Behavior of Tilted Angle Shear Connectors

Science.gov (United States)

Khorramian, Koosha; Maleki, Shervin; Shariati, Mahdi; Ramli Sulong, N. H.

2015-01-01

According to recent researches, angle shear connectors are appropriate to transfer longitudinal shear forces across the steel-concrete interface. Angle steel profile has been used in different positions as L-shaped or C-shaped shear connectors. The application of angle shear connectors in tilted positions is of interest in this study. This study investigates the behaviour of tilted-shaped angle shear connectors under monotonic loading using experimental push out tests. Eight push-out specimens are tested to investigate the effects of different angle parameters on the ultimate load capacity of connectors. Two different tilted angles of 112.5 and 135 degrees between the angle leg and steel beam are considered. In addition, angle sizes and lengths are varied. Two different failure modes were observed consisting of concrete crushing-splitting and connector fracture. By increasing the size of connector, the maximum load increased for most cases. In general, the 135 degrees tilted angle shear connectors have a higher strength and stiffness than the 112.5 degrees type. PMID:26642193

Behavior of Tilted Angle Shear Connectors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koosha Khorramian

Full Text Available According to recent researches, angle shear connectors are appropriate to transfer longitudinal shear forces across the steel-concrete interface. Angle steel profile has been used in different positions as L-shaped or C-shaped shear connectors. The application of angle shear connectors in tilted positions is of interest in this study. This study investigates the behaviour of tilted-shaped angle shear connectors under monotonic loading using experimental push out tests. Eight push-out specimens are tested to investigate the effects of different angle parameters on the ultimate load capacity of connectors. Two different tilted angles of 112.5 and 135 degrees between the angle leg and steel beam are considered. In addition, angle sizes and lengths are varied. Two different failure modes were observed consisting of concrete crushing-splitting and connector fracture. By increasing the size of connector, the maximum load increased for most cases. In general, the 135 degrees tilted angle shear connectors have a higher strength and stiffness than the 112.5 degrees type.

Optimum tilt angle and orientation for solar collectors in Syria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skeiker, Kamal

2009-01-01

One of the important parameters that affect the performance of a solar collector is its tilt angle with the horizon. This is because of the variation of tilt angle changes the amount of solar radiation reaching the collector surface. A mathematical model was used for estimating the solar radiation on a tilted surface, and to determine the optimum tilt angle and orientation (surface azimuth angle) for the solar collector in the main Syrian zones, on a daily basis, as well as for a specific period. The optimum angle was computed by searching for the values for which the radiation on the collector surface is a maximum for a particular day or a specific period. The results reveal that changing the tilt angle 12 times in a year (i.e. using the monthly optimum tilt angle) maintains approximately the total amount of solar radiation near the maximum value that is found by changing the tilt angle daily to its optimum value. This achieves a yearly gain in solar radiation of approximately 30% more than the case of a solar collector fixed on a horizontal surface.

Sharper angle, higher risk? The effect of cutting angle on knee mechanics in invasion sport athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Schreurs, Mervin J; Benjaminse, Anne; Lemmink, Koen A P M

2017-10-03

Cutting is an important skill in team-sports, but unfortunately is also related to non-contact ACL injuries. The purpose was to examine knee kinetics and kinematics at different cutting angles. 13 males and 16 females performed cuts at different angles (45°, 90°, 135° and 180°) at maximum speed. 3D kinematics and kinetics were collected. To determine differences across cutting angles (45°, 90°, 135° and 180°) and sex (female, male), a 4×2 repeated measures ANOVA was conducted followed by post hoc comparisons (Bonferroni) with alpha level set at α≤0.05a priori. At all cutting angles, males showed greater knee flexion angles than females (pcutting angles with no differences in the amount of knee flexion -42.53°±8.95°, females decreased their knee flexion angle from -40.6°±7.2° when cutting at 45° to -36.81°±9.10° when cutting at 90°, 135° and 180° (pcutting towards sharper angles (pcutting angles and then stabilized compared to the 45° cutting angle (pcutting to sharper angles (pcutting angles demand different knee kinematics and kinetics. Sharper cutting angles place the knee more at risk. However, females and males handle this differently, which has implications for injury prevention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An investigation of rugby scrimmaging posture and individual maximum pushing force.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Wen-Lan; Chang, Jyh-Jong; Wu, Jia-Hroung; Guo, Lan-Yuen

2007-02-01

Although rugby is a popular contact sport and the isokinetic muscle torque assessment has recently found widespread application in the field of sports medicine, little research has examined the factors associated with the performance of game-specific skills directly by using the isokinetic-type rugby scrimmaging machine. This study is designed to (a) measure and observe the differences in the maximum individual pushing forward force produced by scrimmaging in different body postures (3 body heights x 2 foot positions) with a self-developed rugby scrimmaging machine and (b) observe the variations in hip, knee, and ankle angles at different body postures and explore the relationship between these angle values and the individual maximum pushing force. Ten national rugby players were invited to participate in the examination. The experimental equipment included a self-developed rugby scrimmaging machine and a 3-dimensional motion analysis system. Our results showed that the foot positions (parallel and nonparallel foot positions) do not affect the maximum pushing force; however, the maximum pushing force was significantly lower in posture I (36% body height) than in posture II (38%) and posture III (40%). The maximum forward force in posture III (40% body height) was also slightly greater than for the scrum in posture II (38% body height). In addition, it was determined that hip, knee, and ankle angles under parallel feet positioning are factors that are closely negatively related in terms of affecting maximum pushing force in scrimmaging. In cross-feet postures, there was a positive correlation between individual forward force and hip angle of the rear leg. From our results, we can conclude that if the player stands in an appropriate starting position at the early stage of scrimmaging, it will benefit the forward force production.

Angle-resolved reflection spectroscopy of high-quality PMMA opal crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Nemtsev, Ivan V.; Tambasov, Igor A.; Ivanenko, Alexander A.; Zyryanov, Victor Ya.

2018-02-01

PMMA opal crystal was prepared by a simple hybrid method, which includes sedimentation, meniscus formation and evaporation. We investigated three surfaces of this crystal by angle-resolved reflective light spectroscopy and SEM study. The angle-resolved reflective measurements were carried out in the 400-1100 nm range. We have determined the high-quality ordered surface of the crystal region. Narrow particle size distribution of the surface has been revealed. The average particle diameter obtained with SEM was nearly 361 nm. The most interesting result was that reflectivity of the surface turned out up to 98% at normal light incidence. Using a fit of dependences of the maximum reflectivity wavelength from an angle based on the Bragg-Snell law, the wavelength of maximum 0° reflectivity, the particle diameter and the fill factor have been determined. For the best surface maximum reflectivity wavelength of a 0° angle was estimated to be 869 nm. The particle diameter and fill factor were calculated as 372 nm and 0.8715, respectively. The diameter obtained by fitting is in excellent agreement with the particle diameter obtained with SEM. The reflectivity maximum is assumed to increase significantly when increasing the fill factor. We believe that using our simple approach to manufacture PMMA opal crystals will significantly increase the fabrication of high-quality photonic crystal templates and thin films.

Gradient angle estimation by uniform directional simulation on a cone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ditlevsen, Ove Dalager

1997-01-01

approximation to a locally most central limit state point. Moreover, the estimated angle can be used to correct the geometric reliability index.\\bfseries Keywords: Directional simulation, effectivity factor, gradient angle estimation, maximum likelihood, model-correction-factor method, Monte Carlo simulation...

Angle-specific transparent conducting electrodes with metallic gratings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rivolta, N. X. A., E-mail: nicolas.rivolta@umons.ac.be; Maes, B. [Micro- and Nanophotonic Materials Group, Faculty of Science, University of Mons, Avenue Maistriau 19, B-7000 Mons (Belgium)

2014-08-07

Transparent conducting electrodes, which are not made from indium tin oxide, and which display a strong angular dependence are useful for various technologies. Here, we introduce a tilted silver grating that combines a large conductance with a strong and angle-specific transmittance. When the light incidence angle matches the tilt angle of the grating, transmittance is close to the maximum along a very broadband range. We explain the behavior through simulations that show in detail the plasmonic and interference effects at play.

Wide angle spectrometers for intermadiate energy electron accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leconte, P.

1982-10-01

It is shown that improvements of the detector acceptances (in solid angle and momentum bite) is as important as increased duty cycle for coincidence experiments. To have a maximum efficiency and thus to reduce the cost of experiments, it is imperative to develop maximum solid angle systems. This implies an axial symmetry with respect to the incoming beam. At Saclay, we have investigated some of the properties of specific detectors covering up to 90% of 4π steradians for a high energy, 100% duty cycle electron accelerator. The techniques of wide angle spectrometers have already been explored on a large scale in high energy physics. However, in the case of charged particles, such detectors, compared to classical iron dipole spectrometers, present a smaller resolving power and a rather low background rejection. The choice of which of these two solutions is to be used depends on the conditions of the specific experiment

Influence of aliphatic amides on the temperature of maximum density of water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres, Andrés Felipe; Romero, Carmen M.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The addition of amides decreases the temperature of maximum density of water suggesting a disruptive effect on water structure. • The amides in aqueous solution do not follow the Despretz equation in the concentration range considered. • The temperature shift Δθ as a function of molality is represented by a second order equation. • The Despretz constants were determined considering the dilute concentration region for each amide solution. • Solute disrupting effect of amides becomes smaller as its hydrophobic character increases. - Abstract: The influence of dissolved substances on the temperature of the maximum density of water has been studied in relation to their effect on water structure as they can change the equilibrium between structured and unstructured species of water. However, most work has been performed using salts and the studies with small organic solutes such as amides are scarce. In this work, the effect of acetamide, propionamide and butyramide on the temperature of maximum density of water was determined from density measurements using a magnetic float densimeter. Densities of aqueous solutions were measured within the temperature range from T = (275.65–278.65) K at intervals of 0.50 K in the concentration range between (0.10000 and 0.80000) mol·kg −1 . The temperature of maximum density was determined from the experimental results. The effect of the three amides is to decrease the temperature of maximum density of water and the change does not follow the Despretz equation. The results are discussed in terms of solute-water interactions and the disrupting effect of amides on water structure.

Maximum dose angle for oblique incidence on primary beam protective barriers in the design of medical radiation therapy facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fondevila, Damian; Arbiser, Silvio; Sansogne, Rosana; Brunetto, Monica; Dosoretz, Bernardo

2008-01-01

Primary barrier determinations for the shielding of medical radiation therapy facilities are generally made assuming normal beam incidence on the barrier, since this is geometrically the most unfavorable condition for that shielding barrier whenever the occupation line is allowed to run along the barrier. However, when the occupation line (for example, the wall of an adjacent building) runs perpendicular to the barrier (especially roof barrier), then two opposing factors come in to play: increasing obliquity angle with respect to the barrier increases the attenuation, while the distance to the calculation point decreases, hence, increasing the dose. As a result, there exists an angle (α max ) for which the equivalent dose results in a maximum, constituting the most unfavorable geometric condition for that shielding barrier. Based on the usual NCRP Report No. 151 model, this article presents a simple formula for obtaining α max , which is a function of the thickness of the barrier (t E ) and the equilibrium tenth-value layer (TVL e ) of the shielding material for the nominal energy of the beam. It can be seen that α max increases for increasing TVL e (hence, beam energy) and decreases for increasing t E , with a range of variation that goes from 13 to 40 deg for concrete barriers thicknesses in the range of 50-300 cm and most commercially available teletherapy machines. This parameter has not been calculated in the existing literature for radiotherapy facilities design and has practical applications, as in calculating the required unoccupied roof shielding for the protection of a nearby building located in the plane of the primary beam rotation

Maximum dose angle for oblique incidence on primary beam protective barriers in the design of medical radiation therapy facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Fondevila, Damián; Arbiser, Silvio; Sansogne, Rosana; Brunetto, Mónica; Dosoretz, Bernardo

2008-05-01

Primary barrier determinations for the shielding of medical radiation therapy facilities are generally made assuming normal beam incidence on the barrier, since this is geometrically the most unfavorable condition for that shielding barrier whenever the occupation line is allowed to run along the barrier. However, when the occupation line (for example, the wall of an adjacent building) runs perpendicular to the barrier (especially roof barrier), then two opposing factors come in to play: increasing obliquity angle with respect to the barrier increases the attenuation, while the distance to the calculation point decreases, hence, increasing the dose. As a result, there exists an angle (alpha(max)) for which the equivalent dose results in a maximum, constituting the most unfavorable geometric condition for that shielding barrier. Based on the usual NCRP Report No. 151 model, this article presents a simple formula for obtaining alpha(max), which is a function of the thickness of the barrier (t(E)) and the equilibrium tenth-value layer (TVL(e)) of the shielding material for the nominal energy of the beam. It can be seen that alpha(max) increases for increasing TVL(e) (hence, beam energy) and decreases for increasing t(E), with a range of variation that goes from 13 to 40 deg for concrete barriers thicknesses in the range of 50-300 cm and most commercially available teletherapy machines. This parameter has not been calculated in the existing literature for radiotherapy facilities design and has practical applications, as in calculating the required unoccupied roof shielding for the protection of a nearby building located in the plane of the primary beam rotation.

The Relative Ineffectiveness of Criminal Network Disruption

Science.gov (United States)

Duijn, Paul A. C.; Kashirin, Victor; Sloot, Peter M. A.

2014-01-01

Researchers, policymakers and law enforcement agencies across the globe struggle to find effective strategies to control criminal networks. The effectiveness of disruption strategies is known to depend on both network topology and network resilience. However, as these criminal networks operate in secrecy, data-driven knowledge concerning the effectiveness of different criminal network disruption strategies is very limited. By combining computational modeling and social network analysis with unique criminal network intelligence data from the Dutch Police, we discovered, in contrast to common belief, that criminal networks might even become ‘stronger’, after targeted attacks. On the other hand increased efficiency within criminal networks decreases its internal security, thus offering opportunities for law enforcement agencies to target these networks more deliberately. Our results emphasize the importance of criminal network interventions at an early stage, before the network gets a chance to (re-)organize to maximum resilience. In the end disruption strategies force criminal networks to become more exposed, which causes successful network disruption to become a long-term effort. PMID:24577374

Application of thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations near maximum lift

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, W. K.; Thomas, J. L.; Rumsey, C. L.

1984-01-01

The flowfield about a NACA 0012 airfoil at a Mach number of 0.3 and Reynolds number of 1 million is computed through an angle of attack range, up to 18 deg, corresponding to conditions up to and beyond the maximum lift coefficient. Results obtained using the compressible thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations are presented as well as results from the compressible Euler equations with and without a viscous coupling procedure. The applicability of each code is assessed and many thin-layer Navier-Stokes benchmark solutions are obtained which can be used for comparison with other codes intended for use at high angles of attack. Reasonable agreement of the Navier-Stokes code with experiment and the viscous-inviscid interaction code is obtained at moderate angles of attack. An unsteady solution is obtained with the thin-layer Navier-Stokes code at the highest angle of attack considered. The maximum lift coefficient is overpredicted, however, in comparison to experimental data, which is attributed to the presence of a laminar separation bubble near the leading edge not modeled in the computations. Two comparisons with experimental data are also presented at a higher Mach number.

Constrained Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Relative Abundances of Protein Conformation in a Heterogeneous Mixture from Small Angle X-Ray Scattering Intensity Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Onuk, A. Emre; Akcakaya, Murat; Bardhan, Jaydeep P.; Erdogmus, Deniz; Brooks, Dana H.; Makowski, Lee

2015-01-01

In this paper, we describe a model for maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of the relative abundances of different conformations of a protein in a heterogeneous mixture from small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) intensities. To consider cases where the solution includes intermediate or unknown conformations, we develop a subset selection method based on k-means clustering and the Cramér-Rao bound on the mixture coefficient estimation error to find a sparse basis set that represents the space spanned by the measured SAXS intensities of the known conformations of a protein. Then, using the selected basis set and the assumptions on the model for the intensity measurements, we show that the MLE model can be expressed as a constrained convex optimization problem. Employing the adenylate kinase (ADK) protein and its known conformations as an example, and using Monte Carlo simulations, we demonstrate the performance of the proposed estimation scheme. Here, although we use 45 crystallographically determined experimental structures and we could generate many more using, for instance, molecular dynamics calculations, the clustering technique indicates that the data cannot support the determination of relative abundances for more than 5 conformations. The estimation of this maximum number of conformations is intrinsic to the methodology we have used here. PMID:26924916

Fokker-Planck simulation of runaway electron generation in disruptions with the hot-tail effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nuga, H., E-mail: nuga@p-grp.nucleng.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Fukuyama, A. [Department of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8540 (Japan); Yagi, M. [National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Aomori 039-3212 (Japan)

2016-06-15

To study runaway electron generation in disruptions, we have extended the three-dimensional (two-dimensional in momentum space; one-dimensional in the radial direction) Fokker-Planck code, which describes the evolution of the relativistic momentum distribution function of electrons and the induced toroidal electric field in a self-consistent manner. A particular focus is placed on the hot-tail effect in two-dimensional momentum space. The effect appears if the drop of the background plasma temperature is sufficiently rapid compared with the electron-electron slowing down time for a few times of the pre-quench thermal velocity. It contributes to not only the enhancement of the primary runaway electron generation but also the broadening of the runaway electron distribution in the pitch angle direction. If the thermal energy loss during the major disruption is assumed to be isotropic, there are hot-tail electrons that have sufficiently large perpendicular momentum, and the runaway electron distribution becomes broader in the pitch angle direction. In addition, the pitch angle scattering also yields the broadening. Since the electric field is reduced due to the burst of runaway electron generation, the time required for accelerating electrons to the runaway region becomes longer. The longer acceleration period makes the pitch-angle scattering more effective.

Shear Capacity of C-Shaped and L-Shaped Angle Shear Connectors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farzad Tahmasbi

Full Text Available This paper investigates the behaviour of C-shaped and L-shaped angle shear connectors embedded in solid concrete slabs. An effective finite element model is proposed to simulate the push out tests of these shear connectors that encompass nonlinear material behaviour, large displacement and damage plasticity. The finite element models are validated against test results. Parametric studies using this nonlinear model are performed to investigate the variations in concrete strength and connector dimensions. The finite element analyses also confirm the test results that increasing the length of shear connector increases their shear strength proportionately. It is observed that the maximum stress in L-shaped angle connectors takes place in the weld attachment to the beam, whereas in the C-shaped angle connectors, it is in the attached leg. The location of maximum concrete compressive damage is rendered in each case. Finally, a new equation for prediction of the shear capacity of C-shaped angle connectors is proposed.

Shear Capacity of C-Shaped and L-Shaped Angle Shear Connectors

Science.gov (United States)

Tahmasbi, Farzad; Maleki, Shervin; Shariati, Mahdi; Ramli Sulong, N. H.; Tahir, M. M.

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the behaviour of C-shaped and L-shaped angle shear connectors embedded in solid concrete slabs. An effective finite element model is proposed to simulate the push out tests of these shear connectors that encompass nonlinear material behaviour, large displacement and damage plasticity. The finite element models are validated against test results. Parametric studies using this nonlinear model are performed to investigate the variations in concrete strength and connector dimensions. The finite element analyses also confirm the test results that increasing the length of shear connector increases their shear strength proportionately. It is observed that the maximum stress in L-shaped angle connectors takes place in the weld attachment to the beam, whereas in the C-shaped angle connectors, it is in the attached leg. The location of maximum concrete compressive damage is rendered in each case. Finally, a new equation for prediction of the shear capacity of C-shaped angle connectors is proposed. PMID:27478894

Flocking and invariance of velocity angles.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Le; Huang, Lihong; Wu, Jianhong

2016-04-01

Motsch and Tadmor considered an extended Cucker-Smale model to investigate the flocking behavior of self-organized systems of interacting species. In this extended model, a cone of the vision was introduced so that outside the cone the influence of one agent on the other is lost and hence the corresponding influence function takes the value zero. This creates a problem to apply the Motsch-Tadmor and Cucker-Smale method to prove the flocking property of the system. Here, we examine the variation of the velocity angles between two arbitrary agents, and obtain a monotonicity property for the maximum cone of velocity angles. This monotonicity permits us to utilize existing arguments to show the flocking property of the system under consideration, when the initial velocity angles satisfy some minor technical constraints.

The study of heat flux for disruption on experimental advanced superconducting tokamak

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Zhendong; Fang, Jianan; Gong, Xianzu; Gan, Kaifu; Luo, Jiarong; Zhao, Hailin; Cui, Zhixue; Zhang, Bin; Chen, Meiwen

2016-05-01

Disruption of the plasma is one of the most dangerous instabilities in tokamak. During the disruption, most of the plasma thermal energy is lost, which causes damages to the plasma facing components. Infrared (IR) camera is an effective tool to detect the temperature distribution on the first wall, and the energy deposited on the first wall can be calculated from the surface temperature profile measured by the IR camera. This paper concentrates on the characteristics of heat flux distribution onto the first wall under different disruptions, including the minor disruption and the vertical displacement events (VDE) disruption. Several minor disruptions have been observed before the major disruption under the high plasma density in experimental advanced superconducting tokamak. During the minor disruption, the heat fluxes are mainly deposited on the upper/lower divertors. The magnetic configuration prior to the minor disruption is a lower single null with the radial distance between the two separatrices in the outer midplane dRsep = -2 cm, while it changes to upper single null (dRsep = 1.4 cm) during the minor disruption. As for the VDE disruption, the spatial distribution of heat flux exhibits strong toroidal and radial nonuniformity, and the maximum heat flux received on the dome plate can be up to 11 MW/m2.

Maximum Range of a Projectile Thrown from Constant-Speed Circular Motion

Science.gov (United States)

Poljak, Nikola

2016-01-01

The problem of determining the angle ? at which a point mass launched from ground level with a given speed v[subscript 0] will reach a maximum distance is a standard exercise in mechanics. There are many possible ways of solving this problem, leading to the well-known answer of ? = p/4, producing a maximum range of D[subscript max] = v[superscript…

The influence of the formation pitching angle on the area for employing the KM-103 complex

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shulga, A I; Teryanik, V I

1982-01-01

Mining sections in which the KM-103 powered complexes are used should be selected and planned on the basis of the actual pitching angle of the formation, and the anticipated vertical and lateral rock displacement in the workings. With the shapes and dimensions characteristic of galley cross-sections which are reinforced by arched 3 and 5-arm supports, and with the anticipated values of rock displacement, a maximum pitching angle exists, above which it is difficult to facilitate the drives of stope face conveyors. For arch-shaped galleys, which are reinforced by an arched 5-arm support, the maximum pitching angle of the formation is greater than in galleys which are reinforced by arched three-arm supports, with equal cross-sections even with large rock displacements. An increase in the cross-section of upwards of 13 square meters does not result in an increase in the maximum pitching angle of the formation due to the extension of the support roof timber. In the trapezoidal workings which are supported by the KPS-3 supports and are worked without employing roof blasting, the maximum pitching angle of the formation is 12 degrees. The thickness of the formation worked must be less than 1.1 meter.

The study of heat flux for disruption on experimental advanced superconducting tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Zhendong; Fang, Jianan; Luo, Jiarong; Cui, Zhixue; Gong, Xianzu; Gan, Kaifu; Zhao, Hailin; Zhang, Bin; Chen, Meiwen

2016-01-01

Disruption of the plasma is one of the most dangerous instabilities in tokamak. During the disruption, most of the plasma thermal energy is lost, which causes damages to the plasma facing components. Infrared (IR) camera is an effective tool to detect the temperature distribution on the first wall, and the energy deposited on the first wall can be calculated from the surface temperature profile measured by the IR camera. This paper concentrates on the characteristics of heat flux distribution onto the first wall under different disruptions, including the minor disruption and the vertical displacement events (VDE) disruption. Several minor disruptions have been observed before the major disruption under the high plasma density in experimental advanced superconducting tokamak. During the minor disruption, the heat fluxes are mainly deposited on the upper/lower divertors. The magnetic configuration prior to the minor disruption is a lower single null with the radial distance between the two separatrices in the outer midplane dR_s_e_p = −2 cm, while it changes to upper single null (dR_s_e_p = 1.4 cm) during the minor disruption. As for the VDE disruption, the spatial distribution of heat flux exhibits strong toroidal and radial nonuniformity, and the maximum heat flux received on the dome plate can be up to 11 MW/m"2.

Control of Angular Intervals for Angle-Multiplexed Holographic Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Kinoshita, Nobuhiro; Muroi, Tetsuhiko; Ishii, Norihiko; Kamijo, Koji; Shimidzu, Naoki

2009-03-01

In angle-multiplexed holographic memory, the full width at half maximum of the Bragg selectivity curves is dependent on the angle formed between the medium and incident laser beams. This indicates the possibility of high density and high multiplexing number by varying the angular intervals between adjacent holograms. We propose an angular interval scheduling for closely stacking holograms into medium even when the angle range is limited. We obtained bit error rates of the order of 10-4 under the following conditions: medium thickness of 1 mm, laser beam wavelength of 532 nm, and angular multiplexing number of 300.

A Unified Model for Tidal Disruption Events

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Lixin; McKinney, Jonathan C.; Roth, Nathaniel; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Miller, M. Coleman

2018-06-01

In the past few years wide-field optical and UV transient surveys and X-ray telescopes have allowed us to identify a few dozen candidate tidal disruption events (TDEs). While in theory the physical processes in TDEs are ubiquitous, a few distinct classes of TDEs have been observed. Some TDEs radiate mainly in NUV/optical, while others produce prominent X-rays. Moreover, relativistic jets have been observed in only a handful of TDEs. This diversity might be related to the details of the super-Eddington accretion and emission physics relevant to TDE disks. In this Letter, we utilize novel three-dimensional general relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations to study the super-Eddington compact disk phase expected in TDEs. Consistent with previous studies, geometrically thick disks, wide-angle optically thick fast outflows, and relativistic jets are produced. The outflow density and velocity depend sensitively on the inclination angle, and hence so does the reprocessing of emission produced from the inner disk. We then use Monte Carlo radiative transfer to calculate the reprocessed spectra and find that that the observed ratio of optical to X-ray fluxes increases with increasing inclination angle. This naturally leads to a unified model for different classes of TDEs in which the spectral properties of the TDE depend mainly on the viewing angle of the observer with respect to the orientation of the disk.

Robust Optimization of Fourth Party Logistics Network Design under Disruptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The Fourth Party Logistics (4PL network faces disruptions of various sorts under the dynamic and complex environment. In order to explore the robustness of the network, the 4PL network design with consideration of random disruptions is studied. The purpose of the research is to construct a 4PL network that can provide satisfactory service to customers at a lower cost when disruptions strike. Based on the definition of β-robustness, a robust optimization model of 4PL network design under disruptions is established. Based on the NP-hard characteristic of the problem, the artificial fish swarm algorithm (AFSA and the genetic algorithm (GA are developed. The effectiveness of the algorithms is tested and compared by simulation examples. By comparing the optimal solutions of the 4PL network for different robustness level, it is indicated that the robust optimization model can evade the market risks effectively and save the cost in the maximum limit when it is applied to 4PL network design.

The Spark of Disruptive Innovation for Space Physics and Aeronomy

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, E.

2017-12-01

What is disruptive innovation and why does it matter for Space Physics and Aeronomy (SPA)? This presentation will define disruptive innovation and present several examples relevant to SPA. These examples range from Cubesats to Citizen Science. Disruptive innovation requires not just an idea but also execution. Why do we need disruptive innovation? Simply put, we need to break out of our comfortable rut to solve bigger problems and evolve as a field for the future. These opportunities are exciting and they are difficult. SPA is well-suited to these types of interdisciplinary applications, due to its dual fundamental and applied nature that dovetails with many other fields. Challenges are that we do not incentivize disruptive innovation, we do not recognize it, and we typically do not fund it. As a result we are risk averse and we suffer from the "Matthew effect" of accumulated advantage. We do not allow ourselves to learn from new and uncomfortable angles and recognize the innovation that comes from there. The strength of having a more diverse and inclusive field is that a range of more diverse ideas and perspectives will be promoted. The next big innovations for SPA may come from the outside, and the best way to capture such ideas may be to promote diversity and inclusion at all levels.

Computer quantification of “angle of collapse” on maximum expiratory flow volume curve for diagnosing asthma-COPD overlap syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang W

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Wei Wang, Mengshuang Xie, Shuang Dou, Liwei Cui, Wei Xiao Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China Background: In a previous study, we demonstrated that asthma patients with signs of emphysema on quantitative computed tomography (CT fulfill the diagnosis of asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS. However, quantitative CT measurements of emphysema are not routinely available for patients with chronic airway disease, which limits their application. Spirometry was a widely used examination tool in clinical settings and shows emphysema as a sharp angle in the maximum expiratory flow volume (MEFV curve, called the “angle of collapse (AC”. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of the AC in the diagnosis of emphysema and ACOS. Methods: This study included 716 participants: 151 asthma patients, 173 COPD patients, and 392 normal control subjects. All the participants underwent pulmonary function tests. COPD and asthma patients also underwent quantitative CT measurements of emphysema. The AC was measured using computer models based on Matlab software. The value of the AC in the diagnosis of emphysema and ACOS was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC curve analysis. Results: The AC of COPD patients was significantly lower than that of asthma patients and control subjects. The AC was significantly negatively correlated with emphysema index (EI; r=-0.666, P<0.001, and patients with high EI had a lower AC than those with low EI. The ROC curve analysis showed that the AC had higher diagnostic efficiency for high EI (area under the curve =0.876 than did other spirometry parameters. In asthma patients, using the AC ≤137° as a surrogate criterion for the diagnosis of ACOS, the sensitivity and specificity were 62.5% and 89.1%, respectively. Conclusion: The AC on the MEFV curve quantified by computer models correlates with the extent of emphysema. The AC may become a

New magic angle bumps and magic translation bumps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seeman, J.

1983-01-01

SLC beams of opposite charge can be transversely deflected in the same direction by RF fields in the accelerating cavities caused by girder tilts, coupler-asymmetries, or manufacturing errors. A symmetric deflection can be corrected by a magic angle bump if the deflection is located adjacent to one of the linac quadrupoles. However, if the deflection is located between quadrupoles, two magic angle bumps or a magic angle bump and a magic translation bump are needed for the correction. Several examples of translation bumps are included. A new magic angle bump is also presented which is longitudinally compressed and has significantly reduced particle excursions. Finally, if new correctors are added midway along the girders so that the number of correctors are doubled, then the longitudinal extent and the maximum particle excursion of these new magic bumps can be further reduced

A new Disruption Mitigation System for deuterium–tritium operation at JET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kruezi, Uron, E-mail: uron.kruezi@ccfe.ac.uk [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Jachmich, Stefan [Laboratory for Plasma Physic, ERM/KMS, B-1000 Brussels (Belgium); Koslowski, Hans Rudolf [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, IEK-4, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Lehnen, Michael [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS90046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Brezinsek, Sebastijan [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, IEK-4, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Matthews, Guy [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • A Disruption Mitigation System based on massive gas injections has been designed. • The DMS has been installed at the JET-tokamak for routine machine protection. • The DMS is capable of a throughput of up to 4.6 kPa m{sup 3}. • The new DMS is compatible with the deuterium–tritium operation at JET. - Abstract: Disruptions, the fast accidental losses of plasma current and stored energy in tokamaks, represent a significant risk to the mechanical structure as well as the plasma facing components of reactor-scale fusion facilities like ITER. At JET, the tokamak experiment closest to ITER in terms of operating parameters and size, massive gas injection has been established as a disruption mitigation method. As a “last resort” measure it reduces thermal and electromagnetic loads during disruptions which can potentially have a serious impact on the beryllium and tungsten plasma-facing materials of the main chamber and divertor. For the planned deuterium–tritium experiments, a new Disruption Mitigation System (DMS) has been designed and installed and is presented in this article. The new DMS at JET consists of an all metal gate valve compatible with gas injections, a fast high pressure eddy current driven valve, a high voltage power supply and a gas handling system providing six supply lines for pure and mixed noble and flammable gases (Ar, Ne, Kr, D{sub 2}, etc.). The valve throughput varies with the injection pressure and gas type (efficiency – injected/charged gas 50–97%); the maximum injected amount of gas is approximately 4.6 kPa m{sup 3} (at maximum system pressure of 5.0 MPa).

A new Disruption Mitigation System for deuterium–tritium operation at JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruezi, Uron; Jachmich, Stefan; Koslowski, Hans Rudolf; Lehnen, Michael; Brezinsek, Sebastijan; Matthews, Guy

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A Disruption Mitigation System based on massive gas injections has been designed. • The DMS has been installed at the JET-tokamak for routine machine protection. • The DMS is capable of a throughput of up to 4.6 kPa m"3. • The new DMS is compatible with the deuterium–tritium operation at JET. - Abstract: Disruptions, the fast accidental losses of plasma current and stored energy in tokamaks, represent a significant risk to the mechanical structure as well as the plasma facing components of reactor-scale fusion facilities like ITER. At JET, the tokamak experiment closest to ITER in terms of operating parameters and size, massive gas injection has been established as a disruption mitigation method. As a “last resort” measure it reduces thermal and electromagnetic loads during disruptions which can potentially have a serious impact on the beryllium and tungsten plasma-facing materials of the main chamber and divertor. For the planned deuterium–tritium experiments, a new Disruption Mitigation System (DMS) has been designed and installed and is presented in this article. The new DMS at JET consists of an all metal gate valve compatible with gas injections, a fast high pressure eddy current driven valve, a high voltage power supply and a gas handling system providing six supply lines for pure and mixed noble and flammable gases (Ar, Ne, Kr, D_2, etc.). The valve throughput varies with the injection pressure and gas type (efficiency – injected/charged gas 50–97%); the maximum injected amount of gas is approximately 4.6 kPa m"3 (at maximum system pressure of 5.0 MPa).

The angular distributions of ultraviolet spectral irradiance at different solar elevation angles under clear sky conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yan; Hu, LiWen; Wang, Fang; Gao, YanYan; Zheng, Yang; Wang, Yu; Liu, Yang

2016-01-01

To investigate the angular distributions of UVA, UVB, and effective UV for erythema and vitamin D (vitD) synthesis, the UV spectral irradiances were measured at ten inclined angles (from 0° to 90°) and seven azimuths (from 0° to 180°) at solar elevation angle (SEA) that ranged from 18.8° to 80° in Shanghai (31.22° N, 121.55° E) under clear sky and the albedo of ground was 0.1. The results demonstrated that in the mean azimuths and with the back to the sun, the UVA, UVB, and erythemally and vitD-weighted irradiances increased with the inclined angles and an increase in SEA. When facing toward the sun at 0°-60° inclined angles, the UVA first increased and then decreased with an increase in SEA; at other inclined angles, the UVA increased with SEA. At 0°-40° inclined angles, the UVB and erythemally and vitD-weighted irradiances first increased and then decreased with an increase in SEA, and their maximums were achieved at SEA 68.7°; at other inclined angles, the above three irradiances increased with an increase in SEA. The maximum UVA, UVB, and erythemally and vitD-weighted irradiances were achieved at an 80° inclined angle at SEA 80° (the highest in our measurements); the cumulative exposure of the half day achieved the maximum at a 60° inclined angle, but not on the horizontal. This study provides support for the assessment of human skin sun exposure.

LHC Report: playing with angles

CERN Multimedia

Mike Lamont for the LHC team

2016-01-01

Ready (after a machine development period), steady (running), go (for a special run)!   The crossing angles are an essential feature of the machine set-up. They have to be big enough to reduce the long-range beam-beam effect. The LHC has recently enjoyed a period of steady running and managed to set a new record for “Maximum Stable Luminosity Delivered in 7 days” of 3.29 fb-1 between 29 August and 4 September. The number of bunches per beam remains pegged at 2220 because of the limitations imposed by the SPS beam dump. The bunch population is also somewhat reduced due to outgassing near one of the injection kickers at point 8. Both limitations will be addressed during the year-end technical stop, opening the way for increased performance in 2017. On 10 and 11 September, a two day machine development (MD) period took place. The MD programme included a look at the possibility of reducing the crossing angle at the high-luminosity interaction points. The crossing angles are an ess...

Scaled biotic disruption during early Eocene global warming events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. J. Gibbs

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Late Paleocene and early Eocene hyperthermals are transient warming events associated with massive perturbations of the global carbon cycle, and are considered partial analogues for current anthropogenic climate change. Because the magnitude of carbon release varied between the events, they are natural experiments ideal for exploring the relationship between carbon cycle perturbations, climate change and biotic response. Here we quantify marine biotic variability through three million years of the early Eocene that include five hyperthermals, utilizing a method that allows us to integrate the records of different plankton groups through scenarios ranging from background to major extinction events. Our long time-series calcareous nannoplankton record indicates a scaling of biotic disruption to climate change associated with the amount of carbon released during the various hyperthermals. Critically, only the three largest hyperthermals, the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2 and the I1 event, show above-background variance, suggesting that the magnitude of carbon input and associated climate change needs to surpass a threshold value to cause significant biotic disruption.

Performance comparisons of enhanced tubes with discrete and wavy disruption shapes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arman, B.; Rabas, T.J.

1993-08-01

This paper presents comparisons of the friction factors and heat-transfer coefficients obtained with enhanced tubes with transverse discrete and almost transverse wavy two-dimensional disruptions. Both experimental data and numerical predictions were used for the comparisons. For the latter a two-layer turbulence model incorporated in a body-fitted, finite-volume method was used. The disruption shape, discrete or wavy, depends on the manufacturing process. If an extrusion process is used, discrete disruptions (ribs) of various profiles are obtained that are separated from each other by a flat or unaltered inside diameter. If a spirally indenting process is used, a wavy proflie is obtained with a continuously varying inside diameter between two adjacent disruption peaks. These disruptions are transverse or almost transverse to the tube axis and separated by a distance that exceeds the reattachment length. Based on these comparisons, the following conclusions are obtained: (1) the disruption shape is not an important correlating parameter for discrete disruptions, (2) only the friction factor is influenced by the shape for wavy disruptions, and (3) there are major differences between both the friction-factor and heat-transfer performance of discrete and wavy disruptions with the same maximum disruption height and spacing. However, the most important finding is that the groove radius of spirally indented tubes should be increased because of the substantial reduction of the friction factor but only a small decrease in the thermal performance. Additional comparisons of predicted results were made to obtain a fundamental understanding of the influence of these different shapes.

Safety and maximum tolerated dose of superselective intraarterial cerebral infusion of bevacizumab after osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption for recurrent malignant glioma. Clinical article.

Science.gov (United States)

Boockvar, John A; Tsiouris, Apostolos J; Hofstetter, Christoph P; Kovanlikaya, Ilhami; Fralin, Sherese; Kesavabhotla, Kartik; Seedial, Stephen M; Pannullo, Susan C; Schwartz, Theodore H; Stieg, Philip; Zimmerman, Robert D; Knopman, Jared; Scheff, Ronald J; Christos, Paul; Vallabhajosula, Shankar; Riina, Howard A

2011-03-01

The authors assessed the safety and maximum tolerated dose of superselective intraarterial cerebral infusion (SIACI) of bevacizumab after osmotic disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) with mannitol in patients with recurrent malignant glioma. A total of 30 patients with recurrent malignant glioma were included in the current study. The authors report no dose-limiting toxicity from a single dose of SIACI of bevacizumab up to 15 mg/kg after osmotic BBB disruption with mannitol. Two groups of patients were studied; those without prior bevacizumab exposure (naïve patients; Group I) and those who had received previous intravenous bevacizumab (exposed patients; Group II). Radiographic changes demonstrated on MR imaging were assessed at 1 month postprocedure. In Group I patients, MR imaging at 1 month showed a median reduction in the area of tumor enhancement of 34.7%, a median reduction in the volume of tumor enhancement of 46.9%, a median MR perfusion (MRP) reduction of 32.14%, and a T2-weighted/FLAIR signal decrease in 9 (47.4%) of 19 patients. In Group II patients, MR imaging at 1 month showed a median reduction in the area of tumor enhancement of 15.2%, a median volume reduction of 8.3%, a median MRP reduction of 25.5%, and a T2-weighted FLAIR decrease in 0 (0%) of 11 patients. The authors conclude that SIACI of mannitol followed by bevacizumab (up to 15 mg/kg) for recurrent malignant glioma is safe and well tolerated. Magnetic resonance imaging shows that SIACI treatment with bevacizumab can lead to reduction in tumor area, volume, perfusion, and T2-weighted/FLAIR signal.

Toward Improved Rotor-Only Axial Fans—Part II: Design Optimization for Maximum Efficiency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Dan Nørtoft; Thompson, M. C.; Sørensen, Jens Nørkær

2000-01-01

Numerical design optimization of the aerodynamic performance of axial fans is carried out, maximizing the efficiency in a designinterval of flow rates. Tip radius, number of blades, and angular velocity of the rotor are fixed, whereas the hub radius andspanwise distributions of chord length......, stagger angle, and camber angle are varied to find the optimum rotor geometry.Constraints ensure a pressure rise above a specified target and an angle of attack on the blades below stall. The optimizationscheme is used to investigate the dependence of maximum efficiency on the width of the design interval...

Current disruptions in the near-earth neutral sheet region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, A.T.Y.; Anderson, B.J.; Takahashi, K.; Zanetti, L.J.; McEntire, R.W.; Potemra, T.A.; Lopez, R.E.; Klumpar, D.M.; Greene, E.M.; Strangeway, R.

1992-01-01

Observations from the Charge Composition Explorer in 1985 and 1986 revealed fifteen current disruption events in which the magnetic field fluctuations were large and their onsets coincided well with ground onsets of substorm expansion or intensification. Over the disruption interval, the local magnetic field can change by as much as a factor of ∼7. In general, the stronger the current buildup and the closer the neutral sheet, the larger the resultant field change. There is also a tendency for a larger subsequent enhancement in the AE index with a stronger current buildup prior to current disruption. For events with good pitch angle coverage and extended observation in the neutral sheet region the authors find that the particle pressure increases toward the disruption onset and decreases afterward. Just prior to disruption, either the total particle pressure is isotropic, or the perpendicular component (P perpendicular ) dominates the parallel component (P parallel ), the plasma beta is seen to be as high as ∼70, and the observed plasma pressure gradient at the neutral sheet is large along the tail axis. The deduced local current density associated with pressure gradient is ∼27-80 n/Am 2 and is ∼85-105 mA/m when integrated over the sheet thickness. They infer from these results that just prior to the onset of current disruption, (1) an extremely thin current sheet requiring P parallel > P perpendicular for stress balance does not develop at these distances, (2) the thermal ion orbits are in the chaotic or Speiser regime while the thermal electrons are in the adiabatic regime and, in one case, exhibit peaked fluxes perpendicular to the magnetic field, thus implying no electron orbit chaotization to possibly initiate ion tearing instability, and (3) the neutral sheet is in the unstable regime specified by the cross-field current instability

Effect of contact angle and contact angle hysteresis on the floatability of spheres at the air-water interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Dong-Xia; Nguyen, Anh V

2017-10-01

The floatability of solid particles on the water surface governs many natural phenomena and industrial processes including film flotation and froth flotation separation of coal and valuable minerals. For many years, the contact angle (CA) has been postulated as the key factor in determining the particle floatability. Indeed, the maximum force (tenacity) supporting the flotation of fine spheres was conjectured to occur when the apical angle of the contact circle is equal to the contact angle. In this paper, the model predictions are reviewed and compared with experimental results. It is shown that CA can be affected by many physical and chemical factors such as surface roughness and chemical heterogeneity and can have a range of values known as the CA hysteresis. This multiple-valued CA invalidates the available theories on the floatability of spheres. Even the intuitive replacement of CA by the advancing (maximum) CA in the classical theories can be wrong. A few new examples are also reviewed and analyzed to demonstrate the significance of CA variation in controlling the particle floatability. They include the pinning of the contact line at the sharp edge, known as the Gibbs inequality condition, and the nearby interaction among floating particles, known as lateral inter-particle interaction. It is concluded that our quantitative understanding of the floatability of real particles being irregular and heterogeneous both morphologically and chemically is still far from being satisfactory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of irrigation disruption and biological nitrogen on growth and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In addition, the maximum (4.29 %) harvest index was obtained from irrigation disruption at third and second harvest with 9 L/ha of nitroxin application. In conclusion, lower amounts of nitrogen was needed to produced the optimal yield of seed in water deficit situation compared with non stress condition, while the nitrogen ...

Extensor Mechanism Disruption after Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Case Series and Review of Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaishya, Raju; Agarwal, Amit Kumar; Vijay, Vipul

2016-02-04

Extensor mechanism disruption following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a rare but devastating complication. These patients may require revision of the implants, but even then, it may not be possible to restore the normal function of the knee after the disruption. The patterns of extensor mechanism disruption can broadly be classified into three types: suprapatellar (quadriceps tendon rupture), transpatellar (patellar fracture), or infrapatellar (patellar tendon rupture). Infrapatellar tendon ruptures are the worst injuries, as they carry maximum morbidity and are challenging to manage. The disruption of the extensor mechanism may occur either intra-operatively or in the immediate postoperative period due to an injury. The treatment of extensor mechanism complications after TKA may include either nonsurgical management or surgical intervention in the form of primary repair or reconstruction with autogenous, allogeneic, or synthetic substitutes. We have provided an algorithm for the management of extensor mechanism disruption after TKA.

Low-angle X-ray scattering from spices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desouky, O.S.; Ashour, Ahmed H.; Abdullah, Mohamed I.; Elshemey, Wael M.

2002-01-01

Low-angle scattering of X-rays is characterized by the presence of one or more peaks in the forward direction of scattering. These peaks are due to the interference of photons coherently scattered from the molecules of the medium. Thus these patterns are closely linked to the molecular structure of the investigated medium. In this work, low-angle X-ray scattering (LAXS) profiles of five spices; pimpinella anisum (anise), coriandrum sativum (coriander), cuminum cyminum (cumin), foenculum vulgare (fennel) and nigella sativa (nigella or black cumin) are presented after extensive measurements. It is found that all spices exhibit one characteristic peak at a scattering angle around 10 deg. This is equivalent to a value x=0.0565 A -1 , where x=sin(θ/2)/λ. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of this peak is found to be characteristic for each type of the investigated spices. The possibility to detect the irradiation of these spices from their LAXS profiles is also examined after 10, 20, 30 and 40 kGy doses of gamma radiation. Except for anise, coriander and cumin at 40 kGy, there are no detectable deviations from the control samples in the scattering profiles of irradiated samples. These results comply with the recommendations of the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) which defines 30 kGy as the maximum dose for irradiation of spices. The present technique could be used to detect over-irradiation, which causes damage to the molecular structure of some spices

The ideal male jaw angle--An Internet survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Mommaerts, Maurice Y

2016-04-01

The ideal male jaw angle has not been established. With the advent of additive manufacturing, precise customized shaping is a reality. This study aimed to define the ideal masculine mandibular angle as an aid for 3-dimensional (3D) design. An Internet survey was conducted using black/white photographs of celebrities and non-celebrities. Preferences regarding gonial angle (profile and frontal views), intergonial width and vertical jaw angle position (face frontal view), and angle curvature and definition in oblique views were obtained using simplified, unbalanced Likert scales. Constructs were defined for planning 3D implant designs. The preferred jaw angle had these characteristics: 130° in face profile view, intergonial width similar to facial width, vertical position in frontal view at the oral commissure or at least not below the lower lip, jawline slope in the face frontal view nearly parallel to (with a maximum 15° downward deviation from) a line extending from the lateral canthus to the alare, ascending ramus slope 65°-75° to the Frankfort horizontal, and curvature in the oblique view visible from earlobe to chin and not pointy. Photogrammetric analysis of panel preferences lead to constructs with values useful for the design of 3D printed jaw angles. Copyright © 2016 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating Disruption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundgaard, Stine Schmieg; Rosenstand, Claus Andreas Foss

This book shares knowledge collected from 2015 and onward within the Consortium for Digital Disruption anchored at Aalborg University (www.dd.aau.dk). Evidenced by this publication, the field of disruptive innovation research has gone through several stages of operationalizing the theory. In recent...... years, researchers are increasingly looking back towards the origins of the theory in attempts to cure it from its most obvious flaws. This is especially true for the use of the theory in making predictions about future disruptions. In order to continue to develop a valuable theory of disruption, we...... find it useful to first review what the theory of disruptive innovation initially was, how it has developed, and where we are now. A cross section of disruptive innovation literature has been reviewed in order to form a general foundation from which we might better understand the changing world...

Design of angle-resolved illumination optics using nonimaging bi-telecentricity for 193 nm scatterfield microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Martin Y; Barnes, Bryan M; Silver, Richard M

2018-03-01

Accurate optics-based dimensional measurements of features sized well-below the diffraction limit require a thorough understanding of the illumination within the optical column and of the three-dimensional scattered fields that contain the information required for quantitative metrology. Scatterfield microscopy can pair simulations with angle-resolved tool characterization to improve agreement between the experiment and calculated libraries, yielding sub-nanometer parametric uncertainties. Optimized angle-resolved illumination requires bi-telecentric optics in which a telecentric sample plane defined by a Köhler illumination configuration and a telecentric conjugate back focal plane (CBFP) of the objective lens; scanning an aperture or an aperture source at the CBFP allows control of the illumination beam angle at the sample plane with minimal distortion. A bi-telecentric illumination optics have been designed enabling angle-resolved illumination for both aperture and source scanning modes while yielding low distortion and chief ray parallelism. The optimized design features a maximum chief ray angle at the CBFP of 0.002° and maximum wavefront deviations of less than 0.06 λ for angle-resolved illumination beams at the sample plane, holding promise for high quality angle-resolved illumination for improved measurements of deep-subwavelength structures using deep-ultraviolet light.

Measurement of Capillary Radius and Contact Angle within Porous Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravi, Saitej; Dharmarajan, Ramanathan; Moghaddam, Saeed

2015-12-01

The pore radius (i.e., capillary radius) and contact angle determine the capillary pressure generated in a porous medium. The most common method to determine these two parameters is through measurement of the capillary pressure generated by a reference liquid (i.e., a liquid with near-zero contact angle) and a test liquid. The rate of rise technique, commonly used to determine the capillary pressure, results in significant uncertainties. In this study, we utilize a recently developed technique for independently measuring the capillary pressure and permeability to determine the equivalent minimum capillary radii and contact angle of water within micropillar wick structures. In this method, the experimentally measured dryout threshold of a wick structure at different wicking lengths is fit to Darcy's law to extract the maximum capillary pressure generated by the test liquid. The equivalent minimum capillary radii of different wick geometries are determined by measuring the maximum capillary pressures generated using n-hexane as the working fluid. It is found that the equivalent minimum capillary radius is dependent on the diameter of pillars and the spacing between pillars. The equivalent capillary radii of micropillar wicks determined using the new method are found to be up to 7 times greater than the current geometry-based first-order estimates. The contact angle subtended by water at the walls of the micropillars is determined by measuring the capillary pressure generated by water within the arrays and the measured capillary radii for the different geometries. This mean contact angle of water is determined to be 54.7°.

A case study on optimum tip speed ratio and pitch angle laws for wind turbine rotors operating in yawed conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cuerva-Tejero, A; Lopez-Garcia, O; González-Meruelo, F; Marangoni, D

2014-01-01

The values of the tip speed ratio and blade pitch angle that yield maximum power coefficient are calculated for a rotor operating in yawed conditions. In a first step, the power coefficient is determined using a model based on the blade element momentum theory (BEMT) which includes a Prandtl-Glauert root-tip losses correction, a non-uniform model for the axial and tangential induction factors, and a model of the rotational augmentation effects. The BEMT model is validated with the experimental data from the NREL-UAE. The maximum values of the power coefficient are determined for different yaw angles and the corresponding values of the tip speed ratio and blade control angle are obtained. The maximum power coefficient using these optimum laws is compared to the maximum power coefficient using the optimum laws of the non-yawed case and it is shown that there is a gain in the power coefficient. For the case study presented in this paper it has been found that for yaw angles of 30° about 10% of the power coefficient can be recovered

A case study on optimum tip speed ratio and pitch angle laws for wind turbine rotors operating in yawed conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Cuerva-Tejero, A.; Lopez-Garcia, O.; Marangoni, D.; González-Meruelo, F.

2014-12-01

The values of the tip speed ratio and blade pitch angle that yield maximum power coefficient are calculated for a rotor operating in yawed conditions. In a first step, the power coefficient is determined using a model based on the blade element momentum theory (BEMT) which includes a Prandtl-Glauert root-tip losses correction, a non-uniform model for the axial and tangential induction factors, and a model of the rotational augmentation effects. The BEMT model is validated with the experimental data from the NREL-UAE. The maximum values of the power coefficient are determined for different yaw angles and the corresponding values of the tip speed ratio and blade control angle are obtained. The maximum power coefficient using these optimum laws is compared to the maximum power coefficient using the optimum laws of the non-yawed case and it is shown that there is a gain in the power coefficient. For the case study presented in this paper it has been found that for yaw angles of 30° about 10% of the power coefficient can be recovered.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE OF PEDALING EXERCISE IN RECUMBENT AND SUPINE POSITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morimasa Kato

2011-09-01

Full Text Available To determine the characteristics of maximum pedaling performance in the recumbent and supine positions, maximum isokinetic leg muscle strength was measured in eight healthy male subjects during pedaling at three velocities (300°/s, 480°/s, and 660°/s, and maximum incremental tests were performed for each position. The maximum isokinetic muscle strength in the recumbent position was 210.0 ± 29.2 Nm at 300°/s, 158.4 ± 19.8 Nm at 480°/s, and 110.6 ± 13.2 at 660°/s. In contrast, the muscle strength in the supine position was 229.3 ± 36.7 Nm at 300°/s, 180. 7 ± 20.3 Nm at 480°/s, and 129.6 ± 14.0 Nm at 660°/s. Thus, the maximum isokinetic muscle strength showed significantly higher values in the supine position than in the recumbent position at all angular velocities. The knee and hip joint angles were measured at peak torque using a goniometer; the knee joint angle was not significantly different between both positions, whereas the hip joint angle was greater in the supine position than in the recumbent position (Supine position: 137.3 ± 9. 33 degree at 300°/s, 140.0 ± 11.13 degrees at 480°/s, and 141.0 ± 9.61 degrees at 660°/s. Recumbent position: 99.5 ± 12.21 degrees at 300°/s, 101.6 ± 12.29 degrees at 480°/s, and 105.8 ± 14.28 degrees at 660°/s. Peak oxygen uptake was higher in the recumbent position (50.3 ± 4.43 ml·kg-1·min-1 than in the supine position (48.7 ± 5.10 ml·kg-1·min-1. At maximum exertion, the heart rate and whole-body rate of perceived exertion (RPE were unaffected by position, but leg muscle RPE was higher in the supine position (19.5 ± 0.53 than in the recumbent position (18.8 ± 0.71. These results suggest that the supine position is more suitable for muscle strength exertion than the recumbent position, and this may be due to different hip joint angles between the positions. On the contrary, the endurance capacity was higher in the recumbent position than in the supine position. Since leg muscle

Impact-disrupted gunshot residue: A sub-micron analysis using a novel collection protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Spathis

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The analysis of gunshot residue (GSR has played an integral role within the legal system in relation to shooting cases. With a characteristic elemental composition of lead, antimony, barium, and a typically discriminative spheroidal morphology, the presence and distribution of GSR can aid in firearm investigations. In this experiment, three shots of low velocity rim-fire ammunition were fired over polished silicon collection substrates placed at six intervals over a 100 cm range. The samples were analysed using a Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM in conjunction with an X-flash Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX detector, allowing for GSR particle analyses of composition and structure at the sub-micron level. The results of this experiment indicate that although classic spheroidal particles are present consistently throughout the entire range of samples their sizes vary significantly, and at certain distances from the firearm particles with an irregular morphology were discerned, forming “impact-disrupted” GSR particles, henceforth colloquially referred to as “splats”. Upon further analysis, trends with regards to the formation of these splat particles were distinguished. An increase in splat frequency was observed starting at 10 cm from the firearm, with 147 mm−2 splat density, reaching a maximal flux at 40 cm (451 mm−2, followed by a gradual decrease to the maximum range sampled. Moreover, the structural morphology of the splats changes throughout the sampling range. At the distances closest to the firearm, molten-looking particles were formed, demonstrating the metallic residues were in a liquid state when their flight path was disrupted. However, at increased distances-primarily where the discharge plume was at maximum dispersion and moving away from the firearm, the residues have had time to cool in-fight resulting in semi-congealed and solid particles that subsequently disrupted upon impact, forming more

Measurements of normal joint angles by goniometry in calves.

Science.gov (United States)

Sengöz Şirin, O; Timuçin Celik, M; Ozmen, A; Avki, S

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to establish normal reference values of the forelimb and hindlimb joint angles in normal Holstein calves. Thirty clinically normal Holstein calves that were free of any detectable musculoskeletal abnormalities were included in the study. A standard transparent plastic goniometer was used to measure maximum flexion, maximum extension, and range-of-motion of the shoulder, elbow, carpal, hip, stifle, and tarsal joints. The goniometric measurements were done on awake calves that were positioned in lateral recumbency. The goniometric values were measured and recorded by two independent investigators. As a result of the study it was concluded that goniometric values obtained from awake calves in lateral recumbency were found to be highly consistent and accurate between investigators (p <0.05). The data of this study acquired objective and useful information on the normal forelimb and hindlimb joint angles in normal Holstein calves. Further studies can be done to predict detailed goniometric values from different diseases and compare them.

Digital Disruption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenstand, Claus Andreas Foss

det digitale domæne ud over det niveau, der kendetegner den nuværende debat, så præsenteres der ny viden om digital disruption. Som noget nyt udlægges Clayton Christens teori om disruptiv innovation med et særligt fokus på små organisationers mulighed for eksponentiel vækst. Specielt udfoldes...... forholdet mellem disruption og den stadig accelererende digitale udvikling i konturerne til ny teoridannelse om digital disruption. Bogens undertitel ”faretruende og fascinerende forandringer” peger på, at der er behov for en nuanceret debat om digital disruption i modsætning til den tone, der er slået an i...... videre kalder et ”disruption-råd”. Faktisk er rådet skrevet ind i 2016 regeringsgrundlaget for VLK-regeringen. Disruption af organisationer er ikke et nyt fænomen; men hastigheden, hvormed det sker, er stadig accelererende. Årsagen er den globale mega-trend: Digitalisering. Og derfor er specielt digital...

Characteristics of current quenches during disruptions in the J-TEXT tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Y; Chen, Z Y; Fang, D; Jin, W; Huang, Y H; Wang, Z J; Yang, Z J; Chen, Z P; Ding, Y H; Zhang, M; Zhuang, G

2012-01-01

Characteristics of tokamak current quenches are an important issue for the determination of electro-magnetic forces that act on the in-vessel components and vacuum vessel during major disruptions. The characteristics of current quenches in spontaneous disruptions in the J-TEXT tokamak have been investigated. It is shown that the waveforms for the fastest current quenches are more accurately fitted by linear current decays than exponential, although neither is a good fit in many slower cases. The minimum current quench time is about 2.4 ms for the J-TEXT tokamak. The maximum instantaneous current quench rate is more than seven times the average current quench rate in J-TEXT. (paper)

Tidal Disruption of Inclined or Eccentric Binaries by Massive Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Harriet; Kobayashi, Shiho; Rossi, Elena M.; Sari, Re'em

2018-04-01

Binary stars that are on close orbits around massive black holes (MBH) such as Sgr A* in the centre of the Milky Way are liable to undergo tidal disruption and eject a hypervelocity star. We study the interaction between such a MBH and circular binaries for general binary orientations and penetration depths (i.e. binaries penetrate into the tidal radius around the BH). We show that for very deep penetrators, almost all binaries are disrupted when the binary rotation axis is roughly oriented toward the BH or it is in the opposite direction. The surviving chance becomes significant when the angle between the binary rotation axis and the BH direction is between 0.15π and 0.85π. The surviving chance is as high as ˜20% when the binary rotation axis is perpendicular to the BH direction. However, for shallow penetrators, the highest disruption chance is found in such a perpendicular case, especially in the prograde case. This is because the dynamics of shallow penetrators is more sensitive to the relative orientation of the binary and orbital angular momenta. We provide numerical fits to the disruption probability and energy gain at the the BH encounter as a function of the penetration depth. The latter can be simply rescaled in terms of binary masses, their initial separation and the binary-to-BH mass ratio to evaluate the ejection velocity of a binary members in various systems. We also investigate the disruption of coplanar, eccentric binaries by a MBH. It is shown that for highly eccentric binaries retrograde orbits have a significantly increased disruption probability and ejection velocities compared to the circular binaries.

Stability Analysis of Hypersonic Boundary Layer over a Cone at Small Angle of Attack

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Ji

2014-04-01

Full Text Available An investigation on the stability of hypersonic boundary layer over a cone at small angle of attack has been performed. After obtaining the steady base flow, linear stability theory (LST analysis has been made with local parallel assumption. The growth rates of the first mode and second mode waves at different streamwise locations and different azimuthal angles are obtained. The results show that the boundary layer stability was greatly influenced by small angles of attack. The maximum growth rate of the most unstable wave on the leeward is larger than that on the windward. Moreover, dominating second mode wave starts earlier on the leeward than that on the windward. The LST result also shows that there is a “valley” region around 120°~150° meridian in the maximum growth rates curve.

Disruption?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2016-01-01

This is a short video on the theme disruption and entrepreneurship. It takes the form of an interview with John Murray......This is a short video on the theme disruption and entrepreneurship. It takes the form of an interview with John Murray...

Neural-net predictor for beta limit disruptions in JT-60U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshino, R.

2005-01-01

Prediction of major disruptions occurring at the β -limit for tokamak plasmas with a normal magnetic shear in JT-60U was conducted using neural networks. Since no clear precursors are generally observed a few tens of milliseconds before the β -limit disruption, a sub-neural network is trained to output the value of the β N limit every 2 ms. The target β N limit is artificially set by the operator in the first step to train a network with non-disruptive shots as well as disruptive shots, and then in the second step the target limit is modified using the β N limit output from the trained network. The adjusted target greatly improves the consistency between the input data and the output. This training, the 'self-teaching method', has greatly reduced the false alarm rate triggered for non-disruptive shots. To improve the prediction performance further, the difference between the output β N limit and the measured β N , and 11 parameters, are inputted to the main neural network to calculate the 'stability level'. The occurrence of a major disruption is predicted when the stability level decreases to the 'alarm level'. Major disruptions at the β -limit have been predicted by the main network with a prediction success rate of 80% at 10 ms prior to the disruption while the false alarm rate is lower than 4% for non-disruptive shots. This 80% value is much higher than that obtained for a network trained with a fixed target β N limit set to be the maximum β N observed at the start of a major disruption, lower than 10%. A prediction success rate of 90% with a false alarm rate of 12% at 10 ms prior to the disruption has also been obtained. This 12% value is about half of that obtained for a network trained with a fixed target β N limit

Effect of MLC leaf position, collimator rotation angle, and gantry rotation angle errors on intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bai, Sen; Li, Guangjun; Wang, Maojie; Jiang, Qinfeng; Zhang, Yingjie [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan (China); Wei, Yuquan, E-mail: yuquawei@vip.sina.com [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan (China)

2013-07-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of multileaf collimator (MLC) leaf position, collimator rotation angle, and accelerator gantry rotation angle errors on intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. To compare dosimetric differences between the simulating plans and the clinical plans with evaluation parameters, 6 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were selected for simulation of systematic and random MLC leaf position errors, collimator rotation angle errors, and accelerator gantry rotation angle errors. There was a high sensitivity to dose distribution for systematic MLC leaf position errors in response to field size. When the systematic MLC position errors were 0.5, 1, and 2 mm, respectively, the maximum values of the mean dose deviation, observed in parotid glands, were 4.63%, 8.69%, and 18.32%, respectively. The dosimetric effect was comparatively small for systematic MLC shift errors. For random MLC errors up to 2 mm and collimator and gantry rotation angle errors up to 0.5°, the dosimetric effect was negligible. We suggest that quality control be regularly conducted for MLC leaves, so as to ensure that systematic MLC leaf position errors are within 0.5 mm. Because the dosimetric effect of 0.5° collimator and gantry rotation angle errors is negligible, it can be concluded that setting a proper threshold for allowed errors of collimator and gantry rotation angle may increase treatment efficacy and reduce treatment time.

Contact mechanics of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty during abduction: the effect of neck-shaft angle, humeral cup depth, and glenosphere diameter.

Science.gov (United States)

Langohr, G Daniel G; Willing, Ryan; Medley, John B; Athwal, George S; Johnson, James A

2016-04-01

Implant design parameters can be changed during reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) to improve range of motion and stability; however, little is known regarding their impact on articular contact mechanics. The purpose of this finite element study was to investigate RSA contact mechanics during abduction for different neck-shaft angles, glenosphere sizes, and polyethylene cup depths. Finite element RSA models with varying neck-shaft angles (155°, 145°, 135°), sizes (38 mm, 42 mm), and cup depths (deep, normal, shallow) were loaded with 400 N at physiological abduction angles. The contact area and maximum contact stress were computed. The contact patch and the location of maximum contact stress were typically located inferomedially in the polyethylene cup. On average for all abduction angles investigated, reducing the neck-shaft angle reduced the contact area by 29% for 155° to 145° and by 59% for 155° to 135° and increased maximum contact stress by 71% for 155° to 145° and by 286% for 155° to 135°. Increasing the glenosphere size increased the contact area by 12% but only decreased maximum contact stress by 2%. Decreasing the cup depth reduced the contact area by 40% and increased maximum contact stress by 81%, whereas increasing the depth produced the opposite effect (+52% and -36%, respectively). The location of the contact patch and maximum contact stress in this study matches the area of damage seen frequently on clinical retrievals. This finding suggests that damage to the inferior cup due to notching may be potentiated by contact stresses. Increasing the glenosphere diameter improved the joint contact area and did not affect maximum contact stress. However, although reducing the neck-shaft angle and cup depth can improve range of motion, our study shows that this also has some negative effects on RSA contact mechanics, particularly when combined. Copyright © 2016 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc

Developing an experimental case in aluminium foils 1100 to determine the maximum angle of formability in a piece by Dieless-SPIF process

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriel, Paramo; Adrian, Benitez

2014-07-01

Incremental sheet forming by the method of single point incremental forming Dieless-SPIF, is a widely studied process, experimented and developed in countries with high manufacturing technologies, with friendly costs when the productive configuration in a productivity system is based in small production batches. United states, United kingdom and France lead this type of studies and cases, developing various proof with experimental geometries, different from the national environment such as Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru where this process where discretely studied. Previously mentioned, it pretends develop an experimental case of a particular geometry, identifying the maximum formability angle of material permissible for the forming of a piece in one pass, the analysis of forming limit curve (FLC), with the objective to emphasizes in this innovative method based in CAD-CAM technologies, compare with other analogous process of deformation sheet metal like embossing, take correct decisions about the viability and applicability of this process (Dieless) in a particular industrial piece, which responses to the necessities of productive configurations mentioned and be highly taken like a manufacturing alternative to the other conventional process of forming sheet metal like embossing, for systems with slow batches production.

Developing an experimental case in aluminium foils 1100 to determine the maximum angle of formability in a piece by Dieless-SPIF process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabriel, Paramo; Adrian, Benitez

2014-01-01

Incremental sheet forming by the method of single point incremental forming Dieless-SPIF, is a widely studied process, experimented and developed in countries with high manufacturing technologies, with friendly costs when the productive configuration in a productivity system is based in small production batches. United states, United kingdom and France lead this type of studies and cases, developing various proof with experimental geometries, different from the national environment such as Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru where this process where discretely studied. Previously mentioned, it pretends develop an experimental case of a particular geometry, identifying the maximum formability angle of material permissible for the forming of a piece in one pass, the analysis of forming limit curve (FLC), with the objective to emphasizes in this innovative method based in CAD-CAM technologies, compare with other analogous process of deformation sheet metal like embossing, take correct decisions about the viability and applicability of this process (Dieless) in a particular industrial piece, which responses to the necessities of productive configurations mentioned and be highly taken like a manufacturing alternative to the other conventional process of forming sheet metal like embossing, for systems with slow batches production

SU-E-T-604: Dosimetric Dependence On the Collimator Angle in Prostate Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, M; Rehman, J; Khan, M [The Islaimia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Punjab (Pakistan); Chow, J [Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2014-06-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the dose-volume variations of planning target volume (PTV) and organs-at-risk (OARs) in prostate volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) when using different collimator angles. It is because collimator angle awareness is essential for planner to produce an optimal prostate VMAT plan in a rational time. Methods: Single-arc VMAT plans at different collimator angles (0o, 15o, 30o, 45o, 60o, 75o and 90o) were created systematically using a Harold heterogeneous pelvis phantom. For each change of collimator angle, a new plan was re-optimized for that angle. The prescription dose was 78 Gy per 39 fractions. Conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), gradient index, machine monitor unit, dose-volume histogram, the mean and maximum doses of the PTV were calculated and analyzed. On the other hand, dose-volume histogram, the mean and maximum doses of the OARs such as bladder, rectum and femoral heads for different collimator angles were determined from the plans. Results: There was no significance difference, based on the plan dose-volume evaluation criteria, found in the VMAT optimizations for all studied collimator angles. Higher CI and lower HI were found for the 45o collimator angle. In addition, the 15o collimator angle provided lower HI similar to the 45o collimator angle. The 75o and 90o collimator angle were found good for the rectum sparing, and the 75o and 30o collimator angle were found good for the right and left femur sparing, respectively. The PTV dose coverage for each plan was comparatively independent of the collimator angle. Conclusion: The dosimetric results in this study are useful to the planner to select different collimator angles to improve the PTV coverage and OAR sparing in prostate VMAT.

SU-E-T-604: Dosimetric Dependence On the Collimator Angle in Prostate Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, M; Rehman, J; Khan, M; Chow, J

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the dose-volume variations of planning target volume (PTV) and organs-at-risk (OARs) in prostate volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) when using different collimator angles. It is because collimator angle awareness is essential for planner to produce an optimal prostate VMAT plan in a rational time. Methods: Single-arc VMAT plans at different collimator angles (0o, 15o, 30o, 45o, 60o, 75o and 90o) were created systematically using a Harold heterogeneous pelvis phantom. For each change of collimator angle, a new plan was re-optimized for that angle. The prescription dose was 78 Gy per 39 fractions. Conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), gradient index, machine monitor unit, dose-volume histogram, the mean and maximum doses of the PTV were calculated and analyzed. On the other hand, dose-volume histogram, the mean and maximum doses of the OARs such as bladder, rectum and femoral heads for different collimator angles were determined from the plans. Results: There was no significance difference, based on the plan dose-volume evaluation criteria, found in the VMAT optimizations for all studied collimator angles. Higher CI and lower HI were found for the 45o collimator angle. In addition, the 15o collimator angle provided lower HI similar to the 45o collimator angle. The 75o and 90o collimator angle were found good for the rectum sparing, and the 75o and 30o collimator angle were found good for the right and left femur sparing, respectively. The PTV dose coverage for each plan was comparatively independent of the collimator angle. Conclusion: The dosimetric results in this study are useful to the planner to select different collimator angles to improve the PTV coverage and OAR sparing in prostate VMAT

The 2 mrad crossing-angle ILC interaction region and extraction line

CERN Document Server

Appleby, Robert; Bambade, Philip; Dadoun, Olivier; Parker, Brett; Keller, Lewis; Moffeit, Kenneth C; Nosochkov, Yuri; Seryi, Andrei; Spencer, Cherrill M; Carter, John; Napoly, Olivier

2006-01-01

A complete optics design for the 2mrad crossing angle interaction region and extraction line was presented at Snowmass 2005. Since this time, the design task force has been working on developing and improving the performance of the extraction line. The work has focused on optimising the final doublet parameters and on reducing the power losses resulting from the disrupted beam transport. In this paper, the most recent status of the 2mrad layout and the corresponding performance are presented.

Comparison of the angles and corresponding moments in the knee and hip during restricted and unrestricted squats.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzetti, Silvio; Gülay, Turgut; Stoop, Mirjam; List, Renate; Gerber, Hans; Schellenberg, Florian; Stüssi, Edgar

2012-10-01

The aim of this study was to compare the angles and corresponding moments in the knee and hip during squats. Twenty subjects performed restricted and unrestricted squats with barbell loads that were 0, ¼, and ½ their body weight. The experimental setup consisted of a motion capture system and 2 force plates. The moments were calculated using inverse dynamics. During the unrestricted squats, the maximum moments in the knee were significantly higher, and those in the hip were significantly lower than during restricted squats. At the lowest position, the maximum knee flexion angles were approximately 86° for the restricted and approximately 106° for the unrestricted techniques, whereas the maximum hip flexion angle was between 95° and 100°. The higher moments in the hip during restricted squats suggest a higher load of the lower back. Athletes who aim to strengthen their quadriceps should consider unrestricted squats because of the larger knee load and smaller back load.

Review of linear collider beam-beam interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, P.

1989-01-01

Three major effects from the interaction of e + e/sup /minus// beams---disruption, beamstrahlung, and electron-positron pair creation---are reviewed. For the disruption effects we discuss the luminosity enhancement factor, the maximum and rms disruption angles, and the ''kink instability''. All the results are obtained from computer simulations. Scaling laws for the numerical results and theoretical explanations of the computer acquired phenomena are offered wherever possible. For the beamstrahlung effects we concentrate only on the final electron energy spectrum resulting from multiple photon radiation process, and the deflection angle associated with low energy particles. For the effects from electron-positron pair creation, both coherent and incoherent processes of beamstrahlung pair creation are discussed. In addition to the estimation on total number of such pairs, we also look into the energy spectrum and the deflection angle. 17 refs., 23 figs., 1 tab

Effect of stifle angle on the magnitude of the tibial plateau angle measurement in dogs with intact and transected cranial cruciate ligament. A cadaveric study.

Science.gov (United States)

Aulakh, K S; Harper, T A M; Lanz, O I; Daniel, G B; Werre, S R

2011-01-01

To determine the effect of stifle angle on the magnitude of the radiographic tibial plateau angle (TPA) in normal and cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) -deficient stifles. Three pairs of canine cadaver hindlimbs from three skeletally mature dogs were positioned in a custom-made positioning device. A lateral radiograph of each specimen was obtained before and after transection of the CCL at four stifle angles (90°, 110°, 135° and 140-150° [i.e. maximum extension]), based on goniometric measurements. Four observers determined the radiographic TPA twice for each radiograph with a minimum of two days between each measurement. The radiographic TPA measurements in all specimens at different stifle angles with intact CCL and transected CCL were compared with mixed-model ANOVA. The effect of stifle angle, CCL transection, and interaction between the two on observer TPA measurement variability was also determined using the coefficient of variation. Tibial plateau angle was not statistically different in the stifle angles for either the intact or transected CCL. There was also no statistical difference for TPA between intact and transected CCL groups at each of the stifle angles. Stifle angle, CCL transection and interaction between the two did not have any significant effect for intra-observer and inter-observer variation. The angle of the stifle during radiography does not influence the magnitude of the TPA measurement as determined on true lateral radiographs of the stifle and tibia in cadaveric canine limbs.

On Synge-type angle condition for d-simplices

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hannukainen, A.; Korotov, S.; Křížek, Michal

2017-01-01

Roč. 62, č. 1 (2017), s. 1-13 ISSN 0862-7940 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-02067S Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : simplicial element * maximum angle condition * interpolation error Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Applied mathematics Impact factor: 0.618, year: 2016 http://link.springer.com/article/10.21136/AM.2017.0132-16

Characteristics of post-disruption runaway electrons with impurity pellet injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawano, Yasunori; Nakano, Tomohide; Isayama, Akihiko; Asakura, Nobuyuki; Tamai, Hiroshi; Kubo, Hirotaka; Takenaga, Hidenobu; Bakhtiari, Mohammad; Ide, Shunsuke; Kondoh, Takashi; Hatae, Takaki

2005-01-01

Characteristics of post-disruption runaway electrons with impurity pellet injection were investigated for the first time using the JT-60U tokamak device. A clear deposition of impurity neon ice pellets was observed in a post-disruption runaway plasma. The pellet ablation was attributed to the energy deposition of relativistic runaway electrons in the pellet. A high normalized electron density was stably obtained with n e bar /n GW ∼2.2. Effects of prompt exhaust of runaway electrons and reduction of runaway plasma current without large amplitude MHD activities were found. One possible explanation for the basic behavior of runaway plasma current is that it follows the balance of avalanche generation of runaway electrons and slowing down predicted by the Andersson-Helander model, including the combined effect of collisional pitch angle scattering and synchrotron radiation. Our results suggested that the impurity pellet injection reduced the energy of runaway electrons in a stepwise manner. (author)

Effect of Impact Angle on the Erosion Rate of Coherent Granular Soil, with a Chernozemic Soil as an Example

Science.gov (United States)

Larionov, G. A.; Bushueva, O. G.; Gorobets, A. V.; Dobrovol'skaya, N. G.; Kiryukhina, Z. P.; Krasnov, S. F.; Kobylchenko Kuksina, L. V.; Litvin, L. F.; Sudnitsyn, I. I.

2018-02-01

It has been shown in experiments in a hydraulic flume with a knee-shaped bend that the rate of soil erosion more than doubles at the flow impact angles to the channel side from 0° to 50°. At higher channel bends, the experiment could not be performed because of backwater. Results of erosion by water stream approaching the sample surface at angles between 2° and 90° are reported. It has been found that the maximum erosion rate is observed at flow impact angles of about 45°, and the minimum rate at 90°. The minimum soil erosion rate is five times lower than the maximum erosion rate. This is due to the difference in the rate of free water penetration into the upper soil layer, and the impact of the hydrodynamic pressure, which is maximum at the impact angle of 90°. The penetration of water into the interaggregate space results in the breaking of bonds between aggregates, which is the main condition for the capture of particles by the flow.

Controlling the crossing angle in the SSC [Superconducting Super Collider

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garren, A.A.; Johnson, D.E.

1989-04-01

The colliding beams in the SSC must cross at a small angle, so that when the bunches pass each other away from the interaction point (IP), they are sufficiently separated to avoid disruptive beam-beam forces. However, the crossing angle is so small that the adjacent quadrupoles must be common to both beams. Only after passing through four common quadrupoles on each side of the IP, are the beams split by vertical dipoles into separate beamlines. In order to make the closed orbits of the two beams cross at a definite angle at the IP (within a range up to 150 μrad), a series of correction dipoles are placed in the insertions. If these dipoles are excited in such a way as to control the closed orbits alone, the dispersion will be mismatched, reaching values of up to 50 cm in the arcs. This mismatch is due to the closed orbit displacements in the interaction region (IR) quadrupoles, causing them to act as bending magnets. Therefore, both the closed orbit and dispersion must be matched simultaneously. Solutions to this problem are presented. 6 figs

Aerodynamic performance of wind turbine under different yaw angles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shi, Yali; Zuo, Hongmei; Yang, Hua

2015-01-01

is simulated by ANSYS CFX with the turbulence model of SST (shear stress transport), high resolution is chosen as advection scheme, and transient rotor stator as the domain interface method. The results are converted into data, processed and analyzed by MATLAB. Finally the following conclusions are drawn....... With the increasing of yaw angle, the pressure coefficients of the suction side are increasing and the location of minimum pressure coefficient moves to airfoil trailing edge slightly. For the pressure side, the pressure coefficients increase at first and then decrease, and the location of maximum pressure...... coefficient moves to airfoil leading edge slightly. The axial load coefficients and tangential load coefficients of blades first decrease and then increase and then decrease again with the increase of the azimuthal angle. With the increase of the yaw angle, the axial and tangential load coefficients are both...

Efficient scattering angle filtering for Full waveform inversion

KAUST Repository

Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

2015-01-01

Controlling the scattering angles between the state and the adjoint variables for the energy admitted into an inversion gradient or an image can help improve these functions for objectives in full waveform inversion (FWI) or seismic imaging. However, the access of the scattering angle information usually requires an axis extension that could be costly, especially in 3D. For the purpose of a scattering angle filter, I develop techniques that utilize the mapping nature (no domain extension) of the filter for constant-velocity background models to interpolate between such filtered gradients using the actual velocity. The concept has well known roots in the application of phase-shift-plus-interpolation utilized commonly in the downward continuation process. If the difference between the minimum and maximum velocity of the background medium is large, we obtain filtered gradients corresponding to more constant velocity backgrounds and use linear interpolation between such velocities. The accuracy of this approximation for the Marmousi model gradient demonstrates the e ectiveness of the approach.

Efficient scattering angle filtering for Full waveform inversion

KAUST Repository

Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

2015-08-19

Controlling the scattering angles between the state and the adjoint variables for the energy admitted into an inversion gradient or an image can help improve these functions for objectives in full waveform inversion (FWI) or seismic imaging. However, the access of the scattering angle information usually requires an axis extension that could be costly, especially in 3D. For the purpose of a scattering angle filter, I develop techniques that utilize the mapping nature (no domain extension) of the filter for constant-velocity background models to interpolate between such filtered gradients using the actual velocity. The concept has well known roots in the application of phase-shift-plus-interpolation utilized commonly in the downward continuation process. If the difference between the minimum and maximum velocity of the background medium is large, we obtain filtered gradients corresponding to more constant velocity backgrounds and use linear interpolation between such velocities. The accuracy of this approximation for the Marmousi model gradient demonstrates the e ectiveness of the approach.

Calculations of shape and stability of menisci in Czochralski growth with tables to determine meniscus heights, maximum heights and capillary constants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uelhoff, W.; Mika, K.

1975-05-01

The shape and stability of menisci occurring during Czochralski growth have been studied by means of numerical methods for the case of the free surface. The existence of minimal joining angles is shown, beyond which the growing crystal will separate from the melt. The dependence of the interface height on the joining angle for different crystal diameters was calculated. The maximum stable heights and the corresponding joining angles were determined as a function of crystal diameter. A method for measuring the capillary constant of the melt during Czochralski growth is proposed. The results are compared with known analytical approximations. Limitations of the applications caused by a finite crucible radius or low g values are pointed out. For practical use the following functions have been tabulated: 1) meniscus height in dependence on joining angle and crystal radius, 2) the radius-height-ratio in dependence on radius and angle for the calculation of the capillary constant, 3) the maximum stable height and the corresponding growth angle as a function of crystal radius. (orig.) [de

Control of Pan-tilt Mechanism Angle using Position Matrix Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hendri Maja Saputra

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Control of a Pan-Tilt Mechanism (PTM angle for the bomb disposal robot Morolipi-V2 using inertial sensor measurement unit, x-IMU, has been done. The PTM has to be able to be actively controlled both manually and automatically in order to correct the orientation of the moving Morolipi-V2 platform. The x-IMU detects the platform orientation and sends the result in order to automatically control the PTM. The orientation is calculated using the quaternion combined with Madwick and Mahony filter methods. The orientation data that consists of angles of roll (α, pitch (β, and yaw (γ from the x-IMU are then being sent to the camera for controlling the PTM motion (pan & tilt angles after calculating the reverse angle using position matrix method. Experiment results using Madwick and Mahony methods show that the x-IMU can be used to find the robot platform orientation. Acceleration data from accelerometer and flux from magnetometer produce noise with standard deviation of 0.015 g and 0.006 G, respectively. Maximum absolute errors caused by Madgwick and Mahony method with respect to Xaxis are 48.45º and 33.91º, respectively. The x-IMU implementation as inertia sensor to control the Pan-Tilt Mechanism shows a good result, which the probability of pan angle tends to be the same with yaw and tilt angle equal to the pitch angle, except a very small angle shift due to the influence of roll angle..

Edge detection of magnetic anomalies using analytic signal of tilt angle (ASTA)

Science.gov (United States)

Alamdar, K.; Ansari, A. H.; Ghorbani, A.

2009-04-01

Magnetic is a commonly used geophysical technique to identify and image potential subsurface targets. Interpretation of magnetic anomalies is a complex process due to the superposition of multiple magnetic sources, presence of geologic and cultural noise and acquisition and positioning error. Both the vertical and horizontal derivatives of potential field data are useful; horizontal derivative, enhance edges whereas vertical derivative narrow the width of anomaly and so locate source bodies more accurately. We can combine vertical and horizontal derivative of magnetic field to achieve analytic signal which is independent to body magnetization direction and maximum value of this lies over edges of body directly. Tilt angle filter is phased-base filter and is defined as angle between vertical derivative and total horizontal derivative. Tilt angle value differ from +90 degree to -90 degree and its zero value lies over body edge. One of disadvantage of this filter is when encountering with deep sources the detected edge is blurred. For overcome this problem many authors introduced new filters such as total horizontal derivative of tilt angle or vertical derivative of tilt angle which Because of using high-order derivative in these filters results may be too noisy. If we combine analytic signal and tilt angle, a new filter termed (ASTA) is produced which its maximum value lies directly over body edge and is easer than tilt angle to delineate body edge and no complicity of tilt angle. In this work new filter has been demonstrated on magnetic data from an area in Sar- Cheshme region in Iran. This area is located in 55 degree longitude and 32 degree latitude and is a copper potential region. The main formation in this area is Andesith and Trachyandezite. Magnetic surveying was employed to separate the boundaries of Andezite and Trachyandezite from adjacent area. In this regard a variety of filters such as analytic signal, tilt angle and ASTA filter have been applied which

Local and integral disruption forces on the tokamak wall

Science.gov (United States)

Pustovitov, V. D.; Kiramov, D. I.

2018-04-01

The disruption-induced forces on the tokamak wall are evaluated analytically within the standard large-aspect-ratio model that implies axisymmetry, circular plasma and wall, and absence of halo currents. Additionally, the ideal-wall reaction is assumed. The disruptions are modelled as rapid changes in the plasma pressure (thermal quench (TQ)) and net current (current quench (CQ)). The force distribution over the poloidal angle is found as a function of these inputs. The derived formulas allow comparison of the TQ- and CQ-produced forces calculated differently, with and without account of the poloidal current induced in the wall. The latter variant represents the inherent property of the codes treating the wall as a set of toroidal filaments. It is proved here that such a simplification leads to unacceptably large errors in the simulated forces for both TQs and CQs. It is also shown that the TQ part of the force must prevail over that due to CQ in the high-β scenarios developed for JT-60SA and ITER.

Dependence on incident angle of solid state detector response to gamma-rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamanishi, Hirokuni; Yamaguchi, Satarou; Yamaguchi, Takayuki; Ueki, Kohtaro

2002-01-01

The shape and size of a NaI(Tl) scintillator that should maximize response variation with γ-ray incident angle was estimated by analytical model calculation. It proved that, even for gamma rays of energy exceeding 1 MeV, a slab detector measuring 50 cm x 50 cm x 5 cm thick should present a ratio of at least 4 between maximum and minimum responses against incidence at different angles. For a sample case of 60 keV gamma rays, estimation of the incident angle dependence by means of Monte Carlo simulation agreed well with experiment using a CZT detector. The counts from photo-electric peak varied with incident angle roughly along a sine curve. The foregoing finding served as basis for proposing a practical direction finder for γ-ray source operating on the principle of determining the source direction from variations in count with incident angle. (author)

Maximum likelihood sequence estimation for optical complex direct modulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Che, Di; Yuan, Feng; Shieh, William

2017-04-17

Semiconductor lasers are versatile optical transmitters in nature. Through the direct modulation (DM), the intensity modulation is realized by the linear mapping between the injection current and the light power, while various angle modulations are enabled by the frequency chirp. Limited by the direct detection, DM lasers used to be exploited only as 1-D (intensity or angle) transmitters by suppressing or simply ignoring the other modulation. Nevertheless, through the digital coherent detection, simultaneous intensity and angle modulations (namely, 2-D complex DM, CDM) can be realized by a single laser diode. The crucial technique of CDM is the joint demodulation of intensity and differential phase with the maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE), supported by a closed-form discrete signal approximation of frequency chirp to characterize the MLSE transition probability. This paper proposes a statistical method for the transition probability to significantly enhance the accuracy of the chirp model. Using the statistical estimation, we demonstrate the first single-channel 100-Gb/s PAM-4 transmission over 1600-km fiber with only 10G-class DM lasers.

A Property of Crack Propagation at the Specimen of CFRP with Layer Angle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hwang, Gue Wan; Cho, Jae Ung [Kongju Univ., Kongju (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Chong Du [Inha Univ., Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

CFRP is the composite material manufactured by the hybrid resin on the basis of carbon fiber. As this material has the high specific strength and the light weight, it has been widely used at various fields. Particularly, the unidirectional carbon fiber can be applied with the layer angle. CFRP made with layer angle has the strength higher than with no layer angle. In this paper, the property of crack growth due to each layer angle was investigated on the crack propagation and fracture behavior of the CFRP compact tension specimen due to the change of layer angle. The value of maximum stress is shown to be decreased and the crack propagation is slowed down as the layer angle is increased. But the limit according to the layer angle is shown as the stress is increased again from the base point of the layer angle of 60°.This study result is thought to be utilized with the data which verify the probability of fatigue fracture when the defect inside the structure at using CFRP of mechanical structure happens.

A Property of Crack Propagation at the Specimen of CFRP with Layer Angle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Gue Wan; Cho, Jae Ung; Cho, Chong Du

2016-01-01

CFRP is the composite material manufactured by the hybrid resin on the basis of carbon fiber. As this material has the high specific strength and the light weight, it has been widely used at various fields. Particularly, the unidirectional carbon fiber can be applied with the layer angle. CFRP made with layer angle has the strength higher than with no layer angle. In this paper, the property of crack growth due to each layer angle was investigated on the crack propagation and fracture behavior of the CFRP compact tension specimen due to the change of layer angle. The value of maximum stress is shown to be decreased and the crack propagation is slowed down as the layer angle is increased. But the limit according to the layer angle is shown as the stress is increased again from the base point of the layer angle of 60°.This study result is thought to be utilized with the data which verify the probability of fatigue fracture when the defect inside the structure at using CFRP of mechanical structure happens

Disruptions in JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wesson, J.A.; Gill, R.D.; Hugon, M.

1989-01-01

In JET, both high density and low-q operation are limited by disruptions. The density limit disruptions are caused initially by impurity radiation. This causes a contraction of the plasma temperature profile and leads to an MHD unstable configuration. There is evidence of magnetic island formation resulting in minor disruptions. After several minor disruptions, a major disruption with a rapid energy quench occurs. This event takes place in two stages. In the first stage there is a loss of energy from the central region. In the second stage there is a more rapid drop to a very low temperature, apparently due to a dramatic increase in impurity radiation. The final current decay takes place in the resulting cold plasma. During the growth of the MHD instability the initially rotating mode is brought to rest. This mode locking is believed to be due to an electromagnetic interaction with the vacuum vessel and external magnetic field asymmetries. The low-q disruptions are remarkable for the precision with which they occur at q ψ = 2. These disruptions do not have extended precursors or minor disruptions. The instability grows and locks rapidly. The energy quench and current decay are generally similar to those of the density limit. (author). 43 refs, 35 figs, 3 tabs

On angle conditions in the finite element method

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Brandts, J.; Hannukainen, A.; Korotov, S.; Křížek, Michal

2011-01-01

Roč. 56, - (2011), s. 81-95 ISSN 1575-9822 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA100190803 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : simplicial finite elements * minimum and maximum angle condition * ball conditions Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics http://www.sema.org.es/ojs/index.php?journal=journal&page=article&op=viewArticle&path%5B%5D=612

Enhanced gravitropism of roots with a disrupted cap actin cytoskeleton

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Guichuan; Mohamalawari, Deepti R.; Blancaflor, Elison B.

2003-01-01

The actin cytoskeleton has been proposed to be a major player in plant gravitropism. However, understanding the role of actin in this process is far from complete. To address this problem, we conducted an analysis of the effect of Latrunculin B (Lat B), a potent actin-disrupting drug, on root gravitropism using various parameters that included detailed curvature kinetics, estimation of gravitropic sensitivity, and monitoring of curvature development after extended clinorotation. Lat B treatment resulted in a promotion of root curvature after a 90 degrees reorientation in three plant species tested. More significantly, the sensitivity of maize (Zea mays) roots to gravity was enhanced after actin disruption, as determined from a comparison of presentation time of Lat B-treated versus untreated roots. A short 10-min gravistimulus followed by extended rotation on a 1-rpm clinostat resulted in extensive gravitropic responses, manifested as curvature that often exceeded 90 degrees. Application of Lat B to the cap or elongation zone of maize roots resulted in the disruption of the actin cytoskeleton, which was confined to the area of localized Lat B application. Only roots with Lat B applied to the cap displayed the strong curvature responses after extended clinorotation. Our study demonstrates that disrupting the actin cytoskeleton in the cap leads to the persistence of a signal established by a previous gravistimulus. Therefore, actin could function in root gravitropism by providing a mechanism to regulate the proliferation of a gravitropic signal originating from the cap to allow the root to attain its correct orientation or set point angle.

Digital disruption ?syndromes.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Clair; Staib, Andrew

2017-05-18

The digital transformation of hospitals in Australia is occurring rapidly in order to facilitate innovation and improve efficiency. Rapid transformation can cause temporary disruption of hospital workflows and staff as processes are adapted to the new digital workflows. The aim of this paper is to outline various types of digital disruption and some strategies for effective management. A large tertiary university hospital recently underwent a rapid, successful roll-out of an integrated electronic medical record (EMR). We observed this transformation and propose several digital disruption "syndromes" to assist with understanding and management during digital transformation: digital deceleration, digital transparency, digital hypervigilance, data discordance, digital churn and post-digital 'depression'. These 'syndromes' are defined and discussed in detail. Successful management of this temporary digital disruption is important to ensure a successful transition to a digital platform. What is known about this topic? Digital disruption is defined as the changes facilitated by digital technologies that occur at a pace and magnitude that disrupt established ways of value creation, social interactions, doing business and more generally our thinking. Increasing numbers of Australian hospitals are implementing digital solutions to replace traditional paper-based systems for patient care in order to create opportunities for improved care and efficiencies. Such large scale change has the potential to create transient disruption to workflows and staff. Managing this temporary disruption effectively is an important factor in the successful implementation of an EMR. What does this paper add? A large tertiary university hospital recently underwent a successful rapid roll-out of an integrated electronic medical record (EMR) to become Australia's largest digital hospital over a 3-week period. We observed and assisted with the management of several cultural, behavioural and

Review of linear collider beam-beam interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, P.

1989-01-01

Three major effects from the interaction of e/sup +/e/sup /minus// beams---disruption, beamstrahlung, and electron-positron pair creation---are reviewed. For the disruption effects we discuss the luminosity enhancement factor, the maximum and rms disruption angles, and the ''kink instability''. All the results are obtained from computer simulations. Scaling laws for the numerical results and theoretical explanations of the computer acquired phenomena are offered wherever possible. For the beamstrahlung effects we concentrate only on the final electron energy spectrum resulting from multiple photon radiation process, and the deflection angle associated with low energy particles. For the effects from electron-positron pair creation, both coherent and incoherent processes of beamstrahlung pair creation are discussed. In addition to the estimation on total number of such pairs, we also look into the energy spectrum and the deflection angle. 17 refs., 23 figs., 1 tab.

Maximum permissible concentrations and negligible concentrations for phthalates (dibutylphthalate and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthlate), with emphasis on endocrine disruptive properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wezel AP van; Posthumus R; Vlaardingen P van; Crommentuijn T; Plassche EJ van de; CSR

This report presents maximal permissible concentrations (MPCs) and negligible concentrations (NCs) are derived for di-n-butylphthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). Phthalates are often mentioned as suspected endocrine disrupters. Data with endpoints related to the endocrine or

Experimental study of separator effect and shift angle on crossflow wind turbine performance

Science.gov (United States)

Fahrudin, Tjahjana, Dominicus Danardono Dwi Prija; Santoso, Budi

2018-02-01

This paper present experimental test results of separator and shift angle influence on Crossflow vertical axis wind turbine. Modification by using a separator and shift angle is expected to improve the thrust on the blade so as to improve the efficiency. The design of the wind turbine is tested at different wind speeds. There are 2 variations of crossflow turbine design which will be analyzed using an experimental test scheme that is, 3 stage crossflow and 2 stage crossflow with the shift angle. Maximum power coefficient obtained as Cpmax = 0.13 at wind speed 4.05 m/s for 1 separator and Cpmax = 0.12 for 12° shear angle of wind speed 4.05 m/s. In this study, power characteristics of the crossflow rotor with separator and shift angle have been tested. The experimental data was collected by variation of 2 separator and shift angle 0°, 6°, 12° and wind speed 3.01 - 4.85 m/s.

Analyzing the installation angle error of a SAW torque sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Yanping; Ji, Xiaojun; Cai, Ping

2014-01-01

When a torque is applied to a shaft, normal strain oriented at ±45° direction to the shaft axis is at its maximum, which requires two one-port SAW resonators to be bonded to the shaft at ±45° to the shaft axis. In order to make the SAW torque sensitivity high enough, the installation angle error of two SAW resonators must be confined within ±5° according to our design requirement. However, there are few studies devoted to the installation angle analysis of a SAW torque sensor presently and the angle error was usually obtained by a manual method. Hence, we propose an approximation method to analyze the angle error. First, according to the sensitive mechanism of the SAW device to torque, the SAW torque sensitivity is deduced based on the linear piezoelectric constitutive equation and the perturbation theory. Then, when a torque is applied to the tested shaft, the stress condition of two SAW resonators mounted with an angle deviating from ±45° to the shaft axis, is analyzed. The angle error is obtained by means of the torque sensitivities of two orthogonal SAW resonators. Finally, the torque measurement system is constructed and the loading and unloading experiments are performed twice. The torque sensitivities of two SAW resonators are obtained by applying average and least square method to the experimental results. Based on the derived angle error estimation function, the angle error is estimated about 3.447°, which is close to the actual angle error 2.915°. The difference between the estimated angle and the actual angle is discussed. The validity of the proposed angle error analysis method is testified to by the experimental results. (technical design note)

Universal shift of the Brewster angle and disorder-enhanced delocalization of p waves in stratified random media.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kwang Jin; Kim, Kihong

2011-10-10

We study theoretically the propagation and the Anderson localization of p-polarized electromagnetic waves incident obliquely on randomly stratified dielectric media with weak uncorrelated Gaussian disorder. Using the invariant imbedding method, we calculate the localization length and the disorder-averaged transmittance in a numerically precise manner. We find that the localization length takes an extremely large maximum value at some critical incident angle, which we call the generalized Brewster angle. The disorder-averaged transmittance also takes a maximum very close to one at the same incident angle. Even in the presence of an arbitrarily weak disorder, the generalized Brewster angle is found to be substantially different from the ordinary Brewster angle in uniform media. It is a rapidly increasing function of the average dielectric permittivity and approaches 90° when the average relative dielectric permittivity is slightly larger than two. We make a remarkable observation that the dependence of the generalized Brewster angle on the average dielectric permittivity is universal in the sense that it is independent of the strength of disorder. We also find, surprisingly, that when the average relative dielectric permittivity is less than one and the incident angle is larger than the generalized Brewster angle, both the localization length and the disorder-averaged transmittance increase substantially as the strength of disorder increases in a wide range of the disorder parameter. In other words, the Anderson localization of incident p waves can be weakened by disorder in a certain parameter regime.

Sample-angle feedback for diffraction anomalous fine-structure spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cross, J.O.; Elam, W.T.; Harris, V.G.; Kirkland, J.P.; Bouldin, C.E.; Sorensen, L.B.

1998-01-01

Diffraction anomalous fine-structure (DAFS) experiments measure Bragg peak intensities as continuous functions of photon energy near a core-level excitation. Measuring the integrated intensity at each energy makes the experiments prohibitively slow; however, in many cases DAFS can be collected quickly by measuring only the peak intensity at the center of the rocking curve. A piezoelectric-actuator-driven stage has been designed and tested as part of a sample-angle feedback circuit for locking onto the maximum of the rocking curve while the energy is scanned. Although software peak-tracking requires only a simple calculation of diffractometer angles, it is found that the additional hardware feedback dramatically improves the reproducibility of the data

Quantifying resistances across nanoscale low- and high-angle interspherulite boundaries in solution-processed organic semiconductor thin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Stephanie S; Mativetsky, Jeffrey M; Loth, Marsha A; Anthony, John E; Loo, Yueh-Lin

2012-11-27

The nanoscale boundaries formed when neighboring spherulites impinge in polycrystalline, solution-processed organic semiconductor thin films act as bottlenecks to charge transport, significantly reducing organic thin-film transistor mobility in devices comprising spherulitic thin films as the active layers. These interspherulite boundaries (ISBs) are structurally complex, with varying angles of molecular orientation mismatch along their lengths. We have successfully engineered exclusively low- and exclusively high-angle ISBs to elucidate how the angle of molecular orientation mismatch at ISBs affects their resistivities in triethylsilylethynyl anthradithiophene thin films. Conductive AFM and four-probe measurements reveal that current flow is unaffected by the presence of low-angle ISBs, whereas current flow is significantly disrupted across high-angle ISBs. In the latter case, we estimate the resistivity to be 22 MΩμm(2)/width of the ISB, only less than a quarter of the resistivity measured across low-angle grain boundaries in thermally evaporated sexithiophene thin films. This discrepancy in resistivities across ISBs in solution-processed organic semiconductor thin films and grain boundaries in thermally evaporated organic semiconductor thin films likely arises from inherent differences in the nature of film formation in the respective systems.

Correlations between the alpha angle and femoral head asphericity: Implications and recommendations for the diagnosis of cam femoroacetabular impingement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, Michael D.; Kapron, Ashley L.; Peters, Christopher L.; Anderson, Andrew E.

2014-01-01

Objective: To determine the strength of common radiographic and radial CT views for measuring true femoral head asphericity. Patients and methods: In 15 patients with cam femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and 15 controls, alpha angles were measured by two observers using radial CT (0°, 30°, 60°, 90°) and digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) for the: anterior–posterior (AP), standing frog-leg lateral, 45° Dunn with neutral rotation, 45° Dunn with 40° external rotation, and cross-table lateral views. A DRR validation study was performed. Alpha angles were compared between groups. Maximum deviation from a sphere of each subject was obtained from a previous study. Alpha angles from each view were correlated with maximum deviation. Results: There were no significant differences between alpha angles measured on radiographs and the corresponding DRRs (p = 0.72). Alpha angles were significantly greater in patients for all views (p ≤ 0.002). Alpha angles from the 45° Dunn with 40° external rotation, cross-table lateral, and 60° radial views had the strongest correlations with maximum deviation (r = 0.831; r = 0.823; r = 0.808, respectively). The AP view had the weakest correlation (r = 0.358). Conclusion: DRRs were a validated means to simulate hip radiographs. The 45° Dunn with 40° external rotation, cross-table lateral, and 60° radial views best visualized femoral asphericity. Although commonly used, the AP view did not visualize cam deformities well. Overall, the magnitude of the alpha angle may not be indicative of the size of the deformity. Thus, 3D reconstructions and measurements of asphericity could improve the diagnosis of cam FAI

Disruptions in Tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bondeson, A.

1987-01-01

This paper discusses major and minor disruptions in Tokamaks. A number of models and numerical simulations of disruptions based on resistive MHD are reviewed. A discussion is given of how disruptive current profiles are correlated with the experimentally known operational limits in density and current. It is argued that the q a =2 limit is connected with stabilization of the m=2/n=1 tearing mode for a approx.< 2.7 by resistive walls and mode rotation. Experimental and theoretical observations indicate that major disruptions usually occur in at least two phases, first a 'predisruption', or loss of confinement in the region 1 < q < 2, leaving the q approx.= 1 region almost unaffected, followed by a final disruption of the central part, interpreted here as a toroidal n = 1 external kink mode. (author)

Disruption of ten protease genes in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae highly improves production of heterologous proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Jaewoo; Maruyama, Jun-ichi; Kitamoto, Katsuhiko

2011-02-01

Proteolytic degradation by secreted proteases into the culture medium is one of the significant problems to be solved in heterologous protein production by filamentous fungi including Aspergillus oryzae. Double (tppA, and pepE) and quintuple (tppA, pepE, nptB, dppIV, and dppV) disruption of protease genes enhanced human lysozyme (HLY) and bovine chymosin (CHY) production by A. oryzae. In this study, we used a quintuple protease gene disruptant and performed successive rounds of disruption for five additional protease genes (alpA, pepA, AopepAa, AopepAd, and cpI), which were previously investigated by DNA microarray analyses for their expression. Gene disruption was performed by pyrG marker recycling with a highly efficient gene-targeting background (∆ligD) as previously reported. As a result, the maximum yields of recombinant CHY and HLY produced by a decuple protease gene disruptant were approximately 30% and 35%, respectively, higher than those produced by a quintuple protease gene disruptant. Thus, we successfully constructed a decuple protease gene disruptant possessing highly improved capability of heterologous protein production. This is the first report on decuple protease gene disruption that improved the levels of heterologous protein production by the filamentous fungus A. oryzae.

Disruption Studies in JT-60U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawano, Y.; Yoshino, R.; Neyatani, Y.; Nakamura, Y.; Tokuda, S.; Tamai, H.

2002-01-01

Intensive studies on the physics of disruptions and developments of avoidance/mitigation methods of disruption-related phenomena have being carried out in JT-60U. The characteristics of the disruption sequence were well understood from the observation of the relationship between the heat pulse onto divertor plates during thermal quench and the impurity influx into the plasma, which determined the speed of the following current quench. A fast shutdown was first demonstrated by injecting impurity ice pellets to the plasma and intensively reducing the heat flux on first wall. The halo current and its toroidal asymmetry were precisely measured, and the halo current database was made for ITER in a wide parameter range. It was found that TPF x I h /I p0 was 0.52 at the maximum in a large tokamak like the JT-60U, whereas the higher factor of 0.75 had been observed in medium-sized tokamaks such as Alcator C-Mod and ASDEX-Upgrade. The vertical displacement event (VDE) at the start of the current quench was carefully investigated, and the neutral point where the VDE hardly occurs was discovered. MHD simulations clarified the onset mechanisms of the VDE, in which the eddy current effect of the up-down asymmetric resistive shell was essential. The real-time Z j measurement was improved for avoiding VDEs during slow current quench, and plasma-wall interaction was avoided by a well-optimized plasma equilibrium control. Magnetic fluctuations that were spontaneously generated at the disruption and/or enhanced by the externally applied helical field have been shown to avoid the generation of runaway electrons. Numerical analysis clarified an adequate rate of collisionless loss of runaway electrons in turbulent magnetic fields, which was consistent with the avoidance of runaway electron generation by magnetic fluctuations observed in JT-60U. Once generated, runaway electrons were suppressed when the safety factor at the plasma surface was reduced to 3 or 2

Contact angle control of sessile drops on a tensioned web

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Janghoon; Kim, Dongguk; Lee, Changwoo

2018-04-01

In this study, the influence of the change of tension applied to flexible and thin web substrate on the contact angle of sessile drop in roll-to-roll system was investigated. Graphene oxide and deionized water solutions were used in the experiments. Tension was changed to 29, 49, and 69 N, and the casting distance of the micropipette and the material was set to 10, 20, and 40 mm, and the droplet volume was set to 10, 20, and 30 μL, respectively. Statistical analysis of three variables and analysis of the variance methodology showed that the casting distance was most significant for the contact angle change, and the most interesting tension variable was also affected. The change in tension caused the maximum contact angle to change by 5.5°. The tension was not uniform in the width direction. When the droplet was applied in the same direction in the width direction, it was confirmed that the tension unevenness had great influence on the contact angle up to 11°. Finally, the casting distance, which has a large effect on the contact angle, was calibrated in the width direction to reduce the width direction contact angle deviation to 1%. This study can be applied to fine patterning research using continuous inkjet printing and aerosol jet printing, which are roll-to-roll processes based on droplet handling.

Lifetime evaluation of first wall and divertor plate by crack analyses during plasma disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohmori, Junji; Kobayashi, Takeshi; Yamada, Masao; Iida, Hiromasa

1988-05-01

The first wall and divertor armor in fusion devices are subjected to high heat and particle fluxes. In particular, disruption heating is an intense thermal shock which may cause melting or vaporization of the armor surfaces. The behavior of the armor materials is one of the major factors limiting the lifetime of these components. Generally the surface temperature of armor due to disruption gets so high that the surface may become cracked. However, even if only the surface of the armor is cracked, the function of the armor will not be lost as long as the damage is limited to within a small depth of the surface. In this study, the lifetime of the armor is evaluated by two stages: crack initiation life and crack propagation life which are related to the fatigue life and the energy release rate, respectively. Materials are graphite and C/C composite (carbon fiber reinforced carbon composite) for the first wall, and tungsten for the dinertor. For disruption conditions of Fusion Experimental Reactor, the fatigue life and the energy release rates are calculated by thermal, and stress analyses. Results show that crack initiation is expected after only a few disruptions, and the energy release rate as a function of the crack length comes up to the maximum value at a small crack length, and decreases with increasing of the crack length. This decreasing means that a crack propagation rate reduces. An unstable fracture does not occur if the maximum energy release rate does not exceed the critical energy release rate which can be obtained from the fracture toughness. (author)

Pheromone disruption of Argentine ant trail integrity

Science.gov (United States)

Suckling, D.M.; Peck, R.W.; Manning, L.M.; Stringer, L.D.; Cappadonna, J.; El-Sayed, A. M.

2008-01-01

Disruption of Argentine ant trail following and reduced ability to forage (measured by bait location success) was achieved after presentation of an oversupply of trail pheromone, (Z)-9-hexadecenal. Experiments tested single pheromone point sources and dispersion of a formulation in small field plots. Ant walking behavior was recorded and digitized by using video tracking, before and after presentation of trail pheromone. Ants showed changes in three parameters within seconds of treatment: (1) Ants on trails normally showed a unimodal frequency distribution of walking track angles, but this pattern disappeared after presentation of the trail pheromone; (2) ants showed initial high trail integrity on a range of untreated substrates from painted walls to wooden or concrete floors, but this was significantly reduced following presentation of a point source of pheromone; (3) the number of ants in the pheromone-treated area increased over time, as recruitment apparently exceeded departures. To test trail disruption in small outdoor plots, the trail pheromone was formulated with carnuba wax-coated quartz laboratory sand (1 g quartz sand/0.2 g wax/1 mg pheromone). The pheromone formulation, with a half-life of 30 h, was applied by rotary spreader at four rates (0, 2.5, 7.5, and 25 mg pheromone/m2) to 1- and 4-m2 plots in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. Ant counts at bait cards in treated plots were significantly reduced compared to controls on the day of treatment, and there was a significant reduction in ant foraging for 2 days. These results show that trail pheromone disruption of Argentine ants is possible, but a much more durable formulation is needed before nest-level impacts can be expected. ?? 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Wound Disruption Following Colorectal Operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Moghadamyeghaneh, Zhobin; Hanna, Mark H; Carmichael, Joseph C; Mills, Steven; Pigazzi, Alessio; Nguyen, Ninh T; Stamos, Michael J

2015-12-01

Postoperative wound disruption is associated with high morbidity and mortality. We sought to identify the risk factors and outcomes of wound disruption following colorectal resection. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was used to examine the clinical data of patients who underwent colorectal resection from 2005 to 2013. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors of wound disruption. We sampled a total of 164,297 patients who underwent colorectal resection. Of these, 2073 (1.3 %) had wound disruption. Patients with wound disruption had significantly higher mortality (5.1 vs. 1.9 %, AOR: 1.46, P = 0.01). The highest risk of wound disruption was seen in patients with wound infection (4.8 vs. 0.9 %, AOR: 4.11, P disruption such as chronic steroid use (AOR: 1.71, P disruption compared to open surgery (AOR: 0.61, P disruption occurs in 1.3 % of colorectal resections, and it correlates with mortality of patients. Wound infection is the strongest predictor of wound disruption. Chronic steroid use, obesity, severe COPD, prolonged operation, non-elective admission, and serum albumin level are strongly associated with wound disruption. Utilization of the laparoscopic approach may decrease the risk of wound disruption when possible.

Equilibrium contact angle or the most-stable contact angle?

Science.gov (United States)

Montes Ruiz-Cabello, F J; Rodríguez-Valverde, M A; Cabrerizo-Vílchez, M A

2014-04-01

It is well-established that the equilibrium contact angle in a thermodynamic framework is an "unattainable" contact angle. Instead, the most-stable contact angle obtained from mechanical stimuli of the system is indeed experimentally accessible. Monitoring the susceptibility of a sessile drop to a mechanical stimulus enables to identify the most stable drop configuration within the practical range of contact angle hysteresis. Two different stimuli may be used with sessile drops: mechanical vibration and tilting. The most stable drop against vibration should reveal the changeless contact angle but against the gravity force, it should reveal the highest resistance to slide down. After the corresponding mechanical stimulus, once the excited drop configuration is examined, the focus will be on the contact angle of the initial drop configuration. This methodology needs to map significantly the static drop configurations with different stable contact angles. The most-stable contact angle, together with the advancing and receding contact angles, completes the description of physically realizable configurations of a solid-liquid system. Since the most-stable contact angle is energetically significant, it may be used in the Wenzel, Cassie or Cassie-Baxter equations accordingly or for the surface energy evaluation. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Moderate biomanipulation for eutrophication control in reservoirs using fish captured in angling competitions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amaral S.D.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Angling competitions are a popular leisure activity in reservoirs of Southern Portugal. These competitions can gather more than 100 anglers aiming to catch the maximum fish weight. Groundbaiting and catch-and-release angling are two common practices for anglers in competition. In this study, the loads of nutrients from commercial groundbait powders used in angling competitions in the Maranhão reservoir and the possible balance out of those nutrients through a moderate biomanipulation of the fish biomass caught in competitions were analysed. In order to achieve this aim, chemical analyses to groundbait powders most purchased by Portuguese anglers and to fish species most captured in competitions were made. Mass balances on inputs and outputs of nutrients considering some biomanipulation scenarios were evaluated. Results demonstrated that an effective management on angling competitions implementing a moderate biomanipulation of fish in reservoirs could promote the control of fish fauna and eutrophication, balancing out nutrients from angling.

Maximum Likelihood Compton Polarimetry with the Compton Spectrometer and Imager

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lowell, A. W.; Boggs, S. E; Chiu, C. L.; Kierans, C. A.; Sleator, C.; Tomsick, J. A.; Zoglauer, A. C. [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley (United States); Chang, H.-K.; Tseng, C.-H.; Yang, C.-Y. [Institute of Astronomy, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (China); Jean, P.; Ballmoos, P. von [IRAP Toulouse (France); Lin, C.-H. [Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan (China); Amman, M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (United States)

2017-10-20

Astrophysical polarization measurements in the soft gamma-ray band are becoming more feasible as detectors with high position and energy resolution are deployed. Previous work has shown that the minimum detectable polarization (MDP) of an ideal Compton polarimeter can be improved by ∼21% when an unbinned, maximum likelihood method (MLM) is used instead of the standard approach of fitting a sinusoid to a histogram of azimuthal scattering angles. Here we outline a procedure for implementing this maximum likelihood approach for real, nonideal polarimeters. As an example, we use the recent observation of GRB 160530A with the Compton Spectrometer and Imager. We find that the MDP for this observation is reduced by 20% when the MLM is used instead of the standard method.

Longitudinal changes of angle configuration in primary angle-closure suspects: the Zhongshan Angle-Closure Prevention Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yuzhen; Chang, Dolly S; Zhu, Haogang; Khawaja, Anthony P; Aung, Tin; Huang, Shengsong; Chen, Qianyun; Munoz, Beatriz; Grossi, Carlota M; He, Mingguang; Friedman, David S; Foster, Paul J

2014-09-01

To determine longitudinal changes in angle configuration in the eyes of primary angle-closure suspects (PACS) treated by laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) and in untreated fellow eyes. Longitudinal cohort study. Primary angle-closure suspects aged 50 to 70 years were enrolled in a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Each participant was treated by LPI in 1 randomly selected eye, with the fellow eye serving as a control. Angle width was assessed in a masked fashion using gonioscopy and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) before and at 2 weeks, 6 months, and 18 months after LPI. Angle width in degrees was calculated from Shaffer grades assessed under static gonioscopy. Angle configuration was also evaluated using angle opening distance (AOD250, AOD500, AOD750), trabecular-iris space area (TISA500, TISA750), and angle recess area (ARA) measured in AS-OCT images. No significant difference was found in baseline measures of angle configuration between treated and untreated eyes. At 2 weeks after LPI, the drainage angle on gonioscopy widened from a mean of 13.5° at baseline to a mean of 25.7° in treated eyes, which was also confirmed by significant increases in all AS-OCT angle width measures (Pgonioscopy (P = 0.18), AOD250 (P = 0.167) and ARA (P = 0.83). In untreated eyes, angle width consistently decreased across all follow-up visits after LPI, with a more rapid longitudinal decrease compared with treated eyes (P values for all variables ≤0.003). The annual rate of change in angle width was equivalent to 1.2°/year (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8-1.6) in treated eyes and 1.6°/year (95% CI, 1.3-2.0) in untreated eyes (P<0.001). Angle width of treated eyes increased markedly after LPI, remained stable for 6 months, and then decreased significantly by 18 months after LPI. Untreated eyes experienced a more consistent and rapid decrease in angle width over the same time period. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by

The influence of flip angle on the magic angle effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zurlo, J.V.; Blacksin, M.F.; Karimi, S.

2000-01-01

Objective. To assess the impact of flip angle with gradient sequences on the ''magic angle effect''. We characterized the magic angle effect in various gradient echo sequences and compared the signal- to-noise ratios present on these sequences with the signal-to-noise ratios of spin echo sequences.Design. Ten normal healthy volunteers were positioned such that the flexor hallucis longus tendon remained at approximately at 55 to the main magnetic field (the magic angle). The tendon was imaged by a conventional spin echo T1- and T2-weighted techniques and by a series of gradient techniques. Gradient sequences were altered by both TE and flip angle. Signal-to-noise measurements were obtained at segments of the flexor hallucis longus tendon demonstrating the magic angle effect to quantify the artifact. Signal-to-noise measurements were compared and statistical analysis performed. Similar measurements were taken of the anterior tibialis tendon as an internal control.Results and conclusions. We demonstrated the magic angle effect on all the gradient sequences. The intensity of the artifact was affected by both the TE and flip angle. Low TE values and a high flip angle demonstrated the greatest magic angle effect. At TE values less than 30 ms, a high flip angle will markedly increase the magic angle effect. (orig.)

Estimates of leaf area index from spectral reflectance of wheat under different cultural practices and solar angle

Science.gov (United States)

Asrar, G.; Kanemasu, E. T.; Yoshida, M.

1985-01-01

The influence of management practices and solar illumination angle on the leaf area index (LAI) was estimated from measurements of wheat canopy reflectance evaluated by two methods, a regression formula and an indirect technique. The date of planting and the time of irrigation in relation to the stage of plant growth were found to have significant effects on the development of leaves in spring wheat. A reduction in soil moisture adversely affected both the duration and magnitude of the maximum LAI for late planting dates. In general, water stress during vegetative stages resulted in a reduction in maximum LAI, while water stress during the reproductive period shortened the duration of green LAI in spring wheat. Canopy geometry and solar angle also affected the spectral properties of the canopies, and hence the estimated LAI. Increase in solar zenith angles resulted in a general increase in estimated LAI obtained from both methods.

Comparison of Assemblies of Four-Link Structural Groups of 3rd Class on the Transmission Angle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matsyuk I.N.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Comparison of various assemblies of four-link structural group of 3rd class with revolute joints on the transmission angle is performed. Equations of the trajectories of plug points of one of the groups of joint are obtained to determine transmission angles. Derived functions of these equations enable to determine the values of transmission angles for each assembly group. It is shown that only two assemblies of maximum possible assembling number of such group (six have practical value. The solution of this problem was performed with the help of Mathcad program.

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)

Science.gov (United States)

... Center Pacientes y Cuidadores Hormones and Health The Endocrine System Hormones Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) Steroid and Hormone ... Hormones and Health › Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) The Endocrine System Hormones Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) EDCs Myth vs. ...

Effects of setting angle on performance of fish-bionic wind wheel

Science.gov (United States)

Li, G. S.; Yang, Z. X.; Song, L.; Chen, Q.; Li, Y. B.; Chen, W.

2016-08-01

With the energy crisis and the increasing environmental pollutionmore and more efforts have been made about wind power development. In this paper, a new type of vertical axis named the fish-bionic wind wheel was proposed, and the outline of wind wheel was constructed by curve of Fourier fitting and polynomial equations. This paper attempted to research the relationship between the setting angle and the wind turbine characteristics by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The results showed that the setting angle of the fish-bionic wind wheel has some significant effects on the efficiency of the wind turbine, Within the range of wind speed from 13m/s to 15m/s, wind wheel achieves the maximum efficiency when the setting angle is at 37 degree. The conclusion will work as a guideline for the improvement of wind turbine design.

CONTACT ANGLE OF YUCCA MOUNTAIN WELDED TUFF WITH WATER AND BRINES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

H. Kalia

2006-01-01

A number of tests were performed to acquire contact angles between Yucca Mountain welded tuff from Topopah Springs Lower Lithophysal geologic unit and various brine solutions. The tests were performed on core disks received from Sample Management Facility (SMF), oven dried to a constant weight and the core disks vacuum saturated in: distilled water, J-13 water, calcium chloride brine and sodium chloride brine to constant weight. The contact angles were acquired from eight points on the surface of the core disks, four on rough surface, and four on polished surface. The contact angle was measured by placing a droplet of the test fluid, distilled water, J-13 water, calcium chloride brine and sodium chloride brine on the core disks. The objective of this test was to acquire contact angles as a potential input to estimating capillary forces in accumulated dust on the waste packages and drip shields slated for the proposed High-Level Radioactive Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. It was noted that once the droplet contacts the test surface, it continues to spread hence the contact angle continues to decrease with elapsed time. The maximum observed angle was at time 0 or when the drop contacted the rock surface. The measured contact angle, in all cases has significant scatter. In general, the time zero contact angles for core disks saturated in sodium chloride brine were smaller than those saturated in calcium chloride brine, distilled water, and J-13 water. The contact angles for samples saturated in distilled water, J-13 water and calcium chloride brine at time zero were similar. There was slight difference between the observed contact angles for smooth and rough surface of the test samples. The contact angles for smooth surfaces were smaller than for the rough surfaces

Disruptions in the TFTR tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janos, A.; Fredrickson, E.D.; McGuire, K.; Batha, S.H.; Bell, M.G.; Bitter, M.; Budny, R.; Bush, C.E.; Efthimion, P.C.; Hawryluk, R.J.; Hill, K.W.; Hosea, J.; Jobes, F.C.; Johnson, D.W.; Levinton, F.; Mansfield, D.; Meade, D.; Medley, S.S.; Monticello, D.; Mueller, D.; Nagayama, Y.; Owens, D.K.; Park, H.; Park, W.; Post, D.E.; Schivell, J.; Strachan, J.D.; Taylor, G.; Ulrickson, M.; Goeler, S. von; Wilfrid, E.; Wong, K.L.; Yamada, M.; Young, K.M.; Zarnstorff, M.C.; Zweben, S.J.; Drake, J.F.; Kleva, R.G.; Fleischmann, H.H.

1993-03-01

For a successful reactor, it will be useful to predict the occurrence of disruptions and to understand disruption effects including how a plasma disrupts onto the wall and how reproducibly it does so. Studies of disruptions on TFTR at both high-β pol and high-density have shown that, in both types, a fast growing m/n=1/1 mode plays an important role. In highdensity disruptions, a newly observed fast m/n = 1/1 mode occurs early in the thermal decay phase. For the first time in TFTR q-profile measurements just prior to disruptions have been made. Experimental studies of heat deposition patterns on the first wall of TFTR due to disruptions have provided information on MHD phenomena prior to or during the disruption, how the energy is released to the wall, and the reproducibility of the heat loads from disruptions. This information is important in the design of future devices such as ITER. Several new processes of runaway electron generation are theoretically suggested and their application to TFTR and ITER is considered, together with a preliminary assessment of x-ray data from runaways generated during disruptions

A parametric model of muscle moment arm as a function of joint angle: application to the dorsiflexor muscle group in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, S W; Dennis, R G

1996-12-01

A parametric model was developed to describe the relationship between muscle moment arm and joint angle. The model was applied to the dorsiflexor muscle group in mice, for which the moment arm was determined as a function of ankle angle. The moment arm was calculated from the torque measured about the ankle upon application of a known force along the line of action of the dorsiflexor muscle group. The dependence of the dorsiflexor moment arm on ankle angle was modeled as r = R sin(a + delta), where r is the moment arm calculated from the measured torque and a is the joint angle. A least-squares curve fit yielded values for R, the maximum moment arm, and delta, the angle at which the maximum moment arm occurs as offset from 90 degrees. Parametric models were developed for two strains of mice, and no differences were found between the moment arms determined for each strain. Values for the maximum moment arm, R, for the two different strains were 0.99 and 1.14 mm, in agreement with the limited data available from the literature. While in some cases moment arm data may be better fitted by a polynomial, use of the parametric model provides a moment arm relationship with meaningful anatomical constants, allowing for the direct comparison of moment arm characteristics between different strains and species.

Maximum power point tracker based on fuzzy logic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daoud, A.; Midoun, A.

2006-01-01

The solar energy is used as power source in photovoltaic power systems and the need for an intelligent power management system is important to obtain the maximum power from the limited solar panels. With the changing of the sun illumination due to variation of angle of incidence of sun radiation and of the temperature of the panels, Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) enables optimization of solar power generation. The MPPT is a sub-system designed to extract the maximum power from a power source. In the case of solar panels power source. the maximum power point varies as a result of changes in its electrical characteristics which in turn are functions of radiation dose, temperature, ageing and other effects. The MPPT maximum the power output from panels for a given set of conditions by detecting the best working point of the power characteristic and then controls the current through the panels or the voltage across them. Many MPPT methods have been reported in literature. These techniques of MPPT can be classified into three main categories that include: lookup table methods, hill climbing methods and computational methods. The techniques vary according to the degree of sophistication, processing time and memory requirements. The perturbation and observation algorithm (hill climbing technique) is commonly used due to its ease of implementation, and relative tracking efficiency. However, it has been shown that when the insolation changes rapidly, the perturbation and observation method is slow to track the maximum power point. In recent years, the fuzzy controllers are used for maximum power point tracking. This method only requires the linguistic control rules for maximum power point, the mathematical model is not required and therefore the implementation of this control method is easy to real control system. In this paper, we we present a simple robust MPPT using fuzzy set theory where the hardware consists of the microchip's microcontroller unit control card and

Spectral shifting strongly constrains molecular cloud disruption by radiation pressure on dust

Science.gov (United States)

Reissl, Stefan; Klessen, Ralf S.; Mac Low, Mordecai-Mark; Pellegrini, Eric W.

2018-03-01

Aim. We aim to test the hypothesis that radiation pressure from young star clusters acting on dust is the dominant feedback agent disrupting the largest star-forming molecular clouds and thus regulating the star-formation process. Methods: We performed multi-frequency, 3D, radiative transfer calculations including both scattering and absorption and re-emission to longer wavelengths for model clouds with masses of 104-107 M⊙, containing embedded clusters with star formation efficiencies of 0.009-91%, and varying maximum grain sizes up to 200 μm. We calculated the ratio between radiative and gravitational forces to determine whether radiation pressure can disrupt clouds. Results: We find that radiation pressure acting on dust almost never disrupts star-forming clouds. Ultraviolet and optical photons from young stars to which the cloud is optically thick do not scatter much. Instead, they quickly get absorbed and re-emitted by the dust at thermal wavelengths. As the cloud is typically optically thin to far-infrared radiation, it promptly escapes, depositing little momentum in the cloud. The resulting spectrum is more narrowly peaked than the corresponding Planck function, and exhibits an extended tail at longer wavelengths. As the opacity drops significantly across the sub-mm and mm wavelength regime, the resulting radiative force is even smaller than for the corresponding single-temperature blackbody. We find that the force from radiation pressure falls below the strength of gravitational attraction by an order of magnitude or more for either Milky Way or moderate starbust conditions. Only for unrealistically large maximum grain sizes, and star formation efficiencies far exceeding 50% do we find that the strength of radiation pressure can exceed gravity. Conclusions: We conclude that radiation pressure acting on dust does not disrupt star-forming molecular clouds in any Local Group galaxies. Radiation pressure thus appears unlikely to regulate the star

BINARY DISRUPTION BY MASSIVE BLACK HOLES: HYPERVELOCITY STARS, S STARS, AND TIDAL DISRUPTION EVENTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bromley, Benjamin C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 S 1400 E, Rm 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Kenyon, Scott J.; Geller, Margaret J.; Brown, Warren R., E-mail: bromley@physics.utah.edu, E-mail: skenyon@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: mgeller@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: wbrown@cfa.harvard.edu [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2012-04-20

We examine whether disrupted binary stars can fuel black hole growth. In this mechanism, tidal disruption produces a single hypervelocity star (HVS) ejected at high velocity and a former companion star bound to the black hole. After a cluster of bound stars forms, orbital diffusion allows the black hole to accrete stars by tidal disruption at a rate comparable to the capture rate. In the Milky Way, HVSs and the S star cluster imply similar rates of 10{sup -5} to 10{sup -3} yr{sup -1} for binary disruption. These rates are consistent with estimates for the tidal disruption rate in nearby galaxies and imply significant black hole growth from disrupted binaries on 10 Gyr timescales.

Glucose and maltose metabolism in MIG1-disrupted and MAL-constitutive strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klein, Christopher; Olsson, Lisbeth; Rønnow, B

1997-01-01

in a mixed glucose-maltose medium revealed that the MAL-constitutive strains were more alleviated than the single MIG1-disrupted transformant. While all transformants exhibited higher maximum specific growth rates (0.24-0.25 h(-1)) in glucose-maltose mixtures than the wild type strain (0.20 h(-1)), the MAL-constitutive...

Super-Eddington Accretion in Tidal Disruption Events: the Impact of Realistic Fallback Rates on Accretion Rates

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Samantha; Coughlin, Eric R.; Nixon, Chris

2018-04-01

After the tidal disruption of a star by a massive black hole, disrupted stellar debris can fall back to the hole at a rate significantly exceeding its Eddington limit. To understand how black hole mass affects the duration of super-Eddington accretion in tidal disruption events, we first run a suite of simulations of the disruption of a Solar-like star by a supermassive black hole of varying mass to directly measure the fallback rate onto the hole, and we compare these fallback rates to the analytic predictions of the "frozen-in" model. Then, adopting a Zero-Bernoulli Accretion flow as an analytic prescription for the accretion flow around the hole, we investigate how the accretion rate onto the black hole evolves with the more accurate fallback rates calculated from the simulations. We find that numerically-simulated fallback rates yield accretion rates onto the hole that can, depending on the black hole mass, be nearly an order of magnitude larger than those predicted by the frozen-in approximation. Our results place new limits on the maximum black hole mass for which super-Eddington accretion occurs in tidal disruption events.

Optical performance of vertical axis three azimuth angles tracked solar panels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Yi; Li, Guihua; Tang, Runsheng

2011-01-01

In this work, a new sun-tracking concept was proposed, and the optical performance of solar panels with such sun-tracking system was theoretically investigated based on the developed mathematical method and monthly horizontal radiation. The mechanism of the proposed sun-tracking technique is that the azimuth angle of solar panels is daily adjusted three times at three fixed positions: eastward, southward and westward in the morning, noon, and afternoon, respectively, by rotating solar panels about the vertical axis (3A sun-tracking, in short). The analysis indicated that the tilt-angle of solar panels, β 3A , azimuth angle of solar panels in the morning and afternoon from due south, φ a , and solar hour angle when the azimuth angle adjustment was made in the morning and afternoon, ω a , were three key parameters affecting the optical performance of such tracked solar panels. Calculation results showed that, for 3A tracked solar panels with a yearly fixed tilt-angle, the maximum annual collectible radiation was above 92% of that on a solar panel with full 2-axis sun-tracking; whereas for those with the tilt-angle being seasonally adjusted, it was above 95%. Results also showed that yearly or seasonally optimal values of β 3A , φ a and ω a for maximizing annual solar gain were related to site latitudes, and empirical correlations for a quick estimation of optimal values of these parameters were proposed based on climatic data of 32 sites in China.

Statistical analysis of JET disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanga, A.; Johnson, M.F.

1991-07-01

In the operation of JET and of any tokamak many discharges are terminated by a major disruption. The disruptive termination of a discharge is usually an unwanted event which may cause damage to the structure of the vessel. In a reactor disruptions are potentially a very serious problem, hence the importance of studying them and devising methods to avoid disruptions. Statistical information has been collected about the disruptions which have occurred at JET over a long span of operations. The analysis is focused on the operational aspects of the disruptions rather than on the underlining physics. (Author)

Disruptions in DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiman, A.; Taylor, P.; Kellman, A.; LaHaye, R.

1996-01-01

We report on the results of a statistical analysis of the DIII-D disruption data base, and on an examination of a selected subset of the shots to determine the likely causes of disruptions. The statistical analysis focuses on the dependence of the disruption rate on key dimensionless parameters. We find that the disruption frequency is high at modest values of the parameters, and that it can be relatively low at operational limits. For example, the disruption frequency in an ITER relevant regime (β N /l i ∼ 2, 3 G > 0.6, where n G is the Greenwald limit) is approximately 23%. For this range of q, the disruption frequency rises only modestly to about 35% at the β limit, consistent with previous observations of a soft β limit for this q regime. For the range 6 95 G G < .9) in all q regimes we have studied. The location of the minimum moves to higher density with increasing q

Influence of knee flexion angle and transverse drill angle on creation of femoral tunnels in double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using the transportal technique: Three-dimensional computed tomography simulation analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Chong Hyuk; Kim, Sung-Jae; Chun, Yong-Min; Kim, Sung-Hwan; Lee, Su-Keon; Eom, Nam-Kyu; Jung, Min

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to find appropriate flexion angle and transverse drill angle for optimal femoral tunnels of anteromedial (AM) bundle and posterolateral (PL) bundle in double-bundle ACL reconstruction using transportal technique. Thirty three-dimensional knee models were reconstructed. Knee flexion angles were altered from 100° to 130° at intervals of 10°. Maximum transverse drill angle (MTA), MTA minus 10° and 20° were set up. Twelve different tunnels were determined by four flexion angles and three transverse drill angles for each bundle. Tunnel length, wall breakage, inter-tunnel communication and graft-bending angle were assessed. Mean tunnel length of AM bundle was >30mm at 120° and 130° of flexion in all transverse drill angles. Mean tunnel length of PL bundle was >30mm during every condition. There were ≥1 cases of wall breakage except at 120° and 130° of flexion with MTA for AM bundle. There was no case of wall breakage for PL bundle. Considering inter-tunnel gap of >2mm without communication and obtuse graft-bending angle, 120° of flexion and MTA could be recommended as optimal condition for femoral tunnels of AM and PL bundles. Flexion angle and transverse drill angle had combined effect on femoral tunnel in double-bundle ACL reconstruction using transportal technique. Achieving flexion angle of 120° and transverse drill angle close to the medial femoral condyle could be recommended as optimal condition for femoral tunnels of AM and PL bundles to avoid insufficient tunnel length, wall breakage, inter-tunnel communication and acute graft-bending angle. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design and Implementation of Photovoltaic Maximum Power Point Tracking Controller

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fawaz S. Abdullah

2018-03-01

Full Text Available  The power supplied by any solar array depends upon the environmental conditions as weather conditions (temperature and radiation intensity and the incident angle of the radiant source. The work aims to study the maximum power tracking schemes that used to compare the system performance without and with different types of controllers. The maximum power points of the solar panel under test studied and compared with two controller's types.  The first controller is the proportional- integral - derivative controller type and the second is the perturbation and observation algorithm controller. The associated converter system is a microcontroller based type, whereas the results studied and compared of greatest power point of the Photovoltaic panels under the different two controllers. The experimental tests results compared with simulation results to verify accurate performance.

Disruption model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, J.G.; Bronner, G.

1982-07-01

Calculations of disruption time and energy dissipation have been obtained by simulating the plasma as an electrical conducting loop that varies in resistivity, current density, major radius. The calculations provide results which are in good agreement with experimental observations. It is believed that this approach allows engineering designs for disruptions to be completed in large tokamaks such as INTOR or FED

Influence on ultrasonic incident angle and defect detection sensitivity by cast stainless steel structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurozumi, Y.

2004-01-01

It is well known that ultrasonic waves are affected strongly by macro-structures in cast stainless steel, as in the primary pipe or other components in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In this work, ultrasonic refractive angles and defect detection sensitivities are investigated at different incident angles to cast stainless steel. The aims of the investigation are to clarify the transmission of ultrasonic waves in cast stainless steel and to contribute to the transducer design. The results are that ultrasonic refractive angles in cast stainless steel shift towards the 45-degree direction with respect to the direction of dendritic structures by 11.8 degrees at the maximum and that the sensitivity of transducer for inner surface breaking cracks increases with decreasing incident angle. However, in an ultrasonic inspection of actual welds at smaller incident angles, a trade-off occurs between increased defect detection sensitivity and decreased defect discrimination capability due to intense false signals produced by non-defective features. (orig.)

Internal disruption in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuvshinov, B.N.; Savrukhin, P.V.

1990-01-01

A review of results of experimental and theoretical investigations of internal disruption in tokamaks is given. Specific features of various types of saw-tooth oscillations are described and their classification is performed. Theoretical models of the process of development of internal disruption instability are discussed. Effect of internal disruption on parameters of plasma, confined in tokamak, is considered. Scalings of period and amplitude of saw-tooth oscillations, as well as version radius are presented. Different methods for stabilizing instability of internal disruption are described

Internal disruptions in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuvshinov, B.N.; Savrukhin, P.V.

1990-01-01

Experimental and theoretical studies of the phenomenon of internal disruptions in tokamaks are reviewed. A classification scheme is introduced and the features of different types of sawtooth oscillations are described. A theoretical model for the development of the internal disruption instability is discussed. The effect of internal disruptions on the parameters of plasma confined in tokamaks is discussed. Scaling laws for the period and amplitude of sawtooth oscillations, as well as for the inversion radius, are presented. Different methods of stabilizing the internal disruption instability are described

Measurement of torsion angles of long finger bones using computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berthold, L.D.; Ishaque, N.; Mauermann, F.; Klose, K.J.; Boehringer, G.

2001-01-01

Objective: Rotational dislocation at the fracture site is a complication of long finger bone fractures of the metacarpals and phalanges. To evaluate such deformities, we performed CT of the articular surfaces of these bones to demonstrate the torsion angles. Design: We evaluated 10 pairs of cadaver hands. These were placed flat, with the bones of interest perpendicular to the gantry to acquire axial images. The torsion of the long bone axes was defined as the angle between a tangent positioned parallel to the proximal articular surface and a tangent parallel to the distal articular surface of individual bones. Results: The maximum difference between repeated measurements was 4 . Intraobserver differences measured between right and left hands are less than 3 . Conclusion: Side differences in torsion angles exceeding 3 are strongly suspicious of a malrotation after fracture. These measurements might help to plan derotational osteotomy and assess the results of therapy. (orig.)

Monte Carlo calculations of ligth-ion sputtering as a function of the incident angle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haggmark, L.G.; Biersack, J.P.

1980-01-01

The sputtering of metal surfaces by light ions has been studied as a function of the incident angle using an extension of the TRIM Monte Carlo computer program. Sputtering yields were calculated at both normal and oblique angles of incidence for H, D, T, and 4 He impinging on Ni, Mo, and Au targets with energies <= 10 keV. Direct comparisons are made with the most recent experimental and theoretical results. There is generally good agreement with the experimental data although our calculated maximum in the yield usually occurs at a smaller incident angle, measured from the surface normal. The enhancement of the yield at large incident angles over that at normal incidence is observed to be a complex function of the incident ion's energy and mass and the target's atomic weight and surface binding energy. (orig.)

Longitudinal Changes of Angle Configuration in Primary Angle-Closure Suspects

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yuzhen; Chang, Dolly S.; Zhu, Haogang; Khawaja, Anthony P.; Aung, Tin; Huang, Shengsong; Chen, Qianyun; Munoz, Beatriz; Grossi, Carlota M.

2015-01-01

Objective To determine longitudinal changes in angle configuration in the eyes of primary angle-closure suspects (PACS) treated by laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) and in untreated fellow eyes. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Participants Primary angle-closure suspects aged 50 to 70 years were enrolled in a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Methods Each participant was treated by LPI in 1 randomly selected eye, with the fellow eye serving as a control. Angle width was assessed in a masked fashion using gonioscopy and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) before and at 2 weeks, 6 months, and 18 months after LPI. Main Outcome Measures Angle width in degrees was calculated from Shaffer grades assessed under static gonioscopy. Angle configuration was also evaluated using angle opening distance (AOD250, AOD500, AOD750), trabecular-iris space area (TISA500, TISA750), and angle recess area (ARA) measured in AS-OCT images. Results No significant difference was found in baseline measures of angle configuration between treated and untreated eyes. At 2 weeks after LPI, the drainage angle on gonioscopy widened from a mean of 13.5° at baseline to a mean of 25.7° in treated eyes, which was also confirmed by significant increases in all AS-OCT angle width measures (Pgonioscopy (P = 0.18), AOD250 (P = 0.167) and ARA (P = 0.83). In untreated eyes, angle width consistently decreased across all follow-up visits after LPI, with a more rapid longitudinal decrease compared with treated eyes (P values for all variables ≤0.003). The annual rate of change in angle width was equivalent to 1.2°/year (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8–1.6) in treated eyes and 1.6°/year (95% CI, 1.3–2.0) in untreated eyes (P<0.001). Conclusions Angle width of treated eyes increased markedly after LPI, remained stable for 6 months, and then decreased significantly by 18 months after LPI. Untreated eyes experienced a more consistent and rapid decrease in angle width over the

Aerodynamic characteristics of wind turbine blade airfoils at high angles-of-attack

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Timmer, W.A.

2010-01-01

Airfoil characteristics at deep stall angles were investigated. It appeared that the maximum drag coefficient as a function of the airfoil upwind y/c ordinate at x/c=0.0125 can be approximated by a straight line. The lift-drag ratios in deep stall of a number of airfoils with moderate lower surface

Variable flip angle excitation for reduced acquisition time magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, T.C.; Ortendahl, D.A.; Hylton, N.M.; Carlson, J.W.; Crooks, L.E.; Kaufman, L.

1987-01-01

This paper describes an MRI technique which can be used to acquire images at short TR values while maintaining the sensitivity to disease found in longer TR images. For spin echo imaging there are three acquisition parameters that can be set in the imaging protocol; TR, the repetition interval; TE, the time of echo and Θ, the excitation flip angle. Standard imaging techniques set Θ to 90 degrees regardless of the TR value. With Θ fixed, imaging systems have been optimized by varying the value for TE and TR with the results in general indicating the need for long TR values. However, if the flip angle is included as a variable acquisition parameter the optimal operating point can be changed. The solution to the Bloch equation shows a functional relationship between the flip angle and the ratio TR/T1. This functionality was first observed by Ernst and Anderson as a method to increase the signal generated in fourier transform magnetic resonance spectroscopy. When TR/T1<1 the optimum flip angle for producing maximum magnetization in the transverse plane is less then 90 degrees. Therefore, by reducing both TR and flip angle it is possible to maintain signal intensity while reducing the time of data acquisition

The Relationship between Mg ii Broad Emission and Quasar Inclination Angle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Conor Wildy

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Several observed spectral properties of quasars are believed to be influenced by quasar orientation. In this investigation we examine the effect of orientation on the Mg ii line located at 2,798 Å in a sample of 36 radio-loud quasars, with orientation angles having been obtained in a previous study using radio observations. We find no significant relationship between orientation angle and either Mg ii line full-width at half-maximum or equivalent width. The lack of correlation with inclination angle contradicts previous studies which also use radio data as a proxy for inclination angle and suggests the Mg ii emission region does not occupy a disk-like geometry. The lack of correlation with Mg ii equivalent width, however, is reported in at least one previous study. Although the significance is not very strong (86%, there is a possible negative relationship between inclination angle and Fe ii strength which, if true, could explain the Fe ii anti-correlation with [O iii] strength associated with Eigenvector 1. Interestingly, there are objects having almost edge-on inclinations while still exhibiting broad lines. This could be explained by a torus which is either clumpy (allowing sight lines to the central engine or mis-aligned with the accretion disk.

The Relationship between Mg ii Broad Emission and Quasar Inclination Angle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wildy, Conor; Czerny, Bozena, E-mail: wildy@cft.edu.pl [Center for Theoretical Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw (Poland)

2017-11-14

Several observed spectral properties of quasars are believed to be influenced by quasar orientation. In this investigation we examine the effect of orientation on the Mg ii line located at 2,798 Å in a sample of 36 radio-loud quasars, with orientation angles having been obtained in a previous study using radio observations. We find no significant relationship between orientation angle and either Mg ii line full-width at half-maximum or equivalent width. The lack of correlation with inclination angle contradicts previous studies which also use radio data as a proxy for inclination angle and suggests the Mg ii emission region does not occupy a disk-like geometry. The lack of correlation with Mg ii equivalent width, however, is reported in at least one previous study. Although the significance is not very strong (86%), there is a possible negative relationship between inclination angle and Fe ii strength which, if true, could explain the Fe ii anti-correlation with [O iii] strength associated with Eigenvector 1. Interestingly, there are objects having almost edge-on inclinations while still exhibiting broad lines. This could be explained by a torus which is either clumpy (allowing sight lines to the central engine) or mis-aligned with the accretion disk.

Trench angle: a key design factor for a deep trench superjunction MOSFET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Hyemin; Lee, Jaegil; Lee, Kwangwon; Choi, Youngchul

2015-01-01

Why is the development of a deep trench superjunction (SJ) MOSFET above 600 V and under 8.0 mohm · cm 2 difficult? A deep trench SJ MOSFET is expected to have a low turn-on resistance because the post thermal process after the epitaxial process, which is normally used in a multi-step epitaxy structure, is unnecessary. When designing a deep trench SJ MOSFET, the trench angle is the most important factor because this determines the breakdown voltage (BV) and BV variations. In this paper, we investigated how the trench angle affects the BV and BV window as a condition of the possible thermal process. By employing a physical concept, ΔCharge, we explained why the maximum BV is decreased and the BV window is increased as the trench angle decreases. Also, we systematically scrutinized the transition of the vertical electric field by varying the trench angle. Furthermore, in a real case, the principle of the trench angle which contributes to the deviation of the charge imbalance and specific resistance of SJ is described. Finally, we discuss the challenge of SJ MOSFET development in the industry. (paper)

Symposium on disruptive instabilities at Garching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lackner, K.

1979-01-01

The phenomenon of disruptive instabilities was investigated with a special care at the IPP at Garching. After lectures and panel sessions it appears suitable, to subdivide the disruptive phenomena into four classes: 1. The internal disruption (the socalled saw-tooth oscillators). 2. the socalled reconnection disruptions. 3. The large disruptions. 4. The small disruptions. The four appearance forms of the phenomena are briefly explained. (GG) [de

ITER vacuum vessel dynamic stress analysis of a disruption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riemer, B.W.; Conner, D.L.; Strickler, D.J.; Williamson, D.E.

1994-01-01

Dynamic stress analysis of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor vacuum vessel loaded by disruption forces was performed. The deformation and stress results showed strong inertial effects when compared to static analyses. Maximum stress predicted dynamically was 300 MPa, but stress shown by static analysis from loads at the same point in time reached only 80 MPa. The analysis also provided a reaction load history in the vessel's supports which is essential in evaluating support design. The disruption forces were estimated by assuming a 25-MA plasma current decaying at 1 MA/ms while moving vertically. In addition to forces developed within the vessel, vertical loadings from the first wall/strong back assemblies and the divertor were applied to the vessel at their attachment points. The first 50 natural modes were also determined. The first mode's frequency was 6.0 Hz, and its shape is characterized by vertical displacement of the vessel inner leg. The predicted deformation of the vessel appeared similar to its first mode shape combined with radial contraction. Kinetic energy history from the analysis also correlated with the first mode frequency

The paediatric Bohler's angle and crucial angle of Gissane: a case series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crawford Haemish A

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Bohler's angle and the crucial angle of Gissane can be used to assess calcaneal fractures. While the normal adult values of these angles are widely known, the normal paediatric values have not yet been established. Our aim is to investigate Bohler's angle and the crucial angle of Gissane in a paediatric population and establish normal paediatric reference values. Method We measured Bohler's angle and the crucial angle of Gissane using normal plain ankle radiographs of 763 patients from birth to 14 years of age completed over a five year period from July 2003 to June 2008. Results In our paediatric study group, the mean Bohler's angle was 35.2 degrees and the mean crucial angle of Gissane was 111.3 degrees. In an adult comparison group, the mean Bohler's angle was 39.2 degrees and the mean crucial angle of Gissane was 113.8 degrees. The differences in Bohler's angle and the crucial angle of Gissane between these two groups were statistically significant. Conclusion We have presented the normal values of Bohler's angle and the crucial angle of Gissane in a paediatric population. These values may provide a useful comparison to assist with the management of the paediatric calcaneal fracture.

Creation of the {pi} angle standard for the flat angle measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giniotis, V; Rybokas, M, E-mail: gi@ap.vtu.l, E-mail: MRybokas@gama.l [Department of Information Technologies, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Sauletekio al. 11, 10223 Vilnius-40 (Lithuania)

2010-07-01

Angle measurements are based mainly on multiangle prisms - polygons with autocollimators, rotary encoders for high accuracy and circular scales as the standards of the flat angle. Traceability of angle measurements is based on the standard of the plane angle - prism (polygon) calibrated at an appropriate accuracy. Some metrological institutions have established their special test benches (comparators) equipped with circular scales or rotary encoders of high accuracy and polygons with autocollimators for angle calibration purposes. Nevertheless, the standard (etalon) of plane angle - polygon has many restrictions for the transfer of angle unit - radian (rad) and other units of angle. It depends on the number of angles formed by the flat sides of the polygon that is restricted by technological and metrological difficulties related to the production and accuracy determination of the polygon. A possibility to create the standard of the angle equal to {pi} rad or half the circle or the full angle is proposed. It can be created by the circular scale with the rotation axis of very high accuracy and two precision reading instruments, usually, photoelectric microscopes (PM), placed on the opposite sides of the circular scale using the special alignment steps. A great variety of angle units and values can be measured and its traceability ensured by applying the third PM on the scale. Calibration of the circular scale itself and other scale or rotary encoder as well is possible using the proposed method with an implementation of {pi} rad as the primary standard angle. The method proposed enables to assure a traceability of angle measurements at every laboratory having appropriate environment and reading instruments of appropriate accuracy together with a rotary table with the rotation axis of high accuracy - rotation trajectory (runout) being in the range of 0.05 {mu}m. Short information about the multipurpose angle measurement test bench developed is presented.

Survey of disruption causes at JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Vries, P.C.; Johnson, M.F.; Alper, B.; Hender, T.C.; Riccardo, V.; Buratti, P.; Koslowski, H.R.

2011-01-01

A survey has been carried out into the causes of all 2309 disruptions over the last decade of JET operations. The aim of this survey was to obtain a complete picture of all possible disruption causes, in order to devise better strategies to prevent or mitigate their impact. The analysis allows the effort to avoid or prevent JET disruptions to be more efficient and effective. As expected, a highly complex pattern of chain of events that led to disruptions emerged. It was found that the majority of disruptions had a technical root cause, for example due to control errors, or operator mistakes. These bring a random, non-physics, factor into the occurrence of disruptions and the disruption rate or disruptivity of a scenario may depend more on technical performance than on physics stability issues. The main root cause of JET disruptions was nevertheless due to neo-classical tearing modes that locked, closely followed in second place by disruptions due to human error. The development of more robust operational scenarios has reduced the JET disruption rate over the last decade from about 15% to below 4%. A fraction of all disruptions was caused by very fast, precursorless unpredictable events. The occurrence of these disruptions may set a lower limit of 0.4% to the disruption rate of JET. If one considers on top of that human error and all unforeseen failures of heating or control systems this lower limit may rise to 1.0% or 1.6%, respectively.

Beam angle selection for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment of unresectable pancreatic cancer: are noncoplanar beam angles necessary?

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, D S; Bartlett, G K; Das, I J; Cardenes, H R

2013-09-01

External beam radiation therapy with concurrent chemotherapy (CRT) is widely used for the treatment of unresectable pancreatic cancer. Noncoplanar (NCP) 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and coplanar (CP) IMRT have been reported to lower the radiation dose to organs at risk (OARs). The purpose of this article is to examine the utility of noncoplanar beam angles in IMRT for the management of pancreatic cancer. Sixteen patients who were treated with CRT for unresectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head or neck were re-planned using CP and NCP beams in 3DCRT and IMRT with the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system. Compared to CP IMRT, NCP IMRT had similar target coverage with slightly increased maximum point dose, 5,799 versus 5,775 cGy (p = 0.008). NCP IMRT resulted in lower mean kidney dose, 787 versus 1,210 cGy (p kidney dose, but did not improve other dose-volume criteria. The use of NCP beam angles is preferred only in patients with risk factors for treatment-related kidney dysfunction.

Effect of shallow angles on compressive strength of biaxial and triaxial laminates.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Hongli; Yang, Hyun-Ik

2016-01-01

Biaxial (BX) and triaxial (TX) composite laminates with ±45° angled plies have been widely used in wind turbine blades. As the scale of blades increases, BX and TX laminates with shallow-angled plies (i.e. off-axis ply angle shallow-angled BX and TX laminates are critical considering their locations in a wind turbine blade, and therefore in this study, the uniaxial static compression tests were conducted using BX and TX laminates with angled-plies of ±45°, ±35°, and ±25°, for the purpose of evaluation. On the other hand, Mori-Tanaka mean field homogenization method was employed to predict elastic constants of plies in BX and TX laminates involved in tests; linear regression analyses of experimentally measured ply strengths collected from various sources were then performed to estimate strengths of plies in BX and TX laminates; finally, Tsai-Wu, Hashin, and Puck failure criteria were chosen to predict compressive strengths of BX and TX laminates. Comparison between theoretical predictions and test results were carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of each criterion. The compressive strength of BX laminate decreases as ply angle increases, and the trend was successfully predicted by all three failure criteria. For TX laminates, ±35° angled plies rather than ±45° angled plies led to the lowest laminate compressive strength. Hashin and Puck criteria gave good predictions at certain ply angles for TX laminates, but Tsai-Wu criterion was able to capture the unexpected strength variation of TX laminates with ply angle. It was concluded that the transverse tensile stress in 0° plies of TX laminates, which attains its maximum when the off-axis ply angle is 35°, is the dominant factor in failure determination if using Tsai-Wu criterion. This explains the unexpected strength variation of TX laminates with ply angle, and also indicates that proper selection of ply angle is the key to fully utilizing the advantages of shallow-angled laminates.

Influence of maximum bite force on jaw movement during gummy jelly mastication.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuninori, T; Tomonari, H; Uehara, S; Kitashima, F; Yagi, T; Miyawaki, S

2014-05-01

It is known that maximum bite force has various influences on chewing function; however, there have not been studies in which the relationships between maximum bite force and masticatory jaw movement have been clarified. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maximum bite force on masticatory jaw movement in subjects with normal occlusion. Thirty young adults (22 men and 8 women; mean age, 22.6 years) with good occlusion were divided into two groups based on whether they had a relatively high or low maximum bite force according to the median. The maximum bite force was determined according to the Dental Prescale System using pressure-sensitive sheets. Jaw movement during mastication of hard gummy jelly (each 5.5 g) on the preferred chewing side was recorded using a six degrees of freedom jaw movement recording system. The motion of the lower incisal point of the mandible was computed, and the mean values of 10 cycles (cycles 2-11) were calculated. A masticatory performance test was conducted using gummy jelly. Subjects with a lower maximum bite force showed increased maximum lateral amplitude, closing distance, width and closing angle; wider masticatory jaw movement; and significantly lower masticatory performance. However, no differences in the maximum vertical or maximum anteroposterior amplitudes were observed between the groups. Although other factors, such as individual morphology, may influence masticatory jaw movement, our results suggest that subjects with a lower maximum bite force show increased lateral jaw motion during mastication. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Statistical analysis of disruptions in JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Vries, P.C.; Johnson, M.F.; Segui, I.

2009-01-01

The disruption rate (the percentage of discharges that disrupt) in JET was found to drop steadily over the years. Recent campaigns (2005-2007) show a yearly averaged disruption rate of only 6% while from 1991 to 1995 this was often higher than 20%. Besides the disruption rate, the so-called disruptivity, or the likelihood of a disruption depending on the plasma parameters, has been determined. The disruptivity of plasmas was found to be significantly higher close to the three main operational boundaries for tokamaks; the low-q, high density and β-limit. The frequency at which JET operated close to the density-limit increased six fold over the last decade; however, only a small reduction in disruptivity was found. Similarly the disruptivity close to the low-q and β-limit was found to be unchanged. The most significant reduction in disruptivity was found far from the operational boundaries, leading to the conclusion that the improved disruption rate is due to a better technical capability of operating JET, instead of safer operations close to the physics limits. The statistics showed that a simple protection system was able to mitigate the forces of a large fraction of disruptions, although it has proved to be at present more difficult to ameliorate the heat flux.

Improvements in disruption prediction at ASDEX Upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aledda, R., E-mail: raffaele.aledda@diee.unica.it; Cannas, B., E-mail: cannas@diee.unica.it; Fanni, A., E-mail: fanni@diee.unica.it; Pau, A., E-mail: alessandro.pau@diee.unica.it; Sias, G., E-mail: giuliana.sias@diee.unica.it

2015-10-15

Highlights: • A disruption prediction system for AUG, based on a logistic model, is designed. • The length of the disruptive phase is set for each disruption in the training set. • The model is tested on dataset different from that used during the training phase. • The generalization capability and the aging of the model have been tested. • The predictor performance is compared with the locked mode detector. - Abstract: In large-scale tokamaks disruptions have the potential to create serious damage to the facility. Hence disruptions must be avoided, but, when a disruption is unavoidable, minimizing its severity is mandatory. A reliable detection of a disruptive event is required to trigger proper mitigation actions. To this purpose machine learning methods have been widely studied to design disruption prediction systems at ASDEX Upgrade. The training phase of the proposed approaches is based on the availability of disrupted and non-disrupted discharges. In literature disruptive configurations were assumed appearing into the last 45 ms of each disruption. Even if the achieved results in terms of correct predictions were good, it has to be highlighted that the choice of such a fixed temporal window might have limited the prediction performance. In fact, it generates confusing information in cases of disruptions with disruptive phase different from 45 ms. The assessment of a specific disruptive phase for each disruptive discharge represents a relevant issue in understanding the disruptive events. In this paper, the Mahalanobis distance is applied to define a specific disruptive phase for each disruption, and a logistic regressor has been trained as disruption predictor. The results show that enhancements on the achieved performance on disruption prediction are possible by defining a specific disruptive phase for each disruption.

Improvements in disruption prediction at ASDEX Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aledda, R.; Cannas, B.; Fanni, A.; Pau, A.; Sias, G.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A disruption prediction system for AUG, based on a logistic model, is designed. • The length of the disruptive phase is set for each disruption in the training set. • The model is tested on dataset different from that used during the training phase. • The generalization capability and the aging of the model have been tested. • The predictor performance is compared with the locked mode detector. - Abstract: In large-scale tokamaks disruptions have the potential to create serious damage to the facility. Hence disruptions must be avoided, but, when a disruption is unavoidable, minimizing its severity is mandatory. A reliable detection of a disruptive event is required to trigger proper mitigation actions. To this purpose machine learning methods have been widely studied to design disruption prediction systems at ASDEX Upgrade. The training phase of the proposed approaches is based on the availability of disrupted and non-disrupted discharges. In literature disruptive configurations were assumed appearing into the last 45 ms of each disruption. Even if the achieved results in terms of correct predictions were good, it has to be highlighted that the choice of such a fixed temporal window might have limited the prediction performance. In fact, it generates confusing information in cases of disruptions with disruptive phase different from 45 ms. The assessment of a specific disruptive phase for each disruptive discharge represents a relevant issue in understanding the disruptive events. In this paper, the Mahalanobis distance is applied to define a specific disruptive phase for each disruption, and a logistic regressor has been trained as disruption predictor. The results show that enhancements on the achieved performance on disruption prediction are possible by defining a specific disruptive phase for each disruption.

Glaucoma, Open-Angle

Science.gov (United States)

... Home » Statistics and Data » Glaucoma, Open-angle Listen Glaucoma, Open-angle Open-angle Glaucoma Defined In open-angle glaucoma, the fluid passes ... 2010 2010 U.S. Age-Specific Prevalence Rates for Glaucoma by Age and Race/Ethnicity The prevalence of ...

Determination of the Optimal Tilt Angle for Solar Photovoltaic Panel in Ilorin, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K.R. Ajao

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The optimal tilt angle of solar photovoltaic panel in Ilorin, Nigeria was determined. The solar panel was first mounted at 0o to the horizontal and after ten minutes, the voltage and current generated with the corresponding atmospheric temperature were recorded. The same procedure was repeated for 2o to 30o at a succession of 2o at ten minutes time interval over the entire measurement period. The result obtained shows that the average optimal tilt angle at which a solar panel will be mounted for maximum power performance at fixed position in Ilorin is 22o. This optimum angle of tilt of the solar panel and the orientation are dependent on the month of the year and the location of the site of study.

Experimental investigations of the influence of thickness and mixed-mode loading on the crack initial angle in LC4-CS aluminum

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Huiru; Guo, Wanlin; Yu, Liang

2002-05-01

The influence of thickness and mixed mode I/II loading on the crack initial angle of aluminum LC4-CS plates of 2, 4, 8 and 14 mm thickness was investigated experimentally from tensile-tearing testing of the compact-tension-shear type specimens. Experimental results of the crack initial angle for various thickness plates and load mode mixity were presented, and compared with theoretical predictions form the maximum tangential stress criterion and the maximum triaxial stress criterion. The crack initial angle is found to vary not only with load mode mixity but also with specimen thickness. The experimental result show a god agreement with theoretical predictions in 2, 14 mm- thickness specimens but a great deal difference in 8 mm-thickness specimens. The results are discussed in the viewpoint of 3D failure theory.

Joining by plating: optimization of occluded angle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dini, J.W.; Johnson, H.R.; Kan, Y.R.

1978-11-01

An empirical method has been developed for predicting the minimum angle required for maximum joint strength for materials joined by plating. This is done through a proposed power law failure function, whose coefficients are taken from ring shear and conical head tensile data for plating/substrate combinations and whose exponent is determined from one set of plated-joint data. Experimental results are presented for Al-Ni-Al (7075-T6) and AM363-Ni-AM363 joints, and the failure function is used to predict joint strengths for Al-Ni-Al (2024-T6), UTi-Ni-UTi, and Be-Ti-Be

Disruption prediction at JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milani, F.

1998-12-01

The sudden loss of the plasma magnetic confinement, known as disruption, is one of the major issue in a nuclear fusion machine as JET (Joint European Torus). Disruptions pose very serious problems to the safety of the machine. The energy stored in the plasma is released to the machine structure in few milliseconds resulting in forces that at JET reach several Mega Newtons. The problem is even more severe in the nuclear fusion power station where the forces are in the order of one hundred Mega Newtons. The events that occur during a disruption are still not well understood even if some mechanisms that can lead to a disruption have been identified and can be used to predict them. Unfortunately it is always a combination of these events that generates a disruption and therefore it is not possible to use simple algorithms to predict it. This thesis analyses the possibility of using neural network algorithms to predict plasma disruptions in real time. This involves the determination of plasma parameters every few milliseconds. A plasma boundary reconstruction algorithm, XLOC, has been developed in collaboration with Dr. D. O'Brien and Dr. J. Ellis capable of determining the plasma wall/distance every 2 milliseconds. The XLOC output has been used to develop a multilayer perceptron network to determine plasma parameters as l i and q ψ with which a machine operational space has been experimentally defined. If the limits of this operational space are breached the disruption probability increases considerably. Another approach for prediction disruptions is to use neural network classification methods to define the JET operational space. Two methods have been studied. The first method uses a multilayer perceptron network with softmax activation function for the output layer. This method can be used for classifying the input patterns in various classes. In this case the plasma input patterns have been divided between disrupting and safe patterns, giving the possibility of

Modeling contact angle hysteresis of a liquid droplet sitting on a cosine wave-like pattern surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Promraksa, Arwut; Chen, Li-Jen

2012-10-15

A liquid droplet sitting on a hydrophobic surface with a cosine wave-like square-array pattern in the Wenzel state is simulated by using the Surface Evolver to determine the contact angle. For a fixed drop volume, multiple metastable states are obtained at two different surface roughnesses. Unusual and non-circular shape of the three-phase contact line of a liquid droplet sitting on the model surface is observed due to corrugation and distortion of the contact line by structure of the roughness. The contact angle varies along the contact line for each metastable state. The maximum and minimum contact angles among the multiple metastable states at a fixed viewing angle correspond to the advancing and the receding contact angles, respectively. It is interesting to observe that the advancing/receding contact angles (and contact angle hysteresis) are a function of viewing angle. In addition, the receding (or advancing) contact angles at different viewing angles are determined at different metastable states. The contact angle of minimum energy among the multiple metastable states is defined as the most stable (equilibrium) contact angle. The Wenzel model is not able to describe the contact angle along the three-phase contact line. The contact angle hysteresis at different drop volumes is determined. The number of the metastable states increases with increasing drop volume. Drop volume effect on the contact angles is also discussed. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Echo signal from rough planar interfaces influence of roughness, angle, range and transducer type

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wilhjelm, Jens E.; Pedersen, P.C.; Jacobsen, S.M.

1998-01-01

The received electrical signal from a pulse-echo system insonifying a planar acoustical interface was measured for varying degrees of rms roughness (0-0.16 mm), angle of incidence (typically +/-7°) and range to the transducer. A planar and a focused 5 MHz transducer was used. When insonifying...... a smooth interface, the normalized spectrum of the received signals for a planar transducer exhibits an increasing number of nulls with increased angle of insonification, as predicted from numerical modeling while the dependence on insonification angle for the focused transducer was smaller and the null...... pattern was much less distinct. For the planar transducer and for the focused transducer with the interface located at the geometrical point of focus, the energy of the received signal as a function of incident angle was approximately Gaussian with maximum at 0°. For the smooth interface, the -3 dB width...

Modification of Knee Flexion Angle Has Patient-Specific Effects on Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk Factors During Jump Landing.

Science.gov (United States)

Favre, Julien; Clancy, Caitlin; Dowling, Ariel V; Andriacchi, Thomas P

2016-06-01

The incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries may be decreased through the use of intervention programs that focus on increasing the knee flexion angle during jump landing, which decreases strain on the ACL. To investigate whether intervention training designed to change the knee flexion angle during landing causes secondary changes in other known measures associated with the risk of ACL injuries and to examine the time points when these secondary measures change. Controlled laboratory study. A total of 39 healthy recreational athletes performed a volleyball block jump task in an instrumented gait laboratory. The participants first completed the jumps without any modification to their normal landing technique. They were then given oral instruction to land softly and to increase their knee flexion angle during landing. Lower body kinematics and kinetics were measured before and after the modification using an optoelectronic motion capture system. The knee flexion angle after the modification significantly increased from 11.2° to 15.2° at initial contact and from 67.8° to 100.7° at maximum flexion, and the time between initial contact and maximum flexion increased from 177.4 to 399.4 milliseconds. The flexion modification produced a substantial reduction in vertical ground-reaction force (243.1 to 187.8 %BW) with a concomitant reduction in the maximum flexion moment. Interestingly, the flexion modification only affected the abduction angle and abduction moment for the group of participants that landed in an initial adducted position before the modification and had no significant effect on the group that landed in an abducted position. Increasing the knee flexion angle during jump landing may be an effective intervention to improve knee biomechanical risk factors associated with an ACL injury. However, the fact that the flexion modification only influenced critical risk factors (the abduction angle and abduction moment) in participants who initially

Corrections of residual fluorescence distortions for a glancing-emergence-angle x-ray-absorption technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brewe, D.L.; Pease, D.M.; Budnick, J.I.

1994-01-01

Distortions appear in x-ray-absorption spectra obtained by monitoring the fluorescence from thick samples with concentrated absorbing species. The glancing-emergence-angle technique for obtaining spectra from this type of sample eliminates distortions from the measured spectra by monitoring the fluorescence leaving the sample at a small angle relative to the sample surface. This technique is limited by the small signal available from the inherently limited detector solid angle. In addition, no precise estimate of the required restriction on maximum emergent angle θ max has been available. We have calculated residual extended x-ray-absorption fine structure distortions as a function of θ max , and performed experimental tests of the calculations. These calculations provide a means to estimate the required detector geometry for negligible distortions, or alternatively, allow the use of a larger θ max , increasing the available signal, with the remaining residual distortions removed by application of the calculations. The calculations are also applicable to other detector geometries, and account for detectors subtending a large solid angle by an integration over the subtended angle. This represents an improvement over previous calculations. The application to more general detector configurations is also discussed

High luminosity operation of large solid angle scintillator arrays in Jefferson Lab Hall A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ran Shneor

2003-01-01

This thesis describes selected aspects of high luminosity operation of large solid angle scintillator arrays in Hall A of the CEBAF (Central Electron Beam Accelerator Facility) at TJNAF (Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility ). CEBAF is a high current, high duty factor electron accelerator with a maximum beam energy of about 6 GeV and a maximum current of 200 (micro)A. Operating large solid angle scintillator arrays in high luminosity environment presents several problems such as high singles rates, low signal to noise ratios and shielding requirements. To demonstrate the need for large solid angle and momentum acceptance detectors as a third arm in Hall A, we will give a brief overview of the physics motivating five approved experiments, which utilize scintillator arrays. We will then focus on the design and assembly of these scintillator arrays, with special focus on the two new detector packages built for the Short Range Correlation experiment E01-015. This thesis also contains the description and results of different tests and calibrations which where conducted for these arrays. We also present the description of a number of tests which were done in order to estimate the singles rates, data reconstruction, filtering techniques and shielding required for these counters

Thigh-calf contact parameters for six high knee flexion postures: Onset, maximum angle, total force, contact area, and center of force.

Science.gov (United States)

Kingston, David C; Acker, Stacey M

2018-01-23

In high knee flexion, contact between the posterior thigh and calf is expected to decrease forces on tibiofemoral contact surfaces, therefore, thigh-calf contact needs to be thoroughly characterized to model its effect. This study measured knee angles and intersegmental contact parameters in fifty-eight young healthy participants for six common high flexion postures using motion tracking and a pressure sensor attached to the right thigh. Additionally, we introduced and assessed the reliability of a method for reducing noise in pressure sensor output. Five repetitions of two squatting, two kneeling, and two unilateral kneeling movements were completed. Interactions of posture by sex occurred for thigh-calf and heel-gluteal center of force, and thigh-calf contact area. Center of force in thigh-calf regions was farther from the knee joint center in females, compared to males, during unilateral kneeling (82 and 67 mm respectively) with an inverted relationship in the heel-gluteal region (331 and 345 mm respectively), although caution is advised when generalizing these findings from a young, relatively fit sample to a population level. Contact area was larger in females when compared to males (mean of 155.61 and 137.33 cm 2 across postures). A posture main effect was observed in contact force and sex main effects were present in onset and max angle. Males had earlier onset (121.0°) and lower max angle (147.4°) with onset and max angles having a range between movements of 8° and 3° respectively. There was a substantial total force difference of 139 N between the largest and smallest activity means. Force parameters measured in this study suggest that knee joint contact models need to incorporate activity-specific parameters when estimating loading. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flight test of the X-29A at high angle of attack: Flight dynamics and controls

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Jeffrey E.; Clarke, Robert; Burken, John J.

1995-01-01

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center has flight tested two X-29A aircraft at low and high angles of attack. The high-angle-of-attack tests evaluate the feasibility of integrated X-29A technologies. More specific objectives focus on evaluating the high-angle-of-attack flying qualities, defining multiaxis controllability limits, and determining the maximum pitch-pointing capability. A pilot-selectable gain system allows examination of tradeoffs in airplane stability and maneuverability. Basic fighter maneuvers provide qualitative evaluation. Bank angle captures permit qualitative data analysis. This paper discusses the design goals and approach for high-angle-of-attack control laws and provides results from the envelope expansion and handling qualities testing at intermediate angles of attack. Comparisons of the flight test results to the predictions are made where appropriate. The pitch rate command structure of the longitudinal control system is shown to be a valid design for high-angle-of-attack control laws. Flight test results show that wing rock amplitude was overpredicted and aileron and rudder effectiveness were underpredicted. Flight tests show the X-29A airplane to be a good aircraft up to 40 deg angle of attack.

Apparent contact angle and contact angle hysteresis on liquid infused surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Semprebon, Ciro; McHale, Glen; Kusumaatmaja, Halim

2016-12-21

We theoretically investigate the apparent contact angle and contact angle hysteresis of a droplet placed on a liquid infused surface. We show that the apparent contact angle is not uniquely defined by material parameters, but also has a dependence on the relative size between the droplet and its surrounding wetting ridge formed by the infusing liquid. We derive a closed form expression for the contact angle in the limit of vanishing wetting ridge, and compute the correction for small but finite ridge, which corresponds to an effective line tension term. We also predict contact angle hysteresis on liquid infused surfaces generated by the pinning of the contact lines by the surface corrugations. Our analytical expressions for both the apparent contact angle and contact angle hysteresis can be interpreted as 'weighted sums' between the contact angles of the infusing liquid relative to the droplet and surrounding gas phases, where the weighting coefficients are given by ratios of the fluid surface tensions.

Monitoring-induced disruption in skilled typewriting.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Kristy M; Logan, Gordon D

2013-10-01

It is often disruptive to attend to the details of one's expert performance. The current work presents four experiments that utilized a monitor to report protocol to evaluate the sufficiency of three accounts of monitoring-induced disruption. The inhibition hypothesis states that disruption results from costs associated with preparing to withhold inappropriate responses. The dual-task hypothesis states that disruption results from maintaining monitored information in working memory. The implicit-explicit hypothesis states that disruption results from explicitly monitoring details of performance that are normally implicit. The findings suggest that all three hypotheses are sufficient to produce disruption, but inhibition and dual-task costs are not necessary. Experiment 1 showed that monitoring to report was disruptive even when there was no requirement to inhibit. Experiment 2 showed that maintaining information in working memory caused some disruption but much less than monitoring to report. Experiment 4 showed that monitoring to inhibit was more disruptive than monitoring to report, suggesting that monitoring is more disruptive when it is combined with other task requirements, such as inhibition. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Disruptive Intelligence - How to gather Information to deal with disruptive innovations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vriens, D.J.; Solberg Søilen, K.

2014-01-01

Disruptive innovations are innovations that have the capacity to transform a whole business into one with products that are more accessible and affordable (cf. Christensen et al. 2009). As Christensen et al. argue no business is immune to such disruptive innovations. If these authors are right, it

Optimum tilt angle for flat plate collectors all over the World – A declination dependence formula and comparisons of three solar radiation models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanciu, Camelia; Stanciu, Dorin

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Monthly optimum tilt angle is predicted for North latitudes between 0° and 80°. • From practical considerations, an optimum fixed value all along the year is derived. • Three solar radiation models are compared from the point of view of total incident solar radiation density prediction. - Abstract: The paper presents a theoretical study on the optimum tilt angle for flat plate collectors at different geographical locations and different time moments over a year. The solar radiation density is estimated based on three analysis models, namely Hottel and Woertz model (the simplest), Isotropic diffuse model (Liu and Jordan model) and HDKR model (Hay–Davis–Klucker–Reindl), passing from the simplest to the most complex one. Further, the absorbed solar radiation density is computed and the optimum tilt angle is found for different geographical locations (covering the Globe latitudes). The optimum value for the tilt angle is researched for maximum incident solar radiation and also for maximum absorbed one. The results indicate that the same angle is obtained when looking for maximum incident and for maximum absorbed solar radiation. When comparing the three above mentioned models, different tilt angles are supplied by applying the Hottel and Woertz model and respectively the others two (both of them providing the same angle). Although, the predicted absorbed solar radiation is the same in the summertime for all three models, and probably overestimated by the last model in the springtime. The obtained results give an overview over the whole year operation at different geographical latitudes. When using the Hottel and Woertz model for estimating the incident solar radiation, the optimum tilt angle for a flat plate collector should be computed as simplest as β opt = φ − δ function on the latitude and declination. If a fixed value is easier to be used over a specific operation period, an optimum value is provided by this research. The novelty

Estimates of md-mu and left-angle bar dd right-angle -left-angle bar uu right-angle from QCD sum rules for D and D* isospin mass differences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eletsky, V.L.; Ioffe, B.L.

1993-01-01

The recent experimental data on D +- D0 and D *+- D*0 mass differences are used as inputs in the QCD sum rules to obtain new estimates on the mass difference of light quarks and on the difference of their condensates: m d -m u =3±1 MeV, left-angle bar dd right-angle -left-angle bar uu right-angle=-(2.5±1)x10 -3 left-angle bar uu right-angle (at a standard normalization point, μ=0.5 GeV)

Politisk disruption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tække, Jesper

2018-01-01

Dette blogindlæg giver en kort analyse af hvordan de sociale medier ved at give en ny tid har åbnet for den disruption af de politiske processer som især Trump stå som et eksempel på.......Dette blogindlæg giver en kort analyse af hvordan de sociale medier ved at give en ny tid har åbnet for den disruption af de politiske processer som især Trump stå som et eksempel på....

The effect of gaze angle on the evaluations of SAR and temperature rise in human eye under plane-wave exposures from 0.9 to 10 GHz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diao, Yinliang; Leung, Sai-Wing; Sun, Weinong; Siu, Yun-Ming; Kong, Richard; Hung Chan, Kwok

2016-01-01

This article investigates the effect of gaze angle on the specific absorption rate (SAR) and temperature rise in human eye under electromagnetic exposures from 0.9 to 10 GHz. Eye models in different gaze angles are developed based on bio-metric data. The spatial-average SARs in eyes are investigated using the finite-difference time-domain method, and the corresponding maximum temperature rises in lens are calculated by the finite-difference method. It is found that the changes in the gaze angle produce a maximum variation of 35, 12 and 20 % in the eye-averaged SAR, peak 10 g average SAR and temperature rise, respectively. Results also reveal that the eye-averaged SAR is more sensitive to the changes in the gaze angle than peak 10 g average SAR, especially at higher frequencies. (authors)

Scoliosis angle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marklund, T.

1978-01-01

The most commonly used methods of assessing the scoliotic deviation measure angles that are not clearly defined in relation to the anatomy of the patient. In order to give an anatomic basis for such measurements it is proposed to define the scoliotic deviation as the deviation the vertebral column makes with the sagittal plane. Both the Cobb and the Ferguson angles may be based on this definition. The present methods of measurement are then attempts to measure these angles. If the plane of these angles is parallel to the film, the measurement will be correct. Errors in the measurements may be incurred by the projection. A hypothetical projection, called a 'rectified orthogonal projection', is presented, which correctly represents all scoliotic angles in accordance with these principles. It can be constructed in practice with the aid of a computer and by performing measurements on two projections of the vertebral column; a scoliotic curve can be represented independent of the kyphosis and lordosis. (Auth.)

Automated analysis of angle closure from anterior chamber angle images.

Science.gov (United States)

Baskaran, Mani; Cheng, Jun; Perera, Shamira A; Tun, Tin A; Liu, Jiang; Aung, Tin

2014-10-21

To evaluate a novel software capable of automatically grading angle closure on EyeCam angle images in comparison with manual grading of images, with gonioscopy as the reference standard. In this hospital-based, prospective study, subjects underwent gonioscopy by a single observer, and EyeCam imaging by a different operator. The anterior chamber angle in a quadrant was classified as closed if the posterior trabecular meshwork could not be seen. An eye was classified as having angle closure if there were two or more quadrants of closure. Automated grading of the angle images was performed using customized software. Agreement between the methods was ascertained by κ statistic and comparison of area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). One hundred forty subjects (140 eyes) were included, most of whom were Chinese (102/140, 72.9%) and women (72/140, 51.5%). Angle closure was detected in 61 eyes (43.6%) with gonioscopy in comparison with 59 eyes (42.1%, P = 0.73) using manual grading, and 67 eyes (47.9%, P = 0.24) with automated grading of EyeCam images. The agreement for angle closure diagnosis between gonioscopy and both manual (κ = 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI), 0.81-0.96) and automated grading of EyeCam images was good (κ = 0.74; 95% CI, 0.63-0.85). The AUC for detecting eyes with gonioscopic angle closure was comparable for manual and automated grading (AUC 0.974 vs. 0.954, P = 0.31) of EyeCam images. Customized software for automated grading of EyeCam angle images was found to have good agreement with gonioscopy. Human observation of the EyeCam images may still be needed to avoid gross misclassification, especially in eyes with extensive angle closure. Copyright 2014 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

Towards a Disruptive Digital Platform Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kazan, Erol

that digital platforms leverage on three strategic design elements (i.e., business, architecture, and technology design) to create supportive conditions for facilitating disruption. To shed light on disruptive digital platforms, I opted for payment platforms as my empirical context and unit of analysis......Digital platforms are layered modular information technology architectures that support disruption. Digital platforms are particularly disruptive, as they facilitate the quick release of digital innovations that may replace established innovations. Yet, despite their support for disruption, we have...... not fully understood how such digital platforms can be strategically designed and configured to facilitate disruption. To that end, this thesis endeavors to unravel disruptive digital platforms from the supply perspective that are grounded on strategic digital platform design elements. I suggest...

Thigmotaxis Mediates Trail Odour Disruption.

Science.gov (United States)

Stringer, Lloyd D; Corn, Joshua E; Sik Roh, Hyun; Jiménez-Pérez, Alfredo; Manning, Lee-Anne M; Harper, Aimee R; Suckling, David M

2017-05-10

Disruption of foraging using oversupply of ant trail pheromones is a novel pest management application under investigation. It presents an opportunity to investigate the interaction of sensory modalities by removal of one of the modes. Superficially similar to sex pheromone-based mating disruption in moths, ant trail pheromone disruption lacks an equivalent mechanistic understanding of how the ants respond to an oversupply of their trail pheromone. Since significant compromise of one sensory modality essential for trail following (chemotaxis) has been demonstrated, we hypothesised that other sensory modalities such as thigmotaxis could act to reduce the impact on olfactory disruption of foraging behaviour. To test this, we provided a physical stimulus of thread to aid trailing by Argentine ants otherwise under disruptive pheromone concentrations. Trail following success was higher using a physical cue. While trail integrity reduced under continuous over-supply of trail pheromone delivered directly on the thread, provision of a physical cue in the form of thread slightly improved trail following and mediated trail disruption from high concentrations upwind. Our results indicate that ants are able to use physical structures to reduce but not eliminate the effects of trail pheromone disruption.

Action spectrum for photochemical retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) disruption in an in vivo monkey model

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jie; Sabarinathan, Ranjani; Bubel, Tracy; Williams, David R.; Hunter, Jennifer J.

2016-03-01

Observations of RPE disruption and autofluorescence (AF) photobleaching at light levels below the ANSI photochemical maximum permissible exposure (MPE) (Morgan et al., 2008) indicates a demand to modify future light safety standards to protect the retina from harm. To establish safe light exposures, we measured the visible light action spectrum for RPE disruption in an in vivo monkey model with fluorescence adaptive optics retinal imaging. Using this high resolution imaging modality can provide insight into the consequences of light on a cellular level and allow for longitudinal monitoring of retinal changes. The threshold retinal radiant exposures (RRE) for RPE disruption were determined for 4 wavelengths (460, 488, 544, and 594 nm). The anaesthetized macaque retina was exposed to a uniform 0.5° × 0.5° field of view (FOV). Imaging within a 2° × 2° FOV was performed before, immediately after and at 2 week intervals for 10 weeks. At each wavelength, multiple RREs were tested with 4 repetitions each to determine the threshold for RPE disruption. For qualitative analysis, RPE disruption is defined as any detectable change from the pre exposure condition in the cell mosaic in the exposed region relative to the corresponding mosaic in the immediately surrounding area. We have tested several metrics to evaluate the RPE images obtained before and after exposure. The measured action spectrum for photochemical RPE disruption has a shallower slope than the current ANSI photochemical MPE for the same conditions and suggests that longer wavelength light is more hazardous than other measurements would suggest.

Disrupting the Industry with Play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik Hautop

2016-01-01

or two ago. This is significantly disrupting the industry in several market sectors. This paper describes the components of the playware and embodied artificial intelligence research that has led to disruption in the industrial robotics sector, and which points to the next disruption of the health care...

Cell disruption for microalgae biorefineries.

Science.gov (United States)

Günerken, E; D'Hondt, E; Eppink, M H M; Garcia-Gonzalez, L; Elst, K; Wijffels, R H

2015-01-01

Microalgae are a potential source for various valuable chemicals for commercial applications ranging from nutraceuticals to fuels. Objective in a biorefinery is to utilize biomass ingredients efficiently similarly to petroleum refineries in which oil is fractionated in fuels and a variety of products with higher value. Downstream processes in microalgae biorefineries consist of different steps whereof cell disruption is the most crucial part. To maintain the functionality of algae biochemicals during cell disruption while obtaining high disruption yields is an important challenge. Despite this need, studies on mild disruption of microalgae cells are limited. This review article focuses on the evaluation of conventional and emerging cell disruption technologies, and a comparison thereof with respect to their potential for the future microalgae biorefineries. The discussed techniques are bead milling, high pressure homogenization, high speed homogenization, ultrasonication, microwave treatment, pulsed electric field treatment, non-mechanical cell disruption and some emerging technologies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Major disruption process in tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurita, Gen-ichi; Azumi, Masafumi; Tuda, Takashi; Takizuka, Tomonori; Tsunematsu, Toshihide; Tokuda, Shinji; Itoh, Kimitaka; Takeda, Tatsuoki

1981-11-01

The major disruption in a cylindrical tokamak is investigated by using the multi-helicity code, and the destabilization of the 3/2 mode by the mode coupling with the 2/1 mode is confirmed. The evolution of the magnetic field topology caused by the major disruption is studied in detail. The effect of the internal disruption on the 2/1 magnetic island width is also studied. The 2/1 magnetic island is not enhanced by the flattening of the q-profile due to the internal disruption. (author)

Plasma disruption modeling and simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassanein, A.

1994-01-01

Disruptions in tokamak reactors are considered a limiting factor to successful operation and reliable design. The behavior of plasma-facing components during a disruption is critical to the overall integrity of the reactor. Erosion of plasma facing-material (PFM) surfaces due to thermal energy dump during the disruption can severely limit the lifetime of these components and thus diminish the economic feasibility of the reactor. A comprehensive understanding of the interplay of various physical processes during a disruption is essential for determining component lifetime and potentially improving the performance of such components. There are three principal stages in modeling the behavior of PFM during a disruption. Initially, the incident plasma particles will deposit their energy directly on the PFM surface, heating it to a very high temperature where ablation occurs. Models for plasma-material interactions have been developed and used to predict material thermal evolution during the disruption. Within a few microseconds after the start of the disruption, enough material is vaporized to intercept most of the incoming plasma particles. Models for plasma-vapor interactions are necessary to predict vapor cloud expansion and hydrodynamics. Continuous heating of the vapor cloud above the material surface by the incident plasma particles will excite, ionize, and cause vapor atoms to emit thermal radiation. Accurate models for radiation transport in the vapor are essential for calculating the net radiated flux to the material surface which determines the final erosion thickness and consequently component lifetime. A comprehensive model that takes into account various stages of plasma-material interaction has been developed and used to predict erosion rates during reactor disruption, as well during induced disruption in laboratory experiments

A Study on the Influence of the Nozzle Lead Angle on the Performance of Liquid Metal Electromagnetic Micro-Jetting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiwei Luo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available To improve the jetting performance of liquid metals, an electromagnetic micro-jetting (EMJ valve that realizes drop-on-demand (DOD jetting while not involving any valve core or moving parts was designed. The influence of the lead angle of the nozzle on the jetting of liquid metal gallium (Ga was investigated. It was found that the Lorentz force component parallel to the nozzle that jets the electrified liquid Ga is always larger than its internal friction; thus, jet can be generated with any lead angle but with different kinetic energies. Experimental results show that the mass of the jetting liquid, the jetting distance, the initial velocity of the jet, and the resulting kinetic energy of the jet increase first and then decrease. When the lead angle is 90°, the mass of the jetting liquid and the kinetic energy are at their maximum. When the angle is 80°, the initial velocity achieves its maximum, with a calculated value of 0.042 m/s. Moreover, very close and comparatively high kinetic energies are obtained at 80° and 90°, indicating that angles in between this range can produce a preferable performance. This work provides an important theoretical basis for the design of the EMJ valve, and may promote the development and application of micro electromagnetic jetting technology.

Disrupt mig vel: Fire gode råd om disruption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rydén, Pernille; Ringberg, Torsten; Østergaard Jacobsen, Per

2017-01-01

Forandring. Ønsket om at være teknologisk foran, kommer ofte til at ske på bekostning af fokus på kundernes oplevelser. Lighedstegnet mellem disruption og ny teknologi er kun den halve sandhed.......Forandring. Ønsket om at være teknologisk foran, kommer ofte til at ske på bekostning af fokus på kundernes oplevelser. Lighedstegnet mellem disruption og ny teknologi er kun den halve sandhed....

THE EFFECT OF THE STATIC RELATIVE STRENGTH ON THE MAXIMUM RELATIVE RECEIVING OF OXYGEN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdulla Elezi

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Based on research on the sample of 263 students of age- 18 years, and used batteries of 9 tests for evaluation of the static relative strength and the criterion variable- maximum relative receiving of oxygen (VO2 ml / kg / min based on the Astrand test ,and on regression analysis to determine the influence of the static relative strength on the criterion variable maximum relative oxygen receiving, can be generally concluded that from 9 predictor variables statistically significant partial effect have 2variables. In hierarchical order, they are: the variable of static relative leg strength - endurance of the fingers (the angle of the lower leg and thigh 900 (SRL2 which arithmetic mean is 25.04 seconds and variable ctatic relative strength of arms and shoulders – push-up endurance in the balance beam (angle of the forearm and upper arm 900 ( SRA2 with arithmetic mean of 17.75 seconds. From the statistically influential significant predictor variables on the criterion variable one is from the static relative leg strength (SRL2 and the other is from the static relative strength of arm and shoulder area (SRA2. With the analysis of these relations we can conclude that the isometric contractions of the four headed thigh muscle and the isometric contractions of the three headed upper arm muscle are predominantly responsible for the successful execution of doing actions on a bicycle ergometer and not on the maximum relative receiving of oxygen.

Disrupting Business

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cox, Geoff; Bazzichelli, Tatiana

Disruptive Business explores some of the interconnections between art, activism and the business concept of disruptive innovation. With a backdrop of the crisis of financial capitalism, austerity cuts in the cultural sphere, the idea is to focus on potential art strategies in relation to a broken...... economy. In a perverse way, we ask whether this presents new opportunities for cultural producers to achieve more autonomy over their production process. If it is indeed possible, or desirable, what alternative business models emerge? The book is concerned broadly with business as material for reinvention...

Recent Developments in Maximum Power Point Tracking Technologies for Photovoltaic Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nevzat Onat

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In photovoltaic (PV system applications, it is very important to design a system for operating of the solar cells (SCs under best conditions and highest efficiency. Maximum power point (MPP varies depending on the angle of sunlight on the surface of the panel and cell temperature. Hence, the operating point of the load is not always MPP of PV system. Therefore, in order to supply reliable energy to the load, PV systems are designed to include more than the required number of modules. The solution to this problem is that switching power converters are used, that is called maximum power point tracker (MPPT. In this study, the various aspects of these algorithms have been analyzed in detail. Classifications, definitions, and basic equations of the most widely used MPPT technologies are given. Moreover, a comparison was made in the conclusion.

Optimal reconstruction angles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, G.O. Jr.; Knight, L.

1979-07-01

The question of optimal projection angles has recently become of interest in the field of reconstruction from projections. Here, studies are concentrated on the n x n pixel space, where literative algorithms such as ART and direct matrix techniques due to Katz are considered. The best angles are determined in a Gauss--Markov statistical sense as well as with respect to a function-theoretical error bound. The possibility of making photon intensity a function of angle is also examined. Finally, the best angles to use in an ART-like algorithm are studied. A certain set of unequally spaced angles was found to be preferred in several contexts. 15 figures, 6 tables

Angles measuring on radiographic images as a tool for the diagnosis of Blount disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mora Rojas, Raul

2010-01-01

The etiology of Blount disease has followed unknown at the present; although are described factors that could be related to the appearance of the same. Even, to make the diagnosis of this disease remains a challenge, due to it difficult to predict the behavior of the tibia varus in young children. Some measures were described in the radiographs of patients with tibia vara (the most currently used has been the Tibial Proximal Diaphyseal Goal Angle) to try to provide another tool in the diagnosis, but without be able to establish a free relationship between disruption of these measures with the pathological development of tibial varus. A new measurement (Tibial Proximal Fibular Mechanic Angle) established in the radiographs has been the purpose, taking into account the structures and concepts that are altered in patients with Blount diseases. The proximal tibial physis and the mechanical axis of the tibia are performed without to take into account in some of the measurements described above. (author) [es

Sleep disruption in chronic rhinosinusitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahdavinia, Mahboobeh; Schleimer, Robert P; Keshavarzian, Ali

2017-05-01

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common disease of the upper airways and paranasal sinuses with a marked decline in quality of life (QOL). CRS patients suffer from sleep disruption at a significantly higher proportion (60 to 75%) than in the general population (8-18 %). Sleep disruption in CRS causes decreased QOL and is linked to poor functional outcomes such as impaired cognitive function and depression. Areas covered: A systematic PubMed/Medline search was done to assess the results of studies that have investigated sleep and sleep disturbances in CRS. Expert commentary: These studies reported sleep disruption in most CRS patients. The main risk factors for sleep disruption in CRS include allergic rhinitis, smoking, and high SNOT-22 total scores. The literature is inconsistent with regard to the prevalence of sleep-related disordered breathing (e.g. obstructive sleep apnea) in CRS patients. Although nasal obstruction is linked to sleep disruption, the extent of sleep disruption in CRS seems to expand beyond that expected from physical blockage of the upper airways alone. Despite the high prevalence of sleep disruption in CRS, and its detrimental effects on QOL, the literature contains a paucity of studies that have investigated the mechanisms underlying this major problem in CRS.

The Effect of Contact Angle on Dynamics of Dry Spots Spreading in a Horizontal Layer of Liquid at Local Heating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zaitsev D.V.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of equilibrium contact angle on dynamics of dry spot spreading at disruption of a horizontal water layer heated locally from the substrate was studied using the high-speed Schlieren technique. Different methods of working surface processing were applied; this allowed variations of the equilibrium contact angle from 27±6° to 74±9° without a change in thermal properties of the system. It is found out that substrate wettability significantly affects the propagation velocity of dry spot and its final size. It is also found out that the velocity of contact line propagation is higher in the areas of substrate with a higher temperature.

Influence of the nozzle angle on refrigeration performance of a gas wave refrigerator

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, P.; Zhu, Y.; Wang, H.; Zhu, C.; Zou, J.; Wu, J.; Hu, D.

2017-05-01

A gas wave refrigerator (GWR) is a novel refrigerating device that refrigerates a medium by shock waves and expansion waves generated by gas pressure energy. In a typical GWR, the injection energy losses between the nozzle and the expansion tube are essential factors which influence the refrigeration efficiency. In this study, numerical simulations are used to analyze the underlying mechanism of the injection energy losses. The results of simulations show that the vortex loss, mixing energy loss, and oblique shock wave reflection loss are the main factors contributing to the injection energy losses in the expansion tube. Furthermore, the jet angle of the gas is found to dominate the injection energy losses. Therefore, the optimum jet angle is theoretically calculated based on the velocity triangle method. The value of the optimum jet angle is found to be 4^{circ }, 8^{circ }, and 12^{circ } when the refrigeration efficiency is the first-order, second-order, and third-order maximum value over all working ranges of jet frequency, respectively. Finally, a series of experiments are conducted with the jet angle ranging from -4^{circ } to 12^{circ } at a constant expansion ratio. The results indicate the optimal jet angle obtained by the experiments is in good agreement with the calculated value. The isentropic refrigeration efficiency increased by about 4 % after the jet angle was optimized.

Angle-sensitive and fast photovoltage of silver nanocluster embeded ZnO thin films induced by 1.064-μm pulsed laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song-Qing, Zhao; Li-Min, Yang; Wen-Wei, Liu; Kun, Zhao; Yue-Liang, Zhou; Qing-Li, Zhou

2010-01-01

Silver nanocluster embedded ZnO composite thin film was observed to have an angle-sensitive and fast photovoltaic effect in the angle range from −90° to 90°, its peak value and the polarity varied regularly with the angle of incidence of the 1.064-μm pulsed Nd:YAG laser radiation onto the ZnO surface. Meanwhile, for each photovoltaic signal, its rising time reached ∼2 ns with an open-circuit photovoltage of ∼2 ns full width at half-maximum. This angle-sensitive fast photovoltaic effect is expected to put this composite film a candidate for angle-sensitive and fast photodetector. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Effect of Blade Pitch Angle on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Straight-bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Based on Experiments and Simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanzhao Yang

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The blade pitch angle has a significant influence on the aerodynamic characteristics of horizontal axis wind turbines. However, few research results have revealed its impact on the straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine (Sb-VAWT. In this paper, wind tunnel experiments and CFD simulations were performed at the Sb-VAWT to investigate the effect of different blade pitch angles on the pressure distribution on the blade surface, the torque coefficient, and the power coefficient. In this study, the airfoil type was NACA0021 with two blades. The Sb-VAWT had a rotor radius of 1.0 m with a spanwise length of 1.2 m. The simulations were based on the k-ω Shear Stress Transport (SST turbulence model and the wind tunnel experiments were carried out using a high-speed multiport pressure device. As a result, it was found that the maximum pressure difference on the blade surface was obtained at the blade pitch angle of β = 6° in the upstream region. However, the maximum pressure coefficient was shown at the blade pitch angle of β = 8° in the downstream region. The torque coefficient acting on a single blade reached its maximum value at the blade pitch angle of β = 6°. As the tip speed ratio increased, the power coefficient became higher and reached the optimum level. Subsequently, further increase of the tip speed ratio only led to a quick reversion of the power coefficient. In addition, the results from CFD simulations had also a good agreement with the results from the wind tunnel experiments. As a result, the blade pitch angle did not have a significant influence on the aerodynamic characteristics of the Sb-VAWT.

Understanding disruptions in tokamaksa)

Science.gov (United States)

Zakharov, Leonid E.; Galkin, Sergei A.; Gerasimov, Sergei N.; contributors, JET-EFDA

2012-05-01

This paper describes progress achieved since 2007 in understanding disruptions in tokamaks, when the effect of plasma current sharing with the wall was introduced into theory. As a result, the toroidal asymmetry of the plasma current measurements during vertical disruption event (VDE) on the Joint European Torus was explained. A new kind of plasma equilibria and mode coupling was introduced into theory, which can explain the duration of the external kink 1/1 mode during VDE. The paper presents first results of numerical simulations using a free boundary plasma model, relevant to disruptions.

Comparison of optimum tilt angles of solar collectors determined at yearly, seasonal and monthly levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Despotovic, Milan; Nedic, Vladimir

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Optimum yearly, biannual, seasonal, monthly, and daily tilt angles were found. • Energy collected per square meter is compared for ten different scenarios. • Four seasonal scenarios and two biannual scenarios were considered. • It is sufficient to adjust tilt angles only twice per year. - Abstract: The amount of energy that is transformed in solar collector depends on its tilt angle with respect to horizontal plane and orientation of the collector. In this article the optimum tilt angle of solar collectors for Belgrade, which is located at the latitude of 44°47′N is determined. The optimum tilt angle was found by searching for the values for which the solar radiation on the collector surface is maximum for a particular day or a specific period. In that manner the yearly, biannual, seasonal, monthly, fortnightly, and daily optimum tilt angles are determined. Annually collected energy per square meter of tilted surface is compared for ten different scenarios. In addition, these optimum tilt angles are used to calculate the amount of energy on the surface of PV panels that could be installed at the roof of the building. The results show that for observed case study placing the panels at yearly, seasonal and monthly optimum tilt angles, would yield increasing yearly amount of collected energy by factor of 5.98%, 13.55%, and 15.42% respectively compared to energy that could be collected by putting the panels at current roofs’ surface angles

Method to measure the position offset of multiple light spots in a distributed aperture laser angle measurement system.

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Xiaoli; Cheng, Haobo; Xu, Chunyun; Feng, Yunpeng

2017-02-20

In this paper, an accurate measurement method of multiple spots' position offsets on a four-quadrant detector is proposed for a distributed aperture laser angle measurement system (DALAMS). The theoretical model is put forward, as well as the corresponding calculation method. This method includes two steps. First, as the initial estimation, integral approximation is applied to fit the distributed spots' offset function; second, the Boltzmann function is employed to compensate for the estimation error to improve detection accuracy. The simulation results attest to the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method, and tolerance synthesis analysis of DALAMS is conducted to determine the maximum uncertainties of manufacturing and installation. The maximum angle error is less than 0.08° in the prototype distributed measurement system, which shows the stability and robustness for prospective applications.

SU-E-T-195: Gantry Angle Dependency of MLC Leaf Position Error

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ju, S; Hong, C; Kim, M; Chung, K; Kim, J; Han, Y; Ahn, S; Chung, S; Shin, E; Shin, J; Kim, H; Kim, D; Choi, D [Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-06-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the gantry angle dependency of the multileaf collimator (MLC) leaf position error. Methods: An automatic MLC quality assurance system (AutoMLCQA) was developed to evaluate the gantry angle dependency of the MLC leaf position error using an electronic portal imaging device (EPID). To eliminate the EPID position error due to gantry rotation, we designed a reference maker (RM) that could be inserted into the wedge mount. After setting up the EPID, a reference image was taken of the RM using an open field. Next, an EPID-based picket-fence test (PFT) was performed without the RM. These procedures were repeated at every 45° intervals of the gantry angle. A total of eight reference images and PFT image sets were analyzed using in-house software. The average MLC leaf position error was calculated at five pickets (-10, -5, 0, 5, and 10 cm) in accordance with general PFT guidelines using in-house software. This test was carried out for four linear accelerators. Results: The average MLC leaf position errors were within the set criterion of <1 mm (actual errors ranged from -0.7 to 0.8 mm) for all gantry angles, but significant gantry angle dependency was observed in all machines. The error was smaller at a gantry angle of 0° but increased toward the positive direction with gantry angle increments in the clockwise direction. The error reached a maximum value at a gantry angle of 90° and then gradually decreased until 180°. In the counter-clockwise rotation of the gantry, the same pattern of error was observed but the error increased in the negative direction. Conclusion: The AutoMLCQA system was useful to evaluate the MLC leaf position error for various gantry angles without the EPID position error. The Gantry angle dependency should be considered during MLC leaf position error analysis.

Thyroid effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boas, Malene; Feldt-Rasmussen, Ulla; Main, Katharina M

2012-01-01

In recent years, many studies of thyroid-disrupting effects of environmental chemicals have been published. Of special concern is the exposure of pregnant women and infants, as thyroid disruption of the developing organism may have deleterious effects on neurological outcome. Chemicals may exert ...... thyroid-disrupting effects, and there is emerging evidence that also phthalates, bisphenol A, brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated chemicals may have thyroid disrupting properties....

Studies on representative disruption scenarios, associated electromagnetic and heat loads and operation window in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujieda, Hirobumi; Shimada, Michiya; Kawano, Yasunori; Ohmori, Junji; Neyatani, Yuzuru; Sugihara, Masayoshi; Gribov, Yuri; Ioki, Kimihiro; Khayrutdinov, Rustan; Lukash, Victor

2007-07-01

The impacts of plasma disruptions on ITER have been investigated in detail to confirm the robustness of the design of the machine to the potential consequential loads. The loads include both electromagnetic (EM) and heat loads on the in-vessel components and the vacuum vessel (VV). Several representative disruption scenarios are specified based on newly derived physics guidelines for the shortest current quench time as well as the maximum product of halo current fraction and toroidal peaking factor arising from disruptions in ITER. Disruption simulations with the DINA code and EM load analyses with a 3D finite element method (FEM) code are performed for these scenarios. Some margins are confirmed in the EM load on in-vessel components due to induced eddy and halo currents for these representative scenarios. However, the margins are not very large. The heat load on various parts of the first wall due to the vertical movement and the thermal quench (TQ) is calculated with a 2D heat conduction code based on the database of heat deposition during disruptions and simulation results with the DINA code. It is found that the beryllium (Be) wall will not melt during the vertical movement. Significant melting is anticipated for the upper Be wall and tungsten divertor baffle due to the TQ after the vertical movement. However, its impact could be substantially mitigated by implementing a reliable detection system of the vertical movement and a mitigation system, e.g., massive noble gas injection (MGI). Some melting of the upper Be wall is anticipated at major disruptions (MD). At least several tens of unmitigated disruptions must be considered even if an advanced prediction/mitigation system is implemented. With these unmitigated disruptions, the loss of Be layer is expected to be within approx. = 30-100 μm/event out of 10 mm thick Be first wall. Various post processing programs of the results simulated with the DINA code, which are developed for the design work, are

Disruption Physics and Mitigation on DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whyte, D.G.; Humphreys, D.A.; Kellman, A.G.

2005-01-01

The contributions of the DIII-D tokamak toward the understanding and control of disruptions are reviewed. Disruptions are found to be deterministic, and the underlying causes of disruption can therefore be predicted and avoided. With sufficiently rapid detection, possible damage from disruptions can be mitigated using an understanding of disruption phenomenology and plasma physics. Regimes of high β are readily available in DIII-D and provide access to relatively high energy density disruptions, despite DIII-D's moderate magnetic field and size. DIII-D, with all-graphite wall armor and wall conditioning between discharges, has proven highly resilient to the deleterious effects that disruptions can have on plasma operations. Simultaneously, exploitation and adaptation of DIII-D's extensive core and edge plasma diagnostic set have allowed for unique plasma measurements during disruptions. These measurements have tied into the development of several physical models used to understand aspects of disruptions, such as magnetohydrodynamic growth at the disruption onset, radiation energy balance through the thermal quench, and halo currents during the current quench. Based on this fundamental understanding, DIII-D has developed techniques to mitigate the harmful effects of disruptions by radiative dissipation of the plasma energy and extrapolated these techniques for possible use on larger devices like ITER

Apparent Contact Angle and Contact Angle Hysteresis on Liquid Infused Surfaces

OpenAIRE

Semprebon, Ciro; McHale, Glen; Kusumaatmaja, Halim

2016-01-01

We theoretically investigate the apparent contact angle and contact angle hysteresis of a droplet placed on a liquid infused surface. We show that the apparent contact angle is not uniquely defined by material parameters, but also has a strong dependence on the relative size between the droplet and its surrounding wetting ridge formed by the infusing liquid. We derive a closed form expression for the contact angle in the limit of vanishing wetting ridge, and compute the correction for small b...

Undetected angle closure in patients with a diagnosis of open-angle glaucoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Varma, Devesh K; Simpson, Sarah M; Rai, Amandeep S; Ahmed, Iqbal Ike K

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to identify the proportion of patients referred to a tertiary glaucoma centre with a diagnosis of open-angle glaucoma (OAG) who were found to have angle closure glaucoma. Retrospective chart review. Consecutive new patients referred for glaucoma management to a tertiary centre between July 2010 and December 2011 were reviewed. Patients whose referrals for glaucoma assessment specified angle status as "open" were included. The data collected included glaucoma specialist's angle assessment, diagnosis, and glaucoma severity. The status of those with 180 degrees or more Shaffer angle grading of 0 was classified as "closed." From 1234 glaucoma referrals, 179 cases were specified to have a diagnosis of OAG or when angles were known to be open. Of these, 16 (8.9%) were found on examination by the glaucoma specialist to have angle closure. Pseudoexfoliation was present in 4 of 16 patients (25%) in the missed angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) group and 22 of 108 patients (13.5%) in the remaining OAG group. There was no difference found in demographic or ocular biometric parameters between those with confirmed OAG versus those with missed ACG. Almost 1 in 11 patients referred by ophthalmologists to a tertiary glaucoma centre with a diagnosis of OAG were in fact found to have angle closure. Given the different treatment approaches for ACG versus OAG, this study suggests a need to strengthen angle evaluations. Copyright © 2017 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of a Large-Area Superhydrophobic SiO2 Nanorod Structured Surface Using Glancing Angle Deposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xun Lu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A glancing angle deposition (GLAD technique was used to generate SiO2 nanorods on a glass substrate to fabricate a low-cost superhydrophobic functional nanostructured surface. GLAD-deposited SiO2 nanorod structures were fabricated using various deposition rates, substrate rotating speeds, oblique angles, and deposition times to analyze the effects of processing conditions on the characteristics of the fabricated functional nanostructures. The wettability of the surface was measured after surface modification with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM. The measured water contact angles were primarily affected by substrate rotation speed and oblique angle because the surface fraction of the GLAD nanostructure was mainly affected by these parameters. A maximum contact angle of 157° was obtained from the GLAD sample fabricated at a rotation speed of 5 rpm and an oblique angle of 87°. Although the deposition thickness (height of the nanorods was not a dominant factor for determining the wettability, we selected a deposition thickness of 260 nm as the optimum processing condition based on the measured optical transmittance of the samples because optically transparent films can serve as superhydrophobic functional nanostructures for optical applications.

Effects of deferoxamine on blood-brain barrier disruption after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanjiang Li

Full Text Available Blood brain barrier (BBB disruption is a key mechanism of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH-induced brain injury. This study examined the mechanism of iron-induced BBB disruption after SAH and investigated the potential therapeutic effect of iron chelation on SAH. Male adult Sprague-Dawley rats had an endovascular perforation of left internal carotid artery bifurcation or sham operation. The rats were treated with deferoxamine (DFX or vehicle (100mg/kg for a maximum of 7 days. Brain edema, BBB leakage, behavioral and cognitive impairment were examined. In SAH rat, the peak time of brain edema and BBB impairment in the cortex was at day 3 after SAH. SAH resulted in a significant increase in ferritin expression in the cortex. The ferritin positive cells were colocalized with endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes, microglia and neurons. Compared with vehicle, DFX caused less ferritin upregulation, brain water content, BBB impairment, behavioral and cognitive deficits in SAH rats. The results suggest iron overload could be a therapeutic target for SAH induced BBB damage.

Discrete maximum principle for the P1 - P0 weak Galerkin finite element approximations

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junping; Ye, Xiu; Zhai, Qilong; Zhang, Ran

2018-06-01

This paper presents two discrete maximum principles (DMP) for the numerical solution of second order elliptic equations arising from the weak Galerkin finite element method. The results are established by assuming an h-acute angle condition for the underlying finite element triangulations. The mathematical theory is based on the well-known De Giorgi technique adapted in the finite element context. Some numerical results are reported to validate the theory of DMP.

Disruptive innovation as an entrepreneurial process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chandra, Y.; Yang, S.-J.S.; Singh, P.; Prajogo, D.; O'Neill, P.; Rahman, S.

2008-01-01

Research on conditions and causal mechanisms that influence disruptive innovation has been relatively unexplored in the extant research in disruptive innovation. By re-conceptualizing disruptive innovation as an entrepreneurial process at product, firm and industry levels, this paper draws on

Evaluation of blotchy pigments in the anterior chamber angle as a sign of angle closure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harsha L Rao

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Blotchy pigments in the anterior chamber (AC angle are considered diagnostic of primary angle closure (PAC. But there are no reports either on the prevalence of blotchy pigments in AC angles or the validity of this sign. Aims: To determine the prevalence of blotchy pigments in AC angles and to evaluate their relationship with glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON in eyes with occludable angles. Setting and Design: Cross-sectional, comparative study. Materials and Methods: Gonioscopy was performed in 1001 eyes of 526 subjects (245 eyes of 148 consecutive, occludable angle subjects and 756 eyes of 378 non-consecutive, open angle subjects, above 35 years of age. Quadrant-wise location of blotchy pigments was documented. Statistical Analysis: Odds of blotchy pigments in occludable angles against that in open angles were evaluated. Relationship of GON with blotchy pigments in occludable angle eyes was evaluated using a multivariate model. Results: Prevalence of blotchy pigments in occludable angles was 28.6% (95% CI, 22.9-34.3 and in open angles was 4.7% (95% CI, 3.2-6.3. Blotchy pigments were more frequently seen in inferior (16% and superior quadrants (15% of occludable angles, and inferior quadrant of open angles (4%. Odds of superior quadrant blotchy pigments in occludable angles were 33 times that in open angles. GON was seen in 107 occludable angle eyes. Blotchy pigments were not significantly associated with GON (odds ratio = 0.5; P = 0.1. Conclusions: Blotchy pigments were seen in 28.6% of occludable angle eyes and 4.7% of open angles eyes. Presence of blotchy pigments in the superior quadrant is more common in occludable angles. Presence of GON in occludable angle eyes was not associated with blotchy pigments.

Evaluation of blotchy pigments in the anterior chamber angle as a sign of angle closure

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Harsha L; Mungale, Sachin C; Kumbar, Tukaram; Parikh, Rajul S; Garudadri, Chandra S

2012-01-01

Background: Blotchy pigments in the anterior chamber (AC) angle are considered diagnostic of primary angle closure (PAC). But there are no reports either on the prevalence of blotchy pigments in AC angles or the validity of this sign. Aims: To determine the prevalence of blotchy pigments in AC angles and to evaluate their relationship with glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON) in eyes with occludable angles. Setting and Design: Cross-sectional, comparative study. Materials and Methods: Gonioscopy was performed in 1001 eyes of 526 subjects (245 eyes of 148 consecutive, occludable angle subjects and 756 eyes of 378 non-consecutive, open angle subjects), above 35 years of age. Quadrant-wise location of blotchy pigments was documented. Statistical Analysis: Odds of blotchy pigments in occludable angles against that in open angles were evaluated. Relationship of GON with blotchy pigments in occludable angle eyes was evaluated using a multivariate model. Results: Prevalence of blotchy pigments in occludable angles was 28.6% (95% CI, 22.9-34.3) and in open angles was 4.7% (95% CI, 3.2-6.3). Blotchy pigments were more frequently seen in inferior (16%) and superior quadrants (15%) of occludable angles, and inferior quadrant of open angles (4%). Odds of superior quadrant blotchy pigments in occludable angles were 33 times that in open angles. GON was seen in 107 occludable angle eyes. Blotchy pigments were not significantly associated with GON (odds ratio = 0.5; P = 0.1). Conclusions: Blotchy pigments were seen in 28.6% of occludable angle eyes and 4.7% of open angles eyes. Presence of blotchy pigments in the superior quadrant is more common in occludable angles. Presence of GON in occludable angle eyes was not associated with blotchy pigments. PMID:23202393

Automatic location of disruption times in JET

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, R.; Vega, J.; Murari, A.

2014-11-01

The loss of stability and confinement in tokamak plasmas can induce critical events known as disruptions. Disruptions produce strong electromagnetic forces and thermal loads which can damage fundamental components of the devices. Determining the disruption time is extremely important for various disruption studies: theoretical models, physics-driven models, or disruption predictors. In JET, during the experimental campaigns with the JET-C (Carbon Fiber Composite) wall, a common criterion to determine the disruption time consisted of locating the time of the thermal quench. However, with the metallic ITER-like wall (JET-ILW), this criterion is usually not valid. Several thermal quenches may occur previous to the current quench but the temperature recovers. Therefore, a new criterion has to be defined. A possibility is to use the start of the current quench as disruption time. This work describes the implementation of an automatic data processing method to estimate the disruption time according to this new definition. This automatic determination allows both reducing human efforts to locate the disruption times and standardizing the estimates (with the benefit of being less vulnerable to human errors).

Automatic location of disruption times in JET.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, R; Vega, J; Murari, A

2014-11-01

The loss of stability and confinement in tokamak plasmas can induce critical events known as disruptions. Disruptions produce strong electromagnetic forces and thermal loads which can damage fundamental components of the devices. Determining the disruption time is extremely important for various disruption studies: theoretical models, physics-driven models, or disruption predictors. In JET, during the experimental campaigns with the JET-C (Carbon Fiber Composite) wall, a common criterion to determine the disruption time consisted of locating the time of the thermal quench. However, with the metallic ITER-like wall (JET-ILW), this criterion is usually not valid. Several thermal quenches may occur previous to the current quench but the temperature recovers. Therefore, a new criterion has to be defined. A possibility is to use the start of the current quench as disruption time. This work describes the implementation of an automatic data processing method to estimate the disruption time according to this new definition. This automatic determination allows both reducing human efforts to locate the disruption times and standardizing the estimates (with the benefit of being less vulnerable to human errors).

Search and Disrupt

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ørding Olsen, Anders

. However, incumbent sources engaged in capability reconfiguration to accommodate disruption improve search efforts in disruptive technologies. The paper concludes that the value of external sources is contingent on more than their knowledge. Specifically, interdependence of sources in search gives rise...... to influence from individual strategic interests on the outcomes. More generally, this points to the need for understanding the two-way influence of sources, rather than viewing external search as one-way knowledge accessing....

Inter-tetrahedra bond angle of permanently densified silicas extracted from their Raman spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hehlen, B

2010-01-01

Relative Raman scattering intensities are obtained in three samples of vitreous silica of increasing density. The variation of the intensity upon densification is very different for bending and stretching modes. For the former we find a Raman coupling-to-light coefficient C B ∝ω 2 . A comparative intensity and frequency dependence of the Raman spectral lines in the three glasses is performed. Provided the Raman spectra are normalized by C B , there exists a simple relation between the Si-O-Si bond angle and the frequency of all O-bending motions, including those of fourfold (n = 4) and threefold (n = 3) rings. For 20% densification we find a reduction of ∼5.7 deg. of the maximum of the network angle distribution, a value in very close agreement with previous NMR experiments. The threefold and fourfold rings are weakly perturbed by the densification, with a bond angle reduction of ∼0.5 deg. for the former.

Pursuing minimally disruptive medicine: disruption from illness and health care-related demands is correlated with patient capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Boehmer, Kasey R; Shippee, Nathan D; Beebe, Timothy J; Montori, Victor M

2016-06-01

Chronic conditions burden patients with illness and treatments. We know little about the disruption of life by the work of dialysis in relation to the resources patients can mobilize, that is, their capacity, to deal with such demands. We sought to determine the disruption of life by dialysis and its relation to patient capacity to cope. We administered a survey to 137 patients on dialysis at an academic medical center. We captured disruption from illness and treatment, and physical, mental, personal, social, financial, and environmental aspects of patient capacity using validated scales. Covariates included number of prescriptions, hours spent on health care, existence of dependents, age, sex, and income level. On average, patients reported levels of capacity and disruption comparable to published levels. In multivariate regression models, limited physical, financial, and mental capacity were significantly associated with greater disruption. Patients in the top quartile of disruption had lower-than-expected physical, financial, and mental capacity. Our sample generally had capacity comparable to other populations and may be able to meet the demands imposed by treatment. Those with reduced physical, financial, and mental capacity reported higher disruption and represent a vulnerable group that may benefit from innovations in minimally disruptive medicine. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Observation of negative potential depression on double layer during a phase of current disruption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, H.; Matsuo, K.; Yagura, S.

1984-01-01

The negative potential depression with a depth of approximately electron temperature is observed on the low potential tail of the double layer just at the moment when the electron current passing through the layer is disrupted. The depression is confirmed to serve as an electron thermal barrier and form an ion hole from phase-space measurements of electrons and ions, respectively. The depth of the depression becomes maximum when the density around the depression becomes most inhomogeneous. (author)

FR4-Based Electromagnetic Scanning Micromirror Integrated with Angle Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongjie Lei

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a flame retardant 4 (FR4-based electromagnetic scanning micromirror, which aims to overcome the limitations of conventional microelectromechanical systems (MEMS micromirrors for the large-aperture and low-frequency scanning applications. This micromirror is fabricated through a commercial printed circuit board (PCB technology at a low cost and with a short process cycle, before an aluminum-coated silicon mirror plate with a large aperture is bonded on the FR4 platform to provide a high surface quality. In particular, an electromagnetic angle sensor is integrated to monitor the motion of the micromirror in real time. A prototype has been assembled and tested. The results show that the micromirror can reach the optical scan angle of 11.2 ∘ with a low driving voltage of only 425 mV at resonance (361.8 Hz. At the same time, the signal of the integrated angle sensor also shows good signal-to-noise ratio, linearity and sensitivity. Finally, the reliability of the FR4 based micro-mirror has been tested. The prototype successfully passes both shock and vibration tests. Furthermore, the results of the long-term mechanical cycling test (50 million cycles suggest that the maximum variations of resonant frequency and scan angle are less than 0.3% and 6%, respectively. Therefore, this simple and robust micromirror has great potential in being useful in a number of optical microsystems, especially when large-aperture or low-frequency is required.

Analysis of the flight dynamics of the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) off-sun scientific pointing

Science.gov (United States)

Pitone, D. S.; Klein, J. R.; Twambly, B. J.

1990-01-01

Algorithms are presented which were created and implemented by the Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC's) Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) attitude operations team to support large-angle spacecraft pointing at scientific objectives. The mission objective of the post-repair SMM satellite was to study solar phenomena. However, because the scientific instruments, such as the Coronagraph/Polarimeter (CP) and the Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS), were able to view objects other than the Sun, attitude operations support for attitude pointing at large angles from the nominal solar-pointing attitudes was required. Subsequently, attitude support for SMM was provided for scientific objectives such as Comet Halley, Supernova 1987A, Cygnus X-1, and the Crab Nebula. In addition, the analysis was extended to include the reverse problem, computing the right ascension and declination of a body given the off-Sun angles. This analysis led to the computation of the orbits of seven new solar comets seen in the field-of-view (FOV) of the CP. The activities necessary to meet these large-angle attitude-pointing sequences, such as slew sequence planning, viewing-period prediction, and tracking-bias computation are described. Analysis is presented for the computation of maneuvers and pointing parameters relative to the SMM-unique, Sun-centered reference frame. Finally, science data and independent attitude solutions are used to evaluate the larg-angle pointing performance.

Structured Literature Review of digital disruption literature

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vesti, Helle; Rosenstand, Claus Andreas Foss; Gertsen, Frank

2018-01-01

Digital disruption is a term/phenomenon frequently appearing in innovation management literature. However, no academic consensus exists as to what it entails; conceptual nor theoretical. We use the SLR-method (Structured Literature Review) to investigate digital disruption literature. A SLR......-study conducted in 2017 revealed some useful information on how disruption and digital disruption literature has developed over a specific period. However, this study was less representative of papers addressing digital disruption; which is the in-depth subject of this paper. To accommodate this, we intend...... to conduct a similar SLR-study assembling a body literature having digital disruption as the only common denominator...

Mechanistic evaluation of endocrine disrupting chemicals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taxvig, Camilla

BACKGROUND: This PhD project is part of the research area concerning effects of endocrine disrupters at the National Food Institute at DTU in Denmark. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have proved to be important for improper development of the male reproductive organs and subsequent for the ...... metabolising system using liver S9 mixtures or hepatic rat microsomes could be a convenient method for the incorporation of metabolic aspects into in vitro testing for endocrine disrupting effects.......BACKGROUND: This PhD project is part of the research area concerning effects of endocrine disrupters at the National Food Institute at DTU in Denmark. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have proved to be important for improper development of the male reproductive organs and subsequent......, to be able to detect effects and predict mixture effects. In addition, a new hypothesis have emerge concerning a potential role of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, and the development of obesity and obesity related diseases. AIM: This PhD project aimed to gain more information regarding...

[MAXIMUM SINGLE DOSE OF COLLOIDAL SILVER NEGATIVELY AFFECTS ERYTHROPOIESIS IN VITRO].

Science.gov (United States)

Tishevskayal, N V; Zakharovl, Y M; Bolotovl, A A; Arkhipenko, Yu V; Sazontova, T G

2015-01-01

Erythroblastic islets (EI) of rat bone marrow were cultured for 24 h in the presence of silver nanoparticles (1.07 · 10(-4) mg/ml; 1.07 · 10(-3) mg/ml; and 1.07 · 10(-2) mg/mL). The colloidal silver at 1.07 · 10(-3) mg/ml concentration inhibited the formation of new Elby disrupting contacts of bone marrow macrophages with CFU-E (erythropoiesis de novo) by 65.3% (p Colloidal silver nanoparticles suppressed the reconstruction of erythropoiesis and inhibited the formation of new EI by disrupting contacts of CFU-E and central macrophages with matured erythroidal "crown" (erythropoiesis de repeto). The colloidal silver concentration of 1.07 · 10(-3) mg/ml in the culture medium also reduced the number of self-reconstructing EI by 67.5% (p colloidal silver reduced this value by 93.7% (p Silver nanoparticles retarded maturation of erythroid cells at the stage of oxiphylic normoblast denucleation: 1.07 · 10(-3) mg/ml colloidal silver increased the number of mature El by 53% (p colloidal silver in concentration equivalent to the maximum single dose is related to the effect of silver nanoparticles rather than glycerol present in the colloidal suspension.

Azimuthal angle dependence of Coulomb and nuclear interactions between two deformed nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ismail, M.; Ellithi, A. Y.; Botros, M. M.; Mellik, A. E.

2007-01-01

The azimuthal angle (φ) variation of the Coulomb and nuclear heavy ion (HI) potentials is studied in the framework of the double folding model, which is derived from realistic nuclear density distributions and a nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction. The present calculation shows that the variation of HI potentials with the azimuthal angle depends strongly on the range of the NN forces. For the long-range Coulomb force, the maximum variation with φ is about 0.9%, and for HI potential derived from zero-range NN interaction the φ-variation can reach up to 90.0%. Our calculations are compared with the recent φ-dependence of the HI potential derived from proximity method. The present realistic φ-dependence calculations of the HI potential is completely different from the results of the proximity calculations

Overview of core disruptive accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchaterre, J.F.

1977-01-01

An overview of the analysis of core-disruptive accidents is given. These analyses are for the purpose of understanding and predicting fast reactor behavior in severe low probability accident conditions, to establish the consequences of such conditions and to provide a basis for evaluating consequence limiting design features. The methods are used to analyze core-disruptive accidents from initiating event to complete core disruption, the effects of the accident on reactor structures and the resulting radiological consequences are described

Double-tailored nonimaging reflector optics for maximum-performance solar concentration.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Alex; Gordon, Jeffrey M

2010-09-01

A nonimaging strategy that tailors two mirror contours for concentration near the étendue limit is explored, prompted by solar applications where a sizable gap between the optic and absorber is required. Subtle limitations of this simultaneous multiple surface method approach are derived, rooted in the manner in which phase space boundaries can be tailored according to the edge-ray principle. The fundamental categories of double-tailored reflective optics are identified, only a minority of which can pragmatically offer maximum concentration at high collection efficiency. Illustrative examples confirm that acceptance half-angles as large as 30 mrad can be realized at a flux concentration of approximately 1000.

Scanning pattern angle effect on the resulting properties of selective laser sintered monolayers of Cu-Sn-Ni powder

Science.gov (United States)

Sabelle, Matías; Walczak, Magdalena; Ramos-Grez, Jorge

2018-01-01

Laser-based layer manufacturing of metals, also known as additive manufacturing, is a growing research field of academic and industrial interest. However, in the associated laser-driven processes (i.e. selective laser sintering (SLS) or melting (SLM)), optimization of some parameters has not been fully explored. This research aims at determining how the angle of laser scanning pattern (i.e. build orientation) in SLS affects the mechanical properties and structure of an individual Cu-Sn-Ni alloy metallic layer sintered in the process. Experiments consist in varying the angle of the scanning pattern (0°, 30°, 45° 60° and 90° relative to the transverse dimension of the piece), at constant scanning speed and laser beam power, producing specimens of different thicknesses. A noticeable effect of the scan angle on the mechanical strength and degree of densification of the sintered specimens is found. Thickness of the resulting monolayer correlates negatively with increasing scan angle, whereas relative density correlates positively. A minimum porosity and maximum UTS are found at the angle of 60°. It is concluded that angle of the scanning pattern angle plays a significant role in SLS of metallic monolayers.

Disruption studies in ASDEX Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pautasso, G.

2002-01-01

Disruption generate large thermal and mechanical stresses on the tokamak components. For a future reactor disruptions have a significant impact on the design since all loading conditions must be analyzed in accordance with stricter design criteria (due to safety or difficult maintenance). Therefore the uncertainties affecting the predicted stresses must be reduced as much as possible with a more comprehensive set of measurements and analyses in this generation of experimental machines, and avoidance/ predictive methods must be developed further. The study of disruptions on ASDEX Upgrade is focused on these subjects, namely on: (1) understanding the physical mechanisms leading to this phenomenon and learning to avoid it or to predict its occurrence (with neural networks, for example) and to mitigate its effects; (2) analyzing the effects of disruptions on the machine to determine the functional dependence of the thermal and mechanical loads upon the discharge parameters. This allows to dimension or reinforce the machine components to withstand these loads and to extrapolate them to tokamaks still in the design phase; (3) learning to mitigate the consequence of disruptions. (author)

Enhanced Pedestrian Navigation Based on Course Angle Error Estimation Using Cascaded Kalman Filters.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Jin Woo; Park, Chan Gook

2018-04-21

An enhanced pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) based navigation algorithm, which uses two cascaded Kalman filters (TCKF) for the estimation of course angle and navigation errors, is proposed. The proposed algorithm uses a foot-mounted inertial measurement unit (IMU), waist-mounted magnetic sensors, and a zero velocity update (ZUPT) based inertial navigation technique with TCKF. The first stage filter estimates the course angle error of a human, which is closely related to the heading error of the IMU. In order to obtain the course measurements, the filter uses magnetic sensors and a position-trace based course angle. For preventing magnetic disturbance from contaminating the estimation, the magnetic sensors are attached to the waistband. Because the course angle error is mainly due to the heading error of the IMU, and the characteristic error of the heading angle is highly dependent on that of the course angle, the estimated course angle error is used as a measurement for estimating the heading error in the second stage filter. At the second stage, an inertial navigation system-extended Kalman filter-ZUPT (INS-EKF-ZUPT) method is adopted. As the heading error is estimated directly by using course-angle error measurements, the estimation accuracy for the heading and yaw gyro bias can be enhanced, compared with the ZUPT-only case, which eventually enhances the position accuracy more efficiently. The performance enhancements are verified via experiments, and the way-point position error for the proposed method is compared with those for the ZUPT-only case and with other cases that use ZUPT and various types of magnetic heading measurements. The results show that the position errors are reduced by a maximum of 90% compared with the conventional ZUPT based PDR algorithms.

Disruptive event analysis: volcanism and igneous intrusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crowe, B.M.

1979-01-01

Three basic topics are addressed for the disruptive event analysis: first, the range of disruptive consequences of a radioactive waste repository by volcanic activity; second, the possible reduction of the risk of disruption by volcanic activity through selective siting of a repository; and third, the quantification of the probability of repository disruption by volcanic activity

Routine Responses to Disruption of Routines

Science.gov (United States)

Guha, Mahua

2015-01-01

"Organisational routines" is a widely studied research area. However, there is a dearth of research on disruption of routines. The few studies on disruption of routines discussed problem-solving activities that are carried out in response to disruption. In contrast, this study develops a theory of "solution routines" that are a…

The Q-angle and sport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hahn, Thomas; Foldspang, Anders

1997-01-01

Quadriceps muscle contraction tends to straighten the Q angle. We expected that sports comprising a high amount of quadriceps training could be associated with low Q angles. The aim of the present study was to estimate the Q angle in athletes and to investigate its potential associations with par......Quadriceps muscle contraction tends to straighten the Q angle. We expected that sports comprising a high amount of quadriceps training could be associated with low Q angles. The aim of the present study was to estimate the Q angle in athletes and to investigate its potential associations...... with participation in sport. Three hundred and thirty-nine athletes had their Q angle measured. The mean of right-side Q angles was higher than left side, and the mean Q angle was higher in women than in men. The Q angle was positively associated with years of jogging, and negatively with years of soccer, swimming...... and sports participation at all. It is concluded that the use of Q angle measurements is questionable....

The disruption management model.

Science.gov (United States)

McAlister, James

2011-10-01

Within all organisations, business continuity disruptions present a set of dilemmas that managers may not have dealt with before in their normal daily duties. The disruption management model provides a simple but effective management tool to enable crisis management teams to stay focused on recovery in the midst of a business continuity incident. The model has four chronological primary headlines, which steer the team through a quick-time crisis decision-making process. The procedure facilitates timely, systematic, rationalised and justified decisions, which can withstand post-event scrutiny. The disruption management model has been thoroughly tested within an emergency services environment and is proven to significantly support clear and concise decision making in a business continuity context.

Sustainable Disruption Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vaaben, Bo Valdemar

The world we live in is globalized. Goods are seldom made in the place where they are used or consumed, and we do increasingly travel to other countries for either business or pleasure. In our everyday lives we rely on well-functioning global transportations systems to continue the standard...... in the same way, when operation is disrupted. Never the less, we may recall that the Suez Canal was closed due to riots in Egypt, that the fuel price was impacted by threats of closing of the Strait of Hormuz, and we do from time to time hear about acts of piracy outside the coast of Somalia. All...... papers combining disruption management and flight planning through an integrated optimization approach. An additional contribution of the thesis is to show how flexible flight speeds can be used to improve recovery from disruptions, while at the same time allowing an airline to trade off fuel costs...

Disruption and Distinctiveness in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Purcell, Wendy

2014-01-01

"Disruption"--while an evocative word triggering feelings of anxiety and perhaps even fear--also signals renewal and growth. The Higher Education (HE) sector in England has experienced some profound disruption over the years, and yet has emerged stronger and renewed in many ways. The impact of recent disruptive forces, from fees to the…

Contact Angle Goniometer

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — Description:The FTA32 goniometer provides video-based contact angle and surface tension measurement. Contact angles are measured by fitting a mathematical expression...

Diode laser trans - scleral cyclo - ablation as a primary surgical treatment for primary open - angle glaucoma after maximum tolerated medical therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahmood, K.; Khan, M.T.; Butt, J.B.Y.

2011-01-01

The incidence rate and prevalence of glaucoma in Pakistan is similar to that of other dark - colored population countries. Primary trabeculectomy is still a preferred surgical approach. Diode laser is widely accepted as the therapy of choice in severe glaucoma cases. The purpose of this study was to deter-mine the role of Diode Laser Transscleral Cyclo-ablation as a primary surgical treatment option in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma after maximum tolerated medical therapy. This quasi - experimental study was con-ducted at Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust Free Eye Care and Cancer Hospital, Lahore. Sixty patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were selected from the Glaucoma unit for this study. 25 - 30 burns of Diode Laser were applied to 270 degrees avoiding 3 and 9 O clock positions, 1.5 mm posterior to the limbus. Laser was set at duration of 1 second and power between 1000 and 1500 mw. Patients were followed up for a period of one year. Results: Out of a total of 60 eyes with mean age 52.73 +- 7.40 years, 36 (60%) were male and 24 (40%) were female. The mean pre-operative Intra Ocular Pressure IOP was 41.0 +- 7.0 mmHg (The pre-operative IOP ranged from 28 mmHg to 60 mmHg). The mean post-operative IOP was 18.97 mmHg on day one, 16.75 mmHg at 1 week, 15.68 mmHg at 1 month, 15.00 mmHg at 6 months and by the end of a year it was about 14.15 mmHg (The post-operative IOP ranged from 6 mmHg to 52 mmHg). There was a significant drop of more than 50% of post-operative IOP as compared to pre-operative IOP. Conclusion: Diode Laser Transscleral Cycloablation is a practical, rapid, well - tolerated procedure that provides a significant lowering of intraocular pressure with few complications and can considered as alternative treatment in POAG if medical therapy fails. (author)

Experimental simulation and analysis of off-normal heat loads accompanying plasma disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laan, J.G. van der; Bakker, J.; Stad, R.C.L. van der; Klippel, H.T.

1990-12-01

The plasma disruption heat load is simulated experimentally using a pulsed laser beam with high energy density and short pulse duration (0.2-20 mm) covering a certain range of ITER design values. The present status of the laser heat flux test facility and new experimental tools are described. Spatial and time resolved profiles of the laser beam are given. Experimental results are presented including the variation of angle of incidence of the laser beam relative to the material surface. The nature and effects of the induced vapour plume are discussed. Materials studied are relevant to the ITER design. Experimental results are compared with numerical calculations. Some implications for the design of First Wall and Divertor of ITER are addressed. (author). 13 refs.; 5 figs

left-angle 100 right-angle Burgers vector in single phase γ' material verified by image simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Link, T.; Knobloch, C.; Glatzel, U.

1998-01-01

The deformation mechanisms of Ni 3 Al, an ordered L1 2 or γ' phase, is under intense research since Westbrook showed the increase of its hardness with temperature in 1957. The super dislocations of this ordered phase normally have Burgers vectors rvec b = a left-angle 110 right-angle, disassociated in either two a/2 left-angle 110 right-angle or two rvec b = a/3 left-angle 112 right-angle, depending on deformation temperature and rate. Recent observations in [111] oriented γ' specimens suggest that additional dislocations with the shorter Burgers vector rvec b = a left-angle 100 right-angle might be active. Dislocations with rvec b = a left-angle 110 right-angle on cube glide planes have a Schmidt factor of 0.47 and on octahedral planes of 0.27. Dislocations with rvec b = a left-angle 100 right-angle have a Schmidt factor of 0.47 for {110} glide planes and 0.33 for cube glide planes. The a left-angle 100 right-angle Burgers vector is the shortest of all complete dislocations of the L1 2 structure and creates no planar fault like antiphase boundaries or stacking faults. Due to the [111] oriented stress axis, which is used in this contribution, plastic deformation by a left-angle 100 right-angle dislocations as well as cube glide planes for left-angle 110 right-angle dislocations is encouraged. These dislocations could be reaction products, but will soon after contribute to deformation

Neural-net disruption predictor in JT-60U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshino, R.

2003-01-01

The prediction of major disruptions caused by the density limit, the plasma current ramp-down with high internal inductance l i , the low density locked mode and the β-limit has been investigated in JT-60U. The concept of 'stability level', newly proposed in this paper to predict the occurrence of a major disruption, is calculated from nine input parameters every 2 ms by the neural network and the start of a major disruption is predicted when the stability level decreases to a certain level, the 'alarm level'. The neural network is trained in two steps. It is first trained with 12 disruptive and six non-disruptive shots (total of 8011 data points). Second, the target output data for 12 disruptive shots are modified and the network is trained again with additional data points generated by the operator. The 'neural-net disruption predictor' obtained has been tested for 300 disruptive shots (128 945 data points) and 1008 non-disruptive shots (982 800 data points) selected from nine years of operation (1991-1999) of JT-60U. Major disruptions except for those caused by the -limit have been predicted with a prediction success rate of 97-98% at 10 ms prior to the disruption and higher than 90% at 30 ms prior to the disruption while the false alarm rate is 2.1% for non-disruptive shots. This prediction performance has been confirmed for 120 disruptive shots (56 163 data points), caused by the density limit, as well as 1032 non-disruptive shots (1004 611 data points) in the last four years of operation (1999-2002) of JT-60U. A careful selection of the input parameters supplied to the network and the newly developed two-step training of the network have reduced the false alarm rate resulting in a considerable improvement of the prediction success rate. (author)

Modeling the leaf angle dynamics in rice plant.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yonghui Zhang

Full Text Available The leaf angle between stem and sheath (SSA is an important rice morphological trait. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a dynamic SSA model under different nitrogen (N rates for selected rice cultivars. The time-course data of SSA were collected in three years, and a dynamic SSA model was developed for different main stem leaf ranks under different N rates for two selected rice cultivars. SSA increased with tiller age. The SSA of the same leaf rank increased with increase in N rate. The maximum SSA increased with leaf rank from the first to the third leaf, then decreased from the third to the final leaf. The relationship between the maximum SSA and leaf rank on main stem could be described with a linear piecewise function. The change of SSA with thermal time (TT was described by a logistic equation. A variety parameter (the maximum SSA of the 3rd leaf on main stem and a nitrogen factor were introduced to quantify the effect of cultivar and N rate on SSA. The model was validated against data collected from both pot and field experiments. The relative root mean square error (RRMSE was 11.56% and 14.05%, respectively. The resulting models could be used for virtual rice plant modeling and plant-type design.

Probabilistic analysis of tokamak plasma disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanzo, D.L.; Apostolakis, G.E.

1985-01-01

An approximate analytical solution to the heat conduction equations used in modeling component melting and vaporization resulting from plasma disruptions is presented. This solution is then used to propagate uncertainties in the input data characterizing disruptions, namely, energy density and disruption time, to obtain a probabilistic description of the output variables of interest, material melted and vaporized. (orig.)

Influence of Joint Angle on EMG-Torque Model During Constant-Posture, Torque-Varying Contractions.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Pu; Liu, Lukai; Clancy, Edward A

2015-11-01

Relating the electromyogram (EMG) to joint torque is useful in various application areas, including prosthesis control, ergonomics and clinical biomechanics. Limited study has related EMG to torque across varied joint angles, particularly when subjects performed force-varying contractions or when optimized modeling methods were utilized. We related the biceps-triceps surface EMG of 22 subjects to elbow torque at six joint angles (spanning 60° to 135°) during constant-posture, torque-varying contractions. Three nonlinear EMG σ -torque models, advanced EMG amplitude (EMG σ ) estimation processors (i.e., whitened, multiple-channel) and the duration of data used to train models were investigated. When EMG-torque models were formed separately for each of the six distinct joint angles, a minimum "gold standard" error of 4.01±1.2% MVC(F90) resulted (i.e., error relative to maximum voluntary contraction at 90° flexion). This model structure, however, did not directly facilitate interpolation across angles. The best model which did so achieved a statistically equivalent error of 4.06±1.2% MVC(F90). Results demonstrated that advanced EMG σ processors lead to improved joint torque estimation as do longer model training durations.

Plasma membrane disruption: repair, prevention, adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

McNeil, Paul L.; Steinhardt, Richard A.

2003-01-01

Many metazoan cells inhabit mechanically stressful environments and, consequently, their plasma membranes are frequently disrupted. Survival requires that the cell rapidly repair or reseal the disruption. Rapid resealing is an active and complex structural modification that employs endomembrane as its primary building block, and cytoskeletal and membrane fusion proteins as its catalysts. Endomembrane is delivered to the damaged plasma membrane through exocytosis, a ubiquitous Ca2+-triggered response to disruption. Tissue and cell level architecture prevent disruptions from occurring, either by shielding cells from damaging levels of force, or, when this is not possible, by promoting safe force transmission through the plasma membrane via protein-based cables and linkages. Prevention of disruption also can be a dynamic cell or tissue level adaptation triggered when a damaging level of mechanical stress is imposed. Disease results from failure of either the preventive or resealing mechanisms.

Differences in hamstring activation characteristics between the acceleration and maximum-speed phases of sprinting.

Science.gov (United States)

Higashihara, Ayako; Nagano, Yasuharu; Ono, Takashi; Fukubayashi, Toru

2018-06-01

This study aimed to investigate activation characteristics of the biceps femoris long head (BFlh) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles during the acceleration and maximum-speed phases of sprinting. Lower-extremity kinematics and electromyographic (EMG) activities of the BFlh and ST muscles were examined during the acceleration sprint and maximum-speed sprint in 13 male sprinters during an overground sprinting. Differences in hamstring activation during each divided phases and in the hip and knee joint angles and torques at each time point of the sprinting gait cycle were determined between two sprints. During the early stance of the acceleration sprint, the hip extension torque was significantly greater than during the maximum-speed sprint, and the relative EMG activation of the BFlh muscle was significantly higher than that of the ST muscle. During the late stance and terminal mid-swing of maximum-speed sprint, the knee was more extended and a higher knee flexion moment was observed compared to the acceleration sprint, and the ST muscle showed higher activation than that of the BFlh. These results indicate that the functional demands of the medial and lateral hamstring muscles differ between two different sprint performances.

From Digital Disruption to Business Model Scalability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Christian; Lund, Morten; Thomsen, Peter Poulsen

2017-01-01

This article discusses the terms disruption, digital disruption, business models and business model scalability. It illustrates how managers should be using these terms for the benefit of their business by developing business models capable of achieving exponentially increasing returns to scale...... will seldom lead to business model scalability capable of competing with digital disruption(s)....... as a response to digital disruption. A series of case studies illustrate that besides frequent existing messages in the business literature relating to the importance of creating agile businesses, both in growing and declining economies, as well as hard to copy value propositions or value propositions that take...

Angle Performance on Optima XE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, Jonathan; Satoh, Shu

2011-01-01

Angle control on high energy implanters is important due to shrinking device dimensions, and sensitivity to channeling at high beam energies. On Optima XE, beam-to-wafer angles are controlled in both the horizontal and vertical directions. In the horizontal direction, the beam angle is measured through a series of narrow slits, and any angle adjustment is made by steering the beam with the corrector magnet. In the vertical direction, the beam angle is measured through a high aspect ratio mask, and any angle adjustment is made by slightly tilting the wafer platen during implant.Using a sensitive channeling condition, we were able to quantify the angle repeatability of Optima XE. By quantifying the sheet resistance sensitivity to both horizontal and vertical angle variation, the total angle variation was calculated as 0.04 deg. (1σ). Implants were run over a five week period, with all of the wafers selected from a single boule, in order to control for any crystal cut variation.

β limit disruptions in the TFTR tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredrickson, E.D.; McGuire, K.; Janos, A.; Bell, M.; Budny, R.V.; Bush, C.E.; Manickam, J.; Mynick, H.; Nazikian, R.; Taylor, G.

1994-11-01

A disruptive β limit (β = plasma pressure/magnetic pressure) is observed in high performance plasmas in TFTR. The MHD character of these disruptions differs substantially from the disruptions in high density plasmas (density limit disruptions) on TFTR. The high β disruptions can occur with less than a milliseconds warning in the form of a fast growing precursor. The precursor appears to be an external kink or internal (m,n)=(1,1) kink strongly coupled through finite β effects and toroidal terms to higher m components. It does not have the open-quote cold bubble close-quote structure found in density limit disruptions. There is also no evidence for a change in the internal inductance, i.e., a major reconnection of the flux, at the time of the thermal quench

Effects of setting angle and chord length on performance of four blades bionic wind turbine

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Z. X.; Li, G. S.; Song, L.; Bai, Y. F.

2017-11-01

With the energy crisis and the increasing environmental pollution, more and more efforts have been made about wind power development. In this paper, a four blades bionic wind turbine was proposed, and the outline of wind turbine was constructed by the fitted curve. This paper attempted to research the effects of setting angle and chord length on performance of four blades bionic wind turbine by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The results showed that the setting angle and chord length of the bionic wind turbine has some significant effects on the efficiency of the wind turbine, and within the range of wind speed from 7 m/s to 15 m/s, the wind turbine achieved maximum efficiency when the setting angle is 31 degree and the chord length is 125 mm. The conclusion will work as a guideline for the improvement of wind turbine design

Use of an amorphous silicon EPID for measuring MLC calibration at varying gantry angle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarke, M F; Budgell, G J

2008-01-01

Amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) are used to perform routine quality control (QC) checks on the multileaf collimators (MLCs) at this centre. Presently, these checks are performed at gantry angle 0 0 and are considered to be valid for all other angles. Since therapeutic procedures regularly require the delivery of MLC-defined fields to the patient at a wide range of gantry angles, the accuracy of the QC checks at other gantry angles has been investigated. When the gantry is rotated to angles other than 0 0 it was found that the apparent pixel size measured using the EPID varies up to a maximum value of 0.0015 mm per pixel due to a sag in the EPID of up to 9.2 mm. A correction factor was determined using two independent methods at a range of gantry angles between 0 deg. and 360 deg. The EPID was used to measure field sizes (defined by both x-jaws and MLC) at a range of gantry angles and, after this correction had been applied, any residual gravitational sag was studied. It was found that, when fields are defined by the x-jaws and y-back-up jaws, no errors of greater than 0.5 mm were measured and that these errors were no worse when the MLC was used. It was therefore concluded that, provided the correction is applied, measurements of the field size are, in practical terms, unaffected by gantry angle. Experiments were also performed to study how the reproducibility of individual leaves is affected by gantry angle. Measurements of the relative position of each individual leaf (minor offsets) were performed at a range of gantry angles and repeated three times. The position reproducibility was defined by the RMS error in the position of each leaf and this was found to be 0.24 mm and 0.21 mm for the two leaf banks at a gantry angle of 0 0 . When measurements were performed at a range of gantry angles, these reproducibility values remained within 0.09 mm and 0.11 mm. It was therefore concluded that the calibration of the Elekta MLC is stable at

A comparison of men's and women's strength to body mass ratio and varus/valgus knee angle during jump landings.

Science.gov (United States)

Haines, Tracie L; McBride, Jeffrey M; Triplett, N Travis; Skinner, Jared W; Fairbrother, Kimberly R; Kirby, Tyler J

2011-10-01

The purpose of this investigation was to compare valgus/varus knee angles during various jumps and lower body strength between males and females relative to body mass. Seventeen recreationally active females (age: 21.94 ± 2.59 years; height: 1.67 ± 0.05 m; mass: 64.42 ± 8.39 kg; percent body fat: 26.89 ± 6.26%; squat one-repetition maximum: 66.18 ± 19.47 kg; squat to body mass ratio: 1.03 ± 0.28) and 13 recreationally active males (age: 21.69 ± 1.65 years; height: 1.77 ± 0.07 m; mass: 72.39 ± 9.23 kg; percent body fat: 13.15 ± 5.18%; squat one-repetition maximum: 115.77 ± 30.40 kg; squat to body mass ratio: 1.59 ± 0.31) performed a one-repetition maximum in the squat and three of each of the following jumps: countermovement jump, 30 cm drop jump, 45 cm drop jump, and 60 cm drop jump. Knee angles were analysed using videography and body composition was analysed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to allow for squat to body mass ratio and squat to fat free mass ratio to be calculated. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were found between male and female one-repetition maximum, male and female squat to body mass ratio, and male and female squat to fat free mass ratio. Significant differences were found between male and female varus/valgus knee positions during maximum flexion of the right and left leg in the countermovement jump, drop jump from 30 cm, drop jump from 45 cm, and drop jump from 60 cm. Correlations between varus/valgus knee angles and squat to body mass ratio for all jumps displayed moderate, non-significant relationships (countermovement jump: r = 0.445; drop jump from 30 cm: r = 0.448; drop jump from 45 cm: r = 0.449; drop jump from 60 cm: r = 0.439). In conclusion, males and females have significantly different lower body strength and varus/valgus knee position when landing from jumps.

Acute Improvement of Vertical Jump Performance After Isometric Squats Depends on Knee Angle and Vertical Jumping Ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsoukos, Athanasios; Bogdanis, Gregory C; Terzis, Gerasimos; Veligekas, Panagiotis

2016-08-01

Tsoukos, A, Bogdanis, GC, Terzis, G, and Veligekas, P. Acute improvement of vertical jump performance after isometric squats depends on knee angle and vertical jumping ability. J Strength Cond Res 30(8): 2250-2257, 2016-This study examined the acute effects of maximum isometric squats at 2 different knee angles (90 or 140°) on countermovement jump (CMJ) performance in power athletes. Fourteen national-level male track and field power athletes completed 3 main trials (2 experimental and 1 control) in a randomized and counterbalanced order 1 week apart. Countermovement jump performance was evaluated using a force-plate before and 15 seconds, 3, 6, 9, and 12 minutes after 3 sets of 3 seconds maximum isometric contractions with 1-minute rest in between, from a squat position with knee angle set at 90 or 140°. Countermovement jump performance was improved compared with baseline only in the 140° condition by 3.8 ± 1.2% on the 12th minute of recovery (p = 0.027), whereas there was no change in CMJ height in the 90° condition. In the control condition, there was a decrease in CMJ performance over time, reaching -3.6 ± 1.2% (p = 0.049) after 12 minutes of recovery. To determine the possible effects of baseline jump performance on subsequent CMJ performance, subjects were divided into 2 groups ("high jumpers" and "low jumpers"). The baseline CMJ values of "high jumpers" and "low jumpers" differed significantly (CMJ: 45.1 ± 2.2 vs. 37.1 ± 3.9 cm, respectively, p = 0.001). Countermovement jump was increased only in the "high jumpers" group by 5.4 ± 1.4% (p = 0.001) and 7.4 ± 1.2% (p = 0.001) at the knee angles of 90 and 140°, respectively. This improvement was larger at the 140° angle (p = 0.049). Knee angle during isometric squats and vertical jumping ability are important determinants of the acute CMJ performance increase observed after a conditioning activity.

3rd Annual Disruptive Technology Conference

Science.gov (United States)

2006-09-07

Panel -- The Warfighter’s Perspective The Impact of Disruptive Technologies on Joint Warfighting MG Michael Vane, USA, Vice Director for Force...Structure, Resources & Assessment, Joint Staff, J-8 Panel -- Perspectives of Change: Identifying the Emerging Commercial Disruptive Technologies Decision...Mark Lucas, Board Member OSGeo, RadiantBlue Technologies Panel -- The Search for Disruptive Technologies - a “Blue Force” Multiplier Advanced

Influence of joint dip angle on seismic behaviors of rock foundation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Lei; Gao, Yang; Jiang, Yujing; Li, Bo; Li Shucai

2012-01-01

The seismic response of rock foundation to seismic loads is an important issue to the stability and safety of nuclear power plants. Due to the fact that the discontinuities like joints existing in the rock mass govern principally the deformation and failure behaviors of the rock mass, the influence of discontinuities on the seismic behaviors of rock mass remains as one of the fundamental problems in the safety assessment of nuclear power plants. In this study, the distinct element method (DEM) and finite element method (FEM) were adopted to investigate the seismic responses of rock foundation to a real seismic wave, taking into account the effect of joint dip angle on the deformation and dynamic behaviors of rock foundation. In the DEM simulations, the intact rock has an amplification effect on the amplitudes of seismic waves, while the joints exhibit an attenuation effect on the seismic waves. In the FEM simulations, however, the attenuation effect of joints is not obvious. The dip angle of joints has strong effects on the deformation and dynamic behaviors of rock foundation, in terms that different dip angles lead to obviously different deformation and horizontal stress in the rock foundation when subjected to seismic load. When the dip angle of joints is around 60deg, the seismic velocity, displacement and stress reach the maximums. Therefore, attentions need to be paid on this factor during the seismic design of nuclear power plants. (author)

Numerical study of effect of pitch angle on performance characteristics of a HAWT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudhamshu A.R.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Wind energy is one of the clean renewable forms of energy that can handle the existing global fossil fuel crisis. Although it contributes to 2.5% of the global electricity demand, with diminishing fossil fuel sources, it is important that wind energy is harnessed to a greater extent to meet the energy crisis and problem of pollution. The present work involves study of effect of pitch angle on the performance of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT, NREL Phase VI. The wind velocities considered for the study are 7, 15.1 and 25.1 m/s. The simulations are performed using a commercial CFD code Fluent. A frozen rotor model is used for simulation, wherein the governing equations are solved in the moving frame of reference rotating with the rotor speed. The SST k-ω turbulence model has been used. It is seen that the thrust increases with increase in wind velocity, and decreases with increase in pitch angle. For a given wind velocity, there is an optimum pitch angle where the power generated by the turbine is maximum. The observed effect of pitch angle on the power produced has been correlated to the stall characteristics of the airfoil blade.

Optimal Control of Hypersonic Planning Maneuvers Based on Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Yu. Melnikov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The work objective is the synthesis of simple analytical formula of the optimal roll angle of hypersonic gliding vehicles for conditions of quasi-horizontal motion, allowing its practical implementation in onboard control algorithms.The introduction justifies relevance, formulates basic control tasks, and describes a history of scientific research and achievements in the field concerned. The author reveals a common disadvantage of the other authors’ methods, i.e. the problem of practical implementation in onboard control algorithms.The similar tasks of hypersonic maneuvers are systemized according to the type of maneuver, control parameters and limitations.In the statement of the problem the glider launched horizontally with a suborbital speed glides passive in the static Atmosphere on a spherical surface of constant radius in the Central field of gravitation.The work specifies a system of equations of motion in the inertial spherical coordinate system, sets the limits on the roll angle and optimization criteria at the end of the flight: high speed or azimuth and the minimum distances to the specified geocentric points.The solution.1 A system of equations of motion is transformed by replacing the time argument with another independent argument – the normal equilibrium overload. The Hamiltonian and the equations of mated parameters are obtained using the Pontryagin’s maximum principle. The number of equations of motion and mated vector is reduced.2 The mated parameters were expressed by formulas using current movement parameters. The formulas are proved through differentiation and substitution in the equations of motion.3 The Formula of optimal roll-position control by condition of maximum is obtained. After substitution of mated parameters, the insertion of constants, and trigonometric transformations the Formula of the optimal roll angle is obtained as functions of the current parameters of motion.The roll angle is expressed as the ratio

DFT based spatial multiplexing and maximum ratio transmission for mm-wawe large MIMO

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Phan-Huy, D.-T.; Tölli, A.; Rajatheva, N.

2014-01-01

-SM-MRT). When the DFT-SM scheme alone is used, the data streams are either mapped onto different angles of departures in the case of aligned linear arrays, or mapped onto different orbital angular momentums in the case of aligned circular arrays. Maximum ratio transmission pre-equalizes the channel......By using large point-to-point multiple input multiple output (MIMO), spatial multiplexing of a large number of data streams in wireless communications using millimeter-waves (mm-waves) can be achieved. However, according to the antenna spacing and transmitter-receiver distance, the MIMO channel...... is likely to be ill-conditioned. In such conditions, highly complex schemes such as the singular value decomposition (SVD) are necessary. In this paper, we propose a new low complexity system called discrete Fourier transform based spatial multiplexing (DFT-SM) with maximum ratio transmission (DFT...

Limited angle tomographic breast imaging: A comparison of parallel beam and pinhole collimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wessell, D.E.; Kadrmas, D.J.; Frey, E.C.

1996-01-01

Results from clinical trials have suggested no improvement in lesion detection with parallel hole SPECT scintimammography (SM) with Tc-99m over parallel hole planar SM. In this initial investigation, we have elucidated some of the unique requirements of SPECT SM. With these requirements in mind, we have begun to develop practical data acquisition and reconstruction strategies that can reduce image artifacts and improve image quality. In this paper we investigate limited angle orbits for both parallel hole and pinhole SPECT SM. Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) is used to analyze the artifacts associated with the limited angle orbits. Maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) reconstructions are then used to examine the effects of attenuation compensation on the quality of the reconstructed image. All simulations are performed using the 3D-MCAT breast phantom. The results of these simulation studies demonstrate that limited angle SPECT SM is feasible, that attenuation correction is needed for accurate reconstructions, and that pinhole SPECT SM may have an advantage over parallel hole SPECT SM in terms of improved image quality and reduced image artifacts

Optimization of the beam crossing angle at the ILC for e+e‑ and γ γ collisions

Science.gov (United States)

Telnov, V. I.

2018-03-01

At this time, the design of the International Linear Collider (ILC) is optimized for e+e‑ collisions; the photon collider (γ γ and >=) is considered as an option. Unexpected discoveries, such as the diphoton excess digamma(750) seen at the LHC, could strongly motivate the construction of a photon collider. In order to enable the γ γ collision option, the ILC design should be compatible with it from the very beginning. In this paper, we discuss the problem of the beam crossing angle. In the ILC technical design [1], this angle is 14 mrad, which is just enough to provide enough space for the final quadrupoles and outgoing beams. For γ γ collisions, the crossing angle must be larger because the low-energy electrons that result from multiple Compton scattering get large disruption angles in collisions with the opposing electron beam and some deflection in the solenoidal detector field. For a 2E0=500 GeV collider, the required crossing angle is about 25 mrad. In this paper, we consider the factors that determine the crossing angle as well as its minimum permissible value that does not yet cause a considerable reduction of the γ γ luminosity. It is shown that the best solution is to increase the laser wavelength from the current 1 μm (which is optimal for 2E0=500 GeV) to 2 μm as this makes possible achieving high γ γ luminosities at a crossing angle of 20 mrad, which is also quite comfortable for e+e‑ collisions, does not cause any degradation of the e+e‑ luminosity and opens the possibility for a more energetic future collider in the same tunnel (e.g., CLIC). Moreover, the 2 μm wavelength is optimal for a 2E0 = 1 TeV collider, e.g., a possible ILC energy upgrade. Please consider this paper an appeal to increase the ILC crossing angle from 14 to 20 mrad.

Lactate Dehydrogenase and Oxidative Stress Activity in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Aqueous Humour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Predrag Jovanović

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH and lactate are some of the hypoxy biochemical parameters. Extracellular activity of this enzyme increases under the condition of oxidative stress, since the cell integrity can be disrupted during the lipid peroxidation process. Subsequently that leads to the increase level of the lactic acid and lactic acid salts. The objective of this investigation is establishing the level of LDH, LDH1 (HBDH and the lactate concentration in aqueous humour in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma.Biochemical analysis have been made by enzymatic-colometric method (lactate and UV-kinetic method (LDH and HBDH in aqueous humour of 30 patients (42 eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG and 30 patients (40 eyes with cataract (the control group.The increased values of lactate and the activity of LDH and HBDH enzyme in aqueous humour of POAG patients in correlation with the control group are the results not only of oxidative stress but also of hypoxy and the mitochondry oxidative function (p<0,001.The increased activity of the examined biochemical parameters in the aqueous humour of the POAG patients points to the fact that other mechanisms, besides IOP, have a role in glaucoma pathogenesis.

Electromagneto-mechanical coupling analysis of a test module in J-TEXT Tokamak during plasma disruption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, Haijie; Yuan, Zhensheng; Yuan, Hongwei; Pei, Cuixiang [State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Shanxi Engineering Research Center for NDT and Structural Integrity Evaluation Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Chen, Zhenmao, E-mail: chenzm@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Shanxi Engineering Research Center for NDT and Structural Integrity Evaluation Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Yang, Jinhong; Wang, Weihua [Institute of Applied Physics of AOA, Hefei 230031 (China)

2016-11-01

In this paper, the dynamic response during plasma disruption of a test blanket module in vacuum vessel (VV) of the Joint TEXT (J-TEXT), which is an experimental Tokamak device with iron core, was simulated by applying a program developed by authors on the ANSYS platform using its parametric design language (APDL). The moving coordinate method as well as the load transfer and sequential coupling strategy were adopted to cope with the electromagneto-mechanical coupling effect. To establish the numerical model, the influence of the iron core on the eddy current and electromagnetic (EM) force during disruption was numerically investigated at first and the influence was found not significant. Together with the geometrical features of the J-TEXT Tokamak structure, 180° sector models without magnetic core were finally established for the EM field and the structural response simulations. To obtain the source plasma current, the plasma current evolution during disruption was simulated by using the Tokamak Simulation Code (TSC). With the numerical models and the source plasma current, the dynamic response of both the VV structure and the test module were calculated. The numerical results show that the maximum stress of the test module is in safe range, and the magnetic damping effect can weaken vibration of the test module. In addition, simulation without considering the coupling effect was carried out, which shows that the influence of coupling effect is not significant for the peak stress of the J-TEXT disruption problem.

Ocular surface disease incidence in patients with open-angle glaucoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radenković Marija

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Ocular surface disease (OSD is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbances, tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface, accompanied by increased tear film osmolarity and inflammation of the ocular surface. It is a consequence of disrupted homeostasis of lacrimal functional unit. The main pathogenetic mechanism stems from tear hyperosmolarity and tear film instability. The etiological classification is hyposecretory (Sy-Sjögren and non-Sjögren and evaporative (extrinsic and intrinsic form. Delphi panel classification grades disease stages. Antiglaucoma topical therapy causes exacerbation or occurrence of symptoms of dry eye due to main ingredients or preservatives (benzalkonium chloride - BAK, which are dose- and time-dependent. BAK reduces the stability of the lipid layer of tears, the number of goblet cells, induces apoptosis and inflammatory infiltration. Objective. The aim of this study was the analysis of the OSD incidence in open-angle glaucoma patients caused by topical medicamentous therapy. Methods. Retrospective analysis of examined patients with open-angle glaucoma was used. Results. Increased incidence of moderate and advanced OSD Index degrees in the group of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. According to the Delphi Panel Scale the most common grade is IIb (POAG and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. Evaporative form of OSD prevailed in all treatment groups. High percentage of dry eye in patients with higher concentrations of preservatives applied was noticed. Conclusion. OSD should be timely diagnosed and treated. Dry eye has an impact on surgical outcome and postoperative visual acuity, and in order to improve patient compliance and quality of life, symptoms of dry eye should be addressed and medications with lower concentrations of preservatives should be applied.

Ocular surface disease incidence in patients with open-angle glaucoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Radenković, Marija; Stanković-Babić, Gordana; Jovanović, Predrag; Djordjević-Jocić, Jasmina; Trenkić-Božinović, Marija

2016-01-01

Ocular surface disease (OSD) is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbances, tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface, accompanied by increased tear film osmolarity and inflammation of the ocular surface. It is a consequence of disrupted homeostasis of lacrimal functional unit. The main pathogenetic mechanism stems from tear hyperosmolarity and tear film instability. The etiological classification is hyposecretory (Sy-Sjögren and non-Sjögren) and evaporative (extrinsic and intrinsic) form. Delphi panel classification grades disease stages. Antiglaucoma topical therapy causes exacerbation or occurrence of symptoms of dry eye due to main ingredients or preservatives (benzalkonium chloride – BAK), which are dose- and time-dependent. BAK reduces the stability of the lipid layer of tears, the number of goblet cells, induces apoptosis and inflammatory infiltration. The aim of this study was the analysis of the OSD incidence in open-angle glaucoma patients caused by topical medicamentous therapy. Retrospective analysis of examined patients with open-angle glaucoma was used. Increased incidence of moderate and advanced OSD Index degrees in the group of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. According to the Delphi Panel Scale the most common grade is IIb (POAG and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma). Evaporative form of OSD prevailed in all treatment groups. High percentage of dry eye in patients with higher concentrations of preservatives applied was noticed. OSD should be timely diagnosed and treated. Dry eye has an impact on surgical outcome and postoperative visual acuity, and in order to improve patient compliance and quality of life, symptoms of dry eye should be addressed and medications with lower concentrations of preservatives should be applied.

The Effects of Disruption on Strategic Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Drejer, Anders

2017-01-01

There is a lot of interest in Disruption these days even though the concept itself is still under formation. Disruption can be traced back to the idea of disruptive technological change and the late 1990s but has reemerged in the public eye in current years under guises such as Big Data......, Digitalization, Globalization and much more. Furthermore, the effects of disruption are now being felt by organizations and industries all over the world. In this paper, we will try to outline and illustrate some of those effects using the case-study of an international, Danish, SME. The case company has been...... forced to face some challenges caused by disruption and in the process of doing so has changed its strategy process significantly towards a more learning based approach to strategic management. Keywords: disruption; case- study; SME; strategy process....

A customized fixation plate with novel structure designed by topological optimization for mandibular angle fracture based on finite element analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yun-Feng; Fan, Ying-Ying; Jiang, Xian-Feng; Baur, Dale A

2017-11-15

The purpose of this study was to design a customized fixation plate for mandibular angle fracture using topological optimization based on the biomechanical properties of the two conventional fixation systems, and compare the results of stress, strain and displacement distributions calculated by finite element analysis (FEA). A three-dimensional (3D) virtual mandible was reconstructed from CT images with a mimic angle fracture and a 1 mm gap between two bone segments, and then a FEA model, including volume mesh with inhomogeneous bone material properties, three loading conditions and constraints (muscles and condyles), was created to design a customized plate using topological optimization method, then the shape of the plate was referenced from the stress concentrated area on an initial part created from thickened bone surface for optimal calculation, and then the plate was formulated as "V" pattern according to dimensions of standard mini-plate finally. To compare the biomechanical behavior of the "V" plate and other conventional mini-plates for angle fracture fixation, two conventional fixation systems were used: type A, one standard mini-plate, and type B, two standard mini-plates, and the stress, strain and displacement distributions within the three fixation systems were compared and discussed. The stress, strain and displacement distributions to the angle fractured mandible with three different fixation modalities were collected, respectively, and the maximum stress for each model emerged at the mandibular ramus or screw holes. Under the same loading conditions, the maximum stress on the customized fixation system decreased 74.3, 75.6 and 70.6% compared to type A, and 34.9, 34.1, and 39.6% compared to type B. All maximum von Mises stresses of mandible were well below the allowable stress of human bone, as well as maximum principal strain. And the displacement diagram of bony segments indicated the effect of treatment with different fixation systems. The

Small angle neutron scattering and small angle X-ray scattering ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. The morphology of carbon nanofoam samples comprising platinum nanopar- ticles dispersed in the matrix was characterized by small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques. Results show that the structure of pores of carbon matrix exhibits a mass (pore) fractal nature ...

The Effect of Impingement Velocity and Angle Variation on the Erosion Corrosion Performance of API 5L-X65 Carbon Steel in a Flow Loop

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ihsan UlHaq Toor

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Erosion corrosion performance of API 5L-X65 carbon steel was investigated at three different impingement velocities (3, 6 & 12 m/s, five different angles (15, 30, 45, 60, & 90°, and with/without solid particles (average particle size of 314 µm. The experiments were conducted in 0.2 M NaCl solution at room temperature for a duration of 24 h and the results showed that the maximum erosion corrosion rate was observed at 45° irrespective of the velocity. The highest erosion corrosion rate at 45° was due to the balance between the shear and normal impact stress at this angle. Ploughing, deep craters, and micro-forging/plastic deformation were found to be the main erosion corrosion mechanisms. The maximum wear scar depth measured using optical profilometery was found to be 51 µm (average at an impingement angle of 45°.

When Deriving the Spatial QRS-T Angle from the 12-lead ECG, which Transform is More Frank: Regression or Inverse Dower?

Science.gov (United States)

Schlegel, Todd T.; Cortez, Daniel

2010-01-01

Our primary objective was to ascertain which commonly used 12-to-Frank-lead transformation yields spatial QRS-T angle values closest to those obtained from simultaneously collected true Frank-lead recordings. Simultaneous 12-lead and Frank XYZ-lead recordings were analyzed for 100 post-myocardial infarction patients and 50 controls. Relative agreement, with true Frank-lead results, of 12-to-Frank-lead transformed results for the spatial QRS-T angle using Kors regression versus inverse Dower was assessed via ANOVA, Lin s concordance and Bland-Altman plots. Spatial QRS-T angles from the true Frank leads were not significantly different than those derived from the Kors regression-related transformation but were significantly smaller than those derived from the inverse Dower-related transformation (P less than 0.001). Independent of method, spatial mean QRS-T angles were also always significantly larger than spatial maximum (peaks) QRS-T angles. Spatial QRS-T angles are best approximated by regression-related transforms. Spatial mean and spatial peaks QRS-T angles should also not be used interchangeably.

The aurora at quite magnetospheric conditions: Repeatability and dipole tilt angle dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oznovich, I.; Eastes, R.W.; Huffman, R.E.; Tur, M.; Glaser, I.

1993-01-01

Is there a magnetospheric ground state? Do the position and size of the auroral oval depend on the magnetic dipole tilt angle at quiet magnetospheric conditions? In order to address these questions, northern hemisphere images of the aurora at 1356 Angstrom, obtained by Polar BEAR at solar minimum (beginning of 1987), were related to high temporal resolution IPM 8 measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field, to solar wind velocity, and to the ground-based activity index Kp. The first problem was addressed by a two-dimensional correlation study of the repeatability of auroral emissions in corrected geomagnetic space at conditions of minimum energy transfer from the magnetosphere. The correlation measure of auroral images was 0.6-0.85. Error simulations indicate that given the uncertainties in pixel position and intensity, the maximum expected value of the correlation measure is 0.65-0.9. The notion of a ground state magnetosphere is therefore supported by this data. Repeatability was found at the same level regardless of time or reconfigurations of the magnetosphere between images and independent of magnetic time sector. The second problem was addressed by relating latitudinal shifts of the aurora with dipole tilt angle without resorting to auroral boundary specification. This data indicate that the latitude of the continuous aurora is related to the dipole tilt angle at quiet magnetospheric conditions. In the winter hemisphere a 10 degrees increase in the dipole tilt angle causes a 1 degree decrease (increase) in the latitude of auroral emissions at noon (midnight). The magnetic local time distribution of the latitudinal shifts with dipole tilt angle support a simple model in which the dipole tilt angle determines the position of the center of the auroral circle along the magnetic meridian 1320-0120 MLT (for IMF B y positive) and does not affect its radius. 22 refs., 8 figs

The incidence angle influence on the structure of secondary-emission characteristics of single crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gasanov, E.R.; Aliyev, B.Z.

2012-01-01

Full text : The dependences of Wand MO single crystals in different atom planes have been studied in this work. It is revealed that maximums are added to each dependency and also minimums of first and second degree. This fact is explained by diffraction dynamic theory. It is established that electron diffraction oriented not perpendicularly to crystal surface is the reason of appearance of second order structure on studied secondary-emission characteristics. In the present work being the continuation and development of SEE investigations of high-melting metal single crystals begun earlier by authors, the structure dependence of SEE main characteristics of angle has been studied. This angle has been chosen because as it is mentioned before the bad repeatability in different experiments for it is observed

Dependence of ion-electron emission from clean metals on the incidence angle of the projectile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferron, J.; Alonso, E.V.; Baragiola, R.A.; Oliva-Florio, A.

1981-01-01

We have studied the dependence of electron yields γ from clean Cu and Au surfaces on the incidence angle theta of 5--50-keV He + , Ar + , and Xe + projectiles, in the angular range 0--80 0 , and under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions. We have found that, at small angles, γproportionalsec/sup f/theta, with f generally different from unity. For Xe + on Cu, γ(theta) presents an energy-dependence maximum, similar to that obtained for sputtering. The results are explained in terms of the anisotropy of the electron cascade in the solid, the depth distribution of the inelastic energy deposited by the projectile and by rapidly recoiling target atoms in the near-surface region of the solid

Satellite Vibration Testing: Angle optimisation method to Reduce Overtesting

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Charly; Remedia, Marcello; Aglietti, Guglielmo S.; Richardson, Guy

2018-06-01

Spacecraft overtesting is a long running problem, and the main focus of most attempts to reduce it has been to adjust the base vibration input (i.e. notching). Instead this paper examines testing alternatives for secondary structures (equipment) coupled to the main structure (satellite) when they are tested separately. Even if the vibration source is applied along one of the orthogonal axes at the base of the coupled system (satellite plus equipment), the dynamics of the system and potentially the interface configuration mean the vibration at the interface may not occur all along one axis much less the corresponding orthogonal axis of the base excitation. This paper proposes an alternative testing methodology in which the testing of a piece of equipment occurs at an offset angle. This Angle Optimisation method may have multiple tests but each with an altered input direction allowing for the best match between all specified equipment system responses with coupled system tests. An optimisation process that compares the calculated equipment RMS values for a range of inputs with the maximum coupled system RMS values, and is used to find the optimal testing configuration for the given parameters. A case study was performed to find the best testing angles to match the acceleration responses of the centre of mass and sum of interface forces for all three axes, as well as the von Mises stress for an element by a fastening point. The angle optimisation method resulted in RMS values and PSD responses that were much closer to the coupled system when compared with traditional testing. The optimum testing configuration resulted in an overall average error significantly smaller than the traditional method. Crucially, this case study shows that the optimum test campaign could be a single equipment level test opposed to the traditional three orthogonal direction tests.

Towards a Framework of Digital Platform Disruption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kazan, Erol; Tan, Chee-Wee; Lim, Eric T. K.

2014-01-01

Digital platforms are disruptive information technology (IT) artifacts that erode conventional business logic associated with traditional market structures. This paper presents a framework for examining the disruptive potential of digital platforms whereby we postulate that the strategic interplay...... digital platforms purposely decouple platform layers, to foster open innovation and accelerate market disruption. This paper therefore represents a first concrete step aimed at unravelling the disruptive potential of digital platforms....... of governance regimes and platform layers is deterministic of whether disruptive derivatives are permitted to flourish. This framework has been employed in a comparative case study between centralized (i.e., PayPal) and decentralized (i.e., Coinkite) digital payment platforms to illustrate its applicability...

Real-time disruption handling at ASDEX upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zehetbauer, Th.; Pautasso, G.; Tichmann, C.; Egorov, S.; Lorenz, A.; Mertens, V.; Neu, G.; Raupp, G.; Treutterer, W.; Zasche, D.

2001-01-01

A neural network for prediction of disruptions has been developed at ASDEX Upgrade with the goal to mitigate or avoid these. The novel idea is to compute the remaining time-to-disruption to indicate the stability level of the discharge. The neural network has been specified, trained and then implemented within the real-time plasma control system. The current version of the system terminates the discharge with an impurity pellet when the computed time-to-disruption falls below a threshold of 80 ms. Routine operation shows that disruptions are recognized reliably. Vessel currents and forces are considerably reduced. The system will be enhanced to avoid disruptions with a soft landing initiated in time

Family Disruptions

Science.gov (United States)

... Spread the Word Shop AAP Find a Pediatrician Family Life Medical Home Family Dynamics Adoption & Foster Care ... Life Listen Español Text Size Email Print Share Family Disruptions Page Content Article Body No matter how ...

Disruption modeling in support of ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandyopadhyay, I.

2015-01-01

Plasma current disruptions and Vertical Displacement Events (VDEs) are one of the major concerns in any tokamak as they lead to large electromagnetic forces to tokamak first wall components and vacuum vessel. Their occurrence also means disruption to steady state operations of tokamaks. Thus future fusion reactors like ITER must ensure that disruptions and VDEs are minimized. However, since there is still finite probability of their occurrence, one must be able to characterize disruptions and VDEs and able to predict, for example, the plasma current quench time and halo current amplitude, which mainly determine the magnitude of the electromagnetic forces. There is a concerted effort globally to understand and predict plasma and halo current evolution during disruption in tokamaks through MHD simulations. Even though Disruption and VDEs are often 3D MHD perturbations in nature, presently they are mostly simulated using 2D axisymmetric MHD codes like the Tokamak Simulation Code (TSC) and DINA. These codes are also extensively benchmarked against experimental data in present day tokamaks to improve these models and their ability to predict these events in ITER. More detailed 3D models like M3D are only recently being developed, but they are yet to be benchmarked against experiments, as also they are massively computationally exhaustive

Disrupted Disclosure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krause Hansen, Hans; Uldam, Julie

appearances become challenged through disruptive disclosures in mediaenvironments characterized by multiple levels of visibility, with companies both observing andbeing observed by civil society groups that criticize them; (c) why and how the mobilization aroundtransparency and ensuing practices...

Substorm onset location and dipole tilt angle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Wanliss

2006-03-01

Full Text Available From an initial data set of over 200 substorms we have studied a subset of 30 magnetospheric substorms close to magnetic midnight to investigate, in a statistical fashion, the source region of the auroral arc that brightens at the onset of expansive phase. This arc is usually identified as the ionospheric signature of the expansive phase onset that occurs in the magnetotail. All the substorm onsets were identified via ground-based magnetometer and photometer data from the CANOPUS array. Various Tsyganenko global magnetic field models were used to map magnetic field lines from the location of the onset arc out to its greatest radial distance in the magnetotail. The results appear to favour the current disruption model of substorms since the average onset location has an average of 14.1 Earth radii (RE and is therefore more consistent with theories that place the onset location in the inner magnetotail. For the narrow range of tilts available our modeling indicates the parameter that appears to strongly influence the location of the substorm onset is the dipole tilt angle; as tilt becomes less negative onsets occur further downtail.

MHD stability, operational limits and disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

The present physics understandings of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability of tokamak plasmas, the threshold conditions for onset of MHD instability, and the resulting operational limits on attainable plasma pressure (beta limit) and density (density limit), and the consequences of plasma disruption and disruption related effects are reviewed and assessed in the context of their application to a future DT burning reactor prototype tokamak experiment such as ITER. The principal considerations covered within the MHD stability and beta limit assessments are (i) magnetostatic equilibrium, ideal MHD stability and the resulting ideal MHD beta limit; (ii) sawtooth oscillations and the coupling of sawtooth activity to other types of MHD instability; (iii) neoclassical island resistive tearing modes and the corresponding limits on beta and energy confinement; (iv) wall stabilization of ideal MHD instabilities and resistive wall instabilities; (v) mode locking effects of non-axisymmetric error fields; (vi) edge localized MHD instabilities (ELMs, etc.); and (vii) MHD instabilities and beta/pressure gradient limits in plasmas with actively modified current and magnetic shear profiles. The principal considerations covered within the density limit assessments are (i) empirical density limits; (ii) edge power balance/radiative density limits in ohmic and L-mode plasmas; and (iii) edge parameter related density limits in H-mode plasmas. The principal considerations covered in the disruption assessments are (i) disruption causes, frequency and MHD instability onset; (ii) disruption thermal and current quench characteristics; (iii) vertical instabilities (VDEs), both before and after disruption, and plasma and in-vessel halo currents; (iv) after disruption runaway electron formation, confinement and loss; (v) fast plasma shutdown (rapid externally initiated dissipation of plasma thermal and magnetic energies); (vi) means for disruption avoidance and disruption effect mitigation; and

Effect of Blade Curvature Angle of Savonius Horizontal Axis Water Turbine to the Power Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Apha Sanditya, Taufan; Prasetyo, Ari; Kristiawan, Budi; Hadi, Syamsul

2018-03-01

The water energy is one of potential alternative in creating power generation specifically for the picohydro energy. Savonius is a kind of wind turbine which now proposed to be operated utilizing the energy from low fluid flow. Researches about the utilization of Savonius turbine have been developed in the horizontal water pipelines and wave. The testing experimental on the Savonius Horizontal Axis Water Turbine (HAWT) by observing the effect of the blade curvature angle (ψ) of 110°, 120°, 130°, and 140° at the debit of 176.4 lpm, 345 lpm, 489.6 lpm, and 714 lpm in order to know the power output was already conducted. The optimal result in every debit variation was obtained in the blade curvature angle of 120°. In the maximum debit of 714 lpm with blade curvature angle of 120° the power output is 39.15 Watt with the coefficient power (Cp) of 0.23 and tip speed ratio (TSR) of 1.075.

SU-G-BRC-04: Collimator Angle Optimization in Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersen, A; Johnson, C; Bartlett, G; Das, I [Indiana University- School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) has revolutionized radiation treatment by decreasing treatment time and monitor units, thus reducing scattered and whole body radiation dose. As the collimator angle changes the apparent leaf gap becomes larger which can impact plan quality, organ at risk (OAR) sparing as well as IMRT QA passing rate which is investigated. Methods: Two sites (prostate and head and neck) that have maximum utilization of VMAT were investigated. Two previously treated VMAT patients were chosen. For each patient 10 plans were created by maintaining constant optimization constraints while varying collimator angles from 0-90 deg at an interval of 10 degrees for the first arc and the appropriate complimentary angle for the second arc. Plans were created with AAA algorithm using 6 MV beam on a Varian IX machine with Millennium 120 MLC. The dose-volume histogram (DVH) for each plan was exported and dosimetric parameters (D98, D95, D50, D2) as well homogeneity index (HI) and conformity index (CI) were computed. Each plan was validated for QA using ArcCheck with gamma index passing criteria of 2%/2 mm and 3%/3 mm. Additionally, normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for each OAR was computed using Uzan-Nahum software. Results: The CI values for both sites had no impact as target volume coverage in every collimator angle were the same since it was optimized for adequate coverage. The HI which is representative of DVH gradient or dose uniformity in PTV showed a clear trend in both sites. The NTCP for OAR (brain and cochlea) in H&N plan and (bladder and rectum) in prostate plan showed a distinct superiority for collimator angles between 15-30 deg. The gamma passing rates were not correlated with angle. Conclusion: Based on CI, HI, NTCP and gamma passing index, it can be concluded that collimator angles should be maintained within 15–30 deg.

SU-G-BRC-04: Collimator Angle Optimization in Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersen, A; Johnson, C; Bartlett, G; Das, I

2016-01-01

Purpose: Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) has revolutionized radiation treatment by decreasing treatment time and monitor units, thus reducing scattered and whole body radiation dose. As the collimator angle changes the apparent leaf gap becomes larger which can impact plan quality, organ at risk (OAR) sparing as well as IMRT QA passing rate which is investigated. Methods: Two sites (prostate and head and neck) that have maximum utilization of VMAT were investigated. Two previously treated VMAT patients were chosen. For each patient 10 plans were created by maintaining constant optimization constraints while varying collimator angles from 0-90 deg at an interval of 10 degrees for the first arc and the appropriate complimentary angle for the second arc. Plans were created with AAA algorithm using 6 MV beam on a Varian IX machine with Millennium 120 MLC. The dose-volume histogram (DVH) for each plan was exported and dosimetric parameters (D98, D95, D50, D2) as well homogeneity index (HI) and conformity index (CI) were computed. Each plan was validated for QA using ArcCheck with gamma index passing criteria of 2%/2 mm and 3%/3 mm. Additionally, normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for each OAR was computed using Uzan-Nahum software. Results: The CI values for both sites had no impact as target volume coverage in every collimator angle were the same since it was optimized for adequate coverage. The HI which is representative of DVH gradient or dose uniformity in PTV showed a clear trend in both sites. The NTCP for OAR (brain and cochlea) in H&N plan and (bladder and rectum) in prostate plan showed a distinct superiority for collimator angles between 15-30 deg. The gamma passing rates were not correlated with angle. Conclusion: Based on CI, HI, NTCP and gamma passing index, it can be concluded that collimator angles should be maintained within 15–30 deg.

The effect of netting solidity ratio and inclined angle on the hydrodynamic characteristics of knotless polyethylene netting

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Hao; Hu, Fuxiang; Xu, Liuxiong; Dong, Shuchuang; Zhou, Cheng; Wang, Xuefang

2017-10-01

Knotless polyethylene (PE) netting has been widely used in aquaculture cages and fishing gears, especially in Japan. In this study, the hydrodynamic coefficient of six knotless PE netting panels with different solidity ratios were assessed in a flume tank under various attack angles of netting from 0° (parallel to flow) to 90° (perpendicular to flow) and current speeds from 40 cm s-1 to 130 cm s-1. It was found that the drag coefficient was related to Reynolds number, solidity ratio and attack angle of netting. The solidity ratio was positively related with drag coefficient for netting panel perpendicular to flow, whereas when setting the netting panel parallel to the flow the opposite result was obtained. For netting panels placed at an angle to the flow, the lift coefficient reached the maximum at an attack angle of 50° and then decreased as the attack angle further increased. The solidity ratio had a dual influence on drag coefficient of inclined netting panels. Compared to result in the literature, the normal drag coefficient of knotless PE netting measured in this study is larger than that of nylon netting or Dyneema netting.

Contact angle measurements of a polyphenyl ether to 190 C on M-50 steel

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, W. R., Jr.

1981-01-01

Contact angle measurements were performed for a polyphenyl ether on steel in nitrogen. A tilting plate and a sessile drop apparatus were used. Surface tension was measured with a maximum bubble pressure apparatus. Critical surface energies of spreading were found to be 30.1 and 31.3 dynes/cm. It was concluded that the polyphenyl ether is inherently autophobic and will not spread on its own surface film.

TOKES studies of the thermal quench heat load reduction in mitigated ITER disruptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Pestchanyi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Disruption mitigation by massive gas injection (MGI of Ne gas has been simulated using the 3D TOKES code that includes the injectors of the Disruption Mitigation System (DMS as it will be implemented in ITER. The simulations have been done using a quasi-3D approach, which gives an upper limit for the radiation heat load (notwithstanding possible asymmetries in radial heat flux associated with MHD. The heating of the first wall from the radiation flash has been assessed with respect to injection quantity, the number of injectors, and their location for an H-mode ITER discharge with 280MJ of thermal energy. Simulations for the maximum quantity of Ne (8kPam3 have shown that wall melting can be avoided by using solely the three injectors in the upper ports, whereas shallow melting occurred when the midplane injector had been added. With all four injectors, melting had been avoided for a smaller neon quantity of 250Pam3 that provides still a sufficient radiation level for thermal load mitigation.

Finite Element Analysis of the Effect of Superstructure Materials and Loading Angle on Stress Distribution around the Implant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jafari K

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Statement of Problem: A general process in implant design is to determine the reason of possible problems and to find the relevant solutions. The success of the implant depends on the control technique of implant biomechanical conditions. Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of both abutment and framework materials on the stress of the bone around the implant by using threedimensional finite element analysis. Materials and Methods: A three-dimensional model of a patient’s premaxillary bone was fabricated using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT. Then, three types of abutment from gold, nickel-chromium and zirconia and also three types of crown frame from silver-palladium, nickel-chromium and zirconia were designed. Finally, a 178 N force at angles of zero, 30 and 45 degrees was exerted on the implant axis and the maximum stress and strain in the trabecular, cortical bones and cement was calculated. Results: With changes of the materials and mechanical properties of abutment and frame, little difference was observed in the level and distribution pattern of stress. The stress level was increased with the rise in the angle of pressure exertion. The highest stress concentration was related to the force at the angle of 45 degrees. The results of the cement analysis proved an inverse relationship between the rate of elastic modulus of the frame material and that of the maximum stress in the cement. Conclusions: The impact of the angle at which the force was applied was more significant in stress distribution than that of abutment and framework core materials.

Disruption studies on ASDEX upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pautasso, G.; Egorov, S.; Finken, K.H.

2003-01-01

Disruptions generate large thermal and mechanical stresses on the tokamak components and are occasionally responsible for damages to the machine. For a future reactor disruptions have a significant impact on the design since all loading conditions must be analyzed in accordance with stricter design criteria (due to safety or difficult maintenance). Therefore the uncertainties affecting the predicted stresses must be reduced as much as possible with a more comprehensive set of measurements and analyses in this generation of experimental machines, and avoidance/predictive methods must be developed further. Disruption studies on ASDEX Upgrade are focused on these subjects, namely on: (1) understanding the physical mechanisms leading to this phenomenon in order to learn to avoid it or to predict its occurrence and to mitigate its effects; (2) analyzing the effects of disruptions on the machine to determine the functional dependence of the thermal and mechanical loads upon the discharge parameters. This allows, firstly, to dimension or reinforce the machine components to withstand these loads and, secondly, to extrapolate them to tokamaks still in the design phase; (3) learning to mitigate the consequence of disruptions, i.e. thermal loads, mechanical forces and runaways with injection of impurity pellets or gas. This paper is focused on most recent results concerning points, i.e. on the analysis of the degree of asymmetry of the forces and on the use of impurity puff for mitigation

Maximum likelihood versus likelihood-free quantum system identification in the atom maser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Catana, Catalin; Kypraios, Theodore; Guţă, Mădălin

2014-01-01

We consider the problem of estimating a dynamical parameter of a Markovian quantum open system (the atom maser), by performing continuous time measurements in the system's output (outgoing atoms). Two estimation methods are investigated and compared. Firstly, the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) takes into account the full measurement data and is asymptotically optimal in terms of its mean square error. Secondly, the ‘likelihood-free’ method of approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) produces an approximation of the posterior distribution for a given set of summary statistics, by sampling trajectories at different parameter values and comparing them with the measurement data via chosen statistics. Building on previous results which showed that atom counts are poor statistics for certain values of the Rabi angle, we apply MLE to the full measurement data and estimate its Fisher information. We then select several correlation statistics such as waiting times, distribution of successive identical detections, and use them as input of the ABC algorithm. The resulting posterior distribution follows closely the data likelihood, showing that the selected statistics capture ‘most’ statistical information about the Rabi angle. (paper)

Survival and Growth of Cottonwood Clones After Angle Planting and Base Angle Treatments

Science.gov (United States)

W.K. Randall; Harvey E. Kennedy

1976-01-01

Presently, commercial cottonwood plantations in the lower Mississippi Valley are established using vertically planted, unrooted cuttings with a flat (90°) base. Neither survival nor first-year growth of a group of six Stoneville clones was improved by angle planting or cutting base angles diagonally. For one clone, survival was significantly better when base angle was...

Disruptive technologies and transportation : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

Disruptive technologies refer to innovations that, at first, may be considered unproven, lacking refinement, relatively unknown, or even impractical, but ultimately they supplant existing technologies and/or applications. In general, disruptive techn...

Emerging and Disruptive Technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kricka, Larry J

2016-08-01

Several emerging or disruptive technologies can be identified that might, at some point in the future, displace established laboratory medicine technologies and practices. These include increased automation in the form of robots, 3-D printing, technology convergence (e.g., plug-in glucose meters for smart phones), new point-of-care technologies (e.g., contact lenses with sensors, digital and wireless enabled pregnancy tests) and testing locations (e.g., Retail Health Clinics, new at-home testing formats), new types of specimens (e.g., cell free DNA), big biology/data (e.g., million genome projects), and new regulations (e.g., for laboratory developed tests). In addition, there are many emerging technologies (e.g., planar arrays, mass spectrometry) that might find even broader application in the future and therefore also disrupt current practice. One interesting source of disruptive technology may prove to be the Qualcomm Tricorder XPrize, currently in its final stages.

Microalgal cell disruption via ultrasonic nozzle spraying.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, M; Yuan, W

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to understand the effect of operating parameters, including ultrasound amplitude, spraying pressure, nozzle orifice diameter, and initial cell concentration on microalgal cell disruption and lipid extraction in an ultrasonic nozzle spraying system (UNSS). Two algal species including Scenedesmus dimorphus and Nannochloropsis oculata were evaluated. Experimental results demonstrated that the UNSS was effective in the disruption of microalgal cells indicated by significant changes in cell concentration and Nile red-stained lipid fluorescence density between all treatments and the control. It was found that increasing ultrasound amplitude generally enhanced cell disruption and lipid recovery although excessive input energy was not necessary for best results. The effect of spraying pressure and nozzle orifice diameter on cell disruption and lipid recovery was believed to be dependent on the competition between ultrasound-induced cavitation and spraying-generated shear forces. Optimal cell disruption was not always achieved at the highest spraying pressure or biggest nozzle orifice diameter; instead, they appeared at moderate levels depending on the algal strain and specific settings. Increasing initial algal cell concentration significantly reduced cell disruption efficiency. In all UNSS treatments, the effectiveness of cell disruption and lipid recovery was found to be dependent on the algal species treated.

Temperature of maximum density and excess thermodynamics of aqueous mixtures of methanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

González-Salgado, D.; Zemánková, K. [Departamento de Física Aplicada, Universidad de Vigo, Campus del Agua, Edificio Manuel Martínez-Risco, E-32004 Ourense (Spain); Noya, E. G.; Lomba, E. [Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano, CSIC, Calle Serrano 119, E-28006 Madrid (Spain)

2016-05-14

In this work, we present a study of representative excess thermodynamic properties of aqueous mixtures of methanol over the complete concentration range, based on extensive computer simulation calculations. In addition to test various existing united atom model potentials, we have developed a new force-field which accurately reproduces the excess thermodynamics of this system. Moreover, we have paid particular attention to the behavior of the temperature of maximum density (TMD) in dilute methanol mixtures. The presence of a temperature of maximum density is one of the essential anomalies exhibited by water. This anomalous behavior is modified in a non-monotonous fashion by the presence of fully miscible solutes that partly disrupt the hydrogen bond network of water, such as methanol (and other short chain alcohols). In order to obtain a better insight into the phenomenology of the changes in the TMD of water induced by small amounts of methanol, we have performed a new series of experimental measurements and computer simulations using various force fields. We observe that none of the force-fields tested capture the non-monotonous concentration dependence of the TMD for highly diluted methanol solutions.

How pinning and contact angle hysteresis govern quasi-static liquid drop transfer.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, H; Tang, T; Zhao, H; Law, K-Y; Amirfazli, A

2016-02-21

This paper presents both experimental and numerical simulations of liquid transfer between two solid surfaces with contact angle hysteresis (CAH). Systematic studies on the role of the advancing contact angle (θa), receding contact angle (θr) and CAH in determining the transfer ratio (volume of the liquid transferred onto the acceptor surface over the total liquid volume) and the maximum adhesion force (Fmax) were performed. The transfer ratio was found to be governed by contact line pinning at the end of the transfer process caused by CAH of surfaces. A map based on θr of the two surfaces was generated to identify the three regimes for liquid transfer: (I) contact line pinning occurs only on the donor surface, (II) contact line pinning occurs on both surfaces, and (III) contact line pinning occurs only on the acceptor surface. With this map, an empirical equation is provided which is able to estimate the transfer ratio by only knowing θr of the two surfaces. The value of Fmax is found to be strongly influenced by the contact line pinning in the early stretching stage. For symmetric liquid bridges between two identical surfaces, Fmax may be determined only by θa, only by θr, or by both θa and θr, depending on the magnitude of the contact angles. For asymmetric bridges, Fmax is found to be affected by the period when contact lines are pinned on both surfaces.

Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) enhance cytotoxicity of cisplatin to hepatocellular cells by microdomain disruption on plasma membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Shengyong; Chen, Xinhua; Xie, Haiyang; Zhou, Lin; Guo, Danjing; Xu, Yuning; Wu, Liming; Zheng, Shusen

2016-08-15

Previous studies showed nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) can ablate solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but its effect on cell membrane is not fully understood. We hypothesized nsPEF disrupt the microdomains on outer-cellular membrane with direct mechanical force and as a result the plasma membrane permeability increases to facilitate the small molecule intake. Three HCC cells were pulsed one pulse per minute, an interval longer than nanopore resealing time. The cationized ferritin was used to mark up the electronegative microdomains, propidium iodide (PI) for membrane permeabilization, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) for the negative cell surface charge and cisplatin for inner-cellular cytotoxicity. We demonstrated that the ferritin marked-microdomain and negative cell surface charge were disrupted by nsPEF caused-mechanical force. The cell uptake of propidium and cytotoxicity of DNA-targeted cisplatin increased with a dose effect. Cisplatin gains its maximum inner-cellular cytotoxicity when combining with nsPEF stimulation. We conclude that nsPEF disrupt the microdomains on the outer cellular membrane directly and increase the membrane permeabilization for PI and cisplatin. The microdomain disruption and membrane infiltration changes are caused by the mechanical force from the changes of negative cell surface charge. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) enhance cytotoxicity of cisplatin to hepatocellular cells by microdomain disruption on plasma membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin, Shengyong; Chen, Xinhua; Xie, Haiyang; Zhou, Lin; Guo, Danjing; Xu, Yuning; Wu, Liming; Zheng, Shusen

2016-01-01

Previous studies showed nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) can ablate solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but its effect on cell membrane is not fully understood. We hypothesized nsPEF disrupt the microdomains on outer-cellular membrane with direct mechanical force and as a result the plasma membrane permeability increases to facilitate the small molecule intake. Three HCC cells were pulsed one pulse per minute, an interval longer than nanopore resealing time. The cationized ferritin was used to mark up the electronegative microdomains, propidium iodide (PI) for membrane permeabilization, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) for the negative cell surface charge and cisplatin for inner-cellular cytotoxicity. We demonstrated that the ferritin marked-microdomain and negative cell surface charge were disrupted by nsPEF caused-mechanical force. The cell uptake of propidium and cytotoxicity of DNA-targeted cisplatin increased with a dose effect. Cisplatin gains its maximum inner-cellular cytotoxicity when combining with nsPEF stimulation. We conclude that nsPEF disrupt the microdomains on the outer cellular membrane directly and increase the membrane permeabilization for PI and cisplatin. The microdomain disruption and membrane infiltration changes are caused by the mechanical force from the changes of negative cell surface charge.

Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) enhance cytotoxicity of cisplatin to hepatocellular cells by microdomain disruption on plasma membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yin, Shengyong; Chen, Xinhua; Xie, Haiyang; Zhou, Lin [Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, 310003 Hangzhou (China); Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-organ Transplantation, Ministry of Public Health and Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003 (China); Guo, Danjing; Xu, Yuning [Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-organ Transplantation, Ministry of Public Health and Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003 (China); Wu, Liming, E-mail: wlm@zju.edu.cn [Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, 310003 Hangzhou (China); Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-organ Transplantation, Ministry of Public Health and Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003 (China); Zheng, Shusen, E-mail: shusenzheng@zju.edu.cn [Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, 310003 Hangzhou (China); Key Laboratory of Combined Multi-organ Transplantation, Ministry of Public Health and Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation of Zhejiang Province, The Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003 (China)

2016-08-15

Previous studies showed nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) can ablate solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but its effect on cell membrane is not fully understood. We hypothesized nsPEF disrupt the microdomains on outer-cellular membrane with direct mechanical force and as a result the plasma membrane permeability increases to facilitate the small molecule intake. Three HCC cells were pulsed one pulse per minute, an interval longer than nanopore resealing time. The cationized ferritin was used to mark up the electronegative microdomains, propidium iodide (PI) for membrane permeabilization, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) for the negative cell surface charge and cisplatin for inner-cellular cytotoxicity. We demonstrated that the ferritin marked-microdomain and negative cell surface charge were disrupted by nsPEF caused-mechanical force. The cell uptake of propidium and cytotoxicity of DNA-targeted cisplatin increased with a dose effect. Cisplatin gains its maximum inner-cellular cytotoxicity when combining with nsPEF stimulation. We conclude that nsPEF disrupt the microdomains on the outer cellular membrane directly and increase the membrane permeabilization for PI and cisplatin. The microdomain disruption and membrane infiltration changes are caused by the mechanical force from the changes of negative cell surface charge.

Approximate maximum parsimony and ancestral maximum likelihood.

Science.gov (United States)

Alon, Noga; Chor, Benny; Pardi, Fabio; Rapoport, Anat

2010-01-01

We explore the maximum parsimony (MP) and ancestral maximum likelihood (AML) criteria in phylogenetic tree reconstruction. Both problems are NP-hard, so we seek approximate solutions. We formulate the two problems as Steiner tree problems under appropriate distances. The gist of our approach is the succinct characterization of Steiner trees for a small number of leaves for the two distances. This enables the use of known Steiner tree approximation algorithms. The approach leads to a 16/9 approximation ratio for AML and asymptotically to a 1.55 approximation ratio for MP.

Wideband metamaterial array with polarization-independent and wide incident angle for harvesting ambient electromagnetic energy and wireless power transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Hui-Teng; Yang, Xue-Xia; Song, Xing-Tang; Guo, Zhen-Yue; Yu, Fan

2017-11-01

In this work, we introduced the design, demonstration, and discussion of a wideband metamaterial array with polarization-independent and wide-angle for harvesting ambient electromagnetic (EM) energy and wireless power transfer. The array consists of unit cells with one square ring and four metal bars. In comparison to the published metamaterial arrays for harvesting EM energy or wireless transfer, this design had the wide operation bandwidth with the HPBW (Half Power Band Width) of 110% (6.2 GHz-21.4 GHz), which overcomes the narrow-band operation induced by the resonance characteristic of the metamaterial. On the normal incidence, the simulated maximum harvesting efficiency was 96% and the HPBW was 110% for the random polarization wave. As the incident angle increases to 45°, the maximum efficiency remained higher than 88% and the HPBW remained higher than 83% for the random polarization wave. Furthermore, the experimental verification of the designed metamaterial array was conducted, and the measured results were in reasonable agreement with the simulated ones.

The Logic of Digital Platform Disruption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kazan, Erol; Tan, Chee-Wee; Lim, Eric T. K.

Digital platforms are disruptive IT artifacts, because they facilitate the quick release of innovative platform derivatives from third parties (e.g., apps). This study endeavours to unravel the disruptive potential, caused by distinct designs and configurations of digital platforms on market...... environments. We postulate that the disruptive potential of digital platforms is determined by the degree of alignment among the business, technology and platform profiles. Furthermore, we argue that the design and configuration of the aforementioned three elements dictates the extent to which open innovation...... is permitted. To shed light on the disruptive potential of digital platforms, we opted for payment platforms as our unit of analysis. Through interviews with experts and payment providers, we seek to gain an in-depth appreciation of how contemporary digital payment platforms are designed and configured...

Disruptive coloration in woodland camouflage: evaluation of camouflage effectiveness due to minor disruptive patches

Science.gov (United States)

Selj, Gorm K.; Heinrich, Daniela H.

2016-10-01

We present results from an observer based photosimulation study of generic camouflage patterns, intended for military uniforms, where three near-identical patterns have been compared. All the patterns were prepared with similar effective color, but were different in how the individual pattern patches were distributed throughout the target. We did this in order to test if high contrast (black) patches along the outline of the target would enhance the survivability when exposed to human observers. In the recent years it has been shown that disruptive coloration in the form of high contrast patches are capable of disturbing an observer by creating false edges of the target and consequently enhance target survivability. This effect has been shown in different forms in the Animal Kingdom, but not to the same extent in camouflaged military targets. The three patterns in this study were i) with no disruptive preference, ii) with a disruptive patch along the outline of the head and iii) with a disruptive patch on the outline of one of the shoulders. We used a high number of human observers to assess the three targets in 16 natural (woodland) backgrounds by showing images of one of the targets at the time on a high definition pc screen. We found that the two patterns that were thought to have a minor disruptive preference to the remaining pattern were more difficult to detect in some (though not all) of the 16 scenes and were also better in overall performance when all the scenes were accounted for.

Preliminary attempt on maximum likelihood tomosynthesis reconstruction of DEI data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhentian; Huang Zhifeng; Zhang Li; Kang Kejun; Chen Zhiqiang; Zhu Peiping

2009-01-01

Tomosynthesis is a three-dimension reconstruction method that can remove the effect of superimposition with limited angle projections. It is especially promising in mammography where radiation dose is concerned. In this paper, we propose a maximum likelihood tomosynthesis reconstruction algorithm (ML-TS) on the apparent absorption data of diffraction enhanced imaging (DEI). The motivation of this contribution is to develop a tomosynthesis algorithm in low-dose or noisy circumstances and make DEI get closer to clinic application. The theoretical statistical models of DEI data in physics are analyzed and the proposed algorithm is validated with the experimental data at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF). The results of ML-TS have better contrast compared with the well known 'shift-and-add' algorithm and FBP algorithm. (authors)

Effect of the blade arc angle on the performance of a Savonius wind turbine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaoyong Mao

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Savonius wind turbine is a common vertical axis wind turbine which simply comprises two or three arc-type blades and can generate power under poor wind conditions. With the aim of increasing the turbine’s power efficiency, the effect of the blade arc angle on the performance of a typical two-bladed Savonius wind turbine is investigated with a transient computational fluid dynamics method. Simulations were based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes equations, and the renormalization group k − ε turbulent model was utilized. The numerical method was validated with existing experimental data. The results indicate that the turbine with a blade arc angle of 160 ∘ generates the maximum power coefficient, 0.2836, which is 8.37% higher than that from a conventional Savonius turbine.

Seismic Slip on an Oblique Detachment Fault at Low Angles

Science.gov (United States)

Janecke, S. U.; Steely, A. N.; Evans, J. P.

2008-12-01

Pseudotachylytes are one of the few accepted indicators of seismic slip along ancient faults. Low-angle normal faults have produced few large earthquakes in historic times and low-angle normal faults (detachment faults) are typically severely misoriented relative to a vertical maximum compressive stress. As a result many geoscientists question whether low-angle normal faults produce earthquakes at low angles. Relationships in southern California show that a major low-angle normal-oblique fault slipped at low angles and produced large earthquakes. The exhumed Late Cenozoic West Salton detachment fault preserves spectacular fault- related pseudotachylytes along its fault plane and injected into its hanging wall and footwall. Composite pseudotachylyte zones are up to 1.25 m thick and persists over lateral distances of at least 10's of meters. Pseudotachylyte is common in most thin sections of damaged fault rocks with more than 20% (by volume) of cataclasite. We recognized the presence of original melt using numerous criteria: abundant spherulites in thin sections, injection structures at both the thin-section and outcrop scale, black aphanitic textures, quenched vein margins, variations in microcrystallite textures and/or size with respect to the vein margin, and glassy textures in hand sample. Multiple earthquakes are inferred to produce the layered "stratigraphy" in some exposures of pseudotachylytes. We infer that the West Salton detachment fault formed and slipped at low angles because it nearly perfectly reactivates a Cretaceous ductile thrust system at the half km scale and dips between 10 and 45 degrees. The about 30 degree NNE dip of the detachment fault on the north side of Yaqui Ridge is likely steeper than its dip during detachment slip because there is local steepening on the flanks of the Yaqui Ridge antiform in a contractional stepover of a crosscutting Quaternary San Felipe dextral fault zone. These relationships indicate a low dip on the detachment

Dependence of ion-electron emission from clean metals on the incidence angle of the projectile

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferron, J.; Alonso, E.V.; Baragiola, R.A.; Oliva-Florio, A.

1981-10-15

We have studied the dependence of electron yields ..gamma.. from clean Cu and Au surfaces on the incidence angle theta of 5--50-keV He/sup +/, Ar/sup +/, and Xe/sup +/ projectiles, in the angular range 0--80 /sup 0/, and under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions. We have found that, at small angles, ..gamma..proportionalsec/sup f/theta, with f generally different from unity. For Xe/sup +/ on Cu, ..gamma..(theta) presents an energy-dependence maximum, similar to that obtained for sputtering. The results are explained in terms of the anisotropy of the electron cascade in the solid, the depth distribution of the inelastic energy deposited by the projectile and by rapidly recoiling target atoms in the near-surface region of the solid.

The double Brewster angle effect

Science.gov (United States)

Thirion-Lefevre, Laetitia; Guinvarc'h, Régis

2018-01-01

The Double Brewster angle effect (DBE) is an extension of the Brewster angle to double reflection on two orthogonal dielectric surfaces. It results from the combination of two pseudo-Brewster angles occurring in complementary incidence angles domains. It can be observed for a large range of incidence angles provided that double bounces mechanism is present. As a consequence of this effect, we show that the reflection coefficient at VV polarization can be at least 10 dB lower than the reflection coefficient at HH polarization over a wide range of incidence angle - typically from 20 to 70∘. It is experimentally demonstrated using a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image that this effect can be seen on buildings and forests. For large buildings, the difference can reach more than 20 dB. xml:lang="fr"

Multidetector-row computed tomography for evaluating the branching angle of the celiac artery: a descriptive study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokue, Hiroyuki; Tokue, Azusa; Tsushima, Yoshito

2012-01-01

We performed this study in order to investigate the shape of the origin of the celiac artery in maximum intensity projection (MIP) using routine 64 multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) data in order to plan for the implantation of an intra-arterial hepatic port system. A total of 1,104 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were assessed with MDCT. In the definition of the branching angle, the anterior side of the abdominal aorta was considered the baseline, and the cranial and caudal sides were designated as 0 and 180 degrees, respectively. The angles between 0 and 90 degrees and between 90 and 180 degrees from the cranial side were considered upward and downward, respectively, and the branching angle of the celiac artery was classified every 30 degrees. The subclavian arterial route was used for the implantation of an intra-arterial hepatic port system in patients with branching angles of 150 degrees or more (sharp downward). The median branching angle was (median ± standard deviation) 135 ± 23 (range, 51–174) degrees. The branching was upward in 77 patients (7%) and downward in 1,027 patients (93%). The branching was downward with an angle of 120 to150 degrees in most patients (n = 613). The branching was sharply downward with an angle of 150 degrees or more in 177 patients (16%). A total of 10 patients were referred for interventional placement of an intra-arterial hepatic port system. The subclavian arterial route was used for implantation of an intra-arterial hepatic port system in 2 patients with sharp downward branching. The branching angle of the celiac artery can be easily determined by the preparation of MIP images from routine MDCT data. MIP may provide useful information for the selection of the catheter insertion route in order to avoid a sharp branching angle of the celiac artery

Overvoltage protection for magnetic system during disruption in tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Ming; Li, Xiaolong; He, Yang; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Zhongyong; Yu, Kexun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We investigate the way to limit the plasma disruption overvoltage by using the MOVs. • An overvoltage model of plasma disruption is introduced. • The overvoltage protection scheme has been verified by disruption experiments. • The overvoltage during plasma disruption can be limited to 330 V. - Abstract: During a plasma disruption the magnetic flux in the tokamak changes rapidly, which in most cases will cause high-voltage surges among the magnetic systems and may bring severe damage to the components if there is no overvoltage protection. This paper investigates the way to limit the plasma disruption overvoltage and absorb the energy with the use of metal oxide varistors (MOVs). An overvoltage model of plasma disruption is introduced which can be used for the simulation of plasma disruption and the analysis of the overvoltage. The effectiveness of the overvoltage protection system is validated with disruption experiments. It shows that by optimizing the varistors voltage, the overvoltage during plasma disruption can be limited to an ideal low value. Now the overvoltage protection system has been deployed in J-TEXT tokamak and serves well for daily experiments.

Disruptive School Peers and Student Outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristoffersen, Jannie H. G.; Krægpøth, Morten; Nielsen, Helena Skyt

2015-01-01

This paper estimates how peers’ achievement gains are affected by the presence of potentially disruptive and emotionally sensitive children in the school-cohort. We exploit that some children move between schools and thus generate variation in peer composition in the receiving school-cohort. We...... identify three groups of potentially disruptive and emotionally sensitive children from detailed Danish register data: children with divorced parents, children with parents convicted of crime, and children with a psychiatric diagnosis. We find that adding potentially disruptive children lowers the academic...

Disruptive School Peers and Student Outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristoffersen, Jannie H. Grøne; Krægpøth, Morten; Nielsen, Helena Skyt

This paper estimates how peers’ achievement gains are affected by the presence of potentially disruptive and emotionally sensitive children in the school-cohort. We exploit that some children move between schools and thus generate variation in peer composition in the receiving school-cohort. We...... identify three groups of potentially disruptive and emotionally sensitive children from detailed Danish register data: children with divorced parents, children with parents convicted of crime, and children with a psychiatric diagnosis. We find that adding potentially disruptive children lowers the academic...

Disruptive School Peers and Student Outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristoffersen, Jannie H. G.; Krægpøth, Morten Visby; Skyt Nielsen, Helena

This paper estimates how peers’ achievement gains are affected by the presence of potentially disruptive and emotionally sensitive children in the school-cohort. We exploit that some children move between schools and thus generate variation in peer composition in the receiving schoolcohort. We...... identify three groups of potentially disruptive and emotionally sensitive children from detailed Danish register data: children with divorced parents, children with parents convicted of crime, and children with a psychiatric diagnosis. We find that adding potentially disruptive children lowers the academic...

Phenomenology of high density disruptions in the TFTR tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredrickson, E.D.; McGuire, K.M.; Bell, M.G.

1993-01-01

Studies of high density disruptions on TFTR, including a comparison of minor and major disruptions at high density, provide important new information regarding the nature of the disruption mechanism. Further, for the first time, an (m,n)=(1,1) 'cold bubble' precursor to high density disruptions has been experimentally observed in the electron temperature profile. The precursor to major disruptions resembles the 'vacuum bubble' model of disruptions first proposed by B.B. Kadomtsev and O.P. Pogutse (Sov. Phys. - JETP 38 (1974) 283). (author). Letter-to-the-editor. 25 refs, 3 figs

MR study of the intrinsic acromial angle in 74 symptomatic patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Mario, Mario; Fraracci, Lucio

2005-01-01

Purpose. The study was undertaken to define some measurements on sagittal MR images that could provide quantitative data on the subacromial spece in patients affected by nonspecific impingement syndrome and to correlate these measurements with the Bigliani classification of acromial morphology. Materials and methods. We retrospectively reviewed 74 shoulders in 74 patients (47 males, 27 females, age range 35-62 years) who presented with mechanical disability and pain. The patients underwent MRl using TI-weighted sagittal oblique and coronaI SE sequences (TR 500 ms,TE 12 ms) and T2-weighted FSE sequences (TR 3500, TE 25 ms) with dedicated coil. Two parameters were evaluated: the intrinsic acromial angle and the acromio-humeral distance. The measurements were made on the sagittal images at the acromion-clavicular junction and correlated to the Bigliani classification of acromial morphology. The images were evaluated by two radiologists blinded to the patients' identity, history and arthroscopic results. Results. The acromial angle was measured in 72 shoulders. The values were found to correlate with tue Bigliani classification. In our series, the intrinsic acromial angle (resulting from the intersection between the longitudinal acromial axis and the tangent to the acromial undersurface) ranged from 0 o to 17 o . In shoulders with rotator cuff tears the acromial angle varied between 8 o and 17 o . There were no tears for acromial angles below 8 o , whereas in patients with full-thickness tears the angles ranged from a minimum of 12 o to a maximum of 15 o . Acromio-humeral distance ranged from 2 mm to 10 mm; in patients with cuff tears it could not be assessed as it was close to zero in nearly all cases, whereas in cases of impingement without cuff tear it ranged from 5 mm to 10 mm. Impingement without cuff tear was detected in 31 cases, with angles ranging from 10 o to 17 o . Conclusions. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the two quantitative parameters

A single camera photogrammetry system for multi-angle fast localization of EEG electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Shuo; Sheng, Yang

2011-11-01

Photogrammetry has become an effective method for the determination of electroencephalography (EEG) electrode positions in three dimensions (3D). Capturing multi-angle images of the electrodes on the head is a fundamental objective in the design of photogrammetry system for EEG localization. Methods in previous studies are all based on the use of either a rotating camera or multiple cameras, which are time-consuming or not cost-effective. This study aims to present a novel photogrammetry system that can realize simultaneous acquisition of multi-angle head images in a single camera position. Aligning two planar mirrors with the angle of 51.4°, seven views of the head with 25 electrodes are captured simultaneously by the digital camera placed in front of them. A complete set of algorithms for electrode recognition, matching, and 3D reconstruction is developed. It is found that the elapsed time of the whole localization procedure is about 3 min, and camera calibration computation takes about 1 min, after the measurement of calibration points. The positioning accuracy with the maximum error of 1.19 mm is acceptable. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system provides a fast and cost-effective method for the EEG positioning.

A 33,000-year-old incipient dog from the Altai Mountains of Siberia: evidence of the earliest domestication disrupted by the Last Glacial Maximum.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolai D Ovodov

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Virtually all well-documented remains of early domestic dog (Canis familiaris come from the late Glacial and early Holocene periods (ca. 14,000-9000 calendar years ago, cal BP, with few putative dogs found prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ca. 26,500-19,000 cal BP. The dearth of pre-LGM dog-like canids and incomplete state of their preservation has until now prevented an understanding of the morphological features of transitional forms between wild wolves and domesticated dogs in temporal perspective. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: We describe the well-preserved remains of a dog-like canid from the Razboinichya Cave (Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. Because of the extraordinary preservation of the material, including skull, mandibles (both sides and teeth, it was possible to conduct a complete morphological description and comparison with representative examples of pre-LGM wild wolves, modern wolves, prehistoric domesticated dogs, and early dog-like canids, using morphological criteria to distinguish between wolves and dogs. It was found that the Razboinichya Cave individual is most similar to fully domesticated dogs from Greenland (about 1000 years old, and unlike ancient and modern wolves, and putative dogs from Eliseevichi I site in central Russia. Direct AMS radiocarbon dating of the skull and mandible of the Razboinichya canid conducted in three independent laboratories resulted in highly compatible ages, with average value of ca. 33,000 cal BP. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The Razboinichya Cave specimen appears to be an incipient dog that did not give rise to late Glacial-early Holocene lineages and probably represents wolf domestication disrupted by the climatic and cultural changes associated with the LGM. The two earliest incipient dogs from Western Europe (Goyet, Belguim and Siberia (Razboinichya, separated by thousands of kilometers, show that dog domestication was multiregional, and thus had no single place of

Hybrid intelligent control of PMSG wind generation system using pitch angle control with RBFN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Whei-Min; Hong, Chih-Ming; Ou, Ting-Chia; Chiu, Tai-Ming

2011-01-01

This paper presents the design of a fuzzy sliding mode loss-minimization control for the speed of a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and a high-performance on-line training radial basis function network (RBFN) for the turbine pitch angle control. The back-propagation learning algorithm is used to regulate the RBFN controller. The PMSG speed uses maximum power point tracking below the rated speed, which corresponds to low and high wind speed, and the maximum energy can be captured from the wind. A sliding mode controller with an integral-operation switching surface is designed, in which a fuzzy inference mechanism is utilized to estimate the upper bound of uncertainties. Furthermore, the fuzzy inference mechanism with center adaptation is investigated to estimate the optimal bound of uncertainties.

Disrupting reconsolidation: pharmacological and behavioral manipulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Soeter, M.; Kindt, M.

2011-01-01

We previously demonstrated that disrupting reconsolidation by pharmacological manipulations "deleted" the emotional expression of a fear memory in humans. If we are to target reconsolidation in patients with anxiety disorders, the disruption of reconsolidation should produce content-limited

Endocrine Disrupting Contaminants—Beyond the Dogma

Science.gov (United States)

Guillette, Louis J.

2006-01-01

Descriptions of endocrine disruption have largely been associated with wildlife and driven by observations documenting estrogenic, androgenic, antiandrogenic, and antithyroid actions. These actions, in response to exposure to ecologically relevant concentrations of various environmental contaminants, have now been established in numerous vertebrate species. However, many potential mechanisms and endocrine actions have not been studied. For example, the DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane] metabolite, p,p′-DDE [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene] is known to disrupt prostaglandin synthesis in the uterus of birds, providing part of the explanation for DDT-induced egg shell thinning. Few studies have examined prostaglandin synthesis as a target for endocrine disruption, yet these hormones are active in reproduction, immune responses, and cardiovascular physiology. Future studies must broaden the basic science approach to endocrine disruption, thereby expanding the mechanisms and endocrine end points examined. This goal should be accomplished even if the primary influence and funding continue to emphasize a narrower approach based on regulatory needs. Without this broader approach, research into endocrine disruption will become dominated by a narrow dogma, focusing on a few end points and mechanisms. PMID:16818240

Disruption Management in Passenger Railway Transportation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jespersen-Groth, Julie; Potthoff, Daniel; Clausen, Jens

This paper deals with disruption management in passenger railway transportation. In the disruption management process, many actors belonging to different organizations play a role. In this paper we therefore describe the process itself and the roles of the different actors. Furthermore, we discuss...... the three main subproblems in railway disruption management: timetable adjustment, and rolling stock and crew re-scheduling. Next to a general description of these problems, we give an overview of the existing literature and we present some details of the specific situations at DSB S-tog and NS....... These are the railway operators in the suburban area of Copenhagen, Denmark, and on the main railway lines in the Netherlands, respectively. Since not much research has been carried out yet on Operations Research models for disruption management in the railway context, models and techniques that have been developed...

Prospective case series on trabecular-iris angle status after an acute episode of phacomorphic angle closure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacky Lee

2013-02-01

Full Text Available AIM:To investigate the trabecular-iris angle with ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM post cataract extraction after an acute attack of phacomorphic angle closure.METHODS: This prospective study involved 10 cases of phacomorphic angle closure that underwent cataract extraction and intraocular lens insertion after intraocular pressure (IOP lowering. Apart from visual acuity and IOP, the trabecular-iris angle was measured by gonioscopy and UBM at 3 months post attack.RESULTS: In 10 consecutive cases of acute phacomorphic angle closure from December 2009 to December 2010, gonioscopic findings showed peripheral anterior synechiae (PAS ≤ 90° in 30% of phacomorphic patients and a mean Shaffer grading of (3.1±1.0. UBM showed a mean angle of (37.1°±4.5° in the phacomorphic eye with the temporal quadrant being the most opened and (37.1°±8.0° in the contralateral uninvolved eye. The mean time from consultation to cataract extraction was (1.4±0.7 days and the mean total duration of phacomorphic angle closure was (3.6±2.8 days but there was no correlation to the degree of angle closure on UBM (Spearman correlation P=0.7. The presenting mean IOP was (50.5±7.4 mmHg and the mean IOP at 3 months was (10.5±3.4 mmHg but there were no correlations with the degree of angle closure (Spearman correlations P=0.9.CONCLUSION:An open trabecular-iris angle and normal IOP can be achieved after an acute attack of phacomorphic angle closure if cataract extraction is performed within 1 day - 2 days after IOP control. Gonioscopic findings were in agreement with UBM, which provided a more specific and object angle measurement. The superior angle is relatively more narrowed compared to the other quadrants. All contralateral eyes in this series had open angles.

Visual in-pile fuel disruption experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cano, G.L.; Ostensen, R.W.; Young, M.F.

1978-01-01

In a loss-of-flow (LOF) accident in an LMFBR, the mode of disruption of fuel may determine the probability of a subsequent energetic excursion. To investigate these phenomena, in-pile disruption of fission-heated irradiated fuel pellets was recorded by high speed cinematography. Instead of fuel frothing or dust-cloud breakup (as used in the SAS code) massive and very rapid fuel swelling, not predicted by analytical models, occurred. These tests support massive fuel swelling as the initial mode of fuel disruption in a LOF accident. (author)

Evaluation of the resolving power of different angles in MPR images of 16DAS-MDCT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Mikio; Usui, Junshi; Nozawa, Takeo

2007-01-01

In this study, we evaluated the resolving power of three-dimensional (3D) multiplanar reformation (MPR) images with various angles by using 16 data acquisition system multi detector row computed tomography (16DAS-MDCT). We reconstructed the MPR images using data with a 0.75 mm slice thickness of the axial image in this examination. To evaluate resolving power, we used an original new phantom (RC phantom) that can be positioned at any slice angle in MPR images. We measured the modulation transfer function (MTF) by using the methods of measuring pre-sampling MTF, and used Fourier transform of image data of the square wave chart. The scan condition and image reconstruction condition that were adopted in this study correspond to the condition that we use for three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography(3D-CTA) examination of the head in our hospital. The MTF of MPR images showed minimum values at slice angles in parallel with the axial slice, and showed maximum values at the sagittal slice and coronal slice angles that are parallel to the Z-axis. With an oblique MPR image, MTF did not change with angle changes in the oblique sagittal slice plane, but in the oblique coronal slice plane, MTF increased as the tilt angle increased from the axial plane to the Z plane. As a result, we could evaluate the resolving power of a head 3D image by measuring the MTF of the axial image and sagittal image or the coronal image. (author)

[Evaluation of the resolving power of different angles in MPR images of 16DAS-MDCT].

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Mikio; Usui, Junshi; Nozawa, Takeo

2007-03-20

In this study, we evaluated the resolving power of three-dimensional (3D) multiplanar reformation (MPR) images with various angles by using 16 data acquisition system multi detector row computed tomography (16DAS-MDCT) . We reconstructed the MPR images using data with a 0.75 mm slice thickness of the axial image in this examination. To evaluate resolving power, we used an original new phantom (RC phantom) that can be positioned at any slice angle in MPR images. We measured the modulation transfer function (MTF) by using the methods of measuring pre-sampling MTF, and used Fourier transform of image data of the square wave chart. The scan condition and image reconstruction condition that were adopted in this study correspond to the condition that we use for three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography (3D-CTA) examination of the head in our hospital. The MTF of MPR images showed minimum values at slice angles in parallel with the axial slice, and showed maximum values at the sagittal slice and coronal slice angles that are parallel to the Z-axis. With an oblique MPR image, MTF did not change with angle changes in the oblique sagittal slice plane, but in the oblique coronal slice plane, MTF increased as the tilt angle increased from the axial plane to the Z plane. As a result, we could evaluate the resolving power of a head 3D image by measuring the MTF of the axial image and sagittal image or the coronal image.

Utilization of small-angle neutron scattering to decide the maximum loading of nuclear waste in cement matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Avik; Mazumder, S.; Sen, D.; Yalmali, V.; Shah, J.G.

2014-01-01

Nuclear power plants generate many kinds of hazardous nuclear waste which are needed to be disposed in an eco-friendly manner. Many different waste incarceration techniques have been adapted for managing the nuclear waste of different category of radioactivity. Immobilisation of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes in cement matrix is one of the widely used and cost-effective techniques in waste management. However, loading of nuclear waste in cement matrix can alter the mesoscopic structure of the hydrated cement and hence, it is very important to set the maximum limit of waste loading in cement for providing proper physical isolation to the nuclear waste

A case for change: disruption in academic medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahn, Marc J; Maurer, Ralph; Wartman, Steven A; Sachs, Benjamin P

2014-09-01

Disruptive technologies allow less expensive and more efficient processes to eventually dominate a market sector. The academic health center's tripartite mission of education, clinical care, and research is threatened by decreasing revenues and increasing expenses and is, as a result, ripe for disruption. The authors describe current disruptive technologies that threaten traditional operations at academic health centers and provide a prescription not only to survive, but also to prosper, in the face of disruptive forces.

Influence of angle of inclination on power of solar module; Taiyo denchi module no keisha kakudo to shutsuryoku tokusei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsutsumi, K.; Nishitani, M. [Dai Ichi University, College of Technology, Kagoshima (Japan)

1997-11-25

Experiment/study were conducted on the influence of angle of inclination on output of solar modules. In the experiment, changing the angle of inclination of the photovoltaic module installed on the top of school building to 0, 30, 60 and 90 degC, the global radiation on an inclined surface was measured by pyranometer equipped with the module, and at the same time output characteristics were measured by I-V curve tracer. In the I-V curve tracer, voltage, current, and output capability diagram are illustrated automatically changing bias voltage to get the maximum output. The global radiation on an inclined surface and the maximum output indicated an almost proportional relation and were expressed in a recursion method. Moreover, measurement of the global radiation is usually conducted using the amount of global radiation on a horizontal surface, and the global radiation on an inclined surface is calculated as a sum of the direct solar radiation amount and the sky solar radiation amount after determining a penetration rate by the relational equation. By calculating the global radiation on an inclined surface, it becomes possible to calculate the maximum output of photovoltaic modules by this recursion method. 1 ref., 6 figs., 1 tab.

Phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation in primary angle-closure suspect, primary angle-closure and primary angle-closure glaucoma with cataract

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kun Zeng

2013-08-01

Full Text Available AIM: To evaluate the features and clinical outcomes of cataract extraction by phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation in primary angle-closure suspect(PACS, primary angle-closure(PACand primary angle-closure glaucoma(PACGwith cataract.METHODS:Phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation was performed on 86 cases(86 eyesdiagnosed as PACS, PAC and PACG co-existing cataract from January to December 2012. All cases were followed up for 3 months to 1 year. Pre-operative and post-operative visual acuity, intraocular pressure(IOP, gonioscopy, ultrasound biomicroscopy(UBM, visual field and usage of anti-glaucomaous eye drops were recorded.RESULTS:Zonular dialysis existed in 19 eyes(22%. The post-operative visual acuity improved in 84 eyes(98%. The post-operative visual acuity was CONCLUSION: PACS, PAC and PACG co-existing zonular dialysis is common. Phacoemulsification with IOL implantation can reduce IOP, deepen anterior chamber and open angle.

When Disruptive Approaches Meet Disruptive Technologies: Learning at a Distance.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Chere Campbell

2000-01-01

Reviews research on constructivism in learning and selection of learning strategies. Suggests linking constructivism with instructional technologies for continuing medical education in order to "disrupt" reactive, habitual ways of learning and encourage active engagement. (SK)

Characterization of the plasma current quench during disruptions in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerhardt, S.P.; Menard, J.E.

2008-01-01

A detailed analysis of the plasma current quench in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (M.Ono, et al Nuclear Fusion 40, 557 (2000)) is presented. The fastest current quenches are fit better by a linear waveform than an exponential one. Area-normalized current quench times down to .4 msec/m2 have been observed, compared to the minimum of 1.7 msec/m2 recommendation based on conventional aspect ratio tokamaks; as noted in previous ITPA studies, the difference can be explained by the reduced self-inductance at low aspect ratio and high-elongation. The maximum instantaneous dIp/dt is often many times larger than the mean quench rate, and the plasma current before the disruption is often substantially less than the flat-top value. The poloidal field time-derivative during the disruption, which is directly responsible for driving eddy currents, has been recorded at various locations around the vessel. The Ip quench rate, plasma motion, and magnetic geometry all play important roles in determining the rate of poloidal field change

Application of the Disruption Predictor Feature Developer to developing a machine-portable disruption predictor

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Matthew; Tang, William; Feibush, Eliot

2016-10-01

Plasma disruptions pose a major threat to the operation of tokamaks which confine a large amount of stored energy. In order to effectively mitigate this damage it is necessary to predict an oncoming disruption with sufficient warning time to take mitigative action. Machine learning approaches to this problem have shown promise but require further developments to address (1) the need for machine-portable predictors and (2) the availability of multi-dimensional signal inputs. Here we demonstrate progress in these two areas by applying the Disruption Predictor Feature Developer to data from JET and NSTX, and discuss topics of focus for ongoing work in support of ITER. The author is also supported under the Fulbright U.S. Student Program as a graduate student in the department of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Small angle spectrometers: Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courant, E.; Foley, K.J.; Schlein, P.E.

1986-01-01

Aspects of experiments at small angles at the Superconducting Super Collider are considered. Topics summarized include a small angle spectrometer, a high contingency spectrometer, dipole and toroid spectrometers, and magnet choices

Demonstration of angle widening using EyeCam after laser peripheral iridotomy in eyes with angle closure.

Science.gov (United States)

Perera, Shamira A; Quek, Desmond T; Baskaran, Mani; Tun, Tin A; Kumar, Rajesh S; Friedman, David S; Aung, Tin

2010-06-01

To evaluate EyeCam in detecting changes in angle configuration after laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) in comparison to gonioscopy, the reference standard. Prospective comparative study. Twenty-four subjects (24 eyes) with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) were recruited. Gonioscopy and EyeCam (Clarity Medical Systems) imaging of all 4 angle quadrants were performed, before and 2 weeks after LPI. Images were graded according to angle structures visible by an observer masked to clinical data or the status of LPI, and were performed in a random order. Angle closure in a quadrant was defined as the inability to visualize the posterior trabecular meshwork. We determined the number of quadrants with closed angles and the mean number of clock hours of angle closure before and after LPI in comparison to gonioscopy. Using EyeCam, all 24 eyes showed at least 1 quadrant of angle widening after LPI. The mean number of clock hours of angle closure decreased significantly, from 8.15 +/- 3.47 clock hours before LPI to 1.75 +/- 2.27 clock hours after LPI (P gonioscopy showed 1.0 +/- 1.41 (95% CI, 0.43-1.57) quadrants opening from closed to open after LPI compared to 2.0 +/- 1.28 (95% CI, 1.49-2.51, P = .009) quadrants with EyeCam. Intra-observer reproducibility of grading the extent of angle closure in clock hours in EyeCam images was moderate to good (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.831). EyeCam may be used to document changes in angle configuration after LPI in eyes with PACG. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gene disruption in Salmonella typhimurim by modified λ Red disruption system.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahani Azari, A; Zahraei Salehi, T; Nayeri Fasaei, B; Alebouyeh, M

2015-01-01

There are many techniques to knock out directed genes in bacteria, some of which have been described in Salmonella species. In this study, a combination of SOEing PCR method and the λ Red disruption system were used to disrupt phoP gene in wild type and standard strains of Salmonella typhimurium. Three standards PCR and one fusion PCR reactions were performed to construct a linear DNA including upstream and downstream of phoP gene and Kanamycin cassette. As a template plasmid, we used pKD4 which carries kanamycin gene flanked by FRT (FLP recognition target) sites. The resulting construct was electroporated into prepared competent cells of S. typhimurium. The transformants colonies related to the standard strain appeared on the LB-Km-agar plates after incubation, but there was no colony on LB-Km-agar plates corresponding to the wild type strain. The failure in transformation of the wild type strain may be because of inflexibility of the λ Red disruption system in this strain or its unique restriction-modification system. However, by this construct we are able to generate phoP mutant in many of the Salmonella species due to high homology of the phoP gene which exists in different species.

Disruption Management in Passenger Railway Transportation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Groth, Julie Jespersen; Potthoff, Daniel; Clausen, Jens

2009-01-01

This paper deals with disruption management in passenger railway transportation. In the disruption management process, many actors belonging to different organizations play a role. In this paper we therefore describe the process itself and the roles of the different actors. Furthermore, we discuss...

Effect of glycine, DL-alanine and DL-2-aminobutyric acid on the temperature of maximum density of water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romero, Carmen M.; Torres, Andres Felipe

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Effect of α-amino acids on the temperature of maximum density of water is presented. • The addition of α-amino acids decreases the temperature of maximum density of water. • Despretz constants suggest that the amino acids behave as water structure breakers. • Despretz constants decrease as the number of CH 2 groups of the amino acid increase. • Solute disrupting effect becomes smaller as its hydrophobic character increases. - Abstract: The effect of glycine, DL-alanine and DL-2-aminobutyric acid on the temperature of maximum density of water was determined from density measurements using a magnetic float densimeter. Densities of aqueous solutions were measured within the temperature range from T = (275.65 to 278.65) K at intervals of T = 0.50 K over the concentration range between (0.0300 and 0.1000) mol · kg −1 . A linear relationship between density and concentration was obtained for all the systems in the temperature range considered. The temperature of maximum density was determined from the experimental results. The effect of the three amino acids is to decrease the temperature of maximum density of water and the decrease is proportional to molality according to Despretz equation. The effect of the amino acids on the temperature of maximum density decreases as the number of methylene groups of the alkyl chain becomes larger. The results are discussed in terms of (solute + water) interactions and the effect of amino acids on water structure

Structured Literature Review of disruptive innovation theory within the digital domain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vesti, Helle; Nielsen, Christian; Rosenstand, Claus Andreas Foss

2017-01-01

The area of interest is disruption is the digital domain. The research questions are: How has the disruption and digital disruption literature developed over time? What is the research focus into disruption regarding the digital domain and how has this changed over time? Which methods are being...... utilized in research regarding disruption and digital disruption? Where are the key contributors to disruption in general and in digital disruption? Is there a future for digital disruption research? The method is a Structured Literature Review (SLR). The contribution is the results of an analysis of 95...... publications within the field of disruption in the digital domain and disruptive innovation theory in general. Works of twelve practitioners and 83 academics are investigated....

Disruption mitigation studies in DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, P.L.; Kellman, A.G.; Evans, T.E.

1999-01-01

Data on the discharge behavior, thermal loads, halo currents, and runaway electrons have been obtained in disruptions on the DIII-D tokamak. These experiments have also evaluated techniques to mitigate the disruptions while minimizing runaway electron production. Experiments injecting cryogenic impurity killer pellets of neon and argon and massive amounts of helium gas have successfully reduced these disruption effects. The halo current generation, scaling, and mitigation are understood and are in good agreement with predictions of a semianalytic model. Results from killer pellet injection have been used to benchmark theoretical models of the pellet ablation and energy loss. Runaway electrons are often generated by the pellets and new runaway generation mechanisms, modifications of the standard Dreicer process, have been found to explain the runaways. Experiments with the massive helium gas puff have also effectively mitigated disruptions without the formation of runaway electrons that can occur with killer pellets

Longitudinal association between marital disruption and child BMI and obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Arkes, Jeremy

2012-08-01

This research examines whether family disruptions (i.e., divorces and separation) contribute to children's weight problems. The sample consists of 7,299 observations for 2,333 children, aged 5-14, over the 1986-2006 period, from a US representative sample from the Child and Young Adult Survey accompanying the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The study uses individual-fixed-effects models in a longitudinal framework to compare children's BMI and weight problems before and after a disruption. Furthermore, besides doing a before-after comparison for children, the study also estimates the effects at various periods relative to the disruption in order to examine whether children are affected before the disruption and whether any effects change as time passes from the disruption, as some effects may be temporary or slow to develop. Despite having a larger sample than the previous studies, the results provide no evidence that, on average, children's BMI and BMI percentile scores (measured with continuous outcomes) are affected before the disruption, after the disruption, and as time passes from the disruption, relative to a baseline period a few years before the disruption. However, children experiencing a family disruption do have an increased risk of obesity (having a BMI percentile score of 95 or higher) in the two years leading up to the disruption as well as after the disruption, and as time passes from the disruption.

Sideways wall force produced during tokamak disruptions

Science.gov (United States)

Strauss, H.; Paccagnella, R.; Breslau, J.; Sugiyama, L.; Jardin, S.

2013-07-01

A critical issue for ITER is to evaluate the forces produced on the surrounding conducting structures during plasma disruptions. We calculate the non-axisymmetric ‘sideways’ wall force Fx, produced in disruptions. Simulations were carried out of disruptions produced by destabilization of n = 1 modes by a vertical displacement event (VDE). The force depends strongly on γτwall, where γ is the mode growth rate and τwall is the wall penetration time, and is largest for γτwall = constant, which depends on initial conditions. Simulations of disruptions caused by a model of massive gas injection were also performed. It was found that the wall force increases approximately offset linearly with the displacement from the magnetic axis produced by a VDE. These results are also obtained with an analytical model. Disruptions are accompanied by toroidal variation of the plasma current Iφ. This is caused by toroidal variation of the halo current, as verified computationally and analytically.

Fuel disruption mechanisms determined in-pile in the ACRR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, S.A.; Fischer, E.A.

1984-09-01

Over thirty in-pile experiments were performed to investigate fuel disruption behavior for LMFBR loss of flow (LOF) accidents. These experiments reproduced the heating transients for a variety of accidents ranging from slow LOF accidents to rapid LOF-driven-TOP accidents. In all experiments the timing and mode of the fuel disruption were observed with a high speed camera, enabling detailed comparisons with a fuel pin code, SANDPIN. This code transient intra- and inter-granular fission gas behavior to predict the macroscopic fuel behavior, such as fission gas induced swelling and frothing, cracking and breakup of solid fuel, and fuel vapor pressure driven dispersal. This report reviews the different modes of fuel disruption as seen in the experiments and then describes the mechanism responsible for the disruption. An analysis is presented that describes a set of conditions specifying the mode of fuel disruption and the heating conditions required to produce the disruption. The heating conditions are described in terms of heating rate (K/s), temperature gradient, and fuel temperature. A fuel disruption map is presented which plots heating rate as a function of fuel temperature to illustrate the different criteria for disruption. Although this approach to describing fuel disruption oversimplifies the fission gas processes modeled by SANDPIN, it does illustrate the criteria used to determine which fuel disruption mechanism is dominant and on what major fission gas parameters it depends

A study on the angle between the abdominal aorta and the superior mesenteric artery by 3D image reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young Keun; Choi, Sung Kwan

2003-01-01

SMAS (Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome) is a disease caused by a chronic obstruction of the duodenum (transverse portion ), which is hardly detectable. However, it is known that when the superior mesenteric artery and abdominal aorta form a narrow angle, that the transverse portion of the duodenum is pressed down between the superior mesenteric artery and the abdominal aorta, and that this can lead to obstruction of the duodenum. Measuring this angle is a complicated job using conventional angiography, and results often turns out to be inaccurate. In addition, no attempt has been made to determine the value of this angle in Koreans. In this study, we conducted abdominal CT angiography using MIP (maximum intensity projection) on patients with no clinical evidence of SMAS in order to determine the angle at which the superior mesenteric artery branches from the abdominal aorta by using PC based software (Rapidia ver. 1.2) for the image reconstruction. Accordingly, we found that the mean angle between the abdominal aorta and the superior mesenteric artery was 50.05 ± 15.87 .deg. on average, and that the angle in men (53.64 ± 16.57 .deg.) is higher than in women (46.46 ± 14.98 .deg. ). We hope that the angles determined by our study will serve as an important indicator for detecting SMAS

Effect of NaCl induced floc disruption on biological disintegration of sludge for enhanced biogas production.

Science.gov (United States)

Kavitha, S; Kaliappan, S; Adish Kumar, S; Yeom, Ick Tae; Rajesh Banu, J

2015-09-01

In the present study, the influence of NaCl mediated bacterial disintegration of waste activated sludge (WAS) was evaluated in terms of disintegration and biodegradability of WAS. Floc disruption was efficient at 0.03 g/g SS of NaCl, promoting the shifts of extracellular proteins and carbohydrates from inner layers to extractable--soluble layers (90 mg/L), respectively. Outcomes of sludge disintegration reveal that the maximum solubilization achieved was found to be 23%, respectively. The model elucidating the parameter evaluation, explicates that floc disrupted--bacterially disintegrated sludge (S3) showed superior biodegradability of about 0.23 (gCOD/gCOD) than the bacterially disintegrated (S2) and control (S3) sludges of about 0.13 (gCOD/gCOD) and 0.05 (gCOD/gCOD), respectively. Cost evaluation of the present study affords net profits of approximately 2.5 USD and -21.5 USD in S3 and S2 sludge. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Criteria for initiation of tokamak disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopcraft, K.I.; Turner, M.F.

1986-01-01

The process by which a tokamak plasma evolves from an equilibrium state containing a saturated magnetic island to one which is disruptively unstable is discussed and illustrated by numerical simulation of a resistive magnetoplasma. Those elements which are required to initiate a disruption are delineated

Inventory strategies to manage supply disruptions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Atan, Z.; Snyder, L.V.; Gurnani, H.; Mehrotra, H.; Ray, S.

2012-01-01

Disruptions in supply chains occur routinely—both large ones, due to natural disasters, labor strikes, or terrorist attacks, and small ones, due to machine breakdowns, supplier stockouts, or quality problems (to name a few examples). Companies whose supply processes are affected by disruptions may

Improved heterologous protein production by a tripeptidyl peptidase gene (AosedD) disruptant of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Lin; Nemoto, Takeshi; Yoon, Jaewoo; Maruyama, Jun-ichi; Kitamoto, Katsuhiko

2012-01-01

Proteolytic degradation is one of the serious bottlenecks limiting the yields of heterologous protein production by Aspergillus oryzae. In this study, we selected a tripeptidyl peptidase gene AosedD (AO090166000084) as a candidate potentially degrading the heterologous protein, and performed localization analysis of the fusion protein AoSedD-EGFP in A. oryzae. As a result, the AoSedD-EGFP was observed in the septa and cell walls as well as in the culture medium, suggesting that AoSedD is a secretory enzyme. An AosedD disruptant was constructed to investigate an effect of AoSedD on the production level of heterologous proteins and protease activity. Both of the total protease and tripeptidyl peptidase activities in the culture medium of the AosedD disruptant were decreased as compared to those of the control strain. The maximum yields of recombinant bovine chymosin (CHY) and human lysozyme (HLY) produced by the AosedD disruptants showed approximately 2.9- and 1.7-fold increases, respectively, as compared to their control strains. These results suggest that AoSedD is one of the major proteases involved in the proteolytic degradation of recombinant proteins in A. oryzae.

Dependence of the polar Kerr angle and coercivity on repeat distance in sequentially prepared Tb/FeCo films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, S.

1991-01-01

Multilayer thin films of Tb and FeCo were prepared by sequential thermal evaporation of Tb and Fe 90 Co 10 alloy on glass substrates at ambient temperature in a vacuum of about 1 x 10 -6 Torr. The repeat distance of the films was varied from 3.5 to 175 A while maintaining the composition constant for all samples. Low-angle x-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy showed that a multilayer structure was achieved for films fabricated with a repeat distance Λ≥31.5 A. The polar Kerr rotation angle and coercivity of the samples were obtained by measuring the polar Kerr hysteresis loop using a 632.8-nm HeNe laser. It was observed that for the samples having a multilayer structure, the remnant Kerr angle and coercivity monotonically decreased with increasing repeat distance, and eventually disappeared for Λ≥70 A. For the samples showing a nonmultilayer structure, the remnant Kerr angle was independent of repeat distance. However, the coercivity increased with repeat distance until a broad maximum was obtained around Λ congruent 14--21 A

Erosion products in disruption simulation experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Safronov, V.; Arkhipov, N.; Bakhtin, V.; Barsuk, V.; Kurkin, S.; Mironova, E.; Toporkov, D.; Vasenin, S.; Zhitlukhin, A.; Arkhipov, I.; Werle, H.; Wuerz, H.

1998-01-01

Erosion of divertor materials under tokamak disruption event presents a serious problem of ITER technology. Erosion restricts the divertor lifetime and leads to production of redeposited layers of the material retaining large amount of tritium, which is a major safety issue for future fusion reactor. Since ITER disruptive heat loads are not achievable in existing tokamaks, material erosion is studied in special simulation experiments. Till now the simulation experiments have focused mainly on investigation of shielding effect and measurement of erosion rate. In the present work the properties of eroded and redeposited graphite are studied under condition typical for hard ITER disruption. (author)

Electrical stimulation of superior colliculus affects strabismus angle in monkey models for strabismus

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyaya, Suraj; Meng, Hui

2017-01-01

Disruption of binocular vision during the critical period for development leads to eye misalignment in humans and in monkey models. We have previously suggested that disruption within a vergence circuit could be the neural basis for strabismus. Electrical stimulation in the rostral superior colliculus (rSC) leads to vergence eye movements in normal monkeys. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of SC stimulation on eye misalignment in strabismic monkeys. Electrical stimulation was delivered to 51 sites in the intermediate and deep layers of the SC (400 Hz, 0.5-s duration, 10–40 μA) in 3 adult optical prism-reared strabismic monkeys. Scleral search coils were used to measure movements of both eyes during a fixation task. Staircase saccades with horizontal and vertical components were elicited by stimulation as predicted from the SC topographic map. Electrical stimulation also resulted in significant changes in horizontal strabismus angle, i.e., a shift toward exotropia/esotropia depending on stimulation site. Electrically evoked saccade vector amplitude in the two eyes was not significantly different (P > 0.05; paired t-test) but saccade direction differed. However, saccade disconjugacy accounted for only ~50% of the change in horizontal misalignment while disconjugate postsaccadic movements accounted for the other ~50% of the change in misalignment due to electrical stimulation. In summary, our data suggest that electrical stimulation of the SC of strabismic monkeys produces a change in horizontal eye alignment that is due to a combination of disconjugate saccadic eye movements and disconjugate postsaccadic movements. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Electrical stimulation of the superior colliculus in strabismic monkeys results in a change in eye misalignment. These data support the notion of developmental disruption of vergence circuits leading to maintenance of eye misalignment in strabismus. PMID:28031397

Design Principle of A Small Angle Neutron Scattering Spectrometer. Vol. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ashry, A [Dept. of Physics, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo (Egypt)

1996-03-01

The design principle of a small angle neutron scattering (SANS) spectrometer is based on producing monochromatic neutron bursts using two phased rotors. The rotors have a number of slots to achieve the highly available intensity of monoenergetic neutrons at the required resolution. The design principle was applied to improve the performance of the pulsed monochromatic double rotor system at ET-RR-1 to operate as SANS spectrometer. It is shown that for rotors having 19 slots each with radius of curvature 96.8 cm, the intensity gain factor is 13. The proposed SANS spectrometer could cover the neutron wavelength range from 2 A{sup {omicron}} up to 6 A{sup {omicron}} through small angles of scattering from 5 x 10{sup -3} rad. to 0.1 rad. i.e, the scattering wavevector transfer between 0.6 A{sup {omicron}-1} and 0.01 A{sup {omicron}-1}. The maximum neutron flux density on the specimen is 5 x 10{sup 5} n cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}. 8 figs.

Study on laser welding of austenitic stainless steel by varying incident angle of pulsed laser beam

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Nikhil; Mukherjee, Manidipto; Bandyopadhyay, Asish

2017-09-01

In the present work, AISI 304 stainless steel sheets are laser welded in butt joint configuration using a robotic control 600 W pulsed Nd:YAG laser system. The objective of the work is of twofold. Firstly, the study aims to find out the effect of incident angle on the weld pool geometry, microstructure and tensile property of the welded joints. Secondly, a set of experiments are conducted, according to response surface design, to investigate the effects of process parameters, namely, incident angle of laser beam, laser power and welding speed, on ultimate tensile strength by developing a second order polynomial equation. Study with three different incident angle of laser beam 89.7 deg, 85.5 deg and 83 deg has been presented in this work. It is observed that the weld pool geometry has been significantly altered with the deviation in incident angle. The weld pool shape at the top surface has been altered from semispherical or nearly spherical shape to tear drop shape with decrease in incident angle. Simultaneously, planer, fine columnar dendritic and coarse columnar dendritic structures have been observed at 89.7 deg, 85.5 deg and 83 deg incident angle respectively. Weld metals with 85.5 deg incident angle has higher fraction of carbide and δ-ferrite precipitation in the austenitic matrix compared to other weld conditions. Hence, weld metal of 85.5 deg incident angle achieved higher micro-hardness of ∼280 HV and tensile strength of 579.26 MPa followed by 89.7 deg and 83 deg incident angle welds. Furthermore, the predicted maximum value of ultimate tensile strength of 580.50 MPa has been achieved for 85.95 deg incident angle using the developed equation where other two optimum parameter settings have been obtained as laser power of 455.52 W and welding speed of 4.95 mm/s. This observation has been satisfactorily validated by three confirmatory tests.

Effect of music on mealtime disruptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, Jeff; Carson, Derek; Lindsay, Bill

People with learning disabilities can disrupt mealtimes with non-cooperative, aggressive and self-injurious behaviours that challenge other people to tolerate and manage them. These behaviours appear to arise because the proximity of other people, and the heightened activity and noise of a dining room, causes anxiety and agitation. To examine how delivering calming background music via headphones affected anxiety-driven behaviours that disrupted mealtimes. A sample of 30 adults with mild, moderate or severe learning disabilities were videotaped during mealtimes on two consecutive days. On the first day, half the group ate without any calming music while the other half sat opposite them wearing earphones and listening to calming music. On the second day, the non-music and music groups swapped around. Of the participants who tolerated the earphones, only three showed disruptive behaviour; all three had been sitting at the table waiting for their food. With so few examples, meaningful inferential analysis was not possible. However, there were signs that calming music had a positive effect on disruptive mealtime behaviours. It eliminated physical harm, complaining and verbal repetition in one person, and stopped another from shouting/swearing. It also reduced the incidence of shouting/swearing, restlessness and vocalising. Calming music and reduced waiting at tables for food may reduce disruptive behaviours.

Interdependence of torque, joint angle, angular velocity and muscle action during human multi-joint leg extension.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Daniel; Herzog, Walter; Schwirtz, Ansgar

2014-08-01

Force and torque production of human muscles depends upon their lengths and contraction velocity. However, these factors are widely assumed to be independent of each other and the few studies that dealt with interactions of torque, angle and angular velocity are based on isolated single-joint movements. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine force/torque-angle and force/torque-angular velocity properties for multi-joint leg extensions. Human leg extension was investigated (n = 18) on a motor-driven leg press dynamometer while measuring external reaction forces at the feet. Extensor torque in the knee joint was calculated using inverse dynamics. Isometric contractions were performed at eight joint angle configurations of the lower limb corresponding to increments of 10° at the knee from 30 to 100° of knee flexion. Concentric and eccentric contractions were performed over the same range of motion at mean angular velocities of the knee from 30 to 240° s(-1). For contractions of increasing velocity, optimum knee angle shifted from 52 ± 7 to 64 ± 4° knee flexion. Furthermore, the curvature of the concentric force/torque-angular velocity relations varied with joint angles and maximum angular velocities increased from 866 ± 79 to 1,238 ± 132° s(-1) for 90-50° knee flexion. Normalised eccentric forces/torques ranged from 0.85 ± 0.12 to 1.32 ± 0.16 of their isometric reference, only showing significant increases above isometric and an effect of angular velocity for joint angles greater than optimum knee angle. The findings reveal that force/torque production during multi-joint leg extension depends on the combined effects of angle and angular velocity. This finding should be accounted for in modelling and optimisation of human movement.

Aggregate formation affects ultrasonic disruption of microalgal cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Lee, Duu-Jong; Lai, Juin-Yih

2015-12-01

Ultrasonication is a cell disruption process of low energy efficiency. This study dosed K(+), Ca(2+) and Al(3+) to Chlorella vulgaris cultured in Bold's Basal Medium at 25°C and measured the degree of cell disruption under ultrasonication. Adding these metal ions yielded less negatively charged surfaces of cells, while with the latter two ions large and compact cell aggregates were formed. The degree of cell disruption followed: control=K(+)>Ca(2+)>Al(3+) samples. Surface charges of cells and microbubbles have minimal effects on the microbubble number in the proximity of the microalgal cells. Conversely, cell aggregates with large size and compact interior resist cell disruption under ultrasonication. Staining tests revealed high diffusional resistance of stains over the aggregate interior. Microbubbles may not be effective generated and collapsed inside the compact aggregates, hence leading to low cell disruption efficiencies. Effective coagulation/flocculation in cell harvesting may lead to adverse effect on subsequent cell disruption efficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of inlet angle and outlet angle of guide vane on pump in reversal based hydraulic turbine performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, F X; Yang, J H; Wang, X H; Zhang, R H; Li, C E

2012-01-01

In this paper, in order to research the impact of inlet angle and outlet angle of guide vane on hydraulic turbine performance, a centrifugal pump in reversal is adopted as turbine. A numerical simulation method is adopted for researching outer performance and flow field of turbine. The results show: inlet angle has a crucial role to turbine, to the same flow, there is a noticeable decline for the efficiency and head of turbine with the inlet angle increases. At the best efficiency point(EFP),to a same inlet angle, when the inlet angle greater than inlet angle, velocity circulation in guide vane outlet decreases, which lead the efficiency of turbine to reduce, Contrarily, the efficiency rises. With the increase of inlet angle and outlet angle, the EFP moves to the big flow area and the uniformity of pressure distribution becomes worse. The paper indicates that the inlet angle and outlet angle have great impact on the turbine performance, and the best combination exists for the inlet angle and outlet angle of the guide vane.

Management of posterior urethral disruption injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Jeremy B; McAninch, Jack W

2009-03-01

Posterior urethral disruption is a traumatic injury to the male urethra, which most often results from pelvic fracture. After trauma, the distraction defect between the two ends of the urethra often scars and becomes fibrotic, blocking the urethra and bladder emptying. Increasing evidence suggests that many posterior urethral disruptions occur at the junction between the membranous urethra and the bulbar urethra, which is distal to the rhabdosphincter. In the acute setting, when a posterior urethral disruption is suspected, retrograde urethrography should be performed. Posterior urethral disruptions can be managed acutely by realignment of the urethra over a urethral catheter or by placement of a suprapubic catheter for bladder drainage only. Once fibrosis has stabilized, the patient can undergo posterior urethroplasty. In most cases, this procedure can be performed via a perineal approach in a single-stage surgery. The results of this single-stage perineal urethroplasty are excellent, and a patent urethra can be re-established in the majority of men who undergo surgery.

Time scales in tidal disruption events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krolik J.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available We explore the temporal structure of tidal disruption events pointing out the corresponding transitions in the lightcurves of the thermal accretion disk and of the jet emerging from such events. The hydrodynamic time scale of the disrupted star is the minimal time scale of building up the accretion disk and the jet and it sets a limit on the rise time. This suggest that Swift J1644+57, that shows several flares with a rise time as short as a few hundred seconds could not have arisen from a tidal disruption of a main sequence star whose hydrodynamic time is a few hours. The disrupted object must have been a white dwarf. A second important time scale is the Eddington time in which the accretion rate changes form super to sub Eddington. It is possible that such a transition was observed in the light curve of Swift J2058+05. If correct this provides interesting constraints on the parameters of the system.

Runaway electron generation in tokamak disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helander, P.; Andersson, F.; Fueloep, T.; Smith, H.; Anderson, D.; Lisak, M.; Eriksson, L.-G.

2005-01-01

The time evolution of the plasma current during a tokamak disruption is calculated by solving the equations for runaway electron production simultaneously with the induction equation for the toroidal electric field. The resistive diffusion time in a post-disruption plasma is typically comparable to the runaway avalanche growth time. Accordingly, the toroidal electric field induced after the thermal quench of a disruption diffuses radially through the plasma at the same time as it accelerates runaway electrons, which in turn back-react on the electric field. When these processes are accounted for in a self-consistent way, it is found that (1) the efficiency and time scale of runaway generation agrees with JET experiments; (2) the runaway current profile typically becomes more peaked than the pre-disruption current profile; and (3) can easily become radially filamented. It is also shown that higher runaway electron generation is expected if the thermal quench is sufficiently fast. (author)

Core disruptive accident analysis in prototype fast breeder reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chellapandi, P.; Velusamy, K.; Kannan, S.E.; Singh, Om Pal; Chetal, S.C.; Bhoje, S.B.

2002-01-01

Liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactors, in particular, pool type have many inherent and engineered safety features and hence a core disruptive accident (CDA) involving melt down of the whole core is a very low probable event ( -6 /ry). The important mechanical consequences such as straining of the main vessel including top shield, structural integrity of safety grade decay heat exchangers (DHX) and intermediate heat exchangers (IHX) sodium release to reactor containment building (RCB) through the penetrations in the top shield, sodium fire and consequent temperature and pressure rise in RCB are theoretically analysed using computer codes. Through the analyses with these codes, it is demonstrated that an energetic CDA capability to the maximum 100 MJ mechanical energy in PFBR can be well contained in the primary containment. The sodium release to RCB is 350 kg and pressure rise in RCB is ∼10 kPa. In order to raise the confidence on the theoretical predictions, very systematic experimental program has been carried out. Totally 67 tests were conducted. This experimental study indicated that the primary containment is integral. The main vessel can withstand the energy release of ∼1200 MJ. The structural integrity of IHX and DHX is assured up to 200 MJ. The transient force transmitted to reactor vault is negligible. The average water leak measured under simulated tests for 122 MJ work potential is about 1.8 kg and the maximum leak is 2.41 kg. Extrapolation of the measured maximum leak based on simulation principles yields ∼ 233 kg of sodium leak in the reactor. Based on the above-mentioned theoretical and experimental investigations, the design pressure of 20 kPa is used for PFBR

Small-angle neutron scattering at pulsed spallation sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seeger, P.A.; Hjelm, R.P. Jr.

1991-01-01

The importance of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) in biological, chemical, physical and engineering research mandates that all intense neutron sources be equipped with SANS instruments. Four existing instruments at pulsed sources are described and the general differences between pulsed-source and reactor-based instrument designs are discussed. The basic geometries are identical, but dynamic range is generally achieved by using a broad band of wavelengths (with time-of-flight analysis) rather than by moving the detector. This allows optimization for maximum beam intensity at a given beam size over the full dynamic range with fixed collimation. Data-acquisition requirements at a pulsed source are more severe, requiring large fast histrograming memories. Data reduction is also more complex, as all wavelength-dependent and angle-dependent backgrounds and nonlinearities must be accounted for before data can be transformed to intensity vs momentum transfer (Q). A comparison is shown between the Los Alamos pulsed instrument and D11 (Institut Laue-Langevin) and examples from the four major topics of the conference are shown. The general conclusion is that reactor-based instruments remain superior at very low Q or if only a narrow range of Q is required, but that the current generation of pulsed-source instruments is competitive of moderate Q and may be faster when a wide range of Q is required. (orig.)

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES: AN EXPANDED VIEW

OpenAIRE

JAMES M. UTTERBACK; HAPPY J. ACEE

2005-01-01

The term "disruptive technology" as coined by Christensen (1997, The Innovator's Dilemma; How New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business School Press) refers to a new technology having lower cost and performance measured by traditional criteria, but having higher ancillary performance. Christensen finds that disruptive technologies may enter and expand emerging market niches, improving with time and ultimately attacking established products in their traditional markets. This...

Multistage Logistic Network Optimization under Disruption Risk

OpenAIRE

Rusman, Muhammad

2013-01-01

Getting over disruptions risk has been a challenging issue for many companies under the globalization that will link to potential external source such as demand uncertainties, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks. The disruption is an unexpected event that disturbs normal flows of products and materials within a supply chain. The disruption at one members of supply chain will propagate the offers and finally affect significant impacts on the entire chain. If we look back...

Disrupted Sleep : From Molecules to Cognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Someren, Eus J W; Cirelli, Chiara; Dijk, Derk-Jan; Van Cauter, Eve; Schwartz, Sophie; Chee, Michael W L

2015-01-01

UNLABELLED: Although the functions of sleep remain to be fully elucidated, it is clear that there are far-reaching effects of its disruption, whether by curtailment for a single night, by a few hours each night over a long period, or by disruption in sleep continuity. Epidemiological and

Practice Oriented Algorithmic Disruption Management in Passenger Railways

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.C. Wagenaar (Joris)

2016-01-01

markdownabstractHow to deal with a disruption is a question railway companies face on a daily basis. This thesis focusses on the subject how to handle a disruption such that the passenger service is upheld as much as possible. The current mathematical models for disruption management can not yet be

Disruption characteristics in PDX with limiter and divertor discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Couture, P.; McGuire, K.

1986-09-01

A comparison has been made between the characteristics of disruptions with limiter and divertor configurations in PDX. A large data base on disruptions has been collected over four years of machine operation, and a total of 15,000 discharges are contained in the data file. It was found that divertor discharges have less disruptions during ramp up and flattop of the plasma current. However, for divertor discharges a large number of fast, low current disruptions take place during the current ramp down. These disruptions are probably caused by the deformation of the plasma shape

Hybrid intelligent control of PMSG wind generation system using pitch angle control with RBFN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Whei-Min; Hong, Chih-Ming [Department of Electrical Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804 (China); Ou, Ting-Chia; Chiu, Tai-Ming [Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Taoyuan 325 (China)

2011-02-15

This paper presents the design of a fuzzy sliding mode loss-minimization control for the speed of a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and a high-performance on-line training radial basis function network (RBFN) for the turbine pitch angle control. The back-propagation learning algorithm is used to regulate the RBFN controller. The PMSG speed uses maximum power point tracking below the rated speed, which corresponds to low and high wind speed, and the maximum energy can be captured from the wind. A sliding mode controller with an integral-operation switching surface is designed, in which a fuzzy inference mechanism is utilized to estimate the upper bound of uncertainties. Furthermore, the fuzzy inference mechanism with center adaptation is investigated to estimate the optimal bound of uncertainties. (author)

Disruption mitigation on Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, G.; Sourd, F.; Saint-Laurent, F.; Bucalossi, J.; Eriksson, L.G.

2004-01-01

During disruptions, the plasma energy is lost on the first wall within 1 ms, forces up to hundred tons are applied to the structures and kA of electrons are accelerated up to 50 MeV (runaway electrons). Already sources of concern in present day tokamaks, extrapolation to ITER shows the necessity of mitigation procedures, to avoid serious damages to in-vessel components. Massive gas injection was proposed, and encouraging tests have been done on Textor and DIII-D. Similar experiments where performed on Tore Supra, with the goal to validate their effect on runaway electrons, observed during the majority of disruptions. 0.1 mole of helium was injected within 5 ms in ohmic plasmas, up to 1.2 MA, either stable, or in a pre-disruptive phase (argon puffing). Beneficial effects where obtained: reduction of the current fall rate and eddy currents, total disappearance of runaway electrons and easy recovery for the next pulse, without noticeable helium pollution of following plasmas. Analysis of the 4 ms period between injection and disruption indicates that to reach these goals, one need to inject enough helium to keep it only partially ionised. It corresponds to 0.1 g for Tore Supra, and extrapolate to hundreds of grams for ITER. (authors)

Disruption mitigation on Tore Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, G.; Sourd, F.; Saint-Laurent, F.; Bucalossi, J.; Eriksson, L.G.

2005-01-01

During disruptions, the plasma energy is lost on the first wall within 1 ms, forces up to hundred tons are applied to the structures and kA of electrons are accelerated up to 50 MeV (runaway electrons). Already sources of concern in present day tokamaks, extrapolation to ITER shows the necessity of mitigation procedures, to avoid serious damages to in-vessel components. Massive gas injection was proposed, and encouraging tests have been done on Textor and DIII-D. Similar experiments where performed on Tore Supra, with the goal to validate their effect on runaway electrons, observed during the majority of disruptions. 0.1 mole of helium was injected within 5 ms in ohmic plasmas, up to 1.2 MA, either stable, or in a pre-disruptive phase (argon puffing). Beneficial effects where obtained: reduction of the current fall rate and eddy currents, total disappearance of runaway electrons and easy recovery for the next pulse, without noticeable helium pollution of following plasmas. Analysis of the 4 ms period between injection and disruption indicates that to reach these goals, one need to inject enough helium to keep it only partially ionised. It correspond to 0.1 g for Tore Supra, and extrapolate to hundred's of grams for ITER. (author)

Evaluation of the Effect of Fixation Angle between Polyaxial Pedicle Screw Head and Rod on the Failure of Screw-Rod Connection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Engin Çetin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Polyaxial screws had been only tested according to the ASTM standards (when they were perpendicularly positioned to the rod. In this study, effects of the pedicle screws angled fixation to the rod on the mechanical properties of fixation were investigated. Materials and Method. 30 vertically fixed screws and 30 screws fixed with angle were used in the study. Screws were used in three different diameters which were 6.5 mm, 7.0 mm, and 7.5 mm, in equal numbers. Axial pull-out and flexion moment tests were performed. Test results compared with each other using appropriate statistical methods. Results. In pull-out test, vertically fixed screws, in 6.5 mm and 7.0 mm diameter, had significantly higher maximum load values than angled fixed screws with the same diameters (P<0.01. Additionally, vertically fixed screws, in all diameters, had significantly greater stiffness according to corresponding size fixed with angle (P<0.005. Conclusion. Fixing the pedicle screw to the rod with angle significantly decreased the pull-out stiffness in all diameters. Similarly, pedicle screw instrumentation fixed with angle decreased the minimum sagittal angle between the rod and the screw in all diameters for flexion moment test but the differences were not significant.

Abnormal energy deposition on the wall through plasma disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamazaki, K.; Schmidt, G.L.

1984-07-01

The dissipation of plasma kinetic and magnetic energy during sawtooth oscillstions and disruptions in tokamaks is analyzed using Kadomtsev's disruption model and the plasma-circuit equations. New simple scalings of several characteristic times are obtained for sawteeth and for thermal and magnetic energy quenches of disruptions. The abnormal energy deposition on the wall during major or minor disruptions, estimated from this analysis, is compared with bolometric measurements in the PDX tokamak. Especially, magnetic energy dissipation during current termination period is shown to be reduced by the strong coupling of the plasma current with external circuits. These analyses are found to be useful to predict the phenomenological behavior of plasma disruptions in large future tokamaks, and to estimate abnormal heat deposition on the wall during plasma disruptions. (author)

Provocative mechanical tests of the peripheral nervous system affect the joint torque-angle during passive knee motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, R J; Freitas, S R; Vaz, J R; Bruno, P M; Pezarat-Correia, P

2015-06-01

This study aimed to determine the influence of the head, upper trunk, and foot position on the passive knee extension (PKE) torque-angle response. PKE tests were performed in 10 healthy subjects using an isokinetic dynamometer at 2°/s. Subjects lay in the supine position with their hips flexed to 90°. The knee angle, passive torque, surface electromyography (EMG) of the semitendinosus and quadriceps vastus medialis, and stretch discomfort were recorded in six body positions during PKE. The different maximal active positions of the cervical spine (neutral; flexion; extension), thoracic spine (neutral; flexion), and ankle (neutral; dorsiflexion) were passively combined for the tests. Visual analog scale scores and EMG were unaffected by body segment positioning. An effect of the ankle joint was verified on the peak torque and knee maximum angle when the ankle was in the dorsiflexion position (P torque (P torque when the cervical and thoracic spines were flexed (P torque-angle response since different positions of head, upper trunk, and foot induce dissimilar knee mechanical responses during passive extension. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Disruptions and Their Mitigation in TEXTOR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finken, K.H.; Jaspers, R.; Kraemer-Flecken, A.; Savtchkov, A.; Lehnen, M.; Waidmann, G.

2005-01-01

Disruptions remain a major concern for tokamak devices, particularly for large machines. The critical issues are the induced (halo) currents and the resulting forces, the excessive heating of exposed surfaces by the instantaneous power release, and the possible occurrence of highly energetic runaway electrons. The key topics of the investigations on TEXTOR in the recent years concerned (a) the power deposition pattern recorded by a fast infrared scanner, (b) the runaway generation measured by synchrotron radiation in the infrared spectral region, (c) method development for 'healing' discharges that are going to disrupt, and (d) massive gas puffing for mitigating the adverse effects of disruptions

Disrupted Sleep: From Molecules to Cognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Someren, E.J.; Cirelli, C.; Dijk, D.J.; Van Cauter, E.; Schwartz, S.; Chee, M.W.L.

2015-01-01

Although the functions of sleep remain to be fully elucidated, it is clear that there are far-reaching effects of its disruption, whether by curtailment for a single night, by a few hours each night over a long period, or by disruption in sleep continuity. Epidemiological and experimental studies of

Cost Sharing in the Prevention of Supply Chain Disruption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We examine the influence of cost-sharing mechanism on the disruption prevention investment in a supply chain with unreliable suppliers. When a supply chain faces considerable loss following a disruption, supply chain members are motivated toward investing in manners that reduce their disruption probability. In improving supply chain reliability, the cost-sharing mechanism must be set appropriately to realize the efficiency of the disruption prevention investment. In a supply chain where the focal manufacturing company has its own subsidiary supplier and an outsourcing supplier, we analyze different forms of cost-sharing mechanisms when both suppliers confront disruption risks. Through the cost-sharing mechanisms presented in this study, supply chain members can improve their reliability via disruption prevention investments without considerably increasing the total supply chain cost. We present two concepts, the cost-sharing structure and the cost-sharing ratio, in this study. As the two key components of cost-sharing mechanism, these two elements constitute a practicable cost allocation mechanism to facilitate disruption prevention.

Effect of different electrode tip angles with tilted torch in stationary gas tungsten arc welding: A 3D simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abid, M.; Parvez, S.; Nash, D.H.

2013-01-01

In this study, the effect of different tip angles (30°, 60°, 90° and 120°) on the arc and weld pool behavior is analyzed in 2 mm and 5 mm arc lengths with tilted (70°) torch. Arc temperature, velocity, current density, heat flux and gas shear are investigated in the arc region and pool convection and puddle shapes are studied in the weld pool region. The arc temperature at the tungsten electrode is found the maximum with sharp tip and decreases as the tip angle increases. The arc temperature on the anode (workpiece) surface becomes concentrated with increase in tip angle. The arc velocity and gas shear stress are observed large with sharp tip and decreasing as the tip angle increases. Current density on the anode surface does not change with tip angle and observed almost the same in all the tip angles in both 2 mm and 5 mm arc lengths. Heat flux due to conduction and convection is observed more sensitive to the tip angle and decreases as the tip angle increases. The electromagnetic force is slightly observed increasing and the buoyancy force is observed slightly decreasing with increase in tip angle. Analyzing each driving force in the weld pool individually shows that the gas drag and Marangoni forces are much stronger than the electromagnetic and buoyancy forces. The weld pool shape is observed wide and shallow in sharp and narrow and deep in large tip angle. Increasing the arc length does not change the weld pool width; however, the weld pool depth significantly changes with arc length and is observed deep in short arc length. The arc properties and weld pool shapes are observed wide ahead of the electrode tip in the weld direction due to 70° torch angle. Good agreement is observed between the numerical and experimental weld pool shapes

Maximum permissible dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1979-01-01

This chapter presents a historic overview of the establishment of radiation guidelines by various national and international agencies. The use of maximum permissible dose and maximum permissible body burden limits to derive working standards is discussed

Wafer scale oblique angle plasma etching

Science.gov (United States)

Burckel, David Bruce; Jarecki, Jr., Robert L.; Finnegan, Patrick Sean

2017-05-23

Wafer scale oblique angle etching of a semiconductor substrate is performed in a conventional plasma etch chamber by using a fixture that supports a multiple number of separate Faraday cages. Each cage is formed to include an angled grid surface and is positioned such that it will be positioned over a separate one of the die locations on the wafer surface when the fixture is placed over the wafer. The presence of the Faraday cages influences the local electric field surrounding each wafer die, re-shaping the local field to be disposed in alignment with the angled grid surface. The re-shaped plasma causes the reactive ions to follow a linear trajectory through the plasma sheath and angled grid surface, ultimately impinging the wafer surface at an angle. The selected geometry of the Faraday cage angled grid surface thus determines the angle at with the reactive ions will impinge the wafer.

Interpreting Disruption Prediction Models to Improve Plasma Control

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Matthew

2017-10-01

In order for the tokamak to be a feasible design for a fusion reactor, it is necessary to minimize damage to the machine caused by plasma disruptions. Accurately predicting disruptions is a critical capability for triggering any mitigative actions, and a modest amount of attention has been given to efforts that employ machine learning techniques to make these predictions. By monitoring diagnostic signals during a discharge, such predictive models look for signs that the plasma is about to disrupt. Typically these predictive models are interpreted simply to give a `yes' or `no' response as to whether a disruption is approaching. However, it is possible to extract further information from these models to indicate which input signals are more strongly correlated with the plasma approaching a disruption. If highly accurate predictive models can be developed, this information could be used in plasma control schemes to make better decisions about disruption avoidance. This work was supported by a Grant from the 2016-2017 Fulbright U.S. Student Program, administered by the Franco-American Fulbright Commission in France.

Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption.

Science.gov (United States)

Medic, Goran; Wille, Micheline; Hemels, Michiel Eh

2017-01-01

Sleep plays a vital role in brain function and systemic physiology across many body systems. Problems with sleep are widely prevalent and include deficits in quantity and quality of sleep; sleep problems that impact the continuity of sleep are collectively referred to as sleep disruptions. Numerous factors contribute to sleep disruption, ranging from lifestyle and environmental factors to sleep disorders and other medical conditions. Sleep disruptions have substantial adverse short- and long-term health consequences. A literature search was conducted to provide a nonsystematic review of these health consequences (this review was designed to be nonsystematic to better focus on the topics of interest due to the myriad parameters affected by sleep). Sleep disruption is associated with increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, metabolic effects, changes in circadian rhythms, and proinflammatory responses. In otherwise healthy adults, short-term consequences of sleep disruption include increased stress responsivity, somatic pain, reduced quality of life, emotional distress and mood disorders, and cognitive, memory, and performance deficits. For adolescents, psychosocial health, school performance, and risk-taking behaviors are impacted by sleep disruption. Behavioral problems and cognitive functioning are associated with sleep disruption in children. Long-term consequences of sleep disruption in otherwise healthy individuals include hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, weight-related issues, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and colorectal cancer. All-cause mortality is also increased in men with sleep disturbances. For those with underlying medical conditions, sleep disruption may diminish the health-related quality of life of children and adolescents and may worsen the severity of common gastrointestinal disorders. As a result of the potential consequences of sleep disruption, health care

Individualized Selection of Beam Angles and Treatment Isocenter in Tangential Breast Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Penninkhof, Joan, E-mail: j.penninkhof@erasmusmc.nl [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus M.C. Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Spadola, Sara [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus M.C. Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Breedveld, Sebastiaan; Baaijens, Margreet [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus M.C. Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Lanconelli, Nico [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Heijmen, Ben [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus M.C. Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

2017-06-01

Purpose and Objective: Propose a novel method for individualized selection of beam angles and treatment isocenter in tangential breast intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods and Materials: For each patient, beam and isocenter selection starts with the fully automatic generation of a large database of IMRT plans (up to 847 in this study); each of these plans belongs to a unique combination of isocenter position, lateral beam angle, and medial beam angle. The imposed hard planning constraint on patient maximum dose may result in plans with unacceptable target dose delivery. Such plans are excluded from further analyses. Owing to differences in beam setup, database plans differ in mean doses to organs at risk (OARs). These mean doses are used to construct 2-dimensional graphs, showing relationships between: (1) contralateral breast dose and ipsilateral lung dose; and (2) contralateral breast dose and heart dose (analyzed only for left-sided). The graphs can be used for selection of the isocenter and beam angles with the optimal, patient-specific tradeoffs between the mean OAR doses. For 30 previously treated patients (15 left-sided and 15 right-sided tumors), graphs were generated considering only the clinically applied isocenter with 121 tangential beam angle pairs. For 20 of the 30 patients, 6 alternative isocenters were also investigated. Results: Computation time for automatic generation of 121 IMRT plans took on average 30 minutes. The generated graphs demonstrated large variations in tradeoffs between conflicting OAR objectives, depending on beam angles and patient anatomy. For patients with isocenter optimization, 847 IMRT plans were considered. Adding isocenter position optimization next to beam angle optimization had a small impact on the final plan quality. Conclusion: A method is proposed for individualized selection of beam angles in tangential breast IMRT. This may be especially important for patients with cardiac risk factors or an

Angles in hyperbolic lattices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Risager, Morten S.; Södergren, Carl Anders

2017-01-01

It is well known that the angles in a lattice acting on hyperbolic n -space become equidistributed. In this paper we determine a formula for the pair correlation density for angles in such hyperbolic lattices. Using this formula we determine, among other things, the asymptotic behavior of the den......It is well known that the angles in a lattice acting on hyperbolic n -space become equidistributed. In this paper we determine a formula for the pair correlation density for angles in such hyperbolic lattices. Using this formula we determine, among other things, the asymptotic behavior...... of the density function in both the small and large variable limits. This extends earlier results by Boca, Pasol, Popa and Zaharescu and Kelmer and Kontorovich in dimension 2 to general dimension n . Our proofs use the decay of matrix coefficients together with a number of careful estimates, and lead...

An adaptive angle-doppler compensation method for airborne bistatic radar based on PAST

Science.gov (United States)

Hang, Xu; Jun, Zhao

2018-05-01

Adaptive angle-Doppler compensation method extract the requisite information based on the data itself adaptively, thus avoiding the problem of performance degradation caused by inertia system error. However, this method requires estimation and egiendecomposition of sample covariance matrix, which has a high computational complexity and limits its real-time application. In this paper, an adaptive angle Doppler compensation method based on projection approximation subspace tracking (PAST) is studied. The method uses cyclic iterative processing to quickly estimate the positions of the spectral center of the maximum eigenvector of each range cell, and the computational burden of matrix estimation and eigen-decompositon is avoided, and then the spectral centers of all range cells is overlapped by two dimensional compensation. Simulation results show the proposed method can effectively reduce the no homogeneity of airborne bistatic radar, and its performance is similar to that of egien-decomposition algorithms, but the computation load is obviously reduced and easy to be realized.

Abnormal energy deposition on the wall through plasma disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamazaki, K.; Schmidt, G.L.

1984-01-01

The dissipation of plasma kinetic and magnetic energy during sawtooth oscillations and disruptions in tokamak is analyzed using Kadomtsev's disruption model and the plasma-circuit equations. New simple scalings of several characteristic times are obtained for sawteeth and for thermal and magnetic energy quenches of disruptions. The abnormal energy deposition on the wall during major or minor disruptions, estimated from this analysis, is compared with bolometric measurements in the PDX tokamak. Especially, magnetic energy dissipation during the current termination period is shown to be reduced by the strong coupling of the plasma current with external circuits. These analyses are found to be useful to predict the phenomenological behavior of plasma disruptions in large future tokamaks, and to estimate abnormal heat deposition on the wall during plasma disruptions. (orig.)

Multidetector-row computed tomography for evaluating the branching angle of the celiac artery: a descriptive study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tokue Hiroyuki

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We performed this study in order to investigate the shape of the origin of the celiac artery in maximum intensity projection (MIP using routine 64 multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT data in order to plan for the implantation of an intra-arterial hepatic port system. Methods A total of 1,104 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were assessed with MDCT. In the definition of the branching angle, the anterior side of the abdominal aorta was considered the baseline, and the cranial and caudal sides were designated as 0 and 180 degrees, respectively. The angles between 0 and 90 degrees and between 90 and 180 degrees from the cranial side were considered upward and downward, respectively, and the branching angle of the celiac artery was classified every 30 degrees. The subclavian arterial route was used for the implantation of an intra-arterial hepatic port system in patients with branching angles of 150 degrees or more (sharp downward. Results The median branching angle was (median ± standard deviation 135 ± 23 (range, 51–174 degrees. The branching was upward in 77 patients (7% and downward in 1,027 patients (93%. The branching was downward with an angle of 120 to150 degrees in most patients (n = 613. The branching was sharply downward with an angle of 150 degrees or more in 177 patients (16%. A total of 10 patients were referred for interventional placement of an intra-arterial hepatic port system. The subclavian arterial route was used for implantation of an intra-arterial hepatic port system in 2 patients with sharp downward branching. Conclusions The branching angle of the celiac artery can be easily determined by the preparation of MIP images from routine MDCT data. MIP may provide useful information for the selection of the catheter insertion route in order to avoid a sharp branching angle of the celiac artery.

The effects of gender, level of co-contraction, and initial angle on elbow extensor muscle stiffness and damping under a step increase in elbow flexion moment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yunju; Ashton-Miller, James A

2011-10-01

Flexion buckling of an arm under the large ground reaction loads associated with arresting a fall to the ground increases the risk for head and thorax injuries. Yet, the factors that determine the arm buckling load remain poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis in 18 healthy young adults that neither gender, triceps co-contraction level (i.e., 25, 50, or 75% MVC) nor elbow angle would affect the rotational stiffness and damping resistance to step changes in elbow flexion loading. Data on the step response were gathered using optoelectronic markers (150 Hz) and myoelectric activity measurements (2 kHz), and an inverse dynamics analysis was used to estimate elbow extensor stiffness and damping coefficients. A repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that gender (p = 0.032), elbow flexion angle and co-contraction level (both p initial elbow flexion angle and maximum co-contraction, female stiffness and damping coefficients were 18 and 30% less, respectively, than male values after normalization by body height and weight. We conclude that the maximum extensor rotational stiffness and damping at the elbow is lower in women than in men of the same body size, and varies with triceps co-contraction level and initial elbow angle.

Small angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy study of the Lactobacillus brevis S-layer protein

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaeaeskelaeinen, Pentti [Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, PO Box 2200, FI-02015 Aalto University School of Science and Technology (Finland); Engelhardt, Peter [Haartman Institute, Department of Pathology, PO Box 21, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki (Finland); Hynoenen, Ulla; Palva, Airi [Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences, Division of Microbiology, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki (Finland); Torkkeli, Mika; Serimaa, Ritva, E-mail: ritva.serimaa@helsinki.f [Department of Physics, POB 64, 00014 University of Helsinki (Finland)

2010-10-01

The structure of self-assembly domain containing recombinant truncation mutants of Lactobacillus brevis surface layer protein SlpA in aqueous solution was studied using small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The proteins were found out to interact with each other forming stable globular oligomers of about 10 monomers. The maximum diameter of the oligomers varied between 75 A and 435 A.

Disruptive Innovation in Chinese and Indian Businesses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

markets, has made these emerging economies fertile ground for developing and applying disruptive innovations. A novel mix of key attributes distinctive from those of established technologies or business models, disruptive innovations are typically inferior, yet affordable and "good-enough" products...... or services, which originate in lower-end market segments, but later move up to compete with those provided by incumbent firms. This book sheds new light on disruptive innovations both from and for the bottom of the pyramid in China and India, from the point of view of local entrepreneurs and international...... firms seeking to operate their businesses there. It covers both the theoretical and practical implications of disruptive innovation using conceptual frameworks alongside detailed case studies, whilst also providing a comparison of conditions and strategic options in India and China. Further, unlike...

Integrated disruption avoidance and mitigation in KSTAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jayhyun; Woo, M.H.; Han, H.; In, Y.; Bak, J.G.; Eidietis, N.W.

2014-01-01

The final target of Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) aims advanced tokamak operation at plasma current 2 MA and toroidal field 3.5 T. In order to safely achieve the target, disruption counter-measures are unavoidable when considering the disruption risks, inevitably accompanied with high performance discharges, such as electro-magnetic load on conducting structures, collisional damage by run-away electrons, and thermal load on plasma facing components (PFCs). In this reason, the establishment of integrated disruption mitigation system (DMS) has been started for routine mega-ampere class operations of KSTAR since 2013 campaign. The DMS mainly consists of the disruption prediction and its avoidance/mitigation in company with logical/technical integration of them. We present the details of KSTAR DMS and the related experimental results in this article. (author)

Balloon catheter disruption of thrombus in conjunction with thrombolysis for the treatment of acute middle cerebral artery occlusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Zhensheng; Wang Wei; Zhang Xinjiang; Fu Changbiao; Zhou Longjiang

2009-01-01

Objective: To assess the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of balloon disruption of thrombus by using a deflated balloon catheter combined with intra-arterial thrombolysis for the treatment of acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. Methods: Five consecutive patients with acute MCA occlusion underwent balloon disruption combined with intra-arterial thrombolysis. The microballoon was inflated in the distal carotid artery and then deflated and advanced just distal to the occlusion site in the MCA. Thereafter, intra- arterial thrombolysis of the MCA was applied and the maximum dosage of urokinase was 500,000 U. Results: Complete recanalization was achieved in 3 patients and partial recanalization in 2. All patients got favourable clinical outcome. There was no major intracerebral hemorrhage. Conclusion: The penetration of the MCA with a deflated balloon catheter combined with an intra-arterial thrombolysis may be a safe and effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke. (authors)

Prediction of density limit disruptions on the J-TEXT tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, S Y; Chen, Z Y; Huang, D W; Tong, R H; Yan, W; Wei, Y N; Ma, T K; Zhang, M; Zhuang, G

2016-01-01

Disruption mitigation is essential for the next generation of tokamaks. The prediction of plasma disruption is the key to disruption mitigation. A neural network combining eight input signals has been developed to predict the density limit disruptions on the J-TEXT tokamak. An optimized training method has been proposed which has improved the prediction performance. The network obtained has been tested on 64 disruption shots and 205 non-disruption shots. A successful alarm rate of 82.8% with a false alarm rate of 12.3% can be achieved at 4.8 ms prior to the current spike of the disruption. It indicates that more physical parameters than the current physical scaling should be considered for predicting the density limit. It was also found that the critical density for disruption can be predicted several tens of milliseconds in advance in most cases. Furthermore, if the network is used for real-time density feedback control, more than 95% of the density limit disruptions can be avoided by setting a proper threshold. (paper)

Determination of rice panicle numbers during heading by multi-angle imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lingfeng Duan

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Plant phenomics has the potential to accelerate progress in understanding gene functions and environmental responses. Progress has been made in automating high-throughput plant phenotyping. However, few studies have investigated automated rice panicle counting. This paper describes a novel method for automatically and nonintrusively determining rice panicle numbers during the full heading stage by analyzing color images of rice plants taken from multiple angles. Pot-grown rice plants were transferred via an industrial conveyer to an imaging chamber. Color images from different angles were automatically acquired as a turntable rotated the plant. The images were then analyzed and the panicle number of each plant was determined. The image analysis pipeline consisted of extracting the i2 plane from the original color image, segmenting the image, discriminating the panicles from the rest of the plant using an artificial neural network, and calculating the panicle number in the current image. The panicle number of the plant was taken as the maximum of the panicle numbers extracted from all 12 multi-angle images. A total of 105 rice plants during the full heading stage were examined to test the performance of the method. The mean absolute error of the manual and automatic count was 0.5, with 95.3% of the plants yielding absolute errors within ± 1. The method will be useful for evaluating rice panicles and will serve as an important supplementary method for high-throughput rice phenotyping.

Analysis of disruptive instabilities in Aditya tokamak discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chattopadhyay, Asim Kumar; Anand, Arun; Rao, C.V.S.; Joisa, Shankar; Aditya team

2006-01-01

Major disruptions and sawteeth oscillations (internal disruptions) are routinely observed in ohmically heated Aditya tokamak discharges and their characteristics have been investigated with the help of soft x-ray (SXR) tomography along with other diagnostics. The SXR tomography is carried out with the help of single array of detectors assuming rigid rotation of the modes to analyse the mode structure of sawtooth internal disruptions. Coupling of m/n = 2/1 and m/n=1/1 modes could be the main mechanism for the major disruption. Sawteeth periods were measured and compared with the scaling laws and found to be in good agreement. (author)

Use of Atomic Oxygen for Increased Water Contact Angles of Various Polymers for Biomedical Applications

Science.gov (United States)

deGroh, Kim; Berger, Lauren; Roberts, Lily

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of atomic oxygen (AO) exposure on the hydrophilicity of nine different polymers for biomedical applications. Atomic oxygen treatment can alter the chemistry and morphology of polymer surfaces, which may increase the adhesion and spreading of cells on Petri dishes and enhance implant growth. Therefore, nine different polymers were exposed to atomic oxygen and water-contact angle, or hydrophilicity, was measured after exposure. To determine whether hydrophilicity remains static after initial atomic oxygen exposure, or changes with higher fluence exposures, the contact angles between the polymer and water droplet placed on the polymer s surface were measured versus AO fluence. The polymers were exposed to atomic oxygen in a 100-W, 13.56-MHz radio frequency (RF) plasma asher, and the treatment was found to significantly alter the hydrophilicity of non-fluorinated polymers. Pristine samples were compared with samples that had been exposed to AO at various fluence levels. Minimum and maximum fluences for the ashing trials were set based on the effective AO erosion of a Kapton witness coupon in the asher. The time intervals for ashing were determined by finding the logarithmic values of the minimum and maximum fluences. The difference of these two values was divided by the desired number of intervals (ideally 10). The initial desired fluence was then multiplied by this result (2.37), as was each subsequent desired fluence. The flux in the asher was determined to be approximately 3.0 x 10(exp 15) atoms/sq cm/sec, and each polymer was exposed to a maximum fluence of 5.16 x 10(exp 20) atoms/sq cm.

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Disease Susceptibility

Science.gov (United States)

Schug, Thaddeus T.; Janesick, Amanda; Blumberg, Bruce; Heindel, Jerrold J.

2011-01-01

Environmental chemicals have significant impacts on biological systems. Chemical exposures during early stages of development can disrupt normal patterns of development and thus dramatically alter disease susceptibility later in life. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune effects in humans. A wide range of substances, both natural and man-made, are thought to cause endocrine disruption, including pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and other pesticides, and components of plastics such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. EDCs are found in many everyday products– including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food additives, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides. EDCs interfere with the synthesis, secretion, transport, activity, or elimination of natural hormones. This interference can block or mimic hormone action, causing a wide range of effects. This review focuses on the mechanisms and modes of action by which EDCs alter hormone signaling. It also includes brief overviews of select disease endpoints associated with endocrine disruption. PMID:21899826

Thyroid effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Boas, Malene; Feldt-Rasmussen, Ulla; Main, Katharina M

2012-05-22

In recent years, many studies of thyroid-disrupting effects of environmental chemicals have been published. Of special concern is the exposure of pregnant women and infants, as thyroid disruption of the developing organism may have deleterious effects on neurological outcome. Chemicals may exert thyroid effects through a variety of mechanisms of action, and some animal experiments and in vitro studies have focused on elucidating the mode of action of specific chemical compounds. Long-term human studies on effects of environmental chemicals on thyroid related outcomes such as growth and development are still lacking. The human exposure scenario with life long exposure to a vast mixture of chemicals in low doses and the large physiological variation in thyroid hormone levels between individuals render human studies very difficult. However, there is now reasonably firm evidence that PCBs have thyroid-disrupting effects, and there is emerging evidence that also phthalates, bisphenol A, brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated chemicals may have thyroid disrupting properties. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An overview on plasma disruption mitigation and avoidance in tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Kaihui; Pan Chuanhong; Feng Kaiming

2002-01-01

Plasma disruption, which seems to be unavoidable in Tokamak operation, occurs very fast and uncontrolled. In order to keep Tokamak plasma from disruption and mitigate the disruption frequency, the research on Tokamak plasma major disruption constitutes one of the main topics in plasma physics. The phenomena and processes of the precursor, thermal quench, current quench, VDE, halo current and runaway electrons generation during plasma disruption are analyzed in detail and systematically based on the data obtained from current Tokamaks such as TFTR, JET, JT-60U and ASDEX-U, etc. The methods to mitigate and avoid disruption in Tokamak are also highlighted schematically. Therefore, it is helpful and instructive for plasma disruption research in next generation large Tokamak such as ITER-FEAT

Designing reliable supply chain network with disruption risk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Bozorgi Amiri

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Although supply chains disruptions rarely occur, their negative effects are prolonged and severe. In this paper, we propose a reliable capacitated supply chain network design (RSCND model by considering random disruptions in both distribution centers and suppliers. The proposed model determines the optimal location of distribution centers (DC with the highest reliability, the best plan to assign customers to opened DCs and assigns opened DCs to suitable suppliers with lowest transportation cost. In this study, random disruption occurs at the location, capacity of the distribution centers (DCs and suppliers. It is assumed that a disrupted DC and a disrupted supplier may lose a portion of their capacities, and the rest of the disrupted DC's demand can be supplied by other DCs. In addition, we consider shortage in DCs, which can occur in either normal or disruption conditions and DCs, can support each other in such circumstances. Unlike other studies in the extent of literature, we use new approach to model the reliability of DCs; we consider a range of reliability instead of using binary variables. In order to solve the proposed model for real-world instances, a Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II is applied. Preliminary results of testing the proposed model of this paper on several problems with different sizes provide seem to be promising.

Development of Acacia Glulam Wood Exterior Beam-to-Column Connection with Angles and Steel Rods System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simanta Djoni

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, two models (M9B1 and M9B2 connection types of acacia glulam wood exterior beam-to-column connections with angles and steel rod system have been developed. Both models have been tested experimentally under monotonic static and cyclic loadings. The behaviour of each model under static and cyclic loadings, maximum displacement, maximum moment, equivalent viscous damping ratio, stiffness degradation, rotational stiffness and ductility have been observed. From the test results it can be concluded that the behaviour of the connections were influenced by the number of bearing steel rods at the beam, wood quality, and thickness of the angles. The M9B1 connection type has more flexibility than the M9B2 connection type. Three dimensional finite element analyses considering anisotropic plasticity have been conducted for both models. It can be concluded that in M9B1 connection type, the tensile forces due to the moment are received by the combination of tensile steel rods and bearing force in the steel rod and wood around it. Overall performance of M9B2 connection type is better than that of M9B1 connection type because the former has higher initial stiffness and higher rotational ductility than the later.

The MMS Dayside Magnetic Reconnection Locations During Phase 1 and Their Relation to the Predictions of the Maximum Magnetic Shear Model

Science.gov (United States)

Trattner, K. J.; Burch, J. L.; Ergun, R.; Eriksson, S.; Fuselier, S. A.; Giles, B. L.; Gomez, R. G.; Grimes, E. W.; Lewis, W. S.; Mauk, B.; Petrinec, S. M.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Trenchi, L.; Wilder, F. D.

2017-12-01

Several studies have validated the accuracy of the maximum magnetic shear model to predict the location of the reconnection site at the dayside magnetopause. These studies found agreement between model and observations for 74% to 88% of events examined. It should be noted that, of the anomalous events that failed the prediction of the model, 72% shared a very specific parameter range. These events occurred around equinox for an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle of about 240°. This study investigates if this remarkable grouping of events is also present in data from the recently launched MMS. The MMS magnetopause encounter database from the first dayside phase of the mission includes about 4,500 full and partial magnetopause crossings and flux transfer events. We use the known reconnection line signature of switching accelerated ion beams in the magnetopause boundary layer to identify encounters with the reconnection region and identify 302 events during phase 1a when the spacecraft are at reconnection sites. These confirmed reconnection locations are compared with the predicted location from the maximum magnetic shear model and revealed an 80% agreement. The study also revealed the existence of anomalous cases as mentioned in an earlier study. The anomalies are concentrated for times around the equinoxes together with IMF clock angles around 140° and 240°. Another group of anomalies for the same clock angle ranges was found during December events.

Fuel-disruption experiments under high-ramp-rate heating conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, S.A.; Worledge, D.H.; Cano, G.L.; Mast, P.K.; Briscoe, F.

1983-10-01

This topical report presents the preliminary results and analysis of the High Ramp Rate fuel-disruption experiment series. These experiments were performed in the Annular Core Research Reactor at Sandia National Laboratories to investigate the timing and mode of fuel disruption during the prompt-burst phase of a loss-of-flow accident. High-speed cinematography was used to observe the timing and mode of the fuel disruption in a stack of five fuel pellets. Of the four experiments discussed, one used fresh mixed-oxide fuel, and three used irradiated mixed-oxide fuel. Analysis of the experiments indicates that in all cases, the observed disruption occurred well before fuel-vapor pressure was high enough to cause the disruption. The disruption appeared as a rapid spray-like expansion and occurred near the onset of fuel melting in the irradiated-fuel experiments and near the time of complete fuel melting in the fresh-fuel experiment. This early occurrence of fuel disruption is significant because it can potentially lower the work-energy release resulting from a prompt-burst disassembly accident

Study of runaway current generation following disruptions in KSTAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Z Y; Kim, W C; Yu, Y W; England, A C; Yoo, J W; Hahn, S H; Yoon, S W; Lee, K D; Oh, Y K; Kwak, J G; Kwon, M

2013-01-01

The high fraction of runaway current conversion following disruptions has an important effect on the first wall for next-generation tokamaks. Because of the potentially severe consequences of a large full current runaway beam on the first wall in an unmitigated disruption, runaway suppression is given a high priority. The behavior of runaway currents both in spontaneous disruptions and in D 2 massive gas injection (MGI) shutdown experiments is investigated in the KSTAR tokamak. The experiments in KSTAR show that the toroidal magnetic field threshold, B T >2 T, for runaway generation is not absolute. A high fraction of runaway current conversion following spontaneous disruptions is observed at a much lower toroidal magnetic field of B T = 1.3 T. A dedicated fast valve for high-pressure gas injection with 39.7 bar is developed for the study of disruptions. A study of runaway current parameters shows that the conversion efficiency of pre-disruptive plasma currents into runaway current can reach over 80% both in spontaneous disruptions and in D 2 MGI shutdown experiments in KSTAR. (paper)

Laser peripheral iridoplasty for angle-closure.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Wai Siene; Ang, Ghee Soon; Azuara-Blanco, Augusto

2012-02-15

Angle-closure glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world. Treatment is aimed at opening the anterior chamber angle and lowering the IOP with medical and/or surgical treatment (e.g. trabeculectomy, lens extraction). Laser iridotomy works by eliminating pupillary block and widens the anterior chamber angle in the majority of patients. When laser iridotomy fails to open the anterior chamber angle, laser iridoplasty may be recommended as one of the options in current standard treatment for angle-closure. Laser peripheral iridoplasty works by shrinking and pulling the peripheral iris tissue away from the trabecular meshwork. Laser peripheral iridoplasty can be used for crisis of acute angle-closure and also in non-acute situations.   To assess the effectiveness of laser peripheral iridoplasty in the treatment of narrow angles (i.e. primary angle-closure suspect), primary angle-closure (PAC) or primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) in non-acute situations when compared with any other intervention. In this review, angle-closure will refer to patients with narrow angles (PACs), PAC and PACG. We searched CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group Trials Register) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 12), MEDLINE (January 1950 to January 2012), EMBASE (January 1980 to January 2012), Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS) (January 1982 to January 2012), the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) (www.controlled-trials.com), ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/search/en). There were no date or language restrictions in the electronic searches for trials. The electronic databases were last searched on 5 January 2012. We included only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in this review. Patients with narrow angles, PAC or PACG were eligible. We excluded studies that included only patients with acute presentations

Disruption simulation for the EAST plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niu Xingping; Wu Bin

2007-01-01

The disruptions due to vertical displacement event for the EAST plasma are simulated in this article by using the TSC program. Meanwhile, the evolutions of the halo current and stress on vacuum vessel are calculated; the disruptions at different initial conditions are compared with each other, and killer pellet injection is simulated for the device fast shutting-down. (authors)

Cost Sharing in the Prevention of Supply Chain Disruption

OpenAIRE

Wen Wang; Kelei Xue; Xiaochen Sun

2017-01-01

We examine the influence of cost-sharing mechanism on the disruption prevention investment in a supply chain with unreliable suppliers. When a supply chain faces considerable loss following a disruption, supply chain members are motivated toward investing in manners that reduce their disruption probability. In improving supply chain reliability, the cost-sharing mechanism must be set appropriately to realize the efficiency of the disruption prevention investment. In a supply chain where the f...

Literature Review on Disruption Recovery in the Supply Chain

OpenAIRE

Ivanov , Dmitry; Dolgui , Alexandre; Sokolov , Boris; Ivanova , Marina

2017-01-01

International audience; Recent research underlines the crucial role of disruption events and recovery policies in supply chains. Despite a wealth of literature on supply chain design with disruption considerations, to the best of our knowledge there is no survey on supply chain with disruptions and recovery considerations. We analyse state-of-the-art research streams on supply chain design and planning with both disruptions and recovery considerations with the aim of relating the existing qua...

Antecedents and implications of disruptive innovation: Evidence from China

OpenAIRE

Wan, Feng; Williamson, Peter; Yin, Eden

2015-01-01

A growing recognition of the importance of disruptive innovation has led researchers to examine the question of how disruptive innovation comes about and to what extent it reflects "discovery" versus "creation" of opportunities. Earlier research has focused on the organisational preconditions for disruptive innovation to arise. Much less attention has been paid to the role of innovation processes, including their goals and design, in promoting disruptive innovation. In this paper we aim to be...

Angle parameter changes of phacoemulsification and combined phacotrabeculectomy for acute primary angle closure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shi-Wei Li

2015-08-01

Full Text Available AIM: To evaluate the difference in angle parameters and clinical outcome following phacoemulsification and combined phacotrabeculectomy in patients with acute primary angle closure (APAC using ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM.METHODS: Patients (n=23, 31 eyes were randomized to receive phacoemulsification or combined phacotrabeculectomy (n=24, 31 eyes. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA, intraocular pressure (IOP, the main complications following surgery, and indentation gonioscopy and angle parameters measured using UBM were documented preoperatively and postoperatively.RESULTS:The improvement in BCVA in the phacoemulsification group was significantly greater than in the combined group (P<0.05. IOP in the phacoemulsification group was slightly higher than in the combined group following 1wk of follow-up (P<0.05, whereas there was no significant difference between the two groups at the latter follow-up (P>0.05. Phacoemulsification alone resulted in a slight increase in the trabecular ciliary processes distance compared with the combined surgery (P<0.05, whereas the other angle parameters showed no significant difference between the groups. Complications in combined group were greater than phacoemulsification only group.CONCLUSION:Both surgeries effectively opened the drainage angle and deepened the anterior chamber, and IOP was well controlled postoperatively. However, phacoemulsification showed better efficacy in improving visual function and showed reduced complications following surgery.

A silicon pad shower maximum detector for a Shashlik calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvsvaag, S.J.; Maeland, O.A.; Klovning, A.

1995-01-01

The new luminosity monitor of the DELPHI detector, STIC (Small angle TIle Calorimeter), was built using a Shashlik technique. This technique does not provide longitudinal sampling of the showers, which limits the measurement of the direction of the incident particles and the e-π separation. For these reasons STIC was equipped with a Silicon Pad Shower Maximum Detector (SPSMD). In order to match the silicon detectors to the Shashlick read out by wavelength shifter (WLS) fibers, the silicon wafers had to be drilled with a precision better than 10μm without damaging the active area of the detectors. This paper describes the SPSMD with emphasis on the fabrication techniques and on the components used. Some preliminary results of the detector performance from data taken with a 45GeV electron beam at CERN are presented. (orig.)

Simulations of Magnetic Fields in Tidally Disrupted Stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guillochon, James [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, The Institute for Theory and Computation, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); McCourt, Michael, E-mail: jguillochon@cfa.harvard.edu [Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States)

2017-01-10

We perform the first magnetohydrodynamical simulations of tidal disruptions of stars by supermassive black holes. We consider stars with both tangled and ordered magnetic fields, for both grazing and deeply disruptive encounters. When the star survives disruption, we find its magnetic field amplifies by a factor of up to 20, but see no evidence for a self-sustaining dynamo that would yield arbitrary field growth. For stars that do not survive, and within the tidal debris streams produced in partial disruptions, we find that the component of the magnetic field parallel to the direction of stretching along the debris stream only decreases slightly with time, eventually resulting in a stream where the magnetic pressure is in equipartition with the gas. Our results suggest that the returning gas in most (if not all) stellar tidal disruptions is already highly magnetized by the time it returns to the black hole.

Uncertainty in T1 mapping using the variable flip angle method with two flip angles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schabel, Matthias C; Morrell, Glen R

2009-01-01

Propagation of errors, in conjunction with the theoretical signal equation for spoiled gradient echo pulse sequences, is used to derive a theoretical expression for uncertainty in quantitative variable flip angle T 1 mapping using two flip angles. This expression is then minimized to derive a rigorous expression for optimal flip angles that elucidates a commonly used empirical result. The theoretical expressions for uncertainty and optimal flip angles are combined to derive a lower bound on the achievable uncertainty for a given set of pulse sequence parameters and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). These results provide a means of quantitatively determining the effect of changing acquisition parameters on T 1 uncertainty. (note)

Disruption of Brewers' yeast by hydrodynamic cavitation: Process variables and their influence on selective release.

Science.gov (United States)

Balasundaram, B; Harrison, S T L

2006-06-05

Intracellular products, not secreted from the microbial cell, are released by breaking the cell envelope consisting of cytoplasmic membrane and an outer cell wall. Hydrodynamic cavitation has been reported to cause microbial cell disruption. By manipulating the operating variables involved, a wide range of intensity of cavitation can be achieved resulting in a varying extent of disruption. The effect of the process variables including cavitation number, initial cell concentration of the suspension and the number of passes across the cavitation zone on the release of enzymes from various locations of the Brewers' yeast was studied. The release profile of the enzymes studied include alpha-glucosidase (periplasmic), invertase (cell wall bound), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH; cytoplasmic) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH; cytoplasmic). An optimum cavitation number Cv of 0.13 for maximum disruption was observed across the range Cv 0.09-0.99. The optimum cell concentration was found to be 0.5% (w/v, wet wt) when varying over the range 0.1%-5%. The sustained effect of cavitation on the yeast cell wall when re-circulating the suspension across the cavitation zone was found to release the cell wall bound enzyme invertase (86%) to a greater extent than the enzymes from other locations of the cell (e.g. periplasmic alpha-glucosidase at 17%). Localised damage to the cell wall could be observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of cells subjected to less intense cavitation conditions. Absence of the release of cytoplasmic enzymes to a significant extent, absence of micronisation as observed by TEM and presence of a lower number of proteins bands in the culture supernatant on SDS-PAGE analysis following hydrodynamic cavitation compared to disruption by high-pressure homogenisation confirmed the selective release offered by hydrodynamic cavitation. Copyright 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Scaling of the MHD perturbation amplitude required to trigger a disruption and predictions for ITER

Science.gov (United States)

de Vries, P. C.; Pautasso, G.; Nardon, E.; Cahyna, P.; Gerasimov, S.; Havlicek, J.; Hender, T. C.; Huijsmans, G. T. A.; Lehnen, M.; Maraschek, M.; Markovič, T.; Snipes, J. A.; the COMPASS Team; the ASDEX Upgrade Team; Contributors, JET

2016-02-01

The amplitude of locked instabilities, likely magnetic islands, seen as precursors to disruptions has been studied using data from the JET, ASDEX Upgrade and COMPASS tokamaks. It was found that the thermal quench, that often initiates the disruption, is triggered when the amplitude has reached a distinct level. This information can be used to determine thresholds for simple disruption prediction schemes. The measured amplitude in part depends on the distance of the perturbation to the measurement coils. Hence the threshold for the measured amplitude depends on the mode location (i.e. the rational q-surface) and thus indirectly on parameters such as the edge safety factor, q 95, and the internal inductance, li(3), that determine the shape of the q-profile. These dependencies can be used to set the disruption thresholds more precisely. For the ITER baseline scenario, with typically q 95  =  3.2, li(3)  =  0.9 and taking into account the position of the measurement coils on ITER, the maximum allowable measured locked mode amplitude normalized to engineering parameters was estimated to be a·B ML(r c)/I p  =  0.92 m mT/MA, or directly as a fraction edge poloidal magnetic field: B ML(r c)/B θ (a)  =  5 · 10-3. But these values decrease for operation at higher q 95 or lower li(3). The analysis found furthermore that the above empirical criterion to trigger a thermal quench is more consistent with a criterion derived with the concept of a critical island size, i.e. the thermal quench seemed to be triggered at a distinct island width.

TAD disruption as oncogenic driver.

Science.gov (United States)

Valton, Anne-Laure; Dekker, Job

2016-02-01

Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) are conserved during evolution and play roles in guiding and constraining long-range regulation of gene expression. Disruption of TAD boundaries results in aberrant gene expression by exposing genes to inappropriate regulatory elements. Recent studies have shown that TAD disruption is often found in cancer cells and contributes to oncogenesis through two mechanisms. One mechanism locally disrupts domains by deleting or mutating a TAD boundary leading to fusion of the two adjacent TADs. The other mechanism involves genomic rearrangements that break up TADs and creates new ones without directly affecting TAD boundaries. Understanding the mechanisms by which TADs form and control long-range chromatin interactions will therefore not only provide insights into the mechanism of gene regulation in general, but will also reveal how genomic rearrangements and mutations in cancer genomes can lead to misregulation of oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simulation of a major tokamak disruption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, R.B.; Monticello, D.A.; Rosenbluth, M.N.

1977-08-01

It is known that the internal tokamak disruption leads to a current profile which is flattened inside the surface where the safety factor equals unity. It is shown that such a profile can lead to m = 2 magnetic islands which grow to fill a substantial part of the tokamak cross section in a time consistent with the observations of the major disruption

Multi-Layer Artificial Neural Networks Based MPPT-Pitch Angle Control of a Tidal Stream Generator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khaoula Ghefiri

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Artificial intelligence technologies are widely investigated as a promising technique for tackling complex and ill-defined problems. In this context, artificial neural networks methodology has been considered as an effective tool to handle renewable energy systems. Thereby, the use of Tidal Stream Generator (TSG systems aim to provide clean and reliable electrical power. However, the power captured from tidal currents is highly disturbed due to the swell effect and the periodicity of the tidal current phenomenon. In order to improve the quality of the generated power, this paper focuses on the power smoothing control. For this purpose, a novel Artificial Neural Network (ANN is investigated and implemented to provide the proper rotational speed reference and the blade pitch angle. The ANN supervisor adequately switches the system in variable speed and power limitation modes. In order to recover the maximum power from the tides, a rotational speed control is applied to the rotor side converter following the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT generated from the ANN block. In case of strong tidal currents, a pitch angle control is set based on the ANN approach to keep the system operating within safe limits. Two study cases were performed to test the performance of the output power. Simulation results demonstrate that the implemented control strategies achieve a smoothed generated power in the case of swell disturbances.

Risk factors for wound disruption following cesarean delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Subramaniam, Akila; Jauk, Victoria C; Figueroa, Dana; Biggio, Joseph R; Owen, John; Tita, Alan T N

2014-08-01

Risk factors for post-cesarean wound infection, but not disruption, are well-described in the literature. The primary objective of this study was to identify risk factors for non-infectious post-cesarean wound disruption. Secondary analysis was conducted using data from a single-center randomized controlled trial of staple versus suture skin closure in women ≥24 weeks' gestation undergoing cesarean delivery. Wound disruption was defined as subcutaneous skin or fascial dehiscence excluding primary wound infections. Composite wound morbidity (disruption or infection) was examined as a secondary outcome. Patient demographics, medical co-morbidities, and intrapartum characteristics were evaluated as potential risk factors using multivariable logistic regression. Of the 398 randomized patients, 340, including 26 with disruptions (7.6%) met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. After multivariable adjustments, African-American race (aOR 3.9, 95% CI 1.1-13.8) and staple - as opposed to suture - wound closure (aOR 5.4, 95% CI 1.8-16.1) remained significant risk factors for disruption; non-significant increases were observed for body mass index ≥30 (aOR 2.1, 95% CI 0.6-7.5), but not for diabetes mellitus (aOR 0.9, 95% CI 0.3-2.9). RESULTS for composite wound morbidity were similar. Skin closure with staples, African-American race, and considering the relatively small sample size, potentially obesity are associated with increased risk of non-infectious post-cesarean wound disruption.

Implant Angle Monitor System of MC3-II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Fumiaki; Sano, Makoto; Nakaoka, Hiroaki; Fujii, Yoshito; Kudo, Tetuya; Nakanishi, Makoto; Koike, Masazumi; Fujino, Yasushi

2008-01-01

Precise implant angle control is required for the latest generation of ion implanters to meet further shrink semiconductor device requirements. Especially, the highest angle accuracy is required for Halo implant process of Logic devices. The Halo implant angle affects the device performance, because slight differences of beam divergence change the overlap profile towards the extension. Additionally, twist angle accuracy is demanded in case of channeling angle implant. Therefore monitoring beam angles and wafer twist angles is important. A new monitoring system for the MC3-II, SEN Corp.'s single wafer type medium current implanter has been developed. This paper describes the angle control performance and monitoring system of the MC3-II. For the twist angle control, we developed a wafer notch angle monitor. The system monitors the wafer notch image on the platen. And the notch angle variation is calculated by using image processing method. It is also able to adjust the notch angle according to the angle error. For the tilt angle control, we developed a vertical beam profile monitor. The monitor system can detect beam profile of vertical directions with horizontally scanning beam. It also measures beam angles of a tilt direction to a wafer. The system configuration and sample beam data are presented.

Disruptive instabilities in the TBR-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vannucci, A.

1987-01-01

The disruptive instabilities in the TBR-1 tokamak of the Plasma Physics Laboratory of the Institute of Physics-USP were investigated by using surface-barrier detectors and Mirnov magnetic coils, measuring soft X-ray emited by the plasma and poloidal magnetic fluctuations, respectively. Minor and major disruptions, as well sawteeth oscillations, were identified at the TBR-1 discharges, and their main characteristics were studied. Comparing the measured period of the internal disruptions (sawteeth) with the ones expected from scaling laws, good agreements is reached. The measured sawteeth crashes agree with the values expected from the Kadomtsev's model. External helical fields (CHR), corresponding to m/n=2/1 helicity were produced in order to inhibit or criate disruptive instabilities. A strong weakening of the mhd activity, present in the TBR-1 discharges, was clearly detected. The soft X-ray detection system, projected and constructed for this work, was used to obtain the electron temperatures of regions close to the center of the plasma column (T(r=0) ∼ 205 eV and T(r ± 3,8) ∼ 85 eV), using the absorbing foils method. Using the Spitzer formula, Z sub (eff) values were also obtained. (author) [pt

Does shoe heel design influence ground reaction forces and knee moments during maximum lunges in elite and intermediate badminton players?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wing-Kai Lam

Full Text Available Lunge is one frequently executed movement in badminton and involves a unique sagittal footstrike angle of more than 40 degrees at initial ground contact compared with other manoeuvres. This study examined if the shoe heel curvature design of a badminton shoe would influence shoe-ground kinematics, ground reaction forces, and knee moments during lunge.Eleven elite and fifteen intermediate players performed five left-forward maximum lunge trials with Rounded Heel Shoe (RHS, Flattened Heel Shoe (FHS, and Standard Heel Shoes (SHS. Shoe-ground kinematics, ground reaction forces, and knee moments were measured by using synchronized force platform and motion analysis system. A 2 (Group x 3 (Shoe ANOVA with repeated measures was performed to determine the effects of different shoes and different playing levels, as well as the interaction of two factors on all variables.Shoe effect indicated that players demonstrated lower maximum vertical loading rate in RHS than the other two shoes (P < 0.05. Group effect revealed that elite players exhibited larger footstrike angle, faster approaching speed, lower peak horizontal force and horizontal loading rates but higher vertical loading rates and larger peak knee flexion and extension moments (P < 0.05. Analysis of Interactions of Group x Shoe for maximum and mean vertical loading rates (P < 0.05 indicated that elite players exhibited lower left maximum and mean vertical loading rates in RHS compared to FHS (P < 0.01, while the intermediate group did not show any Shoe effect on vertical loading rates.These findings indicate that shoe heel curvature would play some role in altering ground reaction force impact during badminton lunge. The differences in impact loads and knee moments between elite and intermediate players may be useful in optimizing footwear design and training strategy to minimize the potential risks for impact related injuries in badminton.

Experimental study of crossing angle collision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, T.; Rice, D.; Rubin, D.; Sagan, D.; Tigner, M.

1993-01-01

The non-linear coupling due to the beam-beam interaction with crossing angle has been studied. The major effect of a small (∼12mrad) crossing angle is to excite 5Q x ±Q s =integer coupling resonance family on large amplitude particles, which results in bad lifetime. On the CESR, a small crossing angle (∼2.4mr) was created at the IP and a reasonable beam-beam tune-shift was achieved. The decay rate of the beam is measured as a function of horizontal tune with and without crossing angle. The theoretical analysis, simulation and experimental measurements have a good agreement. The resonance strength as a function of crossing angle is also measured

Simulating Impacts of Disruptions to Liquid Fuels Infrastructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilson, Michael [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Resilience and Regulatory Effects; Corbet, Thomas F. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Policy and Decision Analytics; Baker, Arnold B. [ABB Consulting, Albuquerque, NM (United States); O' Rourke, Julia M. [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

2015-04-01

This report presents a methodology for estimating the impacts of events that damage or disrupt liquid fuels infrastructure. The impact of a disruption depends on which components of the infrastructure are damaged, the time required for repairs, and the position of the disrupted components in the fuels supply network. Impacts are estimated for seven stressing events in regions of the United States, which were selected to represent a range of disruption types. For most of these events the analysis is carried out using the National Transportation Fuels Model (NTFM) to simulate the system-level liquid fuels sector response. Results are presented for each event, and a brief cross comparison of event simulation results is provided.

Multi-angle compound imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jespersen, Søren Kragh; Wilhjelm, Jens Erik; Sillesen, Henrik

1998-01-01

This paper reports on a scanning technique, denoted multi-angle compound imaging (MACI), using spatial compounding. The MACI method also contains elements of frequency compounding, as the transmit frequency is lowered for the highest beam angles in order to reduce grating lobes. Compared to conve......This paper reports on a scanning technique, denoted multi-angle compound imaging (MACI), using spatial compounding. The MACI method also contains elements of frequency compounding, as the transmit frequency is lowered for the highest beam angles in order to reduce grating lobes. Compared...... to conventional B-mode imaging MACI offers better defined tissue boundaries and lower variance of the speckle pattern, resulting in an image with reduced random variations. Design and implementation of a compound imaging system is described, images of rubber tubes and porcine aorta are shown and effects...... on visualization are discussed. The speckle reduction is analyzed numerically and the results are found to be in excellent agreement with existing theory. An investigation of detectability of low-contrast lesions shows significant improvements compared to conventional imaging. Finally, possibilities for improving...

A correlative study of aortic valve rotation angle and thoracic aortic sizes using ECG gated CT angiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saremi, Farhood, E-mail: fsaremi@usc.edu; Cen, Steven; Tayari, Nazila; Alizadeh, Houman; Emami, Amir; Lin, Leah; Fleischman, Fernando

2017-04-15

Objective: Various degrees of aortic valve rotation may be seen in individuals with no history of congenital cardiovascular malformations, but its association with aortic sizes has not been studied. Methods: Gated computed tomographic (CT angiograms in 217 patients were studied (66.7 ± 15; 22–97 years old)). Aortic diameters were determined at 5 anatomic locations. The length of the aorta from sinus to left subclavian artery was measured. The angle of valve rotation was recorded by measuring the angle between a line connecting the midpoint of the non-coronary sinus to the anterior commissure and another line along the interatrial septum. Rotation angles were correlated with aortic measurements. Patients were separated into two groups based on aortic sizes and into three groups based on age. The threshold for aortic dilatation was set at maximum ascending aorta diameter ≥40 mm (≥21 mm body surface area [BSA] indexed). Results: No significant difference in rotation angles was seen between the three age groups or between genders. Rotation angles were significantly correlated with maximal, average, and BSA adjustment of the aortic root and ascending aortic measurements. The aortic root angles were significantly different between the dilated versus nondilated aortas. There was no significant association between the rotation angles and age, length of ascending aorta, or diameters of descending aorta. Multivariate adaptive regression splines showed 25° of aortic root rotation as the diagnostic cut off for ascending aorta dilation. Above the 25° rotation, every 10° of increasing rotation was associated with a 3.78 ± 0.87 mm increase in aortic diameter (p < 0.01) and a 1.73 ± 0.25 times increased risk for having a dilated aorta (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Rotation angles of the aortic valve may be an independent non-invasive imaging marker for dilatation of the ascending aorta. Patients with increased rotation angle of the aortic valve may have higher risk for

The high density and high βpol disruption mechanism on TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredrickson, E.D.; Manickam, J.; McGuire, K.M.; Monticello, D.; Nagayama, Y.; Park, W.; Taylor, G.

1992-01-01

Studies of disruptions on TFTR have been extended to include high density disruptions as well as the high β pol disruptions. The data strongly suggests that the (m,n)=(1,1) mode plays an important role in both types of disruptions. Further, for the first time, it is unambiguously shown, using a fast electron cyclotron emission (ECE) instrument for the electron temperature profile measurements, that the (m,n)=(1,1) precursor to the high density disruptions has a 'cold bubble' structure. The precursor to the major disruption at high density resembles the 'vacuum bubble' model of disruptions first proposed by Kadomtsev and Pogutse. (author) 2 refs., 2 figs

Disruptive technologies and networking in telecom industries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Erik Strøjer; Hartington, Simon

in the telecommunication industry and finds significant similarities between the industry development and the literature on disruptive technology, which finds that incumbent companies are not able to react in a successful way when disruptions occur in their industry. By studying how the telecommunication industry...

Resistance to Disruption in a Classroom Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Parry-Cruwys, Diana E.; Neal, Carrie M.; Ahearn, William H.; Wheeler, Emily E.; Premchander, Raseeka; Loeb, Melissa B.; Dube, William V.

2011-01-01

Substantial experimental evidence indicates that behavior reinforced on a denser schedule is more resistant to disruption than is behavior reinforced on a thinner schedule. The present experiment studied resistance to disruption in a natural educational environment. Responding during familiar activities was reinforced on a multiple…

Hepatitis B virus core protein allosteric modulators can distort and disrupt intact capsids.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlicksup, Christopher John; Wang, Joseph Che-Yen; Francis, Samson; Venkatakrishnan, Balasubramanian; Turner, William W; VanNieuwenhze, Michael; Zlotnick, Adam

2018-01-29

Defining mechanisms of direct-acting antivirals facilitates drug development and our understanding of virus function. Heteroaryldihydropyrimidines (HAPs) inappropriately activate assembly of hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein (Cp), suppressing formation of virions. We examined a fluorophore-labeled HAP, HAP-TAMRA. HAP-TAMRA induced Cp assembly and also bound pre-assembled capsids. Kinetic and spectroscopic studies imply that HAP-binding sites are usually not available but are bound cooperatively. Using cryo-EM, we observed that HAP-TAMRA asymmetrically deformed capsids, creating a heterogeneous array of sharp angles, flat regions, and outright breaks. To achieve high resolution reconstruction (HAP-TAMRA caused quasi-sixfold vertices to become flatter and fivefold more angular. This transition led to asymmetric faceting. That a disordered crosslink could rescue symmetry implies that capsids have tensegrity properties. Capsid distortion and disruption is a new mechanism by which molecules like the HAPs can block HBV infection. © 2017, Schlicksup et al.

High-energy cosmic ray nuclei from tidal disruption events: Origin, survival, and implications

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, B. Theodore; Murase, Kohta; Oikonomou, Foteini; Li, Zhuo

2017-09-01

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) by supermassive or intermediate mass black holes have been suggested as candidate sources of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and high-energy neutrinos. Motivated by the recent measurements from the Pierre Auger Observatory, which indicates a metal-rich cosmic-ray composition at ultrahigh energies, we investigate the fate of UHECR nuclei loaded in TDE jets. First, we consider the production and survival of UHECR nuclei at internal shocks, external forward and reverse shocks, and nonrelativistic winds. Based on the observations of Swift J 1644 +57 , we show that the UHECRs can survive for external reverse and forward shocks, and disk winds. On the other hand, UHECR nuclei are significantly disintegrated in internal shocks, although they could survive for low-luminosity TDE jets. Assuming that UHECR nuclei can survive, we consider implications of different composition models of TDEs. We find that the tidal disruption of main sequence stars or carbon-oxygen white dwarfs does not successfully reproduce UHECR observations, namely the observed composition or spectrum. The observed mean depth of the shower maximum and its deviation could be explained by oxygen-neon-magnesium white dwarfs, although they may be too rare to be the sources of UHECRs.

Comparative potential of black tea leaves waste to granular activated carbon in adsorption of endocrine disrupting compounds from aqueous solution

OpenAIRE

A.O. Ifelebuegu; J. E. Ukpebor; C. C. Obidiegwu; B. C. Kwofi

2015-01-01

The adsorption properties and mechanics of selected endocrine disrupting compounds; 17 β-estradiol, 17 α – ethinylestradiol and bisphenol A on locally available black tea leaves waste and granular activated carbon were investigated. The results obtained indicated that the kinetics of adsorption were pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and temperature dependent with equilibrium being reached at 20 to 40 minutes for tea leaves waste and 40 to 60 minutes for granular activated compound. Maximum ads...

Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Medic G

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Goran Medic,1,2 Micheline Wille,1 Michiel EH Hemels1 1Market Access, Horizon Pharma B.V., Utrecht, 2Unit of Pharmacoepidemiology & Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Abstract: Sleep plays a vital role in brain function and systemic physiology across many body systems. Problems with sleep are widely prevalent and include deficits in quantity and quality of sleep; sleep problems that impact the continuity of sleep are collectively referred to as sleep disruptions. Numerous factors contribute to sleep disruption, ranging from lifestyle and environmental factors to sleep disorders and other medical conditions. Sleep disruptions have substantial adverse short- and long-term health consequences. A literature search was conducted to provide a nonsystematic review of these health consequences (this review was designed to be nonsystematic to better focus on the topics of interest due to the myriad parameters affected by sleep. Sleep disruption is associated with increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, metabolic effects, changes in circadian rhythms, and proinflammatory responses. In otherwise healthy adults, short-term consequences of sleep disruption include increased stress responsivity, somatic pain, reduced quality of life, emotional distress and mood disorders, and cognitive, memory, and performance deficits. For adolescents, psychosocial health, school performance, and risk-taking behaviors are impacted by sleep disruption. Behavioral problems and cognitive functioning are associated with sleep disruption in children. Long-term consequences of sleep disruption in otherwise healthy individuals include hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, weight-related issues, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and colorectal cancer. All-cause mortality is also increased in men with sleep disturbances. For those with

Technology and plasma-materials interaction processes of tokamak disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGrath, R.T.; Kellman, A.G.

1992-01-01

A workshop on the technology and plasma-materials interaction processes of tokamak disruptions was held April 3, 1992 in Monterey, California, as a satellite meeting of the 10th International Conference on Plasma-Surface Interactions. The objective was to bring together researchers working on disruption measurements in operating tokamaks, those performing disruption simulation experiments using pulsed plasma gun, electron beam and laser systems, and computational physicists attempting to model the evolution and plasma-materials interaction processes of tokamak disruptions. This is a brief report on the workshop. 4 refs

Building a Stereo-angle into strip-sensors for the ATLAS-Upgrade Inner-Tracker Endcaps

CERN Document Server

Hessey, NP; The ATLAS collaboration

2013-01-01

The Strips Endcap detector for the ATLAS Upgrade needs several sensor shapes, each of which is approximately a wedge shape like the current SCT. For the Endcap to use a stave-like approach as proposed for the barrel, care is needed to design the shapes to avoid clashes and minimise gaps between them. This note gives the basic formulae for one way of building up a petal. It allows for a stereo-angle to be built into the wafer, and takes into account the maximum usable wafer size.

Sleep disruption and the sequelae associated with traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucke-Wold, Brandon P; Smith, Kelly E; Nguyen, Linda; Turner, Ryan C; Logsdon, Aric F; Jackson, Garrett J; Huber, Jason D; Rosen, Charles L; Miller, Diane B

2015-08-01

Sleep disruption, which includes a loss of sleep as well as poor quality fragmented sleep, frequently follows traumatic brain injury (TBI) impacting a large number of patients each year in the United States. Fragmented and/or disrupted sleep can worsen neuropsychiatric, behavioral, and physical symptoms of TBI. Additionally, sleep disruption impairs recovery and can lead to cognitive decline. The most common sleep disruption following TBI is insomnia, which is difficulty staying asleep. The consequences of disrupted sleep following injury range from deranged metabolomics and blood brain barrier compromise to altered neuroplasticity and degeneration. There are several theories for why sleep is necessary (e.g., glymphatic clearance and metabolic regulation) and these may help explain how sleep disruption contributes to degeneration within the brain. Experimental data indicate disrupted sleep allows hyperphosphorylated tau and amyloid β plaques to accumulate. As sleep disruption may act as a cellular stressor, target areas warranting further scientific investigation include the increase in endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative stress following acute periods of sleep deprivation. Potential treatment options for restoring the normal sleep cycle include melatonin derivatives and cognitive behavioral therapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Enzymatic cell disruption of microalgae biomass in biorefinery processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Demuez, Marie; Mahdy, Ahmed; Tomás-Pejó, Elia; González-Fernández, Cristina; Ballesteros, Mercedes

2015-10-01

When employing biotechnological processes for the procurement of biofuels and bio-products from microalgae, one of the most critical steps affecting economy and yields is the "cell disruption" stage. Currently, enzymatic cell disruption has delivered effective and cost competitive results when compared to mechanical and chemical cell disruption methods. However, the introduction of enzymes implies additional associated cost within the overall process. In order to reduce this cost, autolysis of microalgae is proposed as alternative enzymatic cell disruption method. This review aims to provide the state of the art of enzymatic cell disruption treatments employed in biorefinery processes and highlights the use of endopeptidases. During the enzymatic processes of microalgae life cycle, some lytic enzymes involved in cell division and programmed cell death have been proven useful in performing cell lysis. In this context, the role of endopeptidases is emphasized. Mirroring these natural events, an alternative cell disruption approach is proposed and described with the potential to induce the autolysis process using intrinsic cell enzymes. Integrating induced autolysis within biofuel production processes offers a promising approach to reduce overall global costs and energetic input associated with those of current cell disruption methods. A number of options for further inquiry are also discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.