Rotor aerodynamic power limits at low tip speed ratio using CFD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikkelsen, Robert F; Sarmast, Sasan; Henningson, Dan; Sørensen, Jens N

2014-01-01

When investigating limits of rotor aerodynamic models, the Betz limit serves as a solid marker of an upper limit which no model should be able to exceed. A century ago Joukowsky (1912) proposed a rotor aerodynamic model utilizing a rotating actuator disc with a constant circulation. This model has since then been the subject of much controversy as it predicts a power performance that for all tip speed ratios exceeds the Betz limit and which goes to infinity when the tip speed ratio goes to zero. Recently, it was demonstrated that the Joukowsky model is fully consistent with the inviscid Euler equations and that the apparent inconsistency partly can be explained by the lack of viscous effects (Sprensen and van Kuik [4]). However, even including a term to account for the effect of viscosity at small tip speed ratios, the model still predicts a power yield that exceeds the Betz limit. In the present work we study in detail, using a CFD actuator line model, the flow behavior for rotors at small tip speed ratios. It is shown that the excessive swirl appearing towards the rotor center at small tip speed ratios generates vortex breakdown, causing a recirculating zone in the wake that limits the power yield of the rotor. The appearance of vortex breakdown has a similar effect on the flow behavior as the vortex ring state that usually appears at higher tip speed ratios. Limits to where vortex breakdown might occur with tip speed ratio and rotor loading as parameter are investigated and presented in the paper. The limits found correspond to well-known criterion for vortex breakdown onset for swirling flows in general. By applying a criterion for vortex breakdown in combination with the general momentum theory, the power performance always stays below the Betz limit

Quantum speed limits in open system dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

del Campo, A; Egusquiza, I L; Plenio, M B; Huelga, S F

2013-02-01

Bounds to the speed of evolution of a quantum system are of fundamental interest in quantum metrology, quantum chemical dynamics, and quantum computation. We derive a time-energy uncertainty relation for open quantum systems undergoing a general, completely positive, and trace preserving evolution which provides a bound to the quantum speed limit. When the evolution is of the Lindblad form, the bound is analogous to the Mandelstam-Tamm relation which applies in the unitary case, with the role of the Hamiltonian being played by the adjoint of the generator of the dynamical semigroup. The utility of the new bound is exemplified in different scenarios, ranging from the estimation of the passage time to the determination of precision limits for quantum metrology in the presence of dephasing noise.

Quantum speed limits in open system dynamics

OpenAIRE

del Campo, A.; Egusquiza, I. L.; Plenio, M. B.; Huelga, S. F.

2012-01-01

Bounds to the speed of evolution of a quantum system are of fundamental interest in quantum metrology, quantum chemical dynamics and quantum computation. We derive a time-energy uncertainty relation for open quantum systems undergoing a general, completely positive and trace preserving (CPT) evolution which provides a bound to the quantum speed limit. When the evolution is of the Lindblad form, the bound is analogous to the Mandelstam-Tamm relation which applies in the unitary case, with the ...

Evaluation of electronic speed limit signs on US 30.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-01

This study documents the speed : reduction impacts of two dynamic, : electronic school zone speed limit signs : at United Community Schools between : Ames and Boone, Iowa. The school : facility is situated along US Highway 30, : a rural four-lane div...

Evaluation of variable advisory speed limits in work zones.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-01

Variable advisory speed limit (VASL) systems could be effective at both urban and rural work zones, at both uncongested and congested sites. At uncongested urban work zones, the average speeds with VASL were lower than without VASL. But the standard ...

49 CFR 213.307 - Class of track: operating speed limits.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... requirements for its intended class, it is to be reclassified to the next lower class of track for which it... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Class of track: operating speed limits. 213.307... Higher § 213.307 Class of track: operating speed limits. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this...

Work zone variable speed limit systems: Effectiveness and system design issues.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-01

Variable speed limit (VSL) systems have been used in a number of countries, particularly in Europe, as a method to improve flow and increase safety. VSLs use detectors to collect data on current traffic and/or weather conditions. Posted speed limits ...

Empirical analysis of gross vehicle weight and free flow speed and consideration on its relation with differential speed limit.

Science.gov (United States)

Saifizul, Ahmad Abdullah; Yamanaka, Hideo; Karim, Mohamed Rehan

2011-05-01

Most highly motorized countries in the world have implemented different speed limits for light weight and heavy weight vehicles. The heavy vehicle speed limit is usually chosen to be lower than that of passenger cars due to the difficulty for the drivers to safely maneuver the heavy vehicle at high speed and greater impact during a crash. However, in many cases, the speed limit for heavy vehicle is set by only considering the vehicle size or category, mostly due to simplicity in enforcement. In this study, traffic and vehicular data for all vehicle types were collected using a weigh-in-motion system installed at Federal Route 54 in Malaysia. The first finding from the data showed that the weight variation for each vehicle category is considerable. Therefore, the effect of gross vehicle weight (GVW) and category of heavy vehicle on free flow speed and their interaction were analyzed using statistical techniques. Empirical analysis results showed that statistically for each type of heavy vehicle, there was a significant relationship between free flow speed of a heavy vehicle and GVW. Specifically, the results suggest that the mean and variance of free flow speed decrease with an increase GVW by the amount unrelated to size and shape for all GVW range. Then, based on the 85th percentile principle, the study proposed a new concept for setting the speed limit for heavy vehicle by incorporating GVW where a different speed limit is imposed to the heavy vehicle, not only based on vehicle classification, but also according to its GVW. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CHANGING ATTITUDES OF SPEED-LIMIT OFFENDERS USING A MULTIMEDIA PROGRAM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank J.J.M. STEYVERS

2002-01-01

Full Text Available An interactive multimedia computer program was developed to change speed-limit offenders' attitudes with respect to speeding. The computer program is meant to be used during speed controls; the offender may be remitted a part of the fine by completing the program. The objective of the program is to make speeders aware of the negative implications of their behavior and to change their attitude negatively towards offending speed limits. To attain this goal, offenders are confronted with possible negative consequences of speeding while their arguments for speeding are refuted, using small video-clips, demonstrations of counter-arguments and short verbal stories. The effects of this multimedia program were studied in a laboratory evaluation, in terms of knowledge and attitudes, compared with two information conditions, a general leaflet about traffic, and a specific leaflet about speeding. One week after participation in the study subjects were sent a questionnaire, to measure whether changes in knowledge and attitudes were retained afterwards. It appeared that the general attitude towards speeding was changed most in the multimedia program condition, subjects became more negative towards speeding and various related aspects. The specific speeding leaflet appeared to influence the attitude towards driving fun positively and obeying traffic rules negatively, which are unwanted directions. With regard to knowledge of speeding and its consequences the computer program did not do better than the other conditions. However, the subjects considered the program more impressive than the leaflet conditions and indicated that they would consent to participate when being stopped in real speeding conditions.

INFLUENCE OF OPERABILITY CRITERIA LIMITING VALUES ON SHIP SPEED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasna Prpić-Oršić

2016-09-01

Full Text Available When the ship is caught in heavy seas, there are two manoeuvres that the shipmaster can undertake to avoid excessive ship motion and hull damage: changing course or voluntary speed reduction. This paper presents a study of the effect of the various voluntary speed reduction criteria to attainable speed of ship on seaway. The speed loss is calculated by taking into account wind and wave effect on ship speed, the engine and propeller performance in actual seas as well as the mass inertia of the ship. The attainable ship speed for ship in head, following and beam waves by accounting for voluntary speed reduction is estimated for various significant wave height. The criteria of slamming, deck wetness, propeller emergence, excessive accelerations and roll are taken into account. The impact of variations of the limiting values of certain criteria due to which the captain intentionally reduces the ship speed is analysed and discussed.

High-Speed Rail for Central and Eastern European Countries: A Conference Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jandová Monika

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The European transport strategy promotes the role of railways and expects that the key role in passenger transport should be played by high-speed rail (HSR. Although the core network of high-speed lines has already been built and is operating in Western Europe, there has been little coverage so far in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE. The aim of the conference “High-Speed Rail for CEE Countries” that took place in Prague in June 2016 was to put together academics, policy-makers, and practitioners interested in HSR and to formulate recommendations for CEE countries based on West European countries’ experience. Based on the conference presentations and subsequent discussion, the following conclusions were formulated. Firstly, there are many crucial differences in national HSR build-up and operation, which means that former experience of Western Europe is not directly applicable to CEE countries. Secondly, in comparing presentations discussing experiences in France, Britain, Italy, and Germany, it was concluded that the German approach-upgrading existing lines where possible and only building new lines for bottleneck sections-was the most likely appropriate solution in CEE. Lastly, CEE has the additional problem of many border crossings, with a reduction of traffic in comparison with purely domestic routes, and this effect has to be taken into account.

Gravitational Field effects on the Decoherence Process and the Quantum Speed Limit.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehdashti, Sh; Avazzadeh, Z; Xu, Z; Shen, J Q; Mirza, B; Wang, H

2017-11-08

In this paper we use spinor transformations under local Lorentz transformations to investigate the curvature effect on the quantum-to-classical transition, described in terms of the decoherence process and of the quantum speed limit. We find that gravitational fields (introduced adopting the Schwarzschild and anti-de Sitter geometries) affect both the decoherence process and the quantum speed limit of a quantum particle with spin-1/2. In addition, as a tangible example, we study the effect of the Earth's gravitational field, characterized by the Rindler space-time, on the same particle. We find that the effect of the Earth's gravitational field on the decoherence process and quantum speed limit is very small, except when the mean speed of the quantum particle is comparable to the speed of light.

Speed limit on the Route de l’Europe

CERN Multimedia

2016-01-01

Construction work to create a cycle path is under way on the Route de l’Europe, between CERN’s Meyrin and Prévessin sites. The new cycle path is expected to be ready for use in August.   On the part of the road under construction, only one lane is open and the speed limit is 30 km/h. Unfortunately, drivers frequently exceed this limit. Those who drive too fast put their own lives at risk as well as those of the people working on the site.  Please respect the speed limit.  In addition, access to the Route de l’Europe from the SM18, SM19 and BA1 areas and from the tunnel may be in the part of the road where only one lane is open. In this case, please join the road only when the traffic lights allow travel in the relevant direction.

MODELLING OF DYNAMIC SPEED LIMITS USING THE MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTROL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrey Borisovich Nikolaev

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article considers the issues of traffic management using intelligent system “Car-Road” (IVHS, which consist of interacting intelligent vehicles (IV and intelligent roadside controllers. Vehicles are organized in convoy with small distances between them. All vehicles are assumed to be fully automated (throttle control, braking, steering. Proposed approaches for determining speed limits for traffic cars on the motorway using a model predictive control (MPC. The article proposes an approach to dynamic speed limit to minimize the downtime of vehicles in traffic.

Speed limits for quantum gates in multiqubit systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ashhab, S.; De Groot, P.C.; Nori, F.

2012-01-01

We use analytical and numerical calculations to obtain speed limits for various unitary quantum operations in multiqubit systems under typical experimental conditions. The operations that we consider include single-, two-, and three-qubit gates, as well as quantum-state transfer in a chain of

76 FR 78 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard; Engine Control Module Speed Limiter Device

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-03

... [Docket No. NHTSA-2007-26851] Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard; Engine Control Module Speed Limiter... occupants. IIHS stated that on-board electronic engine control modules (ECM) will maintain the desired speed... be equipped with an electronic control module (ECM) that is capable of limiting the maximum speed of...

Electroweak bubble wall speed limit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bödeker, Dietrich [Fakultät für Physik, Universität Bielefeld, 33501 Bielefeld (Germany); Moore, Guy D., E-mail: bodeker@physik.uni-bielefeld.de, E-mail: guymoore@ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de [Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schlossgartenstraße 2, 64289 Darmstadt (Germany)

2017-05-01

In extensions of the Standard Model with extra scalars, the electroweak phase transition can be very strong, and the bubble walls can be highly relativistic. We revisit our previous argument that electroweak bubble walls can 'run away,' that is, achieve extreme ultrarelativistic velocities γ ∼ 10{sup 14}. We show that, when particles cross the bubble wall, they can emit transition radiation. Wall-frame soft processes, though suppressed by a power of the coupling α, have a significance enhanced by the γ-factor of the wall, limiting wall velocities to γ ∼ 1/α. Though the bubble walls can move at almost the speed of light, they carry an infinitesimal share of the plasma's energy.

Limits on the speed of gravitational waves from pulsar timing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baskaran, D.; Polnarev, A. G.; Pshirkov, M. S.; Postnov, K. A.

2008-01-01

In this work, analyzing the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the field of gravitational waves, we show the presence and significance of the so-called surfing effect for pulsar timing measurements. It is shown that, due to the transverse nature of gravitational waves, the surfing effect leads to enormous pulsar timing residuals if the speed of gravitational waves is smaller than the speed of light. This fact allows one to place significant constraints on parameter ε, which characterizes the relative deviation of the speed of gravitational waves from the speed of light. We show that the existing constraints from pulsar timing measurements already place stringent limits on ε and consequently on the mass of the graviton m g . The limits on m g -24 are 2 orders of magnitude stronger than the current constraints from Solar System tests. The current constraints also allow one to rule out massive gravitons as possible candidates for cold dark matter in the galactic halo. In the near future, the gravitational wave background from extragalactic super massive black hole binaries, along with the expected submicrosecond pulsar timing accuracy, will allow one to achieve constraints of ε < or approx. 0.4% and possibly stronger.

Advisory speed limits : should they be expanded or not? Contribution XVth International Study Week Traffic Engineering and safety: Traffic engineering & the Driver, Theme 2: Speed limits and the driver, Venice, 23-28 September 1985.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wegman, F.C.M.

1985-01-01

Advisory speed limits are meant to be used intermittently in situations which are recognised by the road user, while at the same time, not giving a clear suggestion as to the speed which should be sustained. At present advisory speed limits are almost exclusively applied in narrow road curves.

Potential Impact of Latest Proposals for New European Vehicle Noise Limits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dittrich, M.G.; Roo, F. de

2013-01-01

Noise emission of new road vehicles is regulated by European Directives [1] and subsequent amendments. Proposals for tighter noise emission limits for road vehicles made by the European Commission in 2011 [2] have been adopted in modified form by the European Parliament in 2013 [3]. In the VENOLIVA

New limit theorems for regular diffusion processes with finite speed measure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.H. van Zanten (Harry)

2000-01-01

textabstractWe derive limit theorems for diffusion processes that have a finite speed measure. First we prove a number of asymptotic properties of the density $rho_t = dmu_t /dmu$ of the empirical measure $mu_t$ with respect to the normalized speed measure $mu$. These results are then used to derive

Rotor aerodynamic power limits at low tip speed ratio using CFD

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Robert Flemming; Sarmast, Sasan; Henningson, Dan

2014-01-01

. In the present work we study in detail, using a CFD actuator line model, the flow behavior for rotors at small tip speed ratios. It is shown that the excessive swirl appearing towards the rotor center at small tip speed ratios generates vortex breakdown, causing a recirculating zone in the wake that limits...

Safe Speeds and Credible Speed Limits (SaCredSpeed): New Vision for Decision Making on Speed Management.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aarts, L. Nes, N. van Wegman, F.C.M. Schagen, I.N.L.G. van & Louwerse, R.

2009-01-01

Speed is an inherent characteristic of mobility and a hazard to safety. Several approaches exist of how to manage speed. In the Netherlands, the emphasis has mainly been on harm minimisation during the last decades, due to the implementation of the Sustainable Safety vision. Speed management remains

Variable Speed Limits: Strategies to Improve Safety and Traffic Parameters for a Bottleneck

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Z. Hasanpour

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The primary purpose of the speed limit system is to enforce reasonable and safe speed. To reduce secondary problems such as accidents and queuing, Variable Speed Limits (VSL has been suggested. In this paper VSL is used to better safety and traffic parameters. Traffic parameters including speed, queue length and stopping time have been pondering. For VLS, an optimization decision tree algorithm with the function of microscopic simulation was used. The results in case of sub saturated, saturated and supersaturated at a bottleneck are examined and compared with the Allaby logic tree. The results show that the proposed decision tree shows an improved performance in terms of safety and comfort along the highway. The VSL pilot project is part of the Road Safety Improvement Program included in Iran’s road safety action plan that is in the research process in the BHRC Research Institute, Road and Housing & Urban Development Research that is planned for next 10-year Transportation safety view Plan.

An evaluation of speed limit measure: A case of the Mittraphap highway passing through Khon Kaen city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phongphan Tankasem

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to evaluate the speed control measure on the arterial road of Khon Kaen city. The 60 km/hr speed limit was posted on the urban arterial since 2012. To reveal the existing conditions, this study analyzed the accident data, speed data and enforcement data. Driver’s and government officer’s attitudes toward the existing speed control measures are captured through the questionnaires survey and interview processes, respectively. The study results reveal that under the existing road environment, the drivers disagree with the posted 60 km/h speed limit and it cannot be enforced by the police. However, 1-year of speed control program significantly reduces the number of traffic injuries and fatalities. Spot speed study revealed that most of drivers reduced their speed once they saw the police with the radar gun. 86% of drivers agree with the speed control measure and 93% of drivers aware that driving speed is related to safety. Therefore, to support the existing speed control measure, this study suggests that the responsible authorities should consider and study for the suitable speed limit for the area and modify the road geometries accordingly. Besides, installing automatic speed enforcement devices, and continuing public campaign directly to the risk groups could also increase the effectiveness of the program.

High-speed photographic observation of plasma-limiter interactions in ISX-B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clausing, R.E.; Emerson, L.C.; Heatherly, L.

1981-01-01

High-speed motion pictures confirm that arcing occurs during periods of plasma instability in ISX-B. Various types of plasma-limiter interactions are described and illustrated. Arcing and other visible phenomena are correlated to plasma parameters

Health conditions and role limitation in three European Regions: a public-health perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbaglia, Gabriela; Adroher, Núria D; Vilagut, Gemma; Bruffaerts, Ronny; Bunting, Brentan; Caldas de Almeida, José Miguel; Florescu, Silvia; de Girolamo, Giovanni; de Graaf, Ron; Haro, Josep Maria; Hinkov, Hristo; Kovess-Masfety, Vivianne; Matschinger, Herbert; Alonso, Jordi

To describe the distribution of role limitation in the European population aged 18-64 years and to examine the contribution of health conditions to role limitation using a public-health approach. Representative samples of the adult general population (n=13,666) aged 18-64 years from 10 European countries of the World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys Initiative, grouped into three regions: Central-Western, Southern and Central-Eastern. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0) was used to assess six mental disorders and standard checklists for seven physical conditions. Days with full and with partial role limitation in the month previous to the interview were reported (WMH-WHODAS). Population Attributable Fraction (PAFs) of full and partial role limitation were estimated. Health conditions explained a large proportion of full role limitation (PAF=62.6%) and somewhat less of partial role limitation (46.6%). Chronic pain was the single condition that consistently contributed to explain both disability measures in all European Regions. Mental disorders were the most important contributors to full and partial role limitation in Central-Western and Southern Europe. In Central-Eastern Europe, where mental disorders were less prevalent, physical conditions, especially cardiovascular diseases, were the highest contributors to disability. The contribution of health conditions to role limitation in the three European regions studied is high. Mental disorders are associated with the largest impact in most of the regions. There is a need for mainstreaming disability in the public health agenda to reduce the role limitation associated with health conditions. The cross-regional differences found require further investigation. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Reducing air-pollution: a new argument for getting drivers to abide by the speed limit?

Science.gov (United States)

Delhomme, P; Chappé, J; Grenier, K; Pinto, M; Martha, C

2010-01-01

Speeding is one of the main factors of car crash-risk, but it also contributes to increasing air-pollution. In two studies we attempted to lead drivers to abide by speed limits using "reducing air-pollution" as a new argument. We presented prevention messages that highlighted the role of speeding in increasing "crash-risk", "air-pollution", or both (Studies 1 and 2). The messages were also positively or negatively framed (Study 2). Given that women are more concerned with environmental issues than are men, we expected the following hypotheses to be validated for women. The message with the "air-pollution" argument was expected to be evaluated more positively than the "crash-risk" message (H1). The "air-pollution" and "crash-risk and air-pollution" messages were expected to be more effective than the "crash-risk" message on the behavioral intention to observe speed limits (H2a) and on the perceived efficacy of speed-limit observance in reducing air-pollution (H2b; Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, positive framing was expected to be more effective than negative framing (H3), and presenting a message to be more effective than presenting no message (H4; Study 2). Broadly, our results argue in favor of our hypotheses. However in Study 2, the effects of message framing did not allow us to conclude that negative or positive framing was superior. All in all, messages with the "air-pollution" argument were more effective at leading drivers to observe speed limits. Thus, environmental protection may be a fruitful route to explore for increasing road safety.

Human Kinematics of Cochlear Implant Surgery: An Investigation of Insertion Micro-Motions and Speed Limitations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kesler, Kyle; Dillon, Neal P; Fichera, Loris; Labadie, Robert F

2017-09-01

Objectives Document human motions associated with cochlear implant electrode insertion at different speeds and determine the lower limit of continuous insertion speed by a human. Study Design Observational. Setting Academic medical center. Subjects and Methods Cochlear implant forceps were coupled to a frame containing reflective fiducials, which enabled optical tracking of the forceps' tip position in real time. Otolaryngologists (n = 14) performed mock electrode insertions at different speeds based on recommendations from the literature: "fast" (96 mm/min), "stable" (as slow as possible without stopping), and "slow" (15 mm/min). For each insertion, the following metrics were calculated from the tracked position data: percentage of time at prescribed speed, percentage of time the surgeon stopped moving forward, and number of direction reversals (ie, going from forward to backward motion). Results Fast insertion trials resulted in better adherence to the prescribed speed (45.4% of the overall time), no motion interruptions, and no reversals, as compared with slow insertions (18.6% of time at prescribed speed, 15.7% stopped time, and an average of 18.6 reversals per trial). These differences were statistically significant for all metrics ( P implant electrode at 15 mm/min is not feasible for human operators. The lower limit of continuous forward insertion is 52 mm/min on average. Guidelines on manual insertion kinematics should consider this practical limit of human motion.

Adaptation of superconducting fault current limiter to high-speed reclosing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koyama, T.; Yanabu, S.

2009-01-01

Using a high temperature superconductor, we constructed and tested a model superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL). The superconductor might break in some cases because of its excessive generation of heat. Therefore, it is desirable to interrupt early the current that flows to superconductor. So, we proposed the SFCL using an electromagnetic repulsion switch which is composed of a superconductor, a vacuum interrupter and a by-pass coil, and its structure is simple. Duration that the current flow in the superconductor can be easily minimized to the level of less than 0.5 cycle using this equipment. On the other hand, the fault current is also easily limited by large reactance of the parallel coil. There is duty of high-speed reclosing after interrupting fault current in the electric power system. After the fault current is interrupted, the back-up breaker is re-closed within 350 ms. So, the electromagnetic repulsion switch should return to former state and the superconductor should be recovered to superconducting state before high-speed reclosing. Then, we proposed the SFCL using an electromagnetic repulsion switch which employs our new reclosing function. We also studied recovery time of the superconductor, because superconductor should be recovered to superconducting state within 350 ms. In this paper, the recovery time characteristics of the superconducting wire were investigated. Also, we combined the superconductor with the electromagnetic repulsion switch, and we did performance test. As a result, a high-speed reclosing within 350 ms was proven to be possible.

Evolutionary speed limited by water in arid Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldie, Xavier; Gillman, Len; Crisp, Mike; Wright, Shane

2010-09-07

The covariation of biodiversity with climate is a fundamental pattern in nature. However, despite the ubiquity of this relationship, a consensus on the ultimate cause remains elusive. The evolutionary speed hypothesis posits direct mechanistic links between ambient temperature, the tempo of micro-evolution and, ultimately, species richness. Previous research has demonstrated faster rates of molecular evolution in warmer climates for a broad range of poikilothermic and homeothermic organisms, in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. In terrestrial systems, species richness increases with both temperature and water availability and the interaction of those terms: productivity. However, the influence of water availability as an independent variable on micro-evolutionary processes has not been examined previously. Here, using methodology that limits the potentially confounding role of cladogenetic and demographic processes, we report, to our knowledge, the first evidence that woody plants living in the arid Australian Outback are evolving more slowly than related species growing at similar latitudes in moist habitats on the mesic continental margins. These results support a modified evolutionary speed explanation for the relationship between the water-energy balance and plant diversity patterns.

Effects of main actor, outcome and affect on biased braking speed judgments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ola Svenson

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Subjects who judged speed in a driving scenario overestimated how fast they could decelerate when speeding compared to when keeping within the speed limit (Svenson, 2009. The purpose of the present studies were to replicate studies conducted in Europe with subjects in the U.S., to study the influence of speed unit (kph vs. mph, affective reactions to outcome (collision and identity of main actor (driver on braking speed judgments. The results replicated the European findings and the outcome affective factor (passing a line/killing a child and the actor factor (subject/driver in general had significant effects on judgments of braking speed. The results were related to psychological theory and applied implications were discussed.

Integrated Variable Speed Limits Control and Ramp Metering for Bottleneck Regions on Freeway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming-hui Ma

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To enhance the efficiency of the existing freeway system and therefore to mitigate traffic congestion and related problems on the freeway mainline lane-drop bottleneck region, the advanced strategy for bottleneck control is essential. This paper proposes a method that integrates variable speed limits and ramp metering for freeway bottleneck region control to relieve the chaos in bottleneck region. To this end, based on the analyses of spatial-temporal patterns of traffic flow, a macroscopic traffic flow model is extended to describe the traffic flow operating characteristic by considering the impacts of variable speed limits in mainstream bottleneck region. In addition, to achieve the goal of balancing the priority of the vehicles on mainline and on-ramp, increasing capacity, and reducing travel delay on bottleneck region, an improved control model, as well as an advanced control strategy that integrates variable speed limits and ramp metering, is developed. The proposed method is tested in simulation for a real freeway infrastructure feed and calibrates real traffic variables. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can substantially improve the traffic flow efficiency of mainline and on-ramp and enhance the quality of traffic flow at the investigated freeway mainline bottleneck.

Speed limits in The Netherlands : a detailed consideration of the situation inside and outside built-up areas. Contribution to the International OECD symposium "The Effects of Speed Limits on Traffic Accidents and Transport Energy Use", Dublin, 6-8 October, 1981.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wegman, F.C.M.

1981-01-01

This paper is a contribution to the international OECD symposium "the effect of speed limits on traffic accidents and transport energy use", held in Dublin on 6-8 October 1981. Outlined are the problems of actual speeds, how speed is influenced, speed restrictions etc. in the Netherlands. In

Comment on "Modified quantum-speed-limit bounds for open quantum dynamics in quantum channels"

Science.gov (United States)

Mirkin, Nicolás; Toscano, Fabricio; Wisniacki, Diego A.

2018-04-01

In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. A 95, 052118 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevA.95.052118], the authors claim that our criticism, in Phys. Rev. A 94, 052125 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevA.94.052125, to some quantum speed limit bounds for open quantum dynamics that appeared recently in literature are invalid. According to the authors, the problem with our analysis would be generated by an artifact of the finite-precision numerical calculations. We analytically show here that it is not possible to have any inconsistency associated with the numerical precision of calculations. Therefore, our criticism of the quantum speed limit bounds continues to be valid.

Yonjung High-Speed Railway Bridge Assessment Using Output-Only Structural Health Monitoring Measurements under Train Speed Changing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mosbeh R. Kaloop

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Yonjung Bridge is a hybrid multispan bridge that is designed to transport high-speed trains (HEMU-430X with maximum operating speed of 430 km/h. The bridge consists of simply supported prestressed concrete (PSC and composite steel girders to carry double railway tracks. The structural health monitoring system (SHM is designed and installed to investigate and assess the performance of the bridge in terms of acceleration and deformation measurements under different speeds of the passing train. The SHM measurements are investigated in both time and frequency domains; in addition, several identification models are examined to assess the performance of the bridge. The drawn conclusions show that the maximum deflection and acceleration of the bridge are within the design limits that are specified by the Korean and European codes. The parameters evaluation of the model identification depicts the quasistatic and dynamic deformations of PSC and steel girders to be different and less correlated when higher speeds of the passing trains are considered. Finally, the variation of the frequency content of the dynamic deformations of the girders is negligible when high speeds are considered.

No speed limits in medical imaging and high-energy physics

CERN Multimedia

Rita Giuffredi & Tom Meyer

2015-01-01

Speed, or high time resolution, is becoming increasingly important, if not crucial, in the high-energy physics domain, both for particle acceleration and detection systems. Medical-imaging technology also vitally depends on high time resolution detection techniques, often the offspring of today’s large particle physics experiments. The four-year FP7 Marie Curie Training Project “PicoSEC-MCNet”, which draws to a close at the end of November, was designed to develop ultra-fast photon detectors for applications in both domains. The project has achieved important results that promise to trigger further developments in the years to come.   The PicoSEC-MCNet project participants. “New requirements in high-energy physics force us to push the limits of photon detection speed, as future high-luminosity accelerators will force us to cope with the unprecedentedly short bunch crossing intervals needed to produce sufficient luminosity,” explains Tom M...

Improving transition between power optimization and power limitation of variable speed/variable pitch wind turbines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hansen, A D; Bindner, H [Risoe National Lab., Wind Energy and Atmospheric Physics Dept., Roskilde (Denmark); Rebsdorf, A [Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Lem (Denmark)

1999-03-01

The paper summarises and describes the main results of a recently performed study of improving the transition between power optimization and power limitation for variable speed/variable pitch wind turbines. The results show that the capability of varying the generator speed also can be exploited in the transition stage to improve the quality of the generated power. (au)

Evaluation of variable speed limits on I-270/I-255 in St. Louis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

In May of 2008, MoDOT installed a Variable Speed Limit (VSL) system along the I270/I255 corridor in St. Louis. This project evaluated the VSL system and its potential impacts and benefits to the transportation users. The technical system ...

Measures for speed management.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2009-01-01

Measures for speed management are essential for limiting the negative effects of driving too fast and at inappropriate speeds. To begin with, safe and credible speed limits need to be determined. Dynamic and variable speed limits that take into account the current circumstances, such as weather

SELECTED PARAMETERS OF THE WORK OF SPEED LIMITER IN LINE STRAINING SYSTEM IN A FRICTIONAL LIFT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł Lonkwic

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The article presents the analysis of selected work parameters of speed limiter in line straining system. We analyzed the effect of changing the geometrical conditions of the new solution for the speed limiter in line straining system upon the working conditions in frictional lift braking system. Within the conducted simulations of the work of the system, which is responsible for lift braking with a tension with spring, a test bed was prepared, which simulated the work of tension-rope-limiter system. The tests were performed in the conditions reflecting the work of a lifting appliance. Analyzing the results obtained through empirical calculations, we can conclude that there is a possibility of applying the spring to eliminate the weight.

Limits to high-speed simulations of spiking neural networks using general-purpose computers.

Science.gov (United States)

Zenke, Friedemann; Gerstner, Wulfram

2014-01-01

To understand how the central nervous system performs computations using recurrent neuronal circuitry, simulations have become an indispensable tool for theoretical neuroscience. To study neuronal circuits and their ability to self-organize, increasing attention has been directed toward synaptic plasticity. In particular spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) creates specific demands for simulations of spiking neural networks. On the one hand a high temporal resolution is required to capture the millisecond timescale of typical STDP windows. On the other hand network simulations have to evolve over hours up to days, to capture the timescale of long-term plasticity. To do this efficiently, fast simulation speed is the crucial ingredient rather than large neuron numbers. Using different medium-sized network models consisting of several thousands of neurons and off-the-shelf hardware, we compare the simulation speed of the simulators: Brian, NEST and Neuron as well as our own simulator Auryn. Our results show that real-time simulations of different plastic network models are possible in parallel simulations in which numerical precision is not a primary concern. Even so, the speed-up margin of parallelism is limited and boosting simulation speeds beyond one tenth of real-time is difficult. By profiling simulation code we show that the run times of typical plastic network simulations encounter a hard boundary. This limit is partly due to latencies in the inter-process communications and thus cannot be overcome by increased parallelism. Overall, these results show that to study plasticity in medium-sized spiking neural networks, adequate simulation tools are readily available which run efficiently on small clusters. However, to run simulations substantially faster than real-time, special hardware is a prerequisite.

Health conditions and role limitation in three European Regions: a public-health perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Barbaglia

2017-01-01

Conclusion: The contribution of health conditions to role limitation in the three European regions studied is high. Mental disorders are associated with the largest impact in most of the regions. There is a need for mainstreaming disability in the public health agenda to reduce the role limitation associated with health conditions. The cross-regional differences found require further investigation.

A health impact assessment of a proposed bill to decrease speed limits on local roads in Massachusetts (U.S.A.).

Science.gov (United States)

James, Peter; Ito, Kate; Banay, Rachel F; Buonocore, Jonathan J; Wood, Benjamin; Arcaya, Mariana C

2014-10-02

Decreasing traffic speeds increases the amount of time drivers have to react to road hazards, potentially averting collisions, and makes crashes that do happen less severe. Boston's regional planning agency, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), conducted a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) that examined the potential health impacts of a proposed bill in the state legislature to lower the default speed limits on local roads from 30 miles per hour (mph) to 25 mph. The aim was to reduce vehicle speeds on local roads to a limit that is safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and children. The passage of this proposed legislation could have had far-reaching and potentially important public health impacts. Lower default speed limits may prevent around 18 fatalities and 1200 serious injuries to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians each year, as well as promote active transportation by making local roads feel more hospitable to cyclists and pedestrians. While a lower speed limit would increase congestion and slightly worsen air quality, the benefits outweigh the costs from both a health and economic perspective and would save the state approximately $62 million annually from prevented fatalities and injuries.

Limiting critical speed response on the SSME Alternate High Pressure Fuel Turbopump (ATD HPFTP) with bearing deadband

Science.gov (United States)

Goggin, David G.; Darden, J. M.

1992-01-01

Yammamoto (1954) described the influence of bearing deadband on the critical speed response of a rotor-bearing system. Practical application of these concepts to limit critical speed response of turbopump rotors is described. Nonlinear rotordynamic analyses are used to define the effect of bearing deadband and rotor unbalance on the Space Shuttle Main Engine Alternate High Pressure Fuel Turbopump. Analysis results are used with hot fire test data to verify the presence of a lightly damped critical speed within the operating speed range. With the proper control of rotor unbalance and bearing deadband, the response of this critical speed is reduced to acceptable levels without major design modifications or additional sources of damping.

Appendices : evaluation of variable speed limits on I-270/I-255 in St. Louis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

In May of 2008, MoDOT installed a Variable Speed Limit (VSL) system along the I-270/I-255 corridor in : St. Louis. This project evaluated the VSL system and its potential impacts and benefits to the : transportation users. The technical system ...

Tracking multiple objects is limited only by object spacing, not by speed, time, or capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Franconeri, S L; Jonathan, S V; Scimeca, J M

2010-07-01

In dealing with a dynamic world, people have the ability to maintain selective attention on a subset of moving objects in the environment. Performance in such multiple-object tracking is limited by three primary factors-the number of objects that one can track, the speed at which one can track them, and how close together they can be. We argue that this last limit, of object spacing, is the root cause of all performance constraints in multiple-object tracking. In two experiments, we found that as long as the distribution of object spacing is held constant, tracking performance is unaffected by large changes in object speed and tracking time. These results suggest that barring object-spacing constraints, people could reliably track an unlimited number of objects as fast as they could track a single object.

REASSESSING EUROPEAN UNION LIMITS: WHAT ROLE FOR THE NEW REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Berbec

2010-06-01

Full Text Available As every enlargement brings new neighbours to the European Union, the European Neighbourhood Policy is facing new challenges regarding its policy towards the countries in its proximity. Although the ENP does not offer perspectives for accession, nor does it preclude it, new forms of cooperation between the EU and its neighbours are taken into consideration as an alternative to full membership. This essay will analyze how the latest enlargements have brought new opportunities and challenges to the EU in relation to its new neighbours, the role of the "Eastern Partnership" and the "Union for Mediterranean" initiatives in fostering cooperation with the contiguous countries and whether these community projects, together with the ENP, can have a contribution to the understanding of what the EU limits are.

Voluntary muscle activation improves with power training and is associated with changes in gait speed in mobility-limited older adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvid, Lars G; Strotmeyer, Elsa S; Skjødt, Mathias

2016-01-01

Incomplete voluntary muscle activation may contribute to impaired muscle mechanical function and physical function in older adults. Exercise interventions have been shown to increase voluntary muscle activation, although the evidence is sparse for mobility-limited older adults, particularly...... in association with physical function. This study examined the effects of 12weeks of power training on outcomes of voluntary muscle activation and gait speed in mobility-limited older adults from the Healthy Ageing Network of Competence (HANC) study. We included 37 older men and women with a usual gait speed...... in TG (r=0.67, pactivation is improved in mobility-limited older adults following 12-weeks of progressive power training, and is associated with improved maximal gait speed. Incomplete voluntary muscle activation should be considered one of the key mechanisms...

Limit values used in the European Union for managing excavated land and contaminated soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soto Diaz, E.; Rodriguez Abad, R.

2014-01-01

In this paper, which is a summary of the minor thesis of the same title, a qualitative comparison is made between mean limit values applied in different member countries of the European Union (EU) for the proper management of excavated lands and contaminated soils. This management can be carried out as a byproduct through its reuse, recycling or previous treatment, or through its consideration as a waste and its subsequent admission to a particular type of landfill. Three types of comparisons of UE limit values are done in this paper: between those established in six member countries for the use of excavated lands as a byproduct, between those existing in 15 European countries for contaminated soils, and finally between those required in 12 EU countries for their land filling. (Author)

High-Speed Imaging of Explosive Droplet Boiling at the Superheat Limit

Science.gov (United States)

Ferris, F. Robert; Hermanson, Jim; Asadollahi, Arash; Esmaeeli, Asghar

2017-11-01

The explosive boiling processes of droplets of diethyl ether (1-2 mm in diameter) at the superheat limit were examined both experimentally and computationally. Experimentally, droplet explosion was studied using a heated bubble column to bring the test droplet to the superheat limit. The droplet fluid was diethyl ether (superheat limit 147 C at 1 bar) with immiscible glycerol employed as the heated host fluid. Tests were carried out at pressures between 0.5 and 4 bar absolute. The pressure rise associated with the explosive boiling event was captured using a piezoelectric quartz pressure transducer with a 1 MHz DAQ system. High-speed imaging of the interfacial behavior during explosive boiling was performed using a Phantom v12.1 camera at a frame rate of up to one million frames per second with the droplets illuminated by diffuse back-lighting. The imaging reveals features of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the vapor-liquid interface resulting from the unstable boiling process. Computationally, Direct Numerical Simulations are performed at Southern Illinois University Carbondale to compliment the experimental tests. NSF Award Number 1511152.

Energy costs form European wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milborrow, D [Windpower Monthly, Knebel (Denmark)

1996-12-31

Energy generation costs from European wind farms span a very wide range. Reasons for these variations, include differences in capital and operating costs, wind speeds and differing legislative and regulatory frameworks. This article compares costs, wind speeds and discount rates for British and German windfarms and sets these alongside data from elsewhere in the European Union. In this way it is possible to determine the reasons for differences in energy generation costs. (author)

Energy costs form European wind farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milborrow, D. [Windpower Monthly, Knebel (Denmark)

1995-12-31

Energy generation costs from European wind farms span a very wide range. Reasons for these variations, include differences in capital and operating costs, wind speeds and differing legislative and regulatory frameworks. This article compares costs, wind speeds and discount rates for British and German windfarms and sets these alongside data from elsewhere in the European Union. In this way it is possible to determine the reasons for differences in energy generation costs. (author)

Energy costs form European wind farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milborrow, D.

1995-01-01

Energy generation costs from European wind farms span a very wide range. Reasons for these variations, include differences in capital and operating costs, wind speeds and differing legislative and regulatory frameworks. This article compares costs, wind speeds and discount rates for British and German windfarms and sets these alongside data from elsewhere in the European Union. In this way it is possible to determine the reasons for differences in energy generation costs. (author)

A limit on the variation of the speed of light arising from quantum gravity effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdo, A A; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Asano, K; Atwood, W B; Axelsson, M; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Baring, M G; Bastieri, D; Bechtol, K; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Bhat, P N; Bissaldi, E; Bloom, E D; Bonamente, E; Bonnell, J; Borgland, A W; Bouvier, A; Bregeon, J; Brez, A; Briggs, M S; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Burgess, J M; Burnett, T H; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Caraveo, P A; Casandjian, J M; Cecchi, C; Celik, O; Chaplin, V; Charles, E; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Cominsky, L R; Connaughton, V; Conrad, J; Cutini, S; Dermer, C D; de Angelis, A; de Palma, F; Digel, S W; Dingus, B L; do Couto E Silva, E; Drell, P S; Dubois, R; Dumora, D; Farnier, C; Favuzzi, C; Fegan, S J; Finke, J; Fishman, G; Focke, W B; Foschini, L; Fukazawa, Y; Funk, S; Fusco, P; Gargano, F; Gasparrini, D; Gehrels, N; Germani, S; Gibby, L; Giebels, B; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Glanzman, T; Godfrey, G; Granot, J; Greiner, J; Grenier, I A; Grondin, M-H; Grove, J E; Grupe, D; Guillemot, L; Guiriec, S; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Hoversten, E A; Hughes, R E; Jóhannesson, G; Johnson, A S; Johnson, R P; Johnson, W N; Kamae, T; Katagiri, H; Kataoka, J; Kawai, N; Kerr, M; Kippen, R M; Knödlseder, J; Kocevski, D; Kouveliotou, C; Kuehn, F; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Latronico, L; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lott, B; Lovellette, M N; Lubrano, P; Madejski, G M; Makeev, A; Mazziotta, M N; McBreen, S; McEnery, J E; McGlynn, S; Mészáros, P; Meurer, C; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Moiseev, A A; Monte, C; Monzani, M E; Moretti, E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nakamori, T; Nolan, P L; Norris, J P; Nuss, E; Ohno, M; Ohsugi, T; Omodei, N; Orlando, E; Ormes, J F; Ozaki, M; Paciesas, W S; Paneque, D; Panetta, J H; Parent, D; Pelassa, V; Pepe, M; Pesce-Rollins, M; Petrosian, V; Piron, F; Porter, T A; Preece, R; Rainò, S; Ramirez-Ruiz, E; Rando, R; Razzano, M; Razzaque, S; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Reposeur, T; Ritz, S; Rochester, L S; Rodriguez, A Y; Roth, M; Ryde, F; Sadrozinski, H F-W; Sanchez, D; Sander, A; Saz Parkinson, P M; Scargle, J D; Schalk, T L; Sgrò, C; Siskind, E J; Smith, D A; Smith, P D; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Stamatikos, M; Stecker, F W; Strickman, M S; Suson, D J; Tajima, H; Takahashi, H; Takahashi, T; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J B; Thayer, J G; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Toma, K; Torres, D F; Tosti, G; Troja, E; Uchiyama, Y; Uehara, T; Usher, T L; van der Horst, A J; Vasileiou, V; Vilchez, N; Vitale, V; von Kienlin, A; Waite, A P; Wang, P; Wilson-Hodge, C; Winer, B L; Wood, K S; Wu, X F; Yamazaki, R; Ylinen, T; Ziegler, M

2009-11-19

A cornerstone of Einstein's special relativity is Lorentz invariance-the postulate that all observers measure exactly the same speed of light in vacuum, independent of photon-energy. While special relativity assumes that there is no fundamental length-scale associated with such invariance, there is a fundamental scale (the Planck scale, l(Planck) approximately 1.62 x 10(-33) cm or E(Planck) = M(Planck)c(2) approximately 1.22 x 10(19) GeV), at which quantum effects are expected to strongly affect the nature of space-time. There is great interest in the (not yet validated) idea that Lorentz invariance might break near the Planck scale. A key test of such violation of Lorentz invariance is a possible variation of photon speed with energy. Even a tiny variation in photon speed, when accumulated over cosmological light-travel times, may be revealed by observing sharp features in gamma-ray burst (GRB) light-curves. Here we report the detection of emission up to approximately 31 GeV from the distant and short GRB 090510. We find no evidence for the violation of Lorentz invariance, and place a lower limit of 1.2E(Planck) on the scale of a linear energy dependence (or an inverse wavelength dependence), subject to reasonable assumptions about the emission (equivalently we have an upper limit of l(Planck)/1.2 on the length scale of the effect). Our results disfavour quantum-gravity theories in which the quantum nature of space-time on a very small scale linearly alters the speed of light.

Pay as You Speed, ISA with incentives for not speeding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lahrmann, Harry Spaabæk; Agerholm, Niels; Tradisauskas, Nerius

2012-01-01

The Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) project we describe in this article is based on Pay as You Drive principles. These principles assume that the ISA equipment informs a driver of the speed limit, warns the driver when speeding and calculates penalty points. Each penalty point entails the redu......The Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) project we describe in this article is based on Pay as You Drive principles. These principles assume that the ISA equipment informs a driver of the speed limit, warns the driver when speeding and calculates penalty points. Each penalty point entails...... the reduction of a 30% discount on the driver's car insurance premium, which therefore produced the name, Pay as You Speed. The ISA equipment consists of a GPS-based On Board Unit with a mobile phone connection to a web server. The project was planned for a three-year test period with 300 young car drivers...

Quantum speed limit time in a magnetic resonance

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanchenko, E. A.

2017-12-01

A visualization for dynamics of a qudit spin vector in a time-dependent magnetic field is realized by means of mapping a solution for a spin vector on the three-dimensional spherical curve (vector hodograph). The obtained results obviously display the quantum interference of precessional and nutational effects on the spin vector in the magnetic resonance. For any spin the bottom bounds of the quantum speed limit time (QSL) are found. It is shown that the bottom bound goes down when using multilevel spin systems. Under certain conditions the non-nil minimal time, which is necessary to achieve the orthogonal state from the initial one, is attained at spin S = 2. An estimation of the product of two and three standard deviations of the spin components are presented. We discuss the dynamics of the mutual uncertainty, conditional uncertainty and conditional variance in terms of spin standard deviations. The study can find practical applications in the magnetic resonance, 3D visualization of computational data and in designing of optimized information processing devices for quantum computation and communication.

Speed and income

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fosgerau, Mogens

2005-01-01

The relationship between speed and income is established in a microeconomic model focusing on the trade-off between travel time and the risk of receiving a penalty for exceeding the speed limit. This is used to determine when a rational driver will choose to exceed the speed limit. The relationship...... between speed and income is found again in the empirical analysis of a cross-sectional dataset comprising 60,000 observations of car trips. This is used to perform regressions of speed on income, distance travelled, and a number of controls. The results are clearly statistically significant and indicate...... an average income elasticity of speed of 0.02; it is smaller at short distances and about twice as large at the longest distance investigated of 200 km....

Monitoring speed before and during a speed publicity campaign.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schagen, I.N.L.G. van Commandeur, J.J.F. Goldenbeld, C. & Stipdonk, H.

2016-01-01

Driving speeds were monitored during a period of 16 weeks encompassing different stages of an anti-speeding campaign in the Netherlands. This campaign targeted speed limit violations in built-up areas. The observation periods differed in terms of intensity and media used for the campaign. Small

Control model design to limit DC-link voltage during grid fault in a dfig variable speed wind turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Nwosu, Cajethan M.; Ogbuka, Cosmas U.; Oti, Stephen E.

2017-08-01

This paper presents a control model design capable of inhibiting the phenomenal rise in the DC-link voltage during grid- fault condition in a variable speed wind turbine. Against the use of power circuit protection strategies with inherent limitations in fault ride-through capability, a control circuit algorithm capable of limiting the DC-link voltage rise which in turn bears dynamics that has direct influence on the characteristics of the rotor voltage especially during grid faults is here proposed. The model results so obtained compare favorably with the simulation results as obtained in a MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. The generated model may therefore be used to predict near accurately the nature of DC-link voltage variations during fault given some factors which include speed and speed mode of operation, the value of damping resistor relative to half the product of inner loop current control bandwidth and the filter inductance.

Role of parasitic capacitances in power MOSFET turn-on switching speed limits

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cittanti, Davide; Iannuzzo, Francesco; Hoene, Eckart

2017-01-01

This paper describes the effect of MOSFET internal capacitances on the channel current during the turn-on switching transition: an intrinsic theoretical switching speed limit is found and detailed mathematically. The set of analytical equations is solved and the effect of the displacement currents...... is highlighted with ideal simulated waveforms. A laboratory experiment is thus performed, in order to prove the theoretical predictions: a 25 mΩ SiC CREE power MOSFET is turned on in a no-load condition (zero drain current), starting from different drain-source voltage values. Finally, a LTSpice equivalent...

Breaking the speed limit--comparative sprinting performance of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and brown trout (Salmo trutta)

Science.gov (United States)

Castro-Santos, Theodore; Sanz-Ronda, Francisco Javier; Ruiz-Legazpi, Jorge

2013-01-01

Sprinting behavior of free-ranging fish has long been thought to exceed that of captive fish. Here we present data from wild-caught brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and brown trout (Salmo trutta), volitionally entering and sprinting against high-velocity flows in an open-channel flume. Performance of the two species was nearly identical, with the species attaining absolute speeds > 25 body lengths·s−1. These speeds far exceed previously published observations for any salmonid species and contribute to the mounting evidence that commonly accepted estimates of swimming performance are low. Brook trout demonstrated two distinct modes in the relationship between swim speed and fatigue time, similar to the shift from prolonged to sprint mode described by other authors, but in this case occurring at speeds > 19 body lengths·s−1. This is the first demonstration of multiple modes of sprint swimming at such high swim speeds. Neither species optimized for distance maximization, however, indicating that physiological limits alone are poor predictors of swimming performance. By combining distributions of volitional swim speeds with endurance, we were able to account for >80% of the variation in distance traversed by both species.

Using European travellers as an early alert to detect emerging pathogens in countries with limited laboratory resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grais Rebecca

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The volume, extent and speed of travel have dramatically increased in the past decades, providing the potential for an infectious disease to spread through the transportation network. By collecting information on the suspected place of infection, existing surveillance systems in industrialized countries may provide timely information for areas of the world without adequate surveillance currently in place. We present the results of a case study using reported cases of Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 (Sd1 in European travellers to detect "events" of Sd1, related to either epidemic cases or endemic cases in developing countries. Methods We identified papers from a Medline search for reported events of Sd1 from 1940 to 2002. We requested data on shigella infections reported to the responsible surveillance entities in 17 European countries. Reports of Sd1 from the published literature were then compared with Sd1 notified cases among European travellers from 1990 to 2002. Results Prior to a large epidemic in 1999–2000, no cases of Sd1 had been identified in West Africa. However, if travellers had been used as an early warning, Sd1 could have been identified in this region as earlier as 1992. Conclusion This project demonstrates that tracking diseases in European travellers could be used to detect emerging disease in developing countries. This approach should be further tested with a view to the continuous improvement of national health surveillance systems and existing European networks, and may play a significant role in aiding the international public health community to improve infectious disease control.

A theory of an oscillating, periodic, speed-of-light as a possible limiting value converging to an average limit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.W. Mason

2018-06-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to adopt and solve the wave-equation for the radial propagation of light in three dimensions from the moment of the Big-Bang and during Earth-based experiments. The primary purpose is to model a propagating beam of light emitted from the singularity, outwards, and to show that its velocity is sinusoidal, meaning that its speed oscillates periodically, and is therefore variable rather than constant. It is additionally shown, by calculating an appropriate solution to the wave-equation, that the velocity of light is not only negatively damped according to the inverse radial law, 1/r, throughout its journey over space and time, but that this latter feature also exhibits amplitude convergence from a very large initial value to a value that is very close to what is now defined to be a constant, namely the current value denoted by c=299792458m/s. The possibility that such observations may also vary depending upon the inertial frame in which a measurement is carried out is similarly considered, along with a discussion of the related nature of mass and energy, and how the possible variability of the speed-of-light and the fabric of the space-time continuum may affect each other. Keywords: Wave-equation, Transverse, Electromagnetic-wave, Radial motion, Eigen-function, Radial-solution, Redshift-drift, Speed-of-light, Displacement, Variable-velocity, Periodic, Oscillation, Convergence, Limit, Big-bang, Space-time, Neutrinos, CERN, Gran Sasso, Experiment

European Capitals of Culture and the limits of the urban effects in Luxembourg and Sibiu 2007 Capitais europeias da cultura e os limites dos efeitos urbanos em Luxemburgo e Sibiu 2007

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilia Palonen

2011-12-01

Full Text Available A mega-event is a replicant: local copy of a global model. The European Capitals of Culture (ECC is an annual mega-event, currently usually held in two European cities. This paper argues it has three particular dimensions, recognisable from the European Union’s policy. First designed to articulate a European identity, it has been a mover for local urban transformation and city-branding, and later participation. The policy projects Europe as “family of cultures”, which suggests attention for a particular ECC year, when the old Saxon fortress town of Luxembourg hosted the title together with the former Saxon fortress town Sibiu of Romania, which joined the European Union only the same year: 2007. The article asks, what are the limits of the urban effects of the three dimensions of the European Capitals of Culture, using as a method urban art interventions for investigating the limits and potential spatial effects of the ECCs and the extent of the diffusion of institutional elements.

A High-Speed Power-Line Communication System with Band-Limited OQAM Based Multi-Carrier Transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Kawabata, Naohiro; Koga, Hisao; Muta, Osamu; Akaiwa, Yoshihiko

As a method to realize a high-speed communication in the home network, the power-line communication (PLC) technique is known. A problem of PLC is that leakage radiation interferes with existing systems. When OFDM is used in a PLC system, the leakage radiation is not sufficiently reduced, even if the subcarriers corresponding to the frequency-band of the existing system are never used, because the signal is not strictly band-limited. To solve this problem, each subcarrier must be band-limited. In this paper, we apply the OQAM based multi-carrier transmission (OQAM-MCT) to a high-speed PLC system, where each subcarrier is individually band-limited. We also propose a pilot-symbol sequence suitable for frequency offset estimation, symbol-timing detection and channel estimation in the OQAM-MCT system. In this method, the pilot signal-sequence consists of a repeated series of the same data symbol. With this method, the pilot sequence approximately becomes equivalent to OFDM sequence and therefore existing pilot-assisted methods for OFDM are also applicable to OQAM-MCT system. Computer simulation results show that the OQAM-MCT system achieves both good transmission rate performance and low out-of-band radiation in PLC channels. It is also shown that the proposed pilot-sequence improves frequency offset estimation, symbol-timing detection and channel estimation performance as compared with the case of using pseudo-noise sequence.

Variable speed limit strategies analysis with link transmission model on urban expressway

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shubin; Cao, Danni

2018-02-01

The variable speed limit (VSL) is a kind of active traffic management method. Most of the strategies are used in the expressway traffic flow control in order to ensure traffic safety. However, the urban expressway system is the main artery, carrying most traffic pressure. It has similar traffic characteristics with the expressways between cities. In this paper, the improved link transmission model (LTM) combined with VSL strategies is proposed, based on the urban expressway network. The model can simulate the movement of the vehicles and the shock wave, and well balance the relationship between the amount of calculation and accuracy. Furthermore, the optimal VSL strategy can be proposed based on the simulation method. It can provide management strategies for managers. Finally, a simple example is given to illustrate the model and method. The selected indexes are the average density, the average speed and the average flow on the traffic network in the simulation. The simulation results show that the proposed model and method are feasible. The VSL strategy can effectively alleviate traffic congestion in some cases, and greatly promote the efficiency of the transportation system.

Tramadol can selectively manage moderate pain in children following European advice limiting codeine use.

Science.gov (United States)

Marzuillo, Pierluigi; Calligaris, Lorenzo; Barbi, Egidio

2014-11-01

The European Medicine Agency recommendations limiting codeine use in children have created a void in managing moderate pain. We review the evidence on the pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and safety profile of tramadol, a possible substitute for codeine. Tramadol appears to be safe in both paediatric inpatients and outpatients. It may be appropriate to limit the current use of tramadol to monitored settings in children with risk factors for respiratory depression, subject to further safety evidence. ©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Climate limits across space and time on European forest structure

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, A. L. S.; Neumann, M.; Hasenauer, H.

2017-12-01

The impact climate has on forests has been extensively studied. However, the large scale effect climate has on forest structures, such as average diameters, heights and basal area are understudied in a spatially explicit manner. The limits, tipping points and thresholds that climate places on forest structures dictate the services a forest may provide, the vulnerability of a forest to mortality and the potential value of the timber there within. The majority of current research either investigates climate impacts on forest pools and fluxes, on a tree physiological scale or on case studies that are used to extrapolate results and potential impacts. A spatially explicit study on how climate affects forest structure over a large region would give valuable information to stakeholders who are more concerned with ecosystem services that cannot be described by pools and fluxes but require spatially explicit information - such as biodiversity, habitat suitability, and market values. In this study, we quantified the limits that climate (maximum, minimum temperature and precipitation) places on 3 forest structures, diameter at breast height, height, and basal area throughout Europe. Our results show clear climatic zones of high and low upper limits for each forest structure variable studied. We also spatially analyzed how climate restricts the potential bio-physical upper limits and creates tipping points of each forest structure variable and which climate factors are most limiting. Further, we demonstrated how the climate change has affected 8 individual forests across Europe and then the continent as a whole. We find that diameter, height and basal area are limited by climate in different ways and that areas may have high upper limits in one structure and low upper limits in another limitted by different climate variables. We also found that even though individual forests may have increased their potential upper limit forest structure values, European forests as a whole

European regulation of cross-border hate speech in cyberspace: The limits of legislation

OpenAIRE

Banks, James

2011-01-01

This paper examines the complexities of regulating hate speech on the Internet through legal frameworks. It demonstrates the limitations of unilateral national content legislation and the difficulties inherent in multilateral efforts to regulate the Internet. The paper highlights how the US's commitment to free speech has undermined European efforts to construct a truly international regulatory system. It is argued that a broad coalition of citizens, industry and government, employing technol...

Speeds in school zones.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-02-01

School speed zones are frequently requested traffic controls for school areas, based on the common belief : that if the transportation agency would only install a reduced speed limit, then drivers would no longer : speed through the area. This resear...

Production of transform-limited X-ray pulses through self-seeding at the European X-ray FEL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2011-09-15

An important goal for any advanced X-ray FEL is an option for providing Fourier-limited X-ray pulses. In this way, no monochromator is needed in the experimental hall. Self-seeding is a promising approach to significantly narrow the SASE bandwidth to produce nearly transform-limited pulses. These are important for many experiments including 3D diffraction imaging.We discuss the implementation of a single-crystal self-seeding scheme in the hard X-ray lines of the European XFEL. For this facility, transform-limited pulses are particularly valuable since they naturally support the extraction of more FEL power than at saturation by exploiting tapering in the tunable-gap baseline undulators. Tapering consists of a stepwise change of the undulator gap from segment to segment. Based on start-to-end simulations dealing with the up-to-date parameters of the European XFEL, we show that the FEL power reaches about 400 GW, or one order of magnitude higher power than the SASE saturation level (20 GW). This analysis indicates that our self-seeding scheme is not significantly affected by non-ideal electron phase-space distribution, and yields about the same performance as in the case for an electron beam with ideal parameters. The self-seeding scheme with a single crystal monochromator is extremely compact (about 5 m long), and cost estimations are low enough to consider adding it to the European XFEL capabilities from the very beginning of the operation phase. (orig.)

Production of transform-limited X-ray pulses through self-seeding at the European X-ray FEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni

2011-09-01

An important goal for any advanced X-ray FEL is an option for providing Fourier-limited X-ray pulses. In this way, no monochromator is needed in the experimental hall. Self-seeding is a promising approach to significantly narrow the SASE bandwidth to produce nearly transform-limited pulses. These are important for many experiments including 3D diffraction imaging.We discuss the implementation of a single-crystal self-seeding scheme in the hard X-ray lines of the European XFEL. For this facility, transform-limited pulses are particularly valuable since they naturally support the extraction of more FEL power than at saturation by exploiting tapering in the tunable-gap baseline undulators. Tapering consists of a stepwise change of the undulator gap from segment to segment. Based on start-to-end simulations dealing with the up-to-date parameters of the European XFEL, we show that the FEL power reaches about 400 GW, or one order of magnitude higher power than the SASE saturation level (20 GW). This analysis indicates that our self-seeding scheme is not significantly affected by non-ideal electron phase-space distribution, and yields about the same performance as in the case for an electron beam with ideal parameters. The self-seeding scheme with a single crystal monochromator is extremely compact (about 5 m long), and cost estimations are low enough to consider adding it to the European XFEL capabilities from the very beginning of the operation phase. (orig.)

Energy efficiency : potential fuel savings generated by a national speed limit would be influenced by many other factors.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-11-07

"Congress expressed interest in obtaining information on using a national speed limit to reduce fuel consumption. In response to the request, we reviewed existing literature and consulted knowledgeable stakeholders on the following: (1) What is the r...

Acceleration performance of individual European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax measured with a sprint performance chamber: comparison with high-speed cinematography and correlates with ecological performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandamm, Joshua P; Marras, Stefano; Claireaux, Guy; Handelsman, Corey A; Nelson, Jay A

2012-01-01

Locomotor performance can influence the ecological and evolutionary success of a species. For fish, favorable outcomes of predator-prey encounters are often presumably due to robust acceleration ability. Although escape-response or "fast-start" studies utilizing high-speed cinematography are prevalent, little is known about the contribution of relative acceleration performance to ecological or evolutionary success in a species. This dearth of knowledge may be due to the time-consuming nature of analyzing film, which imposes a practical limit on sample sizes. Herein, we present a high-throughput potential alternative for measuring fish acceleration performance using a sprint performance chamber (SPC). The acceleration performance of a large number of juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) from two populations was analyzed. Animals from both hatchery and natural ontogenies were assessed, and animals of known acceleration ability had their ecological performance measured in a mesocosm environment. Individuals from one population also had their acceleration performance assessed by both high-speed cinematography and an SPC. Acceleration performance measured in an SPC was lower than that measured by classical high-speed video techniques. However, short-term repeatability and interindividual variation of acceleration performance were similar between the two techniques, and the SPC recorded higher sprint swimming velocities. Wild fish were quicker to accelerate in an SPC and had significantly greater accelerations than all groups of hatchery-raised fish. Acceleration performance had no significant effect on ecological performance (as assessed through animal growth and survival in the mesocosms). However, it is worth noting that wild animals did survive predation in the mesocosm better than farmed ones. Moreover, the hatchery-originated fish that survived the mesocosm experiment, when no predators were present, displayed significantly increased acceleration

Effect of Variation of Speed Limits on Intercity Bus Fuel Consumption, Coach and Driver Utilization, and Corporate Profitability

Science.gov (United States)

1975-11-01

The effect of speed limit and passenger load on fuel consumption was determined using actual intercity buses with simulated passenger loads over different types of terrain. In addition to road tests, laboratory type measurements were made on four int...

Partial analysis of wind power limit for large disturbance using fixed speed wind turbine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos Fuentefria, Ariel; Cairo Rodriguez, Daniel; Boza Valerino, Juan Gualberto

2014-01-01

The amount of wind power that allow an electric network without losing his stability as known as wind power limit. The wind power limit fundamentally depends on the wind turbine technology and the weakness level of the system. To know the system behaviors in dynamic performance having into account the worst disturbance is a very important matter, a short circuit in one of the most power transference line or the loss of a large generation unit was a large disturbance that can affect system stability. The wind power limit may change with the nature of the disturbance. To know the wind power limit considering this conditions allow use the wind at maximum level. In the present paper the behavior of fixed speed wind turbine for different fault types is analyzed, at those conditions, the wind power is increasing until the system become voltage unstable. For the analysis the IEEE 14 Bus Test Case is used. The Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) package is used for the simulation. (author)

Retrieving hurricane wind speeds using cross-polarization C-band measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Zadelhoff, G.J.; Stoffelen, A.; Vachon, P.W.; Wolfe, J.; Horstmann, J.; Belmonte Rivas, M.

2014-01-01

Hurricane-force wind speeds can have a large societal impact and in this paper microwave C-band cross-polarized (VH) signals are investigated to assess if they can be used to derive extreme wind-speed conditions. European satellite scatterometers have excellent hurricane penetration capability at

Variable speed limits system for Elk Mountain corridor.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

"Determining an appropriate speed for the current conditions can be difficult for the driver. Equally difficult is for law : enforcement agencies to enforce and cite someone going too fast for conditions. In many cases, drivers are cited for going : ...

Variable speed limit system for Elk Mountain corridor.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

Determining an appropriate speed for the current conditions can be difficult for the driver. Equally difficult is for law : enforcement agencies to enforce and cite someone going too fast for conditions. In many cases, drivers are cited for going : t...

Effectiveness of enforcement levels of speed limit and drink driving laws and associated factors – Exploratory empirical analysis using a bivariate ordered probit model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Behram Wali

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The contemporary traffic safety research comprises little information on quantifying the simultaneous association between drink driving and speeding among fatally injured drivers. Potential correlation between driver's drink driving and speeding behavior poses a substantial methodological concern which needs investigation. This study therefore focused on investigating the simultaneous impact of socioeconomic factors, fatalities, vehicle ownership, health services and highway agency road safety policies on enforcement levels of speed limit and drink driving laws. The effectiveness of enforcement levels of speed limit and drink driving laws has been investigated through development of bivariate ordered probit model using data extricated from WHO's global status report on road safety in 2013. The consistent and intuitive parameter estimates along with statistically significant correlation between response outcomes validates the statistical supremacy of bivariate ordered probit model. The results revealed that fatalities per thousand registered vehicles, hospital beds per hundred thousand population and road safety policies are associated with a likely medium or high effectiveness of enforcement levels of speed limit and drink driving laws, respectively. Also, the model encapsulates the effect of several other agency related variables and socio-economic status on the response outcomes. Marginal effects are reported for analyzing the impact of such factors on intermediate categories of response outcomes. The results of this study are expected to provide necessary insights to elemental enforcement programs. Also, marginal effects of explanatory variables may provide useful directions for formulating effective policy countermeasures for overcoming driver's speeding and drink driving behavior.

Speed regulating Effects of Incentive-based Intelligent Speed Adaptation in the short and medium term

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agerholm, Niels

Speed regulating Effects of Incentive-based Intelligent Speed Adaptation in the short and medium term Despite massive improvements in vehicles’ safety equipment, more information and safer road network, inappropriate road safety is still causing that more than 250 people are killed and several...... thousands injured each year in Denmark. Until a few years ago the number of fatalities in most countries had decreased while the amount of traffic increased. However, this trend has been replaced by a more uncertain development towards a constant or even somewhat increasing risk. Inappropriate speeding...... is a central cause for the high number of fatalities on the roads. Despite speed limits, speed limit violating driving behaviour is still widespread in Denmark. Traditional solutions to prevent speed violation have been enforcement, information, and enhanced road design. It seems, however, hard to achieve...

Fault ride-through enhancement of fixed speed wind turbine using bridge-type fault current limiter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mostafa I. Marei

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The interaction between wind energy turbines and the grid results in two main problems, increasing the short-circuit level and reducing the Fault Ride-Through (FRT capability during faults. The objective of this paper is to solve these problems, for fixed speed Wind Energy Systems (WECS, utilizing the bridge-type Fault Current Limiter (FCL with a discharging resistor. A simple cascaded control system is proposed for the FCL to regulate the terminal voltage of the generator and limit the current. The system is simulated on PSCAD/EMTDC software to evaluate the dynamic performance of the proposed WECS compensated by FCL. The simulation results show the potentials of the FCL as a simple and effective method for solving grid interconnection problems of WECS.

Mortality Amenable to Health Care in European Union Countries and Its Limitations.

Science.gov (United States)

Jarčuška, Peter; Janičko, Martin; Barták, Miroslav; Gavurová, Beáta; Vagašová, Tatiana

2017-12-01

The concept of amenable mortality is intended to assess health care system performance. It is defined as "premature deaths that should not occur in the presence of timely and effective health care". The purpose of paper is to analyse differences in amenable mortality across European Union countries and to determine the associations between amenable mortality and life expectancy at birth. This is a cross-country and time trend analysis. Data on deaths by cause, and five-year age groups were obtained from the World Health Organization database for the 20 European Union countries, throughout the period from 2002 to 2013. The rates of amenable mortality were expressed by the age-standardised death rates per 100,000 inhabitants. We applied the method of direct standardisation using the European Standard Population. Throughout the explored period, the statistically significant variations of the age-standardised death rates in a relation to the European Union average fluctuated from 78.7 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 72.4-84.9) in France to 374.3 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 350.8-397.7) in Latvia. The leading causes of amenable mortality were ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, and colorectal cancer that accounted for, respectively, 42.2%, 19.5%, and 11.3% of overall amenable mortality. As expected, statistically significant strong negative relationship (R 2 =0.95; ρ=-0.98) between amenable mortality and life expectancy at birth was proved by linear regression. The concept has several limitations relating to the selection of causes of death and setting age threshold over time, not consideration actually available health care resources in each country, as well as differences in the prevalence of diseases among countries. We found an explicit divide in amenable mortality rates between more developed countries of Western, Northern and Southern Europe, and less developed countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Increasing of amenable mortality may

Exploring the quantum speed limit with computer games

Science.gov (United States)

Sørensen, Jens Jakob W. H.; Pedersen, Mads Kock; Munch, Michael; Haikka, Pinja; Jensen, Jesper Halkjær; Planke, Tilo; Andreasen, Morten Ginnerup; Gajdacz, Miroslav; Mølmer, Klaus; Lieberoth, Andreas; Sherson, Jacob F.

2016-04-01

Humans routinely solve problems of immense computational complexity by intuitively forming simple, low-dimensional heuristic strategies. Citizen science (or crowd sourcing) is a way of exploiting this ability by presenting scientific research problems to non-experts. ‘Gamification’—the application of game elements in a non-game context—is an effective tool with which to enable citizen scientists to provide solutions to research problems. The citizen science games Foldit, EteRNA and EyeWire have been used successfully to study protein and RNA folding and neuron mapping, but so far gamification has not been applied to problems in quantum physics. Here we report on Quantum Moves, an online platform gamifying optimization problems in quantum physics. We show that human players are able to find solutions to difficult problems associated with the task of quantum computing. Players succeed where purely numerical optimization fails, and analyses of their solutions provide insights into the problem of optimization of a more profound and general nature. Using player strategies, we have thus developed a few-parameter heuristic optimization method that efficiently outperforms the most prominent established numerical methods. The numerical complexity associated with time-optimal solutions increases for shorter process durations. To understand this better, we produced a low-dimensional rendering of the optimization landscape. This rendering reveals why traditional optimization methods fail near the quantum speed limit (that is, the shortest process duration with perfect fidelity). Combined analyses of optimization landscapes and heuristic solution strategies may benefit wider classes of optimization problems in quantum physics and beyond.

High-speed AC motors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jokinen, T.; Arkkio, A. [Helsinki University of Technology Laboratory of Electromechanics, Otaniemi (Finland)

1997-12-31

The paper deals with various types of highspeed electric motors, and their limiting powers. Standard machines with laminated rotors can be utilised if the speed is moderate. The solid rotor construction makes it possible to reach higher power and speed levels than those of laminated rotors. The development work on high-speed motors done at Helsinki University of Technology is presented, too. (orig.) 12 refs.

Data-based Speed-limit-respecting Eco-driving System

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Suzdaleva, Evgenia; Nagy, Ivan

2014-01-01

Roč. 44, č. 1 (2014), s. 253-264 ISSN 0968-090X R&D Projects: GA TA ČR TA01030123 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : eco-driving * fuel consumption * recommended speed * recursive estimation * quadratic optimal control * dynamic programming Subject RIV: BC - Control Systems Theory Impact factor: 2.818, year: 2014 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2014/AS/suzdaleva-0427942.pdf

European Scientists prepare to test the limits of Physics

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

"European Scientists are gearing up for a series of experiments that will probe deeper into the nature of matter than ever before. At the end of August the Scientific Information Port (PIC), a centre for technology based at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) began work on the first stage of the European project Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The aim of the project is to study the origins of mater by reproducing conditions similar to those produced during the Big Bang." (1 page)

Limit values used in the European Union for managing excavated land and contaminated soils; Valores limite en la Union Europea para la gestion de tierras excavadas y suelos contaminados

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soto Diaz, E.; Rodriguez Abad, R.

2014-07-01

In this paper, which is a summary of the minor thesis of the same title, a qualitative comparison is made between mean limit values applied in different member countries of the European Union (EU) for the proper management of excavated lands and contaminated soils. This management can be carried out as a byproduct through its reuse, recycling or previous treatment, or through its consideration as a waste and its subsequent admission to a particular type of landfill. Three types of comparisons of UE limit values are done in this paper: between those established in six member countries for the use of excavated lands as a byproduct, between those existing in 15 European countries for contaminated soils, and finally between those required in 12 EU countries for their land filling. (Author)

High speed rails. Fatigue behaviour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duart, J. M.; Pero-Sanz, J. A.; Verdeja, J. I.

2005-01-01

In recent years, passenger train speed and freight train load have increased to enhance efficiency of rail road transportation. These trends have increased the severity of rail service conditions, calling for rails with greater wear resistance, strength and fatigue behaviour. In the United Stated and Europe, track site weld rails are made entirely by aluminothermic process. This work describes the results of experimental study conducted on bending fatigue strength of plain rails and aluminothermic welded rails with preheating procedures (oxipropane and air-induced propane) approved by railways authorities. Compliance with the required fatigue strength shall be ascertained by 4 point pulsating bending test in accordance with European standards by aluminothermic welding in rails. The locati method, based in the empirical Miner's law about the cumulative damage on a fatigue tested material, allows, once known the Wohler curve of the welding process in use to settle the fatigue tensile limit at 50% with only one test. The values obtained at 2.10''6 cycles for plain rails (S f =353 MPa), oxipropane preheated aluminothermic weld rails (S f =225 MPa), and propane-air induced aluminothermic weld rails (S f =210 MPa) are very similar to those resulting from test method stated in the European Standard. From our point of view and due to its ease, speediness and savings, this is the most suitable test to check the quality and compare the aluminothermic processes in use. (Author) 15 refs

Applications of a saving method with max-min ant system to a vehicle routing problem with time windows and speed limits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suphan Sodsoon

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This study aims to solve a Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Speed Limits (VRPTWSL, which has received considerable attention in recent years. The vehicle routing problem with time windows is an extension of the well-known Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP and involves a fleet of vehicles set of from a depot to serve a number of customers at different geographic locations with various demands within specific time and speed limits before returning to the depot eventually. To solve the problem, an efficient Saving Method-Max Min Ant System (Saving-MMAS with Local Search algorithm is applied. Using minimization of the total transportation costs as the objective of the extension VRPTWSL, a mathematic model is constructed. Finally, the Saving-MMAS algorithms indicated the good quality of the method in this problem.

Speed Variance and Its Influence on Accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Garber, Nicholas J.; Gadirau, Ravi

A study was conducted to investigate the traffic engineering factors that influence speed variance and to determine to what extent speed variance affects accident rates. Detailed analyses were carried out to relate speed variance with posted speed limit, design speeds, and other traffic variables. The major factor identified was the difference…

European security and defense policy and its implications for Turkey

OpenAIRE

Özköse, Ö Faruk

2002-01-01

Cataloged from PDF version of article. The “European Security and Defense Policy” is an evolving process. Since the Maastricht Treaty (1991), the European Union members have been trying to constitute a common security and defense policy within the framework of Common Foreign and Security Policy, second pillar of the European Union. The efforts to create “separable but not separate” European forces within NATO have increased speed in the last years and changed direction towar...

76 FR 8917 - Special Conditions: Gulfstream Model GVI Airplane; Automatic Speed Protection for Design Dive Speed

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-16

... high speed protection system. These proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards... Design Features The GVI is equipped with a high speed protection system that limits nose down pilot... incorporation of a high speed protection system in the GVI flight control laws. The GVI is equipped with a high...

Changes in speed distribution: Applying aggregated safety effect models to individual vehicle speeds.

Science.gov (United States)

Vadeby, Anna; Forsman, Åsa

2017-06-01

This study investigated the effect of applying two aggregated models (the Power model and the Exponential model) to individual vehicle speeds instead of mean speeds. This is of particular interest when the measure introduced affects different parts of the speed distribution differently. The aim was to examine how the estimated overall risk was affected when assuming the models are valid on an individual vehicle level. Speed data from two applications of speed measurements were used in the study: an evaluation of movable speed cameras and a national evaluation of new speed limits in Sweden. The results showed that when applied on individual vehicle speed level compared with aggregated level, there was essentially no difference between these for the Power model in the case of injury accidents. However, for fatalities the difference was greater, especially for roads with new cameras where those driving fastest reduced their speed the most. For the case with new speed limits, the individual approach estimated a somewhat smaller effect, reflecting that changes in the 15th percentile (P15) were somewhat larger than changes in P85 in this case. For the Exponential model there was also a clear, although small, difference between applying the model to mean speed changes and individual vehicle speed changes when speed cameras were used. This applied both for injury accidents and fatalities. There were also larger effects for the Exponential model than for the Power model, especially for injury accidents. In conclusion, applying the Power or Exponential model to individual vehicle speeds is an alternative that provides reasonable results in relation to the original Power and Exponential models, but more research is needed to clarify the shape of the individual risk curve. It is not surprising that the impact on severe traffic crashes was larger in situations where those driving fastest reduced their speed the most. Further investigations on use of the Power and/or the

The limit between freedom of expression and hate speech: an analysis of the European Court of Human Rights judgements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María García Santos

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The current situation in Europe and the Western world is to some extent a reflection of the latent conflict between the rise of hate speech and freedom of expression. Phenomena such as globalization and the increase of immigration to Europe have generated a wave of rejection and anxiety towards a changing reality, mainly due to aggravating factors such as the refugee crisis and terrorism. This trend highlights the debate about the limits of freedom of expression on the continent, a right that represents one of the most fundamental pillars of European democracies. In this way, this article analyses the state of the debate within the regional institutions, through a series of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights, to illustrate the current tug of war between freedom of expression and the limitation of hate speech.

14 CFR 25.1515 - Landing gear speeds.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Landing gear speeds. 25.1515 Section 25... Limitations § 25.1515 Landing gear speeds. (a) The established landing gear operating speed or speeds, V LO, may not exceed the speed at which it is safe both to extend and to retract the landing gear, as...

Effects of vehicle power on passenger vehicle speeds.

Science.gov (United States)

McCartt, Anne T; Hu, Wen

2017-07-04

During the past 2 decades, there have been large increases in mean horsepower and the mean horsepower-to-vehicle weight ratio for all types of new passenger vehicles in the United States. This study examined the relationship between travel speeds and vehicle power, defined as horsepower per 100 pounds of vehicle weight. Speed cameras measured travel speeds and photographed license plates and drivers of passenger vehicles traveling on roadways in Northern Virginia during daytime off-peak hours in spring 2013. The driver licensing agencies in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia provided vehicle information numbers (VINs) by matching license plate numbers with vehicle registration records and provided the age, gender, and ZIP code of the registered owner(s). VINs were decoded to obtain the curb weight and horsepower of vehicles. The study focused on 26,659 observed vehicles for which information on horsepower was available and the observed age and gender of drivers matched vehicle registration records. Log-linear regression estimated the effects of vehicle power on mean travel speeds, and logistic regression estimated the effects of vehicle power on the likelihood of a vehicle traveling over the speed limit and more than 10 mph over the limit. After controlling for driver characteristics, speed limit, vehicle type, and traffic volume, a 1-unit increase in vehicle power was associated with a 0.7% increase in mean speed, a 2.7% increase in the likelihood of a vehicle exceeding the speed limit by any amount, and an 11.6% increase in the likelihood of a vehicle exceeding the limit by 10 mph. All of these increases were highly significant. Speeding persists as a major factor in crashes in the United States. There are indications that travel speeds have increased in recent years. The current findings suggest the trend toward substantially more powerful vehicles may be contributing to higher speeds. Given the strong association between travel speed and crash

European Continental Scale Hydrological Model, Limitations and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Rouholahnejad, E.; Abbaspour, K.

2014-12-01

The pressures on water resources due to increasing levels of societal demand, increasing conflict of interest and uncertainties with regard to freshwater availability create challenges for water managers and policymakers in many parts of Europe. At the same time, climate change adds a new level of pressure and uncertainty with regard to freshwater supplies. On the other hand, the small-scale sectoral structure of water management is now reaching its limits. The integrated management of water in basins requires a new level of consideration where water bodies are to be viewed in the context of the whole river system and managed as a unit within their basins. In this research we present the limitations and challenges of modelling the hydrology of the continent Europe. The challenges include: data availability at continental scale and the use of globally available data, streamgauge data quality and their misleading impacts on model calibration, calibration of large-scale distributed model, uncertainty quantification, and computation time. We describe how to avoid over parameterization in calibration process and introduce a parallel processing scheme to overcome high computation time. We used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) program as an integrated hydrology and crop growth simulator to model water resources of the Europe continent. Different components of water resources are simulated and crop yield and water quality are considered at the Hydrological Response Unit (HRU) level. The water resources are quantified at subbasin level with monthly time intervals for the period of 1970-2006. The use of a large-scale, high-resolution water resources models enables consistent and comprehensive examination of integrated system behavior through physically-based, data-driven simulation and provides the overall picture of water resources temporal and spatial distribution across the continent. The calibrated model and results provide information support to the European Water

Endurance in speed skating

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuper, Gerard H.; Sterken, Elmer

2001-01-01

We analyse the development of world records speed skating from 1893 to 2000 for both men and women. The historical data show that it is likely that the relation between skating speed and distance of the various events is non-linear and converges to a limit value. We pay special attention to

Effects of automated speed enforcement in Montgomery County, Maryland, on vehicle speeds, public opinion, and crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Wen; McCartt, Anne T

2016-09-01

In May 2007, Montgomery County, Maryland, implemented an automated speed enforcement program, with cameras allowed on residential streets with speed limits of 35 mph or lower and in school zones. In 2009, the state speed camera law increased the enforcement threshold from 11 to 12 mph over the speed limit and restricted school zone enforcement hours. In 2012, the county began using a corridor approach, in which cameras were periodically moved along the length of a roadway segment. The long-term effects of the speed camera program on travel speeds, public attitudes, and crashes were evaluated. Changes in travel speeds at camera sites from 6 months before the program began to 7½ years after were compared with changes in speeds at control sites in the nearby Virginia counties of Fairfax and Arlington. A telephone survey of Montgomery County drivers was conducted in Fall 2014 to examine attitudes and experiences related to automated speed enforcement. Using data on crashes during 2004-2013, logistic regression models examined the program's effects on the likelihood that a crash involved an incapacitating or fatal injury on camera-eligible roads and on potential spillover roads in Montgomery County, using crashes in Fairfax County on similar roads as controls. About 7½ years after the program began, speed cameras were associated with a 10% reduction in mean speeds and a 62% reduction in the likelihood that a vehicle was traveling more than 10 mph above the speed limit at camera sites. When interviewed in Fall 2014, 95% of drivers were aware of the camera program, 62% favored it, and most had received a camera ticket or knew someone else who had. The overall effect of the camera program in its modified form, including both the law change and the corridor approach, was a 39% reduction in the likelihood that a crash resulted in an incapacitating or fatal injury. Speed cameras alone were associated with a 19% reduction in the likelihood that a crash resulted in an

European monetary union: limits to growth or bifurcation point

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleksandr Sharov

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the background and process of the EU monetary union establishment with regard to historical experience of European countries involving previous attempts of currency integration between separate countries. The author also analyzes methods of solving various theoretical and practical problems arising during the process. In particular, it is pointed out that the majority of the problems were caused by neglecting monetary integration principles, the need for observing which had been clearly stated yet at the preliminary stages of the integration process. Special emphasis is made on reviewing current development stage of the monetary union, in particular, with regard to problems caused by the financial crisis in "peripheral countries" of the Union as well as by concurrent intensification of cooperation in the field of banking and fiscal issues. In this context, the trends of further European monetary integration development are also considered. As resulted from analysis, the author concludes that the European Monetary Union had exhausted its energy for development along previously assigned trajectory and reached the bifurcation point, whereas its further improvement or gradual preservation and decline depend upon the direction in which the point is passed.

Driving on urban roads: How we come to expect the 'correct' speed.

Science.gov (United States)

Charlton, Samuel G; Starkey, Nicola J

2017-11-01

The subjective categories that drivers use to distinguish between different road types have been shown to influence the speeds they choose to drive but as yet we do not understand the road features that drivers use to make their discriminations. To better understand how drivers describe and categorise the roads they drive, 55 participants were recruited to drive a video of familiar urban roads in a driving simulator at the speed they would drive these roads in their own cars (using the accelerator and brake pedal in the driving simulator to adjust their speed). The participants were then asked to sort photos of the roads they had just driven into piles so that their driving would be the same on all roads in one pile but different to the other piles. Finally, they answered a series of questions about each road to indicate what speed they would drive, the safe speed for the road, their speed limit belief as well as providing ratings of comfort, difficulty and familiarity. Overall, drivers' categorisation of roads was informed by a number of factors including speed limit belief, road features and markings (including medians), road width, and presence of houses, driveways and footpaths. The participants' categories were congruent with what they thought the speed limits were, but not necessarily the actual speed limits. Mismatches between actual speed limits and speed limit beliefs appeared to result from category-level expectations about speed limits that took precedence over recent experience in the simulator. Roads that historically had a 50km/h speed limit but had been reduced to 40km/h were still regarded as 50km/h roads by the participants, underscoring the point that simply posting a sign with a lower speed limit is not enough to overcome drivers' expectations and habits associated with the visual appearance of a road. The findings provided insights into how drivers view and categorise roads, and identify specific areas that could be used to improve speed limit

Air pollution impacts of speed limitation measures in large cities: The need for improving traffic data in a metropolitan area

Science.gov (United States)

Baldasano, José M.; Gonçalves, María; Soret, Albert; Jiménez-Guerrero, Pedro

2010-08-01

Assessing the effects of air quality management strategies in urban areas is a major concern worldwide because of the large impacts on health caused by the exposure to air pollution. In this sense, this work analyses the changes in urban air quality due to the introduction of a maximum speed limit to 80 km h -1 on motorways in a large city by using a novel methodology combining traffic assimilation data and modelling systems implemented in a supercomputing facility. Albeit the methodology has been non-specifically developed and can be extrapolated to any large city or megacity, the case study of Barcelona is presented here. Hourly simulations take into account the entire year 2008 (when the 80 km h -1 limit has been introduced) vs. the traffic conditions for the year 2007. The data has been assimilated in an emission model, which considers hourly variable speeds and hourly traffic intensity in the affected area, taken from long-term measurement campaigns for the aforementioned years; it also permits to take into account the traffic congestion effect. Overall, the emissions are reduced up to 4%; however the local effects of this reduction achieve an important impact for the adjacent area to the roadways, reaching 11%. In this sense, the speed limitation effects assessed represent enhancements in air quality levels (5-7%) of primary pollutants over the area, directly improving the welfare of 1.35 million inhabitants (over 41% of the population of the Metropolitan Area) and affecting 3.29 million dwellers who are potentially benefited from this strategy for air quality management (reducing 0.6% the mortality rates in the area).

Torque- and Speed Control of a Pitch Regulated Wind Turbine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rasila, Mika

2003-07-01

Variable speed operated wind turbines has the potential to reduce fatigue loads, compared to fixed speed wind turbines. With pitch controllable rotor blades limitation of the power at high wind speeds is obtained. The thesis describes different controlling aspects concerning wind turbines and how these together can be used to optimize the system's performance. Torque control is used in order to achieve reduction on the mechanical loads on the drive-train for low wind speeds and limitation of power output for high wind speeds. In the high wind speed interval torque control is effective in order to limit the output power if a sufficiently fast pitch actuator is used. In the middle wind speed interval filter utilization can be used to give a reference signal to the controller in order to reduce speed and torque variations.

Effect of prior warm-up duration on the time limit at peak speed in untrained men.

Science.gov (United States)

da Cruz, Victor H; Peserico, Cecília S; Machado, Fabiana A

2017-10-01

The peak speed (Vpeak) and its time limit (tlim) are variables used to prescribe training loads and the intervals durations during interval training, respectively. The aim of this study was to test different warm-up durations (5, 10 and 15 minutes), adapted from the protocol proposed by Billat et al.,1 to determine tlim in untrained men. Fifteen untrained men were submitted to the following laboratory evaluations: 1) an incremental running exercise test on a treadmill starting with a speed of 8 km/h, after a warm-up of walking at 6 km/h for three minutes, and increased by 1 km/h between each successive 3-minute stage until volitional exhaustion to determine Vpeak; 2) three rectangular tests, performed in randomized order, with warm-up durations of 5, 10, and 15 minutes at 60% of Vpeak to determine the tlim5, tlim10, and tlim15; after the warm-up the tests were performed at the speed of the individual Vpeak until volitional exhaustion. It was demonstrated that the duration of the warm-up affected the test duration (tlim). Significant differences were observed between tlim5 and tlim15, and between tlim10 and tlim15. However, tlim15 and tlim10 did not differ. Additionally, duration of the warm-up did not influence other variables (HRmax, RPEmax and post lactate concentrations). Therefore, it was concluded that the duration of the warm-up in tlim tests modifies the test duration in untrained men.

The Limits of Agencification in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholten, Mira; van Rijsbergen, Marloes

2014-01-01

Although not explicitly regulated by the EU treaties, EU agencies not only exist but also have increased in number and power. In addition, while EU agencies may exercise very similar functions to those of the Commission, Articles 290 and 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

Pushing the speed limit in enantioselective supercritical fluid chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Regalado, Erik L; Welch, Christopher J

2015-08-01

Chromatographic enantioseparations on the order of a few seconds can be achieved by supercritical fluid chromatography using short columns packed with chiral stationary phases. The evolution of 'world record' speeds for the chromatographic separation of enantiomers has steadily dropped from an industry standard of 20-40 min just two decades ago, to a current ability to perform many enantioseparations in well under a minute. Improvements in instrument and column technologies enabled this revolution, but the ability to predict optimal separation time from an initial method development screening assay using the t(min cc) predictor greatly simplifies the development and optimization of high-speed chiral chromatographic separations. In this study, we illustrate how the use of this simple tool in combination with the workhorse technique of supercritical fluid chromatography on customized short chiral columns (1-2 cm length) allows us to achieve ultrafast enantioseparations of pharmaceutically relevant compounds on the 5-20 s scale, bringing the technique of high-throughput enantiopurity analysis out of the specialist realm and into the laboratories of most researchers. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Driver speed limit compliance in school zones : assessing the impact of sign saturation.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-01

School zones are often viewed as an effective way to reduce driving speeds and thereby improve : safety near our nations schools. The effect of school zones on reducing driving speeds, however, is : minimal at best. Studies have shown that over 90...

Peer influence predicts speeding prevalence among teenage drivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Simons-Morton, Bruce G; Ouimet, Marie Claude; Chen, Rusan; Klauer, Sheila G; Lee, Suzanne E; Wang, Jing; Dingus, Thomas A

2012-12-01

Preventing speed-related crashes could reduce costs and improve efficiency in the transportation industry. This research examined the psychosocial and personality predictors of observed speeding among young drivers. Survey and driving data were collected from 42 newly-licensed teenage drivers during the first 18months of licensure. Speeding (i.e., driving 10mph over the speed limit; about 16km/h) was assessed by comparing speed data collected with recording systems installed in participants' vehicles with posted speed limits. Speeding was correlated with elevated g-force event rates (r=0.335, pb0.05), increased over time, and predicted by day vs. night trips, higher sensation seeking, substance use, tolerance of deviance, susceptibility to peer pressure, and number of risky friends. Perceived risk was a significant mediator of the association between speeding and risky friends. The findings support the contention that social norms may influence teenage speeding behavior and this relationship may operate through perceived risk. Copyright © 2012 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of large bending deflections on blade flutter limits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kallesoee, Bjarne Skovmose; Hartvig Hansen, Morten

2008-04-15

The coupling of bending and torsion due to large blade bending are assumed to have some effects of the flutter limits of wind turbines. In the present report, the aeroelastic blade model suggested by Kallesoee, which is similar to a second order model, is used to investigate the aeroelastic stability limits of the RWT blade with and without the effects of the large blade deflection. The investigation shows no significant change of the flutter limit on the rotor speed due to the blade deflection,whereas the first edgewise bending mode becomes negatively damped due to the coupling with blade torsion which causes a change of the effective direction of blade vibration. These observations are confirmed by nonlinear aeroelastic simulations using HAWC2. This work is part of the UpWind project funded by the European Commission under the contract number SES6-CT-2005-019945 which is gratefully acknowledged. This report is the deliverable D2.3 of the UpWind project. (au)

Limits, modeling and design of high-speed permanent magnet machines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borisavljevic, A.

2011-01-01

There is a growing number of applications that require fast-rotating machines; motivation for this thesis comes from a project in which downsized spindles for micro-machining have been researched (TU Delft Microfactory project). The thesis focuses on analysis and design of high-speed PM machines and

High-speed PIV applied to the wake of the NASA CRM model in ETW at high Re-number stall conditions for sub- and transonic speeds

OpenAIRE

Konrath, Robert; Geisler, Reinhard; Otter, Dirk; Philipp, Florian; Ehlers, Hauke; Agocs, Janos; Quest, Jürgen

2015-01-01

Within the framework of the EU project ESWIRP the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) using high-speed camera and laser has been used to measure the turbulent flow in the wake of a stalled aircraft wing. The measurements took place on the Common Research Model (CRM) provided by NASA in the pressurized cryogenic European Transonic Wind tunnel (ETW). A specific cryo-PIV system has been used and adapted for using high-speed PIV components under the cryogenic conditions of the wind tunnel faci...

14 CFR 27.87 - Height-speed envelope.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... applicable power failure condition in paragraph (b) of this section, a limiting height-speed envelope must be... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Height-speed envelope. 27.87 Section 27.87... STANDARDS: NORMAL CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Flight Performance § 27.87 Height-speed envelope. (a) If there is any...

Speed checks on the CERN site

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

In view of the significant number of speeding incidents that have been reported, CERN will shortly start to carry out speed checks on the site. The radar used for this purpose will show drivers the speed measured. The disciplinary measures taken against those exceeding the authorised limit (generally 50 k.p.h.) will include a ban from driving on the site for a minimum of one month. Maximilian Metzger
Secretary-General

WDM networking on a European Scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parnis, Noel; Limal, Emmanuel; Hjelme, Dag R.

1998-01-01

Four different topological approaches to designing a pan-European optical network are discussed. For such an ultra-high capacity large-scale network, it is necessary to overcome physical path length limitations and to limit Optical Cross-Connect (OXC) complexity.......Four different topological approaches to designing a pan-European optical network are discussed. For such an ultra-high capacity large-scale network, it is necessary to overcome physical path length limitations and to limit Optical Cross-Connect (OXC) complexity....

Using road markings as a continuous cue for speed choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Charlton, Samuel G; Starkey, Nicola J; Malhotra, Neha

2018-08-01

The potential for using road markings to indicate speed limits was investigated in a driving simulator over the course of two sessions. Two types of experimental road markings, an "Attentional" set designed to provide visually distinct cues to indicate speed limits of 60, 80 and 100 km/h, and a "Perceptual" set designed to also affect drivers' perception of speed, were compared to a standard undifferentiated set of markings. Participants (n = 20 per group) were assigned to one of four experimental groups (Attentional-Explicit, Attentional-Implicit, Perceptual-Explicit, Perceptual-Implicit) or a Control group (n = 22; standard road markings). The Explicit groups were instructed about the meaning of the road markings while those in the Implicit and Control groups did not receive any explanation. Participants drove five 10 km simulated roads containing three speed zones (60, 80 and 100 km/h) during the first session. The participants returned to the laboratory approximately 3 days later to drive five more trials including roads they had not seen before, a trial that included a secondary task, and a trial where speed signs were removed and only markings were present. The findings indicated that both types of road markings improved drivers' compliance with speed limits compared to the control group, but that explicit instruction as to the meaning of the markings was needed to realise their full benefit. Although previous research has indicated the benefit of road markings used as warnings to indicate speed reductions in advance of horizontal or vertical curves, the findings of the present experiment also suggest that systematically associating road markings with specific speed limits may be a useful way to improve speed limit compliance and increase speed homogeneity. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Two Machine Learning Approaches for Short-Term Wind Speed Time-Series Prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ak, Ronay; Fink, Olga; Zio, Enrico

2016-08-01

The increasing liberalization of European electricity markets, the growing proportion of intermittent renewable energy being fed into the energy grids, and also new challenges in the patterns of energy consumption (such as electric mobility) require flexible and intelligent power grids capable of providing efficient, reliable, economical, and sustainable energy production and distribution. From the supplier side, particularly, the integration of renewable energy sources (e.g., wind and solar) into the grid imposes an engineering and economic challenge because of the limited ability to control and dispatch these energy sources due to their intermittent characteristics. Time-series prediction of wind speed for wind power production is a particularly important and challenging task, wherein prediction intervals (PIs) are preferable results of the prediction, rather than point estimates, because they provide information on the confidence in the prediction. In this paper, two different machine learning approaches to assess PIs of time-series predictions are considered and compared: 1) multilayer perceptron neural networks trained with a multiobjective genetic algorithm and 2) extreme learning machines combined with the nearest neighbors approach. The proposed approaches are applied for short-term wind speed prediction from a real data set of hourly wind speed measurements for the region of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. Both approaches demonstrate good prediction precision and provide complementary advantages with respect to different evaluation criteria.

Effect of African- and European-American maternal attitudes and limit-setting strategies on children's self-regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

LeCuyer, Elizabeth A; Swanson, Dena P; Cole, Robert; Kitzman, Harriet

2011-12-01

The effect of maternal attitudes and limit-setting strategies on children's self-regulation (measured as committed compliance) was compared in 151 African-American (AA) and 108 European-American (EA) mothers and their 3-year-old children. There were no ethnic differences in children's compliance, however ethnicity moderated the relationship between maternal authoritarian attitudes and children's compliance. Higher authoritarian attitudes predicted less children's compliance in the EA sample, but greater compliance in the AA sample. Observational limit-setting data revealed that in both ethnic groups, maternal authoritarian attitudes influenced children's self-regulation through maternal use of lower-power (gentle) verbal strategies, fewer physical strategies, and judicious use of higher-power verbal strategies. The findings indicate that the meaning and purpose of authoritarian attitudes varies across these mothers' socio-cultural contexts. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Variable speed limit strategies analysis with mesoscopic traffic flow model based on complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shu-Bin; Cao, Dan-Ni; Dang, Wen-Xiu; Zhang, Lin

As a new cross-discipline, the complexity science has penetrated into every field of economy and society. With the arrival of big data, the research of the complexity science has reached its summit again. In recent years, it offers a new perspective for traffic control by using complex networks theory. The interaction course of various kinds of information in traffic system forms a huge complex system. A new mesoscopic traffic flow model is improved with variable speed limit (VSL), and the simulation process is designed, which is based on the complex networks theory combined with the proposed model. This paper studies effect of VSL on the dynamic traffic flow, and then analyzes the optimal control strategy of VSL in different network topologies. The conclusion of this research is meaningful to put forward some reasonable transportation plan and develop effective traffic management and control measures to help the department of traffic management.

Evaluation of doses received by personnel occupationally exposed based on the dose limits established in European Directive 96/26. Reclassification of personnel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prieto, C.; Espana, M.L.; Perez, L.; Tomasi, L.; Lopez Franco, P.

1997-01-01

The recommendations of ICRP-60 of 1990 provide the basis of the European Directive 96/26/Euratom in which new dose limits of radiation for workers have been established. These new dose limits assume important reductions compared to the previous limits, which are still in force in Spain, and might entail the reclassification of some of these workers. In the present work it is shown that the majority of the workers exposed to areas under our responsibility could be classified under Category B

Voluntary agreements, implementation and efficiency. European relevance of case study results. Reflections on transferability to voluntary agreement schemes at the European level

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Helby, Peter

2000-04-01

As a policy instrument, voluntary agreements often fascinate policy-makers.This is fuelled by a number of assumed advantages, such as the opportunity for co-operation rather than confrontation, speed and flexibility and the cost-effectiveness. Some advantages might even be accentuated at the European level: Co-operation has added advantage at the European level where the culture of consensus decision is strong. Flexibility is extra attractive for policy makers dealing with an economy less homogeneous than the average national economy. Speed is certainly welcomed by policy-makers otherwise faced with the slow-winding European legislative process. Cost-effectiveness is eagerly sought by European policy makers facing tight administrative budgets and staff limits. This report examines lessons from the VAIE case studies that may be useful to policy makers engaged in the development of voluntary approaches at the European level. These case studies are about voluntary agreement schemes for industrial energy efficiency deployed in Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden. For a summary of these case studies, please refer to the the VAIE final report. More detailed information is available in the VAIE national reports. It needs to be emphasised that the empirical base is very narrow. The 'lessons' presented can only be hypotheses, based on an inductive leap from a very narrow experience. The reader will need to check these hypotheses against her own broader experience and personal judgement. According to the principle of subsidiarity, voluntary agreements should be implemented at the European level only if that would have significant advantage over national action. Action at the European level, rather than the national level, would have these potential advantages: Being more consistent with the development of the single market; Allowing higher demands on energy efficiency without negative effect on competitiveness and employment; Stimulating company

European Academy of Paediatrics Statement: Vision zero for child deaths in traffic accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Ludvigsson, Jonas F; Stiris, Tom; Del Torso, Stefano; Mercier, Jean-Christophe; Valiulis, Arunas; Hadjipanayis, Adamos

2017-02-01

Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death and disability in children throughout Europe. They remain the leading cause of death among children 5--19 years old in Europe. Children may be injured as pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists or passengers in cars. The European Academy of Pediatrics (EAP) strives to prevent morbidity and death in children. We urge policy-makers to actively work for a "vision zero", where no child is killed in traffic. EAP suggests simple measures such as, secure transport for children between home and school, speed limits, road bumps, wearing bike helmets and seat belts, using child-restraints for small children and enforcement of legislation on road safety.

32 CFR 636.22 - Speed regulations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...). (d) The following special speed limits apply: (1) When passing troop formations, 10 miles per hour... vehicles and will obey the following off-road driving speeds: Day Driving: Trails, 16 MPH Cross County, 6 MPH Night Driving: Trails, 5 MPH (with headlights) Cross Country, 5 MPH Night Driving: Trails, 4 MPH...

Bottleneck management in the German and European electricity supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koenig, Carsten

2013-01-01

This publication describes how bottlenecks in the German and European electricity supply pose a danger to the realization of the European internal market in electricity, the transition to electricity production from renewable resources and to the safeguarding of grid availability and security of supply. Bottlenecks at cross-border interconnectors between member states of the European Union are hampering cross-border trade in electricity, posing an impediment to EU-wide competition among electricity production and electricity trading companies. Grid bottlenecks at cross-border interconnectors isolate national markets from one another, with the result that it is not always possible in the European Union to have the most competitive power plant produce electricity. This amounts to a loss of welfare compared with what it would be in the case of an electricity supply without bottlenecks. Furthermore, bottlenecks make it impossible for green electricity that would be eligible for promotion for reasons of climate and environmental protection to be transmitted unimpeded from the most suitable site to the consumer regions. Thus the transmission of electricity produced from wind power in Northern Germany to the industrial centres in Southern Germany is impeded by bottlenecks along the north-south lines of the national transmission network. Today some of the German electricity supply networks already have to be operated near the limits of their capacity, especially during high wind episodes. This poses a growing danger to network availability and security of supply. Since the installation, expansion and conversion of electricity supply networks in Germany and other member states of the European Union is no longer progressing at the required speed, growing importance attaches to the management of bottlenecks. The goal of bottleneck management is to resolve conflicts over network use such as can occur in overload situations with as little discrimination and as little

Determining the coating speed limitations for organic photovoltaic inks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakubka, Florian; Heyder, Madeleine; Machui, Florian

2013-01-01

To determine the output capability of present organic photovoltaic (OPV) materials, it is important to know the theoretical maximum coating speeds of the used semiconductor formulations. Here, we present a comprehensive investigation of the coating stability window of several prototype organic...... semiconductor inks relevant for organic solar cells. The coating stability window was first determined experimentally by a sheet to sheet coater at velocities of up to 10 m/min. A numerical simulation model based on the Coating Window Suite 2010 software was established to give insight into the coating...

Pre-Columbian origins of Native American dog breeds, with only limited replacement by European dogs, confirmed by mtDNA analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

van Asch, Barbara; Zhang, Ai-bing; Oskarsson, Mattias C R; Klütsch, Cornelya F C; Amorim, António; Savolainen, Peter

2013-09-07

Dogs were present in pre-Columbian America, presumably brought by early human migrants from Asia. Studies of free-ranging village/street dogs have indicated almost total replacement of these original dogs by European dogs, but the extent to which Arctic, North and South American breeds are descendants of the original population remains to be assessed. Using a comprehensive phylogeographic analysis, we traced the origin of the mitochondrial DNA lineages for Inuit, Eskimo and Greenland dogs, Alaskan Malamute, Chihuahua, xoloitzcuintli and perro sín pelo del Peru, by comparing to extensive samples of East Asian (n = 984) and European dogs (n = 639), and previously published pre-Columbian sequences. Evidence for a pre-Columbian origin was found for all these breeds, except Alaskan Malamute for which results were ambigous. No European influence was indicated for the Arctic breeds Inuit, Eskimo and Greenland dog, and North/South American breeds had at most 30% European female lineages, suggesting marginal replacement by European dogs. Genetic continuity through time was shown by the sharing of a unique haplotype between the Mexican breed Chihuahua and ancient Mexican samples. We also analysed free-ranging dogs, confirming limited pre-Columbian ancestry overall, but also identifying pockets of remaining populations with high proportion of indigenous ancestry, and we provide the first DNA-based evidence that the Carolina dog, a free-ranging population in the USA, may have an ancient Asian origin.

Enhanced speed in fluorescence imaging using beat frequency multiplexing

Science.gov (United States)

Mikami, Hideharu; Kobayashi, Hirofumi; Wang, Yisen; Hamad, Syed; Ozeki, Yasuyuki; Goda, Keisuke

2016-03-01

Fluorescence imaging using radiofrequency-tagged emission (FIRE) is an emerging technique that enables higher imaging speed (namely, temporal resolution) in fluorescence microscopy compared to conventional fluorescence imaging techniques such as confocal microscopy and wide-field microscopy. It works based on the principle that it uses multiple intensity-modulated fields in an interferometric setup as excitation fields and applies frequency-division multiplexing to fluorescence signals. Unfortunately, despite its high potential, FIRE has limited imaging speed due to two practical limitations: signal bandwidth and signal detection efficiency. The signal bandwidth is limited by that of an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) employed in the setup, which is typically 100-200 MHz for the spectral range of fluorescence excitation (400-600 nm). The signal detection efficiency is limited by poor spatial mode-matching between two interfering fields to produce a modulated excitation field. Here we present a method to overcome these limitations and thus to achieve higher imaging speed than the prior version of FIRE. Our method achieves an increase in signal bandwidth by a factor of two and nearly optimal mode matching, which enables the imaging speed limited by the lifetime of the target fluorophore rather than the imaging system itself. The higher bandwidth and better signal detection efficiency work synergistically because higher bandwidth requires higher signal levels to avoid the contribution of shot noise and amplifier noise to the fluorescence signal. Due to its unprecedentedly high-speed performance, our method has a wide variety of applications in cancer detection, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine.

Setting Up a Limited Liability Company with Sole Shareholder in the European Union Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Petrina GAVRILA

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Given the importance of legal rules as closely as possible to the legal systems of the European Union Member States in respect of the companies, several directives have been adopted, of which twelve present the essence of the operational mechanisms harmonization . The consecration of single-member company in positive law is determined by multiple motivations, and the relevance of its objectives is complex, for the reason of the diverse role it plays in the economic and social life, from which the existence of different single-member business derives:limited liability company, joint stock company, simplified joint stock company, dedicated assets, subjected to a personal legal system, difficult to compare, each of them to be therefore studied in the legal, economic, social and tax context of each country.

Using Variable Speed Control on Pump Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr.Sc. Aida Spahiu

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Pumps are one of the most common variable speed drive (VSD system applications and special interest has focused on improving their energy efficiency by using variable speed control instead of throttling or other less efficient flow control methods. Pumps are the single largest user of electricity in industry in the European Union, consuming 160 TWh per annum of electricity and accounting for 79 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions [1]. Centrifugal pumps are the most likely pump style to provide a favorable return based on energy savings when applied with a variable speed drive. To help illustrate this, are conducted benchmark testing to document various head and flow scenarios and their corresponding effect on energy savings. Paper shows the relationship of static and friction head in the energy efficiency equation and the effect of motor, pump and VSD efficiencies. The received results are good reference points for engineers and managers of water sector in Albania to select the best prospects for maximizing efficiency and energy savings.

Limits and signatures of relativistic spaceflight

Science.gov (United States)

Yurtsever, Ulvi; Wilkinson, Steven

2018-01-01

While special relativity imposes an absolute speed limit at the speed of light, our Universe is not empty Minkowski spacetime. The constituents that fill the interstellar/intergalactic vacuum, including the cosmic microwave background photons, impose a lower speed limit on any object travelling at relativistic velocities. Scattering of cosmic microwave photons from an ultra-relativistic object may create radiation with a characteristic signature allowing the detection of such objects at large distances.

Estimating the time evolution of NMR systems via a quantum-speed-limit-like expression

Science.gov (United States)

Villamizar, D. V.; Duzzioni, E. I.; Leal, A. C. S.; Auccaise, R.

2018-05-01

Finding the solutions of the equations that describe the dynamics of a given physical system is crucial in order to obtain important information about its evolution. However, by using estimation theory, it is possible to obtain, under certain limitations, some information on its dynamics. The quantum-speed-limit (QSL) theory was originally used to estimate the shortest time in which a Hamiltonian drives an initial state to a final one for a given fidelity. Using the QSL theory in a slightly different way, we are able to estimate the running time of a given quantum process. For that purpose, we impose the saturation of the Anandan-Aharonov bound in a rotating frame of reference where the state of the system travels slower than in the original frame (laboratory frame). Through this procedure it is possible to estimate the actual evolution time in the laboratory frame of reference with good accuracy when compared to previous methods. Our method is tested successfully to predict the time spent in the evolution of nuclear spins 1/2 and 3/2 in NMR systems. We find that the estimated time according to our method is better than previous approaches by up to four orders of magnitude. One disadvantage of our method is that we need to solve a number of transcendental equations, which increases with the system dimension and parameter discretization used to solve such equations numerically.

Reduction Vehicle Speed Using GPS Android Smart Phone Programming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sameer Sami Hassan

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Today the new generation of smart phone such as Samsung galaxy, Sony, Motorola, HTC is used to build smart applications that made the human life more comfortable and safe. The Android open source operating system with java programming language can be used to develop such applications. In this paper a new software application has been developed using Samsung, galaxy note smart phone to control the speed of vehicle using GPS and Android programming for such smart phone. By collecting the speed and location information from Global Position System (GPS receiver and using the global map application programming interface to determine the location nearby university, school and hospital in Baghdad city. The application will be check the speed of vehicle in zone of school, hospital and university using GPS information. If the speed over the limit the application produce sound alarm to reduce the speed to set up limit.

Matching Countermeasures to Driver Types and Speeding Behavior : Traffic Tech

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-01

Speeding is a common behavior; most drivers exceed the speed limit some of the time. It is also a complicated behavior that varies by driver and situation. Speeding-related crashes take a large annual toll in injuries, lost lives, and high economic c...

Quantum speed limits: from Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to optimal quantum control

Science.gov (United States)

Deffner, Sebastian; Campbell, Steve

2017-11-01

One of the most widely known building blocks of modern physics is Heisenberg’s indeterminacy principle. Among the different statements of this fundamental property of the full quantum mechanical nature of physical reality, the uncertainty relation for energy and time has a special place. Its interpretation and its consequences have inspired continued research efforts for almost a century. In its modern formulation, the uncertainty relation is understood as setting a fundamental bound on how fast any quantum system can evolve. In this topical review we describe important milestones, such as the Mandelstam-Tamm and the Margolus-Levitin bounds on the quantum speed limit, and summarise recent applications in a variety of current research fields—including quantum information theory, quantum computing, and quantum thermodynamics amongst several others. To bring order and to provide an access point into the many different notions and concepts, we have grouped the various approaches into the minimal time approach and the geometric approach, where the former relies on quantum control theory, and the latter arises from measuring the distinguishability of quantum states. Due to the volume of the literature, this topical review can only present a snapshot of the current state-of-the-art and can never be fully comprehensive. Therefore, we highlight but a few works hoping that our selection can serve as a representative starting point for the interested reader.

Quantum speed limits: from Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to optimal quantum control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deffner, Sebastian; Campbell, Steve

2017-01-01

One of the most widely known building blocks of modern physics is Heisenberg’s indeterminacy principle. Among the different statements of this fundamental property of the full quantum mechanical nature of physical reality, the uncertainty relation for energy and time has a special place. Its interpretation and its consequences have inspired continued research efforts for almost a century. In its modern formulation, the uncertainty relation is understood as setting a fundamental bound on how fast any quantum system can evolve. In this topical review we describe important milestones, such as the Mandelstam–Tamm and the Margolus–Levitin bounds on the quantum speed limit , and summarise recent applications in a variety of current research fields—including quantum information theory, quantum computing, and quantum thermodynamics amongst several others. To bring order and to provide an access point into the many different notions and concepts, we have grouped the various approaches into the minimal time approach and the geometric approach , where the former relies on quantum control theory, and the latter arises from measuring the distinguishability of quantum states. Due to the volume of the literature, this topical review can only present a snapshot of the current state-of-the-art and can never be fully comprehensive. Therefore, we highlight but a few works hoping that our selection can serve as a representative starting point for the interested reader. (topical review)

Cross-cultural differences in drivers' speed choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallén Warner, Henriette; Ozkan, Türker; Lajunen, Timo

2009-07-01

The aim of the present study was to examine if there are any cross-cultural differences between Swedish and Turkish drivers' rating of the variables in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) with regard to complying with the speed limit. A sample of 219 Swedish and 252 Turkish drivers completed a questionnaire including questions based on the theory of planned behaviour (i.e. regarding attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, intention and behaviour). The results show that country differences in drivers' intention to comply with the speed limit as well as their self-reported compliance could be explained by differences found in their attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. Furthermore, drivers who live in a country with fewer road traffic fatalities (i.e. Sweden), compared with drivers who live in a country with more road traffic fatalities (i.e. Turkey), reported a more positive attitude towards complying with the speed limit, a more positive subjective norm, a higher perceived behavioural control, a higher intention and a larger proportion of the time spent complying.

ACCOUNTING WITH TWO SPEEDS: IAS / IFRS VERSUS EUROPEAN DIRECTIVES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria-Mădălina VOINEA

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Accounting is one of the most important links in the economic system and must be supervised closely. The increasing globalization of capital markets demonstrates the need for uniformity of accounting, which is achieved by normalization and harmonization of Romanian accounting regulations. Romanian accounting is changing day by day since the early 1990s. This is the time when Romania is facing the national and international convergence or harmonization and conformity of national accounting regulations with the IAS/IFRSs. But, is not just our case…This process is followed by more and more countries, at international level, and all this for having some high quality accounting standards. The pace of change that Romania has suffered lately in this field is much faster than that of the development of economic performance. Joining the EU has long aimed the alignment with the regulations applied by countries that already had this step, the European Directives.

Compensator design for improved counterbalancing in high speed atomic force microscopy

OpenAIRE

Bozchalooi, I. S.; Youcef-Toumi, K.; Burns, D. J.; Fantner, G. E.

2011-01-01

High speed atomic force microscopy can provide the possibility of many new scientific observations and applications ranging from nano-manufacturing to the study of biological processes. However, the limited imaging speed has been an imperative drawback of the atomic force microscopes. One of the main reasons behind this limitation is the excitation of the AFM dynamics at high scan speeds, severely undermining the reliability of the acquired images. In this research, we propose a piezo based, ...

European Union response to Fukushima. European stress tests and peer review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamet, Philippe [Autorite de Surete Nucleaire (ASN), Paris (France)

2012-07-01

Following the severe accidents which started in the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP on 11 March 2011, the European Council requested that a comprehensive safety and risk assessment, in light of preliminary lessons learned, be performed on all EU nuclear plants. Therefore, stress tests and peer review assessing natural initiating events, the loss of safety systems and severe accident management have been performed in the 15 European Union countries with nuclear power plants as well as Switzerland and Ukraine. The final peer review report of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) highlights four main areas for improvement to be explored across Europe: 1. Development by the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA), with the contribution of the best available EU expertise, of a European guidance on assessment of natural hazards and margins; 2. Importance of Periodic Safety Review to be underlined by ENSREG; 3. Expeditious implementation of the recognised measures to protect containment integrity; 4. Prevention of accidents resulting from natural hazards and limitation of their consequences. The peer review of the European stress tests was completed in April 2012. In their conclusive statement issued 26 April 2012, the national European regulators and the European Commission as European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) required that follow-up would occur by way of an ENSREG action plan. Country specific action plans will be developed and peer review workshop will be organised to share lessons learned on the implementation of post-Fukushima safety improvements.

European Union response to Fukushima. European stress tests and peer review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamet, Philippe

2012-01-01

Following the severe accidents which started in the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP on 11 March 2011, the European Council requested that a comprehensive safety and risk assessment, in light of preliminary lessons learned, be performed on all EU nuclear plants. Therefore, stress tests and peer review assessing natural initiating events, the loss of safety systems and severe accident management have been performed in the 15 European Union countries with nuclear power plants as well as Switzerland and Ukraine. The final peer review report of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) highlights four main areas for improvement to be explored across Europe: 1. Development by the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA), with the contribution of the best available EU expertise, of a European guidance on assessment of natural hazards and margins; 2. Importance of Periodic Safety Review to be underlined by ENSREG; 3. Expeditious implementation of the recognised measures to protect containment integrity; 4. Prevention of accidents resulting from natural hazards and limitation of their consequences. The peer review of the European stress tests was completed in April 2012. In their conclusive statement issued 26 April 2012, the national European regulators and the European Commission as European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) required that follow-up would occur by way of an ENSREG action plan. Country specific action plans will be developed and peer review workshop will be organised to share lessons learned on the implementation of post-Fukushima safety improvements.

Inclusive Democracy: Franchise Limitations on Non-Resident Citizens as an Unjust Restriction of Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie Fraser

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG advises parties in peace negotiations, on drafting post-conflict constitutions, and assists in prosecuting war criminals. As part of this work, PILPG assists States in establishing and implementing electoral systems that meet international standards for democratic elections, and undertakes election monitoring. Free and fair elections are crucial for the legitimacy of democratic States and are protected by human rights law. The present article focuses on the issue of the franchise and on the restrictions permitted under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR. Specifically, this article addresses franchise restrictions on non-resident citizens across ECHR member States. Setting out the protections for the franchise in Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 ECHR, this article analyses the permissible limitations on those rights according to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR. The article presents a comparative analysis of other voting rights cases, such as the limitations on prisoners’ franchise. After considering whether residency-based limitations pursue legitimate and proportionate aims, it questions whether blanket restrictions disenfranchising non-resident citizens should be permissible today. The article concludes by advocating the importance of an inclusive franchise for the legitimacy of democratic systems as well as the protection of individual rights, and inviting the ECtHR to revisit its jurisprudence on this topic.

Cellular Automata Models of Traffic Behavior in Presence of Speed Breaking Structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramachandran, Parthasarathy

2009-01-01

In this article, we study traffic flow in the presence of speed breaking structures. The speed breakers are typically used to reduce the local speed of vehicles near certain institutions such as schools and hospitals. Through a cellular automata model we study the impact of such structures on global traffic characteristics. The simulation results indicate that the presence of speed breakers could reduce the global flow under moderate global densities. However, under low and high global density traffic regime the presence of speed breakers does not have an impact on the global flow. Further the speed limit enforced by the speed breaker creates a phase distinction. For a given global density and slowdown probability, as the speed limit enforced by the speed breaker increases, the traffic moves from the reduced flow phase to maximum flow phase. This underlines the importance of proper design of these structures to avoid undesired flow restrictions. (general)

Variability of Wind Speeds and Power over Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Tambke, J.; von Bremen, L.; de Decker, J.; Schmidt, M.; Steinfeld, G.; Wolff, J.-O.

2010-09-01

This study comprises two parts: First, we describe the vertical wind speed and turbulence profiles that result from our improved PBL scheme and compare it to observations and 1-dimensional approaches (Monin-Obukhov etc.). Second, we analyse the spatio-temporal correlations in our meso-scale simulations for the years 2004 to 2007 over entire Europe, with special focus on the Irish, North and Baltic Sea. 1.) Vertical Wind Speed Profiles The vertical wind profile above the sea has to be modelled with high accuracy for tip heights up to 160m in order to achieve precise wind resource assessments, to calculate loads and wakes of wind turbines as well as for reliable short-term wind power forecasts. We present an assessment of different models for wind profiles in unstable, neutral and stable thermal stratification. The meso-scale models comprise MM5, WRF and COSMO-EU (LME). Both COSMO-EU from the German Weather Service DWD and WRF use a turbulence closure of 2.5th order - and lead to similar results. Especially the limiting effect of low boundary layer heights on the wind shear in very stable stratification is well captured. In our new WRF-formulation for the mixing length in the Mellor-Yamada-Janjic (MYJ) parameterisation of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL-scheme), the master length scale itself depends on the Monin-Obukhov-Length as a parameter for the heat flux effects on the turbulent mixing. This new PBL-scheme shows a better performance for all weather conditions than the original MYJ-scheme. Apart from the low-boundary-layer-effect in very stable situations (which are seldom), standard Monin-Obukhov formulations in combination with the Charnock relation for the sea surface roughness show good agreement with the FINO1-data (German Bight). Interesting results were achieved with two more detailed micro-scale approaches: - the parameterization proposed by Pena, Gryning and Hasager [BLM 2008] that depends on the boundary layer height - our ICWP-model, were the flux

Overall impact of speed-related initiatives and factors on crash outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Elia, A; Newstead, S; Cameron, M

2007-01-01

From December 2000 until July 2002 a package of speed-related initiatives and factors took place in Victoria, Australia. The broad aim of this study was to evaluate the overall impact of the package on crash outcomes. Monthly crash counts and injury severity proportions were assessed using Poisson and logistic regression models respectively. The model measured the overall effect of the package after adjusting as far as possible for non-speed road safety initiatives and socio-economic factors. The speed-related package was associated with statistically significant estimated reductions in casualty crashes and suggested reductions in injury severity with trends towards increased reductions over time. From December 2000 until July 2002, three new speed enforcement initiatives were implemented in Victoria, Australia. These initiatives were introduced in stages and involved the following key components: More covert operations of mobile speed cameras, including flash-less operations; 50% increase in speed camera operating hours; and lowering of cameras' speed detection threshold. In addition, during the period 2001 to 2002, the 50 km/h General Urban Speed Limit (GUSL) was introduced (January 2001), there was an increase in speed-related advertising including the "Wipe Off 5" campaign, media announcements were made related to the above enforcement initiatives and there was a speeding penalty restructure. The above elements combine to make up a package of speed-related initiatives and factors. The package represents a broad, long term program by Victorian government agencies to reduce speed based on three linked strategies: more intensive Police enforcement of speed limits to deter potential offenders, i.e. the three new speed enforcement initiatives just described - supported by higher penalties; a reduction in the speed limit on local streets throughout Victoria from 60 km/h to 50 km/h; and provision of information using the mass media (television, radio and billboard) to

European road users’ risk perception and mobility : the SARTRE 4 survey.

OpenAIRE

Antov, D. Banet, A. Barbier, C. Bellet, T. Bimpeh, Y. Boulanger, A. Brandstätter, C. Britschgi, V. Brosnan, M. Buttler, I. Cestac, J. , De Craen, S. de Delhomme, P. Dogan, E. Drápela, E. Forward, S. Freeman, R. Furian, G. Gábor, M. Goldenbeld, C. Henriksson, P. Holte, H. Kraïem, S. Papadimitriou, E. Podlesek, A. Polic, M. Sánchez-Martín, F. Sardi, G.-M. Schmidt, E.-A. Silverans, P. Siska, T. Skládaná, P. Theofilatos, A. Below, A. von Yannis, G. Zaidel, D. & Zavrides, N.

2012-01-01

The SARTRE (Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk in Europe) project started in 1991. It consists of a European wide survey about knowledge of road traffic laws and road traffic risks, attitudes regarding road safety issues, reported road traffic behaviours, transport habits and needs in several European countries. Various topics related to road safety are in the focus of the project such as alcohol, drugs, or phone use while driving, speeding, use of advanced driver assistance systems and th...

Guideline for load and resistance assessment of existing european railway bridges

OpenAIRE

JENSEN, Jens S; CASAS, Joan R; KAROUMI, Raid; PLOS, Mario; CREMONA, Christian; MELBOURNE, Clive

2008-01-01

Many of the European railway bridges are getting close to the end of their service life. At the same time the railway operators demand higher axle loads for freight trains and higher speeds for passenger trains. This requires new and better approaches for assessing both the railway loads and the resistance of railway bridges. The main objective of the "Guideline for Load and Resistance Assessment of Existing European Railway Bridges", developed within EU founded project "Sustainable Bridge...

European environmental stratifications and typologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hazeu, G.W,; Metzger, M.J.; Mücher, C.A.

2011-01-01

their limitations and challenges. As such, they provide a sound basis for describing the factors affecting the robustness of such datasets. The latter is especially relevant, since there is likely to be further interest in European environmental assessment. In addition, advances in data availability and analysis......A range of new spatial datasets classifying the European environment has been constructed over the last few years. These datasets share the common objective of dividing European environmental gradients into convenient units, within which objects and variables of interest have relatively homogeneous...... scale. This paper provides an overview of five recent European stratifications and typologies, constructed for contrasting objectives, and differing in spatial and thematic detail. These datasets are: the Environmental Stratification (EnS), the European Landscape Classification (LANMAP), the Spatial...

Quantitative health impact assessment of transport policies: two simulations related to speed limit reduction and traffic re-allocation in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Schram-Bijkerk, D; van Kempen, E; Knol, A B; Kruize, H; Staatsen, B; van Kamp, I

2009-10-01

Few quantitative health impact assessments (HIAs) of transport policies have been published so far and there is a lack of a common methodology for such assessments. To evaluate the usability of existing HIA methodology to quantify health effects of transport policies at the local level. Health impact of two simulated but realistic transport interventions - speed limit reduction and traffic re-allocation - was quantified by selecting traffic-related exposures and health endpoints, modelling of population exposure, selecting exposure-effect relations and estimating the number of local traffic-related cases and disease burden, expressed in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), before and after the intervention. Exposure information was difficult to retrieve because of the local scale of the interventions, and exposure-effect relations for subgroups and combined effects were missing. Given uncertainty in the outcomes originating from this kind of missing information, simulated changes in population health by two local traffic interventions were estimated to be small (<5%), except for the estimated reduction in DALYs by less traffic accidents (60%) due to speed limit reduction. Quantitative HIA of transport policies at a local scale is possible, provided that data on exposures, the exposed population and their baseline health status are available. The interpretation of the HIA information should be carried out in the context of the quality of input data and assumptions and uncertainties of the analysis.

Complete Model-Based Equivalence Class Testing for the ETCS Ceiling Speed Monitor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Braunstein, Cécile; Haxthausen, Anne Elisabeth; Huang, Wen-ling

2014-01-01

In this paper we present a new test model written in SysML and an associated blackbox test suite for the Ceiling Speed Monitor (CSM) of the European Train Control System (ETCS). The model is publicly available and intended to serve as a novel benchmark for investigating new testing theories...

Photosynthetic Limitation as a Factor Influencing Yield in Highbush Blueberries (Vaccinium Corymbosum) Grown in a Northern European Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Petridis, Antonios; van der Kaay, Jeroen; Chrysanthou, Elina; McCallum, Susan; Graham, Julie; Hancock, Robert D

2018-03-24

Published evidence indicates that nearly 60% of blueberry-producing countries experience yield instability. Yield is a complex trait determined by genetic and environmental factors. Here, using physiological and biochemical approaches, we tested the hypothesis that yield instability results from year-to-year environmental variation that limits carbon assimilation, storage and partitioning. Data indicate that fruit development depends primarily on the daily production of non-structural carbohydrates by leaves and there is no accumulation of a starch buffer to allow continuous ripening under conditions limiting for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis was saturated at moderate light irradiance and this was mainly due to stomatal and biochemical limitations. In a dynamic light environment photosynthesis was furher limited by slow stomatal response to increasing light. Finally, labelling with13CO2 at specific stages of fruit development revealed a relatively even distribution of newly assimilated carbon between stems, roots and fruits, suggesting that the fruit is not a strong sink. We conclude that a significant component of yield variability results from limitations in photosynthetic efficiency that is compounded by an inability to accumulate starch reserves in blueberry storage tissues under a typical northern European environment. This work informs techniques for improving agronomic management and indicates key traits required for yield stability in such environments.

How lowering speed limits in an urban highway affects traffics performance and emissions: the case of Madrid M-30 ring-road

OpenAIRE

Pérez Prada, Fiamma; Monzón de Cáceres, Andrés

2014-01-01

The city of Madrid keeps not meeting the GHG and air pollutant limits set by the European legislation. A broad range of strategies have being taken into account to reduce both types of emissions; however traffic management meas ures are usually consigned to the sidelines. In 2004, Madrid City Council launched a plan to re-design its inner ring-road supported by a socioeconomic study that evaluated the environmental and operational benefits of the project. For safety reasons the planned spe...

Vibration characteristics of dental high-speed turbines and speed-increasing handpieces.

Science.gov (United States)

Poole, Ruth L; Lea, Simon C; Dyson, John E; Shortall, Adrian C C; Walmsley, A Damien

2008-07-01

Vibrations of dental handpieces may contribute to symptoms of hand-arm vibration syndrome in dental personnel and iatrogenic enamel cracking in teeth. However, methods for measuring dental handpiece vibrations have previously been limited and information about vibration characteristics is sparse. This preliminary study aimed to use a novel approach to assess the vibrations of unloaded high-speed handpieces in vitro. Maximum vibration displacement amplitudes of five air turbines and two speed-increasing handpieces were recorded whilst they were operated with and without a rotary cutting instrument (RCI) using a scanning laser vibrometer (SLV). RCI rotation speeds, calculated from frequency peaks, were consistent with expected values. ANOVA statistical analysis indicated significant differences in vibrations between handpiece models (p0.11). Operating handpieces with a RCI resulted in greater vibrations than with no RCI (pmeasurement exceeded 4 microm for the handpieces in the current test setup (implying that these vibrations may be unlikely to cause adverse effects), this study has formed the basis for future work which will include handpiece vibration measurements whilst cutting under clinically representative loads.

Understanding the Benefits and Limitations of Increasing Maximum Rotor Tip Speed for Utility-Scale Wind Turbines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ning, A; Dykes, K

2014-01-01

For utility-scale wind turbines, the maximum rotor rotation speed is generally constrained by noise considerations. Innovations in acoustics and/or siting in remote locations may enable future wind turbine designs to operate with higher tip speeds. Wind turbines designed to take advantage of higher tip speeds are expected to be able to capture more energy and utilize lighter drivetrains because of their decreased maximum torque loads. However, the magnitude of the potential cost savings is unclear, and the potential trade-offs with rotor and tower sizing are not well understood. A multidisciplinary, system-level framework was developed to facilitate wind turbine and wind plant analysis and optimization. The rotors, nacelles, and towers of wind turbines are optimized for minimum cost of energy subject to a large number of structural, manufacturing, and transportation constraints. These optimization studies suggest that allowing for higher maximum tip speeds could result in a decrease in the cost of energy of up to 5% for land-based sites and 2% for offshore sites when using current technology. Almost all of the cost savings are attributed to the decrease in gearbox mass as a consequence of the reduced maximum rotor torque. Although there is some increased energy capture, it is very minimal (less than 0.5%). Extreme increases in tip speed are unnecessary; benefits for maximum tip speeds greater than 100-110 m/s are small to nonexistent

Understanding the Benefits and Limitations of Increasing Maximum Rotor Tip Speed for Utility-Scale Wind Turbines

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, A.; Dykes, K.

2014-06-01

For utility-scale wind turbines, the maximum rotor rotation speed is generally constrained by noise considerations. Innovations in acoustics and/or siting in remote locations may enable future wind turbine designs to operate with higher tip speeds. Wind turbines designed to take advantage of higher tip speeds are expected to be able to capture more energy and utilize lighter drivetrains because of their decreased maximum torque loads. However, the magnitude of the potential cost savings is unclear, and the potential trade-offs with rotor and tower sizing are not well understood. A multidisciplinary, system-level framework was developed to facilitate wind turbine and wind plant analysis and optimization. The rotors, nacelles, and towers of wind turbines are optimized for minimum cost of energy subject to a large number of structural, manufacturing, and transportation constraints. These optimization studies suggest that allowing for higher maximum tip speeds could result in a decrease in the cost of energy of up to 5% for land-based sites and 2% for offshore sites when using current technology. Almost all of the cost savings are attributed to the decrease in gearbox mass as a consequence of the reduced maximum rotor torque. Although there is some increased energy capture, it is very minimal (less than 0.5%). Extreme increases in tip speed are unnecessary; benefits for maximum tip speeds greater than 100-110 m/s are small to nonexistent.

More Speed, More Color, More Visibility, More Chemistry, More Fun!

Science.gov (United States)

Compton, Neville

2017-01-01

More competitive than ever: Chemistry-A European Journal now offers Accepted Article options for more speed, free color for more distinction, and more engagement with the scientific community through social media for more visibility. In addition, to cater for the growing number of excellent submissions, the journal will publish 72 issues over the coming year. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effect of two-qutrit entanglement on quantum speed limit time of a bipartite V-type open system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Behzadi, N., E-mail: n.behzadi@tabrizu.ac.ir [Research Institute for Fundamental Sciences, University of Tabriz (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ahansaz, B.; Ektesabi, A.; Faizi, E. [Physics Department, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2017-03-15

In the present paper, quantum speed limit (QSL) time of a bipartite V-type three-level atomic system under the effect of two-qutrit entanglement is investigated. Each party interacts with own independent reservoir. By considering two local unitarily equivalent Werner states and the Horodecki PPT state, as initial states, the QSL time is evaluated for each of them in the respective entangled regions. It is counterintuitively observed that the effect of entanglement on the QSL time driven from each of the initial Werner states are completely different when the degree of non-Markovianity is considerable. In addition, it is interesting that the effect of entanglement of the non-equivalent Horodecki state on the calculated QSL time displays an intermediate behavior relative to the cases obtained for the Werner states.

Fertile Soil for Structural Funds? A panel data analysis of the conditional effectiveness of European cohesion policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ederveen, S.; de Groot, H.L.F.; Nahuis, R.

2003-01-01

Structural funds are the most intensively used policy instrument by the European Union to promote economic growth in its member states and to speed up the process of convergence. This paper empirically explores the effectiveness of European Structural Funds by means of a panel data analysis for 13

Sleep-related vehicle crashes on low speed roads.

Science.gov (United States)

Filtness, A J; Armstrong, K A; Watson, A; Smith, S S

2017-02-01

Very little is known about the characteristics of sleep related (SR) crashes occurring on low speed roads compared with current understanding of the role of sleep in crashes occurring on high speed roads e.g. motorways. To address this gap, analyses were undertaken to identify the differences and similarities between (1) SR crashes occurring on roads with low (≤60km/h) and high (≥100km/h) speed limits, and (2) SR crashes and not-SR crashes occurring on roads with low speed limits. Police reports of all crashes occurring on low and high speed roads over a ten year period between 2000 and 2009 were examined for Queensland, Australia. Attending police officers identified all crash attributes, including 'fatigue/fell asleep', which indicates that the police believe the crash to have a causal factor relating to falling asleep, sleepiness due to sleep loss, time of day, or fatigue. Driver or rider involvement in crashes was classified as SR or not-SR. All crash-associated variables were compared using Chi-square tests (Cramer's V=effect size). A series of logistic regression was performed, with driver and crash characteristics as predictors of crash category. A conservative alpha level of 0.001 determined statistical significance. There were 440,855 drivers or riders involved in a crash during this time; 6923 (1.6%) were attributed as SR. SR crashes on low speed roads have similar characteristics to those on high speed roads with young (16-24y) males consistently over represented. SR crashes on low speed roads are noticeably different to not-SR crashes in the same speed zone in that male and young novice drivers are over represented and outcomes are more severe. Of all the SR crashes identified, 41% occurred on low speed roads. SR crashes are not confined to high speed roads. Low speed SR crashes warrant specific investigation because they occur in densely populated areas, exposing a greater number of people to risk and have more severe outcomes than not-SR crashes

Effectiveness of Motorcycle speed controlled by speed hump

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pornsiri Urapa

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Speed humps are one of the traffic calming measures widely accepted to control vehicle speed in the local road. Humps standards from the western countries are designed mainly for the passenger car. This study, therefore, aims to reveal the effectiveness of speed hump to control the motorcycle speed. This study observes the free-flow speed of the riders at the total of 20 speed bumps and humps. They are 0.3-14.8 meter in width and 5-18 centimeter in height. The results reveal that the 85th percentile speeds reduce 15-65 percent when crossing the speed bumps and speed humps. Besides, this study develops the speed model to predict the motorcycle mean speed and 85th percentile speed. It is found that speed humps follow the ITE standard can control motorcycle crossing speeds to be 25-30 Kph which are suitable to travel on the local road.

Evaluation of the traffic safety benefits of a lower speed limit and restriction of trucks to use of right lane only on I-10 over the Atchafalaya Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

To improve traffic operation and safety, several states have implemented truck lane restriction and differential speed limit policies on freeways. In response to an 11-vehicle crash in September 2003, the Louisiana State Department of Transportation ...

Policies of the traffic control. Good practices of european towns; Politiques d'apaisement du trafic. Bonnes pratiques de villes europeennes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vallar, J P; Debien, V

2003-07-01

This study aims to identify and present the actions of different european local governments in the domain of the development of ''zones 30'' policies (speed limited to 30 km/h). The evaluation of the policies on the road safety, the life quality, the users behavior, the energy consumption reduction, the pollutant emissions, the noise pollution, are detailed. For each case, the context in which the policy occurs is presented. The results are then examined in four main themes: elaboration and planning of the policies, actions realized, communication and public information, evaluation of initiatives and evolution perspectives. (A.L.B.)

Field Validation of the Stability Limit of a Multi MW Turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Kallesøe, Bjarne S.; Kragh, Knud A.

2016-09-01

Long slender blades of modern multi-megawatt turbines exhibit a flutter like instability at rotor speeds above a critical rotor speed. Knowing the critical rotor speed is crucial to a safe turbine design. The flutter like instability can only be estimated using geometrically non-linear aeroelastic codes. In this study, the estimated rotor speed stability limit of a 7 MW state of the art wind turbine is validated experimentally. The stability limit is estimated using Siemens Wind Powers in-house aeroelastic code, and the results show that the predicted stability limit is within 5% of the experimentally observed limit.

Automatic speed management systems : great safety potential ? Paper presented at the Fourth European workshop on Recent Developments in Road Safety Research, October 22-23, 1991 at Bundesanstalt für Strassenwesen (BASt) Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oei, H.-l.

1991-01-01

A description is given of a speed management project in the Netherlands, carried out and evaluated by SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research. The following hypotheses form the basis of the four experiments conducted on two-lane rural roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h: (1) Drivers will comply to

Understanding the infrastructure of European Research Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindstrøm, Maria Duclos; Kropp, Kristoffer

2017-01-01

European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC) are a new form of legal and financial framework for the establishment and operation of research infrastructures in Europe. Despite their scope, ambition, and novelty, the topic has received limited scholarly attention. This article analyses one ER....... It is also a promising theoretical framework for addressing the relationship between the ERIC construct and the large diversity of European Research Infrastructures.......European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC) are a new form of legal and financial framework for the establishment and operation of research infrastructures in Europe. Despite their scope, ambition, and novelty, the topic has received limited scholarly attention. This article analyses one ERIC...... became an ERIC using the Bowker and Star’s sociology of infrastructures. We conclude that focusing on ERICs as a European standard for organising and funding research collaboration gives new insights into the problems of membership, durability, and standardisation faced by research infrastructures...

HPOTP low-speed flexible rotor balancing, phase 1

Science.gov (United States)

Giordano, J.; Zorzi, E.

1985-01-01

A method was developed that shows promise in overcoming many balancing limitations. This method establishes one or more windows for low speed, out-of-housing balancing of flexible rotors. These windows are regions of speed and support flexibility where two conditions are simultaneously fulfilled. First, the rotor system behaves flexibly; therefore, there is separation among balance planes. Second, the response due to balance weights is large enough to reliably measure. The analytic formulation of the low-speed flexible rotor balancing method is described. The results of proof-of-principle tests conducted under the program are presented. Based on this effort, it is concluded that low speed flexible rotor balancing is a viable technology. In particular, the method can be used to balance a rotor bearing system at low speed which results in smooth operation above more than one bending critical speed. Furthermore, this balancing methodology is applicable to SSME turbopump rotors.

THIRD-COUNTRY MIGRATION TO THE EU: BETWEEN NORMATIVE EUROPEAN FRAMEWORKS AND NON-EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS' PERSONAL EFFORTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Demir ABDULLAH

2018-05-01

Full Text Available European leaders' rhetoric on third-country migration ranges from a discourse extolling the benefits of a United Europe, to one upholding Europe’s repute as a bastion of fundamental human rights, to yet another one out of which the continent emerges as a repressive fortress. Third-country migration not only engages the EU's efforts, but also those exerted by non-EU immigrantstowardsintegrating and becoming more open to their European host culture. This paper will be focusing both on the EU's commitment to honing its third-country migration policies, as well as on the non-EU immigrants' potential and limitations when it comes to their assimilation/integration into EU countries, in particular, Romania. Methodologically this paper uses the content analysis of European leaders’ discourses and also the qualitative analysis of data collected from 40 interviews carried out with non-EU immigrants into Romania. Another methodological tool will consist in an analysis of official EU documents. What will be pursued is the way in which the EU official documents reflect the shared interest proved by European leaders concerning the immigration processes. It will touch upon how the integration processes reclaims on the one hand permanent exchanges between the host European society and non European immigrant and on the other hand sustained efforts from these two parts in order to meet their needs and recognise their limits, in terms of economic, professional and social resources.

Positivity-preserving space-time CE/SE scheme for high speed flows

KAUST Repository

Shen, Hua

2017-03-02

We develop a space-time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) scheme using a simple slope limiter to preserve the positivity of the density and pressure in computations of inviscid and viscous high-speed flows. In general, the limiter works with all existing CE/SE schemes. Here, we test the limiter on a central Courant number insensitive (CNI) CE/SE scheme implemented on hybrid unstructured meshes. Numerical examples show that the proposed limiter preserves the positivity of the density and pressure without disrupting the conservation law; it also improves robustness without losing accuracy in solving high-speed flows.

Positivity-preserving space-time CE/SE scheme for high speed flows

KAUST Repository

Shen, Hua; Parsani, Matteo

2017-01-01

We develop a space-time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) scheme using a simple slope limiter to preserve the positivity of the density and pressure in computations of inviscid and viscous high-speed flows. In general, the limiter works with all existing CE/SE schemes. Here, we test the limiter on a central Courant number insensitive (CNI) CE/SE scheme implemented on hybrid unstructured meshes. Numerical examples show that the proposed limiter preserves the positivity of the density and pressure without disrupting the conservation law; it also improves robustness without losing accuracy in solving high-speed flows.

Balancing Biomechanical Constraints: Optimal Escape Speeds When There Is a Trade-off between Speed and Maneuverability.

Science.gov (United States)

Clemente, C J; Wilson, R S

2015-12-01

The ability for prey to escape a pursuing predator is dependent both on the prey's speed away from the threat and on their ability to rapidly change directions, or maneuverability. Given that the biomechanical trade-off between speed and maneuverability limits the simultaneous maximization of both performance traits, animals should not select their fastest possible speeds when running away from a pursuing predator but rather a speed that maximizes the probability of successful escape. We explored how variation in the relationship between speed and maneuverability-or the shape of the trade-off-affects the optimal choice of speed for escaping predators. We used tablet-based games that simulated interactions between predators and prey (human subjects acting as predators attempting to capture "prey" moving across a screen). By defining a specific relationship between speed and maneuverability, we could test the survival of each of the possible behavioral choices available to this phenotype, i.e., the best combination of speed and maneuverability for prey fitness, based on their ability to escape. We found that the shape of the trade-off function affected the prey's optimal speed for success in escaping, the prey's maximum performance in escaping, and the breadth of speeds over which the prey's performance was high. The optimal speed for escape varied only when the trade-off between speed and maneuverability was non-linear. Phenotypes possessing trade-off functions for which maneuverability was only compromised at high speeds exhibited lower optimal speeds. Phenotypes that exhibited greater increases in maneuverability for any decrease in speed were more likely to have broader ranges of performance, meaning that individuals could attain their maximum performance across a broader range of speeds. We also found that there was a differential response of the subject's learning to these different components of locomotion. With increased experience through repeated trials

Policies of the traffic control. Good practices of european towns; Politiques d'apaisement du trafic. Bonnes pratiques de villes europeennes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vallar, J.P.; Debien, V.

2003-07-01

This study aims to identify and present the actions of different european local governments in the domain of the development of ''zones 30'' policies (speed limited to 30 km/h). The evaluation of the policies on the road safety, the life quality, the users behavior, the energy consumption reduction, the pollutant emissions, the noise pollution, are detailed. For each case, the context in which the policy occurs is presented. The results are then examined in four main themes: elaboration and planning of the policies, actions realized, communication and public information, evaluation of initiatives and evolution perspectives. (A.L.B.)

Extending the process limits of laser polymer welding with high-brilliance beam sources (recent status and prospects of POLYBRIGHT)

Science.gov (United States)

Olowinsky, A.; Boglea, A.

2011-03-01

Plastics play an important role in almost every facet of our lives and constitute a wide variety of products, from everyday products such as food and beverage packaging, over furniture and building materials to high tech products in the automotive, electronics, aerospace, white goods, medical and other sectors [1]. The objective of PolyBright, the European Research project on laser polymer welding, is to provide high speed and flexible laser manufacturing technology and expand the limits of current plastic part assembly. New laser polymer joining processes for optimized thermal management in combination with adapted wavelengths will provide higher quality, high processing speed up to 1 m/s and robust manufacturing processes at lower costs. Key innovations of the PolyBright project are fibre lasers with high powers up to 500 W, high speed scanning and flexible beam manipulation systems for simultaneous welding and high-resolution welding, such as dynamic masks and multi kHz scanning heads. With this initial step, PolyBright will break new paths in processing of advanced plastic products overcoming the quality and speed limitations of conventional plastic part assembly. Completely new concepts for high speed processing, flexibility and quality need to be established in combination with high brilliance lasers and related equipment. PolyBright will thus open new markets for laser systems with a short term potential of over several 100 laser installations per year and a future much larger market share in the still growing plastic market. PolyBright will hence establish a comprehensive and sustainable development activity on new high brilliance lasers that will strengthen the laser system industry.

Air/sea DMS gas transfer in the North Atlantic: evidence for limited interfacial gas exchange at high wind speed

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, T. G.; De Bruyn, W.; Miller, S. D.; Ward, B.; Christensen, K.; Saltzman, E. S.

2013-05-01

Shipboard measurements of eddy covariance DMS air/sea fluxes and seawater concentration were carried out in the North Atlantic bloom region in June/July 2011. Gas transfer coefficients (k660) show a linear dependence on mean horizontal wind speed at wind speeds up to 11 m s-1. At higher wind speeds the relationship between k660 and wind speed weakens. At high winds, measured DMS fluxes were lower than predicted based on the linear relationship between wind speed and interfacial stress extrapolated from low to intermediate wind speeds. In contrast, the transfer coefficient for sensible heat did not exhibit this effect. The apparent suppression of air/sea gas flux at higher wind speeds appears to be related to sea state, as determined from shipboard wave measurements. These observations are consistent with the idea that long waves suppress near surface water side turbulence, and decrease interfacial gas transfer. This effect may be more easily observed for DMS than for less soluble gases, such as CO2, because the air/sea exchange of DMS is controlled by interfacial rather than bubble-mediated gas transfer under high wind speed conditions.

Some Empirical Aspects regarding the Relationship between Inflation and Economic Growth in Romania – the Speed Limit Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrei BIRMAN

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This study briefly presents theoretical aspects related to the relationship between inflation and economic growth and provides an empirical study for the Romanian economy, for the period 2000 – 2011. The econometric methodology used is that of vector auto-regressions.The results showed that a sudden increase in the change of the output gap (i.e. a shock to the growth rate of the output gap does not determine an increase in CPI. Hence, the hypothesis of the existence of a speed limit effect in Romania is rejected. In concrete terms, this means that the monetary authorities should not fear for eventual inflationary pressures when sudden increases of demand arise, if the output gap is negative (the potential output is higher that the effective output. The National Bank of Romania may avoid, therefore, taking some monetary policy decisions meant to temper the rise in inflation (as would have been the case if a speed limit effect was present but which would have induced unnecessary volatility into the output. However, the study indicates that National Bank of Romania should communicate to the public the state of the economy in order to timely anchor the inflation expectations. This is a very important aspect, since the inflation expectations firmly react to a shock into the growth rate of the output gap, i.e. to a strong increase in the effective output.The study also showed a positive response of the growth rate of the output gap to a positive shock in inflation, with a maximum effect after three quarters. This shows that the inflation was mainly driven by demand factors in the analysed period, with the consumers increasing current consumption in order to avoid the future higher prices and with the economic agents increasing the supply such as to maximise the unitary profits. Also, this result shows a rather inelastic demand or a possible captivity of consumers in the face of producers.

Endurance in speed skating : The development of world records

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuper, GH; Sterken, E

2003-01-01

We analyse the development of world records speed skating from 1893 to 2000 for both men and women. The historical data show that it is likely that the relation between skating speed and distance of the various events is non-linear and converges to a limit value. We pay special attention to

Naturalistic speeding data: Drivers aged 75 years and older

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Chevalier

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “A longitudinal investigation of the predictors of older drivers׳ speeding behavior” (Chevalier et al., 2016 [1], wherein these speed events were used to investigate older drivers speeding behavior and the influence of cognition, vision, functional decline, and self-reported citations and crashes on speeding behavior over a year of driving. Naturalistic speeding behavior data were collected for up to 52 weeks from volunteer drivers aged 75–94 years (median 80 years, 52% male living in the suburban outskirts of Sydney. Driving data were collected using an in-vehicle monitoring device. Global Positioning System (GPS data were recorded at each second and determined driving speed through triangulation of satellite collected location data. Driving speed data were linked with mapped speed zone data based on a service-provider database. To measure speeding behavior, speed events were defined as driving 1 km/h or more, with a 3% tolerance, above a single speed limit, averaged over 30 s. The data contains a row per 124,374 speed events. This article contains information about data processing and quality control. Keywords: Older drivers, Speed, Road safety, Naturalistic, In-vehicle monitoring, Device

Russia and the European Union: The Sources and Limits of "Special Relationships"

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Roberts, Cynthia A

2007-01-01

More than 15 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and two decades after the last Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, raised hopes that Russia would liberalize and join a common European home...

European car drivers' opinions about road safety measures and in-car devices.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goldenbeld, C.

1999-01-01

In 1991, a representative survey of drivers was conducted in 15 European countries. This project was named `SARTRE' which stands for 'Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk in Europe'. The survey focused on drivers' road behaviour, attitudes and opinions concerning drinking and driving, speeding and

The future of European health policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Koivusalo, Meri Tuulikki

2005-01-01

The role of the European Union in health policies is changing. The European social model is under threat due to shifts in E.U. policies on liberalization of service provision, limited public budgets, a focus on the health sector as a productive sector in the context of broader European policies and the Lisbon strategy, and changes in the context of the new Constitutional Treaty. These changes are evident in a new reflection paper on European health strategy and its focus. E.U. health policies are at a critical juncture. The danger is that the current processes will lead European health policies and the health systems of member states more in the direction of U.S. health policies and the commercialization of health systems than toward improvement of the current situation.

HTA Implementation Roadmap in Central and Eastern European Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaló, Zoltán; Gheorghe, Adrian; Huic, Mirjana

2016-01-01

The opportunity cost of inappropriate health policy decisions is greater in Central and Eastern European (CEE) compared with Western European (WE) countries because of poorer population health and more limited healthcare resources. Application of health technology assessment (HTA) prior to health......The opportunity cost of inappropriate health policy decisions is greater in Central and Eastern European (CEE) compared with Western European (WE) countries because of poorer population health and more limited healthcare resources. Application of health technology assessment (HTA) prior......, use of local data, scope of mandatory HTA, decision criteria, and international collaboration in HTA. Although HTA implementation strategies from the region can be relevant examples for other CEE countries with similar cultural environment and economic status, HTA roadmaps are not still fully...

Liquid metal current collectors for high-speed rotating machinery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carr, S.L.

1976-01-01

Recent interest in superconducting motors and generators has created a renewed interest in homopolar machinery. Homopolar machine designs have always been limited by the need for compact, high-current, low-voltage, sliding electrical curent collectors. Conventional graphite-based solid brushes are inadequate for use in homopolar machines. Liquid metals, under certain conditions of relative sliding velocities, electrical currents, and magnetic fields are known to be capable of performing well in homopolar machines. An effort to explore the capabilities and limits of a tongue-and-groove style current collector, utilizing sodium-potassium eutectic alloy (NaK) as the working fluid in high sliding speed operation is reported here. A double current collector generator model with a 14.5-cm maximum rotor diameter, 20,000 rpm rotational capability, and electrical current carrying ability was constructed and operated successfully at a peripheral velocity of 125 m/s. The limiting factor in these experiments was a high-speed fluid-flow instability resulting in the ejection of the working fluid from the operating portions of the collectors. The effects of collector size and geometry, working fluid (NaK or water), and cover gas pressure are reported. Hydrodynamic frictional torque-speed curves are given for the two fluids and for several geometries. Electrical resistances as a function of peripheral velocity at 60 amperes are reported, and the phenomenology of the high-speed fluid-flow instabilities is discussed. The possibility of long-term high-speed operation of current collectors of the tongue-and-groove type, along with experimental and theoretical hydrodynamic friction losses at high peripheral velocities, is considered

"We have made Europe, now we have to make Europeans." Researching European Identity Among Flemish Youths

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Huyst

2008-12-01

Full Text Available After the rejection of the European Constitution in 2005, questions were raised about if and how European citizens feel connected to the European Union (EU. This article examines the image young, Flemish people have of the EU and whether they feel some sense of belonging in the EU. The research draws upon a qualitative study in which Flemish young people were asked how they felt towards the EU and how they perceived it. Using a social-constructionist perspective, the first part of the article concentrates on the concept of European identity and the theoretical divide between a civic and a cultural European political identity, as proposed by Bruter (2004. The second part of the article focuses on the results of a series of focus groups with young people (aged 17 to 19, held in spring 2007. The article argues that no strong European identity is yet present in the hearts and minds of these young people, although contexts and interactions might evoke a limited notion of European identity. This article offers an empirical account of a theoretical debate and presents a critical understanding of the dynamics at play in European identity construction.

Mitterrand and the Great European Design—From the Cold War to the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Troitiño David Ramiro

2017-10-01

Full Text Available François Mitterrand had a leading role in directing the course for the European integration process. While he orchestrated the economic integration of Europe, he remained deeply opposed to further political integration within the Communities. This article researches Mitterrand’s rationale for his clear focus on economic affairs and develops his vision for the institutional setting of the European Union (EU. The focus of the article is allocated to four different perspectives that reflect the four pillars of Mitterrand’s European policy: the common currency, the establishment of a closely integrated and small Western European based EU, the development of the Social Europe and of a free trade area between Europe and Africa. It is argued that although EU institutions have been established based on Mitterrand’s design, today’s reality deviates from the conditions on which his plan was based. For Mitterrand, the ideal EU involved a deep-rooted Western Europe with France at its core and a loose association with Central and Eastern Europe. His perception resembles the current discussions of multi-speed Europe and the determination of France and Germany to proceed to the next stage of the integration process. Importantly, Mitterrand’s print can still be recognised in the EU’s social policy included in the treaties, yet still far from being implemented. Notably, like all of the French Presidents, Mitterrand developed a design for Africa in which an extensive free trade area between Europe and former French colonies were to be established. In this proposal, Germany was to be assigned the part of the economic engine behind the actualisation of the proposal, while France was to carry out the role of a required middle man of the transactions. To further assure France’s political predominance over the Communities, Mitterrand designed a common currency for a small number of homogenous Western-European states.

Endocrine determinants of incident sarcopenia in middle-aged and elderly European men

Science.gov (United States)

Gielen, Evelien; O'Neill, Terence W; Pye, Stephen R; Adams, Judith E; Wu, Frederick C; Laurent, Michaël R; Claessens, Frank; Ward, Kate A; Boonen, Steven; Bouillon, Roger; Vanderschueren, Dirk; Verschueren, Sabine

2015-01-01

Background In men, the long-term consequences of low serum levels of sex steroids, vitamin D metabolites, and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) on the evolution of muscle mass, muscle strength, or physical performance are unclear. Moreover, there are no data about the relationship between these hormones and incident sarcopenia defined as low muscle mass and function. The aim of this study was to determine whether the baseline levels of sex hormones, vitamin D metabolites, and IGF-1 predict changes in muscle mass, muscle strength, physical performance, and incident sarcopenia. Methods In 518 men aged 40–79 years, recruited for participation in the European Male Ageing Study, total, free, and bioavailable testosterone (T), oestradiol (E), sex hormone-binding globulin, IGF-1, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D), and parathyroid hormone were assessed at baseline. Appendicular lean mass (aLM), gait speed, and grip strength were measured at baseline and after a mean follow-up of 4.3 years. Sarcopenia was defined by the definition of Baumgartner (relative aLM ≤7.26 kg/m2), the International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS), and the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP). Results aLM significantly decreased from age 50 years, while gait speed and grip strength significantly decreased from age 70 years. The incidence of sarcopenia by the definitions of Baumgartner, IWGS, and EWGSOP was 8.1%, 3.0%, and 1.6%, respectively. After adjustment for age, centre, body mass index, smoking, and number of comorbidities at baseline, baseline levels of T and vitamin D metabolites were not associated with change in aLM, gait speed, and/or grip strength, while a high baseline level of total E2 was associated with a greater decrease in aLM. In men aged ≥70 years, low IGF-1 was associated with a greater decrease in gait speed. Baseline endocrine variables were not independently associated with an increased risk of incident

Regional climate model simulations indicate limited climatic impacts by operational and planned European wind farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Vautard, Robert; Thais, Françoise; Tobin, Isabelle; Bréon, François-Marie; Devezeaux de Lavergne, Jean-Guy; Colette, Augustin; Yiou, Pascal; Ruti, Paolo Michele

2014-01-01

The rapid development of wind energy has raised concerns about environmental impacts. Temperature changes are found in the vicinity of wind farms and previous simulations have suggested that large-scale wind farms could alter regional climate. However, assessments of the effects of realistic wind power development scenarios at the scale of a continent are missing. Here we simulate the impacts of current and near-future wind energy production according to European Union energy and climate policies. We use a regional climate model describing the interactions between turbines and the atmosphere, and find limited impacts. A statistically significant signal is only found in winter, with changes within ±0.3 °C and within 0-5% for precipitation. It results from the combination of local wind farm effects and changes due to a weak, but robust, anticyclonic-induced circulation over Europe. However, the impacts remain much weaker than the natural climate interannual variability and changes expected from greenhouse gas emissions.

INTERMEDIATE RESULTS AND LIMITS OF HARMONIZATION OF DIRECT TAXES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karina Ponomareva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available УДК 347.9The article is devoted to analysis of tax harmonization in the area of direct taxation in the European Union. Questions of positive and negative integration, common market and tax harmonization are analyzed.The author mentions the following benchmarks of the European tax integration: these are tax harmonization in the area of direct taxation, prohibition of discrimination and of unfair competition, leading role of fundamental freedoms in field of European integration.The direct effect of EU law is brought into light. The international treaty is a special source of law of Member States and it used in cases which can't be regulated by national legislation or by acts of integration law.Directives and regulations as sources of EU secondary law are described in the article. Their special features are also brought into light.International EU agreements and acts of cooperation in the area of taxation are also brought into light. The special role of soft law is also mentioned in the article.The special role of the European Court of Justice in forming of EU tax law is emphasized.The conclusion of the article is in the statement of importance of taxation in the forming of internal market in integration community.The expected results are important both from theoretical and practical points of view and include:working out the legal framework of direct taxation and finding out actual problems of integration tax law mentioning modern trends of cross-border taxation;recommendations of improving of harmonization mechanisms in the EAEU and improving of the Russian Tax Code.

Sustainable Bridges – A European Integrated Research Project – Background Overview and Results

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Täljsten, Björn; Elfgren, Lennart

2008-01-01

of energy and release of greenhouse gases. To help our society to be more sustainable, it is important to retain and use what we already have where possible, rather than investing in new structures. Instead of tearing down old, often beautiful, railway bridges and replacing them with new ones, we need...... to preserve and upgrade them by using better assessment, monitoring and strengthening methods. This was also the aim of the European Integrated Research Project “Sustainable Bridges – Assessment for Future Traffic Demands and Longer Lives” when it was accepted for funding by the European Commission in 2003....... The project established the following three specific goals: 1. increase the transport capacity of existing railway bridges by allowing higher axle loads (up to 33 tons) for freight traffic at moderate speeds or by allowing higher speeds (up to 350 km/hour) for passenger traffic with low axle loads 2. extend...

Limited prevalence of gaffkaemia (Aerococcus viridans var. homari) isolated from wild-caught European lobsters Homarus gammarus in England and Wales.

Science.gov (United States)

Stebbing, P D; Pond, M J; Peeler, E; Small, H J; Greenwood, S J; Verner-Jeffreys, D

2012-08-27

Gaffkaemia, caused by Aerococcus viridans var. homari, causes fatal infections in Homarus spp. (clawed lobsters). Despite its high economic significance to the lobster fisheries in the USA and northern Europe, data on its prevalence in captured and wild populations, particularly in Europe, is scarce. Following an outbreak of gaffkaemia in a European lobster holding facility in South Wales (UK), a base-line survey was conducted for gaffkaemia in wild populations of European lobster Homarus gammarus around the coast of England and Wales. In addition, isolates recovered from the original outbreak and the survey were typed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and compared with previously characterised isolates from the USA, UK and Canada. Locally caught H. gammarus were sampled at 30 sites from around the coast of England and Wales between March 2006 and October 2008. Results confirmed that the prevalence of gaffkaemia in populations of H. gammarus was low, with only 9 positive isolates recovered from 952 samples examined. PFGE analysis showed that the isolates from the outbreak investigation shared the same pulsotype as A. viridans var. homari isolates from the USA, Norway and Canada, as well as an isolate (NCIMB 1119) reportedly recovered from an outbreak of European lobsters in England in the 1960s. This confirms earlier studies that suggest virulent strains of A. viridans var. homari show very limited geographical or temporal genetic variation and were introduced into the UK with American lobsters H. americanus.

Survey of variable speed operation of wind turbines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carlson, Ola; Hylander, J.; Thorborg, K. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Electric Power Engineering

1996-12-01

During the last five years the production and operation of variable-speed wind turbines have advanced from a few experimental machines to a serial production of at least 10 MW of installed capacity of variable speed machines per week. The rated power of serial wind turbines is today around 600 kW and for the prototypes up to 3000 kW. Variable speed operation of wind turbines can be obtained with several different types of electrical generating systems, such as synchronous generators with diode rectifiers and thyristor inverters or induction generators with IGBT-converters, for the wide speed range. For the narrow speed range the wound motor induction generator with a rotor cascade or a controlled rotor resistance is preferable. The development of permanent magnetic material and the reduction of costs of the power electronic components have opened a possibility of designing cost-effective wind turbines with a directly driven generator. Pitch control together with variable speed will make it possible to limit the power variation within a few percent, 2 to 5 %, of the rated power. 7 refs, 4 figs, 2 tabs

Speed Limits for Nonvesicular Intracellular Sterol Transport.

Science.gov (United States)

Dittman, Jeremy S; Menon, Anant K

2017-02-01

Sterol transport between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and plasma membrane (PM) occurs by nonvesicular mechanisms requiring sterol transport proteins (STPs). Here we examine the idea that transport is enhanced at membrane contact sites where the ER is closely apposed to the PM. We conclude that sterol desorption from the membrane, rather than STP-mediated diffusion, is rate limiting in the cellular context, so there is no apparent kinetic benefit to having STP-mediated sterol transfer occur at contact sites. Contact sites may instead compartmentalize lipid synthesis or transport machinery, providing opportunities for regulation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neutron bomb and European defense

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sweet, W.

1980-01-01

France's development of the controversial neutron bomb is in line with the US goal of flexible response to a Soviet threat in Europe. US neutron bomb production is on a standby basis pending agreement among the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members for deployment. Controversy over the bomb centers on its anti-personnel nature, which many see as immoral in comparison with weapons that primarily damage property. Opponents also see it as lowering the nuclear threshold and increasing the chance of nuclear war. Supporters view the bomb as a tactical weapon to be used on a limited scale as a last resort. If Germany's Chancellor Schmidt fails to negotiate a limit to European nuclear arms deployment with the Soviet Union, neutron-bomb production in the US and France will most likely proceed. The prospects for including European nuclear weapons in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) III are jeopardized by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the failure of an early SALT II ratification. 17 references

Proposal to increase the amount of an existing contract for the provision of a high-speed data circuit to the USA

CERN Document Server

2003-01-01

This document concerns the proposal to increase the authorized amount of an existing contract for the provision of a high-speed data circuit for Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity between CERN and the STARLIGHT Internet Exchange in Chicago, USA. The extension will be negotiated by CERN on behalf of its partners, CNRS/IN2P3 (FR), the US Department of Energy (DoE) through the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the Canadian high-energy physics community through the University of Victoria (Canada), the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva and the European Union funded DataTAG project. The Finance Committee is invited to approve the increase of the authorized amount of the existing contract with T-SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL (DE) for the provision of a high-speed data circuit for an additional amount of 1 731 106 euros (2 596 660 Swiss francs), bringing the total authorized limit to 5 821 000 Swiss francs, not subject to revision. The amount in Swiss francs has...

Gender and the Intensification of Work: Evidence from the European Working Conditions Surveys

OpenAIRE

Brendan Burchell; Colette Fagan

2004-01-01

This paper uses the European Working Conditions Surveys to examine the intensity of work for male and female employees. The first section gives an overview of the usefulness of the survey for examining European Union (EU) working conditions and shows how women's intensity of work has been increasing faster than that of men, so that by the year 2000 there was little gender difference in the speed of work. Section two demonstrates that the intensity of work has a negative effect on health and w...

Speed

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Speed. The rate of information transferred per second is the speed of the information. Measured in bits per second. Need for speed on the net: You-Tube phenomenon; IPTV; 3D Video telephony. Online gaming; HDTV.

Air-sea dimethylsulfide (DMS) gas transfer in the North Atlantic: evidence for limited interfacial gas exchange at high wind speed

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, T. G.; De Bruyn, W.; Miller, S. D.; Ward, B.; Christensen, K.; Saltzman, E. S.

2013-11-01

Shipboard measurements of eddy covariance dimethylsulfide (DMS) air-sea fluxes and seawater concentration were carried out in the North Atlantic bloom region in June/July 2011. Gas transfer coefficients (k660) show a linear dependence on mean horizontal wind speed at wind speeds up to 11 m s-1. At higher wind speeds the relationship between k660 and wind speed weakens. At high winds, measured DMS fluxes were lower than predicted based on the linear relationship between wind speed and interfacial stress extrapolated from low to intermediate wind speeds. In contrast, the transfer coefficient for sensible heat did not exhibit this effect. The apparent suppression of air-sea gas flux at higher wind speeds appears to be related to sea state, as determined from shipboard wave measurements. These observations are consistent with the idea that long waves suppress near-surface water-side turbulence, and decrease interfacial gas transfer. This effect may be more easily observed for DMS than for less soluble gases, such as CO2, because the air-sea exchange of DMS is controlled by interfacial rather than bubble-mediated gas transfer under high wind speed conditions.

Speed control at low wind speeds for a variable speed fixed pitch wind turbine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosmin, N.; Watson, S.J.; Tompson, M. [Loughborough Univ., Loughborough, Leicestershire (United Kingdom)

2010-03-09

The maximum power regulation below rated wind speed is regulated by changing the rotor/generator speed at large frequency range in a fixed pitch, variable speed, stall-regulated wind turbine. In order to capture the power at a maximum value the power coefficient is kept at maximum peak point by maintaining the tip speed ratio at its optimum value. The wind industry is moving from stall regulated fixed speed wind turbines to newer improved innovative versions with better reliability. While a stall regulated fixed pitch wind turbine is among the most cost-effective wind turbine on the market, its problems include noise, severe vibrations, high thrust loads and low power efficiency. Therefore, in order to improve such drawbacks, the rotation of the generator speed is made flexible where the rotation can be controlled in variable speed. This paper discussed the development of a simulation model which represented the behaviour of a stall regulated variable speed wind turbine at low wind speed control region by using the closed loop scalar control with adjustable speed drive. The paper provided a description of each sub-model in the wind turbine system and described the scalar control of the induction machine. It was concluded that by using a constant voltage/frequency ratio of the generator's stator side control, the generator speed could be regulated and the generator torque could be controlled to ensure the power coefficient could be maintained close to its maximum value. 38 refs., 1 tab., 10 figs.

Analysis of a quantum nondemolition speed-meter interferometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purdue, Patricia

2002-01-01

In the quest to develop viable designs for third-generation optical interferometric gravitational-wave detectors (e.g. LIGO-III and EURO), one strategy is to monitor the relative momentum or speed of the test-mass mirrors rather than monitoring their relative position. This paper describes and analyzes the most straightforward design for a speed meter interferometer that accomplishes this--a design (due to Braginsky, Gorodetsky, Khalili and Thorne) that is analogous to a microwave-cavity speed meter conceived by Braginsky and Khalili. A mathematical mapping between the microwave speed meter and the optical interferometric speed meter is developed and is used to show [in accord with the speed being a quantum nondemolition observable] that in principle the interferometric speed meter can beat the gravitational-wave standard quantum limit (SQL) by an arbitrarily large amount, over an arbitrarily wide range of frequencies, and can do so without the use of squeezed vacuum or any auxiliary filter cavities at the interferometer's input or output. However, in practice, to reach or beat the SQL, this specific speed meter requires exorbitantly high input light power. The physical reason for this is explored, along with other issues such as constraints on performance due to optical dissipation. This analysis forms a foundation for ongoing attempts to develop a more practical variant of an interferometric speed meter and to combine the speed meter concept with other ideas to yield a promising LIGO-III/EURO interferometer design that entails low laser power

A Review of Vehicles Speed on School Safety Zone Areas in Pekanbaru City

Science.gov (United States)

Dwi Putri, Lusi; Soehardi, Fitridawati; Saleh, Alfian

2017-12-01

School Safety Zone is a location or region on particular roads that are time-based speed zone to set the speed of the vehicle in the school environment. The maximum speed limit permits entering a School Safety Zone, especially in Pekanbaru City is 25 km / h and an outline of the speed limit permit vehicles that pass through the School Safety Zone in Indonesia is generally 20-30 km / h. However, the vehicles speeds that pass School Safety Zone are higher than permit speeds.To ensure the level of vehicle offense across the territory of the School Safety Zone so it is necessary a primary data which is taken randomly based on field survey for 3 days at schools that has that facility ie SDN 3 Jalan Kesehatan Pekanbaru City, SDN 68 Jalan Balam Ujung Kota Pekanbaru and SDN 143 Jalan Taskurun Kota Pekanbaru. Furthermore, the data were taken in good condition that is at 6:30 to 7:30 am and at 12:00 to 13:00 pm. In addition, the data obtained is mileage and travel time of the vehicle. Both of these data can generate good speed value that passes through the area of School Safety Zone. Based on the research findings, the vehicle speed passing through the area of School Safety Zone is incompatible with speed permit at 35 km / h with a maximum average percentage of the rate of offense in the area of the school zone is 91.7%. This indicates that the vehicle passes School Safety Zone not following the rules of the maximum limit area and can be potentially harmful to elementary school students.

Speed, speed variation and crash relationships for urban arterials.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xuesong; Zhou, Qingya; Quddus, Mohammed; Fan, Tianxiang; Fang, Shou'en

2018-04-01

Speed and speed variation are closely associated with traffic safety. There is, however, a dearth of research on this subject for the case of urban arterials in general, and in the context of developing nations. In downtown Shanghai, the traffic conditions in each direction are very different by time of day, and speed characteristics during peak hours are also greatly different from those during off-peak hours. Considering that traffic demand changes with time and in different directions, arterials in this study were divided into one-way segments by the direction of flow, and time of day was differentiated and controlled for. In terms of data collection, traditional fixed-based methods have been widely used in previous studies, but they fail to capture the spatio-temporal distributions of speed along a road. A new approach is introduced to estimate speed variation by integrating spatio-temporal speed fluctuation of a single vehicle with speed differences between vehicles using taxi-based high frequency GPS data. With this approach, this paper aims to comprehensively establish a relationship between mean speed, speed variation and traffic crashes for the purpose of formulating effective speed management measures, specifically using an urban dataset. From a total of 234 one-way road segments from eight arterials in Shanghai, mean speed, speed variation, geometric design features, traffic volume, and crash data were collected. Because the safety effects of mean speed and speed variation may vary at different segment lengths, arterials with similar signal spacing density were grouped together. To account for potential correlations among these segments, a hierarchical Poisson log-normal model with random effects was developed. Results show that a 1% increase in mean speed on urban arterials was associated with a 0.7% increase in total crashes, and larger speed variation was also associated with increased crash frequency. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Automatic in-process chatter avoidance in the high-speed milling process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijk, van N.J.M.; Doppenberg, E.J.J.; Faassen, R.P.H.; Wouw, van de N.; Oosterling, J.A.J.; Nijmeijer, H.

2010-01-01

High-speed milling is often used in industry to maximize productivity of the manufacturing of high-technology components, such as aeronautical components, mold, and dies. The occurrence of chatter highly limits the efficiency and accuracy of high-speed milling operations. In this paper, two control

Validated biomechanical model for efficiency and speed of rowing.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelz, Peter F; Vergé, Angela

2014-10-17

The speed of a competitive rowing crew depends on the number of crew members, their body mass, sex and the type of rowing-sweep rowing or sculling. The time-averaged speed is proportional to the rower's body mass to the 1/36th power, to the number of crew members to the 1/9th power and to the physiological efficiency (accounted for by the rower's sex) to the 1/3rd power. The quality of the rowing shell and propulsion system is captured by one dimensionless parameter that takes the mechanical efficiency, the shape and drag coefficient of the shell and the Froude propulsion efficiency into account. We derive the biomechanical equation for the speed of rowing by two independent methods and further validate it by successfully predicting race times. We derive the theoretical upper limit of the Froude propulsion efficiency for low viscous flows. This upper limit is shown to be a function solely of the velocity ratio of blade to boat speed (i.e., it is completely independent of the blade shape), a result that may also be of interest for other repetitive propulsion systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

At the speed of light? electricity interconnections for Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nies, S.

2010-01-01

Electricity moves almost at the speed of light: 273,000 km per second. The speed of electricity makes it the ultimate 'just in time' commodity. A problem anywhere can be transmitted every where in a nanosecond. Electricity interconnection is a prominent issue in the news, sometimes even featured as a panacea for the shortcomings of the European electricity market - a panacea that will ensure security o supply, solidarity and pave the way for a promising use of renewables in the future. The present study is devoted to electricity interconnections in Europe, their current state and the projects concerning them. The study addresses the following questions: - What is the role of interconnections in the development of a sustainable grid that can emerge from the existing pieces, make optimum use of existing generation capacity, ensure energy security, and offer economies of scales? What is their role in the process of building a different energy concept, one that would be concerned with climate change and thus in favour of the use of renewables? - How are existing interconnections exploited and governed, and how can their exploitation be improved? Does the EU need more and new interconnections; and if so, where and why, and who is going to finance them? Prominent projects as such as Desertec, the debate on DC or AC lines, or the limits of synchronization, as well as the state of a potential East-West electricity linkage between Former Soviet Union and EU, termed UCTE-UPS/IPS, are discussed in the volume. Part I develops definitions and basic notions necessary for the understanding of the subject. It also addresses the independent variables that influence interconnections (here the dependent variable), and recounts the historical legacies and their enduring impact on today's grid. Part II is devoted to the EU legal framework and to the complex landscape of governance and its current state of transition. Part III addresses the management of existing interconnections and

Apparatus for decelerating the dropping speed of a control rod

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirakawa, Toshihisa.

1975-01-01

Object: To reduce the dropping speed (i.e. withdrawal) of a control rod of the upward insertion type in a BWR type reactor without reducing the speed of insertion. Structure: A control rod is provided with a flaring lower end so as to constitute a speed limiter which is penerated by vertically extending and upwardly open flow ducts that each have a narrow opening and flare upwardly. Thus, at the time of insertion of the control rod, the resistance offered thereto by the surrounding fluid is reduced to provide increased insertion speed. On the other hand, at the time of withdrawal the resistance offered by the fluid is increased to reduce the dropping speed of the control rod. (Ikeda, J.)

Transfer Pricing in the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghe MATEI

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The transfer pricing mechanism is a tool commonly used to transfer the tax base from countries with high taxation in countries with low taxation. In the European Union, this financial operations generate significant tax revenue losses. In an attempt to limit the handling of corporate tax systems, many public authorities have introduced regulations on transfer pricing, but the effectiveness of these rules has proved limited, and they contributed to the increasing complexity of tax laws and to the appearance of additional costs for companies. A solution to the solving of the transfer pricing problem in the European Union is represented by the introduction of the common consolidated corporate tax base.

European Power Electronic conference in Aalborg, Denmark - 1000 participants discussing the future energy technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaabjerg, Frede; Munk-Nielsen, Stig

2007-01-01

The European Power Electronics and Adjustable Speed Drives conference with technical sponsorship of IEEE Industrial Electronic Society has been held in Aalborg, Denmark, during the first days of September 2007 with an overwhelming success and participation. It was hosted by Aalborg University's I...

Single-Photon Tracking for High-Speed Vision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Istvan Gyongy

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Quanta Imager Sensors provide photon detections at high frame rates, with negligible read-out noise, making them ideal for high-speed optical tracking. At the basic level of bit-planes or binary maps of photon detections, objects may present limited detail. However, through motion estimation and spatial reassignment of photon detections, the objects can be reconstructed with minimal motion artefacts. We here present the first demonstration of high-speed two-dimensional (2D tracking and reconstruction of rigid, planar objects with a Quanta Image Sensor, including a demonstration of depth-resolved tracking.

State control of translational movement in high-speed Maglev transportation systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schnieder, E

1981-01-01

The combination of state control with cascade control satisfies all demands made on train movements in a high-speed Maglev transportation system. The inner control loop compensates nonlinearities and disturbances and limits the acceleration. The dynamics of the control loop are determined by the riding characteristics. The superposed speed state control provides for running without overshoot within permissible limits. In order to reach a target point in the shortest possible time, the control signal for initiating the retardation is issued as late as possible and the speed is output as a function of position. The subsequent structure changeover to a position state control causes the train to come to a smooth halt at its destination in an almost optimal time.

SPEED POWER AFTER DIFFERENT TRAINING METHODS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milan Gužvica

2011-09-01

Full Text Available As the strength is a very important capability, with which are more or less, related and all other motor skills relevant to the successful conduct of sports fight in karate, we were interested in what extent the ability of the speed of force development changes under the influence of different types of loads. For this purpose we used two different methods: the development of speed power with weights and plyometric method. Research is organized on a sample of 20 subjects (first year students of the College of Internal Affairs in Banja Luka, divided into two groups, of which only 12 students responded to the demands of research. The program was implemented during the period of six weeks for two hours per week. Before beginning and three days after the training process, we also tested levels of speed power using eight specific motor tests. After completion of the initial and final measurements, data were analyzed by appropriate statistical procedures, where all respondents, across the various tests, achieved better results. However, statistically significant differences were not obtained in both groups. Specifically, statistically significant differences were obtained in the group T across the various tests, while in group P, statistically significant differences were not obtained in three tests conducted. Given results allowed us that, with caution, we conclude that the method of working with weights, in a limited period of time, when it comes to beginners, is still more efficient than the plyometric method of work. Therefore recommendation for increasing the speed power, in a limited period of time, is to use a method of working with weights.

Energy Efficient Control of High Speed IPMSM Drives - A Generalized PSO Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GECIC, M.

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a generalized particle swarm optimization (GPSO algorithm was applied to the problems of optimal control of high speed low cost interior permanent magnet motor (IPMSM drives. In order to minimize the total controllable electrical losses and to increase the efficiency, the optimum current vector references are calculated offline based on GPSO for the wide speed range and for different load conditions. The voltage and current limits of the drive system and the variation of stator inductances are all included in the optimization method. The stored optimal current vector references are used during the real time control and the proposed algorithm is compared with the conventional high speed control algorithm, which is mostly voltage limit based. The computer simulations and experimental results on 1 kW low cost high speed IPMSM drive are discussed in details.

Personality, risk aversion and speeding: an empirical investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Greaves, Stephen P; Ellison, Adrian B

2011-09-01

Evidence suggests that in addition to demographics, there are strong relationships between facets of drivers' personality (e.g., aggression, thrill-seeking, altruism), aversion to risk and driving behaviour, particularly speeding. However, evidence is muted by the reliance on self-reported driving behaviour, which is thought to not accurately reflect actual driving behaviour. This paper reports on a study of 133 drivers in Sydney, who were asked to complete a short survey to develop their personality and risk aversion profiles and self-reported speeding behaviour. A Global Positioning System (GPS) device was then installed in their vehicle for several weeks as part of a major investigation of driving behaviour from which empirical measures of speeding are derived. Among the most pertinent findings are: (1) the tendency for drivers to both under and over-estimate their propensity to speed, (2) significant heterogeneity in speeding with a small, but notable number of drivers exceeding the limit for more than 20 percent of the distance driven, (3) weak relationships between the personality/risk-aversion measures and actual speeding, and (4) the suggestion that different personality traits appear to influence behaviour in different situations both from self-reported and actual speeding behaviour. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Speed-calming measures and their Effect on driving speed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agerholm, Niels; Knudsen, Daniel; Variyeswaran, Kajan

2017-01-01

Highlights •Speed humps and chicanes are widespread speed-calming measures. •Humps and chicanes have virtually the same reducing effect on mean speed. •Chicanes reduce speed variation less than humps and might therefore be a less safe measure....

High speed all-optical networks

Science.gov (United States)

Chlamtac, Imrich

1993-01-01

An inherent problem of conventional point-to-point WAN architectures is that they cannot translate optical transmission bandwidth into comparable user available throughput due to the limiting electronic processing speed of the switching nodes. This report presents the first solution to WDM based WAN networks that overcomes this limitation. The proposed Lightnet architecture takes into account the idiosyncrasies of WDM switching/transmission leading to an efficient and pragmatic solution. The Lightnet architecture trades the ample WDM bandwidth for a reduction in the number of processing stages and a simplification of each switching stage, leading to drastically increased effective network throughputs.

Overt vs. covert speed cameras in combination with delayed vs. immediate feedback to the offender.

Science.gov (United States)

Marciano, Hadas; Setter, Pe'erly; Norman, Joel

2015-06-01

Speeding is a major problem in road safety because it increases both the probability of accidents and the severity of injuries if an accident occurs. Speed cameras are one of the most common speed enforcement tools. Most of the speed cameras around the world are overt, but there is evidence that this can cause a "kangaroo effect" in driving patterns. One suggested alternative to prevent this kangaroo effect is the use of covert cameras. Another issue relevant to the effect of enforcement countermeasures on speeding is the timing of the fine. There is general agreement on the importance of the immediacy of the punishment, however, in the context of speed limit enforcement, implementing such immediate punishment is difficult. An immediate feedback that mediates the delay between the speed violation and getting a ticket is one possible solution. This study examines combinations of concealment and the timing of the fine in operating speed cameras in order to evaluate the most effective one in terms of enforcing speed limits. Using a driving simulator, the driving performance of the following four experimental groups was tested: (1) overt cameras with delayed feedback, (2) overt cameras with immediate feedback, (3) covert cameras with delayed feedback, and (4) covert cameras with immediate feedback. Each of the 58 participants drove in the same scenario on three different days. The results showed that both median speed and speed variance were higher with overt than with covert cameras. Moreover, implementing a covert camera system along with immediate feedback was more conducive to drivers maintaining steady speeds at the permitted levels from the very beginning. Finally, both 'overt cameras' groups exhibit a kangaroo effect throughout the entire experiment. It can be concluded that an implementation strategy consisting of covert speed cameras combined with immediate feedback to the offender is potentially an optimal way to motivate drivers to maintain speeds at the

Free movement of People and Cross-Border Welfare in the European Union: Dynamic Rules, Limited Outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martinsen, Dorte Sindbjerg; Pons Rotger, Gabriel; Thierry, Jessica Maria Sampson

2018-01-01

For decades, the European legislators and the Court of Justice have extended the rights to free movement and cross-border welfare in the European Union (EU). Strong assumptions on the impact of these rules have been posed, by some held to lead to welfare migration and thus to be a fundamental cha...

TECHNICAL APPROACH TO THE EFFICIENCY DETERMINATION OF HIGH-SPEED TRAINS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Momot

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The aim of this article is to develop an approach and formulate arrangements concerning the definition of the economic appropriateness of high-speed movement implementation in Ukraine. Methodology. The economic feasibility for appropriateness of high-speed movement organization in Ukraine is an investment project, which involves step-by-step money investment into the construction. It will let get an annual profits from the passenger carriage. To solve such problems we use net present value, which UZ or newly created companies can get during the project realization and after its completion. Findings. Obtained studies can state the fact that the technical approach for full effectiveness definition of a construction and high-speed passenger trains service taking into account the cost of infrastructure, rolling stock, the impact of environmental factors, etc. was determined. Originality. We propose a scientific approach to determine the economic effectiveness of the construction and high-speed main lines service. It includes improved principles of defining the passenger traffic, the cost of high-speed rails construction, the number of rolling stock; optimizes income and expenditure calculations in the context of competitive advantages and the external factors impact on the company. A technical approach for the calculation of future traffic volumes along the high-speed line was improved. It differs essentially from the European one proposed by the French firm «SYSTRA», as it allows taking into account additional transit traffic through Ukraine. It helps to distribute the passengers on separate sections proportionally to the number of cities population, which are combined by high-speed main line, subject to the average population mobility, travel time and the coefficient that takes into account the frequency of additional passenger trips on a given section, depending on the purpose (business trip, transfer to a plane, recreation, etc

The role of visual processing speed in reading speed development.

Science.gov (United States)

Lobier, Muriel; Dubois, Matthieu; Valdois, Sylviane

2013-01-01

A steady increase in reading speed is the hallmark of normal reading acquisition. However, little is known of the influence of visual attention capacity on children's reading speed. The number of distinct visual elements that can be simultaneously processed at a glance (dubbed the visual attention span), predicts single-word reading speed in both normal reading and dyslexic children. However, the exact processes that account for the relationship between the visual attention span and reading speed remain to be specified. We used the Theory of Visual Attention to estimate visual processing speed and visual short-term memory capacity from a multiple letter report task in eight and nine year old children. The visual attention span and text reading speed were also assessed. Results showed that visual processing speed and visual short term memory capacity predicted the visual attention span. Furthermore, visual processing speed predicted reading speed, but visual short term memory capacity did not. Finally, the visual attention span mediated the effect of visual processing speed on reading speed. These results suggest that visual attention capacity could constrain reading speed in elementary school children.

The role of visual processing speed in reading speed development.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muriel Lobier

Full Text Available A steady increase in reading speed is the hallmark of normal reading acquisition. However, little is known of the influence of visual attention capacity on children's reading speed. The number of distinct visual elements that can be simultaneously processed at a glance (dubbed the visual attention span, predicts single-word reading speed in both normal reading and dyslexic children. However, the exact processes that account for the relationship between the visual attention span and reading speed remain to be specified. We used the Theory of Visual Attention to estimate visual processing speed and visual short-term memory capacity from a multiple letter report task in eight and nine year old children. The visual attention span and text reading speed were also assessed. Results showed that visual processing speed and visual short term memory capacity predicted the visual attention span. Furthermore, visual processing speed predicted reading speed, but visual short term memory capacity did not. Finally, the visual attention span mediated the effect of visual processing speed on reading speed. These results suggest that visual attention capacity could constrain reading speed in elementary school children.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PERMISSIBLE TRAIN SPEED ON THE CURVED TURNOUTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. M. Patlasov

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Turnouts play a key role in the railway transportation process. One-sided and many-sided curved turnouts were railed over the last 20 years in difficult conditions (curved sections, yard necks. They have a number of geometric features, unlike the conventional one-sided turnouts. Today the normative documents prohibit laying such turnouts in curved track sections and only partially regulate the assessment procedure of their real condition. The question of establishment the permissible train speed within the curved turnouts is still open. In this regard, authors propose to set the train speed according to the driving comfort criterion using the results of field measurements of ordinates from the baseline for the particular curved turnout. Methodology. The article considers the criteria using which one can set the permissible speed on the turnouts. It defines the complexity of their application, advantages and disadvantages. Findings. The work analyzes the speed distribution along the length of the real curved turnout for the forward and lateral directions. It establishes the change rate values of unbalanced accelerations for the existing norms of the curved track sections maintenance according to the difference in the adjacent bend versine at speeds up to 160 km/h. Originality. A method for establishing the trains’ speed limit within the curved turnouts was developed. It takes into account the actual geometric position in the plan of forward and lateral turnout directions. This approach makes it possible to establish a barrier places in plan on the turnouts limiting the train speed. Practical value. The proposed method makes it possible to objectively assess and set the trains’ permissible speed on the basis of the ordinate measurement of the forward and lateral directions of the curved turnouts from the baseline using the driving comfort criteria. The method was tested using real turnouts, which are located within the Pridneprovsk

Speed Controlled Belt Conveyors: Drives and Mechanical Considerations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BEBIC, M. Z.

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The paper presents variable speed belt conveyor system where the reference speed is changed in order to achieve improved energy efficiency of operation. The recorded measurements show that belt tension varies within the same limits as under constant speed operation. These results introduce a new insight of the present state of the art in variable speed belt conveyor drives. The system is realized with remote control from the control center on an open pit mine. The structure of the multi-motor drive system of a single conveyor, as well as of the network-based control system distributed among belt conveyor stations and the control center are shown. Speed control of a belt conveyor system is organized to provide better utilization of the available material cross section on the belt and reduced electrical energy consumption of the drive. The experimental results obtained on the system prove that, under existing constraints, the applied algorithm has not introduced additional stress to the belt or mechanical assemblies during acceleration and deceleration processes, while providing higher energy efficiency of operation.

Neutron bomb and European defense

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sweet, W.

1980-08-15

France's development of the controversial neutron bomb is in line with the US goal of flexible response to a Soviet threat in Europe. US neutron bomb production is on a standby basis pending agreement among the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members for deployment. Controversy over the bomb centers on its anti-personnel nature, which many see as immoral in comparison with weapons that primarily damage property. Opponents also see it as lowering the nuclear threshold and increasing the chance of nuclear war. Supporters view the bomb as a tactical weapon to be used on a limited scale as a last resort. If Germany's Chancellor Schmidt fails to negotiate a limit to European nuclear arms deployment with the Soviet Union, neutron-bomb production in the US and France will most likely proceed. The prospects for including European nuclear weapons in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) III are jeopardized by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the failure of an early SALT II ratification. 17 references. (DCK)

Comprehensive European dietary exposure model (CEDEM) for food additives.

Science.gov (United States)

Tennant, David R

2016-05-01

European methods for assessing dietary exposures to nutrients, additives and other substances in food are limited by the availability of detailed food consumption data for all member states. A proposed comprehensive European dietary exposure model (CEDEM) applies summary data published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in a deterministic model based on an algorithm from the EFSA intake method for food additives. The proposed approach can predict estimates of food additive exposure provided in previous EFSA scientific opinions that were based on the full European food consumption database.

European Marine Observation and Data Network EMODnet Physics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Novellino

2014-10-01

period, temperature of the water column, wind speed and direction, salinity of the water column, horizontal velocity of the water column, light attenuation, and sea level provided mainly by fixed stations and ferry-box platforms, discovering related data sets (both near real time and historical data sets, viewing and downloading of the data from about 2100 platforms (www.emodnetphysics.eu/map and thus contributing towards the definition of an operational European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet.

European extra-tropical storm damage risk from a multi-model ensemble of dynamically-downscaled global climate models

Science.gov (United States)

Haylock, M. R.

2011-10-01

Uncertainty in the return levels of insured loss from European wind storms was quantified using storms derived from twenty-two 25 km regional climate model runs driven by either the ERA40 reanalyses or one of four coupled atmosphere-ocean global climate models. Storms were identified using a model-dependent storm severity index based on daily maximum 10 m wind speed. The wind speed from each model was calibrated to a set of 7 km historical storm wind fields using the 70 storms with the highest severity index in the period 1961-2000, employing a two stage calibration methodology. First, the 25 km daily maximum wind speed was downscaled to the 7 km historical model grid using the 7 km surface roughness length and orography, also adopting an empirical gust parameterisation. Secondly, downscaled wind gusts were statistically scaled to the historical storms to match the geographically-dependent cumulative distribution function of wind gust speed. The calibrated wind fields were run through an operational catastrophe reinsurance risk model to determine the return level of loss to a European population density-derived property portfolio. The risk model produced a 50-yr return level of loss of between 0.025% and 0.056% of the total insured value of the portfolio.

European extra-tropical storm damage risk from a multi-model ensemble of dynamically-downscaled global climate models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. Haylock

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Uncertainty in the return levels of insured loss from European wind storms was quantified using storms derived from twenty-two 25 km regional climate model runs driven by either the ERA40 reanalyses or one of four coupled atmosphere-ocean global climate models. Storms were identified using a model-dependent storm severity index based on daily maximum 10 m wind speed. The wind speed from each model was calibrated to a set of 7 km historical storm wind fields using the 70 storms with the highest severity index in the period 1961–2000, employing a two stage calibration methodology. First, the 25 km daily maximum wind speed was downscaled to the 7 km historical model grid using the 7 km surface roughness length and orography, also adopting an empirical gust parameterisation. Secondly, downscaled wind gusts were statistically scaled to the historical storms to match the geographically-dependent cumulative distribution function of wind gust speed.

The calibrated wind fields were run through an operational catastrophe reinsurance risk model to determine the return level of loss to a European population density-derived property portfolio. The risk model produced a 50-yr return level of loss of between 0.025% and 0.056% of the total insured value of the portfolio.

Intelligent speed adaptation: Preliminary results of on-road study in Penang, Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.M.R. Ghadiri

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The first field experiment with intelligent speed adaptation (ISA in Malaysia was held in December 2010 in the State of Penang. Eleven private cars were instrumented with an advisory system. The system used in the present study included a vocal warning message and a visual text message that is activated when the driver attempts to exceed the speed limit. When the driver decreases the speed, the warning stops; otherwise it is continuously repeated. The test drivers drove the vehicles for three months with the installed system, and the speed was continuously logged in all vehicles. The warning was however only activated in the second month of the three month period. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of an advisory ISA on driving speed, traffic safety, and drivers' attitude, behavior, and acceptance of the system. To examine these effects, both the survey and the logged speed data were analyzed and explored. The results show a significant reduction in the mean, maximum and 85th percentile speed due to the use of the system. However, there was no long-lasting effect on the speed when the system was deactivated. In the post-trial survey, drivers declared that the system helped them well in following the speed limits and that it assisted them in driving more comfortably. Furthermore, the warning method was more accepted compared to a supportive system, such as active accelerator pedal (AAP. After the trial, most drivers were willing to keep an ISA system.

Retrieval of Wind Speed Using an L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Monaldo, Frank M.; Thompson, Donald R.; Badger, Merete

2007-01-01

Retrieval of wind speed using L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is both an old and new endeavor. Although the Seasat L-band SAR in 1978 was not well calibrated, early results indicated a strong relationship between observed SAR image intensity and wind speed. The JERS-1 L-band SAR had limited...

Forming limit curves of DP600 determined in high-speed Nakajima tests and predicted by two different strain-rate-sensitive models

Science.gov (United States)

Weiß-Borkowski, Nathalie; Lian, Junhe; Camberg, Alan; Tröster, Thomas; Münstermann, Sebastian; Bleck, Wolfgang; Gese, Helmut; Richter, Helmut

2018-05-01

Determination of forming limit curves (FLC) to describe the multi-axial forming behaviour is possible via either experimental measurements or theoretical calculations. In case of theoretical determination, different models are available and some of them consider the influence of strain rate in the quasi-static and dynamic strain rate regime. Consideration of the strain rate effect is necessary as many material characteristics such as yield strength and failure strain are affected by loading speed. In addition, the start of instability and necking depends not only on the strain hardening coefficient but also on the strain rate sensitivity parameter. Therefore, the strain rate dependency of materials for both plasticity and the failure behaviour is taken into account in crash simulations for strain rates up to 1000 s-1 and FLC can be used for the description of the material's instability behaviour at multi-axial loading. In this context, due to the strain rate dependency of the material behaviour, an extrapolation of the quasi-static FLC to dynamic loading condition is not reliable. Therefore, experimental high-speed Nakajima tests or theoretical models shall be used to determine the FLC at high strain rates. In this study, two theoretical models for determination of FLC at high strain rates and results of experimental high-speed Nakajima tests for a DP600 are presented. One of the theoretical models is the numerical algorithm CRACH as part of the modular material and failure model MF GenYld+CrachFEM 4.2, which is based on an initial imperfection. Furthermore, the extended modified maximum force criterion considering the strain rate effect is also used to predict the FLC. These two models are calibrated by the quasi-static and dynamic uniaxial tensile tests and bulge tests. The predictions for the quasi-static and dynamic FLC by both models are presented and compared with the experimental results.

Pre-study on the Berlin-Budapest high-speed rail link; Hochgeschwindigkeitsverkehr: Vorstudie zur Strecke Berlin-Budapest

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fengler, W.; Stehle, J. [TU Dresden (Germany). Fakultaet Verkehrswissenschaften ' ' Friedrich List' ' ; Schach, R. [TU Dresden (Germany). Fakultaet Bauingenieurwesen; Stephan, A. [Inst. fuer Bahntechnik GmbH, Dresden/Berlin (Germany)

2008-07-01

In a pre-study, the Government of the State of Saxony commissioned a comparison between wheel/rail and maglev technology for high-speed operations on the northern section of the pan-European Corridor IV. From the holistic perspective of the business evaluation and the expected economic impact, it can be concluded that there is a case for establishing a guided high-speed link between Berlin and Budapest and that the plan should be pursued further. Teh pre-study showed that, taking a comprehensive view of investment and operational aspects, the Transrapid technology already stands comparison with wheel/rail technology. (orig.)

A New Comprehensive Model for Crustal and Upper Mantle Structure of the European Plate

Science.gov (United States)

Morelli, A.; Danecek, P.; Molinari, I.; Postpischl, L.; Schivardi, R.; Serretti, P.; Tondi, M. R.

2009-12-01

We present a new comprehensive model of crustal and upper mantle structure of the whole European Plate — from the North Atlantic ridge to Urals, and from North Africa to the North Pole — describing seismic speeds (P and S) and density. Our description of crustal structure merges information from previous studies: large-scale compilations, seismic prospection, receiver functions, inversion of surface wave dispersion measurements and Green functions from noise correlation. We use a simple description of crustal structure, with laterally-varying sediment and cristalline layers thickness and seismic parameters. Most original information refers to P-wave speed, from which we derive S speed and density from scaling relations. This a priori crustal model by itself improves the overall fit to observed Bouguer anomaly maps, as derived from GRACE satellite data, over CRUST2.0. The new crustal model is then used as a constraint in the inversion for mantle shear wave speed, based on fitting Love and Rayleigh surface wave dispersion. In the inversion for transversely isotropic mantle structure, we use group speed measurements made on European event-to-station paths, and use a global a priori model (S20RTS) to ensure fair rendition of earth structure at depth and in border areas with little coverage from our data. The new mantle model sensibly improves over global S models in the imaging of shallow asthenospheric (slow) anomalies beneath the Alpine mobile belt, and fast lithospheric signatures under the two main Mediterranean subduction systems (Aegean and Tyrrhenian). We map compressional wave speed inverting ISC travel times (reprocessed by Engdahl et al.) with a non linear inversion scheme making use of finite-difference travel time calculation. The inversion is based on an a priori model obtained by scaling the 3D mantle S-wave speed to P. The new model substantially confirms images of descending lithospheric slabs and back-arc shallow asthenospheric regions, shown in

Is There an Optimal Speed for Economical Running?

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Matthew I; Handsaker, Joseph C; Allen, Sam J; Forrester, Stephanie E; Folland, Jonathan P

2018-01-01

The influence of running speed and sex on running economy is unclear and may have been confounded by measurements of oxygen cost that do not account for known differences in substrate metabolism, across a limited range of speeds, and differences in performance standard. Therefore, this study assessed the energy cost of running over a wide range of speeds in high-level and recreational runners to investigate the effect of speed (in absolute and relative terms) and sex (men vs women of equivalent performance standard) on running economy. To determine the energy cost (kcal · kg -1  · km -1 ) of submaximal running, speed at lactate turn point (sLTP), and maximal rate of oxygen uptake, 92 healthy runners (high-level men, n = 14; high-level women, n = 10; recreational men, n = 35; recreational women, n = 33) completed a discontinuous incremental treadmill test. There were no sex-specific differences in the energy cost of running for the recreational or high-level runners when compared at absolute or relative running speeds (P > .05). The absolute and relative speed-energy cost relationships for the high-level runners demonstrated a curvilinear U shape with a nadir reflecting the most economical speed at 13 km/h or 70% sLTP. The high-level runners were more economical than the recreational runners at all absolute and relative running speeds (P running, there is no sex-specific difference, and high-level endurance runners exhibit better running economy than recreational endurance runners.

Rat muscle blood flows during high-speed locomotion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armstrong, R.B.; Laughlin, M.H.

1985-01-01

We previously studied blood flow distribution within and among rat muscles as a function of speed from walking (15 m/min) through galloping (75 m/min) on a motor-driven treadmill. The results showed that muscle blood flows continued to increase as a function of speed through 75 m/min. The purpose of the present study was to have rats run up to maximal treadmill speeds to determine if blood flows in the muscles reach a plateau as a function of running speed over the animals normal range of locomotory speeds. Muscle blood flows were measured with radiolabeled microspheres at 1 min of running at 75, 90, and 105 m/min in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The data indicate that even at these relatively high treadmill speeds there was still no clear evidence of a plateau in blood flow in most of the hindlimb muscles. Flows in most muscles continued to increase as a function of speed. These observed patterns of blood flow vs. running speed may have resulted from the rigorous selection of rats that were capable of performing the high-intensity exercise and thus only be representative of a highly specific population of animals. On the other hand, the data could be interpreted to indicate that the cardiovascular potential during exercise is considerably higher in laboratory rats than has normally been assumed and that inadequate blood flow delivery to the muscles does not serve as a major limitation to their locomotory performance

33 CFR 162.138 - Connecting waters from Lake Huron to Lake Erie; speed rules.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Connecting waters from Lake Huron to Lake Erie; speed rules. 162.138 Section 162.138 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... REGULATIONS § 162.138 Connecting waters from Lake Huron to Lake Erie; speed rules. (a) Maximum speed limit for...

Towards a European code of medical ethics. Ethical and legal issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Patuzzo, Sara; Pulice, Elisabetta

2017-01-01

The feasibility of a common European code of medical ethics is discussed, with consideration and evaluation of the difficulties such a project is going to face, from both the legal and ethical points of view. On the one hand, the analysis will underline the limits of a common European code of medical ethics as an instrument for harmonising national professional rules in the European context; on the other hand, we will highlight some of the potentials of this project, which could be increased and strengthened through a proper rulemaking process and through adequate and careful choice of content. We will also stress specific elements and devices that should be taken into consideration during the establishment of the code, from both procedural and content perspectives. Regarding methodological issues, the limits and potentialities of a common European code of medical ethics will be analysed from an ethical point of view and then from a legal perspective. The aim of this paper is to clarify the framework for the potential but controversial role of the code in the European context, showing the difficulties in enforcing and harmonising national ethical rules into a European code of medical ethics. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Longer-term effects of ADAS use on speed and headway control in drivers diagnosed with Parkinson's disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dotzauer, Mandy; Caljouw, Simone R.; De Waard, Dick; Brouwer, Wiebo H.

2015-01-01

Objective: An advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) provided information about speed limits, speed, speeding, and following distance. Information was presented to the participants by means of a head-up display. Methods: Effects of the information on speed and headway control were studied in a

Design of high-speed ECT and ERT system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Baoliang; Huang Zhiyao; Li Haiqing

2009-01-01

Process tomography technique provides a novel method to investigate the multi-phase flow distribution inside pipe or vessel. Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) and electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) are extensively studied in recent years. As the capacitance to voltage and resistance to voltage converters run faster, the speeds of other circuits in the system, such as MCU, A/D, D/A etc, have become the bottlenecks of improving the speed. This paper describes a new dual-modal, ECT and ERT, data acquisition system. The system is controlled by a digital signal processor. Both the ERT and the ECT systems use one platform to simplify the system design and maintenance. The system can work at high speed which is only limited by the capacitance to voltage converter or resistance to voltage converter. Primary test results show the speed of the new system is 1400 frames/second for 16-electrode ERT and 2200 frames/second for 12-electrode ECT.

European research priorities for intracerebral haemorrhage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steiner, Thorsten; Petersson, Jesper; Al-Shahi Salman, Rustam

2011-01-01

and disability. The European Research Network on Intracerebral Haemorrhage EURONICH is a multidisciplinary academic research collaboration that has been established to define current research priorities and to conduct large clinical studies on all aspects of ICH........ No standardised diagnostic workup for the detection of the various underlying causes of ICH currently exists, and the evidence for medical or surgical therapeutic interventions remains limited. A dedicated European research programme for ICH is needed to identify ways to reduce the burden of ICH-related death...

DEVELOPMENT AND INFLUENCE OF SPEED POWER ON RESULTS PROGRESSION OF LOW VISION JAVELIN THROWERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milan Matić

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Power is a motor skill important for low vision javelin throwers. The motor skill development (power, speed, endurance etc. linked to the fact that javelin is the lightest throwing device, we come to conclusion that the result in this discipline depends much more on the speed and flexibility than on the power. Nevertheless, development of speed power significantly influences the acquiring of good results in above mentioned discipline. While working with low vision sportsmen the attention should be focused on possible limitations in training of power that could be determined by some kind of illness or injury primarly caused the low vision. Experimental method od survey based on one sample was applied (case study. Equipment used in the experiments were adjusted to the needs, age and level of condition of examinee- Grlica Miloš (current European Record Breaker, 3rd on the World’s Championship 2012 in New Zealand, discipline of javlin throwing, category F12. The survey consisted of two-months cycle in the period from 01/04/2012 until 01/06/2012 as a part of preparation for Paralympic Games in London 2012. Measured variables include: 5kg ball throwing in front and above, standing long jump, 4kg ball throwing exercise aut. Based on the applied tests a conclusion can be made that the impact of force on acquiring better results, in this discipline, is very strong. Regardless the acquired results, in our opinion too big and too fast improvement in this area of physical preparation can be contraproductive due to the occurence of inadequate movements in joints which are esential for the discipline. Power development is definitely crucial segment in modeling of training process for javelin throwers. There are many surveys and articles about this topic but very little focusing on disabled people. Future work should examine special characteristics and differences regarding this population.

European Marine Observation and Data Network EMODnet Physics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Novellino

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Recently the European Commission undertook steps towards a European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet in order to standardize method for observing and assessing the grade of the Member States seas and improve access to high quality data. Since 2008-2009, European Commission, represented by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE, is running several service contracts for creating pilot thematic components of the ur-EMODNET: Biology, Bathymetry, Chemistry, Geology, Habitats, and Physics.The existing EMODnet-Physics portal (www.emodnet-physics.eu is based on a strong collaboration between EuroGOOS member institutes and its regional operational oceanographic systems (ROOSs, and the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs, and it is a marine observation information system. It includes systems for physical data from the whole Europe (wave height andperiod, temperature of the water column, wind speed and direction, salinity of the water column, horizontal velocity of the water column, light attenuation, and sea level provided mainly by fixed stations and ferry-box platforms, discovering related data sets (both near real time and historical data sets, viewing and downloading of the data from about 2100 platforms (www.emodnetphysics.eu/map and thus contributing towards the definition of an operational European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet.

High-speed particle tracking in nuclear emulsion by last-generation automatic microscopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armenise, N.; De Serio, M.; Ieva, M.; Muciaccia, M.T.; Pastore, A.; Simone, S.; Damet, J.; Kreslo, I.; Savvinov, N.; Waelchli, T.; Consiglio, L.; Cozzi, M.; Di Ferdinando, D.; Esposito, L.S.; Giacomelli, G.; Giorgini, M.; Mandrioli, G.; Patrizii, L.; Sioli, M.; Sirri, G.; Arrabito, L.; Laktineh, I.; Royole-Degieux, P.; Buontempo, S.; D'Ambrosio, N.; De Lellis, G.; De Rosa, G.; Di Capua, F.; Coppola, D.; Formisano, F.; Marotta, A.; Migliozzi, P.; Pistillo, C.; Scotto Lavina, L.; Sorrentino, G.; Strolin, P.; Tioukov, V.; Juget, F.; Hauger, M.; Rosa, G.; Barbuto, E.; Bozza, C.; Grella, G.; Romano, G.; Sirignano, C.

2005-01-01

The technique of nuclear emulsions for high-energy physics experiments is being revived, thanks to the remarkable progress in measurement automation achieved in the past years. The present paper describes the features and performances of the European Scanning System, a last-generation automatic microscope working at a scanning speed of 20cm 2 /h. The system has been developed in the framework of the OPERA experiment, designed to unambigously detect ν μ ->ν τ oscillations in nuclear emulsions

Effect of In-Vehicle Audio Warning System on Driver’s Speed Control Performance in Transition Zones from Rural Areas to Urban Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuedong Yan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Speeding is a major contributing factor to traffic crashes and frequently happens in areas where there is a mutation in speed limits, such as the transition zones that connect urban areas from rural areas. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of an in-vehicle audio warning system and lit speed limit sign on preventing drivers’ speeding behavior in transition zones. A high-fidelity driving simulator was used to establish a roadway network with the transition zone. A total of 41 participants were recruited for this experiment, and the driving speed performance data were collected from the simulator. The experimental results display that the implementation of the audio warning system could significantly reduce drivers’ operating speed before they entered the urban area, while the lit speed limit sign had a minimal effect on improving the drivers’ speed control performance. Without consideration of different types of speed limit signs, it is found that male drivers generally had a higher operating speed both upstream and in the transition zones and have a larger maximum deceleration for speed reduction than female drivers. Moreover, the drivers who had medium-level driving experience had the higher operating speed and were more likely to have speeding behaviors in the transition zones than those who had low-level and high-level driving experience in the transition zones.

Feasibility of shutter-speed DCE-MRI for improved prostate cancer detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xin; Priest, Ryan A; Woodward, William J; Tagge, Ian J; Siddiqui, Faisal; Huang, Wei; Rooney, William D; Beer, Tomasz M; Garzotto, Mark G; Springer, Charles S

2013-01-01

The feasibility of shutter-speed model dynamic-contrast-enhanced MRI pharmacokinetic analyses for prostate cancer detection was investigated in a prebiopsy patient cohort. Differences of results from the fast-exchange-regime-allowed (FXR-a) shutter-speed model version and the fast-exchange-limit-constrained (FXL-c) standard model are demonstrated. Although the spatial information is more limited, postdynamic-contrast-enhanced MRI biopsy specimens were also examined. The MRI results were correlated with the biopsy pathology findings. Of all the model parameters, region-of-interest-averaged K(trans) difference [ΔK(trans) ≡ K(trans)(FXR-a) - K(trans)(FXL-c)] or two-dimensional K(trans)(FXR-a) vs. k(ep)(FXR-a) values were found to provide the most useful biomarkers for malignant/benign prostate tissue discrimination (at 100% sensitivity for a population of 13, the specificity is 88%) and disease burden determination. (The best specificity for the fast-exchange-limit-constrained analysis is 63%, with the two-dimensional plot.) K(trans) and k(ep) are each measures of passive transcapillary contrast reagent transfer rate constants. Parameter value increases with shutter-speed model (relative to standard model) analysis are larger in malignant foci than in normal-appearing glandular tissue. Pathology analyses verify the shutter-speed model (FXR-a) promise for prostate cancer detection. Parametric mapping may further improve pharmacokinetic biomarker performance. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Balancing High-Speed Rotors at Low Speed

Science.gov (United States)

Giordano, J.; Zorzi, E.

1986-01-01

Flexible balancing reduces vibrations at operating speeds. Highspeed rotors in turbomachines dynamically balanced at fraction of operating rotor speed. New method takes into account rotor flexible rather than rigid.

Characterization of Lean Misfire Limits of Mixture Alternative Gaseous Fuels Used for Spark Ignition Engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miqdam Tariq Chaichan

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Increasing on gaseous fuels as clean, economical and abundant fuels encourages the search for optimum conditions of gas-fueled internal combustion engines. This paper presents the experimental results on the lean operational limits of Recardo E6 engine using gasoline, LPG, NG and hydrogen as fuels. The first appearance of almost motoring cycle was used to define the engine lean limit after the fuel flow was reduced gradually. The effects of compression ratio, engine speed and spark timing on the engine operational limits are presented and discussed in detailed. Increasing compression ratio (CR extend the lean limits, this appears obviously with hydrogen, which has a wide range of equivalence ratios, while for hydrocarbon fuel octane number affect gasoline, so it can' t work above CR=9:1, and for LPG it reaches CR=12:1, NG reaches CR=15:1 at lean limit operation. Movement from low speeds to medium speeds extended lean misfire limits, while moving from medium to high speeds contracted the lean misfiring limits. NOx, CO and UBHC concentrations increased with CR increase for all fuels, while CO2 concentrations reduced with this increment. NOx concentration increased for medium speeds and reduced for high speeds, but the resulted concentrations were inconcedrable for these lean limits. CO and CO2 increased with engine speed increase, while UBHC reduced with this increment. The hydrogen engine runs with zero CO, CO2 and UNHC concentrations, and altra low levels of NOx concentrations at studied lean misfire limits

Drivers and seasonal predictability of extreme wind speeds in the ECMWF System 4 and a statistical model

Science.gov (United States)

Walz, M. A.; Donat, M.; Leckebusch, G. C.

2017-12-01

As extreme wind speeds are responsible for large socio-economic losses in Europe, a skillful prediction would be of great benefit for disaster prevention as well as for the actuarial community. Here we evaluate patterns of large-scale atmospheric variability and the seasonal predictability of extreme wind speeds (e.g. >95th percentile) in the European domain in the dynamical seasonal forecast system ECMWF System 4, and compare to the predictability based on a statistical prediction model. The dominant patterns of atmospheric variability show distinct differences between reanalysis and ECMWF System 4, with most patterns in System 4 extended downstream in comparison to ERA-Interim. The dissimilar manifestations of the patterns within the two models lead to substantially different drivers associated with the occurrence of extreme winds in the respective model. While the ECMWF System 4 is shown to provide some predictive power over Scandinavia and the eastern Atlantic, only very few grid cells in the European domain have significant correlations for extreme wind speeds in System 4 compared to ERA-Interim. In contrast, a statistical model predicts extreme wind speeds during boreal winter in better agreement with the observations. Our results suggest that System 4 does not seem to capture the potential predictability of extreme winds that exists in the real world, and therefore fails to provide reliable seasonal predictions for lead months 2-4. This is likely related to the unrealistic representation of large-scale patterns of atmospheric variability. Hence our study points to potential improvements of dynamical prediction skill by improving the simulation of large-scale atmospheric dynamics.

A PERSPECTIVE ON THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY IN THE PAN-EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frunza Ramona

2009-05-01

Full Text Available The European Neighbourhood Policy introduces a new approach in the EU external relations with its interest neighbourhood; its strategic role is to provide a system which can allow the Union to set its external limits, without risking having new dividing l

Seismic structure of the European upper mantle based on adjoint tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hejun; Bozdağ, Ebru; Tromp, Jeroen

2015-04-01

We use adjoint tomography to iteratively determine seismic models of the crust and upper mantle beneath the European continent and the North Atlantic Ocean. Three-component seismograms from 190 earthquakes recorded by 745 seismographic stations are employed in the inversion. Crustal model EPcrust combined with mantle model S362ANI comprise the 3-D starting model, EU00. Before the structural inversion, earthquake source parameters, for example, centroid moment tensors and locations, are reinverted based on global 3-D Green's functions and Fréchet derivatives. This study consists of three stages. In stage one, frequency-dependent phase differences between observed and simulated seismograms are used to constrain radially anisotropic wave speed variations. In stage two, frequency-dependent phase and amplitude measurements are combined to simultaneously constrain elastic wave speeds and anelastic attenuation. In these two stages, long-period surface waves and short-period body waves are combined to simultaneously constrain shallow and deep structures. In stage three, frequency-dependent phase and amplitude anomalies of three-component surface waves are used to simultaneously constrain radial and azimuthal anisotropy. After this three-stage inversion, we obtain a new seismic model of the European curst and upper mantle, named EU60. Improvements in misfits and histograms in both phase and amplitude help us to validate this three-stage inversion strategy. Long-wavelength elastic wave speed variations in model EU60 compare favourably with previous body- and surface wave tomographic models. Some hitherto unidentified features, such as the Adria microplate, naturally emerge from the smooth starting model. Subducting slabs, slab detachments, ancient suture zones, continental rifts and backarc basins are well resolved in model EU60. We find an anticorrelation between shear wave speed and anelastic attenuation at depths agreement with previous global attenuation studies

The European Union Policy in the Field of Rare Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Moliner, Antoni Montserrat; Waligora, Jaroslaw

2017-01-01

Rare diseases, are defined by the European Union as life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases with low prevalence (less than 5 per 10,000). The specificities of rare diseases - limited number of patients and scarcity of relevant knowledge and expertise - single them out as a unique domain of very high European added-value.The legal instruments at the disposal of the European Union, in terms of the Article 168 of the Treaties, are very limited. However a combination of instruments using the research and the pharmaceutical legal basis and an intensive and creative use of funding from the Health Programmes has permitted to create a solid basis that Member States have considered enough to put rare diseases in a privileged position in the health agenda.The adoption of the Commission Communication, in November 2008, and of the Council Recommendation, in June 2009, and in 2011 the adoption of the Directive on Cross-border healthcare., have created an operational framework to act in the field of rare disease with European coordination in several areas (classification and codification, European Reference Networks, orphan medicinal products, the Commission expert group on rare diseases, etc.).Rare diseases is an area with high and practical potential for the European cooperation.

Pulse-burst PIV in a high-speed wind tunnel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beresh, Steven; Kearney, Sean; Wagner, Justin; Guildenbecher, Daniel; Henfling, John; Spillers, Russell; Pruett, Brian; Jiang, Naibo; Slipchenko, Mikhail; Mance, Jason; Roy, Sukesh

2015-01-01

Time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) has been achieved in a high-speed wind tunnel, providing velocity field movies of compressible turbulence events. The requirements of high-speed flows demand greater energy at faster pulse rates than possible with the TR-PIV systems developed for low-speed flows. This has been realized using a pulse-burst laser to obtain movies at up to 50 kHz, with higher speeds possible at the cost of spatial resolution. The constraints imposed by use of a pulse-burst laser are limited burst duration of 10.2 ms and a low duty cycle for data acquisition. Pulse-burst PIV has been demonstrated in a supersonic jet exhausting into a transonic crossflow and in transonic flow over a rectangular cavity. The velocity field sequences reveal the passage of turbulent structures and can be used to find velocity power spectra at every point in the field, providing spatial distributions of acoustic modes. The present work represents the first use of TR-PIV in a high-speed ground-test facility. (paper)

Polarization speed meter for gravitational-wave detection

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, Andrew R.; McKenzie, Kirk; Chen, Yanbei; Shaddock, Daniel A.; Chow, Jong H.; McClelland, David E.

2012-09-01

We propose a modified configuration of an advanced gravitational-wave detector that is a speed-meter-type interferometer with improved sensitivity with respect to quantum noise. With the addition of polarization-controlling components to the output of an arm cavity Michelson interferometer, an orthogonal polarization state of the interferometer can be used to store signal, returning it later with opposite phase to cancel position information below the storage bandwidth of the opposite mode. This modification provides an alternative to an external kilometer-scale Fabry-Pérot cavity, as presented in earlier work of Purdue and Chen [Phys. Rev. D 66, 122004 (2002)]. The new configuration requires significantly less physical infrastructure to achieve speed meter operation. The quantity of length and alignment degrees of freedom is also reduced. We present theoretical calculations to show that such a speed meter detector is capable of beating the strain sensitivity imposed by the standard quantum limit over a broad range of frequencies for Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory-like parameters. The benefits and possible difficulties of implementing such a scheme are outlined. We also present results for tuning of the speed meter by adjusting the degree of polarization coupling, a novel possibility that does not exist in previously proposed designs, showing that there is a smooth transition from speed meter operation to that of a signal-recycling Michelson behavior.

Acoustic and wind speed data analysis as an environmental issue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitson, R.J.; MacKinnon, A.

1995-01-01

This paper examines how the output from a cup anemometer, used for wind speed measurement, can be recorded on magnetic tape and analysed using instrumentation normally employed to measure acoustic data. The purpose of this being to allow true simultaneous analysis of acoustic and wind speed data. NEL's NWTC (National Wind Turbine Centre) Anemometer Calibration Facility is used to compare pulsed and analogue outputs from a typical anemometer to the data obtained from a pitot/static tube for a range of different wind speeds. The usefulness of 1/24- and 1/12-octave analysis is examined and accuracy limits are derived for the 'acoustic' approach to wind speed measurement. The allowable positions for anemometer locations are also discussed with reference to currently available standards and recommended practices. (Author)

Mobile app reading speed test.

Science.gov (United States)

Kingsnorth, Alec; Wolffsohn, James S

2015-04-01

To validate the accuracy and repeatability of a mobile app reading speed test compared with the traditional paper version. Twenty-one subjects wearing their full refractive correction glasses read 14 sentences of decreasing print size between 1.0 and -0.1 logMAR, each consisting of 14 words (Radner reading speed test) at 40 cm with a paper-based chart and twice on iPad charts. Time duration was recorded with a stop watch for the paper chart and on the App itself for the mobile chart allowing critical print size (CPS) and optimal reading speed (ORS) to be derived objectively. The ORS was higher for the mobile app charts (194±29 wpm; 195±25 wpm) compared with the paper chart (166±20 wpm; F=57.000, pmobile app charts (0.17±0.20 logMAR; 0.18±0.17 logMAR) compared with the paper chart (0.25±0.17 logMAR; F=5.406, p=0.009). The mobile app test had a mean difference repeatability of 0.30±22.5 wpm, r=0.917 for ORS, and a CPS of 0.0±0.2 logMAR, r=0.769. Repeatability of the app reading speed test is as good (ORS) or better (CPS) than previous studies on the paper test. While the results are not interchangeable with paper-based charts, mobile app tablet-based tests of reading speed are reliable and rapid to perform, with the potential to capture functional visual ability in research studies and clinical practice. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Smooth torque speed characteristic of switched reluctance motors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Hui; Chen, Zhe; Chen, Hao

2014-01-01

The torque ripple of switched reluctance motors (SRMs) is the main disadvantage that limits the industrial application of these motors. Although several methods for smooth-toque operation (STO) have been proposed, STO works well only within a certain torque and speed range because...

Technical comparison of communication equipment of high speed railways between Japan and Europe. Tsushin setsubi ni okeru Nichio no gijutsu hikaku (kosoku tetsudo)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sasaki, S [Railway Technology Research Institute, Tokyo (Japan)

1994-04-12

This paper compares and explains pieces of communication equipment in high-speed railways in Japan and Europe. The Shinkansen railways in Japan adopted a train wireless communication of the LCX system in 400-MHz band (partly a spatial wave system) that is used for orders, business operations, and public telephone lines, as well as data communications. Almost all of the European countries use the UIC system train wireless communication (the UIC Standard specifies the operation methods, criteria for communication quality assurance, frequency allocation plans, wireless line control systems, and control signals). This paper summarizes the systems adopted in Japan and Europe by the following items: order telephones, data communications, on-board public telephone service, measures against tunnel interference, track-side transmission cabling facilities, and seat reservation systems. The paper indicates that the communication facilities in the Shinkansen railways are distinguished from those for the conventional railway services to meet the requirement of high-speed and large-number conveyance, while the communication facilities in the European high-speed railways are interchangeable with those for the conventional railway lines. 7 figs., 1 tab.

On the Maximum Speed of Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Raftopoulos, Dionysios G.

2013-09-01

In this paper we examine the analytical production of the Lorentz Transformation regarding its fundamental conclusion i.e. that the speed of Light in vacuum is the uppermost limit for the speed of matter, hence superluminal speeds are unattainable. This examination covers the four most prominent relevant sources of bibliography: Albert Einstein's historic paper (1905) titled: "On the Electrodynamics of moving Bodies" on which his Special Relativity Theory is founded. His famous textbook titled: "Relativity, The Special and General Theory", A. P. French's textbook titled "Special Relativity", Wolfgang Rindler's textbook titled: "Essential Relativity". Special emphasis is placed on the critical analysis of Einstein's gedanken experiment as it is presented in his original paper, where he considers a moving, straight, rigid rod at the ends of which there are two clocks, whose synchronization is checked according to his own definition as given in part 1 of his paper. By applying the second fundamental hypothesis (principle) of SRT, we arrive at the conclusion that this noetic experiment can be concluded only if the rod's speed V with regards the stationary system and measured from it, is less than the speed of light C also with regards the stationary system and measured from it. In the opposite case, said noetic experiment would be meaningless as it could never be concluded for the Observer of the stationary system, at least in the Euclidean Space. Finally, we show that in all four cases under examination the relationship v definite and rigid law of Physics forbidding matter to travel with superluminal velocity in vacuum.

Artificial intelligence to predict short-term wind speed

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinto, Tiago; Soares, Joao; Ramos, Sergio; Vale, Zita [Polytechnic of Porto (Portugal). GECAD - ISEP

2012-07-01

The use of renewable energy is increasing exponentially in many countries due to the introduction of new energy and environmental policies. Thus, the focus on energy and on the environment makes the efficient integration of renewable energy into the electric power system extremely important. Several European countries have been seeing a high penetration of wind power, representing, gradually, a significant penetration on electricity generation. The introduction of wind power in the network power system causes new challenges for the power system operator due to the variability and uncertainty in weather conditions and, consequently, in the wind power generation. As result, the scheduling dispatch has a significantly portion of uncertainty. In order to deal with the uncertainty in wind power and, with that, introduce improvements in the power system operator efficiency, the wind power forecasting may reveal as a useful tool. This paper proposes a data-mining-based methodology to forecast wind speed. This method is based on the use of data mining techniques applied to a real database of historical wind data. The paper includes a case study based on a real database regarding the last three years to predict wind speed at 5 minute intervals. (orig.)

Evaluating the impacts of grades on vehicular speeds on interstate highways.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinqiang Chen

Full Text Available Grade variation on interstate highways affects the roadway geometric design, vehicle performance and driver behavior, thus possibly exerting an unexpected effect on vehicular speed. Hence, determining the internal relationship between grade and speed is important and useful for drivers, traffic regulators and other traffic participants. However, the problem with performing this research is the lack of large-scale gradient and speed data. Google Earth (GE provides an application programming interface for extracting elevation data worldwide. The elevation dataset from GE can be easily converted to grade data. In addition, our team has collected and stored speed series data for different freeways over several years. Based on the above obtainable grade and speed datasets, we conducted research on the effect of grades on free flow speeds from two perspectives. First, the influence of grades on speed was analyzed from both quantitative and qualitative aspects. The analysis of the distributions of four typical types of speeds demonstrated a decreasing tendency as the speed increased. Steeper grades generated a more intense speed fluctuation in terms of the four types of speeds. Second, a model based on the Student's t-test was developed to evaluate the level of significant difference among speed series under neighboring grades. The Student's t-test demonstrated that adjacent grades do not significantly influence the speeds. In summary, speeds under different grades showed obviously different tendencies. The findings of this study can help transport authorities set more reasonable speed limits and improve the geometric design of interstates with grade variation constraints.

Concept study of 20 MW high-speed permanent magnet synchronous motor for marine propulsion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bogomolov, M.D.

2013-01-01

High-speed permanent magnet synchronous machines are of great interest in the applications where high utilization factor and efficiency are required. Depending on application, power requirements change from kilowatts to megawatts. To investigate power limits of high-speed machines, the present

Mitigating the negative impacts of tall wind turbines on bats: Vertical activity profiles and relationships to wind speed.

Science.gov (United States)

Wellig, Sascha D; Nusslé, Sébastien; Miltner, Daniela; Kohle, Oliver; Glaizot, Olivier; Braunisch, Veronika; Obrist, Martin K; Arlettaz, Raphaël

2018-01-01

Wind turbines represent a source of hazard for bats, especially through collision with rotor blades. With increasing technical development, tall turbines (rotor-swept zone 50-150 m above ground level) are becoming widespread, yet we lack quantitative information about species active at these heights, which impedes proposing targeted mitigation recommendations for bat-friendly turbine operation. We investigated vertical activity profiles of a bat assemblage, and their relationships to wind speed, within a major valley of the European Alps where tall wind turbines are being deployed. To monitor bat activity we installed automatic recorders at sequentially increasing heights from ground level up to 65 m, with the goal to determine species-specific vertical activity profiles and to link them to wind speed. Bat call sequences were analysed with an automatic algorithm, paying particular attention to mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis and Myotis blythii) and the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis), three locally rare species. The most often recorded bats were the Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and Savi's pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii). Mouse-eared bats were rarely recorded, and mostly just above ground, appearing out of risk of collision. T. teniotis had a more evenly distributed vertical activity profile, often being active at rotor level, but its activity at that height ceased above 5 ms-1 wind speed. Overall bat activity in the rotor-swept zone declined with increasing wind speed, dropping below 5% above 5.4 ms-1. Collision risk could be drastically reduced if nocturnal operation of tall wind turbines would be restricted to wind speeds above 5 ms-1. Such measure should be implemented year-round because T. teniotis remains active in winter. This operational restriction is likely to cause only small energy production losses at these tall wind turbines, although further analyses are needed to assess these losses precisely.

Educational differences in disability-free life expectancy: a comparative study of long-standing activity limitation in eight European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Mäki, Netta; Martikainen, Pekka; Eikemo, Terje; Menvielle, Gwenn; Lundberg, Olle; Ostergren, Olof; Jasilionis, Domantas; Mackenbach, Johan P

2013-10-01

Healthy life expectancy is a composite measure of length and quality of life and an important indicator of health in aging populations. There are few cross-country comparisons of socioeconomic differences in healthy life expectancy. Most of the existing comparisons focus on Western Europe and the United States, often relying on older data. To address these deficiencies, we estimated educational differences in disability-free life expectancy for eight countries from all parts of Europe in the early 2000s. Long-standing severe disability was measured as a Global Activity Limitation Indicator (GALI) derived from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey. Census-linked mortality data were collected by a recent project comparing health inequalities between European countries (the EURO-GBD-SE project). We calculated sex-specific educational differences in disability-free life expectancy between the ages of 30 and 79 years using the Sullivan method. The lowest disability-free life expectancy was found among Lithuanian men and women (33.1 and 39.1 years, respectively) and the highest among Italian men and women (42.8 and 44.4 years, respectively). Life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy were directly related to the level of education, but the educational differences were much greater in the latter in all countries. The difference in the disability-free life expectancy between those with a primary or lower secondary education and those with a tertiary education was over 10 years for males in Lithuania and approximately 7 years for males in Austria, Finland and France, as well as for females in Lithuania. The difference was smallest in Italy (4 and 2 years among men and women, respectively). Highly educated Europeans can expect to live longer and spend more years in better health than those with lower education. The size of the educational difference in disability-free life expectancy varies significantly between countries

Labour Productivity Convergence in 52 Industries: A Panel Data Analysis of Some European Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tahir Mahmood

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Beta convergence and the speed of convergence of labour productivity for 52 industries are studied with a panel of data including 13 European countries. We use fixed effect approach to model the heterogeneity across countries. In primary sector and in service sector, the existence of -convergence is found for all industries. In manufacturing sector, convergence is found for all industries except for electronic and computing equipment industries. In general the speed of convergence estimates show slow adjustment. Speed is highest in the capital intensive industries. In primary production the convergence is slowest in agriculture and fastest in fishing industry. In manufacturing sector the convergence is slowest in food, drink and tobacco, and it is fastest in oil refining and nuclear fuel manufacturing industries. By augmenting the productivity models with labour utilization variable speeds up the convergence. Labour utilization is positively related to productivity growth in primary production industries, ICT producing manufacturing industries, and ICT producing services industries.

European Utility Requirements: European nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komsi, M.; Patrakka, E.

1997-01-01

The work procedure and the content of the European Utility Requirements (EUR) concerning the future LWRs is described in the article. European Utility Requirements, produced by utilities in a number of European countries, is a document specifying the details relating to engineered safety, operating performance, reliability and economics of the reactors to be built by manufacturers for the European market

Environmental sustainability in European public healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiarini, Andrea; Vagnoni, Emidia

2016-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to enlarge the debate concerning the influence of leadership on environmental sustainability implementation in European public healthcare organisations. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is a viewpoint. It is based on preliminary analysis of European standards dedicated to environmental sustainability and their spread across Europe in public healthcare organisations. Viewpoints concerning leadership are then discussed and asserted. Findings - This paper found a limited implementation of standards such as Green Public Procurement criteria, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme and ISO 14001 in public healthcare. Some clues indicate that the lack of implementation is related to leadership and management commitment. Originality/value - For the first time, this paper investigates relationships between leadership and environmental sustainability in European public healthcare opening further avenues of research on the subject.

An investigation of the speeding-related crash designation through crash narrative reviews sampled via logistic regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzpatrick, Cole D; Rakasi, Saritha; Knodler, Michael A

2017-01-01

Speed is one of the most important factors in traffic safety as higher speeds are linked to increased crash risk and higher injury severities. Nearly a third of fatal crashes in the United States are designated as "speeding-related", which is defined as either "the driver behavior of exceeding the posted speed limit or driving too fast for conditions." While many studies have utilized the speeding-related designation in safety analyses, no studies have examined the underlying accuracy of this designation. Herein, we investigate the speeding-related crash designation through the development of a series of logistic regression models that were derived from the established speeding-related crash typologies and validated using a blind review, by multiple researchers, of 604 crash narratives. The developed logistic regression model accurately identified crashes which were not originally designated as speeding-related but had crash narratives that suggested speeding as a causative factor. Only 53.4% of crashes designated as speeding-related contained narratives which described speeding as a causative factor. Further investigation of these crashes revealed that the driver contributing code (DCC) of "driving too fast for conditions" was being used in three separate situations. Additionally, this DCC was also incorrectly used when "exceeding the posted speed limit" would likely have been a more appropriate designation. Finally, it was determined that the responding officer only utilized one DCC in 82% of crashes not designated as speeding-related but contained a narrative indicating speed as a contributing causal factor. The use of logistic regression models based upon speeding-related crash typologies offers a promising method by which all possible speeding-related crashes could be identified. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Deformed special relativity with an energy barrier of a minimum speed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nassif, Claudio

2011-01-01

Full text: This research aims to introduce a new principle of symmetry in the flat space-time by means of the elimination of the classical idea of rest, and by including a universal minimum limit of speed in the quantum world. Such a limit, unattainable by the particles, represents a preferred inertial reference frame associated with a universal background field that breaks Lorentz symmetry. So there emerges a new relativistic dynamics where a minimum speed forms an inferior energy barrier. One of the interesting implications of the existence of such a minimum speed is that it prevents the absolute zero temperature for an ultracold gas, according to the third law of thermodynamics. So we will be able to provide a fundamental dynamical explanation for the third law by means of a connection between such a phenomenological law and the new relativistic dynamics with a minimum speed. In other words we say that our relevant investigation is with respect to the problem of the absolute zero temperature in the thermodynamics of an ideal gas. We have made a connection between the 3 rd law of Thermodynamics and the new dynamics with a minimum speed by means of a relation between the absolute zero temperature (T = 0 deg K) and a minimum average speed (V) for a gas with N particles (molecules or atoms). Since T = 0 deg K is thermodynamically unattainable, we have shown this is due to the impossibility of reaching V from the new dynamics standpoint. (author)

Limited Area Forecasting and Statistical Modelling for Wind Energy Scheduling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosgaard, Martin Haubjerg

forecast accuracy for operational wind power scheduling. Numerical weather prediction history and scales of atmospheric motion are summarised, followed by a literature review of limited area wind speed forecasting. Hereafter, the original contribution to research on the topic is outlined. The quality...... control of wind farm data used as forecast reference is described in detail, and a preliminary limited area forecasting study illustrates the aggravation of issues related to numerical orography representation and accurate reference coordinates at ne weather model resolutions. For the o shore and coastal...... sites studied limited area forecasting is found to deteriorate wind speed prediction accuracy, while inland results exhibit a steady forecast performance increase with weather model resolution. Temporal smoothing of wind speed forecasts is shown to improve wind power forecast performance by up to almost...

The Europeanization of Politics: Building a Terminology for European Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damir Grubiša

2005-01-01

, cultural and religious identities. This Europeanisation is equivocal by its valency because it becomes manifest as a stimulus for change and transition onto the second stage of Europeanisation if it lasts for a limited period of time; if, in turn, it lasts too long, as in the case of Croatia, it slows down the second stage of Europeanisation involving the penetration of European models of governance and the concurrent building of the national model. The second part of the article deals with various defi nitions of Europeanisation that have stemmed from the fi eld of empirical research. Here too the author highlights fi ve types of defi nitions, which, however, are not mutually exclusive, but point to the complexity of the phenomenon. Finally, the author off ers a model of research which, in the case of Croatia, would test the validity of the Europeanisation concept and would show through comparative political analysis the impact of the process of Europeanisation on the changes of the political system and the classic conception of politics in Croatia, as a component of the process of building a terminology for European Studies

Recent developments in the European nuclear insurance scene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, H.W.

1978-01-01

Despite the development of a strong anti-nuclear feeling in Europe, the nuclear programme in the main European countries has not been stopped. The European insurance market has evolved considerably and the liability limits have been raised in several countries. Insurers must face the twin problem of increased insurance capacity to cover material damage, as well as the higher liability amounts for operators of nuclear installations in certain countries. (NEA) [fr

A high speed electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing method for line printing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phung, Thanh Huy; Kim, Seora; Kwon, Kye-Si

2017-01-01

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing has drawn attention due to its capability to produce smaller dots and patterns with finer lines when compared to those obtained from using conventional inkjet printing. Previous studies have suggested that drop-on-demand EHD-patterning applications should be limited to very slow printing cases with speeds far less than 10 mm s −1 due to the small dot size and limited jetting frequency. In this study, a new EHD printing method is proposed to significantly increase the line-patterning printing speed by modifying the ink and thereby changing the relic shape. The proposed method has the additional advantage of reducing the line-pattern width. The results of the experiment show that the pattern width could be reduced from 20 µ m to 4 µ m by increasing the printing speed from 10 mm s −1 to 50 mm s −1 , respectively. (paper)

Tornado-borne missile speeds. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simiu, E.; Cordes, M.

1976-04-01

An investigation of the question of tornado-borne missile speeds was carried out, with a view to identify pertinent areas of uncertainty and to estimate credible tornado-borne missile speeds - within the limitations inherent in the present state of the art. The investigation consists of two parts: (1) a study in which a rational model for the missile motion is proposed, and numerical experiments are carried out corresponding to various assumptions on the initial conditions of the missile motion, the structure of the tornado flow, and the aerodynamic properties of the missile; (2) a theoretical and experimental study of tornado-borne missile aerodynamics, conducted by Colorado State Univ. (CSU) to be covered in a separate report by CSU. In the present report, the factors affecting missile motion and their influence upon such motion are examined

When real life wind speed exceeds design wind assumptions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winther-Jensen, M; Joergensen, E R [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark)

1999-03-01

Most modern wind turbines are designed according to a standard or a set of standards to withstand the design loads with a defined survival probability. Mainly the loads are given by the wind conditions on the site defining the `design wind speeds`, normally including extreme wind speeds given as an average and a peak value. The extreme wind speeds are normally (e.g. in the upcoming IEC standard for wind turbine safety) defined as having a 50-year recurrence period. But what happens when the 100 or 10,000 year wind situation hits a wind turbine? Results on wind turbines of wind speeds higher than the extreme design wind speeds are presented based on experiences especially from the State of Gujarat in India. A description of the normal approach of designing wind turbines in accordance with the standards in briefly given in this paper with special focus on limitations and built-in safety levels. Based on that, other possibilities than just accepting damages on wind turbines exposed for higher than design wind speeds are mentioned and discussed. The presentation does not intend to give the final answer to this problem but is meant as an input to further investigations and discussions. (au)

Genome-wide association study for milking speed in French Holstein cows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marete, Andrew Gitahi; Sahana, Goutam; Fritz, Sebastian

2018-01-01

in 32,491 French Holstein dairy cows. Milking speed was measured by a score given by the farmer. Phenotypes were yield deviations as obtained from the French evaluation system. They were analyzed with a linear mixed model for association studies. We identified SNP on 22 chromosomes significantly...... was located on chromosome 14 (ZFAT gene). Eleven novel milking speed quantitative trait loci (QTL) were observed on chromosomes 7, 10, 11, 14, 18, 25, and 26. Twelve candidate SNP for milking speed mapped directly within genes. Of these 10 were QTL lead SNP, which mapped within the genes HMHA1, POLR2E, GNB5......, KLHL29, ZFAT, KCNB2, CEACAM18, CCL24, and LHPP. Limited pleiotropy was observed between milking speed QTL and clinical mastitis....

Speed in Acquisitions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meglio, Olimpia; King, David R.; Risberg, Annette

2017-01-01

The advantage of speed is often invoked by academics and practitioners as an essential condition during post-acquisition integration, frequently without consideration of the impact earlier decisions have on acquisition speed. In this article, we examine the role speed plays in acquisitions across...... the acquisition process using research organized around characteristics that display complexity with respect to acquisition speed. We incorporate existing research with a process perspective of acquisitions in order to present trade-offs, and consider the influence of both stakeholders and the pre......-deal-completion context on acquisition speed, as well as the organization’s capabilities to facilitating that speed. Observed trade-offs suggest both that acquisition speed often requires longer planning time before an acquisition and that associated decisions require managerial judgement. A framework for improving...

Speed control device for coolant recycling pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kageyama, Takao.

1992-01-01

The present invention intends to increase a margin relative of the oscillations of neutron fluxes when the temperature of feedwater is lowered in a compulsory recycling type BWR reactor. That is, when the operation point represented by a reactor thermal power and a reactor core inlet flow rate is in a state approximate to an oscillation limit of the reactor power, the device of the present invention controls the recycling pump speed in the increasing direction depending on the lowering range of the feedwater temperature from a stationary state. With such a constitution, even if the reactor power is in the operation region near the oscillation limit in the BWR type reactor and a feedwater heating loss is caused, the speed of the coolant recycling pump is increased by 10% at the maximum depending on the extent of the reduction of the feedwater temperature, so that the oscillation of the reactor power can be prevented from lasting for a long period of time even if a reactivity external disturbance should occur in the reactor. (I.S.)

Environmental NGOs : Channels of democracy for the European Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guasco, Clement Nicolas

The notion of democratic deficit has been at the centre of many debates on the European Union for the last 30 years. The reason is, to a certain degree, linked to the lack of legitimacy of the European Commission, which is not elected and remote from the European citizens. However, the Commission...... seems to have found a positive way to increase its legitimacy by the inclusion of civil-society in the decision-making process. The interaction between the Commission and two Environmental NGOs will therefore be analysed in order to make a constructive contribution to the debate. The present paper does...... not limit itself to normative statements on reality and considers that there is more to socio political relations than “true” verifiable facts. Therefore, it is not limited to the formal decision-making process, and goes deeper into the socialisation process at play between the different actors. The outcome...

THE EUROPEAN COMPANY (SOCIETAS EUROPAEA ON RIND SIGHT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liviana Andreea Niminet

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the rind aspects of European Company (also known by its Latin name Societas Europaea or SE, a “type of public limited-liability company regulated under European Union law”. Although this form of company was proposed more than 40 years ago, it was only in 2001 when the Council issued Regulation (EC No 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 on the Statute for a European company defining the European company (SE as “a legal structure that permits a company to operate in different European Union (EU countries under a single statute”, as determined by the law of the Union and common to all EU countries. Being a new legal form, the SE coexists with the corporate forms that already were in each Member Statebeing governed by both European Regulation and national law. As it follows we address the rules, classification, conditions for settling an SE, organization structures, tax harmonization, employee involvement in the SE, advantages and disadvantages of SEs, as well as the opportunity of SPEs.

Running Speed Can Be Predicted from Foot Contact Time during Outdoor over Ground Running

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Ruiter, C.J.; van Oeveren, B.; Francke, A.; Zijlstra, P.; van Dieen, J.H.

2016-01-01

The number of validation studies of commercially available foot pods that provide estimates of running speed is limited and these studies have been conducted under laboratory conditions. Moreover, internal data handling and algorithms used to derive speed from these pods are proprietary and thereby

Review of High-Speed Fiber Optic Grating Sensors Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Udd, E; Benterou, J; May, C; Mihailov, S J; Lu, P

2010-03-24

Fiber grating sensors can be used to support a wide variety of high speed measurement applications. This includes measurements of vibrations on bridges, traffic monitoring on freeways, ultrasonic detection to support non-destructive tests on metal plates and providing details of detonation events. This paper provides a brief overview of some of the techniques that have been used to support high speed measurements using fiber grating sensors over frequency ranges from 10s of kHz, to MHZ and finally toward frequencies approaching the GHz regime. Very early in the development of fiber grating sensor systems it was realized that a high speed fiber grating sensor system could be realized by placing an optical filter that might be a fiber grating in front of a detector so that spectral changes in the reflection from a fiber grating were amplitude modulated. In principal the only limitation on this type of system involved the speed of the output detector which with the development of high speed communication links moved from the regime of 10s of MHz toward 10s of GHz. The earliest deployed systems involved civil structures including measurements of the strain fields on composite utility poles and missile bodies during break tests, bridges and freeways. This was followed by a series of developments that included high speed fiber grating sensors to support nondestructive testing via ultrasonic wave detection, high speed machining and monitoring ship hulls. Each of these applications involved monitoring mechanical motion of structures and thus interest was in speeds up to a few 10s of MHz. Most recently there has been interest in using fiber grating to monitor the very high speed events such as detonations and this has led to utilization of fiber gratings that are consumed during an event that may require detection speeds of hundreds of MHz and in the future multiple GHz.

The impact of European Union law on the possibilities of European Union Member States to adapt international tax rules to the business models of multinational enterprises

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Douma, S.; Kardachaki, A.

2016-01-01

European Union (EU) law has played a key role in enforcing the EU BEPS agenda, while also introducing limits to the application thereof. The European Commission (EC) sees a clear link between aggressive tax planning and competition law. Against this background, EU State aid law has been employed to

A current review of high speed railways experiences in Asia and Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Purba, Aleksander; Nakamura, Fumihiko; Dwsbu, Chatarina Niken; Jafri, Muhammad; Pratomo, Priyo

2017-11-01

High-Speed Railways (HSR) is currently regarded as one of the most significant technological breakthroughs in passenger transportation developed in the second half of the 20th century. At the beginning of 2008, there were about 10,000 kilometers of new high-speed lines in operation in Asia and Europe regions to provide high-speed services to passengers willing to pay for lower travel time and quality improvement in rail transport. And since 2010, HSR itself has received a great deal of attention in Indonesia. Some transportation analysts contend that Indonesia, particularly Java and Sumatera islands need a high-speed rail network to be economically competitive with countries in Asia and Europe. On April 2016, Indonesia-China consortium Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) signed an engineering, procurement, and construction contract to build the HSR with a consortium of seven companies called the High-Speed Railway Contractor Consortium. The HSR is expected to debut by May 2019, offering a 45-minute trip covering a roughly 150 km route. However, building, maintaining and operating HSR line is expensive; it involves a significant amount of sunk costs and may substantially compromise both the transport policy of a country and the development of its transport sector for decades. The main objective of this paper is to discuss some characteristics of the HSR services from an economic viewpoint, while simultaneously developing an empirical framework that should help us to understand, in more detail, the factors determining the success of the HSR as transport alternative based on current experiences of selected Asian and European countries.

A Vehicular Mobile Standard Instrument for Field Verification of Traffic Speed Meters Based on Dual-Antenna Doppler Radar Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Lei; Sun, Qiao; Cai, Changqing; Bai, Jie; Fan, Zhe; Zhang, Yue

2018-04-05

Traffic speed meters are important legal measuring instruments specially used for traffic speed enforcement and must be tested and verified in the field every year using a vehicular mobile standard speed-measuring instrument to ensure speed-measuring performances. The non-contact optical speed sensor and the GPS speed sensor are the two most common types of standard speed-measuring instruments. The non-contact optical speed sensor requires extremely high installation accuracy, and its speed-measuring error is nonlinear and uncorrectable. The speed-measuring accuracy of the GPS speed sensor is rapidly reduced if the amount of received satellites is insufficient enough, which often occurs in urban high-rise regions, tunnels, and mountainous regions. In this paper, a new standard speed-measuring instrument using a dual-antenna Doppler radar sensor is proposed based on a tradeoff between the installation accuracy requirement and the usage region limitation, which has no specified requirements for its mounting distance and no limitation on usage regions and can automatically compensate for the effect of an inclined installation angle on its speed-measuring accuracy. Theoretical model analysis, simulated speed measurement results, and field experimental results compared with a GPS speed sensor with high accuracy showed that the dual-antenna Doppler radar sensor is effective and reliable as a new standard speed-measuring instrument.

Physical fitness reference standards in European children: the IDEFICS study.

Science.gov (United States)

De Miguel-Etayo, P; Gracia-Marco, L; Ortega, F B; Intemann, T; Foraita, R; Lissner, L; Oja, L; Barba, G; Michels, N; Tornaritis, M; Molnár, D; Pitsiladis, Y; Ahrens, W; Moreno, L A

2014-09-01

A low fitness status during childhood and adolescence is associated with important health-related outcomes, such as increased future risk for obesity and cardiovascular diseases, impaired skeletal health, reduced quality of life and poor mental health. Fitness reference values for adolescents from different countries have been published, but there is a scarcity of reference values for pre-pubertal children in Europe, using harmonised measures of fitness in the literature. The IDEFICS study offers a good opportunity to establish normative values of a large set of fitness components from eight European countries using common and well-standardised methods in a large sample of children. Therefore, the aim of this study is to report sex- and age-specific fitness reference standards in European children. Children (10,302) aged 6-10.9 years (50.7% girls) were examined. The test battery included: the flamingo balance test, back-saver sit-and-reach test (flexibility), handgrip strength test, standing long jump test (lower-limb explosive strength) and 40-m sprint test (speed). Moreover, cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by a 20-m shuttle run test. Percentile curves for the 1st, 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 97th and 99th percentiles were calculated using the General Additive Model for Location Scale and Shape (GAMLSS). Our results show that boys performed better than girls in speed, lower- and upper-limb strength and cardiorespiratory fitness, and girls performed better in balance and flexibility. Older children performed better than younger children, except for cardiorespiratory fitness in boys and flexibility in girls. Our results provide for the first time sex- and age-specific physical fitness reference standards in European children aged 6-10.9 years.

Design of a repeating pneumatic pellet injector for the Joint European Torus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L.; Combs, S.K.; Baylor, L.R.; Sparks, D.O.; Foust, C.R.; Gethers, F.E.

1987-01-01

A three-barrel pneumatic pellet injector has been developed for plasma fueling of the Joint European Torus (JET). The versatile device consists of three independent machine-gun-like mechanisms that operate at cryogenic temperatures (14 0 K to 20 0 K). Individual high speed extruders provide a continuous supply of solid deuterium to each gun assembly, where a reciprocating breech-side cutting mechanism forms and chambers cylindrical pellets from the extrusion; deuterium pellets are then accelerated in the gun barrels with controlled amounts of compressed hydrogen gas (pressures up to 100 bars) to velocities ≤ 1.5 km/s. The injector features three nominal pellet sizes (2.7 mm, 4.0 mm, and 6.0 mm) and has been tested at repetition rates of 5 Hz, 2.5 Hz, and 1 Hz, respectively. Each gun is capable of operating (individually or simultaneously) at the design repetition rate for 15-second duration pulses (limited only by the capacity of the extruder feed system). A remote, stand-alone control and data acquisition system is used for injector operation. 7 refs

Design of a repeating pneumatic pellet injector for the Joint European Torus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L.; Combs, S.K.; Baylor, L.R.; Foust, C.R.; Gethers, F.E.; Sparks, D.O.

1987-01-01

A three-barrel pneumatic pellet launcher developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) serves as the principal component of a plasma fueling system for the Joint European Torus (JET). The versatile device consists of three independent machine gun-like mechanisms that operate at cryogenic temperatures (14-20K). Individual high-speed extruders provide a continuous supply of solid deuterium to each gun assembly, where a reciprocating breech-side cutting mechanism forms and chambers cylindrical pellets from the extrusion; the deuterium pellets are then accelerated in the gun barrels with controlled amounts of compressed hydrogen gas (pressures up to 100 bar) to velocities of ≤1.5 km/s. The injector features three nominal pellet sizes (2.7,4.0, and 6.0 mm) and has been tested at pellet repetition rates of 5,2.5, and 1 Hz, respectively. Each gun can operate (individually or simultaneously) at the design repetition rate for 15-s pulses (limited only by the capacity of the extruder feed system). A remote, stand-alone control and data acquisition system is used for injector operation

Peculiarities of the thermal regime of the Russian plain depending on tidal oscillation Earth rotation speed

Science.gov (United States)

Akimov, L. M.

2018-01-01

Typification of fields of anomaly of temperature in the central part of East European Plain depending on the main phases of the Moon taking into account these tidal fluctuations of speed of rotation of Earth is presented. The main regularities of spatial distribution of anomaly of temperature in December are revealed. The opposite dependence of distribution of anomaly of temperature on antiphases of the Moon is established.

Can the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale be successfully used to predict Swedish drivers' speeding behaviour?

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Henriette Wallén; Ozkan, Türker; Lajunen, Timo

2010-07-01

The first aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure of the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale in a Swedish sample of drivers. The second aim was to examine if this scale can be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour. A sample of Swedish car owners (N=223) completed a questionnaire including questions based on the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale as well as questions about their speeding behaviour. The results showed a five factor solution including own skills, own behaviour, other drivers, vehicle/environment and fate. Own behaviour and vehicle/environment could be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour on roads with a 90 km/h speed limit while none of the variables included in the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) scale could be used to predict drivers' speeding behaviour on roads with a 50 km/h speed limit. On 90 km/h roads own behaviour was positively related to drivers' speeding behaviour while vehicle/environment was negatively related to their speeding behaviour. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

National And European Law: Problem Of Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga M. Mesheriakova

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Present article is devoted to one of the main problems for all integration communities –problem of implementation of the integration law norms in the national legal system of member states. Author, on the example of certain member states of the European Union considers mechanism of the European Union law action in it's member states. In the article constitutional norms of the number of member states which set a ratio of the national and European laws are analyzed. According to the principle of competence giving, member states voluntary transfer part of the competence to the European Union. Competences which are transferred to the member states are the competences of the European Union. In the course of research author investigates opinions of scientists and analyze regulations. Author pays separate attention to the question of the European Union creation. For example, author notes that consideration by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe of the question of compliance of the Treaty to the Constitution of Germany became neither more nor less a most important milestone on the way of Treaty on the European Union ratification by Germany. In the decision on this matter Court defined a number of reference points for the purpose of possible excise if the European integration elimination out of those limits which are set for the government of Germany by its Constitution. The decision of the Constitutional Court of Germany though meant approval of the Treaty on the European Union in the political sense, it was nevertheless unambiguously directed against broad interpretation and federalist vision of the European integration. It is obvious that states, on the basis of constitutional norms may leave contracts that are burdensome for them. It concerns not only international treaties, but also Treaties of the European Union.

System Design of a Cheetah Robot Toward Ultra-high Speed

OpenAIRE

Mantian Li; Xin Wang; Wei Guo; Pengfei Wang; Lining Sun

2014-01-01

High-speed legged locomotion pushes the limits of the most challenging problems of design and development of the mechanism, also the control and the perception method. The cheetah is an existence proof of concept of what we imitate for high-speed running, and provides us lots of inspiration on design. In this paper, a new model of a cheetah-like robot is developed using anatomical analysis and design. Inspired by a biological neural mechanism, we propose a novel control method for controlling...

Quantum driving of a two level system: quantum speed limit and superadiabatic protocols – an experimental investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malossi, N; Arimondo, E; Ciampini, D; Mannella, R; Bason, M G; Viteau, M; Morsch, O

2013-01-01

A fundamental requirement in quantum information processing and in many other areas of science is the capability of precisely controlling a quantum system by preparing a quantum state with the highest fidelity and/or in the fastest possible way. Here we present an experimental investigation of a two level system, characterized by a time-dependent Landau-Zener Hamiltonian, aiming to test general and optimal high-fidelity control protocols. The experiment is based on a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) loaded into an optical lattice, then accelerated, which provides a high degree of control over the experimental parameters. We implement generalized Landau-Zener sweeps, comparing them with the well-known linear Landau-Zener sweep. We drive the system from an initial state to a final state with fidelity close to unity in the shortest possible time (quantum brachistochrone), thus reaching the ultimate speed limit imposed by quantum mechanics. On the opposite extreme of the quantum control spectrum, the aim is not to minimize the total transition time but to maximize the adiabaticity during the time-evolution, the system being constrained to the adiabatic ground state at any time. We implement such transitionless superadiabatic protocols by an appropriate transformation of the Hamiltonian parameters. This transformation is general and independent of the physical system.

Compensator design for improved counterbalancing in high speed atomic force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Bozchalooi, I. S.; Youcef-Toumi, K.; Burns, D. J.; Fantner, G. E.

2011-11-01

High speed atomic force microscopy can provide the possibility of many new scientific observations and applications ranging from nano-manufacturing to the study of biological processes. However, the limited imaging speed has been an imperative drawback of the atomic force microscopes. One of the main reasons behind this limitation is the excitation of the AFM dynamics at high scan speeds, severely undermining the reliability of the acquired images. In this research, we propose a piezo based, feedforward controlled, counter actuation mechanism to compensate for the excited out-of-plane scanner dynamics. For this purpose, the AFM controller output is properly filtered via a linear compensator and then applied to a counter actuating piezo. An effective algorithm for estimating the compensator parameters is developed. The information required for compensator design is extracted from the cantilever deflection signal, hence eliminating the need for any additional sensors. The proposed approach is implemented and experimentally evaluated on the dynamic response of a custom made AFM. It is further assessed by comparing the imaging performance of the AFM with and without the application of the proposed technique and in comparison with the conventional counterbalancing methodology. The experimental results substantiate the effectiveness of the method in significantly improving the imaging performance of AFM at high scan speeds.

High speed motion neutron radiography of dynamic events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, A.H.; Barton, J.P.

1983-01-01

The development of a technique that permits neutron radiographic analysis of dynamic processes over a period lasting from one to ten milliseconds is described. The key to the technique is the use of a neutron pulse broad enough to span the duration of a brief event and intense enough to allow recording of the results on a high-speed movie film at frame rates of 10,000 frames/sec. Some typical application results in ballistic studies and two-phase flow are shown and discussed. The use of scintillator screens in the high-speed motion neutron radiography system is summarized and the statistical limitations of the technique are discussed

Uniting the Divided Continent. The Estonian National Committee of the European Movement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pauli Heikkilä

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The article examines the exiled Estonian politicians in the European Movement in the early Cold War period. The ultimate goal of exiled Estonians was to restore their state’s independence. In order to promote this, Estonian leaders sought connections with Western leaders. The European Movement was the only organisation involving actors from both the East and the West, and this corresponded to the Estonian discourse on Europe as a whole. Therefore, the European Movement was appreciated, although its limited opportunities for decisive actions were also recognised. East and West European interest in the European Movement declined as West European integration rapidly intensified through the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC and particularly after the January 1952 Eastern European Conference in London. By 1957, disappointment in the inability of European unification to help regain Estonian independence became evident.

Emergency surgery and Limitation of therapeutic effort in relation to neurologic deterioration in elderly patients – a survey of European surgeons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihai Păduraru

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background. In emergency surgery, a very heterogeneous approach is required in the decision making process, especially when considering the patient’s postoperative quality of life as well as medical, ethical, and legal factors. In some cases, the presence of an Advance Directive (AD form may potentially help resolve the surgeon’s dilemma. Objectives. The primary objective of this survey was to investigate the opinions of surgeons across a representative cross-section of European countries regarding the decision making process using a specific case scenario so as to identify similarities and differences in practice. A secondary objective was to identify the possibility of establishing a more uniform approach and best practice. Method. A survey was conducted of surgeons from a range of European countries. Questionnaires were designed to obtain an overview of decision making in relation to the Limitation of Therapeutic Effort (LTE using a specific case study and the level of awareness and practical use of ADs. Surveys were distributed via email to the members of the ESTES (European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery and AEC (Association of Spanish surgeons, with voluntary, anonymous participation. Conclusions. Clear and additional support in the form of legal and ethical guidance with clinical protocols for surgical practice in such case scenarios is necessary. Wider use of ADs, together with education about their role and support for patients and relatives, would benefit the type of patient described in our scenario. A multidisciplinary team should play a more active role in decision making in order to avoid surgical procedures that are potentially futile. The concepts of LTE and Quality of life need a broader understanding among surgeons as well as more consistent application.

Speed trends in male distance running.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy N Kruse

Full Text Available The major cycling "Grand Tours" have shown an attenuation of performance over the last decade. This has been interpreted as circumstantial evidence that newer anti-doping strategies have reduced the use of performance-enhancing drugs. To examine this idea under more controlled conditions, speed trends for world class 5000 m, 10000 m, and marathon performances by men from 1980 to 2013 were analyzed. We obtained comprehensive records from the International Association of Athletics Federations, Association of Road Racing Statisticians, and the Track and Field All-time Performances database webpages. The top 40 performances for each event and year were selected for regression analysis. For the three distances, we noted cumulative performance improvements in the 1990s thru the mid-2000s. After the peak speed years of the mid 2000 s, there has been limited improvement in the 5000 m and 10,000 m and world records set during that time remain in place today, marking the longest period of time between new records since the early 1940s. By contrast marathon speed continues to increase and the world record has been lowered four times since 2007, including in 2013. While the speed trends for 5000 m and 10000 m track results parallel those seen in elite cycling, the marathon trends do not. We discuss a number of explanations other than improved anti-doping strategies that might account for these divergent findings.

Correction of edge-flame propagation speed in a counterflow, annular slot burner

KAUST Repository

Tran, Vu Manh

2015-10-22

To characterize the propagation modes of flames, flame propagation speed must be accurately calculated. The impact of propagating edge-flames on the flow fields of unburned gases is limited experimentally. Thus, few studies have evaluated true propagation speeds by subtracting the flow velocities of unburned gases from flame displacement speeds. Here, we present a counterflow, annular slot burner that provides an ideal one-dimensional strain rate and lengthwise zero flow velocity that allowed us to study the fundamental behaviors of edge-flames. In addition, our burner has easy optical access for detailed laser diagnostics. Flame displacement speeds were measured using a high-speed camera and related flow fields of unburned gases were visualized by particle image velocimetry. These techniques allowed us to identify significant modifications to the flow fields of unburned gases caused by thermal expansion of the propagating edges, which enabled us to calculate true flame propagation speeds that took into account the flow velocities of unburned gases.

Sagnac interferometer as a speed-meter-type, quantum-nondemolition gravitational-wave detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yanbei

2003-01-01

According to quantum measurement theory, 'speed meters' - devices that measure the momentum, or speed, of free test masses - are immune to the standard quantum limit (SQL). It is shown that a Sagnac-interferometer gravitational-wave detector is a speed meter and therefore in principle it can beat the SQL by large amounts over a wide band of frequencies. It is shown, further, that, when one ignores optical losses, a signal-recycled Sag nac interferometer with Fabry-Perot arm cavities has precisely the same performance, for the same circulating light power, as the Michelson speed-meter interferometer recently invented and studied by Purdue and the author. The influence of optical losses is not studied, but it is plausible that they be fairly unimportant for the Sag nac interferometer, as for other speed meters. With squeezed vacuum (squeeze factor e -2R =0.1) injected into its dark port, the recycled Sag nac interferometer can beat the SQL by a factor √(10)≅3 over the frequency band 10 Hz c ∼820 kw as is to be used by the (quantum limited) second-generation Advanced LIGO interferometers--if other noise sources are made sufficiently small. It is concluded that the Sag nac optical configuration, with signal recycling and squeezed-vacuum injection, is an attractive candidate for third-generation interferometric gravitational-wave detectors (LIGO-III and EURO)

AT89S52 Microcontroller Based A Speed Restraint Equipment for Motorcycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ikhsan hidayat

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Security riding is very important in the aspects of traffic. One of the main factors of traffic accidents is high speed. Therefore, it is required a speed restraint equipment for pressing the number of accidents. The car speed restraint system is available in the market, but on a motorcycle is not available yet. This paper presents a design of speed restraint equipment for motorcycle that safe for users, and is expected to reduce traffic accident. The Main idea this speed restriction is cutting off the flow of electrical signals from the pulser (the time ignition trigger sensor to the CDI for 1 second. The cutting Signal with mechanical relays controlled by microcontroller AT89S52 using the on-off algorithm. Speed sensor use optocoupler is used to detect the number of rounds wheel motorcycle. If a result of measurement is more than the speed setpoint, microcontroler make a decission to cut motorcycle ignition signal. Results of this research is a prototype speed restraint shown that it able to process data from the measurement of the speed limit on the speed of a motorcycle. This prototype safe for all users and accordance with the set value and the level of success is above 90% for speed of 10 km/hr to 40 km/hr.

Theoretical Study of Operational Limits of High-Speed Quantum Dot Lasers

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-09

Tech Libraries. Downloaded on December 4, 2009 at 14:35 from IEEE Xplore . Restrictions apply. 5776 JOURNAL OF LIGHTWAVE TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 27, NO. 24...licensed use limited to: to IEEExplore provided by Virginia Tech Libraries. Downloaded on December 4, 2009 at 14:35 from IEEE Xplore . Restrictions...licensed use limited to: to IEEExplore provided by Virginia Tech Libraries. Downloaded on December 4, 2009 at 14:35 from IEEE Xplore . Restrictions apply

National Parliaments as New Actors in the Decision-making Process at the European Level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viera Knutelská

2011-09-01

Full Text Available National parliaments have two basic ways of influencing the outcomes of the European decision-making process. First, they influence national input legitimacy at the national level on European issues through influencing and controlling their respective national governments. Second, they influence national input legitimacy at the European level on European issues through directly entering into the European decision-making and interacting with the European institutions participating in it. To be able to make use of this second possibility, national parliaments have to devise instruments of cooperation and coordination and learn to use them effectively. The first steps have already been made: national parliaments exchange information on their scrutiny of European legislation and other activities through their permanent representatives in Brussels, the IPEX database and other channels. This article examines the cooperation, or, at least, information exchange among national parliaments on a number of legislative proposals - those chosen for coordinated tests of subsidiarity by national parliaments themselves, those most voted on in the Council of the European Union (EU and those subjected to three readings in the co-decision procedure - discussed between May 2004 and the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. It shows that national parliaments face difficulties caused by the high costs of such cooperation, including the need for flexibility and speed of their own decision-making, as well as administrative costs, whilst they increasingly use the cooperation channels available to them.

Practical decommissioning experience with nuclear installations in the European Community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skupinski, E.

1992-01-01

Initiated by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC), this seminar was jointly organized by the AEA, BNFL and the CEC at Windermere and the sites of Windscale/Sellafield, where the former Windscale advanced gas-cooled reactor and the Windscale piles are currently being dismantled. The meeting aimed at gathering a limited number of European experts for the presentation and discussion of operations, results and conclusions on techniques and procedures currently applied in the dismantling of large scale nuclear installations in the European Community

The Euratom Treaty v. Treaties of the European Union: limits of competence and interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ptasekaite, Rasa

2011-07-01

The main aim of this research was to analyse the interaction between the Euratom Treaty and the TFEU in certain specific fields - environmental nuclear liability, transport of radioactive substances and common market (free movement of goods, competition law and state aid). However, before doing that, certain introduction to regulation of the Euratom Treaty, its special features and the changes made by the Lisbon Treaty seemed beneficial. Therefore, the research consists of two parts - the introduction to the Euratom Treaty and the assessment of the relation between the Euratom Treaty and the TFEU in the areas mentioned above. The conclusions related to each of the areas are presented in the end of each chapter while the general conclusions of the research are provided in the end. The literature used in the research include legislative and non-legislative acts of the Euratom Community and the European Union, Judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Union, publications of various researchers and internet resources

The Euratom Treaty v. Treaties of the European Union: limits of competence and interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ptasekaite, Rasa

2011-07-15

The main aim of this research was to analyse the interaction between the Euratom Treaty and the TFEU in certain specific fields - environmental nuclear liability, transport of radioactive substances and common market (free movement of goods, competition law and state aid). However, before doing that, certain introduction to regulation of the Euratom Treaty, its special features and the changes made by the Lisbon Treaty seemed beneficial. Therefore, the research consists of two parts - the introduction to the Euratom Treaty and the assessment of the relation between the Euratom Treaty and the TFEU in the areas mentioned above. The conclusions related to each of the areas are presented in the end of each chapter while the general conclusions of the research are provided in the end. The literature used in the research include legislative and non-legislative acts of the Euratom Community and the European Union, Judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Union, publications of various researchers and internet resources.

Pay as You Speed, ISA with incentive for not speeding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lahrmann, Harry Spaabæk; Agerholm, Niels; Tradisauskas, Nerius

2012-01-01

To simulate a market introduction of Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) and to study the effect of a Pay as You Speed (PAYS) concept, a field trial with 153 drivers was conducted during 2007–2009. The participants drove under PAYS conditions for a shorter or a longer period. The PAYS concept......, with and without incentive crossed with informative ISA present or absent. The results showed that ISA is an efficient tool for reducing speeding particularly on rural roads. The analysis of speed data demonstrated that the proportion of distance driven above the speed where the ISA equipment responded (PDA...... level. Both informative ISA and incentive ISA reduced the PDA, but there was no statistically significant interaction. Informative reduced it more than the incentive....

Temperature limit values for touching cold surfaces with the fingertip

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geng, Q.; Holme, I.; Hartog, E.A. den; Havenith, G.; Jay, O.; Malchaires, J.; Piette, A.; Rintama, H.; Rissanen, S.

2006-01-01

Objectives: At the request of the European Commission and in the framework of the European Machinery Directive, research was performed in five different laboratories to develop specifications for surface temperature limit values for the short-term accidental touching of the fingertip with cold

The Conundrum of Solving ‘Too Big to Fail’ in the European Union: Supranationalization at Different Speeds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Quaglia, Lucia; Spendzharova, Aneta

2017-01-01

In the aftermath of the international financial crisis, the European Union (EU) adopted a series of regulatory reforms concerning capital adequacy, bank structures and resolution in order to tackle the risks created by financial institutions that were ‘too big to fail’. This article demonstrates

Modeling and simulation of soft sensor design for real-time speed and position estimation of PMSM.

Science.gov (United States)

Omrane, Ines; Etien, Erik; Dib, Wissam; Bachelier, Olivier

2015-07-01

This paper deals with the design of a speed soft sensor for permanent magnet synchronous motor. At high speed, model-based soft sensor is used and it gives excellent results. However, it fails to deliver satisfactory performance at zero or very low speed. High-frequency soft sensor is used at low speed. We suggest to use a model-based soft sensor together with the high-frequency soft sensor to overcome the limitations of the first one at low speed range. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ageing under unequal circumstances: a cross-sectional analysis of the gender and socioeconomic patterning of functional limitations among the Southern European elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Serrano-Alarcón, Manuel; Perelman, Julian

2017-10-03

In a context of population ageing, it is a priority for planning and prevention to understand the socioeconomic (SE) patterning of functional limitations and its consequences on healthcare needs. This paper aims at measuring the gender and SE inequalities in functional limitations and their age of onset among the Southern European elderly; then, we evaluate how functional status is linked to formal and informal care use. We used Portuguese, Italian and Spanish data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) of 2011 (n = 9233). We constructed a summary functional limitation score as the sum of two variables: i) Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and ii) Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). We modelled the functional limitation as a function of age, gender, education, subjective poverty, employment and marital status using multinomial logit models. We then estimated how functional limitation affected informal and formal care demand using negative binomial and logistic models. Women were 2.3 percentage points (pp) more likely to experience severe functional limitation than men, and overcame a 10% probability threshold of suffering from severe limitation around 5 years earlier. Subjective poverty was associated with a 3.1 pp. higher probability of severe functional limitation. Having a university degree reduced the probability of severe functional limitation by 3.5 pp. as compared to none educational level. Discrepancies were wider for the oldest old: women aged 65-79 years old were 3.3 pp. more likely to suffer severe limitations, the excess risk increasing to 15.5 pp. among those older than 80. Similarly, educational inequalities in functional limitation were wider at older ages. Being severely limited was related with a 32.1 pp. higher probability of receiving any informal care, as compared to those moderately limited. Finally, those severely limited had on average 3.2 hospitalization days and 4.6 doctor consultations more

Feasibility of a Simple Small Wind Turbine with Variable-Speed Regulation Made of Commercial Components

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús Peláez Vara

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to propose and evaluate a very small wind turbine (VSWT that competes with commercial grid-connected VSWTs in terms of simplicity, robustness and price. Its main components are a squirrel-cage induction generator (SCIG driven by a frequency converter. The system has a direct-drive shaft, and may be constructed with commercial equipment. Simulation of the wind turbine effect is done with a motor. A control program regulates the variable-speed of rotation through three operational modes: (i to drive the turbine to its optimum operation point; (ii to limit its maximum rotational speed; and (iii to limit the maximum power it generates. Two tests were performed, in order to evaluate the dynamic response of this system under variable wind speeds. The tests demonstrate that the system operates at the optimum operational point of the turbine, and within the set limits of maximum rotational speed and maximum generated power. The drop in performance in relation to its nominal value is about 75%, when operating at 50% of the nominal power. In summary, this VSWT with its proposed control program is feasible and reliable for operating direct-shaft grid-connected VSWTs.

An Internationally Intelligible Principle: Comparing the Nondelegation Doctrine in the United States and European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grodin Edward

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the degree of convergence between the United States and the European Union regarding the structural role of administrative agencies. As will be argued, the United States and European Union have arrived at the same broad conclusion about a “nondelegation doctrine”: delegations to administrative agencies should be permitted so long as some limiting principle governs the exercise of that power and allows for sufficient judicial review. However, the Supreme Court has taken a more permissive approach than the Court of Justice in defining the limiting principle. The United States has loosened the reins for the sake of modern administration while the European Union has maintained a firmer grip to keep better control over the Europeanization project. Stated another way, the nondelegation doctrine is simply a reflection of the systems’ relative levels of integration. Thus, the nondelegation doctrine will be stretched in Europe as functional regulatory demands arise from wider and deeper integration. At the same time, the focus will be redirected from substantive limits to procedural controls; accordingly, this Note advocates for a European Administrative Procedure Act.

Comparison of performances of full-speed turbine and half-speed turbine for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Hu; Zhang Weihong; Zhang Qiang; Li Shaohua

2010-01-01

The steam turbines of nuclear power plants can be divided into the full-speed turbine and half-speed turbine. Different speed leads to differences in many aspects. Therefore, the rational speed is the key point in the selection of steam turbines. This paper contrasts the economy between the half-speed turbine and full-speed turbine, by calculating the relative internal efficiency of half-speed and full-speed steam turbines with the typical level of 1000 megawatt. At the same time, this paper also calculate the relative speed of high speed water drops in the last stage blade of half-speed turbine and full-speed turbine, to contrast the water erosion between the half-speed turbine and full-speed turbine. The results show that the relative internal efficiency of half-speed turbine is higher than that of the full-speed turbine, and that the security especially the ability of preventing water erosion of half-speed turbine is better than that of the full-speed turbine. (authors)

Where Human Rights Meet Administrative Law: Essential Elements and Limits to Delegation: European Court of Justice, Grand Chamber C-355/10: European Parliament v. Council of the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

den Heijer, M.; Tauschinsky, E.

2013-01-01

Case C-355/10 deals with institutional questions and with the delicate issue of intercepting migrants at sea, and thus with fundamental rights. The European Parliament had sought the annulment of a decision of the Council, adopted under the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (PRAC), on the grounds

Energy challenges: European viewpoints and French answers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc Gjidara

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The European Union attempts to improve the European energy market so that it is better coordinated because in a unified Europe it is no longer possible to act in isolation. The production of energy form renewable sources of great proportions demands a mutually linked European energy market if the aims established in the “Energy and Climate” programme and adopted in 2009 are to be achieved. The aim of this paper is to establish how the principles of European Law influence legal norming in energy issues and in the battle against global warming. The development of energy which does not emit carbon dioxide is in accordance with the aims set by the European Union. In that area, this development relies on regions, and not just countries which are not always able to implement defined ambitious aims. Energy continues in the majority of cases to depend on the power of countries and European control is limited. The European Union participates mainly in the co-ordination and support of national policy, within provisions relating to trans-European networks and within environment protection policy. In principle, the measures relating to the choice of each country from the various sources of energy and on the general structure of providing energy have been unanimously accepted. Particular attention has been given to comparing the French legal rules which are applied in the development of renewable sources of energy and the adaptation of the law on renewable sources of energy and laws on environmental protection to urban planning and the importance of supervision with European legal standards of regulation.

Multi-epoch VLBA Imaging of 20 New TeV Blazars: Apparent Jet Speeds

Science.gov (United States)

Piner, B. Glenn; Edwards, Philip G.

2018-01-01

We present 88 multi-epoch Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) images (most at an observing frequency of 8 GHz) of 20 TeV blazars, all of the high-frequency-peaked BL Lac (HBL) class, that have not been previously studied at multiple epochs on the parsec scale. From these 20 sources, we analyze the apparent speeds of 43 jet components that are all detected at four or more epochs. As has been found for other TeV HBLs, the apparent speeds of these components are relatively slow. About two-thirds of the components have an apparent speed that is consistent (within 2σ) with no motion, and some of these components may be stationary patterns whose apparent speed does not relate to the underlying bulk flow speed. In addition, a superluminal tail to the apparent speed distribution of the TeV HBLs is detected for the first time, with eight components in seven sources having a 2σ lower limit on the apparent speed exceeding 1c. We combine the data from these 20 sources with an additional 18 sources from the literature to analyze the complete apparent speed distribution of all 38 TeV HBLs that have been studied with very long baseline interferometry at multiple epochs. The highest 2σ apparent speed lower limit considering all sources is 3.6c. This suggests that bulk Lorentz factors of up to about 4, but probably not much higher, exist in the parsec-scale radio-emitting regions of these sources, consistent with estimates obtained in the radio by other means such as brightness temperatures. This can be reconciled with the high Lorentz factors estimated from the high-energy data if the jet has velocity structures consisting of different emission regions with different Lorentz factors. In particular, we analyze the current apparent speed data for the TeV HBLs in the context of a model with a fast central spine and a slower outer layer.

Radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure levels in different European outdoor urban environments in comparison with regulatory limits.

Science.gov (United States)

Urbinello, Damiano; Joseph, Wout; Huss, Anke; Verloock, Leen; Beekhuizen, Johan; Vermeulen, Roel; Martens, Luc; Röösli, Martin

2014-07-01

Concerns of the general public about potential adverse health effects caused by radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) led authorities to introduce precautionary exposure limits, which vary considerably between regions. It may be speculated that precautionary limits affect the base station network in a manner that mean population exposure unintentionally increases. The objectives of this multicentre study were to compare mean exposure levels in outdoor areas across four different European cities and to compare with regulatory RF-EMF exposure levels in the corresponding areas. We performed measurements in the cities of Amsterdam (the Netherlands, regulatory limits for mobile phone base station frequency bands: 41-61 V/m), Basel (Switzerland, 4-6 V/m), Ghent (Belgium, 3-4.5 V/m) and Brussels (Belgium, 2.9-4.3 V/m) using a portable measurement device. Measurements were conducted in three different types of outdoor areas (central and non-central residential areas and downtown), between 2011 and 2012 at 12 different days. On each day, measurements were taken every 4s for approximately 15 to 30 min per area. Measurements per urban environment were repeated 12 times during 1 year. Arithmetic mean values for mobile phone base station exposure ranged between 0.22 V/m (Basel) and 0.41 V/m (Amsterdam) in all outdoor areas combined. The 95th percentile for total RF-EMF exposure varied between 0.46 V/m (Basel) and 0.82 V/m (Amsterdam) and the 99th percentile between 0.81 V/m (Basel) and 1.20 V/m (Brussels). All exposure levels were far below international reference levels proposed by ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection). Our study did not find indications that lowering the regulatory limit results in higher mobile phone base station exposure levels. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Limiting characteristics of the superconducting fault current limiter applied to the neutral line of conventional transformer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Im, I.G.; Choi, H.S.; Jung, B.I.

2013-01-01

Highlights: •Fault current limiter was used a high-speed interrupter. •High-speed interrupter was operated to bypass to the current limiter line. •The size of the fault current was limited to about 80% after the fault occurred. •The fault current was limited quickly within a half-cycle after the fault occurred. -- Abstract: The increased electricity demands influenced by the recent industrial development make the electric power distribution system more comprehensive, and the risks are high to cause failures to steady state electric line due to the extended range of fault at the time of fault occurrence. Also, the high performance and the high precision electric appliances that sensitive to switching surge and fault current expose vulnerability of reduced life span and increased fault occurrence ratio. Therefore, this thesis analyzed the fault limiting characteristics by the fault types by applying the superconducting fault current limiter to the neutral line of the transformer in order to reduce the fault currents that flow such high performance appliances. A current transformer (CT) that detects the fault current in the simulated power distribution system, a switching control system that is self-developed and a transformer are used in constructing a circuit. When a fault occurs, the initial fault current is restricted by the superconducting fault current limiter and simultaneously detours the fault current by operating the SCR contact of the switching control system through the detection by CT. This thesis analyzed the limiting characteristics of the superconducting fault current limiter that are applied to the neutral line of the transformer by the fault types

Limiting characteristics of the superconducting fault current limiter applied to the neutral line of conventional transformer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Im, I.G., E-mail: asiligo@gmail.com; Choi, H.S., E-mail: hyosang@chosun.ac.kr; Jung, B.I.

2013-11-15

Highlights: •Fault current limiter was used a high-speed interrupter. •High-speed interrupter was operated to bypass to the current limiter line. •The size of the fault current was limited to about 80% after the fault occurred. •The fault current was limited quickly within a half-cycle after the fault occurred. -- Abstract: The increased electricity demands influenced by the recent industrial development make the electric power distribution system more comprehensive, and the risks are high to cause failures to steady state electric line due to the extended range of fault at the time of fault occurrence. Also, the high performance and the high precision electric appliances that sensitive to switching surge and fault current expose vulnerability of reduced life span and increased fault occurrence ratio. Therefore, this thesis analyzed the fault limiting characteristics by the fault types by applying the superconducting fault current limiter to the neutral line of the transformer in order to reduce the fault currents that flow such high performance appliances. A current transformer (CT) that detects the fault current in the simulated power distribution system, a switching control system that is self-developed and a transformer are used in constructing a circuit. When a fault occurs, the initial fault current is restricted by the superconducting fault current limiter and simultaneously detours the fault current by operating the SCR contact of the switching control system through the detection by CT. This thesis analyzed the limiting characteristics of the superconducting fault current limiter that are applied to the neutral line of the transformer by the fault types.

Electric vehicle speed control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krueger, W.R.; Mc Auliffe, G.N.; Schlageter, G.A.

1987-06-23

This patent describes an electric vehicle driven by a DC motor. The vehicle has a field winding, an electric resistance element in circuit with the field winding, a switch in the circuit operative when closed to place. The element in parallel with the field winding weakens the field and increases potential motor speed. Also are relay means for operating the switch, means to determine motor speed, computer means for determining whether the motor speed is increasing or decreasing, and means for operating the relay means to close the switch at a first speed. If the motor speed is increased, it actuates the switch at a second speed lower than the first speed but only if switch has been closed previously and motor speed is decreasing.

Offshore winds from a new generation of European satellites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Badger, Merete; Karagali, Ioanna; Ahsbahs, Tobias Torben

at sea. All are important for the planning, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind farms. Typical shortcomings of SAR-based wind fields include a low sampling frequency and a need for advanced data processing in order to retrieve the wind speed at 10 m above sea level. A new generation of European...... satellites and services could lower these barriers for applications in wind energy significantly. The Sentinel-1 A/B missions by the European Space Agency (ESA) deliver C-band SAR observations at an unprecedented coverage and spatial resolution. Over the seas of Europe, approximately 200 new acquisitions...... of Europe over time. The accuracy of this new product is currently under investigation. TerraSAR-X is an X-band SAR mission by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). It offers very high-resolution imagery, which may be used for detailed studies of e.g. wind farm wakes. TerraSAR-X imagery is acquired on...

EUROPEAN INFLUENCE ON ETHIOPIAN ANTITRUST REGIME:

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eliasn

Introduction. Despite a noticeable European influence on the Ethiopian competition legal regime, some aspects of Ethiopia's 2003 Trade Practice Proclamation are still inadequate to appropriately deal with certain competition problems. The limitations of the rules need to be put right since achievement of the very goals of ...

Individual Differences in the Speed of Facial Emotion Recognition Show Little Specificity but Are Strongly Related with General Mental Speed: Psychometric, Neural and Genetic Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinyang Liu

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Facial identity and facial expression processing are crucial socio-emotional abilities but seem to show only limited psychometric uniqueness when the processing speed is considered in easy tasks. We applied a comprehensive measurement of processing speed and contrasted performance specificity in socio-emotional, social and non-social stimuli from an individual differences perspective. Performance in a multivariate task battery could be best modeled by a general speed factor and a first-order factor capturing some specific variance due to processing emotional facial expressions. We further tested equivalence of the relationships between speed factors and polymorphisms of dopamine and serotonin transporter genes. Results show that the speed factors are not only psychometrically equivalent but invariant in their relation with the Catechol-O-Methyl-Transferase (COMT Val158Met polymorphism. However, the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 serotonin polymorphism was related with the first-order factor of emotion perception speed, suggesting a specific genetic correlate of processing emotions. We further investigated the relationship between several components of event-related brain potentials with psychometric abilities, and tested emotion specific individual differences at the neurophysiological level. Results revealed swifter emotion perception abilities to go along with larger amplitudes of the P100 and the Early Posterior Negativity (EPN, when emotion processing was modeled on its own. However, after partialling out the shared variance of emotion perception speed with general processing speed-related abilities, brain-behavior relationships did not remain specific for emotion. Together, the present results suggest that speed abilities are strongly interrelated but show some specificity for emotion processing speed at the psychometric level. At both genetic and neurophysiological levels, emotion specificity depended on whether general cognition is taken into account

Individual Differences in the Speed of Facial Emotion Recognition Show Little Specificity but Are Strongly Related with General Mental Speed: Psychometric, Neural and Genetic Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xinyang; Hildebrandt, Andrea; Recio, Guillermo; Sommer, Werner; Cai, Xinxia; Wilhelm, Oliver

2017-01-01

Facial identity and facial expression processing are crucial socio-emotional abilities but seem to show only limited psychometric uniqueness when the processing speed is considered in easy tasks. We applied a comprehensive measurement of processing speed and contrasted performance specificity in socio-emotional, social and non-social stimuli from an individual differences perspective. Performance in a multivariate task battery could be best modeled by a general speed factor and a first-order factor capturing some specific variance due to processing emotional facial expressions. We further tested equivalence of the relationships between speed factors and polymorphisms of dopamine and serotonin transporter genes. Results show that the speed factors are not only psychometrically equivalent but invariant in their relation with the Catechol-O-Methyl-Transferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism. However, the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 serotonin polymorphism was related with the first-order factor of emotion perception speed, suggesting a specific genetic correlate of processing emotions. We further investigated the relationship between several components of event-related brain potentials with psychometric abilities, and tested emotion specific individual differences at the neurophysiological level. Results revealed swifter emotion perception abilities to go along with larger amplitudes of the P100 and the Early Posterior Negativity (EPN), when emotion processing was modeled on its own. However, after partialling out the shared variance of emotion perception speed with general processing speed-related abilities, brain-behavior relationships did not remain specific for emotion. Together, the present results suggest that speed abilities are strongly interrelated but show some specificity for emotion processing speed at the psychometric level. At both genetic and neurophysiological levels, emotion specificity depended on whether general cognition is taken into account or not. These

European Integration and Globalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Bobica

2010-06-01

Full Text Available According to many, the term globalization is able to explain any phenomenon whatsoever, be it positive or negative, that takes place within the global social system. It seems like a sort of magical formula, which is to be found in the speeches of all sorts of people, be they economists, politicians, businessmen or sociologists. However this magical formula of globalization has its limitations, since it encompasses a certain amount of quibbling, beyond which not many can pass. In the context of globalization there appears the question on its role in the process of European integration. Is European integration a part of this global process or, quite on the contrary, does it present certain distinctive features, as it moulds itself differently from the globalization phenomenon? A clear-cut answer seems difficult because of the various aspects involved. Not only the general phenomenon of globalization, but also the economic integration on European level is based on the liberalization of markets and on the opening of national economies towards the exterior,having as direct consequence the intensification of trade exchanges. If from a global point of view one may talk of a market fundamentalism in that the market principles know no boundary, European integration on the other hand implies not only market economy, but also a guided and monitored action of Member Statesaccording to the needs of the whole entity, also taking into consideration - as far as possible – all aspects and consequences on social level.

Environmental organisations and the EC. Action options of environmental organisations for improving environmental consciousness and environmental policy in the European Community. Draft summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hey, C.; Brendle, U.

1992-01-01

A European-wide awakening of environmental organizations began in the middle of the eighties, about the same time as the political push for EC integration. The European work of the environmental organizations is at a turning point almost everywhere. Most organizations made important structural decisions in the last few years, and the speed of the change has been fast. The landscape of environment organizations is becoming more complex and certainly more politically important on a European level. This push for internationalization will certainly entail an inter-cultural learning process, which could lead to a 'European' identity in the mid-term. The various national condition for environmental organizations in Germany, Spain, Holland, Great Britain, and on a European level are compared here. (orig./DG)

How European unification has shaped the debate on measuring international financial integration

OpenAIRE

Pieterse-Bloem, Mary; Eijffinger, Sylvester

2013-01-01

textabstractIn this paper we analyse a chronicle of economic theory on international financial integration post-WWII to the present date. Our focus is on theories that have somehow quantify the state and speed of international financial integration. We are able to contrast and compare three distinct strands that have brought forward conditions for its measurement. It is shown that European unification provides much of the empirical testing ground for these measures of international financial ...

European wood-fuel trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillring, B.; Vinterbaeck, J.

2001-01-01

This paper discusses research carried out during the l990s on European wood fuel trade at the Department of Forest Management and Products, SLU, in Sweden. Utilisation of wood-fuels and other biofuels increased very rapidly in some regions during that period. Biofuels are replacing fossil fuels which is an effective way to reduce the future influence of green house gases on the climate. The results indicate a rapid increase in wood-fuel trade in Europe from low levels and with a limited number of countries involved. The chief products traded are wood pellets, wood chips and recycled wood. The main trading countries are, for export, Germany and the Baltic states and, for import, Sweden, Denmark and to some extent the Netherlands. In the future, the increased use of biofuel in European countries is expected to intensify activity in this trade. (orig.)

The use of a European coinage alloy to compare the detection limits of mobile XRF systems. A feasibility study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cesareo, R. [Struttura Dipartimentale di Matematica e Fisica, Universita di Sassari, Sassari (Italy); Ferretti, M. [CNR-Istituto per le Tecnologie Applicate ai Beni Culturali, Rome (Italy); Gigante, G.E. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Roma ' La Sapienza' , Rome (Italy); Guida, G. [Laboratorio di Chimica, Istituto Centrale per il Restauro, Rome (Italy); Moioli, P. [Unita Tecnico-Scientifica Materiali e Nuove Tecnologie, ENEA, Rome (Italy); Ridolfi, S. [Ars Mensurae, Rome (Italy); Roldan Garcia, C. [Unidad de Arqueometria, Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia (Spain)

2007-05-15

The investigation of archaeological and historical materials makes use of techniques that, though borrowed from other fields of research and industrial production, frequently have to be 're-invented' because of peculiar characteristics of the analysed objects. Artistic relevance, limited movability, compositional and structural heterogeneity radically change the experimental approach and often require ad hoc designed equipment. These considerations also apply to x-ray fluorescence, especially regarding mobile systems. The extensive development and use of mobile spectrometers has produced an extremely diversified context and created the need for common criteria to evaluate their performances as well as the advisability of a survey on the existing equipment. This paper shows the feasibility of such an idea through a demonstrative survey that was carried out among users of different mobile x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) systems in the areas of Rome, Italy and Valencia, Spain. The experimental protocol was based on measuring spectrometer detection limits with the single standard method. The standard was the 50 Euro-cent coin, whose alloy is made of 89% Cu, 5% Al, 5% Zn, 1% Sn; the large spread of the European currency guarantees maximum availability. The experimental data show that the use of different x-ray tubes and detectors results in detection limits that may differ from each other by a factor of 6 for Zn and almost 100 for Sn; despite the large number of variables that in principle affect the performance, it was observed that the high voltage of the x-ray tube is the most important parameter. (authors)

Efficiency improvement of variable speed electrical drives for HVAC applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abrahamsen, F.; Blaabjerg, F.; Pedersen, J.K. [Aalborg Univ., Inst. of Energy Technology, Aalborg East (Denmark)

2000-07-01

A large part of the produced electrical energy is consumed by ventilators, pumps and compressors, the so-called HVAC applications. A lot of this energy can be saved by speed control, but even with the large saving obtained alone by introduction of variable speed, it is still essential to optimise the control of the variable speed drive and to optimise the electrical machine with respect to efficiency. Experiments are made with energy optimal induction motor control on a 2.2 kW variable speed pump system. It is demonstrated that 10% of the consumed energy can typically be saved by energy optimal motor control compared with constant V/Hz control. In a comparison of induction motors and permanent magnet synchronous motors for a variable speed pump application it is shown that for 2.2 kW motors an investment in high-efficiency or PM motors are typically paid back within 2.5 years and 7 years respectively. For a 90 kW PM motor the pay-back time would be 24 years. It is today not profitable to use PM motors for variable speed HVAC applications above 2 kW rated motor power. A further study is required to determine this limit in power rating more precisely. (orig.)

Critical Speed Control for a Fixed Blade Variable Speed Wind Turbine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morgan Rossander

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A critical speed controller for avoiding a certain rotational speed is presented. The controller is useful for variable speed wind turbines with a natural frequency in the operating range. The controller has been simulated, implemented and tested on an open site 12 kW vertical axis wind turbine prototype. The controller is based on an adaptation of the optimum torque control. Two lookup tables and a simple state machine provide the control logic of the controller. The controller requires low computational resources, and no wind speed measurement is needed. The results suggest that the controller is a feasible method for critical speed control. The skipping behavior can be adjusted using only two parameters. While tested on a vertical axis wind turbine, it may be used on any variable speed turbine with the control of generator power.

Motorcycle and scooter speeds approaching urban intersections.

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, D; Buchanan, J

2012-09-01

Five urban, uncontrolled T-intersections known to be motorcycle crash 'black spots' were monitored using instrumentation and a roadside observer. Two sets of twelve-hour observations were collected for each site (N≈100,000). Instrumentation recorded the 'events' of vehicles passing to measure, speed, direction, lane position, vehicle type (broadly characterised) and headway. Observers further recorded times of bicycle events, type of motorcycle (scooters or motorcycles), the behaviour of motorcycles and the use of 'high conspicuity' gear such as clothing or helmets. Results establish that motorcycles travel around 10% faster than the other traffic (car mean speed=34.97 km/h), with motorcycles travelling on average 3.3 km/h faster than cars. Motorcycles were 3.4 times more likely to be exceeding the speed limit than cars. Similar results are described for scooters. Also examined are the influences on mean speeds such as the time of day, the presence of a car at the t-intersection, and the influence of free headway. The results are compared for robustness across locations and days. It is concluded that in urban areas motorcycles are travelling significantly faster than other traffic. These findings are discussed against a concern to reduce motorcycle crashes by improving conspicuity and previous research that implicates a 'looked-but-failed-to-see' effect for car drivers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Speed of quantum evolution of entangled two qubits states: Local vs. global evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curilef, S; Zander, C; Plastino, A R

2008-01-01

There is a lower bound for the 'speed' of quantum evolution as measured by the time needed to reach an orthogonal state. We show that, for two-qubits systems, states saturating the quantum speed limit tend to exhibit a small amount of local evolution, as measured by the fidelity between the initial and final single qubit states after the time τ required by the composite system to reach an orthogonal state. Consequently, a trade-off between the speed of global evolution and the amount of local evolution seems to be at work.

Estimating a relationship between aerosol optical thickness and surface wind speed over the ocean

OpenAIRE

Glantz , P.; Nilsson , D. E.; Von Hoyningen-Huene , W.

2006-01-01

International audience; Retrieved aerosol optical thickness (AOT) based on data obtained by the Sea viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS) is combined with surface wind speed, obtained at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWFs), over the North Pacific for September 2001. In this study a cloud screening approach is introduced in an attempt to exclude pixels partly or fully covered by clouds. The relatively broad swath width for which the nadir looking SeaWiFS instrument sc...

An RFID-Based Intelligent Vehicle Speed Controller Using Active Traffic Signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshué Pérez

2010-06-01

Full Text Available These days, mass-produced vehicles benefit from research on Intelligent Transportation System (ITS. One prime example of ITS is vehicle Cruise Control (CC, which allows it to maintain a pre-defined reference speed, to economize on fuel or energy consumption, to avoid speeding fines, or to focus all of the driver’s attention on the steering of the vehicle. However, achieving efficient Cruise Control is not easy in roads or urban streets where sudden changes of the speed limit can happen, due to the presence of unexpected obstacles or maintenance work, causing, in inattentive drivers, traffic accidents. In this communication we present a new Infrastructure to Vehicles (I2V communication and control system for intelligent speed control, which is based upon Radio Frequency Identification (RFID technology for identification of traffic signals on the road, and high accuracy vehicle speed measurement with a Hall effect-based sensor. A fuzzy logic controller, based on sensor fusion of the information provided by the I2V infrastructure, allows the efficient adaptation of the speed of the vehicle to the circumstances of the road. The performance of the system is checked empirically, with promising results.

An RFID-Based Intelligent Vehicle Speed Controller Using Active Traffic Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Joshué; Seco, Fernando; Milanés, Vicente; Jiménez, Antonio; Díaz, Julio C.; de Pedro, Teresa

2010-01-01

These days, mass-produced vehicles benefit from research on Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). One prime example of ITS is vehicle Cruise Control (CC), which allows it to maintain a pre-defined reference speed, to economize on fuel or energy consumption, to avoid speeding fines, or to focus all of the driver’s attention on the steering of the vehicle. However, achieving efficient Cruise Control is not easy in roads or urban streets where sudden changes of the speed limit can happen, due to the presence of unexpected obstacles or maintenance work, causing, in inattentive drivers, traffic accidents. In this communication we present a new Infrastructure to Vehicles (I2V) communication and control system for intelligent speed control, which is based upon Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for identification of traffic signals on the road, and high accuracy vehicle speed measurement with a Hall effect-based sensor. A fuzzy logic controller, based on sensor fusion of the information provided by the I2V infrastructure, allows the efficient adaptation of the speed of the vehicle to the circumstances of the road. The performance of the system is checked empirically, with promising results. PMID:22219692

New, but slow – technical newness challenges late stage development speed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smed, Marie; Salomo, Søren; Getz, Kenneth A.

2014-01-01

The down-stream processes where new product prospects undergo pilot testing and adjustments before market launch can have significant impact on development speed. Previous literature has primarily pointed to firm traits as influential factors to speed. However, product specific measures such as t......The down-stream processes where new product prospects undergo pilot testing and adjustments before market launch can have significant impact on development speed. Previous literature has primarily pointed to firm traits as influential factors to speed. However, product specific measures...... such as technical innovativeness may be a critical factor when going through the crucial late stages of development. We have limited knowledge of the relation between product newness and the speed of NPD, and how this may be related to firm size and partnering strategies during development. Combining product traits...... with firm resources relevant to late stage development speed can enrich our understanding of time-tomarket in the aim of improving this crucial measure of NPD. The research model is tested on a dataset of all new drug developments approved for the US market 2000-2010. The results show that newness...

An RFID-based intelligent vehicle speed controller using active traffic signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Joshué; Seco, Fernando; Milanés, Vicente; Jiménez, Antonio; Díaz, Julio C; de Pedro, Teresa

2010-01-01

These days, mass-produced vehicles benefit from research on Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). One prime example of ITS is vehicle Cruise Control (CC), which allows it to maintain a pre-defined reference speed, to economize on fuel or energy consumption, to avoid speeding fines, or to focus all of the driver's attention on the steering of the vehicle. However, achieving efficient Cruise Control is not easy in roads or urban streets where sudden changes of the speed limit can happen, due to the presence of unexpected obstacles or maintenance work, causing, in inattentive drivers, traffic accidents. In this communication we present a new Infrastructure to Vehicles (I2V) communication and control system for intelligent speed control, which is based upon Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for identification of traffic signals on the road, and high accuracy vehicle speed measurement with a Hall effect-based sensor. A fuzzy logic controller, based on sensor fusion of the information provided by the I2V infrastructure, allows the efficient adaptation of the speed of the vehicle to the circumstances of the road. The performance of the system is checked empirically, with promising results.

Compensator design for improved counterbalancing in high speed atomic force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bozchalooi, I S; Youcef-Toumi, K; Burns, D J; Fantner, G E

2011-11-01

High speed atomic force microscopy can provide the possibility of many new scientific observations and applications ranging from nano-manufacturing to the study of biological processes. However, the limited imaging speed has been an imperative drawback of the atomic force microscopes. One of the main reasons behind this limitation is the excitation of the AFM dynamics at high scan speeds, severely undermining the reliability of the acquired images. In this research, we propose a piezo based, feedforward controlled, counter actuation mechanism to compensate for the excited out-of-plane scanner dynamics. For this purpose, the AFM controller output is properly filtered via a linear compensator and then applied to a counter actuating piezo. An effective algorithm for estimating the compensator parameters is developed. The information required for compensator design is extracted from the cantilever deflection signal, hence eliminating the need for any additional sensors. The proposed approach is implemented and experimentally evaluated on the dynamic response of a custom made AFM. It is further assessed by comparing the imaging performance of the AFM with and without the application of the proposed technique and in comparison with the conventional counterbalancing methodology. The experimental results substantiate the effectiveness of the method in significantly improving the imaging performance of AFM at high scan speeds. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Wind speed limits to work under hot environments for clothed men.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamon, E; Avellini, B

1979-02-01

Four heat-acclimated clothed young adult men exercised (treadmill) at metabolic rate of 191 W.m-2 (27% VO2 max), under five air temperatures (Ta) between 36 and 53 degrees C and three wind velocities (v), 1, 2, and 4 m.s-1, for 2 h. The 2nd h of each experiment involved progressive increases in the ambient vapor pressure (Pa) to force an upward inflection of the rectal temperature (Tre). The Tre point of inflection identified the critical Pa (Pcrit) for each Ta. The average mean skin temperature (Tsk = 36 degrees C for all Pcrit. Straight-line isotherms for Tsk = 36 degrees C, which agreed with the negative regressions of the Pcrit on Ta, represented the limits of exposure for Ta less than or equal to 44 degrees C. The slope characteristics of the isotherms corresponded with skin wettedness (w) of 0.94, 0.71, and 0.58, respectively, for v of 1, 2, and 4 m.s-1. For Ta greater than 44 degrees C the limit line corresponded with steeper negative regressions indicating a lower w than for Ta less than or equal to 44 degrees C. Despite the increase in the ambient evaporative capacity due to the higher v the limit lines describing exposure limits were not significantly different either at Ta less than or equal to 44 degrees C for v of 2 and 4 m.s-1 or at Ta greater than 44 degrees C for all three v.

Limitation Period In Case-Law Of European Court Of Human Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Богдан Петрович Карнаух

2016-09-01

Conclusions of the research. Limitation period constitute a restriction of a right to access to court. Such a restriction is justified if (a it does not restrict a right to access to court in such a way that the very essence of that right is nullified; (b it has a legitimate purpose; (c the proper balance between the purpose aimed and the restriction is struck. In order for the limitation period to be proportionate with the aim of providing legal certainty, the following requirements should be met: (i the limitation period is not unduly short; (ii the application of limitation period is foreseeable; (iii the application of limitation period is flexible (i.e. it is capable of taking into account different individual characteristics of each case.

Sagnac interferometer as a speed-meter-type, quantum-nondemolition gravitational-wave detector

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yanbei

2003-06-01

According to quantum measurement theory, “speed meters”—devices that measure the momentum, or speed, of free test masses—are immune to the standard quantum limit (SQL). It is shown that a Sagnac-interferometer gravitational-wave detector is a speed meter and therefore in principle it can beat the SQL by large amounts over a wide band of frequencies. It is shown, further, that, when one ignores optical losses, a signal-recycled Sagnac interferometer with Fabry-Perot arm cavities has precisely the same performance, for the same circulating light power, as the Michelson speed-meter interferometer recently invented and studied by Purdue and the author. The influence of optical losses is not studied, but it is plausible that they be fairly unimportant for the Sagnac interferometer, as for other speed meters. With squeezed vacuum (squeeze factor e-2R=0.1) injected into its dark port, the recycled Sagnac interferometer can beat the SQL by a factor (10)≃3 over the frequency band 10 Hz≲f≲150 Hz using the same circulating power Ic˜820 kW as is to be used by the (quantum limited) second-generation Advanced LIGO interferometers—if other noise sources are made sufficiently small. It is concluded that the Sagnac optical configuration, with signal recycling and squeezed-vacuum injection, is an attractive candidate for third-generation interferometric gravitational-wave detectors (LIGO-III and EURO).

Low Speed Automation, a French Initiative

OpenAIRE

Sébastien, Glaser; Maurice, Cour; Lydie, Nouveliere; Alain, Lambert; Fawzi, Nashashibi; Jean-Christophe, Popieul; Benjamin, Mourllion

2012-01-01

International audience; Nowadays, vehicle safety is constantly increasing thanks to the improvement of vehicle passive and active safety. However, on a daily usage of the car, traffic jams remains a problem. With limited space for road infrastructure, automation of the driving task on specific situation seems to be a possible solution. The French project ABV, which stands for low speed automation, tries to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept and to prove the benefits. In this article, ...

The European Social Survey and European research policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kropp, Kristoffer

2017-01-01

This article analyses the history of the European Social Survey (ESS) and its relationship to changes in European research policy, using Bourdieu’s field-analytical approach. It argues that the success of the ESS relied on three interwoven processes that we can understand theoretically in terms...... of the establishment of homological structures and the formation of conjunctural alliances between the field of European social-scientific research and the field of European policy. The three interwoven processes that I depict are: first, the production of a European field of social research, connected to both...... European and national scientific institutions; second, the establishment of European Union (EU) institutions and organisations that were able to identify and link up with social researchers; and third, the formation of conjunctural alliances between the two fields (social science and EU research policy...

Center post type cyclo-speed reducer for sludge scrapers for sedimentation ponds; Chindenchi odei kakiyosekiyo center post gata saikuro {reg_sign} gensokuki

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-04-20

This equipment is a compact center post type cyclo-speed reducer composed by combining an internal gear with the cyclo-speed reducer which is in wide use for water treatment equipment. The features are as follows: (1) Drastic size reduction by adopting a direct-coupled structure of the vertical cyclo-speed reducer and an internal gear, (2) High efficiency by combining an internal gear with the cyclo-speed reducer, (3) Easy maintenance and inspection by a simple speed-reducing mechanism. (4) Cyclo-speed reducer with a torque limiter being in wide use as safety device, (5) Torque limiters corresponding to the specifications of various cyclo-speed reducers, and (6) Low price and short delivery time by modification from a previous revolving bearing to a rail rolling bearing, and standardization of main parts. (translated by NEDO)

European Chlamydia abortus livestock isolate genomes reveal unusual stability and limited diversity, reflected in geographical signatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Seth-Smith, H M B; Busó, Leonor Sánchez; Livingstone, M; Sait, M; Harris, S R; Aitchison, K D; Vretou, Evangelia; Siarkou, V I; Laroucau, K; Sachse, K; Longbottom, D; Thomson, N R

2017-05-04

Chlamydia abortus (formerly Chlamydophila abortus) is an economically important livestock pathogen, causing ovine enzootic abortion (OEA), and can also cause zoonotic infections in humans affecting pregnancy outcome. Large-scale genomic studies on other chlamydial species are giving insights into the biology of these organisms but have not yet been performed on C. abortus. Our aim was to investigate a broad collection of European isolates of C. abortus, using next generation sequencing methods, looking at diversity, geographic distribution and genome dynamics. Whole genome sequencing was performed on our collection of 57 C. abortus isolates originating primarily from the UK, Germany, France and Greece, but also from Tunisia, Namibia and the USA. Phylogenetic analysis of a total of 64 genomes shows a deep structural division within the C. abortus species with a major clade displaying limited diversity, in addition to a branch carrying two more distantly related Greek isolates, LLG and POS. Within the major clade, seven further phylogenetic groups can be identified, demonstrating geographical associations. The number of variable nucleotide positions across the sampled isolates is significantly lower than those published for C. trachomatis and C. psittaci. No recombination was identified within C. abortus, and no plasmid was found. Analysis of pseudogenes showed lineage specific loss of some functions, notably with several Pmp and TMH/Inc proteins predicted to be inactivated in many of the isolates studied. The diversity within C. abortus appears to be much lower compared to other species within the genus. There are strong geographical signatures within the phylogeny, indicating clonal expansion within areas of limited livestock transport. No recombination has been identified within this species, showing that different species of Chlamydia may demonstrate different evolutionary dynamics, and that the genome of C. abortus is highly stable.

Adaptive sound speed correction for abdominal ultrasonography: preliminary results

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Sungmin; Kang, Jeeun; Song, Tai-Kyung; Yoo, Yangmo

2013-03-01

Ultrasonography has been conducting a critical role in assessing abdominal disorders due to its noninvasive, real-time, low cost, and deep penetrating capabilities. However, for imaging obese patients with a thick fat layer, it is challenging to achieve appropriate image quality with a conventional beamforming (CON) method due to phase aberration caused by the difference between sound speeds (e.g., 1580 and 1450m/s for liver and fat, respectively). For this, various sound speed correction (SSC) methods that estimate the accumulated sound speed for a region-of interest (ROI) have been previously proposed. However, with the SSC methods, the improvement in image quality was limited only for a specific depth of ROI. In this paper, we present the adaptive sound speed correction (ASSC) method, which can enhance the image quality for whole depths by using estimated sound speeds from two different depths in the lower layer. Since these accumulated sound speeds contain the respective contributions of layers, an optimal sound speed for each depth can be estimated by solving contribution equations. To evaluate the proposed method, the phantom study was conducted with pre-beamformed radio-frequency (RF) data acquired with a SonixTouch research package (Ultrasonix Corp., Canada) with linear and convex probes from the gel pad-stacked tissue mimicking phantom (Parker Lab. Inc., USA and Model539, ATS, USA) whose sound speeds are 1610 and 1450m/s, respectively. From the study, compared to the CON and SSC methods, the ASSC method showed the improved spatial resolution and information entropy contrast (IEC) for convex and linear array transducers, respectively. These results indicate that the ASSC method can be applied for enhancing image quality when imaging obese patients in abdominal ultrasonography.

The development of an automated sentence generator for the assessment of reading speed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Legge Gordon E

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Reading speed is an important outcome measure for many studies in neuroscience and psychology. Conventional reading speed tests have a limited corpus of sentences and usually require observers to read sentences aloud. Here we describe an automated sentence generator which can create over 100,000 unique sentences, scored using a true/false response. We propose that an estimate of the minimum exposure time required for observers to categorise the truth of such sentences is a good alternative to reading speed measures that guarantees comprehension of the printed material. Removing one word from the sentence reduces performance to chance, indicating minimal redundancy. Reading speed assessed using rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP of these sentences is not statistically different from using MNREAD sentences. The automated sentence generator would be useful for measuring reading speed with button-press response (such as within MRI scanners and for studies requiring many repeated measures of reading speed.

High-speed motion neutron radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bossi, R.H.; Barton, J.P.; Robinson, A.H.

1982-01-01

A system has been developed to perform neutron radiographic analysis of dynamic events having a duration of several milliseconds. The system has been operated in the range of 2000 to 10,000 frames. Synchronization has provided high-speed motion neutron radiographs for evaluation of the firing cycles of 7.62-mm munition rounds within a thick steel rifle barrel. The system has also been used to demonstrate its ability to produce neutron radiographic movies of two-phase flow. The equipment includes a TRIGA reactor capable of pulsing to a peak power of 3000 MW, a neutron beam collimator, a scintillator neutron conversion screen coupled to an image intensifier, and a 16-mm high-speed movie camera. The peak neutron flux incident at the object position is about 4 X 10 11 n/cm 2 X s with a pulse, full-width at half-maximum, of 9 ms. Modulation transfer function techniques have been used to assist optimization of the system performance. Special studies have been performed on the scintillator conversion screens and on the effects of statistical limitations on information availability

A novel vibration-based fault diagnostic algorithm for gearboxes under speed fluctuations without rotational speed measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Liu; Qu, Yongzhi; Dhupia, Jaspreet Singh; Sheng, Shuangwen; Tan, Yuegang; Zhou, Zude

2017-09-01

The localized failures of gears introduce cyclic-transient impulses in the measured gearbox vibration signals. These impulses are usually identified from the sidebands around gear-mesh harmonics through the spectral analysis of cyclo-stationary signals. However, in practice, several high-powered applications of gearboxes like wind turbines are intrinsically characterized by nonstationary processes that blur the measured vibration spectra of a gearbox and deteriorate the efficacy of spectral diagnostic methods. Although order-tracking techniques have been proposed to improve the performance of spectral diagnosis for nonstationary signals measured in such applications, the required hardware for the measurement of rotational speed of these machines is often unavailable in industrial settings. Moreover, existing tacho-less order-tracking approaches are usually limited by the high time-frequency resolution requirement, which is a prerequisite for the precise estimation of the instantaneous frequency. To address such issues, a novel fault-signature enhancement algorithm is proposed that can alleviate the spectral smearing without the need of rotational speed measurement. This proposed tacho-less diagnostic technique resamples the measured acceleration signal of the gearbox based on the optimal warping path evaluated from the fast dynamic time-warping algorithm, which aligns a filtered shaft rotational harmonic signal with respect to a reference signal assuming a constant shaft rotational speed estimated from the approximation of operational speed. The effectiveness of this method is validated using both simulated signals from a fixed-axis gear pair under nonstationary conditions and experimental measurements from a 750-kW planetary wind turbine gearbox on a dynamometer test rig. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can identify fault information from typical gearbox vibration measurements carried out in a resource-constrained industrial environment.

Improvement of lipase production at different stirring speeds and oxygen levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F.O.M. Alonso

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Lipase production by a Brazilian wild strain of Yarrowia lipolytica at different stirring speeds and air flow rates was studied. The relationship among lipid consumption, cell growth and lipase production by this microorganism is presented. The most pronounced effect of oxygen on lipase production was determined by stirring speed. Maximum lipase activity was detected in the late stationary phase at 200 rpm and an air flow rate of 1-2 dm³/min (0.8-1.7 vvm when the lipid source had been fully consumed. Higher stirring speeds resulted in mechanical and/or oxidative stress, while lower stirring speeds seemed to limit oxygen levels. An increase in the availability of oxygen at higher air flow rates led to faster lipid uptake and anticipation of enzyme release into the culture medium. The highest lipase production was obtained at 200 rpm and 1 dm³/min (0.8 vvm.

Peer influence on speeding behaviour among male drivers aged 18 and 28.

Science.gov (United States)

Møller, Mette; Haustein, Sonja

2014-03-01

Despite extensive research, preventive efforts and general improvements in road safety levels, the accident risk of young male drivers remains increased. Based on a standardized survey of a random sample of 2018 male drivers at the age of 18 and 28, this study looked into attitudes and behaviours related to traffic violations of male drivers. More specifically, the role of peer influence on speeding was examined in both age groups. In regression analyses it could be shown that the descriptive subjective norm, i.e., the perception of friends' speeding, was the most important predictor of speeding in both age groups. Other significant factors were: negative attitude towards speed limits, injunctive subjective norm, and the perceived risk of having an accident when speeding. In the older age group it was more common to drive faster than allowed and their speeding was largely in line with the perceived level of their friends' speeding. In the younger age group a higher discrepancy between own and friends' speeding was found indicating that young male drivers are socialized into increased speeding behaviour based on peer pressure. By contrast for the 28-year-olds peer pressure mainly seems to maintain or justify individual speeding behaviour. It is suggested that preventive measures should take these different influences of peer pressure into account by using a peer-based approach for the 18-year-olds and a more individual approach for the 28-year-olds. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

European Union regional policy in Asia-Europe’s meeting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel de Jesús Rocha Pino

2008-01-01

Full Text Available During 1996 the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM was created with the purpose of constituting a mechanism of nonexistent interregional dialogue until that moment and that united the both extremes of the eurasian territorial mass: East Asia (represented by group ANSEA 3 and Europe (represented by the European Union. The expectations erected at the moment of ASEM's creation were many, but with the years it has demonstrated a set of limits that has diminished its effectiveness, at least in the area of the political dialogue. In this paper is described the particular experience of the diplomacy of the European Union in the mechanism of the ASEM, the kind of interregional policy that this one has implemented and the contradictions that it has had to tolerate with respect to his own legal and institutional exigencies. In the paper it is argued that, despite its limits, the ASEM can be a referential case on the reaction of the European Union forehead to the transformation that in historical terms means the political and economic emergency of Asia in the international system.

Efficiency analysis of the speed turns in the crawl stroke swimming.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savchenko M.I.

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Contemporary approaches to improving technique of the speed in the crawl stroke swimming, namely roll-forward turn were considered in the paper. The performance efficiency is defined by the time covering 15 meter distance. The students of the sports mastering group aged 16-20 took part in the experiment. The video recordings of the Ukrainian, European and World Championships and Deflympic Games, and also chronometration during the department trainings served as the experimental data. The research showed that white improving the technical level of turns performance, the attention should be paid to the exact performance of all the elements of the turns.

Applications of variable speed control for contending with recurrent highway congestion.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-07-01

This research project developed vital operational guidelines for design of a variable speed limit (VSL) system and its integrated operations with ramp metering control in contending with recurrent highway congestion. The developed guidelines can serv...

Book Review: Lumea cu Două Viteze. Puterile Emergente şi Țările Dezvoltate (Two-Speed World: Emerging Powers and Developed Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan Mureşan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This review analyses Paul Dobrescu’s ‘Two-Speed World: Emerging Powers and Developed Countries’, a brief volume made up of a collection of articles on various international relations and European affairs topics initially published by the Romanian professor in the “CLIPA” magazine in the 2010-2013 timeframe. Although sometimes lacking narrative consistency, the book emphasises the idea that the world in which we find ourselves is one with two speeds of development, characterised by a shifting centre of gravity from the West to the East, a tendency especially highlighted by the first decade of this century. By asking if the next century is going to be a Western one and if the European Union project, deeply hurt by the financial crisis, still has a future, Paul Dobrescu challenges his readers to think outside the box and paints a rather grim picture of things to come, with a society dominated by consumerism and a shortage in morality.

Effects of line dancing on physical function and perceived limitation in older adults with self-reported mobility limitations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Crystal G; Hackney, Madeleine E

2018-06-01

Older adults with mobility limitations are at greater risk for aging-related declines in physical function. Line dancing is a popular form of exercise that can be modified, and is thus feasible for older adults with mobility limitations. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of 8 weeks of line dancing on balance, muscle strength, lower extremity function, endurance, gait speed, and perceived mobility limitations. An experimental design randomly assigned older adults to either an 8-week line dancing or usual care group. The convenience sample consisted of 23 participants with mobility limitations (age range: 65-93 years). The intervention used simple routines from novice line dance classes. At baseline and at 8 weeks, balance, knee muscle strength, lower extremity function, endurance, gait speed, and mobility limitations were measured. ANCOVA tests were conducted on each dependent variable to assess the effects of the intervention over time. Results found significant positive differences for the intervention group in lower extremity function (p dancing significantly improved physical function and reduced self-reported mobility limitations in these individuals. Line dancing could be recommended by clinicians as a potential adjunct therapy that addresses mobility limitations. Implications for Rehabilitation Line dancing may be an alternative exercise for older adults who need modifications due to mobility limitations. Line dancing incorporates cognitive and motor control. Line dancing can be performed alone or in a group setting. Dancing improves balance which can reduce risk of falls.

Highball: A high speed, reserved-access, wide area network

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, David L.; Boncelet, Charles G.; Elias, John G.; Schragger, Paul A.; Jackson, Alden W.

1990-01-01

A network architecture called Highball and a preliminary design for a prototype, wide-area data network designed to operate at speeds of 1 Gbps and beyond are described. It is intended for applications requiring high speed burst transmissions where some latency between requesting a transmission and granting the request can be anticipated and tolerated. Examples include real-time video and disk-disk transfers, national filestore access, remote sensing, and similar applications. The network nodes include an intelligent crossbar switch, but have no buffering capabilities; thus, data must be queued at the end nodes. There are no restrictions on the network topology, link speeds, or end-end protocols. The end system, nodes, and links can operate at any speed up to the limits imposed by the physical facilities. An overview of an initial design approach is presented and is intended as a benchmark upon which a detailed design can be developed. It describes the network architecture and proposed access protocols, as well as functional descriptions of the hardware and software components that could be used in a prototype implementation. It concludes with a discussion of additional issues to be resolved in continuing stages of this project.

European Union Budget Politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Citi, Manuele

2015-01-01

The marginal involvement of the European Union (EU) in redistributive policies and its limited fiscal resources have led to a notable lack of attention by EU scholars towards the EU budget and its dynamics. Yet the nature of the budgetary data and their high usability for statistical analysis make...... to form winning coalitions in the Council, the ideological positioning of the co-legislators and the inclusion of the cohesion countries have played a significant role in driving budget change....

Speed of disentanglement in multiqubit systems under a depolarizing channel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Fu-Lin, E-mail: flzhang@tju.edu.cn; Jiang, Yue; Liang, Mai-Lin, E-mail: mailinliang@yahoo.com.cn

2013-06-15

We investigate the speed of disentanglement in the multiqubit systems under the local depolarizing channel, in which each qubit is independently coupled to the environment. We focus on the bipartition entanglement between one qubit and the remaining qubits constituting the system, which is measured by the negativity. For the two-qubit system, the speed for the pure state completely depends on its entanglement. The upper and lower bounds of the speed for arbitrary two-qubit states, and the necessary conditions for a state achieving them, are obtained. For the three-qubit system, we study the speed for pure states, whose entanglement properties can be completely described by five local-unitary-transformation invariants. An analytical expression of the relation between the speed and the invariants is derived. The speed is enhanced by the three-tangle which is the entanglement among the three qubits, but reduced by the two-qubit correlations outside the concurrence. The decay of the negativity can be restrained by the other two negativity with the coequal sense. The unbalance between two qubits can reduce the speed of disentanglement of the remaining qubit in the system, and even can retrieve the entanglement partially. For the k-qubit systems in an arbitrary superposition of Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state and W state, the speed depends almost entirely on the amount of the negativity when k increases to five or six. An alternative quantitative definition for the robustness of entanglement is presented based on the speed of disentanglement, with comparison to the widely studied robustness measured by the critical amount of noise parameter where the entanglement vanishes. In the limit of large number of particles, the alternative robustness of the Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger-type states is inversely proportional to k, and the one of the W states approaches 1/√(k)

European meteorological data: contribution to research, development, and policy support

Science.gov (United States)

Biavetti, Irene; Karetsos, Sotiris; Ceglar, Andrej; Toreti, Andrea; Panagos, Panos

2014-08-01

The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has developed Interpolated Meteorological Datasets available on a regular 25x25km grid both to the scientific community and the general public. Among others, the Interpolated Meteorological Datasets include daily maximum/minimum temperature, cumulated daily precipitation, evapotranspiration and wind speed. These datasets can be accessed through a web interface after a simple registration procedure. The Interpolated Meteorological Datasets also serve the Crop Growth Monitoring System (CGMS) at European level. The temporal coverage of the datasets is more than 30 years and the spatial coverage includes EU Member States, neighboring European countries, and the Mediterranean countries. The meteorological data are highly relevant for the development, implementation and assessment of a number of European Union (EU) policy areas: agriculture, soil protection, environment, agriculture, food security, energy, climate change. An online user survey has been carried out in order to assess the impact of the Interpolated Meteorological Datasets on research developments. More than 70% of the users have used the meteorological datasets for research purposes and more than 50% of the users have used those sources as main input for their models. The usefulness of the data scored more than 70% and it is interesting to note that around 25% of the users have published their scientific outputs based on the Interpolated Meteorological Datasets. Finally, the user feedback focuses mostly on improving the data distribution process as well as the visibility of the web platform.

Speed Distribution on Two-Lane Rural Highways with Mixed Traffic: A Case Study in North East India

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, Pritam; Roy, Nabanita; Sarkar, Ashoke Kumar; Pal, Manish

2017-06-01

This work focuses on minimising inaccuracies in distributional assumptions of speed data on two-lane roads with heterogeneous traffic to improve accuracy in capacity and level of service analysis. Accordingly, field study was conducted on a two-lane highway in India that exhibits heterogeneity in its traffic composition. Two distribution functions, namely, normal and logistic were examined for the observed speed data. The appropriate function was chosen using a methodology based on K-S test and field validation. Logistic distribution function was found to exhibit its aptness in describing speed under such traffic and was, thereby, considered in estimating the limiting speed of slower vehicles that tends to obstruct the flow of traffic. Vehicles that move at or below this speed cause delay to the faster ones resulting in formation of platoons at moderate and heavy flow when passing is restricted. Since the percent time-spent-following, a performance measure to assess level-of-service of two-lane highways, considers proportion of vehicles that are trapped inside platoons, it is imperative to estimate the limiting speed of slower vehicles correctly to approximate the delayed vehicles.

Driving Skills of Young Adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder: Regulating Speed and Coping with Distraction

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira, Rita F.; Wann, John P.

2011-01-01

In two experiments, we used an automatic car simulator to examine the steering control, speed regulation and response to hazards of young adults with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and limited driving experience. In Experiment 1 participants either used the accelerator pedal to regulate their speed, or used the brake pedal when they…

Using a High-Speed Camera to Measure the Speed of Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Hack, William Nathan; Baird, William H.

2012-01-01

The speed of sound is a physical property that can be measured easily in the lab. However, finding an inexpensive and intuitive way for students to determine this speed has been more involved. The introduction of affordable consumer-grade high-speed cameras (such as the Exilim EX-FC100) makes conceptually simple experiments feasible. Since the…

Empirical Analysis and Modeling of Stop-Line Crossing Time and Speed at Signalized Intersections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keshuang Tang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In China, a flashing green (FG indication of 3 s followed by a yellow (Y indication of 3 s is commonly applied to end the green phase at signalized intersections. Stop-line crossing behavior of drivers during such a phase transition period significantly influences safety performance of signalized intersections. The objective of this study is thus to empirically analyze and model drivers’ stop-line crossing time and speed in response to the specific phase transition period of FG and Y. High-resolution trajectories for 1465 vehicles were collected at three rural high-speed intersections with a speed limit of 80 km/h and two urban intersections with a speed limit of 50 km/h in Shanghai. With the vehicle trajectory data, statistical analyses were performed to look into the general characteristics of stop-line crossing time and speed at the two types of intersections. A multinomial logit model and a multiple linear regression model were then developed to predict the stop-line crossing patterns and speeds respectively. It was found that the percentage of stop-line crossings during the Y interval is remarkably higher and the stop-line crossing time is approximately 0.7 s longer at the urban intersections, as compared with the rural intersections. In addition, approaching speed and distance to the stop-line at the onset of FG as well as area type significantly affect the percentages of stop-line crossings during the FG and Y intervals. Vehicle type and stop-line crossing pattern were found to significantly influence the stop-line crossing speed, in addition to the above factors. The red-light-running seems to occur more frequently at the large intersections with a long cycle length.

High speed atom source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoshino, Hitoshi.

1990-01-01

In a high speed atom source, since the speed is not identical between ions and electrons, no sufficient neutralizing effect for ionic rays due to the mixing of the ionic rays and the electron rays can be obtained failing to obtain high speed atomic rays at high density. In view of the above, a speed control means is disposed for equalizing the speed of ions forming ionic rays and the speed of electrons forming electron rays. Further, incident angle of the electron rays and/or ionic rays to a magnet or an electrode is made variable. As a result, the relative speed between the ions and the electrons to the processing direction is reduced to zero, in which the probability of association between the ions and the electrons due to the coulomb force is increased to improve the neutralizing efficiency to easily obtain fine and high density high speed electron rays. Further, by varying the incident angle, a track capable of obtaining an ideal mixing depending on the energy of the neutralized ionic rays is formed. Since the high speed electron rays has such high density, they can be irradiated easily to the minute region of the specimen. (N.H.)

Asynchronous machine rotor speed estimation using a tabulated numerical approach

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Huu Phuc; De Miras, Jérôme; Charara, Ali; Eltabach, Mario; Bonnet, Stéphane

2017-12-01

This paper proposes a new method to estimate the rotor speed of the asynchronous machine by looking at the estimation problem as a nonlinear optimal control problem. The behavior of the nonlinear plant model is approximated off-line as a prediction map using a numerical one-step time discretization obtained from simulations. At each time-step, the speed of the induction machine is selected satisfying the dynamic fitting problem between the plant output and the predicted output, leading the system to adopt its dynamical behavior. Thanks to the limitation of the prediction horizon to a single time-step, the execution time of the algorithm can be completely bounded. It can thus easily be implemented and embedded into a real-time system to observe the speed of the real induction motor. Simulation results show the performance and robustness of the proposed estimator.

Maritime routing and speed optimization with emission control areas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fagerholt, Kjetil; Gausel, Nora T.; Rakke, Jørgen G.

2015-01-01

a computational study on a number of realistic shipping routes in order to evaluate possible impacts on sailing paths and speeds, and hence fuel consumption and costs, from the ECA regulations. Moreover, the aim is to examine the implications for the society with regards to environmental effects. Comparisons...... of cases show that a likely effect of the regulations is that ship operators will often choose to sail longer distances to avoid sailing time within ECAs. Another effect is that they will sail at lower speeds within and higher speeds outside the ECAs in order to use less of the more expensive fuel. On some......Strict limits on the maximum sulphur content in fuel used by ships have recently been imposed in some Emission Control Areas (ECAs). In order to comply with these regulations many ship operators will switch to more expensive low-sulphur fuel when sailing inside ECAs. Since they are concerned about...

Application Of CO2 Lasers To High Speed Blanking

Science.gov (United States)

Grenier, L. E.

1986-11-01

While laser cutting of sheetmetal has attained wide acceptance in the automotive industry for the purposes of prototyping and very limited preproduction work, the production rates possible with currently available systems have precluded the use of this technique in a production environment. The device design to be described embodies a high speed X-Y positioner carrying a cutting head with limited Z-axis capability. This approach confers two main benefits, first, production rate is limited only by laser power, since the positioner technology selected will permit movement at rates up to 1.5 m/s (60 in/s), second, the use of a high speed non-contact surface follower to control the Z-axis movement reduces the need to clamp the workpiece rigidly to a precision reference surface. The realized reduction of the clamping requirement permits some latitude in the feed methods that can be employed, allowing the use of coil or sheet feeding as appropriate. The author will provide estimated production rates for the proposed design and demonstrate that a suitable choice of laser source and material feed will permit the production of parts at a rate and cost comparable to conventional blanking with the advantage of much greater flexibility and reduced retooling time.

Length and activation dependent variations in muscle shear wave speed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chernak, L A; DeWall, R J; Lee, K S; Thelen, D G

2013-01-01

Muscle stiffness is known to vary as a result of a variety of disease states, yet current clinical methods for quantifying muscle stiffness have limitations including cost and availability. We investigated the capability of shear wave elastography (SWE) to measure variations in gastrocnemius shear wave speed induced via active contraction and passive stretch. Ten healthy young adults were tested. Shear wave speeds were measured using a SWE transducer positioned over the medial gastrocnemius at ankle angles ranging from maximum dorsiflexion to maximum plantarflexion. Shear wave speeds were also measured during voluntary plantarflexor contractions at a fixed ankle angle. Average shear wave speed increased significantly from 2.6 to 5.6 m s –1 with passive dorsiflexion and the knee in an extended posture, but did not vary with dorsiflexion when the gastrocnemius was shortened in a flexed knee posture. During active contractions, shear wave speed monotonically varied with the net ankle moment generated, reaching 8.3 m s –1 in the maximally contracted condition. There was a linear correlation between shear wave speed and net ankle moment in both the active and passive conditions; however, the slope of this linear relationship was significantly steeper for the data collected during passive loading conditions. The results show that SWE is a promising approach for quantitatively assessing changes in mechanical muscle loading. However, the differential effect of active and passive loading on shear wave speed makes it important to carefully consider the relevant loading conditions in which to use SWE to characterize in vivo muscle properties. (paper)

Cavitation performance improvement of high specific speed mixed-flow pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, T; Sun, Y B; Wu, D Z; Wang, L Q

2012-01-01

Cavitation performance improvement of large hydraulic machinery such as pump and turbine has been a hot topic for decades. During the design process of the pumps, in order to minimize size, weight and cost centrifugal and mixed-flow pump impellers are required to operate at the highest possible rotational speed. The rotational speed is limited by the phenomenon of cavitation. The hydraulic model of high-speed mixed-flow pump with large flow rate and high pumping head, which was designed based on the traditional method, always involves poor cavitation performance. In this paper, on the basis of the same hydraulic design parameters, two hydraulic models of high-speed mixed-flow pump were designed by using different methods, in order to investigate the cavitation and hydraulic performance of the two models, the method of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was adopted for internal flow simulation of the high specific speed mixed-flow pump. Based on the results of numerical simulation, the influences of impeller parameters and three-dimensional configuration on pressure distribution of the blades' suction surfaces were analyzed. The numerical simulation results shows a better pressure distribution and lower pressure drop around the leading edge of the improved model. The research results could provide references to the design and optimization of the anti-cavitation blade.

Green Train. Concept Proposal for a Scandinavian High-speed Train. Final Report Pt. B

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, Evert

2012-11-01

Groena Taaget (English: Green Train) is a research and development programme, the aim of which is to define a concept and develop technology for future high-speed trains for the Nordic European market. The target is a train for Scandinavian interoperability (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), although the pan-European minimum standards must be applied. Groena Taaget is a concept for long-distance and fast regional rail services. It should be suitable for specific Nordic conditions with a harsh winter climate as well as mixed passenger and freight operations on non-perfect track. Groena Taaget delivers a collection of ideas, proposals and technical solutions for rail operators, infrastructure managers and industry. The programme aims to define a fast, attractive, environmentally friendly and economically efficient high-speed train concept based on passenger valuations and technical possibilities. Proposals do not take corporate policies into account as these may vary between companies and over time. This is one of the final reports, specifying the functional requirements for the train concept from a technical, environmental and economic perspective, with an emphasis on the areas where research and development have been carried out within the Groena Taaget programme. It is not a complete specification of a new train, but concentrates on issues that are particularly important for successful use in the Scandinavian market. It should be regarded as a complement to the pan-European standards. Research and development within the Groena Taaget programme, including analysis and testing activities, are summarized. References are given to reports from the different projects in the programme but also to other relevant work. Other summary reports deal with market, economy and operational aspects as well as a design for an attractive, efficient and innovative train from a traveller's point of view. The main alternative proposed in this concept specification is a train for speeds

Estimation of Engine Intake Air Mass Flow using a generic Speed-Density method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vojtíšek Michal

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Measurement of real driving emissions (RDE from internal combustion engines under real-world operation using portable, onboard monitoring systems (PEMS is becoming an increasingly important tool aiding the assessment of the effects of new fuels and technologies on environment and human health. The knowledge of exhaust flow is one of the prerequisites for successful RDE measurement with PEMS. One of the simplest approaches for estimating the exhaust flow from virtually any engine is its computation from the intake air flow, which is calculated from measured engine rpm and intake manifold charge pressure and temperature using a generic speed-density algorithm, applicable to most contemporary four-cycle engines. In this work, a generic speed-density algorithm was compared against several reference methods on representative European production engines - a gasoline port-injected automobile engine, two turbocharged diesel automobile engines, and a heavy-duty turbocharged diesel engine. The overall results suggest that the uncertainty of the generic speed-density method is on the order of 10% throughout most of the engine operating range, but increasing to tens of percent where high-volume exhaust gas recirculation is used. For non-EGR engines, such uncertainty is acceptable for many simpler and screening measurements, and may be, where desired, reduced by engine-specific calibration.

The density limit in Tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alladio, F.

1985-01-01

A short summary of the present status of experimental observations, theoretical ideas and understanding of the density limit in tokamaks is presented. It is the result of the discussion that was held on this topic at the 4th European Tokamak Workshop in Copenhagen (December 4th to 6th, 1985). 610 refs

Digitally controlled analog proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller for high-speed scanning probe microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Dukic, Maja; Todorov, Vencislav; Andany, Santiago; Nievergelt, Adrian P.; Yang, Chen; Hosseini, Nahid; Fantner, Georg E.

2017-12-01

Nearly all scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) contain a feedback controller, which is used to move the scanner in the direction of the z-axis in order to maintain a constant setpoint based on the tip-sample interaction. The most frequently used feedback controller in SPMs is the proportional-integral (PI) controller. The bandwidth of the PI controller presents one of the speed limiting factors in high-speed SPMs, where higher bandwidths enable faster scanning speeds and higher imaging resolution. Most SPM systems use digital signal processor-based PI feedback controllers, which require analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. These converters introduce additional feedback delays which limit the achievable imaging speed and resolution. In this paper, we present a digitally controlled analog proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. The controller implementation allows tunability of the PID gains over a large amplification and frequency range, while also providing precise control of the system and reproducibility of the gain parameters. By using the analog PID controller, we were able to perform successful atomic force microscopy imaging of a standard silicon calibration grating at line rates up to several kHz.

Confocal scanning microscopy with multiple optical probes for high speed measurements and better imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Chun, Wanhee; Lee, SeungWoo; Gweon, Dae-Gab

2008-02-01

Confocal scanning microscopy (CSM) needs a scanning mechanism because only one point information of specimen can be obtained. Therefore the speed of the confocal scanning microscopy is limited by the speed of the scanning tool. To overcome this limitation from scanning tool we propose another scanning mechanism. We make three optical probes in the specimen under confocal condition of each point. Three optical probes are moved by beam scanning mechanism with shared resonant scanning mirror (RM) and galvanometer driven mirror (GM). As each optical probe scan allocated region of the specimen, information from three points is obtained simultaneously and image acquisition time is reduced. Therefore confocal scanning microscopy with multiple optical probes is expected to have three times faster speed of the image acquisition than conventional one. And as another use, multiple optical probes to which different light wavelength is applied can scan whole same region respectively. It helps to obtain better contrast image in case of specimens having different optical characteristics for specific light wavelength. In conclusion confocal scanning microscopy with multiple optical probes is useful technique for views of image acquisition speed and image quality.

Comprehensive analysis of the carbon impacts of vehicle intelligent speed control

Science.gov (United States)

Carslaw, David C.; Goodman, Paul S.; Lai, Frank C. H.; Carsten, Oliver M. J.

2010-07-01

In recent years sophisticated technologies have been developed to control vehicle speed based on the type of road the vehicle is driven on using Global Positioning Systems and in-car technology that can alter the speed of the vehicle. While reducing the speed of road vehicles is primarily of interest from a safety perspective, vehicle speed is also an important determinant of vehicle emissions and thus these technologies can be expected to have impacts on a range of exhaust emissions. This work analyses the results from a very large, comprehensive field trial that used 20 instrumented vehicles with and without speed control driven almost 500,000 km measuring vehicle speed at 10 Hz. We develop individual vehicle modal emissions models for CO 2 for 30 Euro III and Euro IV cars at a 1-Hz time resolution. Generalized Additive Models were used to describe how emissions from individual vehicles vary depending on their driving conditions, taking account of variable interactions and time-lag effects. We quantify the impact that vehicle speed control has on-vehicle emissions of CO 2 by road type, fuel type and driver behaviour. Savings in CO 2 of ≈6% were found on average for motorway-type roads when mandatory speed control was used compared with base case conditions. For most other types of road, speed control has very little effect on emissions of CO 2 and in some cases can result in increased emissions for low-speed limit urban roads. We also find that there is on average a 20% difference in CO 2 emission between the lowest and highest emitting driver, which highlights the importance of driver behaviour in general as a means of reducing emissions of CO 2.

The solidarity economy: a possible revival of the European Union?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel GOUJON

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The European Union is in crisis. Economic crisis, but also political crisis and symbolic crisis: the citizens distrust Europe which does not have clear project anymore Our hypothesis is that the solidarity economy can contribute to the emergence of a new European, clear and mobilizing project. A project offering new socioeconomic perspectives to the European citizens and an attractive utopia. This text will take place in four phases. In a first part, we shall describe the exhaustion of paradigm liberal and the limits of paradigm keynesian. Secondly, we shall try hard to demonstrate the theoretical possibility of establishing new one paradigm. In the third time, we shall illustrate this possibility by revisiting, in the light of the European solidarity initiatives, three economic notions keys. Finally, in a last time, we shall try hard to show in what the solidarity economy , which makes some deliberation between equals the best means assign all resources, can contribute to bringout the European construction of the current impasse.

Wir schaffen es nicht: Emergency Law and the Crisis of European Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Afsah, Ebrahim

.’ But this façade of ‘business as usual’ increasingly clashes with the reality of European crisis management involving ever more unorthodox policy responses and a surprising disregard for existing legal proscriptions. This presentation examines whether a more forthright reliance on emergency law could have limited...... to the constitutional order through procedural and temporal limits. Applying the theory of emergency law to both national and European crisis management, this presentation seeks to investigate why existing national emergency provisions were rarely used, whether functionally equivalent mechanisms at the European level......The official response to the combined crises facing Europe has been a concerted insistence that existing national tools and the Community legal and institutional acquis are sufficient to deal with the challenges of migration, state debt, monetary union and rising insecurity in Europe’s ‘near abroad...

European monitoring for raptors and owls: state of the art and future needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovács, András; Mammen, Ubbo C C; Wernham, Chris V

2008-09-01

Sixty-four percent of the 56 raptor and owl species that occur in Europe have an unfavorable conservation status. As well as requiring conservation measures in their own right, raptors and owls function as useful sentinels of wider environmental "health," because they are widespread top predators, relatively easy to monitor, and sensitive to environmental changes at a range of geographical scales. At a time of global acknowledgment of an increasing speed of biodiversity loss, and new, forward-looking and related European Union biodiversity policy, there is an urgent need to improve coordination at a pan-European scale of national initiatives that seek to monitor raptor populations. Here we describe current initiatives that make a contribution to this aim, particularly the current "MEROS" program, the results of a questionnaire survey on the current state of national raptor monitoring across 22 BirdLife Partners in Europe, the challenges faced by any enhanced pan-European monitoring scheme for raptors, and some suggested pathways for efficiently tapping expertise to contribute to such an initiative.

A theoretical model of speed-dependent steering torque for rolling tyres

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Yintao; Oertel, Christian; Liu, Yahui; Li, Xuebing

2016-04-01

It is well known that the tyre steering torque is highly dependent on the tyre rolling speed. In limited cases, i.e. parking manoeuvre, the steering torque approaches the maximum. With the increasing tyre speed, the steering torque decreased rapidly. Accurate modelling of the speed-dependent behaviour for the tyre steering torque is a key factor to calibrate the electric power steering (EPS) system and tune the handling performance of vehicles. However, no satisfactory theoretical model can be found in the existing literature to explain this phenomenon. This paper proposes a new theoretical framework to model this important tyre behaviour, which includes three key factors: (1) tyre three-dimensional transient rolling kinematics with turn-slip; (2) dynamical force and moment generation; and (3) the mixed Lagrange-Euler method for contact deformation solving. A nonlinear finite-element code has been developed to implement the proposed approach. It can be found that the main mechanism for the speed-dependent steering torque is due to turn-slip-related kinematics. This paper provides a theory to explain the complex mechanism of the tyre steering torque generation, which helps to understand the speed-dependent tyre steering torque, tyre road feeling and EPS calibration.

Wind Speed and Sea State Dependencies of Air-Sea Gas Transfer: Results From the High Wind Speed Gas Exchange Study (HiWinGS)

Science.gov (United States)

Blomquist, B. W.; Brumer, S. E.; Fairall, C. W.; Huebert, B. J.; Zappa, C. J.; Brooks, I. M.; Yang, M.; Bariteau, L.; Prytherch, J.; Hare, J. E.; Czerski, H.; Matei, A.; Pascal, R. W.

2017-10-01

A variety of physical mechanisms are jointly responsible for facilitating air-sea gas transfer through turbulent processes at the atmosphere-ocean interface. The nature and relative importance of these mechanisms evolves with increasing wind speed. Theoretical and modeling approaches are advancing, but the limited quantity of observational data at high wind speeds hinders the assessment of these efforts. The HiWinGS project successfully measured gas transfer coefficients (k660) with coincident wave statistics under conditions with hourly mean wind speeds up to 24 m s-1 and significant wave heights to 8 m. Measurements of k660 for carbon dioxide (CO2) and dimethylsulfide (DMS) show an increasing trend with respect to 10 m neutral wind speed (U10N), following a power law relationship of the form: k660 CO2˜U10N1.68 and k660 dms˜U10N1.33. Among seven high wind speed events, CO2 transfer responded to the intensity of wave breaking, which depended on both wind speed and sea state in a complex manner, with k660 CO2 increasing as the wind sea approaches full development. A similar response is not observed for DMS. These results confirm the importance of breaking waves and bubble injection mechanisms in facilitating CO2 transfer. A modified version of the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment Gas transfer algorithm (COAREG ver. 3.5), incorporating a sea state-dependent calculation of bubble-mediated transfer, successfully reproduces the mean trend in observed k660 with wind speed for both gases. Significant suppression of gas transfer by large waves was not observed during HiWinGS, in contrast to results from two prior field programs.

The European radon mapping project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bossew, P.; Tollefsen, T.; Gruber, V.; De Cort, M.

2013-01-01

There is almost unanimous agreement that indoor radon (Rn) represents a hazard to human health. Large-scale epidemiological studies gave evidence that Rn is the second-most important cause o flung cancer after smoking and that also relatively low Rn concentrations can be detrimental. This has increasingly led to attempts to limit Rn exposure through regulation, mainly building codes. The proposed Euratom Basic Safety Standards (BSS) require Member States to establish Rn action plans aimed at reducing Rn risk, and to set reference values for Imitating indoor Rn concentration. In 2006 the JRC started a project on mapping Rn at the European level, in addition and complementary lo (but not as a substitute for) national efforts. These maps are part of the European Atlas of Natural Radiation project. which is planned eventually 10 comprise geographical assessments of ali sources of exposure to natural radiation. Started first, a map of indoor Rn is now in an advanced phase, but still incomplete as national Rn surveys are ongoing in a number of European countries. A European map of geogenic Rn, conceptually and technically more complicated, was started in 2008. The main difficulty encountered is heterogeneity of survey designs, measurement and evaluation methods and database semantics and structures. An important part or the work on the Atlas is therefore to harmonize data and methods. We present the current state of the Rn maps and discuss some of the methodological challenges. (author)

The European radon mapping project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bossew, P., E-mail: pbossew@bfs.de [German Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Berlin (Germany); Tollefsen, T.; Gruber, V.; De Cort, M., E-mail: tore.tollefsen@jrc.ec.europa.eu, E-mail: valeria.gruber@gmail.com, E-mail: marc.de-cort@jrc.ec.europa.eu [Institute for Transuranium Elements, Ispra, VA (Italy). DG Joint Research Centre. European Commission

2013-07-01

There is almost unanimous agreement that indoor radon (Rn) represents a hazard to human health. Large-scale epidemiological studies gave evidence that Rn is the second-most important cause o flung cancer after smoking and that also relatively low Rn concentrations can be detrimental. This has increasingly led to attempts to limit Rn exposure through regulation, mainly building codes. The proposed Euratom Basic Safety Standards (BSS) require Member States to establish Rn action plans aimed at reducing Rn risk, and to set reference values for Imitating indoor Rn concentration. In 2006 the JRC started a project on mapping Rn at the European level, in addition and complementary lo (but not as a substitute for) national efforts. These maps are part of the European Atlas of Natural Radiation project. which is planned eventually 10 comprise geographical assessments of ali sources of exposure to natural radiation. Started first, a map of indoor Rn is now in an advanced phase, but still incomplete as national Rn surveys are ongoing in a number of European countries. A European map of geogenic Rn, conceptually and technically more complicated, was started in 2008. The main difficulty encountered is heterogeneity of survey designs, measurement and evaluation methods and database semantics and structures. An important part or the work on the Atlas is therefore to harmonize data and methods. We present the current state of the Rn maps and discuss some of the methodological challenges. (author)

Intelligent speed adaptation as an assistive device for drivers with acquired brain injury

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klarborg, Brith; Lahrmann, Harry Spaabæk; Agerholm, Niels

2012-01-01

Intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) was tested as an assistive device for drivers with an acquired brain injury (ABI). The study was part of the “Pay as You Speed” project (PAYS) and used the same equipment and technology as the main study (Lahrmann et al., in press-a, in press-b). Two drivers......, and in general they described driving with ISA as relaxed. ISA reduced the percentage of the total distance that was driven with a speed above the speed limit (PDA), but the subjects relapsed to their previous PDA level in Baseline 2. This suggests that ISA is more suited as a permanent assistive device (i...

Ship speed optimization: Concepts, models and combined speed-routing scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Psaraftis, Harilaos N.; Kontovas, Christos A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to clarify some important issues as regards ship speed optimization at the operational level and develop models that optimize ship speed for a spectrum of routing scenarios in a single ship setting. The paper's main contribution is the incorporation of those fundament...... parameters and other considerations that weigh heavily in a ship owner's or charterer's speed decision and in his routing decision, wherever relevant. Various examples are given so as to illustrate the properties of the optimal solution and the various trade-offs that are involved....

Cardio-respiratory Physiology of the European Eel (em>Agunilla anguilla)em> in Extreme Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Methling, Caroline

The main objective of this PhD thesis was to study the cardio-respiratory capabilities of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) under extreme conditions. Three environmental conditions were studied i.e. temperature, dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, while a fourth condition was physiological an......), body wave speed (v) and Strouhal number (St). The results demonstrate that energy expenditure, swimming performance and efficiency all are significantly affected in migrating eels fitted with external tags....

European consensus statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD: the European Network adult ADHD

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Kooij, Sandra JJ

2010-09-03

Abstract Background Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood that persists into adulthood in the majority of cases. The evidence on persistence poses several difficulties for adult psychiatry considering the lack of expertise for diagnostic assessment, limited treatment options and patient facilities across Europe. Methods The European Network Adult ADHD, founded in 2003, aims to increase awareness of this disorder and improve knowledge and patient care for adults with ADHD across Europe. This Consensus Statement is one of the actions taken by the European Network Adult ADHD in order to support the clinician with research evidence and clinical experience from 18 European countries in which ADHD in adults is recognised and treated. Results Besides information on the genetics and neurobiology of ADHD, three major questions are addressed in this statement: (1) What is the clinical picture of ADHD in adults? (2) How can ADHD in adults be properly diagnosed? (3) How should ADHD in adults be effectively treated? Conclusions ADHD often presents as an impairing lifelong condition in adults, yet it is currently underdiagnosed and treated in many European countries, leading to ineffective treatment and higher costs of illness. Expertise in diagnostic assessment and treatment of ADHD in adults must increase in psychiatry. Instruments for screening and diagnosis of ADHD in adults are available and appropriate treatments exist, although more research is needed in this age group.

On the transition from short-range diffusion-limited to collision-limited growth in alloy solidification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aziz, M.J.; Boettinger, W.J.

1994-01-01

Short-range diffusion-limited growth, collision-limited growth, and the transition between the two regimes are explained as natural consequences of a single model for the kinetics of alloy solidification. Analytical expressions are developed for the velocity-undercooling function of a planar interface during dilute alloy solidification, using Turnbull's collision-limited growth model and the Continuous Growth Solute Trapping Model of Aziz and Kaplan both with and without a solute drag effect. The interface mobility, -dv/dT, is shown to be very high (proportional to the speed of sound) if the alloy is sufficiently dilute or if the growth rate is sufficiently rapid for nearly complete solute trapping. The interface mobility is reduced by the three orders of magnitude (becoming proportional to the diffusive speed) at intermediate growth rates where partial solute trapping occurs. Differences in low velocity predictions of the models with and without solute drag are also discussed. Comparison of the results of the analytical expressions to numerical solutions of the non-dilute kinetic model for Al-Be alloys shows that the dilute approximation breaks down at melt compositions on the order of 10 at.%. Similar variations in the interface mobility are shown for the disorder-trapping model of Boettinger and Aziz

Design and Development of a Model to Simulate 0-G Treadmill Running Using the European Space Agency's Subject Loading System

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, E. C.; Cowley, M. S.; Scott-Pandorf, M. M.

2010-01-01

Develop a model that simulates a human running in 0 G using the European Space Agency s (ESA) Subject Loading System (SLS). The model provides ground reaction forces (GRF) based on speed and pull-down forces (PDF). DESIGN The theoretical basis for the Running Model was based on a simple spring-mass model. The dynamic properties of the spring-mass model express theoretical vertical GRF (GRFv) and shear GRF in the posterior-anterior direction (GRFsh) during running gait. ADAMs VIEW software was used to build the model, which has a pelvis, thigh segment, shank segment, and a spring foot (see Figure 1).the model s movement simulates the joint kinematics of a human running at Earth gravity with the aim of generating GRF data. DEVELOPMENT & VERIFICATION ESA provided parabolic flight data of subjects running while using the SLS, for further characterization of the model s GRF. Peak GRF data were fit to a linear regression line dependent on PDF and speed. Interpolation and extrapolation of the regression equation provided a theoretical data matrix, which is used to drive the model s motion equations. Verification of the model was conducted by running the model at 4 different speeds, with each speed accounting for 3 different PDF. The model s GRF data fell within a 1-standard-deviation boundary derived from the empirical ESA data. CONCLUSION The Running Model aids in conducting various simulations (potential scenarios include a fatigued runner or a powerful runner generating high loads at a fast cadence) to determine limitations for the T2 vibration isolation system (VIS) aboard the International Space Station. This model can predict how running with the ESA SLS affects the T2 VIS and may be used for other exercise analyses in the future.

High Speed impedance tomography for cardiac imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tehrani, J.N.; Jin, C.; Schaik, Andre

2010-01-01

Full text: Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) calculates the internal conductivity distribution within a body using electrical contact measurements. Previous investigation has shown that optimizing electrode placement can give better information about the stroke volume and better separation between the ventricles and atria than with the electrodes attached in the transverse plane. In our investigation we are developing fast three dimensional imaging of the heart (two planes of 16 electrodes) including internal electrodes in esophagus. The reconstruction speed in EIT is one of the main limitations for real time imaging when using a detailed three dimensional finite element mesh. For that reason we investigated new iterative algorithms for solving large scale LJ regularization. In this research we compare these algorithms on noise reliability and speed for 2D cardiac models. The four methods were as follows: (I) an interior point method for solving Ll-regularized least squares problems (Ll-LS); (2) total variation using a Lagrangian multiplier (TV AL3); (3) a two step iterative shrinkage/thresholding method (TWIST) for solving the Lo-regularized least squares problem; (4) The Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO). In our investigation, using 1600 elements, we found all four algorithms provided an improvement over the best conventional EIT reconstruction method, Total Variation, in three important areas: robustness to noise, increased computational speed of at least 40 x and a visually apparent improvement in spatial resolution. Out of the four algorithms we found TWIST was the fastest with at least a 1 00 x speed increase. (author)

Speed and position sensors for electric motors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyyjynen, M. [Helsinki University of Technology, Otaniemi (Finland). Institute of Intelligent Power Electronics

1997-12-31

This paper gives an overview of speed and position measuring instruments for electric motors. The emphasis is on sensors that are designed to operate at industrial environment. In addition to that, some other, mostly magnetic sensors which are used, e.g., in automotive applications, are presented. Some of them are already applied in induction motors and some might be worth a try remembering the limitations. Automotive sensors are very cost-effective due to high production volumes. (orig.) 22 refs.

Extending the Constant Power Speed Range of the Brushless DC Motor through Dual Mode Inverter Control - Part II: Laboratory Proof-of-Principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawler, J.S.

2001-01-01

Previous theoretical work has shown that when all loss mechanisms are neglected the constant power speed range (CPSR) of a brushless dc motor (BDCM) is infinite when the motor is driven by the dual-mode inverter control (DMIC)[1,2]. In a physical drive, losses, particularly speed-sensitive losses, will limit the CPSR to a finite value. In this paper we report the results of laboratory testing of a low-inductance, 7.5-hp BDCM driven by the DMIC. The speed rating of the test motor rotor limited the upper speed of the testing, and the results show that the CPSR of the test machine is greater than 6:1 when driven by the DMIC. Current wave shape, peak, and rms values remained controlled and within rating over the entire speed range. The laboratory measurements allowed the speed-sensitive losses to be quantified and incorporated into computer simulation models, which then accurately reproduce the results of lab testing. The simulator shows that the limiting CPSR of the test motor is 8:1. These results confirm that the DMIC is capable of driving low-inductance BDCMs over the wide CPSR that would be required in electric vehicle applications

European industry outlook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, G.

1991-01-01

Europe's offshore oil and gas industry is estimated to spend around Pound 14bn per year out of a world total of some Pound 43bn, showing that despite its maturity the North West European Continental Shelf remains a dominant segment of the world's offshore business. Especially in the U.K. sector, expenditure is booming and 1991 is expected to be a record year. This activity level is likely to continue into 1992, but there are factors which could limit activity later in the 1990s. This volume lists some 225 undeveloped discoveries and fields under development in the U.K. sector, 80 each in Norway and the Netherlands, and 17 in Denmark. New technologies, particularly subsea separation and multiphase flow will be prominent factors in ensuring that the numerous small oilfields within this inventory of discoveries will eventually achieve commercial development. The effects of likely European Community legislation continue to concern many in the industry, with a more open and regulated purchasing regime for major contracts becoming more certain. A major step has been taken towards open access rights, and if this policy is pursued it could open the European gas industry to a new era of free competition, especially if a U.K.-Continental transmission link were to be realised. The long term implications of the increased share of natural gas in the total energy mix to virtually all companies engaged in offshore activities (and many not so engaged) are likely to be fundamental and far-reaching. (author)

ROMANIAN ECONOMY IN THE EUROPEAN CRISIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurel Mihuţ

2012-01-01

Full Text Available European economy still faces today, one of the worst economic and financial crisis since the Second World War. Economic and financial crisis has spread worldwide with maximum speed, the economies of all Member States of the European Union encountering serious difficulties, both in the banking system and real economy. Romanian economic crisis started in 2008 and the uncertain deadline, is a matter of concern for many people. It is true that today we are witnessing the worst crisis in 80 years. We have an official explanation of the crisis, provided by public institutions, that the problem stems from inappropriate behavior of economic agents: selfishness, greed, speculation and market unable to function smoothly, ensuring proper allocation of resources: information asymmetry, liquidity trap , deflation, etc.On the other hand, most researchers, members of the academic, and private sector analysts argue that state intervention just planted seeds of financial turmoil that cross the present. The recipe prescribed by the authorities can result in mitigation of economic difficulties but, in contrary to their aggravation. The economic crisis is the result of several factors, which mainly include monetary policy errors, distorted economic incentives and pathology of the banking and financial regulatory policy.This paper is to highlight what triggered today's crisis in the Romanian economy, hoping to find a remedy to the problems of the economic, social and political that we face.

European communion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manners, Ian James

2013-01-01

Political theory of European union, through an engagement between political concepts and theoretical understandings, provides a means of identifying the EU as a political object. It is argued that understanding the projects, processes and products of European union, based on ‘sharing’ or ‘communion......’, provides a better means of perceiving the EU as a political object rather than terms such as ‘integration’ or ‘co-operation’. The concept of ‘European communion’ is defined as the ‘subjective sharing of relationships’, understood as the extent to which individuals or groups believe themselves to be sharing...... relations (or not), and the consequences of these beliefs for European political projects, processes and products. By exploring European communion through an engagement with contemporary political theory, using very brief illustrations from the Treaty of Lisbon, the article also suggests that European...

The future of UK/Irish surgery: A European solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Varzgalis, M; Kerin, M J; Sweeney, K J

2015-11-01

The United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI) hospital systems are dependent on junior doctors for their functionality however it is increasingly difficult to recruit UK/ROI trained doctors to fill these posts. Directive 2005/36/EC, which came into force in 2007, is the principal European legislation on the recognition of equivalence of professional qualifications across Europe. European trained doctors are therefore attractive candidates for junior doctor posts. However, although their training is recognised as equivalent by the Irish Medical Council (IMC) and General Medical Council (GMC) they are not being appointed to equivalent posts by the Health Service Executive (HSE) or National Health Service (NHS). With the influence of European Union (EU) centralisation, modification of UK/ROI consultant grade is imminent, possibly to pyramidal structure of the Continental European model with clearer lines of corporate responsibility. Copyright © 2015 IJS Publishing Group Limited. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic efficiency versus social equality? The U.S. liberal model versus the European social model.

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, Vicente; Schmitt, John

2005-01-01

This article begins by challenging the widely held view in neoliberal discourse that there is a necessary trade-off between higher efficiency and lower reduction of inequalities: the article empirically shows that the liberal, U.S. model has been less efficient economically (slower economic growth, higher unemployment) than the social model in existence in the European Union and in the majority of its member states. Based on the data presented, the authors criticize the adoption of features of the liberal model (such as deregulation of their labor markets, reduction of public social expenditures) by some European governments. The second section analyzes the causes for the slowdown of economic growth and the increase of unemployment in the European Union--that is, the application of monetarist and neoliberal policies in the institutional frame of the European Union, including the Stability Pact, the objectives and modus operandi of the European Central Bank, and the very limited resources available to the European Commission for stimulating and distributive functions. The third section details the reasons for these developments, including (besides historical considerations) the enormous influence of financial capital in the E.U. institutions and the very limited democracy. Proposals for change are included.

Speed of sound in hadronic matter using non-extensive Tsallis statistics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khuntia, Arvind; Sahoo, Pragati; Garg, Prakhar; Sahoo, Raghunath; Cleymans, Jean

2016-01-01

The speed of sound (c_s) is studied to understand the hydrodynamical evolution of the matter created in heavy-ion collisions. The quark-gluon plasma (QGP) formed in heavy-ion collisions evolves from an initial QGP to the hadronic phase via a possible mixed phase. Due to the system expansion in a first-order phase transition scenario, the speed of sound reduces to zero as the specific heat diverges. We study the speed of sound for systems which deviate from a thermalized Boltzmann distribution using non-extensive Tsallis statistics. In the present work, we calculate the speed of sound as a function of temperature for different q-values for a hadron resonance gas. We observe a similar mass cut-off behaviour in the non-extensive case for c"2_s by including heavier particles, as is observed in the case of a hadron resonance gas following equilibrium statistics. Also, we explicitly show that the temperature where the mass cut-off starts varies with the q-parameter which hints at a relation between the degree of non-equilibrium and the limiting temperature of the system. It is shown that for values of q above approximately 1.13 all criticality disappears in the speed of sound, i.e. the decrease in the value of the speed of sound, observed at lower values of q, disappears completely. (orig.)

Speed of sound in hadronic matter using non-extensive Tsallis statistics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khuntia, Arvind; Sahoo, Pragati; Garg, Prakhar; Sahoo, Raghunath [Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Discipline of Physics, School of Basic Science, Simrol, M.P. (India); Cleymans, Jean [University of Cape Town, UCT-CERN Research Centre and Department of Physics, Rondebosch (South Africa)

2016-09-15

The speed of sound (c{sub s}) is studied to understand the hydrodynamical evolution of the matter created in heavy-ion collisions. The quark-gluon plasma (QGP) formed in heavy-ion collisions evolves from an initial QGP to the hadronic phase via a possible mixed phase. Due to the system expansion in a first-order phase transition scenario, the speed of sound reduces to zero as the specific heat diverges. We study the speed of sound for systems which deviate from a thermalized Boltzmann distribution using non-extensive Tsallis statistics. In the present work, we calculate the speed of sound as a function of temperature for different q-values for a hadron resonance gas. We observe a similar mass cut-off behaviour in the non-extensive case for c{sup 2}{sub s} by including heavier particles, as is observed in the case of a hadron resonance gas following equilibrium statistics. Also, we explicitly show that the temperature where the mass cut-off starts varies with the q-parameter which hints at a relation between the degree of non-equilibrium and the limiting temperature of the system. It is shown that for values of q above approximately 1.13 all criticality disappears in the speed of sound, i.e. the decrease in the value of the speed of sound, observed at lower values of q, disappears completely. (orig.)

Energetic consequences of human sociality: walking speed choices among friendly dyads.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janelle Wagnild

Full Text Available Research has shown that individuals have an optimal walking speed-a speed which minimizes energy expenditure for a given distance. Because the optimal walking speed varies with mass and lower limb length, it also varies with sex, with males in any given population tending to have faster optimal walking speeds. This potentially creates an energetic dilemma for mixed-sex walking groups. Here we examine speed choices made by individuals of varying stature, mass, and sex walking together. Individuals (N = 22 walked around a track alone, with a significant other (with and without holding hands, and with friends of the same and opposite sex while their speeds were recorded every 100 m. Our findings show that males walk at a significantly slower pace to match the females' paces (p = 0.009, when the female is their romantic partner. The paces of friends of either same or mixed sex walking together did not significantly change (p>0.05. Thus significant pace adjustment appears to be limited to romantic partners. These findings have implications for both mobility and reproductive strategies of groups. Because the male carries the energetic burden by adjusting his pace (slowing down 7%, the female is spared the potentially increased caloric cost required to walk together. In energetically demanding environments, we will expect to find gender segregation in group composition, particularly when travelling longer distances.

The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engert, Andreas; Balduini, Carlo; Brand, Anneke

2016-01-01

The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology...... research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness...... of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at €23 billion per year, a level of cost that is not matched in current European hematology research funding. In recent decades, hematology research has improved our fundamental understanding of the biology...

Eastern Dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy: Europeanization Mutual Trap

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Latkina

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyses the Europeanization policy of the European Union towards the Eastern Partnership participant countries. Suffering from the lack of clear strategy and ultimate goal in the European Neighbourhood Policy the European Union enhances external democratization and its governance in post soviet states without immediate Union's membership perspective. Underestimation of common neighbourhood geopolitical duality in the context of growing rivalry between European (EU and Eurasian (Custom Union/Eurasian Economic Union integration gravitation centers presents the Eastern partners of the EU with a fierce dilemma of externally forced immediate geopolitical and civilizational choice while not all of them are well prepared to such a choice. The mutual Europeanization trap here to be studied both for the EU and its Eastern partners (involving Russia is a deficiency of regulating cooperation mechanism in the situation of European and Eurasian free trades zones overlapping. Vilnius Summit 2013 results test the "European aspirations" of the New Independent States and upset the ongoing process of the European Neighbourhood Policy in the context of growing economic interdependence in Wider Europe. Besides, the Ukrainian crisis escalation during 2014 as a new seat of tension provokes unbalance of the whole European security system and creates new dividing lines in Europe from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

Optical surface properties and their RF limitations of European XFEL cavities

Science.gov (United States)

Wenskat, Marc

2017-10-01

The inner surface of superconducting cavities plays a crucial role to achieve highest accelerating fields and low losses. The industrial fabrication of cavities for the European X-ray Free Electron Laser and the International Linear Collider HiGrade Research Project allowed for an investigation of this interplay. For the serial inspection of the inner surface, the optical inspection robot ’optical bench for automated cavity inspection with high resolution on short timescales’ OBACHT was constructed and to analyze the large amount of data, represented in the images of the inner surface, an image processing and analysis code was developed and new variables to describe the cavity surface were obtained. This quantitative analysis identified vendor-specific surface properties which allow the performance of quality control and assurance during production. In addition, a strong negative correlation of ρ =-0.93 with a significance of 6 σ of the integrated grain boundary area \\sum {A} versus the maximal achievable accelerating field {{E}}{acc,\\max } has been found.

Optical surface properties and their RF limitations of European XFEL cavities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wenskat, Marc

2017-04-15

The inner surface of superconducting cavities plays a crucial role to achieve highest accelerating fields and low losses. The industrial fabrication of cavities for the European X-Ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) and the International Linear Collider (ILC) HiGrade Research Project allowed for an investigation of this interplay. For the serial inspection of the inner surface, the optical inspection robot OBACHT was constructed and to analyze the large amount of data, represented in the images of the inner surface, an image processing and analysis code was developed and new variables to describe the cavity surface were obtained. This quantitative analysis identified vendor specific surface properties which allow to perform a quality control and assurance during the production. In addition, a strong negative correlation of ρ=-0.93 with a significance of 6σ of the integrated grain boundary area ΣA versus the maximal achievable accelerating field E{sub acc,max} has been found.

Optical surface properties and their RF limitations of European XFEL cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wenskat, Marc

2017-04-01

The inner surface of superconducting cavities plays a crucial role to achieve highest accelerating fields and low losses. The industrial fabrication of cavities for the European X-Ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) and the International Linear Collider (ILC) HiGrade Research Project allowed for an investigation of this interplay. For the serial inspection of the inner surface, the optical inspection robot OBACHT was constructed and to analyze the large amount of data, represented in the images of the inner surface, an image processing and analysis code was developed and new variables to describe the cavity surface were obtained. This quantitative analysis identified vendor specific surface properties which allow to perform a quality control and assurance during the production. In addition, a strong negative correlation of ρ=-0.93 with a significance of 6σ of the integrated grain boundary area ΣA versus the maximal achievable accelerating field E acc,max has been found.

Functional integration of vertical flight path and speed control using energy principles

Science.gov (United States)

Lambregts, A. A.

1984-01-01

A generalized automatic flight control system was developed which integrates all longitudinal flight path and speed control functions previously provided by a pitch autopilot and autothrottle. In this design, a net thrust command is computed based on total energy demand arising from both flight path and speed targets. The elevator command is computed based on the energy distribution error between flight path and speed. The engine control is configured to produce the commanded net thrust. The design incorporates control strategies and hierarchy to deal systematically and effectively with all aircraft operational requirements, control nonlinearities, and performance limits. Consistent decoupled maneuver control is achieved for all modes and flight conditions without outer loop gain schedules, control law submodes, or control function duplication.

Open | SpeedShop: An Open Source Infrastructure for Parallel Performance Analysis

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Martin Schulz

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Over the last decades a large number of performance tools has been developed to analyze and optimize high performance applications. Their acceptance by end users, however, has been slow: each tool alone is often limited in scope and comes with widely varying interfaces and workflow constraints, requiring different changes in the often complex build and execution infrastructure of the target application. We started the Open | SpeedShop project about 3 years ago to overcome these limitations and provide efficient, easy to apply, and integrated performance analysis for parallel systems. Open | SpeedShop has two different faces: it provides an interoperable tool set covering the most common analysis steps as well as a comprehensive plugin infrastructure for building new tools. In both cases, the tools can be deployed to large scale parallel applications using DPCL/Dyninst for distributed binary instrumentation. Further, all tools developed within or on top of Open | SpeedShop are accessible through multiple fully equivalent interfaces including an easy-to-use GUI as well as an interactive command line interface reducing the usage threshold for those tools.

Influence of RZ and NRZ signal format on the high-speed performance of gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifiers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fjelde, Tina; Wolfson, David; Kloch, Allan

2000-01-01

High-speed experiments show that the influence from the limited relaxation frequency of GC-SOAs that severely degrades the performance for NRZ signals is reduced by using RZ signals, thus resulting in a higher input power dynamic range.......High-speed experiments show that the influence from the limited relaxation frequency of GC-SOAs that severely degrades the performance for NRZ signals is reduced by using RZ signals, thus resulting in a higher input power dynamic range....

Low reproductive isolation and highly variable levels of gene flow reveal limited progress towards speciation between European river and brook lampreys.

Science.gov (United States)

Rougemont, Q; Gaigher, A; Lasne, E; Côte, J; Coke, M; Besnard, A-L; Launey, S; Evanno, G

2015-12-01

Ecologically based divergent selection is a factor that could drive reproductive isolation even in the presence of gene flow. Population pairs arrayed along a continuum of divergence provide a good opportunity to address this issue. Here, we used a combination of mating trials, experimental crosses and population genetic analyses to investigate the evolution of reproductive isolation between two closely related species of lampreys with distinct life histories. We used microsatellite markers to genotype over 1000 individuals of the migratory parasitic river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) and freshwater-resident nonparasitic brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) distributed in 10 sympatric and parapatric population pairs in France. Mating trials, parentage analyses and artificial fertilizations demonstrated a low level of reproductive isolation between species even though size-assortative mating may contribute to isolation. Most parapatric population pairs were strongly differentiated due to the joint effects of geographic distance and barriers to migration. In contrast, we found variable levels of gene flow between sympatric populations ranging from panmixia to moderate differentiation, which indicates a gradient of divergence with some population pairs that may correspond to alternative morphs or ecotypes of a single species and others that remain partially isolated. Ecologically based divergent selection may explain these variable levels of divergence among sympatric population pairs, but incomplete genome swamping following secondary contact could have also played a role. Overall, this study illustrates how highly differentiated phenotypes can be maintained despite high levels of gene flow that limit the progress towards speciation. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

The ODELIA Study on Noise Limits for Outdoor Machinery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dittrich, M.G.; Carletti, E.; Spellerberg, G.

2016-01-01

In the ODELIA study for the European Commission an assessment of the outdoor equipment noise directive 2000/14/EC and its amendment 2005/88/EC has been performed. The directive requires noise marking for 57 types of equipment used outdoors, and sets noise limits for 22 of these. Since the limits

CONVERGENCE IN THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Iovitu

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The European Union has developed a series of strategies that aim to limit the consequences of non-employment (due to the continuing crisis. These strategies aim by the objectives and mechanisms specific to the eco-social area, to improve the access to employment, social services, professional education and a more efficient European fund management. All this are subordinated to the coupling policy public-private in terms of partnerships both at a national level and European level. The problem is related to differences manifested between the social objectives at the national level and those imposed by the European context. The differences come from different degrees of economic development of the member states, economic development which is reflected on the living standards. The convergence between the social policies is based on the economic convergence, which represents the only way to ameliorate the discrepancies between the united nations of Europe. Social Europe dream or certainty? The answer can be found in the words of Jean Monnet: “we are not bringing together states, we are uniting people”. The efforts to define the four types of actions regarding the free movement of labor force and the correlation of the social security schemes, ensuring equal opportunities, respecting labor rights and the fight against discrimination can be found in the results obtained on these priorities.

Determinants of the reliability of ultrasound tomography sound speed estimates as a surrogate for volumetric breast density

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khodr, Zeina G.; Pfeiffer, Ruth M.; Gierach, Gretchen L., E-mail: GierachG@mail.nih.gov [Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive MSC 9774, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 (United States); Sak, Mark A.; Bey-Knight, Lisa [Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, 4100 John R, Detroit, Michigan 48201 (United States); Duric, Nebojsa; Littrup, Peter [Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, 4100 John R, Detroit, Michigan 48201 and Delphinus Medical Technologies, 46701 Commerce Center Drive, Plymouth, Michigan 48170 (United States); Ali, Haythem; Vallieres, Patricia [Henry Ford Health System, 2799 W Grand Boulevard, Detroit, Michigan 48202 (United States); Sherman, Mark E. [Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services, 9609 Medical Center Drive MSC 9774, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 (United States)

2015-10-15

Purpose: High breast density, as measured by mammography, is associated with increased breast cancer risk, but standard methods of assessment have limitations including 2D representation of breast tissue, distortion due to breast compression, and use of ionizing radiation. Ultrasound tomography (UST) is a novel imaging method that averts these limitations and uses sound speed measures rather than x-ray imaging to estimate breast density. The authors evaluated the reproducibility of measures of speed of sound and changes in this parameter using UST. Methods: One experienced and five newly trained raters measured sound speed in serial UST scans for 22 women (two scans per person) to assess inter-rater reliability. Intrarater reliability was assessed for four raters. A random effects model was used to calculate the percent variation in sound speed and change in sound speed attributable to subject, scan, rater, and repeat reads. The authors estimated the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for these measures based on data from the authors’ experienced rater. Results: Median (range) time between baseline and follow-up UST scans was five (1–13) months. Contributions of factors to sound speed variance were differences between subjects (86.0%), baseline versus follow-up scans (7.5%), inter-rater evaluations (1.1%), and intrarater reproducibility (∼0%). When evaluating change in sound speed between scans, 2.7% and ∼0% of variation were attributed to inter- and intrarater variation, respectively. For the experienced rater’s repeat reads, agreement for sound speed was excellent (ICC = 93.4%) and for change in sound speed substantial (ICC = 70.4%), indicating very good reproducibility of these measures. Conclusions: UST provided highly reproducible sound speed measurements, which reflect breast density, suggesting that UST has utility in sensitively assessing change in density.

The Principal-Agent model and the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Delreux, Tom; Adriaensen, J.

2017-01-01

This book assesses the use and limitations of the principal-agent model in a context of increasingly complex political systems such as the European Union. Whilst a number of conceptual, theoretical and methodological challenges need to be addressed, the authors show that the principal-agent model

The crisis as catalyst for reframing health care policies in the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Helderman, Jan-Kees

2015-01-01

Seen from the perspective of health, the global financial crisis (GFC) may be conceived of as an exogenous factor that has undermined the fiscal sustainability of European welfare states and consequently, their (expanding) health systems as well. Being one of the core programs of European welfare states, health care has always belonged to the sovereignty of European Member States. However, in past two decades, European welfare states have in fact become semi-sovereign states and the European Union (EU) no longer is an exogenous actor in European health policy making. Today, the EU not only puts limits to unsustainable growth levels in health care spending, it also acts as an health policy agenda setter. Since the outbreak of the GFC, it does so in an increasingly coercive and persuasive way, claiming authority over health system reforms alongside the responsibilities of its Member States.

Protein friction limits diffusive and directed movements of kinesin motors on microtubules.

Science.gov (United States)

Bormuth, Volker; Varga, Vladimir; Howard, Jonathon; Schäffer, Erik

2009-08-14

Friction limits the operation of macroscopic engines and is critical to the performance of micromechanical devices. We report measurements of friction in a biological nanomachine. Using optical tweezers, we characterized the frictional drag force of individual kinesin-8 motor proteins interacting with their microtubule tracks. At low speeds and with no energy source, the frictional drag was related to the diffusion coefficient by the Einstein relation. At higher speeds, the frictional drag force increased nonlinearly, consistent with the motor jumping 8 nanometers between adjacent tubulin dimers along the microtubule, and was asymmetric, reflecting the structural polarity of the microtubule. We argue that these frictional forces arise from breaking bonds between the motor domains and the microtubule, and they limit the speed and efficiency of kinesin.

Effects of walking speed on the step-by-step control of step width.

Science.gov (United States)

Stimpson, Katy H; Heitkamp, Lauren N; Horne, Joscelyn S; Dean, Jesse C

2018-02-08

Young, healthy adults walking at typical preferred speeds use step-by-step adjustments of step width to appropriately redirect their center of mass motion and ensure mediolateral stability. However, it is presently unclear whether this control strategy is retained when walking at the slower speeds preferred by many clinical populations. We investigated whether the typical stabilization strategy is influenced by walking speed. Twelve young, neurologically intact participants walked on a treadmill at a range of prescribed speeds (0.2-1.2 m/s). The mediolateral stabilization strategy was quantified as the proportion of step width variance predicted by the mechanical state of the pelvis throughout a step (calculated as R 2 magnitude from a multiple linear regression). Our ability to accurately predict the upcoming step width increased over the course of a step. The strength of the relationship between step width and pelvis mechanics at the start of a step was reduced at slower speeds. However, these speed-dependent differences largely disappeared by the end of a step, other than at the slowest walking speed (0.2 m/s). These results suggest that mechanics-dependent adjustments in step width are a consistent component of healthy gait across speeds and contexts. However, slower walking speeds may ease this control by allowing mediolateral repositioning of the swing leg to occur later in a step, thus encouraging slower walking among clinical populations with limited sensorimotor control. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Computer ray tracing speeds.

Science.gov (United States)

Robb, P; Pawlowski, B

1990-05-01

The results of measuring the ray trace speed and compilation speed of thirty-nine computers in fifty-seven configurations, ranging from personal computers to super computers, are described. A correlation of ray trace speed has been made with the LINPACK benchmark which allows the ray trace speed to be estimated using LINPACK performance data. The results indicate that the latest generation of workstations, using CPUs based on RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) technology, are as fast or faster than mainframe computers in compute-bound situations.

Impact of left ventricular assist device speed adjustment on exercise tolerance and markers of wall stress.