Costs of Tractor Ownership under Different Management Systems in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Costs of Tractor Ownership under Different Management Systems in Nigeria. ... It requires high initial capital investment. ... making management plans and decisions especially in comparing different tractor types and models thereby assisting ...

30 CFR 77.409 - Shovels, draglines, and tractors.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Shovels, draglines, and tractors. 77.409... COAL MINES Safeguards for Mechanical Equipment § 77.409 Shovels, draglines, and tractors. (a) Shovels... the operator prior to starting operation. (b) Shovels and draglines shall be equipped with handrails...

Agricultural Tractor Safety on Public Roads and Farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation, Washington, DC.

This study investigated the extent, causes, and means of preventing agricultural tractor accidents. The report includes an estimate of annual tractor-related deaths, an identification of the primary causes of such accidents with consideration of the major hazards causing death or injury, and recommendations or means for preventing the occurrence…

Social and Individual Influences on Tractor Operating Practices of Young Adult Agricultural Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudolphi, Josie M; Campo, Shelly; Gerr, Fred; Rohlman, Diane S

2018-05-01

Tractor-related incidents are the leading cause of agricultural-related fatalities in the United States. Injuries from rollovers can be prevented by equipping tractors with rollover protective structures (ROPS, an engineering approach) and by using seatbelts (a behavior-based approach). While adult farmers report low seatbelt use and frequent use of tractors without ROPS, it is unknown whether the young adult population has adopted similar tractor driving practices. This study was designed to identify tractor operating practices among young adult agricultural workers and the influence of supervisors, peers, and parents on their safety behaviors. An online survey was conducted among college students enrolled in agricultural science classes in four Midwestern colleges and universities. Participants answered questions about their tractor operating practices, the influence of supervisors, peers, parents, and individual risk taking tendencies on their workplace practices. A tractor operation safety score was estimated from participants' responses. Linear regression was used to examine the association of these influences and the tractor operation safety score. Of the 193 respondents, most (78.8%) reported that they never or rarely wear a seatbelt when operating a tractor with a ROPS. Supervisory influences, such as being negatively evaluated by a supervisor, were found to be more strongly associated with tractor operating behaviors than peer or parent influence. Young adult agricultural workers frequently reported unsafe tractor operating behaviors. Supervisors were found to have the most influence over reported behaviors of young adult agricultural workers. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pulling cylindrical particles using a soft-nonparaxial tractor beam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Novitsky, Andrey; Ding, Weiqiang; Wang, Maoyan

2017-01-01

In order to pull objects towards the light source a single tractor beam inevitably needs to be strongly nonparaxial. This stringent requirement makes such a tractor beam somewhat hypothetical. Here we reveal that the cylindrical shape of dielectric particles can effectively mitigate the nonparaxi......In order to pull objects towards the light source a single tractor beam inevitably needs to be strongly nonparaxial. This stringent requirement makes such a tractor beam somewhat hypothetical. Here we reveal that the cylindrical shape of dielectric particles can effectively mitigate...... the nonparaxiality requirements, reducing the incidence angle of the partial plane waves of the light beam down to 45 degrees and even to 30 degrees for respectively dipole and dipole-quadrupole objects. The optical pulling force attributed to the interaction of magnetic dipole and magnetic quadrupole moments...... and sorting of targeted particles....

Optical tractor Bessel polarized beams

Science.gov (United States)

Mitri, F. G.; Li, R. X.; Guo, L. X.; Ding, C. Y.

2017-01-01

Axial and transverse radiation force cross-sections of optical tractor Bessel polarized beams are theoretically investigated for a dielectric sphere with particular emphasis on the beam topological charge (or order), half-cone angle and polarization. The angular spectrum decomposition method (ASDM) is used to derive the non-paraxial electromagnetic (EM) field components of the Bessel beams. The multipole expansion method using vector spherical harmonics is utilized and appropriate beam-shape coefficients are derived in order to compute the radiation force cross-sections. The analysis has no limitation to a particular range of frequencies such that the Rayleigh, Mie or geometrical optics regimes can all be considered effectively using the present rigorous formalism. The focus of this investigation is to identify some of the tractor beam conditions so as to achieve retrograde motion of a dielectric sphere located arbitrarily in space. Numerical computations for the axial and transverse radiation force cross-sections are presented for linear, right-circular, radial, azimuthal and mixed polarizations of the individual plane waves forming the Bessel beams of zeroth- and first-order (with positive or negative helicity), respectively. As the sphere shifts off the beam's axis, the axial pulling (tractor) force is weakened. Moreover, the transverse radiation force cross-section field changes with the sphere's size factor ka (where k is the wavenumber and a is the sphere radius). Both stable and unstable equilibrium regions around the beam's axis are found, depending on the choice of ka and the half-cone angle α0. These results are particularly important in the development of emergent technologies for the photophoretic assembly of optically-engineered (meta)materials with designed properties using optical tractor (vortex) beams, particle manipulation, levitation and positioning, and other applications.

Mechanical Design of Downhole Tractor Based on Two-Way Self-locking Mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Delei; Shang, Jianzhong; Luo, Zirong; Wu, Guoheng; Liu, Yiying

2018-03-01

Based on the technology of horizontal well tractor, a kind of downhole tractor was developed which can realize Two-Way self-locking function. Aiming at the needs of horizontal well logging to realize the target of small size, high traction and high reliability, the tractor selects unique heart-shaped CAM as the locking mechanism. The motion principle of telescopic downhole tractor, the design of mechanical structure and locking principle of the locking mechanism are all analyzed. The mathematical expressions of traction are obtained by mechanical analysis of parallel support rod in the locking mechanism. The force analysis and contour design of the heart-shaped CAM are performed, which can lay the foundation for the development of tractor prototype.

EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF ENERGY ACCUMULATING MECHANISM FOR TRACTOR WITH ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSMISSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ch. I. Zhdanovich

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Dependence of tractor wheel torque on theoretical tractor motion speed has been used for comparison of tractor operation with electromechanical transmission with installation of energy accumulating mechanism and without its installation. In this case a traction asynchronous electric motor is operating under nominal and limit conditions. The paper also considers dependence diagrams of actual input power for the traction asynchronous electric motor and its losses due to theoretical tractor motion speed. Tractor wheel torque is limited during the operation of the traction asynchronous electric motor with energy accumulating mechanisms by the following factors: maximum electric motor torque at the given frequency of supply voltage; maximum value of internal combustion motor output which can be transferred to the traction asynchronous electric motor; grip of the wheels. During the operation of the traction asynchronous electric motor with energy accumulating mechanisms there is a possibility for short power consumption without regard to the second limitation because it is possible to use power not only of internal combustion motor but also the power which is stored in the energy accumulating mechanisms. Comparison of characteristics has been made when a tractor is operating at high gear and when it is operating at all gears (that is two gears. Operation of the 5th class tractors has been analyzed for all possible cases (operation with energy accumulating mechanisms and without the mechanisms while being operated at all gears and various types of work: tilling, sowing, cultivation, bulldozing work, transport mode. In this case equipment has been used which is aggregated with the 5th class tractor. 

Parameters for assay in engines of agricultural tractor for biofuel use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, Reny Adilmar Prestes; Meyer, Wagner [Universidade Estadual de Maringa (DEA/CCA/UEM), Cidade Gaucha, PR (Brazil). Centro de Ciencias Agrarias. Dept. de Engenharia Agricola], E-mail: raplopes@uem.br; Pinheiro Neto, Raimundo; Pinheiro, Andreia Cristina [Universidade Estadual de Maringa (DAG/CCA/UEM), PR (Brazil). Centro de Ciencias Agrarias. Dept. de Agronomia; Laurindo, Jose Carlos [Instituto de Tecnologia do Parana (CERBIO/TECPAR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Centro Brasileiro de Referencia em Biocombustiveis; Biazzono, Sergio Luis [Instituto de Tecnologia do Parana (TECPAR), Maringa, PR (Brazil). Inspecao Veicular

2008-07-01

The use of biofuel in tractors of diesel engines and agricultural harvester, in the operations of preparation of soil and harvest, is a good option of economy for the agriculturist. For a good performance of the machine, regulation and maintenance is necessary. This paper has the objective to prepare the agricultural tractors engine for the use of biofuel. The experiment was carried through State University of Maringa. One used for the assays three Massey Ferguson tractors engines. The smoke assays and opacity had shown that both the tractors had presented problems of regulations. The assays demonstrate the necessity of periodically to carry through the correct maintenance of the machines, as well as the training of the operators. The regulations allow adjusting the engines of the tractors to operate in situations recommended for the manufacturers. The regulations allow the correct functioning and better accompaniment of the useful life of the engine using biofuel in operations of soil preparation, sowing and harvest. (author)

Investigation of Tractor Base Bleeding for Heavy Vehicle Aerodynamic Drag Reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortega, J; Salari, K; Storms, B

2007-10-25

One of the main contributors to the aerodynamic drag of a heavy vehicle is tractor-trailer gap drag, which arises when the vehicle operates within a crosswind. Under this operating condition, freestream flow is entrained into the tractor-trailer gap, imparting a momentum exchange to the vehicle and subsequently increasing the aerodynamic drag. While a number of add-on devices, including side extenders, splitter plates, vortex stabilizers, and gap sealers, have been previously tested to alleviate this source of drag, side extenders remain the primary add-on device of choice for reducing tractor-trailer gap drag. However, side extenders are not without maintenance and operational issues. When a heavy vehicle pivots sharply with respect to the trailer, as can occur during loading or unloading operations, the side extenders can become crushed against the trailer. Consequently, fleet operators are forced to incur additional costs to cover the repair or replacement of the damaged side extenders. This issue can be overcome by either shortening the side extenders or by devising an alternative drag reduction concept that can perform just as effectively as side extenders. To explore such a concept, we investigate tractor base bleeding as a means of reducing gap drag. Wind tunnel measurements are made on a 1:20 scale heavy vehicle model at a vehicle width-based Reynolds number of 420,000. The tractor bleeding flow, which is delivered through a porous material embedded within the tractor base, is introduced into the tractor-trailer gap at bleeding coefficients ranging from 0.0-0.018. To determine the performance of tractor base bleeding under more realistic operating conditions, computational fluid dynamics simulations are performed on a full-scale heavy vehicle within a crosswind for bleeding coefficients ranging from 0.0-0.13.

Quantum coherent tractor beam effect for atoms trapped near a nanowaveguide

Science.gov (United States)

Sadgrove, Mark; Wimberger, Sandro; Nic Chormaic, Síle

2016-01-01

We propose several schemes to realize a tractor beam effect for ultracold atoms in the vicinity of a few-mode nanowaveguide. Atoms trapped near the waveguide are transported in a direction opposite to the guided mode propagation direction. We analyse three specific examples for ultracold 23Na atoms trapped near a specific nanowaveguide (i.e. an optical nanofibre): (i) a conveyor belt-type tractor beam effect, (ii) an accelerator tractor beam effect, and (iii) a quantum coherent tractor beam effect, all of which can effectively pull atoms along the nanofibre toward the light source. This technique provides a new tool for controlling the motion of particles near nanowaveguides with potential applications in the study of particle transport and binding as well as atom interferometry. PMID:27440516

Action Learning: A New Method to Increase Tractor Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) Adoption

Science.gov (United States)

Biddle, Elyce Anne; Keane, Paul R.

2016-01-01

Action Learning is a problem-solving process that is used in various industries to address difficult problems. This project applied Action Learning to a leading problem in agricultural safety. Tractor overturns are the leading cause of fatal injury to farmworkers. This cause of injury is preventable using rollover protective structures (ROPS), protective equipment that functions as a roll bar structure to protect the operator in the event of an overturn. For agricultural tractors manufactured after 1976 and employee operated, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation requires employers to equip them with ROPS and seat belts. By the mid-1980s, US tractor manufacturers began adding ROPS on all farm tractors over 20 horsepower sold in the United States (http://www.nasdonline.org/document/113/d001656/rollover-protection-for-farm-tractor-operators.html). However, many older tractors remain in use without ROPS, putting tractor operators at continued risk for traumatic injury and fatality. For many older tractor models ROPS are available for retrofit, but for a variety of reasons, tractor owners have not chosen to retrofit those ROPS. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) attempted various means to ameliorate this occupational safety risk, including the manufacture of a low-cost ROPS for self-assembly. Other approaches address barriers to adoption. An Action Learning approach to increasing adoption of ROPS was followed in Virginia and New York, with mixed results. Virginia took action to increase the manufacturing and adoption of ROPS, but New York saw problems that would be insurmountable. Increased focus on team composition might be needed to establish effective Action Learning teams to address this problem. PMID:22994641

A Wide Span Tractor concept developed for efficient and environmental friendly farming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Hans Henrik; Grøn Sørensen, Claus; Oudshoorn, Frank W

2013-01-01

agricultural machines a new Wide Span (WS) tractor concept has been designed and a prototype tractor with a span of 9.6 m (wheel centre to wheel centre) has been built. It is designed to optimise the Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) system that is already in place on the vegetable farm where it is being tested....... The tractor is designed to carry out all operations during vegetable production including harvest. Using the tractor means that less than 10% of the field area is affected by compaction due to field traffic. The economical and environmental effects of such a wide span CTF growing system will be assessed....

Wireline tractor production logging experience in Australian horizontal wells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Local, E.; Searight, T. L.

1998-12-31

Australian experiences with the development of new wireline tractor technology and its successful application to deploy production logging tools in horizontal wells was discussed. Dynamics of the tractor operations have been modelled and the model was validated with field data. The field data was also used to quantify borehole friction coefficients. Successful application in the field indicates that the tough tubing capability of the tractor, combined with its capacity to drive in large casing sizes, makes wireline deployment possible in a wide range of well completions. Work on a number of new applications such as the capability to negotiate complex downhole hardware, and to intervene in completions with widely differing tubing diameters, is in progress. 5 refs., 1 tab., 10 figs.

Vibration analysis on driver’s seat of agricultural tractors during tillage tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gialamas, T.; Gravalos, I.; Kateris, D.; Xyradakis, P.; Dimitriadis, C.

2016-01-01

The vibration of the driver’s seat of agricultural tractors was investigated during three alternative tillage operations. Three tractors including a range of specifications were considered, at a range of forward speeds. The interactions between the tractors, implements and speeds were examined using the SPSS program and the GLM-ANOVA method. The results analysis indicated that the tractors played the first major role in vibration development in the lateral axis and was followed by the implements. In contrast, the implements played the first major role in the development of vibration in the horizontal axis and are followed by factor tractors. The statistically significant effect in vertical and horizontal axes shows the factor implements. In addition, the statistically significant effect in the vertical and lateral axes shows again the implements to be the most significant factor. Of the implements, the plough shows the highest vibration and displays statistically significant difference in comparison with the other implements.

Vibration analysis on driver’s seat of agricultural tractors during tillage tests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gialamas, T.; Gravalos, I.; Kateris, D.; Xyradakis, P.; Dimitriadis, C.

2016-07-01

The vibration of the driver’s seat of agricultural tractors was investigated during three alternative tillage operations. Three tractors including a range of specifications were considered, at a range of forward speeds. The interactions between the tractors, implements and speeds were examined using the SPSS program and the GLM-ANOVA method. The results analysis indicated that the tractors played the first major role in vibration development in the lateral axis and was followed by the implements. In contrast, the implements played the first major role in the development of vibration in the horizontal axis and are followed by factor tractors. The statistically significant effect in vertical and horizontal axes shows the factor implements. In addition, the statistically significant effect in the vertical and lateral axes shows again the implements to be the most significant factor. Of the implements, the plough shows the highest vibration and displays statistically significant difference in comparison with the other implements.

Agricultural Tractor Selection: A Hybrid and Multi-Attribute Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge L. García-Alcaraz

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Usually, agricultural tractor investments are assessed using traditional economic techniques that only involve financial attributes, resulting in reductionist evaluations. However, tractors have qualitative and quantitative attributes that must be simultaneously integrated into the evaluation process. This article reports a hybrid and multi-attribute approach to assessing a set of agricultural tractors based on AHP-TOPSIS. To identify the attributes in the model, a survey including eighteen attributes was given to agricultural machinery salesmen and farmers for determining their importance. The list of attributes was presented to a decision group for a case of study, and their importance was estimated using AHP and integrated into the TOPSIS technique. In this case, one tractor was selected from a set of six alternatives, integrating six attributes in the model: initial cost, annual maintenance cost, liters of diesel per hour, safety of the operator, maintainability and after-sale customer service offered by the supplier. Based on the results obtained, the model can be considered easy to apply and to have good acceptance among farmers and salesmen, as there are no special software requirements for the application.

Assay in engine of agricultural tractor with biofuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, Reny Adilmar Prestes; Meyer, Wagner [Universidade Estadual de Maringa (DEA/CCA/UEM), Cidade Gaucha, PR (Brazil). Centro de Ciencias Agrarias. Dept. de Engenharia Agricola], E-mail: raplopes@uem.br; Pinheiro Neto, Raimundo; Pinheiro, Andreia Cristina [Universidade Estadual de Maringa (DAG/CCA/UEM), PR (Brazil). Centro de Ciencias Agrarias. Dept. de Agronomia; Laurindo, Jose Carlos [Instituto de Tecnologia do Parana (CERBIO/TECPAR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Centro Brasileiro de Referencia em Biocombustiveis; Biazzono, Sergio Luis [Instituto de Tecnologia do Parana (TECPAR), Maringa, PR (Brazil). Inspecao Veicular

2008-07-01

The use of biofuel in tractors of diesel engines and agricultural harvester, in the operations of soil preparation and harvest, is a good option of fuel economy for the agriculturist. For a good performance of the machine a good regulation is necessary. The experiment was carried through in the Experimental Farm Iguatemi of the State University of Maringa, Maringa - PR. A tractor Massey Ferguson MF275 was used for the assay connected to be even grating. It carried through if the assays of consumption of diesel (100%) and biofuel (diesel 80% + vegetable oil 20%). To carry through the assay tractor + grating with three openings and without load was used to be even set. The rotation without load and of work was of 1900 rpm and mean speed of 6 km h{sup -1}. The hourly consumption was verified by a test tube and a fluxgate OVAL Flow mate M III - LSF 45L0-M2 connected to data logger CR23X. The hourly consumption was express in L h{sup -1}. The engine of the tractor presented similar behavior of fuel consumption for diesel and biofuel. The mean values of consumption had been inside of the specified one for the manufacturer. Mixture 80% diesel + 20% vegetable oil can be used as biofuel in the engine in study. (author)

Involving fathers in teaching youth about farm tractor seatbelt safety--a randomized control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jinnah, Hamida Amirali; Stoneman, Zolinda; Rains, Glen

2014-03-01

Farm youth continue to experience high rates of injury and deaths as a result of agricultural activities. Farm machinery, especially tractors, is the most common cause of casualties to youth. A Roll-Over Protection Structure (ROPS) along with a fastened seatbelt can prevent almost all injuries and fatalities from tractor overturns. Despite this knowledge, the use of seatbelts by farmers on ROPS tractors remains low. This study treats farm safety as a family issue and builds on the central role of parents as teachers and role models of farm safety for youth. This research study used a longitudinal, repeated-measures, randomized-control design in which youth 10-19 years of age were randomly assigned to either of two intervention groups (parent-led group and staff-led group) or the control group. Fathers in the parent-led group were less likely to operate ROPS tractors without a seatbelt compared with other groups. They were more likely to have communicated with youth about the importance of wearing seatbelts on ROPS tractors. Consequently, youth in the parent-led group were less likely to operate a ROPS tractor without a seatbelt than the control group at post-test. This randomized control trial supports the effectiveness of a home-based, father-led farm safety intervention as a promising strategy for reducing youth as well as father-unsafe behaviors (related to tractor seatbelts) on the farm. This intervention appealed to fathers' strong motivation to practice tractor safety for the sake of their youth. Involving fathers helped change both father as well as youth unsafe tractor-seatbelt behaviors. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Tractor and Machinery Certification Program: management styles and perceptions held by community stakeholders and instructors.

Science.gov (United States)

Jepsen, S D

2012-07-01

A mixed-mode, descriptive study was conducted on the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Tractor and Machinery Certification Program. Legislated by the Fair Labors Standards Act, the Hazardous Occupations Order in Agriculture (HOOA) was enacted in 1968 as a public policy measure to reduce the number of injuries to youth on farms. An educational exemption allows youth 14 and 15 years of age to work for hire after they successfully complete a training program. In the 40+ years since the legislation went into effect prescribing such training exemptions, deficiencies and variations have occurred in the quality of the educational program and the system by which agencies certify young people. To gain a better understanding of the DOL Tractor and Machinery Certification program, community stakeholders were asked to identify management practices, curriculum resources, and perceptions of the DOL program. The study design used qualitative data from 49 agricultural representatives participating in regional focus groups and quantitative data from 330 community instructors responding to an electronic-formatted questionnaire (representing a 70.7% response rate) in an effort to answer the question: "What is the current status of the DOL Tractor and Machinery Certification program in the United States?" The findings revealed that 55.2% of the instructors taught a qualifying DOL program. Of these, the certification was administered through an Extension or 4-H program (68.7%), an agricultural education program (24.7%), or as a combination of Extension and agricultural education (6.0%). Course instructors believed the training was beneficial to students and had opportunity to attract more students than currently enrolled These instructors placed a higher value on standardized teaching materials than on standardized testing procedures; they also supported the need for additional teaching aids, which included hands-on activities, videotapes, student workbooks, and DVDs. Study participants

Fuzzy Logic Based Control of the Lateral Stability of Tractor Semitrailer Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiujian Yang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A novel control scheme is proposed to improve the yaw stability of a tractor semitrailer vehicle in critical situations. The control scheme is a two-layer structure consisting of an upper yaw moment controller and a lower brake force distributor. The tractor and the trailer are, respectively, stabilized by two independent fuzzy logic based yaw moment controllers. The controllers for the tractor and the trailer are, respectively, designed to track the reference yaw rate of the tractor and the hitch angle between the tractor and the trailer while considering the variation of the hitch angular rate at the same time. The corrective yaw moments determined by the corresponding upper fuzzy yaw moment controllers are realized by active wheel braking. The performance of the proposed control scheme is evaluated by simulations on a nonlinear vehicle model. The results demonstrate that the proposed control scheme is robust and effective in stabilizing the severe instabilities such as jackknife and trailer oscillation in the chosen simulation scenarios. It is believed that this control scheme is robust to the variation of road adhesion conditions.

Conformal superalgebras via tractor calculus

Science.gov (United States)

Lischewski, Andree

2015-01-01

We use the manifestly conformally invariant description of a Lorentzian conformal structure in terms of a parabolic Cartan geometry in order to introduce a superalgebra structure on the space of twistor spinors and normal conformal vector fields formulated in purely algebraic terms on parallel sections in tractor bundles. Via a fixed metric in the conformal class, one reproduces a conformal superalgebra structure that has been considered in the literature before. The tractor approach, however, makes clear that the failure of this object to be a Lie superalgebra in certain cases is due to purely algebraic identities on the spinor module and to special properties of the conformal holonomy representation. Moreover, it naturally generalizes to higher signatures. This yields new formulas for constructing new twistor spinors and higher order normal conformal Killing forms out of existing ones, generalizing the well-known spinorial Lie derivative. Moreover, we derive restrictions on the possible dimension of the space of twistor spinors in any metric signature.

The Tractor and Semitrailer Routing Considering Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongqi Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The incorporation of the minimization of carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions in the VRP is important to logistics companies. The paper deals with the tractor and semitrailer routing problem with full truckload between any two depots of the network; an integer programming model with the objective of minimizing CO2 emissions per ton-kilometer is proposed. A two-stage approach with the same core steps of the simulated annealing (SA in both stages is designed. The number of tractors is provided in the first stage and the CO2 emissions per ton-kilometer are then optimized in the second stage. Computational experiments on small-scale randomly generated instances supported the feasibility and validity of the heuristic algorithm. To a practical-scale problem, the SA algorithm can provide advice on the number of tractors, the routes, and the location of the central depot to realize CO2 emissions decrease.

Parental knowledge of child development and the assignment of tractor work to children.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickett, William; Marlenga, Barbara; Berg, Richard L

2003-07-01

Many childhood farm tractor injuries occur during the performance of work that was assigned by parents, and some tractor work is beyond the developmental capabilities of children. This has been highlighted recently by a policy statement authored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The objective of this study was 1) to assess child development knowledge of farm parents who received a new resource, the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT), and 2) to determine whether this knowledge was associated with use of NAGCAT in the assignment of tractor jobs and with compliance with 2 aspects of the NAGCAT tractor guideline. Secondary analysis of data collected during a randomized controlled trial that involved 450 farms in the United States and Canada was conducted. Variables assessed included 1) parental knowledge of child development across several age groups and 3 domains of child development (physical, cognitive, and psychosocial), 2) documentation of the most common tractor jobs assigned to each child, and 3) a report of whether NAGCAT was used in assigning these tractor jobs. High parental knowledge of child development was associated with enhanced use of NAGCAT and fewer violations when assigning tractor work to children. However, even in the presence of high knowledge, some farm parents still assigned to their children work that was in violation of NAGCAT. Educational interventions by themselves are not sufficient to remove many farm children from known occupational hazards. These findings are discussed in light of the recent policy statement on agricultural injuries from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Ergonomic assessment of drivers in MF285 and MF399 tractors during clutching using algometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Fallahi

2016-03-01

The results showed that the clutching forces for MF285 and MF399 tractors were 340 N and 290 N, respectively. The knee angle of the drivers of the two tractors was statistically different at the one percent level of significance. The reduction of pain threshold after 30 and 60 s clutching and also 60 s rest after clutching in MF285 tractor, for all three muscles, were more than those of MF399 tractor. The impact of clutching on the average decreases of pain threshold, for all drivers and all clutching periods, during and after clutching, in the Quadratus lumborum muscle was more than the other two muscles, in both tractors. In order to reduce the clutching force for MF285 tractor some modifications is suggested. In this regard the force transfer joint between the pedal and the clutch release linkage may be replaced with one made of cast iron.

Dynamic-energetic balance of agricultural tractors: active systems for the measurement of the power requirements in static tests and under field conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Pochi

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Modern tractors are characterized by the introduction of devices designed to increase the operative performances of the machines, such as systems for monitoring and controlling various functions (through a massive use of electronics and hydraulics, or deputed to improve the comfort of the driver (paying more attention to ergonomics, air-conditioning, noise and vibration. Such devices need energy to be operated, affecting the energetic balance of the tractor. In this context, the availability of suitable methodologies and instrumental systems could be useful to provide objective, accurate and reliable measurements of the performances of the tractors under different conditions, also considering the power requirements from ancillary services and/or simulating the coupling with operating machines. The tests on the performances of tractors are now made using different methods, including the trial codes issued by the OECD Codes. Beyond their undoubted validity, they fix standard test conditions that often do not adequately represent the operative reality, so that, much remains to investigate on the actual performances provided by the tractors. From this point of view and with reference to fixed point tests, a test bench was developed for the measurement of the power required by various devices, such as transmission and air conditioning. It was used in experimental tests on a tracked tractor and on a wheeled tractor, aimed at validating the test device, measuring the power absorption related to the rotational speed of the organs of propulsion and to the characteristics curves, in order to quantify the power drawn by the transmission and by the air conditioning and assess the residual power for other tractor functions. As to field conditions, a study is being conducted at CRA-ING, within the project PTO (Mi.P.A.A.F., to develop a mobile test bench aimed at evaluating the power required by different operations, such as self displacement, traction, use of

A fuel cell driven aircraft baggage tractor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sterkenburg, Stefan van [HAN Univ. of Applied Sciences (Netherlands); Rijs, Aart van; Hupkens, Huib [Silent Motor Company, Arnhem (Netherlands)

2010-07-01

Silent Motor Company and the HAN University of Applied Science collaborate in the development of an aircraft baggage tractor. The baggage tractor is equipped with an 8kW fuel cell stack connected to a 26kWh battery-pack. The control system implemented minimizes the start-up time of the fuel cell system, protects the fuel cell against overload and underload and controls the State of Charge (SOC) of the battery to its optimum value. A practical SOC-determination method is implemented which does not need detailed knowledge about the batteries applied. This paper presents a description of the fuel cell system, its energy management system and SOC-determination method and the results of first test measurements. (orig.)

The influence of the tire inflation on pull properties of agriculture tractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakub Katrenčík

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Agricultural tractors are robust and versatile machines, which must comply with the basic requirements of users under various conditions. The main requirements include economical and reliable operation and high performance. Fuel economy could be improved using multiple methods, for example a well trained operator, adequate farming conditions and optimal tire inflation. Tractor tires transmit engine power to the surface and as such they are crucial to tractor operation. In the first part of the field measurement, all tires were inflated to 180kPa, while in the second part of the field measurements the tire pressure was set to 75kPa in front tires and to 65 kPa in rear tires. The results of the field measurement of the John Deere 6920S tractor with different tire inflation shows that pull performance increased by 9.9% and wheel slip decreased by 9.7%.

Simulated stability tests of a small articulated tractor designed for extreme-sloped vineyards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Mazzetto

2013-09-01

Full Text Available A new reversible wheeled articulated tractor, designed to work in terraced vineyards trained with “pergola” system, common in mountain areas, is here described in its latest version and analysed through numerical simulations. This tractor has small dimensions, necessary to operate in that environment, and its central articulation has two rotational degrees-offreedom. The described features are surely strong design points but could be critical for vehicle’s stability, as affecting the supporting base’s dimensions and shape. Therefore, the tractor was equipped with a new automatic safety system: a self-locking articulation activated by contact sensors on the wheels. This device makes the vehicle partially-rigid in case of lateral unbalancing, so that rollover can happen only by overcoming the whole vehicle mass. A mathematical description of vehicle-ground interactions was implemented to deeply inquiry the tractor behaviour in different configurations (straight, angled at increasing values of ground slope; roll and pitch stability indexes were then computed and used for comparisons with conventional tractors. Thanks to the low centre-of-gravity, the resulting rollover angle with the vehicle in straight configuration is promising (43.8°→96%: it is greater than the maximum lateral (20°→36% and frontal (38°→78% slope angle ever recorded on terraced vineyards. The same rollover angle is lower when the tractor turns.

Evaluation of a Commercial Tractor Safety Monitoring System Using a Reverse Engineering Procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

Casazza, Camilla; Martelli, Roberta; Rondelli, Valda

2016-10-17

There is a high rate of work-related deaths in agriculture. In Italy, despite the obligato-ry installation of ROPS, fatal accidents involving tractors represent more than 40% of work-related deaths in agriculture. As death is often due to an overturn that the driver is incapable of predicting, driver assistance devices that can signal critical stability conditions have been studied and marketed to prevent accidents. These devices measure the working parameters of the tractor through sensors and elaborate the values using an algorithm that, taking into account the geometric characteristics of the tractor, pro-vides a risk index based on models elaborated on a theoretical basis. This research aimed to verify one of these stability indexes in the field, using a commercial driver as-sistance device to monitor five tractors on the University of Bologna experimental farm. The setup of the device involved determining the coordinates of the center of gravity of the tractor and the implement mounted on the tractor. The analysis of the stability in-dex, limited to events with a significant risk level, revealed a clear separation into two groups: events with high values of roll or pitch and low speeds, typical of a tractor when working, and events with low values of roll and pitch and high steering angle and forward speed, typical of travel on the road. The equation for calculating the critical speed when turning provided a significant contribution only for events that were typi-cal of travel rather than field work, suggesting a diversified calculation approach ac-cording to the work phase. Copyright© by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Design and implementation of a GPS guidance system for agricultural tractors using augmented reality technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Santana-Fernández, Javier; Gómez-Gil, Jaime; del-Pozo-San-Cirilo, Laura

2010-01-01

Current commercial tractor guidance systems present to the driver information to perform agricultural tasks in the best way. This information generally includes a treated zones map referenced to the tractor's position. Unlike actual guidance systems where the tractor driver must mentally associate treated zone maps and the plot layout, this paper presents a guidance system that using Augmented Reality (AR) technology, allows the tractor driver to see the real plot though eye monitor glasses with the treated zones in a different color. The paper includes a description of the system hardware and software, a real test done with image captures seen by the tractor driver, and a discussion predicting that the historical evolution of guidance systems could involve the use of AR technology in the agricultural guidance and monitoring systems.

PARAMETER MATCHING OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE AND ELECTROMECHANICAL POWER TRAIN OF WHEEL TRACTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Kliuchnikov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers stepless electromechanical power train of a wheel tractor. Methodology for parameter matching of electromechanical transmission and internal combustion engine for their optimum performance as part of a power wheel tractor unit. 

Automated and electronically assisted hand hygiene monitoring systems: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Melissa A; Schweizer, Marin L; Polgreen, Philip M; Gupta, Kalpana; Reisinger, Heather S; Perencevich, Eli N

2014-05-01

Hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways to prevent transmission of health care-associated infections. Electronic systems and tools are being developed to enhance hand hygiene compliance monitoring. Our systematic review assesses the existing evidence surrounding the adoption and accuracy of automated systems or electronically enhanced direct observations and also reviews the effectiveness of such systems in health care settings. We systematically reviewed PubMed for articles published between January 1, 2000, and March 31, 2013, containing the terms hand AND hygiene or hand AND disinfection or handwashing. Resulting articles were reviewed to determine if an electronic system was used. We identified 42 articles for inclusion. Four types of systems were identified: electronically assisted/enhanced direct observation, video-monitored direct observation systems, electronic dispenser counters, and automated hand hygiene monitoring networks. Fewer than 20% of articles identified included calculations for efficiency or accuracy. Limited data are currently available to recommend adoption of specific automatic or electronically assisted hand hygiene surveillance systems. Future studies should be undertaken that assess the accuracy, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of such systems. Given the restricted clinical and infection prevention budgets of most facilities, cost-effectiveness analysis of specific systems will be required before these systems are widely adopted. Published by Mosby, Inc.

High voltage electrification of tractor and agricultural machinery – A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreda, G.P.; Muñoz-García, M.A.; Barreiro, P.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • CO_2 emission reduction calls for energy-efficient mobile work machines. • Energy recovery could be possible in some agricultural machinery operations. • Owning and operating costs of electrified tractor-implement pairs should be analyzed. • Plug-in hybrid electric tractors running along tramlines make sense. • Electrification allows for precise speed control, noise reduction and flexible design. - Abstract: Reduction of both pollutant emissions and fossil fuel dependency is an objective of energy policies worldwide. In many countries, governments promote the use of efficient vehicles like the hybrid electric vehicle. Incorporation of electric drives in tractor and agricultural machinery presents advantages in terms of increased energy efficiency and expanded functionalities. Higher efficiency means reduction in fuel consumption and subsequent decrease in CO_2 emission. New functionalities improve work quality and increase operator comfort. Tractor electrification takes advantage of decoupling loads and drives from the engine, which allows operating the latter at its highest efficiency point. Major advantages of machinery electrification are torque and speed control, noise reduction, and a more flexible design. In this paper, a review of the state-of-the-art of agricultural machinery high voltage electrification is presented.

A New Skid Trail Pattern Design for Farm Tractors Using Linear Programing and Geographical Information Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selcuk Gumus

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Farm tractor skidding is one of the common methods of timber extraction in Turkey. However, the absence of an optimal skidding plan covering the entire production area can result in time loss and negative environmental impacts. In this study, the timber extraction by farm tractors was analyzed, and a new skid trail pattern design was developed using Linear Programming (LP and Geographical Information Systems (GIS. First, a sample skidding operation was evaluated with a time study, and an optimum skidding model was generated with LP. Then, the new skidding pattern was developed by an optimum skidding model and GIS analysis. At the end of the study, the developed new skid trail pattern was implemented in the study area and tested by running a time study. Using the newly developed “Direct Skid Trail Pattern (DSTP” model, a 16.84% increase in working time performance was observed when the products were extracted by farm tractors compared to the existing practices. On the other hand, the average soil compaction value measured in the study area at depths of 0–5 cm and 5–10 cm was found to be greater in the sample area skid trails than in the control points. The average density of the skid trails was 281 m/ha, while it decreased to 187 m/ha by using the developed pattern. It was also found that 44,829 ton/ha of soil losses were prevented by using the DSTP model; therefore, environmental damages were decreased.

Utility of electronic hand hygiene counting devices for measuring physicians' hand hygiene adherence applied to outpatient settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Arai, Akie; Tanabe, Masaki; Nakamura, Akiko; Yamasaki, Daisuke; Muraki, Yuichi; Kaneko, Toshihiro; Kadowaki, Ayako; Ito, Masaaki

2016-12-01

Our objectives were to evaluate the utility of electronic hand hygiene counting devices in outpatient settings and the impact of results feedback on physicians' hand hygiene behaviors. We installed 130 electronic hand hygiene counting devices in our redesigned outpatient department. We remotely monitored physicians' hand hygiene practices during outpatient examinations and calculated the adherence rate as follows: number of hand hygiene counts divided by the number of outpatients examined multiplied by 100. Physician individual adherence rates were also classified into 4 categories. Two hundred and eighty physicians from 28 clinical departments were monitored for 3 months. The overall hand hygiene adherence rate was 10.7% at baseline, which improved significantly after feedback to 18.2% in the third month. Of the clinical departments, 78.6% demonstrated significant improvement in hand hygiene compliance. The change in the percentage of physicians in each category before and after feedback were as follows: very low (84.3% to 72.1%), low (8.6% to 14.3%), moderate (2.9% to 8.9%), and high (4.3% to 4.6%), from the first to third month, respectively. Based on category assessment, 17.1% of physicians were classified as responders. Physicians' adherence to hand hygiene practices during outpatient examinations was successfully monitored remotely using electronic counting devices. Audit and feedback of adherence data may have a positive impact on physicians' hand hygiene compliance. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SmartWay Mark Signature Page: Tractors & Trailers

Science.gov (United States)

This SmartWay agreement is for companies and organizations who wish to comply with the SmartWay Graphic Standards and Usage Guide guidelines and requirements for using the SmartWay logos on SmartWay designated Tractors and Trailers.

Ergonomic assessment of drivers in MF285 and MF399 tractors during clutching using algometer

OpenAIRE

Hossein Fallahi; Mohammad Hossein Abbaspour-Fard; Amin Azhari; Mehdi Khojastehpour; Amin Nikkhah

2016-01-01

Tractor as one of the most widely used agricultural machinery should be considered from different aspects. The frequent application of clutch and brake pedals and also the steering wheel within farms, along with the unfavorable working conditions, cause negative effects on the occupational health of the tractor drivers. Thus, in this research, the imposed forces on three engaged muscles including: Gastrocnemius, Trapezius and Quadrate’s lumborum of the tractor drivers during clutching have be...

Accidents with tractors and agricultural machinery in public transport of Republic of Serbia without provinces

OpenAIRE

Gliogrevic, Kosta; Oljaca, Mico; Ruzicic, Lazar; Dimitrovski, Zoran

2012-01-01

Working processes in agriculture nowadays cannot be imagined without the use of modern agricultural mechanization, especially primary power unit, tractor. Along with the tractor unit development and the benefits induced by its application, according to the author’s research, these machines are one of the main causes of accidents with different types of violations of the participants, and the tragic consequences. The great number of those accidents with tractors and other agricultural machiner...

Non-Diffractive Tractor Beams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Novitsky, Andrey; Gao, Dongliang; Gorlach, Alexey A.

2017-01-01

Pulling optical force discovered recently in the theory and experiment has drawn great attention owing to its counterintuitive nature and promising applications. Pulling force originates from the enhanced forward light scattering that in accordance with the momentum conservation conveys light...... demonstrate how to ease the conditions required in experiment for realization of the optical tractor beams using the cylindrical objects. We pay a particular attention to the case of the pulling optical force due to the interaction of magnetic dipole and quadrupole moments....

Investigation of UK Farmer Go/No-Go Decisions in Response to Tractor-Based Risk Scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Irwin, Amy; Poots, Jill

2018-01-01

Tractors are a source of injury and fatality in agriculture. Despite this farmers continue to engage in risk-taking behaviors, including operating tractors without appropriate equipment. In order to change behaviors and attitudes toward safety, it is important to understand how farmers approach different types of risk relevant to tractor use. The current study used a qualitative approach to investigate farmer perception of four types of tractor-based risk related to self, equipment, lack of safety features, and environment. A sample of 148 farmers from the United Kingdom and Ireland was recruited from farming forums to take part in an online scenario-based qualitative study. Participants were presented with 12 tractor-based scenarios, three from each category of risk, and asked to indicate if they would proceed to use the tractor (go) or not (no-go), then report their reasoning. Thematic analysis was used to identify data patterns. Farmers appeared to assess the consequences of risk in broader terms than the risk of injury to themselves; they also evaluated risk in terms of potential costs (e.g., repair bill) and losses (e.g., delay). Analysis indicated that financial risk was considered with more caution than personal risk in many cases. Farmers also considered usability, such as the functionality of tractor seat belts, indicating the importance of ensuring all safety equipment is fit for purpose. The management of agricultural risk should consider farmer priorities (such as financial costs) in order to develop effective messaging that focuses on those priorities, with the aim of reducing risk-taking behaviors.

Risk exposure to vibration and noise in the use of agricultural track-laying tractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariangela Vallone

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Human exposure to mechanical vibration may represent a significant risk factor for exposed workers in the agricultural sector. Also, noise in agriculture is one of the risk factors to be taken into account in the evaluation of workers’ health and safety. One of the major sources of discomfort for the workers operating a tractors is the noise to which they are exposed during work. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of exposure to whole-body vibration for the operator driving track-laying tractors in vineyard orchard and the noise level. The experimental tests were performed with six different track-laying tractors coupled with the same rototilling machine. The results showed that the vibration values of track-laying tractors coupled to rototilling machine, referred to the 8-hour working day, were always higher than 0.5 m s -2 , the daily exposure action value established by Directive 2002/44/EC of the European Parliament. The daily noise exposure levels always exceeded the exposure limit value of 87 dB(A established by Directive 2003/10/EC of the European Parliament. The ANOVA repeated measures model showed that the factor ‘site’, namely, the soil characteristics, did not influence the vibration level on the X and Y-axes of the tractors measured, regardless of their age. In the Z-axis, the vibration level was enhanced as the soil structure increased. As tractor age increased, the influence of soil characteristics was less important. In term of the age of the tractor and the number of hours worked, it was possible to identify three risk classes, which were up to 3,000 hours worked and offered a low risk; from 3,000 – 6,000 hours worked with a medium risk, and over 6,000 hours with a high risk level.

Risk exposure to vibration and noise in the use of agricultural track-laying tractors.

Science.gov (United States)

Vallone, Mariangela; Bono, Filippa; Quendler, Elisabeth; Febo, Pierluigi; Catania, Pietro

2016-12-23

Human exposure to mechanical vibration may represent a significant risk factor for exposed workers in the agricultural sector. Also, noise in agriculture is one of the risk factors to be taken into account in the evaluation of workers' health and safety. One of the major sources of discomfort for the workers operating a tractors is the noise to which they are exposed during work. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of exposure to whole-body vibration for the operator driving track-laying tractors in vineyard orchard and the noise level. The experimental tests were performed with six different track-laying tractors coupled with the same rototilling machine. The results showed that the vibration values of track-laying tractors coupled to rototilling machine, referred to the 8-hour working day, were always higher than 0.5 m s -2 , the daily exposure action value established by Directive 2002/44/EC of the European Parliament. The daily noise exposure levels always exceeded the exposure limit value of 87 dB(A) established by Directive 2003/10/EC of the European Parliament. The ANOVA repeated measures model showed that the factor 'site', namely, the soil characteristics, did not influence the vibration level on the X and Y-axes of the tractors measured, regardless of their age. In the Z-axis, the vibration level was enhanced as the soil structure increased. As tractor age increased, the influence of soil characteristics was less important. In term of the age of the tractor and the number of hours worked, it was possible to identify three risk classes, which were up to 3,000 hours worked and offered a low risk; from 3,000 - 6,000 hours worked with a medium risk, and over 6,000 hours with a high risk level.

IMPACT OF THE REPEATED TRACTOR PASSES ON SOME PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SILTY LOAM SOIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dubravko Filipović

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to quantify soil compaction induced by tractor traffic on untilled wet silty loam soil (Mollic Fluvisol. Changes in penetration resistance, bulk density and total porosity were measured for detecting the soil compaction. Treatments include ten passes of a four-wheel drive tractor with the engine power of 54.0 kW and weight of 3560 kg (1580 kg on the front axle and 1980 kg on the rear axle, 2.41 m distance between axles. The tyres on the tractor were cross-ply, front 11.2-24 and rear 16.9-30, with the inflation pressure of 160 kPa and 100 kPa, respectively. The speed of tractor during passes over experimental plots was 5.0 km h-1. In comparison to control, each tractor pass induced an increase in soil penetration resistance at all depths, and the average increment ratios, determined as the average of all layers, were 9.8, 18.5 and 26.1% after one, five and ten passes, respectively. The bulk density also increased with number of tractor passes, but with less percentage increasing. The increment ratios comparison to the control were 3.6, 9.5 and 12.9% after one, five and ten passes, respectively. The total porosity decreased with the number of passes, and the decrement ratios were 4.5, 16.5 and 20.8% after one, five and ten passes, respectively.

A Prospective Controlled Trial of an Electronic Hand Hygiene Reminder System.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellison, Richard T; Barysauskas, Constance M; Rundensteiner, Elke A; Wang, Di; Barton, Bruce

2015-12-01

Background.  The use of electronic hand hygiene reminder systems has been proposed as an approach to improve hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, although information on efficacy is limited. We prospectively assessed whether hand hygiene activities among healthcare workers could be increased using an electronic hand hygiene monitoring and reminder system. Methods.  A prospective controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2 medical intensive care units (ICUs) at an academic medical center with comparable patient populations, healthcare staff, and physical layout. Hand hygiene activity was monitored concurrently in both ICUs, and the reminder system was installed in the test ICU. The reminder system was tested during 3 administered phases including: room entry/exit chimes, display of real-time hand hygiene activity, and a combination of the 2. Results.  In the test ICU, the mean number of hand hygiene events increased from 1538 per day at baseline to 1911 per day (24% increase) with the use of a combination of room entry/exit chimes, real-time displays of hand hygiene activity, and manager reports (P performance returned to baseline (1473 hand hygiene events per day) during the follow-up phase. There was no significant change in hand hygiene activity in the control ICU during the course of the trial. Conclusions.  In an ICU setting, an electronic hand hygiene reminder system that provided real-time feedback on overall unit-wide hand hygiene performance significantly increased hand hygiene activity.

Ergonomic assessment of brake and accelerator mechanisms of MF285 and MF399 tractors using electromyography method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Nikkhah

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Too many people are working in the agricultural sector and therefore, pay more attention to the safety and health at work in the agricultural sector is important. This issue is more important in developing industrial countries where the level of the ergonomic working condition is less than that of developed countries. Attention to ergonomic condition of agricultural machinery drivers is one of the goals of agricultural mechanization. Therefore, in this study the ergonomic conditions of brake and accelerator mechanisms for MF285 and MF399 tractor's drivers were investigated using a new method. Materials and Methods: 25 people were selected for experiment. The electrical activity of Medialis gastrocnemius, Lateralis gastrocnemius, Vastus medialis, Vastus lateralis, Quadratus Lumborum and Trapezius muscles of drivers before and during pressing the pedal and after rest time were recorded using Biovision device. Measurements were performed for each person on each muscle 30 seconds before pressing the pedal, 60 seconds after pressing the pedal and after 60 seconds of rest. For all drivers, the muscles on the right side (brake and accelerator side have been selected and tested. The measurements were performed in compliance with appropriate time intervals between the measurements. Results and Discussion: Ergonomic assessment of brake pedal: The results showed that the RMS electrical activity of muscles of Vastus medialis and Medial gastrocnemius, during 60 seconds braking were 2.47 and 1.97. So, Vastus medialis and Medial gastrocnemius had the highest stress during pressing the MF399 tractor's brake pedal. Moreover, the Medial gastrocnemius and Lateral gastrocnemius with RMS electrical activity ratio of 2.47 and 1.74 had the highest RMS electrical activity ratio respectively, during 60 seconds braking compared to before braking of MF285 tractor. The comparison of results showed that the Vastus medialis and Trapezius had the higher stress

A Prospective Controlled Trial of an Electronic Hand Hygiene Reminder System

Science.gov (United States)

Ellison, Richard T.; Barysauskas, Constance M.; Rundensteiner, Elke A.; Wang, Di; Barton, Bruce

2015-01-01

Background. The use of electronic hand hygiene reminder systems has been proposed as an approach to improve hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, although information on efficacy is limited. We prospectively assessed whether hand hygiene activities among healthcare workers could be increased using an electronic hand hygiene monitoring and reminder system. Methods. A prospective controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2 medical intensive care units (ICUs) at an academic medical center with comparable patient populations, healthcare staff, and physical layout. Hand hygiene activity was monitored concurrently in both ICUs, and the reminder system was installed in the test ICU. The reminder system was tested during 3 administered phases including: room entry/exit chimes, display of real-time hand hygiene activity, and a combination of the 2. Results. In the test ICU, the mean number of hand hygiene events increased from 1538 per day at baseline to 1911 per day (24% increase) with the use of a combination of room entry/exit chimes, real-time displays of hand hygiene activity, and manager reports (P hand hygiene to room entry/exit events also increased from 26.1% to 36.6% (40% increase, P hand hygiene events per day) during the follow-up phase. There was no significant change in hand hygiene activity in the control ICU during the course of the trial. Conclusions. In an ICU setting, an electronic hand hygiene reminder system that provided real-time feedback on overall unit-wide hand hygiene performance significantly increased hand hygiene activity. PMID:26430698

A Tractor or an Automobile? A 1920s Farm Family Faces a Decision.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunze, Joel P.

1991-01-01

Outlines a lesson plan in which students role play a 1920s farm family deciding whether to buy an automobile or a tractor. Other students act as automobile and tractor sales groups. Explains how the lesson illuminates relationships between technological advance and social history. Includes handouts identifying benefits of purchasing cars or…

Enhanced Gravity Tractor Technique for Planetary Defense

Science.gov (United States)

Mazanek, Daniel D.; Reeves, David M.; Hopkins, Joshua B.; Wade, Darren W.; Tantardini, Marco; Shen, Haijun

2015-01-01

Given sufficient warning time, Earth-impacting asteroids and comets can be deflected with a variety of different "slow push/pull" techniques. The gravity tractor is one technique that uses the gravitational attraction of a rendezvous spacecraft to the impactor and a low-thrust, high-efficiency propulsion system to provide a gradual velocity change and alter its trajectory. An innovation to this technique, known as the Enhanced Gravity Tractor (EGT), uses mass collected in-situ to augment the mass of the spacecraft, thereby greatly increasing the gravitational force between the objects. The collected material can be a single boulder, multiple boulders, regolith or a combination of different sources. The collected mass would likely range from tens to hundreds of metric tons depending on the size of the impactor and warning time available. Depending on the propulsion system's capability and the mass collected, the EGT approach can reduce the deflection times by a factor of 10 to 50 or more, thus reducing the deflection times of several decades to years or less and overcoming the main criticism of the traditional gravity tractor approach. Additionally, multiple spacecraft can orbit the target in formation to provide the necessary velocity change and further reduce the time needed by the EGT technique to divert hazardous asteroids and comets. The robotic segment of NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) will collect a multi-ton boulder from the surface of a large Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) and will provide the first ever demonstration of the EGT technique and validate one method of collecting in-situ mass on an asteroid of hazardous size.

Design and Implementation of a GPS Guidance System for Agricultural Tractors Using Augmented Reality Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura del-Pozo-San-Cirilo

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Current commercial tractor guidance systems present to the driver information to perform agricultural tasks in the best way. This information generally includes a treated zones map referenced to the tractor’s position. Unlike actual guidance systems where the tractor driver must mentally associate treated zone maps and the plot layout, this paper presents a guidance system that using Augmented Reality (AR technology, allows the tractor driver to see the real plot though eye monitor glasses with the treated zones in a different color. The paper includes a description of the system hardware and software, a real test done with image captures seen by the tractor driver, and a discussion predicting that the historical evolution of guidance systems could involve the use of AR technology in the agricultural guidance and monitoring systems.

Bifurcation of Lane Change and Control on Highway for Tractor-Semitrailer under Rainy Weather

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Peng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A new method is proposed for analyzing the nonlinear dynamics and stability in lane changes on highways for tractor-semitrailer under rainy weather. Unlike most of the literature associated with a simulated linear dynamic model for tractor-semitrailers steady steering on dry road, a verified 5DOF mechanical model with nonlinear tire based on vehicle test was used in the lane change simulation on low adhesion coefficient road. According to Jacobian matrix eigenvalues of the vehicle model, bifurcations of steady steering and sinusoidal steering on highways under rainy weather were investigated using a numerical method. Furthermore, based on feedback linearization theory, taking the tractor yaw rate and joint angle as control objects, a feedback linearization controller combined with AFS and DYC was established. The numerical simulation results reveal that Hopf bifurcations are identified in steady and sinusoidal steering conditions, which translate into an oscillatory behavior leading to instability. And simulations of urgent step and single-lane change in high velocity show that the designed controller has good effects on eliminating bifurcations and improving lateral stability of tractor-semitrailer, during lane changing on highway under rainy weather. It is a valuable reference for safety design of tractor-semitrailers to improve the traffic safety with driver-vehicle-road closed-loop system.

A Kalman Filter Implementation for Precision Improvement in Low-Cost GPS Positioning of Tractors

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez-Gil, Jaime; Ruiz-Gonzalez, Ruben; Alonso-Garcia, Sergio; Gomez-Gil, Francisco Javier

2013-01-01

Low-cost GPS receivers provide geodetic positioning information using the NMEA protocol, usually with eight digits for latitude and nine digits for longitude. When these geodetic coordinates are converted into Cartesian coordinates, the positions fit in a quantization grid of some decimeters in size, the dimensions of which vary depending on the point of the terrestrial surface. The aim of this study is to reduce the quantization errors of some low-cost GPS receivers by using a Kalman filter. Kinematic tractor model equations were employed to particularize the filter, which was tuned by applying Monte Carlo techniques to eighteen straight trajectories, to select the covariance matrices that produced the lowest Root Mean Square Error in these trajectories. Filter performance was tested by using straight tractor paths, which were either simulated or real trajectories acquired by a GPS receiver. The results show that the filter can reduce the quantization error in distance by around 43%. Moreover, it reduces the standard deviation of the heading by 75%. Data suggest that the proposed filter can satisfactorily preprocess the low-cost GPS receiver data when used in an assistance guidance GPS system for tractors. It could also be useful to smooth tractor GPS trajectories that are sharpened when the tractor moves over rough terrain. PMID:24217355

ENHANCEMENT OF DURABILITY OF TRACTOR SUSPENSION AXLES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Doshchechkina

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The ‘soft’ nitriding of the suspension axle surface of the T150K tractor at the depth of 0.08 mm enables us to enhance its constructive strength, to increase its service life by 25 % and have a considerable economic effect.

Piezoelectric-based actuators for improved tractor-trailer performance (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Menicovich, David; Amitay, Michael; Gallardo, Daniele

2017-04-01

The application of piezo-electrically-driven synthetic-jet-based active flow control to reduce drag on tractor-trailers and to improve thermal mixing in refrigerated trailers was explored on full-scale tests. The active flow control technique that is being used relies on a modular system comprised of distributed, small, highly efficient actuators. These actuators, called synthetic jets, are jets that are synthesized at the edge of an orifice by a periodic motion of a piezoelectric diaphragm(s) mounted on one (or more) walls of a sealed cavity. The synthetic jet is zero net mass flux (ZNMF), but it allows momentum transfer to flow. It is typically driven near diaphragm and/or cavity resonance, and therefore, small electric input [O(10W)] is required. Another advantage of this actuator is that no plumbing is required. The system doesn't require changes to the body of the truck, can be easily reconfigured to various types of vehicles, and consumes small amounts of electrical power from the existing electrical system of the truck. The actuators are operated in a closed feedback loop based on inputs received from the tractor's electronic control unit, various system components and environmental sensors. The data are collected and processed on-board and transmitted to a cloud-based data management platform for further big data analytics and diagnostics. The system functions as a smart connected product through the interchange of data between the physical truck-mounted system and its cloud platform.

Evaluation of Massey Ferguson Model 165 Tractor Drivers exposed to whole-body vibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Nassiri

2013-12-01

Conclusion: This study shows that the need to provide intervention , controlling and managing measures to eliminate or reduce exposure to whole body vibration among tractor drivers its necessary. And, preventing main disorder Including musculoskeletal disorders, discomfort and early fatigue is of circular importance. More studies are also necessary to identify the sources of vibration among various of tractors.

A mission planner for an autonomous tractor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bochtis, Dionysis; Vougioukas, S.G.; Griepentrog, Hans W.

2009-01-01

. Using the tree hierarchy of the mission file, several actions are determined, including the sequence of points the tractor has to follow, the type of motion between successive points (e.g.,straight motion or maneuvering), the type of predefined turning routine used in maneuvering, and the actions...

INTEGRAL ASSESSMENT OF EFFICIENCY OF A FLEET OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY AND TRACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. M. Korotchenya

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An indicator for an integral assessment of efficiency of a fleet of agricultural machinery and tractors is proposed. Its calculating consists in multiplying partial efficiencies together: technical and price efficiency of agricultural production, and eco-efficiency of a fleet of agricultural machinery and tractors. Using an axiomatic method, the concept of efficiency of fleet was studied within broader category of productivity and in wider scales - within agriculture. The most general and obvious statements according to which efficiency of machine and tractor fleet is considered as indirectly settlement size counted proceeding from efficiency of agricultural production, were accepted as axioms. In general, efficiency is a ratio between productivity of an object in question and that of the theoretical ideal or an object with maximum productivity efficiency of which is accepted equal to unity or 100%. Technical efficiency of agricultural production characterizes the ability of an agricultural sector to produce the technically maximum output of agricultural produce obtained from the available resources (land, labor, machines, etc.. Price efficiency evaluates the ability of an agricultural sector to produce output of agricultural produce with regard to employing the optimal mix of resources given their prices. Because the theoretical ideal does not exist, efficiency of an agricultural sector, e.g. in Russia and of its fleet of agricultural machinery and tractors, is measured against agriculture of another country with maximum productivity efficiency of which is accepted as equal to unity or 100 percent. The calculation can be made on the basis of the Data Envelopment Analysis method. It is possible to calculate price and economic efficiency of Russian agriculture (fleet of agricultural machinery and tractors due to use its domestic prices.

Implementation of Virtual Reality in the Conceptual Design of a Tractor Trailer

OpenAIRE

Arunesh Chandra; Pankaj Chandna

2014-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) is a rapidly emerging computer interface that attempts to immerse the user completely within an experimental recreation; thereby, greatly enhancing the overall impact and providing a much more intuitive link between the computer and the human participants. The main objective of this study is to design tractor trailer capable of meeting the customers’ requirements and suitable for rough conditions to be used in combination with a farm tractor in India....

Electronic hand-drafting and picture management system.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tsung-Han; Ku, Cheng-Yuan; Yen, David C; Hsieh, Wen-Huai

2012-08-01

The Department of Health of Executive Yuan in Taiwan (R.O.C.) is implementing a five-stage project entitled Electronic Medical Record (EMR) converting all health records from written to electronic form. Traditionally, physicians record patients' symptoms, related examinations, and suggested treatments on paper medical records. Currently when implementing the EMR, all text files and image files in the Hospital Information System (HIS) and Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) are kept separate. The current medical system environment is unable to combine text files, hand-drafted files, and photographs in the same system, so it is difficult to support physicians with the recording of medical data. Furthermore, in surgical and other related departments, physicians need immediate access to medical records in order to understand the details of a patient's condition. In order to address these problems, the Department of Health has implemented an EMR project, with the primary goal of building an electronic hand-drafting and picture management system (HDP system) that can be used by medical personnel to record medical information in a convenient way. This system can simultaneously edit text files, hand-drafted files, and image files and then integrate these data into Portable Document Format (PDF) files. In addition, the output is designed to fit a variety of formats in order to meet various laws and regulations. By combining the HDP system with HIS and PACS, the applicability can be enhanced to fit various scenarios and can assist the medical industry in moving into the final phase of EMR.

System automated for evaluation of the consuption of biodiesel in agricola tractor

OpenAIRE

Ivair Marchetti

2006-01-01

This work had as objective the assembly of a system automated for evaluation of the consumption of fuel in agricultural tractors, in the utilization of biodiesel in diverse mixtures diesel/biodiesel for the accomplishment of testing, without the utilization of the tank of the tractor. The system was projected and mounted on the UNIOESTE Cascavel - PR in partnership with the UTFPR Medianeira â PR. The system is composed for two auxiliary tanks confectioned in stainless steel ...

DETERMINATION OF TRANSMISSION GEAR RATIO IN MECHANICAL PART OF TRACTOR ELECTRO-MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ch. I. Zhdanovich

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A methodology has been developed for selection of gear number and transmission gear ratios in mechanical part of a wheel-type tractor with electro-mechanical transmission containing a propulsion asynchronous electric motor with variablefrequency control. The paper proposes to determine a transmission gear ratio on the basis of the following: provision of wheel torque dependence on tractor speed which is the best one for a traction process and during transfer from one gear to the other; provision of nominal operational mode of the electric motor for all tractor operations where it is working for a long period of time; provision of minimum possible number of gears; complete realization of internal combustion engine power on the tractor wheels at limit operational mode of the electric motor. As a characteristic of the asynchronous electric motor with variable-frequency control contains various portions which can be used either completely or partially due to operating conditions, the gear number is determined in the process of transmission gear ration finding but not prior to this. A wheel torque of the tractor with electro-mechanical transmission can be limited according to the following factors: grip of wheel with supporting surface; maximum power of an internal combustion engine which can be transferred to the wheels and a torque which is developed by a propulsion electric motor. It is not proposed to exceed nominal operational mode of the propulsion electric motor for all the operations of the tractor if it is working for a long period of time because in the case of significant excess of the nominal operational mode of the asynchronous electric motor its rather long operation leads to low efficiency and high losses in power, large heat liberation and consequently requires to develop more complicated system for electric motor cooling. An excess of nominal electric motor torque can be justified for short-term operational modes because in this case

Comparison between ISO 5008 and field whole body vibration tractor values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Deboli

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The exposure to whole body vibration (WBV of tractor drivers during field operations is a problem that has never been solved. WBV values are quite difficult to predict because of the high number of variables, such as mass and geometry of the vehicle, forward speed, tire pressure, type of ground, operation cycle, and environmental factors. The use of an artificial track is useful to limit the variability of some field parameters, such as the path followed, fluctuations in speed, weather, temperature, and soil conditions. For comparative purposes, these variables need to be maintained as constant as possible in order to obtain the most useful data. An analysis of the literature provoked the question: Is there a lower forward speed on artificial track that can generate the same vibration response on tractors working in the same field? In this paper, we analyze the available literature and provide some WBV values and frequency analysis of acceleration measured on agricultural tractors traveling on an artificial test track and on different types of ground.

Pulsed Nonlinear Automatic Control System for Guidance of a Caterpillar Tractor Unit in Vineyards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sit M.L.

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The automatic guidance systems of tractors for soil cultivation in vineyards have attracted the attention of researchers since the second half of the twentieth century. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the driving quality of an automatic guidance system (AGS for a caterpillar tractor unit (CTU consisting of a crawler tractor and a vineyard plow and having the orientation system by grapes stamps. Compared with the known works (in which GPS, LIDAR, and video cameras are used for orientation, the proposed system is the least expensive. For this, the existence of stability of the AGS as a whole in the range of operating speeds of the unit was proved. The dynamic model of the vineyard plow was verified on a three-point hitching system of the tractor, field tests of the AGS were carried out, which confirmed the results of theoretical studies, and suggested directions for further research. The shape and parameters of the modulation characteristic (MC of the pulse-width modulator (PWM of the AGS control system, the rational values of the hydraulic drive speeds of the sequential control mechanism of the clutch of the turn and the crawler tractor belt brake, were established, depending on the slope angle and the speed of the unit, ensuring agrotechnical requirements for driving. New solutions, in comparison with the known ones, are the ways of forming the MC of PWM using a new design probe and the associated driver MC of PWM.

A SURVEY OF FARM TRACTOR MANAGEMENT IN ZAMFARA STATE

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-03-01

Mar 1, 2013 ... farm tractor, maintenance, management, mechanization, survey study. 1. Introduction ... demand for agricultural operations, there is an ever .... 3rd Ed., AVI Publishing. Company, Inc., Westport, Connecticut, 1978. 8. Apollos ...

Towing Asteroids with Gravity Tractors Enhanced by Tethers and Solar Sails

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Haijun; Roithmayr, Carlos M.

2015-01-01

Material collected from an asteroid's surface can be used to increase gravitational attraction between the asteroid and a Gravity Tractor (GT); the spacecraft therefore operates more effectively and is referred to as an Enhanced Gravity Tractor (EGT). The use of tethers and solar sails to further improve effectiveness and simplify operations is investigated. By employing a tether, the asteroidal material can be placed close to the asteroid while the spacecraft is stationed farther away, resulting in a better safety margin and improved thruster efficiency. A solar sail on a spacecraft can naturally provide radial offset and inter-spacecraft separation required for multiple EGTs.

Effect of using GPS autosteer guidance systems on the eye-glance behavior and posture of tractor operators.

Science.gov (United States)

Karimi, D; Henry, J; Mann, D D

2012-10-01

Tractor operators are prone to neck and back discomfort and disorders. It is well known that awkward posture is a major contributor to this problem. Previous studies have investigated the prevalence of awkward posture and the resulting discomfort and disorders among tractor operators. They have also suggested various ways to mitigate this problem. With the introduction of new autosteer guidance systems, the tractor operator is relieved from the task of steering the tractor for most of the time during field work. Therefore, it is expected that the operator's posture will change. The goal of this study was to investigate the changes in the eye-glance behavior and posture of tractor operators as a result of using autosteer guidance systems. An eye-tracking system and a camcorder were used to record the eye-glance behavior and posture of 13 tractor operators as they performed seeding operations. The experiment with each operator consisted of two sessions. In one session, the operator used an autosteer system, while in the other session the operator steered the tractor manually. Analysis of the data showed that the eye-glance behavior and posture of the operators were significantly different between the autosteer and manual steering sessions. With the autosteer system, the operators spent less time in an awkward posture, and they changed their posture less frequently. However, even with the autosteer system, the operators spent 1/3 of their time in an awkward posture. Subjective feedback from the operators indicated that more than half of them experienced back or neck/shoulder discomfort during or after seeding. It is essential that the recommendations of the previous studies, such as using large rear-view mirrors or a rotating tractor seat, be evaluated when the operator is using an autosteer system. Other tools, such as video cameras that show the attached equipment, should also be tested to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing the operator's exposure to awkward

performance (assessment) of two- wheel tractors for small holder

African Journals Online (AJOL)

CHIKA

and easy operation and maintenance; reasonably rugged ... whole the professional two- wheel tractor is expected to have ... in order to achieve reasonable productivity in developing .... producers of both food and cash crops in. Nigeria, power ...

Emission and operating performance of a biomethane tractor with dual fuel engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mautner, Sebastian; Emberger, Peter; Thuneke, Klaus; Remmele, Edgar

2016-01-01

The use of biomethane as fuel for agricultural machinery with dual fuel technology is contributing to climate protection and ensures safe fuel supply. So far, hardly any documented operational experiences are known. The aim of the project, funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology, was to investigate practicability for daily use and the emission behaviour of a Valtra N101 prototype tractor (exhaust stage IIIA). The retrofitted dual-fuel technology of the former conventional diesel tractor simultaneously uses biomethane or natural gas and diesel as ignition fuel. During the field test over 590 working hours, the tractor showed overall high reliability. On average the operating range in dual-fuel mode with one complete filling of the gas tanks was about 11.5 hours. On the tractor test bench a significant improvement of the exhaust emissions could be observed, since the gas ECU had been optimized and changed by the manufacturer. For dual-fuel operation, nitrogen oxides (NO x ) are lower, whereas carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matter emissions (PM) are higher compared to solely diesel operation. In particular, HC emissions exceed the proposed limiting value, submitted by the European Commission. This is due to incomplete gas combustion and insufficient conversion by the exhaust after-treatment-system (methane slip). A big potential for optimization is expected by adjusting the operating point-specific gasdiesel ratio and improving the exhaust gas aftertreatment system.

Tractor performance monitor based on a single-chip microcomputer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bedri, A.R.; Marley, S.J.; Buchelle, W.F.; Smay, T.A.

1981-01-01

A tractor performance monitor based on a single-chip microcomputer was developed to measure ground speed, slip, fuel consumption (rate and total), total area, theoretical time, and total time. Transducers used are presented in detail. 5 refs.

Sex differences in principal farm operators' tractor driving safety beliefs and behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, H P; Westneat, S C; Browning, S R; Piercy, L R; Struttmann, T

2000-01-01

To examine the widely accepted hypothesis that farm women are more concerned with safety issues and behaviors than their male counterparts are. A telephone survey was administered to a random sample of Kentucky principal farm operators, 90 of whom were women. Participants were questioned about their tractor safety beliefs and practices. No significant sex differences in tractor safety perceptions and behavior were observed. Socialization of women to the role of principal farm operator may override their typically greater sensitivity to safety issues, an important consideration when designing safety campaigns for this population.

TractoR: Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Tractography with R

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris A. Clark

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Statistical techniques play a major role in contemporary methods for analyzing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI data. In addition to the central role that classical statistical methods play in research using MRI, statistical modeling and machine learning techniques are key to many modern data analysis pipelines. Applications for these techniques cover a broad spectrum of research, including many preclinical and clinical studies, and in some cases these methods are working their way into widespread routine use. In this manuscript we describe a software tool called TractoR (for “Tractography with R”, a collection of packages for the R language and environment, along with additional infrastructure for straightforwardly performing common image processing tasks. TractoR provides general purpose functions for reading, writing and manipulating MR images, as well as more specific code for fitting signal models to diffusion MRI data and performing tractography, a technique for visualizing neural connectivity.

Analysis of fatal accidents with tractors in the Centre of Portugal: Ten years analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Antunes, Soraia M; Cordeiro, Cristina; Teixeira, Helena M

2018-06-01

Tractors have been described as one of the deadliest farming implements concerning agricultural activity. In Portugal, the scientific investigations about this problem are practically non-existent, with only statistical studies performed by entities related to road traffic safety, not in accordance to the study now performed, pinpointing the possibility of an underreporting of these accidents. This work aims to characterize the fatal tractor accidents in Portugal, autopsied at the Forensic Pathology Department of the Centre Branch of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Portugal, analysing several variables: gender, age, occupation, survival time, the victim position in the tractor, cause of death, toxicological and histological exams, year/month/day of the week, type of agricultural machine, existence of rollover protective structures (ROPS), type of accident, ground conditions, circumstantial information and geographic distribution of the accidents. All the autopsies between 2005 and 2014 were analysed. The victim profile corresponded to a man (89.5%), between 61 and 70 years old (33.3%), retired (43.9%), being the tractor driver (45.6%). In most of the cases, death occurred in less than 24h after the accident. These fatalities arose mainly in May and October. Rollover in sloping land was the most common type of accident, and cranioencephalic, thoracic and abdominal traumatic injuries were the main cause of death. In 16.2% of the cases, blood alcohol concentration was above the lower limit established in our road traffic law (accidents, and the corresponding circumstances that contributed to the death. Many barriers remain about this matter, but the Portuguese government begin to design several laws to prevent this type of accidents. Future investigations should be performed to understand the real dimension of tractor accidents in Portugal, and to comprehend the efficiency of laws implemented by the government. Copyright © 2018

The development and validation of an ergonomics index for assessing tractor operator work place

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Paulo Barbieri

2018-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This study aimed to develop and validate an ergonomics index for the operator workplace assessment of agricultural tractors sold in the Brazilian market. To develop the ergonomics index, the operator work places were assessed for compliance with current, national and international, safety and ergonomics standards. The following standards were analyzed to develop ergonomics index: ISO 15077 (1996, which regulates the position of operator controls; ABNT NBR ISO 4254-1(2015 and ABNT NBR ISO 4252 (2011, which regulate the access to operator workplaces; and NR 12 (2010, which determines the mandatory items of operator workplaces.Thirty-four operator work places of 152 models of new agricultural tractors sold in the Brazilian market were analyzed in this study. Ergonomics index was developed and validated using these standards, and the findings enabled the ranking of agricultural tractors. Therefore, the proposed ergonomics index proved feasible and may be applied to other agricultural machines.

Comparison of human and electronic observation for the measurement of compliance with hand hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

Filho, Miguel Almeida O; Marra, Alexandre R; Magnus, Thyago Pereira; Rodrigues, Rodrigo Dias; Prado, Marcelo; de Souza Santini, Tales Roberto; da Silva Victor, Elivane; Ishibe, Eder Issao; Pavão Dos Santos, Oscar Fernando; Edmond, Michael B

2014-11-01

Monitoring of hand hygiene is an important part of the improvement of hospital quality indicators. This study was prospectively performed over a 14-week (electronic observer) period from December 3, 2013-March 9, 2014, to evaluate hand hygiene compliance in an adult step-down unit. We compared electronic handwash counters with the application of radiofrequency identification (RFID - ZigBee; i-Healthsys, São Carlos, Brazil) (electronic observer), which counts each activation of the alcohol gel dispenser to direct observation (human observer) using the iScrub application. For the overall time period of simultaneous electronic and human observation, we found that the electronic observer identified 414 hand hygiene episodes, whereas the human observers identified 448 episodes. Therefore, we found 92% (95% confidence interval [CI], 90%-95%) overall concordance (414/448), with an intraclass correlation coefficient of .87 (95% CI, 0.77-0.92). Our RFID (ZigBee) system showed good accuracy (92%) and is a useful method to monitor hand hygiene compliance. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Operational comparison of two types of tractor sprayers (microner and boom-type against wheat crop weeds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Hamid

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nowadays, the tractor mounted boom sprayer is used in many agricultural fields. These sprayers have many advantages compared to other sprayers, but in Iran, their field efficiency is much lower than that of the developed countries, because the tank volume and consumption of pesticides per hectare is often so highthat spraying per hectare takesa long time for handling the solutions and transporting the sprayers. Also spray droplet size is ordinarily high and its distribution is unknot uniform. So, often spraying and dropping top parts of plants on the earth is inevitable. According to studies carried out in the country during the years 2005-2008 in the agricultural research centers in several provinces such as Khuzestan, four types of sprayers including tractor mounted sprayer, atomizer, microner, and electrostatic atomizer were studied and some of the results obtained include the following. From the point of view of percentage of crash crop, tractor mounted sprayer has the highest percentage, but microner sprayer had the lowest. From the point of view of the solution of consumption amount and spraying cost per hectare, the operation of the tractor mounted sprayer and electrostatic sprayer had the highest and the lowest ranks, respectively. Atomizer sprayer had the highest effect on the percentage amount of weed control, but it requires a high amount of water consumption, high drift and low operation (Safari and Lovaimi, 2010. Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out during 2012-2013 in the field of agricultural research located in the Mollasani city located 20 km near Ahvaz. In this study, tractor mounted spinning disk sprayer (mounted microner sprayer was evaluated in comparison with conventional boom sprayer on weeds control. The treatments included medium (3500 rpm and low (2000 rpm speed rotation disk sprayer and two types of nozzle in conventional boom sprayer. One of them was an Italian tee jet nozzle and the

The mathematical model for the investigation of different influence factors on the economic and ecological indicators of a wheel tractor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zakharchuk V.I.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available To solve the problem of oil deficit and reduce emissions of harmful substances from exhaust gases of vehicles alternative motor fuels, including biodiesel may by used. Most of wheel tractors are used as technological transport in agriculture, industry and municipal services. The article aims to clarify the mathematical model to determine the effect of the type of fuel used wheeled tractors on its performance. The mathematical model of the system "operator-wheel tractor-road" for the design research impact type of fuel on harmful emissions and fuel consumption wheeled tractor, is used as technological transport during its movement for driving cycle. Driving cycle showed main modes of motion there are acceleration, motion with constant speed and deceleration. The mathematical model allows to accurately consider peculiarities of the wheel tractor as the vehicle and engine describing its characteristics by polinomial dependencies. In mathematical models specified polynomial dependences that describe the fuel supply cycle indicated torque, fuel consumption and concentrations of main harmful substances in the exhaust gases of diesel during operation on diesel and biodiesel.

Simulação da estabilidade de tratores agrícolas 4x2 Simulation of the stability of 2wd agricultural tractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Kalil Khoury Junior

2009-01-01

Full Text Available O objetivo do trabalho foi simular computacionalmente a estabilidade de tratores agrícolas 4x2. Experimentos de simulação foram realizados visando analisar o comportamento dinâmico de um trator agrícola 4x2 trabalhando em diferentes condições de operação e de terreno. Nas simulações em que se variaram as posições do trator sobre uma pista inclinada até o tombamento lateral, o ângulo de posição igual a 60º foi o de pior situação, o que corresponde ao trator descer por uma diagonal em pista inclinada para a esquerda. A bitola e a localização do centro de gravidade na vertical foram os fatores que mais afetaram a estabilidade do trator em tombamentos laterais. Já, a localização do centro de gravidade na longitudinal e a distância entre eixos afetaram mais a estabilidade do trator em tombamentos para trás. O trator deslizou os rodados do lado do tombamento ou perdeu a dirigibilidade dos pneus frontais com ângulos inferiores aos limites de estabilidade para tombamento.The objective of this work was to predict the loss of 2WD tractors stability. Simulations were done to analyze the dynamic behavior of an agricultural tractor working in different operation and surface conditions. Simulating different tractor positions on an inclined track until its side overturn, the tractor angle position of 60º presented the worst situation, what represented a tractor moving diagonally down on a left inclined track. Changing the tractor geometry and weight in the simulations, the vertical position of tractor central mass and its tread width were the parameters that most affected the tractor stability to side overturn. The longitudinal position of tractor central mass and the distance between its axes influenced on the tractor stability to rearward overturning. The tractor either slip the wheels at the side overturning or lost the front tire controlling at angles less than the overturning limits.

Gravity, two times, tractors, Weyl invariance, and six-dimensional quantum mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonezzi, R.; Latini, E.; Waldron, A.

2010-01-01

Fefferman and Graham showed some time ago that four-dimensional conformal geometries could be analyzed in terms of six-dimensional, ambient, Riemannian geometries admitting a closed homothety. Recently, it was shown how conformal geometry provides a description of physics manifestly invariant under local choices of unit systems. Strikingly, Einstein's equations are then equivalent to the existence of a parallel scale tractor (a six-component vector subject to a certain first order covariant constancy condition at every point in four-dimensional spacetime). These results suggest a six-dimensional description of four-dimensional physics, a viewpoint promulgated by the 2 times physics program of Bars. The Fefferman-Graham construction relies on a triplet of operators corresponding, respectively, to a curved six-dimensional light cone, the dilation generator and the Laplacian. These form an sp(2) algebra which Bars employs as a first class algebra of constraints in a six-dimensional gauge theory. In this article four-dimensional gravity is recast in terms of six-dimensional quantum mechanics by melding the 2 times and tractor approaches. This parent formulation of gravity is built from an infinite set of six-dimensional fields. Successively integrating out these fields yields various novel descriptions of gravity including a new four-dimensional one built from a scalar doublet, a tractor-vector multiplet and a conformal class of metrics.

Optical pulling force on a magneto-dielectric Rayleigh sphere in Bessel tractor polarized beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitri, F.G.; Li, R.X.; Yang, R.P.; Guo, L.X.; Ding, C.Y.

2016-01-01

The optical radiation force induced by Bessel (vortex) beams on a magneto-dielectric subwavelength sphere is investigated with particular emphasis on the beam polarization and order l (or topological charge). The analysis is focused on identifying the regions and some of the conditions to achieve retrograde motion of the sphere centered on the axis of wave propagation of the incident beam, or shifted off-axially. Exact non-paraxial analytical solutions are established, and computations for linear, circular, radial, azimuthal and mixed polarizations of the individual plane wave components forming the Bessel (vortex) beams by means of the angular spectrum decomposition method (ASDM) illustrate the theory with particular emphasis on the tractor (i.e. reversal) behavior of the force. This effect results in the pulling of the magneto-dielectric sphere against the forward linear momentum density flux associated with the incoming waves. Should some conditions related to the choice of the beam parameters as well as the permittivity and permeability of the sphere be met, the optical force vanishes and reverses sign. Moreover, the beam polarization is shown to affect differently the axial negative pulling force for either the zeroth- or the first-order Bessel beam. When the sphere is centered on the beam′s axis, the axial force component is always negative for the zeroth-order Bessel beam except for the radial and azimuthal polarization configurations. Nonetheless, for the first-order Bessel beam, the axial force is negative for the radial polarization case only. Additional tractor beam effects arise when the sphere departs from the center of the beam. It is also demonstrated that the tractor beam effect arises from the force component originating from the cross-interaction between the electric and magnetic dipoles. Potential applications are in particle manipulation, optical levitation, tractor beam tweezers, and other emergent technologies using polarized Bessel beams on

C-Based Design Methodology and Topological Change for an Indian Agricultural Tractor Component

Science.gov (United States)

Matta, Anil Kumar; Raju, D. Ranga; Suman, K. N. S.; Kranthi, A. S.

2018-06-01

The failure of tractor components and their replacement has now become very common in India because of re-cycling, re-sale, and duplication. To over come the problem of failure we propose a design methodology for topological change co-simulating with software's. In the proposed Design methodology, the designer checks Paxial, Pcr, Pfailue, τ by hand calculations, from which refined topological changes of R.S.Arm are formed. We explained several techniques employed in the component for reduction, removal of rib material to change center of gravity and centroid point by using system C for mixed level simulation and faster topological changes. The design process in system C can be compiled and executed with software, TURBO C7. The modified component is developed in proE and analyzed in ANSYS. The topologically changed component with slot 120 × 4.75 × 32.5 mm at the center showed greater effectiveness than the original component.

C-Based Design Methodology and Topological Change for an Indian Agricultural Tractor Component

Science.gov (United States)

Matta, Anil Kumar; Raju, D. Ranga; Suman, K. N. S.; Kranthi, A. S.

2018-02-01

The failure of tractor components and their replacement has now become very common in India because of re-cycling, re-sale, and duplication. To over come the problem of failure we propose a design methodology for topological change co-simulating with software's. In the proposed Design methodology, the designer checks Paxial, Pcr, Pfailue, τ by hand calculations, from which refined topological changes of R.S.Arm are formed. We explained several techniques employed in the component for reduction, removal of rib material to change center of gravity and centroid point by using system C for mixed level simulation and faster topological changes. The design process in system C can be compiled and executed with software, TURBO C7. The modified component is developed in proE and analyzed in ANSYS. The topologically changed component with slot 120 × 4.75 × 32.5 mm at the center showed greater effectiveness than the original component.

System-wide electrification and appropriate functions of tractor and implement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian Tetzlaff

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The advantages of electric drive technology in industrial applications have been known for a long time. In addition to the flexibility and variability for the system integration, the very good controllability and the overload capacity should be mentioned. To increase the effectiveness of agricultural machinery and equipment crucially, the different electrical/electronic systems, drives and functions have to be interconnected machine internally and also externally, based on a system-wide approach. Thereby single machinery, machinery combinations and finally complete harvest chains can be used in a smarter and more efficient way. Using the example of a tractor-swather combination the suitability of electric drives itself and of the hybrid and interface concept is proven. Newly developed functions for overload protection and prediction of the working process are presented and their integration into the machine overarching energy and operational management is described. The transferability of the results and solutions to cognate applications is ensured. Keywords

Space Weather Influence on Relative Motion Control using the Touchless Electrostatic Tractor

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, Erik A.; Schaub, Hanspeter

2016-09-01

With recent interest in the use of electrostatic forces for contactless tugging and attitude control of noncooperative objects for orbital servicing and active debris mitigation, the need for a method of remote charge control arises. In this paper, the use of a directed electron beam for remote charge control is considered in conjunction with the relative motion control. A tug vehicle emits an electron beam onto a deputy object, charging it negatively. At the same time, the tug is charged positively due to beam emission, resulting in an attractive electrostatic force. The relative position feedback control between the tug and the passive debris object is studied subject to the charging being created through an electron beam. Employing the nominal variations of the GEO space weather conditions across longitude slots, two electrostatic tugging strategies are considered. First, the electron beam current is adjusted throughout the orbit in order to maximize this resulting electrostatic force. This open-loop control strategy compensates for changes in the nominally expected local space weather environment in the GEO region to adjust for fluctuations in the local plasma return currents. Second, the performance impact of using a fixed electron beam current on the electrostatic tractor is studied if the same natural space weather variations are assumed. The fixed electron beam current shows a minor performance penalty (<5 %) while providing a much simpler implementation that does not require any knowledge of local space weather conditions.

A novel design procedure for tractor clutch fingers by using optimization and response surface methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dogan, Oguz; Karpat, Fatih; Yuce, Celalettin; Kaya, Necmettin; Yavuz, Nurettin [Uludag University, Gorukle (Turkmenistan); Sen, Hasan [Valeo A. S., Bursa (Turkmenistan)

2016-06-15

This paper presents a methodology for re-designing a failed tractor transmission component subjected to cyclic loading. Unlike other vehicles, tractors cope with tough working conditions. Thus, it is necessary to re-design components by using modern optimization techniques. To extend their service life, we present a design methodology for a failed tractor clutch power take-off finger. The finger was completely re-designed using topology and shape optimization approach. Stress-life based fatigue analyses were performed. Shape optimization and response surface methodology were conducted to obtain optimum dimensions of the finger. Two design parameters were selected for the design of experiment method and 15 cases were analyzed. By using design of the experiment method, three responses were obtained: Maximum stresses, mass, and displacement depending on the selected the design parameters. After solving the optimization problem, we achieved a maximum stress and mass reduction of 14% and 6%, respectively. The stiffness was improved up to 31.6% compared to the initial design.

Lubricant flow analysis for effective lubrication of tractor forward/reverse clutch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daekyung Noh

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Owing to the high power requirements of tractors, their low-power transmission gears often experience durability problems such as burning of the clutch. The operation of tractors under high load conditions also causes clutch slip, with the consequent longer operation duration exacerbating the burning of the friction plate. Solving this problem requires effective lubricant distribution. This was achieved in the present study by the development of an analysis model for predicting the lubricant flow rate. The reliability of the model was verified by comparing its predictions for various operation conditions with experimental measurements. Using the model, it was determined that effective distribution of the lubricant could be achieved without significant modification of the system, by only adjusting the gaps between the clutch piston and the housing, and between the separation plates and the case. Keywords: Mechanical engineering

Chores at Times of Fatal or Serious Injuries Associated with Tractor Overturns with and without Rollover Protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henry P. Cole

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study describes chores when farmers were either fatally or seriously injured and required emergency medical treatment as a result of overturns of tractors with or without rollover protective structures (ROPS. Data from the 2002 Kentucky Farm Tractor Overturn Survey were used for this study. The data were collected by a telephone survey of a population-based random sample of 6063 (7.98% of Kentucky’s 76,017 farm operators as listed in the Kentucky Agricultural Statistics Service database. Of farm operators interviewed, 551 (9.1% reported 603 overturns and 5512 (90.9% reported no overturns in the history of their farm, covering a period from 1925 to February 2002. Only the latest overturn was considered to improve recall accuracy. In addition, since the 1925 to 1959 time period had only 49 (8.1% of the overturns reported, (14 farmers did not provide the year of most recent overturn; only data from the 1960 to 2002 period (approximately 41 years were used. After making these adjustments, incidents evaluated included 25 cases (one fatal and four serious nonfatal injuries that involved ROPS-equipped tractor overturns and 88 cases (24 fatal and 64 serious nonfatal injuries that involved non-ROPS tractor overturns. Chores at highest risk for tractor overturns were identified for which educational and ROPS retrofit interventions could be emphasized. The highest frequency of overturn-related fatalities and nonfatal injuries were associated with hay harvesting, rotary mowing, and on-farm travel chores. These three chores represented 68.2% of fatal events and 50.0% of permanent and 56.6% of temporary disability overturn incidents. Tragically, in countries such as India and China with emerging mechanization, a large majority of tractors are produced without ROPS that can be expected to result in the same overturn-related epidemic of deaths experienced in highly mechanized countries, despite evidence of the protection provided by ROPS.

A method to evaluate the perceived ease of use of human-machine interface in agricultural tractors equipped with Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caffaro, F.; Bisaglia, C.; Cutini, M.; Cremasco, M.M.; Cavallo, E.

2017-07-01

At the end of the 20th century the adoption of the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) was one of the disruptive technological advances in agricultural tractors. Several changes in the Human Machine Interface (HMI) of the tractor cab have been introduced to accommodate this technology. HMIs are known to raise issues about their ease of use; however, this topic has been under-investigated in the agricultural sector. The present study introduces a method to investigate the perceived ease of use of the HMI of agricultural tractors equipped with technological innovations. The HMI required to manage a CVT tractor was evaluated by sixteen tractor drivers (8 novices and 8 experts). During the first contact with the machine and after having performed two targeted tasks with the tractor, participants filled in a questionnaire about the ease of use of the controls and of the touch-screen display, and evaluated the general perception of ease of use, safety, quality and solidity of the machine. The trial pointed out some significant differences between novices and experts, thus confirming the validity of the proposed method. In particular, novice users showed some difficulties when interacting for the first time with the HMI of the CVT tractor working station, whereas experts did not report similar difficulties. Thus, expertise seems to play a role in determining the quality of the interaction with the HMI. Training interventions should be designed to help novices in increasing their expertise effectively, avoiding effort and errors and improving user’s comfort and system performance.

A method to evaluate the perceived ease of use of human-machine interface in agricultural tractors equipped with Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federica Caffaro

2018-02-01

Full Text Available At the end of the 20th century the adoption of the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT was one of the disruptive technological advances in agricultural tractors. Several changes in the Human Machine Interface (HMI of the tractor cab have been introduced to accommodate this technology. HMIs are known to raise issues about their ease of use; however, this topic has been under-investigated in the agricultural sector. The present study introduces a method to investigate the perceived ease of use of the HMI of agricultural tractors equipped with technological innovations. The HMI required to manage a CVT tractor was evaluated by sixteen tractor drivers (8 novices and 8 experts. During the first contact with the machine and after having performed two targeted tasks with the tractor, participants filled in a questionnaire about the ease of use of the controls and of the touch-screen display, and evaluated the general perception of ease of use, safety, quality and solidity of the machine. The trial pointed out some significant differences between novices and experts, thus confirming the validity of the proposed method. In particular, novice users showed some difficulties when interacting for the first time with the HMI of the CVT tractor working station, whereas experts did not report similar difficulties. Thus, expertise seems to play a role in determining the quality of the interaction with the HMI. Training interventions should be designed to help novices in increasing their expertise effectively, avoiding effort and errors and improving user’s comfort and system performance.

A method to evaluate the perceived ease of use of human-machine interface in agricultural tractors equipped with Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caffaro, F.; Bisaglia, C.; Cutini, M.; Cremasco, M.M.; Cavallo, E.

2017-01-01

At the end of the 20th century the adoption of the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) was one of the disruptive technological advances in agricultural tractors. Several changes in the Human Machine Interface (HMI) of the tractor cab have been introduced to accommodate this technology. HMIs are known to raise issues about their ease of use; however, this topic has been under-investigated in the agricultural sector. The present study introduces a method to investigate the perceived ease of use of the HMI of agricultural tractors equipped with technological innovations. The HMI required to manage a CVT tractor was evaluated by sixteen tractor drivers (8 novices and 8 experts). During the first contact with the machine and after having performed two targeted tasks with the tractor, participants filled in a questionnaire about the ease of use of the controls and of the touch-screen display, and evaluated the general perception of ease of use, safety, quality and solidity of the machine. The trial pointed out some significant differences between novices and experts, thus confirming the validity of the proposed method. In particular, novice users showed some difficulties when interacting for the first time with the HMI of the CVT tractor working station, whereas experts did not report similar difficulties. Thus, expertise seems to play a role in determining the quality of the interaction with the HMI. Training interventions should be designed to help novices in increasing their expertise effectively, avoiding effort and errors and improving user’s comfort and system performance.

Effect of Tractor Forward Speed on Sandy Loam Soil Physical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Results indicate significant differences in soil physical conditions arising from different levels of tractor forward speed. A forward speed of approximately 7km/h resulted in appreciable amelioration of soil structure as reflected in improvements in the soil strength properties and maximum reduction in clod mean weight ...

Characteristics of paddy operations with biodiesel fuelled tractor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Y.; Park, S.H.; Kim, C.K.; Im, D.H.; Kim, H.J.; Chung, S.C. [National Academy of Agricultural Science, Seodundong, Suwon (Korea, Democratic People' s Republic of); Kim, S.S. [Daedong Industrial Co., Chang Nyong-Kun, Kyungnam (Korea, Democratic People' s Republic of)

2010-07-01

This paper reported on a study in which biofuels were tested for their power and competitiveness in various paddy operations, such as plowing and rotary tilling of paddy fields. The study considered the use of diesel fuel as well as 20 per cent biodiesel (BD20) and 100 per cent biodiesel (BD100) as an alternative fuel for tractors. Ignition problems or abrupt stopping were not monitored during operations of plowing, rotary tilling and travelling on the road. According to tractor power take-off (PTO) test codes, there was no considerable power difference between the 3 fuels. However, fuel consumption rates were quite different between the biodiesels and diesel fuel in the paddy works. Fuel consumption increased when biodiesel content increased. Approximately 35 to 40 per cent more fuel was needed for rotary tilling operations than plowing operations. Within the operations, the maximum difference occurred during the rotary tilling of wet paddy fields. This difference was as high as 20 per cent , between BD100 and diesel fuel. In terms of exhaust gases, more carbon dioxide was discharged from diesel fuel than biodiesels, but more nitrous oxide was discharged with biodiesels. It was difficult to differentiate quantities of carbon monoxide between the 3 different fuels.

[Hand hygiene technique assessment using electronic equipment in 26 Hungarian healthcare institutions].

Science.gov (United States)

Lehotsky, Ákos; Morvai, Júlia; Szilágyi, László; Bánsághi, Száva; Benkó, Alíz; Haidegger, Tamás

2017-07-01

Hand hygiene is probably the most effective tool of nosocomial infection prevention, however, proper feedback and control is needed to develop the individual hand hygiene practice. Assessing the efficiency of modern education tools, and digital demonstration and verification equipment during their wide-range deployment. 1269 healthcare workers took part in a training organized by our team. The training included the assessment of the participants' hand hygiene technique to identify the most often missed areas. The hand hygiene technique was examined by a digital device. 33% of the participants disinfected their hands incorrectly. The most often missed sites are the fingertips (33% on the left hand, 37% on the right hand) and the thumbs (42% on the left hand, 32% on the right hand). The feedback has a fundamental role in the development of the hand hygiene technique. With the usage of electronic devices feedback can be provided efficiently and simply. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(29): 1143-1148.

Noise levels of a track-laying tractor during field operations in the vineyard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pietro Catania

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Noise in agriculture is one of the risk factors to be taken into account in the assessment of the health and safety of workers; in particular, it is known that the tractor is a source of high noise. The Italian Low Decree 81/2008 defined the requirements for assessing and managing noise risk identifying a number of procedures to be adopted at different noise levels to limit workers exposure. This paper concerns the analysis of the noise risk arising from the use of a tracklaying tractor during field operations carried out in the vineyard. The objective of this study was to evaluate the noise level that comes close to the ear of the operator driving the tractor measuring the values of equivalent sound level (Leq(A and peak sound pressure (LCpk. We considered four options related to the same tractor coupled with the following tools to perform some farming operations: rototilling, chisel plough, flail mowers and vibro farmer. We considered three test conditions: T1 in flat (slope 0%, T2 uphill and T3 downhill (both 30% slope. The instrument used for the measurements is a precision integrating portable sound level meter, class 1, model HD2110L by Delta OHM, Italy. Each survey lasted 2 minutes, with an interval of measurement equal to 0.5 s. The tests were performed in compliance with the standards ISO 9612 and ISO 9432. The results show that the measured sound levels exceed the limits allowed by the regulations in almost all the test conditions; values exceeding the threshold limit of 80 dB(A were recorded coming up to a maximum value of 92.8 dB(A for flail mowers in test T1. When limits imposed by the regulations are exceeded, the operator is obliged to wear the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment.

Levels of vibration transmitted to the operator of the tractor equipped with front axle suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Pochi

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In recent years the comfort and the preservation of the health of the operators became central issues in the evolution of agricultural machinery and led to the introduction of devices aimed at improving working conditions. Thereby, for instance, the presence of air conditioner, soundproof cab and driver seat suspension became normal on agricultural tractors. The vibrations are one of the most complex issues to deal with, being determined by the characteristics and interaction of elements such as tyres, axles, mainframe, cab and seat suspension. In this respect, manufacturers are trying to improve their products, even integrating these elements with new devices such as the suspension on the front axle of the tractor, aimed at reducing the level of vibrations during the transfers at high speed. One of these underwent tests at CRA-ING. Since its purpose is to reduce the level of vibration transmitted to the driver, their measurements in different points of the tractor and in different operating conditions, were compared in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the device, expressed as time of exposure. The suspension system of the front axle is designed to absorb the oscillations (especially pitching determined by irregularities in the road surface, allowing an increased control of the vehicle at high speed, as demonstrated by the test results and confirmed by the driving impressions outlined by the operator. The action of the device under these conditions results in an increase of the exposure time, important fact because of the relevance of the road transfer operations of tractors with mounted implements or trailers to tow and of the tendency to increase the speed limit for the road tractors (in Germany were brought to 50 km h–1 for several years. The action just described is less evident with increasing irregularity of the road surface and with the decrease of the travel speed. Nevertheless, in such conditions, the device appears to

Hand disinfection in a neonatal intensive care unit: continuous electronic monitoring over a one-year period.

Science.gov (United States)

Helder, Onno K; van Goudoever, Johannes B; Hop, Wim C J; Brug, Johannes; Kornelisse, René F

2012-10-08

Good hand hygiene compliance is essential to prevent nosocomial infections in healthcare settings. Direct observation of hand hygiene compliance is the gold standard but is time consuming. An electronic dispenser with built-in wireless recording equipment allows continuous monitoring of its usage. The purpose of this study was to monitor the use of alcohol-based hand rub dispensers with a built-in electronic counter in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting and to determine compliance with hand hygiene protocols by direct observation. A one-year observational study was conducted at a 27 bed level III NICU at a university hospital. All healthcare workers employed at the NICU participated in the study. The use of bedside dispensers was continuously monitored and compliance with hand hygiene was determined by random direct observations. A total of 258,436 hand disinfection events were recorded; i.e. a median (interquartile range) of 697 (559-840) per day. The median (interquartile range) number of hand disinfection events performed per healthcare worker during the day, evening, and night shifts was 13.5 (10.8 - 16.7), 19.8 (16.3 - 24.1), and 16.6 (14.2 - 19.3), respectively. In 65.8% of the 1,168 observations of patient contacts requiring hand hygiene, healthcare workers fully complied with the protocol. We conclude that the electronic devices provide useful information on frequency, time, and location of its use, and also reveal trends in hand disinfection events over time. Direct observations offer essential data on compliance with the hand hygiene protocol. In future research, data generated by the electronic devices can be supplementary used to evaluate the effectiveness of hand hygiene promotion campaigns.

Organizational and technological compatibility of the technological processes of second and third line maintenance of KhTZ-3522 tractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyzminskyj Roman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The work is devoted to systematic substantiation of productivity, production structure and specialization of service stations of KhTZ-3522 tractors. Based on the technical and economic comparative analysis of the results of the technological processes modeling of the second and third line maintenance of KhTZ-3522 tractors, the parametrical series of production structures of service stations both mono- and polytechnological specialization, which can work effectively in a wide range of the general annual program of orders, and in the conditions of seasonal fluctuations of orders for the maintenance of these tractors, are found. The results of calculations of the indicators system for organizational and technological compatibility of technological processes of the second and third line maintenance of KhTZ-3522 tractors in the joint technological flow are presented. The dependencies of these indicators on the total annual program of orders for service stations of different productivity are analyzed. According to the results of the analysis, the polytechnological specialization of such service stations is substantiated.

Coca-Cola Refreshments Class 8 Diesel Electric Hybrid Tractor Evaluation: 13-Month Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walkowicz, K.; Lammert, M.; Curran, P.

2012-08-01

This 13-month evaluation used five Kenworth T370 hybrid tractors and five Freightliner M2106 standard diesel tractors at a Coca Cola Refreshments facility in Miami, Florida. The primary objective was to evaluate the fuel economy, emissions, and operational field performance of hybrid electric vehicles when compared to similar-use conventional diesel vehicles. A random dispatch system ensures the vehicles are used in a similar manner. GPS logging, fueling, and maintenance records and laboratory dynamometer testing are used to evaluate the performance of these hybrid tractors. Both groups drive similar duty cycles with similar kinetic intensity (0.95 vs. 0.69), average speed (20.6 vs. 24.3 mph), and stops per mile (1.9 vs. 1.5). The study demonstrated the hybrid group had a 13.7% fuel economy improvement over the diesel group. Laboratory fuel economy and field fuel economy study showed similar trends along the range of KI and stops per mile. Hybrid maintenance costs were 51% lower per mile; hybrid fuel costs per mile were 12% less than for the diesels; and hybrid vehicle total cost of operation per mile was 24% less than the cost of operation for the diesel group.

Life-cycle assessment of a Solar Assist Plug-in Hybrid electric Tractor (SAPHT) in comparison with a conventional tractor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mousazadeh, Hossein; Keyhani, Alireza; Javadi, Arzhang; Mobli, Hossein; Abrinia, Karen; Sharifi, Ahmad

2011-01-01

The most well-known reason of global warming is equivalent carbon dioxide (CO 2equ ) emitted from fossil fuels combustion in on-road and off-road vehicles. An appreciable portion of off-road pollution is allocated to farm implements. All cited studies have shown that renewable based electric vehicles (EVs) decrease petroleum consumption and consequently reduce criteria emissions under nearly all circumstances. Considering this, a Solar Assist Plug-in Hybrid electric Tractor (SAPHT) was designed, constructed and evaluated. This research evaluated the life cycle analysis of SAPHT project and compared the results with that of an internal combustion engine tractor (ICET). The life cycle was analyzed based on economical cost and environmental emissions. The externality of environmental pollutions was calculated to derive the life-cycle costs (LCC). The results showed that substituting each ICET by SAPHT can prevent 14 ton CO 2equ emission to atmosphere annually. Also it prevents a high volume of other emissions such as CO, NO x and PM 10 entering the atmosphere. LCC assessment emphasizes on economical effectiveness of SAPHT rather than ICET at any diesel fuel price, therefore, increasing fuel unit prices leads to more effectiveness. It is concluded that levelized cost of energy (LCE) in Euro /kW h for ICET is almost twice as that of SAPHT. Some of these advantages for SAPHT are offset in part by high purchase costs, heavy and massive batteries and low operating range.

Artificial neural network applying for justification of tractors undercarriages parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Kuz’Min

2017-01-01

Full Text Available One of the most important properties that determine undercarriage layout on design stage is the soil compaction effect. Existing domestic standards of undercarriages impact to soil do not meet modern agricultural requirements completely. The authors justify the need for analysis of traction and transportation machines travel systems and recommendations for these parameters applied to machines that are on design or modernization stage. The database of crawler agricultural tractors particularly in such parameters as traction class and basic operational weight, engine power rating, average ground pressure, square of track basic branch surface area was modeled. Meanwhile the considered machines were divided into two groups by producing countries: Europe/North America and Russian Federation/CIS. The main graphical dependences for every group of machines are plotted, and the conforming analytical dependences within the ranges with greatest concentration of machines are generated. To make the procedure of obtaining parameters of the soil panning by tractors easier it is expedient to use the program tool - artificial neural network (or perceptron. It is necessary to apply to the solution of this task multilayered perceptron - neutron network of direct distribution of signals (without feedback. To carry out the analysis of parameters of running systems taking into account parameters of the soil panning by them and to recommend the choice of these parameters for newly created machines. The program code of artificial neural network is developed. On the basis of the created base of tractors the artificial neural network was created and tested. Accumulated error was not more than 5 percent. These data indicate the results accuracy and tool reliability. It is possible by operating initial design-data base and using the designed artificial neural network to define missing parameters.

Performance of Single Axle Tractors in the Semi-Arid Central Part of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user1

Performance evaluation of three single axle tractors namely Dongfeng15 hp and 12 hp ... On average the agricultural sector accounts for 42.9% gross domestic product and ..... a and b are constant(coefficient) with (+) or (-) sign shown table ...

Design and Development of A Three-Point Auto Hitch Dynamometer for An Agricultural Tractor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. F. Kheiralla

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the design, development and calibration of a three-point auto hitch dynamometer for measuring the horizontal and vertical forces that existed at the three-point hitch of an agricultural tractor.  The design concept of the dynamometer was based on an instrumented inverted U frame assembly that was mounted between tractor links and implement. The design incorporates for both lower point hitch spread and mast height adjustments, and quick hitch capability in accordance with category 1 and II three-point hitch system.  The force sensing elements were comprised of three steel extended octagonal ring transducers that were located between the inverted U frame and hook brackets.  Electrical resistance strain gauges were mounted on the extended octagonal ring transducer at strain angle nodes to independently monitor strains that were proportional to the horizontal and vertical forces at the ring center. Each transducer was designed for maximum horizontal and vertical forces of 25 kN and 10 kN at measurement mean sensitivities of 25.19 µStrain/kN and 25.60 µStrain/kN, respectively. However, the complete dynamometer has been designed to measure the maximum resultant horizontal and vertical forces of 50 kN and 20 kN, respectively.  Field demonstration tests on the dynamometer and data acquisition system showed that they were able to function effectively as intended.  The data acquisition system was able to successfully scan and record the dynamometer signals as programmed.  This dynamometer was part of the complete instrumentation system to be developed onboard a Massey Ferguson 3060 tractor for the generation of a comprehensive database on the power and energy requirements of the tractor and its working implement in the field.

Challenges in implementing electronic hand hygiene monitoring systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Conway, Laurie J

2016-05-02

Electronic hand hygiene (HH) monitoring systems offer the exciting prospect of a more precise, less biased measure of HH performance than direct observation. However, electronic systems are challenging to implement. Selecting a system that minimizes disruption to the physical infrastructure and to clinician workflow, and that fits with the organization's culture and budget, is challenging. Getting front-line workers' buy-in and addressing concerns about the accuracy of the system and how the data will be used are also difficult challenges. Finally, ensuring information from the system reaches front-line workers and is used by them to improve HH practice is a complex challenge. We describe these challenges in detail and suggests ways to overcome them. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

La normalización y certificación de tractores agrícolas en México

OpenAIRE

Alma Velia Ayala Garay; Rocío Cervantes Osornio; Marco Antonio Audelo Benítez; Noé Velázquez López; José Manuel Vargas Sállago

2013-01-01

El tractor agrícola es la principal fuente de potencia dentro de una unidad de producción. Por lo tanto para los usuarios de maquinaria agrícola, resulta una prioridad contar con mecanismos que permitan dar seguridad al usuario final o productor agrícola en el funcionamiento y calidad de los tractores, para esto el objetivo del presente es dar a conocer la evolución de la normalización y certificación de la maquinaria agrícola en México, sus impactos y tendencias, por medio de una descripción...

Process Approach for Modeling of Machine and Tractor Fleet Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Dokin, B. D.; Aletdinova, A. A.; Kravchenko, M. S.; Tsybina, Y. S.

2018-05-01

The existing software complexes on modelling of the machine and tractor fleet structure are mostly aimed at solving the task of optimization. However, the creators, choosing only one optimization criterion and incorporating it in their software, provide grounds on why it is the best without giving a decision maker the opportunity to choose it for their enterprise. To analyze “bottlenecks” of machine and tractor fleet modelling, the authors of this article created a process model, in which they included adjustment to the plan of using machinery based on searching through alternative technologies. As a result, the following recommendations for software complex development have been worked out: the introduction of a database of alternative technologies; the possibility for a user to change the timing of the operations even beyond the allowable limits and in that case the calculation of the incurred loss; the possibility to rule out the solution of an optimization task, and if there is a necessity in it - the possibility to choose an optimization criterion; introducing graphical display of an annual complex of works, which could be enough for the development and adjustment of a business strategy.

Identifying and prioritizing customer requirements from tractor production by QFD method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H Taghizadeh

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction Discovering and understanding customer needs and expectations are considered as important factors on customer satisfaction and play vital role to maintain the current activity among its competitors, proceeding and obtaining customer satisfaction which are critical factors to design a successful production; thus the successful organizations must meet their needs containing the quality of the products or services to customers. Quality Function Deployment (QFD is a technique for studying demands and needs of customers which is going to give more emphasis to the customer's interests in this way. The QFD method in general implemented various tools and methods for reaching qualitative goals; but the most important and the main tool of this method is the house of quality diagrams. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP is a famous and common MADM method based on pair wise comparisons used for determining the priority of understudied factors in various studies until now. With considering effectiveness of QFD method to explicating customer's demands and obtaining customer satisfaction, generally, the researchers followed this question's suite and scientific answer: how can QFD explicate real demands and requirements of customers from tractor final production and what is the prioritization of these demands and requirements in view of customers. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to identify and prioritize the customer requirements of Massey Ferguson (MF 285 tractor production in Iran tractor manufacturing company with t- student statistical test, AHP and QFD methods. Materials and Methods Research method was descriptive and statistical population included all of the tractor customers of Tractor Manufacturing Company in Iran from March 2011 to March 2015. The statistical sample size was 171 which are determined with Cochran index. Moreover, 20 experts' opinion has been considered for determining product's technical requirements. Literature

Hand-held electronic data collection and procedure environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennedy, E.; Doniz, K.

1996-01-01

As part of a CANDU Owners Group project, AECL has developed a hand-held electronic data collection and procedure environment. Integral to this environment is the C omputerized Procedure Engine . The development of the CPE allows operators, maintainers, and technical support staff to execute virtually any type of station procedure on a general-purpose PC-compatible hand-held computer. There are several advantages to using the computerized procedures: less paper use and handling, reduction in human error, reduction in rework in the field, an increase in procedural compliance, and immediate availability of data to download to databases and plant information systems. The paper describes: the advantages of using computerized procedures, why early forms of computerized procedures were inadequate, the features that the C omputerized Procedure Engine o ffers to the user, the streamlined life cycle of a computerized procedure, and field experience. The paper concludes that computerized procedures are ready for pilot applications at stations. (author)

Performance of an agricultural tractor in no tillage as a function of displacement speed and the seeders' tire inflation pressure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furlani, Carlos Eduardo Angeli; Cortez, Jorge Wilson; Silva, Rouverson Pereira da; Grotta, Danilo Cesar Checchio; Toledo, Anderson de [Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP (Brazil)], E-mail: furlani@fcav.unesp.br

2008-07-01

The performance of an agricultural tractor under field conditions results from the tire wheel interaction together with its displacement speed. This work was developed to assess the performance of an agricultural tractor under the (75, 70, and 60 psi) tire inflation pressure conditions of a seeder and in two different gears providing speeds of 3.0 and 6.0 km h{sup -1}. The experiment took place at Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), at the Jaboticabal Campus, and was conducted by Laboratory of Machines and Agricultural Mechanization (LAMMA) at the Department of Rural Engineering. The delineation used was entirely randomized in a 2-factor factorial scheme (3 x 2) with 4 repetitions. We also observed that fuel consumption was influenced only by the tractor gear. Energy consumption was greater as speed increased, caused by gear shifting. The displacement speed was greater for the 75-psi pressure due to a lesser slippage in the seeder when under this pressure. Tractor slippage and initial stand did not change with the tested factors. (author)

Modelling and Simulation of a Hydrostatic Steering System for Agricultural Tractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara Zardin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The steering system of a vehicle impacts on the vehicle performance, safety and on the driver’s comfort. Moreover, in off-road vehicles using hydrostatic steering systems, the energy dissipation also becomes a critical issue. These aspects push and motivate innovation, research and analysis in the field of agricultural tractors. This paper proposes the modelling and analysis of a hydrostatic steering system for an agricultural tractor to calculate the performance of the system and determine the influence of its main design parameters. The focus here is on the driver’s steering feel, which can improve the driver’s behavior reducing unnecessary steering corrections during the working conditions. The hydrostatic steering system is quite complex and involves a hydraulic circuit and a mechanical mechanism to transmit the steering to the vehicle tires. The detailed lumped parameters model here proposed allows to simulate the dynamic behavior of the steering system and to both enhance the understanding of the system and to improve the design through parameters sensitivity analysis.

Implantable electronics of a closed-loop system for controlling prosthetic hands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikas Antonios

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design of implantable electronics as a part of a system for prosthetic hand control. Purpose of the implant is the sensing of electrical signals originating from biological tissue and the actuation of the same, therefore closing the loop and allowing for an improved control of the prosthetic hand. The implant contains two integrated circuits for eight channel EMG monitoring and four channel stimulation, respectively. An on-board microcontroller allows for local pre-processing. All intracorporeal to extracorporeal communications are running through and are directed by the main processing platform. The external components of the control system include, in addition to the main processing and control platform, the inductive power transfer circuits and the pressure sensors for the sensory feedback. Different assembly and encapsulation options are taken into account for the implantable electronics and are unified in a single PCB design.

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.

Electronic monitoring and voice prompts improve hand hygiene and decrease nosocomial infections in an intermediate care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Swoboda, Sandra M; Earsing, Karen; Strauss, Kevin; Lane, Stephen; Lipsett, Pamela A

2004-02-01

To determine whether electronic monitoring of hand hygiene and voice prompts can improve hand hygiene and decrease nosocomial infection rates in a surgical intermediate care unit. Three-phase quasi-experimental design. Phase I was electronic monitoring and direct observation; phase II was electronic monitoring and computerized voice prompts for failure to perform hand hygiene on room exit; and phase III was electronic monitoring only. Nine-room, 14-bed intermediate care unit in a university, tertiary-care institution. All patient rooms, utility room, and staff lavatory were monitored electronically. All healthcare personnel including physicians, nurses, nursing support personnel, ancillary staff, all visitors and family members, and any other personnel interacting with patients on the intermediate care unit. All patients with an intermediate care unit length of stay >48 hrs were followed for nosocomial infection. Electronic monitoring during all phases, computerized voice prompts during phase II only. We evaluated a total of 283,488 electronically monitored entries into a patient room with 251,526 exits for 420 days (10,080 hrs and 3,549 patient days). Compared with phase I, hand hygiene compliance in patient rooms improved 37% during phase II (odds ratio, 1.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.83) and 41% in phase III (odds ratio, 1.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.84). When adjusting for patient admissions during each phase, point estimates of nosocomial infections decreased by 22% during phase II and 48% during phase III; when adjusting for patient days, the number of infections decreased by 10% during phase II and 40% during phase III. Although the overall rate of nosocomial infections significantly decreased when combining phases II and III, the association between nosocomial infection and individual phase was not significant. Electronic monitoring provided effective ongoing feedback about hand hygiene compliance. During both the voice prompt phase and post

Eficiência energética de tratores agrícolas fabricados no Brasil Energy efficiency of Brazilian agricultural tractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gastão M. da Silveira

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Atualmente, cresce o interesse global na economia de combustível fóssil e na redução das emissões de gases, por motivos econômicos e ecológicos. Neste trabalho se aplicou um método para classificação de tratores agrícolas, com base na sua eficiência energética, usando-se o consumo específico (em L kWh-1 como termo de comparação. O fator energético mais importante para essa máquina é o seu motor, seguido da transmissão. O trabalho se baseia no resultado dos ensaios de tratores realizados segundo normas brasileiras, tendo como modelo o código OECD, além de ser uma classificação de modelos de tratores fabricados no País. Os tratores movidos a álcool apresentaram consumo elevado de combustível. A metodologia permite a idéia de como os tratores se comportam, no que diz respeito à eficiência energética.Nowadays there is a growing global interest in saving fossil fuel and reducing gas emissions for economical and ecological reasons. This research applied a method of classification of agricultural tractors depending on their energy efficiency, using the specific fuel consumption (in L kWh-1 as a comparison. The most important energy factor in these machines is the engine, followed by the transmission. This research is based on results of the OECD tractor test and classifies tractor models, which have been principally sold in Brazil. The tractors fueled by ethanol presented a high level of fuel consumption. The methodology allows us to understand how tractors perform in terms of energy efficiency.

Electronic monitoring in combination with direct observation as a means to significantly improve hand hygiene compliance.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyce, John M

2017-05-01

Monitoring hand hygiene compliance among health care personnel (HCP) is an essential element of hand hygiene promotion programs. Observation by trained auditors is considered the gold standard method for establishing hand hygiene compliance rates. Advantages of observational surveys include the unique ability to establish compliance with all of the World Health Organization "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" initiative Moments and to provide just-in-time coaching. Disadvantages include the resources required for observational surveys, insufficient sample sizes, and nonstandardized methods of conducting observations. Electronic and camera-based systems can monitor hand hygiene performance on all work shifts without a Hawthorne effect and provide significantly more data regarding hand hygiene performance. Disadvantages include the cost of installation, variable accuracy in estimating compliance rates, issues related to acceptance by HCP, insufficient data regarding their cost-effectiveness and influence on health care-related infection rates, and the ability of most systems to monitor only surrogates for Moments 1, 4, and 5. Increasing evidence suggests that monitoring only Moments 1, 4, and 5 provides reasonable estimates of compliance with all 5 Moments. With continued improvement of electronic monitoring systems, combining electronic monitoring with observational methods may provide the best information as part of a multimodal strategy to improve and sustain hand hygiene compliance rates among HCP. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A History of the Caterpillar Tractor Company's Use of Motion Pictures.

Science.gov (United States)

Veeder, Gerry A.

Film historians have tended to overlook the industrial film even though it has been widely used as a sales tool since early in this century. The Caterpillar Tractor Company was one of the first to adopt this medium as a means of demonstrating what its machines could do in a variety of situations. While other types of films have been made by…

Wave Propagation From Electrons to Photonic Crystals and Left-Handed Materials

CERN Document Server

Markos, Peter

2010-01-01

This textbook offers the first unified treatment of wave propagation in electronic and electromagnetic systems and introduces readers to the essentials of the transfer matrix method, a powerful analytical tool that can be used to model and study an array of problems pertaining to wave propagation in electrons and photons. It is aimed at graduate and advanced undergraduate students in physics, materials science, electrical and computer engineering, and mathematics, and is ideal for researchers in photonic crystals, negative index materials, left-handed materials, plasmonics, nonlinear effects,

Design, development, and evaluation of an automatic guidance system for tractor tracking along the contour line on inclined surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Dehghani

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Automatic guidance of tractors in the mechanized farming practice has taken the attention of agricultural engineers in the last two decades. For this to be truly practical on the farm, it should be economical, simple to operate and entirely contained on the vehicle. Different types of steering systems such as leader- cable, laser- controlled, radio- operated and contactor- type have been developed for automatic guidance. The automatic leveling system is used on hillside machines to keep the separator level when operating on hillsides. This system has three parts: fluid level system, electrical system and hydraulic system. The fluid level system consists of fluid reservoir and a leveling control switch box. The fluid level system actuates the electrical system of the leveling unit. The electrical system which actuated by the fluid system consist of four micro switches in the leveling control switch box, two micro switches in the limit control box, a solenoid in the hydraulic control level, manual leveling control switch, and a leveling limit warning light. The hydraulic system maintains the level of the separator when the machine is operating on a hillside. The present study was aimed to develop a reliable, versatile and easy to maintain system to fit our economy and low technology level of farmers for hillside- range development or fallow farming. The automatic guidance system has been implemented successfully on agricultural vehicles on the basis of three components, i.e. sensors, processors and actuator elements. The study site (N, latitude; E, longitude; and 1810 m above sea level was located at the Agricultural Research Center, Shiraz University, 15 km northwest of Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran. MF-399 agricultural tractor manufactured by ITMCO, Tabriz, Iran was used for doing the experiments. Materials and Methods:The Level Sensing System: The biaxial tilt industrial sensor (ZCT245AL- China with digital output can be connected

Analysis of swirl recovery vanes for increased propulsive efficiency in tractor propeller aircraft

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldhuis, L.L.M.; Stokkermans, T.C.A.; Sinnige, T.; Eitelberg, G.

2016-01-01

In this paper we address a preliminary assessment of the performance effects of swirl recovery vanes (SRVs) in a installed and uninstalled tractor propeller arrangement. A numerical analysis was performed on a propeller and a propeller-wing configuration after the SRVs were optimized first in a

Design Issues and in Field Tests of the New Sustainable Tractor LOCOSTRA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emanuela Elisa Cepolina

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a robotized small tractor designed to perform humanitarian demining operations and agricultural operations when demining is accomplished. This dual use makes this system unique. The focus is on the design of the machine, including the modeling for design and control, the characteristics of the tools operated by the machine, the motion control at tele-operated, and semi-autonomous levels. The mechatronic design process applied uses sustainable design strategies. Technical contributions are in the tractor architecture, designed to make automation easier, and in the control functions implemented on this architecture. Extensive field tests were performed in different sites; first, in Italy, focusing on the agricultural application of the machine, in natural scenarios with different ground and vegetation; then, in two real mine fields in Jordan focusing on the performance for technical survey in humanitarian demining. The tests have confirmed the performance for both task categories (agricultural and demining, confirming the correctness of the statement. For the demining application, the machine has been assessed by professional users confirming the acceptance to field use and the novelty of the concept.

Evaluating tractor performance and exhaust gas emissions using biodiesel from cotton seed oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-lwayzy, Saddam H; Yusaf, Talal; Jensen, Troy

2012-01-01

Alternative fuels for diesel engines, such as biodiesel, have attracted much attention recently due to increasing fuel prices and the imperative to reduce emissions. The exhaust gas emissions from tractors and other agricultural machinery make a significant contribution to these emissions. The use of biodiesel in internal combustion engines (ICE) has been reported to give comparable performance to conventional diesel (CD), but with generally lower emissions. There is however, contradictory evidence of NO emissions being both higher and lower from the use of biodiesel. In this work, agriculture tractor engine performance and its emission using both CD and biodiesel from cotton seed oil (CSO-B20) mixed at a 20% blend ration has been evaluated and compared. The PTO test results showed comparable exhaust emissions between CD and CSO-B20. However, the use of CSO-B20 led to reductions in the thermal efficiency and exhaust temperature and an increase in the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), when compared to CD.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL AND METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATION OF MINIMIZATION ON TURNING RADIUS OF TRACTOR UNIT WITH REPLACEABLE SUPPORTING AND MANEUVERING DEVICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. V. Zeleniy

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Smooth plowing with the help of reversible plows has replaced an enclosure method of soil treatment. The method may cause a formation of back ridges or open furrows. Due to this fact turnings of a tractor unit with a minimum radius required in order to ensure shuttle movements each time in the furrow of the preceding operating stroke have become a dominant type of turnings. Non-productive shift time is directly dependent on them and it is on the average 10–12 %, and it is up to 40 % in small contour areas with short run. Large non-productive time is connected with the desire to reduce headland width at field edges, and then a turning is made in several stages while using a complicated maneuvering. Therefore, an increase in efficiency of a plowing unit by means of minimization on its turning radius and execution of turning at one stage in the shortest possible time are considered as relevant objectives. In such a case it is necessary to take into account the fact that potential capabilities of universal tractors having established time-proved designs in respect of reduction of turning radius are practically at the end. So it is expedient to solve the matter at the expense of additional removable devices that ensure transformation of tractor wheel formula at the run end in order to reorient its position. Finally high quality plowing ensured by future-oriented reversible plows will be accompanied not only by output increase per shift, but also by decrease in headland width, their compaction and abrasion due to suspension systems and increase in productivity. The developed design having a novelty which proved by an invention patent and representing an additional supporting and maneuvering device significantly minimizes all the above-mentioned disadvantages and does not require any changes in tractor production design. Investigations have been carried on the following topic: “Minimization of turning radius for universal tractors by transformation

Hand disinfection in a neonatal intensive care unit: continuous electronic monitoring over a one-year period

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Helder, O.K.; van Goudoever, J.B.; Hop, W.C.J.; Brug, J.; Kornelisse, R.F.

2012-01-01

Background: Good hand hygiene compliance is essential to prevent nosocomial infections in healthcare settings. Direct observation of hand hygiene compliance is the gold standard but is time consuming. An electronic dispenser with built-in wireless recording equipment allows continuous monitoring of

Evaluation of the agricultural tractor using biofuel and diesel oil; Avaliacao de um trator agricola utilizando biocombustivel e oleo diesel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, Reny Adilmar Prestes; Pinheiro Neto, Raimundo; Meyer, Wagner; Mendonca, Elton Costa de; Roberti, Marcelo [Universidade Estadual de Maringa (UEM), PR (Brazil)], Emails: raplopes@uem.br, rpneto@uem.br

2009-07-01

Test with alternative fuels is essential to evaluate the performance of machines and engines. In this paper, the performance of a tractor in chiseling operation was evaluated using oil diesel and biofuel (oil diesel + soybean vegetable oil mixture). Speed of displacement, slip wheels, force traction bar and fuel consumption was evaluated in areas under tillage and no-tillage. The speed of displacement of the set presented similar behavior in tillage and no-tillage. Bigger values mean force in the bar of traction, slip and fuel consumptions had been observed for no-tillage with the tractor operating with diesel. Bigger values mean consumption the biofuel had been observed in areas under tillage. The coverings of the soil had influenced in the values of force bar traction, slip wheels, speed of displacement and fuel consumption. In the studied conditions, the tests demonstrate that the mixture oil diesel + soybean vegetable oil had not influenced in the performance of the tractor. (author)

Use of a verbal electronic audio reminder with a patient hand hygiene bundle to increase independent patient hand hygiene practices of older adults in an acute care setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Knighton, Shanina C; Dolansky, Mary; Donskey, Curtis; Warner, Camille; Rai, Herleen; Higgins, Patricia A

2018-03-01

We hypothesized that the addition of a novel verbal electronic audio reminder to an educational patient hand hygiene bundle would increase performance of self-managed patient hand hygiene. We conducted a 2-group comparative effectiveness study randomly assigning participants to patient hand hygiene bundle 1 (n = 41), which included a video, a handout, and a personalized verbal electronic audio reminder (EAR) that prompted hand cleansing at 3 meal times, or patient hand hygiene bundle 2 (n = 34), which included the identical video and handout, but not the EAR. The primary outcome was alcohol-based hand sanitizer use based on weighing bottles of hand sanitizer. Participants that received the EAR averaged significantly more use of hand sanitizer product over the 3 days of the study (mean ± SD, 29.97 ± 17.13 g) than participants with no EAR (mean ± SD, 10.88 ± 9.27 g; t 73  = 5.822; P ≤ .001). The addition of a novel verbal EAR to a patient hand hygiene bundle resulted in a significant increase in patient hand hygiene performance. Our results suggest that simple audio technology can be used to improve patient self-management of hand hygiene. Future research is needed to determine if the technology can be used to promote other healthy behaviors, reduce infections, and improve patient-centered care without increasing the workload of health care workers. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Evaluation of the use of low-cost GPS receivers in the autonomous guidance of agricultural tractors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alonso-Garcia, S.; Gomez-Gil, J.; Arribas, J. I.

2011-07-01

This paper evaluates the use of low-cost global positioning system (GPS) receivers in the autonomous guidance of agricultural tractors. An autonomous guidance system was installed in a 6400 John Deere agricultural tractor. A low cost GPS receiver was used as positioning sensor. Three different control laws were implemented in order to evaluate the autonomous guidance of the tractor with the low-cost receiver. The guidance was experimentally tested with the tracking of straight trajectories and with the step response. The total guidance error was obtained from the receiver accuracy and from the guidance error. For the evaluation of the receivers accuracy, positioning data from several low cost receivers were recorded and analyzed. For the evaluation of the guidance error, tests were performed with each control law at three different speeds. The conclusions obtained were that relative accuracy of low-cost receivers decreases with the time; that for an interval lower than 15 min, the error usually remains below 1 m; that all the control laws have a similar behavior and it is conditioned by the control law adjustment; that automatic guidance with low cost receivers is possible with speeds that went up to 9 km h{sup -}1; and finally, that the total error in the guidance is mainly determined by the receivers accuracy. (Author) 46 refs.

Emission and operating performance of a biomethane tractor with dual fuel engine; Emissions- und Betriebsverhalten eines Biomethan-Traktors mit Zuendstrahlmotor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mautner, Sebastian [Technologie- und Foerderzentrum (TFZ), Straubing (Germany); Emberger, Peter; Thuneke, Klaus; Remmele, Edgar

2016-08-01

The use of biomethane as fuel for agricultural machinery with dual fuel technology is contributing to climate protection and ensures safe fuel supply. So far, hardly any documented operational experiences are known. The aim of the project, funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology, was to investigate practicability for daily use and the emission behaviour of a Valtra N101 prototype tractor (exhaust stage IIIA). The retrofitted dual-fuel technology of the former conventional diesel tractor simultaneously uses biomethane or natural gas and diesel as ignition fuel. During the field test over 590 working hours, the tractor showed overall high reliability. On average the operating range in dual-fuel mode with one complete filling of the gas tanks was about 11.5 hours. On the tractor test bench a significant improvement of the exhaust emissions could be observed, since the gas ECU had been optimized and changed by the manufacturer. For dual-fuel operation, nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) are lower, whereas carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matter emissions (PM) are higher compared to solely diesel operation. In particular, HC emissions exceed the proposed limiting value, submitted by the European Commission. This is due to incomplete gas combustion and insufficient conversion by the exhaust after-treatment-system (methane slip). A big potential for optimization is expected by adjusting the operating point-specific gasdiesel ratio and improving the exhaust gas aftertreatment system.

Generating a stationary infinite range tractor force via a multimode optical fibre

Science.gov (United States)

Ebongue, C. A.; Holzmann, D.; Ostermann, S.; Ritsch, H.

2017-06-01

Optical fibres confine and guide light almost unattenuated and thus convey light forces to polarizable nano-particles over very long distances. Radiation pressure forces arise from scattering of guided photons into free space while gradient forces are based on coherent scattering between different fibre modes or propagation directions. Interestingly, even scattering between co-propagating modes induces longitudinal forces as the transverse confinement of the light modes creates mode dependent longitudinal wave-vectors and photon momenta. We generalize a proven scattering matrix based approach to calculate single as well as inter-particle forces to include several forward and backward propagating modes. We show that an injection of the higher order mode only in a two mode fibre will induce a stationary tractor force against the injection direction, when the mode coupling to the lower order mode dominates against backscattering and free space losses. Generically this arises for non-absorbing particles at the centre of a waveguide. The model also gives improved predictions for inter-particle forces in evanescent nanofibre fields as experimentally observed recently. Surprisingly strong tractor forces can also act on whole optically bound arrays.

The use of fuzzy logic in quality control testing of automotive and tractor equipment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korobko А.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the relevance of the research topics, defines goals and objectives, subject and object of research. On the basis of the literature analysis, the following eduction was made: not all the test methods in road and agricultural vehicles (tractors contribute to the effective implementation of the requirements of normative documents including international, inter-laboratory comparative tests. The approach in laboratory testing to the synthesis adaptive system of metrological assurance the use of fuzzy logic is proposed. These labs conduct testing of automotive and tractor equipment. The decision is under risk. The scheme of metrological assurance system covers all parties to ensure the necessary accuracy of measurements and tests; the necessary normative-technical documentation is provided; availability of measuring instruments and test equipment, standards and reference measures; availability of qualified personnel; the assurance that test results are accurate (correct and precision; provides effective decisions based on objective information.

[Accident prevention in agriculture in the ASL1 Abruzzo Local Health Service: protection facilities for tractors].

Science.gov (United States)

Pompei, Domenico; Rossi, Roberta; Vecchiola, Rita; Angelone, Anna Maria; Fabiani, Leila

2015-07-08

The ASL1 workplace prevention and safety service in Abruzzo has been conducting workplace inspections on agricultural and livestock farms in the province of L'Aquila since 2011, mainly in the areas of Avezzano, Sulmona and L'Aquila. The agricultural sector in Abruzzo is characterized by high rates of accidents and the ratio of fatal injuries/total injuries is higher than the industry and services sector. To evaluate the presence or absence of safety devices , i.e. compliance or otherwise with regulations for tractors, and of any variable factor that could be associated with the safety of the vehicle. Between 2011 and 2013, 98 farms in the province of L'Aquila were inspected. The data resulting from the inspections was collected by the use of a checklist. An univariate logistic regression analysis was conducted in which the vehicles that complied with regulations were considered as the dependant variable, and the age of the tractor owner, the acres of worked land and the type of farm were considered as explanatory variables. Statistical elaboration was carried out using the Stata 12 programme. Out of a total of 298 tractors that were checked, 64.8% did not comply with regulations due to absence or unsuitability of one or more safety devices such as: a protective device in case of overturning; retention system of the driver; mounting and dismounting from the vehicle; protection of moving parts and hot parts; PTO (Power Take Off) protection device. A significant association between non-compliance of vehicles and the age of the owner and acres worked was observed, whereas no statistical significance was observed for the association with the farm type variable. Our study showed that farms where the owner's age is between 50 and 64 years and where more acres of land are worked are those where the agricultural or forestry tractors had lower levels of compliance with regulations.

Retrofitting tractors with rollover protective structures: perspective of equipment dealers.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonelli, S M; Donham, K J; Leedom-Larson, K; Sanderson, W; Purschwitz, M

2009-10-01

This study was one of a cluster of studies that originated via requests for proposals from the NIOSH National Agricultural Tractor Safety Initiative. The present study design consisted of several steps: (1) formation of an advisory group, (2) development and testing of a standard paper self-responding survey instrument, (3) sample selection of farm equipment dealers, (4) administration of the survey, (5) assessment and analysis of the survey, and (6) in-person response panel of dealers (n = 80) to review results of the questionnaire for further definition and sharpening of the recommendations from the survey. A key finding is that most dealers do not currently sell or install ROPS retrofit kits. Barriers cited by dealers included (1) actual or perceived lack of farmer demand, (2) injury liability, (3) expensive freight for ordering ROPS, (4) lack of dealer awareness of the magnitude of deaths from tractor overturns and the high life-protective factor of ROPS, and (5) difficulty and incursion of non-recoverable expenses in locating and obtaining specific ROPS. Despite not currently selling or installing ROPS, dealers responded favorably about their future potential role in ROPS promotion and sales. Dealers were willing to further promote, sell, and install ROPS if there was demand from farmers. Recommendations include establishing a ROPS "clearing house" that dealers could contact to facilitate locating and obtaining ROPS orders from customers. Additional recommendations include education and social marketing targeting farm machinery dealers as well farmers, manufacturers, and policy makers.

Electronic hand hygiene monitoring as a tool for reducing health care-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, J William; Blackhurst, Dawn; McAtee, Wendy; Steed, Connie

2016-08-01

Electronic monitoring of hand hygiene compliance using the World Health Organization's My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene is a new innovation that has not yet been shown to reduce hospital infections. We analyzed existing data from 23 inpatient units over a 33-month period and found a significant correlation between unit-specific improvements in electronic monitoring compliance and reductions in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection rates (r = -0.37, P < .001). Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Compactação causada pelo tráfego de trator em diferentes manejos de solo = Soil compaction induced by tractor traffic in different soil managements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Paulo Arantes Rodrigues da Cunha

2009-07-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a compactação do solo causada pelo tráfego de trator, em um Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico submetido a diferentes tipos de preparo. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, com arranjo de parcelassubdivididas, considerando os tipos de preparo de solo como tratamentos principais e o número de passadas do trator como tratamentos secundários. Como tratamentos de preparo de solo, além de uma testemunha sem movimentação, foram avaliados: aração com 18 cmde profundidade, aração com 18 cm de profundidade, seguida de gradagem a 10 cm e subsolagem a 40 cm de profundidade. Após o preparo, foi avaliada a resistência do solo à penetração, por meio de um penetrômetro eletrônico, antes da passagem do trator e apósuma, três, cinco e sete vezes a passagem do trator na mesma linha de tráfego. Também se realizou a avaliação de densidade do solo. Concluiu-se que quanto maior a pulverização do solo, maior foi o potencial de compactação. Solos recentemente arados e gradeados forammais susceptíveis à compactação do que solos somente arados ou subsolados. O efeito do tráfego do trator concentrou-se principalmente na camada superficial, e a primeira passada foi a que mais provocou compactação do solo.The objective of this work was to evaluate soil compaction induced bytractor traffic in a Red Latosol (Typic Acrustox, submitted to different soil managements. The experiment was arranged in a subdivided parcel scheme, with types of soil tillage as theprimary soil treatments and the number of tractor passes as secondary treatments. In addition to a control treatment without soil tillage, the treatments were: tilling to a depth of 18 cm, a tilling to a depth of 18 cm followed by harrow use at a depth of 10 cm, and a 40-cm deep subsoil tilling. After preparing the parcels, soil penetration resistance was measured with an electronic penetrometer, before tractor passes and

Vibration energy absorption in the whole-body system of a tractor operator

OpenAIRE

Jan Szczepaniak; Wojciech Tanaś; Jacek Kromulski

2014-01-01

Many people are exposed to whole-body vibration (WBV) in their occupational lives, especially drivers of vehicles such as tractor and trucks. The main categories of effects from WBV are perception degraded comfort interference with activities-impaired health and occurrence of motion sickness. Absorbed power is defined as the power dissipated in a mechanical system as a result of an applied force. The vibration-induced injuries or disorders in a substructure of the human system are primari...

Antropometria aplicada aos operadores de tratores agrícolas Anthropometrics applied to the agricultural tractors operators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Fernando Schlosser

2002-12-01

height, arms reach, hands reach, kneecap-foot length and seat length were taken. The data showed that there are differences between the operators’ measures used by industry and those taken in this research. The anthropometric measures of the analyzed operators were usually higher than the industrial parameters. For each measure, the lower and bigger upper limits, that included 90% of the operators measured, were lower and higher, respectively, to those used as industrial parameters. This characterizes a major variation. Based on the differences, the commercial agricultural tractors in Brazil can not offer the necessary comfort and ergonomics to the operator of the region.

Cherenkov radiation by an electron bunch that moves in a vacuum above a left-handed material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Averkov, Yu.O.; Yakovenko, V.M.

2005-01-01

Cherenkov radiation by a nonrelativistic electron bunch that moves above an interface of a vacuum-left-handed material has been investigated theoretically. The electron density of the bunch is described by a Gauss distribution. Cherenkov radiation for the frequency range where the refractive index is negative is shown to lead to simultaneous excitation of both bulk and surface electromagnetic waves over one and the same frequency range. In this case the wave vector magnitude in the plane of the interface of surface electromagnetic waves is larger than the corresponding wave vector magnitude of bulk electromagnetic waves. The energy flows in a left-handed material have been calculated. The spectral density and the radiation pattern have been investigated

Repair and maintenance costs of 4WD tractors and self propelled combine harvesters in Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aldo Calcante

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Purchasing and maintaining tractors and operating machines are two of the most considerable costs of the agricultural sector, which includes farm equipment manufacturers, farm contractors and farms. In this context, repair and maintenance costs (R&M costs generally constitute 10-15% of the total costs related to agricultural equipment and tend to increase with the age of the equipment; hence, an important consideration in farm management is the optimal time for equipment replacement. Classical, R&M cost estimation models, calculated as a function of accumulated working hours, are usually developed by ASAE/ASABE for the United States operating conditions. However, R&M costs are strongly influenced by farming practices, operative conditions, crop and soil type, climatic conditions, etc. which can be specific for individual countries. In this study, R&M cost model parameters were recalculated for the current Italian situation. For this purpose, data related to the R&M costs of 100 4WD tractors with engine power ranging from 59 to 198 kW, and of 20 SP combine harvesters (10 straw walkers combines and 10 axial flow combines with engine power ranging from 159 to 368 kW working in Italy were collected. According to the model, which was obtained by interpolating the data through a two-parameter power function (proposed by ASAE/ASABE, the R&M cost incidence on the list price of Italian tractors at 12,000 working hours (estimated life of the machines was 48.6%, as compared with 43.2% calculated through the most recent U.S. model while, for self propelled combine harvesters, the R&M cost incidence at 3,000 working hours was 23.1 % as compared with 40.2% calculated through the same U.S. model.

A Low Cost Implementation of an Existing Hands-on Laboratory Experiment in Electronic Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clement Onime

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In engineering the pedagogical content of most formative programmes includes a significant amount of practical laboratory hands-on activity designed to deliver knowledge acquisition from actual experience alongside traditional face-to-face classroom based lectures and tutorials; this hands-on aspect is not always adequately addressed by current e-learning platforms. An innovative approach to e-learning in engineering, named computer aided engineering education (CAEE is about the use of computer aids for the enhanced, interactive delivery of educational materials in different fields of engineering through two separate but related components; one for classroom and another for practical hands-on laboratory work. The component for hands-on laboratory practical work focuses on the use of mixed reality (video-based augmented reality tools on mobile devices/platforms. This paper presents the computer aided engineering education (CAEE implementation of a laboratory experiment in micro-electronics that highlights some features such as the ability to closely implement an existing laboratory based hands-on experiment with lower associated costs and the ability to conduct the experiment off-line while maintaining existing pedagogical contents and standards.

Effect of electronic real-time prompting on hand hygiene behaviors in health care workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Pong, Steven; Holliday, Pamela; Fernie, Geoff

2018-03-02

Poor hand hygiene by health care workers is a major cause of nosocomial infections. This research evaluated the ability of an electronic monitoring system with real-time prompting capability to change hand hygiene behaviors. Handwashing activity was measured by counting dispenser activations on a single nursing unit before, during, and after installation of the system. The effect of changing the prompt duration on hand hygiene performance was determined by a cluster-randomized trial on 3 nursing units with 1 acting as control. Sustainability of performance and participation was observed on 4 nursing units over a year. All staff were eligible to participate. Between June 2015 and December 2016, a total of 459,376 hand hygiene opportunities and 330,740 handwashing events from 511 staff members were recorded. Dispenser activation counts were significantly influenced by use of the system (χ 2 [3] = 75.76; P Hand hygiene performance dropped from 62.61% to 24.94% (odds ratio, 0.36; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-0.38) when the prompting feature was removed. Staff participation had a negative trajectory of -0.72% (P Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The use of fuzzy logic in quality control testing of automotive and tractor equipment

OpenAIRE

Korobko А.; Mykhailova О.; Nazarko О.; Radchenko Yu.

2016-01-01

The article analyzes the relevance of the research topics, defines goals and objectives, subject and object of research. On the basis of the literature analysis, the following eduction was made: not all the test methods in road and agricultural vehicles (tractors) contribute to the effective implementation of the requirements of normative documents including international, inter-laboratory comparative tests. The approach in laboratory testing to the synthesis adaptive system of metrological a...

Auxiliary brakes for trucks : research into the behaviour of a tractor-semi-trailer combination during emergency breaking.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijks, A. Blijswijk, W.A.M. van Genugten, J. van Meeke, G.J.M. & Schlösser, L.H.M.

1976-01-01

The purpose of the research was to obtain an insight into various secondary braking systems for goods vehicles. Practical tests were carried out with a tractor- semi-trailer combination. The performance of various split braking systems as well as spring brake actuators are shown. With nearly all of

Implementing an electronic hand hygiene monitoring system: Lessons learned from community hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Edmisten, Catherine; Hall, Charles; Kernizan, Lorna; Korwek, Kimberly; Preston, Aaron; Rhoades, Evan; Shah, Shalin; Spight, Lori; Stradi, Silvia; Wellman, Sonia; Zygadlo, Scott

2017-08-01

Measuring and providing feedback about hand hygiene (HH) compliance is a complicated process. Electronic HH monitoring systems have been proposed as a possible solution; however, there is little information available about how to successfully implement and maintain these systems for maximum benefit in community hospitals. An electronic HH monitoring system was implemented in 3 community hospitals by teams at each facility with support from the system vendor. Compliance rates were measured by the electronic monitoring system. The implementation challenges, solutions, and drivers of success were monitored within each facility. The electronic HH monitoring systems tracked on average more than 220,000 compliant HH events per facility per month, with an average monthly compliance rate >85%. The sharing of best practices between facilities was valuable in addressing challenges encountered during implementation and maintaining a high rate of use. Drivers of success included a collaborative environment, leadership commitment, using data to drive improvement, consistent and constant messaging, staff empowerment, and patient involvement. Realizing the full benefit of investments in electronic HH monitoring systems requires careful consideration of implementation strategies, planning for ongoing support and maintenance, and presenting data in a meaningful way to empower and inspire staff. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

First investigation on the applicability of an active noise control system on a tracked tractor without cab

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Pochi

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In last years, several research teams pointed their attention on the application of active noise control systems (ANC inside the cabs of agricultural tractor, with the purpose of reducing the driver exposition to noise, that is only partially controlled by the frame of the cab. This paper reports the results of a first experience that aimed at verifying the applicability of an ANC on a medium-high power, tracked tractor without cab. The tested tractor was a Fiat Allis 150 A, equipped with rear power take off, used in the execution of deep primary tillage in compact soils. It is a tracked tractor without cab, with maximum power of 108.8 kW at 1840 min–1 of the engine. The ANC consists of a control unit box based on a digital signal processor (DPS, two microphones, two speakers and a power amplifier. The instrumentation used in noise data collecting and processing consisted of a multichannel signal analyzer (Sinus - Soundbook, a ½” microphone capsule and an acoustic calibrator, both Bruel & Kjaer. The study aimed at evaluating the behaviour of the ANC by means of tests carried out under repeatable conditions, characterized by pre-defined engine speed values. Three replications have been made for each engine speed. The sampling time was 30 s. Two series of tests were performed in order to compare the results observed with the ANC on and off. The engine speed adopted in the study ranged from 600 min– 1, up to 2000 min–1 (maximum speed with steps of 100 min–1. The ANC proved to be effective in the interval of speed between 1400 and 1700 min–1, where the samplings have been intensified, adopting steps of 50 min–1. In such an interval, the attenuation observed with the ANC system on appeared evident both as weighed A sound pressure level (from 1.29 up to 2.46 dB(A and linear (from 4.54 up to 8.53 dB. The best performance has been observed at the engine speed of 1550 min–1, with attenuations, respectively of 2.46 dB(A and 7.67 d

An agricultural tractor test with different proportions of biodiesel; Ensaio de um trator agricola com diferentes proporcoes de biodiesel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Breno Alves; Castro, Douglas Lourenco de Souza; Volpato, Carlos Eduardo Silva; Barbosa, Jackson Antonio [Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), MG (Brazil)

2009-07-01

The globalization of the economy bring as consequence the entry of new equipment and machinery highly competitive in terms of cost. This is the same reality of the Brazilian agricultural sector which today has new options for machines and implements very interesting from the standpoint of cost of acquisition. However, such equipment, due to its recent inclusion in the market, yet do not have parameters that relate to reliability. This work aimed to demonstrated the dynamometer test of an agricultural tractor, recently introduced in the market, to obtain their torque curves and specific fuel consumption using the fuel B{sub 2}, B{sub 5}, B{sub 2}0 and B{sub 1}00. The results showed that the tractor had satisfactory performance for all motor fuels, presenting the best performance with the use of B{sub 5} fuel. (author)

The development and validation of an ergonomics index for assessing tractor operator work place

OpenAIRE

Barbieri, Juan Paulo; Schlosser, José Fernando; Farias, Marcelo Silveira de; Negri, Giácomo Müller; Oliveira, Luis Fernando Vargas de

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to develop and validate an ergonomics index for the operator workplace assessment of agricultural tractors sold in the Brazilian market. To develop the ergonomics index, the operator work places were assessed for compliance with current, national and international, safety and ergonomics standards. The following standards were analyzed to develop ergonomics index: ISO 15077 (1996), which regulates the position of operator controls; ABNT NBR ISO 4254-1(2015) and ABNT ...

Measuring hand hygiene compliance rates at hospital entrances.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaidotas, Marina; Yokota, Paula Kiyomi Onaga; Marra, Alexandre R; Camargo, Thiago Zinsly Sampaio; Victor, Elivane da Silva; Gysi, Deisy Morselli; Leal, Flavio; Santos, Oscar Fernando Pavão dos; Edmond, Michael B

2015-07-01

Despite the importance of hand hygiene in the health care setting, there are no studies evaluating hand hygiene compliance at hospital entrances. The study was prospectively performed over a 33-week period from March 30, 2014-November 15, 2014, to evaluate hand hygiene compliance in 2 hospital reception areas. We compared electronic handwash counters with the application of radiofrequency identification (GOJO SMARTLINK) (electronic observer) that counts each activation of alcohol gel dispensers to direct observation (human observer) via remote review of video surveillance. We found low hand hygiene compliance rates of 2.2% (99/4,412) and 1.7% (140/8,277), respectively, at reception areas A and D, detected by direct observation. Using the electronic observer, we measured rates of 17% (15,624/91,724) and 7.1% (51,605/730,357) at reception areas A and D, respectively. For the overall time period of simultaneous electronic and human observation, the human observer captured 1% of the hand hygiene episodes detected by the electronic observer. Our study showed very low hand hygiene compliance in hospital reception areas, and we found an electronic hand hygiene system to be a useful method to monitor hand hygiene compliance. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design of a New Sensor for Determination of the Effects of Tractor Field Usage in Southern Spain: Soil Sinkage and Alterations in the Cone Index and Dry Bulk Density

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego L. Valera

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Variations in sinkage and cone index are of crucial importance when planning fieldwork, and for determining the trafficability of farm machinery. Many studies have highlighted the link between higher values of these parameters and dramatic decreases in crop yield. Variations in the dry bulk density and cone index of clayey soil in Southern Spain were measured following each of five successive passes over the same land with the three types of tractor most widely used in the area (tracked, two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. In addition, sinkage (rut depth of the running gear was measured using a laser microrelief profile meter. This device, which integrates three sensors, was specifically designed for these experiments, as was an electrical penetrometer to determine the cone index, and both instruments proved reliable and accurate in the field. The main goal of this study was to design, manufacture and test these new devices. The first pass caused most soil alteration when compared to successive passes for all types of tractor tested and soil conditions prevailing during the tests. (Heavier four-wheel drive tractors were found to cause greater soil damage (sinkage, cone index and dry bulk density than two-wheel drive and track tractors. There was no statistically significant difference between the two latter types. The greatest alterations were recorded in the top 10 cm of the soil. The results show that soil compaction should be avoided as much as possible. This can be achieved by ensuring that tractors always travel along the same tracks, especially in the wet season. At present these aspects are not considered by farmers in this area.

Influence of biofuels usage in internal combustion engines of agricultural tractors on output parametrs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomáš Šmerda

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Application of alternative fuels brings the social benefits in terms of reducing dependence on oil industry and its products as well as decreasing of damage of the environment together with using of na­tu­ral resources, especially in field of renewable energy resources. The use of biofuels is the most important part of energy strategy in European Union, whose member states have agreed the content of biofuels will achieve 5.75% of the total energy sum of fuel for transport purposes in 2010. Operation of internal combustion engine fueled by RME brings environmental benefits as described several authors in analysis of the life cycle. The contribution deals with technical difficulties of the RME usage in internal combustion engine used in agricultural tractors. Different fuel causes different process of combustion which means changes in output power and pollution. The aim of this experiment was to determine these effects. Experimental work was divided into two parts according to various fuel systems. The first tractor was equipped with mechanical injection system, the second one was provided with common-rail fuel system. The test procedures consisted of measurement of power- torque curves where the engine load was created by Eddy current dynamometer. Exhaust gas analyzer sampled the pollution of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons as the most important indicators of combustion process.

Use of Electronic Loggers to Measure Changes in the Rates of Hand Washing with Soap in Low-Income Urban Households in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Richard L; Zillmer, Ruediger; Biran, Adam; Hall, Peter; Sidibe, Myriam

2015-01-01

We evaluated the utility of electronic loggers to measure the effects of a simple intervention designed to influence the rates of hand washing with soap within enclosed toilets and bathrooms in low-income urban households in Kerala, India. 58 households were given three items with embedded electronic loggers for a period of 2-5 days. Two logged soaps tracked hand and body washing in the bathroom. The third logged item was a water vessel used for flushing the toilet and for post-defecation anal cleansing; this served as a marker of toilet use. In addition, 28 households in a Soap by toilet arm were given an additional logged soap, to be kept by the toilet, and used for hand washing. Compared with the Soap in bathroom arm, the loggers in the Soap by toilet households recorded 73% greater daily use of soaps designated for hand washing (t(36)=2.92, psoap and changes in hand washing with soap after use of the toilet. Further adoption of logger technologies would enable more insightful studies of hand washing within urban environments.

Computational Flow Modeling of a Simplified Integrated Tractor-Trailer Geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salari, K.; McWherter-Payne, M.

2003-01-01

For several years, Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have been part of a consortium funded by the Department of Energy to improve fuel efficiency of heavy vehicles such as Class 8 trucks through aerodynamic drag reduction. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of using the steady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach to predict the flow field around heavy vehicles, with special emphasis on the base region of the trailer, and to compute the aerodynamic forces. In particular, Sandia's computational fluid dynamics code, SACCARA, was used to simulate the flow on a simplified model of a tractor-trailer vehicle. The results are presented and compared with NASA Ames experimental data to assess the predictive capability of RANS to model the flow field and predict the aerodynamic forces

Nonlinear Right-Hand Polarized Wave in Plasma in the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Region

Science.gov (United States)

Krasovitskiy, V. B.; Turikov, V. A.

2018-05-01

The propagation of a nonlinear right-hand polarized wave along an external magnetic field in subcritical plasma in the electron cyclotron resonance region is studied using numerical simulations. It is shown that a small-amplitude plasma wave excited in low-density plasma is unstable against modulation instability with a modulation period equal to the wavelength of the excited wave. The modulation amplitude in this case increases with decreasing detuning from the resonance frequency. The simulations have shown that, for large-amplitude waves of the laser frequency range propagating in plasma in a superstrong magnetic field, the maximum amplitude of the excited longitudinal electric field increases with the increasing external magnetic field and can reach 30% of the initial amplitude of the electric field in the laser wave. In this case, the energy of plasma electrons begins to substantially increase already at magnetic fields significantly lower than the resonance value. The laser energy transferred to plasma electrons in a strong external magnetic field is found to increase severalfold compared to that in isotropic plasma. It is shown that this mechanism of laser radiation absorption depends only slightly on the electron temperature.

Compaction of loamy soils due to tractor traffic in vineyards and orchards and its effect on infiltration in southern France

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijck, van S.J.E.; Asch, van T.W.J.

2002-01-01

Viticulture and fruit culture in Mediterranean areas demand frequent tractor traffic in vineyards and orchards for tillage and for the application of herbicides and pesticides, resulting in soil compaction. The aim of this study was to investigate theextent of soil compaction and its effect on

Matching design and performance analysis for driving system of solar garden tractor%太阳能园艺拖拉机驱动系统匹配设计与性能分析

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张超; 朱思洪; 王军洋; 高辉松; 邓晓亭

2015-01-01

Solar garden tractor not only drives tractor, but also does some garden works, and its driving system has unique requirement. A design method for driving system of solar garden tractor was put forward, which included the overall design and the main parameters of the theoretical calculation. Firstly, for the wheel drive mode’s power transmission chain was short, and its driving and braking force distribution could be controlled and optimized by the energy management and power system, which was helpful to improve the drive system’s efficiency, extend operation time and increase mileage, the wheel drive mode was therefore chosen as solar tractor drive system. Secondly, the components of solar tractor included the hub motor, the moving motor, the reducer, the battery pack and the photovoltaic panel. In order to evaluate solar tractor’s working capacity, the cumulative operation time throughout day was proposed as the evaluation index. The cumulative operation time throughout day refered to the sum of solar tractor working time in a day after the battery was fully charged. According to the principle of solar tractor, i.e. obtained total energy is equal to consumed energy by the tractor, calculate the cumulative operation time throughout day. The obtained total energy by solar tractor was composed of photovoltaic panel output total energy throughout day and battery rated output energy. Based on a large number of test and analysis on solar radiation intensity and environment temperature on horizontal plane in Nanjing, solar radiation intensity model and environment temperature model were established under cloudless weather throughout the day to describe climate change. According to the parameters of photovoltaic panel, solar radiation intensity and environment temperature, the photovoltaic panel’sP-Voutput characteristic curve was obtained, and based on the peak power of photovoltaic panel, total output energy values of 4 photovoltaic panels were calculated to be

Development and Evaluation of a Wide-Bed Former for Vegetable Cultivation in Controlled Tractor Traffic

Science.gov (United States)

Dixit, Anoop; Khurana, Rohinish; Verma, Aseem; Singh, Arshdeep; Manes, G. S.

2018-05-01

India is the second largest producer of vegetables in the world. For vegetable cultivation, a good seed bed preparation is an important task which involves 6-10 different operations. To tackle the issue of multiple operations, a prototype of tractor operated wide bed former was developed and evaluated. The machine comprises of a rotary tiller and a bed forming setup. It forms bed of 1000 mm top width which is suitable as per the track width of an average sized tractor in India. The height of the beds formed is 130 mm whereas the top and bottom width of channel formed on both sides of the bed is 330 and 40 mm respectively at soil moisture content of 12.5-16% (db). The forward speed of 2.75 km/h was observed to be suitable for proper bed formation. The average fuel consumption of the machine was 5.9 l/h. The average bulk density of soil before and after the bed formation was 1.46 and 1.63 g/cc respectively. Field capacity of the machine was found to be 0.31 ha/h. The machine resulted in 93.8% labour saving and 80.4% saving in cost of bed preparation as compared to conventional farmer practice. Overall performance of wide-bed former was found to be satisfactory.

Comment on "Polarized window for left-right symmetry and a right-handed neutrino at the Large Hadron-Electron Collider"

Science.gov (United States)

Queiroz, Farinaldo S.

2016-06-01

Reference [1 S. Mondal and S. K. Rai, Phys. Rev. D 93, 011702 (2016).] recently argued that the projected Large Hadron Electron Collider (LHeC) presents a unique opportunity to discover a left-right symmetry since the LHeC has availability for polarized electrons. In particular, the authors apply some basic pT cuts on the jets and claim that the on-shell production of right-handed neutrinos at the LHeC, which violates lepton number in two units, has practically no standard model background and, therefore, that the right-handed nature of WR interactions that are intrinsic to left-right symmetric models can be confirmed by using colliding beams consisting of an 80% polarized electron and a 7 TeV proton. In this Comment, we show that their findings, as presented, have vastly underestimated the SM background which prevents a Left-Right symmetry signal from being seen at the LHeC.

Depreciation Rates for Australian Tractors and Headers - Is Machinery Depreciation a Fixed or Variable Cost?

OpenAIRE

Tozer, Peter R.

2005-01-01

Seven different remaining value functions for tractors and harvesters were estimated using data from advertised prices for used farm equipment. The generalised Box-Cox model was used to nest six of the seven functions. The more complex Box- Cox function explained the data better, but simpler models such as the sum-of-theyears- digits, or double-square root models were no different and were easier to manipulate to estimate depreciation rates and costs. There were up to three components of depr...

Steering a Tractor by Means of an EMG-Based Human-Machine Interface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Alonso-Garcia

2011-07-01

Full Text Available An electromiographic (EMG-based human-machine interface (HMI is a communication pathway between a human and a machine that operates by means of the acquisition and processing of EMG signals. This article explores the use of EMG-based HMIs in the steering of farm tractors. An EPOC, a low-cost human-computer interface (HCI from the Emotiv Company, was employed. This device, by means of 14 saline sensors, measures and processes EMG and electroencephalographic (EEG signals from the scalp of the driver. In our tests, the HMI took into account only the detection of four trained muscular events on the driver’s scalp: eyes looking to the right and jaw opened, eyes looking to the right and jaw closed, eyes looking to the left and jaw opened, and eyes looking to the left and jaw closed. The EMG-based HMI guidance was compared with manual guidance and with autonomous GPS guidance. A driver tested these three guidance systems along three different trajectories: a straight line, a step, and a circumference. The accuracy of the EMG-based HMI guidance was lower than the accuracy obtained by manual guidance, which was lower in turn than the accuracy obtained by the autonomous GPS guidance; the computed standard deviations of error to the desired trajectory in the straight line were 16 cm, 9 cm, and 4 cm, respectively. Since the standard deviation between the manual guidance and the EMG-based HMI guidance differed only 7 cm, and this difference is not relevant in agricultural steering, it can be concluded that it is possible to steer a tractor by an EMG-based HMI with almost the same accuracy as with manual steering.

Fuel consumption of tractor for different soil types in semi-arid regions; Consumo de combustivel de um trator agricola para diferentes tipos de solo em regioes semi-aridas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Montanha, Gustavo K. [Universidade Estadual Paulista (FAC/UNESP), Botucatu, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Ciencias Agronomicas. Dept. de Engenharia Rural], E-mail: gmontanha@fca.unesp.br; Guerra, Saulo P.S. [Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, SP (Brazil). Dept. de Gestao e Tecnologia Agroindustrial; Andrade-Sanchez, Pedro; Heun, John [The University of Arizona, Maricopa, AZ (United States); Monteiro, Leonardo A. [The University of Arizona (MAC/UA), Maricopa, AZ (United States). Maricopa Agricultural Center

2010-07-01

The appropriate use of agricultural machinery enables greater operational efficiency and higher productivity for the farmer. Some factors such as soil type can influence the fuel consumption, one of the biggest costs. This study aimed to compare the fuel consumption of a tractor operating in two different conditions of soil in semi-arid regions. The area used for testing is located in the city of Maricopa, in Arizona, belonging to 'The University of Arizona'. The area 1 is classified as sandy clay loam soil (52% sand, 35% clay, 13% silt). The area 2 is classified as a sandy loam soil (71% sand, 12% clay and 17% silt). The tractor 4 x 2 TDA, with 88 kw (120 hp) engine power equipped with auto pilot system and an implement for tillage were used in the experiment. A data acquisition system was installed in the tractor to collect the data generated by the GPS and fuel consumption sensor. The results showed significant statistical difference in fuel consumption between soil textures. (author)

Características ergonômicas dos tratores agrícolas utilizados na região central do Rio Grande do Sul Ergonomic characteristics of agricultural tractors used in central region of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrique Debiasi

2004-12-01

Full Text Available A utilização de tratores agrícolas com boas condições ergonômicas reduz a probabilidade de ocorrência de acidentes e doenças ocupacionais, aumentando a eficiência dos trabalhadores. Neste trabalho, objetivou-se verificar a presença de itens relacionados à ergonomia de tratores agrícolas usados, bem como avaliar o comportamento destas características em função do tempo de uso das referidas máquinas. Foram analisados 175 tratores agrícolas pertencentes às microrregiões gaúchas de Santa Maria, Restinga Seca e Cachoeira do Sul, presentes em 114 propriedades aleatoriamente amostradas. Os resultados mostraram que apenas 3% dos espécimes avaliados eram equipados com cabina, sendo que a maior parte dos mesmos não apresentava isolamento do calor gerado pelo motor e transmissão. Com relação à ergonomia dos comandos, mais de 70% dos tratores tinham alavancas de câmbio centrais, enquanto que apenas 8% eram equipados com volante de direção regulável. Da mesma forma, mais de 20% dos exemplares amostrados possuíam bancos sem estofamento. Além disso, a presença dos itens avaliados foi menor para os tratores mais antigos.It is possible to reduce the probability of work accidents, diseases occurrence and increase the work efficiency using agricultural tractors with good ergonomic conditions. The objective of this research was to verify the presence of ergonomic items in used agricultural tractors and also to evaluate the influence of tractor age in these characteristics. 175 agricultural tractors belonging to 3 regions of Rio Grande do Sul State (Santa Maria, Restinga Seca and Cachoeira do Sul, Brazil, present in 114 farms randomly sampled, were evaluated. The results showed that only 3% of sampled specimens were equipped with a cab, and most part of the tractors did not have protection against the heat produced by tractor transmission and engine. With regard to ergonomics of commands, more than 70% of the tractors had gear levers

Evaluation of tractive performance of four agricultural tractors in laterally inclined terrain Avaliação do desempenho operacional de quatro tratores agrícolas em terreno inclinado lateralmente

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabricio Leite

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The present work aimed to evaluate the tractive performance of four agricultural tractors with auxiliary front traction in function of six lateral inclinations in a lateral track of trials, which belongs to the Agronomic Sciences Faculty from the São Paulo State University, Campus of Botucatu. The lateral inclinations were 0; 5; 10; 15; 20 and 25 degrees. In all of these situations, the tractors operated with predetermined load of an imposed traction to the pulled tractor of 40 kN in the inclination of 0 degrees. Hence a delineation in random blocks was used, considering six inclinations and four tractors, and with three repetitions for each treatment. The analyzed variables were slippage, tractive force, hourly fuel consumption, and speed. It was concluded that the pneumatic tire configurations influenced in the tractive performance of the tractors, as they increased the lateral inclinations of the terrain.O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o desempenho operacional de quatro tratores agrícolas com tração dianteira auxiliar, em função de seis inclinações laterais, em uma pista lateral de ensaios, pertencente à Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas da Universidade Estadual Paulista, Câmpus de Botucatu. As inclinações laterais foram 0; 5; 10; 15; 20 e 25 graus. Em todas estas situações, os tratores operaram com carga predeterminada de tração imposta ao trator tracionado de 40 kN na inclinação de 0 grau. Portanto, foi utilizado um delineamento em blocos casualizados (DBC, sendo seis inclinações e quatro tratores, e com três repetições para cada tratamento. As variáveis analisadas foram patinhagem, força de tração, consumo horário de combustível e velocidade de deslocamento. Concluiu-se que a configuração dos rodados pneumáticos influenciaram no desempenho operacional dos tratores, conforme aumentaram as inclinações laterais do terreno.

Electron electric dipole moment in mirror fermion model with electroweak scale non-sterile right-handed neutrinos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chia-Feng Chang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The electric dipole moment of the electron is studied in detail in an extended mirror fermion model with the following unique features of (a right-handed neutrinos are non-sterile and have masses at the electroweak scale, and (b a horizontal symmetry of the tetrahedral group is used in the lepton and scalar sectors. We study the constraint on the parameter space of the model imposed by the latest ACME experimental limit on electron electric dipole moment. Other low energy experimental observables such as the anomalous magnetic dipole moment of the muon, charged lepton flavor violating processes like muon decays into electron plus photon and muon-to-electron conversion in titanium, gold and lead are also considered in our analysis for comparison. In addition to the well-known CP violating Dirac and Majorana phases in the neutrino mixing matrix, the dependence of additional phases of the new Yukawa couplings in the model is studied in detail for all these low energy observables.

Electron electric dipole moment in mirror fermion model with electroweak scale non-sterile right-handed neutrinos

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chia-Feng; Hung, P. Q.; Nugroho, Chrisna Setyo; Tran, Van Que; Yuan, Tzu-Chiang

2018-03-01

The electric dipole moment of the electron is studied in detail in an extended mirror fermion model with the following unique features of (a) right-handed neutrinos are non-sterile and have masses at the electroweak scale, and (b) a horizontal symmetry of the tetrahedral group is used in the lepton and scalar sectors. We study the constraint on the parameter space of the model imposed by the latest ACME experimental limit on electron electric dipole moment. Other low energy experimental observables such as the anomalous magnetic dipole moment of the muon, charged lepton flavor violating processes like muon decays into electron plus photon and muon-to-electron conversion in titanium, gold and lead are also considered in our analysis for comparison. In addition to the well-known CP violating Dirac and Majorana phases in the neutrino mixing matrix, the dependence of additional phases of the new Yukawa couplings in the model is studied in detail for all these low energy observables.

Harvesting pulpwood and firewood using a tractor-mounted single-grip harvester

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ihonen, M.

1998-01-01

The TTS-Institute's Department of Forestry conducted a work study on the AM 240 felling-delimbing-cross-cutting -device. The timber was prepared into pulp- and fuelwood. The tops of the pulpwood stems and stems smaller than pulpwood were made into fuelwood. The base machine used was an agricultural tractor. The study is part of a research project titled Forest Owners' Energy-Wood Harvesting Technology. The combined productivity of preparing pulpwood and fuelwood varied between 2.8-4.1 m 3 per effective hour. Thus, the productivity achieved was of the same order as that reported in an earlier TTS-Institute study on the devices AM 200 model. The outturns on the sample strips included a fair amount of crooked hardwood timber, which iced to reduced productivity. During the work study the felling device functioned reliably. (author) 3 refs

An automatic driving system for a Baker's garlic [Allium chinense] planter: Development of the infrared beam guidance system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, H.; Iwasaki, M.; Takeda, H.

2002-01-01

We have developed a tractor attachment type semi-automatic Baker's garlic (shallot) planter to save hard labor requirement during planting. The velocity of the tractor in operation is so slow (2 to 3m/min) that the tractor driver is forced to tie his hands for a long time. This is an obstacle to its diffusion, because farm managers have to drive their own tractors by themselves in most Japanese farmhouses, yet they have to do other jobs during the planting season. We designed a new automatic driving system that consists of one infrared beam radiator and two infrared beam receivers to solve this problem. The infrared radiator is located in front of the tractor and shows the infrared guideline of tractor path. The infrared receivers are equipped on the front of the tractor and detect the infrared from the radiator. The receivers are arranged symmetrically at 4.5 degree from the center of the tractor. So the misalignment of the tractor creates a difference in sensitivity and it is possible to distinguish the tractor direction against the infrared beam. This system was tested under the sand dune field conditions with the tractor that was converted to automatic driving. The results show the system can effectively steer about 80 m automatically with an almost straight path, and the error from the starting point is within 0.1 m

Palm biodiesel: performance of a agricultural tractor in function of differents storage periods; Biodiesel de dende: desempenho de trator agricola em funcao de diferentes periodos de armazenamento

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, Afonso; Oliveira, Melina C.J. [Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (FCAV/UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Ciencias Agrarias e Veterinarias. Dept. de Engenharia Rural], email: fonso@fcav.unesp.br; Lima, Leomar P. [Instituto Federal do Triangulo Mineiro (IFTM), Uberlandia, MG (Brazil); Camara, Felipe P. [Universidade Federal do Ceara (UFC), Cariri, CE (Brazil)

2011-07-01

The use of biofuel for replacement of oil in internal combustion engines is an alternative to seek the reduction of harmful effects that the use of these fuels question to the environment. The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of a tractor in the light of storage time of the biodiesel of palm oil. The experiment was conducted in the Laboratory of machinery and agricultural mechanization of Rural Engineering Department of UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP. In this study, -if a tractor Valtra BM 110 4x2 TDA 74 kW (100 cv) in engine 2.350 rpm. The experimental design was completely randomized, in factorial scheme 5x3, with 3 repetitions. The first factor represents 5 proportions of mixing biodiesel for diesel (B0, B5, B25, B 50 and B100, that the number indicates the percentage of biodiesel for diesel) and three storage times in condition storage environment in a rural property (0, 3 and 6 months). The mixtures were prepared hours before the test. The results showed that the storage time did not influence the performance of the tractor, occurring biodiesel specific increase in consumption from the proportion of 25% (B25) mixture of biodiesel for diesel. (author)

A method for handlebars ballast calculation in order to reduce vibrations transmissibility in walk behind tractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelo Fabbri

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Walk behind tractors have some advantages over other agricultural machines, such as the cheapness and the easy to use, however the driver is exposed to high level of vibrations transmitted from handles to hand-arm system and to shoulders. The vibrations induce discomfort and early fatigue to the operator. In order to control the vibration transmissibility, a ballast mass may be added to the handles. Even if the determination of the appropriate ballast mass is a critical point in the handle design. The aim of this research was to study the influence of the handle mass modification, on the dynamic structure behaviour. Modal frequencies and subsequent transmissibility calculated by using an analytical approach and a finite elements model, were compared. A good agreement between the results obtained by the two methods was found (average percentage difference calculated on natural frequencies equal to 5.8±3.8%. Power tillers are made generally by small or medium-small size manufacturers that have difficulties in dealing with finite element codes or modal analysis techniques. As a consequence, the proposed analytical method could be used to find the optimal ballast mass in a simple and economic way, without experimental tests or complex finite element codes. A specific and very simple software or spreadsheet, developed on the base of the analytical method here discussed, could effectively to help the manufacturers in the handlebar design phase. The choice of the correct elastic mount, the dimensioning of the guide members and the ballast mass could be considerably simplified.

IMPROVEMENT OF WEAR-RESISTANCE AND SERVICE LIFE OF MULTI-DISK BRAKE MECHANISMS OF «BELARUS» TRACTOR BY LASER THERMAL HARDENING OF FAST WEARING PARTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. S. Kobjakov

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Problems concerning wear resistance improvement of «Belarus» tractor brake mechanism parts are considered in the paper. Properties of ВЧ-50-pig iron are investigated as a result of laser thermal hardening by various technological methods.

Introduction of an electronic monitoring system for monitoring compliance with Moments 1 and 4 of the WHO "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chan Jasper FW

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background MedSense is an electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system that provides Infection Control Practitioners with continuous access to hand hygiene compliance information by monitoring Moments 1 and 4 of the WHO "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" guidelines. Unlike previous electronic monitoring systems, MedSense operates in open cubicles with multiple beds and does not disrupt existing workflows. Methods This study was conducted in a 6-bed neurosurgical intensive care unit with technical development and evaluation phases. Healthcare workers (HCWs wore an electronic device in the style of an identity badge to detect hand hygiene opportunities and compliance. We compared the compliance determined by the system and an infection control nurse. At the same time, the system assessed compliance by time of day, day of week, work shift, professional category of HCWs, and individual subject, while the workload of HCWs was monitored by measuring the amount of time they spent in patient zones. Results During the three-month evaluation phase, the system identified 13,694 hand hygiene opportunities from 17 nurses, 3 physiotherapists, and 1 healthcare assistant, resulting in an overall compliance of 35.1% for the unit. The per-indication compliance for Moment 1, 4, and simultaneous 1 and 4 were 21.3% (95%CI: 19.0, 23.6, 39.6% (95%CI: 37.3, 41.9, and 49.2% (95%CI: 46.6, 51.8, respectively, and were all statistically significantly different (p Conclusion MedSense provides an unobtrusive and objective measurement of hand hygiene compliance. The information is important for staff training by the infection control team and allocation of manpower by hospital administration.

Analisis dan Perancangan Aplikasi Pendukung Erp Sap R/3 Modul Sales And Distribution PT. United Tractors, Tbk

OpenAIRE

Johan, Johan; Susanto, Yokie; Joe, Yusmin; Robby, Robby

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research is to analyse sales process having been implementing Sales and Distribution module of ERP SAP R/3 and also to design a supporting application for sales process at PT United Tractor, Tbk. The benefit of this application is to help sales person and customer in doing inquiries, quotation and sales order also material information through short message. The method of this research is data capturing, literature review, object oriented analysis and design and Rational Un...

Effect of the load of drive axles and high of the curtain on stress-strain properties of the tractor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomáš Šmerda

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The goal of the experimental measurement was determination of relation among weight load of the tractor together, hitch height changes and drawbar characteristic. The measurement was realized on chassis dynamometer at MUAF in Brno. The first step consisted of rated speed characteristics measurement in conformity with OECD demands. The drawbar characteristic was measured under two selected gears. Adding 980 kg to the nominal wight of the tractor brought increasing maximal drawbar power and drawbar force together with decreasing of slip. The highest differences were observed during the mesurement of fifth gear shifted. The drawbar force grew up to 18.9% as well as the maximal drawbar power (15.2%. The maximal drawbar power at ninth gear gave 62.8 kW. The hitch height was setting to 0.54 m; 0.64 m and 0.74 m. When the hitch height was set from 0.54 m to 0.74 m the drawbar force an power on front axle was lower by reason of load reduction. As can be noticed from the final drawbar characteristics, both curves are identical up to border of maximal drawbar power. Small differences in the area of the highest slips can be ascribed to the rolling resistance.

Conformidade de acessos e de saídas de postos de operação em tratores agrícolas segundo norma NBR/ISO 4252 Conformity of the accesses and exits of agricultural tractors workplaces according to NBR/ISO 4252 STANDARD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danielle M. P. Mattar

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a conformidade dos acessos e de saídas dos postos de operação em tratores agrícolas, por meio de população amostral dos tratores fabricados no Brasil. Para a avaliação, diversos itens referentes aos acessos e às saídas dos postos de operação foram analisados qualitativa e quantitativamente com base nos padrões da Norma NBR/ISO 4252. Ao final do trabalho, foi observado que os tratores classificados na Classe III, quanto à potência nominal do motor, atendem ao maior número de requisitos da Norma em comparação a tratores da Classe II. Dentre os itens avaliados, a altura da plataforma até o teto dos postos de operação foi atendida por todos os modelos. As presenças de batentes de proteção sobre os degraus e de corrimão para o operador foram os itens em maior desconformidade sobre os tratores. Como resultado médio, a população amostral foi conforme em 66% dos itens analisados. Os tratores dotados de motores de maior potência apresentaram, em geral, acessos e saídas dos postos de operação mais ergonômicos e seguros. De maneira geral, conclui-se pela baixa conformidade dos itens de ergonomia e de segurança dispostos ao operador sobre os postos de operação em tratores agrícolas nacionais.This work had as objective to evaluate the conformity of agricultural tractors workplaces accesses and exits made in Brazil. For this evaluation, the workplaces were analyzed according to NBR/ISO 4252 Standard. It was observed that the tractors classified in Class III, in relation to power engine, was better then tractors in Class II. Among the parameters evaluated, the platform weight of operator workplace was attended by all the tractors. The items in less conformoty in agricultural tractors are the doorpost of protection on the steps and the handrail to the operator. As results, the sampling population was conformed in 66% of the analyzed items. The tractors with more powerful engines

Tests of Nacelle-Propeller Combinations in Various Positions with Reference to Wings V : Clark Y Biplane Cellule - NACA Cowled Nacelle - Tractor Propeller

Science.gov (United States)

Valentine, E Floyd

1935-01-01

This report is the fifth of a series giving the results obtained from wind tunnel tests on the interference drag and propulsive efficiency of nacelle-propeller-wing combinations. This report gives results of tests of an NACA cowled air-cooled engine nacelle with tractor propeller located in 12 positions with reference to a Clark Y biplane cellule.

Heavy and Overweight Vehicle Brake Testing: Five-Axle Combination Tractor-Flatbed Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lascurain, Mary Beth [ORNL; Capps, Gary J [ORNL; Franzese, Oscar [ORNL

2013-10-01

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration, sponsored the Heavy and Overweight Vehicle Brake Testing (HOVBT) program in order to provide information about the effect of gross vehicle weight (GVW) on braking performance. Because the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations limit the number of braking system defects that may exist for a vehicle to be allowed to operate on the roadways, the examination of the effect of brake defects on brake performance for increased loads is also relevant. The HOVBT program seeks to provide relevant information to policy makers responsible for establishing load limits, beginning with providing test data for a combination tractor/trailer. This testing was conducted on a five-axle combination vehicle with tractor brakes meeting the Reduced Stopping Distance requirement rulemaking. This report provides a summary of the testing activities, the results of various analyses of the data, and recommendations for future research. Following a complete brake rebuild, instrumentation, and brake burnish, stopping tests were performed from 20 and 40 mph with various brake application pressures (15 psi, 25 psi, 35 psi, 45 psi, 55 psi, and full system pressure). These tests were conducted for various brake conditions at the following GVWs: 60,000, 80,000, 91,000, 97,000, 106,000, and 116,000 lb. The 80,000-lb GVWs included both balanced and unbalanced loads. The condition of the braking system was also varied. To introduce these defects, brakes (none, forward drive axle, or rear trailer axle) were made inoperative. In addition to the stopping tests, performance-based brake tests were conducted for the various loading and brake conditions. Analysis of the stopping test data showed the stopping distance to increase with load (as expected) and also showed that more braking force was generated by the drive axle brakes than the trailer axle brakes. The constant-pressure stopping test data

Determination of the curves, torque harnesses of performance of an agricultural tractor Massey Ferguson MF 275

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paula, Vanderson Rabelo de [Universidade de Sao Paulo (ESALQ/USP), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz; Silva, Breno Alves; Santos, Thiago Castro Vidal dos; Porto, Rodrigo Padovani; Volpato, Carlos Eduardo Silva; Barbosa, Jackson Antonio [Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), MG (Brazil)

2008-07-01

The globalization of the economy has approached the markets and one of the consequences of this approach is the entrance of new equipment and highly competitive machines in cost terms. This is the same reality of the Brazilian agricultural sector that today counts on new options of machines and very interesting implements of the point of view of the acquisition cost. In this context, this work aimed at the dynamometric assay of an agricultural tractor for attainment of its curves of torque, power using the B100 soybean fuels, B100 olive, B100 diesel. (author)

Fuel efficiency of conventional design tractors diesel engines in relation to new design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jevtić Jeremija

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Total consumption of all types of energies is rather high nowadays with constant tendency of increasing. Transport section is one of the highest consumers of energy obtained from fossil fuels. It is absolutely clear that the reduction of energy consumption and the protection of environment - exhaust emission reduction, i. e. cleaner air, will be one of the main tasks of automotive industry in the first decades of the 21st century. In spite of its superiority over the petrol engine in respect of the fuel consumption, a diesel engine "suffers" from the increased exhaust emission, particles and NOx first of all and also from the noise and vibrations. The paper gives a review of fuel efficiency of conventional design tractors diesel engines in relation to new design. .

Guidelines for hand hygiene in hospital

OpenAIRE

Christina Sotnikova; Georgia Fasoi

2013-01-01

The appropriate compliance of rules regarding hand hygiene, have been and continue to be, one of the basic points of all prevention programs of nosocomial infections. Aim: The aim of the present study was the presentation of guidelines for hand hygiene by nurses. Method and material: Study of international and Greek literature from electronic databases Medline, PubMed and scientific journals, KEELPNO mainly from the last three years. The keywords used were: nosocomial infections, hand hygiene...

Human computer interaction using hand gestures

CERN Document Server

Premaratne, Prashan

2014-01-01

Human computer interaction (HCI) plays a vital role in bridging the 'Digital Divide', bringing people closer to consumer electronics control in the 'lounge'. Keyboards and mouse or remotes do alienate old and new generations alike from control interfaces. Hand Gesture Recognition systems bring hope of connecting people with machines in a natural way. This will lead to consumers being able to use their hands naturally to communicate with any electronic equipment in their 'lounge.' This monograph will include the state of the art hand gesture recognition approaches and how they evolved from their inception. The author would also detail his research in this area for the past 8 years and how the future might turn out to be using HCI. This monograph will serve as a valuable guide for researchers (who would endeavour into) in the world of HCI.

A statistical description of the types and severities of accidents involving tractor semi-trailers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauss, D.B.; Wilson, R.K.; Blower, D.F.; Campbell, K.L.

1994-06-01

This report provides a statistical description of the types and severities of tractor semi-trailer accidents involving at least one fatality. The data were developed for use in risk assessments of hazardous materials transportation. Several accident databases were reviewed to determine their suitability to the task. The TIFA (Trucks Involved in Fatal Accidents) database created at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute was extensively utilized. Supplementary data on collision and fire severity, which was not available in the TIFA database, were obtained by reviewing police reports for selected TIFA accidents. The results are described in terms of frequencies of different accident types and cumulative distribution functions for the peak contact velocity, rollover skid distance, fire temperature, fire size, fire separation, and fire duration

The Effects of the Tractor and Semitrailer Routing Problem on Mitigation of Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongqi Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The incorporation of CO2 emissions minimization in the vehicle routing problem (VRP is of critical importance to enterprise practice. Focusing on the tractor and semitrailer routing problem with full truckloads between any two terminals of the network, this paper proposes a mathematical programming model with the objective of minimizing CO2 emissions per ton-kilometer. A simulated annealing (SA algorithm is given to solve practical-scale problems. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, a lower bound is developed. Computational experiments on various problems generated randomly and a realistic instance are conducted. The results show that the proposed methods are effective and the algorithm can provide reasonable solutions within an acceptable computational time.

Operational performance of agricultural tractor in function of interior and metropolitano diesel mixture in mamona biodiesel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tabile, Rubens Andre [Universidade de Sao Paulo (EESC/USP), Sao Carlos, SP (Brazil). Escola de Engenharia; Lopes, Afonso; Toledo, Anderson de; Reis, Gustavo Naves dos; Silva, Rouverson Pereira da [Universidade Estadual Paulista (DER/UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Rural

2008-07-01

The great demand for energy sources by production systems allied to scarcity of fossil fuels has motivated the development and production of biodiesel, this is a fuel produced from renewable sources. Given that, the objective of this study was to compare the operating performance of an agricultural tractor, operating with interior and metropolitano diesel mixed to mamona biodiesel, in seven proportions. The tests were conducted in the Departamento de Engenharia Rural of UNESP/Jaboticabal - SP. The results showed that the kind of diesel did influence fuel consumption, and diesel metropolitano showed best quality. It was also observed that as biodiesel proportion increased, fuel consumption increased as well. (author)

Analisi delle vibrazioni su trattori agricoli in normali condizioni di lavoro e in condizioni predefinite - Vibration analysis on agricultural tractors in normal working conditions and in predetermined conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Peretti

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Commentata la diffusione dei trattori agricoli in Italia e svolta una rassegna degli effetti delle vibrazioni sui trattoristi, sono riportati i valori delle accelerazioni riscontrati nel nostro Paese, nonché i livelli di esposizione degli operatori. Individuati i parametri che determinano le vibrazioni, sono illustrati gli interventi in grado di contenerle. Sono inoltre riportati i risultati di una ricerca su tre trattori agricoli: i rilievi delle vibrazioni triassiali sul piano e sul basamento del sedile e le misure del rumore in prossimità di ambedue gli orecchi dell’operatore sono stati eseguiti durante l’aratura, l’erpicatura e la traslazione su strada sterrata e asfaltata, a diverse velocità di avanzamento e a differenti valori di pressione di gonfiaggio degli pneumatici. ------ After the assessment of the agricultural tractors fleet characteristics in Italy and a review of the effects of vibration on tractor drivers, the typical acceleration values and consequent operators’ exposure levels in carrying out agricultural operations are reported. Once having ascertained the parameters that produce the vibrations, the actions more suitable to reduce the risk factors are shown. The results of a series of comparative tests on three used tractors of different age are then reported: the levels of tri-axial vibrations on the seat cushion and base and of the noise at both operator’s ears were recorded during ploughing, harrowing and driving on farm and paved roads, at different speeds and varying the tyres inflation pressure.

Tractor-mounted, GPS-based spot fumigation system manages Prunus replant disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Udompetaikul

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Our research goal was to use recent advances in global positioning system (GPS and computer technology to apply just the right amount of fumigant where it is most needed (i.e., in a small target treatment zone in and around each tree replanting site to control Prunus replant disease (PRD. We developed and confirmed the function of (1 GPS-based software that can be used on cleared orchard land to flexibly plan and map all of an orchard's future tree sites and associated spot fumigation treatment zones and 2 a tractor-based GPS-controlled spot fumigation system to quickly and safely treat the targeted tree site treatment zones. In trials in two almond orchards and one peach orchard, our evaluations of the composite mapping and application system, which examined spatial accuracy of the spot treatments, delivery rate accuracy of the spot treatments, and tree growth responses to the spot treatments, all indicated that GPS spot fumigation has excellent potential to greatly reduce fumigant usage while adequately managing the PRD complex.

Smoke opacity in agricultural tractor in function of interior and metropolitano diesel mixture in mamona biodiesel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tabile, Rubens Andre [Universidade de Sao Paulo (EESC/USP), Sao Carlos, SP (Brazil). Escola de Engenharia; Lopes, Afonso; Camara, Felipe Thomas da; Grotta, Danilo Cesar Checchio; Furlani, Carlos Eduardo Angeli [Universidade Estadual Paulista (DER/UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Rural

2008-07-01

The great demand for energy sources by production systems allied to scarcity of fossil fuels has motivated the development and production of biodiesel, which is a fuel produced from renewable sources. Given that, the aim of this study was to compare smoke opacity of an agricultural tractor engine, working with metropolitano and interior diesel mixed to mamona biodiesel, in seven proportions. The tests were conducted in the Departamento de Engenharia Rural of UNESP/Jaboticabal - SP. The results showed that the diesel type did influence opacity of smoke, and metropolitano diesel showed best quality. It was also observed that, as biodiesel proportion increased, smoke opacity decreased until B75, turning to increase to B100. (author)

Healthcare personnel perceptions of hand hygiene monitoring technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellingson, Katherine; Polgreen, Philip M; Schneider, Amy; Shinkunas, Laura; Kaldjian, Lauris C; Wright, Donald; Thomas, Geb W; Segre, Alberto M; Herman, Ted; McDonald, L Clifford; Sinkowitz-Cochran, Ronda

2011-11-01

To assess healthcare personnel (HCP) perceptions regarding implementation of sensor-based electronic systems for automated hand hygiene adherence monitoring. Using a mixed-methods approach, structured focus groups were designed to elicit quantitative and qualitative responses on familiarity, comfort level, and perceived impact of sensor-based hand hygiene adherence monitoring. A university hospital, a Veterans Affairs hospital, and a community hospital in the Midwest. Focus groups were homogenous by HCP type, with separate groups held for leadership, midlevel management, and frontline personnel at each hospital. Overall, 89 HCP participated in 10 focus groups. Levels of familiarity and comfort with electronic oversight technology varied by HCP type; when compared with frontline HCP, those in leadership positions were significantly more familiar with ([Formula: see text]) and more comfortable with ([Formula: see text]) the technology. The most common concerns cited by participants across groups included lack of accuracy in the data produced, such as the inability of the technology to assess the situational context of hand hygiene opportunities, and the potential punitive use of data produced. Across groups, HCP had decreased tolerance for electronic collection of spatial-temporal data, describing such oversight as Big Brother. While substantial concerns were expressed by all types of HCP, participants' recommendations for effective implementation of electronic oversight technologies for hand hygiene monitoring included addressing accuracy issues before implementation and transparent communication with frontline HCP about the intended use of the data.

Balance de potencia del conjunto formado por el tractor New Holland 6610s y la sembradora v-20

OpenAIRE

Pedro R. Mayans-Céspedes; José R. Soca-Cabrera; Gilberto López Canteñs

2009-01-01

En el presente trabajo se reflejan los resultados de la prueba de tracción y potencia a la toma de fuerza de la sembradora V-204, formando conjunto con el tractor New Holland 6610s4. Para las pruebas se contó con los instrumentos, medios de medición e instalaciones del Centro Nacional de Estandarización de Maquinaria Agrícola, utilizándose la NMX "Método de evaluación de sembradoras y/o fertilizadoras de tracción mecánica con dosificador de disco" y la NC Máquinas agropecuarias y forestales, ...

Analysis of performance reliability of electrical and electronic equipment of car-tractor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kravchenko О.Р.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The analysis of the operational reliability of electrical and electronic equipment of vehicles, trucks Mercedes-Benz Actros 1844 LS and Volvo FH 1242, conducting international cargo transportation is performed. It is established that the equipment is reliable, which meets modern requirements, but where there is a violation of the resolution. The reason for repair work is constructive and operational factors. Distribution of efficiency and overall performance of operational reliability is retrieved. Items with more bounce are found. Common factors of violation of efficiency cars, trucks in operation, are largely different stages in warranty runs are obtained.

Using Polymer Semiconductors and a 3-in-1 Plastic Electronics STEM Education Kit to Engage Students in Hands-On Polymer Inquiry Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Enlow, Jessica L.; Marin, Dawn M.; Walter, Michael G.

2017-01-01

To improve polymer education for 9-12 and undergraduate students, a plastic electronics laboratory kit using polymer semiconductors has been developed. The three-module kit and curriculum use polymer semiconductors to provide hands-on inquiry activities with overlapping themes of electrical conductivity, light emission, and light-harvesting solar…

Analytical evaluation of the protection offered by sealed tractor cabins during crop pulverization with fenitrothion.

Science.gov (United States)

Barcellos, Michelle; Faletti, Milena Michele; Madureira, Luiz Augusto Dos Santos; Bauer, Fernando Cesar

2016-12-01

The practice of large-scale agriculture requires the use of pesticides in order to maximize production. This activity has gained increasing attention in recent years, especially from rural workers, due to the risks associated with long-term exposure to pesticides. To minimize these risks, personal protection equipment (e.g., covers, gloves, and goggles) and collective protection equipment (e.g., agricultural tractors with sealed cabins) have been developed. In general, these approaches are intended to reduce the contact of farmers and agricultural machinery operators with the more toxic and stable compounds, an example of which is fenitrothion. In this study, fenitrothion was used as a marker to evaluate the protection afforded inside a sealed tractor cabin. To simulate the pesticide exposure, tests were performed using artificial cotton targets as passive adsorptive agents inside the cabin during the pesticide application. Samples were extracted according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) procedure using ultrasonic extraction and as proposed by the Brazilian Standard for Solid Waste Classification (NBR 10004). The extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The chromatographic method was optimized using a factorial design. The combined results indicated that the best conditions were achieved using a mobile phase with a water/acetonitrile ratio of 35:65, a column temperature of 40 °C, and a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, with a total analysis time of <10 min. The method was evaluated in the linear range of 0.50 to 2.01 mg/kg, with a determination coefficient of 0.9886. The precision was evaluated on different days and the relative standard deviations were between 0.17 and 3.41 %. In relation to the accuracy, recovery values of 95 to 104 % were obtained. The detection and quantification limits were 0.18 and 0.50 mg/kg, respectively. None of the target cottons showed concentrations of

Prosthetic design directives: Low-cost hands within reach.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, G K; Rosendo, A; Stopforth, R

2017-07-01

Although three million people around the world suffer from the lack of one or both upper limbs 80% of this number is located within developing countries. While prosthetic prices soar with technology 3D printing and low cost electronics present a sensible solution for those that cannot afford expensive prosthetics. The electronic and control design of a low-cost prosthetic hand, the Touch Hand II, is discussed. This paper shows that sensorless techniques can be used to reduce design complexities, costs, and provide easier access to the electronics. A closing and opening finite state machine (COFSM) was developed to handle the actuated digit joint control state and a supervisory switching control scheme, used for speed and grip strength control. Three torque and speed settings were created to be preset for specific grasps. The hand was able to replicate ten frequently used grasps and grip some common objects. Future work is necessary to enable a user to control it with myoelectric signals (MESs) and to solve operational problems related to electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Evaluation of the biological methane potential of various feedstock for the production of biogas to supply agricultural tractors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matuszewska, Anna; Owczuk, Marlena; Zamojska-Jaroszewicz, Anna; Jakubiak-Lasocka, Joanna; Lasocki, Jakub; Orliński, Piotr

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Biochemical methane potential for mixtures of whey, manures and silages was tested. • High impact of feedstock type on composition and yield of biogas was observed. • Simple mathematical model of methanogenic fermentation was proposed. • Exhaust emissions from dual fuel (biogas and diesel oil) engine were investigated. • Using biogas in engine reduces particulate matter and nitrogen oxides emissions. - Abstract: This work is divided into three parts. The first one presents results of biological methane potential of agriculture raw materials available in Poland. In the second part the simple mathematical model of methanogenic fermentation is proposed. The data for this model were obtained from experimental digestion process of chosen mixtures. Last part includes the results of research of exhaust emissions generated by dual dual-fuel engine of agricultural tractor powered by mixture of model biogas (60% and 70% of methane) and diesel oil. The obtained results revealed that there was a significant difference in chemical composition and yield of biogas between considered feedstock types. The highest biogas and methane production was obtained for mixtures in ratio of 6:4 for swine manure/maize silage and whey/grass silage. Due to agriculture conditions in Poland and obtain results, the maize silage and swine manure were chosen to development of mathematical model of fermentation process. It showed a satisfactory match to the experimental results. Results of emission tests on dual-fuel tractor engine supplied with biogas and diesel oil showed the higher concentrations of hydrocarbons and carbon oxide and lower concentrations of particulate matter in exhaust gases. Level of emission of particular components depends on the biogas composition.

Introduction of an electronic monitoring system for monitoring compliance with Moments 1 and 4 of the WHO "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Vincent C C; Tai, Josepha W M; Ho, Sara K Y; Chan, Jasper F W; Hung, Kwan Ngai; Ho, Pak Leung; Yuen, Kwok Yung

2011-05-26

MedSense is an electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system that provides Infection Control Practitioners with continuous access to hand hygiene compliance information by monitoring Moments 1 and 4 of the WHO "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" guidelines. Unlike previous electronic monitoring systems, MedSense operates in open cubicles with multiple beds and does not disrupt existing workflows. This study was conducted in a 6-bed neurosurgical intensive care unit with technical development and evaluation phases. Healthcare workers (HCWs) wore an electronic device in the style of an identity badge to detect hand hygiene opportunities and compliance. We compared the compliance determined by the system and an infection control nurse. At the same time, the system assessed compliance by time of day, day of week, work shift, professional category of HCWs, and individual subject, while the workload of HCWs was monitored by measuring the amount of time they spent in patient zones. During the three-month evaluation phase, the system identified 13,694 hand hygiene opportunities from 17 nurses, 3 physiotherapists, and 1 healthcare assistant, resulting in an overall compliance of 35.1% for the unit. The per-indication compliance for Moment 1, 4, and simultaneous 1 and 4 were 21.3% (95%CI: 19.0, 23.6), 39.6% (95%CI: 37.3, 41.9), and 49.2% (95%CI: 46.6, 51.8), respectively, and were all statistically significantly different (p monitored concurrently by the system and infection control nurse, the compliance were 88.9% and 95.6% respectively (p = 0.34), and the activity indices were 11.1 and 12.9 opportunities per hour, respectively. The hours from 12:00 to 14:00 had a notably lower compliance (21.3%, 95%CI: 17.2, 25.3) than nearly three quarters of the other periods of the day (p < 0.001). Nurses who used shared badges had significantly (p < 0.01) lower compliance (23.7%, 95%CI: 17.8, 29.6) than both the registered nurses (36.1%, 95%CI: 34.2, 37.9) and nursing officers (34

Presentation of the Well Tractor Concept and practical experience in extreme conditions; Vorstellung des Well Tractor Konzepts mit Erfahrungen bei Einsaetzen unter Extrembedingungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kater, H.; Preiss, F. [Preussag Wireline- und Messservice, Edemissen (Germany)

1998-12-31

So-called extended reach boreholes with horizontal sections of more than 2000 m, short radius drilling, multilaterals and other variations are common enough. Problems occur when this type of borehole needs to be surveyed or modified. The contribution describes the newly developed ``Well Tracotor{sup circledR}`` technology and outlines its potential. (orig.) [Deutsch] Sogenannte Extended Reach Bohrungen mit Horizontalsektionen von mehr als 2.000 Meter Laenge, Short Radius Drilling, Multilaterals und andere Variationen sind bohrtechnisch einwandfrei durchfuehrbar und gehoeren zum gaengigen Repertoire der Bohrfirmen. Grosse Probleme entstehen jedoch wenn dieser Bohrungstyp vermessen, komplettiert oder aufgewaeltigt werden soll. Insbesondere Bohrlochmessfirmen haben es in den letzten ca. 20 Jahren versaeumt Innovationen zwecks oekonomischen Einsatzes ihrer Technologie in diesen Bohrungen bereitzustellen. Die Durchfuehrung von Perforationen und Bohrlochmessungen, das Setzen von Stopfen, Schneiden von Rohren und auch einfachste Slickline-Operationen sind bei einer Bohrlochneigung beginnend bei ca. 60 bis 80 nur unter Anwendung von kosten- und zeitintensiven Verfahren moeglich. Eine guenstige Alternative zu diesen Verfahren bietet der Well Tractor. Diese Technologie ermoeglicht das Einfahren von Geraeten, die ueblicherweise am Kabel oder Draht eingesetzt werden, in Horizontalbohrungen. Im Folgenden werden das technische Konzept, ein Vergleich mit alternativen Verfahren, und verschiedene Referenzen des Well Tracotors {sup trademark} dargestellt. Weiterhin wird auf die Modifikationen eingegangen, die noetig waren, um dieses Geraet den Gegebenheiten in tiefen, heissen Gasbohrungen anzupassen. Abschliessend soll durch einen Ausblick auf zum Teil schon im Feldtest befindliche Weiterentwicklungen das weitere Potential dieser Technologie aufgezeichnet werden. (orig.)

Desempenho de um trator em função do tipo de pneu, da lastragem e da velocidade de trabalho Performance of an tractor as a function of tire type, ballasting and forward speed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Afonso Lopes

2005-04-01

Full Text Available O trabalho comparou o desempenho de um trator agrícola 4x2 TDA de 89 kW (121cv em função do tipo de pneus (radial, diagonal e de baixa pressão, a condição de lastragem (com e sem água nos pneus e quatro velocidades [V1 (1,84km h-1, V2 (3,18km h-1, V3 (4,57km h-1, V4 (5,04km h-1]. O experimento foi realizado na UNESP-Jaboticabal-SP, em condição de preparo do solo com escarificador de sete hastes a 30cm de profundidade. Os pneus foram do tipo R1, com as seguintes características: [radial (dianteiros-14.9 R 26; traseiros-620/75 R 30 diagonal (dianteiros-14.9-26, traseiros-23.1-30 e BPAF (dianteiros-500/60-26.5; traseiros-700/55-34]. O delineamento experimental foi blocos casualizados, em esquema fatorial 3x2x4, com 24 tratamentos e três repetições. Os resultados evidenciaram vantagens para o trator equipado com pneus radiais.The objective of this study was to compare the performance of the FWD agricultural tractor, equipped with three types of tires (bias ply, radial and low pressure, with and without tire water ballasting, operating in four forward speed. The research was carried out at UNESP, SP, Brazil, with the tractor pulling a chisel plow. A tractor with 89kW (121cv engine power equipped with FWD, was used in the experiment, and the tires used had the following characteristics: radial (front: 14.9R26 and rear: 620/75R30, bias ply (front: 14.9-26 and rear: 23.1-30 and low pressure (front: 500/60-26.5 and rear: 700/55-34. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block, design (3x2x4, with 24 treatments and three replications. The results evidenced advantages for the tractor equipped with radial tires.

Truck Rollover Characterization for Class-8 Tractor-Trailers Utilizing Standard Dual Tires and New-Generation Single Tires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Capps, Gary [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). National Transportation Research Center; Knee, Bill [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). National Transportation Research Center; Franzese, Oscar [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). National Transportation Research Center; Pollock, Paul [Dana Corporation, Kalamazoo, MI (United States). Commercial Vehicle Systems Division; Coleman, Daniel [Dana Corporation, Kalamazoo, MI (United States). Commercial Vehicle Systems Division; Janajreh, Ibrahim [Michelin Americas Research and Development Corporation, Greenville, SC (United States); Haas, Steven [Michelin Americas Research and Development Corporation, Greenville, SC (United States); Frey, Norm [Michelin Americas Research and Development Corporation, Greenville, SC (United States); Law, Harry [Clemson Univ., SC (United States). Fluor Daniel Engineering Innovation Building; Johnson, Eric [Clemson Univ., SC (United States). Fluor Daniel Engineering Innovation Building; Lawson, Robert [Clemson Univ., SC (United States). Fluor Daniel Engineering Innovation Building; Petrolino, Joe [National Transportation Research Center, Inc., Knoxville, TN (United States); Rice, Dave [National Transportation Research Center, Inc., Knoxville, TN (United States)

2005-07-30

The Heavy Truck Rollover Characterization Project is a major research effort conducted by the National Transportation Research Center, Inc. (NTRCI) in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Dana Corporation (Dana), Michelin Americas Research and Development Corporation (Michelin) and Clemson University (Clemson), under the NTRCIs Heavy Vehicle Safety Research Center (HVSRC) for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). ORNL provided the day-to-day management of the project. The expertise mix of this team coupled with complementary research needs and interests, and a positive can-do attitude provided an extremely positive experimental research opportunity for all involved. Furthermore, this team supplied significant and valuable resources that provided a strong positive benchmark regarding the ability to conduct research within a public-private partnership. The work conducted by this team focused on initial efforts to generate data and information on heavy truck rollover not currently available in the industry. It reflects efforts within Phases 1 and 2 of a longer-term four-phase research program. A 1999 Peterbilt 379 class-8 tractor and 2004 Wabash dry freight van trailer were the test vehicles utilized in this effort. Both were instrumented with a number of sensors to capture the dynamics of the tractor and trailer as it engaged in various testing maneuvers that included: an evasive maneuver, swept sine, constant radius, and a run-off-the-road maneuver. The run-off-the-road maneuver was discontinued because the test track could not safety accommodate such a maneuver. These maneuvers were carried out utilizing both standard dual tires and new-generation dual tires in six test series. Two test series also included the use of a wider-slider suspension. Outriggers were placed on the test vehicle to assure that an actual rollover would not occur, however, the tests were designed to generate lift-off of tires during the tests. One of the main objectives

Circuit For Control Of Electromechanical Prosthetic Hand

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr.

1995-01-01

Proposed circuit for control of electromechanical prosthetic hand derives electrical control signals from shoulder movements. Updated, electronic version of prosthesis, that includes two hooklike fingers actuated via cables from shoulder harness. Circuit built around favored shoulder harness, provides more dexterous movement, without incurring complexity of computer-controlled "bionic" or hydraulically actuated devices. Additional harness and potentiometer connected to similar control circuit mounted on other shoulder. Used to control stepping motor rotating hand about prosthetic wrist to one of number of angles consistent with number of digital outputs. Finger-control signals developed by circuit connected to first shoulder harness transmitted to prosthetic hand via sliprings at prosthetic wrist joint.

Acidentes de trabalho envolvendo conjuntos tratorizados em propriedades rurais do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil Work accidents involving tractor-implement systems in farms of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrique Debiasi

2004-06-01

Full Text Available O presente trabalho teve como objetivo determinar as causas genéricas e específicas dos acidentes de trabalho envolvendo conjuntos tratorizados, no intuito de subsidiar a tomada de medidas mais efetivas de prevenção dos mesmos. A pesquisa foi executada em 21 municípios pertencentes a três microregiões geográficas do Rio Grande do Sul: Santa Maria, Restinga Seca e Cachoeira do Sul. Foram amostradas aleatoriamente 114 propriedades, dentro das quais 141 operadores foram entrevistados. Os acidentes analisados foram tanto aqueles ocorridos com o proprietário ou empregados da propriedade amostrada como aqueles ocorridos com operadores não pertencentes à propriedade, mas dos quais os entrevistados tinham conhecimento. 82% dos acidentes de trabalho envolvendo conjuntos tratorizados foram causados por atitudes inseguras e 18% por condições inseguras. As principais causas específicas de acidentes foram a operação do trator em condições para as quais não foi projetado, a perda de controle em aclives/declives, a permissão de carona e o consumo excessivo de álcool. Com base nestes resultados, pode-se concluir que as ações visando à prevenção dos acidentes de trabalho envolvendo conjuntos tratorizados devem dar ênfase à eliminação das causas específicas apuradas.The objective of this work was to determine generic and specific causes of work accidents involving tractor-implement systems, to help taking more effective prevetion measures. The research was carried out in twenty-one municipal districts belonging to three regions of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil: Santa Maria, Restinga Seca e Cachoeira do Sul. 114 farms were randomly sampled in these regions, in which 141 operators were evaluated. The accidents analyzed were both te ones that occurred with the owner or employees of the same farm and the ones that occured with operators not belonging that farm - but whose cases were known by the interwiees - 82% of the work accidents

Analisis dan Perancangan Aplikasi Pendukung Erp Sap R/3 Modul Sales and Distribution PT. United Tractors, Tbk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan Johan

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to analyse sales process having been implementing Sales and Distribution module of ERP SAP R/3 and also to design a supporting application for sales process at PT United Tractor, Tbk. The benefit of this application is to help sales person and customer in doing inquiries, quotation and sales order also material information through short message. The method of this research is data capturing, literature review, object oriented analysis and design and Rational Unified process including UML ( Unified Modeling Language for application design. Based on the problem, we designed a web based and sms gateway application to support Sales and Distribution module ERP SAP R/3 to help customer and sales person in doing sales transaction and information inquiry. 

Quantitative impact of direct, personal feedback on hand hygiene technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehotsky, Á; Szilágyi, L; Ferenci, T; Kovács, L; Pethes, R; Wéber, G; Haidegger, T

2015-09-01

This study investigated the effectiveness of targeting hand hygiene technique using a new training device that provides objective, personal and quantitative feedback. One hundred and thirty-six healthcare workers in three Hungarian hospitals participated in a repetitive hand hygiene technique assessment study. Ultraviolet (UV)-labelled hand rub was used at each event, and digital images of the hands were subsequently taken under UV light. Immediate objective visual feedback was given to participants, showing missed areas on their hands. The rate of inadequate hand rubbing reduced from 50% to 15% (P < 0.001). However, maintenance of this reduced rate is likely to require continuous use of the electronic equipment. Copyright © 2015 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural-Network Control Of Prosthetic And Robotic Hands

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, Theresa M.

1991-01-01

Electronic neural networks proposed for use in controlling robotic and prosthetic hands and exoskeletal or glovelike electromechanical devices aiding intact but nonfunctional hands. Specific to patient, who activates grasping motion by voice command, by mechanical switch, or by myoelectric impulse. Patient retains higher-level control, while lower-level control provided by neural network analogous to that of miniature brain. During training, patient teaches miniature brain to perform specialized, anthropomorphic movements unique to himself or herself.

Nudging to improve hand hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

Caris, M G; Labuschagne, H A; Dekker, M; Kramer, M H H; van Agtmael, M A; Vandenbroucke-Grauls, C M J E

2018-04-01

Hand hygiene is paramount to prevent healthcare-associated infections, but improving compliance is challenging. When healthcare workers seldom encounter healthcare-associated infections, they will consider the odds of causing infections through poor hand hygiene negligible. Cognitive biases such as these may induce non-compliance. Nudging, 'a friendly push to encourage desired behaviour', could provide an easily implemented, inexpensive measure to address cognitive biases and thus support hand hygiene interventions. To investigate whether behavioural nudges, displayed as posters, can increase the use of alcohol-based hand rub. We developed nudges based on a systematic review of previously described cognitive biases, and tested these through a cross-sectional survey among the target audience. We then conducted a controlled before-after trial on two hospital wards, to assess the effect of these nudges on the use of alcohol-based hand rub, measured with electronic dispensers. Poisson regression analyses adjusted for workload showed that nudges displayed next to dispensers increased their overall use on one ward [poster 1: relative risk: 1.6 (95% confidence interval: 1.2-2.2); poster 2: 1.7 (1.2-2.5)] and during doctor's rounds on both wards [poster 1: ward A: 1.7 (1.1-2.6); ward B: 2.2 (1.3-3.8)]. Use of dispensers without adjacent nudges did not increase. Nudges based on cognitive biases that play a role in hand hygiene, and displayed as posters, could provide an easy, inexpensive measure to increase use of alcohol-based hand rub. When applying nudges to change behaviour, it is important to identify the right nudge for the right audience. Copyright © 2017 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design, Fabrication and Performance Evaluation of an Inter-Row Cultivator for Sugarcane Fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuttana Khaehanchanpong

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The aims of this research were to design and fabricate an inter-row cultivator for mounting on a medium-sized tractor (25.3 or 37.3 kW for sugarcane fields, and to assess the performance of the cultivator when harvesting is conducted either by hand or with a sugarcane harvester. Moreover, this study was also designed to assess the performance of the cultivator in mixing sugarcane residues in the field. The inter-row cultivator has a working width of 80 cm, a rotor shaft speed of 500 rpm, and a total weight of 518 kg. The cultivator comprises 18 European C-type blades attached to three disk holder flanges arranged in a spiral formation. Two notch-cutting discs were mounted on the front to cut and press the sugarcane leaves before they were chopped and mixed by the inter-row cultivator. The working performance test was conducted for different thicknesses of trash blankets while using the inter-row cultivator mounted on 25.3 kW- and 37.3 kW-size tractors. The effective field capacity for trash incorporation of the inter-row cultivator was 0.30 ha·h−1 when trash was left through harvesting by hand. On the other hand, effective field capacity was 0.31 ha·h−1 when a sugarcane harvester was used. Moreover, the field efficiency exceeded 90% in all tested fields, with greater soil inversion. The results also showed that the fuel consumption of both tractors was higher when harvesting by hand compared with harvesting using a harvester.

Scanning Electron Microscopic Evaluation of Residual Smear Layer Following Preparation of Curved Root Canals Using Hand Instrumentation or Two Engine-Driven Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Khademi, Abbasali; Saatchi, Masoud; Shokouhi, Mohammad Mehdi; Baghaei, Badri

2015-01-01

In this experimental study, the amount of smear layer (SL) remnants in curved root canals after chemomechanical instrumentation with two engine-driven systems or hand instrumentation was evaluated. Forty-eight mesiobuccal roots of mandibular first molars with curvatures ranging between 25 and 35 degrees (according to Schneider's method) were divided into three groups (n=16) which were prepared by either the ProTaper Universal file series, Reciproc single file system or hand instrumentation. The canals were intermittently irrigated with 5.25% NaOCl and 17% (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) EDTA, followed by distilled water as the final rinse. The roots were split longitudinally and the apical third of the specimens were evaluated under 2500× magnification with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The mean scores of the SL were calculated and analyzed using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. The mean scores of the SL were 2.00±0.73, 1.94±0.68 and 1.44±0.63 µm for the ProTaper Universal, Reciproc and hand instrumentation, respectively. Mean score of SL was significantly less in the hand instrumentation group than the ProTaper (P=0.027) and Reciproc (P=0.035) groups. The difference between the two engine-driven systems, however, was not significant (P=0.803). The amount of smear layer in the apical third of curved root canals prepared with both engine-driven systems was similar and greater than the hand instrumentation technique. Complete cleanliness was not attained.

Wigner-like crystallization of Anderson-localized electron systems with low electron densities

CERN Document Server

Slutskin, A A; Pepper, M

2002-01-01

We consider an electron system under conditions of strong Anderson localization, taking into account interelectron long-range Coulomb repulsion. We establish that at sufficiently low electron densities and sufficiently low temperatures the Coulomb electron interaction brings about ordering of the Anderson-localized electrons into a structure that is close to an ideal (Wigner) crystal lattice, provided the dimension of the system is > 1. This Anderson-Wigner glass (AWG) is a new macroscopic electron state that, on the one hand, is beyond the conventional Fermi glass concept, and on the other hand, qualitatively differs from the known 'plain' Wigner glass (inherent in self-localized electron systems) in that the random slight electron displacements from the ideal crystal sites essentially depend on the electron density. With increasing electron density the AWG is found to turn into the plain Wigner glass or Fermi glass, depending on the width of the random spread of the electron levels. It is shown that the res...

Analyse van de blootstelling aan trillingen bij gebruik van landbouwtrekkers = Analysis of the exposure to whole-body and hand-arm vibrations using agricultural tractors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oude Vrielink, H.H.E.

2007-01-01

European and Dutch legislation define maximum values, i.e. action values and limit values, for whole-body vibration (WBV) and hand-arm vibration (HAV) to which employees may be exposed on a working day. The present research aimed to make an estimation of the daily exposure to WBV and HAV when using

Circuits and electronics hands-on learning with analog discovery

CERN Document Server

Okyere Attia, John

2018-01-01

The book provides instructions on building circuits on breadboards, connecting the Analog Discovery wires to the circuit under test, and making electrical measurements. Various measurement techniques are described and used in this book, including: impedance measurements, complex power measurements, frequency response measurements, power spectrum measurements, current versus voltage characteristic measurements of diodes, bipolar junction transistors, and Mosfets. The book includes end-of-chapter problems for additional exercises geared towards hands-on learning, experimentation, comparisons between measured results and those obtained from theoretical calculations.

Right-handed neutrinos and T-violating, P-conserving interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basem Kamal El-Menoufi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available We show that experimental probes of the P-conserving, T-violating triple correlation in polarized neutron or nuclear β-decay provide a unique probe of possible T-violation at the TeV scale in the presence of right-handed neutrinos. In contrast to other possible sources of semileptonic T-violation involving only left-handed neutrinos, those involving right-handed neutrinos are relatively unconstrained by present limits on the permanent electric dipole moments of the electron, neutral atoms, and the neutron. On the other hand, LHC results for pp→e+ missing transverse energy imply that an order of magnitude of improvement in D-coefficient sensitivity would be needed for discovery. Finally, we discuss the interplay with the scale of neutrino mass and naturalness considerations.

New technology markedly improves hand-hygiene performance among healthcare workers after restroom visits.

Science.gov (United States)

Møller-Sørensen, H; Korshin, A; Mogensen, T; Høiby, N

2016-04-01

The risks to patients from pathogens present on healthcare workers' (HCWs') hands are high; however, compliance with hand hygiene among HCWs is low. We devised a prospective intervention trial of a new hand-hygiene dispensing technology to improve HCWs' compliance with hand hygiene. Baseline hand-hygiene compliance was observed for three months before and after an intervention consisting of implementation of an electronic device that reminds people to comply with hand hygiene after restroom visits. Compliance in hand-hygiene performance after restroom visits increased among HCWs from 66% to 91% after the intervention. Copyright © 2016 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparative study of hand hygiene and alcohol-based hand rub use among Irish nursing and medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Kingston, Liz M; O'Connell, Nuala H; Dunne, Colum P

2018-04-01

In Ireland, the setting for this study, the national prevalence rate of health care-associated infection (HCAI) in acute-care facilities is 5.2%. Hand hygiene and in particular hand rubbing using alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) is highly efficacious in preventing HCAI transmission. Yet, compliance among healthcare professionals is sub-optimal. Less is known about the practices of nursing and medical students and no study comparing practices among these groups in Ireland was found. Hence, the aim of this study was to provide insight into the current hand hygiene and hand rubbing practices of nursing and medical students in Ireland and, by doing so, contribute to the broader understanding of this topic. This observational study employed a cross-sectional, self-reported design. An electronically administered questionnaire was sent to all nursing and medical students from one university. Data were analysed using appropriate software. The response rate was 37% (323/872). Higher compliance with the World Health Organisation 'my five moments for hand hygiene' model was reported among nursing students (NS) than medical students (MS), with scope for improvement in both disciplines identified. Hand hygiene compliance was highest after body fluid exposure (99.5% NS, 91% MS) and lowest after touching a patient's surroundings (61.5% NS, 57.5% MS). Attitudes towards hand rubbing were largely positive in both disciplines. 16% of NS were not aware of the clinical contraindications to ABHR use, compared to 45% of MS. 9% of NS did not know when to use soap and water and when to use ABHR, compared to 36% of MS. In contrast, more medical students (46%) than nursing students (22%) were routinely using alcohol-based hand rub for decontamination of hands as recommended. Results suggest scope to review current hand hygiene curricula focusing on the knowledge gaps, the practice deficits and the barriers to ABHR usage identified. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of Liquefied Biomethane (LBM) as a Vehicle Fuel for Road Freight Transportation : A Case Study Evaluating Environmental Performance of Using LBM for Operation of Tractor Trailers

OpenAIRE

Shanmugam, Kavitha; Tysklind, Mats; Upadhyayula, Venkata K.K.

2018-01-01

The environmental performance of Liquefied Biomethane (LBM) and Diesel operated Tractor Trailer (TT) is compared using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study. In this study we consider, raw biogas produced from an anaerobic digestion process of a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Umea, Sweden, which is then upgraded and liquefied to LBM and used as a fuel for TTs. Currently, the WWTP in Umea is utilizing biogas, produced onsite for cogeneration of heat and electricity, thereby meeting its e...

Energy consumption of an agricultural an agricultural tractor operating in dynamometer using with diesel and chicken oil biodiesel; Consumo energetico de um trator agricola operando em bancada dinamometrica com oleo diesel e biodiesel de oleo de frango

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fiorese, Diego Augusto [Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (FCA/UNESP), Botucatu, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Ciencias Agronomicas. Dept. de Engenharia Rural], email: dafiorese@yahoo.com.br; Dallmeyer, Arno Udo; Romano, Leonardo Nabaes; Schlosser, Jose Fernando [Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), RS (Brazil)

2011-07-01

The efficiency of energy use in agricultural machinery is dependent on the efficiency of internal combustion diesel cycle, their genuine propellants. However, some biofuels may offer a better yield due to some peculiar characteristics such distinctions in calorific value. Many studies have demonstrated a better utilization of the energy content when operating with biodiesel and with binary mixtures with diesel oil. In this study, tests were conducted on a dynamometer bench to evaluate the energy consumption of a tractor engine with four cylinders and 53 kW (72 hp), operating with biodiesel and chicken oil mixture with diesel oil. In the tests were evaluated six ratios (B5, B20, B40, B60, B80 and B100). The results showed that increasing the proportion of biodiesel was favorable to improve the utilization of the energy content, thus increasing the thermal efficiency of the engine. The best result was obtained with pure biodiesel (B100) with consumption of 395.47 MJ.h{sup -1}and efficiency of 32.35%. On the other hand the witness had the lowest use B5 with 428.20 MJ.h{sup -1} and thermal efficiency of 30.67%. (author)

Influência da altura das garras dos pneus de um trator em área de plantio direto Influence of tractor tire lug height in an área with no tillage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Gabriel Filho

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Desenvolveu-se este trabalho com o objetivo de se avaliar os parâmetros de desempenho de um trator agrícola equipado com um conjunto de pneus diagonais com garras altas (pneu novo e outro conjunto de pneus diagonais de mesma dimensão, com garras mais baixas, em solo com cobertura vegetal (palha de milho. Utilizaram-se as velocidades teóricas de 4, 5, 6 e 7 km h-1, informadas no painel do trator, uma força de tração constante de 25 kN, e se mediram a força de tração, a velocidade de deslocamento, a patinagem dos rodados, o consumo horário e específico de combustível; enfim, foram calculadas a potência disponível na barra de tração e a razão entre o consumo horário e o consumo específico de combustível com a potência e o coeficiente de tração. Concluiu-se que, em solo com cobertura vegetal palha de milho, esses parâmetros de desempenho do trator foram semelhantes para ambas as alturas de garra dos pneus.This work was carried out to evaluate the performance of a farm tractor fitted with two sets of tires with high lugs and another set of tires with tallow lugs in straw without tillage (corn straw. The travel speeds used were approximately 4, 5, 6 and 7 km h-1 and a constant pulling force of 25 kN was fixed. Tractor traction, forward speed, slip and consumption of fuel were measured and drawbar power, the ratio between the consumption and power and traction coefficient were calculated. It was observed that the tractor performance was similar to high and low lug tire conditions, in an area covered with corn straw.

Accession strategy to hand hygiene by healthcare professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danielle Galdino de Paula

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective: Healthcare-associated infections are serious health threat to hospitalized patients and contribute to increased mortality and morbidity. Hand hygiene is the simplest individual measure and lower cost in order to prevent the spread of infections in health care services. The study seeks to analyze the publications related to the strategies used to improve adherence of health professionals to hand hygiene in hospital. Contents: Integrative literature review. The descriptors were used in isolation and the associated descriptor AND;OR, by the following inclusion criteria: work full text of Article kind, published in the period 2008-2015, in Portuguese and English and used the electronic databases MEDLINE , LILACS and SCIELO. The analysis determined eleven strategies most used to improve adherence to hand hygiene in hospital. Conclusion: The availability of better resources and the use of a single strategy sometimes was not enough to increase membership, and often necessary to apply various strategies together with health professionals. KEYWORDS: Cross infection. Hand hygiene. Health personnel.

Smoke opacity of agricultural tractor using biodiesel in function of weather conditions in the time of testing; Opacidade da fumaca de trator agricola utilizando biodiesel em funcao das condicoes climaticas no horario de execucao do ensaio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, Afonso; Camara, Felipe T. da; Oliveira, Melina Cais Jejcic de; Furlani, Carlos E.A.; Silva, Rouverson Pereira da; Mello Junior, Jose G.S. [Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCAV/UNESP), SP (Brazil). Fac. de Ciencias Agrarias e Veterinarias. Dept. de Engenharia Rural], E-mail: afonso@fcav.unesp.br

2009-07-01

The biodiesel highlights as an alternative fuel to petroleum diesel, due its similar diesel properties, allowing the biodiesel replace the diesel without engine's alterations. The present work aimed measure the tractor's smoke opacity running with biodiesel in three proportions (B0, B50, and B100), in function of environment temperature and moisture in eight times (1h, 4h, 7h, 10h, 13h, 16h, 19h, and 22h). The experiment was conducted in the Rural Engineering Department of UNESP, Jaboticabal, Brazil, it was used a Valtra BM100 4x2 TDA (74kW - 100 cv) tractor, in the engine at 2350 rpm, and a soybean's distillated ethylic Biodiesel produced by USP - Laboratory of Development of Clean Technologies, in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. The results evidence smoke opacity reduction in order to environment temperature reduction and when increased the moisture. (author)

Performance Comparison Between FEDERICA Hand and LARM Hand

OpenAIRE

Carbone, Giuseppe; Rossi, Cesare; Savino, Sergio

2015-01-01

This paper describes two robotic hands that have been\\ud developed at University Federico II of Naples and at the\\ud University of Cassino. FEDERICA Hand and LARM Hand\\ud are described in terms of design and operational features.\\ud In particular, careful attention is paid to the differences\\ud between the above-mentioned hands in terms of transmission\\ud systems. FEDERICA Hand uses tendons and pulleys\\ud to drive phalanxes, while LARM Hand uses cross four-bar\\ud linkages. Results of experime...

Wigner-like crystallization of Anderson-localized electron systems with low electron densities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slutskin, A.A.; Kovtun, H.A.; Pepper, M.

2002-01-01

We consider an electron system under conditions of strong Anderson localization, taking into account interelectron long-range Coulomb repulsion. We establish that at sufficiently low electron densities and sufficiently low temperatures the Coulomb electron interaction brings about ordering of the Anderson-localized electrons into a structure that is close to an ideal (Wigner) crystal lattice, provided the dimension of the system is > 1. This Anderson-Wigner glass (AWG) is a new macroscopic electron state that, on the one hand, is beyond the conventional Fermi glass concept, and on the other hand, qualitatively differs from the known 'plain' Wigner glass (inherent in self-localized electron systems) in that the random slight electron displacements from the ideal crystal sites essentially depend on the electron density. With increasing electron density the AWG is found to turn into the plain Wigner glass or Fermi glass, depending on the width of the random spread of the electron levels. It is shown that the residual disorder of the AWG is characterized by a multi-valley ground-state degeneracy akin to that in a spin glass. Some general features of the AWG are discussed, and a new conduction mechanism of a creep type is predicted

Back to basics: hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Spruce, Lisa

2013-11-01

Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant issue in the United States and throughout the world, but following proper hand hygiene practices is the most effective and least expensive way to prevent HAIs. Hand hygiene is inexpensive and protects patients and health care personnel alike. The four general types of hand hygiene that should be performed in the perioperative environment are washing hands that are visibly soiled, hand hygiene using alcohol-based products, surgical hand scrubs, and surgical hand scrubs using an alcohol-based surgical hand rub product. Barriers to proper hand hygiene may include not thinking about it, forgetting, skin irritation, a lack of role models, or a lack of a safety culture. One strategy for improving hand hygiene practices is monitoring hand hygiene as part of a quality improvement project, but the most important aspect for perioperative team members is to set an example for other team members by following proper hand hygiene practices and reminding each other to perform hand hygiene. Copyright © 2013 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of an electronic hand hygiene monitoring system on healthcare workers' compliance to guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Al Salman, J M; Hani, S; de Marcellis-Warin, N; Isa, Sister Fatima

2015-01-01

Hand hygiene is a growing concern among populations and is a crucial element in ensuring patient safety in a healthcare environment. Numerous management efforts have been conducted in that regard, including education, awareness and observations. To better evaluate the possible impact of technology on a healthcare setting, we observed the impact of a particular niche technology developed as an answer to the growing hand hygiene concerns. A study was conducted at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in Bahrain on a total of 16 Coronary Care Unit (CCU) beds where the system was installed, and the hand hygiene activity of healthcare workers (HCWs) in this area was monitored for a total period of 28 days. Comments, remarks and suggestions were noted, and improvements were made to the technology during the course of the trial. While resistance to change was significant, overall results were satisfactory. Compliance with hand hygiene techniques went from 38-42% to 60% at the beginning of the trial and then increased to an average of 75% at the end of the 28-day trial. In some cases, compliance peaked at 85% or even at 100%. Our case study demonstrates that technology can be used effectively in promoting and improving hand hygiene compliance in hospitals, which is one way to prevent cross-infections, especially in critical care areas. Copyright © 2014 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

comparative effects of screw press for honey

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-03-01

Mar 1, 2013 ... container for two to three days after which the waxes are skimmed off while the ... of screen wire using hands to turn the end(s) of the .... Processing Systems. Ellis Horwood ... J.C. optimum stock control model for farm tractor.

Stiff Hands

Science.gov (United States)

... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Stiff Hands Email to a friend * required fields ...

Hand Infections

Science.gov (United States)

... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Hand Infections Email to a friend * required fields ...

Security enhancement of hand geometry scanners using optical blood flow detection

Science.gov (United States)

Crihalmeanu, Musat C.; Jerabek, Mark A.; Meehan, Kathleen

2004-08-01

In today's security conscious society the efficiency of biometric systems has an increasing tendency to replace the classic but less effective keys and passwords. Hand geometry readers are popular biometrics used for acces control and time and attendance applications. One of their weaknesses is vulnerability to spoofing using fake hands (latex, play-doh or dead-hands). The object of this paper is to design a feature to be added to the hand geometry scanner in order to detect vitality in the hand, reducing the possibilities for spoofing. This paper demonstrates how the hand reader was successfully spoofed and shows the implementation of the vitality detection feature through an inexpensive but efficient electronic design. The method used for detection is photo-plethysmography. The Reflectance Sensor built is of original conception. After amplifying, filtering and processing the sensor's signal, a message is shown via an LCD display, concerning the liveness of the hand and the pulse rate.

Research of Consumption of Biodiesel in Different Working Operations in the System of Precision Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marek Angelovič

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of study was to research the consumption of biodiesel in various working operations of the tractor John Deere 8230 with trailer and plow under field conditions. Biodiesel was made from agricultural crop of oilseed rape according to etherification. Experimental measurements were made on land of the Slovak University of Agriculture, in Kolíňany, Slovakia. The metering device was used EDMeco recorder and an electronic flow meter of the actual consumption of biodiesel. The measuring system was installed in the fuel system John Deere tractor, the 8230. On the base of the obtained results we can conclude that at the transportation of the tractor with trailer Mega 20 was the average hourly consumption of 15.43 liters of biodiesel. At the plowing with set of tractor and rotating 7-mouldboard plow Ostroj Opava, the average hourly consumption was of 33.93 liters of biodiesel.

PROBLEMS OF MANAGEMENT PROCESSES OF MODERNIZATION OF DOMESTIC FARM EQUIPMENT IN A VIEW OF AVAILABLE FINANCIAL SOURCES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldemar BOJAR

2010-10-01

Full Text Available In the paper analysis of technical equipment modernization process of selected farms in Kujawy Pomorze Province was made with questionnaire method. Not sufficient investment funds cause that farmers first of all buy worn equipment because of lower prices. They pay for cheaper machinery mostly with own funds while combines and tractors disburse partly from bank credits and/or loans and also the EU support. Introduction VAT from second hand machinery purchase after the accession markedly stops dynamism of equipment buying. In opinion o farmers advantage from second hand equipment getting are lower exploitation costs and also technological progress agreed with trends for simplification, specialization and concentration of farming. This is appeared in purchasing tractors of higher power and universal machinery of higher capacity and quality. Farmers decisions are rational because they consider both economical situation of their farms and increasing requirements of receivers of food raw materials.

Distribution of MCA-coated grits in maize fields after high wheel tractor application for disrupting orientation of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte.

Science.gov (United States)

Wennemann, Ludger; Hummel, Hans E

2002-01-01

High wheel tractor applications of 4-methoxycinnamaldehyde (MCA)-coated corn granules ('grits') were conducted in Ruski Krstur (Serbia) in summer 2001 in a 5 ha corn field. Grits are a by-product after corn is harvested and separated from the cob and used as a carrier medium to disseminate MCA into the corn field. MCA is a kairomone mimic derived form Cucurbita maxima (Duchesne) used to disrupt orientation of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte towards different MCA and pheromone baited traps. The ultimate goal is to investigate the use of MCA as a mating disruptant. MCA was dissolved in an organic solvent and mixed in a cement machine with the grits. Grits were applied at rates of 17.39, 17.1 and 12.45 kg/ha on July 4th, July 19th and August 3rd. Before the impact of MCA as a disruptant can be addressed, the distribution patterns of MCA coated grits have to be thoroughly investigated. They were evaluated by counting girts deposited in 16 or 20 plastic dishes of 30-cm diameter positioned along 2 rows through the field directly after the grit application by tractor. Additionally, grits deposited on corn plant surface such as leaves, leaf axils and corn cobs were counted. Total number of grits collected in plastic dishes revealed even application rates at the first and second application but not on the third application date. Number of grits collected on plant surfaces were significantly different from each other regarding each application date. Altogether, grit distribution in the dishes as well as on the plant surface was variable. However, distribution patterns achieved so far hold promise to disseminate MCA coated grits into corn fields for orientation disruption or mating disruption of D. virgifera virgifera.

Left-Handed W bosons at the LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, Lance

2011-01-01

The production of W bosons in association with jets is an important background to new physics at the LHC. Events in which the W carries large transverse momentum and decays leptonically lead to large missing energy and are of particular importance. We show that the left-handed nature of the W coupling, combined with valence quark domination at a pp machine, leads to a large left-handed polarization for both W + and W - bosons at large transverse momenta. The polarization fractions are very stable with respect to QCD corrections. The leptonic decay of the W +- bosons translates the common left-handed polarization into a strong asymmetry in transverse momentum distributions between positrons and electrons, and between neutrinos and anti-neutrinos (missing transverse energy). Such asymmetries may provide an effective experimental handle on separating W +jets from top quark production, which exhibits very little asymmetry due to C invariance, and from various types of new physics.

Left-Handed W bosons at the LHC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bern, Z.; /UCLA; Diana, G.; /Saclay, SPhT; Dixon, L.J.; /CERN /SLAC; Cordero, F.Febres; /Simon Bolivar U.; Forde, D.; /Simon Bolivar U. /NIKHEF, Amsterdam; Gleisberg, T.; Hoeche, S.; /SLAC; Ita, H.; /UCLA; Kosower, D.A.; /Saclay, SPhT; Maitre, D.; /CERN /Durham U.; Ozeren, K.; /UCLA

2011-05-20

The production of W bosons in association with jets is an important background to new physics at the LHC. Events in which the W carries large transverse momentum and decays leptonically lead to large missing energy and are of particular importance. We show that the left-handed nature of the W coupling, combined with valence quark domination at a pp machine, leads to a large left-handed polarization for both W{sup +} and W{sup -} bosons at large transverse momenta. The polarization fractions are very stable with respect to QCD corrections. The leptonic decay of the W{sup +-} bosons translates the common left-handed polarization into a strong asymmetry in transverse momentum distributions between positrons and electrons, and between neutrinos and anti-neutrinos (missing transverse energy). Such asymmetries may provide an effective experimental handle on separating W +jets from top quark production, which exhibits very little asymmetry due to C invariance, and from various types of new physics.

Survey of attitudes and practices of Irish nursing students towards hand hygiene, including handrubbing with alcohol-based hand rub.

Science.gov (United States)

Kingston, Liz M; O'Connell, Nuala H; Dunne, Colum P

2017-05-01

Hand hygiene is widely recognised as the most important measure a healthcare worker can take in preventing the spread of healthcare associated infections. As a member of the healthcare team, nursing students have direct patient contact during clinical practice; hence, good hand hygiene practice among nursing students is essential. Low to moderate levels of hand hygiene knowledge and poor attitudes and practices are reported among nursing students. However, less is known about their attitudes and practices of handrubbing with ABHR, even though handrubbing is the recommended optimum practice in most situations. The aim of this study was to explore attitudes and practices of hand hygiene, in particular handrubbing with alcohol-based hand rub, among nursing students in Ireland. This survey employed a descriptive, self-report design using a questionnaire to gather data. It was administered electronically to all undergraduate nursing students (n=342) in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Limerick, Ireland in March and April 2015. Response rate was 66%. Attitudes towards hand hygiene were generally positive. Compliance with hand hygiene after contact with body fluid was high (99.5%) and before a clean or aseptic procedure (98.5%). However, suboptimal practices emerged, before touching a patient (85%), after touching a patient (87%) and after touching patients' surroundings (61%), with first year students more compliant than fourth year students. 16% of students were not aware of the clinical contraindications for using alcohol-based hand rub and 9% did not know when to use soap and water and when to use alcohol-based hand rub. Educators and practitioners play an important role in ensuring that nursing students develop appropriate attitudes towards hand hygiene and engage in optimal handrubbing practices. Raising awareness among nursing students of their responsibility in preventing the occurrence and reducing the transmission of HCAI as an on

Enhanced fuel efficiency on tractor-trailers using synthetic jet-based active flow control

Science.gov (United States)

Amitay, Michael; Menicovich, David; Gallardo, Daniele

2016-04-01

The application of piezo-electrically-driven synthetic-jet-based active flow control to reduce drag on tractor-trailers was explored experimentally in wind tunnel testing as well as full-scale road tests. Aerodynamic drag accounts for more than 50% of the usable energy at highway speeds, a problem that applies primarily to trailer trucks. Therefore, a reduction in aerodynamic drag results in large saving of fuel and reduction in CO2 emissions. The active flow control technique that is being used relies on a modular system comprised of distributed, small, highly efficient actuators. These actuators, called synthetic jets, are jets that are synthesized at the edge of an orifice by a periodic motion of a piezoelectric diaphragm(s) mounted on one (or more) walls of a sealed cavity. The synthetic jet is zero net mass flux (ZNMF), but it allows momentum transfer to flow. It is typically driven near diaphragm and/or cavity resonance, and therefore, small electric input [O(10W)] is required. Another advantage of this actuator is that no plumbing is required. The system doesn't require changes to the body of the truck, can be easily reconfigured to various types of vehicles, and consumes small amounts of electrical power from the existing electrical system of the truck. Preliminary wind tunnel results showed up to 18% reduction in fuel consumption, whereas road tests also showed very promising results.

Prioridades de requisitos para projeto de postos de operação de tratores quanto à ergonomia e segurança Requirement priorities for the design of tractor workplaces related to ergonomics and safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Machado dos Santos

2008-07-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar as prioridades de requisitos de projeto, de postos de operação de tratores agrícolas do mercado nacional brasileiro, conforme as normas de ergonomia e segurança. Compuseram a amostragem os tratores agrícolas de pneus de borracha novos, com bitola externa superior a 1.150 mm, sem quaisquer alterações em suas características originais por parte do fabricante ou revendedor, em comercialização em território nacional, quanto à disposição interna dos comandos de operação, aos assentos e aos acessos dos postos de operação. Como análise comparativa dos requisitos dos clientes destas máquinas e, conseqüentemente, a hierarquização dos requisitos necessários ao projeto de postos de operação, que são atendidos pelos fabricantes de tratores agrícolas, foram utilizadas as ferramentas para o desenvolvimento de projetos diagrama de Mudge e a primeira matriz do "quality function deployment", respectivamente. As marcas de tratores agrícolas nacionais apresentam a mesma prioridade quanto ao atendimento aos requisitos de projeto de ergonomia e segurança em postos de operação. O assento representa a prioridade de maior ordem, seguido dos comandos e, em última posição, os acessos.The objective of this work was to characterize the requirement priorities for workplace design of agricultural tractors of the national market, as per standards of ergonomics and safety. The patterns were composed by agricultural new tractors rubber tires, with minimum gauge of 1,150 mm, without any alterations in their original characteristics on the part of the manufacturer or reselling, in commercialization in national territory, related to the internal disposition of the operation commands, to the seats and to the accesses of the workplaces. As comparative analysis of the customer requirements for of these machines and, consequently, the hierarchization of the necessary requirements for the project of workplaces

Versatile Strip Seed Drill: A 2-Wheel Tractor-Based Option for Smallholders to Implement Conservation Agriculture in Asia and Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Enamul Haque

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Smallholders in Asia and Africa require low-cost seed drills for minimal soil disturbance while establishing various crops. A seed drill that can be drawn by the widely-available two-wheel tractor (2WT is an attractive option for mechanization of no-till in small-sized fields. The Versatile Strip Seed Drill (VSSD was designed with the capacity to make up to 40 mm wide and 60 mm deep strips in untilled land along with seed and basal fertilizer application in a single-pass operation, while powered by the 8.95 to 11.93 kW 2WT. An important innovation of the VSSD was to fit the seed box with both fluted roller-type seed meters for delivery of sufficient small-size seeds to achieve adequate plant density per unit row length; and vertical disk-type seed meters for precision and spaced row planting of larger seeds. Both incessant seed dropping by fluted roller seed meters and spaced planting by vertical disk type seed meters provided optimum plant populations that were generally higher than in conventional, full-tillage plots with the same rate of hand broadcasted seed and fertilizers. Time required for crop establishment by VSSD ranged from 0.13 to 0.18 ha·h−1. When the VSSD was attached to the 2WT for crop establishment, the diesel fuel consumption varied from 4.4 to 6.1 L·ha−1, which was lower than for most 2WT-based planters previously used in Bangladesh. In on-farm multi-locations trials, wheat crops established with the VSSD had statistically similar grain yield compared to conventional tillage; however, significantly higher grain yield was obtained from mustard and lentil, by 14% and 19%, respectively. The VSSD is a unique, minimum-soil-disturbance multi-crop planter, and can be a platform on which to build conservation agriculture systems for small farms in Asia and Africa.

EthoHand: A dexterous robotic hand with ball-joint thumb enables complex in-hand object manipulation

OpenAIRE

Konnaris, C; Gavriel, C; Thomik, AAC; Aldo Faisal, A

2016-01-01

Our dexterous hand is a fundmanetal human feature that distinguishes us from other animals by enabling us to go beyond grasping to support sophisticated in-hand object manipulation. Our aim was the design of a dexterous anthropomorphic robotic hand that matches the human hand's 24 degrees of freedom, under-actuated by seven motors. With the ability to replicate human hand movements in a naturalistic manner including in-hand object manipulation. Therefore, we focused on the development of a no...

Hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klokker, Louise; Terwee, Caroline B; Wæhrens, Eva Ejlersen

2016-01-01

as well as those items from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF) item bank that are relevant to patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Selection will be based on consensus among reviewers. Content validity of selected items will be established......INTRODUCTION: There is no consensus about what constitutes the most appropriate patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) instrument for measuring physical function in patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Existing instruments lack psychometric testing and vary in feasibility...... and their psychometric qualities. We aim to develop a PROM instrument to assess hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will perform a systematic search to identify existing PROMs to rheumatic hand conditions, and select items relevant for hand-related physical function...

Hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klokker, Louise; Terwee, Caroline; Wæhrens, Eva Elisabet Ejlersen

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION: There is no consensus about what constitutes the most appropriate patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) instrument for measuring physical function in patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Existing instruments lack psychometric testing and vary in feasibility...... and their psychometric qualities. We aim to develop a PROM instrument to assess hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will perform a systematic search to identify existing PROMs to rheumatic hand conditions, and select items relevant for hand-related physical function...... as well as those items from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF) item bank that are relevant to patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Selection will be based on consensus among reviewers. Content validity of selected items will be established...

Tractor perfomance as a function of speed and seeder’s tire inflation pressure Desempenho de trator em função da velocidade e da pressão de inflação dos pneus da semeadora

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Eduardo Angeli Furlani

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The performance of agricultural tractors under field conditions results from the interaction between tire and wheel affected by displacement speed. This work was developed to assess the performance of an agricultural tractor under different seeder's tire inflation pressure (518; 483 and 414kPa and in two different gears providing speeds of 3.0 and 6.0km h-1. The experiment was performed at Jaboticabal Campus of São Paulo State University (UNESP. The experimental design used was entirely randomized in a 2-factor factorial design (3x2 with four replications. The draft force was influenced by the gear as well as by the required power; however, tire inflation pressure in the seeder did not change these parameters. Also, fuel consumption was influenced only by the tractor gear. Energy consumption was greater as speed increased, caused by gear shifting. The displacement speed was greater for the 518kPa pressure due to a lesser slippage in the seeder under this pressure. Tractor slippage did not change.O desempenho de tratores agrícolas em condições de campo resulta da interação entre pneu e rodado, influenciado pela velocidade de deslocamento. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho de um trator agrícola sob diferentes pressões de inflação dos pneus da semeadora (518, 483, and 414kPa e em duas marchas que proporcionaram velocidades de 3,0 e 6,0km h-1. O experimento foi realizado no campus de Jaboticabal da Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi fatorial inteiramente casualizado (3x2, com quatro repetições. A força de tração foi influenciada pela marcha e pela potência exigida; no entanto, a pressão de inflação do pneu da semeadora não alterou esses parâmetros. Além disso, o consumo de combustível foi influenciado apenas pela marcha do trator. O consumo de energia foi maior com o aumento da velocidade, ocasionada pela mudança de marcha. A velocidade de deslocamento foi maior

Interventions to improve patient hand hygiene: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Srigley, J A; Furness, C D; Gardam, M

2016-09-01

Nosocomial pathogens may be acquired by patients via their own unclean hands, but there has been relatively little emphasis on patient hand hygiene as a tool for preventing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). The aim of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of patient hand hygiene interventions in reducing HCAIs and improving patient hand hygiene rates compared to usual care. Electronic databases and grey literature were searched to August 2014. Experimental and quasi-experimental studies were included if they evaluated a patient hand hygiene intervention conducted in an acute or chronic healthcare facility and included HCAI incidence and/or patient hand hygiene rates as an outcome. All steps were performed independently by two investigators. Ten studies were included, most of which were uncontrolled before-after studies (N=8). The majority of interventions (N=7) were multi-modal, with components similar to healthcare worker hand hygiene programmes, including education, reminders, audit and feedback, and provision of hand hygiene products. Six studies reported HCAI outcomes and four studies assessed patient hand hygiene rates; all demonstrated improvements but were at moderate to high risk of bias. In conclusion, interventions to improve patient hand hygiene may reduce the incidence of HCAIs and improve hand hygiene rates, but the quality of evidence is low. Future studies should use stronger designs and be more selective in their choice of outcomes. Copyright © 2016 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biodiesel of palm oil in tractor agricultural: opacity of smoke in the light of storage time; Biodiesel de dende em trator agricola: opacidade da fumaca em funcao do tempo de armazenamento

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lima, Leomar P. [Instituto Federal do Triangulo Mineiro (IFTM), Uberlandia, MG (Brazil)], email: leomaragro@yahoo.com.br; Lopes, Afonso; Oliveira, Melina C.J. [Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (FCAV/UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Ciencias Agrarias e Veterinarias. Dept. de Engenharia Rural; Camara, Felipe T. [Universidade Federal do Ceara (UFC), Cariri, CE (Brazil)

2011-07-01

The scenario of atmospheric emissions world characterized-if, in recent years, due to a series of technical factors, economic and political, by the need to reduce the consumption of petroleum. The objective of this work was to evaluate the opacity of smoke of a motor of a tractor agricultural operating with biodiesel of palm oil with different periods of storage. The experiment was conducted in the Laboratory of machinery and agricultural mechanization of Rural Engineering Department of UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP. In this study,-if a tractor Valtra BM 110 4x2 TDA 73,6 kW (100 cv) in engine 2.350 rpm. The experimental design was completely randomized, in factorial scheme 5x3, with 3 repetitions. The combinations of factors were five proportions of mixing biodiesel for diesel (B0, B5, B25, B 50 and B100, that the number indicates the percentage of biodiesel for diesel) and three storage times in condition environment (0, 3 and 6 months). The results showed that in relation to B0, when used biodiesel in the proportion of B100, the opacity of smoke reduced in 50.4% and the time of storage of biodiesel not committed the opacity of smoke from combustion of the engine. (author)

Characterization of a high performance ultra-thin heat pipe cooling module for mobile hand held electronic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Ahamed, Mohammad Shahed; Saito, Yuji; Mashiko, Koichi; Mochizuki, Masataka

2017-11-01

In recent years, heat pipes have been widely used in various hand held mobile electronic devices such as smart phones, tablet PCs, digital cameras. With the development of technology these devices have different user friendly features and applications; which require very high clock speeds of the processor. In general, a high clock speed generates a lot of heat, which needs to be spreaded or removed to eliminate the hot spot on the processor surface. However, it is a challenging task to achieve proper cooling of such electronic devices mentioned above because of their confined spaces and concentrated heat sources. Regarding this challenge, we introduced an ultra-thin heat pipe; this heat pipe consists of a special fiber wick structure named as "Center Fiber Wick" which can provide sufficient vapor space on the both sides of the wick structure. We also developed a cooling module that uses this kind of ultra-thin heat pipe to eliminate the hot spot issue. This cooling module consists of an ultra-thin heat pipe and a metal plate. By changing the width, the flattened thickness and the effective length of the ultra-thin heat pipe, several experiments have been conducted to characterize the thermal properties of the developed cooling module. In addition, other experiments were also conducted to determine the effects of changes in the number of heat pipes in a single module. Characterization and comparison of the module have also been conducted both experimentally and theoretically.

Hand Fractures

Science.gov (United States)

... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is ... Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy ... DESCRIPTION The bones of the hand serve as a framework. This framework supports the muscles that make the wrist and fingers move. When ...

Using value stream mapping technique through the lean production transformation process: An implementation in a large-scaled tractor company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Rıza Adalı

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Today’s world, manufacturing industries have to continue their development and continuity in more competitive environment via decreasing their costs. As a first step in the lean production process transformation is to analyze the value added activities and non-value adding activities. This study aims at applying the concepts of Value Stream Mapping (VSM in a large-scaled tractor company in Sakarya. Waste and process time are identified by mapping the current state in the production line of platform. The future state was suggested with improvements for elimination of waste and reduction of lead time, which went from 13,08 to 4,35 days. Analysis are made using current and future states to support the suggested improvements and cycle time of the production line of platform is improved 8%. Results showed that VSM is a good alternative in the decision-making for change in production process.

Long-term experiences in the use of rapeseed oil fuel in tractors of the emissions levels I and II; Langzeiterfahrungen zum Einsatz von Rapsoelkraftstoff in Traktoren der Abgasstufe I und II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Emberger, Peter; Thuneke, Klaus; Remmele, Edgar

2013-06-01

The operational behavior as well as the emission behavior should be clarified in long-term use by means of tractors which are powered by rapeseed oil fuel. This is based on the following measures: review of the quality of rapeseed oil fuel used; testing of the quality of the engine oil on a random basis; documentation of failures, maintenance and repair work; measurement of performance and fuel economy; measurement of exhaust emissions; diagnosis of engines.

Barriers and Solutions to Fieldwork Education in Hand Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Short, Nathan; Sample, Shelby; Murphy, Malachi; Austin, Brittany; Glass, Jillian

2017-08-09

Survey. Fieldwork education is a vital component of training the next generation of CHTs. Barriers and solutions to fieldwork rotations in hand therapy are examined, as well as proposed solutions, including recommendations for student preparation. This descriptive study examined barriers for certified hand therapist clinicians to accept students for clinical rotations and clinicians' preferences for student preparation before a rotation in a hand setting. A survey was developed, peer reviewed, and distributed using the electronic mailing list of the Hand Therapy Certification Commission via SurveyMonkey. Aggregate responses were analyzed to identify trends including barriers to student clinical rotations and recommendations for students to prepare for hand rotations. A total of 2080 participants responded to the survey, representing a 37% response rate. Common logistical barriers were identified for accepting students such as limited clinical time and space. Many clinicians (32% agree and 8% strongly agree) also felt that the students lack the clinical knowledge to be successful. Areas of knowledge, skill set, and experience were surveyed for development before a clinical rotation in a hand setting. Most respondents (74%) reported increased likelihood of accepting a student with the recommended preparation. Novel qualitative responses to improve clinical experiences are presented as well. Student preparation before a clinical rotation in a hand setting appears to be a significant barrier based on the survey results. Areas of recommended knowledge, skill set, and experience may serve to guide both formal and informal methods of student preparation before a hand-specific clinical rotation to facilitate knowledge translation from experienced certified hand therapists to the next generation. Although logistical barriers may be difficult to overcome, hand-specific preparation based on clinician' recommendations may facilitate student acceptance and success in hand

29 CFR 4.117 - Work subject to requirements of Walsh-Healey Act.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... automobile, truck, or other vehicle, construction equipment, tractor, crane, aerospace, air conditioning and..., calculators, and other electronic equipment; (iv) Inspecting, testing, calibration, painting, packaging...

Vibration energy absorption in the whole-body system of a tractor operator.

Science.gov (United States)

Szczepaniak, Jan; Tanaś, Wojciech; Kromulski, Jacek

2014-01-01

Many people are exposed to whole-body vibration (WBV) in their occupational lives, especially drivers of vehicles such as tractor and trucks. The main categories of effects from WBV are perception degraded comfort interference with activities-impaired health and occurrence of motion sickness. Absorbed power is defined as the power dissipated in a mechanical system as a result of an applied force. The vibration-induced injuries or disorders in a substructure of the human system are primarily associated with the vibration power absorption distributed in that substructure. The vibration power absorbed by the exposed body is a measure that combines both the vibration hazard and the biodynamic response of the body. The article presents measurement method for determining vibration power dissipated in the human whole body system called Vibration Energy Absorption (VEA). The vibration power is calculated from the real part of the force-velocity cross-spectrum. The absorbed power in the frequency domain can be obtained from the cross-spectrum of the force and velocity. In the context of the vibration energy transferred to a seated human body, the real component reflects the energy dissipated in the biological structure per unit of time, whereas the imaginary component reflects the energy stored/released by the system. The seated human is modeled as a series/parallel 4-DOF dynamic models. After introduction of the excitation, the response in particular segments of the model can be analyzed. As an example, the vibration power dissipated in an operator has been determined as a function of the agricultural combination operating speed 1.39 - 4.16 ms(-1).

Effect of poultry fat oil biodiesel on tractor engine performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Bavafa

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Depletion of fossil fuels and environmental degradation are two major problems faced by the world. Today fossil fuels take up to 80% of the primary energy consumed in the world, of which 58% is consumed by the transport sector alone (Mard et al., 2012. The combustion products cause global warming, which is caused of emissions like carbon monoxide (CO, sulfur dioxide (SO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOX. Thus it is essential that low emission alternative fuels to be developed for useing in diesel engines. Many researchers have concluded that biodiesel holds promise as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. Biodiesel is oxygenated, biodegradable, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly (Qi et al., 2010. Materials and Methods: In this study transesterification method was used to produce biodiesel, because of its simplicity in biodiesel production process and holding the highest conversion efficiency. Transesterification of poultry fat oil and the properties of the fuels: Fatty acid methyl ester of poultry fat oil was prepared by transesterification of oil with methanol in the presence of KOH as catalyst. The fuel properties of poultry fat oil methyl ester and diesel fuel were determined. These properties are presented in Table 1. Tests of engine performance and emissions: After securing the qualitative characteristics of produced biodiesel, different biodiesel fuels of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% blended with diesel fuel were prepared. A schematic diagram of the engine setup is shown in Fig.1. The MF-399 tractor engine was used in the tests. The basic specifications of the engine are shown in Table 3. The engine was loaded with an electromagnetic dynamometer. The Σ5 model dynamometer manufactured by NJ-FROMENT was used to measure the power and the torque of the tractor engine. The speed range and capacity of this device are shown in Table 2. A FTO Flow Meter, manufactured by American FLOWTECH Company, was used to measure the fuel consumption

Ageing and obsolescence of electronic components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnero, E.; Daguzan, Ph.; Guillas, J.; Schweitz, G.

1998-01-01

Nowadays, every electronic equipment has to cope with two major problems. On the one hand, faster and faster obsolescence of electronic devices is a new trend which happens to prevent users from repairing their boards when parts are no more available. On the other hand, ageing of electronic components can lead to a massive amount of simultaneous failures on huge systems. This phenomenon is unfortunately emphasized when all systems date back to the same period of time. This paper aims at showing the mechanisms involved in these processes. It also describes the solutions found at EDF to face this situation. (authors)

Hand Matters: Left-Hand Gestures Enhance Metaphor Explanation

Science.gov (United States)

Argyriou, Paraskevi; Mohr, Christine; Kita, Sotaro

2017-01-01

Research suggests that speech-accompanying gestures influence cognitive processes, but it is not clear whether the gestural benefit is specific to the gesturing hand. Two experiments tested the "(right/left) hand-specificity" hypothesis for self-oriented functions of gestures: gestures with a particular hand enhance cognitive processes…

Passive prosthetic hands and tools: A literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Maat, Bartjan; Smit, Gerwin; Plettenburg, Dick; Breedveld, Paul

2018-02-01

The group of passive prostheses consists of prosthetic hands and prosthetic tools. These can either be static or adjustable. Limited research and development on passive prostheses has been performed although many people use these prosthesis types. Although some publications describe passive prostheses, no recent review of the peer-reviewed literature on passive prostheses is available. Review the peer-reviewed literature on passive prostheses for replacement of the hand. Literature review. Four electronic databases were searched using a Boolean combination of relevant keywords. English-language articles relevant to the objective were selected. In all, 38 papers were included in the review. Publications on passive prosthetic hands describe their users, usage, functionality, and problems in activities of daily living. Publications on prosthetic tools mostly focus on sport, recreation, and vehicle driving. Passive hand prostheses receive little attention in prosthetic research and literature. Yet one out of three people with a limb deficiency uses this type of prosthesis. Literature indicates that passive prostheses can be improved on pulling and grasping functions. In the literature, ambiguous names are used for different types of passive prostheses. This causes confusion. We present a new and clear classification of passive prostheses. Clinical relevance This review provides information on the users of passive prosthetic hands and tools, their usage and the functionality. Passive prostheses receive very little attention and low appreciation in literature. Passive prosthetic hands and tools show to be useful to many unilateral amputees and should receive more attention and higher acceptance.

[Hand osteoarthritis].

Science.gov (United States)

Šenolt, Ladislav

Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic disorder causing pain and limitation of mobility of affected joints. The prevalence of hand OA increases with age and more often affects females. Clinical signs obviously do not correlate with radiographic findings - symptomatic hand OA affects approximately 26 % of adult subjects, but radiographic changes can be found in up to two thirds of females and half of males older than 55 years.Disease course differ among individual patients. Hand OA is a heterogeneous disease. Nodal hand OA is the most common subtype affecting interphalangeal joints, thumb base OA affects first carpometacarpal joint. Erosive OA represents a specific subtype of hand OA, which is associated with joint inflammation, more pain, functional limitation and erosive findings on radiographs.Treatment of OA is limited. Analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the only agents reducing symptoms. New insights into the pathogenesis of disease should contribute to the development of novel effective treatment of hand OA.

Integrating a Hand Held computer and Stethoscope into a Fetal Monitor

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad Soltani, Mitra

2009-01-01

This article presents procedures for modifying a hand held computer or personal digital assistant (PDA) into a versatile device functioning as an electronic stethoscope for fetal monitoring. Along with functioning as an electronic stethoscope, a PDA can provide a useful information source for a medical trainee. Feedback from medical students, residents and interns suggests the device is well accepted by medical trainees. PMID:20165517

A Review of Electronic Hand Hygiene Monitoring: Considerations for Hospital Management in Data Collection, Healthcare Worker Supervision, and Patient Perception.

Science.gov (United States)

McGuckin, Maryanne; Govednik, John

2015-01-01

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in U.S. acute care hospitals lead to a burden of $96-$147 billion annually on the U.S. health system and affect 1 in 20 hospital patients (Marchetti & Rossiter, 2013). Hospital managers are charged with reducing and eliminating HAIs to cut costs and improve patient outcomes. Healthcare worker (HCW) hand hygiene (HH) practice is the most effective means of preventing the spread of HAIs, but compliance is at or below 50% (McGuckin, Waterman, & Govednik, 2009). For managers to increase the frequency of HCW HH occurrences and improve the quality of HH performance, companies have introduced electronic technologies to assist managers in training, supervising, and gathering data in the patient care setting. Although these technologies offer valuable feedback regarding compliance, little is known in terms of capabilities in the clinical setting. Less is known about HCW or patient attitudes if the system allows feedback to be shared. Early-adopting managers have begun to examine their experiences with HH technologies and publish their findings. We review peer-reviewed research on infection prevention that focused on the capabilities of these electronic systems, as well as the related research on HCW and patient interactions with electronic HH systems. Research suggests that these systems are capable of collecting data, but the results are mixed regarding their impact on HH compliance, reducing HAIs, or both and their costs. Research also indicates that HCWs and patients may not regard the technology as positively as industry or healthcare managers may have intended. When considering the adoption of electronic HH monitoring systems, hospital administrators should proceed with caution.

Soybean biodiesel consumption in agricultural tractor submitted the two forces in the traction bar; Consumo de biodiesel de soja em trator agricola submetido a duas forcas na barra de tracao

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camara, Felipe T. da [Universidade Federal do Ceara (UFC), Juazeiro do Norte, CE (Brazil)], E-mail: felipe.camara@cariri.ufc.br; Lopes, Afonso; Silva, Rouverson P. da; Oliveira, Melina C.J. de; Torres, Luma S. [Universidade Estadual Paulista (FCAV/UNESP), SP (Brazil). Fac. de Ciencias Agrarias e Veterinarias. Dept. de Engenharia Rural

2009-07-01

Due to the great development occurred in the world after the Second World War and the establishment of patterns of increasingly intense, the energy demand amounted to the point, putting at risk the non-renewable energy sources such as oil, coal minerals, among others, with growing interest in renewable energies, among which the biodiesel has been detached. In this sense, the present work had for objective to evaluate the fuel consumption of a tractor Valtra BM100 4x2 TDA, running with ethyl biodiesel from soybean filtered in seven mixture proportions mixed with the diesel, subject to two forces in the traction bar. The work was conducted in the Department of Rural Engineering of the Paulista State University (UNESP), Jaboticabal Campus, in an entirely randomized designed, in a factorial diagram 2 x 7, with three repetitions. The treatments were a combination for two forces in the traction bar (10 and 22 kN) and seven mixture proportions (B{sub 0}, B{sub 5}, B{sub 1}5, B{sub 2}5, B{sub 5}0, B{sub 7}5 e B{sub 1}00). The results showed that the addition of up to 25% biodiesel to diesel has not changed the fuel consumption, and the greatest force resulted in greater consumption volume and weight, and lower specific consumption, by better use of the power of the tractor. (author)

Dosimetry for Electron Beam Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miller, Arne

1983-01-01

This report describes two aspects of electron bean dosimetry, on one hand developaent of thin fil« dosimeters and measurements of their properties, and on the other hand developaent of calorimeters for calibration of routine dosimeters, e.g. thin films. Two types of radiochromic thin film...

Denmark: HAND in HAND Policy Questionnaire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Hilmar Dyrborg; Nielsen, Birgitte Lund

2018-01-01

Som del af det internationale EU finansierede projekt Hand in Hand, der fokuserer på de såkaldte SEI-kompetencer (Social, Emotional, Intercultural), er dansk policy i relation til elevernes sociale, emotionelle og interkulturelle læring kortlagt i denne rapport. Der refereres bl.a. til "elevernes...

Hand Surgery: Anesthesia

Science.gov (United States)

... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Hand Surgery Anesthesia Email to a friend * required ...

A comparative scanning electron microscopy study between hand instrument, ultrasonic scaling and erbium doped:Yttirum aluminum garnet laser on root surface: A morphological and thermal analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitul Kumar Mishra

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Scaling and root planing is one of the most commonly used procedures for the treatment of periodontal diseases. Removal of calculus using conventional hand instruments is incomplete and rather time consuming. In search of more efficient and less difficult instrumentation, investigators have proposed lasers as an alternative or as adjuncts to scaling and root planing. Hence, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of erbium doped: Yttirum aluminum garnet (Er:YAG laser scaling and root planing alone or as an adjunct to hand and ultrasonic instrumentation. Subjects and Methods: A total of 75 freshly extracted periodontally involved single rooted teeth were collected. Teeth were randomly divided into five treatment groups having 15 teeth each: Hand scaling only, ultrasonic scaling only, Er:YAG laser scaling only, hand scaling + Er:YAG laser scaling and ultrasonic scaling + Er:YAG laser scaling. Specimens were subjected to scanning electron microscopy and photographs were evaluated by three examiners who were blinded to the study. Parameters included were remaining calculus index, loss of tooth substance index, roughness loss of tooth substance index, presence or absence of smear layer, thermal damage and any other morphological damage. Results: Er:YAG laser treated specimens showed similar effectiveness in calculus removal to the other test groups whereas tooth substance loss and tooth surface roughness was more on comparison with other groups. Ultrasonic treated specimens showed better results as compared to other groups with different parameters. However, smear layer presence was seen more with hand and ultrasonic groups. Very few laser treated specimens showed thermal damage and morphological change. Interpretation and Conclusion: In our study, ultrasonic scaling specimen have shown root surface clean and practically unaltered. On the other hand, hand instrument have produced a plane surface

On the Modeling of a MEMS Based Capacitive Accelerometer for Measurement of Tractor Seat Vibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Alidoost

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Drivers of heavy vehicles often face with higher amplitudes of frequencies range between 1-80 Hz. Hence, this range of frequency results in temporary or even sometimes permanent damages to the health of drivers. Examples for these problems are damages to the vertebral column and early tiredness, which both reduce the driver’s performance significantly. One solution to this problem is to decrease the imposed vibration to the driver’s seat by developing an active seat system. These systems require an online measuring unit to sense vibrations transferred to the seat. The measuring unit can include a capacitive micro-accelerometer on the basis of MEMS which measure online vibrations on the seat. In this study, the mechanical behavior of a capacitive micro-accelerometer for the vibration range applied to a tractor seat has been simulated. The accelerometer is capable to measure step, impact and harmonic external excitations applied to the system. The results of the study indicate that, with increasing the applied voltage, the system sensitivity also increases, but the measuring range of vibrations decreases and vice versa. The modeled accelerometer, at damping ratio of 0.67 is capable to measure accelerations within the frequency range of lower than 130 Hz.

Hand Anatomy

Science.gov (United States)

... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is ... Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons Anatomy The upper extremity is ...

From tectonics to tractors: New insight into Earth's changing surface

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, I. J.

2017-12-01

Weathering and erosion of rock and the transport of sediment continually modify Earth's surface. The transformation and transfer of material by both natural and anthropogenic processes drives global cycles and influences the habitability of our planet. By quantitatively linking erosional and depositional landforms to the processes that form them, we better understand how Earth's surface will evolve in the future, and gain the ability to look into the past to recognize how planetary surfaces evolved when environments were drastically different than today. Many of the recent advances in our understanding of the processes that influence landscape evolution have been driven by the development and application of tools such as cosmogenic nuclides, computational models, and digital topographic data. Here I present results gleaned from applying these tools to a diverse set of landscapes, where erosion is driven by factors ranging from tectonics to tractors, to provide insight into the mechanics, chemistry, and history of Earth's changing surface. I will first examine the landslide response of hillslopes in the Himalaya to spatial gradients in tectonic forcing to assess the paradigm of threshold hillslopes. Second, I will present soil production and chemical weathering rates measured in the Southern Alps of New Zealand to determine the relationship between physical erosion and chemical weathering in one of Earth's most rapidly uplifting landscapes, and discuss the implications for proposed links between mountain uplift and global climate. Third, I will discuss results from numerical flood simulations used to explore the interplay between outburst flood hydraulics and canyon incision in the Channeled Scablands of eastern Washington, and explore the implications for reconstructing discharge in flood-carved canyons on Earth and Mars. Finally, I will present new work that couples high resolution spectral and topographic data to estimate the spatial extent of agriculturally

Analysis of tractor particulate emissions in a modified NRSC test after implementing a particulate filter in the exhaust system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siedlecki Maciej

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Retrofitting, which means retrofitting old generation engine systems with modern exhaust after treatment systems, is becoming increasingly popular, which allow vehicles to adhere to the newer and more stringent emission norms. This can save the operators of such vehicles money using older engineered designs without the need to design a new unit or buy an expensive new machine or vehicle. At present, there is a growing interest in emissions from off-road vehicles and the introduction of minimum limits for older vehicles that must be met in order to be able to allow for their operation. For the purposes of this article, the Stage IIIA farm tractor has been fitted with a particulate filter in the exhaust system. The study investigated the impact of the use of exhaust after treatment systems on particle emissions in terms of mass, size distribution and number using PEMS analyzers in the modified NRSC stationary test by engine loading, using a mobile engine dynamometer and comparison of test results.

Vibration energy absorption in the whole-body system of a tractor operator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Szczepaniak

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Many people are exposed to whole-body vibration (WBV in their occupational lives, especially drivers of vehicles such as tractor and trucks. The main categories of effects from WBV are perception degraded comfort interference with activities-impaired health and occurrence of motion sickness. Absorbed power is defined as the power dissipated in a mechanical system as a result of an applied force. The vibration-induced injuries or disorders in a substructure of the human system are primarily associated with the vibration power absorption distributed in that substructure. The vibration power absorbed by the exposed body is a measure that combines both the vibration hazard and the biodynamic response of the body. The article presents measurement method for determining vibration power dissipated in the human whole body system called Vibration Energy Absorption (VEA. The vibration power is calculated from the real part of the force-velocity cross-spectrum. The absorbed power in the frequency domain can be obtained from the cross-spectrum of the force and velocity. In the context of the vibration energy transferred to a seated human body, the real component reflects the energy dissipated in the biological structure per unit of time, whereas the imaginary component reflects the energy stored/released by the system. The seated human is modeled as a series/parallel 4-DOF dynamic models. After introduction of the excitation, the response in particular segments of the model can be analyzed. As an example, the vibration power dissipated in an operator has been determined as a function of the agricultural combination operating speed 1.39 – 4.16 ms[sup] -1 [/sup].

Real-space mapping of electronic orbitals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Löffler, Stefan, E-mail: stefan.loeffler@tuwien.ac.at [Department for Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, L8S 4M1 Hamilton, Ontario (Canada); University Service Centre for Transmission Electron Microscopy, TU Vienna, Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10/E057B, 1040 Wien (Austria); Institute for Solid State Physics, TU Vienna, Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10/E138, 1040 Wien (Austria); Bugnet, Matthieu; Gauquelin, Nicolas [Department for Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, L8S 4M1 Hamilton, Ontario (Canada); Lazar, Sorin [FEI Electron Optics, Achtseweg Noord 5, 5651 GG Eindhoven (Netherlands); Assmann, Elias; Held, Karsten [Institute for Solid State Physics, TU Vienna, Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10/E138, 1040 Wien (Austria); Botton, Gianluigi A. [Department for Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, L8S 4M1 Hamilton, Ontario (Canada); Schattschneider, Peter [University Service Centre for Transmission Electron Microscopy, TU Vienna, Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10/E057B, 1040 Wien (Austria); Institute for Solid State Physics, TU Vienna, Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10/E138, 1040 Wien (Austria)

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Electronic orbitals in Rutile are mapped using STEM-EELS. • Inelastic scattering simulations are performed for the experimental conditions. • The experiments and the simulations are found to be in excellent agreement. - Abstract: Electronic states are responsible for most material properties, including chemical bonds, electrical and thermal conductivity, as well as optical and magnetic properties. Experimentally, however, they remain mostly elusive. Here, we report the real-space mapping of selected transitions between p and d states on the Ångström scale in bulk rutile (TiO{sub 2}) using electron energy-loss spectrometry (EELS), revealing information on individual bonds between atoms. On the one hand, this enables the experimental verification of theoretical predictions about electronic states. On the other hand, it paves the way for directly investigating electronic states under conditions that are at the limit of the current capabilities of numerical simulations such as, e.g., the electronic states at defects, interfaces, and quantum dots.

Robotic hand project

OpenAIRE

Karaçizmeli, Cengiz; Çakır, Gökçe; Tükel, Dilek

2014-01-01

In this work, the mechatronic based robotic hand is controlled by the position data taken from the glove which has flex sensors mounted to capture finger bending of the human hand. The angular movement of human hand’s fingers are perceived and processed by a microcontroller, and the robotic hand is controlled by actuating servo motors. It has seen that robotic hand can simulate the movement of the human hand that put on the glove, during tests have done. This robotic hand can be used not only...

Comparative Evaluation of Smear Layer and Debris on the Canal Walls prepared with a Combination of Hand and Rotary ProTaper Technique using Scanning Electron Microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiran, S; Prakash, Sandeep; Siddharth, Pujari R; Saha, Supradip; Geojan, Naiza E; Ramachandran, Mookambika

2016-07-01

The effect of smear layer and debris on the success rate of endodontic treatment has not yet been definitely determined. So the present study was aimed to evaluate the amount of smear layer and debris on the canal walls prepared with a combination of hand and rotary ProTaper technique using NaOCl and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) alternately as root canal irrigants using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Eighty intact freshly extracted human permanent mandibular premolar teeth were collected and randomly divided equally into four groups. In group I canals were prepared with hand K-Flexofiles; group II with rotary ProTaper instruments; group III with rotary ProTaper instruments and final instrumentation was done with hand K-Flexofile; group IV with rotary ProTaper instruments and final instrumentation was done with RC-Prep and irrigated with 1 mL of normal saline. In all groups canals were irrigated using NaOCl and EDTA alternately. After instrumentation, the teeth were prepared for SEM examination using five-score indices for debris and smear layer at coronal, middle, and apical third levels. Statistical analysis was performed using chi-square test (p hand files after automated rotary preparation could result in cleaner canal walls. Alternate irrigation with NaOCl and EDTA is effective in the removal of debris and smear layer in the coronal and middle level, but the effectiveness in the apical third is less.

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on May ... 34 How The Clean Hands - Safe Hands System Works - Duration: 3:38. Clean Hands-Safe Hands 5, ...

Physics with polarized electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swartz, M.L.

1988-01-01

As a distinct field, elementary particle physics is now approximately forty years old. In all that time, only a few of the thousands of experiments that have been performed have made use of spin polarized particle beams (with apologies to those who have studied neutrino interactions, polarized beam are defined to refer to the case in which the experimenter has control over the polarization direction). If the discussion is restricted to spin polarized electron beams, the number of experiments becomes countable with the fingers of one hand (with several to spare). There are two reasons for this lack of interest. The first is that spin polarized beams are difficult to produce, accelerate, and transport. The second reason is that any physical process that can occur during the collision of a polarized particle with another (polarized or not) can also occur during the collision of unpolarized particles. One might ask then, why has any effort been expended on the subject. The answer, at least in the case of polarized electron beams, is that electron accelerators and storage rings have in recent years achieved sufficient energy to begin to probe the weak interaction directly. The weak interaction distinguishes between left- and right-handed fermionic currents. Left-handed particles interact in a fundamentally different way than their right-handed counterparts. If the experimenter wishes to explore or exploit this difference, he (or she) must either prepare the spin state of the incident particles or analyze the spin state of outgoing particles. For reasons of genearlity and improved statistical precision, the former is usually preferable to the latter. The first of these lectures will review some of the techniques necessary for the production, transport, and monitoring of polarized electron (or positron) beams. The second lecture will survey some of the physics possibilities of polarized electron-positron collisions

Summary on electron cyclotron theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Westerhof, E.

2003-01-01

The papers presented within the Theory Sessions of the conference clearly reflect the general trends of the research field. The growing use of Electron Bernstein Waves (EBW) for plasma heating and current drive in overdense plasmas goes hand in hand with an increased theoretical understanding of EBW excitation. While the expanding number of devices with powerful ECRH systems allowing ever more detailed experiments is reflected in the increased detail of modelling and consequent understanding of the experimental results. Apart from these general trends, some more fundamental contributions to the field of electron cyclotron wave propagation are highlighted. (author)

Practical analog electronics for technicians

CERN Document Server

Kimber, W A

2013-01-01

'Practical Analog Electronics for Technicians' not only provides an accessible introduction to electronics, but also supplies all the problems and practical activities needed to gain hands-on knowledge and experience. This emphasis on practice is surprisingly unusual in electronics texts, and has already gained Will Kimber popularity through the companion volume, 'Practical Digital Electronics for Technicians'. Written to cover the Advanced GNVQ optional unit in electronics, this book is also ideal for BTEC National, A-level electronics and City & Guilds courses. Together with 'Practical Digit

An investigation of drag reduction for tractor trailer vehicles with air deflector and boattail. [wind tunnel tests

Science.gov (United States)

Muirhead, V. U.

1981-01-01

A wind tunnel investigation was conducted to determine the influence of several physical variables on the aerodynamic drag of a trailer model. The physical variables included: a cab mounted wind deflector, boattail on trailer, flow vanes on trailer front, forced transition on trailer, and decreased gap between tractor and trailer. Tests were conducted at yaw angles (relative wind angles) of 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 degrees and Reynolds numbers of 3.58 x 10 to the 5th power 6.12 x 10 to the 5th power based upon the equivalent diameter of the vehicles. The wind deflector on top of the cab produced a calculated reduction in fuel consumption of about 5 percent of the aerodynamic portion of the fuel budget for a wind speed of 15.3 km/hr (9.5 mph) over a wind angle range of 0 deg to 180 deg and for a vehicle speed of 88.5 km/hr (55 mph). The boattail produced a calculated 7 percent to 8 percent reduction in fuel consumption under the same conditions. The decrease in gap reduced the calculated fuel consumption by about 5 percent of the aerodynamic portion of the fuel budget.

Hand biometric recognition based on fused hand geometry and vascular patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, GiTae; Kim, Soowon

2013-02-28

A hand biometric authentication method based on measurements of the user's hand geometry and vascular pattern is proposed. To acquire the hand geometry, the thickness of the side view of the hand, the K-curvature with a hand-shaped chain code, the lengths and angles of the finger valleys, and the lengths and profiles of the fingers were used, and for the vascular pattern, the direction-based vascular-pattern extraction method was used, and thus, a new multimodal biometric approach is proposed. The proposed multimodal biometric system uses only one image to extract the feature points. This system can be configured for low-cost devices. Our multimodal biometric-approach hand-geometry (the side view of the hand and the back of hand) and vascular-pattern recognition method performs at the score level. The results of our study showed that the equal error rate of the proposed system was 0.06%.

Double beta decay and majorana neutrinos. Right-handed currents or nonzero masses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, S.P.; Perlmutter, A.

1981-01-01

This chapter describes some new developments concerning the mechanism for lepton number nonconservation in no-neutrino double beta decay. Explains that lepton number nonconservation in no-neutrino double beta decay comes about either because both left- and right-handed components of a Majorano neutrino are coupled to the electron in the weak leptonic current, or because the neutrino has nonzero mass. Shows that while nuclear ground-state to ground-state transitions arise from right-handed currents and from neutrino mass terms, transitions to low-lying excited states with J /SUP P/ =2 + can arise only from right-handed currents. Emphasizes that the possibilities of detecting small admixtures of right-handed currents, and of setting limits on neutrino masses that are either very small or very large, make double beta decay a most rewarding phenomenon to study

Hand Hygiene With Alcohol-Based Hand Rub: How Long Is Long Enough?

Science.gov (United States)

Pires, Daniela; Soule, Hervé; Bellissimo-Rodrigues, Fernando; Gayet-Ageron, Angèle; Pittet, Didier

2017-05-01

BACKGROUND Hand hygiene is the core element of infection prevention and control. The optimal hand-hygiene gesture, however, remains poorly defined. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the influence of hand-rubbing duration on the reduction of bacterial counts on the hands of healthcare personnel (HCP). METHODS We performed an experimental study based on the European Norm 1500. Hand rubbing was performed for 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, or 60 seconds, according to the WHO technique using 3 mL alcohol-based hand rub. Hand contamination with E. coli ATCC 10536 was followed by hand rubbing and sampling. A generalized linear mixed model with a random effect on the subject adjusted for hand size and gender was used to analyze the reduction in bacterial counts after each hand-rubbing action. In addition, hand-rubbing durations of 15 and 30 seconds were compared to assert non-inferiority (0.6 log10). RESULTS In total, 32 HCP performed 123 trials. All durations of hand rubbing led to significant reductions in bacterial counts (Phand rubbing were not significantly different from those obtained after 30 seconds. The mean bacterial reduction after 15 seconds of hand rubbing was 0.11 log10 lower (95% CI, -0.46 to 0.24) than after 30 seconds, demonstrating non-inferiority. CONCLUSIONS Hand rubbing for 15 seconds was not inferior to 30 seconds in reducing bacterial counts on hands under the described experimental conditions. There was no gain in reducing bacterial counts from hand rubbing longer than 30 seconds. Further studies are needed to assess the clinical significance of our findings. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:547-552.

Hand in Hand - SEI Programmes for School Staff

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Birgitte Lund; Réol, Lise Andersen; Laursen, Hilmar Dyrborg

2017-01-01

This catalogue of research in the field of SEI programmes for the school staff’s and teachers’ SEI competencies is based on a review performed by the main researchers Birgitte Lund Nielsen, Lise Andersen Réol and Hilmar Dyrborg Laursen, VIA University College, Denmark, but discussed by the entire...... team of Hand in Hand partner countries and researchers. The aim was to identify the central aspects and elements concerning successful implementation, and school staff’s development of professional competencies in the specific field of supporting students’ social, emotional and intercultural (SEI......) competencies. Abstract: Framed by the EU-project Hand in Hand focusing on Social, Emotional and Intercultural (SEI) competencies among students and school staff, the paper discusses implementation and professional competencies based on a research review. The following five topics were identified: 1...

Quantification of the Hawthorne effect in hand hygiene compliance monitoring using an electronic monitoring system: a retrospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Srigley, Jocelyn A; Furness, Colin D; Baker, G Ross; Gardam, Michael

2014-12-01

The Hawthorne effect, or behaviour change due to awareness of being observed, is assumed to inflate hand hygiene compliance rates as measured by direct observation but there are limited data to support this. To determine whether the presence of hand hygiene auditors was associated with an increase in hand hygiene events as measured by a real-time location system (RTLS). The RTLS recorded all uses of alcohol-based hand rub and soap for 8 months in two units in an academic acute care hospital. The RTLS also tracked the movement of hospital hand hygiene auditors. Rates of hand hygiene events per dispenser per hour as measured by the RTLS were compared for dispensers within sight of auditors and those not exposed to auditors. The hand hygiene event rate in dispensers visible to auditors (3.75/dispenser/h) was significantly higher than in dispensers not visible to the auditors at the same time (1.48; p=0.001) and in the same dispensers during the week prior (1.07; pHand hygiene event rates were approximately threefold higher in hallways within eyesight of an auditor compared with when no auditor was visible and the increase occurred after the auditors' arrival. This is consistent with the existence of a Hawthorne effect localised to areas where the auditor is visible and calls into question the accuracy of publicly reported hospital hand hygiene compliance rates. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Biodiesel of distilled hydrogenated fat and biodiesel of distilled residual oil: fuel consumption in agricultural tractor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camara, Felipe Thomaz da; Lopes, Afonso; Silva, Rouverson Pereira da; Oliveira, Melina Cais Jejcic; Furlani, Carlos Eduardo Angeli [Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP (Brazil); Dabdoub, Miguel Joaquim [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto (Brazil)

2008-07-01

Great part of the world-wide oil production is used in fry process; however, after using, such product becomes an undesirable residue, and the usual methods of discarding of these residues, generally contaminate the environment, mainly the rivers. In function of this, using oil and residual fat for manufacturing biodiesel, besides preventing ambient contamination, turning up an undesirable residue in to fuel. The present work had as objective to evaluate the fuel consumption of a Valtra BM100 4x2 TDA tractor functioning with methylic biodiesel from distilled hydrogenated fat and methylic biodiesel from distilled residual oil, in seven blends into diesel. The work was conducted at the Department of Agricultural Engineering, at UNESP - Jaboticabal, in an entirely randomized block statistical design, factorial array of 2 x 7, with three repetitions. The factors combinations were two types of methylic distilled biodiesel (residual oil and hydrogenated fat) and seven blends (B{sub 0}, B{sub 5}, B{sub 1}5, B{sub 2}5, B{sub 5}0, B{sub 7}5 and B{sub 1}00). The results had evidenced that additioning 15% of biodiesel into diesel, the specific consumption was similar, and biodiesel of residual oil provided less consumption than biodiesel from hydrogenated fat. (author)

Hand Biometric Recognition Based on Fused Hand Geometry and Vascular Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Park, GiTae; Kim, Soowon

2013-01-01

A hand biometric authentication method based on measurements of the user's hand geometry and vascular pattern is proposed. To acquire the hand geometry, the thickness of the side view of the hand, the K-curvature with a hand-shaped chain code, the lengths and angles of the finger valleys, and the lengths and profiles of the fingers were used, and for the vascular pattern, the direction-based vascular-pattern extraction method was used, and thus, a new multimodal biometric approach is proposed. The proposed multimodal biometric system uses only one image to extract the feature points. This system can be configured for low-cost devices. Our multimodal biometric-approach hand-geometry (the side view of the hand and the back of hand) and vascular-pattern recognition method performs at the score level. The results of our study showed that the equal error rate of the proposed system was 0.06%. PMID:23449119

Electronics manufacturing and assembly in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Kukowski, John A.; Boulton, William R.

1995-02-01

In the consumer electronics industry, precision processing technology is the basis for enhancing product functions and for minimizing components and end products. Throughout Japan, manufacturing technology is seen as critical to the production and assembly of advanced products. While its population has increased less than 30 percent over twenty-five years, Japan's gross national product has increase thirtyfold; this growth has resulted in large part from rapid replacement of manual operations with innovative, high-speed, large-scale, continuously running, complex machines that process a growing number of miniaturized components. The JTEC panel found that introduction of next-generation electronics products in Japan goes hand-in-hand with introduction of new and improved production equipment. In the panel's judgment, Japan's advanced process technologies and equipment development and its highly automated factories are crucial elements of its domination of the consumer electronics marketplace - and Japan's expertise in manufacturing consumer electronics products gives it potentially unapproachable process expertise in all electronics markets.

Investigating the engine vibration in MF285 tractor effected by different blends of biodiesel fuel using statistical methods and ANFIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Safrangian

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction Vibrations include a wide range of engineering sciences and discuss from different aspects. One of the aspects is related to various types of engines vibrations, which are often used as power sources in agriculture. The created vibrations can cause lack of comfort and reduce effective work and have bad influence on the health and safety. One of the important parameters of the diesel engine that has the ability to create vibration and knocking is the type of fuel. In this study, the effects of different blends of biodiesel, bioethanol and diesel on the engine vibration were investigated. As a result, a blend of fuels such as synthetic fuel that creates less vibration engine can be identified and introduced. Materials and Methods In this study, canola oil and methanol alcohol with purity of 99.99% and the molar ratio of 6:1 and sodium hydroxide catalyst with 1% by weight of oil were used for biodiesel production. Reactor configurations include: maintaining the temperature at 50 ° C, the reaction time of 5 minutes and the intensity of mixing (8000 rpm, and pump flow, 0.83 liters per minute. A Massey Ferguson (MF 285 tractor with single differential (2WD, built in 2012 at Tractor factory of Iran was used for the experiment. To measure the engine vibration signals, an oscillator with model of VM120 British MONITRAN was used. Vibration signals were measured at three levels of engine speed (2000, 1600, 1000 rpm in three directions (X, Y, Z. The analysis performed by two methods in this study: statistical data analysis and data analysis using Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS. Statistical analysis of data: a factorial experiment of 10×3 based on completely randomized design with three replications was used in each direction of X, Y and Z that conducted separately. Data were compiled and analyzed by SPSS 19 software. Ten levels of fuel were including of biodiesel (5, 15 and 25% and bioethanol (2, 4 and 6%, and diesel fuel. Data

Guideline Implementation: Hand Hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, Judith L

2017-02-01

Performing proper hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis is essential to reducing the rates of health care-associated infections, including surgical site infections. The updated AORN "Guideline for hand hygiene" provides guidance on hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis, the wearing of fingernail polish and artificial nails, proper skin care to prevent dermatitis, the wearing of jewelry, hand hygiene product selection, and quality assurance and performance improvement considerations. This article focuses on key points of the guideline to help perioperative personnel make informed decisions about hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis. The key points address the necessity of keeping fingernails and skin healthy, not wearing jewelry on the hands or wrists in the perioperative area, properly performing hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis, and involving patients and visitors in hand hygiene initiatives. Perioperative RNs should review the complete guideline for additional information and for guidance when writing and updating policies and procedures. Copyright © 2017 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inspections of Hand Washing Supplies and Hand Sanitizer in Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Mary M.; Blea, Mary; Trujillo, Rebecca; Greenberg, Cynthia

2010-01-01

Hand washing and hand antisepsis are proven infection control measures in the school setting, yet barriers such as lack of soap, paper towels, and hand sanitizer can hinder compliance. This pilot study measured the prevalence of hand cleaning supplies in public schools. Ten school districts (93 schools) participated in school nurse inspections. In…

Effect of hand sanitizer location on hand hygiene compliance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cure, Laila; Van Enk, Richard

2015-09-01

Hand hygiene is the most important intervention to prevent infection in hospitals. Health care workers should clean their hands at least before and after contact with patients. Hand sanitizer dispensers are important to support hand hygiene because they can be made available throughout hospital units. The aim of this study was to determine whether the usability of sanitizer dispensers correlates with compliance of staff in using the sanitizer in a hospital. This study took place in a Midwest, 404-bed, private, nonprofit community hospital with 15 inpatient care units in addition to several ambulatory units. The usability and standardization of sanitizers in 12 participating inpatient units were evaluated. The hospital measured compliance of staff with hand hygiene as part of their quality improvement program. Data from 2010-2012 were analyzed to measure the relationship between compliance and usability using mixed-effects logistic regression models. The total usability score (P = .0046), visibility (P = .003), and accessibility of the sanitizer on entrance to the patient room (P = .00055) were statistically associated with higher observed compliance rates. Standardization alone showed no significant impact on observed compliance (P = .37). Hand hygiene compliance can be influenced by visibility and accessibility of dispensers. The sanitizer location should be part of multifaceted interventions to improve hand hygiene. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Die Sprache der Hande zu den Handen sprechen (Talking the Language of the Hands to the Hands). DB-LINK.

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Barbara

This paper examines the importance of hands for the person who is deafblind, reviews hand development, and identifies specific teaching skills that facilitate hand development and expressiveness in persons who are deafblind. It notes that the hands of a deafblind individual serve not only as tools but also as sense organs (to compensate for their…

Automated monitoring: a potential solution for achieving sustainable improvement in hand hygiene practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Levchenko, Alexander I; Boscart, Veronique M; Fernie, Geoff R

2014-08-01

Adequate hand hygiene is often considered as the most effective method of reducing the rates of hospital-acquired infections, which are one of the major causes of increased cost, morbidity, and mortality in healthcare. Electronic monitoring technologies provide a promising direction for achieving sustainable hand hygiene improvement by introducing the elements of automated feedback and creating the possibility to automatically collect individual hand hygiene performance data. The results of the multiphase testing of an automated hand hygiene reminding and monitoring system installed in a complex continuing care setting are presented. The study included a baseline Phase 1, with the system performing automated data collection only, a preintervention Phase 2 with hand hygiene status indicator enabled, two intervention Phases 3 and 4 with the system generating hand hygiene reminding signals and periodic performance feedback sessions provided, and a postintervention Phase 5 with only hand hygiene status indicator enabled and no feedback sessions provided. A significant increase in hand hygiene performance observed during the first intervention Phase 3 was sustained over the second intervention Phase 4, with the postintervention phase also indicating higher hand hygiene activity rates compared with the preintervention and baseline phases. The overall trends observed during the multiphase testing, the factors affecting acceptability of the automated hand hygiene monitoring system, and various strategies of technology deployment are discussed.

Hand hygiene strategies

OpenAIRE

Yazaji, Eskandar Alex

2011-01-01

Hand hygiene is one of the major players in preventing healthcare associated infections. However, healthcare workers compliance with hand hygiene continues to be a challenge. This article will address strategies to help improving hand hygiene compliance. Keywords: hand hygiene; healthcare associated infections; multidisciplinary program; system change; accountability; education; feedback(Published: 18 July 2011)Citation: Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 2011, 1: 72...

The human hand as an inspiration for robot hand development

CERN Document Server

Santos, Veronica

2014-01-01

“The Human Hand as an Inspiration for Robot Hand Development” presents an edited collection of authoritative contributions in the area of robot hands. The results described in the volume are expected to lead to more robust, dependable, and inexpensive distributed systems such as those endowed with complex and advanced sensing, actuation, computation, and communication capabilities. The twenty-four chapters discuss the field of robotic grasping and manipulation viewed in light of the human hand’s capabilities and push the state-of-the-art in robot hand design and control. Topics discussed include human hand biomechanics, neural control, sensory feedback and perception, and robotic grasp and manipulation. This book will be useful for researchers from diverse areas such as robotics, biomechanics, neuroscience, and anthropologists.

Desempenho operacional de um trator agrícola equipado alternadamente com pneus radiais e diagonais Operational performance of an agricultural tractor equipped alternately with radial and diagonal tires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jackson A. Barbosa

2005-08-01

Full Text Available A utilização de pneu radial em tratores agrícolas na década de 1950 resultou em redução das perdas de potência oriundas da resistência ao rolamento e patinagem, com conseqüente melhoria no desenvolvimento da tração. Este trabalho teve como objetivo comparar o desempenho operacional de um trator agrícola equipado alternadamente com pneus radiais e diagonais. A avaliação foi realizada a partir de análises de parâmetros indicadores do desempenho dos referidos pneus sob condições específicas de trabalho. O uso de pneus radiais proporcionou incrementos nos valores de capacidade de tração e potência na barra, diminuição nos valores de consumo específico de combustível e não causou variações no consumo horário de combustível.The use of radial tire in agricultural tractors in the decade of 1950 resulted in the reduction of the potency losses originated from the rolling resistance and slippage, with consequent improvement in the traction development. This work had as objective to compare the operational performance of an agricultural tractor, equipped alternately with radial and diagonal tires. The evaluation was accomplished, starting from analyses of indicative parameters of the performance of the referred tires under specific conditions of work. The use of radial tires provided increments in the values of traction capacity and drawbar pull, decrease in values of specific consumption of fuel, and didn't cause variations in the hourly consumption of fuel.

Constraint Study for a Hand Exoskeleton: Human Hand Kinematics and Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fai Chen Chen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In the last few years, the number of projects studying the human hand from the robotic point of view has increased rapidly, due to the growing interest in academic and industrial applications. Nevertheless, the complexity of the human hand given its large number of degrees of freedom (DoF within a significantly reduced space requires an exhaustive analysis, before proposing any applications. The aim of this paper is to provide a complete summary of the kinematic and dynamic characteristics of the human hand as a preliminary step towards the development of hand devices such as prosthetic/robotic hands and exoskeletons imitating the human hand shape and functionality. A collection of data and constraints relevant to hand movements is presented, and the direct and inverse kinematics are solved for all the fingers as well as the dynamics; anthropometric data and dynamics equations allow performing simulations to understand the behavior of the finger.

HandTutor™ enhanced hand rehabilitation after stroke--a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Carmeli, Eli; Peleg, Sara; Bartur, Gadi; Elbo, Enbal; Vatine, Jean-Jacques

2011-12-01

This study assessed the potential therapeutic benefi t of using HandTutor™ in combination with traditional rehabilitation in a post-stroke sub-acute population. The study compares an experimental group receiving traditional therapy combined with HandTutorTM treatment, against a control group receiving only traditional therapy. An assessor-blinded, randomized controlled pilot trial, was conducted in the Reuth rehabilitation unit in Israel. Thirty-one stroke patients in the sub-acute phase, were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (experimental or control) in sets of three. The experimental group (n = 16) underwent a hand rehabilitation programme using the HandTutorTM combined with traditional therapy. The control group (n = 15) received only traditional therapy. The treatment schedules for both groups were of similar duration and frequency. Improvements were evaluated using three indicators: 1) The Brunnström-Fugl-Meyer (FM) test, 2) the Box and Blocks (B&B) test and 3) improvement parameters as determined by the HandTutorTM software. Following 15 consecutive treatment sessions, a signifi cant improvement was observed within the experimental group (95% confi dence intervals) compared with the control group: B&B p = 0.015; FM p = 0.041, HandTutor™ performance accuracy on x axis and performance accuracy on y axis p stroke hand function rehabilitation.

The Avocado Hand

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Rahmani, G

2017-11-01

Accidental self-inflicted knife injuries to digits are a common cause of tendon and nerve injury requiring hand surgery. There has been an apparent increase in avocado related hand injuries. Classically, the patients hold the avocado in their non-dominant hand while using a knife to cut\\/peel the fruit with their dominant hand. The mechanism of injury is usually a stabbing injury to the non-dominant hand as the knife slips past the stone, through the soft avocado fruit. Despite their apparent increased incidence, we could not find any cases in the literature which describe the “avocado hand”. We present a case of a 32-year-old woman who sustained a significant hand injury while preparing an avocado. She required exploration and repair of a digital nerve under regional anaesthesia and has since made a full recovery.

Design and Development of Hand and Foot Contamination Monitor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Akter

2014-08-01

Full Text Available A hand and foot contamination monitor is a health physics instrument to provide detection and measurement of beta-gamma contamination on the palm of each hand and on the bottom surface of both feet/shoes. There are four channels of detection for two hands and two feet. Four G-M detectors have been used in a single unit to cover the whole area of hand and feet. A regulated high voltage DC power supply (900 V has been designed using the PIC12F675 microcontroller to operate the pancake Geiger-Müller detectors. The reading is displayed on a linearly scaled 0-100 Bq/cm2 analog panel meter. The monitor detects beta–gamma radiation emitted by radioactive materials, and if the detected value exceeds a preset level, the monitor sounds an alarm and displays a reading in the respective panel meter. Indicator lamps are used to show the status of contamination. The performance of the system has been tested by using pulse generator and by flat surface radioactive calibration sources. Electronic linearity, detection efficiency, response to the contamination, calibration factor and percentage of error has been measured. Test results were satisfactory and the present system can be used instead of similar imported instruments.

Implementation and Impact of an Automated Group Monitoring and Feedback System to Promote Hand Hygiene Among Health Care Personnel

Science.gov (United States)

Conway, Laurie J.; Riley, Linda; Saiman, Lisa; Cohen, Bevin; Alper, Paul; Larson, Elaine L.

2015-01-01

Article-at-a-Glance Background Despite substantial evidence to support the effectiveness of hand hygiene for preventing health care–associated infections, hand hygiene practice is often inadequate. Hand hygiene product dispensers that can electronically capture hand hygiene events have the potential to improve hand hygiene performance. A study on an automated group monitoring and feedback system was implemented from January 2012 through March 2013 at a 140-bed community hospital. Methods An electronic system that monitors the use of sanitizer and soap but does not identify individual health care personnel was used to calculate hand hygiene events per patient-hour for each of eight inpatient units and hand hygiene events per patient-visit for the six outpatient units. Hand hygiene was monitored but feedback was not provided during a six-month baseline period and three-month rollout period. During the rollout, focus groups were conducted to determine preferences for feedback frequency and format. During the six-month intervention period, graphical reports were e-mailed monthly to all managers and administrators, and focus groups were repeated. Results After the feedback began, hand hygiene increased on average by 0.17 events/patient-hour in inpatient units (interquartile range = 0.14, p = .008). In outpatient units, hand hygiene performance did not change significantly. A variety of challenges were encountered, including obtaining accurate census and staffing data, engendering confidence in the system, disseminating information in the reports, and using the data to drive improvement. Conclusions Feedback via an automated system was associated with improved hand hygiene performance in the short term. PMID:25252389

Implementation and impact of an automated group monitoring and feedback system to promote hand hygiene among health care personnel.

Science.gov (United States)

Conway, Laurie J; Riley, Linda; Saiman, Lisa; Cohen, Bevin; Alper, Paul; Larson, Elaine L

2014-09-01

Despite substantial evidence to support the effectiveness of hand hygiene for preventing health care-associated infections, hand hygiene practice is often inadequate. Hand hygiene product dispensers that can electronically capture hand hygiene events have the potential to improve hand hygiene performance. A study on an automated group monitoring and feedback system was implemented from January 2012 through March 2013 at a 140-bed community hospital. An electronic system that monitors the use of sanitizer and soap but does not identify individual health care personnel was used to calculate hand hygiene events per patient-hour for each of eight inpatient units and hand hygiene events per patient-visit for the six outpatient units. Hand hygiene was monitored but feedback was not provided during a six-month baseline period and three-month rollout period. During the rollout, focus groups were conducted to determine preferences for feedback frequency and format. During the six-month intervention period, graphical reports were e-mailed monthly to all managers and administrators, and focus groups were repeated. After the feedback began, hand hygiene increased on average by 0.17 events/patient-hour in inpatient units (interquartile range = 0.14, p = .008). In outpatient units, hand hygiene performance did not change significantly. A variety of challenges were encountered, including obtaining accurate census and staffing data, engendering confidence in the system, disseminating information in the reports, and using the data to drive improvement. Feedback via an automated system was associated with improved hand hygiene performance in the short-term.

Ability of Hand Hygiene Interventions Using Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers and Soap To Reduce Microbial Load on Farmworker Hands Soiled during Harvest.

Science.gov (United States)

de Aceituno, Anna Fabiszewski; Bartz, Faith E; Hodge, Domonique Watson; Shumaker, David J; Grubb, James E; Arbogast, James W; Dávila-Aviña, Jorgé; Venegas, Fabiola; Heredia, Norma; García, Santos; Leon, Juan S

2015-11-01

Effective hand hygiene is essential to prevent the spread of pathogens on produce farms and reduce foodborne illness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act Proposed Rule for Produce Safety recommends the use of soap and running water for hand hygiene of produce handlers. The use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) may be an effective alternative hygiene intervention where access to water is limited. There are no published data on the efficacy of either soap or ABHS-based interventions to reduce microbial contamination in agricultural settings. The goal of this study was to assess the ability of two soap-based (traditional or pumice) and two ABHS-based (label-use or two-step) hygiene interventions to reduce microbes (coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus spp.) and soil (absorbance of hand rinsate at 600 nm [A600]) on farmworker hands after harvesting produce, compared with the results for a no-hand-hygiene control. With no hand hygiene, farmworker hands were soiled (median A600, 0.48) and had high concentrations of coliforms (geometric mean, 3.4 log CFU per hand) and Enterococcus spp. (geometric mean, 5.3 log CFU per hand) after 1 to 2 h of harvesting tomatoes. Differences in microbial loads in comparison to the loads in the control group varied by indicator organism and hygiene intervention (0 to 2.3 log CFU per hand). All interventions yielded lower concentrations of Enterococcus spp. and E. coli (P hands (P hand washing with soap at reducing indicator organisms on farmworker hands. Based on these results, ABHS is an efficacious hand hygiene solution for produce handlers, even on soiled hands.

Hand Therapy

Science.gov (United States)

... from conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow , as well as from chronic problems such as ... Tools Advice from a Certified Hand Therapist on Tennis Elbow Advice from a Certified Hand Therapist: Living with( ...

Hand held data collection and monitoring system for nuclear facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Brayton, D.D.; Scharold, P.G.; Thornton, M.W.; Marquez, D.L.

1999-01-26

Apparatus and method is disclosed for a data collection and monitoring system that utilizes a pen based hand held computer unit which has contained therein interaction software that allows the user to review maintenance procedures, collect data, compare data with historical trends and safety limits, and input new information at various collection sites. The system has a means to allow automatic transfer of the collected data to a main computer data base for further review, reporting, and distribution purposes and uploading updated collection and maintenance procedures. The hand held computer has a running to-do list so sample collection and other general tasks, such as housekeeping are automatically scheduled for timely completion. A done list helps users to keep track of all completed tasks. The built-in check list assures that work process will meet the applicable processes and procedures. Users can hand write comments or drawings with an electronic pen that allows the users to directly interface information on the screen. 15 figs.

Hand held data collection and monitoring system for nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brayton, D.D.; Scharold, P.G.; Thornton, M.W.; Marquez, D.L.

1999-01-01

Apparatus and method is disclosed for a data collection and monitoring system that utilizes a pen based hand held computer unit which has contained therein interaction software that allows the user to review maintenance procedures, collect data, compare data with historical trends and safety limits, and input new information at various collection sites. The system has a means to allow automatic transfer of the collected data to a main computer data base for further review, reporting, and distribution purposes and uploading updated collection and maintenance procedures. The hand held computer has a running to-do list so sample collection and other general tasks, such as housekeeping are automatically scheduled for timely completion. A done list helps users to keep track of all completed tasks. The built-in check list assures that work process will meet the applicable processes and procedures. Users can hand write comments or drawings with an electronic pen that allows the users to directly interface information on the screen. 15 figs

Animal models of nicotine exposure: relevance to second-hand smoking, electronic cigarette use and compulsive smoking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ami eCohen

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Much evidence indicates that individuals use tobacco primarily to experience the psychopharmacological properties of nicotine and that a large proportion of smokers eventually become dependent on nicotine. In humans, nicotine acutely produces positive reinforcing effects, including mild euphoria, whereas a nicotine abstinence syndrome with both somatic and affective components is observed after chronic nicotine exposure. Animal models of nicotine self-administration and chronic exposure to nicotine have been critical in unveiling the neurobiological substrates that mediate the acute reinforcing effects of nicotine and emergence of a withdrawal syndrome during abstinence. However, important aspects of the transition from nicotine abuse to nicotine dependence, such as the emergence of increased motivation and compulsive nicotine intake following repeated exposure to the drug, have only recently begun to be modeled in animals. Thus, the neurobiological mechanisms that are involved in these important aspects of nicotine addiction remain largely unknown. In this review, we describe the different animal models available to date and discuss recent advances in animal models of nicotine exposure and nicotine dependence. This review demonstrates that novel animal models of nicotine vapor exposure and escalation of nicotine intake provide a unique opportunity to investigate the neurobiological effects of second-hand nicotine exposure, electronic cigarette use and the mechanisms that underlie the transition from nicotine use to compulsive nicotine intake.

Trade-related Electronic Commerce Issues in the OECD

OpenAIRE

Chang-In Yoon

1998-01-01

The trade committee of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has begun the study of the trade related to electronic commerce since 1997. The scale of the study on one hand has avoided the fact of copy and duplication of WTO and its organizational principles, on the other hand it has played a supplementary and supportive function. At present, digital-related product, such as computers, software and travel is the key point to the trade which resorts to electronic commerce...

Electronic devices for analog signal processing

CERN Document Server

Rybin, Yu K

2012-01-01

Electronic Devices for Analog Signal Processing is intended for engineers and post graduates and considers electronic devices applied to process analog signals in instrument making, automation, measurements, and other branches of technology. They perform various transformations of electrical signals: scaling, integration, logarithming, etc. The need in their deeper study is caused, on the one hand, by the extension of the forms of the input signal and increasing accuracy and performance of such devices, and on the other hand, new devices constantly emerge and are already widely used in practice, but no information about them are written in books on electronics. The basic approach of presenting the material in Electronic Devices for Analog Signal Processing can be formulated as follows: the study with help from self-education. While divided into seven chapters, each chapter contains theoretical material, examples of practical problems, questions and tests. The most difficult questions are marked by a diamon...

Have Computer, Will Not Travel: Meeting Electronically.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurland, Norman D.

1983-01-01

Beginning with two different scenarios depicting a face-to-face conference on the one hand and, on the other, a computer or electronic conference, the author argues the advantages of electronic conferencing and describes some of its uses. (JBM)

Hand hygiene--evaluation of three disinfectant hand sanitizers in a community setting.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rita Babeluk

Full Text Available Hand hygiene is acknowledged as the single most important measure to prevent nosocomial infections in the healthcare setting. Similarly, in non-clinical settings, hand hygiene is recognised as a key element in helping prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three different disinfectant hand sanitizers in reducing the burden of bacterial hand contamination in 60 healthy volunteers in a community setting, both before and after education about the correct use of hand sanitizers. The study is the first to evaluate the efficacy and ease of use of different formulations of hand rubs used by the general population. The products tested were: Sterillium (perfumed, liquid, desderman pure gel (odorless, gel and Lavit (perfumed, spray. Sterillium and desderman are EN1500 (hygienic hand rub certified products (available in pharmacy and Lavit is non EN1500 certified and available in supermarkets. The two EN1500 certified products were found to be significantly superior in terms of reducing bacterial load. desderman pure gel, Sterillium and Lavit reduced the bacterial count to 6.4%, 8.2% and 28.0% respectively. After education in the correct use of each hand rub, the bacterial load was reduced even further, demonstrating the value of education in improving hand hygiene. Information about the testers' perceptions of the three sanitizers, together with their expectations of a hand sanitizer was obtained through a questionnaire. Efficacy, followed by skin compatibility were found to be the two most important attributes of a hand disinfectant in our target group.

In a demanding task, three-handed manipulation is preferred to two-handed manipulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdi, Elahe; Burdet, Etienne; Bouri, Mohamed; Himidan, Sharifa; Bleuler, Hannes

2016-02-25

Equipped with a third hand under their direct control, surgeons may be able to perform certain surgical interventions alone; this would reduce the need for a human assistant and related coordination difficulties. However, does human performance improve with three hands compared to two hands? To evaluate this possibility, we carried out a behavioural study on the performance of naive adults catching objects with three virtual hands controlled by their two hands and right foot. The subjects could successfully control the virtual hands in a few trials. With this control strategy, the workspace of the hands was inversely correlated with the task velocity. The comparison of performance between the three and two hands control revealed no significant difference of success in catching falling objects and in average effort during the tasks. Subjects preferred the three handed control strategy, found it easier, with less physical and mental burden. Although the coordination of the foot with the natural hands increased trial after trial, about two minutes of practice was not sufficient to develop a sense of ownership towards the third arm.

Universal machine ''Shtrek'' and the tractor-lifter with pneumatic-equipment control. [Auxiliary multipurpose materials handling equipment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bal' bert, B M; Borumenskiy, V A; Lishenko, A P; Mitchenko, G A

1982-01-01

The machine ''Shtrek'' is described. It makes it possible to mechanize over 20 auxiliary operations: loading-unloading operations: extraction of old and deformed timbering; dissmantling of obstructions; erection of different types of timbering; making and restoring of drainage channels; laying and straightening of a drift and its leveling; assembly and disassembly of pipelines and mine equipment, etc. Depending on the type of operation, the machine has the corresponding suspended equipment. The elementary variant has a limited area of application at mines of the central region of the Dunbass. Currently a pneumatic variant of the machine ''Shtrek'' has been developed. The electric motor and the starter of the pumping equipment of the machine have been replaced by a pneumatic motor and pneumatically controlled valve KTM-50. In this case there was significant reduction in the weight of the pumping equipment and in its overall dimensions; the electric drive of the hydraulic distributors for controlling the mechanisms were replaced by simpler pneumatic ones; the logical circuit of the control system was constructed on the USEPPA elements. A specialized tractor-lifter designed for moving suspended loads is described for auxiliary operations in the near-face zone of the preparatory drifts. The machine also lifts and lowers the boom, rotates the boom by 270/sup 0/ and additionally lifts and lowers the weight-lifting hook.

Evaluasi Kinerja Tarik Traktor Tangan dengan Bahan Bakar Minyak Kelapa Murni

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desrial

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Past research shown that coconut oil can be used directly in Diesel engine by adding a heating element in the fuel delivery system. This study aims to evaluate the performance of a hand tractor pull using pure coconut oil fuel. The Diesel engine of the tractor was equipped with a fuel heater installed on the mufler. Traction performance parameters tested were wheel slippage, drawbar pull, forward speed and drawbar power on the path of concrete and soil. Besides, the tractor was also tested on plowing using a moldboard plow. The test results on the concrete track showed that the maximum drawbar pull was 1.21 kN generated at a speed of 0.92 m/s, with a maximum drawbar power of 1.21 kW at the wheel slip of 10.87%. While the drawbar pull on the soil track was 1.37 kN at a speed of 0.79 m/s, with a maximum value of 0.71 kW drawbar power when wheels slip 22.25%. The results of tillage test showed that field efficiency was 84.66%, which was not much different from the test result using Diesel fuel.

Avaliação de alguns fatores ergonômicos nos tratores "Feller-buncher" e "Skidder" utilizados na colheita de madeira Evaluation of some ergonomic factors in Feller-buncher and Skidder tractors used in wood harvesting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julião Soares de Souza Lima

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho foi realizado com tratores florestais utilizados em um sistema mecanizado de colheita de madeira em povoamento de eucalipto, tendo como objetivo avaliar quantiqualitativamente as dimensões de acesso, assento, comandos, campo visual, condições térmicas e vibração no posto dos operadores. O acesso ao posto do operador no trator "Feller-buncher" apresentou um grau de dificuldade, sendo classificado, na avaliação qualitativa, como médio e, no "Skidder", como bom. A abertura das portas de acesso apresenta ângulo menor que 90º, dificultando, assim, a entrada e saída do operador. O posto do operador do trator "Feller-buncher" foi classificado como médio na avaliação qualitativa, em virtude de o espaço livre da plataforma de apoio ser de 30% da área total e, no "Skidder", de 55% da área total, sendo classificado como bom. O campo visual frontal do "Feller-buncher", mesmo tendo uma área do pára-brisa maior, é limitado pela presença do cabeçote, tanto em operações diurnas quanto noturnas, sendo, portanto, inferior ao do "Skidder".This work was carried out in forest tractors used in a mechanized system for wood harvesting in a stand of eucalyptus, to evaluate quanti-qualitatively the dimensions of access, seat, commands, field view, thermal conditions and vibration in the operators' station. The access to the operator's station in the Feller-Buncher tractor presented a degree of difficulty classified in the qualitative evaluation as average and the Skidder as good. The opening of the access doors presents an angle smaller than 90º, thus rendering the entrance and exit of the operator more difficult. The operators station of the Feller-Buncher tractor was classified as medium in the qualitative evaluation, due to the free space of the support platform being 30% of the total area, and in the Skidder 55%, therefore being classified as good. The front field view in Feller-Buncher, even having a wider windscreen area, is

About Hand Surgery

Science.gov (United States)

... Find a hand surgeon near you. © 2009 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Definition developed by ASSH Council. Other Links CME Mission Statement and Disclaimer Policies and Technical Requirements Exhibits and Partners ASSH 822 W. Washington Blvd. ... 2018 by American Society for Surgery of the Hand × Search Tips Tip ...

Evaluation of hand-arm and whole-body vibrations in construction and property management.

Science.gov (United States)

Coggins, Marie A; Van Lente, Eric; McCallig, Margaret; Paddan, Gurmail; Moore, Ken

2010-11-01

To identify and measure the magnitude of hand-arm vibration (HAV) and whole-body vibration (WBV) sources (tools, vehicles etc.) in use within a previously unexamined sector: a construction and property management company. To evaluate the effect of factors such as age of tool, materials being worked on, number and location of tool handles, tool weight, and manufacturer brand on HAV magnitude and the effect of factors such as manufacturer machine brand, terrain, and work task on WBV magnitude. This study was carried out in a construction and property management company, employees (n = 469) working in the engineering services and maintenance departments who use vibrating equipment as part of their work were invited to participate. Two hundred and eighty-nine employees working as general operatives, excavator drivers, stone masons, carpenters, labourers, fitters, welders, and gardeners agreed to participate. A total of 20 types of hand tool (n = 264) and 11 types of vehicle (n = 158) in use within the company were selected for inclusion in the study. Five pieces of equipment had never previously been measured. Vibration measurements were carried out in accordance with ISO 5349-1 (Mechanical vibration-measurement and assessment of human exposure to hand transmitted vibration-Part 1: general guidance. 2001) (HAV) and ISO 2631-1 (Mechanical vibration and shock: evaluation of human exposure to WBV in the working environment. Part 1-general requirements. 1997) (WBV). Vibration measurements were made while workers were operating the equipment as part of their normal work activities. A wide range of vibration emission values were recorded for most tool types, e.g. orbital sanders (1.39-10.90 m s⁻²) and angle grinders (0.28-12.25 m s⁻²), and vehicle, e.g. forklifts (0.41-1.00 m s⁻²) and tractors (0.04-0.42 m s⁻²). Vibration magnitudes were largely consistent with those found in previous studies. The highest HAV magnitude was measured on a demolition hammer (13.3 m

Perfection of technical and tactical preparation of sportsmen of hand-to-hand fight

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serebryak V.V.

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Essence of innovative hike is considered to upgrading preparation of sportsmen of hand-to-hand fight. 58 sportsmen of section of hand-to-hand fight took part in research. Age of sportsmen are from 17 to 22 years. Developed and approved the most effective technical and tactical charts of construction of duel with the opponents of different styles of single combats. It is well-proven that offered approach instrumental in development of operative thought and adaptation to sparring of hand-to-hand fight.

Spin Relaxation in III-V Semiconductors in various systems: Contribution of Electron-Electron Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Dogan, Fatih; Kesserwan, Hasan; Manchon, Aurelien

2015-03-01

In spintronics, most of the phenomena that we are interested happen at very fast time scales and are rich in structure in time domain. Our understanding, on the other hand, is mostly based on energy domain calculations. Many of the theoretical tools use approximations and simplifications that can be perceived as oversimplifications. We compare the structure, material, carrier density and temperature dependence of spin relaxation time in n-doped III-V semiconductors using Elliot-Yafet (EY) and D'yakanov-Perel'(DP) with real time analysis using kinetic spin Bloch equations (KSBE). The EY and DP theories fail to capture details as the system investigated is varied. KSBE, on the other hand, incorporates all relaxation sources as well as electron-electron interaction which modifies the spin relaxation time in a non-linear way. Since el-el interaction is very fast (~ fs) and spin-conserving, it is usually ignored in the analysis of spin relaxation. Our results indicate that electron-electron interaction cannot be neglected and its interplay with the other (spin and momentum) relaxation mechanisms (electron-impurity and electron-phonon scattering) dramatically alters the resulting spin dynamics. We use each interaction explicitly to investigate how, in the presence of others, each relaxation source behaves. We use GaAs and GaN for zinc-blend structure, and GaN and AlN for the wurtzite structure.

Osteoarthritis of the Hand

Science.gov (United States)

... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Osteoarthritis Email to a friend * required fields From * ...

Hand eczema

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibler, K.S.; Jemec, G.B.E.; Flyvholm, M.-A.

2012-01-01

Background. Healthcare workers are at increased risk of developing hand eczema. Objectives. To investigate the prevalence and severity of self-reported hand eczema, and to relate the findings to demographic data, occupation, medical speciality, wards, shifts, and working hours. Patients/materials......Background. Healthcare workers are at increased risk of developing hand eczema. Objectives. To investigate the prevalence and severity of self-reported hand eczema, and to relate the findings to demographic data, occupation, medical speciality, wards, shifts, and working hours. Patients...... dermatitis, younger age, male sex (male doctors), and working hours. Eighty nine per cent of subjects reported mild/moderate lesions. Atopic dermatitis was the only factor significantly related to severity. Sick leave was reported by 8% of subjects, and notification to the authorities by 12%. Conclusions...... or severity, but cultural differences between professions with respect to coping with the eczema were significant. Atopic dermatitis was related to increased prevalence and severity, and preventive efforts should be made for healthcare workers with atopic dermatitis....

The Effect of Antibacterial Formula Hand Cleaners on the Elimination of Microbes on Hands

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, J. R.

2002-05-01

: The purpose of this project is to find out which one of the antibacterial hand cleanser (antibacterial bar soap, antibacterial liquid hand soap, and liquid hand sanitizer) is more effective in eliminating microbes. If antibacterial- formula liquid hand soap is used on soiled hands, then it will be more effective in eliminating microbes. Germs are microorganisms that cause disease and can spread from person-to-person. Bacteria are a kind of microbe, an example of which is Transient Flora that is often found on hands. Hand washing prevents germs from spreading to others. During the procedure, swabs were used to take samples before and after the soiled hands had been washed with one of the antibacterial hand cleansers. Nutrient Easygel was poured into petri dishes to harden for 1 day, and then samples were swabbed on the gel. The Petri dishes were placed in an incubator for 24 hours, and then data was recorded accordingly. The antibacterial liquid hand soap was sufficient in eliminating the majority of bacteria. The hands had 65% of the bacteria on them, and after the liquid hand soap was used only 37% of the bacteria remained.

Robotic Hand

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

The Omni-Hand was developed by Ross-Hime Designs, Inc. for Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. The multiple digit hand has an opposable thumb and a flexible wrist. Electric muscles called Minnacs power wrist joints and the interchangeable digits. Two hands have been delivered to NASA for evaluation for potential use on space missions and the unit is commercially available for applications like hazardous materials handling and manufacturing automation. Previous SBIR contracts resulted in the Omni-Wrist and Omni-Wrist II robotic systems, which are commercially available for spray painting, sealing, ultrasonic testing, as well as other uses.

Active cooling of a down hole well tractor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soprani, Stefano; Nesgaard, Carsten

Wireline interventions in high temperature wells represent one of today’s biggest challenges for the oil and gas industry. The high wellbore temperatures, which can reach 200 °C, drastically reduce the life of the electronic components contained in the wireline downhole tools, which can cause...... the intervention to fail. Active cooling systems represent a possible solution to the electronics overheating, as they could maintain the sensitive electronics at a tolerable temperature, while operating in hotter environments. This work presents the design, construction and testing of an actively cooled downhole......-width-modulation circuit was developed to adapt the downhole power source to a suitable voltage for the thermoelectric cooler. The implementation of the active cooling system was supported by the study of the thermal interaction between the downhole tool and the well environment, which was relevant to define the heat...

Electronics all-in-one for dummies

CERN Document Server

Ross, Dickon

2013-01-01

Your one-stop UK shop for clear, concise explanations to all the important concepts in electronics and tons of direction for building simple, fun electronic projects. The 8 mini-books in this 1 volume include: Getting Started with ElectronicsWorking with Basic ComponentsWorking with Integrated CircuitsGetting into Alternating CurrentWorking with Radio and InfraredDoing Digital ElectronicsWorking with Basic Stamp ProcessorsBuilding Special Effects With nearly 900 pages of instruction, Electronics All-in-One For Dummies covers all the bases and provides a fascinating hands-on exploration of el

Ion induced electron emission statistics under Agm- cluster bombardment of Ag

Science.gov (United States)

Breuers, A.; Penning, R.; Wucher, A.

2018-05-01

The electron emission from a polycrystalline silver surface under bombardment with Agm- cluster ions (m = 1, 2, 3) is investigated in terms of ion induced kinetic excitation. The electron yield γ is determined directly by a current measurement method on the one hand and implicitly by the analysis of the electron emission statistics on the other hand. Successful measurements of the electron emission spectra ensure a deeper understanding of the ion induced kinetic electron emission process, with particular emphasis on the effect of the projectile cluster size to the yield as well as to emission statistics. The results allow a quantitative comparison to computer simulations performed for silver atoms and clusters impinging onto a silver surface.

HFS-II hands and feet contamination monitor for α, β

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Xiangyang; Han Shuping; Wang Xiaodong; Fan Liya; Zhang Yong; Rao Xianming; Fang Jintu

1999-11-01

HFS-II Hands and Feet Contamination Monitor for α, β is a necessary device which monitors the entrance of controlling area of nuclear power plant and nuclear facility, and it consists of nuclear detector, nuclear electronic circuit, computer data processing and controlling divisions, input/output controlling etc. Physical indicators conform to the requirements of relative national standard GB8703-87 and department standard EJ/T586

Physics with polarized electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swartz, M.L.

1988-06-01

As a distinct field, elementary particle physics is now approximately forty years old. In all that time, only a few of the thousands of experiments that have been performed have made use of spin polarized particle beams. There are two reasons for this lack of interest. The first is that spin polarized beams are difficult to produce, accelerate, and transport. The second reason is that any physical process that can occur during the collision of a polarized particle with another (polarized or not) can also occur during the collision of unpolarized particles. One might ask then, why has any effort been expended on the subject? The answer, at least in the case of polarized electron beams, is that electron accelerators and storage rings have in recent years achieved sufficient energy to begin to probe the weak interaction directly. The weak interaction distinguishes between left- and right-handed fermionic currents. Left-handed particles interact in a fundamentally different way than their right-handed counterparts. If the experimenter wishes to explore or exploit this difference, he (or she) must either prepare the spin state of the incident particles or analyze the spin state of outgoing particles. For reasons, of generality and improved statistical precision, the former is usually preferable to the latter. The first of these lectures will review some of the techniques necessary for the production, transport, and monitoring of polarized electron (or positron) beams. The second lecture will survey some of the physics possibilities of polarized electron--positron collisions. 33 refs., 26 figs., 5 tabs

Electron energies in metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahan, G.D.; Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN

1991-01-01

The modern era of electron-electron interactions began a decade ago. Plummer's group initiated a program of using angular resolved photoemission to examine the band structure of the simple metals. Beginning with aluminum, and carrying on to sodium and potassium, they always found that the occupied energy bands were much narrower than expected. For example, the compressed energy bands for metallic potassium suggest a band effective mass of m* = 1.33m e . This should be compared to the band mass found from optical conductivity m*/m e = 1.01 ± 0.01. The discrepancy between these results is startling. It was this great difference which started my group doing calculations. Our program was two-fold. On one hand, we reanalyzed the experimental data, in order to see if Plummer's result was an experimental artifact. On the other hand, we completely redid the electron-electron self-energy calculations for simple metals, using the most modern choices of local-field corrections and vertex corrections. Our results will be reported in these lectures. They can be summarized as following: Our calculations give the same effective masses as the older calculations, so the theory is relatively unchanged; Our analysis of the experiments suggests that the recent measurements of band narrowing are an experimental artifact. 38 refs., 9 figs

Development of five-finger robotic hand using master-slave control for hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, Koki; Yamada, Hiroshi; Kato, Ryu; Seki, Tatsuya; Yokoi, Hiroshi; Mukai, Masaya

2016-08-01

This study aims to develop a robotic hand as a substitute for a surgeon's hand in hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS). We determined the requirements for the proposed hand from a surgeon's motions in HALS. We identified four basic behaviors: "power grasp," "precision grasp," "open hand for exclusion," and "peace sign for extending peritoneum." The proposed hand had the minimum necessary DOFs for performing these behaviors, five fingers as in a human's hand, a palm that can be folded when a surgeon inserts the hand into the abdomen, and an arm for adjusting the hand's position. We evaluated the proposed hand based on a performance test and a physician's opinions, and we confirmed that it can grasp organs.

Effective approaches for managing electronic records and archives

CERN Document Server

Dearstyne, Bruce W

2006-01-01

This is a book of fresh insights, perspectives, strategies, and approaches for managing electronic records and archives. The authors draw on first-hand experience to present practical solutions, including recommendations for building and sustaining strong electronic records programs.

Hands in Systemic Disease

Science.gov (United States)

... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is ... Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy ... hands, being composed of many types of tissue, including blood vessels, nerves, skin and skin-related tissues, bones, and muscles/tendons/ligaments, may show changes that reflect a ...

Relação cinemática em um trator 4x2 com tração dianteira auxiliar equipado com pneus radiais na eficiência de tração Kinematic relation on radial tires in a front wheel assist tractor on traction efficience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Fernando Ferreira

2000-12-01

Full Text Available Diferentes combinações de pressões internas dos pneus do trator pode afetar a interferência entre eixos motrizes dos tratores agrícolas, principalmente com pneus do tipo radial. Um trator 4x2 com tração dianteira auxiliar foi analisado quanto a seu desempenho em tração. Pneus de carcaça radial com diferentes pressões internas foram utilizados, com o objetivo de variar as relações cinemá ticas entre os eixos. Mediram-se o patinamento das rodas dianteiras e traseiras, a resistência ao rolamento e a força de tração, em duas condições de solo (firme e solto. Os resultados obtidos permitiram verificar que a eficiência de tração não foi significativamente influenciada pela variação das relações cinemáticas de 0,962 a 1,102. As máximas eficiências de tração ocorreram com relaçõ es cinemáticas variáveis dentro da faixa estudada e de acordo com as cargas impostas à barra de tração.Different combinations of tractor tire inflating pressure may affect interference between tractor axles, mainly with radial tires type. A front wheel assist tractor was studied in its traction performance. Radial tires with different inflation pressure were used, changing kinematic relations between axles. The measured parameters were: front and rear slip, rolling resistence and drawbar pull in two soil conditions (firm and loose. The results indicate that traction efficience was not significantly influenced by kinematic relations variation between 0.962 to 1.102. The maximum traction efficiency ocurred within the range studied and according to drawbar pull.

A search for right-handed dW bosons in bar pp collisions with the D0 detector at Fermilab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldschmidt, A.

1996-01-01

This thesis reports on a search for right-handed W bosons (W R ). Data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider at √s=1.8 TeV were used to search for W R decays into an electron and a massive right-handed neutrino W R ± → e ± N R . Using the inclusive electron data, mass limits independent of the N R decay were set: m W R > 650 GeV/c 2 and m W R > 720 GeV/c 2 at the 95% confidence level, valid for m N R W R and m N R much-lt m W R respectively (assuming Standard Model couplings). The latter also represents a new lower limit on the mass of a heavy left-handed W boson (W') decaying into eν. In addition, limits on m W R valid for larger values of the N R mass were obtained assuming that N R decays to an electron and two jets. 50 refs., 58 figs., 14 tabs

Hand Hygiene – Evaluation of Three Disinfectant Hand Sanitizers in a Community Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Babeluk, Rita; Jutz, Sabrina; Mertlitz, Sarah; Matiasek, Johannes; Klaus, Christoph

2014-01-01

Hand hygiene is acknowledged as the single most important measure to prevent nosocomial infections in the healthcare setting. Similarly, in non-clinical settings, hand hygiene is recognised as a key element in helping prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three different disinfectant hand sanitizers in reducing the burden of bacterial hand contamination in 60 healthy volunteers in a community setting, both before and after education about the correct use of hand sanitizers. The study is the first to evaluate the efficacy and ease of use of different formulations of hand rubs used by the general population. The products tested were: Sterillium (perfumed, liquid), desderman pure gel (odorless, gel) and Lavit (perfumed, spray). Sterillium and desderman are EN1500 (hygienic hand rub) certified products (available in pharmacy) and Lavit is non EN1500 certified and available in supermarkets. The two EN1500 certified products were found to be significantly superior in terms of reducing bacterial load. desderman pure gel, Sterillium and Lavit reduced the bacterial count to 6.4%, 8.2% and 28.0% respectively. After education in the correct use of each hand rub, the bacterial load was reduced even further, demonstrating the value of education in improving hand hygiene. Information about the testers' perceptions of the three sanitizers, together with their expectations of a hand sanitizer was obtained through a questionnaire. Efficacy, followed by skin compatibility were found to be the two most important attributes of a hand disinfectant in our target group. PMID:25379773

Efficacy of alcohol-based hand sanitizer on hands soiled with dirt and cooking oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, Amy J; Davis, Jennifer; Boehm, Alexandria B

2011-09-01

Handwashing education and promotion are well established as effective strategies to reduce diarrhea and respiratory illness in countries around the world. However, access to reliable water supplies has been identified as an important barrier to regular handwashing in low-income countries. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) is an effective hand hygiene method that does not require water, but its use is not currently recommended when hands are visibly soiled. This study evaluated the efficacy of ABHS on volunteers' hands artificially contaminated with Escherichia coli in the presence of dirt (soil from Tanzania) and cooking oil. ABHS reduced levels of E. coli by a mean of 2.33 log colony forming units (CFU) per clean hand, 2.32 log CFU per dirt-covered hand, and 2.13 log CFU per oil-coated hand. No significant difference in efficacy was detected between hands that were clean versus dirty or oily. ABHS may be an appropriate hand hygiene method for hands that are moderately soiled, and an attractive option for field settings in which access to water and soap is limited.

A numerical study of scale effects on performance of a tractor type podded propeller

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choi Jung-Kyu

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, the scale effect on the performance of the podded propeller of tractor type is investigated. Turbulent flow computations are carried out for Reynolds numbers increasing progressively from model scale to full scale using the CFD analysis. The result of the flow calculation for model scale Reynolds numbers agrees well with that of the experiment of a large cavitation tunnel. The existing numerical analysis indicates that the performance of the podded propeller blades is mainly influenced by the advance coefficient and relatively little by the Reynolds number. However, the drag of pod housing with propeller in operation is different from that of pod housing without propeller due to the acceleration and swirl of propeller slipstream which is altered by propeller loading as well as the pressure recovery and friction according to Reynolds number, which suggests that the pod housing drag under the condition of propeller in operation is the key factor of the scale effect on the performance between model and full scale podded propellers. The so called ‘drag ratio’, which is the ratio of pod housing drag to total thrust of podded propeller, increases as the advance coefficient increases due to accelerated flow in the slipstream of the podded propeller. However, the increasing rate of the drag ratio reduces continuously as the Reynolds number increases from model to full scale progressively. The contribution of hydrodynamic forces, which acts on the parts composed of the pod housing with propeller operating in various loading conditions, to the thrust and the torque of the total propeller unit are presented for a range of Reynolds numbers from model to full scales.

"Puffy hand syndrome".

Science.gov (United States)

Chouk, Mickaël; Vidon, Claire; Deveza, Elise; Verhoeven, Frank; Pelletier, Fabien; Prati, Clément; Wendling, Daniel

2017-01-01

Intravenous drug addiction is responsible for many complications, especially cutaneous and infectious. There is a syndrome, rarely observed in rheumatology, resulting in "puffy hands": the puffy hand syndrome. We report two cases of this condition from our rheumatologic consultation. Our two patients had intravenous drug addiction. They presented with an edema of the hands, bilateral, painless, no pitting, occurring in one of our patient during heroin intoxication, and in the other 2 years after stopping injections. In our two patients, additional investigations (biological, radiological, ultrasound) were unremarkable, which helped us, in the context, to put the diagnosis of puffy hand syndrome. The pathophysiology, still unclear, is based in part on a lymphatic toxicity of drugs and their excipients. There is no etiological treatment but elastic compression by night has improved edema of the hands in one of our patients. Copyright © 2016 Société française de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Hand eczema classification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Diepgen, T L; Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Brandao, F M

2008-01-01

of the disease is rarely evidence based, and a classification system for different subdiagnoses of hand eczema is not agreed upon. Randomized controlled trials investigating the treatment of hand eczema are called for. For this, as well as for clinical purposes, a generally accepted classification system...... A classification system for hand eczema is proposed. Conclusions It is suggested that this classification be used in clinical work and in clinical trials....

New frontiers in the rubber hand experiment: when a robotic hand becomes one's own.

Science.gov (United States)

Caspar, Emilie A; De Beir, Albert; Magalhaes De Saldanha Da Gama, Pedro A; Yernaux, Florence; Cleeremans, Axel; Vanderborght, Bram

2015-09-01

The rubber hand illusion is an experimental paradigm in which participants consider a fake hand to be part of their body. This paradigm has been used in many domains of psychology (i.e., research on pain, body ownership, agency) and is of clinical importance. The classic rubber hand paradigm nevertheless suffers from limitations, such as the absence of active motion or the reliance on approximate measurements, which makes strict experimental conditions difficult to obtain. Here, we report on the development of a novel technology-a robotic, user- and computer-controllable hand-that addresses many of the limitations associated with the classic rubber hand paradigm. Because participants can actively control the robotic hand, the device affords higher realism and authenticity. Our robotic hand has a comparatively low cost and opens up novel and innovative methods. In order to validate the robotic hand, we have carried out three experiments. The first two studies were based on previous research using the rubber hand, while the third was specific to the robotic hand. We measured both sense of agency and ownership. Overall, results show that participants experienced a "robotic hand illusion" in the baseline conditions. Furthermore, we also replicated previous results about agency and ownership.

A clinical and SEM evaluation of the efficiency of sofscale gel and hand scaling and hand scaling alone.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, K; Vandana, K L; Reddy, V Ramesh

2002-01-01

The purpose of this study is to compose between hand scaling with abd without the calculus solvent gel (sofscale) and ultrasonic instrumentation at clinical and SEM level. 30 patients belonging to the age group of 17-50 year were selected. Patients selected were subjected to three different scaling modalities namely hand scaling (control), hand scaling using sofscale (Experimental quadrant A) and ultrasonic scaling (Experimental quadrant B), in three different quadrants. Case report forms were used to document the tooth sensitivity, soft tissue pain after scaling, patient preference of instrumentation, ease of calculus removal, patient comfort, soft tissue irritation, time taken for scaling, Bleeding while scaling, pre and post operative sulcus bleeding index. In addition to the clinical criteria, the teeth treated were extracted and evaluated using the scanning electron microscope to show potential effects on cemntal surfaces. No difference in tooth sensitivity was appreciated between control and experimental quadrant A. There was a higher degree of tooth sensitivity when treated with ultrasonic. Patients in control group appreciated a higher degree of soft tissue pain. Hand scaling using softscale produced a lesser amount of pain and treatment with ultrasoincs was the least painful. Most of the patients preferred ultrasonic scaling (70%) Calculus removal was easier. Hand scaling using sofscale gel results in more patient comfort when compared to hand scaling alone. There was no significant difference in patient comfort between handscaling using sofscale and ultrasonic scaling. The percentage of reduction of sulcus bleeding index showed no difference between the 3 scaling modalities SEM evaluation revealed that there was no significant difference the 3 scaling modalities in relation to residual calculus, cleaning efficiency and damage to the root surface. This study concluded that treatment with sofscale gel appears to be safe and effective method for removal

Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care.

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Dinah J; Moralejo, Donna; Drey, Nicholas; Chudleigh, Jane H

2010-09-08

Health care-associated infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Hand hygiene is regarded as an effective preventive measure. To update the review done in 2007, to assess the short and longer-term success of strategies to improve hand hygiene compliance and to determine whether a sustained increase in hand hygiene compliance can reduce rates of health care-associated infection. We conducted electronic searches of: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group specialised register of trials; MEDLINE; PubMed; EMBASE; CINAHL; and the BNI. Originally searched to July 2006, for the update databases were searched from August 2006 until November 2009. Randomised controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, controlled before and after studies, and interrupted time series analyses meeting explicit entry and quality criteria used by the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group were eligible for inclusion. Studies reporting indicators of hand hygiene compliance and proxy indicators such as product use were considered. Self-reported data were not considered a valid measure of compliance. Studies to promote hand hygiene compliance as part of a care bundle approach were included, providing data relating specifically to hand hygiene were presented separately. Studies were excluded if hand hygiene was assessed in simulations, non-clinical settings or the operating theatre setting. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed data quality. Four studies met the criteria for the review: two from the original review and two from the update. Two studies evaluated simple education initiatives, one using a randomized clinical trial design and the other a controlled before and after design. Both measured hand hygiene compliance by direct observation. The other two studies were both interrupted times series studies. One study presented three separate interventions within the

Hand Hygiene: When and How

Science.gov (United States)

Hand Hygiene When and How August 2009 How to handrub? How to handwash? RUB HANDS FOR HAND HYGIENE! WASH HANDS WHEN VISIBLY SOILED Duration of the ... its use. When? YOUR 5 MOMENTS FOR HAND HYGIENE 1 BEFORETOUCHINGA PATIENT 2 B P ECFLOER R ...

Utilização de um sistema de aquisição automática de dados para avaliação dos níveis de ruído de um trator agrícola de pneus Utilization of a data automatic acquisition system for noise level evaluation of an agricultural tractor with tires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Fernando dos Santos Filho

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho foi realizado na Faculdade de Engenharia de Guaratinguetá (FEG-UNESP, SP, no Laboratório de Vibração e Acústica, e numa área experimental localizada no município de Guaratinguetá, com os objetivos de determinar os níveis de ruído emitidos por um trator agrícola executando a operação de gradagem em diferentes velocidades de trabalho e analisar o conforto do operador, comparando os níveis obtidos com os recomendados pelas principais normas vigentes. Na avaliação dos níveis de ruído, utilizaram-se um trator de pneus de 55,2 kW (75 cv e uma grade destorroadora-niveladora "off-set" de 28 discos. O sistema de aquisição de dados foi constituído por sensores de ruído, condicionadores e amplificadores e um conversor analógico-digital instalados em um microcomputador e embarcados no trator ensaiado. Posteriormente, os dados foram tratados pelo Programa ORIGIN 50. Com base nos resultados, concluiu-se que o sistema trator-implemento emitiu níveis de ruído acima dos limites estipulados pelas normas, em todas as velocidades testadas.A study was carried out at the Faculdade de Engenharia de Guaratinguetá -FEG-UNESP, SP, in the acoustics and vibration laboratory as well as in an experimental area located in Guaratinguetá county. The objectives were to determine the noise levels emitted by an agricultural tire tractor during harrowing operation at different speeds and analyze the operator's comfort, by comparing the actual levels with the main effective norms. When evaluating noise levels, a 55.2 kW (75 hp tire tractor and an off-set 28-disk harrow were used. The data acquisition system consisted of some noise sensors, conditioners, amplifiers, and a digital-analogical converter plugged to a microcomputer and connected to the tractor tested. Later, the software ORIGIN 50 treated the data. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the noise levels emitted by the tractor-implement system exceeded the limits

CHALLENGES OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RESOURCES IN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper discusses the role of policy for proper and efficient library services in the electronic era. It points out some of the possible dangers of embarking in electronic resources without a proper focus at hand. Thus, it calls for today's librarians and policy makers to brainstorm and come up with working policies suitable to ...

Is the hand to speech what speech is to the hand?

Science.gov (United States)

Mildner, V

2000-01-01

Interference between the manual and the verbal performance on two types of concurrent verbal-manual tasks was studied on a sample of 48 female right-handers. The more complex verbal task (storytelling) affected both hands significantly, the less complex (essentially phonemic) task affected only the right hand, with insignificant negative influence on the left-hand performance. No significant reciprocal effects of the motor task on verbalization were found.

Electronic Health Records Place 1st at Indy 500

Science.gov (United States)

... Navigation Bar Home Current Issue Past Issues EHR Electronic Health Records Place 1st at Indy 500 Past ... last May's Indy 500 had thousands of personal Electronic Health Records on hand for those attending—and ...

Hand hygiene in reducing transient flora on the hands of healthcare workers: an educational intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapil, R; Bhavsar, H K; Madan, M

2015-01-01

Hand hygiene has now been recognised as one of the most effective intervention to control the transmission of infections in a hospital and education is an important tool to ensure its implementation. In order to convince the users and as a part of education, it is important to generate evidence on the role of hand hygiene in reducing the bacterial flora on their hands. The present study was undertaken in a tertiary care hospital to demonstrate the presence of bacterial flora on the hands of healthcare workers (HCW) in different categories, to teach them proper hand hygiene technique using alcohol-based hand rub and determine the outcome for reduction of bacteria. A total sample size of 60 subjects including resident doctors, medical students, nurses and hospital attendants were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. Each person was educated on the technique of hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub and hand impressions were cultured before and after hand hygiene. All the subjects were also given a questionnaire to assess their perception on hand hygiene. The WHO posters on proper hand hygiene were displayed in the appropriate areas of the hospital in addition, as an educational tool. Majority (42 out of 60) of the HCWs had bacterial count up to 100 colonies or more on both hands before the application of hand rub while working in the hospital. After use of alcohol hand rub with a proper hand hygiene technique, it was found that the percentage reduction was 95-99% among doctors and nurses, 70% among hospital attendants and 50% among sanitary attendants. Staphylococcus aureus was present on the hands of eight persons of which three were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The study demonstrates that transient bacteria are present on the hands of HCWs but majority could be removed by proper hand hygiene, which needs continuous education to be effective. It also shows that active education by demonstrating the proper hand hygiene technique

Hand aperture patterns in prehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Bongers, Raoul M; Zaal, Frank T J M; Jeannerod, Marc

2012-06-01

Although variations in the standard prehensile pattern can be found in the literature, these alternative patterns have never been studied systematically. This was the goal of the current paper. Ten participants picked up objects with a pincer grip. Objects (3, 5, or 7cm in diameter) were placed at 30, 60, 90, or 120cm from the hands' starting location. Usually the hand was opened gradually to a maximum immediately followed by hand closing, called the standard hand opening pattern. In the alternative opening patterns the hand opening was bumpy, or the hand aperture stayed at a plateau before closing started. Two participants in particular delayed the start of grasping with respect to start of reaching, with the delay time increasing with object distance. For larger object distances and smaller object sizes, the bumpy and plateau hand opening patterns were used more often. We tentatively concluded that the alternative hand opening patterns extended the hand opening phase, to arrive at the appropriate hand aperture at the appropriate time to close the hand for grasping the object. Variations in hand opening patterns deserve attention because this might lead to new insights into the coordination of reaching and grasping. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unimanual SNARC Effect: Hand Matters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marianna eRiello

2011-12-01

Full Text Available A structural representation of the hand embedding information about the identity and relative position of fingers is necessary to counting routines. It may also support associations between numbers and allocentric spatial codes that predictably interact with other known numerical spatial representations, such as the mental number line. In this study, 48 Western participants whose typical counting routine proceeded from thumb-to-little on both hands performed magnitude and parity binary judgments. Response keys were pressed either with the right index and middle fingers or with the left index and middle fingers in separate blocks. 24 participants responded with either hands in prone posture (i.e. palm down and 24 participants responded with either hands in supine (i.e. palm up posture. When hands were in prone posture, the counting direction of the left hand conflicted with the direction of the left-right mental number line, whereas the counting direction of the right hand was consistent with it. When hands were in supine posture, the opposite was true. If systematic associations existed between relative number magnitude and an allocentric spatial representation of the finger series within each hand, as predicted on the basis of counting habits, interactions would be expected between hand posture and a unimanual version of the Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC effect. Data revealed that with hands in prone posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the right hand, and with hands in supine posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the left hand. We propose that a posture-invariant body structural representation of the finger series provides a relevant frame of reference, a within-hand directional vector, that is associated to simple number processing. Such frame of reference can significantly interact with stimulus-response correspondence effects that have been attributed to the mapping of numbers on a mental

Comparative study of presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution versus traditional presurgical hand hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

López Martín, M Beatriz; Erice Calvo-Sotelo, Alejo

To compare presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution following the WHO protocol with traditional presurgical hand hygiene. Cultures of the hands of surgeons and surgical nurses were performed before and after presurgical hand hygiene and after removing gloves at the end of surgery. Cultures were done in 2different days: the first day after traditional presurgical hand hygiene, and the second day after presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution following the WHO protocol. The duration of the traditional hand hygiene was measured and compared with the duration (3min) of the WHO protocol. The cost of the products used in the traditional technique was compared with the cost of the hydroalcoholic solution used. The variability of the traditional technique was determined by observation. Following presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution, colony-forming units (CFU) were detected in 5 (7.3%) subjects, whereas after traditional presurgical hand hygiene CFU were detected in 14 subjects (20.5%) (p < 0.05). After glove removal, the numbers of CFU were similar. The time employed in hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution (3min) was inferior to the time employed in the traditional technique (p < 0.05), its cost was less than half, and there was no variability. Compared with other techniques, presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution significantly decreases CFU, has similar latency time, a lower cost, and saves time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Wash Your Hands

Science.gov (United States)

... hand sanitizers might not remove harmful chemicals like pesticides and heavy metals from hands. Be cautious when ... Health Promotion Materials Fact Sheets Podcasts Posters Stickers Videos Web Features Training & Education Our Partners Publications, Data & ...

Robotically enhanced rubber hand illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Arata, Jumpei; Hattori, Masashi; Ichikawa, Shohei; Sakaguchi, Masamichi

2014-01-01

The rubber hand illusion is a well-known multisensory illusion. In brief, watching a rubber hand being stroked by a paintbrush while one's own unseen hand is synchronously stroked causes the rubber hand to be attributed to one's own body and to "feel like it's my hand." The rubber hand illusion is thought to be triggered by the synchronized tactile stimulation of both the subject's hand and the fake hand. To extend the conventional rubber hand illusion, we introduce robotic technology in the form of a master-slave telemanipulator. The developed one degree-of-freedom master-slave system consists of an exoskeleton master equipped with an optical encoder that is worn on the subject's index finger and a motor-actuated index finger on the rubber hand, which allows the subject to perform unilateral telemanipulation. The moving rubber hand illusion has been studied by several researchers in the past with mechanically connected rigs between the subject's body and the fake limb. The robotic instruments let us investigate the moving rubber hand illusion with less constraints, thus behaving closer to the classic rubber hand illusion. In addition, the temporal delay between the body and the fake limb can be precisely manipulated. The experimental results revealed that the robotic instruments significantly enhance the rubber hand illusion. The time delay is significantly correlated with the effect of the multisensory illusion, and the effect significantly decreased at time delays over 100 ms. These findings can potentially contribute to the investigations of neural mechanisms in the field of neuroscience and of master-slave systems in the field of robotics.

Coordination of hand shape.

Science.gov (United States)

Pesyna, Colin; Pundi, Krishna; Flanders, Martha

2011-03-09

The neural control of hand movement involves coordination of the sensory, motor, and memory systems. Recent studies have documented the motor coordinates for hand shape, but less is known about the corresponding patterns of somatosensory activity. To initiate this line of investigation, the present study characterized the sense of hand shape by evaluating the influence of differences in the amount of grasping or twisting force, and differences in forearm orientation. Human subjects were asked to use the left hand to report the perceived shape of the right hand. In the first experiment, six commonly grasped items were arranged on the table in front of the subject: bottle, doorknob, egg, notebook, carton, and pan. With eyes closed, subjects used the right hand to lightly touch, forcefully support, or imagine holding each object, while 15 joint angles were measured in each hand with a pair of wired gloves. The forces introduced by supporting or twisting did not influence the perceptual report of hand shape, but for most objects, the report was distorted in a consistent manner by differences in forearm orientation. Subjects appeared to adjust the intrinsic joint angles of the left hand, as well as the left wrist posture, so as to maintain the imagined object in its proper spatial orientation. In a second experiment, this result was largely replicated with unfamiliar objects. Thus, somatosensory and motor information appear to be coordinated in an object-based, spatial-coordinate system, sensitive to orientation relative to gravitational forces, but invariant to grasp forcefulness.

Designing for acceptance : Exchange design for electronic intermediaries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fielt, E.J.

2006-01-01

Electronic business has brought many success stories as well as failures. Intermediaries are a particularly interesting application domain: on the one hand, they are given opportunities by electronic business to reinvent their value logic, while on the other they are threatened by opportunities for

Inexpensive and Time-Efficient Hand Hygiene Interventions Increase Elementary School Children's Hand Hygiene Rates

Science.gov (United States)

Snow, Michelle; White, George L.; Kim, Han S.

2008-01-01

Routine hand hygiene has been cited by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a cost-effective and important hygiene measure in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Several studies have explored children's hand hygiene habits, effects of scheduled hand hygiene, hand hygiene environmental…

Introduction to Density Functional Theory: Calculations by Hand on the Helium Atom

Science.gov (United States)

Baseden, Kyle A.; Tye, Jesse W.

2014-01-01

Density functional theory (DFT) is a type of electronic structure calculation that has rapidly gained popularity. In this article, we provide a step-by-step demonstration of a DFT calculation by hand on the helium atom using Slater's X-Alpha exchange functional on a single Gaussian-type orbital to represent the atomic wave function. This DFT…

Practical electronics for inventors

CERN Document Server

Scherz, Paul

2013-01-01

Spark your creativity and gain the electronics skills required to transform your innovative ideas into functioning gadgets. This hands-on, updated guide outlines electrical principles and provides thorough, easy-to-follow instructions, schematics, and illustrations. Findout how to select components, safely assemble circuits, perform error tests, and build plug-and-play prototypes. Practical Electronics for Inventors, Third Edition, features all-new chapters on sensors, microcontrollers, modular electronics, and the latest software tools. Coverage includes: Resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transformers Diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits Optoelectronics, solar cells, and phototransistors Sensors, GPS modules, and touch screens Op amps, regulators, and power supplies Digital electronics, LCD displays, and logic gates Microcontrollers and prototyping platforms, including Arduino DC motors, RC servos, and stepper motors Microphones, audio amps, and speakers Modular electronics and prototyping.

Parity violating asymmetries in polarized electron scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Derman, E.; Marciano, W.J.

1979-01-01

We discuss parity violating asymmetries between the scattering of right and left-handed electrons on a variety of targets. Implications for gauge theories from recent SLAC results on deep-inelastic electron-deuterium and electron-proton scattering are examined. A derivation of the asymmetry for electron-electron scattering is given, its advantages are pointed out, and the feasibility of such a measurement is discussed. Other proposed or contemplated asymmetry experiments are reviewed and the necessity of including the Collins-Wilczek-Zee hadronic axial isoscalar current contribution in asymmetry predictions is noted

Comparison of defects in ProTaper hand-operated and engine-driven instruments after clinical use.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, G S P; Bian, Z; Shen, Y; Peng, B; Darvell, B W

2007-03-01

To compare the type of defects and mode of material failure of engine-driven and hand-operated ProTaper instruments after clinical use. A total of 401 hand-operated and 325 engine-driven ProTaper instruments were discarded from an endodontic clinic over 17 months. Those that had fractured were examined for plastic deformation in lateral view and remounted for fractographical examination in scanning electron microscope. The mode of fracture was classified as 'fatigue' or 'shear' failure. The lengths of fractured segments in both instruments were recorded. Any distortion in hand instrument was noted. Data were analysed using chi-square, Fisher's exact or Student's t-test, where appropriate. Approximately 14% of all discarded hand-operated instruments and 14% of engine-driven instruments were fractured. About 62% of hand instruments failed because of shear fracture, compared with approximately 66% of engine-driven instruments as a result of fatigue (P hand instruments were affected by shear, and either remained intact or was fractured, compared with 5% of engine-driven instruments (P hand versus engine-driven group (P hand instruments were discarded intact but distorted (rarely for engine-driven instruments); all were in the form of unscrewing of the flutes. The location of defects in hand Finishing instruments was significantly closer to the tip than that for Shaping instruments (P ProTaper engine-driven and hand-operated instruments appeared to be different, with shear failure being more prevalent in the latter.

Clean Hands Count

Science.gov (United States)

... intended to promote or encourage adherence to CDC hand hygiene recommendations. It is a component of the Clean ... also aims to address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene and empower patients to play a role in ...

Programming of left hand exploits task set but that of right hand depends on recent history.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Rixin; Zhu, Hong

2017-07-01

There are many differences between the left hand and the right hand. But it is not clear if there is a difference in programming between left hand and right hand when the hands perform the same movement. In current study, we carried out two experiments to investigate whether the programming of two hands was equivalent or they exploited different strategies. In the first experiment, participants were required to use one hand to grasp an object with visual feedback or to point to the center of one object without visual feedback on alternate trials, or to grasp an object without visual feedback and to point the center of one object with visual feedback on alternating trials. They then performed the tasks with the other hand. The result was that previous pointing task affected current grasping when it was performed by the left hand, but not the right hand. In experiment 2, we studied if the programming of the left (or right) hand would be affected by the pointing task performed on the previous trial not only by the same hand, but also by the right (or left) hand. Participants pointed and grasped the objects alternately with two hands. The result was similar with Experiment 1, i.e., left-hand grasping was affected by right-hand pointing, whereas right-hand grasping was immune from the interference from left hand. Taken together, the results suggest that when open- and closed-loop trials are interleaved, motor programming of grasping with the right hand was affected by the nature of the online feedback on the previous trial only if it was a grasping trial, suggesting that the trial-to-trial transfer depends on sensorimotor memory and not on task set. In contrast, motor programming of grasping with the left hand can use information about the nature of the online feedback on the previous trial to specify the parameters of the movement, even when the type of movement that occurred was quite different (i.e., pointing) and was performed with the right hand. This suggests that

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... today; no cure tomorrow - Duration: 3:10. World Health Organization 75,362 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,404 views 5:46 Hand Washing Technique - ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... today; no cure tomorrow - Duration: 3:10. World Health Organization 74,478 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 411,292 views 5:46 Hand Washing Technique - ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... to promote or encourage adherence to CDC hand hygiene recommendations. It is a component of the Clean ... aims to address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene and empower patients to play a role in ...

iHand: an interactive bare-hand-based augmented reality interface on commercial mobile phones

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Junyeong; Park, Jungsik; Park, Hanhoon; Park, Jong-Il

2013-02-01

The performance of mobile phones has rapidly improved, and they are emerging as a powerful platform. In many vision-based applications, human hands play a key role in natural interaction. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the interaction between human hands and the mobile phone. Thus, we propose a vision- and hand gesture-based interface in which the user holds a mobile phone in one hand but sees the other hand's palm through a built-in camera. The virtual contents are faithfully rendered on the user's palm through palm pose estimation, and reaction with hand and finger movements is achieved that is recognized by hand shape recognition. Since the proposed interface is based on hand gestures familiar to humans and does not require any additional sensors or markers, the user can freely interact with virtual contents anytime and anywhere without any training. We demonstrate that the proposed interface works at over 15 fps on a commercial mobile phone with a 1.2-GHz dual core processor and 1 GB RAM.

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 5 Moments of Hand Hygiene - Duration: 1:53. Salem Health 13,972 views 1:53 Hand Hygiene ... Mode: Off History Help Loading... Loading... Loading... About Press Copyright Creators Advertise Developers +YouTube Terms Privacy Policy & ...

Unimanual SNARC Effect: Hand Matters.

Science.gov (United States)

Riello, Marianna; Rusconi, Elena

2011-01-01

A structural representation of the hand embedding information about the identity and relative position of fingers is necessary to counting routines. It may also support associations between numbers and allocentric spatial codes that predictably interact with other known numerical spatial representations, such as the mental number line (MNL). In this study, 48 Western participants whose typical counting routine proceeded from thumb-to-little on both hands performed magnitude and parity binary judgments. Response keys were pressed either with the right index and middle fingers or with the left index and middle fingers in separate blocks. 24 participants responded with either hands in prone posture (i.e., palm down) and 24 participants responded with either hands in supine (i.e., palm up) posture. When hands were in prone posture, the counting direction of the left hand conflicted with the direction of the left-right MNL, whereas the counting direction of the right hand was consistent with it. When hands were in supine posture, the opposite was true. If systematic associations existed between relative number magnitude and an allocentric spatial representation of the finger series within each hand, as predicted on the basis of counting habits, interactions would be expected between hand posture and a unimanual version of the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect. Data revealed that with hands in prone posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the right hand, and with hands in supine posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the left hand. We propose that a posture-invariant body structural representation of the finger series provides a relevant frame of reference, a within-hand directional vector, that is associated to simple number processing. Such frame of reference can significantly interact with stimulus-response correspondence effects, like the SNARC, that have been typically attributed to the mapping of numbers on a left

A person-oriented approach to hand hygiene behaviour: Emotional empathy fosters hand hygiene practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Sassenrath, Claudia; Diefenbacher, Svenja; Siegel, André; Keller, Johannes

2016-01-01

Adopting a social-psychological approach, this research examines whether emotional empathy, an affective reaction regarding another's well-being, fosters hand hygiene as this affects other's health-related well-being extensively. Three studies tested this notion: (a) a cross-sectional study involving a sample of health care workers at a German hospital, (b) an experiment testing the causal effect of empathy on hand hygiene behaviour and (c) an 11-week prospective study testing whether an empathy induction affected disinfectant usage frequency in two different wards of a hospital. Self-reported hand hygiene behaviour based on day reconstruction method was measured in Study 1, actual hand sanitation behaviour was observed in Study 2 and disinfectant usage frequency in two different hospital wards was assessed in Study 3. Study 1 reveals an association of empathy with hand hygiene cross-sectionally, Study 2 documents the causal effect of empathy on increased hand sanitation. Study 3 shows an empathy induction increases hand sanitiser usage in the hospital. Increasing emotional empathy promotes hand hygiene behaviour, also in hospitals. Besides providing new impulses for the design of effective interventions, these findings bear theoretical significance as they document the explanatory power of empathy regarding a distal explanandum (hand hygiene).

Improved Hand Hygiene Compliance is Associated with the Change of Perception toward Hand Hygiene among Medical Personnel

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Se Jeong; Chung, Moon Joo; Lee, Ju Hee; Kang, Hyun Joo; Lee, Jeong-a; Kim, Yong Kyun

2014-01-01

Background Hand hygiene compliance has improved significantly through hand hygiene promotion programs that have included poster campaign, monitoring and performance feedback, and education with special attentions to perceived subjective norms. We investigated factors associated with improved hand hygiene compliance, focusing on whether the improvement of hand hygiene compliance is associated with changed perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. Materials and Methods Hand hygiene compliance and perceptions toward hand hygiene among medical personnel were compared between the second quarter of 2009 (before the start of a hand hygiene promotion program) and the second quarter of 2012. We assessed adherence to hand hygiene among medical personnel quarterly according to the WHO recommended method for direct observation. Also, we used a modified self-report questionnaire to collect perception data. Results Hand hygiene compliance among physicians and nurses improved significantly from 19.0% in 2009 to 74.5% in 2012 (P Hand hygiene compliance among the medical personnel continued to improve, with a slight decline in 2013. Perceptions toward hand hygiene improved significantly between 2009 and 2012. Specifically, improvements were evident in intention to adhere to hand hygiene, knowledge about hand hygiene methods, knowledge about hand hygiene indications including care of a dirty and a clean body site on the same patient, perceived behavioral and subjective norms, positive attitude toward hand hygiene promotion campaign, perception of difficulty in adhering to hand hygiene, and motivation to improve adherence to hand hygiene. Conclusions The examined hand hygiene promotion program resulted in improved hand hygiene compliance and perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. The improved perception increased hand hygiene compliance. Especially, the perception of being a role model for other colleagues is very important to improve hand hygiene

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... intended to promote or encourage adherence to CDC hand hygiene recommendations. It is a component of the Clean ... also aims to address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene and empower patients to play a role in ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 585 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,760 ... 536,963 views 1:46 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,574 views ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 585 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 413,097 ... 089,212 views 4:50 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 26,032 views ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 029 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,404 ... 081,511 views 4:50 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,194 views ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 585 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 413,097 ... 086,746 views 4:50 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,802 views ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 453 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 413,702 ... 28,656 views 3:40 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 26,480 views ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 024 views 2:58 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,404 ... 2,805 views 3:13 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,574 views ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 362 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,404 ... 219,427 views 1:27 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,194 views ...

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 585 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 413,097 ... 28,656 views 3:40 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 26,032 views ...

Arthritis of the hand - Rheumatoid

Science.gov (United States)

... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Rheumatoid Arthritis Email to a friend * required fields ...

Ion- and electron-acoustic solitons in two-electron temperature space plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lakhina, G. S.; Kakad, A. P.; Singh, S. V.; Verheest, F.

2008-01-01

Properties of ion- and electron-acoustic solitons are investigated in an unmagnetized multicomponent plasma system consisting of cold and hot electrons and hot ions using the Sagdeev pseudopotential technique. The analysis is based on fluid equations and the Poisson equation. Solitary wave solutions are found when the Mach numbers exceed some critical values. The critical Mach numbers for the ion-acoustic solitons are found to be smaller than those for electron-acoustic solitons for a given set of plasma parameters. The critical Mach numbers of ion-acoustic solitons increase with the increase of hot electron temperature and the decrease of cold electron density. On the other hand, the critical Mach numbers of electron-acoustic solitons increase with the increase of the cold electron density as well as the hot electron temperature. The ion-acoustic solitons have positive potentials for the parameters considered. However, the electron-acoustic solitons have positive or negative potentials depending whether the fractional cold electron density with respect to the ion density is greater or less than a certain critical value. Further, the amplitudes of both the ion- and electron-acoustic solitons increase with the increase of the hot electron temperature. Possible application of this model to electrostatic solitary waves observed on the auroral field lines by the Viking spacecraft is discussed

PARTICLE SCATTERING OFF OF RIGHT-HANDED DISPERSIVE WAVES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schreiner, C.; Kilian, P.; Spanier, F., E-mail: cschreiner@astro.uni-wuerzburg.de [Centre for Space Research, North-West University, 2520 Potchefstroom (South Africa)

2017-01-10

Resonant scattering of fast particles off low frequency plasma waves is a major process determining transport characteristics of energetic particles in the heliosphere and contributing to their acceleration. Usually, only Alfvén waves are considered for this process, although dispersive waves are also present throughout the heliosphere. We investigate resonant interaction of energetic electrons with dispersive, right-handed waves. For the interaction of particles and a single wave a variable transformation into the rest frame of the wave can be performed. Here, well-established analytic models derived in the framework of magnetostatic quasi-linear theory can be used as a reference to validate simulation results. However, this approach fails as soon as several dispersive waves are involved. Based on analytic solutions modeling the scattering amplitude in the magnetostatic limit, we present an approach to modify these equations for use in the plasma frame. Thereby we aim at a description of particle scattering in the presence of several waves. A particle-in-cell code is employed to study wave–particle scattering on a micro-physically correct level and to test the modified model equations. We investigate the interactions of electrons at different energies (from 1 keV to 1 MeV) and right-handed waves with various amplitudes. Differences between model and simulation arise in the case of high amplitudes or several waves. Analyzing the trajectories of single particles we find no microscopic diffusion in the case of a single plasma wave, although a broadening of the particle distribution can be observed.

Classification of radiolarian images with hand-crafted and deep features

Science.gov (United States)

Keçeli, Ali Seydi; Kaya, Aydın; Keçeli, Seda Uzunçimen

2017-12-01

Radiolarians are planktonic protozoa and are important biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental indicators for paleogeographic reconstructions. Radiolarian paleontology still remains as a low cost and the one of the most convenient way to obtain dating of deep ocean sediments. Traditional methods for identifying radiolarians are time-consuming and cannot scale to the granularity or scope necessary for large-scale studies. Automated image classification will allow making these analyses promptly. In this study, a method for automatic radiolarian image classification is proposed on Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of radiolarians to ease species identification of fossilized radiolarians. The proposed method uses both hand-crafted features like invariant moments, wavelet moments, Gabor features, basic morphological features and deep features obtained from a pre-trained Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). Feature selection is applied over deep features to reduce high dimensionality. Classification outcomes are analyzed to compare hand-crafted features, deep features, and their combinations. Results show that the deep features obtained from a pre-trained CNN are more discriminative comparing to hand-crafted ones. Additionally, feature selection utilizes to the computational cost of classification algorithms and have no negative effect on classification accuracy.

Professional risk of developing diseases of the peripheral nervous system in tractor drivers – machine operators of agricultural production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.A. Bezrukova

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Based on the results of the hygienic assessment of working conditions in the domestic agricultural machinery of old and new models when performing the main types of seasonal agricultural work during the annual production cycle and analysis of accumulated occupational diseases’ nosology structure in agricultural workers of the Saratov region over the period from 2004 to 2014, the estimation of professional risk diseases of the peripheral nervous system in tractor drivers – machine operators of agricultural production is given. Professional risk assessment carried out under the procedure set forth in P2.2.1766-03 has shown that the category of a priori risk to their health during an annual production cycle ranged from high to very high (unbearable. It was revealed that the most important factors shaping the harmful working conditions when working on agricultural machinery that can act as a trigger in the formation of vertebral diseases of the peripheral nervous system, are general and local vibration, adverse micro-climatic conditions, long uncomfortable static working posture and physical stress. The risk of diseases in the peripheral uneven system in machine operators of agriculture was attributed to the high risk category with an index of professional diseases (IPD equal to 0,5 %.

Impact of observing hand hygiene in practice and research: a methodological reconsideration.

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, D J; Creedon, S; Jeanes, A; Drey, N S; Chudleigh, J; Moralejo, D

2017-02-01

The purpose of hand hygiene is to break the chain of healthcare-associated infection. In many countries hand hygiene is regularly audited as part of quality assurance based on recommendations from the World Health Organization. Direct observation is the recommended audit method but is associated with disadvantages, including potential for being observed to alter usual behaviour. The Hawthorne effect in relation to hand hygiene is analogous with productivity improvement by increasing the frequency with which hand hygiene is undertaken. Unobtrusive and/or frequent observation to accustom staff to the presence of observers is considered an acceptable way of reducing the Hawthorne effect, but few publications have discussed how to implement these techniques or examine their effectiveness. There is evidence that awareness of being watched can disrupt the usual behaviour of individuals in complex and unpredictable ways other than simple productivity effect. In the presence of auditors, health workers might defer or avoid activities that require hand hygiene, but these issues are not addressed in guidelines for practice or research studies. This oversight has implications for the validity of hand hygiene audit findings. Measuring hand hygiene product use overcomes avoidance tactics. It is cheaper and generates data continuously to assess the compliance of all clinicians without disrupting patient care. Disadvantages are the risk of overestimating uptake through spillage, wastage, or use by visitors and non-clinical staff entering patient care areas. Electronic devices may overcome the Hawthorne and avoidance effects but are costly and are not widely used outside research studies. Copyright © 2016 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mind the hand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davidsen, Jacob; Christiansen, Ellen Tove

2014-01-01

Apart from touching the screen, what is the role of the hands for children collaborating around touchscreens? Based on embodied and multimodal interaction analysis of 8- and 9-year old pairs collaborating around touchscreens, we conclude that children use their hands to constrain and control acce...

Verbal Prompting, Hand-over-Hand Instruction, and Passive Observation in Teaching Children with Developmental Disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Biederman, G. B.; Fairhall, J. L.; Raven, K. A.; Davey, V. A.

1998-01-01

A study involving six children (ages 5-13) with mental retardation found that overall passive modeling was significantly more effective than hand-over-hand modeling in teaching skills, and that passive modeling was significantly more effective than hand-over-hand modeling with response-contingent verbal prompting. (Author/CR)

Dosimetry for electron beam application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, A.

1983-12-01

This report describes two aspects of electron beam dosimetry, on one hand development of film dosimeters and measurements of their properties, and on the other hand development of calorimeters for calibration of routine dosimeters, e.g. thin films. Two types of radiochromic thin film dosimeters have been developed in this department, and the properties of these and commercially available dosimeters have been measured and found to be comparable. Calorimeters which are in use for routine measurements, are being investigated with reference to their application as standardizing instruments, and new calorimeters are being developed. (author)

Upper Limb-Hand 3D Display System for Biomimetic Myoelectric Hand Simulator

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Jimenez, Gonzalo

2001-01-01

A graphics system displaying both upper limb posture and opening-closing of a prosthetic hand was developed for realtime operation of our biomimetic myoelectric hand simulator, Posture of the upper...

Complete electronics self-teaching guide with projects

CERN Document Server

Boysen, Earl

2012-01-01

An all-in-one resource on everything electronics-related! For almost 30 years, this book has been a classic text for electronics enthusiasts. Now completely updated for today's technology, this latest version combines concepts, self-tests, and hands-on projects to offer you a completely repackaged and revised resource. This unique self-teaching guide features easy-to-understand explanations that are presented in a user-friendly format to help you learn the essentials you need to work with electronic circuits. All you need is a general understanding of electronics concepts such as Oh

Desenvolvimento de equipamento motorizado para aplicação líquida de produtos fitossanitários na cultura do café Development of a walk behind tractor for spraying coffee trees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomás K. Matuo

2008-09-01

Full Text Available O trabalho teve como objetivo desenvolver um protótipo aplicador de líquidos na superfície do solo para cafezais localizados em regiões de topografia acidentada ou cultivados em sistema de plantio adensado. O protótipo do aplicador construído é um trator de rabiças acionado por um motor de dois tempos a gasolina, de 2,61 kW (3,5 cv, com duas rodas motrizes com bitola de 0,60 m e uma terceira roda direcional, equipado com sistema de pulverização dotado de depósito de 40 L, bomba centrífuga, filtros de linha, regulador de pressão, manômetro, mangueiras, válvulas e suporte de bicos. Para avaliar a eficiência do protótipo, foram instalados dois experimentos de campo em São Sebastião do Paraíso - MG (2003 e 2004, onde foram aplicados inseticidas sistêmicos para o controle da cigarra. Os métodos de aplicação avaliados foram: aplicação em faixa, filete, "drench" contínuo e "drench" intermitente. O protótipo aplicador de líquidos à superfície do solo atendeu aos objetivos propostos, visto que conseguiu realizar o controle químico de cigarras com destaque para a aplicação em "drench" contínuo. O protótipo, se equipado para aplicar simultaneamente nos dois lados da planta, apresentará capacidade de campo operacional semelhante à do equipamento tratorizado.The present research aimed to develop a motorized sprayer for coffee plantations located in sloping areas or planted in a high density planting system. The equipment developed is a walk behind tractor powered by a 2.61 kW (3.5 cv two-stroke engine, clearance of 0.60 m between two driving wheels, having a third directional wheel, equipped with spray system composed by a 40 L hopper, centrifugal pump, line filters, pressure regulator and gauge, hoses, valves and nozzles. Evaluations of the prototype were made in two field tests in São Sebastião do Paraíso - MG, Brazil (2003 and 2004, applying systemic insecticides to control the coffee cicadas. The application

Clean Hands Count

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... 03. R Mayer 371,490 views 4:03 The psychological trick behind getting people to say yes - Duration: 8:06. PBS NewsHour 606,671 views 8:06 Should You Really Wash Your Hands? - Duration: 4:51. Gross Science 57,828 views 4:51 Healthcare Worker Hand ...

Access to waterless hand sanitizer improves student hand hygiene behavior in primary schools in Nairobi, Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, Amy J; Davis, Jennifer; Blum, Annalise G; Scalmanini, Jenna; Oyier, Beryl; Okoth, George; Breiman, Robert F; Ram, Pavani K

2013-09-01

Handwashing is difficult in settings with limited resources and water access. In primary schools within urban Kibera, Kenya, we investigated the impact of providing waterless hand sanitizer on student hand hygiene behavior. Two schools received a waterless hand sanitizer intervention, two schools received a handwashing with soap intervention, and two schools received no intervention. Hand cleaning behavior after toilet use was monitored for 2 months using structured observation. Hand cleaning after toileting was 82% at sanitizer schools (N = 2,507 toileting events), 38% at soap schools (N = 3,429), and 37% at control schools (N = 2,797). Students at sanitizer schools were 23% less likely to have observed rhinorrhea than control students (P = 0.02); reductions in student-reported gastrointestinal and respiratory illness symptoms were not statistically significant. Providing waterless hand sanitizer markedly increased student hand cleaning after toilet use, whereas the soap intervention did not. Waterless hand sanitizer may be a promising option to improve student hand cleansing behavior, particularly in schools with limited water access.

Robotic hand and fingers

Science.gov (United States)

Salisbury, Curt Michael; Dullea, Kevin J.

2017-06-06

Technologies pertaining to a robotic hand are described herein. The robotic hand includes one or more fingers releasably attached to a robotic hand frame. The fingers can abduct and adduct as well as flex and tense. The fingers are releasably attached to the frame by magnets that allow for the fingers to detach from the frame when excess force is applied to the fingers.

Comparison of ethanol hand sanitizer versus moist towelette packets for mealtime patient hand hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, Herleen; Knighton, Shanina; Zabarsky, Trina F; Donskey, Curtis J

2017-09-01

To facilitate patient hand hygiene, there is a need for easy-to-use products. In a survey of 100 patients, a single-use ethanol hand sanitizer packet took less time to access than a single-use moist towelette packet (3 vs 23 seconds) and was preferred by 74% of patients for mealtime hand hygiene. Performance of patient hand hygiene increased when a reminder was provided at the time of meal tray delivery. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing: the disruptive effects of attention to the hands in skilled typewriting.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Gordon D; Crump, Matthew J C

2009-10-01

Everyone knows that attention to the details disrupts skilled performance, but little empirical evidence documents this fact. We show that attention to the hands disrupts skilled typewriting. We had skilled typists type words preceded by cues that told them to type only the letters assigned to one hand or to type all of the letters. Cuing the hands disrupted performance markedly, slowing typing and increasing the error rate (Experiment 1); these deleterious effects were observed even when no keystrokes were actually inhibited (Experiment 3). However, cuing the same letters with colors was not disruptive (Experiment 2). We account for the disruption with a hierarchical control model, in which an inner loop controls the hands and an outer loop controls what is typed. Typing letters using only one hand requires the outer loop to monitor the inner loop's output; the outer loop slows inner-loop cycle time to increase the likelihood of inhibiting responses with the unwanted hand. This produces the disruption.

Waterless Hand Rub Versus Traditional Hand Scrub Methods for Preventing the Surgical Site Infection in Orthopedic Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwakiri, Kentaro; Kobayashi, Akio; Seki, Masahiko; Ando, Yoshiyuki; Tsujio, Tadao; Hoshino, Masatoshi; Nakamura, Hiroaki

2017-11-15

MINI: Fourteen hundred consecutive patients were investigated for evaluating the utility of waterless hand rub before orthopaedic surgery. The risk in the surgical site infection incidence was the same, but costs of liquids used for hand hygiene were cheaper and the hand hygiene time was shorter for waterless protocol, compared with traditional hand scrub. A retrospective cohort study with prospectively collected data. The aim of this study was to compare SSI incidences, the cost of hand hygiene agents, and hand hygiene time between the traditional hand scrub and the waterless hand rub protocols before orthopedic surgery. Surgical site infections (SSI) prolong hospitalization and are a leading nosocomial cause of morbidity and a source of excess cost. Recently, a waterless hand rub protocol comprising alcohol based chlorhexidine gluconate for use before surgery was developed, but no studies have yet examined its utility in orthopedic surgery. Fourteen hundred consecutive patients who underwent orthopedic surgery (spine, joint replacement, hand, and trauma surgeries) in our hospital since April 1, 2012 were included. A total of 712 cases underwent following traditional hand scrub between April 1, 2012 and April 30, 2013 and 688 cases underwent following waterless hand rub between June 1, 2013 and April 30, 2014. We compared SSI incidences within all and each subcategory between two hand hygiene protocols. All patients were screened for SSI within 1 year after surgery. We compared the cost of hand hygiene agents and hand hygiene time between two groups. The SSI incidences were 1.3% (9 of 712) following the traditional protocol (2 deep and 7 superficial infections) and 1.1% (8 of 688) following the waterless protocol (all superficial infections). There were no significant differences between the two groups. The costs of liquids used for one hand hygiene were about $2 for traditional hand scrub and less than $1 for waterless hand rub. The mean hand hygiene time was 264

A kinetic model for runaway electrons in the ionosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Garcia

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Electrodynamic models and measurements with satellites and incoherent scatter radars predict large field aligned current densities on one side of the auroral arcs. Different authors and different kinds of studies (experimental or modeling agree that the current density can reach up to hundreds of µA/m2. This large current density could be the cause of many phenomena such as tall red rays or triggering of unstable ion acoustic waves. In the present paper, we consider the issue of electrons moving through an ionospheric gas of positive ions and neutrals under the influence of a static electric field. We develop a kinetic model of collisions including electrons/electrons, electrons/ions and electrons/neutrals collisions. We use a Fokker-Planck approach to describe binary collisions between charged particles with a long-range interaction. We present the essential elements of this collision operator: the Langevin equation for electrons/ions and electrons/electrons collisions and the Monte-Carlo and null collision methods for electrons/neutrals collisions. A computational example is given illustrating the approach to equilibrium and the impact of the different terms (electrons/electrons and electrons/ions collisions on the one hand and electrons/neutrals collisions on the other hand. Then, a parallel electric field is applied in a new sample run. In this run, the electrons move in the z direction parallel to the electric field. The first results show that all the electron distribution functions are non-Maxwellian. Furthermore, runaway electrons can carry a significant part of the total current density, up to 20% of the total current density.

Body mass index and progressive hand osteoarthritis: data from the Oslo hand osteoarthritis cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnusson, K; Slatkowsky-Christensen, B; van der Heijde, D; Kvien, T K; Hagen, K B; Haugen, I K

2015-01-01

Few longitudinal studies have studied the association between body mass index (BMI) and hand osteoarthritis (OA). We aimed to explore the association between BMI and progressive hand OA in a longitudinal study of the Oslo hand OA cohort. Participants with existing hand OA had hand radiographs and BMI data taken at baseline and 7-year follow-up (n = 103). The radiographs were read according to the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) scale. First, we examined the association between baseline BMI and incident OA (KL grade ≥ 2) in joints without OA at baseline (adjusted for age and sex) using generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses. Second, we examined whether changes in BMI from baseline to follow-up were associated with increasing KL sum score from baseline to follow-up using linear regression. We repeated the analyses using changes in number of joints with symptomatic OA and patient-reported pain and physical function as the outcome. The mean (SD) age at baseline was 61.6 (5.6) years and 91 (94%) of the cohort were women. The mean (SD) BMI was 25.7 (4.0) kg/m(2) at baseline and the mean (SD) BMI change was 1.1 (2.0) kg/m(2). There was no relationship between baseline BMI and development of more joints with OA during follow-up. Similarly, there was no association between change in BMI and hand OA progression, increasing hand pain or disability. In the Oslo hand OA cohort, higher BMI was not related to hand OA progression.

Thresholds of whole-blood β-hydroxybutyrate and glucose concentrations measured with an electronic hand-held device to identify ovine hyperketonemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pichler, M; Damberger, A; Schwendenwein, I; Gasteiner, J; Drillich, M; Iwersen, M

2014-03-01

Metabolic disorders, especially hyperketonemia, are very common in dairy sheep. The whole-blood concentrations of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) and glucose can be determined by commercially available electronic hand-held devices, which are used in human medicine and for the detection of ketosis in dairy cows. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the hand-held device Precision Xceed (PX; Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Park, IL) to detect hyperketonemia in ewes. An additional objective of this study was to evaluate the agreement between samples obtained by minimal invasive venipuncture of an ear vein and measurements of whole-blood samples from the jugular vein (vena jugularis, v. jug.). Blood samples taken from the v. jug. were collected from 358 ewes on 4 different farms. These samples and a blood drop obtained from an ear vein were analyzed simultaneously on farm with the PX. For method comparison, the samples obtained from the v. jug. were also analyzed by standard methods, which served as the gold standard at the Central Laboratory of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria. The correlation coefficients between the serum BHBA concentration and the concentrations measured with the hand-held meter in the whole blood from an ear vein and the v. jug. were 0.94 and 0.96, respectively. The correlation coefficients of plasma and whole-blood glucose concentration were 0.68 for the v. jug. and 0.47 for the ear vein. The mean glucose concentration was significantly lower in animals classified as hyperketonemic (BHBA ≥ 1.6 mmol/L) compared with healthy ewes. Whole-blood concentrations of BHBA and glucose measured with the PX from v. jug. showed a constant negative bias of 0.15 mmol/L and 8.4 mg/dL, respectively. Hence, a receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to determine thresholds for the PX to detect hyperketonemia in ewes. This resulted in thresholds for moderate ketosis of BHBA concentrations of 0.7 mmol/L in blood

On the Other Hand : Nondominant Hand Use Increases Sense of Agency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damen, Tom G. E.; Dijksterhuis, Ap; van Baaren, Rick B.

In two studies, we investigated the influence of hand dominance on the sense of self-causation or agency. Participants alternately used their dominant or nondominant hand to cause the occurrence of an effect (a tone) in a task in which agency was made ambiguous. Participants were subsequently asked

Hand Osteoblastoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Farzan

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Osteoblastoma is one of the rarest primary bone tumors. Although, small bones of the hands and feet are the third most common location for this tumor, the hand involvement is very rare and few case observations were published in the English-language literature. Materials and Methods: In this study, we report five cases of benign osteoblastoma of the hand, 3 in metacarpals and two in phalanxes. The clinical feature is not specific. The severe nocturnal, salicylate-responsive pain is not present in patients with osteoblastoma. The pain is dull, persistent and less localized. The clinical course is usually long and there is often symptoms for months before medical attention are sought. Swelling is a more persistent finding in osteoblastoma of the hand that we found in all of our patients. The radiologic findings are indistinctive, so preoperative diagnosis based on X-ray appearance is difficult. In all of our 5 cases, we fail to consider osteoblastoma as primary diagnosis. Pathologically, osteoblastoma consisting of a well-vascularized connective tissue stroma in which there is active production of osteoid and primitive woven bone. Treatment depends on the stage and localization of the tumor. Curettage and bone grafting is sufficient in stage 1 or stage 2, but in stage 3 wide resection is necessary for prevention of recurrence. Osteosarcoma is the most important differential diagnosis that may lead to inappropriate operation.

Sites that Can Produce Left-handed Amino Acids in the Supernova Neutrino Amino Acid Processing Model

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Richard N.; Famiano, Michael A.; Onaka, Takashi; Kajino, Toshitaka

2018-03-01

The Supernova Neutrino Amino Acid Processing model, which uses electron anti-neutrinos and the magnetic field from a source object such as a supernova to selectively destroy one amino acid chirality, is studied for possible sites that would produce meteoroids with partially left-handed amino acids. Several sites appear to provide the requisite magnetic field intensities and electron anti-neutrino fluxes. These results have obvious implications for the origin of life on Earth.

Genetic algorithm based on optimization of neural network structure for fault diagnosis of the clutch retainer mechanism of MF 285 tractor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. F Mousavi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction The diagnosis of agricultural machinery faults must be performed at an opportune time, in order to fulfill the agricultural operations in a timely manner and to optimize the accuracy and the integrity of a system, proper monitoring and fault diagnosis of the rotating parts is required. With development of fault diagnosis methods of rotating equipment, especially bearing failure, the security, performance and availability of machines has been increasing. In general, fault detection is conducted through a specific procedure which starts with data acquisition and continues with features extraction, and subsequently failure of the machine would be detected. Several practical methods have been introduced for fault detection in rotating parts of machineries. The review of the literature shows that both Artificial Neural Networks (ANN and Support Vector Machines (SVM have been used for this purpose. However, the results show that SVM is more effective than Artificial Neural Networks in fault detection of such machineries. In some smart detection systems, incorporating an optimized method such as Genetic Algorithm in the Neural Network model, could improve the fault detection procedure. Consequently, the fault detection performance of neural networks may also be improved by combining with the Genetic Algorithm and hence will be comparable with the performance of the Support Vector Machine. In this study, the so called Genetic Algorithm (GA method was used to optimize the structure of the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN for fault detection of the clutch retainer mechanism of Massey Ferguson 285 tractor. Materials and Methods The test rig consists of some electro mechanical parts including the clutch retainer mechanism of Massey Ferguson 285 tractor, a supporting shaft, a single-phase electric motor, a loading mechanism to model the load of the tractor clutch and the corresponding power train gears. The data acquisition section consists of a

Electron ring design for HERA, including spin-matching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skuja, A.; Hand, L.; Steffen, K.; Barber, D.

1984-01-01

A. Skuja has been working in collaboration with Professor Lou Hand in obtaining an optics for the electron ring at HERA that satisfies the usual constraints of an electron storage ring, but in addition allows longitudinal polarization in the interaction region without depolarizing the electron beam completely. This collaboration effort grew out of their work on a possible electron ring at Fermilab. When this project was degraded in priority at Fermilab, they turned their attention to the HERA project at DESY. The HERA project will have an electron ring of about 30 GeV e - (or e + ) incident on 800 GeV protons. Recently it has been decided that the collisions should be head on (0 0 crossing), although all previous designs had a crossing angle of the 2 beams of 20 mrad. Professors Hand and Skuja implemented a complete program in the last year and a half that could fit the usual Turis parameters as well as the so called 12 spin-matching conditions of Chao and Yukoya for all possible machine elements including solenoids. The program has the possibility of fully coupling vertical and horizontal motion using the usual eigenvalue method

[Disinfection efficacy of hand hygiene based on chlorhexidine gluconate content and usage of alcohol-based hand-rubbing solution].

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Ippei; Watanabe, Kiyoshi; Nakaminami, Hidemasa; Azuma, Chihiro; Noguchi, Norihisa

2014-01-01

Recently, the procedure for surgical hand hygiene has been switching to a two-stage method and hand-rubbing method from the traditional hand-scrubbing method. Both the two-stage and hand-rubbing methods use alcohol-based hand-rubbing after hand washing. The former requires 5 min of antiseptic hand washing, and the latter 1 min of nonantiseptic hand washing. For a prolonged bactericidal effect in terms of surgical hand hygiene, chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) has been noted due to its residual activity. However, no detailed study comparing the disinfection efficacy and prolonged effects according to different contents of CHG and the usage of alcohol-based hand-rubbing has been conducted. The glove juice method is able to evaluate disinfection efficacy and prolonged effects of the disinfectants more accurately because it can collect not only transitory bacteria but also normal inhabitants on hands. In the present study, we examined the disinfection efficacy and prolonged effects on alcohol-based hand-rubbing containing CHG by six hand-rubbing methods and three two-stage methods using the glove juice method. In both methods, 3 mL (one pump dispenser push volume) alcohol-based hand-rubbing solution containing 1% (w/v) CHG showed the highest disinfection efficacy and prolonged effects, and no significant difference was found between the hand-rubbing and two-stage methods. In the two methods of hand hygiene, the hand-rubbing method was able to save time and cost. Therefore, the data strongly suggest that the hand-rubbing method using a one pump dispenser push volume of alcohol-based hand-rubbing solution containing 1% (w/v) CHG is suitable for surgical hand hygiene.

Multi-fingered robotic hand

Science.gov (United States)

Ruoff, Carl F. (Inventor); Salisbury, Kenneth, Jr. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A robotic hand is presented having a plurality of fingers, each having a plurality of joints pivotally connected one to the other. Actuators are connected at one end to an actuating and control mechanism mounted remotely from the hand and at the other end to the joints of the fingers for manipulating the fingers and passing externally of the robot manipulating arm in between the hand and the actuating and control mechanism. The fingers include pulleys to route the actuators within the fingers. Cable tension sensing structure mounted on a portion of the hand are disclosed, as is covering of the tip of each finger with a resilient and pliable friction enhancing surface.

Improved Hand Hygiene Compliance is Associated with the Change of Perception toward Hand Hygiene among Medical Personnel

OpenAIRE

Lee, Seung Soon; Park, Se Jeong; Chung, Moon Joo; Lee, Ju Hee; Kang, Hyun Joo; Lee, Jeong-a; Kim, Yong Kyun

2014-01-01

Background Hand hygiene compliance has improved significantly through hand hygiene promotion programs that have included poster campaign, monitoring and performance feedback, and education with special attentions to perceived subjective norms. We investigated factors associated with improved hand hygiene compliance, focusing on whether the improvement of hand hygiene compliance is associated with changed perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. Materials and Methods Hand hygien...

Access to Waterless Hand Sanitizer Improves Student Hand Hygiene Behavior in Primary Schools in Nairobi, Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, Amy J.; Davis, Jennifer; Blum, Annalise G.; Scalmanini, Jenna; Oyier, Beryl; Okoth, George; Breiman, Robert F.; Ram, Pavani K.

2013-01-01

Handwashing is difficult in settings with limited resources and water access. In primary schools within urban Kibera, Kenya, we investigated the impact of providing waterless hand sanitizer on student hand hygiene behavior. Two schools received a waterless hand sanitizer intervention, two schools received a handwashing with soap intervention, and two schools received no intervention. Hand cleaning behavior after toilet use was monitored for 2 months using structured observation. Hand cleaning after toileting was 82% at sanitizer schools (N = 2,507 toileting events), 38% at soap schools (N = 3,429), and 37% at control schools (N = 2,797). Students at sanitizer schools were 23% less likely to have observed rhinorrhea than control students (P = 0.02); reductions in student-reported gastrointestinal and respiratory illness symptoms were not statistically significant. Providing waterless hand sanitizer markedly increased student hand cleaning after toilet use, whereas the soap intervention did not. Waterless hand sanitizer may be a promising option to improve student hand cleansing behavior, particularly in schools with limited water access. PMID:23836575

Access to Waterless Hand Sanitizer Improves Student Hand Hygiene Behavior in Primary Schools in Nairobi, Kenya

OpenAIRE

Pickering, Amy J.; Davis, Jennifer; Blum, Annalise G.; Scalmanini, Jenna; Oyier, Beryl; Okoth, George; Breiman, Robert F.; Ram, Pavani K.

2013-01-01

Handwashing is difficult in settings with limited resources and water access. In primary schools within urban Kibera, Kenya, we investigated the impact of providing waterless hand sanitizer on student hand hygiene behavior. Two schools received a waterless hand sanitizer intervention, two schools received a handwashing with soap intervention, and two schools received no intervention. Hand cleaning behavior after toilet use was monitored for 2 months using structured observation. Hand cleaning...

Interventions to Improve Hand Hygiene Compliance in the ICU: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lydon, Sinéad; Power, Michael; McSharry, Jennifer; Byrne, Molly; Madden, Caoimhe; Squires, Janet Elaine; O'Connor, Paul

2017-11-01

To synthesize the literature describing interventions to improve hand hygiene in ICUs, to evaluate the quality of the extant research, and to outline the type, and efficacy, of interventions described. Systematic searches were conducted in November 2016 using five electronic databases: Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Embase, and Web of Science. Additionally, the reference lists of included studies and existing review papers were screened. English language, peer-reviewed studies that evaluated an intervention to improve hand hygiene in an adult ICU setting, and reported hand hygiene compliance rates collected via observation, were included. Data were extracted on the setting, participant characteristics, experimental design, hand hygiene measurement, intervention characteristics, and outcomes. Interventional components were categorized using the Behavior Change Wheel. Methodological quality was examined using the Downs and Black Checklist. Thirty-eight studies were included. The methodological quality of studies was poor, with studies scoring a mean of 8.6 of 24 (SD= 2.7). Over 90% of studies implemented a bundled intervention. The most frequently employed interventional strategies were education (78.9%), enablement (71.1%), training (68.4%), environmental restructuring (65.8%), and persuasion (65.8%). Intervention outcomes were variable, with a mean relative percentage change of 94.7% (SD= 195.7; range, 4.3-1155.4%) from pre to post intervention. This review demonstrates that best practice for improving hand hygiene in ICUs remains unestablished. Future research employing rigorous experimental designs, careful statistical analysis, and clearly described interventions is important.

Clean Hands for Life: results of a large, multicentre, multifaceted, social marketing hand-hygiene campaign.

Science.gov (United States)

Forrester, L A; Bryce, E A; Mediaa, A K

2010-03-01

A year-long multifaceted hand-hygiene campaign entitled Clean Hands for Life targeting individual, environmental and organisational factors that influence healthcare worker (HCW) hand-hygiene behaviour was implemented in 36 acute and long-term care facilities in Vancouver Coastal Health region. The campaign involved rotation of ten novel posters, two poster contests, and distribution of multiple promotional items. A social marketing approach was used to implement and monitor the effectiveness of the campaign. Evaluation included quality assurance surveys, staff surveys (baseline, mid- and post-campaign), and focus groups. A total of 141 poster contest submissions was received, 5452 staff surveys completed and 14 focus groups conducted. Overall knowledge of the importance of hand-hygiene and intention to clean hands was high at baseline. No significant differences were observed when mid- and post-campaign scores were compared to baseline. The majority (89.5%) of HCWs reported that they preferred soap and water over alcohol hand gel. A significant increase in the self-reported use of hand-hygiene products was observed particularly among HCWs not providing direct patient care. Barriers to hand-hygiene included inappropriate placement of sinks, traffic flow issues, inadequately stocked washrooms, workload and time constraints. Organisational support was visible throughout the campaign. The results showed that social marketing is an effective approach in engaging HCWs. Hand-hygiene campaigns that focus almost exclusively on increasing awareness among HCWs may not be as successful as multifaceted campaigns or campaigns that target identified barriers to hand-hygiene. Copyright 2009 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polarized electron-muon neutrino scattering to electron and neutrino in noncommutative space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MM Ettefaghi

2011-06-01

Full Text Available For neutrino scattering from polarized electron, the weak interaction term in the cross section is significantly suppressed by the polarized term. The magnetic moment term does not receive any correction from the electron polarization. Hence, the study of the magnetic moment of neutrinos through scattering from the polarized electron leads to a stronger bound on the neutrino magnetic moment compared with the unpolarized case. On the other hand, neutrinos which are electrically neutral can couple directly with photons in Noncommutative (NC QED. In this paper, we calculate the NC QED corrections on this scattering are calculated. The phase difference between the NC term and the polarized weak interaction term is π/2. Therefore, the NC term does not destroy the above suppression.

The Marble-Hand Illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Senna, Irene; Maravita, Angelo; Bolognini, Nadia; Parise, Cesare V

2014-01-01

Our body is made of flesh and bones. We know it, and in our daily lives all the senses constantly provide converging information about this simple, factual truth. But is this always the case? Here we report a surprising bodily illusion demonstrating that humans rapidly update their assumptions about the material qualities of their body, based on their recent multisensory perceptual experience. To induce a misperception of the material properties of the hand, we repeatedly gently hit participants' hand with a small hammer, while progressively replacing the natural sound of the hammer against the skin with the sound of a hammer hitting a piece of marble. After five minutes, the hand started feeling stiffer, heavier, harder, less sensitive, unnatural, and showed enhanced Galvanic skin response (GSR) to threatening stimuli. Notably, such a change in skin conductivity positively correlated with changes in perceived hand stiffness. Conversely, when hammer hits and impact sounds were temporally uncorrelated, participants did not spontaneously report any changes in the perceived properties of the hand, nor did they show any modulation in GSR. In two further experiments, we ruled out that mere audio-tactile synchrony is the causal factor triggering the illusion, further demonstrating the key role of material information conveyed by impact sounds in modulating the perceived material properties of the hand. This novel bodily illusion, the 'Marble-Hand Illusion', demonstrates that the perceived material of our body, surely the most stable attribute of our bodily self, can be quickly updated through multisensory integration.

An in vitro evaluation of the accuracy of four electronic apex locators using stainless-steel and nickel-titanium hand files

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paras Mull Gehlot

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the accuracy of working length (WL determination of four electronic apex locators (EALs, namely, Root ZX (RZX, Elements diagnostic unit and apex locator (ELE, SybronEndo Mini Apex locator (MINI and Propex pixi (PIXI using Stainless steel (SS and nickel-titanium (NiTi hand files. The null hypothesis was that there was no difference between canal length determination by SS and NiTi files of 4 EALs. Materials and Methods Sixty extracted, single rooted human teeth were decoronated and the canal orifice flared. The actual length (AL was assessed visually, and the teeth were embedded in an alginate model. The electronic length (EL measurements were recorded with all four EALs using SS and NiTi files at '0.5' reading on display. The differences between the AL and EL were compared. Results The results obtained with each EAL with SS and NiTi files were compared with AL. A paired sample t test showed that there was a statistical significant difference between EAL readings with SS and NiTi files for RZX and MINI (p < 0.05. The accuracy of RZX, ELE, MINI and PIXI within ± 0.5 mm of AL with SS/NiTi files were 93.3%/70%, 90%/91.7%, 95%/68.3%, and 83.3%/83.3%, respectively. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that Root ZX was statistically more accurate with NiTi files compared to SS files, while MINI was statistically more accurate with SS files compared to NiTi files. ELE and PIXI were not affected by the alloy type of the file used to determine WL.

Evaluation Of Onion Production On Sandy Soils By Use Of Reduced Tillage And Controlled Traffic Farming With Wide Span Tractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedersen Hans Henrik

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Growing of vegetables is often characterised by intensive field traffic and use of heavy machines. By implementing controlled traffic farming (CTF, compaction of the growth zone can be avoided. An experiment was established in an onion field on a coarse sandy loam. Treatments were applied in the field that for five years had been managed by seasonal CTF (SCTF, where harvest is performed by random traffic due to lack of suitable harvest machines. The main treatment was compaction with a fully loaded potato harvester. The split treatment in the crossed split plot design was mechanical loosening. Bulk density, macroporosity, penetration resistance, water retention characteristics and yield were measured. Mechanical loosening caused improvements in the physical soil measurements and more roots were found in the upper soil layers. The highest yield was however found in the CTF simulation plots (19% higher than in the SCTF simulated plots. Using wide span tractors as a harvest platform will enable CTF in vegetable production. Avoidance of compaction will enable reduced tillage intensity and productivity can be improved both through higher yield of the area that is cropped and by a larger percentage of fields can be cropped area as less area will be needed for tracks.

(In)Visible Hand(s)

OpenAIRE

Predrag Zima

2007-01-01

In this paper, the author discusses the regulatory role of the state and legal norms, in market economy, especially in so-called transition countries. Legal policy, and other questions of the state and free market economy are here closely connected, because the state must ensure with legal norms that economic processes are not interrupted: only the state can establish the legal basis for a market economy. The free market’s invisible hand is acting in questions such as: what is to be produced,...

Comparison of four techniques on facility of two-hand Bag-valve-mask (BVM ventilation: E-C, Thenar Eminence, Thenar Eminence (Dominant hand-E-C (non-dominant hand and Thenar Eminence (non-dominant hand – E-C (dominant hand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Soleimanpour

2016-12-01

Conclusion: Novice participants did Thenar Eminence (non-dominant hand - E-C (dominant hand technique better than the others. Therefore, it is recommended that training of this technique was placed in educational program of medical students.

The application of force-sensing resistor sensors for measuring forces developed by the human hand.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikonovas, A; Harrison, A J L; Hoult, S; Sammut, D

2004-01-01

Most attempts to measure forces developed by the human hand have been implemented by placing force sensors on the object of interaction. Other researchers have placed sensors just on the subject's fingertips. In this paper, a system is described that measures forces over the entire hand using thin-film sensors and associated electronics. This system was developed by the authors and is able to obtain force readings from up to 60 thin-film sensors at rates of up to 400 samples/s per sensor. The sensors can be placed anywhere on the palm and/or fingers of the hand. The sensor readings, together with a video stream containing information about hand posture, are logged into a portable computer using a multiplexer, analogue-to-digital converter and software developed for the purpose. The system has been successfully used to measure forces involved in a range of everyday tasks such as driving a vehicle, lifting saucepans and hitting a golf ball. In the latter case, results are compared with those from an instrumented golf club. Future applications include the assessment of hand strength following disease, trauma or surgery, and to enable quantitative ergonomic investigations.

SPONGE ROBOTIC HAND DESIGN FOR PROSTHESES

OpenAIRE

Mine Seçkin

2016-01-01

In this study robotic hands and fingers’ materials are investigated from past to present and a sponge robotic hand is designed for biomedical applications. Emergence and necessity of soft robotic technology are explained and description of soft robot is made. Because of the importance of hand in a person’s body, researchers have dealt with robotic hand prostheses for many centuries and developed many hand types. To mimic the best for the human limbs, softness of the hand is one of the importa...

Personal hand gel for improved hand hygiene compliance on the regional anesthesia team.

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, Colby L; Schroeder, Kristopher M; Galgon, Richard E

2015-12-01

Hand hygiene reduces healthcare-associated infections, and several recent publications have examined hand hygiene in the perioperative period. Our institution's policy is to perform hand hygiene before and after patient contact. However, observation suggests poor compliance. This is a retrospective review of a quality improvement database showing the effect of personal gel dispensers on perioperative hand hygiene compliance on a regional anesthesia team. Healthcare providers assigned to the Acute Pain Service were observed for compliance with hand hygiene policy during a quality improvement initiative. Provider type and compliance were prospectively recorded in a database. Team members were then given a personal gel dispensing device and again observed for compliance. We have retrospectively reviewed this database to determine the effects of this intervention. Of the 307 encounters observed, 146 were prior to implementing personal gel dispensers. Compliance was 34%. Pre- and post-patient contact compliances were 23 and 43%, respectively. For 161 encounters after individual gel dispensers were provided, compliance was 63%. Pre- and post-patient contact compliances were 53 and 72%, respectively. Improvement in overall compliance from 34 to 63% was significant. On the Acute Pain Service, compliance with hand hygiene policy improves when individual sanitation gel dispensing devices are worn on the person.

Implementation of directly observed patient hand hygiene for hospitalized patients by hand hygiene ambassadors in Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Vincent C C; Tai, Josepha W M; Li, W S; Chau, P H; So, Simon Y C; Wong, Lisa M W; Ching, Radley H C; Ng, Modissa M L; Ho, Sara K Y; Lee, Doris W Y; Lee, W M; Wong, Sally C Y; Yuen, K Y

2016-06-01

The importance of compliance with hand hygiene by patients is increasingly recognized to prevent health care-associated infections. This descriptive study observed the effects of an education campaign, targeted to increase patients' self-initiated hand hygiene, and a hand hygiene ambassador-initiated directly observed hand hygiene program on patients' hand hygiene compliance in a university-affiliated hospital. The overall audited compliance of patients' self-initiated hand hygiene was only 37.5%, with a rate of 26.9% (112/416 episodes) before meals and medications, 27.5% (19/69 episodes) after using a urinal or bedpan, and 89.7% (87/97 episodes) after attending toilet facilities. Patients referred from a residential care home for older adults had significantly lower hand hygiene compliance (P = .007). Comparatively, the overall audited compliance of ambassador-initiated directly observed hand hygiene was 97.3% (428/440 episodes), which was significantly higher than patients' self-initiated hand hygiene via a patient education program (37.5%, 218/582 episodes, P hand hygiene can play an important role in improving compliance with hand hygiene by hospitalized patients. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accessing and operating agricultural machinery: Advancements in assistive technology for users with impaired mobility.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehlers, Shawn G; Field, William E

2018-02-14

This research focused on the advancements made in enabling agricultural workers with impaired mobility to access and operate off-road agricultural machinery. Although not a new concept, technological advancements in remote-controlled lifts, electronic actuators, electric over hydraulic controllers, and various modes of hand controls have advanced significantly, allowing operators with limited mobility to resume a high level of productivity in agricultural-related enterprises. In the United States, approximately 1.7% of the population is living with some form of paralysis or significant mobility impairment. When paired with the 2012 USDA Agriculture Census of 3.2 million farmers, it can be extrapolated that these technologies could impact 54,000 agricultural workers who have encountered disabling injuries or disease, which inhibit their ability to access and operate tractors, combines, and other self-propelled agricultural machines. Advancements in agricultural-specific technologies can allow for many of these individuals to regain the ability to effectively operate machinery once more.

Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care.

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Dinah J; Moralejo, Donna; Drey, Nicholas; Chudleigh, Jane H; Taljaard, Monica

2017-09-01

Health care-associated infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Hand hygiene is regarded as an effective preventive measure. This is an update of a previously published review. To assess the short- and long-term success of strategies to improve compliance to recommendations for hand hygiene, and to determine whether an increase in hand hygiene compliance can reduce rates of health care-associated infection. We conducted electronic searches of the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL. We conducted the searches from November 2009 to October 2016. We included randomised trials, non-randomised trials, controlled before-after studies, and interrupted time series analyses (ITS) that evaluated any intervention to improve compliance with hand hygiene using soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR), or both. Two review authors independently screened citations for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed risks of bias for each included study. Meta-analysis was not possible, as there was substantial heterogeneity across studies. We assessed the certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach and present the results narratively in a 'Summary of findings' table. This review includes 26 studies: 14 randomised trials, two non-randomised trials and 10 ITS studies. Most studies were conducted in hospitals or long-term care facilities in different countries, and collected data from a variety of healthcare workers. Fourteen studies assessed the success of different combinations of strategies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve hand hygiene compliance. Strategies consisted of the following: increasing the availability of ABHR, different types of education for staff, reminders (written and verbal), different types of performance feedback, administrative support, and staff involvement. Six studies assessed different types of performance feedback, two studies evaluated education, three studies evaluated cues such

Hand eczema: An update

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chembolli Lakshmi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Eczema, the commonest disorders afflicting the hands, is also the commonest occupational skin disease (OSD. In the dermatology outpatient departments, only the severe cases are diagnosed since patients rarely report with early hand dermatitis. Mild forms are picked up only during occupational screening. Hand eczema (HE can evolve into a chronic condition with persistent disease even after avoiding contact with the incriminated allergen / irritant. The important risk factors for hand eczema are atopy (especially the presence of dermatitis, wet work, and contact allergy. The higher prevalence in women as compared to men in most studies is related to environmental factors and is mainly applicable to younger women in their twenties. Preventive measures play a very important role in therapy as they enable the affected individuals to retain their employment and livelihood. This article reviews established preventive and therapeutic options and newer drugs like alitretinoin in hand eczema with a mention on the etiology and morphology. Identifying the etiological factors is of paramount importance as avoiding or minimizing these factors play an important role in treatment.

Recognizing the Operating Hand and the Hand-Changing Process for User Interface Adjustment on Smartphones.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Hansong; Huang, He; Huang, Liusheng; Sun, Yu-E

2016-08-20

As the size of smartphone touchscreens has become larger and larger in recent years, operability with a single hand is getting worse, especially for female users. We envision that user experience can be significantly improved if smartphones are able to recognize the current operating hand, detect the hand-changing process and then adjust the user interfaces subsequently. In this paper, we proposed, implemented and evaluated two novel systems. The first one leverages the user-generated touchscreen traces to recognize the current operating hand, and the second one utilizes the accelerometer and gyroscope data of all kinds of activities in the user's daily life to detect the hand-changing process. These two systems are based on two supervised classifiers constructed from a series of refined touchscreen trace, accelerometer and gyroscope features. As opposed to existing solutions that all require users to select the current operating hand or confirm the hand-changing process manually, our systems follow much more convenient and practical methods and allow users to change the operating hand frequently without any harm to the user experience. We conduct extensive experiments on Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones, and the evaluation results demonstrate that our proposed systems can recognize the current operating hand and detect the hand-changing process with 94.1% and 93.9% precision and 94.1% and 93.7% True Positive Rates (TPR) respectively, when deciding with a single touchscreen trace or accelerometer-gyroscope data segment, and the False Positive Rates (FPR) are as low as 2.6% and 0.7% accordingly. These two systems can either work completely independently and achieve pretty high accuracies or work jointly to further improve the recognition accuracy.

Hand Washing: Do's and Dont's

Science.gov (United States)

... hands frequently can help limit the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other microbes. Always wash your hands before: Preparing food or eating Treating wounds or caring for a sick person Inserting or removing contact lenses Always wash your hands after: Preparing food Using ...

Hand hygiene with alcohol hand rub and gloves reduces the incidence of late onset sepsis in preterm neonates.

Science.gov (United States)

Janota, Jan; Šebková, Sylva; Višňovská, Magda; Kudláčková, Jana; Hamplová, Drahomíra; Zach, Jiří

2014-10-01

To assess the impact of a hand hygiene protocol, using hand washing, alcohol hand rub and gloves when caring for preterm infants born after 31 weeks of gestation, on the incidence of neonatal late onset sepsis (LOS). All babies delivered between 32 + 0 and 36 + 6 weeks gestation and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit during a 14-month period were included. We followed a hand hygiene protocol with hand washing and alcohol hand rub (hand rub period) for the first 7 months and a protocol of hand washing, alcohol hand rub and gloves (gloves period) for the second 7 months. The hand rub and gloves groups consisted of 111 and 89 patients, respectively. Five patients were diagnosed with a total of six episodes of LOS in the hand rub group, and the incidence of LOS during the hand rub period was 2.99/1000 hospital days and 54.1/1000 admissions. There were no patients diagnosed with LOS during the gloves period (significant decrease, p = 0.028). Using a hand hygiene protocol with hand washing, hand rub and gloves significantly reduced the incidence of LOS in preterm newborns, and the results suggest that it may produce a sustained improvement in the infection rate. ©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Structure of a designed, right-handed coiled-coil tetramer containing all biological amino acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Sales, Mark; Plecs, Joseph J; Holton, James M; Alber, Tom

2007-10-01

The previous design of an unprecedented family of two-, three-, and four-helical, right-handed coiled coils utilized nonbiological amino acids to efficiently pack spaces in the oligomer cores. Here we show that a stable, right-handed parallel tetrameric coiled coil, called RH4B, can be designed entirely using biological amino acids. The X-ray crystal structure of RH4B was determined to 1.1 Angstrom resolution using a designed metal binding site to coordinate a single Yb(2+) ion per 33-amino acid polypeptide chain. The resulting experimental phases were particularly accurate, and the experimental electron density map provided an especially clear, unbiased view of the molecule. The RH4B structure closely matched the design, with equivalent core rotamers and an overall root-mean-square deviation for the N-terminal repeat of the tetramer of 0.24 Angstrom. The clarity and resolution of the electron density map, however, revealed alternate rotamers and structural differences between the three sequence repeats in the molecule. These results suggest that the RH4B structure populates an unanticipated variety of structures.

A kinetic model for runaway electrons in the ionosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Garcia

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Electrodynamic models and measurements with satellites and incoherent scatter radars predict large field aligned current densities on one side of the auroral arcs. Different authors and different kinds of studies (experimental or modeling agree that the current density can reach up to hundreds of µA/m². This large current density could be the cause of many phenomena such as tall red rays or triggering of unstable ion acoustic waves. In the present paper, we consider the issue of electrons moving through an ionospheric gas of positive ions and neutrals under the influence of a static electric field. We develop a kinetic model of collisions including electrons/electrons, electrons/ions and electrons/neutrals collisions. We use a Fokker-Planck approach to describe binary collisions between charged particles with a long-range interaction. We present the essential elements of this collision operator: the Langevin equation for electrons/ions and electrons/electrons collisions and the Monte-Carlo and null collision methods for electrons/neutrals collisions. A computational example is given illustrating the approach to equilibrium and the impact of the different terms (electrons/electrons and electrons/ions collisions on the one hand and electrons/neutrals collisions on the other hand. Then, a parallel electric field is applied in a new sample run. In this run, the electrons move in the z direction parallel to the electric field. The first results show that all the electron distribution functions are non-Maxwellian. Furthermore, runaway electrons can carry a significant part of the total current density, up to 20% of the total current density.

Degloving injuries of the hand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Krishnamoorthy

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Avulsion of skin from the hand or fingers is an injury that has a dramatic presentation. The entire musculo-skeletal unit of the finger is intact, and the patient can often move the parts of his naked hand quite normally. The challenge for the reconstructive surgeon lies in resurfacing the hand or finger with a good quality pliable sensate skin cover while preserving the movements and function of the hand. Traditionally, skin grafting has been the standard method of reconstruction in such injuries. However, skin grafting does have many disadvantages, too. This article deals with the features of such injuries, management protocols and other reconstructive options available in the armamentarium of the hand surgeon.

Hands of early primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyer, Doug M; Yapuncich, Gabriel S; Chester, Stephen G B; Bloch, Jonathan I; Godinot, Marc

2013-12-01

Questions surrounding the origin and early evolution of primates continue to be the subject of debate. Though anatomy of the skull and inferred dietary shifts are often the focus, detailed studies of postcrania and inferred locomotor capabilities can also provide crucial data that advance understanding of transitions in early primate evolution. In particular, the hand skeleton includes characteristics thought to reflect foraging, locomotion, and posture. Here we review what is known about the early evolution of primate hands from a comparative perspective that incorporates data from the fossil record. Additionally, we provide new comparative data and documentation of skeletal morphology for Paleogene plesiadapiforms, notharctines, cercamoniines, adapines, and omomyiforms. Finally, we discuss implications of these data for understanding locomotor transitions during the origin and early evolutionary history of primates. Known plesiadapiform species cannot be differentiated from extant primates based on either intrinsic hand proportions or hand-to-body size proportions. Nonetheless, the presence of claws and a different metacarpophalangeal [corrected] joint form in plesiadapiforms indicate different grasping mechanics. Notharctines and cercamoniines have intrinsic hand proportions with extremely elongated proximal phalanges and digit rays relative to metacarpals, resembling tarsiers and galagos. But their hand-to-body size proportions are typical of many extant primates (unlike those of tarsiers, and possibly Teilhardina, which have extremely large hands). Non-adapine adapiforms and omomyids exhibit additional carpal features suggesting more limited dorsiflexion, greater ulnar deviation, and a more habitually divergent pollex than observed plesiadapiforms. Together, features differentiating adapiforms and omomyiforms from plesiadapiforms indicate increased reliance on vertical prehensile-clinging and grasp-leaping, possibly in combination with predatory behaviors in

Chronic hand eczema - self-management and prognosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mollerup, Annette; Veien, Niels Kren; Johansen, Jeanne Duus

2012-01-01

the design of a randomised clinical trial to test a newly developed intervention of individual counselling versus conventional information. 300 patients consecutively referred to dermatologic treatment at two different settings are individually randomised to either the intervention programme, named 'The...... Healthy Skin Clinic' or to the control group. Block-wise randomisation according to setting and gender is carried out. The intervention offers a tool for self-monitoring; basic and specific individual counselling; the possibility of asynchronous communication with the intervention team; and an electronic......ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Hand eczema has a one-year prevalence of approximately 10 % in the general Danish population. Often the disease becomes chronic with numerous implications for the individual's daily life, occupation and quality of life. However, no guidelines of selfmanagement recommendations...

Management of Atopic Hand Dermatitis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Halling-Overgaard, Anne-Sofie; Zachariae, Claus; Thyssen, Jacob P

2017-01-01

This article provides an overview of clinical aspects of hand eczema in patients with atopic dermatitis. Hand eczema can be a part of atopic dermatitis itself or a comorbidity, for example, as irritant or allergic contact dermatitis. When managing hand eczema, it is important to first categorize...

The validity and reliability study of Hand Hygiene Belief Scale and Hand Hygiene Practices Inventory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mevlude Karadag

2016-06-01

Conclusion: The adaptation of translated and ldquo;Hand Hygiene Belief Scale and Hand Hygiene Practices Inventory and rdquo; in Turkey is found to be reliable and valid to evaluate hand hygiene belief and practices. [Cukurova Med J 2016; 41(2.000: 271-284

An automated hand hygiene compliance system is associated with improved monitoring of hand hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

McCalla, Saungi; Reilly, Maggie; Thomas, Rowena; McSpedon-Rai, Dawn

2017-05-01

Consistent hand hygiene is key to reducing health care-associated infections (HAIs) and assessing compliance with hand hygiene protocols is vital for hospital infection control staff. A new automated hand hygiene compliance system (HHCS) was trialed as an alternative to human observers in an intensive care unit and an intensive care stepdown unit at a hospital facility in the northeastern United States. Using a retrospective cohort design, researchers investigated whether implementation of the HHCS resulted in improved hand hygiene compliance and a reduction in common HAI rates. Pearson χ 2 tests were used to assess changes in compliance, and incidence rate ratios were used to test for significant differences in infection rates. During the study period, the HHCS collected many more hand hygiene events compared with human observers (632,404 vs 480) and ensured that the hospital met its compliance goals (95%+). Although decreases in multidrug-resistant organisms, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infection rates were observed, they represented nonsignificant differences. Human hand hygiene observers may not report accurate measures of compliance. The HHCS is a promising new tool for fine-grained assessment of hand hygiene compliance. Further study is needed to examine the association between the HHCS and HAI rate reduction. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recognizing the Operating Hand and the Hand-Changing Process for User Interface Adjustment on Smartphones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hansong Guo

2016-08-01

Full Text Available As the size of smartphone touchscreens has become larger and larger in recent years, operability with a single hand is getting worse, especially for female users. We envision that user experience can be significantly improved if smartphones are able to recognize the current operating hand, detect the hand-changing process and then adjust the user interfaces subsequently. In this paper, we proposed, implemented and evaluated two novel systems. The first one leverages the user-generated touchscreen traces to recognize the current operating hand, and the second one utilizes the accelerometer and gyroscope data of all kinds of activities in the user’s daily life to detect the hand-changing process. These two systems are based on two supervised classifiers constructed from a series of refined touchscreen trace, accelerometer and gyroscope features. As opposed to existing solutions that all require users to select the current operating hand or confirm the hand-changing process manually, our systems follow much more convenient and practical methods and allow users to change the operating hand frequently without any harm to the user experience. We conduct extensive experiments on Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones, and the evaluation results demonstrate that our proposed systems can recognize the current operating hand and detect the hand-changing process with 94.1% and 93.9% precision and 94.1% and 93.7% True Positive Rates (TPR respectively, when deciding with a single touchscreen trace or accelerometer-gyroscope data segment, and the False Positive Rates (FPR are as low as 2.6% and 0.7% accordingly. These two systems can either work completely independently and achieve pretty high accuracies or work jointly to further improve the recognition accuracy.

A natural approach to convey numerical digits using hand activity recognition based on hand shape features

Science.gov (United States)

Chidananda, H.; Reddy, T. Hanumantha

2017-06-01

This paper presents a natural representation of numerical digit(s) using hand activity analysis based on number of fingers out stretched for each numerical digit in sequence extracted from a video. The analysis is based on determining a set of six features from a hand image. The most important features used from each frame in a video are the first fingertip from top, palm-line, palm-center, valley points between the fingers exists above the palm-line. Using this work user can convey any number of numerical digits using right or left or both the hands naturally in a video. Each numerical digit ranges from 0 to9. Hands (right/left/both) used to convey digits can be recognized accurately using the valley points and with this recognition whether the user is a right / left handed person in practice can be analyzed. In this work, first the hand(s) and face parts are detected by using YCbCr color space and face part is removed by using ellipse based method. Then, the hand(s) are analyzed to recognize the activity that represents a series of numerical digits in a video. This work uses pixel continuity algorithm using 2D coordinate geometry system and does not use regular use of calculus, contours, convex hull and datasets.

Regular use of a hand cream can attenuate skin dryness and roughness caused by frequent hand washing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kampf Günter

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Aim of the study was to determine the effect of the regular use of a hand cream after washing hands on skin hydration and skin roughness. Methods Twenty-five subjects washed hands and forearms with a neutral soap four times per day, for 2 minutes each time, for a total of two weeks. One part of them used a hand cream after each hand wash, the others did not (cross over design after a wash out period of two weeks. Skin roughness and skin hydration were determined on the forearms on days 2, 7, 9 and 14. For skin roughness, twelve silicon imprint per subject and time point were taken from the stratum corneum and assessed with a 3D skin analyzer for depth of the skin relief. For skin hydration, five measurements per subject and time point were taken with a corneometer. Results Washing hands lead to a gradual increase of skin roughness from 100 (baseline to a maximum of 108.5 after 9 days. Use of a hand cream after each hand wash entailed a decrease of skin roughness which the lowest means after 2 (94.5 and 14 days (94.8. Skin hydration was gradually decreased after washing hands from 79 (baseline to 65.5 after 14 days. The hand wash, followed by use of a hand cream, still decreased skin hydration after 2 days (76.1. Over the next 12 days, however, skin hydration did not change significantly (75.6 after 14 days. Conclusion Repetitive and frequent hand washing increases skin dryness and roughness. Use of a hand cream immediately after each hand wash can confine both skin dryness and skin roughness. Regular use of skin care preparations should therefore help to prevent both dry and rough skin among healthcare workers in clinical practice.

Search for a Heavy Right-Handed W Boson and Heavy Right-Handed Neutrino of the Left-Right Symmetric Extension of the Standard Theory

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00345539

A search for a heavy right-handed $W_{R}$ boson, and heavy right-handed neutrinos $N_{\\ell}$ ($\\ell = e, \\mu$) performed by the CMS experiment is summarized here. Using the 2.6 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the CMS experiment in 2015 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, this search seeks evidence of a $W_{R}$ boson and $N_{\\ell}$ neutrinos in events with two leptons and two jets. The data do not significantly exceed expected backgrounds, and are consistent with expected results of the Standard Theory given uncertainties. For Standard Theory extensions with strict left-right symmetry, and assuming only one $N_{\\ell}$ flavor contributes significantly to the $W_{R}$ decay width, mass limits are set in the two-dimensional $(M_{W_{R}}, M_{N_{\\ell}})$ plane at 95\\% confidence level. The limits extend to a $W_{R}$ mass of 3.3 TeV in the electron channel and 3.5 TeV in the muon channel, and span a wide range of $M_{N_{\\ell}}$ masses below $M_{W_{R}}$.

Prevention of hand eczema

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fisker, Maja H; Ebbehøj, Niels E; Vejlstrup, Søren Grove

2018-01-01

Objective Occupational hand eczema has adverse health and socioeconomic impacts for the afflicted individuals and society. Prevention and treatment strategies are needed. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention on sickness absence, quality of life and severity...... of hand eczema. Methods PREVEX (PreVention of EXema) is an individually randomized, parallel-group superiority trial investigating the pros and cons of one-time, 2-hour, group-based education in skin-protective behavior versus treatment as usual among patients with newly notified occupational hand eczema...

Natural control capabilities of robotic hands by hand amputated subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Atzori, Manfredo; Gijsberts, Arjan; Caputo, Barbara; Muller, Henning

2014-01-01

People with transradial hand amputations who own a myoelectric prosthesis currently have some control capabilities via sEMG. However, the control systems are still limited and not natural. The Ninapro project is aiming at helping the scientific community to overcome these limits through the creation of publicly available electromyography data sources to develop and test machine learning algorithms. In this paper we describe the movement classification results gained from three subjects with an homogeneous level of amputation, and we compare them with the results of 40 intact subjects. The number of considered subjects can seem small at first sight, but it is not considering the literature of the field (which has to face the difficulty of recruiting trans-radial hand amputated subjects). The classification is performed with four different classifiers and the obtained balanced classification rates are up to 58.6% on 50 movements, which is an excellent result compared to the current literature. Successively, for each subject we find a subset of up to 9 highly independent movements, (defined as movements that can be distinguished with more than 90% accuracy), which is a deeply innovative step in literature. The natural control of a robotic hand in so many movements could lead to an immediate progress in robotic hand prosthetics and it could deeply change the quality of life of amputated subjects.

Life-style factors and hand eczema.

Science.gov (United States)

Anveden Berglind, I; Alderling, M; Meding, B

2011-09-01

Previous knowledge of the impact of certain life-style factors on hand eczema is scanty. To investigate a possible association between hand eczema and life-style factors such as obesity, physical exercise, stress, smoking and alcohol consumption. In a cross-sectional public health survey in Stockholm, Sweden, 27,994 (58%) randomly chosen individuals aged 18-64 years completed a postal questionnaire regarding physical and mental health, social relations, economic status and work. Of these, 27,793 individuals responded to the question regarding hand eczema and were included in the present study. The association between life-style factors and hand eczema was analysed by prevalence proportion ratios (PPR), using a generalized linear model. Hand eczema was more common among individuals who reported high stress levels, PPR 1·326 (95% CI 1·303-1·350). There was also a positive dose-response relationship between hand eczema and stress. Hand eczema was less common among individuals reporting high physical exercise, and most apparent in women, PPR 0·781 (95% CI 0·770-0·792). Men who reported high alcohol intake reported hand eczema less often, PPR 0·958 (95% CI 0·930-0·987). Obese individuals reported hand eczema more commonly, PPR 1·204 (95% CI 1·174-1·234). There was a slight increase of hand eczema among smokers, PPR 1·025 (95% CI 1·006-1·044). Hand eczema was more common in individuals who reported stress, obesity and smoking. In individuals who reported high physical exercise levels hand eczema was less common. As there appears to be an association between life-style factors and hand eczema it is important to consider life-style factors in clinical practice. © 2011 The Authors. BJD © 2011 British Association of Dermatologists.

Hybrid simulation of electron cyclotron resonance heating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ropponen, T. [Department of Physics, University of Jyvaeskylae, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 (Finland)], E-mail: tommi.ropponen@phys.jyu.fi; Tarvainen, O. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Suominen, P. [CERN Geneve 23, CH-1211 (Switzerland); Koponen, T.K. [Department of Physics, University of Jyvaeskylae, Nanoscience Center, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 (Finland); Kalvas, T.; Koivisto, H. [Department of Physics, University of Jyvaeskylae, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 (Finland)

2008-03-11

Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) heating is a fundamentally important aspect in understanding the physics of Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources (ECRIS). Absorption of the radio frequency (RF) microwave power by electron heating in the resonance zone depends on many parameters including frequency and electric field strength of the microwave, magnetic field structure and electron and ion density profiles. ECR absorption has been studied in the past by e.g. modelling electric field behaviour in the resonance zone and its near proximity. This paper introduces a new ECR heating code that implements damping of the microwave power in the vicinity of the resonance zone, utilizes electron density profiles and uses right hand circularly polarized (RHCP) electromagnetic waves to simulate electron heating in ECRIS plasma.

The Effects of Industrial Protective Gloves and Hand Skin Temperatures on Hand Grip Strength and Discomfort Rating.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadan, Mohamed Z

2017-12-04

Daily working activities and functions require a high contribution of hand and forearm muscles in executing grip force. To study the effects of wearing different gloves on grip strength, under a variety of hand skin temperatures, an assessment of the maximum grip strength was performed with 32 healthy male workers with a mean age (standard deviation) of 30.44 (5.35) years wearing five industrial gloves at three hand skin temperatures. Their ages and anthropometric characteristics including body mass index (BMI), hand length, hand width, hand depth, hand palm, and wrist circumference were measured. The hand was exposed to different bath temperatures (5 °C, 25 °C, and 45 °C) and hand grip strength was measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer with and without wearing the gloves (chemical protection glove, rubber insulating glove, anti-vibration impact glove, cotton yarn knitted glove, and RY-WG002 working glove). The data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, Pearson correlation coefficient, Tukey test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the within-subject design analysis. The results showed that wearing gloves significantly affected the maximum grip strength. Wearing the RY-WG002 working glove produced a greater reduction on the maximum grip when compared with the bare hand, while low temperatures (5 °C) had a significant influence on grip when compared to medium (25 °C) and high (45 °C) hand skin temperatures. In addition, participants felt more discomfort in both environmental extreme conditions. Furthermore, they reported more discomfort while wearing neoprene, rubber, and RY-WG002 working gloves.

Mapping Sensory Spots for Moderate Temperatures on the Back of Hand.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Fan; Chen, Guixu; Zhou, Sikai; Han, Danhong; Xu, Jingjing; Xu, Shengyong

2017-12-04

Thermosensation with thermoreceptors plays an important role in maintaining body temperature at an optimal state and avoiding potential damage caused by harmful hot or cold environmental temperatures. In this work, the locations of sensory spots for sensing moderate temperatures of 40-50 °C on the back of the hands of young Chinese people were mapped in a blind-test manner with a thermal probe of 1.0 mm spatial resolution. The number of sensory spots increased along with the testing temperature; however, the surface density of sensory spots was remarkably lower than those reported previously. The locations of the spots were irregularly distributed and subject-dependent. Even for the same subject, the number and location of sensory spots were unbalanced and asymmetric between the left and right hands. The results may offer valuable information for designing artificial electronic skin and wearable devices, as well as for clinical applications.

Hand Specific Representations in Language Comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire eMoody-Triantis

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Theories of embodied cognition argue that language comprehension involves sensory-motor re-enactments of the actions described. However, the degree of specificity of these re-enactments as well as the relationship between action and language remains a matter of debate. Here we investigate these issues by examining how hand-specific information (left or right hand is recruited in language comprehension and action execution. An fMRI study tested right-handed participants in two separate tasks that were designed to be as similar as possible to increase sensitivity of the comparison across task: an action execution go/no-go task where participants performed right or left hand actions, and a language task where participants read sentences describing the same left or right handed actions as in the execution task. We found that language-induced activity did not match the hand-specific patterns of activity found for action execution in primary somatosensory and motor cortex, but it overlapped with pre-motor and parietal regions associated with action planning. Within these pre-motor regions, both right hand actions and sentences elicited stronger activity than left hand actions and sentences - a dominant hand effect -. Importantly, both dorsal and ventral sections of the left pre-central gyrus were recruited by both tasks, suggesting different action features being recruited. These results suggest that (a language comprehension elicits motor representations that are hand-specific and akin to multimodal action plans, rather than full action re-enactments; and (b language comprehension and action execution share schematic hand-specific representations that are richer for the dominant hand, and thus linked to previous motor experience.

Hand specific representations in language comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Moody-Triantis, Claire; Humphreys, Gina F; Gennari, Silvia P

2014-01-01

Theories of embodied cognition argue that language comprehension involves sensory-motor re-enactments of the actions described. However, the degree of specificity of these re-enactments as well as the relationship between action and language remains a matter of debate. Here we investigate these issues by examining how hand-specific information (left or right hand) is recruited in language comprehension and action execution. An fMRI study tested self-reported right-handed participants in two separate tasks that were designed to be as similar as possible to increase sensitivity of the comparison across task: an action execution go/no-go task where participants performed right or left hand actions, and a language task where participants read sentences describing the same left or right handed actions as in the execution task. We found that language-induced activity did not match the hand-specific patterns of activity found for action execution in primary somatosensory and motor cortex, but it overlapped with pre-motor and parietal regions associated with action planning. Within these pre-motor regions, both right hand actions and sentences elicited stronger activity than left hand actions and sentences-a dominant hand effect. Importantly, both dorsal and ventral sections of the left pre-central gyrus were recruited by both tasks, suggesting different action features being recruited. These results suggest that (a) language comprehension elicits motor representations that are hand-specific and akin to multimodal action plans, rather than full action re-enactments; and (b) language comprehension and action execution share schematic hand-specific representations that are richer for the dominant hand, and thus linked to previous motor experience.

Prolonged disengagement from distractors near the hands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel B Vatterott

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Because items near our hands are often more important than items far from our hands, the brain processes visual items near our hands differently than items far from our hands. Multiple experiments have attributed this processing difference to spatial attention, but the exact mechanism behind how spatial attention near our hands changes is still under investigation. The current experiments sought to differentiate between two of the proposed mechanisms: a prioritization of the space near the hands and a prolonged disengagement of spatial attention near the hands. To differentiate between these two accounts, we used the additional singleton paradigm in which observers searched for a shape singleton among homogenously shaped distractors. On half the trials, one of the distractors was a different color. Both the prioritization and disengagement accounts predict differently colored distractors near the hands will slow target responses more than differently colored distractors far from the hands, but the prioritization account also predicts faster responses to targets near the hands than far from the hands. The disengagement account does not make this prediction, because attention does not need to be disengaged when the target appears near the hand. We found support for the disengagement account: Salient distractors near the hands slowed responses more than those far from the hands, yet observers did not respond faster to targets near the hands.

The hand of Homo naledi

Science.gov (United States)

Kivell, Tracy L.; Deane, Andrew S.; Tocheri, Matthew W.; Orr, Caley M.; Schmid, Peter; Hawks, John; Berger, Lee R.; Churchill, Steven E.

2015-01-01

A nearly complete right hand of an adult hominin was recovered from the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. Based on associated hominin material, the bones of this hand are attributed to Homo naledi. This hand reveals a long, robust thumb and derived wrist morphology that is shared with Neandertals and modern humans, and considered adaptive for intensified manual manipulation. However, the finger bones are longer and more curved than in most australopiths, indicating frequent use of the hand during life for strong grasping during locomotor climbing and suspension. These markedly curved digits in combination with an otherwise human-like wrist and palm indicate a significant degree of climbing, despite the derived nature of many aspects of the hand and other regions of the postcranial skeleton in H. naledi. PMID:26441219

Preoperative Hand Decontamination in Ophthalmic Surgery: A Comparison of the Removal of Bacteria from Surgeons' Hands by Routine Antimicrobial Scrub versus an Alcoholic Hand Rub.

Science.gov (United States)

Forer, Yaara; Block, Colin; Frenkel, Shahar

2017-09-01

The goal of this experiment was to evaluate and compare the antimicrobial efficacy of routine preoperative hand washing using commercial medicated sponge brushes versus an alcoholic hand rub, by comparing bacterial growth on ophthalmic surgeons' hands after application of each of these methods. Twenty ophthalmic surgeons were recruited at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel. Samples were collected twice from the hands of each surgeon after hand decontamination using two different protocols during routine surgical practice. The routine preparation consisted of a 3-minute surgical scrub using commercial brush-sponges incorporating either 4% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) or 1% povidone-iodine (PVP-I) formulations with detergent, followed by drying the hands with a sterile towel, while the 70% ethanol solution was applied for 60-seconds and allowed to air dry. Half of the group was randomly assigned to provide samples first after the routine method and the alcoholic solution a week later, and the other half of the group was sampled in the reverse order. Viable counts of bacteria were evaluated using a modified glove juice method. Bacterial colonies were enumerated after incubation for 24 hours and expressed as colony forming units (CFU)/mL for each pair of hands. Geometric mean counts were 1310 and 39 CFU/mL, in the routine and alcohol rub groups, respectively, representing a mean log 10 reduction in 1.53. The difference between the paired bacterial counts for the routine versus the alcohol rub was statistically significant (p surgical hand preparation with PVP-I and CHG in a population of practicing ophthalmic surgeons in the operative clinical setting. Thus, it provides a safe alternative as a preoperative hand disinfection method.

Electron thermal conduction in LASNEX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munro, D.; Weber, S.

1994-01-01

This report is a transcription of hand-written notes by DM dated 29 January 1986, transcribed by SW, with some clarifying comments added and details specific to running the LASNEX code deleted. Reference to the esoteric measurement units employed in LASNEX has also been deleted by SW (hopefully, without introducing errors in the numerical constants). The report describes the physics equations only, and only of electron conduction. That is, it does not describe the numerical method, which may be finite difference or finite element treatment in space, and (usually) implicit treatment in time. It does not touch on other electron transport packages which are available, and which include suprathermal electrons, nonlocal conduction, Krook model conduction, and modifications to electron conduction by magnetic fields. Nevertheless, this model is employed for the preponderance of LASNEX simulations

Strontium titanate thin film deposition - structural and electronical characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanzig, Florian; Hanzig, Juliane; Stoecker, Hartmut; Mehner, Erik; Abendroth, Barbara; Meyer, Dirk C. [TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institut fuer Experimentelle Physik (Germany); Franke, Michael [TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institut fuer Elektronik- und Sensormaterialien (Germany)

2012-07-01

Strontium titanate is on the one hand a widely-used model oxide for solids which crystallize in perovskite type of structure. On the other hand, with its large band-gap energy and its mixed ionic and electronic conductivity, SrTiO{sub 3} is a promising isolating material in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structures for resistive switching memory cells. Here, we used physical vapour deposition methods (e. g. electron-beam and sputtering) to produce strontium titanate layers. Sample thicknesses were probed with X-ray reflectometry (XRR) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Additionally, layer densities and dielectric functions were quantified with XRR and SE, respectively. Using infrared spectroscopy free electron concentrations were obtained. Phase and element composition analysis was carried out with grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Subsequent temperature treatment of samples lead to crystallization of the initially amorphous strontium titanate.