Measurements of ground motion and SSC dipole vibrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parkhomchuk, V.V.; Shiltsev, V.D.; Weaver, H.J.

1993-06-01

The results of seismic ground measurements at the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) site and investigations of vibrational properties of superconducting dipoles for the SSC are presented. Spectral analysis of the data obtained in the large frequency band from 0.05 Hz to 2000 Hz is done. Resonant behavior and the dipole-to-ground transform ratio are investigated. The influence of measured vibrations on SSC operations is considered

Earthquake Ground Motion Measures for Seismic Response Evaluation of Structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, In-Kil; Ahn, Seong-Moon; Choun, Young-Sun; Seo, Jeong-Moon

2007-03-15

This study used the assessment results of failure criteria - base shear, story drift, top acceleration and top displacement - for a PSC containment building subjected to 30 sets of near-fault ground motions to evaluate the earthquake ground motion intensity measures. Seven intensity measures, peak ground acceleration(PGA), peak ground velocity(PGV), spectral acceleration(Sa), velocity(Sv), spectrum intensity for acceleration(SIa), velocity(SIv) and displacement(SId), were used to represent alternative ground motion. The regression analyses of the failure criteria for a PSC containment building were carried out to evaluate a proper intensity measure by using two regression models and seven ground motion parameters. The regression analysis results demonstrate the correlation coefficients of the failure criteria in terms of the candidate IM. From the results, spectral acceleration(Sa) is estimated as the best parameter for a evaluation of the structural safety for a seismic PSA.

Ground granulated blast furnace slag efficiency coefficient (k value) in concrete. Applications and limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanjuan, M. A.; Pineiro, A.; Rodriguez, O.

2011-01-01

Recently, a k-value for ground granulated blast-furnace slag or k-value has been added to the revision of the European standard EN 206-1:2000. The proposed values during the discussions in the working groups were very different because in most of cases the compressive strength was the only characteristic considered; while only in few cases the concrete durability was taken into account when ground granulated blast-furnace slag is added directly to the mix. Advantages and disadvantages of the k-values found in the literature are discussed in this paper. The final conclusion may be summarised suggesting a logical proposal of addressing to each country the choice of the k-value in function of the concrete application, environment and placing conditions selected according to their own experience. (Author) 15 refs.

Ground granulated blast furnace slag efficiency coefficient (k value) in concrete. Applications and limits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanjuan, M. A.; Pineiro, A.; Rodriguez, O.

2011-07-01

Recently, a k-value for ground granulated blast-furnace slag or k-value has been added to the revision of the European standard EN 206-1:2000. The proposed values during the discussions in the working groups were very different because in most of cases the compressive strength was the only characteristic considered; while only in few cases the concrete durability was taken into account when ground granulated blast-furnace slag is added directly to the mix. Advantages and disadvantages of the k-values found in the literature are discussed in this paper. The final conclusion may be summarised suggesting a logical proposal of addressing to each country the choice of the k-value in function of the concrete application, environment and placing conditions selected according to their own experience. (Author) 15 refs.

Measurement of ground-water storage change and specific yield using the temporal-gravity method near Rillito Creek, Tucson, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Pool, Donald R.; Schmidt, Werner

1997-01-01

The temporal-gravity method was used to estimate ground-water storage change and specific -yield values at wells near Rillito Creek, Tucson, Arizona, between early December 1992 and early January 1994. The method applies Newton's Law of Gravitation to measure changes in the local gravitational field of the Earth that are caused by changes in the mass and volume of ground water. Gravity at 50 stations in a 6-square-mile area was measured repeatedly relative to gravity at two bedrock stations. Ephemeral recharge through streamflow infiltration during the winter of 1992-93 resulted in water-level rises and gravity increases near Rillito Creek as the volume of ground water in storage increased. Water levels in wells rose as much as 30 feet, and gravity increased as much as 90 microgals. Water levels declined and gravity decreased near the stream after the last major winter flow but continued to rise and increase, respectively, in downgradient areas. Water levels and gravity relative to bedrock were measured at 10 wells. Good linear correlations between water levels and gravity values at five wells nearest the stream allowed for the estimation of specific-yield values for corresponding stratigraphic units assuming the mass change occurred in an infinite horizonal slab of uniform thickness. Specific-yield values for the stream-channel deposits at three wells ranged from 0.15 to 0.34, and correlation coefficients ranged from 0.81 to 0.99. Specific-yield values for the Fort Lowell Formation at three wells ranged from 0.07 to 0.18, and correlation coefficients ranged from 0.82 to 0.93. Specific-yield values were not calculated for the five wells farthest from the stream because of insufficient water-level and gravity change or poor correlations between water level and gravity. Poor correlations between water levels and gravity resulted from ground-water storage change in perched aquifers and in the unsaturated zone near ephemeral streams. Seasonal distributions of ground

Transfer of electrical space charge from corona between ground and thundercloud: Measurements and modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Soula, Serge

1994-01-01

The evolution of the vertical electric field profile deduced from simultaneous field measurements at several levels below a thundercloud shows the development of a space charge layer at least up to 600 m. The average charge density in the whole layer from 0 m to 600 m can reach about 1 nC m(exp -3). The ions are generated at the ground by corona effect and the production rate is evaluated with a new method from the comparison of field evolutions at the ground and at altitude after a lightning flash. The modeling of the relevant processes shows tht ground corona accounts for the observed field evolutions and that the aerosol particles concentration has a very large effect on the evolution of corona ions. However, with a realistic value for this concentration a large amount of ground corona ions reach the level of 600 m.

Predictive value of mutant p53 expression index obtained from nonenhanced computed tomography measurements for assessing invasiveness of ground-glass opacity nodules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang W

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Wei Wang,1 Jian Li,2 Ransheng Liu,1 Aixu Zhang,1 Zhiyong Yuan1 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center of Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Radiology, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China Purpose: To predict p53 expression index (p53-EI based on measurements from computed tomography (CT for preoperatively assessing pathologies of nodular ground-glass opacities (nGGOs. Methods: Information of 176 cases with nGGOs on high-resolution CT that were pathologically confirmed adenocarcinoma was collected. Diameters, total volumes (TVs, maximum (MAX, average (AVG, and standard deviation (STD of CT attenuations within nGGOs were measured. p53-EI was evaluated through immunohistochemistry with Image-Pro Plus 6.0. A multiple linear stepwise regression model was established to calculate p53-EI prediction from CT measurements. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to compare the diagnostic performance of variables in differentiating preinvasive adenocarcinoma (PIA, minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA, and invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC. Results: Diameters, TVs, MAX, AVG, and STD showed significant differences among PIAs, MIAs, and IACs (all P-values <0.001, with only MAX being incapable to differentiate MIAs from IACs (P=0.106. The mean p53-EIs of PIAs, MIAs, and IACs were 3.4±2.0, 7.2±1.9, and 9.8±2.7, with significant intergroup differences (all P-values <0.001. An equation was established by multiple linear regression as: p53-EI prediction =0.001* TVs +0.012* AVG +0.022* STD +9.345, through which p53-EI predictions were calculated to be 4.4%±1.0%, 6.8%±1.3%, and 8.5%±1.4% for PIAs, MIAs, and IACs (Kruskal–Wallis test P<0.001; Tamhane’s T2 test: PIA vs MIA P<0.001, MIA vs IAC P<0.001, respectively. Although not significant, p53-EI prediction

Ground robotic measurement of aeolian processes

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Feifei; Jerolmack, Douglas; Lancaster, Nicholas; Nikolich, George; Reverdy, Paul; Roberts, Sonia; Shipley, Thomas; Van Pelt, R. Scott; Zobeck, Ted M.; Koditschek, Daniel E.

2017-08-01

Models of aeolian processes rely on accurate measurements of the rates of sediment transport by wind, and careful evaluation of the environmental controls of these processes. Existing field approaches typically require intensive, event-based experiments involving dense arrays of instruments. These devices are often cumbersome and logistically difficult to set up and maintain, especially near steep or vegetated dune surfaces. Significant advances in instrumentation are needed to provide the datasets that are required to validate and improve mechanistic models of aeolian sediment transport. Recent advances in robotics show great promise for assisting and amplifying scientists' efforts to increase the spatial and temporal resolution of many environmental measurements governing sediment transport. The emergence of cheap, agile, human-scale robotic platforms endowed with increasingly sophisticated sensor and motor suites opens up the prospect of deploying programmable, reactive sensor payloads across complex terrain in the service of aeolian science. This paper surveys the need and assesses the opportunities and challenges for amassing novel, highly resolved spatiotemporal datasets for aeolian research using partially-automated ground mobility. We review the limitations of existing measurement approaches for aeolian processes, and discuss how they may be transformed by ground-based robotic platforms, using examples from our initial field experiments. We then review how the need to traverse challenging aeolian terrains and simultaneously make high-resolution measurements of critical variables requires enhanced robotic capability. Finally, we conclude with a look to the future, in which robotic platforms may operate with increasing autonomy in harsh conditions. Besides expanding the completeness of terrestrial datasets, bringing ground-based robots to the aeolian research community may lead to unexpected discoveries that generate new hypotheses to expand the science

Corrosion of limestone tablets in sulfidic ground-water: measurements and speleogenetic implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galdenzi Sandro

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The measurement of the weight loss in limestone tablets placed in the Grotta del Fiume (Frasassi, Italy provided data on the rate of limestone dissolution due to the sulfidic water and on the influence of local environmental conditions.A linear average corrosion rate of 24 mm ka-1 was measured in stagnant water, while the values were higher (68-119 mm ka-1 where the hydrologic conditions facilitate water movement and gas exchanges. In these zones the increase in water aggressivity is due to mixing with descending, O2-rich, seepage water and is also favored by easier gas exchange between ground-water and the cave atmosphere. Very intense corrosion was due to weakly turbulent flow, which caused evident changes in the tablets shape in few months. A comparison between the measured corrosion rates and the cave features showed that the values measured in the pools with stagnant water are too low to account for the largest solutional cave development, while the average values measured in the zones with moving water are compatible with the dimension of the cave rooms in the main cave levels, that must have developed when the base level was stable and hydrologic conditions favored the increase of water aggressivity.

A comparison of ground-based hydroxyl airglow temperatures with SABER/TIMED measurements over 23° N, India

Science.gov (United States)

Parihar, Navin; Singh, Dupinder; Gurubaran, Subramanian

2017-03-01

Ground-based observations of OH (6, 2) Meinel band nightglow were carried out at Ranchi (23.3° N, 85.3° E), India, during January-March 2011, December 2011-May 2012 and December 2012-March 2013 using an all-sky imaging system. Near the mesopause, OH temperatures were derived from the OH (6, 2) Meinel band intensity information. A limited comparison of OH temperatures (TOH) with SABER/TIMED measurements in 30 cases was performed by defining almost coincident criterion of ±1.5° latitude-longitude and ±3 min of the ground-based observations. Using SABER OH 1.6 and 2.0 µm volume emission rate profiles as the weighing function, two sets of OH-equivalent temperature (T1. 6 and T2. 0 respectively) were estimated from its kinetic temperature profile for comparison with OH nightglow measurements. Overall, fair agreement existed between ground-based and SABER measurements in the majority of events within the limits of experimental errors. Overall, the mean value of OH-derived temperatures and SABER OH-equivalent temperatures were 197.3 ± 4.6, 192.0 ± 10.8 and 192.7 ± 10.3 K, and the ground-based temperatures were 4-5 K warmer than SABER values. A difference of 8 K or more is noted between two measurements when the peak of the OH emission layer lies in the vicinity of large temperature inversions. A comparison of OH temperatures derived using different sets of Einstein transition probabilities and SABER measurements was also performed; however, OH temperatures derived using Langhoff et al. (1986) transition probabilities were found to compare well.

Aircraft and ground vehicle friction measurements obtained under winter runway conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Yager, Thomas J.

1989-01-01

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

Modeled ground water age distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Woolfenden, Linda R.; Ginn, Timothy R.

2009-01-01

The age of ground water in any given sample is a distributed quantity representing distributed provenance (in space and time) of the water. Conventional analysis of tracers such as unstable isotopes or anthropogenic chemical species gives discrete or binary measures of the presence of water of a given age. Modeled ground water age distributions provide a continuous measure of contributions from different recharge sources to aquifers. A numerical solution of the ground water age equation of Ginn (1999) was tested both on a hypothetical simplified one-dimensional flow system and under real world conditions. Results from these simulations yield the first continuous distributions of ground water age using this model. Complete age distributions as a function of one and two space dimensions were obtained from both numerical experiments. Simulations in the test problem produced mean ages that were consistent with the expected value at the end of the model domain for all dispersivity values tested, although the mean ages for the two highest dispersivity values deviated slightly from the expected value. Mean ages in the dispersionless case also were consistent with the expected mean ages throughout the physical model domain. Simulations under real world conditions for three dispersivity values resulted in decreasing mean age with increasing dispersivity. This likely is a consequence of an edge effect. However, simulations for all three dispersivity values tested were mass balanced and stable demonstrating that the solution of the ground water age equation can provide estimates of water mass density distributions over age under real world conditions.

7 CFR 1755.406 - Shield or armor ground resistance measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...) The insulation resistance test set should have an output voltage not to exceed 500 volts dc and may be... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Shield or armor ground resistance measurements. 1755... MATERIALS, AND STANDARD CONTRACT FORMS § 1755.406 Shield or armor ground resistance measurements. (a) Shield...

Protocol for fermionic positive-operator-valued measures

Science.gov (United States)

Arvidsson-Shukur, D. R. M.; Lepage, H. V.; Owen, E. T.; Ferrus, T.; Barnes, C. H. W.

2017-11-01

In this paper we present a protocol for the implementation of a positive-operator-valued measure (POVM) on massive fermionic qubits. We present methods for implementing nondispersive qubit transport, spin rotations, and spin polarizing beam-splitter operations. Our scheme attains linear opticslike control of the spatial extent of the qubits by considering ground-state electrons trapped in the minima of surface acoustic waves in semiconductor heterostructures. Furthermore, we numerically simulate a high-fidelity POVM that carries out Procrustean entanglement distillation in the framework of our scheme, using experimentally realistic potentials. Our protocol can be applied not only to pure ensembles with particle pairs of known identical entanglement, but also to realistic ensembles of particle pairs with a distribution of entanglement entropies. This paper provides an experimentally realizable design for future quantum technologies.

Design, Construction and Evaluation of an Interchangeable Digital System to Measure Slip and Ground Speed of Existing 2WD Tractors in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Khosravi

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The majority of existing tractors in Iran are not equipped with any tools to measure and display slip and ground speed. This is mainly due to the lack of national standards for measuring tools and instruments of tractors. In current research, an interchangeable system for two wheel drive tractors has been designed. Furthermore, it has been assessed after construction. To measure actual and theoretical ground speed, four rotary encoders for sensing the rotation of front and rear wheels have been utilized. Slip and ground speed were measured by means of software which has been developed in an ATmega16PU microprocessor. The measured slip and speed are digitally displayed on tractor dashboard. To evaluate the performance of the system, the measured values of ground speed and slip were compared with their calculated values obtained from conventional method. The Micro-controller has been programmed in such a way that the effect of front wheel sliding on slip is eliminated. In all evaluation conditions (in field and on asphalt, the maximum difference between system measurements for slip and speed and calculated slip and speed via conventional method was 2.4% and 0.2 km h-1, respectively. With slight alteration this system can be fitted on any kind of exiting two wheel drive tractors in the country.

AMS Ground Truth Measurements: Calibration and Test Lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wasiolek, P.

2013-01-01

Airborne gamma spectrometry is one of the primary techniques used to define the extent of ground contamination after a radiological incident. Its usefulness was demonstrated extensively during the response to the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) accident in March-May 2011. To map ground contamination a set of scintillation detectors is mounted on an airborne platform (airplane or helicopter) and flown over contaminated areas. The acquisition system collects spectral information together with the aircraft position and altitude every second. To provide useful information to decision makers, the count rate data expressed in counts per second (cps) needs to be converted to the terrestrial component of the exposure rate 1 m above ground, or surface activity of isotopes of concern. This is done using conversion coefficients derived from calibration flights. During a large scale radiological event, multiple flights may be necessary and may require use of assets from different agencies. However, as the production of a single, consistent map product depicting the ground contamination is the primary goal, it is critical to establish very early into the event a common calibration line. Such a line should be flown periodically in order to normalize data collected from different aerial acquisition systems and potentially flown at different flight altitudes and speeds. In order to verify and validate individual aerial systems, the calibration line needs to be characterized in terms of ground truth measurements. This is especially important if the contamination is due to short-lived radionuclides. The process of establishing such a line, as well as necessary ground truth measurements, is described in this document.

AMS Ground Truth Measurements: Calibrations and Test Lines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wasiolek, Piotr T. [National Security Technologies, LLC

2015-12-01

Airborne gamma spectrometry is one of the primary techniques used to define the extent of ground contamination after a radiological incident. Its usefulness was demonstrated extensively during the response to the Fukushima NPP accident in March-May 2011. To map ground contamination, a set of scintillation detectors is mounted on an airborne platform (airplane or helicopter) and flown over contaminated areas. The acquisition system collects spectral information together with the aircraft position and altitude every second. To provide useful information to decision makers, the count data, expressed in counts per second (cps), need to be converted to a terrestrial component of the exposure rate at 1 meter (m) above ground, or surface activity of the isotopes of concern. This is done using conversion coefficients derived from calibration flights. During a large-scale radiological event, multiple flights may be necessary and may require use of assets from different agencies. However, because production of a single, consistent map product depicting the ground contamination is the primary goal, it is critical to establish a common calibration line very early into the event. Such a line should be flown periodically in order to normalize data collected from different aerial acquisition systems and that are potentially flown at different flight altitudes and speeds. In order to verify and validate individual aerial systems, the calibration line needs to be characterized in terms of ground truth measurements This is especially important if the contamination is due to short-lived radionuclides. The process of establishing such a line, as well as necessary ground truth measurements, is described in this document.

Measurement of radon concentration in ground water at Saijo sake brewery by means of γ-ray spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takenaka, Kodai; Takatori, Hiroshi; Kojima, Yasuaki; Shizuma, Kiyoshi

2008-01-01

Recently, natural water such as ground water and/or spring water of various places is popular for the environmental preservation and safety of food. Measurement of the radon concentration in ground water is important for risk estimate of drinking water and whether the water can be authorized as the mineral spring (74 Bq/L). In this work, radon concentration is ground water from eight places which were utilized for Saijo sake breweries was measured by means of γ-ray spectrometry. Radon concentration in each well was measured every month for two years. The variation in the radon concentration was investigated for seasonal variation, difference between the type of well, correlations with pH, water temperature and atmospheric temperature. The results are as follows: An average value of the radon concentration was 160 Bq/L which meant most of ground water satisfies the mineral spring standard. The radon concentration of the drilling well was higher than that of the punched well. The variation in the radon concentration shows no seasonal variations, nor depends on the water temperature, the atmospheric temperature and the pH. (author)

GPS Multipath Fade Measurements to Determine L-Band Ground Reflectivity Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Kavak, Adnan; Xu, Guang-Han; Vogel, Wolfhard J.

1996-01-01

In personal satellite communications, especially when the line-of-sight is clear, ground specular reflected signals along with direct signals are received by low gain, almost omni-directional subscriber antennas. A six-channel, C/A code processing, GPS receiver with an almost omni-directional patch antenna was used to take measurements over three types of ground to characterize 1.575 GHz specular ground reflections and ground dielectric properties. Fade measurements were taken over grass, asphalt, and lake water surfaces by placing the antenna in a vertical position at a fixed height from the ground. Electrical characteristics (conductivity and dielectric constant) of these surfaces (grass, asphalt, lake water) were obtained by matching computer simulations to the experimental results.

Ground based mobile isotopic methane measurements in the Front Range, Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughn, B. H.; Rella, C.; Petron, G.; Sherwood, O.; Mielke-Maday, I.; Schwietzke, S.

2014-12-01

Increased development of unconventional oil and gas resources in North America has given rise to attempts to monitor and quantify fugitive emissions of methane from the industry. Emission estimates of methane from oil and gas basins can vary significantly from one study to another as well as from EPA or State estimates. New efforts are aimed at reconciling bottom-up, or inventory-based, emission estimates of methane with top-down estimates based on atmospheric measurements from aircraft, towers, mobile ground-based vehicles, and atmospheric models. Attributing airborne measurements of regional methane fluxes to specific sources is informed by ground-based measurements of methane. Stable isotopic measurements (δ13C) of methane help distinguish between emissions from the O&G industry, Confined Animal Feed Operations (CAFO), and landfills, but analytical challenges typically limit meaningful isotopic measurements to individual point sampling. We are developing a toolbox to use δ13CH4 measurements to assess the partitioning of methane emissions for regions with multiple methane sources. The method was applied to the Denver-Julesberg Basin. Here we present data from continuous isotopic measurements obtained over a wide geographic area by using MegaCore, a 1500 ft. tube that is constantly filled with sample air while driving, then subsequently analyzed at slower rates using cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS). Pressure, flow and calibration are tightly controlled allowing precise attribution of methane enhancements to their point of collection. Comparisons with point measurements are needed to confirm regional values and further constrain flux estimates and models. This effort was made in conjunction with several major field campaigns in the Colorado Front Range in July-August 2014, including FRAPPÉ (Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Experiment), DISCOVER-AQ, and the Air Water Gas NSF Sustainability Research Network at the University of Colorado.

Reconstructing weak values without weak measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johansen, Lars M.

2007-01-01

I propose a scheme for reconstructing the weak value of an observable without the need for weak measurements. The post-selection in weak measurements is replaced by an initial projector measurement. The observable can be measured using any form of interaction, including projective measurements. The reconstruction is effected by measuring the change in the expectation value of the observable due to the projector measurement. The weak value may take nonclassical values if the projector measurement disturbs the expectation value of the observable

Ground Motion Prediction Equations Empowered by Stress Drop Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Miyake, H.; Oth, A.

2015-12-01

Significant variation of stress drop is a crucial issue for ground motion prediction equations and probabilistic seismic hazard assessment, since only a few ground motion prediction equations take into account stress drop. In addition to average and sigma studies of stress drop and ground motion prediction equations (e.g., Cotton et al., 2013; Baltay and Hanks, 2014), we explore 1-to-1 relationship for each earthquake between stress drop and between-event residual of a ground motion prediction equation. We used the stress drop dataset of Oth (2013) for Japanese crustal earthquakes ranging 0.1 to 100 MPa and K-NET/KiK-net ground motion dataset against for several ground motion prediction equations with volcanic front treatment. Between-event residuals for ground accelerations and velocities are generally coincident with stress drop, as investigated by seismic intensity measures of Oth et al. (2015). Moreover, we found faster attenuation of ground acceleration and velocities for large stress drop events for the similar fault distance range and focal depth. It may suggest an alternative parameterization of stress drop to control attenuation distance rate for ground motion prediction equations. We also investigate 1-to-1 relationship and sigma for regional/national-scale stress drop variation and current national-scale ground motion equations.

Planar Near-Field Measurements of Ground Penetrating Radar Antennas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meincke, Peter; Hansen, Thorkild

2004-01-01

Planar near-field measurements are formulated for a general ground penetrating radar (GPR) antenna. A total plane-wave scattering matrix is defined for the system consisting of the GPR antenna and the planar air-soil interface. The transmitting spectrum of the GPR antenna is expressed in terms...... of measurements obtained with a buried probe as the GPR antenna moves over a scan plane on the ground. A numerical example in which the scan plane is finite validates the expressions for the spectrum of the GPR antenna....

Measurement of the ground-state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen

CERN Document Server

Juhász, B; Federmann, S

2011-01-01

The ASACUSA collaboration at the Antiproton Decelerator of CERN is planning to measure the ground-state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen using an atomic beam line, consisting of a cusp trap as a source of partially polarized antihydrogen atoms, a radiofrequency spin-flip cavity, a superconducting sextupole magnet as spin analyser, and an antihydrogen detector. This will be a measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment, and also a test of the CPT invariance. Monte Carlo simulations predict that the antihydrogen ground-state hyperfine splitting can be determined with a relative precision of ~10−7. The first preliminary measurements of the hyperfine transitions will start in 2011.

Overview of Boundary Layer Clouds Using Satellite and Ground-Based Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Xi, B.; Dong, X.; Wu, P.; Qiu, S.

2017-12-01

A comprehensive summary of boundary layer clouds properties based on our few recently studies will be presented. The analyses include the global cloud fractions and cloud macro/micro- physical properties based on satellite measurements using both CERES-MODIS and CloudSat/Caliposo data products,; the annual/seasonal/diurnal variations of stratocumulus clouds over different climate regions (mid-latitude land, mid-latitude ocean, and Arctic region) using DOE ARM ground-based measurements over Southern great plain (SGP), Azores (GRW), and North slope of Alaska (NSA) sites; the impact of environmental conditions to the formation and dissipation process of marine boundary layer clouds over Azores site; characterizing Arctice mixed-phase cloud structure and favorable environmental conditions for the formation/maintainess of mixed-phase clouds over NSA site. Though the presentation has widely spread topics, we will focus on the representation of the ground-based measurements over different climate regions; evaluation of satellite retrieved cloud properties using these ground-based measurements, and understanding the uncertainties of both satellite and ground-based retrievals and measurements.

Ground motion measurements at the LBL Light Source site, the Bevatron and at SLAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, M.A.; Majer, E.I.; More, V.D.; O'Connell, D.R.; Shilling, R.C.

1986-12-01

This report describes the technique for measuring ground motion at the site of the 1.0 to 2.0 GeV Synchrotron Radiation Facility which was known as the Advanced Light Source (in 1983 when the measurements were taken). The results of ground motion measurements at the Light Source site at Building 6 at LBL are presented. As comparison, ground motion measurements were made at the Byerly Tunnel, the Bevatron, Blackberry Canyon, and SLAC at the Spear Ring. Ground Motion at the Light Source site was measured in a band from 4 to 100 Hz. The measured noise is primarily local in origin and is not easily transported through LBL soils. The background ground motion is for the most part less than 0.1 microns. Localized truck traffic near Building 6 and the operation of the cranes in the building can result in local ground motions of a micron or more for short periods of time. The background motion at Building 6 is between 1 and 2 orders of magnitude higher than ground motion in a quiet seismic tunnel, which is representative of quiet sites worldwide. The magnitude of the ground motions at SLAC and the Bevatron are comparable to ground motions measured at the Building 6 Light Source site. However, the frequency signature of each site is very different

A TECHNIQUE OF MEASURING OF RESISTANCE OF A GROUNDING DEVICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.V. Nizhevskyi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Measurement of resistance of the grounding device (GD by means of a three-electrode system. This requires not only the right choice of installation locations of measuring electrodes, but also the determination of the point of zero potential. Implementation of these requirements quite time-consuming, and in some cases impossible. Aim. Develop a new technique for measuring the electrical resistance of the GD. Task. The method of measuring the resistance of the GD with the help of a three-electrode setup is necessary to exclude the determination of the point of zero potential. Method. Mathematical modeling and calculation engine. Results. A three-electrode system for measuring the resistance of grounding devices (GD for various purposes is considered. On the basis of Maxwell equations a theoretical substantiation of a new technique for measuring the resistance of any GD of any construction in random soil structure has been proposed. An equation system of the sixth order has been obtained, its solution makes it possible to measure its own mutual resistance in the three-electrode installation with sufficiently high accuracy. Peculiarities of drawing up a calculation scheme of substitution of a three-electrode installation with lumped parameters: self and mutual impedance. Use of the principle of reciprocity eliminates the need of finding a point of zero potential which is a rather difficult task. The technique allows to minimize the spacing of measuring electrodes outside the GD, which substantially reduces the length of wiring of the measurement circuit and increases the «signal-to-interference» ratio and also removes the restrictions on the development of the territory outside the GD being tested. Conclusion. The procedure allows to evaluate the self and mutual impedance grounding all the electrodes in a three-electrode measuring installation of the grounding resistance of the device without finding the point of zero potential.

EPA True NO2 ground site measurements – multiple sites, TCEQ ground site measurements of meteorological and air pollution parameters – multiple sites ,GeoTASO NO2 Vertical Column

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — EPA True NO2 ground site measurements – multiple sites - http://www-air.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ArcView/discover-aq.tx-2013; TCEQ ground site measurements of...

iPads in K-12 Schools: A Grounded Theory Study of Value

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Mary Beth

2017-01-01

This qualitative grounded theory study investigated the value of iPads in K-12 schools when used in one-to-one ratios. The purpose of the study was to understand the perspectives of teachers using iPads in one-to-one ratios for teaching and learning in the classroom and administrators responsible for the implementation of these devices. The…

Validation of OMI erythemal doses with multi-sensor ground-based measurements in Thessaloniki, Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Zempila, Melina Maria; Fountoulakis, Ilias; Taylor, Michael; Kazadzis, Stelios; Arola, Antti; Koukouli, Maria Elissavet; Bais, Alkiviadis; Meleti, Chariklia; Balis, Dimitrios

2018-06-01

The aim of this study is to validate the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) erythemal dose rates using ground-based measurements in Thessaloniki, Greece. In the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a Yankee Environmental System UVB-1 radiometer measures the erythemal dose rates every minute, and a Norsk Institutt for Luftforskning (NILU) multi-filter radiometer provides multi-filter based irradiances that were used to derive erythemal dose rates for the period 2005-2014. Both these datasets were independently validated against collocated UV irradiance spectra from a Brewer MkIII spectrophotometer. Cloud detection was performed based on measurements of the global horizontal radiation from a Kipp & Zonen pyranometer and from NILU measurements in the visible range. The satellite versus ground observation validation was performed taking into account the effect of temporal averaging, limitations related to OMI quality control criteria, cloud conditions, the solar zenith angle and atmospheric aerosol loading. Aerosol optical depth was also retrieved using a collocated CIMEL sunphotometer in order to assess its impact on the comparisons. The effect of total ozone columns satellite versus ground-based differences on the erythemal dose comparisons was also investigated. Since most of the public awareness alerts are based on UV Index (UVI) classifications, an analysis and assessment of OMI capability for retrieving UVIs was also performed. An overestimation of the OMI erythemal product by 3-6% and 4-8% with respect to ground measurements is observed when examining overpass and noontime estimates respectively. The comparisons revealed a relatively small solar zenith angle dependence, with the OMI data showing a slight dependence on aerosol load, especially at high aerosol optical depth values. A mean underestimation of 2% in OMI total ozone columns under cloud-free conditions was found to lead to an overestimation in OMI erythemal

Biomass burning aerosols characterization from ground based and profiling measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Marin, Cristina; Vasilescu, Jeni; Marmureanu, Luminita; Ene, Dragos; Preda, Liliana; Mihailescu, Mona

2018-04-01

The study goal is to assess the chemical and optical properties of aerosols present in the lofted layers and at the ground. The biomass burning aerosols were evaluated in low level layers from multi-wavelength lidar measurements, while chemical composition at ground was assessed using an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and an Aethalometer. Classification of aerosol type and specific organic markers were used to explore the potential to sense the particles from the same origin at ground base and on profiles.

Near-ground cooling efficacies of trees and high-albedo surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levinson, Ronnen M. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

1997-05-01

Daytime summer urban heat islands arise when the prevalence of dark-colored surfaces and lack of vegetation make a city warmer than neighboring countryside. Two frequently-proposed summer heat island mitigation measures are to plant trees and to increase the albedo (solar reflectivity) of ground surfaces. This dissertation examines the effects of these measures on the surface temperature of an object near the ground, and on solar heating of air near the ground. Near-ground objects include people, vehicles, and buildings. The variation of the surface temperature of a near-ground object with ground albedo indicates that a rise in ground albedo will cool a near-ground object only if the object`s albedo exceeds a critical value. This critical value of object albedo depends on wind speed, object geometry, and the height of the atmospheric thermal boundary layer. It ranges from 0.15 to 0.37 for a person. If an object has typical albedo of 0.3, increasing the ground albedo by.

Acquisition and deconvolution of seismic signals by different methods to perform direct ground-force measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Poletto, Flavio; Schleifer, Andrea; Zgauc, Franco; Meneghini, Fabio; Petronio, Lorenzo

2016-12-01

We present the results of a novel borehole-seismic experiment in which we used different types of onshore-transient-impulsive and non-impulsive-surface sources together with direct ground-force recordings. The ground-force signals were obtained by baseplate load cells located beneath the sources, and by buried soil-stress sensors installed in the very shallow-subsurface together with accelerometers. The aim was to characterize the source's emission by its complex impedance, function of the near-field vibrations and soil stress components, and above all to obtain appropriate deconvolution operators to remove the signature of the sources in the far-field seismic signals. The data analysis shows the differences in the reference measurements utilized to deconvolve the source signature. As downgoing waves, we process the signals of vertical seismic profiles (VSP) recorded in the far-field approximation by an array of permanent geophones cemented at shallow-medium depth outside the casing of an instrumented well. We obtain a significant improvement in the waveform of the radiated seismic-vibrator signals deconvolved by ground force, similar to that of the seismograms generated by the impulsive sources, and demonstrates that the results obtained by different sources present low values in their repeatability norm. The comparison evidences the potentiality of the direct ground-force measurement approach to effectively remove the far-field source signature in VSP onshore data, and to increase the performance of permanent acquisition installations for time-lapse application purposes.

Shaping a valued learning journey: Student satisfaction with learning in undergraduate nursing programs, a grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Morgan R; Grealish, Laurie; Henderson, Saras

2018-05-01

Student satisfaction is a quality measure of increasing importance in undergraduate programs, including nursing programs. To date theories of student satisfaction have focused primarily on students' perceptions of the educational environment rather than their perceptions of learning. Understanding how students determine satisfaction with learning is necessary to facilitate student learning across a range of educational contexts and meet the expectations of diverse stakeholders. To understand undergraduate nursing students' satisfaction with learning. Constructivist grounded theory methodology was used to identify how nursing students determined satisfaction with learning. Two large, multi-campus, nursing schools in Australia. Seventeen demographically diverse undergraduate nursing students studying different stages of a three year program participated in the study. Twenty nine semi-structured interviews were conducted. Students were invited to describe situations where they had been satisfied or dissatisfied with their learning. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data. Students are satisfied with learning when they shape a valued learning journey that accommodates social contexts of self, university and nursing workplace. The theory has three phases. Phase 1 - orienting self to valued learning in the pedagogical landscape; phase 2 - engaging with valued learning experiences across diverse pedagogical terrain; and phase 3 - recognising valued achievement along the way. When students experience a valued learning journey they are satisfied with their learning. Student satisfaction with learning is unique to the individual, changes over time and maybe transient or sustained, mild or intense. Finding from the research indicate areas where nurse academics may facilitate satisfaction with learning in undergraduate nursing programs while mindful of the expectations of other stakeholders such as the university, nurse registering authorities

The Way of Reducing Current Values in Optical Ground Wires at Asymmetrical Faults on Overhead Transmission Lines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Egamnazarov Georgiy

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Given the fact that the installing costs of an optical ground wire on overhead lines directly depend on its cross-section, which in turn depends on the level of fault current it should withstand, in order to reduce these current values in the optical ground wire, I suggested performing its isolated descents from the end towers of the line with its transition to an optical cable. The research was carried out on the example of a 500 kV overhead line in the National Electric Power Grid. The Method of Symmetrical Components for calculating asymmetrical fault currents was not used; therefore, calculations were carried out on the base of presenting the line as a multi-wire system for the considered case as a five-wire system (optical ground wire, steel ground wire, and three phase wires. Such approach allows taking into account the initial asymmetry of the line parameters and modeling any kind of asymmetrical faults. The analyses of calculated results were performed. The conclusive evidence that the optical ground wire isolated descents from the end towers of the line give the possibility of reducing the level of maximal fault current distribution values in it and therefore its cross section, is presented.

Measurement of the solar ultraviolet radiation at ground level in Bangi, Malaysia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aljawi, Ohoud; Gopir, Geri; Duay, Abdul Basit [School of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. ohoud-aljawi@hotmail.com (Malaysia)

2015-04-24

Understanding the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation received by human, plant, and animal organisms near the earth’s surface is important to a wide range of fields such as cancer research, agriculture and forestry. The solar ultraviolet spectral irradiance at ground level was measured using the Avantes spectrometer for the period of January to March 2014 at Bangi (2°55´N, 101°46´E, 50 m above sea level) in Malaysia. These data were used to estimate the diurnal variation of UV irradiance (300 – 400 nm). The maximum irradiance of UV radiation was 45 W m{sup −2} on horizontal surface. The maximum irradiance of UV received in the local noon time, and the minimum values of UV irradiance was received in the local morning time. It is found a bigger value of UV radiation was observed on clear sky in January. The estimation of daily flux average of UV irradiance was (921± 91) kJ m{sup −2}.

Sea Ice Thickness Measurement by Ground Penetrating Radar for Ground Truth of Microwave Remote Sensing Data

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, M.; Yoshimura, M.; Naoki, K.; Cho, K.; Wakabayashi, H.

2018-04-01

Observation of sea ice thickness is one of key issues to understand regional effect of global warming. One of approaches to monitor sea ice in large area is microwave remote sensing data analysis. However, ground truth must be necessary to discuss the effectivity of this kind of approach. The conventional method to acquire ground truth of ice thickness is drilling ice layer and directly measuring the thickness by a ruler. However, this method is destructive, time-consuming and limited spatial resolution. Although there are several methods to acquire ice thickness in non-destructive way, ground penetrating radar (GPR) can be effective solution because it can discriminate snow-ice and ice-sea water interface. In this paper, we carried out GPR measurement in Lake Saroma for relatively large area (200 m by 300 m, approximately) aiming to obtain grand truth for remote sensing data. GPR survey was conducted at 5 locations in the area. The direct measurement was also conducted simultaneously in order to calibrate GPR data for thickness estimation and to validate the result. Although GPR Bscan image obtained from 600MHz contains the reflection which may come from a structure under snow, the origin of the reflection is not obvious. Therefore, further analysis and interpretation of the GPR image, such as numerical simulation, additional signal processing and use of 200 MHz antenna, are required to move on thickness estimation.

Optimal ground motion intensity measure for long-period structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan, Minsheng; Du, Hongbiao; Zeng, Qingli; Cui, Jie; Jiang, Haibo

2015-01-01

This paper aims to select the most appropriate ground motion intensity measure (IM) that is used in selecting earthquake records for the dynamic time history analysis of long-period structures. For this purpose, six reinforced concrete frame-core wall structures, designed according to modern seismic codes, are studied through dynamic time history analyses with a set of twelve selected earthquake records. Twelve IMs and two types of seismic damage indices, namely, the maximum seismic response-based and energy-based parameters, are chosen as the examined indices. Selection criteria such as correlation, efficiency, and proficiency are considered in the selection process. The optimal IM is identified by means of a comprehensive evaluation using a large number of data of correlation, efficiency, and proficiency coefficients. Numerical results illustrate that peak ground velocity is the optimal one for long-period structures and peak ground displacement is also a close contender. As compared to previous reports, the spectral-correlated parameters can only be taken as moderate IMs. Moreover, the widely used peak ground acceleration in the current seismic codes is considered inappropriate for long-period structures. (paper)

Stride length: measuring its instantaneous value

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campiglio, G C; Mazzeo, J R

2007-01-01

Human gait has been studied from different viewpoints: kinematics, dynamics, sensibility and others. Many of its characteristics still remain open to research, both for normal gait and for pathological gait. Objective measures of some of its most significant spatial/temporal parameters are important in this context. Stride length, one of these parameters, is defined as the distance between two consecutive contacts of one foot with ground. On this work we present a device designed to provide automatic measures of stride length. Its features make it particularly appropriate for the evaluation of pathological gait

Aircraft and ground-based measurements of hydroperoxides during the 2006 MILAGRO field campaign

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. J. Nunnermacker

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Mixing ratios of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxymethyl hydroperoxide were determined aboard the US Department of Energy G-1 Research Aircraft during the March, 2006 MILAGRO field campaign in Mexico. Ground measurements of total hydroperoxide were made at Tecámac University, about 35 km NW of Mexico City. In the air and on the ground, peroxide mixing ratios near the source region were generally near 1 ppbv. Strong southerly flow resulted in transport of pollutants from Mexico City to two downwind surface sites on several flight days. On these days, it was observed that peroxide concentrations slightly decreased as the G-1 flew progressively downwind. This observation is consistent with low or negative net peroxide production rates calculated for the source region and is due to the very high NO_x concentrations in the Mexico City plateau. However, relatively high values of peroxide were observed at takeoff and landing near Veracruz, a site with much higher humidity and lower NO_x concentrations.

Ground-based measurements of ionospheric dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Kouba, Daniel; Chum, Jaroslav

2018-05-01

Different methods are used to research and monitor the ionospheric dynamics using ground measurements: Digisonde Drift Measurements (DDM) and Continuous Doppler Sounding (CDS). For the first time, we present comparison between both methods on specific examples. Both methods provide information about the vertical drift velocity component. The DDM provides more information about the drift velocity vector and detected reflection points. However, the method is limited by the relatively low time resolution. In contrast, the strength of CDS is its high time resolution. The discussed methods can be used for real-time monitoring of medium scale travelling ionospheric disturbances. We conclude that it is advantageous to use both methods simultaneously if possible. The CDS is then applied for the disturbance detection and analysis, and the DDM is applied for the reflection height control.

SEA ICE THICKNESS MEASUREMENT BY GROUND PENETRATING RADAR FOR GROUND TRUTH OF MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Matsumoto

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Observation of sea ice thickness is one of key issues to understand regional effect of global warming. One of approaches to monitor sea ice in large area is microwave remote sensing data analysis. However, ground truth must be necessary to discuss the effectivity of this kind of approach. The conventional method to acquire ground truth of ice thickness is drilling ice layer and directly measuring the thickness by a ruler. However, this method is destructive, time-consuming and limited spatial resolution. Although there are several methods to acquire ice thickness in non-destructive way, ground penetrating radar (GPR can be effective solution because it can discriminate snow-ice and ice-sea water interface. In this paper, we carried out GPR measurement in Lake Saroma for relatively large area (200 m by 300 m, approximately aiming to obtain grand truth for remote sensing data. GPR survey was conducted at 5 locations in the area. The direct measurement was also conducted simultaneously in order to calibrate GPR data for thickness estimation and to validate the result. Although GPR Bscan image obtained from 600MHz contains the reflection which may come from a structure under snow, the origin of the reflection is not obvious. Therefore, further analysis and interpretation of the GPR image, such as numerical simulation, additional signal processing and use of 200 MHz antenna, are required to move on thickness estimation.

Radon and thoron emanation measurements and the effect of ground water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carriveau, G.W.; Harbottle, G.

1980-01-01

In the past, corrections for annual dose rate calculations have used a qualitative approach to the effect of ground water saturation and radon and thoron loss. An example is presented of how this correction can now be precisely determined using natural gamma-ray activities to determine the amount of emanation from ceramic sherds and soil, both in a dry state and saturated with ground water. The experimental data also provide information concerning disequilibria in 234 Th and 226 Ra regions of the decay series. Additionally, approximate values of uranium and thorium concentrations (sufficiently accurate for authenticity work) are provided

Towards the measurement of the ground-state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Juhasz, Bertalan, E-mail: bertalan.juhasz@oeaw.ac.at [Austrian Academy of Sciences, Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics (Austria)

2012-12-15

The ASACUSA collaboration at the Antiproton Decelerator of CERN is planning to measure the ground-state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen using an atomic beam line, which will consist of a superconducting cusp trap as a source of partially polarized antihydrogen atoms, a radiofrequency spin-flip cavity, a superconducting sextupole magnet as spin analyser, and an antihydrogen detector. This will be a measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment, and also a test of the CPT invariance. Monte Carlo simulations predict that the antihydrogen ground-state hyperfine splitting can be determined with a relative precision of better than {approx} 10{sup - 6}. The first preliminary measurements of the hyperfine transitions will start in 2011.

Investigating Efficiency of Vector-Valued Intensity Measures in Seismic Demand Assessment of Concrete Dams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Alembagheri

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The efficiency of vector-valued intensity measures for predicting the seismic demand in gravity dams is investigated. The Folsom gravity dam-reservoir coupled system is selected and numerically analyzed under a set of two-hundred actual ground motions. First, the well-defined scalar IMs are separately investigated, and then they are coupled to form two-parameter vector IMs. After that, IMs consisting of spectral acceleration at the first-mode natural period of the dam-reservoir system along with a measure of the spectral shape (the ratio of spectral acceleration at a second period to the first-mode spectral acceleration value are considered. It is attempted to determine the optimal second period by categorizing the spectral acceleration at the first-mode period of vibration. The efficiency of the proposed vector IMs is compared with scalar ones considering various structural responses as EDPs. Finally, the probabilistic seismic behavior of the dam is investigated by calculating its fragility curves employing scalar and vector IMs considering the effect of zero response values.

The Math–Biology Values Instrument: Development of a Tool to Measure Life Science Majors’ Task Values of Using Math in the Context of Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Sarah E.; Runyon, Christopher; Aikens, Melissa L.

2017-01-01

In response to calls to improve the quantitative training of undergraduate biology students, there have been increased efforts to better integrate math into biology curricula. One challenge of such efforts is negative student attitudes toward math, which are thought to be particularly prevalent among biology students. According to theory, students’ personal values toward using math in a biological context will influence their achievement and behavioral outcomes, but a validated instrument is needed to determine this empirically. We developed the Math–Biology Values Instrument (MBVI), an 11-item college-level self-­report instrument grounded in expectancy-value theory, to measure life science students’ interest in using math to understand biology, the perceived usefulness of math to their life science career, and the cost of using math in biology courses. We used a process that integrates multiple forms of validity evidence to show that scores from the MBVI can be used as a valid measure of a student’s value of math in the context of biology. The MBVI can be used by instructors and researchers to help identify instructional strategies that influence math–biology values and understand how math–biology values are related to students’ achievement and decisions to pursue more advanced quantitative-based courses. PMID:28747355

Fair Value in the light of IFRS 13 «Fair Value Measurement»

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.V. Svitselska

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The main provisions of IFRS 13 «Fair Value Measurement» have been researched as well as its critical analysis has been conducted. Comparison of the previous and the new definition of the concept «fair value» has been done on the basis of what the shortcomings of the previous definition have been highlighted, the characteristic features and advantages of new definition from IFRS 13 «Fair Value Measurement» have been outlined. It has been proved that new interpretation of the concept of «fair value» is narrower and more accurate than the previous, it clarifies the subject matter, subjects of transactions, as well as the date of its execution. The scheme of estimation at fair value as well as model of fair value determination according to IFRS 13 «Fair Value Measurement» has been presented. Methods of measurement at fair value and the fair value hierarchy have been researched. Some disadvantages of provisions of IFRS 13 «Fair Value Measurement» on the basis of its analysis have been highlighted, uncertainty is essential among them in which fair value should be applied.

Error Analysis of Relative Calibration for RCS Measurement on Ground Plane Range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu Peng-fei

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Ground plane range is a kind of outdoor Radar Cross Section (RCS test range used for static measurement of full-size or scaled targets. Starting from the characteristics of ground plane range, the impact of environments on targets and calibrators is analyzed during calibration in the RCS measurements. The error of relative calibration produced by the different illumination of target and calibrator is studied. The relative calibration technique used in ground plane range is to place the calibrator on a fixed and auxiliary pylon somewhere between the radar and the target under test. By considering the effect of ground reflection and antenna pattern, the relationship between the magnitude of echoes and the position of calibrator is discussed. According to the different distances between the calibrator and target, the difference between free space and ground plane range is studied and the error of relative calibration is calculated. Numerical simulation results are presented with useful conclusions. The relative calibration error varies with the position of calibrator, frequency and antenna beam width. In most case, set calibrator close to the target may keep the error under control.

Positive-Operator Valued Measure (POVM Quantization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean Pierre Gazeau

2014-12-01

Full Text Available We present a general formalism for giving a measure space paired with a separable Hilbert space a quantum version based on a normalized positive operator-valued measure. The latter are built from families of density operators labeled by points of the measure space. We especially focus on various probabilistic aspects of these constructions. Simple ormore elaborate examples illustrate the procedure: circle, two-sphere, plane and half-plane. Links with Positive-Operator Valued Measure (POVM quantum measurement and quantum statistical inference are sketched.

The potential of ground gravity measurements to validate GRACE data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Crossley

2003-01-01

Full Text Available New satellite missions are returning high precision, time-varying, satellite measurements of the Earth’s gravity field. The GRACE mission is now in its calibration/- validation phase and first results of the gravity field solutions are imminent. We consider here the possibility of external validation using data from the superconducting gravimeters in the European sub-array of the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP as ‘ground truth’ for comparison with GRACE. This is a pilot study in which we use 14 months of 1-hour data from the beginning of GGP (1 July 1997 to 30 August 1998, when the Potsdam instrument was relocated to South Africa. There are 7 stations clustered in west central Europe, and one station, Metsahovi in Finland. We remove local tides, polar motion, local and global air pressure, and instrument drift and then decimate to 6-hour samples. We see large variations in the time series of 5–10µgal between even some neighboring stations, but there are also common features that correlate well over the 427-day period. The 8 stations are used to interpolate a minimum curvature (gridded surface that extends over the geographical region. This surface shows time and spatial coherency at the level of 2– 4µgal over the first half of the data and 1–2µgal over the latter half. The mean value of the surface clearly shows a rise in European gravity of about 3µgal over the first 150 days and a fairly constant value for the rest of the data. The accuracy of this mean is estimated at 1µgal, which compares favorably with GRACE predictions for wavelengths of 500 km or less. Preliminary studies of hydrology loading over Western Europe shows the difficulty of correlating the local hydrology, which can be highly variable, with large-scale gravity variations.Key words. GRACE, satellite gravity, superconducting gravimeter, GGP, ground truth

Measuring Value in Internal Medicine Residency Training Hospitals Using Publicly Reported Measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Schickedanz, Adam; Gupta, Reshma; Arora, Vineet M; Braddock, Clarence H

2018-03-01

Graduate medical education (GME) lacks measures of resident preparation for high-quality, cost-conscious practice. The authors used publicly reported teaching hospital value measures to compare internal medicine residency programs on high-value care training and to validate these measures against program director perceptions of value. Program-level value training scores were constructed using Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program hospital quality and cost-efficiency data. Correlations with Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine Annual Survey high-value care training measures were examined using logistic regression. For every point increase in program-level VBP score, residency directors were more likely to agree that GME programs have a responsibility to contain health care costs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.18, P = .04), their faculty model high-value care (aOR 1.07, P = .03), and residents are prepared to make high-value medical decisions (aOR 1.07, P = .09). Publicly reported clinical data offer valid measures of GME value training.

Correlation of ground-based on topside photometric observations with auroral electron spectra measurements at rocket altitudes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnoldy, R.L.; Lewis, P.B. Jr.

1977-01-01

Spectroscopic measurements of the auroral lines 5577, 4278, and 6300 A made at Fort Yukon, Alaska, are used in the model computations of Rees and Luckey (1974) to predict the energy influx and the characteristic energy of an assumed Maxwellian primary electron spectrum for two auroral displays. Simultaneous with the ground observations, electron detectors aboard a sounding rocket directly measured the primary electron spectrum and energy flux on the field lines which contained the auroral light in the E region observed by the ground photometers (magnetically conjugate in the local sense). For the two auroras studied, the in situ particle measurements show that the model (1) correctly predicts changes in spectral parameters. (2) predicts a precipitated energy flux in good agreement with measured values, and (3) assumes a spectral shape (Maxwellian) not typical of the peaked spectra measured above discrete auroras.One of the rocket flights also carried photometers sensitive to 5577 and 3914 A. Every 0.2 s the photometers sampled the auroral light from the E region magnetically conjugate to the rocket, and they have reaffirmed the very close correlation between emission at 3914 A and that at 5577 A. Finally, by using the measured electron precipitation and current ionospheric models the emissions at 3914, 4278, and 5577 A are calculated. The model computations closely predict the measured light at 3914 and 4278 A. However, the 5577-A emission calculated from dissociative recombination of O 2 + and direct excitation of atomic oxygen using a measured secondary spectrum accounts for only about one third of the observed emission

English Value-Added Measures: Examining the Limitations of School Performance Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Thomas

2016-01-01

Value-added "Progress" measures are to be introduced for all English schools in 2016 as "headline" measures of school performance. This move comes despite research highlighting high levels of instability in value-added measures and concerns about the omission of contextual variables in the planned measure. This article studies…

Quantum measurement with a positive operator-valued measure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, Howard E

2003-01-01

In the quantum theory of measurement, the positive operator-valued measure (POVM) is an important concept, and its implementation can be useful. A POVM consists of a set of non-negative quantum-mechanical Hermitian operators that add up to the identity. The probability that a quantum system is in a particular state is given by the expectation value of the POVM operator corresponding to that state. Following a brief review of the mathematics and mention of the history of POVMs in quantum theory, a particular implementation of a POVM for use in the measurement of nonorthogonal photon polarization states is reviewed. The implementation consists simply of a Wollaston prism, a mirror, two beam splitters, a polarization rotator and three phototubes arranged in an interferometric configuration, and it is shown analytically that the device faithfully represents the POVM. Based on Neumark's extension theorem, the two-dimensional Hilbert space of the POVM implementation can be embedded in the three-dimensional Hilbert space of an ordinary projective-valued measure. Also, analytical expressions are given for the maximum Renyi information loss from the device to a disturbing probe, and for the error and inconclusive rates induced by the probe. Various aspects of the problem of probe optimization are elaborated

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT UNDER IFRS 13

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COZMA IGHIAN DIANA

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The IFRS 13, „Fair Value Measurement”, was first published in May 2011 and it applies to annual reporting periods that begin on or after January 1st 2013; this standard comes as a result of shared efforts on the part of the IASB and the FASB to develop a convergent framework regarding fair value measurement. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the main provisions of the IFRS 13 regarding fair value measurement, with a special emphasis on key concepts found throughout the standard, which refer to the principal market, the most advantageous market, the highest and best use, valuation techniques, and value hierarchy.

Practical aspects of tritium measurement in ground and surface waters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nitzsche, O [Technische Univ. Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany). Inst. fuer Angewandte Physik; Hebert, D [Technische Univ. Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany). Inst. fuer Angewandte Physik

1997-03-01

Tritium measurements are a powerful tool in hydrological and hydrogeological investigations for detecting mean residence times of several water reservoirs. Due to the low tritium activities in precipitation, ground and surface waters a low level measurement is necessary. Therefore often the liquid scintillation counting after an electrolytic enrichment of water is used. In this paper some practical aspects and problems of measurement are discussed and the problem of contamination in low level laboratories is shown. (orig.)

The Holy Grail of Resource Assessment: Low Cost Ground-Based Measurements with Good Accuracy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marion, Bill; Smith, Benjamin

2017-06-22

Using performance data from some of the millions of installed photovoltaic (PV) modules with micro-inverters may afford the opportunity to provide ground-based solar resource data critical for developing PV projects. The method used back-solves for the direct normal irradiance (DNI) and the diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) from the micro-inverter ac production data. When the derived values of DNI and DHI were then used to model the performance of other PV systems, the annual mean bias deviations were within +/- 4%, and only 1% greater than when the PV performance was modeled using high quality irradiance measurements. An uncertainty analysis shows the method better suited for modeling PV performance than using satellite-based global horizontal irradiance.

VALUATION TECHNIQUES USED IN FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina-Aurora, BUNEA-BONTAS

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Valuation of assets and liabilities involves significant judgements and estimates, especially when fair value measurement is required. Currently, IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement offers a single and more comprehensive source of guidance that is applied to almost all fair value estimates. When measuring fair value of fixed assets, intangible assets, specified financial assets or liabilities, different valuation techniques may be used: the market approach, the cost approach and the income approach. This article reviews these techniques and points out that different valuation practices may provide different results depending on the item being fair valued and on the inputs used. Also it emphasizes that, in particular circumstances, there is the possibility that a certain technique may be more appropriate than other.

Measuring the value of intangibles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Saskia; Hirth, Stefan

2016-01-01

We propose a new earnings-based measure for the value of intangibles. To validate this measure, we compare it to commonly used proxies for intangible intensity, such as R&D expenses. While R&D expenses measure the investment in new intangibles, our new measure gauges the productivity of already e...... of our intangible-intensity measure in the context of capital structure. We find that more intangible-intensive firms have lower leverage. © 2016 Elsevier B.V....

Ground-based SMART-COMMIT Measurements for Studying Aerosol and Cloud Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Tsay, Si-Chee

2008-01-01

From radiometric principles, it is expected that the retrieved properties of extensive aerosols and clouds from reflected/emitted measurements by satellite (and/or aircraft) should be consistent with those retrieved from transmitted/emitted radiance observed at the surface. Although space-borne remote sensing observations cover large spatial domain, they are often plagued by contamination of surface signatures. Thus, ground-based in-situ and remote-sensing measurements, where signals come directly from atmospheric constituents, the sun, and/or the Earth-atmosphere interactions, provide additional information content for comparisons that confirm quantitatively the usefulness of the integrated surface, aircraft, and satellite data sets. The development and deployment of SMARTCOMMIT (Surface-sensing Measurements for Atmospheric Radiative Transfer - Chemical, Optical & Microphysical Measurements of In-situ Troposphere) mobile facilities are aimed for the optimal utilization of collocated ground-based observations as constraints to yield higher fidelity satellite retrievals and to determine any sampling bias due to target conditions. To quantify the energetics of the surface-atmosphere system and the atmospheric processes, SMART-COMMIT instruments fall into three categories: flux radiometer, radiance sensor and in-situ probe. In this paper, we will demonstrate the capability of SMART-COMMIT in recent field campaigns (e.g., CRYSTAL-FACE, UAE 2, BASEASIA, NAMMA) that were designed and executed to study the compelling variability in temporal scale of both anthropogenic and natural aerosols (e.g., biomass-burning smoke, airborne dust) and cirrus clouds. We envision robust approaches in which well-collocated ground-based measurements and space-borne observations will greatly advance our knowledge of extensive aerosols and clouds.

Challenges in complementing data from ground-based sensors with satellite-derived products to measure ecological changes in relation to climate – lessons from temperate wetland-upland landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

Gallant, Alisa L.; Sadinski, Walter J.; Brown, Jesslyn F.; Senay, Gabriel B.; Roth, Mark F.

2018-01-01

Assessing climate-related ecological changes across spatiotemporal scales meaningful to resource managers is challenging because no one method reliably produces essential data at both fine and broad scales. We recently confronted such challenges while integrating data from ground- and satellite-based sensors for an assessment of four wetland-rich study areas in the U.S. Midwest. We examined relations between temperature and precipitation and a set of variables measured on the ground at individual wetlands and another set measured via satellite sensors within surrounding 4 km2 landscape blocks. At the block scale, we used evapotranspiration and vegetation greenness as remotely sensed proxies for water availability and to estimate seasonal photosynthetic activity. We used sensors on the ground to coincidentally measure surface-water availability and amphibian calling activity at individual wetlands within blocks. Responses of landscape blocks generally paralleled changes in conditions measured on the ground, but the latter were more dynamic, and changes in ecological conditions on the ground that were critical for biota were not always apparent in measurements of related parameters in blocks. Here, we evaluate the effectiveness of decisions and assumptions we made in applying the remotely sensed data for the assessment and the value of integrating observations across scales, sensors, and disciplines.

VHF/UHF imagery and RCS measurements of ground targets in forested terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Gatesman, Andrew J.; Beaudoin, Christopher J.; Giles, Robert H.; Waldman, Jerry; Nixon, William E.

2002-08-01

The monostatic VV and HH-polarized radar signatures of several targets and trees have been measured at foliage penetration frequencies (VHF/UHF) by using 1/35th scale models and an indoor radar range operating at X-band. An array of high-fidelity scale model ground vehicles and test objects as well as scaled ground terrain and trees have been fabricated for the study. Radar measurement accuracy has been confirmed by comparing the signature of a test object with a method of moments radar cross section prediction code. In addition to acquiring signatures of targets located on a smooth, dielectric ground plane, data have also been acquired with targets located in simulated wooded terrain that included scaled tree trunks and tree branches. In order to assure the correct backscattering behavior, all dielectric properties of live tree wood and moist soil were scaled properly to match the complex dielectric constant of the full-scale materials. The impact of the surrounding tree clutter on the VHF/UHF radar signatures of ground vehicles was accessed. Data were processed into high-resolution, polar-formatted ISAR imagery and signature comparisons are made between targets in open-field and forested scenarios.

Comparison of vertical ground reaction forces during overground and treadmill running. A validation study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kluitenberg, Bas; Bredeweg, Steef W.; Zijlstra, Sjouke; Zijlstra, Wiebren; Buist, Ida

2012-01-01

Background: One major drawback in measuring ground-reaction forces during running is that it is time consuming to get representative ground-reaction force (GRF) values with a traditional force platform. An instrumented force measuring treadmill can overcome the shortcomings inherent to overground

Measurement of Seaward Ground Displacements on Coastal Landfill Area Using Radar Interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Baek, W.-K.; Jung, H.-S.

2018-04-01

In order to understand the mechanism of subsidence and help reducing damage, researchers has been observed the line-of-sight subsidence on the Noksan industrial complex using SAR Interferometry(InSAR) and suggested subsidence prediction models. Although these researches explained a spatially uneven ground subsidence near the seaside, they could not have been explained the occurrence of the newly proposed seaward horizontal, especially nearly north-ward, displacement because of the geometric limitation of InSAR measurements. In this study, we measured the seaward ground displacements trend on the coastal landfill area, Noksan Industrial Complex. We set the interferometric pairs from an ascending and a descending orbits strip map data of ALOS PALSAR2. We employed InSAR and MAI stacking approaches for the both orbits respectively in order to improve the measurement. Finally, seaward deformation was estimated by retrieving three-dimensional displacements from multi-geometric displacements. As a results, maximally 3.3 and 0.7 cm/year of ground displacements for the vertical and seaward directions. In further study, we plan to generate InSAR and MAI stacking measurements with additional SAR data to mitigate tropospheric effect and noise well. Such a seaward observation approach using spaceborne radar is expected to be effective in observing the long-term movements on coastal landfill area.

The use of field redox measurements in assessing remediation of ground water containing petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated organic compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warner, S.D.; Gallinatti, J.D.; Honniball, J.H.

1995-01-01

Field measurements of the reduction-oxidation (redox) condition of ground water were used to assess the effects of in situ remediation of ground water affected by petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated organic compounds at multiple sites in northern California. The redox condition of ground water, traditionally measured quickly and inexpensively using a meter that measures electrode potential (Eh), is a valuable parameter by which to assess the conditions that affect the relative stability of various chemicals in ground water. Although not specific to a given redox couple measurements obtained using the traditional Eh meter give a sense of the relative tendency for a ground water to be reducing or oxidizing by providing a measurement of the system Eh. Two cases demonstrate the use of ground water Eh measurements in assessing the effects of in situ ground water remediation. In the first case, ground water affected by petroleum hydrocarbons-gasoline (TPHg), and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) (ambient Eh of -100 to +100 millivolts [mv]) was treated by injecting hydrogen peroxide to supply oxygen to the subsurface environment and stimulate microbial activity. The second case involved remediation of ground water containing chlorinated organic compounds. In this case, a subsurface permeable ground water treatment wall containing granular iron was installed across the flow path of the affected ground water. The in situ chemical treatment, which successfully dechlorinates compounds such as trichloroethylene, 1,2-dichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride, caused reducing conditions in the ground water, which resulted in the decrease in ground water Eh from am ambient reading of about -50 mv to about -400 mv

The thermal signature of Aso Volcano during unrest episodes detected from space and ground-based measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Cigolini, Corrado; Coppola, Diego; Yokoo, Akihiko; Laiolo, Marco

2018-04-01

The thermal signature of Aso Volcano (Nakadake) during unrest episodes has been analyzed by combining the MODIS-MIROVA data set (2000-2017) with high-resolution images (LANDSAT 8 OLI and Sentinel 2) and ground-based thermal observations (2013-2017). The site of major activity (crater 1) is located at the summit of the volcano and is composed by a fumarole field (located in the South Area) and an acidic lake (replaced by a Central Pit during Strombolian phases). The volcanic radiative power (VRP) obtained by nighttime satellite data during the reference period was mainly below 3 MW. This thermal threshold marks the transition from high fumarole activity (HFA) to Strombolian eruptions (SE). However, periods characterized by sporadic phreatic eruptions (PE, eventually bearing phreatomagmatic episodes), which is the prevalent phase during unrest episodes, exhibit very low VRP values, being around 0.5 MW, or below. The statistical analysis of satellite data shows that the transition from HFA to Strombolian activity (which started on August 2014 and ceased in May 2015) occurs when VRP values are above the cited 3 MW threshold. In particular during marked Strombolian phases (November-December 2014), the radiative power was higher than 4 MW, reaching peak values up to 15.6 MW (on December 7, 2014, i.e., 10 days after the major Strombolian explosion of November 27). Conversely, ground-based measurements show that heat fluxes recorded by FLIR T440 Thermo-camera on the fumarole field of the South Area has been relatively stable around 2 MW until February 2015. Their apparent temperatures were fluctuating around 490-575 °C before the major Strombolian explosive event, whereas those recorded at the active vent, named Central Pit, reached their maxima slightly above 600 °C; then both exhibited a decreasing trend in the following days. During the Strombolian activity, the crater lake dried out and was then replenished by early July, 2016. Then, volcanic activity shifted back to

Ground-based observations coordinated with Viking satellite measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Opgenoorth, H.J.; Kirkwood, S.

1989-01-01

The instrumentation and the orbit of the Viking satellite made this first Swedish satellite mission ideally suited for coordinated observations with the dense network of ground-based stations in northern Scandinavia. Several arrays of complementing instruments such as magnetometers, all-sky cameras, riometers and doppler radars monitored on a routine basis the ionosphere under the magnetospheric region passed by Viking. For a large number of orbits the Viking passages close to Scandinavia were covered by the operation of specially designed programmes at the European incoherent-scatter facility (EISCAT). First results of coordinated observations on the ground and aboard Viking have shed new light on the most spectacular feature of substorm expansion, the westward-travelling surge. The end of a substorm and the associated decay of a westward-travelling surge have been analysed. EISCAT measurements of high spatial and temporal resolution indicate that the conductivities and electric fields associated with westward-travelling surges are not represented correctly by the existing models. (author)

MODFLOW-2000, The U.S. Geological Survey Modular Ground-Water Model - User Guide to Modularization Concepts and the Ground-Water Flow Process

Science.gov (United States)

Harbaugh, Arlen W.; Banta, Edward R.; Hill, Mary C.; McDonald, Michael G.

2000-01-01

MODFLOW is a computer program that numerically solves the three-dimensional ground-water flow equation for a porous medium by using a finite-difference method. Although MODFLOW was designed to be easily enhanced, the design was oriented toward additions to the ground-water flow equation. Frequently there is a need to solve additional equations; for example, transport equations and equations for estimating parameter values that produce the closest match between model-calculated heads and flows and measured values. This report documents a new version of MODFLOW, called MODFLOW-2000, which is designed to accommodate the solution of equations in addition to the ground-water flow equation. This report is a user's manual. It contains an overview of the old and added design concepts, documents one new package, and contains input instructions for using the model to solve the ground-water flow equation.

Comparison of GOME total ozone data with ground data from the Spanish Brewer spectroradiometers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Antón

2008-03-01

Full Text Available This paper compares total ozone measurements from five Brewer spectroradiometers located at the Iberian Peninsula with satellite observations given by the GOME (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment sensor. The analyzed period covers simultaneous ozone values from July 1995 until December 2004. The regression analysis shows an excellent agreement between Brewer-GOME values in the five locations; the coefficient of correlation is always higher than 0.92 and the root mean square error is about 3%. Moreover, the comparison shows that the satellite retrieval accuracy is within the uncertainty of current ground-based instruments. In addition, the effects of several variables, such as cloudiness, solar zenith angle (SZA, effective temperature and total ozone values in Brewer-GOME differences are analyzed. The results indicate that clouds induce a minor dependence of GOME values on the SZA. For example, during heavy cloudy conditions in Madrid station, GOME observations overestimate ground-based Brewer data for low AMF (low SZA values by 2% while for high AMF (high SZA values the satellite underestimates ground-based ozone values by 1%. Moreover, the dependence of Brewer-GOME differences with respect to SZA for cloud-free conditions may be due to the variability of effective temperature. This fact could indicate that the effective temperature estimated by GOME does not fully reflect the actual atmospheric temperature variability. Finally, GOME ozone observations slightly underestimate the highest values measured by the Brewer spectrophotometers and overestimates the lowest ground-based measurements.

Ground penetrating radar antenna measurements based on plane-wave expansions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lenler-Eriksen, Hans-Rudolph; Meincke, Peter

2005-01-01

The plane-wave transmitting spectrum of the system consisting of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) antenna and the air-soil interface is measured using a loop buried in the soil. The plane-wave spectrum is used to determine various parameters characterizing the radiation of the GPR antenna...

Measurement of Plane-Wave Spectra of Ground Penetrating Radar Antennas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lenler-Eriksen, Hans-Rudolph; Meincke, Peter

2005-01-01

The plane-wave transmitting spectrum of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) loop antenna close to the air-soil interface is measured by means of a probe buried in soil. Probe correction is implemented based upon knowledge about the complex permittivity of the soil and the current distribution...

Estimating solar radiation using NOAA/AVHRR and ground measurement data

Science.gov (United States)

Fallahi, Somayeh; Amanollahi, Jamil; Tzanis, Chris G.; Ramli, Mohammad Firuz

2018-01-01

Solar radiation (SR) data are commonly used in different areas of renewable energy research. Researchers are often compelled to predict SR at ground stations for areas with no proper equipment. The objective of this study was to test the accuracy of the artificial neural network (ANN) and multiple linear regression (MLR) models for estimating monthly average SR over Kurdistan Province, Iran. Input data of the models were two data series with similar longitude, latitude, altitude, and month (number of months) data, but there were differences between the monthly mean temperatures in the first data series obtained from AVHRR sensor of NOAA satellite (DS1) and in the second data series measured at ground stations (DS2). In order to retrieve land surface temperature (LST) from AVHRR sensor, emissivity of the area was considered and for that purpose normalized vegetation difference index (NDVI) calculated from channels 1 and 2 of AVHRR sensor was utilized. The acquired results showed that the ANN model with DS1 data input with R2 = 0.96, RMSE = 1.04, MAE = 1.1 in the training phase and R2 = 0.96, RMSE = 1.06, MAE = 1.15 in the testing phase achieved more satisfactory performance compared with MLR model. It can be concluded that ANN model with remote sensing data has the potential to predict SR in locations with no ground measurement stations.

Corporate performance and the measures of value added

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Petravičius

2008-09-01

Full Text Available In recent years, managers have turned their attention to the ways increasing the value of their companies. A number of competing measures have been developed and marketed by investment and consulting firms. This paper considers the ways in which value can be created or destroyed in a firm and looks at how to calculate the cost of capital used to measure the opportunity cost of investing funds in one particular business instead of others with equivalent risk. Next, we have a look at the four most widely used value enhancement measures including Economic Value Added, Cash Flow Return on Investment, Market Value Added, Cash Value Added and use an example to think of where these approaches yield similar results and where differences might occur. In conclusion, we summarize the new or unique points in these competing measures, establish the information they can give and explain how to use it when managing and creating shareholder value.

Ultimate turbulence experiment: simultaneous measurements of Cn2 near the ground using six devices and eight methods

Science.gov (United States)

Yatcheva, Lydia; Barros, Rui; Segel, Max; Sprung, Detlev; Sucher, Erik; Eisele, Christian; Gladysz, Szymon

2015-10-01

We have performed a series of experiments in order to simultaneously validate several devices and methods for measurement of the path-averaged refractive index structure constant ( 𝐶𝑛 2). The experiments were carried out along a horizontal urban path near the ground. Measuring turbulence in this layer is particularly important because of the prospect of using adaptive optics for free-space optical communications in an urban environment. On one hand, several commercial sensors were used: SLS20, a laser scintillometer from Scintec AG, BLS900, a largeaperture scintillometer, also from Scintec, and a 3D sonic anemometer from Thies GmbH. On the other hand, we measured turbulence strength with new approaches and devices developed in-house. Firstly, an LED array combined with a high-speed camera allowed for measurement of 𝐶𝑛 2 from raw- and differential image motion, and secondly a two-part system comprising a laser source, a Shack-Hartmann sensor and a PSF camera recoded turbulent modulation transfer functions, Zernike variances and angle-of-arrival structure functions, yielding three independent estimates of 𝐶𝑛 2. We compare the measured values yielded simultaneously by commercial and in-house developed devices and show very good agreement between 𝐶𝑛 2 values for all the methods. Limitations of each experimental method are also discussed.

Use of a tibial accelerometer to measure ground reaction force in running: A reliability and validity comparison with force plates.

Science.gov (United States)

Raper, Damian P; Witchalls, Jeremy; Philips, Elissa J; Knight, Emma; Drew, Michael K; Waddington, Gordon

2018-01-01

The use of microsensor technologies to conduct research and implement interventions in sports and exercise medicine has increased recently. The objective of this paper was to determine the validity and reliability of the ViPerform as a measure of load compared to vertical ground reaction force (GRF) as measured by force plates. Absolute reliability assessment, with concurrent validity. 10 professional triathletes ran 10 trials over force plates with the ViPerform mounted on the mid portion of the medial tibia. Calculated vertical ground reaction force data from the ViPerform was matched to the same stride on the force plate. Bland-Altman (BA) plot of comparative measure of agreement was used to assess the relationship between the calculated load from the accelerometer and the force plates. Reliability was calculated by intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals. BA plot indicates minimal agreement between the measures derived from the force plate and ViPerform, with variation at an individual participant plot level. Reliability was excellent (ICC=0.877; 95% CI=0.825-0.917) in calculating the same vertical GRF in a repeated trial. Standard error of measure (SEM) equalled 99.83 units (95% CI=82.10-119.09), which, in turn, gave a minimum detectable change (MDC) value of 276.72 units (95% CI=227.32-330.07). The ViPerform does not calculate absolute values of vertical GRF similar to those measured by a force plate. It does provide a valid and reliable calculation of an athlete's lower limb load at constant velocity. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring value sensitivity in medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Ineichen, Christian; Christen, Markus; Tanner, Carmen

2017-01-28

Value sensitivity - the ability to recognize value-related issues when they arise in practice - is an indispensable competence for medical practitioners to enter decision-making processes related to ethical questions. However, the psychological competence of value sensitivity is seldom an explicit subject in the training of medical professionals. In this contribution, we outline the traditional concept of moral sensitivity in medicine and its revised form conceptualized as value sensitivity and we propose an instrument that measures value sensitivity. We developed an instrument for assessing the sensitivity for three value groups (moral-related values, values related to the principles of biomedical ethics, strategy-related values) in a four step procedure: 1) value identification (n = 317); 2) value representation (n = 317); 3) vignette construction and quality evaluation (n = 37); and 4) instrument validation by comparing nursing professionals with hospital managers (n = 48). We find that nursing professionals recognize and ascribe importance to principle-related issues more than professionals from hospital management. The latter are more likely to recognize and ascribe importance to strategy-related issues. These hypothesis-driven results demonstrate the discriminatory power of our newly developed instrument, which makes it useful not only for health care professionals in practice but for students and people working in the clinical context as well.

MEASUREMENT OF SEAWARD GROUND DISPLACEMENTS ON COASTAL LANDFILL AREA USING RADAR INTERFEROMETRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.-K. Baek

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In order to understand the mechanism of subsidence and help reducing damage, researchers has been observed the line-of-sight subsidence on the Noksan industrial complex using SAR Interferometry(InSAR and suggested subsidence prediction models. Although these researches explained a spatially uneven ground subsidence near the seaside, they could not have been explained the occurrence of the newly proposed seaward horizontal, especially nearly north-ward, displacement because of the geometric limitation of InSAR measurements. In this study, we measured the seaward ground displacements trend on the coastal landfill area, Noksan Industrial Complex. We set the interferometric pairs from an ascending and a descending orbits strip map data of ALOS PALSAR2. We employed InSAR and MAI stacking approaches for the both orbits respectively in order to improve the measurement. Finally, seaward deformation was estimated by retrieving three-dimensional displacements from multi-geometric displacements. As a results, maximally 3.3 and 0.7 cm/year of ground displacements for the vertical and seaward directions. In further study, we plan to generate InSAR and MAI stacking measurements with additional SAR data to mitigate tropospheric effect and noise well. Such a seaward observation approach using spaceborne radar is expected to be effective in observing the long-term movements on coastal landfill area.

A flatfile of ground motion intensity measurements from induced earthquakes in Oklahoma and Kansas

Science.gov (United States)

Rennolet, Steven B.; Moschetti, Morgan P.; Thompson, Eric M.; Yeck, William

2018-01-01

We have produced a uniformly processed database of orientation-independent (RotD50, RotD100) ground motion intensity measurements containing peak horizontal ground motions (accelerations and velocities) and 5-percent-damped pseudospectral accelerations (0.1–10 s) from more than 3,800 M ≥ 3 earthquakes in Oklahoma and Kansas that occurred between January 2009 and December 2016. Ground motion time series were collected from regional, national, and temporary seismic arrays out to 500 km. We relocated the majority of the earthquake hypocenters using a multiple-event relocation algorithm to produce a set of near-uniformly processed hypocentral locations. Ground motion processing followed standard methods, with the primary objective of reducing the effects of noise on the measurements. Regional wave-propagation features and the high seismicity rate required careful selection of signal windows to ensure that we captured the entire ground motion record and that contaminating signals from extraneous earthquakes did not contribute to the database. Processing was carried out with an automated scheme and resulted in a database comprising more than 174,000 records (https://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F73B5X8N). We anticipate that these results will be useful for improved understanding of earthquake ground motions and for seismic hazard applications.

Degree of value alignment - a grounded theory of rural nurse resignations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bragg, S M; Bonner, A

2014-01-01

The shortage of nurses willing to work in rural Australian healthcare settings continues to worsen. Australian rural areas have a lower retention rate of nurses than metropolitan counterparts, with more remote communities experiencing an even higher turnover of nursing staff. When retention rates are lower, patient outcomes are known to be poorer. This article reports a study that sought to explore the reasons why registered nurses resign from rural hospitals in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Using grounded theory methods, this study explored the reasons why registered nurses resigned from New South Wales rural hospitals. Data were collected from 12 participants using semi-structured interviews; each participant was a registered nurse who had resigned from a rural hospital. Nurses who had resigned due to retirement, relocation or maternity leave were excluded. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and imported into NVivo software. The constant comparative method of data collection and analysis was followed until a core category emerged. Nurses resigned from rural hospitals when their personal value of how nursing should occur conflicted with the hospital's organisational values driving the practice of nursing. These conflicting values led to a change in the degree of value alignment between the nurse and hospital. The degree of value alignment occurred in three dynamic stages that nurses moved through prior to resigning. The first stage, sharing values, was a time when a nurse and a hospital shared similar values. The second stage was conceding values where, due to perceived changes in a hospital's values, a nurse felt that patient care became compromised and this led to a divergence of values. The final stage was resigning, a stage where a nurse 'gave up' as they felt that their professional integrity was severely compromised. The findings revealed that when a nurse and organisational values were not aligned, conflict was created for a nurse about how

Exchange of moisture between atmosphere and ground regarding tritium transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bunnenberg, C.

1980-09-01

Two measuring equipment have been developed in the framework of this study which fulfill important conditions to avoid microclimatic interferences during measurement by using site-specific ground samples and embedding these in the ground surface. The beta-absorption lysimeter allows the detection of a minimum deposit height of 0.001 mm in a 1 mm sample layer. The conductivity moisture probe is to measure the moisture diffusion within the first 80 mm of the upper ground with a vertical spacial resolution of 2 mm. It is possible to measure a minimum water content increase of 0.02 wt% per 2 mm ground layer using this probe. The influences of single microclimatic parameter on condensation and evaporation were investigated and a transport equation was developed. Investigations in the Negev proved the application ability of the measuring equipment. The application of the transport equation showed very good agreement with the measured values. When the ground surface starts to cool in the afternoon, there is a countercurrent moisture transport from the atmosphere and the deeper ground layers which lead to a higher water content in the upper ground layer. At about 50 mm depth there is an overlapping layer of the two moisture flows which remains almost constant over the 24 h cycle. This exchange zone of atmospheric humidity and ground water must be paid great attention with regard to HTO transfer. (orig./HP) [de

Extreme dissolved oxygen variability in urbanised tropical wetlands: The need for detailed monitoring to protect nursery ground values

Science.gov (United States)

Dubuc, Alexia; Waltham, Nathan; Malerba, Martino; Sheaves, Marcus

2017-11-01

Little is known about levels of dissolved oxygen fish are exposed to daily in typical urbanised tropical wetlands found along the Great Barrier Reef coastline. This study investigates diel dissolved oxygen (DO) dynamics in one of these typical urbanised wetlands, in tropical North Queensland, Australia. High frequency data loggers (DO, temperature, depth) were deployed for several days over the summer months in different tidal pools and channels that fish use as temporal or permanent refuges. DO was extremely variable over a 24 h cycle, and across the small-scale wetland. The high spatial and temporal DO variability measured was affected by time of day and tidal factors, namely water depth, tidal range and tidal direction (flood vs ebb). For the duration of the logging time, DO was mainly above the adopted threshold for hypoxia (50% saturation), however, for around 11% of the time, and on almost every logging day, DO values fell below the threshold, including a severe hypoxic event (nursery ground value. There is a substantial discontinuity between the recommended DO values in the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality and the values observed in this wetland, highlighting the limited value of these guidelines for management purposes. Local and regional high frequency data monitoring programs, in conjunction with local exposure risk studies are needed to underpin the development of the management that will ensure the sustainability of coastal wetlands.

The use of ground reflecting boards in measuring wind turbine noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henderson, A.R.; Mackinnon, A.; Benson, I.M.

1992-01-01

This paper gives an account of an experimental programme to assess the ground microphone measurement technique which can potentially increase the accuracy, reliability and confidence in wind turbine noise emission measurements. It shows that a 1 m diameter circular board can achieve acceptable accuracy and, since it is significantly more practical to use, could readily be adopted for international standards. (author)

Near-ground cooling efficacies of trees and high-albedo surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levinson, Ronnen Michael [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1997-05-01

Daytime summer urban heat islands arise when the prevalence of dark-colored surfaces and lack of vegetation make a city warmer than neighboring countryside. Two frequentlyproposed summer heat island mitigation measures are to plant trees and to increase the albedo (solar reflectivity) of ground surfaces. This dissertation examines the effects of these measures on the surface temperature of an object near the ground, and on solar heating of air near the ground. Near-ground objects include people, vehicles, and buildings. The variation of the surface temperature of a near-ground object with ground albedo indicates that a rise in ground albedo will cool a near-ground object only if the object’s albedo exceeds a critical value. This critical value of object albedo depends on wind speed, object geometry, and the height of the atmospheric thermal boundary layer. It ranges from 0.15 to 0.37 for a person. If an object has typical albedo of 0.3, increasing the ground albedo by 0.25 perturbs the object’s surface temperature by -1 to +2 K. Comparing a tree’s canopy-to-air convection to the reduction in ground-to-air convection induced by tree shading of the ground indicates that the presence of a tree can either increase or decrease solar heating of ground-level air. The tree’s net effect depends on the extent to which solar heating of the canopy is dissipated by evaporation, and on the fraction of air heated by the canopy that flows downward and mixes with the ground-level air. A two-month lysimeter (plant-weighing) experiment was conducted to measure instantaneous rates of water loss from a tree under various conditions of weather and soil-moisture. Calculations of canopy-to-air convection and the reduction of ground-to-air convection based on this data indicate that canopy-induced heating would negate shadowinduced cooling if approximately 45% of the canopy-heated air mixed with ground level air. This critical fraction is comparable to typical downward mixing

Observing Tsunamis in the Ionosphere Using Ground Based GPS Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Galvan, D. A.; Komjathy, A.; Song, Y. Tony; Stephens, P.; Hickey, M. P.; Foster, J.

2011-01-01

Ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) show variations consistent with atmospheric internal gravity waves caused by ocean tsunamis following recent seismic events, including the Tohoku tsunami of March 11, 2011. We observe fluctuations correlated in time, space, and wave properties with this tsunami in TEC estimates processed using JPL's Global Ionospheric Mapping Software. These TEC estimates were band-pass filtered to remove ionospheric TEC variations with periods outside the typical range of internal gravity waves caused by tsunamis. Observable variations in TEC appear correlated with the Tohoku tsunami near the epicenter, at Hawaii, and near the west coast of North America. Disturbance magnitudes are 1-10% of the background TEC value. Observations near the epicenter are compared to estimates of expected tsunami-driven TEC variations produced by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's Spectral Full Wave Model, an atmosphere-ionosphere coupling model, and found to be in good agreement. The potential exists to apply these detection techniques to real-time GPS TEC data, providing estimates of tsunami speed and amplitude that may be useful for future early warning systems.

Combining satellite, aerial and ground measurements to assess forest carbon stocks in Democratic Republic of Congo

Science.gov (United States)

Beaumont, Benjamin; Bouvy, Alban; Stephenne, Nathalie; Mathoux, Pierre; Bastin, Jean-François; Baudot, Yves; Akkermans, Tom

2015-04-01

Monitoring tropical forest carbon stocks changes has been a rising topic in the recent years as a result of REDD+ mechanisms negotiations. Such monitoring will be mandatory for each project/country willing to benefit from these financial incentives in the future. Aerial and satellite remote sensing technologies offer cost advantages in implementing large scale forest inventories. Despite the recent progress made in the use of airborne LiDAR for carbon stocks estimation, no widely operational and cost effective method has yet been delivered for central Africa forest monitoring. Within the Maï Ndombe region of Democratic Republic of Congo, the EO4REDD project develops a method combining satellite, aerial and ground measurements. This combination is done in three steps: [1] mapping and quantifying forest cover changes using an object-based semi-automatic change detection (deforestation and forest degradation) methodology based on very high resolution satellite imagery (RapidEye), [2] developing an allometric linear model for above ground biomass measurements based on dendrometric parameters (tree crown areas and heights) extracted from airborne stereoscopic image pairs and calibrated using ground measurements of individual trees on a data set of 18 one hectare plots and [3] relating these two products to assess carbon stocks changes at a regional scale. Given the high accuracies obtained in [1] (> 80% for deforestation and 77% for forest degradation) and the suitable, but still to be improved with a larger calibrating sample, model (R² of 0.7) obtained in [2], EO4REDD products can be seen as a valid and replicable option for carbon stocks monitoring in tropical forests. Further improvements are planned to strengthen the cost effectiveness value and the REDD+ suitability in the second phase of EO4REDD. This second phase will include [A] specific model developments per forest type; [B] measurements of afforestation, reforestation and natural regeneration processes and

A Framework for Measuring Low-Value Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, George; Rhyan, Corwin; Beaudin-Seiler, Beth; Hughes-Cromwick, Paul

2018-04-01

It has been estimated that more than 30% of health care spending in the United States is wasteful, and that low-value care, which drives up costs unnecessarily while increasing patient risk, is a significant component of wasteful spending. To address the need for an ability to measure the magnitude of low-value care nationwide, identify the clinical services that are the greatest contributors to waste, and track progress toward eliminating low-value use of these services. Such an ability could provide valuable input to the efforts of policymakers and health systems to improve efficiency. We reviewed existing methods that could contribute to measuring low-value care and developed an integrated framework that combines multiple methods to comprehensively estimate and track the magnitude and principal sources of clinical waste. We also identified a process and needed research for implementing the framework. A comprehensive methodology for measuring and tracking low-value care in the United States would provide an important contribution toward reducing waste. Implementation of the framework described in this article appears feasible, and the proposed research program will allow moving incrementally toward full implementation while providing a near-term capability for measuring low-value care that can be enhanced over time. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measuring Values in Environmental Research: A Test of an Environmental Portrait Value Questionnaire

Science.gov (United States)

Bouman, Thijs; Steg, Linda; Kiers, Henk A. L.

2018-01-01

Four human values are considered to underlie individuals’ environmental beliefs and behaviors: biospheric (i.e., concern for environment), altruistic (i.e., concern for others), egoistic (i.e., concern for personal resources) and hedonic values (i.e., concern for pleasure and comfort). These values are typically measured with an adapted and shortened version of the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS), to which we refer as the Environmental-SVS (E-SVS). Despite being well-validated, recent research has indicated some concerns about the SVS methodology (e.g., comprehensibility, self-presentation biases) and suggested an alternative method of measuring human values: The Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ). However, the PVQ has not yet been adapted and applied to measure values most relevant to understand environmental beliefs and behaviors. Therefore, we tested the Environmental-PVQ (E-PVQ) – a PVQ variant of E-SVS –and compared it with the E-SVS in two studies. Our findings provide strong support for the validity and reliability of both the E-SVS and E-PVQ. In addition, we find that respondents slightly preferred the E-PVQ over the E-SVS (Study 1). In general, both scales correlate similarly to environmental self-identity (Study 1), energy behaviors (Studies 1 and 2), pro-environmental personal norms, climate change beliefs and policy support (Study 2). Accordingly, both methodologies show highly similar results and seem well-suited for measuring human values underlying environmental behaviors and beliefs. PMID:29743874

Ground based measurements of particulate emissions from supersonic transports. Concorde olympus engine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitefield, Ph D; Hagen, D E [Missouri Univ., Rolla, MO (United States). Cloud and Aerosol Sciences Lab.; Lilenfeld, H V [McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, MO (United States)

1998-12-31

The application of a mobile aerosol monitoring facility, the Mobile Aerosol Sampling System (MASS) is described to characterize engine aerosol emissions from the Rolls Royce Olympus Engine. The multi-configurational MASS has been employed in both ground and airborne field operations. It has been successfully flown on research aircrafts. In ground tests the MASS has participated in numerous jet engine related ground tests, and has been deployed to resolve aerosol generation problems in a high power chemical laser system. In all cases the measurements were made on samples taken from a harsh physical and chemical environment, with both high and low temperature and pressure, and in the presence of highly reactive gases. (R.P.) 9 refs.

Ground based measurements of particulate emissions from supersonic transports. Concorde olympus engine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitefield, Ph.D.; Hagen, D.E. [Missouri Univ., Rolla, MO (United States). Cloud and Aerosol Sciences Lab.; Lilenfeld, H.V. [McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, MO (United States)

1997-12-31

The application of a mobile aerosol monitoring facility, the Mobile Aerosol Sampling System (MASS) is described to characterize engine aerosol emissions from the Rolls Royce Olympus Engine. The multi-configurational MASS has been employed in both ground and airborne field operations. It has been successfully flown on research aircrafts. In ground tests the MASS has participated in numerous jet engine related ground tests, and has been deployed to resolve aerosol generation problems in a high power chemical laser system. In all cases the measurements were made on samples taken from a harsh physical and chemical environment, with both high and low temperature and pressure, and in the presence of highly reactive gases. (R.P.) 9 refs.

GPM GROUND VALIDATION ENVIRONMENT CANADA (EC) MANUAL PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENTS GCPEX V1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GPM Ground Validation Environment Canada (EC) Manual Precipitation Measurements GCPEx dataset was collected during the GPM Cold-season Precipitation Experiment...

Measuring values for cross-cultural research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maseland, R.K.J.; Hoorn, A.A.J. van

2009-01-01

This paper investigates the empirical relevance of the recent critique that values surveys, as they are, suffer from the problem of measuring marginal preferences rather than values. By surveying items from cross-cultural surveys by Hofstede, Inglehart and GLOBE, we show that the marginal

Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, G M; Rennó, N; Fischer, E; Borlina, C S; Hallet, B; de la Torre Juárez, M; Vasavada, A R; Ramos, M; Hamilton, V; Gomez-Elvira, J; Haberle, R M

2014-08-01

The analysis of the surface energy budget (SEB) yields insights into soil-atmosphere interactions and local climates, while the analysis of the thermal inertia ( I ) of shallow subsurfaces provides context for evaluating geological features. Mars orbital data have been used to determine thermal inertias at horizontal scales of ∼10 4  m 2 to ∼10 7  m 2 . Here we use measurements of ground temperature and atmospheric variables by Curiosity to calculate thermal inertias at Gale Crater at horizontal scales of ∼10 2  m 2 . We analyze three sols representing distinct environmental conditions and soil properties, sol 82 at Rocknest (RCK), sol 112 at Point Lake (PL), and sol 139 at Yellowknife Bay (YKB). Our results indicate that the largest thermal inertia I  = 452 J m -2  K -1  s -1/2 (SI units used throughout this article) is found at YKB followed by PL with I  = 306 and RCK with I  = 295. These values are consistent with the expected thermal inertias for the types of terrain imaged by Mastcam and with previous satellite estimations at Gale Crater. We also calculate the SEB using data from measurements by Curiosity's Rover Environmental Monitoring Station and dust opacity values derived from measurements by Mastcam. The knowledge of the SEB and thermal inertia has the potential to enhance our understanding of the climate, the geology, and the habitability of Mars.

Optical Properties of the Urban Aerosol Particles Obtained from Ground Based Measurements and Satellite-Based Modelling Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genrik Mordas

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Applications of satellite remote sensing data combined with ground measurements and model simulation were applied to study aerosol optical properties as well as aerosol long-range transport under the impact of large scale circulation in the urban environment in Lithuania (Vilnius. Measurements included the light scattering coefficients at 3 wavelengths (450, 550, and 700 nm measured with an integrating nephelometer and aerosol particle size distribution (0.5–12 μm and number concentration (Dpa > 0.5 μm registered by aerodynamic particle sizer. Particle number concentration and mean light scattering coefficient varied from relatively low values of 6.0 cm−3 and 12.8 Mm−1 associated with air masses passed over Atlantic Ocean to relatively high value of 119 cm−3 and 276 Mm−1 associated with South-Western air masses. Analysis shows such increase in the aerosol light scattering coefficient (276 Mm−1 during the 3rd of July 2012 was attributed to a major Sahara dust storm. Aerosol size distribution with pronounced coarse particles dominance was attributed to the presence of dust particles, while resuspended dust within the urban environment was not observed.

Anechoic Chamber test of the Electromagnetic Measurement System ground test unit

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, L. E.; Scott, L. D.; Oakes, E. T.

1987-04-01

The Electromagnetic Measurement System (EMMS) will acquire data on electromagnetic (EM) environments at key weapon locations on various aircraft certified for nuclear weapons. The high-frequency ground unit of the EMMS consists of an instrumented B61 bomb case that will measure (with current probes) the localized current density resulting from an applied EM field. For this portion of the EMMS, the first system test was performed in the Anechoic Chamber Facility at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The EMMS pod was subjected to EM radiation at microwave frequencies of 1, 3, and 10 GHz. At each frequency, the EMMS pod was rotated at many positions relative to the microwave source so that the individual current probes were exposed to a direct line-of-sight illumination. The variations between the measured and calculated electric fields for the current probes with direct illumination by the EM source are within a few db. The results obtained from the anechoic test were better than expected and verify that the high frequency ground portion of the EMMS will accurately measure the EM environments for which it was designed.

A Direct Approach to Determine the External Disturbing Gravity Field by Applying Green Integral with the Ground Boundary Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TIAN Jialei

2015-11-01

Full Text Available By using the ground as the boundary, Molodensky problem usually gets the solution in form of series. Higher order terms reflect the correction between a smooth surface and the ground boundary. Application difficulties arise from not only computational complexity and stability maintenance, but also data-intensiveness. Therefore, in this paper, starting from the application of external gravity disturbance, Green formula is used on digital terrain surface. In the case of ignoring the influence of horizontal component of the integral, the expression formula of external disturbance potential determined by boundary value consisted of ground gravity anomalies and height anomaly difference are obtained, whose kernel function is reciprocal of distance and Poisson core respectively. With this method, there is no need of continuation of ground data. And kernel function is concise, and suitable for the stochastic computation of external disturbing gravity field.

Spatio-temporal representativeness of ground-based downward solar radiation measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, Matthias; Wild, Martin; Folini, Doris

2017-04-01

Surface solar radiation (SSR) is most directly observed with ground based pyranometer measurements. Besides measurement uncertainties, which arise from the pyranometer instrument itself, also errors attributed to the limited spatial representativeness of observations from single sites for their large-scale surrounding have to be taken into account when using such measurements for energy balance studies. In this study the spatial representativeness of 157 homogeneous European downward surface solar radiation time series from the Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA) and the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) were examined for the period 1983-2015 by using the high resolution (0.05°) surface solar radiation data set from the Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM-SAF SARAH) as a proxy for the spatiotemporal variability of SSR. By correlating deseasonalized monthly SSR time series form surface observations against single collocated satellite derived SSR time series, a mean spatial correlation pattern was calculated and validated against purely observational based patterns. Generally decreasing correlations with increasing distance from station, with high correlations (R2 = 0.7) in proximity to the observational sites (±0.5°), was found. When correlating surface observations against time series from spatially averaged satellite derived SSR data (and thereby simulating coarser and coarser grids), very high correspondence between sites and the collocated pixels has been found for pixel sizes up to several degrees. Moreover, special focus was put on the quantification of errors which arise in conjunction to spatial sampling when estimating the temporal variability and trends for a larger region from a single surface observation site. For 15-year trends on a 1° grid, errors due to spatial sampling in the order of half of the measurement uncertainty for monthly mean values were found.

Measuring industrial energy efficiency: Physical volume versus economic value

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freeman, S.L.; Niefer, M.J.; Roop, J.M.

1996-12-01

This report examines several different measures of industrial output for use in constructing estimates of industrial energy efficiency and discusses some reasons for differences between the measures. Estimates of volume-based measures of output, as well as 3 value-based measures of output (value of production, value of shipments, and value added), are evaluated for 15 separate 4-digit industries. Volatility, simple growth rate, and trend growth rate estimates are made for each industry and each measure of output. Correlations are made between the volume- and value-based measures of output. Historical energy use data are collected for 5 of the industries for making energy- intensity estimates. Growth rates in energy use, energy intensity, and correlations between volume- and value-based measures of energy intensity are computed. There is large variability in growth trend estimates both long term and from year to year. While there is a high correlation between volume- and value-based measures of output for a few industries, typically the correlation is low, and this is exacerbated for estimates of energy intensity. Analysis revealed reasons for these low correlations. It appears that substantial work must be done before reliable measures of trends in the energy efficiency of industry can be accurately characterized.

THE ISSUES IN THE MEASUREMENT OF POSTMATERIAL VALUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetlana Tasić

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The measurement of postmaterial values includes measuring of the views on the preservation ofpeace, freedom of speech, environmental protection, tolerance and everything else that is contrary tothe concept of measuring the material values, that is physical and economic variables. Measurementof postmaterial values is based on the application of 4 or 12 items scale that refers to the materialismor postmaterialism in certain country. There are several issues and limitations in the application ofpostmaterial values measurement scale which can cause significant error, in other words bias inmeasurement. One of the most interesting issues is the impact of question order change on themeasurement results of postmaterial values. Using the results of empirical research it is shown thatthis effect is significant and, also it is particularly examined the intensity of this effect consideringgender and level of education based on the sample of respondents from urban Serbia.

Determination of radon concentration in ground water in Aichi Prefecture by liquid scintillation counter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onuma, A.; Shimizu, M.; Chaya, K.; Hamamura, N. (Aichi Prefectural Inst. of Public Health, Nagoya (Japan)); Kagami, T.

1982-01-01

The radon (Rn) concentration in ground water in Aichi Prefecture was determined by the liquid scintillation counter (LSC) method. The measurement of radon by LSC was made by integration counting, keeping the constant LS quantity in a vial and the constant geometry of a photomultiplier. The recovery rate of radon with 226-radium standard solution was 98.7%. The coefficient of variation in the measured values of radon concentration in ground water in Aichi Prefecture by the LSC method was 4.9%. For the same ground waters in the prefecture, the radon concentrations measured by the LSC method and by the conventional IM fontactoscope method were examined comparatively. This gave a regression formula of LSC value = 0.583 x IM value + 1.325 (n = 70, coefficient of correlation 0.966), indicating significant correlation between the two. It is thus shown that the LSC method is an effective means as the IM fontactoscope method.

Determination of radon concentration in ground water in Aichi Prefecture by liquid scintillation counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onuma, Akiko; Shimizu, Michihiko; Chaya, Kunio; Hamamura, Norikatsu; Kagami, Tadaaki.

1982-01-01

The radon (Rn) concentration in ground water in Aichi Prefecture was determined by the liquid scintillation counter (LSC) method. The measurement of radon by LSC was made by integration counting, keeping the constant LS quantity in a vial and the constant geometry of a photomultiplier. The recovery rate of radon with 226-radium standard solution was 98.7%. The coefficient of variation in the measured values of radon concentration in ground water in Aichi Prefecture by the LSC method was 4.9%. For the same ground waters in the prefecture, the radon concentrations measured by the LSC method and by the conventional IM fontactoscope method were examined comparatively. This gave a regression formula of LSC value = 0.583 x IM value + 1.325 (n = 70, coefficient of correlation 0.966), indicating significant correlation between the two. It is thus shown that the LSC method is an effective means as the IM fontactoscope method. (J.P.N.)

Airborne measurement of submicron aerosol number concentration and CCN activity in and around the Korean Peninsula and their comparison to ground measurement in Seoul

Science.gov (United States)

Park, M.; Kim, N.; Yum, S. S.

2016-12-01

Aerosols exert impact not only on human health and visibility but also on climate change directly by scattering or absorbing solar radiation and indirectly by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and thus altering cloud radiative and microphysical properties. Aerosol indirect effects on climate has been known to have large uncertainty because of insufficient measurement data on aerosol and CCN activity distribution. Submicron aerosol number concentration (NCN, TSI CPC) and CCN number concentration (NCCN, DMT CCNC) were measured on board the NASA DC-8 research aircraft and at a ground site at Olympic Park in Seoul from May 2nd to June 10th, 2016. CCNC on the airborne platform was operated with the fixed internal supersaturation of 0.6% and CCNC at the ground site was operated with the five different supersaturations (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1.0%). The NASA DC-8 conducted 20 research flights (about 150 hours) in and around the Korean Peninsula and the ground measurement at Olympic Park was continuously made during the measurement period. Both airborne and ground measurements showed spatially and temporally varied aerosol number concentration and CCN activity. Aerosol number concentration in the boundary layer measured on airborne platform was highly affected by pollution sources on the ground. The average diurnal distribution of ground aerosol number concentration showed distinct peaks are located at about 0800, 1500, and 2000. The middle peak indicates that new particle formation events frequently occurred during the measurement period. CCN activation ratio at 0.6% supersaturation (NCCN/NCN) of the airborne measurement ranged from 0.1 to 0.9, indicating that aerosol properties in and around the Korean Peninsula varied so much (e. g. size, hygroscopicity). Comprehensive analysis results will be shown at the conference.

Measurement of Walking Ground Reactions in Real-Life Environments: A Systematic Review of Techniques and Technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahabpoor, Erfan; Pavic, Aleksandar

2017-09-12

Monitoring natural human gait in real-life environments is essential in many applications, including quantification of disease progression, monitoring the effects of treatment, and monitoring alteration of performance biomarkers in professional sports. Nevertheless, developing reliable and practical techniques and technologies necessary for continuous real-life monitoring of gait is still an open challenge. A systematic review of English-language articles from scientific databases including Scopus, ScienceDirect, Pubmed, IEEE Xplore, EBSCO and MEDLINE were carried out to analyse the 'accuracy' and 'practicality' of the current techniques and technologies for quantitative measurement of the tri-axial walking ground reactions outside the laboratory environment, and to highlight their strengths and shortcomings. In total, 679 relevant abstracts were identified, 54 full-text papers were included in the paper and the quantitative results of 17 papers were used for meta-analysis and comparison. Three classes of methods were reviewed: (1) methods based on measured kinematic data; (2) methods based on measured plantar pressure; and (3) methods based on direct measurement of ground reactions. It was found that all three classes of methods have competitive accuracy levels with methods based on direct measurement of the ground reactions showing highest accuracy while being least practical for long-term real-life measurement. On the other hand, methods that estimate ground reactions using measured body kinematics show highest practicality of the three classes of methods reviewed. Among the most prominent technical and technological challenges are: (1) reducing the size and price of tri-axial load-cells; (2) improving the accuracy of orientation measurement using IMUs; (3) minimizing the number and optimizing the location of required IMUs for kinematic measurement; (4) increasing the durability of pressure insole sensors, and (5) enhancing the robustness and versatility of the

Measurement of Walking Ground Reactions in Real-Life Environments: A Systematic Review of Techniques and Technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erfan Shahabpoor

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Monitoring natural human gait in real-life environments is essential in many applications, including quantification of disease progression, monitoring the effects of treatment, and monitoring alteration of performance biomarkers in professional sports. Nevertheless, developing reliable and practical techniques and technologies necessary for continuous real-life monitoring of gait is still an open challenge. A systematic review of English-language articles from scientific databases including Scopus, ScienceDirect, Pubmed, IEEE Xplore, EBSCO and MEDLINE were carried out to analyse the ‘accuracy’ and ‘practicality’ of the current techniques and technologies for quantitative measurement of the tri-axial walking ground reactions outside the laboratory environment, and to highlight their strengths and shortcomings. In total, 679 relevant abstracts were identified, 54 full-text papers were included in the paper and the quantitative results of 17 papers were used for meta-analysis and comparison. Three classes of methods were reviewed: (1 methods based on measured kinematic data; (2 methods based on measured plantar pressure; and (3 methods based on direct measurement of ground reactions. It was found that all three classes of methods have competitive accuracy levels with methods based on direct measurement of the ground reactions showing highest accuracy while being least practical for long-term real-life measurement. On the other hand, methods that estimate ground reactions using measured body kinematics show highest practicality of the three classes of methods reviewed. Among the most prominent technical and technological challenges are: (1 reducing the size and price of tri-axial load-cells; (2 improving the accuracy of orientation measurement using IMUs; (3 minimizing the number and optimizing the location of required IMUs for kinematic measurement; (4 increasing the durability of pressure insole sensors, and (5 enhancing the robustness and

Ground Albedo Neutron Sensing (GANS) for Measurement of Integral Soil Water Content at the Small Catchment Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera Villarreyes, C.; Baroni, G.; Oswald, S. E.

2012-12-01

Soil water content at the plot or hill-slope scale is an important link between local vadose zone hydrology and catchment hydrology. One largest initiative to cover the measuring gap of soil moisture between point scale and remote sensing observations is the COSMOS network (Zreda et al., 2012). Here, cosmic-ray neutron sensing, which may be more precisely named ground albedo neutron sensing (GANS), is applied. The measuring principle is based on the crucial role of hydrogen as neutron moderator compared to others landscape materials. Soil water content contained in a footprint of ca. 600 m diameter and a depth ranging down to a few decimeters is inversely correlated to the neutron flux at the air-ground interface. This approach is now implemented, e.g. in USA (Zreda et al., 2012) and Germany (Rivera Villarreyes et al., 2011), based on its simple installation and integral measurement of soil moisture at the small catchment scale. The present study performed Ground Albedo Neutron Sensing on farmland at two locations in Germany under different vegetative situations (cropped and bare field) and different seasonal conditions (summer, autumn and winter). Ground albedo neutrons were measured at (i) a farmland close to Potsdam and Berlin cropped with corn in 2010, sunflower in 2011 and winter rye in 2012, and (ii) a mountainous farmland catchment (Schaefertal, Harz Mountains) since middle 2011. In order to test this methodology, classical soil moisture devices and meteorological data were used for comparison. Moreover, several calibration approaches, role of vegetation cover and transferability of calibration parameters to different times and locations were also evaluated. Observations suggest that GANS can overcome the lack of data for hydrological processes at the intermediate scale. Soil moisture from GANS compared quantitatively with mean values derived from a network of classical devices under vegetated and non- vegetated conditions. The GANS approach responded well

Settlement process of radioactive dust to the ground inferred from the atmospheric electric field measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Yamauchi, M.; Takeda, M.; Makino, M.; Owada, T.; Miyagi, I.

2012-01-01

Radioactive materials from the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FNPP) in March 2011 spread over a large area, increasing the atmospheric electric conductivity by their ionizing effect, and reducing the vertical (downward) component of the DC electric field near the ground, or potential gradient (PG). PG data at Kakioka, 150 km away from the FNPP, showed independent changes compared to the radiation dose rate, and a comparison of these data revealed the local dynamics of the radioactive dust. (1) The initial drop of the PG to almost zero during 14-15 March is most likely due to radioactive dust suspended in the air near the ground during cloudy weather. (2) An episode of PG increase to more than 50 V m-1 on 16 March is most likely due to the re-suspension of the radioactive dust from the surface and subsequent removal from Kakioka by the strong wind from the non-contaminated area. (3) Low but finite values of the PG during 16-20 March most likely reflect a reduced amount of radioactive material near the ground after the above wind transported away the majority of the suspended radioactive dust. (4) Very low values of the PG after substantial rain on 20-22 March most likely reflect settlement of the radioactive material by rain-induced fallout. (5) Temporal recovery of daily variations from the end of March to the middle of April with low nighttime fair-weather baseline PG most likely reflects re-suspension of the radioactive dust into the air from the ground and trees, and subsequent transport to the other region or fallout to the ground until late April. (6) Weakening of the daily variation and gradual recovery of the nighttime fair-weather baseline after mid-April suggests a complete settlement of the radioactive material to the ground with partial migration to the subsurface.

Measurement of indoor radon-thoron and their progeny levels in dwellings and radon concentrations in ground water of Hassan city, Karnataka, India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasa, E.; Rangaswamy, D.R.; Sannappa, J.

2014-01-01

The indoor radon and thoron concentrations in dwellings of Hassan city have been measured by using LR-115 type-Il Solid State Nuclear Tracks Detectors (SSNTDs). Measurements were carried in summer season from March to May-2013. The radon and thoron activity concentration in the corresponding dwellings has been found to vary from 7.4 to 45.7 Bqm -3 and 5.4 to 34.9 Bqm -3 with a median of 23.59±11 Bqm -3 and 14.47±8 Bqm -3 respectively. The overall average radon concentrations are found to be less than the lower reference level of 200 Bq m -3 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The annual effective dose received due to radon and its progeny by the inhabitants in the dwellings under study has also been calculated which found to vary from 0.320 ±0.4 to 1.86 ±1.1 mSv y -1 with an average value of 0.957±0.8 mSv -1 . The obtained results are much lower than the upper reference level of 10 mSv y -1 (ICRP 2007). Radon in bore well water at different locations of Hassan city was determined using the emanometry technique and exposure dose from ingestion of drinking water was estimated. The radon concentration in ground water was found to vary from 19.49 to 60.74 Bq l -1 with an average value of 47.16±14Bq l -1 . From this study it is evident that, the recorded ground water radon concentration values are higher than MCL of 11 Bq l -1 proposed by USEPA. The total dose due to inhalation and ingestion of 222 Rn in ground water ranges from 0.053 mSv y -1 to 0.165mSv y -1 with an average value of 0.127±0.038mSv y -1 . (author)

Ground Albedo Neutron Sensing (GANS) method for measurements of soil moisture in cropped fields

Science.gov (United States)

Andres Rivera Villarreyes, Carlos; Baroni, Gabriele; Oswald, Sascha E.

2013-04-01

Measurement of soil moisture at the plot or hill-slope scale is an important link between local vadose zone hydrology and catchment hydrology. However, so far only few methods are on the way to close this gap between point measurements and remote sensing. This study evaluates the applicability of the Ground Albedo Neutron Sensing (GANS) for integral quantification of seasonal soil moisture in the root zone at the scale of a field or small watershed, making use of the crucial role of hydrogen as neutron moderator relative to other landscape materials. GANS measurements were performed at two locations in Germany under different vegetative situations and seasonal conditions. Ground albedo neutrons were measured at (i) a lowland Bornim farmland (Brandenburg) cropped with sunflower in 2011 and winter rye in 2012, and (ii) a mountainous farmland catchment (Schaefertal, Harz Mountains) since middle 2011. At both sites depth profiles of soil moisture were measured at several locations in parallel by frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) for comparison and calibration. Initially, calibration parameters derived from a previous study with corn cover were tested under sunflower and winter rye periods at the same farmland. GANS soil moisture based on these parameters showed a large discrepancy compared to classical soil moisture measurements. Therefore, two new calibration approaches and four different ways of integration the soil moisture profile to an integral value for GANS were evaluated in this study. This included different sets of calibration parameters based on different growing periods of sunflower. New calibration parameters showed a good agreement with FDR network during sunflower period (RMSE = 0.023 m3 m-3), but they underestimated soil moisture in the winter rye period. The GANS approach resulted to be highly affected by temporal changes of biomass and crop types which suggest the need of neutron corrections for long-term observations with crop rotation. Finally

Ground Pollution Science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Jong Min; Bae, Jae Geun

1997-08-01

This book deals with ground pollution science and soil science, classification of soil and fundamentals, ground pollution and human, ground pollution and organic matter, ground pollution and city environment, environmental problems of the earth and ground pollution, soil pollution and development of geological features of the ground, ground pollution and landfill of waste, case of measurement of ground pollution.

The SPARC water vapor assessment II: intercomparison of satellite and ground-based microwave measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Nedoluha, Gerald E.; Kiefer, Michael; Lossow, Stefan; Gomez, R. Michael; Kämpfer, Niklaus; Lainer, Martin; Forkman, Peter; Christensen, Ole Martin; Oh, Jung Jin; Hartogh, Paul; Anderson, John; Bramstedt, Klaus; Dinelli, Bianca M.; Garcia-Comas, Maya; Hervig, Mark; Murtagh, Donal; Raspollini, Piera; Read, William G.; Rosenlof, Karen; Stiller, Gabriele P.; Walker, Kaley A.

2017-12-01

As part of the second SPARC (Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate) water vapor assessment (WAVAS-II), we present measurements taken from or coincident with seven sites from which ground-based microwave instruments measure water vapor in the middle atmosphere. Six of the ground-based instruments are part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) and provide datasets that can be used for drift and trend assessment. We compare measurements from these ground-based instruments with satellite datasets that have provided retrievals of water vapor in the lower mesosphere over extended periods since 1996. We first compare biases between the satellite and ground-based instruments from the upper stratosphere to the upper mesosphere. We then show a number of time series comparisons at 0.46 hPa, a level that is sensitive to changes in H2O and CH4 entering the stratosphere but, because almost all CH4 has been oxidized, is relatively insensitive to dynamical variations. Interannual variations and drifts are investigated with respect to both the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS; from 2004 onwards) and each instrument's climatological mean. We find that the variation in the interannual difference in the mean H2O measured by any two instruments is typically ˜ 1%. Most of the datasets start in or after 2004 and show annual increases in H2O of 0-1 % yr-1. In particular, MLS shows a trend of between 0.5 % yr-1 and 0.7 % yr-1 at the comparison sites. However, the two longest measurement datasets used here, with measurements back to 1996, show much smaller trends of +0.1 % yr-1 (at Mauna Loa, Hawaii) and -0.1 % yr-1 (at Lauder, New Zealand).

The SPARC water vapor assessment II: intercomparison of satellite and ground-based microwave measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. E. Nedoluha

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As part of the second SPARC (Stratosphere–troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate water vapor assessment (WAVAS-II, we present measurements taken from or coincident with seven sites from which ground-based microwave instruments measure water vapor in the middle atmosphere. Six of the ground-based instruments are part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC and provide datasets that can be used for drift and trend assessment. We compare measurements from these ground-based instruments with satellite datasets that have provided retrievals of water vapor in the lower mesosphere over extended periods since 1996. We first compare biases between the satellite and ground-based instruments from the upper stratosphere to the upper mesosphere. We then show a number of time series comparisons at 0.46 hPa, a level that is sensitive to changes in H2O and CH4 entering the stratosphere but, because almost all CH4 has been oxidized, is relatively insensitive to dynamical variations. Interannual variations and drifts are investigated with respect to both the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS; from 2004 onwards and each instrument's climatological mean. We find that the variation in the interannual difference in the mean H2O measured by any two instruments is typically  ∼  1%. Most of the datasets start in or after 2004 and show annual increases in H2O of 0–1 % yr−1. In particular, MLS shows a trend of between 0.5 % yr−1 and 0.7 % yr−1 at the comparison sites. However, the two longest measurement datasets used here, with measurements back to 1996, show much smaller trends of +0.1 % yr−1 (at Mauna Loa, Hawaii and −0.1 % yr−1 (at Lauder, New Zealand.

Fair Value in the light of IFRS 13 «Fair Value Measurement»

OpenAIRE

V.V. Svitselska

2015-01-01

The main provisions of IFRS 13 «Fair Value Measurement» have been researched as well as its critical analysis has been conducted. Comparison of the previous and the new definition of the concept «fair value» has been done on the basis of what the shortcomings of the previous definition have been highlighted, the characteristic features and advantages of new definition from IFRS 13 «Fair Value Measurement» have been outlined. It has been proved that new interpretation of the concept of «fair v...

The Math-Biology Values Instrument: Development of a Tool to Measure Life Science Majors' Task Values of Using Math in the Context of Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Sarah E; Runyon, Christopher; Aikens, Melissa L

2017-01-01

In response to calls to improve the quantitative training of undergraduate biology students, there have been increased efforts to better integrate math into biology curricula. One challenge of such efforts is negative student attitudes toward math, which are thought to be particularly prevalent among biology students. According to theory, students' personal values toward using math in a biological context will influence their achievement and behavioral outcomes, but a validated instrument is needed to determine this empirically. We developed the Math-Biology Values Instrument (MBVI), an 11-item college-level self--report instrument grounded in expectancy-value theory, to measure life science students' interest in using math to understand biology, the perceived usefulness of math to their life science career, and the cost of using math in biology courses. We used a process that integrates multiple forms of validity evidence to show that scores from the MBVI can be used as a valid measure of a student's value of math in the context of biology. The MBVI can be used by instructors and researchers to help identify instructional strategies that influence math-biology values and understand how math-biology values are related to students' achievement and decisions to pursue more advanced quantitative-based courses. © 2017 S. E. Andrews et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

U-value measurements on ISO round Robin window

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duer, Karsten

1997-01-01

9 laboratories in 6 european and 2 north american countries have participated in a round robin U-value test of a standard facade window. The objective of the round robin test was to verify that the ISO/CEN proposals for U-value measurement standard is robust.......9 laboratories in 6 european and 2 north american countries have participated in a round robin U-value test of a standard facade window. The objective of the round robin test was to verify that the ISO/CEN proposals for U-value measurement standard is robust....

Measurement of small dispersion values in optical components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peucheret, Christophe; Liu, Fenghai; Pedersen, Rune Johan Skullerud

1999-01-01

It is reported that small dispersion values in optical components can be measured using the RF modulation method originally restricted to large dispersions. Using a constant dispersion offset, arbitrarily small dispersion values can be measured with a resolution as good as 1.2 ps/nm....

Measurement protocol for radon measurements in workplaces above ground

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mjoenes, L.; Soederman, A.-L.

2004-01-01

measurement made during the warmer part of the year is likely to show radon levels that are not representative for the whole year. Measurements have to cover at least 20 % of the rooms used for work places situated on the ground floor, in upper floors one measurement per floor has to be made and at least one per 500 m 2 . More measurements are recommended for buildings constructed from material with enhanced uranium and radium levels, such as blue lightweight concrete. Rooms in upper floors with vertical piping or other vertical openings through the building or rooms adjacent to rooms with piping should be measured. The detectors should not be moved during the measurement period and they should be placed so that the result is representative for the work place. Measurement devises must be calibrated every 12 months. This can be done at SSI or another laboratory recommended by SSI. Laboratories, consulting firms etc responsible for radon measurements have to guarantee that the results are correct. A quality system is required in order to perform measurements. The measurement protocol describes every method that can be used for radon measurements in detail as far as calibration and control systems are concerned. (author)

Investigation of counter-measures in the case of radioactive materials penetration in soils and ground water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sachse, G.; Anders, G.; Puehrer, H.; Stohn, W.

1975-03-01

Proceeding from the methods known from hydraulic engineering for the protection of ground waters from penetrating noxious substances, suitable measures for preventing the contamination of ground waters and soils are discussed. Since preventive measures are always of priority, a facility using concrete containers with double walls is considered to be an appropriate method for temporary storage of low and medium activity waste waters. (author)

Measure-valued differentiation for finite products of measures : theory and applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leahu, H.

2008-01-01

In this dissertation we perform a comprehensive analysis of measure-valued differentiation, in which weak differentiation of parameter-dependent probability measures plays a central role. We develop a theory of weak differentiation of measures and show that classical concepts such as differential

Applying spaceborne reflectivity measurements for calculation of the solar ultraviolet radiation at ground level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. N. den Outer

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Long-term analysis of cloud effects on ultraviolet (UV radiation on the ground using spaceborne observations requires the use of instruments that have operated consecutively. The longest data record can be built from the reflectivity measurements produced by the instruments Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometers (TOMS flown on Nimbus 7 from 1979 to 1992, TOMS on Earth Probe from 1996 to 2005, and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI flown on EOS Aura since 2004. The reflectivity data produced by TOMS on Earth Probe is only included until 2002. A comparison is made with cloud effects inferred from ground-based pyranometer measurements at over 83 World Radiation Data Centre stations. Modelled UV irradiances utilizing the standard reflectivity are compared with measurements of UV irradiances at eight European low-elevation stations. The reflectivity data of the two TOMS instruments shows a consistent agreement, and the required corrections are of low percentage, i.e. 2–3%. In contrast, the reflectivity product of OMI requires correction of 7–10%, and a solar angle dependency therein is more pronounced. These corrections were inferred from a comparison with pyranometer data, and tested using the UV measurements. The average reduction of UV radiation due to clouds for all sites together indicates a small trend: a diminishing cloudiness, in line with ground-based UV observations. Uncorrected implementation of the reflectivity data would have indicated the opposite.

An optimal area was established for reflectivity data for the calculation of daily sums of UV radiation. It measures approximately 1.25° in latitudinal direction for square-shaped areas overhead the ground-based UV stations. Such an area can be traversed within 5 to 7 h at the average wind speeds found for the West European continent.

The CdZnTe Detector with Slit Collimator for Measure Distribution of the Specific Activity Radionuclide in the Ground

Science.gov (United States)

Stepanov, V. E.; Volkovich, A. G.; Potapov, V. N.; Semin, I. A.; Stepanov, A. V.; Simirskii, Iu. N.

2018-01-01

From 2011 in the NRC "Kurchatov Institute" carry out the dismantling of the MR multiloop research reactor. Now the reactor and all technological equipment in the premises of the reactor were dismantled. Now the measurements of radioactive contamination in the reactor premises are made. The most contaminated parts of premises - floor and the ground beneath it. To measure the distribution of specific activity in the ground the CdZnTe detector (volume 500MM3) was used. Detector placed in a lead shielding with a slit collimation hole. The upper part of shielding is made movable to close and open the slit of the collimator. At each point two measurements carried out: with open and closed collimator. The software for determination specific activity of radionuclides in ground was developed. The mathematical model of spectrometric system based on the Monte-Carlo method. Measurements of specific activity of ground were made. Using the results of measurements the thickness of the removed layer of ground and the amount of radioactive waste were calculated.

66Ga ground state β spectrum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Severin, Gregory; Knutson, L. D.; Voytas, P. A.

2014-01-01

The ground state branch of the β decay of 66Ga is an allowed Fermi (0+ → 0+) transition with a relatively high f t value. The large f t and the isospin-forbidden nature of the transition indicates that the shape of the β spectrum of this branch may be sensitive to higher order contributions...... to the decay. Two previous measurements of the shape have revealed deviations from an allowed spectrum but disagree about whether the shape factor has a positive or negative slope. As a test of a new iron-free superconducting β spectrometer, we have measured the shape of the ground state branch of the 66Ga β...... spectrum above a positron energy of 1.9 MeV. The spectrum is consistent with an allowed shape, with the slope of the shape factor being zero to within ±3 × 10−3 per MeV. We have also determined the endpoint energy for the ground state branch to be 4.1535 ± 0.0003 (stat.) ±0.0007 (syst.) MeV, in good...

On the dependency of the decay of ground motion peak values with distance for small and large earthquakes

Science.gov (United States)

Dujardin, Alain; Courboulex, Françoise; Causse, Matthieu; Traversa, Paola; Monfret, Tony

2013-04-01

Ground motion decay with distance presents a clear magnitude dependence, PGA values of small events decreasing faster than those of larger events. This observation is now widely accepted and often taken into account in recent ground motion prediction equations (Anderson 2005, Akkar & Bommer 2010). The aim of this study is to investigate the origin of this dependence, which has not been clearly identified yet. Two main hypotheses are considered. On one hand the difference of ground motion decay is related to an attenuation effect, on the other hand the difference is related to an effect of extended fault (Anderson 2000). To study the role of attenuation, we realized synthetic tests using the stochastic simulation program SMSIM from Boore (2005). We build a set of simulations from several magnitudes and epicentral distances, and observe that the decay in PGA values is strongly dependent on the spectral shape of the Fourier spectra, which in turn strongly depends on the attenuation factor (Q(f) or kappa). We found that, for a point source approximation and an infinite value of Q (no attenuation) there is no difference between small and large events and that this difference increases when Q decreases. Theses results show that the influence of attenuation on spectral shape is different for earthquakes of different magnitude. In fact the influence of attenuation, which is more important at higher frequency, is larger for small earthquakes, whose Fourier acceleration spectrum has predominantly higher frequencies. We then study the effect of extended source using complete waveform simulations in a 1D model. We find that when the duration of the source time function increases, there is a larger probability to obtain large PGA values at equivalent distances. This effect could also play an important role in the PGA decay with magnitude and distance. Finally we compare these results with real datasets from the Japanese accelerometric network KIK-net.

Settlement process of radioactive dust to the ground inferred from the atmospheric electric field measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Yamauchi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Radioactive materials from the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FNPP in March 2011 spread over a large area, increasing the atmospheric electric conductivity by their ionizing effect, and reducing the vertical (downward component of the DC electric field near the ground, or potential gradient (PG. PG data at Kakioka, 150 km away from the FNPP, showed independent changes compared to the radiation dose rate, and a comparison of these data revealed the local dynamics of the radioactive dust. (1 The initial drop of the PG to almost zero during 14–15 March is most likely due to radioactive dust suspended in the air near the ground during cloudy weather. (2 An episode of PG increase to more than 50 V m−1 on 16 March is most likely due to the re-suspension of the radioactive dust from the surface and subsequent removal from Kakioka by the strong wind from the non-contaminated area. (3 Low but finite values of the PG during 16–20 March most likely reflect a reduced amount of radioactive material near the ground after the above wind transported away the majority of the suspended radioactive dust. (4 Very low values of the PG after substantial rain on 20–22 March most likely reflect settlement of the radioactive material by rain-induced fallout. (5 Temporal recovery of daily variations from the end of March to the middle of April with low nighttime fair-weather baseline PG most likely reflects re-suspension of the radioactive dust into the air from the ground and trees, and subsequent transport to the other region or fallout to the ground until late April. (6 Weakening of the daily variation and gradual recovery of the nighttime fair-weather baseline after mid-April suggests a complete settlement of the radioactive material to the ground with partial migration to the subsurface.

Nighttime Aerosol Optical Depth Measurements Using a Ground-based Lunar Photometer

Science.gov (United States)

Berkoff, Tim; Omar, Ali; Haggard, Charles; Pippin, Margaret; Tasaddaq, Aasam; Stone, Tom; Rodriguez, Jon; Slutsker, Ilya; Eck, Tom; Holben, Brent;

Communication grounding facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Gye Seong

1998-06-01

It is about communication grounding facility, which is made up twelve chapters. It includes general grounding with purpose, materials thermal insulating material, construction of grounding, super strength grounding method, grounding facility with grounding way and building of insulating, switched grounding with No. 1A and LCR, grounding facility of transmission line, wireless facility grounding, grounding facility in wireless base station, grounding of power facility, grounding low-tenton interior power wire, communication facility of railroad, install of arrester in apartment and house, install of arrester on introduction and earth conductivity and measurement with introduction and grounding resistance.

Weak-value measurements can outperform conventional measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magaña-Loaiza, Omar S; Boyd, Robert W; Harris, Jérémie; Lundeen, Jeff S

2017-01-01

In this paper we provide a simple, straightforward example of a specific situation in which weak-value amplification (WVA) clearly outperforms conventional measurement in determining the angular orientation of an optical component. We also offer a perspective reconciling the views of some theorists, who claim WVA to be inherently sub-optimal for parameter estimation, with the perspective of the many experimentalists and theorists who have used the procedure to successfully access otherwise elusive phenomena. (invited comment)

Comparison of vertical ground reaction forces during overground and treadmill running. A validation study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kluitenberg Bas

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background One major drawback in measuring ground-reaction forces during running is that it is time consuming to get representative ground-reaction force (GRF values with a traditional force platform. An instrumented force measuring treadmill can overcome the shortcomings inherent to overground testing. The purpose of the current study was to determine the validity of an instrumented force measuring treadmill for measuring vertical ground-reaction force parameters during running. Methods Vertical ground-reaction forces of experienced runners (12 male, 12 female were obtained during overground and treadmill running at slow, preferred and fast self-selected running speeds. For each runner, 7 mean vertical ground-reaction force parameters of the right leg were calculated based on five successful overground steps and 30 seconds of treadmill running data. Intraclass correlations (ICC(3,1 and ratio limits of agreement (RLOA were used for further analysis. Results Qualitatively, the overground and treadmill ground-reaction force curves for heelstrike runners and non-heelstrike runners were very similar. Quantitatively, the time-related parameters and active peak showed excellent agreement (ICCs between 0.76 and 0.95, RLOA between 5.7% and 15.5%. Impact peak showed modest agreement (ICCs between 0.71 and 0.76, RLOA between 19.9% and 28.8%. The maximal and average loading-rate showed modest to excellent ICCs (between 0.70 and 0.89, but RLOA were higher (between 34.3% and 45.4%. Conclusions The results of this study demonstrated that the treadmill is a moderate to highly valid tool for the assessment of vertical ground-reaction forces during running for runners who showed a consistent landing strategy during overground and treadmill running. The high stride-to-stride variance during both overground and treadmill running demonstrates the importance of measuring sufficient steps for representative ground-reaction force values. Therefore, an

Solar Modulation of Atmospheric Cosmic Radiation:. Comparison Between In-Flight and Ground-Level Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Iles, R. H. A.; Taylor, G. C.; Jones, J. B. L.

January 2000 saw the start of a collaborative study involving the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Virgin Atlantic Airways, the Civil Aviation Authority and the National Physical Laboratory in a program to investigate the cosmic radiation exposure to aircrew. The study has been undertaken in view of EU Directive 96/291 (May 2000) which requires the assessment of the level of radiation exposure to aircrew. The project's aims include validation of radiation dose models and evaluation of space weather effects on atmospheric cosmic radiation levels, in particular those effects not accounted for by the models. Ground level measurements are often used as a proxy for variations in cosmic radiation dose levels at aircraft altitudes, especially during Forbush Decreases (FDs) and Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events. Is this estimation realistic and does the ground level data accurately represent what is happening at altitude? We have investigated the effect of a FD during a flight from Hong Kong to London Heathrow on the 15th July 2000 and compared count rate and dose measurements with simultaneous variations measured at ground level. We have also compared the results with model outputs.

Intercomparison of ground-based ozone and NO2 measurements during the MANTRA 2004 campaign

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Strong

2007-11-01

Full Text Available The MANTRA (Middle Atmosphere Nitrogen TRend Assessment 2004 campaign took place in Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, Canada (52° N, 107° W from 3 August to 15 September, 2004. In support of the main balloon launch, a suite of five zenith-sky and direct-Sun-viewing UV-visible ground-based spectrometers was deployed, primarily measuring ozone and NO2 total columns. Three Fourier transform spectrometers (FTSs that were part of the balloon payload also performed ground-based measurements of several species, including ozone. Ground-based measurements of ozone and NO2 differential slant column densities from the zenith-viewing UV-visible instruments are presented herein. They are found to partially agree within NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change standards for instruments certified for process studies and satellite validation. Vertical column densities of ozone from the zenith-sky UV-visible instruments, the FTSs, a Brewer spectrophotometer, and ozonesondes are compared, and found to agree within the combined error estimates of the instruments (15%. NO2 vertical column densities from two of the UV-visible instruments are compared, and are also found to agree within combined error (15%.

Lattice-Valued Possibilistic Entropy Measure

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kramosil, Ivan

2008-01-01

Roč. 16, č. 6 (2008), s. 829-846 ISSN 0218-4885 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100300503 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : complete lattice * lattice-valued possibilistic distribution * entropy measure * product of possibilistic distribution Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.000, year: 2008

U-value measurements on a roof window

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duer, Karsten

1998-01-01

This report describes the results of the U-value measurements performed on a roof window. The work is as a part of the development of an ISO/CEN standard measuring procedure for roof windows.The measurements have been performed using the procedures given in ISO 12567 draft version 1998...

Technology Transfer Opportunities: Automated Ground-Water Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kirk P.; Granato, Gregory E.

1997-01-01

Introduction A new automated ground-water monitoring system developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measures and records values of selected water-quality properties and constituents using protocols approved for manual sampling. Prototypes using the automated process have demonstrated the ability to increase the quantity and quality of data collected and have shown the potential for reducing labor and material costs for ground-water quality data collection. Automation of water-quality monitoring systems in the field, in laboratories, and in industry have increased data density and utility while reducing operating costs. Uses for an automated ground-water monitoring system include, (but are not limited to) monitoring ground-water quality for research, monitoring known or potential contaminant sites, such as near landfills, underground storage tanks, or other facilities where potential contaminants are stored, and as an early warning system monitoring groundwater quality near public water-supply wells.

On the audit of fair value measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jatinder P. Singh

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In this article, the hypotheses „whether the auditor’s functional domain, his approach, methodology and responsibilities are undergoing a metamorphosis with the adoption of Fair Value Accounting (hereinafter the „FVA” and whether his/her role is moving away from the mechanized attester of tangible evidence to the one exercising a substantively judgmental function in a holistic assessment of the values ascribed to be fair by the entity’s management” are tested. These hypotheses are tested on the basis of an analysis of the statutory provisions, the pronouncements of accounting and other regulatory bodies and accounting norms and theories. After setting forth the research objectives and the hypotheses, the necessity of the FVA is reviewed and the underlying philosophy is analyzed. Impediments in performing audits of fair-value-based measurements are then identified and the US auditing standards and their international counterparts are touched upon. Finally, some safeguards and precautions for the auditor in an audit of fair-value measurements are presented.

Ground-based measurements of the vertical E-field in mountainous regions and the "Austausch" effect

Science.gov (United States)

Yaniv, Roy; Yair, Yoav; Price, Colin; Mkrtchyan, Hripsime; Lynn, Barry; Reymers, Artur

2017-06-01

Past measurements of the atmospheric vertical electric field (Ez or potential gradient) at numerous land stations showed a strong response of the daily electric field to a morning local effect known as ;Austausch; - the transport of electrical charges due to increased turbulence. In mountainous regions, nocturnal charge accumulation, followed by an attachment process to aerosols near the surface in valleys, known as the electrode effect, is lifted as a charged aerosol layer by anabatic (upslope) winds during the morning hours due to solar heating. Ground-based measurements during fair weather days were conducted at three mountain stations in Israel and Armenia. We present results of the mean diurnal variation of Ez and make comparisons with the well-known Carnegie curve and with past measurements of Ez on mountains. We report a good agreement between the mean diurnal curves of Ez at various mountain stations and the time of local sunrise when the Ez is found to increase. We attribute this morning maximum to the Austausch (or exchange) layer effect. We support our findings with conduction and turbulent current measurements showing high values of ions and charged aerosols being transported by winds from morning to noon local time, and by model simulations showing the convergence of winds in the early morning hours toward the mountain peak.

Ground State Solutions for a Class of Fractional Differential Equations with Dirichlet Boundary Value Condition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhigang Hu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we apply the method of the Nehari manifold to study the fractional differential equation (d/dt((1/2 0Dt-β(u′(t+(1/2 tDT-β(u′(t=  f(t,u(t, a.e. t∈[0,T], and u0=uT=0, where  0Dt-β, tDT-β are the left and right Riemann-Liouville fractional integrals of order 0≤β<1, respectively. We prove the existence of a ground state solution of the boundary value problem.

Recoil-distance lifetime measurements of the ground-state band in 164Dy, 170Er, and 174Yb

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sie, S.H.; Gebbie, D.W.

1977-06-01

Mean-lives of the 4 + , 6 + and 8 + levels of the ground-state band in 164 Dy, 170 Er and 174 Yb have been measured by the recoil-distance technique following multiple Coulomb excitation with 32 S projectiles of energy 120-140 MeV. The gamma-rays were detected in coincidence with backscattered particles. The results are compared with theoretical predictions of the adiabatic rotor model. The 6 + and 8 + lifetimes in 164 Dy are found to correspond to a slight reduction in B(E2) values over the rotational model prediction, while for for the 4 + state a 12% reduction was observed. In 170 Er and 174 Yb the lifetimes are consistent with rotational model predictions with a slight enhancement of B(E2) values at higher spins. Comparison with other results from Doppler broadened lineshape analysis confirms the need to adjust the electronic stopping powers of Northcliffe and Schilling in the lineshape calculations. (Author)

Estimation of spatial variability of lignite mine dumping ground soil properties using CPTu results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bagińska Irena

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with application of CPTu test results for the probabilistic modeling of dumping grounds. The statistical measures use results from 42 CPT test points located in the lignite mine dumping ground from the region of Central Europe. Both the tip resistance qc as well as local friction fs are tested. Based on the mean values and standard deviations of measured quantities the specific zones in the dumping site profile are distinguished. For three main zones standard deviations of linearly de-trended functions, distributions of normalized de-trended values for qc and fs are examined. Also the vertical scales of fluctuation for both measured quantities are estimated. The obtained result shows that lignite mine dumping site can be successfully described with the Random Field Theory. Additional use of fs values introduces supplementary statistical information.

Reading Ground Water Levels with a Smartphone

Science.gov (United States)

van Overloop, Peter-Jules

2015-04-01

Most ground water levels in the world are measured manually. It requires employees of water management organizations to visit sites in the field and execute a measurement procedure that requires special tools and training. Once the measurement is done, the value is jotted down in a notebook and later, at the office, entered in a computer system. This procedure is slow and prone to human errors. A new development is the introduction of modern Information and Communication Technology to support this task and make it more efficient. Two innovations are introduced to measure and immediately store ground water levels. The first method is a measuring tape that gives a sound and light when it just touches the water in combination with an app on a smartphone with which a picture needs to be taken from the measuring tape. Using dedicated pattern recognition algorithms, the depth is read on the tape and it is verified if the light is on. The second method estimates the depth using a sound from the smartphone that is sent into the borehole and records the reflecting waves in the pipe. Both methods use gps-localization of the smartphone to store the depths in the right location in the central database, making the monitoring of ground water levels a real-time process that eliminates human errors.

VALUE AT RISK - CORPORATE RISK MEASUREMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anis Cecilia-Nicoleta

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The notion of 'risk' is used in a number of sciences. The Faculty of Law studies the risk depending on its legality. The Accident Theory applies this term to describe the damage and the disasters. One can find studies on the risks in the works of psychology, philosophy, medicine and within each of these areas the study of the risk is based on the given science subject and, of course, on their methods and approaches. Such a variety of risk study is explained by the diversity of this phenomenon. Under the market economy conditions, the risk is an essential component of any economic agent management policy, of the approach developed by this one, a strategy that depends almost entirely on individual ability and capacity to anticipate his evolution and to exploit his opportunities, assuming a so-called 'risk of business failure.' There are several ways to measure the risks in projects, one of the most used methods to measure this being the Value at Risk(VaR. Value at Risk (VaR was made famous by JP Morgan in the mid 1990s, by introducing the RiskMetrics approach, and hence, by far, has been sanctioned by several Governing Bodies throughout the world bank. In short, it measures the value of risk capital stocks in a given period at a certain probability of loss. This measurement can be modified for risk applications through, for example, the potential loss values affirmation in a certain amount of time during the economic life of the project- clearly, a project with a lower VaR is better. It should be noted that it is not always possible or advisable for a company to limit itself to the remote analysis of each risk because the risks and their effects are interdependent and constitute a system .In addition, there are risks which, in combination with other risks, tend to produce effects which they would not have caused by themselves and risks that tend to offset and even cancel each other out.

Complex Fuzzy Set-Valued Complex Fuzzy Measures and Their Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Shengquan; Li, Shenggang

2014-01-01

Let F*(K) be the set of all fuzzy complex numbers. In this paper some classical and measure-theoretical notions are extended to the case of complex fuzzy sets. They are fuzzy complex number-valued distance on F*(K), fuzzy complex number-valued measure on F*(K), and some related notions, such as null-additivity, pseudo-null-additivity, null-subtraction, pseudo-null-subtraction, autocontionuous from above, autocontionuous from below, and autocontinuity of the defined fuzzy complex number-valued measures. Properties of fuzzy complex number-valued measures are studied in detail. PMID:25093202

Grounding line processes on the Totten Glacier

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, S.; Watson, C. S.; Galton-Fenzi, B.; Peters, L. E.; Coleman, R.

2017-12-01

The Totten Glacier has been an area of recent interest due to its large drainage basin, much of which is grounded below sea level and has a history of large scale grounding line movement. Reports that warm water reaches the sub-ice shelf cavity have led to speculation that it could be vulnerable to future grounding line retreat. Over the Antarctic summer 2016/17 an array of 6 GPS and autonomous phase-sensitive radar (ApRES) units were deployed in the grounding zone of the Totten Glacier. These instruments measure changes in ice velocity and thickness which can be used to investigate both ice dynamics across the grounding line, and the interaction between ice and ocean in the subglacial cavity. Basal melt rates calculated from the ApRES units on floating ice range from 1 to 17 m/a. These values are significantly lower than previous estimates of basal melt rate produced by ocean modelling of the subglacial cavity. Meanwhile, GPS-derived velocity and elevation on the surface of the ice show a strong tidal signal, as does the vertical strain rate within the ice derived from internal layering from the ApRES instruments. These results demonstrate the significance of the complex grounding pattern of the Totten Glacier. The presence of re-grounding points has significant implications for the dynamics of the glacier and the ocean circulation within the subglacial cavity. We discuss what can be learned from our in situ measurements, and how they can be used to improve models of the glacier's future behaviour.

Measuring the strategic value of information technology investments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conrad, K.W.

1994-08-01

Value is often perceived differently by the proponents of new information technologies and those who allocate resources and define priorities. Such differences often become a roadblock to meeting true business needs. Project justifications regularly rely on calculated cost savings, which rarely measure the full benefit of new technologies. In fact, if cost savings provide a complete picture, then the organization is probably just automating routine clerical operations and has abandoned efforts that would provide significant strategic value. Strategic value is not limited to financial calculations, but includes quality, time and risk criteria. This paper describes approaches for measuring strategic value that can provide organizations with proven techniques to improve performance, reengineer processes, benchmark performance against other suppliers, identify outsourcing opportunities, or defend themselves from pressures to outsource. Many organizations respond to tightening budgets by cutting overhead. These measurement approaches can demonstrate how overhead is critical to organizational effectiveness and how cost savings can be found, instead, by measurably improving performance throughout the organization. Finally, the paper describes efforts underway within the Department of Energy and at the Hanford Site to implement the approaches described in this paper

Measuring the strategic value of information technology investments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conrad, K.W. [Boeing Computer Services Co., Richland, WA (United States)

1994-08-01

Value is often perceived differently by the proponents of new information technologies and those who allocate resources and define priorities. Such differences often become a roadblock to meeting true business needs. Project justifications regularly rely on calculated cost savings, which rarely measure the full benefit of new technologies. In fact, if cost savings provide a complete picture, then the organization is probably just automating routine clerical operations and has abandoned efforts that would provide significant strategic value. Strategic value is not limited to financial calculations, but includes quality, time and risk criteria. This paper describes approaches for measuring strategic value that can provide organizations with proven techniques to improve performance, reengineer processes, benchmark performance against other suppliers, identify outsourcing opportunities, or defend themselves from pressures to outsource. Many organizations respond to tightening budgets by cutting overhead. These measurement approaches can demonstrate how overhead is critical to organizational effectiveness and how cost savings can be found, instead, by measurably improving performance throughout the organization. Finally, the paper describes efforts underway within the Department of Energy and at the Hanford Site to implement the approaches described in this paper.

Historical Costs versus Fair Value Measurement in Financial Accounting

OpenAIRE

Dvořáková, Dana

2009-01-01

There are two important points in which in which we need assets and liabilities measured in financial accounting: on initial recognition and at a balance sheet day. Many International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) used the fair value measurement concept. But most of these standards use the fair value measurement method only at a balance sheet day. On initial recognition assets and liabilities are measured usually at costs. The IASB presented the discussion paper “Measurement Bases for ...

Solar energy prediction and verification using operational model forecasts and ground-based solar measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosmopoulos, P.G.; Kazadzis, S.; Lagouvardos, K.; Kotroni, V.; Bais, A.

2015-01-01

The present study focuses on the predictions and verification of these predictions of solar energy using ground-based solar measurements from the Hellenic Network for Solar Energy and the National Observatory of Athens network, as well as solar radiation operational forecasts provided by the MM5 mesoscale model. The evaluation was carried out independently for the different networks, for two forecast horizons (1 and 2 days ahead), for the seasons of the year, for varying solar elevation, for the indicative energy potential of the area, and for four classes of cloud cover based on the calculated clearness index (k_t): CS (clear sky), SC (scattered clouds), BC (broken clouds) and OC (overcast). The seasonal dependence presented relative rRMSE (Root Mean Square Error) values ranging from 15% (summer) to 60% (winter), while the solar elevation dependence revealed a high effectiveness and reliability near local noon (rRMSE ∼30%). An increment of the errors with cloudiness was also observed. For CS with mean GHI (global horizontal irradiance) ∼ 650 W/m"2 the errors are 8%, for SC 20% and for BC and OC the errors were greater (>40%) but correspond to much lower radiation levels (<120 W/m"2) of consequently lower energy potential impact. The total energy potential for each ground station ranges from 1.5 to 1.9 MWh/m"2, while the mean monthly forecast error was found to be consistently below 10%. - Highlights: • Long term measurements at different atmospheric cases are needed for energy forecasting model evaluations. • The total energy potential at the Greek sites presented ranges from 1.5 to 1.9 MWh/m"2. • Mean monthly energy forecast errors are within 10% for all cases analyzed. • Cloud presence results of an additional forecast error that varies with the cloud cover.

Ground penetrating radar measurements at the ONKALO research tunnel and eastern part of the Olkiluoto investigation area at July 2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sipola, V.; Tarvainen, A.-M.

2007-04-01

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) measurements were carried out at ONKALO research site in summer 2006. Measurements included 400 metres of measurements inside ONKALO access tunnel and about 1800 metres of measurements on the ground, at the eastern parts of Olkiluoto investigation area. The purpose of the measurements done inside the access tunnel was to investigate, whether it would be possible to locate deformation structures or long fractures in the rock mass below the tunnel. The purpose of the measurements made on top of the ground was to investigate, whether it would be possible to locate glacio-isostatic faults from the soils. A secondary target was to try and locate the rock surface. The chosen part of ONKALO tunnel was measured using five different frequencies, which enabled comparing the results to each other. It also enabled getting a higher resolution picture of the top rock, than what would have been possible using only one low-frequency antenna. The on-the-ground measurements were measured using only one frequency. (orig.)

The impact of accelerometer mounting methods on the level of vibrations recorded at ground surface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krzysztof Czech

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the results of field research based on the measurements of accelerations recorded at ground surface. The source of the vibration characterized by high repetition rate of pulse parameters was light falling weight deflectometer ZFG-01. Measurements of vibrations have been carried out using top quality high-precision measuring system produced by Brüel&Kiær. Accelerometers were mounted on a sandy soil surface at the measuring points located radially at 5-m and 10-m distances from the source of vibration. The paper analyses the impact that the method of mounting accelerometers on the ground has on the level of the recorded values of accelerations of vibrations. It has been shown that the method of attaching the sensor to the surface of the ground is crucial for the credibility of the performed measurements.[b]Keywords[/b]: geotechnics, surface vibrations, ground, vibration measurement

Using satellite observations in performance evaluation for regulatory air quality modeling: Comparison with ground-level measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Odman, M. T.; Hu, Y.; Russell, A.; Chai, T.; Lee, P.; Shankar, U.; Boylan, J.

2012-12-01

Regulatory air quality modeling, such as State Implementation Plan (SIP) modeling, requires that model performance meets recommended criteria in the base-year simulations using period-specific, estimated emissions. The goal of the performance evaluation is to assure that the base-year modeling accurately captures the observed chemical reality of the lower troposphere. Any significant deficiencies found in the performance evaluation must be corrected before any base-case (with typical emissions) and future-year modeling is conducted. Corrections are usually made to model inputs such as emission-rate estimates or meteorology and/or to the air quality model itself, in modules that describe specific processes. Use of ground-level measurements that follow approved protocols is recommended for evaluating model performance. However, ground-level monitoring networks are spatially sparse, especially for particulate matter. Satellite retrievals of atmospheric chemical properties such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) provide spatial coverage that can compensate for the sparseness of ground-level measurements. Satellite retrievals can also help diagnose potential model or data problems in the upper troposphere. It is possible to achieve good model performance near the ground, but have, for example, erroneous sources or sinks in the upper troposphere that may result in misleading and unrealistic responses to emission reductions. Despite these advantages, satellite retrievals are rarely used in model performance evaluation, especially for regulatory modeling purposes, due to the high uncertainty in retrievals associated with various contaminations, for example by clouds. In this study, 2007 was selected as the base year for SIP modeling in the southeastern U.S. Performance of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, at a 12-km horizontal resolution, for this annual simulation is evaluated using both recommended ground-level measurements and non-traditional satellite

Artificial ground motion compatible with specified peak ground displacement and target multi-damping response spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yushan; Zhao Fengxin

2010-01-01

With respect to the design ground motion of nuclear power plant (NPP), the Regular Guide 1.60 of the US not only defined the standard multi-damping response spectra, i.e. the RG1.60 spectra, but also definitely prescribed the peak ground displacement (PGD) value corresponding to the standard spectra. However, in the engineering practice of generating multi-damping-spectra-compatible artificial ground motion for the seismic design of NPP, the PGD value had been neglected. Addressing this issue, this paper proposed a synthesizing method which generates the artificial ground motion compatible with not only the target multi-damping response spectra but also the specified PGD value. Firstly, by the transfer formula between the power spectrum and the response spectrum, an initial uniformly modulated acceleration time history is synthesized by multiplying the stationary Gaussian process with the prescribed intensity envelope to simulate the amplitude-non-stationarity of earthquake ground motion. And then by superimposing a series of narrow-band time histories in the time domain, the initial time history is modified in the iterative manner to match the target PGD as well as the target multi-damping spectra with the pre-specified matching precisions. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the matching precisions of the proposed method to the target values.

Validation of GOME (ERS-2) NO2 vertical column data with ground-based measurements at Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan)

Science.gov (United States)

Ionov, D.; Sinyakov, V.; Semenov, V.

Starting from 1995 the global monitoring of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide is carried out by the measurements of nadir-viewing GOME spectrometer aboard ERS-2 satellite. Continuous validation of that data by means of comparisons with well-controlled ground-based measurements is important to ensure the quality of GOME data products and improve related retrieval algorithms. At the station of Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan) the ground-based spectroscopic observations of NO2 vertical column have been started since 1983. The station is located on the northern shore of Issyk-Kul lake, 1650 meters above the sea level (42.6 N, 77.0 E). The site is equipped with grating spectrometer for the twilight measurements of zenith-scattered solar radiation in the visible range, and applies the DOAS technique to retrieve NO2 vertical column. It is included in the list of NDSC stations as a complementary one. The present study is focused on validation of GOME NO2 vertical column data, based on 8-year comparison with correlative ground-based measurements at Issyk-Kul station in 1996-2003. Within the investigation, an agreement of both individual and monthly averaged GOME measurements with corresponding twilight ground-based observations is examined. Such agreement is analyzed with respect to different conditions (season, sun elevation), temporal/spatial criteria choice (actual overpass location, correction for diurnal variation) and data processing (GDP version 2.7, 3.0). In addition, NO2 vertical columns were integrated from simultaneous stratospheric profile measurements by NASA HALOE and SAGE-II/III satellite instruments and introduced to explain the differences with ground-based observations. In particular cases, NO2 vertical profiles retrieved from the twilight ground-based measurements at Issuk-Kul were also included into comparison. Overall, summertime GOME NO2 vertical columns were found to be systematicaly lower than ground-based data. This work was supported by International Association

Soil moisture characterization of the Valencia anchor station. Ground, aircraft measurements and simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lopez-Baeza, E; Antolin, M C; Balling, Jan E.

2009-01-01

In the framework of ESA SMOS Mission, the Valencia Anchor Station (VAS) has been selected as a core validation site. Its reasonable homogeneous characteristics make it appropriate to undertake the validation of SMOS Level 2 land products before attempting other more complex areas. Close to SMOS...... launch (2nd Nov. 2009), ESA defined the SMOS Validation Rehearsal Campaign Plan with the aim of testing the readiness, ensemble coordination and speed of operations, to be able to avoid as far as possible any unexpected deficiencies of the plan and procedure during the real Commissioning Phase campaigns......). Together with the ground SM measurements, other ground and meteorological measurements from the VAS area, kindly provided by other institutions, are currently been used to simulate passive microwave brightness temperature to obtain satellite "match ups" for validation purposes and to test the retrieval...

Formulation of the fundamental basis for the evaluation of the comparability of different measuring method for the determination of ground air radon concentration. Vol. 2. Report on ground air radon measurements - influence factors, measuring methods, evaluation; Erarbeitung fachlicher Grundlagen zur Beurteilung der Vergleichbarkeit unterschiedlicher Messmethoden zur Bestimmung der Radonbodenluftkonzentration. Bd. 2. Sachstandsbericht ''Radonmessungen in der Bodenluft - Einflussfaktoren, Messverfahren, Bewertung''

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kemski, J.; Klingel, R.; Siehl, A.; Neznal, M.; Matolin, M.

2012-03-15

The report on ground air radon measurements covers the following issues: Introduction; Radon in the geogenic underground: emanation, migration, exhalation; Influencing factors: geochemical parameters, structural situation, geomorphology, exogenic effects; Ground air measurements: site exploration, tectonics, earth quake prognosis, radon in ground air and buildings; Radon measurement: sampling and measuring methods, error consideration, comparative measurements, practical examples; measuring regulations and recommendations; Variability of the radon concentration: temporal variation, sampling depth, spatial variations; Evaluation and conclusions.

Business list vs ground observation for measuring a food environment: saving time or waste of time (or worse)?

Science.gov (United States)

Lucan, Sean C; Maroko, Andrew R; Bumol, Joel; Torrens, Luis; Varona, Monica; Berke, Ethan M

2013-10-01

In food-environment research, an alternative to resource-intensive direct observation on the ground has been the use of commercial business lists. We sought to determine how well a frequently used commercial business list measures a dense urban food environment like the Bronx, NY. On 155 Bronx street segments, investigators compared two different levels for matches between the business list and direct ground observation: lenient (by business type) and strict (by business name). For each level of matching, researchers calculated sensitivities and positive predictive values (PPVs) for the business list overall and by broad business categories: General Grocers (eg, supermarkets), Specialty Food Stores (eg, produce markets), Restaurants, and Businesses Not Primarily Selling Food (eg, newsstands). Even after cleaning the business list (eg, for cases of multiple listings at a single location), and allowing for inexactness in listed street addresses and spellings of business names, the overall performance of the business list was poor. For strict matches, the business list had an overall sensitivity of 39.3% and PPV of 45.5%. Sensitivities and PPVs by broad business categories were not meaningfully different from overall values, although sensitivity for General Grocers and PPV for Specialty Food Stores were particularly low: 26.2% and 32%, respectively. For lenient matches, sensitivities and PPVs were somewhat higher but still poor: 52.4% to 60% and 60% to 75%, respectively. The business list is inadequate to measure the actual food environment in the Bronx. If results represent performance in other settings, findings from prior studies linking food environments to diet and diet-related health outcomes using such business lists are in question, and future studies of this type should avoid relying solely on such business lists. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Business list vs. ground observation for measuring a food environment: saving time or waste of time (or worse)?

Science.gov (United States)

Lucan, Sean C.; Maroko, Andrew R.; Bumol, Joel; Torrens, Luis; Varona, Monica; Berke, Ethan M.

2013-01-01

In food-environment research, an alternative to resource-intensive direct observation on the ground has been the use of commercial business lists. We sought to determine how well a frequently-used commercial business list measures a dense urban food environment like the Bronx. On 155 Bronx street segments, investigators compared two different levels for “matches” between the business list and direct ground observation: lenient (by business type) and strict (by business name). For each level of matching, researchers calculated sensitivities and positive predictive values (PPVs) for the business list overall and by broad business categories: General grocers (e.g., supermarkets), Specialty-food stores (e.g., produce markets), Restaurants, and Businesses not primarily selling food (e.g., newsstands). Even after cleaning the business list (e.g., for cases of multiple listings at a single location), and allowing for inexactness in listed street addresses and spellings of business names, the overall performance of the business list was poor. For strict “matches”, the business list had an overall sensitivity of 39.3% and PPV of 45.5%. Sensitivities and PPVs by broad business categories were not meaningfully different from overall values, although sensitivity for General grocers and PPV for Specialty-food stores were particularly low: 26.2% and 32.0% respectively. For lenient “matches”, sensitivities and PPVs were somewhat higher but still poor: 52.4–60.0% and 60.0–75.0% respectively. The business list is inadequate to measures the actual food environment in the Bronx. If results represent performance in other settings, findings from prior studies linking food environments to diet and diet-related health outcomes using such business lists are in question, and future studies of this type should avoid relying solely on such business lists. PMID:23871107

Acoustic-Seismic Coupling in Porous Ground - Measurements and Analysis for On-Site-Inspection Support

Science.gov (United States)

Liebsch, Mattes; Gorschlüter, Felix; Altmann, Jürgen

2014-05-01

During on-site inspections (OSI) of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) a local seismic network can be installed to measure seismic aftershock signals of an assumed underground nuclear explosion. These signals are caused by relaxation processes in and near the cavity created by the explosion and when detected can lead to a localisation of the cavity. This localisation is necessary to take gas samples from the ground which are analysed for radioactive noble gas isotopes to confirm or dismiss the suspicion of a nuclear test. The aftershock signals are of very low magnitude so they can be masked by different sources, in particular periodic disturbances caused by vehicles and aircraft in the inspection area. Vehicles and aircraft (mainly helicopters) will be used for the inspection activities themselves, e.g. for overhead imagery or magnetic-anomaly sensing. While vehicles in contact with the ground can excite soil vibrations directly, aircraft and vehicles alike emit acoustic waves which excite soil vibrations when hitting the ground. These disturbing signals are of periodic nature while the seismic aftershock signals are pulse-shaped, so their separation is possible. The understanding of the coupling of acoustic waves to the ground is yet incomplete, a better understanding is necessary to improve the performance of an OSI, e.g. to address potential consequences for the sensor placement, the helicopter trajectories etc. In a project funded by the Young Scientist Research Award of the CTBTO to one of us (ML), we investigated the acoustic-seismic coupling of airborne signals of jet aircraft and artificially induced ones by a speaker. During a measurement campaign several acoustic and seismic sensors were placed below the take-off trajectory of an airport at 4 km distance. Therefore taking off and landing jet aircraft passed nearly straightly above the setup. Microphones were placed close to the ground to record the sound pressure of incident

Applying measured reflection from the ground to simulations of thermal perfromance of solar collectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dragsted, Janne; Furbo, Simon

2009-01-01

representation of the reflection from the ground. In this study a more accurate description of the albedo is obtained based on detailed measurements from a solar hat, installed at ASIAQ’s climate station in Sisimiut, Greenland. The solar hat measures the global radiation on horizontal, the total radiation......Solar radiation on tilted and vertical surfaces in the Arctic is, in large parts of the year, strongly influenced by reflection from snow. In connection with planning and optimization of energy efficient buildings and solar energy systems in the Arctic, it is important to have an accurate...... on vertical surfaces facing north, south, east and west, and radiation reflected from the ground on vertical surfaces facing north, south, east and west. Based on measured data from 2004-2007 the albedo is determined for each month of the year as a function of the difference between the solar azimuth...

On set-valued functionals: Multivariate risk measures and Aumann integrals

Science.gov (United States)

Ararat, Cagin

In this dissertation, multivariate risk measures for random vectors and Aumann integrals of set-valued functions are studied. Both are set-valued functionals with values in a complete lattice of subsets of Rm. Multivariate risk measures are considered in a general d-asset financial market with trading opportunities in discrete time. Specifically, the following features of the market are incorporated in the evaluation of multivariate risk: convex transaction costs modeled by solvency regions, intermediate trading constraints modeled by convex random sets, and the requirement of liquidation into the first m ≤ d of the assets. It is assumed that the investor has a "pure" multivariate risk measure R on the space of m-dimensional random vectors which represents her risk attitude towards the assets but does not take into account the frictions of the market. Then, the investor with a d-dimensional position minimizes the set-valued functional R over all m-dimensional positions that she can reach by trading in the market subject to the frictions described above. The resulting functional Rmar on the space of d-dimensional random vectors is another multivariate risk measure, called the market-extension of R. A dual representation for R mar that decomposes the effects of R and the frictions of the market is proved. Next, multivariate risk measures are studied in a utility-based framework. It is assumed that the investor has a complete risk preference towards each individual asset, which can be represented by a von Neumann-Morgenstern utility function. Then, an incomplete preference is considered for multivariate positions which is represented by the vector of the individual utility functions. Under this structure, multivariate shortfall and divergence risk measures are defined as the optimal values of set minimization problems. The dual relationship between the two classes of multivariate risk measures is constructed via a recent Lagrange duality for set optimization. In

Measuring Virtual Simulations Value in Training Exercises - USMC Use Case

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-04

performance capability, (2) training realism capability, (3) affective reaction level , and (4) training efficiencies. The first three elements combined...included 18 unclassified events and 11 classified events from air combat element (ACE), ground combat element ( GCE ), and logistics combat element...affective reaction data sheets (measurement for affective reaction level element). Discrepancies in data sheet collection totals resulted from fluid

Consistency between Self-Reported and Recorded Values for Clinical Measures

OpenAIRE

III, Joseph Thomas; Paulet, Mindy; Rajpura, Jigar R.

2016-01-01

Objectives. This study evaluated consistency between self-reported values for clinical measures and recorded clinical measures. Methods. Self-reported values were collected for the clinical measures: systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glucose level, height, weight, and cholesterol from health risk assessments completed by enrollees in a privately insured cohort. Body mass index (BMI) was computed from reported height and weight. Practitioner recorded values for the clinical me...

Estimated erosion rate at the SRP burial ground

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horton, J.H.; Wilhite, E.L.

1978-04-01

The rate of soil erosion at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) burial ground can be calculated by means of the universal soil loss equation. Erosion rates estimated by the equation are more suitable for long-term prediction than those which could be measured with a reasonable effort in field studies. The predicted erosion rate at the SRP burial ground ranges from 0.0007 cm/year under stable forest cover to 0.38 cm/year if farmed with cultivated crops. These values correspond to 170,000 and 320 years, respectively, to expose waste buried 4 ft deep

The settlement of foundation of existing large structure on soft ground and investigation of its allowable settlement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, Toshiro

1987-01-01

In our laboratory a study of siting on quarternary ground is followed to make possible to construct a nuclear power plant on soil ground in Japan, a important subject is to understand bearing capacity, settlement and seismic responce of foundation. So measured data are collected about relation between ground and type of foundation, total settlement and differential settlement of already constructed large structures, and it is done to investigate the real condition and to examine allowable settlement. Investigated structures are mainly foreign nuclear power plant and domestic and foreign high buildings. The higher buildings are, the more raft foundation are for type of foundation and the higher contact pressure are to similar to a nuclear power plant. So discussion is done about mainly raft foundation. It is found that some measured maximum total settlements are larger than already proposed allowable values. So empirical allowable settlement is derived from measured values considering the effect of the width of base slab, contact pressure and foundation ground. Differential settlement is investigated about relation to maximum total settlement, and is formulated considering the width and the rigidity of base slab. Beside the limit of differential settlement is obtained as foundation is damaged, and the limit of maximum total settlement is obtained by combining this and above mentioned relation. Obtained allowable value is largely influenced by the width of base slab, and becomes less severe than some already proposed values. So it is expected that deformation of foundation is rationaly investigated when large structure as nuclear power plant is constructed on soft ground. (author)

Helicopter-borne observations of the continental background aerosol in combination with remote sensing and ground-based measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Düsing, Sebastian; Wehner, Birgit; Seifert, Patric; Ansmann, Albert; Baars, Holger; Ditas, Florian; Henning, Silvia; Ma, Nan; Poulain, Laurent; Siebert, Holger; Wiedensohler, Alfred; Macke, Andreas

2018-01-01

This paper examines the representativeness of ground-based in situ measurements for the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and conducts a closure study between airborne in situ and ground-based lidar measurements up to an altitude of 2300 m. The related measurements were carried out in a field campaign within the framework of the High-Definition Clouds and Precipitation for Advancing Climate Prediction (HD(CP)2) Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE) in September 2013 in a rural background area of central Europe.The helicopter-borne probe ACTOS (Airborne Cloud and Turbulence Observation System) provided measurements of the aerosol particle number size distribution (PNSD), the aerosol particle number concentration (PNC), the number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN-NC), and meteorological atmospheric parameters (e.g., temperature and relative humidity). These measurements were supported by the ground-based 3+2 wavelength polarization lidar system PollyXT, which provided profiles of the particle backscatter coefficient (σbsc) for three wavelengths (355, 532, and 1064 nm). Particle extinction coefficient (σext) profiles were obtained by using a fixed backscatter-to-extinction ratio (also lidar ratio, LR). A new approach was used to determine profiles of CCN-NC for continental aerosol. The results of this new approach were consistent with the airborne in situ measurements within the uncertainties.In terms of representativeness, the PNSD measurements on the ground showed a good agreement with the measurements provided with ACTOS for lower altitudes. The ground-based measurements of PNC and CCN-NC are representative of the PBL when the PBL is well mixed. Locally isolated new particle formation events on the ground or at the top of the PBL led to vertical variability in the cases presented here and ground-based measurements are not entirely representative of the PBL. Based on Mie theory (Mie, 1908), optical aerosol properties under ambient conditions for

Helicopter-borne observations of the continental background aerosol in combination with remote sensing and ground-based measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Düsing

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the representativeness of ground-based in situ measurements for the planetary boundary layer (PBL and conducts a closure study between airborne in situ and ground-based lidar measurements up to an altitude of 2300 m. The related measurements were carried out in a field campaign within the framework of the High-Definition Clouds and Precipitation for Advancing Climate Prediction (HD(CP2 Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE in September 2013 in a rural background area of central Europe.The helicopter-borne probe ACTOS (Airborne Cloud and Turbulence Observation System provided measurements of the aerosol particle number size distribution (PNSD, the aerosol particle number concentration (PNC, the number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN-NC, and meteorological atmospheric parameters (e.g., temperature and relative humidity. These measurements were supported by the ground-based 3+2 wavelength polarization lidar system PollyXT, which provided profiles of the particle backscatter coefficient (σbsc for three wavelengths (355, 532, and 1064 nm. Particle extinction coefficient (σext profiles were obtained by using a fixed backscatter-to-extinction ratio (also lidar ratio, LR. A new approach was used to determine profiles of CCN-NC for continental aerosol. The results of this new approach were consistent with the airborne in situ measurements within the uncertainties.In terms of representativeness, the PNSD measurements on the ground showed a good agreement with the measurements provided with ACTOS for lower altitudes. The ground-based measurements of PNC and CCN-NC are representative of the PBL when the PBL is well mixed. Locally isolated new particle formation events on the ground or at the top of the PBL led to vertical variability in the cases presented here and ground-based measurements are not entirely representative of the PBL. Based on Mie theory (Mie, 1908, optical aerosol properties under ambient

Designed microtremor array based actual measurement and analysis of strong ground motion at Palu city, Indonesia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thein, Pyi Soe, E-mail: pyisoethein@yahoo.com [Geology Department, Yangon University (Myanmar); Pramumijoyo, Subagyo; Wilopo, Wahyu; Setianto, Agung [Geological Engineering Department, Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia); Brotopuspito, Kirbani Sri [Physics Department, Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia); Kiyono, Junji; Putra, Rusnardi Rahmat [Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University (Japan)

2015-04-24

In this study, we investigated the strong ground motion characteristics under Palu City, Indonesia. The shear wave velocity structures evaluated by eight microtremors measurement are the most applicable to determine the thickness of sediments and average shear wave velocity with Vs ≤ 300 m/s. Based on subsurface underground structure models identified, earthquake ground motion was estimated in the future Palu-Koro earthquake by using statistical green’s function method. The seismic microzonation parameters were carried out by considering several significant controlling factors on ground response at January 23, 2005 earthquake.

A Ground-based validation of GOSAT-observed atmospheric CO2 in Inner-Mongolian grasslands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin, X; Lei, L; Zeng, Z; Kawasaki, M; Oohasi, M

2014-01-01

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is a long-lived greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to global warming. Long-term and continuous measurements of atmospheric CO 2 to investigate its global distribution and concentration variations are important for accurately understanding its potential climatic effects. Satellite measurements from space can offer atmospheric CO 2 data for climate change research. For that, ground-based measurements are required for validation and improving the precision of satellite-measured CO 2 . We implemented observation experiment of CO 2 column densities in the Xilinguole grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China, using a ground-based measurement system, which mainly consists of an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA), a sun tracker and a notebook controller. Measurements from our ground-based system were analyzed and compared with those from the Greenhouse gas Observation SATellite (GOSAT). The ground-based measurements had an average value of 389.46 ppm, which was 2.4 ppm larger than from GOSAT, with a standard deviation of 3.4 ppm. This result is slightly larger than the difference between GOSAT and the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). This study highlights the usefulness of the ground-based OSA measurement system for analyzing atmospheric CO 2 column densities, which is expected to supplement the current TCCON network

Weak measurements and quantum weak values for NOON states

Science.gov (United States)

Rosales-Zárate, L.; Opanchuk, B.; Reid, M. D.

2018-03-01

Quantum weak values arise when the mean outcome of a weak measurement made on certain preselected and postselected quantum systems goes beyond the eigenvalue range for a quantum observable. Here, we propose how to determine quantum weak values for superpositions of states with a macroscopically or mesoscopically distinct mode number, that might be realized as two-mode Bose-Einstein condensate or photonic NOON states. Specifically, we give a model for a weak measurement of the Schwinger spin of a two-mode NOON state, for arbitrary N . The weak measurement arises from a nondestructive measurement of the two-mode occupation number difference, which for atomic NOON states might be realized via phase contrast imaging and the ac Stark effect using an optical meter prepared in a coherent state. The meter-system coupling results in an entangled cat-state. By subsequently evolving the system under the action of a nonlinear Josephson Hamiltonian, we show how postselection leads to quantum weak values, for arbitrary N . Since the weak measurement can be shown to be minimally invasive, the weak values provide a useful strategy for a Leggett-Garg test of N -scopic realism.

A cognitively grounded measure of pronunciation distance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martijn Wieling

Full Text Available In this study we develop pronunciation distances based on naive discriminative learning (NDL. Measures of pronunciation distance are used in several subfields of linguistics, including psycholinguistics, dialectology and typology. In contrast to the commonly used Levenshtein algorithm, NDL is grounded in cognitive theory of competitive reinforcement learning and is able to generate asymmetrical pronunciation distances. In a first study, we validated the NDL-based pronunciation distances by comparing them to a large set of native-likeness ratings given by native American English speakers when presented with accented English speech. In a second study, the NDL-based pronunciation distances were validated on the basis of perceptual dialect distances of Norwegian speakers. Results indicated that the NDL-based pronunciation distances matched perceptual distances reasonably well with correlations ranging between 0.7 and 0.8. While the correlations were comparable to those obtained using the Levenshtein distance, the NDL-based approach is more flexible as it is also able to incorporate acoustic information other than sound segments.

Measurement Invariance of Expectancy-Value Questionnaire in Physical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xihe; Sun, Haichun; Chen, Ang; Ennis, Catherine

2012-01-01

Expectancy-Value Questionnaire (EVQ) measures student expectancy beliefs and task values of the domain content (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995). In this study the authors examine measurement invariance of EVQ in the domain of physical education between elementary and middle-school students. Participants included 811 students (3rd-5th grades) from 13…

Cultural Values Predicting Acculturation Orientations: Operationalizing a Quantitative Measure

Science.gov (United States)

Ehala, Martin

2012-01-01

This article proposes that acculturation orientations are related to two sets of cultural values: utilitarianism (Ut) and traditionalism (Tr). While utilitarian values enhance assimilation, traditional values support language and identity maintenance. It is proposed that the propensity to either end of this value opposition can be measured by an…

Antenna characteristics and air-ground interface deembedding methods for stepped-frequency ground-penetrating radar measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karlsen, Brian; Larsen, Jan; Jakobsen, Kaj Bjarne

2000-01-01

The result from field-tests using a Stepped-Frequency Ground Penetrating Radar (SF-GPR) and promising antenna and air-ground deembedding methods for a SF-GPR is presented. A monostatic S-band rectangular waveguide antenna was used in the field-tests. The advantages of the SF-GPR, e.g., amplitude...... and phase information in the SF-GPR signal, is used to deembed the characteristics of the antenna. We propose a new air-to-ground interface deembedding technique based on Principal Component Analysis which enables enhancement of the SF-GPR signal from buried objects, e.g., anti-personal landmines...

Insights into Ground-Motion Processes from Intensity Data (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, G. M.

2009-12-01

condition, in addition to magnitude, distance, and possibly region. As intensity is a single ground-motion measure, which can potentially be correlated with multiple instrumental ground-motion measures across a wide frequency band, there is an inherent, unavoidable assumption that a single intensity value can be linked with an entire ground-motion spectrum. This limiting premise may bias ground motions inferred from intensity data. Nevertheless, intensity data provide robust and highly useful general constraints on ground motion amplitudes, thereby illuminating the underlying processes that control them.

Some predicted peak ground motions for nuclear cratering explosions along the Qattara alignment in Egypt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryan, J.B.

1980-01-01

Some predicted peak free-field ground motions at shot depth for the nuclear explosive excavation of a canal in Egypt are summarized. Peak values of displacement, velocity, acceleration, and radial stress are presented as a function of slant range from the working point. Results from two-dimensional TENSOR cratering calculations are included. Fits to ground motion measurements in other media are also shown. This summary is intended to help specify engineering design requirements for detonating nuclear explosive salvos which are required to efficiently excavate the canal. It also should be useful in guiding estimates for gage response ranges in ground motion measurements

Polarization measurements through space-to-ground atmospheric propagation paths by using a highly polarized laser source in space.

Science.gov (United States)

Toyoshima, Morio; Takenaka, Hideki; Shoji, Yozo; Takayama, Yoshihisa; Koyama, Yoshisada; Kunimori, Hiroo

2009-12-07

The polarization characteristics of an artificial laser source in space were measured through space-to-ground atmospheric transmission paths. An existing Japanese laser communication satellite and optical ground station were used to measure Stokes parameters and the degree of polarization of the laser beam transmitted from the satellite. As a result, the polarization was preserved within an rms error of 1.6 degrees, and the degree of polarization was 99.4+/-4.4% through the space-to-ground atmosphere. These results contribute to the link estimation for quantum key distribution via space and provide the potential for enhancements in quantum cryptography worldwide in the future.

Global measures of ionospheric electrodynamic activity inferred from combined incoherent scatter radar and ground magnetometer observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richmond, A.D.; Kamide, Y.; Akasofu, S.I.; Alcayde, D.; Blanc, M.; De LaBeaujardiere, O.; Evans, D.S.; Foster, J.C.; Holt, J.M.; Friis-Christensen, E.; Pellinen, R.J.; Senior, C.; Zaitzev, A.N.

1990-01-01

An analysis of several global measures of high-latitude ionospheric electrodynamic activity is undertakn on the basis of results obtained from the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics (AMIE) procedure applied to incoherent scatter radar and ground magnetometer observatons for January 18-19, 1984. Different global measures of electric potentials, currents, resistances, and energy transfer from the magnetosphere show temporal variations that are generally well correlated. The authors present parameterizations of thees quantities in terms of the AE index and the hemispheric power index of precipitating auroral particles. It is shown how error estimates of the mapped electric fields can be used to correct the estimation of Joule heating. Global measures of potential drop, field-aligned current, and Joule heating as obtained by the AMIE procedure are compared with similar measures presented in previous studies. Agreement is found to within the uncertainties inherent in each study. The mean potential drop through which field-aligned currents flow in closing through the ionosphere is approximately 28% of the total polar cap potential drop under all conditions during these 2 days. They note that order-of-magnitude differences can appear when comparing different global measures of total electric current flow and of effective resistances of the global circuit, so that care must be exercised in choosing characteristic values of these parameters for circuit-analogy studies of ionosphere-magnetosphere electrodynamic coupling

Values-led Participatory Design - Mediating the Emergence of Values

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Ole Sejer; Leong, Tuck Wah

2012-01-01

There is a growing interest in values-led inquiries within participatory design. One approach argues that working with values is a recursive 3-phase process that supports the emergence, development and grounding of values. In this paper we focus solely upon the emergence phase, proposing...... an approach that can support the emergence of values during the initial phase of a values-led inquiry. To illustrate this approach and to ground our discussion, we draw from a recent participatory design case where we were engaged in the design of digital technology to support the experiences of young adults...... with severe intellectual disabilities, in an art museum. By describing how we establish, negotiate and the debrief values during this initial phase of a values-led inquiry. By foregrounding both explicit and implicit mediation in the PD process we show how a theoretical understanding of mediation can...

Proton energy spectra during ground level enhancements as measured by EPHIN aboard SOHO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heber, Bernd; Kuehl, Patrick; Klassen, Andreas; Dresing, Nina [Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet zu Kiel, 24118 Kiel (Germany); Gomez-Herrero, Raul [Universidad de Alcala (Spain)

2016-07-01

Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs) are solar energetic particle (SEP) events that are recorded by ground-based instrumentation. The energy of the particles is so high that they produce secondary particles in the Earth's atmosphere, i.e. protons and neutrons, which are detected as sudden increases in cosmic ray intensities measured by e.g. neutron monitors. Since the launch of SOHO in December 1995 the neutron monitor network recorded 16 GLEs. The Electron Proton Helium INstrument on board SOHO has been designed to measure protons and helium up to 53 MeV/nucleon as well as electrons up to 8.3 MeV. Above these energies, particles penetrate all detector elements and thus, a separation between different particle species becomes more complicated. Recently we developed a method that allows deriving the energy spectrum for penetrating protons up to more than 1 GeV. In this contribution we present the proton energy spectra and time profiles of above mentioned GLEs and compare them to previous measurements. Although there are differences of up to a factor two the overall shape of the energy spectra agree surprisingly well. Thus it has been demonstrated that EPHIN measurements are a valuable tool for understanding GLE.

[Implicit value judgments in the measurement of health inequalities].

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Sam; King, Nicholas B; Meersman, Stephen C; E Reichman, Marsha; Breen, Nancy; Lynch, John

2014-04-01

Quantitative estimates of the magnitude, direction, and rate of change of health inequalities play a crucial role in creating and assessing policies aimed at eliminating the disproportionate burden of disease in disadvantaged populations. It is generally assumed that the measurement of health inequalities is a value-neutral process, providing objective data that are then interpreted using normative judgments about whether a particular distribution of health is just, fair, or socially acceptable. We discuss five examples in which normative judgments play a role in the measurement process itself, through either the selection of one measurement strategy to the exclusion of others or the selection of the type, significance, or weight assigned to the variables being measured. Overall, we find that many commonly used measures of inequality are value laden and that the normative judgments implicit in these measures have important consequences for interpreting and responding to health inequalities. Because values implicit in the generation of health inequality measures may lead to radically different interpretations of the same underlying data,we urge researchers to explicitly consider and transparently discuss the normative judgments underlying their measures. We also urge policymakers and other consumers of health inequalities data to pay close attention to the measures on which they base their assessments of current and future health policies.

Implicit value judgments in the measurement of health inequalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Sam; King, Nicholas B; Meersman, Stephen C; Reichman, Marsha E; Breen, Nancy; Lynch, John

2010-03-01

Quantitative estimates of the magnitude, direction, and rate of change of health inequalities play a crucial role in creating and assessing policies aimed at eliminating the disproportionate burden of disease in disadvantaged populations. It is generally assumed that the measurement of health inequalities is a value-neutral process, providing objective data that are then interpreted using normative judgments about whether a particular distribution of health is just, fair, or socially acceptable. We discuss five examples in which normative judgments play a role in the measurement process itself, through either the selection of one measurement strategy to the exclusion of others or the selection of the type, significance, or weight assigned to the variables being measured. Overall, we find that many commonly used measures of inequality are value laden and that the normative judgments implicit in these measures have important consequences for interpreting and responding to health inequalities. Because values implicit in the generation of health inequality measures may lead to radically different interpretations of the same underlying data, we urge researchers to explicitly consider and transparently discuss the normative judgments underlying their measures. We also urge policymakers and other consumers of health inequalities data to pay close attention to the measures on which they base their assessments of current and future health policies.

Measuring the value of older people's production: a diary study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sahlen Klas-Göran

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The productive capacity of retired people is usually not valued. However, some retirees produce much more than we might expect. This diary-based study identifies the activities of older people, and suggests some value mechanisms. One question raised is whether it is possible to scale up this diary study into a larger representative study. Methods Diaries kept for one week were collected among 23 older people in the north of Sweden. The texts were analysed with a grounded theory approach; an interplay between ideas and empirical data. Results Some productive activities of older people must be valued as the opportunity cost of time or according to the market value, and others must be valued with the replacement cost. In order to make the choice between these methods, it is important to consider the societal entitlement. When there is no societal entitlement, the first or second method must be used; and when it exists, the third must be used. Conclusions An explicit investigation of the content of the entitlement is needed to justify the choice of valuation method for each activity. In a questionnaire addressing older people's production, each question must be adjusted to the type of production. In order to fully understand this production, it is important to consider the degree of free choice to conduct an activity, as well as health-related quality of life.

Sufficiency Grounded as Sufficiently Free: A Reply to Shlomi Segall

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lasse

2016-01-01

be grounded on (i) any personal value, nor (ii) any impersonal value. Consequently, sufficientarianism is groundless. This article contains a rejoinder to this critique. Its main claim is that the value of autonomy holds strong potential for grounding sufficiency. It argues, firstly, that autonomy carries...... both personal value for its recipient as well as impersonal value, and that both of these values are suitable for grounding sufficiency. It thus follows that we should reject both (i) and (ii). Secondly, although autonomy is presumably the strongest candidate for grounding sufficiency, the article...... provides some counterargument to Segall’s rejection of the other candidates—the impersonal value of virtue; the personal value for the allocator; and the personal value for others. If the arguments are sound, they show that we need not worry about sufficientarianism being groundless....

Adam Smith's Concept of Labour: Value or Measure?

OpenAIRE

Adolfo Rodriguez-Herrera

2014-01-01

The terminology employed by Smith to refer to value and measure of value is used in his time with imprecision, which has led to different interpretations about his position on these issues. It is no coincidence that Smith is considered the father of the labour theory of value developed by David Ricardo and Karl Marx and simultaneously of the cost-of-production theory of value developed by John Stuart Mill and Alfred Marshall. This paper reviews the concepts developed by Smith to formulate his...

Ambulatory measurement of ground reaction force and estimation of ankle and foot dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schepers, H. Martin; Koopman, Hubertus F.J.M.; Baten, Christian T.M.; Veltink, Petrus H.

INTRODUCTION Traditionally, human body movement analysis is done in so-called ‘gait laboratories’. In these laboratories, body movement is measured by a camera system using optical markers, the ground reaction force by a force plate fixed in the floor, and the muscle activity by EMG. From the body

IMPROVED ALGORITHM FOR CALCULATING COMPLEX NON-EQUIPOTENTIAL GROUNDING DEVICES OF ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT CONDUCTIVITY OF NATURAL GROUNDINGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. A. Starkov

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The method of natural concentrated groundings substitution by the set of electrodes taking them into account in the algorithm of electric characteristics calculation for complicated grounding connections of electric installation is offered. An equivalent model as a set of linear electrodes is chosen in accordance with two criteria: leakage resistance and potentials on the ground surface. Methodology. We have applied induced potential method and methods for computing branched electrical circuits with distributed parameters. Results. We have obtained the algorithm for calculating complex non-equipotential grounding connections, which makes it possible to obtain refined values of the potential distribution in the electric stations and substations with outdoor switchgear. Originality. For the first time, we have taking into account the conductivity of natural concentrated grounds by a set of vertical and horizontal electrodes based on equivalent electrical characteristics applied to a two-layer ground. Practical value. The using of the proposed calculation algorithm in the electric grids of JSC «Kharkivoblenergo» made it possible to determine the values of the potential distribution at short circuit in electrical substation taking into account the influence of the conductivity of natural concentrated groundings.

Measurements of ground motion and magnet vibrations at the APS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiltsev, V.

1996-01-01

This article presents results of ground motion and magnet vibrations measurements at the Advanced Photon Source. The experiments were done over a wide, frequency range (0-05-100 Hz) with the use of SM-3KV-type seismic probes from the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (Russia). Spectral power densities of vertical and horizontal motions of the APS hall floor and quadrupoles on regular supports were obtained. Also investigated were magnet vibrations induced by designed cooling water flow and spectral characteristics of spatial correlation of the quadrupole vibrations at different sectors of the ring. The influence of personnel activity in the hall and traffic under the ring on the slow motion of storage ring elements were observed. Amplitudes of vibrations at the APS are compared with results of seismic measurements at some other accelerators

Magnetic mineral exploration using ground magnetic survey data of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The field data were quantitatively interpreted and the results gave values for the total component measurements of the ground magnetic anomaly that varied ... from the Earth surface fall in the interval of 1.28m to 13.57m, which indicates the magnetic source body suspected to be magnetic mineral, are near surface features.

Different methods of measuring ADC values in normal human brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Youping; Sheng Junkang; Zhang Caiyuan

2009-01-01

Objective: To investigate better method of measuring ADC values of normal brain, and provide reference for further research. Methods: Twenty healthy people's MR imaging were reviewed. All of them underwent routine MRI scans and echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and ADC maps were reconstructed on work station. Six regions of interest (ROI) were selected for each object, the mean ADC values were obtained for each position on DWI and ADC maps respectively. Results: On the anisotropic DWI map calculated in the hypothalamus, ADC M , ADC P , ADC S values were no significant difference (P>0.05), in the frontal white matter and internal capsule hindlimb, there was a significant difference (P ave value exist significant difference to direct measurement on the anisotropic (isotropic) ADC map (P<0.001). Conclusion: Diffusion of water in the frontal white matter and internal capsule are anisotropic, but it is isotropic in the hypothalamus; different quantitative methods of diffusion measurement of 4ADC values have significant difference, but ADC values calculated through the DWI map is more accurate, quantitative diffusion study of brain tissue should also consider the diffusion measurement method. (authors)

Probing quantum frustrated systems via factorization of the ground state.

Science.gov (United States)

Giampaolo, Salvatore M; Adesso, Gerardo; Illuminati, Fabrizio

2010-05-21

The existence of definite orders in frustrated quantum systems is related rigorously to the occurrence of fully factorized ground states below a threshold value of the frustration. Ground-state separability thus provides a natural measure of frustration: strongly frustrated systems are those that cannot accommodate for classical-like solutions. The exact form of the factorized ground states and the critical frustration are determined for various classes of nonexactly solvable spin models with different spatial ranges of the interactions. For weak frustration, the existence of disentangling transitions determines the range of applicability of mean-field descriptions in biological and physical problems such as stochastic gene expression and the stability of long-period modulated structures.

Comparison of the values of measured hydratation of sporting youths with normative values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Kutáč

2013-06-01

Full Text Available BACKROUND: When measuring body composition, we monitor the fractionalization of body weight and the share of the individual elements in its aggregate value. The total body water (TBW is a very important element in addition to the share of body fat (BF, muscle mass and bone minerals. Water is the largest element of the body weight and its sufficient amount (organism hydration is a condition for maintaining the physiological functions of the person and thus has an immediate effect on the health of the individual. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to check the standard values of the percentage share of the representation of the total body water in the total body weight in different age groups of sporting youths using the tetrapolar bio-impedance Tanita 418 MA scale. METHODS: The research group included a total of 532 individuals (332 men and 200 women at the age from 12 to 17 years. They were individuals with regular physical activity and without any health problems. The measurement was carried out using the tetrapolar bio-impedance TANITA 418 MA scale. The confidence interval at the reliability level of .99 was used to define the range of the standard values of the percentage share of the total body water representation. The normalization index Ni was used to compare the mean values of the total body water representation with the reference file. RESULTS: The mean values of the TBW representation in boys ranged from 61.75 to 64.34% and in girls from 55.51 to 58.69%, always in relation to the age. The value of the upper bound of (95% the confidence interval of the Tanita 418 MA device software did not exceed the lower bound of the standard (65% in any of the monitored files. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed significant gender differences in the total body water representation that, however, the standard of the used device does not respect. The standard values are set high which was also confirmed by the comparison of our results with other studies

Measurement and estimation of dew point for SNG. [Comparison of calculated and measured values

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furuyama, Y.

1974-08-01

Toho Gas measured and estimated SNG dew points in high-pressure deliveries by calculating the theoretical values by the high-pressure gas-liquid equilibrium theory using the pressure-extrapolation method to reach K = 1, and the BWR method to estimate fugacity, then verifying these values experimentally. The experimental values were measured at 161.7 to 367.5 psi using the conventional static and circulation methods, in addition to a newly developed method consisting of circulating a known composition of gas mixtures, partially freezing them, and monitoring the dew point by observing the droplets on a mirror cooled by blowing liquid nitrogen. Good agreement was found between the calculated and the experimental values.

A method for valuing architecture-based business transformation and measuring the value of solutions architecture

OpenAIRE

Slot, R.G.

2010-01-01

Enterprise and Solution Architecture are key in today’s business environment. It is surprising that the foundation and business case for these activities are nonexistent; the financial value for the business of these activities is largely undetermined. To determine business value of enterprise and solution architecture, this thesis shows how to measure and quantify, in business terms, the value of enterprise architecture-based on business transformation and the value of solution architecture.

A calibration system for measuring 3D ground truth for validation and error analysis of robot vision algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Stolkin, R.; Greig, A.; Gilby, J.

2006-10-01

An important task in robot vision is that of determining the position, orientation and trajectory of a moving camera relative to an observed object or scene. Many such visual tracking algorithms have been proposed in the computer vision, artificial intelligence and robotics literature over the past 30 years. However, it is seldom possible to explicitly measure the accuracy of these algorithms, since the ground-truth camera positions and orientations at each frame in a video sequence are not available for comparison with the outputs of the proposed vision systems. A method is presented for generating real visual test data with complete underlying ground truth. The method enables the production of long video sequences, filmed along complicated six-degree-of-freedom trajectories, featuring a variety of objects and scenes, for which complete ground-truth data are known including the camera position and orientation at every image frame, intrinsic camera calibration data, a lens distortion model and models of the viewed objects. This work encounters a fundamental measurement problem—how to evaluate the accuracy of measured ground truth data, which is itself intended for validation of other estimated data. Several approaches for reasoning about these accuracies are described.

The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station Ground Temperature Sensor: A Pyrometer for Measuring Ground Temperature on Mars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Ramos

2010-10-01

Full Text Available We describe the parameters that drive the design and modeling of the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS Ground Temperature Sensor (GTS, an instrument aboard NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, and report preliminary test results. REMS GTS is a lightweight, low-power, and low cost pyrometer for measuring the Martian surface kinematic temperature. The sensor’s main feature is its innovative design, based on a simple mechanical structure with no moving parts. It includes an in-flight calibration system that permits sensor recalibration when sensor sensitivity has been degraded by deposition of dust over the optics. This paper provides the first results of a GTS engineering model working in a Martian-like, extreme environment.

Evaluation of the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) Using Ground-Based Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Y.; Sengupta, M.; Habte, A.; Lopez, A.

2017-12-01

Solar resource is essential for a wide spectrum of applications including renewable energy, climate studies, and solar forecasting. Solar resource information can be obtained from ground-based measurement stations and/or from modeled data sets. While measurements provide data for the development and validation of solar resource models and other applications modeled data expands the ability to address the needs for increased accuracy and spatial and temporal resolution. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed and regular updates modeled solar resource through the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB). The recent NSRDB dataset was developed using the physics-based Physical Solar Model (PSM) and provides gridded solar irradiance (global horizontal irradiance (GHI), direct normal irradiance (DNI), and diffuse horizontal irradiance) at a 4-km by 4-km spatial and half-hourly temporal resolution covering 18 years from 1998-2015. A comprehensive validation of the performance of the NSRDB (1998-2015) was conducted to quantify the accuracy of the spatial and temporal variability of the solar radiation data. Further, the study assessed the ability of NSRDB (1998-2015) to accurately capture inter-annual variability, which is essential information for solar energy conversion projects and grid integration studies. Comparisons of the NSRDB (1998-2015) with nine selected ground-measured data were conducted under both clear- and cloudy-sky conditions. These locations provide a high quality data covering a variety of geographical locations and climates. The comparison of the NSRDB to the ground-based data demonstrated that biases were within +/- 5% for GHI and +/-10% for DNI. A comprehensive uncertainty estimation methodology was established to analyze the performance of the gridded NSRDB and includes all sources of uncertainty at various time-averaged periods, a method that is not often used in model evaluation. Further, the study analyzed the inter

Ground Source Heat Pump Sub-Slab Heat Exchange Loop Performance in a Cold Climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mittereder, N.; Poerschke, A.

2013-11-01

This report presents a cold-climate project that examines an alternative approach to ground source heat pump (GSHP) ground loop design. The innovative ground loop design is an attempt to reduce the installed cost of the ground loop heat exchange portion of the system by containing the entire ground loop within the excavated location beneath the basement slab. Prior to the installation and operation of the sub-slab heat exchanger, energy modeling using TRNSYS software and concurrent design efforts were performed to determine the size and orientation of the system. One key parameter in the design is the installation of the GSHP in a low-load home, which considerably reduces the needed capacity of the ground loop heat exchanger. This report analyzes data from two cooling seasons and one heating season. Upon completion of the monitoring phase, measurements revealed that the initial TRNSYS simulated horizontal sub-slab ground loop heat exchanger fluid temperatures and heat transfer rates differed from the measured values. To determine the cause of this discrepancy, an updated model was developed utilizing a new TRNSYS subroutine for simulating sub-slab heat exchangers. Measurements of fluid temperature, soil temperature, and heat transfer were used to validate the updated model.

Overview of Ground Air Quality Measurements and Their Links to Airborne, Remote Sensing and Model Studies during the KORUS-AQ Campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, G.; Ahn, J. Y.; Chang, L. S.; Kim, J.; Park, R.

2017-12-01

During the KORUS-AQ, extensive sets of chemical measurements for reactive gases and aerosol species were made at 3 major sites on upwind island (Baengyeong Island), urban (Olympic Park in Seoul) and downwind rural forest location (Taewha Forest). Also, intensive aerosol size and composition observations from 5 NIER super sites, 3 NIMR monitoring sites, and 5 other university sites were currently facilitated in the KORUS-AQ data set. In addition, air quality criteria species data from 264 nation-wide ground monitoring sites with 5 minute temporal resolution during the whole campaign period were supplemented to cover mostly in densely populated urban areas, but sparsely in rural areas. The specific objectives of these ground sites were to provide highly comprehensive data set to coordinate the close collaborations among other research platforms including airborne measurements, remote sensing, and model studies. The continuous measurements at ground sites were well compared with repetitive low-level aircraft observations of NASA's DC-8 over Olympic Park and Taewha Forest site. Similarly, many ground measurements enabled the validation of chemical transport models and the remote sensing observations from ground and NASA's King Air. The observed results from inter-comparison studies in many reactive gases and aerosol compositions between different measurement methods and platforms will be presented. Compiling data sets from ground sites, source-wise analysis for ozone and aerosol, their in-situ formations, and transport characteristics by local/regional circulation will be discussed, too.

A comparative study of satellite estimation for solar insolation in Albania with ground measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitrushi, Driada; Berberi, Pëllumb; Muda, Valbona; Buzra, Urim; Bërdufi, Irma; Topçiu, Daniela

2016-01-01

The main objective of this study is to compare data provided by Database of NASA with available ground data for regions covered by national meteorological net NASA estimates that their measurements of average daily solar radiation have a root-mean-square deviation RMSD error of 35 W/m"2 (roughly 20% inaccuracy). Unfortunately valid data from meteorological stations for regions of interest are quite rare in Albania. In these cases, use of Solar Radiation Database of NASA would be a satisfactory solution for different case studies. Using a statistical method allows to determine most probable margins between to sources of data. Comparison of mean insulation data provided by NASA with ground data of mean insulation provided by meteorological stations show that ground data for mean insolation results, in all cases, to be underestimated compared with data provided by Database of NASA. Converting factor is 1.149.

Measurement of energetic radiation caused by thunderstorm activities by a sounding balloon and ground observation

Science.gov (United States)

Torii, T.

2015-12-01

Energetic radiation caused by thunderstorm activity is observed at various places, such as the ground, high mountain areas, and artificial satellites. In order to investigate the radiation source and its energy distribution, we measured energetic radiation by a sounding balloon, and the ground observation. On the measurement inside/above the thundercloud, we conducted a sounding observation using a radiosonde mounted two GM tubes (for gamma-rays, and for beta/gamma-rays), in addition to meteorological instruments. The balloon passed through a region of strong echoes in a thundercloud shown by radar image, at which time an increase in counting rate of the GM tube about 2 orders of magnitude occurred at the altitude from 5 km to 7.5 km. Furthermore, the counting rate of two GM tubes indicated the tendency different depending on movement of a balloon. This result suggests that the ratio for the gamma-rays (energetic photons) of the beta-rays (energetic electrons) varies according to the place in the thundercloud. Furthermore, we carried out a ground observation of the energetic gamma rays during winter thunderstorm at a coastal area facing the Sea of Japan. Two types of the energetic radiation have been observed at this time. We report the outline of these measurements and analysis in the session of the AGU meeting.

Measurements of ground motion and magnets vibrations at the APS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shil'tsev, V.D.

1994-01-01

This article presents results of ground motion and magnets vibrations measurements at the Advanced Photon Source. The experiments were done over wide frequency range 0.05-100 Hz with use of SM-3KV type seismic probes from Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (Russia). Spectral power densities of vertical and horizontal motions of the APS hall floor and quadrupoles on regular supports were obtained. There were also investigated magnets vibrations induced by designed cooling water flow and spectral characteristics of spatial correlation of the quads vibration at different sectors of the ring. Influence of personnel activity in the hall and traffic under the ring on slow motion of storage ring elements were observed. Amplitudes of vibrations at the APS are compared with results of seismic measurements at some other accelerators. 9 refs.; 10 figs.; 1 tab

Distance Between the Malleoli and the GroundA New Clinical Method to Measure Leg-Length Discrepancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilar, Estela Gomez; Domínguez, Águeda Gómez; Peña-Algaba, Carolina; Castillo-López, José M

2017-03-01

The aim of this work is to introduce a useful method for the clinical diagnosis of leg-length inequality: distance between the malleoli and the ground (DMG). A transversal observational study was performed on 17 patients with leg-length discrepancy. Leg-length inequality was determined with different clinical methods: with a tape measure in a supine position from the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) to the internal and external malleoli, as the difference between the iliac crests when standing (pelvimeter), and as asymmetry between ASISs (PALpation Meter [PALM]; A&D Medical Products Healthcare, San Jose, California). The Foot Posture Index (FPI) and the navicular drop test were also used. The DMG with Perthes rule (perpendicular to the foot when standing), the distance between the internal malleolus and the ground (DIMG), and the distance between the external malleolus and the ground were designed by the authors. The DIMG is directly related to the traditional ASIS-external malleolus measurement (P = .003), the FPI (P = .010), and the navicular drop test (P DMG) is useful for diagnosing leg-length discrepancy and is related to the ASIS-external malleolus measurement. The DIMG is significantly inversely proportional to the degree of pronation according to the FPI. Conversely, determination of leg-length discrepancy with a tape measure from the ASIS to the malleoli cannot be performed interchangeably at the level of the internal or external malleolus.

Measurement of 241Am Ground State Radiative Neutron Capture Cross Section with Cold Neutron Beam. Progress Report on Research Contract HUN14318 for the CRP on Minor Actinide Neutron Reaction Data (MANREAD)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belgya, T.; Szentmiklosi, L.; Kis, Z.; Nagy, N.M.; Konya, J.

2012-01-01

The ground state cross section of 242 Am has been measured with beams of cold neutrons at the Budapest Research Reactor using the X-ray emission of the decay product of 242 Pu. This methodology avoids the uncertainty caused by resonance neutrons in the pile activations. The target was characterized with gamma and X-ray spectrometry. The obtained ground state cross section is 540 ± 32 b, which is at the low end of the most recent literature values, but agrees with most of them within their uncertainty. (author)

Uranium isotopes in ground water as a prospecting technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowart, J.B.; Osmond, J.K.

1980-02-01

The isotopic concentrations of dissolved uranium were determined for 300 ground water samples near eight known uranium accumulations to see if new approaches to prospecting could be developed. It is concluded that a plot of 234 U/ 238 U activity ratio (A.R.) versus uranium concentration (C) can be used to identify redox fronts, to locate uranium accumulations, and to determine whether such accumulations are being augmented or depleted by contemporary aquifer/ground water conditions. In aquifers exhibiting flow-through hydrologic systems, up-dip ground water samples are characterized by high uranium concentration values (> 1 to 4 ppB) and down-dip samples by low uranium concentration values (less than 1 ppB). The boundary between these two regimes can usually be identified as a redox front on the basis of regional water chemistry and known uranium accumulations. Close proximity to uranium accumulations is usually indicated either by very high uranium concentrations in the ground water or by a combination of high concentration and high activity ratio values. Ground waters down-dip from such accumulations often exhibit low uranium concentration values but retain their high A.R. values. This serves as a regional indicator of possible uranium accumulations where conditions favor the continued augmentation of the deposit by precipitation from ground water. Where the accumulation is being dispersed and depleted by the ground water system, low A.R. values are observed. Results from the Gulf Coast District of Texas and the Wyoming districts are presented

Exposure to radon in dwellings below the ground level in the area of Zagreb

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lokobauer, N.; Franic, Z.; Sokolovic, E.; Petroci, L.; Sencar, J.; Lokner, V.

1998-01-01

Radon measurements were carried out in 44 dwellings at 22 locations in the area of Zagreb with the aim of establishing possible differences in radon levels between dwellings located below ground level, and those on higher floors. The measurements were performed using a Honeywell professional radon monitor both during the spring/summer and the autumn/winter seasons. Significant differences were found: for dwellings below ground level, the average annual radon activity concentration was 57±20 Bqm -3 ; for those on higher floors the value was 35±15 Bqm -3 . (A.K.)

MODIS GPP/NPP for complex land use area: a case study of comparison between MODIS GPP/NPP and ground-based measurements over Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, C.

2013-12-01

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Radiometer (MODIS) Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)/Net Primary Productivity (NPP) has been widely used for the study on global terrestrial ecosystem and carbon cycle. The current MODIS product with ~ 1 km spatial resolution, however, has limitation on the information on local scale environment (fairly comparable values of the MODIS here however, cannot assure the quality of the MOD17 over the complex vegetation area of Korea since the ground measurements except the eddy covariance tower flux measurements are highly inconsistent. Therefore, the comprehensive experiments to represents GPP/NPP over diverse vegetation types for a comparable scale of MODIS with a consistent measurement technique are necessary in order to evaluate the MODIS vegetation productivity data over Korea, which contains a large portion of highly heterogeneous vegetation area.

An Analysis of Conjugate Ground-based and Space-based Measurements of Energetic Electrons during Substorms

Science.gov (United States)

Sivadas, N.; Semeter, J. L.

2015-12-01

Substorms within the Earth's magnetosphere release energy in the form of energetic charged particles and several kinds of waves within the plasma. Depending on their strength, satellite-based navigation and communication systems are adversely affected by the energetic charged particles. Like many other natural phenomena, substorms can have a severe economic impact on a technology-driven society such as ours. Though energization of charged particles is known to occur in the magnetosphere during substorms, the source of this population and its relation to traditional acceleration region dynamics, are not completely understood. Combining measurements of energetic charged particles within the plasmasheet and that of charged particles precipitated in to the ionosphere will provide a better understanding of the role of processes that accelerate these charged particles. In the current work, we present energetic electron flux measured indirectly using data from ground-based Incoherent Scatter Radar and that measured directly at the plasmasheet by the THEMIS spacecraft. Instances of low-altitude-precipitation observed from ground suggest electrons of energy greater than 300 keV, possibly arising from particle injection events during substorms at the magnetically conjugate locations in the plasmasheet. The differences and similarities in the measurements at the plasmasheet and the ionosphere indicate the role different processes play in influencing the journey of these energetic particles form the magnetosphere to the ionosphere. Our observations suggest that there is a lot more to be understood of the link between magnetotail dynamics and energetic electron precipitation during substorms. Understanding this may open up novel and potentially invaluable ways of diagnosing the magnetosphere from the ground.

Moment Magnitudes and Local Magnitudes for Small Earthquakes: Implications for Ground-Motion Prediction and b-values

Science.gov (United States)

Baltay, A.; Hanks, T. C.; Vernon, F.

2016-12-01

We illustrate two essential consequences of the systematic difference between moment magnitude and local magnitude for small earthquakes, illuminating the underlying earthquake physics. Moment magnitude, M 2/3 log M0, is uniformly valid for all earthquake sizes [Hanks and Kanamori, 1979]. However, the relationship between local magnitude ML and moment is itself magnitude dependent. For moderate events, 3> fmax. Just as importantly, if this relation is overlooked, prediction of large-magnitude ground motion from small earthquakes will be misguided. We also consider the effect of this magnitude scale difference on b-value. The oft-cited b-value of 1 should hold for small magnitudes, given M. Use of ML necessitates b=2/3 for the same data set; use of mixed, or unknown, magnitudes complicates the matter further. This is of particular import when estimating the rate of large earthquakes when one has limited data on their recurrence, as is the case for induced earthquakes in the central US.

An In Depth Look at Lightning Trends in Hurricane Harvey using Satellite and Ground-Based Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Ringhausen, J.

2017-12-01

This research combines satellite measurements of lightning in Hurricane Harvey with ground-based lightning measurements to get a better sense of the total lightning occurring in the hurricane, both intra-cloud (IC) and cloud-to-ground (CG), and how it relates to the intensification and weakening of the tropical system. Past studies have looked at lightning trends in hurricanes using the space based Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) or ground-based lightning detection networks. However, both of these methods have drawbacks. For instance, LIS was in low earth orbit, which limited lightning observations to 90 seconds for a particular point on the ground; hence, continuous lightning coverage of a hurricane was not possible. Ground-based networks can have a decreased detection efficiency, particularly for ICs, over oceans where hurricanes generally intensify. With the launch of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) on the GOES-16 satellite, researchers can study total lightning continuously over the lifetime of a tropical cyclone. This study utilizes GLM to investigate total lightning activity in Hurricane Harvey temporally; this is augmented with spatial analysis relative to hurricane structure, similar to previous studies. Further, GLM and ground-based network data are combined using Bayesian techniques in a new manner to leverage the strengths of each detection method. This methodology 1) provides a more complete estimate of lightning activity and 2) enables the derivation of the IC:CG ratio (Z-ratio) throughout the time period of the study. In particular, details of the evolution of the Z-ratio in time and space are presented. In addition, lightning stroke spatiotemporal trends are compared to lightning flash trends. This research represents a new application of lightning data that can be used in future study of tropical cyclone intensification and weakening.

Patients’ perceived value of pharmacy quality measures: a mixed-methods study

Science.gov (United States)

Shiyanbola, Olayinka O; Mort, Jane R

2015-01-01

Objective To describe patients’ perceived value and use of quality measures in evaluating and choosing community pharmacies. Design Focus group methodology was combined with a survey tool. During the focus groups, participants assessed the value of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance's quality measures in evaluating and choosing a pharmacy. Also, participants completed questionnaires rating their perceived value of quality measures in evaluating a pharmacy (1 being low value and 5 being high) or choosing a pharmacy (yes/no). Thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the focus groups and surveys, respectively. Setting Semistructured focus groups were conducted in a private meeting space of an urban and a rural area of a Mid-western State in the USA. Participants Thirty-four adults who filled prescription medications in community pharmacies for a chronic illness were recruited in community pharmacies, senior centres and public libraries. Results While comments indicated that all measures were important, medication safety measures (eg, drug-drug interactions) were valued more highly than others. Rating of quality measure utility in evaluating a pharmacy ranged from a mean of 4.88 (‘drug-drug interactions’) to a mean of 4.0 (‘absence of controller therapy for patients with asthma’). Patients were hesitant to use quality information in choosing a pharmacy (depending on the participant's location) but might consider if moving to a new area or having had a negative pharmacy experience. Use of select quality measures to choose a pharmacy ranged from 97.1% of participants using ‘drug-drug interactions’ (medication safety measure) to 55.9% using ‘absence of controller therapy for patients with asthma’. Conclusions The study participants valued quality measures in evaluating and selecting a community pharmacy, with medication safety measures valued highest. The participants reported that the quality measures would not typically cause a

A New Measure of Traditional Values Across Cultures: China and Russia Compared

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert J. Taormina

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A new measure of adherence to traditional values was created with the objective of facilitating research within and across cultures and nations. The measure was tested in China (N = 321 and Russia (N = 314 and factor analysis of the data revealed two subscales named Personal Traditional Values (10 items and Public Traditional Values (6 items. Empirical psychometric testing of the overall 16-item measure and the two subscales strongly supported the validity and reliability of all three measures. Means comparisons conducted to assess how well the measures could be used for cross-cultural comparisons revealed the Russians somewhat more than the Chinese living by traditional values overall, both nations about equal on living according to traditional values in their personal lives, and the Russians significantly more inclined to abide by traditional values in public. Also tested were several social and psychological variables as theoretical predictors of living by traditional values, and Life Satisfaction was tested as a possible correlate of living according to traditional values. Regression analyses on the combined data confirmed that Family Emotional Support, Conscientiousness, Collectivism, and Age were all significant positive predictors of living by traditional values. Additional regressions also found some unique predictors for each nation. These findings and the results of the parametric tests support the use of the new scales for measuring traditional values both within and across cultures.

Converter for Measurement of non-sinusoidal current peak value

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Butvin, P.; Nielsen, Otto V; Brauer, Peter

1997-01-01

A linear-response toroid with core wound of rapidly quenched soft magnetic metallic ribbon and fitted with two windings is used to enable correct measurement of mean peak value of non-sinusoidal and not noise-free alternating current.......A linear-response toroid with core wound of rapidly quenched soft magnetic metallic ribbon and fitted with two windings is used to enable correct measurement of mean peak value of non-sinusoidal and not noise-free alternating current....

Investigation of tropical cirrus cloud properties using ground based lidar measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Dhaman, Reji K.; Satyanarayana, Malladi; Krishnakumar, V.; Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.; Jayeshlal, G. S.; Raghunath, K.; Venkat Ratnam, M.

2016-05-01

Cirrus clouds play a significant role in the Earths radiation budget. Therefore, knowledge of geometrical and optical properties of cirrus cloud is essential for the climate modeling. In this paper, the cirrus clouds microphysical and optical properties are made by using a ground based lidar measurements over an inland tropical station Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E), Andhra Pradesh, India. The variation of cirrus microphysical and optical properties with mid cloud temperature is also studied. The cirrus clouds mean height is generally observed in the range of 9-17km with a peak occurrence at 13- 14km. The cirrus mid cloud temperature ranges from -81°C to -46°C. The cirrus geometrical thickness ranges from 0.9- 4.5km. During the cirrus occurrence days sub-visual, thin and dense cirrus were at 37.5%, 50% and 12.5% respectively. The monthly cirrus optical depth ranges from 0.01-0.47, but most (<80%) of the cirrus have values less than 0.1. Optical depth shows a strong dependence with cirrus geometrical thickness and mid-cloud height. The monthly mean cirrus extinction ranges from 2.8E-06 to 8E-05 and depolarization ratio and lidar ratio varies from 0.13 to 0.77 and 2 to 52 sr respectively. A positive correlation exists for both optical depth and extinction with the mid-cloud temperature. The lidar ratio shows a scattered behavior with mid-cloud temperature.

DETERMINING UNDISTURBED GROUND TEMPERATURE AS PART OF SHALLOW GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomislav Kurevija

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The undisturbed ground temperature is one of the key thermogeological parameters for the assessment and utilization of shallow geothermal resources. Geothermal energy is the type of energy which is stored in the ground where solar radiation has no effect. The depth at which the undisturbed ground temperature occurs, independent of seasonal changes in the surface air temperature, is functionally determined by climate parameters and thermogeological properties. In deeper layers, the increase of ground temperature depends solely on geothermal gradient. Determining accurate values of undisturbed ground temperature and depth of occurrence is crucial for the correct sizing of a borehole heat exchanger as part of the ground-source heat pump system, which is considered the most efficient technology for utilising shallow geothermal resources. The purpose of this paper is to define three specific temperature regions, based on the measured ground temperature data collected from the main meteorological stations in Croatia. The three regions are: Northern Croatia, Adriatic region, and the regions of Lika and Gorski Kotar.

Comparison of measurement- and proxy-based Vs30 values in California

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Alan K.

2016-01-01

This study was prompted by the recent availability of a significant amount of openly accessible measured VS30 values and the desire to investigate the trend of using proxy-based models to predict VS30 in the absence of measurements. Comparisons between measured and model-based values were performed. The measured data included 503 VS30 values collected from various projects for 482 seismographic station sites in California. Six proxy-based models—employing geologic mapping, topographic slope, and terrain classification—were also considered. Included was a new terrain class model based on the Yong et al. (2012) approach but recalibrated with updated measured VS30 values. Using the measured VS30 data as the metric for performance, the predictive capabilities of the six models were determined to be statistically indistinguishable. This study also found three models that tend to underpredict VS30 at lower velocities (NEHRP Site Classes D–E) and overpredict at higher velocities (Site Classes B–C).

Observation of Hyperfine Transitions in Trapped Ground-State Antihydrogen

CERN Document Server

Olin, Arthur

2015-01-01

This paper discusses the first observation of stimulated magnetic resonance transitions between the hyperfine levels of trapped ground state atomic antihydrogen, confirming its presence in the ALPHA apparatus. Our observations show that these transitions are consistent with the values in hydrogen to within 4~parts~in~$10^3$. Simulations of the trapped antiatoms in a microwave field are consistent with our measurements.

Observation of hyperfine transitions in trapped ground-state antihydrogen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collaboration: A. Olin for the ALPHA Collaboration

2015-08-15

This paper discusses the first observation of stimulated magnetic resonance transitions between the hyperfine levels of trapped ground state atomic antihydrogen, confirming its presence in the ALPHA apparatus. Our observations show that these transitions are consistent with the values in hydrogen to within 4 parts in 10{sup 3}. Simulations of the trapped antiatoms in a microwave field are consistent with our measurements.

CHALLENGES INCURRED IN THE AUDITING OF FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silviu-Virgil Chiriac

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the auditors' work is to establish confidence between the producers and users of accounting information. Thus, auditors help protect the interests of different categories of beneficiaries of accounting information when they make economic decisions. The prevalence of fair values in the financial statements as their inherent measurement uncertainty has increased dramatically in recent years and is recognized as representing a significant problem for regulators. In these circumstances we ask which are the difficulties encountered by auditors in auditing fair values, what kinds of deficiencies they find within auditing and whether the complexity of measurements of fair value jeopardizes the ability of auditors to give a highly secure opinion.

Carbon-14 measurements and characterization of dissolved organic carbon in ground water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, E.M.

1987-01-01

Carbon-14 was measured in the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in ground water and compared with 14 C analyses of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Two field sites were used for this study; the Stripa mine in central Sweden, and the Milk River Aquifer in southern Alberta, Canada. The Stripa mine consists of a Precambrian granite dominated by fracture flow, while the Milk River Aquifer is a Cretaceous sandstone aquifer characterized by porous flow. At both field sites, 14 C analyses of the DOC provide additional information on the ground-water age. Carbon-14 was measured on both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic organic fractions of the DOC. The organic compounds in the hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions were also characterized. The DOC may originate from kerogen in the aquifer matrix, from soil organic matter in the recharge zone, of from a combination of these two sources. Carbon-14 analyses, along with characterization of the organics, were used to determine this origin. Carbon-14 analyses of the hydrophobic fraction in the Milk River Aquifer suggest a soil origin, while 14 C analyses of the hydrophilic fraction suggest an origin within the Cretaceous sediments (kerogen) or from the shale in contact with the aquifer

Value measurement of nuclear medicine procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potchen, E.J.; Harris, G.I.; Schonbein, W.R.; Rashford, N.J.

1977-01-01

The difficulty in measuring the benefit component for cost/benefit analysis of diagnostic procedures in medicine is portrayed as a complex issue relating the objective of intent to a classification of types of decisions a physician must make in evaluating a patient's problem. Ultimately, it seems desirable to develop measuring instruments such as attitude measurement tools by which the relative value of alternative diagnostic procedures could be measured in terms of what they contribute to diminishing the patient's personal perception of disease. Even without this idealized objective, it is reasonable to assume that diagnostic tests which do not contain information, defined as a change in the randomness of a state of knowledge, could not be expected to ultimately benefit the patient. Thus diagnostic information should provide a rational direction for the physician to modify the course of the patient's illness. Since information can be measured as a change in randomness of a knowledge state, we can determine the information content of a specific nuclear medicine procedure when faced with an array of diagnostic problems. These measurements remain to be made for clinical nuclear medicine procedures and are currently under study

The Impact of Political Context on the Measurement of Postmaterial Values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce Tranter

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This research highlights the influence of political context upon the measurement of postmaterial value orientations. Drawing upon a variety of international survey data, Inglehart claims that since World War II a shift has occurred in advanced industrialized nations from material toward postmaterial values. However, cross-sectional data from Australian Election Study surveys collected over more than two decades indicate that atypically for an advanced democracy, Australian value orientations tend toward the materialist pole. Australian Election Study values estimates are also at odds with those from other national social surveys that portray Australia as a far more postmaterialist nation. Regression analysis demonstrates that after controlling for election issues, attitudes toward political leaders, political party identification, and social background, predicted values estimates are substantially more postmaterial than the raw estimates. The findings have international implications as they suggest that measuring values during or soon after election campaigns may affect the measurement of postmaterial value orientations.

Value for money: Defining and measuring 'value' in MoD's acquisition policy of obtaining best value for money

OpenAIRE

Weiss, A.

2006-01-01

Obtaining value for money is a keystone of UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) acquisition strategy embedded in its Smart Acquisition policy. This thesis examines how best to measure the relative value of competing tender submissions for major projects. There is a comprehensive discussion of a wide range of relevant definitions and over three dozen documents are scrutinised including just some sixteen published by the Government. Commercially available models, algorithms and software are examined as...

How to measure customer value and its relationship with shareholder value in a business-to-business market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Bermejo

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Intangible assets are difficult to measure, but nowadays the value of the shares of firms in the stock exchange market contains a high percentage of intangible capital and customers are one of the main intangible assets which should be evaluated. This paper presents and discusses some tools to measure the value of customers. But first, it is mandatory to define and clarify the relationships among the concepts of Customer Equity (CE, Life Time Value (LTV and Customer Relationship Management (CRM. LTV is the best financial outcome to measure customer value, so the paper reviews the literature on some mathematical models to calculate LTV. We propose an equation for LTV in order to apply it in a business-to-business market, and an analysis of the influence factors involved in it is made, focusing especially in the link between LTV and shareholder value. Finally, we propose as future lines of research, the relational equity approach as the perfect complement to the customer equity analysis and a way to estimate LTV for actual cases of publicly traded firms using published information.

Ground Water movement in crystalline rock aquifers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serejo, A.N.C.; Freire, C.; Siqueira, H.B. de; Frischkorn, H.; Torquato, J.R.F.; Santiago, M.M.F.; Barbosa, P.C.

1984-01-01

Ground water movement studies were performed in crystalline rock aquifers from the upper Acarau River hydrographic basin, state of Ceara, Brazil. The studies included carbon-14, 18 O/ 16 O and tritium measurements as well as chemical analysis. A total of 35 wells were surveyed during drought seasons. Carbon-14 values displayed little variation which implied that the water use was adequate despite of the slower recharge conditions. Fairly constant isotopic 18 O/ 16 O ratio values in the wells and their similarity with rainwater values indicated that the recharge is done exclusively by pluvial waters. A decreasing tendency within the tritium concentration values were interpreted as a periodic rainwater renewal for these aquifers. The chemical analysis demonstrated that there is in fact no correlation between salinity and the time the water remains in the aquifer itself. (D.J.M.) [pt

Fair Value Accounting and Measurement through FASB’s Developments

OpenAIRE

Bonaci, Carmen Giorgiana; Strouhal, Jiří; Matis, Dumitru

2009-01-01

Our research follows the path of fair value as a term and concept, as well as its disclosure, measurement and recognition back from 1953 until our days, and analyzes the regulations issued by United States Accounting Standard setters, through the point of view of the historical events, which led to their appearance. Our study brings its’ contribution to complementing growing literature on the value relevance of fair value, but focuses on the assessment of fair value as a financial reporting s...

Determination of the ground state of an Au-supported FePc film based on the interpretation of Fe K - and L -edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Natoli, Calogero R.; Krüger, Peter; Bartolomé, Juan; Bartolomé, Fernando

2018-04-01

We determine the magnetic ground state of the FePc molecule on Au-supported thin films based on the observed values of orbital anisotropy and spectroscopic x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements at the Fe K and L edges. Starting from ab initio molecular orbital multiplet calculations for the isolated molecule, we diagonalize the spin-orbit interaction in the subspace spanned by the three lowest spin triplet states of 3A2 g and 3Eg symmetry in the presence of a saturating magnetic field at a polar angle θ with respect to the normal to the plane of the film, plus an external perturbation representing the effect of the molecules in the stack on the FePc molecule under consideration. We find that the orbital moment of the ground state strongly depends on the magnetic field direction in agreement with the sum rule analysis of the L23-edge XMCD data. We calculate integrals over the XMCD spectra at the Fe K and L23 edges as used in the sum rules and explicitly show that they agree with the expectation values of the orbital moment and effective spin moment of the ground state. On the basis of this analysis, we can rule out alternative candidates proposed in the literature.

Experimental studies of the NaRb ground-state potential up to the v''=76 level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Docenko, O.; Nikolayeva, O.; Tamanis, M.; Ferber, R.; Pazyuk, E.A.; Stolyarov, A.V.

2002-01-01

Laser induced fluorescence spectra of the C 1 Σ + -X 1 Σ + system of 23 Na 85 Rb and 23 Na 87 Rb have allowed vibrational levels of the electronic ground state up to v '' =76, spanning 99.85% of the potential well to be observed. The ground-state term values have been fitted to a Dunham polynomial expansion, and also to a direct modified Lennard-Jones (MLJ) potential. The analytical MLJ construction allowed us to match previous measured term values for v '' ≤30 with long-range behavior of the potential through the intermediate internuclear distance region covered by the present investigation

Measurement of half-value layer in mammography

CERN Document Server

Yagi, H; Saruwatari, R; Doi, N; Yamane, E

2003-01-01

The half-value layer (HVL) of an X-ray beam for film-screen mammography is considered an important parameter for image quality and patient dose. Thus, HVL must be measured in accordance with The Manual of Accuracy for Mammography printed by the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology. The manual prescribes exactly the geometry of measurement, chamber position of measurement in the field, selection of chamber, and so on. However, the measurement of HVL is difficult in the actual clinical setting. This study examined the results of failure to perform the measurement of HVL in accordance with the manual for measuring HVL in the clinical setting. The investigation indicated that serious problems do not arise when measuring HVL for routine quality control even if the chamber in the field is not always set according to the manual and if a chamber for radiotherapy or diagnosis is used that is not recommended for soft X-ray by the manual. (author)

International Accounting Convergence in the Field of Fair Value Measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Cozma Ighian

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The investors’ desire for high-quality, internationally comparable financial information that is useful for decision-making in increasingly global capital markets imposed an international convergence, the ultimate goal of which is a single set of international accounting standards that companies worldwide would use for both domestic and cross-border financial reporting. The guidance, set out in IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement and the update to Topic 820 (formerly referred to as SFAS 157, completes a major project of the boards’ joint work to improve IFRSs and US GAAP and to bring about their convergence. This article describes the controversial history of fair value measurement and the main novelties in the field of fair value measurement, arising from the international convergence process.

Simulation and Measurement of Through-the-Earth, Extremely Low-Frequency Signals Using Copper-Clad Steel Ground Rods.

Science.gov (United States)

Damiano, Nicholas William; Yan, Lincan; Whisner, Bruce; Zhou, Chenming

2017-01-01

The underground mining environment can greatly affect radio signal propagation. Understanding how the earth affects signal propagation is a key to evaluating communications systems used during a mine emergency. One type of communication system is through-the-earth, which can utilize extremely low frequencies (ELF). This paper presents the simulation and measurement results of recent National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research aimed at investigating current injection at ELF, and in particular, ground contact impedance. Measurements were taken at an outside surface testing location. The results obtained from modeling and measurement are characterized by electrode impedance, and the voltage received between two distant electrodes. This paper concludes with a discussion of design considerations found to affect low-frequency communication systems utilizing ground rods to inject a current into the earth.

Value Proposition: A Common Ground between Company and Customer

OpenAIRE

Zhou, Xinyu

2009-01-01

This is a paper that examines the contribution of the value proposition and the interplay between value creation process and value proposition strategy, between competencies and value proposition in competitive market situation. A literature review was carried out to understand the relevant research already in existence. The origin of value and the two main contemporary theories of customer value were reviewed; some models were covered as well. The two theories are Customer-based value ...

Earthquake hazard zonation using peak ground acceleration (PGA) approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwansyah, E; Winarko, E; Rasjid, Z E; Bekti, R D

2013-01-01

The objective of this research is to develop seismic hazard area zones in the building infrastructure of the Banda Aceh City Indonesia using peak ground acceleration (PGA) measured using global and local attenuation function. PGA is calculated using attenuation function that describes the correlation between the local ground movement intensity the earthquake magnitude and the distance from the earthquake's epicentre. The data used comes from the earthquake damage catalogue available from the Indonesia meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG) with range from year 1973 – 2011. The research methodology consists of six steps, which is developing the grid, calculation of the distance from the epicentre to the centroid of the grid, calculation of PGA values, developing the computer application, plotting the PGA values to the centroid grid, and developing the earthquake hazard zones using kriging algorithm. The conclusion of this research is that the global attenuation function that was developed by [20] can be applied to calculate the PGA values in the city of Banda Aceh. Banda Aceh city in micro scale can be divided into three hazard zones which is low hazard zone with PGA value of 0.8767 gals up to 0.8780 gals, medium hazard zone with PGA values of 0.8781 up to 0.8793 gals and high hazard zone with PGA values of 0.8794 up to 0.8806 gals.

The use of personal values in living standards measures

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2011-08-26

Aug 26, 2011 ... Values Questionnaire, Living Standards Measure, purchase decision- .... According to Schwartz (1992), scholars in the areas of psychology, anthropology ... The application of the values perspective to the marketing of .... is a fairly complex task involving large data tables, and that some of the LSM groups.

Ice nucleating particles over the Eastern Mediterranean measured at ground and by unmanned aircraft systems

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Daniel; Schrod, Jann; Drücke, Jaqueline; Keleshis, Christos; Pikridas, Michael; Ebert, Martin; Cvetkovic, Bojan; Nickovic, Slobodan; Baars, Holger; Marinou, Eleni; Vrekoussis, Mihalis; Sciare, Jean; Mihalopoulos, Nikos; Curtius, Joachim; Bingemer, Heinz G.

2017-04-01

During the intensive INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS field campaign focusing on aerosols, clouds and ice nucleation in the Eastern Mediterranean in April 2016, we have measured the abundance of ice nucleating particles (INP) in the lower troposphere both with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as well as from the ground. Aerosol samples were collected by miniaturized electrostatic precipitators onboard the UAS and were analyzed immediately after collection on site in the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE for INP active at -20˚ C to -30˚ C in the deposition/condensation mode (INPD). Immersion freezing INP (INPI) were sampled on membrane filters and were analysed in aqueous extracts by the drop freezing method on the cold stage of FRIDGE. Ground samples were collected at the Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory (CAO) in Agia Marina Xyliatou (Latitude; 35˚ 2' 8" N; Longitude: 33˚ 3' 26" E; Altitude: 532 m a.s.l.). During the one-month campaign, we encountered a series of Saharan dust plumes that traveled at several kilometers altitude. Here we present INP data from 42 individual flights, together with OPC aerosol number concentrations, backscatter and depolarization retrievals from the Polly-XT Raman Lidar, dust concentrations derived by the dust transport model DREAM (Dust Regional Atmospheric Model), and results from scanning electron microscopy. The effect of the dust plumes is reflected by the coincidence of INP with the particulate mass (PM), the Lidar retrievals and the predicted dust mass of the model. This suggests that mineral dust or a constituent related to dust was a major contributor to the ice nucleating properties of the aerosol. Peak concentrations of above 100 INP std.l-1 were measured at -30˚ C. The INPD concentration in elevated plumes was on average a factor of 10 higher than at ground level. The INPI concentration at ground also agreed with PM levels and exceeded the ground-based INPD concentration by more than one order of magnitude. Since desert dust is transported

Comparison of GOME tropospheric NO2 columns with NO2 profiles deduced from ground-based in situ measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Schaub, D.; Boersma, K. F.; Kaiser, J. W.; Weiss, A. K.; Folini, D.; Eskes, H. J.; Buchmann, B.

2006-08-01

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical tropospheric column densities (VTCs) retrieved from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) are compared to coincident ground-based tropospheric NO2 columns. The ground-based columns are deduced from in situ measurements at different altitudes in the Alps for 1997 to June 2003, yielding a unique long-term comparison of GOME NO2 VTC data retrieved by a collaboration of KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) and BIRA/IASB (Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy) with independently derived tropospheric NO2 profiles. A first comparison relates the GOME retrieved tropospheric columns to the tropospheric columns obtained by integrating the ground-based NO2 measurements. For a second comparison, the tropospheric profiles constructed from the ground-based measurements are first multiplied with the averaging kernel (AK) of the GOME retrieval. The second approach makes the comparison independent from the a priori NO2 profile used in the GOME retrieval. This allows splitting the total difference between the column data sets into two contributions: one that is due to differences between the a priori and the ground-based NO2 profile shapes, and another that can be attributed to uncertainties in both the remaining retrieval parameters (such as, e.g., surface albedo or aerosol concentration) and the ground-based in situ NO2 profiles. For anticyclonic clear sky conditions the comparison indicates a good agreement between the columns (n=157, R=0.70/0.74 for the first/second comparison approach, respectively). The mean relative difference (with respect to the ground-based columns) is -7% with a standard deviation of 40% and GOME on average slightly underestimating the ground-based columns. Both data sets show a similar seasonal behaviour with a distinct maximum of spring NO2 VTCs. Further analysis indicates small GOME columns being systematically smaller than the ground-based ones. The influence of different shapes in the a priori and

Value activity monitoring

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Alencar Silva, P.

2013-01-01

Current value modeling ontologies are grounded on the economic premise that profit sharing is a critical condition to be assessed during the configuration of a value constellation. Such a condition ought to be reinforced through a monitoring mechanism design, since a value model expresses only

Identification of resonant earthquake ground motion

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Resonant ground motion has been observed in earthquake records measured at several parts of the world. This class of ground motion is characterized by its energy being contained in a narrow frequency band. This paper develops measures to quantify the frequency content of the ground motion using the entropy ...

Ground potential rise on the high voltage substation during lightning strike measurement and simulation results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiater, Jaroslaw [Bialystok Technical University (Poland). Electrical Dept.], E-mail: jaroslawwiater@we.pb.edu.pl

2007-07-01

This paper will present a ground potential rise (GPR) measurement results. All measurements were made during normal work of the real high voltage substation and according a special procedure developed for this occasion. This procedure does not influence on the protection relays and ensures a proper work of the substation even for 6 kV surges. During measurements current and voltage surges were produced by the impulse generator - UCS 500M6B. Measurement results are compared to simulation results performed in CDEGS software for the same initial conditions. (author)

How to Use Value-Added Measures Right

Science.gov (United States)

Di Carlo, Matthew

2012-01-01

Value-added models are a specific type of "growth model," a diverse group of statistical techniques to isolate a teacher's impact on his or her students' testing progress while controlling for other measurable factors, such as student and school characteristics, that are outside that teacher's control. Opponents, including many teachers, argue…

Tunnel Face Stability and the Effectiveness of Advance Drainage Measures in Water-Bearing Ground of Non-uniform Permeability

Science.gov (United States)

Zingg, Sara; Anagnostou, Georg

2018-01-01

Non-uniform permeability may result in complex hydraulic head fields with potentially very high hydraulic gradients close to the tunnel face, which may be adverse for stability depending on the ground strength. Pore pressure relief by drainage measures in advance of the tunnel excavation improves stability, but the effectiveness of drainage boreholes may be low in the case of alternating aquifers and aquitards. This paper analyses the effects of hydraulic heterogeneity and advance drainage quantitatively by means of limit equilibrium computations that take account of the seepage forces acting upon the ground in the vicinity the tunnel face. The piezometric field is determined numerically by means of steady-state, three-dimensional seepage flow analyses considering the heterogeneous structure of the ground and a typical advance drainage scheme consisting of six axial boreholes drilled from the tunnel face. A suite of stability analyses was carried out covering a wide range of heterogeneity scales. The computational results show the effect of the orientation, thickness, location, number and permeability ratio of aquifers and aquitards and provide valuable indications about potentially critical situations, the effectiveness of advance drainage and the adequate arrangement of drainage boreholes. The paper shows that hydraulic heterogeneity results in highly variable face behaviour, even if the shear strength of the ground is constant along the alignment, but ground behaviour is considerably less variable in the presence of advance drainage measures.

Influence of the heat treatment on the color of ground pepper (Capsicum annuum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vračar Ljubo O.

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Red pepper (Capsicum annuum L. is one of the most important vegetables in the world. The main ground pepper quality attributes are extractable color, surface color, qualitative and quantitative carotenoid content. In this work, the influence of heat treatment on ground pepper quality was investigated. Microbiological status was examined in non-sterilized and sterilized ground pepper. Color changes were assessed by measuring the extractable color (ASTA and surface color, using a photocolorimeter. The obtained results showed that at the end of experiment, non-sterilized samples had higher color values in comparison to the sterilized ones. Also, color deterioration was heightened at room temperature.

SIR-C/X-SAR data calibration and ground truth campaign over the NASA-CB1 test-site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Notarnicola, C.; Posa, F.; Refice, A.; Sergi, R.; Smacchia, P.; Casarano, D.; De Carolis, G.; Mattia, F.; Schena, V.D.

2001-01-01

During the Space Shuttle Endeavour mission in October 1994, a remote-sensing campaign was carried out with the objectives of both radiometric and polarimetric calibration and ground truth data acquisition of bare soils. This paper presents the results obtained in the experiment. Polarimetric cross-talk and channel imbalance values, as well as radiometric calibration parameters, have been found to be within the science requirements for SAR images. Regarding ground truth measurements, a wide spread in the height rms values and correlation lengths has been observed, which was motivated a critical revisiting of surface parameters descriptors

SITE-94. Geochemical characterization of Simpevarp ground waters near the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glynn, P.D.; Voss, C.I.

1999-09-01

The present report analyzes the geochemical data in order to evaluate collection and interpretation techniques that will be used to site the repository and to assess its safety. Ground waters near the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL) may be grouped into five chemically and isotopically distinct water types, on the basis of their deuterium and chloride contents: 1) recent waters, 2) 5 g/L chloride waters, 3) deep waters, 4) seawater imprint waters, and 5) glacial melt waters. The sampled ground waters show a progressive change from a predominantly NaHCO 3 composition at shallow depth to a CaCl 2 -rich composition at depth. Despite the proximity of the Baltic, relatively few of the sampled ground waters contain any evidence of a seawater component. This finding, together with the rather shallow depths at which saline waters were found, indicates that Aespoe island is presently in a regional ground-water discharge area. The chemical and isotopic composition of the sampled waters also indicates that local recharge of dilute recent waters occurs only down to shallow depths (generally less than 100 in). The Aespoe ground waters are sulfidic and do not presently contain any dissolved oxygen. Measured E H values are generally near -300 mV, and on average are only about 50 mV lower than E H values calculated from the sulfide/sulfate couple. Maintenance of reducing conditions, such as presently found at the Aespoe HRL, is an important consideration in assessing the performance of nuclear waste disposal sites. Measurements of dissolved radon and of uranium concentrations in fracture-fill materials were used to calculate an average effective flow-wetted surface area of 3.1 m 2 per liter of water for the Aespoe site. Estimation of flow-wetted surface areas is essential in determining the importance of matrix diffusion and surface sorption processes for radionuclide release calculations. The Rn calculation technique shows promise in helping narrow the possible range of values

measurements of distribution coefficients and lipophilicity values

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Preferred Customer

octanol and water, followed by measuring the distribution of the solute in ... Instrumentation and apparatus: HPLC-UV-DAD and HPLC–ESI-MS experiments .... process in the determination of KD and log P values for the HFSLM extracts. ..... Perrin, D.D.; Dempsey, B. Buffers for pH and Metal Ion Control, Chapman and Hall:.

Assessment of surface solar irradiance derived from real-time modelling techniques and verification with ground-based measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Kosmopoulos, Panagiotis G.; Kazadzis, Stelios; Taylor, Michael; Raptis, Panagiotis I.; Keramitsoglou, Iphigenia; Kiranoudis, Chris; Bais, Alkiviadis F.

2018-02-01

This study focuses on the assessment of surface solar radiation (SSR) based on operational neural network (NN) and multi-regression function (MRF) modelling techniques that produce instantaneous (in less than 1 min) outputs. Using real-time cloud and aerosol optical properties inputs from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on board the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), respectively, these models are capable of calculating SSR in high resolution (1 nm, 0.05°, 15 min) that can be used for spectrally integrated irradiance maps, databases and various applications related to energy exploitation. The real-time models are validated against ground-based measurements of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) in a temporal range varying from 15 min to monthly means, while a sensitivity analysis of the cloud and aerosol effects on SSR is performed to ensure reliability under different sky and climatological conditions. The simulated outputs, compared to their common training dataset created by the radiative transfer model (RTM) libRadtran, showed median error values in the range -15 to 15 % for the NN that produces spectral irradiances (NNS), 5-6 % underestimation for the integrated NN and close to zero errors for the MRF technique. The verification against BSRN revealed that the real-time calculation uncertainty ranges from -100 to 40 and -20 to 20 W m-2, for the 15 min and monthly mean global horizontal irradiance (GHI) averages, respectively, while the accuracy of the input parameters, in terms of aerosol and cloud optical thickness (AOD and COT), and their impact on GHI, was of the order of 10 % as compared to the ground-based measurements. The proposed system aims to be utilized through studies and real-time applications which are related to solar energy production planning and use.

Device for the measurement and recording of the vertical temperature gradient close to the ground

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chassany, J. Ph.; Cottignies, S.

1963-01-01

The temperature measurement device described in this note is made of 2 series of 15 copper-constantan thermocouples each, disposed along a mast at 5 m and 20 m from the ground, respectively. Thermocouples are protected against direct sunlight and connected to a recorder

Measurement of Line-to-Ground Capacitance in Distribution Network Considering Magnetizing Impedance’s Frequency Characteristic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qing Yang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Signal injection method (SIM is widely applied to the insulation parameters’ measurement in distribution network for its convenience and safety. It can be divided into two kinds of patterns: injecting a specific frequency signal or several frequencies’ groups, and scanning frequency in a scheduled frequency scope. In order to avoid the disadvantages in related researches, improved signal injection method (ISIM, in which the frequency characteristic of the transformer magnetizing impedance is taken into consideration, is proposed. In addition, optimization for signal injection position has been accomplished, and the corresponding three calculation methods of line-to-ground capacitance has been derived. Calculations are carried out through the vector information (vector calculation method, the amplitude information (amplitude calculation method, the phase information (phase calculation method of voltage and current in signal injecting port, respectively. The line-to-ground capacitance is represented by lumped parameter capacitances in high-voltage simulation test. Eight different sinusoidal signals are injected into zero-sequence circuit, and then line-to-ground capacitance is calculated with the above-mentioned vector calculation method based on the voltage and the current data of the injecting port. The results obtained by the vector calculation method show that ISIM has a wider application frequency range compared with signal injection method with rated parameters (RSIM and SIM. The RSIM is calculated with the rated transformer parameters of magnetizing impedance, and the SIM based on the ideal transformer model, and the relative errors of calculation results of ISIM are smaller than that for other methods in general. The six groups of two-frequency set are chosen in a specific scope which is recommended by vector calculation results. Based on ISIM, the line-to-ground capacitance calculations through the amplitude calculation method and

Taking Stock of Circumboreal Forest Carbon With Ground Measurements, Airborne and Spaceborne LiDAR

Science.gov (United States)

Neigh, Christopher S. R.; Nelson, Ross F.; Ranson, K. Jon; Margolis, Hank A.; Montesano, Paul M.; Sun, Guoqing; Kharuk, Viacheslav; Naesset, Erik; Wulder, Michael A.; Andersen, Hans-Erik

2013-01-01

The boreal forest accounts for one-third of global forests, but remains largely inaccessible to ground-based measurements and monitoring. It contains large quantities of carbon in its vegetation and soils, and research suggests that it will be subject to increasingly severe climate-driven disturbance. We employ a suite of ground-, airborne- and space-based measurement techniques to derive the first satellite LiDAR-based estimates of aboveground carbon for the entire circumboreal forest biome. Incorporating these inventory techniques with uncertainty analysis, we estimate total aboveground carbon of 38 +/- 3.1 Pg. This boreal forest carbon is mostly concentrated from 50 to 55degN in eastern Canada and from 55 to 60degN in eastern Eurasia. Both of these regions are expected to warm >3 C by 2100, and monitoring the effects of warming on these stocks is important to understanding its future carbon balance. Our maps establish a baseline for future quantification of circumboreal carbon and the described technique should provide a robust method for future monitoring of the spatial and temporal changes of the aboveground carbon content.

Advances in High Energy Solid-State 2-micron Laser Transmitter Development for Ground and Airborne Wind and CO2 Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Upendra N.; Yu, Jirong; Petros, Mulugeta; Chen, Songsheng; Kavaya, Michael J.; Trieu, Bo; Bai, Yingxin; Petzar, Paul; Modlin, Edward A.; Koch, Grady;

Exploring the relationship between monitored ground-based and satellite aerosol measurements over the City of Johannesburg

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Garland, Rebecca M

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This project studied the relationship between aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on the Terra satellite, and ground-based monitored particulate matter (PM) mass concentrations measured...

Measuring Nursing Value from the Electronic Health Record.

Science.gov (United States)

Welton, John M; Harper, Ellen M

2016-01-01

We report the findings of a big data nursing value expert group made up of 14 members of the nursing informatics, leadership, academic and research communities within the United States tasked with 1. Defining nursing value, 2. Developing a common data model and metrics for nursing care value, and 3. Developing nursing business intelligence tools using the nursing value data set. This work is a component of the Big Data and Nursing Knowledge Development conference series sponsored by the University Of Minnesota School Of Nursing. The panel met by conference calls for fourteen 1.5 hour sessions for a total of 21 total hours of interaction from August 2014 through May 2015. Primary deliverables from the bit data expert group were: development and publication of definitions and metrics for nursing value; construction of a common data model to extract key data from electronic health records; and measures of nursing costs and finance to provide a basis for developing nursing business intelligence and analysis systems.

Ground penetrating radar for determining volumetric soil water content ; results of comparative measurements at two test sites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Overmeeren, R.A. van; Sariowan, S.V.; Gehrels, J.C.

1997-01-01

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) can provide information on the soil water content of the unsaturated zone in sandy deposits via measurements from the surface, and so avoids drilling. Proof of this was found from measurements of radar wave velocities carried out ten times over 13 months at two test

Direct quantum process tomography via measuring sequential weak values of incompatible observables.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yosep; Kim, Yong-Su; Lee, Sang-Yun; Han, Sang-Wook; Moon, Sung; Kim, Yoon-Ho; Cho, Young-Wook

2018-01-15

The weak value concept has enabled fundamental studies of quantum measurement and, recently, found potential applications in quantum and classical metrology. However, most weak value experiments reported to date do not require quantum mechanical descriptions, as they only exploit the classical wave nature of the physical systems. In this work, we demonstrate measurement of the sequential weak value of two incompatible observables by making use of two-photon quantum interference so that the results can only be explained quantum physically. We then demonstrate that the sequential weak value measurement can be used to perform direct quantum process tomography of a qubit channel. Our work not only demonstrates the quantum nature of weak values but also presents potential new applications of weak values in analyzing quantum channels and operations.

Work flow of signal processing data of ground penetrating radar case of rigid pavement measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Handayani, Gunawan

2015-04-01

The signal processing of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) requires a certain work flow to obtain good results. Even though the Ground Penetrating Radar data looks similar with seismic reflection data, but the GPR data has particular signatures that the seismic reflection data does not have. This is something to do with coupling between antennae and the ground surface. Because of this, the GPR data should be treated differently from the seismic signal data processing work flow. Even though most of the processing steps still follow the same work flow of seismic reflection data such as: filtering, predictive deconvolution etc. This paper presents the work flow of GPR processing data on rigid pavement measurements. The processing steps start from raw data, de-Wow process, remove DC and continue with the standard process to get rid of noises i.e. filtering process. Some radargram particular features of rigid pavement along with pile foundations are presented.

Work flow of signal processing data of ground penetrating radar case of rigid pavement measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Handayani, Gunawan

2015-01-01

The signal processing of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) requires a certain work flow to obtain good results. Even though the Ground Penetrating Radar data looks similar with seismic reflection data, but the GPR data has particular signatures that the seismic reflection data does not have. This is something to do with coupling between antennae and the ground surface. Because of this, the GPR data should be treated differently from the seismic signal data processing work flow. Even though most of the processing steps still follow the same work flow of seismic reflection data such as: filtering, predictive deconvolution etc. This paper presents the work flow of GPR processing data on rigid pavement measurements. The processing steps start from raw data, de-Wow process, remove DC and continue with the standard process to get rid of noises i.e. filtering process. Some radargram particular features of rigid pavement along with pile foundations are presented

Work flow of signal processing data of ground penetrating radar case of rigid pavement measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Handayani, Gunawan [The Earth Physics and Complex Systems Research Group (Jl. Ganesa 10 Bandung Indonesia) gunawanhandayani@gmail.com (Indonesia)

2015-04-16

The signal processing of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) requires a certain work flow to obtain good results. Even though the Ground Penetrating Radar data looks similar with seismic reflection data, but the GPR data has particular signatures that the seismic reflection data does not have. This is something to do with coupling between antennae and the ground surface. Because of this, the GPR data should be treated differently from the seismic signal data processing work flow. Even though most of the processing steps still follow the same work flow of seismic reflection data such as: filtering, predictive deconvolution etc. This paper presents the work flow of GPR processing data on rigid pavement measurements. The processing steps start from raw data, de-Wow process, remove DC and continue with the standard process to get rid of noises i.e. filtering process. Some radargram particular features of rigid pavement along with pile foundations are presented.

Comparison of GOME tropospheric NO2 columns with NO2 profiles deduced from ground-based in situ measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Schaub

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 vertical tropospheric column densities (VTCs retrieved from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME are compared to coincident ground-based tropospheric NO2 columns. The ground-based columns are deduced from in situ measurements at different altitudes in the Alps for 1997 to June 2003, yielding a unique long-term comparison of GOME NO2 VTC data retrieved by a collaboration of KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and BIRA/IASB (Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy with independently derived tropospheric NO2 profiles. A first comparison relates the GOME retrieved tropospheric columns to the tropospheric columns obtained by integrating the ground-based NO2 measurements. For a second comparison, the tropospheric profiles constructed from the ground-based measurements are first multiplied with the averaging kernel (AK of the GOME retrieval. The second approach makes the comparison independent from the a priori NO2 profile used in the GOME retrieval. This allows splitting the total difference between the column data sets into two contributions: one that is due to differences between the a priori and the ground-based NO2 profile shapes, and another that can be attributed to uncertainties in both the remaining retrieval parameters (such as, e.g., surface albedo or aerosol concentration and the ground-based in situ NO2 profiles. For anticyclonic clear sky conditions the comparison indicates a good agreement between the columns (n=157, R=0.70/0.74 for the first/second comparison approach, respectively. The mean relative difference (with respect to the ground-based columns is −7% with a standard deviation of 40% and GOME on average slightly underestimating the ground-based columns. Both data sets show a similar seasonal behaviour with a distinct maximum of spring NO2 VTCs. Further analysis indicates small GOME columns being systematically smaller than the ground-based ones. The influence of different shapes in the a

Reliable cost effective technique for in situ ground stress measurements in deep gold mines.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Stacey, TR

1995-07-01

Full Text Available on these requirements, an in situ stress measurement technique which will be practically applicable in the deep gold mines, has been developed conceptually. Referring to the figure on the following page, this method involves: • a borehole-based system, using... level mines have not been developed. 2 This is some of the background to the present SIMRAC research project, the title ofwhich is “Reliable cost effective technique for in-situ ground stress measurements in deep gold mines”. A copy of the research...

Changes in the measurement of fair value : implications for accounting earnings.

OpenAIRE

Fargher, N.; Zhang, J.

2014-01-01

With the FASB's issue of staff position papers in 2009 and the relaxation of how fair value standards are applied, there has been a change in the practice of how fair value is measured. Since the FASB staff position papers in 2009, fair value measurement by financial institutions has increasingly relied on managerial assumptions. This study examines the impact of this change on the quality of earnings. Consistent with attribute substitution theory that emphasises reliability over relevance, w...

Theory of “Weak Value" and Quantum Mechanical Measurements

OpenAIRE

Shikano, Yutaka

2012-01-01

Comment: to be published from "Measurements in Quantum Mechanics", edited by M. R. Pahlavani (InTech, 2012) Chapter 4 page 75. Yutaka Shikano (2012). ISBN: 978-953-51-0058-4 Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/articles/show/title/theory-of-weak-value-and-quantum-mechanical-measurement

The 183-WSL Fast Rain Rate Retrieval Algorithm. Part II: Validation Using Ground Radar Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Laviola, Sante; Levizzani, Vincenzo

2014-01-01

The Water vapour Strong Lines at 183 GHz (183-WSL) algorithm is a method for the retrieval of rain rates and precipitation type classification (convectivestratiform), that makes use of the water vapor absorption lines centered at 183.31 GHz of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit module B (AMSU-B) and of the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) flying on NOAA-15-18 and NOAA-19Metop-A satellite series, respectively. The characteristics of this algorithm were described in Part I of this paper together with comparisons against analogous precipitation products. The focus of Part II is the analysis of the performance of the 183-WSL technique based on surface radar measurements. The ground truth dataset consists of 2.5 years of rainfall intensity fields from the NIMROD European radar network which covers North-Western Europe. The investigation of the 183-WSL retrieval performance is based on a twofold approach: 1) the dichotomous statistic is used to evaluate the capabilities of the method to identify rain and no-rain clouds; 2) the accuracy statistic is applied to quantify the errors in the estimation of rain rates.The results reveal that the 183-WSL technique shows good skills in the detection of rainno-rain areas and in the quantification of rain rate intensities. The categorical analysis shows annual values of the POD, FAR and HK indices varying in the range 0.80-0.82, 0.330.36 and 0.39-0.46, respectively. The RMSE value is 2.8 millimeters per hour for the whole period despite an overestimation in the retrieved rain rates. Of note is the distribution of the 183-WSL monthly mean rain rate with respect to radar: the seasonal fluctuations of the average rainfalls measured by radar are reproduced by the 183-WSL. However, the retrieval method appears to suffer for the winter seasonal conditions especially when the soil is partially frozen and the surface emissivity drastically changes. This fact is verified observing the discrepancy distribution diagrams where2the 183-WSL

Density of uranium ions in the 4I0/sub 9/2/ ground state in a hollow-cathode type discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pianarosa, P.; Bouchard, P.; Saint-Dizier, J.P.; Gagne, J.M.

1983-01-01

A hollow-cathode type discharge cell as generator of uranium ions is investigated. The 4 I 0 /sub 9/2/ ground-state ion density has been obtained by absorption spectroscopy at 5493 and 4244 A. The absorption measurements have been performed using two identical hollow-cathode lamps: one acting as a light source, the other as a reservoir of free ions. Neon and xenon have been used as discharge sustaining gases. In our experimental conditions the measured ion ground-state density is of the order of 10 12 ions cm -3 . Absorption measurements performed at 5915 and 4246 A of U i give a density of the order of 10 12 atoms cm -3 . This latter value is in excellent agreement with a previously measured value obtained by laser-absorption spectroscopy

Transcutaneous oximetry measurements of the leg: comparing different measuring equipment and establishing values in healthy young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Trinks, Tobias P; Blake, Denise F; Young, Derelle A; Thistlethwaite, Ken; Vangaveti, Venkat N

2017-06-01

Transcutaneous oximetry measurement (TCOM) is a non-invasive method of determining oxygen tension at the skin level using heated electrodes. To compare TCOM values generated by different machines and to establish lower limb TCOM values in a cohort of healthy individuals younger than 40 years of age. Sixteen healthy, non-smoking volunteers aged 18 to 39 years were recruited. TCOM was obtained at six locations on the lower leg and foot using three different Radiometer machines. Measurements were taken with subjects lying supine, breathing air. Except for one sensor site, there were no statistical differences in measurements obtained by the different TCOM machines. There was no statistical difference in measurements comparing left and right legs. Room air TCOM values for the different lower leg sites were (mean (SD) in mmHg): lateral leg 61.5 (9.2); lateral ankle 61.1 (9.7); medial ankle 59.1 (10.8); foot, first and second toe 63.4 (10.6); foot, fifth toe 59.9 (13.2) and plantar foot 74.1 (8.8). The overall mean TCOM value for the lower limb was 61 (10.8; 95% confidence intervals 60.05-62.0) mmHg. Lower-leg TCOM measurements using different Radiometer TCOM machines were comparable. Hypoxia has been defined as lower-leg TCOM values of less than 40 mmHg in non-diabetic patients and this is supported by our measurements. The majority (96.9%) of the lower leg TCOM values in healthy young adults are above the hypoxic threshold.

Electron and ion temperatures: a comparison of ground-based incoherent scatter and AE-C satellite measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benson, R.F.; Bauer, P.; Brace, L.H.; Carlson, H.C.; Hagen, J.; Hanson, W.B.; Hoegy, W.R.; Torr, M.R.; Wickwar, V.B.

1977-01-01

The Atmosphere Exploere-C satellite (AE-C) is uniquely suited for correlative studies with ground-based stations because its on-board propulsion system enables a desired ground station overflight condition to be maintained for a period of several weeks. It also provides the first low-altitude (below 260 km) comparison of satellite and incoherent scatter electron and ion temperatures. More than 40 comparisons of remote and in situ measurements were made by using data from AE-C and four incoherent scatter stations (Arecibo, Chatanika, Millstone Hill, and St. Santin). The results indicate very good agreement between satellite and ground measurements of the ion temperature, the average satellite retarding potential analyzer temperatures differing from the average incoherent scatter temperatures by -2% at St. Santin, +3% at Millstone Hill, and +2% at Arecibo. The electron temperatures also agree well, the average satellite temperatures exceeding the average incoherent scatter temperatures by 3% at St. Santin, 2% at Arecibo, and 11% at Millstone Hill. Several temperature comparisons were made between AE-C and Chatanika. In spite of the highly variable ionosphere often encountered at this high-latitude location, good agreement was obtained between the in situ and remote measurements of electron and ion temperatures. Longitudinal variations are found to be very important in the comparisons of electron temperature in some locations. The agreement between the electron temperatures is considerably better than that found in some earlier comparisons involving satellities at higher altitudes

Calibration of Smartphone-Based Weather Measurements Using Pairwise Gossip.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamora, Jane Louie Fresco; Kashihara, Shigeru; Yamaguchi, Suguru

2015-01-01

Accurate and reliable daily global weather reports are necessary for weather forecasting and climate analysis. However, the availability of these reports continues to decline due to the lack of economic support and policies in maintaining ground weather measurement systems from where these reports are obtained. Thus, to mitigate data scarcity, it is required to utilize weather information from existing sensors and built-in smartphone sensors. However, as smartphone usage often varies according to human activity, it is difficult to obtain accurate measurement data. In this paper, we present a heuristic-based pairwise gossip algorithm that will calibrate smartphone-based pressure sensors with respect to fixed weather stations as our referential ground truth. Based on actual measurements, we have verified that smartphone-based readings are unstable when observed during movement. Using our calibration algorithm on actual smartphone-based pressure readings, the updated values were significantly closer to the ground truth values.

How do nurse academics value and engage with evidence-based practice across Australia: Findings from a grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Malik, Gulzar; McKenna, Lisa; Griffiths, Debra

2016-06-01

Integrating evidence-based practice (EBP) into undergraduate education and preparing future nurses to embrace EBP in clinical practice becomes paramount in today's complex and evolving healthcare environment. The role that EBP plays in the practical lives of nursing students will depend on the degree to which it is promoted by academics, how it is incorporated into courses and its application to clinical setting. Hence, nursing academics play a crucial role in influencing its integration into curricula. Drawn from a larger doctoral study, this paper presents findings discussing how nurse academics value and engage with EBP. Grounded theory was employed to explore processes used by nursing academics while incorporating EBP into teaching and learning practices. Twenty-three academics across Australian universities were interviewed. Nine were also observed while teaching undergraduate students. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation. In keeping with the tenets of grounded theory, data collection and analysis continued until theoretical saturation was reached. In total, four categories emerged. This paper focuses on the category conceptualised as Valuing and Engaging with EBP. How nursing academics valued and engaged with EBP was closely associated with meanings they constructed around understanding it, attitudes and commitment to implementation while teaching and working clinically. Different opinions also existed in regard to what actually constituted EBP. However, they engaged with and valued EBP by keeping themselves up-to-date, being involved in research activities, using evidence in teaching, therefore leading by example. Participants identified a number of barriers influencing their engagement with EBP including heavy workloads, limited time, lack of commitment within their schools, lack of confidence with teaching EBP, and complexity of EBP application. Faculty clinical practice, committed academics, workload

The Radon Book. Preventive measures in new buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clavensjoe, Bertil; Aakerblom, Gustav

2004-01-01

This book describes in text and picture how one can prevent that the radon concentrations in new buildings become to high. The book's centre of gravity lies on how to build in order to prevent that radon gas from the ground enters the building. The book contains extensive information about ground radon and how to examine the ground before constructing a new building. Release of radon from ground water and construction material is treated, as well as technology for measurement of radon and gamma radiation. The book presents current threshold values/recommended values for radon and the authorities' regulations and recommendations. The book is directed to persons who professionally need knowledge about radon and how to prevent that radon is accumulated in new buildings

New measurements of W-values for protons and alpha particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giesen, U.; Beck, J.

2014-01-01

The increasing importance of ion beams in cancer therapy and the lack of experimental data for W-values for protons and heavy ions in air require new measurements. A new experimental set-up was developed at PTB and consistent measurements of W-values in argon, nitrogen and air for protons and alpha particles with energies from 0.7 to 3.5 MeV u -1 at PTB, and for carbon ions between 3.6 and 7.0 MeV u -1 at GSI were carried out. This publication concentrates on the measurements with protons and alpha particles at PTB. The experimental methods and the determination of corrections for recombination effects, beam-induced background radiation and additional effects are presented. W-values in argon, nitrogen and air were measured for protons with energies of 1-3 MeV and for alpha particles with energies of 2.7-14 MeV. The energies of the primary particle beam were corrected for energy losses in the gold and Mylar foils, as well as for the kinematic energy loss due to scattering by 45 deg.. Beam-induced radiation backgrounds as well as recombination effects were determined and corrected for. The present results are summarised in Figure 2 for all three gases. The solid lines through the data points for each gas indicate an average W-value for that gas. The higher values for 2.7-MeV alpha particles agree with the trend in previous data towards lower energies. They are excluded from the averages. The relative standard uncertainties of the individual data points range from 1.3 to 3 %. The weighted averages over all energies are W(Ar) = 25.7 eV, W(N 2 ) = 35.6 eV and W(Air) = 34.2 eV. The averages serve as a first comparison and the lines on the plot are to guide the eye and are not meant to imply constant W-values for all energies and particles. The W-values for protons and alpha particles in argon and nitrogen have smaller uncertainties and are lower than the suggested values, but they are still in agreement within the uncertainties. For alpha particles with energies of 12

Measurements of CO2 Column Abundance in the Low Atmosphere Using Ground Based 1.6 μm CO2 DIAL

Science.gov (United States)

Abo, M.; Shibata, Y.; Nagasawa, C.

2017-12-01

Changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration are believed to produce the largest radiative forcing for the current climate system. Accurate predictions of atmospheric CO2 concentration rely on the knowledge of its sinks and sources, transports, and its variability with time. Although this knowledge is currently unsatisfactory, numerical models use it as a way in simulating CO2 fluxes. Validating and improving the global atmospheric transport model, therefore, requires precise measurement of the CO2 concentration profile. There are two further variations on Lidar: the differential absorption Lidar (DIAL) and the integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) Lidar. DIAL/IPDA are basically for profile/total column measurement, respectively. IPDA is a special case of DIAL and can measure the total column-averaged mixing ratio of trace gases using return signals from the Earth's surface or from thick clouds based on an airborne or a satellite. We have developed a ground based 1.6 μm DIAL to measure vertical CO2 mixing ratio profiles from 0.4 to 2.5 km altitude. The goals of the CO2 DIAL are to produce atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio measurements with much smaller seasonal and diurnal biases from the ground surface. But, in the ground based lidar, return signals from around ground surface are usually suppressed in order to handle the large dynamic range. To receive the return signals as near as possible from ground surface, namely, the field of view (FOV) of the telescope must be wide enough to reduce the blind range of the lidar. While the return signals from the far distance are very weak, to enhance the sensitivity and heighten the detecting distance, the FOV must be narrow enough to suppress the sky background light, especially during the daytime measurements. To solve this problem, we propose a total column measurement method from the ground surface to 0.4 km altitude. Instead of strong signals from thick clouds such as the IPDA, the proposed method uses

An automated A-value measurement tool for accurate cochlear duct length estimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Iyaniwura, John E; Elfarnawany, Mai; Ladak, Hanif M; Agrawal, Sumit K

2018-01-22

There has been renewed interest in the cochlear duct length (CDL) for preoperative cochlear implant electrode selection and postoperative generation of patient-specific frequency maps. The CDL can be estimated by measuring the A-value, which is defined as the length between the round window and the furthest point on the basal turn. Unfortunately, there is significant intra- and inter-observer variability when these measurements are made clinically. The objective of this study was to develop an automated A-value measurement algorithm to improve accuracy and eliminate observer variability. Clinical and micro-CT images of 20 cadaveric cochleae specimens were acquired. The micro-CT of one sample was chosen as the atlas, and A-value fiducials were placed onto that image. Image registration (rigid affine and non-rigid B-spline) was applied between the atlas and the 19 remaining clinical CT images. The registration transform was applied to the A-value fiducials, and the A-value was then automatically calculated for each specimen. High resolution micro-CT images of the same 19 specimens were used to measure the gold standard A-values for comparison against the manual and automated methods. The registration algorithm had excellent qualitative overlap between the atlas and target images. The automated method eliminated the observer variability and the systematic underestimation by experts. Manual measurement of the A-value on clinical CT had a mean error of 9.5 ± 4.3% compared to micro-CT, and this improved to an error of 2.7 ± 2.1% using the automated algorithm. Both the automated and manual methods correlated significantly with the gold standard micro-CT A-values (r = 0.70, p value measurement tool using atlas-based registration methods was successfully developed and validated. The automated method eliminated the observer variability and improved accuracy as compared to manual measurements by experts. This open-source tool has the potential to benefit

Linking Quality and Spending to Measure Value for People with Serious Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, Phillip E.

2018-01-01

Abstract Background: Healthcare payment is rapidly evolving to reward value by measuring and paying for quality and spending performance. Rewarding value for the care of seriously ill patients presents unique challenges. Objective: To evaluate the state of current efforts to measure and reward value for the care of seriously ill patients. Design: We performed a PubMed search of articles related to (1) measures of spending for people with serious illness and (2) linking spending and quality measures and rewarding performance for the care of people with serious illness. We limited our search to U.S.-based studies published in English between January 1, 1960, and March 31, 2017. We supplemented this search by identifying public programs and other known initiatives that linked quality and spending for the seriously ill and extracted key program elements. Results: Our search related to linking spending and quality measures and rewarding performance for the care of people with serious illness yielded 277 articles. We identified three current public programs that currently link measures of quality and spending—or are likely to within the next few years—the Oncology Care Model; the Comprehensive End-Stage Renal Disease Model; and Home Health Value-Based Purchasing. Models that link quality and spending consist of four core components: (1) measuring quality, (2) measuring spending, (3) the payment adjustment model, and (4) the linking/incentive model. We found that current efforts to reward value for seriously ill patients are targeted for specific patient populations, do not broadly encourage the use of palliative care, and have not closely aligned quality and spending measures related to palliative care. Conclusions: We develop recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders about how measures of spending and quality can be balanced in value-based payment programs. PMID:29091529

The Value of Improved Measurements in a Pig Slaughterhouse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærsgaard, Niels Christian

The pig industry is an essential and important part of Danish economy with an export value in 2006 of more than DKK 28 billions [Danish Meat Association (2007)]. The competition is hard, and potential new competitors from low cost countries can be expected to enter the traditional Danish export...... markets. Therefore it is more important than ever to optimize all aspects of Danish pig production, slaughtering processes and delivery. This paper concerns the aspects of optimization at the slaughterhouses regarding estimation of the value of improved measurements. The slaughterhouse industry differs...... investments are expected to improve the quality of the measurements further. This paper concerns the use of Operations Research to solve a practical problem, which is of major importance for the industry, namely to improve the estimation of the economic effects of improved measurements. The benefit...

Positive-operator-valued measure optimization of classical correlations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hamieh, S; Kobes, R; Zaraket, H

We study the problem of optimization over positive-operator-valued measures to extract classical correlation in a bipartite quantum system. The proposed method is applied to binary states only. Moreover, to illustrate this method, an explicit example is studied in detail.

Conjectures Regarding the Adoption of Fair Value Measurements in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Dal-Ri Murcia

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The issue of relevance versus reliability has always been a debate in accounting. Far from being a consensus among the community, the adoption of fair value measurements is intended to present a more realistic view of an entity¿s financial position. However, it could also cause a loss of credibility due to the subjectivity inherent in the valuation process. Wishing to make a contribution to the existing literature on this issue, this paper presents a discussion about the adoption of fair value measurements in Brazil. First, we present a brief examination of asset and liability valuation using the accounting theory as a framework. Following, we conduct a review of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB standards regarding fair value measurements. Empirical studies addressing fair value are also reviewed. Finally, a discussion about its implementation is presented, aiming to take into account the specificities of the Brazilian Market. This paper intends to contribute to the construction of academic knowledge in accounting by debating an issue which is a real problem for organizations, and yet incipient in the national literature.

Irradiance Impact on Pollution by Integrating Nephelometer Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Rita Perrone

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Three-wavelength integrating nephelometer measurements combined with short- (SW and long-wave (LW irradiance measurements were used to investigate the irradiance effects on the daily evolution of the particulate matter (PM at the ground level, and contribute to the characterization of the land–atmosphere interaction in pollution dispersal. The integrating nephelometer measurements have allowed characterizing the daily changes of the PM optical and microphysical properties by the aerosol scattering coefficient (σp and the scattering Ångström coefficient (å. We found that on a daily basis σp reached the minimum values when the irradiance reached the maximum values, since the convective motions, which favor the particle dispersion at the surface, increase with the irradiance. The å value, which is commonly used as qualitative indicator of the dominant particle size, has allowed evaluating the irradiance effects on the mean particle size distribution at the surface and revealed that the irradiance increase favors mainly the dispersion of the ground-level fine particles. Particle size-distribution measurements supported the last comment. Measurements were performed from 4 to 10 May 2015 when the study site was affected by a Saharan dust outbreak, to also evaluate the impact of long-range transported particles on the daily evolution of the ground-level particle’s properties and the SW and LW irradiance.

On mean wind and turbulence profile measurements from ground-based wind lidars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Torben

2009-01-01

Two types of wind lidar?s have become available for ground-based vertical mean wind and turbulence profiling. A continuous wave (CW) wind lidar, and a pulsed wind lidar. Although they both are build upon the same recent 1.55 μ telecom fibre technology, they possess fundamental differences between...... their temporal and spatial resolution capabilities. A literature review of the two lidar systems spatial and temporal resolution characteristics will be presented, and the implication for the two lidar types vertical profile measurements of mean wind and turbulence in the lower atmospheric boundary layer...

A model for measuring value for money in professional sports

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vlad ROŞCA

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Few to almost none sports teams measure the entertainment value they provide to fans in exchange of the money the latter ones spend on admission fees. Scientific literature oversees the issue as well. The aim of this paper is to present a model that can be used for calculating value for money in the context of spectating sports. The research question asks how can value for money be conceptualized and measured for sports marketing purposes? Using financial and sporting variables, the method calculates how much money, on average, a fan had to spend for receiving quality entertainment – defined as won matches – from his favorite team, during the last season of the Romanian first division football championship. The results only partially confirm the research hypothesis, showing that not just price and sporting performances may influence the value delivered to fans, but other factors as well.

Measurement invariance of the Portrait Values Questionnaire across 25 European countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scholderer, Joachim

The Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) is tested for cross-cultural validity. Measurement characteristics are compared across representative consumer samples from 25 European countries (total N = 37,592) using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis with structured means. The results suggest....... Hence, most direct comparisons of PVQ raw scores and sample statistics between European countries are valid without correction. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the ten values measured by the PVQ are invariant across European countries in terms of their relative position on the quasi......-circumplex hypothesised by the theory of basic human values....

Application of a soil and ground-water pollutant-transport model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reeves, M.; Duguid, J.O.

1975-01-01

A general two-dimensional model was developed for simulation of saturated-unsaturated transport of radionuclides in ground water. This model is being applied to the transport of radionuclides from waste-disposal sites, where field investigations are currently under way to obtain the necessary parameters. A zero-order simulation of a waste-disposal trench is presented. Estimated values of the soil properties have been used since very limited experimental information is available at the present time. However, as more measured values become available from field studies, the simulation will be updated. The end product of this research will be a reliable computer model useful both in predicting future transport of radionuclides from buried waste and in examining control measures if they are shown to be necessary. (U.S.)

Measurements of total and tropospheric ozone from IASI: comparison with correlative satellite, ground-based and ozonesonde observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Boynard

2009-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present measurements of total and tropospheric ozone, retrieved from infrared radiance spectra recorded by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI, which was launched on board the MetOp-A European satellite in October 2006. We compare IASI total ozone columns to Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2 observations and ground-based measurements from the Dobson and Brewer network for one full year of observations (2008. The IASI total ozone columns are shown to be in good agreement with both GOME-2 and ground-based data, with correlation coefficients of about 0.9 and 0.85, respectively. On average, IASI ozone retrievals exhibit a positive bias of about 9 DU (3.3% compared to both GOME-2 and ground-based measurements. In addition to total ozone columns, the good spectral resolution of IASI enables the retrieval of tropospheric ozone concentrations. Comparisons of IASI tropospheric columns to 490 collocated ozone soundings available from several stations around the globe have been performed for the period of June 2007–August 2008. IASI tropospheric ozone columns compare well with sonde observations, with correlation coefficients of 0.95 and 0.77 for the [surface–6 km] and [surface–12 km] partial columns, respectively. IASI retrievals tend to overestimate the tropospheric ozone columns in comparison with ozonesonde measurements. Positive average biases of 0.15 DU (1.2% and 3 DU (11% are found for the [surface–6 km] and for the [surface–12 km] partial columns respectively.

Calibration of Smartphone-Based Weather Measurements Using Pairwise Gossip

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jane Louie Fresco Zamora

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Accurate and reliable daily global weather reports are necessary for weather forecasting and climate analysis. However, the availability of these reports continues to decline due to the lack of economic support and policies in maintaining ground weather measurement systems from where these reports are obtained. Thus, to mitigate data scarcity, it is required to utilize weather information from existing sensors and built-in smartphone sensors. However, as smartphone usage often varies according to human activity, it is difficult to obtain accurate measurement data. In this paper, we present a heuristic-based pairwise gossip algorithm that will calibrate smartphone-based pressure sensors with respect to fixed weather stations as our referential ground truth. Based on actual measurements, we have verified that smartphone-based readings are unstable when observed during movement. Using our calibration algorithm on actual smartphone-based pressure readings, the updated values were significantly closer to the ground truth values.

TEMIS UV product validation using NILU-UV ground-based measurements in Thessaloniki, Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Zempila, Melina-Maria; van Geffen, Jos H. G. M.; Taylor, Michael; Fountoulakis, Ilias; Koukouli, Maria-Elissavet; van Weele, Michiel; van der A, Ronald J.; Bais, Alkiviadis; Meleti, Charikleia; Balis, Dimitrios

2017-06-01

This study aims to cross-validate ground-based and satellite-based models of three photobiological UV effective dose products: the Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage (CIE) erythemal UV, the production of vitamin D in the skin, and DNA damage, using high-temporal-resolution surface-based measurements of solar UV spectral irradiances from a synergy of instruments and models. The satellite-based Tropospheric Emission Monitoring Internet Service (TEMIS; version 1.4) UV daily dose data products were evaluated over the period 2009 to 2014 with ground-based data from a Norsk Institutt for Luftforskning (NILU)-UV multifilter radiometer located at the northern midlatitude super-site of the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (LAP/AUTh), in Greece. For the NILU-UV effective dose rates retrieval algorithm, a neural network (NN) was trained to learn the nonlinear functional relation between NILU-UV irradiances and collocated Brewer-based photobiological effective dose products. Then the algorithm was subjected to sensitivity analysis and validation. The correlation of the NN estimates with target outputs was high (r = 0. 988 to 0.990) and with a very low bias (0.000 to 0.011 in absolute units) proving the robustness of the NN algorithm. For further evaluation of the NILU NN-derived products, retrievals of the vitamin D and DNA-damage effective doses from a collocated Yankee Environmental Systems (YES) UVB-1 pyranometer were used. For cloud-free days, differences in the derived UV doses are better than 2 % for all UV dose products, revealing the reference quality of the ground-based UV doses at Thessaloniki from the NILU-UV NN retrievals. The TEMIS UV doses used in this study are derived from ozone measurements by the SCIAMACHY/Envisat and GOME2/MetOp-A satellite instruments, over the European domain in combination with SEVIRI/Meteosat-based diurnal cycle of the cloud cover fraction per 0. 5° × 0. 5° (lat × long) grid cells. TEMIS

TEMIS UV product validation using NILU-UV ground-based measurements in Thessaloniki, Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.-M. Zempila

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study aims to cross-validate ground-based and satellite-based models of three photobiological UV effective dose products: the Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage (CIE erythemal UV, the production of vitamin D in the skin, and DNA damage, using high-temporal-resolution surface-based measurements of solar UV spectral irradiances from a synergy of instruments and models. The satellite-based Tropospheric Emission Monitoring Internet Service (TEMIS; version 1.4 UV daily dose data products were evaluated over the period 2009 to 2014 with ground-based data from a Norsk Institutt for Luftforskning (NILU-UV multifilter radiometer located at the northern midlatitude super-site of the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (LAP/AUTh, in Greece. For the NILU-UV effective dose rates retrieval algorithm, a neural network (NN was trained to learn the nonlinear functional relation between NILU-UV irradiances and collocated Brewer-based photobiological effective dose products. Then the algorithm was subjected to sensitivity analysis and validation. The correlation of the NN estimates with target outputs was high (r = 0. 988 to 0.990 and with a very low bias (0.000 to 0.011 in absolute units proving the robustness of the NN algorithm. For further evaluation of the NILU NN-derived products, retrievals of the vitamin D and DNA-damage effective doses from a collocated Yankee Environmental Systems (YES UVB-1 pyranometer were used. For cloud-free days, differences in the derived UV doses are better than 2 % for all UV dose products, revealing the reference quality of the ground-based UV doses at Thessaloniki from the NILU-UV NN retrievals. The TEMIS UV doses used in this study are derived from ozone measurements by the SCIAMACHY/Envisat and GOME2/MetOp-A satellite instruments, over the European domain in combination with SEVIRI/Meteosat-based diurnal cycle of the cloud cover fraction per 0. 5° × 0. 5�

ONKALO EDZ-measurements using ground penetrating radar (GPR) method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silvast, M.; Wiljanen, B. (Roadscanners Oy, Rovaniemi (Finland))

2008-09-15

This report presents pilot project results from various Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) tests performed on bedrock in ONKALO, the research tunnel system being built for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (in Finland). In recent years the GPR technology for structure inspection has improved to faster systems and higher frequencies. Processing and interpretation software has been developed for better visualization of processed data. GPR is a powerful non-destructive testing method with major advantages such as fast measurement speed and continuous survey lines. The purpose of the tests was to determine the capacity of GPR in identifying the Excavation Damaged or Disturbed Zone (EDZ). Topics included comparison of different types of GPR systems and antennas in select locations in the tunnel system and data presentation. High quality GPR data was obtained from all systems that were used on surfaces without concrete or steel reinforcement. Data processed using Geo Doctor software, which enables integrated analysis of available datasets on a single screen, provided promising results. (orig.)

ONKALO EDZ-measurements using ground penetrating radar (GPR) method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silvast, M.; Wiljanen, B.

2008-09-01

This report presents pilot project results from various Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) tests performed on bedrock in ONKALO, the research tunnel system being built for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (in Finland). In recent years the GPR technology for structure inspection has improved to faster systems and higher frequencies. Processing and interpretation software has been developed for better visualization of processed data. GPR is a powerful non-destructive testing method with major advantages such as fast measurement speed and continuous survey lines. The purpose of the tests was to determine the capacity of GPR in identifying the Excavation Damaged or Disturbed Zone (EDZ). Topics included comparison of different types of GPR systems and antennas in select locations in the tunnel system and data presentation. High quality GPR data was obtained from all systems that were used on surfaces without concrete or steel reinforcement. Data processed using Geo Doctor software, which enables integrated analysis of available datasets on a single screen, provided promising results. (orig.)

Comparing multiple model-derived aerosol optical properties to spatially collocated ground-based and satellite measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Ocko, Ilissa B.; Ginoux, Paul A.

2017-04-01

Anthropogenic aerosols are a key factor governing Earth's climate and play a central role in human-caused climate change. However, because of aerosols' complex physical, optical, and dynamical properties, aerosols are one of the most uncertain aspects of climate modeling. Fortunately, aerosol measurement networks over the past few decades have led to the establishment of long-term observations for numerous locations worldwide. Further, the availability of datasets from several different measurement techniques (such as ground-based and satellite instruments) can help scientists increasingly improve modeling efforts. This study explores the value of evaluating several model-simulated aerosol properties with data from spatially collocated instruments. We compare aerosol optical depth (AOD; total, scattering, and absorption), single-scattering albedo (SSA), Ångström exponent (α), and extinction vertical profiles in two prominent global climate models (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, GFDL, CM2.1 and CM3) to seasonal observations from collocated instruments (AErosol RObotic NETwork, AERONET, and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization, CALIOP) at seven polluted and biomass burning regions worldwide. We find that a multi-parameter evaluation provides key insights on model biases, data from collocated instruments can reveal underlying aerosol-governing physics, column properties wash out important vertical distinctions, and improved models does not mean all aspects are improved. We conclude that it is important to make use of all available data (parameters and instruments) when evaluating aerosol properties derived by models.

Penning trap mass spectrometry Q-value determinations for highly forbidden β-decays

Science.gov (United States)

Sandler, Rachel; Bollen, Georg; Eibach, Martin; Gamage, Nadeesha; Gulyuz, Kerim; Hamaker, Alec; Izzo, Chris; Kandegedara, Rathnayake; Redshaw, Matt; Ringle, Ryan; Valverde, Adrian; Yandow, Isaac; Low Energy Beam Ion Trap Team

2017-09-01

Over the last several decades, extremely sensitive, ultra-low background beta and gamma detection techniques have been developed. These techniques have enabled the observation of very rare processes, such as highly forbidden beta decays e.g. of 113Cd, 50V and 138La. Half-life measurements of highly forbidden beta decays provide a testing ground for theoretical nuclear models, and the comparison of calculated and measured energy spectra could enable a determination of the values of the weak coupling constants. Precision Q-value measurements also allow for systematic tests of the beta-particle detection techniques. We will present the results and current status of Q value determinations for highly forbidden beta decays. The Q values, the mass difference between parent and daughter nuclides, are measured using the high precision Penning trap mass spectrometer LEBIT at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.

Measuring Transmission Spectra from the Ground

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Andres; Espinoza, Nestor; Eyheramendy, Susana

2015-08-01

Transmission spectroscopy allows study of the atmospheres of exoplanets without the need of spatially resolving them from their parent stars and is one of the most valuable follow-up possibilities offered by transiting systems. The measurement of a transmission spectrum, i.e. the apparent planetary size in units in the stellar radius as a function of wavelength, is conceptually simple, but the expected features that need to be discerned are on the order of one part in a thousand or less, and need to be extracted against a background of (potentially correlated) noise and systematic effects with amplitudes greatly exceeding that of the sought signal. In this talk I will describe how we have tackled the estimation of transmission spectra in a ground based survey we are carrying out with IMACS at Las Campanas Observatory, the Arizona-CfA-Catolica Exoplanet Spectroscopy Survey. Our treatment assumes an additive model consisting of the signal, common systematics and one of a set of stochastic processes with different memory characteristics for the noise. Common systematics are estimated from comparison stars using principal component analysis and the model parameter posterior distributions are estimated using MCMC. Model comparison is used to let the data select the model with the most appropriate noise component. I will illustrate the performance of our approach, and discuss possible avenues of improvement. I will also illustrate the importance of potential biases arising from our incomplete knowledge of stellar properties. In particular, I will show that limb darkening assumptions can limit the accuracy of our estimates of planetary radii above the achievable precisions in regimes currently being probed.

Stochastic ground motion simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Rezaeian, Sanaz; Xiaodan, Sun; Beer, Michael; Kougioumtzoglou, Ioannis A.; Patelli, Edoardo; Siu-Kui Au, Ivan

2014-01-01

Strong earthquake ground motion records are fundamental in engineering applications. Ground motion time series are used in response-history dynamic analysis of structural or geotechnical systems. In such analysis, the validity of predicted responses depends on the validity of the input excitations. Ground motion records are also used to develop ground motion prediction equations(GMPEs) for intensity measures such as spectral accelerations that are used in response-spectrum dynamic analysis. Despite the thousands of available strong ground motion records, there remains a shortage of records for large-magnitude earthquakes at short distances or in specific regions, as well as records that sample specific combinations of source, path, and site characteristics.

Measuring Children's Environmental Attitudes and Values in Northwest Mexico: Validating a Modified Version of Measures to Test the Model of Ecological Values (2-MEV)

Science.gov (United States)

Schneller, A. J.; Johnson, B.; Bogner, F. X.

2015-01-01

This paper describes the validation process of measuring children's attitudes and values toward the environment within a Mexican sample. We applied the Model of Ecological Values (2-MEV), which has been shown to be valid and reliable in 20 countries, including one Spanish speaking culture. Items were initially modified to fit the regional dialect,…

Applicability of International and DOE Target Values to ALD Destructive Measurement Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, M.K.

2002-01-01

International Target values and target value applicability are a function of the nuclear material processing campaign or application for which the accountability measurement method is being applied. Safeguarding significant quantities of nuclear-grade materials requires that accountability measurements be as accurate, precise, and representative as practically possible. In general, the ITV provides a benchmark for determining generic acceptability of the performance of the various accountability measurement methods, since it represents a performance level that is accepted as highly reliable. There are cases where it is acceptable to select alternative accountability methods not specifically referenced by the ITV, or to use the recognized measurement method, even though the uncertainties are greater than the target values

Characteristics of Earthquake Ground Motion Attenuation in Korea and Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, In-Kil; Choun, Young-Sun; Nakajima, Masato; Ohtori, Yasuki; Yun, Kwan-Hee

2006-01-01

The characteristics of a ground motion attenuation in Korea and Japan were estimated by using the earthquake ground motions recorded at the equal distance observation station by KMA, K-NET and KiK-net of Korea and Japan. The ground motion attenuation equations proposed for Korea and Japan were evaluated by comparing the predicted value for the Fukuoka earthquake with the observed records. The predicted values from the attenuation equations show a good agreement with the observed records and each other. It can be concluded from this study that the ground motion attenuation equations can be used for the prediction of strong ground motion attenuation and for an evaluation of the attenuation equations proposed for Korea

Measurement of the signs of methyl {sup 13}C chemical shift differences between interconverting ground and excited protein states by R{sub 1{rho}}: an application to {alpha}B-crystallin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baldwin, Andrew J.; Kay, Lewis E., E-mail: kay@pound.med.utoronto.ca [University of Toronto, Departments of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Chemistry (Canada)

2012-05-15

Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill relaxation dispersion (CPMG RD) NMR spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful tool for quantifying the kinetics and thermodynamics of millisecond time-scale exchange processes involving the interconversion between a visible ground state and one or more minor, sparsely populated invisible 'excited' conformational states. Recently it has also become possible to determine atomic resolution structural models of excited states using a wide array of CPMG RD approaches. Analysis of CPMG RD datasets provides the magnitudes of the chemical shift differences between the ground and excited states, {Delta}{omega}, but not the sign. In order to obtain detailed structural insights from, for example, excited state chemical shifts and residual dipolar coupling measurements, these signs are required. Here we present an NMR experiment for obtaining signs of {sup 13}C chemical shift differences of {sup 13}CH{sub 3} methyl groups using weak field off-resonance R{sub 1{rho}} relaxation measurements. The accuracy of the method is established by using an exchanging system where the invisible, excited state can be converted to the visible, ground state by altering sample conditions so that the signs of {Delta}{omega} values obtained from the spin-lock approach can be validated against those measured directly. Further, the spin-lock experiments are compared with the established H(S/M)QC approach for measuring signs of chemical shift differences and the relative strengths of each method are discussed. In the case of the 650 kDa human {alpha}B-crystallin complex where there are large transverse relaxation differences between ground and excited state spins the R{sub 1{rho}} method is shown to be superior to more 'traditional' experiments for sign determination.

Ion cyclotron waves: Direct compariosn between ground-based measurements and observations in the source region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perraut, S.; Gendrin, R.; Roux, A.; de Villedary, C.

1984-01-01

Simultaneous measurements of ion cyclotron waves (ICW's) were performed on GEOS spacecraft and in the vicinity of their magnetic footprints with the French Mobile station. The detailed comparison between the two sets of data shown that while ICW's having F + gyrofrequency at the equator, generally propagate to the ground, only 50% of those generated above F/sub He/ can reach the ground station. It is shown that these results are in good agreement with the conclusions that Rauch and Roux [1982] drew on the basis of measurements reported by Young et al 1981]. In an He + -rich plasma, ICW's with F>F/sub He/ suffer a reflection where the frequency locally matches the local bi-ion hybrid frequency. We extend the calculations of Rauch and Roux and calculate, as a function of the He + concentration, the tunneling of ICW's through the stopband induced by the presence of minor He + ions. It is shown that the transmission coefficient strongly depends upon the wave frequency for a given He + abundance ratio. The results obtained are shown to be supported by existing observations

Finite element approximation for time-dependent diffusion with measure-valued source

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Seidman, T.; Gobbert, M.; Trott, D.; Kružík, Martin

2012-01-01

Roč. 122, č. 4 (2012), s. 709-723 ISSN 0029-599X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100750802 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : measure-valued source * diffusion equation Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.329, year: 2012 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/MTR/kruzik-finite element approximation for time - dependent diffusion with measure-valued source.pdf

A new inductive method for measuring the RRR-value of niobium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolore, M.; Bonin, B.; Boudigou, Y.; Heuveline, S.; Jacques, E.; Jaidane, S.; Koechlin, F.; Safa, H.

1996-01-01

A new method for measuring the RRR-value of niobium is presented. The principle of the measurement uses low frequency induction in a niobium sheet placed close to a pair of coils. In contrast with the usual resistive method, the present one gives information on the local value of the RRR, with a spatial resolution of the order of 1 cm. In addition, it is non destructive, thus opening the way to mapping RRR measurements on cavities. This tool will permit the measure of RRR inhomogeneities in cavities due to sheet forming or heat treatments, and the systematic check of the quality of weld seams. (author)

Ground motion predictions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loux, P C [Environmental Research Corporation, Alexandria, VA (United States)

1969-07-01

Nuclear generated ground motion is defined and then related to the physical parameters that cause it. Techniques employed for prediction of ground motion peak amplitude, frequency spectra and response spectra are explored, with initial emphasis on the analysis of data collected at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). NTS postshot measurements are compared with pre-shot predictions. Applicability of these techniques to new areas, for example, Plowshare sites, must be questioned. Fortunately, the Atomic Energy Commission is sponsoring complementary studies to improve prediction capabilities primarily in new locations outside the NTS region. Some of these are discussed in the light of anomalous seismic behavior, and comparisons are given showing theoretical versus experimental results. In conclusion, current ground motion prediction techniques are applied to events off the NTS. Predictions are compared with measurements for the event Faultless and for the Plowshare events, Gasbuggy, Cabriolet, and Buggy I. (author)

Ground motion predictions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loux, P.C.

1969-01-01

Nuclear generated ground motion is defined and then related to the physical parameters that cause it. Techniques employed for prediction of ground motion peak amplitude, frequency spectra and response spectra are explored, with initial emphasis on the analysis of data collected at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). NTS postshot measurements are compared with pre-shot predictions. Applicability of these techniques to new areas, for example, Plowshare sites, must be questioned. Fortunately, the Atomic Energy Commission is sponsoring complementary studies to improve prediction capabilities primarily in new locations outside the NTS region. Some of these are discussed in the light of anomalous seismic behavior, and comparisons are given showing theoretical versus experimental results. In conclusion, current ground motion prediction techniques are applied to events off the NTS. Predictions are compared with measurements for the event Faultless and for the Plowshare events, Gasbuggy, Cabriolet, and Buggy I. (author)

USB environment measurements based on full-scale static engine ground tests

Science.gov (United States)

Sussman, M. B.; Harkonen, D. L.; Reed, J. B.

1976-01-01

Flow turning parameters, static pressures, surface temperatures, surface fluctuating pressures and acceleration levels were measured in the environment of a full-scale upper surface blowing (USB) propulsive lift test configuration. The test components included a flightworthy CF6-50D engine, nacelle, and USB flap assembly utilized in conjunction with ground verification testing of the USAF YC-14 Advanced Medium STOL Transport propulsion system. Results, based on a preliminary analysis of the data, generally show reasonable agreement with predicted levels based on model data. However, additional detailed analysis is required to confirm the preliminary evaluation, to help delineate certain discrepancies with model data, and to establish a basis for future flight test comparisons.

Measuring the Value of Placements to Employers: A Cost-Benefit Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wond, Tracey; Rambukwella, Shan

2018-01-01

This article explores the concept and measurement of placement value, underexplored in theory and practice to date. The article makes a theoretical contribution to the placement value discourse by examining and articulating the placement value concept. It also offers a practical contribution by exploring a piloted tool to evaluate employer…

The Impact of Corporate Governance on Financial Performance: (Measured using Accounting and Value-Added based Measures): Evidence from Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Abdul Aziz, Khairul Annuar

2005-01-01

This paper aims to test empirically which measure, an accounting based financial performance measure such as Return on Equity, Price to Earnings Ratio, Earnings Per Share and Return on Capital Employed; or value-added based financial performance measures such as Economic Value Added and Market Value Added; is more closely related with Corporate Governance Compliance. This paper also aims to study the level of Corporate Governance Compliance of the Smaller Companies listed on the KLSE, the mea...

Wire position system to consistently measure and record the location change of girders following ground changes

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, H. J.; Lee, S. B.; Lee, H. G.; Y Back, S.; Kim, S. H.; Kang, H. S.

2017-07-01

Several parts that comprise the large scientific device should be installed and operated at the accurate three-dimensional location coordinates (X, Y, and Z) where they should be subjected to survey and alignment. The location of the aligned parts should not be changed in order to ensure that the electron beam parameters (Energy 10 GeV, Charge 200 pC, and Bunch Length 60 fs, Emittance X/Y 0.481 μm/0.256 μm) of PAL-XFEL (X-ray Free Electron Laser of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory) remain stable and can be operated without any problems. As time goes by, however, the ground goes through uplift and subsidence, which consequently deforms building floors. The deformation of the ground and buildings changes the location of several devices including magnets and RF accelerator tubes, which eventually leads to alignment errors (∆X, ∆Y, and ∆Z). Once alignment errors occur with regard to these parts, the electron beam deviates from its course and beam parameters change accordingly. PAL-XFEL has installed the Hydrostatic Leveling System (HLS) to measure and record the vertical change of buildings and ground consistently and systematically and the Wire Position System (WPS) to measure the two dimensional changes of girders. This paper is designed to introduce the operating principle and design concept of WPS and discuss the current situation regarding installation and operation.

Equivalence, commensurability, value

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albertsen, Niels

2017-01-01

Deriving value in Capital Marx uses three commensurability arguments (CA1-3). CA1 establishes equivalence in exchange as exchangeability with the same third commodity. CA2 establishes value as common denominator in commodities: embodied abstract labour. CA3 establishes value substance...... as commonality of labour: physiological labour. Tensions between these logics have permeated Marxist interpretations of value. Some have supported value as embodied labour (CA2, 3), others a monetary theory of value and value as ‘pure’ societal abstraction (ultimately CA1). They all are grounded in Marx....

The prediction of ground movements caused by mining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karmis, M.; Haycocks, C.; Holland, C.T.

1992-01-01

This paper reviews the fundamental concepts involved in the development, application and validation of ground movement prediction methods developed by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI and SU) over the past 12 years. Prediction techniques have included empirical or semi-empirical methods, such as the profile function, influence function and zone area methods, as well as numerical methods, based on a finite element formulation which utilizes field subsidence data. The former techniques have been integrated in the Surface Deformation Prediction System (SDPS) software package for personal computers, which allows for the calculation of any component of ground movement in any direction. Comparisons between measured and predicted subsidence and strain values are presented for a selection of case studies, which demonstrate the applicability, accuracy and regional validity of these methods for predicting surface deformations due to underground mining

Quarterly report on measurements of radionuclides in ground level air in Sweden. Third quarter 2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soederstroem, C.; Arntsing, R.; Lindh, K.

2005-04-01

Filtering of ground level air is performed weekly at six different locations in Sweden: Kiruna, Umeaa, Gaevle, Ursvik, Visby and Ljungbyhed. The filters are pressed and the contents of different radionuclides are measured by gamma spectroscopy. Precipitation is also collected at four of the stations: Kiruna, Gaevle, Ursvik and Ljungbyhed, the samples are ashed and the contents of radionuclides measured. The levels of 7 Be and 137 Cs in air and deposition are presented for the different stations. Other anthropogenic radionuclides detected, if any, are also presented

Ground based measurements of SO2 and NO2 emissions from the oil refinery 'la Teja' in Montevideo city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frins, Erna; Casaballe, Nicolas; Osorio, Matias; Arismendi, Federico; Ibrahim, Ossama; Wagner, Thomas; Platt, Ulrich

2011-01-01

We present preliminary results of ground based measurements of SO 2 and NO 2 emissions from 'La Teja' oil refinery located in the northern part of Montevideo Bay. Our study is part of a long term effort to localize and monitor relevant emission sources in the city area of Montevideo. These measurements were performed with a Miniature Multi AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometry (MiniMAX-DOAS) instrument, which is basically a temperature controlled medium-resolution spectrometer (∼ 0.5 nm) equipped with a small telescope and a stepper motor allowing automatic scans in one dimension. We present a discussion about the evolution and transformation of both above species in the atmosphere. Our observation site was approximately 1.9 km away from the oil refinery and we were able to perform vertical and horizontal scans of the plume emitted (during our measurements) almost horizontally from its stacks. The maximum value of the SO 2 slant column density (SCD) was found to be ∼ 4x10 17 molec cm -2 directly over the oil refinery, decreasing as the plume disperses. In contrast, the NO 2 SCD peaks at ∼ 1x10 16 molec cm -2 directly over the source and increases continuously as the plume disperses. The SO 2 flux measured immediately downwind of the refinery was found to be about 1200 kg h -1 (±40% uncertainty).

α-decay half-lives of some nuclei from ground state to ground state using different nuclear potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akrawy Dashty T.

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Theoretical α-decay half-lives of some nuclei from ground state to ground state are calculated using different nuclear potential model including Coulomb proximity potential (CPPM, Royer proximity potential and Broglia and Winther 1991. The calculated values comparing with experimental data, it is observed that the CPPM model is in good agreement with the experimental data.

The application of the fair value concept in accounting

OpenAIRE

Venelin Georgiev

2011-01-01

In the article there are discussed the advantages and disadvantages of fair value as a measurement basis for a great number of accounting objects and above all for financial instruments. This is done on the basis of a study of the experience of Bulgarian and foreign experts. The concept of fair value has been laid down in the treatments of the International Accounting Standards, but it has given ground for sceptics to be doubtful about its merits. Some of those go to extreme evaluations of it...

The value relevance of environmental emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melinda Lydia Nelwan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study examines whether environmental performance has value relevance by investigating the relations between environmental emissions and stock prices for the U.S. public companies. The previous studies argued that the conjectured relations between accounting performance measures and environmental performance do not have a strong theoretical basis, and the modeling of relations between market per-formance measures and environmental performance do not adequately consider the relevance of accounting performance to market value. Therefore, this study examines whether publicly reported environmental emissions provide incremental information to accounting earnings in pricing companies stocks. It is done among the complete set of industries covered by Toxics Release Inventory (TRI reporting for the period 2007 to 2010. Using Ohlson model but modified to include different types of emis-sions, it is found that ground emissions (underground injection and land emissions are value relevant but other emission types (air and water and transferred-out emis-sions appear to not provide incremental information in the valuation model. The result in this study raise concerns that different types of emissions are assessed differently by the market, confirming that studies should not aggregate such measures.

International Target Values 2010 for Measurement Uncertainties in Safeguarding Nuclear Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, M.; Penkin, M.; Norman, C.; Balsley, S. [IAEA, Vienna (Australia); others, and

2012-12-15

This issue of the International Target Values (ITVs) represents the sixth revision, following the first release of such tables issued in 1979 by the ESARDA/WGDA. The ITVs are uncertainties to be considered in judging the reliability of analytical techniques applied to industrial nuclear and fissile material, which are subject to safeguards verification. The tabulated values represent estimates of the 'state of the practice' which should be achievable under routine measurement conditions. The most recent standard conventions in representing uncertainty have been considered, while maintaining a format that allows comparison with the previous releases of the ITVs. The present report explains why target values are needed, how the concept evolved and how they relate to the operator's and inspector's measurement systems. The ITVs-2010 are intended to be used by plant operators and safeguards organizations, as a reference of the quality of measurements achievable in nuclear material accountancy, and for planning purposes. The report suggests that the use of ITVs can be beneficial for statistical inferences regarding the significance of operator-inspector differences whenever valid performance values are not available.

CORRECTION OF GLOBAL AND REFLEX RADIATION VALUES MEASURED ABOVE THE LAKE BALATON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laszlo Menyhart

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Albedo measurements have been carried out since 2007 above the Lake Balaton near Keszthely and Siofok. It turned out that a systematic offset error was superposed to both the global and the reflex radiation. The value of this systematic error was approximately constant per pyranometer within a year but on the other hand it varied from year to year and from pyranometer to pyranometer. In this paper the values of this systematic errors were determined with two different methods. The difference between the values measured at night-time and the intrinsic thermal offset error of pyranometers were examined with both methods. The base of the first method is the empirical observation, that the values measured at night-time by a global radiometer are typically negative whereas by a reflex radiometer are typically positive. The substance of the second method is utilizing the air temperature measured within 1 as well as 5 hours before the radiation measuring to +select the fully overcast nights, when the thermal offset error of the global radiometer is zero. In addition, the cases where the thermal offset error of the reflex radiometer is zero were selected on the basis of the difference between water and air temperature. When the thermal offset error is zero the measured value is equal to the systematic error. Comparing the results of the two methods showed that the systematic error of the global radiometer were determined with uncertainty of 1 Wm–2, whereas that of the reflex radiometer with uncertainty of 2 Wm–2. The calibration constants were recalculated from the values being in the calibration reports taking the systematic errors into account.

Prediction of cereal feed value by near infrared spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Johannes Ravn

. NIRS is therefore appropriate as a quick method for the determination of FEsv and FEso, since it is rapid (approximately 1 minute per measurement of a ground test) and cheap. The aim is to develop a rapid method to analyse grain feed value. This will contribute to highlight the opportunities...... feed, a possible tool to assess the feed value of new varieties in the variety testing and a useful, cheap and rapid tool for cereal breeders. A bank of 1213 grain samples of wheat, triticale, barley and rye, and related chemical reference analyses to describe the feed value have been established...... with the error in the chemical analysis. Prediction error by NIRS prediction of feed value has been shown to be above the error of the chemical measurement. The conclusion is that it has proved possible to predict the feed value in cereals with NIRS quickly and cheaply, but prediction error with this method...

Effect of electrode shape on grounding resistances - Part 1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ingeman-Nielsen, Thomas; Tomaskovicova, Sonia; Dahlin, Torleif

2016-01-01

Electrode grounding resistance is a major factor affecting measurement quality in electric resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements for cryospheric applications. Still, little information is available on grounding resistances in the geophysical literature, mainly because it is difficult to measure....... The focus-one protocol is a new method for estimating single electrode grounding resistances by measuring the resistance between a single electrode in an ERT array and all the remaining electrodes connected in parallel. For large arrays, the measured resistance is dominated by the grounding resistance...... of the electrode under test, the focus electrode. We have developed an equivalent circuit model formulation for the resistance measured when applying the focus-one protocol. Our model depends on the individual grounding resistances of the electrodes of the array, the mutual resistances between electrodes...

An operational-oriented approach to the assessment of low probability seismic ground motions for critical infrastructures

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Fernandez, Mariano; Assatourians, Karen; Jimenez, Maria-Jose

2018-01-01

Extreme natural hazard events have the potential to cause significant disruption to critical infrastructure (CI) networks. Among them, earthquakes represent a major threat as sudden-onset events with limited, if any, capability of forecast, and high damage potential. In recent years, the increased exposure of interdependent systems has heightened concern, motivating the need for a framework for the management of these increased hazards. The seismic performance level and resilience of existing non-nuclear CIs can be analyzed by identifying the ground motion input values leading to failure of selected key elements. Main interest focuses on the ground motions exceeding the original design values, which should correspond to low probability occurrence. A seismic hazard methodology has been specifically developed to consider low-probability ground motions affecting elongated CI networks. The approach is based on Monte Carlo simulation, which allows for building long-duration synthetic earthquake catalogs to derive low-probability amplitudes. This approach does not affect the mean hazard values and allows obtaining a representation of maximum amplitudes that follow a general extreme-value distribution. This facilitates the analysis of the occurrence of extremes, i.e., very low probability of exceedance from unlikely combinations, for the development of, e.g., stress tests, among other applications. Following this methodology, extreme ground-motion scenarios have been developed for selected combinations of modeling inputs including seismic activity models (source model and magnitude-recurrence relationship), ground motion prediction equations (GMPE), hazard levels, and fractiles of extreme ground motion. The different results provide an overview of the effects of different hazard modeling inputs on the generated extreme motion hazard scenarios. This approach to seismic hazard is at the core of the risk analysis procedure developed and applied to European CI transport

Comparison between design and actual energy performance of a HVAC-ground coupled heat pump system in cooling and heating operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magraner, T.; Quilis, S. [Energesis Ingenieria S.L., Ciudad Politecnica de la Innovacion, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain); Montero, A. [Instituto de Ingenieria Energetica, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain); Urchueguia, J.F. [Instituto Universitario de Matematica Pura y Aplicada, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain)

2010-09-15

This work compares the experimental results obtained for the energy performance study of a ground coupled heat pump system with the design values predicted by means of standard methodology. The system energy performance of a monitored ground coupled heat pump system is calculated using the instantaneous measurements of temperature, flow and power consumption and these values are compared with the numerical predictions. These predictions are performed with the TRNSYS software tool following standard procedures taking the experimental thermal loads as input values. The main result of this work is that simulation results solely based on nominal heat pump capacities and performances overestimate the measured overall energy performance by a percentage between 15% and 20%. A sensitivity analysis of the simulation results to changes in percentage of its input parameters showed that the heat pump nominal coefficient of performance is the parameter that mostly affects the energy performance predictions. This analysis supports the idea that the discrepancies between experimental results and simulation outputs for this ground coupled system are mainly due to heat pump performance degradation for being used at partial load. An estimation of the impact of this effect in energy performance predictions reduces the discrepancies to values around 5%. (author)

Accurate Estimation of Low Fundamental Frequencies from Real-Valued Measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

2013-01-01

In this paper, the difficult problem of estimating low fundamental frequencies from real-valued measurements is addressed. The methods commonly employed do not take the phenomena encountered in this scenario into account and thus fail to deliver accurate estimates. The reason for this is that the......In this paper, the difficult problem of estimating low fundamental frequencies from real-valued measurements is addressed. The methods commonly employed do not take the phenomena encountered in this scenario into account and thus fail to deliver accurate estimates. The reason...... for this is that they employ asymptotic approximations that are violated when the harmonics are not well-separated in frequency, something that happens when the observed signal is real-valued and the fundamental frequency is low. To mitigate this, we analyze the problem and present some exact fundamental frequency estimators...

Evaluating data worth for ground-water management under uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, B.J.

1999-01-01

A decision framework is presented for assessing the value of ground-water sampling within the context of ground-water management under uncertainty. The framework couples two optimization models-a chance-constrained ground-water management model and an integer-programing sampling network design model-to identify optimal pumping and sampling strategies. The methodology consists of four steps: (1) The optimal ground-water management strategy for the present level of model uncertainty is determined using the chance-constrained management model; (2) for a specified data collection budget, the monitoring network design model identifies, prior to data collection, the sampling strategy that will minimize model uncertainty; (3) the optimal ground-water management strategy is recalculated on the basis of the projected model uncertainty after sampling; and (4) the worth of the monitoring strategy is assessed by comparing the value of the sample information-i.e., the projected reduction in management costs-with the cost of data collection. Steps 2-4 are repeated for a series of data collection budgets, producing a suite of management/monitoring alternatives, from which the best alternative can be selected. A hypothetical example demonstrates the methodology's ability to identify the ground-water sampling strategy with greatest net economic benefit for ground-water management.A decision framework is presented for assessing the value of ground-water sampling within the context of ground-water management under uncertainty. The framework couples two optimization models - a chance-constrained ground-water management model and an integer-programming sampling network design model - to identify optimal pumping and sampling strategies. The methodology consists of four steps: (1) The optimal ground-water management strategy for the present level of model uncertainty is determined using the chance-constrained management model; (2) for a specified data collection budget, the monitoring

Airborne and Ground-Based Measurements Using a High-Performance Raman Lidar

Science.gov (United States)

Whiteman, David N.; Rush, Kurt; Rabenhorst, Scott; Welch, Wayne; Cadirola, Martin; McIntire, Gerry; Russo, Felicita; Adam, Mariana; Venable, Demetrius; Connell, Rasheen;

EFFECTOF ISOLATION WALL USING SCRAP TIRE ON GROUND VIBRATION REDUCTION

Science.gov (United States)

Kashimoto, Takahiko; Kashimoto, Yusuke; Hayakawa, Kiyoshi; Matsui, Tamotsu; Fujimoto, Hiroaki

Some countermeasure methods against the environmental ground vibration caused by some traffic vibrations have been proposed so far. The authors have developed a new type ground vibration isolation wall using scrap tire, and evaluated its effectiveness on the ground vibration reduction by full scale field tests. In this paper, the authors discussed and examined the effectiveness of the developed countermeasure method by two field tests. The one concerns on the effect of scrap tire as soft material of vibration isolation wall, and the other on the effect of the developed countermeasure method practically applied in a residential area close to monorail traffic. As the results, it was elucidated that the ground vibration of 2-3 dB was reduced in case of two times volume of the soft material, the conversion ratio of the vibration energy of the soft material to the kinetic energy was higher than that of the core material of PHC pile, the vibration acceleration of 0.19 - 1.26 gal was reduced by the developed countermeasure method in case of the monorail traffic, and the vibration reduction measured behind the isolation wall agreed well with the proposed theoretical value, together with confirming the effectiveness of the ground vibration isolation wall using scrap tire as the countermeasure method against the environmental ground vibration.

Quarterly report on measurements of radionuclides in ground level air in Sweden. Third quarter 2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soederstroem, C.; Arntsing, R.; Vintersved, I.

2002-01-01

Filtering of ground level air is performed weekly at seven different locations in Sweden: Kiruna, Umeaa, Gaevle, Ursvik, Grindsjoen, Visby and Ljungbyhed. The filters are compressed and the contents of different radionuclides are measured by gamma spectroscopy. Precipitation is also collected at four of the stations: Kiruna, Gaevle, Ursvik and Ljungbyhed, the samples are ashed and the contents of radionuclides measured. The levels of 7 Be and 137 Cs in air and deposition are presented for the different stations. Other anthropogenic radionuclides detected, if any, are also presented

Measurement of soy contents in ground beef using near-infrared spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Models for determining contents of soy products in ground beef were developed using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Samples were prepared by mixing four kinds of soybean protein products (Arconet, toasted soy grits, Profam and textured vegetable protein (TVP)) with ground beef (content from 0%–100...

Economic impact and effectiveness of radiation protection measures in aviation during a ground level enhancement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthiä Daniel

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In addition to the omnipresent irradiation from galactic cosmic rays (GCR and their secondary products, passengers and aircraft crew may be exposed to radiation from solar cosmic rays during ground level enhancements (GLE. In general, lowering the flight altitude and changing the flight route to lower latitudes are procedures applicable to immediately reduce the radiation exposure at aviation altitudes. In practice, however, taking such action necessarily leads to modifications in the flight plan and the consequential, additional fuel consumption constrains the mitigating measures. In this work we investigate in a case study of the ground level event of December 13th 2006 how potential mitigation procedures affect the total radiation exposure during a transatlantic flight from Seattle to Cologne taking into account constraints concerning fuel consumption and range.

The electrostatics of charged insulating sheets peeled from grounded conductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Datta, M J; Horenstein, M N

2008-01-01

The physics of a charged, insulating sheet peeled from a ground-plane conductor is examined. Contact charging is ensured by charging a sheet to 10-12 kV with corona to establish intimate electrostatic contact with the underlying conductor. The surface potential is next forced to zero by sweeping the sheet with a stainless-steel brush, and the surface recharged to a new potential between 0 and 11 kV. The sheet is then peeled from the ground plane and its residual charge density is measured. Results show that the residual charge equals the breakdown-limiting value, but its polarity depends on the surface potential acquired just prior to peeling. The results have relevance to studies of industrial webs and insulating sheets.

The use of personal values in living standards measures | Ungerer ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Living Standards Measure (LSM), a South African marketing segmentation method, is a multivariate wealth measure based on standard of living. This article reports on whether a rationale can be found for the inclusion of psychological variables, particularly personal values, in this type of multivariate segmentation.

Wind measurements with SODAR during strong temperature inversions near the ground

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, P.; Vogt, S.

1989-08-01

SODAR (Sound Detection and Ranging) equipment has been increasingly used to measure vertical wind profiles with little expenditure in terms of staff, continuously over time and with a good spatial resolution. These informations serve as input variables for atmospheric transport and dispersion models, environmental monitoring of industrial facilities and, generally, for investigating a broad spectrum of meteorological phenomena. The SODAR principle has proved its suitability since long provided that the data recorded with SODAR have served to establish wind statistics valid for extended periods of time. At industrial sites potentially releasing substances prejudicial to health, e.g., chemical plants, nuclear power plants, etc., a SODAR must, moreover, be capable of measuring reliable the wind conditions also during short periods of release. This would, e.g., be important during accidental releases. Especially interesting situations for pollutant dispersion are distinct temperature inversions. It will be examined in this paper whether a SODAR is capable of measuring reliably the wind conditions also during those inversions. The selection of the situations of inversion as well as the direct intercomparison of data supplied by SODAR and conventional wind measuring instruments (anemometer and wind vane) are possible at the 200 m meteorological tower erected at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center. The comparison between SODAR and the meteorological tower has shown that a SODAR is able to measure reliably the wind data also in situations characterized by strong ground-based and elevated inversions, respectively. (orig./KW) [de

Radon measurements in underground and ground constructions in Tashkent city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akimov, V.A.; Yafasov, A.Y.; Vasidov, A.; En, Z.; Tillaev, T.; Tsipin, V.Z.

2002-01-01

More than half of the dose of the natural radioactivity received by population is related to radon and its progeny. Investigations of scientists all over the world have shown that excessive radon and its progeny exposure dose is associated with a risk of lung cancer. Short-lived radon daughters (Po-218 and Po-214) are considered to be of the most dangers. At a relaxation process resulting from an earthquake, the radon gas can release from the accumulators and get indoors, that enhances greatly the radon level there. According to seismologists data, as a result of the strong Tashkent earthquake in 1966, extensive breaks and faults have been formed along the city and its neighborhoods. The aim of our work was evaluation of radon concentration level and its variation in Tashkent subway stations and related underground offices and also in apartments of multi story buildings and detached houses. The measurements were conducted by two different techniques-with ionization chamber radiometer 'Alpha GUARD' and with solid state nuclear track detectors. The Alpha GUARD radiometer operates either in the mode of passive sampling, or by pumping air through the ionization camera being of 0.6 l in volume. The radiometer is capable of measuring a volumetric activity of radon-222 in air (Bq/m3), and it is equipped with the devices that measure some environmental parameters such as temperature, relative humidity and air pressure. The range of V A of 222 Rn in air the device is able to measure is 10 to 2x10 6 Bq/m 3 , sensitivity is 1 pulse/min for 20 Bq/m 3 , and its self-background is less than 1 Bq/m 3 . The radon measurements in Tashkent subway stations and underground offices have shown that daily mean radon values were in the range of 14-65 Bq/m 3 , except for the Pushkin Station, where the daily mean V A was 137 Bq/m3. Such a high radon level is connected with availability near the station of one of the numerous faults and fractures of the terrestrial crust responsible for the

Reference value sensitivity of measures of unfair health inequality

Science.gov (United States)

García-Gómez, Pilar; Schokkaert, Erik; Van Ourti, Tom

2014-01-01

Most politicians and ethical observers are not interested in pure health inequalities, as they want to distinguish between different causes of health differences. Measures of “unfair” inequality - direct unfairness and the fairness gap, but also the popular standardized concentration index - therefore neutralize the effects of what are considered to be “legitimate” causes of inequality. This neutralization is performed by putting a subset of the explanatory variables at reference values, e.g. their means. We analyze how the inequality ranking of different policies depends on the specific choice of reference values. We show with mortality data from the Netherlands that the problem is empirically relevant and we suggest a statistical method for fixing the reference values. PMID:24954998

Pollutant infiltration and ground water management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

Following a short overview of hazard potentials for ground water in Germany, this book, which was compiled by the technical committee of DVWK on ground water use, discusses the natural scientific bases of pollutant movement to and in ground water. It points out whether and to what extent soil/ground water systems can be protected from harmful influences, and indicates relative strategies. Two zones are distinguished: the unsaturated zone, where local defence and remedial measures are frequently possible, and the saturated zone. From the protective function of geological systems, which is always pollutant-specific, criteria are derived for judging the systems generally, or at least regarding entire classes of pollutants. Finally, the impact of the infiltration of pollutants into ground water on its use as drinking water is pointed out and an estimate of the cost of remedial measures is given. (orig.) [de

Measurement and interpretation of low levels of dissolved oxygen in ground water

Science.gov (United States)

White, A.F.; Peterson, M.L.; Solbau, R.D.

1990-01-01

A Rhodazine-D colorimetric technique was adapted to measure low-level dissolved oxygen concentrations in ground water. Prepared samples containing between 0 and 8.0 ??moles L-1 dissolved oxygen in equilibrium with known gas mixtures produced linear spectrophotometric absorbance with a lower detection limit of 0.2 ??moles L-1. Excellent reproducibility was found for solutions ranging in composition from deionized water to sea water with chemical interferences detected only for easily reduced metal species such as ferric ion, cupric ion, and hexavalent chromium. Such effects were correctable based on parallel reaction stoichiometries relative to oxygen. The technique, coupled with a downhole wire line tool, permitted low-level monitoring of dissolved oxygen in wells at the selenium-contaminated Kesterson Reservoir in California. Results indicated a close association between low but measurable dissolved oxygen concentrations and mobility of oxidized forms of selenium. -from Authors

Measurement of Radon (222Rn) in the High School of Medicine 'Dr.Ali Sokoli' in Prishtina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadiri, S.; Hodolli, G.; Pllana, X.; Dumani, S.; Hasani, F.

2011-01-01

Measurements of radon concentration (222Rn) were performed in the largest High School of Medicine ''Dr. Ali Sokoli'' in Prishtina. We choose four locations (classrooms) at ground level, three at first and three on the second floor. In the same premises, the measurements were performed with two methods: using a scintillation cell and a continuous method. The maximum value of radon concentration, measurements with scintillation cells, were obtained by the ground level moving to (573 ± 26) Bq m -3 , while the minimum value of (176 ± 11) Bq m -3 was obtained in the second floor. The maximum value of radon concentration measurements with the continuous method was 116 Bq m -3 in ground level, and the minimum value was 70 Bq m -3 . Based on these results, we calculated annual effective dose, which ranges between (0.76 ± 0.06) mSv and (2.48 ± 0.11) mSv, by scintillation cells. Whereas, the annual effective dose measuring by continuous method was between 0.30 mSv and 0.50 mSv. Based on those results, we conclude that radon concentration and annual effective doses were within accepted international standards. (author)

Adding Theoretical Grounding to Grounded Theory: Toward Multi-Grounded Theory

OpenAIRE

Göran Goldkuhl; Stefan Cronholm

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to challenge some of the cornerstones of the grounded theory approach and propose an extended and alternative approach for data analysis and theory development, which the authors call multi-grounded theory (MGT). A multi-grounded theory is not only empirically grounded; it is also grounded in other ways. Three different grounding processes are acknowledged: theoretical, empirical, and internal grounding. The authors go beyond the pure inductivist approach in GT an...

Measurement of use value and non-use value of environmental quality consistent with general equilibrium approach

OpenAIRE

Naoki Sakamoto; Kazunori Nakajima

2014-01-01

This paper proposes the consistent method with general equilibrium models to measure use value and non-use value of large-scale change in environmental quality. First, we develop a general equilibrium model that parameters of the utility function with environmental quality as a dependent variable can be estimated on the basis of the travel cost method and the contingent variation method. Second, we examine to identify the general equilibrium impact of environmental quality by a comparative st...

Prediction of post-sunset ESF based on the strength and asymmetry of EIA from ground based TEC measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Thampi, S. V.; Ravindran, S.; Devasia, C. V.; Pant, T. K.; Sreelatha, P.; Sridharan, R.

The Coherent Radio Beacon Experiment (CRABEX) is aimed at investigating the equatorial ionospheric processes like the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) and Equatorial Spread F (ESF) and their inter relationships. As a part of CRABEX program, a network of six stations covering the region from Trivandrum (8.5°N) to Nainital (29.3°N) is set up along the 77-78° E meridian. These ground receivers basically measure the slant Total Electron Content (TEC) along the line of sight from the Low Earth Orbiting satellites (NIMS). These simultaneous TEC measurements are inverted to obtain the tomographic image of the latitudinal distribution of electron densities in the meridional plane. In this paper, the tomographic images of the equatorial ionosphere along the 77-78°E meridian are presented. The crest intensities in the southern and northern hemispheres also show significant differences with seasons, showing the variability in the EIA asymmetry. The evening images give an indication of the prevailing electrodynamical conditions on different days, preceding the occurrence/non-occurrence of ESF. Apart from this, the single station TEC measurements from the Trivandrum station itself is used to estimate the EIA strength and asymmetry. Since this station is situated at the trough of the EIA, right over the dip equator, the latitudinal gradients on both northern (N) and southern (S) sides can be used to compute the EIA strength and asymmetry. These two parameters, obtained well ahead of the onset time of ESF, are shown to have a definite role on the subsequent ESF activity. Hence, both these factors are combined to define a new `forecast parameter' for the generation of ESF. It has been shown that this parameter can uniquely define the state of the `background ionosphere' conducive for the generation of ESF irregularities as early as 1600 IST. A critical value for the `forecast parameter' has been identified such that when the estimated value for `forecast parameter' exceeds

Dissociation of color and figure-ground effects in the watercolor illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Von der Heydt, Rüdiger; Pierson, Rachel

2006-01-01

Two phenomena can be observed in the watercolor illusion: illusory color spreading and figure-ground organization. We performed experiments to determine whether the figure-ground effect is a consequence of the color illusion or due to an independent mechanism. Subjects were tested with displays consisting of six adjacent compartments--three that generated the illusion alternating with three that served for comparison. In a first set of experiments, the illusory color was measured by finding the matching physical color in the alternate compartments. Figureness (probability of 'figure' responses, 2AFC) of the watercolor compartments was then determined with and without the matching color in the alternate compartments. The color match reduced figureness, but did not abolish it. There was a range of colors in which the watercolor compartments dominated as figures over the alternate compartments although the latter appeared more saturated in color. In another experiment, the effect of tinting alternate compartments was measured in displays without watercolor illusion. Figureness increased with color contrast, but its value at the equivalent contrast fell short of the figureness value obtained for the watercolor pattern. Thus, in both experiments, figureness produced by the watercolor pattern was stronger than expected from the color effect, suggesting independent mechanisms. Considering the neurophysiology, we propose that the color illusion follows from the principles of representation of surface color in the visual cortex, while the figure-ground effect results from two mechanisms of border ownership assignment, one that is sensitive to asymmetric shape of edge profile, the other to consistency of color borders.

Gamma radiation at ground level in Sweden in 1975-1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kjelle, P.E.

1978-03-01

Measurement of the gamma radiation 2 1/2 m above the ground, carried out continuously in Sweden since 1960, has been continued during 1975 - 1977 at 24 places in Sweden. The net of gamma stations is intended for the rapid detection of large quantities of fallout. The standard deviation of an exposure reading (incl. natural exposure) has been estimated to be +- 5 percent. Figures show the variation of the exposure in μR/h from 1960 for three of the stations. After a peak of about 24 mR/y in 1963 (17 mR/y the actual value including absorption in the snow), the average additional exposure due to fallout decreased to about 10 mR/y (the actual value 7 mR/y) and since 1965 there have been no significant variations in the annual exposure due to fallout. The contribution from fallout to the irradiation level above the ground depends mostly on cesium-137 from the atmospheric nuclear explosions in 1961 and 1962 with some contribution from fresh fallout originating from later nuclear explosions

Ground-water discharge determined from measurements of evapotranspiration, other available hydrologic components, and shallow water-level changes, Oasis Valley, Nye County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiner, S.R.; Laczniak, R.J.; DeMeo, G.A.; Smith LaRue, J.; Elliott, P.E.; Nylund, W.E.; Fridrich, C.J.

2002-01-01

component of 0.5 foot, is estimated to be about 6,000 acre-feet. Annual subsurface outflow from Oasis Valley into the Amargosa Desert is estimated to be between 30 and 130 acre-feet. Estimates of total annual ground-water withdrawal from Oasis Valley by municipal and non-municipal users in 1996 and 1999 are 440 acre-feet and 210 acre-feet, respectively. Based on these values, natural annual ground-water discharge from Oasis Valley is about 6,100 acre-feet. Total annual discharge was 6,500 acre-feet in 1996 and 6,300 acre-feet in 1999. This quantity of natural ground-water discharge from Oasis Valley exceeds the previous estimate made in 1962 by a factor of about 2.5. Water levels were measured in Oasis Valley to gain additional insight into the ET process. In shallow wells, water levels showed annual fluctuations as large as 7 feet and daily fluctuations as large as 0.2 foot. These fluctuations may be attributed to water loss associated with evapotranspiration. In shallow wells affected by E T, annual minimum depths to water generally occurred in winter or early spring shortly after daily ET reached minimum rates. Annual maximum depths to water generally occurred in late summer or fall shortly after daily ET reached maximum rates. The magnitude of daily water-level fluctuations generally increased as ET increased and decreased as depth to water increased

Prognostic and diagnostic value of EEG signal coupling measures in coma.

Science.gov (United States)

Zubler, Frederic; Koenig, Christa; Steimer, Andreas; Jakob, Stephan M; Schindler, Kaspar A; Gast, Heidemarie

2016-08-01

Our aim was to assess the diagnostic and predictive value of several quantitative EEG (qEEG) analysis methods in comatose patients. In 79 patients, coupling between EEG signals on the left-right (inter-hemispheric) axis and on the anterior-posterior (intra-hemispheric) axis was measured with four synchronization measures: relative delta power asymmetry, cross-correlation, symbolic mutual information and transfer entropy directionality. Results were compared with etiology of coma and clinical outcome. Using cross-validation, the predictive value of measure combinations was assessed with a Bayes classifier with mixture of Gaussians. Five of eight measures showed a statistically significant difference between patients grouped according to outcome; one measure revealed differences in patients grouped according to the etiology. Interestingly, a high level of synchrony between the left and right hemisphere was associated with mortality on intensive care unit, whereas higher synchrony between anterior and posterior brain regions was associated with survival. The combination with the best predictive value reached an area-under the curve of 0.875 (for patients with post anoxic encephalopathy: 0.946). EEG synchronization measures can contribute to clinical assessment, and provide new approaches for understanding the pathophysiology of coma. Prognostication in coma remains a challenging task. qEEG could improve current multi-modal approaches. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of Ground Water Availability at Buhias Island, Sitaro Regency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zetly E Tamod

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The study aims to detect ground water availability at Buhias Island, Siau Timur Selatan District, Sitaro Regency. The research method used the survey method by geoelectrical instrument based on subsurface rock resistivity as a geophysical exploration results with geoelectrical method of Wenner-Schlumberger configuration. Resistivity geoelectrical method is done by injecting a flow into the earth surface, then it is measured the potential difference. This study consists of 4 tracks in which each track is made the stretch model of soil layer on subsurface of ground.  Then, the exploration results were processed using software RES2DINV to look at the data of soil layer based on the value of resistivity (2D. Interpretation result of the track 1 to 4 concluded that there is a layer of ground water. State of dominant ground water contains the saline (brackish. Location of trajectory in the basin to the lowland areas is mostly mangrove swamp vegetation. That location is the junction between the results of the runoff of rainfall water that falls down from the hills with sea water. Bedrock as a constituent of rock layer formed from marine sediments that carry minerals salts.

Efficiency evaluation of ground-penetrating radar by the results of measurement of dielectric properties of soils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khakiev, Zelimkhan; Kislitsa, Konstantin; Yavna, Victor [Rostov State Transport University, Rostov-on-Don (Russian Federation)

2012-12-15

The work considers the depth evaluation of ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys using the attenuation factor of electromagnetic radiation in a medium. A method of determining the attenuation factor of low-conductive non-magnetic soils is developed based on the results of direct measurements of permittivity and conductivity of soils in the range of typical frequencies of GPR. The method relies on measuring the shift and width of the resonance line after a soil sample is being placed into a tunable cavity resonator. The advantage of this method is the preservation of soil structure during the measurement.

Clustering of reads with alignment-free measures and quality values.

Science.gov (United States)

Comin, Matteo; Leoni, Andrea; Schimd, Michele

2015-01-01

The data volume generated by Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies is growing at a pace that is now challenging the storage and data processing capacities of modern computer systems. In this context an important aspect is the reduction of data complexity by collapsing redundant reads in a single cluster to improve the run time, memory requirements, and quality of post-processing steps like assembly and error correction. Several alignment-free measures, based on k-mers counts, have been used to cluster reads. Quality scores produced by NGS platforms are fundamental for various analysis of NGS data like reads mapping and error detection. Moreover future-generation sequencing platforms will produce long reads but with a large number of erroneous bases (up to 15 %). In this scenario it will be fundamental to exploit quality value information within the alignment-free framework. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study that incorporates quality value information and k-mers counts, in the context of alignment-free measures, for the comparison of reads data. Based on this principles, in this paper we present a family of alignment-free measures called D (q) -type. A set of experiments on simulated and real reads data confirms that the new measures are superior to other classical alignment-free statistics, especially when erroneous reads are considered. Also results on de novo assembly and metagenomic reads classification show that the introduction of quality values improves over standard alignment-free measures. These statistics are implemented in a software called QCluster (http://www.dei.unipd.it/~ciompin/main/qcluster.html).

Calibrating a ground-based backscatter lidar for continuous measurements of PM2.5

Science.gov (United States)

Pesch, Markus; Oderbolz, Daniel

2007-10-01

One of the main issues of atmospheric research and air quality control is the reduction of harmful particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere. Small particles can enter the human airways and cause serious health problems such as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), asthma or even lung cancer. Recently, interest has shifted from PM10 to finer fractions of particulate matter, e.g. PM2.5, because the health impact of finer particles is considered to be more severe. Up to now measurements of particulate matter were carried out mainly at ground level. However important atmospheric processes, i.e. particle formation, transport and vertical mixing processes, take place predominantly at higher altitudes in the planetary boundary layer. Lidar in principle provides the ability to observe these processes where they occur. The new method outlined in this paper demonstrates the use of a small sized and quite inexpensive lidar in stand-alone operation to investigate transport processes of particulate matter, and PM2.5 in particular. Continuous measurements of PM2.5 as a reference are gained with a conventional in-situ monitor, installed on a tower at an altitude of 325 m in the North of Berlin (Frohnauer Turm). These PM2.5 measurements will be compared with backscatter Lidar data (1064 nm) taken from approx. 60 m over ground up to an altitude of 15 km with a spatial resolution of 15 m. The vertical backscatter profiles at 325 m will be correlated to the concentrations obtained by the PM2,5 monitor on the tower. Both measurements have a time resolution of 180 s to observe also processes that take place at short time scales. The objective is to gain correlation functions for estimating PM2.5 concentrations from backscatter Lidar data. Such a calibrated Lidar system is a valuable instrument for environmental agencies and atmospheric research groups to observe and investigate causes of high level PM concentrations. First results show a reasonably good linear correlation

Estimation of ground reaction forces and joint moments on the basis on plantar pressure insoles and wearable sensors for joint angle measurement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ostaszewski, Michal; Pauk, Jolanta

2018-05-16

Gait analysis is a useful tool medical staff use to support clinical decision making. There is still an urgent need to develop low-cost and unobtrusive mobile health monitoring systems. The goal of this study was twofold. Firstly, a wearable sensor system composed of plantar pressure insoles and wearable sensors for joint angle measurement was developed. Secondly, the accuracy of the system in the measurement of ground reaction forces and joint moments was examined. The measurements included joint angles and plantar pressure distribution. To validate the wearable sensor system and examine the effectiveness of the proposed method for gait analysis, an experimental study on ten volunteer subjects was conducted. The accuracy of measurement of ground reaction forces and joint moments was validated against the results obtained from a reference motion capture system. Ground reaction forces and joint moments measured by the wearable sensor system showed a root mean square error of 1% for min. GRF and 27.3% for knee extension moment. The correlation coefficient was over 0.9, in comparison with the stationary motion capture system. The study suggests that the wearable sensor system could be recommended both for research and clinical applications outside a typical gait laboratory.

Model and measurements of linear mixing in thermal IR ground leaving radiance spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Balick, Lee; Clodius, William; Jeffery, Christopher; Theiler, James; McCabe, Matthew; Gillespie, Alan; Mushkin, Amit; Danilina, Iryna

2007-10-01

Hyperspectral thermal IR remote sensing is an effective tool for the detection and identification of gas plumes and solid materials. Virtually all remotely sensed thermal IR pixels are mixtures of different materials and temperatures. As sensors improve and hyperspectral thermal IR remote sensing becomes more quantitative, the concept of homogeneous pixels becomes inadequate. The contributions of the constituents to the pixel spectral ground leaving radiance are weighted by their spectral emissivities and their temperature, or more correctly, temperature distributions, because real pixels are rarely thermally homogeneous. Planck's Law defines a relationship between temperature and radiance that is strongly wavelength dependent, even for blackbodies. Spectral ground leaving radiance (GLR) from mixed pixels is temperature and wavelength dependent and the relationship between observed radiance spectra from mixed pixels and library emissivity spectra of mixtures of 'pure' materials is indirect. A simple model of linear mixing of subpixel radiance as a function of material type, the temperature distribution of each material and the abundance of the material within a pixel is presented. The model indicates that, qualitatively and given normal environmental temperature variability, spectral features remain observable in mixtures as long as the material occupies more than roughly 10% of the pixel. Field measurements of known targets made on the ground and by an airborne sensor are presented here and serve as a reality check on the model. Target spectral GLR from mixtures as a function of temperature distribution and abundance within the pixel at day and night are presented and compare well qualitatively with model output.

Aerosol optical properties over the Svalbard region of Arctic: ground-based measurements and satellite remote sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Gogoi, Mukunda M.; Babu, S. Suresh

2016-05-01

In view of the increasing anthropogenic presence and influence of aerosols in the northern polar regions, long-term continuous measurements of aerosol optical parameters have been investigated over the Svalbard region of Norwegian Arctic (Ny-Ålesund, 79°N, 12°E, 8 m ASL). This study has shown a consistent enhancement in the aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients during spring. The relative dominance of absorbing aerosols is more near the surface (lower single scattering albedo), compared to that at the higher altitude. This is indicative of the presence of local anthropogenic activities. In addition, long-range transported biomass burning aerosols (inferred from the spectral variation of absorption coefficient) also contribute significantly to the higher aerosol absorption in the Arctic spring. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) estimates from ground based Microtop sun-photometer measurements reveals that the columnar abundance of aerosols reaches the peak during spring season. Comparison of AODs between ground based and satellite remote sensing indicates that deep blue algorithm of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrievals over Arctic snow surfaces overestimate the columnar AOD.

Value-based performance measures for Hanford Tank Waste Remedition System (TWRS) Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keeney, R.L.; von Winterfeldt, D.

1996-01-01

The Tank Waste Remediation Systems (TWRS) Program is responsible for the safe storage, retrieval, treatment, and preparation for disposal of high-level waste currently stored in underground storage tanks at the Hanford site in Richland. The TWRS program has adopted a logical approach to decision making that is based on systems engineering and decision analysis (Westinghouse Hanford Company, 1995). This approach involves the explicit consideration of stakeholder values and an evaluation of the TWRS alternatives in terms of these values. Such evaluations need to be consistent across decisions. Thus, an effort was undertaken to develop a consistent, quantifiable set of measures that can be used by TVVRS to assess alternatives against the stakeholder values. The measures developed also met two additional requirements: 1) the number of measure should be relatively small; and 2) performance with respect to the measures should be relatively easy to estimate

Active water exchange and life near the grounding line of an Antarctic outlet glacier

Science.gov (United States)

Sugiyama, Shin; Sawagaki, Takanobu; Fukuda, Takehiro; Aoki, Shigeru

2014-08-01

The grounding line (GL) of the Antarctic ice sheet forms the boundary between grounded and floating ice along the coast. Near this line, warm oceanic water contacts the ice shelf, producing the ice sheet's highest basal-melt rate. Despite the importance of this region, water properties and circulations near the GL are largely unexplored because in-situ observations are difficult. Here we present direct evidence of warm ocean-water transport to the innermost part of the subshelf cavity (several hundred meters seaward from the GL) of Langhovde Glacier, an outlet glacier in East Antarctica. Our measurements come from boreholes drilled through the glacier's ∼400-m-thick grounding zone. Beneath the grounding zone, we find a 10-24-m-deep water layer of uniform temperature and salinity (-1.45 °C; 34.25 PSU), values that roughly equal those measured in the ocean in front of the glacier. Moreover, living organisms are found in the thin subglacial water layer. These findings indicate active transport of water and nutrients from the adjacent ocean, meaning that the subshelf environment interacts directly and rapidly with the ocean.

Performance report on the ground test accelerator radio-frequency quadrupole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sander, O.R.; Atkins, W.H.; Bolme, G.O.; Brown, S.; Cole, R.; Connolly, R.; Gilpatrick, J.D.; Garnett, R.; Guy, F.W.; Ingalls, W.B.

1994-01-01

The Ground Test Accelerator (GTA) uses a radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) to bunch and accelerate a 35 keV input beam to a final energy of 2.5 MeV. Most measured parameters of the GTA RFQ agreed with simulated predictions. The relative shape of the transmission versus the vane-voltage relationship and the Courant-Snyder (CS) parameters of the output beam's transverse and longitudinal phase spaces agreed well with predictions. However, the transmission of the RFQ was significantly lower than expected. Improved simulation studies included image charges and multipole effects in the RFQ. Most of the predicted properties of the RFQ, such as input matched-beam conditions and output-beam shapes were unaffected by these additional effects. However, the comparison of measured with predicted absolute values of transmitted beam was much improved by the inclusion of these effects in the simulations. The comparison implied a value for the input emittance that is consistent with measurements

Strategy of thunderstorm measurement with super dense ground-based observation network

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Y.; Sato, M.

2014-12-01

It's not easy to understand the inside structure and developing process of thunderstorm only with existing meteorological instruments since its horizontal extent of the storm cell is sometimes smaller than an order of 10 km while one of the densest ground network in Japan, AMEDAS, consists of sites located every 17 km in average and the resolution of meteorological radar is 1-2 km in general. Even the X-band radar realizes the resolution of 250 m or larger. Here we suggest a new super dense observation network with simple and low cost sensors that can be used for measurement both of raindrop and vertical electric field change caused by cloud-to-ground lightning discharge. This sensor consists of two aluminum plates with a diameter of 10-20 cm. We carried out an observation campaign in summer of 2013 in the foothills of Mt. Yastugatake, Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures in Japan, installing 6 plate-type sensors at a distance of about 4 km. Horizontal location, height and charge amount of each lightning discharge are estimated successfully based on the information of electric field changes at several observing sites. Moreover, it was found that the thunderstorm has a very narrow structure well smaller than 300 m that cannot be measured by any other ways, counting the positive and negative pulses caused by attachment of raindrop to the sensor plate, respectively. We plan to construct a new super dense observation network in the north Kanto region, Japan, where the lightning activity is most prominent in summer Japan, distributing more than several tens of sensors at every 4 km or shorter, such as an order of 100 m at minimum. This kind of new type network will reveal the unknown fine structures of thunderstorms and open the door for constructing real time alert system of torrential rainfall and lightning stroke especially in the city area.

Influence of the metal installations in the ground on the measurement results accuracy of the soil resistivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acevski, Nikola; Ackovski, Risto

2002-01-01

Very often, the measurement of the specific electric resistivity of the soil performed by one of the commonly used methods introduces errors in results because of the existence of certain metal installations buried in the ground, like aqueducts, water or drainage pipes, metal strips or metal sheaths of power cables etc. An attempt has been done in the paper to give some recommendations while displacing the measuring system in order to avoid the impact of such metal installations on the measured results, and thus to avoid the eventual errors that can occur during the measurement. (Author)

Adaptation of the S-5-S Pendulím Seismometer for Measurement of Rotational Ground Motion

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Knejzlík, Jaromír; Kaláb, Zdeněk; Rambouský, Zdeněk

2012-01-01

Roč. 16, č. 4 (2012), s. 649-656 ISSN 1383-4649 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : rotation al ground motion * experimental measurement * mining induced seismicity * S-5-S seismometer Subject RIV: DC - Siesmology, Volcanology, Earth Structure Impact factor: 1.388, year: 2012 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10950-012-9279-6

Measurement of the G-value for 1. 5 keV X-rays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freyer, J.P.; Schillaci, M.E.; Raju, M.R. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA))

1989-12-01

Using a ferrous sulfate solution modified by the addition of benzoic acid, the authors measured relative G-values for Al{sub k} characteristic X-rays (1.5keV), {sup 238}Pu {alpha}-particles (3.7MeV), {sup 60}Co (1.17 MeV) and {sup 137}Cs (0.66 MeV){gamma}-rays. Relative ferrous-to-ferric conversions as a function of dose were similar for the two {gamma}-ray energies, yielding G-values of 1.62 and 1.59 {mu}mol J{sup -1} for the {sup 60}Co and {sup 137}Cs radiations. The {alpha}-particle G-value was 0.52 {mu}mol J{sup -1}, or 31% of that for {sup 60}Co {gamma}-rays. The Al{sub k} X-rays had a G-value of 0.92 {mu}mol J{sup -1} or 57% of that of the {sup 60}Co radiation. This G-value for 1.5 keV X-rays is within 20% of values predicted by current theories, and theoretical values are within the error range of the authors' measurements. (author).

Ground and Space Radar Volume Matching and Comparison Software

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Kenneth; Schwaller, Mathew

2010-01-01

This software enables easy comparison of ground- and space-based radar observations. The software was initially designed to compare ground radar reflectivity from operational, ground based Sand C-band meteorological radars with comparable measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite s Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument. The software is also applicable to other ground-based and space-based radars. The ground and space radar volume matching and comparison software was developed in response to requirements defined by the Ground Validation System (GVS) of Goddard s Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) project. This software innovation is specifically concerned with simplifying the comparison of ground- and spacebased radar measurements for the purpose of GPM algorithm and data product validation. This software is unique in that it provides an operational environment to routinely create comparison products, and uses a direct geometric approach to derive common volumes of space- and ground-based radar data. In this approach, spatially coincident volumes are defined by the intersection of individual space-based Precipitation Radar rays with the each of the conical elevation sweeps of the ground radar. Thus, the resampled volume elements of the space and ground radar reflectivity can be directly compared to one another.

Aerosol and Cloud Properties during the Cloud Cheju ABC Plume -Asian Monsoon Experiment (CAPMEX) 2008: Linking between Ground-based and UAV Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, S.; Yoon, S.; Venkata Ramana, M.; Ramanathan, V.; Nguyen, H.; Park, S.; Kim, M.

2009-12-01

Cheju Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC) Plume-Monsoon Experiment (CAPMEX), comprehsensive ground-based measurements and a series of data-gathering flights by specially equipped autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (AUAVs) for aerosol and cloud, had conducted at Jeju (formerly, Cheju), South Korea during August-September 2008, to improve our understanding of how the reduction of anthropogenic emissions in China (so-called “great shutdown” ) during and after the Summer Beijing Olympic Games 2008 effcts on the air quliaty and radiation budgets and how atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) influences solar radiation budget off Asian continent. Large numbers of in-situ and remote sensing instruments at the Gosan ABC observatory and miniaturized instruments on the aircraft measure a range of properties such as the quantity of soot, size-segregated aerosol particle numbers, total particle numbers, size-segregated cloud droplet numbers (only AUAV), aerosol scattering properties (only ground), aerosol vertical distribution, column-integrated aerosol properties, and meteorological variables. By integrating ground-level and high-elevation AUAV measurements with NASA-satellite observations (e.g., MODIS, CALIPSO), we investigate the long range transport of aerosols, the impact of ABCs on clouds, and the role of biogenic and anthropogenic aerosols on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In this talk, we will present the results from CAPMEX focusing on: (1) the characteristics of aerosol optical, physical and chemical properties at Gosan observatory, (2) aerosol solar heating calculated from the ground-based micro-pulse lidar and AERONET sun/sky radiometer synergy, and comparison with direct measurements from UAV, and (3) aerosol-cloud interactions in conjunction with measurements by satellites and Gosan observatory.

A study on the characteristics of strong ground motions in southern Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, Chang Eob; Lee, Kie Hwa; Kang, Tae Seob

2001-12-01

Ground motion characteristics in southern Korea are analyzed such as the variations of ground motion durations depending on the hypocentral distance, the earthquake magnitude and the frequency contents of the motion, and the predominant frequency of the maximum ground motion, the ratio of the horizontal to the vertical component amplitudes, the frequency dependence of the Coda Q values, the local distribution of Lg Q values using recorded data sets

A study on the characteristics of strong ground motions in southern Korea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bang, Chang Eob; Lee, Kie Hwa; Kang, Tae Seob [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2001-12-15

Ground motion characteristics in southern Korea are analyzed such as the variations of ground motion durations depending on the hypocentral distance, the earthquake magnitude and the frequency contents of the motion, and the predominant frequency of the maximum ground motion, the ratio of the horizontal to the vertical component amplitudes, the frequency dependence of the Coda Q values, the local distribution of Lg Q values using recorded data sets.

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT IN AGRICULTURE AND THE POTENTIAL TO MISLEAD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VLADU ALINA BEATTRICE

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Applying fair value measurement to tangible and intangible assets in agriculture cannot be risk free. Twofoldreasons can be brought into attention for the above statement: fair value estimation and the specific of agriculturefield. The purpose of this discussion paper is to underline potential creative accounting demarches that can appear inthis context. The paper concludes based on the discussions approached in the literature. Further avenues of researchare discussed.

IMPACT OF GEOTHERMAL GRADIENT ON GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP SYSTEM MODELING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomislav Kurevija

2014-07-01

Full Text Available ndisturbed ground temperature is one of the most crucial thermogeological parameters needed for shallow geothermal resources assessment. Energy considered to be geothermal is energy stored in the ground at depths where solar radiation has no effect. At depth where undisturbed ground temperature occurs there is no influence of seasonal variations in air temperature from surface. Exact temperature value, and depth where it occurs, is functionally dependent on surface climate parameters and thermogeologic properties of ground. After abovementioned depth, increase of ground temperature is solely dependent on geothermal gradient. Accurately determined value of undisturbed ground temperature is beneficial for proper sizing of borehole heat exchangers. On practical example of building which is being heated and cooled with shallow geothermal resource, influences of undisturbed ground temperature and geothermal gradient, on size of borehole heat exchanger are going to be presented. Sizing of borehole heat exchanger was calculated with commercial software Ground Loop Designer (GLD, which uses modified line source and cylinder source solutions of heat conduction in solids.

Shared Values?: Measuring Value Differences Between Civilians and Soldiers

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Efflandt, Scott

1998-01-01

.... In response to this many within and outside of the military have attributed these problems to the absence of personal values among new service members that are congruent with the military's core values...

A New Proxy Measurement Algorithm with Application to the Estimation of Vertical Ground Reaction Forces Using Wearable Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yuzhu; Storm, Fabio; Zhao, Yifan; Billings, Stephen A; Pavic, Aleksandar; Mazzà, Claudia; Guo, Ling-Zhong

2017-09-22

Measurement of the ground reaction forces (GRF) during walking is typically limited to laboratory settings, and only short observations using wearable pressure insoles have been reported so far. In this study, a new proxy measurement method is proposed to estimate the vertical component of the GRF (vGRF) from wearable accelerometer signals. The accelerations are used as the proxy variable. An orthogonal forward regression algorithm (OFR) is employed to identify the dynamic relationships between the proxy variables and the measured vGRF using pressure-sensing insoles. The obtained model, which represents the connection between the proxy variable and the vGRF, is then used to predict the latter. The results have been validated using pressure insoles data collected from nine healthy individuals under two outdoor walking tasks in non-laboratory settings. The results show that the vGRFs can be reconstructed with high accuracy (with an average prediction error of less than 5.0%) using only one wearable sensor mounted at the waist (L5, fifth lumbar vertebra). Proxy measures with different sensor positions are also discussed. Results show that the waist acceleration-based proxy measurement is more stable with less inter-task and inter-subject variability than the proxy measures based on forehead level accelerations. The proposed proxy measure provides a promising low-cost method for monitoring ground reaction forces in real-life settings and introduces a novel generic approach for replacing the direct determination of difficult to measure variables in many applications.

A New Proxy Measurement Algorithm with Application to the Estimation of Vertical Ground Reaction Forces Using Wearable Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuzhu Guo

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Measurement of the ground reaction forces (GRF during walking is typically limited to laboratory settings, and only short observations using wearable pressure insoles have been reported so far. In this study, a new proxy measurement method is proposed to estimate the vertical component of the GRF (vGRF from wearable accelerometer signals. The accelerations are used as the proxy variable. An orthogonal forward regression algorithm (OFR is employed to identify the dynamic relationships between the proxy variables and the measured vGRF using pressure-sensing insoles. The obtained model, which represents the connection between the proxy variable and the vGRF, is then used to predict the latter. The results have been validated using pressure insoles data collected from nine healthy individuals under two outdoor walking tasks in non-laboratory settings. The results show that the vGRFs can be reconstructed with high accuracy (with an average prediction error of less than 5.0% using only one wearable sensor mounted at the waist (L5, fifth lumbar vertebra. Proxy measures with different sensor positions are also discussed. Results show that the waist acceleration-based proxy measurement is more stable with less inter-task and inter-subject variability than the proxy measures based on forehead level accelerations. The proposed proxy measure provides a promising low-cost method for monitoring ground reaction forces in real-life settings and introduces a novel generic approach for replacing the direct determination of difficult to measure variables in many applications.

Low diagnostic value of respiratory impedance measurements in children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cuijpers, CEJ; Wesseling, GJ; Kessels, AGH; Swaen, GMH; Mertens, PLJM; deKok, ME; Broer, J; Sturmans, F; Wouters, EFM

The aim of this study was to determine whether impedance values in children with various chronic respiratory complaints differed from those observed in symptom-free children. Respiratory impedance was measured using the forced oscillation technique in 1,776 Dutch children aged 6-12 yrs. In addition

Validation of ozone monitoring instrument ultraviolet index against ground-based UV index in Kampala, Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Muyimbwa, Dennis; Dahlback, Arne; Ssenyonga, Taddeo; Chen, Yi-Chun; Stamnes, Jakob J; Frette, Øyvind; Hamre, Børge

2015-10-01

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) overpass solar ultraviolet (UV) indices have been validated against the ground-based UV indices derived from Norwegian Institute for Air Research UV measurements in Kampala (0.31° N, 32.58° E, 1200 m), Uganda for the period between 2005 and 2014. An excessive use of old cars, which would imply a high loading of absorbing aerosols, could cause the OMI retrieval algorithm to overestimate the surface UV irradiances. The UV index values were found to follow a seasonal pattern with maximum values in March and October. Under all-sky conditions, the OMI retrieval algorithm was found to overestimate the UV index values with a mean bias of about 28%. When only days with radiation modification factor greater than or equal to 65%, 70%, 75%, and 80% were considered, the mean bias between ground-based and OMI overpass UV index values was reduced to 8%, 5%, 3%, and 1%, respectively. The overestimation of the UV index by the OMI retrieval algorithm was found to be mainly due to clouds and aerosols.

Ibis ground calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bird, A.J.; Barlow, E.J.; Tikkanen, T.; Bazzano, A.; Del Santo, M.; Ubertini, P.; Blondel, C.; Laurent, P.; Lebrun, F.; Di Cocco, G.; Malaguti, E.; Gabriele, M.; La Rosa, G.; Segreto, A.; Quadrini, E.; Volkmer, R.

2003-01-01

We present an overview of results obtained from IBIS ground calibrations. The spectral and spatial characteristics of the detector planes and surrounding passive materials have been determined through a series of calibration campaigns. Measurements of pixel gain, energy resolution, detection uniformity, efficiency and imaging capability are presented. The key results obtained from the ground calibration have been: - optimization of the instrument tunable parameters, - determination of energy linearity for all detection modes, - determination of energy resolution as a function of energy through the range 20 keV - 3 MeV, - demonstration of imaging capability in each mode, - measurement of intrinsic detector non-uniformity and understanding of the effects of passive materials surrounding the detector plane, and - discovery (and closure) of various leakage paths through the passive shielding system

Measurement and evaluation of high-rise building response to ground motion generated by underground nuclear explosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honda, K.K.

1976-01-01

As part of the structural response research program being conducted for ERDA, the response behavior of high-rise buildings in Las Vegas, Nevada, due to ground motion caused by underground nuclear explosions (UNEs) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) has been measured for the past 12 years. Results obtained include variation in dynamic response properties as a function of amplitude of motion, influence of nonstructural partitions in the building response, and comparison of calculated and measured response. These data for three reinforced concrete high-rise buildings, all designed as moment-resisting space frames are presented

Age determination of ground-waters by means of carbon 14

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eichinger, L.

1982-02-01

At present the age determination of ground-waters aged between 1,500 and approximately 40,000 years is only possible by measuring their 14 C content. A precise age assignment can be established in slightly mineralised waters, whereas it becomes vague in mineralised waters, particularly in acidulous springs. In general, additional information and data are required about the 13 C, D, 18 O, 3 H, 85 Kr and the 39 Ar contents, about the ph value, temperature and the principal ions. (DG) [de

Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Common Ground System (CGS) Current Technical Performance Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Cochran, S.; Panas, M.; Jamilkowski, M. L.; Miller, S. W.

2015-12-01

ABSTRACT The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly acquiring the next-generation civilian weather and environmental satellite system: the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The Joint Polar Satellite System will replace the afternoon orbit component and ground processing system of the current Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) managed by NOAA. The JPSS satellites will carry a suite of sensors designed to collect meteorological, oceanographic, climatological and geophysical observations of the Earth. The ground processing system for JPSS is known as the JPSS Common Ground System (JPSS CGS). Developed and maintained by Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS), the CGS is a multi-mission enterprise system serving NOAA, NASA and their national and international partners. The CGS has demonstrated its scalability and flexibility to incorporate multiple missions efficiently and with minimal cost, schedule and risk, while strengthening global partnerships in weather and environmental monitoring. The CGS architecture is being upgraded to Block 2.0 in 2015 to "operationalize" S-NPP, leverage lessons learned to date in multi-mission support, take advantage of more reliable and efficient technologies, and satisfy new requirements and constraints in the continually evolving budgetary environment. To ensure the CGS meets these needs, we have developed 49 Technical Performance Measures (TPMs) across 10 categories, such as data latency, operational availability and scalability. This paper will provide an overview of the CGS Block 2.0 architecture, with particular focus on the 10 TPM categories listed above. We will provide updates on how we ensure the deployed architecture meets these TPMs to satisfy our multi-mission objectives with the deployment of Block 2.0.

A step-by-step plan to manage and measure adding value by FM/CREM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van der Voordt, Theo; Jensen, Per Anker; Hoendervanger, Jan Gerard

2016-01-01

Purpose To present a new Value Adding Management model in order to support decision makers in identifying appropriate interventions to add value to the organisation, to manage its implementation, and to measure the output and outcomes. Theory The paper builds on value adding management theories...... different European countries present a state of the art of theory and research on 12 value parameters, how to manage and measure each value, and to discuss the costs and benefits of typical FM and CREM interventions to enhance satisfaction, image, culture, health and safety, productivity, adaptability...... and models including the triplet input-throughput-output, a distinction between output, outcome and added value, the Plan-Do-Act-Check cycle, change management and performance measurement. Design/methodology/approach Literature review and a cross-chapter analysis of a forthcoming book, where authors from...

Measuring the value of internal audit in the banking industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clara-Iulia Zinca (Voiculescu

2016-09-01

The results of the study suggest that most organizations use methods that contain mainly quantitative and less qualitative elements. There are differences between banks and other types of organizations in terms of the methods and practices used, but also on the importance showed to measurement of internal audit value. In addition, the findings confirm that there is room for improving the methods and practices used, so that the audit function gains value and credibility.

The value of pulmonary vessel CT measuring and calculating of relative ratio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji Jiansong; Xu Xiaoxiong; Lv Suzhen; Zhao Zhongwei; Wang Zufei; Xu Min; Gong Jianping

2004-01-01

Objective: To evaluate value of CT measurement and calculation of vessels of isolate pig lung, by compare with measurement and calculation of resin cast of them. Methods: CT scanned and measured the four isolated pig lung which vessels were full with ABS liquid or self-solidification resin liquid, and calculate the relative ratio of superior/inferior order and vein/artery of same order. After resin cast were made, measure and calculate the same as CT did. Results: Second order of calculation of vein/artery of same order by the two method had statistic difference (P 0.05). Conclusion: CT has high value in calculation of the relative ratio of superior/inferior order

Be-7 measured at ground air level and rainfall in the city of Sao Paulo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Damatto, Sandra R.; Souza, Joseilton M.; Frujuele, Jonatan V.; Maduar, Marcelo F.; Leonardo, Lucio; Pecequilo, Brigitte R.S.

2013-01-01

The cosmogenic radionuclide 7 Be (T 1/2 = 53.3 d), produced in the upper atmosphere by cosmic ray spallation of oxygen and nitrogen, is one of the cosmogenic radionuclides that can be used as tracer for heavy metals and pollutants in the environment, tracer of soil erosion and sedimentation in lakes, among other examples. Their subsequent deposition to the land surface occurs as both wet and dry fallout, although it has been demonstrated that 7 Be fallout is primarily associated with precipitation. There is limited data on the concentration of 7 Be in rainfall and in particulate in the Southern Hemisphere and in Brazil, compared with data from the Northern Hemisphere. This paper presents the results obtained of 7 Be concentrations measured from April 2011 to June 2013, in samples of air at ground level, each fifteen days, and rainfall in all the rainy events that occurred at Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), which has its campus located in the city of Sao Paulo, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The concentrations of 7 Be were measured by non-destructive gamma-ray spectrometry using an extended range closed-end coaxial Be-layer HPGe detector with 25% relative efficiency and associated electronic devices and live counting time varying from 100,000 s to 300,000 s. The results obtained of 7 Be in particulate and in rainfall were correlated to seasons, precipitation, temperature and sunspot number. The higher values obtained for the concentrations were in spring and summer time presenting good correlations with the amount of precipitation and sunspot number and a clear seasonal variation. (author)

Measuring Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall of crude oil portfolio using extreme value theory and vine copula

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Wenhua; Yang, Kun; Wei, Yu; Lei, Likun

2018-01-01

Volatilities of crude oil price have important impacts on the steady and sustainable development of world real economy. Thus it is of great academic and practical significance to model and measure the volatility and risk of crude oil markets accurately. This paper aims to measure the Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) of a portfolio consists of four crude oil assets by using GARCH-type models, extreme value theory (EVT) and vine copulas. The backtesting results show that the combination of GARCH-type-EVT models and vine copula methods can produce accurate risk measures of the oil portfolio. Mixed R-vine copula is more flexible and superior to other vine copulas. Different GARCH-type models, which can depict the long-memory and/or leverage effect of oil price volatilities, however offer similar marginal distributions of the oil returns.

Impact of energy efficiency measures on the economic value of buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popescu, Daniela; Bienert, Sven; Schuetzenhofer, Christian; Boazu, Rodica

2012-01-01

Highlights: → Market driven reasons can strengthen implementation of energy policies in buildings. → Methods that quantify the added value due to energy performance are developed. → Recommendations on how they can be incorporated in the financial analysis are presented. → Case studies on some existing condominiums from Romania are analyzed. → The market sensitivity to energy efficiency measures is also in the focus. -- Abstract: A main objective of energy policies is to make all levels of the society, from governments to citizen, interested in increasing the energy efficiency of buildings. One of the most important barriers in implementation of energy policies is that the cost of potential energy savings, typically considered being the only financial benefit, does not sufficiently motivate investments. The target is therefore to identify further possible drivers pushing positive reaction according to energy saving action. The paper discusses whether a market-based instrument, capturing the increase of the economic value of energy efficient buildings, can be also used. Methods that quantify the added value due to energy performance, including recommendations on how they can be incorporated in the financial analysis of investments in weatherization, are developed. By applying the proposed methods, the payback period of investments in energy efficiency measures depends on two factors: potential energy savings and the added value to the property. Case studies on some existing condominiums from Romania are analyzed and provide evidence to the research question. The market sensitivity to energy efficiency measures, the possibility of an intangible added value as well as the impact to financial investment decisions is subsequently in the focus.

First middle-atmospheric zonal wind profile measurements with a new ground-based microwave Doppler-spectro-radiometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Rüfenacht

2012-11-01

Full Text Available We report on the wind radiometer WIRA, a new ground-based microwave Doppler-spectro-radiometer specifically designed for the measurement of middle-atmospheric horizontal wind by observing ozone emission spectra at 142.17504 GHz. Currently, wind speeds in five levels between 30 and 79 km can be retrieved which makes WIRA the first instrument able to continuously measure horizontal wind in this altitude range. For an integration time of one day the measurement error on each level lies at around 25 m s⁻¹. With a planned upgrade this value is expected to be reduced by a factor of 2 in the near future. On the altitude levels where our measurement can be compared to wind data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF very good agreement in the long-term statistics as well as in short time structures with a duration of a few days has been found.

WIRA uses a passive double sideband heterodyne receiver together with a digital Fourier transform spectrometer for the data acquisition. A big advantage of the radiometric approach is that such instruments can also operate under adverse weather conditions and thus provide a continuous time series for the given location. The optics enables the instrument to scan a wide range of azimuth angles including the directions east, west, north, and south for zonal and meridional wind measurements. The design of the radiometer is fairly compact and its calibration does not rely on liquid nitrogen which makes it transportable and suitable for campaign use. WIRA is conceived in a way that it can be operated remotely and does hardly require any maintenance.

In the present paper, a description of the instrument is given, and the techniques used for the wind retrieval based on the determination of the Doppler shift of the measured atmospheric ozone emission spectra are outlined. Their reliability was tested using Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, a time series of 11

First middle-atmospheric zonal wind profile measurements with a new ground-based microwave Doppler-spectro-radiometer

Science.gov (United States)

Rüfenacht, R.; Kämpfer, N.; Murk, A.

2012-11-01

We report on the wind radiometer WIRA, a new ground-based microwave Doppler-spectro-radiometer specifically designed for the measurement of middle-atmospheric horizontal wind by observing ozone emission spectra at 142.17504 GHz. Currently, wind speeds in five levels between 30 and 79 km can be retrieved which makes WIRA the first instrument able to continuously measure horizontal wind in this altitude range. For an integration time of one day the measurement error on each level lies at around 25 m s-1. With a planned upgrade this value is expected to be reduced by a factor of 2 in the near future. On the altitude levels where our measurement can be compared to wind data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) very good agreement in the long-term statistics as well as in short time structures with a duration of a few days has been found. WIRA uses a passive double sideband heterodyne receiver together with a digital Fourier transform spectrometer for the data acquisition. A big advantage of the radiometric approach is that such instruments can also operate under adverse weather conditions and thus provide a continuous time series for the given location. The optics enables the instrument to scan a wide range of azimuth angles including the directions east, west, north, and south for zonal and meridional wind measurements. The design of the radiometer is fairly compact and its calibration does not rely on liquid nitrogen which makes it transportable and suitable for campaign use. WIRA is conceived in a way that it can be operated remotely and does hardly require any maintenance. In the present paper, a description of the instrument is given, and the techniques used for the wind retrieval based on the determination of the Doppler shift of the measured atmospheric ozone emission spectra are outlined. Their reliability was tested using Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, a time series of 11 months of zonal wind measurements over Bern (46°57' N

Valuing Informal Care Experience: Does Choice of Measure Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Mentzakis, Emmanouil; McNamee, Paul; Ryan, Mandy; Sutton, Matthew

2012-01-01

Well-being equations are often estimated to generate monetary values for non-marketed activities. In such studies, utility is often approximated by either life satisfaction or General Health Questionnaire scores. We estimate and compare monetary valuations of informal care for the first time in the UK employing both measures, using longitudinal…

Against Journal Articles for Measuring Value in University Output

Science.gov (United States)

Mbali, C.

2010-01-01

The following lines of arguments against the metrics of journal articles is developed: (1) Textual output should no longer be main valued output; (2) Digitalization enables other ways of advancing knowledge; (3) Measures by journal article favours the disciplines of Natural Science and Engineering (NSE) and moulds other disciplines of Social…

Nitrogen-isotope ratios of nitrate in ground water under fertilized fields, Long Island, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Flipse, W.J.; Bonner, F.T.

1985-01-01

Ground-water samples from two heavily fertilized sites in Suffolk County, New York, were collected through the 1978 growing season and analyzed for nitrate-N concentrations and nitrogen-isotope ratios. Six wells were at a potato farm; six were on a golf course. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the 15N/14N ratios (??15N values) of fertilizer are increased during transit from land surface to ground water to an extent which would preclude use of this ratio to distinguish agricultural from animal sources of nitrate in ground water. Ground water at both sites contained a greater proportion of 15N than the fertilizers being applied. At the potato farm, the average ??15N value of the fertilizers was 0.2???; the average ??15N value of the ground-water nitrate was 6.2???. At the golf course, the average ??15N value of the fertilizers was -5.9???, and that of ground-water nitrate was 6.5???. The higher ??15N values of ground-water nitrate are probably caused by isotopic fractionation during the volatile loss of ammonia from nitrogen applied in reduced forms (NH4+ and organic-N). The ??15N values of most ground-water samples from both areas were less than 10???, the upper limit of the range characteristic of agricultural sources of nitrate; these sources include both fertilizer nitrate and nitrate derived from increased mineralization of soil nitrogen through cultivation. Previous studies have shown that the ??15N values of nitrate derived from human or animal waste generally exceed 10???. The nitrogen-isotope ratios of fertilizer-derived nitrate were not altered to an extent that would make them indistinguishable from animal-waste-derived nitrates in ground water.Ground-water samples from two heavily fertilized sites in Suffolk County, New York, were collected through the 1978 growing season and analyzed for nitrate-N concentrations and nitrogen-isotope ratios. Six wells were at a potato farm; six were on a golf course. The purpose of this study was to

Measurement of the total solar energy transmittance (g-value) for conventional glazings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duer, Karsten

1998-01-01

Three different glazings have been investigated in the Danish experimental setup METSET. (A device for calorimetric measurement of total solar energy transmittance - g-value).The purpose of the measurements is to increase the confidence in the calorimetric measurements. This is done by comparison...

River as a part of ground battlefield

Science.gov (United States)

Vračar, Miodrag S.; Pokrajac, Ivan; Okiljević, Predrag

2013-05-01

The rivers are in some circumstances part of the ground battlefield. Microseisms induced at the riverbed or ground at the river surrounding might be consequence of military activities (military ground transports, explosions, troop's activities, etc). Vibrations of those fluid-solid structures are modeled in terms of solid displacement and change of fluid pressure. This time varying fluid pressure in river, which originates from ground microseisms, is possible to detect with hydrophones. Therefore, hydroacoustic measurements in rivers enables detecting, identification and localization various types of military noisy activities at the ground as and those, which origin is in the river water (hydrodynamics of water flow, wind, waves, river vessels, etc). In this paper are presented river ambient noise measurements of the three great rivers: the Danube, the Sava and the Tisa, which flows in north part of Serbia in purpose to establish limits in detection of the ground vibrations in relatively wide frequency range from zero to 20 kHz. To confirm statement that the river is a part of ground battlefield, and that hydroacoustic noise is possible to use in detecting and analyzing ground microseisms induced by civil or military activities, some previous collected data of hydroacoustic noise measurement in the rivers are used. The data of the river ambient noise include noise induced by civil engineering activities, that ordinary take place in large cities, noise that produced ships and ambient noise of the river when human activities are significantly reduced. The poly spectral method was used in analysis such events.

Measurement of the ground-state distributions in bistable mechanically interlocked molecules using slow scan rate cyclic voltammetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Fahrenbach, Albert C; Barnes, Jonathan C; Li, Hao; Benítez, Diego; Basuray, Ashish N; Fang, Lei; Sue, Chi-Hau; Barin, Gokhan; Dey, Sanjeev K; Goddard, William A; Stoddart, J Fraser

2011-12-20

In donor-acceptor mechanically interlocked molecules that exhibit bistability, the relative populations of the translational isomers--present, for example, in a bistable [2]rotaxane, as well as in a couple of bistable [2]catenanes of the donor-acceptor vintage--can be elucidated by slow scan rate cyclic voltammetry. The practice of transitioning from a fast scan rate regime to a slow one permits the measurement of an intermediate redox couple that is a function of the equilibrium that exists between the two translational isomers in the case of all three mechanically interlocked molecules investigated. These intermediate redox potentials can be used to calculate the ground-state distribution constants, K. Whereas, (i) in the case of the bistable [2]rotaxane, composed of a dumbbell component containing π-electron-rich tetrathiafulvalene and dioxynaphthalene recognition sites for the ring component (namely, a tetracationic cyclophane, containing two π-electron-deficient bipyridinium units), a value for K of 10 ± 2 is calculated, (ii) in the case of the two bistable [2]catenanes--one containing a crown ether with tetrathiafulvalene and dioxynaphthalene recognition sites for the tetracationic cyclophane, and the other, tetrathiafulvalene and butadiyne recognition sites--the values for K are orders (one and three, respectively) of magnitude greater. This observation, which has also been probed by theoretical calculations, supports the hypothesis that the extra stability of one translational isomer over the other is because of the influence of the enforced side-on donor-acceptor interactions brought about by both π-electron-rich recognition sites being part of a macrocyclic polyether.

Development and Preliminary Validation of a New Measure of Values in Scientific Work.

Science.gov (United States)

English, Tammy; Antes, Alison L; Baldwin, Kari A; DuBois, James M

2018-04-01

In this paper we describe the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a new measure, the values in scientific work (VSW). This scale assesses the level of importance that investigators attach to different VSW. It taps a broad range of intrinsic, extrinsic, and social values that motivate the work of scientists, including values specific to scientific work (e.g., truth and integrity) and more classic work values (e.g., security and prestige) in the context of science. Notably, the values represented in this scale are relevant to scientists regardless of their career stage and research focus. We administered the VSW and a measure of global values to 203 NIH-funded investigators. Exploratory factor analyses suggest the delineation of eight VSW, including autonomy, research ethics, social impact, income, collaboration, innovation and growth, conserving relationships, and job security. These VSW showed predictable and distinct associations with global values. Implications of these findings for work on research integrity and scientific misconduct are discussed.

Ozone ground-based measurements by the GASCOD near-UV and visible DOAS system

Science.gov (United States)

Giovanelli, G.; Bonasoni, P.; Cervino, M.; Evangelisti, F.; Ravegnani, F.

1994-01-01

GASCOD, a near-ultraviolet and visible differential optical spectrometer, was developed at CNR's FISBAT Institute in Bologna, Italy, and first tested at Terra Nova Bay station in Antarctica (74.6 deg S, 164.6 deg E) during the summer expeditions 1988-1990 of PNRA (PNRA is the national research program in Antarctica, 'Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Atartide'). A comparison with coincident O3 total column measurements taken in the same Antarctic area is presented, as is another comparison performed in Italy. Also introduced is an updated model for solar zenith measurements taken from a ground-based, upward-looking GASCOD spectrometer, which was employed for the 1991-92 winter campaign at Aer-Ostersund in Sweden (63.3 deg N, 13.1 deg E) during AESOE (European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment). The GASCOD can examine the spectra from 300 to 700 nm, in 50 nm steps, by moving the spectrometer's grating. At present, it takes measurements of solar zenith radiation in the 310-342 nm range for O3 and in the 405-463 nm range for NO2.

Measuring and Communicating the Value Created by an Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, W. Richard

2010-01-01

This paper offers a different perspective in measuring the value created by an organization. It does so in the context of an undergraduate course in managerial accounting. In order to break down the functional silo approach to problem solving that has become the model of traditional business education, applications of shadow accounting, the…

Study of Ground Treatment on Improvement of Pile Foundation Response in Liquefiable Soils

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Chen Yulong

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In light of the disastrous the 2011 Tohoku Pacific Earthquake, the government of Japan has conducted studies to revise the seismic design code, and elevated peak ground accelerations have been adopted. Consequently, revisions on existing design to comply with the updated code are required for public projects that are still undergoing. The design safety needs to be reassessed, and implementation of strengthening measures is required if deemed necessary. For liquefaction countermeasures, ground treatment techniques that could increase the density of soils are often the preferable alternatives. The treatment usually increases the in-situ SPT-N or CPT-qc values, which in turn would increase the resistance of soil against liquefaction. For many public infrastructures in Japan supported by bored piles embedded partly or entirely in sandy soils, reevaluation of design safety against soil liquefaction would be required. In an assessment of possible retrofitting countermeasures for an infrastructure foundation, ground treatment has been considered. In this case study, effect of ground treatment on response of piles in liquefiable soils was investigated with numerical analyses using FLAC. Results provide insights into this ground treatment effect and useful information for consideration in future design or decision making.

Satellite and ground measurements of latitude distribution of upper ionosphere parameters in the region of the main trough of ionization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filippov, V.M.; Alekseev, V.N.; Afonin, V.V.

1988-01-01

Results of simultaneous complex measurements of subauroral ionosphere structure at observations of charged-particle precipitation at Interkosmos-19 satellite, electron concentration and temperature at Kosmos-900 satellite, ionosphere parameters and plasma convection at Zhigansk (L∼4) and Jakutsk (L∼3) stations and 630.0 mm line luminescence by scanning photometer at Zhigansk station, carried out on the 26 - 27.03.1979, are presented. It is found, that the through polar edge is formed by low-energy electron precipitations in diffuse auroral zone. It is confirmed by spatial coincidence of diffuse precipitations equatorial boundary, determined by satellite and ground optical measurements, with the ionization main through polar edge, determined by ground ionospherical observation and satellite measurements Ne at Kosmos-900 satellite. Results of these complex experiments show as well, that one of the main mechanisms of main ionospherical through formation may be plasma convection peculiarities within F region at subauroral zone widthes

Determination of 36Cl/Cl ratio in ground water using the accelerator mass spectrometry technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Suman; Deodhar, A.S.; Saravana Kumar, U.; Surendran, P.; Shrivastava, A.; Gupta, A.K.; Nair, J.P.; Yadav, M.L.; Hemalatha, M.; Sparrow, H.; Mahata, K.; Thomas, R.G.; Bhagwat, P.V.; Kailas, S.; Kale, R.M.

2009-01-01

The Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) programme using the 14 MV Pelletron Accelerator at Mumbai has been initiated with major emphasis on the determination of 36 Cl in water samples, of interest to hydrology and environment. In order to carry out the AMS measurement, a beam chopper to cut down beam intensity by a factor of 20 has been developed and commissioned. A multi-anode gas -si detector has been built to separate 36 Cl from the interfering 36 S. A new TPS system has been procured to operate the machine in the GVM mode. Standard and blank samples from Prime lab, Purdue have been employed in these measurements to standardise the technique for 36 Cl/Cl ratio determination. The detector was calibrated using the stable 35,37 Cl ions. The background 36 Cl in the system has been measured using the blank sample from Purdue and it was estimated that the ratio of 36 Cl/Cl was of the order of 10 -13 in the present setup. Ground water samples collected from South India were converted to AgCl and put in the SNICS ion source for the AMS measurements. These ground water samples, with 14 C content estimated to be in the range of 1 to 4 pMC indicate that the samples may be more than 35,000 years old. Using the AMS technique we have determined the 36 Cl/Cl ratio values for these ground water samples. They are found to range between 2 to 5 x 10 -12 . Additional measurements are planned to determine the age of the water samples and to understand the reasons for the observed high values of 36 Cl in these samples. (author)

Hydrogeology, simulated ground-water flow, and ground-water quality, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio

Science.gov (United States)

Dumouchelle, D.H.; Schalk, C.W.; Rowe, G.L.; De Roche, J.T.

1993-01-01