinical presentation, and clinical course were extracted from the medical record. Four patients are included in this series. There were three females and one male; median age at time of treatment initiation was 30 years (range = 0.5-58 years). Median duration of PROSE treatment at time of retrospective analysis was 3.5 years (range = 1-8 years). Two cases had corneal opacification in the context of neurotrophic keratopathy: a unilateral case due to presumed herpes simplex keratitis and a bilateral case due to congenital corneal anesthesia associated with familial dysautonomia. One case had corneal opacity from exposure related to seventh nerve palsy, and one had corneal opacification associated with recurrent surface breakdown, neurotrophic keratopathy, and limbal stem deficiency of uncertain etiology. After consistent wear of prosthetic devices used in PROSE treatment for support of the ocular surface, visual acuity improved and clearing of the opacities was observed, without use of topical steroids or adjuvant therapy. These cases demonstrate clearing of chronic corneal opacity with PROSE treatment for ocular surface disease. This clearing can occur with no adjuvant therapy, suggesting that restoration of ocular surface function and integrity allows for corneal remodeling.

Long-term management of high-level radioactive waste. The meaning of a demonstration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

The ''demonstration'' of the safe management of high level radioactive waste is a prerequisite for the further development of nuclear energy. It is therefore essential to be clear about both the meaning of the term ''demonstration'' and the practical means to satisfy this request. In the complex sequence of operations necessary to the safe management of high level waste, short term activities can be directly demonstrated. For longer term activities, such as the long term isolation of radioactive waste in deep undergroung structures, demonstration must be indirect. The ''demonstration'' of deep underground disposal for high level radioactive waste involves two steps: one direct, to prove that the system could be built, operated and closed safely and at acceptable costs, and one indirect, to make a convincing evaluation of the system's performance and long term safety on the basis of predictive analyses confirmed by a body of varied technical and scienfic data, much of it deriving from experimental work. The assessment of the evidence collected from current operations, existing experience in related fields and specific research and development activities, calls for specialized scientific expertise. Uncertainties in far future situations and probabilistic events can be taken into account in a scientific assessment. Competent national authorithies will have to satisfy themselves that the proposed waste management solutions can meet long term safety objectives. An element of judgement will always be needed in determining the acceptability of a waste disposal concept. However, the level of confidence in our ability to predict the performance of waste management systems will increase as supporting evidence is collected from current research and development activities and as our predictive techniques improve

75 FR 77576 - General Regulations and Derivatives Clearing Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-13

... Derivatives Clearing Organizations AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission. ACTION: Notice of proposed... derivatives clearing organization (DCO) Core Principles A (Compliance), H (Rule Enforcement), N (Antitrust... commission merchant (FCM) that is also registered as a securities broker-dealer (FCM/BD), and make certain...

Challenging demonstrations in the physics classroom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raz, E.

2004-01-01

Full Text: We consider the role of classroom demonstrations in improving students understanding of physics lectures and suggest criteria to decide whether a given demonstration will be pedagogically useful. In the light of these considerations, we performed two series of related experiments before groups of high-school students. We shall perform one of them with active participation from the audience. We shall also show some challenging demonstrations performed in the final stages of the Israeli Physics Olympiad for high-school students

Nickel-Hydrogen Battery Fault Clearing at Low State of Charge

Science.gov (United States)

Lurie, C.

1997-01-01

Fault clearing currents were achieved and maintained at discharge rates from C/2 to C/3 at high and low states of charge. The fault clearing plateau voltage is strong function of: discharge current, and voltage-prior-to-the-fault-clearing-event and a weak function of state of charge. Voltage performance, for the range of conditions reported, is summarized.

Quantifying changes in the rates of forest clearing in Indonesia from 1990 to 2005 using remotely sensed data sets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, Matthew C; Potapov, Peter V; Pittman, Kyle; Stehman, Stephen V; Arunarwati, Belinda; Stolle, Fred

2009-01-01

Timely and accurate data on forest change within Indonesia is required to provide government, private and civil society interests with the information needed to improve forest management. The forest clearing rate in Indonesia is among the highest reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), behind only Brazil in terms of forest area lost. While the rate of forest loss reported by FAO was constant from 1990 through 2005 (1.87 Mha yr -1 ), the political, economic, social and environmental drivers of forest clearing changed at the close of the last century. We employed a consistent methodology and data source to quantify forest clearing from 1990 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2005. Results show a dramatic reduction in clearing from a 1990s average of 1.78 Mha yr -1 to an average of 0.71 Mha yr -1 from 2000 to 2005. However, annual forest cover loss indicator maps reveal a near-monotonic increase in clearing from a low in 2000 to a high in 2005. Results illustrate a dramatic downturn in forest clearing at the turn of the century followed by a steady resurgence thereafter to levels estimated to exceed 1 Mha yr -1 by 2005. The lowlands of Sumatra and Kalimantan were the site of more than 70% of total forest clearing within Indonesia for both epochs; over 40% of the lowland forests of these island groups were cleared from 1990 to 2005. The method employed enables the derivation of internally consistent, national-scale changes in the rates of forest clearing, results that can inform carbon accounting programs such as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) initiative.

Clearing of ventilating emissions in low temperature environment of plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Mansurov, R. Sh; Rafalskaya, T. A.

2017-11-01

The method of high-temperature processing of streams of the ventilating air which is a subject clearing from organic pollutions is developed. Data about its efficiency, including on a number of economic parameters are obtained. Results of work are recommended for use, first of all, by development clearing plasma-thermal reactors (CPTR) for clearing air, especially from toxic substances, and also for large technological clearing installations, containing organic ventilating emissions (OVE). It is created experimental CPTR. Laws of the expiration of a plasma jet in stream of OVE limited by cylindrical walls, water-cooled channel are experimentally investigated. Dependences of a trajectory and long-range the plasma jet blown radially in stream of OVE are received. Heat exchange of stream of OVE with walls of CPTR after blowing a plasma jet is experimentally investigated; dependences of distribution of temperatures on length of a reactor and a thermal stream in a wall of channel of CPTR are received. Are investigated chemical compound of OVE after plasma-thermal clearing, some experimental data by formation of oxides of nitrogen and mono-oxide of carbon during clearing are received.

Waste-to-Energy: Hawaii and Guam Energy Improvement Technology Demonstration Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Gelman, R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Tomberlin, G. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bain, R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2014-03-01

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the U.S. Navy have worked together to demonstrate new or leading-edge commercial energy technologies whose deployment will support the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in meeting its energy efficiency and renewable energy goals while enhancing installation energy security. This is consistent with the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review report1 that encourages the use of 'military installations as a test bed to demonstrate and create a market for innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies coming out of the private sector and DOD and Department of Energy laboratories,' as well as the July 2010 memorandum of understanding between DOD and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that documents the intent to 'maximize DOD access to DOE technical expertise and assistance through cooperation in the deployment and pilot testing of emerging energy technologies.' As part of this joint initiative, a promising waste-to-energy (WTE) technology was selected for demonstration at the Hickam Commissary aboard the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), Hawaii. The WTE technology chosen is called high-energy densification waste-to-energy conversion (HEDWEC). HEDWEC technology is the result of significant U.S. Army investment in the development of WTE technology for forward operating bases.

Work-in-process clearing in supply chain operations planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Selcuk, B.; Fransoo, J.C.; Kok, de A.G.

2008-01-01

In this study we provide insights into the effectiveness of the clearing function concept in a hierarchical planning context. The clearing function is a mathematical representation of the relation between the Work-In-Process (WIP) and the throughput of a production process. We use it in a

Does gently clearing the nasal passage affect odor identification?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitchell G. Spring

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Identifying scents in a wine’s bouquet is considered one of the most important steps in the process of wine tasting. An individual’s ability to successfully do this is dependent on the sense of smell; thus, altering the nasal microenvironment could have a powerful effect on the wine tasting experience. In the present study, we examined olfactory performance in healthy participants who cleared their nasal cavity before odorant presentations. Fifty undergraduate participants were assessed with a standardized test of olfaction requiring the recognition of a battery of odors. Half of these participants cleared mucus from their nasal cavities (by gently blowing their noses prior to the assessment. No difference was found in performance between those who cleared their nasal passages and those who did not. Further, data were not different than known population data from the test. These data suggest that gently clearing the nasal cavity before presentation of odorants bears no effect on the ability to perceive those odor qualities.

Roadmap-Based Level Clearing of Buildings

KAUST Repository

Rodriguez, Samuel; Amato, Nancy M.

2011-01-01

In this paper we describe a roadmap-based approach for a multi-agent search strategy to clear a building or multi-story environment. This approach utilizes an encoding of the environment in the form of a graph (roadmap) that is used to encode

An Investigation of Loop Seal Clearings in ATLAS SBLOCA Tests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yeonsik; Cho, Seok; Kang, Kyoungho; Park, Hyunsik; Min, Kyeongho; Choi, Namhyeon; Park, Jonggook; Kim, Bokdeuk; Choi, Kiyong [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

In most of the SBLOCA cases, the pressure of the upper-head region will increase mainly owing to the accumulated steam and water inventory in the upper-plenum. This build-up pressure acts as a suppression force to the core water level, and resultantly the core water level will decrease possibly up to and/or below the top of the active core region. Simultaneously, the downcomer water level will increase owing to the evacuated water inventory from the lower part of the core region. This unbalanced hydro-static pressure between the core and downcomer region acts as a potential pushing force to the reactor coolant pump (RCP) side intermediate leg. The potential pushing force will be increased with time to overcome the hydro-static head in the upflow intermediate leg. The unbalanced hydro-static pressure can finally be dissolved with the occurrence of the loop seal clearing. A minimum core collapsed water level, located below the elevation of the loop seal bottom leg in the ATLAS tests, is taken at this time. Since the loop seal bottom leg is located below the core top for typical PWR plants such as an APR1400, the water level depression may uncover the core upper regions until the core water level recovers with the progress of the clearing of the loop seal upflow leg. At this moment, the core temperature may increase to a peak cladding temperature (PCT) owing to an excessive core uncovery by the minimum core collapsed water level. Therefore, the loop seal clearing phenomenon is very important with respect to the PCT occurrence, which is one of the most important parameters to insure the safety of the reactor system. The loop seal clearing behavior seems to be closely related to the break location and break size. Usually, a loop seal in the break loop is cleared first, and the number of loop seal clearings is dependent on the break size. The larger the break size, the more the loop seals that are cleared. An investigation of LSC in the SBLOCA for DVI line and CL breaks

Hemostatic completion of percutaneous nephrolithotomy using electrocauterization and a clear amplatz renal sheath

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ho Song Yu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Background and Purpose A tubeless PCNL can reduce postoperative pain, the need for analgesics, hospital stay, and postoperative urinary leakage. However, perioperative or delayed bleeding remains the primary postoperative concern. We demonstrate a simple and cost-effective method to develop a clear nephrostomy tract after completion of a tubeless PCNL. Materials and Methods Four consecutive patients with renal calculi >3cm underwent a tubeless PCNL. We used a 24 Fr nephroscope and a 24 Fr transurethral resectoscope. Intraoperative urologist-directed percutaneous renal access was performed under fluoroscopy. After calculi removal, active bleeders were identified via a clear Amplatz renal sheath. The sheath provided excellent visualization of the nephrostomy tract for the detection of bleeders and surrounding structures. Bleeders were electrocauterized using a roller barrel electrode. During extraction of the renal sheath, the surgeon can confirm hemostasis in the tract and apply intermittent suction. Results Bleeding primarily originated from the torn calyeceal mucosa and the parenchyma. Tract electrocauterization was successful. All patients had mild hematuria, which resolved within two days. The average hemoglobin decrease was 1.65g/dL (0.8-2.1 and no patients required a transfusion. No perioperative complications occurred. On postoperative day 2, the patients could ambulate without a Foley catheter. During three months of follow-up, delayed bleeding or percutaneous urine leakage did not occur. Conclusions Electrocauterization with a roller barrel electrode and a clear Amplatz renal sheath is an effective method to obtain hemostasis after completion of a PCNL. Our technique is cost-effective and readily adapted without the need for additional instruments.

Radiation Attenuation and Stability of ClearView Radiation Shielding TM-A Transparent Liquid High Radiation Shield.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakshi, Jayeesh

2018-04-01

Radiation exposure is a limiting factor to work in sensitive environments seen in nuclear power and test reactors, medical isotope production facilities, spent fuel handling, etc. The established choice for high radiation shielding is lead (Pb), which is toxic, heavy, and abidance by RoHS. Concrete, leaded (Pb) bricks are used as construction materials in nuclear facilities, vaults, and hot cells for radioisotope production. Existing transparent shielding such as leaded glass provides minimal shielding attenuation in radiotherapy procedures, which in some cases is not sufficient. To make working in radioactive environments more practicable while resolving the lead (Pb) issue, a transparent, lightweight, liquid, and lead-free high radiation shield-ClearView Radiation Shielding-(Radium Incorporated, 463 Dinwiddie Ave, Waynesboro, VA). was developed. This paper presents the motivation for developing ClearView, characterization of certain aspects of its use and performance, and its specific attenuation testing. Gamma attenuation testing was done using a 1.11 × 10 Bq Co source and ANSI/HPS-N 13.11 standard. Transparency with increasing thickness, time stability of liquid state, measurements of physical properties, and performance in freezing temperatures are reported. This paper also presents a comparison of ClearView with existing radiation shields. Excerpts from LaSalle nuclear power plant are included, giving additional validation. Results demonstrated and strengthened the expected performance of ClearView as a radiation shield. Due to the proprietary nature of the work, some information is withheld.

3D confocal imaging in CUBIC-cleared mouse heart

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nehrhoff, I.; Bocancea, D.; Vaquero, J.; Vaquero, J.J.; Lorrio, M.T.; Ripoll, J.; Desco, M.; Gomez-Gaviro, M.V.

2016-07-01

Acquiring high resolution 3D images of the heart enables the ability to study heart diseases more in detail. Here, the CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis) clearing protocol was adapted for thick mouse heart sections to increase the penetration depth of the confocal microscope lasers into the tissue. The adapted CUBIC clearing of the heart lets the antibody penetrate deeper into the tissue by a factor of five. The here shown protocol enables deep 3D highresolution image acquisition in the heart. This allows a much more accurate assessment of the cellular and structural changes that underlie heart diseases. (Author)

3D confocal imaging in CUBIC-cleared mouse heart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nehrhoff, I.; Bocancea, D.; Vaquero, J.; Vaquero, J.J.; Lorrio, M.T.; Ripoll, J.; Desco, M.; Gomez-Gaviro, M.V.

2016-01-01

Acquiring high resolution 3D images of the heart enables the ability to study heart diseases more in detail. Here, the CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis) clearing protocol was adapted for thick mouse heart sections to increase the penetration depth of the confocal microscope lasers into the tissue. The adapted CUBIC clearing of the heart lets the antibody penetrate deeper into the tissue by a factor of five. The here shown protocol enables deep 3D highresolution image acquisition in the heart. This allows a much more accurate assessment of the cellular and structural changes that underlie heart diseases. (Author)

A large, switchable optical clearing skull window for cerebrovascular imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chao; Feng, Wei; Zhao, Yanjie; Yu, Tingting; Li, Pengcheng; Xu, Tonghui; Luo, Qingming; Zhu, Dan

2018-01-01

Rationale: Intravital optical imaging is a significant method for investigating cerebrovascular structure and function. However, its imaging contrast and depth are limited by the turbid skull. Tissue optical clearing has a great potential for solving this problem. Our goal was to develop a transparent skull window, without performing a craniotomy, for use in assessing cerebrovascular structure and function. Methods: Skull optical clearing agents were topically applied to the skulls of mice to create a transparent window within 15 min. The clearing efficacy, repeatability, and safety of the skull window were then investigated. Results: Imaging through the optical clearing skull window enhanced both the contrast and the depth of intravital imaging. The skull window could be used on 2-8-month-old mice and could be expanded from regional to bi-hemispheric. In addition, the window could be repeatedly established without inducing observable inflammation and metabolic toxicity. Conclusion: We successfully developed an easy-to-handle, large, switchable, and safe optical clearing skull window. Combined with various optical imaging techniques, cerebrovascular structure and function can be observed through this optical clearing skull window. Thus, it has the potential for use in basic research on the physiopathologic processes of cortical vessels. PMID:29774069

ClearPEM: prototype PET device dedicated to breast imaging

CERN Multimedia

Joao Varela

2009-01-01

Clinical trials have begun in Portugal on a new breast imaging system (ClearPEM) using positron emission tomography (PET). The system, developed by a Portuguese consortium in collaboration with CERN and laboratories participating in the Crystal Clear collaboration, will detect even the smallest tumours and thus help avoid unnecessary biopsies.

Demonstration of innovative monitoring technologies at the Savannah River Integrated Demonstration Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rossabi, J. [Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States); Jenkins, R.A.; Wise, M.B. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)] [and others

1993-12-31

The Department of Energy`s Office of Technology Development initiated an Integrated Demonstration Program at the Savannah River Site in 1989. The objective of this program is to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate innovative technologies that can improve present-day environmental restoration methods. The Integrated Demonstration Program at SRS is entitled ``Cleanup of Organics in Soils and Groundwater at Non-Arid Sites.`` New technologies in the areas of drilling, characterization, monitoring, and remediation are being demonstrated and evaluated for their technical performance and cost effectiveness in comparison with baseline technologies. Present site characterization and monitoring methods are costly, time-consuming, overly invasive, and often imprecise. Better technologies are required to accurately describe the subsurface geophysical and geochemical features of a site and the nature and extent of contamination. More efficient, nonintrusive characterization and monitoring techniques are necessary for understanding and predicting subsurface transport. More reliable procedures are also needed for interpreting monitoring and characterization data. Site characterization and monitoring are key elements in preventing, identifying, and restoring contaminated sites. The remediation of a site cannot be determined without characterization data, and monitoring may be required for 30 years after site closure.

Demonstration of innovative monitoring technologies at the Savannah River Integrated Demonstration Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossabi, J.; Jenkins, R.A.; Wise, M.B.

1993-01-01

The Department of Energy's Office of Technology Development initiated an Integrated Demonstration Program at the Savannah River Site in 1989. The objective of this program is to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate innovative technologies that can improve present-day environmental restoration methods. The Integrated Demonstration Program at SRS is entitled ''Cleanup of Organics in Soils and Groundwater at Non-Arid Sites.'' New technologies in the areas of drilling, characterization, monitoring, and remediation are being demonstrated and evaluated for their technical performance and cost effectiveness in comparison with baseline technologies. Present site characterization and monitoring methods are costly, time-consuming, overly invasive, and often imprecise. Better technologies are required to accurately describe the subsurface geophysical and geochemical features of a site and the nature and extent of contamination. More efficient, nonintrusive characterization and monitoring techniques are necessary for understanding and predicting subsurface transport. More reliable procedures are also needed for interpreting monitoring and characterization data. Site characterization and monitoring are key elements in preventing, identifying, and restoring contaminated sites. The remediation of a site cannot be determined without characterization data, and monitoring may be required for 30 years after site closure

A New Type of distributed Enamel based Clearing Electrode

CERN Document Server

Kroyer, T; Caspers, Friedhelm; Hellmond, P; Métral, E; Wendel, J C; Zimmermann, F

2007-01-01

Clearing electrodes can be used for electron cloud (EC) suppression in high intensity particle accelerators. In this paper the use of low and highly resistive layers on a dielectric substrate are examined. The beam coupling impedance of such a structure is evaluated. Furthermore the clearing efficiency as well as technological issues are discussed.

78 FR 75528 - Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-12

... Participation in the Automated Clearing House AGENCY: Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Treasury. ACTION: Notice of... Service (Service) is proposing to amend its regulation governing the use of the Automated Clearing House... Automated Clearing House, Electronic funds transfer, Financial institutions, Fraud, and Incorporation by...

A clip-based protocol for breast boost radiotherapy provides clear target visualisation and demonstrates significant volume reduction over time

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lewis, Lorraine [Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia); Cox, Jennifer [Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia); Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia); Morgia, Marita [Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia); Atyeo, John [Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia); Lamoury, Gillian [Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)

2015-09-15

The clinical target volume (CTV) for early stage breast cancer is difficult to clearly identify on planning computed tomography (CT) scans. Surgical clips inserted around the tumour bed should help to identify the CTV, particularly if the seroma has been reabsorbed, and enable tracking of CTV changes over time. A surgical clip-based CTV delineation protocol was introduced. CTV visibility and its post-operative shrinkage pattern were assessed. The subjects were 27 early stage breast cancer patients receiving post-operative radiotherapy alone and 15 receiving post-operative chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. The radiotherapy alone (RT/alone) group received a CT scan at median 25 days post-operatively (CT1rt) and another at 40 Gy, median 68 days (CT2rt). The chemotherapy/RT group (chemo/RT) received a CT scan at median 18 days post-operatively (CT1ch), a planning CT scan at median 126 days (CT2ch), and another at 40 Gy (CT3ch). There was no significant difference (P = 0.08) between the initial mean CTV for each cohort. The RT/alone cohort showed significant CTV volume reduction of 38.4% (P = 0.01) at 40 Gy. The Chemo/RT cohort had significantly reduced volumes between CT1ch: median 54 cm{sup 3} (4–118) and CT2ch: median 16 cm{sup 3}, (2–99), (P = 0.01), but no significant volume reduction thereafter. Surgical clips enable localisation of the post-surgical seroma for radiotherapy targeting. Most seroma shrinkage occurs early, enabling CT treatment planning to take place at 7 weeks, which is within the 9 weeks recommended to limit disease recurrence.

A clip-based protocol for breast boost radiotherapy provides clear target visualisation and demonstrates significant volume reduction over time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, Lorraine; Cox, Jennifer; Morgia, Marita; Atyeo, John; Lamoury, Gillian

2015-01-01

The clinical target volume (CTV) for early stage breast cancer is difficult to clearly identify on planning computed tomography (CT) scans. Surgical clips inserted around the tumour bed should help to identify the CTV, particularly if the seroma has been reabsorbed, and enable tracking of CTV changes over time. A surgical clip-based CTV delineation protocol was introduced. CTV visibility and its post-operative shrinkage pattern were assessed. The subjects were 27 early stage breast cancer patients receiving post-operative radiotherapy alone and 15 receiving post-operative chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. The radiotherapy alone (RT/alone) group received a CT scan at median 25 days post-operatively (CT1rt) and another at 40 Gy, median 68 days (CT2rt). The chemotherapy/RT group (chemo/RT) received a CT scan at median 18 days post-operatively (CT1ch), a planning CT scan at median 126 days (CT2ch), and another at 40 Gy (CT3ch). There was no significant difference (P = 0.08) between the initial mean CTV for each cohort. The RT/alone cohort showed significant CTV volume reduction of 38.4% (P = 0.01) at 40 Gy. The Chemo/RT cohort had significantly reduced volumes between CT1ch: median 54 cm 3 (4–118) and CT2ch: median 16 cm 3 , (2–99), (P = 0.01), but no significant volume reduction thereafter. Surgical clips enable localisation of the post-surgical seroma for radiotherapy targeting. Most seroma shrinkage occurs early, enabling CT treatment planning to take place at 7 weeks, which is within the 9 weeks recommended to limit disease recurrence

Primary clear cell sarcoma of bone: a unique site of origin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelczer, R.K.; Wenger, D.E.; Wold, L.E.

1999-01-01

Clear cell sarcoma is a rare soft tissue neoplasm, accounting for less than 1% of soft tissue sarcomas. We are presenting a case of a clear cell sarcoma of bone which, to our knowledge, is the only report of a primary clear cell sarcoma of bone. (orig.)

Electron clearing and dimensional tolerance for the ISA chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrera, J.C.

1976-01-01

In the straight sections of the ISA ring, the clearing of the low energy electrons produced by the beam-gas collisions will take place by longitudinal motion. Thus, an electron of low energy, which is prevented from escaping transversely by the attractive field of the beam, will receive successive kicks by the circulating protons and thereby acquire sufficient energy to travel longitudinally toward the clearing electrodes. However, a discontinuity or step in the chamber diameter, which occurs within an axial distance equal to a few diameters, gives rise to a potential difference along the chamber axis. An estimate of the magnitude of the diameter discontinuity that can be tolerated without a clearing electrode is given

Activities of RAHP and problems to be cleared towards commercialization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An, S.; Tsuchie, Y.

2001-01-01

Research Association of HTGR Plant (RAHP) is the sole research association on HTGR Plants in industrial sector of Japan since its establishment in 1985. Activities in these years were to analyze world R and D trends, to set-up fundamental development strategies, and to incorporate the study results into actions towards commercialization of HTGR. RAHP is now mainly investigating fuel cycle aspects and development programs of small modular reactors, such as US-Russian GT-MHR and South African PBMR. Conclusions obtained through the activities so far are: (a) From view points of effective use of energies and reduction of environmental impacts in global scale, development of nuclear power is essential, and that of HTGR is desirable in particular, because of its very highly inherent safety and feasibility of high temperature heat utilizations. The role of HTGR is inter-complementary with those of LWR and FBR. (b) Future subjects and problems to be cleared towards commercializing HTGR are: (1) safety, technical and economical demonstrations, including inherent safety, fuel integrity as key of the safety, gas turbine cycle, high temperature system performances, etc.; (2) acceptance of safety design concept, and preparation for its evaluation and licensing. (c) Construction of demonstration plant(s) as a total system, through effective international cooperation, such as internationally common or sharing development on basic machinery systems between GT-MHR and PBMR Programs, becomes most significant. (author)

Organic horizon and mineral soil mercury along three clear-cut forest chronosequences across the northeastern USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Justin B; Petrenko, Chelsea L; Friedland, Andrew J

2017-12-01

Mercury (Hg) is a globally distributed pollutant trace metal that has been increasing in terrestrial environments due to rising anthropogenic emissions. Vegetation plays an important role in Hg sequestration in forested environments, but increasing tree removal for biofuels and wood products may affect this process. The long-term effect of clear-cutting on forest soil Hg remains uncertain, since most studies are limited to measuring changes for event. The chronosequence approach, which substitutes space for time using forest stands of different ages since clear-cutting, allows for investigation of processes occurring over decades to centuries. Here, we utilized three clear-cut forest soil chronosequences across the northeastern USA to understand Hg accumulation and retention over several decades. Total Hg concentrations and pools were quantified for five soil depth increments along three chronosequences. Our results showed Hg concentrations and pools decreased in the initial 20 years following clear-cutting. Mineral soil Hg pools decreased 21-53% (7-14 mg m -2 ) between 1-5-year-old stands and 15-25-year-old stands but mineral soil Hg pools recovered in 55-140-year-old stands to similar values as measured in 1-5-year-old stands. Our study is one of the first to demonstrate a decrease and recovery in Hg pool size. These changes in Hg did not correspond with changes in bulk density, soil C, or pH. We utilized a simple two-box model to determine how different Hg fluxes affected organic and mineral soil horizon Hg pools. Our simple model suggests that changes in litterfall and volatilization rates could have caused the observed changes in organic horizon Hg pools. However, only increases in leaching could reproduce observed decreases to mineral soil Hg pools. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanism of Hg loss from forest soils following clear-cutting.

Detection and clearing of trapped ions in the high current Cornell photoinjector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Full

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We have recently performed experiments to test the effectiveness of three ion-clearing strategies in the Cornell high intensity photoinjector: DC clearing electrodes, bunch gaps, and beam shaking. The photoinjector reaches a new regime of linac beam parameters where high continuous wave beam currents lead to ion trapping. Therefore ion mitigation strategies must be evaluated for this machine and other similar future high current linacs. We have developed several techniques to directly measure the residual trapped ions. Our two primary indicators of successful clearing are the amount of ion current removed by a DC clearing electrode, and the absence of bremsstrahlung radiation generated by beam-ion interactions. Measurements were taken for an electron beam with an energy of 5 MeV and continuous wave beam currents in the range of 1–20 mA. Several theoretical models have been developed to explain our data. Using them, we are able to estimate the clearing electrode voltage required for maximum ion clearing, the creation and clearing rates of the ions while employing bunch gaps, and the sinusoidal shaking frequency necessary for clearing via beam shaking. In all cases, we achieve a maximum ion clearing of at least 70% or higher, and in some cases our data is consistent with full ion clearing.

Technique of Hurdle Clearing in 400 Meters Hurdles

OpenAIRE

Jakoubek, Jiří

2018-01-01

Title: Technique of Hurdle Clearing in 400 Meters Hurdles Authors: Jiří Jakoubek Supervisor: PhDr. Aleš Kaplan, Ph.D. Aims: The aim of this thesis is to describe technique of hurdle clearing in 400 meters hurdle race using study review and to examine this technique at particular athlete during training and racing sessions in 400 meters hurdles race. Methods: Technique was compared and examined at young athlete. Two kinograms were used for analysis, one from training and one from racing sessio...

Evaluation and demonstration of methods for improved fuel utilization. First semi-annual progress report, September 1979-March 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decher, U.

1980-01-01

Demonstrations of improved fuel management and burnup are being performed in the Fort Calhoun reactor. More efficient fuel management will be achieved through the implementation of a low leakage concept called SAVFUEL (Shimmed And Very Flexible Uranium Element Loading), which is expected to reduce uranium requirements by 2 to 4%. The burnup will be increased sufficiently to reduce uranium requirements by 5 to 15%. Four fuel assemblies scheduled to demonstrate the SAVFUEL duty cycle and loaded into the core in December 1978 were inspected visually prior to their second exposure cycle. In addition, seventeen fuel assemblies were inspected after their fourth exposure cycle having achieved assembly average burnup up to 36 GWD/T. One assembly has been reinserted into Cycle 6 for a fifth exposure cycle. The preliminary results of all visual fuel inspections which appear to show excellent fuel rod performance are presented in this report. This report also contains the results of a licensing activity which was performed to allow insertion of a highly burned assembly into the reactor for a fifth irradiation cycle

Ideas for clear technical writing

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, B.P.

1984-01-01

The three greatest obstacles to clear technical-report writing are probably (1) imprecise words, (2) wordiness, and (3) poorly constructed sentences. Examples of category 1 include abstract words, jargon, and vogue words; of category 2, sentences containing impersonal construction superfluous words; and of category 3, sentences lacking parallel construction and proper order of related words and phrases. These examples and other writing-related subjects are discussed in the report, which contains a cross-referenced index and 24 references.

Periowave demonstrates bactericidal activity against periopathogens and leads to improved clinical outcomes in the treatment of adult periodontitis

Science.gov (United States)

Street, Cale N.; Andersen, Roger; Loebel, Nicolas G.

2009-02-01

Periodontitis affects half of the U.S. population over 50, and is the leading cause of tooth loss after 35. It is believed to be caused by growth of complex bacterial biofilms on the tooth surface below the gumline. Photodynamic therapy, a technology used commonly in antitumor applications, has more recently been shown to exhibit antimicrobial efficacy. We have demonstrated eradication of the periopathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in vitro using PeriowaveTM; a commercial photodisinfection system. In addition, several clinical studies have now demonstrated the efficacy of this treatment. A pilot study in the U.S. showed that 68% of patients treated with PeriowaveTM adjunctively to scaling and root planing (SRP) showed clinical attachment level increase of >1 mm, as opposed to 30% with SRP alone. In a subsequent larger study, a second PeriowaveTM treatment 6 weeks after initial treatment led to pocket depth improvements of >1.5 mm in 89% of patients. Finally, in the most recent multicenter, randomized, examiner-blinded study conducted on 121 subjects in Canada, PeriowaveTM treatment produced highly significant gains in attachment level (0.88 mm vs. 0.57 mm; p=0.003) and pocket depth (0.87 mm vs. 0.63 mm; p=0.01) as compared to SRP alone. In summary, PeriowaveTM demonstrated strong bactericidal activity against known periopathogens, and treatment of periodontitis using this system produced significantly better clinical outcomes than SRP alone. This, along with the absence of any adverse events in patients treated to date demonstrates that PDT is a safe and effective treatment for adult chronic periodontitis.

Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor with clear cell changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neeta Mohanty

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor (AOT has a limited biological profile and been an attention-grabbing tumor for a century for its origin. Though described earlier, it was widely accepted after Harbitz from Norway reported about this uncommon benign tumor in 1915. There has been a long debate as whether this tumor is a hamartoma or a neoplasm. Here, we present a case of AOT in a 20-year-old female with details of clinical, radiological and histological features along with clear cell changes, signifying AOT to be more aggressive in nature than assessed from earlier literature. Thus, we did an extensive search of PubMed literature on AOT with all its histopathological features associated until date to find the report of clear cell changes yet.

A comparative study of combined periodontal and orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances and clear aligners in patients with periodontitis

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Purpose With the increasing prevalence of orthodontic treatment in adults, clear aligner treatments are becoming more popular. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of orthodontic treatment on periodontal tissue and to compare orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances (FA) to clear aligner treatment (CAT) in periodontitis patients. Methods A total of 35 patients who underwent orthodontic treatment in the Department of Periodontology were included in this study. After periodontal treatment with meticulous oral hygiene education, patients underwent treatment with FA or CAT, and this study analyzed patient outcomes depending on the treatment strategy. Clinical parameters were assessed at baseline and after orthodontic treatment, and the duration of treatment was compared between these two groups. Results The overall plaque index, the gingival index, and probing depth improved after orthodontic treatment (Porthodontic treatment, clinical parameters were improved in the FA and CAT groups with meticulous oral hygiene education and plaque control. Regarding plaque index and gingival index, no significant differences were found between these two groups. We suggest that combined periodontal and orthodontic treatment can improve patients’ periodontal health irrespective of orthodontic techniques. PMID:26734489

The Impact of Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) Cloud-Cleared Radiances on Hurricane Joaquin (2015) and Matthew (2016) Forecasts

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Pei; Li, Jun; Li, Zhenglong; Lim, Agnes H. N.; Li, Jinlong; Schmit, Timothy J.; Goldberg, Mitchell D.

2017-12-01

Hyperspectral infrared (IR) sounders provide high vertical resolution atmospheric sounding information that can improve the forecast skill in numerical weather prediction. Commonly, only clear radiances are assimilated, because IR sounder observations are highly affected by clouds. A cloud-clearing (CC) technique, which removes the cloud effects from an IR cloudy field of view (FOV) and derives the cloud-cleared radiances (CCRs) or clear-sky equivalent radiances, can be an alternative yet effective way to take advantage of the thermodynamic information from cloudy skies in data assimilation. This study develops a Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)-based CC method for deriving Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) CCRs under partially cloudy conditions. Due to the lack of absorption bands on VIIRS, two important quality control steps are implemented in the CC process. Validation using VIIRS clear radiances indicates that the CC method can effectively obtain the CrIS CCRs for FOVs with partial cloud cover. To compare the impacts from assimilation of CrIS original radiances and CCRs, three experiments are carried out on two storm cases, Hurricane Joaquin (2015) and Hurricane Matthew (2016), using Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation assimilation system and Weather Research and Forecasting-Advanced Research Version models. At the analysis time, more CrIS observations are assimilated when using CrIS CCRs than with CrIS original radiances. Comparing temperature, specific humidity, and U/V winds with radiosondes indicates that the data impacts are growing larger with longer time forecasts (beyond 72 h forecast). Hurricane track forecasts also show improvements from the assimilation of CrIS CCRs due to better weather system forecasts. The impacts of CCRs on intensity are basically neutral with mixed positive and negative results.

Hybrid Life Support System Technology Demonstrations

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, R. C.; Wetzel, J. P.; Richter, R. C.

2018-02-01

Demonstration of plant-based hybrid life support technologies in deep space will validate the function of these technologies for long duration missions, such as Mars transit, while providing dietary variety to improve habitability.

Long-term stability of the Clear-PEM detector modules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amaral, Pedro; Bruyndonckx, Peter; Carrico, Bruno; Ferreira, Miguel; Luyten, Joan; Moura, Rui; Ortigao, Catarina; Rodrigues, Pedro; Silva, Jose C. da; Trindade, Andreia; Varela, Joao

2007-01-01

Experimental evaluation of the imaging system Clear-PEM for positron emission mammography, under development within the framework of the crystal clear collaboration at CERN, is presented in terms of its long-term stability. The detector modules and experimental setup are described. Time evolution results of signal yield, energy resolution, depth-of-interaction and inter-channel crosstalk for a reference detector module are reported

Waste and Disposal: Demonstration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neerdael, B.; Buyens, M.; De Bruyn, D.; Volckaert, G.

2002-01-01

Within the Belgian R and D programme on geological disposal, demonstration experiments have become increasingly important. In this contribution to the scientific report 2001, an overview is given of SCK-CEN's activities and achievements in the field of large-scale demonstration experiments. In 2001, main emphasis was on the PRACLAY project, which is a large-scale experiment to demonstrate the construction and the operation of a gallery for the disposal of HLW in a clay formation. The PRACLAY experiment will contribute to enhance understanding of water flow and mass transport in dense clay-based materials as well as to improve the design of the reference disposal concept. In the context of PRACLAY, a surface experiment (OPHELIE) has been developed to prepare and to complement PRACLAY-related experimental work in the HADES Underground Research Laboratory. In 2001, efforts were focussed on the operation of the OPHELIE mock-up. SCK-CEN also contributed to the SELFRAC roject which studies the self-healing of fractures in a clay formation

Electron clearing and dimensional tolerance for the ISA chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrera, J.C.

1976-01-01

In the straight sections of the ISA ring, the clearing of the low energy electrons produced by the beam-gas collisions will take place by longitudinal motion. Thus, an electron of low energy, which is prevented from escaping transversely by the attractive field of the beam, will receive successive kicks by the circulating protons and thereby acquire sufficient energy to travel longitudinally toward the clearing electrodes. However, a discontinuity or step in the chamber diameter, which occurs within an axial distance equal to a few diameters, gives rise to a potential difference along the chamber axis. In the case of a section of chambers which has a larger diameter, that is, a small cavity, the two steps result in a longitudinal potential well, or attractive region. It is then necessary that the electrons be given additional energy in order to overcome this longitudinal trapping potential. The ISA design envisions the placement of clearing electrodes at the location of significant chamber discontinuities, particularly in the experimental insertions. An estimate of the magnitude of the diameter discontinuity that can be tolerated without a clearing electrode is given

VLT FORS2 comparative transmission spectral survey of clear and cloudy exoplanet atmospheres

Science.gov (United States)

Nikolov, Nikolay; Sing, David; Gibson, Neale; Evans, Thomas; Barstow, Joanna Katy; Kataria, Tiffany; Wilson, Paul A.

2016-10-01

Transmission spectroscopy is a key to unlocking the secrets of close-in exoplanet atmospheres. Observations have started to unveil a vast diversity of irradiated giant planet atmospheres with clouds and hazes playing a definitive role across the entire mass and temperature regime. We have initiated a ground-based, multi-object transmission spectroscopy of a hand full of hot Jupiters, covering the wavelength range 360-850nm using the recently upgraded FOcal Reducer and Spectrograph (FORS2) mounted on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory (ESO). These targets were selected for comparative follow-up as their transmission spectra showed evidence for alkali metal absorption, based on the results of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations. This talk will discuss the first results from the programme, demonstrating excellent agreement between the transmission spectra measured from VLT and HST and further reinforce the findings of clear, cloudy and hazy atmospheres. More details will be discussed on the narrow alkali features obtained with FORS2 at higher resolution, revealing its high potential in securing optical transmission spectra. These FORS2 observations are the first ground-based detections of clear, cloudy and hazy hot-Jupiter atmosphere with a simultaneous detections of Na, K, and H2 Rayleigh scattering. Our program demonstrates the large potential of the instrument for optical transmission spectroscopy, capable of obtaining HST-quality light curves from the ground. Compared to HST, the larger aperture of VLT will allow for fainter targets to be observed and higher spectral resolution, which can greatly aid comparative exoplanet studies. This is important for further exploring the diversity of exoplanet atmospheres and is particularly complementary to the near- and mid-IR regime, to be covered by the upcoming James-Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and is readily applicable to less massive planets down to super-Earths.

HMB-45 negative clear cell perivascular epithelioid cell tumor of the skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Pusiol, Teresa; Morichetti, Doriana; Zorzi, Maria Grazia; Dario, Surace

2012-01-01

The first case of cutaneous clear cell perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) with negative HMB-45 marker is presented. The tumor was a nodule 3x2 cm in size, located on the right foot in a 60-year-old man. The lesion consisted of large irregularly shaped cells with clear cytoplasm, negative for S-100 protein, HMB-45, Melan-A, pancytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen and CAM5.2. Multifocal positivity for desmin, microphthalmia transcription factor and tyrosinase was found. The diagnosis of cutaneous PEComa of clear cell type was made. Clear cell change is a very unusual finding in PEComa and may pose problems in diagnostic differentiation from other clear cell cutaneous lesions that may be excluded with immunohistochemistry. In our case, the HMB-45 negativity may be explained by extensive clear cell change. Additional studies are necessary to accept the clear cell cutaneous HMB-45 negative PEComa as a new variant of perivascular epithelioid cell tumor.

Deaf children's use of clear visual cues in mindreading.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Jian; Su, Yanjie

2014-11-01

Previous studies show that typically developing 4-year old children can understand other people's false beliefs but that deaf children of hearing families have difficulty in understanding false beliefs until the age of approximately 13. Because false beliefs are implicit mental states that are not expressed through clear visual cues in standard false belief tasks, the present study examines the hypothesis that the deaf children's developmental delay in understanding false beliefs may reflect their difficulty in understanding a spectrum of mental states that are not expressed through clear visual cues. Nine- to 13-year-old deaf children of hearing families and 4-6-year-old typically developing children completed false belief tasks and emotion recognition tasks under different cue conditions. The results indicated that after controlling for the effect of the children's language abilities, the deaf children inferred other people's false beliefs as accurately as the typically developing children when other people's false beliefs were clearly expressed through their eye-gaze direction. However, the deaf children performed worse than the typically developing children when asked to infer false beliefs with ambiguous or no eye-gaze cues. Moreover, the deaf children were capable of recognizing other people's emotions that were clearly conveyed by their facial or body expressions. The results suggest that although theory-based or simulation-based mental state understanding is typical of hearing children's theory of mind mechanism, for deaf children of hearing families, clear cue-based mental state understanding may be their specific theory of mind mechanism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Piloted "Well Clear" Performance Evaluation of Detect-and-Avoid Systems with Suggestive Guidance

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Eric R.; Santiago, Confesor; Watza, Spencer

2016-01-01

This study evaluated the performance of four prototype unmanned aircraft detect-and-avoid (DAA) display configurations, each with different informational elements driven by alerting and guidance algorithms. Sixteen unmanned aircraft pilots flew each combination of the display configurations, with half being given zero DAA surveillance sensor uncertainty and the other half experiencing errors that were comparable, and in some cases slightly better than, errors that were measured in DAA system flight tests. The displays that showed intruder alert information in altitude and heading bands had significantly fewer losses of well clear compared with alternative displays that lacked that information. This difference was significant from a statistical and practical perspective: those losses that did occur lasted for shorter periods and did not penetrate as far into the geometric "separation cylinder" as those in the non-banded displays. A modest level of DAA surveillance sensor uncertainty did not affect the proportion of losses of well clear or their severity. It is recommended that DAA traffic displays implement a band-type display in order to improve the safety of UAS operations in the National Airspace System. Finally, this report provides pilot response time distributions for responding to DAA alerts.

Origin of clear cell carcinoma: nature or nurture?

Science.gov (United States)

Kolin, David L; Dinulescu, Daniela M; Crum, Christopher P

2018-02-01

A rare but serious complication of endometriosis is the development of carcinoma, and clear cell and endometrioid carcinomas of the ovary are the two most common malignancies which arise from endometriosis. They are distinct diseases, characterized by unique morphologies, immunohistochemical profiles, and responses to treatment. However, both arise in endometriosis and can share common mutations. The overlapping mutational profiles of clear cell and endometrioid carcinomas suggest that their varied histologies may be due to a different cell of origin which gives rise to each type of cancer. Cochrane and colleagues address this question in a recent article in this journal. They show that a marker of ovarian clear cell carcinoma, cystathionine gamma lyase, is expressed in ciliated cells. Similarly, they show that markers of secretory cells (estrogen receptor and methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 1) are expressed in ovarian endometrioid carcinoma. Taken together, they suggest that endometrioid and clear cell carcinomas arise from cells related to secretory and ciliated cells, respectively. We discuss Cochrane et al's work in the context of other efforts to determine the cell of origin of gynecological malignancies, with an emphasis on recent developments and challenges unique to the area. These limitations complicate our interpretation of tumor differentiation; does it reflect nature imposed by a specific cell of origin or nurture, by either mutation(s) or environment? Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Piloting improved cookstoves in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Jessica J; Bhojvaid, Vasundhara; Brooks, Nina; Das, Ipsita; Jeuland, Marc A; Patange, Omkar; Pattanayak, Subhrendu K

2015-01-01

Despite the potential of improved cookstoves to reduce the adverse environmental and health impacts of solid fuel use, their adoption and use remains low. Social marketing-with its focus on the marketing mix of promotion, product, price, and place-offers a useful way to understand household behaviors and design campaigns to change biomass fuel use. We report on a series of pilots across 3 Indian states that use different combinations of the marketing mix. We find sales varying from 0% to 60%. Behavior change promotion that combined door-to-door personalized demonstrations with information pamphlets was effective. When given a choice amongst products, households strongly preferred an electric stove over improved biomass-burning options. Among different stove attributes, reduced cooking time was considered most valuable by those adopting a new stove. Households clearly identified price as a significant barrier to adoption, while provision of discounts (e.g., rebates given if households used the stove) or payments in installments were related to higher purchase. Place-based factors such as remoteness and nongovernmental organization operations significantly affected the ability to supply and convince households to buy and use improved cookstoves. Collectively, these pilots point to the importance of continued and extensive testing of messages, pricing models, and different stove types before scale-up. Thus, we caution that a one-size-fits-all approach will not boost improved cookstove adoption.

Clear progress in nuclear safety worldwide: Convention on nuclear safety concludes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

It has been concluded that a significant progress has been observed in a number of key areas, such as strengthened legislation, regulatory independence, the availability of financial resources, enhanced emergency preparedness and safety improvements at nuclear power plants built to earlier standards. The objective of the Convention is to achieve and maintain a high level of nuclear safety worldwide. During the two week Review Meeting, parties engaged in a 'peer review' process in which the National Reports from individual States were collectively examined and discussed, with written replies provided to all the questions raised. Clear improvement was noted in the quality of the National Reports, the number of questions and the openness and quality of discussion and answers. The Contracting Parties praised the IAEA's various safety review missions and services, which they use widely to help enhance the effectiveness of their national safety arrangements. Forty-six contracting parties participated at the Review Meeting with over 400 delegates attending, including many heads and senior officers from regulatory bodies and experts from industry. To date, the Convention has been signed by sixty-five States and ratified by fifty-four, representing 428 of the 448 nuclear power reactors worldwide

49 CFR 1242.69 - Clearing wrecks (account XX-52-63).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Clearing wrecks (account XX-52-63). 1242.69 Section 1242.69 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) SURFACE...-Transportation § 1242.69 Clearing wrecks (account XX-52-63). Separate common expenses according to specific...

49 CFR 1242.62 - Clearing wrecks (account XX-51-63).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Clearing wrecks (account XX-51-63). 1242.62 Section 1242.62 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) SURFACE...-Transportation § 1242.62 Clearing wrecks (account XX-51-63). Separate common expenses according to specific...

Demonstration of creep during filtration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Morten Lykkegaard; Bugge, Thomas Vistisen; Kirchheiner, Anders Løvenbalk

The classical filtration theory assumes a unique relationship between the local filter cake porosity and the local effective pressure. For a number of compressible materials, it has however been observed that during the consolidation stage this may not be the case. It has been found...... that the production of filtrate also depends on the characteristic time for the filter cake solids to deform. This is formulated in the Terzaghi-Voigt model in which a secondary consolidation is introduced. The secondary consolidation may be visualized by plots of the relative cake deformation (U) v.s. the square...... root of time. Even more clearly it is demonstrated by plotting the liquid pressure at the cake piston interface v.s. the relative deformation (to be shown). The phenomenon of a secondary consolidation processes is in short called creep. Provided that the secondary consolidation rate is of the same...

Accuracy of the ABC/2 Score for Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Systematic Review and Analysis of MISTIE, CLEAR-IVH, and CLEAR III.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Alastair J S; Ullman, Natalie L; Morgan, Tim C; Muschelli, John; Kornbluth, Joshua; Awad, Issam A; Mayo, Stephen; Rosenblum, Michael; Ziai, Wendy; Zuccarrello, Mario; Aldrich, Francois; John, Sayona; Harnof, Sagi; Lopez, George; Broaddus, William C; Wijman, Christine; Vespa, Paul; Bullock, Ross; Haines, Stephen J; Cruz-Flores, Salvador; Tuhrim, Stan; Hill, Michael D; Narayan, Raj; Hanley, Daniel F

2015-09-01

The ABC/2 score estimates intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) volume, yet validations have been limited by small samples and inappropriate outcome measures. We determined accuracy of the ABC/2 score calculated at a specialized reading center (RC-ABC) or local site (site-ABC) versus the reference-standard computed tomography-based planimetry (CTP). In Minimally Invasive Surgery Plus Recombinant Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Evacuation-II (MISTIE-II), Clot Lysis Evaluation of Accelerated Resolution of Intraventricular Hemorrhage (CLEAR-IVH) and CLEAR-III trials. ICH volume was prospectively calculated by CTP, RC-ABC, and site-ABC. Agreement between CTP and ABC/2 was defined as an absolute difference up to 5 mL and relative difference within 20%. Determinants of ABC/2 accuracy were assessed by logistic regression. In 4369 scans from 507 patients, CTP was more strongly correlated with RC-ABC (r(2)=0.93) than with site-ABC (r(2)=0.87). Although RC-ABC overestimated CTP-based volume on average (RC-ABC, 15.2 cm(3); CTP, 12.7 cm3), agreement was reasonable when categorized into mild, moderate, and severe ICH (κ=0.75; PABC (84% within 5 mL; 48% of scans within 20%) than for site-ABC (81% within 5 mL; 41% within 20%). RC-ABC had moderate accuracy for detecting ≥5 mL change in CTP volume between consecutive scans (sensitivity, 0.76; specificity, 0.86) and was more accurate with smaller ICH, thalamic hemorrhage, and homogeneous clots. ABC/2 scores at local or central sites are sufficiently accurate to categorize ICH volume and assess eligibility for the CLEAR-III and MISTIE III studies and moderately accurate for change in ICH volume. However, accuracy decreases with large, irregular, or lobar clots. URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: MISTIE-II NCT00224770; CLEAR-III NCT00784134. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

Demonstrating the Effect of Interphase Mass Transfer in a Transparent Fluidized Bed Reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Saayman, Jean; Nicol, Willie

2011-01-01

A demonstration experiment is described that employs the ozone decomposition reaction at ambient conditions on Fe2O3 impregnated Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC) catalyst. Using a two-dimensional see-through column the importance of interphase mass transfer is clearly illustrated by the significant difference in ozone conversion between the…

Navigation by light polarization in clear and turbid waters

Science.gov (United States)

Lerner, Amit; Sabbah, Shai; Erlick, Carynelisa; Shashar, Nadav

2011-01-01

Certain terrestrial animals use sky polarization for navigation. Certain aquatic species have also been shown to orient according to a polarization stimulus, but the correlation between underwater polarization and Sun position and hence the ability to use underwater polarization as a compass for navigation is still under debate. To examine this issue, we use theoretical equations for per cent polarization and electric vector (e-vector) orientation that account for the position of the Sun, refraction at the air–water interface and Rayleigh single scattering. The polarization patterns predicted by these theoretical equations are compared with measurements conducted in clear and semi-turbid coastal sea waters at 2 m and 5 m depth over sea floors of 6 m and 28 m depth. We find that the per cent polarization is correlated with the Sun's elevation only in clear waters. We furthermore find that the maximum value of the e-vector orientation angle equals the angle of refraction only in clear waters, in the horizontal viewing direction, over the deeper sea floor. We conclude that navigation by use of underwater polarization is possible under restricted conditions, i.e. in clear waters, primarily near the horizontal viewing direction, and in locations where the sea floor has limited effects on the light's polarization. PMID:21282170

The Nordic power market: Are there alternatives to expensive clearing?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nerdrum, Per Kaare; Poulsson, Christian

2003-01-01

The Enron scandal of 2002 has set focus on counter party risk in the Nordic power market and is an important cause of increased clearing of bilateral financial power contracts. The article discusses whether expensive clearing is always the best tool for dealing with counter party risk

A stochastic framework for clearing of reactive power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amjady, N.; Rabiee, A.; Shayanfar, H.A.

2010-01-01

This paper presents a new stochastic framework for clearing of day-ahead reactive power market. The uncertainty of generating units in the form of system contingencies are considered in the reactive power market-clearing procedure by the stochastic model in two steps. The Monte-Carlo Simulation (MCS) is first used to generate random scenarios. Then, in the second step, the stochastic market-clearing procedure is implemented as a series of deterministic optimization problems (scenarios) including non-contingent scenario and different post-contingency states. In each of these deterministic optimization problems, the objective function is total payment function (TPF) of generators which refers to the payment paid to the generators for their reactive power compensation. The effectiveness of the proposed model is examined based on the IEEE 24-bus Reliability Test System (IEEE 24-bus RTS). (author)

Effects of Mixing on Hopper Sedimentation in Clearing Mixtures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjelmager Jensen, Jacob; Saremi, Sina

2015-01-01

, and a common perception of turbulence (or at least of mixing) is that it delays sedimentation. Existing measurements of sedimentation rates in a closed-flume experiment, engineered to provide input to a hopper sedimentation model, revealed that turbulence in a clearing mixture is not necessarily associated......Hopper sedimentation is the result of precipitation of typically fine sediment from a homogenous, high-concentration mixture, which is not completely deficient of turbulence. If hopper sedimentation or loading is accomplished through a single-inflow system, or if the irregularity of the inflow...... concentrations is pronounced or simply terminated, then the hopper mixture will clear. Whereas turbulent mixing is redundant, when the mixture is homogeneous, it may take an active role when the mixture is clearing. The role of turbulence on hopper sedimentation has been the focus of several studies...

Changes in soil characteristics and C dynamics after mangrove clearing (Vietnam).

Science.gov (United States)

Grellier, Séraphine; Janeau, Jean-Louis; Dang Hoai, Nhon; Nguyen Thi Kim, Cuc; Le Thi Phuong, Quynh; Pham Thi Thu, Thao; Tran-Thi, Nhu-Trang; Marchand, Cyril

2017-09-01

Of the blue carbon sinks, mangroves have one of the highest organic matter (OM) storage capacities in their soil due to low mineralization processes resulting from waterlogging. However, mangroves are disappearing worldwide because of demographic increases. In addition to the loss of CO 2 fixation, mangrove clearing can strongly affect soil characteristics and C storage. The objectives of the present study were to quantify the evolution of soil quality, carbon stocks and carbon fluxes after mangrove clearing. Sediment cores to assess physico-chemical properties were collected and in situ CO 2 fluxes were measured at the soil-air interface in a mangrove of Northern Vietnam. We compared a Kandelia candel mangrove forest with a nearby zone that had been cleared two years before the study. Significant decrease of clay content and an increase in bulk density for the upper 35cm in the cleared zone were observed. Soil organic carbon (OC) content in the upper 35cm decreased by >65% two years after clearing. The quantity and the quality of the carbon changed, with lower carbon to nitrogen ratios, indicating a more decomposed OM, a higher content of dissolved organic carbon, and a higher content of inorganic carbon (three times higher). This highlights the efficiency of mineralization processes following clearing. Due to the rapid decrease in the soil carbon content, CO 2 fluxes at sediment interface were >50% lower in the cleared zone. Taking into account carbonate precipitation after OC mineralization, the mangrove soil lost ~10MgOCha -1 yr -1 mostly as CO 2 to the atmosphere and possibly as dissolved forms towards adjacent ecosystems. The impacts on the carbon cycle of mangrove clearing as shown by the switch from a C sink to a C source highlight the importance of maintaining these ecosystems, particularly in a context of climate change. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Code Team Training: Demonstrating Adherence to AHA Guidelines During Pediatric Code Blue Activations.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Claire; Shoemaker, Jamie; Keller-Smith, Rachel; Edmunds, Katherine; Davis, Andrew; Tegtmeyer, Ken

2017-10-16

Pediatric code blue activations are infrequent events with a high mortality rate despite the best effort of code teams. The best method for training these code teams is debatable; however, it is clear that training is needed to assure adherence to American Heart Association (AHA) Resuscitation Guidelines and to prevent the decay that invariably occurs after Pediatric Advanced Life Support training. The objectives of this project were to train a multidisciplinary, multidepartmental code team and to measure this team's adherence to AHA guidelines during code simulation. Multidisciplinary code team training sessions were held using high-fidelity, in situ simulation. Sessions were held several times per month. Each session was filmed and reviewed for adherence to 5 AHA guidelines: chest compression rate, ventilation rate, chest compression fraction, use of a backboard, and use of a team leader. After the first study period, modifications were made to the code team including implementation of just-in-time training and alteration of the compression team. Thirty-eight sessions were completed, with 31 eligible for video analysis. During the first study period, 1 session adhered to all AHA guidelines. During the second study period, after alteration of the code team and implementation of just-in-time training, no sessions adhered to all AHA guidelines; however, there was an improvement in percentage of sessions adhering to ventilation rate and chest compression rate and an improvement in median ventilation rate. We present a method for training a large code team drawn from multiple hospital departments and a method of assessing code team performance. Despite subjective improvement in code team positioning, communication, and role completion and some improvement in ventilation rate and chest compression rate, we failed to consistently demonstrate improvement in adherence to all guidelines.

A demonstration of the improved efficiency of the canonical coordinates method using nonlinear combined heat and power economic dispatch problems

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Hung-Chieh; Lin, Pei-Chun

2014-02-01

Economic dispatch is the short-term determination of the optimal output from a number of electricity generation facilities to meet the system load while providing power. As such, it represents one of the main optimization problems in the operation of electrical power systems. This article presents techniques to substantially improve the efficiency of the canonical coordinates method (CCM) algorithm when applied to nonlinear combined heat and power economic dispatch (CHPED) problems. The improvement is to eliminate the need to solve a system of nonlinear differential equations, which appears in the line search process in the CCM algorithm. The modified algorithm was tested and the analytical solution was verified using nonlinear CHPED optimization problems, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of the algorithm. The CCM methods proved numerically stable and, in the case of nonlinear programs, produced solutions with unprecedented accuracy within a reasonable time.

Reducing Plug Loads in Office Spaces: Hawaii and Guam Energy Improvement Technology Demonstration Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheppy, M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Metzger, I. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cutler, D. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Holland, G. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hanada, A. [Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, DC (United States)

2014-01-01

As part of its overall strategy to meet its energy goals, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) partnered with the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to rapidly demonstrate and deploy cost-effective renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. This project was one of several demonstrations of new or underutilized commercial energy technologies. The common goal was to demonstrate and measure the performance and economic benefit of the system while monitoring any ancillary impacts to related standards of service and operation and maintenance (O&M) practices. In short, demonstrations at naval facilities simultaneously evaluate the benefits and compatibility of the technology with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) mission, and with NAVFAC's design, construction, operations, and maintenance practices, in particular. This project demonstrated the performance of commercially available advanced power strips (APSs) for plug load energy reductions in building A4 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), Hawaii.

Perception of foreign-accented clear speech by younger and older English listeners

OpenAIRE

Li, Chi-Nin

2009-01-01

Naturally produced English clear speech has been shown to be more intelligible than English conversational speech. However, little is known about the extent of the clear speech effects in the production of nonnative English, and perception of foreign-accented English by younger and older listeners. The present study examined whether Cantonese speakers would employ the same strategies as those used by native English speakers in producing clear speech in their second language. Also, the clear s...

Intergovernmental Advanced Stationary PEM Fuel Cell System Demonstration Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rich Chartrand

2011-08-31

A program to complete the design, construction and demonstration of a PEMFC system fuelled by Ethanol, LPG or NG for telecom applications was initiated in October 2007. Early in the program the economics for Ethanol were shown to be unfeasible and permission was given by DOE to focus on LPG only. The design and construction of a prototype unit was completed in Jun 2009 using commercially available PEM FC stack from Ballard Power Systems. During the course of testing, the high pressure drop of the stack was shown to be problematic in terms of control and stability of the reformer. Also, due to the power requirements for air compression the overall efficiency of the system was shown to be lower than a similar system using internally developed low pressure drop FC stack. In Q3 2009, the decision was made to change to the Plug power stack and a second prototype was built and tested. Overall net efficiency was shown to be 31.5% at 3 kW output. Total output of the system is 6 kW. Using the new stack hardware, material cost reduction of 63% was achieved over the previous Alpha design. During a November 2009 review meeting Plug Power proposed and was granted permission, to demonstrate the new, commercial version of Plug Power's telecom system at CERL. As this product was also being tested as part of a DOE Topic 7A program, this part of the program was transferred to the Topic 7A program. In Q32008, the scope of work of this program was expanded to include a National Grid demonstration project of a micro-CHP system using hightemperature PEM technology. The Gensys Blue system was cleared for unattended operation, grid connection, and power generation in Aug 2009 at Union College in NY state. The system continues to operate providing power and heat to Beuth House. The system is being continually evaluated and improvements to hardware and controls will be implemented as more is learned about the system's operation. The program is instrumental in improving the

Comparison of planar images and SPECT with bayesean preprocessing for the demonstration of facial anatomy and craniomandibular disorders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kircos, L.T.; Ortendahl, D.A.; Hattner, R.S.; Faulkner, D.; Taylor, R.L.

1984-01-01

Craniomandiublar disorders involving the facial anatomy may be difficult to demonstrate in planar images. Although bone scanning is generally more sensitive than radiography, facial bone anatomy is complex and focal areas of increased or decreased radiotracer may become obscured by overlapping structures in planar images. Thus SPECT appears ideally suited to examination of the facial skeleton. A series of patients with craniomandibular disorders of unknown origin were imaged using 20 mCi Tc-99m MDP. Planar and SPECT (Siemens 7500 ZLC Orbiter) images were obtained four hours after injection. The SPECT images were reconstructed with a filtered back-projection algorithm. In order to improve image contrast and resolution in SPECT images, the rotation views were pre-processed with a Bayesean deblurring algorithm which has previously been show to offer improved contrast and resolution in planar images. SPECT images using the pre-processed rotation views were obtained and compared to the SPECT images without pre-processing and the planar images. TMJ arthropathy involving either the glenoid fossa or the mandibular condyle, orthopedic changes involving the mandible or maxilla, localized dental pathosis, as well as changes in structures peripheral to the facial skeleton were identified. Bayesean pre-processed SPECT depicted the facial skeleton more clearly as well as providing a more obvious demonstration of the bony changes associated with craniomandibular disorders than either planar images or SPECT without pre-processing

Clearing and settlement of exchange traded derivatives

OpenAIRE

John McPartland

2009-01-01

Derivatives are a class of financial instruments that derive their value from some underlying commodity, security, index, or other asset. Futures and options are common forms of derivatives. This article explains how clearing and settlement systems for exchange traded derivatives work.

Efficiency of ocular UV protection by clear lenses.

Science.gov (United States)

Rifai, Katharina; Hornauer, Matthias; Buechinger, Ramona; Schoen, Roland; Barraza-Bernal, Maria; Habtegiorgis, Selam; Glasenapp, Carsten; Wahl, Siegfried; Mappes, Timo

2018-04-01

Ocular UV doses accumulate all-day, not only during periods of direct sun exposure. The UV protection efficiency of three clear lenses was evaluated experimentally, validated by simulation, and compared to non-UV protection: a first spectacle lens with a tailored UV absorber, a second spectacle lens, minimizing UV back reflections, as well as a third spectacle lens, combining both. A tailored UV-absorber efficiently reduced overall UV irradiance to 7 %, whereas reduction of back-reflections still left UV irradiance at 42 %. Thus, clear lenses with a tailored UV absorber efficiently protect the eye from UV, supplementing sun glasses wear to an all-day protection scenario.

The problem of clear air turbulence: Changing perspectives in the ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

observation systems, in most cases, aircraft are able to steer clear of regions of adverse ... that weather is a predominant cause of aviation accidents, accounting for ... clear air turbulence, wind shear and wake-vortex effects. Here .... ters a region of turbulence, the pilot informs the ground control about the location and extent.

Predicting Clear-Sky Reflectance Over Snow/Ice in Polar Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yan; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Arduini, Robert F.; Hong, Gang; Minnis, Patrick

2015-01-01

Satellite remote sensing of clouds requires an accurate estimate of the clear-sky radiances for a given scene to detect clouds and aerosols and to retrieve their microphysical properties. Knowing the spatial and angular variability of clear-sky albedo is essential for predicting clear-sky radiance at solar wavelengths. The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Project uses the nearinfrared (NIR; 1.24, 1.6 or 2.13 micrometers), visible (VIS; 0.63 micrometers) and vegetation (VEG; 0.86 micrometers) channels available on the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to help identify clouds and retrieve their properties in both snow-free and snow-covered conditions. Thus, it is critical to have reliable distributions of clear-sky albedo for all of these channels. In CERES Edition 4 (Ed4), the 1.24-micrometer channel is used to retrieve cloud optical depth over snow/ice-covered surfaces. Thus, it is especially critical to accurately predict the 1.24-micrometer clear-sky albedo alpha and reflectance rho for a given location and time. Snow albedo and reflectance patterns are very complex due to surface texture, particle shapes and sizes, melt water, and vegetation protrusions from the snow surface. To minimize those effects, this study focuses on the permanent snow cover of Antarctica where vegetation is absent and melt water is minimal. Clear-sky albedos are determined as a function of solar zenith angle (SZA) from observations over all scenes determined to be cloud-free to produce a normalized directional albedo model (DRM). The DRM is used to develop alpha(SZA=0 degrees) on 10 foot grid for each season. These values provide the basis for predicting r at any location and set of viewing & illumination conditions. This paper examines the accuracy of this approach for two theoretical snow surface reflectance models.

First demonstration of improving laser propagation inside the spherical hohlraums by using the cylindrical laser entrance hole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenyi Huo

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The octahedral spherical hohlraums have natural superiority in maintaining high radiation symmetry during the entire capsule implosion process in indirect drive inertial confinement fusion. While, in contrast to the cylindrical hohlraums, the narrow space between the laser beams and the spherical hohlraum wall is usually commented. In this Letter, we address this crucial issue and report our experimental work conducted on the SGIII-prototype laser facility which unambiguously demonstrates that a simple design of cylindrical laser entrance hole (LEH can dramatically improve the laser propagation inside the spherical hohlraums. In addition, the laser beam deflection in the hohlraum is observed for the first time in the experiments. Our 2-dimensional simulation results also verify qualitatively the advantages of the spherical hohlraums with cylindrical LEHs. Our results imply the prospect of adopting the cylindrical LEHs in future spherical ignition hohlraum design.

Long-term effects of clear-cutting and selective cutting on soil methane fluxes in a temperate spruce forest in southern Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Xing; Brueggemann, Nicolas; Gasche, Rainer; Papen, Hans; Willibald, Georg; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus

2011-01-01

Based on multi-year measurements of CH 4 exchange in sub-daily resolution we show that clear-cutting of a forest in Southern Germany increased soil temperature and moisture and decreased CH 4 uptake. CH 4 uptake in the first year after clear-cutting (-4.5 ± 0.2 μg C m -2 h -1 ) was three times lower than during the pre-harvest period (-14.2 ± 1.3 μg C m -2 h -1 ). In contrast, selective cutting did not significantly reduce CH 4 uptake. Annual mean uptake rates were -1.18 kg C ha -1 yr -1 (spruce control), -1.16 kg C ha -1 yr -1 (selective cut site) and -0.44 kg C ha -1 yr -1 (clear-cut site), respectively. Substantial seasonal and inter-annual variations in CH 4 fluxes were observed as a result of significant variability of weather conditions, demonstrating the need for long-term measurements. Our findings imply that a stepwise selective cutting instead of clear-cutting may contribute to mitigating global warming by maintaining a high CH 4 uptake capacity of the soil. - Highlights: → Long-term, sub-daily measurements of CH 4 exchange at differently managed forest sites. → Inter-annual variability in CH 4 uptake is affected by annual precipitation. → Clear-cutting reduces the CH 4 sink strength of forest soils, whereas thinning has no significant effect. → Sink strength changes due to clear cutting are long-term and were still present approx. nine years following forest harvest. - Forest management affects the soil CH 4 sink strength, with clear-cutting reducing uptake rates for at least eight years.

Some models for electric power price clearing in liberalized market area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chogelja, Goran; Pavlov, Risto

2001-01-01

This paper presents some of the basic models for electrical energy price clearing in liberalized market area and competition on level of consumption and level of production. As an example the Amsterdam power exchange APX (spot market) is given and some of another types of markets and methodology for pricing are presented. In detal 'clearing pricing mechanism in day athead market' from the Amsterdam power exchange is presented as well as the methodology for market balancing and financial clearing. (Original)

Periodontal health during clear aligners treatment: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossini, Gabriele; Parrini, Simone; Castroflorio, Tommaso; Deregibus, Andrea; Debernardi, Cesare L

2015-10-01

Clear aligner treatment (CAT) has been cited as a safe and comfortable orthodontic procedure for adult patients. However, the available evidence is scarce. To perform a systematic review of the existing literature in order to assess periodontal health during CAT. Pubmed, Pubmed Central, National Library of Medicine's Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical trials, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Google Scholar, and LILACS were searched from January 1945 to September 2014 to identify all peer-reviewed papers potentially relevant to the review. After duplicate selection and extraction procedures, the risk of bias was assessed according to the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination criteria, and a 3-point grading system, as described by the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU), was used to rate the methodological quality of the selected papers. A PICOS table was used for data extraction. Five relevant articles were selected from the 1247 identified articles. The level of evidence was moderate for all the studies. A significant improvement of the periodontal health indexes was revealed, in particular when CAT was compared to fixed appliances. No periodontal CAT adverse effects were observed in the selected studies. Periodontal health indexes were significantly improved during CAT. The results of this review should be interpreted with some caution because of the number, quality, and heterogeneity of the included studies. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Development of software for estimating clear sky solar radiation in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Ambarita, H.

2017-01-01

Research on solar energy applications in Indonesia has come under scrutiny in recent years. Solar radiation is harvested by solar collector or solar cell and convert the energy into useful energy such as heat and or electricity. In order to provide a better configuration of a solar collector or a solar cell, clear sky radiation should be estimated properly. In this study, an in-house software for estimating clear sky radiation is developed. The governing equations are solved simultaneously. The software is tested in Medan city by performing a solar radiation measurements. For clear sky radiation, the results of the software and measurements ones show a good agreement. However, for the cloudy sky condition it cannot predict the solar radiation. This software can be used to estimate the clear sky radiation in Indonesia.

Smart Grid Demonstration Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, Craig [National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Arlington, VA (United States); Carroll, Paul [National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Arlington, VA (United States); Bell, Abigail [National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Arlington, VA (United States)

2015-03-11

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) organized the NRECA-U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Smart Grid Demonstration Project (DE-OE0000222) to install and study a broad range of advanced smart grid technologies in a demonstration that spanned 23 electric cooperatives in 12 states. More than 205,444 pieces of electronic equipment and more than 100,000 minor items (bracket, labels, mounting hardware, fiber optic cable, etc.) were installed to upgrade and enhance the efficiency, reliability, and resiliency of the power networks at the participating co-ops. The objective of this project was to build a path for other electric utilities, and particularly electrical cooperatives, to adopt emerging smart grid technology when it can improve utility operations, thus advancing the co-ops’ familiarity and comfort with such technology. Specifically, the project executed multiple subprojects employing a range of emerging smart grid technologies to test their cost-effectiveness and, where the technology demonstrated value, provided case studies that will enable other electric utilities—particularly electric cooperatives— to use these technologies. NRECA structured the project according to the following three areas: Demonstration of smart grid technology; Advancement of standards to enable the interoperability of components; and Improvement of grid cyber security. We termed these three areas Technology Deployment Study, Interoperability, and Cyber Security. Although the deployment of technology and studying the demonstration projects at coops accounted for the largest portion of the project budget by far, we see our accomplishments in each of the areas as critical to advancing the smart grid. All project deliverables have been published. Technology Deployment Study: The deliverable was a set of 11 single-topic technical reports in areas related to the listed technologies. Each of these reports has already been submitted to DOE, distributed to co-ops, and

Improving Perinatal Care in the Rural Regions Worldwide by Wireless Enabled Antepartum Fetal Monitoring: A Demonstration Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Tapia-Conyer

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Fetal and neonatal morbidity and mortality are significant problems in developing countries; remote maternal-fetal monitoring offers promise in addressing this challenge. The Gary and Mary West Health Institute and the Instituto Carlos Slim de la Salud conducted a demonstration project of wirelessly enabled antepartum maternal-fetal monitoring in the state of Yucatán, Mexico, to assess whether there were any fundamental barriers preventing deployment and use. Methods. Following informed consent, high-risk pregnant women at 27–29 weeks of gestation at the Chemax primary clinic participated in remote maternal-fetal monitoring. Study participants were randomized to receive either prototype wireless monitoring or standard-of-care. Feasibility was evaluated by assessing technical aspects of performance, adherence to monitoring appointments, and response to recommendations. Results. Data were collected from 153 high-risk pregnant indigenous Mayan women receiving either remote monitoring (n=74 or usual standard-of-care (n=79. Remote monitoring resulted in markedly increased adherence (94.3% versus 45.1%. Health outcomes were not statistically different in the two groups. Conclusions. Remote maternal-fetal monitoring is feasible in resource-constrained environments and can improve maternal compliance for monitoring sessions. Improvement in maternal-fetal health outcomes requires integration of such technology into sociocultural context and addressing logistical challenges of access to appropriate emergency services.

Improving Perinatal Care in the Rural Regions Worldwide by Wireless Enabled Antepartum Fetal Monitoring: A Demonstration Project

Science.gov (United States)

Tapia-Conyer, Roberto; Lyford, Shelley; Saucedo, Rodrigo; Casale, Michael; Gallardo, Hector; Becerra, Karen; Mack, Jonathan; Mujica, Ricardo; Estrada, Daniel; Sanchez, Antonio; Sabido, Ramon; Meier, Carlos; Smith, Joseph

2015-01-01

Background. Fetal and neonatal morbidity and mortality are significant problems in developing countries; remote maternal-fetal monitoring offers promise in addressing this challenge. The Gary and Mary West Health Institute and the Instituto Carlos Slim de la Salud conducted a demonstration project of wirelessly enabled antepartum maternal-fetal monitoring in the state of Yucatán, Mexico, to assess whether there were any fundamental barriers preventing deployment and use. Methods. Following informed consent, high-risk pregnant women at 27–29 weeks of gestation at the Chemax primary clinic participated in remote maternal-fetal monitoring. Study participants were randomized to receive either prototype wireless monitoring or standard-of-care. Feasibility was evaluated by assessing technical aspects of performance, adherence to monitoring appointments, and response to recommendations. Results. Data were collected from 153 high-risk pregnant indigenous Mayan women receiving either remote monitoring (n = 74) or usual standard-of-care (n = 79). Remote monitoring resulted in markedly increased adherence (94.3% versus 45.1%). Health outcomes were not statistically different in the two groups. Conclusions. Remote maternal-fetal monitoring is feasible in resource-constrained environments and can improve maternal compliance for monitoring sessions. Improvement in maternal-fetal health outcomes requires integration of such technology into sociocultural context and addressing logistical challenges of access to appropriate emergency services. PMID:25691900

NOAA AVHRR Clear-Sky Products over Oceans (ACSPO): Sea Surface Temperature, Clear Sky Radiances, and Aerosol Optical Depth for the Global Ocean, 2011 - present (NCEI Accession 0072979)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The AVHRR Clear-Sky Processor over Oceans, jointly developed between NESDIS STAR and OSDPD, produces AVHRR clear-sky products over oceans. ACSPO generates output...

A CLEAR Plan for School Crisis Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriarty, Anthony; And Others

1993-01-01

Although many school formulas for crisis management are well coordinated internally, many are also shortsighted in recognizing when a school crisis falls simultaneously into law enforcement's domain. An Illinois high school has devised CLEAR, a crisis management plan delineating cognizance of personnel, the linkages they establish, accountability…

Transit Marketing : A Program of Research, Demonstration and Communication

Science.gov (United States)

1985-04-01

This report recommends a five-year program of research, demonstration, and communication to improve the effectiveness of marketing practice in the U.S. transit industry. The program is oriented toward the development of improved market research tools...

ARSENIC REMOVAL FROM DRINKING WATER BY ADSORPTIVE MEDIA. U.S. EPA DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AT SOUTH TRUCKEE MEADOWS GENERAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (STMIG), NV. INTERIM EVALUATION REPORT

Science.gov (United States)

This report documents the activities performed during and the results obtained from the first 32 weeks of operation of an arsenic and antimony removal technology currently being demonstrated at the South Truckee Meadows General Improvement District (STMGID) in Washoe County, NV. ...

Demonstration of pumping efficiency for rotating disks by Monte Carlo simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogiwara, Norio

2010-01-01

We investigated the concept of creating a gas radial flow by employing the molecular drag effect upon gas molecules on rotating disks. All the gas molecules have a circumferential velocity rω (r: distance from the rotating axis, and ω: angular velocity) each time they leave a surface of the rotating disks. As a result, the gas molecules between the rotating disks tend on average to move outward from the center. That is, a radial flow appears. This idea was demonstrated by Monte Carlo simulation of 2 types of rotating disks (flat and corrugated ones). Pumping efficiency was clearly demonstrated for both types of disks when the velocity ratio rω/ ( : mean velocity) became larger than 1. (author)

Orthodontic tooth movement with clear aligners.

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, Carl T; McGorray, Susan P; Dolce, Calogero; Nair, Madhu; Wheeler, Timothy T

2012-01-01

Clear aligners provide a convenient model to measure orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). We examined the role of in vivo aligner material fatigue and subject-specific factors in tooth movement. Fifteen subjects seeking orthodontic treatment at the University of Florida were enrolled. Results were compared with data previously collected from 37 subjects enrolled in a similar protocol. Subjects were followed prospectively for eight weeks. An upper central incisor was programmed to move 0.5 mm. every two weeks using clear aligners. A duplicate aligner was provided for the second week of each cycle. Weekly polyvinyl siloxane (PVS) impressions were taken, and digital models were fabricated to measure OTM. Initial and final cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were obtained to characterize OTM. Results were compared to data from a similar protocol, where subjects received a new aligner biweekly. No significant difference was found in the amount of OTM between the two groups, with mean total OTM of 1.11 mm. (standard deviation (SD) 0.30) and 1.07 mm. (SD 0.33) for the weekly aligner and biweekly control groups, respectively (P = 0.72). Over eight weeks, in two-week intervals, material fatigue does not play a significant role in the rate or amount of tooth movement.

Clear exterior finishes : finding the balance between aesthetics and durability

Science.gov (United States)

Tom Daniel; Marc S. Hirsch; Ken McClelland; Alan S. Ross; R. Sam Williams

2004-01-01

Consumers can easily be confused by the abundance of choices to make when selecting a clear wood finish. There are many types of clear finishes with different characteristics and product claims. This article is designed to help consumers sort out the different finishes and effectively choose which product would be best for their purpose. First, we cover the causes and...

Simulation results of a veto counter for the ClearPEM

CERN Document Server

Trummer, J; Lecoq, P

2009-01-01

The Crystal Clear Collaboration (CCC) has built a prototype of a novel positron emission tomograph dedicated to functional breast imaging, the ClearPEM. The ClearPEM uses the common radio pharmaceutical FDG for imaging cancer. As FDG is a rather non-specific radio tracer, it accumulates not only in cancer cells but in all cells with a high energy consumption, such as the heart and liver. This fact poses a problem especially in breast imaging, where the vicinity of the heart and other organs to the breast leads to a high background noise level in the scanner. In this work, a veto counter to reduce the background is described. Different configurations and their effectiveness were studied using the GATE simulation package.

Performance and quality control of Clear-PEM detector modules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amaral, Pedro; Carrico, Bruno; Ferreira, Miguel; Moura, Rui; Ortigao, Catarina; Rodrigues, Pedro; Da Silva, Jose C.; Trindade, Andreia; Varela, Joao

2007-01-01

Clear-PEM is a dedicated PET scanner for breast and axilla cancer diagnosis, under development within the framework of the Crystal Clear Collaboration at CERN, aiming at the detection of tumors down to 2 mm in diameter. The camera consists of two planar detector heads with active dimensions 16.0x14.5 cm 2 . Each head has 96 Clear-PEM detector modules consisting of 32 LYSO:Ce pixels with dimensions 2x2x20 mm 3 packed in a 4x8 BaSO 4 reflector matrix compressed between two Hamamatsu S8550 APD arrays in a double-readout configuration for Depth-of-Interaction (DoI) determination. The modules are individually measured and characterized before being grouped into Supermodules (comprised of 24 modules). Measured properties include photo-peak position, relative gain dispersion, energy resolution, cross-talk and DoI resolution. Optical inspection of matrices was also performed with the aid of a microscope, to search for pixel misalignments and matrix defects. Modules' performance was thoroughly evaluated with a 511 keV collimated beam to exactly determine DoI resolution. In addition, a fast quality control (QC) procedure using flood irradiations from a 137 Cs source was applied systematically. The overall performance of the 24 detector modules complies with the design goals of the Clear-PEM detector, showing energy resolution around 15%, DoI resolution of about 2 mm and gain dispersion among pixels of 15%

Profiling of subgingival plaque biofilm microbiota in female adult patients with clear aligners: a three-month prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Runzhi; Zheng, Yunfei; Liu, Hao; Li, Xiaobei; Jia, Lingfei; Li, Weiran

2018-01-01

Clear aligners are well known for facilitating oral hygiene maintenance and decreasing susceptibility to periodontal diseases as compared to conventional fixed appliances. However, few research studies focus on the subgingival microbial community during clear aligner treatment (CAT). Hence, this study investigates changes of the subgingival microbial community and its association with clinical characteristics during the first three months of CAT. Ten female patients with clear aligners were enrolled in this study. Subgingival plaque samples were obtained at three time points: before orthodontic treatment (T0), one month after orthodontic treatment (T1) and three months after orthodontic treatment (T2). DNA was then extracted from plaque samples and analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Periodontal examinations, including plaque index (PI) and gingival bleeding index (GBI) measurements were also recorded. The plaque indices (PIs) and gingival bleeding indices (GBIs) were slightly increased at T1 and T2, but no statistically significant difference was found. The alpha diversity indices, including the ACE, Chao1, Shannon indices, all showed a declining trend without significance, and a rising trend in the Simpson diversity index was observed. The weighted UniFrac distance was significantly higher at T1 and T2 compared with T0. Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) demonstrated that the communities at T0 tended to cluster apart from the communities at T1 and T2. The relative abundance of the phylum Firmicutes and genus Mycoplasma was significantly increased at T0 compared with T2. There was no significant difference in the relative abundance of periodontal pathogens at the genus and species levels or core microorganisms at the genus level. A slightly decreasing microbial diversity with a significant change of microbial structure was found during the first three-month clear aligner treatment (CAT). However, subjects receiving clear aligner treatment were free from

3D imaging of optically cleared tissue using a simplified CLARITY method and on-chip microscopy

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Yibo; Shin, Yoonjung; Sung, Kevin; Yang, Sam; Chen, Harrison; Wang, Hongda; Teng, Da; Rivenson, Yair; Kulkarni, Rajan P.; Ozcan, Aydogan

2017-01-01

High-throughput sectioning and optical imaging of tissue samples using traditional immunohistochemical techniques can be costly and inaccessible in resource-limited areas. We demonstrate three-dimensional (3D) imaging and phenotyping in optically transparent tissue using lens-free holographic on-chip microscopy as a low-cost, simple, and high-throughput alternative to conventional approaches. The tissue sample is passively cleared using a simplified CLARITY method and stained using 3,3′-diaminobenzidine to target cells of interest, enabling bright-field optical imaging and 3D sectioning of thick samples. The lens-free computational microscope uses pixel super-resolution and multi-height phase recovery algorithms to digitally refocus throughout the cleared tissue and obtain a 3D stack of complex-valued images of the sample, containing both phase and amplitude information. We optimized the tissue-clearing and imaging system by finding the optimal illumination wavelength, tissue thickness, sample preparation parameters, and the number of heights of the lens-free image acquisition and implemented a sparsity-based denoising algorithm to maximize the imaging volume and minimize the amount of the acquired data while also preserving the contrast-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed images. As a proof of concept, we achieved 3D imaging of neurons in a 200-μm-thick cleared mouse brain tissue over a wide field of view of 20.5 mm2. The lens-free microscope also achieved more than an order-of-magnitude reduction in raw data compared to a conventional scanning optical microscope imaging the same sample volume. Being low cost, simple, high-throughput, and data-efficient, we believe that this CLARITY-enabled computational tissue imaging technique could find numerous applications in biomedical diagnosis and research in low-resource settings.

3D imaging of optically cleared tissue using a simplified CLARITY method and on-chip microscopy

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Yibo

2017-08-12

High-throughput sectioning and optical imaging of tissue samples using traditional immunohistochemical techniques can be costly and inaccessible in resource-limited areas. We demonstrate three-dimensional (3D) imaging and phenotyping in optically transparent tissue using lens-free holographic on-chip microscopy as a low-cost, simple, and high-throughput alternative to conventional approaches. The tissue sample is passively cleared using a simplified CLARITY method and stained using 3,3′-diaminobenzidine to target cells of interest, enabling bright-field optical imaging and 3D sectioning of thick samples. The lens-free computational microscope uses pixel super-resolution and multi-height phase recovery algorithms to digitally refocus throughout the cleared tissue and obtain a 3D stack of complex-valued images of the sample, containing both phase and amplitude information. We optimized the tissue-clearing and imaging system by finding the optimal illumination wavelength, tissue thickness, sample preparation parameters, and the number of heights of the lens-free image acquisition and implemented a sparsity-based denoising algorithm to maximize the imaging volume and minimize the amount of the acquired data while also preserving the contrast-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed images. As a proof of concept, we achieved 3D imaging of neurons in a 200-μm-thick cleared mouse brain tissue over a wide field of view of 20.5 mm2. The lens-free microscope also achieved more than an order-of-magnitude reduction in raw data compared to a conventional scanning optical microscope imaging the same sample volume. Being low cost, simple, high-throughput, and data-efficient, we believe that this CLARITY-enabled computational tissue imaging technique could find numerous applications in biomedical diagnosis and research in low-resource settings.

Chondroblastoma and clear cell chondrosarcoma: radiological and MRI characteristics with histopathological correlation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaim, Achim H.; Huegli, Rolf; Bonel, Harald M.; Jundt, Gernot

2002-01-01

Objective: To analyze and compare the radiological and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearances of chondroblastoma and clear cell chondrosarcoma with histopathological correlation. Design and patients: Twelve patients with histologically proven chondroblastoma and of another four patients with clear cell chondrosarcoma were investigated by radiographs and MRI (T1-, T2-weighted sequences, intravenous gadolinium application). Additionally, the clinical and radiologic data of seven cases of clear cell chondrosarcoma without available MRI were considered. The localization, calcification of tumor matrix, periosteal reaction, cortical bone and patterns of bone destruction were analyzed according to the Lodwick radiological grading system (LRGS). The signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted sequences, characteristics of contrast enhancement, associated bone marrow edema, soft tissue reaction and joint involvement were evaluated. Histopathological specimens were available in all cases. Results: The age of patients with chondroblastoma (range 15-59 years, mean 22.3 years) was lower than that of those with clear cell chondrosarcoma (range 19-61 years, mean 36.6 years), and the lesions were smaller in the chondroblastoma group (range 1-4 cm, mean 2.3 cm) than in patients with clear cell chondrosarcoma (range 3-7.5 cm, mean 5.2 cm). The chondroblastomas were more confined to the epiphysis (10/12) than the clear cell chondrosarcomas. All chondroblastomas and clear cell chondrosarcomas except one were classified as grade 1A or 1B according to the LRGS; one clear cell chondrosarcoma was judged as grade 2. Signal intensity of the tumors on MRI was very heterogeneous in both groups. High signal intensity on T2-weighted MR images in chondroblastoma mostly corresponded to areas with aneurysmal bone cyst components and in clear cell chondrosarcoma to islands of hyaline cartilage. Contrast enhancement occurred in all tumors and tended to be more intense with clear cell

Chondroblastoma and clear cell chondrosarcoma: radiological and MRI characteristics with histopathological correlation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaim, Achim H.; Huegli, Rolf [Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Basle (Switzerland); Bonel, Harald M. [Institute of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital, Munich-Grosshadern (Germany); Jundt, Gernot [Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Basle (Switzerland)

2002-02-01

Objective: To analyze and compare the radiological and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearances of chondroblastoma and clear cell chondrosarcoma with histopathological correlation. Design and patients: Twelve patients with histologically proven chondroblastoma and of another four patients with clear cell chondrosarcoma were investigated by radiographs and MRI (T1-, T2-weighted sequences, intravenous gadolinium application). Additionally, the clinical and radiologic data of seven cases of clear cell chondrosarcoma without available MRI were considered. The localization, calcification of tumor matrix, periosteal reaction, cortical bone and patterns of bone destruction were analyzed according to the Lodwick radiological grading system (LRGS). The signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted sequences, characteristics of contrast enhancement, associated bone marrow edema, soft tissue reaction and joint involvement were evaluated. Histopathological specimens were available in all cases. Results: The age of patients with chondroblastoma (range 15-59 years, mean 22.3 years) was lower than that of those with clear cell chondrosarcoma (range 19-61 years, mean 36.6 years), and the lesions were smaller in the chondroblastoma group (range 1-4 cm, mean 2.3 cm) than in patients with clear cell chondrosarcoma (range 3-7.5 cm, mean 5.2 cm). The chondroblastomas were more confined to the epiphysis (10/12) than the clear cell chondrosarcomas. All chondroblastomas and clear cell chondrosarcomas except one were classified as grade 1A or 1B according to the LRGS; one clear cell chondrosarcoma was judged as grade 2. Signal intensity of the tumors on MRI was very heterogeneous in both groups. High signal intensity on T2-weighted MR images in chondroblastoma mostly corresponded to areas with aneurysmal bone cyst components and in clear cell chondrosarcoma to islands of hyaline cartilage. Contrast enhancement occurred in all tumors and tended to be more intense with clear cell

Evaluating a Program Designed to Demonstrate Continuous Improvement in Teaching at an AACSB-Accredited College of Business at a Regional University: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Pritchard, Robert E.; Saccucci, Michael S.; Potter, Gregory C.

2010-01-01

This article provides a detailed statistical analysis of a process intended to demonstrate continuous improvement in teaching at an AACSB accredited college of business. The Educational Testing Service's SIR II student evaluation instrument was used to measure teaching effectiveness. A six-year longitudinal analysis of the SIR II results does not…

Imaging of ovarian clear cell carcinoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hayashi, Toshihiko; Sawano, Seishi; Yamada, Keiko [Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan). Hospital] (and others)

1999-12-01

The aim of this study is to examine the appearance of ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma (OCCA) on MR, CT, US. In 39 cases with OCCA, the imaging characteristics of OCCA were evaluated morphologically and classified into three groups, that was, monomural nodule type, multi-mural nodule type and predominantly solid type. Forty-three percent of the patients had endometriosis. Contrast material-enhanced MRI was the most useful method for diagnosis of OCCA. (author)

Clean Coal Technology Demonstration Program: Program Update 2001

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy

2002-07-30

Annual report on the Clean Coal Technology Demonstration Program (CCT Program). The report address the role of the CCT Program, implementation, funding and costs, accomplishments, project descriptions, legislative history, program history, environmental aspects, and project contacts. The project descriptions describe the technology and provides a brief summary of the demonstration results. Also includes Power Plant Improvement Initiative Projects.

76 FR 16588 - Risk Management Requirements for Derivatives Clearing Organizations; Correction

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-24

... COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 17 CFR Part 39 RIN 3038-AC98 Risk Management Requirements for Derivatives Clearing Organizations; Correction AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission. ACTION: Notice of... Register of January 20, 2011, regarding Risk Management Requirements for Derivatives Clearing Organizations...

Clear-sky classification procedures and models using a world-wide data-base

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Younes, S.; Muneer, T.

2007-01-01

Clear-sky data need to be extracted from all-sky measured solar-irradiance dataset, often by using algorithms that rely on other measured meteorological parameters. Current procedures for clear-sky data extraction have been examined and compared with each other to determine their reliability and location dependency. New clear-sky determination algorithms are proposed that are based on a combination of clearness index, diffuse ratio, cloud cover and Linke's turbidity limits. Various researchers have proposed clear-sky irradiance models that rely on synoptic parameters; four of these models, MRM, PRM, YRM and REST2 have been compared for six world-wide-locations. Based on a previously-developed comprehensive accuracy scoring method, the models MRM, REST2 and YRM were found to be of satisfactory performance in decreasing order. The so-called Page radiation model (PRM) was found to underestimate solar radiation, even though local turbidity data were provided for its operation

17 CFR 39.5 - Information relating to derivatives clearing organization operations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Information relating to derivatives clearing organization operations. 39.5 Section 39.5 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION DERIVATIVES CLEARING ORGANIZATIONS § 39.5 Information relating to derivatives...

75 FR 80335 - Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-22

... Participation in the Automated Clearing House AGENCY: Financial Management Service, Fiscal Service, Treasury...) is amending its regulation governing the use of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system by Federal... institutions, consumer advocacy groups, industry associations, the Senate Committee on Finance and the House...

Moving up the Ladder: How Do States Deliver Quality Improvement Supports within Their Quality Rating and Improvement Systems? Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Holod, Aleksandra; Faria, Ann-Marie; Weinberg, Emily; Howard, Eboni

2015-01-01

As national attention has increasingly focused on the potential for high-quality early childhood education (ECE) to improve children's school readiness, states have developed quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) to document the quality of ECE programs, support systematic quality improvement, and provide clear information to families…

Clearing the way for reducing emissions from tropical deforestation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skutsch, M.; Bird, N.; Trines, E.; Dutschke, M.; Frumhoff, P.; Jong, B.H.J. de; Laake, P. van; Masera, O.; Murdiyarso, D.

2007-01-01

Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation account for about 25% of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions but cannot be credited under current climate change agreements. In the discussions around the architecture of the post-2012 climate regime, the possibility of including credits for reduced emissions from deforestation arises. The paper reviews two approaches for this, compensated reductions (CR) as proposed by Santilli et al. and the Joint Research Centre proposal that combine voluntary commitments by non-Annex I countries to reduce emissions from deforestation with carbon market financing. Both approaches have the clear advantages of simplicity and the possibility of fitting to an evolving greenhouse gas emission reduction regime. The authors consider the strengths and limitations of each proposal and build upon them to address several implementation challenges and options for improvement. Given the urgency of avoiding dangerous climate change, the timely development of technically sound, politically acceptable, cost-effective and practicable measures to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is essential. These two approaches take us a step closer to this goal, but they need to be refined rapidly to enable this goal to be realised

Clearing the way for reducing emissions from tropical deforestation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skutsch, M. [Department of Technology and Sustainable Development, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); Bird, N. [Joanneum Research, Elizabethstrasse 5/1, A-8010 Graz (Austria); Trines, E. [Gramserweg 2, 3711 AW Austerlitz (Netherlands); Dutschke, M. [Biocarbon, Badstrasse 41, 77652 Offenburg (Germany); Frumhoff, P. [Union of Concerned Scientists, 2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02238-9105 (United States); De Jong, B.H.J. [El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Villahermosa, Carr. Vhsa-Reforma Km. 15.5, C.P. 86280, Ra Guineo 2da Secc, Villahermosa, Tabasco (Mexico); Van Laak, P. [ITC, Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede (Netherlands); Masera, O. [Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, UNAMAP 27-3 Xangari 58089, Morelia, Michoacan (Mexico); Murdiyarso, D. [Center for International Forestry Research, Jl. CIFOR, Situ Gede Sindangbarang, Bogor 16680 (Indonesia)

2007-06-15

Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation account for about 25% of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions but cannot be credited under current climate change agreements. In the discussions around the architecture of the post-2012 climate regime, the possibility of including credits for reduced emissions from deforestation arises. The paper reviews two approaches for this, compensated reductions (CR) as proposed by Santilli et al. and the Joint Research Centre proposal that combine voluntary commitments by non-Annex I countries to reduce emissions from deforestation with carbon market financing. Both approaches have the clear advantages of simplicity and the possibility of fitting to an evolving greenhouse gas emission reduction regime. The authors consider the strengths and limitations of each proposal and build upon them to address several implementation challenges and options for improvement. Given the urgency of avoiding dangerous climate change, the timely development of technically sound, politically acceptable, cost-effective and practicable measures to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is essential. These two approaches take us a step closer to this goal, but they need to be refined rapidly to enable this goal to be realised.

Verminderen antibioticagebruik in de vleeskuikensector : CLEAR Helpdeskvraag 2011

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lourens, A.; Jansman, A.J.M.; Rebel, J.M.J.; Harn, van J.; Veldkamp, T.; Stockhofe, N.; Melchior, M.B.; Emous, van R.A.; Kense, M.

2011-01-01

Questions from participants and advisors in the CLEAR project with regard to reduction of the use of antibiotics in the broiler sector are answered. Advice and suggestions for further research are given.

[Ground-clearing fires in the amazon and respiratory disease].

Science.gov (United States)

Gonçalves, Karen dos Santos; de Castro, Hermano Albuquerque; Hacon, Sandra de Souza

2012-06-01

The intentional burning of forest biomass commonly known as "ground-clearing fires" is an age-old and widespread practice in the country and is seen as a major contributor to global emissions of greenhouse gases. However, global awareness of their potential impact is relatively recent. The occurrence of large ground-clearing fires in the Brazilian and international scenarios drew attention to the problem, but the measures taken to prevent and/or control the fires are still insufficient. In the Amazon region, with distinct geographical and environmental features from the rest of the country, with its historic process of land occupation, every year the ground-clearing fires expose larger portions of the population making them vulnerable to its effects. In this context, this non-systematic review presents the papers written over the past five years about the fires in the Brazilian Amazon and respiratory illness. The main objective is to provide information for managers and leaders on environmental issues about the problems related to biomass burning in the Amazon region.

Metastatic clear-cell hidradenocarcinoma of the vulva.

Science.gov (United States)

Messing, M J; Richardson, M S; Smith, M T; King, L; Gallup, D G

1993-02-01

Clear-cell hidradenocarcinoma is a malignant tumor of sweat gland origin. It is most often found on the trunk, head, and extremities. This case report describes a rare occurrence of this tumor on the vulva of a young woman. The discovery of metastatic disease reflects the potentially aggressive nature of this tumor.

19 CFR 4.60 - Vessels required to clear.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... contiguous country otherwise than by sea. (c) Vessels which will merely transit the Panama Canal without... of clearance and related papers shall be surrendered. (e) No vessel shall be cleared for the high...

76 FR 69333 - Derivatives Clearing Organization General Provisions and Core Principles

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-08

... Management)); 75 FR 78185 (Dec. 15, 2010) (Core Principles J, K, L, and M (Information Management)); 75 FR... Parts 1, 21, 39 et al. Derivatives Clearing Organization General Provisions and Core Principles; Final... Derivatives Clearing Organization General Provisions and Core Principles AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading...

Clearing the smoke around medical marijuana.

Science.gov (United States)

Ware, M A

2011-12-01

The hazy world of "medical marijuana" continues to cry out for clear data on which to base medical decision making and rational policy design. In this issue of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Abrams and colleagues report that vaporized cannabis does not meaningfully affect opioid plasma levels and may even augment the efficacy of oxycodone and morphine in patients with chronic non-cancer pain. This Commentary considers the implications of this work for clinical practice and further research initiatives.

Orthodontic Tooth Movement with Clear Aligners

OpenAIRE

Drake, Carl T.; McGorray, Susan P.; Dolce, Calogero; Nair, Madhu; Wheeler, Timothy T.

2012-01-01

Clear aligners provide a convenient model to measure orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). We examined the role of in vivo aligner material fatigue and subject-specific factors in tooth movement. Fifteen subjects seeking orthodontic treatment at the University of Florida were enrolled. Results were compared with data previously collected from 37 subjects enrolled in a similar protocol. Subjects were followed prospectively for eight weeks. An upper central incisor was programmed to move 0.5 mm. ev...

78 FR 32292 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-29

..., To Institute Supplemental Liquidity Deposits to Its Clearing Fund Designed To Increase Liquidity Resources To Meet Its Liquidity Needs May 22, 2013. On March 21, 2013, National Securities Clearing... liquidity deposits to NSCC's Clearing Fund, in order to increase NSCC's liquidity resources to meet its...

Quantifying the clear-sky bias of satellite-derived infrared LST

Science.gov (United States)

Ermida, S. L.; Trigo, I. F.; DaCamara, C.

2017-12-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is one of the most relevant parameters when addressing the physical processes that take place at the surface of the Earth. Satellite data are particularly appropriate for measuring LST over the globe with high temporal resolution. Remote-sensed LST estimation from space-borne sensors has been systematically performed over the Globe for nearly 3 decades and geostationary LST climate data records are now available. The retrieval of LST from satellite observations generally relies on measurements in the thermal infrared (IR) window. Although there is a large number of IR sensors on-board geostationary satellites and polar orbiters suitable for LST retrievals with different temporal and spatial resolutions, the use of IR observations limits LST estimates to clear sky conditions. As a consequence, climate studies based on IR LST are likely to be affected by the restriction of LST data to cloudless conditions. However, such "clear sky bias" has never been quantified and, therefore, the actual impact of relying only on clear sky data is still to be determined. On the other hand, an "all-weather" global LST database may be set up based on passive microwave (MW) measurements which are much less affected by clouds. An 8-year record of all-weather MW LST is here used to quantify the clear-sky bias of IR LST at global scale based on MW observations performed by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) onboard NASA's Aqua satellite. Selection of clear-sky and cloudy pixels is based on information derived from measurements performed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on-board the same satellite.

Indications on continued nitrogen uptake in Scots pine roots after clear-felling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albrektson, A.; Valinger, E.; Leijon, B.; Sjoegren, H.; Sonesson, J.

1997-11-01

A study was performed in a 150 years old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand situated on a sandy moor in northern Sweden. Two plots were to be compared, and in June 1993 one was clear-felled. Even if reduced with approximately 50%, a significant fine root (diameter < 2 mm) growth was noticed at least up to one year after the clear-felling. For medium roots (diameters 2-4 and 4-6 mm) nitrogen content in root-wood and root-bark samples from the clear-felling, as compared to the reference plot, were 30-50% higher two months after the clear-felling. The difference did not increase in later comparisons. N-content in bark and wood buttress did not differ during the period studied, except for a higher percentage in bark at the clear-felling after two summers. This was believed to be a result of decomposition. The results indicate a maintained physiological activity in the stump-root system of Scots pine at least for one year at this site. An active uptake of N in roots of cut trees may influence leaching after clear-felling, the forage value of roots, and root decomposition rate and also maintain root competition with standing trees after thinning. 40 refs, 1 fig, 2 tabs

Plasma hearth process demonstration project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geimer, R.M.; Gillins, R.L.

1995-01-01

The Plasma Hearth Process (PHP) demonstration project is one of the key technology projects in the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Development Mixed Waste Focus Area. The PHP is a high temperature thermal treatment process using a plasma arc torch in a stationary, refractory lined chamber that destroys organics and stabilizes the residuals in a nonleaching, vitrified waste form, greatly improving the disposability of the waste. This paper describes the PHP system and summarizes test results to date, including volume reduction, destruction and removal efficiencies for organic wastes, and emission characteristics. Tests performed so far demonstrate that the PHP adresses DOE mixed waste final waste form requirements and US Environmental Protection Agency Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure requirements

Multiobjective clearing of reactive power market in deregulated power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabiee, A.; Shayanfar, H.; Amjady, N.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a day-ahead reactive power market which is cleared in the form of multiobjective context. Total payment function (TPF) of generators, representing the payment paid to the generators for their reactive power compensation, is considered as the main objective function of reactive power market. Besides that, voltage security margin, overload index, and also voltage drop index are the other objective functions of the optimal power flow (OPF) problem to clear the reactive power market. A Multiobjective Mathematical Programming (MMP) formulation is implemented to solve the problem of reactive power market clearing using a fuzzy approach to choose the best compromise solution according to the specific preference among various non-dominated (pareto optimal) solutions. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined based on the IEEE 24-bus reliability test system (IEEE 24-bus RTS). (author)

Estimation of clearness index using neural network with meteorological forecast; Kisho yoho wo nyuryoku toshita neural network ni yoru seiten shisu no yosoku

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishimura, S; Kenmoku, Y; Sakakibara, T [Toyohashi University of Technology, Aichi (Japan); Nakagawa, S [Maizuru National College of Technology, Kyoto (Japan); Kawamoto, T [Shizuoka University, Shizuoka (Japan)

1997-11-25

Discussions were given on estimation of clearness index in order to operate stably a solar energy utilizing system. All-sky insolation amount varies not only by change in the climate, but also seasonal change in the sun`s altitude. Therefore, a clearness index (ratio of all-sky insolation to out-of-atmosphere insolation) was used. The larger the value, the higher the solar ray permeability. The all-sky insolation amount is a measured value, while the out-of-atmosphere insolation amount is a calculated value. Although the clearness index may be roughly estimated by weather forecast, the clearness index varies largely even on the same weather forecast, especially for cloudy days, if a weather forecast actually having error is used. Therefore, discussions were given on estimation of the clearness index by using a neural network which uses meteorological information such as air temperatures and precipitation probabilities as inputs. Using multiple number of meteorological forecast information simultaneously has reduced the average square error to 49% of that using only the weather forecast. The estimation accuracy depends on the accuracy of meteorological forecast, but using multiple number of forecast information can improve the accuracy. 6 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab.

Improving machinery reliability

CERN Document Server

Bloch, Heinz P

1998-01-01

This totally revised, updated and expanded edition provides proven techniques and procedures that extend machinery life, reduce maintenance costs, and achieve optimum machinery reliability. This essential text clearly describes the reliability improvement and failure avoidance steps practiced by best-of-class process plants in the U.S. and Europe.

78 FR 21046 - Amendment to Rule Filing Requirements for Dually-Registered Clearing Agencies

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-09

... clearing operations of a Registered Clearing Agency and are not linked to securities clearing operations...: (A) does not adversely affect the safeguarding of securities or funds in the custody or control of...)(ii) to designate proposed rule changes concerning the agency's security futures operations as taking...

78 FR 62846 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-22

... Proposed Rule Change, as Previously Modified by Amendment Nos. 1 and 2, To Institute Supplemental Liquidity Deposits to Its Clearing Fund Designed To Increase Liquidity Resources To Meet Its Liquidity Needs October...'') to provide for supplemental liquidity deposits to its Clearing Fund (the ``NSCC Clearing Fund'') to...

Radiological information systems: improvements in service, economy, and quality control?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gross-Fengels, W.; Weber, M.

1997-01-01

By means of complete service control and standardized accounting processes, radiological information systems clearly contribute to improved results. They provide the prerequisites for the establishment of expanded networks and allow comprisons with comparable institutions. The quality of patient care can be improved since, for example, the production time from referral to finished result becomes shorter. Direct access to patient and findings data from several positions is possible. Preliminary results can be viewed immediately. The patient's history is accessible to authorized users at all times. The exact reproducibility and assignment of services leads to more clarity. By means of the information available form RIS, rapid adaptive processes can be undertaken. The system assists the to fulfill the requirements of health regulations. The above-mentioned relationships demonstrate that the EDP systems are well accepted by physicians, medical assistants, and administrators and represent an indispensable aid for solving problems. (orig.) [de

Bridge pressure flow scour for clear water conditions

Science.gov (United States)

2009-10-01

The equilibrium scour at a bridge caused by pressure flow with critical approach velocity in clear-water simulation conditions was studied both analytically and experimentally. The flume experiments revealed that (1) the measured equilibrium scour pr...

Functional improvement after carotid endarterectomy: demonstrated by gait analysis and acetazolamide stress brain perfusion SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, J. S.; Kim, G. E.; Yoo, J. Y.; Kim, D. G.; Moon, D. H.

2005-01-01

Scientific documentation of neurologic improvement following carotid endarterectomy (CEA) has not been established. The purpose of this prospective study is to investigate whether CEA performed for the internal carotid artery flow lesion improves gait and cerebrovascular hemodynamic status in patients with gait disturbance. We prospectively performed pre- and postCEA gait analysis and acetazolamide stress brain perfusion SPECT (Acz-SPECT) with Tc-99m ECD in 91 patients (M/F: 81/10, mean age: 64.1 y) who had gait disturbance before receiving CEA. Gait performance was assessed using a Vicon 370 motion analyzer. The gait improvement after CEA was correlated to cerebrovascular hemodynamic change as well as symptom duration. 12 hemiparetic stroke patients (M/F=9/3, mean age: 51 y) who did not receive CEA as a control underwent gait analysis twice in a week interval to evaluate whether repeat testing of gait performance shows learning effect. Of 91 patients, 73 (80%) patients showed gait improvement (change of gait speed > 10%) and 42 (46%) showed marked improvement (change of gait speed > 20%), but no improvement was observed in control group at repeat test. Post-operative cerebrovascular hemodynamic improvement was noted in 49 (54%) of 91 patients. There was marked gait improvement in patients group with cerebrovascular hemodynamic improvement compared to no change group (p<0.05). Marked gait improvement and cerebrovascular hemodynamic improvement were noted in 53% and 61% of the patient who had less than 3 month history of symptom compared to 31% and 24% of the patients who had longer than 3 months, respectively (p<0.05). Marked gait improvement was obtained in patients who had improvement of cerebrovascular hemodynamic status on Acz-SPECT after CEA. These results suggest functional improvement such as gait can result from the improved perfusion of misery perfusion area, which is viable for a longer period compared to literatures previously reported

Demonstration of reliability centered maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwan, C.A.; Morgan, T.A.

1991-04-01

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is an approach to preventive maintenance planning and evaluation that has been used successfully by other industries, most notably the airlines and military. Now EPRI is demonstrating RCM in the commercial nuclear power industry. Just completed are large-scale, two-year demonstrations at Rochester Gas ampersand Electric (Ginna Nuclear Power Station) and Southern California Edison (San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station). Both demonstrations were begun in the spring of 1988. At each plant, RCM was performed on 12 to 21 major systems. Both demonstrations determined that RCM is an appropriate means to optimize a PM program and improve nuclear plant preventive maintenance on a large scale. Such favorable results had been suggested by three earlier EPRI pilot studies at Florida Power ampersand Light, Duke Power, and Southern California Edison. EPRI selected the Ginna and San Onofre sites because, together, they represent a broad range of utility and plant size, plant organization, plant age, and histories of availability and reliability. Significant steps in each demonstration included: selecting and prioritizing plant systems for RCM evaluation; performing the RCM evaluation steps on selected systems; evaluating the RCM recommendations by a multi-disciplinary task force; implementing the RCM recommendations; establishing a system to track and verify the RCM benefits; and establishing procedures to update the RCM bases and recommendations with time (a living program). 7 refs., 1 tab

Penn gap rule in phase-change memory materials: No clear evidence for resonance bonds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Shimakawa

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Although a proposal of resonance bonds in crystalline phase-change materials based on the GeSbTe system has been provided, we do not find any clear evidence in favor of the proposal. The ellipsometric study demonstrates that a change in the high frequency dielectric constant ε∞ between the amorphous and crystalline phases is only scaled by the average bandgap (the Penn gap rule. Even for a pure antimony film, regarded as a prototype resonance bonding material, ε∞ was found to follow the Penn gap rule. Experimentally, we did not find any evidence of a significant change in the optical transition matrix element during the phase change, which is necessary to support the idea of resonance bonds.

[The impact of personality traits on adolescents' adaptation and compliance to clear retainers].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Fan; Tang, Guo-Hua

2017-02-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the adolescents' adaptation and compliance to clear retainers, and to investigate their associations with personality traits. Fifty adolescents at the end of fixed orthodontic treatment were consecutively recruited. After debonding the fixed orthodontic appliances, clear retainers were used. Participants were asked to fill questionnaires 2 months after wearing the clear retainers. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate their adaptation and compliance for clear retianers. Eysenck personality questionnaire was used to assess the personality traits. Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze the associations between personality traits with the adaptation and compliance to clear retainers using SAS8.0 software package. Forty-two of 50 adolescents accomplished the questionnaires. 76% felt no mucous irritation, 95% felt no influence on socializing. However, 75% showed oral constraint, 71% felt impaired speech. Moreover, 40% adolescents wore the retainers less than 18 hours per day. 31% patients had their aligner lost. 83% patients did not brush their teeth after each meal. Neuroticism was positively associated with the effect of impaired chewing (r=0.32). Psychoticism was positively associated with the oral constraint (r=0.31) and facial muscular soreness (r=0.35), but negatively associated with the influence on emotion (r=-0.34). Extraversion was positively associated with the retainers' damage (r=0.31). Adolescents showed good adaptation for clear retainers, but unsatisfactory compliance. There are associations between adolescents' adaptation and compliance for clear retainers and personality traits. These results suggest that clinicians should pay more attention to the compliance of adolescents when using clear retainer. Personality traits could be a useful prediction to assess the compliance for clear aligners.

Clear-sky narrowband albedos derived from VIRS and MODIS

Science.gov (United States)

Sun-Mack, Sunny; Minnis, Patrick; Chen, Yan; Arduini, Robert F.

2004-02-01

The Clouds and Earth"s Radiant Energy System (CERES) project is using multispectral imagers, the Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) on the tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra, operating since spring 2000, and Aqua, operating since summer 2002, to provide cloud and clear-sky properties at various wavelengths. This paper presents the preliminary results of an analysis of the CERES clear-sky reflectances to derive a set top-of-atmosphere clear sky albedo for 0.65, 0.86, 1.6, 2.13 μm, for all major surface types using the combined MODIS and VIRS datasets. The variability of snow albedo with surface type is examined using MODIS data. Snow albedo was found to depend on the vertical structure of the vegetation. At visible wavelengths, it is least for forested areas and greatest for smooth desert and tundra surfaces. At 1.6 and 2.1-μm, the snow albedos are relatively insensitive to the underlying surface because snow decreases the reflectance. Additional analyses using all of the MODIS results will provide albedo models that should be valuable for many remote sensing, simulation and radiation budget studies.

Tropospheric haze and colors of the clear daytime sky.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Raymond L

2015-02-01

To casual observers, haze's visible effects on clear daytime skies may seem mundane: significant scattering by tropospheric aerosols visibly (1) reduces the luminance contrast of distant objects and (2) desaturates sky blueness. However, few published measurements of hazy-sky spectra and chromaticities exist to compare with these naked-eye observations. Hyperspectral imaging along sky meridians of clear and hazy skies at one inland and two coastal sites shows that they have characteristic colorimetric signatures of scattering and absorption by haze aerosols. In addition, a simple spectral transfer function and a second-order scattering model of skylight reveal the net spectral and colorimetric effects of haze.

Demonstration of Passive Fuel Cell Thermal Management Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Kenneth A.; Jakupca, Ian; Colozza, Anthony; Wynne, Robert; Miller, Michael; Meyer, Al; Smith, William

2012-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center is developing advanced passive thermal management technology to reduce the mass and improve the reliability of space fuel cell systems for the NASA Exploration program. The passive thermal management system relies on heat conduction within highly thermally conductive cooling plates to move the heat from the central portion of the cell stack out to the edges of the fuel cell stack. Using the passive approach eliminates the need for a coolant pump and other cooling loop components within the fuel cell system which reduces mass and improves overall system reliability. Previous development demonstrated the performance of suitable highly thermally conductive cooling plates and integrated heat exchanger technology to collect the heat from the cooling plates (Ref. 1). The next step in the development of this passive thermal approach was the demonstration of the control of the heat removal process and the demonstration of the passive thermal control technology in actual fuel cell stacks. Tests were run with a simulated fuel cell stack passive thermal management system outfitted with passive cooling plates, an integrated heat exchanger and two types of cooling flow control valves. The tests were run to demonstrate the controllability of the passive thermal control approach. Finally, successful demonstrations of passive thermal control technology were conducted with fuel cell stacks from two fuel cell stack vendors.

Gastric pH and residual volume after 1 and 2 h fasting time for clear fluids in children†.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, A R; Buehler, P; Seglias, L; Stark, T; Brotschi, B; Renner, T; Sabandal, C; Klaghofer, R; Weiss, M; Schmitz, A

2015-03-01

Current guidelines suggest a fasting time of 2 h for clear fluids, which is often exceeded in clinical practice, leading to discomfort, dehydration and stressful anaesthesia induction to patients, especially in the paediatric population. Shorter fluid fasting might be a strategy to improve patient comfort but has not been investigated yet. This prospective clinical trial compares gastric pH and residual volume after 1 vs 2 h of preoperative clear fluid fasting. Children (1-16 yr, ASA I or II) undergoing elective procedures in general anaesthesia requiring tracheal intubation were randomized into group A with 60 min or B with 120 min preoperative clear fluid fasting. To determine gastric pH and residual volume, the gastric content was sampled in supine, left and right lateral patient position using an oro-gastric tube after intubation. Data are median (interquartile range) for group A or B (PPatient characteristic data were similar between the two groups, except for gender (46/33 males in group A/B; P=0.02). Despite significantly shorter fasting times for clear fluids in group A compared with group B (76/136 min; P<0.001), no significant difference was observed regarding gastric pH [1.43 (1.30-1.56)/1.44 (1.29-1.68), P=0.66] or residual volume [0.43 (0.21-0.84)/0.46 (0.19-0.78) ml kg(-1), P=0.47]. One hour clear fluid fasting does not alter gastric pH or residual volume significantly compared with 2 h fasting. The study was approved by the local ethics committee (KEK-ZH-Nr. 2011-0034) and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01516775). © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Continuing Robot Skill Learning after Demonstration with Human Feedback

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Argall Brenna D.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Though demonstration-based approaches have been successfully applied to learning a variety of robot behaviors, there do exist some limitations. The ability to continue learning after demonstration, based on execution experience with the learned policy, therefore has proven to be an asset to many demonstration-based learning systems. This paper discusses important considerations for interfaces that provide feedback to adapt and improve demonstrated behaviors. Feedback interfaces developed for two robots with very different motion capabilities - a wheeled mobile robot and high degree-of-freedom humanoid - are highlighted.

Fuel Cell Demonstration Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerald Brun

2006-09-15

In an effort to promote clean energy projects and aid in the commercialization of new fuel cell technologies the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) initiated a Fuel Cell Demonstration Program in 1999 with six month deployments of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) non-commercial Beta model systems at partnering sites throughout Long Island. These projects facilitated significant developments in the technology, providing operating experience that allowed the manufacturer to produce fuel cells that were half the size of the Beta units and suitable for outdoor installations. In 2001, LIPA embarked on a large-scale effort to identify and develop measures that could improve the reliability and performance of future fuel cell technologies for electric utility applications and the concept to establish a fuel cell farm (Farm) of 75 units was developed. By the end of October of 2001, 75 Lorax 2.0 fuel cells had been installed at the West Babylon substation on Long Island, making it the first fuel cell demonstration of its kind and size anywhere in the world at the time. Designed to help LIPA study the feasibility of using fuel cells to operate in parallel with LIPA's electric grid system, the Farm operated 120 fuel cells over its lifetime of over 3 years including 3 generations of Plug Power fuel cells (Lorax 2.0, Lorax 3.0, Lorax 4.5). Of these 120 fuel cells, 20 Lorax 3.0 units operated under this Award from June 2002 to September 2004. In parallel with the operation of the Farm, LIPA recruited government and commercial/industrial customers to demonstrate fuel cells as on-site distributed generation. From December 2002 to February 2005, 17 fuel cells were tested and monitored at various customer sites throughout Long Island. The 37 fuel cells operated under this Award produced a total of 712,635 kWh. As fuel cell technology became more mature, performance improvements included a 1% increase in system efficiency. Including equipment, design, fuel, maintenance

Profiling of subgingival plaque biofilm microbiota in female adult patients with clear aligners: a three-month prospective study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Runzhi Guo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background Clear aligners are well known for facilitating oral hygiene maintenance and decreasing susceptibility to periodontal diseases as compared to conventional fixed appliances. However, few research studies focus on the subgingival microbial community during clear aligner treatment (CAT. Hence, this study investigates changes of the subgingival microbial community and its association with clinical characteristics during the first three months of CAT. Methods Ten female patients with clear aligners were enrolled in this study. Subgingival plaque samples were obtained at three time points: before orthodontic treatment (T0, one month after orthodontic treatment (T1 and three months after orthodontic treatment (T2. DNA was then extracted from plaque samples and analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Periodontal examinations, including plaque index (PI and gingival bleeding index (GBI measurements were also recorded. Results The plaque indices (PIs and gingival bleeding indices (GBIs were slightly increased at T1 and T2, but no statistically significant difference was found. The alpha diversity indices, including the ACE, Chao1, Shannon indices, all showed a declining trend without significance, and a rising trend in the Simpson diversity index was observed. The weighted UniFrac distance was significantly higher at T1 and T2 compared with T0. Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA demonstrated that the communities at T0 tended to cluster apart from the communities at T1 and T2. The relative abundance of the phylum Firmicutes and genus Mycoplasma was significantly increased at T0 compared with T2. There was no significant difference in the relative abundance of periodontal pathogens at the genus and species levels or core microorganisms at the genus level. Conclusion A slightly decreasing microbial diversity with a significant change of microbial structure was found during the first three-month clear aligner treatment (CAT. However, subjects

4th International Conference on Software Process Improvement

CERN Document Server

Muñoz, Mirna; Rocha, Álvaro; Calvo-Manzano, Jose

2016-01-01

This book contains a selection of papers from The 2015 International Conference on Software Process Improvement (CIMPS’15), held between the 28th and 30th of October in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México. The CIMPS’15 is a global forum for researchers and practitioners that present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, results, experiences and concerns in the several perspectives of Software Engineering with clear relationship but not limited to software processes, Security in Information and Communication Technology and Big Data Field. The main topics covered are: Organizational Models, Standards and Methodologies, Knowledge Management, Software Systems, Applications and Tools, Information and Communication Technologies and Processes in non-software domains (Mining, automotive, aerospace, business, health care, manufacturing, etc.) with a demonstrated relationship to software process challenges.

Digital-image processing improves man-machine communication at a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, S.A.; Harrington, T.P.; Toffer, H.

1982-01-01

The application of digital image processing to improve man-machine communication in a nuclear reactor control room is illustrated. At the Hanford N Reactor, operated by UNC Nuclear Industries for the United States Department of Energy, in Richland, Washington, digital image processing is applied to flow, temperature, and tube power data. Color displays are used to present the data in a clear and concise fashion. Specific examples are used to demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of digital image processing of reactor data. N Reactor flow and power maps for routine reactor operations and for perturbed reactor conditions are displayed. The advantages of difference mapping are demonstrated. Image processing techniques have also been applied to results of analytical reactor models; two examples are shown. The potential of combining experimental and analytical information with digital image processing to produce predictive and adaptive reactor core models is discussed. The applications demonstrate that digital image processing can provide new more effective ways for control room personnel to assess reactor status, to locate problems and explore corrective actions. 10 figures

Seeing Clearly (A Cup of Health with CDC)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

If you’re not seeing the world as clearly as you used to, you might be among the millions of people suffering from vision impairment. In this podcast, Dr. John Crews discusses ways to take care of your eyes.

Passive appendages improve the maneuverability of fish-like robots

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Beau; Tallapragada, Phanindra

2017-11-01

It is known that the passive mechanics of fish appendages play a role in the high efficiency of their swimming. A well known example of this is the experimental demonstration that a dead fish could swim upstream. However little is known about the role if any of passive deformations of a fish-like body that could aid in its maneuverability. Part of the difficulty investigating this lies in clearly separating the role of actuated body deformations and passive deformations in response to the fluid structure interaction. In this paper we compare the maneuverability of several fish shaped robotic models that possess varying numbers of passive appendages with a fish shaped robot that has no appendages. All the robots are propelled by the oscillations of an internal momentum wheel thereby eliminating any active deformations of the body. Our experiments clearly reveal the significant improvement in maneuverability of robots with passive appendages. In the broader context of swimming robots our experiments show that passive mechanisms could be useful to provide mechanical feedback that can help maneuverability and obstacle avoidance along with propulsive efficiency. This work was partly supported by a Grant from the NSF CMMI 1563315.

Clear cell carcinoma of the ovary: Is there a role of histology-specific treatment?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takano Masashi

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Several clinical trials to establish standard treatment modality for ovarian cancers included a high abundance of patients with serous histologic tumors, which were quite sensitive to platinum-based chemotherapy. On the other hand, ovarian tumor with rare histologic subtypes such as clear cell or mucinous tumors have been recognized to show chemo-resistant phenotype, leading to poorer prognosis. Especially, clear cell carcinoma of the ovary (CCC is a distinctive tumor, deriving from endometriosis or clear cell adenofibroma, and response rate to platinum-based therapy is extremely low. It was implied that complete surgical staging enabled us to distinguish a high risk group of recurrence in CCC patients whose disease was confined to the ovary (pT1M0; however, complete surgical staging procedures could not lead to improved survival. Moreover, the status of peritoneal cytology was recognized as an independent prognostic factor in early-staged CCC patients, even after complete surgical staging. In advanced cases with CCC, the patients with no residual tumor had significantly better survival than those with the tumor less than 1 cm or those with tumor diameter more than 1 cm. Therefore, the importance of achieving no macroscopic residual disease at primary surgery is so important compared with other histologic subtypes. On the other hand, many studies have shown that conventional platinum-based chemotherapy regimens yielded a poorer prognosis in patients with CCC than in patients with serous subtypes. The response rate by paclitaxel plus carboplatin (TC was slightly higher, ranging from 22% to 56%, which was not satisfactory enough. Another regimen for CCC tumors is now being explored: irinotecan plus cisplatin, and molecular targeting agents. In this review article, we discuss the surgical issues for early-staged and advanced CCC including possibility of fertility-sparing surgery, and the chemotherapy for CCC disease.

Demonstration of improved vehicle fuel efficiency through innovative tire design, materials, and weight reduction technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donley, Tim [Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Incorporated, Findlay, OH (United States)

2014-12-31

Cooper completed an investigation into new tire technology using a novel approach to develop and demonstrate a new class of fuel efficient tires using innovative materials technology and tire design concepts. The objective of this work was to develop a new class of fuel efficient tires, focused on the “replacement market” that would improve overall passenger vehicle fuel efficiency by 3% while lowering the overall tire weight by 20%. A further goal of this project was to accomplish the objectives while maintaining the traction and wear performance of the control tire. This program was designed to build on what has already been accomplished in the tire industry for rolling resistance based on the knowledge and general principles developed over the past decades. Cooper’s CS4 (Figure #1) premium broadline tire was chosen as the control tire for this program. For Cooper to achieve the goals of this project, the development of multiple technologies was necessary. Six technologies were chosen that are not currently being used in the tire industry at any significant level, but that showed excellent prospects in preliminary research. This development was divided into two phases. Phase I investigated six different technologies as individual components. Phase II then took a holistic approach by combining all the technologies that showed positive results during phase one development.

Internet compromise clears way for WSIS agreement

CERN Multimedia

Ermert, M

2003-01-01

A working group under the leadership of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan himself will try to resolve the deep differences on the question of Internet governance, officials said here. The group, whose exact membership wasn't immediately clear, is to propose a solution to the controversial issue that has given negotiators at the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS) a headache (1/2 page).

A clinical case treated with clear aligners.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Fernando César; Jóias, Renata Pilli; Cepera, Fernanda; Paranhos, Luiz Renato; Sanders, Derek

2011-01-01

There are a wide variety of techniques, prescriptions and materials that can be used to correct malocclusions. Esthetic and discrete appliances have gained popularity in recent years and there seems to be a continual search for new materials that can provide similar orthodontic results. This article will describe the relevant aspects of clear aligners and present clinical cases to document some of the applications of Invisalign.

Market clearing of joint energy and reserves auctions using augmented payment minimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amjady, N.; Aghaei, J.; Shayanfar, H.A.

2009-01-01

This paper presents the market clearing of joint energy and reserves auctions and its mathematical formulation, focusing on a possible implementation of the Payment Cost Minimization (PCM). It also discusses another key point in debate: whether market clearing algorithm should minimize offer costs or payment costs? An aggregated simultaneous market clearing approach is proposed for provision of ancillary services as well as energy, which is in the form of Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) formulation. In the MINLP formulation of the market clearing process, the objective function (Payment cost or offer cost) are optimized while meeting AC power flow constraints, system reserve requirements and lost opportunity cost (LOC) considerations. The model is applied to the IEEE 24-bus Reliability Test System (IEEE 24-bus RTS), and simulation studies are carried out to examine the effectiveness of each objective function. (author)

Technique of Hurdle Clearing in 400 Meters Hurdles (Study Review)

OpenAIRE

Jakoubek, Jiří

2017-01-01

Title: Technique of Hurdle Clearing in 400 Meters Hurdles (Study Review) Authors: Jiří Jakoubek Supervisor: PhDr. Aleš Kaplan, Ph.D. Aims: The aim of this thesis is to describe technique of hurdle clearing in 400 meters hurdle race using study review and to examine this technique at particular athlete during training and racing sessions in 400 meters hurdles race. Methods: Technique was compared and examined at young athlete. Two kinograms were used for analysis, one from training and one fro...

Estimates of clear night sky emissivity in the Negev Highlands, Israel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Runsheng; Etzion, Y.; Meir, I.A.

2004-01-01

A simple method was introduced to estimate the atmospheric emissivity of clear night skies based on the water temperature variation inside an open shallow pond. The method used the pond as an absorber of atmospheric radiation by measuring the water evaporation rate from the pond to ambient air and then calculating the heat loss inside the pond due to the radiative heat exchange between the pond and sky dome. An empirical correlation for the calculations of clear night sky emissivity in the Negev Highlands, Israel, was found. It showed that the emissivity of clear night sky in the Negev Highlands is slightly lower than that expected by Berdahl et al. and Clark's correlations under the climatic conditions during the period of measurements

Preparation of samples for leaf architecture studies, a method for mounting cleared leaves.

Science.gov (United States)

Vasco, Alejandra; Thadeo, Marcela; Conover, Margaret; Daly, Douglas C

2014-09-01

Several recent waves of interest in leaf architecture have shown an expanding range of approaches and applications across a number of disciplines. Despite this increased interest, examination of existing archives of cleared and mounted leaves shows that current methods for mounting, in particular, yield unsatisfactory results and deterioration of samples over relatively short periods. Although techniques for clearing and staining leaves are numerous, published techniques for mounting leaves are scarce. • Here we present a complete protocol and recommendations for clearing, staining, and imaging leaves, and, most importantly, a method to permanently mount cleared leaves. • The mounting protocol is faster than other methods, inexpensive, and straightforward; moreover, it yields clear and permanent samples that can easily be imaged, scanned, and stored. Specimens mounted with this method preserve well, with leaves that were mounted more than 35 years ago showing no signs of bubbling or discoloration.

Determination atmospheric conditions by evaluating clearness index, turbidity and brightness of the sky

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandilli, C.

2005-01-01

There are fifteen different sky types which range from totally overcast sky to low turbidity clear sky have been defined by CIE (International Commission on Illumination). For the applications of solar energy engineering and day lighting purposes, it has a great importance to determine the physical characteristics of atmosphere and the sky type. The most important parameters which define the sky type are clearness index, turbidity and brightness. In this study, the parameters of clearness index, turbidity and brightness of the sky belong to Izmir was calculated and their relations with solar radiation and its components were represented according to 10 years data (1994-2004) of meteorology station of Ege University Solar Energy Institute. In this study, clearness index, turbidity, sky clearness and brightness were evaluated to put forward the effects of the these parameters on the atmospheric condition for designing and engineering purposes

Anterior crossbite correction with a series of clear removable appliances: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jae Hyun; Kim, Tae Weon

2009-01-01

The Clear Aligner can be used to correct tooth movement without involving extraction, surgery, and other adjunct orthopedic appliances. The Clear Aligner is a procedure that can be performed by either an orthodontist or a general dentist without computer simulation/calculation. Since the Clear Aligner is fabricated from the stone model for new appliance at each or every other appointment, it is readily available to change the treatment sequence throughout the course of the treatment. The patient can receive any necessary dental procedures with ease during the course of the treatment. The treatment can also be easily resumed even if the patient has not worn the aligners for a period of time. The purpose of this article is to report dental anterior crossbite correction with a series of Clear Aligners. The Clear Aligner could be used as an alternative in appropriate cases for those who are reluctant with conventional appliances.

77 FR 66196 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Options Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-02

... Accounting Principles (``GAAP''). Canadian clearing members that use Form 1 report the same, and in some... Organizations; Options Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change Relating to Financial... financial reporting by Canadian clearing members to reflect the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization...

A portfolio evaluation framework for air transportation improvement projects

Science.gov (United States)

Baik, Hyeoncheol

This thesis explores the application of portfolio theory to the Air Transportation System (ATS) improvement. The ATS relies on complexly related resources and different stakeholder groups. Moreover, demand for air travel is significantly increasing relative to capacity of air transportation. In this environment, improving the ATS is challenging. Many projects, which are defined as technologies or initiatives, for improvement have been proposed and some have been demonstrated in practice. However, there is no clear understanding of how well these projects work in different conditions nor of how they interact with each other or with existing systems. These limitations make it difficult to develop good project combinations, or portfolios that maximize improvement. To help address this gap, a framework for identifying good portfolios is proposed. The framework can be applied to individual projects or portfolios of projects. Projects or portfolios are evaluated using four different groups of factors (effectiveness, time-to-implement, scope of applicability, and stakeholder impacts). Portfolios are also evaluated in terms of interaction-determining factors (prerequisites, co-requisites, limiting factors, and amplifying factors) because, while a given project might work well in isolation, interdependencies between projects or with existing systems could result in lower overall performance in combination. Ways to communicate a portfolio to decision makers are also introduced. The framework is unique because (1) it allows using a variety of available data, and (2) it covers diverse benefit metrics. For demonstrating the framework, an application to ground delay management projects serves as a case study. The portfolio evaluation approach introduced in this thesis can aid decision makers and researchers at universities and aviation agencies such as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Department of Defense (DoD), in

Clearly delineated lesion in a case of Wallenberg's syndrome by magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okumiya, Noriya; Yamaguchi, Takenori; Miyashita, Takeshi; Kozuka, Takahiro

1985-01-01

Diagnosis of Wallenberg's syndrome has been made by typical neurological symptoms and signs which are compatible with those of lesion in the lateral aspect of medulla oblongata. Although X-ray CT is an extraordinary useful measure for detecting lesions in the central nervous system, brainstem lesion is difficult to be evaluated by it because of varieties of artifact. A recent advance in techniques of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) made it possible to produce fairly good images of infratentorial structure without artifact. But, there are no reports on patients with Wallenberg's syndrome whose lesion was clearly delineated by MRI. A 44 year-old man with a history of hypertension was referred to our hospital because of vertigo, pain on the right side of the face, disturbance of swallowing and hiccup 22 days after onset. On admission, neurological examination revealed right Horner's sign, decreased gag reflex and cerebellar ataxia on the right side, and dissociated sensory impairment on the right side of the face and left extremities. Clinical diagnosis of Wallenberg's syndrome was made, but X-ray CT showed no definite lesion in the infratentorial structure. Cerebral angiography revealed occlusion of the right vertebral artery without reflux of contrast media from the left vertebral artery. Then, there was no visualization of the right posterior inferior cerebellar artery. MRI using Magnetom (0.35 Tesla of static magnetic field produced by superconducting magnet) clearly delineated low intensity area in the right lateral aspect of the medulla oblongata. This is the first case of Wallenberg's syndrome whose anatomical lesion was demonstrated by MRI. (author)

FINDING SOLUTIONS AT THE WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drake, John L.; Gramling, James M.; Houston, Helene M.

2003-01-01

The United States Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) faces a number of sizeable challenges as it begins to transform its mission from managing risk to reducing and eliminating risk throughout the DOE Complex. One of the greatest challenges being addressed by DOE-EM as this transformation takes place is accelerating the deactivation and decommissioning of thousands of facilities within the DOE Complex that were once used to support nuclear-related programs and projects. These facilities are now unused and aging. Finding solutions to complete the cleanup of these aging facilities more safely, efficiently, and effectively while reducing costs is critical to successfully meeting DOE-EM's cleanup challenge. The Large-Scale Demonstration and Deployment Project (LSDDP) of Hot Cells at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) is a near-term project funded through the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) for the specific purpose of identifying, evaluating, demonstrating, and deploying commercially available technologies that are capable of streamlining the cleanup of hot cells in unused facilities while improving worker safety. Two DOE project sites are participating in this LSDDP: the WVDP site in West Valley, New York and the Hanford River Corridor Project (RCP) site in Richland, Washington. The WVDP site serves as the host site for the project. Technologies considered for demonstration and potential deployment at both LSDDP sites are targeted for application in hot cells that require the use of remote and semi-remote techniques to conduct various cleanup-related activities because of high radiation or high contamination levels. These hot cells, the type of cleanup activities being conducted, and technologies selected for demonstration are the main topics discussed in this paper. The range of cleanup-related activities addressed include in-situ characterization, size-reduction, contamination control, decontamination, in

Demonstration of a Moving-Map System for Improved Lane Navigation of Amphibious Vehicles

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Clohrenz, Maura

2003-01-01

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is testing and demonstrating a prototype moving-map system on amphibious vehicles and landing craft to aid the location neutralization and navigation around mines and obstacles in the surf and beach zone...

Preparation of Samples for Leaf Architecture Studies, A Method for Mounting Cleared Leaves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandra Vasco

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Premise of the study: Several recent waves of interest in leaf architecture have shown an expanding range of approaches and applications across a number of disciplines. Despite this increased interest, examination of existing archives of cleared and mounted leaves shows that current methods for mounting, in particular, yield unsatisfactory results and deterioration of samples over relatively short periods. Although techniques for clearing and staining leaves are numerous, published techniques for mounting leaves are scarce. Methods and Results: Here we present a complete protocol and recommendations for clearing, staining, and imaging leaves, and, most importantly, a method to permanently mount cleared leaves. Conclusions: The mounting protocol is faster than other methods, inexpensive, and straightforward; moreover, it yields clear and permanent samples that can easily be imaged, scanned, and stored. Specimens mounted with this method preserve well, with leaves that were mounted more than 35 years ago showing no signs of bubbling or discoloration.

Originality and the PhD: what is it and how can it be demonstrated?

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Paul; Dolan, Gina

2015-07-01

To explore the concept of originality in doctoral research and outline ways in which doctoral candidates can begin to identify, formulate and articulate their individual contributions to knowledge. Originality is a major feature of doctoral research but considerable confusion exists regarding what can and cannot constitute originality in the PhD and how the contribution to knowledge can be demonstrated clearly. This is a discussion paper. A review of relevant, published literature relating to originality in the PhD. Many doctoral candidates merely outline why they believe their work to be original, instead of demonstrating critically how and in what way their research makes a meaningful contribution to the body of knowledge. The concept of originality in the PhD is complex and multi-faceted. Identifying and conveying originality in doctoral research takes considerable time, contemplation and effort. This process is, however, integral to the PhD itself, and the skills acquired are essential for post-doctoral development. A good doctoral thesis should clearly outline the different ways in which the work is original. A succinct, focused, critical appraisal of the specific contribution to knowledge is preferable to an exhaustive list.

A new teaching model for demonstrating the movement of the extraocular muscles.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwanaga, Joe; Refsland, Jason; Iovino, Lee; Holley, Gary; Laws, Tyler; Oskouian, Rod J; Tubbs, R Shane

2017-09-01

The extraocular muscles consist of the superior, inferior, lateral, and medial rectus muscles and the superior and inferior oblique muscles. This study aimed to create a new teaching model for demonstrating the function of the extraocular muscles. A coronal section of the head was prepared and sutures attached to the levator palpebral superioris muscle and six extraocular muscles. Tension was placed on each muscle from a posterior approach and movement of the eye documented from an anterior view. All movements were clearly seen less than that of the inferior rectus muscle. To our knowledge, this is the first cadaveric teaching model for demonstrating the movements of the extraocular muscles. Clin. Anat. 30:733-735, 2017. © 2017Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Radiographic Severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis in African-Americans: Results from the CLEAR Registry

Science.gov (United States)

Bridges, S. Louis; Causey, Zenoria L.; Burgos, Paula I.; Huynh, B. Quynh N.; Hughes, Laura B.; Danila, Maria I.; van Everdingen, Amalia; Ledbetter, Stephanie; Conn, Doyt L.; Tamhane, Ashutosh; Westfall, Andrew O.; Jonas, Beth L.; Callahan, Leigh F.; Smith, Edwin A.; Brasington, Richard; Moreland, Larry W.; Alarcón, Graciela S.; van der Heijde, Désirée M.

2010-01-01

Objective To describe radiographic changes in African-Americans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from the CLEAR (Consortium for the Longitudinal Evaluation of African-Americans with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis) Registry, a multicenter observational study. Methods Self-declared African-American patients, were enrolled in CLEAR I, a longitudinal cohort of early RA (disease duration <2 years) from 2000 to 2005; or in CLEAR II, a cross-sectional cohort (any disease duration), from 2006 to the present. Demographic and clinical data were obtained, and sets of hand/wrist and foot radiographs were scored using the modified Sharp/van der Heijde scoring system. Results A total of 357 and 418 patients, respectively, have been enrolled into CLEAR I and CLEAR II. We report here an interim analysis of radiographic severity in these patients. For the CLEAR I cohort, 294 patients had a mean radiographic score of 2.89 at the baseline visit; 32.0% showed either erosions (25.9%) or joint space narrowing (JSN) (19.4%). At the 36-month visit the mean score was 5.65; 44.2% had erosions, 41.5% JSN and 55.4% had either. Among those patients without radiographic damage at baseline, 18.9% had progressed at the 36-month visit, compared to 57.1% of those with baseline damage (p<0.0001). For the CLEAR II cohort, 167 patients with RA of any duration, 65.3% exhibited joint erosions, 65.3% JSN and 74.8% exhibited either. The mean radiographic score was 33.42. Conclusion This is the largest radiographic study of African American RA patients. Damage occurs early in the disease and is associated with radiographic progression at 3 years of disease duration. The CLEAR Registry will provide a valuable resource for future analyses of genetic, clinical, and environmental factors associated with radiographic severity of RA in African-Americans. PMID:20461784

HyLights: Preparation of the Large-Scale Demonstration Projects on Hydrogen for Transport in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ulrich Bunger; Volker Blandow; Volker Jaensch; Harm Jeeninga; Cristina Morte Gomez

2006-01-01

The strategically important project HyLights has been launched by the European Commission in preparation of the large scale demonstration projects in transition to hydrogen as a fuel and long-term renewable energy carrier. HyLights, monitors concluded/ongoing demonstration projects and assists the planning of the next demonstration project phase, putting a clear focus on hydrogen in transport. HyLights is a coordination action that comprises 5 tasks to: 1) develop an assessment framework for concluded/ongoing demonstration projects, 2) analyse individual projects and establish a project database, 3) carry out a gaps analysis and prepare a requirement profile for the next stage projects, 4) assess and identify necessary financial and legal steps in preparation of the new projects, and 5) develop a European Initiative for the Growth of Hydrogen for Transport (EIGHT). (authors)

A case of clear cell sarcoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juel, Jacob; Ibrahim, Rami Mossad

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is a rare tumour of the soft tissue often misdiagnosed, as it shares characteristics with malignant melanoma (MM). Previously, CCS has been characterised, as malignant melanoma of the soft tissue, contemporary immunohistochemical techniques, however, have made...... this designation obsolete. The true incidence remains unknown, but CCS is believed to represent less than one percent of all sarcomas. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 22-year-old patient presented with a mass sized 2.6×2.7×2.7cm of the left gluteal region, pain, and malaise. Initially, the symptoms were interpreted...

76 FR 20063 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; Order Approving a Proposed Rule...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-11

... that has a clearing relationship with an OCC clearing member participating in the Market Loan Program... and guarantees the return of the loaned stock to the lending clearing member and the return of the... the clearing member's options account at OCC and, to the extent that they offset the risk of options...

77 FR 30032 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed Income Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-21

... the One-Pot Cross- Margining Program With New York Portfolio Clearing, LLC to Certain ``Market... a Set of Market Professional Cross-Margining Accounts would be required to enter into Clearing... FICC and NYPC will not permit Clearing Members to enter into Market Professional Agreements until all...

ClearTK 2.0: Design Patterns for Machine Learning in UIMA

OpenAIRE

Bethard, Steven; Ogren, Philip; Becker, Lee

2014-01-01

ClearTK adds machine learning functionality to the UIMA framework, providing wrappers to popular machine learning libraries, a rich feature extraction library that works across different classifiers, and utilities for applying and evaluating machine learning models. Since its inception in 2008, ClearTK has evolved in response to feedback from developers and the community. This evolution has followed a number of important design principles including: conceptually simple annotator interfaces, r...

Quantitative Assessment of Hyaline Cartilage Elasticity During Optical Clearing Using Optical Coherence Elastography

OpenAIRE

Chih-Hao Liu; Manmohan Singh; Jiasong Li; Zhaolong Han; Chen Wu; Shang Wang; Rita Idugboe; Raksha Raghunathan; Emil N. Sobol; Valery V. Tuchin; Michael Twa; Kirill V. Larin

2015-01-01

Tissue optical clearing is an emerging technique for dynamically modifying tissue optical properties to increase imaging depth, which is useful in applications such as imaging and functional diagnostics of many diseases. For example, optical clearing of cartilage allowed imaging of subchondral bone that is used to assess orthopedic diseases. However, the effect of the clearing processes on tissue elastic properties has not been investigated yet. In this study we report the first use of phase-...

Solar energy parking canopy demonstration project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cylwik, Joe [City of Big Bear Lake, Big Bear, CA (United States); David, Lawrence [City of Big Bear Lake, Big Bear, CA (United States)

2015-09-24

The goal of this pilot/demonstration program is to measure the viability of using solar photovoltaic (PV) technology at three locations in a mountain community environment given the harsh weather conditions. An additional goal is to reduce long-term operational costs, minimize green house gas emissions, lower the dependency on energy produced from fossil fuels, and improve the working environment and health of city employees and residents.

77 FR 10591 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-22

... required to make deposits to the Clearing Fund with the amount of each Member's required deposit being fixed by NSCC in accordance with Procedure XV. The Clearing Fund Formula includes an Excess Capital Premium (``Premium''), which may be added to a Members deposit requirement when a Member's Clearing Fund...

Serum microRNAs in clear cell carcinoma of the ovary.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Angel; Lai, Chyong-Huey; Chen, Hua-Chien; Lin, Chiao-Yun; Tsai, Chia-Lung; Tang, Yun-Hsin; Huang, Huei-Jean; Lin, Chen-Tao; Chen, Min-Yu; Huang, Kuang-Gen; Chou, Hung-Hsueh; Chang, Ting-Chang; Chen, Shu-Jen; Wang, Tzu-Hao

2014-12-01

To identify candidate microRNAs (miRNAs) in the serum of patients with clear cell carcinomas in monitoring disease progression. The sera of patients with diagnosed ovarian clear cell carcinoma were collected from 2009 to 2012. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis for 270 miRNAs was performed. To offset the potential extraction bias, an equal amount of Caenorhabditis elegans cel-miR-238 was added to each serum specimen before miRNA isolation. miRNA expression was analyzed using the ΔCt method, with cel-miR-238 as controls. Twenty-one patients with clear cell carcinoma were included. In the discovery phase on four pairs of pre- and postoperative sera, 18 differentially expressed miRNAs were selected from 270 miRNAs. In the validation phase on an independent set of 11 pairs of pre- and postoperative sera, 4 miRNAs (hsa-miR-130a, hsa-miR-138, hsa-miR-187, and hsa-miR-202) were confirmed to be higher in the preoperative sera. In the application phase, hsa-miR-130a remained consistent with the different time points in seven of the 10 patients during clinical follow-up periods. More importantly, in three patients, hsa-miR-130a levels were elevated in early disease recurrences before CA125 was found to be elevated. Hsa-miR-130a may be a useful serum biomarker for detecting recurrence of ovarian clear cell cancer, and warrants further studies. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A comparative study of combined periodontal and orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances and clear aligners in patients with periodontitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Ji-Young

2015-12-01

With the increasing prevalence of orthodontic treatment in adults, clear aligner treatments are becoming more popular. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of orthodontic treatment on periodontal tissue and to compare orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances (FA) to clear aligner treatment (CAT) in periodontitis patients. A total of 35 patients who underwent orthodontic treatment in the Department of Periodontology were included in this study. After periodontal treatment with meticulous oral hygiene education, patients underwent treatment with FA or CAT, and this study analyzed patient outcomes depending on the treatment strategy. Clinical parameters were assessed at baseline and after orthodontic treatment, and the duration of treatment was compared between these two groups. The overall plaque index, the gingival index, and probing depth improved after orthodontic treatment (P<0.01). The overall bone level also improved (P=0.045). However, the bone level changes in the FA and CAT groups were not significantly different. Significant differences were found between the FA and CAT groups in probing depth, change in probing depth, and duration of treatment (P<0.05). However, no significant differences were found between the FA and CAT groups regarding the plaque index, changes in the plaque index, the gingival index, changes in the gingival index, or changes in the alveolar bone level. The percentage of females in the CAT group (88%) was significantly greater than in the FA group (37%) (P<0.01). After orthodontic treatment, clinical parameters were improved in the FA and CAT groups with meticulous oral hygiene education and plaque control. Regarding plaque index and gingival index, no significant differences were found between these two groups. We suggest that combined periodontal and orthodontic treatment can improve patients' periodontal health irrespective of orthodontic techniques.

78 FR 22350 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Notice of Filing and Order Granting...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-15

... safeguarding of securities and funds which are in the custody or control of the clearing agency or for which it... affect any securities clearing operations of the clearing agency or any rights or obligations of the... clearing agency's clearing operations with respect to products that are not securities and that do not...

20 CFR 402.100 - Exemption six: Clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Exemption six: Clearly unwarranted invasion... AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS TO THE PUBLIC § 402.100 Exemption six: Clearly unwarranted invasion of... lines” or piece together items that would constitute information that normally would be exempt from...

Effect of the standard design of forest roads clearing limit on stand ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Aidin

clearing limit as well as the difference between standard and existing trees stock growth in different slope classes ... clearing trees. At this phase, trees and other large vegetation within the right-of-way boundaries should be felled and bucked. In addition hazardous snags and ... androseamum) and fern (Polystichum sp.).

The first demonstration of the concept of “narrow-FOV Si/CdTe semiconductor Compton camera”

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ichinohe, Yuto, E-mail: ichinohe@astro.isas.jaxa.jp [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Uchida, Yuusuke; Watanabe, Shin [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Edahiro, Ikumi [Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); Hayashi, Katsuhiro [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Kawano, Takafumi; Ohno, Masanori [Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); Ohta, Masayuki [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Takeda, Shin' ichiro [Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495 (Japan); Fukazawa, Yasushi [Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); Katsuragawa, Miho [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Nakazawa, Kazuhiro [University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Odaka, Hirokazu [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Tajima, Hiroyasu [Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601 (Japan); Takahashi, Hiromitsu [Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); and others

2016-01-11

The Soft Gamma-ray Detector (SGD), to be deployed on board the ASTRO-H satellite, has been developed to provide the highest sensitivity observations of celestial sources in the energy band of 60–600 keV by employing a detector concept which uses a Compton camera whose field-of-view is restricted by a BGO shield to a few degree (narrow-FOV Compton camera). In this concept, the background from outside the FOV can be heavily suppressed by constraining the incident direction of the gamma ray reconstructed by the Compton camera to be consistent with the narrow FOV. We, for the first time, demonstrate the validity of the concept using background data taken during the thermal vacuum test and the low-temperature environment test of the flight model of SGD on ground. We show that the measured background level is suppressed to less than 10% by combining the event rejection using the anti-coincidence trigger of the active BGO shield and by using Compton event reconstruction techniques. More than 75% of the signals from the field-of-view are retained against the background rejection, which clearly demonstrates the improvement of signal-to-noise ratio. The estimated effective area of 22.8 cm{sup 2} meets the mission requirement even though not all of the operational parameters of the instrument have been fully optimized yet.

Clear corneal incision leakage after phacoemulsification--detection using povidone iodine 5%.

Science.gov (United States)

Chee, Soon-Phaik

2005-01-01

The purpose of this work was to study the incidence of clear corneal wound leakage at the conclusion of standard co-axial phacoemulsification in a prospective observational series of 100 consecutive cataract cases in a single surgeon's institutional practice. At the conclusion of standard co-axial phacoemulsification using a 2.75 mm temporal single plane clear corneal incision with a 1 mm clear corneal side-port incision, the wounds were hydrated and checked for water-tightness. Povidone iodine 5% (P-I) was then evenly dripped over the cornea and the wounds were inspected visually. Any leakage of aqueous observed was recorded. The amount of leakage was graded as small or large from each wound. Leaky wounds were further hydrated and retested with P-I until sealed. Wound integrity was reassessed on the first postoperative day by use of fluorescein. Of the 100 cases, wound leakage was observed for 31 eyes (31%)-ten main incisions, nineteen side-port incisions, and both incisions in two cases. Wound leakage was easily detected as a ribbon of clear fluid streaming from the incision amid a pool of brown solution. Povidone iodine was not observed within the tract in any incision. All wound leakage was small except for one from the main incision and two from the side-port incision. None of the eyes developed wound leakage the day after surgery and none developed endophthalmitis. In conclusion, leakage from clear corneal incisions at the conclusion of phacoemulsification occurs in almost a third of cases, predominantly from the side incision. It is easily detected by use of the P-I test.

Demonstration of 3 buses fuelled with ethanol with ignition improver in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verweij, J.; Weide, J. van der; Nie, L.H. de; Bruin, A. de

1996-01-01

This three year demonstration programme was initiated by OBL, a subsidiary of two Dutch sugar companies, and GADO, a public transport company. The programme was financially supported by a regional governmental organisation (ISP). In this programme, three bio-ethanol fuelled buses accumulated more

76 FR 37162 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-24

... of OCC's Internal Cross-Margining Program To Include the Ability of a Pair of Affiliated Clearing... change is to expand OCC's internal cross- margining program to permit a pair of affiliated clearing... program for affiliated clearing members until after such time that the CFTC has issued an order or amended...

Low-E Retrofit Demonstration and Educational Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Culp, Thomas D [Birch Point Consulting LLC; Wiehagen, Joseph [Home Innovation Research Labs, Inc.; Drumheller, S Craig [Home Innovation Research Labs, Inc.; Siegel, John [Quanta Technologies Inc.; Stratmoen, Todd [Larson Manufacturing

2013-11-16

The objective of this project was to demonstrate the capability of low-emissivity (low-E) storm windows / panels and low-E retrofit glazing systems to significantly and cost effectively improve the energy efficiency of both existing residential and commercial buildings. The key outcomes are listed below: RESIDENTIAL CASE STUDIES: (a) A residential case study in two large multifamily apartment buildings in Philadelphia showed a substantial 18-22% reduction in heating energy use and a 9% reduction in cooling energy use by replacing old clear glass storm windows with modern low-E storm windows. Furthermore, the new low-E storm windows reduced the overall apartment air leakage by an average of 10%. (b) Air leakage testing on interior low-E panels installed in a New York City multifamily building over windows with and without AC units showed that the effective leakage area of the windows was reduced by 77-95%. (c) To study the use of low-E storm windows in a warmer mixed climate with a balance of both heating and cooling, 10 older homes near Atlanta with single pane windows were tested with three types of exterior storm windows: clear glass, low-E glass with high solar heat gain, and low-E glass with lower solar heat gain. The storm windows significantly reduced the overall home air leakage by an average of 17%, or 3.7 ACH50. Considerably high variability in the data made it difficult to draw strong conclusions about the overall energy usage, but for heating periods, the low-E storm windows showed approximately 15% heating energy savings, whereas clear storm windows were neutral in performance. For cooling periods, the low-E storm windows showed a wide range of performance from 2% to over 30% cooling energy savings. Overall, the study showed the potential for significantly more energy savings from using low-E glass versus no storm window or clear glass storm windows in warmer mixed climates, but it is difficult to conclusively say whether one type of low-E performed

Early Site Permit Demonstration Program: Regulatory criteria evaluation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-03-01

The primary objective of the Early Site Plan Demonstration Program (ESPDP) is to demonstrate successfully the use of 10CFR52 to obtain ESPs for one or more US sites for one (or more) ALWR nuclear power plants. It is anticipated that preparation of the ESP application and interaction with NRC during the application review process will result not only in an ESP for the applicant(s) but also in the development of criteria and definition of processes, setting the precedent that facilitates ESPs for subsequent ESP applications. Because siting regulatory processes and acceptance criteria are contained in over 100 separate documents, comprehensive licensing and technical reviews were performed to establish whether the requirements and documentation are self-consistent, whether the acceptance criteria are sufficiently well-defined and clear, and whether the licensing process leading to the issuance of an ESP is unambiguously specified. This document provides appendices C and D of this report. Appendix C contains data from the licensing and technical reviews; Appendix D contains technology toolkit data sheets

Early Site Permit Demonstration Program: Regulatory criteria evaluation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-03-01

The primary objective of the Early Site Plan Demonstration Program (ESPDP) is to demonstrate successfully the use of 10CFR52 to obtain ESPs for one or more US sites for one (or more) ALWR nuclear power plants. It is anticipated that preparation of the ESP application and interaction with NRC during the application review process will result not only in an ESP for the applicant(s) but also in the development of criteria and definition of processes, setting the precedent that facilitates ESPs for subsequent ESP applications. Because siting regulatory processes and acceptance criteria are contained in over 100 separate documents, comprehensive licensing and technical reviews were performed to establish whether the requirements and documentation are self-consistent, whether the acceptance criteria are sufficiently well-defined and clear, and whether the licensing process leading to the issuance of an ESP is unambiguously specified. This document provides appendices A and B of this report. Appendix A contains a list of regulations, regulatory guidance, and acceptance criteria; Appendix B contains a cross-reference index of siting-related documentation

Solar Energy Potential Estimation in Perak Using Clearness Index and Artificial Neural Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Assadi Morteza Khalaji

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper solar energy potential has been estimated by two methods which are clearness index and artificial network (ANN methods. The selected region is Seri Iskandar, Perak (4°24´latitude, 100°58´E longitude, 24 m altitude. Experimental data (monthly average daily radiation on horizontal surface was obtained from UTP solar research site in UTP campus. The data include the period of 2010 to 2012 and were used for testing the artificial neural network model and also for determination of clearness index. Also the experimental data of the three meteorological, Ipoh, Bayan Lepas & KLIA were used in calculating the clearness index and for training the neural network. Result shows that clearness index for Seri Iskandar is 0.52, the highest radiation is on February (20.45 MJ/m2/day, annual average is 18.25 MJ/m2/day and clearness index is more accurate than ANN when there is limited data supply. In general, Perak states show strong potential for solar energy application.

Demonstration of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering with enhanced subchannel discrimination

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Kai; Ye, Xiang-Jun; Xiao, Ya; Xu, Xiao-Ye; Wu, Yu-Chun; Xu, Jin-Shi; Chen, Jing-Ling; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2018-03-01

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering describes a quantum nonlocal phenomenon in which one party can nonlocally affect the other's state through local measurements. It reveals an additional concept of quantum non-locality, which stands between quantum entanglement and Bell nonlocality. Recently, a quantum information task named as subchannel discrimination (SD) provides a necessary and sufficient characterization of EPR steering. The success probability of SD using steerable states is higher than using any unsteerable states, even when they are entangled. However, the detailed construction of such subchannels and the experimental realization of the corresponding task are still technologically challenging. In this work, we designed a feasible collection of subchannels for a quantum channel and experimentally demonstrated the corresponding SD task where the probabilities of correct discrimination are clearly enhanced by exploiting steerable states. Our results provide a concrete example to operationally demonstrate EPR steering and shine a new light on the potential application of EPR steering.

Using Ecophysiology to Improve Farm Efficiency: Application in Temperate Dairy Grazing Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David F. Chapman

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Information on the physiological ecology of grass-dominant pastures has made a substantial contribution to the development of practices that optimise the amount of feed harvested by grazing animals in temperate livestock systems. However, the contribution of ecophysiology is often under-stated, and the need for further research in this field is sometimes questioned. The challenge for ecophysiolgists, therefore, is to demonstrate how ecophysiological knowledge can help solve significant problems looming for grassland farming in temperate regions while also removing constraints to improved productivity from grazed pastures. To do this, ecophysiological research needs to align more closely with related disciplines, particularly genetics/genomics, agronomy, and farming systems, including systems modelling. This review considers how ecophysiological information has contributed to the development of grazing management practices in the New Zealand dairy industry, an industry that is generally regarded as a world leader in the efficiency with which pasture is grown and utilised for animal production. Even so, there are clear opportunities for further gains in pasture utilisation through the refinement of grazing management practices and the harnessing of those practices to improved pasture plant cultivars with phenotypes that facilitate greater grazing efficiency. Meanwhile, sub-optimal persistence of new pastures continues to constrain productivity in some environments. The underlying plant and population processes associated with this have not been clearly defined. Ecophysiological information, placed in the context of trait identification, grounded in well-designed agronomic studies and linked to plant improvements programmes, is required to address this.

Photonic microstructures for energy-generating clear glass and net-zero energy buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Vasiliev, Mikhail; Alghamedi, Ramzy; Nur-E-Alam, Mohammad; Alameh, Kamal

2016-01-01

Transparent energy-harvesting windows are emerging as practical building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), capable of generating electricity while simultaneously reducing heating and cooling demands. By incorporating spectrally-selective diffraction gratings as light deflecting structures of high visible transparency into lamination interlayers and using improved spectrally-selective thin-film coatings, most of the visible solar radiation can be transmitted through the glass windows with minimum attenuation. At the same time, the ultraviolet (UV) and a part of incident solar infrared (IR) radiation energy are converted and/or deflected geometrically towards the panel edge for collection by CuInSe2 solar cells. Experimental results show power conversion efficiencies in excess of 3.04% in 10 cm × 10 cm vertically-placed clear glass panels facing direct sunlight, and up to 2.08% in 50 cm × 50 cm installation-ready framed window systems. These results confirm the emergence of a new class of solar window system ready for industrial application. PMID:27550827

Prediction of monthly average global solar radiation based on statistical distribution of clearness index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayodele, T.R.; Ogunjuyigbe, A.S.O.

2015-01-01

In this paper, probability distribution of clearness index is proposed for the prediction of global solar radiation. First, the clearness index is obtained from the past data of global solar radiation, then, the parameters of the appropriate distribution that best fit the clearness index are determined. The global solar radiation is thereafter predicted from the clearness index using inverse transformation of the cumulative distribution function. To validate the proposed method, eight years global solar radiation data (2000–2007) of Ibadan, Nigeria are used to determine the parameters of appropriate probability distribution for clearness index. The calculated parameters are then used to predict the future monthly average global solar radiation for the following year (2008). The predicted values are compared with the measured values using four statistical tests: the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), MAE (Mean Absolute Error), MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error) and the coefficient of determination (R"2). The proposed method is also compared to the existing regression models. The results show that logistic distribution provides the best fit for clearness index of Ibadan and the proposed method is effective in predicting the monthly average global solar radiation with overall RMSE of 0.383 MJ/m"2/day, MAE of 0.295 MJ/m"2/day, MAPE of 2% and R"2 of 0.967. - Highlights: • Distribution of clearnes index is proposed for prediction of global solar radiation. • The clearness index is obtained from the past data of global solar radiation. • The parameters of distribution that best fit the clearness index are determined. • Solar radiation is predicted from the clearness index using inverse transformation. • The method is effective in predicting the monthly average global solar radiation.

77 FR 75466 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Options Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-20

....\\8\\ This includes the potential use of the clearing fund as a source of liquidity should it ever be... reduce the risk that the assets in the clearing fund might at any time be insufficient to enable OCC to... Determining the Minimum Clearing Fund Size To Include Consideration of the Amount Necessary To Draw on Secured...

Long-term monitoring of Dzanga Bai forest elephants: forest clearing use patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Turkalo, Andrea K; Wrege, Peter H; Wittemyer, George

2013-01-01

Individual identification of the relatively cryptic forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) at forest clearings currently provides the highest quality monitoring data on this ecologically important but increasingly threatened species. Here we present baseline data from the first 20 years of an individually based study of this species, conducted at the Dzanga Clearing, Central African Republic. A total of 3,128 elephants were identified over the 20-year study (1,244 adults; 675 females, 569 males). It took approximately four years for the majority of elephants visiting the clearing to be identified, but new elephants entered the clearing every year of the study. The study population was relatively stable, varying from 1,668 to 1,864 individuals (including juveniles and infants), with increasingly fewer males than females over time. The age-class distribution for females remained qualitatively unchanged between 1995 and 2010, while the proportion of adult males decreased from 20% to 10%, likely reflecting increased mortality. Visitation patterns by individuals were highly variable, with some elephants visiting monthly while others were ephemeral users with visits separated by multiple years. The number of individuals in the clearing at any time varied between 40 and 100 individuals, and there was little evidence of a seasonal pattern in this variation. The number of elephants entering the clearing together (defined here as a social group) averaged 1.49 (range 1-12) for males and 2.67 (range 1-14) for females. This collation of 20 years of intensive forest elephant monitoring provides the first detailed, long term look at the ecology of bai visitation for this species, offering insight to the ecological significance and motivation for bai use, social behavior, and threats to forest elephants. We discuss likely drivers (rainfall, compression, illegal killing, etc.) influencing bai visitation rates. This study provides the baseline for future demographic and behavioral

Program management plan for the conduct of a research, development, and demonstration program for improving the safety of nuclear powerplants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-12-01

Congress passed Public Law 96-567, Nuclear Safety Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1980, (hereafter referred to as the Act) to provide for an accelerated and coordinated program of light water reactor safety research, development, and demonstration to be carried out by the Department of Energy. In order to assure that this program would be compatible with the needs of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and industry, the Department of Energy (DOE) initiated its response to Section 4 of the Act by conducting individual information gathering meetings with NRC and a wide cross section of the nuclear industry. The Department received recommendations on needs of what type of activities would and would not be appropriate for the Department to assist in satisfying these needs. Based on the evaluation of these inputs, it is concluded that the Department's ongoing Light Water Reactor (LWR) safety program is responsive to the Act. Specifically, the Department's ongoing program includes tasks in the areas of regulatory assessment, risk assessment, fission product source term, and emergency preparedness as well as providing technical assistance to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) to improve training of nuclear power personnel. These were among the very high priority efforts that were identified as necessary and appropriate for support by the Department

Future launcher demonstrator. Challenge and pathfinder

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinau, W.; Guerra, L.; Parkinson, R. C.; Lieberherr, J. F.

1996-02-01

For future and advanced launch vehicles emphasis is focused on single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) concepts and on completely reusable versions with the goal to reduce the recurrent launch cost, to improve the mission success probability and also safety for the space transportation of economically attractive payloads into Low Earth Orbit. Both issues, the SSTO launcher and the low cost reusability are extremely challenging and cannot be proven by studies and on-ground tests alone. In-flight demonstration tests are required to verify the assumptions and the new technologies, and to justify the new launcher-and operations-concepts. Because a number of SSTO launch vehicles are currently under discussion in terms of configurations and concepts such as winged vehicles for vertical or horizontal launch and landing (from ground or a flying platform), or wingless vehicles for vertical take-off and landing, and also in terms of propulsion (pure rockets or a combination of air breathing and rocket engines), an experimental demonstrator vehicle appears necessary in order to serve as a pathfinder in this area of multiple challenges. A suborbital Reusable Rocket Launcher Demonstrator (RRLD) has been studied recently by a European industrial team for ESA. This is a multipurpose, evolutionary demonstrator, conceived around a modular approach of incremental improvements of subsystems and materials, to achieve a better propellant mass fraction i.e. a better performance, and specifically for the accomplishment of an incremental flight test programme. While the RRLD basic test programme will acquire knowledge about hypersonic flight, re-entry and landing of a cryogenic rocket propelled launcher — and the low cost reusability (short turnaround on ground) in the utilization programme beyond basic testing, the RRLD will serve as a test bed for generic testing of technologies required for the realization of an SSTO launcher. This paper will present the results of the European RRLD study which

Training Recollection in Healthy Older Adults: Clear Improvements on the Training Task, but Little Evidence of Transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vess eStamenova

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Normal aging holds negative consequences for memory, in particular for the ability to recollect the precise details of an experience. With this in mind, Jennings and Jacoby (2003 developed a recollection training method using a single-probe recognition memory paradigm in which new items (i.e., foils were repeated during the test phase at increasingly long intervals. In previous reports, this method has appeared to improve older adults’ performance on several non-trained cognitive tasks. We aimed to further examine potential transfer effects of this training paradigm and to determine which cognitive functions might predict training gains. Fifty-one older adults were assigned to either recollection training (n = 30 or an active control condition (n = 21 for six sessions over two weeks. Afterward, the recollection training group showed a greatly enhanced ability to reject the repeated foils. Surprisingly, however, the training and the control groups improved to the same degree as one another in recognition accuracy (d’ on their respective training tasks. Further, despite the recollection group’s significant improvement in rejecting the repeated foils, we observed little evidence of transfer to non-trained tasks (including a temporal source memory test. Age and higher baseline scores on a measure of global cognitive function (as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment tool and working memory (as measured by Digit Span Backward predicted gains made by the recollection training group members.

Arsenic and Antimony Removal from Drinking Water by Adsorptive Media - U.S. EPA Demonstration Project at South Truckee Meadows General Improvement District (STMGID), NV, Final Performance Evaluation Report

Science.gov (United States)

This report documents the activities performed during and the results obtained from the operation of an arsenic and antimony removal technology demonstrated at the South Truckee Meadows General Improvement District (STMGID) in Washoe County, NV. The objectives of the project wer...

Adverse childhood experiences: towards a clear conceptual meaning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalmakis, Karen A; Chandler, Genevieve E

2014-07-01

To report an analysis of the concept of adverse childhood experiences. Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with negative physical and psychological health outcomes, but this phenomenon lacks the clear, consistent meaning necessary for use in nursing research, theory development and practice. Concept clarification. The literature search was not limited a priori by date and included publications with abstracts in English from PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO and Social Abstracts. The search retrieved 128 articles published from 1970-2013. The search term 'adverse childhood experiences' was used, with similar terms permitted. A snowball approach was used to expand the search to relevant literature. The articles were read and analysed following Norris's five steps for concept clarification to refine, elucidate and operationally define the concept and the context in which it occurred. Adverse childhood experiences were defined operationally as childhood events, varying in severity and often chronic, occurring in a child's family or social environment that cause harm or distress, thereby disrupting the child's physical or psychological health and development. This concept clarification should raise awareness and understanding of the diverse nature and shared characteristics of adverse childhood experiences that are believed to influence the health of individuals as they age. This clarified concept will help expand research on health consequences of adverse childhood experiences and interventions to improve health. We recommend promoting a model of primary care that pays attention to the social and familial influences on the health of individuals worldwide. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Seeing Clearly (A Cup of Health with CDC)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2014-05-08

If you’re not seeing the world as clearly as you used to, you might be among the millions of people suffering from vision impairment. In this podcast, Dr. John Crews discusses ways to take care of your eyes.  Created: 5/8/2014 by MMWR.   Date Released: 5/8/2014.

Modifying agricultural crops for improved nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

McGloughlin, Martina Newell

2010-11-30

The first generation of biotechnology products commercialized were crops focusing largely on input agronomic traits whose value was often opaque to consumers. The coming generations of crop plants can be grouped into four broad areas each presenting what, on the surface, may appear as unique challenges and opportunities. The present and future focus is on continuing improvement of agronomic traits such as yield and abiotic stress resistance in addition to the biotic stress tolerance of the present generation; crop plants as biomass feedstocks for biofuels and "bio-synthetics"; value-added output traits such as improved nutrition and food functionality; and plants as production factories for therapeutics and industrial products. From a consumer perspective, the focus on value-added traits, especially improved nutrition, is undoubtedly one of the areas of greatest interest. From a basic nutrition perspective, there is a clear dichotomy in demonstrated need between different regions and socioeconomic groups, the starkest being inappropriate consumption in the developed world and under-nourishment in Less Developed Countries (LDCs). Dramatic increases in the occurrence of obesity and related ailments in affluent regions are in sharp contrast to chronic malnutrition in many LDCs. Both problems require a modified food supply, and the tools of biotechnology have a part to play. Developing plants with improved traits involves overcoming a variety of technical, regulatory and indeed perception hurdles inherent in perceived and real challenges of complex traits modifications. Continuing improvements in molecular and genomic technologies are contributing to the acceleration of product development to produce plants with the appropriate quality traits for the different regions and needs. Crops with improved traits in the pipeline, the evolving technologies and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead are covered. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Open-bite treatment utilizing clear removable appliances with intermaxillary and intramaxillary elastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jae Hyun; Kim, Tae Weon

2009-01-01

Clear removable appliances with elastics can be effective and efficient in extruding maxillary teeth during aligner treatment or following a relapse of an open bite. Some patients with open bites refuse to wear conventional fixed appliances. In these individuals, clear aligners with elastics could be a valuable alternative. © 2009 Quintessence Publishing Co, Inc. All Rights Reserved

INTEGRATED OUTCROP AND SUBSURFACE STUDIES OF THE INTERWELL ENVIRONMENT OF CARBONATE RESERVOIRS: CLEAR FORK (LEONARDIAN-AGE) RESERVOIRS, WEST TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

F. Jerry Lucia

2002-01-31

This is the final report of the project ''Integrated Outcrop and Subsurface Studies of the Interwell Environment of Carbonate Reservoirs: Clear Fork (Leonardian-Age) Reservoirs, West Texas and New Mexico'', Department of Energy contract no. DE-AC26-98BC15105 and is the third in a series of similar projects funded jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy and The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Reservoir Characterization Research Laboratory for Carbonates. All three projects focus on the integration of outcrop and subsurface data for the purpose of developing improved methods for modeling petrophysical properties in the interwell environment. The first project, funded by contract no. DE-AC22-89BC14470, was a study of San Andres outcrops in the Algerita Escarpment, Guadalupe Mountains, Texas and New Mexico, and the Seminole San Andres reservoir, Permian Basin. This study established the basic concepts for constructing a reservoir model using sequence-stratigraphic principles and rock-fabric, petrophysical relationships. The second project, funded by contract no. DE-AC22-93BC14895, was a study of Grayburg outcrops in the Brokeoff Mountains, New Mexico, and the South Cowden Grayburg reservoir, Permian Basin. This study developed a sequence-stratigraphic succession for the Grayburg and improved methods for locating remaining hydrocarbons in carbonate ramp reservoirs. The current study is of the Clear Fork Group in Apache Canyon, Sierra Diablo Mountains, West Texas, and the South Wasson Clear Fork reservoir, Permian Basin. The focus was on scales of heterogeneity, imaging high- and low-permeability layers, and the impact of fractures on reservoir performance. In this study (1) the Clear Fork cycle stratigraphy is defined, (2) important scales of petrophysical variability are confirmed, (3) a unique rock-fabric, petrophysical relationship is defined, (4) a porosity method for correlating high-frequency cycles and defining rock

3-D neurohistology of transparent tongue in health and injury with optical clearing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tzu-En eHua

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Tongue receives extensive innervation to perform taste, sensory, and motor functions. Details of the tongue neuroanatomy and its plasticity in response to injury offer insights to investigate tongue neurophysiology and pathophysiology. However, due to the dispersed nature of the neural network, standard histology cannot provide a global view of the innervation. We prepared transparent mouse tongue by optical clearing to reveal the spatial features of the tongue innervation and its remodeling in injury. Immunostaining of neuronal markers, including PGP9.5 (pan-neuronal marker, calcitonin gene-related peptide (sensory nerves, tyrosine hydroxylase (sympathetic nerves, and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (cholinergic parasympathetic nerves and neuromuscular junctions, was combined with vessel painting and nuclear staining to label the tissue network and architecture. The tongue specimens were immersed in the optical-clearing solution to facilitate photon penetration for 3-dimensiontal (3-D confocal microscopy. Taking advantage of the transparent tissue, we simultaneously revealed the tongue microstructure and innervation with subcellular-level resolution. 3-D projection of the papillary neurovascular complex and taste bud innervation was used to demonstrate the spatial features of tongue mucosa and the panoramic imaging approach. In the tongue injury induced by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide administration in the drinking water, we observed neural tissue remodeling in response to the changes of mucosal and muscular structures. Neural networks and the neuromuscular junctions were both found rearranged at the peri-lesional region, suggesting the nerve-lesion interactions in response to injury. Overall, this new tongue histological approach provides a useful tool for 3-D imaging of neural tissues to better characterize their roles with the mucosal and muscular components in health and disease.

Improving cardiovascular care through outpatient cardiac rehabilitation: an analysis of payment models that would improve quality and promote use.

Science.gov (United States)

Mead, Holly; Grantham, Sarah; Siegel, Bruce

2014-01-01

Much attention has been paid to improving the care of patients with cardiovascular disease by focusing attention on delivery system redesign and payment reforms that encompass the healthcare spectrum, from an acute episode to maintenance of care. However, 1 area of cardiovascular disease care that has received little attention in the advancement of quality is cardiac rehabilitation (CR), a comprehensive secondary prevention program that is significantly underused despite evidence-based guidelines that recommending its use. The purpose of this article was to analyze the applicability of 2 payment and reimbursement models-pay-for-performance and bundled payments for episodes of care--that can promote the use of CR. We conclude that a payment model combining elements of both pay-for-performance and episodes of care would increase the use of CR, which would both improve quality and increase efficiency in cardiac care. Specific elements would need to be clearly defined, however, including: (a) how an episode is defined, (b) how to hold providers accountable for the care they provider, (c) how to encourage participation among CR providers, and (d) how to determine an equitable distribution of payment. Demonstrations testing new payment models must be implemented to generate empirical evidence that a melded pay-for-performance and episode-based care payment model will improve quality and efficiency.

Clearing and dissecting insects for internal skeletal morphological research with particular reference to bees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Sasso Porto

2016-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT A detailed protocol for chemical clearing of bee specimens is presented. Dry specimens as well as those preserved in liquid media can be cleared using this protocol. The procedure consists of a combined use of alkaline solution (KOH or NaOH and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, followed by the boiling of the cleared specimens in 60–70% EtOH. Clearing is particularly useful for internal skeletal morphological research. This procedure allows for efficient study of internal projections of the exoskeleton (e.g., apodemes, furcae, phragmata, tentoria, internal ridges and sulci, but this process makes external features of the integument, as some sutures and sulci, readily available for observation as well. Upon completion of the chemical clearing process the specimens can be stored in glycerin. This procedure was developed and evaluated for the preparation of bees and other Apoidea, but modifications for use with other insect taxa should be straightforward after some experimentation on variations of timing of steps, concentration of solutions, temperatures, and the necessity of a given step. Comments on the long-term storage, morphological examination, and photodocumentation of cleared specimens are also provided.

78 FR 9088 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Europe Limited; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-07

... provide updates related to anti- money laundering legislation applicable to customers, clarify membership... framework available for other products at ICE Clear Europe. US customers must clear through a registered... applicable. Non-US customers may clear through a non-US clearing member in accordance with applicable local...

A case of clear cell sarcoma-A rare malignancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juel, Jacob; Ibrahim, Rami Mossad

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is a rare tumour of the soft tissue often misdiagnosed, as it shares characteristics with malignant melanoma (MM). Previously, CCS has been characterised, as malignant melanoma of the soft tissue, contemporary immunohistochemical techniques, however, have made...

Demonstration of essentiality of entanglement in a Deutsch-like quantum algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, He-Liang; Goswami, Ashutosh K.; Bao, Wan-Su; Panigrahi, Prasanta K.

2018-06-01

Quantum algorithms can be used to efficiently solve certain classically intractable problems by exploiting quantum parallelism. However, the effectiveness of quantum entanglement in quantum computing remains a question of debate. This study presents a new quantum algorithm that shows entanglement could provide advantages over both classical algorithms and quantum algo- rithms without entanglement. Experiments are implemented to demonstrate the proposed algorithm using superconducting qubits. Results show the viability of the algorithm and suggest that entanglement is essential in obtaining quantum speedup for certain problems in quantum computing. The study provides reliable and clear guidance for developing useful quantum algorithms.

Demonstration of artificial intelligence technology for transit railcar diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This report will be of interest to railcar maintenance professionals concerned with improving railcar maintenance fault-diagnostic capabilities through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. It documents the results of a demonstration ...

76 FR 2737 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-14

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34-63668; File No. SR-NSCC-2010-09] Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change... Facility January 6, 2011. I. Introduction On August 30, 2010, the National Securities Clearing Corporation...

Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration lessons learned: 1993 technology demonstrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostelnik, K.M.; Owens, K.J.

1994-01-01

An integrated technology demonstration was conducted by the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration (BWID) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Cold Test Pit in the summer of 1993. This program and demonstration was sponsored by the US Department of Energy Office of Technology Development. The demonstration included six technologies representing a synergistic system for the characterization and retrieval of a buried hazardous waste site. The integrated technology demonstration proved very successful and a summary of the technical accomplishments is presented. Upon completion of the integrated technology demonstration, cognizant program personnel participated in a lessons learned exercise. This exercise was conducted at the Simplot Decision Support Center at Idaho State University and lessons learned activity captured additional information relative to the integration of technologies for demonstration purposes. This information will be used by BWID to enhance program planning and strengthen future technology demonstrations

Impacts of field of view configuration of Cross-track Infrared Sounder on clear-sky observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Likun; Chen, Yong; Han, Yong

2016-09-01

Hyperspectral infrared radiance measurements from satellite sensors contain valuable information on atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles and greenhouse gases, and therefore are directly assimilated into numerical weather prediction (NWP) models as inputs for weather forecasting. However, data assimilations in current operational NWP models still mainly rely on cloud-free observations due to the challenge of simulating cloud-contaminated radiances when using hyperspectral radiances. The limited spatial coverage of the 3×3 field of views (FOVs) in one field of regard (FOR) (i.e., spatial gap among FOVs) as well as relatively large footprint size (14 km) in current Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instruments limits the amount of clear-sky observations. This study explores the potential impacts of future CrIS FOV configuration (including FOV size and spatial coverage) on the amount of clear-sky observations by simulation experiments. The radiance measurements and cloud mask products (VCM) from the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) are used to simulate CrIS clear-sky observation under different FOV configurations. The results indicate that, given the same FOV coverage (e.g., 3×3), the percentage of clear-sky FOVs and the percentage of clear-sky FORs (that contain at least one clear-sky FOV) both increase as the FOV size decreases. In particular, if the CrIS FOV size were reduced from 14 km to 7 km, the percentage of clear-sky FOVs increases from 9.02% to 13.51% and the percentage of clear-sky FORs increases from 18.24% to 27.51%. Given the same FOV size but with increasing FOV coverage in each FOR, the clear-sky FOV observations increases proportionally with the increasing sampling FOVs. Both reducing FOV size and increasing FOV coverage can result in more clear-sky FORs, which benefit data utilization of NWP data assimilation.

Consumer perception of astringency in clear acidic whey protein beverages.

Science.gov (United States)

Childs, Jessica L; Drake, MaryAnne

2010-01-01

Acidic whey protein beverages are a growing component of the functional food and beverage market. These beverages are also astringent, but astringency is an expected and desirable attribute of many beverages (red wine, tea, coffee) and may not necessarily be a negative attribute of acidic whey protein beverages. The goal of this study was to define the consumer perception of astringency in clear acidic whey protein beverages. Six focus groups (n=49) were held to gain understanding of consumer knowledge of astringency. Consumers were presented with beverages and asked to map them based on astringent mouthfeel and liking. Orthonasal thresholds for whey protein isolate (WPI) in water and flavored model beverages were determined using a 7-series ascending forced choice method. Mouthfeel/basic taste thresholds were determined for WPI in water. Acceptance tests on model beverages were conducted using consumers (n=120) with and without wearing nose clips. Consumers in focus groups were able to identify astringency in beverages. Astringency intensity was not directly related to dislike. The orthonasal threshold for WPI in water was lower (P astringent mouthfeel and that both flavor and astringency should be the focus of ongoing studies to improve the palatability of these products. © 2010 Institute of Food Technologists®

76 FR 41056 - Amendment to Rule Filing Requirements for Dually-Registered Clearing Agencies

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-13

... potential legal uncertainty and market disruption caused by delays that could result from the requirement... and market disruptions. Specifically, one clearing agency subject to the Deemed Registered Provision... Changes that relate primarily to its futures clearing operations to the routine Commission approval...

77 FR 74283 - Clearing Requirement Determination Under Section 2(h) of the CEA

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-13

... cleared through central counterparties and traded on exchanges or electronic trading platforms, where... currency non-deliverable forwards to meet its proposed mandatory clearing criteria. Additional swaps will... Reserve System; (iii) the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; and (iv) the Federal Deposit...

Characterizing the Effects of a Vertical Time Threshold for a Class of Well-Clear Definitions

Science.gov (United States)

Upchurch, Jason M.; Munoz, Cesar A.; Narkawicz, Anthony J.; Consiglio, Maria C.; Chamberlain James P.

2015-01-01

A fundamental requirement for the integration of unmanned aircraft into civil airspace is the capability of aircraft to remain well clear of each other and avoid collisions. This requirement has led to a broad recognition of the need for an unambiguous, formal definition of well clear. It is further recognized that any such definition must be interoperable with existing airborne collision avoidance systems (ACAS). A particular class of well-clear definitions uses logic checks of independent distance thresholds as well as independent time thresholds in the vertical and horizontal dimensions to determine if a well-clear violation is predicted to occur within a given time interval. Existing ACAS systems also use independent distance thresholds, however a common time threshold is used for the vertical and horizontal logic checks. The main contribution of this paper is the characterization of the effects of the decoupled vertical time threshold on a well-clear definition in terms of (1) time to well-clear violation, and (2) interoperability with existing ACAS. The paper provides governing equations for both metrics and includes simulation results to illustrate the relationships. In this paper, interoperability implies that the time of well-clear violation is strictly less than the time a resolution advisory is issued by ACAS. The encounter geometries under consideration in this paper are initially well clear and consist of constant-velocity trajectories resulting in near-mid-air collisions.

Emphasizing the process of science using demonstrations in conceptual chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Lutz, Courtney A.

The purpose of this project was to teach students a method for employing the process of science in a conceptual chemistry classroom when observing a demonstration of a discrepant event. Students observed six demonstrations throughout a trimester study of chemistry and responded to each demonstration by asking as many questions as they could think of, choosing one testable question to answer by making as many hypotheses as possible, and choosing one hypothesis to make predictions about observed results of this hypothesis when tested. Students were evaluated on their curiosity, confidence, knowledge of the process of science, and knowledge of the nature of science before and after the six demonstrations. Many students showed improvement in using or mastery of the process of science within the context of conceptual chemistry after six intensive experiences with it. Results of the study also showed students gained confidence in their scientific abilities after completing one trimester of conceptual chemistry. Curiosity and knowledge of the nature of science did not show statistically significant improvement according to the assessment tool. This may have been due to the scope of the demonstration and response activities, which focused on the process of science methodology instead of knowledge of the nature of science or the constraints of the assessment tool.

Movement of anterior teeth using clear aligners: a three-dimensional, retrospective evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tepedino, Michele; Paoloni, Valeria; Cozza, Paola; Chimenti, Claudio

2018-04-02

Clear aligner treatment offers several advantages, but the available literature shows that some kind of tooth movements are unpredictable. In addition, the majority of the studies are focused on one clear aligner system, while different characteristics of various systems can provide different treatment outcomes. The aim of the present retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the predictability of Nuvola® aligner system in achieving torque movements of anterior teeth. Thirty-nine adult patients, who were consecutively treated with clear aligners, were retrospectively selected, and digital models pre-treatment (T0), post-treatment (T1) and the digital setup models (TS) were collected. Only the first phase of treatment made of 12 aligners was considered for the present study. Torque of anterior teeth was measured as labiolingual inclination on digital models at T0, T1, and TS using VAM software. Any difference between the predicted and achieved torque movements was evaluated using Wilcoxon signed-rank test or paired sample t test. First-type error was set as p clear aligner system was able to produce clinical outcomes comparable to the planning of the digital setup relative to torque movements of the anterior teeth.

Observation of the Spectrally Invariant Properties of Clouds in Cloudy-to-Clear Transition Zones During the MAGIC Field Campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Weidong; Marshak, Alexander; McBride, Patrick; Chiu, J. Christine; Knyazikhin, Yuri; Schmidt, K. Sebastian; Flynn, Connor; Lewis, Ernie R.; Eloranta, Edwin W.

2016-01-01

We use the spectrally invariant method to study the variability of cloud optical thickness tau and droplet effective radius r(sub eff) in transition zones (between the cloudy and clear sky columns) observed from Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) and Shortwave Array Spectroradiometer-Zenith (SASZe) during the Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) field campaign. The measurements from the SSFR and the SASZe are different, however inter-instrument differences of self-normalized measurements (divided by their own spectra at a fixed time) are small. The spectrally invariant method approximates the spectra in the cloud transition zone as a linear combination of definitely clear and cloudy spectra, where the coefficients, slope and intercept, characterize the spectrally invariant properties of the transition zone. Simulation results from the SBDART (Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer) model demonstrate that (1) the slope of the visible band is positively correlated with the cloud optical thickness t while the intercept of the near-infrared band has high negative correlation with the cloud drop effective radius r(sub eff)even without the exact knowledge of tau; (2) the above relations hold for all Solar Zenith Angle (SZA) and for cloud-contaminated skies. In observations using redundant measurements from SSFR and SASZe, we find that during cloudy-to-clear transitions, (a) the slopes of the visible band decrease, and (b) the intercepts of the near-infrared band remain almost constant near cloud edges. The findings in simulations and observations suggest that, while the optical thickness decreases during the cloudy-to-clear transition, the cloud drop effective radius does not change when cloud edges are approached. These results support the hypothesis that inhomogeneous mixing dominates near cloud edges in the studied cases.

Preparation of samples for leaf architecture studies, a method for mounting cleared leaves1

Science.gov (United States)

Vasco, Alejandra; Thadeo, Marcela; Conover, Margaret; Daly, Douglas C.

2014-01-01

• Premise of the study: Several recent waves of interest in leaf architecture have shown an expanding range of approaches and applications across a number of disciplines. Despite this increased interest, examination of existing archives of cleared and mounted leaves shows that current methods for mounting, in particular, yield unsatisfactory results and deterioration of samples over relatively short periods. Although techniques for clearing and staining leaves are numerous, published techniques for mounting leaves are scarce. • Methods and Results: Here we present a complete protocol and recommendations for clearing, staining, and imaging leaves, and, most importantly, a method to permanently mount cleared leaves. • Conclusions: The mounting protocol is faster than other methods, inexpensive, and straightforward; moreover, it yields clear and permanent samples that can easily be imaged, scanned, and stored. Specimens mounted with this method preserve well, with leaves that were mounted more than 35 years ago showing no signs of bubbling or discoloration. PMID:25225627

Speech pattern improvement following gingivectomy of excess palatal tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Holtzclaw, Dan; Toscano, Nicholas

2008-10-01

Speech disruption secondary to excessive gingival tissue has received scant attention in periodontal literature. Although a few articles have addressed the causes of this condition, documentation and scientific explanation of treatment outcomes are virtually non-existent. This case report describes speech pattern improvements secondary to periodontal surgery and provides a concise review of linguistic and phonetic literature pertinent to the case. A 21-year-old white female with a history of gingival abscesses secondary to excessive palatal tissue presented for treatment. Bilateral gingivectomies of palatal tissues were performed with inverse bevel incisions extending distally from teeth #5 and #12 to the maxillary tuberosities, and large wedges of epithelium/connective tissue were excised. Within the first month of the surgery, the patient noted "changes in the manner in which her tongue contacted the roof of her mouth" and "changes in her speech." Further anecdotal investigation revealed the patient's enunciation of sounds such as "s," "sh," and "k" was greatly improved following the gingivectomy procedure. Palatometric research clearly demonstrates that the tongue has intimate contact with the lateral aspects of the posterior palate during speech. Gingival excess in this and other palatal locations has the potential to alter linguopalatal contact patterns and disrupt normal speech patterns. Surgical correction of this condition via excisional procedures may improve linguopalatal contact patterns which, in turn, may lead to improved patient speech.

Comparison of clear lens extraction and collamer lens implantation in high myopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed M Emarah

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Ahmed M Emarah, Mostafa A El-Helw, Hazem M YassinCairo University, Cairo, EgyptAim: To compare the outcomes of clear lens extraction and collamer lens implantation in high myopia.Patients and methods: Myopic patients younger than 40 years old with more than 12 diopters of myopia or who were not fit for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis were included. Group 1 comprised patients undergoing clear lens extraction and Group 2 patients received the Visian implantable collamer lens. Outcome and complications were evaluated.Results: Postoperative best corrected visual acuity was -0.61 ± 0.18 in Group 1 and 0.79 ± 0.16 in Group 2. In Group 1, 71.4% achieved a postoperative uncorrected visual acuity better than the preoperative best corrected visual acuity, while only 51.8% patients achieved this in Group 2. Intraocular pressure decreased by 12.55% in Group 1, and increased by 15.11% in Group 2. Corneal endothelial cell density decreased by 4.47% in Group 1 and decreased by 5.67% in Group 2. Posterior capsule opacification occurred in Group 1. In Group 2, lens opacification occurred in 11.11%, significant pigment dispersion in 3.7%, and pupillary block glaucoma in 3.7%.Conclusion: Clear lens extraction presents less of a financial load up front, and less likelihood of the need for a secondary intervention in the future. Clear lens extraction is a more viable solution in developing countries with limited financial resources.Keywords: clear lens extraction, implantable collamer lens, myopia

Decision support software technology demonstration plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

SULLIVAN,T.; ARMSTRONG,A.

1998-09-01

The performance evaluation of innovative and alternative environmental technologies is an integral part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) mission. Early efforts focused on evaluating technologies that supported the implementation of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. In 1986 the Agency began to demonstrate and evaluate the cost and performance of remediation and monitoring technologies under the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program (in response to the mandate in the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA)). In 1990, the US Technology Policy was announced. This policy placed a renewed emphasis on making the best use of technology in achieving the national goals of improved quality of life for all Americans, continued economic growth, and national security. In the spirit of the technology policy, the Agency began to direct a portion of its resources toward the promotion, recognition, acceptance, and use of US-developed innovative environmental technologies both domestically and abroad. Decision Support Software (DSS) packages integrate environmental data and simulation models into a framework for making site characterization, monitoring, and cleanup decisions. To limit the scope which will be addressed in this demonstration, three endpoints have been selected for evaluation: Visualization; Sample Optimization; and Cost/Benefit Analysis. Five topics are covered in this report: the objectives of the demonstration; the elements of the demonstration plan; an overview of the Site Characterization and Monitoring Technology Pilot; an overview of the technology verification process; and the purpose of this demonstration plan.

Clear cell carcinoma of the ovary mimicking struma ovarii and carcinoid tumor.

Science.gov (United States)

Alduaij, Ahmad; Quddus, M Ruhul

2011-04-01

Clear cell carcinomas are considered as high-grade tumor often with poor prognosis. We describe 2 cases of clear cell carcinomas of the ovary mimicking benign or less aggressive tumors encountered in the female genital track. The first case is mimicking a benign monodermal teratoma, the so-called struma ovarii, and the second mimicking a carcinoid tumor. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ClearTK 2.0: Design Patterns for Machine Learning in UIMA.

Science.gov (United States)

Bethard, Steven; Ogren, Philip; Becker, Lee

2014-05-01

ClearTK adds machine learning functionality to the UIMA framework, providing wrappers to popular machine learning libraries, a rich feature extraction library that works across different classifiers, and utilities for applying and evaluating machine learning models. Since its inception in 2008, ClearTK has evolved in response to feedback from developers and the community. This evolution has followed a number of important design principles including: conceptually simple annotator interfaces, readable pipeline descriptions, minimal collection readers, type system agnostic code, modules organized for ease of import, and assisting user comprehension of the complex UIMA framework.

Clear cell urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder: a case report and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Knez, Virginia M; Barrow, Willis; Lucia, M Scott; Wilson, Shandra; La Rosa, Francisco G

2014-08-14

The occurrence of clear cell tumors in the bladder is not uncommon. Clear cell dysplasia is well-described and characterized by focal replacement of transitional mucosa by cells with abundant clear cytoplasm, nuclear enlargement, and a granular chromatin pattern. Clear cells can also be seen in clear cell adenocarcinoma, which is rare, comprising 0.5% to 2.0% of the reported bladder carcinomas. Other clear cell tumors found in the bladder to be considered in the differential diagnosis are tumors of Müllerian origin and metastatic lesions, such as renal cell carcinoma, clear cell sarcoma, and malignant melanoma. Clear cell urothelial carcinoma is exceedingly rare, with only nine clinical cases described in the literature. We report the case of a 75-year-old Caucasian man who presented with intermittent hematuria, in whom a bladder tumor was identified. A final histopathology examination of a cystoprostatectomy specimen revealed a pT3b, G3 urothelial carcinoma of clear cell type (>90% clear cells) and a prostatic adenocarcinoma of Gleason grade 3+3 (score=6). The bladder tumor consisted of sheets of malignant cells with severe nuclear atypia and abundant clear cytoplasm; no glandular or tubular structures were identified. Tumor cells were periodic acid-Schiff positive and negative after diastase treatment; additional mucicarmine and oil red O stains were negative. Immunohistochemical stains showed the tumor cells positive for cytokeratin 7 (CK7), p63 (>80% nuclei), p53 (about 30% nuclei), vimentin, E-cadherin, cluster of differentiation (CD10), and Ki-67 (>70% nuclei). Stains for cell adhesion molecule 5.2 (CAM 5.2), CD117, cytokeratin 20 (CK20), human melanoma black 45 (HMB-45), paired box protein (PAX 8), placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP), prostate specific antigen (PSA), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), cancer antigen 25 (CA25), leukocyte common antigen (LC), S-100 protein, and uroplakin III were all negative. The tumor marker profile was consistent with clear

78 FR 18382 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing of Proposed...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-26

... Stock Loan/Hedge Program in a manner that protects the clearing system against risk through the same or... the By- Laws To Facilitate the Use of the Stock Loan/Hedge Program by Canadian Clearing Members March... the Stock Loan/Hedge Program by Canadian Clearing Members. II. Self-Regulatory Organization's...

Advanced CUBIC protocols for whole-brain and whole-body clearing and imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Susaki, Etsuo A; Tainaka, Kazuki; Perrin, Dimitri; Yukinaga, Hiroko; Kuno, Akihiro; Ueda, Hiroki R

2015-11-01

Here we describe a protocol for advanced CUBIC (Clear, Unobstructed Brain/Body Imaging Cocktails and Computational analysis). The CUBIC protocol enables simple and efficient organ clearing, rapid imaging by light-sheet microscopy and quantitative imaging analysis of multiple samples. The organ or body is cleared by immersion for 1-14 d, with the exact time required dependent on the sample type and the experimental purposes. A single imaging set can be completed in 30-60 min. Image processing and analysis can take whole-brain neural activities at single-cell resolution using Arc-dVenus transgenic (Tg) mice. CUBIC informatics calculated the Venus signal subtraction, comparing different brains at a whole-organ scale. These protocols provide a platform for organism-level systems biology by comprehensively detecting cells in a whole organ or body.

Demonstration of Human-Autonomy Teaming Principles

Science.gov (United States)

Shively, Robert Jay

2016-01-01

Known problems with automation include lack of mode awareness, automation brittleness, and risk of miscalibrated trust. Human-Autonomy Teaming (HAT) is essential for improving these problems. We have identified some critical components of HAT and ran a part-task study to introduce these components to a ground station that supports flight following of multiple aircraft. Our goal was to demonstrate, evaluate, and refine HAT principles. This presentation provides a brief summary of the study and initial findings.

Monitoring of interaction of low-frequency electric field with biological tissues upon optical clearing with optical coherence tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Peña, Adrián F; Doronin, Alexander; Tuchin, Valery V; Meglinski, Igor

2014-08-01

The influence of a low-frequency electric field applied to soft biological tissues ex vivo at normal conditions and upon the topical application of optical clearing agents has been studied by optical coherence tomography (OCT). The electro-kinetic response of tissues has been observed and quantitatively evaluated by the double correlation OCT approach, utilizing consistent application of an adaptive Wiener filtering and Fourier domain correlation algorithm. The results show that fluctuations, induced by the electric field within the biological tissues are exponentially increased in time. We demonstrate that in comparison to impedance measurements and the mapping of the temperature profile at the surface of the tissue samples, the double correlation OCT approach is much more sensitive to the changes associated with the tissues' electro-kinetic response. We also found that topical application of the optical clearing agent reduces the tissues' electro-kinetic response and is cooling the tissue, thus reducing the temperature induced by the electric current by a few degrees. We anticipate that dcOCT approach can find a new application in bioelectrical impedance analysis and monitoring of the electric properties of biological tissues, including the resistivity of high water content tissues and its variations.

''Blue clearing'' on Mars in connection with dust clouds in August and September 1971

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prokof'eva, V.V.; Chuprakova, T.A.; Dzyamko, S.S.; Bryzgalova, T.V.

1975-01-01

Photometric processing of Mars TV pictures obtained in ultraviolet, blue, green and red spectrum regions reveals the connection of the ''blue clearing'' effect with the appearance of dust clouds above the light regions of the planet. The obtained data confirm the hypothesis about the dust nature of blue clearings: the illusion of blue clearings is produced as a result of increasing brightness of thse Mars light regions, when dust clouds apr above them

Mineral content as a basis for food selection by western lowland gorillas in a forest clearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Magliocca, Florence; Gautier-Hion, Annie

2002-06-01

The forests in northwest Republic of Congo contain a number of herbaceous swamp clearings that provide foraging sites for lowland gorillas (G.g. gorilla). A 10-month study at the Maya Nord clearing (Parc National d'Odzala) showed that feeding activities occupied 72% of the time visiting gorillas spent on the clearing. They fed on four plant species: Enydra fluctuans (Asteraceae), Cyperus sp., Pycreus mundtii, and Rhynchospora corymbosa (Cyperaceae) among the 45 species recorded on the clearing. These clearing food species have higher mineral contents (especially Na and Ca) than the dominant Marantaceae species (Haumania liebrechtsiana) that constituted a staple food plant for gorillas in this forest. They also have higher potassium contents and contain less lignin than non-eaten clearing items/species. Finally, the most actively searched for clearing food (Enydra fluctuans) was characterized by the highest amount of Na and Ca. These results suggest that the mineral content (especially in Na, Ca, and/or K) could determine the feeding selectivity of gorillas at the clearing. They also tend to confirm that the amount of fiber plays a deterrent role in food selectivity, as has been found by many authors. The high density of gorillas in that region could result from the combination of the large areas of Marantaceae forests that provide abundant though monotonous food, and the number of clearings that provide sufficient mineral supplies. Clearings should thus be considered as key habitats for the conservation of gorillas. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

78 FR 75413 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; National Securities Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-11

... Modified by Amendment Nos. 1, 2, and 3, To Institute Supplemental Liquidity Deposits to Its Clearing Fund Designed To Increase Liquidity Resources To Meet Its Liquidity Needs December 5, 2013. I. Introduction On... Change'') to institute supplemental liquidity deposits to NSCC's Clearing Fund designed to increase...

Piloted Well Clear Performance Evaluation of Detect and Avoid Systems with Suggestive Guidance

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Eric; Santiago, Confesor; Watza, Spencer

2016-01-01

requirements for future traffic displays (Calhoun, 2014). Other displays have undergone testing to collect data that may generalize to new displays, but have not been evaluated in the context of the development of an overall safety case for UAS equipped with DAA systems in the NAS (Bell, 2012). Other research efforts focus on DAA surveillance performance and separation standards. Together with this work, they are expected to facilitate validation of the airspace safety case (Park, 2014 and Johnson, 2015). The contribution of the present work is to quantify the effectiveness of the pilot-automation system to remain well clear as a function of display features and surveillance sensor error. This quantification will help enable selection of a minimum set of DAA design features that meets the AST, a set that may not be unique for all UAS platforms. A second objective is to collect and analyze pilot performance parameters that will improve the modeling of overall DAA system performance in non-human-in-the-loop simulations. Simulating the DAA-equipped UAS in such batch experiments will allow investigation of a much larger number of encounters than is possible in human simulations. This capability is necessary to demonstrate that a particular set of DAA requirements meets the AST under all foreseeable operational conditions.

Three Soil Quality Demonstrations for Educating Extension Clientele

Science.gov (United States)

Hoorman, James J.

2014-01-01

There is a renewed interest in educating youth, Master Gardeners, and agricultural producers about soil quality. Three soil demonstrations show how soil organic matter increases water holding capacity, improves soil structure, and increases nutrient retention. Exercise one uses clay bricks and sponges to represent mineral soils and soil organic…

The force-distance properties of attracting magnetic attachments for tooth movement in combination with clear sequential aligners.

Science.gov (United States)

Phelan, Angie; Petocz, Peter; Walsh, William; Darendeliler, M Ali

2012-11-01

The demand for clear sequential aligner therapy has increased dramatically in recent years. An improved system utilising small neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnetic attachments has been proposed to enhance appliance capabilities. The aim of the investigation was to analyse the force system diagrams produced by small attracting NdFeB magnets to determine, 1) whether the force levels were sufficient to induce tooth movement, 2) the effect of magnet morphology on force characteristics and, 3) the most appropriate magnet dimensions that could be utilised for this application. Twenty-nine NdFeB rectangular magnets of varying dimensions were tested. A Mach-1 universal testing machine (Biosyntech Inc, Quebec, Canada) was used to measure the attractive force of pairs of magnets. Measurements commenced with a magnetic pair in contact and subsequently vertically separated a distance of 10 mm at a speed of 12 mm/minute. For all magnetic configurations four repeat measurements were performed on five magnetic pairs of the same size. The force-distance diagrams for all magnet configurations demonstrated a dramatic decrease in force with increasing magnet separation. Rather than a suggested inverse square law, the experimental data followed an inverse fourth law when an offset determined by a regression analysis was applied to the distance. For the majority of magnets, insignificant forces were attained beyond 2 mm of separation. Magnets with large pole face areas and longer magnetic axes provided the greatest force. A select range of magnet configurations exhibited suitable and reliable attractive forces and therefore could be advocated for prescribed clinical application.

Ultrasound guided electrochemotherapy for the treatment of a clear ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ultrasound guided biopsy yielded a diagnosis of clear cell thymoma upon histopathology. After complete staging procedures, the owner elected to treat the cat with electrochemotherapy (ECT) using systemic bleomycin. Two sessions of ultrasound guided ECT were performed at two week intervals with trains of biphasic ...

78 FR 50259 - Derivatives Clearing Organizations and International Standards

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-16

... managerial resources, as determined by the Commission, to discharge each responsibility of the [DCO].'' \\27... wide range of potential stress scenarios, which include, but are not limited to, the default of the... clearing members through margin requirements and other risk control mechanisms, to ensure that the DCO's...

Impact of Prosopis (mesquite) invasion and clearing on vegetation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We evaluated the impact of Prosopis invasion and clearing on vegetation species composition and diversity (alien and indigenous species richness and cover) in Nama-Karoo rangeland on two sheep farms in the Beaufort ... Keywords: invasive plants – exotic, Nama-Karoo, plant community ecology, rehabilitation, semi-arid ...

An industrial demonstration of computer assisted tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lupton, L.R.

1985-09-01

Computerized tomography (CT) is a nondestructive testing technique for generating quantitative density (linear attenuation coefficient) maps of a cross section through an object. By using a series of parallel tomographic images taken at different elevations, a three-dimensional (3-D) map of the object can be obtained. To demonstrate the power of tomography, a 3-D region of a motorcycle carburetor has been imaged using twenty-four parallel two-dimensional images. From these data, new images in planes orthogonal to the original planes have been generated, thereby improving the user's ability to visualize the position of components within the carburetor. The data have also been used to demonstrate the relationship between tomography and radiography

76 FR 49511 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The National Securities Clearing Corporation; Order Granting...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-10

... distribute hard copy Important Notices, clearing reports, and other informational documents to NSCC members... policy with regard to ESS and other NSCC services, provides, among other things, that money-only... requires, among other things, that the rules of a clearing agency be designed to promote the prompt and...

Tropospheric haze and colors of the clear twilight sky.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Raymond L; Mollner, Duncan C

2017-07-01

At the earth's surface, clear-sky colors during civil twilights depend on the combined spectral effects of molecular scattering, extinction by tropospheric aerosols, and absorption by ozone. Molecular scattering alone cannot produce the most vivid twilight colors near the solar horizon, for which aerosol scattering and absorption are also required. However, less well known are haze aerosols' effects on twilight sky colors at larger scattering angles, including near the antisolar horizon. To analyze this range of colors, we compare 3D Monte Carlo simulations of skylight spectra with hyperspectral measurements of clear twilight skies over a wide range of aerosol optical depths. Our combined measurements and simulations indicate that (a) the purest antisolar twilight colors would occur in a purely molecular, multiple-scattering atmosphere, whereas (b) the most vivid solar-sky colors require at least some turbidity. Taken together, these results suggest that multiple scattering plays an important role in determining the redness of the antitwilight arch.

Spectral and diurnal variations in clear sky planetary albedo

Science.gov (United States)

Briegleb, B.; Ramanathan, V.

1982-01-01

Spectral and diurnal variations in the clear sky planetary albedo of the earth are calculated using a radiative transfer model to obtain January and July values for a 5 deg x 5 deg global grid. The model employs observed climatological values of temperatures, humidities, snow and sea-ice cover. The diurnal cycle of clear sky albedo is calculated in the following intervals: 0.2-0.5, 0.5-0.7, and 0.7-4 microns. Observed ozone distribution is specified as a function of latitude and season. The 0.2-0.5 micron spectral albedo is 10-20% higher than the total albedo for all latitudes because of Rayleigh scattering; the 0.5-0.7 micron albedo differs from the total albedo by 1-2% for most latitudes, while the 0.7-4 micron albedo is 5-10% lower than the total because of strong atmospheric absorption. Planetary albedo decreases from morning to local noon, with diurnal variations being particularly strong over water.

Clear cell carcinoma of female urethral diverticulum—A case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Ching Weng

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Primary malignancies of female urethral diverticulum are rare. A well-documented female patient with primary clear cell carcinoma of the urethral diverticulum is presented here. A 65-year-old woman presented with frequency and voiding difficulty for 2 months. Physical examination showed a 4-cm mass protruding from anterior vaginal wall. Intravenous urography, magnetic resonance imaging, and cystoscopy showed a polypoid mass in urethral diverticulum. She then underwent anterior exenteration with ileal conduit diversion and urethrectomy. Pathology confirmed the diagnosis of clear cell adenocarcinoma with bladder neck invasion. She had no disease recurrence at 2-year follow-up. Careful clinical examination and image studies are helpful in making the preoperative diagnosis for the rare disease. Early radical surgery can achieve better survival.

Iceland as a demonstrator for a transition to low carbon economy?

Science.gov (United States)

Asbjornsson, Einar Jon; Stefansson, Hlynur; Finger, David Christian

2017-04-01

The energy supply in Iceland is quite unique, about 85% of the total primary energy is coming from renewable resources. Nevertheless, the ecological footprint of an average Icelander is with 6.5 worlds, one of the highest worldwide and the energy consumption per capita is about 7 times higher than the European average. Recent developments have shown that there is a great potential to reduce the footprint and develop towards low carbon economy. With its small population, well educated and governed society and clear system boundaries to the outside world, Iceland is a good research laboratory and an ideal demonstrator for a transition towards a low carbon economy. This presentation will outline how several innovative research projects at Reykjavik University could lead Iceland towards a sustainable and low carbon economy. The presentations will conclude with a visionary outlook how Iceland can become a demonstration nation towards a prosperous, low carbon and sustainable economy, helping stabilize global warming at an acceptable level.

Hemiballism due to the lesion in the striatum demonstrated by CT scan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kojima, S; Ito, N; Hirayama, K [Chiba Univ. (Japan). School of Medicine; Tochigi, S

1981-09-01

Two cases of hemiballism due to vascular lesions in the striatum demonstrated by CT scan were reported. Case 1 was a 58-year-old man with hypertension and diabetes mellitus, who had cerebral hemorrhage in the right striatum. Hemiballistic movements, which were confined to his face, neck and trunk as well as limbs of the left side, appeared soon after CVA and improved on treatment with haloperidol up to 4 mg per day. Case 2 was a 63-year-old woman with hypertension, who had probable cerebral infarct in the right striatum. The hemiballistic movements, confined to her right side, appeared soon after CVA and improved on treatment with chlorpromazine up to 50 mg per day, and perphenazine up to 6 mg per day. Whereas case 1 had contralateral hemiballism, case 2 had homolateral hemiballism, both due to vascular lesions in the striatum. Although it has been generally accepted, from postmortem and experimental studies, that the lesion responsible for hemiballism was localized in the contralateral subthalamic nucleus, a few cases of hemiballism have been reported, in which the subthalamic nucleus (Luys' body) and its connections appeared to be intact at necropsy. The present cases of hemiballism with involvement of the striatum without involvement of the subthalamic nucleus by CT scan, seem to be the first reported cases. It is not clear in the CT scan whether the subthalamic nucleus is also involved in addition to the striatal lesion, however, it is unlikely due to different vascular supplies to these areas. From a clinical and an experimental point of view, we would like to propose that hemiballism can occur due to the lesion in the striatum, especially the caudate nucleus even when the subthalamic nucleus and its connections are intact.

Concept of a Pitot tube able to detect blockage by ice, volcanic ash, sand and insects, and to clear the tube

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, David A.

2015-12-01

A conceptual coaxial Pitot tube (PT) has been developed using fiber optic sensors combined with actuators to monitor and maintain its correct operation under different environmental conditions. Experiments were performed showing that the dynamic and static tubes can be cleared of ice. It was also demonstrated that the dynamic tube could be cleared of dust and sand which was not the case for the static tube in the coaxial configuration. An approach was proposed to overcome this problem involving a conventional configuration where the static tube was operated independently orthogonal to the dynamic tube, and a second set of sensors and actuators was used. Sensors and associated actuators were developed for temperature and intensity for a linear PT. The aim of this work is to propose a solution for a problem that has caused the loss of the lives of many passengers and crew of aircraft. Resources were not available to test a full implementation of a PT incorporating the proposed modifications.

Clear Speech Variants: An Acoustic Study in Parkinson's Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Jennifer; Tjaden, Kris

2016-01-01

Purpose: The authors investigated how different variants of clear speech affect segmental and suprasegmental acoustic measures of speech in speakers with Parkinson's disease and a healthy control group. Method: A total of 14 participants with Parkinson's disease and 14 control participants served as speakers. Each speaker produced 18 different…

Optimal policies for Production-Clearing Systems under Continuous-Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Germs, R.; Foreest, van Nicky D.; Kilic, Onur A.

2016-01-01

In this paper, we consider a production-clearing system with compound Poisson demand under continuous review. The production facility produces one type of item without stopping and at a constant rate, and stores the product into a buffer to meet future demand. To prevent high inventory levels, a

Bubbling and foaming assisted clearing of mucin plugs in microfluidic Y-junctions.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdula, Daner; Lerud, Ryan; Rananavare, Shankar

2017-11-07

Microfluidic Y-junctions were used to study mechanical mechanisms involved in pig gastric mucin (PGM) plug removal from within one of two bifurcation branches with 2-phase air and liquid flow. Water control experiments showed moderate plug removal due to shear from vortex formation in the blockage branch and suggest a PGM yield stress of 35Pa, as determined by computational fluid dynamics. Addition of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant improved clearing effectiveness due to bubbling in 1mm diameter channels and foaming in 500μm diameter channels. Plug removal mechanisms have been identified as vortex shear, bubble scouring, and then foam scouring as air flow rate is increased with constant liquid flow. The onset of bubbling and foaming is attributed to a flow regime transition from slug to slug-annular. Flow rates explored for 1mm channels are typically experienced by bronchioles in generations 8 and 9 of lungs. Results have implications on treatment of cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 66900 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing of Proposed...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-07

... of the clearing fund as a source of liquidity should it ever be the case that OCC is unable to obtain... address the risk that the assets in the clearing fund might at any time be insufficient to enable OCC to... for Determining the Minimum Clearing Fund Size To Include Consideration of the Amount Necessary To...

Using Degraded Music Quality to Encourage a Health Improving Walking Pace: BeatClearWalker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Komninos

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Meeting the target of 8000 steps/day, as recommended by many national governments and health authorities, can provide considerable physical and mental health benefits and is seen as a key target for reducing obesity levels and improving public health. However, to optimize the health benefits, walking should be performed at a “moderate” intensity. While there are numerous mobile fitness applications that monitor distance walked, none directly support walking at this cadence nor has there been any research into live feedback for walking cadence. We present a smartphone fitness application to help users learn how to walk at a moderate cadence and maintain that cadence. We apply real-time audio effects that diminish the audio quality of music when the target walking cadence is not being reached. This provides an immersive and intuitive application that can easily be integrated into everyday life as allows users to walk while listening to their own music and encourages eyes-free interaction. In this paper, we introduce our approach, design, initial lab evaluation and a controlled outdoor study. Results show that using music degradation decreases the number of below-cadence steps, that users felt they worked harder with our player and would use it while exercise walking.

Renal cell tumors with clear cell histology and intact VHL and chromosome 3p: a histological review of tumors from the Cancer Genome Atlas database.

Science.gov (United States)

Favazza, Laura; Chitale, Dhananjay A; Barod, Ravi; Rogers, Craig G; Kalyana-Sundaram, Shanker; Palanisamy, Nallasivam; Gupta, Nilesh S; Williamson, Sean R

2017-11-01

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma is by far the most common form of kidney cancer; however, a number of histologically similar tumors are now recognized and considered distinct entities. The Cancer Genome Atlas published data set was queried (http://cbioportal.org) for clear cell renal cell carcinoma tumors lacking VHL gene mutation and chromosome 3p loss, for which whole-slide images were reviewed. Of the 418 tumors in the published Cancer Genome Atlas clear cell renal cell carcinoma database, 387 had VHL mutation, copy number loss for chromosome 3p, or both (93%). Of the remaining, 27/31 had whole-slide images for review. One had 3p loss based on karyotype but not sequencing, and three demonstrated VHL promoter hypermethylation. Nine could be reclassified as distinct or emerging entities: translocation renal cell carcinoma (n=3), TCEB1 mutant renal cell carcinoma (n=3), papillary renal cell carcinoma (n=2), and clear cell papillary renal cell carcinoma (n=1). Of the remaining, 6 had other clear cell renal cell carcinoma-associated gene alterations (PBRM1, SMARCA4, BAP1, SETD2), leaving 11 specimens, including 2 high-grade or sarcomatoid renal cell carcinomas and 2 with prominent fibromuscular stroma (not TCEB1 mutant). One of the remaining tumors exhibited gain of chromosome 7 but lacked histological features of papillary renal cell carcinoma. Two tumors previously reported to harbor TFE3 gene fusions also exhibited VHL mutation, chromosome 3p loss, and morphology indistinguishable from clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the significance of which is uncertain. In summary, almost all clear cell renal cell carcinomas harbor VHL mutation, 3p copy number loss, or both. Of tumors with clear cell histology that lack these alterations, a subset can now be reclassified as other entities. Further study will determine whether additional entities exist, based on distinct genetic pathways that may have implications for treatment.

Water-clear cell adenoma of the parathyroid. A case report with immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Grenko, R T; Anderson, K M; Kauffman, G; Abt, A B

1995-11-01

We report a water-clear cell adenoma of the parathyroid gland, a lesion which to our knowledge has not been described previously. Like its rare but well-described hyperplastic counterpart, water-clear cell hyperplasia, this adenoma is composed of cells with abundant foamy-to-granular cytoplasm and mild nuclear pleomorphism. The cells form glandular structures and cell nests separated by fine fibrovascular septae. The tumor cells stain positively with anti-parathyroid hormone and show characteristic glassy and flocculate material by electron microscopy. Unlike water-clear cell hyperplasia, water-clear cell adenoma is a solitary lesion that compresses the residual nonneoplastic parathyroid gland.

Music improves dopaminergic neurotransmission: demonstration based on the effect of music on blood pressure regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutoo, Den'etsu; Akiyama, Kayo

2004-08-06

The mechanism by which music modifies brain function is not clear. Clinical findings indicate that music reduces blood pressure in various patients. We investigated the effect of music on blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Previous studies indicated that calcium increases brain dopamine (DA) synthesis through a calmodulin (CaM)-dependent system. Increased DA levels reduce blood pressure in SHR. In this study, we examined the effects of music on this pathway. Systolic blood pressure in SHR was reduced by exposure to Mozart's music (K.205), and the effect vanished when this pathway was inhibited. Exposure to music also significantly increased serum calcium levels and neostriatal DA levels. These results suggest that music leads to increased calcium/CaM-dependent DA synthesis in the brain, thus causing a reduction in blood pressure. Music might regulate and/or affect various brain functions through dopaminergic neurotransmission, and might therefore be effective for rectification of symptoms in various diseases that involve DA dysfunction.

A Family of Well-Clear Boundary Models for the Integration of UAS in the NAS

Science.gov (United States)

Munoz, Cesar A.; Narkawicz, Anthony; Chamberlain, James; Consiglio, Maria; Upchurch, Jason

2014-01-01

The FAA-sponsored Sense and Avoid Workshop for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) defines the concept of sense and avoid for remote pilots as "the capability of a UAS to remain well clear from and avoid collisions with other airborne traffic." Hence, a rigorous definition of well clear is fundamental to any separation assurance concept for the integration of UAS into civil airspace. This paper presents a family of well-clear boundary models based on the TCAS II Resolution Advisory logic. For these models, algorithms that predict well-clear violations along aircraft current trajectories are provided. These algorithms are analogous to conflict detection algorithms but instead of predicting loss of separation, they predict whether well-clear violations will occur during a given lookahead time interval. Analytical techniques are used to study the properties and relationships satisfied by the models.

78 FR 6371 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Europe Limited; Notice of Filing and Order Granting...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-30

... defined herein are defined in the Rules or CDS Procedures. II. Clearing Agency's Statement of the Purpose... requirements of Rule 301(f)(i)-(iii). In essence, ICE Clear Europe must first notify the Clearing Member of the...

Clear Plaque Mutants of Lactococcal Phage TP901-1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kot, Witold; Kilstrup, Mogens; Vogensen, Finn K.

2016-01-01

We report a method for obtaining turbid plaques of the lactococcal bacteriophage TP901-1 and its derivative TP901-BC1034. We have further used the method to isolate clear plaque mutants of this phage. Analysis of 8 such mutants that were unable to lysogenize the host included whole genome...

A randomized clinical trial comparing mandibular incisor proclination produced by fixed labial appliances and clear aligners.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennessy, Joe; Garvey, Thérèse; Al-Awadhi, Ebrahim A

2016-09-01

To compare the mandibular incisor proclination produced by fixed labial appliances and third generation clear aligners. Patients underwent a course of orthodontic treatment using either fixed labial appliances or clear aligners (Invisalign). Mandibular incisor proclination was measured by comparing pretreatment and near-end treatment lateral cephalograms. Eligibility criteria included adult patients with mild mandibular incisor crowding (clear aligner group. Baseline characteristics were similar for both groups: Fixed appliance mean crowding was 2.1 ± 1.3 mm vs clear aligner mean crowding, 2.5 ± 1.3 mm; pretreatment mean mandibular incisor inclination for the fixed appliance group was 90.8 ± 5.4° vs 91.6 ± 6.4° for the clear aligner group. Fixed appliances produced 5.3 ± 4.3° of mandibular incisor proclination. Clear aligners proclined the mandibular incisors by 3.4 ± 3.2°. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P > .05). There was no difference in the amount of mandibular incisor proclination produced by clear aligners and fixed labial appliances in mild crowding cases.

Improve Student Understanding Ability Through Gamification in Instructional Media Based Explicit Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Firdausi, N.; Prabawa, H. W.; Sutarno, H.

2017-02-01

In an effort to maximize a student’s academic growth, one of the tools available to educators is the explicit instruction. Explicit instruction is marked by a series of support or scaffold, where the students will be guided through the learning process with a clear statement of purpose and a reason for learning new skills, a clear explanation and demonstration of learning targets, supported and practiced with independent feedback until mastery has been achieved. The technology development trend of todays, requires an adjustment in the development of learning object that supports the achievement of explicit instruction targets. This is where the gamification position is. In the role as a pedagogical strategy, the use of gamification preformance study class is still relatively new. Gamification not only use the game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts, but also to empower and engage learners with the ability of motivation on learning approach and maintains a relaxed atmosphere. With using Reseach and Development methods, this paper presents the integration of technology (which in this case using the concept of gamification) in explicit instruction settings and the impact on the improvement of students’ understanding.

Clear cell hidradenocarcinoma developing in pacemaker pocket.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, Cesar V

2008-11-01

An octagenerian woman developed clear cell hidradenocarcinoma, a rare neoplasm of eccrine sweat gland origin, 4 years following pacemaker implantation in her right lateral chest. The tumor immunohistochemically mimicked a metastatic lobular breast carcinoma, for example, strongly positive estrogen, weakly positive progesterone, and weakly reactive mammoglobin. A complete surgical excision of the tumor was complemented with ipsilateral dissection of involved adjacent axillary lymph nodes. Recommended irradiation was refused by the patient. Retrospective 3-year mammogram review, 2-year postsurgery follow-up, and complete postmortem evaluation failed to prove a primary breast malignancy or other metastatic lesion elsewhere.

77 FR 69668 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; Notice of Filing of Advance...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-20

....\\4\\ This includes the potential use of the clearing fund as a source of liquidity should it ever be... fund in order to provide a source of liquidity in the event of a default by a clearing member or one of... address the risk that the assets in the clearing fund might at any time be insufficient to enable OCC to...

Clear cell sarcoma of the abdominal wall with peritoneal sarcomatosis: CT features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabate, J.M.; Fernandez, A.; Torrubia, S.; Villanueva, A.; Monill, J.M.

1999-01-01

Clear cell sarcoma, also called malignant melanoma of soft parts, is an uncommon neoplasm that involves tendons or aponeuroses of the lower extremity. The CT features of a clear cell sarcoma arising from the abdominal wall with later peritoneal dissemination are described. Peritoneal sarcomatosis from soft tissue sarcomas is a very rare condition previously unreported in the radiologic literature. Metastases to peritoneal surfaces must therefore be considered a possible site for systemic dissemination of soft tissue sarcomas. (orig.)

Demonstration of the Marinov Motor Principle

Science.gov (United States)

Driscoll, Robert B.

2002-03-01

Working models of the Marinov motor have been built and run by others. (1-3) This model will demonstrate, in this session, the motors principle. A horizontal annular clear plastic tube (torus) is half full of mercury, with 3-in-1 oil above to deter oxidation, etc. Bits of copper wire float on the mercury to show its flow or non-flow. Two vertical stacks of wafer magnets, constituting two cylindrical permanent magnets, are centered on a major diameter of the torus, equally near its annular centerline. Two electrodes dip into the mercury at the ends of the same diameter. When a steady DC current of 1-5 amps passes through the mercury, half in each semi-torus, any flow of the mercury is shown by movement of the copper bits. Reversal of current direction or magnets directions reverses the flow of mercury. Any flow rate excepting zero disproves Amperes law of only transverse force at each current element of a linear circuit. (1) R. Angulo, O. Rodriquez, and G. Spavieri. Hadronic Journal 20 (1997) 621. (2) T. E. Phipps, Jr. Apeiron 5 (1998) 193, 209. (3) J. P. Wesley, Apeiron 5 (1998) 219.

How to Successfully Build a Clear Label Paradigm : Ingredient Marketing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diaz, J.

2016-01-01

Careful labeling and consumer education may make the difference for the future success of individual ingredients and the products that rely on them. The second of a two-part report on a clear label strategy.

Clear-cell chondrosarcoma of the maxilla Report of a case

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slootweg, P.J.

Clear-cell chondrosarcoma is a variant of chondrosarcoma which is characterized by a typical histomorphology and a very slow rate of growth. A case is presented in which the tumor was located in the maxilla.

Comparison of the observed and calculated clear sky greenhouse effect - Implications for climate studies

Science.gov (United States)

Kiehl, J. T.; Briegleb, B. P.

1992-01-01

The clear sky greenhouse effect is defined in terms of the outgoing longwave clear sky flux at the top of the atmosphere. Recently, interest in the magnitude of the clear sky greenhouse effect has increased due to the archiving of the clear sky flux quantity through the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE). The present study investigates to what degree of accuracy this flux can be analyzed by using independent atmospheric and surface data in conjunction with a detailed longwave radiation model. The conclusion from this comparison is that for most regions over oceans the analyzed fluxes agree to within the accuracy of the ERBE-retrieved fluxes (+/- 5 W/sq m). However, in regions where deep convective activity occurs, the ERBE fluxes are significantly higher (10-15 W/sq m) than the calculated fluxes. This bias can arise from either cloud contamination problems or variability in water vapor amount. It is argued that the use of analyzed fluxes may provide a more consistent clear sky flux data set for general circulation modeling validation. Climate implications from the analyzed fluxes are explored. Finally, results for obtaining longwave surface fluxes over the oceans are presented.

Demonstration Advanced Avionics System (DAAS) function description

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, A. J.; Bailey, D. G.; Gaabo, R. J.; Lahn, T. G.; Larson, J. C.; Peterson, E. M.; Schuck, J. W.; Rodgers, D. L.; Wroblewski, K. A.

1982-01-01

The Demonstration Advanced Avionics System, DAAS, is an integrated avionics system utilizing microprocessor technologies, data busing, and shared displays for demonstrating the potential of these technologies in improving the safety and utility of general aviation operations in the late 1980's and beyond. Major hardware elements of the DAAS include a functionally distributed microcomputer complex, an integrated data control center, an electronic horizontal situation indicator, and a radio adaptor unit. All processing and display resources are interconnected by an IEEE-488 bus in order to enhance the overall system effectiveness, reliability, modularity and maintainability. A detail description of the DAAS architecture, the DAAS hardware, and the DAAS functions is presented. The system is designed for installation and flight test in a NASA Cessna 402-B aircraft.

Epigenetics as an emerging tool for improvement of fungal strains used in biotechnology.

Science.gov (United States)

Aghcheh, Razieh Karimi; Kubicek, Christian P

2015-08-01

Filamentous fungi are today a major source of industrial biotechnology for the production of primary and secondary metabolites, as well as enzymes and recombinant proteins. All of them have undergone extensive improvement strain programs, initially by classical mutagenesis and later on by genetic manipulation. Thereby, strategies to overcome rate-limiting or yield-reducing reactions included manipulating the expression of individual genes, their regulatory genes, and also their function. Yet, research of the last decade clearly showed that cells can also undergo heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes in the underlying DNA sequences (=epigenetics). This involves three levels of regulation: (i) DNA methylation, (ii) chromatin remodeling by histone modification, and (iii) RNA interference. The demonstration of the occurrence of these processes in fungal model organisms such as Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa has stimulated its recent investigation as a tool for strain improvement in industrially used fungi. This review describes the progress that has thereby been obtained.

Getting to the point: attempting to improve juror comprehension of capital penalty phase instructions.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Amy E; Haney, Craig

2011-10-01

This research examined the effects of several versions of capital penalty phase instructions on juror comprehension. Study One documented the impact of California's recently implemented "plain language" instruction. It showed that although the new instruction has clear advantages over the previous version, significant comprehension problems remain. Study Two evaluated several modified instructions designed to enhance comprehension. Participants heard either a standard patterned instruction or one of two alternatives-a psycholinguistically improved instruction, or a "pinpoint" instruction using case-related facts to illustrate key terms-in a simulated death penalty sentencing phase. Persons who heard modified instructions demonstrated higher levels of comprehension on virtually every measure as compared to those in the standard instruction condition.

Observations of climate, albedo, and surface radiation over cleared and undisturbed Amazonian forest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastable, H.G.; Shuttleworth, W.J.; Dallarosa, R.L.G.; Fisch, G.; Nobre, C.A.

1993-01-01

Measurements from the first comparative study of climate over Amazonian tropical forest and an embedded deforested clearing are presented. Observations comprise a continuous 60-day run of data from mid-October to mid-December 1990, covering the end of the dry season and the beginning of the wet season. Mean hourly observations are calculated for the whole period; and for two 10-day periods, one in the dry season and one at the start of the wet season. Much greater variation in weather variables was observed at the clearing compared with over the forest. While the mean values of temperature and specific humidity deficit differed by less than 1°C and 1 g kg −1 respectively, their daily ranges at the clearing were twice those at the forest. Mean daily albedo of the forest was 13.1 per cent, agreeing well with other tropical forest measurements, and of the clearing was 16.3 per cent, somewhat lower than the values currently being used in GCMs. The surface energy balance was investigated and mean available energy calculated for each site. The significant difference in the daily pattern of net radiation between the sites was found to be at least as much due to differences in the longwave radiation balance as to differences in albedo. The diurnal pattern of net radiation therefore changed between dry and wet periods as the higher plant water stress experienced by clearing vegetation altered the daily temperature cycle

A case of acute meningitis with clear cerebrospinal fluid: value of computed tomography for the diagnosis of central nervous system tuberculosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cesari, V.

1986-01-01

The author reports a case of acute meningitis with clear cerebrospinal fluid in which extensive bacteriologic investigations were negative making the etiologic diagnosis exceedingly difficult. Initiation of empiric antituberculous therapy was rapidly followed by clinical and biological improvement, without complications, and by resolution of abnormal findings on computed tomography of the brain. On these grounds, meningitis secondary to a tuberculoma in the temporal lobe was diagnosed. The author points out that tuberculous meningitis is still a severe, potentially fatal condition; this, together with the fact that tubercle bacilli are often very scarce or absent, requires that tuberculous meningitis be routinely considered in every patient with clear cerebrospinal fluid meningitis whose condition deteriorates. Computed tomography of the brain is essential to ensure rapid diagnosis and prompt initiation of antituberculous therapy. Lastly, the author points out that nowadays herpes simplex virus encephalopathy should also be considered [fr

Development of the ClearSky smoke dispersion forecast system for agricultural field burning in the Pacific Northwest

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Rahul; Vaughan, Joseph; Heitkamp, Kyle; Ramos, Charleston; Claiborn, Candis; Schreuder, Maarten; Schaaf, Mark; Lamb, Brian

open areas to 70° or more for sites in very complex terrain. The analysis also showed some days with good forecast meteorology with absolute mean error in wind direction less than 30° when ClearSky correctly predicted PM 2.5 surface concentrations at receptors affected by field burns. On several other days with similar levels of wind direction error the model did not predict apparent plume impacts. In most of these cases, there were no reported burns in the vicinity of the monitor and, thus, it appeared that other, non-reported burns were responsible for the apparent plume impact at the monitoring site. These cases do not provide information on the performance of the model, but rather indicate that further work is needed to identify all burns and to improve burn reports in an accurate and timely manner. There were also a number of days with wind direction errors exceeding 70° when the forecast system did not correctly predict plume behavior.

Electricity market clearing with improved dispatch of stochastic production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morales González, Juan Miguel; Zugno, Marco; Pineda, Salvador

2014-01-01

In this paper, we consider an electricity market that consists of a day-ahead and a balancing settlement, and includes a number of stochastic producers. We first introduce two reference procedures for scheduling and pricing energy in the day-ahead market: on the one hand, a conventional network...... attains higher market efficiency in expectation than the conventional day-ahead auction, it suffers from fundamental drawbacks with a view to its practical implementation. In particular, it requires flexible producers (those that make up for the lack or surplus of stochastic generation) to accept losses...... in some scenarios. Using a bilevel programming framework, we then show that the conventional auction, if combined with a suitable day-ahead dispatch of stochastic producers (generally different from their expected production), can substantially increase market efficiency and emulate the advantageous...

Performance of Dual-Axis Solar Tracker versus Static Solar System by Segmented Clearness Index in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jhee Fhong Lee

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The performance of Dual-Axis Solar Tracker (DAST and Static Solar System (SSS with respect to clearness index in Malaysia is presented. An attempt to investigate the correlation between clearness index with energy gain and efficiency of DAST over SSS is being done experimentally. A good correlation could not be found out from the daily clearness index. It is due to the more profound advantage of DAST in the morning and evening compared to midday as it is able to follow the sun’s position. Hence, the daily clearness index is divided into three segments which are morning, midday, and evening to interpret the energy gain and efficiency better. A clearer correlation with low standard deviation can be observed on the segmented clearness index analysis. The energy gain and efficiency of seven cities in Malaysia is being estimated with the segmented clearness index and compared to the result generated from anisotropic radiation model. A similar trend is obtained and it has shown that the segmented clearness index could be utilized as a graphical method for estimation of energy gain and efficiency of DAST over SSS.

Colorectal surgery patients prefer simple solid foods to clear fluids as the first postoperative meal.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Sophia E; Fenton, Tanis R

2009-09-01

Randomized controlled trials have established that there is no benefit to withholding oral food and fluids from colorectal surgery patients postoperatively. The aim of this survey was to determine food preferences for the first postoperative meal and compare these with a traditional clear-fluid diet. One hundred forty-five elective colorectal surgery patients were surveyed about their preferences for 35 common foods within 72 hours of surgery and their levels of nausea, hunger, and pain. Preferences were examined by postoperative day (one vs. two) and levels of nausea, hunger, and pain. The survey showed that patients significantly preferred solid foods as early as the first postoperative day and their preferences had little congruency with the traditional clear-fluid diet. Foods highest in preference, such as eggs, regular broth soup (e.g., chicken noodle soup), toast, and potatoes, were significantly more preferred than common clear-fluid diet items such as gelatin, clear broth, and carbonated beverages (P clear-fluid diet as their first postoperative meal.

Primary clear cell carcinoma of parotid gland: Case report and review of literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez, Marta Saldaña; Reija, Maria Fe García; Rodilla, Irene González

2013-01-01

Clear cell carcinoma (CCC) is a rare low-grade carcinoma that represents only 1% to 2% of all salivary glands tumors. The finding of a clear cell tumor in a parotid gland involves the necessity of differential diagnosis between primary clear cell parotid tumors and metastases, mainly from kidney. The biological behavior is not very aggressive and development, which is very slow, is usually asymptomatic and indeed, the tumor often reaches considerable dimensions before being diagnosed. The treatment of choice is the surgical excision. There are rare cases of local recurrence and distant metastases. The aim of this article is to report a primary CCC in the parotid gland that microscopically closely resembled a metastatic CCC of renal origin, making microscopic differentiation difficult.

76 FR 68236 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Options Clearing Corporation; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-03

... OCC has the governance structure in place to clear and settle the transactions that it clears and... must: (i) Establish governance arrangements that are transparent (I) To fulfill public interest... believes that its existing governance arrangements satisfy the transparency requirements of subparagraph (i...

Self Reflections of Undergraduate Students on Using Web-Supported Counterintuitive Science Demonstrations

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, David Devraj; Dunn, Jessica

2018-03-01

Analysis of self-reflections of undergraduate education students in a project involving web-supported counterintuitive science demonstrations is reported in this paper. Participating students (N = 19) taught science with counterintuitive demonstrations in local elementary school classrooms and used web-based resources accessed via wireless USB adapters. Student reflections to seven questions were analyzed qualitatively using four components of reflection (meeting objectives/perception of learning, dynamics of pedagogy, special needs accommodations, improving teaching) deriving 27 initial data categories and 12 emergent themes. Overall the undergraduates reported meeting objectives, engaging students in pedagogically relevant learning tasks including, providing accommodations to students with special needs, and gaining practice and insight to improve their own teaching. Additional research is needed to arrive at generalizable findings concerning teaching with web-supported counterintuitive science demonstrations in elementary classrooms.

Ultrastructural effects of silicone oil on the clear crystalline lens of the human eye.

Science.gov (United States)

Soliman, Wael; Sharaf, Mohamed; Abdelazeem, Khaled; El-Gamal, Dalia; Nafady, Allam

2018-03-01

To evaluate light and electron microscopic changes of the anterior capsule and its epithelium after clear lens extraction of vitrectomized myopic eyes with silicone oil tamponade. This prospective, controlled, non-randomized, interventional study included 20 anterior lens capsular specimens that were excised during combined clear lens extraction and silicone oil removal from previously vitrectomized highly myopic patients with silicone oil tamponade for previous retinal detachment surgeries. The specimens were examined via light microscopy and electron microscopy and compared with 20 anterior capsule specimens removed during clear lens extraction of non-vitrectomized highly myopic eyes. Light microscopic examination of clear lens anterior capsule specimens of vitrectomized myopic eyes filled with silicone oil showed relatively more flat cells with irregular outline of lens' epithelial cells with wide intercellular spaces, deeply stained nuclei, and multiple intracytoplasmic vacuoles. Scanning electron microscopy revealed collagenous surfaces filled with multiple pits, depressions, and abnormal deposits. Transmission electron microscopy revealed lens epithelial cells with apoptotic changes, many cytoplasmic vacuoles, and filopodia-like protrusions between lens epithelial cells and the capsule. Epithelial proliferation and multilayering were also observed. silicone oil may play a role in the development of apoptotic and histopathological changes in clear lens epithelial cells. Clarity of the lens at the time of silicone oil removal does not indicate an absence of cataractous changes. We found justification of combined clear lens extraction and silicone oil removal or combined phacovitrectomy when silicone oil injection is planned, but further long-term studies with larger patient groups are required.

Improving Quality of Care in Primary Health-Care Facilities in Rural Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Ugo, Okoli; Ezinne, Eze-Ajoku; Modupe, Oludipe; Nicole, Spieker; Kelechi, Ohiri

2016-01-01

Background: Nigeria has a high population density but a weak health-care system. To improve the quality of care, 3 organizations carried out a quality improvement pilot intervention at the primary health-care level in selected rural areas. Objective: To assess the change in quality of care in primary health-care facilities in rural Nigeria following the provision of technical governance support and to document the successes and challenges encountered. Method: A total of 6 states were selected across the 6 geopolitical zones of the country. However, assessments were carried out in 40 facilities in only 5 states. Selection was based on location, coverage, and minimum services offered. The facilities were divided randomly into 2 groups. The treatment group received quality-of-care assessment, continuous feedback, and improvement support, whereas the control group received quality assessment and no other support. Data were collected using the SafeCare Healthcare Standards and managed on the SafeCare Data Management System—AfriDB. Eight core areas were assessed at baseline and end line, and compliance to quality health-care standards was compared. Result: Outcomes from 40 facilities were accepted and analyzed. Overall scores increased in the treatment facilities compared to the control facilities, with strong evidence of improvement (t = 5.28, P = .0004) and 11% average improvement, but no clear pattern of improvement emerged in the control group. Conclusion: The study demonstrated governance support and active community involvement offered potential for quality improvement in primary health-care facilities. PMID:28462280

Designing Scholarships to Improve College Success: Final Report on the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Alexander K.; Patel, Reshma; Rudd, Timothy; Ratledge, Alyssa

2015-01-01

Performance-based scholarships have two main goals: (1) to give students more money for college; and (2) to provide incentives for academic progress. MDRC launched the Performance-Based Scholarship (PBS) Demonstration in 2008 to evaluate the effectiveness of these scholarships in a diverse set of states, institutions, and low-income student…

Boron neutron capture therapy for clear cell sarcoma (CCS): Biodistribution study of p-borono-L-phenylalanine in CCS-bearing animal models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andoh, T.; Fujimoto, T.; Sudo, T.; Fujita, I.; Imabori, M.; Moritake, H.; Sugimoto, T.; Sakuma, Y.; Takeuchi, T.; Kawabata, S.; Kirihata, M.; Akisue, T.; Yayama, K.; Kurosaka, M.; Miyatake, S.; Fukumori, Y.; Ichikawa, H.

2011-01-01

Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is a rare melanocytic malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. Our previous study demonstrated that in vitro cultured CCS cells have the ability to highly uptake L-BPA and thus boron neutron capture therapy could be a new option for CCS treatment. This paper proved that a remarkably high accumulation of 10 B (45–74 ppm) in tumor was obtained even in a CCS-bearing animal with a well-controlled biodistribution followed by intravenous administration of L-BPA-fructose complex (500 mg BPA/kg).

Boron neutron capture therapy for clear cell sarcoma (CCS): Biodistribution study of p-borono-L-phenylalanine in CCS-bearing animal models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andoh, T. [Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Cooperative Research Center of Life Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe 650-8586 (Japan); Fujimoto, T. [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hyogo Cancer Center, Akashi 673-0021 (Japan); Sudo, T. [Section of Translational Research, Hyogo Cancer Center, Akashi 673-0021 (Japan); Fujita, I.; Imabori, M. [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hyogo Cancer Center, Akashi 673-0021 (Japan); Moritake, H. [Department of Pediatrics, Miyazaki University, Kiyotake 889-1692 (Japan); Sugimoto, T. [Department of Pediatrics, Saiseikai Shigaken Hospital, Ritto 520-3046 (Japan); Sakuma, Y. [Department of Pathology, Hyogo Cancer Center, Akashi 673-0021 (Japan); Takeuchi, T. [Department of Pathology, Kochi University, Nangoku 783-8505 (Japan); Kawabata, S. [Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka Medical College, Osaka 569-8686 (Japan); Kirihata, M. [Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai 599-8531 (Japan); Akisue, T. [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan); Yayama, K. [Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Cooperative Research Center of Life Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe 650-8586 (Japan); Kurosaka, M. [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan); Miyatake, S. [Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka Medical College, Osaka 569-8686 (Japan); Fukumori, Y. [Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Cooperative Research Center of Life Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe 650-8586 (Japan); Ichikawa, H., E-mail: ichikawa@pharm.kobegakuin.ac.jp [Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Cooperative Research Center of Life Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, Kobe 650-8586 (Japan)

2011-12-15

Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is a rare melanocytic malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. Our previous study demonstrated that in vitro cultured CCS cells have the ability to highly uptake L-BPA and thus boron neutron capture therapy could be a new option for CCS treatment. This paper proved that a remarkably high accumulation of {sup 10}B (45-74 ppm) in tumor was obtained even in a CCS-bearing animal with a well-controlled biodistribution followed by intravenous administration of L-BPA-fructose complex (500 mg BPA/kg).

Development of an Improved Time Varying Loudness Model with the Inclusion of Binaural Loudness Summation

Science.gov (United States)

Charbonneau, Jeremy

As the perceived quality of a product is becoming more important in the manufacturing industry, more emphasis is being placed on accurately predicting the sound quality of everyday objects. This study was undertaken to improve upon current prediction techniques with regard to the psychoacoustic descriptor of loudness and an improved binaural summation technique. The feasibility of this project was first investigated through a loudness matching experiment involving thirty-one subjects and pure tones of constant sound pressure level. A dependence of binaural summation on frequency was observed which had previously not been a subject of investigation in the reviewed literature. A follow-up investigation was carried out with forty-eight volunteers and pure tones of constant sensation level. Contrary to existing theories in literature the resulting loudness matches revealed an amplitude versus frequency relationship which confirmed the perceived increase in loudness when a signal was presented to both ears simultaneously as opposed to one ear alone. The resulting trend strongly indicated that the higher the frequency of the presented signal, the greater the increase in observed binaural summation. The results from each investigation were summarized into a single binaural summation algorithm and inserted into an improved time-varying loudness model. Using experimental techniques, it was demonstrated that the updated binaural summation algorithm was a considerable improvement over the state of the art approach for predicting the perceived binaural loudness. The improved function retained the ease of use from the original model while additionally providing accurate estimates of diotic listening conditions from monaural WAV files. It was clearly demonstrated using a validation jury test that the revised time-varying loudness model was a significant improvement over the previously standardized approach.

Colour stabilities of three types of orthodontic clear aligners exposed to staining agents.

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Liu, Chen-Lu; Sun, Wen-Tian; Liao, Wen; Lu, Wen-Xin; Li, Qi-Wen; Jeong, Yunho; Liu, Jun; Zhao, Zhi-He

2016-12-16

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the colour stabilities of three types of orthodontic clear aligners exposed to staining agents in vitro. Sixty clear orthodontic aligners produced by three manufacturers (Invisalign, Angelalign, and Smartee) were immersed in three staining solutions (coffee, black tea, and red wine) and one control solution (distilled water). After 12-h and 7-day immersions, the aligners were washed in an ultrasonic cleaner and measured with a colourimeter. The colour changes (ΔE*) were calculated on the basis of the Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage L*a*b* colour system (CIE L*a*b*), and the results were then converted into National Bureau of Standards (NBS) units. Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted to observe the molecular and morphologic alterations to the aligner surfaces, respectively. The three types of aligners exhibited slight colour changes after 12 h of staining, with the exception of the Invisalign aligners stained with coffee. The Invisalign aligners exhibited significantly higher ΔE* values (ranging from 0.30 to 27.81) than those of the Angelalign and Smartee aligners (ΔE* values ranging from 0.33 to 1.89 and 0.32 to 1.61, respectively, Paligners did not exhibit significant chemical differences before and after the immersions. The SEM results revealed different surface alterations to the three types of aligner materials after the 7-day staining. The three types of aesthetic orthodontic appliances exhibited colour stability after the 12-h immersion, with the exception of the Invisalign aligners stained by coffee. The Invisalign aligners were more prone than the Angelalign and Smartee aligners to pigmentation. Aligner materials may be improved by considering aesthetic colour stability properties.

Greenhouse problem in the Amazon jungle clearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reis, E.J.; Margulis, S.

1991-01-01

This paper discusses the contribution of Amazon jungle clearing to the greenhouse problem and makes an assessment of long-run prospects. The introductory sections pose the problem from both international and Brazilian perspectives. The next section describes major features of the Amazonia ecosystems and presents methods and evidence on deforestation and on its impact on carbon dioxide emissions. Based upon cross-section information for a sample of municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon, the following section estimates elasticities of deforestation in relation to major economic factors- government policies included- and uses them to make projections for the future pace of deforestation. The last section discusses policy alternatives to slow down forest conversion

76 FR 3697 - Risk Management Requirements for Derivatives Clearing Organizations

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2011-01-20

... Part II Commodity Futures Trading Commission 17 CFR Part 39 Risk Management Requirements for... RIN 3038-AC98 Risk Management Requirements for Derivatives Clearing Organizations AGENCY: Commodity... (Participant and Product Eligibility), D (Risk Management), E (Settlement Procedures), F (Treatment of Funds...

77 FR 27255 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-09

... Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To Reduce the Current Level of Risk Mutualization Among Clearing Participants and To Modify the Initial Margin Risk Model So That It Is Easier for... modifications to its risk model for clearing credit default swaps (``CDS'') contracts. For the first...

CLEAR: Prospects for a low threshold neutrino experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scholberg, Kate

2008-01-01

A low-threshold neutrino scattering experiment at a high intensity stopped-pion neutrino source has the potential to measure coherent neutral current neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering. A promising prospect for the measurement of this process is a proposed noble-liquid-based experiment, dubbed CLEAR (Coherent Low Energy A (Nuclear) Recoils), at the Spallation Neutron Source. This poster will describe the CLEAR proposal and its physics reach.

Demonstration of a vectorial optical field generator with adaptive close loop control.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jian; Kong, Lingjiang; Zhan, Qiwen

2017-12-01

We experimentally demonstrate a vectorial optical field generator (VOF-Gen) with an adaptive close loop control. The close loop control capability is illustrated with the calibration of polarization modulation of the system. To calibrate the polarization ratio modulation, we generate 45° linearly polarized beam and make it propagate through a linear analyzer whose transmission axis is orthogonal to the incident beam. For the retardation calibration, circularly polarized beam is employed and a circular polarization analyzer with the opposite chirality is placed in front of the CCD as the detector. In both cases, the close loop control automatically changes the value of the corresponding calibration parameters in the pre-set ranges to generate the phase patterns applied to the spatial light modulators and records the intensity distribution of the output beam by the CCD camera. The optimized calibration parameters are determined corresponding to the minimum total intensity in each case. Several typical kinds of vectorial optical beams are created with and without the obtained calibration parameters, and the full Stokes parameter measurements are carried out to quantitatively analyze the polarization distribution of the generated beams. The comparisons among these results clearly show that the obtained calibration parameters could remarkably improve the accuracy of the polarization modulation of the VOF-Gen, especially for generating elliptically polarized beam with large ellipticity, indicating the significance of the presented close loop in enhancing the performance of the VOF-Gen.

The ORNL fusion power demonstration study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shannon, T.E.; Steiner, D.

1978-01-01

In this paper, we review the design approach developed in the ORNL Fusion Power Demonstration Study [1]. The major emphasis of this study is in the application of current and near-term technology as the most logical path to near-term demonstration of tokamak fusion power. In addition we are pursuing a number of concepts to simplify the tokamak reactor to be more acceptable to the utility industry as a future source of energy. The discussion will focus on the areas having the greatest overall impact on reactor feasibility: 1) overall size and power output, 2) remote maintenance considerations, 3) electrical power supplies, 4) blanket design; and 5) economics. The tokamak device, by nature of its configuration and pulsed operation, is an exceptionally complex engineering design problem. We have concluded that innovative design concepts are essential to cope with this basic complexity. We feel that the feasibility of tokamak fusion power has been significantly improved by these design approaches. (author)

New gridded database of clear-sky solar radiation derived from ground-based observations over Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Bartok, Blanka; Wild, Martin; Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo; Hakuba, Maria Z.

2017-04-01

Since aerosols modify the entire energy balance of the climate system through different processes, assessments regarding aerosol multiannual variability are highly required by the climate modelling community. Because of the scarcity of long-term direct aerosol measurements, the retrieval of aerosol data/information from other type of observations or satellite measurements are very relevant. One approach frequently used in the literature is analyze of the clear-sky solar radiation which offer a better overview of changes in aerosol content. In the study first two empirical methods are elaborated in order to separate clear-sky situations from observed values of surface solar radiation available at the World Radiation Data Center (WRDC), St. Petersburg. The daily data has been checked for temporal homogeneity by applying the MASH method (Szentimrey, 2003). In the first approach, clear sky situations are detected based on clearness index, namely the ratio of the surface solar radiation to the extraterrestrial solar irradiation. In the second approach the observed values of surface solar radiation are compared to the climatology of clear-sky surface solar radiation calculated by the MAGIC radiation code (Muller et al. 2009). In both approaches the clear-sky radiation values highly depend on the applied thresholds. In order to eliminate this methodological error a verification of clear-sky detection is envisaged through a comparison with the values obtained by a high time resolution clear-sky detection and interpolation algorithm (Long and Ackermann, 2000) making use of the high quality data from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN). As the consequences clear-sky data series are obtained for 118 European meteorological stations. Next a first attempt has been done in order to interpolate the point-wise clear-sky radiation data by applying the MISH (Meteorological Interpolation based on Surface Homogenized Data Basis) method for the spatial interpolation of

77 FR 27254 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Europe Limited; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change To...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-09

... respect of the Clearing Member's Proprietary Account and any relevant customer account. Where the Daily...\\ requires, among other things, that the rules of a clearing agency be designed to promote the safeguarding... safeguarding of securities and funds, which are in the custody or control of ICE Clear Europe or for which it...

Multi-objective market clearing of joint energy and reserves auctions ensuring power system security