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Sample records for high upper critical

  1. Theoretical upper critical field Hc2 for inhomogeneous high temperature superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caixeiro, E.S.; Gonzalez, J.L.; Mello, E.V.L. de

    2004-01-01

    We present the theoretical upper critical field H c2 (T) of the high temperature superconductors (HTSC), calculated through a linearized Ginzburg-Landau equation modified to consider the intrinsic inhomogeneity of the HTSC. The unusual behavior of H c2 (T) for these compounds, and other properties like the Meissner and Nernst effects detected at temperatures much higher than the critical temperature T c of the sample, are explained by the approach

  2. Critical current density and upper critical field of the PbMo6S8 Chevrel phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seeber, B.; Decroux, M.; Fischer, O.

    1988-01-01

    A detailed discussion of critical current density and upper critical field for PbMo 6 S 8 (PMS) is given. It is shown that PMS bulk as well as wire samples can be prepared with sufficient quality to observe the scaling law for the volume pinning force. Using the scaling law an estimation for the critical current density as a function of field and temperature was made. The study also indicates that a substantial improvement of the critical current density can be expected by optimizing the upper critical field without changing the microstructure. It is shown that the availability of high quality samples of EuMo 6 S 8 , to which PMS is similar, makes it possible to study separately the different physical parameters which determine the upper critical field in PMS

  3. The upper critical field of CeCoIn5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howald, Ludovic; Knebel, Georg; Aoki, Dai; Lapertot, Gérard; Brison, Jean-Pascal

    2011-01-01

    We present a detailed analysis of the upper critical field for CeCoIn 5 under high pressure. We show that, consistent with other measurements, this system shows a decoupling between the maximum of the superconducting transition temperature T c and the maximum pairing strength. We propose a model in which, in order to account for the discrepancy in pressure between the maximum of the upper critical field and the maximum of T c , we introduce magnetic pair-breaking effects, already widely suggested by other measurements. We found that within the Eliashberg frame work, the unusual shape of H c2 (T) can be completely reproduced when magnetic pair breaking is taken into account. Surprisingly, we found that the maximum of pair breaking and of pair coupling coincide in pressure, suggesting that both mechanisms originate from quantum criticality. Our model implies that CeCoIn 5 is the first compound of its family that shows clear decoupling between the maximum of T c and quantum criticality. (paper)

  4. Enhanced upper critical fields in binary Nb-Ti alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hariharan, Y.; Sastry, V.S.; Janawadkar, M.P.; Radhakrishnan, T.S.

    1986-01-01

    The authors report the enhancement of H/sub c2/ in quenched and suitably heat treated binary Nb-65 at % Ti alloys. The inherent metastability of the bcc β phase and its instability towards athermal ω are used to realise high values of normal state resistivity ε/sub n/. The consequences of this on the upper critical field have been experimentally determined by the measurement of dH/sub c2//dT at T/sub c/ and of T/sub c/. These together with our similar measurements on Nb-83 at % Ti alloy to which at 1 at % N was added (to retain it in the β phase) are analysed in terms of the existing theories for upper critical fields. It is shown that a peak in H/sub c2/(o) occurs at 17 - 18 T when ε/sub n/ has a value of approximately 100 μΩcm

  5. Upper critical field measurements in high-Tc superconducting oxides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ousset, J. C.; Bobo, J. F.; Ulmet, J. P.; Rakoto, H.; Cheggour, N.

    We present upper critical field measurements on the superconducting oxides RE Ba2Cu3O7-δ (RE = Y, Gd) performed in a pulsed magnetic field up to 43 T. Values for Hc2 as high as 52 T and 77 T for Y and Gd respectively, are expected at 77 K. However, in order to observe no resistive behaviour up to 43 T the temperature must be decreased down to 50 K. In the case of oxygen deficient systems the magnetoresistance reveals two superconducting phases wich could be related to two different orders of oxygen vacancies. Nous présentons des mesures de champ critique Hc2 sur les supraconducteurs TR Ba 2Cu3O7-δ (TR = Y, Gd) réalisées en champ magnétique pulsé jusqu'à 43 T. Elles permettent de prévoir des valeurs de H c2 de 52 T et 77 T respectivement pour Y et Gd à 77 K. Cependant, pour ne pas observer de comportement résistif jusqu'au champ maximum, il est nécessaire de refroidir l'échantillon jusqu'à 50 K. Dans le cas des systèmes déficients en oxygène (δ important) nous mettons en évidence l'existence de deux phases supraconductrices qui pourraient être dues à deux ordres différents des lacunes d'oxygène.

  6. Angular dependence of the upper critical field in Bi2Sr2CuO6+δ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vedeneev, S.I.; Ovchinnikov, Yu.N.

    2002-01-01

    The angular dependence of the upper critical field has been investigated in a wide range of temperatures in very high-quality Bi 2 Sr 2 CuO 6+δ single crystals with critical temperature ≅ 9 K in magnetic fields up to 28 T. Although the typical value of the normal state resistivity ratio ≅ 10 4 , the anisotropy ratio of the upper critical fields is much smaller. A model is proposed based on a strong anisotropy and a small transparency between superconducting layers [ru

  7. Superconductivity in Strong Magnetic Field (Greater Than Upper Critical Field)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tessema, G.X.; Gamble, B.K.; Skove, M.J.; Lacerda, A.H.; Mielke, C.H.

    1998-01-01

    The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, funded by the National Science Foundation and other US federal Agencies, has in recent years built a wide range of magnetic fields, DC 25 to 35 Tesla, short pulse 50 - 60 Tesla, and quasi-continuous 60 Tesla. Future plans are to push the frontiers to 45 Tesla DC and 70 to 100 Tesla pulse. This user facility, is open for national and international users, and creates an excellent tool for materials research (metals, semiconductors, superconductors, biological systems ..., etc). Here we present results of a systematic study of the upper critical field of a novel superconducting material which is considered a promising candidate for the search for superconductivity beyond H c2 as proposed by several new theories. These theories predict that superconductors with low carrier density can reenter the superconducting phase beyond the conventional upper critical field H c2 . This negates the conventional thinking that superconductivity and magnetic fields are antagonistic

  8. Upper critical field of Mo-Ni heterostructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uher, C.; Watson, W.J.; Cohn, J.L.; Schuller, I.K.

    1985-12-01

    Upper critical field and its anisotropy have been measured on two very short wavelength Mo-Ni heterostructures of different degrees of perfection, lambda = 13.8A (disordered structure) and lambda = 16.6A (layered structure). In both cases the parallel critical field has an unexpected temperature dependence, a large and temperature dependent anisotropy, and over 60% enhancement over the Clogston-Chandrasekhar limit. Data are fit to the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg theory and the spin-orbit scattering times are found to be 1.79 x 10 -13 s and 2 x 10 -13 s, respectively

  9. Angular dependence of the upper critical field in Bi sub 2 Sr sub 2 CuO sub 6 sub + subdelta

    CERN Document Server

    Vedeneev, S I

    2002-01-01

    The angular dependence of the upper critical field has been investigated in a wide range of temperatures in very high-quality Bi sub 2 Sr sub 2 CuO sub 6 sub + subdelta single crystals with critical temperature approx = 9 K in magnetic fields up to 28 T. Although the typical value of the normal state resistivity ratio approx = 10 sup 4 , the anisotropy ratio of the upper critical fields is much smaller. A model is proposed based on a strong anisotropy and a small transparency between superconducting layers

  10. Influence of grain size and upper critical magnetic field on global pinning force of bronze-processed Nb/sub 3/Sn compound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ochiai, S.; Osamura, K.

    1986-01-01

    In order to know the dependency of global pinning force of Nb/sub 3/Sn compound on grain size and upper critical magnetic field, the global pinning force was measured at 3-15 T using bronze-processed multifilamentary composites. The grain size and upper critical magnetic field were varied by two types of annealing treatment: one is the isothermal annealing at 873, 973 and 1073 K up to 1730 ks and another is the two-stage annealing (low temperature annealing to form fine grains at 873 K for 1730 ks + high temperature annealing to raise upper critical magnetic field at 1073 K up to 18 ks). In the case of isothermal annealing treatment, both of grain size and upper critical magnetic field increased with increasing annealing temperature and time except for the annealing treatments at high temperature for prolonged times. In the case of two-stage annealing, both of them increased with second stage annealing time. The increase in grain size led to decrease in the pinning force but the increase in upper critical magnetic field to increase in it. From the analysis of the present data based on the Suenaga's speculation concerning with the density of pinning site and the Kramer's equation, it was suggested that the pinning force is, to a first approximation, proportional to the product of inverse grain size and (1-h)/sup 2/h/sup 1/2/ where h is the reduced magnetic field

  11. Upper critical fields in multifilamentary NbTi alloy superconducting wires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Kazuo; Muto, Yoshio; Noto, Koshichi.

    1991-01-01

    In order to improve the high field performance of superconducting magnets, the upper critical field B c2 for practical multifilamentary alloy wires of NbTi, NbTiTa and NbTiHf were examined in respect with the usage of a pressurized superfluid cooling technique. The addition of Ta or Hf to NbTi enhanced by 0.5 T for B c2 at 1.8 K. Although the addition of a heavy element such as Ta or Hf has been regarded as suppressing Pauli-paramagnetism so far, it was found that the mechanism for B c2 enhancement by Hf addition is different from that by Ta addition. (author)

  12. On star-critical and upper size Ramsey numbers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhang, Yanbo; Broersma, Haitze J.; Chen, Yaojun

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we study the upper size Ramsey number u(G1,G2)u(G1,G2), defined by Erdős and Faudree, as well as the star-critical Ramsey number r∗(G1,G2)r∗(G1,G2), defined by Hook and Isaak. We define Ramsey-full graphs and size Ramsey good graphs, and perform a detailed study on these graphs. We

  13. Critical fields in high temperature superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finnemore, D.K.

    1991-01-01

    An analysis of various methods to obtain the critical fields of the high temperature superconductors from experimental data is undertaken in order to find definitions of these variables that are consistent with the models used to define them. Characteristic critical fields of H c1 , H c2 and H c that occur in the Ginsburg-Landau theory are difficult to determine experimentally in the high temperature superconductors because there are additional physical phenomena that obscure the results. The lower critical field is difficult to measure because there are flux pinning and surface barrier effects to flux entry; the upper critical field is difficult because fluctuation effects are large at this phase boundary; the thermodynamic critical field is difficult because fluctuations make it difficult to know the field where the magnetization integral should be terminated. In addition to these critical fields there are at least two other cross-over fields. There is the so called irreversibility line where the vortices transform from a rigid flux line lattice to a fluid lattice and there is a second cross-over field associated with the transition from the fluctuation to the Abrikosov vortex regime. The presence of these new physical effects may require new vocabulary

  14. Upper critical field of complex superconducting networks in the continuum limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santhanam, P.; Chi, C.C.

    1988-01-01

    We propose a simple method for calculating the superconducting upper critical field of complex periodic two-dimensional networks in the continuum limit. Two specific lattices with space groups P4gm and C2mm are used to demonstrate this approach. We obtain the result that the ratio of the critical field of these networks to that of a uniform film is close to but larger than 2

  15. Very high upper critical fields in MgB2 produced by selective tuning of impurity scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gurevich, A; Patnaik, S; Braccini, V; Kim, K H; Mielke, C; Song, X; Cooley, L D; Bu, S D; Kim, D M; Choi, J H; Belenky, L J; Giencke, J; Lee, M K; Tian, W; Pan, X Q; Siri, A; Hellstrom, E E; Eom, C B; Larbalestier, D C

    2004-01-01

    We report a significant enhancement of the upper critical field H c2 of different MgB 2 samples alloyed with nonmagnetic impurities. By studying films and bulk polycrystals with different resistivities ρ, we show a clear trend of an increase in H c2 as ρ increases. One particular high resistivity film had a zero-temperature H c2 (0) well above the H c2 values of competing non-cuprate superconductors such as Nb 3 Sn and Nb-Ti. Our high-field transport measurements give record values H c2 perp (0) ∼ 34 T and H c2 par (0) ∼ 49 T for high resistivity films and H c2 (0) ∼ 29 T for untextured bulk polycrystals. The highest H c2 film also exhibits a significant upward curvature of H c2 (T) and a temperature dependence of the anisotropy parameter γ(T)=H c2 par / H c2 opposite to that of single crystals: γ(T) decreases as the temperature decreases, from γ(T c ) ∼ 2 γ(0) ∼ 1.5. This remarkable H c2 enhancement and its anomalous temperature dependence are a consequence of the two-gap superconductivity in MgB 2 , which offers special opportunities for further H c2 increases by tuning of the impurity scattering by selective alloying on Mg and B sites. Our experimental results can be explained by a theory of two-gap superconductivity in the dirty limit. The very high values of H c2 (T) observed suggest that MgB 2 can be made into a versatile, competitive high-field superconductor

  16. Upper critical fields and critical current densities of Fe-based superconductors as compared to those of other technical superconductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pallecchi, I., E-mail: ilaria.pallecchi@spin.cnr.it [CNR-SPIN, Corso Perrone 24, 16152 Genova (Italy); Tropeano, M. [Columbus Superconductors S.p.A, Via delle Terre Rosse 30, 16133 Genova (Italy); Lamura, G. [CNR-SPIN, Corso Perrone 24, 16152 Genova (Italy); Pani, M. [Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Universita di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genova (Italy); Palombo, M. [Columbus Superconductors S.p.A, Via delle Terre Rosse 30, 16133 Genova (Italy); Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Universita di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genova (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy); Palenzona, A. [Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Universita di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genova (Italy); Putti, M. [CNR-SPIN, Corso Perrone 24, 16152 Genova (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy)

    2012-11-20

    Three years since the discovery by the Hosono's group of Fe-based superconductors, an enormous number of compounds, belonging to several different families have been discovered and fundamental properties have been deeply investigated in order to clarify the interplay between magnetisms and superconductivity in these compounds. Indeed, the actual potential of these compounds for practical applications remains still unclear. Fe-based superconductors are midway between high temperature superconductors (HTSCs) and MgB{sub 2}. In Fe-based superconductors the critical current is rather independent of the field, similarly to HTSCs, as a consequence of the exceptionally high upper critical field and strong pinning associated with nm-scale local modulations of the order parameter. They exhibit low anisotropy of the critical current with respect to the crystalline directions, as in the case of MgB{sub 2}, which allows current flow along the c-axis. However, Fe-based superconductor polycrystalline materials currently available still exhibit electromagnetic granularity, like the HTSCs, which suppresses superconducting current flow over long length. Whether the nature of such granularity is extrinsic, as due to spurious phases or cracks between grains or intrinsic, as related to misalignment of adjacent grains, is under debate. These aspects will be reviewed in the light of the recent literature.

  17. High critical magnetic field superconductor La3S4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Westerholt, K.; Bach, H.; Wendemuth, R.; Methfessel, S.

    1979-01-01

    A report is presented on electrical conductivity, specific heat and magnetization measurements on La 3 S 4 single crystals. The results show that La 3 S 4 is a strong coupling superconductor with a BCS coherence length of 132 A. This extremely low value makes La 3 S 4 an intrinsic high critical magnetic field superconductor with a Landau-Ginsburg parameter of 20. For the temperature gradient of the upper critical magnetic field at the transition temperature values are found up to 35 kG/K. (author)

  18. Intra-arterial Autologous Bone Marrow Cell Transplantation in a Patient with Upper-extremity Critical Limb Ischemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madaric, Juraj; Klepanec, Andrej; Mistrik, Martin; Altaner, Cestmir; Vulev, Ivan

    2013-01-01

    Induction of therapeutic angiogenesis by autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation has been identified as a potential new option in patients with advanced lower-limb ischemia. There is little evidence of the benefit of intra-arterial cell application in upper-limb critical ischemia. We describe a patient with upper-extremity critical limb ischemia with digital gangrene resulting from hypothenar hammer syndrome successfully treated by intra-arterial autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation.

  19. Paramagnetic limiting of the upper critical field of the layered organic superconductor κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(SCN)2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zuo, F.; Brooks, J.S.; McKenzie, R.H.; Schlueter, J.A.; Williams, J.M.

    2000-01-01

    We report detailed measurements of the interlayer magnetoresistance of the layered organic superconductor κ-(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu(SCN) 2 for temperatures down to 0.5 K and fields up to 30 T. The upper critical field is determined from the resistive transition for a wide range of temperatures and field directions. For magnetic fields parallel to the layers, the upper critical field increases approximately linearly with decreasing temperature. The upper critical field at low temperatures is compared to the Pauli paramagnetic limit, at which singlet superconductivity should be destroyed by the Zeeman splitting of the electron spins. The measured value is comparable to a value for the paramagnetic limit calculated from thermodynamic quantities but exceeds the limit calculated from BCS theory. The angular dependence of the upper critical field shows a cusplike feature for fields close to the layers, consistent with decoupled layers.

  20. On the upper critical dimension of Bernoulli percolation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chayes, J.T.; Chayes, L.

    1987-01-01

    Derived is a set of inequalities for the d-dimensional independent percolation problem. Assuming the existence of critical exponents, these inequalities imply: f + nu ≥ 1 + β/sub Q/, μ + nu ≥ 1 + β/sub Q/, zeta ≥ min (1, nu'/nu), where the above exponents are f: the flow constant exponent, nu (nu'): the correlation length exponent below (above) threshold, μ: the surface tension exponent, β/sub Q/: the backbone density exponent and zeta: the chemical distance exponent. Note that all of these inequalities are mean-field bounds, and that they relate the exponent nu defined from below the percolation threshold to exponents defined from above threshold. Furthermore, we combine the strategy of the proofs these inequalities with notions of finite-size scaling to derive: max (d nu, d nu') ≥ 1 + β/sub Q/, where d is the lattice dimension. Since β/sub Q/ ≥ 2β, where β is the percolation density exponent, the final bound implies that, below six dimensions, the standard order parameter and correlation length exponents cannot simultaneously assume their mean-field values; hence an implicit bound on the upper critical dimension: d/sub c/ ≥ 6

  1. The multifunctional host defense peptide SPLUNC1 is critical for homeostasis of the mammalian upper airway.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glen McGillivary

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Otitis media (OM is a highly prevalent pediatric disease caused by normal flora of the nasopharynx that ascend the Eustachian tube and enter the middle ear. As OM is a disease of opportunity, it is critical to gain an increased understanding of immune system components that are operational in the upper airway and aid in prevention of this disease. SPLUNC1 is an antimicrobial host defense peptide that is hypothesized to contribute to the health of the airway both through bactericidal and non-bactericidal mechanisms. We used small interfering RNA (siRNA technology to knock down expression of the chinchilla ortholog of human SPLUNC1 (cSPLUNC1 to begin to determine the role that this protein played in prevention of OM. We showed that knock down of cSPLUNC1 expression did not impact survival of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, a predominant causative agent of OM, in the chinchilla middle ear under the conditions tested. In contrast, expression of cSPLUNC1 was essential for maintenance of middle ear pressure and efficient mucociliary clearance, key defense mechanisms of the tubotympanum. Collectively, our data have provided the first in vivo evidence that cSPLUNC1 functions to maintain homeostasis of the upper airway and, thereby, is critical for protection of the middle ear.

  2. Temperature dependence of the upper critical field of type II superconductors with fluctuation effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mikitik, G.P.

    1992-01-01

    Fluctuations of the order parameter are taken into consideration in an analysis of the temperature dependence of the upper critical field of a type II superconductor with a three-dimensional superconductivity. This temperature dependence is of universal applicability, to all type II superconductors, if the magnetic fields and temperatures are expressed in appropriate units. This dependence is derived explicitly for the regions of strong and weak magnetic fields. The results are applied to high T c superconductors, for which fluctuation effects are important. For these superconductors, the H c2 (T) dependence is quite different from the linear dependence characteristic of the mean-field theory, over a broad range of magnetic fields

  3. Radiation-induced changes of critical fields in NbTi superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, H.W.; Khier, W.; Wacenovsky, M.; Hoch, H.

    1988-01-01

    Neutron irradiation experiments on a variety of metallurgically different NbTi superconductors for use in fusion magnets were performed. Results on the change in critical current densities with neutron fluence were significantly different in low and in high magnetic fields. Based on the suggestion of a prevailing influence of the upper critical field on critical currents at high fields a systematic study of upper critical fields was made on irradiated and unirradiated samples. The upper critical field decreased upon irradiation by about 2 to 6%. Companion experiments on the change of the transition temperature in the same materials showed excellent correlations between the degradation of these superconductive properties. Implications for the observed critical current density degradation at high fields are discussed

  4. Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld model in the upper critical dimension: Induced criticality in lower-dimensional subsystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dashti-Naserabadi, H.; Najafi, M. N.

    2017-10-01

    We present extensive numerical simulations of Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld (BTW) sandpile model on the hypercubic lattice in the upper critical dimension Du=4 . After re-extracting the critical exponents of avalanches, we concentrate on the three- and two-dimensional (2D) cross sections seeking for the induced criticality which are reflected in the geometrical and local exponents. Various features of finite-size scaling (FSS) theory have been tested and confirmed for all dimensions. The hyperscaling relations between the exponents of the distribution functions and the fractal dimensions are shown to be valid for all dimensions. We found that the exponent of the distribution function of avalanche mass is the same for the d -dimensional cross sections and the d -dimensional BTW model for d =2 and 3. The geometrical quantities, however, have completely different behaviors with respect to the same-dimensional BTW model. By analyzing the FSS theory for the geometrical exponents of the two-dimensional cross sections, we propose that the 2D induced models have degrees of similarity with the Gaussian free field (GFF). Although some local exponents are slightly different, this similarity is excellent for the fractal dimensions. The most important one showing this feature is the fractal dimension of loops df, which is found to be 1.50 ±0.02 ≈3/2 =dfGFF .

  5. Upper Critical Field and de Haas-van Alphen Oscillations in KOs2O6 Measured in a Hybrid Magnet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taichi Terashima,; Nobuyuki Kurita,; Atsushi Harada,; Kota Kodama,; Jun-ichi Yamaura,; Zenji Hiroi,; Hisatomo Harima,; Shinya Uji,

    2010-08-01

    Magnetic torque measurements have been performed on a KOs2O6 single crystal in magnetic fields up to 35.3 T and at temperatures down to 0.6 K. The upper critical field is determined to be ˜30 T. De Haas-van Alphen oscillations are observed. A large mass enhancement of (1+λ) = m* / mband = 7.6 is found. It is suggested that, for the large upper critical field to be reconciled with Pauli paramagnetic limiting, the observed mass enhancement must be of electron-phonon origin, including electron-rattling-mode interactions, for the most part.

  6. Upper critical and irreversibility fields in Ni- and Co-doped pnictide bulk superconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolo, Martin; Singleton, John; Solenov, Dmitry; Jiang, Jianyi; Weiss, Jeremy; Hellstrom, Eric

    2018-05-01

    A comprehensive study of upper critical and irreversibility magnetic fields in Ba(Fe0.95Ni0.05)2As2 (large grain and small grain samples), Ba(Fe0.94Ni0.06)2As2, Ba(Fe0.92Co0.08)2As2, and Ba(Fe0.92Co0.09)2As2 polycrystalline bulk pnictide superconductors was made in pulsed fields of up to 65 T. The full magnetic field-temperature (H-T) phase diagrams, starting at 1.5 K, were measured. The higher temperature, upper critical field Hc2 data are well described by the one-band Werthamer, Helfand, and Hohenberg (WHH) model. At low temperatures, the experimental data depart from the fitted WHH curves, suggesting an emergence of a new phase that could be attributed to the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state. The large values of the Maki fitting parameter α indicate that the Zeeman pair breaking dominates over the orbital pair breaking and spin-paramagnetic pair-breaking effect is significant in these materials. Possible multi-band structure of these materials is lumped into effective parameters of the single-band model. Table of measured physical parameters allows us to compare these pnictide superconductors for different Co- and Ni- doping levels and granularity.

  7. Prevention of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in critically ill Chinese patients: a randomized, double-blind study evaluating esomeprazole and cimetidine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lou, Wenhui; Xia, Ying; Xiang, Peng; Zhang, Liangqing; Yu, Xiangyou; Lim, Sam; Xu, Mo; Zhao, Lina; Rydholm, Hans; Traxler, Barry; Qin, Xinyu

    2018-04-20

    To assess the efficacy and safety of esomeprazole in preventing upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in critically ill Chinese patients, using cimetidine as an active comparator. A pre-specified non-inferiority limit (5%) was used to compare rates of significant upper GI bleeding in this randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 3 study across 27 intensive care units in China. Secondary endpoints included safety and tolerability measures. Patients required mechanical ventilation and had at least one additional risk factor for stress ulcer bleeding. Patients were randomized to receive either active esomeprazole 40 mg, as a 30-min intravenous (IV) infusion twice daily, and an IV placebo cimetidine infusion or active cimetidine 50 mg/h, as a continuous infusion following an initial bolus of 300 mg, and placebo esomeprazole injections, given up to 14 days. Patients were blinded using this double-dummy technique. Of 274 patients, 2.7% with esomeprazole and 4.6% with cimetidine had significant upper GI bleeding (bright red blood in the gastric tube not clearing after lavage or persistent Gastroccult-positive "coffee grounds" material). Non-inferiority of esomeprazole to cimetidine was demonstrated. The safety profiles of both drugs were similar and as expected in critically ill patients. Esomeprazole is effective in preventing upper GI bleeding in critically ill Chinese patients, as demonstrated by the non-inferiority analysis using cimetidine as an active control. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02157376.

  8. Theory of the upper critical field in layered superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klemm, R.A.; Luther, A.; Beasley, M.R.

    1975-01-01

    The upper critical field H/subc/ 2 in layered superconductors is calculated from a microscopic theory in which the electrons are assumed to propagate freely within the individual layers subject to scattering off impurities and to propagate via tunneling between the layers. For the magnetic field parallel to the layers, there is a temperature T* 2 /sub parallel/ is thus determined by the combined effects of Pauli paramagnetism and spin-orbit scattering, and for sufficiently strong spin-orbit scattering rates, H/subc/ 2 /sub parallel/(T =0) can greatly exceed the Chandrasekhar-Clogston Pauli limiting field H/subP/. This unusual behavior is found to be most pronounced in the dirty limit for the electron propagation within the layers and when the electrons scatter many times in a given layer before tunneling to an adjacent layer. Our results are also discussed in light of the available experimental data. (auth)

  9. Volume pinning force and upper critical field of irradiated Nb3Sn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maier, P.; Seibt, E.

    1981-01-01

    Irradiation by neutrons and ions in A15 superconductors (Nb 3 Sn, V 3 Ga) exerts a stronger influence on the pinning behavior than in nonordered alloys (NbTi). In this work it is shown for deuteron irradiated Nb 3 /Sn wires prepared by the bronze process that the dose curve of the volume pinning force P/sub V/ can be conveniently described by a sum of two terms, due to the grain boundary pinning and to the radiation pinning, respectively. After deduction of the contribution by the radiation-induced pinning centers, good agreement is obtained between the measured P/sub V/ values and those calculated using the upper critical field B/sub c/2 and the transition temperature T/sub c/ on the basis of the irradiation fluence. The use of a theoretical relationship between B/sub c/2 and T/sub c/ is supported by measured values. Application to multifilamentary superconductors with high current carrying capabilities simplifies the calculation of P/sub V/, since the radiation induced volume pinning force can be neglected

  10. Disorder and the upper critical field of Nb3Ge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Habermeier, H.U.

    1981-01-01

    The upper critical field, H/sub c2/, as determined from experimental values of T/sub c/ and (dH/sub c2//dT)/sub Tc/, has been investigated in Nb 3 Ge superconducting thin films with different degree of structural disorder. An increase of H/sub c2/(O) up to 36.9 T was found for samples with resistivities ranging from 40 to 60 /mu/sub/ OMEGA/cm and a decrease of H/sub c2/(O) to 5.7 T for /rho/.150 /mu/sub/ OMEGA/cm. Based on the Ginsburg-Landau solution for H/sub c2/(O) and the change of the coherence length with the electron mean free path a model is presented which describes the change of H/sub c2/(O) with resistivity, qualitatively. 15 refs

  11. An Upper Bound on High Speed Satellite Collision Probability When Only One Object has Position Uncertainty Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisbee, Joseph H., Jr.

    2015-01-01

    Upper bounds on high speed satellite collision probability, PC †, have been investigated. Previous methods assume an individual position error covariance matrix is available for each object. The two matrices being combined into a single, relative position error covariance matrix. Components of the combined error covariance are then varied to obtain a maximum PC. If error covariance information for only one of the two objects was available, either some default shape has been used or nothing could be done. An alternative is presented that uses the known covariance information along with a critical value of the missing covariance to obtain an approximate but potentially useful Pc upper bound.

  12. Critical phenomena of liquid 4He in the vicinity of the upper lambda point

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takada, T.; Watanabe, T.

    1982-01-01

    We determined C/sub p/ along six isobars near T/sub lambda/ in the vicinity of the upper superfluid transition point (upper lambda point) from measurements of C/sub v/ and (partialP/partialT)/sub v/ along six isochores. C/sub p/ was analyzed with the function C/sub p/ = (A/α)epsilon/sup -alpha/(1+Depsilon/sup -Delta/)+B for T>T/sub lambda/, and the same function with primed coefficients for T 4 He near T/sub lambda/, that is, the correction term due to the irrelevant variable increases with pressure even in the small range epsilon - 3 . This indicates that the pressure depresses the true critical region. The universality of the amplitude ratio A/A' was confirmed even in the vicinity of the upper lambda point by specific heat measurements. With constraints α = α' = -0.02, δ = δ' = -0.5, and B = B' the pressure-independent amplitude ratios A/A' = 1.088 +- 0.007 and D/D' = 0.85 +- 0.2 were obtained. AD/A'D' = 0.93 +- 0.2 implies that the pressure has a similar effect on C/sub p/ in the normal fluid and superfluid regions, within experimental errors

  13. [High risk factors of upper gastrointestinal bleeding after neurosurgical procedures].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Kang; Wu, Gang; Cheng, Neng-neng; Yao, Cheng-jun; Zhou, Liang-fu

    2005-12-21

    To analyze high risk factors of postoperative upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding after neurosurgery so as to give guidance for prevention of GI bleeding. A questionnaire was developed to investigate the medical records of 1500 patients who were hospitalized and underwent neurosurgical operations in 1997. Logistic regression analysis was made. 1430 valid questionnaires were obtained. Postoperative upper GI bleeding occurred in 75 patients (5.24%). The incidence of upper GI bleeding were 6.64% (54/813) in the male patients and 3.40% (21/617) in the female persons (P = 0.007); 9.88% (41/415) in those aged > 50 and 3.35% in those aged hematoma, intraventricular hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, and extradural hematoma were 15.7%, 10.0%, 6.00%, and 2.94% respectively (P = 0.02). The incidence of upper GI bleeding of the patients with tumors of fourth ventricle of cerebrum, brainstem, cerebral hemisphere, and sellar hypothalamus were 15.79% (3/19), 7.89%, 5.71%, and 3.74% respectively. In the emergent cases, the incidence of upper GI bleeding was higher in those with hypertension. The incidence of upper GI bleeding was 5.46% in the patients undergoing adrenocortical hormone treatment, significantly higher than that in those who did not receive such treatment (2.13%). Patients who are at high risk of developing postoperative upper GI bleeding including that: age greater than 50 years; male; Glasgow Coma Score less than 10 pre and post operation; The lesion was located in brain stem and forth ventricle; Hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage; Intracerebral and intraventricular hemorrhagic brain trauma; Postoperative pneumonia, brain edema, encephalic high pressure, pyogenic infection of the central nervous system and other postoperative complications. The mortality of patients with postoperative upper GI bleeding was evidently higher than that of the patients without postoperative upper GI bleeding.

  14. Maintenance implications of critical components in ITER CXRS upper port plug design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koning, Jarich; Jaspers, Roger; Doornink, Jan; Ouwehand, Bernard; Klinkhamer, Friso; Snijders, Bart; Sadakov, Sergey; Heemskerk, Cock

    2009-01-01

    Already in the early phase of a design for ITER, the maintenance aspects should be taken into account, since they might have serious implications. This paper presents the arguments in support of the case for the maintainability of the design, notably if this maintenance is to be performed by advanced remote methods. This structure is compliant to the evolving maintenance strategy of ITER. Initial results of a Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) and a development risk analysis for the ITER upper port plug no. 3, housing the Charge Exchange Recombination Spectroscopy (CXRS) diagnostic, are employed for the definition of the maintenance strategy. The CXRS upper port plug is essentially an optical system which transfers visible light from the plasma into a fiber bundle. The most critical component in this path is the first mirror (M1) whose reflectivity degrades during operation due to deposition and/or erosion dominated effects. Amongst other measures to mitigate these effects, the strategy is to allow for a replacement of this mirror. Therefore it is mounted on a retractable central tube. The main purpose of this tube is to make frequent replacements possible without hindering operation. The maintenance method in terms of time, geometry and spare part policy has a large impact on cost of the system and time usage in the hot cell. Replacement of the tube under vacuum and magnetic field seems infeasible due to the operational risk involved. The preferred solution is to have a spare tube available which is replaced in parallel with other maintenance operations on the vessel, as to avoid any interference in the hot cell with the shutdown scheduling. This avoids having to refurbish a full port plug and also allows for a more frequent replacement of M1, as we can replace the mirror anytime the vacuum vessel is vented, estimated to be once a year.

  15. Upper critical field of NbN film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashkin, M.; Gavaler, J.R.

    1978-01-01

    It is proposed and experimentally verified that the anomalously high superconducting critical field normal to the surface of NbN films possessing a column-void microstructure is H/sub c3/, the field appropriate for surface superconductivity. It is also proposed that because the coherence length is much less than the lateral column dimension that the resistivity of the column and not the film enters calculations of the Maki parameter α. A previously noted discrepancy in α is removed by these proposals

  16. Further investigations of the upper critical field and the high field critical current density in Nb-Ti and its alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hawksworth, D.G.; Larbalestier, D.C.

    1980-09-01

    This paper reports further measurements of Hc 2 in the Nb-Ti-Ta and Nb-Ti-Hf systems. Whilst we find only small enhancements of approx. 0.3 Tesla in μ 0 Hc 2 (4.2 0 K) compared to binary Nb-Ti, at 2 0 K there is a wide composition range in the Nb-Ti-Ta system where μ 0 Hc 2 (2 0 K) exceeds 15 Tesla, reaching a maximum of 15.5 Tesla. This represents an enhancement of 1.3 Tesla over unalloyed Nb-Ti. By comparison alloys in the Nb-Ti-Hf system show a maximum enhancement in μ 0 Hc 2 (2 0 K) of only 0.3 Tesla. The reasons both for the enhancements in Hc 2 and for the differences in behavior shown by alloys containing Ta and Hf are briefly discussed. This paper also discusses common features in the behavior of the high field critical current density, J/sub c/, of four commercial Nb-Ti composites and upon the basis of this behavior predict the enhancements in high field J/sub c/ to be expected from using Nb-Ti-Ta and its alloys

  17. Eilenberger equation for rotating superfluid 3He and calculation of the upper critical angular velocity Ω/sub c/2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schopohl, N.

    1980-01-01

    On the basis of Gorkov's formulation of superconductivity theory, generalized Eilenberger equations are derived which apply to rotating superfluid 3 He in the presence of a magnetic field h and finite superflow v. In analyogy to conventional type II superconductors, the possibility of vortex solutions in discussed. An implicit equation determining the upper critical angular velocity Ω/sub c/2 as a function of temperature T, magnetic field h, and superflow v parallel to the rotation axis is-inferred from the linearized Eilenberger equations. In contrast to the case of slowly rotating 3 He-A, the solution of the eigenvalue problem determining the order parameter Δ near the the upper critical angular velocity admits no coreless vortex no coreless solutions. The space-dependent amplitude of the order parameter is analogous to Abrikosov's vortex array solution, while the spin-orbit part is given either by a polar-state type or an Anderson-Brinkman-Morel (ABM)-state-type eigensolution. Among the possible eigensolutions the polar-state type yields for vanishing superflow v the highest critical rotation frequency. For finite superflow v parallel to the rotation axis, however, the ABM-state-type solution is stabilized in comparison to the polar state for Vertical BarvVertical Bar> or approx. =0.2π(Tc/sub c/0/T/sub F/)v/sub f/ at zero temperature

  18. Critical currents and fields of disordered nanocrystalline superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yavary, H.; Shahzamanian, M.A.; Rabbani, H.

    2007-01-01

    Full text: There is an enormous effort directed at increasing the upper critical field of the superconducting materials because this upper critical field provides a fundamental limit to the maximum field a magnet system can produce. High-energy particle accelerators and medical resonance imaging body scanners are limited by the for NbTi (10 T). Gigahertz class nuclear-magnetic-resonance and high field laboratory magnets are limited by for Nb 3 Sn (23 T) [1]. However, the values of critical current density are too low for industrial use, possibly because of degraded or nonsuperconducting phases, such as MoS 2 or Mo 2 S 3 , at the grain boundaries or because the pinning site density is not high enough. It has long been known that decreasing the grain size of low-temperature superconducting (LTS) materials, such as Nb 3 Sn, increases the density of flux pinning sites and hence. Nanocrystalline materials are characterized by ultrafine grains and a high density of grain boundaries [2]. Hence nanocrystalline materials can exhibit unusual physical, chemical, and mechanical properties with respect to conventional polycrystalline materials. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the structure of currents and fields in disordered nanocrystalline superconducting materials by the use of quasiclassical many body techniques. The Keldish Greens functions are used to calculate the current density of the system. Since the disorder and microstructure of these nanocrystalline materials are on a sufficiently short length scale as to increase both the density of pinning site and the upper critical field. (authors)

  19. Unusually high critical current of P-doped BaFe{sub 2}As{sub 2} single crystalline thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurth, Fritz; Engelmann, Jan; Schultz, Ludwig [IMW, IFW Dresden, Dresden (Germany); TU Dresden, Dresden (Germany); Tarantini, Chiara; Jaroszynski, Jan [ASC, NHMFL, Florida (United States); Grinenko, Vadim; Reich, Elke; Huehne, Ruben [IMW, IFW Dresden, Dresden (Germany); Haenisch, Jens [IMW, IFW Dresden, Dresden (Germany); ITEP, KIT, Karlsruhe (Germany); Mori, Yasohiro; Sakagami, Akihiro; Kawaguchi, Takahiko; Ikuta, Hiroshi [Department of Crystalline Materials Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya (Japan); Holzapfel, Bernhard [ITEP, KIT, Karlsruhe (Germany); Iida, Kazumasa [IMW, IFW Dresden, Dresden (Germany); Department of Crystalline Materials Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya (Japan)

    2015-07-01

    Microstructurally clean, isovalently P-doped BaFe{sub 2}As{sub 2} single crystalline thin films have been prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. These films show a superconducting transition temperature (T{sub c}) of over 30 K and high transport self-field critical current densities (J{sub c}) of over 6 MA/cm{sup 2} at 4.2 K, which are among the highest for Fe based superconductors. In-field J{sub c} exceeds 0.1 MA/cm{sup 2} at μ{sub 0}H = 35 T for H parallel ab and μ{sub 0}H = 18 T for H parallel c, respectively, in spite of moderate upper critical fields compared to other FeSCs with similar T{sub c}. This unusually high J{sub c} makes P-doped Ba-122 very favorable for high-field magnet applications.

  20. High Critical Current Coated Conductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paranthaman, M. P.; Selvamanickam, V. (SuperPower, Inc.)

    2011-12-27

    One of the important critical needs that came out of the DOE’s coated conductor workshop was to develop a high throughput and economic deposition process for YBCO. Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique, the most critical steps in high technical micro fabrications, has been widely employed in semiconductor industry for various thin film growth. SuperPower has demonstrated that (Y,Gd)BCO films can be deposited rapid with world record performance. In addition to high critical current density with increased film thickness, flux pinning properties of REBCO films needs to be improved to meet the DOE requirements for various electric-power equipments. We have shown that doping with Zr can result in BZO nanocolumns, but at substantially reduced deposition rate. The primary purpose of this subtask is to develop high current density MOCVD-REBCO coated conductors based on the ion-beam assisted (IBAD)-MgO deposition process. Another purpose of this subtask is to investigate HTS conductor design optimization (maximize Je) with emphasis on stability and protection issues, and ac loss for REBCO coated conductors.

  1. Theory of the upper critical field in antiferromagnetic superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ro, C.; Levin, K.

    1984-01-01

    We compute the temperature T dependence of the upper critical field H/sub c/2(T) in antiferromagnetic (AF) superconductors. Using a strong-coupling formalism we explicitly treat the effects of the molecular field H/sub Q/, inelastic and elastic spin-fluctuation scattering and magnetic as well as nonmagnetic impurities. A sum rule is used to relate the T dependence of H/sub Q/ to that of the spin-fluctuation scattering. The decreased pair breaking observed below the Neel temperature in SmRh 4 B 4 and the increased pair breaking seen in the AF Chevrel compounds will both occur in our theory for a reasonable choice of parameters. For larger values of the dimensionless spin-exchange coupling constant N(0)J/sup c/f, spin-fluctuation-scattering effects dominate over those of H/sub Q/ and decreased pair breaking is observed below T/sub N/. For smaller values of the coupling constant, the converse is true. Impurity scattering is treated in a self-consistent fashion. As a consequence, the molecular field H/sub Q/ is altered by nonmagnetic impurities. This leads to important pair-breaking effects in H/sub c/2. A physical manifestation of this pair breaking is a qualitative change in the shape of the H/sub c/2 versus T curve, as nonmagnetic impurities are added. We give detailed predictions for the expected effects of these impurities on H/sub c/2 which can be tested experimentally

  2. Sonographic and Clinical Features of Upper Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis in Critical Care Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Blaivas

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background-Aim. Upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (UEDVT is an increasingly recognized problem in the critically ill. We sought to identify the prevalence of and risk factors for UEDVT, and to characterize sonographically detected thrombi in the critical care setting. Patients and Methods. Three hundred and twenty patients receiving a subclavian or internal jugular central venous catheter (CVC were included. When an UEDVT was detected, therapeutic anticoagulation was started. Additionally, a standardized ultrasound scan was performed to detect the extent of the thrombus. Images were interpreted offline by two independent readers. Results. Thirty-six (11.25% patients had UEDVT and a complete scan was performed. One (2.7% of these patients died, and 2 had pulmonary embolism (5.5%. Risk factors associated with UEDVT were presence of CVC [(odds ratio (OR 2.716, P=0.007], malignancy (OR 1.483, P=0.036, total parenteral nutrition (OR 1.399, P=0.035, hypercoagulable state (OR 1.284, P=0.045, and obesity (OR 1.191, P=0.049. Eight thrombi were chronic, and 28 were acute. We describe a new sonographic sign which characterized acute thrombosis: a double hyperechoic line at the interface between the thrombus and the venous wall; but its clinical significance remains to be defined. Conclusion. Presence of CVC was a strong predictor for the development of UEDVT in a cohort of critical care patients; however, the rate of subsequent PE and related mortality was low.

  3. The Combined Effect of Mere Exposure, Counterattitudinal Advocacy, and Art Criticism Methodology on Upper Elementary and Junior High Students' Affect Toward Art Works.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingsworth, Patricia

    1983-01-01

    Results indicated that, for elementary students, art criticism was more effective than a combination of methodologies for developing positive affect toward art works. For junior high students, the combination methodology was more effective than art criticism, the exposure method, or the counterattitudinal advocacy method. (Author/SR)

  4. Reversal of the Upper Critical Field Anisotropy and Spin-Locked Superconductivity in K2Cr3As3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balakirev, Fedor Fedorovich; Kong, T.; Jaime, Marcelo; McDonald, Ross David; Mielke, Charles H.; Gurevich, A.; Canfield, P. C.; Bud'ko, S. L.

    2016-01-01

    Recently, superconductivity in K 2 Cr 3 As 3 (T c =6.1 K) was discovered. The crystalline lattice contains an array of weakly coupled, double well [(Cr 3 As 3 ) 2- ] ∞ linkages stretched along the c axis, suggesting the possibility of quasi-one-dimensional superconductivity. Moderately anisotropic upper critical field was revealed in single crystals, with very large initial slopes, dH || c2 /dT=12 T/K along the Cr chains and dH perpendicular c2 /dT =7 T/K perpendicular to the chains. Given the ambiguity of conclusions based on the extrapolations of H c2 (T) measured near T c to low temperatures, we performed high-field measurements of H c2 (T) on K 2 Cr 3 As 3 single crystals in pulsed magnetic fields which enabled us to reveal the full anisotropic H c2 (T) curves from T c down to 600 mK.

  5. Plutonium Critical Mass Curve Comparison to Mass at Upper Subcritical Limit (USL) Using Whisper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alwin, Jennifer Louise; Zhang, Ning

    2016-01-01

    Whisper is computational software designed to assist the nuclear criticality safety analyst with validation studies with the MCNP ® Monte Carlo radiation transport package. Standard approaches to validation rely on the selection of benchmarks based upon expert judgment. Whisper uses sensitivity/uncertainty (S/U) methods to select relevant benchmarks to a particular application or set of applications being analyzed. Using these benchmarks, Whisper computes a calculational margin. Whisper attempts to quantify the margin of subcriticality (MOS) from errors in software and uncertainties in nuclear data. The combination of the Whisper-derived calculational margin and MOS comprise the baseline upper subcritical limit (USL), to which an additional margin may be applied by the nuclear criticality safety analyst as appropriate to ensure subcriticality. A series of critical mass curves for plutonium, similar to those found in Figure 31 of LA-10860-MS, have been generated using MCNP6.1.1 and the iterative parameter study software, WORM S olver. The baseline USL for each of the data points of the curves was then computed using Whisper 1.1. The USL was then used to determine the equivalent mass for plutonium metal-water system. ANSI/ANS-8.1 states that it is acceptable to use handbook data, such as the data directly from the LA-10860-MS, as it is already considered validated (Section 4.3 4) ''Use of subcritical limit data provided in ANSI/ANS standards or accepted reference publications does not require further validation.''). This paper attempts to take a novel approach to visualize traditional critical mass curves and allows comparison with the amount of mass for which the k eff is equal to the USL (calculational margin + margin of subcriticality). However, the intent is to plot the critical mass data along with USL, not to suggest that already accepted handbook data should have new and more rigorous requirements for validation.

  6. Critical current measurements of high-temperature superconducting short samples at a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Hongjun; Liu, Huajun; Liu, Fang; Zhang, Huahui; Ci, Lu; Shi, Yi; Lei, Lei

    2018-01-01

    High-Temperature Superconductors (HTS) are potential materials for high-field magnets, low-loss transmission cables, and Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) due to their high upper critical magnetic field (Hc2) and critical temperature (Tc). The critical current (Ic) of HTS, which is one of the most important parameters for superconductor application, depends strongly on the magnetic fields and temperatures. A new Ic measurement system that can carry out accurate Ic measurement for HTS short samples with various temperatures (4.2-80 K), magnetic fields (0-14 T), and angles of the magnetic field (0°-90°) has been developed. The Ic measurement system mainly consists of a measurement holder, temperature-control system, background magnet, test cryostat, data acquisition system, and DC power supply. The accuracy of temperature control is better than ±0.1 K over the 20-80 K range and ±0.05 K when measured below 20 K. The maximum current is over 1000 A with a measurement uncertainty of 1%. The system had been successfully used for YBa2Cu3O7-x(YBCO) tapes Ic determination with different temperatures and magnetic fields.

  7. Critical current measurements of high-temperature superconducting short samples at a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Hongjun; Liu, Huajun; Liu, Fang; Zhang, Huahui; Ci, Lu; Shi, Yi; Lei, Lei

    2018-01-01

    High-Temperature Superconductors (HTS) are potential materials for high-field magnets, low-loss transmission cables, and Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) due to their high upper critical magnetic field (H c2 ) and critical temperature (T c ). The critical current (I c ) of HTS, which is one of the most important parameters for superconductor application, depends strongly on the magnetic fields and temperatures. A new I c measurement system that can carry out accurate I c measurement for HTS short samples with various temperatures (4.2-80 K), magnetic fields (0-14 T), and angles of the magnetic field (0°-90°) has been developed. The I c measurement system mainly consists of a measurement holder, temperature-control system, background magnet, test cryostat, data acquisition system, and DC power supply. The accuracy of temperature control is better than ±0.1 K over the 20-80 K range and ±0.05 K when measured below 20 K. The maximum current is over 1000 A with a measurement uncertainty of 1%. The system had been successfully used for YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x (YBCO) tapes I c determination with different temperatures and magnetic fields.

  8. Influence of two-stage annealing treatment on critical current of bronze-processed multifilamentary Nb/sub 3/Sn superconducting materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ochiai, S.; Osamura, K.; Ryoji, M.

    1987-01-01

    The influence of changes of volume fraction of Nb/sub 3/Sn, grain size and upper critical magnetic field due to two-stage annealing treatment (low temperature annealing to form fine grains + high temperature annealing to raise upper critical magnetic field) on overall critical current and critical current density were studied at magnetic field of 3-15 T. When annealing temperature was low (773-923 K) and the volume fraction of Nb/sub 3/Sn was low in first stage annealing, second stage annealing could raise the overall critical current over the range of the applied magnetic field due to increase in upper critical magnetic field H/sub c2/ and volume fraction of Nb/sub 3/Sn accompanying with reduction in Sn concentration in the bronze matrix, which played a role to reduce residual strain in Nb/sub 3/Sn, leading to high H/sub c2/ although the loss in pinning force arose from the coarsening of the grains. When the annealing temperature was high (973 K) and the Nb/sub 3/Sn was formed until the Sn was consumed in the first stage, second stage annealing could not raise the critical current due to increase in grain size and no effective increase in H/sub c2/. The critical current density at low magnetic fields below several Teslas was reduced by the second stage annealing due to increase in grain size but that at high fields was raised due to increase in high H/sub c2/. The reverse two-stage annealing treatment (high temperature annealing in the first stage+low temperature annealing in the second stage) reduced the H/sub c2/ slightly with increasing second stage annealing temperature and time. The critical current density at low magnetic fields was determined mainly by the grain size and that at high fields was determined by the combination of the upper critical field and grain size

  9. High Performance Hybrid Upper Stage for NanoLaunch Vehicles, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Parabilis Space Technologies, Inc. (Parabilis), in collaboration with Utah State University (USU), proposes a low cost, high performance launch vehicle upper stage...

  10. Upper High School Students' Understanding of Electromagnetism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saglam, Murat; Millar, Robin

    2006-01-01

    Although electromagnetism is an important component of upper secondary school physics syllabuses in many countries, there has been relatively little research on students' understanding of the topic. A written test consisting of 16 diagnostic questions was developed and used to survey the understanding of electromagnetism of upper secondary school…

  11. Where should the upper boundary of the earth's critical zone be?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, W.; Zhang, X. J.

    2017-12-01

    Recently increasing attention has been paid to the study of the critical zone (CZ) of the earth. The upper boundary of the CZ is generally defined as the top of plant canopy, and the lower boundary at the bottom of deep groundwater. The question is whether the ecological, biogeochemical and hydrological processes that are the focuses of CZ research occur within the scope of such boundaries. The role of water is central in these processes as is shown by the current studies as follows. First, there exist water vapor transport strips or pathways with higher flux strength than the surrounding areas in the troposphere, known as "tropospheric rivers" or "atmospheric rivers" (Newell, et al, 1992; Zhu, et al, 1998), specially dubbed as "sky rivers" (Wang, et al, 2016). The sky rivers are connected with the surface and underground rivers by precipitation and evapotranspiration processes, forming a complete water cycle system of the earth. Second, changes in atmospheric composition, such as aerosol increases, the formation of smog, CO2 concentration rising, directly or indirectly affected solar radiation and plant growth, which to a large extent determine potential evapotranspiration and vegetation cover change. Based on the Budyko model, annual water balance at a catchment is closely related to these changes (Zhang, et al., 2001; Ning, et al., 2017). Third, the theory of evaporation complementarity holds that surface evapotranspiration can be completely determined and calculated by meteorological data. Based on the eddy covariance observation for water and heat flux in the Loess Plateau (Brutsaert, et al., 2017), the relationship between calculated and observed ET values becomes stronger from 2m to 32m, which may be related to the existence of a blending height at higher elevations above the ground. Therefore, we deem that the CZ upper boundary should be selected at the tropopause of the atmosphere. The troposphere, directly affected by the earth surface, contains 3/4 of

  12. Effects of TiC doping on the upper critical field of MgB2 superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, S.C.; Zhou, L.; Yan, G.; Lu, Y.F.

    2008-01-01

    TiC doped MgB 2 bulks were fabricated by two-step reaction method. The sample with a nominal compositions of Mg(B 0.95 (TiC) 0.05 ) 4 was first sintered at 1000 deg. C for 0.5 h. An appropriate amount of Mg was added to reach the stoichiometry of Mg(B 0.95 (TiC) 0.05 ) 2 , which was sintered at 750 deg. C for 2 h. The H c2 for the micro-TiC doped MgB 2 reached 12 T at 20 K. And J c is 5.3 x 10 4 A/cm 2 at 20 K and 1 T. The results indicate that the two-step reaction method could effectively introduce the carbon in TiC into the MgB 2 crystalline lattice, and therefore improve the upper critical field

  13. Mechanical and Hydrologic Effects of Riparian Vegetation on Critical Conditions for Streambank Stability: Upper Truckee River, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, A.; Pollen, N. L.; Langendoen, E. J.

    2005-05-01

    The Upper Truckee River is the single largest contributor of sediment to Lake Tahoe with a large proportion of the suspended-sediment load coming from eroding streambanks. Recent advances in quantifying streambank processes highlight the combined effects of hydraulic erosion at the bank toe with geotechnical stability of the upper part of the bank and resulted in the development of a deterministic model of bank-toe erosion and streambank stability (Simon et al., 1999). The use of riparian vegetation in schemes of bank stabilization and stream restoration have become popular but are often implemented on a trial and error basis because of a lack of quantifiable information on the mechanical and hydrologic effects of vegetation on bank stability. This study, conducted along an unstable reach of the Upper Truckee River, combines field data with numerical modeling to quantify (1) hydraulic and geotechnical driving and resisting forces that control bank failures, (2) the mechanical and hydrologic effects of vegetation on shear strength, and (3) the critical conditions for bank stability with and without indigenous riparian species. Tests were conducted using three top-bank treatments: bare (control), Lemmon's willow, and young Lodgepole pine. The susceptibility of the bank toe to erosion by hydraulic forces was quantified by conducting submerged jet tests of in situ material to determine the erodibility coefficient (k) and the critical shear stress of the material. Drained, shear-strength parameters (cohesion and friction angle) of the banks were determined from borehole shear tests at various depths. Pore-water pressure and matric suction were monitored at three depths (30, 100, and 150 cm) with digital tensiometers to calculate changes in apparent cohesion for the period (September 2003 - May 2004) and to differentiate between the hydrologic effects of the two species. Root reinforcement of the two species was quantified by determining the relation between root

  14. The Effect of High Intensity Intermittent Exercise on Power Output for the Upper Body

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonie Harvey

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to examine and measure high intensity, intermittent upper body performance, in addition to identifying areas of the body that affect the variance in total work done during the 5 × 6 s sprint test. Fifteen males completed an upper body 5 × 6 s sprint test on a modified electro-magnetically braked cycle ergometer, which consisted of five maximal effort sprints, each 6 s in duration, separated by 24 s of passive recovery. A fly wheel braking force corresponding to 5% of the participants’ body weight was used as the implemented resistance level. Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA. Percent (% decrement was calculated as 100 − (Total work/ideal work × 100. Significant (P < 0.05 differences were found between sprints for both absolute and relative (W, W·kg−1, W·kg−1 Lean body mass (LBM and W·kg−1 Upper body lean body mass (UBLBM peak (PP and mean (MP power. The % decrement in total work done over the five sprints was 11.4%. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that UBLBM accounts for 87% of the variance in total work done during the upper body 5 × 6 s sprint test. These results provide a descriptive analysis of upper body, high intensity intermittent exercise, demonstrating that PP and MP output decreased significantly during the upper body 5 × 6 s sprint test.

  15. Upper critical magnetic field of superconducting films with magnetic impurities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemberger, T.R.

    1978-01-01

    The upper critical magnetic field, H/sub c2/(T), of In-Mn and Pb-Mn alloy films was measured. H/sub c2/ was determined from the resistance of the films. The results were compared with the theory of Fulde and Maki. This theory assumes that the electron-phonon coupling is weak, and that the interaction between the impurity spins and the conduction electron spins is weak. The theory predicts that the pair-breaking effect of the magnetic impurities is temperature-independent, and that the pair-breaking effects of the magnetic impurities and the applied magnetic field are additive. Furthermore, it predicts explicitly the temperature dependence of H/sub c2/. The temperature dependence of H/sub c2/ for the In-Mn alloy films is well described by the Fulde-Maki theory, despite the moderately strong electron-phonon coupling and the strong interaction between the impurity spins and the conduction electron spins. The temperature dependence of H/sub c2/ for the Pb-Mn alloy films is not well described by the Fulde-Maki theory, probably due to the strong electron-phonon coupling in Pb. However, even without a quantitatively correct theory, one can conclude from the Pb-Mn data that the pair-breaking effect of the magnetic impurities is temperature independent, and that the pair-breaking effects of the magnetic impurities and the applied magnetic field are additive. For some of the Pb-Mn alloy films, there was a region of positive curvature in H/sub c2/(T) near the zero-field transition temperature. This positive curvature is not understood

  16. Leading Critically: A Grounded Theory of Applied Critical Thinking in Leadership Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jekins, Daniel M.; Cutchens, Amanda B.

    2011-01-01

    This study describes the development of a grounded theory of applied critical thinking in leadership studies and examines how student-centered experiential learning in leadership education bridged critical thinking with action. Over three semester undergraduate students in an upper level leadership studies course at a large four-year public…

  17. Elective use of the Ventrain for upper airway obstruction during high-frequency jet ventilation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fearnley, Robert A; Badiger, Sheela; Oakley, Richard J; Ahmad, Imran

    2016-09-01

    The safety of high pressure source ventilation (jet ventilation) is dependent upon upper airway patency to facilitate adequate passive expiration and prevent increasing intrathoracic pressure and its associated deleterious sequelae. Distortions in airway anatomy may make passive expiration inadequate or impossible in some patients. We report the elective use of the Ventrain device to provide ventilation in a clinical setting of upper airway obstruction in a patient with post radiation fibrosis that had previously prevented passive expiration during attempted high pressure source ventilation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Criticality and Its Uncertainty Analysis of Spent Fuel Storage Rack for Research Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Tae Young; Park, Chang Je; Lee, Byung Chul

    2011-01-01

    For evaluating the criticality safety of spent fuel storage rack in an open pool type research reactor, a permissible upper limit of criticality should be determined. It can be estimated from the criticality upper limit presented by the regulatory guide and an uncertainty of criticality calculation. In this paper, criticalities for spent fuel storage rack are carried out at various conditions. The calculation uncertainty of MCNP system is evaluated from the calculation results for the benchmark experiments. Then, the upper limit of criticality is determined from the uncertainties and the calculated criticality of the spent fuel storage rack is evaluated

  19. Results of the critical experiments concerning OTTO loading at the critical HTR-test facility KAHTER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drueke, V.; Litzow, W.; Paul, N.

    1982-12-01

    Critical experiments concerning OTTO loading are described. In the KAHTER facility an OTTO loading has been simulated, therefore the original KAHTER assembly was reconstructed. The determination of critical masses and reactivity worths of control rods and of additional absorber rods in the top reflector and in the upper cavity was of main interest for comparison with reactor following calculations. Besides this, reaction rates in different energy regions were measured in the upper part of the core, in the cavity and top reflector. (orig.) [de

  20. Critical current enhancement in high Tc superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, S.; Graebner, J.E.; Tiefel, T.H.

    1990-01-01

    Progress toward major technological applications of the bulk, high T c superconductors has been hindered by two major barriers, i.e., the Josephson weak-links at grain boundaries and the lack of sufficient intragrain flux pinning. It has been demonstrated that the weak link problem can be overcome by extreme alignment of grains such as in melt-textured-growth (MTG) materials. Modified or improved processing by various laboratories has produced further increased critical currents. However, the insufficient flux pinning seems to limit the critical current density in high fields to about 10 4 --10 5 A/cm 2 at 77K, which is not satisfactory for many applications. In this paper, processing, microstructure, and critical current behavior of the MTG type superconductors are described, and various processing possibilities for flux pinning enhancement are discussed

  1. Early lactate clearance for predicting active bleeding in critically ill patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a retrospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wada, Tomoki; Hagiwara, Akiyoshi; Uemura, Tatsuki; Yahagi, Naoki; Kimura, Akio

    2016-08-01

    Not all patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) require emergency endoscopy. Lactate clearance has been suggested as a parameter for predicting patient outcomes in various critical care settings. This study investigates whether lactate clearance can predict active bleeding in critically ill patients with UGIB. This single-center, retrospective, observational study included critically ill patients with UGIB who met all of the following criteria: admission to the emergency department (ED) from April 2011 to August 2014; had blood samples for lactate evaluation at least twice during the ED stay; and had emergency endoscopy within 6 h of ED presentation. The main outcome was active bleeding detected with emergency endoscopy. Classification and regression tree (CART) analyses were performed using variables associated with active bleeding to derive a prediction rule for active bleeding in critically ill UGIB patients. A total of 154 patients with UGIB were analyzed, and 31.2 % (48/154) had active bleeding. In the univariate analysis, lactate clearance was significantly lower in patients with active bleeding than in those without active bleeding (13 vs. 29 %, P bleeding is derived, and includes three variables: lactate clearance; platelet count; and systolic blood pressure at ED presentation. The rule has 97.9 % (95 % CI 90.2-99.6 %) sensitivity with 32.1 % (28.6-32.9 %) specificity. Lactate clearance may be associated with active bleeding in critically ill patients with UGIB, and may be clinically useful as a component of a prediction rule for active bleeding.

  2. Dimensional Crossover and Its Interplay with In-Plane Anisotropy of Upper Critical Field in β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasuzuka, Syuma; Koga, Hiroaki; Yamamura, Yasuhisa; Saito, Kazuya; Uji, Shinya; Terashima, Taichi; Akutsu, Hiroki; Yamada, Jun-ichi

    2017-08-01

    Resistance measurements have been performed to investigate the dimensionality and the in-plane anisotropy of the upper critical field (Hc2) for β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6 in fields H up to 15 T and at temperatures T from 1.5 to 7.5 K, where BDA-TTP stands for 2,5-bis(1,3-dithian-2-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene. The upper critical fields parallel and perpendicular to the conduction layer are determined and dimensional crossover from anisotropic three-dimensional behavior to two-dimensional behavior is found at around 6 K. When the direction of H is varied within the conducting layer at 6.0 K, Hc2 shows twofold symmetry: Hc2 along the minimum Fermi wave vector (maximum Fermi velocity) is larger than that along the maximum Fermi wave vector (minimum Fermi velocity). The normal-state magnetoresistance has twofold symmetry similar to Hc2 and shows a maximum when the magnetic field is nearly parallel to the maximum Fermi wave vector. This tendency is consistent with the Fermi surface anisotropy. At 3.5 K, we found clear fourfold symmetry of Hc2 despite the fact that the normal-state magnetoresistance shows twofold symmetry arising from the Fermi surface anisotropy. The origin of the fourfold symmetry of Hc2 is discussed in terms of the superconducting gap structure in β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6.

  3. Dimensional crossover and its interplay with in-plane anisotropy of upper critical field in β-(BDA-TTP)_2SbF_6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasuzuka, Syuma; Koga, Hiroaki; Yamamura, Yasuhisa; Saito, Kazuya; Uji, Shinya; Terashima, Taichi; Akutsu, Hiroki; Yamada, Jun-ichi

    2017-01-01

    Resistance measurements have been performed to investigate the dimensionality and the in-plane anisotropy of the upper critical field (H_c_2) for β-(BDA-TTP)_2SbF_6 in fields H up to 15 T and at temperatures T from 1.5 to 7.5 K, where BDA-TTP stands for 2,5-bis(1,3-dithian-2-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene. The upper critical fields parallel and perpendicular to the conduction layer are determined and dimensional crossover from anisotropic three-dimensional behavior to two-dimensional behavior is found at around 6 K. When the direction of H is varied within the conducting layer at 6.0 K, H_c_2 shows twofold symmetry: H_c_2 along the minimum Fermi wave vector (maximum Fermi velocity) is larger than that along the maximum Fermi wave vector (minimum Fermi velocity). The normal-state magnetoresistance has twofold symmetry similar to H_c_2 and shows a maximum when the magnetic field is nearly parallel to the maximum Fermi wave vector. This tendency is consistent with the Fermi surface anisotropy. At 3.5 K, we found clear fourfold symmetry of H_c_2 despite the fact that the normal-state magnetoresistance shows twofold symmetry arising from the Fermi surface anisotropy. The origin of the fourfold symmetry of H_c_2 is discussed in terms of the superconducting gap structure in β-(BDA-TTP)_2SbF_6. (author)

  4. Evidence from EXAFS for Different Ta/Ti Site Occupancy in High Critical Current Density Nb3Sn Superconductor Wires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heald, Steve M; Tarantini, Chiara; Lee, Peter J; Brown, Michael D; Sung, ZuHawn; Ghosh, Arup K; Larbalestier, David C

    2018-03-19

    To meet critical current density, J c , targets for the Future Circular Collider (FCC), the planned replacement for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the high field performance of Nb 3 Sn must be improved, but champion J c values have remained static for the last 10 years. Making the A15 phase stoichiometric and enhancing the upper critical field H c2 by Ti or Ta dopants are the standard strategies for enhancing high field performance but detailed recent studies show that even the best modern wires have broad composition ranges. To assess whether further improvement might be possible, we employed Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) to determine the lattice site location of dopants in modern high-performance Nb 3 Sn strands with J c values amongst the best so far achieved. Although Ti and Ta primarily occupy the Nb sites in the A15 structure, we also find significant Ta occupancy on the Sn site. These findings indicate that the best performing Ti-doped stand is strongly sub-stoichiometric in Sn and that antisite disorder likely explains its high average H c2 behavior. These new results suggest an important role for dopant and antisite disorder in minimizing superconducting property distributions and maximizing high field J c properties.

  5. Upper critical field and vortices in S/F bilayers exhibiting the quasi-onedimensional FFLO-like state

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lenk, Daniel; Hemmida, Mamoun; Kehrle, Jan; Zdravkov, Vladimir I.; Ullrich, Aladin; Obermeier, Guenther; Mueller, Claus; Loidl, Alois; Krug von Nidda, Hans-Albrecht; Horn, Siegfried; Tidecks, Reinhard [Institut fuer Physik, Universitaet Augsburg (Germany); Morari, Roman [Institut fuer Physik, Universitaet Augsburg (Germany); D. Ghitsu Institute of Electronic Engineering and Nanotechnologies ASM, Kishinev (Moldova, Republic of); Sidorenko, Anatolie S. [D. Ghitsu Institute of Electronic Engineering and Nanotechnologies ASM, Kishinev (Moldova, Republic of); Tagirov, Lenar [Institut fuer Physik, Universitaet Augsburg (Germany); Solid State Physics Department, Kazan Federal University (Russian Federation)

    2015-07-01

    We investigate the temperature dependence of the upper critical field, B{sub c2}, in superconductor/ferromagnet (S/F) bilayers as a function of the F-layer thickness, d{sub F}, by resistance measurements. We extracted GL coherence lengths and estimated an effective thickness of the superconducting layer by evaluating the perpendicular coherence length at the 3D-2D crossover temperature in the parallel B{sub c2}. We found an unexpected non-monotonous behavior of the effective thickness as a function of d{sub F}. Moreover, we investigated the anisotropy of B{sub c2} by microwave absorption. The results show a deviation from Tinkham's prediction for thin films, which we attribute to the additional anisotropy induced by the quasi-1D FFLO-like state. Thus, we propose a new type of vortex, developing in the S/F bilayer in magnetic fields applied close to parallel.

  6. Weak links in high critical temperature superconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tafuri, Francesco; Kirtley, John R.

    2005-11-01

    The traditional distinction between tunnel and highly transmissive barriers does not currently hold for high critical temperature superconducting Josephson junctions, both because of complicated materials issues and the intrinsic properties of high temperature superconductors (HTS). An intermediate regime, typical of both artificial superconductor-barrier-superconductor structures and of grain boundaries, spans several orders of magnitude in the critical current density and specific resistivity. The physics taking place at HTS surfaces and interfaces is rich, primarily because of phenomena associated with d-wave order parameter (OP) symmetry. These phenomena include Andreev bound states, the presence of the second harmonic in the critical current versus phase relation, a doubly degenerate state, time reversal symmetry breaking and the possible presence of an imaginary component of the OP. All these effects are regulated by a series of transport mechanisms, whose rules of interplay and relative activation are unknown. Some transport mechanisms probably have common roots, which are not completely clear and possibly related to the intrinsic nature of high-TC superconductivity. The d-wave OP symmetry gives unique properties to HTS weak links, which do not have any analogy with systems based on other superconductors. Even if the HTS structures are not optimal, compared with low critical temperature superconductor Josephson junctions, the state of the art allows the realization of weak links with unexpectedly high quality quantum properties, which open interesting perspectives for the future. The observation of macroscopic quantum tunnelling and the qubit proposals represent significant achievements in this direction. In this review we attempt to encompass all the above aspects, attached to a solid experimental basis of junction concepts and basic properties, along with a flexible phenomenological background, which collects ideas on the Josephson effect in the presence

  7. Weak links in high critical temperature superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tafuri, Francesco; Kirtley, John R

    2005-01-01

    The traditional distinction between tunnel and highly transmissive barriers does not currently hold for high critical temperature superconducting Josephson junctions, both because of complicated materials issues and the intrinsic properties of high temperature superconductors (HTS). An intermediate regime, typical of both artificial superconductor-barrier-superconductor structures and of grain boundaries, spans several orders of magnitude in the critical current density and specific resistivity. The physics taking place at HTS surfaces and interfaces is rich, primarily because of phenomena associated with d-wave order parameter (OP) symmetry. These phenomena include Andreev bound states, the presence of the second harmonic in the critical current versus phase relation, a doubly degenerate state, time reversal symmetry breaking and the possible presence of an imaginary component of the OP. All these effects are regulated by a series of transport mechanisms, whose rules of interplay and relative activation are unknown. Some transport mechanisms probably have common roots, which are not completely clear and possibly related to the intrinsic nature of high-T C superconductivity. The d-wave OP symmetry gives unique properties to HTS weak links, which do not have any analogy with systems based on other superconductors. Even if the HTS structures are not optimal, compared with low critical temperature superconductor Josephson junctions, the state of the art allows the realization of weak links with unexpectedly high quality quantum properties, which open interesting perspectives for the future. The observation of macroscopic quantum tunnelling and the qubit proposals represent significant achievements in this direction. In this review we attempt to encompass all the above aspects, attached to a solid experimental basis of junction concepts and basic properties, along with a flexible phenomenological background, which collects ideas on the Josephson effect in the presence

  8. Numerical solutions to critical problem of reflected cylindrical reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horie, Junnosuke

    1977-01-01

    The multi-region critical problem can be transformed into an eigenvalue problem in the classical sense by using the method of Kuscer and Corngold and of Wing. This transformation is applied to derive a variational formulation for a reflected reactor. An approximate critical value of the multiplying factor is determined by maximizing the Rayleigh quotient for radially and totally reflected cylindrical reactors. It is shown that this approximate critical value is an upper bound of the true critical value. From the facts that the operator is self-adjoint and the eigenfunction is positive, an expression is derived for the upper and lower bounds of the true eigenvalue, by making use of the approximate distribution. The difference of the upper and lower bounds is an uncertainty of the presumption of the true critical value. It is found that we can compute the bounds to any required precision. The narrow bounds are calculated for two radially and one totally reflected cylindrical reactors. (auth.)

  9. Critical two-point functions and the lace expansion for spread-out high-dimensional percolation and related models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hara, T.; Hofstad, van der R.W.; Slade, G.

    2003-01-01

    We consider spread-out models of self-avoiding walk, bond percolation, lattice trees and bond lattice animals on ${\\mathbb{Z}^d}$, having long finite-range connections, above their upper critical dimensions $d=4$ (self-avoiding walk), $d=6$ (percolation) and $d=8$ (trees and animals). The two-point

  10. Evolution of the two-gap nature revealed in the upper critical field of Mg1-xAlxB2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Heon-Jung; Lee, Hyun-Sook; Park, Min-Seok; Lee, H.-G.; Jo, Younghun; Jung, Myung-Hwa; Lee, Sung-Ik; Kang, Byeongwon

    2007-01-01

    The temperature and the angular dependences of the upper critical field [H c2 (T,θ)] of Mg 1-x Al x B 2 single crystals (x=0.12 and 0.21) were studied. The H c2 (T,θ) was found to be well described by the dirty-limit two-gap theory. A quantitative comparison of the data with this theory indicated that Mg 1-x Al x B 2 single crystals preserved the two-gap nature but became dirtier. We also found that as the Al concentration was increased, anisotropic impurity scattering increased, making the σ bands less anisotropic. In addition, these results are compared with those of 10% C-doped MgB 2 single crystals

  11. Preparation and characterization of high-Tc superconducting thin films with high critical current densities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vase, P.

    1991-08-01

    The project was carried out in relation to possible cable and electronics applications of high-T c materials. Laser ablation was used as the deposition technique because of its stoichiometry conservation. Films were made in the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 compound due to its relatively simple stoichiometry compared to other High-T c compounds. Much attention was paid to the critical current density. A very high critical current density was reached. By using texture analysis by X-ray diffraction, it was found that films with high critical current densities were epitaxial, while films with low critical current densities contained several crystalline orientations. Four techniques for patterning the films were used - photo lithography and wet etch, laser ablation lithography, laser writing and electron beam lithography and ion milling. Sub-micron patterning has been demonstrated without degradation of the superconducting properties. The achieved patterning resolution is sufficient for preparation of many superconducting components. (AB)

  12. Acute enhancement of the upper critical field for superconductivity approaching a quantum critical point in URhGe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levy, F; Huxley, A [CEA, SPSMS, DRFMC, F-38054 Grenoble, (France); Levy, F; Sheikin, I [CNRS, GHMFL, F-38042 Grenoble, (France); Huxley, A [Univ Edinburgh, Scottish Univ Phys Alliance, Sch Phys, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Midlothian, (United Kingdom)

    2007-07-01

    When a pure material is tuned to the point where a continuous phase-transition line is crossed at zero temperature, known as a quantum critical point (QCP), completely new correlated quantum ordered states can form. These phases include exotic forms of superconductivity. However, as superconductivity is generally suppressed by a magnetic field, the formation of superconductivity ought not to be possible at extremely high field. Here, we report that as we tune the ferromagnet, URhGe, towards a QCP by applying a component of magnetic field in the material's easy magnetic plane, superconductivity survives in progressively higher fields applied simultaneously along the material's magnetic hard axis. Thus, although superconductivity never occurs above a temperature of 0.5 K, we find that it can survive in extremely high magnetic fields, exceeding 28 T. (authors)

  13. Criticality of mixtures of plutonium and high enriched uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grolleau, E.; Lein, M.; Leka, G.; Maidou, B.; Klenov, P.

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents a criticality evaluation of moderated homogeneous plutonium-uranium mixtures. The fissile media studied are homogeneous mixtures of plutonium and high enriched uranium in two chemical forms: aqueous mixtures of metal and mixtures of nitrate solutions. The enrichment of uranium considered are 93.2wt.% 235 U and 100wt.% 235 U. The 240 Pu content in plutonium varies from 0wt.% 240 Pu to 12wt.% 240 Pu. The critical parameters (radii and masses of a 20 cm water reflected sphere) are calculated with the French criticality safety package CRISTAL V0. The comparison of the calculated critical parameters as a function of the moderator-to-fuel atomic ratio shows significant ranges in which high enriched uranium systems, as well as plutonium-uranium mixtures, are more reactive than plutonium systems. (author)

  14. Orbital and spin effects for the upper critical field in As-deficient disordered Fe pnictide superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuchs, G; Drechsler, S-L; Kozlova, N; Hamann-Borrero, J E; Behr, G; Nenkov, K; Freudenberger, J; Koehler, A; Knupfer, M; Buechner, B; Schultz, L; Bartkowiak, M; Klauss, H-H; Maeter, H; Kwadrin, A; Amato, A; Luetkens, H; Khasanov, R; Arushanov, E; Rosner, H

    2009-01-01

    We report upper critical field B c2 (T) data for LaO 0.9 F 0.1 FeAs 1-δ in a wide temperature and field range up to 60 T. The large slope of B c2 ∼- 5.4 to -6.6 T K -1 near an improved T c ∼28.5 K of the in-plane B c2 (T) contrasts with a flattening starting near 23 K above 30 T we regard as the onset of Pauli-limited behaviour (PLB) with B c2 (0)∼63-68 T. We interpret a similar hitherto unexplained flattening of the B c2 (T) curves reported for at least three other disordered closely related systems, Co-doped BaFe 2 As 2 , (Ba,K) Fe 2 As 2 and NdO 0.7 F 0.3 FeAs (all single crystals), for applied fields H parallel (a,b), also as a manifestation of PLB. Their Maki parameters have been estimated by analysing their B c2 (T) data within the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg approach. The pronounced PLB of (Ba, K)Fe 2 As 2 single crystals obtained from an Sn flux is attributed also to a significant As deficiency detected by wavelength dispersive x-ray spectroscopy as reported by Ni et al (2008 Phys. Rev. B 78 014507). Consequences of our results are discussed in terms of disorder effects within conventional superconductivity (CSC) and unconventional superconductivity (USC). USC scenarios with nodes on individual Fermi surface sheets (FSS), e.g. p- and d-wave SC, can be discarded for our samples. The increase of dB c2 /dT| T c by sizeable disorder provides evidence for an important intraband (intra-FSS) contribution to the orbital upper critical field. We suggest that it can be ascribed either to an impurity-driven transition from s ± USC to CSC of an extended s ++ -wave state or to a stabilized s ± -state provided As-vacancies cause predominantly strong intraband scattering in the unitary limit. We compare our results with B c2 data from the literature, which often show no PLB for fields below 60-70 T probed so far. A novel disorder-related scenario of a complex interplay of SC with two different competing magnetic instabilities is suggested.

  15. Shift of the superconducting critical parameters due to correlated disorder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gitterman, M.; Shapiro, I.; Shapiro, B.Ya.

    2012-01-01

    Shift of the critical temperature and second critical magnetic field are calculated for a superconductor with Gaussian correlated disorder. All calculations have been performed in the framework of the stochastic Ginzburg-Landau equation. For uncorrelated disorder the macroscopic critical temperature is determined by the average of the local critical temperature across the sample, while for correlated disorder both the critical temperature and the upper critical magnetic field depend on disorder correlation length. In a nonuniform superconductor with randomly distributed local critical temperature both the macroscopic critical temperature and the upper critical magnetic field strongly depend on the characteristic correlation length ρ 0 of correlated disorder. The shift of the macroscopic critical parameters from those for non-correlated disorder, which does not exist for white noise, is obtained for small ρ 0 in the framework of the Ginzburg-Landau theory.

  16. The exponential critical state of high-Tc ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castro, H.; Rinderer, L.

    1994-01-01

    The critical current in high-Tc materials is strongly reduced by a magnetic field. We studied this dependency for tubular YBCO samples. We find an exponential drop as the field is increased from zero up to some tens of oersted. This behavior was already observed by others, however little work has been done in this direction. We define what we call the ''exponential critical state'' of HTSC and compare the prediction for the magnetization with experimental data. Furthermore, the ''Kim critical state'' is obtained as the small field limit. (orig.)

  17. Cellular Stress Response Gene Expression During Upper and Lower Body High Intensity Exercises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochanowicz, Andrzej; Sawczyn, Stanisław; Niespodziński, Bartłomiej; Mieszkowski, Jan; Kochanowicz, Kazimierz; Żychowska, Małgorzata

    2017-01-01

    The aim was to compare the effect of upper and lower body high-intensity exercise on chosen genes expression in athletes and non-athletes. Fourteen elite male artistic gymnasts (EAG) aged 20.6 ± 3.3 years and 14 physically active men (PAM) aged 19.9 ± 1.0 years performed lower and upper body 30 s Wingate Tests. Blood samples were collected before, 5 and 30 minutes after each effort to assess gene expression via PCR. Significantly higher mechanical parameters after lower body exercise was observed in both groups, for relative power (8.7 ± 1.2 W/kg in gymnasts, 7.2 ± 1.2 W/kg in controls, p = 0.01) and mean power (6.7 ± 0.7 W/kg in gymnasts, 5.4 ± 0.8 W/kg in controls, p = 0.01). No differences in lower versus upper body gene expression were detected for all tested genes as well as between gymnasts and physical active man. For IL-6 m-RNA time-dependent effect was observed. Because of no significant differences in expression of genes associated with cellular stress response the similar adaptive effect to exercise may be obtained so by lower and upper body exercise.

  18. High-grade myxofibrosarcoma-presented as a large mass of right upper arm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunil Vitthalrao Jagtap

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Myxofibrosarcoma is one of the rare soft tissue sarcomas. We present a case of a 65-year-old male having large soft tissue mass over right upper arm associated with surface ulceration. On histopathological study tumor was diagnosed as myxofibrosarcoma - high grade according to modified FNCLCC grading system. Like many other tumors of connective tissue, soft tissue sarcoma exhibits high recurrence. In our case, tumor showed features of high grade with local recurrence, large size; however, no evidence of metastasis was noted. For this unpredictable clinical behavior, we are presenting this case.

  19. Upper critical fields in Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O single crystals: Evidence for dominant Pauli paramagnetic effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdel-Hafiez, M.; Brisbois, J.; Zhu, Z.; Adamski, A.; Hassen, A.; Vasiliev, A. N.; Silhanek, A. V.; Krellner, C.

    2018-03-01

    We report on magneto-optical imaging and the temperature dependency of the upper critical fields Hc2 c(T ) parallel to the c axis and Hc2 a b(T ) parallel to the a b plane in Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O single crystals. These data were inferred from the measurements of the temperature-dependent resistance in static magnetic fields up to 14 T and magnetoresistance in pulsed fields up to 60 T. Hc 2 values are found to be 52 and 50 T for H ∥a b and H ∥c , respectively. These values are 1.2-1.35 times larger than the weak-coupling Pauli paramagnetic limit (Hp˜1.84 Tc ), indicating that enhanced paramagnetic limiting is essential and this superconductor is unconventional. Our observations of strong bending in the Hc2 a b(T ) curves and a nearly isotropic maximum upper critical field Hc2 a b(0 ) ≈Hc2 c(0 ) support the presence of a strong Pauli paramagnetic effect. We show that the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg (WHH) formula that includes the spin-orbit scattering can effectively describe the Hc2 a b(T ) curve, whereas Hc 2 deviates from the conventional WHH theoretical model without considering the spin paramagnetic effect for the H ∥c and H ∥a b directions. For H ∥c , a two-band model is required to fully reproduce the behavior of Hc 2, while for H ∥a b the spin paramagnetic effect is responsible for the behavior of Hc 2. The anisotropy of Hc 2 is close to 3 near Tc and decreases rapidly at lower temperatures.

  20. Upper critical fields and superconducting transition temperatures of some zirconium-base amorphous transition-metal alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karkut, M.G.; Hake, R.R.

    1983-01-01

    Superconducting upper critical fields H/sub c/2(T), transition temperatures T/sub c/, and normal-state electrical resistivities rho/sub n/ have been measured in the amorphous transition-metal alloy series Zr/sub 1-z/Co/sub x/, Zr/sub 1-x/Ni/sub x/, (Zr/sub 1-x/Ti/sub x/)/sub 0.78/Ni/sub 0.22/, and (Zr/sub 1-x/Nb/sub x/)/sub 0.78/Ni/sub 0.22/. Structural integrity of these melt-spun alloys is indicated by x-ray, density, bend-ductility, normal-state electrical resistivity, superconducting transition width, and mixed-state flux-pinning measurements. The specimens display T/sub c/ = 2.1--3.8 K, rho/sub n/ = 159--190 μΩ cm, and Vertical Bar(dH/sub c/2/dT)cVertical Bar = 28--36 kG/K. These imply electron mean free paths lroughly-equal2--6 A, zero-temperature Ginzburg-Landau coherence distances xi/sub G/0roughly-equal50--70 A, penetration depths lambda/sub G/0roughly-equal(7--10) x 10 3 A, and extremely high dirtiness parameters xi 0 /lroughly-equal300--1300. All alloys display H/sub c/2(T) curves with negative curvature and (with two exceptions) fair agreement with the standard dirty-limit theory of Werthamer, Helfand, Hohenberg, and Maki (WHHM) for physically reasonable values of spin-orbit-coupling induced, electron-spin-flip scattering time tau/sub so/. This is in contrast to the anomalously elevated H/sub c/2(T) behavior which is nearly linear in T that is observed by some, and the unphysically low-tau/sub so/ fits to WHHM theory obtained by others, for various amorphous alloys

  1. Bilateral differences in the upper quarter function of high school aged baseball and softball players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Robert J; Myers, Heather S; Black, Douglass; Kiesel, Kyle B; Plisky, Phillip J; Moorman, Claude T; Queen, Robin M

    2014-08-01

    The Upper Quarter Y Balance Test (YBT-UQ) was developed as a way to identify upper extremity and trunk mobility in the open kinetic chain in the reaching limb as well as midrange limitations and asymmetries of upper extremity and core stability in the closed kinetic chain on the stabilizing limb. Performance on the YBT-UQ is similar between genders and between limbs; however, this has not been examined in athletes who participate in sports that result in upper extremity asymmetries. The primary purpose of this study is to determine if differences exist between the throwing vs. non-throwing sides in high-school baseball and softball athletes on the YBT-UQ. In order to complete this forty-eight male high school baseball players and seventeen female high school softball players were tested on the YBT-UQ. Reach distances were normalized to arm length (% AL). Comparisons were made between the throwing (T) and non-throwing (NT) arm for each direction as well as the composite score. No significant differences were observed between the T and NT arm for the medial (NT: 98.4 ± 8.6 %AL, T: 99.1 ± 8.6 %AL, p=0.42), inferolateral (NT: 90.8 ± 11.8 %AL, T: 90.3 ± 11.5 %AL, p =0.61), superolateral (NT: 70.6 ± 10.9 %AL, T: 70.4 ± 11.1 % AL, p=0.91) reaches, or the composite score (NT: 87.2 ± 8.9 % AL, T: 86.6 ± 8.1 %AL, p=0.72). Similarly, no differences were observed between the male baseball and female softball players (p=0.30-0.90). Based on these findings, it was concluded that there was no difference in performance on the YBT-UQ between throwing and non-throwing limbs in high school baseball and softball players. 3.

  2. Critical loads of nitrogen deposition and critical levels of atmospheric ammonia for semi-natural Mediterranean evergreen woodlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Pinho

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Nitrogen (N has emerged in recent years as a key factor associated with global changes, with impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems functioning and human health. In order to ameliorate the effects of excessive N, safety thresholds such as critical loads (deposition fluxes and levels (concentrations can be established. Few studies have assessed these thresholds for semi-natural Mediterranean ecosystems. Our objective was therefore to determine the critical loads of N deposition and long-term critical levels of atmospheric ammonia for semi-natural Mediterranean evergreen woodlands. We have considered changes in epiphytic lichen communities, one of the most sensitive comunity indicators of excessive N in the atmosphere. Based on a classification of lichen species according to their tolerance to N we grouped species into response functional groups, which we used as a tool to determine the critical loads and levels. This was done for a Mediterranean climate in evergreen cork-oak woodlands, based on the relation between lichen functional diversity and modelled N deposition for critical loads and measured annual atmospheric ammonia concentrations for critical levels, evaluated downwind from a reduced N source (a cattle barn. Modelling the highly significant relationship between lichen functional groups and annual atmospheric ammonia concentration showed the critical level to be below 1.9 μg m−3, in agreement with recent studies for other ecosystems. Modelling the highly significant relationship between lichen functional groups and N deposition showed that the critical load was lower than 26 kg (N ha−1 yr−1, which is within the upper range established for other semi-natural ecosystems. Taking into account the high sensitivity of lichen communities to excessive N, these values should aid development of policies to protect Mediterranean woodlands from the initial effects of excessive N.

  3. High EDSS can predict risk for upper urinary tract damage in patients with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ineichen, Benjamin V; Schneider, Marc P; Hlavica, Martin; Hagenbuch, Niels; Linnebank, Michael; Kessler, Thomas M

    2018-04-01

    Neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) is very common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and it might jeopardize renal function and thereby increase mortality. Although there are well-known urodynamic risk factors for upper urinary tract damage, no clinical prediction parameters are available. We aimed to assess clinical parameters potentially predicting urodynamic risk factors for upper urinary tract damage. A consecutive series of 141 patients with MS referred from neurologists for primary neuro-urological work-up including urodynamics were prospectively evaluated. Clinical parameters taken into account were age, sex, duration, and clinical course of MS and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Multivariate modeling revealed EDSS as a clinical parameter significantly associated with urodynamic risk factors for upper urinary tract damage (odds ratio = 1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-1.71, p = 0.02). Using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, an EDSS of 5.0 as cutoff showed a sensitivity of 86%-87% and a specificity of 52% for at least one urodynamic risk factor for upper urinary tract damage. High EDSS is significantly associated with urodynamic risk factors for upper urinary tract damage and allows a risk-dependent stratification in daily neurological clinical practice to identify MS patients requiring further neuro-urological assessment and treatment.

  4. Reanalysis comparisons of upper tropospheric-lower stratospheric jets and multiple tropopauses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manney, Gloria L.; Hegglin, Michaela I.; Lawrence, Zachary D.; Wargan, Krzysztof; Millán, Luis F.; Schwartz, Michael J.; Santee, Michelle L.; Lambert, Alyn; Pawson, Steven; Knosp, Brian W.; Fuller, Ryan A.; Daffer, William H.

    2017-09-01

    The representation of upper tropospheric-lower stratospheric (UTLS) jet and tropopause characteristics is compared in five modern high-resolution reanalyses for 1980 through 2014. Climatologies of upper tropospheric jet, subvortex jet (the lowermost part of the stratospheric vortex), and multiple tropopause frequency distributions in MERRA (Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications), ERA-I (ERA-Interim; the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, ECMWF, interim reanalysis), JRA-55 (the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis), and CFSR (the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis) are compared with those in MERRA-2. Differences between alternate products from individual reanalysis systems are assessed; in particular, a comparison of CFSR data on model and pressure levels highlights the importance of vertical grid spacing. Most of the differences in distributions of UTLS jets and multiple tropopauses are consistent with the differences in assimilation model grids and resolution - for example, ERA-I (with coarsest native horizontal resolution) typically shows a significant low bias in upper tropospheric jets with respect to MERRA-2, and JRA-55 (the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis) a more modest one, while CFSR (with finest native horizontal resolution) shows a high bias with respect to MERRA-2 in both upper tropospheric jets and multiple tropopauses. Vertical temperature structure and grid spacing are especially important for multiple tropopause characterizations. Substantial differences between MERRA and MERRA-2 are seen in mid- to high-latitude Southern Hemisphere (SH) winter upper tropospheric jets and multiple tropopauses as well as in the upper tropospheric jets associated with tropical circulations during the solstice seasons; some of the largest differences from the other reanalyses are seen in the same times and places. Very good qualitative agreement among the reanalyses is seen between the large-scale climatological features in UTLS jet and

  5. Critical fields of niobium nitride films of various granularity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antonova, E.A.; Sukhov, V.A.

    1983-01-01

    The behaviour of lattice parameter, specific electrical resistivity, critical temperature, and temperature dependence of upper critical field near Tsub(cr) of sputtered niobium nitride films is investigated versus the substrate temperature and gas mixture composition in the process of reactive cathode sputtering. The relation between extrapolated value of the upper critical field and granularity of niobium nitride films, close as to composition to the stoichiometric one, has been found. Values of the kappa parameter of the Ginsburg-Landau theory and of the coherence length for niobium nitride films of various granularity are estimated in an approximation of uniform distribution of impurities in a sample

  6. Effect of Lower and Upper Body High Intensity Training on Genes Associated with Cellular Stress Response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Żychowska, Małgorzata; Kochanowicz, Andrzej; Kochanowicz, Kazimierz; Mieszkowski, Jan; Niespodziński, Bartłomiej; Sawczyn, Stanisław

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to compare the effect of upper and lower body high intensity exercise (HIE) on select gene expression in athletes. Fourteen elite male artistic gymnasts (age 20.9 ± 2.6 years; weight 68.6 ± 7.2 kg; fat free mass 63.6 ± 6.7 kg; height 1.70 ± 0.04 m) performed lower and upper body 30 s Wingate Tests (WAnTs) before and after eight weeks of specific HIIT. Two milliliters of blood was collected before and after (5, 30 min, resp.) lower and upper body WAnTs, and select gene expression was determined by PCR. Eight weeks of HIIT caused a significant increase in maximal power (722 to 751 Wat), relative peak power in the lower body WAnTs (10.1 to 11 W/kg), mean power (444 to 464 W), and relative mean power (6.5 to 6.8 W/kg). No significant differences in lower versus upper body gene expression were detected after HIIT, and a significant decrease in the IL6/IL10 ratio was observed after lower (-2 ∧ 0.57 p = 0.0019) and upper (-2 ∧ 0.5 p = 0.03) WAnTs following eight weeks of HIIT. It is hypothesized that a similar adaptive response to exercise may be obtained by lower and upper body exercise.

  7. Fabrication of Chemically Doped, High Upper Critical Field Magnesium Diboride Superconducting Wires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marzik, James, V.

    2005-10-13

    Controlled chemical doping of magnesium diboride (MgB2) has been shown to substantially improve its superconducting properties to the levels required for high field magnets, but the doping is difficult to accomplish through the usual route of solid state reaction and diffusion. Further, superconducting cables of MgB2 are difficult to fabricate because of the friable nature of the material. In this Phase I STTR project, doped and undoped boron fibers were made by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Several >100m long batches of doped and undoped fiber were made by CVD codeposition of boron plus dopants. Bundles of these fibers infiltrated with liquid magnesium and subsequently converted to MgB2 to form Mg-MgB2 metal matrix composites. In a parallel path, doped boron nano-sized powder was produced by a plasma synthesis technique, reacted with magnesium to produce doped MgB2 superconducting ceramic bodies. The doped powder was also fabricated into superconducting wires several meters long. The doped boron fibers and powders made in this program were fabricated into fiber-metal composites and powder-metal composites by a liquid metal infiltration technique. The kinetics of the reaction between boron fiber and magnesium metal was investigated in fiber-metal composites. It was found that the presence of dopants had significantly slowed the reaction between magnesium and boron. The superconducting properties were measured for MgB2 fibers and MgB2 powders made by liquid metal infiltration. Properties of MgB2 products (Jc, Hc2) from Phase I are among the highest reported to date for MgB2 bulk superconductors. Chemically doped MgB2 superconducting magnets can perform at least as well as NbTi and NbSn3 in high magnetic fields and still offer an improvement over the latter two in terms of operating temperature. These characteristics make doped MgB2 an effective material for high magnetic field applications, such as magnetic confined fusion, and medical MRI devices. Developing

  8. Fabrication of Chemically Doped, High Upper Critical Field Magnesium Diboride Superconducting Wires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marzik, James V.

    2005-01-01

    Controlled chemical doping of magnesium diboride (MgB2) has been shown to substantially improve its superconducting properties to the levels required for high field magnets, but the doping is difficult to accomplish through the usual route of solid state reaction and diffusion. Further, superconducting cables of MgB2 are difficult to fabricate because of the friable nature of the material. In this Phase I STTR project, doped and undoped boron fibers were made by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Several >100m long batches of doped and undoped fiber were made by CVD codeposition of boron plus dopants. Bundles of these fibers infiltrated with liquid magnesium and subsequently converted to MgB2 to form Mg-MgB2 metal matrix composites. In a parallel path, doped boron nano-sized powder was produced by a plasma synthesis technique, reacted with magnesium to produce doped MgB2 superconducting ceramic bodies. The doped powder was also fabricated into superconducting wires several meters long. The doped boron fibers and powders made in this program were fabricated into fiber-metal composites and powder-metal composites by a liquid metal infiltration technique. The kinetics of the reaction between boron fiber and magnesium metal was investigated in fiber-metal composites. It was found that the presence of dopants had significantly slowed the reaction between magnesium and boron. The superconducting properties were measured for MgB2 fibers and MgB2 powders made by liquid metal infiltration. Properties of MgB2 products (Jc, Hc2) from Phase I are among the highest reported to date for MgB2 bulk superconductors. Chemically doped MgB2 superconducting magnets can perform at least as well as NbTi and NbSn3 in high magnetic fields and still offer an improvement over the latter two in terms of operating temperature. These characteristics make doped MgB2 an effective material for high magnetic field applications, such as magnetic confined fusion, and medical MRI devices. Developing

  9. Critical thinking skills profile of senior high school students in Biology learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saputri, A. C.; Sajidan; Rinanto, Y.

    2018-04-01

    Critical thinking is an important and necessary skill to confront the challenges of the 21st century. Critical thinking skills accommodate activities that can improve high-order thinking skills. This study aims to determine senior high school students' critical thinking skills in Biology learning. This research is descriptive research using instruments developed based on the core aspects of critical thinking skills according to Facione which include interpretation, analysis, evaluation, explanation, conclusion, and self-regulation. The subjects in this study were 297 students in grade 12 of a senior high school in Surakarta selected through purposive sampling technique. The results of this study showed that the students' critical thinking skills on evaluation and self-regulation are in good criterion with 78% and 66% acquisition while 52% interpretation, 56% analysis, 52% conclusion and 42% explanation indicate sufficient criteria. The conclusion from this research is that critical thinking skill of the students still was in enough category, so that needed a way to enhance it on some indicators.

  10. Principals' Leadership in Mexican Upper High Schools: The Paradoxes between Rules and Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santizo Rodall, Claudia A.; Ortega Salazar, Sylvia B.

    2018-01-01

    This article discusses the type of organization and leadership that underlies a competency-based management rule established in Mexico (2008) applicable to principals in public upper high schools. This rule, identified as the 449 Agreement, describes competencies and communicates expected behavior. Implementation, however, is mediated by the…

  11. Investigation of water content in primary upper shield of high temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sumita, Junya; Sawa, Kazuhiro; Mogi, Haruyoshi; Itahashi, Shuuji; Kitami, Toshiyuki; Akutu, Youichi; Fuchita, Yasuhiro; Kawaguchi, Toru; Moriya, Masahiro

    1999-09-01

    A primary upper shield of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) is composed of concrete (grout) which is packed into iron frames. The main function of the primary upper shield is to attenuate neutron and gamma ray from the core, that leads to satisfy dose equivalent rate limit of operating floor and stand-pipe room. Water content in the concrete is one of the most important things because it strongly affects neutron-shielding ability. Then, we carried out out-of-pile experiments to investigate relationship between temperature and water content in the concrete. Based on the experimental results, a hydrolysis-diffusion model was developed to investigate water release behavior from the concrete. The model showed that water content used for shielding design in the primary upper shield of the HTTR will be maintained if temperature during operating life is under 110degC. (author)

  12. Critical thinking skills profile of high school students in learning chemistry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Budi Utami

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Critical thinking skill is the priority in the goals of education. In this case, the critical thinking has the higher process, such as analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, drawing conclusion and reflecting which enables the individual to make the reasonable assessment both in the classroom and in the daily life.  This research is aimed to determine the students’ critical thinking skill in learning Chemistry at senior high school. This research used descriptive method in which the instruments were developed based on the indicators of critical thinking skill. The population of this research was 100 students of tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade from senior high schools in Surakarta which was chosen using cluster random sampling technique. The result of the research shows that the students of tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade have adequate critical thinking skills.

  13. Critical review of SWAT applications in the upper Nile basin countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. van Griensven

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT is an integrated river basin model that is widely applied within the Nile basin. Up to date, more than 20 peer-reviewed papers describe the use of SWAT for a variety of problems in the upper Nile basin countries, such as erosion modelling, land use and climate change impact modelling and water resources management. The majority of the studies are focused on locations in the tropical highlands in Ethiopia and around Lake Victoria. The popularity of SWAT is attributed to the fact that the tool is freely available and that it is readily applicable through the development of geographic information system (GIS based interfaces and its easy linkage to sensitivity, calibration and uncertainty analysis tools. The online and free availability of basic GIS data that are required for SWAT made its applicability more straightforward even in data-scarce areas. However, the easy use of SWAT may not always lead to appropriate models which is also a consequence of the quality of the available free databases in these regions. In this paper, we aim at critically reviewing the use of SWAT in the context of the modelling purpose and problem descriptions in the tropical highlands of the Nile basin countries. To evaluate the models that are described in journal papers, a number of criteria are used to evaluate the model set-up, model performances, physical representation of the model parameters, and the correctness of the hydrological model balance. On the basis of performance indicators, the majority of the SWAT models were classified as giving satisfactory to very good results. Nevertheless, the hydrological mass balances as reported in several papers contained losses that might not be justified. Several papers also reported the use of unrealistic parameter values. More worrying is that many papers lack this information. For this reason, most of the reported SWAT models have to be evaluated critically. An important gap is

  14. Critical current of high Tc superconducting Bi223/Ag tapes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huang, Y.; ten Haken, Bernard; ten Kate, Herman H.J.

    1998-01-01

    The magnetic field dependence of the critical current of various high Tc superconducting Bi2223/Ag tapes indicates that the transport current is carried through two paths: one is through weakly-linked grain boundaries (Josephson junctions); another is through well-connected grains. The critical

  15. Effect of Lower and Upper Body High Intensity Training on Genes Associated with Cellular Stress Response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Małgorzata Żychowska

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to compare the effect of upper and lower body high intensity exercise (HIE on select gene expression in athletes. Fourteen elite male artistic gymnasts (age 20.9±2.6 years; weight 68.6±7.2 kg; fat free mass 63.6±6.7 kg; height 1.70±0.04 m performed lower and upper body 30 s Wingate Tests (WAnTs before and after eight weeks of specific HIIT. Two milliliters of blood was collected before and after (5, 30 min, resp. lower and upper body WAnTs, and select gene expression was determined by PCR. Eight weeks of HIIT caused a significant increase in maximal power (722 to 751 Wat, relative peak power in the lower body WAnTs (10.1 to 11 W/kg, mean power (444 to 464 W, and relative mean power (6.5 to 6.8 W/kg. No significant differences in lower versus upper body gene expression were detected after HIIT, and a significant decrease in the IL6/IL10 ratio was observed after lower (−2∧0.57 p=0.0019 and upper (−2∧0.5 p=0.03 WAnTs following eight weeks of HIIT. It is hypothesized that a similar adaptive response to exercise may be obtained by lower and upper body exercise.

  16. Analysis of the upper-truncated Weibull distribution for wind speed

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kantar, Yeliz Mert; Usta, Ilhan

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Upper-truncated Weibull distribution is proposed to model wind speed. • Upper-truncated Weibull distribution nests Weibull distribution as special case. • Maximum likelihood is the best method for upper-truncated Weibull distribution. • Fitting accuracy of upper-truncated Weibull is analyzed on wind speed data. - Abstract: Accurately modeling wind speed is critical in estimating the wind energy potential of a certain region. In order to model wind speed data smoothly, several statistical distributions have been studied. Truncated distributions are defined as a conditional distribution that results from restricting the domain of statistical distribution and they also cover base distribution. This paper proposes, for the first time, the use of upper-truncated Weibull distribution, in modeling wind speed data and also in estimating wind power density. In addition, a comparison is made between upper-truncated Weibull distribution and well known Weibull distribution using wind speed data measured in various regions of Turkey. The obtained results indicate that upper-truncated Weibull distribution shows better performance than Weibull distribution in estimating wind speed distribution and wind power. Therefore, upper-truncated Weibull distribution can be an alternative for use in the assessment of wind energy potential

  17. Practices and Processes of Leading High Performance Home Builders in the Upper Midwest

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Von Thoma, Ed [Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN (United States). NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership; Ojzcyk, Cindy [Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN (United States). NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership

    2012-12-01

    The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team proposed this study to gain insight into the business, sales, and construction processes of successful high performance builders. The knowledge gained by understanding the high performance strategies used by individual builders, as well as the process each followed to move from traditional builder to high performance builder, will be beneficial in proposing more in-depth research to yield specific action items to assist the industry at large transform to high performance new home construction. This investigation identified the best practices of three successful high performance builders in the upper Midwest. In-depth field analysis of the performance levels of their homes, their business models, and their strategies for market acceptance were explored.

  18. Nitrogen critical loads using biodiversity-related critical limits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Posch, Maximilian; Aherne, Julian; Hettelingh, Jean-Paul

    2011-01-01

    Critical loads are widely used in the effects-based assessment of emission reduction policies. While the impacts of acidification have diminished, there is increasing concern regarding the effects of nitrogen deposition on terrestrial ecosystems. In this context much attention has been focussed on empirical critical loads as well as simulations with linked geochemistry-vegetation models. Surprisingly little attention has been paid to adapt the widely used simple mass balance approach. This approach has the well-established benefit of easy regional applicability, while incorporating specified critical chemical criteria to protect specified receptors. As plant occurrence/biodiversity is related to both the nutrient and acidity status of an ecosystem, a single abiotic factor (chemical criterion) is not sufficient. Rather than an upper limit for deposition (i.e., critical load), linked nutrient nitrogen and acidity chemical criteria for plant occurrence result in an 'optimal' nitrogen and sulphur deposition envelope. - Highlights: → Mass balance critical load approaches for nutrient nitrogen remain useful. → Biodiversity-related limits are related to nutrient and acidity status. → Nutrient and acidity chemical criteria lead to optimal deposition envelopes. → Optimal loads support effects-based emission reduction policies. - Biodiversity-related critical limits lead to optimal nitrogen and sulphur deposition envelopes for plant species or species compositions.

  19. Microstructures and critical currents in high-Tc superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suenaga, Masaki

    1998-01-01

    Microstructural defects are the primary determining factors for the values of critical-current densities in a high T c superconductor after the electronic anisotropy along the a-b plane and the c-direction. A review is made to assess firstly what would be the maximum achievable critical-current density in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 if nearly ideal pinning sites were introduced and secondly what types of pinning defects are currently introduced or exist in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 and how effective are these in pinning vortices

  20. Dealing Collectively with Critical Incident Stress Reactions in High Risk Work Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Müller-Leonhardt, Alice; Strøbæk, Pernille Solveig; Vogt, joachim

    2015-01-01

    organisations. Indeed, we found that the CISM programme once integrated within the socio-cultural patterns of this specific working environment enhanced not only individual feelings of being supported but also organisational safety culture. Keywords: coping; safety culture; critical incident stress management......aim of this paper is to shift the representation of coping patterns within high risk occupations to an existential part of cultural pattern and social structure, which characterises high reliability organisations. Drawing upon the specific peer model of critical incident stress management (CISM......), in which qualified operational peers support colleagues who experienced critical incident stress, the paper discusses critical incident stress management in air traffic control. Our study revealed coping patterns that co-vary with the culture that the CISM programme fostered within this specific high...

  1. Advanced upper limb prosthetic devices: implications for upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnik, Linda; Meucci, Marissa R; Lieberman-Klinger, Shana; Fantini, Christopher; Kelty, Debra L; Disla, Roxanne; Sasson, Nicole

    2012-04-01

    The number of catastrophic injuries caused by improvised explosive devices in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars has increased public, legislative, and research attention to upper limb amputation. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has partnered with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and DEKA Integrated Solutions to optimize the function of an advanced prosthetic arm system that will enable greater independence and function. In this special communication, we examine current practices in prosthetic rehabilitation including trends in adoption and use of prosthetic devices, financial considerations, and the role of rehabilitation team members in light of our experiences with a prototype advanced upper limb prosthesis during a VA study to optimize the device. We discuss key challenges in the adoption of advanced prosthetic technology and make recommendations for service provision and use of advanced upper limb prosthetics. Rates of prosthetic rejection are high among upper limb amputees. However, these rates may be reduced with sufficient training by a highly specialized, multidisciplinary team of clinicians, and a focus on patient education and empowerment throughout the rehabilitation process. There are significant challenges emerging that are unique to implementing the use of advanced upper limb prosthetic technology, and a lack of evidence to establish clinical guidelines regarding prosthetic prescription and treatment. Finally, we make recommendations for future research to aid in the identification of best practices and development of policy decisions regarding insurance coverage of prosthetic rehabilitation. Copyright © 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. CRITICAL ISSUES IN HIGH END COMPUTING - FINAL REPORT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corones, James [Krell Institute

    2013-09-23

    High-End computing (HEC) has been a driver for advances in science and engineering for the past four decades. Increasingly HEC has become a significant element in the national security, economic vitality, and competitiveness of the United States. Advances in HEC provide results that cut across traditional disciplinary and organizational boundaries. This program provides opportunities to share information about HEC systems and computational techniques across multiple disciplines and organizations through conferences and exhibitions of HEC advances held in Washington DC so that mission agency staff, scientists, and industry can come together with White House, Congressional and Legislative staff in an environment conducive to the sharing of technical information, accomplishments, goals, and plans. A common thread across this series of conferences is the understanding of computational science and applied mathematics techniques across a diverse set of application areas of interest to the Nation. The specific objectives of this program are: Program Objective 1. To provide opportunities to share information about advances in high-end computing systems and computational techniques between mission critical agencies, agency laboratories, academics, and industry. Program Objective 2. To gather pertinent data, address specific topics of wide interest to mission critical agencies. Program Objective 3. To promote a continuing discussion of critical issues in high-end computing. Program Objective 4.To provide a venue where a multidisciplinary scientific audience can discuss the difficulties applying computational science techniques to specific problems and can specify future research that, if successful, will eliminate these problems.

  3. Hadamard upper bound on optimum joint decoding capacity of Wyner Gaussian cellular MAC

    KAUST Repository

    Shakir, Muhammad

    2011-09-01

    This article presents an original analytical expression for an upper bound on the optimum joint decoding capacity of Wyner circular Gaussian cellular multiple access channel (C-GCMAC) for uniformly distributed mobile terminals (MTs). This upper bound is referred to as Hadamard upper bound (HUB) and is a novel application of the Hadamard inequality established by exploiting the Hadamard operation between the channel fading matrix G and the channel path gain matrix Ω. This article demonstrates that the actual capacity converges to the theoretical upper bound under the constraints like low signal-to-noise ratios and limiting channel path gain among the MTs and the respective base station of interest. In order to determine the usefulness of the HUB, the behavior of the theoretical upper bound is critically observed specially when the inter-cell and the intra-cell time sharing schemes are employed. In this context, we derive an analytical form of HUB by employing an approximation approach based on the estimation of probability density function of trace of Hadamard product of two matrices, i.e., G and Ω. A closed form of expression has been derived to capture the effect of the MT distribution on the optimum joint decoding capacity of C-GCMAC. This article demonstrates that the analytical HUB based on the proposed approximation approach converges to the theoretical upper bound results in the medium to high signal to noise ratio regime and shows a reasonably tighter bound on optimum joint decoding capacity of Wyner GCMAC.

  4. High correlation of the response of upper and lower lobe small airway epithelium to smoking.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben-Gary Harvey

    Full Text Available The distribution of lung disease induced by inhaled cigarette smoke is complex, depending on many factors. With the knowledge that the small airway epithelium (SAE is the earliest site of smoking-induced lung disease, and that the SAE gene expression is likely sensitive to inhaled cigarette smoke, we compared upper vs. lower lobe gene expression in the SAE within the same cigarette smokers to determine if the gene expression patterns were similar or different. Active smokers (n = 11 with early evidence of smoking-induced lung disease (normal spirometry but low diffusing capacity underwent bronchoscopy and brushing of the upper and lower lobe SAE in order to compare upper vs lower lobe genome-wide and smoking-responsive gene expression by microarray. Cluster and principal component analysis demonstrated that, for each individual, the expression of the known SAE smoking-responsive genes were highly correlated in upper and lower lobe pairs, although, as expected, there were differences in the smoking-induced changes in gene expression from individual to individual. These observations support the concept that the heterogeneity observed among smokers in the anatomic distribution of smoking-induced disease are not secondary to the topographic differences in the effects of cigarette smoke on the airway epithelium.

  5. Southern Hemisphere Upper Thermospheric Wind Climatology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhadly, M. S.; Emmert, J. T.; Drob, D. P.

    2017-12-01

    This study is focused on the poorly understood large-scale upper thermospheric wind dynamics in the southern polar cap, auroral, and mid latitudes. The gaps in our understanding of the dynamic high-latitude thermosphere are largely due to the sparseness of thermospheric wind measurements. Using data from current observational facilities, it is unfeasible to construct a synoptic picture of the Southern Hemisphere upper thermospheric winds. However, enough data with wide spatial and temporal coverage have accumulated to construct a meaningful statistical analysis of winds as function of season, magnetic latitude, and magnetic local time. We use long-term data from nine ground-based stations located at different southern high latitudes and three space-based instruments. These diverse data sets possess different geometries and different spatial and solar coverage. The major challenge of the effort is to combine these disparate sources of data into a coherent picture while overcoming the sampling limitations and biases among the datasets. Our preliminary analyses show mutual biases present among some of them. We first address the biases among various data sets and then combine them in a coherent way to construct maps of neutral winds for various seasons. We then validate the fitted climatology against the observational data and compare with corresponding fits of 25 years of simulated winds from the National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model. This study provides critical insight into magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling and sets a necessary benchmark for validating new observations and tuning first-principles models.

  6. Thermally activated dissipation and critical field Hc2 in c-oriented high-Tc Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Y.H.; Cui, C.G.; Zhang, Y.Z.; Li, S.L.; Li, J.; Li, L.

    1991-01-01

    A set of resistivity-temperature (R-T) curves measured under various applied fields in a high-T c Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin film which has a zero-resistance temperature T c0 of 110 K is reported. The remarkable broadening of the transition width is discussed under the flux-creep model, considering the very short coherence length of this oxide superconductor. The resistivity is thermally activated, which is consistent with the Arrhenius law with a magnetic field and orientation-dependent activation energy U 0 (H,Θ). The U 0 (H,Θ) has a very high value of 381.6 meV under a field of 0.1 T parallel to the c axis. The upper critical field H c2 determined from these R-T curves shows high values and the effect of flux creep to the H c2 (0) is examined by the irreversible behavior with the ''giant'' flux-creep model

  7. Critical thinking in Norwegian upper secondary biology education: The cases of complementary-alternative-medicine and health claims in the media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sverre Pettersen

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available By definition, complementary alternative medicine (CAM treatments are not scientifically proven. Scientific deficient health claiming news seems to flourish in the media. The aims of this questionnaire study was to explore: (1 attitudes towards CAM among 3rd year students of the health sciences in Norway, who either have immersed themselves in the 2nd and 3rd year upper secondary biology courses, or taken the 1st year compulsory natural science course, exclusively, and (2 these students’ skills in requesting for scientific information in highly deficient health news briefs. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of positive attitude towards the use of CAM treatments between the two health sciences student categories, and most students in both categories “failed” in the test set out to measure their skills in requesting for scientific information in four highly scientific deficient health news briefs. The results suggest that teaching of the Norwegian upper secondary biology courses does probably not contribute extensively to pupils’ development of scepticism towards CAM, and skills in evaluating health claims, scientifically.

  8. Composites for Exploration Upper Stage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fikes, J. C.; Jackson, J. R.; Richardson, S. W.; Thomas, A. D.; Mann, T. O.; Miller, S. G.

    2016-01-01

    The Composites for Exploration Upper Stage (CEUS) was a 3-year, level III project within the Technology Demonstration Missions program of the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. Studies have shown that composites provide important programmatic enhancements, including reduced weight to increase capability and accelerated expansion of exploration and science mission objectives. The CEUS project was focused on technologies that best advanced innovation, infusion, and broad applications for the inclusion of composites on future large human-rated launch vehicles and spacecraft. The benefits included near- and far-term opportunities for infusion (NASA, industry/commercial, Department of Defense), demonstrated critical technologies and technically implementable evolvable innovations, and sustained Agency experience. The initial scope of the project was to advance technologies for large composite structures applicable to the Space Launch System (SLS) Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) by focusing on the affordability and technical performance of the EUS forward and aft skirts. The project was tasked to develop and demonstrate critical composite technologies with a focus on full-scale materials, design, manufacturing, and test using NASA in-house capabilities. This would have demonstrated a major advancement in confidence and matured the large-scale composite technology to a Technology Readiness Level 6. This project would, therefore, have bridged the gap for providing composite application to SLS upgrades, enabling future exploration missions.

  9. Calculation of Upper Subcritical Limits for Nuclear Criticality in a Repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    J.W. Pegram

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this document is to present the methodology to be used for development of the Subcritical Limit (SL) for post closure conditions for the Yucca Mountain repository. The SL is a value based on a set of benchmark criticality multiplier, k eff results that are outputs of the MCNP calculation method. This SL accounts for calculational biases and associated uncertainties resulting from the use of MCNP as the method of assessing k eff . The context for an SL estimate include the range of applicability (based on the set of MCNP results) and the type of SL required for the application at hand. This document will include illustrative calculations for each of three approaches. The data sets used for the example calculations are identified in Section 5.1. These represent three waste categories, and SLs for each of these sets of experiments will be computed in this document. Future MCNP data sets will be analyzed using the methods discussed here. The treatment of the biases evaluated on sets of k eff results via MCNP is statistical in nature. This document does not address additional non-statistical contributions to the bias margin, acknowledging that regulatory requirements may impose additional administrative penalties. Potentially, there are other biases or margins that should be accounted for when assessing criticality (k eff ). Only aspects of the bias as determined using the stated assumptions and benchmark critical data sets will be included in the methods and sample calculations in this document. The set of benchmark experiments used in the validation of the computational system should be representative of the composition, configuration, and nuclear characteristics for the application at hand. In this work, a range of critical experiments will be the basis of establishing the SL for three categories of waste types that will be in the repository. The ultimate purpose of this document is to present methods that will effectively characterize the MCNP

  10. Criticality Safety Evaluation of Hanford Site High Level Waste Storage Tanks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    ROGERS, C.A.

    2000-02-17

    This criticality safety evaluation covers operations for waste in underground storage tanks at the high-level waste tank farms on the Hanford site. This evaluation provides the bases for criticality safety limits and controls to govern receipt, transfer, and long-term storage of tank waste. Justification is provided that a nuclear criticality accident cannot occur for tank farms operations, based on current fissile material and operating conditions.

  11. Criticality Safety Evaluation of Hanford Site High-Level Waste Storage Tanks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ROGERS, C.A.

    2000-01-01

    This criticality safety evaluation covers operations for waste in underground storage tanks at the high-level waste tank farms on the Hanford site. This evaluation provides the bases for criticality safety limits and controls to govern receipt, transfer, and long-term storage of tank waste. Justification is provided that a nuclear criticality accident cannot occur for tank farms operations, based on current fissile material and operating conditions

  12. Ultra-high field upper extremity peripheral nerve and non-contrast enhanced vascular imaging.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shailesh B Raval

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of Ultra-high field [UHF] 7 Tesla [T] MRI as compared to 3T MRI in non-contrast enhanced [nCE] imaging of structural anatomy in the elbow, forearm, and hand [upper extremity].A wide range of sequences including T1 weighted [T1] volumetric interpolate breath-hold exam [VIBE], T2 weighted [T2] double-echo steady state [DESS], susceptibility weighted imaging [SWI], time-of-flight [TOF], diffusion tensor imaging [DTI], and diffusion spectrum imaging [DSI] were optimized and incorporated with a radiofrequency [RF] coil system composed of a transverse electromagnetic [TEM] transmit coil combined with an 8-channel receive-only array for 7T upper extremity [UE] imaging. In addition, Siemens optimized protocol/sequences were used on a 3T scanner and the resulting images from T1 VIBE and T2 DESS were compared to that obtained at 7T qualitatively and quantitatively [SWI was only qualitatively compared]. DSI studio was utilized to identify nerves based on analysis of diffusion weighted derived fractional anisotropy images. Images of forearm vasculature were extracted using a paint grow manual segmentation method based on MIPAV [Medical Image Processing, Analysis, and Visualization].High resolution and high quality signal-to-noise ratio [SNR] and contrast-to-noise ratio [CNR]-images of the hand, forearm, and elbow were acquired with nearly homogeneous 7T excitation. Measured [performed on the T1 VIBE and T2 DESS sequences] SNR and CNR values were almost doubled at 7T vs. 3T. Cartilage, synovial fluid and tendon structures could be seen with higher clarity in the 7T T1 and T2 weighted images. SWI allowed high resolution and better quality imaging of large and medium sized arteries and veins, capillary networks and arteriovenous anastomoses at 7T when compared to 3T. 7T diffusion weighted sequence [not performed at 3T] demonstrates that the forearm nerves are clearly delineated by fiber tractography. The

  13. Prediction calculation of HTR-10 fuel loading for the first criticality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jing Xingqing; Yang Yongwei; Gu Yuxiang; Shan Wenzhi

    2001-01-01

    The 10 MW high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTR-10) was built at Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, and the first criticality was attained in Dec. 2000. The high temperature gas cooled reactor physics simulation code VSOP was used for the prediction of the fuel loading for HTR-10 first criticality. The number of fuel element and graphite element was predicted to provide reference for the first criticality experiment. The prediction calculations toke into account the factors including the double heterogeneity of the fuel element, buckling feedback for the spectrum calculation, the effect of the mixture of the graphite and the fuel element, and the correction of the diffusion coefficients near the upper cavity based on the transport theory. The effects of impurities in the fuel and the graphite element in the core and those in the reflector graphite on the reactivity of the reactor were considered in detail. The first criticality experiment showed that the predicted values and the experiment results were in good agreement with little relative error less than 1%, which means the prediction was successful

  14. Upper Campanian–Maastrichtian nannofossil biostratigraphy and high-resolution carbon-isotope stratigraphy of the Danish Basin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thibault, Nicolas Rudolph; Harlou, Rikke; Schovsbo, Niels

    2012-01-01

    High-resolution carbon isotope stratigraphy of the upper Campanian – Maastrichtian is recorded in the Boreal Realm from a total of 1968 bulk chalk samples of the Stevns-1 core, eastern Denmark. Isotopic trends are calibrated by calcareous nannofossil bio-events and are correlated with a lower...

  15. Effect of High-Dose vs Standard-Dose Wintertime Vitamin D Supplementation on Viral Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Young Healthy Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aglipay, Mary; Birken, Catherine S; Parkin, Patricia C; Loeb, Mark B; Thorpe, Kevin; Chen, Yang; Laupacis, Andreas; Mamdani, Muhammad; Macarthur, Colin; Hoch, Jeffrey S; Mazzulli, Tony; Maguire, Jonathon L

    2017-07-18

    Epidemiological studies support a link between low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and a higher risk of viral upper respiratory tract infections. However, whether winter supplementation of vitamin D reduces the risk among children is unknown. To determine whether high-dose vs standard-dose vitamin D supplementation reduces the incidence of wintertime upper respiratory tract infections in young children. A randomized clinical trial was conducted during the winter months between September 13, 2011, and June 30, 2015, among children aged 1 through 5 years enrolled in TARGet Kids!, a multisite primary care practice-based research network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Three hundred forty-nine participants were randomized to receive 2000 IU/d of vitamin D oral supplementation (high-dose group) vs 354 participants who were randomized to receive 400 IU/d (standard-dose group) for a minimum of 4 months between September and May. The primary outcome was the number of laboratory-confirmed viral upper respiratory tract infections based on parent-collected nasal swabs over the winter months. Secondary outcomes included the number of influenza infections, noninfluenza infections, parent-reported upper respiratory tract illnesses, time to first upper respiratory tract infection, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels at study termination. Among 703 participants who were randomized (mean age, 2.7 years, 57.7% boys), 699 (99.4%) completed the trial. The mean number of laboratory-confirmed upper respiratory tract infections per child was 1.05 (95% CI, 0.91-1.19) for the high-dose group and 1.03 (95% CI, 0.90-1.16) for the standard-dose group, for a between-group difference of 0.02 (95% CI, -0.17 to 0.21) per child. There was no statistically significant difference in number of laboratory-confirmed infections between groups (incidence rate ratio [RR], 0.97; 95% CI, 0.80-1.16). There was also no significant difference in the median time to the first laboratory-confirmed infection: 3.95 months

  16. Upper atmospheric gravity wave details revealed in nightglow satellite imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Steven D.; Straka, William C.; Yue, Jia; Smith, Steven M.; Alexander, M. Joan; Hoffmann, Lars; Setvák, Martin; Partain, Philip T.

    2015-01-01

    Gravity waves (disturbances to the density structure of the atmosphere whose restoring forces are gravity and buoyancy) comprise the principal form of energy exchange between the lower and upper atmosphere. Wave breaking drives the mean upper atmospheric circulation, determining boundary conditions to stratospheric processes, which in turn influence tropospheric weather and climate patterns on various spatial and temporal scales. Despite their recognized importance, very little is known about upper-level gravity wave characteristics. The knowledge gap is mainly due to lack of global, high-resolution observations from currently available satellite observing systems. Consequently, representations of wave-related processes in global models are crude, highly parameterized, and poorly constrained, limiting the description of various processes influenced by them. Here we highlight, through a series of examples, the unanticipated ability of the Day/Night Band (DNB) on the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership environmental satellite to resolve gravity structures near the mesopause via nightglow emissions at unprecedented subkilometric detail. On moonless nights, the Day/Night Band observations provide all-weather viewing of waves as they modulate the nightglow layer located near the mesopause (∼90 km above mean sea level). These waves are launched by a variety of physical mechanisms, ranging from orography to convection, intensifying fronts, and even seismic and volcanic events. Cross-referencing the Day/Night Band imagery with conventional thermal infrared imagery also available helps to discern nightglow structures and in some cases to attribute their sources. The capability stands to advance our basic understanding of a critical yet poorly constrained driver of the atmospheric circulation. PMID:26630004

  17. Iron chalcogenide superconductors at high magnetic fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Hechang; Wang, Kefeng; Hu, Rongwei; Ryu, Hyejin; Abeykoon, Milinda; Bozin, Emil S; Petrovic, Cedomir

    2012-01-01

    Iron chalcogenide superconductors have become one of the most investigated superconducting materials in recent years due to high upper critical fields, competing interactions and complex electronic and magnetic phase diagrams. The structural complexity, defects and atomic site occupancies significantly affect the normal and superconducting states in these compounds. In this work we review the vortex behavior, critical current density and high magnetic field pair-breaking mechanism in iron chalcogenide superconductors. We also point to relevant structural features and normal-state properties. PMID:27877518

  18. Critical currents and superconductivity ferromagnetism coexistence in high-Tc oxides

    CERN Document Server

    Khene, Samir

    2016-01-01

    The book comprises six chapters which deal with the critical currents and the ferromagnetism-superconductivity coexistence in high-Tc oxides. It begins by gathering key data for superconducting state and the fundamental properties of the conventional superconductors, followed by a recap of the basic theories of superconductivity. It then discusses the differences introduced by the structural anisotropy on the Ginzburg-Landau approach and the Lawrence-Doniach model before addressing the dynamics of vortices and the ferromagnetism-superconductivity coexistence in high-Tc oxides, and provides an outline of the pinning phenomena of vortices in these materials, in particular the pinning of vortices by the spins. It elucidates the methods to improve the properties of superconducting materials for industrial applications. This optimization aims at obtaining critical temperatures and densities of critical currents at the maximum level possible. Whereas the primary objective is the basic mechanisms pushing the superco...

  19. Retrieval of global upper tropospheric and stratospheric formaldehyde (H2CO distributions from high-resolution MIPAS-Envisat spectra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. P. Stiller

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available The Fourier transform spectrometer MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding on Envisat measures infrared emission of the Earth's atmosphere in a limb viewing mode. High spectral resolution measurements of MIPAS are sensitive to formaldehyde from the upper troposphere to the stratopause. Single profile retrievals of formaldehyde are dominated by a 60% noise error; however zonal mean values for 30 days of data during 8 September 2003 and 1 December 2003 reduces this error by a factor of 20 or more. The number of degrees of freedom for single profile retrieval ranges from 2 to 4.5 depending on latitude and number of cloud-free tangent altitudes. In the upper tropical troposphere zonal mean values of about 70 parts per trillion by volume (pptv were found, which have been attributed to biomass burning emissions. In the stratosphere, formaldehyde values are determined by photochemical reactions. In the upper tropical stratosphere, formaldehyde zonal mean maximum values can reach 130 pptv. Diurnal variations in this region can be up to 50 pptv. Comparisons with other satellite instruments show generally good agreement in the region of upper troposphere and lower stratosphere as well as in the upper stratosphere.

  20. The appearance of critical dimensions in regulated string theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambjoern, J.; Orland, P.; Durhuus, B.; Froehlich, J.

    1985-12-01

    We discuss a gaussian model of a discretized string. We analyze the d->+-infinite limits and argue that there is a lower critical dimension, dsub(c1)' ( proportional 2 - 4) and an upper critical dimension, dsub(c2)' ( proportional 20 - 30) between which sensible continuum limits may exist. (orig.)

  1. Processing and critical currents of high-Tc superconductor wires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krauth, H.; Heine, K.; Tenbrink, J.

    1991-01-01

    High-Tc superconductors are expected to have a major impact on magnet and energy technology. For technical applications they have to fulfill the requirement of carrying sufficient current at a critical current density of the order of 10 5 A/cm 2 at operating temperature and magnetic field. At 77 K these values have not been achieved yet in bulk material or wires due to weak link problems and flux creep effects. Progress made so far and remaining problems will be discussed in detail concentrating on problems concerning development of technical wires. In Bi-based materials technically interesting critical current densities could be achieved at 4.2 K in fields above 20 T (1,2), rendering possible the use of such material for very high field application. (orig.)

  2. Microstructure and critical current density in high-Tc metal oxide superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, S.M.; Gusman, M.I.

    1992-03-01

    Superconductor powders in the U-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) and Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu-O (BSCCO) systems were synthesized by freeze-drying. Powders were characterized, and processed into samples for evaluation of superconducting behavior. Freeze-drying is attractive because the powders have high purity, are homogeneous, have a small size and are active. YBCO powders can be sintered to high density at 890 degrees C. Many compositions, processing approaches and heat treatments were explored in an effort to understand relations between microstructure and critical density, and to improve the critical current density. Powders were also formed into sputtering targets for coating preparation at Stanford University. The highest critical current density achieved with the YBCO powders was ∼15,000 A/cm 2 at 4.2K and 0.5T using powders treated to prevent carbon contamination. The BSCCO materials with the highest critical current density, ∼30,000 A/cm 2 at the same conditions were formed by heat treating melted and quenched samples. All critical current density measurements were made by Stanford University, a subcontractor to this effort. Stanford University also prepared coatings by off-axis magnetron sputtering

  3. Development of a prognostic nomogram for cirrhotic patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yu-Jie; Zheng, Ji-Na; Zhou, Yi-Fan; Han, Yi-Jing; Zou, Tian-Tian; Liu, Wen-Yue; Braddock, Martin; Shi, Ke-Qing; Wang, Xiao-Dong; Zheng, Ming-Hua

    2017-10-01

    Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a complication with a high mortality rate in critically ill patients presenting with cirrhosis. Today, there exist few accurate scoring models specifically designed for mortality risk assessment in critically ill cirrhotic patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (CICGIB). Our aim was to develop and evaluate a novel nomogram-based model specific for CICGIB. Overall, 540 consecutive CICGIB patients were enrolled. On the basis of Cox regression analyses, the nomogram was constructed to estimate the probability of 30-day, 90-day, 270-day, and 1-year survival. An upper gastrointestinal bleeding-chronic liver failure-sequential organ failure assessment (UGIB-CLIF-SOFA) score was derived from the nomogram. Performance assessment and internal validation of the model were performed using Harrell's concordance index (C-index), calibration plot, and bootstrap sample procedures. UGIB-CLIF-SOFA was also compared with other prognostic models, such as CLIF-SOFA and model for end-stage liver disease, using C-indices. Eight independent factors derived from Cox analysis (including bilirubin, creatinine, international normalized ratio, sodium, albumin, mean artery pressure, vasopressin used, and hematocrit decrease>10%) were assembled into the nomogram and the UGIB-CLIF-SOFA score. The calibration plots showed optimal agreement between nomogram prediction and actual observation. The C-index of the nomogram using bootstrap (0.729; 95% confidence interval: 0.689-0.766) was higher than that of the other models for predicting survival of CICGIB. We have developed and internally validated a novel nomogram and an easy-to-use scoring system that accurately predicts the mortality probability of CICGIB on the basis of eight easy-to-obtain parameters. External validation is now warranted in future clinical studies.

  4. High Intensity Physical Exercise and Pain in the Neck and Upper Limb among Slaughterhouse Workers: Cross-Sectional Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emil Sundstrup

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Slaughterhouse work involves a high degree of repetitive and forceful upper limb movements and thus implies an elevated risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. High intensity strength training effectively rehabilitates musculoskeletal disorders among sedentary employees, but less is known about the effect among workers with repetitive and forceful work demands. Before performing randomized controlled trials it may be beneficial to assess the cross-sectional connection between exercise and musculoskeletal pain. We investigated the association between high intensity physical exercise and pain among 595 slaughterhouse workers in Denmark, Europe. Using logistic regression analyses, odds ratios for pain and work disability as a function of physical exercise, gender, age, BMI, smoking, and job position were estimated. The prevalence of pain in the neck, shoulder, elbow, and hand/wrist was 48%, 60%, 40%, and 52%, respectively. The odds for experiencing neck pain were significantly lower among slaughterhouse workers performing physical exercise (OR = 0.70, CI: 0.49–0.997, whereas the odds for pain in the shoulders, elbow, or hand/wrist were not associated with exercise. The present study can be used as general reference of pain in the neck and upper extremity among slaughterhouse workers. Future studies should investigate the effect of high intensity physical exercise on neck and upper limb pain in slaughterhouse workers.

  5. An ecological paradox: high species diversity and low position of the upper forest line in the Andean Depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Thorsten; Braeuning, Achim; Muenchow, Jannes; Richter, Michael

    2014-06-01

    Systematic investigations of the upper forest line (UFL) primarily concentrate on mid and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, whereas studies of Neotropical UFLs are still fragmentary. This article outlines the extraordinary high tree diversity at the UFL within the Andean Depression and unravels the links between the comparatively low position of the local UFL, high tree-species diversity, and climate. On the basis of Gentry's rapid inventory methodology for the tropics, vegetation sampling was conducted at 12 UFL sites, and local climate (temperature, wind, precipitation, and soil moisture) was investigated at six sites. Monotypic forests dominated by Polylepis were only found at the higher located margins of the Andean Depression while the lower situated core areas were characterized by a species-rich forest, which lacked the elsewhere dominant tree-species Polylepis. In total, a remarkably high tree-species number of 255 tree species of 40 different plant families was found. Beta-diversity was also high with more than two complete species turnovers. A non-linear relationship between the floristic similarity of the investigated study sites and elevation was detected. Temperatures at the investigated study sites clearly exceeded 5.5°C, the postulated threshold value for the upper tree growth limit in the tropics. Instead, quasi-permanent trade winds, high precipitation amounts, and high soil water contents affect the local position of the UFL in a negative way. Interestingly, most of the above-mentioned factors are also contributing to the high species richness. The result is a combination of a clearly marked upper forest line depression combined with an extraordinary forest line complexity, which was an almost unknown paradox.

  6. Thermodynamic Upper Bound on Broadband Light Coupling with Photonic Structures

    KAUST Repository

    Yu, Zongfu

    2012-10-01

    The coupling between free space radiation and optical media critically influences the performance of optical devices. We show that, for any given photonic structure, the sum of the external coupling rates for all its optical modes are subject to an upper bound dictated by the second law of thermodynamics. Such bound limits how efficient light can be coupled to any photonic structure. As one example of application, we use this upper bound to derive the limit of light absorption in broadband solar absorbers. © 2012 American Physical Society.

  7. Study about upper limb on highly repetitive work in maquila operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francisco, Lopez-Millan; De la Vega, Enrique; Rodriguez, Manuel; Ayala, Armando

    2012-01-01

    Industrial work is a very active sector in the economy of countries; an important part of people's work is done using the upper extremities. The purpose of this project is to characterize the effect of upper extremity work, analyze its relationship with the hand strength and the presence of fatigue and develop a model with the ability to estimate recovery times for the shoulder using variables different from the biomechanical variables.

  8. ACUTE EFFECTS OF STATIC STRETCHING, DYNAMIC EXERCISES, AND HIGH VOLUME UPPER EXTREMITY PLYOMETRIC ACTIVITY ON TENNIS SERVE PERFORMANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ertugrul Gelen

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of static stretching; dynamic exercises and high volume upper extremity plyometric activity on tennis serve performance. Twenty-six elite young tennis players (15.1 ± 4.2 years, 167.9 ± 5.8 cm and 61.6 ± 8.1 kg performed 4 different warm-up (WU routines in a random order on non-consecutive days. The WU methods consisted of traditional WU (jogging, rally and serve practice (TRAD; traditional WU and static stretching (TRSS; traditional WU and dynamic exercise (TRDE; and traditional WU and high volume upper extremity plyometric activity (TRPLYP. Following each WU session, subjects were tested on a tennis serve ball speed test. TRAD, TRSS, TRDE and TRPLYO were compared by repeated measurement analyses of variance and post-hoc comparisons. In this study a 1 to 3 percent increase in tennis serve ball speed was recorded in TRDE and TRPLYO when compared to TRAD (p 0.05. ICCs for ball speed showed strong reliability (0.82 to 0.93 for the ball speed measurements.The results of this study indicate that dynamic and high volume upper extremity plyometric WU activities are likely beneficial to serve speed of elite junior tennis players.

  9. Vorticity and divergence in the high-latitude upper thermosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thayer, J.P.; Killeen, T.L.

    1991-01-01

    Measurements made from the Dynamics Explorer-2 satellite in November 1981 through January 1982 and November 1982 through January 1983 have been analyzed to determine the divergence and vertical component of vorticity of the high-latitude neutral wind field in the upper thermosphere for quiet (kp≤6) geomagnetic conditions and for both northern (winter) and southern (summer) hemispheres in the polar thermosphere and provides insight into the relative strengths of the different sources of momentum and energy responsible for driving the winds. The principal findings from this work include the following: The mean neutral wind pattern is dominated by rotational flow rather than by divergent flow, with a typical vorticity: divergence ratio of ∼ 2:1 for active conditions and ∼ 4:1 for quiet conditions. Comparison of the divergence and vorticity patterns for quiet and active conditions indicates that the divergent component of the neutral flow intensifies more significantly with increasing geomagnetic activity than does the rotational component

  10. Development of high temperature superconductors having high critical current density

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Gye Wong; Kim, C. J.; Lee, H.G.; Kwon, S. C.; Lee, H. J.; Kim, K. B.; Park, J. Y.; Jung, C. H.

    2000-08-01

    Fabrication of high T c superconductors and its applications for electric power device were carried out for developing superconductor application technologies. High quality YBCO superconductors was fabricated by melt texture growth, top-seeded melt growth process and multi-seeded melt growth process and the properties was compared. The critical current density of the melt processed YBCO superconductors was about few 10,000 A/cm 2 and the levitation force was 50 N. The processing time needed for the growth of the 123 single grain was greatly reduced by applying multi-seeding without no significant degradation of the levitation force. The multi-seeded melt growth process was confirmed as a time-saving and cost-effective method for the fabrication of bulk superconductors with controlled crystallographic orientation

  11. Development of high temperature superconductors having high critical current density

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong, Gye Wong; Kim, C. J.; Lee, H.G.; Kwon, S. C.; Lee, H. J.; Kim, K. B.; Park, J. Y.; Jung, C. H

    2000-08-01

    Fabrication of high T{sub c} superconductors and its applications for electric power device were carried out for developing superconductor application technologies. High quality YBCO superconductors was fabricated by melt texture growth, top-seeded melt growth process and multi-seeded melt growth process and the properties was compared. The critical current density of the melt processed YBCO superconductors was about few 10,000 A/cm{sup 2} and the levitation force was 50 N. The processing time needed for the growth of the 123 single grain was greatly reduced by applying multi-seeding without no significant degradation of the levitation force. The multi-seeded melt growth process was confirmed as a time-saving and cost-effective method for the fabrication of bulk superconductors with controlled crystallographic orientation.

  12. On the critical behavior of the inverse susceptibility of a model of structural phase transitions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pisanova, E.S.; Ivanov, S.I.

    2013-01-01

    An exactly solvable lattice model describing structural phase transitions in an anharmonic crystal with long-range interaction is considered in the neighborhoods of the quantum and classical critical points at the corresponding upper critical dimensions. In a broader neighborhood of the critical region the inverse susceptibility of the model is exactly calculated in terms of the Lambert W-function and graphically presented as a function of the deviation from the critical point and the upper critical dimension. For quantum and classical systems with real physical dimensions (chains, thin layers and three-dimensional systems) the exact results are compared with the asymptotic ones on the basis of some numerical data for their ratio. Relative errors are also provided

  13. Energy gap and upper critical field of the new magnetic superconductor Mo3Sb7 found by the Andreev reflection method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dmitriev, V M; Rybaltchenko, L F; Ishchenko, L A; Khristenko, E V; Bukowski, Z; Troc, R

    2006-01-01

    We present the data of the point contact (PC) Andreev-reflection measurements on the new paramagnetic superconductor Mo 3 Sb 7 , which were used for finding the energy gap Δ and upper critical field H c2 for this compound. The maximum gap value, reduced to the zero temperature via the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory, turned out to be Δ (0) ≅ 0.32 meV, which is slightly smaller than that expected from the BCS theory, Δ BCS (0) ≅ 0.35 meV. The temperature dependence of the gap obeys the BCS theory approximately. The H c2 (0) value of about 16.5 kOe was obtained from fitting the experimental data to the conventional H(T) dependence, which is quadratic in temperature. This value is in close agreement with the result from magnetization measurements of 17.2 kOe

  14. Process criticality accident likelihoods, magnitudes and emergency planning. A focus on solution accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McLaughlin, Thomas P.

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents analyses and applications of data from reactor and critical experiment research on the dynamics of nuclear excursions in solution media. Available criticality accident information is also discussed and shown to provide strong evidence of the overwhelming likelihood of accidents in liquid media over other forms and to support the measured data. These analyses are shown to provide valuable insights into key parameters important to understanding solution excursion dynamics in general and in evaluating practical upper bounds on criticality accident magnitudes. This understanding and these upper bounds are directly applicable to the evaluation of the consequences of postulated criticality accidents. These bounds are also essential in order to comply with national and international consensus standards and regulatory requirements for emergency planning. (author)

  15. The potential of large critical currents in the high Tc oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deutcher, G.

    1993-01-01

    The potential for high critical current densities is examined. on a thermodynamical basis, the energy scale for vortex pinning can be derived for instance from a measurement of the width of the critical region. This energy scale is of the order of 0.2 eV in YBCO, which is sufficient for practical applications. Another important parameter is the short coherence length. The inner plane length, of the order of a few lattice spacing, is favorable for pinning by point defects. But the very short outer plane length gives rise to anomalous magnetic behavior, unfavorable for high-field applications at high temperature; this is true in particular in most anisotropic oxides, such as the Bi compounds (author)

  16. Development of Assessment Instrument of Critical Thinking in Physics at Senior High School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugiarti, T.; Kaniawati, I.; Aviyanti, L.

    2017-02-01

    The result of preliminary study shows that the assessment of physics in school did not train students’ critical thinking skill. The assessment instrument just measured low cognitive aspects. Supposedly, critical thinking skill is trained in the assessment activity. The study aims to determine the characteristics and the quality of critical thinking skill instrument. It employs descriptive-qualitative method with research and development as the research design. The research participants are 35 students involved in the limited trial and 188 students in the wider trial from three public senior high school in Ciamis which in high level school. The data was collected through expert validation, tests and interviews. The results indicate that the characteristics of the assessment instrument of critical thinking skill is open-ended. The instrument fulfills some indicators namely analyzing argument, deduction, induction, and display information in the form of scenario, text, graphic and table. In addition, the data processing through V4 Anates program shows that the instrument reliability achieves 0.67 with high interpretation of 0.67 and the validity is 0.47 with enough interpretation. Thus, the assessment instrument of critical thinking skill in the form of open-ended essay meets the criteria of quality test, so it can use as instrument of assessment critical thinking skill.

  17. Rate of progression of total, upper, and lower visual field defects in patients with open-angle glaucoma and high myopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshino, Takaiko; Fukuchi, Takeo; Togano, Tetsuya; Sakaue, Yuta; Seki, Masaaki; Tanaka, Takayuki; Ueda, Jun

    2016-03-01

    We evaluated the rate of progression of total, upper, and lower visual field defects in patients with treated primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) with high myopia (HM). Seventy eyes of 70 POAG patients with HM [≤-8 diopters (D)] were examined. The mean deviation (MD) slope and the upper and lower total deviation (upper TD, lower TD) slopes of the Humphrey Field Analyzer were calculated in patients with high-tension glaucoma (HTG) (>21 mmHg) versus normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) (≤21 mmHg). The mean age of all the patients (29 eyes with HTG and 41 eyes with NTG) was 48.5 ± 9.6 years. The MD slope, and upper and lower TD slopes of the HM group were compared to those of the non-HM group (NHM) (>-8 D) selected from 544 eyes in 325 age-matched POAG patients. In all, 70 eyes with HM and NHM were examined. The mean MD slope was -0.33 ± 0.33 dB/year in the HM, and -0.38 ± 0.49 dB/year in the NHM. There were no statistical differences between the HM and NHM (p = 0.9565). In the comparison of HTG versus NTG patients in both groups, the MD slope, and upper and lower TD slopes were similar. The rate of progression of total, upper, and lower visual field defects was similar among patients with HM and NHM. Although HM is a risk factor for the onset of glaucoma, HM may not be a risk factor for progression of visual field defects as assessed by the progression rate under treatment.

  18. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding - state of the art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szura, Mirosław; Pasternak, Artur

    2014-01-01

    Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a condition requiring immediate medical intervention, with high associated mortality exceeding 10%. The most common cause of upper GI bleeding is peptic ulcer disease, which largely corresponds to the intake of NSAIDs and Helicobacter pylori infection. Endoscopy is the essential tool for the diagnosis and treatment of active upper GI hemorrhage. Endoscopic therapy together with proton pump inhibitors and eradication of Helicobacter pylori significantly reduces rebleeding rates, mortality and number of emergency surgical interventions. This paper presents contemporary data on the diagnosis and treatment of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

  19. Endoluminal pharmacologic stimulation of the upper urinary tract.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jakobsen, Jørn Skibsted

    2013-05-01

    The experiments performed in this PhD thesis were conducted at the Institute of Experimental Surgery, Skejby Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark and at the Laboratory of Animal Science, Odense University Hospital, Denmark. The thesis is based on 3 peer review articles published in international journals and a review. Diagnostic or therapeutic endoscopic upper urinary tract procedures are usually characterised as minimal invasive procedures and associated with a low complication rate. Most often fever or pain are seen and sometimes septicaemia. However, mucosa lesion or even ureteric ruptures are known complications. Research has suggested that high renal pelvic pressures generated during these procedures, might contribute to per-/postoperative complications seen, and even possible renal parenchymal damage. Nevertheless, local administration (endoluminal) of a relaxant drug has not previously been tried in order to lower renal pelvic pressure. The purposes of this thesis were to examine the effect of local administration (endoluminal) of the nonspecific β-adrenergic agonist ISOproterenol (ISO) on: 1) The normal pressure flow relation in porcine ureter, 2) The effect of endoluminal ISO perfusion during flexible ureterorenoscopy, 3) The pressure flow relation during semirigid ureterorenoscopy and 4) The cardiovascular system. Among other receptor-types β-adrenergic receptor are located in the upper urinary tract and the activation thereof mediates smooth muscle relaxation. We have shown - in an animal experimental model - that ISO added to the irrigation fluid had significant impact on the renal pelvic pressures generated during upper urinary tract endoscopy. ISO significantly and dose dependently reduced the normal pressure flow relations by approximately 80% without concomitant cardiovascular side effects or measurable plasma levels of ISO. During flexible ureterorenoscopy 0.1 µg/ml ISO added to the irrigation fluid significantly reduced renal pelvic pressure during

  20. Upper GI bleeding among neonates admitted to Mulago Hospital ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    EB

    2013-09-03

    Sep 3, 2013 ... Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2003;88:F359-. F64. 21. López-Herce J, Dorao P, Elola P, Delgado MA,. Ruza F, Madero R. Frequency and prophylaxis of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in critically ill children: a prospective study comparing the efficacy of almagate, ranitidine and sucralfate. Crit Care ...

  1. Critical operations capabilities in a high cost environment: a multiple case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sansone, C.; Hilletofth, P.; Eriksson, D.

    2018-04-01

    Operations capabilities have been a popular research area for many years and several frameworks have been proposed in the literature. The current frameworks do not take specific contexts into consideration, for instance a high cost environment. This research gap is of particular interest since a manufacturing relocation process has been ongoing the last decades, leading to a huge amount of manufacturing being moved from high to low cost environments. The purpose of this study is to identify critical operations capabilities in a high cost environment. The two research questions were: What are the critical operations capabilities dimensions in a high cost environment? What are the critical operations capabilities in a high cost environment? A multiple case study was conducted and three Swedish manufacturing firms were selected. The study was based on the investigation of an existing framework of operations capabilities. The main dimensions of operations capabilities included in the framework were: cost, quality, delivery, flexibility, service, innovation and environment. Each of the dimensions included two or more operations capabilities. The findings confirmed the validity of the framework and its usefulness in a high cost environment and a new operations capability was revealed (employee flexibility).

  2. Upper bounds of deformation in the Upper Rhine Graben from GPS data - First results from GURN (GNSS Upper Rhine Graben Network)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masson, Frederic; Knoepfler, Andreas; Mayer, Michael; Ulrich, Patrice; Heck, Bernhard

    2010-05-01

    In September 2008, the Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg (Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre, EOST) and the Geodetic Institute (GIK) of Karlsruhe University (TH) established a transnational cooperation called GURN (GNSS Upper Rhine Graben Network). Within the GURN initiative these institutions are cooperating in order to establish a highly precise and highly sensitive network of permanently operating GNSS sites for the detection of crustal movements in the Upper Rhine Graben region. At the beginning, the network consisted of the permanently operating GNSS sites of SAPOS®-Baden-Württemberg, different data providers in France (e.g. EOST, Teria, RGP) and some further sites (e.g. IGS). In July 2009, the network was extended to the South when swisstopo (Switzerland) and to the North when SAPOS®-Rheinland-Pfalz joined GURN. Therefore, actually the GNSS network consists of approx. 80 permanently operating reference sites. The presentation will discuss the actual status of GURN, main research goals, and will present first results concerning the data quality as well as time series of a first reprocessing of all available data since 2002 using GAMIT/GLOBK (EOST working group) and the Bernese GPS Software (GIK working group). Based on these time series, the velocity as well as strain fields will be calculated in the future. The GURN initiative is also aiming for the estimation of the upper bounds of deformation in the Upper Rhine Graben region.

  3. [Examination of upper abdominal region in high spatial resolution diffusion-weighted imaging using 3-Tesla MRI].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terada, Masaki; Matsushita, Hiroki; Oosugi, Masanori; Inoue, Kazuyasu; Yaegashi, Taku; Anma, Takeshi

    2009-03-20

    The advantage of the higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (3-Tesla) has the possibility of contributing to the improvement of high spatial resolution without causing image deterioration. In this study, we compared SNR and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value with 3-Tesla as the condition in the diffusion-weighted image (DWI) parameter of the 1.5-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (1.5-Tesla) and we examined the high spatial resolution images in the imaging method [respiratory-triggering (RT) method and breath free (BF) method] and artifact (motion and zebra) in the upper abdominal region of DWI at 3-Tesla. We have optimized scan parameters based on phantom and in vivo study. As a result, 3-Tesla was able to obtain about 1.5 times SNR in comparison with the 1.5-Tesla, ADC value had few differences. Moreover, the RT method was effective in correcting the influence of respiratory movement in comparison with the BF method, and image improvement by the effective acquisition of SNR and reduction of the artifact were provided. Thus, DWI of upper abdominal region was a useful sequence for the high spatial resolution in 3-Tesla.

  4. Upper Limit for Regional Sea Level Projections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jevrejeva, Svetlana; Jackson, Luke; Riva, Riccardo; Grinsted, Aslak; Moore, John

    2016-04-01

    With more than 150 million people living within 1 m of high tide future sea level rise is one of the most damaging aspects of warming climate. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (AR5 IPCC) noted that a 0.5 m rise in mean sea level will result in a dramatic increase the frequency of high water extremes - by an order of magnitude, or more in some regions. Thus the flood threat to the rapidly growing urban populations and associated infrastructure in coastal areas are major concerns for society. Hence, impact assessment, risk management, adaptation strategy and long-term decision making in coastal areas depend on projections of mean sea level and crucially its low probability, high impact, upper range. With probabilistic approach we produce regional sea level projections taking into account large uncertainties associated with Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets contribution. We calculate the upper limit (as 95%) for regional sea level projections by 2100 with RCP8.5 scenario, suggesting that for the most coastlines upper limit will exceed the global upper limit of 1.8 m.

  5. First-order chiral to non-chiral transition in the angular dependence of the upper critical induction of the Scharnberg–Klemm p-wave pair state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, J; Gu, Q; Lörscher, C; Klemm, R A

    2014-01-01

    We calculate the temperature T and angular (θ, ϕ) dependencies of the upper critical induction B c2 (θ, ϕ, T) for parallel-spin superconductors with an axially symmetric p-wave pairing interaction pinned to the lattice and a dominant ellipsoidal Fermi surface (FS). For all FS anisotropies, the chiral Scharnberg–Klemm (SK) state B c2 (θ, ϕ, T) exceeds that of the chiral Anderson–Brinkman–Morel (ABM) state and exhibits a kink at θ = θ * (T, ϕ), indicative of a first-order transition from its chiral, nodal-direction behavior to its non-chiral, antinodal-direction behavior. Applicabilities to Sr 2 RuO 4 , UCoGe and the candidate topological superconductor Cu x Bi 2 Se 3 are discussed. (fast track communication)

  6. Connection between in-plane upper critical field Hc 2 and gap symmetry in layered d -wave superconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jing-Rong; Liu, Guo-Zhu; Zhang, Chang-Jin

    2016-07-01

    Angle-resolved upper critical field Hc 2 provides an efficient tool to probe the gap symmetry of unconventional superconductors. We revisit the behavior of in-plane Hc 2 in d -wave superconductors by considering both the orbital effect and Pauli paramagnetic effect. After carrying out systematic analysis, we show that the maxima of Hc 2 could be along either nodal or antinodal directions of a d -wave superconducting gap, depending on the specific values of a number of tuning parameters. This behavior is in contrast to the common belief that the maxima of in-plane Hc 2 are along the direction where the superconducting gap takes its maximal value. Therefore, identifying the precise d -wave gap symmetry through fitting experiments results of angle-resolved Hc 2 with model calculations at a fixed temperature, as widely used in previous studies, is difficult and practically unreliable. However, our extensive analysis of angle-resolved Hc 2 show that there is a critical temperature T*: in-plane Hc 2 exhibits its maxima along nodal directions at T change as other parameters vary, but the existence of π /4 shift of Hc 2 at T* appears to be a general feature. Thus a better method to identify the precise d -wave gap symmetry is to measure Hc 2 at a number of different temperatures, and examine whether there is a π /4 shift in its angular dependence at certain T*. We further show that Landau level mixing does not change this general feature. However, in the presence of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state, the angular dependence of Hc 2 becomes quite complicated, which makes it more difficult to determine the gap symmetry by measuring Hc 2. Our results indicate that some previous studies on the gap symmetry of CeCu2Si2 are unreliable and need to be reexamined, and also provide a candidate solution to an experimental discrepancy in the angle-resolved Hc 2 in CeCoIn5.

  7. EGRET upper limits to the high-energy gamma-ray emission from the millisecond pulsars in nearby globular clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michelson, P. F.; Bertsch, D. L.; Brazier, K.; Chiang, J.; Dingus, B. L.; Fichtel, C. E.; Fierro, J.; Hartman, R. C.; Hunter, S. D.; Kanbach, G.

    1994-01-01

    We report upper limits to the high-energy gamma-ray emission from the millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in a number of globular clusters. The observations were done as part of an all-sky survey by the energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) during Phase I of the CGRO mission (1991 June to 1992 November). Several theoretical models suggest that MSPs may be sources of high-energy gamma radiation emitted either as primary radiation from the pulsar magnetosphere or as secondary radiation generated by conversion into photons of a substantial part of the relativistic e(+/-) pair wind expected to flow from the pulsar. To date, no high-energy emission has been detected from an individual MSP. However, a large number of MSPs are expected in globular cluster cores where the formation rate of accreting binary systems is high. Model predictions of the total number of pulsars range in the hundreds for some clusters. These expectations have been reinforced by recent discoveries of a substantial number of radio MSPs in several clusters; for example, 11 have been found in 47 Tucanae (Manchester et al.). The EGRET observations have been used to obtain upper limits for the efficiency eta of conversion of MSP spin-down power into hard gamma rays. The upper limits are also compared with the gamma-ray fluxes predicted from theoretical models of pulsar wind emission (Tavani). The EGRET limits put significant constraints on either the emission models or the number of pulsars in the globular clusters.

  8. MR imaging findings of high-voltage electrical burns in the upper extremities: correlation with angiographic findings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Gyung Kyu; Kang, Ik Won; Hwang, Dae Hyun; Min, Seon Jung; Han, You Mi (Dept. of Radiology, Hallym Univ. College of Medicine, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)); Suh, Kyung Jin (Dept. of Radiology, Dongguk Univ. College of Medicine, Gyeongju Hospital, Gyeongju (Korea, Republic of)), email: kyungjin.suh@gmail.com; Choi, Min Ho (Dept. of Internal Medicine, Hallym Univ. College of Medicine, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of))

    2011-02-15

    Background: A high-voltage electrical burn is often associated with deep muscle injuries. Hidden, undetected deep muscle injuries have a tendency for progressive tissue necrosis, and this can lead to major amputations or sepsis. MRI has excellent soft tissue contrast and it may aid in differentiating the areas of viable deep muscle from the areas of non-viable deep muscle. Purpose: To describe the MR imaging findings of a high-voltage electrical burn in the upper extremity with emphasis on the usefulness of the gadolinium-enhanced MRI and to compare the MR imaging findings with angiography. Material and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the imaging studies of six patients with high-voltage electrical burns who underwent both MRI and angiography at the burn center of our hospital from January 2005 to December 2009. The imaging features were evaluated for the involved locations, the MR signal intensity of the affected muscles, the MR enhancement pattern, the involved arteries and the angiographic findings (classified as normal, sluggish flow, stenosis or occlusion) of the angiography of the upper extremity. We assessed the relationship between the MR imaging findings and the angiographic findings. Results: The signal intensities of affected muscles were isointense or of slightly high signal intensity as compared with the adjacent unaffected skeletal muscle on the T1-weighted MR images. Affected muscles showed heterogenous high signal intensity relative to the adjacent unaffected skeletal muscle on the T2- weighted images. The gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images showed diffuse inhomogeneous enhancement or peripheral rim enhancement of the affected muscles. The angiographic findings of the arterial injuries showed complete occlusion in three patients, severe stenosis in two patients and sluggish flow in one patient. Of these, the five patients with complete occlusion or severe stenosis on angiography showed non-perfused and non-viable areas of edematous muscle on

  9. High-power FEL design issues - a critical review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Litvinenko, V.N.; Madey, J.M.J.; O`Shea, P.G. [Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States)

    1995-12-31

    The high-average power capability of FELs has been much advertised but little realized. In this paper we provide a critical analysis of the technological and economic issues associated with high-average power FEL operation from the UV to near IR. The project of IR FEL for the Siberian Center of photochemical researches is described. The distinguished features of this project are the use of the race-track microtron-recuperator and the {open_quotes}electron output of radiation{close_quotes}. The building for the machine is under reconstruction now. About half of hardware has been manufactured. The assembly of installation began.

  10. Forces of vortice trapping and critical current in type II superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bormio, C.

    1985-12-01

    The vortice-centers interactions of trapping in type II superconductor materials were studied by two theories: thermodynamic (Hampshire-Taylor) and microscopic (Larkin - Ovchinnikov). The study was applied to NbTi with composition of 50% weight of Ti. They are commercial cables containing 361 filaments with final diameter of 0.35 mm for the wire and 9.2 μm foi filaments. The material presents high deformation rate in area and high density of dislocations. These defects actuate as centers of trapping. Variations in themomechanical treatments of superconductor cables modify the interaction mechanisms. The specific mechanism for each treatment type was identified. Measurements of critical current density in function of magnetic field in the range from 1 to 7 Tesla were done, which the usual superconductor parameters as upper critical field and Ginzburg - Landau (Kappa-k) parameter are estimated from literature data. (M.C.K.) [pt

  11. Seasonal and pandemic human influenza viruses attach better to human upper respiratory tract epithelium than avian influenza viruses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Riel, Debby; den Bakker, Michael A; Leijten, Lonneke M E; Chutinimitkul, Salin; Munster, Vincent J; de Wit, Emmie; Rimmelzwaan, Guus F; Fouchier, Ron A M; Osterhaus, Albert D M E; Kuiken, Thijs

    2010-04-01

    Influenza viruses vary markedly in their efficiency of human-to-human transmission. This variation has been speculated to be determined in part by the tropism of influenza virus for the human upper respiratory tract. To study this tropism, we determined the pattern of virus attachment by virus histochemistry of three human and three avian influenza viruses in human nasal septum, conchae, nasopharynx, paranasal sinuses, and larynx. We found that the human influenza viruses-two seasonal influenza viruses and pandemic H1N1 virus-attached abundantly to ciliated epithelial cells and goblet cells throughout the upper respiratory tract. In contrast, the avian influenza viruses, including the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, attached only rarely to epithelial cells or goblet cells. Both human and avian viruses attached occasionally to cells of the submucosal glands. The pattern of virus attachment was similar among the different sites of the human upper respiratory tract for each virus tested. We conclude that influenza viruses that are transmitted efficiently among humans attach abundantly to human upper respiratory tract, whereas inefficiently transmitted influenza viruses attach rarely. These results suggest that the ability of an influenza virus to attach to human upper respiratory tract is a critical factor for efficient transmission in the human population.

  12. Critical current density of four-CuO2-layer T1Ba2Ca3Cu4O11-δ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, L.; Liu, J.Z.; Shelton, R.N.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: A key requirement for technological application is to have superconductors with high critical current density at practical operating temperatures and magnetic fields. The critical current density is strongly related to underlying properties of high T c superconductors, such as layering, anisotropy and other intrinsic material structures. The thallium-based superconductors attracted much attention at early stage mainly due to their high superconducting transitions. Recent studies show that these materials appear to be a better choice for achieving higher critical current density because of a stronger interlayer coupling between superconducting layers. Single crystals of TlBa 2 Ca 3 Cu 4 O 11-δ were grown by a self-flux method. This material is a strong-layered superconductor with four-CuO 2 -planes in a unit cell and a superconducting transition temperature of 128K. Our experimental results show that TlBa 2 Ca 3 Cu 4 O 11-δ crystals have high irreversibility line, large critical current density and high upper critical field. The impact of layering and the number of Cu-O layers on flux pinning, critical current density and other magnetic properties will also be discussed

  13. Critical Science Education in a Suburban High School Chemistry Class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashby, Patrick

    To improve students' scientific literacy and their general perceptions of chemistry, I enacted critical chemistry education (CCE) in two "regular level" chemistry classes with a group of 25 students in a suburban, private high school as part of this study. CCE combined the efforts of critical science educators (Fusco & Calabrese Barton, 2001; Gilbert 2013) with the performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013a) to critically transform the traditional chemistry curriculum at this setting. Essentially, CCE engages students in the critical exploration of socially situated chemistry content knowledge and requires them to demonstrate this knowledge through the practices of science. The purpose of this study was to gauge these students development of chemistry content knowledge, chemistry interest, and critical scientific literacy (CSL) as they engaged in CCE. CSL was a construct developed for this study that necessarily combined the National Research Center's (2012) definition of scientific literacy with a critical component. As such, CSL entailed demonstrating content knowledge through the practices of science as well as the ability to critically analyze the intersections between science content and socially relevant issues. A mixed methods, critical ethnographic approach framed the collection of data from open-ended questionnaires, focus group interviews, Likert surveys, pre- and post unit tests, and student artifacts. These data revealed three main findings: (1) students began to develop CSL in specific, significant ways working through the activities of CCE, (2) student participants of CCE developed a comparable level of chemistry content understanding to students who participated in a traditional chemistry curriculum, and (3) CCE developed a group of students' perceptions of interest in chemistry. In addition to being able to teach students discipline specific content knowledge, the implications of this study are

  14. Motivation, Critical Thinking and Academic Verification of High School Students' Information-seeking Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z Hidayat

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available High school students have known as Gen Y or Z and their media using can be understand on their information-seeking behavior. This research’s purposes were: 1 to analyze the students’ motivation; 2 to analyze the critical thinking and academic verification; 3 to analyze the information-seeking behavior. This study used quantitative approach through survey among 1125 respondents in nine clusters, i.e. Central, East, North, West, and South of Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok, and Bogor. Schools sampling based on "the best schools rank" by the government, while respondents have taken by accidental in each school. Construct of questionnaire included measurement of motivation, critical thinking and academic verification, and the information-seeking behavior at all. The results showed that the motivations of the use of Internet were dominated by habit to interact and be entertained while on the academic needs are still relatively small but increasing significantly. Students’ self-efficacy, performance and achievement goals tend to be high motives, however the science learning value, and learning environment stimulation were average low motives. High school students indicated that they think critically about the various things that become content primarily in social media but less critical of the academic information subjects. Unfortunately, high school students did not conducted academic verification on the data and information but students tend to do plagiarism. Key words: Student motivation, critical thinking, academic verification, information-seeking behavior, digital generation.

  15. Discharge hemoglobin and outcome in patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jae Min; Kim, Eun Sun; Chun, Hoon Jai; Hwang, Young-Jae; Lee, Jae Hyung; Kang, Seung Hun; Yoo, In Kyung; Kim, Seung Han; Choi, Hyuk Soon; Keum, Bora; Seo, Yeon Seok; Jeen, Yoon Tae; Lee, Hong Sik; Um, Soon Ho; Kim, Chang Duck

    2016-01-01

    Background and study aims: Many patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding present with anemia and frequently require red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. A restrictive transfusion strategy and a low hemoglobin (Hb) threshold for transfusion had been shown to produce acceptable outcomes in patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding. However, most patients are discharged with mild anemia owing to the restricted volume of packed RBCs (pRBCs). We investigated whether discharge Hb influences the outcome in patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding who had received pRBCs during hospitalization between January 2012 and January 2014. Patients with variceal bleeding, malignant lesion, stroke, or cardiovascular disease were excluded. We divided the patients into 2 groups, low (8 g/dL ≤ Hb  10 g/dL. Patients in the low Hb group had a lower consumption of pRBCs and shorter hospital stay than did those in the high Hb group. The Hb levels were not fully recovered at outpatient follow-up until 7 days after discharge; however, most patients showed Hb recovery at 45 days after discharge. The rate of rebleeding after discharge was not significantly different between the 2 groups. Conclusions: In patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, a discharge Hb between 8 and 10 g/dL was linked to favorable outcomes on outpatient follow-up. Most patients recovered from anemia without any critical complication within 45 days after discharge. PMID:27540574

  16. A power law of order 1/4 for critical mean field Swendsen-Wang dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Long, Yun; Ning, Weiyang; Peres, Yuval

    2014-01-01

    The Swendsen-Wang dynamics is a Markov chain widely used by physicists to sample from the Boltzmann-Gibbs distribution of the Ising model. Cooper, Dyer, Frieze and Rue proved that on the complete graph K_n the mixing time of the chain is at most O(\\sqrt{n}) for all non-critical temperatures. In this paper the authors show that the mixing time is \\Theta(1) in high temperatures, \\Theta(\\log n) in low temperatures and \\Theta(n^{1/4}) at criticality. They also provide an upper bound of O(\\log n) for Swendsen-Wang dynamics for the q-state ferromagnetic Potts model on any tree of n vertices.

  17. Low-High and High-Low Biphasic Injection Forms in Computed Tomography Examinations of the Upper Abdomen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marti-Bonmati, L.; Arana, E.; Tobarra, E.; Sierra, C.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To analyze the influence of different biphasic and monophasic injection rate protocols in abdominal computed tomography (CT). Material and Methods: A randomized, consecutive, parallel group study was designed and conducted in 60 patients studied with the same CT helical protocol. Patients were randomly distributed into three groups: (A) monophasic (120 ml at 2.5 ml/s); (B) low-high biphasic (120 ml, first 60 ml at a rate of 2 ml/s, the other 60 ml at 2.5 ml/s); and (C) high-low biphasic (120 ml, first 60 ml at a rate of 2.5 ml/s, the other 60 ml at 2 ml/s). All patients were injected with 300 mg I/ml non-ionic contrast media at a fixed delay time of 55 s. Contrast enhancement efficacy was evaluated by attenuation coefficient measurements. Results: Although non-significant, monophasic protocol enhancements were higher than biphasic protocol enhancements in all measurements except aortic bifurcation (p = 0.003). At this level, biphasic protocols obtained an increased mean enhancement from 7.6% to 2.5% compared to monophasic protocols. Conclusion: Monophasic contrast agent injection in helical CT of the upper abdomen produces a higher enhancement of parenchymal and venous structures. No significant difference was observed between low-high and high-low biphasic protocols

  18. Bi-based superconducting fibers with high critical parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huo Yujing; He Yusheng; Liu Menglin; Mao Sining; Cai Liying; Wang Ying; Zhang Jincang; He Aisheng; Wang Jinsong

    1991-01-01

    Superconducting fibers of Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O high Tc superconducting materials have been prepared by means of the laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG) method. The highest zero resistance temperature T c0 reaches is 114K, and the highest critical current density J c (77K, O T) is greater than 5000 A/cm 2 . As-grown superconducting fibers were successfully fabricated without post growth heat treatment. Amorphous materials were used for the first time to make high quality fibers. The influence of growth conditions, thermal treatment and the composition of the fibers were discussed. (author). 5 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs

  19. High level issues in reliability quantification of safety-critical software

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Man Cheol

    2012-01-01

    For the purpose of developing a consensus method for the reliability assessment of safety-critical digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants, several high level issues in reliability assessment of the safety-critical software based on Bayesian belief network modeling and statistical testing are discussed. Related to the Bayesian belief network modeling, the relation between the assessment approach and the sources of evidence, the relation between qualitative evidence and quantitative evidence, how to consider qualitative evidence, and the cause-consequence relation are discussed. Related to the statistical testing, the need of the consideration of context-specific software failure probabilities and the inability to perform a huge number of tests in the real world are discussed. The discussions in this paper are expected to provide a common basis for future discussions on the reliability assessment of safety-critical software. (author)

  20. Main factors controlling the sedimentation of high-quality shale in the Wufeng–Longmaxi Fm, Upper Yangtze region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuman Wang

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the shale of Upper Ordovician Wufeng Fm–Lower Silurian Longmaxi Fm was taken as an example to reveal the distribution patterns and the main sedimentation controlling factors of high-quality shale in the Upper Yangtze region. This study was made from the aspects of plate movement, fluctuation of sea level, palaeo-productivity, deposition rate and paleogeographic environment, based on the field outcrop sections and drilling data of the southern Sichuan Basin, together with geochemical element testing and biostratigraphical analysis results. The following findings were obtained. First, the collision and joint of Yangtze Plate and its periphery plates and the intra-plate deformation were gentle in the early stage, strong in the late stage, gentle in northwest and strong in southeast, so the sedimentation center in the Upper Yangtze region migrated to the northwest and the closure of sea area in the southern Sichuan Basin changed from weak in early stages to strong in late stages. Second, at the turning period from Ordovician to Silurian, sea levels presented the cycle change of deep–shallow–deep–shallow. Due to the combination of high sea levels and a stable ocean basin in early stages, an extensive anoxic tectonic sedimentary space favorable for organic matters preservation was formed in the sea floor. Third, due to the effect of tectonic movements and sea closure, palaeo-productivity of sea areas in the southern Sichuan Basin presented a trend of being high in the early stage and low in the late stage, and the deposition rate was also low in the early stage and high in the late stage. And fourth, extensive deposition and distribution of shale rich in organic matters and silica was mainly controlled by a stable sea basin with a low subsidence rate, a relatively high sea level, semi-closed waters and low deposition rates. To sum up, the high-quality shale in the Upper Yangtze region is characterized by multiphase

  1. Non-critical strings at high energy

    CERN Document Server

    Aoki, Kenichiro; Aoki, Kenichiro; Hoker, Eric D'

    1996-01-01

    We consider scattering amplitudes in non-critical string theory of $N$ external states in the limit where the energy of all external states is large compared to the string tension. We argue that the amplitudes are naturally complex analytic in the matter central charge $c$ and we propose to define the amplitudes for arbitrary value of $c$ by analytic continuation. We show that the high energy limit is dominated by a saddle point that can be mapped onto an equilibrium electro-static energy configuration of an assembly of $N$ pointlike (Minkowskian) charges, together with a density of charges arising from the Liouville field. We argue that the Liouville charges accumulate on segments of curves, and produce quadratic branch cuts on the worldsheet. The electro-statics problem is solved for string tree level in terms of hyper-elliptic integrals and is given explicitly for 3- and 4-point functions. We show that the high energy limit should behave in a string-like fashion with exponential dependence on the energy sc...

  2. Upper Respiratory Tract Diseases in Athletes in Different Sports Disciplines

    OpenAIRE

    Ga??zka-Franta, Anna; Jura-Szo?tys, Edyta; Sm??ka, Wojciech; Gawlik, Rados?aw

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Upper respiratory tract diseases in athletes are a very common medical problem. Training conditions in different sports disciplines increase the risk of upper respiratory disease. Epidemiological evidence suggests that heavy acute or chronic exercise is related to an increased incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in athletes. Regular physical exercise at high intensity may lead to transient immunosuppression due to high prevalence of allergic diseases in athletes. Regardle...

  3. High field properties of superconducting BaFe{sub 2-x}Ni{sub x}As{sub 2} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richter, Stefan [Institute for Metallic Materials, IFW Dresden (Germany); Technical University Dresden (Germany); Kurth, Fritz; Grinenko, Vadim; Nielsch, Kornelius; Huehne, Ruben [Institute for Metallic Materials, IFW Dresden (Germany); Iida, Kazumasa [Nagoya University (Japan); Pervakov, Kirill [Russian Academy of Sciences (Russian Federation); Tarantini, Chiara; Jaroszynski, Jan [National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (United States); Pukenas, Aurimas; Skrotzki, Werner [Technical University Dresden (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    Fe based superconductors combine the advantages of cuprates (high upper critical field) with the small Hc{sub 2} anisotropy of classic low temperature superconductors, which makes them suitable candidates for high field applications. The study of Fe-based superconducting thin films is one crucial step to explore this potential in more detail. We present results for epitaxial BaFe{sub 2-x}Ni{sub x}As{sub 2} thin films, which have been successfully grown for the first time using pulsed laser deposition. Superconducting transition temperatures of up to 19 K have been realized in slightly overdoped films, which is in good agreement with results obtained for single crystals. The behavior of the upper critical field and critical current density has been measured in high magnetic fields up to 35 T. The results will be correlated to the observed microstructure and compared to high field data for single crystals with similar composition.

  4. EFFECT OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING AND MODEL CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY TO PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Unita S. Zuliani Nasution

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this research were to analyze the different between physic resolving problem ability by using problem based learning model and direct instruction model, the different of physic resolving problem ability between the students that have critical thinking ability upper the average and the students that have critical thinking ability under the average, and the interaction of problem based learning model toward critical thinking ability and students’ physic resolving problem ability. This research was quasy experimental research that use critical thinking ability tests and physic resolving problem ability tests as the instruments. Result of the research showed that the students’ physic resolving problem ability by using problem based learning model was better than by using direct instruction model, students’ physic resolving problem ability and critical thinking ability upper the average showed better different and result than students’ critical thinking ability under the average, besides there was an interaction between problem based learning model and critical thinking ability in improving students’ physic resolving problem ability.

  5. Novel Hybrid Scheduling Technique for Sensor Nodes with Mixed Criticality Tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihai-Victor Micea

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Sensor networks become increasingly a key technology for complex control applications. Their potential use in safety- and time-critical domains has raised the need for task scheduling mechanisms specially adapted to sensor node specific requirements, often materialized in predictable jitter-less execution of tasks characterized by different criticality levels. This paper offers an efficient scheduling solution, named Hybrid Hard Real-Time Scheduling (H2RTS, which combines a static, clock driven method with a dynamic, event driven scheduling technique, in order to provide high execution predictability, while keeping a high node Central Processing Unit (CPU utilization factor. From the detailed, integrated schedulability analysis of the H2RTS, a set of sufficiency tests are introduced and demonstrated based on the processor demand and linear upper bound metrics. The performance and correct behavior of the proposed hybrid scheduling technique have been extensively evaluated and validated both on a simulator and on a sensor mote equipped with ARM7 microcontroller.

  6. Novel Hybrid Scheduling Technique for Sensor Nodes with Mixed Criticality Tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Micea, Mihai-Victor; Stangaciu, Cristina-Sorina; Stangaciu, Valentin; Curiac, Daniel-Ioan

    2017-06-26

    Sensor networks become increasingly a key technology for complex control applications. Their potential use in safety- and time-critical domains has raised the need for task scheduling mechanisms specially adapted to sensor node specific requirements, often materialized in predictable jitter-less execution of tasks characterized by different criticality levels. This paper offers an efficient scheduling solution, named Hybrid Hard Real-Time Scheduling (H²RTS), which combines a static, clock driven method with a dynamic, event driven scheduling technique, in order to provide high execution predictability, while keeping a high node Central Processing Unit (CPU) utilization factor. From the detailed, integrated schedulability analysis of the H²RTS, a set of sufficiency tests are introduced and demonstrated based on the processor demand and linear upper bound metrics. The performance and correct behavior of the proposed hybrid scheduling technique have been extensively evaluated and validated both on a simulator and on a sensor mote equipped with ARM7 microcontroller.

  7. Leading CFT constraints on multi-critical models in d>2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Codello, Alessandro [CP-Origins, University of Southern Denmark,Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M (Denmark); INFN - Sezione di Bologna,via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna (Italy); Safari, Mahmoud [INFN - Sezione di Bologna,via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna,via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna (Italy); Vacca, Gian Paolo [INFN - Sezione di Bologna,via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna (Italy); Zanusso, Omar [Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena,Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena (Germany); INFN - Sezione di Bologna,via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna (Italy)

    2017-04-21

    We consider the family of renormalizable scalar QFTs with self-interacting potentials of highest monomial ϕ{sup m} below their upper critical dimensions d{sub c}=((2m)/(m−2)), and study them using a combination of CFT constraints, Schwinger-Dyson equation and the free theory behavior at the upper critical dimension. For even integers m≥4 these theories coincide with the Landau-Ginzburg description of multi-critical phenomena and interpolate with the unitary minimal models in d=2, while for odd m the theories are non-unitary and start at m=3 with the Lee-Yang universality class. For all the even potentials and for the Lee-Yang universality class, we show how the assumption of conformal invariance is enough to compute the scaling dimensions of the local operators ϕ{sup k} and of some families of structure constants in either the coupling’s or the ϵ-expansion. For all other odd potentials we express some scaling dimensions and structure constants in the coupling’s expansion.

  8. Leading CFT constraints on multi-critical models in d > 2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Codello, Alessandro; Safari, Mahmoud; Vacca, Gian Paolo

    2017-01-01

    We consider the family of renormalizable scalar QFTs with self-interacting potentials of highest monomial ϕm below their upper critical dimensions dc=2mm−2, and study them using a combination of CFT constraints, Schwinger-Dyson equation and the free theory behavior at the upper critical dimension....... For even integers m ≥ 4 these theories coincide with the Landau-Ginzburg description of multi-critical phenomena and interpolate with the unitary minimal models in d = 2, while for odd m the theories are non-unitary and start at m = 3 with the Lee-Yang universality class. For all the even potentials...... and for the Lee-Yang universality class, we show how the assumption of conformal invariance is enough to compute the scaling dimensions of the local operators ϕk and of some families of structure constants in either the coupling’s or the ϵ-expansion. For all other odd potentials we express some scaling dimensions...

  9. Quantum critical scaling at the edge of Fermi liquid stability in a cuprate superconductor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butch, Nicholas P; Jin, Kui; Kirshenbaum, Kevin; Greene, Richard L; Paglione, Johnpierre

    2012-05-29

    In the high-temperature cuprate superconductors, the pervasiveness of anomalous electronic transport properties suggests that violation of conventional Fermi liquid behavior is closely tied to superconductivity. In other classes of unconventional superconductors, atypical transport is well correlated with proximity to a quantum critical point, but the relative importance of quantum criticality in the cuprates remains uncertain. Here, we identify quantum critical scaling in the electron-doped cuprate material La(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4) with a line of quantum critical points that surrounds the superconducting phase as a function of magnetic field and charge doping. This zero-temperature phase boundary, which delineates a metallic Fermi liquid regime from an extended non-Fermi liquid ground state, closely follows the upper critical field of the overdoped superconducting phase and gives rise to an expanse of distinct non-Fermi liquid behavior at finite temperatures. Together with signatures of two distinct flavors of quantum fluctuations, these facts suggest that quantum criticality plays a significant role in shaping the anomalous properties of the cuprate phase diagram.

  10. Predictors of Early Rebleeding after Endoscopic Therapy in Patients with Nonvariceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Secondary to High-Risk Lesions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davide Maggio

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In an era of increasingly shortened admissions, data regarding predictors of early rebleeding among patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB exhibiting high-risk stigmata (HRS having undergone endoscopic hemostasis are lacking.

  11. 'One physical system': Tansley's ecosystem as Earth's critical zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Daniel deB; Billings, Sharon A

    2015-05-01

    Integrative concepts of the biosphere, ecosystem, biogeocenosis and, recently, Earth's critical zone embrace scientific disciplines that link matter, energy and organisms in a systems-level understanding of our remarkable planet. Here, we assert the congruence of Tansley's (1935) venerable ecosystem concept of 'one physical system' with Earth science's critical zone. Ecosystems and critical zones are congruent across spatial-temporal scales from vegetation-clad weathering profiles and hillslopes, small catchments, landscapes, river basins, continents, to Earth's whole terrestrial surface. What may be less obvious is congruence in the vertical dimension. We use ecosystem metabolism to argue that full accounting of photosynthetically fixed carbon includes respiratory CO₂ and carbonic acid that propagate to the base of the critical zone itself. Although a small fraction of respiration, the downward diffusion of CO₂ helps determine rates of soil formation and, ultimately, ecosystem evolution and resilience. Because life in the upper portions of terrestrial ecosystems significantly affects biogeochemistry throughout weathering profiles, the lower boundaries of most terrestrial ecosystems have been demarcated at depths too shallow to permit a complete understanding of ecosystem structure and function. Opportunities abound to explore connections between upper and lower components of critical-zone ecosystems, between soils and streams in watersheds, and between plant-derived CO₂ and deep microbial communities and mineral weathering. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

  12. Critical Thinking Skills Of Junior High School Female Students With High Mathematical Skills In Solving Contextual And Formal Mathematical Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail; Suwarsono, St.; Lukito, A.

    2018-01-01

    Critical thinking is one of the most important skills of the 21st century in addition to other learning skills such as creative thinking, communication skills and collaborative skills. This is what makes researchers feel the need to conduct research on critical thinking skills in junior high school students. The purpose of this study is to describe the critical thinking skills of junior high school female students with high mathematical skills in solving contextual and formal mathematical problems. To achieve this is used qualitative research. The subject of the study was a female student of eight grade junior high school. The students’ critical thinking skills are derived from in-depth problem-based interviews using interview guidelines. Interviews conducted in this study are problem-based interviews, which are done by the subject given a written assignment and given time to complete. The results show that critical thinking skills of female high school students with high math skills are as follows: In solving the problem at the stage of understanding the problem used interpretation skills with sub-indicators: categorization, decode, and clarify meaning. At the planning stage of the problem-solving strategy is used analytical skills with sub-indicators: idea checking, argument identification and argument analysis and evaluation skills with sub indicators: assessing the argument. In the implementation phase of problem solving, inference skills are used with subindicators: drawing conclusions, and problem solving and explanatory skills with sub-indicators: problem presentation, justification procedures, and argument articulation. At the re-checking stage all steps have been employed self-regulatory skills with sub-indicators: self-correction and selfstudy.

  13. Upper lip changes and gingival exposure on smiling: vertical dimension analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miron, Hagai; Calderon, Shlomo; Allon, Dror

    2012-01-01

    Our objectives were to evaluate and quantify upper lip soft-tissue changes in the vertical dimensions both at rest and at maximum smile, and to examine the correlation between upper labial vestibular attachment height and maxillary gingival exposure on smiling. Seventy-two volunteers (36 men, 36 women) aged 20 to 40 (mean, 30.49 years) were recruited for this study. For each subject, 9 measurements of upper lip position and maxillary incisor crown height at rest and in maximum smile were recorded. A statistically significant sexual dimorphism was apparent in most of the measured variables. Relaxed external upper lip length was 3.1 mm shorter in the women than in the men. The mean maxillary central incisor display at rest was 1.78 mm greater in the women than in the men. A high smile line was 2.5 times more prevalent in the women. The upper lip was shortened by 30% in subjects with a high smile line compared with 23% in subjects with a low smile line. The following findings were observed in subjects with a high smile pattern: (1) short upper lip length, (2) low smiling/resting upper lip length ratio, (3) inferior attachment of the upper labial vestibule, and (4) prominent upper lip vermilion. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Motivation, Critical Thinking and Academic Verification of High School Students' Information-seeking Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z Hidayat

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available High school students have known as Gen Y or Z and their media using can be understand on their information-seeking behavior. This research’s purposes were: 1 to analyze the students’ motivation; 2 to analyze the critical thinking and academic verification; 3 to analyze the information-seeking behavior. This study used quantitative approach through survey among 1125 respondents in nine clusters, i.e. Central, East, North, West, and South of Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok, and Bogor. Schools sampling based on "the best schools rank" by the government, while respondents have taken by accidental in each school. Construct of questionnaire included measurement of motivation, critical thinking and academic verification, and the information-seeking behavior at all. The results showed that the motivations of the use of Internet were dominated by habit to interact and be entertained while on the academic needs are still relatively small but increasing significantly. Students’ self-efficacy, performance and achievement goals tend to be high motives, however the science learning value, and learning environment stimulation were average low motives. High school students indicated that they think critically about the various things that become content primarily in social media but less critical of the academic information subjects. Unfortunately, high school students did not conducted academic verification on the data and information but students tend to do plagiarism.

  15. Upper bounds on the entropy of radiation systems

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    汪定雄

    1997-01-01

    The upper bounds on the entropy of a radiation system confined to a spherical box are calculated in six cases by using the equation of state of radiation in flat spacetime and the equation of state of radiation near black-hole horizon,which was derived by Li and Liu (hereafter the Li-Liu equation).It turns out that the Li-Liu equation does have unique advantage in dealing with the entropy bound of critical self-gravitating radiation systems,while the usual equation of state will result in entropy divergence.In the case of non-self-gravitating radiation systems and non-critical self-gravitating radiation systems,there is no difference in the entropy bounds derived by these two equations of state.

  16. Radar observations of high-latitude lower-thermospheric and upper-mesospheric winds and their response to geomagnetic activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.M.

    1987-01-01

    Observations made by the Chatanika, Alaska, incoherent scatter radar during the summer months of 1976 to 1081 are analyzed to obtain high resolution lower-thermospheric neutral winds. Average winds and their tidal components are presented and compared to previous observational and model results. Upper-mesospheric neutral-wind observations obtained by the Poke Flat, Alaska Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) radar during the summer months of 1980 to 1982 are investigated statistically for evidence of variations due to geomagnetic activity. Observation of upper-mesospheric neutral winds made during two energetic Solar Proton Events (SPEs) by the Poker Flat, MST radar are presented. These results allow the low-altitude limits of magnetospheric coupling to the neutral atmosphere to be determined. Lower-thermospheric neutral winds are coupled to the ion convection driven by typical magnetospheric forcing above about 100 km. Coupling to lower atmospheric levels does not occur except during intervals of extreme disturbance of the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system which are also accompanied by dramatically increased ionization in the high-latitude mesosphere, such as SPEs

  17. Cerebral gas embolism due to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    ter Laan, Mark; Totte, Erik; van Hulst, Rob A.; van der Linde, Klaas; van der Kamp, Wim; Pierie, Jean-Pierre E.

    Cerebral gas embolism as a result of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a rare complication and bares a high morbidity. A patient is presented who underwent an upper endoscopy for evaluation of a gastric-mediastinal fistula after subtotal oesophagectomy and gastric tube reconstruction because of

  18. Cerebral gas embolism due to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    ter Laan, Mark; Totte, Erik; van Hulst, Rob A.; van der Linde, Klaas; van der Kamp, Wim; Pierie, Jean-Pierre E.

    2009-01-01

    Cerebral gas embolism as a result of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a rare complication and bares a high morbidity. A patient is presented who underwent an upper endoscopy for evaluation of a gastric-mediastinal fistula after subtotal oesophagectomy and gastric tube reconstruction because of

  19. Searching for superconductors with high critical temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chao, C

    1977-08-18

    Critical temperature of superconductors can be and must be raised so that their range of application can be broadened. It was estimated that, in 3 to 5 years, superconductor electric generators might be used in nuclear submarines and/or other applications where the requirements of small volume and light weight are critical. The BCS theory was recapitulated. Possible methods of achieving higher critical temperature were proposed and discussed.

  20. Critical current density and wire fabrication of high-TC superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schlabach, T.D.; Jin, S.; Sherwood, R.C.; Tiefel, T.H.

    1989-01-01

    In this paper, some of the recent investigations of wire fabrication techniques and critical current behavior in high T c superconductors will be reviewed. In spite of the tremendous interest and research effort, the progress toward major applications of the bulk high-temperature superconductors has been impeded by, among other thins, the low critical currents and their severe deterioration in weak magnetic fields. Significant advances, however, have been made in understanding the causes of the problem as well as in improving the current-carrying capacity through proper microstructural control such as the melt-textured-growth in Y-Ba-Cu-O. The low density of effective flux-pinning sites in bulk Y-Ba-Cu-O limits J c at 77K in high magnetic fields to about 10 4 A/cm 2 even in the absence of weak links. Magnetization measurements on Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O and Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O at 77K by various researchers indicate even weaker flux pinning capabilities in these materials than in Y-Ba-Cu-O. The challenge in the future is to obtain suitable flux-pinning defects by choosing the right processing and chemistry changes

  1. Transport measurements in superconductors: critical current of granular high TC ceramic superconductor samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Passos, W.A.C.

    2016-01-01

    This work presents a method to obtain critical current of granular superconductors. We have carried out transport measurements (ρxT curves and VxI curves) in a YBa_2Cu_3O_7_-_δ sample to determine critical current density of it. Some specimens reveal a 'semiconductor-like' behavior (electrical resistivity decreases with increasing temperatures above critical temperature T_c of material) competing with superconductor behavior. Due to high granular fraction of the sample, these competition is clearly noted in ρxT curves. Measurements carried out from 0 to 8500 Oe of applied field show the same behavior, and the critical current density of the samples is shown. (author)

  2. Upper limits on the total cosmic-ray luminosity of individual sources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anjos, R.C.; De Souza, V. [Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo (Brazil); Supanitsky, A.D., E-mail: rita@ifsc.usp.br, E-mail: vitor@ifsc.usp.br, E-mail: supanitsky@iafe.uba.ar [Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (IAFE), CONICET-UBA, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

    2014-07-01

    In this paper, upper limits on the total luminosity of ultra-high-energy cosmic-rays (UHECR) E > 10{sup 18} eV) are determined for five individual sources. The upper limit on the integral flux of GeV--TeV gamma-rays is used to extract the upper limit on the total UHECR luminosity of individual sources. The correlation between upper limit on the integral GeV--TeV gamma-ray flux and upper limit on the UHECR luminosity is established through the cascading process that takes place during propagation of the cosmic rays in the background radiation fields, as explained in reference [1]. Twenty-eight sources measured by FERMI-LAT, VERITAS and MAGIC observatories have been studied. The measured upper limit on the GeV--TeV gamma-ray flux is restrictive enough to allow the calculation of an upper limit on the total UHECR cosmic-ray luminosity of five sources. The upper limit on the UHECR cosmic-ray luminosity of these sources is shown for several assumptions on the emission mechanism. For all studied sources an upper limit on the ultra-high-energy proton luminosity is also set.

  3. Upper limits on the total cosmic-ray luminosity of individual sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anjos, R.C.; De Souza, V.; Supanitsky, A.D.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, upper limits on the total luminosity of ultra-high-energy cosmic-rays (UHECR) E > 10 18 eV) are determined for five individual sources. The upper limit on the integral flux of GeV--TeV gamma-rays is used to extract the upper limit on the total UHECR luminosity of individual sources. The correlation between upper limit on the integral GeV--TeV gamma-ray flux and upper limit on the UHECR luminosity is established through the cascading process that takes place during propagation of the cosmic rays in the background radiation fields, as explained in reference [1]. Twenty-eight sources measured by FERMI-LAT, VERITAS and MAGIC observatories have been studied. The measured upper limit on the GeV--TeV gamma-ray flux is restrictive enough to allow the calculation of an upper limit on the total UHECR cosmic-ray luminosity of five sources. The upper limit on the UHECR cosmic-ray luminosity of these sources is shown for several assumptions on the emission mechanism. For all studied sources an upper limit on the ultra-high-energy proton luminosity is also set

  4. Practices and Processes of Leading High Performance Home Builders in the Upper Midwest

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Von Thoma, E.; Ojczyk, C.

    2012-12-01

    The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team proposed this study to gain insight into the business, sales, and construction processes of successful high performance builders. The knowledge gained by understanding the high performance strategies used by individual builders, as well as the process each followed to move from traditional builder to high performance builder, will be beneficial in proposing more in-depth research to yield specific action items to assist the industry at large transform to high performance new home construction. This investigation identified the best practices of three successful high performance builders in the upper Midwest. In-depth field analysis of the performance levels of their homes, their business models, and their strategies for market acceptance were explored. All three builders commonly seek ENERGY STAR certification on their homes and implement strategies that would allow them to meet the requirements for the Building America Builders Challenge program. Their desire for continuous improvement, willingness to seek outside assistance, and ambition to be leaders in their field are common themes. Problem solving to overcome challenges was accepted as part of doing business. It was concluded that crossing the gap from code-based building to high performance based building was a natural evolution for these leading builders.

  5. Biomechanics of fall arrest using the upper extremity: age differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyu-Jung; Ashton-Miller, James A

    2003-05-01

    This study tried to isolate critical biomechanical factors in fall arrests using the upper extremity during simulated forward falls. This study also attempted to find the differences in those factors between young and old age groups. The role of the upper extremity is not well defined despite its primary usage as a local shock absorber during fall impact. Comparative study in which two age groups underwent motion analysis.Methods. Ten healthy older males (mean age, 66.4 years) and 10 young males (mean age, 24.1 years) volunteered to perform self-initiated and cable-released falls at selected falling distances, while the joint motion and impact forces at the hand were recorded. Significant age differences were demonstrated in joint kinematics and impact force parameters at close distances. Excessive reflexive responses of the upper extremity in cable-released falls for the older adults resulted in 10-15 times higher peak impact forces and 2-3 times shorter body braking time than in self-initiated falls. Pre-impact activities of the upper extremity predispose the post-impact response during fall arrests. Suppressing excessive pre-impact reflexive activation of the arms could efficiently decrease the risk of fall-related injuries, which calls for securing sufficient arm movement time. Any fall prevention strategy that can increase arm movement time would be effective against injuries of the upper extremity during falling in the older adults. The findings will help to understand underlying mechanisms of fall arrest using the upper extremity for prevention of fall-related fractures.

  6. Critical Factors Explaining the Leadership Performance of High-Performing Principals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutton, Disraeli M.

    2018-01-01

    The study explored critical factors that explain leadership performance of high-performing principals and examined the relationship between these factors based on the ratings of school constituents in the public school system. The principal component analysis with the use of Varimax Rotation revealed that four components explain 51.1% of the…

  7. Critical current measurements of high Tc superconductors in a scanning low temperature cryostat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Telschow, K.L.; O'Brien, T.K.

    1991-01-01

    Maintaining uniformity of properties over long distances is one of the fabrication problems encountered with the new high T c superconductors. Uniform properties are crucial in long tapes or wires with high critical current since local nonuniformities can limit the current carrying capacity of the whole piece. Transport critical currents in high T c superconductors are conventionally measured with the contact 4-point probe DC current-voltage technique. This technique requires contact with the sample and and spatially averages over the region between the two voltage contacts. Two techniques have been used to infer the critical state model. The first uses the net magnetization of a suitably shaped sample in an external magnetic field. The second combines a DC magnetic field with AC induced currents to infer spatial flux profiles. The AC magnetization technique offers an advantage in that it is noncontacting; however, it also averages the measurement over a large area and requires that the sample be shaped and positioned such that it exhibits zero demagnetizing factor. This paper describes a measurement technique and a scanning cryostat assembly that are capable of determining local critical current in a tape or wire with high resolution and without any direct sample electrical contact. A small compensated coil was used to induce AC currents in slab-shaped samples. The coil was situated near the surface on one side of the slab. With this method, the AC probe can be used as a noncontacting dissipation probe, replacing the voltage probe in the 4-point contact method, when an externally driven transport current is used, or by itself as a local critical state generator and dissipation detector. The results are shown to be meaningful even when the internal magnetic field is not uniform due to shape demagnetizing effects. 10 refs., 5 figs

  8. Consideration of Nuclear Criticality When Directly Disposing Highly Enriched Spent Nuclear Fuel in Unsaturated Tuff - I: Nuclear Criticality Constraints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rechard, Rob P.; Sanchez, Lawrence C.; Trellue, Holly R.

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents the mass, concentration, and volume required for a critical event to occur in homogeneous mixtures of fissile material and various other geologic materials. The fissile material considered is primarily highly enriched uranium spent fuel; however, 239 Pu is considered in some cases. The non-fissile materials examined are those found in the proposed repository area at Yucca Mountain, Nevada: volcanic tuff, iron rust, concrete, and naturally occurring water. For 235 U, the minimum critical solid concentration for tuff was 5 kg/m 3 (similar to sandstone), and in goethite, 45 kg/m 3 . The critical mass of uranium was sensitive to a number of factors, such as moisture content and fissile enrichment, but had a minimum, assuming almost 100% saturation and >20% enrichment, of 18 kg in tuff as Soddyite (or 9.5 kg as UO 2 ) and 7 kg in goethite. For 239 Pu, the minimum critical solid concentration for tuff was 3 kg/m 3 (similar to sandstone); in goethite, 20 kg/m 3 . The critical mass of plutonium was also sensitive to a number of factors, but had a minimum, assuming 100% saturation and 80-90% enrichment, of 5 kg in tuff and 6 kg in goethite

  9. High Data Rates for AubieSat-2 A & B, Two CubeSats Performing High Energy Science in the Upper Atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sims, William H.

    2015-01-01

    This paper will discuss a proposed CubeSat size (3 Units / 6 Units) telemetry system concept being developed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in cooperation with Auburn University. The telemetry system incorporates efficient, high-bandwidth communications by developing flight-ready, low-cost, PROTOFLIGHT software defined radio (SDR) payload for use on CubeSats. The current telemetry system is slightly larger in dimension of footprint than required to fit within a 0.75 Unit CubeSat volume. Extensible and modular communications for CubeSat technologies will provide high data rates for science experiments performed by two CubeSats flying in formation in Low Earth Orbit. The project is a collaboration between the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Auburn University to study high energy phenomena in the upper atmosphere. Higher bandwidth capacity will enable high-volume, low error-rate data transfer to and from the CubeSats, while also providing additional bandwidth and error correction margin to accommodate more complex encryption algorithms and higher user volume.

  10. Highly effective cystic fibrosis clinical research teams: critical success factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Retsch-Bogart, George Z; Van Dalfsen, Jill M; Marshall, Bruce C; George, Cynthia; Pilewski, Joseph M; Nelson, Eugene C; Goss, Christopher H; Ramsey, Bonnie W

    2014-08-01

    Bringing new therapies to patients with rare diseases depends in part on optimizing clinical trial conduct through efficient study start-up processes and rapid enrollment. Suboptimal execution of clinical trials in academic medical centers not only results in high cost to institutions and sponsors, but also delays the availability of new therapies. Addressing the factors that contribute to poor outcomes requires novel, systematic approaches tailored to the institution and disease under study. To use clinical trial performance metrics data analysis to select high-performing cystic fibrosis (CF) clinical research teams and then identify factors contributing to their success. Mixed-methods research, including semi-structured qualitative interviews of high-performing research teams. CF research teams at nine clinical centers from the CF Foundation Therapeutics Development Network. Survey of site characteristics, direct observation of team meetings and facilities, and semi-structured interviews with clinical research team members and institutional program managers and leaders in clinical research. Critical success factors noted at all nine high-performing centers were: 1) strong leadership, 2) established and effective communication within the research team and with the clinical care team, and 3) adequate staff. Other frequent characteristics included a mature culture of research, customer service orientation in interactions with study participants, shared efficient processes, continuous process improvement activities, and a businesslike approach to clinical research. Clinical research metrics allowed identification of high-performing clinical research teams. Site visits identified several critical factors leading to highly successful teams that may help other clinical research teams improve clinical trial performance.

  11. Probability of Criticality for MOX SNF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    P. Gottlieb

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this calculation is to provide a conservative (upper bound) estimate of the probability of criticality for mixed oxide (MOX) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) of the Westinghouse pressurized water reactor (PWR) design that has been proposed for use. with the Plutonium Disposition Program (Ref. 1, p. 2). This calculation uses a Monte Carlo technique similar to that used for ordinary commercial SNF (Ref. 2, Sections 2 and 5.2). Several scenarios, covering a range of parameters, are evaluated for criticality. Parameters specifying the loss of fission products and iron oxide from the waste package are particularly important. This calculation is associated with disposal of MOX SNF

  12. Trends in dynamics of forest upper boundary in high mountains of northern Baikal area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. I. Voronin

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Studies of spatial-temporal variability of the upper boundary of the forest on the north-western coast of Lake Baikal (Baikal and Upper Angara Ridges are performed on the base of the analysis of forests renewal processes and of the dynamics of larch radial increment in the ecotone of the forest upper boundary and out of it. The presence of a large amount of well-developed uplands and circuses with considerable heights drops in the structure of mountain system favours formation of interrupted boundary between forest and subgoltsy belt. The timber stand of the upper forest boundary in the studied area is represented by Daurian larch. Three tree-ring chronologies of larch are obtained. The longest chronology is obtained for mountain taiga belt of Baikal Ridge and is as long as 460 years. Since 1980ies, a sustainable trend of increase of radial trees growth is observed. It is observed the most distinctly in trees of the upper forest boundary on the Baikal Ridge. There is advancing of trees species into subgoltsy belt and into mountain tundra, which depends, respectively, on slopes heights, exposition and tilting, on sites of growth of concrete cenoses. Modern peculiarity of the vegetation of the studied area is presence of abundant viable larch undergrowth (from 2–3 to 25 y.o. and fir in the ecotone of upper forest boundary and in subgoltsy belt, as well as appearing of single specimens of spruce. Main undergrowth mass (2/3 is presented by trees aged in average 15–25 y.o., i.e., they appeared in late 1980ies. Due to increase of snow cover thickness in winter, the trees young growth obtained great protection from freezing resulting in the increase of ability of young growth to live up to elder age.

  13. Interlaboratory comparison on high-temperature superconductor critical-current measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiejaczka, J.A.; Goodrich, L.F.

    1997-01-01

    An extensive interlaboratory comparison was conducted on high temperature superconductor (HTS) critical-current measurements. This study was part of an international cooperative effort through the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS). The study involved six US laboratories that are recognized leaders in the field of HTS. This paper includes the complete results from this comparison of critical-current measurements on Ag-sheathed Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10-x (2223) tapes. The effects of sample characteristics, specimen mounting, measurement technique, and specimen damage were studied. The future development of a standard HTS measurement method is also discussed. Most of the evolution of this emerging technology has occurred in improvement of the performance of the conductors. The successful completion of this interlaboratory comparison is an important milestone in the evolution of HTS technology and marks a level of maturity that the technology has reached

  14. Method for critical software event execution reliability in high integrity software

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kidd, M.E. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    1997-11-01

    This report contains viewgraphs on a method called SEER, which provides a high level of confidence that critical software driven event execution sequences faithfully exceute in the face of transient computer architecture failures in both normal and abnormal operating environments.

  15. Fluids of the lower crust and upper mantle: deep is different

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manning, C. E.

    2017-12-01

    Deep fluids are important for the evolution and properties of the lower crust and upper mantle in tectonically active settings. Uncertainty about their chemistry has led past workers to use upper crustal fluids as analogues. However, recent results show that fluids at >15 km differ fundamentally from shallow fluids and help explain high-pressure metasomatism and resistivity patterns. Deep fluids are comprised of four components: H2O, non-polar gases (chiefly CO2), salts (mostly alkali chlorides), and rock-derived solutes (dominated by aluminosilicates and related components). The first three generally define the solvent properties of the fluid, and models must account for observations that H2O activity may be quite low. The contrasting behavior of H2O-gas and H2O-salt mixtures yields immiscibility in the ternary system, which can lead to separation of two phases with fundamentally different chemical and transport properties. Thermodynamic modeling of equilibrium between rocks and H2O using simple ionic species known from shallow-crustal systems yields solutions possessing total dissolved solids and ionic strength that are too low to be consistent with experiments and resistivity surveys. Addition of CO2 further lowers bulk solubility and conductivity. Therefore, additional species must be present in H2O, and H2O-salt solutions likely explain much of the evidence for fluid action in high-P settings. At low salinity, H2O-rich fluids are powerful solvents for aluminosilicate rock components that are dissolved as previously unrecognized polymerized clusters. Experiments show that, near H2O-saturated melting, Al-Si polymers comprise >80% of solutes. The stability of these species facilitates critical critical mixing in rock-H2O systems. Addition of salt (e.g., NaCl) changes solubility patterns, but aluminosilicate contents remain high. Thermodynamic models indicate that the ionic strength of fluids with Xsalt = 0.05 to 0.4 and equilibrated with model crustal rocks have

  16. Oriental upper blepharoplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Chau-Jin

    2009-02-01

    Aesthetic surgery of the upper eyelids is a very common procedure performed in cosmetic practices around the world. The word blepharoplasty, however, has a different meaning in Asia than it does elsewhere. Orientals have different periorbital anatomic characteristics, their motivations for seeking eyelid treatment are different, and operative techniques have been adapted consequently. There are also many eyelid shapes among Orientals, mostly with regard to the presence and location of the supratarsal fold and/or presence of an epicanthal fold. The surgeon must therefore master a range of surgical procedures to treat these variations adequately. It is critical to know the indications for each blepharoplasty technique as well as their complications to select the right surgery and avoid unfavorable results. Epicanthoplasty performed on the right patient can greatly improve aesthetic results while retaining ethnic characteristics. This article will discuss Oriental eyelid characteristics, preoperative patient assessment, commonly used corrective techniques for the "double-eyelid" creation, and complications and how to avoid them.

  17. The Relationship between Critical Thinking Abilities and Classroom Management Skills of High School Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demirdag, Seyithan

    2015-01-01

    High school teachers experience difficulties while providing effective teaching approaches in their classrooms. Some of the difficulties are associated with the lack of classroom management skills and critical thinking abilities. This quantitative study includes non-random selection of the participants and aims to examine critical thinking…

  18. New options for vascularized bone reconstruction in the upper extremity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houdek, Matthew T; Wagner, Eric R; Wyles, Cody C; Nanos, George P; Moran, Steven L

    2015-02-01

    Originally described in the 1970s, vascularized bone grafting has become a critical component in the treatment of bony defects and non-unions. Although well established in the lower extremity, recent years have seen many novel techniques described to treat a variety of challenging upper extremity pathologies. Here the authors review the use of different techniques of vascularized bone grafts for the upper extremity bone pathologies. The vascularized fibula remains the gold standard for the treatment of large bone defects of the humerus and forearm, while also playing a role in carpal reconstruction; however, two other important options for larger defects include the vascularized scapula graft and the Capanna technique. Smaller upper extremity bone defects and non-unions can be treated with the medial femoral condyle (MFC) free flap or a vascularized rib transfer. In carpal non-unions, both pedicled distal radius flaps and free MFC flaps are viable options. Finally, in skeletally immature patients, vascularized fibular head epiphyseal transfer can provide growth potential in addition to skeletal reconstruction.

  19. Upper Respiratory Tract Diseases in Athletes in Different Sports Disciplines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gałązka-Franta, Anna; Jura-Szołtys, Edyta; Smółka, Wojciech; Gawlik, Radosław

    2016-12-01

    Upper respiratory tract diseases in athletes are a very common medical problem. Training conditions in different sports disciplines increase the risk of upper respiratory disease. Epidemiological evidence suggests that heavy acute or chronic exercise is related to an increased incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in athletes. Regular physical exercise at high intensity may lead to transient immunosuppression due to high prevalence of allergic diseases in athletes. Regardless of the cause they can exclude athletes from the training program and significantly impair their performance. In the present work, the most common upper respiratory tract diseases in athletes taking into account the disciplines in which they most often occur were presented. The focus was laid on symptoms, diagnostic methods and pharmacotherapy. Moreover, preventive procedures which can help reduce the occurrence of upper respiratory tract disease in athletes were presented. Management according to anti-doping rules, criteria for return to training and competition as an important issues of athlete's health were discussed.

  20. The biomechanics of upper extremity kinematic and kinetic modeling: applications to rehabilitation engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavens, Brooke A; Harris, Gerald F

    2008-01-01

    Human motion analysis has evolved from the lower extremity to the upper extremity. Rehabilitation engineering is reliant upon three-dimensional biome-chanical models for a thorough understanding of upper body motions and forces in order to improve treatment methods, rehabilitation strategies and to prevent injury. Due to the complex nature of upper body movements, a standard biomechanical model does not exist. This paper reviews several kinematic and kinetic rehabilitation engineering models from the literature. These models may capture a single joint; multijoints such as the shoulder, elbow and wrist; or a combination of joints and an ambulatory aid, which serves as the extension of the upper arm. With advances in software and hardware, new models continuously arise due to the clinical questions at hand. When designing a biomechanical upper extremity model, several key components must be determined. These include deciding on the anatomic segments of the model, the number of markers and placement on bony landmarks, the definition of joint coordinate systems, and the description of the joint motions. It is critical to apply the proper model to further our understanding of pathologic populations.

  1. Critical thinking: Not all that critical

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruce Dietrick Price

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Critical Thinking basically says to be suspicious of everything, except the fad known as Critical Thinking. It is perhaps best understood as a new and watered-down version of an earlier fad called Deconstruction. That was just a fancy word for debunking. After you strip away all the high-minded rhetoric, Critical Thinking is typically used to tell students that they should not trust conventional wisdom, tradition, religion, parents, and all that irrelevant, old-fashioned stuff. Critical Thinking, somewhat surprisingly, also turns out to be highly contemptuous of facts and knowledge. The formulation in public schools goes like this: children must learn how to think, not what to think. WHAT is, of course, all the academic content and scholarly knowledge that schools used to teach.

  2. Endometrioid carcinoma of the upper urinary tract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kulkarni Jagdeesh

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Herein, we report a second case of endometrioid carcinoma of the upper urinary tract presenting 17 years after hysterectomy for high grade adenocarcinoma of ovary. A 51-year-old nullipara presented to us with a complaint of hematuria. After complete work up, she underwent right radical nephro-ureterectomy with bladder cuff excision. The histology showed endometrioid carcinoma of upper urinary tract without any evidence of endometriosis.

  3. heat storage in upper and lower body during high-intensity exercise ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Research on heat storage differences between the upper body and ... effects of two cooling strategies (pre-cooling and cooling during exercise) on .... Subject. Age. Height. (cm). Weight. (kg). VO2 peak l.min. -1. Body fat. (%). 1 ..... Effects of two.

  4. Mechanical analysis of the EC upper launcher with respect to electromagnetic loads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaccaro, A.; Kleefeldt, K.; Spaeh, P.; Strauss, D.

    2009-01-01

    The design of the EC upper launcher for ITER approaches maturity and thus it needs to be qualified with respect to the critical loads. One major source of critical loads are eddy currents, which are induced in the structure during plasma instabilities, of which the most severe conditions may happen during a vertical displacement event (VDE) followed by a fast current quench. High mechanical loads are then acting on the front end of the cantilevered launcher structure as a consequence of the interaction between the static toroidal field and the eddy currents. The EC upper launcher has a length of about 6 m and the nominal gap to the neighbouring components is 20 mm. The targeted limit for the launcher displacements is 10 mm, when accounting for tolerances in manufacturing, positioning and thermal displacement. The conceptual design of the launcher is at risk to miss this requirement, thus different configurations of the main frame are considered and analysed. Especially, the cross-section of the single wall segment has been varied to identify the most efficient strategy for increasing the stiffness of the structure. For this purpose, the mechanical loads from an upward VDE (linear current decay from 15 to 0 MA within 40 ms) are used as input to a finite element analysis with the ANSYS software tool. The displacement at the free plasma facing end of the launcher is calculated and analyzed. Its main component is in toroidal direction and the effort of mitigation is concentrated primarily on the bottom-wall. The approach satisfies the limitations given by the space requests of the mm-wave system which is to be integrated into the port plug.

  5. VERITAS UPPER LIMIT ON THE VERY HIGH ENERGY EMISSION FROM THE RADIO GALAXY NGC 1275

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acciari, V. A.; Benbow, W.; Aliu, E.; Boltuch, D.; Arlen, T.; Celik, O.; Aune, T.; Bautista, M.; Cogan, P.; Beilicke, M.; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, V.; Dickherber, R.; Bradbury, S. M.; Byrum, K.; Cannon, A.; Cesarini, A.; Ciupik, L.; Cui, W.; Duke, C.

    2009-01-01

    The recent detection by the Fermi γ-ray space telescope of high-energy γ-rays from the radio galaxy NGC 1275 makes the observation of the very high energy (VHE: E>100 GeV) part of its broadband spectrum particularly interesting, especially for the understanding of active galactic nuclei with misaligned multi-structured jets. The radio galaxy NGC 1275 was recently observed by VERITAS at energies above 100 GeV for about 8 hr. No VHE γ-ray emission was detected by VERITAS from NGC 1275. A 99% confidence level upper limit of 2.1% of the Crab Nebula flux level is obtained at the decorrelation energy of approximately 340 GeV, corresponding to 19% of the power-law extrapolation of the Fermi Large Area Telescope result.

  6. High-accuracy critical exponents for O(N) hierarchical 3D sigma models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godina, J. J.; Li, L.; Meurice, Y.; Oktay, M. B.

    2006-01-01

    The critical exponent γ and its subleading exponent Δ in the 3D O(N) Dyson's hierarchical model for N up to 20 are calculated with high accuracy. We calculate the critical temperatures for the measure δ(φ-vector.φ-vector-1). We extract the first coefficients of the 1/N expansion from our numerical data. We show that the leading and subleading exponents agree with Polchinski equation and the equivalent Litim equation, in the local potential approximation, with at least 4 significant digits

  7. An Examination of Critical Thinking Skills in High School Choral Rehearsals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrett, Matthew L.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between time spent in nonperformance and critical thinking activities in high school choral rehearsals. Eighteen rehearsal observations were collected from public school music programs. Observed rehearsal behaviors were coded into three categories of nonperformance activity: lower-order…

  8. Reduction of upper shelf energy of highly irradiated RPV steels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Otaka, M.; Osaki, T. [Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (Japan)

    2004-07-01

    It is well known that as the embrittlement due to neutron irradiation of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels, there is the tendency of the decrease in Charpy absorbed energy at upper shelf region (USE), in addition to the shift of ductile-brittle transition temperature. Concerning to the regulation of the upper shelf region, no method is provided to evaluate integrity for RPV steels with USE of less than 68J in Japanese codes. Under the circumstance, the reduction tendency of USE using simulated Japanese RPV steels, irradiated by fast neutron up to 1 x 10{sup 24} n/m{sup 2}, E>1 MeV in the OECD Halden test reactor, was investigated to establish the basis of the USE prediction after 60 year plant operation for the integrity assessment of the RPVs. This paper describes the results of an atom probe tomography characterization of irradiated steels. A new form of USE prediction equation was developed based on the atom probe tomography characterization and the Charpy impact test results of the irradiated steels. And, the USE prediction equations have been determined through the regression analysis of the test reactor data combined with Japanese surveillance test data. (orig.)

  9. An antithetic variate to facilitate upper-stem height measurements for critical height sampling with importance sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas B. Lynch; Jeffrey H. Gove

    2013-01-01

    Critical height sampling (CHS) estimates cubic volume per unit area by multiplying the sum of critical heights measured on trees tallied in a horizontal point sample (HPS) by the HPS basal area factor. One of the barriers to practical application of CHS is the fact that trees near the field location of the point-sampling sample point have critical heights that occur...

  10. High critical current density YBCO films and fabrication of dc-SQUIDs

    CERN Document Server

    Kuriki, S; Kawaguchi, Y; Matsuda, M; Otowa, T

    2002-01-01

    In order to improve the sensitivity of SQUID magnetometers made of high-T sub c films, we have studied the conditions of pulsed-laser deposition of YBCO films. Among the different deposition parameters examined, extensive degassing of the vacuum chamber before and precise control of the substrate temperature during the film deposition were found effective for obtaining high critical temperature T sub c and high critical current density J sub c. It was also found that the residual-resistance ratio has a clear correlation with J sub c , indicating that it can be a good, and easy to measure, index of the film quality. Films having T sub c approx 89-90 K and J sub c >= 5x10 sup 6 A cm sup - sup 2 at 77 K were used to fabricate SQUIDs without a pickup loop. Grain-boundary junctions formed on bicrystal substrates with a 30 deg. misorientation angle exhibited I sub c R sub n values of more than 100 mu V at 77 K. The well-known scaling behaviour of the relation I sub c R sub n propor to (J sup G sup B sub c) sup 1 su...

  11. Entrainment and high-density three-dimensional mapping in right atrial macroreentry provide critical complementary information: Entrainment may unmask "visual reentry" as passive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathik, Bhupesh; Lee, Geoffrey; Nalliah, Chrishan; Joseph, Stephen; Morton, Joseph B; Sparks, Paul B; Sanders, Prashanthan; Kistler, Peter M; Kalman, Jonathan M

    2017-10-01

    With the recent advent of high-density (HD) 3-dimensional (3D) mapping, the utility of entrainment is uncertain. However, the limitations of visual representation and interpretation of these high-resolution 3D maps are unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the strengths and limitations of both HD 3D mapping and entrainment mapping during mapping of right atrial macroreentry. Fifteen patients were studied. The number and type of circuits accounting for ≥90% of the tachycardia cycle length using HD 3D mapping were verified using systematic entrainment mapping. Entrainment sites with an unexpectedly long postpacing interval despite proximity to the active circuit were evaluated. Based on HD 3D mapping, 27 circuits were observed: 12 peritricuspid, 2 upper loop reentry, 10 lower loop reentry, and 3 lateral wall circuits. With entrainment, 17 of the 27 circuits were active: all 12 peritricuspid and 2 upper loop reentry. However, lower loop reentry was confirmed in only 3 of 10, and none of the 3 lateral wall circuits were present. Mean percentage of tachycardia cycle length covered by active circuits was 98% ± 1% vs 97% ± 2% for passive circuits (P = .09). None of the 345 entrainment runs terminated tachycardia or changed tachycardia mechanism. In 8 of 15 patients, 13 examples of unexpectedly long postpacing interval were observed at entrainment sites located distal to localized zones of slow conduction seen on HD 3D mapping. Using HD 3D mapping, "visual reentry" may be due to passive circuitous propagation rather than a critical reentrant circuit. HD 3D mapping provides new insights into regional conduction and helps explain unusual entrainment phenomena. Copyright © 2017 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Effect of strain on the critical-current density of Cu-Nb composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klein, J.D.; Rose, R.M.

    1987-01-01

    Microfilamentary superconducting composites of Nb fibers in Cu matrices prepared by the stack and draw method were tested for tensile critical-current performance at 4.2 K. The superconducting critical-current densities increased exponentially under the influence of an applied mechanical strain until the onset of Nb fiber plastic deformation. In the elastic range, the critical-current densities conformed to log 10 J/sub c/ = m (strain)+b. In several tests the critical current was increased by more than an order of magnitude by the applied strain. This behavior is consistent with an increase in the upper critical field of the Nb fibers by the applied stress

  13. Imaging of upper extremity stress fractures in the athlete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Mark W

    2006-07-01

    Although it is much less common than injuries in the lower extremities, an upper extremity stress injury can have a significant impact on an athlete. If an accurate and timely diagnosis is to be made, the clinician must have a high index of suspicion of a stress fracture in any athlete who is involved in a throwing, weightlifting, or upper extremity weight-bearing sport and presents with chronic pain in the upper extremity. Imaging should play an integral role in the work-up of these patients; if initial radiographs are unrevealing, further cross-sectional imaging should be strongly considered. Although a three-phase bone scan is highly sensitive in this regard, MRI has become the study of choice at most centers.

  14. Critical and Griffiths-McCoy singularities in quantum Ising spin glasses on d -dimensional hypercubic lattices: A series expansion study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, R. R. P.; Young, A. P.

    2017-08-01

    We study the ±J transverse-field Ising spin-glass model at zero temperature on d -dimensional hypercubic lattices and in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick (SK) model, by series expansions around the strong-field limit. In the SK model and in high dimensions our calculated critical properties are in excellent agreement with the exact mean-field results, surprisingly even down to dimension d =6 , which is below the upper critical dimension of d =8 . In contrast, at lower dimensions we find a rich singular behavior consisting of critical and Griffiths-McCoy singularities. The divergence of the equal-time structure factor allows us to locate the critical coupling where the correlation length diverges, implying the onset of a thermodynamic phase transition. We find that the spin-glass susceptibility as well as various power moments of the local susceptibility become singular in the paramagnetic phase before the critical point. Griffiths-McCoy singularities are very strong in two dimensions but decrease rapidly as the dimension increases. We present evidence that high enough powers of the local susceptibility may become singular at the pure-system critical point.

  15. High-MgO Vitric Ash in Upper Kulanaokuaiki Tephra, Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i: A Preliminary Description

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, T. R.; Fiske, R. S.; Swanson, D.

    2011-12-01

    Small, well-formed Pele's tears containing anomalously high values of MgO were recently discovered in outcrops of the upper Kulanaokuaiki Tephra at and near the base of Uwekahuna Bluff, the western wall of Kilauea Caldera. Electron microprobe analyses of more than 60 high-MgO tears, which are 1-3 mm in diameter, show that most contain 11 to 12 wt. % MgO with a few approaching 13 % MgO. Separate microprobe analyses for sulfur and chlorine of 20 grains revealed no appreciable amounts of either, indicating the magma was largely degassed. Polished-section studies employing an analytical scanning electron microscope show most tears are composed of pure microvesicular glass with scattered skeletal olivine crystals and rare chromite. The abundance of skeletal olivine appears to increase with decreasing MgO content of the glass. These tears contain among the highest known MgO values of any material erupted subaerially from Kilauea. The high-MgO tears occur in a 1-6 cm thick layer of medium-coarse lithic-crystal-vitric ash. The top of this layer consists of 2-3 mm of very fine lithic-crystal ash. The lithics and many of the olivine crystals in this layer are highly oxidized. This deposit is at the top of a sequence of several lithic beds that are interspersed with thinner vitric units totaling about 75 cm in thickness. It is overlain by 9-13 cm of medium pumice lapilli and coarse vitric ash at the top of the "Bluff base" and "mid-Bluff" tephra sections described by Fiske et al. (2009). This high-MgO glass layer has been found thus far in only one other locality, a 2 m-deep soils study pit within Kipuka Puaulu, 3.5 km northwest of the caldera. Based upon stratigraphic relationships and preliminary microprobe data, a few other likely exposures of the high-MgO deposit have been identified north and west of the caldera. The high-MgO vitric ash in the upper Kulanaokuaiki Tephra has a primitive composition that suggests little if any shallow level storage of magma. Instead, the

  16. Preparation and properties of high-Tc Bi-oxide superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeda, H.

    1989-01-01

    Bulk superconductors of Pb-doped Bi-oxide system (BSCCO) dominated with the high-Tc phase have the critical transition temperature, Tc of 110 K, and the upper critical fields, H c2 of 140 T at OK and 60 T at 77 K. A highly dense and a highly oriented microstructure is obtained by inserting an intermediate uniaxial pressing process. The critical current density, Jc at 77 K in zero field, Jc (77K,OT) of some 5000 A/cm 2 can be easily obtained by this process, and the field dependence of Jc is also improved. Flexible high-Tc BSCCO ribbons with a Jc (77K,Ot) of 1850 A/cm 2 have been successfully prepared by the combined process of doctor blade casting, cold rolling and sintering. Aq-sheeted multifilamentary wires with 1330 filaments and tapes with 30 filaments have also been successfully fabricated and the 36-filament tape shows a Jc(77K,OT) of 1050 A/cm 2 . (Auth.). 7 refs.; 7 figs

  17. Oncoplastic Surgery for Upper/Upper Inner Quadrant Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Joseph; Chen, Dar-Ren; Wang, Yu-Fen; Lai, Hung-Wen

    2016-01-01

    Tumors located in the upper/upper inner quadrant of the breast warrant more attention. A small lesion relative to the size of breast in this location may be resolved by performing a level I oncoplastic technique. However, a wide excision may significantly reduce the overall quality of the breast shape by distorting the visible breast line. From June 2012 to April 2015, 36 patients with breast cancer located in the upper/upper inner quadrant underwent breast-conservation surgery with matrix rotation mammoplasty. According to the size and location of the tumor relative to the nipple-areola complex, 11 patients underwent matrix rotation with periareolar de-epithelialization (donut group) and the other 25 underwent matrix rotation only (non-donut group). The cosmetic results were self-assessed by questionnaires. The average weights of the excised breast lumps in the donut and non-donut groups were 104.1 and 84.5 g, respectively. During the 3-year follow-up period, local recurrence was observed in one case and was managed with nipple-sparing mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction with prosthetic implants. In total, 31 patients (88.6%) ranked their postoperative result as either acceptable or satisfactory. The treated breasts were also self-evaluated by 27 patients (77.1%) to be nearly identical to or just slightly different from the untreated side. Matrix rotation is an easy breast-preserving technique for treating breast cancer located in the upper/upper inner quadrant of the breast that requires a relatively wide excision. With this technique, a larger breast tumor could be removed without compromising the breast appearance.

  18. Thermal properties of ionic systems near the liquid-liquid critical point.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Méndez-Castro, Pablo; Troncoso, Jacobo; Pérez-Sánchez, Germán; Peleteiro, José; Romaní, Luis

    2011-12-07

    Isobaric heat capacity per unit volume, C(p), and excess molar enthalpy, h(E), were determined in the vicinity of the critical point for a set of binary systems formed by an ionic liquid and a molecular solvent. Moreover, and, since critical composition had to be accurately determined, liquid-liquid equilibrium curves were also obtained using a calorimetric method. The systems were selected with a view on representing, near room temperature, examples from clearly solvophobic to clearly coulombic behavior, which traditionally was related with the electric permittivity of the solvent. The chosen molecular compounds are: ethanol, 1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 1,3-dichloropropane, and diethylcarbonate, whereas ionic liquids are formed by imidazolium-based cations and tetrafluoroborate or bis-(trifluromethylsulfonyl)amide anions. The results reveal that solvophobic critical behavior-systems with molecular solvents of high dielectric permittivity-is very similar to that found for molecular binary systems. However, coulombic systems-those with low permittivity molecular solvents-show strong deviations from the results usually found for these magnitudes near the liquid-liquid phase transition. They present an extremely small critical anomaly in C(p)-several orders of magnitude lower than those typically obtained for binary mixtures-and extremely low h(E)-for one system even negative, fact not observed, up to date, for any liquid-liquid transition in the nearness of an upper critical solution temperature. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

  19. Starting manufacturing phase of ITER upper ports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Utin, Yuri, E-mail: yuri.utin@iter.org [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Alekseev, Alexander; Sborchia, Carlo; Choi, Changho; Albin, Vincent; Barabash, Vladimir; Davis, James [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Fabritsiev, Sergey [NTC Sintez, Efremov Inst., 189631 Metallostroy, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Giraud, Benoit; Guirao, Julio [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Koenig, Werner [MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, Werftstrasse 17, Deggendorf (Germany); Kedrov, Igor; Kuzmin, Evgeny [NTC Sintez, Efremov Inst., 189631 Metallostroy, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Levesy, Bruno; Martinez, Jean-Marc [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Prebeck, Markus [MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, Werftstrasse 17, Deggendorf (Germany); Privalova, Elena [NTC Sintez, Efremov Inst., 189631 Metallostroy, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Ranzinger, Franz [MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, Werftstrasse 17, Deggendorf (Germany); Savrukhin, Petr [Russian Federation ITER Domestic Agency, Kurchatov sq.1, 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation); Schiller, Thomas [MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, Werftstrasse 17, Deggendorf (Germany); and others

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • The port plugs are attached to the ports with high-strength fasteners. • Tightening of the fasteners via inductive heating was tested. • A concept for the port/plug sealing with metal-type gaskets has progressed. • Manufacturing design of the Upper Ports is in progress. • A full-scale mock-up of double-wall part of the port stub extension is in manufacturing process – acceptable final tolerances are expected. - Abstract: The ITER Vacuum Vessel (VV) features upper, equatorial and lower ports. The upper and regular equatorial ports are occupied by the port plugs. Although the port design has been overall completed in the past, the design of some remaining interfaces was still in progress: in particular, the Sealing Flange package, which includes the high-vacuum seals and the plug fasteners. As the ITER construction phase has started, the procurement of the VV ports has been launched. The VV upper ports will be procured by the Russian Federation Domestic Agency. The main suppliers were selected and the manufacturing design of the first parts is in full progress now. Since the VV is classified at nuclear level N2, the design and manufacture of its components are to be compliant with the French RCC-MR code and regulations for nuclear pressure equipment in France. These regulations make a strong impact to the port design and manufacturing process.

  20. Starting manufacturing phase of ITER upper ports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Utin, Yuri; Alekseev, Alexander; Sborchia, Carlo; Choi, Changho; Albin, Vincent; Barabash, Vladimir; Davis, James; Fabritsiev, Sergey; Giraud, Benoit; Guirao, Julio; Koenig, Werner; Kedrov, Igor; Kuzmin, Evgeny; Levesy, Bruno; Martinez, Jean-Marc; Prebeck, Markus; Privalova, Elena; Ranzinger, Franz; Savrukhin, Petr; Schiller, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The port plugs are attached to the ports with high-strength fasteners. • Tightening of the fasteners via inductive heating was tested. • A concept for the port/plug sealing with metal-type gaskets has progressed. • Manufacturing design of the Upper Ports is in progress. • A full-scale mock-up of double-wall part of the port stub extension is in manufacturing process – acceptable final tolerances are expected. - Abstract: The ITER Vacuum Vessel (VV) features upper, equatorial and lower ports. The upper and regular equatorial ports are occupied by the port plugs. Although the port design has been overall completed in the past, the design of some remaining interfaces was still in progress: in particular, the Sealing Flange package, which includes the high-vacuum seals and the plug fasteners. As the ITER construction phase has started, the procurement of the VV ports has been launched. The VV upper ports will be procured by the Russian Federation Domestic Agency. The main suppliers were selected and the manufacturing design of the first parts is in full progress now. Since the VV is classified at nuclear level N2, the design and manufacture of its components are to be compliant with the French RCC-MR code and regulations for nuclear pressure equipment in France. These regulations make a strong impact to the port design and manufacturing process.

  1. Development of MgB2 superconductor wire with high critical current

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Chan Joong; Jun, Byung Hyuk; Park, Soon Dong; Kim, Nam Kyu; Kim, Yi Jeong; Yi, Ji Hye; Lee, Ji Hyun; Tan, Kai Sin

    2009-07-01

    The MgB 2 superconductor with smaller grain size could improve its critical properties by providing flux pinning centers with high grain boundary density. The effects of C doping such as charcoal, paper ash and glycerin on the superconducting properties was investigated for in situ processed MgB 2 samples using low purity semi-crystalline B powder. The results show a decrease in Tc and an enhancement of Jc at high fields for the C-doped samples as compared to the un-doped samples. A combined process of a mechanical ball milling and liquid glycerin (C 3 H 8 O 3 ) treatment of B powder has been conducted to enhance the superconducting properties of MgB 2 . The mechanical ball milling was effective for grain refinement, and a lattice disorder was easily achieved by glycerin addition. With the combined process, the critical properties was further increased due to a higher grain boundary density and a greater C substitution. To get fine grain structure of MgB 2 with high critical current properties, mechanical milling for as-received B powder and low temperature solid-state reaction of 550 or 600 .deg. C were attempted to in situ powder-in-tube processed MgB 2 /Fe wires. The critical current properties of the MgB 2 wires using the milled B powder were enhanced due to a smaller grain size and an increased volume of the superconducting phase. The solid-state reaction of a low temperature process for the samples using the milled B powder resulted in a poorer crystallinity with a smaller grain size, which improved superconducting properties. We established the system to measure the transport current properties of the MgB 2 wires. The field dependence of the transport Jc was evaluated for the MgB 2 wires heat-treated at different heat treatment conditions using ball-milled and glycerin-treated B powder. The MgB 2 magnet was developed and the AC loss of MgB 2 wire was also investigated. A conduction cooling device to cool the MgB 2 coil down to 4 K has been fabricated and the

  2. Waste Away--Information and Activities for Investigating Trash Problems and Solutions for Upper Elementary and Junior High School Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermont Inst. of Natural Science, Woodstock.

    The solid waste problem is so pervasive that it can no longer be ignored. The purpose of this set of materials is to encourage a lifestyle that includes the use of the three R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It was designed to educate upper elementary and junior high school students who may educate their classmates, families, and community about the…

  3. Upper critical field and superconducting anisotropy of BaFe2-xRuxAs2 (x=0.48 and 0.75) single crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jo, Youn Jung; Eom, Man Jin; Kim, Jun Sung; Kang, W.

    2014-01-01

    The upper critical field (H c 2 ) was determined by applying a magnetic field along the ab plane and c axis for two single crystals of BaFe 2-x Ru x As 2 (x=0.48 and 0.75). The anisotropy of the H c 2 (0), γ(0)=H c 2 ab (0)/H c 2 c (0), was ∼1.6 for x=0.48 and ∼2.3 for x=0.75. The angle-dependent resistance measured below T c allowed perfect scaling features based on anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau theory, leading to consistent anisotropy values. Because only one fitting parameter γ is used in the scaling for each temperature, the validity of the γ value was compared with that determined from γ=H c 2 ab /H c 2 c . The γ obtained at a temperature close to Tc was 3.0 and decreased to 2.0 at low temperatures. Comparing to the anisotropy determined for electron- or hole-doped BaFe 2 As 2 using the same method, the present results point to consistent anisotropy in Ru-doped BaFe 2 As 2 with other electron- or hole-doped BaFe 2 As 2 .

  4. Oncoplastic Surgery for Upper/Upper Inner Quadrant Breast Cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Lin

    Full Text Available Tumors located in the upper/upper inner quadrant of the breast warrant more attention. A small lesion relative to the size of breast in this location may be resolved by performing a level I oncoplastic technique. However, a wide excision may significantly reduce the overall quality of the breast shape by distorting the visible breast line. From June 2012 to April 2015, 36 patients with breast cancer located in the upper/upper inner quadrant underwent breast-conservation surgery with matrix rotation mammoplasty. According to the size and location of the tumor relative to the nipple-areola complex, 11 patients underwent matrix rotation with periareolar de-epithelialization (donut group and the other 25 underwent matrix rotation only (non-donut group. The cosmetic results were self-assessed by questionnaires. The average weights of the excised breast lumps in the donut and non-donut groups were 104.1 and 84.5 g, respectively. During the 3-year follow-up period, local recurrence was observed in one case and was managed with nipple-sparing mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction with prosthetic implants. In total, 31 patients (88.6% ranked their postoperative result as either acceptable or satisfactory. The treated breasts were also self-evaluated by 27 patients (77.1% to be nearly identical to or just slightly different from the untreated side. Matrix rotation is an easy breast-preserving technique for treating breast cancer located in the upper/upper inner quadrant of the breast that requires a relatively wide excision. With this technique, a larger breast tumor could be removed without compromising the breast appearance.

  5. Critical pathogenic steps to high risk Helicobacter pylori gastritis and gastric carcinogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Inchul

    2014-06-07

    Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastritis may progress to high risk gastropathy and cancer. However, the pathological progression has not been characterized in detail. H. pylori induce persistent inflammatory infiltration. Neutrophils are unique in that they directly infiltrate into foveolar epithelium aiming the proliferative zone specifically. Neutrophilic proliferative zone foveolitis is a critical pathogenic step in H. pylori gastritis inducing intensive epithelial damage. Epithelial cells carrying accumulated genomic damage and mutations show the Malgun (clear) cell change, characterized by large clear nucleus and prominent nucleolus. Malgun cells further undergo atypical changes, showing nuclear folding, coarse chromatin, and multiple nucleoli. The atypical Malgun cell (AMC) change is a novel premalignant condition in high risk gastropathy, which may progress and undergo malignant transformation directly. The pathobiological significance of AMC in gastric carcinogenesis is reviewed. A new diagnosis system of gastritis is proposed based on the critical pathologic steps classifying low and high risk gastritis for separate treatment modality. It is suggested that the regulation of H. pylori-induced neutrophilic foveolitis might be a future therapeutic goal replacing bactericidal antibiotics approach.

  6. Protective design of critical infrastructure with high performance concretes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riedel, W.; Nöldgen, M.; Stolz, A.; Roller, C.

    2012-01-01

    Conclusions: High performance concrete constructions will allow innovative design solutions for critical infrastructures. Validation of engineering methods can reside on large and model scale experiments conducted on conventional concrete structures. New consistent impact experiments show extreme protection potential for UHPC. Modern FEM with concrete models and explicit rebar can model HPC and UHPC penetration resistance. SDOF and TDOF approaches are valuable design tools on local and global level. Combination of at least 2 out of 3 design methods FEM – XDOF- EXP allow reliable prediction and efficient innovative designs

  7. OH in the Tropical Upper Troposhere and Its Relationships to Solar Radiation and Reactive Nitrogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, R. S.; Rosenlof, K. H.; Fahey, D. W.; Wennberg, P. O.; Hintsa, E. J.; Hanisco, T. F.

    2014-01-01

    In situ measurements of [OH], [HO2] (square brackets denote species concentrations), and other chemical species were made in the tropical upper troposphere (TUT). [OH] showed a robust correlation with solar zenith angle. Beyond this dependence, however, [HOx] ([OH] + [HO2]) only weakly responds to variations in its source and sink species. For example, at a given SZA, [HOx] was broadly independent of the product of [O3] and [H2O]. This suggests that [OH] is heavily buffered in the TUT. One important exception to this result is found in regions with very low [O3], [NO], and [NOy], where [OH] is highly suppressed, pointing to the critical role of NO in sustaining OH in the TUT.

  8. A visual acoustic high-pressure cell for the study of critical behavior of nonsimple mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguiar-Ricardo, A.; Temtem, M.; Casimiro, T.; Ribeiro, N.

    2004-10-01

    A visual acoustic high-pressure cell was constructed for the determination of critical data of multicomponent mixtures. The cell was specially designed to include two piezoelectric transducers and two sapphire windows that make this cell well suited to investigate the critical behavior of mixtures, simultaneously using the acoustic technique and the direct visual inspection of the critical opalescence. Critical data obtained on the binary mixtures of CO2+CHF3 were used for comparison with values given in literature using the traditional methods. The acoustic results are in agreement with those obtained by the conventional methods, within the combined experimental errors. Comparison of visual and acoustic data enabled the evaluation of the applicability of the acoustic technique to study the critical behavior of multicomponent mixtures.

  9. Nonnative Fishes in the Upper Mississippi River System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irons, Kevin S.; DeLain, Steven A.; Gittinger, Eric; Ickes, Brian S.; Kolar, Cindy S.; Ostendort, David; Ratcliff, Eric N.; Benson, Amy J.; Irons, Kevin S.

    2009-01-01

    The introduction, spread, and establishment of nonnative species is widely regarded as a leading threat to aquatic biodiversity and consequently is ranked among the most serious environmental problems facing the United States today. This report presents information on nonnative fish species observed by the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program on the Upper Mississippi River System a nexus of North American freshwater fish diversity for the Nation. The Long Term Resource Monitoring Program, as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Environmental Management Plan, is the Nation's largest river monitoring program and stands as the primary source of standardized ecological information on the Upper Mississippi River System. The Long Term Resource Monitoring Program has been monitoring fish communities in six study areas on the Upper Mississippi River System since 1989. During this period, more than 3.5 million individual fish, consisting of 139 species, have been collected. Although fish monitoring activities of the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program focus principally on entire fish communities, data collected by the Program are useful for detecting and monitoring the establishment and spread of nonnative fish species within the Upper Mississippi River System Basin. Sixteen taxa of nonnative fishes, or hybrids thereof, have been observed by the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program since 1989, and several species are presently expanding their distribution and increasing in abundance. For example, in one of the six study areas monitored by the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program, the number of established nonnative species has increased from two to eight species in less than 10 years. Furthermore, contributions of those eight species can account for up to 60 percent of the total annual catch and greater than 80 percent of the observed biomass. These observations are critical because the Upper Mississippi River System stands as a nationally significant pathway for

  10. High-Resolution Manometry Evaluation of the Pharynx and Upper Esophageal Sphincter Motility in Patients with Achalasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menezes, Mariano A; Herbella, Fernando A M; Patti, Marco G

    2015-10-01

    The motility of the pharynx and upper esophageal sphincter (UES) is still poorly understood. It is also unclear if the motility of this area may be compromised in patients with achalasia. This study aims to evaluate the motility of the pharynx, UES, and proximal esophagus in patients with esophageal achalasia. Sixty patients with achalasia underwent high-resolution manometry (HRM) (52 % females, mean age 54 years). Esophageal dilatation was classified according to the radiologic diameter in Type I (10 cm): 24 %. HRM classified 43 % of the patients as Chicago Type I and 57 % as Type II. Manometric parameters were compared to normal values obtained from a previous study in volunteers. The motility of the velopharynx showed short, premature, and hypertonic contraction. The epiglottis also showed hypertonic contraction. The UES had increased residual pressure. Chicago classification Type II patients had higher UES residual pressure (p = 0.03). The degree of esophageal dilatation did not correlate with manometric parameters. Achalasia may affect the motility of the pharyngo-upper esophageal area. The changes observed may represent functional alterations to prevent aspiration, especially in patients with Chicago classification Type II achalasia.

  11. Upper gastrointestinal alterations in kidney transplant candidates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homse Netto, João Pedro; Pinheiro, João Pedro Sant'Anna; Ferrari, Mariana Lopes; Soares, Mirella Tizziani; Silveira, Rogério Augusto Gomes; Maioli, Mariana Espiga; Delfino, Vinicius Daher Alvares

    2018-05-14

    The incidence of gastrointestinal disorders among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is high, despite the lack of a good correlation between endoscopic findings and symptoms. Many services thus perform upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy on kidney transplant candidates. This study aims to describe the alterations seen on the upper endoscopies of 96 kidney-transplant candidates seen from 2014 to 2015. Ninety-six CKD patients underwent upper endoscopic examination as part of the preparation to receive kidney grafts. The data collected from the patients' medical records were charted on Microsoft Office Excel 2016 and presented descriptively. Mean values, medians, interquartile ranges and 95% confidence intervals of the clinic and epidemiological variables were calculated. Possible associations between endoscopic findings and infection by H. pylori were studied. Males accounted for 54.17% of the 96 patients included in the study. Median age and time on dialysis were 50 years and 50 months, respectively. The most frequent upper endoscopy finding was enanthematous pangastritis (57.30%), followed by erosive esophagitis (30.20%). Gastric intestinal metaplasia and peptic ulcer were found in 8.33% and 7.30% of the patients, respectively. H. pylori tests were positive in 49 patients, and H. pylori infection was correlated only with non-erosive esophagitis (P = 0.046). Abnormal upper endoscopy findings were detected in all studied patients. This study suggested that upper endoscopy is a valid procedure for kidney transplant candidates. However, prospective studies are needed to shed more light on this matter.

  12. Specific feature of critical fields of inhomogeneous superconducting films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glazman, L.I.; Dmitrenko, I.M.; Kolin'ko, A.E.; Pokhila, A.S.; Fogel', N.Ya.; Cherkasova, V.G.

    1988-01-01

    Experimental studies on thin vanadium films (d=250-400 A) have revealed anomaly in the temperature dependence of the upper critical field H cparallel (T), when H is parallel to the sample plane. At certain temperature T 0 the dependence H cparallel 2 (T) has a sharp kink separating two linear portions. The anomalous behaviour of H cparallel (T) of thin V films can be accounted for assuming the film separation into two parallel layers having different parameters (critical temperature T c , coherence length ξ, thickness d). At temperatures above and lower T 0 the dependence H cparallel (T) is mainly dependent on the characteristics of only one layer. The kink in the dependence H cparallel 2 (T) is due to a jump-like transition of the superconducting nucleus from one layer to the other at T c . The anomalous behaviour of the dependence H cparallel (T) is also observed in sandwiches consisting of two identical films separated with a high (about 30 A) dielectric interlayer; however, the transition from one linear portion to the other is smooth. In the case of identical films a specific crossover occurs if at T-T c the critical field H cparallel (T) coinsides with that for the layer of doubled thickness, then at lowering temperature H cparallel (T) asymptotically approaches the critical field of one layer. The calculation within the model described provides a good description for the experimental results

  13. Critical transport current in granular high temperature superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogolyubov, N.A.

    1999-01-01

    The temperature and size dependence of the critical current in a zero magnetic field of three bismuth-based ceramic samples with round cross section and one sample with rectangular triangle cross section have been studied by a contactless technique. It is shown that the critical current can be presented as a product of the temperature and size dependent factors. The temperature-dependent multiplier reflects the individual peculiarities of the Josephson net of each sample, while the size factor is a homogeneous function of the cross-section sizes. The index of this function is independent of the cross-section form, the temperature and individual properties of HTSC samples. The radial distribution of critical current density in round samples and dependence of the critical current density on the magnetic conduction in granular HTSC have been found from the analysis of experimental data

  14. Bilateral tumors of the upper urothelium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đokić Milan

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The incidence of tumors of the upper urothelium is high in our country, apart from their relation to specific regions (BEN and PBEN and their frequent bilateralism. Bilateral forms are present in significant percentage and are followed, in most cases, by renal failure, which speaks in favor of conservative surgery, if possible. Objective: The aim of the study was to present epidemiological, pathoanatomical and clinical characteristics of bilateral tumors of the upper urothelium and evaluate the Results of their treatment. Method: Our retrospective study analyzed 12 patients with bilateral tumors of the upper urothelium who were treated in the period from 1992 to 1996, according to their epidemiological, clinical, pathoanatomical and pathohistological characteristics, type of surgical treatment and relevant success. Results: In the observed period, bilateral tumors of the upper urothelium were found in 8.2% of our patients. In the group of 12 patients, 5 females and 7 males, 11 cases were from the region of Balkan Endemic Nephropathy (BEN. Renal failure was recorded in high percentage (66%. Radical surgical treatment - total nephroureterectomy was performed in 9 kidney units, and conservative operation in 15 units. Relapse significantly depended on tumor stage and grade, not on type of surgical treatment in the majority of cases. Five-year survival was 58.33%; major cause of death was associated with further evolution of tumor, recurrence and tumor dissemination, respectively, while renal failure complications were the cause of death in one case. Conclusion: The success of treatment mainly depends on tumor stage and grade and not on type of surgical Method in conservative treatment, but renal failure and its complications are an important risk factor in these patients.

  15. Upper limits for air humidity based on human comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toftum, Jørn; Fanger, Povl Ole; Jørgensen, Anette S.

    1998-01-01

    respiratory cooling. Human subjects perceived the condition of their skin to be less acceptable with increasing skin humidity. Inhaled air was rated warmer, more stuffy and less acceptable with increasing air humidity and temperature. Based on the subjects' comfort responses, new upper limits for air humidity......The purpose of this study was to verify the hypothesis that insufficient respiratory cooling and a high level of skin humidity are two reasons for thermal discomfort at high air humidities, and to prescribe upper limits for humidity based on discomfort due to elevated skin humidity and insufficient...

  16. Condensate localization by mesoscale disorder in high-Tc superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, N.

    1994-06-01

    We propose and solve approximately a phenomenological model for Anderson localization of the macroscopic wavefunction for an inhomogeneous superconductor quench-disordered on the mesoscale of the order of the coherence length ξ 0 . Our treatment is based on the non-linear Schroedinger equation resulting from the Ginzburg-Landau free-energy functional having a spatially random coefficient representing spatial disorder of the pairing interaction. Linearization of the equation, valid close to the critical temperature T c , or to the upper critical field H c2 (T c ) maps it to the Anderson localization problem with T c identified with the mobility edge. For the highly anisotropic high-T c materials and thin (2D) films in the quantum Hall geometry, we predict windows of re-entrant superconductivity centered at integrally spaced temperature values. Our model treatment also provides a possible explanation for the critical current J c perpendicular becoming non-zero on cooling before J c parallel does in some high-T c superconductors. (author). 18 refs

  17. Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burke, Stephen J.; Weldon, Derik; Sun, Shiliang; Golzarian, Jafar

    2007-01-01

    Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NUGB) remains a major medical problem even after advances in medical therapy with gastric acid suppression and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitors. Although the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding presenting to the emergency room has slightly decreased, similar decreases in overall mortality and rebleeding rate have not been experienced over the last few decades. Many causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding have been identified and will be reviewed. Endoscopic, radiographic and angiographic modalities continue to form the basis of the diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding with new research in the field of CT angiography to diagnose gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopic and angiographic treatment modalities will be highlighted, emphasizing a multi-modality treatment plan for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. (orig.)

  18. Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burke, Stephen J.; Weldon, Derik; Sun, Shiliang [University of Iowa, Department of Radiology, Iowa, IA (United States); Golzarian, Jafar [University of Iowa, Department of Radiology, Iowa, IA (United States); University of Iowa, Department of Radiology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, IA (United States)

    2007-07-15

    Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NUGB) remains a major medical problem even after advances in medical therapy with gastric acid suppression and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitors. Although the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding presenting to the emergency room has slightly decreased, similar decreases in overall mortality and rebleeding rate have not been experienced over the last few decades. Many causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding have been identified and will be reviewed. Endoscopic, radiographic and angiographic modalities continue to form the basis of the diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding with new research in the field of CT angiography to diagnose gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopic and angiographic treatment modalities will be highlighted, emphasizing a multi-modality treatment plan for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. (orig.)

  19. Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... standard barium upper GI series, which uses only barium a double-contrast upper GI series, which uses both air and ... evenly coat your upper GI tract with the barium. If you are having a double-contrast study, you will swallow gas-forming crystals that ...

  20. Interplay of quantum and classical fluctuations near quantum critical points

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Continentino, Mucio Amado

    2011-01-01

    For a system near a quantum critical point (QCP), above its lower critical dimension d L , there is in general a critical line of second-order phase transitions that separates the broken symmetry phase at finite temperatures from the disordered phase. The phase transitions along this line are governed by thermal critical exponents that are different from those associated with the quantum critical point. We point out that, if the effective dimension of the QCP, d eff = d + z (d is the Euclidean dimension of the system and z the dynamic quantum critical exponent) is above its upper critical dimension d c there is an intermingle of classical (thermal) and quantum critical fluctuations near the QCP. This is due to the breakdown of the generalized scaling relation ψ = νz between the shift exponent ψ of the critical line and the crossover exponent νz, for d + z > d c by a dangerous irrelevant interaction. This phenomenon has clear experimental consequences, like the suppression of the amplitude of classical critical fluctuations near the line of finite temperature phase transitions as the critical temperature is reduced approaching the QCP. (author)

  1. Upper urinary tract carcinoma in Lynch syndrome cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crockett, David G; Wagner, David G; Holmäng, Sten; Johansson, Sonny L; Lynch, Henry T

    2011-05-01

    Patients with Lynch syndrome are much more likely to have generally rare upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma but not bladder urothelial carcinoma. While the risk has been quantified, to our knowledge there is no description of how this population of patients with Lynch syndrome and upper urinary tract cancer differs from the general population with upper urinary tract cancer. We obtained retrospective data on a cohort of patients with Lynch syndrome from the Hereditary Cancer Center in Omaha, Nebraska and compared the data to those on a control general population from western Sweden. These data were supplemented by a new survey about exposure to known risk factors. Of the patients with Lynch syndrome 91% had mutations in MSH2 rather than in MSH1 and 79% showed upper tract urothelial carcinoma a mean of 15.85 years after prior Lynch syndrome-type cancer. Median age at diagnosis was 62 years vs 70 in the general population (p Lynch syndrome 51% had urothelial carcinoma in the ureter while it occurred in the renal pelvis in 65% of the general population (p = 0.0013). Similar numbers of high grade tumors were found in the Lynch syndrome and general populations (88% and 74%, respectively, p = 0.1108). Upper urinary tract tumors develop at a younger age and are more likely to be in the ureter with an almost equal gender ratio in patients with Lynch syndrome. It has high grade potential similar to that in the general population. Copyright © 2011 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Characterization of non equilibrium effects on high quality critical flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camelo, E.; Lemonnier, H.; Ochterbeck, J.

    1995-01-01

    The appropriate design of various pieces of safety equipment such as relief systems, relies on the accurate description of critical flow phenomena. Most of the systems of industrial interest are willing to be described by one-dimensional area-averaged models and a large fraction of them involves multi-component high gas quality flows. Within these circumstances, the flow is very likely to be of an annular dispersed nature and its description by two-fluid models requires various closure relations. Among the most sensitive closures, there is the interfacial area and the liquid entrained fraction. The critical flowrate depends tremendously on the accurate description of the non equilibrium which results from the correctness of the closure equations. In this study, two-component flows are emphasized and non equilibrium results mainly form the differences in the phase velocities. It is therefore of the utmost importance to have reliable data to characterize non equilibrium phenomena and to assess the validity of the closure models. A comprehensive description of air-water nozzle flows, with emphasis on the effect of the nozzle geometry, has been undertaken and some of the results are presented here which helps understanding the overall flow dynamics. Besides the critical flowrate, the presented material includes pressure profiles, droplet size and velocity, liquid film flowrate and liquid film thickness

  3. Characterization of non equilibrium effects on high quality critical flows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Camelo, E.; Lemonnier, H.; Ochterbeck, J. [Commissariat a l Energie Atomique, Grenoble (France)] [and others

    1995-09-01

    The appropriate design of various pieces of safety equipment such as relief systems, relies on the accurate description of critical flow phenomena. Most of the systems of industrial interest are willing to be described by one-dimensional area-averaged models and a large fraction of them involves multi-component high gas quality flows. Within these circumstances, the flow is very likely to be of an annular dispersed nature and its description by two-fluid models requires various closure relations. Among the most sensitive closures, there is the interfacial area and the liquid entrained fraction. The critical flowrate depends tremendously on the accurate description of the non equilibrium which results from the correctness of the closure equations. In this study, two-component flows are emphasized and non equilibrium results mainly form the differences in the phase velocities. It is therefore of the utmost importance to have reliable data to characterize non equilibrium phenomena and to assess the validity of the closure models. A comprehensive description of air-water nozzle flows, with emphasis on the effect of the nozzle geometry, has been undertaken and some of the results are presented here which helps understanding the overall flow dynamics. Besides the critical flowrate, the presented material includes pressure profiles, droplet size and velocity, liquid film flowrate and liquid film thickness.

  4. Setting an Upper Limit on Gas Exchange Through Sea-Spray

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlahos, P.; Monahan, E. C.; Andreas, E. L.

    2016-02-01

    Air-sea gas exchange parameterization is critical to understanding both climate forcing and feedbacks and is key in biogeochemistry cycles. Models based on wind speed have provided empirical estimates of gas exchange that are useful though it is likely that at high wind speeds of over 10 m/s there are important gas exchange parameters including bubbles and sea spray that have not been well constrained. Here we address the sea-spray component of gas exchange at these high wind speeds to set sn upper boundary condition for the gas exchange of the six model gases including; nobel gases helium, neon and argon, diatomic gases nitrogen and oxygen and finally, the more complex gas carbon dioxide. Estimates are based on the spray generation function of Andreas and Monahan and the gases are tested under three scenarios including 100 percent saturation and complete droplet evaporation, 100 percent saturation and a more realistic scenario in which a fraction of droplets evaporate completely, a fraction evaporate to some degree and a fraction returns to the water side without significant evaporation. Finally the latter scenario is applied to representative under saturated concentrations of the gases.

  5. Crossing Boundaries: Exploring Black Middle and Upper Class Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching and Learning in High Poverty Urban Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Andrea D.

    2012-01-01

    The intent of this study was to explore the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers as they relate to teaching and learning in high poverty urban schools. Participants included 11 senior early childhood education preservice teachers at a historically Black college in the southeast region of the United States. The study was…

  6. Enstrophy-based proper orthogonal decomposition of flow past rotating cylinder at super-critical rotating rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sengupta, Tapan K.; Gullapalli, Atchyut

    2016-11-01

    Spinning cylinder rotating about its axis experiences a transverse force/lift, an account of this basic aerodynamic phenomenon is known as the Robins-Magnus effect in text books. Prandtl studied this flow by an inviscid irrotational model and postulated an upper limit of the lift experienced by the cylinder for a critical rotation rate. This non-dimensional rate is the ratio of oncoming free stream speed and the surface speed due to rotation. Prandtl predicted a maximum lift coefficient as CLmax = 4π for the critical rotation rate of two. In recent times, evidences show the violation of this upper limit, as in the experiments of Tokumaru and Dimotakis ["The lift of a cylinder executing rotary motions in a uniform flow," J. Fluid Mech. 255, 1-10 (1993)] and in the computed solution in Sengupta et al. ["Temporal flow instability for Magnus-robins effect at high rotation rates," J. Fluids Struct. 17, 941-953 (2003)]. In the latter reference, this was explained as the temporal instability affecting the flow at higher Reynolds number and rotation rates (>2). Here, we analyze the flow past a rotating cylinder at a super-critical rotation rate (=2.5) by the enstrophy-based proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) of direct simulation results. POD identifies the most energetic modes and helps flow field reconstruction by reduced number of modes. One of the motivations for the present study is to explain the shedding of puffs of vortices at low Reynolds number (Re = 60), for the high rotation rate, due to an instability originating in the vicinity of the cylinder, using the computed Navier-Stokes equation (NSE) from t = 0 to t = 300 following an impulsive start. This instability is also explained through the disturbance mechanical energy equation, which has been established earlier in Sengupta et al. ["Temporal flow instability for Magnus-robins effect at high rotation rates," J. Fluids Struct. 17, 941-953 (2003)].

  7. Upper cervical and upper thoracic thrust manipulation versus nonthrust mobilization in patients with mechanical neck pain: a multicenter randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunning, James R; Cleland, Joshua A; Waldrop, Mark A; Arnot, Cathy F; Young, Ian A; Turner, Michael; Sigurdsson, Gisli

    2012-01-01

    Randomized clinical trial. To compare the short-term effects of upper cervical and upper thoracic high-velocity low-amplitude (HVLA) thrust manipulation to nonthrust mobilization in patients with neck pain. Although upper cervical and upper thoracic HVLA thrust manipulation and nonthrust mobilization are common interventions for the management of neck pain, no studies have directly compared the effects of both upper cervical and upper thoracic HVLA thrust manipulation to nonthrust mobilization in patients with neck pain. Patients completed the Neck Disability Index, the numeric pain rating scale, the flexion-rotation test for measurement of C1-2 passive rotation range of motion, and the craniocervical flexion test for measurement of deep cervical flexor motor performance. Following the baseline evaluation, patients were randomized to receive either HVLA thrust manipulation or nonthrust mobilization to the upper cervical (C1-2) and upper thoracic (T1-2) spines. Patients were reexamined 48-hours after the initial examination and again completed the outcome measures. The effects of treatment on disability, pain, C1-2 passive rotation range of motion, and motor performance of the deep cervical flexors were examined with a 2-by-2 mixed-model analysis of variance (ANOVA). One hundred seven patients satisfied the eligibility criteria, agreed to participate, and were randomized into the HVLA thrust manipulation (n = 56) and nonthrust mobilization (n = 51) groups. The 2-by-2 ANOVA demonstrated that patients with mechanical neck pain who received the combination of upper cervical and upper thoracic HVLA thrust manipulation experienced significantly (Ppain (58.5%) than those of the nonthrust mobilization group (12.8% and 12.6%, respectively) following treatment. In addition, the HVLA thrust manipulation group had significantly (Pcervical flexor muscles as compared to the group that received nonthrust mobilization. The number needed to treat to avoid an unsuccessful outcome

  8. Pseudo-critical point in anomalous phase diagrams of simple plasma models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chigvintsev, A Yu; Iosilevskiy, I L; Noginova, L Yu

    2016-01-01

    Anomalous phase diagrams in subclass of simplified (“non-associative”) Coulomb models is under discussion. The common feature of this subclass is absence on definition of individual correlations for charges of opposite sign. It is e.g. modified OCP of ions on uniformly compressible background of ideal Fermi-gas of electrons OCP(∼), or a superposition of two non-ideal OCP(∼) models of ions and electrons etc. In contrast to the ordinary OCP model on non-compressible (“rigid”) background OCP(#) two new phase transitions with upper critical point, boiling and sublimation, appear in OCP(∼) phase diagram in addition to the well-known Wigner crystallization. The point is that the topology of phase diagram in OCP(∼) becomes anomalous at high enough value of ionic charge number Z . Namely, the only one unified crystal- fluid phase transition without critical point exists as continuous superposition of melting and sublimation in OCP(∼) at the interval ( Z 1 < Z < Z 2 ). The most remarkable is appearance of pseudo-critical points at both boundary values Z = Z 1 ≈ 35.5 and Z = Z 2 ≈ 40.0. It should be stressed that critical isotherm is exactly cubic in both these pseudo-critical points. In this study we have improved our previous calculations and utilized more complicated model components equation of state provided by Chabrier and Potekhin (1998 Phys. Rev. E 58 4941). (paper)

  9. Sensitivity-Uncertainty Techniques for Nuclear Criticality Safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, Forrest B. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Rising, Michael Evan [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Alwin, Jennifer Louise [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-08-07

    The sensitivity and uncertainty analysis course will introduce students to keff sensitivity data, cross-section uncertainty data, how keff sensitivity data and keff uncertainty data are generated and how they can be used. Discussion will include how sensitivity/uncertainty data can be used to select applicable critical experiments, to quantify a defensible margin to cover validation gaps and weaknesses, and in development of upper subcritical limits.

  10. Microstructural and crystallographic imperfections of MgB2 superconducting wire and their correlation with the critical current density

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahabuddin, Mohammed; Alzayed, Nasser S.; Oh, Sangjun; Choi, Seyong; Maeda, Minoru; Hata, Satoshi; Shimada, Yusuke; Hossain, Md Shahriar Al; Kim, Jung Ho

    2014-01-01

    A comprehensive study of the effects of structural imperfections in MgB2 superconducting wire has been conducted. As the sintering temperature becomes lower, the structural imperfections of the MgB2 material are increased, as reflected by detailed X-ray refinement and the normal state resistivity. The crystalline imperfections, caused by lattice disorder, directly affect the impurity scattering between the π and σ bands of MgB2, resulting in a larger upper critical field. In addition, low sintering temperature keeps the grain size small, which leads to a strong enhancement of pinning, and thereby, enhanced critical current density. Owing to both the impurity scattering and the grain boundary pinning, the critical current density, irreversibility field, and upper critical field are enhanced. Residual voids or porosities obviously remain in the MgB2, however, even at low sintering temperature, and thus block current transport paths.

  11. Isotopic and criticality validation for actinide-only burnup credit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuentes, E.; Lancaster, D.; Rahimi, M.

    1997-01-01

    The techniques used for actinide-only burnup credit isotopic validation and criticality validation are presented and discussed. Trending analyses have been incorporated into both methodologies, requiring biases and uncertainties to be treated as a function of the trending parameters. The isotopic validation is demonstrated using the SAS2H module of SCALE 4.2, with the 27BURNUPLIB cross section library; correction factors are presented for each of the actinides in the burnup credit methodology. For the criticality validation, the demonstration is performed with the CSAS module of SCALE 4.2 and the 27BURNUPLIB, resulting in a validated upper safety limit

  12. A New Multiaxial High-Cycle Fatigue Criterion Based on the Critical Plane for Ductile and Brittle Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Cong; Shang, De-Guang; Wang, Xiao-Wei

    2015-02-01

    An improved high-cycle multiaxial fatigue criterion based on the critical plane was proposed in this paper. The critical plane was defined as the plane of maximum shear stress (MSS) in the proposed multiaxial fatigue criterion, which is different from the traditional critical plane based on the MSS amplitude. The proposed criterion was extended as a fatigue life prediction model that can be applicable for ductile and brittle materials. The fatigue life prediction model based on the proposed high-cycle multiaxial fatigue criterion was validated with experimental results obtained from the test of 7075-T651 aluminum alloy and some references.

  13. The effect of high-fidelity patient simulation on the critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills of new graduate nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maneval, Rhonda; Fowler, Kimberly A; Kays, John A; Boyd, Tiffany M; Shuey, Jennifer; Harne-Britner, Sarah; Mastrine, Cynthia

    2012-03-01

    This study was conducted to determine whether the addition of high-fidelity patient simulation to new nurse orientation enhanced critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills. A pretest-posttest design was used to assess critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills in two groups of graduate nurses. Compared with the control group, the high-fidelity patient simulation group did not show significant improvement in mean critical thinking or clinical decision-making scores. When mean scores were analyzed, both groups showed an increase in critical thinking scores from pretest to posttest, with the high-fidelity patient simulation group showing greater gains in overall scores. However, neither group showed a statistically significant increase in mean test scores. The effect of high-fidelity patient simulation on critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills remains unclear. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

  14. Sensitivity of upper atmospheric emissions calculations to solar/stellar UV flux

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barthelemy Mathieu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The solar UV (UltraViolet flux, especially the EUV (Extreme UltraViolet and FUV (Far UltraViolet components, is one of the main energetic inputs for planetary upper atmospheres. It drives various processes such as ionization, or dissociation which give rise to upper atmospheric emissions, especially in the UV and visible. These emissions are one of the main ways to investigate the upper atmospheres of planets. However, the uncertainties in the flux measurement or modeling can lead to biased estimates of fundamental atmospheric parameters, such as concentrations or temperatures in the atmospheres. We explore the various problems that can be identified regarding the uncertainties in solar/stellar UV flux by considering three examples. The worst case appears when the solar reflection component is dominant in the recorded spectrum as is seen for outer solar system measurements from HST (Hubble Space Telescope. We also show that the estimation of some particular line parameters (intensity and shape, especially Lyman α, is crucial, and that both total intensity and line profile are useful. In the case of exoplanets, the problem is quite critical since the UV flux of their parent stars is often very poorly known.

  15. A mechanistic model of an upper bound on oceanic carbon export as a function of mixed layer depth and temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Li

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Export production reflects the amount of organic matter transferred from the ocean surface to depth through biological processes. This export is in large part controlled by nutrient and light availability, which are conditioned by mixed layer depth (MLD. In this study, building on Sverdrup's critical depth hypothesis, we derive a mechanistic model of an upper bound on carbon export based on the metabolic balance between photosynthesis and respiration as a function of MLD and temperature. We find that the upper bound is a positively skewed bell-shaped function of MLD. Specifically, the upper bound increases with deepening mixed layers down to a critical depth, beyond which a long tail of decreasing carbon export is associated with increasing heterotrophic activity and decreasing light availability. We also show that in cold regions the upper bound on carbon export decreases with increasing temperature when mixed layers are deep, but increases with temperature when mixed layers are shallow. A meta-analysis shows that our model envelopes field estimates of carbon export from the mixed layer. When compared to satellite export production estimates, our model indicates that export production in some regions of the Southern Ocean, particularly the subantarctic zone, is likely limited by light for a significant portion of the growing season.

  16. Pseudo-critical point in anomalous phase diagrams of simple plasma models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chigvintsev, A. Yu; Iosilevskiy, I. L.; Noginova, L. Yu

    2016-11-01

    Anomalous phase diagrams in subclass of simplified (“non-associative”) Coulomb models is under discussion. The common feature of this subclass is absence on definition of individual correlations for charges of opposite sign. It is e.g. modified OCP of ions on uniformly compressible background of ideal Fermi-gas of electrons OCP(∼), or a superposition of two non-ideal OCP(∼) models of ions and electrons etc. In contrast to the ordinary OCP model on non-compressible (“rigid”) background OCP(#) two new phase transitions with upper critical point, boiling and sublimation, appear in OCP(∼) phase diagram in addition to the well-known Wigner crystallization. The point is that the topology of phase diagram in OCP(∼) becomes anomalous at high enough value of ionic charge number Z. Namely, the only one unified crystal- fluid phase transition without critical point exists as continuous superposition of melting and sublimation in OCP(∼) at the interval (Z 1 points at both boundary values Z = Z 1 ≈ 35.5 and Z = Z 2 ≈ 40.0. It should be stressed that critical isotherm is exactly cubic in both these pseudo-critical points. In this study we have improved our previous calculations and utilized more complicated model components equation of state provided by Chabrier and Potekhin (1998 Phys. Rev. E 58 4941).

  17. Unexpected high diversity of galling insects in the Amazonian upper canopy: the savanna out there.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julião, Genimar R; Venticinque, Eduardo M; Fernandes, G Wilson; Price, Peter W

    2014-01-01

    A relatively large number of studies reassert the strong relationship between galling insect diversity and extreme hydric and thermal status in some habitats, and an overall pattern of a greater number of galling species in the understory of scleromorphic vegetation. We compared galling insect diversity in the forest canopy and its relationship with tree richness among upland terra firme, várzea, and igapó floodplains in Amazonia, Brazil. The soils of these forest types have highly different hydric and nutritional status. Overall, we examined the upper layer of 1,091 tree crowns. Galling species richness and abundance were higher in terra firme forests compared to várzea and igapó forests. GLM-ANCOVA models revealed that the number of tree species sampled in each forest type was determinant in the gall-forming insect diversity. The ratio between galling insect richness and number of tree species sampled (GIR/TSS ratio) was higher in the terra firme forest and in seasonally flooded igapó, while the várzea presented the lowest GIR/TSS ratio. In this study, we recorded unprecedented values of galling species diversity and abundance per sampling point. The GIR/TSS ratio from várzea was approximately 2.5 times higher than the highest value of this ratio ever reported in the literature. Based on this fact, we ascertained that várzea and igapó floodplain forests (with lower GIA and GIR), together with the speciose terra firme galling community emerge as the gall diversity apex landscape among all biogeographic regions already investigated. Contrary to expectation, our results also support the "harsh environment hypothesis", and unveil the Amazonian upper canopy as similar to Mediterranean vegetation habitats, hygrothermically stressed environments with leaf temperature at lethal limits and high levels of leaf sclerophylly.

  18. Unexpected high diversity of galling insects in the Amazonian upper canopy: the savanna out there.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Genimar R Julião

    Full Text Available A relatively large number of studies reassert the strong relationship between galling insect diversity and extreme hydric and thermal status in some habitats, and an overall pattern of a greater number of galling species in the understory of scleromorphic vegetation. We compared galling insect diversity in the forest canopy and its relationship with tree richness among upland terra firme, várzea, and igapó floodplains in Amazonia, Brazil. The soils of these forest types have highly different hydric and nutritional status. Overall, we examined the upper layer of 1,091 tree crowns. Galling species richness and abundance were higher in terra firme forests compared to várzea and igapó forests. GLM-ANCOVA models revealed that the number of tree species sampled in each forest type was determinant in the gall-forming insect diversity. The ratio between galling insect richness and number of tree species sampled (GIR/TSS ratio was higher in the terra firme forest and in seasonally flooded igapó, while the várzea presented the lowest GIR/TSS ratio. In this study, we recorded unprecedented values of galling species diversity and abundance per sampling point. The GIR/TSS ratio from várzea was approximately 2.5 times higher than the highest value of this ratio ever reported in the literature. Based on this fact, we ascertained that várzea and igapó floodplain forests (with lower GIA and GIR, together with the speciose terra firme galling community emerge as the gall diversity apex landscape among all biogeographic regions already investigated. Contrary to expectation, our results also support the "harsh environment hypothesis", and unveil the Amazonian upper canopy as similar to Mediterranean vegetation habitats, hygrothermically stressed environments with leaf temperature at lethal limits and high levels of leaf sclerophylly.

  19. A FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT MODEL OF CRITICAL THINKING IN MATHEMATICS LEARNING IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Rosnawati

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to obtain a valid and reliable formative evaluation model of critical thinking. The method used in this research was the research and development by integrating Borg & Gall's model and  Plomp's development model. The ten steps Borg & Gall’s model were modified into five stages as the stages in the Plomp's model. The subjects in this study were 1,446 students of junior high schools in DIY, 14 mathematics teacher, and six experts. The content validity employed was expert judgment, the empirical validity and reliability used were loading factor, item analysis used PCM 1PL, and the relationship between disposition and critical thinking skill used was structural equation modeling (SEM. The developed formative evaluation model is the procedural model. There are five aspects of critical thinking skill: mathematic reasoning, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, which entirely composed of 42 items. The validity of the critical thinking skill instruments achieves a significance degree as indicated by the lowest and the highest loading factors of 0.38 and 0.74 subsequently, the reliability of every aspect in a good category. The average level of difficulty is 0.00 with the standard deviation of 0.45 which is in a good category. The peer assessment questionnaire of critical thinking disposition consists of seven aspects: truth-seeking, open-minded, analysis, systematic, self-confidence, inquisitiveness, and maturity with 23 items. The critical thinking disposition validity achieves the significance degree as indicated by the lowest and the high factor loading of 0.66 and 0.76 subsequently, and the reliability of every aspect in a good category. Based on the analysis of the structural equation model, the model fits the data.

  20. Analysis of occupational stress in a high fashion clothing factory with upper limb biomechanical overload.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forcella, Laura; Bonfiglioli, Roberta; Cutilli, Piero; Siciliano, Eugenio; Di Donato, Angela; Di Nicola, Marta; Antonucci, Andrea; Di Giampaolo, Luca; Boscolo, Paolo; Violante, Francesco Saverio

    2012-07-01

    To study job stress and upper limb biomechanical overload due to repetitive and forceful manual activities in a factory producing high fashion clothing. A total of 518 workers (433 women and 85 men) were investigated to determine anxiety, occupational stress (using the Italian version of the Karasek Job Content Questionnaire) and perception of symptoms (using the Italian version of the Somatization scale of Symptom Checklist SCL-90). Biomechanical overload was analyzed using the OCRA Check list. Biomechanical assessment did not reveal high-risk jobs, except for cutting. Although the perception of anxiety and job insecurity was within the normal range, all the workers showed a high level of job strain (correlated with the perception of symptoms) due to very low decision latitude. Occupational stress resulted partially in line with biomechanical risk factors; however, the perception of low decision latitude seems to play a major role in determining job strain. Interactions between physical and psychological factors cannot be demonstrated. Anyway, simultaneous long-term monitoring of occupational stress features and biomechanical overload could guide workplace interventions aimed at reducing the risk of adverse health effects.

  1. Effectiveness of guided inquiry learning model to improve students’ critical thinking skills at senior high school

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nisa, E. K.; Koestiari, T.; Habibbulloh, M.; Jatmiko, Budi

    2018-03-01

    This research aimed to describe the effectiveness of guided inquiry learning model to improve students' critical thinking skills. Subjects in the research were 90 students at three groups of senior high school grade X on Tarik (Indonesia), which follows a physics lesson on static fluid material in academic year 2016/2017. The research was used one group pre-test and post-test design. Before and after being given physics learning with guided discovery learning model, students in the three groups were given the same test (pre-test and post-test). The results of this research showed: 1) there is an increased score of students' critical thinking skills in each group on α = 5%; 2) average N-gain of students' critical thinking skills of each group is a high category; and 3) average N-gain of the three groups did not differ. The conclusion of this research is that learning model of guided inquiry effective to improve students' critical thinking skills.

  2. Critical current scaling and the pivot-point in Nb3Sn strands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsui, Y; Hampshire, D P

    2012-01-01

    associated with the upper critical field and is usually attributed to the different tin content profiles and pinning properties of internal-tin and bronze-route strands. We report that the strain dependence of the pivot-point in these strands is quite different from that of the upper critical field and suggest that its origin in optimized high tin content strands is the proximity of the tetragonal Nb 3 Sn phase, which has low superconducting critical parameters. (paper)

  3. When Mothers and Fathers Are Seen as Disproportionately Valuing Achievements: Implications for Adjustment Among Upper Middle Class Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciciolla, Lucia; Curlee, Alexandria S.; Karageorge, Jason; Luthar, Suniya S.

    2016-01-01

    High achievement expectations and academic pressure from parents have been implicated in rising levels of stress and reduced well-being among adolescents. In this study of affluent, middle-school youth, we examined how perceptions of parents' emphasis on achievement (relative to prosocial behavior) influenced youth's psychological adjustment and school performance, and examined perceived parental criticism as a possible moderator of this association. The data were collected from 506 (50% female) middle school students from a predominately white, upper-middle-class community. Students reported their perceptions of parents' values by rank ordering a list of achievement- and prosocial-oriented goals based on what they believed was most valued by their mothers and fathers for them (the child) to achieve. The data also included students' reports of perceived parental criticism, internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and self-esteem, as well as school-based data on grade point average and teacher-reported classroom behavior. Person-based analyses revealed six distinct latent classes based on perceptions of both mother and father emphases on achievement. Class comparisons showed a consistent pattern of healthier child functioning, including higher school performance, higher self-esteem, and lower psychological symptoms, in association with low to neutral parental achievement emphasis, whereas poorer child functioning was associated with high parental achievement emphasis. In variable-based analyses, interaction effects showed elevated maladjustment when high maternal achievement emphasis coexisted with high (but not low) perceived parental criticism. Results of the study suggest that to foster early adolescents' well-being in affluent school settings, parents focus on prioritizing intrinsic, prosocial values that promote affiliation and community, at least as much as, or more than, they prioritize academic performance and external achievement; and strive to limit

  4. Interventional studies of the upper gastrointestinal tract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shapiro, B.; Gross, M.D.

    1985-01-01

    Nuclear Medicine studies of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract provide a means whereby physiologic and pathophysiologic features can be observed from a unique and noninvasive perspective. While nuclear medicine studies by their very nature lack the high spatial resolution of the radiographic approach, the data derived are readily quantitated and presented in numerical fashion to provide functional and dynamic information in which the influences of interventions may be observed. This chapter outlines the scope of such interventions in studies of the upper GI tract with emphasis on examinations for gastroesophageal reflux and gastric emptying. The interactions of nutrients, physical maneuvers of pharmacologic agents on nuclear medicine studies of the upper GI tract may be intentional to render a test more sensitive or to evaluate the effect of therapy, or may represent an unintentional side effect that must be taken into account if misinterpretation is to be avoided

  5. Improving the critical thinking skills of junior high school students on Earth and Space Science (ESS) materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marlina, L.; Liliasari; Tjasyono, B.; Hendayana, S.

    2018-05-01

    Critical thinking skills need to be developed in students. With critical thinking skills, students will be able to understand the concept with more depth easily, be sensitive with problems that occur, understand and solve problems that occur in their surroundings, and apply the concepts in different situations. Earth and Space Science (ESS) material is part of the science subjects given from elementary school to college. This research is a test of research program with quantitative method. This study aims to investigate the improvement of critical thinking skills of students through training of science teachers in junior high school in designing learning media for teaching ESS. With samples of 24 science teachers and 32 students of grade 7th in junior high school which are chosen by purposive sampling in a school in Ogan Ilir District, South Sumatra, obtained average pre-test and post-test scores of students’ critical thinking skills are 52.26 and 67.06 with an average N-gain of 0.31. A survey and critical thinking skills based-test were conducted to get the data. The results show positive impact and an increase in students’ critical thinking skills on the ESS material.

  6. A Framework to Automate Assessment of Upper-Limb Motor Function Impairment: A Feasibility Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Otten

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Standard upper-limb motor function impairment assessments, such as the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA, are a critical aspect of rehabilitation after neurological disorders. These assessments typically take a long time (about 30 min for the FMA for a clinician to perform on a patient, which is a severe burden in a clinical environment. In this paper, we propose a framework for automating upper-limb motor assessments that uses low-cost sensors to collect movement data. The sensor data is then processed through a machine learning algorithm to determine a score for a patient’s upper-limb functionality. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach, we implemented a system based on the proposed framework that can automate most of the FMA. Our experiment shows that the system provides similar FMA scores to clinician scores, and reduces the time spent evaluating each patient by 82%. Moreover, the proposed framework can be used to implement customized tests or tests specified in other existing standard assessment methods.

  7. Therapeutic CPAP Level Predicts Upper Airway Collapsibility in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landry, Shane A; Joosten, Simon A; Eckert, Danny J; Jordan, Amy S; Sands, Scott A; White, David P; Malhotra, Atul; Wellman, Andrew; Hamilton, Garun S; Edwards, Bradley A

    2017-06-01

    Upper airway collapsibility is a key determinant of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) which can influence the efficacy of certain non-continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatments for OSA. However, there is no simple way to measure this variable clinically. The present study aimed to develop a clinically implementable tool to evaluate the collapsibility of a patient's upper airway. Collapsibility, as characterized by the passive pharyngeal critical closing pressure (Pcrit), was measured in 46 patients with OSA. Associations were investigated between Pcrit and data extracted from patient history and routine polysomnography, including CPAP titration. Therapeutic CPAP level, demonstrated the strongest relationship to Pcrit (r2=0.51, p CPAP level (6.2 ± 0.6 vs. 10.3 ± 0.4 cmH2O, p -2 cmH2O). A therapeutic CPAP level ≤8.0 cmH2O was sensitive (89%) and specific (84%) for detecting a mildly collapsible upper airway. When applied to the independent validation data set (n = 74), this threshold maintained high specificity (91%) but reduced sensitivity (75%). Our data demonstrate that a patient's therapeutic CPAP requirement shares a strong predictive relationship with their Pcrit and may be used to accurately differentiate OSA patients with mild airway collapsibility from those with moderate-to-severe collapsibility. Although this relationship needs to be confirmed prospectively, our findings may provide clinicians with better understanding of an individual patient's OSA phenotype, which ultimately could assist in determining which patients are most likely to respond to non-CPAP therapies. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Microstructural and crystallographic imperfections of MgB{sub 2} superconducting wire and their correlation with the critical current density

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shahabuddin, Mohammed; Alzayed, Nasser S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, P. O. Box 2455, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Oh, Sangjun [Materials Research Team, National Fusion Research Institute, Yueeong, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Seyong [Busan Center, Korea Basic Science Institute, Geumjeong, Busan 609-735 (Korea, Republic of); Maeda, Minoru [Department of Physics, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, 1-8 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8308 (Japan); Hata, Satoshi; Shimada, Yusuke [Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan); Hossain, Md Shahriar Al [Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales 2500 (Australia); Kim, Jung Ho, E-mail: jhk@uow.edu.au [Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, P. O. Box 2455, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales 2500 (Australia)

    2014-01-15

    A comprehensive study of the effects of structural imperfections in MgB{sub 2} superconducting wire has been conducted. As the sintering temperature becomes lower, the structural imperfections of the MgB{sub 2} material are increased, as reflected by detailed X-ray refinement and the normal state resistivity. The crystalline imperfections, caused by lattice disorder, directly affect the impurity scattering between the π and σ bands of MgB{sub 2}, resulting in a larger upper critical field. In addition, low sintering temperature keeps the grain size small, which leads to a strong enhancement of pinning, and thereby, enhanced critical current density. Owing to both the impurity scattering and the grain boundary pinning, the critical current density, irreversibility field, and upper critical field are enhanced. Residual voids or porosities obviously remain in the MgB{sub 2}, however, even at low sintering temperature, and thus block current transport paths.

  9. Improving Junior High Schools’ Critical Thinking Skills Based on Test Three Different Models of Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nur Miftahul Fuad

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this study were (1 to find out the differences in critical thinking skills among students who were given three different learning models: differentiated science inquiry combined with mind map, differentiated science inquiry model, and conventional model, (2 to find out the differences of critical thinking skills among male and female students. This study is a quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design. The population in this research is the seventh grade students of junior high schools in Kediri, Indonesia. The sample of the research is in the number of 96 students distributed in three classes at different schools. The data of critical thinking skills are gained from test scores and then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics through ANCOVA. The results of research revealed that there are different skills in critical thinking in different models. The highest skills in critical thinking are reached by students who were given differentiated science inquiry model combined with mind map in their learning. There are also differences in critical thinking skills between male and female students.

  10. Acoustic explorations of the upper ocean boundary layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vagle, Svein

    2005-04-01

    The upper ocean boundary layer is an important but difficult to probe part of the ocean. A better understanding of small scale processes at the air-sea interface, including the vertical transfer of gases, heat, mass and momentum, are crucial to improving our understanding of the coupling between atmosphere and ocean. Also, this part of the ocean contains a significant part of the total biomass at all trophic levels and is therefore of great interest to researchers in a range of different fields. Innovative measurement plays a critical role in developing our understanding of the processes involved in the boundary layer, and the availability of low-cost, compact, digital signal processors and sonar technology in self-contained and cabled configurations has led to a number of exciting developments. This talk summarizes some recent explorations of this dynamic boundary layer using both active and passive acoustics. The resonant behavior of upper ocean bubbles combined with single and multi-frequency broad band active and passive devices are now giving us invaluable information on air-sea gas transfer, estimation of biological production, marine mammal behavior, wind speed and precipitation, surface and internal waves, turbulence, and acoustic communication in the surf zone.

  11. Considerations for designing robotic upper limb rehabilitation devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadas, I.; Vaida, C.; Gherman, B.; Pisla, D.; Carbone, G.

    2017-12-01

    The present study highlights the advantages of robotic systems for post-stroke rehabilitation of the upper limb. The latest demographic studies illustrate a continuous increase of the average life span, which leads to a continuous increase of stroke incidents and patients requiring rehabilitation. Some studies estimate that by 2030 the number of physical therapists will be insufficient for the patients requiring physical rehabilitation, imposing a shift in the current methodologies. A viable option is the implementation of robotic systems that assist the patient in performing rehabilitation exercises, the physical therapist role being to establish the therapeutic program for each patient and monitor their individual progress. Using a set of clinical measurements for the upper limb motions, the analysis of rehabilitation robotic systems provides a comparative study between the motions required by clinicians and the ones that robotic systems perform for different therapeutic exercises. A critical analysis of existing robots is performed using several classifications: mechanical design, assistance type, actuation and power transmission, control systems and human robot interaction (HRI) strategies. This classification will determine a set of pre-requirements for the definition of new concepts and efficient solutions for robotic assisted rehabilitation therapy.

  12. upper gastrointestinal endoscopy findings in patients referred

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-08-01

    Aug 1, 2014 ... Objective: To determine the pattern of referral and endoscopy ... build a model of a flexible fibre imaging device (2) ..... a retrospective and prospective audit of all upper ... endoscopy should be reserved for the high risk.

  13. Safety and Mission Assurance for In-House Design Lessons Learned from Ares I Upper Stage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Joel M.

    2011-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation identifies lessons learned in the course of the Ares I Upper Stage design and in-house development effort. The contents include: 1) Constellation Organization; 2) Upper Stage Organization; 3) Presentation Structure; 4) Lesson-Importance of Systems Engineering/Integration; 5) Lesson-Importance of Early S&MA Involvement; 6) Lesson-Importance of Appropriate Staffing Levels; 7) Lesson-Importance S&MA Team Deployment; 8) Lesson-Understanding of S&MA In-Line Engineering versus Assurance; 9) Lesson-Importance of Close Coordination between Supportability and Reliability/Maintainability; 10) Lesson-Importance of Engineering Data Systems; 11) Lesson-Importance of Early Development of Supporting Databases; 12) Lesson-Importance of Coordination with Safety Assessment/Review Panels; 13) Lesson-Implementation of Software Reliability; 14) Lesson-Implementation of S&MA Technical Authority/Chief S&MA Officer; 15) Lesson-Importance of S&MA Evaluation of Project Risks; 16) Lesson-Implementation of Critical Items List and Government Mandatory Inspections; 17) Lesson-Implementation of Critical Items List Mandatory Inspections; 18) Lesson-Implementation of Test Article Safety Analysis; and 19) Lesson-Importance of Procurement Quality.

  14. Prevalence of upper limb disorders among female librarians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandy, R

    2013-09-01

    Work as a librarian involves exposure to potential risk factors for developing upper limb disorders. The prevalence of upper limb symptoms has, however, not previously been assessed in this occupational group. To estimate the 7-day and annual prevalence of self-reported neck and upper limb symptoms in librarians and to examine associations with specific tasks and ergonomic risk factors. A cross-sectional study using components of the standardized Nordic questionnaire. The study population consisted of librarians employed by a large local authority, and data collection was by means of a self-administered questionnaire. from studies on keyboard workers and on the general population were used as comparators. The 7-day prevalence of self-reported neck and upper limb pain in female librarians was 42% (95% confidence interval (CI) 33.7-50.5) and the annual prevalence was 65% (95% CI 56.6-72.8). The prevalence of reported wrist and hand pain increased with increased working involving a wide thumb-index span (P librarians was high, but there was insufficient evidence to confirm whether the prevalence was higher than in the general population or among keyboard workers. Working with a wide thumb-index span was associated with reporting upper limb symptoms.

  15. Very high temperature gas-cooled reactor critical facility for Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishihara, Noriyuki

    1985-01-01

    The outline of the critical facility, its construction, the results of the basic studies and experiments on the graphite material, and the results obtained from the test conducted on the overall functions of the critical facility were reported. With the completion of the critical facility, it has been made possible to demonstrate the establishment of the manufacturing techniques and product-quality guarantee for extremely pure isotropic graphite in addition to the reliability of the structural design and analytical techniques for the main unit of the critical facility. It is expected that the present facility will prove instrumental in the verification of the nuclear safety of the very high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor and in the acquisition of experimental data on the reactor physics pertaining to the improvement of the reactor characteristics. The tasks which remain to be accomplished hereafter are the improvements of the performance and quality features with regard to the oxidization of graphite, the heat-resisting structural materials, and the welded structures. (Kubozono, M.)

  16. The Lagrangian Multiplier Method of Finding Upper and Lower Limits to Critical Stresses of Clamped Plates

    Science.gov (United States)

    1946-01-01

    geometrica ~ boundary condi- tions of the problem. (2) The energy of the load-plate system is computed for this deflection surface and is then minimized...and interpolating to find the k that makes the seriw vanish. The correct value of m is that which gives the lowest value of k. For two half waves (m=2...the square plate, the present rekdively simple upper- and lower-limit calcula- tions show that his est,imatd limit of error is correct for this case

  17. Enhanced critical currents in (Gd,Y)Ba2Cu3Ox superconducting tapes with high levels of Zr addition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Selvamanickam, V; Chen, Y; Shi, T; Liu, Y; Khatri, ND; Liu, J; Yao, Y; Xiong, X; Lei, C; Soloveichik, S; Galstyan, E; Majkic, G

    2013-01-21

    The critical current and structural properties of (Gd,Y)BaCuO tapes made by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with Zr addition levels up to 30 at.% have been investigated. The reduction in critical current beyond the previously optimized Zr addition level of 7.5 at.% was found to be due to structural deterioration of the (Gd,Y)Ba2Cu3Ox film. By a modified MOCVD process,enhanced critical current densities have been achieved with high levels of Zr addition,including 3.83 MA cm(-2) in 15 at.% Zr- added 1.1 mu m thick film at 77 K in zero magnetic field. Critical currents as high as 1072 A/ 12 mm have been reached in (Gd,Y) BaCuO tapes with 15 at.% Zr addition at 30 K in a field of 3 T applied perpendicular to the tape,corresponding to a pinning force value of 268 GN m(-3). The enhanced critical currents achievable with a high density of nanoscale defects by employing high levels of second- phase additions enable the performance targets needed for the use of HTS tapes in coil applications involving high magnetic fields at temperatures below 50 K to be met.

  18. Enhanced critical currents in (Gd,Y)Ba2Cu3Ox superconducting tapes with high levels of Zr addition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Selvamanickam, V; Shi, T; Liu, Y; Khatri, N D; Liu, J; Yao, Y; Galstyan, E; Majkic, G; Chen, Y; Xiong, X; Lei, C; Soloveichik, S

    2013-01-01

    The critical current and structural properties of (Gd,Y)BaCuO tapes made by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with Zr addition levels up to 30 at.% have been investigated. The reduction in critical current beyond the previously optimized Zr addition level of 7.5 at.% was found to be due to structural deterioration of the (Gd,Y)Ba 2 Cu 3 O x film. By a modified MOCVD process, enhanced critical current densities have been achieved with high levels of Zr addition, including 3.83 MA cm −2 in 15 at.% Zr-added 1.1 μm thick film at 77 K in zero magnetic field. Critical currents as high as 1072 A/12 mm have been reached in (Gd,Y)BaCuO tapes with 15 at.% Zr addition at 30 K in a field of 3 T applied perpendicular to the tape, corresponding to a pinning force value of 268 GN m −3 . The enhanced critical currents achievable with a high density of nanoscale defects by employing high levels of second-phase additions enable the performance targets needed for the use of HTS tapes in coil applications involving high magnetic fields at temperatures below 50 K to be met. (paper)

  19. High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopic Observations of the Upper Scorpius Eclipsing Binary EPIC 203868608

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Marshall C.; Mace, Gregory N.; Kim, Hwihyun; Kaplan, Kyle; McLane, Jacob; Sokal, Kimberly R.

    2017-06-01

    EPIC 203868608 is a source in the ~10 Myr old Upper Scorpius OB association. Using K2 photometry and ground-based follow-up observations, David et al. (2016) found that it consists of two brown dwarfs with a tertiary object at a projected separation of ~20 AU; the former objects appear to be a double-lined eclipsing binary with a period of 4.5 days. This is one of only two known eclipsing SB2s where both components are below the hydrogen-burning limit. We present additional follow-up observations of this system from the IGRINS high-resolution near-infrared spectrograph at McDonald Observatory. Our measured radial velocities do not follow the orbital solution presented by David et al. (2016). Instead, our combined IGRINS plus literature radial velocity dataset appears to indicate a period significantly different than that of the eclipsing binary obvious from the K2 light curve. We will discuss possible scenarios to account for the conflicting observations of this system.

  20. A study for a guide chart of lower and upper boundary regions to avoid the condensation-induced water hammer in a long horizontal pipe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Byung Jin

    1995-02-01

    Effects of the key system parameters such as the pipe length, the pipe diameter, the feedwater temperature and the system pressure on the critical flow rates of both the upper and the lower boundaries have been examined for long horizontal pipes. The upper and lower critical flow rates are sensitive to the pipe diameter, the pipe length and the system pressure, but not to the feedwater temperature over the practical operating ranges. Guide charts of the CIWH region boundary have been developed to be used in the system design and operation to predict the operating conditions vulnerable to the CIWH. The charts illustrate a series of the operating ranges bounded by the lower and the upper limiting curves where the water hammer is very likely to occur. A design and operational procedure has also been provided to help the designer and the operator to avoid the CIWH

  1. Universal Critical Dynamics in High Resolution Neuronal Avalanche Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Nir; Ito, Shinya; Brinkman, Braden A. W.; Shimono, Masanori; DeVille, R. E. Lee; Dahmen, Karin A.; Beggs, John M.; Butler, Thomas C.

    2012-05-01

    The tasks of neural computation are remarkably diverse. To function optimally, neuronal networks have been hypothesized to operate near a nonequilibrium critical point. However, experimental evidence for critical dynamics has been inconclusive. Here, we show that the dynamics of cultured cortical networks are critical. We analyze neuronal network data collected at the individual neuron level using the framework of nonequilibrium phase transitions. Among the most striking predictions confirmed is that the mean temporal profiles of avalanches of widely varying durations are quantitatively described by a single universal scaling function. We also show that the data have three additional features predicted by critical phenomena: approximate power law distributions of avalanche sizes and durations, samples in subcritical and supercritical phases, and scaling laws between anomalous exponents.

  2. Effect of time delay on the upper bound of the time derivative of information entropy in a stochastic dynamical system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Min-Min; Mei Dong-Cheng; Wang Can-Jun

    2011-01-01

    The effects of the time delay on the upper bound of the time derivative of information entropy are investigated in a time-delayed dynamical system driven by correlated noise. Using the Markov approximation of the stochastic delay differential equations and the Schwartz inequality principle, we obtain an analytical expression for the upper bound U B (t) of the time derivative of the information entropy. The results show that there is a critical value of τ (delay time), and U B (t) presents opposite behaviours on difference sides of the critical value. For the case of the weak additive noise, τ can induce a reentrance transition. Delay time τ also causes a reversal behaviour in U B (t)-λ plot, where λ denotes the degree of the correlation between the two noises. (general)

  3. Computer vision for shoe upper profile measurement via upper and sole conformal matching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Zhongxu; Bicker, Robert; Taylor, Paul; Marshall, Chris

    2007-01-01

    This paper describes a structured light computer vision system applied to the measurement of the 3D profile of shoe uppers. The trajectory obtained is used to guide an industrial robot for automatic edge roughing around the contour of the shoe upper so that the bonding strength can be improved. Due to the specific contour and unevenness of the shoe upper, even if the 3D profile is obtained using computer vision, it is still difficult to reliably define the roughing path around the shape. However, the shape of the corresponding shoe sole is better defined, and it is much easier to measure the edge using computer vision. Therefore, a feasible strategy is to measure both the upper and sole profiles, and then align and fit the sole contour to the upper, in order to obtain the best fit. The trajectory of the edge of the desired roughing path is calculated and is then smoothed and interpolated using NURBS curves to guide an industrial robot for shoe upper surface removal; experiments show robust and consistent results. An outline description of the structured light vision system is given here, along with the calibration techniques used.

  4. Team Teaching at Upper Arlington School.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Annette R.

    1968-01-01

    Team teaching has been used for 4 years in the 10th-grade English classes at Upper Arlington High School near Columbus, Ohio. Units are prepared, presented, and evaluated by teachers working together voluntarily. A 6-day American literature unit introducing Romanticism has been particularly successful. The contrasts between Neoclassicism and…

  5. Upper GI Bleeding in Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Upper GI Bleeding in Children What is upper GI Bleeding? Irritation and ulcers of the lining of the esophagus, stomach or duodenum can result in upper GI bleeding. When this occurs the child may vomit blood ...

  6. Upper extremity transplantation: current concepts and challenges in an emerging field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, River M; Tintle, Scott M; Levin, L Scott

    2014-03-01

    Loss of an isolated upper limb is an emotionally and physically devastating event that results in significant impairment. Patients who lose both upper extremities experience profound disability that affects nearly every aspect of their lives. While prosthetics and surgery can eventually provide the single limb amputee with a suitable assisting hand, limited utility, minimal haptic feedback, weight, and discomfort are persistent problems with these techniques that contribute to high rates of prosthetic rejection. Moreover, despite ongoing advances in prosthetic technology, bilateral amputees continue to experience high levels of dependency, disability, and distress. Hand and upper extremity transplantation holds several advantages over prosthetic rehabilitation. The missing limb is replaced with one of similar skin color and size. Sensibility, voluntary motor control, and proprioception are restored to a greater degree, and afford better dexterity and function than prosthetics. The main shortcomings of transplantation include the hazards of immunosuppression, the complications of rejection and its treatment, and high cost. Hand and upper limb transplantation represents the most commonly performed surgery in the growing field of Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation (VCA). As upper limb transplantation and VCA have become more widespread, several important challenges and controversies have emerged. These include: refining indications for transplantation, optimizing immunosuppression, establishing reliable criteria for monitoring, diagnosing, and treating rejection, and standardizing outcome measures. This article will summarize the historical background of hand transplantation and review the current literature and concepts surrounding it.

  7. Soil water stable isotopes reveal evaporation dynamics at the soil–plant–atmosphere interface of the critical zone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Sprenger

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the influence of vegetation on water storage and flux in the upper soil is crucial in assessing the consequences of climate and land use change. We sampled the upper 20 cm of podzolic soils at 5 cm intervals in four sites differing in their vegetation (Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris and heather (Calluna sp. and Erica Sp and aspect. The sites were located within the Bruntland Burn long-term experimental catchment in the Scottish Highlands, a low energy, wet environment. Sampling took place on 11 occasions between September 2015 and September 2016 to capture seasonal variability in isotope dynamics. The pore waters of soil samples were analyzed for their isotopic composition (δ2H and δ18O with the direct-equilibration method. Our results show that the soil waters in the top soil are, despite the low potential evaporation rates in such northern latitudes, kinetically fractionated compared to the precipitation input throughout the year. This fractionation signal decreases within the upper 15 cm resulting in the top 5 cm being isotopically differentiated to the soil at 15–20 cm soil depth. There are significant differences in the fractionation signal between soils beneath heather and soils beneath Scots pine, with the latter being more pronounced. But again, this difference diminishes within the upper 15 cm of soil. The enrichment in heavy isotopes in the topsoil follows a seasonal hysteresis pattern, indicating a lag time between the fractionation signal in the soil and the increase/decrease of soil evaporation in spring/autumn. Based on the kinetic enrichment of the soil water isotopes, we estimated the soil evaporation losses to be about 5 and 10 % of the infiltrating water for soils beneath heather and Scots pine, respectively. The high sampling frequency in time (monthly and depth (5 cm intervals revealed high temporal and spatial variability of the isotopic composition of soil waters, which can be critical

  8. Difference in Functional Performance on the Upper-Quarter Y-Balance Test Between High School Baseball Players and Wrestlers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Heather; Poletti, Mary; Butler, Robert J

    2017-05-01

    The Upper Quarter Y-Balance Test (YBT-UQ) is a unique movement test where individuals perform at the limits of their stability, requiring the coordination of balance, proprioception, range of motion, and stabilization. It is not yet clear if performance on the YBT-UQ differs between sports with dissimilar emphasis on upper-extremity performance. To compare performance on the YBT-UQ between wrestlers, whose sport requires some degree of closed-chain activity, and baseball players, whose sport is primarily open kinetic chain in nature. Cross-sectional. High school preparticipation physical assessment. 24 healthy high school male wrestlers (mean age 16.12 ± 1.24 y) and 24 healthy high school male baseball players (mean age 15.79 ± 1.25 y). All subjects performed the YBT-UQ, which requires reaching in 3 directions while maintaining a push-up position. The variables of interest include the maximum reach in each direction, as well as the composite score. In addition, asymmetries between limbs for each reach direction were compared. Wrestlers performed significantly better than baseball players in the medial direction, inferolateral direction, and in composite scores. In the medial direction, wrestlers exhibited greater scores (P < .01) on both left and right limbs, 10.5 ± 10.2%LL and 9.95 ± 10.2%LL, respectively. Significant differences (P < .01) were also observed in the inferolateral direction, with a difference of 11.3 ± 12.0%LL on the left and 8.7 ± 11.0%LL on the right. Composite scores were higher (P < .01) for the wrestlers, with a difference of 7.0% on the left and 7.1% on the right. This study suggests that wrestlers perform better on the YBT-UQ than baseball players. The findings may suggest sport-specific normative data for the YBT-UQ in high school athletes.

  9. Critical Chemistry Education in a Private, Suburban High School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashby, Patrick; Mensah, Felicia Moore

    2018-01-01

    This critical ethnography documents how a group of 25 students and their teacher/researcher in a suburban, private school setting, the vast majority from the dominant cultural background, engaged with and enacted a critical chemistry education together. Critical chemistry education contextualizes chemistry in socially relevant issues and problematizes participants' conceptual frameworks for understanding the intersections between chemistry and our capitalist society by identifying the shortcomings of traditional scientific language to sufficiently interrogate privilege and oppression. Qualitative data from teacher/researcher field notes and journal, classroom video transcripts, questionnaires, focus group interviews, and student artifacts document that while it is difficult for the teacher/researcher and the students of this setting to reflect upon their own positions of privilege, together they interpreted and made meaning of their experience by (1) developing the ability to critically analyze the products of science for the potential of oppression, (2) developing an understanding of inequity in science, and (3) evaluating and respecting diverse knowledge bases. Based on the findings, we suggest students should be encouraged to problematize socially situated science issues related to settings close to their own communities, students should participate in structured and purposeful journaling to improve their metacognition and critical reflexivity, and critical pedagogues must be explicit with students in their Marxist-based interpretation of the global capitalist super structure.

  10. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment Bill, 2016: A Critical Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suman Singh

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available On 11 August 2016, amending the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, the new bill, The Maternity Benefit (Amendment Bill, 2016 was introduced and passed in the Rajya Sabha (or Council of States, the upper house of the Parliament of India. Central aim of this article is to critically review the amendments to the bill regarding geographies of maternity leave and its associated facilities.

  11. Computational Model for Impact-Resisting Critical Thickness of High-Speed Machine Outer Protective Plate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Huaying; Wang, Li Zhong; Wang, Yantao; Yuan, Xiaolei

    2018-05-01

    The blade or surface grinding blade of the hypervelocity grinding wheel may be damaged due to too high rotation rate of the spindle of the machine and then fly out. Its speed as a projectile may severely endanger the field persons. Critical thickness model of the protective plate of the high-speed machine is studied in this paper. For easy analysis, the shapes of the possible impact objects flying from the high-speed machine are simplified as sharp-nose model, ball-nose model and flat-nose model. Whose front ending shape to represent point, line and surface contacting. Impact analysis based on J-C model is performed for the low-carbon steel plate with different thicknesses in this paper. One critical thickness computational model for the protective plate of high-speed machine is established according to the damage characteristics of the thin plate to get relation among plate thickness and mass, shape and size and impact speed of impact object. The air cannon is used for impact test. The model accuracy is validated. This model can guide identification of the thickness of single-layer outer protective plate of a high-speed machine.

  12. NASAL-Geom, a free upper respiratory tract 3D model reconstruction software

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cercos-Pita, J. L.; Cal, I. R.; Duque, D.; de Moreta, G. Sanjuán

    2018-02-01

    The tool NASAL-Geom, a free upper respiratory tract 3D model reconstruction software, is here described. As a free software, researchers and professionals are welcome to obtain, analyze, improve and redistribute it, potentially increasing the rate of development, and reducing at the same time ethical conflicts regarding medical applications which cannot be analyzed. Additionally, the tool has been optimized for the specific task of reading upper respiratory tract Computerized Tomography scans, and producing 3D geometries. The reconstruction process is divided into three stages: preprocessing (including Metal Artifact Reduction, noise removal, and feature enhancement), segmentation (where the nasal cavity is identified), and 3D geometry reconstruction. The tool has been automatized (i.e. no human intervention is required) a critical feature to avoid bias in the reconstructed geometries. The applied methodology is discussed, as well as the program robustness and precision.

  13. PWR upper/lower internals shield

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Homyk, W.A. [Indian Point Station, Buchanan, NY (United States)

    1995-03-01

    During refueling of a nuclear power plant, the reactor upper internals must be removed from the reactor vessel to permit transfer of the fuel. The upper internals are stored in the flooded reactor cavity. Refueling personnel working in containment at a number of nuclear stations typically receive radiation exposure from a portion of the highly contaminated upper intervals package which extends above the normal water level of the refueling pool. This same issue exists with reactor lower internals withdrawn for inservice inspection activities. One solution to this problem is to provide adequate shielding of the unimmersed portion. The use of lead sheets or blankets for shielding of the protruding components would be time consuming and require more effort for installation since the shielding mass would need to be transported to a support structure over the refueling pool. A preferable approach is to use the existing shielding mass of the refueling pool water. A method of shielding was devised which would use a vacuum pump to draw refueling pool water into an inverted canister suspended over the upper internals to provide shielding from the normally exposed components. During the Spring 1993 refueling of Indian Point 2 (IP2), a prototype shield device was demonstrated. This shield consists of a cylindrical tank open at the bottom that is suspended over the refueling pool with I-beams. The lower lip of the tank is two feet below normal pool level. After installation, the air width of the natural shielding provided by the existing pool water. This paper describes the design, development, testing and demonstration of the prototype device.

  14. Experimental Study on Critical Power in a Hemispherical Narrow Gap

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Rae-Joon; Ha, Kwang-Soon; Kim, Sang-Baik; Kim, Hee-Dong; Jeong, Ji-Hwan

    2002-01-01

    An experimental study of critical heat flux in gap (CHFG) has been performed to investigate the inherent cooling mechanism in a hemispherical narrow gap. The objectives of the CHFG test are to measure critical power from a critical heat removal rate through the hemispherical narrow gap using distilled water with experimental parameters of system pressure and gap width. The CHFG test results have shown that a countercurrent flow limitation (CCFL) brings about local dryout at the small edge region of the upper part and finally global dryout in a hemispherical narrow gap. Increases in the gap width and pressure lead to an increase in critical power. The measured values of critical power are lower than the predictions made by other empirical CHF correlations applicable to flat plate, annuli, and small spherical gaps. The measured data on critical power in the hemispherical narrow gaps have been correlated using nondimensional parameters with a range of approximately ±20%. The developed correlation has been expanded to apply the spherical geometry using the Siemens/KWU correlation

  15. Cerebral gas embolism due to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    ter Laan, Mark; Totte, Erik; van Hulst, Rob A; van der Linde, Klaas; van der Kamp, Wim; Pierie, Jean-Pierre E

    2009-07-01

    Cerebral gas embolism as a result of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a rare complication and bares a high morbidity. A patient is presented who underwent an upper endoscopy for evaluation of a gastric-mediastinal fistula after subtotal oesophagectomy and gastric tube reconstruction because of oesophageal cancer. During the procedure, cerebral gas emboli developed resulting in an acute left-sided hemiparesis. After hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the patient recovered almost completely. The aetiology and treatment is discussed based on the reviewed literature. Once cerebral gas emboli are recognized, patient outcome can be improved by hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

  16. Nuclear criticality safety program at the Fuel Cycle Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lell, R.M.; Fujita, E.K.; Tracy, D.B.; Klann, R.T.; Imel, G.R.; Benedict, R.W.; Rigg, R.H.

    1994-01-01

    The Fuel Cycle Facility (FCF) is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel commercial-scale remote pyrometallurgical process for metallic fuels from liquid metal-cooled reactors and to show closure of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) fuel cycle. Requirements for nuclear criticality safety impose the most restrictive of the various constraints on the operation of FCF. The upper limits on batch sizes and other important process parameters are determined principally by criticality safety considerations. To maintain an efficient operation within appropriate safety limits, it is necessary to formulate a nuclear criticality safety program that integrates equipment design, process development, process modeling, conduct of operations, a measurement program, adequate material control procedures, and nuclear criticality analysis. The nuclear criticality safety program for FCF reflects this integration, ensuring that the facility can be operated efficiently without compromising safety. The experience gained from the conduct of this program in the Fuel cycle Facility will be used to design and safely operate IFR facilities on a commercial scale. The key features of the nuclear criticality safety program are described. The relationship of these features to normal facility operation is also described

  17. Stretched-exponential relaxation of the nonlinear dielectric effect in a critical binary solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rzoska, Sylwester J.; Górny, Michał; Zioło, Jerzy

    1991-01-01

    An experimental confirmation is given of the existence of a stretched-exponential relaxation of the form exp[-(t/τ)x] with x~=0.39 in a binary solution with an upper critical point. The nonlinear dielectric effect (NDE) method was used for this experiment. Results obtained are similar to those reported earlier by Piazza et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 3, 1642 (1986); Phys. Rev. B 38, 7223 (1988)] based on the Kerr-effect measurements in solutions with a lower critical point. Studies could be carried out in the immediate vicinity of the critical point, because the application of the NDE is not restricted by the appearance of the critical opalescence.

  18. Calculational study of benchmark critical experiments on high-enriched uranyl nitrate solution systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, I.; Rothe, R.E.

    1978-01-01

    Criticality calculations on minimally reflected, concrete-reflected, and plastic-reflected single tanks and on arrays of cylinders reflected by concrete and plastic have been performed using the KENO-IV code with 16-group Hansen-Roach neutron cross sections. The fissile material was high-enriched (93.17% 235 U) uranyl nitrate [UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ] solution. Calculated results are compared with those from a benchmark critical experiments program to provide the best possible verification of the calculational technique. The calculated k/sub eff/'s underestimate the critical condition by an average of 1.28% for the minimally reflected single tanks, 1.09% for the concrete-reflected single tanks, 0.60% for the plastic-reflected single tanks, 0.75% for the concrete-reflected arrays of cylinders, and 0.51% for the plastic-reflected arrays of cylinders. More than half of the present comparisons were within 1% of the experimental values, and the worst calculational and experimental discrepancy was 2.3% in k/sub eff/ for the KENO calculations

  19. Development of E-Book Multimedia Model to Increase Critical Thinking of Senior High School Students

    OpenAIRE

    Suparno Suparno

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to develop the interactive e-book multimedia model to improve the students' critical thinking ability (KBK). Critical thinking is very important to develop because it provides a high level of reasoning thinking that provides permanent experience to students through conscious and controlled decision making in a rational, reflective, responsible manner with the optimization of potential. Flash-based e-book media is capable of interactively loading videos, pictures, practice ques...

  20. Criticality issues with highly enriched fuels in a repository environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, L.L.; Sanchez, L.C.; Rath, J.S.

    1998-03-01

    This paper presents preliminary analysis of a volcanic tuff repository containing a combination of low enrichment commercial spent nuclear fuels (SNF) and DOE-owned SNF packages. These SNFs were analyzed with respect to their criticality risks. Disposal of SNF packages containing significant fissile mass within a geologic repository must comply with current regulations relative to criticality safety during transportation and handling within operational facilities. However, once the repository is closed, the double contingency credits for criticality safety are subject to unremediable degradation, (e.g., water intrusion, continued presence of neutron absorbers in proximity to fissile material, and fissile material reconfiguration). The work presented in this paper focused on two attributes of criticality in a volcanic tuff repository for near-field and far-field scenarios: (1) scenario conditions necessary to have a criticality, and (2) consequences of a nuclear excursion that are components of risk. All criticality consequences are dependent upon eventual water intrusion into the repository and subsequent breach of the disposal package. Key criticality parameters necessary for a critical assembly are: (1) adequate thermal fissile mass, (2) adequate concentration of fissile material, (3) separation of neutron poison from fissile materials, and (4) sufficient neutron moderation (expressed in units of moderator to fissile atom ratios). Key results from this study indicated that the total energies released during a single excursion are minimal (comparable to those released in previous solution accidents), and the maximum frequency of occurrence is bounded by the saturation and temperature recycle times, thus resulting in small criticality risks

  1. Black breast cancer survivors experience greater upper extremity disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Lorraine T; DeMichele, Angela; LeBlanc, Mously; Stephens-Shields, Alisa; Li, Susan Q; Colameco, Chris; Coursey, Morgan; Mao, Jun J

    2015-11-01

    Over one-third of breast cancer survivors experience upper extremity disability. Black women present with factors associated with greater upper extremity disability, including: increased body mass index (BMI), more advanced disease stage at diagnosis, and varying treatment type compared with Whites. No prior research has evaluated the relationship between race and upper extremity disability using validated tools and controlling for these factors. Data were drawn from a survey study among 610 women with stage I-III hormone receptor positive breast cancer. The disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (QuickDASH) is an 11-item self-administered questionnaire that has been validated for breast cancer survivors to assess global upper extremity function over the past 7 days. Linear regression and mediation analysis estimated the relationships between race, BMI and QuickDASH score, adjusting for demographics and treatment types. Black women (n = 98) had 7.3 points higher average QuickDASH scores than White (n = 512) women (p disability by 40 %. Even several years post-treatment, Black breast cancer survivors had greater upper extremity disability, which was partially mediated by higher BMIs. Close monitoring of high BMI Black women may be an important step in reducing disparities in cancer survivorship. More research is needed on the relationship between race, BMI, and upper extremity disability.

  2. Anisotropy of the critical current in MgB2 tapes made of high energy milled precursor powder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hässler, W.; Kovac, P.; Eisterer, M.

    2010-01-01

    For applications of MgB2 wires or tapes, high critical currents in high magnetic fields are essential. By using tapes in superconducting coils the anisotropic behaviour of the critical current, i.e. the dependence on the direction of the external field in relation to the tape surface, has to be t...

  3. Non-volant mammals from the Upper Paraná River Basin: a data set from a critical region for conservation in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonçalves, Fernando; Hannibal, Wellington; Godoi, Mauricio N; Martins, Fernando I; Oliveira, Roniel F; Figueiredo, Valquiria V; Casella, Janaina; de Sá, Érica F G G

    2018-02-01

    The data set represents the first attempt at a large-scale inventory of non-volant mammals, with potential applications to performing macroecological studies, developing conservation strategies, and undertaking population and community ecology research, but also to evaluate the ecological consequences of fragmentation and defaunation. Our objectives for compiling these data were to summarize information about inventories of non-volant mammals in the critically important area of the Upper Paraná River Basin by focusing on species richness and index of frequency of occurrence and to identify gaps in knowledge regarding non-volant mammal communities in order to guide future sampling efforts. The data set comprises studies on communities of non-volant mammals from 52 locations covering more than 1,000 km 2 and comprises portion of four Brazilian states in the Upper Paraná River Basin. We listed 81 species of non-volant mammals distributed among 58 genera, 22 families, and 9 orders. Rodentia (28 species) was the richest order, followed by Carnivora (17 spp.) and Didelphimorphia (15 spp.). The richest family was Cricetidae (20 spp.), followed by Didelphidae (15 spp.), and Dasypodidae and Felidae (six spp.). Considering national conservation status, one species are considered endangered and 16 vulnerable. Considering global conservation status, 7 species are considered vulnerable, 10 are considered near threatened, and 6 are data deficient. According to the index of frequency of occurrence, Myrmecophaga tridactyla was the most frequent species, occurring at 88.64% of all sites, while 25 species were considered very restricted, occurring in just 2.56% of all sites. In general, the non-volant mammal fauna was composed of mainly very restricted (VR, 25 species) and localized species (L, 25 species), which account for 61.7% of the known species, while 38.3% are restricted (R, 8 species), common (C, 16 species), and widespread (W, 7 species). Seven marsupials and five

  4. Nursing care in a high-technological environment: Experiences of critical care nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunlind, Adam; Granström, John; Engström, Åsa

    2015-04-01

    Management of technical equipment, such as ventilators, infusion pumps, monitors and dialysis, makes health care in an intensive care setting more complex. Technology can be defined as items, machinery and equipment that are connected to knowledge and management to maximise efficiency. Technology is not only the equipment itself, but also the knowledge of how to use it and the ability to convert it into nursing care. The aim of this study is to describe critical care nurses' experience of performing nursing care in a high technology healthcare environment. Qualitative, personal interviews were conducted during 2012 with eight critical care nurses in the northern part of Sweden. Interview transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Three themes with six categories emerged. The technology was described as a security that could facilitate nursing care, but also one that could sometimes present obstacles. The importance of using the clinical gaze was highlighted. Nursing care in a high technological environment must be seen as multi-faceted when it comes to how it affects CCNs' experience. The advanced care conducted in an ICU could not function without high-tech equipment, nor could care operate without skilled interpersonal interaction and maintenance of basal nursing. That technology is seen as a major tool and simultaneously as a barrier to patient-centred care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Evaluation of postoperative patient satisfaction after covering the nasal dorsum with upper lateral cartilage: "upper lateral closing".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çağıcı, Can Alper

    2017-11-16

    Following nasal hump removal during septorhinoplasty, the middle vault should be reconstructed to avoid functional and esthetic problems. Middle vault reconstruction, however, may result in widening of the middle vault and may need a camouflage graft to cover dorsal irregularities. To present the results of reconstructing the middle vault with a technique that covers the nasal dorsum with upper lateral cartilage, from the viewpoint of patient satisfaction. Retrospective study of patients who underwent septorhinoplasty that included nasal dorsum closure with upper lateral cartilage from December 1, 2014 to January 31, 2016. Those with postoperative follow-up of less than 3 months were excluded. The final study group included 39 patients. The same surgeon performed all septorhinoplasties. The dorsum was closed using an "upper lateral closing" technique that approximated upper lateral cartilages to each other over the septum. Postoperative patient satisfaction was determined using a visual analog scale and the rhinoplasty outcomes evaluation questionnaire. The questionnaire evaluates patient esthetic and functional satisfaction with the operated nose. High scores indicate improved esthetic results. No dorsal irregularities were seen at postoperative follow-up evaluation of the patients. For esthetic nasal appearance, the median visual analogue scale scores was 86%, and the mean for the questionnaire was 77.03%. The natural dome-shaped anatomy of the nasal dorsum was achieved by approximating the upper lateral cartilages to each other. Closing the dorsum with this technique also covers any dorsal irregularities and results in a smooth dorsum. Patients expressed satisfaction with the esthetic and functional aspects of the smooth, attractive nasal dorsum. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  6. International prospective observational study of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage: Does weekend admission affect outcome?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Murray, Iain A.; Dalton, Harry R.; Stanley, Adrian J.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Out of hours admissions have higher mortality for many conditions but upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage studies have produced variable outcomes. Methods Prospective study of 12 months consecutive admissions of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage from four international high volume...

  7. Hybrid robotic systems for upper limb rehabilitation after stroke: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resquín, Francisco; Cuesta Gómez, Alicia; Gonzalez-Vargas, Jose; Brunetti, Fernando; Torricelli, Diego; Molina Rueda, Francisco; Cano de la Cuerda, Roberto; Miangolarra, Juan Carlos; Pons, José Luis

    2016-11-01

    In recent years the combined use of functional electrical stimulation (FES) and robotic devices, called hybrid robotic rehabilitation systems, has emerged as a promising approach for rehabilitation of lower and upper limb motor functions. This paper presents a review of the state of the art of current hybrid robotic solutions for upper limb rehabilitation after stroke. For this aim, studies have been selected through a search using web databases: IEEE-Xplore, Scopus and PubMed. A total of 10 different hybrid robotic systems were identified, and they are presented in this paper. Selected systems are critically compared considering their technological components and aspects that form part of the hybrid robotic solution, the proposed control strategies that have been implemented, as well as the current technological challenges in this topic. Additionally, we will present and discuss the corresponding evidences on the effectiveness of these hybrid robotic therapies. The review also discusses the future trends in this field. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. H eat storage in upper and lower body during high-intensity exercise ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Therefore, this study was designed to describe heat storage in the upper and lower bodies of SCI and able-bodied (AB) athletes. Procedure: Seven SCI and 8 AB athletes (matched for arm-crank VO2 peak) performed a ramp protocol in an environment similar to an indoor competitive environment (21˚C±1.5˚C, 55±3% ...

  9. A Case Report on Upper Extremity Pain of Cardiac Origin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Turgay Altınbilek

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Upper extremity pain can originate from the musculoskeletal system, or be a reflection of problems originating from various organs. Therefore, it is highly important to perform a detailed clinical evaluation on patients during differential diagnosis. In this case report, we present a 61 year-old male patient who was admitted with pain in both upper extremities and the upper back that presumed to be of cardiac origin following our clinical evaluations. The patient was referred to the cardiology department, where he was diagnosed with coronary heart disease. The patient’s complaints of pain were fully resolved through the application of an intracoronary stent.

  10. Upper mantle seismic velocity anomaly beneath southern Taiwan as revealed by teleseismic relative arrival times

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Po-Fei; Huang, Bor-Shouh; Chiao, Ling-Yun

    2011-01-01

    Probing the lateral heterogeneity of the upper mantle seismic velocity structure beneath southern and central Taiwan is critical to understanding the local tectonics and orogeny. A linear broadband array that transects southern Taiwan, together with carefully selected teleseismic sources with the right azimuth provides useful constraints. They are capable of differentiating the lateral heterogeneity along the profile with systematic coverage of ray paths. We implement a scheme based on the genetic algorithm to simultaneously determine the relative delayed times of the teleseismic first arrivals of array data. The resulting patterns of the delayed times systematically vary as a function of the incident angle. Ray tracing attributes the observed variations to a high velocity anomaly dipping east in the mantle beneath the southeast of Taiwan. Combining the ray tracing analysis and a pseudo-spectral method to solve the 2-D wave propagations, we determine the extent of the anomaly that best fits the observations via the forward grid search. The east-dipping fast anomaly in the upper mantle beneath the southeast of Taiwan agrees with the results from several previous studies and indicates that the nature of the local ongoing arc-continent collision is likely characterized by the thin-skinned style.

  11. Effects of low upper shelf fracture toughness on reactor vessel integrity during pressurized thermal shock events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bamford, W.H.; Heinecke, C.C.; Balkey, K.R.

    1988-01-01

    For the past decade, significant attention has been focused on the subject of nuclear rector vessel integrity during pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events. The issue of low upper shelf fracture toughness at operating temperatures has been a consideration for some reactor vessel materials since the early 1970's. Deterministic and probabilistic fracture mechanics sensitivity studies have been completed to evaluate the interaction between the PTS and lower upper shelf toughness issues that result from neutron embrittlement of the critical beltline region materials. This paper presents the results of these studies to show the interdependency of these fracture considerations in certain instances and to identify parameters that need to be carefully treated in reactor vessel integrity evaluations for these subjects. This issue is of great importance to those vessels which have low upper shelf toughness, both for demonstrating safety during the original design life and in life extension assessments

  12. Extrinsic regime shifts drive abrupt changes in regeneration dynamics at upper treeline in the Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Grant P

    2012-07-01

    Given the widespread and often dramatic influence of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems, it is increasingly common for abrupt threshold changes to occur, yet explicitly testing for climate and ecological regime shifts is lacking in climatically sensitive upper treeline ecotones. In this study, quantitative evidence based on empirical data is provided to support the key role of extrinsic, climate-induced thresholds in governing the spatial and temporal patterns of tree establishment in these high-elevation environments. Dendroecological techniques were used to reconstruct a 420-year history of regeneration dynamics within upper treeline ecotones along a latitudinal gradient (approximately 44-35 degrees N) in the Rocky Mountains. Correlation analysis was used to assess the possible influence of minimum and maximum temperature indices and cool-season (November-April) precipitation on regional age-structure data. Regime-shift analysis was used to detect thresholds in tree establishment during the entire period of record (1580-2000), temperature variables significantly Correlated with establishment during the 20th century, and cool-season precipitation. Tree establishment was significantly correlated with minimum temperature during the spring (March-May) and cool season. Regime-shift analysis identified an abrupt increase in regional tree establishment in 1950 (1950-1954 age class). Coincident with this period was a shift toward reduced cool-season precipitation. The alignment of these climate conditions apparently triggered an abrupt increase in establishment that was unprecedented during the period of record. Two main findings emerge from this research that underscore the critical role of climate in governing regeneration dynamics within upper treeline ecotones. (1) Regional climate variability is capable of exceeding bioclimatic thresholds, thereby initiating synchronous and abrupt changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of tree establishment at broad

  13. Development of Bi-based high critical current density superconducting tapes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swaminathan, G.

    1995-01-01

    In order to achieve the aim of developing suitable superconducting materials the main emphasis has to be made in the following areas viz., synthesizing powders, detailed study of sintering and phase conversion process in relation to the critical current density (J c ) on pellets and optimising of tape processing parameters. The bismuth system has been found to be more favourable for making wires and tapes because of its high transition temperature, good stability, does not require oxygen on cooling and is non-toxic. These have been the most convenient properties which made the BiSCO material the most popular one

  14. A critically educated public explores high level radioactive waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blum, J.E.

    1994-01-01

    It is vital to the citizens of Nevada that they and their children are given an opportunity to explore all sides of the characterization of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository site for spent nuclear fuel. The state-wide, national and international implications demand a reasoned and complete approach to this issue, which has become emotionally and irrationally charged and fueled by incomplete perception and information. The purpose of this paper is to provide curriculum suggestions and recommend concomitant policy developments that will lead to the implementation of a Critical Thinking (CT) approach to High Level Radioactive Waste Management

  15. Boundary conditions in Ginsburg Landau theory and critical temperature of high-T superconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lykov, A. N.

    2008-06-01

    New mixed boundary conditions to the Ginsburg-Landau equations are found to limit the critical temperature ( T) of high- T superconductors. Moreover, the value of the pseudogap in these superconductors can be explained by using the method. As a result, the macroscopic approach is proposed to increase T of cuprate superconductors.

  16. How do low/high height and weight variation affect upper limb movements during manual material handling of industrial boxes?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana B. Oliveira

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of surface height and load weight on upper limb movements and electromyographic (EMG recordings during manual handling performed by both experienced and inexperienced lifter subjects. METHODS: Sixteen experienced and sixteen inexperienced lifters handled a box (both 7 and 15 kg from an intermediate height (waist level to either a high or low surface. Electromyography and video images were recorded during the tasks. The 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles were calculated for the deltoid and biceps muscles, shoulder flexion, shoulder abduction, and elbow flexion movements. Groups, right/left sides, weights and heights were compared. There were no differences between either groups or sides. RESULTS: Weight and height variations affected EMG and posture, although weight had more impact on EMG. Shoulder abduction and flexion movements higher than 60º occurred, particularly for the higher surface. Shoulder flexion was also higher when the box was moved to the low height. This study provides new evidence as shoulder postures during boxes handling on low surfaces had not previously been evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: The high demand of upper limb in manual material handling tasks is clear, particularly for the shoulder. This knowledge can be used by physical therapists to plan better rehabilitation programs for manual material handling-related disorders, particularly focusing on return to work.

  17. Depositional environment and organic matter accumulation of Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian marine shale in the Upper Yangtze Platform, South China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yangfang; Zhang, Tongwei; Ellis, Geoffrey S.; Shao, Deyong

    2017-01-01

    The main controlling factors of organic matter accumulation in the Upper Ordovician Wufeng–Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formations are complex and remain highly controversial. This study investigates the vertical variation of total organic carbon (TOC) content as well as major and trace element concentrations of four Ordovician–Silurian transition sections from the Upper Yangtze Platform of South China to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of these deposits and to improve our understanding of those factors that have influenced organic matter accumulation in these deposits.The residual TOC content of the Wufeng Formation averages 3.2% and ranges from 0.12 to 6.0%. The overlying lower Longmaxi Formation displays higher TOC content (avg. 4.4%), followed upsection by consistent and lower values that average 1.6% in the upper Longmaxi Formation. The concentration and covariation of redox-sensitive trace elements (Mo, U and V) suggest that organic-rich intervals of the Wufeng Formation accumulated under predominantly anoxic conditions. Organic-rich horizons of the lower Longmaxi Formation were deposited under strongly anoxic to euxinic conditions, whereas organic-poor intervals of the upper Longmaxi Formation accumulated under suboxic conditions. Positive correlations between redox proxies and TOC contents suggest that organic matter accumulation was predominantly controlled by preservation. Barium excess (Baxs) values indicate high paleoproductivity throughout the entire depositional sequence, with an increase in the lower Longmaxi Formation. Increased productivity may have been induced by enhanced P recycling, as evidenced by elevated Corg/Ptot ratios. Mo–U covariation and Mo/TOC values reveal that the Wufeng Formation was deposited under extremely restricted conditions, whereas the Longmaxi Formation accumulated under moderately restricted conditions. During the Late Ordovician, the extremely restricted nature of ocean circulation on the Upper Yangtze Platform in

  18. Magnitude corrections for attenuation in the upper mantle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1978-01-01

    Since 1969, a consistent discrepancy in seismic magnitudes of nuclear detonations at NTS compared with magnitudes of detonations elsewhere in the world has been observed. This discrepancy can be explained in terms of a relatively high seismic attenuation for compressional waves in the upper mantle beneath the NTS and in certain other locations. A correction has been developed for this attenuation based on a relationship between the velocity of compressional waves at the top of the earth's mantle (just beneath the Mohorovicic discontinuity) and the seismic attenuation further down in the upper mantle. Our new definition of body-wave magnitude includes corrections for attenuation in the upper mantle at both ends of the teleseismic body-wave path. These corrections bring the NTS oservations into line with measurements of foreign events, and enable one to make more reliable estimates of yields of underground nuclear explosions, wherever the explosion occurs

  19. On the critical current of ionisation waves in gas discharges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, M.

    1982-01-01

    Measurement methods for determining the critical current of ionisation waves in gas discharge tubes are examined in detail. The conventional visual method which finds the current at which the waves disappear is erroneous since the criterion, 'observable', depends on the observing conditions. In the rigorous method it is defined as a current at which the linear growth rate of waves is zero. For the measured upper critical (Pupp) current of argon gas, close agreement is found between the results of other workers and those of the present author over a wide range of pressure-radius product 0.3 approximately equal to 60 Torr cm. (author)

  20. Using high-throughput DNA sequencing, genetic fingerprinting, and quantitative PCR as tools for monitoring bloom-forming and toxigenic cyanobacteria in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2013 and 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caldwell Eldridge, Sara L.; Driscoll, Conner; Dreher, Theo W.

    2017-06-05

    Monitoring the community structure and metabolic activities of cyanobacterial blooms in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, is critical to lake management because these blooms degrade water quality and produce toxic microcystins that are harmful to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Genetic tools, such as DNA fingerprinting by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, high-throughput DNA sequencing (HTS), and real-time, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), provide more sensitive and rapid assessments of bloom ecology than traditional techniques. The objectives of this study were (1) to characterize the microbial community at one site in Upper Klamath Lake and determine changes in the cyanobacterial community through time using T-RFLP and HTS in comparison with traditional light microscopy; (2) to determine relative abundances and changes in abundance over time of toxigenic Microcystis using qPCR; and (3) to determine relative abundances and changes in abundance over time of Aphanizomenon, Microcystis, and total cyanobacteria using qPCR. T-RFLP analysis of total cyanobacteria showed a dominance of only one or two distinct genotypes in samples from 2013, but results of HTS in 2013 and 2014 showed more variations in the bloom cycle that fit with the previous understanding of bloom dynamics in Upper Klamath Lake and indicated that potentially toxigenic Microcystis was more prevalent in 2014 than in years prior. The qPCR-estimated copy numbers of all target genes were higher in 2014 than in 2013, when microcystin concentrations also were higher. Total Microcystis density was shown with qPCR to be a better predictor of late-season increases in microcystin concentrations than the relative proportions of potentially toxigenic cells. In addition, qPCR targeting Aphanizomenon at one site in Upper Klamath Lake indicated a moderate bloom of this species (corresponding to chlorophyll a concentrations between approximately 75 and 200 micrograms

  1. The study on a new superconductor (oxide Ba-Y-Cu) with high critical temperature Tc by positron annihilation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Caigu; Yu Zhuxing; Wang Zhu; Huang Zhe; Zhou Jun

    1987-01-01

    The study on a new superconductor oxide Ba-Y-Cu with high critical temperature Tc is described. The experimental results show that positron lifetime reducing reflects variable curve of resistance with temperature. A peak of positron lifetime is appeared at critical temperature

  2. Critical heat flux of water in vertical tubes with an upper plenum and a closed bottom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hong Chae; Baek, Won Pil; Chang, Soon Heung

    2000-01-01

    An experimental study is conducted for vertical round tubes with an upper plenum and a closed bottom to investigate CHF behavior and CHF onset location under the counter-current condition. The measured CHF values are well predicted by general Wallis type flooding correlations. A 1-D steady state analytical flooding model for thermosyphon by El-Genk and Saber was assessed with the data and the liquid film thickness at the liquid entrance was calculated. The CHF onset position becomes different with L/D and D, and liquid entrance geometry affects only CHF values not CHF onset positions

  3. Using the regularities of high and critical technologies developing in innovative project management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. G. Selivanov

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Problem-orientated to the innovative activity, computer-aided systems of production engineering (CASPE integrates design, manufacture, and organization activities using the interrelated innovation principles thus leaning the innovative activity towards the creation of innovative products and technological innovations of high science and technology level and efficiency. In this situation the innovative activity uses in practice not only the newest experience, but also the science laws and consequences, that is, in particular, “Science of Innovations”. The mentioned science laws explain wave dynamics of technical (technological systems development. In the course of innovation activities and/or innovation designing a modification of continuously acting technological system, usually, causes its developing and growing upwards by Sshaped curve. Changing a principle of action changes S-shaped curve development (Fig. 1. If such changes are within the certain “trace tube” we are entitled to state the steady system development.Analysis of changing target function of technological system within the “trace tube” of its steady development characterizes its growing wave dynamics (Fig. 1 using the S-shaped curves (sigmoid type relations. S-shaped innovative development relations of technological systems are, usually, explained by different mathematical models, each being in compliance with the certain process of science and technology. Singular innovative project management using the S-shaped curves can be explained by the following example (Fig.2.To use such management technique it is very important to know the mathematical models of S-curves for different types of innovation projects. That is why we consider given S-shaped relations in-detail for:- developing the high and critical technologies during R&D implementation using the cutting-edge CASSR (computer-aided systems of scientific research of high and critical technologies in innovation

  4. Effect of warming rate on the critical thermal maxima of crabs, shrimp and fish

    OpenAIRE

    Vinagre, Catarina; Leal, Inês; Mendonça, Vanessa; Flores, Augusto Alberto Valero

    2015-01-01

    he threat of global warming has prompted numerous recent studies on the thermal tolerance of marine species. A widely used method to determine the upper thermal limit has been the Critical Thermal Maximum (CTMax), a dynamic method, meaning that temperature is increased gradually until a critical point is reached. This method presents several advantages over static methods, however, there is one main issue that hinders interpretation and comparison of CTMax results: the rate at which the tempe...

  5. Czech results at criticality dosimetry intercomparison 2002.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frantisek, Spurný; Jaroslav, Trousil

    2004-01-01

    Two criticality dosimetry systems were tested by Czech participants during the intercomparison held in Valduc, France, June 2002. The first consisted of the thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs) (Al-P glasses) and Si-diodes as passive neutron dosemeters. Second, it was studied to what extent the individual dosemeters used in the Czech routine personal dosimetry service can give a reliable estimation of criticality accident exposure. It was found that the first system furnishes quite reliable estimation of accidental doses. For routine individual dosimetry system, no important problems were encountered in the case of photon dosemeters (TLDs, film badge). For etched track detectors in contact with the 232Th or 235U-Al alloy, the track density saturation for the spark counting method limits the upper dose at approximately 1 Gy for neutrons with the energy >1 MeV.

  6. Spironolactone use and the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gulmez, Sinem E; Lassen, Annmarie T; Aalykke, Claus

    2008-01-01

    WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT * Recent studies have suggested an increased risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGB) in spironolactone users. * We conducted this population-based case-control study to confirm the association between spironolactone use and acute nonvaricose UGB alone...... is not modified by high cumulative doses or by concurrent use of antithrombotic or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. AIMS Recent studies have suggested an increased risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGB) in spironolactone users. The aim was to confirm the association, identify the risk factors...

  7. Upper Limb Muscle and Brain Activity in Light Assembly Task on Different Load Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zadry, Hilma Raimona; Dawal, Siti Zawiah Md.; Taha, Zahari

    2010-10-01

    A study was conducted to investigate the effect of load on upper limb muscles and brain activities in light assembly task. The task was conducted at two levels of load (Low and high). Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to measure upper limb muscle activities of twenty subjects. Electroencephalography (EEG) was simultaneously recorded with EMG to record brain activities from Fz, Pz, O1 and O2 channels. The EMG Mean Power Frequency (MPF) of the right brachioradialis and the left upper trapezius activities were higher on the high-load task compared to low-load task. The EMG MPF values also decrease as time increases, that reflects muscle fatigue. Mean power of the EEG alpha bands for the Fz-Pz channels were found to be higher on the high-load task compared to low-load task, while for the O1-O2 channels, they were higher on the low-load task than on the high-load task. These results indicated that the load levels effect the upper limb muscle and brain activities. The high-load task will increase muscle activities on the right brachioradialis and the left upper tapezius muscles, and will increase the awareness and motivation of the subjects. Whilst the low-load task can generate drowsiness earlier. It signified that the longer the time and the more heavy of the task, the subjects will be more fatigue physically and mentally.

  8. MICROTOUGH - calculation of characteristic upper shelf fracture toughness values from microstructural parameters for high strength structural steels with normalized or quenched and tempered microstructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muenstermann, S.; Dahl, W.; Langenberg, P.; Deimel, P.; Sattler, E.

    2004-01-01

    In modern applications, high strength steels are often utilised to increase the load bearing capacity of components. For safe design it is also necessary that these steels have an adequate fracture toughness. The mechanical properties of high strength structural steels are a result of the production process. In consequence, they are strongly related to the microstructure. Therefore, the aim of the research work in the Microtough project is to develop and apply a new method of quantitative correlation between microstructural parameters and characteristic fracture toughness values. This correlation will on the one hand help for the design of new structural steels with high toughness. On the other hand, it shall allow to characterise the fracture toughness of steel without performing expensive fracture mechanics tests. The research work is carried out in the full temperature range from lower to upper shelf. As both RWTH Aachen University and MPA Uni Stuttgart concentrate on ductile fracture behaviour in their research work, the focus of the presentation lies in the upper shelf. (orig.)

  9. Boundary conditions in Ginsburg-Landau theory and critical temperature of high-Tc superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lykov, A.N.

    2008-01-01

    New mixed boundary conditions to the Ginsburg-Landau equations are found to limit the critical temperature (T c ) of high-T c superconductors. Moreover, the value of the pseudogap in these superconductors can be explained by using the method. As a result, the macroscopic approach is proposed to increase T c of cuprate superconductors

  10. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinman, Marcie; Haut, Elliott R

    2014-02-01

    Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding remains a commonly encountered diagnosis for acute care surgeons. Initial stabilization and resuscitation of patients is imperative. Stable patients can have initiation of medical therapy and localization of the bleeding, whereas persistently unstable patients require emergent endoscopic or operative intervention. Minimally invasive techniques have surpassed surgery as the treatment of choice for most upper GI bleeding. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Treatment of Postoperative Leaks of the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract with Colonic Self-Expandable Metal Stents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sousa, Paula; Castanheira, António; Martins, Diana; Pinho, Juliana; Araújo, Ricardo; Cancela, Eugénia; Ministro, Paula; Silva, Américo

    2017-07-01

    The use of self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) for the treatment of postoperative leaks of the upper gastrointestinal tract is already established. However, there are discrepancies between the relatively small caliber of the esophageal stents available and the postsurgical luminal size, which may determine an inadequate juxtaposition. As colonic stents have a bigger diameter, they might be more adequate. Additionally, stents with a larger diameter might have a lower risk of migration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and complications associated with the use of colonic fully covered SEMS (FSEMS) in the treatment of postoperative leaks in critical patients. All patients with postoperative leaks of the upper gastrointestinal tract treated with colonic stents (Hanarostent® CCI) between 2010 and 2013 were retrospectively included. Four patients with postoperative leaks were treated with colonic SEMS. The underlying surgeries were a gastric bypass, an esophagogastrectomy for Boerhaave syndrome, a primary repair of esophagopleural fistula due to Boerhaave syndrome, and an esophagectomy due to esophageal cancer. The leaks were detected on average 17 days after the initial surgery. All patients needed admission to a critical care unit after index surgery. Stent placement was technically feasible in all patients. The median residence time of the stents was 7 weeks, and no complications were verified when they were removed. There were no cases of stent migration. The treatment was successful in all patients, with complete healing of the leaks. The placement of colonic FSEMS seems to be successful and safe in the treatment of postoperative leaks of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

  12. Critical phenomena in quasi-two-dimensional vibrated granular systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmán, Marcelo; Soto, Rodrigo

    2018-01-01

    The critical phenomena associated to the liquid-to-solid transition of quasi-two-dimensional vibrated granular systems is studied using molecular dynamics simulations of the inelastic hard sphere model. The critical properties are associated to the fourfold bond-orientational order parameter χ_{4}, which measures the level of square crystallization of the system. Previous experimental results have shown that the transition of χ_{4}, when varying the vibration amplitude, can be either discontinuous or continuous, for two different values of the height of the box. Exploring the amplitude-height phase space, a transition line is found, which can be either discontinuous or continuous, merging at a tricritical point and the continuous branch ends in an upper critical point. In the continuous transition branch, the critical properties are studied. The exponent associated to the amplitude of the order parameter is β=1/2, for various system sizes, in complete agreement with the experimental results. However, the fluctuations of χ_{4} do not show any critical behavior, probably due to crossover effects by the close presence of the tricritical point. Finally, in quasi-one-dimensional systems, the transition is only discontinuous, limited by one critical point, indicating that two is the lower dimension for having a tricritical point.

  13. Upper temperature limits of tropical marine ectotherms: global warming implications.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khanh Dung T Nguyen

    Full Text Available Animal physiology, ecology and evolution are affected by temperature and it is expected that community structure will be strongly influenced by global warming. This is particularly relevant in the tropics, where organisms are already living close to their upper temperature limits and hence are highly vulnerable to rising temperature. Here we present data on upper temperature limits of 34 tropical marine ectotherm species from seven phyla living in intertidal and subtidal habitats. Short term thermal tolerances and vertical distributions were correlated, i.e., upper shore animals have higher thermal tolerance than lower shore and subtidal animals; however, animals, despite their respective tidal height, were susceptible to the same temperature in the long term. When temperatures were raised by 1°C hour(-1, the upper lethal temperature range of intertidal ectotherms was 41-52°C, but this range was narrower and reduced to 37-41°C in subtidal animals. The rate of temperature change, however, affected intertidal and subtidal animals differently. In chronic heating experiments when temperature was raised weekly or monthly instead of every hour, upper temperature limits of subtidal species decreased from 40°C to 35.4°C, while the decrease was more than 10°C in high shore organisms. Hence in the long term, activity and survival of tropical marine organisms could be compromised just 2-3°C above present seawater temperatures. Differences between animals from environments that experience different levels of temperature variability suggest that the physiological mechanisms underlying thermal sensitivity may vary at different rates of warming.

  14. Highly siderophile element geochemistry of peridotites and pyroxenites from Horní Bory, Bohemian Massif: Implications for HSE behaviour in subduction-related upper mantle

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ackerman, Lukáš; Pitcher, L.; Strnad, L.; Puchtel, I. S.; Jelínek, E.; Walker, R. J.; Rohovec, Jan

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 100, č. 1 (2013), s. 158-175 ISSN 0016-7037 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB300130902 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516 Institutional support: RVO:67985831 Keywords : alloy * high pressure * high temperature * igneous geochemistry * isotopic composition * mass balance * nappe * osmium isotope * peridotite * petrography * platinum group element * precipitation (chemistry) * pyroxenite * siderophile element * subduction * sulfide * upper mantle Subject RIV: DD - Geochemistry Impact factor: 4.250, year: 2013

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    1992-01-01

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

  16. Bulk properties and near-critical behaviour of SiO2 fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Eleanor C. R.; Artacho, Emilio; Connolly, James A. D.

    2018-06-01

    Rocky planets and satellites form through impact and accretion processes that often involve silicate fluids at extreme temperatures. First-principles molecular dynamics (FPMD) simulations have been used to investigate the bulk thermodynamic properties of SiO2 fluid at high temperatures (4000-6000 K) and low densities (500-2240 kg m-3), conditions which are relevant to protoplanetary disc condensation. Liquid SiO2 is highly networked at the upper end of this density range, but depolymerises with increasing temperature and volume, in a process characterised by the formation of oxygen-oxygen (Odbnd O) pairs. The onset of vaporisation is closely associated with the depolymerisation process, and is likely to be non-stoichiometric at high temperature, initiated via the exsolution of O2 molecules to leave a Si-enriched fluid. By 6000 K the simulated fluid is supercritical. A large anomaly in the constant-volume heat capacity occurs near the critical temperature. We present tabulated thermodynamic properties for silica fluid that reconcile observations from FPMD simulations with current knowledge of the SiO2 melting curve and experimental Hugoniot curves.

  17. Enhancing students’ critical thinking skills through critical thinking assessment in calculus course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zulfaneti; Edriati, S.; Mukhni

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to determine the development of students’ critical thinking skills through the implementation of critical thinking instruments in Calculus lectures. The instruments consist of observation sheets, critical thinking test, self-assessment, peer assessment and portfolio. The research was a qualitative research; with the participants were 53 first-year students who take Integral Calculus in Mathematics Education Department STKIP PGRI Sumatera Barat representing high-ability students, medium and low. The data in this study were collected by tests, interviews, observations and field notes. Data were analyzed descriptively; data reduction, data presentation, and conclusions. For testing the validity of data, it was used credibility test data by increasing persistence and triangulation. The results showed that in high-level students there is a change of ability from Critical enough to be Very Critical, in the students with moderate and low ability there is a change of ability from Uncritical to Critical. So it can be concluded that the assessment instruments have a good contribution and can improve the ability of critical thinking.

  18. Analytical models for lower and upper bounds of the condensation-induced water hammer in long horizontal pipes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chun, Moon Hyun; Park, Joo Wan; Nam, Ho Yun

    1992-01-01

    Improved analytical models have been proposed that can predict the lower and upper limits of the water hammer region for given flow conditions by incorporation of recent advances made in the understanding of phenomena associated with the condensation-induced water hammer into existing methods. Present models are applicable for steam-water counterflow in a long horizontal pipe geometry. Both lower and upper bounds of the water hammer region are expressed in terms of the 'critical inlet water flow rate' as a function of axial position. Water hammer region boundaries predicted by present and typical existing models are compared for particular flow conditions of the water hammer event occurred at San Onofre Unit 1 to assess the applicability of the models examined. The result shows that present models for lower and upper bounds of the water hammer region compare favorably with the best performing existing models

  19. Water Quality Conditions in Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon, 2006

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindenberg, Mary K.; Hoilman, Gene; Wood, Tamara M.

    2008-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Klamath Lake water quality monitoring program gathered information from multiparameter continuous water quality monitors, physical water samples, dissolved oxygen production and consumption experiments, and meteorological stations during the June-October 2006 field season. The 2006 study area included Agency Lake and all of Upper Klamath Lake. Seasonal patterns in water quality were similar to those observed in 2005, the first year of the monitoring program, and were closely related to bloom dynamics of the cyanobacterium (blue-green alga) Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) in the two lakes. High dissolved oxygen and pH conditions in both lakes before the bloom declined in July, which coincided with seasonal high temperatures and resulted in seasonal lows in dissolved oxygen and decreased pH. Dissolved oxygen and pH in Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes increased again after the bloom recovered. Seasonal low dissolved oxygen and decreased pH coincided with seasonal highs in ammonia and orthophosphate concentrations. Seasonal maximum daily average temperatures were higher and minimum dissolved oxygen concentrations were lower in 2006 than in 2005. Conditions potentially harmful to fish were influenced by seasonal patterns in bloom dynamics and bathymetry. Potentially harmful low dissolved oxygen and high un-ionized ammonia concentrations occurred mostly at the deepest sites in the Upper Klamath Lake during late July, coincident with a bloom decline. Potentially harmful pH conditions occurred mostly at sites outside the deepest parts of the lake in July and September, coincident with a heavy bloom. Instances of possible gas bubble formation, inferred from dissolved oxygen data, were estimated to occur frequently in shallow areas of Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes simultaneously with potentially harmful pH conditions. Comparison of the data from monitors in nearshore areas and monitors near the surface of the water column in the open waters of

  20. Improving High-Throughput Sequencing Approaches for Reconstructing the Evolutionary Dynamics of Upper Paleolithic Human Groups

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Seguin-Orlando, Andaine

    the development and testing of innovative molecular approaches aiming at improving the amount of informative HTS data one can recover from ancient DNA extracts. We have characterized important ligation and amplification biases in the sequencing library building and enrichment steps, which can impede further...... been mainly driven by the development of High-Throughput DNA Sequencing (HTS) technologies but also by the implementation of novel molecular tools tailored to the manipulation of ultra short and damaged DNA molecules. Our ability to retrieve traces of genetic material has tremendously improved, pushing......, that impact on the overall efficacy of the method. In a second part, we implemented some of these molecular tools to the processing of five Upper Paleolithic human samples from the Kostenki and Sunghir sites in Western Eurasia, in order to reconstruct the deep genomic history of European populations...

  1. Haemorrhage from Pancreatic Pseudocysts Presenting as Upper Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Garcea

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available Haemorrhage is a rare but frequently fatal complication of pancreatic pseudocysts. The high mortality associated with pancreatic haemorrhage makes prompt and aggressive management essential. Occasionally, haemorrhage may present atypically, leading to delay in its diagnosis and management. This report details a case of pancreatic haemorrhage presenting as an upper gastrointestinal bleed and discusses the subsequent management. When managing patients with pancreatic pseudocysts who present with the stigmata of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, the possibility that the bleeding originates from the pancreas must always be borne in mind.

  2. Impediment in upper airway stabilizing forces assessed by phrenic nerve stimulation in sleep apnea patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vérin E

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The forces developed during inspiration play a key role in determining upper airway stability and the occurrence of nocturnal breathing disorders. Phrenic nerve stimulation applied during wakefulness is a unique tool to assess Upper airway dynamic properties and to measure the overall mechanical effects of the inspiratory process on UA stability. Objectives To compare the flow/pressure responses to inspiratory and expiratory twitches between sleep apnea subjects and normal subjects. Methods Inspiratory and expiratory twitches using magnetic nerve stimulation completed in eleven untreated sleep apnea subjects and ten normal subjects. Results In both groups, higher flow and pressure were reached during inspiratory twitches. The two groups showed no differences in expiratory twitch parameters. During inspiration, the pressure at which flow-limitation occurred was more negative in normals than in apneic subjects, but not reaching significance (p = 0.07. The relationship between pharyngeal pressure and flow adequately fitted with a polynomial regression model providing a measurement of upper airway critical pressure during twitch. This pressure significantly decreased in normals from expiratory to inspiratory twitches (-11.1 ± 1.6 and -15.7 ± 1.0 cm H2O respectively, 95% CI 1.6–7.6, p Conclusion Inspiratory-related upper airway dilating forces are impeded in sleep apnea patients.

  3. Metapopulations in temporary streams - the role of drought-flood cycles in promoting high genetic diversity in a critically endangered freshwater fish and its consequences for the future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sousa-Santos, Carla; Robalo, Joana I; Francisco, Sara M; Carrapato, Carlos; Cardoso, Ana Cristina; Doadrio, Ignacio

    2014-11-01

    Genetic factors have direct and indirect impacts in the viability of endangered species. Assessing their genetic diversity levels and population structure is thus fundamental for conservation and management. In this paper we use mitochondrial and nuclear markers to address phylogeographic and demographic data on the critically endangered Anaecypris hispanica, using a broad sampling set which covered its known distribution area in the Iberian Peninsula. Our results showed that the populations of A. hispanica are strongly differentiated (high and significant ФST and FST values, corroborated by the results from AMOVA and SAMOVA) and genetically diversified. We suggest that the restricted gene flow between populations may have been potentiated by ecological, hydrological and anthropogenic causes. Bayesian skyline plots revealed a signal for expansion for all populations (tMRCA between 68kya and 1.33Mya) and a genetic diversity latitudinal gradient was detected between the populations from the Upper (more diversified) and the Lower (less diversified) Guadiana river basin. We postulate a Pleistocenic westwards colonization route for A. hispanica in the Guadiana river basin, which is in agreement with the tempo and mode of paleoevolution of this drainage. The colonization of River Guadalquivir around 60kya with migrants from the Upper Guadiana, most likely by stream capture, is also suggested. This study highlights the view that critically endangered species facing range retreats (about 47% of its known populations have disappeared in the last 15years) are not necessarily small and genetically depleted. However, the extinction risk is not negligible since A. hispanica faces the combined effect of several deterministic and stochastic negative factors and, moreover, recolonization events after localized extinctions are very unlikely to occur due to the strong isolation of populations and to the patchily ecologically-conditioned distribution of fish. The inferred species

  4. Magnus effects at high angles of attack and critical Reynolds numbers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seginer, A.; Ringel, M.

    1983-01-01

    The Magnus force and moment experienced by a yawed, spinning cylinder were studied experimentally in low speed and subsonic flows at high angles of attack and critical Reynolds numbers. Flow-field visualization aided in describing a flow model that divides the Magnus phenomenon into a subcritical region, where reverse Magnus loads are experienced, and a supercritical region where these loads are not encountered. The roles of the spin rate, angle of attack, and crossflow Reynolds number in determining the boundaries of the subcritical region and the variations of the Magnus loads were studied.

  5. Watershed prioritization in the upper Han River basin for soil and water conservation in the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (middle route) of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Haibing

    2018-01-01

    Watershed prioritization with the objective of identifying critical areas to undertake soil and water conservation measures was conducted in the upper Han River basin, the water source area of approximately 95,000 km 2 for the middle route of China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project. Based on the estimated soil erosion intensity in uplands and clustering analysis of measured nutrient concentrations in rivers, the basin was grouped into very-high-, high-, moderate-, and low-priority regions for water and soil conservation, respectively. The results indicated that soil erosion was primarily controlled by topography, and nutrients in rivers were associated with land use and land cover in uplands. Also, there was large spatial disparity between soil erosion intensity in the uplands and nutrient concentrations in the rivers across the basin. Analysis was then performed to prioritize the basin by the integration of the soil erosion intensity and water quality on a GIS platform in order to identify critical areas for water and soil conservation in the basin. The identified high-priority regions which occupy 5.74% of the drainage areas need immediate attention for soil and water conservation treatments, of which 5.28% is critical for soil erosion prevention and 0.46% for water conservation. Understandings of the basin environment and pollutant loading with spatial explicit are critical to the soil and water resource conservation for the interbasin water transfer project.

  6. Validation of the Monte Carlo Criticality Program KENO V. a for highly-enriched uranium systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knight, J.R.

    1984-11-01

    A series of calculations based on critical experiments have been performed using the KENO V.a Monte Carlo Criticality Program for the purpose of validating KENO V.a for use in evaluating Y-12 Plant criticality problems. The experiments were reflected and unreflected systems of single units and arrays containing highly enriched uranium metal or uranium compounds. Various geometrical shapes were used in the experiments. The SCALE control module CSAS25 with the 27-group ENDF/B-4 cross-section library was used to perform the calculations. Some of the experiments were also calculated using the 16-group Hansen-Roach Library. Results are presented in a series of tables and discussed. Results show that the criteria established for the safe application of the KENO IV program may also be used for KENO V.a results.

  7. Validation of the Monte Carlo Criticality Program KENO V.a for highly-enriched uranium systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knight, J.R.

    1984-11-01

    A series of calculations based on critical experiments have been performed using the KENO V.a Monte Carlo Criticality Program for the purpose of validating KENO V.a for use in evaluating Y-12 Plant criticality problems. The experiments were reflected and unreflected systems of single units and arrays containing highly enriched uranium metal or uranium compounds. Various geometrical shapes were used in the experiments. The SCALE control module CSAS25 with the 27-group ENDF/B-4 cross-section library was used to perform the calculations. Some of the experiments were also calculated using the 16-group Hansen-Roach Library. Results are presented in a series of tables and discussed. Results show that the criteria established for the safe application of the KENO IV program may also be used for KENO V.a results

  8. Parents' Criticisms and Attributions about Their Adult Children with High Functioning Autism or Schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasserman, Stephanie; Weisman de Mamani, Amy; Mundy, Peter

    2010-01-01

    The current study examined the criticism component of expressed emotion (EE) and attributions in parents of adults diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (S/SA) or high functioning autism/Asperger's. Consistent with study hypotheses, parents of adults diagnosed with autism/Asperger's disorder exhibited lower levels of high…

  9. What happens in Josephson junctions at high critical current densities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massarotti, D.; Stornaiuolo, D.; Lucignano, P.; Caruso, R.; Galletti, L.; Montemurro, D.; Jouault, B.; Campagnano, G.; Arani, H. F.; Longobardi, L.; Parlato, L.; Pepe, G. P.; Rotoli, G.; Tagliacozzo, A.; Lombardi, F.; Tafuri, F.

    2017-07-01

    The impressive advances in material science and nanotechnology are more and more promoting the use of exotic barriers and/or superconductors, thus paving the way to new families of Josephson junctions. Semiconducting, ferromagnetic, topological insulator and graphene barriers are leading to unconventional and anomalous aspects of the Josephson coupling, which might be useful to respond to some issues on key problems of solid state physics. However, the complexity of the layout and of the competing physical processes occurring in the junctions is posing novel questions on the interpretation of their phenomenology. We classify some significant behaviors of hybrid and unconventional junctions in terms of their first imprinting, i.e., current-voltage curves, and propose a phenomenological approach to describe some features of junctions characterized by relatively high critical current densities Jc. Accurate arguments on the distribution of switching currents will provide quantitative criteria to understand physical processes occurring in high-Jc junctions. These notions are universal and apply to all kinds of junctions.

  10. Clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with upper ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Conclusions: The common presentations were haematemesis and melaena, mainly in middle aged men with mortality in one out of seven patients. The high mortality may be due to co-morbidities and poor support services. Keywords: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding, Emergency department, Characteristics, Outcome ...

  11. Microbes in the upper atmosphere and unique opportunities for astrobiology research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, David J

    2013-10-01

    Microbial taxa from every major biological lineage have been detected in Earth's upper atmosphere. The goal of this review is to communicate (1) relevant astrobiology questions that can be addressed with upper atmosphere microbiology studies and (2) available sampling methods for collecting microbes at extreme altitudes. Precipitation, mountain stations, airplanes, balloons, rockets, and satellites are all feasible routes for conducting aerobiology research. However, more efficient air samplers are needed, and contamination is also a pervasive problem in the field. Measuring microbial signatures without false positives in the upper atmosphere might contribute to sterilization and bioburden reduction methods for proposed astrobiology missions. Intriguingly, environmental conditions in the upper atmosphere resemble the surface conditions of Mars (extreme cold, hypobaria, desiccation, and irradiation). Whether terrestrial microbes are active in the upper atmosphere is an area of intense research interest. If, in fact, microbial metabolism, growth, or replication is achievable independent of Earth's surface, then the search for habitable zones on other worlds should be broadened to include atmospheres (e.g., the high-altitude clouds of Venus). Furthermore, viable cells in the heavily irradiated upper atmosphere of Earth could help identify microbial genes or enzymes that bestow radiation resistance. Compelling astrobiology questions on the origin of life (if the atmosphere synthesized organic aerosols), evolution (if airborne transport influenced microbial mutation rates and speciation), and panspermia (outbound or inbound) are also testable in Earth's upper atmosphere.

  12. Progress of the ECRH Upper Launcher design for ITER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strauss, D.; Aiello, G.; Bruschi, A.; Chavan, R.; Farina, D.; Figini, L.; Gagliardi, M.; Garcia, V.; Goodman, T.P.; Grossetti, G.; Heemskerk, C.; Henderson, M.A.; Kasparek, W.; Krause, A.; Landis, J.-D.; Meier, A.; Moro, A.; Platania, P.; Plaum, B.; Poli, E.

    2014-01-01

    The design of the ITER ECRH system provides 20 MW millimeter wave power for central plasma heating and MHD stabilization. The system consists of an array of 24 gyrotrons with power supplies coupled to a set of transmission lines guiding the beams to the four upper and the equatorial launcher. The front steering upper launcher design described herein has passed successfully the preliminary design review, and it is presently in the final design stage. The launcher consists of a millimeter wave system and steering mechanism with neutron shielding integrated into an upper port plug with the plasma facing blanket shield module (in-vessel) and a set of ex-vessel waveguides connecting the launcher to the transmission lines. Part of the transmission lines are the ultra-low loss CVD torus diamond windows and a shutter valve, a miter bend section and the feedthroughs integrated in the plug closure plate. These components are connected by corrugated waveguides and form together the first confinement system (FCS). In-vessel, the millimeter-wave system includes a quasi-optical beam propagation system including four mirror sets and a front steering mirror. The millimeter wave system is integrated into a specifically optimized upper port plug providing structural stability to withstand plasma disruption forces and the high heat load from the plasma side with a dedicated blanket shield module. A recent update in the ITER interface definition has resulted in the recession of the upper port plug first wall panels, which is now integrated into the design. Apart from the millimeter wave system the upper port plug houses also a set of shield blocks which provide neutron shielding. An overview of the actual ITER ECRH Upper Launcher is given together with some highlights of the design

  13. Applicability of simplified methods to evaluate consequences of criticality accident using past accident data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakajima, Ken

    2003-01-01

    Applicability of four simplified methods to evaluate the consequences of criticality accident was investigated. Fissions in the initial burst and total fissions were evaluated using the simplified methods and those results were compared with the past accident data. The simplified methods give the number of fissions in the initial burst as a function of solution volume; however the accident data did not show such tendency. This would be caused by the lack of accident data for the initial burst with high accuracy. For total fissions, simplified almost reproduced the upper envelope of the accidents. However several accidents, which were beyond the applicable conditions, resulted in the larger total fissions than the evaluations. In particular, the Tokai-mura accident in 1999 gave in the largest total specific fissions, because the activation of cooling system brought the relatively high power for a long time. (author)

  14. 3D Measurement of Forearm and Upper Arm during Throwing Motion using Body Mounted Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koda, Hideharu; Sagawa, Koichi; Kuroshima, Kouta; Tsukamoto, Toshiaki; Urita, Kazutaka; Ishibashi, Yasuyuki

    The aim of this study is to propose the measurement method of three-dimensional (3D) movement of forearm and upper arm during pitching motion of baseball using inertial sensors without serious consideration of sensor installation. Although high accuracy measurement of sports motion is achieved by using optical motion capture system at present, it has some disadvantages such as the calibration of cameras and limitation of measurement place. Whereas the proposed method for 3D measurement of pitching motion using body mounted sensors provides trajectory and orientation of upper arm by the integration of acceleration and angular velocity measured on upper limb. The trajectory of forearm is derived so that the elbow joint axis of forearm corresponds to that of upper arm. Spatial relation between upper limb and sensor system is obtained by performing predetermined movements of upper limb and utilizing angular velocity and gravitational acceleration. The integration error is modified so that the estimated final position, velocity and posture of upper limb agree with the actual ones. The experimental results of the measurement of pitching motion show that trajectories of shoulder, elbow and wrist estimated by the proposed method are highly correlated to those from the motion capture system within the estimation error of about 10 [%].

  15. Numerical solutions to the critical state in a magnet-high temperature superconductor interaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruiz-Alonso, D; Coombs, T A; Campbell, A M [Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ (United Kingdom)

    2005-02-01

    This paper presents an algorithm to simulate the electromagnetic behaviour of devices containing high temperature superconductors in axially symmetric problems. The numerical method is built within the finite element method. The electromagnetic properties of HTSCs are described through the critical-state model. Measurements of the axial force between a permanent magnet and a melt-textured YBCO puck are obtained in order to validate the method. This simple system is modelled so that the proposed method obtains the current distribution and electromagnetic fields in the HTSC. The forces in the interaction between the magnet and the HTSC puck can then be calculated. A comparison between experimental and simulation results shows good matching. The simplification of using the critical-state model and ignoring flux creep in this type of configuration is also explored.

  16. The Impact of Problem-Based Learning Approach to Senior High School Students’ Mathematics Critical Thinking Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reviandari Widyatiningtyas

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The study was report the findings of an only post-test control group research design and aims to analyze the influence of problem-based learning approach, school level, and students’ prior mathematical ability to student’s mathematics critical thinking ability. The research subjects were 140 grade ten senior high school students coming from excellent and moderate school level. The research instruments a set of mathematical critical thinking ability test, and the data were analyzed by using two ways ANOVA and t-test. The research found that the problem based learning approach has significant impact to the ability of students’ mathematics critical thinking in terms of school level and students’ prior mathematical abilities. Furthermore. This research also found that there is no interaction between learning approach and school level, and learning approach and students’ prior mathematics ability to students’ mathematics critical thinking ability.

  17. Temperature Profile of the Upper Mantle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, O.L.

    1980-01-01

    Following the procedure outlined by Magnitsky [1971], thermal profiles of the upper mantle are computed by deriving the thermal gradient from the seismic data given as dv/sub s//drho used along with the values of (dv/sub s//dT9/sub p/ and (dv/sub s//dP)/sub T/ of selected minerals, measured at high temperature. The resulting values of dT/dZ are integrated from 380 km upward toward the surface, where the integrating constant is taken from Akagi and Akimoto's work, T=1400 0 C at 380 km. The resulting geotherms for minerals are used to derive geotherms for an eclogite mantle and a lherzolite mantle, with and without partial melting in the low-velocity zone. The geotherms are all subadiabatic, and some are virtually isothermal in the upper mantle. Some are characterized by a large thermal hump at the lithosphere boundary

  18. Proposed strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to critical urban issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truong, Nguyen Hoang Long; Huan Giang, Ngoc; Binh Duong, Trong

    2018-03-01

    This paper aims at finding practical strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to varied municipal issues. Two steps are made. Step-1 identifies the critical issues of Ho Chi Minh City which are associated with high-rise apartment building projects. Step-2 finds potential and applicable strategies which are solutions for the critical issues in Step-1 with reference of seven selected assessment methods. The study finds the set of 58 strategies applicable to designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City.

  19. Development of E-Book Multimedia Model to Increase Critical Thinking of Senior High School Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suparno Suparno

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to develop the interactive e-book multimedia model to improve the students' critical thinking ability (KBK. Critical thinking is very important to develop because it provides a high level of reasoning thinking that provides permanent experience to students through conscious and controlled decision making in a rational, reflective, responsible manner with the optimization of potential. Flash-based e-book media is capable of interactively loading videos, pictures, practice questions and learning with directed directions from the teacher. The research method developed is research and development. The output products are learning plan, KBK evaluation question, flash-based interactive e-book multimedia, and quasi experiment to see media effectiveness to KBK. The results showed that e-book multimedia is able to significantly increase the KBK of high school students in economic learning.

  20. Benchmark criticality experiments for fast fission configuration with high enriched nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sikorin, S.N.; Mandzik, S.G.; Polazau, S.A.; Hryharovich, T.K.; Damarad, Y.V.; Palahina, Y.A.

    2014-01-01

    Benchmark criticality experiments of fast heterogeneous configuration with high enriched uranium (HEU) nuclear fuel were performed using the 'Giacint' critical assembly of the Joint Institute for Power and Nuclear Research - Sosny (JIPNR-Sosny) of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The critical assembly core comprised fuel assemblies without a casing for the 34.8 mm wrench. Fuel assemblies contain 19 fuel rods of two types. The first type is metal uranium fuel rods with 90% enrichment by U-235; the second one is dioxide uranium fuel rods with 36% enrichment by U-235. The total fuel rods length is 620 mm, and the active fuel length is 500 mm. The outer fuel rods diameter is 7 mm, the wall is 0.2 mm thick, and the fuel material diameter is 6.4 mm. The clad material is stainless steel. The side radial reflector: the inner layer of beryllium, and the outer layer of stainless steel. The top and bottom axial reflectors are of stainless steel. The analysis of the experimental results obtained from these benchmark experiments by developing detailed calculation models and performing simulations for the different experiments is presented. The sensitivity of the obtained results for the material specifications and the modeling details were examined. The analyses used the MCNP and MCU computer programs. This paper presents the experimental and analytical results. (authors)

  1. The Effects of Moderate- and High-Fidelity Patient Simulator Use on Critical Thinking in Associate Degree Nursing Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vieck, Jana

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of moderate- and high-fidelity patient simulator use on the critical thinking skills of associate degree nursing students. This quantitative study used a quasi-experimental design and the Health Sciences Reasoning Test (HSRT) to evaluate the critical thinking skills of third semester nursing…

  2. Development of optimal management of upper gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to pancreatic sinistral portal hypertension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SONG Yang

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The pathogenesis of pancreatic sinistral portal hypertension (PSPH is quite different from that of cirrhotic portal hypertension, and PSPH is the only curable type of portal hypertension. Gastric variceal bleeding is a less common manifestation of PSPH; however, it probably exacerbates the patient’s condition and leads to critical illness, and inappropriate management would result in death. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the optimal management of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in PSPH patients. Splenectomy is considered as a definitive procedure, together with surgical procedures to treat underlying pancreatic diseases. For patients in poor conditions or ineligible for surgery, splenic artery coil embolization is a preferable and effective method to stop bleeding before second-stage operation. The therapeutic decision should be made individually, and the further multi-center study to optimize the management of upper gastrointestinal bleeding from PSPH is warranted.

  3. Effectiveness of haloperidol prophylaxis in critically ill patients with a high risk of delirium: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Eduardo; Cardoso, Daniela; Neves, Hugo; Cunha, Madalena; Rodrigues, Manuel; Apóstolo, João

    2017-05-01

    Delirium is associated with increased intensive care unit and hospital length of stay, prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation, unplanned removal of tubes and catheters, and increased morbidity and mortality. Prophylactic treatment with low-dose haloperidol may have beneficial effects for critically ill patients with a high risk of delirium. To identify the effectiveness of haloperidol prophylaxis in critically ill patients with a high risk for delirium. Patients with a predicted high risk of delirium, aged 18 years or over, and in intensive care units. Patients with a history of concurrent antipsychotic medication use were excluded. Haloperidol prophylaxis for preventing delirium. Experimental and epidemiological study designs. Primary outcome is the incidence of delirium. Secondary outcomes are duration of mechanical ventilation, incidence of re-intubation, incidence of unplanned/accidental removal of tubes/lines and catheters, intensive care unit and hospital length of stay, and re-admissions to both settings. An initial search of MEDLINE and CINAHL was undertaken, followed by a second search for published and unpublished studies from January 1967 to September 2015 in major healthcare-related electronic databases. Studies in English, Spanish and Portuguese were included. Two independent reviewers assessed the methodological quality of five studies using the standardized critical appraisal instrument from the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument. There was general agreement among the reviewers to exclude one relevant study due to methodological quality. Data were extracted using the JBI data extraction form for experimental studies and included details about the interventions, populations, study methods and outcomes of significance to the review questions. Significant differences were found between participants, interventions, outcome measures (clinical heterogeneity) and designs (methodological heterogeneity

  4. The deep thermal field of the Upper Rhine Graben

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freymark, Jessica; Sippel, Judith; Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena; Bär, Kristian; Stiller, Manfred; Fritsche, Johann-Gerhard; Kracht, Matthias

    2017-01-01

    The Upper Rhine Graben has a significant socioeconomic relevance as it provides a great potential for geothermal energy production. The key for the utilisation of this energy resource is to understand the controlling factors of the thermal field in this area. We have therefore built a data-based lithospheric-scale 3D structural model of the Upper Rhine Graben and its adjacent areas. In addition, 3D gravity modelling was performed to constrain the internal structure of the crystalline crust consistent with seismic information. Based on this lithosphere scale 3D structural model the present-day conductive thermal field was calculated and compared to measured temperatures. Our results show that the regional thermal field is mainly controlled by the configuration of the upper crust, which has different thermal properties characteristic for the Variscan and Alpine domains. Temperature maxima are predicted for the Upper Rhine Graben where thick insulating Cenozoic sediments cause a thermal blanketing effect and where the underlying crustal units are characterised by high radiogenic heat production. The comparison of calculated and measured temperatures overall shows a reasonable fit, while locally occuring model deviations indicate where a larger influence of groundwater flow may be expected.

  5. Magnetic properties of Bi- and Tl- based new high-Tc superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Togano, K.; Kumakura, H.; Dietderich, D.H.

    1988-01-01

    Upper critical field H c2 and Magnetization curve were measured for new high-T c oxide superconductors of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O and Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O systems. H c2 values at 77K for the high-T phase of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O, low-T c (T c (ρ = 0) = 105K) phase of Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O, and high-T c (T c (ρ = 0)=115K) phase of Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O are 41T, 50T, and 100T, respectively. The magnetization curve of the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O shows a relatively small hysterisis, suggesting a weak pinning force compared to Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O as well as Ba 2 YCU 3 O x . Critical current density J c of 600A/Cm 2 at 77K and zero-magnetiac field was attained for the high-T c sample of Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O

  6. Anomalies of temperature dependence of the upper critical magnetic field of GdBa2Cu3O7-x and their relation with layered crystal structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anshukova, N.V.; Veselago, V.G.; Golovashkin, A.I.

    1989-01-01

    Temperature dependence of upper critical field H c2 (T) near T c was investigated on polycrystal GdBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x . The resistive superconductive transitions were measured in magnetic fields up to 15 T. We observed a magnetic-field induced broadening of transition and an appearance of H c2 (T) nonlinearity near T c and explained such effects by the influence of individual grains H c2 anisotropy on the base of the percolation model. Estimated are slopes: for magnetic field along superconductive layers -dH c2 parallel /dT≅ 7T/K and for field across layers -dH c2 tr /dT=0.2 T/K. It was found that H c2 (T)-curves display anomalies in a break form, which were not explained in the percolation model. The across coherence length ξ tr (T) obtained from values of the slopes was comparable with distance d between two superconductive layers. So we think that in this situation a fracture on the H c2 (T)-curves may be explained by the appearance of electronic density nonuniformity and it is precursor of crossover to two-dimensional superconductivity

  7. Upper Bound for Neutron Emission from Sonoluminescing Bubbles in Deuterated Acetone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camara, C. G.; Putterman, S. J.; Hopkins, S. D.; Suslick, K. S.

    2007-01-01

    An experimental search for nuclear fusion inside imploding bubbles of degassed deuterated acetone at 0 degree sign C driven by a 15 atm sound field and seeded with a neutron generator reveals an upper bound that is a factor of 10 000 less than the signal reported by Taleyarkhan et al. The strength of our upper bound is limited by the weakness of sonoluminescence, which we ascribe to the relatively high vapor pressure of acetone

  8. Technology improves upper extremity rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowalczewski, Jan; Prochazka, Arthur

    2011-01-01

    Stroke survivors with hemiparesis and spinal cord injury (SCI) survivors with tetraplegia find it difficult or impossible to perform many activities of daily life. There is growing evidence that intensive exercise therapy, especially when supplemented with functional electrical stimulation (FES), can improve upper extremity function, but delivering the treatment can be costly, particularly after recipients leave rehabilitation facilities. Recently, there has been a growing level of interest among researchers and healthcare policymakers to deliver upper extremity treatments to people in their homes using in-home teletherapy (IHT). The few studies that have been carried out so far have encountered a variety of logistical and technical problems, not least the difficulty of conducting properly controlled and blinded protocols that satisfy the requirements of high-level evidence-based research. In most cases, the equipment and communications technology were not designed for individuals with upper extremity disability. It is clear that exercise therapy combined with interventions such as FES, supervised over the Internet, will soon be adopted worldwide in one form or another. Therefore it is timely that researchers, clinicians, and healthcare planners interested in assessing IHT be aware of the pros and cons of the new technology and the factors involved in designing appropriate studies of it. It is crucial to understand the technical barriers, the role of telesupervisors, the motor improvements that participants can reasonably expect and the process of optimizing IHT-exercise therapy protocols to maximize the benefits of the emerging technology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. PREVALENCE OF UPPER CROSS SYNDROME AMONG THE MEDICAL STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iqra Mubeen

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Upper cross syndrome is becoming more prevalent in today’s population. The syndrome is expressed as a postural disorder presenting with over active pectoralis musculature and upper trapezius musculature. Also there is inhibition of lower and middle trapezius musculature, which results in winging of scapula, elevated and abducted scapula. This scapulardyskinesia there by resulted inrounding of shoulders. The syndrome is often associated with bad posture in routine life oroccupation of a person.The purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence of upper cross syndrome in medical students of Lahore. Methods: A convenience sample of 384 medical students was selected from university of Lahore, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Medical students of age between 17 to 2 years with sound physical and mental state were included. Students with any trauma, recent injury, recent fracture or surgery and any serious underlying pathology that may interfere with mobility of upper limb were excluded from the study. The research was a cross sectional observational study and self-administered questionnaires were circulated among participants and the data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Reed-co scale was used to analyze the proper alignment of head, neck and shoulder; where as wall push test was used to assess the abnormal protrusion of scapula. Results: The study have revealed that48.7% population of the students haveneck pain;and the results have concluded that high prevalence of upper cross syndrome in medical students of university of Lahore and a 66.8% of population was found to have poor studying posture. Conclusion: In this study relation between upper cross syndrome and bad posture were seen and it was found that the individuals suffering with upper cross syndrome were somehow related to bad posture or indulge in activities which make individual to adopt a posture of high physiologic cost there by leading to muscular imbalance

  10. An Analysis of the Teaching of Critical Thinking Skills in History in Postsecondary Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrington, Walter T. Ted

    2017-01-01

    This study is an investigation and analysis of the teaching of critical thinking skills in eight public universities in Texas, in particular the History, Education, and Business departments. The study is, in part, a document analysis of the universities' mission statements, the departments' stated learning objectives, and two upper level…

  11. Calculation of critical heat transfer in horizontal evaporator pipes in cooling systems of high-rise buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aksenov, Andrey; Malysheva, Anna

    2018-03-01

    An exact calculation of the heat exchange of evaporative surfaces is possible only if the physical processes of hydrodynamics of two-phase flows are considered in detail. Especially this task is relevant for the design of refrigeration supply systems for high-rise buildings, where powerful refrigeration equipment and branched networks of refrigerants are used. On the basis of experimental studies and developed mathematical model of asymmetric dispersed-annular flow of steam-water flow in horizontal steam-generating pipes, a calculation formula has been obtained for determining the boundaries of the zone of improved heat transfer and the critical value of the heat flux density. A new theoretical approach to the solution of the problem of the flow structure of a two-phase flow is proposed. The applied method of dissipative characteristics of a two-phase flow in pipes and the principle of a minimum rate of entropy increase in stabilized flows made it possible to obtain formulas that directly reflect the influence of the viscous characteristics of the gas and liquid media on their distribution in the flow. The study showed a significant effect of gravitational forces on the nature of the phase distribution in the cross section of the evaporative tubes. At a mass velocity of a two-phase flow less than 700 kg / m2s, the volume content of the liquid phase near the upper outer generating lines of the tube is almost an order of magnitude lower than the lower one. The calculation of the heat transfer crisis in horizontal evaporative tubes is obtained. The calculated dependence is in good agreement with the experimental data of the author and a number of foreign researchers. The formula generalizes the experimental data for pipes with the diameter of 6-40 mm in the pressure of 2-7 MPa.

  12. Peripherally inserted central catheters and upper extremity deep vein thrombosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ong, B.; Gibbs, H.; Catchpole, I.; Hetherington, R.; Harper, J.

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to determine the incidence and risk factors for venous thrombosis in patients with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC). A retrospective study of all upper extremity venous duplex scans was carried out in the Vascular Medicine department from year 2000 to 2002 inclusive. A chart review of positive scans was undertaken to identify possible thrombotic risk factors. Of 317 upper extremity venous duplex scans carried out, 115, or 32%, were positive for upper extremity deep vein thrombosis. Three main risk factors were identified - presence of a central line, malignancy and administration of chemotherapy. PICC were the most common central line present. Symptomatic thrombosis occurred in 7% of PICC inserted for chemotherapy compared with 1% of PICC inserted for other reasons. Ten per cent of the patients receiving chemotherapy through a PICC developed a thrombosis. The post-thrombotic syndrome was infrequent following upper extremity deep vein thrombosis. Patients receiving chemotherapy through a PICC are at increased risk of thrombosis. There may be a role for prophylactic low-dose anticoagulation in these high-risk patients

  13. Determination of the Acid Dissociation Constant of a Phenolic Acid by High Performance Liquid Chromatography: An Experiment for the Upper Level Analytical Chemistry Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raboh, Ghada

    2018-01-01

    A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) experiment for the upper level analytical chemistry laboratory is described. The students consider the effect of mobile-phase composition and pH on the retention times of ionizable compounds in order to determine the acid dissociation constant, K[subscript a], of a phenolic acid. Results are analyzed…

  14. Self organized criticality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Creutz, M.

    1993-03-01

    Self organized criticality refers to the tendency of highly dissipative systems to drive themselves to a critical state. This has been proposed to explain why observed physics often displays a wide disparity of length and time scales. The phenomenon can be studied in simple cellular automaton models

  15. Methodological aspects of functional neuroimaging at high field strength: a critical review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scheef, L.; Landsberg, M.W.; Boecker, H.

    2007-01-01

    The last few years have proven that high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is superior in nearly every way to conventional equipment up to 1.5 tesla (T). Following the global success of 3T-scanners in research institutes and medical practices, a new generation of MRI devices with field strengths of 7T and higher is now on the horizon. The introduction of ultra high fields has brought MRI technology closer to the physical limitations and increasingly greater costs are required to achieve this goal. This article provides a critical overview of the advantages and problems of functional neuroimaging using ultra high field strengths. This review is principally limited to T2*-based functional imaging techniques not dependent on contrast agents. The main issues include the significance of high field technology with respect to SNR, CNR, resolution, and sequences, as well as artifacts, noise exposure, and SAR. Of great relevance is the discussion of parallel imaging, which will presumably determine the further development of high and ultra high field strengths. Finally, the importance of high field strengths for functional neuroimaging is explained by selected publications. (orig.)

  16. Magnetocaloric properties and critical behavior of high relative cooling power FeNiB nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaudhary, V. [Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Energy Research Institute @NTU, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637553 (Singapore); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Maheswar Repaka, D. V.; Chaturvedi, A.; Ramanujan, R. V., E-mail: ramanujan@ntu.edu.sg [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Sridhar, I. [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

    2014-10-28

    Low cost magnetocaloric nanomaterials have attracted considerable attention for energy efficient applications. We report a very high relative cooling power (RCP) in a study of the magnetocaloric effect in quenched FeNiB nanoparticles. RCP increases from 89.8 to 640 J kg{sup −1} for a field change of 1 and 5 T, respectively, these values are the largest for rare earth free iron based magnetocaloric nanomaterials. To investigate the magnetocaloric behavior around the Curie temperature (T{sub C}), the critical behavior of these quenched nanoparticles was studied. Detailed analysis of the magnetic phase transition using the modified Arrott plot, Kouvel-Fisher method, and critical isotherm plots yields critical exponents of β = 0.364, γ = 1.319, δ = 4.623, and α = −0.055, which are close to the theoretical exponents obtained from the 3D-Heisenberg model. Our results indicate that these FeNiB nanoparticles are potential candidates for magnetocaloric fluid based heat pumps and low grade waste heat recovery.

  17. Regional aerosol deposition in human upper airways

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swift, D.L.

    1989-01-01

    During the report period significant progress on the quantitative understanding of regional upper airway deposition of airborne particle has been realized. Replicate models of the human upper airways obtained from post-mortem casting of the nasal, oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal and upper tracheal regions and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the same regions of adults and children have been employed to determine the overall and local deposition characteristics of aerosols in the ultrafine (1--100 μm diameter) and fine (0.8--12 μm diameter) region. Studies have been carried out for both nasal and oral breathing during inspiratory and expiratory flow at constant flow rates representative of rest and states of exercise. The results of these investigations indicate that particles in the size range of ''unattached'' radon progeny (1--3 nm) are deposited in both the nasal and oral passages with high efficiency (60--80%) for both inspiration and expiration, with the nasal deposition being somewhat greater (5--10%) than oral deposition. The effect of flow rate on upper airway deposition for both pathways is not great; data analysis indicates that the deposition for all flow rates from 4--50 liters/minute can be grouped by plotting deposition vs Q- 1/8 , where Q is flow rate, a far weaker dependency than observed for inertial deposition. Diffusional transport is the primary mechanism of deposition, and size dependence can be accounted for by plotting, deposition percent vs D n where D is particle diffusion coefficient and n ranges from 0.5--0.66. 2 refs

  18. Novel 16-channel receive coil array for accelerated upper airway MRI at 3 Tesla.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yoon-Chul; Hayes, Cecil E; Narayanan, Shrikanth S; Nayak, Krishna S

    2011-06-01

    Upper airway MRI can provide a noninvasive assessment of speech and swallowing disorders and sleep apnea. Recent work has demonstrated the value of high-resolution three-dimensional imaging and dynamic two-dimensional imaging and the importance of further improvements in spatio-temporal resolution. The purpose of the study was to describe a novel 16-channel 3 Tesla receive coil that is highly sensitive to the human upper airway and investigate the performance of accelerated upper airway MRI with the coil. In three-dimensional imaging of the upper airway during static posture, 6-fold acceleration is demonstrated using parallel imaging, potentially leading to capturing a whole three-dimensional vocal tract with 1.25 mm isotropic resolution within 9 sec of sustained sound production. Midsagittal spiral parallel imaging of vocal tract dynamics during natural speech production is demonstrated with 2 × 2 mm(2) in-plane spatial and 84 ms temporal resolution. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  19. Critical current densities amd pinning mechanisms of high-Tc films on single crystalline and technologically relevant substrates. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adrian, H.

    1995-12-01

    The report deals with six project tasks: (1) Effects of impurity additions at atomic level on the pinning behaviour and the critical current densities, examined in epitactic YBA 2 (Cu 1-x Ni x ) 3 O 7 films. It could be proven that the Ni atoms increase the activation energy for flux movement and the critical current density in a concentration range of 0 2 Sr 2 Ca n-1 Cu n O 2n+4+δ films (n = 2 and 3) with good crystalline properties, high critical currents, and high current densities were prepared. Thin YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 films of high quality could be grown on saphire substrates, both by the MO-CVD process and by MBE. The aim of depositing biaxially textured YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 films with high critical current densities on polycrystalline, metallic substrates was achieved by the IBAD process combined with MBE. The buffer layer was YSZ. Heterostructures of the layer sequence YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 /CeO 2 /Y 0.3 Pr 0.7 Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7 /YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 /CeO 2 /Au were prepared by laser ablation and sputtering processes, in order to examine Josephson ramp contacts and superconducting field-effect transistors. (orig./MM) [de

  20. Three-dimensional crust and upper mantle structure at the Nevada test site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, S.R.

    1983-01-01

    The three-dimensional crust and upper mantle structure at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) is derived by combining teleseismic P wave travel time residuals with Pn source time terms. The NTS time terms and relative teleseismic residuals are calculated by treating the explosions as a network of 'receivers' which record 'shots' located at the surrounding stations. Utilization of the Pn time terms allows for better crustal resolution than is possible from teleseismic information alone. Average relative teleseismic P wave residuals show a consistent progression of positive (late arrivals) to negative residuals from east to west across the NTS. However, Pn time terms beneath Rainier Mesa are at least 0.3 and 0.5 s less than those beneath Pahute Mesa and Yucca Flat, respectively, indicating the presence of high-velocity crustal material or crustal thinning beneath Rainier Mesa. The time terms at Pahute Mesa are surprisingly uniform, and the largest time terms and residuals are observed in the northwest and southern parts of Yucca Flat. The Pn time terms show a slight correlation with the working-point velocity at the shot point for Pahute Mesa and Yucca Flat, indicating that part of the observed lateral variations are caused by shallow effects of the upper crust. Three-dimensional inversion of the travel time residuals suggests that Yucca Flat is characterized by low-velocity anomalies confined to the upper crust, Rainer Mesa by very high velocities in the upper and middle crust, and Pahute Mesa by a high-velocity anomaly extending through the crust and into the upper mantle. Relatively low velocities are observed in the lower crust beneath the Timber Mountain caldera south of Pahute Mesa with no expression in the upper mantle. These observed differences in velocity beneath the Tertiary Silent Canyon and Timber Mountain calderas may be related to their magma volume and mode of enrichment from a mantle-derived magma source

  1. Factors favorable to frequent extreme precipitation in the upper Yangtze River Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Baoqiang; Fan, Ke

    2013-08-01

    Extreme precipitation events in the upper Yangtze River Valley (YRV) have recently become an increasingly important focus in China because they often cause droughts and floods. Unfortunately, little is known about the climate processes responsible for these events. This paper investigates factors favorable to frequent extreme precipitation events in the upper YRV. Our results reveal that a weakened South China Sea summer monsoon trough, intensified Eurasian-Pacific blocking highs, an intensified South Asian High, a southward subtropical westerly jet and an intensified Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) increase atmospheric instability and enhance the convergence of moisture over the upper YRV, which result in more extreme precipitation events. The snow depth over the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) in winter and sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) over three key regions in summer are important external forcing factors in the atmospheric circulation anomalies. Deep snow on the Tibetan Plateau in winter can weaken the subsequent East Asian summer monsoon circulation above by increasing the soil moisture content in summer and weakening the land-sea thermal contrast over East Asia. The positive SSTA in the western North Pacific may affect southwestward extension of the WNPSH and the blocking high over northeastern Asia by arousing the East Asian-Pacific pattern. The positive SSTA in the North Atlantic can affect extreme precipitation event frequency in the upper YRV via a wave train pattern along the westerly jet between the North Atlantic and East Asia. A tripolar pattern from west to east over the Indian Ocean can strengthen moisture transport by enhancing Somali cross-equatorial flow.

  2. Hydrostratigraphic interpretation of test-hole and geophysical data, Upper Loup River Basin, Nebraska, 2008-10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobza, Christopher M.; Asch, Theodore H.; Bedrosian, Paul A.

    2011-01-01

    Nebraska's Upper Loup Natural Resources District is currently (2011) participating in the Elkhorn-Loup Model to understand the effect of various groundwater-management scenarios on surface-water resources. During Phase 1 of the Elkhorn-Loup Model, a lack of subsurface geological information in the Upper Loup Natural Resources District, hereafter referred to as the upper Loup study area, was identified as a gap in current knowledge that needed to be addressed. To improve the understanding of the hydrogeology of the upper Loup study area, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Loup Natural Resources District and the University of Nebraska Conservation and Survey Division, collected and described the lithology of drill cuttings from nine test holes, and concurrently collected borehole geophysical data to identify the base of the High Plains aquifer. Surface geophysical data also were collected using time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM) and audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) methods at test-hole locations and between test holes, as a quick, non-invasive means of identifying the base of the High Plains aquifer.

  3. Commercial gaming devices for stroke upper limb rehabilitation: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomson, Katie; Pollock, Alex; Bugge, Carol; Brady, Marian

    2014-06-01

    Rehabilitation using commercial gaming devices is a new concept for stroke care. Commercial gaming devices such as Nintendo Wii or Sony PlayStation encourage high repetition of arm movements and are being introduced into some clinical settings. The evidence base for gaming use in rehabilitation is growing rapidly and there is a need to systematically synthesise research. Our review aims to integrate evidence on how gaming is being used, explore patient/therapist experience and synthesise evidence of effectiveness. An integrative systematic review was undertaken searching Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (2013), Medline (2013), Embase (2013) and twelve additional databases. Two review authors independently selected studies based on pre-defined inclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Nineteen studies including 215 patients met inclusion criteria. Studies were typically small scale feasibility studies using a range of research designs, limiting the ability to reach generalised conclusions. Results have been tabulated (activities of daily living, upper limb function/ movement) and qualitative themes identified. Findings suggest that most patients enjoy using commercial gaming and can tolerate 180 mins per week without significant adverse effects. A trend towards improvement was noted for upper limb function/ movement. Few studies recorded outcomes related to activities of daily living or focused on understanding patients' experiences of this intervention. Commercial gaming can provide high intensity upper limb practice however there is insufficient high quality evidence to reach generalisable conclusions about risks or benefits on activities of daily living or upper limb function/movement. © 2014 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2014 World Stroke Organization.

  4. Life-Style Habits in a High-Risk Area for Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers: a Population-Based Study from Shanxi, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Yi-Kun; Yao, Shang-Man; Xu, Yi-Ran; Niu, Run-Gui

    2016-01-01

    Cancer is a burden on humanity and ranks as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in China. Shanxi province has its unique cancer patterns and the burden is increasing. In this study, we aimed to assess the pattern of dietary habits and life-style in Shanxi, a high-risk area for upper gastrointestinal cancers in China and further evaluate the trends in cancer incidence and mortality based on registered data. Data on lifestyle, diet, physical activity were obtained from the household health survey at Zhongyang from 2013 to 2015. Cancer diagnoses were reported to Shanxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (SCDCP). Population-based cancer incidence data and mortality data of 2012 were collected from the SCDCP. All incidence and death rates were expressed per 100,000 populations. Univariate analysis was performed using the Chi-squared test or Fisherandapos;s exact test. Overall, deficiencies in fresh fruits and vegetable food, and intake of hot food, salted food, or pickled food are serious problems in Shanxi, especially in rural areas. Upper gastrointestinal cancers were the most commonly diagnosed cancers, and the incidence in rural areas is higher than those in urban areas. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer for females. Moreover, the agespecific incidence exhibited an increased trend before 40 years old. Consistent with the previous literature, our epidemiological investigation results suggest that lifestyle, nutrition deficient, and infections were major risk factors for upper gastrointestinal cancers or cervical cancer in Shanxi. Facing a serious situation, we further explored defensible recommendations for the general public in order to promote changes in environments that support healthful eating and physical activity habits, to reduce cancer risk. Our results present the current cancer trends in Shanxi and its related etiologic risk factors and provide a theoretical basis to guide public health efforts to prevent and control cancers in the

  5. Stress Analysis for the Critical Metal Structure of Bridge Crane

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Zhangwei; Wang, Min; Xia, Junfang; Wang, Songhua; Guo, Xiaolian

    2018-01-01

    Based on the type of connection between the main girder and end beam of electrical single beam crane, the finite element analysis model of a full portal crane was established. The stress distribution of the critical structure under different loading conditions was analyzed. The results shown that the maximum Mises stress and deflection of the main girder were within the allowable range. And the connecting location between end beam web and main girder had higher stress than other region, especially at the lower edge and upper edge of the end beam web and the area near the bolt hole of upper wing panel. Therefore it is important to inspect the connection status, the stress condition and the crack situation nearing connection location during the regular inspection process to ensure the safety of the connection between the main girder and end beam.

  6. CAN TiO EXPLAIN THERMAL INVERSIONS IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERES OF IRRADIATED GIANT PLANETS?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spiegel, David S.; Silverio, Katie; Burrows, Adam

    2009-01-01

    Spitzer Space Telescope infrared observations indicate that several transiting extrasolar giant planets have thermal inversions in their upper atmospheres. Above a relative minimum, the temperature appears to increase with altitude. Such an inversion probably requires a species at high altitude that absorbs a significant amount of incident optical/UV radiation. Some authors have suggested that the strong optical absorbers titanium oxide (TiO) and vanadium oxide (VO) could provide the needed additional opacity, but if regions of the atmosphere are cold enough for Ti and V to be sequestered into solids they might rain out and be severely depleted. With a model of the vertical distribution of a refractory species in gaseous and condensed form, we address the question of whether enough TiO (or VO) could survive aloft in an irradiated planet's atmosphere to produce a thermal inversion. We find that it is unlikely that VO could play a critical role in producing thermal inversions. Furthermore, we find that macroscopic mixing is essential to the TiO hypothesis; without macroscopic mixing, such a heavy species cannot persist in a planet's upper atmosphere. The amount of macroscopic mixing that is required depends on the size of condensed titanium-bearing particles that form in regions of an atmosphere that are too cold for gaseous TiO to exist. We parameterize the macroscopic mixing with the eddy diffusion coefficient K zz and find, as a function of particle size a, the values that K zz must assume on the highly irradiated planets HD 209458b, HD 149026b, TrES-4, and OGLE-TR-56b to loft enough titanium to the upper atmosphere for the TiO hypothesis to be correct. On these planets, we find that for TiO to be responsible for thermal inversions K zz must be at least a few times 10 7 cm 2 s -1 , even for a = 0.1 μm, and increases to nearly 10 11 cm 2 s -1 for a = 10 μm. Such large values may be problematic for the TiO hypothesis, but are not impossible.

  7. Management of upper airway edema caused by hereditary angioedema

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farkas Henriette

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Hereditary angioedema is a rare disorder with a genetic background involving mutations in the genes encoding C1-INH and of factor XII. Its etiology is unknown in a proportion of cases. Recurrent edema formation may involve the subcutis and the submucosa - the latter can produce obstruction in the upper airways and thereby lead to life-threatening asphyxia. This is the reason for the high, 30-to 50-per-cent mortality of undiagnosed or improperly managed cases. Airway obstruction can be prevented through early diagnosis, meaningful patient information, timely recognition of initial symptoms, state-of-the-art emergency therapy, and close monitoring of the patient. Prophylaxis can substantially mitigate the risk of upper airway edema and also improve the patients' quality of life. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any form of upper airway edema should be regarded as a potentially life-threatening condition. None of the currently available prophylactic modalities is capable of preventing UAE with absolute certainty.

  8. Critical Thinking Skills of an Eighth Grade Male Student with High Mathematical Ability in Solving Problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to describe student’s critical thinking skill of grade VIII in solving mathematical problem. A qualitative research was conducted to a male student with high mathematical ability. Student’s critical thinking skill was obtained from a depth task-based interview. The result show that male student’s critical thinking skill of the student as follows. In understanding the problem, the student did categorization, significance decoding, and meaning clarification. In devising a plan he examined his ideas, detected his argument, analyzed his argument and evaluated his argument. During the implementation phase, the skill that appeared were analyzing of the argument and inference skill such as drawing conclusion, deliver alternative thinking, and problem solving skills. At last, in rechecking all the measures, they did self-correcting and self-examination.

  9. Groundwater-derived nutrient inputs to the Upper Gulf of Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnett, William C.; Wattayakorn, Gullaya; Taniguchi, Makoto; Dulaiova, Henrieta; Sojisuporn, Pramot; Rungsupa, Sompop; Ishitobi, Tomotoshi

    2007-01-01

    We report here the first direct measurements of nutrient fluxes via groundwater discharge into the Upper Gulf of Thailand. Nutrient and standard oceanographic surveys were conducted during the wet and dry seasons along the Chao Phraya River, Estuary and out into the Upper Gulf of Thailand. Additional measurements in selected near-shore regions of the Gulf included manual and automatic seepage meter deployments, as well as nutrient evaluations of seepage and coastal waters. The river transects characterized the distribution of biogeochemical parameters in this highly contaminated urban environment. Seepage flux measurements together with nutrient analyses of seepage fluids were used to estimate nutrient fluxes via groundwater pathways for comparison to riverine fluxes. Our findings show that disseminated seepage of nutrient-rich mostly saline groundwater into the Upper Gulf of Thailand is significant. Estimated fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) supplied via groundwater discharge were 40-50% of that delivered by the Chao Phraya River, inorganic phosphate was 60-70%, and silica was 15-40%. Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and phosphorus (DOP) groundwater fluxes were also high at 30-40% and 30-130% of the river inputs, respectively. These observations are especially impressive since the comparison is being made to the river that is the largest source of fresh water into the Gulf of Thailand and flows directly through the megacity of Bangkok with high nutrient loadings from industrial and domestic sources.

  10. Upper airway morphology in Down Syndrome patients under dexmedetomidine sedation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajeev Subramanyam

    Full Text Available Abstract Background and objectives: Children with Down Syndrome are vulnerable to significant upper airway obstruction due to relative macroglossia and dynamic airway collapse. The objective of this study was to compare the upper airway dimensions of children with Down Syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea with normal airway under dexmedetomidine sedation. Methods: IRB approval was obtained. In this retrospective study, clinically indicated dynamic sagittal midline magnetic resonance images of the upper airway were obtained under low (1 mcg/kg/h and high (3 mcg/kg/h dose dexmedetomidine. Airway anteroposterior diameters and sectional areas were measured as minimum and maximum dimensions by two independent observers at soft palate (nasopharyngeal airway and at base of the tongue (retroglossal airway. Results and conclusions: Minimum anteroposterior diameter and minimum sectional area at nasopharynx and retroglossal airway were significantly reduced in Down Syndrome compared to normal airway at both low and high dose dexmedetomidine. However, there were no significant differences between low and high dose dexmedetomidine in both Down Syndrome and normal airway. The mean apnea hypopnea index in Down Syndrome was 16 ± 11. Under dexmedetomidine sedation, children with Down Syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea when compared to normal airway children show significant reductions in airway dimensions most pronounced at the narrowest points in the nasopharyngeal and retroglossal airways.

  11. Upper airway morphology in Down Syndrome patients under dexmedetomidine sedation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramanyam, Rajeev; Fleck, Robert; McAuliffe, John; Radhakrishnan, Rupa; Jung, Dorothy; Patino, Mario; Mahmoud, Mohamed

    2016-01-01

    Children with Down Syndrome are vulnerable to significant upper airway obstruction due to relative macroglossia and dynamic airway collapse. The objective of this study was to compare the upper airway dimensions of children with Down Syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea with normal airway under dexmedetomidine sedation. IRB approval was obtained. In this retrospective study, clinically indicated dynamic sagittal midline magnetic resonance images of the upper airway were obtained under low (1mcg/kg/h) and high (3mcg/kg/h) dose dexmedetomidine. Airway anteroposterior diameters and sectional areas were measured as minimum and maximum dimensions by two independent observers at soft palate (nasopharyngeal airway) and at base of the tongue (retroglossal airway). Minimum anteroposterior diameter and minimum sectional area at nasopharynx and retroglossal airway were significantly reduced in Down Syndrome compared to normal airway at both low and high dose dexmedetomidine. However, there were no significant differences between low and high dose dexmedetomidine in both Down Syndrome and normal airway. The mean apnea hypopnea index in Down Syndrome was 16±11. Under dexmedetomidine sedation, children with Down Syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea when compared to normal airway children show significant reductions in airway dimensions most pronounced at the narrowest points in the nasopharyngeal and retroglossal airways. Copyright © 2015 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  12. [Upper airway morphology in Down Syndrome patients under dexmedetomidine sedation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramanyam, Rajeev; Fleck, Robert; McAuliffe, John; Radhakrishnan, Rupa; Jung, Dorothy; Patino, Mario; Mahmoud, Mohamed

    2016-01-01

    Children with Down Syndrome are vulnerable to significant upper airway obstruction due to relative macroglossia and dynamic airway collapse. The objective of this study was to compare the upper airway dimensions of children with Down Syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea with normal airway under dexmedetomidine sedation. IRB approval was obtained. In this retrospective study, clinically indicated dynamic sagittal midline magnetic resonance images of the upper airway were obtained under low (1mcg/kg/h) and high (3mcg/kg/h) dose dexmedetomidine. Airway anteroposterior diameters and sectional areas were measured as minimum and maximum dimensions by two independent observers at soft palate (nasopharyngeal airway) and at base of the tongue (retroglossal airway). Minimum anteroposterior diameter and minimum sectional area at nasopharynx and retroglossal airway were significantly reduced in Down Syndrome compared to normal airway at both low and high dose dexmedetomidine. However, there were no significant differences between low and high dose dexmedetomidine in both Down Syndrome and normal airway. The mean apnea hypopnea index in Down Syndrome was 16±11. Under dexmedetomidine sedation, children with Down Syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea when compared to normal airway children show significant reductions in airway dimensions most pronounced at the narrowest points in the nasopharyngeal and retroglossal airways. Copyright © 2015 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  13. Physiotherapy education and training prior to upper abdominal surgery is memorable and has high treatment fidelity: a nested mixed-methods randomised-controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boden, Ianthe; El-Ansary, Doa; Zalucki, Nadia; Robertson, Iain K; Browning, Laura; Skinner, Elizabeth H; Denehy, Linda

    2018-06-01

    To (1) assess memorability and treatment fidelity of pre-operative physiotherapy education prior to elective upper abdominal surgery and, (2) to explore patient opinions on pre-operative education. Mixed-methods analysis of a convenience sample within a larger parallel-group, double-blinded, randomised controlled trial with concealed allocation and intention-to-treat analysis. Tertiary Australian hospital. Twenty-nine patients having upper abdominal surgery attending pre-admission clinic within six-weeks of surgery. The control group received an information booklet about preventing pulmonary complications with early ambulation and breathing exercises. The experimental group received an additional face-to-face 30-minute physiotherapy education and training session on pulmonary complications, early ambulation, and breathing exercises. Primary outcome was proportion of participants who remembered the taught breathing exercises following surgery. Secondary outcomes were recall of information sub-items and attainment of early ambulation goals. These were measured using standardised scoring of a semi-scripted digitally-recorded interview on the 5th postoperative day, and the attainment of early ambulation goals over the first two postoperative days. Experimental group participants were six-times more likely to remember the breathing exercises (95%CI 1.7 to 22) and 11-times more likely (95%CI 1.6 to 70) to report physiotherapy as the most memorable part of pre-admission clinic. Participants reported physiotherapy education content to be detailed, interesting, and of high value. Some participants reported not reading the booklet and professed a preference for face-to-face information delivery. Face-to-face pre-operative physiotherapy education and training prior to upper abdominal surgery is memorable and has high treatment fidelity. ACTRN-12613000664741. Copyright © 2017 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. All rights reserved.

  14. Criticality assessment for prismatic high temperature reactors by fuel stochastic Monte Carlo modeling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zakova, Jitka [Department of Nuclear and Reactor Physics, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Roslagstullsbacken 21, S-10691 Stockholm (Sweden)], E-mail: jitka.zakova@neutron.kth.se; Talamo, Alberto [Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, ANL, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)], E-mail: alby@anl.gov

    2008-05-15

    Modeling of prismatic high temperature reactors requires a high precision description due to the triple heterogeneity of the core and also to the random distribution of fuel particles inside the fuel pins. On the latter issue, even with the most advanced Monte Carlo techniques, some approximation often arises while assessing the criticality level: first, a regular lattice of TRISO particles inside the fuel pins and, second, the cutting of TRISO particles by the fuel boundaries. We utilized two of the most accurate Monte Codes: MONK and MCNP, which are both used for licensing nuclear power plants in United Kingdom and in the USA, respectively, to evaluate the influence of the two previous approximations on estimating the criticality level of the Gas Turbine Modular Helium Reactor. The two codes exactly shared the same geometry and nuclear data library, ENDF/B, and only modeled different lattices of TRISO particles inside the fuel pins. More precisely, we investigated the difference between a regular lattice that cuts TRISO particles and a random lattice that axially repeats a region containing over 3000 non-cut particles. We have found that both Monte Carlo codes provide similar excesses of reactivity, provided that they share the same approximations.

  15. Critical Role of Monoclinic Polarization Rotation in High-Performance Perovskite Piezoelectric Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hui; Chen, Jun; Fan, Longlong; Ren, Yang; Pan, Zhao; Lalitha, K V; Rödel, Jürgen; Xing, Xianran

    2017-07-07

    High-performance piezoelectric materials constantly attract interest for both technological applications and fundamental research. The understanding of the origin of the high-performance piezoelectric property remains a challenge mainly due to the lack of direct experimental evidence. We perform in situ high-energy x-ray diffraction combined with 2D geometry scattering technology to reveal the underlying mechanism for the perovskite-type lead-based high-performance piezoelectric materials. The direct structural evidence reveals that the electric-field-driven continuous polarization rotation within the monoclinic plane plays a critical role to achieve the giant piezoelectric response. An intrinsic relationship between the crystal structure and piezoelectric performance in perovskite ferroelectrics has been established: A strong tendency of electric-field-driven polarization rotation generates peak piezoelectric performance and vice versa. Furthermore, the monoclinic M_{A} structure is the key feature to superior piezoelectric properties as compared to other structures such as monoclinic M_{B}, rhombohedral, and tetragonal. A high piezoelectric response originates from intrinsic lattice strain, but little from extrinsic domain switching. The present results will facilitate designing high-performance perovskite piezoelectric materials by enhancing the intrinsic lattice contribution with easy and continuous polarization rotation.

  16. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with CKD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Chih-Chia; Wang, Su-Ming; Kuo, Huey-Liang; Chang, Chiz-Tzung; Liu, Jiung-Hsiun; Lin, Hsin-Hung; Wang, I-Kuan; Yang, Ya-Fei; Lu, Yueh-Ju; Chou, Che-Yi; Huang, Chiu-Ching

    2014-08-07

    Patients with CKD receiving maintenance dialysis are at risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. However, the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with early CKD who are not receiving dialysis is unknown. The hypothesis was that their risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding is negatively linked to renal function. To test this hypothesis, the association between eGFR and risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with stages 3-5 CKD who were not receiving dialysis was analyzed. Patients with stages 3-5 CKD in the CKD program from 2003 to 2009 were enrolled and prospectively followed until December of 2012 to monitor the development of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding was analyzed using competing-risks regression with time-varying covariates. In total, 2968 patients with stages 3-5 CKD who were not receiving dialysis were followed for a median of 1.9 years. The incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding per 100 patient-years was 3.7 (95% confidence interval, 3.5 to 3.9) in patients with stage 3 CKD, 5.0 (95% confidence interval, 4.8 to 5.3) in patients with stage 4 CKD, and 13.9 (95% confidence interval, 13.1 to 14.8) in patients with stage 5 CKD. Higher eGFR was associated with a lower risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (P=0.03), with a subdistribution hazard ratio of 0.93 (95% confidence interval, 0.87 to 0.99) for every 5 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) higher eGFR. A history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (Pupper gastrointestinal bleeding risk. In patients with CKD who are not receiving dialysis, lower renal function is associated with higher risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The risk is higher in patients with previous upper gastrointestinal bleeding history and low serum albumin. Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Nephrology.

  17. Right upper quadrant pain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ralls, P.W.; Colletti, P.M.; Boswell, W.D. Jr.; Halls, J.M.

    1984-01-01

    Historically, assessment of acute right upper quadrant abdominal pain has been a considerable clinical challenge. While clinical findings and laboratory data frequently narrow the differential diagnosis, symptom overlap generally precludes definitive diagnosis among the various diseases causing acute right upper quadrant pain. Fortunately, the advent of newer diagnostic imaging modalities has greatly improved the rapidity and reliability of diagnosis in these patients. An additional challenge to the physician, with increased awareness of the importance of cost effectiveness in medicine, is to select appropriate diagnostic schema that rapidly establish accurate diagnoses in the most economical fashion possible. The dual goals of this discussion are to assess not only the accuracy of techniques used to evaluate patients with acute right upper quadrant pain, but also to seek out cost-effective, coordinated imaging techniques to achieve this goal

  18. NARCISS critical stand experiments for studying the nuclear safety in accident water immersion of highly enriched uranium dioxide fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ponomarev-Stepnoj, N.N.; Glushkov, E.S.; Bubelev, V.G.

    2005-01-01

    A brief description of the Topaz-2 SNPS designed under scientific supervision of RRC KI in Russia, and of the NARCISS critical facility, is given. At the NARCISS critical facility, neutronic peculiarities and nuclear safety issues of the Topaz-2 system reactor were studied experimentally. This work is devoted to a detailed description of experiments on investigation of criticality safety in accident water immersion og highly enriched uranium dioxide fuel elements, performed at the NARCISS facility. The experiments were carried out at water-moderated critical assemblies with varying height, number, and spacing of fuel elements. The results obtained in the critical experiments, computational models of the investigated critical configurations, and comparison of the computational and experimental results are given [ru

  19. A revised inoceramid biozonation for the Upper Cretaceous based on high-resolution carbon isotope stratigraphy in northwestern Hokkaido, Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayakawa, Tatsuya; Hirano, Hiromichi

    2013-06-01

    Hayakawa, T., Hirano, H. 2013. A revised inoceramid biozonation for the Upper Cretaceous based on high-resolution carbon isotope stratigraphy in northwestern Hokkaido, Japan. Acta Geologica Polonica, 63 (2), 239-263. Warszawa. Biostratigraphic correlations of inoceramid bivalves between the North Pacific and Euramerican provinces have been difficult because the inoceramid biostratigraphy of the Japanese strata has been based on endemic species of the northwest Pacific. In this study, carbon stable isotope fluctuations of terrestrial organic matter are assembled for the Upper Cretaceous Yezo Group in the Haboro and Obira areas, Hokkaido, Japan, in order to revise the chronology of the inoceramid biozonation in Japan. The carbon isotope curves are correlated with those of marine carbonates in English and German sections with the aid of age-diagnostic taxa. According to the correlations of the carbon isotope curves, 11 isotope events are recognised in the sections studied. As a result of these correlations, the chronology of the inoceramid biozones of the Northwest Pacific has been considerably revised. The revised inoceramid biozones suggest that the timing of the origination and extinction of the inoceramids in the North Pacific biotic province is different from the stage/substage boundaries defined by inoceramids, as used in Europe and North America.

  20. Acoustic observation of living organisms reveals the upper limit of the oxygen minimum zone.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arnaud Bertrand

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs are expanding in the World Ocean as a result of climate change and direct anthropogenic influence. OMZ expansion greatly affects biogeochemical processes and marine life, especially by constraining the vertical habitat of most marine organisms. Currently, monitoring the variability of the upper limit of the OMZs relies on time intensive sampling protocols, causing poor spatial resolution. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using routine underwater acoustic observations of the vertical distribution of marine organisms, we propose a new method that allows determination of the upper limit of the OMZ with a high precision. Applied in the eastern South-Pacific, this original sampling technique provides high-resolution information on the depth of the upper OMZ allowing documentation of mesoscale and submesoscale features (e.g., eddies and filaments that structure the upper ocean and the marine ecosystems. We also use this information to estimate the habitable volume for the world's most exploited fish, the Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This opportunistic method could be implemented on any vessel geared with multi-frequency echosounders to perform comprehensive high-resolution monitoring of the upper limit of the OMZ. Our approach is a novel way of studying the impact of physical processes on marine life and extracting valid information about the pelagic habitat and its spatial structure, a crucial aspect of Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management in the current context of climate change.

  1. Wireless wearable range-of-motion sensor system for upper and lower extremity joints: a validation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Yogaprakash; Yen, Shih-Cheng; Tay, Arthur; Lee, Wangwei; Gao, Fan; Zhao, Ziyi; Li, Jingze; Hon, Benjamin; Tian-Ma Xu, Tim; Cheong, Angela; Koh, Karen; Ng, Yee-Sien; Chew, Effie; Koh, Gerald

    2015-02-01

    Range-of-motion (ROM) assessment is a critical assessment tool during the rehabilitation process. The conventional approach uses the goniometer which remains the most reliable instrument but it is usually time-consuming and subject to both intra- and inter-therapist measurement errors. An automated wireless wearable sensor system for the measurement of ROM has previously been developed by the current authors. Presented is the correlation and accuracy of the automated wireless wearable sensor system against a goniometer in measuring ROM in the major joints of upper (UEs) and lower extremities (LEs) in 19 healthy subjects and 20 newly disabled inpatients through intra (same) subject comparison of ROM assessments between the sensor system against goniometer measurements by physical therapists. In healthy subjects, ROM measurements using the new sensor system were highly correlated with goniometry, with 95% of differences sensor system were also highly correlated with goniometry, with 95% of the differences being < 20° and 25° for most movements in the major joints of UE and LE, respectively.

  2. Comparative outcome of bomb explosion injuries versus high-powered gunshot injuries of the upper extremity in a civilian setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luria, Shai; Rivkin, Gurion; Avitzour, Malka; Liebergall, Meir; Mintz, Yoav; Mosheiff, Ram

    2013-03-01

    Explosion injuries to the upper extremity have specific clinical characteristics that differ from injuries due to other mechanisms. To evaluate the upper extremity injury pattern of attacks on civilian targets, comparing bomb explosion injuries to gunshot injuries and their functional recovery using standard outcome measures. Of 157 patients admitted to the hospital between 2000 and 2004, 72 (46%) sustained explosion injuries and 85 (54%) gunshot injuries. The trauma registry files were reviewed and the patients completed the DASH Questionnaire (Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand) and SF-12 (Short Form-12) after a minimum period of 1 year. Of the 157 patients, 72 (46%) had blast injuries and 85 (54%) had shooting injuries. The blast casualties had higher Injury Severity Scores (47% vs. 22% with a score of > 16, P = 0.02) and higher percent of patients treated in intensive care units (47% vs. 28%, P = 0.02). Although the Abbreviated Injury Scale score of the upper extremity injury was similar in the two groups, the blast casualties were found to have more bilateral and complex soft tissue injuries and were treated surgically more often. No difference was found in the SF-12 or DASH scores between the groups at follow up. The casualties with upper extremity blast injuries were more severely injured and sustained more bilateral and complex soft tissue injuries to the upper extremity. However, the rating of the local injury to the isolated limb is similar, as was the subjective functional recovery.

  3. Linezolid extracorporeal removal during haemodialysis with high cut-off membrane in critically ill patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villa, Gianluca; Cassetta, Maria Iris; Tofani, Lorenzo; Valente, Serafina; Chelazzi, Cosimo; Falsini, Silvia; De Gaudio, Angelo Raffaele; Novelli, Andrea; Ronco, Claudio; Adembri, Chiara

    2015-10-01

    Continuous venovenous haemodialysis with high cut-off membrane (HCO-CVVHD) is often used in critically ill septic patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) to sustain renal function and to remove circulating inflammatory mediators. The aim of this study was to analyse the extracorporeal removal of linezolid and related alterations in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) parameters during HCO-CVVHD. Three critically ill septic patients with AKI, treated with linezolid and HCO-CVVHD, were prospectively observed. To calculate the extracorporeal clearance of linezolid and the PK parameters, effluent, pre-filter and post-filter samples were contemporaneously collected before linezolid infusion, just after 1-h infusion (maximum serum concentration; C(max)), at 3 h and 6 h after dosing, and before the next dose (trough serum concentration; C(min)). Linezolid C(max) and C(min) (pre-filter) ranged from 10.4-23.5 mg/L and from 2.9-10.3 mg/L. The dialysate saturation coefficient was 0.66-0.85 and the extracorporeal clearance with a diffusive dose of 35 m L/kg/h ranged from 2.1-2.5 L/h. Total linezolid clearance was between 1.7 L/h and 6.3 L/h. The total area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0-∞) ranged from 95.1 mgh/L to 352.9 mgh/L, in accordance with the different clinical conditions. AUCfree/MIC ratios were always linezolid total clearance, the clinical features of critically ill septic patients appear to be mainly responsible for the high variability of linezolid serum concentrations. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Comparative study of InGaP/GaAs high electron mobility transistors with upper and lower delta-doped supplied layers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsai, Jung-Hui; Ye, Sheng-Shiun; Guo, Der-Feng; Lour, Wen-Shiung

    2012-01-01

    Influence corresponding to the position of δ-doped supplied layer on InGaP/GaAs high electron mobility transistors is comparatively studied by two-dimensional simulation analysis. The simulated results exhibit that the device with lower δ-doped supplied layer shows a higher gate potential barrier height, a higher saturation output current, a larger magnitude of negative threshold voltage, and broader gate voltage swing, as compared to the device with upper δ-doped supplied layer. Nevertheless, it has smaller transconductance and inferior high-frequency characteristics in the device with lower δ-doped supplied layer. Furthermore, a knee effect in current-voltage curves is observed at low drain-to-source voltage in the two devices, which is investigated in this article.

  5. Upper plenum mixing in a BWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alamgir, M.; Andersen, J.G.M.; Parameswaran, V.

    1984-01-01

    A model for the emergency core cooling injection into the upper plenum of a boiling water reactor has been formulated and implemented into the TRACB02 computer program. The model consists of a spray model and a submerged jet model. The submerged jet model is used when the spray nozzles are covered by a two-phase mixture, and the spray model is used when the nozzles are uncovered. The upper plenum model has been assessed by comparison to an upper plenum mixing test in the Steam Sector Test Facility. It is found that the model accurately predicts the phenomena in the upper plenum of a boiling water reactor

  6. Consideration of critically when directly disposing highly enriched spent nuclear fuel in unsaturated tuff: Bounding estimates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rechard, R.P.; Tierney, M.S.; Sanchez, L.C.; Martell, M.-A.

    1996-05-01

    This report presents one of 2 approaches (bounding calculations) which were used in a 1994 study to examine the possibility of a criticality in a repository. Bounding probabilities, although rough, point to the difficulty of creating conditions under which a critical mass could be assembled (container corrosion, separation of neutron absorbers from fissile material, collapse or precipitation of fissile material) and how significant the geochemical and hydrologic phenomena are. The study could not conceive of a mechanism consistent with conditions under which an atomic explosion could occur. Should a criticality occur in or near a container in the future, boundary consequence calculations showed that fissions from one critical event (<10{sup 20} fissions, if similar to aqueous and metal accidents and experiments) are quite small compared to the amount of fissions represented by the spent fuel itself. If it is assumed that the containers necessary to hold the highly enriched spent fuel went critical once per day for 1 million years, creating an energy release of about 10{sup 20} fissions, the number of fissions equals about 10{sup 28}, which corresponds to only 1% of the fission inventory in a repository containing 70,000 metric tons of heavy metal, the expected size for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

  7. Consideration of critically when directly disposing highly enriched spent nuclear fuel in unsaturated tuff: Bounding estimates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rechard, R.P.; Tierney, M.S.; Sanchez, L.C.; Martell, M.-A.

    1996-05-01

    This report presents one of 2 approaches (bounding calculations) which were used in a 1994 study to examine the possibility of a criticality in a repository. Bounding probabilities, although rough, point to the difficulty of creating conditions under which a critical mass could be assembled (container corrosion, separation of neutron absorbers from fissile material, collapse or precipitation of fissile material) and how significant the geochemical and hydrologic phenomena are. The study could not conceive of a mechanism consistent with conditions under which an atomic explosion could occur. Should a criticality occur in or near a container in the future, boundary consequence calculations showed that fissions from one critical event ( 20 fissions, if similar to aqueous and metal accidents and experiments) are quite small compared to the amount of fissions represented by the spent fuel itself. If it is assumed that the containers necessary to hold the highly enriched spent fuel went critical once per day for 1 million years, creating an energy release of about 10 20 fissions, the number of fissions equals about 10 28 , which corresponds to only 1% of the fission inventory in a repository containing 70,000 metric tons of heavy metal, the expected size for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

  8. Thermomechanical simulation of WEST actively cooled upper divertor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batal, T.; Richou, M.; Guilhem, D.; Firdaouss, M.; Larroque, S.; Ferlay, F.; Missirlian, M.; Bucalossi, J.

    2016-01-01

    The Tore Supra tokamak is being transformed in an x-point divertor fusion device in the frame of the WEST (W-for tungsten-Environment in Steady-state Tokamak) project, launched in support to the ITER tungsten divertor strategy. The WEST project aims to test ITER-like W monoblock Plasma Facing Units (PFU). This ITER-like divertor will be tested under long plasma discharge up to 1000 s, with high heat flux density up to 20 MW/m 2 . This paper presents the results of ANSYS thermal-structural simulations of the WEST upper divertor. The upper divertor is made of twelve 30° sectors, each one composed of 38 PFU. The PFUs are actively cooled CuCrZr heat sinks and the incidence surface is coated with a thin tungsten layer. The fixing system is made of pins engaged in slotted holes. Besides, the fixing system of the sector assembly is the same as WEST lower divertor, so one upper divertor sector can be used indifferently in upper or Lower position during transitional operation phases in WEST. The total surface of the upper divertor is 8 m 2 , and it has to be able to extract up to 4 MW in steady-state, with peak heat flux values up to 8 MW/m 2 . The fixing system was designed to handle structural loads such as forces and torques resulting from halo and eddy current, respectively, especially during disruptions and Vertical Displacement Event (VDE). The torque resulting from eddy current is first calculated thanks to an internal CEA ANSYS APDL routine. Then the ANSYS structural and thermal-structural simulations of the PFU are presented, and its design is validated thanks to A-level RCC-MRx criteria. Finally, the most conservative load case is determined in order to validate the design of the pins and the support structure.

  9. Thermomechanical simulation of WEST actively cooled upper divertor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Batal, T., E-mail: tristan.batal@cea.fr; Richou, M.; Guilhem, D.; Firdaouss, M.; Larroque, S.; Ferlay, F.; Missirlian, M.; Bucalossi, J.

    2016-11-15

    The Tore Supra tokamak is being transformed in an x-point divertor fusion device in the frame of the WEST (W-for tungsten-Environment in Steady-state Tokamak) project, launched in support to the ITER tungsten divertor strategy. The WEST project aims to test ITER-like W monoblock Plasma Facing Units (PFU). This ITER-like divertor will be tested under long plasma discharge up to 1000 s, with high heat flux density up to 20 MW/m{sup 2}. This paper presents the results of ANSYS thermal-structural simulations of the WEST upper divertor. The upper divertor is made of twelve 30° sectors, each one composed of 38 PFU. The PFUs are actively cooled CuCrZr heat sinks and the incidence surface is coated with a thin tungsten layer. The fixing system is made of pins engaged in slotted holes. Besides, the fixing system of the sector assembly is the same as WEST lower divertor, so one upper divertor sector can be used indifferently in upper or Lower position during transitional operation phases in WEST. The total surface of the upper divertor is 8 m{sup 2}, and it has to be able to extract up to 4 MW in steady-state, with peak heat flux values up to 8 MW/m{sup 2}. The fixing system was designed to handle structural loads such as forces and torques resulting from halo and eddy current, respectively, especially during disruptions and Vertical Displacement Event (VDE). The torque resulting from eddy current is first calculated thanks to an internal CEA ANSYS APDL routine. Then the ANSYS structural and thermal-structural simulations of the PFU are presented, and its design is validated thanks to A-level RCC-MRx criteria. Finally, the most conservative load case is determined in order to validate the design of the pins and the support structure.

  10. Procalcitonin increase in early identification of critically ill patients at high risk of mortality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jens Ulrik; Heslet, L; Jensen, TH

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate day-by-day changes in procalcitonin and maximum obtained levels as predictors of mortality in critically ill patients. DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study. SETTING:: Multidisciplinary intensive care unit at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital......, a tertiary reference hospital in Denmark. PATIENTS: Four hundred seventy-two patients with diverse comorbidity and age admitted to this intensive care unit. INTERVENTIONS: Equal in all patient groups: antimicrobial treatment adjusted according to the procalcitonin level. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Daily...... in the intensive care unit and in a 30-day follow-up period. A total of 3,642 procalcitonin measurements were evaluated in 472 critically ill patients. We found that a high maximum procalcitonin level and a procalcitonin increase for 1 day were independent predictors of 90-day all-cause mortality...

  11. Changing climatic conditions in the Upper Thames River Basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simonovic, S.P.

    2009-01-01

    'Full text:' Many climate change impact studies have been conducted using a top-down approach. First, outputs from Global Circulation Models (GCMs) are considered which are downscaled in a second step to the river basin scale using either a statistical/empirical or a dynamic approach. The local climatic signal that is obtained is then used as input into a hydrological model to assess the direct consequences in the basin. Problems related to this approach include: a high degree of uncertainty associated with GCM outputs; and an increase in uncertainty due to the downscaling approach. An original inverse approach is developed in this work in order to improve the understanding of the processes leading to hydrological hazards, including both flood and drought events. The developed approach starts with the analysis of existing guidelines and management practices in a river basin with respect to critical hydrological exposures that may lead to failure of the water resources system or parts thereof. This implies that vulnerable components of the river basin have to be identified together with the risk exposure. In the next step the critical hydrologic exposures (flood levels for example) are transformed into corresponding critical meteorological conditions (extreme precipitation events for example). These local weather scenarios are then be statistically linked to possible large-scale climate conditions that are available from the GCMs. The developed procedure allows for the assessment of the vulnerability of river basins with respect to climate forcing. It also provides a tool for identifying the spatial distribution of the vulnerability and risk. Vulnerability is here characterized by the incremental losses, expressed either quantitatively or qualitatively, due to a change in the probability and magnitude of hazard events driven by climatic forcing. Vulnerability is seen as the basis for risk mitigation measures for hydrologic extremes at the basin level. The

  12. Short-term use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors and risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yen-Po; Chen, Yung-Tai; Tsai, Chia-Fen; Li, Szu-Yuan; Luo, Jiing-Chyuan; Wang, Shuu-Jiun; Tang, Chao-Hsiun; Liu, Chia-Jen; Lin, Han-Chieh; Lee, Fa-Yauh; Chang, Full-Young; Lu, Ching-Liang

    2014-01-01

    The association between selective serotonin receptor inhibitors (SSRIs) and risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding remains controversial. Previous studies have generally evaluated the issue for approximately 3 months, even though the SSRI-mediated inhibition of platelet serotonin concentrations occurs within 7-14 days. The authors explored the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding after short-term SSRI exposure by a case-crossover design. The records of psychiatric inpatients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database (1998-2009). Rates of antidepressant use were compared for case and control periods with time windows of 7, 14, and 28 days. The adjusted self-matched odds ratios from a conditional logistic regression model were used to determine the association between SSRI use and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. A total of 5,377 patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding were enrolled. The adjusted odds ratio for the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding after SSRI exposure was 1.67 (95% CI=1.23-2.26) for the 7-day window, 1.84 (95% CI=1.42-2.40) for the 14-day window, and 1.67 (95% CI=1.34-2.08) for the 28-day window. SSRIs with high and intermediate, but not low, affinity for serotonin transporter were associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. An elevated risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding after SSRI exposure was seen in male but not female patients. Short-term SSRI use (7-28 days) is significantly associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Gender differences may exist in the relationship between SSRI use and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Physicians should carefully monitor signs of upper gastrointestinal bleeding even after short-term exposure to SSRIs, as is done with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and aspirin.

  13. Tectonic Geomorphology of the northern Upper Rhine Graben, Germany.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peters, G; van Balen, R.T.

    2007-01-01

    This paper focuses on the northern Upper Rhine Graben (URG), which experienced low tectonic deformation and multiple climate changes during Quaternary times. Recently, human modifications have been high. The paper presents the results of a study into the effects of fault activity on the landscape

  14. Implications of Monte Carlo Statistical Errors in Criticality Safety Assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pevey, Ronald E.

    2005-01-01

    Most criticality safety calculations are performed using Monte Carlo techniques because of Monte Carlo's ability to handle complex three-dimensional geometries. For Monte Carlo calculations, the more histories sampled, the lower the standard deviation of the resulting estimates. The common intuition is, therefore, that the more histories, the better; as a result, analysts tend to run Monte Carlo analyses as long as possible (or at least to a minimum acceptable uncertainty). For Monte Carlo criticality safety analyses, however, the optimization situation is complicated by the fact that procedures usually require that an extra margin of safety be added because of the statistical uncertainty of the Monte Carlo calculations. This additional safety margin affects the impact of the choice of the calculational standard deviation, both on production and on safety. This paper shows that, under the assumptions of normally distributed benchmarking calculational errors and exact compliance with the upper subcritical limit (USL), the standard deviation that optimizes production is zero, but there is a non-zero value of the calculational standard deviation that minimizes the risk of inadvertently labeling a supercritical configuration as subcritical. Furthermore, this value is shown to be a simple function of the typical benchmarking step outcomes--the bias, the standard deviation of the bias, the upper subcritical limit, and the number of standard deviations added to calculated k-effectives before comparison to the USL

  15. Adaptive control based on an on-line parameter estimation of an upper limb exoskeleton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riani, Akram; Madani, Tarek; Hadri, Abdelhafid El; Benallegue, Abdelaziz

    2017-07-01

    This paper presents an adaptive control strategy for an upper-limb exoskeleton based on an on-line dynamic parameter estimator. The objective is to improve the control performance of this system that plays a critical role in assisting patients for shoulder, elbow and wrist joint movements. In general, the dynamic parameters of the human limb are unknown and differ from a person to another, which degrade the performances of the exoskeleton-human control system. For this reason, the proposed control scheme contains a supplementary loop based on a new efficient on-line estimator of the dynamic parameters. Indeed, the latter is acting upon the parameter adaptation of the controller to ensure the performances of the system in the presence of parameter uncertainties and perturbations. The exoskeleton used in this work is presented and a physical model of the exoskeleton interacting with a 7 Degree of Freedom (DoF) upper limb model is generated using the SimMechanics library of MatLab/Simulink. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an example of passive rehabilitation movements is performed using multi-body dynamic simulation. The aims is to maneuver the exoskeleton that drive the upper limb to track desired trajectories in the case of the passive arm movements.

  16. Similar Efficacy of Proton-Pump Inhibitors vs H2-Receptor Antagonists in Reducing Risk of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding or Ulcers in High-Risk Users of Low-Dose Aspirin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Francis K L; Kyaw, Moe; Tanigawa, Tetsuya; Higuchi, Kazuhide; Fujimoto, Kazuma; Cheong, Pui Kuan; Lee, Vivian; Kinoshita, Yoshikazu; Naito, Yuji; Watanabe, Toshio; Ching, Jessica Y L; Lam, Kelvin; Lo, Angeline; Chan, Heyson; Lui, Rashid; Tang, Raymond S Y; Sakata, Yasuhisa; Tse, Yee Kit; Takeuchi, Toshihisa; Handa, Osamu; Nebiki, Hiroko; Wu, Justin C Y; Abe, Takashi; Mishiro, Tsuyoshi; Ng, Siew C; Arakawa, Tetsuo

    2017-01-01

    It is not clear whether H 2 -receptor antagonists (H2RAs) reduce the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in aspirin users at high risk. We performed a double-blind randomized trial to compare the effects of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) vs a H2RA antagonist in preventing recurrent upper GI bleeding and ulcers in high-risk aspirin users. We studied 270 users of low-dose aspirin (≤325 mg/day) with a history of endoscopically confirmed ulcer bleeding at 8 sites in Hong Kong and Japan. After healing of ulcers, subjects with negative results from tests for Helicobacter pylori resumed aspirin (80 mg) daily and were assigned randomly to groups given a once-daily PPI (rabeprazole, 20 mg; n = 138) or H2RA (famotidine, 40 mg; n = 132) for up to 12 months. Subjects were evaluated every 2 months; endoscopy was repeated if they developed symptoms of upper GI bleeding or had a reduction in hemoglobin level greater than 2 g/dL and after 12 months of follow-up evaluation. The adequacy of upper GI protection was assessed by end points of recurrent upper GI bleeding and a composite of recurrent upper GI bleeding or recurrent endoscopic ulcers at month 12. During the 12-month study period, upper GI bleeding recurred in 1 patient receiving rabeprazole (0.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.1%-5.1%) and in 4 patients receiving famotidine (3.1%; 95% CI, 1.2%-8.1%) (P = .16). The composite end point of recurrent bleeding or endoscopic ulcers at month 12 was reached by 9 patients receiving rabeprazole (7.9%; 95% CI, 4.2%-14.7%) and 13 patients receiving famotidine (12.4%; 95% CI, 7.4%-20.4%) (P = .26). In a randomized controlled trial of users of low-dose aspirin at risk for recurrent GI bleeding, a slightly lower proportion of patients receiving a PPI along with aspirin developed recurrent bleeding or ulcer than of patients receiving an H2RA with the aspirin, although this difference was not statistically significant. ClincialTrials.gov no: NCT01408186. Copyright © 2017 AGA

  17. Measuring the critical current in superconducting samples made of NT-50 under pulse irradiation by high-energy particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasilev, P.G.; Vladimirova, N.M.; Volkov, V.I.; Goncharov, I.N.; Zajtsev, L.N.; Zel'dich, B.D.; Ivanov, V.I.; Kleshchenko, E.D.; Khvostov, V.B.

    1981-01-01

    The results of tests of superconducting samples of an uninsulated wire of the 0.5 mm diameter, containing 1045 superconducting filaments of the 10 μm diameter made of NT-50 superconductor in a copper matrix, are given. The upper part of the sample (''closed'') is placed between two glass-cloth-base laminate plates of the 50 mm length, and the lower part (''open'') of the 45 mm length is immerged into liquid helium. The sample is located perpendicular to the magnetic field of a superconducting solenoid and it is irradiated by charged particle beams at the energy of several GeV. The measurement results of permissible energy release in the sample depending on subcriticality (I/Isub(c) where I is an operating current through the sample, and Isub(c) is a critical current for lack of the beam) and the particle flux density, as well as of the maximum permissible fluence depending on subcriticality. In case of the ''closed'' sample irradiated by short pulses (approximately 1 ms) for I/Isub(c) [ru

  18. Fuzzy upper bounds and their applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soleimani-damaneh, M. [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematical Science and Computer Engineering, Teacher Training University, 599 Taleghani Avenue, Tehran 15618 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: soleimani_d@yahoo.com

    2008-04-15

    This paper considers the concept of fuzzy upper bounds and provides some relevant applications. Considering a fuzzy DEA model, the existence of a fuzzy upper bound for the objective function of the model is shown and an effective approach to solve that model is introduced. Some dual interpretations are provided, which are useful for practical purposes. Applications of the concept of fuzzy upper bounds in two physical problems are pointed out.

  19. Supra-Epiglottic Upper Airway Volume in Elderly Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutet, Claire; Abdirahman Mohamed Moussa, Syad; Celle, Sébastien; Laurent, Bernard; Barthélémy, Jean-Claude; Barral, Fabrice-Guy; Roche, Frédéric

    2016-01-01

    Small upper airway measurements areas and high body mass index are recognized risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in non-elderly populations; however, there is limited information regarding elderly patients. We evaluated whether upper airway volume is associated with OSAS and OSAS treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment and whether BMI is correlated with upper airway volume and measurements in elderly subjects. In 60 volunteers aged 75.58±0.9 years: 20 OSAS, 20 OSAS chronically treated with CPAP, and 20 controls, semi-automatic segmentation, retropalatal distance and transverse diameter of the supra-epiglottic upper airway were evaluated using 3DT1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Anteroposterior to transverse diameter ratio was defined as retropalatar diameter/transverse diameter. There were no significant differences in supra-epiglottic upper airway volume between OSAS, CPAP treated patients, and controls. There were significant differences in retropalatal distance and anteroposterior to transverse diameter ratio between OSAS, CPAP treated patients, and controls (P = 0.008 and Psupra-epiglottic upper airway volume. In elderly subjects, OSAS and body mass index are not associated with changes in supra-epiglottic upper airway volume but are associated with modification of pharynx shape.

  20. Single-chain statistics and the upper wave-vector cutoff in polymer blends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holyst, R.; Vilgis, T.A.

    1994-01-01

    We derive the equation for the single-chain correlation function in polymer blends. The chains in the incompressible blend have a radius of gyration smaller than the radius of gyration for ideal chains. The chains shrink progressively as we approach the critical temperature T c . The correction responsible for shrinking is proportional to 1/ √N , where N is the polymerization index. At T=T c and for N=1000, the size of the chain has been estimated to be 10% smaller than the size of the ideal coil. The estimate relies on the appropriate cutoff. In the limit of N→∞ the chains approach the random walk limit. Additionally, we propose in this paper a self-consistent determination of the radius of gyration and the upper wave-vector cutoff. Our model is free from any divergences such as were encountered in the previous mean-field studies; we make an estimate of the chain size at the true critical temperature and not the mean-field one

  1. Effects of hypoxia and ocean acidification on the upper thermal niche boundaries of coral reef fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ern, Rasmus; Johansen, Jacob L; Rummer, Jodie L; Esbaugh, Andrew J

    2017-07-01

    Rising ocean temperatures are predicted to cause a poleward shift in the distribution of marine fishes occupying the extent of latitudes tolerable within their thermal range boundaries. A prevailing theory suggests that the upper thermal limits of fishes are constrained by hypoxia and ocean acidification. However, some eurythermal fish species do not conform to this theory, and maintain their upper thermal limits in hypoxia. Here we determine if the same is true for stenothermal species. In three coral reef fish species we tested the effect of hypoxia on upper thermal limits, measured as critical thermal maximum (CT max ). In one of these species we also quantified the effect of hypoxia on oxygen supply capacity, measured as aerobic scope (AS). In this species we also tested the effect of elevated CO 2 (simulated ocean acidification) on the hypoxia sensitivity of CT max We found that CT max was unaffected by progressive hypoxia down to approximately 35 mmHg, despite a substantial hypoxia-induced reduction in AS. Below approximately 35 mmHg, CT max declined sharply with water oxygen tension ( P w O 2 ). Furthermore, the hypoxia sensitivity of CT max was unaffected by elevated CO 2 Our findings show that moderate hypoxia and ocean acidification do not constrain the upper thermal limits of these tropical, stenothermal fishes. © 2017 The Author(s).

  2. Supplemental Carbon Dioxide Stabilizes the Upper Airway in Volunteers Anesthetized with Propofol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruscic, Katarina Jennifer; Bøgh Stokholm, Janne; Patlak, Johann; Deng, Hao; Simons, Jeroen Cedric Peter; Houle, Timothy; Peters, Jürgen; Eikermann, Matthias

    2018-05-10

    Propofol impairs upper airway dilator muscle tone and increases upper airway collapsibility. Preclinical studies show that carbon dioxide decreases propofol-mediated respiratory depression. We studied whether elevation of end-tidal carbon dioxide (PETCO2) via carbon dioxide insufflation reverses the airway collapsibility (primary hypothesis) and impaired genioglossus muscle electromyogram that accompany propofol anesthesia. We present a prespecified, secondary analysis of previously published experiments in 12 volunteers breathing via a high-flow respiratory circuit used to control upper airway pressure under propofol anesthesia at two levels, with the deep level titrated to suppression of motor response. Ventilation, mask pressure, negative pharyngeal pressure, upper airway closing pressure, genioglossus electromyogram, bispectral index, and change in end-expiratory lung volume were measured as a function of elevation of PETCO2 above baseline and depth of propofol anesthesia. PETCO2 augmentation dose-dependently lowered upper airway closing pressure with a decrease of 3.1 cm H2O (95% CI, 2.2 to 3.9; P < 0.001) under deep anesthesia, indicating improved upper airway stability. In parallel, the phasic genioglossus electromyogram increased by 28% (23 to 34; P < 0.001). We found that genioglossus electromyogram activity was a significant modifier of the effect of PETCO2 elevation on closing pressure (P = 0.005 for interaction term). Upper airway collapsibility induced by propofol anesthesia can be reversed in a dose-dependent manner by insufflation of supplemental carbon dioxide. This effect is at least partly mediated by increased genioglossus muscle activity.

  3. Critical examination of RHIC paradigms - mostly high pT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tannenbaum, M.I.

    2009-01-01

    A critical examination of RHIC paradigms is presented. Topics include: search for a critical point with a low energy scan; the lack of understanding of radiative processes in a medium in QCD compared in detail to examples from QED; the reason why some physicists started to measure particles at large p T in the 1960's; a review of the discovery of hard-scattering in p-p collisions in the 1970's via single-inclusive and two-particle correlations and application of these techniques at RHIC. Several paradigms in both soft and hard physics which are popular at RHIC are discussed and challenged.

  4. A geometric morphometric analysis of hominin upper premolars. Shape variation and morphological integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Robles, Aida; Martinón-Torres, María; Bermúdez de Castro, José María; Prado-Simón, Leyre; Arsuaga, Juan Luis

    2011-12-01

    This paper continues the series of articles initiated in 2006 that analyse hominin dental crown morphology by means of geometric morphometric techniques. The detailed study of both upper premolar occlusal morphologies in a comprehensive sample of hominin fossils, including those coming from the Gran Dolina-TD6 and Sima de los Huesos sites from Atapuerca, Spain, complement previous works on lower first and second premolars and upper first molars. A morphological gradient consisting of the change from asymmetric to symmetric upper premolars and a marked reduction of the lingual cusp in recent Homo species has been observed in both premolars. Although percentages of correct classification based on upper premolar morphologies are not very high, significant morphological differences between Neanderthals (and European middle Pleistocene fossils) and modern humans have been identified, especially in upper second premolars. The study of morphological integration between premolar morphologies reveals significant correlations that are weaker between upper premolars than between lower ones and significant correlations between antagonists. These results have important implications for understanding the genetic and functional factors underlying dental phenotypic variation and covariation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Sedimentology of the upper Karoo fluvial strata in the Tuli Basin, South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bordy, Emese M.; Catuneanu, Octavian

    2001-08-01

    The sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Supergroup in the Tuli Basin (South Africa) may be grouped in four stratigraphic units: the basal, middle and upper units, and the Clarens Formation. This paper presents the findings of the sedimentological investigation of the fluvial terrigenous clastic and chemical deposits of the upper unit. Evidence provided by primary sedimentary structures, palaeontological record, borehole data, palaeo-flow measurements and stratigraphic relations resulted in the palaeo-environmental reconstruction of the upper unit. The dominant facies assemblages are represented by sandstones and finer-grained sediments, which both can be interbedded with subordinate intraformational coarser facies. The facies assemblages of the upper unit are interpreted as deposits of a low-sinuosity, ephemeral stream system with calcretes and silcretes in the dinosaur-inhabited overbank area. During the deposition of the upper unit, the climate was semi-arid with sparse precipitation resulting in high-magnitude, low-frequency devastating flash floods. The current indicators of the palaeo-drainage system suggest flow direction from northwest to southeast, in a dominantly extensional tectonic setting. Based on sedimentologic and biostratigraphic evidence, the upper unit of the Tuli Basin correlates to the Elliot Formation in the main Karoo Basin to the south.

  6. Interpretation of massive sandstones in ephemeral fluvial settings: A case study from the Upper Candelária Sequence (Upper Triassic, Paraná Basin, Brazil)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, Bruno Ludovico Dihl; Goldberg, Karin; Schultz, Cesar Leandro

    2018-01-01

    Ephemeral rivers display a wide range of upper- and lower-flow regime structures due to great flow-velocity changes during the floods. The development of flow structures in these setting is yet to be understood, especially in the formation of thick, massive sandstones. The Upper Triassic of Southern Gondwana was marked by a climate with great seasonal changes, yet there is no description of river systems with seasonal characteristics in Southern Gondwana. This work aims to characterize a ephemeral alluvial system of the Upper Triassic of the Paraná Basin. The characteristics of the deposits are discussed in terms of depositional processes through comparison with similar deposits from literature, flow characteristics and depositional signatures compared to flume experiments. The alluvial system is divided in four facies associations: (1) channels with wanning fill, characterized by low width/thickness ratio, tabular bodies, scour-and-fill structures with upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms; (2) channels with massive fill, characterized by low w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies, scour-and-fill structures with massive sandstones; (3) proximal sheetfloods, characterized by moderate w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies with upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms and (4) distal sheetfloods, characterized by high w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies with lower-flow regime bedforms. Evidence for the seasonal reactivation of the riverine system includes the scarcity of well-developed macroforms and presence of in-channel mudstones, thick intraformational conglomerates, and the occurrence of well- and poorly-preserved vertebrate bones in the same beds. The predominantly massive sandstones indicate deposition from a hyperconcentrated flow during abrupt changes in flow speed, caused by de-confinement or channel avulsion, whereas turbulent portions of the flow formed the upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms after the deposition of the massive layers. The upper portion of the Candelária Sequence

  7. Consideration of Nuclear Criticality When Directly Disposing Highly Enriched Spent Nuclear Fuel in Unsaturated Tuff - II: Geochemical Constraints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rechard, Rob P.; Sanchez, Lawrence C.; Trellue, Holly R.

    2003-01-01

    This article presents several reasonable cases in which four mechanisms - dissolution, physical mixing, adsorption, and precipitation (either chemical change or evaporation) - might concentrate fissile material in and around a disposal container for radioactive waste at the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The possible masses, concentrations, and volume are then compared to criticality limits. The cases examined evaluate the geologic barrier role in preventing criticality since engineered options for preventing criticality (e.g., boron or gadolinium neutron absorber in the disposal container) are not considered. The solid concentrations able to form in the natural environment are insufficient for criticality to occur because (a) solutions of 235 U and 239 Pu are clearly not critical; (b) physical mixing of fissile material with the entire potential iron oxide (as goethite - FeOOH) in a waste package is not critical; (c) the adsorption of 239 Pu on consolidated iron oxide in a waste package is not critical; (d) the adsorption of 235 U on consolidated iron oxide in a waste package is not critical when accounting for reduced adsorption because of carbonates at high pH; (e) the filtration of iron oxide colloids, containing fissile material, by the thin invert material is not critical; (f) insufficient retention through precipitation of 235 U or 239 Pu occurs in the invert; (g) adsorption of 235 U and 239 Pu on devitrified or clinoptolite-rich tuff below the repository is not critical; (h) the average precipitation/adsorption of 235 U as uranyl silicates in the tuff is not critical by analogy with calcite deposition in lithophysae at Yucca Mountain; and (i) precipitation/adsorption (caused by cyclic drying) as uranyl silicates on fracture surfaces of the tuff is not critical by analogy with the oxidation of UO 2 , migration of U VI , and precipitation in fractures at the Nopal I ore deposit in Mexico

  8. Universal postquench coarsening and aging at a quantum critical point

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gagel, Pia; Orth, Peter P.; Schmalian, Jörg

    2015-09-01

    The nonequilibrium dynamics of a system that is located in the vicinity of a quantum critical point is affected by the critical slowing down of order-parameter correlations with the potential for novel out-of-equilibrium universality. After a quantum quench, i.e., a sudden change of a parameter in the Hamiltonian, such a system is expected to almost instantly fall out of equilibrium and undergo aging dynamics, i.e., dynamics that depends on the time passed since the quench. Investigating the quantum dynamics of an N -component φ4 model coupled to an external bath, we determine this universal aging and demonstrate that the system undergoes a coarsening, governed by a critical exponent that is unrelated to the equilibrium exponents of the system. We analyze this behavior in the large-N limit, which is complementary to our earlier renormalization-group analysis, allowing in particular the direct investigation of the order-parameter dynamics in the symmetry-broken phase and at the upper critical dimension. By connecting the long-time limit of fluctuations and response, we introduce a distribution function that shows that the system remains nonthermal and exhibits quantum coherence even on long time scales.

  9. Energy Dissipation in the Upper Atmospheres of TRAPPIST-1 Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Ofer; Glocer, Alex; Garraffo, Cecilia; Drake, Jeremy J.; Bell, Jared M.

    2018-03-01

    We present a method to quantify the upper limit of the energy transmitted from the intense stellar wind to the upper atmospheres of three of the TRAPPIST-1 planets (e, f, and g). We use a formalism that treats the system as two electromagnetic regions, where the efficiency of the energy transmission between one region (the stellar wind at the planetary orbits) to the other (the planetary ionospheres) depends on the relation between the conductances and impedances of the two regions. Since the energy flux of the stellar wind is very high at these planetary orbits, we find that for the case of high transmission efficiency (when the conductances and impedances are close in magnitude), the energy dissipation in the upper planetary atmospheres is also very large. On average, the Ohmic energy can reach 0.5–1 W m‑2, about 1% of the stellar irradiance and 5–15 times the EUV irradiance. Here, using constant values for the ionospheric conductance, we demonstrate that the stellar wind energy could potentially drive large atmospheric heating in terrestrial planets, as well as in hot Jupiters. More detailed calculations are needed to assess the ionospheric conductance and to determine more accurately the amount of heating the stellar wind can drive in close-orbit planets.

  10. Experimental investigation of piercing of high-strength steels within a critical range of slant angle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senn, S.; Liewald, M.

    2017-09-01

    Deep drawn parts often do have complex designs and, therefore, must be trimmed or punched subsequently in a second stage. Due to the complex part geometry, most punching areas do reveal critical slant angle (angle between part surface and ram movement direction) different to perpendicular direction. Piercing within a critical range of slant angle may lead to severe damage of the cutting tool. Consequently, expensive cam units are required to transform the ram moving direction in order to perform the piercing process perpendicularly to the local part surface. For modern sheet metals, however, the described critical angle of attack has not been investigated adequately until now. Therefore, cam units are used in cases in which regular piercing with high slant angle wouldn’t be possible. Purpose of this study is to investigate influencing factors and their effect on punch damage during piercing of high strength steels with slant angles. Therefore, a modular shearing tool was designed, which allows to simply switch die parts to vary cutting clearance and cutting angle. The target size of the study is to measure the lateral deviation of the punch which is monitored by an eddy current sensor. The sensor is located in the downholder and measures the lateral punch deviation in-line during manufacturing. The deviation is mainly influenced by slant angle of workpiece surface. In relation to slang angle and sheet thickness the clearance has a small influence on the measured punch deflection.

  11. Spacesuit Soft Upper Torso Sizing Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graziosi, David; Splawn, Keith

    2011-01-01

    The passive sizing system consists of a series of low-profile pulleys attached to the front and back of the shoulder bearings on a spacesuit soft upper torso (SUT), textile cord or stainless steel cable, and a modified commercial ratchet mechanism. The cord/cable is routed through the pulleys and attached to the ratchet mechanism mounted on the front of the spacesuit within reach of the suited subject. Upon actuating the ratchet mechanism, the shoulder bearing breadth is changed, providing variable upper torso sizing. The active system consists of a series of pressurizable nastic cells embedded into the fabric layers of a spacesuit SUT. These cells are integrated to the front and back of the SUT and are connected to an air source with a variable regulator. When inflated, the nastic cells provide a change in the overall shoulder bearing breadth of the spacesuit and thus, torso sizing. The research focused on the development of a high-performance sizing and actuation system. This technology has application as a suit-sizing mechanism to allow easier suit entry and more accurate suit fit with fewer torso sizes than the existing EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) suit system. This advanced SUT will support NASA s Advanced EMU Evolutionary Concept of a two-sizes-fit-all upper torso for replacement of the current EMU hard upper torso (HUT). Both the passive and nastic sizing system approaches provide astronauts with real-time upper torso sizing, which translates into a more comfortable suit, providing enhanced fit resulting in improved crewmember performance during extravehicular activity. These systems will also benefit NASA by reducing flight logistics as well as overall suit system cost. The nastic sizing system approach provides additional structural redundancy over existing SUT designs by embedding additional coated fabric and uncoated fabric layers. Two sizing systems were selected to build into a prototype SUT: one active and one passive. From manned testing, it

  12. A simplified clinical risk score predicts the need for early endoscopy in non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tammaro, Leonardo; Buda, Andrea; Di Paolo, Maria Carla; Zullo, Angelo; Hassan, Cesare; Riccio, Elisabetta; Vassallo, Roberto; Caserta, Luigi; Anderloni, Andrea; Natali, Alessandro

    2014-09-01

    Pre-endoscopic triage of patients who require an early upper endoscopy can improve management of patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. To validate a new simplified clinical score (T-score) to assess the need of an early upper endoscopy in non variceal bleeding patients. Secondary outcomes were re-bleeding rate, 30-day bleeding-related mortality. In this prospective, multicentre study patients with bleeding who underwent upper endoscopy were enrolled. The accuracy for high risk endoscopic stigmata of the T-score was compared with that of the Glasgow Blatchford risk score. Overall, 602 patients underwent early upper endoscopy, and 472 presented with non-variceal bleeding. High risk endoscopic stigmata were detected in 145 (30.7%) cases. T-score sensitivity and specificity for high risk endoscopic stigmata and bleeding-related mortality was 96% and 30%, and 80% and 71%, respectively. No statistically difference in predicting high risk endoscopic stigmata between T-score and Glasgow Blatchford risk score was observed (ROC curve: 0.72 vs. 0.69, p=0.11). The two scores were also similar in predicting re-bleeding (ROC curve: 0.64 vs. 0.63, p=0.4) and 30-day bleeding-related mortality (ROC curve: 0.78 vs. 0.76, p=0.3). The T-score appeared to predict high risk endoscopic stigmata, re-bleeding and mortality with similar accuracy to Glasgow Blatchford risk score. Such a score may be helpful for the prediction of high-risk patients who need a very early therapeutic endoscopy. Copyright © 2014 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Upper limit on the inner radiation belt MeV electron intensity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, X; Selesnick, RS; Baker, DN; Jaynes, AN; Kanekal, SG; Schiller, Q; Blum, L; Fennell, J; Blake, JB

    2015-01-01

    No instruments in the inner radiation belt are immune from the unforgiving penetration of the highly energetic protons (tens of MeV to GeV). The inner belt proton flux level, however, is relatively stable; thus, for any given instrument, the proton contamination often leads to a certain background noise. Measurements from the Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope integrated little experiment on board Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment CubeSat, in a low Earth orbit, clearly demonstrate that there exist sub-MeV electrons in the inner belt because their flux level is orders of magnitude higher than the background, while higher-energy electron (>1.6 MeV) measurements cannot be distinguished from the background. Detailed analysis of high-quality measurements from the Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope on board Van Allen Probes, in a geo-transfer-like orbit, provides, for the first time, quantified upper limits on MeV electron fluxes in various energy ranges in the inner belt. These upper limits are rather different from flux levels in the AE8 and AE9 models, which were developed based on older data sources. For 1.7, 2.5, and 3.3 MeV electrons, the upper limits are about 1 order of magnitude lower than predicted model fluxes. The implication of this difference is profound in that unless there are extreme solar wind conditions, which have not happened yet since the launch of Van Allen Probes, significant enhancements of MeV electrons do not occur in the inner belt even though such enhancements are commonly seen in the outer belt. Key Points Quantified upper limit of MeV electrons in the inner belt Actual MeV electron intensity likely much lower than the upper limit More detailed understanding of relativistic electrons in the magnetosphere PMID:26167446

  14. Identification of the Critical Nontechnical Skills for Surgeons Needed for High Performance in a Variable-resource Context (NOTSS-VRC).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, John W; Lin, Yihan; Ntakiyiruta, Georges; Mutabazi, Zeta; Davis, William A; Morris, Megan A; Smink, Douglas S; Riviello, Robert; Yule, Steven

    2018-05-17

    To identify the critical nontechnical skills (NTS) required for high performance in variable-resource contexts (VRC). As surgical training and capacity increase in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), new strategies for improving surgical education and care in these settings are required. NTS are critical for high performance in surgery around the world. However, the essential NTS used by surgeons operating in LMICs to overcome the challenges specific to their contexts have never been described. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, 52 intraoperative team observations as well as 34 critical incident interviews with surgical providers (surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses) were performed at the 4 tertiary referral hospitals in Rwanda. Interview transcripts and field notes from observations were analyzed using line-by-line coding to identify emerging themes until thematic saturation was achieved. Four skill categories of situation awareness, decision-making, communication/teamwork, and leadership emerged. This provided the framework for a contextually informed skills taxonomy consisting of 12 skill elements with examples of specific behaviors indicative of high performance. While the main skill categories were consistent with those encountered in high-income countries, the specific behaviors associated with these skills often focused on overcoming the frequently encountered variability in resources, staff, systems support, and language in this context. This is the first description of the critical nontechnical skills, and associated example behaviors, used by surgeons in a VRC to overcome common challenges to safe and effective surgical patient care. Improvements in the NTS used by surgeons operating in VRCs have the potential to improve surgical care delivery worldwide.

  15. Endovascular treatment of nonvariceal acute arterial upper gastrointestinal bleeding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Poul Erik; Duvnjak, Stevo

    2010-01-01

    Transcatheter arterial embolization as treatment of upper nonvariceal gastrointestinal bleeding is increasingly being used after failed primary endoscopic treatment. The results after embolization have become better and surgery still has a high mortality. Embolization is a safe and effective...... procedure, but its use is has been limited because of relatively high rates of rebleeding and high mortality, both of which are associated with gastrointestinal bleeding and non-gastrointestinal related mortality causes. Transcatheter arterial embolization is a valuable minimal invasive method...

  16. Kiloampere, Variable-Temperature, Critical-Current Measurements of High-Field Superconductors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodrich, L F; Cheggour, N; Stauffer, T C; Filla, B J; Lu, X F

    2013-01-01

    We review variable-temperature, transport critical-current (I c) measurements made on commercial superconductors over a range of critical currents from less than 0.1 A to about 1 kA. We have developed and used a number of systems to make these measurements over the last 15 years. Two exemplary variable-temperature systems with coil sample geometries will be described: a probe that is only variable-temperature and a probe that is variable-temperature and variable-strain. The most significant challenge for these measurements is temperature stability, since large amounts of heat can be generated by the flow of high current through the resistive sample fixture. Therefore, a significant portion of this review is focused on the reduction of temperature errors to less than ±0.05 K in such measurements. A key feature of our system is a pre-regulator that converts a flow of liquid helium to gas and heats the gas to a temperature close to the target sample temperature. The pre-regulator is not in close proximity to the sample and it is controlled independently of the sample temperature. This allows us to independently control the total cooling power, and thereby fine tune the sample cooling power at any sample temperature. The same general temperature-control philosophy is used in all of our variable-temperature systems, but the addition of another variable, such as strain, forces compromises in design and results in some differences in operation and protocol. These aspects are analyzed to assess the extent to which the protocols for our systems might be generalized to other systems at other laboratories. Our approach to variable-temperature measurements is also placed in the general context of measurement-system design, and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of design choices are presented. To verify the accuracy of the variable-temperature measurements, we compared critical-current values obtained on a specimen immersed in liquid helium ("liquid" or I c liq) at 5

  17. Combined effects of leaks, respiratory system properties and upper airway patency on the performance of home ventilators: a bench study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Kaixian; Rabec, Claudio; Gonzalez-Bermejo, Jésus; Hardy, Sébastien; Aouf, Sami; Escourrou, Pierre; Roisman, Gabriel

    2017-11-21

    Combined effects of leaks, mechanical property of respiratory system and upper airway (UA) patency on patient-ventilator synchrony (PVA) and the level of clinically "tolerable" leaks are not well established in home ventilators. We comparatively assessed on a bench model, the highest leak level tolerated without inducing significant asynchrony ("critical leak") in three home ventilators (Astral 150, Trilogy 100 and Vivo 60; noted as A150, T100 and V60 respectively) subjected to three simulated diseased respiratory conditions: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obesity hypoventilation (OHS) and neuromuscular disorders (NMD), with both open and closed UA. Also, total leak values in the device reports were compared to the bench-measured values. With open UA, all ventilators were able to avoid asynchrony up to a 30 L/min leak and even to 55 L/min in some cases. UA closure and respiratory diseases especially OHS influenced PVA. With closed UA, the critical leak of A150 and T100 remained higher than 55 L/min in COPD and OHS, while for V60 decreased to 41 and 33 L/min respectively. In NMD with closed UA, only T100 reached a high critical leak of 69 L/min. Besides, inspiratory trigger sensitivity change was often necessary to avoid PVA. Home ventilators were able to avoid PVA in high-level leak conditions. However, asynchrony appeared in cases of abnormal mechanical properties of respiratory system or closed UA. In case of closed UA, the EPAP should be adjusted prior to the inspiratory trigger. Not applicable.

  18. Heat up and potential failure of BWR upper internals during a severe accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robb, Kevin R [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2015-01-01

    In boiling water reactors, the steam dome, steam separators, and dryers above the core are comprised of approximately 100 tons of stainless steel. During a severe accident in which the coolant boils away and exothermic oxidation of zirconium occurs, gases (steam and hydrogen) are superheated in the core region and pass through the upper internals. Historically, the upper internals have been modeled using severe accident codes with relatively simple approximations. The upper internals are typically modeled in MELCOR as two lumped volumes with simplified heat transfer characteristics, with no structural integrity considerations, and with limited ability to oxidize, melt, and relocate. The potential for and the subsequent impact of the upper internals to heat up, oxidize, fail, and relocate during a severe accident was investigated. A higher fidelity representation of the shroud dome, steam separators, and steam driers was developed in MELCOR v1.8.6 by extending the core region upwards. This modeling effort entailed adding 45 additional core cells and control volumes, 98 flow paths, and numerous control functions. The model accounts for the mechanical loading and structural integrity, oxidation, melting, flow area blockage, and relocation of the various components. The results indicate that the upper internals can reach high temperatures during a severe accident; they are predicted to reach a high enough temperature such that they lose their structural integrity and relocate. The additional 100 tons of stainless steel debris influences the subsequent in-vessel and ex-vessel accident progression.

  19. CRITICAL HEIGHT FOR THE DESTABILIZATION OF SOLAR PROMINENCES: STATISTICAL RESULTS FROM STEREO OBSERVATIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Kai; Wang Yuming; Wang Shui; Shen Chenglong, E-mail: ymwang@ustc.edu.cn [CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China)

    2012-01-10

    At which height is a prominence inclined to be unstable, or where is the most probable critical height for the prominence destabilization? This question was statistically studied based on 362 solar limb prominences well recognized by Solar Limb Prominence Catcher and Tracker from 2007 April to the end of 2009. We found that there are about 71% disrupted prominences (DPs), among which about 42% of them did not erupt successfully and about 89% of them experienced a sudden destabilization process. After a comprehensive analysis of the DPs, we discovered the following: (1) Most DPs become unstable at a height of 0.06-0.14 R{sub Sun} from the solar surface, and there are two most probable critical heights at which a prominence is very likely to become unstable, the first one is 0.13 R{sub Sun} and the second one is 0.19 R{sub Sun }. (2) An upper limit for the erupting velocity of eruptive prominences (EPs) exists, which decreases following a power law with increasing height and mass; accordingly, the kinetic energy of EPs has an upper limit too, which decreases as the critical height increases. (3) Stable prominences are generally longer and heavier than DPs, and not higher than 0.4 R{sub Sun }. (4) About 62% of the EPs were associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs); but there is no difference in apparent properties between EPs associated with CMEs and those that are not.

  20. CRITICAL HEIGHT FOR THE DESTABILIZATION OF SOLAR PROMINENCES: STATISTICAL RESULTS FROM STEREO OBSERVATIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Kai; Wang Yuming; Wang Shui; Shen Chenglong

    2012-01-01

    At which height is a prominence inclined to be unstable, or where is the most probable critical height for the prominence destabilization? This question was statistically studied based on 362 solar limb prominences well recognized by Solar Limb Prominence Catcher and Tracker from 2007 April to the end of 2009. We found that there are about 71% disrupted prominences (DPs), among which about 42% of them did not erupt successfully and about 89% of them experienced a sudden destabilization process. After a comprehensive analysis of the DPs, we discovered the following: (1) Most DPs become unstable at a height of 0.06-0.14 R ☉ from the solar surface, and there are two most probable critical heights at which a prominence is very likely to become unstable, the first one is 0.13 R ☉ and the second one is 0.19 R ☉ . (2) An upper limit for the erupting velocity of eruptive prominences (EPs) exists, which decreases following a power law with increasing height and mass; accordingly, the kinetic energy of EPs has an upper limit too, which decreases as the critical height increases. (3) Stable prominences are generally longer and heavier than DPs, and not higher than 0.4 R ☉ . (4) About 62% of the EPs were associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs); but there is no difference in apparent properties between EPs associated with CMEs and those that are not.

  1. Mission Critical Occupation (MCO) Charts

    Data.gov (United States)

    Office of Personnel Management — Agencies report resource data and targets for government-wide mission critical occupations and agency specific mission critical and/or high risk occupations. These...

  2. Validity of Alternative Fitnessgram Upper Body Tests of Muscular Strength and Endurance among Seventh and Eighth Grade Males and Females

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobayan, Kalani; Patterson, Debra; Sherman, Clay; Wiersma, Lenny

    2014-01-01

    In a society in which obesity levels have tripled in the past 30 years, the importance of increased fitness levels within the academic setting has become even more critical. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of alternative Fitnessgram upper body tests of muscular strength and endurance among seventh and eighth grade males…

  3. Upper Extremity Functional Status of Female Youth Softball Pitchers Using the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic Questionnaire

    OpenAIRE

    Holtz, Kaila A.; O’Connor, Russell J.

    2018-01-01

    Background: Softball is a popular sport with a high incidence of upper extremity injuries. The Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic (KJOC) questionnaire is a validated performance and functional assessment tool used in overhead athletes. Upper extremity pain patterns and baseline KJOC scores have not been reported for active female youth softball pitchers. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence of upper extremity pain and its effect in female youth softball pi...

  4. Combined pharmacological and motor training interventions for recovery of upper limb function in subacute ischemic stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana Stanescu

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Motor deficit, especially in the upper limb, is the primary contributor in post-stroke disability. Recovery of motor function relies on neural plasticity – cortical plastic reorganization – a spontaneous process, which could be enhanced from early phases by rehabilitative strategies. The subacute stage after stroke is the critical period during which the brain is most receptive to rehabilitation strategies. Based on the recent results of 2 trials in stroke rehabilitation using pharmacological intervention with Cerebrolysin in combination with standardized kinesitherapy, we conducted a pilot study of 4 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke, treated with Cerebrolysin for 28 days after stroke, and with intensive task-specific kinesitherapy from day 7 to day 28 after stroke. We assessed stroke severity with NIHSS score, upper limb function with ARAT (Action Research Arm Test score, disability with modified Rankin scale and patient’s autonomy with Barthel Index, at day 0 and day 30 after stroke. After 28 days of combined therapy all 4 patients improved, most significant improvement was seen in upper limb function, measured by ARAT score and in autonomy measured by Barthel Index.

  5. Critical evaluation of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors applicable to coal conversion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spiewak, I.; Jones, J.E. Jr.; Rittenhouse, P.L.; DeStefano, J.R.; Delene, J.G.

    1975-12-01

    A critical review is presented of the technology and costs of very high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (VHTRs) applicable to nuclear coal conversion. Coal conversion processes suitable for coupling to reactors are described. Vendor concepts of the VHTR are summarized. The materials requirements as a function of process temperature in the range 1400 to 2000 0 F are analyzed. Components, environmental and safety factors, economics and nuclear fuel cycles are reviewed. It is concluded that process heat supply in the range 1400 to 1500 0 F could be developed with a high degree of assurance. Process heat at 1600 0 F would require considerably more materials development. While temperatures up to 2000 0 F appear to be attainable, considerably more research and risk were involved. A demonstration plant would be required as a step in the commercialization of the VHTR

  6. Designing instrumented walker to measure upper-extremity's efforts: A case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khodadadi, Mohammad; Baniasad, Mina Arab; Arazpour, Mokhtar; Farahmand, Farzam; Zohoor, Hassan

    2018-02-26

    The high prevalence of shoulder pain in using walkers in patients who have spinal cord injury (SCI). Also, the limited options available to economically measure grip forces in walkers, which drove the need to create one. This article describes a method to obtain upper-extremities' forces and moments in a person with SCI by designing an appropriate instrumented walker. First, since the commercial multidirectional loadcells are too expensive, custom loadcells are fabricated. Ultimately, a complete gait analysis by means of VICON motion analysis and using inverse dynamic method has been held to measure upper-extremities' efforts. The results for a person with SCI using a two-wheel walker in low and high heights and a basic walker show that there are higher shoulder and elbow flexion-extension moments and also higher shoulder forces in superior-inferior direction and higher elbow and wrist forces in anterior-posterior directions. The results are not much different in using two different types of walker. By using the proposed method, upper-extremities' forces and moments were obtained and the results were compared to each other in using two different walkers.

  7. Schwannoma of the upper lip: A case report and literature review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peediackel Antony George

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Schwannomas or neurilemmomas are well demarcated, benign neurogenic lesions arising by a fibroblastic proliferation of the nerve sheath cell (Schwann cell. They usually present as solitary encapsulated lesions with rare occurrence in the upper lip. Non-diagnosed or misdiagnosed schwannomas present a high risk for the tumor to continue growing and exerting pressure on surrounding nerves. These tumours based on their location could lead to facial weakness and paralysis, pressure in ears, tinnitus, hearing loss, balance loss, and could lead to a life-threatening situation. Case Outline. This case is a rare presentation of a schwannoma located in the upper lip of a 21-year-old male patient of Indian origin. The patient complained of a swelling in the mouth with a difficulty in keeping the mouth closed. The swelling was surgically excised and the patient healed completely. Conclusion. This case of occurrence of tumor on the upper lip points to the possibility of considering schwannoma as a possibility in the diagnosis of oral tumors in the future, as the location of the tumor was rare and had a high chance of misdiagnosis.

  8. Contested minorities – the case of Upper Silesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gierczak Dariusz

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Upper Silesia in terms of ethnicity is a typical example of a historical region in Europe, but in fact, one of the few exceptions in contemporary Poland, where its mixed ethnic and religious structures have at least partly survived until today. While their existence had been denied by Nazi Germany (1933-1945 as well as by the Polish People's Republic (1945-1989, the emancipation of the German and Silesian minorities after the democratic changes of 1989 have evoked strong emotions in the ethnically almost uniform country. Nonetheless, the recent situation of minorities has improved as never before. Minority organisations has been officially recognized and German finally has become the second language in some municipalities of Upper Silesia, but the largest ethnic group in the whole country, the Silesians, have still experienced no formal recognition as a national minority. This article deals with the demographic aspects of the ethnic groups in Upper Silesia since the 19th century until recent times. The census results concerning the ethnic minorities or languages in Upper Silesia have been contested since the first records of that kind have been taken. The outcomes of the both last censuses of 2002 and 2011 concerning the minority question reflected for the first time a much more realistic picture of the status quo. Furthermore, they showed that the idea of Silesian identification found an unexpected high number of supporters. This fact indicates an emerging meaning of regional identification amid significant changes of cultural values in Polish society.

  9. An upper bound on the total inelastic cross section as a function of the total cross section

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Tai Tsun; Martin, Andre; Roy, Shasanka Mohan; Singh, Virendra

    2011-01-01

    Recently, Andre Martin has proved a rigorous upper bound on the inelastic cross sectionσ inel at high energy, which is one-fourth of the known Froissart-Martin-Lukaszuk upper bound on σ tot . Here, we obtain an upper bound on σ inel in terms of σ tot and show that the Martin bound on σ inel is improved significantly with this added information.

  10. Field induced magnetic quantum critical behavior in the Kondo necklace model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reyes, Daniel; Continentino, Mucio

    2008-01-01

    The Kondo necklace model augmented by a Zeeman term, serves as a useful model for heavy fermion compounds in an applied magnetic field. The phase diagram and thermodynamic behavior for arbitrary dimensions d has been investigated previously in the zero field case [D. Reyes, M. Continentino, Phys. Rev. B 76 (2007) 075114. ]. Here we extend the treatment to finite fields using a generalized bond operator representation for the localized and conduction electrons spins. A decoupling scheme on the double time Green's functions yields the dispersion relation for the excitations of the system. Two critical magnetic fields are found namely, a critical magnetic field called henceforth h c1 and a saturation field nominated h c2 . Then three important regions can be investigated: (i) Kondo spin liquid state (KSL) at low fields h c1 ; (ii) destruction of KSL state at h≥h c1 and appearance of a antiferromagnetic state; and (iii) saturated paramagnetic region above the upper critical field h c2

  11. Angiography of the upper extremity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janevski, B.K.

    1982-01-01

    This thesis provides a description of the technical and medical aspects of arteriography of the upper extremity and an extensive analysis of the angiographic anatomy and pathology of 750 selective studies performed in more than 500 patients. A short historical review is provided of angiography as a whole and of arteriography of the hand in particular. The method of percutaneous transfemoral catheterization of the arteries of the upper extremity and particularly the arteries of the hand is considered, discussing the problems the angiographer encounters frequently, describing the angiographic complications which may occur and emphasizing the measures to keep them to a minimum. The use of vasodilators in hand angiography is discussed. A short description of the embryological patterns persisting in the arteries of the arm is included in order to understand the congenital variations of the arteries of the upper extremity. The angiographic patterns and clinical aspects of the most common pathological processes involving the arteries of the upper extremities are presented. Special attention is paid to the correlation between angiography and pathology. (Auth.)

  12. Site Safety and Food Affect Movements of Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla Migrating Through the Upper Bay of Fundy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashley J. Sprague

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The upper Bay of Fundy is a critical stopover site for Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla during their fall migration. However, little is known about factors that influence selection of feeding and roosting sites by these birds, or the extent to which birds move between different sites during their time in the region. Using radio-telemetry, we studied movement patterns, examined habitat use, and tested hypotheses associated with factors influencing foraging and roost-site selection. Movements of radio-tagged sandpipers were tracked in the upper Bay of Fundy in August 2004 and 2005. In 2004, sandpipers from the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia and Chignecto Bay, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, were tracked, and in 2005, sandpipers were tracked only in Chignecto Bay. Sandpipers were highly mobile in both the Minas Basin 2004 and Chignecto Bay 2005, making daily movements of up to 20 km between foraging and roosting sites, although very little movement was detected in Chignecto Bay in 2004. Migrating sandpipers appeared to select foraging sites based on relative safety, as measured by distance to cover, provided that these sites offered an adequate food supply. Similarly, roosting sandpipers preferred sites that were far from nearby trees that might offer cover to predators. This preference for safe sites became more apparent later in their stay in the Bay of Fundy, when birds were heavier and, therefore, possibly more vulnerable to predation. Semipalmated Sandpipers appear to be flexible during their time in the upper Bay of Fundy, displaying year-to-year and site-to-site variability in movement and mudflat usage. Therefore, multiple, synchronized population counts should be conducted at known roost sites in order to more accurately estimate Semipalmated Sandpiper abundance in this region. Furthermore, in a highly dynamic system where food can be variable, landscape features such as distance to cover may be important factors to consider when

  13. Source rock potential of the organic rich Turonian - Upper Campanian carbonates of northern Lebanon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daher, S. Bou; Littke, R. [RWTH Aachen Univ. (Germany). Energy and Mineral Resources Group (EMR); Nader, F.H. [IFP Energies nouvelles, Paris (France). Dept. of Sedimentology-Stratigraphy

    2013-08-01

    Upper Cretaceous chalks, marls, and shales are arguably the most prolific petroleum source rocks in the eastern Mediterranean region. 209 core samples from the Turonian - Upper Campanian rock succession in north Lebanon were collected and analyzed for their organic matter (OM) content, quality, and maturity. The total organic carbon (TOC) measurements revealed a very good source rock potential for a 150 m interval within the Upper Santonian - Upper Campanian, with an average of 2% TOC. High HI values (average 707 mg/g TOC) characterize these source rocks as type I kerogen and reflect a very good preservation of the organic matter. T{sub max} values (average 421 C) match the other maturity parameters such as vitrinite reflectance (average 0.35%), and all point towards immature organic matter. The equivalent Upper Cretaceous in the offshore Levant basin has enough overburden to have reached maturity. However, the accurate extrapolation of the organic matter quality and quantity to the offshore is yet a challenge with the data at hand. (orig.)

  14. Emulating Upper Limb Disorder for Therapy Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noor Ayuni binti Che Zakaria

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Robotics not only contributes to the invention of rehabilitation devices, it can also enhance the quality of medical education. In recent years, the use of patient simulators and part-task trainers in the medical education field has brought meaningful improvements in the training of medical practitioners. Nevertheless, in the context of therapy training for upper limb disorders, trainee therapists still have to engage directly with the patients to gain experience of the rehabilitation of physical diseases. In this work, a high-fidelity part-task trainer that is able to reproduce the stiffness of spasticity and rigidity symptoms of the upper limb, such as those observed in post-stroke patients and Parkinson's disease patients, has been developed. Based on the evaluation carried out by two experienced therapists, the developed part-task trainer is able to simulate different patient cases and help trainee therapists gain pre-clinical experience in a safe and intuitive learning environment.

  15. Lithofacies palaeogeography of the Upper Permian Changxing Stage in the Middle and Upper Yangtze Region, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    He Youbin

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Based on the petrological study, according to single factor analysis and multifactor comprehensive mapping method, the quantitative lithofacies palaeogeography of the Upper Permian Changxing Stage of the Middle and Upper Yangtze Region was studied. The Changxing Stage in the Middle and Upper Yangtze Region is mainly composed of carbonate rocks; in addition, clastic and siliceous rocks occur with rare coals and pyroclastic rocks. Lithofacies can be divided into five types, including clastic rock assemblage, clastic rock–limestone assemblage, limestone assemblage, limestone–siliceous rock assemblage, and siliceous rock–clastic rock assemblage. Four fundamental ecological types and five fossil assemblages were recognized in the Changxing Stage. On the basis of the petrological and palaeoecological study, eight single factors were chosen including thickness, content of marine rocks, content of shallow water carbonate rocks, content of bioclasts with limemud matrix, content of bioclasts with sparry cement, distribution of reefs, content of thin bedded siliceous rocks and content of deep water sedimentary rocks. And eight single factor maps and one lithofacies paleogeographic map of the Changxing Stage were compiled. Paleoenvironments from west to east include an erosional area, fluvial plain, clastic platform, carbonate platform and reefs that developed there, slope and basin, low energy organic banks, and high energy organic banks. Sedimentary environments have an obvious control on the development of the source rocks, and the excellent source rocks are developed in the Dalong Formation. Changxing Stage reservoirs should be dominated by the reef and platform surrounding the Guangyuan–Liangping Basin rim area, and is the most favorable exploration area of the reef petroleum reservoirs of the Changxing Formation.

  16. Theory of high-Tc superconducting cuprates based on experimental evidence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abrikosov, A. A.

    1999-01-01

    A model of superconductivity in layered high-temperature superconducting cuprates is proposed, based on the extended saddle point singularities in the electron spectrum, weak screening of the Coulomb interaction and phonon-mediated interaction between electrons plus a small short-range repulsion of Hund's, or spin-fluctuation, origin. This permits to explain the large values of Tc, features of the isotope effect on oxygen and copper, the existence of two types of the order parameter, the peak in the inelastic neutron scattering, the positive curvature of the upper critical field, as function of temperature etc

  17. Perturbative Field-Theoretical Renormalization Group Approach to Driven-Dissipative Bose-Einstein Criticality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uwe C. Täuber

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The universal critical behavior of the driven-dissipative nonequilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation transition is investigated employing the field-theoretical renormalization group method. Such criticality may be realized in broad ranges of driven open systems on the interface of quantum optics and many-body physics, from exciton-polariton condensates to cold atomic gases. The starting point is a noisy and dissipative Gross-Pitaevski equation corresponding to a complex-valued Landau-Ginzburg functional, which captures the near critical nonequilibrium dynamics, and generalizes model A for classical relaxational dynamics with nonconserved order parameter. We confirm and further develop the physical picture previously established by means of a functional renormalization group study of this system. Complementing this earlier numerical analysis, we analytically compute the static and dynamical critical exponents at the condensation transition to lowest nontrivial order in the dimensional ε expansion about the upper critical dimension d_{c}=4 and establish the emergence of a novel universal scaling exponent associated with the nonequilibrium drive. We also discuss the corresponding situation for a conserved order parameter field, i.e., (subdiffusive model B with complex coefficients.

  18. Cracking Behavior of a Concrete Arch Dam with Weak Upper Abutment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Xu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The cracking behavior and failure mode of a 78 m high concrete double-curvature arch dam with weak upper abutment are investigated through performing cracking analysis. The mechanical behavior of concrete is simulated using a smeared crack model, in which a combination of the compression yield surface and the crack detection surface with a damaged elasticity concept is employed to describe the failure of concrete. The arch dam with practical mechanical properties of the upper and lower abutments is firstly studied with emphasis on its cracking behavior during overloading. Then, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis is carried out to investigate the influence of the ratio of the mechanical properties of upper abutment to those of lower abutment on dam failure with prime attention placed on the failure mode. Simulation results indicate the adopted smeared crack model is well-suited to the crack analysis of concrete arch dam. It is shown that cracking is localized around the interface between upper and lower abutments, which leads to a fast crack growth in the through-thickness direction of dam and finally causes the dam failure. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis presents three types of failure modes corresponding to different ratio value, wherein Modes II and III should be avoided since the weak upper abutment plays a predominant role in the cracking and failure of concrete arch dam.

  19. Does good critical thinking equal effective decision-making among critical care nurses? A cross-sectional survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludin, Salizar Mohamed

    2018-02-01

    A critical thinker may not necessarily be a good decision-maker, but critical care nurses are expected to utilise outstanding critical thinking skills in making complex clinical judgements. Studies have shown that critical care nurses' decisions focus mainly on doing rather than reflecting. To date, the link between critical care nurses' critical thinking and decision-making has not been examined closely in Malaysia. To understand whether critical care nurses' critical thinking disposition affects their clinical decision-making skills. This was a cross-sectional study in which Malay and English translations of the Short Form-Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory-Chinese Version (SF-CTDI-CV) and the Clinical Decision-making Nursing Scale (CDMNS) were used to collect data from 113 nurses working in seven critical care units of a tertiary hospital on the east coast of Malaysia. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling in October 2015. Critical care nurses perceived both their critical thinking disposition and decision-making skills to be high, with a total score of 71.5 and a mean of 48.55 for the SF-CTDI-CV, and a total score of 161 and a mean of 119.77 for the CDMNS. One-way ANOVA test results showed that while age, gender, ethnicity, education level and working experience factors significantly impacted critical thinking (pnurses' critical thinking and clinical decision-making (r=0.637, p=0.001). While this small-scale study has shown a relationship exists between critical care nurses' critical thinking disposition and clinical decision-making in one hospital, further investigation using the same measurement tools is needed into this relationship in diverse clinical contexts and with greater numbers of participants. Critical care nurses' perceived high level of critical thinking and decision-making also needs further investigation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Skeletal Muscle Ultrasonography in Nutrition and Functional Outcome Assessment of Critically Ill Children: Experience and Insights From Pediatric Disease and Adult Critical Care Studies [Formula: see text].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, Chengsi; Lee, Jan Hau; Leow, Melvin K S; Puthucheary, Zudin A

    2017-09-01

    Evidence suggests that critically ill children develop muscle wasting, which could affect outcomes. Muscle ultrasound has been used to track muscle wasting and association with outcomes in critically ill adults but not children. This review aims to summarize methodological considerations of muscle ultrasound, structural findings, and possibilities for its application in the assessment of nutrition and functional outcomes in critically ill children. Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases were searched up until April 2016. Articles describing skeletal muscle ultrasound in children and critically ill adults were analyzed qualitatively for details on techniques and findings. Thickness and cross-sectional area of various upper and lower body muscles have been studied to quantify muscle mass and detect muscle changes. The quadriceps femoris muscle is one of the most commonly measured muscles due to its relation to mobility and is sensitive to changes over time. However, the margin of error for quadriceps thickness is too wide to reliably detect muscle changes in critically ill children. Muscle size and its correlation with strength and function also have not yet been studied in critically ill children. Echogenicity, used to detect compromised muscle structure in neuromuscular disease, may be another property worth studying in critically ill children. Muscle ultrasound may be useful in detecting muscle wasting in critically ill children but has not been shown to be sufficiently reliable in this population. Further study of the reliability and correlation with functional outcomes and nutrition intake is required before muscle ultrasound is routinely employed in critically ill children.

  1. Finger tapping impairments are highly sensitive for evaluating upper motor neuron lesions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirani, Afsaneh; Newton, Braeden D; Okuda, Darin T

    2017-03-21

    Identifying highly sensitive and reliable neurological exam components are crucial in recognizing clinical deficiencies. This study aimed to investigate finger tapping performance differences between patients with CNS demyelinating lesions and healthy control subjects. Twenty-three patients with multiple sclerosis or clinically isolated syndrome with infratentorial and/or cervical cord lesions on MRI, and 12 healthy controls were videotaped while tapping the tip of the index finger against the tip and distal crease of the thumb using both the dominant and non-dominant hand. Videos were assessed independently by 10 evaluators (three MS neurologists, four neurology residents, three advanced practice providers). Sensitivity and inter-evaluator reliability of finger tapping interpretations were calculated. A total of 1400 evaluations (four videos per each of the 35 subjects evaluated by 10 independent providers) were obtained. Impairments in finger tapping against the distal thumb crease of the non-dominant hand, identified by neurologists, had the greatest sensitivity (84%, p tapping against the thumb crease was more sensitive than the thumb tip across all categories of providers. The best inter-evaluator reliability was associated with neurologists' evaluations for the thumb crease of the non-dominant hand (kappa = 0.83, p tapping against the distal thumb crease of the non-dominant hand was a more sensitive technique for detecting impairments related to CNS demyelinating lesions. Our findings highlight the importance of precise examinations of the non-dominant side where impaired fine motor control secondary to an upper motor injury might be detectable earlier than the dominant side.

  2. An investigation into preparation of silver sheathed superconducting wires with a high critical temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaffron, Laurent

    1992-01-01

    We have shown that the critical current density of YBaCuO superconducting wires prepared using 'powder in tube' method is limited by the following principal factors: - cracks and porosity arising from the shrinkage of the powder during sintering, - irregularities in the wire section, - presence of secondary phases in the phase diagram of the three oxides, - incomplete re-oxidation at the centre of the wire, - insufficient, or complete lack of, texture in the wire, - presence of amorphous, non superconducting phase across the grains that blocks grain boundary migration. We have reduced the deleterious effects due to the first four factors by modifying prior nature of the powder, by reinforcing the sheath and by modifying the thermal treatments. We also used creep sintering to produce a strong texture; however, our study shows that texture, though necessary, is not a sufficient condition for a high current. This is because the latter is limited by the presence of the amorphous phase at too many grain boundaries. Finally, we have obtained wires in which grain boundaries are clean and which have very high critical currents by melting the wire in a thermal gradient and by passing it through the gradient very slowly. Such a technique, however, is too slow for producing superconductors. (author) [fr

  3. Upper bounds on superpartner masses from upper bounds on the Higgs boson mass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabrera, M E; Casas, J A; Delgado, A

    2012-01-13

    The LHC is putting bounds on the Higgs boson mass. In this Letter we use those bounds to constrain the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) parameter space using the fact that, in supersymmetry, the Higgs mass is a function of the masses of sparticles, and therefore an upper bound on the Higgs mass translates into an upper bound for the masses for superpartners. We show that, although current bounds do not constrain the MSSM parameter space from above, once the Higgs mass bound improves big regions of this parameter space will be excluded, putting upper bounds on supersymmetry (SUSY) masses. On the other hand, for the case of split-SUSY we show that, for moderate or large tanβ, the present bounds on the Higgs mass imply that the common mass for scalars cannot be greater than 10(11)  GeV. We show how these bounds will evolve as LHC continues to improve the limits on the Higgs mass.

  4. Critical exponents for square lattice trails with a fixed number of vertices of degree 4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    James, E W; Soteros, C E

    2002-01-01

    We prove several previously conjectured results about the number of n-edge trails and n-edge embeddings of Eulerian graphs, each with a fixed number, k, of degree 4 vertices, in the lattice Z 2 . In particular, under the assumption that the relevant critical exponents exist, we prove that the difference between the critical exponent for closed trails (Eulerian graph embeddings) and that for self-avoiding circuits (polygons) is exactly k, the number of degree 4 vertices. Similarly, we prove that the difference between the critical exponent for either open trails or open Eulerian graph embeddings and that for self-avoiding walks is also k. These results are proved by establishing upper and lower bounds for the number of n-edge embeddings of closed (open) Eulerian graphs with k vertices of degree 4 in terms of the number of n-edge self-avoiding polygons (walks). The lower bounds are proved using a Kesten pattern theorem argument and the upper bounds are established by developing (based on a detailed case analysis) a method for removing vertices of degree 4 from an embedding by altering at most a constant (independent of n) number of vertices and edges of the embedding. The work presented here extends and improves the arguments first given in the work of Zhao and Lookman (1993 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 26 1067-76)

  5. Strain dependence of the critical current and critical field in multifilamentary Nb3Sn composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ekin, J.W.

    1979-01-01

    High-J/sub c/ multifilamentary Nb 3 Sn superconductors with widely varying amounts of prestrain and critical field values can be characterized fairly accurately by a single normalized critical field-strain relationship. Such a relationship permits first order prediction of critical-current degradation at arbitrary magnetic field magnitudes with knowledge of only two parameters for any conductor, the prestrain and the maximum critical field. Some of the conductor-fabrication factors affecting the parameters are considered

  6. Upper atmosphere research at INPE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clemesha, B.R.

    1984-01-01

    Upper atmosphere research at INPE is mainly concerned with the chemistry and dynamics of the stratosphere, upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere, and the middle thermosphere. Experimental work includes lidar observations of the stratospheric aerosol, measurements of stratospheric ozone by Dobson spectrophotometers and by balloon and rocket-borne sondes, lidar measurements of atmospheric sodium, and photometric observations of O, O 2 , OH and Na emissions, including interferrometric measurements of the OI6300 emission for the purpose of determing thermospheric winds and temperature. The airglow observations also include measurements of a number of emissions produced by the precipitation of energetic neutral particles generated by charge exchange in the ring current. Some recent results of INPE's upper atmosphere program are presented. (Author) [pt

  7. Angular dependence of critical current density and magnetoresistance of sputtered high-T{sub c}-films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geerkens, A.; Frenck, H.J.; Ewert, S. [Technical Univ. of Cottbus (Germany)] [and others

    1994-12-31

    The angular dependence of the critical current density and the magnetoresistance of high-T{sub c}-films in high and low magnetic fields and for different temperatures were measured to investigate the flux pinning and the superconducting properties. A comparison of the results for the different superconductors shows their increasing dependence on the angle {Theta} between the magnetic field and the c-axis of the film due to the anisotropy of the chosen superconductor. Furthermore the influence of the current direction to the {Theta}-rotation plane is discussed.

  8. Critical radius and critical number of gas atoms for cavities containing a Van der Waals gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coghlan, W.A.; Mansur, L.K.

    1983-01-01

    The effect of gas on void nucleation and growth is particularly important for structural materials in fusion reactors because of the high production of helium by neutron-induced transmutation reactions. Gas reduces the critical radius for bias driven growth and there is a critical number of gas atoms, n/sub g/*, at which the critical radius is reduced essentially to zero. The significance of this is that the time interval to the accumulation of n/sub g/* gas atoms may determine the time to the onset of bias driven swelling where n/sub g/* is large. In previous papers these critical quantities were given for an ideal gas. Recently, we presented the results for a Van der Waals gas. Here the derivation of these relations is presented and further results of calculations are given. At low temperatures (high pressures) the results depart from those of the ideal gas, with the critical number affected more strongly than the critical radius. Comparisons are made with earlier calculations

  9. Microstructural factors influencing critical-current densities of high-temperature superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suenaga, M.

    1992-01-01

    Microstructural defects are the primary determining factors for the values of critical current densities in superconductors. A review is made to assess, (1) what would be the maximum achievable critical-current density in the oxide superconductors if nearly ideal pinning sites were introduced? and (2) what types of pinning defects are currently introduced in these superconductors and how effective are these in pinning the vortices? Only the case where the applied field is parallel to the c-axis is considered here

  10. A Modified Translaminar Osseous Channel-Assisted Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy for Highly Migrated and Sequestrated Disc Herniations of the Upper Lumbar: Clinical Outcomes, Surgical Indications, and Technical Considerations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhijun Xin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective is to describe a safe and effective percutaneous endoscopic approach for removal of highly migrated and sequestrated disc herniations of the upper lumbar spine and to report the results, surgical indications, and technical considerations of the new technique. Eleven patients who had highly migrated and sequestrated disc herniations in the upper lumbar were included in this study. A retrospective study was performed for all patients after translaminar osseous channel-assisted PELD was performed. Radiologic findings were investigated, and pre-and postoperative visual analog scale (VAS assessments for back and leg pain and Oswestry disability index (ODI evaluations were performed. Surgical outcomes were evaluated under modified MacNab criteria. All of the patients were followed for more than 1 year. The preoperative and postoperative radiologic findings revealed that the decompression of the herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP was complete. After surgery, the mean VAS scores for back and leg pain immediately improved from 8.64 (range, 7–10 and 8.00 (range, 6–10 to 2.91 (range, 2–4 and 2.27 (range, 1–3, respectively. The mean preoperative ODI was 65.58 (range, 52.2–86, which decreased to 7.51 (range, 1.8–18 at the 12-month postoperative follow-up. The MacNab scores at the final follow-up included nine excellent, one good, and one fair. The modified translaminar osseous channel-assisted PELD could be a safe and effective option for the treatment of highly migrated and sequestrated disc herniations of the upper lumbar.

  11. Criticality Safety Problems Related to Storage of Highly Active Liquid Waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amin, E.

    1999-01-01

    The geometries of liquid waste storage tanks are not generally safe against criticality. Normally, this does not cause problems as fissile materials exist in nitric acid solution only as depleted uranium or in insignificant concentration of the originally reprocessed inventory of plutonium. However, if sedimentation of solid particles would occur, the deposited material would cause criticality safety problems. Particularly, non-horizontal installation of the storage tanks would increase the Eigen value. The effect of the storage tank inclination and the presence of transplutonium elements on the criticality safety are investigated using the NCNSRC code packages. The results are compared well with a similar German published results

  12. Impact of environmental pollution on the incidence of malignant neoplasms of upper respiratory tract in the population of Mysłowice, Imielin and Chełm Śląski

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerzy Stockfisch

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Background. The paper presents a retrospective analysis of cases of the upper respiratory tract malignant tumors in the settlement: Mysłowice, Imielin, Chełm Śląski based on the patients’ medical history treated in a hospital laryngological ward in Mysłowice between 1995 and 2004. The inspiration to write the paper was the significant frequency of the upper respiratory tract malignant tumor cases in the main areas of Mysłowice; Piasek and Rymera estate. The aim of the study was the assessment of relationship between environmental pollution and territorial diversity in the morbidity of head and neck cancer. Material and methods. The study involved a group of 130 patients with cancer of the upper respiratory tract and a control group of 145 healthy subjects of similar age and sex, living in the different regions of the surveyed towns in the comparable proportions and in the group of patients. The paper aimed to assess the relationship between territorial diversity of the upper respiratory tract cancers, and environmental risk factors. Results. The analysis was based on environmental pollution data. It was confirmed that the geographic picture of the incidence of the upper airways malignant tumors showed that Mysłowice central districts: Piasek and estate Rymera, indicated this region to be particularly critical one. Conclusions. The increased number of morbidity cases in these districts may be associated with: environmental risk factors, increased consumption of high percentage alcohol, excessive amount of smoked cigarette and low socio-economic status of the patients.

  13. Portable upper extremity robotics is as efficacious as upper extremity rehabilitative therapy: a randomized controlled pilot trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page, Stephen J; Hill, Valerie; White, Susan

    2013-06-01

    To compare the efficacy of a repetitive task-specific practice regimen integrating a portable, electromyography-controlled brace called the 'Myomo' versus usual care repetitive task-specific practice in subjects with chronic, moderate upper extremity impairment. Sixteen subjects (7 males; mean age 57.0 ± 11.02 years; mean time post stroke 75.0 ± 87.63 months; 5 left-sided strokes) exhibiting chronic, stable, moderate upper extremity impairment. Subjects were administered repetitive task-specific practice in which they participated in valued, functional tasks using their paretic upper extremities. Both groups were supervised by a therapist and were administered therapy targeting their paretic upper extremities that was 30 minutes in duration, occurring 3 days/week for eight weeks. One group participated in repetitive task-specific practice entirely while wearing the portable robotic, while the other performed the same activity regimen manually. The upper extremity Fugl-Meyer, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and Stroke Impact Scale were administered on two occasions before intervention and once after intervention. After intervention, groups exhibited nearly identical Fugl-Meyer score increases of ≈2.1 points; the group using robotics exhibited larger score changes on all but one of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and Stroke Impact Scale subscales, including a 12.5-point increase on the Stroke Impact Scale recovery subscale. Findings suggest that therapist-supervised repetitive task-specific practice integrating robotics is as efficacious as manual practice in subjects with moderate upper extremity impairment.

  14. Ternary superconductor ''NbTiTa'' for high field superfluid magnets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McInturff, A.D.; Carson, J.; Larbalestier, D.; Lee, P.; McKinnel, J.; Kanithi, H.; McDonald, W.; O'Larey, P.

    1990-06-01

    The possibility exists to obtain a higher 'Hc 2 ' upper critical field in the NbTi system which is normally limited by a spin-orbit coupling term. The introduction of scattering reduces this coupling. The spin-orbit scattering rate is proportional to Z 4 and therefore leads logically to the introduction of a high atomic number element which is more or less similar with respect to all of the other properties, i.e., Tc. Previous studies have shown Tantalum to be an excellent choice. The present work represents an attempt to obtain a high current density, high field ternary magnet conductor (Jc (10T, 2K, ρeff = 10 -12 Ω-cm)) > 2000A/mm 2 . This goal was met, but the conductor was clearly not optimized

  15. Using Critical and Post-Critical Pedagogies to Pick at the Seams of Patriarchy from "The Inside"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lennon, Sherilyn

    2017-01-01

    This article explores the use of critical and post-critical pedagogies in a rural Australian high school for the purposes of unsettling life-limiting gender beliefs and practices. The paper problematises two examples whereby site-specific knowledges, curriculum dictates, media texts and critical pedagogies were enmeshed to create politically…

  16. Selenium in the upper Blackfoot River watershed, southeastern Idaho, 2001-12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mebane, Christopher A.; Mladenka, Greg; Van Every, Lynn; Williams, Marshall L.; Hardy, Mark A.; Garbarino, John R.

    2014-11-05

    The upper Blackfoot River in southeastern Idaho receives runoff from 12 large phosphate mines. Waste shales that are removed to access the phosphate ore are highly enriched with selenium, resulting in elevated selenium in runoff from the mine waste dumps. In 2001, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began monitoring streamflow, selenium, and other water-quality parameters at a single location near the outlet of the upper Blackfoot River to the Blackfoot Reservoir. Water samples primarily were collected by a flow triggered, automated pump sampler, supplemented by manual point and equal-width integrated manual samples.

  17. Critical Race Theory, Hip Hop, and "Huck Finn": Narrative Inquiry in a High School English Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Jennifer L.

    2014-01-01

    This study explores the impact of reading "Huckleberry Finn" through the lens of critical race theory for both teacher and students in a racially diverse urban high school environment. The teacher/researcher used narrative inquiry and creative non-fiction to examine student language usage, white privilege (including her own), and student…

  18. The Impact of Problem-Based Learning Approach to Senior High School Students' Mathematics Critical Thinking Ability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widyatiningtyas, Reviandari; Kusumah, Yaya S.; Sumarmo, Utari; Sabandar, Jozua

    2015-01-01

    The study reported the findings of an only post-test control group research design and aims to analyze the influence of problem-based learning approach, school level, and students' prior mathematical ability to student's mathematics critical thinking ability. The research subjects were 140 grade ten senior high school students coming from…

  19. Clinical pattern and prevalence of upper gastrointestinal toxicity in patients abusing ketamine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shirley Yuk Wah; Ng, Stephen Ka Kei; Tam, Yuk Him; Yee, Samuel Chi Hang; Lai, Franco Pui Tak; Hong, Cindy Yuek Lam; Chiu, Philip Wai Yan; Ng, Enders Kwok Wai; Ng, Chi Fai

    2017-09-01

    Evaluations of upper gastrointestinal toxicity from ketamine abuse are uncommon. This study investigated the clinical pattern of upper gastrointestinal symptoms in patients inhaling ketamine. In a cross-sectional study of 611 consecutive patients who were seeking treatment for ketamine uropathy in a tertiary hospital setting between August 2008 and June 2016, their clinical pattern of upper gastrointestinal symptoms was evaluated and compared with a control population of 804 non-users. A total of 168 (27.5%) patients abusing ketamine (mean age 26.3 years, 58.9% female) reported the presence of upper gastrointestinal symptoms. These symptoms were significantly more prevalent in patients inhaling ketamine than in those who were not (27.5% vs 5.2%, P ketamine abuse before symptom presentation was 5.0 ± 3.1 years. The presenting symptoms included epigastric pain (n = 155, 25.4%), recurrent vomiting (n = 48, 7.9%), anemia (n = 36, 5.9%) and gastrointestinal bleeding (n = 20, 3.3%). Uropathy symptoms were preceded by upper gastrointestinal symptoms for 4.4 ± 3.0 years in 141 (83.9%) patients. Logistic regression showed that elder age (odds ratio [OR] 1.06, P = 0.04), active abuser status (OR 1.60, P = 0.04) and longer duration of ketamine abuse (OR 1.00, P = 0.04) were independent factors associated with upper gastrointestinal toxicity. Although epigastric symptoms are unusual in the young population, upper gastrointestinal toxicity was highly prevalent in those inhaling ketamine. Enquiries about ketamine abuse are recommended when assessing young patients with epigastric symptoms. © 2017 Chinese Medical Association Shanghai Branch, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  20. A Boundary Property for Upper Domination

    KAUST Repository

    AbouEisha, Hassan M.; Hussain, Shahid; Lozin, Vadim; Monnot, Jé rô me; Ries, Bernard; Zamaraev, Viktor

    2016-01-01

    An upper dominating set in a graph is a minimal (with respect to set inclusion) dominating set of maximum cardinality.The problem of finding an upper dominating set is generally NP-hard, but can be solved in polynomial time in some restricted graph

  1. Increasing the admission rate to upper secondary school

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoest, A.; Jensen, V.M.; Nielsen, L.P.

    2013-01-01

    Although several studies investigate the effects of school resources on student performance, these studies tend to focus more on intervention effect sizes than on their cost-effectiveness. Exploiting policy-induced variation in Denmark and using high-quality administrative data, we investigate...... to upper secondary school between 4.0 and 6.3 percentage points for immigrants, but shows at best small improvements for the native students....

  2. Dual-focus Magnification, High-Definition Endoscopy Improves Pathology Detection in Direct-to-Test Diagnostic Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bond, Ashley; Burkitt, Michael D; Cox, Trevor; Smart, Howard L; Probert, Chris; Haslam, Neil; Sarkar, Sanchoy

    2017-03-01

    In the UK, the majority of diagnostic upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopies are a result of direct-to-test referral from the primary care physician. The diagnostic yield of these tests is relatively low, and the burden high on endoscopy services. Dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy is expected to improve detection and classification of UGI mucosal lesions and also help minimize biopsies by allowing better targeting. This is a retrospective study of patients attending for direct-to-test UGI endoscopy from January 2015 to June 2015. The primary outcome of interest was the identification of significant pathology. Detection of significant pathology was modelled using logistic regression. 500 procedures were included. The mean age of patients was 61.5 (±15.6) years; 60.8% of patients were female. Ninety-four gastroscopies were performed using dual-focus magnification high-definition endoscopy. Increasing age, male gender, type of endoscope, and type of operator were all identified as significant factors influencing the odds of detecting significant mucosal pathology. Use of dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy was associated with an odds ratio of 1.87 (95%CI 1.11-3.12) favouring the detection of significant pathology. Subsequent analysis suggested that the increased detection of pathology during dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy also influenced patient follow-up and led to a 3.0 fold (p=0.04) increase in the proportion of patients entered into an UGI endoscopic surveillance program. Dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy improved the diagnostic yield for significant mucosal pathology in patients referred for direct-to-test endoscopy. If this finding is recapitulated elsewhere it will have substantial impact on the provision of UGI endoscopic services.

  3. The African upper mantle and its relationship to tectonics and surface geology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priestley, Keith; McKenzie, Dan; Debayle, Eric; Pilidou, Sylvana

    2008-12-01

    This paper focuses on the upper-mantle velocity structure of the African continent and its relationship to the surface geology. The distribution of seismographs and earthquakes providing seismograms for this study results in good fundamental and higher mode path coverage by a large number of relatively short propagation paths, allowing us to image the SV-wave speed structure, with a horizontal resolution of several hundred kilometres and a vertical resolution of ~50 km, to a depth of about 400 km. The difference in mantle structure between the Archean and Pan-African terranes is apparent in our African upper-mantle shear wave model. High-velocity (4-7 per cent) roots exist beneath the cratons. Below the West African, Congo and Tanzanian Cratons, these extend to 225-250 km depth, but beneath the Kalahari Craton, the high wave speed root extends to only ~170 km. With the exception of the Damara Belt that separates the Congo and Kalahari Cratons, any high-speed upper-mantle lid below the Pan-African terranes is too thin to be resolved by our long-period surface wave technique. The Damara Belt is underlain by higher wave speeds, similar to those observed beneath the Kalahari Craton. Extremely low SV-wave speeds occur to the bottom of our model beneath the Afar region. The temperature of the African upper mantle is determined from the SV-wave speed model. Large temperature variations occur at 125 km depth with low temperatures beneath west Africa and all of southern Africa and warm mantle beneath the Pan-African terrane of northern Africa. At 175 km depth, cool upper mantle occurs below the West African, Congo, Tanzanian and Kalahari Cratons and anomalously warm mantle occurs below a zone in northcentral Africa and beneath the region surrounding the Red Sea. All of the African volcanic centres are located above regions of warm upper mantle. The temperature profiles were fit to a geotherm to determine the thickness of the African lithosphere. Thick lithosphere exists

  4. Understanding Nuclei in the upper sd - shell

    OpenAIRE

    Sarkar, M. Saha; Bisoi, Abhijit; Ray, Sudatta; Kshetri, Ritesh; Sarkar, S.

    2013-01-01

    Nuclei in the upper-$sd$ shell usually exhibit characteristics of spherical single particle excitations. In the recent years, employment of sophisticated techniques of gamma spectroscopy has led to observation of high spin states of several nuclei near A$\\simeq$ 40. In a few of them multiparticle, multihole rotational states coexist with states of single particle nature. We have studied a few nuclei in this mass region experimentally, using various campaigns of the Indian National Gamma Array...

  5. Risk Mitigaion for HTS Motors: Intermediate Temperature (27 K) Strain Effects in Reinforced Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O Superconductors

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Schwartz, Justin

    2004-01-01

    High temperature superconductors , known for their high critical temperatures, also have very high upper critical fields and thus have received significant attention for superconducting magnets (SCMs...

  6. The Age of Upper Scorpius from Eclipsing Binaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, Trevor; Hillenbrand, Lynne

    2018-01-01

    The Upper Scorpius OB association is the nearest region of recent massive star formation and thus an important benchmark for investigations concerning astrophysical timescales. Classical estimates of the association age based on the kinematics of high-mass members and a Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram of the full stellar population established an age of 5 Myr. However, recent analyses based on the H-R diagram for intermediate- and high-mass members suggest an older age of 11 Myr. Importantly, the H-R diagram ages of stars in Upper Scorpius (and other clusters of a similar age) are mass-dependent, such that low-mass members appear younger than their high-mass counterparts. Here we report an age that is self-consistent in the mass range of 0.3–5 M⊙, and based on the fundamentally-determined masses and radii of eclipsing binaries (EBs). We present nine EBs in Upper Scorpius, four of which are newly reported here and all of which were discovered from K2 photometry. Joint fitting of the eclipse photometry and radial velocities from newly acquired Keck-I/HIRES spectra yields precise masses and radii for those systems that are spectroscopically double-lined. We identify one of the EB components as a slowly pulsating B-star. We use these EBs to develop an empirical mass-radius relation for pre-main-sequence stars, and to evaluate the predictions of widely-used stellar evolutionary models. Our results are consistent with previous studies that indicate most models underestimate the masses of low-mass stars by tens of percent based on H-R diagram analyses. Models including the effects of magnetic fields produce better agreement between the observed bulk and radiative parameters of these young, low-mass stars. From the orbital elements and photometrically inferred rotation periods, we consider the dynamical states of several binaries and compare with expectations from tidal dissipation theories.

  7. Normal-state Nernst effect of a high-critical-temperature superconductor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambrecht, S.; Ausloos, M.

    1996-01-01

    We have analyzed the data of Clayhold et al. for the Nernst effect in the normal state of a high critical superconductor, i.e., Tl 2 Ba 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ . This requested to derive a kinetic expression for the Nernst effect, an expression able to take into account inelastic scattering and magnetic-field dependence. This was done along a relaxation time formalism for the solution of the Boltzmann equation but leaving a background term which can be calculated by the most appropriate method. The final calculation leads to the evaluation of the background term resulting from the thermoelectric field-free effect. In order to do this we have considered a model of Livanov and Sergeev. The Nernst effect is explained by a simple two band model for electrons and holes with different mobilities. The resulting fit to the experimental data looks rather convincing. Several predictions are made thereafter. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  8. CriticalEd

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjellberg, Caspar Mølholt; Meredith, David

    2014-01-01

    . Since the comments are not input sequentially, with regard to position, but in arbitrary order, this list must be sorted by copy/pasting the rows into place—an error-prone and time-consuming process. Scholars who produce critical editions typically use off-the-shelf music notation software......The best text method is commonly applied among music scholars engaged in producing critical editions. In this method, a comment list is compiled, consisting of variant readings and editorial emendations. This list is maintained by inserting the comments into a document as the changes are made......, consisting of a Sibelius plug-in, a cross-platform application, called CriticalEd, and a REST-based solution, which handles data storage/retrieval. A prototype has been tested at the Danish Centre for Music Publication, and the results suggest that the system could greatly improve the efficiency...

  9. Volume of hospital is important for the prognosis of high-risk patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Jin Woo; Jeon, Seong Woo; Kwon, Jung Gu; Lee, Dong Wook; Ha, Chang Yoon; Cho, Kwang Bum; Jang, Byung Ik; Park, Jung Bae; Park, Youn Sun

    2017-08-01

    Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB) is a potentially life-threatening hospital emergency requiring hemodynamic stabilization and resuscitation. This study is carried out to determine whether hospital volume can influence outcome in patients with NVUGIB. This is a retrospective study with a prospective cohort database (KCT 0000514. cris.nih.go.kr). Eight teaching hospitals were divided into two different groups: high-volume centers (HVC, ≥60 NVUGIB patients/year, four clinics) and low-volume centers (LVC, bleeding after treatment, re-bleeding, necessity for surgical/other retreatments, and death within 30 days. Similar baseline characters for patients were observed in both groups. There was a significant difference in the incidence of poor outcome between the HVC and LVC groups (9.06 vs. 13.69%, P = 0.014). The incidence rate of poor outcome in high-risk patients (Rockall score ≥8) in HVC was lower than that in high-risk patients in LVC (16.07 vs. 26.92%, P = 0.048); however, there was no significant difference in poor outcome in the lower-risk patients in either group (8.72 vs. 10.42%, P = 0.370). Significant correlation between hospital volume and outcome in NVUGIB patients was observed. Referral to HVC for the management of high-risk NVUGIB patients should be considered in clinical practice.

  10. Influencing the practice and outcome in acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Steering Committee of the National Audit of Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rockall, T A; Logan, R F; Devlin, H B; Northfield, T C

    1997-11-01

    To assess changes in practice and outcome in acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage following the feedback of data, the reemphasis of national guidelines, and specific recommendations following an initial survey. A prospective, multicentre, audit cycle. Forty five hospitals from three health regions participated in two phases of the audit cycle. Phase I: 2332 patients with acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage; phase II: 1625 patients with upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Patients were evaluated with respect to management (with reference to the recommendations in the national guidelines), mortality, and length of hospital stay. Following the distribution of data from the first phase of the National Audit and the formulation of specific recommendations for improving practice, the proportion of hospitals with local guidelines or protocols for the management of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage rose from 71% (32/45) to 91% (41/45); 12 of the 32 hospitals with guidelines during the first phase revised their guidelines following the initial survey. There was a small but significant increase in the proportion of all patients who underwent endoscopy (from 81% to 86%), the proportion who underwent endoscopy within 24 hours of admission (from 50% to 56%), and the use of central venous pressure monitoring in patients with organ failure requiring blood transfusion or those with profound shock (from 30% to 43%). There was, however, no change in the use of high dependency beds or joint medical/surgical management in high risk cases. There was no significant change in crude or risk standardised mortality (13.4% in the first phase and 14.4% in the second phase). Although many of the participating hospitals have made efforts to improve practice by producing or updating guidelines or protocols, there has been only a small demonstrable change in some areas of practice during the National Audit. The failure to detect any improvement in mortality may reflect this lack of

  11. PoSSUM: Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reimuller, J. D.; Fritts, D. C.; Thomas, G. E.; Taylor, M. J.; Mitchell, S.; Lehmacher, G. A.; Watchorn, S. R.; Baumgarten, G.; Plane, J. M.

    2013-12-01

    Project PoSSUM (www.projectpossum.org) is a suborbital research project leveraging imaging and remote sensing techniques from Reusable Suborbital Launch Vehicles (rSLVs) to gather critical climate data through use of the PoSSUM Observatory and the PoSSUM Aeronomy Laboratory. An acronym for Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere, PoSSUM grew from the opportunity created by the Noctilucent Cloud Imagery and Tomography Experiment, selected by the NASA Flight Opportunities Program as Experiment 46-S in March 2012. This experiment will employ an rSLV (e.g. the XCOR Lynx Mark II) launched from a high-latitude spaceport (e.g. Eielson AFB, Alaska or Kiruna, Sweden) during a week-long deployment scheduled for July 2015 to address critical questions concerning noctilucent clouds (NLCs) through flights that transition the cloud layer where the clouds will be under direct illumination from the sun. The 2015 Project PoSSUM NLC campaign will use the unique capability of rSLVs to address key under-answered questions pertaining to NLCs. Specifically, PoSSUM will answer: 1) What are the small-scale dynamics of NLCs and what does this tell us about the energy and momentum deposition from the lower atmosphere? 2) What is the seasonal variability of NLCs, mesospheric dynamics, and temperatures? 3) Are structures observed in the OH layer coupled with NLC structures? 4) How do NLCs nucleate? and 5) What is the geometry of NLC particles and how do they stratify? Instrumentation will include video and still-frame visible cameras (PoSSUMCam), infrared cameras, a mesospheric temperatures experiment, a depolarization LiDAR, a mesospheric density and temperatures experiment (MCAT), a mesospheric winds experiment, and a meteoric smoke detector (MASS). The instrument suite used on PoSSUM will mature through subsequent campaigns to develop an integrated, modular laboratory (the ';PoSSUM Observatory') that will provide repeatable, low cost, in-situ NLC and aeronomy observations as well

  12. Research on the critical parameters initialization of optical PMD compensator in high bit-rate systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Wenyu; Zhang, Haiyi; Ji, Yuefeng; Xu, Daxiong

    2004-05-01

    Based on the proposed polarization mode dispersion (PMD) compensation simulation model and statistical analysis method (Monte-Carlo), the critical parameters initialization of two typical optical domain PMD compensators, which include optical PMD method with fixed compensation differential group delay (DGD) and that with variable compensation DGD, are detailedly investigated by numerical method. In the simulation, the line PMD values are chosen as 3ps, 4ps and 5ps and run samples are set to 1000 in order to achieve statistical evaluation for PMD compensated systems, respectively. The simulation results show that for the PMD value pre-known systems, the value of the fixed DGD compensator should be set to 1.5~1.6 times of line PMD value in order to reach the optimum performance, but for the second kind of PMD compensator, the DGD range of lower limit should be 1.5~1.6 times of line PMD provided that of upper limit is set to 3 times of line PMD, if no effective ways are chosen to resolve the problem of local minimum in optimum process. Another conclusion can be drawn from the simulation is that, although the second PMD compensator holds higher PMD compensation performance, it will spend more feedback loops to look up the optimum DGD value in the real PMD compensation realization, and this will bring more requirements on adjustable DGD device, not only wider adjustable range, but rapid adjusting speed for real time PMD equalization.

  13. The Upper Atmosphere; Threshold of Space.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bird, John

    This booklet contains illustrations of the upper atmosphere, describes some recent discoveries, and suggests future research questions. It contains many color photographs. Sections include: (1) "Where Does Space Begin?"; (2) "Importance of the Upper Atmosphere" (including neutral atmosphere, ionized regions, and balloon and investigations); (3)…

  14. Critical pressure of non-equilibrium two-phase critical flow

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Minzer, U [Israel Electric Corp. Ltd., Haifa (Israel)

    1996-12-01

    Critical pressure is defined as the pressure existing at the exit edge of the piping, when it remains constant despite a decrease in the back. According to this definition the critical pressure is larger than the back pressure and for two-phase conditions below saturation pressure. The two-phase critical pressure has a major influence on the two-phase critical flow characteristics. Therefore it is of High significance in calculations of critical mass flux and critical depressurization rate, which are important in the fields of Nuclear Reactor Safety and Industrial Safety. At the Nuclear Reactor Safety field is useful for estimations of the Reactor Cooling System depressurization, the core coolant level, and the pressure build-up in the containment. In the Industrial Safety field it is helpful for estimating the leakage rate of toxic gases Tom liquefied gas pressure vessels, depressurization of pressure vessels, and explosion conditions due to liquefied gas release. For physical description of non-equilibrium two-phase critical flow it would be convenient to divide the flow into two stages. The first stage is the flow of subcooled liquid at constant temperature and uniform pressure drop (i.e., the case of incompressible fluid and uniform piping cross section). The rapid flow of the liquid causes a delay in the boiling of the liquid, which begins to boil below saturation pressure, at thermal non-equilibrium. The boiling is the beginning of the second stage, characterized by a sharp increase of the pressure drop. The liquid temperature on the second stage is almost constant because most of the energy for vaporization is supplied from the large pressure drop The present work will focus on the two-phase critical pressure of water, since water serves as coolant in the vast majority of nuclear power reactors throughout the world. (author).

  15. Critical pressure of non-equilibrium two-phase critical flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minzer, U.

    1996-01-01

    Critical pressure is defined as the pressure existing at the exit edge of the piping, when it remains constant despite a decrease in the back. According to this definition the critical pressure is larger than the back pressure and for two-phase conditions below saturation pressure. The two-phase critical pressure has a major influence on the two-phase critical flow characteristics. Therefore it is of High significance in calculations of critical mass flux and critical depressurization rate, which are important in the fields of Nuclear Reactor Safety and Industrial Safety. At the Nuclear Reactor Safety field is useful for estimations of the Reactor Cooling System depressurization, the core coolant level, and the pressure build-up in the containment. In the Industrial Safety field it is helpful for estimating the leakage rate of toxic gases Tom liquefied gas pressure vessels, depressurization of pressure vessels, and explosion conditions due to liquefied gas release. For physical description of non-equilibrium two-phase critical flow it would be convenient to divide the flow into two stages. The first stage is the flow of subcooled liquid at constant temperature and uniform pressure drop (i.e., the case of incompressible fluid and uniform piping cross section). The rapid flow of the liquid causes a delay in the boiling of the liquid, which begins to boil below saturation pressure, at thermal non-equilibrium. The boiling is the beginning of the second stage, characterized by a sharp increase of the pressure drop. The liquid temperature on the second stage is almost constant because most of the energy for vaporization is supplied from the large pressure drop The present work will focus on the two-phase critical pressure of water, since water serves as coolant in the vast majority of nuclear power reactors throughout the world. (author)

  16. Endocrine function following high dose proton therapy for tumors of the upper clivus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slater, J.D.; Austin-Seymour, M.; Munzenrider, J.; Birnbaum, S.; Carroll, R.; Klibanski, A.; Riskind, P.; Urie, M.; Verhey, L.; Goitein, M.

    1988-09-01

    The endocrine status of patients receiving proton radiation for tumors of the upper clivus was reviewed to evaluate the effect of high dose treatment on the pituitary gland. The fourteen patients had chordomas or low grade chondrosarcomas and were all treated by the same techniques. The median tumor dose was 69.7 Cobalt Gray Equivalent (CGE) with a range from 66.6 to 74.4 CGE. (CGE is used because modulated protons have an RBE of 1.1 compared to 60Co). The daily fraction size was 1.8-2.1 CGE. The median follow-up time is 48 months, ranging from 30 to 68 months. All treatments were planned using a computerized multi-dimensional system with the position of the pituitary outlined on the planning CT scan. Review of the dose distribution indicated that the dose to the pituitary ranged from 60.5 to 72.3 CGE, with a median of 67.6 CGE. One female patient had decreased thyroid and gonadotropin function at the time of diagnosis and has been on hormone replacement since that time. The other three females were all pre-menopausal at the time of radiotherapy. At this time four patients (3 males and 1 female) have developed endocrine abnormalities 14 to 45 months after irradiation. All four had evidence of hypothyroidism and two have also developed corticotropin deficiency. The three males had decreased testosterone levels; the female patient developed amenorrhea and hyperprolactinemia. All four are asymptomatic with ongoing hormone replacement.

  17. Endocrine function following high dose proton therapy for tumors of the upper clivus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slater, J.D.; Austin-Seymour, M.; Munzenrider, J.

    1988-01-01

    The endocrine status of patients receiving proton radiation for tumors of the upper clivus was reviewed to evaluate the effect of high dose treatment on the pituitary gland. The fourteen patients had chordomas or low grade chondrosarcomas and were all treated by the same techniques. The median tumor dose was 69.7 Cobalt Gray Equivalent (CGE) with a range from 66.6 to 74.4 CGE. (CGE is used because modulated protons have an RBE of 1.1 compared to 60Co). The daily fraction size was 1.8-2.1 CGE. The median follow-up time is 48 months, ranging from 30 to 68 months. All treatments were planned using a computerized multi-dimensional system with the position of the pituitary outlined on the planning CT scan. Review of the dose distribution indicated that the dose to the pituitary ranged from 60.5 to 72.3 CGE, with a median of 67.6 CGE. One female patient had decreased thyroid and gonadotropin function at the time of diagnosis and has been on hormone replacement since that time. The other three females were all pre-menopausal at the time of radiotherapy. At this time four patients (3 males and 1 female) have developed endocrine abnormalities 14 to 45 months after irradiation. All four had evidence of hypothyroidism and two have also developed corticotropin deficiency. The three males had decreased testosterone levels; the female patient developed amenorrhea and hyperprolactinemia. All four are asymptomatic with ongoing hormone replacement

  18. The relationship between family expressed emotion, perceived criticism and criticism sensitivity and psychiatric outcomes following traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alway, Yvette; Ponsford, Jennie; McKay, Adam

    2016-12-30

    Family expressed emotion (EE) is a strong predictor of outcome in a range of psychiatric and medical conditions. This study aimed to examine the relationship between family EE-criticism, patient perceived criticism and criticism sensitivity and psychiatric disorders following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants were 60 patients with TBI and their family members. Patients were assessed for psychiatric disorders using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I) and completed the Perceived Criticism Measure (PCM) to determine levels of perceived criticism and criticism sensitivity. Family members completed the Family Questionnaire (FQ) to assess patient directed EE-criticism. Patients were reassessed approximately 12-months post-baseline. After controlling for diagnostic status at baseline, high criticism sensitivity at baseline was associated with greater probability of psychiatric diagnosis at follow-up (odds ratio=3.99, 95% CI=1.15-13.71). Family EE-criticism and perceived criticism were not predictive of patient diagnostic status at follow-up, but patients with high EE-family members were more likely to have a concurrent psychiatric diagnosis at baseline. Findings suggest that sensitivity to interpersonal criticism may have a role in the development and course of psychiatric disorders following TBI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Observations of fine-scale transport structure in the upper troposphere from the High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowman, Kenneth P.; Pan, Laura L.; Campos, Teresa; Gao, Rushan

    2007-09-01

    The Progressive Science Mission in December 2005 was the first research use of the new NCAR High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) aircraft. The Stratosphere-Troposphere Analyses of Regional Transport (START) component of the mission was designed to investigate the dynamical and chemical structure of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Flight 5 of the Progressive Science mission was a START flight that sampled near the tropopause in an area between the main jet stream and a large, quasi-stationary, cutoff low. The large-scale flow in this region was characterized by a hyperbolic (saddle) point. In this study the in situ measurements by HIAPER are combined with flow analyses and satellite data to investigate the quasi-isentropic stirring of trace species in the upper troposphere. As expected from theoretical considerations, strong stretching and folding deformation of the flow near the hyperbolic point resulted in rapid filamentation of air masses and sharp gradients of constituents. Calculations of the stirring using operational meteorological analyses from the NCEP Global Forecast System model produced excellent agreement with HIAPER and satellite observations of trace species. Back trajectories indicate that elevated ozone levels in some filaments likely came from a large stratospheric intrusion that occurred upstream in the jet over the north Pacific Ocean. The methods presented here can be used with operational forecasts for future flight planning.

  20. Impact of climate warming on upper layer of the Bering Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hyun-Chul; Delworth, Thomas L.; Rosati, Anthony; Zhang, Rong; Anderson, Whit G.; Zeng, Fanrong; Stock, Charles A.; Gnanadesikan, Anand; Dixon, Keith W.; Griffies, Stephen M.

    2013-01-01

    The impact of climate warming on the upper layer of the Bering Sea is investigated by using a high-resolution coupled global climate model. The model is forced by increasing atmospheric CO2 at a rate of 1% per year until CO2 reaches double its initial value (after 70 years), after which it is held constant. In response to this forcing, the upper layer of the Bering Sea warms by about 2°C in the southeastern shelf and by a little more than 1°C in the western basin. The wintertime ventilation to the permanent thermocline weakens in the western Bering Sea. After CO2 doubling, the southeastern shelf of the Bering Sea becomes almost ice-free in March, and the stratification of the upper layer strengthens in May and June. Changes of physical condition due to the climate warming would impact the pre-condition of spring bio-productivity in the southeastern shelf.