Events as power source: wireless sustainable corrosion monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Guodong; Qiao, Guofu; Zhao, Lin; Chen, Zhibo

2013-12-17

This study presents and implements a corrosion-monitoring wireless sensor platform, EPS (Events as Power Source), which monitors the corrosion events in reinforced concrete (RC) structures, while being powered by the micro-energy released from the corrosion process. In EPS, the proposed corrosion-sensing device serves both as the signal source for identifying corrosion and as the power source for driving the sensor mote, because the corrosion process (event) releases electric energy; this is a novel idea proposed by this study. For accumulating the micro-corrosion energy, we integrate EPS with a COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) energy-harvesting chip that recharges a supercapacitor. In particular, this study designs automatic energy management and adaptive transmitted power control polices to efficiently use the constrained accumulated energy. Finally, a set of preliminary experiments based on concrete pore solution are conducted to evaluate the feasibility and the efficacy of EPS.

Near-Bed Monitoring of Suspended Sediment during a Major Flood Event Highlights Deficiencies in Existing Event-Loading Estimates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alistair Grinham

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Rates of fluvial sediment discharge are notoriously difficult to quantify, particularly during major flood events. Measurements are typically undertaken using event stations requiring large capital investment, and the high cost tends to reduce the spatial coverage of monitoring sites. This study aimed to characterise the near-bed suspended sediment dynamics during a major flood event using a low-cost approach. Monitoring nodes consisted of a total suspended sediment (TSS logger, a single stage sampler, and a time-lapse camera for a total cost of less than US$420. Seven nodes were deployed across an elevation gradient on the stream bank of Laidley Creek, Queensland, Australia, and two of these nodes successfully characterised the near-bed suspended sediment dynamics across a major flood event. Near-bed TSS concentrations were closely related to stream flow, with the contribution of suspended bed material dominating the total suspended load during peak flows. Observed TSS concentrations were orders of magnitude higher than historical monitoring data for this site collected using the State government event station. This difference was attributed to the event station pump inlet screening the suspended bed material prior to sample collection. The ‘first flush’ phenomenon was detected and attributed to a local resuspension of muddy crusts immediately upstream of the study site. This low-cost approach will provide an important addition to the existing monitoring of fluvial sediment discharge during flood events.

Successful global assessments and monitoring: The roles of the international community and the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lund, H.G.

1991-01-01

Successful global assessments and monitoring of natural resources requires teamwork between participating nations and the international communities charged with the responsibility for collecting and disseminating information. In an attempt to identify emerging information needs and to promote coordination, the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) and other national and international groups held a major conference and workshop in Venice, Italy, on global monitoring last September. The results of the meeting and subsequent events in Montreal indicated a need for more aggressive leadership at the international level and more cooperation at the national level. This paper reports on the outcome of the Venice conference and list some things that the international community and the United States must do to make global assessments and monitoring a reality

Ultimate Electrical Means for Severe Accident and Multi Unit Event Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guisez, Xavier

2015-01-01

Following the Multi Unit Severe Accident that occurred at Fukushima as a result of the tsunami on 11 March 2011, the European Council decided to submit its Nuclear Power Plants to a Stress Test. In Belgium, this Stress Test, named BEST (Belgian Stress Test), was successfully concluded at the end of 2011. Nevertheless, Electrabel decided, in agreement with the Authorities, to start a beyond design basis action plan, with the goal to mitigate the consequences of a Beyond Design Basis Accident and a Multi Unit Event. Consequently, this has led to an improvement of the robustness of its Nuclear Power Plants. Considering the importance of electrical power supply to a nuclear power plant, a significant part of this action plan consisted of setting up a mobile, 'plug and play' method for the electrical power supply to some major safety systems. In order to install this ultimate power supply, three factors were retained as essential. First, important reactor monitoring instrumentation is preserved. Second, core cooling is provided at all times. Finally, systems are easily made operational within a very short delay of time. During normal operation and Design Basis Events, core cooling is provided by High Voltage equipment. However, during high stress circumstances, it is too complex to realize connections on this equipment. Therefore, analysis was performed to realize core cooling with, easier to handle, Low Voltage equipment. These systems are powered by several GenSets, especially designed and manufactured for this application. The outcome of this project are easy to use, ultimate means, that supply electric power to important safety systems in order to drastically reduce the risk of core damage, during a beyond design basis event. Additionally, for all ultimate means, procedures and training modules were developed for the operators. (authors)

Sleep Scheduling in Critical Event Monitoring with Wireless Sensor Networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guo, Peng; Jiang, Tao; Zhang, Qian; Zhang, Kui

In this paper, we focus on the applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for critical event monitoring, where normally there are only small number of packets need to be transmitted, while when urgent event occurs, the alarm should be broadcast to the entire network as soon as possible. During

Jaguar surveying and monitoring in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Culver, Melanie

2016-06-10

Because of the jaguar’s (Panthera onca) endangered status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 throughout its range (from Arizona in the north to Argentina in the south), jaguar individuals and populations are monitored to varying degrees throughout their range. Knowledge gained from monitoring jaguars is helpful for wildlife managers who are responsible for conserving this species. The University of Arizona (UA) has conducted a multiyear surveying and monitoring effort for jaguars and ocelots in southern Arizona and New Mexico. The purpose of this work was to establish an effective surveying and monitoring system for jaguars along the United States-Mexico border. Surveying and monitoring in this study focused on the United States side of the border, but the methods could also be used in Mexico. The intent was to develop and implement a surveying and monitoring system that would provide the greatest probability of recording jaguar presence in, and passage through, the border area.

Monitor of cardiac events implemented in PDA platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bustamante, John; Saenz, Jose F; Amaya, Adrian

2007-01-01

Ambulatory monitoring of electrocardiac events constitutes a valuable tool in the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias involved in pathologic processes such as myocardiopathies, post-infarction stages, autonomous cardiac system injuries, etc.; unfortunately, its extensive use is not possible yet, due to the high costs that imply the acquisition of these equipment. For this purpose, through the utilization of personal digital assistants, a monitor of cardiac events with pre and post-symptomatic recording capacity, electrocardiographic signal visualization in real time, automatic recording of bradycardias and tachycardias and the possibility of annotation of symptoms by the patient, is designed and developed. It consists of a hardware component for the acquisition and treatment of the signals, software for the monitoring in Palm OSO platform and an appliance for the discharge and analysis of the stored data. Prototype validations were realized through an electrocardiographic simulator, an arrhythmia simulator Based on arrhythmia data base registers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 8eth Israel Hospital and on pilot tests of healthy people and of patients with arrhythmias. In this preliminary report, we show the way in which the developed prototype constitutes a viable alternative for ambulatory monitoring of arrhythmia, taking advantages of the storage capacity, processing and visualization that have the actual digital assistances with the additional advantages that its use is not restricted to only one utility and its economic accessibility is facilitated due to its wide commercial availability

Comparison of monitor units calculated by radiotherapy treatment planning system and an independent monitor unit verification software.

Science.gov (United States)

Sellakumar, P; Arun, C; Sanjay, S S; Ramesh, S B

2011-01-01

In radiation therapy, the monitor units (MU) needed to deliver a treatment plan are calculated by treatment planning systems (TPS). The essential part of quality assurance is to verify the MU with independent monitor unit calculation to correct any potential errors prior to the start of treatment. In this study, we have compared the MU calculated by TPS and by independent MU verification software. The MU verification software was commissioned and tested for the data integrity to ensure that the correct beam data was considered for MU calculations. The accuracy of the calculations was tested by creating a series of test plans and comparing them with ion chamber measurements. The results show that there is good agreement between the two. The MU difference (MUdiff) between the monitor unit calculations of TPS and independent MU verification system was calculated for 623 fields from 245 patients and was analyzed by treatment site for head & neck, thorax, breast, abdomen and pelvis. The mean MUdiff of -0.838% with a standard deviation of 3.04% was observed for all 623 fields. The site specific standard deviation of MUdiff was as follows: abdomen and pelvis (<1.75%), head & neck (2.5%), thorax (2.32%) and breast (6.01%). The disparities were analyzed and different correction methods were used to reduce the disparity. © 2010 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discrete Events as Units of Perceived Time

Science.gov (United States)

Liverence, Brandon M.; Scholl, Brian J.

2012-01-01

In visual images, we perceive both space (as a continuous visual medium) and objects (that inhabit space). Similarly, in dynamic visual experience, we perceive both continuous time and discrete events. What is the relationship between these units of experience? The most intuitive answer may be similar to the spatial case: time is perceived as an…

The Monitoring Erosion of Agricultural Land and spatial database of erosion events

Science.gov (United States)

Kapicka, Jiri; Zizala, Daniel

2013-04-01

In 2011 originated in The Czech Republic The Monitoring Erosion of Agricultural Land as joint project of State Land Office (SLO) and Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation (RISWC). The aim of the project is collecting and record keeping information about erosion events on agricultural land and their evaluation. The main idea is a creation of a spatial database that will be source of data and information for evaluation and modeling erosion process, for proposal of preventive measures and measures to reduce negative impacts of erosion events. A subject of monitoring is the manifestations of water erosion, wind erosion and slope deformation in which cause damaged agriculture land. A website, available on http://me.vumop.cz, is used as a tool for keeping and browsing information about monitored events. SLO employees carry out record keeping. RISWC is specialist institute in the Monitoring Erosion of Agricultural Land that performs keeping the spatial database, running the website, managing the record keeping of events, analysis the cause of origins events and statistical evaluations of keeping events and proposed measures. Records are inserted into the database using the user interface of the website which has map server as a component. Website is based on database technology PostgreSQL with superstructure PostGIS and MapServer UMN. Each record is in the database spatial localized by a drawing and it contains description information about character of event (data, situation description etc.) then there are recorded information about land cover and about grown crops. A part of database is photodocumentation which is taken in field reconnaissance which is performed within two days after notify of event. Another part of database are information about precipitations from accessible precipitation gauges. Website allows to do simple spatial analysis as are area calculation, slope calculation, percentage representation of GAEC etc.. Database structure was designed

Monitoring intracellular oxidative events using dynamic spectral unmixing microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

There is increasing interest in using live-cell imaging to monitor not just individual intracellular endpoints, but to investigate the interplay between multiple molecular events as they unfold in real time within the cell. A major impediment to simultaneous acquisition of multip...

Single event monitoring system based on Java 3D and XML data binding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Liang; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; Zhu Kejun; Zhao Jingwei

2007-01-01

Online single event monitoring is important to BESIII DAQ System. Java3D is extension of Java Language in 3D technology, XML data binding is more efficient to handle XML document than SAX and DOM. This paper mainly introduce the implementation of BESIII single event monitoring system with Java3D and XML data binding, and interface for track fitting software with JNI technology. (authors)

Long-term dust climatology in the western United States reconstructed from routine aerosol ground monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Q. Tong

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This study introduces an observation-based dust identification approach and applies it to reconstruct long-term dust climatology in the western United States. Long-term dust climatology is important for quantifying the effects of atmospheric aerosols on regional and global climate. Although many routine aerosol monitoring networks exist, it is often difficult to obtain dust records from these networks, because these monitors are either deployed far away from dust active regions (most likely collocated with dense population or contaminated by anthropogenic sources and other natural sources, such as wildfires and vegetation detritus. Here we propose an approach to identify local dust events relying solely on aerosol mass and composition from general-purpose aerosol measurements. Through analyzing the chemical and physical characteristics of aerosol observations during satellite-detected dust episodes, we select five indicators to be used to identify local dust records: (1 high PM₁₀ concentrations; (2 low PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratio; (3 higher concentrations and percentage of crustal elements; (4 lower percentage of anthropogenic pollutants; and (5 low enrichment factors of anthropogenic elements. After establishing these identification criteria, we conduct hierarchical cluster analysis for all validated aerosol measurement data over 68 IMPROVE sites in the western United States. A total of 182 local dust events were identified over 30 of the 68 locations from 2000 to 2007. These locations are either close to the four US Deserts, namely the Great Basin Desert, the Mojave Desert, the Sonoran Desert, and the Chihuahuan Desert, or in the high wind power region (Colorado. During the eight-year study period, the total number of dust events displays an interesting four-year activity cycle (one in 2000–2003 and the other in 2004–2007. The years of 2003, 2002 and 2007 are the three most active dust periods, with 46, 31 and 24

Assessment of Observational Uncertainty in Extreme Precipitation Events over the Continental United States

Science.gov (United States)

Slinskey, E. A.; Loikith, P. C.; Waliser, D. E.; Goodman, A.

2017-12-01

Extreme precipitation events are associated with numerous societal and environmental impacts. Furthermore, anthropogenic climate change is projected to alter precipitation intensity across portions of the Continental United States (CONUS). Therefore, a spatial understanding and intuitive means of monitoring extreme precipitation over time is critical. Towards this end, we apply an event-based indicator, developed as a part of NASA's support of the ongoing efforts of the US National Climate Assessment, which assigns categories to extreme precipitation events based on 3-day storm totals as a basis for dataset intercomparison. To assess observational uncertainty across a wide range of historical precipitation measurement approaches, we intercompare in situ station data from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN), satellite-derived precipitation data from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), gridded in situ station data from the Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM), global reanalysis from NASA's Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis version 2 (MERRA 2), and regional reanalysis with gauge data assimilation from NCEP's North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR). Results suggest considerable variability across the five-dataset suite in the frequency, spatial extent, and magnitude of extreme precipitation events. Consistent with expectations, higher resolution datasets were found to resemble station data best and capture a greater frequency of high-end extreme events relative to lower spatial resolution datasets. The degree of dataset agreement varies regionally, however all datasets successfully capture the seasonal cycle of precipitation extremes across the CONUS. These intercomparison results provide additional insight about observational uncertainty and the ability of a range of precipitation measurement and analysis products to capture extreme precipitation event climatology. While the event category threshold is fixed

Automatic Flushing Unit With Cleanliness Monitor

Science.gov (United States)

Hildebrandt, N. E.

1982-01-01

Liquid-level probe kept clean, therefore at peak accuracy, by unit that flushes probe with solvent, monitors effluent for contamination, and determines probe is particle-free. Approach may be adaptable to industrial cleaning such as flushing filters and pipes, and ensuring that manufactured parts have been adequately cleaned.

Event localization in underwater wireless sensor networks using Monitoring Courses

KAUST Repository

Debont, Matthew John Robert; Jamshaid, Kamran; Shihada, Basem; Ho, Pin-Han

2012-01-01

We propose m-courses (Monitoring Courses), a novel solution to localize events in an underwater wireless sensor network. These networks consists of surface gateways and relay nodes. GPS can localize the position of surface gateways which can

Monitoring Natural Events Globally in Near Real-Time Using NASA's Open Web Services and Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Boller, Ryan A.; Ward, Kevin Alan; Murphy, Kevin J.

2015-01-01

Since 1960, NASA has been making global measurements of the Earth from a multitude of space-based missions, many of which can be useful for monitoring natural events. In recent years, these measurements have been made available in near real-time, making it possible to use them to also aid in managing the response to natural events. We present the challenges and ongoing solutions to using NASA satellite data for monitoring and managing these events.

On machine surface to the unit event causing residual stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arunachalama, R.M.; Mannanb, M.A.; Spowageca, A.

2005-01-01

Integrity and reduce overall costs. Within the framework of surface integrity investigations, special emphasis is given to the measurement of residual stresses because they contribute directly to premature failure of components. Since the highest residual stresses are to be found in surface layers, these deserve special attention when dealing with dynamically, heavily loaded machine parts such as gas turbine components used in aero engines. Of the many techniques available for the measurement of residual stresses, the most highly developed and widely used non-destructive method is based on X-ray diffraction (XRD). However, it is not possible to use this technique for inspection of all the components, since it is time consuming, complicated as well as expensive. In this paper, a method is being proposed that augments the XRD method but at the same time capable of inspecting all the components. A non-destructive, visual inspection technique has been developed that can correlate the characteristic features on the surface to the unit event causing the residual stress and the type of residual stress generated on the machined surface. Pictures of the machined surfaces have been taken using a digital video microscope at a magnification of 500 and the surface feature correlated to the unit event causing the residual stress. Sharp and well defined long grooves indicate that the plastic deformation is dominated by a mechanical unit event while appearance of streaks and small areas of smeared material indicate that the plastic deformation is dominated by a thermal unit event. These trends have been confirmed by measuring the residual stresses using XRD. The proposed technique is an attempt at establishing a simple methodology that would be useful to industries manufacturing aerospace and other components that require good surface integrity. (Author)

Decision Support for Flood Event Prediction and Monitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mioc, Darka; Anton, François; Liang, Gengsheng

2007-01-01

In this paper the development of Web GIS based decision support system for flood events is presented. To improve flood prediction we developed the decision support system for flood prediction and monitoring that integrates hydrological modelling and CARIS GIS. We present the methodology for data...... integration, floodplain delineation, and online map interfaces. Our Web-based GIS model can dynamically display observed and predicted flood extents for decision makers and the general public. The users can access Web-based GIS that models current flood events and displays satellite imagery and digital...... elevation model integrated with flood plain area. The system can show how the flooding prediction based on the output from hydrological modeling for the next 48 hours along the lower Saint John River Valley....

Climatology and Meteorological Evolution of Major Wildfire Events over the Northeast United States

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph B. Pollina; Brian A. Colle; Joseph J. Charney

2013-01-01

This study presents a spatial and temporal climatology of major wildfire events, defined as >100 acres burned (>40.47 ha, where 1 ha = 2.47 acre), in the northeast United States from 1999 to 2009 and the meteorological conditions associated with these events. The northeast United States is divided into two regions: region 1 is centered over the higher terrain of...

EMIR: a configurable hierarchical system for event monitoring and incident response

Science.gov (United States)

Deich, William T. S.

2014-07-01

The Event Monitor and Incident Response system (emir) is a flexible, general-purpose system for monitoring and responding to all aspects of instrument, telescope, and general facility operations, and has been in use at the Automated Planet Finder telescope for two years. Responses to problems can include both passive actions (e.g. generating alerts) and active actions (e.g. modifying system settings). Emir includes a monitor-and-response daemon, plus graphical user interfaces and text-based clients that automatically configure themselves from data supplied at runtime by the daemon. The daemon is driven by a configuration file that describes each condition to be monitored, the actions to take when the condition is triggered, and how the conditions are aggregated into hierarchical groups of conditions. Emir has been implemented for the Keck Task Library (KTL) keyword-based systems used at Keck and Lick Observatories, but can be readily adapted to many event-driven architectures. This paper discusses the design and implementation of Emir , and the challenges in balancing the competing demands for simplicity, flexibility, power, and extensibility. Emir 's design lends itself well to multiple purposes, and in addition to its core monitor and response functions, it provides an effective framework for computing running statistics, aggregate values, and summary state values from the primitive state data generated by other subsystems, and even for creating quick-and-dirty control loops for simple systems.

Systematic survey for monitor signals to reduce fake burst events in a gravitational-wave detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishidoshiro, Koji; Ando, Masaki; Tsubono, Kimio

2006-01-01

We present methods and results to reduce fake burst events induced by nonstationary noises. To reduce these fake events, we systematically surveyed monitor signals recorded with a main (or gravitational-wave) signal of a gravitational-wave detector so as to watch the detector. Our survey was to check whether or not there was a coincidence between the main and monitor signals when we found a burst event from the main signal. If there was a coincidence, we rejected this event as a fake event induced by nonstationary noises, regarding the main signal as being dominated by nonstationary noises. As a result, we succeeded to reject about 90% of the burst events of which the SNR values were larger than 10 as fake events, with an accidental probability of about 5% to reject burst-gravitational-wave candidates

Real-time monitoring of clinical processes using complex event processing and transition systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Meinecke, Sebastian

2014-01-01

Dependencies between tasks in clinical processes are often complex and error-prone. Our aim is to describe a new approach for the automatic derivation of clinical events identified via the behaviour of IT systems using Complex Event Processing. Furthermore we map these events on transition systems to monitor crucial clinical processes in real-time for preventing and detecting erroneous situations.

Monitoring water for radioactive releases in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Porter, C.R.; Broadway, J.A.; Kahn, B.

1990-01-01

The major radiological environmental monitoring programs for water in the United States are described. The applications of these programs for monitoring radioactive fallout, routine discharges from nuclear facilities, and releases due to accidents at such facilities are discussed, and some examples of measurements are presented. The programs monitor rainfall, surface water, and water supplies. Samples are usually collected and analyzed on a monthly or quarterly schedule, but the frequency is increased in response to emergencies. (author)

Offsite environmental monitoring report: Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiation Safety Program conducted during 1990 by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory -- Las Vegas. This laboratory operates an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether current radiation levels and associated doses to the general public are in compliance with existing radiation protection standards. The surveillance program additionally has the responsibility to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling milk, water, and air; by deploying thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and using pressurized ion chambers (PICs); and by biological monitoring of animals, food crops, and humans. Personnel with mobile monitoring equipment are placed in areas downwind from the test site prior to each nuclear weapons test to implement protective actions, provide immediate radiation monitoring, and obtain environmental samples rapidly after any occurrence of radioactivity release

Investment in epilepsy monitoring units improves epilepsy care—experience in a regional neuroscience centre

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McGinty, RN

2017-08-01

An evaluation of the clinical yield of inpatient long-term video-EEG (vEEG) in a new epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) was undertaken, with findings compared to the centre’s prior method of bedside vEEG recording in a standard neurology ward, as reported in 2004. A retrospective analysis of neurophysiology reports for all adults who underwent elective vEEG monitoring in the EMU at Cork University Hospital between January 2015 and July 2016 was conducted. Of 115 vEEG studies in the EMU, 100 (87.0%) were deemed diagnostically conclusive, 14 (12.2%) failed to catch any clinical events and showed normal EEG throughout, and one (0.9%) captured spells of unclear clinical significance—the corresponding figures reported in 2004 for bedside vEEGs were 21.3%, 77% and 1.6%, respectively. The EMU offers a more effective method of recording inpatient vEEG, which aids decision-making and improves clinical outcomes. Some evidence-based measures which could further enhance diagnostic yield are discussed.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2012-10-08

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

Incidence of major vascular events after cardiac surgery: impact of preoperative monitoring with troponin and electrocardiogram

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandra M Quiroga; Juan C Villar; Luz X, Martinez

2009-01-01

Recent demographic changes have led to an increased risk of major vascular events among patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery. Troponin and electrocardiogram monitoring would further identify these major vascular events. Methods: we prospectively collected data on eligible patients (non-selected individuals aged 45 or older undergoing non-cardiac surgery under general or regional anesthesia in two hospitals in Bucaramanga, with expected length of stay longer than 24 hours) during a time-interrupted series,before and after postoperative diagnostic monitoring (blinded assessment of troponin T and electrocardiograms ignoring clinical data). For the period before the intervention (usual clinical care),two independent reviewers extracted clinical information from clinical histories (of all eligible patients from 3 randomly-selected months of 2005). For the period after diagnostic monitoring, we followed 100 consecutive eligible patients. Primary outcome was a composite of major vascular events within hospital, including myocardial infarction (defined as any troponin elevation associated with electrocardiographic changes suggesting ischemia, regardless of symptoms). Results: we included 534 clinical charts and 100 prospective surgical patients (mean age 62.2, SD 12.9 years; 56% women). The more frequent surgical procedures were orthopedics (26.8%) followed by abdominal (20.2%).The incidence of major vascular events recorded in clinical charts was 2.8%, compared with 7% among monitored patients (p=0,071). All four myocardial infarctions identified among the later group were silent. Conclusion: postoperative monitoring with troponin and electrocardiography identified a higher proportion of major vascular events, mainly silent myocardial infarctions.

Enhanced dynamic wedge and independent monitor unit verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howlett, SJ.

2005-01-01

Some serious radiation accidents have occurred around the world during the delivery of radiotherapy treatment. The regrettable incident in Panama clearly indicated the need for independent monitor unit (MU) verification. Indeed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), after investigating the incident, made specific recommendations for radiotherapy centres which included an independent monitor unit check for all treatments. Independent monitor unit verification is practiced in many radiotherapy centres in developed countries around the world. It is mandatory in USA but not yet in Australia. This paper describes development of an independent MU program, concentrating on the implementation of the Enhanced Dynamic Wedge (EDW) component. The difficult case of non centre of field (COF) calculation points under the EDW was studied in some detail. Results of a survey of Australasian centres regarding the use of independent MU check systems is also presented. The system was developed with reference to MU calculations made by Pinnacle 3 D Radiotherapy Treatment Planning (RTP) system (ADAC - Philips) for 4MV, 6MV and 18MV X-ray beams used at the Newcastle Mater Misericordiae Hospital (NMMH) in the clinical environment. A small systematic error was detected in the equation used for the EDW calculations. Results indicate that COF equations may be used in the non COF situation with similar accuracy to that achieved with profile corrected methods. Further collaborative work with other centres is planned to extend these findings

Groundwater Monitoring Plan for the Reactor Technology Complex Operable Unit 2-13

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richard P. Wells

2007-01-01

This Groundwater Monitoring Plan describes the objectives, activities, and assessments that will be performed to support the on-going groundwater monitoring requirements at the Reactor Technology Complex, formerly the Test Reactor Area (TRA). The requirements for groundwater monitoring were stipulated in the Final Record of Decision for Test Reactor Area, Operable Unit 2-13, signed in December 1997. The monitoring requirements were modified by the First Five-Year Review Report for the Test Reactor Area, Operable Unit 2-13, at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory to focus on those contaminants of concern that warrant continued surveillance, including chromium, tritium, strontium-90, and cobalt-60. Based upon recommendations provided in the Annual Groundwater Monitoring Status Report for 2006, the groundwater monitoring frequency was reduced to annually from twice a year

Detecting impacts of extreme events with ecological in situ monitoring networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. D. Mahecha

2017-09-01

be achieved by randomly designed networks. Spatio-temporal expansions of ecological in situ monitoring networks should carefully consider the size distribution characteristics of extreme events if the aim is also to monitor the impacts of such events in the terrestrial biosphere.

Acoustic monitoring systems tests at Indian Point Unit 1. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, J.R.; Rao, G.V.; Craig, J.

1979-12-01

This report describes the results of a program to test acoustic monitoring systems on Indian Point Unit No. 1 under actual plant operating conditions, less the reactor core. The two types of systems evaluated were the monitoring of acoustic emissions generated by growing flaws and the monitoring of acoustic signals from leaks

Single-well monitoring of protein-protein interaction and phosphorylation-dephosphorylation events.

Science.gov (United States)

Arcand, Mathieu; Roby, Philippe; Bossé, Roger; Lipari, Francesco; Padrós, Jaime; Beaudet, Lucille; Marcil, Alexandre; Dahan, Sophie

2010-04-20

We combined oxygen channeling assays with two distinct chemiluminescent beads to detect simultaneously protein phosphorylation and interaction events that are usually monitored separately. This novel method was tested in the ERK1/2 MAP kinase pathway. It was first used to directly monitor dissociation of MAP kinase ERK2 from MEK1 upon phosphorylation and to evaluate MAP kinase phosphatase (MKP) selectivity and mechanism of action. In addition, MEK1 and ERK2 were probed with an ATP competitor and an allosteric MEK1 inhibitor, which generated distinct phosphorylation-interaction patterns. Simultaneous monitoring of protein-protein interactions and substrate phosphorylation can provide significant mechanistic insight into enzyme activity and small molecule action.

Developed vibration waveform monitoring unit for CBM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamada, T.; Hotsuta, K.; Hirose, I.; Morita, E.

2007-01-01

In nuclear power plants, many rotating machines such as pumps and fans are in use. Shikoku Research Institute Inc. has recently developed easy-to-use tools to facilitate the maintenance of such equipment. They include a battery-operated vibration waveform monitoring unit which allows unmanned vibration monitoring on a regular basis and data collection even from intermittently operating equipment, a waveform data collector which can be used for easy collection, storage, control, and analysis of raw vibration waveform data during normal operation, and vibration analysis and evaluation tools. A combination of these tools has a high potential for optimization of rotating equipment maintenance. (author)

Emergency radiological monitoring and analysis United States Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thome, D.J.

1994-01-01

The United States Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP) provides the framework for integrating the various Federal agencies responding to a major radiological emergency. Following a major radiological incident the FRERP authorizes the creation of the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC). The FRMAC is established to coordinate all Federal agencies involved in the monitoring and assessment of the off-site radiological conditions in support of the impacted states and the Lead Federal Agency (LFA). Within the FRMAC, the Monitoring and Analysis Division is responsible for coordinating all FRMAC assets involved in conducting a comprehensive program of environmental monitoring, sampling, radioanalysis and quality assurance. This program includes: (1) Aerial Radiological Monitoring - Fixed Wing and Helicopter, (2) Field Monitoring and Sampling, (3) Radioanalysis - Mobile and Fixed Laboratories, (4) Radiation Detection Instrumentation - Calibration and Maintenance, (5) Environmental Dosimetry, and (6) An integrated program of Quality Assurance. To assure consistency, completeness and the quality of the data produced, a methodology and procedures handbook is being developed. This paper discusses the structure, assets and operations of FRMAC monitoring and analysis and the content and preparation of this handbook

Passive seismic monitoring of the Bering Glacier during its last surge event

Science.gov (United States)

Zhan, Z.

2017-12-01

The physical causes behind glacier surges are still unclear. Numerous evidences suggest that they probably involve changes in glacier basal conditions, such as switch of basal water system from concentrated large tunnels to a distributed "layer" as "connected cavities". However, most remote sensing approaches can not penetrate to the base to monitor such changes continuously. Here we apply seismic interferometry using ambient noise to monitor glacier seismic structures, especially to detect possible signatures of the hypothesized high-pressure water "layer". As an example, we derive an 11-year long history of seismic structure of the Bering Glacier, Alaska, covering its latest surge event. We observe substantial drops of Rayleigh and Love wavespeeds across the glacier during the surge event, potentially caused by changes in crevasse density, glacier thickness, and basal conditions.

Identification of unusual events in multi-channel bridge monitoring data

Science.gov (United States)

Omenzetter, Piotr; Brownjohn, James Mark William; Moyo, Pilate

2004-03-01

Continuously operating instrumented structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are becoming a practical alternative to replace visual inspection for assessment of condition and soundness of civil infrastructure such as bridges. However, converting large amounts of data from an SHM system into usable information is a great challenge to which special signal processing techniques must be applied. This study is devoted to identification of abrupt, anomalous and potentially onerous events in the time histories of static, hourly sampled strains recorded by a multi-sensor SHM system installed in a major bridge structure and operating continuously for a long time. Such events may result, among other causes, from sudden settlement of foundation, ground movement, excessive traffic load or failure of post-tensioning cables. A method of outlier detection in multivariate data has been applied to the problem of finding and localising sudden events in the strain data. For sharp discrimination of abrupt strain changes from slowly varying ones wavelet transform has been used. The proposed method has been successfully tested using known events recorded during construction of the bridge, and later effectively used for detection of anomalous post-construction events.

Forest health monitoring in the United States: focus on national reports

Science.gov (United States)

Kurt Riitters; Kevin Potter

2013-01-01

The health and sustainability of United States forests have been monitored for many years from several different perspectives. The national Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program was established in 1990 by Federal and State agencies to develop a national system for monitoring and reporting on the status and trends of forest ecosystem health. We describe and illustrate...

Early notification of the environmental radiation monitoring system to a radioactive event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haquin, G.; Ne'eman, F; Brenner, S.

1997-01-01

The National Environmental Radiation Monitoring System managed by the Radiation Safety Division of the Ministry of tile Environment has been completed and is composed of a network of 10 stations; 6 terrestrial stations, 3 waterside stations and one mobile. The system was built by Rotem Co. and the control center is located at the Unit of Environmental Resources of the Ministry of the Environment in Tel Aviv University. Each station consists of a wide range Geiger Mueller detector and ambient dose rate meter that provides the level of the environmental dose rate. Low level radioactive particles are detected by air sampling with devices that collect suspended and settling particles . Each station is connected to the control center through telephone lines and RF communication system providing 24 hour a day the level of the environmental radiation. The background radiation dose rate level depends on the location of the station and varies from 8 - 16 μR/h. The system has proved its efficiency in a 'simulation like event' early detecting an unregistered gamma radiography work in the proximity of two stations performed in June 96 in Ashdod port and in December 96 at Maspenot Israel in Haifa. During the events the radiation level increased up to 20 times above the background level. Survey teams of the Ashdod port and Maspenot Israel were sent to place to check the sources for the radiation level increase. These teams found workers performing radiography work in the area of the stations. (authors)

Evaluating Monitoring Strategies to Detect Precipitation-Induced Microbial Contamination Events in Karstic Springs Used for Drinking Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael D. Besmer

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Monitoring of microbial drinking water quality is a key component for ensuring safety and understanding risk, but conventional monitoring strategies are typically based on low sampling frequencies (e.g., quarterly or monthly. This is of concern because many drinking water sources, such as karstic springs are often subject to changes in bacterial concentrations on much shorter time scales (e.g., hours to days, for example after precipitation events. Microbial contamination events are crucial from a risk assessment perspective and should therefore be targeted by monitoring strategies to establish both the frequency of their occurrence and the magnitude of bacterial peak concentrations. In this study we used monitoring data from two specific karstic springs. We assessed the performance of conventional monitoring based on historical records and tested a number of alternative strategies based on a high-resolution data set of bacterial concentrations in spring water collected with online flow cytometry (FCM. We quantified the effect of increasing sampling frequency and found that for the specific case studied, at least bi-weekly sampling would be needed to detect precipitation events with a probability of >90%. We then proposed an optimized monitoring strategy with three targeted samples per event, triggered by precipitation measurements. This approach is more effective and efficient than simply increasing overall sampling frequency. It would enable the water utility to (1 analyze any relevant event and (2 limit median underestimation of peak concentrations to approximately 10%. We conclude with a generalized perspective on sampling optimization and argue that the assessment of short-term dynamics causing microbial peak loads initially requires increased sampling/analysis efforts, but can be optimized subsequently to account for limited resources. This offers water utilities and public health authorities systematic ways to evaluate and optimize their

Three Mile Island Unit-2 events of 28 March 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Syed Hussin Shabuddin, Syed Nahar [PUSPATI, Selangor (Malaysia)

1984-12-01

Three Mile Island was the most severe accident at a commercial nuclear power plant in the United States. This paper attempts to give in detail and chronological order the technical events that happened on the day of the accident. Operator response to plant conditions and its consequences are explained.

Electrophysiological correlates of strategic monitoring in event-based and time-based prospective memory.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giorgia Cona

Full Text Available Prospective memory (PM is the ability to remember to accomplish an action when a particular event occurs (i.e., event-based PM, or at a specific time (i.e., time-based PM while performing an ongoing activity. Strategic Monitoring is one of the basic cognitive functions supporting PM tasks, and involves two mechanisms: a retrieval mode, which consists of maintaining active the intention in memory; and target checking, engaged for verifying the presence of the PM cue in the environment. The present study is aimed at providing the first evidence of event-related potentials (ERPs associated with time-based PM, and at examining differences and commonalities in the ERPs related to Strategic Monitoring mechanisms between event- and time-based PM tasks.The addition of an event-based or a time-based PM task to an ongoing activity led to a similar sustained positive modulation of the ERPs in the ongoing trials, mainly expressed over prefrontal and frontal regions. This modulation might index the retrieval mode mechanism, similarly engaged in the two PM tasks. On the other hand, two further ERP modulations were shown specifically in an event-based PM task. An increased positivity was shown at 400-600 ms post-stimulus over occipital and parietal regions, and might be related to target checking. Moreover, an early modulation at 130-180 ms post-stimulus seems to reflect the recruitment of attentional resources for being ready to respond to the event-based PM cue. This latter modulation suggests the existence of a third mechanism specific for the event-based PM; that is, the "readiness mode".

Lessons learned from the SONGS Unit 1 water hammer event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiu, C.

1987-01-01

On November 21, 1985, a water hammer event occurred in horizontal feedwater line B at San Onofre Nuclear Generation Site (SONGS) Unit 1. The SONGS Unit 1 is a three-loop pressurized water reactor designed by Westinghouse Electric Corp. The event was initiated by a differential current trip on the bus of auxiliary transformer C. The root cause of the event was a simultaneous failure of five check valves in the feedwater system. Two of them are located downstream of the feedwater pump, and three of them are located further downstream and on the lines to the steam generators. The failure mechanism was determined to be flow-induced vibration, which caused repeated impact between the disk stud and the disk stop. The water hammer occurred in feedwater line B during the refilling of feedwater lines A, B, and C with auxiliary feedwater. The thermal-hydraulic process to initiate the water hammer and the reason that the water hammer only happened in line B have been fully investigated and explained. A root cause analysis after the event was prompted to answer the following two questions: (1) why did these five check valves fail at that time and not in the preceding 15 yr? (2) why did only these five check valves fail? The scope of the root cause analysis involves an investigation of the valve vibration characteristics, plant operation history, and the maintenance history of the valves. The paper answers these two questions, after a brief study of the vibration characteristics of a check valve

Condition monitoring of primary coolant pump-motor units of Indian PHWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rshikesan, P.B.; Sharma, S.S.; Mhetre, S.G.

1994-01-01

As the primary coolant pump motor units are located in shut down accessible area, their start up, satisfactory operation and shut down are monitored from control room. As unavailability of one pump in standardised 220 MWe station reduces the station power to about 110 MWe, satisfactory operation of the pump is also important from economic considerations. All the critical parameters of pump shaft, mechanical seal, bearing system, motor winding and shaft displacement (vibrations) are monitored/recorded to ensure satisfactory operation of critical, capital intensive pump-motor units. (author). 2 tabs., 1 fig

The Epimed Monitor ICU Database®: a cloud-based national registry for adult intensive care unit patients in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Zampieri, Fernando Godinho; Soares, Márcio; Borges, Lunna Perdigão; Salluh, Jorge Ibrain Figueira; Ranzani, Otávio Tavares

2017-01-01

To describe the Epimed Monitor Database®, a Brazilian intensive care unit quality improvement database. We described the Epimed Monitor® Database, including its structure and core data. We presented aggregated informative data from intensive care unit admissions from 2010 to 2016 using descriptive statistics. We also described the expansion and growth of the database along with the geographical distribution of participating units in Brazil. The core data from the database includes demographic, administrative and physiological parameters, as well as specific report forms used to gather detailed data regarding the use of intensive care unit resources, infectious episodes, adverse events and checklists for adherence to best clinical practices. As of the end of 2016, 598 adult intensive care units in 318 hospitals totaling 8,160 intensive care unit beds were participating in the database. Most units were located at private hospitals in the southeastern region of the country. The number of yearly admissions rose during this period and included a predominance of medical admissions. The proportion of admissions due to cardiovascular disease declined, while admissions due to sepsis or infections became more common. Illness severity (Simplified Acute Physiology Score - SAPS 3 - 62 points), patient age (mean = 62 years) and hospital mortality (approximately 17%) remained reasonably stable during this time period. A large private database of critically ill patients is feasible and may provide relevant nationwide epidemiological data for quality improvement and benchmarking purposes among the participating intensive care units. This database is useful not only for administrative reasons but also for the improvement of daily care by facilitating the adoption of best practices and use for clinical research.

Tobacco Advertising and Promotional Expenditures in Sports and Sporting Events - United States, 1992-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Agaku, Israel T; Odani, Satomi; Sturgis, Stephanie; Harless, Charles; Glover-Kudon, Rebecca

2016-08-19

Smokeless tobacco has been actively promoted by tobacco companies using endorsements by major sport figures, and research indicates that tobacco advertising can lead to youth initiation of tobacco use (1,2). Television and radio advertisements for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco have been prohibited since 1969,* and the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement(†) further prohibited tobacco companies from targeting youths with tobacco product advertisements in specified areas. In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under authority of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA), prohibited tobacco-brand sponsorship (i.e., sponsorship of sports and entertainment events or other social or cultural events using the tobacco brand name or anything identifiable with any brand of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco).(§) However, corporate-name tobacco sponsorship (i.e., sponsorship using the name of the corporation that manufactures regulated tobacco products) is still permitted under certain conditions.(¶) To monitor tobacco advertising and promotional activities in sports in the United States, CDC analyzed trends in sports-related marketing expenditures for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco during 1992-2013 using data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). During 1992-2013, sports-related marketing expenditures, adjusted by the consumer price index to constant 2013 dollars, decreased significantly for both cigarettes (from $136 million in 1992 to $0 in 2013) and smokeless tobacco (from $34.8 million in 1992 to $2.1 million in 2013). During 2010-2013, after the prohibition of tobacco-brand sponsorship in sports under the FSPTCA, cigarette manufacturers reported no spending (i.e., $0) on sports-related advertising and promotional activities; in contrast, smokeless tobacco manufacturers reported expenditures of $16.3 million on advertising and promoting smokeless tobacco in sports during 2010-2013. These findings indicate that despite prohibitions

Portable and fixed monitoring units for tank calibrations and monitoring of process liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landat, D.A.; Hunt, B.A.

1999-01-01

The development work stems from safeguards support activities carried out at the JRC Ispra, Italy to the inspectorate agencies. A range of measurement equipment covering the needs of the inspector have been designed, developed and tested in both the laboratory and in nuclear facilities. The instruments comprise four units: (1) a portable pressure measurement device, (2) a volume long term monitoring device, (3) an unattended volume measurement system and (4) a level measurement unit. Utilization of the equipment has proven to give independent measurement checks and confirmation of operator's instrumentation and declarations, ensuring continuity of knowledge. (J.P.N.)

Volcano-Monitoring Instrumentation in the United States, 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Guffanti, Marianne; Diefenbach, Angela K.; Ewert, John W.; Ramsey, David W.; Cervelli, Peter F.; Schilling, Steven P.

2010-01-01

The United States is one of the most volcanically active countries in the world. According to the global volcanism database of the Smithsonian Institution, the United States (including its Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) is home to about 170 volcanoes that are in an eruptive phase, have erupted in historical time, or have not erupted recently but are young enough (eruptions within the past 10,000 years) to be capable of reawakening. From 1980 through 2008, 30 of these volcanoes erupted, several repeatedly. Volcano monitoring in the United States is carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program, which operates a system of five volcano observatories-Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO), Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), Long Valley Observatory (LVO), and Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO). The observatories issue public alerts about conditions and hazards at U.S. volcanoes in support of the USGS mandate under P.L. 93-288 (Stafford Act) to provide timely warnings of potential volcanic disasters to the affected populace and civil authorities. To make efficient use of the Nation's scientific resources, the volcano observatories operate in partnership with universities and other governmental agencies through various formal agreements. The Consortium of U.S. Volcano Observatories (CUSVO) was established in 2001 to promote scientific cooperation among the Federal, academic, and State agencies involved in observatory operations. Other groups also contribute to volcano monitoring by sponsoring long-term installation of geophysical instruments at some volcanoes for specific research projects. This report describes a database of information about permanently installed ground-based instruments used by the U.S. volcano observatories to monitor volcanic activity (unrest and eruptions). The purposes of this Volcano-Monitoring Instrumentation Database (VMID) are to (1) document the Nation's existing

Event localization in underwater wireless sensor networks using Monitoring Courses

KAUST Repository

Debont, Matthew John Robert

2012-08-01

We propose m-courses (Monitoring Courses), a novel solution to localize events in an underwater wireless sensor network. These networks consists of surface gateways and relay nodes. GPS can localize the position of surface gateways which can then distribute their locations through the network using acoustic modems. Relay nodes are deployed to remain static, but these untethered nodes may drift due to water currents, resulting in disruption of communication links. We develop a novel underwater alarm system using a cyclic graph model. In the event of link failure, a series of alarm packets are broadcast in the network. These alarms are then captured by the underwater m-courses, which can also be used to assure network connectivity and identify node failures. M-courses also allow the network to localize events and identify network issues locally before forwarding results upwards to a Surface Gateway node. This reduces communication overhead and allows for efficient management of nodes in a mobile network. Our results show that m-course routing reduces the number of sends required to report an event to a Surface Gateway by up to 80% when compared to a naïve routing implementation.

A maintenance policy for two-unit parallel systems based on imperfect monitoring information

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barros, Anne [Department Genie des Systems Industiels (GSI), Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes, Cedex (France)]. E-mail: anne.barros@utt.fr; Berenguer, Christophe [Department Genie des Systems Industiels (GSI), Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes, Cedex (France); Grall, Antoine [Department Genie des Systems Industiels (GSI), Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes, Cedex (France)

2006-02-01

In this paper a maintenance policy is optimised for a two-unit system with a parallel structure and stochastic dependences. Monitoring problems are taken into account in the optimisation scheme: the failure time of each unit can be not detected with a given probability. Conditions on the system parameters (unit failure rates) and on the non-detection probabilities must be verified to make the optimisation scheme valid. These conditions are clearly identified. Numerical experiments allow to show the relevance of taking into account monitoring problems in the maintenance model.

A maintenance policy for two-unit parallel systems based on imperfect monitoring information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barros, Anne; Berenguer, Christophe; Grall, Antoine

2006-01-01

In this paper a maintenance policy is optimised for a two-unit system with a parallel structure and stochastic dependences. Monitoring problems are taken into account in the optimisation scheme: the failure time of each unit can be not detected with a given probability. Conditions on the system parameters (unit failure rates) and on the non-detection probabilities must be verified to make the optimisation scheme valid. These conditions are clearly identified. Numerical experiments allow to show the relevance of taking into account monitoring problems in the maintenance model

Requirements for internal contamination monitoring units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Werner, E.; Beyer, D.; Doerfel, H.; Erlenbach, H.; Fischbach, G.; Henrichs, K.; Keller, K.D.; Koenig, K.; Riedel, W.; Scheler, R.; Schieferdecker, H.

1994-01-01

For the evaluation of internal contamination by officially authorized monitoring units according to section 63 (6) of the German radiation protection ordinance, a directive will be prepared in order to define uniform requirements for the laboratories in charge of incorporation monitoring by appointment of the relevant authorities. These requirements refer to equipment, to performance of measurements, to interpretation of measured values, to quality control as well as to documentation and to delivery of results. The duties of such laboratories comprise measurements of radioactivity, evaluation of intakes of radionuclides and of the resulting internal radiation dose, but also transmission of results to the employer, to the central dose registry, and under certain circumstances to the authorities. Among the requirements to be met by the laboratory for incorporation control are a sufficient measuring efficiency, the implementation of in-house checks, and the participation in intercomparison programs. For the accomplishment of such duties the laboratory needs appropriate apparatus, rooms, facilities, and staffing. (orig.) [de

Variability and trends in dry day frequency and dry event length in the southwestern United States

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, Gregory J.; Legates, David R.; Lins, Harry F.

2010-01-01

Daily precipitation from 22 National Weather Service first-order weather stations in the southwestern United States for water years 1951 through 2006 are used to examine variability and trends in the frequency of dry days and dry event length. Dry events with minimum thresholds of 10 and 20 consecutive days of precipitation with less than 2.54 mm are analyzed. For water years and cool seasons (October through March), most sites indicate negative trends in dry event length (i.e., dry event durations are becoming shorter). For the warm season (April through September), most sites also indicate negative trends; however, more sites indicate positive trends in dry event length for the warm season than for water years or cool seasons. The larger number of sites indicating positive trends in dry event length during the warm season is due to a series of dry warm seasons near the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Overall, a large portion of the variability in dry event length is attributable to variability of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, especially for water years and cool seasons. Our results are consistent with analyses of trends in discharge for sites in the southwestern United States, an increased frequency in El Niño events, and positive trends in precipitation in the southwestern United States.

Comparing infants' use of featural and spatiotemporal information when individuating objects in an event monitoring design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krøjgaard, Peter

. The results obtained using this design reveal that infants are more successful using spatiotemporal object information than when using featural information. However, recent studies using the less cognitively demanding event monitoring design have revealed that even younger infants are capable of object...... in the present series of experiments in which infants' use of spatiotemporal and featural information is compared directly using the less demanding event monitoring design. The results are discussed in relation to existing empirical evidence......., to what extent infants rely on spatiotemporal or featural object information when individuating objects is currently under debate. Hitherto, infants' use of spatiotemporal and featural object information has only been compared directly using the rather cognitively demanding event mapping design...

Future Extreme Event Vulnerability in the Rural Northeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, J.; Bowen, F. L.; Partridge, T.; Chipman, J. W.

2017-12-01

Future climate change impacts on humans will be determined by the convergence of evolving physical climate and socioeconomic systems. Of particular concern is the intersection of extreme events and vulnerable populations. Rural areas of the Northeastern United States have experienced increased temperature and precipitation extremes, especially over the past three decades, and face unique challenges due to their physical isolation, natural resources dependent economies, and high poverty rates. To explore the impacts of future extreme events on vulnerable, rural populations in the Northeast, we project extreme events and vulnerability indicators to identify where changes in extreme events and vulnerable populations coincide. Specifically, we analyze future (2046-2075) maximum annual daily temperature, minimum annual daily temperature, maximum annual daily precipitation, and maximum consecutive dry day length for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 using four global climate models (GCM) and a gridded observational dataset. We then overlay those projections with estimates of county-level population and relative income for 2060 to calculate changes in person-events from historical (1976-2005), with a focus on Northeast counties that have less than 250,000 people and are in the bottom income quartile. We find that across the rural Northeast for RCP4.5, heat person-events per year increase tenfold, far exceeding decreases in cold person-events and relatively small changes in precipitation and drought person-events. Counties in the bottom income quartile have historically (1976-2005) experienced a disproportionate number of heat events, and counties in the bottom two income quartiles are projected to experience a greater heat event increase by 2046-2075 than counties in the top two income quartiles. We further explore the relative contributions of event frequency, population, and income changes to the total and geographic distribution of climate change

40 CFR 60.1320 - How do I monitor the load of my municipal waste combustion unit?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... municipal waste combustion unit? 60.1320 Section 60.1320 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... of Performance for Small Municipal Waste Combustion Units for Which Construction is Commenced After... Monitoring Requirements § 60.1320 How do I monitor the load of my municipal waste combustion unit? (a) If...

Zinc injection on the EDF fleet monitoring the injection on 12 units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le-Meur, Gaelle Harmand; Anne-Marie; Stutzmann, Agnes; Taunier, Stephane; Benfarah, Moez; Bretelle, Jean-Luc; Alain, Rocher; Claeys, Myriam; Bonne, Sebastien

2012-09-01

After a first implementation of zinc injection at Bugey 2 and Bugey 4, EDF decided to extend the program to other units of its fleet. 14 more reactors from the French fleet of 58 were chosen in order to - Reduce the radiation sources for curative or preventive (after SGR) reasons - Mitigate stress corrosion cracking on nickel alloys and reduce the rate of generalized corrosion - Prevent the risk of CIPS, mainly after a fuel management change. Zinc injection started on 9 new units in 2011, 1 unit in 2012 and will be extended to 4 other units before the end of 2013. To monitor the injection, EDF has defined a complete program concerning chemistry, radiation protection (dose rate and deposited activities measurements), materials (statistical analysis of SG tube cracks), fuel (oxide measurements) and waste (radiochemical characterization of filters). Reference units were chosen for each field because of the size of the fleet. This paper will detail the different monitoring programs on the EDF plants injecting zinc. (authors)

A microprocessor based monitoring system for a small nuclear reactor facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, G.E.; DeKeyser, C.F.

1980-01-01

An inexpensive microprocessor based system has been designed and constructed for our 250 kilowatt TRIGA reactor facility. The system, which is beginning operational testing, can monitor on a continuous basis the status of up to 54 devices and maintain a record of events. These devices include fixed radiation monitors, pool water level trips, security alarms and an access control unit. In the latter case, the unit permits selection of different levels of access permission based on the time of day. The system can alert security and other personnel in the event of abnormalities. Because of the inclusion of this in the security system, special reliability and failure mode operation. The unit must also be simple to install, program and operate. (author)

Miniature ambulatory skin conductance monitor and algorithm for investigating hot flash events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bahr, Dennis E; Webster, John G; Shults, Mark [Department of Research and Development, Bahr Management, Inc., Middleton, WI 53562 (United States); Grady, Deborah; Creasman, Jennifer; Macer, Judy [Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115 (United States); Kronenberg, Fredi [School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305 (United States); Tyler, Mitchell; Zhou, Xin [Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)

2014-02-15

A skin conductance monitoring system was developed and shown to reliably acquire and record hot flash events in both supervised laboratory and unsupervised ambulatory conditions. The 7.2 × 3.8 × 1.2 cm{sup 3} monitor consists of a disposable adhesive patch supporting two hydrogel electrodes and a reusable, miniaturized, enclosed electronic circuit board that snaps onto the electrodes. The monitor measures and records the skin conductance for seven days without external wires or telemetry and has an event marker that the subject can press whenever a hot flash is experienced. The accuracy of the system was demonstrated by comparing the number of hot flashes detected by algorithms developed during this research with the number identified by experts in hot flash studies. Three methods of detecting hot flash events were evaluated, but only two were fully developed. The two that were developed were an artificial neural network and a matched filter technique with multiple kernels implemented as a sliding form of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Both algorithms were trained on a ‘development’ cohort of 17 women and then validated using a second similar ‘validation’ cohort of 20. All subjects were between the ages of 40 and 60 and self-reported ten or more hot flashes per day over a three day period. The matched filter was the most accurate with a mean sensitivity of 0.92 and a mean specificity of 0.90 using the data from the development cohort and a mean sensitivity of 0.92 and a mean specificity of 0.87 using the data from the validation cohort. The matched filter was the method implemented in our processing software. (paper)

40 CFR Table 11 to Subpart G of... - Wastewater-Inspection and Monitoring Requirements for Waste Management Units

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Wastewater-Inspection and Monitoring Requirements for Waste Management Units 11 Table 11 to Subpart G of Part 63 Protection of Environment... and Monitoring Requirements for Waste Management Units To comply with Inspection or monitoring...

Hydroacoustic monitoring of a salt cavity: an analysis of precursory events of the collapse

Science.gov (United States)

Lebert, F.; Bernardie, S.; Mainsant, G.

2011-09-01

One of the main features of "post mining" research relates to available methods for monitoring mine-degradation processes that could directly threaten surface infrastructures. In this respect, GISOS, a French scientific interest group, is investigating techniques for monitoring the eventual collapse of underground cavities. One of the methods under investigation was monitoring the stability of a salt cavity through recording microseismic-precursor signals that may indicate the onset of rock failure. The data were recorded in a salt mine in Lorraine (France) when monitoring the controlled collapse of 2 000 000 m3 of rocks surrounding a cavity at 130 m depth. The monitoring in the 30 Hz to 3 kHz frequency range highlights the occurrence of events with high energy during periods of macroscopic movement, once the layers had ruptured; they appear to be the consequence of the post-rupture rock movements related to the intense deformation of the cavity roof. Moreover the analysis shows the presence of some interesting precursory signals before the cavity collapsed. They occurred a few hours before the failure phases, when the rocks were being weakened and damaged. They originated from the damaging and breaking process, when micro-cracks appear and then coalesce. From these results we expect that deeper signal analysis and statistical analysis on the complete event time distribution (several millions of files) will allow us to finalize a complete typology of each signal families and their relations with the evolution steps of the cavity over the five years monitoring.

Specialist Cohort Event Monitoring studies: a new study method for risk management in pharmacovigilance.

Science.gov (United States)

Layton, Deborah; Shakir, Saad A W

2015-02-01

The evolving regulatory landscape has heightened the need for innovative, proactive, efficient and more meaningful solutions for 'real-world' post-authorization safety studies (PASS) that not only align with risk management objectives to gather additional safety monitoring information or assess a pattern of drug utilization, but also satisfy key regulatory requirements for marketing authorization holder risk management planning and execution needs. There is a need for data capture across the primary care and secondary care interface, or for exploring use of new medicines in secondary care to support conducting PASS. To fulfil this need, event monitoring has evolved. The Specialist Cohort Event Monitoring (SCEM) study is a new application that enables a cohort of patients prescribed a medicine in the hospital and secondary care settings to be monitored. The method also permits the inclusion of a comparator cohort of patients receiving standard care, or another counterfactual comparator group, to be monitored concurrently, depending on the study question. The approach has been developed in parallel with the new legislative requirement for pharmaceutical companies to undertake a risk management plan as part of post-authorization safety monitoring. SCEM studies recognize that the study population comprises those patients who may have treatment initiated under the care of specialist health care professionals and who are more complex in terms of underlying disease, co-morbidities and concomitant medications than the general disease population treated in primary care. The aims of this paper are to discuss the SCEM new-user study design, rationale and features that aim to address possible bias (such as selection bias) and current applications.

Measuring and monitoring collective attention during shocking events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xingsheng He

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract There has been growing interest in leveraging Web-based social and communication technologies for better crisis response. How might the Web platforms be used as an observatory to systematically understand the dynamics of the public’s attention during disaster events? And how could we monitor such attention in a cost-effective way? In this work, we propose an ‘attention shift network’ framework to systematically observe, measure, and analyze the dynamics of collective attention in response to real-world exogenous shocks such as disasters. Through tracing hashtags that appeared in Twitter users’ complete timeline around several violent terrorist attacks, we study the properties of network structures and reveal the temporal dynamics of the collective attention across multiple disasters. Further, to enable an efficient monitoring of the collective attention dynamics, we propose an effective stochastic sampling approach that accounts for the users’ hashtag adoption frequency, connectedness and diversity, as well as data variability. We conduct extensive experiments to show that the proposed sampling approach significantly outperforms several alternative methods in both retaining the network structures and preserving the information with a small set of sampling targets, suggesting the utility of the proposed method in various realistic settings.

Bispectral Index Monitoring Reduces the Dosage of Propofol and Adverse Events in Sedation for Endobronchial Ultrasound.

Science.gov (United States)

Quesada, Natividad; Júdez, Diego; Martínez Ubieto, Javier; Pascual, Ana; Chacón, Enrique; De Pablo, Francisco; Mincholé, Elisa; Bello, Salvador

2016-01-01

Current guidelines recommend monitoring the anesthetic depth of sedation during respiratory endoscopy by using clinical scales despite their subjective nature and the potential change in the level of sedation caused by frequent stimulation. Monitoring by means of the bispectral index (BIS) has shown its utility in reducing the use of drugs and their adverse events in general anesthesia, but evidence in prolonged sedation is insufficient. Our objective was to evaluate BIS in patients undergoing endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS). A randomized cohort study of 90 patients with mediastinal lymph node involvement and/or lung or mediastinal lesions for whom EBUS was indicated, comparing the modified observer's assessment of alertness/sedation scale clinical evaluation (n = 45) versus the BIS evaluation (n = 45) of sedation with propofol-remifentanil, was conducted in order to evaluate the clinical parameters, doses used, adverse events, and tolerance of the procedure. We found a shorter waking time and a significantly lower dose of total propofol in the BIS group. Significantly fewer overall adverse events were recorded in the BIS group and included desaturation, hypotension, and bradypnea. Tolerance was better in the BIS group. No significant differences were found in terms of cough, memory of the procedure, or the level of difficulty of EBUS on the part of the pulmonologists. BIS monitoring of sedation in EBUS makes it possible to reduce the dosage of propofol, thereby shortening the waking time and reducing adverse events. This form of monitoring should be taken into consideration in the future for systematic use in prolonged sedation, as in the case of EBUS. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Converter Monitoring Unit for Retrofit of Wind Power Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rannestad, Bjorn; Maarbjerg, Anders Eggert; Frederiksen, Kristian

2018-01-01

A Converter Monitoring Unit (CMU), which will enable condition monitoring of wind turbine converters is presented in this paper. Reducing the cost of corrective maintenance by means of condition monitoring is a way of lowering Operation & Maintenance (O&M) costs for wind turbine systems....... The CMU must be able to detect a broad range of failure modes related to Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) power modules and associated gate drives. IGBT collector-emitter on-state voltage (vceon) and current (ic) is sampled in the CMU and used for detection of emerging failures. A new method...... for compensation of unwanted inductive voltage drop in the vceon measurement path is presented, enabling retrofitting of CMUs in existing wind turbines. Finally, experimental results obtained on a prototype CMU are presented. Experimentally the vceon dependency to IGBT junction temperature and deterioration...

Monitor units are not predictive of neutron dose for high-energy IMRT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hälg Roger A

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Due to the substantial increase in beam-on time of high energy intensity-modulated radiotherapy (>10 MV techniques to deliver the same target dose compared to conventional treatment techniques, an increased dose of scatter radiation, including neutrons, is delivered to the patient. As a consequence, an increase in second malignancies may be expected in the future with the application of intensity-modulated radiotherapy. It is commonly assumed that the neutron dose equivalent scales with the number of monitor units. Methods Measurements of neutron dose equivalent were performed for an open and an intensity-modulated field at four positions: inside and outside of the treatment field at 0.2 cm and 15 cm depth, respectively. Results It was shown that the neutron dose equivalent, which a patient receives during an intensity-modulated radiotherapy treatment, does not scale with the ratio of applied monitor units relative to an open field irradiation. Outside the treatment volume at larger depth 35% less neutron dose equivalent is delivered than expected. Conclusions The predicted increase of second cancer induction rates from intensity-modulated treatment techniques can be overestimated when the neutron dose is simply scaled with monitor units.

Comparison between Japan and the United States in the frequency of events in equipment and components at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimada, Yoshio

2007-01-01

The Institute of Nuclear Safety System, Incorporated (INSS) conducted trend analyses until 2005 to compare the frequency of events in certain electrical components and instrumentation components at nuclear power plants between Japan and the United States. The results revealed that events have occurred approximately an order of magnitude less often in Japan than in the United States. This paper compared Japan and the United States in more detail in terms of how often events - events reported under the reporting standards of the Nuclear Information Archive (NUCIA) or the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) - occurred in electrical components, instrumentation components and mechanical components at nuclear power plants. The results were as follows: (1) In regard to electrical components and instrumentation components, events have occurred one-eighth less frequently in Japan than in the United States, suggesting that the previous results were correct. (2) Events have occurred more often in mechanical components than electrical components and instrumentation components in both Japan and the United States, and there was a smaller difference in the frequency of events in mechanical components between the two countries. (3) Regarding mechanical components, it was found that events in the pipes for critical systems and equipment, such as reactor coolant systems, emergency core cooling systems, instrument and control systems, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, and turbine equipment, have occurred more often in Japan than in the United States. (4) The above observations suggest that there is little scope for reducing the frequency of events in electrical components and instrumentation components, but that mechanical components such as pipes for main systems like emergency core cooling systems and turbine equipment in the case of PWRs, could be improved by re-examining inspection methods and intervals. (author)

Design and accomplishment for the monitoring unit of the sup 6 sup 0 Co train freight inspection system

CERN Document Server

Cong Peng

2002-01-01

The sup 6 sup 0 Co railway cargo inspection system has super automaticity. And the monitoring unit is an important part of the automatic control system. The author introduces the idea of designing the monitoring unit in detail and accomplishes a new-style unit which is different from the traditional one. The monitoring unit which is highly integrated, easy to be mounted and debugged and convenient to be operated and maintained has play an excellent role in the work of the whole inspection system

A microcontroller based readout unit for a smart personnel monitoring TLD badge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaonkar, U.P.; Kulkarni, M.S.; Kannan, S.

1997-01-01

An automated TLD personnel monitoring system is under development to cope up with the requirements of personnel monitoring of rapidly growing number of radiation workers. The core of the system is a smart TLD badge incorporating a memory device and a microcontroller based readout unit for reading the memory contents of the badge. The memory is used to store personnel data including the accumulated dose data. The reader unit has a serial RS 232C interface for connection to a PC for entering/modifying data in the memory. A password protected software has also been developed in C for entering/modifying the data in the single memory. 3 figs

Monitoring As A Helpful Means In Forensic Analysis Of Dams Static Instability Events

Science.gov (United States)

Solimene, Pellegrino

2013-04-01

Monitoring is a means of controlling the behavior of a structure, which during its operational life is subject to external actions as ordinary loading conditions and disturbing ones; these factors overlap with the random manner defined by the statistical parameter of the return period. The analysis of the monitoring data is crucial to gain a reasoned opinion on the reliability of the structure and its components, and also allows to identify, in the overall operational scenario, the time when preparing interventions aimed at maintaining the optimum levels of functionality and safety. The concept of monitoring in terms of prevention is coupled with the activity of Forensic Engineer who, by Judiciary appointment for the occurrence of an accident, turns its experience -the "Scientific knowledge"- in an "inverse analysis" in which he summed up the results of a survey, which also draws on data sets arising in the course of the constant control of the causes and effects, so to determine the correlations between these factors. His activity aims at giving a contribution to the identification of the typicality of an event, which represents, together with "causal link" between the conduct and events and contra-juridical, the factors judging if there an hypothesis of crime, and therefore liable according to law. In Italy there are about 10,000 dams of varying sizes, but only a small portion of them are considered "large dams" and subjected to a rigorous program of regular inspections and monitoring, in application of specific rules. The rest -"small" dams, conventionally defined as such by the standard, but not for the impact on the area- is affected by a heterogeneous response from the local authorities entrusted with this task: there is therefore a high potential risk scenario, as determined by the presence of not completely controlled structures that insist even on areas heavily populated. Risk can be traced back to acceptable levels if they were implemented with the

Safety assessment of multi-unit NPP sites subject to external events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samaddar, Sujit; Hibino, Kenta; Coman, Ovidiu

2014-01-01

This paper presents a framework for conducting a probabilistic safety assessment of multi-unit sites against external events. The treatment of multiple hazard on a unit, interaction between units, implementation of severe accident measures, human reliability, environmental conditions, metric of risk for both reactor and non-reactor sources, integration of risk and responses and many such important factors need to be addressed within the context of this framework. The framework facilitates the establishment of a comprehensive methodology that can be applied internationally to the peer review of safety assessment of multi-unit sites under the impact of multiple external hazards. In summary, it can be said that the site safety assessment for a multi-unit site will be quite complex and need to start with individual unit risk assessments, these need to be combined considering the interactions between units and their responses, and the fragilities of the installations established considering the combined demands from all interactions. Using newly established risk metric the risk can then be integrated for the overall site. Fig. 2 shows schematically such a proposal. Much work has to done and the IAEA has established a working group that is systematically establishing the structure and process to incorporate the many issues that are a part of a multi-unit site safety assessment. (authors)

Feasibility of Telemetric Intracranial Pressure Monitoring in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Lilja-Cyron, Alexander; Kelsen, Jesper; Andresen, Morten; Fugleholm, Kåre; Juhler, Marianne

2018-05-03

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is crucial in the management of acute neurosurgical conditions such as traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, pathological ICP may persist beyond the admission to the neuro intensive care unit (NICU). We investigated the feasibility of telemetric ICP monitoring in the NICU, as this technology provides the possibility of long-term ICP assessment beyond NICU discharge. In this prospective investigation, we implanted telemetric ICP sensors (Raumedic Neurovent-P-tel) instead of conventional, cabled ICP sensors in patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy. We recorded ICP curves, duration of ICP monitoring, signal quality, and complications. Seventeen patients were included (median age 55 years) and diagnoses were: severe TBI (8), malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (8), and spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (1). In total, 3015 h of ICP monitoring were performed, and the median duration of ICP monitoring was 188 h (interquartile range [IQR] 54-259). The ICP signal was lost 613 times (displacement of the reader unit on the skin) for a median of 1.5 min, corresponding to 0.8% of the total monitoring period. When the signal was lost, it could always be restored by realignment of the reader unit on the skin above the telemetric sensor. Sixteen of 17 patients survived the NICU admission, and ICP gradually decreased from 10.7 mm Hg (IQR 7.5-13.6) during the first postoperative day to 6.3 mm Hg (IQR 4.0-8.3) after 1 week in the NICU. All 17 implanted telemetric sensors functioned throughout the NICU admission, and no wound infections were observed. Therefore, telemetric ICP monitoring in an acute neurosurgical setting is feasible. Signal quality and stability are sufficient for clinical decision making based on mean ICP. The low sampling frequency (5 Hz) does not permit analysis of intracranial pulse wave morphology, but resolution is sufficient for calculation of derived indices such as the pressure reactivity

76 FR 75523 - Vessel Monitoring Systems; Approved Mobile Transmitting Units and Communications Service...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-02

... Monitoring Systems; Approved Mobile Transmitting Units and Communications Service Providers for Use in... relevant features of the enhanced mobile transmitting unit (E-MTU) VMS and communications service providers... with the Orbcomm mobile communications provider service. Skymate can be reached at 866-SKYMATE and...

Cooperative Control of Mobile Sensor Networks for Environmental Monitoring: An Event-Triggered Finite-Time Control Scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Qiang; Han, Qing-Long; Zhang, Botao; Liu, Dongliang; Liu, Shirong

2017-12-01

This paper deals with the problem of environmental monitoring by developing an event-triggered finite-time control scheme for mobile sensor networks. The proposed control scheme can be executed by each sensor node independently and consists of two parts: one part is a finite-time consensus algorithm while the other part is an event-triggered rule. The consensus algorithm is employed to enable the positions and velocities of sensor nodes to quickly track the position and velocity of a virtual leader in finite time. The event-triggered rule is used to reduce the updating frequency of controllers in order to save the computational resources of sensor nodes. Some stability conditions are derived for mobile sensor networks with the proposed control scheme under both a fixed communication topology and a switching communication topology. Finally, simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme for the problem of environmental monitoring.

An advanced NSSS integrity monitoring system for Shin-Kori nuclear units 3 and 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Y. G.; Kim, H. B.; Galin, S. R.; Kim, S. H.; Lee, S. J.

2009-01-01

The advanced design features of NSSS (Nuclear Steam Supply System) Integrity Monitoring System for Shin-Kori Nuclear Units 3 and 4 are summarized herein. During the overall system design and detailed component design processes, many design improvements have been made for the system. The major design changes are: 1) the application of a common software platform for all subsystems, 2) the implementation of remote access, control and monitoring capabilities, and 3) the equipment redesign and rearrangement that has simplified the system architecture. Changes give an effect on cabinet size, number of cables, cyber-security, graphic user interfaces, and interfaces with other monitoring systems. The system installation and operation for Shin-Kori Nuclear Units 3 and 4 will be more convenient than those for previous Korean nuclear units in view of its remote control capability, automated test functions, improved user interface functions, and much less cabling. (authors)

An Advanced NSSS Integrity Monitoring System for Shin-Kori Nuclear Units 3 and 4

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Yang Gyun; Galin, Scott R.; Lee, Sang Jeong

2010-12-01

The advanced design features of NSSS (Nuclear Steam Supply System) Integrity Monitoring System for Shin-Kori Nuclear Units 3 and 4 are summarized herein. During the overall system design and detailed component design processes, many design improvements have been made for the system. The major design changes are: 1) the application of a common software platform for all subsystems, 2) the implementation of remote access, control and monitoring capabilities, and 3) the equipment redesign and rearrangement that has simplified the system architecture. Changes give an effect on cabinet size, number of cables, cyber-security, graphic user interfaces, and interfaces with other monitoring systems. The system installation and operation for Shin-Kori Nuclear Units 3 and 4 will be more convenient than those for previous Korean nuclear units in view of its remote control capability, automated test functions, improved user interface functions, and much less cabling.

Enhanced dynamic wedge and independent monitor unit verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howlett, S.J.; University of Newcastle, NSW

2004-01-01

Full text: Some serious radiation accidents have occurred around the world during the delivery of radiotherapy treatment. The regrettable incident in Panama clearly indicated the need for independent monitor unit (MU) verification. Indeed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), after investigating the incident, made specific recommendations for radiotherapy centres which included an independent monitor unit check for all treatments. Independent monitor unit verification is practiced in many radiotherapy centres in developed countries around the world. It is mandatory in USA but not yet in Australia. The enhanced dynamic wedge factor (EDWF) presents some significant problems in accurate MU calculation, particularly in the case of non centre of field position (COF). This paper describes development of an independent MU program, concentrating on the implementation of the EDW component. The difficult case of non COF points under the EDW was studied in detail. A survey of Australasian centres regarding the use of independent MU check systems was conducted. The MUCalculator was developed with reference to MU calculations made by Pinnacle 3D RTP system (Philips) for 4MV, 6MV and 18MV X-ray beams from Varian machines used at the Newcastle Mater Misericordiae Hospital (NMMH) in the clinical environment. Ionisation chamber measurements in solid water TM and liquid water were performed based on a published test data set. Published algorithms combined with a depth dependent profile correction were applied in an attempt to match measured data with maximum accuracy. The survey results are presented. Substantial data is presented in tabular form and extensive comparison with published data. Several different methods for calculating EDWF are examined. A small systematic error was detected in the Gibbon equation used for the EDW calculations. Generally, calculations were within +2% of measured values, although some setups exceeded this variation. Results indicate that COF

The extratemporal lobe epilepsies in the epilepsy monitoring unit

Science.gov (United States)

Dash, Deepa; Tripathi, Manjari

2014-01-01

Extratemporal lobe epilepsies (ETLE) are characterized by the epileptogenic foci outside the temporal lobe. They have a wide spectrum of semiological presentation depending upon the site of origin. They can arise from frontal, parietal, occipital lobes and from hypothalamic hamartoma. We discuss in this review the semiology of different types of ETLE encountered in the epilepsy monitoring unit. PMID:24791090

A high arctic experience of uniting research and monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Niels Martin; Christensen, Torben R.; Roslin, Tomas

2017-07-01

Monitoring is science keeping our thumb on the pulse of the environment to detect any changes of concern for societies. Basic science is the question-driven search for fundamental processes and mechanisms. Given the firm root of monitoring in human interests and needs, basic sciences have often been regarded as scientifically "purer"—particularly within university-based research communities. We argue that the dichotomy between "research" and "monitoring" is an artificial one, and that this artificial split clouds the definition of scientific goals and leads to suboptimal use of resources. We claim that the synergy between the two scientific approaches is well distilled by science conducted under extreme logistic constraints, when scientists are forced to take full advantage of both the data and the infrastructure available. In evidence of this view, we present our experiences from two decades of uniting research and monitoring at the remote research facility Zackenberg in High Arctic Greenland. For this site, we show how the combination of insights from monitoring with the mechanistic understanding obtained from basic research has yielded the most complete understanding of the system—to the benefit of all, and as an example to follow. We therefore urge scientists from across the continuum from monitoring to research to come together, to disregard old division lines, and to work together to expose a comprehensive picture of ecosystem change and its consequences.

75 FR 63445 - Vessel Monitoring Systems; Approved Mobile Transmitting Units and Communications Service...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-15

... Monitoring Systems; Approved Mobile Transmitting Units and Communications Service Providers for Use in the... features of the VMS. ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the list of NOAA-approved VMS mobile transmitting units and NOAA-approved VMS communications service providers, please contact the VMS Support Center at...

Development and verification of a leningrad NPP unit 1 living PSA model in the INL SAPHIRE code format for prompt operational safety level monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bronislav, Vinnikov

2007-01-01

The first part of the paper presents results of the work, that was carried out in complete conformity with the Technical Assignment, which was developed by the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant. The initial scientific and technical information, contained into the In-Depth Safety Assessment Reports, was given to the author of the work. This information included graphical Fault Trees of Safety Systems and Auxiliary Technical Systems, Event Trees for the necessary number of Initial Events, and also information about failure probabilities of basic components of the nuclear unit. On the basis of this information and fueling it to the Usa Idaho National Laboratory (INL) SAPHIRE code, we have developed an electronic version of the Data Base for failure probabilities of the components of technical systems. Then, we have developed both the electronic versions of the necessary Fault Trees, and an electronic versions of the necessary Event Trees. And at last, we have carried out the linkage of the Event Trees. This work has resulted in the Living PSA (LPSA - Living Probabilistic Safety Assessment) Model of the Leningrad NPP Unit 1. The LPSA-model is completely adapted to be consistent with the USA INL SAPHIRE Risk Monitor. The second part of the paper results in analysis of fire consequences in various places of Leningrad NPP Unit 1. The computations were carried out with the help of the LPSA-model, developed in SAPHIRE code format. On the basis of the computations the order of priority of implementation of fire prevention measures was established. (author)

Syncope During Competitive Events: Interrogating Heart Rate Monitor Watches May Be Useful!

Science.gov (United States)

Thabouillot, Oscar; Bostanci, Kevin; Bouvier, Francois; Dumitrescu, Nicolae; Stéfuriac, Maria; Paule, Philippe; Roche, Nicolas-Charles

2017-12-01

This is a case report of a 45-year-old man who reported complete amnesia during the very first kilometer of a 10-km run. He was wearing a heart rate monitor (HRM). The interrogation of his HRM watch showed 200 bpm tachycardia beginning in the first kilometer and increasing up to 220 bpm during the last kilometer. The patient was asked to wear a Holter-monitor (Holter Research Laboratory; Helena, Montana USA) electrocardiogram (ECG) while practicing a training session. This examination allowed for the diagnosis of an adrenergic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) with an impressive auriculo-ventricular conduction over 260 bpm. This case highlights that non-medical devices, such as connected watches, can be helpful to diagnose arrhythmias. Thabouillot O , Bostanci K , Bouvier F , Dumitrescu N , Stéfuriac M , Paule P , Roche NC . Syncope during competitive events: interrogating heart rate monitor watches may be useful! Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(6):691-693.

Geothermal resource areas database for monitoring the progress of development in the United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lawrence, J.D.; Lepman, S.R.; Leung, K.; Phillips, S.L.

1981-01-01

The Geothermal Resource Areas Database (GRAD) and associated data system provide broad coverage of information on the development of geothermal resources in the United States. The system is designed to serve the information requirements of the National Progress Monitoring System. GRAD covers development from the initial exploratory phase through plant construction and operation. Emphasis is on actual facts or events rather than projections and scenarios. The selection and organization of data are based on a model of geothermal development. Subjects in GRAD include: names and addresses, leases, area descriptions, geothermal wells, power plants, direct use facilities, and environmental and regulatory aspects of development. Data collected in the various subject areas are critically evaluated, and then entered into an on-line interactive computer system. The system is publically available for retrieval and use. The background of the project, conceptual development, software development, and data collection are described here. Appendices describe the structure of the database in detail.

Spread-out Bragg peak and monitor units calculation with the Monte Carlo Code MCNPX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herault, J.; Iborra, N.; Serrano, B.; Chauvel, P.

2007-01-01

The aim of this work was to study the dosimetric potential of the Monte Carlo code MCNPX applied to the protontherapy field. For series of clinical configurations a comparison between simulated and experimental data was carried out, using the proton beam line of the MEDICYC isochronous cyclotron installed in the Centre Antoine Lacassagne in Nice. The dosimetric quantities tested were depth-dose distributions, output factors, and monitor units. For each parameter, the simulation reproduced accurately the experiment, which attests the quality of the choices made both in the geometrical description and in the physics parameters for beam definition. These encouraging results enable us today to consider a simplification of quality control measurements in the future. Monitor Units calculation is planned to be carried out with preestablished Monte Carlo simulation data. The measurement, which was until now our main patient dose calibration system, will be progressively replaced by computation based on the MCNPX code. This determination of Monitor Units will be controlled by an independent semi-empirical calculation

The occurrence of adverse events potentially attributable to nursing care in medical units: cross sectional record review.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Amour, Danielle; Dubois, Carl-Ardy; Tchouaket, Eric; Clarke, Sean; Blais, Régis

2014-06-01

Ensuring the safety of hospitalized patients remains a major challenge for healthcare systems, and nursing services are at the center of hospital care. Yet our knowledge about safety of nursing care is quite limited. In fact, most earlier studies examined one, or at most two, indicators, thus presenting an incomplete picture of safety at an institutional or broader level. Furthermore, methodologies have differed from one study to another, making benchmarking difficult. The aim of this study was to describe the frequencies of six adverse events widely considered in the literature to be nursing-sensitive outcomes and to estimate the degree to which these events could be attributed to nursing care. Cross-sectional review of charts of 2699 patients hospitalized on 22 medical units in 11 hospitals in Quebec, Canada. The events included: pressure sores, falls, medication administration errors, pneumonias, urinary infections, and inappropriate use of restraints. Experienced nurse reviewers abstracted patients' charts based on a grid developed for the study. Patient-level risk for at least one of these six adverse events was 15.3%, ranging from 9% to 28% across units. Of the 412 patients who experienced an event, 30% experienced two or more, for a total of 568 events. The risk of experiencing an adverse event with consequences was 6.2%, with a unit-level range from 3.2% to 13.5%. Abstractors concluded that 76.8% of the events were attributable to nursing care. While the measurement approach adopted here has limitations stemming from reliance on review of documentation, it provided a practical means of assessing several nursing-sensitive adverse events simultaneously. Given that patient safety issues are so complex, tracking their prevalence and impact is important, as is finding means of evaluating progress in reducing them. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Offsite environmental monitoring report: Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, calendar year 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaloud, D.J.; Dicey, B.B.; Mullen, A.A.; Neale, A.C.; Sparks, A.R.; Fontana, C.A.; Carroll, L.D.; Phillips, W.G.; Smith, D.D.; Thome, D.J.

1992-01-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiation Safety Program conducted during 1991 by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory-Las Vegas. This laboratory operates an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether current radiation levels and associated doses to the general public are in compliance with existing radiation protection standards. The surveillance program additionally has the responsibility to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling milk, water, and air; by deploying thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and using pressurized ion chambers (PICs); and by biological monitoring of animals, food crops, and humans. Personnel with mobile monitoring equipment are placed in areas downwind from the test site prior to each nuclear weapons test to implement protective actions, provide immediate radiation monitoring, and obtain environmental samples rapidly after any occurrence of radioactivity release. Comparison of the measurements and sample analysis results with background levels and with appropriate standards and regulations indicated that there was no radioactivity detected offsite by the various EPA monitoring networks and no exposure above natural background to the population living in the vicinity of the NTS that could be attributed to current NTS activities. Annual and long-term trends were evaluated in the Noble Gas, Tritium, Milk Surveillance, Biomonitoring, TLD, PIC networks, and the Long-Term Hydrological Monitoring Program

A united event grand canonical Monte Carlo study of partially doped polyaniline

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Byshkin, M. S., E-mail: mbyshkin@unisa.it, E-mail: gmilano@unisa.it; Correa, A. [Modeling Lab for Nanostructure and Catalysis, Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia and NANOMATES, University of Salerno, 84084, via Ponte don Melillo, Fisciano Salerno (Italy); Buonocore, F. [ENEA Casaccia Research Center, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome (Italy); Di Matteo, A. [STMicroelectronics, Via Remo de Feo, 1 80022 Arzano, Naples (Italy); IMAST Scarl Piazza Bovio 22, 80133 Naples (Italy); Milano, G., E-mail: mbyshkin@unisa.it, E-mail: gmilano@unisa.it [Modeling Lab for Nanostructure and Catalysis, Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia and NANOMATES, University of Salerno, 84084, via Ponte don Melillo, Fisciano Salerno (Italy); IMAST Scarl Piazza Bovio 22, 80133 Naples (Italy)

2013-12-28

A Grand Canonical Monte Carlo scheme, based on united events combining protonation/deprotonation and insertion/deletion of HCl molecules is proposed for the generation of polyaniline structures at intermediate doping levels between 0% (PANI EB) and 100% (PANI ES). A procedure based on this scheme and subsequent structure relaxations using molecular dynamics is described and validated. Using the proposed scheme and the corresponding procedure, atomistic models of amorphous PANI-HCl structures were generated and studied at different doping levels. Density, structure factors, and solubility parameters were calculated. Their values agree well with available experimental data. The interactions of HCl with PANI have been studied and distribution of their energies has been analyzed. The procedure has also been extended to the generation of PANI models including adsorbed water and the effect of inclusion of water molecules on PANI properties has also been modeled and discussed. The protocol described here is general and the proposed United Event Grand Canonical Monte Carlo scheme can be easily extended to similar polymeric materials used in gas sensing and to other systems involving adsorption and chemical reactions steps.

Offsite environmental monitoring report. Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, calendar year 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, M.G.; Flotard, R.D.; Fontana, C.A.; Hennessey, P.A.; Maunu, H.K.; Mouck, T.L.; Mullen, A.A.; Sells, M.D.

1999-01-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program (OREMP) conducted during 1997 by the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs), Radiation and Indoor Environments National Laboratory, Las Vegas, Nevada. This laboratory operated an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether current radiation levels and associated doses to the general public are in compliance with existing radiation protection standards. The surveillance program additionally has the responsibility to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling and analyzing milk, water, and air; by deploying and reading thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs); and using pressurized ionization chambers (PICs) to measure ambient gamma exposure rates with a sensitivity capable of detecting low level exposures not detected by other monitoring methods

Offsite environmental monitoring report: Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, calendar year 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, M.G.; Flotard, R.D.; Fontana, C.A.; Hennessey, P.A.; Maunu, H.K.; Mouck, T.L.; Mullen, A.A.; Sells, M.D.

1999-01-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program (OREMP) conducted during 1997 by the US Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPAs), Radiation and Indoor Environments National Laboratory, Las Vegas, Nevada. This laboratory operated an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether current radiation levels and associated doses to the general public are in compliance with existing radiation protection standards. The surveillance program additionally has the responsibility to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling and analyzing milk, water, and air; by deploying and reading thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs); and using pressurized ionization chambers (PICs) to measure ambient gamma exposure rates with a sensitivity capable of detecting low level exposures not detected by other monitoring methods.

Offsite environmental monitoring report: Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, calendar year 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaloud, D.J; Daigler, D.M.; Davis, M.G.

1996-06-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiation Safety Program conducted during 1993 by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Las Vegas (EMSL-LV). This laboratory operates an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether current radiation levels and associated doses to the general public are in compliance with existing radiation protection standards. The surveillance program additionally has the responsibility to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling milk, water, and air; by deploying thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and using pressurized ionization chambers (PICs); by biological monitoring of foodstuffs including animal tissues and food crops; and by measurement of radioactive material deposited in humans

Offsite environmental monitoring report: Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, calendar year 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chaloud, D.J; Daigler, D.M.; Davis, M.G. [and others

1996-06-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiation Safety Program conducted during 1993 by the Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA`s) Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory - Las Vegas (EMSL-LV). This laboratory operates an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether current radiation levels and associated doses to the general public are in compliance with existing radiation protection standards. The surveillance program additionally has the responsibility to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling milk, water, and air; by deploying thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and using pressurized ionization chambers (PICs); by biological monitoring of foodstuffs including animal tissues and food crops; and by measurement of radioactive material deposited in humans.

40 CFR Table 7 to Subpart Ggg of... - Wastewater-Inspection and Monitoring Requirements for Waste Management Units

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 11 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Wastewater-Inspection and Monitoring Requirements for Waste Management Units 7 Table 7 to Subpart GGG of Part 63 Protection of Environment... for Waste Management Units To comply with Inspection or monitoring requirement Frequency of inspection...

Statistical evaluation of the on line core monitoring effectiveness for limiting the consequences of the fuel assembly misloading event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molnar, A.; Kereszturi, A.; Temesvari, E.; Korpas, L.

2007-01-01

In WWER-440 type reactors, on line core monitoring is used for the early indication of such abnormal events like fuel assembly misloading, inadvertent misalignment of Control Assemblies, blockage of coolant channels. The paper is focusing on the assembly misloading, which can not be indicated by other measurements. A Monte Carlo method was developed and applied to evaluate the on line core monitoring effectiveness for the indication of this abnormal event during the power increase in due time, when the consequences are still acceptable. The investigations proved the satisfactory effectiveness of the online core monitoring down to 55 % power even in case when 75 % of the temperature measurements was only available (Authors)

Identifying common practices and challenges for local urban tree monitoring programs across the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Lara A. Roman; E. Gregory McPherson; Bryant C. Scharenbroch; Julia. Bartens

2013-01-01

Urban forest monitoring data are essential to assess the impacts of tree planting campaigns and management programs. Local practitioners have monitoring projects that have not been well documented in the urban forestry literature. To learn more about practitioner-driven monitoring efforts, the authors surveyed 32 local urban forestry organizations across the United...

Analysis of internal events for the Unit 1 of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Station. Appendixes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huerta B, A.; Lopez M, R.

1995-01-01

This volume contains the appendices for the accident sequences analysis for those internally initiated events for Laguna Verde Unit 1, Nuclear Power Plant. The appendix A presents the comments raised by the Sandia National Laboratories technical staff as a result of the review of the Internal Event Analysis for Laguna Verde Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant. This review was performed during a joint Sandia/CNSNS multi-day meeting by the end 1992. Also included is a brief evaluation on the applicability of these comments to the present study. The appendix B presents the fault tree models printed for each of the systems included and.analyzed in the Internal Event Analysis for LVNPP. The appendice C presents the outputs of the TEMAC code, used for the cuantification of the dominant accident sequences as well as for the final core damage evaluation. (Author)

Analysis of internal events for the Unit 1 of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Station. Appendixes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huerta B, A.; Lopez M, R.

1995-01-01

This volume contains the appendices for the accident sequences analysis for those internally initiated events for Laguna Verde Unit 1, Nuclear Power Plant. The appendix A presents the comments raised by the Sandia National Laboratories technical staff as a result of the review of the Internal Event Analysis for Laguna Verde Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant. This review was performed during a joint Sandia/CNSNS multi-day meeting by the end 1992. Also included is a brief evaluation on the applicability of these comments to the present study. The appendix B presents the fault tree models printed for each of the systems included and analyzed in the Internal Event Analysis for LVNPP. The appendice C presents the outputs of the TEMAC code, used for the cuantification of the dominant accident sequences as well as for the final core damage evaluation. (Author)

Offsite environmental monitoring report: Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, calendar year 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chaloud, D.J.; Dicey, B.B.; Mullen, A.A.; Neale, A.C.; Sparks, A.R.; Fontana, C.A.; Carroll, L.D.; Phillips, W.G.; Smith, D.D.; Thome, D.J.

1992-01-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiation Safety Program conducted during 1991 by the Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA`s) Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory-Las Vegas. This laboratory operates an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether current radiation levels and associated doses to the general public are in compliance with existing radiation protection standards. The surveillance program additionally has the responsibility to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling milk, water, and air; by deploying thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and using pressurized ion chambers (PICs); and by biological monitoring of animals, food crops, and humans. Personnel with mobile monitoring equipment are placed in areas downwind from the test site prior to each nuclear weapons test to implement protective actions, provide immediate radiation monitoring, and obtain environmental samples rapidly after any occurrence of radioactivity release. Comparison of the measurements and sample analysis results with background levels and with appropriate standards and regulations indicated that there was no radioactivity detected offsite by the various EPA monitoring networks and no exposure above natural background to the population living in the vicinity of the NTS that could be attributed to current NTS activities. Annual and long-term trends were evaluated in the Noble Gas, Tritium, Milk Surveillance, Biomonitoring, TLD, PIC networks, and the Long-Term Hydrological Monitoring Program.

Water Quality Monitoring: An Environmental Studies Unit for Biology 20/30. Teacher's Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Environment, Edmonton. Environmental Education Resources Branch.

The objective of this environmental studies unit is to establish a water quality monitoring project for high school students in Alberta while simultaneously providing a unit which meets the objectives of the Biology 20 program (and which may also be used in Biology 10 and 30). Through this project, students assist in the collection,…

Water Quality Monitoring: An Environmental Studies Unit for Biology 20/30. Student Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Environment, Edmonton. Environmental Education Resources Branch.

The objective of this environmental studies unit is to establish a water quality monitoring project for high school students in Alberta while simultaneously providing a unit which meets the objectives of the Biology 20 program (and which may also be used in Biology 10 and 30). Through this project, students assist in the collection,…

Independent dose per monitor unit review of eight U.S.A. proton treatment facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moyers, M. F.; Ibbott, G. S.; Grant, R. L.; Summers, P. A.; Followill, D. S.

2014-01-01

Purpose: Compare the dose per monitor unit at different proton treatment facilities using three different dosimetry methods. Methods: Measurements of dose per monitor unit were performed by a single group at eight facilities using 11 test beams and up to six different clinical portal treatment sites. These measurements were compared to the facility reported dose per monitor unit values. Results: Agreement between the measured and reported doses was similar using any of the three dosimetry methods. Use of the ICRU 59 N D,w based method gave results approximately 3% higher than both the ICRU 59 N X and ICRU 78 (TRS-398) N D,w based methods. Conclusions: Any single dosimetry method could be used for multi-institution trials with similar conformity between facilities. A multi-institutional trial could support facilities using both the ICRU 59 N X based and ICRU 78 (TRS-398) N D,w based methods but use of the ICRU 59 N D,w based method should not be allowed simultaneously with the other two until the difference is resolved

Intelligent monitoring and fault diagnosis for ATLAS TDAQ: a complex event processing solution

CERN Document Server

Magnoni, Luca; Luppi, Eleonora

Effective monitoring and analysis tools are fundamental in modern IT infrastructures to get insights on the overall system behavior and to deal promptly and effectively with failures. In recent years, Complex Event Processing (CEP) technologies have emerged as effective solutions for information processing from the most disparate fields: from wireless sensor networks to financial analysis. This thesis proposes an innovative approach to monitor and operate complex and distributed computing systems, in particular referring to the ATLAS Trigger and Data Acquisition (TDAQ) system currently in use at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The result of this research, the AAL project, is currently used to provide ATLAS data acquisition operators with automated error detection and intelligent system analysis. The thesis begins by describing the TDAQ system and the controlling architecture, with a focus on the monitoring infrastructure and the expert system used for error detection and automated reco...

Evaluating the Use of Tissue Oximetry to Decrease Intensive Unit Monitoring for Free Flap Breast Reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ricci, Joseph A; Vargas, Christina R; Ho, Olivia A; Lin, Samuel J; Tobias, Adam M; Lee, Bernard T

2017-07-01

Postoperative free flap care has historically required intensive monitoring for 24 hours in an intensive care unit. Continuous monitoring with tissue oximetry has allowed earlier detection of vascular compromise, decreasing flap loss and improving salvage. This study aims to identify whether a fast-track postoperative paradigm can be safely used with tissue oximetry to decrease intensive monitoring and costs. All consecutive microsurgical breast reconstructions performed at a single institution were reviewed (2008-2014) and cases requiring return to the operating room were identified. Data evaluated included patient demographics, the take back time course, and complications of flap loss and salvage. A cost-benefit analysis was performed to analyse the utility of a postoperative intensive monitoring setting. There were 900 flaps performed and 32 required an unplanned return to the operating room. There were 16 flaps that required a reexploration within the first 24 hours; the standard length of intensive unit monitoring. After 4 hours, there were 7 flaps (44%) detected by tissue oximetry for reexploration. After 15 hours of intensive monitoring postoperatively, cost analysis revealed that the majority (15/16; 94%) of failing flaps had been identified and the cost of identifying each subsequent failing flap exceeded the cost of another hour of intensive monitoring. The postoperative paradigm for microsurgical flaps has historically required intensive unit monitoring. Using tissue oximetry, a fast-track pathway can reduce time spent in an intensive monitoring setting from 24 to 15 hours with significant cost savings and minimal risk of missing a failing free flap.

Internal event analysis of Laguna Verde Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant. System Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huerta B, A.; Aguilar T, O.; Nunez C, A.; Lopez M, R.

1993-01-01

The Level 1 results of Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant PRA are presented in the I nternal Event Analysis of Laguna Verde Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant , CNSNS-TR-004, in five volumes. The reports are organized as follows: CNSNS-TR-004 Volume 1: Introduction and Methodology. CNSNS-TR-004 Volume 2: Initiating Event and Accident Sequences. CNSNS-TR-004 Volume 3: System Analysis. CNSNS-TR-004 Volume 4: Accident Sequence Quantification and Results. CNSNS-TR-004 Volume 5: Appendices A, B and C. This volume presents the results of the system analysis for the Laguna Verde Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant. The system analysis involved the development of logical models for all the systems included in the accident sequence event tree headings, and for all the support systems required to operate the front line systems. For the Internal Event analysis for Laguna Verde, 16 front line systems and 5 support systems were included. Detailed fault trees were developed for most of the important systems. Simplified fault trees focusing on major faults were constructed for those systems that can be adequately represent,ed using this kind of modeling. For those systems where fault tree models were not constructed, actual data were used to represent the dominant failures of the systems. The main failures included in the fault trees are hardware failures, test and maintenance unavailabilities, common cause failures, and human errors. The SETS and TEMAC codes were used to perform the qualitative and quantitative fault tree analyses. (Author)

Explosion Monitoring with Machine Learning: A LSTM Approach to Seismic Event Discrimination

Science.gov (United States)

Magana-Zook, S. A.; Ruppert, S. D.

2017-12-01

The streams of seismic data that analysts look at to discriminate natural from man- made events will soon grow from gigabytes of data per day to exponentially larger rates. This is an interesting problem as the requirement for real-time answers to questions of non-proliferation will remain the same, and the analyst pool cannot grow as fast as the data volume and velocity will. Machine learning is a tool that can solve the problem of seismic explosion monitoring at scale. Using machine learning, and Long Short-term Memory (LSTM) models in particular, analysts can become more efficient by focusing their attention on signals of interest. From a global dataset of earthquake and explosion events, a model was trained to recognize the different classes of events, given their spectrograms. Optimal recurrent node count and training iterations were found, and cross validation was performed to evaluate model performance. A 10-fold mean accuracy of 96.92% was achieved on a balanced dataset of 30,002 instances. Given that the model is 446.52 MB it can be used to simultaneously characterize all incoming signals by researchers looking at events in isolation on desktop machines, as well as at scale on all of the nodes of a real-time streaming platform. LLNL-ABS-735911

Wireless transmission design for health monitoring at neonatal intensive care units

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, W.; Nguyen, S.T.; Bambang Oetomo, S.; Feijs, L.M.G.

2009-01-01

Health monitoring is crucial for the survival of the ill and fragile infants admitted at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a hospital. However, the adhesive electrodes and wires cause discomfort to the patients and hamper the parent-child interaction. In this paper, we propose the

The development of the operational program for seismic monitoring system of Uljin Unit 1 and 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, J.R.; Heo, T.Y.; Cho, B.H. [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kang, T.G.; Kim, H.M.; Kim, Y.S.; Oh, S.M.; Kang, Y.S. [Korea Electric Power Data Network Co., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

Due to aging of the imported seismic monitoring system of Uljin of t 1 and 2 units it is difficult for this system to provide enough functions needed for the security of seismic safety and the evaluation of the earthquake data from the seismic instrumentation. For this reason, it is necessary to replace the seismic monitoring system of Uljin 1 and 2 units with a new system which has the localized and upgraded hardware and corresponding software. In the part of standardization of existing seismic monitoring system, furthermore, it is necessary to develop the seismic wave analysis system which incorporate newly developed software and can real-timely analyze the seismic wave. This report is the finial product of research project ``The development of the operational program for seismic monitoring system of Uljin Unit 1 and 2`` which have been performed from June 1996 to June 1997 by KEPRI and KDN. Main accomplishments - Review of regulatory criteria for seismic monitoring system -Analysis and upgrade of hardware system -Analysis and upgrade of software system - Development of seismic wave analysis system. (author). 17 refs., 49 figs., 6 tabs.

The ATLAS Event Service: A new approach to event processing

Science.gov (United States)

Calafiura, P.; De, K.; Guan, W.; Maeno, T.; Nilsson, P.; Oleynik, D.; Panitkin, S.; Tsulaia, V.; Van Gemmeren, P.; Wenaus, T.

2015-12-01

The ATLAS Event Service (ES) implements a new fine grained approach to HEP event processing, designed to be agile and efficient in exploiting transient, short-lived resources such as HPC hole-filling, spot market commercial clouds, and volunteer computing. Input and output control and data flows, bookkeeping, monitoring, and data storage are all managed at the event level in an implementation capable of supporting ATLAS-scale distributed processing throughputs (about 4M CPU-hours/day). Input data flows utilize remote data repositories with no data locality or pre-staging requirements, minimizing the use of costly storage in favor of strongly leveraging powerful networks. Object stores provide a highly scalable means of remotely storing the quasi-continuous, fine grained outputs that give ES based applications a very light data footprint on a processing resource, and ensure negligible losses should the resource suddenly vanish. We will describe the motivations for the ES system, its unique features and capabilities, its architecture and the highly scalable tools and technologies employed in its implementation, and its applications in ATLAS processing on HPCs, commercial cloud resources, volunteer computing, and grid resources. Notice: This manuscript has been authored by employees of Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-98CH10886 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The publisher by accepting the manuscript for publication acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes.

Near-term probabilistic forecast of significant wildfire events for the Western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Haiganoush K. Preisler; Karin L. Riley; Crystal S. Stonesifer; Dave E. Calkin; Matt Jolly

2016-01-01

Fire danger and potential for large fires in the United States (US) is currently indicated via several forecasted qualitative indices. However, landscape-level quantitative forecasts of the probability of a large fire are currently lacking. In this study, we present a framework for forecasting large fire occurrence - an extreme value event - and evaluating...

Discrete Event Simulation of Patient Admissions to a Neurovascular Unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Hahn-Goldberg

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Evidence exists that clinical outcomes improve for stroke patients admitted to specialized Stroke Units. The Toronto Western Hospital created a Neurovascular Unit (NVU using beds from general internal medicine, Neurology and Neurosurgery to care for patients with stroke and acute neurovascular conditions. Using patient-level data for NVU-eligible patients, a discrete event simulation was created to study changes in patient flow and length of stay pre- and post-NVU implementation. Varying patient volumes and resources were tested to determine the ideal number of beds under various conditions. In the first year of operation, the NVU admitted 507 patients, over 66% of NVU-eligible patient volumes. With the introduction of the NVU, length of stay decreased by around 8%. Scenario testing showed that the current level of 20 beds is sufficient for accommodating the current demand and would continue to be sufficient with an increase in demand of up to 20%.

The Gypsy Moth Event Monitor for FVS: a tool for forest and pest managers

Science.gov (United States)

Kurt W. Gottschalk; Anthony W. Courter

2007-01-01

The Gypsy Moth Event Monitor is a program that simulates the effects of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), within the confines of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS). Individual stands are evaluated with a susceptibility index system to determine the vulnerability of the stand to the effects of gypsy moth. A gypsy moth outbreak is scheduled in the...

An Initiating-Event Analysis for PSA of Hanul Units 3 and 4: Results and Insights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dong-San; Park, Jin Hee

2015-01-01

As a part of the PSA, an initiating-event (IE) analysis was newly performed by considering the current state of knowledge and the requirements of the ASME/ANS probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) standard related to IE analysis. This paper describes the methods of, results and some insights from the IE analysis for the PSA of the Hanul units 3 and 4. In this study, as a part of the PSA for the Hanul units 3 and 4, an initiating-event (IE) analysis was newly performed by considering the current state of knowledge and the requirements of the ASME/ANS probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) standard. In comparison with the previous IE analysis, this study performed a more systematic and detailed analysis to identify potential initiating events, and calculated the IE frequencies by using the state-of-the-art methods and the latest data. As a result, not a few IE frequencies are quite different from the previous frequencies, which can change the major accident sequences obtained from the quantification of the PSA model

Acoustic emission monitoring of preservice testing at Watts Bar Unit 1 Nuclear Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutton, P.H.; Pappas, R.A.; Friesel, M.A.

1985-02-01

Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring of selected pressure boundary areas at TVA's Watts Bar, Unit 1 Nuclear Plant in the US during hot functional preservice testing is described. Background, methodology, and results are included. The work discussed here is a major milestone in a program supported by the US NRC to develop and demonstrate application of AE monitoring for continuous surveillance of reactor pressure boundaries to detect and evaluate growing flaws. The subject work demonstrated that anticipated problem areas can be overcome. Work is continuing to AE monitoring during reactor operation. 3 refs., 6 figs

Event Localization in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks using Monitoring Courses

KAUST Repository

Debont, Matthew

2011-11-01

In this thesis we consider different methods to localize events in a multi-hop wireless sensor network operating underwater using acoustic modems. The network consists of surface gateway nodes and relay nodes. Localization of surface gateways can be achieved through GPS, but we cannot rely on this technology for localizing underwater nodes. Surface Gateway nodes can distribute their locations through the network using the incoming signals by the acoustic modems from the relay nodes. Relay nodes are deployed to remain static but due to water currents, floating, and the untethered nature of the nodes, they often suffer from frequent drifting which can result in a deployed network suffering link failures. In this work, we developed a novel concept of an underwater alarming system, which adapts a cyclic graph model. In the event of link failure, a series of alarm packets are broadcasted in the network. These alarms are then captured through a novel concept of underwater Monitoring Courses (M-Courses), which can also be used to assure network connectivity and identify node faults. M-Courses also allow the network to localize events and identify network issues at a local level before forwarding any results upwards to a Surface Gateway nodes. This reduces the amount of communication overhead needed and allowing for distributed management of nodes in a network which may be constantly moving. We show that the proposed algorithms can reduce the number of send operations needed for an event to be localized in a network. We have found that M-Course routing reduces the number of sends required to report an event to a Surface Gateway by up to 80% in some cases when compared to a naive routing implementation. But this is achieved by increasing the time for an event to reach a Surface Gateway. These effects are both due to the buffering effect of M-Course routing, which allows us to efficiently deal with multiple events in an local area and we find that the performance of M

Adverse Drug Event Monitoring at the Food and Drug Administration: Your Report Can Make a Difference

OpenAIRE

Ahmad, Syed Rizwanuddin

2003-01-01

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible not only for approving drugs but also for monitoring their safety after they reach the market. The complete adverse event profile of a drug is not known at the time of approval because of the small sample size, short duration, and limited generalizability of pre-approval clinical trials. This report describes the FDA's postmarketing surveillance system, to which many clinicians submit reports of adverse drug events encountered while treati...

Mainstream end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozycki, H J; Sysyn, G D; Marshall, M K; Malloy, R; Wiswell, T E

1998-04-01

Continuous noninvasive monitoring of arterial carbon dioxide (CO2) in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients would help clinicians avoid complications of hypocarbia and hypercarbia. End-tidal CO2 monitoring has not been used in this population to date, but recent technical advances and the introduction of surfactant therapy, which improves ventilation-perfusion matching, might improve the clinical utility of end-tidal monitoring. To determine the accuracy and precision of end-tidal CO2 monitoring in NICU patients. Nonrandomized recording of simultaneous end-tidal and arterial CO2 pairs. Two university NICUs. Forty-five newborn infants receiving mechanical ventilation who had indwelling arterial access, and a predefined subsample of infants who were NICU patients is as accurate as capillary or transcutaneous monitoring but less precise than the latter. It may be useful for trending or for screening patients for abnormal arterial CO2 values.

A reliable sewage quality abnormal event monitoring system.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tianling; Winnel, Melissa; Lin, Hao; Panther, Jared; Liu, Chang; O'Halloran, Roger; Wang, Kewen; An, Taicheng; Wong, Po Keung; Zhang, Shanqing; Zhao, Huijun

2017-09-15

With closing water loop through purified recycled water, wastewater becomes a part of source water, requiring reliable wastewater quality monitoring system (WQMS) to manage wastewater source and mitigate potential health risks. However, the development of reliable WQMS is fatally constrained by severe contamination and biofouling of sensors due to the hostile analytical environment of wastewaters, especially raw sewages, that challenges the limit of existing sensing technologies. In this work, we report a technological solution to enable the development of WQMS for real-time abnormal event detection with high reliability and practicality. A vectored high flow hydrodynamic self-cleaning approach and a dual-sensor self-diagnostic concept are adopted for WQMS to effectively encounter vital sensor failing issues caused by contamination and biofouling and ensure the integrity of sensing data. The performance of the WQMS has been evaluated over a 3-year trial period at different sewage catchment sites across three Australian states. It has demonstrated that the developed WQMS is capable of continuously operating in raw sewage for a prolonged period up to 24 months without maintenance and failure, signifying the high reliability and practicality. The demonstrated WQMS capability to reliably acquire real-time wastewater quality information leaps forward the development of effective wastewater source management system. The reported self-cleaning and self-diagnostic concepts should be applicable to other online water quality monitoring systems, opening a new way to encounter the common reliability and stability issues caused by sensor contamination and biofouling. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tool Monitoring and Electronic Event Logging for Sheet Metal Forming Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerd Heiserich

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This contribution describes some innovative solutions regarding sensor systems for tool monitoring in the sheet metal industry. Autonomous and tamper-proof sensors, which are integrated in the forming tools, can detect and count the strokes carried out by a sheet metal forming press. Furthermore, an electronic event logger for documentary purposes and quality control was developed. Based on this technical solution, new business models such as leasing of sheet metal forming tools can be established for cooperation among enterprises. These models allow usage-based billing for the contractors, taking the effectively produced number of parts into account.

40 CFR 75.81 - Monitoring of Hg mass emissions and heat input at the unit level.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Monitoring of Hg mass emissions and... AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CONTINUOUS EMISSION MONITORING Hg Mass Emission Provisions § 75.81 Monitoring of Hg mass emissions and heat input at the unit level. The owner or operator of the...

Contamination Event Detection with Multivariate Time-Series Data in Agricultural Water Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yingchi Mao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Time series data of multiple water quality parameters are obtained from the water sensor networks deployed in the agricultural water supply network. The accurate and efficient detection and warning of contamination events to prevent pollution from spreading is one of the most important issues when pollution occurs. In order to comprehensively reduce the event detection deviation, a spatial–temporal-based event detection approach with multivariate time-series data for water quality monitoring (M-STED was proposed. The M-STED approach includes three parts. The first part is that M-STED adopts a Rule K algorithm to select backbone nodes as the nodes in the CDS, and forward the sensed data of multiple water parameters. The second part is to determine the state of each backbone node with back propagation neural network models and the sequential Bayesian analysis in the current timestamp. The third part is to establish a spatial model with Bayesian networks to estimate the state of the backbones in the next timestamp and trace the “outlier” node to its neighborhoods to detect a contamination event. The experimental results indicate that the average detection rate is more than 80% with M-STED and the false detection rate is lower than 9%, respectively. The M-STED approach can improve the rate of detection by about 40% and reduce the false alarm rate by about 45%, compared with the event detection with a single water parameter algorithm, S-STED. Moreover, the proposed M-STED can exhibit better performance in terms of detection delay and scalability.

Autonomous monitoring unit, signs and registration for Cobalt-60 irradiator safety system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baldaconi, Ricardo H.; Costa, Fabio E. da, E-mail: ricardohovacker@hotmail.com, E-mail: fecosta@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The Cobalt-60 irradiator of IPEN / CNEN, a category IV facility, has a security system for inter locking doors or exposure of radioactive sources made simultaneously by a programmable logic controller (PLC) model S7- 200 from Siemens and a relay logic. From a set of information, the both systems work together opening doors or exposing the sources. All incoming and outgoing information are sent serially via EIA232 communication to a personal computer with Windows® platform for a supervisory program which provides besides a monitoring the entire process by a synoptic table on the computer screen, also keeps records of all events on the computer's hard drive. The electronic management has proven to be efficient and has not produced any failure that had compromised the safety. The PLC along with the relay logic has always taken the right decisions ensuring proper radiation protection of operators and the integrity of radioactive sources, but it presented over the years of operation (beginning in 2004) less than a dozen flaws in system event log. The deficiency was found between the process of sending events via serial communication (EIA232) to the supervisory program. When failure occurs in a very short time, the PLC always took the right decision, but the registration process that had to go through the Windows® timeshare lost the information. This work aimed to build a standalone electronics connect the inputs and outputs of the security system, fully optocoupled to avoid any interference to the security system. It records each event on a memory card, waits for the right decision of the security system and in case of an incorrect decision an independent alarm notifies its own synoptic picture, and sends a text message to a group of defined cell phones. The circuit uses two microcontrollers called 'main' and 'secondary'. The main is responsible for the control and monitoring of peripheral inputs and outputs of the security system. The main is

Autonomous monitoring unit, signs and registration for Cobalt-60 irradiator safety system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldaconi, Ricardo H.; Costa, Fabio E. da

2015-01-01

The Cobalt-60 irradiator of IPEN / CNEN, a category IV facility, has a security system for inter locking doors or exposure of radioactive sources made simultaneously by a programmable logic controller (PLC) model S7- 200 from Siemens and a relay logic. From a set of information, the both systems work together opening doors or exposing the sources. All incoming and outgoing information are sent serially via EIA232 communication to a personal computer with Windows® platform for a supervisory program which provides besides a monitoring the entire process by a synoptic table on the computer screen, also keeps records of all events on the computer's hard drive. The electronic management has proven to be efficient and has not produced any failure that had compromised the safety. The PLC along with the relay logic has always taken the right decisions ensuring proper radiation protection of operators and the integrity of radioactive sources, but it presented over the years of operation (beginning in 2004) less than a dozen flaws in system event log. The deficiency was found between the process of sending events via serial communication (EIA232) to the supervisory program. When failure occurs in a very short time, the PLC always took the right decision, but the registration process that had to go through the Windows® timeshare lost the information. This work aimed to build a standalone electronics connect the inputs and outputs of the security system, fully optocoupled to avoid any interference to the security system. It records each event on a memory card, waits for the right decision of the security system and in case of an incorrect decision an independent alarm notifies its own synoptic picture, and sends a text message to a group of defined cell phones. The circuit uses two microcontrollers called 'main' and 'secondary'. The main is responsible for the control and monitoring of peripheral inputs and outputs of the security system. The main is

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2004-02-01

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

Electrical - light current remote monitoring, control and automation. [Coal mine, United Kingdom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collingwood, C H

1981-06-01

A brief discussion is given of the application of control monitoring and automation techniques to coal mining in the United Kingdom, especially of the use of microprocessors, for the purpose of enhancing safety and productivity. Lighting systems for the coal mine is similarly discussed.

Safety Assessment for transient event occurred during the ASTS test of Hanbit Unit 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Changkeun; Kim, Yohan; Ha, Sangjun

2014-01-01

Safety Injection has been actuated during the ASTS (Automatic Seismic Trip System) test of Hanbit Unit 2 on Feb. 28, 2014. It could be bad effect on system integrity. KHNP has been performed safety assessment of system for effect of Safety Injection (SI) actuation occurred during the ASTS test of hanbit Unit 2. Stable state of nuclear power plant system has been confirmed according to Safety Injection and reactor trip event occurred during the ASTS test of hanbit Unit 2. In the result of system safety assessment, major variables of nuclear power plant are located in optimal range and not exceed safety limit. It remains nuclear fuel and the integrity of the power plant is in a safe condition were conformed. After ASTS action, thermal elimination has been processed throughout the turbine until turbine signal occurrence because ASTS is connected to M-G set in the present hanbit Unit 2. Therefore, Safety Injection signal has been actuated by rapid reduction of Steam Generator pressure. In this paper, it is concluded that consideration of equipment and setpoint is needed for that Safety Injection has been not occurred under the unnecessary situation. Stable state of nuclear power plant system has been confirmed for Safety Injection and reactor trip event occurred during the ASTS test of hanbit Unit 2. In the result of system safety assessment, major variables of nuclear power plant are located in optimal range and not exceed safety limit. It remains nuclear fuel and the integrity of the plant is in a safe condition were conformed. It is concluded that consideration of equipment and setpoint is needed for that Safety Injection has been not occurred under the unnecessary situation

The Evolving Contingency Contracting Market: Private Sector Self regulation and United States Government Monitoring of Procurement of Stability Operations Services

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

statements of work would be useful in ensuring ethical govern- ment procurement practices. Conclusions The United States conducts diplomatic, defense...THE EVOLVING CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING MARKET: PRIVATE SECTOR SELF-REGULATION AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MONITORING OF PROCUREMENT OF STABILITY...MARKET: PRIVATE SECTOR SELF-REGULATION AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MONITORING OF PROCUREMENT OF STABILITY OPERATIONS SERVICES Whitney Grespin January

Application for verification of monitor units of the treatment planning system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suero Rodrigo, M. A.; Marques Fraguela, E.

2011-01-01

Current estimates algorithms achieve acceptable degree of accuracy. However, operate on the basis of un intuitive models. It is therefore necessary to verify the calculation of monitor units of the treatment planning system (TPS) with those obtained by other independent formalisms. To this end, we have developed an application based on factorization formalism that automates the calculation of dose.

Real-time identification of residential appliance events based on power monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Zhao; Zhu, Zhicheng; Wei, Zhiqiang; Yin, Bo; Wang, Xiuwei

2018-03-01

Energy monitoring for specific home appliances has been regarded as the pre-requisite for reducing residential energy consumption. To enhance the accuracy of identifying operation status of household appliances and to keep pace with the development of smart power grid, this paper puts forward the integration of electric current and power data on the basis of existing algorithm. If average power difference of several adjacent cycles varies from the baseline and goes beyond the pre-assigned threshold value, the event will be flagged. Based on MATLAB platform and domestic appliances simulations, the results of tested data and verified algorithm indicate that the power method has accomplished desired results of appliance identification.

Measurement of the dosimetric parameters for low monitor units in step-and-shoot IMRT delivered by Siemens Artiste linear accelerators; Medida de los parametros dosimetricos para bajo numero de unidades monitor en IMRT segmentada estatica administrada por aceleradores lineales Siemens Artiste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez Rodriguez, C.; Lopez Fernandez, A.; Saez Beltran, M.; Martin Martin, G.; Alonso Iracheta, L.

2012-07-01

Absorbed dose linearity and beam stability, both for low monitor units, are important factors for ensuring planned dose delivery in step-and-shoot IMRT. For Siemens Artiste linear accelerators, under IMRT stable irradiation conditions and for a single segment of 20 cm x 20 cm field size, the linearity of the absorbed dose with the monitor units, field flatness and symmetry have been measured for the range between 1 and 10 monitor units. We have found that absorbed dose linearity with monitor units is within 2% down to 2 monitor units and it is about 9% for 1 monitor unit. Flatness and symmetry values show variations within 1% down to 2 monitor units and increase by 9% for lower values. Using our monitor unit distribution per segment in IMRT we estimate that the uncertainty in absorbed dose for a whole treatment due to these factors is less than 1% (k= 3). (Author) 13 refs.

Sampling and Analysis Plan Update for Groundwater Monitoring 1100-EM-1 Operable Unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DR Newcomer

1999-01-01

This document updates the sampling and analysis plan (Department of Energy/Richland Operations--95-50) to reflect current groundwater monitoring at the 1100-EM-1Operable Unit. Items requiring updating included sampling and analysis protocol, quality assurance and quality control, groundwater level measurement procedure, and data management. The plan covers groundwater monitoring, as specified in the 1993 Record of Decision, during the 5-year review period from 1995 through 1999. Following the 5-year review period, groundwater-monitoring data will be reviewed by Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate the progress of natural attenuation of trichloroethylene. Monitored natural attenuation and institutional controls for groundwater use at the inactive Horn Rapids Landfill was the selected remedy specified in the Record of Decision

Application of process monitoring to anomaly detection in nuclear material processing systems via system-centric event interpretation of data from multiple sensors of varying reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, Humberto E.; Simpson, Michael F.; Lin, Wen-Chiao; Carlson, Reed B.; Yoo, Tae-Sic

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Process monitoring can strengthen nuclear safeguards and material accountancy. • Assessment is conducted at a system-centric level to improve safeguards effectiveness. • Anomaly detection is improved by integrating process and operation relationships. • Decision making is benefited from using sensor and event sequence information. • Formal framework enables optimization of sensor and data processing resources. - Abstract: In this paper, we apply an advanced safeguards approach and associated methods for process monitoring to a hypothetical nuclear material processing system. The assessment regarding the state of the processing facility is conducted at a system-centric level formulated in a hybrid framework. This utilizes architecture for integrating both time- and event-driven data and analysis for decision making. While the time-driven layers of the proposed architecture encompass more traditional process monitoring methods based on time series data and analysis, the event-driven layers encompass operation monitoring methods based on discrete event data and analysis. By integrating process- and operation-related information and methodologies within a unified framework, the task of anomaly detection is greatly improved. This is because decision-making can benefit from not only known time-series relationships among measured signals but also from known event sequence relationships among generated events. This available knowledge at both time series and discrete event layers can then be effectively used to synthesize observation solutions that optimally balance sensor and data processing requirements. The application of the proposed approach is then implemented on an illustrative monitored system based on pyroprocessing and results are discussed.

24 CFR 882.123 - Conversion of Section 23 Units to Section 8 and Section 23 monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Conversion of Section 23 Units to... Applicability, Scope and Basic Policies § 882.123 Conversion of Section 23 Units to Section 8 and Section 23 monitoring. (a)-(d) [Reserved] (e) Section 23 policies for units planned for conversion on or before...

Utilization of Satellite Data to Identify and Monitor Changes in Frequency of Meteorological Events

Science.gov (United States)

Mast, J. C.; Dessler, A. E.

2017-12-01

Increases in temperature and climate variability due to human-induced climate change is increasing the frequency and magnitude of extreme heat events (i.e., heatwaves). This will have a detrimental impact on the health of human populations and habitability of certain land locations. Here we seek to utilize satellite data records to identify and monitor extreme heat events. We analyze satellite data sets (MODIS and AIRS land surface temperatures (LST) and water vapor profiles (WV)) due to their global coverage and stable calibration. Heat waves are identified based on the frequency of maximum daily temperatures above a threshold, determined as follows. Land surface temperatures are gridded into uniform latitude/longitude bins. Maximum daily temperatures per bin are determined and probability density functions (PDF) of these maxima are constructed monthly and seasonally. For each bin, a threshold is calculated at the 95th percentile of the PDF of maximum temperatures. Per each bin, an extreme heat event is defined based on the frequency of monthly and seasonal days exceeding the threshold. To account for the decreased ability of the human body to thermoregulate with increasing moisture, and to assess lethality of the heat events, we determine the wet-bulb temperature at the locations of extreme heat events. Preliminary results will be presented.

Current practice and recommendations in UK epilepsy monitoring units. Report of a national survey and workshop.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamandi, Khalid; Beniczky, Sandor; Diehl, Beate; Kandler, Rosalind H; Pressler, Ronit M; Sen, Arjune; Solomon, Juliet; Walker, Matthew C; Bagary, Manny

2017-08-01

Inpatient video-EEG monitoring (VEM) is an important investigation in patients with seizures or blackouts, and in the pre-surgical workup of patients with epilepsy. There has been an expansion in the number of Epilepsy Monitoring Units (EMU) in the UK offering VEM with a necessary increase in attention on quality and safety. Previous surveys have shown variation across centres on issues including consent and patient monitoring. In an effort to bring together healthcare professionals in the UK managing patients on EMU, we conducted an online survey of current VEM practice and held a one-day workshop convened under the auspices of the British Chapter of the ILAE. The survey and workshop aimed to cover all aspects of VEM, including pre-admission, consent procedures, patient safety, drug reduction and reinstatement, seizure management, staffing levels, ictal testing and good data recording practice. This paper reports on the findings of the survey, the workshop presentations and workshop discussions. 32 centres took part in the survey and there were representatives from 22 centres at the workshop. There was variation in protocols, procedures and consent processes between units, and levels of observation of monitored patients. Nevertheless, the workshop discussion found broad areas of agreement on points. A survey and workshop of UK epilepsy monitoring units found that some variability in practice is inevitable due to different local arrangements and patient groups under investigation. However, there were areas of clear consensus particularly in relation to consent and patient safety that can be applied to most units and form a basis for setting minimum standards. Copyright © 2017 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differences in alarm events between disposable and reusable electrocardiography lead wires.

Science.gov (United States)

Albert, Nancy M; Murray, Terri; Bena, James F; Slifcak, Ellen; Roach, Joel D; Spence, Jackie; Burkle, Alicia

2015-01-01

Disposable electrocardiographic lead wires (ECG-LWs) may not be as durable as reusable ones. To examine differences in alarm events between disposable and reusable ECG-LWs. Two cardiac telemetry units were randomized to reusable ECG-LWs, and 2 units alternated between disposable and reusable ECG-LWs for 4 months. A remote monitoring team, blinded to ECG-LW type, assessed frequency and type of alarm events by using total counts and rates per 100 patient days. Event rates were compared by using generalized linear mixed-effect models for differences and noninferiority between wire types. In 1611 patients and 9385.5 patient days of ECG monitoring, patient characteristics were similar between groups. Rates of alarms for no telemetry, leads fail, or leads off were lower in disposable ECG-LWs (adjusted relative risk [95% CI], 0.71 [0.53-0.96]; noninferiority P < .001; superiority P = .03) and monitoring (artifact) alarms were significantly noninferior (adjusted relative risk [95% CI]: 0.88, [0.62-1.24], P = .02; superiority P = .44). No between-group differences existed in false or true crisis alarms. Disposable ECG-LWs were noninferior to reusable ECG-LWs for all false-alarm events (N [rate per 100 patient days], disposable 2029 [79.1] vs reusable 6673 [97.9]; adjusted relative risk [95% CI]: 0.81 [0.63-1.06], P = .002; superiority P = .12.) Disposable ECG-LWs with patented push-button design had superior performance in reducing alarms created by no telemetry, leads fail, or leads off and significant noninferiority in all false-alarm rates compared with reusable ECG-LWs. Fewer ECG alarms may save nurses time, decrease alarm fatigue, and improve patient safety. ©2015 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Committed Vulnerability to Extreme Weather Events in the United States (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Preston, B. L.

2013-12-01

Despite improvements in disaster risk management in the United States, a trend toward increasing economic losses from extreme weather events has been observed. This trend has been attributed to growth in socioeconomic exposure to extremes driven by the concentration of population and wealth on hazardous landscapes. As geographic patterns of demography and economic development are associated with strong path dependence, the United States is ';locked-in' to future increases in exposure and associated economic losses in the decades ahead, irrespective of the influence of climate change. To understand the influence of path dependence on past and future losses, an index of potential socioeconomic exposure was developed at the U.S. county level based upon population size and inflation-adjusted wealth proxies. Since 1960, exposure has increased preferentially in the U.S. Southeast, particularly coastal and urban counties and Southwest relative to the Great Plains and Northeast. Projected changes in exposure from 2009 to 2054 based upon scenarios of future demographic and economic change suggest a long-term commitment to increasing, but spatially heterogeneous, exposure to extremes, independent of climate change. The implications of this path dependence are examined in the context of several natural hazards. Annualized county-level losses from 1960-2008 for five climate-related natural hazards were normalized to 2009 values and then scaled based upon projected changes in exposure and two different estimates of the exposure elasticity of losses. Results indicate that losses from extreme events will grow by a factor of 1.3-1.7 and 1.8-3.9 by 2025 and 2050, respectively, with the exposure elasticity representing a major source of uncertainty. At more local scales, however, such as rapidly growing metropolitan areas, losses are anticipated to grow more rapidly. As such, improving understanding of the societal implications of the extreme weather events of the future

In-core monitor housing replacement at Fukushima Daiichi Unit No.4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arai, Tomoyuki

1999-01-01

The in-core monitor (ICM) housing replacement of a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) has been completed at Fukushima-Daiichi Unit No. 4 (1F4) of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Japan. Since cracking of the inside surface of an ICM housing was found in this unit, the ICM housing was replaced with one made of low-carbon stainless steel (SS) to improve Intergranular Stress Corrosion Cracking (IGSCC) resistance. This project is the first application of the replacement procedure for the ICM housing and employs various advanced technologies. The outline of the ICM housing replacement project and applied technologies are discussed in this paper. (author)

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and development of cardiovascular events in high-risk patients included in the Spanish ABPM registry: the CARDIORISC Event study.

Science.gov (United States)

de la Sierra, Alejandro; Banegas, José R; Segura, Julián; Gorostidi, Manuel; Ruilope, Luis M

2012-04-01

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is superior to conventional BP measurement in predicting outcome, with baseline 24-h, daytime and night-time absolute values, as well as relative nocturnal decline, as powerful determinants of prognosis. We aimed to evaluate ABPM estimates on the appearance of cardiovascular events and mortality in a cohort of high-risk treated hypertensive patients. A total of 2115 treated hypertensive patients with high or very high added risk were evaluated by means of office and 24-h ABPM. Cardiovascular events and mortality were assessed after a median follow-up of 4 years. Two hundred and sixty-eight patients (12.7%) experienced a primary event (nonfatal coronary or cerebrovascular event, heart failure hospitalization or cardiovascular death) and 114 died (45 from cardiovascular causes). In a multiple Cox regression model, and after adjusting for baseline cardiovascular risk and office BP, night-time SBP predicted cardiovascular events [hazard ratio for each SD increase: 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-1.59]. Values above 130 mmHg increased the risk by 52% in comparison to values less than 115 mmHg. In addition to clinical determinants of cardiovascular risk and conventional BP, ABPM performed during treatment adds prognostic significance on the development of cardiovascular events in high-risk hypertensive patients. Among different ABPM-derived values, night-time SBP is the most potent predictor of outcome.

Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, calendar year 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-05-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiation Safety Program conducted during 1989 by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory-Las Vegas (EMSL-LV). This laboratory operates an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels, and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether the testing is in compliance with existing radiation protection standards, and to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling milk, water, and air; by deploying thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and using pressurized ion chambers (PICs); and by biological monitoring of both animals and humans. To implement protective actions, provide immediate radiation monitoring, and obtain environmental samples rapidly after any release of radioactivity, personnel with mobile monitoring equipment are placed in areas downwind from the test site prior to each test. Comparison of the measurements and sample analysis results with background levels and with appropriate standards and regulations indicated that there was no radioactivity detected offsite by the various EPA monitoring networks and no exposure above natural background to the population living in the vicinity of the NTS that could be attributed to NTS activities. Trends were evaluated in the Noble Gas and Tritium, Milk Surveillance, TLD, and PIC networks, and the Long-Term Hydrological Monitoring Program. 35 refs., 68 figs., 32 tabs

Radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, calendar year 1989

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1990-05-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiation Safety Program conducted during 1989 by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory-Las Vegas (EMSL-LV). This laboratory operates an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels, and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether the testing is in compliance with existing radiation protection standards, and to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling milk, water, and air; by deploying thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and using pressurized ion chambers (PICs); and by biological monitoring of both animals and humans. To implement protective actions, provide immediate radiation monitoring, and obtain environmental samples rapidly after any release of radioactivity, personnel with mobile monitoring equipment are placed in areas downwind from the test site prior to each test. Comparison of the measurements and sample analysis results with background levels and with appropriate standards and regulations indicated that there was no radioactivity detected offsite by the various EPA monitoring networks and no exposure above natural background to the population living in the vicinity of the NTS that could be attributed to NTS activities. Trends were evaluated in the Noble Gas and Tritium, Milk Surveillance, TLD, and PIC networks, and the Long-Term Hydrological Monitoring Program. 35 refs., 68 figs., 32 tabs.

Spontaneous Adverse Event Reports Associated with Zolpidem in the United States 2003–2012

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Carmen K.; Marshall, Nathaniel S.; Grunstein, Ronald R.; Ho, Samuel S.; Fois, Romano A.; Hibbs, David E.; Hanrahan, Jane R.; Saini, Bandana

2017-01-01

Study Objectives: Stimulated reporting occurs when patients and healthcare professionals are influenced or “stimulated” by media publicity to report specific drug-related adverse reactions, significantly biasing pharmacovigilance analyses. Among countries where the non-benzodiazepine hypnotic drug zolpidem is marketed, the United States experienced a comparable surge of media reporting during 2006–2009 linking the above drug with the development of complex neuropsychiatric sleep-related behaviors. However, the effect of this stimulated reporting in the United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System has not been explored. Methods: Using disproportionality analyses, reporting odds ratios for zolpidem exposure and the following adverse events; parasomnia, movement-based parasomnia, nonmovement-based parasomnia, amnesia, hallucination, and suicidality were determined and compared to all other medications in the database, followed by specific comparison to the benzodiazepine hypnotic class, year-by-year from 2003 to 2012. Results: Odds ratios were increased significantly during and after the period of media publicity for parasomnias, movement-based parasomnias, amnesias and hallucinations. We also observed that zolpidem adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports have higher odds for parasomnias, movement-based parasomnias, amnesias, hallucinations, and suicidality compared to all other drugs, even before the media publicity cluster. Conclusions: Although our results indicate that zolpidem reports have higher odds for the ADR of interest even before the media publicity cluster, negative media coverage greatly exacerbated the reporting of these adverse reactions. The effect of such reporting must be borne in mind when decisions around drugs which have been the subject of intense media publicity are made by health professionals or regulatory bodies. Citation: Wong CK, Marshall NS, Grunstein RR, Ho SS, Fois RA, Hibbs DE, Hanrahan JR, Saini B

Identification of unusual events in multichannel bridge monitoring data using wavelet transform and outlier analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Omenzetter, Piotr; Brownjohn, James M. W.; Moyo, Pilate

2003-08-01

Continuously operating instrumented structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are becoming a practical alternative to replace visual inspection for assessment of condition and soundness of civil infrastructure. However, converting large amount of data from an SHM system into usable information is a great challenge to which special signal processing techniques must be applied. This study is devoted to identification of abrupt, anomalous and potentially onerous events in the time histories of static, hourly sampled strains recorded by a multi-sensor SHM system installed in a major bridge structure in Singapore and operating continuously for a long time. Such events may result, among other causes, from sudden settlement of foundation, ground movement, excessive traffic load or failure of post-tensioning cables. A method of outlier detection in multivariate data has been applied to the problem of finding and localizing sudden events in the strain data. For sharp discrimination of abrupt strain changes from slowly varying ones wavelet transform has been used. The proposed method has been successfully tested using known events recorded during construction of the bridge, and later effectively used for detection of anomalous post-construction events.

Characterization of the Temporal Clustering of Flood Events across the Central United States in terms of Climate States

Science.gov (United States)

Mallakpour, Iman; Villarini, Gabriele; Jones, Michael; Smith, James

2016-04-01

The central United States is a region of the country that has been plagued by frequent catastrophic flooding (e.g., flood events of 1993, 2008, 2013, and 2014), with large economic and social repercussions (e.g., fatalities, agricultural losses, flood losses, water quality issues). The goal of this study is to examine whether it is possible to describe the occurrence of flood events at the sub-seasonal scale in terms of variations in the climate system. Daily streamflow time series from 774 USGS stream gage stations over the central United States (defined here to include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan) with a record of at least 50 years and ending no earlier than 2011 are used for this study. We use a peak-over-threshold (POT) approach to identify flood peaks so that we have, on average two events per year. We model the occurrence/non-occurrence of a flood event over time using regression models based on Cox processes. Cox processes are widely used in biostatistics and can be viewed as a generalization of Poisson processes. Rather than assuming that flood events occur independently of the occurrence of previous events (as in Poisson processes), Cox processes allow us to account for the potential presence of temporal clustering, which manifests itself in an alternation of quiet and active periods. Here we model the occurrence/non-occurrence of flood events using two climate indices as climate time-varying covariates: the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific-North American pattern (PNA). The results of this study show that NAO and/or PNA can explain the temporal clustering in flood occurrences in over 90% of the stream gage stations we considered. Analyses of the sensitivity of the results to different average numbers of flood events per year (from one to five) are also performed and lead to the same conclusions. The findings of this work

Microcontroller based four-channel current readout unit for beam slit monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holikatti, A.C.; Puntambekar, T.A.; Pithawa, C.K.

2009-01-01

This paper describes the design and development of a microcontroller based four-channel current readout unit for Beam Slit Monitor (BSM) installed in Transport Line-1 of Indus Accelerator Complex. BSM is a diagnostic device consisting of two horizontal and two vertical blades, which can be moved independently in to the beam pipe to cut the beam transversely. The readout unit employs switched integrators with reset, hold and select switches and timing and control unit. It integrates the current output of the four blades of BSM and produces an output corresponding to the beam charge intercepted by the blade. The integrator outputs are then multiplexed and digitized using 12-bit ADC. Acquired digital data from ADC is stored into on-chip RAM of the microcontroller. The readout sequence is synchronized with the Microtron beam-timing signal. The timing of integration, hold and reset cycles is controlled by the microcontroller. The unit is connected on a serial link to the host computer in main control room. This unit has been integrated with the BSM system and is being used to obtain the electron beam profile. (author)

MODULAR CAUSTIC SIDE SOLVENT EXTRACTION UNIT (MCU) GAMMA MONITORS SYSTEM FINAL REPORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casella, V

2005-12-15

The Department of Energy (DOE) selected Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX) as the preferred technology for the removal of radioactive cesium from High-Level Waste (HLW) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Before the full-scale Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) becomes operational, the Closure Business Unit (CBU) plans to process a portion of dissolved saltcake waste through a Modular CSSX Unit (MCU). This work was derived from Technical Task Request SP-TTR-2004-00013, ''Gamma Monitor for MCU''. The deliverables for this task are the hardware and software for the gamma monitors and a report summarizing the testing and acceptance of this equipment for use in the MCU. Gamma-ray monitors are required to: (1) Measure the Cs-137 concentration in the decontaminated salt solution before entering the DSS (Decontaminated Salt Solution) Hold Tank, (2) Measure the Cs-137 concentration in the strip effluent before entering the Strip Effluent Hold Tank, (3) Verify proper operation of the solvent extraction system by verifying material balance within the process (The DSS Hold Tank Cs-137 concentration will be very low and the Cs-137 concentration in the Strip Effluent Hold Tank will be fifteen times higher than the Cs-137 concentration in the Feed Tank.) Sodium iodide monitors are used to measure the Cs-137 concentration in the piping before the DSS Hold tank, while GM monitors are used for Cs-137 measurements before the Strip Effluent Hold Tank. Tungsten shields were designed using Monte Carlo calculations and fabricated to reduce the process background radiation at the detector positions. These monitors were calibrated with NIST traceable standards that were specially made to be the same as the piping being monitored. Since this gamma ray monitoring system is unique, specially designed software was written and acceptance tested by Savannah River National Laboratory personnel. The software is a LabView-based application that serves as a unified

MODULAR CAUSTIC SIDE SOLVENT EXTRACTION UNIT (MCU) GAMMA MONITORS SYSTEM FINAL REPORT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casella, V

2005-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) selected Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX) as the preferred technology for the removal of radioactive cesium from High-Level Waste (HLW) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Before the full-scale Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) becomes operational, the Closure Business Unit (CBU) plans to process a portion of dissolved saltcake waste through a Modular CSSX Unit (MCU). This work was derived from Technical Task Request SP-TTR-2004-00013, ''Gamma Monitor for MCU''. The deliverables for this task are the hardware and software for the gamma monitors and a report summarizing the testing and acceptance of this equipment for use in the MCU. Gamma-ray monitors are required to: (1) Measure the Cs-137 concentration in the decontaminated salt solution before entering the DSS (Decontaminated Salt Solution) Hold Tank, (2) Measure the Cs-137 concentration in the strip effluent before entering the Strip Effluent Hold Tank, (3) Verify proper operation of the solvent extraction system by verifying material balance within the process (The DSS Hold Tank Cs-137 concentration will be very low and the Cs-137 concentration in the Strip Effluent Hold Tank will be fifteen times higher than the Cs-137 concentration in the Feed Tank.) Sodium iodide monitors are used to measure the Cs-137 concentration in the piping before the DSS Hold tank, while GM monitors are used for Cs-137 measurements before the Strip Effluent Hold Tank. Tungsten shields were designed using Monte Carlo calculations and fabricated to reduce the process background radiation at the detector positions. These monitors were calibrated with NIST traceable standards that were specially made to be the same as the piping being monitored. Since this gamma ray monitoring system is unique, specially designed software was written and acceptance tested by Savannah River National Laboratory personnel. The software is a LabView-based application that serves as a unified interface for controlling

Taming of the monitors: reducing false alarms in intensive care units

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Plešinger, Filip; Klimeš, Petr; Halámek, Josef; Jurák, Pavel

2016-01-01

Roč. 37, č. 8 (2016), s. 1313-1325 ISSN 0967-3334 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP102/12/2034; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : ECG * critical care * arrhythmia * intensive care unit * ICU monitor * false alarm * beat detection Subject RIV: FS - Medical Facilities ; Equipment Impact factor: 2.058, year: 2016

Mobile units for monitoring of radiation situation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drabova, D.; Filgas, R.; Cespirova, I.

1995-01-01

For the radiation monitoring network of the Czech Republic a prototype of the small system for dose rate measurements and nuclide activity estimates suitable for use in mobile units was designed and tested in National Radiation Protection Institute. The system consists of high purity Ge detector, multichannel analyzer, high pressure ionization chamber or proportional counter and portable computer working in multitask mode for storing and evaluating of the spectra as well as dose rate handling, recording, storing and searching and presentation. The information about actual position is provided by the global positioning system Garmin on-line connected to the computer. This information is used later on to create the maps of contamination using small desktop mapping (GIS) system. The system is designed to be used in measurements on foot, in car, with helicopter or small fixed wing aircraft. (J.K.)

The economic burden of nurse-sensitive adverse events in 22 medical-surgical units: retrospective and matching analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tchouaket, Eric; Dubois, Carl-Ardy; D'Amour, Danielle

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to assess the economic burden of nurse-sensitive adverse events in 22 acute-care units in Quebec by estimating excess hospital-related costs and calculating resulting additional hospital days. Recent changes in the worldwide economic and financial contexts have made the cost of patient safety a topical issue. Yet, our knowledge about the economic burden of safety of nursing care is quite limited in Canada in general and Quebec in particular. Retrospective analysis of charts of 2699 patients hospitalized between July 2008 - August 2009 for at least 2 days of 30-day periods in 22 medical-surgical units in 11 hospitals in Quebec. Data were collected from September 2009 to August 2010. Nurse-sensitive adverse events analysed were pressure ulcers, falls, medication administration errors, pneumonia and urinary tract infections. Descriptive statistics identified numbers of cases for each nurse-sensitive adverse event. A literature analysis was used to estimate excess median hospital-related costs of treatments with these nurse-sensitive adverse events. Costs were calculated in 2014 Canadian dollars. Additional hospital days were estimated by comparing lengths of stay of patients with nurse-sensitive adverse events with those of similar patients without nurse-sensitive adverse events. This study found that five adverse events considered nurse-sensitive caused nearly 1300 additional hospital days for 166 patients and generated more than Canadian dollars 600,000 in excess treatment costs. The results present the financial consequences of the nurse-sensitive adverse events. Government should invest in prevention and in improvements to care quality and patient safety. Managers need to strengthen safety processes in their facilities and nurses should take greater precautions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development of a unit suitable for corrosion monitoring in district heating systems. Experiences with the LOCOR-cell test method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Asbjørn; Hilbert, Lisbeth Rischel

2004-01-01

A by-pass unit suitable for placement of a number of different probes for corrosion monitoring has been designed. Also measurements of water parameters are allowed in a side stream from the unit. The project is a part of the Nordic Innovation Fund project KORMOF. The by-pass unit has been installed...... in 6 pressurised circulating heating systems and in one cooling system. 7 different corrosion monitoring methods have been used to study corrosion rates and types in dependency of water chemistry. This paper describes the design of the by-pass unit including water analysis methods. It also describes...... the purpose, background and gained results of one of the used monitoring techniques, the crevice corrosion measurements obtained by the LOCOR-Cell„§. The crevice corrosion cell was developed by FORCE Technology in a previous district heating project financed by Nordic Industrial Fund (1)(2). Results from...

Monitor de eventos electrocardiacos implementado en plataforma PDA Monitor of cardiac events implemented in PDA platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Bustamante

Full Text Available El monitoreo ambulatorio de eventos electrocardiacos es una herramienta valiosa en el diagnóstico de arritmias cardiacas, involucradas en procesos patológicos como miocardiopatías, estadios post-infarto, lesiones del sistema autónomo cardiaco, etc.; infortunadamente aún no es posible su uso extensivo debido a los altos costos que implica la adquisición de estos equipos. Con este propósito, se diseña y desarrolla mediante el uso de asistentes digitales personales, un monitor de eventos cardiacos con capacidad de grabación pre-sintomática y post-sintomática, visualización de señal electrocardiográfica en tiempo real, grabación automática de bradicardias y taquicardias, y posibilidad de anotación de síntomas por parte del paciente. Para ello se desarrolló un componente de hardware para la adquisición y tratamiento de las señales, un software para el monitoreo en plataforma Palm OS® y una aplicación para la descarga y análisis de los datos almacenados. Las validaciones del prototipo se realizaron mediante un simulador electrocardiográfico, un simulador de arritmias basado en registros de la base de datos de arritmias del Massachusetts Institute of Technology y Beth Israel Hospital, y pruebas piloto con personas sanas y pacientes con arritmias. En este reporte preliminar se enseña cómo el prototipo desarrollado, constituye una alternativa viable para el monitoreo ambulatorio de arritmias aprovechando las capacidades de almacenamiento, procesamiento y visualización con que cuentan los asistentes digitales actuales, con la ventaja adicional de que su uso no está restringido a una sola utilidad y su accesibilidad económica se facilita debido a su amplia disponibilidad comercial.Ambulatory monitoring of electro-cardiac events constitutes a valuable tool in the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias involved in pathologic processes such as myocardiopathies, post-infarction stages, autonomous cardiac system injuries, etc

A Real-Time Data Monitoring and Accumulation System for Dynamic Studies with Radionuclides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ammann, W.; Doll, J.; Lorenz, W. J.; Ostertag, H.; Adam, W. E.; Scheer, K. E. [German Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany (Germany)

1971-02-15

A multipurpose digital data monitoring and accumulation system is described. The central unit of the system is a PDP-8 computer with a 12K memory. The system contains furthermore a multipurpose digital input/output register for low data rates, a fourfold and a twofold ADC connected to the high-speed multiplexor unit of the PDP-8 and a digital timet. Data from various process peripheries are recorded on a nine-track IBM compatible Ampex tape recorder. When two co-ordinates are recorded the system is used in the ''add-one-to-storage'' mode. In the case of more than two co-ordinates the data are stored in the sequential mode, event by event. A dialogue real-time monitor program in assembler language was developed to control the process peripheries. The 4K-Fortran operating system was modified in such a way that monitor subroutines were called into the Fortran program without loss of the real-time properties of the monitor system during a Fortran run. The use of the system for lung function studies with an Anger-type scintillation camera and {sup 133}Xe is discussed as an example of the application of the system. (author)

The Vibration Monitoring of the Gascompressor Units with Application of Hurst's Statistics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakharov, O V; Novichkov, S V; Kochetkov, A V

2016-01-01

The gascompressor units work in the unsteady regime which depends on many internal and external factors. For the solution of problems of control, management and forecasting the statistical assessment of a condition of object in real time according to noisy observations of one realization of stochastic process is carried out. The traditional spectral analysis on the basis of Fast Fourier Transformation in this case is inefficient if time scale is much less than duration, which is subject to the analysis. Therefore for monitoring of a condition of the equipment it is offered to use Hurst's statistics by means of which it is possible to investigate quantitatively law of development of a vibration signal and unambiguously to analyze a condition of the gascompressor units. Calculation of economic efficiency from introduction of such technology of monitoring will provide decrease on average by 2.5% of a consumption of gas and specific costs of capital repairs of the gascompressor units at the expense of increase in a total operating time by 20%. (paper)

ATLAS EventIndex General Dataflow and Monitoring Infrastructure

CERN Document Server

Barberis, Dario; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast datasets discovery, event-picking, crosschecks with other ATLAS systems and checks for event duplication. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome t...

ATLAS EventIndex general dataflow and monitoring infrastructure

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)638886; The ATLAS collaboration; Barberis, Dario; Favareto, Andrea; Garcia Montoro, Carlos; Gonzalez de la Hoz, Santiago; Hrivnac, Julius; Prokoshin, Fedor; Salt, Jose; Sanchez, Javier; Toebbicke, Rainer; Yuan, Ruijun

2017-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast dataset discovery, event-picking, crosschecks with other ATLAS systems and checks for event duplication. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome th...

Discrete-Event Execution Alternatives on General Purpose Graphical Processing Units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perumalla, Kalyan S.

2006-01-01

Graphics cards, traditionally designed as accelerators for computer graphics, have evolved to support more general-purpose computation. General Purpose Graphical Processing Units (GPGPUs) are now being used as highly efficient, cost-effective platforms for executing certain simulation applications. While most of these applications belong to the category of time-stepped simulations, little is known about the applicability of GPGPUs to discrete event simulation (DES). Here, we identify some of the issues and challenges that the GPGPU stream-based interface raises for DES, and present some possible approaches to moving DES to GPGPUs. Initial performance results on simulation of a diffusion process show that DES-style execution on GPGPU runs faster than DES on CPU and also significantly faster than time-stepped simulations on either CPU or GPGPU.

Wireless AE Event and Environmental Monitoring for Wind Turbine Blades at Low Sampling Rates

Science.gov (United States)

Bouzid, Omar M.; Tian, Gui Y.; Cumanan, K.; Neasham, J.

Integration of acoustic wireless technology in structural health monitoring (SHM) applications introduces new challenges due to requirements of high sampling rates, additional communication bandwidth, memory space, and power resources. In order to circumvent these challenges, this chapter proposes a novel solution through building a wireless SHM technique in conjunction with acoustic emission (AE) with field deployment on the structure of a wind turbine. This solution requires a low sampling rate which is lower than the Nyquist rate. In addition, features extracted from aliased AE signals instead of reconstructing the original signals on-board the wireless nodes are exploited to monitor AE events, such as wind, rain, strong hail, and bird strike in different environmental conditions in conjunction with artificial AE sources. Time feature extraction algorithm, in addition to the principal component analysis (PCA) method, is used to extract and classify the relevant information, which in turn is used to classify or recognise a testing condition that is represented by the response signals. This proposed novel technique yields a significant data reduction during the monitoring process of wind turbine blades.

Condition based monitoring, diagnosis and maintenance on operating equipments of a hydraulic generator unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, X T; Feng, F Z; Si, A W

2012-01-01

According to performance characteristics of operating equipments in a hydraulic generator unit (HGU), the relative techniques on condition monitoring and fault diagnosis (CMFD) are introduced in this paper, especially the key technologies are emphasized, such as equipment monitoring, expert system (ES), intelligent diagnosis and condition based maintenance (CBM). Meanwhile, according to the instructor on CBM proposed by State electric power corporation, based on integrated mode, the main steps on implementation of CBM are discussed in this paper.

WIPP Transparency Project - container tracking and monitoring demonstration using the Authenticated Tracking and Monitoring System (ATMS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SCHOENEMAN, J. LEE; SMARTT, HEIDI ANNE; HOFER, DENNIS

2000-01-01

The Authenticated Tracking and Monitoring System (ATMS) is designed to answer the need for global monitoring of the status and location of proliferation-sensitive items on a worldwide basis, 24 hours a day. ATMS uses wireless sensor packs to monitor the status of the items within the shipment and surrounding environmental conditions. Receiver and processing units collect a variety of sensor event data that is integrated with GPS tracking data. The collected data are transmitted to the International Maritime Satellite (INMARSAT) communication system, which then sends the data to mobile ground stations. Authentication and encryption algorithms secure the data during communication activities. A typical ATMS application would be to track and monitor the stiety and security of a number of items in transit along a scheduled shipping route. The resulting tracking, timing, and status information could then be processed to ensure compliance with various agreements

Analysis of internal events for the Unit 1 of the Laguna Verde nuclear power station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huerta B, A.; Aguilar T, O.; Nunez C, A.; Lopez M, R.

1993-01-01

This volume presents the results of the starter event analysis and the event tree analysis for the Unit 1 of the Laguna Verde nuclear power station. The starter event analysis includes the identification of all those internal events which cause a disturbance to the normal operation of the power station and require mitigation. Those called external events stay beyond the reach of this study. For the analysis of the Laguna Verde power station eight transient categories were identified, three categories of loss of coolant accidents (LOCA) inside the container, a LOCA out of the primary container, as well as the vessel break. The event trees analysis involves the development of the possible accident sequences for each category of starter events. Events trees by systems for the different types of LOCA and for all the transients were constructed. It was constructed the event tree for the total loss of alternating current, which represents an extension of the event tree for the loss of external power transient. Also the event tree by systems for the anticipated transients without scram was developed (ATWS). The events trees for the accident sequences includes the sequences evaluation with vulnerable nucleus, that is to say those sequences in which it is had an adequate cooling of nucleus but the remoting systems of residual heat had failed. In order to model adequately the previous, headings were added to the event tree for developing the sequences until the point where be solved the nucleus state. This process includes: the determination of the failure pressure of the primary container, the evaluation of the environment generated in the reactor building as result of the container failure or cracked of itself, the determination of the localization of the components in the reactor building and the construction of boolean expressions to estimate the failure of the subordinated components to an severe environment. (Author)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-09-01

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

Unit-based functional IDDT testing for aging degradation monitoring in a VLIW processor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, Yong; Kerkhoff, Hans G.

2015-01-01

In this paper, functional unit-based IDDT testing has been applied for a 90nm VLIW processor to monitor its aging degradation. This technique can provide health data for reliability evaluation as used in e.g. prognostic software for lifetime prediction. The test-program development based on the

[Safety study of long-term video-electroencephalogram monitoring].

Science.gov (United States)

Ley, M; Vivanco, R; Massot, A; Jiménez, J; Roquer, J; Rocamora, R

2014-01-01

The increased morbidity and mortality and poorer quality of life associated with drug-resistant epilepsy justify admitting patients to epilepsy monitoring units (EMU). These units employ methods that promote the occurrence of seizures, which involves a risk of secondary adverse events. The aim of our study is to characterise and quantify these adverse events in a Spanish EMU. A descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective study of patients admitted consecutively to our EMU. Patients admitted due to status epilepticus, clusters of seizures, or as participants in a clinical trial were excluded. We included 175 patients, of whom 92.1% (161) did not suffer any adverse events. Status epilepticus was present in 3.4% (6); 1.7% (3) had traumatic injury, 1.7% (3) had interictal or postictal psychosis, and 1.1% (2) had cardiorespiratory impairment. There were no risk factors associated with these adverse events. The most frequently-identified adverse events were status epilepticus, traumatic injury, interictal or postictal psychosis, and cardiorespiratory disorders. The frequency of these adverse events was similar to that seen in international literature. The complications detected do not contraindicate VEEGM. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

The potential impacts of climate variability and change on health impacts of extreme weather events in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenough, G; McGeehin, M; Bernard, S M; Trtanj, J; Riad, J; Engelberg, D

2001-05-01

Extreme weather events such as precipitation extremes and severe storms cause hundreds of deaths and injuries annually in the United States. Climate change may alter the frequency, timing, intensity, and duration of these events. Increases in heavy precipitation have occurred over the past century. Future climate scenarios show likely increases in the frequency of extreme precipitation events, including precipitation during hurricanes, raising the risk of floods. Frequencies of tornadoes and hurricanes cannot reliably be projected. Injury and death are the direct health impacts most often associated with natural disasters. Secondary effects, mediated by changes in ecologic systems and public health infrastructure, also occur. The health impacts of extreme weather events hinge on the vulnerabilities and recovery capacities of the natural environment and the local population. Relevant variables include building codes, warning systems, disaster policies, evacuation plans, and relief efforts. There are many federal, state, and local government agencies and nongovernmental organizations involved in planning for and responding to natural disasters in the United States. Future research on health impacts of extreme weather events should focus on improving climate models to project any trends in regional extreme events and as a result improve public health preparedness and mitigation. Epidemiologic studies of health effects beyond the direct impacts of disaster will provide a more accurate measure of the full health impacts and will assist in planning and resource allocation.

Adverse life events and delinquent behavior among Kenyan adolescents: a cross-sectional study on the protective role of parental monitoring, religiosity, and self-esteem.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabiru, Caroline W; Elung'ata, Patricia; Mojola, Sanyu A; Beguy, Donatien

2014-01-01

Past research provides strong evidence that adverse life events heighten the risk of delinquent behavior among adolescents. Urban informal (slum) settlements in sub-Saharan Africa are marked by extreme adversity. However, the prevalence and consequences of adverse life events as well as protective factors that can mitigate the effects of exposure to these events in slum settlements is largely understudied. We examine two research questions. First, are adverse life events experienced at the individual and household level associated with a higher likelihood of delinquent behavior among adolescents living in two slums in Nairobi, Kenya? Second, are parental monitoring, religiosity, and self-esteem protective against delinquency in a context of high adversity? We used cross-sectional data from 3,064 males and females aged 12-19 years who participated in the Transitions to Adulthood Study. We examined the extent to which a composite index of adverse life events was associated with delinquent behavior (measured using a composite index derived from nine items). We also examined the direct and moderating effects of three protective factors: parental monitoring, religiosity, and self-esteem. Fifty-four percent of adolescents reported at least one adverse life event, while 18% reported three or more adverse events. For both males and females, adversity was positively and significantly associated with delinquency in bivariate and multivariate models. Negative associations were observed between the protective factors and delinquency. Significant adverse events × protective factor interaction terms were observed for parental monitoring (females and males), religiosity (males), and self-esteem (females). Similar to research in high income countries, adverse life events are associated with an increased likelihood of delinquent behavior among adolescents living in urban slums in Kenya, a low-income country. However, parental monitoring, religiosity, and self-esteem may

Constructing Dynamic Event Trees from Markov Models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paolo Bucci; Jason Kirschenbaum; Tunc Aldemir; Curtis Smith; Ted Wood

2006-01-01

In the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of process plants, Markov models can be used to model accurately the complex dynamic interactions between plant physical process variables (e.g., temperature, pressure, etc.) and the instrumentation and control system that monitors and manages the process. One limitation of this approach that has prevented its use in nuclear power plant PRAs is the difficulty of integrating the results of a Markov analysis into an existing PRA. In this paper, we explore a new approach to the generation of failure scenarios and their compilation into dynamic event trees from a Markov model of the system. These event trees can be integrated into an existing PRA using software tools such as SAPHIRE. To implement our approach, we first construct a discrete-time Markov chain modeling the system of interest by: (a) partitioning the process variable state space into magnitude intervals (cells), (b) using analytical equations or a system simulator to determine the transition probabilities between the cells through the cell-to-cell mapping technique, and, (c) using given failure/repair data for all the components of interest. The Markov transition matrix thus generated can be thought of as a process model describing the stochastic dynamic behavior of the finite-state system. We can therefore search the state space starting from a set of initial states to explore all possible paths to failure (scenarios) with associated probabilities. We can also construct event trees of arbitrary depth by tracing paths from a chosen initiating event and recording the following events while keeping track of the probabilities associated with each branch in the tree. As an example of our approach, we use the simple level control system often used as benchmark in the literature with one process variable (liquid level in a tank), and three control units: a drain unit and two supply units. Each unit includes a separate level sensor to observe the liquid level in the tank

Potential of turbidity monitoring for real time control of pollutant discharge in sewers during rainfall events.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacour, C; Joannis, C; Gromaire, M-C; Chebbo, G

2009-01-01

Turbidity sensors can be used to continuously monitor the evolution of pollutant mass discharge. For two sites within the Paris combined sewer system, continuous turbidity, conductivity and flow data were recorded at one-minute time intervals over a one-year period. This paper is intended to highlight the variability in turbidity dynamics during wet weather. For each storm event, turbidity response aspects were analysed through different classifications. The correlation between classification and common parameters, such as the antecedent dry weather period, total event volume per impervious hectare and both the mean and maximum hydraulic flow for each event, was also studied. Moreover, the dynamics of flow and turbidity signals were compared at the event scale. No simple relation between turbidity responses, hydraulic flow dynamics and the chosen parameters was derived from this effort. Knowledge of turbidity dynamics could therefore potentially improve wet weather management, especially when using pollution-based real-time control (P-RTC) since turbidity contains information not included in hydraulic flow dynamics and not readily predictable from such dynamics.

Offsite environmental monitoring report; radiation monitoring around United States nuclear test areas, Calendar Year 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, M.G.; Flotard, R.D.; Fontana, C.A.; Huff, P.A.; Maunu, H.K.; Mouck, T.L.; Mullen, A.A.; Sells, M.D.

1997-08-01

This report describes the Offsite Radiation Safety Program. This laboratory operated an environmental radiation monitoring program in the region surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at former test sites in Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. The surveillance program is designed to measure levels and trends of radioactivity, if present, in the environment surrounding testing areas to ascertain whether current radiation levels and associated doses to the general public are in compliance with existing radiation protection standards. The surveillance program additionally has the responsibility to take action to protect the health and well being of the public in the event of any accidental release of radioactive contaminants. Offsite levels of radiation and radioactivity are assessed by sampling milk, water, and air; by deploying thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs); and using pressurized ionization chambers (PICs). No nuclear weapons testing was conducted in 1996 due to the continuing nuclear test moratorium. During this period, R and IE personnel maintained readiness capability to provide direct monitoring support if testing were to be resumed and ascertained compliance with applicable EPA, DOE, state, and federal regulations and guidelines. Comparison of the measurements and sample analysis results with background levels and with appropriate standards and regulations indicated that there was no airborne radioactivity from diffusion or resuspension detected by the various EPA monitoring networks surrounding the NTS. There was no indication of potential migration of radioactivity to the offsite area through groundwater and no radiation exposure above natural background was received by the offsite population. All evaluated data were consistent with previous data history

PC based diagnostic system for nitrogen production unit of HWP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamba, D.S.; Rao, V.C.; Krishnan, S.; Kamaraj, T.; Krishnaswamy, C.

1992-01-01

The plant diagnostic system monitors the input data from local processing unit and tries to diagnose the cause of the failure. The system is a rule based application program that can perform tasks itself using fault tree model which displays the logical relationships between critical events and their possible ways occurrence, i.e. hardware failure, process faults and human error etc. Unit 37 Nitrogen Plant is taken as a prototype model for trying the plant diagnostics system. (author). 3 refs., 2 figs

The United States Federal Monitoring and Assessment Centre and radiological database management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, P.G.

1998-01-01

In the spring of 1979, a series of events occurring at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, resulted in severe core damage. Recognizing that state resources were insufficient to respond to the first major nuclear power plant emergency in the United States, the State of Pennsylvania asked the Federal Government for assistance. The United States Government undertook the preparation of a plan, which would co-ordinate all federal assets. The Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP) assigned unique responsibilities and authorities for responding to domestic radiological emergencies to each of 12 different federal agencies which form the FRERP. The overall data collection, analysis, and processing procedures within the FRMAC are overviewed. (author)

2008 Groundwater Monitoring Report Central Nevada Test Area, Corrective Action Unit 443

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2009-03-01

This report presents the 2008 groundwater monitoring results collected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) for the Central Nevada Test Area (CNTA) Subsurface Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 443. Responsibility for the environmental site restoration of the CNTA was transferred from the DOE Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) to DOE-LM on October 1, 2006. The environmental restoration process and corrective action strategy for CAU 443 are conducted in accordance with the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO 2005) entered into by DOE, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the State of Nevada. The corrective action strategy for the site includes proof-of-concept monitoring in support of site closure. This report summarizes investigation activities associated with CAU 443 that were conducted at the site during fiscal year 2008. This is the second groundwater monitoring report prepared by DOE-LM for the CNTA.

2008 Groundwater Monitoring Report Central Nevada Test Area, Corrective Action Unit 443

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This report presents the 2008 groundwater monitoring results collected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) for the Central Nevada Test Area (CNTA) Subsurface Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 443. Responsibility for the environmental site restoration of the CNTA was transferred from the DOE Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) to DOE-LM on October 1, 2006. The environmental restoration process and corrective action strategy for CAU 443 are conducted in accordance with the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO 2005) entered into by DOE, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the State of Nevada. The corrective action strategy for the site includes proof-of-concept monitoring in support of site closure. This report summarizes investigation activities associated with CAU 443 that were conducted at the site during fiscal year 2008. This is the second groundwater monitoring report prepared by DOE-LM for the CNTA

ATLAS EventIndex General Dataflow and Monitoring Infrastructure

CERN Document Server

Fernandez Casani, Alvaro; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS EventIndex has been running in production since mid-2015, reliably collecting information worldwide about all produced events and storing them in a central Hadoop infrastructure at CERN. A subset of this information is copied to an Oracle relational database for fast access. The system design and its optimization is serving event picking from requests of a few events up to scales of tens of thousand of events, and in addition, data consistency checks are performed for large production campaigns. Detecting duplicate events with a scope of physics collections has recently arisen as an important use case. This paper describes the general architecture of the project and the data flow and operation issues, which are addressed by recent developments to improve the throughput of the overall system. In this direction, the data collection system is reducing the usage of the messaging infrastructure to overcome the performance shortcomings detected during production peaks; an object storage approach is instea...

Design, development, and field demonstration of a remotely deployable water quality monitoring system

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, J. W.; Lovelady, R. W.; Ferguson, R. L.

1981-01-01

A prototype water quality monitoring system is described which offers almost continuous in situ monitoring. The two-man portable system features: (1) a microprocessor controlled central processing unit which allows preprogrammed sampling schedules and reprogramming in situ; (2) a subsurface unit for multiple depth capability and security from vandalism; (3) an acoustic data link for communications between the subsurface unit and the surface control unit; (4) eight water quality parameter sensors; (5) a nonvolatile magnetic bubble memory which prevents data loss in the event of power interruption; (6) a rechargeable power supply sufficient for 2 weeks of unattended operation; (7) a water sampler which can collect samples for laboratory analysis; (8) data output in direct engineering units on printed tape or through a computer compatible link; (9) internal electronic calibration eliminating external sensor adjustment; and (10) acoustic location and recovery systems. Data obtained in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron are tabulated.

Temporal Informative Analysis in Smart-ICU Monitoring: M-HealthCare Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, Munish; Sood, Sandeep K

2016-08-01

The rapid introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) Technology has boosted the service deliverance aspects of health sector in terms of m-health, and remote patient monitoring. IoT Technology is not only capable of sensing the acute details of sensitive events from wider perspectives, but it also provides a means to deliver services in time sensitive and efficient manner. Henceforth, IoT Technology has been efficiently adopted in different fields of the healthcare domain. In this paper, a framework for IoT based patient monitoring in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is presented to enhance the deliverance of curative services. Though ICUs remained a center of attraction for high quality care among researchers, still number of studies have depicted the vulnerability to a patient's life during ICU stay. The work presented in this study addresses such concerns in terms of efficient monitoring of various events (and anomalies) with temporal associations, followed by time sensitive alert generation procedure. In order to validate the system, it was deployed in 3 ICU room facilities for 30 days in which nearly 81 patients were monitored during their ICU stay. The results obtained after implementation depicts that IoT equipped ICUs are more efficient in monitoring sensitive events as compared to manual monitoring and traditional Tele-ICU monitoring. Moreover, the adopted methodology for alert generation with information presentation further enhances the utility of the system.

Dendroclimate evidence for extreme hydrologic events over the late Holocene in the Northeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Pearl, J. K.; Anchukaitis, K. J.; Pederson, N.; Donnelly, J. P.

2017-12-01

Extreme hydrologic events pose a present and future threat to cities and infrastructure in the densely populated coastal corridor of the northeastern United States (NE). An understanding of the potential range and return interval of storms, floods, and droughts is important for improving coastal management and hazard planning, as well as the detection and attribution of trends in regional climate phenomena. Here, we examine a suite of evidence for Common Era paleohydroclimate extreme events in the NE. Our study analyzes a network of hydroclimate sensitive trees, subfossil 'drowned' forests and co-located sediment records, using both classical and isotope dendrochronology, radiocarbon analyses, and sediment stratigraphy. Atlantic White cedar (AWC) forests grow along the NE coast and are exposed to severe coastal weather, as they are typically most successful in near-shore, glacially formed depressions. Many coastal AWC sites are ombrotrophic and contain a precipitation or drought signal in their ring widths. Sub-fossil AWC forests are found where near-shore swamps were drowned and exposed to the ocean. Additionally, the rings of coastal AWC may contain the geochemical signature of landfalling tropical cyclones, which bring with them a large influx of precipitation with distinct oxygen isotopes, which can be used to identify these large storms. Dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating, and analysis of sediment cores are used here to identify and date the occurrence of large overwash events along the coastline of the northeastern United States associated with extreme storms.

Analysis of the necessity for inserting new surveillance capsule into the Kori Unit 1 RPV to monitor material fracture toughness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Taek Ho

2007-01-01

In association with monitoring of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) fracture toughness, surveillance capsule test specimens have been used to monitor the material property of nuclear reactor vessel. As far as Kori Unit 1 is concerned, 6 capsules were put into the vessel before commercial operation of the plant. Up to now, all the six capsules have been withdrawn to test and monitor the fracture toughness of RPV material. The last capsule has been withdrawn on June this year, and the Kori unit 1 has been shut downed since July 2007 and will be shut downed until December this year for about 6 months, preparing the life extension of the plant to operate the plant 10 more years. With the situation that all the surveillance capsules have been withdrawn, public ask the following question, 'To extend the life of Kori Unit 1 more than 10 years, is it necessary to insert new surveillance capsules into the Kori Unit 1 to monitor RPV material fracture toughness?' In connection with this issue, planning project have been carried out since spring this year. In this paper, it is described that inserting new surveillance capsule into the Kori Unit 1 RPV has some meaning in some public acceptance point of view and is not necessary in material engineering point of view

First annual report RCRA post-closure monitoring and inspections for the U-3fi waste unit. Final report, July 1995--October 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emer, D.F.

1997-01-01

This annual Neutron Soil Moisture Monitoring report provides an analysis and summary for site inspections, meteorological information, and neutron soil moisture monitoring data obtained at the U-3fi RCRA Unit, located in Area 3 of the Nevada Site (NTS), Nye County, Nevada during the July 1995 to October 1996 period. Inspections of the U-3fi RCRA Unit are conducted to determine and document the physical condition of the covers, facilities, and any unusual conditions that could impact the proper operation of the waste unit closure. The objective of the neutron logging is to monitor the soil moisture conditions along the 420 ft ER3-3 borehole and detect changes that may be indicative of moisture movement in the regulated interval. This is the first annual report on the U-3fi closure and includes the first year baseline monitoring data as well as one quarter of compliance monitoring data

An assessment of seismic monitoring in the United States; requirement for an Advanced National Seismic System

Science.gov (United States)

,

1999-01-01

This report assesses the status, needs, and associated costs of seismic monitoring in the United States. It sets down the requirement for an effective, national seismic monitoring strategy and an advanced system linking national, regional, and urban monitoring networks. Modernized seismic monitoring can provide alerts of imminent strong earthquake shaking; rapid assessment of distribution and severity of earthquake shaking (for use in emergency response); warnings of a possible tsunami from an offshore earthquake; warnings of volcanic eruptions; information for correctly characterizing earthquake hazards and for improving building codes; and data on response of buildings and structures during earthquakes, for safe, cost-effective design, engineering, and construction practices in earthquake-prone regions.

Standardization of immunotherapy adverse events in patient information leaflets and development of an interface terminology for outpatients' monitoring

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zini, E. M.; Lanzola, G.; Quaglini, S.; Cornet, R.

2018-01-01

Immunotherapy is effective for treating cancer, but it is also associated with a wide spectrum of adverse events. In order to detect them early, the patients need to be monitored at home, between the therapy administrations, e.g., by asking them to report outcomes, usually including symptoms and

Limits of use of social media for monitoring biosecurity events.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marijke Welvaert

Full Text Available Compared to applications that trigger massive information streams, like earthquakes and human disease epidemics, the data input for agricultural and environmental biosecurity events (ie. the introduction of unwanted exotic pests and pathogens, is expected to be sparse and less frequent. To investigate if Twitter data can be useful for the detection and monitoring of biosecurity events, we adopted a three-step process. First, we confirmed that sightings of two migratory species, the Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa and the Common Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus are reported on Twitter. Second, we developed search queries to extract the relevant tweets for these species. The queries were based on either the taxonomic name, common name or keywords that are frequently used to describe the species (symptomatic or syndromic. Third, we validated the results using ground truth data. Our results indicate that the common name queries provided a reasonable number of tweets that were related to the ground truth data. The taxonomic query resulted in too small datasets, while the symptomatic queries resulted in large datasets, but with highly variable signal-to-noise ratios. No clear relationship was observed between the tweets from the symptomatic queries and the ground truth data. Comparing the results for the two species showed that the level of familiarity with the species plays a major role. The more familiar the species, the more stable and reliable the Twitter data. This clearly presents a problem for using social media to detect the arrival of an exotic organism of biosecurity concern for which public is unfamiliar.

Development and implementation of a software for assessment of calculations in radiotherapy monitor units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, Marcio Rogerio; Silva, Marco Antonio da; Rodrigues, Laura Natal

2005-01-01

Objective: To develop and implement a software based on the manual calculation algorithm for verification of the calculations in radiotherapy monitor units and to establish acceptance levels as a mechanism of quality assurance. Materials and methods: Data were obtained from Clinac 600C and 2100C Varian linear accelerators and the computerized treatment planning system used was CadPlan TM . Results: For the 6 MV beams the acceptance levels for deviations among the calculations of monitor units, divided by treatment area, were the following: breast (0.0%±1.7%), head and neck (1.5%±0.5%), hypophysis (-1.7%±0.5%), pelvis (2.1%±2.1%) and thorax (0.2%±1.3%). For the 15 MV beams the suggested level for pelvis in all the treatment techniques was (3.2%±1.3%). Conclusion: The present data are sufficient to justify the use of the software in the clinical practice as a tool for the quality assurance program. (author)

Patient safety event reporting in critical care: a study of three intensive care units.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Carolyn B; Krauss, Melissa J; Coopersmith, Craig M; Avidan, Michael; Nast, Patricia A; Kollef, Marin H; Dunagan, W Claiborne; Fraser, Victoria J

2007-04-01

To increase patient safety event reporting in three intensive care units (ICUs) using a new voluntary card-based event reporting system and to compare and evaluate observed differences in reporting among healthcare workers across ICUs. Prospective, single-center, interventional study. A medical ICU (19 beds), surgical ICU (24 beds), and cardiothoracic ICU (17 beds) at a 1,371-bed urban teaching hospital. Adult patients admitted to these three study ICUs. Use of a new, internally designed, card-based reporting program to solicit voluntary anonymous reporting of medical errors and patient safety concerns. During a 14-month period, 714 patient safety events were reported using a new card-based reporting system, reflecting a significant increase in reporting compared with pre-intervention Web-based reporting (20.4 reported events/1,000 patient days pre-intervention to 41.7 reported events/1,000 patient days postintervention; rate ratio, 2.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.79-2.34). Nurses submitted the majority of reports (nurses, 67.1%; physicians, 23.1%; other reporters, 9.5%); however, physicians experienced the greatest increase in reporting among their group (physicians, 43-fold; nurses, 1.7-fold; other reporters, 4.3-fold) relative to pre-intervention rates. There were significant differences in the reporting of harm by job description: 31.1% of reports from nurses, 36.2% from other staff, and 17.0% from physicians described events that did not reach/affect the patient (p = .001); and 33.9% of reports from physicians, 27.2% from nurses, and 13.0% from other staff described events that caused harm (p = .005). Overall reported patient safety events per 1,000 patient days differed by ICU (medical ICU = 55.5, cardiothoracic ICU = 25.3, surgical ICU = 40.2; p reporting system increased reporting significantly compared with pre-intervention Web-based reporting and revealed significant differences in reporting by healthcare worker and ICU. These differences may reveal

Analysis of arrhythmic events is useful to detect lead failure earlier in patients followed by remote monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishii, Nobuhiro; Miyoshi, Akihito; Kubo, Motoki; Miyamoto, Masakazu; Morimoto, Yoshimasa; Kawada, Satoshi; Nakagawa, Koji; Watanabe, Atsuyuki; Nakamura, Kazufumi; Morita, Hiroshi; Ito, Hiroshi

2018-03-01

Remote monitoring (RM) has been advocated as the new standard of care for patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). RM has allowed the early detection of adverse clinical events, such as arrhythmia, lead failure, and battery depletion. However, lead failure was often identified only by arrhythmic events, but not impedance abnormalities. To compare the usefulness of arrhythmic events with conventional impedance abnormalities for identifying lead failure in CIED patients followed by RM. CIED patients in 12 hospitals have been followed by the RM center in Okayama University Hospital. All transmitted data have been analyzed and summarized. From April 2009 to March 2016, 1,873 patients have been followed by the RM center. During the mean follow-up period of 775 days, 42 lead failure events (atrial lead 22, right ventricular pacemaker lead 5, implantable cardioverter defibrillator [ICD] lead 15) were detected. The proportion of lead failures detected only by arrhythmic events, which were not detected by conventional impedance abnormalities, was significantly higher than that detected by impedance abnormalities (arrhythmic event 76.2%, 95% CI: 60.5-87.9%; impedance abnormalities 23.8%, 95% CI: 12.1-39.5%). Twenty-seven events (64.7%) were detected without any alert. Of 15 patients with ICD lead failure, none has experienced inappropriate therapy. RM can detect lead failure earlier, before clinical adverse events. However, CIEDs often diagnose lead failure as just arrhythmic events without any warning. Thus, to detect lead failure earlier, careful human analysis of arrhythmic events is useful. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) in the United States—Developing research, monitoring, and management strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Evan H. Campbell; Muths, Erin L.; Katz, Rachel A.; Canessa, Stefano; Adams, Michael J.; Ballard, Jennifer R.; Berger, Lee; Briggs, Cheryl J.; Coleman, Jeremy; Gray, Matthew J.; Harris, M. Camille; Harris, Reid N.; Hossack, Blake R.; Huyvaert, Kathryn P.; Kolby, Jonathan E.; Lips, Karen R.; Lovich, Robert E.; McCallum, Hamish I.; Mendelson, Joseph R.; Nanjappa, Priya; Olson, Deanna H.; Powers, Jenny G.; Richgels, Katherine L. D.; Russell, Robin E.; Schmidt, Benedikt R.; Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Annemarieke; Watry, Mary Kay; Woodhams, Douglas C.; White, C. LeAnn

2016-01-20

The recently (2013) identified pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), poses a severe threat to the distribution and abundance of salamanders within the United States and Europe. Development of a response strategy for the potential, and likely, invasion of Bsal into the United States is crucial to protect global salamander biodiversity. A formal working group, led by Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins Science Center, and Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, was held at the USGS Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States from June 23 to June 25, 2015, to identify crucial Bsal research and monitoring needs that could inform conservation and management strategies for salamanders in the United States. Key findings of the workshop included the following: (1) the introduction of Bsal into the United States is highly probable, if not inevitable, thus requiring development of immediate short-term and long-term intervention strategies to prevent Bsal establishment and biodiversity decline; (2) management actions targeted towards pathogen containment may be ineffective in reducing the long-term spread of Bsal throughout the United States; and (3) early detection of Bsal through surveillance at key amphibian import locations, among high-risk wild populations, and through analysis of archived samples is necessary for developing management responses. Top research priorities during the preinvasion stage included the following: (1) deployment of qualified diagnostic methods for Bsal and establishment of standardized laboratory practices, (2) assessment of susceptibility for amphibian hosts (including anurans), and (3) development and evaluation of short- and long-term pathogen intervention and management strategies. Several outcomes were achieved during the workshop, including development

Portable air quality sensor unit for participatory monitoring: an end-to-end VESNA-AQ based prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Vucnik, Matevz; Robinson, Johanna; Smolnikar, Miha; Kocman, David; Horvat, Milena; Mohorcic, Mihael

2015-04-01

Key words: portable air quality sensor, CITI-SENSE, participatory monitoring, VESNA-AQ The emergence of low-cost easy to use portable air quality sensors units is opening new possibilities for individuals to assess their exposure to air pollutants at specific place and time, and share this information through the Internet connection. Such portable sensors units are being used in an ongoing citizen science project called CITI-SENSE, which enables citizens to measure and share the data. The project aims through creating citizens observatories' to empower citizens to contribute to and participate in environmental governance, enabling them to support and influence community and societal priorities as well as associated decision making. An air quality measurement system based on VESNA sensor platform was primarily designed within the project for the use as portable sensor unit in selected pilot cities (Belgrade, Ljubljana and Vienna) for monitoring outdoor exposure to pollutants. However, functionally the same unit with different set of sensors could be used for example as an indoor platform. The version designed for the pilot studies was equipped with the following sensors: NO2, O3, CO, temperature, relative humidity, pressure and accelerometer. The personal sensor unit is battery powered and housed in a plastic box. The VESNA-based air quality (AQ) monitoring system comprises the VESNA-AQ portable sensor unit, a smartphone app and the remote server. Personal sensor unit supports wireless connection to an Android smartphone via built-in Wi-Fi. The smartphone in turn serves also as the communication gateway towards the remote server using any of available data connections. Besides the gateway functionality the role of smartphone is to enrich data coming from the personal sensor unit with the GPS location, timestamps and user defined context. This, together with an accelerometer, enables the user to better estimate ones exposure in relation to physical activities, time

Event-Related-Potential (ERP) Correlates of Performance Monitoring in Adults With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Science.gov (United States)

Marquardt, Lynn; Eichele, Heike; Lundervold, Astri J.; Haavik, Jan; Eichele, Tom

2018-01-01

Introduction: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders in children and tends to persist into adulthood. Evidence from neuropsychological, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies indicates that alterations of error processing are core symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD. To test whether adults with ADHD show persisting deficits and compensatory processes, we investigated performance monitoring during stimulus-evaluation and response-selection, with a focus on errors, as well as within-group correlations with symptom scores. Methods: Fifty-five participants (27 ADHD and 28 controls) aged 19–55 years performed a modified flanker task during EEG recording with 64 electrodes, and the ADHD and control groups were compared on measures of behavioral task performance, event-related potentials of performance monitoring (N2, P3), and error processing (ERN, Pe). Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) was used to assess ADHD symptom load. Results: Adults with ADHD showed higher error rates in incompatible trials, and these error rates correlated positively with the ASRS scores. Also, we observed lower P3 amplitudes in incompatible trials, which were inversely correlated with symptom load in the ADHD group. Adults with ADHD also displayed reduced error-related ERN and Pe amplitudes. There were no significant differences in reaction time (RT) and RT variability between the two groups. Conclusion: Our findings show deviations of electrophysiological measures, suggesting reduced effortful engagement of attentional and error-monitoring processes in adults with ADHD. Associations between ADHD symptom scores, event-related potential amplitudes, and poorer task performance in the ADHD group further support this notion. PMID:29706908

Event-Related-Potential (ERP Correlates of Performance Monitoring in Adults With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynn Marquardt

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD is one of the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders in children and tends to persist into adulthood. Evidence from neuropsychological, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies indicates that alterations of error processing are core symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD. To test whether adults with ADHD show persisting deficits and compensatory processes, we investigated performance monitoring during stimulus-evaluation and response-selection, with a focus on errors, as well as within-group correlations with symptom scores.Methods: Fifty-five participants (27 ADHD and 28 controls aged 19–55 years performed a modified flanker task during EEG recording with 64 electrodes, and the ADHD and control groups were compared on measures of behavioral task performance, event-related potentials of performance monitoring (N2, P3, and error processing (ERN, Pe. Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS was used to assess ADHD symptom load.Results: Adults with ADHD showed higher error rates in incompatible trials, and these error rates correlated positively with the ASRS scores. Also, we observed lower P3 amplitudes in incompatible trials, which were inversely correlated with symptom load in the ADHD group. Adults with ADHD also displayed reduced error-related ERN and Pe amplitudes. There were no significant differences in reaction time (RT and RT variability between the two groups.Conclusion: Our findings show deviations of electrophysiological measures, suggesting reduced effortful engagement of attentional and error-monitoring processes in adults with ADHD. Associations between ADHD symptom scores, event-related potential amplitudes, and poorer task performance in the ADHD group further support this notion.

Improvement of a sensor unit for wrist blood pressure monitoring system

Science.gov (United States)

Koo, Sangjun; Kwon, Jongwon; Park, Yongman; Ayuzenara, Odgerel; Kim, Hiesik

2007-12-01

A blood pressure sensor unit for ubiquitous healthcare monitoring was newly developed. The digital wrist band-type blood pressure devices for home are popular already in the market. It is useful for checking blood pressure level at home and control of hypertension. Especially, it is very essential home device to check the health condition of blood circulation disease. Nowadays many product types are available. But the measurement of blood pressure is not accurate enough compared with the mechanical type. It needs to be upgraded to assure the precise health data enough to use in the hospital. The structure, feature and output signal of capacitor type pressure sensors are analyzed. An improved design of capacitor sensor is suggested. It shows more precise health data after use on a wrist band type health unit. They can be applied for remote u-health medical service.

Monitoring and forecasting of radiation hazard from great solar energetic particle events by using on-line one-min neutron monitor and satellite data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dorman, L. I.

2007-01-01

The method of automatically determining the start of great solar energetic particle (SEP) events are described on the basis of cosmic ray (CR) one-min observations by neutron monitors in real-time scale. It is shown that the probabilities of false alarms and missed triggers are negligible. After the start of SEP event, it is automatically determined by the method of coupling functions the SEP energy spectrum and flux for each minute of observations. By solving the inverse problem during few first minutes of SEP event, diffusion coefficient in the interplanetary space, source function on the Sun, and time of ejection of SEP into solar wind are determined. For extending obtained results into small energy range we use also available from Internet the satellite one-min CR data. This make possible to give forecast of space-time variation of SEP for more than 2 days and estimate expected radiation dose for satellite and aircraft. With each new minute of observations, the quality of forecast increased, and after ∼30 min became near 100%. (authors)

Effect of lunar phase on frequency of psychogenic nonepileptic events in the EMU.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolen, Robert D; Campbell, Zeke; Dennis, William A; Koontz, Elizabeth H; Pritchard, Paul B

2016-06-01

Studies of the effect of a full moon on seizures have yielded mixed results, despite a continuing prevailing belief regarding the association of lunar phase with human behavior. The potential effect of a full moon on psychogenic nonepileptic events has not been as well studied, despite what anecdotal accounts from most epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) staff would suggest. We obtained the dates and times of all events from patients diagnosed with psychogenic nonepileptic events discharged from our EMU over a two-year period. The events were then plotted on a 29.5-day lunar calendar. Events were also broken down into lunar quarters for statistical analysis. We found a statistically significant increase in psychogenic nonepileptic events during the new moon quarter in our EMU during our studied timeframe. Our results are not concordant with the results of a similarly designed past study, raising the possibility that psychogenic nonepileptic events are not influenced by lunar phase. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new system for continuous and remote monitoring of patients receiving home mechanical ventilation.

Science.gov (United States)

Battista, L

2016-09-01

Home mechanical ventilation is the treatment of patients with respiratory failure or insufficiency by means of a mechanical ventilator at a patient's home. In order to allow remote patient monitoring, several tele-monitoring systems have been introduced in the last few years. However, most of them usually do not allow real-time services, as they have their own proprietary communication protocol implemented and some ventilation parameters are not always measured. Moreover, they monitor only some breaths during the whole day, despite the fact that a patient's respiratory state may change continuously during the day. In order to reduce the above drawbacks, this work reports the development of a novel remote monitoring system for long-term, home-based ventilation therapy; the proposed system allows for continuous monitoring of the main physical quantities involved during home-care ventilation (e.g., differential pressure, volume, and air flow rate) and is developed in order to allow observations of different remote therapy units located in different places of a city, region, or country. The developed remote patient monitoring system is able to detect various clinical events (e.g., events of tube disconnection and sleep apnea events) and has been successfully tested by means of experimental tests carried out with pulmonary ventilators typically used to support sick patients.

Evaluation of external hazards to nuclear power plants in the United States: Other external events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, C.Y.; Prassinos, P.G.

1989-02-01

In support of implementation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Severe Accident Policy, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has performed a study of the risk of core damage to nuclear power plants in the United States due to ''other external events.'' The broad objective has been to gain an understanding of whether ''other external events'' (the hazards not covered by previous reports) are among the major potential accident initiators that may pose a threat of severe reactor core damage or of large radioactive release to the environment from the reactor. The ''other external events'' covered in this report are nearby industrial/military facility accidents, on site hazardous material storage accidents, severe temperature transients, severe weather storms, lightning strikes, external fires, extraterrestrial activity, volcanic activity, earth movement, and abrasive windstorms. The analysis was based on two figures-of-merit, one based on core damage frequency and the other based on the frequency of large radioactive releases. 37 refs., 8 tabs

Potential of turbidity monitoring for real time control of pollutant discharge in sewers during rainfall events

OpenAIRE

LACOUR, Céline; JOANNIS, Claude; GROMAIRE, MC; CHEBBO, Ghassan

2009-01-01

Turbidity sensors can be used to continuously monitor the evolution of pollutant mass discharge. For two sites within the Paris combined sewer system, continuous turbidity, conductivity and flow data were recorded at one-minute time intervals over a one-year period. This paper is intended to highlight the variability in turbidity dynamics during wet weather. For each storm event, turbidity response aspects were analysed through different classifications. The correlation between classification...

The influence of international and domestic events in the evolution of forest inventory and reporting consistency in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

W. Brad Smith

2009-01-01

This article takes a brief chronological look at resource inventory and reporting and links to international influences. It explores events as drivers of more consistent data within the United States and highlights key dates and events in the evolution of inventory policy and practice. From King George to L?Ecole nationale forestiere to the Food and Agriculture...

DUCKS: Low cost thermal monitoring units for near-vent deployment

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Andrew; Pirie, Dawn; Horton, Keith; Garbeil, Harold; Pilger, Eric; Ramm, Hans; Hoblitt, Rick; Thornber, Carl; Ripepe, Maurizio; Marchetti, Emanuele; Poggi, Pasquale

2005-05-01

During 1999 we designed and tested a thermal monitoring system to provide a cheap, robust, modular, real-time system capable of surviving the hostile conditions encountered proximal to active volcanic vents. In November 2000 the first system was deployed at Pu'u 'O'o (Kilauea, Hawai'i) to target persistently active vents. Aside from some minor problems, such as sensor damage due to tampering, this system remained operational until January 2004. The success of the prototype system led us to use the blueprint for a second installation at Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy). This was deployed, dug into a bomb-proof bunker, during May 2002 and survived the April 2003 paroxysmal eruption despite being located just 250 m from the vent. In both cases, careful waterproofing of connectors and selection of suitable protection has prevented water damage and corrosion in the harsh atmosphere encountered at the crater rim. The Pu'u 'O'o system cost ˜US10,000 and comprises four modules: sensors, transmission and power hub, repeater station and reception site. The sensor component consists of three thermal infrared thermometers housed in Pelican™ cases fitted with Germanium-Arsenide-Selenium windows. Two 1° field of view (FOV) sensors allow specific vents to be targeted and a 60° FOV sensor provides a crater floor overview. A hard wire connection links to a Pelican™-case-housed microprocessor, modem and power module. From here data are transmitted, via a repeater site, to a dedicated PC at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Here data are displayed with a delay of ˜3 s between acquisition and display. The modular design allows for great flexibility. At Stromboli, 1° and 15° FOV sensor modules can be switched depending changes in activity style and crater geometry. In addition a direct line of site to the Stromboli reception center negates the repeater site requirement, reducing the cost to US5500 for a single sensor system. We have also constructed self-contained units

DUCKS: Low cost thermal monitoring units for near-vent deployment

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, A.; Pirie, D.; Horton, K.; Garbeil, H.; Pilger, E.; Ramm, H.; Hoblitt, R.; Thornber, C.; Ripepe, M.; Marchetti, E.; Poggi, P.

2005-01-01

During 1999 we designed and tested a thermal monitoring system to provide a cheap, robust, modular, real-time system capable of surviving the hostile conditions encountered proximal to active volcanic vents. In November 2000 the first system was deployed at Pu'u 'O'o (Kilauea, Hawai'i) to target persistently active vents. Aside from some minor problems, such as sensor damage due to tampering, this system remained operational until January 2004. The success of the prototype system led us to use the blueprint for a second installation at Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy). This was deployed, dug into a bomb-proof bunker, during May 2002 and survived the April 2003 paroxysmal eruption despite being located just 250 m from the vent. In both cases, careful waterproofing of connectors and selection of suitable protection has prevented water damage and corrosion in the harsh atmosphere encountered at the crater rim. The Pu'u 'O'o system cost ???US$10,000 and comprises four modules: sensors, transmission and power hub, repeater station and reception site. The sensor component consists of three thermal infrared thermometers housed in Pelican??? cases fitted with Germanium-Arsenide-Selenium windows. Two 1?? field of view (FOV) sensors allow specific vents to be targeted and a 60?? FOV sensor provides a crater floor overview. A hard wire connection links to a Pelican???-case-housed microprocessor, modem and power module. From here data are transmitted, via a repeater site, to a dedicated PC at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Here data are displayed with a delay of ???3 s between acquisition and display. The modular design allows for great flexibility. At Stromboli, 1?? and 15?? FOV sensor modules can be switched depending changes in activity style and crater geometry. In addition a direct line of site to the Stromboli reception center negates the repeater site requirement, reducing the cost to US$5500 for a single sensor system. We have also constructed self-contained units

[Prospective evaluation on ventilator-associated events: a cohort study from eight intensive care units].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, W S; Liu, J; Liu, H; Song, Y Y; Chen, H Y; Wang, R; Zhang, Y P; Jiang, W; Li, H F; Li, S Q; Zhang, S M; Liu, B; Zhang, X; Zhang, W H

2016-08-10

The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the incidence of ventilator associated events (VAEs) in intensive care units (ICUs) among adult patients, and to evaluate the correlation between VAEs and ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP). A prospective 3-month cohort study (January 2015 to March 2015) was carried out. VAEs were divided into three groups: with ventilator-associated condition (VAC), with infection related ventilator-associated complication (IVAC) and with possible VAP (PVAP). Sensitivity and specificity of VAEs were evaluated and compared to the traditional VAP. Kappa test was applied to judge the consistency of VAC and VAP. During Jan. 2015 and Mar. 2015, 1 014 patients were admitted to 8 ICUs, with 7 977 patients per day. In total, 197 patients used the mechanical ventilation installation, with, a total number of 3 152 ventilator-days. Finally, 1 214 ventilation days in the VAC group and 1 938 ventilation days in the non-VAC group) that were available for final analysis. 46 VAC cases were identified including 22 classified as IVAC (14.59 and 6.98 per 1 000 ventilation days, respectively). Length of ICU stay and duration on mechanical ventilation for VAC patients were both significantly longer than those for non-VAC patients (PVAC criteria for the detection of VAP were 36.92% and 83.33%, respectively. The VAEs surveillance paradigms could be applied to monitor patients on the use of mechanical ventilation installation. However, sensitivity and specificity of VAC were under pool for the diagnosis of VAP. However, automatically surveillance programs was relied on the improvement of auto-information systems.

Adjustment of the Kompleks Titan-2 monitoring computerized system at the Rovno NPP third unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zigaev, B.P.

1987-01-01

Information signal origin and processing processes in the monitoring computerized system 'Komplex Titan-2' at the Rovno NPP third unit are considered. The system exercises control over the following production equipment parameters: the state of keys of control of lock fittings, mechanisms, regulators, reserve mechanism automatic shut-down circuit; the state of lock fittings, mechanisms, regulators, reserve mechanism automated switching on; parameter deviation from permissible values; interlock operation; protection system state; the state of autonomous units and devices

Post-Closure Inspection and Monitoring Report for Corrective Action Unit 110: Area 3 WMD U-3ax/bl Crater, Nevada Test Site, Nevada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office; Bechtel Nevada

2006-08-01

This Post-Closure Inspection and Monitoring Report provides the results and inspections and monitoring for Corrective Action Unit 110: Area 3 Waste Management Division U-3ax/bl Crater, Nevada Test Site, Nevada. This report includes an analysis and summary of the site inpsections, repairs and maintenance, meteorological information, and soil moisture monitoring data obtained at Corrective Action Unit 110, for the annual period July 2005 thrugh June 2006.

Extreme events monitoring from space

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, Yann; Bitar, Ahmad Al; Mahmoodi, Ali; Richaume, Philippe; Al-Yaari, Amen; Wigneron, Jean-Pierre

2016-04-01

The SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) satellite was successfully launched in November 2009. This ESA led mission for Earth Observation is dedicated to provide soil moisture over continental surface (with an accuracy goal of 0.04 m3/m3), vegetation water content over land, and ocean salinity. These geophysical features are important as they control the energy balance between the surface and the atmosphere. Their knowledge at a global scale is of interest for climatic and weather researches, and in particular in improving model forecasts. The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission has now been collecting data for 6 years. The whole data set has just been reprocessed (Version 620 for levels 1 and 2 and version 3 for level 3 CATDS). After 6 years it seems important to start using data for having a look at anomalies and see how they can relate to large scale events The purpose of this communication is to present the mission results after more than six years in orbit in a climatic trend perspective, as through such a period anomalies can be detected. Thereby we benefit from consistent datasets provided through the latest reprocessing using most recent algorithm enhancements. Using the above mentioned products it is possible to follow large events such as the evolution of the droughts in North America, or water fraction evolution over the Amazonian basin. In this occasion we will focus on the analysis of SMOS and ancillary products anomalies to reveal two climatic trends, the temporal evolution of water storage over the Indian continent in relation to rainfall anomalies, and the global impact of El Nino types of events on the general water storage distribution. This presentation shows in detail the use of long term data sets of L-band microwave radiometry in two specific cases, namely droughts and water budget over a large basin. Several other analyses are under way currently. Obviously, vegetation water content, but also dielectric constant, are carrying a wealth

The Relations of Stressful Events and Nonacademic Future Expectations in African American Adolescents: Gender Differences in Parental Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Michael; Mars, Dustin E.; Burns, Lateela J.

2012-01-01

Urban African American high school students (N = 206) completed a study to examine gender differences in parental monitoring and the effect on the relationship between exposure to stressful life events and nonacademic future expectations. Participant's ages range from 13 to 18 (M = 15.78, SD = 1.19). Participants reported high exposure to…

The third level trigger and output event unit of the UA1 data-acquisition system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cittolin, S.; Demoulin, M.; Fucci, A.; Haynes, W.; Martin, B.; Porte, J.P.; Sphicas, P.

1989-01-01

The upgraded UA1 experiment utilizes twelve 3081/E emulators for its third-level trigger system. The system is interfaced to VME, and is controlled by 68000 microprocessor VME boards on the input and output. The output controller communicates with an IBM 9375 mainframe via the CERN-IBM developed VICI interface. The events selected by the emulators are output on IBM-3480 cassettes. The usder interface to this system is based on a series of Macintosh personal computers connected to the VME bus. These Macs are also used for developing software for the emulators and for monitoring the entire system. The same configuration has also been used for offline event reconstruction. A description of the system, together with details of both the online and offline modes of operation and an evaluation of its performance are presented. (orig.)

The third level trigger and output event unit of the UA1 data-acquisition system

Science.gov (United States)

Cittolin, S.; Demoulin, M.; Fucci, A.; Haynes, W.; Martin, B.; Porte, J. P.; Sphicas, P.

1989-12-01

The upgraded UA1 experiment utilizes twelve 3081/E emulators for its third-level trigger system. The system is interfaced to VME, and is controlled by 68000 microprocessor VME boards on the input and output. The output controller communicates with an IBM 9375 mainframe via the CERN-IBM developed VICI interface. The events selected by the emulators are output on IBM-3480 cassettes. The user interface to this system is based on a series of Macintosh personal computer connected to the VME bus. These Macs are also used for developing software for the emulators and for monitoring the entire system. The same configuration has also been used for offline event reconstruction. A description of the system, together with details of both the online and offline modes of operation and an eveluation of its performance are presented.

Residual neuromuscular block as a risk factor for critical respiratory events in the post anesthesia care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, M; Xará, D; Parente, D; Barbosa, M; Abelha, F J

2013-04-01

Residual neuromuscular block is an important postoperative complication associated to the use of neuromuscular blocking drugs. The purpose of this study was to access the incidence of residual neuromuscular block in a post-anesthesia care unit and to evaluate its association with critical respiratory events. Prospective cohort study was conducted in a Post Anesthetic Care Unit (PACU) for a period of 3 weeks. Two hundred two adult patients who submitted to scheduled non-cardiac and non-intracranial surgery were eligible to the study. The primary outcome variable was residual neuromuscular block after arrival to PACU that was defined as train-of-four ratio <0.9 and objectively quantified using acceleromyography. Demographic data, perioperative variables, lengths of hospital and recovery room stay and critical respiratory events were recorded. Inadequate emergence was classified in its different forms according to the Richmond agitation and sedation scale 10 min after admission to the recovery room. Residual neuromuscular block incidence in the post-anesthesia care unit was 29.7% (95% confidence interval: 23.4, 36.1). Patients with residual neuromuscular block had more frequently overall critical respiratory events (51% versus 16%, P<0.001), airway obstruction (10% versus 2%, P=0.029), mild-moderate hypoxemia (23% versus 4%, P<0.001), severe hypoxemia (7% versus 1%, P=0.033), respiratory failure (8% versus 1%, P=0.031), inability to breathe deeply (38% versus 12%, P<0.001) and muscular weakness (16% versus 1%, P<0.001). Residual neuromuscular block was more common after high-risk surgery (53% versus 33%, P=0.011) and was more often associated with post-operative hypoactive emergence as defined by the Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (21% versus 6%, P=0.001). This study suggests that residual neuromuscular block is common in the PACU and is associated with more frequent critical respiratory events. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimaci

Reliability research based experience with systems and events at the Kozloduy NPP units 1-4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khristova, R; Kaltchev, B; Dimitrov, B [Energoproekt, Sofia (Bulgaria); Nedyalkova, D; Sonev, A [Kombinat Atomna Energetika, Kozloduj (Bulgaria)

1996-12-31

An overview of equipment reliability based on operational data of selected safety systems at the Kozloduy NPP is presented. Conclusions are drawn on reliability of the service water system, feed water system, emergency power supply - category 2, emergency high pressure ejection system and spray system. For the units 1-4 all recorded accident protocols in the period 1974-1993 have been processed and the main initiators identified. A list with 39 most frequent initiators of accidents/incidents is compiled. The human-caused errors account for 27% of all events. The reliability characteristics and frequencies have been calculated for all initiating events. It is concluded that there have not been any accidents with consequences for fuel integrity or radioactive release. 14 refs.

Reliability research based experience with systems and events at the Kozloduy NPP units 1-4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khristova, R.; Kaltchev, B.; Dimitrov, B.; Nedyalkova, D.; Sonev, A.

1995-01-01

An overview of equipment reliability based on operational data of selected safety systems at the Kozloduy NPP is presented. Conclusions are drawn on reliability of the service water system, feed water system, emergency power supply - category 2, emergency high pressure ejection system and spray system. For the units 1-4 all recorded accident protocols in the period 1974-1993 have been processed and the main initiators identified. A list with 39 most frequent initiators of accidents/incidents is compiled. The human-caused errors account for 27% of all events. The reliability characteristics and frequencies have been calculated for all initiating events. It is concluded that there have not been any accidents with consequences for fuel integrity or radioactive release. 14 refs

Development of a reference Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) for the monitoring and control of grid stability and quality

Science.gov (United States)

Ndilimabaka, Hervé; Blanc, Isabelle

2014-08-01

This paper discusses the details of the development of a Phasor Measurement Unit regarding the requirements of the IEEE C37.118-2005 synchrophasor standard relative to steady-state conditions on grid monitoring and control. This phasor measurement unit is intended to be used for field tests sooner.

40 CFR Table 31 to Subpart Uuu of... - Continuous Monitoring Systems for HAP Emissions From Sulfur Recovery Units

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Continuous Monitoring Systems for HAP Emissions From Sulfur Recovery Units 31 Table 31 to Subpart UUU of Part 63 Protection of Environment..., Subpt. UUU, Table 31 Table 31 to Subpart UUU of Part 63—Continuous Monitoring Systems for HAP Emissions...

Multileaf collimator performance monitoring and improvement using semiautomated quality control testing and statistical process control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Létourneau, Daniel; McNiven, Andrea; Keller, Harald; Wang, An; Amin, Md Nurul; Pearce, Jim; Norrlinger, Bernhard; Jaffray, David A.

2014-01-01

and the majority of the apparent leaf motion was attributed to beam spot displacements between irradiations. The MLC QC test was performed 193 and 162 times over the monitoring period for the studied units and recalibration had to be repeated up to three times on one of these units. For both units, rate of MLC interlocks was moderately associated with MLC servicing events. The strongest association with the MLC performance was observed between the MLC servicing events and the total number of out-of-control leaves. The average elapsed time for which the number of out-of-specification or out-of-control leaves was within a given performance threshold was computed and used to assess adequacy of MLC test frequency. Conclusions: A MLC performance monitoring system has been developed and implemented to acquire high-quality QC data at high frequency. This is enabled by the relatively short acquisition time for the images and automatic image analysis. The monitoring system was also used to record and track the rate of MLC-related interlocks and servicing events. MLC performances for two commercially available MLC models have been assessed and the results support monthly test frequency for widely accepted ±1 mm specifications. Higher QC test frequency is however required to maintain tighter specification and in-control behavior

Multileaf collimator performance monitoring and improvement using semiautomated quality control testing and statistical process control.

Science.gov (United States)

Létourneau, Daniel; Wang, An; Amin, Md Nurul; Pearce, Jim; McNiven, Andrea; Keller, Harald; Norrlinger, Bernhard; Jaffray, David A

2014-12-01

apparent leaf motion was attributed to beam spot displacements between irradiations. The MLC QC test was performed 193 and 162 times over the monitoring period for the studied units and recalibration had to be repeated up to three times on one of these units. For both units, rate of MLC interlocks was moderately associated with MLC servicing events. The strongest association with the MLC performance was observed between the MLC servicing events and the total number of out-of-control leaves. The average elapsed time for which the number of out-of-specification or out-of-control leaves was within a given performance threshold was computed and used to assess adequacy of MLC test frequency. A MLC performance monitoring system has been developed and implemented to acquire high-quality QC data at high frequency. This is enabled by the relatively short acquisition time for the images and automatic image analysis. The monitoring system was also used to record and track the rate of MLC-related interlocks and servicing events. MLC performances for two commercially available MLC models have been assessed and the results support monthly test frequency for widely accepted ± 1 mm specifications. Higher QC test frequency is however required to maintain tighter specification and in-control behavior.

A high-efficiency self-powered wireless sensor node for monitoring concerning vibratory events

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Dacheng; Li, Suiqiong; Li, Mengyang; Xie, Danpeng; Dong, Chuan; Li, Xinxin

2017-09-01

This paper presents a self-powered wireless alarming sensor node (SWASN), which was designed to monitor the occurrence of concerning vibratory events. The major components of the sensor node include a vibration-threshold-triggered energy harvester (VTTEH) that powers the sensor node, a dual threshold voltage control circuit (DTVCC) for power management and a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitting module. The VTTEH generates significant electric energy only when the input vibration reaches certain amplitude. Thus, the VTTEH serves as both the power source and the vibration-event-sensing element for the sensor node. The DTVCC was specifically designed to utilize the limited power supply from the VTTEH to operate the sensor node. Constructed with only voltage detectors and MOSFETs, the DTVCC achieved low power consumption, which was 65% lower compared with the power management circuit designed in our previous work. Meanwhile, a RF transmit circuit was constructed based on the commercially available CC1110-F32 wireless transceiver chip and a compact planar antenna was designed to improve the signal transmission distance. The sensor node was fabricated and was characterized both in the laboratory and in the field. Experimental results showed that the SWASN could automatically send out alarming signals when the simulated concerning event occurred. The waiting time between two consecutive transmission periods is less than 125 s and the transmission distance can reach 1.31 km. The SWASN will have broad applications in field surveillances.

Spontaneous Adverse Event Reports Associated with Zolpidem in the United States 2003-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Carmen K; Marshall, Nathaniel S; Grunstein, Ronald R; Ho, Samuel S; Fois, Romano A; Hibbs, David E; Hanrahan, Jane R; Saini, Bandana

2017-02-15

Stimulated reporting occurs when patients and healthcare professionals are influenced or "stimulated" by media publicity to report specific drug-related adverse reactions, significantly biasing pharmacovigilance analyses. Among countries where the non-benzodiazepine hypnotic drug zolpidem is marketed, the United States experienced a comparable surge of media reporting during 2006-2009 linking the above drug with the development of complex neuropsychiatric sleep-related behaviors. However, the effect of this stimulated reporting in the United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System has not been explored. Using disproportionality analyses, reporting odds ratios for zolpidem exposure and the following adverse events; parasomnia, movement-based parasomnia, nonmovement-based parasomnia, amnesia, hallucination, and suicidality were determined and compared to all other medications in the database, followed by specific comparison to the benzodiazepine hypnotic class, year-by-year from 2003 to 2012. Odds ratios were increased significantly during and after the period of media publicity for parasomnias, movement-based parasomnias, amnesias and hallucinations. We also observed that zolpidem adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports have higher odds for parasomnias, movement-based parasomnias, amnesias, hallucinations, and suicidality compared to all other drugs, even before the media publicity cluster. Although our results indicate that zolpidem reports have higher odds for the ADR of interest even before the media publicity cluster, negative media coverage greatly exacerbated the reporting of these adverse reactions. The effect of such reporting must be borne in mind when decisions around drugs which have been the subject of intense media publicity are made by health professionals or regulatory bodies. © 2017 American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Monitoring of the future strong Vrancea events by using the CN formal earthquake prediction algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moldoveanu, C.L.; Novikova, O.V.; Panza, G.F.; Radulian, M.

2003-06-01

The preparation process of the strong subcrustal events originating in Vrancea region, Romania, is monitored using an intermediate-term medium-range earthquake prediction method - the CN algorithm (Keilis-Borok and Rotwain, 1990). We present the results of the monitoring of the preparation of future strong earthquakes for the time interval from January 1, 1994 (1994.1.1), to January 1, 2003 (2003.1.1) using the updated catalogue of the Romanian local network. The database considered for the CN monitoring of the preparation of future strong earthquakes in Vrancea covers the period from 1966.3.1 to 2003.1.1 and the geographical rectangle 44.8 deg - 48.4 deg N, 25.0 deg - 28.0 deg E. The algorithm correctly identifies, by retrospective prediction, the TJPs for all the three strong earthquakes (Mo=6.4) that occurred in Vrancea during this period. The cumulated duration of the TIPs represents 26.5% of the total period of time considered (1966.3.1-2003.1.1). The monitoring of current seismicity using the algorithm CN has been carried out since 1994. No strong earthquakes occurred from 1994.1.1 to 2003.1.1 but the CN declared an extended false alarm from 1999.5.1 to 2000.11.1. No alarm has currently been declared in the region (on January 1, 2003), as can be seen from the TJPs diagram shown. (author)

Development of a reference Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU for the monitoring and control of grid stability and quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ndilimabaka Hervé

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the details of the development of a Phasor Measurement Unit regarding the requirements of the IEEE C37.118-2005 synchrophasor standard relative to steady-state conditions on grid monitoring and control. This phasor measurement unit is intended to be used for field tests sooner.

Event segmentation ability uniquely predicts event memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Sargent, Jesse Q; Zacks, Jeffrey M; Hambrick, David Z; Zacks, Rose T; Kurby, Christopher A; Bailey, Heather R; Eisenberg, Michelle L; Beck, Taylor M

2013-11-01

Memory for everyday events plays a central role in tasks of daily living, autobiographical memory, and planning. Event memory depends in part on segmenting ongoing activity into meaningful units. This study examined the relationship between event segmentation and memory in a lifespan sample to answer the following question: Is the ability to segment activity into meaningful events a unique predictor of subsequent memory, or is the relationship between event perception and memory accounted for by general cognitive abilities? Two hundred and eight adults ranging from 20 to 79years old segmented movies of everyday events and attempted to remember the events afterwards. They also completed psychometric ability tests and tests measuring script knowledge for everyday events. Event segmentation and script knowledge both explained unique variance in event memory above and beyond the psychometric measures, and did so as strongly in older as in younger adults. These results suggest that event segmentation is a basic cognitive mechanism, important for memory across the lifespan. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Power reactor events, May-June 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massaro, S.A.

1986-12-01

Power Reactor Events is a bi-monthly newsletter that compiles operating experience information about commercial nuclear power plants. This includes summaries of noteworthy events and listings and/or abstracts of USNRC and other documents that discuss safety-related or possible generic issues. It is intended to feed back some of the lessons learned from operational experience to the various plant personnel, i.e., managers, licensed reactor operators, training coordinators, and support personnel. Events at the following plants are reported: McGuire Unit 1; Susquehanna Units 1 and 2; Browns Ferry Units 1, 2, and 3; and River Bend Unit 1

Monitoring of seismic events from a specific source region using a single regional array: A case study

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbons, S. J.; Kværna, T.; Ringdal, F.

2005-07-01

In the monitoring of earthquakes and nuclear explosions using a sparse worldwide network of seismic stations, it is frequently necessary to make reliable location estimates using a single seismic array. It is also desirable to screen out routine industrial explosions automatically in order that analyst resources are not wasted upon detections which can, with a high level of confidence, be associated with such a source. The Kovdor mine on the Kola Peninsula of NW Russia is the site of frequent industrial blasts which are well recorded by the ARCES regional seismic array at a distance of approximately 300 km. We describe here an automatic procedure for identifying signals which are likely to result from blasts at the Kovdor mine and, wherever possible, for obtaining single array locations for such events. Carefully calibrated processing parameters were chosen using measurements from confirmed events at the mine over a one-year period for which the operators supplied Ground Truth information. Phase arrival times are estimated using an autoregressive method and slowness and azimuth are estimated using broadband f{-} k analysis in fixed frequency bands and time-windows fixed relative to the initial P-onset time. We demonstrate the improvement to slowness estimates resulting from the use of fixed frequency bands. Events can be located using a single array if, in addition to the P-phase, at least one secondary phase is found with both an acceptable slowness estimate and valid onset-time estimate. We evaluate the on-line system over a twelve month period; every event known to have occured at the mine is detected by the process and 32 out of 53 confirmed events were located automatically. The remaining events were classified as “very likely” Kovdor events and were subsequently located by an analyst. The false alarm rate is low; only 84 very likely Kovdor events were identified during the whole of 2003 and none of these were subsequently located at a large distance from

Containment closure time following the loss of shutdown cooling event of YGN Units 3 and 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seul, Kwang Won; Bang, Young Seok; Kim, Hho Jung

1999-01-01

The YGN Units 3 and 4 plant conditions during shutdown operation were reviewed to identify the possible event scenarios following the loss of shutdown cooling (SDC) event. For the five cases of typical reactor coolant system (RCS) configurations under the worst event sequence, such as unavailable secondary cooling and no RCS inventory makeup, the thermal hydraulic analyses were performed using the RELAP5/MOS3.2 code to investigate the plant behavior following the event. The thermal hydraulic analyses include the estimation of time to boil, time to core uncovery, and time to core heat up to determine the containment closure time to prevent the uncontrolled release of fission products to atmosphere. The result indicates that the containment closure is recommended to be achieved within 42 minutes after the loss of SDC for the steam generator (SG) inlet plenum manway open case or the large cold leg open case under the worst event sequence. The containment closure time is significantly dependent on the elevation and size of the opening and the SG secondary water level condition. It is also found that the containment closure needs to be initiated before the boiling time to ensure the survivability of the workers in the containment. These results will provide using information to operators to cope with the loss of SDC event. (Author). 15 refs., 3 tabs., 7 figs

Event-synchronized data acquisition system for the SPring-8 linac beam position monitors

Science.gov (United States)

Masuda, T.; Fukui, T.; Tanaka, R.; Taniuchi, T.; Yamashita, A.; Yanagida, K.

2005-05-01

By the summer of 2003, we had completed the installation of a new non-destructive beam position monitor (BPM) system to facilitate beam trajectory and energy correction for the SPring-8 linac. In all, 47 BPM sets were installed on the 1-GeV linac and three beam-transport lines. All of the BPM data acquisition system was required to operate synchronously with the electron beam acceleration cycle. We have developed an event-synchronized data acquisition system for the BPM data readout. We have succeeded in continuously taking all the BPMs data from six VME computers synchronized with the 10 pps operation of the linac to continuously acquire data. For each beam shot, the data points are indexed by event number and stored in a database. Using the real-time features of the Solaris operating system and distributed database technology, we currently have achieved about 99.9% efficiency in capturing and archiving all of the 10 Hz data. The linac BPM data is available for off-line analysis of the beam trajectory, but also for real-time control and automatic correction of the beam trajectory and energy.

J. M. Gratale on N. Coles’ s Interpreting Political Events in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Norman Coles. Interpreting Political Events in the United States:  Critical Debate and Representative Democracy.  Sussex Academic Press, 2009,  79pp.At first glance, two things struck me about Norman Coles’s volume.  The first is its rather long title, whereas the second point concerns the book’s length; including the appendices, bibliography and index, it amounts to only seventy-nine pages.  In the first case, long titles are not necessarily problematic, providing the narrative which follows...

Applications of the monitor of loose parts in the cycle 6 of the Laguna Verde Unit 2 power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calleros, G.; Mendez, A.; Gomez, R.A.; Castillo, R.; Bravo, J.M.

2004-01-01

The monitor of loose parts (Loose Parts Monitoring System) installed in the Unit 2 of the Laguna Verde Central is a tool to detect strange objects or parts loose in the system of refrigeration of the reactor that could be impacted in the walls of the recirculation knots or in the internal of the reactor. In this work two applications are shown carried out with the Monitor of Loose Parts, determining the characteristics of the stable nominal conditions, those which when changing, they are used to diagnose during the Cycle 6 of the Unit 2, failures in the components of the the recirculation circuits or to identify mechanical vibrations of the recirculation knots induced by a flow of recirculation bistable associated to operative conditions of the reactor. (Author)

Unobtrusive Wireless Monitoring System for Assisted Living and Improving the Wellbeing of Elderly People

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Browne, Aidan; Duncliffe, Richard; Spillane, James; Walsh, Colin; Hill, Martin; O'Mahony, Tom; O'Reilly, Fergus

2011-01-01

A novel system to unobtrusively monitor the wellbeing of elderly people based on their activity patterns is presented. The system uses a wireless ZigBee network to monitor the electrical usage in a subject's home and then sends this data to an Apache server via HTTP from a GPRS unit. The data is logged in a MySQL database where pattern analysis is used to identify periods of significant inactivity. When such an event is identified designated contacts are notified by text message. For subjects requiring higher levels of monitoring a portable health monitor can be integrated incorporating a fall detector and panic button to inform of emergency situations.

Environmental conditions synchronize waterbird mortality events in the Great Lakes

Science.gov (United States)

Prince, Karine; Chipault, Jennifer G.; White, C. LeAnn; Zuckerberg, Benjamin

2018-01-01

Since the 1960s, periodic outbreaks of avian botulism type E have contributed to large-scale die-offs of thousands of waterbirds throughout the Great Lakes of the United States. In recent years, these events have become more common and widespread. Occurring during the summer and autumn months, the prevalence of these die-offs varies across years and is often associated with years of warmer lake temperatures and lower water levels. Little information exists on how environmental conditions mediate the spatial and temporal characteristics of mortality events.In 2010, a citizen science programme, Avian Monitoring for Botulism Lakeshore Events (AMBLE), was launched to enhance surveillance efforts and detect the appearance of beached waterbird carcasses associated with avian botulism type E outbreaks in northern Lake Michigan. Using these data, our goal was to quantify the within-year characteristics of mortality events for multiple species, and to test whether the synchrony of these events corresponded to fluctuations in two environmental factors suspected to be important in the spread of avian botulism: water temperature and the prevalence of green macroalgae.During two separate events of mass waterbird mortality, we found that the detection of bird carcasses was spatially synchronized at scales of c. 40 km. Notably, the extent of this spatial synchrony in avian mortality matched that of fluctuations in lake surface water temperatures and the prevalence of green macroalgae.Synthesis and applications. Our findings are suggestive of a synchronizing effect where warmer lake temperatures and the appearance of macroalgae mediate the characteristics of avian mortality. In future years, rising lake temperatures and a higher propensity of algal masses could lead to increases in the magnitude and synchronization of avian mortality due to botulism. We advocate that citizen-based monitoring efforts are critical for identifying the potential environmental conditions associated

Annual Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program Report for the Three Mile Island, Unit 2, Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, Gregory Graham

2002-01-01

This report presents the results of the 2001 Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program conducted in accordance with 10 CFR 72.44 for the Three Mile Island, Unit 2, Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation. A description of the facility and the monitoring program is provided. The results of monitoring the two predominant radiation exposure pathways, potential airborne radioactivity releases and direct radiation exposure, indicate the facility operation has not contributed to any increase in the estimated maximum potential dose commitment to the general public.

Serious adverse events in a hospital using early warning score - what went wrong?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, John Asger; Mackel, Rebecca; Antonsen, Kristian

2014-01-01

AIM: To evaluate the performance of a new early warning score (EWS) system by reviewing all serious adverse events in our hospital over a 6-month time period. METHOD: All incidents of unexpected death (UD), cardiac arrest (CA) and unanticipated intensive care unit admission(UICU) of adult patients...... of EWS were recorded in 87, 94 and 75% of UICU, CA and UD. Patients were monitored according to the escalation protocol in 13, 31 and 13% of UICU, CA and UD. Nurses escalated care and contacted physicians in 64% and 60% of events of UICU and the corresponding proportions for CO were 58% and 55%. On call...

Process monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1981-01-01

Many of the measurements and observations made in a nuclear processing facility to monitor processes and product quality can also be used to monitor the location and movements of nuclear materials. In this session information is presented on how to use process monitoring data to enhance nuclear material control and accounting (MC and A). It will be seen that SNM losses can generally be detected with greater sensitivity and timeliness and point of loss localized more closely than by conventional MC and A systems if process monitoring data are applied. The purpose of this session is to enable the participants to: (1) identify process unit operations that could improve control units for monitoring SNM losses; (2) choose key measurement points and formulate a loss indicator for each control unit; and (3) describe how the sensitivities and timeliness of loss detection could be determined for each loss indicator

SU-E-T-110: An Investigation On Monitor Unit Threshold and Effects On IMPT Delivery in Proton Pencil Beam Planning System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syh, J; Ding, X; Syh, J; Patel, B; Rosen, L; Wu, H

2015-01-01

Purpose: An approved proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) treatment plan might not be able to deliver because of existed extremely low monitor unit per beam spot. A dual hybrid plan with higher efficiency of higher spot monitor unit and the efficacy of less number of energy layers were searched and optimized. The range of monitor unit threshold setting was investigated and the plan quality was evaluated by target dose conformity. Methods: Certain limitations and requirements need to be checks and tested before a nominal proton PBS treatment plan can be delivered. The plan needs to be met the machine characterization, specification in record and verification to deliver the beams. Minimal threshold of monitor unit, e.g. 0.02, per spot was set to filter the low counts and plan was re-computed. Further MU threshold increment was tested in sequence without sacrificing the plan quality. The number of energy layer was also alternated due to elimination of low count layer(s). Results: Minimal MU/spot threshold, spot spacing in each energy layer and total number of energy layer and the MU weighting of beam spots of each beam were evaluated. Plan optimization between increases of the spot MU (efficiency) and less energy layers of delivery (efficacy) was adjusted. 5% weighting limit of total monitor unit per beam was feasible. Scarce spreading of beam spots was not discouraging as long as target dose conformity within 3% criteria. Conclusion: Each spot size is equivalent to the relative dose in the beam delivery system. The energy layer is associated with the depth of the targeting tumor. Our work is crucial to maintain the best possible quality plan. To keep integrity of all intrinsic elements such as spot size, spot number, layer number and the carried weighting of spots in each layer is important in this study

Distributed remote temperature monitoring system for INDUS-2 vacuum chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhange, N.J.; Gothwal, P.; Fatnani, P.; Shukla, S.K.

2011-01-01

Indus-2, a 2.5 GeV Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) at Indore has a large vacuum system. The vacuum envelope of Indus-2 ring comprises of 16 dipole chambers as vital parts. Each chamber has 4 photon absorbers and three beam line ports blanked with end flanges. Temperature monitoring of critical vacuum components during operation of Indus-2 ring is an important requirement. The paper discusses a distributed, 160 channel remote temperature monitoring system developed and deployed for this purpose using microcontroller based, modular Temperature Monitoring Units (TMU). The cabling has been extensively minimized using RS485 system and keeping trip relay contacts of all units in series. For ensuring proper signal conditioning of thermocouple outputs (K-type) and successful operation over RS485 bus, many precautions were taken considering the close proximity to the storage ring. We also discuss the software for vacuum chamber temperature monitoring and safety system. The software developed using LabVIEW, has important features like modularity, client-server architecture, local and global database logging, alarms and trips, event and error logging, provision of various important configurations, communications handling etc. (author)

Application of an automated patrol-type monitoring system in the reinforced concrete containment vessel at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant Units 6 and 7

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimoto, T.; Senoh, M.; Hirakawa, H.; Tanaka, K.; Takahashi, M.

1996-01-01

An automated patrol-type monitoring system was applied to the first Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) plants in the world, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant Units 6 and 7. The system consists of two robots traveling along monorail and several ITV systems. This monitoring system is used to watch the operating incident of key components of ABWR, such as water leakage from packing in Fine Motion Control Rod Drive (FM-CRD), Reactor Internal Pump (RIP) etc. which are located in the reinforced concrete containment and usually could not be accessible under operation. The traveling robots are equipped with the three kinds of sensors, an infrared camera, a color TV camera and a microphone, and have a capability to inspect the pre-determined inspection points guided by the monorail. This monitoring system is automatically turned on to start inspection at a scheduled time. For Units 6 and 7, this monitoring system, two robots and several ITV systems, can be controlled from one common control desk and one handy-type remote control panel. Since this monitoring system was installed at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant Units 6 and 7, this system has been operating successfully. (The installation and testing of the system for Unit 6 was finished completely and the testing the system for Unit 7 has been carrying out.) (author)

Accuracy-Energy Configurable Sensor Processor and IoT Device for Long-Term Activity Monitoring in Rare-Event Sensing Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daejin Park

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A specially designed sensor processor used as a main processor in IoT (internet-of-thing device for the rare-event sensing applications is proposed. The IoT device including the proposed sensor processor performs the event-driven sensor data processing based on an accuracy-energy configurable event-quantization in architectural level. The received sensor signal is converted into a sequence of atomic events, which is extracted by the signal-to-atomic-event generator (AEG. Using an event signal processing unit (EPU as an accelerator, the extracted atomic events are analyzed to build the final event. Instead of the sampled raw data transmission via internet, the proposed method delays the communication with a host system until a semantic pattern of the signal is identified as a final event. The proposed processor is implemented on a single chip, which is tightly coupled in bus connection level with a microcontroller using a 0.18 μm CMOS embedded-flash process. For experimental results, we evaluated the proposed sensor processor by using an IR- (infrared radio- based signal reflection and sensor signal acquisition system. We successfully demonstrated that the expected power consumption is in the range of 20% to 50% compared to the result of the basement in case of allowing 10% accuracy error.

A program for monitor unit calculation for high energy photon beams in isocentric condition based on measured data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gesheva-Atanasova, N.

2008-01-01

The aim of this study is: 1) to propose a procedure and a program for monitor unit calculation for radiation therapy with high energy photon beams, based on data measured by author; 2) to compare this data with published one and 3) to evaluate the precision of the monitor unit calculation program. From this study it could be concluded that, we reproduced with a good agreement the published data, except the TPR values for dept up to 5 cm. The measured relative weight of upper and lower jaws - parameter A was dramatically different from the published data, but perfectly described the collimator exchange effect for our treatment machine. No difference was found between the head scatter ratios, measured in a mini phantom and those measured with a proper brass buildup cap. Our monitor unit calculation program was found to be reliable and it can be applied for check up of the patient's plans for irradiation with high energy photon beams and for some fast calculations. Because of the identity in the construction, design and characteristics of the Siemens accelerators, and the agreement with the published data for the same beam qualities, we hope that most of our experimental data and this program can be used after verification in other hospitals

Synchronized Phasor Measurements of a Power System Event in Eastern Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Joana; Jørgensen, Preben

2003-01-01

. The outage of the 400-kV tie-line weakened the Eastern Danish power system and excited power oscillations in the interconnected power systems. During this event prototype Phasor Measurements Units (PMU) gave the opportunity of realtime monitoring of positive sequence voltage and current phasors using...... satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS). Comparisons between real-time recordings and results from dynamic simulations with PSS/E are presented. The main features from the simulation analysis are successfully verified by means of the corresponding synchronized phasor measurements....

Synchronized Phasor Measurements of a Power System Event in Eastern Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Joana; Jørgensen, Preben

2006-01-01

. The outage of the 400-kV tie-line weakened the Eastern Danish power system and excited power oscillations in the interconnected power systems. During this event prototype Phasor Measurements Units (PMU) gave the opportunity of realtime monitoring of positive sequence voltage and current phasors using...... satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS). Comparisons between real-time recordings and results from dynamic simulations with PSS/E are presented. The main features from the simulation analysis are successfully verified by means of the corresponding synchronized phasor measurements....

The Detector Control Unit An ASIC for the monitoring of the CMS silicon tracker

CERN Document Server

Magazzù, G; Moreira, P

2004-01-01

The Detector Control Unit (DCU) is an ASIC developed as the central building block of a monitoring system for the CMS Tracker. Leakage currents in the Silicon detectors, power supply voltages of the readout electronics and local temperatures will be monitored in order to guarantee safe operating conditions during the 10-years lifetime in the LHC environment. All these measurements can be performed by an A/D converter preceded by an analog multiplexer and properly interfaced to the central control system. The requirements in terms of radiation tolerance, low-power dissipation and integration with the rest of the system led to the design of a custom integrated circuit. Its structure and characteristics are described in this paper. (6 refs).

Enhancement of hand hygiene compliance among health care workers from a hemodialysis unit using video-monitoring feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Carrillo, Laura Arelí; Rodríguez-López, Juan Manuel; Galarza-Delgado, Dionisio Ángel; Baena-Trejo, Laura; Padilla-Orozco, Magaly; Mendoza-Flores, Lidia; Camacho-Ortiz, Adrián

2016-08-01

The importance of hand hygiene in the prevention of health care-associated infection is well known. Experience with hand hygiene compliance (HHC) evaluation in hemodialysis units is scarce. This study was a 3-phase, prospective longitudinal intervention study during a 5-month period in a 13-bed hemodialysis unit at a university hospital in Northern Mexico. The unit performs an average of 1,150 hemodialysis procedures per month. Compliance was evaluated by a direct observer and a video assisted observer. Feedback was given to health care workers in the form of educational sessions and confidential reports and video analysis of compliance and noncompliance. A total of 5,402 hand hygiene opportunities were registered; 5,201 during 7,820 minutes of video footage and 201 by direct observation during 1,180 minutes. Lower compliance during the baseline evaluation was observed by video monitoring compared with direct observation (P hand hygiene compliance. Video-assisted monitoring of hand hygiene is an excellent method for the evaluation of HHC in a hemodialysis unit; enhanced HHC can be achieved through a feedback program to the hemodialysis staff that includes video examples and confidential reports. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Regional monitoring programs in the United States: Synthesis of four case studies from Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf Coasts

Science.gov (United States)

Tango, Peter J.; Schiff, K.; Trowbridge, P.R.; Sherwood, E.T.; Batiuk, R.A.

2016-01-01

Water quality monitoring is a cornerstone of environmental protection and ambient monitoring provides managers with the critical data they need to take informed action. Unlike site-specific monitoring that is at the heart of regulatory permit compliance, regional monitoring can provide an integrated, holistic view of the environment, allowing managers to obtain a more complete picture of natural variability and cumulative impacts, and more effectively prioritize management actions. By reviewing four long-standing regional monitoring programs that cover portions of all three coasts in the United States – Chesapeake Bay, Tampa Bay, Southern California Bight, and San Francisco Bay – important insights can be gleaned about the benefits that regional monitoring provides to managers. These insights include the underlying reasons that make regional monitoring programs successful, the challenges to maintain relevance and viability in the face of ever-changing technology, competing demands and shifting management priorities. The lessons learned can help other managers achieve similar successes as they seek to establish and reinvigorate their own monitoring programs.

40 CFR Table 17 to Subpart Uuu of... - Continuous Monitoring Systems for Organic HAP Emissions From Catalytic Reforming Units

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Continuous Monitoring Systems for Organic HAP Emissions From Catalytic Reforming Units 17 Table 17 to Subpart UUU of Part 63 Protection of... Organic HAP Emissions From Catalytic Reforming Units As stated in § 63.1566(b)(1), you shall meet each...

40 CFR Table 10 to Subpart Uuu of... - Continuous Monitoring Systems for Organic HAP Emissions From Catalytic Cracking Units

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Continuous Monitoring Systems for Organic HAP Emissions From Catalytic Cracking Units 10 Table 10 to Subpart UUU of Part 63 Protection of... Organic HAP Emissions From Catalytic Cracking Units As stated in § 63.1565(b)(1), you shall meet each...

Analysis of core damage frequency: Peach Bottom, Unit 2 internal events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolaczkowski, A.M.; Cramond, W.R.; Sype, T.T.; Maloney, K.J.; Wheeler, T.A.; Daniel, S.L.

1989-08-01

This document contains the appendices for the accident sequence analysis of internally initiated events for the Peach Bottom, Unit 2 Nuclear Power Plant. This is one of the five plant analyses conducted as part of the NUREG-1150 effort for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The work performed and described here is an extensive reanalysis of that published in October 1986 as NUREG/CR-4550, Volume 4. It addresses comments from numerous reviewers and significant changes to the plant systems and procedures made since the first report. The uncertainty analysis and presentation of results are also much improved, and considerable effort was expended on an improved analysis of loss of offsite power. The content and detail of this report is directed toward PRA practitioners who need to know how the work was done and the details for use in further studies. 58 refs., 58 figs., 52 tabs

LHCb Online event processing and filtering

CERN Document Server

Alessio, F; Brarda, L; Frank, M; Franek, B; Galli, D; Gaspar, C; Van Herwijnen, E; Jacobsson, R; Jost, B; Köstner, S; Moine, G; Neufeld, N; Somogyi, P; Stoica, R; Suman, S

2008-01-01

The first level trigger of LHCb accepts one million events per second. After preprocessing in custom FPGA-based boards these events are distributed to a large farm of PC-servers using a high-speed Gigabit Ethernet network. Synchronisation and event management is achieved by the Timing and Trigger system of LHCb. Due to the complex nature of the selection of B-events, which are the main interest of LHCb, a full event-readout is required. Event processing on the servers is parallelised on an event basis. The reduction factor is typically 1/500. The remaining events are forwarded to a formatting layer, where the raw data files are formed and temporarily stored. A small part of the events is also forwarded to a dedicated farm for calibration and monitoring. The files are subsequently shipped to the CERN Tier0 facility for permanent storage and from there to the various Tier1 sites for reconstruction. In parallel files are used by various monitoring and calibration processes running within the LHCb Online system. ...

Acid Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Apparent Life-Threatening Events: Simultaneous pH-metry and Cardiorespiratory Monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Macchini, Francesco; Morandi, Anna; Cognizzoli, Paola; Farris, Giorgio; Gentilino, Valerio; Zanini, Andrea; Leva, Ernesto

2017-02-01

To investigate the prevalence and the characteristics of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in infants with apparent life threatening events (ALTE). Infants with at least one episode of ALTE in absence of predisposing factors were included. All infants underwent a cardiorespiratory recording with simultaneous 24-hour pH-monitoring. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the severity of GERD: A. Reflux Index (RI) 7%. Monthly evaluations were performed and the anti-reflux therapy was maintained till normalization of monitoring and clinic. 41 infants were enrolled. GERD was found in 80% of patients (moderate in 54%, severe in 27%). A normalization of the cardiorespiratory tracks was recorded on average after 1 month for group A, 7 months for the group B and 9.5 months for group C. A significant difference was registered between group A and both group B and C (P < 0.0001), as well as between the group B and C (P < 0.05). GERD influences significantly the time of normalization of the cardiorespiratory monitoring in infants with ALTE. GERD diagnosis and treatment are mandatory in these patients. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Monitoring of pipeline oil spill fire events using Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Ogungbuyi, M. G.; Eckardt, F. D.; Martinez, P.

2016-12-01

Nigeria, the largest producer of crude oil in Africa occupies sixth position in the world. Despite such huge oil revenue potentials, its pipeline network system is consistently susceptible to leaks causing oil spills. We investigate ground based spill events which are caused by operational error, equipment failure and most importantly by deliberate attacks along the major pipeline transport system. Sometimes, these spills are accompanied with fire explosion caused by accidental discharge, natural or illegal refineries in the creeds, etc. MODIS satellites fires data corresponding to the times and spill events (i.e. ground based data) of the Area of Interest (AOI) show significant correlation. The open source Quantum Geographical Information System (QGIS) was used to validate the dataset and the spatiotemporal analyses of the oil spill fires were expressed. We demonstrate that through QGIS and Google Earth (using the time sliders), we can identify and monitor oil spills when they are attended with fire events along the pipeline transport system accordingly. This is shown through the spatiotemporal images of the fires. Evidence of such fire cases resulting from bunt vegetation as different from industrial and domestic fire is also presented. Detecting oil spill fires in the study location may not require an enormous terabyte of image processing: we can however rely on a near-real-time (NRT) MODIS data that is readily available twice daily to detect oil spill fire as early warning signal for those hotspots areas where cases of oil seepage is significant in Nigeria.

SU-F-T-67: Correction Factors for Monitor Unit Verification of Clinical Electron Beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haywood, J [Mercy Health Partners, Muskegon, MI (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Monitor units calculated by electron Monte Carlo treatment planning systems are often higher than TG-71 hand calculations for a majority of patients. Here I’ve calculated tables of geometry and heterogeneity correction factors for correcting electron hand calculations. Method: A flat water phantom with spherical volumes having radii ranging from 3 to 15 cm was created. The spheres were centered with respect to the flat water phantom, and all shapes shared a surface at 100 cm SSD. D{sub max} dose at 100 cm SSD was calculated for each cone and energy on the flat phantom and for the spherical volumes in the absence of the flat phantom. The ratio of dose in the sphere to dose in the flat phantom defined the geometrical correction factor. The heterogeneity factors were then calculated from the unrestricted collisional stopping power for tissues encountered in electron beam treatments. These factors were then used in patient second check calculations. Patient curvature was estimated by the largest sphere that aligns to the patient contour, and appropriate tissue density was read from the physical properties provided by the CT. The resulting MU were compared to those calculated by the treatment planning system and TG-71 hand calculations. Results: The geometry and heterogeneity correction factors range from ∼(0.8–1.0) and ∼(0.9–1.01) respectively for the energies and cones presented. Percent differences for TG-71 hand calculations drop from ∼(3–14)% to ∼(0–2)%. Conclusion: Monitor units calculated with the correction factors typically decrease the percent difference to under actionable levels, < 5%. While these correction factors work for a majority of patients, there are some patient anatomies that do not fit the assumptions made. Using these factors in hand calculations is a first step in bringing the verification monitor units into agreement with the treatment planning system MU.

Milrinone in advanced heart failure: dose and therapeutic monitor outside intensive care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Charisopoulou, Dafni; Leaver, Neil; Banner, Nicholas R

2014-04-01

Advanced chronic heart failure (ACHF) patients often require inotropes before transplantation or ventricular assist device implantation. Milrinone, an inotrope and vasodilator, may accumulate in cardiorenal syndrome with serious adverse effects. We investigated the potential for therapeutic drug monitoring of milrinone levels using High Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS). 22 ACHF patients (15 males, 49±9 years) received milrinone 50 µg/kg intravenously (i.v.) during heart catheterization. Milrinone levels were 216±71 ng/ml (within the reported therapeutic range: 100-300 ng/ml), followed by improvements in cardiac index, pulmonary artery and wedge pressures (p milrinone (5-26 days) at 0.1-0.2 µg/kg/min, titrated according to plasma milrinone levels. No adverse events occurred. Therapeutic levels were achieved with doses of 0.2±0.06 µg/Kg/min, below those recommended in Summary of Product Characteristics. Milrinone therapy can be noninvasively monitored by HPLC-MS, while avoiding toxicity in ACHF.

Decision unit program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madjar, N.; Pastor, C.; Chambon, B.; Drain, D.; Giorni, A.; Dauchy, A.

1981-01-01

A decision unit has been built to simplify the electronic logic set-up in multi-detectors experiments. This unit, designed with fast memories used as decision making tables, replaces conventional logic modules. Nine inputs are provided for receiving the fast detector signals (charged particles, gammas, neutrons, ...). Fifteen independent outputs allow the identification of the choosen events among the 2 9 possible events. A CAMAC interface between the unit and the computer, or a manual control auxiliary module, is used to load, in the memory, the pattern of the choosen events [fr

Analysis of core damage frequency from internal events: Peach Bottom, Unit 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolaczkowski, A.M.; Lambright, J.A.; Ferrell, W.L.; Cathey, N.G.; Najafi, B.; Harper, F.T.

1986-10-01

This document contains the internal event initiated accident sequence analyses for Peach Bottom, Unit 2; one of the reference plants being examined as part of the NUREG-1150 effort by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUREG-1150 will document the risk of a selected group of nuclear power plants. As part of that work, this report contains the overall core damage frequency estimate for Peach Bottom, Unit 2, and the accompanying plant damage state frequencies. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses provided additional insights regarding the dominant contributors to the Peach Bottom core damage frequency estimate. The mean core damage frequency at Peach Bottom was calculated to be 8.2E-6. Station blackout type accidents (loss of all ac power) were found to dominate the overall results. Anticipated Transient Without Scram accidents were also found to be non-negligible contributors. The numerical results are largely driven by common mode failure probability estimates and to some extent, human error. Because of significant data and analysis uncertainties in these two areas (important, for instance, to the most dominant scenario in this study), it is recommended that the results of the uncertainty and sensitivity analyses be considered before any actions are taken based on this analysis

Clinically significant cardiopulmonary events and the effect of definition standardization on apnea of prematurity management.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, M B F; Ahlers-Schmidt, C R; Engel, M; Bloom, B T

2017-01-01

To define the impact of care standardization on caffeine and cardiorespiratory monitoring at neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge. Electronic records were abstracted for infants aged 24-36 weeks gestation with birth weights appropriate for gestational age. Infants who died, transferred prior to discharge, had major pulmonary anomalies, required a home monitor for mechanical ventilation or had a family history of sudden infant death syndrome were excluded. Data and records were used to indicate when the new definition of clinically significant cardiopulmonary events (CSCPEs) and concurrent education was implemented. Preimplementation and postimplementation cohorts were compared. Incidence fell from 74% diagnosed with apnea of prematurity at baseline to 49% diagnosed with CSCPE postimplementation (Pdefinitions and treatments reduced the use of caffeine and cardiorespiratory monitors upon NICU dismissal.

Satellite and Ground Based Monitoring of Aerosol Plumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doyle, Martin; Dorling, Stephen

2002-01-01

Plumes of atmospheric aerosol have been studied using a range of satellite and ground-based techniques. The Sea-viewing WideField-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) has been used to observe plumes of sulphate aerosol and Saharan dust around the coast of the United Kingdom. Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) was retrieved from SeaWiFS for two events; a plume of Saharan dust transported over the United Kingdom from Western Africa and a period of elevated sulphate experienced over the Easternregion of the UK. Patterns of AOT are discussed and related to the synoptic and mesoscale weather conditions. Further observation of the sulphate aerosol event was undertaken using the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer instrument(AVHRR). Atmospheric back trajectories and weather conditions were studied in order to identify the meteorological conditions which led to this event. Co-located ground-based measurements of PM 10 and PM 2.5 were obtained for 4sites within the UK and PM 2.5/10 ratios were calculated in order to identify any unusually high or low ratios(indicating the dominant size fraction within the plume)during either of these events. Calculated percentiles ofPM 2.5/10 ratios during the 2 events examined show that these events were notable within the record, but were in noway unique or unusual in the context of a 3 yr monitoring record. Visibility measurements for both episodes have been examined and show that visibility degradation occurred during both the sulphate aerosol and Saharan dust episodes

Incidence and preventability of adverse events requiring intensive care admission: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Vlayen, Annemie; Verelst, Sandra; Bekkering, Geertruida E; Schrooten, Ward; Hellings, Johan; Claes, Neree

2012-04-01

Adverse events are unintended patient injuries or complications that arise from health care management resulting in death, disability or prolonged hospital stay. Adverse events that require critical care are a considerable financial burden to the health care system, but also their global impact on patients and society is probably underestimated. The objectives of this systematic review were to synthesize the best available evidence regarding the estimates of the incidence and preventability of adverse events that necessitate intensive care admission, to determine the type and consequences [mortality, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and costs] of these adverse events. MEDLINE (from 1966 to present), EMBASE (from 1974 to present) and CENTRAL (version 1-2010) were searched for studies reporting on unplanned admissions on ICUs. Several other sources were searched for additional studies. Only quantitative studies that used chart review for the detection of adverse events requiring intensive care admission were considered for eligibility. For the purposes of this systematic review, ICUs were defined as specialized hospital facilities which provide continuous monitoring and intensive care for acutely ill patients. Studies that were published in the English, Dutch, German, French or Spanish language were eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies. A total of 27 studies were reviewed. Meta-analysis of the data was not appropriate because of methodological and statistical heterogeneity between studies; therefore, results are presented in a descriptive way. The percentage of surgical and medical adverse events that required ICU admission ranged from 1.1% to 37.2%. ICU readmissions varied from 0% to 18.3%. Preventability of the adverse events varied from 17% to 76.5%. Preventable adverse events are further synthesized by type of event. Consequences of the adverse events included a

Point source attribution of ambient contamination events near unconventional oil and gas development.

Science.gov (United States)

Hildenbrand, Zacariah L; Mach, Phillip M; McBride, Ethan M; Dorreyatim, M Navid; Taylor, Josh T; Carlton, Doug D; Meik, Jesse M; Fontenot, Brian E; Wright, Kenneth C; Schug, Kevin A; Verbeck, Guido F

2016-12-15

We present an analysis of ambient benzene, toluene, and xylene isomers in the Eagle Ford shale region of southern Texas. In situ air quality measurements using membrane inlet mobile mass spectrometry revealed ambient benzene and toluene concentrations as high as 1000 and 5000 parts-per-billion, respectively, originating from specific sub-processes on unconventional oil and gas well pad sites. The detection of highly variant contamination events attributable to natural gas flaring units, condensate tanks, compressor units, and hydrogen sulfide scavengers indicates that mechanical inefficiencies, and not necessarily the inherent nature of the extraction process as a whole, result in the release of these compounds into the environment. This awareness of ongoing contamination events contributes to an enhanced knowledge of ambient volatile organic compounds on a regional scale. While these reconnaissance measurements on their own do not fully characterize the fluctuations of ambient BTEX concentrations that likely exist in the atmosphere of the Eagle Ford Shale region, they do suggest that contamination events from unconventional oil and gas development can be monitored, controlled, and reduced. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Groundwater Monitoring Report Central Nevada Test Area, Corrective Action Unit 443

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2008-04-01

This report presents the 2007 groundwater monitoring results collected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) for the Central Nevada Test Area (CNTA) Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 443. Responsibility for the environmental site restoration of the CNTA was transferred from the DOE Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) to DOE-LM on October 1, 2006. Requirements for CAU 443 are specified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO 2005) entered into by DOE, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the State of Nevada and includes groundwater monitoring in support of site closure. This is the first groundwater monitoring report prepared by DOE-LM for the CNTA The CNTA is located north of U.S. Highway 6, approximately 30 miles north of Warm Springs in Nye County, Nevada (Figure 1). Three emplacement boreholes, UC-1, UC-3, and UC-4, were drilled at the CNTA for underground nuclear weapons testing. The initial underground nuclear test, Project Faultless, was conducted in borehole UC-1 at a depth of 3,199 feet (ft) (975 meters) below ground surface on January 19, 1968. The yield of the Project Faultless test was estimated to be 0.2 to 1 megaton (DOE 2004). The test resulted in a down-dropped fault block visible at land surface (Figure 2). No further testing was conducted at the CNTA, and the site was decommissioned as a testing facility in 1973.

ATP bioluminescence: Surface hygiene monitoring in milk preparation room of neonatal intensive care unit

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamad, Mahirah; Ishak, Shareena; Jaafar, Rohana; Sani, Norrakiah Abdullah

2018-04-01

ATP Bioluminescence application and standard microbiological analyses were used to evaluate the cleanliness of milk contact surfaces and non-milk contact surfaces in milk preparation room of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). A total of 44 samples including the breast pump, milk bottle, milk bottle screw top and screw ring, teats, measuring cups, waterless warmer, refrigerator, dishwasher and pasteurizer inner wall were tested on May 2017. 3M Clean and Trace Hygiene Monitoring (UXL100 ATP Test swabs) and the bioluminescence reader Clean-Trace NG Luminometer (3M) were used to measure the Relative Light Unit (RLU) and microbiological analysis using 3M Quick Swab and 3MTM PetrifilmTM for enumeration of aerobic count, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, coliform and detection of Escherichia coli (CFU /100cm2 or utensil/item). The RLU values were from 11 to 194 and passed the ATP benchmark for intensive care unit (ICU), < 250 RLU as recommended. Aerobic colony count was only found in waterless warmer (0.05±0.01 mean log CFU/warmer). None of S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli and coliform was detected in all samples. A weak correlation was found between bioluminescence measurements RLU and the microbiological analysis (CFU). However, the use of ATP bioluminescence in monitoring milk preparation room cleanliness can be a useful method for assessing rapidly the surface hygiene as well as to verify the Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure (SSOP) prior to implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) in milk preparation room.

Reports on Polysomnograph Combined with Long-term Video Electroencephalogram for Monitoring Nocturnal Sleep-breath Events in 82 Epileptic Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongliang Li

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the effects of epileptic discharges in sleep of epileptic patients on sleepbreath events. Methods: Polysomnograph (PSG and long-term video electroencephalogram (LTVEEG were used to monitor 82 adult epileptic patients. The condition of paroxysmal events in nocturnal sleep was analyzed, and the epileptiform discharge and effects of antiepileptic drugs were explored. Results: In epileptic group, latency to persistent sleep (LPS and REM sleep latency increased, the proportion of light sleep increased while that of deep sleep decreased, sleep efficiency reduced, nocturnal arousal times increased and apnea hyponea indexes (AHI improved, which demonstrated significant differences by comparison to control group. Periodic leg movements (PLM had no conspicuous differences compared with control group. There were no specific effects of epileptiform discharge and antiepileptic drugs on AHI and PLM indexes. Conclusion: Epileptic patients have sleep structure disorders and sleep-disordered breathing, and arousal, respiratory and leg movement events influence mutually. Synchronous detection of PSG combined with LTVEEG is in favor of comprehensively analyzing the relationship between sleep structures and epilepsy-breath events.

The design preparation for radiation monitoring system in the frame of completion NPP Mochovce Units 3 and 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sevecka, S.; Slavik, O.; Kapisovsky, V.

2009-01-01

In 1985 a Basic Design of Radiation Monitoring System (RMS) has been elaborated for Mochovce NPP unit 3 and 4 construction. Due to construction interruption in the following years this design solution became obsolete. A new solution of RMS have been developed with conception following that of original Basic Design accommodating also safety measures implemented in RMS of NPP EMO units 1 and 2, and based on modem instrumentation and computer technique. Following the updating of Basic Design documentation the preparation of elaboration of RMS detailed design was carried on. In the frame of this preparation a review of possible suppliers of instrumentation satisfying the conception of radiation monitoring system and the extension of required deliveries has been made. Also criteria on RMS suppliers selection have been determined. The types of monitoring systems and equipment, as well as their quantities, have been specified based on updated Basic Design requirements and production profiles and possibilities of potential suppliers. The required parameters of measurements (including measurement geometry) have been evaluated, as well as requirements of legislation and requirements of proposed RMS architecture. (authors)

Non-intrusive appliance load monitoring system based on a modern kWh-meter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pihala, H. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland). Energy Systems

1998-12-01

Non-intrusive appliance load monitoring (NIALM) is a fairly new method to estimate load profiles of individual electric appliances in a small building, like a household, by monitoring the whole load at a single point with one recording device without sub-meters. Appliances have special electrical characteristics, the positive and negative active and reactive power changes during the time they are switched on or off. These changes are called events and are detected with a monitoring device called an event recorder. Different NIALM-concepts developed in Europe and in the United States are generally discussed. The NIALM-concept developed in this study is based on a 3-phase, power quality monitoring kWh-meter and unique load identification algorithms. This modern kWh-meter with a serial data bus to a laptop personal computer is used as die event recorder. The NIALM-concept of this presentation shows for the first time how a kWh-meter can be used at the same time for billing, power quality and appliance end-use monitoring. An essential part of the developed NIALM-system prototype is the software of load identification algorithms which runs in an off-line personal computer. These algorithms are able to identify, with a certain accuracy, both two-state and multi-state appliances. This prototype requires manual-setup in which the naming of appliances is performed. The results of the prototype NIALMS were verified in a large, single family detached house and they were compared to the results of other prototypes in France and the United States, although this comparison is difficult because of different supply systems, appliance stock and number of tested sites. Different applications of NIALM are discussed. Gathering of load research data, verification of DSM-programs, home automation, failure analysis of appliances and security surveillance of buildings are interesting areas of NIALM. Both utilities and customers can benefit from these applications. It is possible to

Independent calculation of the monitor units and times of treatment in radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, Marcio Rogerio

2005-01-01

In this work, an independent verification system of calculations in radiotherapy was developed and applied, using Visual Basic TM programming language. The computational program performs calculations of monitor units and treatment time, based on the algorithm of manual calculation. The calculations executed for the independent system had initially been compared with the manual calculations performed by the medical physicists of the Institute of Radiotherapy of the Hospital das Clinicas da Universidade de Sao Paulo. In this step, the results found for more than two hundred fields studied were similar to those found in the literature; deviations larger than +- 1% were found only in five cases involving errors in manual calculation. The application of the independent system, in this stage, could have identified errors up to +- 2,4%. Based on these data, the system was validated for use in clinical routine. In a second step, calculations were compared with calculations realized by the treatment computerized planning system CadPIan TM . When, again, the results were similar to those published in other works allowing to obtain levels of acceptance of the discrepancies between the calculations executed for the independent system and the calculations developed from the planning system, separated by anatomical region, as recommended according by the recent literature. For beams of 6 MV, the levels of acceptance for deviations between the calculations of monitor units, separated by treatment region were the following; breast +- 1.7%, head and neck +2%; hypophysis +- 2.2%; pelvis +- 4 . 1% and thorax +- 1.5%. For beams of 15 MV, the level suggested for pelvis was of +- 4.5%. (author)

Assessing the impact of safety monitoring on the efficacy analysis in large Phase III group sequential trials with non-trivial safety event rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Yanqiu; Palesch, Yuko Y; DeSantis, Stacia M; Zhao, Wenle

2016-01-01

In Phase III clinical trials for life-threatening conditions, some serious but expected adverse events, such as early deaths or congestive heart failure, are often treated as the secondary or co-primary endpoint, and are closely monitored by the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee (DSMC). A naïve group sequential design (GSD) for such a study is to specify univariate statistical boundaries for the efficacy and safety endpoints separately, and then implement the two boundaries during the study, even though the two endpoints are typically correlated. One problem with this naïve design, which has been noted in the statistical literature, is the potential loss of power. In this article, we develop an analytical tool to evaluate this negative impact for trials with non-trivial safety event rates, particularly when the safety monitoring is informal. Using a bivariate binary power function for the GSD with a random-effect component to account for subjective decision-making in safety monitoring, we demonstrate how, under common conditions, the power loss in the naïve design can be substantial. This tool may be helpful to entities such as the DSMCs when they wish to deviate from the prespecified stopping boundaries based on safety measures.

Smartphone electrographic monitoring for atrial fibrillation in acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Hans T; Chen, Ziyuan; Swift, Corey; Churilov, Leonid; Guo, Ruibing; Liu, Xinfeng; Jannes, Jim; Mok, Vincent; Freedman, Ben; Davis, Stephen M; Yan, Bernard

2017-10-01

Rationale Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is a common and preventable cause of devastating strokes. However, currently available monitoring methods, including Holter monitoring, cardiac telemetry and event loop recorders, have drawbacks that restrict their application in the general stroke population. AliveCor™ heart monitor, a novel device that embeds miniaturized electrocardiography (ECG) in a smartphone case coupled with an application to record and diagnose the ECG, has recently been shown to provide an accurate and sensitive single lead ECG diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. This device could be used by nurses to record a 30-s ECG instead of manual pulse taking and automatically provide a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. Aims To compare the proportion of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation detected by AliveCor™ ECG monitoring with current standard practice. Sample size 296 Patients. Design Consecutive ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack patients presenting to participating stroke units without known atrial fibrillation will undergo intermittent AliveCor™ ECG monitoring administered by nursing staff at the same frequency as the vital observations of pulse and blood pressure until discharge, in addition to the standard testing paradigm of each participating stroke unit to detect paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Study outcome Proportion of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation detected by AliveCor™ ECG monitoring compared to 12-lead ECG, 24-h Holter monitoring and cardiac telemetry. Discussion Use of AliveCor™ heart monitor as part of routine stroke unit nursing observation has the potential to be an inexpensive non-invasive method to increase paroxysmal atrial fibrillation detection, leading to improvement in stroke secondary prevention.

Design description of a microprocessor based Engine Monitoring and Control unit (EMAC) for small turboshaft

Science.gov (United States)

Baez, A. N.

1985-01-01

Research programs have demonstrated that digital electronic controls are more suitable for advanced aircraft/rotorcraft turbine engine systems than hydromechanical controls. Commercially available microprocessors are believed to have the speed and computational capability required for implementing advanced digital control algorithms. Thus, it is desirable to demonstrate that off-the-shelf microprocessors are indeed capable of performing real time control of advanced gas turbine engines. The engine monitoring and control (EMAC) unit was designed and fabricated specifically to meet the requirements of an advanced gas turbine engine control system. The EMAC unit is fully operational in the Army/NASA small turboshaft engine digital research program.

Towards real-time regional earthquake simulation I: real-time moment tensor monitoring (RMT) for regional events in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Shiann-Jong; Liang, Wen-Tzong; Cheng, Hui-Wen; Tu, Feng-Shan; Ma, Kuo-Fong; Tsuruoka, Hiroshi; Kawakatsu, Hitoshi; Huang, Bor-Shouh; Liu, Chun-Chi

2014-01-01

We have developed a real-time moment tensor monitoring system (RMT) which takes advantage of a grid-based moment tensor inversion technique and real-time broad-band seismic recordings to automatically monitor earthquake activities in the vicinity of Taiwan. The centroid moment tensor (CMT) inversion technique and a grid search scheme are applied to obtain the information of earthquake source parameters, including the event origin time, hypocentral location, moment magnitude and focal mechanism. All of these source parameters can be determined simultaneously within 117 s after the occurrence of an earthquake. The monitoring area involves the entire Taiwan Island and the offshore region, which covers the area of 119.3°E to 123.0°E and 21.0°N to 26.0°N, with a depth from 6 to 136 km. A 3-D grid system is implemented in the monitoring area with a uniform horizontal interval of 0.1° and a vertical interval of 10 km. The inversion procedure is based on a 1-D Green's function database calculated by the frequency-wavenumber (fk) method. We compare our results with the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) catalogue data for earthquakes occurred between 2010 and 2012. The average differences between event origin time and hypocentral location are less than 2 s and 10 km, respectively. The focal mechanisms determined by RMT are also comparable with the Broadband Array in Taiwan for Seismology (BATS) CMT solutions. These results indicate that the RMT system is realizable and efficient to monitor local seismic activities. In addition, the time needed to obtain all the point source parameters is reduced substantially compared to routine earthquake reports. By connecting RMT with a real-time online earthquake simulation (ROS) system, all the source parameters will be forwarded to the ROS to make the real-time earthquake simulation feasible. The RMT has operated offline (2010-2011) and online (since January 2012 to present) at the Institute of Earth Sciences (IES), Academia Sinica

Application for verification of monitor units of the treatment planning system; Aplicacion para la verificacion de unidades monitor del sistema de planificacion de tratamientos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suero Rodrigo, M. A.; Marques Fraguela, E.

2011-07-01

Current estimates algorithms achieve acceptable degree of accuracy. However, operate on the basis of un intuitive models. It is therefore necessary to verify the calculation of monitor units of the treatment planning system (PTS) with those obtained by other independent formalisms. To this end, we have developed an application based on factorization formalism that automates the calculation of dose.

Design of a microprocessor-based Control, Interface and Monitoring (CIM unit for turbine engine controls research

Science.gov (United States)

Delaat, J. C.; Soeder, J. F.

1983-01-01

High speed minicomputers were used in the past to implement advanced digital control algorithms for turbine engines. These minicomputers are typically large and expensive. It is desirable for a number of reasons to use microprocessor-based systems for future controls research. They are relatively compact, inexpensive, and are representative of the hardware that would be used for actual engine-mounted controls. The Control, Interface, and Monitoring Unit (CIM) contains a microprocessor-based controls computer, necessary interface hardware and a system to monitor while it is running an engine. It is presently being used to evaluate an advanced turbofan engine control algorithm.

An energy estimation framework for event-based methods in Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giri, Suman; Bergés, Mario

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Energy estimation is NILM has not yet accounted for complexity of appliance models. • We present a data-driven framework for appliance modeling in supervised NILM. • We test the framework on 3 houses and report average accuracies of 5.9–22.4%. • Appliance models facilitate the estimation of energy consumed by the appliance. - Abstract: Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is a set of techniques used to estimate the electricity consumed by individual appliances in a building from measurements of the total electrical consumption. Most commonly, NILM works by first attributing any significant change in the total power consumption (also known as an event) to a specific load and subsequently using these attributions (i.e. the labels for the events) to estimate energy for each load. For this last step, most published work in the field makes simplifying assumptions to make the problem more tractable. In this paper, we present a framework for creating appliance models based on classification labels and aggregate power measurements that can help to relax many of these assumptions. Our framework automatically builds models for appliances to perform energy estimation. The model relies on feature extraction, clustering via affinity propagation, perturbation of extracted states to ensure that they mimic appliance behavior, creation of finite state models, correction of any errors in classification that might violate the model, and estimation of energy based on corrected labels. We evaluate our framework on 3 houses from standard datasets in the field and show that the framework can learn data-driven models based on event labels and use that to estimate energy with lower error margins (e.g., 1.1–42.3%) than when using the heuristic models used by others

Evaluation of eleven years of area monitoring in ore treatment unit: I external exposure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pereira, W.S.; Py Junior, D.A.; Oliveira, S.Q. de; Dantas, M.V.A., E-mail: pereiraws@gmail.com [Industrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB), Pocos de Caldas, MG (Brazil). Unidade de Tratamento de Minerio. Grupo Multidisciplinar de Radioprotecao; Kelecom, A., E-mail: akelecom@id.uff.br [Universidade Federal Fluminense (LARARA-PLS/GETA/UFF), Niteroi, RJ (Brazil). Laboratorio de Radiobiologia e Radiometria Pedro Lopes dos Santos. Grupo de Estudos em Temas Ambientais; Pereira, J.R.S., E-mail: pereirarsj@gmail.com [Universidade Federal de Alfenas (UNIFAL), Pocos de Caldas, MG (Brazil)

2013-07-01

The Ore Treatment Unit (OTU) is an uranium mining and milling complex deactivated in 1995 that operated monazite during the years 2004 and 2005 in a plant used especially for that purpose called Chemical Treatment of Monazite (CTM). This study aims to analyze the monitoring of area to exposure rate from 2002 to 2012, comparing periods of suspended operation of OTU and identifying the influences of CTM and of the radioactive waste deposit, from other facilities of OTU. A total of 22,294 samples were analyzed for area dose rates; average values were obtained of 6.74 μSv h{sup -1} with an amplitude from 0 to 420 μSv h{sup -1}. 92% of the monitoring were below the derivative limit for workers, and 1,702 monitoring samples showed values above this limit. Ignoring the monitoring that was realized at CTM and at the deposit of radioactive waste, the number of monitoring samples were reduced to 1,341. In this case, the average reduces to 0.96 μSv h{sup -1}, going from 0 to 25 μSv h{sup -1}, only 15 samples remained above the threshold for workers and 675 samples were below the limit for individual public. It can be concluded that the OTU is an installation with nearly 99% of monitoring area safe for workers and 50% for individual public. The inclusion of new practices (CTM) and the deposit of radioactive waste coming from other facilities alter this picture dramatically, increased the dose rates. (author)

2012 Groundwater Monitoring Report Central Nevada Test Area, Subsurface Corrective Action Unit 443

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2013-04-01

The Central Nevada Test Area was the site of a 0.2- to 1-megaton underground nuclear test in 1968. The surface of the site has been closed, but the subsurface is still in the corrective action process. The corrective action alternative selected for the site was monitoring with institutional controls. Annual sampling and hydraulic head monitoring are conducted as part of the subsurface corrective action strategy. The site is currently in the fourth year of the 5-year proof-of-concept period that is intended to validate the compliance boundary. Analytical results from the 2012 monitoring are consistent with those of previous years. Tritium remains at levels below the laboratory minimum detectable concentration in all wells in the monitoring network. Samples collected from reentry well UC-1-P-2SR, which is not in the monitoring network but was sampled as part of supplemental activities conducted during the 2012 monitoring, indicate concentrations of tritium that are consistent with previous sampling results. This well was drilled into the chimney shortly after the detonation, and water levels continue to rise, demonstrating the very low permeability of the volcanic rocks. Water level data from new wells MV-4 and MV-5 and recompleted well HTH-1RC indicate that hydraulic heads are still recovering from installation and testing. Data from wells MV-4 and MV-5 also indicate that head levels have not yet recovered from the 2011 sampling event during which several thousand gallons of water were purged. It has been recommended that a low-flow sampling method be adopted for these wells to allow head levels to recover to steady-state conditions. Despite the lack of steady-state groundwater conditions, hydraulic head data collected from alluvial wells installed in 2009 continue to support the conceptual model that the southeast-bounding graben fault acts as a barrier to groundwater flow at the site.

78 FR 7411 - Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS); Certification of New VMS Unit for Use in Northeast Fisheries

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-01

... Monitoring Systems (VMS); Certification of New VMS Unit for Use in Northeast Fisheries AGENCY: National... used effective January 24, 2013. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Law Enforcement, Northeast Division, Northeast VMS Team, telephone 978-281-9213. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations at 50 CFR 648...

Development of a Beam Trajectory Monitoring System Using e+/e- Pair Production Events

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Shota; Emoto, Yusaku; Fujihara, Kento; Ito, Hiroshi; Kawai, Hideyuki; Kobayashi, Atsushi; Mizuno, Takahiro

2018-01-01

In particle therapy, it is important to monitor the Bragg-peak position. It was simulated by GEANT4 Monte Carlo Simulation Code that the distribution of secondary generated gamma rays on the carbon beam therapy and the proton beam therapy. This simulation shows that gamma rays whose energy is 10 MeV or more are intensively generated at the Bragg-peak position. We are developing the system to monitor the Bragg-peak position which can measure pair production events occurred in the detector by gamma rays from irradiation points. The momentum direction of the gamma ray can be determined by measuring passing points and energy of e+ and e- generated by pair production. This system has 5 parts. The first is the conversion part. This part consists of several layers. Each layer is composed of a La-GPS ((Gd0.75La0.24Ce0.01)2Si2O7) scintillator plate and wavelength-shifting fibre (WLSF) sheets. The scintillator plate is sandwiched between sheets, where the directions of the sheets are in orthogonally x and y directions. In this part, gamma rays are converted to e+ e- pairs and the position where the conversion occured is determined. The second is the tracking part. This part consists of 2 layers of scintillating fibre tracker. Each layer has 6 scintillating fibre sheets for x, x', u, u', v, and v'. The third is the energy measurement part. It measures the energy of e+ and e- by scintillator array and Silicon Photomultipliers. The fourth is the veto counter for bremsstrahlung gamma rays from e+ and e-. The fifth is the beam monitor. By experiment, the number of photoelectrons of La-GPS with a WLSF (B-3(300)MJ, Kuraray) sheet and scintillating fibre (SCSF-78, Kuraray) when charged particle passed was measured as 9.7 and 7.6 respectively.

Development of a Beam Trajectory Monitoring System Using e+/e− Pair Production Events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KIMURA Shota

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In particle therapy, it is important to monitor the Bragg-peak position. It was simulated by GEANT4 Monte Carlo Simulation Code that the distribution of secondary generated gamma rays on the carbon beam therapy and the proton beam therapy. This simulation shows that gamma rays whose energy is 10 MeV or more are intensively generated at the Bragg-peak position. We are developing the system to monitor the Bragg-peak position which can measure pair production events occurred in the detector by gamma rays from irradiation points. The momentum direction of the gamma ray can be determined by measuring passing points and energy of e+ and e− generated by pair production. This system has 5 parts. The first is the conversion part. This part consists of several layers. Each layer is composed of a La-GPS ((Gd0.75La0.24Ce0.012Si2O7 scintillator plate and wavelength-shifting fibre (WLSF sheets. The scintillator plate is sandwiched between sheets, where the directions of the sheets are in orthogonally x and y directions. In this part, gamma rays are converted to e+ e- pairs and the position where the conversion occured is determined. The second is the tracking part. This part consists of 2 layers of scintillating fibre tracker. Each layer has 6 scintillating fibre sheets for x, x’, u, u’, v, and v’. The third is the energy measurement part. It measures the energy of e+ and e− by scintillator array and Silicon Photomultipliers. The fourth is the veto counter for bremsstrahlung gamma rays from e+ and e-. The fifth is the beam monitor. By experiment, the number of photoelectrons of La-GPS with a WLSF (B-3(300MJ, Kuraray sheet and scintillating fibre (SCSF-78, Kuraray when charged particle passed was measured as 9.7 and 7.6 respectively.

Time-course monitoring of urban bioaerosol bacterial communities and its use in microbial hazard identification during Asian Dust events in Seoul, Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Park, J.

2015-12-01

The microbial communities transported by Asian dust events have attracted much attention as bioaerosols because the transported airborne microbes may strongly influence the downwind ecosystems and potentially human health in East Asia. Bioaerosol study has received relatively little attention and their characterization and risk assessments remain poorly developed. We used high throughput 16S rRNA gene targeted pyrosequencing and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) to monitor airborne bacterial communities and assess their potential risk. We monitored microbial communities in bioaerosol in Seoul between 2011 and 2013 using high volume air samplers. Six samples were collected during Asian dust (AD) events and the other 34 samples were urban air collected during non-Asian dust (non-AD) events. According to the qPCR result, the gene copy numbers of 16S rRNA genes were significantly higher during the AD events (P culture methods. 16S rRNA gene sequences of several pathogens were detected and their relative abundances appeared to have increased with increased concentrations of PM10. About 1% of Bacillus isolates were identified as known pathogenic B. cereus, confirming their presence in Asian dust samples. The qPCR detection of bceT gene, which codes for an enterotoxin in B. cereus group, was significantly increased in the AD dust samples over the non-AD samples. The following MLST assessment and virulence test of cultivated Bacillus isolates showed that B. cereus, B. licheniformis and B. mycoides were identified as pathogenic bacteria, and these pathogenic bacteria were usually more abundant during AD events. To assess the possible associations of identified pathogens on the hospital stroke admissions of residents in Seoul, we identified sixteen bioaerosol episodes using Poisson regression and calculated relative risk. The findings are useful in building a database for bacterial pathogens in AD events.

Assessment of the Long Term Trends in Extreme Heat Events and the Associated Health Impacts in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, J.; Rennie, J.; Kunkel, K.; Herring, S.; Cullen, H. M.

2017-12-01

Land surface air temperature products have been essential for monitoring the evolution of the climate system. Before a temperature dataset is included in such reports, it is important that non-climatic influences be removed or changed so the dataset is considered homogenous. These inhomogeneities include changes in station location, instrumentation and observing practices. While many homogenized products exist on the monthly time scale, few daily products exist, due to the complication of removing breakpoints that are truly inhomogeneous rather than solely by chance (for example, sharp changes due to synoptic conditions). Recently, a sub monthly homogenized dataset has been developed using data and software provided by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Homogeneous daily data are useful for identification and attribution of extreme heat events over a period of time. Projections of increasing temperatures are expected to result in corresponding increases in the frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme heat events. It is also established that extreme heat events can have significant public health impacts, including short-term increases in mortality and morbidity. In addition, it can exacerbate chronic health conditions in vulnerable populations, including renal and cardiovascular issues. To understand how heat events impact a specific population, it will be important to connect observations on the duration and intensity of extreme heat events with health impacts data including insurance claims and hospital admissions data. This presentation will explain the methodology to identify extreme heat events, provide a climatology of heat event onset, length and severity, and explore a case study of an anomalous heat event with available health data.

Near-Real-Time Monitoring of Insect Defoliation Using Landsat Time Series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerie J. Pasquarella

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Introduced insects and pathogens impact millions of acres of forested land in the United States each year, and large-scale monitoring efforts are essential for tracking the spread of outbreaks and quantifying the extent of damage. However, monitoring the impacts of defoliating insects presents a significant challenge due to the ephemeral nature of defoliation events. Using the 2016 gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar outbreak in Southern New England as a case study, we present a new approach for near-real-time defoliation monitoring using synthetic images produced from Landsat time series. By comparing predicted and observed images, we assessed changes in vegetation condition multiple times over the course of an outbreak. Initial measures can be made as imagery becomes available, and season-integrated products provide a wall-to-wall assessment of potential defoliation at 30 m resolution. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons suggest our Landsat Time Series (LTS products improve identification of defoliation events relative to existing products and provide a repeatable metric of change in condition. Our synthetic-image approach is an important step toward using the full temporal potential of the Landsat archive for operational monitoring of forest health over large extents, and provides an important new tool for understanding spatial and temporal dynamics of insect defoliators.

Internal event analysis for Laguna Verde Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Accident sequence quantification and results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huerta B, A.; Aguilar T, O.; Nunez C, A.; Lopez M, R.

1994-01-01

The Level 1 results of Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant PRA are presented in the I nternal Event Analysis for Laguna Verde Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant, CNSNS-TR 004, in five volumes. The reports are organized as follows: CNSNS-TR 004 Volume 1: Introduction and Methodology. CNSNS-TR4 Volume 2: Initiating Event and Accident Sequences. CNSNS-TR 004 Volume 3: System Analysis. CNSNS-TR 004 Volume 4: Accident Sequence Quantification and Results. CNSNS-TR 005 Volume 5: Appendices A, B and C. This volume presents the development of the dependent failure analysis, the treatment of the support system dependencies, the identification of the shared-components dependencies, and the treatment of the common cause failure. It is also presented the identification of the main human actions considered along with the possible recovery actions included. The development of the data base and the assumptions and limitations in the data base are also described in this volume. The accident sequences quantification process and the resolution of the core vulnerable sequences are presented. In this volume, the source and treatment of uncertainties associated with failure rates, component unavailabilities, initiating event frequencies, and human error probabilities are also presented. Finally, the main results and conclusions for the Internal Event Analysis for Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant are presented. The total core damage frequency calculated is 9.03x 10-5 per year for internal events. The most dominant accident sequences found are the transients involving the loss of offsite power, the station blackout accidents, and the anticipated transients without SCRAM (ATWS). (Author)

The use of a medical dictionary for regulatory activities terminology (MedDRA) in prescription-event monitoring in Japan (J-PEM).

Science.gov (United States)

Yokotsuka, M; Aoyama, M; Kubota, K

2000-07-01

The Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities Terminology (MedDRA) version 2.1 (V2.1) was released in March 1999 accompanied by the MedDRA/J V2.1J specifically for Japanese users. In prescription-event monitoring in Japan (J-PEM), we have employed the MedDRA/J for data entry, signal generation and event listing. In J-PEM, the lowest level terms (LLTs) in the MedDRA/J are used in data entry because the richness of LLTs is judged to be advantageous. A signal is generated normally at the preferred term (PT) level, but it has been found that various reporters describe the same event using descriptions that are potentially encoded by LLTs under different PTs. In addition, some PTs are considered too specific to generate the proper signal. In the system used in J-PEM, when an LLT is selected as a candidate to encode an event, another LLT under a different PT, if any, is displayed on the computer screen so that it may be coded instead of, or in addition to, the candidate LLT. The five-level structure of the MedDRA is used when listing events but some modification is required to generate a functional event list.

Monitoring of health care personnel employee and occupational health immunization program practices in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrico, Ruth M; Sorrells, Nikka; Westhusing, Kelly; Wiemken, Timothy

2014-01-01

Recent studies have identified concerns with various elements of health care personnel immunization programs, including the handling and management of the vaccine. The purpose of this study was to assess monitoring processes that support evaluation of the care of vaccines in health care settings. An 11-question survey instrument was developed for use in scripted telephone surveys. State health departments in all 50 states in the United States and the District of Columbia were the target audience for the surveys. Data from a total of 47 states were obtained and analyzed. No states reported an existing monitoring process for evaluation of health care personnel immunization programs in their states. Our assessment indicates that vaccine evaluation processes for health care facilities are rare to nonexistent in the United States. Identifying existing practice gaps and resultant opportunities for improvements may be an important safety initiative that protects patients and health care personnel. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of Hydrogen Monitoring Systems for Severe Accident Management at a Nuclear Power Plant

Science.gov (United States)

Petrosyan, V. G.; Yeghoyan, E. A.; Grigoryan, A. D.; Petrosyan, A. P.; Movsisyan, M. R.

2018-02-01

One of the main objectives of severe accident management at a nuclear power plant is to protect the integrity of the containment, for which the most serious threat is possible ignition of the generated hydrogen. There should be a monitoring system providing information support of NPP personnel, ensuring data on the current state of a containment gaseous environment and trends in its composition changes. Monitoring systems' requisite characteristics definition issues are considered by the example of a particular power unit. Major characteristics important for proper information support are discussed. Some features of progression of severe accident scenarios at considered power unit are described and a possible influence of the hydrogen concentration monitoring system performance on the information support reliability in a severe accident is analyzed. The analysis results show that the following technical characteristics of the combustible gas monitoring systems are important for the proper information support of NPP personnel in the event of a severe accident at a nuclear power plant: measured parameters, measuring ranges and errors, update rate, minimum detectable concentration of combustible gas, monitoring reference points, environmental qualification parameters of the system components. For NPP power units with WWER-440/270 (230) type reactors, which have a relatively small containment volume, the update period for measurement results is a critical characteristic of the containment combustible gas monitoring system, and the choice of monitoring reference points should be focused not so much on the definition of places of possible hydrogen pockets but rather on the definition of places of a possible combustible mixture formation. It may be necessary for the above-mentioned power units to include in the emergency operating procedures measures aimed at a timely heat removal reduction from the containment environment if there are signs of a severe accident phase

[The role of complementary examinations and home monitoring in patient at risk from apparent life threatening event, apneas and sudden infant death syndrome].

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez Monseny, A; Bobillo Pérez, S; Martínez Planas, A; García García, J J

2015-08-01

Home apnea monitors detect abnormalities in cardiac and respiratory frequency, but their use in the diagnosis of respiratory -related sleep disturbances in children has not been demonstrated, as was originally thought. To describe the type of patients being monitored, for how long and their outcome. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted on patients with controlled home cardiorespiratory monitoring from October 2008 to September 2012 in the Outpatient department of a Maternity tertiary hospital. During the study period 88 patients were included, 58% of them were male, with a median age of 15.5 days, and followed up for a period of 4.7 months. The reason for monitoring was in a 20.5% due to a history of sudden death without finding underlying pathology in 20.5%, 25% due to apnea of prematurity, 20.5% due to apparent life-threatening event, and 14.8% due to choking. Other causes accounted for 19.3% (apnea/hypopnea, desaturation and periodic breathing). Of these last three groups, pathological events were observed in 50% of them: reflux disease (9), apnea of prematurity (2), neurological causes (3), and apnea of unknown cause (10). Suspected infant apnea is a cause for consultation that creates a great deal of concern to the family and the pediatrician. Home monitoring is useful in detecting changes in cardiac and respiratory frequency, but is necessary to limit its indications and ensure proper monitoring of these patients, avoiding the abuse of other tests or treatments. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Recommended methods for range-wide monitoring of prairie dogs in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Lyman L.; Stanley, Thomas R.; Otis, David L.; Biggins, Dean E.; Stevens, Patricia D.; Koprowski, John L.; Ballard, Warren

2011-01-01

One of the greatest challenges for conserving grassland, prairie scrub, and shrub-steppe ecosystems is maintaining prairie dog populations across the landscape. Of the four species of prairie dogs found in the United States, the Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) is listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened, the Gunnison's prairie dog (C. gunnisoni) is a candidate for listing in a portion of its range, and the black-tailed prairie dog (C. ludovicianus) and white-tailed prairie dog (C. leucurus) have each been petitioned for listing at least once in recent history. Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) determined listing is not warranted for either the black-tailed prairie dog or white-tailed prairie dog, the petitions and associated reviews demonstrated the need for the States to monitor and manage for self-sustaining populations. In response to these findings, a multi-State conservation effort was initiated for the nonlisted species which included the following proposed actions: (1) completing an assessment of each prairie dog species in each State, (2) developing a range-wide monitoring protocol for each species using a statistically valid sampling procedure that would allow comparable analyses across States, and (3) monitoring prairie dog status every 3-5 years depending upon the species. To date, each State has completed an assessment and currently is monitoring prairie dog status; however, for some species, the inconsistency in survey methodology has made it difficult to compare data year-to-year or State-to-State. At the Prairie Dog Conservation Team meeting held in November 2008, there was discussion regarding the use of different methods to survey prairie dogs. A recommendation from this meeting was to convene a panel in a workshop-type forum and have the panel review the different methods being used and provide recommendations for range-wide monitoring protocols for each species of prairie dog. Consequently, the Western

Development of Product Availability Monitoring System In Production Unit In Automotive Component Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Hartono, Rachmad; Raharno, Sri; Yuwana Martawirya, Yatna; Arthaya, Bagus

2018-03-01

This paper described a methodology to monitor the availability of products in a production unit in the automotive component industry. Automotive components made are automotive components made through sheet metal working. Raw material coming into production unit in the form of pieces of plates that have a certain size. Raw materials that come stored in the warehouse. Data of raw each material in the warehouse are recorded and stored in a data base system. The material will then undergo several production processes in the production unit. When the material is taken from the warehouse, material data are also recorded and stored in a data base. The data recorded are the amount of material, material type, and date when the material is out of the warehouse. The material coming out of the warehouse is labeled with information related to the production processes that the material must pass. Material out of the warehouse is a product will be made. The products have been completed, are stored in the warehouse products. When the product is entered into the product warehouse, product data is also recorded by scanning the barcode contained on the label. By recording the condition of the product at each stage of production, we can know the availability of the product in a production unit in the form of a raw material, the product being processed and the finished product.

Monitoring changes in seismic velocity related to an ongoing rapid inflation event at Okmok volcano, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Bennington, Ninfa; Haney, Matt; De Angelis, Silvio; Thurber, Clifford; Freymueller, Jeff

2015-01-01

Okmok is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian Arc. In an effort to improve our ability to detect precursory activity leading to eruption at Okmok, we monitor a recent, and possibly ongoing, GPS-inferred rapid inflation event at the volcano using ambient noise interferometry (ANI). Applying this method, we identify changes in seismic velocity outside of Okmok’s caldera, which are related to the hydrologic cycle. Within the caldera, we observe decreases in seismic velocity that are associated with the GPS-inferred rapid inflation event. We also determine temporal changes in waveform decorrelation and show a continual increase in decorrelation rate over the time associated with the rapid inflation event. Themagnitude of relative velocity decreases and decorrelation rate increases are comparable to previous studies at Piton de la Fournaise that associate such changes with increased production of volatiles and/ormagmatic intrusion within the magma reservoir and associated opening of fractures and/or fissures. Notably, the largest decrease in relative velocity occurs along the intrastation path passing nearest to the center of the caldera. This observation, along with equal amplitude relative velocity decreases revealed via analysis of intracaldera autocorrelations, suggests that the inflation sourcemay be located approximately within the center of the caldera and represent recharge of shallow magma storage in this location. Importantly, there is a relative absence of seismicity associated with this and previous rapid inflation events at Okmok. Thus, these ANI results are the first seismic evidence of such rapid inflation at the volcano.

Neural network approach to the prediction of seismic events based on low-frequency signal monitoring of the Kuril-Kamchatka and Japanese regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Popova

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Very-low-frequency/ low-frequency (VLF/LF sub-ionospheric radiowave monitoring has been widely used in recent years to analyze earthquake preparatory processes. The connection between earthquakes with M ≥5.5 and nighttime disturbances of signal amplitude and phase has been established. Thus, it is possible to use nighttime anomalies of VLF/LF signals as earthquake precursors. Here, we propose a method for estimation of the VLF/LF signal sensitivity to seismic processes using a neural network approach. We apply the error back-propagation technique based on a three-level perceptron to predict a seismic event. The back-propagation technique involves two main stages to solve the problem; namely, network training, and recognition (the prediction itself. To train a neural network, we first create a so-called ‘training set’. The ‘teacher’ specifies the correspondence between the chosen input and the output data. In the present case, a representative database includes both the LF data received over three years of monitoring at the station in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (2005-2007, and the seismicity parameters of the Kuril-Kamchatka and Japanese regions. At the first stage, the neural network established the relationship between the characteristic features of the LF signal (the mean and dispersion of a phase and an amplitude at nighttime for a few days before a seismic event and the corresponding level of correlation with a seismic event, or the absence of a seismic event. For the second stage, the trained neural network was applied to predict seismic events from the LF data using twelve time intervals in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. The results of the prediction are discussed.

Development of expert system for fuel monitoring and analysis in WWER-1000 units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Likhanskii, V.; Evdokimov, I.; Sorokin, A.; Kanukova, V.; Zborovskii, V.; Aliev, T.; Sokolov, N.; Shishkin, A.

2011-01-01

At present, an expert system (software package) for fuel monitoring in WWER units is under development in Russia. It comprises several modules which cover analysis of coolant activity, detection of failures and estimation of failure parameters, predictions of activity level and some aspects of PCI analysis. This paper outlines the current version of the fuel monitoring system, its basic features and user interface. Advances in development of computer modules for PCI analysis are reported. At present two levels of PCI analysis are used. The first is estimation of probability for pellets to get in contact with cladding in fuel rods. Estimations are made with taking into account specifications and tolerances for fuel fabrication as well as fuel operation conditions. The second level of PCI analysis implies a simplified approach for on-line calculations of stresses in cladding depending on power ramping rates. The model for PCI calculations and its application within the computer system is demonstrated. (authors)

GTA Beamloss-Monitor System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rose, C.R.; Fortgang, C.M.; Power, J.P.

1992-01-01

The GTA Beamless-Monitor System at Los Alamos National Laboratory has been designed to detect high-energy particle loss in the accelerator beamline and shut down the accelerator before any damage can occur. To do this, the Beamless-Monitor System measures the induced gamma radiation, from (p, γ) reactions, at 15 selected points along the beamline, converts this measured radiation to electrical signals integrates and compares them to preset limits, and, in the event of an over-limit condition causes the Fast-Protect System to shut down the entire accelerator. The system dynamic range exceeds 70 dB which will enable experimenters to use the Beamless-Monitor System to help steer the beam as well as provide signals for a Fast-Protect System. The system response time is less than 7 μs assuming a step-function, worst-case beam spill of 50 mA. The system resolution, based on the noise floor of the electronics is about 1.3 mRads/s. Production units have been built and meet the above specifications. The remainder of the system will be installed and tested later in 1992/1993 with the GTA accelerator. The ionization chamber sensitivity and response time are described in the paper

GTA beamloss-monitor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rose, C.R.; Fortgang, C.M.; Power, J.P.

1992-01-01

The GTA Beamloss-Monitor System at Los Alamos National Laboratory has been designed to detect high-energy particle loss in the accelerator beamline and shut down the accelerator before any damage can occur. To do this, the Beamloss-Monitor System measures the induced gamma radiation, from (p,γ) reactions, at 15 selected points along the beamline, converts this measured radiation to electrical signals, integrates and compares them to preset limits, and, in the event of an over-limit condition causes the Fast-Protect System to shut down the entire accelerator. The system dynamic range exceeds 70 dB which will enable experimenters to use the Beamloss-Monitor System to help steer the beam as well as provide signals for a Fast-Protect System. The system response time is less than 7 μs assuming a step-function, worst-case beam spill of 50 mA. The system resolution, based on the noise floor of the electronics, is about 1.3 mRads/s. Production units have been built and meet the above specifications. The remainder of the system will be installed and tested later in 1992/93 with the GTA accelerator. The ionization chamber sensitivity and response time are described in the paper. (Author) 4 figs., ref

New cryogenic temperature monitor: PLT-HPT-32

Science.gov (United States)

Viera Curbelo, Teodora Aleida; Martín-Fernández, Sergio Gonzáles; Hoyland, R.; Vega-Moreno, A.; Cozar Castellano, Juan; Gómez Reñasco, M. F.; Aguiar-González, M.; Pérez de Taoro, Angeles; Sánchez-de la Rosa, V.; Rubiño-Martín, J. A.; Génova-Santos, R.

2016-07-01

The PLT-HPT-32, a new cryogenic temperature monitor, has been developed by the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) and an external engineering company (Sergio González Martín-Fernandez). The PLT-HPT-32 temperature monitor offers precision measurement in a wide range of cryogenic and higher-temperature applications with the ability to easily monitor up to 32 sensor channels. It provides better measurement performance in applications where researchers need to ensure accuracy and precision in their low cryogenic temperature monitoring. The PLT-HPT-32 supports PTC RTDs such as platinum sensors, and diodes such as the Lake Shore DT-670 Series. Used with silicon diodes, it provides accurate measurements in cryo-cooler applications from 16 K to above room temperature. The resolution of the measurement is less than 0.1K. Measurements can be displayed in voltage units or Kelvin units. For it, two different tables can be used. One can be programmed by the user, and the other one corresponds to Lake Shore DT670 sensor that comes standard. There are two modes of measuring, the instantaneous mode and averaged mode. In this moment, all channels must work in the same mode but in the near future it expected to be used in blocks of eight channels. The instantaneous mode takes three seconds to read all channels. The averaged mode takes one minute to average twenty samples in all channels. Alarm thresholds can be configured independently for each input. The alarm events, come from the first eight channels, can activate the unit's relay outputs for hard-wired triggering of other systems or audible annunciators. Activate relays on high, low, or both alarms for any input. For local monitoring, "Stand-Alone Mode", the front panel of the PLT-HPT-32 features a bright liquid crystal display with an LED backlight that shows up to 32 readings simultaneously. Plus, monitoring can be done over a network "Remote Control Mode". Using the Ethernet port on the PLT-HPT-32, you

Nuclear reactor instrumentation power monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Shigeru.

1989-01-01

The present invention concerns a nuclear reactor instrumentation power monitor that can be used in, for example, BWR type nuclear power plants. Signals from multi-channel detectors disposed on field units are converted respectively by LPRM signal circuits. Then, the converted signals are further converted by a multiplexer into digital signals and transmitted as serial data to a central monitor unit. The thus transmitted serial data are converted into parallel data in the signal processing section of the central monitor unit. Then, LPRM signals are taken out from each of channel detectors to conduct mathematical processing such as trip judgment or averaging. Accordingly, the field unit and the central monitor unit can be connected by way of only one data transmission cable thereby enabling to reduce the number of cables. Further, since the data are transmitted on digital form, it less undergoes effect of noises. (I.S.)

Design of an integrated sensor platform for vital sign monitoring of newborn infants at neonatal intensive care unit

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, W.; Bambang Oetomo, S.; Feijs, L.M.G.; Bouwstra, S.; Ayoola, Idowu; Dols, S.A.E.

2010-01-01

Continuous health status monitoring and advances in medical treatments have resulted in a significant increase of survival rate in critically ill infants admitted into Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The quality of life and long-term health prospects of the neonates depend increasingly on the

Multiply imaged Transient Events in Cluster Lenses

Science.gov (United States)

Narasimha, Delampady

2018-04-01

ARIES had a successful gravitational microlens project during 1998-2002. A similar monitor for Transient Events in galaxies at high redshift lensed by rich galaxy-clusters provides a challenging possibility with important cosmological implications. Rich galaxy-clusters at intermediate redshifts are powerful gravitational lenses which produce multiple images, in the shape of giant arcs of 5-20" extent, of distant background galaxies in their field. Weak lens shear of the background galaxy distribution can reliably trace the lens mass profile. Multiple images of supernovae or GRBs in the background galaxies can be recorded in a systematic monitor of the system. An unlensed high redshift supernova might not be observable, but when lensed by a galaxy-cluster, it will stand out because the point event brightens relative to the host. The color profile of a high redshift lensed point event will be much more reliable than an unlensed one due to much less host contamination. An estimate of the time delay enables observation of the full light curve of the subsequent images of the event. ARIES can have outside collaboration for multiband simultaneous lightcurves of other images. The measured time delay and position of images of the transient event provide better cosmological constraints including distance scale of the Universe. The Devasthal telescope can detect one or more events by monitoring half a dozen cluster fields over three years time.

Loss of Power and Water Hammer Event at San Onofre, Unit 1, on November 21, 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

On November 21, 1985, Southern California Edison's Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1, located south of San Clemente, California, experienced a partial loss of inplant ac electrical power while the plant was operating at 60% power. Following a manual reactor trip, the plant lost all inplant ac power for 4 minutes and experienced a severe incidence of water hammer in the feedwater system which caused a leak, damaged plant equipment, and challenged the integrity of the plant's heat sink. The most significant aspect of the event involved the failure of five safety-related check valves in the feed-water system whose failure occurred in less than year, without detection, and jeopardized the integrity of safety systems. The event involved a number of equipment malfunctions, operator errors, and procedural deficiencies. This report documents the findings and conclusions of an NRC Incident Investigation Team sent to San Onofre by the NRC Executive Director for Operations in conformance with NRC's recently established Incident Investigation Program

1988 Monitoring Activities Review (MAR) of the environmental monitoring program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-03-01

The EGandG Idaho Environmental Monitoring (EM) Unit is responsible for coordinating and conducting environmental measurements of radioactive and hazardous contaminants around facilities operated by EGandG Idaho. The EM Unit has several broad program objectives, which include complying with regulatory standards and developing a basis for estimating future impacts of operations at EGandG Idaho facilities. To improve program planning and to provide bases for technical improvement of the monitoring program, the EGandG Environmental Monitoring organization has regularly used the Monitoring Activities Review (MAR) process since 1982. Each MAR is conducted by a committee of individuals selected for their experience in the various types of monitoring performed by the EM organization. Previous MAR studies have focused on procedures for all currently monitored media except biota. Biotic monitoring was initiated following the last MAR. This report focuses on all currently monitored media, and includes the first review of biotic monitoring. The review of biotic monitoring has been conducted at a level of detail consistent with initial MAR reports for other parts of the Waste Management Program Facilities Environmental Monitoring Program. The review of the biotic monitoring activities is presented in Section 5.5 of this report. 21 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs

The CMS Beam Halo Monitor Electronics

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2080684; Fabbri, F.; Grassi, T.; Hughes, E.; Mans, J.; Montanari, A.; Orfanelli, S.; Rusack, R.; Torromeo, G.; Stickland, D.P.; Stifter, K.

2016-01-01

The CMS Beam Halo Monitor has been successfully installed in the CMS cavern in LHC Long Shutdown 1 for measuring the machine induced background for LHC Run II. The system is based on 40 detector units composed of synthetic quartz Cherenkov radiators coupled to fast photomultiplier tubes. The readout electronics chain uses many components developed for the Phase 1 upgrade to the CMS Hadronic Calorimeter electronics, with dedicated firmware and readout adapted to the beam monitoring requirements. The PMT signal is digitized by a charge integrating ASIC (QIE10), providing both the signal rise time, with few ns resolution, and the charge integrated over one bunch crossing. The backend electronics uses microTCA technology and receives data via a high-speed 5 Gbps asynchronous link. It records histograms with sub-bunch crossing timing resolution and is readout by IPbus using the newly designed CMS data acquisition for non-event based data. The data is processed in real time and published to CMS and the LHC, providi...

Monitoring activities of satellite data processing services in real-time with SDDS Live Monitor

Science.gov (United States)

Duc Nguyen, Minh

2017-10-01

This work describes Live Monitor, the monitoring subsystem of SDDS - an automated system for space experiment data processing, storage, and distribution created at SINP MSU. Live Monitor allows operators and developers of satellite data centers to identify errors occurred in data processing quickly and to prevent further consequences caused by the errors. All activities of the whole data processing cycle are illustrated via a web interface in real-time. Notification messages are delivered to responsible people via emails and Telegram messenger service. The flexible monitoring mechanism implemented in Live Monitor allows us to dynamically change and control events being shown on the web interface on our demands. Physicists, whose space weather analysis models are functioning upon satellite data provided by SDDS, can use the developed RESTful API to monitor their own events and deliver customized notification messages by their needs.

A new device for monitoring moorings

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Namboothiri, E.G.; Krishnakumar, V.

A new device - Mooring Monitoring Unit (MMU), which consists of an inwater unit and a deck unit has been designed to monitor mooring in situ. This device helps tracing underwater moorings, once its marker buoy is removed either by accident or theft...

MercNet: A national monitoring network to assess responses to changing mercury emissions in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Schmeltz, D.; Evers, D.C.; Driscoll, C.T.; Artz, R.; Cohen, M.; Gay, D.; Haeuber, R.; Krabbenhoft, D.P.; Mason, R.; Morris, K.; Wiener, J.G.

2011-01-01

A partnership of federal and state agencies, tribes, industry, and scientists from academic research and environmental organizations is establishing a national, policy-relevant mercury monitoring network, called MercNet, to address key questions concerning changes in anthropogenic mercury emissions and deposition, associated linkages to ecosystem effects, and recovery from mercury contamination. This network would quantify mercury in the atmosphere, land, water, and biota in terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal ecosystems to provide a national scientific capability for evaluating the benefits and effectiveness of emission controls. Program development began with two workshops, convened to establish network goals, to select key indicators for monitoring, to propose a geographic network of monitoring sites, and to design a monitoring plan. MercNet relies strongly on multi-institutional partnerships to secure the capabilities and comprehensive data that are needed to develop, calibrate, and refine predictive mercury models and to guide effective management. Ongoing collaborative efforts include the: (1) development of regional multi-media databases on mercury in the Laurentian Great Lakes, northeastern United States, and eastern Canada; (2) syntheses and reporting of these data for the scientific and policy communities; and (3) evaluation of potential monitoring sites. The MercNet approach could be applied to the development of other monitoring programs, such as emerging efforts to monitor and assess global mercury emission controls. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC (outside the USA).

LHCb Online event processing and filtering

Science.gov (United States)

Alessio, F.; Barandela, C.; Brarda, L.; Frank, M.; Franek, B.; Galli, D.; Gaspar, C.; Herwijnen, E. v.; Jacobsson, R.; Jost, B.; Köstner, S.; Moine, G.; Neufeld, N.; Somogyi, P.; Stoica, R.; Suman, S.

2008-07-01

The first level trigger of LHCb accepts one million events per second. After preprocessing in custom FPGA-based boards these events are distributed to a large farm of PC-servers using a high-speed Gigabit Ethernet network. Synchronisation and event management is achieved by the Timing and Trigger system of LHCb. Due to the complex nature of the selection of B-events, which are the main interest of LHCb, a full event-readout is required. Event processing on the servers is parallelised on an event basis. The reduction factor is typically 1/500. The remaining events are forwarded to a formatting layer, where the raw data files are formed and temporarily stored. A small part of the events is also forwarded to a dedicated farm for calibration and monitoring. The files are subsequently shipped to the CERN Tier0 facility for permanent storage and from there to the various Tier1 sites for reconstruction. In parallel files are used by various monitoring and calibration processes running within the LHCb Online system. The entire data-flow is controlled and configured by means of a SCADA system and several databases. After an overview of the LHCb data acquisition and its design principles this paper will emphasize the LHCb event filter system, which is now implemented using the final hardware and will be ready for data-taking for the LHC startup. Control, configuration and security aspects will also be discussed.

LHCb Online event processing and filtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alessio, F; Barandela, C; Brarda, L; Frank, M; Gaspar, C; Herwijnen, E v; Jacobsson, R; Jost, B; Koestner, S; Moine, G; Neufeld, N; Somogyi, P; Stoica, R; Suman, S; Franek, B; Galli, D

2008-01-01

The first level trigger of LHCb accepts one million events per second. After preprocessing in custom FPGA-based boards these events are distributed to a large farm of PC-servers using a high-speed Gigabit Ethernet network. Synchronisation and event management is achieved by the Timing and Trigger system of LHCb. Due to the complex nature of the selection of B-events, which are the main interest of LHCb, a full event-readout is required. Event processing on the servers is parallelised on an event basis. The reduction factor is typically 1/500. The remaining events are forwarded to a formatting layer, where the raw data files are formed and temporarily stored. A small part of the events is also forwarded to a dedicated farm for calibration and monitoring. The files are subsequently shipped to the CERN Tier0 facility for permanent storage and from there to the various Tier1 sites for reconstruction. In parallel files are used by various monitoring and calibration processes running within the LHCb Online system. The entire data-flow is controlled and configured by means of a SCADA system and several databases. After an overview of the LHCb data acquisition and its design principles this paper will emphasize the LHCb event filter system, which is now implemented using the final hardware and will be ready for data-taking for the LHC startup. Control, configuration and security aspects will also be discussed

Monitoring of operating processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barry, R.F.

1981-01-01

Apparatus is described for monitoring the processes of a nuclear reactor to detect off-normal operation of any process and for testing the monitoring apparatus. The processes are evaluated by response to their paramters, such as temperature, pressure, etc. The apparatus includes a pair of monitoring paths or signal processing units. Each unit includes facilities for receiving on a time-sharing basis, a status binary word made up of digits each indicating the status of a process, whether normal or off-normal, and test-signal binary words simulating the status binary words. The status words and test words are processed in succession during successive cycles. During each cycle, the two units receive the same status word and the same test word. The test words simulate the status words both when they indicate normal operation and when they indicate off-normal operation. Each signal-processing unit includes a pair of memories. Each memory receives a status word or a test word, as the case may be, and converts the received word into a converted status word or a converted test word. The memories of each monitoring unit operate into a non-coincidence which signals non-coincidence of the converted word out of one memory of a signal-processing unit not identical to the converted word of the other memory of the same unit

Level 1 shutdown and low power operation of Mochovce NPP, Unit 1, Slovakia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halada, P.; Cillik, I.; Stojka, T.; Kuzma, M.; Prochaska, J.; Vrtik, L.

2004-01-01

The paper presents general approach, used methods and form of documentation of the results that have been applied within the shutdown and low power PSA (SPSA) study for Mochovce NPP, Unit 1, Slovakia. The SPSA project was realized by VUJE Trnava Inc., Slovakia in 2001-2002 years. The Level 1 SPSA study for Mochovce NPP Unit 1 covers internal events as well as internal (fires, floods and heavy load drop) and external (aircraft crash, extreme meteorological conditions, seismic event and influence of surrounding industry) hazards. Mochovce NPP consists of two operating units equipped with VVER 440/V213 reactors safety upgraded before construction finishing and operation start. 87 safety measures based on VVER 440 operational experience and international mission insights were implemented to enhance its operational and nuclear safety. The SPSA relates to full power PSA (FPSA) as a continuation of the effort to create a harmonized level 1 PSA model for all operational modes of the plant with the goal to use it for further purposes as follows: Real Time Risk Monitor, Maintenance Optimization, Technical Specifications Optimization, Living PSA. (author)

Continuous stroke unit electrocardiographic monitoring versus 24-hour Holter electrocardiography for detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation after stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizos, Timolaos; Güntner, Janina; Jenetzky, Ekkehart; Marquardt, Lars; Reichardt, Christine; Becker, Rüdiger; Reinhardt, Roland; Hepp, Thomas; Kirchhof, Paulus; Aleynichenko, Elena; Ringleb, Peter; Hacke, Werner; Veltkamp, Roland

2012-10-01

Cardioembolism in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (pxAF) is a frequent cause of ischemic stroke. Sensitive detection of pxAF after stroke is crucial for adequate secondary stroke prevention; the optimal diagnostic modality to detect pxAF on stroke units is unknown. We compared 24-hour Holter electrocardiography (ECG) with continuous stroke unit ECG monitoring (CEM) for pxAF detection. Patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack were prospectively enrolled. After a 12-channel ECG on admission, all patients received 24-hour Holter ECG and CEM. Additionally, ECG monitoring data underwent automated analysis using dedicated software to identify pxAF. Patients with a history of atrial fibrillation or with atrial fibrillation on the admission ECG were excluded. Four hundred ninety-six patients (median age, 69 years; 61.5% male) fulfilled all inclusion criteria (ischemic stroke: 80.4%; transient ischemic attack: 19.6%). Median stroke unit stay lasted 88.8 hours (interquartile range, 65.0-122.0). ECG data for automated CEM analysis were available for a median time of 64.0 hours (43.0-89.8). Paroxysmal AF was documented in 41 of 496 patients (8.3%). Of these, Holter detected pxAF in 34.1%; CEM in 65.9%; and automated CEM in 92.7%. CEM and automated CEM detected significantly more patients with pxAF than Holter (Pstroke on stroke units compared with 24-hour Holter ECG. The comparative usefulness of prolonged or repetitive Holter ECG recordings requires further evaluation.

Requirements for internal contamination monitoring units; Anforderungen an Inkorporationsmessstellen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werner, E. [GSF, Inst. fuer Biophysikalische Strahlenforschung, Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Beyer, D. [Forschungszentrum Juelich, Abt. ASS (Germany); Doerfel, H. [Hauptabteilung Sicherheit, Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany); Erlenbach, H. [Zentralstelle fuer Sicherheitstechnik NRW, Duesseldorf (Germany); Fischbach, G. [Siemens Brennelementewerk, Hanau (Germany); Henrichs, K. [Siemens AG, Muenchen (Germany); Keller, K.D. [Radiologische Universitaetsklinik, Tuebingen (Germany); Koenig, K. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, ISH, Neuherberg (Germany); Riedel, W. [Freie Univ. Berlin, Klinikum Steglitz (Germany); Scheler, R. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, FB Strahlenschutz, Berlin (Germany); Schieferdecker, H. [Hauptabteilung Sicherheit, Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany)

1994-12-31

For the evaluation of internal contamination by officially authorized monitoring units according to section 63 (6) of the German radiation protection ordinance, a directive will be prepared in order to define uniform requirements for the laboratories in charge of incorporation monitoring by appointment of the relevant authorities. These requirements refer to equipment, to performance of measurements, to interpretation of measured values, to quality control as well as to documentation and to delivery of results. The duties of such laboratories comprise measurements of radioactivity, evaluation of intakes of radionuclides and of the resulting internal radiation dose, but also transmission of results to the employer, to the central dose registry, and under certain circumstances to the authorities. Among the requirements to be met by the laboratory for incorporation control are a sufficient measuring efficiency, the implementation of in-house checks, and the participation in intercomparison programs. For the accomplishment of such duties the laboratory needs appropriate apparatus, rooms, facilities, and staffing. (orig.) [Deutsch] Zur Ermittlung der Koerperdosen nach Paragraph 63 StrlSchV sind fuer die gemaess Abs. 6 von der zustaendigen Behoerde zu bestimmenden Messstellen in einer Richtlinie einheitliche Anforderungen festzulegen. Diese beziehen sich auf deren Ausstattung, die Durchfuehrung der Messungen, Auswertungen und Qualitaetskontrollen sowie die Aufzeichnung und Uebermittlung der Ergebnisse. Die Aufgaben der Messstellen umfassen die Messungen der Radioaktivitaet im Koerper bzw. in Koerperausscheidungen, die Ermittlung der Zufuhr an Radionukliden sowie der daraus resultierenden Koerperdosis und die Weiterleitung der Ergebnisse an den Auftraggeber, an das zentrale Dosisregister und in bestimmten Faellen an die Behoerde. Zu den von einer Messstelle zu erfuellenden Anforderungen gehoeren eine ausreichende Messeffektivitaet, die Durchfuehrung von Eigenkontrollen

Regression analysis of mixed recurrent-event and panel-count data.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Liang; Tong, Xinwei; Sun, Jianguo; Chen, Manhua; Srivastava, Deo Kumar; Leisenring, Wendy; Robison, Leslie L

2014-07-01

In event history studies concerning recurrent events, two types of data have been extensively discussed. One is recurrent-event data (Cook and Lawless, 2007. The Analysis of Recurrent Event Data. New York: Springer), and the other is panel-count data (Zhao and others, 2010. Nonparametric inference based on panel-count data. Test 20: , 1-42). In the former case, all study subjects are monitored continuously; thus, complete information is available for the underlying recurrent-event processes of interest. In the latter case, study subjects are monitored periodically; thus, only incomplete information is available for the processes of interest. In reality, however, a third type of data could occur in which some study subjects are monitored continuously, but others are monitored periodically. When this occurs, we have mixed recurrent-event and panel-count data. This paper discusses regression analysis of such mixed data and presents two estimation procedures for the problem. One is a maximum likelihood estimation procedure, and the other is an estimating equation procedure. The asymptotic properties of both resulting estimators of regression parameters are established. Also, the methods are applied to a set of mixed recurrent-event and panel-count data that arose from a Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and motivated this investigation. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Challenges of ECG monitoring and ECG interpretation in dialysis units.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulikakos, Dimitrios; Malik, Marek

Patients on hemodialysis (HD) suffer from high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to high rates of coronary artery disease and arrhythmias. Electrocardiography (ECG) is often performed in the dialysis units as part of routine clinical assessment. However, fluid and electrolyte changes have been shown to affect all ECG morphologies and intervals. ECG interpretation thus depends on the time of the recording in relation to the HD session. In addition, arrhythmias during HD are common, and dialysis-related ECG artifacts mimicking arrhythmias have been reported. Studies using advanced ECG analyses have examined the impact of the HD procedure on selected repolarization descriptors and heart rate variability indices. Despite the challenges related to the impact of the fluctuant fluid and electrolyte status on conventional and advanced ECG parameters, further research in ECG monitoring during dialysis has the potential to provide clinically meaningful and practically useful information for diagnostic and risk stratification purposes. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Device for monitoring cell voltage

Science.gov (United States)

Doepke, Matthias [Garbsen, DE; Eisermann, Henning [Edermissen, DE

2012-08-21

A device for monitoring a rechargeable battery having a number of electrically connected cells includes at least one current interruption switch for interrupting current flowing through at least one associated cell and a plurality of monitoring units for detecting cell voltage. Each monitoring unit is associated with a single cell and includes a reference voltage unit for producing a defined reference threshold voltage and a voltage comparison unit for comparing the reference threshold voltage with a partial cell voltage of the associated cell. The reference voltage unit is electrically supplied from the cell voltage of the associated cell. The voltage comparison unit is coupled to the at least one current interruption switch for interrupting the current of at least the current flowing through the associated cell, with a defined minimum difference between the reference threshold voltage and the partial cell voltage.

Brief review of 1995 events at Ukraine's NPPs. Report on the ChNPP unit 1 of November 27.1995 ''strict regime area premises contamination after reactor refuelling''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lomakin, V.

1996-01-01

In 1995 number of events at NPP had considerably decreased as compared with that for previous 1992-94, amounted in 87. In particular, as compared with 1994, events number had decreased by 36%. It characterizes a total improvement of current NPPs safety level during 1995. The most events number as recalculated per single unit was at the South Ukraine NPP - 8. The least - at the ChNPP - 4 in total, and 1,3 per unit. Decreasing of a total events number for 1995 did also accordingly reduce other quantitative system indices which reflect state of NPPs safety level. Among event root causes, as it was before, ''administrative management deficiencies'' and ''staff training deficiencies'' are still dominanting. ''Human factor'' issues are still pending for NPPs safety, despite of considerable efforts applied to improved efficiency of correcting measures aimed at their solution. Of sufficient importance for events system development in 1995 was the work implemented at the SSTC NRS/NRA as regards preparation of modern edition of the ''Regulation on order of NPP events investigation and account''. The IAEA/Nuclear Safety Division rendered a sufficient assistance for this work to be done through arrangement of advisory help to Ukrainian specialists from international experts. 2 figs, 8 diagrams

Water quantity and quality response of a green roof to storm events: Experimental and monitoring observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Corey M G; Todorov, Dimitar; Driscoll, Charles T; Montesdeoca, Mario

2016-11-01

Syracuse, New York is working under a court-ordered agreement to limit combined sewer overflows (CSO) to local surface waters. Green infrastructure technologies, including green roofs, are being implemented as part of a CSO abatement strategy and to develop co-benefits of diminished stormwater runoff, including decreased loading of contaminants to the wastewater system and surface waters. The objective of this study was to examine the quantity and quality of discharge associated with precipitation events over an annual cycle from a green roof in Syracuse, NY and to compare measurements from this monitoring program with results from a roof irrigation experiment. Wet deposition, roof drainage, and water quality were measured for 87 storm events during an approximately 12 month period over 2011-2012. Water and nutrient (total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and dissolved organic carbon) mass balances were conducted on an event basis to evaluate retention annually and during the growing and non-growing seasons. These results are compared with a hydrological manipulation experiment, which comprised of artificially watering of the roof. Loadings of nutrients were calculated for experimental and actual storms using the concentration of nutrients and the flow data of water discharging the roof. The green roof was effective in retaining precipitation quantity from storm events (mean percent retention 96.8%, SD = 2.7%, n = 87), although the relative fraction of water retained decreased with increases in the size of the event. There was no difference in water retention of the green roof for the growing and non-growing seasons. Drainage waters exhibited high concentration of nutrients during the warm temperature growing season, particularly total nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon. Overall, nutrient losses were low because of the strong retention of water. However, there was marked variation in the retention of nutrients by season due to variations in concentrations in roof

EDICAM (Event Detection Intelligent Camera)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zoletnik, S. [Wigner RCP RMI, EURATOM Association, Budapest (Hungary); Szabolics, T., E-mail: szabolics.tamas@wigner.mta.hu [Wigner RCP RMI, EURATOM Association, Budapest (Hungary); Kocsis, G.; Szepesi, T.; Dunai, D. [Wigner RCP RMI, EURATOM Association, Budapest (Hungary)

2013-10-15

Highlights: ► We present EDICAM's hardware modules. ► We present EDICAM's main design concepts. ► This paper will describe EDICAM firmware architecture. ► Operation principles description. ► Further developments. -- Abstract: A new type of fast framing camera has been developed for fusion applications by the Wigner Research Centre for Physics during the last few years. A new concept was designed for intelligent event driven imaging which is capable of focusing image readout to Regions of Interests (ROIs) where and when predefined events occur. At present these events mean intensity changes and external triggers but in the future more sophisticated methods might also be defined. The camera provides 444 Hz frame rate at full resolution of 1280 × 1024 pixels, but monitoring of smaller ROIs can be done in the 1–116 kHz range even during exposure of the full image. Keeping space limitations and the harsh environment in mind the camera is divided into a small Sensor Module and a processing card interconnected by a fast 10 Gbit optical link. This camera hardware has been used for passive monitoring of the plasma in different devices for example at ASDEX Upgrade and COMPASS with the first version of its firmware. The new firmware and software package is now available and ready for testing the new event processing features. This paper will present the operation principle and features of the Event Detection Intelligent Camera (EDICAM). The device is intended to be the central element in the 10-camera monitoring system of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator.

Intelligent MONitoring System for antiviral pharmacotherapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C (SiMON-VC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Margusino-Framiñán

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Two out of six strategic axes of pharmaceutical care in our hospital are quality and safety of care, and the incorporation of information technologies. Based on this, an information system was developed in the outpatient setting for pharmaceutical care of patients with chronic hepatitis C, SiMON-VC, which would improve the quality and safety of their pharmacotherapy. The objective of this paper is to describe requirements, structure and features of Si- MON-VC. Requirements demanded were that the information system would enter automatically all critical data from electronic clinical records at each of the visits to the Outpatient Pharmacy Unit, allowing the generation of events and alerts, documenting the pharmaceutical care provided, and allowing the use of data for research purposes. In order to meet these requirements, 5 sections were structured for each patient in SiMON-VC: Main Record, Events, Notes, Monitoring Graphs and Tables, and Follow-up. Each section presents a number of tabs with those coded data needed to monitor patients in the outpatient unit. The system automatically generates alerts for assisted prescription validation, efficacy and safety of using antivirals for the treatment of this disease. It features a completely versatile Indicator Control Panel, where temporary monitoring standards and alerts can be set. It allows the generation of reports, and their export to the electronic clinical record. It also allows data to be exported to the usual operating systems, through Big Data and Business Intelligence. Summing up, we can state that SiMON-VC improves the quality of pharmaceutical care provided in the outpatient pharmacy unit to patients with chronic hepatitis C, increasing the safety of antiviral therapy.

Alternative Site Technology Deployment-Monitoring System for the U-3ax/bl Disposal Unit at the Nevada Test Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, J.M.; Levitt, D.G.; Rawlinson, S.E.

2001-01-01

In December 2000, a performance monitoring facility was constructed adjacent to the U-3ax/bl mixed waste disposal unit at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Recent studies conducted in the arid southwestern United States suggest that a vegetated monolayer evapotranspiration (ET) closure cover may be more effective at isolating waste than traditional Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) multi-layered designs. The monitoring system deployed next to the U-3ax/bl disposal unit consists of eight drainage lysimeters with three surface treatments: two are left bare; two are revegetated with native species; two are being allowed to revegetate with invader species; and two are reserved for future studies. Soil used in each lysimeter is native alluvium taken from the same location as the soil used for the cover material on U-3ax/bl. The lysimeters were constructed so that any drainage to the bottom can be collected and measured. To provide a detailed evaluation of the cover performance, an ar ray of 16 sensors was installed in each lysimeter to measure soil water content, soil water potential, and soil temperature. Revegetation of the U-3ax/bl closure cover establishes a stable plant community that maximizes water loss through transpiration while at the same time, reduces water and wind erosion and ultimately restores the disposal unit to its surrounding Great Basin Desert environment

Proceedings of the signature series event of the international society for cellular therapy: "Advancements in cellular therapies and regenerative medicine in digestive diseases," London, United Kingdom, May 3, 2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciccocioppo, Rachele; Dos Santos, Claudia C; Baumgart, Daniel C; Cangemi, Giuseppina C; Cardinale, Vincenzo; Ciacci, Carolina; De Coppi, Paolo; Haldar, Debashis; Klersy, Catherine; Nostro, M Cristina; Ott, Michael; Piemonti, Lorenzo; Tomei, Alice A; Uygun, Basak; Vetrano, Stefania; Orlando, Giuseppe

2018-03-01

A summary of the First Signature Series Event, "Advancements in Cellular Therapies and Regenerative Medicine for Digestive Diseases," held on May 3, 2017, in London, United Kingdom, is presented. Twelve speakers from three continents covered major topics in the areas of cellular therapy and regenerative medicine applied to liver and gastrointestinal medicine as well as to diabetes mellitus. Highlights from their presentations, together with an overview of the global impact of digestive diseases and a proposal for a shared online collection and data-monitoring platform tool, are included in this proceedings. Although growing evidence demonstrate the feasibility and safety of exploiting cell-based technologies for the treatment of digestive diseases, regulatory and methodological obstacles will need to be overcome before the successful implementation in the clinic of these novel attractive therapeutic strategies. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing a Framework for Seamless Prediction of Sub-Seasonal to Seasonal Extreme Precipitation Events in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosendahl, D. H.; Ćwik, P.; Martin, E. R.; Basara, J. B.; Brooks, H. E.; Furtado, J. C.; Homeyer, C. R.; Lazrus, H.; Mcpherson, R. A.; Mullens, E.; Richman, M. B.; Robinson-Cook, A.

2017-12-01

Extreme precipitation events cause significant damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure, and agriculture, as well as many injures and fatalities as a result of fast-moving water or waterborne diseases. In the USA, these natural hazard events claimed the lives of more than 300 people during 2015 - 2016 alone, with total damage reaching $24.4 billion. Prior studies of extreme precipitation events have focused on the sub-daily to sub-weekly timeframes. However, many decisions for planning, preparing and resilience-building require sub-seasonal to seasonal timeframes (S2S; 14 to 90 days), but adequate forecasting tools for prediction do not exist. Therefore, the goal of this newly funded project is an enhancement in understanding of the large-scale forcing and dynamics of S2S extreme precipitation events in the United States, and improved capability for modeling and predicting such events. Here, we describe the project goals, objectives, and research activities that will take place over the next 5 years. In this project, a unique team of scientists and stakeholders will identify and understand weather and climate processes connected with the prediction of S2S extreme precipitation events by answering these research questions: 1) What are the synoptic patterns associated with, and characteristic of, S2S extreme precipitation evens in the contiguous U.S.? 2) What role, if any, do large-scale modes of climate variability play in modulating these events? 3) How predictable are S2S extreme precipitation events across temporal scales? 4) How do we create an informative prediction of S2S extreme precipitation events for policymaking and planing? This project will use observational data, high-resolution radar composites, dynamical climate models and workshops that engage stakeholders (water resource managers, emergency managers and tribal environmental professionals) in co-production of knowledge. The overarching result of this project will be predictive models to reduce of

Nursing unit teams matter: Impact of unit-level nurse practice environment, nurse work characteristics, and burnout on nurse reported job outcomes, and quality of care, and patient adverse events--a cross-sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Bogaert, Peter; Timmermans, Olaf; Weeks, Susan Mace; van Heusden, Danny; Wouters, Kristien; Franck, Erik

2014-08-01

To investigate the impact of nurse practice environment factors, nurse work characteristics, and burnout on nurse reported job outcomes, quality of care, and patient adverse events variables at the nursing unit level. Nurse practice environment studies show growing insights and knowledge about determining factors for nurse workforce stability, quality of care, and patient safety. Until now, international studies have primarily focused on variability at the hospital level; however, insights at the nursing unit level can reveal key factors in the nurse practice environment. A cross-sectional design with a survey. In a cross-sectional survey, a sample of 1108 nurses assigned to 96 nursing units completed a structured questionnaire composed of various validated instruments measuring nurse practice environment factors, nurse work characteristics, burnout, nurse reported job outcomes, quality of care, and patient adverse events. Associations between the variables were examined using multilevel modelling techniques. Various unit-level associations (simple models) were identified between nurse practice environment factors, nurse work characteristics, burnout dimensions, and nurse reported outcome variables. Multiple multilevel models showed various independent variables such as nursing management at the unit level, social capital, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization as important predictors of nurse reported outcome variables such job satisfaction, turnover intentions, quality of care (at the unit, the last shift, and in the hospital within the last year), patient and family complaints, patient and family verbal abuse, patient falls, nosocomial infections, and medications errors. Results suggested a stable nurse work force, with the capability to achieve superior quality and patient safety outcomes, is associated with unit-level favourable perceptions of nurse work environment factors, workload, decision latitude, and social capital, as well low levels of burnout

Technology monitoring in the CIEMAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Martinez, M.; Cuesta, M. J.; Crespi, S. N.; Cabrera, J. A.

2008-01-01

The CIEMAT Foresight and Technology Monitoring Unit focuses its activities on obtaining strategic information on future developments in the area of energy and environment that can be used for decision making by the centers management. In addition, it provides services to CIEMAT researchers and other external customers. In May 2007, the Asociacion Espanola de Normalizacion y Certificacion AENOR delivered to the CIEMAT the first Technology Monitoring System certificate granted in Spain as per standard UNE 166006:2006. This article describes the Units experience in the implementation process of the Technology Monitoring System and provides several examples of the way in which the Unit graphically represents the information analyzed in its Technology Monitoring Reports. (Author)

Smart textiles in neonatal monitoring : enabling unobtrusive monitoring at the NICU

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seoane, F.; Bouwstra, S.; Marquez, J.; Löfhede, J.; Lindecrantz, K.; Chen, W.; Bambang Oetomo, S.; Feijs, L.M.G.

2012-01-01

Prematurely born and critically ill babies admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit require round-the-clock monitoring of vital signs and in special cases additional parameters such as brain functioning monitoring. Although close monitoring is fundamental for a good developmental outcome, the

Trend analysis of nuclear reactor automatic trip events subjected to operator's human error at United States nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takagawa, Kenichi

2009-01-01

Trends in nuclear reactor automatic trip events due to human errors during plant operating mode have been analyzed by extracting 20 events which took place in the United States during the period of seven years from 2002 to 2008, cited in the LERs (Licensee Event Reports) submitted to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). It was shown that the yearly number of events was relatively large before 2005, and thereafter the number decreased. A period of stable operation, in which the yearly number was kept very small, continued for about three years, and then the yearly number turned to increase again. Before 2005, automatic trip events occurred more frequently during periodic inspections or start-up/shut-down operations. The recent trends, however, indicate that trip events became more frequent due to human errors during daily operations. Human errors were mostly caused by the self-conceit and carelessness of operators through the whole period. The before mentioned trends in the yearly number of events might be explained as follows. The decrease in the automatic trip events is attributed to sharing trouble information, leading as a consequence to improvement of the manual and training for the operations which have a higher potential risk of automatic trip. Then, while the period of stable operation continued, some operators came to pay less attention to preventing human errors and not interest in the training, leading to automatic trip events in reality due to miss-operation. From these analyses on trouble experiences in the US, we learnt the followings to prevent the occurrence similar troubles in Japan: Operators should be thoroughly skilled in basic actions to prevent human errors as persons concerned. And it should be further emphasized that they should elaborate by imaging actual plant operations even though the simulator training gives them successful experiences. (author)

Periodic leg movement (PLM) monitoring using a distributed body sensor network.

Science.gov (United States)

Madhushri, Priyanka; Ahmed, Beena; Penzel, Thomas; Jovanov, Emil

2015-01-01

Wireless sensors networks represent the architecture of choice for distributed monitoring due to the ease of deployment and configuration. We developed a distributed sleep monitoring system which combines wireless inertial sensors SP-10C by Sensoplex controlled by a custom smartphone application as an extension of the polysomnographic (PSG) monitor SOMNOscreen plus from Somnomedics. While existing activity monitors are wired to the SOMNOscreen, our system allows the use of wireless inertial sensors to improve user's comfort during sleep. The system is intended for monitoring of periodic leg movements (PLM) and user's activity during sleep. Wireless sensors are placed on ankle and toes of the foot in a customized sock. An Android app communicates with wireless sensors over Bluetooth Smart (BTS) link and streams 3D accelerometer values, 4D unit quaternion values and timestamps. In this paper we present a novel method of synchronization of data streams from PSG and inertial sensors, and original method of detection of PLM events. The system was tested using five experiments of simulated PLM, and achieved 96.51% of PLM detection accuracy.

Monitoring activities of satellite data processing services in real-time with SDDS Live Monitor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duc Nguyen Minh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This work describes Live Monitor, the monitoring subsystem of SDDS – an automated system for space experiment data processing, storage, and distribution created at SINP MSU. Live Monitor allows operators and developers of satellite data centers to identify errors occurred in data processing quickly and to prevent further consequences caused by the errors. All activities of the whole data processing cycle are illustrated via a web interface in real-time. Notification messages are delivered to responsible people via emails and Telegram messenger service. The flexible monitoring mechanism implemented in Live Monitor allows us to dynamically change and control events being shown on the web interface on our demands. Physicists, whose space weather analysis models are functioning upon satellite data provided by SDDS, can use the developed RESTful API to monitor their own events and deliver customized notification messages by their needs.

Instrument-independent flux units for laser Doppler perfusion monitoring assessed in a multi-device study on the renal cortex

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Petoukhova, AL; Steenbergen, W; Morales, F; Graaff, R; de Jong, ED; Elstrodt, JM; de Mul, FFM; Rakhorst, G

To investigate the feasibility of instrument-independent perfusion units for laser Doppler flowmetry, a comparison was performed of two commercial fiberoptic laser Doppler perfusion monitors measuring the same flux situation for two different types of probes. In vivo measurements were performed on

Instrument-independent flux units for laser Doppler perfusion monitoring assessed in a multi-device study on the renal cortex

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Petoukhova, Anna; Steenbergen, Wiendelt; Morales, F.; Graaff, R.; de Jong, Ed; Elstrodt, J.M.; de Mul, F.F.M.; Rakhorst, G.

2003-01-01

To investigate the feasibility of instrument-independent perfusion units for laser Doppler flowmetry, a comparison was performed of two commercial fiberoptic laser Doppler perfusion monitors measuring the same flux situation for two different types of probes. In vivo measurements were performed on

Amikacin Dosing and Monitoring in Spinal Cord Injury Patients: Variation in Clinical Practice Between Spinal Injury Units and Differences in Experts' Recommendations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subramanian Vaidyanathan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this article was to determine the current practice on amikacin dosing and monitoring in spinal cord injury patients from spinal cord physicians and experts. Physicians from spinal units and clinical pharmacologists were asked to provide protocol for dosing and monitoring of amikacin therapy in spinal cord injury patients. In a spinal unit in Poland, amikacin is administered usually 0.5 g twice daily. A once-daily regimen of amikacin is never used and amikacin concentrations are not determined. In Belgium, Southport (U.K., Spain, and the VA McGuire Medical Center (Richmond, Virginia, amikacin is given once daily. Whereas peak and trough concentrations are determined in Belgium, only trough concentration is measured in Southport. In both these spinal units, modification of the dose is not routinely done with a nomogram. In Spain and the VA McGuire Medical Center, monitoring of serum amikacin concentration is not done unless a patient has renal impairment. In contrast, the dose/interval of amikacin is adjusted according to pharmacokinetic parameters at the Edward Hines VA Hospital (Hines, Illinois, where amikacin is administered q24h or q48h, depending on creatinine clearance. Spinal cord physicians from Denmark, Germany, and the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (West Orange, New Jersey state that they do not use amikacin in spinal injury patients. An expert from Canada does not recommend determining serum concentrations of amikacin, but emphasizes the value of monitoring ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Experts from New Zealand recommend amikacin in conventional twice- or thrice-daily dosing because of the theoretical increased risk of neuromuscular blockade and apnea with larger daily doses in spinal cord injury patients. On the contrary, experts from Greece, Israel, and the U.S. recommend once-daily dosing and determining amikacin pharmacokinetic parameters for each patient. As there is considerable variation in clinical

Adverse respiratory events in a post-anesthesia care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Xará, Daniela; Santos, Alice; Abelha, Fernando

2015-02-01

Adverse respiratory events (ARE) are a leading causes of postoperative morbidity and mortality. This study investigated the incidence and determinants of postoperative ARE. This observational prospective study was conducted in a post anesthesia care unit (PACU). A total of 340 adult subjects were admitted consecutively, and AREs were measured after elective surgery. Population demographics, perioperative parameters, ARE occurrence, and length of stay in the postoperative PACU and in hospital were recorded. Data were analyzed descriptively using the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Chi-square or Fisher's exact test. Multivariate analyses were carried outusing logistic binary regression, and the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Postoperative AREs occurred in 67 subjects (19.7%). AREs were more frequent after high-risk procedures (42% vs 24%; P=.003), in patients undergoing major surgery (37% vs 25%; P=.041), those receiving general anesthesia (85% vs 67%; P=.004), and in patients administered intraoperative muscle relaxants (79% vs 55%; P<.001) and neostigmine (69% vs 49%; P=.002). Hypoactive emergence (13% vs 5%; P=.015) and residual neuromuscular blockade (46% versus 11%; P<.001) were more frequent in subjects with postoperative ARE. On multivariate analyses, residual neuromuscular blockade was an independent risk factor for ARE in the PACU (OR 6.4; CI 3.0-13.4; P<.001). ARE is an important and common postoperative complication. Residual neuromuscular blockade was an independent risk factor for ARE in the PACU. Copyright © 2014 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

An extended multivariate framework for drought monitoring in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Real-Rangel, Roberto; Pedrozo-Acuña, Adrián; Breña-Naranjo, Agustín; Alcocer-Yamanaka, Víctor

2017-04-01

Around the world, monitoring natural hazards, such as droughts, represents a critical task in risk assessment and management plans. A reliable drought monitoring system allows to identify regions affected by these phenomena so that early response measures can be implemented. In Mexico, this activity is performed using Mexico's Drought Monitor, which is based on a similar methodology as the United States Drought Monitor and the North American Drought Monitor. The main feature of these monitoring systems is the combination of ground-based and remote sensing observations that is ultimately validated by local experts. However, in Mexico in situ records of variables such as precipitation and streamflow are often scarce, or even null, in many regions of the country. Another issue that adds uncertainty in drought monitoring is the arbitrary weight given to each analyzed variable. This study aims at providing an operational framework for drought monitoring in Mexico, based on univariate and multivariate nonparametric standardized indexes proposed in recent studies. Furthermore, the framework has been extended by taking into account the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) for the drought severity assessment. The analyzed variables used for computing the drought indexes are mainly derived from remote sensing (MODIS) and land surface models datasets (NASA MERRA-2). A qualitative evaluation of the results shows that the indexes used are capable of adequately describes the intensity and spatial distribution of past drought documented events.

Transformative monitoring approaches for reprocessing.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cipiti, Benjamin B.

2011-09-01

The future of reprocessing in the United States is strongly driven by plant economics. With increasing safeguards, security, and safety requirements, future plant monitoring systems must be able to demonstrate more efficient operations while improving the current state of the art. The goal of this work was to design and examine the incorporation of advanced plant monitoring technologies into safeguards systems with attention to the burden on the operator. The technologies examined include micro-fluidic sampling for more rapid analytical measurements and spectroscopy-based techniques for on-line process monitoring. The Separations and Safeguards Performance Model was used to design the layout and test the effect of adding these technologies to reprocessing. The results here show that both technologies fill key gaps in existing materials accountability that provide detection of diversion events that may not be detected in a timely manner in existing plants. The plant architecture and results under diversion scenarios are described. As a tangent to this work, both the AMUSE and SEPHIS solvent extraction codes were examined for integration in the model to improve the reality of diversion scenarios. The AMUSE integration was found to be the most successful and provided useful results. The SEPHIS integration is still a work in progress and may provide an alternative option.

Telephone audit for monitoring stroke unit facilities: a post hoc analysis from PROSIT study.

Science.gov (United States)

Candelise, Livia; Gattinoni, Monica; Bersano, Anna

2015-01-01

Although several valid approaches exist to measure the number and the quality of acute stroke units, only few studies tested their reliability. This study is aimed at establishing whether the telephone administration of the PROject of Stroke unIt ITaly (PROSIT) audit questionnaire is reliable compared with direct face-to-face interview. Forty-three medical leaders in charge of in-hospital stroke services were interviewed twice using the same PROSIT questionnaire with 2 different modalities. First, the interviewers approached the medical leaders by telephone. Thereafter, they went to the hospital site and performed a direct face-to-face interview. Six independent couples of trained researchers conducted the audit interviews. The degree of intermodality agreement was measured with kappa statistic. We found a perfect agreement for stroke units identification between the 2 different audit modalities (K = 1.00; standard error [SE], 1.525). The agreement was also very good for stroke dedicated beds (K = 1.00; SE, 1.525) and dedicated personnel (K = 1.00; SE, 1.525), which are the 2 components of stroke unit definition. The agreement was lower for declared in use process of care and availability of diagnostic investigations. The telephone audit can be used for monitoring stroke unit structures. It is more rapid, less expensive, and can repeatedly be used at appropriate intervals. However, a reliable description of the process of care and diagnostic investigations indicators should be obtained by either local site audit visit or prospective stroke register based on individual patient data. Copyright © 2015 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Pajarito Monitor: a high-sensitivity monitoring system for highly enriched uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fehlau, P.E.; Coop, K.; Garcia, C.; Martinez, J.

1984-01-01

The Pajarito Monitor for Special Nuclear Material is a high-sensitivity gamma-ray monitoring system for detecting small quantities of highly enriched uranium transported by pedestrians or motor vehicles. The monitor consists of two components: a walk-through personnel monitor and a vehicle monitor. The personnel monitor has a plastic-scintillator detector portal, a microwave occupancy monitor, and a microprocessor control unit that measures the radiation intensity during background and monitoring periods to detect transient diversion signals. The vehicle monitor examines stationary motor vehicles while the vehicle's occupants pass through the personnel portal to exchange their badges. The vehicle monitor has four groups of large plastic scintillators that scan the vehicle from above and below. Its microprocessor control unit measures separate radiation intensities in each detector group. Vehicle occupancy is sensed by a highway traffic detection system. Each monitor's controller is responsible for detecting diversion as well as serving as a calibration and trouble-shooting aid. Diversion signals are detected by a sequential probability ratio hypothesis test that minimizes the monitoring time in the vehicle monitor and adapts itself well to variations in individual passage speed in the personnel monitor. Designed to be highly sensitive to diverted enriched uranium, the monitoring system also exhibits exceptional sensitivity for plutonium

CDF run II run control and online monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arisawa, T.; Ikado, K.; Badgett, W.; Chlebana, F.; Maeshima, K.; McCrory, E.; Meyer, A.; Patrick, J.; Wenzel, H.; Stadie, H.; Wagner, W.; Veramendi, G.

2001-01-01

The authors discuss the CDF Run II Run Control and online event monitoring system. Run Control is the top level application that controls the data acquisition activities across 150 front end VME crates and related service processes. Run Control is a real-time multi-threaded application implemented in Java with flexible state machines, using JDBC database connections to configure clients, and including a user friendly and powerful graphical user interface. The CDF online event monitoring system consists of several parts: the event monitoring programs, the display to browse their results, the server program which communicates with the display via socket connections, the error receiver which displays error messages and communicates with Run Control, and the state manager which monitors the state of the monitor programs

A practical approach for electron monitor unit calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, David; Patyal, Baldev; Cho, Jongmin; Cheng, Ing Y; Nookala, Prashanth

2009-01-01

Electron monitor unit (MU) calculation requires measured beam data such as the relative output factor (ROF) of a cone, insert correction factor (ICF) and effective source-to-surface distance (ESD). Measuring the beam data to cover all possible clinical cases is not practical for a busy clinic because it takes tremendous time and labor. In this study, we propose a practical approach to reduce the number of data measurements without affecting accuracy. It is based on two findings of dosimetric properties of electron beams. One is that the output ratio of two inserts is independent of the cone used, and the other is that ESD is a function of field size but independent of cone and jaw opening. For the measurements to prove the findings, a parallel plate ion chamber (Markus, PTW 23343) with an electrometer (Cardinal Health 35040) was used. We measured the outputs to determine ROF, ICF and ESD of different energies (5-21 MeV). Measurements were made in a Plastic Water(TM) phantom or in water. Three linear accelerators were used: Siemens MD2 (S/N 2689), Siemens Primus (S/N 3305) and Varian Clinic 21-EX (S/N 1495). With these findings, the number of data set to be measured can be reduced to less than 20% of the data points. (note)

Advanced monitoring with complex stream processing

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

Making sense of metrics and logs for service monitoring can be a complicated task. Valuable information is normally scattered across several streams of monitoring data, requiring aggregation, correlation and time-based analysis to promptly detect problems and failures. This presentations shows a solution which is used to support the advanced monitoring of the messaging services provided by the IT Department. It uses Esper, an open-source software product for Complex Event Processing (CEP), that analyses series of events for deriving conclusions from them.

Dosimetric accuracy at low monitor unit setting in electron beams at different dose rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravikumar, M.; Ravichandran, R.; Supe, Sanjay S.; Sharma, Anil K.

1999-01-01

As electron beam with low monitor unit (LMU) settings are used in some dosimetric studies, better understanding of accuracy in dose delivery at LMU setting is necessary. The dose measurements were carried out with 0.6 cm 3 farmer type ion chamber at d max in a polystyrene phantom. Measurements at different MUs show that the dose linearity ratio (DLR) increases as the MU setting decreases below 20 MU and DLRs are found to increase when the incident electron beams have higher energies. The increase in DLR is minimum for low dose rate setting for all five electron beam energies (6, 9, 12, 16 and 20 MeV). As the variation in dose delivery is machine-specific, a detailed study should be conducted before the low MU setting is implemented. Since errors in dose delivery are high at higher dose rates, low dose rate may be better at low MU unit setting. (author)

Automated system of monitoring and positioning of functional units of mining technological machines for coal-mining enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meshcheryakov Yaroslav

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This article is show to the development of an automated monitoring and positioning system for functional nodes of mining technological machines. It describes the structure, element base, algorithms for identifying the operating states of a walking excavator; various types of errors in the functioning of microelectromechanical gyroscopes and accelerometers, as well as methods for their correction based on the Madgwick fusion filter. The results of industrial tests of an automated monitoring and positioning system for functional units on one of the opencast coal mines of Kuzbass are presented. This work is addressed to specialists working in the fields of the development of embedded systems and control systems, radio electronics, mechatronics, and robotics.

Performance of the CMS Beam Halo Monitor

CERN Document Server

CMS Collaboration

2015-01-01

The CMS Beam Halo Monitor has been successfully installed in the CMS cavern in LHC Long Shutdown 1 for measuring the machine induced background for LHC Run II. The system is based on 40 detector units composed of radiation hard synthetic quartz Cherenkov radiators coupled to fast photomultiplier tubes for a direction sensitive measurement. The readout electronics chain uses many components developed for the Phase 1 upgrade to the CMS Hadronic Calorimeter electronics, with dedicated firmware and readout adapted to the beam monitoring requirements. The PMT signal is digitized by a charge integrating ASIC (QIE10), providing both the signal rise time, with few ns resolution, and the charge integrated over one bunch crossing. The backend electronics uses microTCA technology and received data via a high-speed 5 Gbps asynchronous link. It records histograms with sub-bunch crossing timing resolution and is readout by IPbus using the newly designed CMS data acquisition for non-event based data. The data is processed i...

The Argentine remote monitoring and surveillance system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonino, A.; Roca, J.L.; Perez, A.; Pizarro, L.; Krimer, M.; Teira, R.; Higa, Z.; Saettone, S.; Monzon, J.; Moroni, D.

1996-01-01

The Scientific and Technical Support Department of the Argentine National Board of Nuclear Regulation (ENREN) has developed a Remote Monitoring and Surveillance System (RMSS) that provides a media to verify state of variables related to the monitoring and surveillance activities of nuclear facilities, mainly safeguard applications. RMSS includes a variety of on site installed sensors, an authenticated radiofrequency communication link, a receiver processing unit, an active vision set and a user friendly personal computer interface to collect, view and store pertinent histories of events. A real time data base allows consulting, maintenance, updating and checking activities. RMSS could be integrated into a LAN or WAN via modem for use in a remote operation scheme. In this paper a description of the RMSS is provided. Also, an overview of the RMSS operation at one facility under safeguards belonging to the National Commission of Atomic Energy (CNEA) is presented. Results and conclusions of the system associated with this facility are given. (author). 37 figs

The Argentine remote monitoring and surveillance system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bonino, A; Roca, J L; Perez, A; Pizarro, L; Krimer, M; Teira, R; Higa, Z; Saettone, S; Monzon, J; Moroni, D [Ente Nacional Regulador Nuclear, Buenos Aires (Argentina). Dept. Apoyo Cientifico y Tecnico

1997-12-31

The Scientific and Technical Support Department of the Argentine National Board of Nuclear Regulation (ENREN) has developed a Remote Monitoring and Surveillance System (RMSS) that provides a media to verify state of variables related to the monitoring and surveillance activities of nuclear facilities, mainly safeguard applications. RMSS includes a variety of on site installed sensors, an authenticated radiofrequency communication link, a receiver processing unit, an active vision set and a user friendly personal computer interface to collect, view and store pertinent histories of events. A real time data base allows consulting, maintenance, updating and checking activities. RMSS could be integrated into a LAN or WAN via modem for use in a remote operation scheme. In this paper a description of the RMSS is provided. Also, an overview of the RMSS operation at one facility under safeguards belonging to the National Commission of Atomic Energy (CNEA) is presented. Results and conclusions of the system associated with this facility are given. (author). 37 figs.

Facilitated Nurse Medication-Related Event Reporting to Improve Medication Management Quality and Safety in Intensive Care Units.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jie; Reale, Carrie; Slagle, Jason M; Anders, Shilo; Shotwell, Matthew S; Dresselhaus, Timothy; Weinger, Matthew B

Medication safety presents an ongoing challenge for nurses working in complex, fast-paced, intensive care unit (ICU) environments. Studying ICU nurse's medication management-especially medication-related events (MREs)-provides an approach to analyze and improve medication safety and quality. The goal of this study was to explore the utility of facilitated MRE reporting in identifying system deficiencies and the relationship between MREs and nurses' work in the ICUs. We conducted 124 structured 4-hour observations of nurses in three different ICUs. Each observation included measurement of nurse's moment-to-moment activity and self-reports of workload and negative mood. The observer then obtained MRE reports from the nurse using a structured tool. The MREs were analyzed by three experts. MREs were reported in 35% of observations. The 60 total MREs included four medication errors and seven adverse drug events. Of the 49 remaining MREs, 65% were associated with negative patient impact. Task/process deficiencies were the most common contributory factor for MREs. MRE occurrence was correlated with increased total task volume. MREs also correlated with increased workload, especially during night shifts. Most of these MREs would not be captured by traditional event reporting systems. Facilitated MRE reporting provides a robust information source about potential breakdowns in medication management safety and opportunities for system improvement.

Simultaneous minimizing monitor units and number of segments without leaf end abutment for segmental intensity modulated radiation therapy delivery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Kaile; Dai Jianrong; Ma Lijun

2004-01-01

Leaf end abutment is seldom studied when delivering segmental intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) fields. We developed an efficient leaf sequencing method to eliminate leaf end abutment for segmental IMRT delivery. Our method uses simple matrix and sorting operations to obtain a solution that simultaneously minimizes total monitor units and number of segments without leaf end abutment between segments. We implemented and demonstrated our method for multiple clinical cases. We compared the results of our method with the results from exhaustive search method. We found that our solution without leaf end abutment produced equivalent results to the unconstrained solutions in terms of minimum total monitor units and minimum number of leaf segments. We conclude that the leaf end abutment fields can be avoided without affecting the efficiency of segmental IMRT delivery. The major strength of our method is its simplicity and high computing speed. This potentially provides a useful means for generating segmental IMRT fields that require high spatial resolution or complex intensity distributions

Application of Double-Difference Seismic Tomography to Carbon Sequestration Monitoring at the Aneth Oil Field, Utah

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nino Ripepi

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Double difference seismic tomography was performed using travel time data from a carbon sequestration site at the Aneth oil field in southeast Utah as part of a Department of Energy initiative on monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA of sequestered CO2. A total of 1211 seismic events were recorded from a borehole array consisting of 23 geophones. Artificial velocity models were created to determine the likelihood of detecting a CO2 plume with an unfavorable event and receiver arrangement. In tests involving artificially modeled ray paths through a velocity model, ideal event and receiver arrangements clearly show velocity reductions. When incorporating the unfavorable event and station locations from the Aneth Unit into synthetic models, the ability to detect velocity reductions is greatly diminished. Using the actual, recorded travel times, the Aneth Unit results show differences between a synthetic baseline model and the travel times obtained in the field, but the differences do not clearly indicate a region of injected CO2. MVA accuracy and precision may be improved through the use of a receiver array that provides more comprehensive ray path coverage, and a more detailed baseline velocity model.

Effects of Extreme Events on Arsenic Cycling in Salt Marshes

Science.gov (United States)

Northrup, Kristy; Capooci, Margaret; Seyfferth, Angelia L.

2018-03-01

Extreme events such as storm surges, intense precipitation, and supermoons cause anomalous and large fluctuations in water level in tidal salt marshes, which impacts the sediment biogeochemistry that dictates arsenic (As) cycling. In addition to changes in water level, which impacts soil redox potential, these extreme events may also change salinity due to freshwater inputs from precipitation or saltwater inputs due to surge. It is currently unknown how As mobility in tidal salt marshes will be impacted by extreme events, as fluctuations in salinity and redox potential may act synergistically to mobilize As. To investigate impacts of extreme events on As cycling in tidal salt marshes, we conducted a combined laboratory and field investigation. We monitored pore water and soil samples before, during, and after two extreme events: a supermoon lunar eclipse followed by a storm surge and precipitation induced by Hurricane Joaquin in fall 2015 at the St. Jones Reserve in Dover, Delaware, a representative tidal salt marsh in the Mid-Atlantic United States. We also conducted soil incubations of marsh sediments in batch and in flow-through experiments in which redox potential and/or salinity were manipulated. Field investigations showed that pore water As was inversely proportional to redox potential. During the extreme events, a distinct pulse of As was observed in the pore water with maximum salinity. Combined field and laboratory investigations revealed that this As pulse is likely due to rapid changes in salinity. These results have implications for As mobility in the face of extreme weather variability.

THE FEATURES OF AIRCRAFT FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE MONITORING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanislav Alexandrovich Krotov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The key steps of aircraft essential parameters and events monitoring during its operation are considered in the arti- cle. Conditions for specific risk monitoring are also presented.The notion of fail-safe feature of aircraft functional systems is analysed, and the necessity of continuous process of safety flight level estimate is shown. The method of quantitative assessment of key events and risks probabilities with the use of modern software is proposed. This method contains 5 basic stages: The monitoring parameters setting - this stage is initial and begins with the consideration of organization safety cul- ture, the main purposes and problems determination, the basic parameters and characteristics forming which are to be monitored. The event monitoring in operation - on this stage continuous process of key events searching and monitoring which are a thing of importance within the framework of the established problems takes place. This process is closely relat- ed to parameters monitoring set on the first stage. The event and risk estimate - this stage begins directly after the event has been discovered. The estimate pro- cess is as long as it is required to identify the event gravity. It also contains the preliminary risk estimate for using in priori- tization of initial expanded estimate and in the working out of plan for activities realization. The working out of plan for activities - on this stage correction data is determined that will make changes to aero- technics working out, operation, maintenance and to staff training directly in linkage to the problem event identified earlier. The activity carrying-out - the realization of actions according to the activity plan. This stage concludes priori- tization, planning and problem carrying-out. The dependence set between the probability of failure situations and the degree of their danger is shown. The key factors which are subject to be estimated while aircraft operating and which aim with

Simulation of Greenhouse Climate Monitoring and Control with Wireless Sensor Network and Event-Based Control

Science.gov (United States)

Pawlowski, Andrzej; Guzman, Jose Luis; Rodríguez, Francisco; Berenguel, Manuel; Sánchez, José; Dormido, Sebastián

2009-01-01

Monitoring and control of the greenhouse environment play a decisive role in greenhouse production processes. Assurance of optimal climate conditions has a direct influence on crop growth performance, but it usually increases the required equipment cost. Traditionally, greenhouse installations have required a great effort to connect and distribute all the sensors and data acquisition systems. These installations need many data and power wires to be distributed along the greenhouses, making the system complex and expensive. For this reason, and others such as unavailability of distributed actuators, only individual sensors are usually located in a fixed point that is selected as representative of the overall greenhouse dynamics. On the other hand, the actuation system in greenhouses is usually composed by mechanical devices controlled by relays, being desirable to reduce the number of commutations of the control signals from security and economical point of views. Therefore, and in order to face these drawbacks, this paper describes how the greenhouse climate control can be represented as an event-based system in combination with wireless sensor networks, where low-frequency dynamics variables have to be controlled and control actions are mainly calculated against events produced by external disturbances. The proposed control system allows saving costs related with wear minimization and prolonging the actuator life, but keeping promising performance results. Analysis and conclusions are given by means of simulation results. PMID:22389597

Simulation of Greenhouse Climate Monitoring and Control with Wireless Sensor Network and Event-Based Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej Pawlowski

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Monitoring and control of the greenhouse environment play a decisive role in greenhouse production processes. Assurance of optimal climate conditions has a direct influence on crop growth performance, but it usually increases the required equipment cost. Traditionally, greenhouse installations have required a great effort to connect and distribute all the sensors and data acquisition systems. These installations need many data and power wires to be distributed along the greenhouses, making the system complex and expensive. For this reason, and others such as unavailability of distributed actuators, only individual sensors are usually located in a fixed point that is selected as representative of the overall greenhouse dynamics. On the other hand, the actuation system in greenhouses is usually composed by mechanical devices controlled by relays, being desirable to reduce the number of commutations of the control signals from security and economical point of views. Therefore, and in order to face these drawbacks, this paper describes how the greenhouse climate control can be represented as an event-based system in combination with wireless sensor networks, where low-frequency dynamics variables have to be controlled and control actions are mainly calculated against events produced by external disturbances. The proposed control system allows saving costs related with wear minimization and prolonging the actuator life, but keeping promising performance results. Analysis and conclusions are given by means of simulation results.

Performance of risk-adjusted control charts to monitor in-hospital mortality of intensive care unit patients: A simulation study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koetsier, Antonie; de Keizer, Nicolette F.; de Jonge, Evert; Cook, David A.; Peek, Niels

2012-01-01

Objectives: Increases in case-mix adjusted mortality may be indications of decreasing quality of care. Risk-adjusted control charts can be used for in-hospital mortality monitoring in intensive care units by issuing a warning signal when there are more deaths than expected. The aim of this study was

A periodic inspection and replacement policy for systems subject to competing failure modes due to degradation and traumatic events

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huynh, K.T., E-mail: tuan.huynh@utt.f [Universite de technologie de Troyes, Institut Charles Delaunay and STMR UMR CNRS 6279-12, rue Marie Curie, BP2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France); Barros, A., E-mail: anne.barros@utt.f [Universite de technologie de Troyes, Institut Charles Delaunay and STMR UMR CNRS 6279-12, rue Marie Curie, BP2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France); Berenguer, C., E-mail: christophe.berenguer@utt.f [Universite de technologie de Troyes, Institut Charles Delaunay and STMR UMR CNRS 6279-12, rue Marie Curie, BP2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France); Castro, I.T., E-mail: inmatorres@unex.e [Departamento de Matematicas, Escuela Politecnica, 10071 Caceres (Spain)

2011-04-15

This paper deals with the condition-based maintenance of single-unit systems which are subject to the competing and dependent failures due deterioration and traumatic shock events. The main aim is to provide a model to assess the value of condition monitoring information for the maintenance decision-making. A condition-based periodic inspection/replacement policy is developed and compared with a benchmark time-based block replacement policy. Numerical results show that it is indeed useful to follow closely the actual evolution of the system to adapt the maintenance decisions to the true system state to improve the performance of maintenance policies. The analysis of the maintenance costs savings can be used to justify or not the choice to implement a policy based on condition monitoring information and to invest in condition monitoring devices.

A periodic inspection and replacement policy for systems subject to competing failure modes due to degradation and traumatic events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huynh, K.T.; Barros, A.; Berenguer, C.; Castro, I.T.

2011-01-01

This paper deals with the condition-based maintenance of single-unit systems which are subject to the competing and dependent failures due deterioration and traumatic shock events. The main aim is to provide a model to assess the value of condition monitoring information for the maintenance decision-making. A condition-based periodic inspection/replacement policy is developed and compared with a benchmark time-based block replacement policy. Numerical results show that it is indeed useful to follow closely the actual evolution of the system to adapt the maintenance decisions to the true system state to improve the performance of maintenance policies. The analysis of the maintenance costs savings can be used to justify or not the choice to implement a policy based on condition monitoring information and to invest in condition monitoring devices.

Monitoring eradication of European mouflon sheep from the Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Judge, Seth; Hess, Steven C.; Faford, Jonathan K.; Pacheco, Dexter; Leopold, Christina

2017-01-01

European mouflon (Ovis gmelini musimon), the world's smallest wild sheep, have proliferated and degraded fragile native ecosystems in the Hawaiian Islands through browsing, bark stripping, and trampling, including native forests within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO). HAVO resource managers initiated ungulate control efforts in the 469 km2 Kahuku Unit after it was acquired in 2003. We tracked control effort and used aerial surveys in a 64.7 km2 area from 2004 to 2017 and more intensive ground surveys and camera-trap monitoring to detect the last remaining animals within a 25.9 km2 subunit after it was enclosed by fence in 2012. Aerial shooting yielded the most removals per unit effort (3.2 animals/ hour), resulting in 261 animals. However, ground-based methods yielded 4,607 removals overall, 3,038 of which resulted from assistance of volunteers. Ground shooting with dogs, intensive aerial shooting, ground sweeps, and forward-looking infrared (FLIR)-assisted shooting were necessary to find and remove the last remaining mouflon. The Judas technique, baiting, and trapping were not successful in attracting or detecting small numbers of remaining individuals. Effort expended to remove each mouflon increased nearly 15-fold during the last 3 yr of eradication effort from 2013 to 2016. Complementary active and passive monitoring techniques allowed us to track the effectiveness of control effort and reveal locations of small groups to staff. The effort and variety of methods required to eradicate mouflon from an enclosed unit of moderate size illustrates the difficulty of scaling up to entire populations of wild ungulates from unenclosed areas.

Environmental γ radiation monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qu Xiaopeng

1993-01-01

The environmental γ radiation monitor is a kind of dose or dose rate measuring devices, which can be used for monitoring environmental γ radiation around a nuclear site when normal or even abnormal events occur. The monitor is controlled by a single-chip microcomputer so that it can acquire synchronously the data from four detectors and transfer the data to a central computer. The monitor has good temperature property due to the technique of temperature correction. The monitor has been used in the environment monitoring vehicle for Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant

An enhanced ionising radiation monitoring and detecting technique in radiotherapy units of hospitals using wireless sensor networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Peter

2017-01-01

In this paper, a solution of ionising radiation monitoring based on the concept of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), is presented. Radiation dose rate measured by the sensor node is sent to the monitoring station through ZigBee wireless network operated on 2.4 GHz unlicensed Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band. The system is calibrated for use for ionizing radiation dose rate range of between amount of ionising radiation observed in radiotherapy unit of a hospital and 1.02 mSv/h. Power consumption of the sensor node is kept low by operating the node ZigBee radio with low duty cycle: i.e. by keeping the radio awake only during data transmission/reception. Two ATmega8 microcontrollers, one each for sensor node and the monitoring station, are programmed to perform interfacing, data processing, and control functions. The system range of coverage is 124m for outdoor (line of site) deployment and 56.8m for indoor application where 5 brick walls separated the sensor node and the monitoring station. Range of coverage of the system is extendable via the use of ZigBee router (s)

Event-Driven Messaging for Offline Data Quality Monitoring at ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Onyisi, Peter; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

During LHC Run 1, the information flow through the offline data quality monitoring in ATLAS relied heavily on chains of processes polling each other's outputs for handshaking purposes. This resulted in a fragile architecture with many possible points of failure and an inability to monitor the overall state of the distributed system. We report on the status of a project undertaken during the LHC shutdown to replace the ad hoc synchronization methods with a uniform message queue system. This enables the use of standard protocols to connect processes on multiple hosts; reliable transmission of messages between possibly unreliable programs; easy monitoring of the information flow; and the removal of inefficient polling-based communication.

Piecing together the puzzle: Improving event content coverage for real-time sub-event detection using adaptive microblog crawling.

Science.gov (United States)

Tokarchuk, Laurissa; Wang, Xinyue; Poslad, Stefan

2017-01-01

In an age when people are predisposed to report real-world events through their social media accounts, many researchers value the benefits of mining user generated content from social media. Compared with the traditional news media, social media services, such as Twitter, can provide more complete and timely information about the real-world events. However events are often like a puzzle and in order to solve the puzzle/understand the event, we must identify all the sub-events or pieces. Existing Twitter event monitoring systems for sub-event detection and summarization currently typically analyse events based on partial data as conventional data collection methodologies are unable to collect comprehensive event data. This results in existing systems often being unable to report sub-events in real-time and often in completely missing sub-events or pieces in the broader event puzzle. This paper proposes a Sub-event detection by real-TIme Microblog monitoring (STRIM) framework that leverages the temporal feature of an expanded set of news-worthy event content. In order to more comprehensively and accurately identify sub-events this framework first proposes the use of adaptive microblog crawling. Our adaptive microblog crawler is capable of increasing the coverage of events while minimizing the amount of non-relevant content. We then propose a stream division methodology that can be accomplished in real time so that the temporal features of the expanded event streams can be analysed by a burst detection algorithm. In the final steps of the framework, the content features are extracted from each divided stream and recombined to provide a final summarization of the sub-events. The proposed framework is evaluated against traditional event detection using event recall and event precision metrics. Results show that improving the quality and coverage of event contents contribute to better event detection by identifying additional valid sub-events. The novel combination of

Piecing together the puzzle: Improving event content coverage for real-time sub-event detection using adaptive microblog crawling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurissa Tokarchuk

Full Text Available In an age when people are predisposed to report real-world events through their social media accounts, many researchers value the benefits of mining user generated content from social media. Compared with the traditional news media, social media services, such as Twitter, can provide more complete and timely information about the real-world events. However events are often like a puzzle and in order to solve the puzzle/understand the event, we must identify all the sub-events or pieces. Existing Twitter event monitoring systems for sub-event detection and summarization currently typically analyse events based on partial data as conventional data collection methodologies are unable to collect comprehensive event data. This results in existing systems often being unable to report sub-events in real-time and often in completely missing sub-events or pieces in the broader event puzzle. This paper proposes a Sub-event detection by real-TIme Microblog monitoring (STRIM framework that leverages the temporal feature of an expanded set of news-worthy event content. In order to more comprehensively and accurately identify sub-events this framework first proposes the use of adaptive microblog crawling. Our adaptive microblog crawler is capable of increasing the coverage of events while minimizing the amount of non-relevant content. We then propose a stream division methodology that can be accomplished in real time so that the temporal features of the expanded event streams can be analysed by a burst detection algorithm. In the final steps of the framework, the content features are extracted from each divided stream and recombined to provide a final summarization of the sub-events. The proposed framework is evaluated against traditional event detection using event recall and event precision metrics. Results show that improving the quality and coverage of event contents contribute to better event detection by identifying additional valid sub-events. The

Analysis of core damage frequency: Surry, Unit 1 internal events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertucio, R.C.; Julius, J.A.; Cramond, W.R.

1990-04-01

This document contains the accident sequence analysis of internally initiated events for the Surry Nuclear Station, Unit 1. This is one of the five plant analyses conducted as part of the NUREG-1150 effort by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUREG-1150 documents the risk of a selected group of nuclear power plants. The work performed and described here is an extensive of that published in November 1986 as NUREG/CR-4450, Volume 3. It addresses comments form numerous reviewers and significant changes to the plant systems and procedures made since the first report. The uncertainty analysis and presentation of results are also much improved. The context and detail of this report are directed toward PRA practitioners who need to know how the work was performed and the details for use in further studies. The mean core damage frequency at Surry was calculated to be 4.05-E-5 per year, with a 95% upper bound of 1.34E-4 and 5% lower bound of 6.8E-6 per year. Station blackout type accidents (loss of all AC power) were the largest contributors to the core damage frequency, accounting for approximately 68% of the total. The next type of dominant contributors were Loss of Coolant Accidents (LOCAs). These sequences account for 15% of core damage frequency. No other type of sequence accounts for more than 10% of core damage frequency. 49 refs., 52 figs., 70 tabs

Compliance with Environmental Regulations through Complex Geo-Event Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federico Herrera

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In a context of e-government, there are usually regulatory compliance requirements that support systems must monitor, control and enforce. These requirements may come from environmental laws and regulations that aim to protect the natural environment and mitigate the effects of pollution on human health and ecosystems. Monitoring compliance with these requirements involves processing a large volume of data from different sources, which is a major challenge. This volume is also increased with data coming from autonomous sensors (e.g. reporting carbon emission in protected areas and from citizens providing information (e.g. illegal dumping in a voluntary way. Complex Event Processing (CEP technologies allow processing large amount of event data and detecting patterns from them. However, they do not provide native support for the geographic dimension of events which is essential for monitoring requirements which apply to specific geographic areas. This paper proposes a geospatial extension for CEP that allows monitoring environmental requirements considering the geographic location of the processed data. We extend an existing platform-independent, model-driven approach for CEP adding the geographic location to events and specifying patterns using geographic operators. The use and technical feasibility of the proposal is shown through the development of a case study and the implementation of a prototype.

The More Extreme Nature of North American Monsoon Precipitation in the Southwestern United States as Revealed by a Historical Climatology of Simulated Severe Weather Events

KAUST Repository

Luong, Thang M.; Castro, Christopher L.; Chang, Hsin-I; Lahmers, Timothy; Adams, David K.; Ochoa-Moya, Carlos A.

2017-01-01

Long-term changes in North American monsoon (NAM) precipitation intensity in the southwestern United States are evaluated through the use of convective-permitting model simulations of objectively identified severe weather events during

The More Extreme Nature of North American Monsoon Precipitation in the Southwestern United States as Revealed by a Historical Climatology of Simulated Severe Weather Events

KAUST Repository

Luong, Thang M.

2017-07-03

Long-term changes in North American monsoon (NAM) precipitation intensity in the southwestern United States are evaluated through the use of convective-permitting model simulations of objectively identified severe weather events during

Simplified conversions between specific conductance and salinity units for use with data from monitoring stations

Science.gov (United States)

Schemel, Laurence E.

2001-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Reclamation, and the California Department of Water Resources maintain a large number of monitoring stations that record specific conductance, often referred to as “electrical conductivity,” in San Francisco Bay Estuary and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Specific conductance units that have been normalized to a standard temperature are useful in fresh waters, but conversion to salinity units has some considerable advantages in brackish waters of the estuary and Delta. For example, salinity is linearly related to the mixing ratio of freshwater and seawater, which is not the case for specific conductance, even when values are normalized to a standard temperature. The Practical Salinity Scale 1978 is based on specific conductance, temperature, and pressure measurements of seawater and freshwater mixtures (Lewis 1980 and references therein). Equations and data that define the scale make possible conversions between specific conductance and salinity values.

[Adverse events in neonatology, contribution of a standardised register].

Science.gov (United States)

Normand, Marie-Madeleine; Ejarque Albuquerque, Margarida; Grouazel, Anne-Laure; Cottereau, Marie-Noëlle

Despite the recommendation to report all adverse events to the risk management unit, such reporting is far from consistent. An internal, standardised register of adverse events, was put in place in a neonatology unit for six months. An analysis of the reports has led to the reorganisation of the unit and practices as part of a drive to improve the quality of care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of NASA's MERRA Precipitation Product in Reproducing the Observed Trend and Distribution of Extreme Precipitation Events in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Ashouri, Hamed; Sorooshian, Soroosh; Hsu, Kuo-Lin; Bosilovich, Michael G.; Lee, Jaechoul; Wehner, Michael F.; Collow, Allison

2016-01-01

This study evaluates the performance of NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) precipitation product in reproducing the trend and distribution of extreme precipitation events. Utilizing the extreme value theory, time-invariant and time-variant extreme value distributions are developed to model the trends and changes in the patterns of extreme precipitation events over the contiguous United States during 1979-2010. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) U.S.Unified gridded observation data are used as the observational dataset. The CPC analysis shows that the eastern and western parts of the United States are experiencing positive and negative trends in annual maxima, respectively. The continental-scale patterns of change found in MERRA seem to reasonably mirror the observed patterns of change found in CPC. This is not previously expected, given the difficulty in constraining precipitation in reanalysis products. MERRA tends to overestimate the frequency at which the 99th percentile of precipitation is exceeded because this threshold tends to be lower in MERRA, making it easier to be exceeded. This feature is dominant during the summer months. MERRA tends to reproduce spatial patterns of the scale and location parameters of the generalized extreme value and generalized Pareto distributions. However, MERRA underestimates these parameters, particularly over the Gulf Coast states, leading to lower magnitudes in extreme precipitation events. Two issues in MERRA are identified: 1) MERRA shows a spurious negative trend in Nebraska and Kansas, which is most likely related to the changes in the satellite observing system over time that has apparently affected the water cycle in the central United States, and 2) the patterns of positive trend over the Gulf Coast states and along the East Coast seem to be correlated with the tropical cyclones in these regions. The analysis of the trends in the seasonal precipitation extremes indicates that

Applications of the monitor of loose parts in the cycle 6 of the Laguna Verde Unit 2 power plant; Aplicaciones del monitor de partes sueltas en el ciclo 6 de la Unidad 2 de la central Laguna Verde

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calleros, G.; Mendez, A.; Gomez, R.A. [Comision Federal de Electricidad, Central Nucleoelectrica Laguna Verde, Veracruz (Mexico); Castillo, R.; Bravo, J.M. [ININ, A.P. 18-1027, 11801 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)]. E-mail: gcm9acpp@cfe.gob.mx

2004-07-01

The monitor of loose parts (Loose Parts Monitoring System) installed in the Unit 2 of the Laguna Verde Central is a tool to detect strange objects or parts loose in the system of refrigeration of the reactor that could be impacted in the walls of the recirculation knots or in the internal of the reactor. In this work two applications are shown carried out with the Monitor of Loose Parts, determining the characteristics of the stable nominal conditions, those which when changing, they are used to diagnose during the Cycle 6 of the Unit 2, failures in the components of the the recirculation circuits or to identify mechanical vibrations of the recirculation knots induced by a flow of recirculation bistable associated to operative conditions of the reactor. (Author)

Validation of a new software version for monitoring of the core of the Unit 2 of the Laguna Verde power plant with ARTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calleros, G.; Riestra, M.; Ibanez, C.; Lopez, X.; Vargas, A.; Mendez, A.; Gomez, R.

2005-01-01

In this work it is intended a methodology to validate a new version of the software used for monitoring the reactor core, which requires of the evaluation of the thermal limits settled down in the Operation Technical Specifications, for the Unit 2 of Laguna Verde with ARTS (improvements to the APRMs, Rod Block Monitor and Technical specifications). According to the proposed methodology, those are shown differences found in the thermal limits determined with the new versions and previous of the core monitoring software. Author)

Microphone variability and degradation: implications for monitoring programs employing autonomous recording units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick J. Turgeon

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Autonomous recording units (ARUs are emerging as an effective tool for avian population monitoring and research. Although ARU technology is being rapidly adopted, there is a need to establish whether variation in ARU components and their degradation with use might introduce detection biases that would affect long-term monitoring and research projects. We assessed whether microphone sensitivity impacted the probability of detecting bird vocalizations by broadcasting a sequence of 12 calls toward an array of commercially available ARUs equipped with microphones of varying sensitivities under three levels (32 dBA, 42 dBA, and 50 dBA of experimentally induced noise conditions selected to reflect the range of noise levels commonly encountered during avian surveys. We used binomial regression to examine factors influencing probability of detection for each species and used these to examine the impact of microphone sensitivity on the effective detection area (ha for each species. Microphone sensitivity loss reduced detection probability for all species examined, but the magnitude of the effect varied between species and often interacted with distance. Microphone sensitivity loss reduced the effective detection area by an average of 25% for microphones just beyond manufacturer specifications (-5 dBV and by an average of 66% for severely compromised microphones (-20 dBV. Microphone sensitivity loss appeared to be more problematic for low frequency calls where reduction in the effective detection area occurred most rapidly. Microphone degradation poses a source of variation in avian surveys made with ARUs that will require regular measurement of microphone sensitivity and criteria for microphone replacement to ensure scientifically reproducible results. We recommend that research and monitoring projects employing ARUs test their microphones regularly, replace microphones with declining sensitivity, and record sensitivity as a potential covariate in

Experience of our new monitor for betatron therapy unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanno, Takenori; Sato, Hisao; Abe, Shunsuke; Suyama, Sachio.

1975-01-01

The amount of high energy electron beams is instable owing to lots of factors. As a matter of course, we should be careful in controling the amount of beams and it is also necessary to improve the beam monitoring apparatuses to make them stable. We have improved a usual monitor and had experiments with it. Here is the report. (1) An ordinary monitor is influenced by humidity, air atmosphere induced noise from an apparatus and so on. We made a new monitor with due regard to these factors. When the count is set to 100 with a usual monitor, the standard dose meter (ionex) indicate is 280 R in 16 MeV and the lowest one is 198 R. Between standard dose meter (ionex) and usual monitor is 82 R. With the trial monitor, the highest integrated dose is 103 R and the lowest one is 89 R. The difference is only 14 R and we are satisfied with the result. We gain this value after 16 months' trial. (2) The chamber is made air tight and has a double structure with a collection electrode sandwiched between high tension charging electrodes. In this way, we can eliminate the influences of humidity and induced noise from an apparatus itself and we can putup ion collection efficiency without widening the distance between the electrodes. As for the indicator circuit, we can get an input signal with a big s/n ratio and so we need not use high impedance resistors in the input circuitry. There is little affect from humidity and induced noise, and the circuit is stable. The indicator circuit has a complete electronic system, therefore counting speed is greatly improved and we can measure a large amount of beams in a short time. The trial monitor has four measuring ranges and so measuring is easily done. Our monitor has a circuit tester, too, and we can test the measuring circuit on occasion. (auth.)

System theory in industrial patient monitoring: an overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Baura, G D

2004-01-01

Patient monitoring refers to the continuous observation of repeating events of physiologic function to guide therapy or to monitor the effectiveness of interventions, and is used primarily in the intensive care unit and operating room. Commonly processed signals are the electrocardiogram, intraarterial blood pressure, arterial saturation of oxygen, and cardiac output. To this day, the majority of physiologic waveform processing in patient monitors is conducted using heuristic curve fitting. However in the early 1990s, a few enterprising engineers and physicians began using system theory to improve their core processing. Applications included improvement of signal-to-noise ratio, either due to low signal levels or motion artifact, and improvement in feature detection. The goal of this mini-symposium is to review the early work in this emerging field, which has led to technologic breakthroughs. In this overview talk, the process of system theory algorithm research and development is discussed. Research for industrial monitors involves substantial data collection, with some data used for algorithm training and the remainder used for validation. Once the algorithms are validated, they are translated into detailed specifications. Development then translates these specifications into DSP code. The DSP code is verified and validated per the Good Manufacturing Practices mandated by FDA.

Event Coverage Detection and Event Source Determination in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhangbing Zhou

2015-12-01

Full Text Available With the advent of the Internet of Underwater Things, smart things are deployed in the ocean space and establish underwater wireless sensor networks for the monitoring of vast and dynamic underwater environments. When events are found to have possibly occurred, accurate event coverage should be detected, and potential event sources should be determined for the enactment of prompt and proper responses. To address this challenge, a technique that detects event coverage and determines event sources is developed in this article. Specifically, the occurrence of possible events corresponds to a set of neighboring sensor nodes whose sensory data may deviate from a normal sensing range in a collective fashion. An appropriate sensor node is selected as the relay node for gathering and routing sensory data to sink node(s. When sensory data are collected at sink node(s, the event coverage is detected and represented as a weighted graph, where the vertices in this graph correspond to sensor nodes and the weight specified upon the edges reflects the extent of sensory data deviating from a normal sensing range. Event sources are determined, which correspond to the barycenters in this graph. The results of the experiments show that our technique is more energy efficient, especially when the network topology is relatively steady.

Early Results of Three-Year Monitoring of Red Wood Ants’ Behavioral Changes and Their Possible Correlation with Earthquake Events

Science.gov (United States)

Berberich, Gabriele; Berberich, Martin; Grumpe, Arne; Wöhler, Christian; Schreiber, Ulrich

2013-01-01

Simple Summary For three years (2009–2012), two red wood ant mounds (Formica rufa-group), located at the seismically active Neuwied Basin (Eifel, Germany), have been monitored 24/7 by high-resolution cameras. Early results show that ants have a well-identifiable standard daily routine. Correlation with local seismic events suggests changes in the ants’ behavior hours before the earthquake: the nocturnal rest phase and daily activity are suppressed, and standard daily routine does not resume until the next day. At present, an automated image evaluation routine is being applied to the video streams. Based on this automated approach, a statistical analysis of the ant behavior will be carried out. Abstract Short-term earthquake predictions with an advance warning of several hours or days are currently not possible due to both incomplete understanding of the complex tectonic processes and inadequate observations. Abnormal animal behaviors before earthquakes have been reported previously, but create problems in monitoring and reliability. The situation is different with red wood ants (RWA; Formica rufa-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)). They have stationary mounds on tectonically active, gas-bearing fault systems. These faults may be potential earthquake areas. For three years (2009–2012), two red wood ant mounds (Formica rufa-group), located at the seismically active Neuwied Basin (Eifel, Germany), have been monitored 24/7 by high-resolution cameras with both a color and an infrared sensor. Early results show that ants have a well-identifiable standard daily routine. Correlation with local seismic events suggests changes in the ants’ behavior hours before the earthquake: the nocturnal rest phase and daily activity are suppressed, and standard daily routine does not resume until the next day. At present, an automated image evaluation routine is being applied to the more than 45,000 hours of video streams. Based on this automated approach, a statistical analysis of

Auditing of Monitoring and Respiratory Support Equipment in a Level III-C Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Bergon-Sendin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Random safety audits (RSAs are a safety tool but have not been widely used in hospitals. Objectives. To determine the frequency of proper use of equipment safety mechanisms in relation to monitoring and mechanical ventilation by performing RSAs. The study also determined whether factors related to the patient, time period, or characteristics of the area of admission influenced how the device safety systems were used. Methods. A prospective observational study was conducted in a level III-C Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU during 2012. 87 days were randomly selected. Appropriate overall use was defined when all evaluated variables were correctly programmed in the audited device. Results. A total of 383 monitor and ventilator audits were performed. The Kappa coefficient of interobserver agreement was 0.93. The rate of appropriate overall use of the monitors and respiratory support equipment was 33.68%. Significant differences were found with improved usage during weekends, OR 1.85 (1.12–3.06, p=0.01, and during the late shift (3 pm to 10 pm, OR 1.59 (1.03–2.4, p=0.03. Conclusions. Equipment safety systems of monitors and ventilators are not properly used. To improve patient safety, we should identify which alarms are really needed and where the difficulties lie for the correct alarm programming.

Monitoring adverse events of vaccines against Mexican flu

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Puijenbroek, E P; van Grootheest, A C

2011-01-01

In November 2009, a vaccination campaign against Influenza A (H1N1) was started in the Netherlands. The accelerated registration procedure of the vaccines used in this campaign and the use of these vaccines on a large scale indicated a need for real-time safety monitoring. This article looks at the

Gaps in monitoring during oral anticoagulation: insights into care transitions, monitoring barriers, and medication nonadherence.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Adam J; Miller, Donald R; Ozonoff, Al; Berlowitz, Dan R; Ash, Arlene S; Zhao, Shibei; Reisman, Joel I; Hylek, Elaine M

2013-03-01

Among patients receiving oral anticoagulation, a gap of > 56 days between international normalized ratio tests suggests loss to follow-up that could lead to poor anticoagulation control and serious adverse events. We studied long-term oral anticoagulation care for 56,490 patients aged 65 years and older at 100 sites of care in the Veterans Health Administration. We used the rate of gaps in monitoring per patient-year to predict percentage time in therapeutic range (TTR) at the 100 sites. Many patients (45%) had at least one gap in monitoring during an average of 1.6 years of observation; 5% had two or more gaps per year. The median gap duration was 74 days (interquartile range, 62-107). The average TTR for patients with two or more gaps per year was 10 percentage points lower than for patients without gaps (P < .001). Patient-level predictors of gaps included nonwhite race, area poverty, greater distance from care, dementia, and major depression. Site-level gaps per patient-year varied from 0.19 to 1.78; each one-unit increase was associated with a 9.2 percentage point decrease in site-level TTR (P < .001). Site-level gap rates varied widely within an integrated care system. Sites with more gaps per patient-year had worse anticoagulation control. Strategies to address and reduce gaps in monitoring may improve anticoagulation control.

The Department of Energy Nevada Test Site Remote Area Monitoring System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, L.D.; Hart, O.F.

1993-01-01

The Remote Area Monitoring System was developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for DOE test directors at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to verify radiological conditions are safe after a nuclear test. In the unlikely event of a venting as a result of a nuclear test, this system provides radiological and meteorological data to Weather Service Nuclear Support Office (WSNSO) computers where mesoscale models are used to predict downwind exposure rates. The system uses a combination of hardwired radiation sensors and satellite based data acquisition units with their own radiation sensors to measure exposure rates in remote areas of the NTS. The satellite based data acquisition units are available as small, Portable Remote Area Monitors (RAMs) for rapid deployment, and larger, Semipermanent RAMs that can have meteorological towers. The satellite based stations measure exposure rates and transmit measurements to the GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) where they are relayed to Direct Readout Ground Stations (DRGS) at the NTS and Los Alamos. Computers process the data and display results in the NTS Operations Coordination Center. Los Alamos computers and NTS computers are linked together through a wide area network, providing remote redundant system capability. Recently, LANL, expanded the system to take radiological and meteorological measurements in communities in the western United States. The system was also expanded to acquire data from Remote Automatic Weather Stations (RAWS) that transmit through GOES. The addition of Portable and Semipermanent RAMs to the system has vastly expanded monitoring capabilities at NTS and can be used to take measurements anywhere in this hemisphere

ERMS - Environmental Radiation Monitoring System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vax, Eran; Sarusi, Benny; Sheinfeld, Mati; Levinson, Shmuel; Brandys, Irad; Sattinger, Danny; Wengrowicz, Udi; Tshuva, Avi; Tirosh, Dan

2008-01-01

A new Environmental Radiation Monitoring System (ERMS) has been developed in the NRCN as an extensive tool to be applied in case of nuclear malfunction or Nuclear Disposal Device (NDD) incident, as well as for routine radiation monitoring of the reactor's vicinity. The system collects real-time environmental data such as: gamma radiation, wind speed, wind direction, and temperature for monitoring purposes. The ERMS consists of a main Control Center and an array of monitoring stations. Fixed, environmental, gamma radiation monitoring stations are installed at the reactor's surroundings while portable stations can be posted rapidly along the wind direction, enhancing the spatial sampling of the radiation measurements and providing better hazard assessment at an emergency event. The presented ERMS, based on industrial standards for hardware and network protocols, is a reliable standalone system which upgrades the readiness to face a nuclear emergency event by supplying real-time, integrated meteorological and radiation data. (author)

Countermeasures and vaccination against terrorism using smallpox: pre-event and post-event smallpox vaccination and its contraindications.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Hajime

2011-09-01

Smallpox, when used as a biological weapon, presents a serious threat to civilian populations. Core components of the public health management of a terrorism attack using smallpox are: vaccination (ring vaccination and mass vaccination), adverse event monitoring, confirmed and suspected smallpox case management, contact management, identifying, tracing, monitoring contacts, and quarantine. Above all, pre-event and post-event vaccination is an indispensable part of the strategies. Since smallpox patients are most infectious from onset of the rash through the first 7-10 days of the rash, vaccination should be administered promptly within a limited time frame. However, vaccination can accompany complications, such as postvaccinial encephalitis, progressive vaccinia, eczema vaccinatum, and generalized vaccinia. Therefore, vaccination is not recommended for certain groups. Public health professionals, as well as physicians and government officials, should also be well equipped with all information necessary for appropriate and effective smallpox management in the face of such a bioterrorism attack.

Trend analysis of breaker events at United States nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimada, Hiroki

2006-01-01

From events in overseas nuclear power plants recorded in the nuclear information detabase of Institute of Nuclear Safety System, Inc. (INSS), the number of events of electrical systems during the four years from 2002 to 2005 was extracted and the trend was analyzed. The results showed that breaker events were the largest in number in all years, and almost all them occurred in the US. The breaker events that occurred in US nuclear power plants in 2005 were analyzed by classifying them by cause of failure and effect on the plant, and by comparing the number of occurrences with that in Japan. As a result, the main cause of many of the breaker events was improper maintenance due to poor arrangement of maintenance manuals and human error, as well as aging degradation, they can be estimated to have been caused by insufficient maintenance control and inspection. The number of breaker failures per plant per year in our country was lower than that in the US by an order of magnitude, and there were no failures that led to a plant trip or power reduction. These facts suggest that our country's maintenance contents of breaker are advantage. (author)

Operating Experiences of a Loss of Voltage Monitoring Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Eun-Chan [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Loss of voltage (LOV) events continue to occur due to inadequate work management and random human errors. On February 26, 2015, regulators analyzed the root causes of LOV events and presented the results for the nuclear industry. Currently, KHNP uses a risk monitoring program, which is named 'LOV Monitor', for LOV prevention during pilot plant outages. This review introduces the operation experiences of LOV Monitor based on the evaluation results of a real event. The operation experiences of LOV Monitor in the pilot plants confirmed that this program could detect and reduce LOV possibilities from scheduling errors such as the simultaneous maintenance of energized trains and de-energized trains considering the physical conditions of the power circuit breakers. However, a maintenance culture that heeds the risk monitoring result must be strengthened in order to obtain substantial effects through applying LOV Monitor to the outage.

Design of an Integrated Sensor Platform for Vital Sign Monitoring of Newborn Infants at Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Chen

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Continuous health status monitoring and advances in medical treatments have resulted in a significant increase of survival rate in critically ill infants admitted into Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs. The quality of life and long-term health prospects of the neonates depend increasingly on the reliability and comfort of the monitoring systems. In this paper, we present the design work of a smart jacket for vital sign monitoring of neonates at a NICU. The design represents a unique integration of sensor technology, user focus and design aspects. Textile sensors, a reflectance pulse oximeter and a wearable temperature sensor were proposed to be embedded into the smart jacket. Location of the sensor, materials and appearance were designed to optimize the functionality, patient comfort and the possibilities for aesthetic features. Prototypes were built for demonstrating the design concept and experimental results were obtained from tests on premature babies at the NICU of M�xima Medical Centre (MMC in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.

The CMS Beam Halo Monitor electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tosi, N.; Fabbri, F.; Montanari, A.; Torromeo, G.; Dabrowski, A.E.; Orfanelli, S.; Grassi, T.; Hughes, E.; Mans, J.; Rusack, R.; Stifter, K.; Stickland, D.P.

2016-01-01

The CMS Beam Halo Monitor has been successfully installed in the CMS cavern in LHC Long Shutdown 1 for measuring the machine induced background for LHC Run II. The system is based on 40 detector units composed of synthetic quartz Cherenkov radiators coupled to fast photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The readout electronics chain uses many components developed for the Phase 1 upgrade to the CMS Hadronic Calorimeter electronics, with dedicated firmware and readout adapted to the beam monitoring requirements. The PMT signal is digitized by a charge integrating ASIC (QIE10), providing both the signal rise time, with few nanosecond resolution, and the charge integrated over one bunch crossing. The backend electronics uses microTCA technology and receives data via a high-speed 5 Gbps asynchronous link. It records histograms with sub-bunch crossing timing resolution and is read out via IPbus using the newly designed CMS data acquisition for non-event based data. The data is processed in real time and published to CMS and the LHC, providing online feedback on the beam quality. A dedicated calibration monitoring system has been designed to generate short triggered pulses of light to monitor the efficiency of the system. The electronics has been in operation since the first LHC beams of Run II and has served as the first demonstration of the new QIE10, Microsemi Igloo2 FPGA and high-speed 5 Gbps link with LHC data

Applicability of Pulse Pressure Variation during Unstable Hemodynamic Events in the Intensive Care Unit: A Five-Day Prospective Multicenter Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bertrand Delannoy

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Pulse pressure variation can predict fluid responsiveness in strict applicability conditions. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical applicability of pulse pressure variation during episodes of patient hemodynamic instability in the intensive care unit. We conducted a five-day, seven-center prospective study that included patients presenting with an unstable hemodynamic event. The six predefined inclusion criteria for pulse pressure variation applicability were as follows: mechanical ventilation, tidal volume >7 mL/kg, sinus rhythm, no spontaneous breath, heart rate/respiratory rate ratio >3.6, absence of right ventricular dysfunction, or severe valvulopathy. Seventy-three patients presented at least one unstable hemodynamic event, with a total of 163 unstable hemodynamic events. The six predefined criteria for the applicability of pulse pressure variation were completely present in only 7% of these. This data indicates that PPV should only be used alongside a strong understanding of the relevant physiology and applicability criteria. Although these exclusion criteria appear to be profound, they likely represent an absolute contraindication of use for only a minority of critical care patients.

Monitoring adverse events in hospitals: how safe are hospitals for patients?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baines, R.J.

2018-01-01

This thesis aims to assess trends in adverse event and preventable adverse event rates in hospitals in the Netherlands through the time period 2004 –2012. Furthermore patient safety for specific care processes and patient groups are assessed. Patient safety has been high on the international agenda

Monitor tables for electron beams in radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christ, G.; Dohm, O.S.

2007-01-01

The application of electron beams in radiotherapy is still based on tables of monitor units, although 3-D treatment planning systems for electron beams are available. This have several reasons: The need for 3-D treatment planning is not recognized; there is no confidence in the calculation algorithm; Monte-Carlo algorithms are too time-consuming; and the effort necessary to measure basic beam data for 3-D planning is considered disproportionate. However, the increasing clinical need for higher dosimetric precision and for more conformal electron beams leads to the requirement for more sophisticated tables of monitor units. The present paper summarizes and discusses the main aspects concerning the preparation of tables of monitor units for electron beams. The measurement equipment and procedures for measuring basic beam data needed for tables of monitor units for electron beams are described for a standard radiation therapy linac. The design of tables of monitor units for standard electron applicators is presented; this design can be extended for individual electron inserts, to variable applicator surface distances, to oblique beam incidence, and the use of bolus material. Typical data of an Elekta linac are presented in various tables. (orig.)

Development of an on-line radon monitoring apparatus and design of the on-line radon monitoring platform based on CAN bus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Huiping; Lu Ning; Shang Aiguo; Zhou Chunlin; Chen Yingfen; Yu Hongwei

2004-12-01

For actual demand, an idea of 'on-line monitoring' is put forward as a way of radon monitoring, instead of traditional so called 'off-line monitoring'. In this way, the apparatus has some automatic functions such as continuous monitoring, real-time alarm; thereby, there is no need for operators' intervention in each monitoring process. With technique of hardware and software design in automation's field, the authors have successfully developed the prototype and finished the scale of it in a standard radon-chamber. This apparatus is composed of detector part and secondary-instrument. The detector part is made up of a passive diffusion collecting chamber, high voltage static electricity, semiconductor detector, charge-sensitive preamplifier and forming circuit. The secondary-instrument is actually a micro-controller system, which consists of a single-chip micro-controller cored measure-controlling unit, display unit, printing unit and alarming unit. Taking this apparatus as a cell, a 'on-line Radon Monitoring Platform' based on CAN bus has been put forward, which can realize multi-points environmental radioactivity real-time monitoring radioactivity and data process. (authors)

Small Business Procurement Event

Science.gov (United States)

2014-08-13

Small Business Procurement Event 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK...NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Department of the Navy,Office of Small Business Programs,720 Kennon...distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES NDIA 27th Navy Gold Coast Small Business Procurement Event, 12-13 Aug 2014, San Diego, CA. 14. ABSTRACT

Integrated Initiating Event Performance Indicators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

S. A. Eide; Dale M. Rasmuson; Corwin L. Atwood

2005-01-01

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Industry Trends Program (ITP) collects and analyses industry-wide data, assesses the safety significance of results, and communicates results to Congress and other stakeholders. This paper outlines potential enhancements in the ITP to comprehensively cover the Initiating Events Cornerstone of Safety. Future work will address other cornerstones of safety. The proposed Tier 1 activity involves collecting data on ten categories of risk-significant initiating events, trending the results, and comparing early performance with prediction limits (allowable numbers of events, above which NRC action may occur). Tier 1 results would be used to monitor industry performance at the level of individual categories of initiating events. The proposed Tier 2 activity involves integrating the information for individual categories of initiating events into a single risk-based indicator, termed the Baseline Risk Index for Initiating Events or BRIIE. The BRIIE would be evaluated yearly and compared against a threshold. BRIIE results would be reported to Congress on a yearly basis

Quantified Event Automata: Towards Expressive and Efficient Runtime Monitors

Science.gov (United States)

Barringer, Howard; Falcone, Ylies; Havelund, Klaus; Reger, Giles; Rydeheard, David

2012-01-01

Runtime verification is the process of checking a property on a trace of events produced by the execution of a computational system. Runtime verification techniques have recently focused on parametric specifications where events take data values as parameters. These techniques exist on a spectrum inhabited by both efficient and expressive techniques. These characteristics are usually shown to be conflicting - in state-of-the-art solutions, efficiency is obtained at the cost of loss of expressiveness and vice-versa. To seek a solution to this conflict we explore a new point on the spectrum by defining an alternative runtime verification approach.We introduce a new formalism for concisely capturing expressive specifications with parameters. Our technique is more expressive than the currently most efficient techniques while at the same time allowing for optimizations.

Nuclear reactor effluent monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minns, J.L.; Essig, T.H.

1993-01-01

Radiological environmental monitoring and effluent monitoring at nuclear power plants is important both for normal operations, as well as in the event of an accident. During normal operations, environmental monitoring verifies the effectiveness of in-plant measures for controlling the release of radioactive materials in the plant. Following an accident, it would be an additional mechanism for estimating doses to members of the general public. This paper identifies the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulatory basis for requiring radiological environmental and effluent monitoring, licensee conditions for effluent and environmental monitoring, NRC independent oversight activities, and NRC's program results

Nuclear reactor effluent monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minns, J.L.; Essig, T.H. [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)

1993-12-31

Radiological environmental monitoring and effluent monitoring at nuclear power plants is important both for normal operations, as well as in the event of an accident. During normal operations, environmental monitoring verifies the effectiveness of in-plant measures for controlling the release of radioactive materials in the plant. Following an accident, it would be an additional mechanism for estimating doses to members of the general public. This paper identifies the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulatory basis for requiring radiological environmental and effluent monitoring, licensee conditions for effluent and environmental monitoring, NRC independent oversight activities, and NRC`s program results.

Nuclear Explosion Monitoring History and Research and Development

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, W. L.; Zucca, J. J.

2008-12-01

Within a year after the nuclear detonations over Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Baruch Plan was presented to the newly formed United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (June 14, 1946) to establish nuclear disarmament and international control over all nuclear activities. These controls would allow only the peaceful use of atomic energy. The plan was rejected through a Security Council veto primarily because of the resistance to unlimited inspections. Since that time there have been many multilateral, and bilateral agreements, and unilateral declarations to limit or eliminate nuclear detonations. Almost all of theses agreements (i.e. treaties) call for some type of monitoring. We will review a timeline showing the history of nuclear testing and the more important treaties. We will also describe testing operations, containment, phenomenology, and observations. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which has been signed by 179 countries (ratified by 144) established the International Monitoring System global verification regime which employs seismic, infrasound, hydroacoustic and radionuclide monitoring techniques. The CTBT also includes on-site inspection to clarify whether a nuclear explosion has been carried out in violation of the Treaty. The US Department of Energy (DOE) through its National Nuclear Security Agency's Ground-Based Nuclear Explosion Monitoring R&D Program supports research by US National Laboratories, and universities and industry internationally to detect, locate, and identify nuclear detonations. This research program builds on the broad base of monitoring expertise developed over several decades. Annually the DOE and the US Department of Defense jointly solicit monitoring research proposals. Areas of research include: seismic regional characterization and wave propagation, seismic event detection and location, seismic identification and source characterization, hydroacoustic monitoring, radionuclide monitoring, infrasound monitoring, and

High-Resolution Structural Monitoring of Ionospheric Absorption Events

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-01

7 riometry. Incorporation of an outrigger site, to enable treatment of the unknown structure of the celestial background and the effects of...riometry. Incorporation of an outrigger site, to enable treatment of the unknown structure of the celestial background and the effects of confusion...event captured with this system . Note that, even at this fairly coarse resolution, there is discrete structure that changes in position and strength

The ATLAS Event Service: A New Approach to Event Processing

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00070566; De, Kaushik; Guan, Wen; Maeno, Tadashi; Nilsson, Paul; Oleynik, Danila; Panitkin, Sergey; Tsulaia, Vakhtang; van Gemmeren, Peter; Wenaus, Torre

2015-01-01

The ATLAS Event Service (ES) implements a new fine grained approach to HEP event processing, designed to be agile and efficient in exploiting transient, short-lived resources such as HPC hole-filling, spot market commercial clouds, and volunteer computing. Input and output control and data flows, bookkeeping, monitoring, and data storage are all managed at the event level in an implementation capable of supporting ATLAS-scale distributed processing throughputs (about 4M CPU-hours/day). Input data flows utilize remote data repositories with no data locality or pre­staging requirements, minimizing the use of costly storage in favor of strongly leveraging powerful networks. Object stores provide a highly scalable means of remotely storing the quasi-continuous, fine grained outputs that give ES based applications a very light data footprint on a processing resource, and ensure negligible losses should the resource suddenly vanish. We will describe the motivations for the ES system, its unique features and capabi...

Monitoring the World Health Organization Global Target 2025 for Exclusive Breastfeeding: Experience From the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Priya M; Perrine, Cria G; Chen, Jian; Elam-Evans, Laurie D; Flores-Ayala, Rafael

2017-08-01

Exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months, calculated from a single 24-hour recall among mothers of children 0 to 5 months of age, is a World Health Organization (WHO) indicator used to monitor progress on the 2025 global breastfeeding target. Many upper-middle-income and high-income countries, including the United States, do not have estimates for this indicator. Research aim: To describe the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months in the United States. We used a single 24-hour dietary recall from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2012 to calculate the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months. We discuss our results in the context of routine breastfeeding surveillance, which is reported from a national survey with different methodology. Among children younger than 6 months, 24.4%, 95% confidence interval [17.6, 31.1], were exclusively breastfed the previous day. To our knowledge, this is the first estimate of the WHO indicator of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months for the United States. This study supports the global surveillance and data strategy for reporting to the WHO on the 2025 target for exclusive breastfeeding.

Physical Fault Injection and Monitoring Methods for Programmable Devices

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00510096; Ferencei, Jozef

A method of detecting faults for evaluating the fault cross section of any field programmable gate array (FPGA) was developed and is described in the thesis. The incidence of single event effects in FPGAs was studied for different probe particles (proton, neutron, gamma) using this method. The existing accelerator infrastructure of the Nuclear Physics Institute in Rez was supplemented by more sensitive beam monitoring system to ensure that the tests are done under well defined beam conditions. The bit cross section of single event effects was measured for different types of configuration memories, clock signal phase and beam energies and intensities. The extended infrastructure served also for radiation testing of components which are planned to be used in the new Inner Tracking System (ITS) detector of the ALICE experiment and for selecting optimal fault mitigation techniques used for securing the design of the FPGA-based ITS readout unit against faults induced by ionizing radiation.

Sensitivity studies on the approaches for addressing multiple initiating events in fire events PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Dae Il; Lim, Ho Gon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

A single fire event within a fire compartment or a fire scenario can cause multiple initiating events (IEs). As an example, a fire in a turbine building fire area can cause a loss of the main feed-water (LOMF) and loss of off-site power (LOOP) IEs. Previous domestic fire events PSA had considered only the most severe initiating event among multiple initiating events. NUREG/CR-6850 and ANS/ASME PRA Standard require that multiple IEs are to be addressed in fire events PSA. In this paper, sensitivity studies on the approaches for addressing multiple IEs in fire events PSA for Hanul Unit 3 were performed and their results were presented. In this paper, sensitivity studies on the approaches for addressing multiple IEs in fire events PSA are performed and their results were presented. From the sensitivity analysis results, we can find that the incorporations of multiple IEs into fire events PSA model result in the core damage frequency (CDF) increase and may lead to the generation of the duplicate cutsets. Multiple IEs also can occur at internal flooding event or other external events such as seismic event. They should be considered in the constructions of PSA models in order to realistically estimate risk due to flooding or seismic events.

Radiation protection and monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, P.

1982-01-01

The present paper deals with the following topics: - Radiological quantities and units - Principles of radiological protection - Limits of doses and activity uptake - Activity discharges and monitoring - Radiation exposure and its calculation - Environmental monitoring - Personnel dosimetry. (orig./RW)

15. Experts' meeting on monitoring environmental radioactivity. Data - models - information. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The proceedings of the 15. Experts' meeting on monitoring environmental radioactivity include contributions o the following topics: environmental monitoring in Germany; developments in emergency protection and environmental monitoring; implementation of model and information systems; measuring programs during events and exercises; public information during local and global events; fast and (new) analytical methods; measures of the quality management systems; European and international environmental monitoring harmonization.

Big Data solution for CTBT monitoring: CEA-IDC joint global cross correlation project

Science.gov (United States)

Bobrov, Dmitry; Bell, Randy; Brachet, Nicolas; Gaillard, Pierre; Kitov, Ivan; Rozhkov, Mikhail

2014-05-01

Waveform cross-correlation when applied to historical datasets of seismic records provides dramatic improvements in detection, location, and magnitude estimation of natural and manmade seismic events. With correlation techniques, the amplitude threshold of signal detection can be reduced globally by a factor of 2 to 3 relative to currently standard beamforming and STA/LTA detector. The gain in sensitivity corresponds to a body wave magnitude reduction by 0.3 to 0.4 units and doubles the number of events meeting high quality requirements (e.g. detected by three and more seismic stations of the International Monitoring System (IMS). This gain is crucial for seismic monitoring under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The International Data Centre (IDC) dataset includes more than 450,000 seismic events, tens of millions of raw detections and continuous seismic data from the primary IMS stations since 2000. This high-quality dataset is a natural candidate for an extensive cross correlation study and the basis of further enhancements in monitoring capabilities. Without this historical dataset recorded by the permanent IMS Seismic Network any improvements would not be feasible. However, due to the mismatch between the volume of data and the performance of the standard Information Technology infrastructure, it becomes impossible to process all the data within tolerable elapsed time. To tackle this problem known as "BigData", the CEA/DASE is part of the French project "DataScale". One objective is to reanalyze 10 years of waveform data from the IMS network with the cross-correlation technique thanks to a dedicated High Performance Computer (HPC) infrastructure operated by the Centre de Calcul Recherche et Technologie (CCRT) at the CEA of Bruyères-le-Châtel. Within 2 years we are planning to enhance detection and phase association algorithms (also using machine learning and automatic classification) and process about 30 terabytes of data provided by the IDC to

Analysis of external events - Nuclear Power Plant Dukovany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hladky, Milan

2000-01-01

PSA of external events at level 1 covers internal events, floods, fires, other external events are not included yet. Shutdown PSA takes into account internal events, floods, fires, heavy load drop, other external events are not included yet. Final safety analysis report was conducted after 10 years of operation for all Dukovany operational units. Probabilistic approach was used for analysis of aircraft drop and external man-induced events. The risk caused by man-induced events was found to be negligible and was accepted by State Office for Nuclear Safety (SONS)

On the usefulness of portal monitor unit subtraction in radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuperman, Vadim Y; Lubich, Leslie M

2003-01-01

In order to avoid additional dose to patients caused by portal imaging with megavoltage x-rays, portal monitor units (MUs) are frequently subtracted from the actual treatment MUs. This study examines the usefulness of portal MU subtraction in radiation therapy. For 11 prostate cancer patients treated with 23 MV photons, dose to prostate due to portal filming with 6 MV photons was determined. In all 11 patients subtraction of portal MU values from the actual treatment MUs resulted in a small underdosing of the prostate with an average treatment error of -0.5%. Portal filming without MU subtraction would cause small overdosing of the prostate with an average treatment error of 1.2%. The results of this study indicate that the benefits of portal MU subtraction are in doubt if (a) the energy of treatment x-rays is much higher than that of the portal x-rays and/or (b) when radiotherapy is performed with physical wedges. Based on the obtained results, we argue against unconditional use of the portal MU subtraction method to eliminate the dose from portal imaging

An Improved Calibration Method for Hydrazine Monitors for the United States Air Force

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Korsah, K

2003-07-07

This report documents the results of Phase 1 of the ''Air Force Hydrazine Detector Characterization and Calibration Project''. A method for calibrating model MDA 7100 hydrazine detectors in the United States Air Force (AF) inventory has been developed. The calibration system consists of a Kintek 491 reference gas generation system, a humidifier/mixer system which combines the dry reference hydrazine gas with humidified diluent or carrier gas to generate the required humidified reference for calibrations, and a gas sampling interface. The Kintek reference gas generation system itself is periodically calibrated using an ORNL-constructed coulometric titration system to verify the hydrazine concentration of the sample atmosphere in the interface module. The Kintek reference gas is then used to calibrate the hydrazine monitors. Thus, coulometric titration is only used to periodically assess the performance of the Kintek reference gas generation system, and is not required for hydrazine monitor calibrations. One advantage of using coulometric titration for verifying the concentration of the reference gas is that it is a primary standard (if used for simple solutions), thereby guaranteeing, in principle, that measurements will be traceable to SI units (i.e., to the mole). The effect of humidity of the reference gas was characterized by using the results of concentrations determined by coulometric titration to develop a humidity correction graph for the Kintek 491 reference gas generation system. Using this calibration method, calibration uncertainty has been reduced by 50% compared to the current method used to calibrate hydrazine monitors in the Air Force inventory and calibration time has also been reduced by more than 20%. Significant findings from studies documented in this report are the following: (1) The Kintek 491 reference gas generation system (generator, humidifier and interface module) can be used to calibrate hydrazine detectors. (2) The

First Results of 3 Year Monitoring of Red Wood Ants' Behavioural Changes and Their Possible Correlation with Earthquake Events

Science.gov (United States)

Berberich, Gabriele; Berberich, Martin; Grumpe, Arne; Wöhler, Christian; Schreiber, Ulrich

2013-04-01

Short-term earthquake predictions with an advance warning of several hours or days can currently not be performed reliably and remain limited to only a few minutes before the event. Abnormal animal behaviours prior to earthquakes have been reported previously but their detection creates problems in monitoring and reliability. A different situation is encountered for red wood ants (RWA; Formica rufa-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). They have stationary nest sites on tectonically active, gas-bearing fault systems. These faults may be potential earthquake areas and are simultaneously information channels deeply reaching into the crust. A particular advantage of monitoring RWA is their high sensitivity to environmental changes. Besides an evolutionarily developed extremely strong temperature sensitivity of 0.25 K, they have chemoreceptors for the detection of CO2 concentrations and a sensitivity for electromagnetic fields. Changes of the electromagnetic field are discussed or short-lived "thermal anomalies" are reported as trigger mechanisms for bioanomalies of impending earthquakes. For 3 years, we have monitored two Red Wood Ant mounds (Formica rufa-group), located at the seismically active Neuwied Basin (Eifel, Germany), 24/7 by high-resolution cameras equipped with a colour and infrared sensor. In the Neuwied Basin, an average of about 100 earthquakes per year with magnitudes up to M 3.9 occur located on different tectonic fault regimes (strike-slip faults and/or normal or thrust faults). The RWA mounds are located on two different fault regimes approximately 30 km apart. First results show that the ants have a well-identifiable standard daily routine. Correlation with local seismic events suggests changes in the ants' behaviour hours before the earthquake event: The nocturnal rest phase and daily activity are suppressed, and standard daily routine is continued not before the next day. Additional parameters that might have an effect on the ants' daily routine

Effectiveness of pacemaker tele-monitoring on quality of life, functional capacity, event detection and workload: The PONIENTE trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Villegas, Antonio; Catalan-Matamoros, Daniel; Robles-Musso, Emilio; Peiro, Salvador

2016-11-01

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of the remote monitoring (RM) of older adults with pacemakers on health-related quality of life, functional capacity, feasibility, reliability and safety. The PONIENTE study is a controlled, non-randomized, non-blinded clinical trial, with data collection carried out during the pre-implant stage and after 12 months. Between October of 2012 and November of 2013, 82 patients were assigned to either a remote monitoring group (n = 30) or a conventional hospital monitoring (HM) group (n = 52). The EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and the Duke Activity Status Index were used to measure health-related quality of life and functional capacity, respectively. Baseline characteristics and number of hospital visits were also analyzed. The baseline characteristics of the two study groups were similar for both the EQ-5D (RM 0.74, HM 0.67; P = 0.404) and the Duke Activity Status Index (RM 21.42, HM 19.95; P = 0.272). At the 12-month follow up, the EQ-5D utility score was improved for both groups (RM 0.91, HM 0.81; P = 0.154), unlike the EQ-5D Visual Analog Scale (P = 0.043). The Duke Activity Status Index score was similar to the baseline score. The number of in-hospital visits was 27% lower (3 vs 4; P pacemakers in older adults is an equivalent option to hospital monitoring, in terms of health-related quality of life and functional capacity. Furthermore, it allows for the early detection of clinical and pacemaker-related adverse events, and significantly reduces the number of in-hospital visits. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 1188-1195. © 2015 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Establishing a mobile automatic monitoring station for emergency response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang, Hsin-Fa

2008-01-01

Full text: A radiological/nuclear emergency event may cause environmental contamination. The emergency response works always need to plan an environmental survey programme incorporating the assessment results to see what is happening. The places where are assessed to have the highest radioactive contamination/radiation dose will catch more concern and need continuous monitoring. It will cause unnecessary dangers and dose to command that personnel conduct surveying in such places when the radiological/nuclear accident become more severe. A mobile automatic monitoring station has been established for emergency response by INER (Institute of Nuclear Energy Research) to solve the problem practically. The monitoring station involves a HPIC to monitor radiation dose, an anemometer to monitor wind speed and direction, a GPS to get position data, a GPRS/3G communication module to send monitoring and positioning data to the monitoring centre where can show the monitoring result directly on a map shown on the computer. These instruments are integrated in a trailer easy to be towed to the place need to be monitored. The electric power of the station is supplied by s a solar power energy system. It can supply the station working at least 10 days without extra electric power supply designed based on the expected time length of a nuclear power plant event. The HPIC is very sensitive and stable that can discriminate a 10 nSv/hr increasing of dose rate with the monitoring time period every ten seconds. Where the radiological dispersion device events happened is not predictable, it is difficult to get suitable wind monitoring data to assess the result of radiological dispersion device events. The anemometer added on the station can provide the real time wind monitoring data to help assessment works. (author)

Monitoring Activities Review action report for the Environmental Monitoring Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilhelmsen, R.N.; Wright, K.C.

1990-12-01

To improve program planning and to provide bases for technical improvement of the monitoring program, the EG ampersand G Environmental Monitoring (EM) organization has regularly used the Monitoring Activities Review (MAR) process since 1982. Each MAR is conducted by a committee of individuals selected for their experience in the various types of monitoring performed by the EM organization. An MAR of the Environmental Monitoring Program was conducted in 1988. This action report identifies and discusses the recommendations of this MAR committee. This action report also identifies the actions already taken by the EM Unit in response to these recommendations, as well as the actions and schedules to be taken. 10 refs

SCANNING AND TRACKING MONITORING APPARATUS AND METHOD

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

Disclosed is a scanning monitoring apparatus for medical imaging, the scanning monitoring apparatus comprising a controller unit and a display, wherein the controller unit during a scanning session is configured to obtain tracking data (102) of a subject in a medical scanner, obtain scanner data ...

Risk stratification of cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with asymptomatic or symptomatic lacunar infarcts by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiraishi, Makoto; Watanabe, Hirofumi; Sakurai, Kenzo; Kato, Bunta; Hasegawa, Yasuhiro

2012-01-01

Our goal was to investigate the utility of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for the risk stratification of cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with asymptomatic or symptomatic lacunar infarcts. A total of 175 hypertensive patients with MRI evidence of asymptomatic or symptomatic lacunar infarcts (92 men, mean age of 69±11 years old) were studied. Patients with symptomatic infarctions were included whose events occurred more than 6 months after the onset. ABPM was performed in all patients in the outpatient clinic. Parameters obtained from ABPM were related to the composite outcome which consisted of all death and fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events by using the Cox proportional hazard model. Mean follow-up period was 4.8 years and the composite outcome was recorded in 38 patients. 34 of them (89%) had recurrence of lacunar infarcts. Significant association between sleep-time lowest systolic blood pressure and composite outcome was demonstrated by multivariate Cox hazard analyses (heart rate (HR) 1.025, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.011-1.039, p<0.001). The risk for composite outcome in patients with the highest tertile of sleep-time lowest systolic blood pressure (≥133 mmHg) was significantly elevated when compared to the lowest tertile (<132 mmHg, HR 3.93, 95% CI 1.57-9.86, p=0.004). Sleep-time lowest systolic blood pressure in ABPM may be a useful parameter for the risk stratification of future cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with asymptomatic or symptomatic lacunar infarcts, especially for the recurrence of these events. (author)

Event visualization in ATLAS

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00211497; The ATLAS collaboration; Boudreau, Joseph; Konstantinidis, Nikolaos; Martyniuk, Alex; Moyse, Edward; Thomas, Juergen; Waugh, Ben; Yallup, David

2017-01-01

At the beginning, HEP experiments made use of photographical images both to record and store experimental data and to illustrate their findings. Then the experiments evolved and needed to find ways to visualize their data. With the availability of computer graphics, software packages to display event data and the detector geometry started to be developed. Here, an overview of the usage of event display tools in HEP is presented. Then the case of the ATLAS experiment is considered in more detail and two widely used event display packages are presented, Atlantis and VP1, focusing on the software technologies they employ, as well as their strengths, differences and their usage in the experiment: from physics analysis to detector development, and from online monitoring to outreach and communication. Towards the end, the other ATLAS visualization tools will be briefly presented as well. Future development plans and improvements in the ATLAS event display packages will also be discussed.

Multi-Gas Monitor (MGM)

Science.gov (United States)

Pilgrim, Jeff; Limero, Thomas

2015-01-01

Multi-Gas Monitor is a flight experiment, a technology demonstration to test the ability of tunable diode laser spectroscopy based instrument to stay in calibration long term and follow events and dynamics occurring with the cabin atmosphere. MGM measures 4 gases: oxygen, carbon monoxide, ammonia and water vapor, as well as temperature and pressure. This month marked one year of successful and continuous MGM operation on ISS. The crew successfully tested the ammonia channel using a commercially available inhalant. MGM has detected some interesting dynamics inside Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) as a result of CO2 thruster firings from the SPHERES/RINGS payload and water spikes from dry out cycling of the JEM heat exchangers. Results to date have given us high confidence in the technology such that we believe this could have applications in the energy and medical sectors. This presentation will summarize the testing and results of the unit on ISS and suggest areas of use within the energy and medical arenas.

Within the International Collaboration CHAIN: a Summary of Events Observed with Flare Monitoring Telescope (FMT) in Peru

Science.gov (United States)