Experiences with the upgraded SKP system during refuelling Paks nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranyai, A.; Hetzmann, A.

1997-01-01

In order to control the neutron flux during the refueling period, new measuring chains were developed and put into operation by the experts of KFKI-RegTron Co., Ltd. and the Paks Nuclear Power Plant with the purpose of partially substituting the original Refuelling Neutron Monitoring system (SKP) of WWER-440 reactor units. The modified monitoring system processes the signals of detectors located in channels outside the core. The outputs of measurement amplifiers equipped with up-to-date electronics fit in the original system perfectly. Use of the out-of-core measuring technique confirmed the preliminary expectations: interference sensitivity has decreased, the neutron/gamma ration increased and refueling time has become shorter by one to one-and-a-half day. The paper details the reasons for upgrading, the essence of utilized solutions and the operational experience. (author)

Robotic refueling machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Challberg, R.C.; Jones, C.R.

1996-01-01

One of the longest critical path operations performed during the outage is removing and replacing the fuel. A design is currently under development for a refueling machine which would allow faster, fully automated operation and would also allow the handling of two fuel assemblies at the same time. This design is different from current designs, (a) because of its lighter weight, making increased acceleration and speed possible, (b) because of its control system which makes locating the fuel assembly more dependable and faster, and (c) because of its dual handling system allowing simultaneous fuel movements. The new design uses two robotic arms to span a designated area of the vessel and the fuel storage area. Attached to the end of each robotic arm is a lightweight telescoping mast with a pendant attached to the end of each mast. The pendant acts as the base unit, allowing attachment of any number of end effectors depending on the servicing or inspection operation. Housed within the pendant are two television cameras used for the positioning control system. The control system is adapted from the robotics field using the technology known as machine vision, which provides both object and character recognition techniques to enable relative position control rather than absolute position control as in past designs. The pendant also contains thrusters that are used for fast, short distance, precise positioning. The new refueling machine system design is capable of a complete off load and reload of an 872 element core in about 5.3 days compared to 13 days for a conventional system

Modeling Hydrogen Refueling Infrastructure to Support Passenger Vehicles †

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo Muratori

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The year 2014 marked hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs first becoming commercially available in California, where significant investments are being made to promote the adoption of alternative transportation fuels. A refueling infrastructure network that guarantees adequate coverage and expands in line with vehicle sales is required for FCEVs to be successfully adopted by private customers. In this paper, we provide an overview of modelling methodologies used to project hydrogen refueling infrastructure requirements to support FCEV adoption, and we describe, in detail, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s scenario evaluation and regionalization analysis (SERA model. As an example, we use SERA to explore two alternative scenarios of FCEV adoption: one in which FCEV deployment is limited to California and several major cities in the United States; and one in which FCEVs reach widespread adoption, becoming a major option as passenger vehicles across the entire country. Such scenarios can provide guidance and insights for efforts required to deploy the infrastructure supporting transition toward different levels of hydrogen use as a transportation fuel for passenger vehicles in the United States.

Refueling machine for a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kowalski, E.F.; Hornak, L.P.; Swidwa, K.J.

1981-01-01

An improved refuelling machine for inserting and removing fuel assemblies from a nuclear reactor is described which has been designed to increase the reliability of such machines. The system incorporates features which enable the refuelling operation to be performed more efficiently and economically. (U.K.)

Automated refueling inventory control system at FFTF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ordonez, C.R.

1983-10-01

The Refueling Inventory Control System (RICS) at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) keeps track of all assemblies that reside in the various refueling facilities. The automated RICS allows the user to obtain information regarding any assembly under its control by displaying the data on a screen. It also provides a simulation mode which allows assembly moves on a duplicated data base. This simulation is used to verify the refueling documentation before it is issued

Diablo Canyon refueling outage program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLane, W.B.; Irving, T.L.

1991-01-01

Management of outages has become one of the most talked about subjects in the nuclear power industry in the past several years. Many utilities do not perform refueling outages very well or in the past have had some outages that they would not like to repeat and in some cases do not even like to think about. With the growing cost of energy and the demands placed on utilities to improve capacity factors, it is very easy for management to focus on shortening refueling outage durations as a prime objective in improving overall corporate performance. So it is with Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the Diablo Canyon power plant. A review of their refueling outage performance reflects a utility that is responding to the nuclear industry's call for improved outage performance

Optimization of hydrogen vehicle refueling via dynamic simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rothuizen, Erasmus Damgaard; Mérida, W.; Rokni, Masoud

2013-01-01

loss in the vehicle's storage system is one of the main factors determining the mass flow and peak cooling requirements of the refueling process. The design of the refueling station does not influence the refueling of the vehicle when the requirements of the technical information report J2601 from...... Society of Automotive Engineers are met. However, by using multiple pressure stages in the tanks at the refueling station (instead of a single high-pressure tank), the total energy demand for cooling can be reduced by 12%, and the compressor power consumption can be reduced by 17%. The time between...

A TRIGA refueling exercise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McEwen, Michael J [Kansas State University (United States)

1974-07-01

In June 1973 the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission offered to assist the Department of Nuclear Engineering staff in refueling the KSU TRIGA Mkll - Nuclear Reactor. The replacement fuel was made available free of charge and a contract was negotiated between the Department of Nuclear Engineering and the A.E.C. to provide for costs incurred during the refueling operation. In addition, the A.E.C. aided in the fuel transfers by providing the names of contacts at the different laboratories and agencies concerned with fuel transfers. Data and numbers relevant to the entire reloading will be available in the short summary. (author)

Some novel on-power refuelling features of CANDU stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erwin, D.; Pendlebury, B.; Watson, J.F.; Welch, A.C.

1976-01-01

Part A of the paper describes the reasons for, and advantages resulting from, the use of flow assisted refuelling in the CANDU type nuclear reactors at the Pickering Generating Station. A separate fuel handling system is used for each reactor unit, as distinct from the system employed at the Bruce Generating station, where the fuel handling system is shared among several units. Part B of the paper describes some of the advantages of the shared concept with particular emphasis on the availability of the fuel handling system. (author)

Refueling system for the gas-cooled fast breeder reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawke, B.C.

1980-05-01

Criteria specifically related to the handling of Gas-Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (GCFR) fuel are briefly reviewed, and the most significant requirements with which the refueling system must comply are discussed. Each component of the refueling system is identified, and a functional description of the fuel handling machine is presented. An illustrated operating sequence describing the various functions involved in a typical refueling cycle is presented. The design status of components and subsystems selected for conceptual development is reviewed, and anticipated refueling time frames are given

Research on constellation refueling based on formation flying

Science.gov (United States)

Bo, Xu; Feng, Quansheng

2011-06-01

A new scheme for refueling satellite constellation is proposed in this paper. Compared with the traditional research, where the satellite refueling is implemented through spacecraft rendezvous and docking, the new pattern studied here is based on formation flying, and it is more feasible, safer and more reliable. On the grounds of the proposed pattern, two refueling strategies are studied. The first is called single supplier refueling (SSR) based on formation flying. In this scenario, one fuel-sufficient satellite called a supplier, departs from its parking orbit, and after a series of orbit maneuvers, arrives at the target constellation that consists of multiple fuel-deficient satellites called workers. It then transfers equal fuel to each worker within the prescribed mission time. The second strategy is called double suppliers refueling (DSR) based on formation flying. This time two suppliers take charge of refueling half of the workers respectively in the same way as SSR. Using a genetic algorithm, the orbit of a supplier with a minimum consumption of fuel can be obtained once the mission time is fixed. Simulation results indicate that DSR is superior to SSR and that this dominance will be more distinct as the number of workers increases and the mission time decreases.

Refueling of nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, J.W.; Swidwa, K.J.; Hornak, L.P.

1989-01-01

This patent describes an apparatus for refueling a nuclear reactor, the reactor being disposed for refueling under water in a pit in a containment, the apparatus including a bridge to be mounted moveably over the pit on the containment, first means connected to the bridge, for moving the bridge forward and backward on the containment over the pit along a first path, a first pulse generator, connected to the moving means, responsive to the movement of the bridge, for producing pulses, means, connected to the generator,for counting the pulses, the count of the pulses being dependent on the distance of the movement of the bridge

Refueling machine with relative positioning capability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Challberg, R.C.; Jones, C.R.

1998-01-01

A refueling machine is disclosed having relative positioning capability for refueling a nuclear reactor. The refueling machine includes a pair of articulated arms mounted on a refueling bridge. Each arm supports a respective telescoping mast. Each telescoping mast is designed to flex laterally in response to application of a lateral thrust on the end of the mast. A pendant mounted on the end of the mast carries an air-actuated grapple, television cameras, ultrasonic transducers and waterjet thrusters. The ultrasonic transducers are used to detect the gross position of the grapple relative to the bail of a nuclear fuel assembly in the fuel core. The television cameras acquire an image of the bail which is compared to a pre-stored image in computer memory. The pendant can be rotated until the television image and the pre-stored image match within a predetermined tolerance. Similarly, the waterjet thrusters can be used to apply lateral thrust to the end of the flexible mast to place the grapple in a fine position relative to the bail as a function of the discrepancy between the television and pre-stored images. 11 figs

Refueling machine with relative positioning capability

Science.gov (United States)

Challberg, R.C.; Jones, C.R.

1998-12-15

A refueling machine is disclosed having relative positioning capability for refueling a nuclear reactor. The refueling machine includes a pair of articulated arms mounted on a refueling bridge. Each arm supports a respective telescoping mast. Each telescoping mast is designed to flex laterally in response to application of a lateral thrust on the end of the mast. A pendant mounted on the end of the mast carries an air-actuated grapple, television cameras, ultrasonic transducers and waterjet thrusters. The ultrasonic transducers are used to detect the gross position of the grapple relative to the bail of a nuclear fuel assembly in the fuel core. The television cameras acquire an image of the bail which is compared to a pre-stored image in computer memory. The pendant can be rotated until the television image and the pre-stored image match within a predetermined tolerance. Similarly, the waterjet thrusters can be used to apply lateral thrust to the end of the flexible mast to place the grapple in a fine position relative to the bail as a function of the discrepancy between the television and pre-stored images. 11 figs.

Tracking of fission products release during refueling operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agarwal, Sharad; Prajapat, M.K.; Vyas, Shyam; Hussain, S.A.

2001-01-01

It has been always observed that the release of fission products increase during refueling operations. At RAPP-3 and 4 an attempt has been made to follow-up the change in fission products activity release at each stage of refueling operation and quantification of concentrations of various radionuclides. This exercise was also extended to refueling operation of the channels containing suspected failed fuel. A level of FPNG ( 133 Xe) was observed to increase by a factor of about 10-40 during refueling of failed channel as compared to healthy channel. It can be concluded that by monitoring FPNG levels in exhaust status of the healthiness of spent fuel can be found out. This report discusses in detail the experiment conducted for this purpose. (author)

Method for refuelling a nuclear reactor core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1977-01-01

This invention relates to an improved method for refuelling a nuclear reactor core inside a reactor vessel. The technique allows a substantial reduction in the refuelling time as compared with previously known methods and permits fewer out of core operations and smaller temporary storage space. (U.K.)

The joint contribution of neighborhood poverty and social integration to mortality risk in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, Andrea Fleisch; Echeverria, Sandra E; Holland, Bart K; Abraido-Lanza, Ana F; Passannante, Marian R

2016-04-01

A well-established literature has shown that social integration strongly patterns health, including mortality risk. However, the extent to which living in high-poverty neighborhoods and having few social ties jointly pattern survival in the United States has not been examined. We analyzed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) linked to mortality follow-up through 2006 and census-based neighborhood poverty. We fit Cox proportional hazards models to estimate associations between social integration and neighborhood poverty on all-cause mortality as independent predictors and in joint-effects models using the relative excess risk due to interaction to test for interaction on an additive scale. In the joint-effects model adjusting for age, gender, race/ ethnicity, and individual-level socioeconomic status, exposure to low social integration alone was associated with increased mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.42, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28-1.59) while living in an area of high poverty alone did not have a significant effect (HR: 1.10; 95% CI: 0.95-1.28) when compared with being jointly unexposed. Individuals simultaneously living in neighborhoods characterized by high poverty and having low levels of social integration had an increased risk of mortality (HR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.35-1.96). However, relative excess risk due to interaction results were not statistically significant. Social integration remains an important determinant of mortality risk in the United States independent of neighborhood poverty. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Refueling and control of RFP burns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nebel, R.; Miley, G.H.

1978-01-01

An earlier study of the stability of a fusion burn in a Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) has been extended to include cold particle refueling. This refueling, coupled with anomalous transport, makes possible quasi-steady state operation which both flattens the wall-loading temporal dependence and significantly increases energy gain factors. This paper discusses results of these burn simulations along with parametric studies aimed at determining associated reactor scaling problems

Development and operating performance of the refuelling machine of the Fugen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, Jun; Kasai, Yoshimitsu; Takeshita, Norito; Ohta, Takeo

1985-01-01

In the advanced thermal reactor ''Fugen'' power station, with the refuelling machine the fuel replacement during operation is made through the reactor bottom. Its design was started in 1967 and up to 1975 various tests were conducted. Fugen's refuelling machine has thus been used from the initial fuel loading in 1978 and handled so far about 1300 fuel assemblies in seven times of the refuelling. In the stage of Fugen operation there occurred failure of the grab drive due to crud, etc. At present, with such troubles all eliminated, the refuelling machine is in steady operation with proper maintenance. The results with Fugen's refuelling machine are reflected in the development of the refuelling machine for the demonstration ATR. (Mori, K.)

Moved range monitor of a refueling machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Masaaki; Sakanaka, Tadao; Kayano, Hiroyuki.

1976-01-01

Purpose: To incorporate light receiving and emitting elements in a face monitor to thereby increase accuracy and reliability to facilitate handling in the refueling of a BWR power plant. Constitution: In the present invention, a refueling machine and a face monitoring light receiving and emitting elements are analogously coupled whereby the face monitoring light receiving and emitting elements may be moved so as to be analogous to a route along which the refueling machine has moved. A shielding plate is positioned in the middle of the light receiving and emitting elements, and the shielding plate is machined so as to be outside of action. The range of action of the refueling machine may be monitored depending on the light receiving state of the light receiving element. Since the present invention utilizes the permeating light as described above, it is possible to detect positions more accurately than the mechanical switch. In addition, the detection section is of the non-contact system and the light receiving element comprises a hot cell, and therefore the service life is extended and the reliability is high. (Nakamura, S.)

RFSP simulations of Darlington FINCH refuelling transient

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carruthers, E.V.; Chow, H.C.

1997-01-01

Immediately after refuelling of a channel, the fresh bundles are free of fission products. Xenon-135, the most notable of the saturating fission products, builds up to an equilibrium level in about 30 h. The channel power of the refuelled channel would therefore initially peak and then drop to a steady-state level. The RFSP code can track saturating-fission-product transients and power transients. The Fully INstrumented CHannels (FINCHs) in Darlington NGS provides channel power data on the refuelling power transients. In this paper, such data has been used to identify the physical evidence of the fission-product transient effect on channel power, and to validate RFSP fission-product-driver calculation results. (author)

Optimal refueling principle of research and test reactors and its application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Feng; Sun Shouhua; Bu Yongxi

1993-01-01

Based on basic formula for core refueling, the optimal refueling principle for cores with fuel assemblies of different burnup are suggested. Some conclusions derived from this principle are given. Calculation formula for different refueling scheme and computation programme are derived and used for the HFETR typical core loading with different refueling scheme. With the suggested core fuel consuming index, core fuel managements of 24 cycles in 10 years operation of HFETR were analyzed. Results show that the application of optimal refueling principle can greatly save the fuel consuming. Direction of HFETR core fuel management research was also di cussed

Refuelling: Swiss station will be semi-automated

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontaine, B.; Ribaux, P.

1981-01-01

The first semi-automated LWR refuelling machine in Europe has been supplied to the Leibstadt General Electric BWR in Switzerland. The system relieves operators of the boring and repetitive job of moving and accurately positioning the refuelling machine during fuelling operations and will thus contribute to plant safety. The machine and its mode of operation are described. (author)

A Distance-Adaptive Refueling Recommendation Algorithm for Self-Driving Travel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quanli Xu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Taking the maximum vehicle driving distance, the distances from gas stations, the route length, and the number of refueling gas stations as the decision conditions, recommendation rules and an early refueling service warning mechanism for gas stations along a self-driving travel route were constructed by using the algorithm presented in this research, based on the spatial clustering characteristics of gas stations and the urgency of refueling. Meanwhile, by combining ArcEngine and Matlab capabilities, a scenario simulation system of refueling for self-driving travel was developed by using c#.net in order to validate and test the accuracy and applicability of the algorithm. A total of nine testing schemes with four simulation scenarios were designed and executed using this algorithm, and all of the simulation results were consistent with expectations. The refueling recommendation algorithm proposed in this study can automatically adapt to changes in the route length of self-driving travel, the maximum driving distance of the vehicle, and the distance from gas stations, which could provide variable refueling recommendation strategies according to differing gas station layouts along the route. Therefore, the results of this study could provide a scientific reference for the reasonable planning and timely supply of vehicle refueling during self-driving travel.

AHTR Refueling Systems and Process Description

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Varma, V.K.; Holcomb, D.E.; Bradley, E.C.; Zaharia, N.M.; Cooper, E.J.

2012-07-15

The Advanced High-Temperature Reactor (AHTR) is a design concept for a central station-type [1500 MW(e)] Fluoride salt–cooled High-temperature Reactor (FHR) that is currently undergoing development by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the US. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Concepts program. FHRs, by definition, feature low-pressure liquid fluoride salt cooling, coated-particle fuel, a high-temperature power cycle, and fully passive decay heat rejection. The overall goal of the AHTR development program is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of FHRs as low-cost, large-size power producers while maintaining full passive safety. The AHTR is approaching a preconceptual level of maturity. An initial integrated layout of its major systems, structures, and components (SSCs), and an initial, high-level sequence of operations necessary for constructing and operating the plant is nearing completion. An overview of the current status of the AHTR concept has been recently published [1], and a report providing a more detailed overview of the AHTR structures and mechanical systems is currently in preparation. This report documents the refueling components and processes envisioned at this early development phase. The report is limited to the refueling aspects of the AHTR and does not include overall reactor or power plant design information. The report, however, does include a description of the materials envisioned for the various components and the instrumentation necessary to control the refueling process. The report begins with an overview of the refueling strategy. Next a mechanical description of the AHTR fuel assemblies and core is provided. The reactor vessel upper assemblies are then described. Following this the refueling path structures and the refueling mechanisms and components are described. The sequence of operations necessary to fuel and defuel the reactor is then discussed. The report concludes with a discussion of the

AHTR Refueling Systems and Process Description

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Varma, Venugopal Koikal [ORNL; Holcomb, David Eugene [ORNL; Bradley, Eric Craig [ORNL; Zaharia, Nathaniel M [ORNL; Cooper, Eliott J [ORNL

2012-07-01

The Advanced High-Temperature Reactor (AHTR) is a design concept for a central station-type [1500 MW(e)] Fluoride salt-cooled High-temperature Reactor (FHR) that is currently undergoing development by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the US. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy's Advanced Reactor Concepts program. FHRs, by definition, feature low-pressure liquid fluoride salt cooling, coated-particle fuel, a high-temperature power cycle, and fully passive decay heat rejection. The overall goal of the AHTR development program is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of FHRs as low-cost, large-size power producers while maintaining full passive safety. The AHTR is approaching a preconceptual level of maturity. An initial integrated layout of its major systems, structures, and components (SSCs), and an initial, high-level sequence of operations necessary for constructing and operating the plant is nearing completion. An overview of the current status of the AHTR concept has been recently published and a report providing a more detailed overview of the AHTR structures and mechanical systems is currently in preparation. This report documents the refueling components and processes envisioned at this early development phase. The report is limited to the refueling aspects of the AHTR and does not include overall reactor or power plant design information. The report, however, does include a description of the materials envisioned for the various components and the instrumentation necessary to control the refueling process. The report begins with an overview of the refueling strategy. Next a mechanical description of the AHTR fuel assemblies and core is provided. The reactor vessel upper assemblies are then described. Following this the refueling path structures and the refueling mechanisms and components are described. The sequence of operations necessary to fuel and defuel the reactor is then discussed. The report concludes with a discussion of the

Design tool for offgrid hydrogen refuelling systems for aerospace applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Troncoso, E.; Lapeña-Rey, N.; Gonzalez, M.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A simulation tool for offgrid CPV-based hydrogen refuelling systems is presented. • Simulations of system configurations with specific UAS hydrogen demand scenarios. • Regarding system size & reliability the most critical components are the CPV array and batteries. • In terms of energy efficiency the most critical component is the electrolyser. - Abstract: To develop an environmentally acceptable refuelling solution for fuel cell-powered unmanned aerial systems (UASs) to operate in remote areas, hydrogen fuel must be produced on-site from renewable energy sources. This paper describes a Matlab-based simulation tool specifically developed to pre-design offgrid hydrogen refuelling systems for UAS applications. The refuelling system comprises a high concentrated PV array (CPV), an electrolyser, a hydrogen buffer tank and a diaphragm hydrogen compressor. Small composite tanks are also included for fast refuelling of the UAV platforms at any time during the year. The novel approach of selecting a CPV power source is justified on the basis of minimizing the system footprint (versus flat plat or low concentration PV), aiming for a containerized remotely deployable UAS offgrid refuelling solution. To validate the simulation tool a number of simulations were performed using experimental data from a prototype offgrid hydrogen refuelling station for UAVs developed by Boeing Research & Technology Europe. Solar irradiation data for a selected location and daily UAS hydrogen demands of between 2.8 and 15.8 Nm"3 were employed as the primary inputs, in order to calculate a recommended system sizing solution and assess the expected operation of the refuelling system across a given year. The specific energy consumption of the refuelling system obtained from the simulations is between 5.6 and 8.9 kW h_e per kg of hydrogen delivered to the UAVs, being lower for larger daily hydrogen demands. Increasing the CPV area and electrolyser size in order to supply higher

Design study for KALIMER upper internal structure and reactor refueling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jin Ho

1996-09-01

The design study for the KALIMER upper internal structure (UIS) and reactor refueling system has been described. Two distinct features are plug-in UIS and extended refueling outage. For the UIS system, the functional, structural and material requirements have been determined and the accommodation approaches to meet these functional requirements described. For the refueling system, the functional, structural, process and I and C (Instrument and Control) requirements have been established and the accommodation approaches for the functional and process requirements described. The impact on plant availability due to extension of the refueling outage has also been investigated. The accommodation approaches for UIS system show that the design concept of the system will satisfy the functional requirements with a few design issues to be resolved, such as UIS plug in/out handling system and cask design. It is also shown that the functional and process requirements of the refueling system are achievable with the design of the IVTM cask and related transfer system and the extended refueling outage has little effect (within 1%) on the plant availability if extra refueling time do not exceed 1 week. 1 refs. (Author)

Design study for KALIMER upper internal structure and reactor refueling system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jin Ho [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1996-09-01

The design study for the KALIMER upper internal structure (UIS) and reactor refueling system has been described. Two distinct features are plug-in UIS and extended refueling outage. For the UIS system, the functional, structural and material requirements have been determined and the accommodation approaches to meet these functional requirements described. For the refueling system, the functional, structural, process and I and C (Instrument and Control) requirements have been established and the accommodation approaches for the functional and process requirements described. The impact on plant availability due to extension of the refueling outage has also been investigated. The accommodation approaches for UIS system show that the design concept of the system will satisfy the functional requirements with a few design issues to be resolved, such as UIS plug in/out handling system and cask design. It is also shown that the functional and process requirements of the refueling system are achievable with the design of the IVTM cask and related transfer system and the extended refueling outage has little effect (within 1%) on the plant availability if extra refueling time do not exceed 1 week. 1 refs. (Author).

Improvement of availability of PWR nuclear plants through the reduction of the time required for refueling/maintenance outages, Phase 1. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, C.A.

1978-08-01

The objective of this project is to identify improvements in procedures and equipment which will reduce the time required for refueling/maintenance outages at PWR nuclear power plants. The outage of Commonwealth Edison Zion Station Unit 1 in March through May of 1976 was evaluated to identify those items which caused delays and those work activities that offer the potential for significant improvements toward reducing its overall duration. Thus, the plant's availability for power production would be increased. Revisions in procedures and some equipment modifications were implemented and evaluated during the Zion Unit 2 refueling/maintenance outage beginning in January 1977. Analysis of the observed data has identified benefits available through improved refueling equipment and also areas where additional new, innovative refueling, or refueling-related equipment should be beneficial. A number of specific design concepts are recommended as a result of Phase 1. In addition, a new master planning mechanism is described for implementation during subsequent planned outages at Zion Station. This final report describes the recommended conceptual designs and planning mechanism and assesses their impact upon future outages. Their effect on savings in refueling time, labor, and radiation exposure is discussed. The estimated economic payoff for these concepts was found to be of such significance that an additional phase of the program is warranted. During this extended phase, a more detailed engineering study should be undertaken to determine the cost of implementation along with more specific estimates of the benefits for PWR plants already in operation or under construction

Status and Prospects of the Global Automotive Fuel Cell Industry and Plans for Deployment of Fuel Cell Vehicles and Hydrogen Refueling Infrastructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greene, David L [ORNL; Duleep, Gopal [HD Systems

2013-06-01

Automobile manufacturers leading the development of mass-market fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) were interviewed in Japan, Korea, Germany and the United States. There is general agreement that the performance of FCVs with respect to durability, cold start, packaging, acceleration, refueling time and range has progressed to the point where vehicles that could be brought to market in 2015 will satisfy customer expectations. However, cost and the lack of refueling infrastructure remain significant barriers. Costs have been dramatically reduced over the past decade, yet are still about twice what appears to be needed for sustainable market success. While all four countries have plans for the early deployment of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, the roles of government, industry and the public in creating a viable hydrogen refueling infrastructure remain unresolved. The existence of an adequate refueling infrastructure and supporting government policies are likely to be the critical factors that determine when and where hydrogen FCVs are brought to market.

Control Room Tasks During Refueling in Ringhals 1 Nuclear Power Plant - Operator performance during refuelling outages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroebeck, Einar; Olausson, Jesper; Van Gemst, Paul

1998-01-01

This paper discusses the performance and tasks of the operators in the control room during refuelling outages. Analyses of such events have, during the last years, shown that the risk for nuclear accidents is not negligible compared with the risk at higher reactor power levels. Some experts have the opinion that, due to mistakes during an outage, the risk for such accidents during the outage and other accidents later on during power operation is higher than in other plant situations. The high risk level is mainly a result of errors at maintenance actions and supervision of lining up of safety systems. Most of the control rooms in existing NPPs were designed more than 10 years ago. At that time the activities and the tasks for the operators were not very well understood. Procedures for refuelling and other activities during the outages were not described very well. Often the utility organisation for refuelling outages was not established at the start of the control room design. Experience from operation during many years has shown that the performance of operators can be improved in existing plant, and thus risks be reduced, by upgrading the control room. These issues have been studied as a part of the modernisation project for Ringhals 1, an ABB Atom BWR owned by Vattenfall AB in Sweden. The paper will describe the working model for upgrading the control room and important issues to take care of with respect to refuelling outages. The identified issues will be used as the input for improving control room philosophy and the individual technical systems. (authors)

Management of individual and collective dosimetry at Fessenheim nuclear plant. Evaluation after refueling shutdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamarre, D.; Waller, A.

1980-01-01

The principle of dosimetry management chosen by Fessenheim nuclear power station was originally consisted of two phases: - an automatic acquisition of individual doses realized by stylodosimeter readers; - a deferred data processing by computer. The whole system has not been used during the shutdown for the first refuelling of unit number one in view of encountered difficulties with perfecting of automatic readers prototype, this last phase has been replaced by a manual acquisition of doses. The dosimetry data processing has two main objects: - supervision of individual dosimetry for people who work in the nuclear power station; - knowledge of doses assigned for each working and equipment. Moreover, a first dosimetric result of the shutdown for refuelling of unit number one, enables to notice the workings which doses are the most important and written in percentage of total doses: regulatory controls: about 19%; - steam generators working: 16%; - working decontamination and making health physics screen (lock chamber) 10% [fr

Neighborhood cohesion, neighborhood disorder, and cardiometabolic risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinette, Jennifer W; Charles, Susan T; Gruenewald, Tara L

2018-02-01

Perceptions of neighborhood disorder (trash, vandalism) and cohesion (neighbors trust one another) are related to residents' health. Affective and behavioral factors have been identified, but often in studies using geographically select samples. We use a nationally representative sample (n = 9032) of United States older adults from the Health and Retirement Study to examine cardiometabolic risk in relation to perceptions of neighborhood cohesion and disorder. Lower cohesion is significantly related to greater cardiometabolic risk in 2006/2008 and predicts greater risk four years later (2010/2012). The longitudinal relation is partially accounted for by anxiety and physical activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineering study of frequent refueling for improved uranium utilization in pressurized water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernstein, I.

1981-05-01

The most practical alternative to annual refueling appeared to be semiannual refueling, with a short midyear refueling-only outage scheduled during minimum power demand and an annual outage during which maintenance outage tasks would be performed. A method for economic evaluation of frequent refueling was developed using fuel loading requirements, refueling frequency, replacement power costs and the price of uranium oxide as parameters and the economics evaluated with the costs anticipated for the year 1995. It was determined that to obtain breakeven energy costs, the extra semiannual refueling outage would have to be accomplished in six to nine days for most plants. Although it could not practicably be reduced to that level, proposed changes to arrangement, procedures and equipment indicated that an outage of from eleven to thirteen days was possible. Total cost of implementing these changes is estimated at less than 4% of the overall physical plant cost. This cost can be justified based on the time saved during refueling outages over the reactor lifetime. These changes were generally defined while a detailed design review was made of a fuel-handling system which utilizes two cantilever-supported refueling machines and two transfer systems, allowing independent and simultaneous handling of two fuel assemblies during the refueling sequence. A review of the critical path annual maintenance items indicated that these items would probably control the length of the annual refueling outage

The application of AI-based refueling control system to the Fugen NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeda, Koichi; Nakamura, Shinji; Kawasaki, Noboru; Nanko, Takashi; Nishimura, Hiroshi; Tanaka, Koichi

1996-01-01

In a refueling operation of the Advanced Thermal Reactor Fugen, it is essential to precisely handle fuel assemblies to guarantee quality and from the standpoint of safety guard. In order to plan and execute efficient operations, knowledge of experienced operators based on experiences is required. Therefore, an automatic control system based on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has been developed, and has been put into operation in actual refueling operations. This system prepares an optimum refueling plan, controls the fuel handling facilities by that plan, displays and prints out the history of transfer and storage of items by automatically sampled data on a work station, a network to express fuel handling facilities and operational rules acquired through operating experiences. The development of this system has made it possible to optimize refueling schedule, save control labor of items and improve reliability of refueling. Firstly the development started the off-line system that prepares optimum refueling plan and gives to the operator step by step instructions for operation, secondly developed the on-line system that automatically controls facilities by that plan. The development of this system started in 1989, the off-line system has been put into practical operation in the 17th refueling in 1991, the 22nd (12th annual inspection) refueling in 1995 has been done by using the on-line system automatically

A repeatedly refuelable mediated biofuel cell based on a hierarchical porous carbon electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Fujita, Shuji; Yamanoi, Shun; Murata, Kenichi; Mita, Hiroki; Samukawa, Tsunetoshi; Nakagawa, Takaaki; Sakai, Hideki; Tokita, Yuichi

2014-05-01

Biofuel cells that generate electricity from renewable fuels, such as carbohydrates, must be reusable through repeated refuelling, should these devices be used in consumer electronics. We demonstrate the stable generation of electricity from a glucose-powered mediated biofuel cell through multiple refuelling cycles. This refuelability is achieved by immobilizing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), an electron-transfer mediator, and redox enzymes in high concentrations on porous carbon particles constituting an anode while maintaining their electrochemical and enzymatic activities after the immobilization. This bioanode can be refuelled continuously for more than 60 cycles at 1.5 mA cm-2 without significant potential drop. Cells assembled with these bioanodes and bilirubin-oxidase-based biocathodes can be repeatedly used to power a portable music player at 1 mW cm-3 through 10 refuelling cycles. This study suggests that the refuelability within consumer electronics should facilitate the development of long and repeated use of the mediated biofuel cells as well as of NAD-based biosensors, bioreactors, and clinical applications.

The Feasibility of Pellet Re-Fuelling of a Fusion Reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chang, Tinghong; Jørgensen, L. W.; Nielsen, P.

1980-01-01

The feasibility of re-fuelling a fusion reactor by injecting pellets of frozen hydrogen isotopes is reviewed. First a general look is taken of the dominant energy fluxes received by the pellet, the re-fuelling rate required and the relation between pellet size, injection speed and frequency...

Current status of the development of the refuelable aluminum-air battery

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, J. F.; Kraftick, K. A.; McKinley, B. J.

1983-05-01

The technical status of a refuelable aluminum air battery using flowing caustic aluminate electrolyte at 50 to 700 C is reviewed. Four distinct designs for rapidly refuelable cells were evaluated in single or multicell modules on an engineering scale (167 to 1000 cm(2)/cell). Consideration is given to cells of the wedge configuration, which allow partial recharge, high anode utilization, and rapid refueling. Kinetic models developed for aluminum trihydroxide precipitation are used to predict the behavior of integrated cell/crystallizer systems. Drive cycle life and polarization data are reviewed for air electrodes under simulated vehicle operating conditions. Problems in the development of cost effective anode alloys are described. These results are interpreted from the perspective of the potential of an aluminum air battery to provide an electric vehicle with the range, acceleration and rapid refueling capabilities of common automobiles.

Preliminary design considerations for automatic refueling at N Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quapp, W.J.; Yount, J.A.

1985-01-01

The Refueling Enhancement Program is an effort to upgrade and improve the N Reactor refueling operation. Primary goals of this effort are to reduce personnel exposure, reduce effluents to the environment, and, where possible, increase the refueling rate. Recent advances in available commercial robotics systems have prompted a look at automating the Charge/Discharge (C/D) operations. Current efforts will culminate in a conceptual design report (CDR) and accompanying economic and risk analysis in January 1986. Based on the results in that report, DOE will review the viability of the approach as a future capital project. Implementation of automation in existing plants raises questions regarding both the programmatic (how does one implement such an effort) and technical (what equipment is available; how will it be applied) concerns. This paper addresses both aspects

How Neighborhood Disadvantage Reduces Birth Weight

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily Moiduddin

2008-06-01

Full Text Available In this analysis we connect structural neighborhood conditions to birth outcomes through their intermediate effects on mothers’ perceptions of neighborhood danger and their tendency to abuse substances during pregnancy. We hypothesize that neighborhood poverty and racial/ethnic concentration combine to produce environments that mothers perceive as unsafe, thereby increasing the likelihood of negative coping behaviors (substance abuse. We expect these behaviors, in turn, to produce lower birth weights. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a survey of a cohort of children born between 1998 and 2000 and their mothers in large cities in the United States, we find little evidence to suggest that neighborhood circumstances have strong, direct effects on birth weight. Living in a neighborhood with more foreigners had a positive effect on birth weight. To the extent that neighborhood conditions influence birth weight, the effect mainly occurs through an association with perceived neighborhood danger and subsequent negative coping behaviors. Poverty and racial/ethnic concentration increase a mother’s sense that her neighborhood is unsafe. The perception of an unsafe neighborhood, in turn, associates with a greater likelihood of smoking cigarettes and using illegal drugs, and these behaviors have strong and significant effects in reducing birth weight. However, demographic characteristics, rather than perceived danger or substance abuse, mediate the influence of neighborhood characteristics on birth weight.

Fuel management study on quarter core refueling for Ling Ao NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Hong; Li Jinggang

2012-01-01

The fuel management study on quarter core refueling is introduced for Ling Ao NPP. Starting from the selection of the objective of fuel management for quarter core refueling, the code and method used and the analysis carried out are explained in details to reach the final loading pattern chosen. The start-up physics test results are listed to demonstrate the realized quarter core fuel management. In the end, the advantage and disadvantage after turning to quarter core refueling has been given for the power plant from the fuel management point of view. (authors)

Image Dependent Relative Formation Navigation for Autonomous Aerial Refueling

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-01

and local variations of the Earth’s surface make a mathematical model difficult to create and use. The definition of an equipotential surface ...controlled with flight control surfaces attached to it. To refuel using this method, the receiver pilot flies the aircraft to within a defined refueling...I-frame would unnecessarily complicate aircraft navigation that, by definition, is limited to altitudes relatively close to the surface of the Earth

Pellet refueling program at Risoe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersen, V.; Chang, C.T.; Joergensen, L.W.; Nielsen, P.; Sillesen, A.H.

1978-01-01

The pellet refueling work at Riso has up to now been concentrated at studying the ablation rate of hydrogen pellets in hydrogen and deuterium plasmas in the Puffatron device. The main results of these studies are well known and we shall only give a brief summary including some more recent results relating to the ablation process. The work on the Puffatron device has been completed and we are presently preparing to start ablation studies in a small Tokamak, Dante. This tokamak has only been constructed this summer and ablation studies are expected to begin in the beginning of 1978. We shall give the expected parameters of the tokamak plasma and indicate some of the planned work. In this presentation we shall also report on the theoretical work on refueling taking place at Riso. We have particularly been interested in the effect of α-particles which could significantly alter the conclusions made from present experiments

A simplified burnup calculation strategy with refueling in static molten salt reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, A.K.; Gupta, Anurag; Krishnani, P.D.

2015-01-01

Molten Salt Reactors, by nature can be refuelled and reprocessed online. Thus, a simulation methodology has to be developed which can consider online refueling and reprocessing aspect of the reactor. To cater such needs a simplified burnup calculation strategy to account for refueling and removal of molten salt fuel at any desired burnup has been identified in static molten salt reactor in batch mode as a first step of way forward. The features of in-house code ITRAN has been explored for such calculations. The code also enables us to estimate the reactivity introduced in the system due to removal of any number of considered nuclides at any burnup. The effect of refueling fresh fuel and removal of burned fuel has been studied in batch mode with in-house code ITRAN. The effect of refueling and burnup on change in reactivity per day has been analyzed. The analysis of removal of 233 Pa at a particular burnup has been carried out. The similar analysis has been performed for some other nuclides also. (author)

Refueling system for a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koschkin, J.N.; Ordynskij, G.V.; Schchijan, C.G.; Schapkin, A.F.; Fadeev, A.I.; Laptev, F.V.; Batjukov, V.I.; Korolkov, K.I.; Borodin, I.V.; Tschernomordik, E.N.

1979-01-01

With the refueling system fuel elements are transferred from the intermediate distributing chamber within the fast breeder reactor vessel to the storage tanks for new and irradiated fuel elements outside of the reactor vessel and vice versa. It consists of a hermetic chamber, filled with inert gas, within which the refueling machine, having got a vertical swing pipe, is placed. On the swing pipe there is mounted by means of a bracket a hanging support tube for a tube manipulator that can be moved over the openings to the fuel elements. At the end of the tube manipulator there is a gripping device whose drive mechanism is arranged within the support tube. The swing pipe is moved by means of a drive mechanism outside of the chamber. (DG) [de

Anti-disturbance rapid vibration suppression of the flexible aerial refueling hose

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Zikang; Wang, Honglun; Li, Na

2018-05-01

As an extremely dangerous phenomenon in autonomous aerial refueling (AAR), the flexible refueling hose vibration caused by the receiver aircraft's excessive closure speed should be suppressed once it appears. This paper proposed a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) based refueling hose servo take-up system for the vibration suppression of the flexible refueling hose. A rapid back-stepping based anti-disturbance nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode (NFTSM) control scheme with a specially established finite-time convergence NFTSM observer is proposed for the PMSM based hose servo take-up system under uncertainties and disturbances. The unmeasured load torque and other disturbances in the PMSM system are reconstituted by the NFTSM observer and to be compensated during the controller design. Then, with the back-stepping technique, a rapid anti-disturbance NFTSM controller is proposed for the PMSM angular tracking to improve the tracking error convergence speed and tracking precision. The proposed vibration suppression scheme is then applied to PMSM based hose servo take-up system for the refueling hose vibration suppression in AAR. Simulation results show the proposed scheme can suppress the hose vibration rapidly and accurately even the system is exposed to strong uncertainties and probe position disturbances, it is more competitive in tracking accuracy, tracking error convergence speed and robustness.

Automated Aerial Refueling Hitches a Ride on AFF

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Jennifer L.; Murray, James E.; Bever, Glenn; Campos, Norma V.; Schkolnik, Gerard

2007-01-01

The recent introduction of uninhabited aerial vehicles [UAVs (basically, remotely piloted or autonomous aircraft)] has spawned new developments in autonomous operation and posed new challenges. Automated aerial refueling (AAR) is a capability that will enable UAVs to travel greater distances and loiter longer over targets. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, in cooperation with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, rapidly conceived and accomplished an AAR flight research project focused on collecting a unique, high-quality database on the dynamics of the hose and drogue of an aerial refueling system. This flight-derived database would be used to validate mathematical models of the dynamics in support of design and analysis of AAR systems for future UAVs. The project involved the use of two Dryden F/A-18 airplanes and an S-3 hose-drogue refueling store on loan from the Navy. In this year-long project, which was started on October 1, 2002, 583 research maneuvers were completed during 23 flights.

40 CFR 86.1825-08 - Durability demonstration procedures for refueling emissions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., statistical analyses, additional data, or other information which is relevant to the decision. The... Durability demonstration procedures for refueling emissions. This section applies to 2008 and later model...-duty rules as allowed under the provisions of § 86.1801-01(c)(1) which are subject to refueling loss...

Integrated services as the key to the optimisation of refueling outages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortega, Juan; Gonzalez, Roberto; Gutierrez, Jose E.

2010-01-01

Refueling outages at nuclear power plants are subject to demanding improvement criteria in each and every one of the activities scheduled. The management of activities on the refueling floor, including the phases of opening and closing of the reactor vessel and associated tasks relating to the reactor internals, the unloading, loading and management of the irradiated fuel and activities requested for the in-service inspection of essential primary circuit components, are interventions that have an impact on the refueling critical path and whose overall integration allows for significant optimization of the entire management of this fundamental refueling activity. For several years now, ENUSA, as the company specializing in irradiated fuel services, TECNATOM as the company responsible for the in-service inspection of critical primary side components and Westinghouse as the technology provider and specialist in the supply of plant support services, have together formed a solid working team offering this integrated refueling service to the Spanish plants. Today, the new and heightened demands regarding the training and specialization of the personnel participating in refueling outages, the need to consider contingencies in the activities scheduled and the objectives relating to the ALARA concept and safe operations require that this service include new activities providing synergies and leading to higher levels of commitment to excellence. This paper will present the service model developed, the most significant activities integrated in the service and the advantages and milestones achieved and reached during this period, compared to the conventional distributed functions model. Likewise, an analysis will be made of the new challenges that are being addressed, with a view to bringing about a more global integration. (authors)

[CFD numerical simulation onto the gas-liquid two-phase flow behavior during vehicle refueling process].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jia-Qing; Zhang, Nan; Wang, Jin-Hui; Zhu, Ling; Shang, Chao

2011-12-01

With the gradual improvement of environmental regulations, more and more attentions are attracted to the vapor emissions during the process of vehicle refueling. Research onto the vehicle refueling process by means of numerical simulation has been executed abroad since 1990s, while as it has never been involved so far domestically. Through reasonable simplification about the physical system of "Nozzle + filler pipe + gasoline storage tank + vent pipe" for vehicle refueling, and by means of volume of fluid (VOF) model for gas-liquid two-phase flow and Re-Normalization Group kappa-epsilon turbulence flow model provided in commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software Fluent, this paper determined the proper mesh discretization scheme and applied the proper boundary conditions based on the Gambit software, then established the reasonable numerical simulation model for the gas-liquid two-phase flow during the refueling process. Through discussing the influence of refueling velocity on the static pressure of vent space in gasoline tank, the back-flowing phenomenon has been revealed in this paper. It has been demonstrated that, the more the flow rate and the refueling velocity of refueling nozzle is, the higher the gross static pressure in the vent space of gasoline tank. In the meanwhile, the variation of static pressure in the vent space of gasoline tank can be categorized into three obvious stages. When the refueling flow rate becomes higher, the back-flowing phenomenon of liquid gasoline can sometimes be induced in the head section of filler pipe, thus making the gasoline nozzle pre-shut-off. Totally speaking, the theoretical work accomplished in this paper laid some solid foundation for self-researching and self-developing the technology and apparatus for the vehicle refueling and refueling emissions control domestically.

Extension of the time-average model to Candu refueling schemes involving reshuffling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouben, Benjamin; Nichita, Eleodor

2008-01-01

Candu reactors consist of a horizontal non-pressurized heavy-water-filled vessel penetrated axially by fuel channels, each containing twelve 50-cm-long fuel bundles cooled by pressurized heavy water. Candu reactors are refueled on-line and, as a consequence, the core flux and power distributions change continuously. For design purposes, a 'time-average' model was developed in the 1970's to calculate the average over time of the flux and power distribution and to study the effects of different refueling schemes. The original time-average model only allows treatment of simple push-through refueling schemes whereby fresh fuel is inserted at one end of the channel and irradiated fuel is removed from the other end. With the advent of advanced fuel cycles and new Candu designs, novel refueling schemes may be considered, such as reshuffling discharged fuel from some channels into other channels, to achieve better overall discharge burnup. Such reshuffling schemes cannot be handled by the original time-average model. This paper presents an extension of the time-average model to allow for the treatment of refueling schemes with reshuffling. Equations for the extended model are presented, together with sample results for a simple demonstration case. (authors)

Demarcation of local neighborhoods to study relations between contextual factors and health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chor Dora

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Several studies have highlighted the importance of collective social factors for population health. One of the major challenges is an adequate definition of the spatial units of analysis which present properties potentially related to the target outcomes. Political and administrative divisions of urban areas are the most commonly used definition, although they suffer limitations in their ability to fully express the neighborhoods as social and spatial units. Objective This study presents a proposal for defining the boundaries of local neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro city. Local neighborhoods are constructed by means of aggregation of contiguous census tracts which are homogeneous regarding socioeconomic indicators. Methodology Local neighborhoods were created using the SKATER method (TerraView software. Criteria used for socioeconomic homogeneity were based on four census tract indicators (income, education, persons per household, and percentage of population in the 0-4-year age bracket considering a minimum population of 5,000 people living in each local neighborhood. The process took into account the geographic boundaries between administrative neighborhoods (a political-administrative division larger than a local neighborhood, but smaller than a borough and natural geographic barriers. Results The original 8,145 census tracts were collapsed into 794 local neighborhoods, distributed along 158 administrative neighborhoods. Local neighborhoods contained a mean of 10 census tracts, and there were an average of five local neighborhoods per administrative neighborhood. The local neighborhood units demarcated in this study are less socioeconomically heterogeneous than the administrative neighborhoods and provide a means for decreasing the well-known statistical variability of indicators based on census tracts. The local neighborhoods were able to distinguish between different areas within administrative neighborhoods

Demarcation of local neighborhoods to study relations between contextual factors and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Simone M; Chor, Dora; Werneck, Guilherme Loureiro

2010-06-29

Several studies have highlighted the importance of collective social factors for population health. One of the major challenges is an adequate definition of the spatial units of analysis which present properties potentially related to the target outcomes. Political and administrative divisions of urban areas are the most commonly used definition, although they suffer limitations in their ability to fully express the neighborhoods as social and spatial units. This study presents a proposal for defining the boundaries of local neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro city. Local neighborhoods are constructed by means of aggregation of contiguous census tracts which are homogeneous regarding socioeconomic indicators. Local neighborhoods were created using the SKATER method (TerraView software). Criteria used for socioeconomic homogeneity were based on four census tract indicators (income, education, persons per household, and percentage of population in the 0-4-year age bracket) considering a minimum population of 5,000 people living in each local neighborhood. The process took into account the geographic boundaries between administrative neighborhoods (a political-administrative division larger than a local neighborhood, but smaller than a borough) and natural geographic barriers. The original 8,145 census tracts were collapsed into 794 local neighborhoods, distributed along 158 administrative neighborhoods. Local neighborhoods contained a mean of 10 census tracts, and there were an average of five local neighborhoods per administrative neighborhood.The local neighborhood units demarcated in this study are less socioeconomically heterogeneous than the administrative neighborhoods and provide a means for decreasing the well-known statistical variability of indicators based on census tracts. The local neighborhoods were able to distinguish between different areas within administrative neighborhoods, particularly in relation to squatter settlements. Although the literature on

Support services to refuelling exploitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castineira, M; Cortes, M.; Rayo, A.

2010-01-01

The refuelling period in nuclear power stations is very important due to the need to optimise its duration, large volumes of work and resources that have to be planned and coordinated and their impact on the subsequent operating cycle. Empresarios Agrupados has a permanent organisation, with specialised resources and extensive availability of human resources. (Author)

Neighborhood and Friendship Composition in Adolescence

OpenAIRE

Edling, Christofer; Rydgren, Jens

2010-01-01

The social surroundings in which an individual grows up and spends his or her everyday life have an effect on his or her life chances. Much of the research into this phenomenon focuses on so-called neighborhood effects and has put particular emphasis on the negative effects of growing up in a poor neighborhood. Originating from the sociological study of inner-city problems in the United States, the research has recentl...

Local Geographic Variation of Public Services Inequality: Does the Neighborhood Scale Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Chunzhu; Cabrera-Barona, Pablo; Blaschke, Thomas

2016-01-01

This study aims to explore the effect of the neighborhood scale when estimating public services inequality based on the aggregation of social, environmental, and health-related indicators. Inequality analyses were carried out at three neighborhood scales: the original census blocks and two aggregated neighborhood units generated by the spatial “k”luster analysis by the tree edge removal (SKATER) algorithm and the self-organizing map (SOM) algorithm. Then, we combined a set of health-related public services indicators with the geographically weighted principal components analyses (GWPCA) and the principal components analyses (PCA) to measure the public services inequality across all multi-scale neighborhood units. Finally, a statistical test was applied to evaluate the scale effects in inequality measurements by combining all available field survey data. We chose Quito as the case study area. All of the aggregated neighborhood units performed better than the original census blocks in terms of the social indicators extracted from a field survey. The SKATER and SOM algorithms can help to define the neighborhoods in inequality analyses. Moreover, GWPCA performs better than PCA in multivariate spatial inequality estimation. Understanding the scale effects is essential to sustain a social neighborhood organization, which, in turn, positively affects social determinants of public health and public quality of life. PMID:27706072

Study of Arkansas Nuclear One-1 13th refueling outage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashiba, Takashi

1997-01-01

Recently performance of nuclear power plants in the USA has improved remarkably. Their average automatic shutdown rate has been sharply dropping, although it is still higher than that in Japan, and their average capacity factor has become higher than that in Japan in recent years. One of the main contributors is an extension of the operational period, and another is a shortening of refueling-outage time. It is considerably difficult to have accomplished both the improvement of plant reliability and shortening of refueling-outage time because their refueling outage corresponds to our periodical inspection which is central to maintenance activities in Japanese plants. In order to learn how they have been achieved, a visit to Arkansas Nuclear One-1 (ANO-1) which obtained the top-class result of SALP (Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance) performed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was planned and study of their 13th refueling outage was carried out. Their achievements result from performance-base maintenance and on-line maintenance, based on a proper preventive maintenance program, and untiring efforts of efficiency improvement, represented by the introduction of several on-line systems. And the reason behind this is severe competition concerning power generation cost reduction. (author)

Study of Arkansas Nuclear One-1 13th refueling outage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hashiba, Takashi [Institute of Nuclear Safety System Inc., Seika, Kyoto (Japan)

1997-09-01

Recently performance of nuclear power plants in the USA has improved remarkably. Their average automatic shutdown rate has been sharply dropping, although it is still higher than that in Japan, and their average capacity factor has become higher than that in Japan in recent years. One of the main contributors is an extension of the operational period, and another is a shortening of refueling-outage time. It is considerably difficult to have accomplished both the improvement of plant reliability and shortening of refueling-outage time because their refueling outage corresponds to our periodical inspection which is central to maintenance activities in Japanese plants. In order to learn how they have been achieved, a visit to Arkansas Nuclear One-1 (ANO-1) which obtained the top-class result of SALP (Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance) performed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was planned and study of their 13th refueling outage was carried out. Their achievements result from performance-base maintenance and on-line maintenance, based on a proper preventive maintenance program, and untiring efforts of efficiency improvement, represented by the introduction of several on-line systems. And the reason behind this is severe competition concerning power generation cost reduction. (author)

Performance of a rapidly-refuelable aluminum-air battery

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, D. J.; Hollandsworth, R. P.; Gonzales, E. M.; Littauer, E. L.

The Al-air battery is being developed to provide an electric vehicle with conventional automobile performance. A rapidly-refuelable, 6-cell battery (200-sq cm electrodes) was evaluated. RX-808 aluminum anodes and air cathodes were used with a flowing alkaline electrolyte. Peak power was found to increase with temperature, decrease with aluminate concentration and be unaffected by electrolyte flow. The best performance was 5.28 kW/sq m peak power density, 2.08 kWh/kg Al energy density and 80 percent coulombic efficiency. Anode refueling is rapid and 100 percent utilization is achieved. Additional evaluation included cathode catalysts, a thermal balance and monitoring electrolyte composition.

NEIGHBORHOOD TEST DESIGN BASED ON HISTORIC PRECEDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Besim S. Hakim

2012-07-01

Full Text Available There have been various attempts to emulate traditional architecture and to experiment with the form and aesthetics of building design. However, learning from precedents of urban morphology is rare. This design study is a test at the neighborhood level using the pattern of traditional courtyard housing that is prevalent in the majority of historic towns and cities of North Africa and the Middle East. The study is undertaken at five levels of design enquiry: dwelling types, dwelling groups, neighborhood segment and community center. All of which are synthesized into a full prototype neighborhood comprising of 428 dwelling units covering an area that includes circulation and the community center, of 17.6 hectares. The test demonstrates that the traditional pattern of neighborhoods that are based on the typology of the courtyard dwelling as the initial generator of urban form may be used to develop a contemporary settlement pattern that is compatible with current necessities of lifestyle, vehicular circulation,  including parking and infrastructure achieving an attractive livable environment with an overall gross density, that includes a community center, of about 24 dwelling units per hectare.

Improvement of availability of PWR nuclear plants through the reduction of the time required for refueling/maintenance outages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayers, J.B.; Soth, L.G.

1978-04-01

The objective of the project, conducted by Commonwealth Research Corporation and Westinghouse Electric Corporation, is to identify improvements in procedures and equipment which will reduce the time required for refueling/maintenance outages at PWR nuclear power plants. The outage of Commonwealth Edison Zion Station Unit 1 in March through May of 1976 was evaluated to identify those items which caused delays and those work activities that offer the potential for significant improvements that could reduce the overall duration of the outage and achieve an improvement in the plant's availability for power production. Modifications in procedures have been developed and were evaluated during one or more outages in 1977. Conceptual designs have been developed for equipment modifications to the refueling system that could reduce the time required for the refueling portion of the outage. The purpose of the interim report is to describe those conceptual designs and to assess their impact upon future outages. Recommendations are included for the implementation of these equipment improvements in a continuation of this program as a demonstration of plant availability benefits that can be realized in PWR nuclear plants already in operation or under construction

Geometrical tile design for complex neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Czeizler, Eugen; Kari, Lila

2009-01-01

Recent research has showed that tile systems are one of the most suitable theoretical frameworks for the spatial study and modeling of self-assembly processes, such as the formation of DNA and protein oligomeric structures. A Wang tile is a unit square, with glues on its edges, attaching to other tiles and forming larger and larger structures. Although quite intuitive, the idea of glues placed on the edges of a tile is not always natural for simulating the interactions occurring in some real systems. For example, when considering protein self-assembly, the shape of a protein is the main determinant of its functions and its interactions with other proteins. Our goal is to use geometric tiles, i.e., square tiles with geometrical protrusions on their edges, for simulating tiled paths (zippers) with complex neighborhoods, by ribbons of geometric tiles with simple, local neighborhoods. This paper is a step toward solving the general case of an arbitrary neighborhood, by proposing geometric tile designs that solve the case of a "tall" von Neumann neighborhood, the case of the f-shaped neighborhood, and the case of a 3 x 5 "filled" rectangular neighborhood. The techniques can be combined and generalized to solve the problem in the case of any neighborhood, centered at the tile of reference, and included in a 3 x (2k + 1) rectangle.

Exploring Neighborhood Unit’s Planning Elements and Configuration Methods in Seoul and Singapore from a Walkability Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeeun Lee

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper is to explore how the neighborhood-unit concept, which had been initially promoted by North America and the United Kingdom, was adopted and utilized in the Asian cities of high-density developments, such as Seoul and Singapore from a walkability perspective. Among various environmental elements of walkability in a given neighborhood unit, 10 planning elements, as well as their configuration methods, were drawn from the review of the existing studies, which became an analytical framework for this paper. The findings of the analysis are as follows. First, there were similarities, yet also marked distinctions between the cases of Seoul and Singapore, on the one hand, and those in North America and the UK on the other, with respect to the configuration methods, categorized into four groups of typologies: ‘Neighborhood Size’, ‘Neighborhood Structure’, ‘Neighborhood Network’, and ‘Neighborhood Facilities’. The differences largely resulted from the high-density developments in Seoul and Singapore. In the years since the 1990s, however, when the concept of sustainable development was strengthened, the configuration methods, related to ‘Neighborhood Structure’ and to ‘Neighborhood Facilities’ in most cases, were enhanced to suit more neighborhood walking. The initial concept of the neighborhood unit was actively modified to accommodate the high-density urban situations in Seoul and Singapore, having both positive and negative impacts on neighborhood walkability.

NEIGHBORHOOD CHOICE AND NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGE

OpenAIRE

Bruch, Elizabeth; Mare, Robert D.

2006-01-01

This paper examines the relationships between the residential choices of individuals and aggregate patterns of neighborhood change. We investigate the conditions under which individuals’ preferences for the race-ethnic composition of their neighborhoods produce high levels of segregation. Using computational models, we find that high levels of segregation occur only when individuals’ preferences follow a threshold function. If individuals make finer-grained distinctions among neighborhoods th...

Neighborhood Poverty and Maternal Fears of Children's Outdoor Play

Science.gov (United States)

Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert; Schachter, Ariela

2011-01-01

Investigating children's outdoor play unites scholarship on neighborhoods, parental perceptions of safety, and children's health. Utilizing the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (N = 3,448), we examine mothers' fear of their 5-year-old children playing outdoors, testing associations with neighborhood social characteristics, city-level…

The development of AI-based refueling control system to the FUGEN NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanko, Takashi; Tanaka, Koichi.

1996-01-01

Since even skilled workers spent a considerable time to perform the refueling work previously, an automatic control system was developed by using φNET, an AI tool and its application to refueling works was started in practice. In this system, the optimum plan for the refueling work was constructed using a network which allows to present the equipments to handle the fuel, as well as the operational roles obtained from the worker's experiences. Based on the plan, the instruments concerned were automatically operated to collect the data on the actual operation, the expression and/or printing was made on the movement histories of the articles and the status of their storages. By the development of the system, optimization of refueling works, rationalization of the management and the improvement of reliability for the works became possible. The development was performed in the following two steps; the first was development of an off-line system providing an operational guidance ot the operator according to the optimum operation plan and the second was development of an on-line system which allows to automatically control the instruments according to the operational plan. The off-line system has been put into practice since 1991 and the automatic operation of refueling has been started with the on-line system from 1995. (M.N.)

Evaluation of potential severe accidents during low power and shutdown operations at Grand Gulf, Unit 1: Analysis of core damage frequency from internal events for Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage. Volume 2, Part 3: Internal Events Appendices I and J

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yakle, J. [Science Applications International Corp., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Darby, J. [Science and Engineering Associates, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Whitehead, D.; Staple, B. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1994-06-01

This report provides supporting documentation for various tasks associated with the performance of the probablistic risk assessment for Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage at Grand Gulf, Unit 1 as documented in Volume 2, Part 1 of NUREG/CR-6143.

Evaluation of potential severe accidents during low power and shutdown operations at Grand Gulf, Unit 1: Analysis of core damage frequency from internal events for Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage. Volume 2, Part 3: Internal Events Appendices I and J

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yakle, J.; Darby, J.; Whitehead, D.; Staple, B.

1994-06-01

This report provides supporting documentation for various tasks associated with the performance of the probablistic risk assessment for Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage at Grand Gulf, Unit 1 as documented in Volume 2, Part 1 of NUREG/CR-6143

New selection criteria for channel refueling of a Candu-6 reactor: introduction to floppy rules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brissette, D.

2001-01-01

A revised set of rules is in use at Gentilly-2 NGS for the selection of channels for refuelling. Traditional hard channel rejection rules (of go/no-go type) have been replaced by a more efficient set of soft evaluation rules based on concepts borrowed to the Fuzzy Logic. New evaluation rules, labelled as 'Floppy Rules', enable to assess and rate the channel suitability for refuelling by using a smooth and natural continuum of values qualifying excellent, good, fair and poor choices. Global channel suitability for refuelling is measured by combining separate ratings obtained from individual evaluation rules. Each evaluation rule is based on a specific control parameter related to local or lumped core properties. Two new software codes (NEWRULES and REFUEL) designed around the concept of Floppy Rules enable to perform a very efficient selection of optimized channel refuelling sequences either in manual and automatic mode. (author)

Aerial Refueling Boom/Receptacle Guide

Science.gov (United States)

2017-07-28

Collision Beacon 22 9.6.2 Tanker Identity Platform Illumination 22 9.6.3 Formation Lights 22 9.6.4 Tanker/Receiver Aircraft...unlatch the receptacle door lock system, mechanical, electrical or hydraulic. Some airplanes will have a master refuel switch which energizes the...some receiver aircraft, pulling the manual door control handle to the detented “DOOR OPEN” position will release the receptacle door lock and

Relative position control design of receiver UAV in flying-boom aerial refueling phase.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Shuai; Yuan, Suozhong

2018-02-01

This paper proposes the design of the relative position-keeping control of the receiver unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with the time-varying mass in the refueling phase utilizing an inner-outer loop structure. Firstly, the model of the receiver in the refueling phase is established. And then tank model is set up to analyze the influence of fuel transfer on the receiver. Subsequently, double power reaching law based sliding mode controller is designed to control receiver translational motion relative to tanker aircraft in the outer loop while active disturbance rejection control technique is applied to the inner loop to stabilize the receiver. In addition, the closed-loop stabilities of the subsystems are established, respectively. Finally, an aerial refueling model under various refueling strategies is utilized. Simulations and comparative analysis demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed controllers. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Race, Neighborhood Economic Status, Income Inequality and Mortality.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolle A Mode

Full Text Available Mortality rates in the United States vary based on race, individual economic status and neighborhood. Correlations among these variables in most urban areas have limited what conclusions can be drawn from existing research. Our study employs a unique factorial design of race, sex, age and individual poverty status, measuring time to death as an objective measure of health, and including both neighborhood economic status and income inequality for a sample of middle-aged urban-dwelling adults (N = 3675. At enrollment, African American and White participants lived in 46 unique census tracts in Baltimore, Maryland, which varied in neighborhood economic status and degree of income inequality. A Cox regression model for 9-year mortality identified a three-way interaction among sex, race and individual poverty status (p = 0.03, with African American men living below poverty having the highest mortality. Neighborhood economic status, whether measured by a composite index or simply median household income, was negatively associated with overall mortality (p<0.001. Neighborhood income inequality was associated with mortality through an interaction with individual poverty status (p = 0.04. While racial and economic disparities in mortality are well known, this study suggests that several social conditions associated with health may unequally affect African American men in poverty in the United States. Beyond these individual factors are the influences of neighborhood economic status and income inequality, which may be affected by a history of residential segregation. The significant association of neighborhood economic status and income inequality with mortality beyond the synergistic combination of sex, race and individual poverty status suggests the long-term importance of small area influence on overall mortality.

Joint deployment of refuelling infrastructure and vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, R.

2010-01-01

A wide range of fuels will be used in future transportation technologies. This presentation discussed refuelling infrastructure solutions for alternative fuels. A well-placed demonstration infrastructure will help to accelerate market development. Stakeholder collaboration is needed to create high value business paradigms and identify stakeholder benefits. Infrastructure paradigms include the home; businesses; retail public refuelling forecourts; and multi-fuel waste heat recovery sites. Commercial nodes can be developed along major transportation routes. Stakeholder groups include technology providers, supply chain and service providers, commercial end-users, and government. A successful alternative fuel infrastructure model will consider market development priorities, time frames and seed investment opportunities. Applications must be market-driven in order to expand. A case study of the natural gas vehicle (NGV) program in Ontario was also discussed, as well as various hydrogen projects. tabs., figs.

Advanced CANDU reactors fuel analysis through optimal fuel management at approach to refuelling equilibrium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tingle, C.P.; Bonin, H.W.

1999-01-01

The analysis of alternate CANDU fuels along with natural uranium-based fuel was carried out from the view point of optimal in-core fuel management at approach to refuelling equilibrium. The alternate fuels considered in the present work include thorium containing oxide mixtures (MOX), plutonium-based MOX, and Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) spent fuel recycled in CANDU reactors (Direct Use of spent PWR fuel in CANDU (DUPIC)); these are compared with the usual natural UO 2 fuel. The focus of the study is on the 'Approach to Refuelling Equilibrium' period which immediately follows the initial commissioning of the reactor. The in-core fuel management problem for this period is treated as an optimization problem in which the objective function is the refuelling frequency to be minimized by adjusting the following decision variables: the channel to be refuelled next, the time of the refuelling and the number of fresh fuel bundles to be inserted in the channel. Several constraints are also included in the optimisation problem which is solved using Perturbation Theory. Both the present 37-rod CANDU fuel bundle and the proposed CANFLEX bundle designs are part of this study. The results include the time to reach refuelling equilibrium from initial start-up of the reactor, the average discharge burnup, the average refuelling frequency and the average channel and bundle powers relative to natural UO 2 . The model was initially tested and the average discharge burnup for natural UO 2 came within 2% of the industry accepted 199 MWh/kgHE. For this type of fuel, the optimization exercise predicted the savings of 43 bundles per full power year. In addition to producing average discharge burnups and other parameters for the advanced fuels investigated, the optimisation model also evidenced some problem areas like high power densities for fuels such as the DUPIC. Perturbation Theory has proven itself to be an accurate and valuable optimization tool in predicting the time between

Development and implementation of full-automatic supervision and control programme for CEFR refueling control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Hao; Dong Shengguo; Ma Hongsheng; Zhao Lixia

2011-01-01

In order to make the process of CEFR refueling more convenient and reliable, the computer supervision and control system was designed according to the CEFR refueling technology. Meanwhile, the supervision and control function and database function were developed on the basis of KingView and SQL Server2000. The fuel of reactor core was fully loaded by the system, and full-automation of CEFR refueling process was implemented. (authors)

Refueling emissions from cars in Japan: Compositions, temperature dependence and effect of vapor liquefied collection system

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Hiroyuki; Inomata, Satoshi; Tanimoto, Hiroshi

2015-11-01

Refueling emissions from cars available on the Japanese market, which were not equipped with specific controlling devices, were investigated. For the composition analysis, a proton transfer reaction plus switchable reagent ion mass spectrometry (PTR + SRI-MS), which is capable of real-time measurement, was used. In addition, the performance of a vapor liquefied collection system (VLCS), which is a recently developed controlling device, was evaluated and compared with an onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) system. The refueling emission factor of uncontrolled vehicles at 20 °C was 1.02 ± 0.40 g/L in the case dispensing 20 L of fuel. The results of composition analysis indicated that the maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) of refueling emissions in Japan was 3.49 ± 0.83. The emissions consist of 80% alkanes and 20% alkenes, and aromatics and di-enes were negligible. C4 alkene had the highest impact on the MIR of refueling emissions. The amounts of refueling emissions were well reproduced by a function developed by MOVE2010 in the temperature range of 5-35 °C. The compositions of the refueling emissions varied in this temperature range, but the change in MIR was negligible. The trapping efficiency of VLCS was the same level as that of the ORVR (over 95%). The MIRs of refueling and evaporative emissions were strongly affected by that of the test fuel. This study and our previous study indicated that MIRbreakthrough ≈ MIRrefueling ≈ MIRfuel + 0.5 and MIRpermeation ≈ MIRfuel. The real-world estimated average MIRfuel in Japan was about 3.0.

Customer exposure to gasoline vapors during refueling at service stations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hakkola, M A; Saarinen, L H

2000-09-01

Gasoline is a volatile complex mixture of hydrocarbon compounds that is easily vaporized during handling under normal conditions. Modern reformulated gasoline also contains oxygenates to enhance octane number and reduce ambient pollution. This study measured the difference in the exposure of customers to gasoline and oxygenate vapors during refueling in service stations with and without vapor recovery systems. Field measurements were carried out at two self-service stations. One was equipped with Stage I and the other with Stage II vapor recovery systems. At Stage I stations there is vapor recovery only during delivery from road tanker, and at Stage II stations additional vapor recovery during refueling. The exposure of 20 customers was measured at both stations by collecting air samples from their breathing zone into charcoal tubes during refueling with 95-octane reformulated gasoline. Each sample represented two consecutive refuelings. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory by gas chromatography using mass-selective detection for vapor components. The Raid vapor pressure of gasoline was 70 kPa and an oxygen content 2 wt%. Oxygenated gasoline contained 7 percent methyl tert-butyl ether (MtBE) and 5 percent methyl tert-amyl ether (MtAE). The geometric mean concentrations of hydrocarbons (C3-C11) in the customers' breathing zone was 85 mg/m3 (range 2.5-531 mg/m3) at the Stage I service station and 18 mg/m3 (range service station. The geometric mean of the exposure of customers to MtBE during refueling at the Stage I service station was 15.3 mg/m3 (range 1.8-74 mg/m3), and at the Stage II service station 3.4 mg/m3 (range 0.2-16 mg/m3). The differences in exposure were statistically significant (p station. The measurements were done on consecutive days at the various service stations. The temperature ranged from 10 to 17 degrees C, and wind velocity was 2-4 m/s. The climatic conditions were very similar on the measurement days. Based on this study it was found

Exposure to regular gasoline and ethanol oxyfuel during refueling in Alaska.

OpenAIRE

Backer, L C; Egeland, G M; Ashley, D L; Lawryk, N J; Weisel, C P; White, M C; Bundy, T; Shortt, E; Middaugh, J P

1997-01-01

Although most people are thought to receive their highest acute exposures to gasoline while refueling, relatively little is actually known about personal, nonoccupational exposures to gasoline during refueling activities. This study was designed to measure exposures associated with the use of an oxygenated fuel under cold conditions in Fairbanks, Alaska. We compared concentrations of gasoline components in the blood and in the personal breathing zone (PBZ) of people who pumped regular unleade...

Structural Analysis of Advanced Refueling Machine of APR1400

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, J. R.; Kim, Y. H.; Park, B. T.; Park, J. B.; Jung, J. H.

2007-01-01

The Refueling Machine (RM) consists of two structural parts of bridge and trolley. The bridge structure is approximately 8.5 m long and 5 m wide and is primarily composed of two deep wide flange sections spanning the rector area at the operating level. The trolley is mounted on wheels that roll on the rails of the bridge. Vertical movements of trolley and bridge are restricted by guide rollers. In this paper, dynamic and structural analyses based on the earthquake spectrum are carried out to verify the structural integrity of advanced refueling machine. It is done by 3-dimensional finite element analysis using ANSYS software

Hydrogen Production for Refuelling Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hulteberg, Christian; Aagesen, Diane (Intelligent Energy, Long Beach, CA (United States))

2009-08-15

The aim of this work is to support the development of a high-profile demonstration of hydrogen generation technologies in a Swedish context. The overall objective of the demonstration is to deploy a reforming based hydrogen refilling station along the Swedish west coast; intermediate to the Malmoe refuelling station and planned stations in Goeteborg. In this way, the Norwegian hydrogen highway will be extended through the south of Sweden and down into Denmark. The aim of the project's first phase, where this constitutes the final report, was to demonstrate the ability to operate the IE reforming system on the E.On/SGC site-specific fuel. During the project, a preliminary system design has been developed, based on IE's proprietary reformer. The system has been operated at pressure, to ensure a stable operation of the downstream PSA; which has been operated without problems and with the expected hydrogen purity and recovery. The safe operation of the proposed and tested system was first evaluated in a preliminary risk assessment, as well as a full HazOp analysis. A thorough economic modelling has been performed on the viability of owning and operating this kind of hydrogen generation equipment. The evaluation has been performed from an on-site operation of such a unit in a refuelling context. The general conclusion from this modelling is that there are several parameters that influence the potential of an investment in a Hestia hydrogen generator. The sales price of the hydrogen is one of the major drivers of profitability. Another important factor is the throughput of the unit, more important than efficiency and utilization. Varying all of the parameters simultaneously introduce larger variations in the NPV, but 60% of the simulations are in the USD 90 000 to USD 180 000 interval. The chosen intervals for the parameters were: Hydrogen Sales Price (USD 5 - USD 7 per kg); Investment Cost (USD 70 000 - USD 130 000 per unit); Throughput (20 - 30 kg

Strength analysis of refueling machine for large PWR in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Xiaofeng; Zhou Guofeng; Bi Xiangjun; Ji Shunying

2010-01-01

The refueling machine of PWR plays important roles in nuclear power plant operation,and the dynamic analysis and strength assessment should be carried out to check its safety. In this paper, the finite element model (FEM) was established with the software ANSYS 12 for the refueling machine structure of large 1 000 MW PWR. The dynamic computations were performed under three work conditions, i.e. normal (cart starting and braking), abnormal (OBE) and accident(SSE) conditions, respectively. The structure responses (internal force and stress) of refueling machine under earthquake response spectrum in three directions were combined with the method of square root of square sum (SRSS). Moreover, the static response under gravity was also considered to construct the most critical conditions. With the simulated results, the strength of main structure, bold and weld joint,and the stability of landing leg for additional crane were assessed based on the RCCM code. At last, the local stress analysis of finger-form hook, which function is to take fuel assemblies, was also analyzed, while its strength was also assessed. The results show that the strengths of the refueling machine under various working conditions can meet the safety requirements. (authors)

Neighborhood environments and obesity among Afro-Caribbean, African American, and Non-Hispanic white adults in the United States: results from the National Survey of American Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Samaah M; Brashear, Meghan M; Broyles, Stephanie T; Rung, Ariane L

2014-04-01

To examine possible associations between perceived neighborhood environments and obesity among a U.S. nationally representative sample of Afro-Caribbean, African American, and Non-Hispanic white adults. Data was used from the 2001-2003 National Survey of American Life (NSAL). All measures including neighborhood characteristics, height, and weight were self-reported. Multivariate logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios (ORs) of obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) based on perceived neighborhood physical and social characteristics. The odds of obesity were significantly lower for adults who reported involvement in clubs, associations, or help groups (odds ratio (OR): 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44, 0.85) and perceived that they had a park, playground, or open space in their neighborhood (odds ratio (OR): 0.68; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.47, 0.98). These associations remained significant after adjusting for leisure-time physical activity. Race/ethnicity appeared to modify the association between involvement in clubs, associations, or help groups and obesity. Providing parks, playgrounds, or open space or increasing the perception of those amenities may assist in the prevention of obesity, especially in ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the United States. More research is needed to investigate how perceptions of the neighborhood environment influence obesity and whether perceptions of the neighborhood environment differ between individuals within the same neighborhoods. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Developments on Neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Baum-Snow, Nathaniel; Marion, Justin

2009-06-01

This paper evaluates the impacts of new housing developments funded with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the largest federal project based housing program in the U.S., on the neighborhoods in which they are built. A discontinuity in the formula determining the magnitude of tax credits as a function of neighborhood characteristics generates pseudo-random assignment in the number of low income housing units built in similar sets of census tracts. Tracts where projects are awarded 30 percent higher tax credits receive approximately six more low income housing units on a base of seven units per tract. These additional new low income developments cause homeowner turnover to rise, raise property values in declining areas and reduce incomes in gentrifying areas in neighborhoods near the 30th percentile of the income distribution. LIHTC units significantly crowd out nearby new rental construction in gentrifying areas but do not displace new construction in stable or declining areas.

Refueling strategy at the Budapest research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hargitai, Timor

1998-01-01

Refueling strategy is very important for nuclear power plants and for highly utilized research reactors with power level in the megawatt range. New core design shall fulfill several demands and needs which can contradict each other sometimes. The loaded uranium quantity should assure the scheduled operation time (energy generation) and the maneuvering capability even at the end of the campaign. On the other hand the built in excess reactivity cannot be too high, because otherwise it would jeopardize the shutdown margin and reactor safety. Moreover the core arrangement should be optimum for in-core irradiation purposes and for the beam port experiments too. Sometimes this demand can be in contradiction with the desired burnup level. The achieved burnup level is very important from the fresh fuel consumption point of view, which has direct economic significance, however the generated spent fuel quantity is an important issue too. The refueling technique presented here allowed us at the Budapest Research Reactor to reach average burnup levels superseding 60%. (author)

Race, Neighborhood Economic Status, Income Inequality and Mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Mode, Nicolle A; Evans, Michele K; Zonderman, Alan B

2016-01-01

Mortality rates in the United States vary based on race, individual economic status and neighborhood. Correlations among these variables in most urban areas have limited what conclusions can be drawn from existing research. Our study employs a unique factorial design of race, sex, age and individual poverty status, measuring time to death as an objective measure of health, and including both neighborhood economic status and income inequality for a sample of middle-aged urban-dwelling adults (N = 3675). At enrollment, African American and White participants lived in 46 unique census tracts in Baltimore, Maryland, which varied in neighborhood economic status and degree of income inequality. A Cox regression model for 9-year mortality identified a three-way interaction among sex, race and individual poverty status (p = 0.03), with African American men living below poverty having the highest mortality. Neighborhood economic status, whether measured by a composite index or simply median household income, was negatively associated with overall mortality (pinequality was associated with mortality through an interaction with individual poverty status (p = 0.04). While racial and economic disparities in mortality are well known, this study suggests that several social conditions associated with health may unequally affect African American men in poverty in the United States. Beyond these individual factors are the influences of neighborhood economic status and income inequality, which may be affected by a history of residential segregation. The significant association of neighborhood economic status and income inequality with mortality beyond the synergistic combination of sex, race and individual poverty status suggests the long-term importance of small area influence on overall mortality.

Subjective neighborhood assessment and physical inactivity: An examination of neighborhood-level variance.

Science.gov (United States)

Prochaska, John D; Buschmann, Robert N; Jupiter, Daniel; Mutambudzi, Miriam; Peek, M Kristen

2018-06-01

Research suggests a linkage between perceptions of neighborhood quality and the likelihood of engaging in leisure-time physical activity. Often in these studies, intra-neighborhood variance is viewed as something to be controlled for statistically. However, we hypothesized that intra-neighborhood variance in perceptions of neighborhood quality may be contextually relevant. We examined the relationship between intra-neighborhood variance of subjective neighborhood quality and neighborhood-level reported physical inactivity across 48 neighborhoods within a medium-sized city, Texas City, Texas using survey data from 2706 residents collected between 2004 and 2006. Neighborhoods where the aggregated perception of neighborhood quality was poor also had a larger proportion of residents reporting being physically inactive. However, higher degrees of disagreement among residents within neighborhoods about their neighborhood quality was significantly associated with a lower proportion of residents reporting being physically inactive (p=0.001). Our results suggest that intra-neighborhood variability may be contextually relevant in studies seeking to better understand the relationship between neighborhood quality and behaviors sensitive to neighborhood environments, like physical activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nuclear reactor machine refuelling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cashen, W.S.; Erwin, D.

1977-01-01

Part of an on-line fuelling machine for a CANDU pressure-tube reactor is described. The present invention provides a refuelling machine wherein the fuelling components, including the fuel carrier and the closure adapter, are positively positioned and retained within the machine magazine or positively secured to the machine charge tube head, and cannot be accidentally disengaged as in former practice. The positive positioning devices include an arcuate keeper plate. Simplified hooked fingers are used. (NDH)

Large Neighborhood Search

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pisinger, David; Røpke, Stefan

2010-01-01

Heuristics based on large neighborhood search have recently shown outstanding results in solving various transportation and scheduling problems. Large neighborhood search methods explore a complex neighborhood by use of heuristics. Using large neighborhoods makes it possible to find better...... candidate solutions in each iteration and hence traverse a more promising search path. Starting from the large neighborhood search method,we give an overview of very large scale neighborhood search methods and discuss recent variants and extensions like variable depth search and adaptive large neighborhood...

Study of Some Innovant Reactors without on- Site Refueling with Triso and Cermet Fuel

OpenAIRE

A.Chetaine; A. Benchrif; H. Amsil; V. Kuznetsov; Y. Shimazu

2012-01-01

The evaluation of unit cell neutronic parameters and lifetime for some innovant reactors without on sit-refuling will be held in this work. the behavior of some small and medium reactors without on site refueling with triso and cermet fuel. For the FBNR long life except we propose to change the enrichment of the Cermet MFE to 9%. For the AFPR reactor we can see that the use of the Cermet MFE can extend the life of this reactor but to maintain the same life period for AFPR...

Incorporating Neighborhood Choice in a Model of Neighborhood Effects on Income.

Science.gov (United States)

van Ham, Maarten; Boschman, Sanne; Vogel, Matt

2018-05-09

Studies of neighborhood effects often attempt to identify causal effects of neighborhood characteristics on individual outcomes, such as income, education, employment, and health. However, selection looms large in this line of research, and it has been argued that estimates of neighborhood effects are biased because people nonrandomly select into neighborhoods based on their preferences, income, and the availability of alternative housing. We propose a two-step framework to disentangle selection processes in the relationship between neighborhood deprivation and earnings. We model neighborhood selection using a conditional logit model, from which we derive correction terms. Driven by the recognition that most households prefer certain types of neighborhoods rather than specific areas, we employ a principle components analysis to reduce these terms into eight correction components. We use these to adjust parameter estimates from a model of subsequent neighborhood effects on individual income for the unequal probability that a household chooses to live in a particular type of neighborhood. We apply this technique to administrative data from the Netherlands. After we adjust for the differential sorting of households into certain types of neighborhoods, the effect of neighborhood income on individual income diminishes but remains significant. These results further emphasize that researchers need to be attuned to the role of selection bias when assessing the role of neighborhood effects on individual outcomes. Perhaps more importantly, the persistent effect of neighborhood deprivation on subsequent earnings suggests that neighborhood effects reflect more than the shared characteristics of neighborhood residents: place of residence partially determines economic well-being.

Plasma density measurements on refuelling by solid hydrogen pellets in a rotating plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joergensen, L.W.; Sillesen, A.H.

1978-01-01

The refuelling of a plasma by solid hydrogen pellets situated in the plasma is investigated. Nearly half of the pellet material is evaporated and seems to be completely ionized, resulting in an increase of the amount of plasma equivalent to one third of the total amount of plasma without refuelling. The gross behaviour of the plasma is not changed. (author)

Design Status and Applications of Small reactors without On-site Refuelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuznetsov, V.

2006-01-01

Small reactors without on-site refuelling are the reactors that can operate without reloading and shuffling of fuel for a reasonably long period, consistent with plant economy and considerations of energy security, with no fresh or spent fuel being stored at a site during reactor operation. Such reactors could simplify the implementation of safeguards and provide certain guarantees of sovereignty to those countries that would prefer to lease fuel from a foreign vendor or, perhaps, an international fuel cycle centre. About 30 concepts of such reactors are being analyzed or developed in 6 IAEA Member States. They cover all principle reactor lines: water cooled, fast gas cooled, sodium cooled, lead or lead bismuth cooled and molten salt cooled reactors. An increased refuelling interval could be achieved with reduced core power density, burnable absorbers, or high conversion ratio. The design goals for small reactors without on-site refuelling, inter alia, include: difficult unauthorized access to fuel; design provisions to facilitate the implementation of safeguards; capability to survive all postulated accident scenarios without requiring emergency response in the public domain; economic competitiveness for anticipated market conditions and applications; the capability to achieve higher manufacturing quality through factory mass production, design standardization and common basis for design certification; and a flexibility in siting and applications. Such reactors are often considered in conjunction with fuel or NPP leasing Small reactors without on-site refuelling have many common technology development issues related to the provision of lifetime core operation, economic competitiveness, high level of safety and proliferation resistance. Reestablishment of a practice of licensing by test and establishment of legal provisions and the insurance scheme for a transit of fuel loads or factory fabricated reactors through the territory of a third country are mentioned as

Can neighborhoods explain racial/ethnic differences in adolescent inactivity?

Science.gov (United States)

Richmond, Tracy K; Field, Alison E; Rich, Michael

2007-01-01

To determine if neighborhoods and their attributes contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent inactivity. We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 17,007), a nationally representative school-based study in the United States. Stratifying by gender, we used multivariate linear regression and multi-level modeling to determine whether neighborhood of residence may partially explain racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent physical inactivity, defined as hours viewing television or videos/DVDs and/or playing computer/video games each week. Participants lived in largely segregated communities. Black and Hispanic adolescent girls reported higher levels of inactivity than White adolescent girls (21 vs. 15 vs. 13 hours/week, respectively, p violent crime in the neighborhood was associated with inactivity, despite the individual's perception of his/her neighborhood as safe not being predictive. Although inactivity varies by race/ethnicity and gender, only in Hispanic adolescent girls does neighborhood fully explain the differential use. Our findings suggest that approaches other than changing neighborhood characteristics are needed to eliminate racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent inactivity.

Safety approach to the selection of design criteria for the CRBRP reactor refueling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meisl, C.J.; Berg, G.E.; Sharkey, N.F.

1979-01-01

The selection of safety design criteria for Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) refueling systems required the extrapolation of regulations and guidelines intended for Light Water Reactor refueling systems and was encumbered by the lack of benefit from a commercially licensed predecessor other than Fermi. The overall approach and underlying logic are described for developing safety design criteria for the reactor refueling system (RRS) of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant (CRBRP). The complete selection process used to establish the criteria is presented, from the definition of safety functions to the finalization of safety design criteria in the appropriate documents. The process steps are illustrated by examples

Asymmetric neighborhood functions accelerate ordering process of self-organizing maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ota, Kaiichiro; Aoki, Takaaki; Kurata, Koji; Aoyagi, Toshio

2011-01-01

A self-organizing map (SOM) algorithm can generate a topographic map from a high-dimensional stimulus space to a low-dimensional array of units. Because a topographic map preserves neighborhood relationships between the stimuli, the SOM can be applied to certain types of information processing such as data visualization. During the learning process, however, topological defects frequently emerge in the map. The presence of defects tends to drastically slow down the formation of a globally ordered topographic map. To remove such topological defects, it has been reported that an asymmetric neighborhood function is effective, but only in the simple case of mapping one-dimensional stimuli to a chain of units. In this paper, we demonstrate that even when high-dimensional stimuli are used, the asymmetric neighborhood function is effective for both artificial and real-world data. Our results suggest that applying the asymmetric neighborhood function to the SOM algorithm improves the reliability of the algorithm. In addition, it enables processing of complicated, high-dimensional data by using this algorithm.

THE KINETICS OF CONTAMINANTS ACCUMULATION IN THE JET FUEL DURING THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS OF ITS PREPARATION FOR AIRCRAFT REFUELING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Brailko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Much attention is payed to the tasks for ensuring domestic and international aircraft safety and regularity, which are multifaceted and complex. One of them is the system of ensuring the quality of aviation fuel for refueling aircraft at airports. A significant influence of the quality, chemical composition and fuel range on the reliability and lifetime of components and parts of the aircraft fuel system was studied in the process of development and experience accumulation of aircraft operating, processes of aviation fuel production, as well as during storage, quality control, transportation, refueling preparation and aircraft refueling. Currently, work is being done to study the influence of fuel quality on the units of the technological scheme of fuel-filling complexes, which provide the required cleanliness of the fuel according to the regulations. The article describes the trend level of aviation fuel cleanliness at the stages from receipt to issuance to the refueling station. The evaluation of compliance with existing regulations on the level of jet fuel cleanliness and the efficiency of fuel cleaning facilities is carried out. It is stated that one of the problems of insufficient level of aviation fuel cleaning quality is a violation of the acceptable contamination level of the fuel before the filter. It was found that the disadvantage of the used filter paper is the fiber wash out process. According to this research it was found that while cleaning fuel from mechanical admixtures it is necessary to take into account the technical condition of the filtering element, and proposal was developed for fuel-filling systems to ensure aviation fuel cleanliness in compliance with regulations.

Active living neighborhoods: is neighborhood walkability a key element for Belgian adolescents?

Science.gov (United States)

De Meester, Femke; Van Dyck, Delfien; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Deforche, Benedicte; Sallis, James F; Cardon, Greet

2012-01-04

In adult research, neighborhood walkability has been acknowledged as an important construct among the built environmental correlates of physical activity. Research into this association has only recently been extended to adolescents and the current empirical evidence is not consistent. This study investigated whether neighborhood walkability and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with physical activity among Belgian adolescents and whether the association between neighborhood walkability and physical activity is moderated by neighborhood SES and gender. In Ghent (Belgium), 32 neighborhoods were selected based on GIS-based walkability and SES derived from census data. In total, 637 adolescents (aged 13-15 year, 49.6% male) participated in the study. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometers and the Flemish Physical Activity Questionnaire. To analyze the associations between neighborhood walkability, neighborhood SES and individual physical activity, multivariate multi-level regression analyses were conducted. Only in low-SES neighborhoods, neighborhood walkability was positively associated with accelerometer-based moderate to vigorous physical activity and the average activity level expressed in counts/minute. For active transport to and from school, cycling for transport during leisure time and sport during leisure time no association with neighborhood walkability nor, with neighborhood SES was found. For walking for transport during leisure time a negative association with neighborhood SES was found. Gender did not moderate the associations of neighborhood walkability and SES with adolescent physical activity. Neighborhood walkability was related to accelerometer-based physical activity only among adolescent boys and girls living in low-SES neighborhoods. The relation of built environment to adolescent physical activity may depend on the context.

Active living neighborhoods: is neighborhood walkability a key element for Belgian adolescents?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

De Meester Femke

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In adult research, neighborhood walkability has been acknowledged as an important construct among the built environmental correlates of physical activity. Research into this association has only recently been extended to adolescents and the current empirical evidence is not consistent. This study investigated whether neighborhood walkability and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES are associated with physical activity among Belgian adolescents and whether the association between neighborhood walkability and physical activity is moderated by neighborhood SES and gender. Methods In Ghent (Belgium, 32 neighborhoods were selected based on GIS-based walkability and SES derived from census data. In total, 637 adolescents (aged 13-15 year, 49.6% male participated in the study. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometers and the Flemish Physical Activity Questionnaire. To analyze the associations between neighborhood walkability, neighborhood SES and individual physical activity, multivariate multi-level regression analyses were conducted. Results Only in low-SES neighborhoods, neighborhood walkability was positively associated with accelerometer-based moderate to vigorous physical activity and the average activity level expressed in counts/minute. For active transport to and from school, cycling for transport during leisure time and sport during leisure time no association with neighborhood walkability nor, with neighborhood SES was found. For walking for transport during leisure time a negative association with neighborhood SES was found. Gender did not moderate the associations of neighborhood walkability and SES with adolescent physical activity. Conclusions Neighborhood walkability was related to accelerometer-based physical activity only among adolescent boys and girls living in low-SES neighborhoods. The relation of built environment to adolescent physical activity may depend on the context.

Neighborhood choices, neighborhood effects and housing vouchers

OpenAIRE

Davis, Morris A.; Gregory, Jesse; Hartley, Daniel A.; Tan, Kegon T. K.

2017-01-01

We study how households choose neighborhoods, how neighborhoods affect child ability, and how housing vouchers influence neighborhood choices and child outcomes. We use two new panel data sets with tract-level detail for Los Angeles county to estimate a dynamic model of optimal tract-level location choice for renting households and, separately, the impact of living in a given tract on child test scores (which we call "child ability" throughout). We simulate optimal location choices and change...

Refueling device for a nuclear reactor with fast neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Artemev, L.N.; Vitalevitsch, K.V.

1978-01-01

The refueling device has got a drum-shaped cartridge containing cells for unirradiated fuel assemblies and control rods as well as a grab for manipulation. The cells for the fuel assemblies are identical with those for the control rods. For the control rods in stock and those on the way from the drum-shaped magazine to the refueling mechanism there are provided cup-shaped casings (adapters) adapting their ends to the dimensions of the fuel assemblies. The casing is clamped to an annular tee-slot below the top by means of a collet. By this means fuel assemblies as well as control rods can be handled with the grab. By means of a stop on the grab the casing can be detached from the control rod. (DG) [de

Use of an advanced document system in post-refuelling updating of nuclear power plant documentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puech Suanzes, P.; Cortes Soler, M.

1993-01-01

This paper discusses the results of the extensive use of an advanced document system to update documentation prepared by traditional methods and affected by changes in the period between two plant refuellings. The implementation of a system for the capture, retrieval and storage of drawings using optical discs is part of a plan to modernize production and management tools and to thus achieve better control of document configuration. These processes are consequently optimized in that: 1. The deterioration of drawings is detained with the help of an identical, updated, legible, reliable support for all users. 2. The time required to update documentation is reduced. Given the large number of drawings, the implementation method should effectively combine costs and time. The document management tools ensure optical disc storage control so that from the moment a drawing resides in the system, any modification to it is made through the system utilities, thus ensuring quality and reducing schedules. The system described was used to update the electrical drawings of Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant. Changes made during the eighth refuelling of Unit I were incorporated and the time needed to issue the updated drawings was reduced by one month. (author)

Positive Neighborhood Norms Buffer Ethnic Diversity Effects on Neighborhood Dissatisfaction, Perceived Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Moving Intentions.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Assche, Jasper; Asbrock, Frank; Roets, Arne; Kauff, Mathias

2018-05-01

Positive neighborhood norms, such as strong local networks, are critical to people's satisfaction with, perceived disadvantage of, and intentions to stay in their neighborhood. At the same time, local ethnic diversity is said to be detrimental for these community outcomes. Integrating both frameworks, we tested whether the negative consequences of diversity occur even when perceived social norms are positive. Study 1 ( N = 1,760 German adults) showed that perceptions of positive neighborhood norms buffered against the effects of perceived diversity on moving intentions via neighborhood satisfaction and perceived neighborhood disadvantage. Study 2 ( N = 993 Dutch adults) replicated and extended this moderated mediation model using other characteristics of diversity (i.e., objective and estimated minority proportions). Multilevel analyses again revealed consistent buffering effects of positive neighborhood norms. Our findings are discussed in light of the ongoing public and political debate concerning diversity and social and communal life.

Manufacturing Competitiveness and Supply Chain Analyses for Hydrogen Refueling Stations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mayyas, Ahmad T [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Garland, Nancy [U.S. Department of Energy

2018-04-27

This slide deck was presented in the monthly FCTO webinar series (May 2017). The goal of this presentation was to share our latest results and remarks on the manufacturing competitiveness analysis of the hydrogen refueling stations (HRS). Manufacturing cost models were developed for major systems in the HRS such as compressors, storage tanks, chillers, heat exchangers, and dispensers. In addition to the cost models, we also discussed important remarks from our analysis for the international trade flows and global supply chain for the hydrogen refueling stations. The last part of the presentation also highlights effect of economies of scale and high production volumes on lowering the cost of the hydrogen at the pump.

Planning According to New Urbanism: the Ostadsara Neighborhood Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nader Zali

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The modern urbanism activities have led to rupture of previous spatial structure of neighborhoods and destruction of their identity. The New Urbanism Movement, as one of the successful models in urbanization field attempts to revive this lost national-social identity through the project of returning to traditional structure of neighborhoods by applying modern urbanization models and methods. The current paper aims at evaluation and analysis of “the Ostadsara neighborhood's organization based on new urbanism principles” and representation of solutions for planning a successful neighborhood center considering these principles. In this regard, various methods including library method, observation, photography, questionnaire and interview with users of the environment were utilized. The results from identification and assessment of weaknesses and strengths and specification and analysis of potential threats and opportunities shows the possibility of applying walkability, connectivity and integration, improvement of public transportation, improvement of architecture quality and urban design, maintenance and improvement of public and green open spaces, maintenance and strengthening the structure of traditional neighborhood units and using cooperation of Ostadsara neighborhood's inhabitants. Finally, the current study will represent appropriate strategies for changing the mentioned neighborhood into a desirable and prosperous one.

Evaluation of potential severe accidents during low power and shutdown operations at Grand Gulf, Unit 1. Volume 5: Analysis of core damage frequency from seismic events for plant operational state 5 during a refueling outage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budnitz, R.J.; Davis, P.R.; Ravindra, M.K.; Tong, W.H.

1994-08-01

In 1989 the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initiated an extensive program to examine carefully the potential risks during low-power and shutdown operations. The program included two parallel projects, one at Sandia National Laboratories studying a boiling water reactor (Grand Gulf), and the other at Brookhaven National Laboratory studying a pressurized water reactor (Surry Unit 1). Both the Sandia and Brookhaven projects have examined only accidents initiated by internal plant faults---so-called ''internal initiators.'' This project, which has explored the likelihood of seismic-initiated core damage accidents during refueling outage conditions, is complementary to the internal-initiator analyses at Brookhaven and Sandia. This report covers the seismic analysis at Grand Gulf. All of the many systems modeling assumptions, component non-seismic failure rates, and human effort rates that were used in the internal-initiator study at Grand Gulf have been adopted here, so that the results of the study can be as comparable as possible. Both the Sandia study and this study examine only one shutdown plant operating state (POS) at Grand Gulf, namely POS 5 representing cold shutdown during a refueling outage. This analysis has been limited to work analogous to a level-1 seismic PRA, in which estimates have been developed for the core-damage frequency from seismic events during POS 5. The results of the analysis are that the core-damage frequency for earthquake-initiated accidents during refueling outages in POS 5 is found to be quite low in absolute terms, less than 10 -7 /year

Choice Neighborhood Grantees

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Housing and Urban Development — Choice Neighborhoods grants transform distressed neighborhoods, public and assisted projects into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods by linking...

Optimal mission planning of GEO on-orbit refueling in mixed strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiao-qian; Yu, Jing

2017-04-01

The mission planning of GEO on-orbit refueling (OOR) in Mixed strategy is studied in this paper. Specifically, one SSc will be launched to an orbital slot near the depot when multiple GEO satellites are reaching their end of lives. The SSc replenishes fuel from the depot and then extends the lifespan of the target satellites via refueling. In the mixed scenario, only some of the target satellites could be served by the SSc, and the remaining ones will be fueled by Pseudo SScs (the target satellite which has already been refueled by the SSc and now has sufficient fuel for its operation as well as the fuel to refuel other target satellites is called Pseudo SSc here). The mission sequences and fuel mass of the SSc and Pseudo SScs, the dry mass of the SSc are used as design variables, whereas the economic benefit of the whole mission is used as design objective. The economic cost and benefit models are stated first, and then a mathematical optimization model is proposed. A comprehensive solution method involving enumeration, particle swarm optimization and modification is developed. Numerical examples are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model and solution method. Economic efficiencies of different OOR strategies are compared and discussed. The mixed strategy would perform better than the other strategies only when the target satellites satisfy some conditions. This paper presents an available mixed strategy scheme for users and analyzes its advantages and disadvantages by comparing with some other OOR strategies, providing helpful references to decision makers. The best strategy in practical applications depends on the specific demands and user preference.

Refueling availability for alternative fuel vehicle markets: Sufficient urban station coverage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melaina, Marc; Bremson, Joel

2008-01-01

Alternative fuel vehicles can play an important role in addressing the challenges of climate change, energy security, urban air pollution and the continued growth in demand for transportation services. The successful commercialization of alternative fuels for vehicles is contingent upon a number of factors, including vehicle cost and performance. Among fuel infrastructure issues, adequate refueling availability is one of the most fundamental to successful commercialization. A commonly cited source reports 164,300 refueling stations in operation nationwide. However, from the perspective of refueling availability, this nationwide count tends to overstate the number of stations required to support the widespread deployment of alternative fuel vehicles. In terms of spatial distribution, the existing gasoline station networks in many urban areas are more than sufficient. We characterize a sufficient level of urban coverage based upon a subset of cities served by relatively low-density station networks, and estimate that some 51,000 urban stations would be required to provide this sufficient level of coverage to all major urban areas, 33 percent less than our estimate of total urban stations. This improved characterization will be useful for engineering, economic and policy analyses. (author)

Air Force Air Refueling: The KC-X Aircraft Acquisition Program

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Knight, William; Bolkcom, Christopher

2008-01-01

... to accomplish air refueling missions. The program is expected to cost approximately $35 billion. Both Boeing and a consortium consisting of Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company...

Perceptions as the crucial link? The mediating role of neighborhood perceptions in the relationship between the neighborhood context and neighborhood cohesion.

Science.gov (United States)

Laméris, Joran; Hipp, John R; Tolsma, Jochem

2018-05-01

This study examines the effects of neighborhood racial in-group size, economic deprivation and the prevalence of crime on neighborhood cohesion among U.S. whites. We explore to what extent residents' perceptions of their neighborhood mediate these macro-micro relationships. We use a recent individual-level data set, the American Social Fabric Study (2012/2013), enriched with contextual-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau (2010) and employ multi-level structural equation models. We show that the racial in-group size is positively related to neighborhood cohesion and that neighborhood cohesion is lower in communities with a high crime rate. Individuals' perceptions of the racial in-group size partly mediate the relationship between the objective racial in-group size and neighborhood cohesion. Residents' perceptions of unsafety from crime also appear to be a mediating factor, not only for the objective crime rate but also for the objective racial in-group size. This is in line with our idea that racial stereotypes link racial minorities to crime whereby neighborhoods with a large non-white population are perceived to be more unsafe. Residents of the same neighborhood differ in how they perceive the degree of economic decay of the neighborhood and this causes them to evaluate neighborhood cohesion differently, however perceptions of neighborhood economic decay do not explain the link between the objective neighborhood context and neighborhood cohesion. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Neighborhood solutions for neighborhood problems: an empirically based violence prevention collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Randall, J; Swenson, C C; Henggeler, S W

1999-12-01

Youth antisocial behavior is influenced, in part, by neighborhood context. Yet, rather than attempting to ameliorate factors contributing to youth antisocial behavior, service dollars are primarily devoted to expensive and often ineffective out-of-home placements. This article describes the development and implementation of a collaborative partnership designed to empower an economically disadvantaged neighborhood to address violent criminal behavior, substance abuse, and other serious antisocial problems of its youth while maintaining youth in the neighborhood. Through a collaboration between a university research center and neighborhood stakeholders, services are being provided to address the key priorities identified by neighborhood residents, and extensive efforts are being made to develop family and neighborhood contexts that are conducive to prosocial youth behavior.

Status of small reactor designs without on-site refuelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

There is an ongoing interest in member states in the development and application of small and medium sized reactors (SMRs). In the near term, most new NPPs are likely to be evolutionary designs building on proven systems while incorporating technological advances and often the economics of scale, resulting from the reactor outputs of up to 1600 MW(e). For the longer term, the focus is on innovative designs aiming to provide increased benefits in the areas of safety and security, non-proliferation, waste management, resource utilization and economy, as well as to offer a variety of energy products and flexibility in design, siting and fuel cycle options. Many innovative designs are reactors within the small-to-medium size range, having an equivalent electric power less than 700 MW(e) or even less than 300 MW(e). A distinct trend in design and technology development, accounting for about half of the SMR concepts developed worldwide, is represented by small reactors without on-site refuelling. Such reactors, also known as battery-type reactors, could operate without reloading and shuffling of fuel in the core over long periods, from 5 to 25 years and beyond. Upon the advice and with the support of IAEA member states, within its Programme 1 'Nuclear Power, Fuel Cycle, and Nuclear Science', the IAEA provides a forum for the exchange of information by experts and policy makers from industrialized and developing countries on the technical, economic, environmental, and social aspects of SMRs development and implementation in the 21st century, and makes this information available to all interested Member States by producing status reports and other publications dedicated to advances in SMR technology. The objective of this report is to provide Member States, including those just considering the initiation of nuclear power programmes and those already having practical experience in nuclear power, with a balanced and objective information on important development trends and

Analysis on engineering application of CNP1000 in-containment refueling water storage tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Bin; Wang Yong; Qiu Jian; Weng Minghui

2005-01-01

Based on the basic design of CNP1000 (three loops), which is self-reliance designed by China National Nuclear Cooperation, and investigation results from abroad advanced nuclear power plant design of In-containment Refueling Water Storage tank, this paper describe the system flowsheet, functional requirements, structural design and piping arrangement about In-containment Refueling Water Storage Tank. The design takes the lower structural space as the IRWST. Four areas are configured to meet the diverse functional requirements, including depressurization area, water collection area, safety injection and/or containment spray suction area, TSP storage area / reactor cavity flooding holdup tank. Also the paper depict the corresponding analysis and demonstration, such as In-containment Refueling Water Storage Tank pressure transient on depressurization area of IRWST, suction and internal flow stream of IRWST, configuration of strains, the addition method and amount of chemical addition, design and engineering applicant of Reactor Cavity Flooding System. All the analysis results show the basic design of IRWST meeting with the Utility Requirement Document's requirements on performance of safety function, setting of overfill passage, overpressure protection, related interference, etc., and show the reliability of Engineering Safety Features being improved for CNP1000 (three loops). Meanwhile, it is demonstrated that the design of In-containment Refueling Water Storage Tank can apply on the future nuclear power plant project in China. (authors)

Improving refueling outages through partnership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mercado, Angelo L.

2004-01-01

This paper describes an approach to reduce nuclear plant outage duration and cost through partnership. Partnership is defined as a long-term commitment between the utility and the vendor with the objective of achieving shared business goals by maximizing the effectiveness of each party's resources. The elements of an effective partnership are described. Specific examples are given as to how partnership has worked in the effective performance of refueling outages. To gain the full benefits of a partnership, both parties must agree to share information, define the scope early, communicate goals and expectations, and identify boundaries for technical ownership. (author)

Compact toroid refueling of reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouge, M.J.; Hogan, J.T.; Milora, S.L.; Thomas, C.E.

1988-04-01

The feasibility of refueling fusion reactors and devices such as the International Thermonuclear Engineering Reactor (ITER) with high-velocity compact toroids is investigated. For reactors with reasonable limits on recirculating power, it is concluded that the concept is not economically feasible. For typical ITER designs, the compact toroid fueling requires about 15 MW of electrical power, with about 5 MW of thermal power deposited in the plasma. At these power levels, ideal ignition (Q = ∞) is not possible, even for short-pulse burns. The pulsed power requirements for this technology are substantial. 6 ref., 1 figs

Refueling outage services in Spanish Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landete, J. L.; Soto, M.; Nunuez, A.

2007-01-01

DOMINGUIS Group, through its 75 years of business development, has positioned as the Spanish leader Group in Services for the Nuclear Energy and Petrochemical Sectors. In this article, we present the most significant services summary that, through the companies that constitute DOMINGUIS Group, we have developed in Refueling Outage in Spanish Nuclear Power Plants. (Author)

Evaluation of potential severe accidents during low power and shutdown operations at Grand Gulf, Unit 1. Volume 2, Part 1C: Analysis of core damage frequency from internal events for plant operational State 5 during a refueling outage, Main report (Sections 11--14)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitehead, D.; Darby, J.; Yakle, J.

1994-06-01

This document contains the accident sequence analysis of internally initiated events for Grand Gulf, Unit 1 as it operates in the Low Power and Shutdown Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage. The report documents the methodology used during the analysis, describes the results from the application of the methodology, and compares the results with the results from two full power analyses performed on Grand Gulf

Evaluation of potential severe accidents during low power and shutdown operations at Grand Gulf, Unit 1: Analysis of core damage frequency from internal events for Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage. Volume 2, Part 2: Internal Events Appendices A to H

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darby, J.; Whitehead, D.; Staple, B.; Dandini, V.

1994-06-01

This document contains the accident sequence analysis of internally initiated events for Grand Gulf, Unit 1 as it operates in the Low Power and Shutdown Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage. The report documents the methodology used during the analysis, describes the results from the application of the methodology, and compares the results with the results from two full power analyses performed on Grand Gulf

The influence of sampling unit size and spatial arrangement patterns on neighborhood-based spatial structure analyses of forest stands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, H.; Zhang, G.; Hui, G.; Li, Y.; Hu, Y.; Zhao, Z.

2016-07-01

Aim of study: Neighborhood-based stand spatial structure parameters can quantify and characterize forest spatial structure effectively. How these neighborhood-based structure parameters are influenced by the selection of different numbers of nearest-neighbor trees is unclear, and there is some disagreement in the literature regarding the appropriate number of nearest-neighbor trees to sample around reference trees. Understanding how to efficiently characterize forest structure is critical for forest management. Area of study: Multi-species uneven-aged forests of Northern China. Material and methods: We simulated stands with different spatial structural characteristics and systematically compared their structure parameters when two to eight neighboring trees were selected. Main results: Results showed that values of uniform angle index calculated in the same stand were different with different sizes of structure unit. When tree species and sizes were completely randomly interspersed, different numbers of neighbors had little influence on mingling and dominance indices. Changes of mingling or dominance indices caused by different numbers of neighbors occurred when the tree species or size classes were not randomly interspersed and their changing characteristics can be detected according to the spatial arrangement patterns of tree species and sizes. Research highlights: The number of neighboring trees selected for analyzing stand spatial structure parameters should be fixed. We proposed that the four-tree structure unit is the best compromise between sampling accuracy and costs for practical forest management. (Author)

Regional Consumer Hydrogen Demand and Optimal Hydrogen Refueling Station Siting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melendez, M.; Milbrandt, A.

2008-04-01

Using a GIS approach to spatially analyze key attributes affecting hydrogen market transformation, this study proposes hypothetical hydrogen refueling station locations in select subregions to demonstrate a method for determining station locations based on geographic criteria.

Hyapproval : final handbook for approval of hydrogen refuelling stations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wurster, R.; Landinger, H.; Machens, C.; Allidières, L.; Molag, M.; Barron, J.; Reijalt, M.; Hill, H.J.

2006-01-01

HyApproval is an EC co-financed Specific Targeted Research Project (STREP) to develop a Handbook facilitating the approval of Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS). The project, started in October 2005, will be performed over 24 months by a balanced partnership including 25 partners from industry, SMEs

Health selection into neighborhoods among patients enrolled in a clinical trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana C. Arcaya

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Health selection into neighborhoods may contribute to geographic health disparities. We demonstrate the potential for clinical trial data to help clarify the causal role of health on locational attainment. We used data from the 20-year United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS to explore whether random assignment to intensive blood-glucose control therapy, which improved long-term health outcomes after median 10 years follow-up, subsequently affected what neighborhoods patients lived in. We extracted postcode-level deprivation indices for the 2710 surviving participants of UKPDS living in England at study end in 1996/1997. We observed small neighborhood advantages in the intensive versus conventional therapy group, although these differences were not statistically significant. This analysis failed to show conclusive evidence of health selection into neighborhoods, but data suggest the hypothesis may be worthy of exploration in other clinical trials or in a meta-analysis. Keywords: Neighborhoods, Self-selection, Health, Equity, Socioeconomic status

Fire Protection Engineering Design Brief Template. Hydrogen Refueling Station.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

LaFleur, Angela Christine [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Muna, Alice Baca [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Groth, Katrina M. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-08-01

Building a hydrogen infrastructure system is critical to supporting the development of alternate- fuel vehicles. This report provides a methodology for implementing a performance-based design of an outdoor hydrogen refueling station that does not meet specific prescriptive requirements in NFPA 2, The Hydrogen Technologies Code . Performance-based designs are a code-compliant alternative to meeting prescriptive requirements. Compliance is demonstrated by comparing a prescriptive-based fueling station design with a performance-based design approach using Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) methods and hydrogen risk assessment tools. This template utilizes the Sandia-developed QRA tool, Hydrogen Risk Analysis Models (HyRAM), which combines reduced-order deterministic models that characterize hydrogen release and flame behavior with probabilistic risk models to quantify risk values. Each project is unique and this template is not intended to account for site-specific characteristics. Instead, example content and a methodology are provided for a representative hydrogen refueling site which can be built upon for new hydrogen applications.

The influence of the placement method of fuel dispenserson the refueling cycle of vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Levin Ruslan Yur’evich

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Logistics of production processes at a gas station is a critical point in the system of petroleum products, on the operation of which the effectiveness and sustainability of the transport sector depends. The provision and supply of road transportation of petroleum products is one of the most urgent tasks.Technological processes of reception, storage of fuel and refuelling of motor vehicles on petrol stations needs a scientific study of their structure and organization. At the design stage of a gas station, it is necessary to consider quite a lot of different factors: the configuration of the area under the gas station, the scheme of arrangement and the number of fuel dispensers, the trajectory of motion and the design of vehicles, calls to the station, distance between cars on duty, between the elements of buildings and equipment, as well as the requirements for fire, building, public, sanitary-epidemiological and state regulations. Therefore, the designer has a great opportunity for varying the parameters of the elements of the station, especially when considering the characteristics of the fueled vehicles.Typical projects at a same power station include various sizes, the seizure of land to build a station changes from planning decisions and the locations of all its technological elements. For increase of functioning efficiency of transportation systems of petroleum products in modern conditions on the basis of the design and technical innovations it is necessary to conduct special studies.Research planning decisions for a refueling station led to the conclusion that the placement of technological equipment in the refueling area has a certain impact on the length of vehicles service. Improving the layout of the refueling zone several times reduces the loss of the components of the refueling cycle time and increase the capacity of the station.Information base describing the stages of a gas station includes parts of refueling cycle time and

Natural circulation analysis for the advanced neutron source reactor refueling process 11

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tucker, R.F.; Dasardhi, S.; Elkassabgi, Y. [Texas A& M Univ., Kingsville, TX (United States); Yoder, G.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1995-09-01

During the refueling process of the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor (ANSR), the spent fuel elements must be moved from the primary coolant loop (containing D{sub 2}O), through a heavy water pool, and finally into a light water spent fuel storage area. The present refueling scheme utilizes remote refueling equipment to move the spent fuel elements through a D{sub 2}O filled stack and tunnel into a temporary storage canal. A transfer lock is used to move the spent fuel elements from the D{sub 2}O-filled interim storage canal to a light water pool. Each spent fuel element must be cooled during this process, using either natural circulation or forced convection. This paper presents a summary of the numerical techniques used to analyze natural circulation cooling of the ANSR fuel elements as well as selected results of the calculations. Details of the analysis indicate that coolant velocities below 10 cm/s exist in the coolant channels under single phase natural circulation conditions. Also, boiling does not occur within the channels if power levels are below a few hundred kW when the core transitions to natural circulation conditions.

Neighbors United for Health

Science.gov (United States)

Westhoff, Wayne W.; Corvin, Jaime; Virella, Irmarie

2009-01-01

Modeled upon the ecclesiastic community group concept of Latin America to unite and strengthen the bond between the Church and neighborhoods, a community-based organization created Vecinos Unidos por la Salud (Neighbors United for Health) to bring health messages into urban Latino neighborhoods. The model is based on five tenants, and incorporates…

The hydrogen refuelling plant in Madrid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giron, E.; Saez, A.; Julia, A.

2005-07-01

Since the late days of spring 2003, a hydrogen refuelling station is operating in Madrid to provide fuel to a set of four FC-buses running in the frame of the European demonstration projects CUTE and CITYCELLS. This station is located at one of the EMT(1) bus depot premises. The station was designed and built for the EMT by the consortium 'esH2' composed by the industrial gases manufacturer Air Liquide Espana, the energy utility Gas Natural SDG and the oil company Repsol YPF. (Author)

Neighborhood Environmental Health and Premature Death From Cardiovascular Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaglioti, Anne H; Xu, Junjun; Rollins, Latrice; Baltrus, Peter; O'Connell, Laura Kathryn; Cooper, Dexter L; Hopkins, Jammie; Botchwey, Nisha D; Akintobi, Tabia Henry

2018-02-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority groups. Healthy neighborhood conditions are associated with increased uptake of health behaviors that reduce CVD risk, but minority neighborhoods often have poor food access and poor walkability. This study tested the community-driven hypothesis that poor access to food at the neighborhood level and poor neighborhood walkability are associated with racial disparities in premature deaths from CVD. We examined the relationship between neighborhood-level food access and walkability on premature CVD mortality rates at the census tract level for the city of Atlanta using multivariable logistic regression models. We produced maps to illustrate premature CVD mortality, food access, and walkability by census tract for the city. We found significant racial differences in premature CVD mortality rates and geographic disparities in food access and walkability among census tracts in Atlanta. Improved food access and walkability were associated with reduced overall premature CVD mortality in unadjusted models, but this association did not persist in models adjusted for census tract population composition and poverty. Census tracts with high concentrations of minority populations had higher levels of poor food access, poor walkability, and premature CVD mortality. This study highlights disparities in premature CVD mortality and neighborhood food access and walkability at the census tract level in the city of Atlanta. Improving food access may have differential effects for subpopulations living in the same area. These results can be used to calibrate neighborhood-level interventions, and they highlight the need to examine race-specific health outcomes.

Improving Mental Health Through the Regeneration of Deprived Neighborhoods: A Natural Experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

White, James; Greene, Giles; Farewell, Daniel; Dunstan, Frank; Rodgers, Sarah; Lyons, Ronan A; Humphreys, Ioan; John, Ann; Webster, Chris; Phillips, Ceri J; Fone, David

2017-08-15

Neighborhood-level interventions provide an opportunity to better understand the impact of neighborhoods on health. In 2001, the Welsh Government, United Kingdom, funded Communities First, a program of neighborhood regeneration delivered to the 100 most deprived of the 881 electoral wards in Wales. In this study, we examined the association between neighborhood regeneration and mental health. Information on regeneration activities in 35 intervention areas (n = 4,197 subjects) and 75 control areas (n = 6,695 subjects) was linked to data on mental health from a cohort study with assessments made in 2001 (before regeneration) and 2008 (after regeneration). Propensity score matching was used to estimate the change in mental health in intervention neighborhoods versus control neighborhoods. Baseline differences between intervention and control areas were of similar magnitude as produced by paired randomization of neighborhoods. Regeneration was associated with an improvement in the mental health of residents in intervention areas compared with control neighborhoods (β = 1.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.50, 2.59), suggesting a reduction in socioeconomic inequalities in mental health. There was a dose-response relationship between length of residence in regeneration neighborhoods and improvements in mental health (P-trend = 0.05). These results show that targeted regeneration of deprived neighborhoods can improve mental health. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

40 CFR 86.152-98 - Vehicle preparation; refueling test.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Vehicle preparation; refueling test... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CONTROL OF EMISSIONS FROM NEW AND IN-USE HIGHWAY VEHICLES AND ENGINES Emission Regulations for 1977 and Later Model Year New Light-Duty Vehicles and New Light-Duty Trucks and New Otto-Cycle...

Neighborhood context and health: How neighborhood social capital affects individual health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mohnen, S.M.

2012-01-01

Does it matter for my health in which neighborhood I live? The fact is, health is determined not only by individual characteristics but also by the neighborhood in which someone lives. This thesis shows that health clusters in Dutch neighborhoods and that this is not only a composition effect (that

Refueling Behavior of Flexible Fuel Vehicle Drivers in the Federal Fleet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daley, R.; Nangle, J.; Boeckman, G.; Miller, M.

2014-05-01

Federal fleets are a frequent subject of legislative and executive efforts to lead a national transition to alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. Section 701 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires that all dual-fueled alternative fuel vehicles in the federal fleet be operated on alternative fuel 100% of the time when they have access to it. However, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, drivers of federal flex fuel vehicles (FFV) leased through the General Services Administration refueled with E85 24% of the time when it was available--falling well short of the mandate. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory completed a 2-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development project to identify the factors that influence the refueling behavior of federal FFV drivers. The project began with two primary hypotheses. First, information scarcity increases the tendency to miss opportunities to purchase E85. Second, even with perfect information, there are limits to how far drivers will go out of their way to purchase E85. This paper discusses the results of the project, which included a June 2012 survey of federal fleet drivers and an empirical analysis of actual refueling behavior from FY 2009 to 2012. This research will aid in the design and implementation of intervention programs aimed at increasing alternative fuel use and reducing petroleum consumption.

Evaluation of potential severe accidents during low power and shutdown operations at Grand Gulf, Unit 1. Analysis of core damage frequency from internal events for plant operational state 5 during a refueling outage. Internal events appendices K to M

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forester, J.; Yakle, J.; Walsh, B.; Darby, J.; Whitehead, D.; Staple, B.; Brown, T.

1994-07-01

This report provides supporting documentation for various tasks associated with the performance of the probabilistic risk assessment for Plant Operational State 5 (approximately Cold Shutdown as defined by Grand Gulf Technical Specifications) during a refueling outage at Grand Gulf, Unit 1 as documented in Volume 2, Part 1 of NUREG/CR-6143. The report contains the following appendices: K - HEP Locator Files; L - Supporting Information for the Plant Damage State Analysis; M - Summary of Results from the Coarse Screening Analysis - Phase 1A

Perceived neighborhood quality, sleep quality, and health status: evidence from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin.

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, Lauren; Hill, Terrence D; Friedman, Elliot; Nieto, F Javier; Galvao, Loren W; Engelman, Corinne D; Malecki, Kristen M C; Peppard, Paul E

2013-02-01

Why does living in a disadvantaged neighborhood predict poorer mental and physical health? Recent research focusing on the Southwestern United States suggests that disadvantaged neighborhoods favor poor health, in part, because they undermine sleep quality. Building on previous research, we test whether this process extends to the Midwestern United States. Specifically, we use cross-sectional data from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW), a statewide probability sample of Wisconsin adults, to examine whether associations among perceived neighborhood quality (e.g., perceptions of crime, litter, and pleasantness in the neighborhood) and health status (overall self-rated health and depression) are mediated by overall sleep quality (measured as self-rated sleep quality and physician diagnosis of sleep apnea). We find that perceptions of low neighborhood quality are associated with poorer self-rated sleep quality, poorer self-rated health, and more depressive symptoms. We also observe that poorer self-rated sleep quality is associated with poorer self-rated health and more depressive symptoms. Our mediation analyses indicate that self-rated sleep quality partially mediates the link between perceived neighborhood quality and health status. Specifically, self-rated sleep quality explains approximately 20% of the association between neighborhood quality and self-rated health and nearly 19% of the association between neighborhood quality and depression. Taken together, these results confirm previous research and extend the generalizability of the indirect effect of perceived neighborhood context on health status through sleep quality. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Television alignment of mast assembly in refueling of nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, J.W.; Swidwa, K.J.; Hornak, L.P.

1990-01-01

This patent describes the refueling of a nuclear reactor having component assemblies of at least one type and being disposed in a pit in a containment under water, the refueling being carried out with a mast movable axially and circumferentially for raising and lowering the component assemblies, a mechanism, connected to an end of the mast, cooperative with the mast, for engaging a component assembly to be raised by the mast, a television camera, and a television monitor having an image-reference indication, the mechanism being connected to the mast movable with the mast; the method of positioning the mechanism to engage the component assembly appropriately for raising and lowering. It comprises: mounting the camera on the mechanism movable therewith, suspending the mast in the water of the pit with the mechanism extending from the end of the mast in the pit in position to engage the component assembly

Extending the features of RBMK refuelling machine simulator with a training tool based on virtual reality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khoudiakov, M.; Slonimsky, V.; Mitrofanov, S.

2004-01-01

The paper describes a continuation of efforts of an international Russian - Norwegian joint team to improve operational safety during the refuelling process of an RBMK-type reactor by implementing a training simulator based on an innovative Virtual Reality (VR) approach. During the preceding 1st stage of the project a display-based simulator was extended with VR models of the real Refuelling Machine (RM) and its environment in order to improve both the learning process and operation's effectiveness. The simulator's challenge is to support the performance (operational activity) of RM operational staff firstly by helping them to develop basic knowledge and skills as well as to keep skilled staff in close touch with the complex machinery of the Refuelling Machine. During the 2nd stage of the joint project the functional scope of the VR-simulator was greatly enhanced - firstly, by connecting to the RBMK-unit full-scope simulator, and, secondly, by including a training program and simulator model upgrade. The present 3rd stage of the Project is primarily oriented towards the improvement of the training process for maintenance and operational personnel by means of a development of the Training Support Methodology and Courses (TSMC) to be based on Virtual Reality and enlarged functionality of 3D and process modelling. The TMSC development is based on Russian and International Regulatory Bodies requirements and recommendations. Design, development and creation of a specialised VR-based Training System for RM Maintenance Personnel are very important for the Russian RBMK plants. The main goal is to create a powerful, autonomous VR-based simulator for training technical maintenance personnel on the Refuelling Machine. VR based training is expected to improve the effect of training compared to the current training based on traditional methods using printed documentation. The LNPP management and the Regulatory Bodies supported this goal. The VR-based Training System should

Key issues for the control of refueling outage duration and costs in PWR nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degrave, C.; Martin-Onraet, M.

2000-01-01

For several years, EDF, within the framework of the CIDEM project and in collaboration with some German Utilities, has undertaken a detailed review of the operating experience both of its own NPP and of foreign units, in order to improve the performances of future units under design, particularly the French-German European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) project. This review made it possible to identify the key issues allowing to decrease the duration of refueling and maintenance outages. These key issues can be classified in 3 categories: Design; Maintenance and Logistic Support; Outage Management. Most key issues in the design field and some in the logistic support field have been studied and could be integrated into the design of any future PWR unit, as for the EPR project. Some of them could also be adapted to current plants, provided they are feasible and profitable. The organization must be tailored to each country, utility or period: it widely depends on the power production environment, particularly in a deregulation context. (author)

Development of a dose database in the refuelling scenario of a nuclear power plant for a virtual reality application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodenas, J.; Zarza, I.; Pascual, A.; Felipe, A.; Sanchez-Mayoral, M.L.

2002-01-01

Operators in Nuclear Power Plants can receive high doses during refuelling operation. A training program simulating refuelling operations will be useful to reduce doses received by workers as well as to minimise operation time. With this goal in mind a Virtual Reality application is developed in the frame of CIPRES Project (Calculos Interactivos de Proteccion Radiologica en un Entorno de Simulacion - Interactive Calculations of Radiological Protection in a Simulation Environment), a RD project sponsored by IBERINCO and developed jointly by IBERINCO and the Nuclear Engineering Department of the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The Virtual Reality application requires the possibility of displaying doses, both instantaneous and accumulated, at all times during the operator training. Therefore, it is necessary to elaborate a database containing dose rates at every point of the refuelling plant. This database is elaborated from Radiological Protection Surveillance data measured throughout the plant during refuelling operation. To estimate doses throughout the refuelling plant some interpolation routines have been used. Different assumptions have been adopted in order to perform the interpolation and obtain consistent data. In this paper, procedures developed to elaborate the dose database for the Virtual Reality application are presented and analysed

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3. Annual operating report: January--December 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

Unit 2 experienced 11 forced outages, 5 power reductions, and one major refueling outage which lasted about 3 months during which time the feedwater spargers were replaced. Net electrical power generated was 5,569,633 MWH with the generator on line 5,998 hrs. Unit 3 experienced 17 forced outages, 11 power reductions and 2 major outages. The first refueling outage began 12/24/77. Net electrical power generated was 6,049,644 MWH with the unit on line 6,829 hrs. Information is presented concerning operations, personnel exposures, radioactive releases, maintenance, and irradiated fuel examination

Neighborhood Environmental Health and Premature Death From Cardiovascular Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Junjun; Rollins, Latrice; Baltrus, Peter; O’Connell, Laura Kathryn; Cooper, Dexter L.; Hopkins, Jammie; Botchwey, Nisha D.; Akintobi, Tabia Henry

2018-01-01

Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority groups. Healthy neighborhood conditions are associated with increased uptake of health behaviors that reduce CVD risk, but minority neighborhoods often have poor food access and poor walkability. This study tested the community-driven hypothesis that poor access to food at the neighborhood level and poor neighborhood walkability are associated with racial disparities in premature deaths from CVD. Methods We examined the relationship between neighborhood-level food access and walkability on premature CVD mortality rates at the census tract level for the city of Atlanta using multivariable logistic regression models. We produced maps to illustrate premature CVD mortality, food access, and walkability by census tract for the city. Results We found significant racial differences in premature CVD mortality rates and geographic disparities in food access and walkability among census tracts in Atlanta. Improved food access and walkability were associated with reduced overall premature CVD mortality in unadjusted models, but this association did not persist in models adjusted for census tract population composition and poverty. Census tracts with high concentrations of minority populations had higher levels of poor food access, poor walkability, and premature CVD mortality. Conclusion This study highlights disparities in premature CVD mortality and neighborhood food access and walkability at the census tract level in the city of Atlanta. Improving food access may have differential effects for subpopulations living in the same area. These results can be used to calibrate neighborhood-level interventions, and they highlight the need to examine race-specific health outcomes. PMID:29389312

On the refuelling of large divertor experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staebler, A.; Haas, G.; Ott, W.; Speth, E.

1976-01-01

The use of fast hydrogen atoms, molecules and clusters for refuelling large divertor-experiments like ASDEX is investigated. Three criteria for the choice among the various methods are discussed. It is shown that clusters suffer from lack of penetration. Molecules, created by fragmentation of clusters, offer the advantage of plasma-like energy combined with appreciable penetration. Large penetration and high ionization efficiency can only be achieved at energies for above the plasma temperature with H 0 -atoms of several tens of keV

Durham Neighborhood Compass Neighborhoods

Data.gov (United States)

City and County of Durham, North Carolina — The Durham Neighborhood Compass is a quantitative indicators project with qualitative values, integrating data from local government, the Census Bureau and other...

Perceptions as the crucial link? The mediating role of neighborhood perceptions in the relationship between the neighborhood context and neighborhood cohesion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lamé ris, J.G.; Hipp, J.R.; Tolsma, J.

2018-01-01

This study examines the effects of neighborhood racial in-group size, economic deprivation and the prevalence of crime on neighborhood cohesion among U.S. whites. We explore to what extent residents' perceptions of their neighborhood mediate these macro-micro relationships. We use a recent

Participation of the Neighborhood Representatives (Mukhtars into Managerial Activities in Local Level: Burdur Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa LAMBA

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Neighborhood representatives (mukhtars are the nearest administrative units to citizens in local level. It is required to take advantage of that the neighborhood representatives know their districts and residents better than central and local government authorities. In addition, it will be appropriate to the principles of subsidiarity and the European Charter of Local Self Government to determine problems and demands of neighborhoods by their representatives. It is necessary to maintain communication channels and keep close relations with neighborhood representatives by local governments to use that advantage efficiently. It is aimed in this study to determine the participation level of neighborhood representatives into managerial activities in local level. For that purpose, the neighborhood representatives in the center of Burdur province are included in the research. According to the findings, it has been determined that the neighborhood representatives have participated into various activities without experiencing any difficulty, and they have been informed about the services regarding to their neighborhoods, and they have kept close relationship with central and local administrations, and most of them could communicate with local authorities directly. Therefore, it has been concluded that the neighborhood representatives have been influential enough in decision-making mechanisms in local level in Burdur.

China’s Neighborhood Environment and Options for Neighborhood Strategy

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHOU FANGYIN

2016-01-01

Since the 18th CPC National Congress,especially since the Central Conference on Work Relating to Neighborhood Diplomacy held in October 2013,China’s neighborhood diplomacy has been energetic,proactive and promising,achieving important results in several aspects.At the same time,it is also in face of challenges

Neighborhood Quality and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Quasi-Random Neighborhood Assignment of Immigrants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damm, Anna Piil

2012-01-01

of men living in the neighborhood, but positively affected by the employment rate of non-Western immigrant men and co-national men living in the neighborhood. This is strong evidence that immigrants find jobs in part through their employed immigrant and co-ethnic contacts in the neighborhood of residence...... successfully addresses the methodological problem of endogenous neighborhood selection. Taking account of location sorting, living in a socially deprived neighborhood does not affect labor market outcomes of refugee men. Furthermore, their labor market outcomes are not affected by the overall employment rate...

Aging in Place in Gentrifying Neighborhoods: Implications for Physical and Mental Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Richard J; Lehning, Amanda J; Kim, Kyeongmo

2018-01-18

In the United States, the older adult population and the proportion of neighborhoods experiencing gentrification are both growing. However, there is limited scholarship on the effects of gentrification on older adults, with most work focusing on those who leave rather than stay. This study examines the effects of remaining in a gentrifying neighborhood on older adults' self-rated health and mental health, with particular attention to outcomes for those who are economically vulnerable. Data are from 6,810 community-dwelling respondents in metropolitan areas from the first wave of the National Health & Aging Trends Study combined with the 1970-2010 National Neighborhood Change Database. We estimate the effects of gentrification on self-rated health and mental health separately using a quasi-experimental approach and comparing two methods: matching design and linear regression. Economically vulnerable older adults in gentrifying neighborhoods reported higher self-rated health than economically vulnerable older adults in low-income neighborhoods. Both economically vulnerable and higher-income older adults in gentrifying neighborhoods had more depression and anxiety symptoms than those living in more affluent areas. Higher-income older adults in gentrifying neighborhoods had poorer mental health than their counterparts in low-income neighborhoods. Findings call attention to the complexity of gentrification, and the need for more research examining how the intersection of neighborhood and individual characteristics influences older adults' health. Results reinforce the need for neighborhood-level interventions as well as relocation support to promote health in later life and caution against an overemphasis on aging in place. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Developing a virtual reality application for training Nuclear Power Plant operators: Setting up a database containing dose rates in the refuelling plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodenas, J.; Zarza, I.; Burgos, M. C.; Felipe, A.; Sanchez-Mayoral, M. L.

2004-01-01

Operators in Nuclear Power Plants can receive high doses during refuelling operations. A training programme for simulating refuelling operations will be useful in reducing the doses received by workers as well as minimising operation time. With this goal in mind, a virtual reality application is developed within the framework of the CIPRES project. The application requires doses, both instantaneous and accumulated, to be displayed at all times during operator training. Therefore, it is necessary to set up a database containing dose rates at every point in the refuelling plant. This database is based on radiological protection surveillance data measured in the plant during refuelling operations. Some interpolation routines have been used to estimate doses through the refuelling plant. Different assumptions have been adopted in order to perform the interpolation and obtain consistent data. In this paper, the procedures developed to set up the dose database for the virtual reality application are presented and analysed. (authors)

Neighborhood and family intersections: prospective implications for Mexican American adolescents' mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Rebecca M B; Roosa, Mark W; Zeiders, Katharine H

2012-10-01

We present an integrated model for understanding Mexican American youth mental health within family, neighborhood, and cultural contexts. We combined two common perspectives on neighborhood effects to hypothesize that (a) parents' perceptions of neighborhood risk would negatively impact their children's mental health by disrupting key parenting and family processes, and (b) objective neighborhood risk would alter the effect parent and family processes had on youth mental health. We further incorporated a cultural perspective to hypothesize that an ethnic minority group's culture-specific values may support parents to successfully confront neighborhood risk. We provided a conservative test of the integrated model by simultaneously examining three parenting and family process variables: maternal warmth, maternal harsh parenting, and family cohesion. The hypothesized model was estimated prospectively in a diverse, community-based sample of Mexican American adolescents and their mothers (N = 749) living in the southwestern United States. Support for specific elements of the hypothesized model varied depending on the parenting or family process variable examined. For family cohesion results were consistent with the combined neighborhood perspectives. The effects of maternal warmth on youth mental health were altered by objective neighborhood risk. For harsh parenting, results were somewhat consistent with the cultural perspective. The value of the integrated model for research on the impacts of family, neighborhood, and cultural contexts on youth mental health are discussed, as are implications for preventive interventions for Mexican American families and youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

The achievement of on-load refuelling at Heysham 2 and Torness AGRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sterland, P.R.; MacPherson, D.

1995-01-01

Heysham 2 and Torness are the last of the advanced gas cooled reactors constructed for the Central Electricity Generating Board and the South of Scotland Electricity Board. They are now operated by Nuclear Electric (NE) and Scottish Nuclear Limited (SNL), respectively. They were designed for on-load refuelling at high power and, being based on the design used for Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B, have benefited from experience at these stations. This paper examines the analysis work which was carried out in order to provide a sound, long-term, mainly probabilistic safety case which supports on-load refuelling. A significant problem has been that the design reliability of the microprocessor-based control and protection systems, used for the fuel route, could not be justified, and a number of changes to the overall protection system have had to be introduced to compensate for this. The safety assessment has covered the fuelling machine pressure boundary, the hoist and fuel assembly components, possible faults and the protection which is necessary to prevent them, the fuel and fuelling machine cooling requirements, the mechanical and radiological consequences of dropping fuel, and the effect of refuelling transients on the reactor and conventional plant. The resultant safety case complies with the stringent safety standards adopted by NE and SNL and accepted by the UK safety authority, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII). (author)

Integrated refuelling activity service; Servicio integrado de actividades de recarga

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia Valcarcel, M.; Lopez Garcia, J.L.

2010-07-01

Refuelling outages at nuclear power plants are subject to demanding improvement criteria in each and every one of the activities scheduled. In this article, the advantages of this general service performed by UTE-TWE for Asco and Vandellos II nuclear power plants, and their results and learned lessons are presented. (Author)

Neighborhood Danger, Parental Monitoring, Harsh Parenting, and Child Aggression in Nine Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann T. Skinner

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Exposure to neighborhood danger during childhood has negative effects that permeate multiple dimensions of childhood. The current study examined whether mothers’, fathers’, and children’s perceptions of neighborhood danger are related to child aggression, whether parental monitoring moderates this relation, and whether harsh parenting mediates this relation. Interviews were conducted with a sample of 1293 children (age M = 10.68, SD = 0.66; 51% girls and their mothers (n = 1282 and fathers (n = 1075 in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Perceptions of greater neighborhood danger were associated with more child aggression in all nine countries according to mothers’ and fathers’ reports and in five of the nine countries according to children’s reports. Parental monitoring did not moderate the relation between perception of neighborhood danger and child aggression. The mediating role of harsh parenting was inconsistent across countries and reporters. Implications for further research are discussed, and include examination of more specific aspects of parental monitoring as well as more objective measures of neighborhood danger.

Neighborhood Danger, Parental Monitoring, Harsh Parenting, and Child Aggression in Nine Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Skinner, Ann T; Bacchini, Dario; Lansford, Jennifer E; Godwin, Jennifer; Sorbring, Emma; Tapanya, Sombat; Tirado, Liliana Maria Uribe; Zelli, Arnaldo; Alampay, Liane Peña; Al-Hassan, Suha M; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Bornstein, Marc H; Chang, Lei; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Giunta, Laura Di; Dodge, Kenneth A; Malone, Patrick S; Miranda, Maria Concetta; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta

2014-01-20

Exposure to neighborhood danger during childhood has negative effects that permeate multiple dimensions of childhood. The current study examined whether mothers', fathers', and children's perceptions of neighborhood danger are related to child aggression, whether parental monitoring moderates this relation, and whether harsh parenting mediates this relation. Interviews were conducted with a sample of 1,293 children (age M = 10.68, SD = .66; 51% girls) and their mothers ( n = 1,282) and fathers ( n = 1,075) in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). Perceptions of greater neighborhood danger were associated with more child aggression in all nine countries according to mothers' and fathers' reports and in five of the nine countries according to children's reports. Parental monitoring did not moderate the relation between perception of neighborhood danger and child aggression. The mediating role of harsh parenting was inconsistent across countries and reporters. Implications for further research are discussed, and include examination of more specific aspects of parental monitoring as well as more objective measures of neighborhood danger.

Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, perceived neighborhood factors, and cortisol responses to induced stress among healthy adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrington, Wendy E; Stafford, Mai; Hamer, Mark; Beresford, Shirley A A; Koepsell, Thomas; Steptoe, Andrew

2014-05-01

Associations between measures of neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and health have been identified, yet work is needed to uncover explanatory mechanisms. One hypothesized pathway is through stress, yet the few studies that have evaluated associations between characteristics of deprived neighborhoods and biomarkers of stress are mixed. This study evaluated whether objectively measured neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and individual perceived neighborhood characteristics (i.e. social control and fear of crime) impacted cortisol responses to an induced stressor among older healthy adults. Data from Heart Scan, a sub-study of the Whitehall II cohort, were used to generate multilevel piecewise growth-curve models of cortisol trajectories after a laboratory stressor accounting for neighborhood and demographic characteristics. Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was significantly associated with individual perceptions of social control and fear of crime in the neighborhood while an association with blunted cortisol reactivity was only evidence among women. Social control was significantly associated with greater cortisol reactivity and mediation between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and cortisol reactivity was suggested among women. These findings support a gender-dependent role of neighborhood in stress process models of health. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Refueling Stop Activity Detection and Gas Station Extraction Using Crowdsourcing Vehicle Trajectory Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YANG Wei

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In view of the deficiencies of current surveying methods of gas station, an approach is proposed to extract gas station from vehicle traces. Firstly, the spatial-temporal characteristics of individual and collective refueling behavior of trajectory is analyzed from aspects of movement features and geometric patterns. Secondly, based on Stop/Move model, the velocity sequence linear clustering algorithm is proposed to extract refueling stop tracks. Finally, using the methods including Delaunay triangulation, Fourier shape recognition and semantic constraints to identify and extract gas station. An experiment using 7 days taxi GPS traces in Beijing verified the novel method. The experimental results of 482 gas stations are extracted and the correct rate achieves to 93.1%.

Computer simulation for risk management: Hydrogen refueling stations and water supply of a large region

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markert, Frank; Kozine, Igor

2012-01-01

in applying DES models to the analysis of large infrastructures for refueling stations and water supply. Two case studies are described which are concerned with the inherently safer supply and storage of hydrogen at refueling stations and an established drinking water supply system of a large metropolitan...... area, respectively. For both, the simulation aims at identifying points of potential improvement from the reliability point of view. This allows setting up a list of activities and safety measures to reduce risk and possible losses and mitigate the consequences of accidents. Based on the cases...

Evaluation of potential severe accidents during Low Power and Shutdown Operations at Grand Gulf, Unit 1. Volume 2, Part 1B: Analysis of core damage frequency from internal events for Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage, Main report (Section 10)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitehead, D.; Darby, J.; Yakle, J.

1994-06-01

This document contains the accident sequence analysis of internally initiated events for Grand Gulf, Unit 1 as it operates in the Low Power and Shutdown Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage. The report documents the methodology used during the analysis, describes the results from the application of the methodology, and compares the results with the results from two full power performed on Grand Gulf. This document, Volume 2, Part 1B, presents chapters Section 10 of this report, Human Reliability Analysis

On the Drag Effect of a Refuelling Pellet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chang, Tinghong; Michelsen, Poul

1981-01-01

A refueling pellet is subjected mainly to two kinds of drags: (1) inertial drag caused by the motion of the pellet relative to the surrounding plasma, and (2) ablation drag caused by an uneven ablation rate of the front and the rear surface of the pellet in an inhomogeneous plasma. Computational ...... results showed that for reasonable combinations of pellet size and injection speed, the drag effect is hardly detectable for plasma conditions prevailing in current large tokamaks....

Connecting Schools to Neighborhood Revitalization: The Case of the Maple Heights Neighborhood Association

Science.gov (United States)

Pesch, Lawrence P.

2014-01-01

This case study focuses on the way a neighborhood association connects schools to broad change in an urban neighborhood of a large Midwestern city. The first section provides a review of the literature on community involvement in school and neighborhood reform. It reviews the historical origins of the current school-community relationship, the…

Neighborhood walkability and hospital treatment costs: A first assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yan; Davey, Rachel; Cochrane, Tom; Learnihan, Vincent; Hanigan, Ivan C; Bagheri, Nasser

2017-06-01

Health system expenditure is a global concern, with hospital cost a major component. Built environment has been found to affect physical activity and health outcomes. The purpose of the study was a first assessment of the relationship between neighborhood walkability and hospital treatment costs. For 88 neighborhoods in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), 2011-2013, a total of 30,690 public hospital admissions for the treatment of four diagnostic groups (cancers, endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases, circulatory diseases and respiratory diseases) were extracted from the ACT admitted patient care database and analyzed in relation to the Walk Score® index as a measure of walkability. Hospital cost was calculated according to the cost weight of the diagnosis related group assigned to each admission. Linear regressions were used to analyze the associations of walkability with hospital cost per person, admissions per person and cost per admission at the neighborhood level. An inverse association with neighborhood walkability was found for cost per person and admissions per person, but not cost per admission. After adjusting for age, sex and socioeconomic status, a 20-unit increase in walkability was associated with 12.1% (95% CI: 7.1-17.0%) lower cost and 12.5% (8.1-17.0%) fewer admissions. These associations did not vary by neighborhood socioeconomic status. This exploratory analysis suggests the potential for improved population health and reduced hospital cost with greater neighborhood walkability. Further research should replicate the analysis with data from other urban settings, and focus on the behavioral mechanisms underlying the inverse walkability-hospital cost association. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Key Issues for the control of refueling outage duration and costs in PWR Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degrave, Claude

2002-01-01

For several years, EDF, within the framework of the CIDEM1 project and in collaboration with some German Utilities, has undertaken a detailed review of the operating experience both of its own NPP and of foreign units, in order to improve the performances of future units under design, particularly the French-German European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) project. This review made it possible to identify the key issues allowing to decrease the duration of refueling and maintenance outages. These key issues can be classified in 3 categories Design, Maintenance and Logistic Support, Outage Management. Most of the key issues in the design field and some in the logistic support field have been studied and could be integrated into the design of any future PWR unit, as for the EPR project. Some of them could also be adapted to current plants, provided they are feasible and profitable. The organization must be tailored to each country, utility or period: it widely depends on the power production environment, particularly in a deregulation context. (author)

Pellets for fusion reactor refueling. Annual progress report, January 1, 1976--December 31, 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnbull, R.J.; Kim, K.

1977-01-01

The purpose of this research is to test the feasibility of refueling fusion reactors using solid pellets composed of fuel elements. A solid hydrogen pellet generator has been constructed and experiments have been done to inject the pellets into the ORMAK Tokamak. A theory has been developed to describe the pellet ablation in the plasma, and an excellent agreement has been found between the theory and the experiment. Techniques for charging the pellets have been developed in order to accelerate and control them. Other works currently under way include the development of techniques for accelerating the pellets for refueling purpose. Evaluation of electrostatic acceleration has also been performed

Refueling Infrastructure for Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Lessons Learned for Hydrogen; Workshop Proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melaina, M. W.; McQueen, S.; Brinch, J.

2008-07-01

DOE sponsored the Refueling Infrastructure for Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Lessons Learned for Hydrogen workshop to understand how lessons from past experiences can inform future efforts to commercialize hydrogen vehicles. This report contains the proceedings from the workshop.

Measuring physical neighborhood quality related to health.

Science.gov (United States)

Rollings, Kimberly A; Wells, Nancy M; Evans, Gary W

2015-04-29

Although sociodemographic factors are one aspect of understanding the effects of neighborhood environments on health, equating neighborhood quality with socioeconomic status ignores the important role of physical neighborhood attributes. Prior work on neighborhood environments and health has relied primarily on level of socioeconomic disadvantage as the indicator of neighborhood quality without attention to physical neighborhood quality. A small but increasing number of studies have assessed neighborhood physical characteristics. Findings generally indicate that there is an association between living in deprived neighborhoods and poor health outcomes, but rigorous evidence linking specific physical neighborhood attributes to particular health outcomes is lacking. This paper discusses the methodological challenges and limitations of measuring physical neighborhood environments relevant to health and concludes with proposed directions for future work.

Achieving the Middle Ground in an Age of Concentrated Extremes: Mixed Middle-Income Neighborhoods and Emerging Adulthood

OpenAIRE

SAMPSON, ROBERT J.; MARE, ROBERT D.; PERKINS, KRISTIN L.

2015-01-01

This article focuses on stability and change in “mixed middle-income” neighborhoods. We first analyze variation across nearly two decades for all neighborhoods in the United States and in the Chicago area, particularly. We then analyze a new longitudinal study of almost 700 Chicago adolescents over an 18-year span, including the extent to which they are exposed to different neighborhood income dynamics during the transition to young adulthood. The concentration of income extremes is persisten...

Improvement in or relating to methods and apparatus for refuelling nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shumyakin, E.P.; Sabir-de-Ribas, K.I.; Druzhinsky, I.A.; Kondratiev, P.V.; Andreichikov, B.I.; Slepov, L.M.; Borisjuk, E.V.; Smirnov, A.M.

1977-01-01

This invention relates to improvements in the methods and in the apparatus used for refuelling liquid metal cooled fast reactors and in particular to systems for cooling the fuel assemblies as they are removed from the reactor. (UK)

Relationship between neighborhood poverty rate and bloodstream infections in the critically ill.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendu, Mallika L; Zager, Sam; Gibbons, Fiona K; Christopher, Kenneth B

2012-05-01

Poverty is associated with increased risk of chronic illness, but its contribution to bloodstream infections is not well-defined. We performed a multicenter observational study of 14,657 patients, aged 18 yrs or older, who received critical care and had blood cultures drawn between 1997 and 2007 in two hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. Data sources included 1990 U.S. Census and hospital administrative data. Census tracts were used as the geographic units of analysis. The exposure of interest was neighborhood poverty rate categorized as 40%. Neighborhood poverty rate is the percentage of residents with income below the federal poverty line. The primary end point was bloodstream infection occurring 48 hrs before critical care initiation to 48 hrs after. Associations between neighborhood poverty rate and bloodstream infection were estimated by logistic regression models. Adjusted odds ratios were estimated by multivariable logistic regression models. Two thousand four-hundred thirty-five patients had bloodstream infections. Neighborhood poverty rate was a strong predictor of risk of bloodstream infection, with a significant risk gradient across neighborhood poverty rate quintiles. After multivariable analysis, neighborhood poverty rate in the highest quintiles (20%-40% and >40%) were associated with a 26% and 49% increase in bloodstream infection risk, respectively, relative to patients with neighborhood poverty rate of poverty rate, a proxy for decreased socioeconomic status, appears to be associated with risk of bloodstream infection among patients who receive critical care.

Neighborhood spaces

OpenAIRE

D. C. Kent; Won Keun Min

2002-01-01

Neighborhood spaces, pretopological spaces, and closure spaces are topological space generalizations which can be characterized by means of their associated interior (or closure) operators. The category NBD of neighborhood spaces and continuous maps contains PRTOP as a bicoreflective subcategory and CLS as a bireflective subcategory, whereas TOP is bireflectively embedded in PRTOP and bicoreflectively embedded in CLS. Initial and final structures are described in these categories, and it is s...

REFUEL. The harvest so far. Papers to the 15th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, May 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

The REFUEL project is designed to encourage a greater market penetration of biofuels. To help achieve this goal, we will develop a biofuels road map, consistent with EU biofuel policies and supported by stakeholders involved in the biofuels field. Starting early 2006, the project involves seven renowned partners and will take 24 months to complete. Refuel is financed by the European Commission under the 'Intelligent Energy - Europe' programme. This report contains papers that were presented at the title conference

Investigating attitudes to hydrogen refuelling facilities and the social cost to local residents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Garra, Tanya; Mourato, Susana; Pearson, Peter

2008-01-01

Vehicles fuelled by hydrogen (H 2 ) have attracted increasing attention because of their potentially enhanced environmental profiles. Their penetration into the vehicle stock will be influenced by the spread of refuelling facilities. This study investigates local attitudes towards the proposed installation of H 2 storage facilities at existing refuelling stations throughout London. Using multinomial logit analysis, we identify the determinants of attitudes. Results suggest that residents living very close to a proposed H 2 facility are less likely to be opposed than residents living 200-500 m away. Opposition appears to be determined by a lack of trust in safety regulations, non-environmental attitudes, and concerns about the existing local refuelling station. The social cost to local residents of a local H 2 storage facility was estimated using a method developed by Atkinson et al. [2004. 'Amenity' or 'eyesore'? Negative willingness to pay for options to replace electricity transmission towers. Applied Economics Letters 11(4), 203-208], which elicits the amount of time respondents are willing to commit to oppose a new facility development. Using the leisure rate of time, the social cost is estimated at just under Pounds 14 per local opposed resident. Add to this the WTP to support opposition efforts by a local group, and the value comes to just under Pounds 25 per opposed resident

H2moves.eu Scandinavia. ''Experience from operating a 70 MPa hydrogen refuelling station in Oslo''. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sloth, M.

2013-02-15

As part of the H2MOVES Scandinavia project H2 Logic were to construct a large scale hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) in Oslo providing hydrogen for FCEV's from Daimler and Hyundai in the project. The effort has provided extensive results and lessons learned across the entire process from site selection, HRS design and manufacturing to the final installation and operation. An extensive site screening of more than 30 sites in Oslo was firstly conducted to identify the most optimal location for the HRS. A suitable site was identified at the research organisation SINTEF in Gaustad in the western part of Oslo. The location was strategically well located with regards to the other HRS's in the city ensuring good refuelling coverage in Oslo. The HRS was manufactured, installed and operated by H2 Logic based on the company's H2Station technology. The HRS provides 70MPa refuelling in accordance with the SAE J2601, and operation results have confirmed refuelling times consistently below four minutes for a full tank. The HRS includes onsite electrolysis production providing a 20kg/day base load supply, with potentially additional trucking-in of hydrogen up to a total capacity of 200kg/day. The installation of the HRS took in total 10 days, from arrival at site, until first refuelling was conducted. This included local inspection by third parties and authorities as well as several days of hydrogen production and compression to reach the necessary refuelling pressure. Before opening a refuelling recommendation process was successfully conducted by Daimler. The HRS opened on 21st November 2011 and has been operated for 13,5 months during the remainder project period (ending December 2012). The HRS is expected to continue operation beyond the project. Below are shown the major operation results from the HRS during the project: 1) 701 kg dispensed; 2) 313 refueling's conducted; 3) Average availability of 97% during first half of 2012; 4) 53% of all down

CLEO: A knowledge-based refueling assistant at FFTF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, D.E.; Kocher, L.F.; Seeman, S.E.

1985-07-01

CLEO is computer software system to assist in the planning and performance of the reactor refueling operations at the Fast Flux Test Facility. It is a recently developed application of artificial intelligence software with both expert systems and automated reasoning aspects. The computer system seeks to organize the sequence of core component movements according to the rules and logic used by the expert. In this form, CLEO has aspects which tie it to both the expert systems and automated reasoning areas within the artificial intelligence field

Community, Democracy, and Neighborhood News.

Science.gov (United States)

Hindman, Elizabeth Blanks

1998-01-01

Contributes to scholarship on democracy, community, and journalism by examining the interplay between communication, democracy, and community at an inner-city neighborhood newspaper. Concludes that, through its focus on neighborhood culture, acknowledgment of conflict, and attempts to provide a forum for the neighborhood's self-definition, the…

Management of main generator condition during long term plant shut down at Higashidori Nuclear Power Station Unit 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Seiji

2014-01-01

Higashidori Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 shut down on February 6, 2011 to start 4th refuel outage. On March 11, 2011, we keep going refuel outage on this moment a large earthquake occurred and tsunami was generated following it which called 'Great East Japan Earthquake'. Refuel outage takes 3 ∼ 5 months normally but Higashidori NPS still keeping shut down over 3 years due to some issues. In this paper, we introduce about management of Main generator condition during long term plant shut down situation in addition to normal plant shut down situation to keep well. (author)

Options for shortening nuclear power plant refueling outages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kastl, H.

2001-01-01

Deregulation of the European electricity market on 01.01.1999 forced a large number of electric utilities- especially nuclear power plant operators - to find ways of drastically cutting down their costs in order to be able to compete successfully within the new market environment. Nuclear power plants currently in operation mainly have three potential ways of reducing their power generating costs: by increasing plant availability, reducing fuel costs and cutting down operating costs. The optimization of plant refueling outages offers considerable potential for enhancing plant availability, but also helps bring down operating costs by reducing expenditure on maintenance. In order to optimize an outage in terms of its duration and costs, a variety of approaches are possible - all of which, however, involve certain key factors such as good organization, planning, logistics and control, improvement of equipment and tools, as well as motivation of personnel. Another aspect is the introduction of innovative technologies. In the last few years, such technologies have frequently enabled maintenance effort to be reduced, thus saving considerable time, and have also resulted in a need for fewer personnel to carry out the work, thus reducing radiation exposure. In many instances they have also improved the quality of work and outage performance as a whole. The paper uses recent examples to show how innovative technologies can contribute to-wards reducing nuclear plant maintenance costs and shorten the duration of refueling out-ages. (author)

Perceived School and Neighborhood Safety, Neighborhood Violence and Academic Achievement in Urban School Children

Science.gov (United States)

AJ, Milam; CDM, Furr-Holden; PJ, Leaf

2010-01-01

Community and school violence continue to be a major public health problem, especially among urban children and adolescents. Little research has focused on the effect of school safety and neighborhood violence on academic performance. This study examines the effect of the school and neighborhood climate on academic achievement among a population of 3rd-5th grade students in an urban public school system. Community and school safety were assessed using the School Climate Survey, an annual city-wide assessment of student’s perception of school and community safety. Community violence was measured using the Neighborhood Inventory for Environmental Typology, an objective observational assessment of neighborhood characteristics. Academic achievement was measured using the Maryland State Assessment (MSA), a standardized exam given to all Maryland 3rd-8th graders. School Climate Data and MSA data were aggregated by school and grade. Objective assessments of neighborhood environment and students’ self-reported school and neighborhood safety were both strongly associated with academic performance. Increasing neighborhood violence was associated with statistically significant decreases from 4.2%-8.7% in math and reading achievement; increasing perceived safety was associated with significant increases in achievement from 16%-22%. These preliminary findings highlight the adverse impact of perceived safety and community violence exposure on primary school children’s academic performance. PMID:21197388

14 CFR 29.979 - Pressure refueling and fueling provisions below fuel level.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Powerplant Fuel System § 29.979 Pressure refueling and fueling provisions below fuel level. (a) Each fueling connection... from that tank in case of malfunction of the fuel entry valve. (b) For systems intended for pressure...

Evaluating Neighborhoods Livability in Nigeria: A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sule Abass Iyanda

2018-01-01

Full Text Available There is a growing concern about city livability around the world and of particular concern is the aspects of the person-environment relationship which encompasses many characteristics suffice to make a place livable. Extant literature provides livability dimensions such as housing unit characteristics, neighborhood facilities, economic vitality and safety environment. These livability dimensions as well as their attributes found in the extant literature have been reported to have high reliability measurement level. Although, various methods have been applied to examine relationships among the variables however structural equation modeling (SEM has been found more holistic as a modeling technique to understand and explain the relationships that may exist among variable measurements. Structural equation modeling simultaneously performs multivariate analysis including multiple regression, path and factor analysis in the cause-effect relationships between latent constructs. Therefore, this study investigates the key factors of livability of planned residential neighborhoods in Minna, Nigeria with the research objectives of – (a to study the livability level of the selected residential neighborhoods, (b to determine the dimensions and indicators which most influence the level of livability in the selected residential neighborhoods, and (c to reliably test the efficacy of structural equation modeling (SEM in the assessment of livability. The methodology adopted in this study includes- Data collection with the aid of structured questionnaire survey administered to the residents of the study area based on stratified random sampling. The data collected was analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0 software for structural equation modeling (a second-order factor. The study revealed that livability as a second-order factor is indicated by economic vitality, safety environment, neighborhood facilities

Neighborhood Quality and Labor Market Outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damm, Anna Piil

of men living in the neighborhood, but positively affected by the employment rate of non-Western immigrant men and co-national men living in the neighborhood. This is strong evidence that immigrants find jobs in part through their employed immigrant and co-ethnic contacts in the neighborhood of residence...... successfully addresses the methodological problem of endogenous neighborhood selection. Taking account of location sorting, living in a socially deprived neighborhood does not affect labor market outcomes of refugee men. Furthermore, their labor market outcomes are not affected by the overall employment rate...

Business fleet refueling assessment. Final report, March 1992-November 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaudier, A.

1993-01-01

The report investigates refueling characteristics and capabilities for the light-duty market sector, particularly business automobile fleets. It develops a profile of the characteristics of light-duty and automobile business fleets in 22 designated non-attainment areas, as well as Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City. Reliable data on these subjects will enable better analysis of the market potential for natural gas in the surveyed areas

Who Gentrifies Low-Income Neighborhoods?

Science.gov (United States)

McKinnish, Terra; Walsh, Randall; White, T Kirk

2010-03-01

This paper uses confidential Census data, specifically the 1990 and 2000 Census Long Form data, to study demographic processes in neighborhoods that gentrified during the 1990's. In contrast to previous studies, the analysis is conducted at the more refined census-tract level, with a narrower definition of gentrification and more closely matched comparison neighborhoods. Furthermore, our access to individual-level data with census tract identifiers allows us to separately identify recent in-migrants and long-term residents. Our results indicate that, on average, the demographic flows associated with the gentrification of urban neighborhoods during the 1990's are not consistent with displacement and harm to minority households. In fact, taken as a whole, our results suggest that gentrification of predominantly black neighborhoods creates neighborhoods that are attractive to middle-class black households.

Neighborhood-Specific and General Social Support: Which Buffers the Effect of Neighborhood Disorder on Depression?

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Joongbaeck; Ross, Catherine E.

2009-01-01

Is neighborhood-specific social support the most effective type of social support for buffering the effect of neighborhood disorder on depression? Matching theory suggests that it is. The authors extend the research on neighborhood disorder and adult depression by showing that individuals who have higher levels of both general and…

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Influence of the Neighborhood Environment on Recreational Walking within the Neighborhood: Results from RESIDE.

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, Hayley; Knuiman, Matthew; Divitini, Mark; Foster, Sarah; Hooper, Paula; Boruff, Bryan; Bull, Fiona; Giles-Corti, Billie

2017-07-12

There is limited longitudinal evidence confirming the role of neighborhood environment attributes in encouraging people to walk more or if active people simply choose to live in activity-friendly neighborhoods. Natural experiments of policy changes to create more walkable communities provide stronger evidence for a causal effect of neighborhood environments on residents' walking. We aimed to investigate longitudinal associations between objective and perceived neighborhood environment measures and neighborhood recreational walking. We analyzed longitudinal data collected over 8 yr (four surveys) from the RESIDential Environments (RESIDE) Study (Perth, Australia, 2003-2012). At each time point, participants reported the frequency and total minutes of recreational walking/week within their neighborhood and neighborhood environment perceptions. Objective measures of the neighborhood environment were generated using a Geographic Information System (GIS). Local recreational walking was influenced by objectively measured access to a medium-/large-size park, beach access, and higher street connectivity, which was reduced when adjusted for neighborhood perceptions. In adjusted models, positive perceptions of access to a park and beach, higher street connectivity, neighborhood esthetics, and safety from crime were independent determinants of increased neighborhood recreational walking. Local recreational walking increased by 9 min/wk (12% increase in frequency) for each additional perceived neighborhood attribute present. Our findings provide urban planners and policy makers with stronger causal evidence of the positive impact of well-connected neighborhoods and access to local parks of varying sizes on local residents' recreational walking and health. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP823.

Neighborhood Disadvantage, Residential Segregation, and Beyond-Lessons for Studying Structural Racism and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Alicia R

2018-04-01

A recent surge of interest in identifying the health effects of structural racism has coincided with the ongoing attention to neighborhood effects in both epidemiology and sociology. Mindful of these currents in the literature, it makes sense that we are seeing an emergent tendency in health disparities research to operationalize structural racism as either neighborhood disadvantage or racial residential segregation. This review essay synthesizes findings on the relevance of neighborhood disadvantage and residential segregation to the study of structural racism and health. It then draws on recent literature to propose four lessons for moving beyond traditional neighborhood effects approaches in the study of structural racism and health. These lessons are (1) to shift the focus of research from census tracts to theoretically meaningful units of analysis, (2) to leverage historic and geographic variation in race relations, (3) to combine data from multiple sources, and (4) to challenge normative framing that aims to explain away racial health disparities without discussing racism or racial hierarchy. The author concludes that research on the health effects of structural racism should go beyond traditional neighborhood effects approaches if it is to guide intervention to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.

Gender and the Residential Mobility and Neighborhood Attainment of Black-White Couples.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriel, Ryan

2018-04-01

Including black-white couples in the study of residential stratification accentuates gendered power disparities within couples that favor men over women, which allows for the analysis of whether the race of male partners in black-white couples is associated with the racial and ethnic composition of their neighborhoods. I investigate this by combining longitudinal data between 1985 and 2015 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics linked to neighborhood- and metropolitan-level data compiled from four censuses. Using these data, I assess the mobility of black male-white female and white male-black female couples out of and into neighborhoods defined respectively by their levels of whites, blacks, and ethnoracial diversity. My results show that the race of the male partner in black-white couples tends to align with the racial and ethnic composition of the neighborhoods where these couples reside. This finding highlights that the racial hierarchy within the United States affects the residential mobility and attainment of black-white couples, but its influence is conditioned by the race and gender composition of these couples.

Neighborhood walkability and particulate air pollution in a nationwide cohort of women.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Peter; Hart, Jaime E; Laden, Francine

2015-10-01

Features of neighborhoods associated with walkability (i.e., connectivity, accessibility, and density) may also be correlated with levels of ambient air pollution, which would attenuate the health benefits of walkability. We examined the relationship between neighborhood walkability and ambient air pollution in a cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study spanning the entire United States using residence-level exposure assessment for ambient air pollution and the built environment. Using data from the Nurses' Health Study, we used linear regression to estimate the association between a neighborhood walkability index, combining neighborhood intersection count, business count, and population density (defined from Census data, infoUSA business data, and StreetMap USA data), and air pollution, defined from a GIS-based spatiotemporal PM2.5 model. After adjustment for Census tract median income, median home value, and percent with no high school education, the highest tertile of walkability index, intersection count, business count, and population density was associated with a with 1.58 (95% CI 1.54, 1.62), 1.20 (95% CI 1.16, 1.24), 1.31 (95% CI 1.27, 1.35), and 1.84 (95% CI 1.80, 1.88) µg/m(3) higher level of PM2.5 respectively, compared to the lowest tertile. Results varied somewhat by neighborhood socioeconomic status and greatly by region. This nationwide analysis showed a positive relationship between neighborhood walkability and modeled air pollution levels, which were consistent after adjustment for neighborhood-level socioeconomic status. Regional differences in the air pollution-walkability relationship demonstrate that there are factors that vary from region to region that allow for walkable neighborhoods with low levels of air pollution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring longitudinal associations between neighborhood disadvantage and cortisol levels in early childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Finegood, Eric D; Rarick, Jason R D; Blair, Clancy

2017-12-01

Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to experience chronic stressors that generate "wear" on stress regulatory systems including the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This can have long-term consequences for health and well-being. Prior research has examined the role of proximal family and home contributions to HPA axis functioning. However, there is evidence to suggest that more distal levels of context, including neighborhoods, also matter. Prior evidence has primarily focused on adolescents and adults, with little evidence linking the neighborhood context with HPA activity in infancy and toddlerhood. We tested whether neighborhood disadvantage (indexed by US Census data) was associated with basal salivary cortisol levels at 7, 15, and 24 months of child age in a large sample of families (N = 1,292) residing in predominately low-income and rural communities in the United States. Multilevel models indicated that neighborhood disadvantage was positively associated with salivary cortisol levels and that this effect emerged across time. This effect was moderated by the race/ethnicity of children such that the association was only observed in White children in our sample. Findings provide preliminary evidence that the neighborhood context is associated with stress regulation during toddlerhood, elucidating a need for future work to address possible mechanisms.

REFUEL. Potential and realizable cost reduction of 2nd generation biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Londo, H.M.; Deurwaarder, E.P.; Lensink, S.M.; Junginer, H.M.; De Wit, M.

2007-05-01

In the REFUEL project steering possibilities for and impacts of a greater market penetration of biofuels are assessed. Several benefits are attributed to second generation biofuels, fuels made from lignocellulosic feedstock, such as higher productivity, less impacts on land use and food markets and improved greenhouse gas emission reductions. The chances of second generation biofuels entering the market autonomously are assessed and several policy measures enhancing those changes are evaluated. It shows that most second generation biofuels might become competitive in the biofuel market, if the production of biodiesel from oil crops becomes limited by land availability. Setting high biofuel targets, setting greenhouse gas emissions caps on biofuel and setting subtargets for second generation biofuels, all have a similar impact of stimulating second generation's entrance into the biofuel market. Contrary, low biofuel targets and high imports can have a discouraging impact on second generation biofuel development, and thereby on overall greenhouse gas performance. Since this paper shows preliminary results from the REFUEL study, one is advised to contact the authors before quantitatively referring to this paper

Influence of Neighborhood-level Factors on Social Support in Early-stage Breast Cancer Patients and Controls

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Tess; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Pérez, Maria; Struthers, Jim; Sefko, Julianne A.; Lian, Min; Schootman, Mario; Jeffe, Donna B.

2016-01-01

Rationale Low social support has been linked to negative health outcomes in breast cancer patients. Objective We examined associations between perceived social support, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, and neighborhood-level social support in early-stage breast cancer patients and controls. Methods This two-year longitudinal study in the United States included information collected from telephone interviews and clinical records of 541 early-stage patients and 542 controls recruited from 2003 to 2007. Social support was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SS). Residential addresses were geocoded and used to develop measures including neighborhood social support (based on MOS-SS scores from nearby controls) and neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation (a composite index of census tract characteristics). Latent trajectory models were used to determine effects of neighborhood conditions on the stable (intercept) and changing (slope) aspects of social support. Results In a model with only neighborhood variables, greater socioeconomic deprivation was associated with patients’ lower stable social support (standardized estimate = −0.12, p = .027); neighborhood-level social support was associated with social support change (standardized estimate = 0.17, p = .046). After adding individual-level covariates, there were no direct neighborhood effects on social support. In patients, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was associated with support indirectly through marriage, insurance status, negative affect, and general health. In controls, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was associated with support indirectly through marriage (p social support differed in patients and controls. Psychosocial and neighborhood interventions may help patients with low social support, particularly patients without partnered relationships in deprived areas. PMID:27017091

Urbanism, Neighborhood Context, and Social Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Cornwell, Erin York; Behler, Rachel L

2015-09-01

Theories of urbanism suggest that the urban context erodes individuals' strong social ties with friends and family. Recent research has narrowed focus to the neighborhood context, emphasizing how localized structural disadvantage affects community-level cohesion and social capital. In this paper, we argue that neighborhood context also shapes social ties with friends and family- particularly for community-dwelling seniors. We hypothesize that neighborhood disadvantage, residential instability, and disorder restrict residents' abilities to cultivate close relationships with neighbors and non-neighbor friends and family. Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we find that older adults who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods have smaller social networks. Neighborhood disadvantage is also associated with less close network ties and less frequent interaction - but only among men. Furthermore, residents of disordered neighborhoods have smaller networks and weaker ties. We urge scholars to pay greater attention to how neighborhood context contributes to disparities in network-based access to resources.

The neighborhoods they live in: the effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Leventhal, T; Brooks-Gunn, J

2000-03-01

This article provides a comprehensive review of research on the effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent well-being. The first section reviews key methodological issues. The following section considers links between neighborhood characteristics and child outcomes and suggests the importance of high socioeconomic status (SES) for achievement and low SES and residential instability for behavioral/emotional outcomes. The third section identifies 3 pathways (institutional resources, relationships, and norms/collective efficacy) through which neighborhoods might influence development, and which represent an extension of models identified by C. Jencks and S. Mayer (1990) and R. J. Sampson (1992). The models provide a theoretical base for studying neighborhood mechanisms and specify different levels (individual, family, school, peer, community) at which processes may operate. Implications for an emerging developmental framework for research on neighborhoods are discussed.

Automated procedure for selection of optimal refueling policies for light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, B.I.; Zolotar, B.; Weisman, J.

1979-01-01

An automated procedure determining a minimum cost refueling policy has been developed for light water reactors. The procedure is an extension of the equilibrium core approach previously devised for pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Use of 1 1/2-group theory has improved the accuracy of the nuclear model and eliminated tedious fitting of albedos. A simple heuristic algorithm for locating a good starting policy has materially reduced PWR computing time. Inclusion of void effects and use of the Haling principle for axial flux calculations extended the nuclear model to boiling water reactors (BWRs). A good initial estimate of the refueling policy is obtained by recognizing that a nearly uniform distribution of reactivity provides low-power peaking. The initial estimate is improved upon by interchanging groups of four assemblies and is subsequently refined by interchanging individual assemblies. The method yields very favorable results, is simpler than previously proposed BWR fuel optimization schemes, and retains power cost as the objective function

Optimization of refueling-shuffling scheme in PWR core by random search strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Yuan

1991-11-01

A random method for simulating optimization of refueling management in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) core is described. The main purpose of the optimization was to select the 'best' refueling arrangement scheme which would produce maximum economic benefits under certain imposed conditions. To fulfill this goal, an effective optimization strategy, two-stage random search method was developed. First, the search was made in a manner similar to the stratified sampling technique. A local optimum can be reached by comparison of the successive results. Then the other random experiences would be carried on between different strata to try to find the global optimum. In general, it can be used as a practical tool for conventional fuel management scheme. However, it can also be used in studies on optimization of Low-Leakage fuel management. Some calculations were done for a typical PWR core on a CYBER-180/830 computer. The results show that the method proposed can obtain satisfactory approach at reasonable low computational cost

Neighborhood Environments and Objectively Measured Physical Activity in 11 Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Cerin, Ester; Cain, Kelli L; Conway, Terry L; Dyck, Delfien Van; Hinckson, Erica; Schipperijn, Jasper; Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse De; Owen, Neville; Davey, Rachel C; Hino, Adriano Akira Ferreira; Mitáš, Josef; Orzanco-Garralda, Rosario; Salvo, Deborah; Sarmiento, Olga L; Christiansen, Lars B; Macfarlane, Duncan J; Schofield, Grant; Sallis, James F

2014-01-01

Purpose Environmental changes are potentially effective population-level physical activity (PA) promotion strategies. However, robust multi-site evidence to guide international action for developing activity-supportive environments is lacking. We estimated pooled associations of perceived environmental attributes with objectively-measured PA outcomes; between-site differences in such associations; and, the extent to which perceived environmental attributes explain between-site differences in PA. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 16 cities located in Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, China, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and USA. Participants were 6,968 adults residing in administrative units stratified by socio-economic status and transport-related walkability. Predictors were 10 perceived neighborhood environmental attributes. Outcome measures were accelerometry-assessed weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and meeting the PA guidelines for cancer/weight gain prevention (420 min/week of MVPA). Results Most perceived neighborhood attributes were positively associated with the PA outcomes in the pooled, site-adjusted, single-predictor models. Associations were generalizable across geographical locations. Aesthetics and land use mix – access were significant predictors of both PA outcomes in the fully-adjusted models. Environmental attributes accounted for within-site variability in MVPA corresponding to a 3 min/d or 21 min/week standard deviation. Large between-site differences in PA outcomes were observed: 15.9% to 16.8% of these differences were explained by perceived environmental attributes. All neighborhood attributes were associated with between-site differences in the total effects of the perceived environment on PA outcomes. Conclusions Residents’ perceptions of neighborhood attributes that facilitate walking were positively associated with objectively-measured MVPA and meeting the guidelines

Who Gentrifies Low-Income Neighborhoods?*

Science.gov (United States)

McKinnish, Terra; Walsh, Randall; White, T. Kirk

2009-01-01

This paper uses confidential Census data, specifically the 1990 and 2000 Census Long Form data, to study demographic processes in neighborhoods that gentrified during the 1990’s. In contrast to previous studies, the analysis is conducted at the more refined census-tract level, with a narrower definition of gentrification and more closely matched comparison neighborhoods. Furthermore, our access to individual-level data with census tract identifiers allows us to separately identify recent in-migrants and long-term residents. Our results indicate that, on average, the demographic flows associated with the gentrification of urban neighborhoods during the 1990’s are not consistent with displacement and harm to minority households. In fact, taken as a whole, our results suggest that gentrification of predominantly black neighborhoods creates neighborhoods that are attractive to middle-class black households. PMID:20161532

The neighborhood energy balance equation: does neighborhood food retail environment + physical activity environment = obesity? The CARDIA study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janne Boone-Heinonen

Full Text Available Recent obesity prevention initiatives focus on healthy neighborhood design, but most research examines neighborhood food retail and physical activity (PA environments in isolation. We estimated joint, interactive, and cumulative impacts of neighborhood food retail and PA environment characteristics on body mass index (BMI throughout early adulthood.We used cohort data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA Study [n=4,092; Year 7 (24-42 years, 1992-1993 followed over 5 exams through Year 25 (2010-2011; 12,921 person-exam observations], with linked time-varying geographic information system-derived neighborhood environment measures. Using regression with fixed effects for individuals, we modeled time-lagged BMI as a function of food and PA resource density (counts per population and neighborhood development intensity (a composite density score. We controlled for neighborhood poverty, individual-level sociodemographics, and BMI in the prior exam; and included significant interactions between neighborhood measures and by sex. Using model coefficients, we simulated BMI reductions in response to single and combined neighborhood improvements. Simulated increase in supermarket density (from 25(th to 75(th percentile predicted inter-exam reduction in BMI of 0.09 kg/m(2 [estimate (95% CI: -0.09 (-0.16, -0.02]. Increasing commercial PA facility density predicted BMI reductions up to 0.22 kg/m(2 in men, with variation across other neighborhood features [estimate (95% CI range: -0.14 (-0.29, 0.01 to -0.22 (-0.37, -0.08]. Simultaneous increases in supermarket and commercial PA facility density predicted inter-exam BMI reductions up to 0.31 kg/m(2 in men [estimate (95% CI range: -0.23 (-0.39, -0.06 to -0.31 (-0.47, -0.15] but not women. Reduced fast food restaurant and convenience store density and increased public PA facility density and neighborhood development intensity did not predict reductions in BMI.Findings suggest that

Rural Neighborhood Walkability: Implications for Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kegler, Michelle C; Alcantara, Iris; Haardörfer, Regine; Gemma, Alexandra; Ballard, Denise; Gazmararian, Julie

2015-06-16

Physical activity levels, including walking, are lower in the southern U.S., particularly in rural areas. This study investigated the concept of rural neighborhood walkability to aid in developing tools for assessing walkability and to identify intervention targets in rural communities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with physically active adults (n = 29) in rural Georgia. Mean age of participants was 55.9 years; 66% were male, 76% were white, and 24% were African American. Participants drew maps of their neighborhoods and discussed the relevance of typical domains of walkability to their decisions to exercise. Comparative analyses were conducted to identify major themes. The majority felt the concept of neighborhood was applicable and viewed their neighborhood as small geographically (less than 0.5 square miles). Sidewalks were not viewed as essential for neighborhood-based physical activity and typical destinations for walking were largely absent. Destinations within walking distance included neighbors' homes and bodies of water. Views were mixed on whether shade, safety, dogs, and aesthetics affected decisions to exercise in their neighborhoods. Measures of neighborhood walkability in rural areas should acknowledge the small size of self-defined neighborhoods, that walking in rural areas is likely for leisure time exercise, and that some domains may not be relevant.

Nearest neighbors by neighborhood counting.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hui

2006-06-01

Finding nearest neighbors is a general idea that underlies many artificial intelligence tasks, including machine learning, data mining, natural language understanding, and information retrieval. This idea is explicitly used in the k-nearest neighbors algorithm (kNN), a popular classification method. In this paper, this idea is adopted in the development of a general methodology, neighborhood counting, for devising similarity functions. We turn our focus from neighbors to neighborhoods, a region in the data space covering the data point in question. To measure the similarity between two data points, we consider all neighborhoods that cover both data points. We propose to use the number of such neighborhoods as a measure of similarity. Neighborhood can be defined for different types of data in different ways. Here, we consider one definition of neighborhood for multivariate data and derive a formula for such similarity, called neighborhood counting measure or NCM. NCM was tested experimentally in the framework of kNN. Experiments show that NCM is generally comparable to VDM and its variants, the state-of-the-art distance functions for multivariate data, and, at the same time, is consistently better for relatively large k values. Additionally, NCM consistently outperforms HEOM (a mixture of Euclidean and Hamming distances), the "standard" and most widely used distance function for multivariate data. NCM has a computational complexity in the same order as the standard Euclidean distance function and NCM is task independent and works for numerical and categorical data in a conceptually uniform way. The neighborhood counting methodology is proven sound for multivariate data experimentally. We hope it will work for other types of data.

Neighborhood Context and Immigrant Young Children's Development

Science.gov (United States)

Leventhal, Tama; Shuey, Elizabeth A.

2014-01-01

This study explored how neighborhood social processes and resources, relevant to immigrant families and immigrant neighborhoods, contribute to young children's behavioral functioning and achievement across diverse racial/ethnic groups. Data were drawn from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, a neighborhood-based,…

NeighborHood

OpenAIRE

Corominola Ocaña, Víctor

2015-01-01

NeighborHood és una aplicació basada en el núvol, adaptable a qualsevol dispositiu (mòbil, tablet, desktop). L'objectiu d'aquesta aplicació és poder permetre als usuaris introduir a les persones del seu entorn més immediat i que aquestes persones siguin visibles per a la resta d'usuaris. NeighborHood es una aplicación basada en la nube, adaptable a cualquier dispositivo (móvil, tablet, desktop). El objetivo de esta aplicación es poder permitir a los usuarios introducir a las personas de su...

Generalized model development for a cryo-adsorber and 1-D results for the isobaric refueling period

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, V. Senthil [India Science Lab, General Motors Global R and D, Creator Building, International Technology Park, Bangalore 560066 (India); Kumar, Sudarshan [Chemical Sciences and Material Systems Lab, General Motors Global R and D, Warren Technical Center Campus, 30500 Mound Road, Warren, MI 48090 (United States)

2010-04-15

We have developed 3-D model equations for a cryo-adsorption hydrogen storage tank, where the energy balance accommodates the temperature and pressure variation of all the thermodynamic properties. We then reduce the 3-D model to the 1-D isobaric system and study the isobaric refueling period, for simplified geometry and charging conditions. The hydrogen capacity evolution predicted by the 1-D axial bed model is significantly different than that predicted by the lumped-parameter model because of the presence of sharp temperature gradients during refueling. The 1-D model predicts a higher hydrogen capacity than the lumped-parameter model. This observation can be rationalized by the fact that a bed with temperature gradients on equilibration should desorb gas, whenever the adsorbed phase entropy is lower than the gas phase entropy. The 1-D analysis of the isobaric refueling period does not show any significant difference in hydrogen capacity evolution among the axial, single and multicartridge annular bed designs. Hence, a multicartridge annular design, though giving a slightly lower pressure drop, does not offer any heat and mass transfer enhancement over the single cartridge design. And, the single cartridge annular design appears to be optimal. (author)

Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Sleep Outcomes in the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander National Health Interview Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Marielle C; Gerber, Monica W; Ash, Tayla; Horan, Christine M; Taveras, Elsie M

2018-05-16

Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) have the lowest attainment of healthy sleep duration among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States. We examined associations of neighborhood social cohesion with sleep duration and quality. Cross-sectional analysis of 2,464 adults in the NHPI National Health Interview Survey (2014). Neighborhood social cohesion was categorized as a continuous and categorical variable into low (15) according to tertiles of the distribution of responses. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine the adjusted odds ratio of short and long sleep duration relative to intermediate sleep duration. We used binary logistic regression for dichotomous sleep quality outcomes. Sleep outcomes were modeled as categorical variables. 40% of the cohort reported short (9 hours) duration. Mean (SE, range) social cohesion score was 12.4 units (0.11, 4-16) and 23% reported low social cohesion. In multivariable models, each 1 SD decrease in neighborhood social cohesion score was associated with higher odds of short sleep duration (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.29). Additionally, low social cohesion was associated with increased odds of short sleep duration (OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.13). No associations between neighborhood social cohesion and having trouble falling or staying asleep and feeling well rested were found. Low neighborhood social cohesion is associated with short sleep duration in NHPIs.

Gear failure of a PHWR refuelling machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iorio, A.F.; Crespi, J.C.

1986-01-01

After ten year service in Atucha Nuclear Station a gear belonging to a pressurized heavy water reactor refuelling machine, failed. The gear box was used to transmit motion to the inlet-outlet heavy-water valve of that machine. Visual examination of the gear device revealed an absence of lubricant and several gear teeth were broken off at the root. The gear motion was transmitted from a speed-reducing device with controlled adjustable times in order to produce a right fitness of the valve closure. The main cause of gear failure was due to misalignment produced during assembly or in-service operation. It is suggested to control periodically the level of oil lubricant. (orig./IHOE) [de

Insights from Hydrogen Refueling Station Manufacturing Competitiveness Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mayyas, Ahmad

2015-12-18

In work for the Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (CEMAC), NREL is currently collaborating with Great Lakes Wind Network in conducting a comprehensive hydrogen refueling stations manufacturing competitiveness and supply chain analyses. In this project, CEMAC will be looking at several metrics that will facilitate understanding of the interactions between and within the HRS supply chain, such metrics include innovation potential, intellectual properties, learning curves, related industries and clustering, existing supply chains, ease of doing business, and regulations and safety. This presentation to Fuel Cell Seminar and Energy Exposition 2015 highlights initial findings from CEMAC's analysis.

Lainsa refueling specific services. Ideas of an evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soto Tomas, M.

2010-01-01

The knowledge evolution, in relation to works to develop in Refueling, related to the Cleaning and Decontamination, changed from almost total ignorance to be a reality, thanks personnel support and external organizations, already knowledgeable of the same, and to the human team effort highly involved in the fulfillment of the management development. We search where to find knowledge and we did it. We had ideas and we became them truth. The evolutionary process was positive. Some stages, equipment and developed services are commented, which allow us to offer High Quality Services and in agreed time term, especially during c ritical path . (Author)

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Cognitive Function in Women

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh-Dastidar, Bonnie; Margolis, Karen L.; Slaughter, Mary E.; Jewell, Adria; Bird, Chloe E.; Eibner, Christine; Denburg, Natalie L.; Ockene, Judith; Messina, Catherine R.; Espeland, Mark A.

2011-01-01

Objectives. We examined whether neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) is associated with cognitive functioning in older US women and whether this relationship is explained by associations between NSES and vascular, health behavior, and psychosocial factors. Methods. We assessed women aged 65 to 81 years (n = 7479) who were free of dementia and took part in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study. Linear mixed models examined the cross-sectional association between an NSES index and cognitive functioning scores. A base model adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, education, income, marital status, and hysterectomy. Three groups of potential confounders were examined in separate models: vascular, health behavior, and psychosocial factors. Results. Living in a neighborhood with a 1-unit higher NSES value was associated with a level of cognitive functioning that was 0.022 standard deviations higher (P = .02). The association was attenuated but still marginally significant (P < .1) after adjustment for confounders and, according to interaction tests, stronger among younger and non-White women. Conclusions. The socioeconomic status of a woman's neighborhood may influence her cognitive functioning. This relationship is only partially explained by vascular, health behavior, or psychosocial factors. Future research is needed on the longitudinal relationships between NSES, cognitive impairment, and cognitive decline. PMID:21778482

BWR Servicing and Refueling Improvement Program: Phase I summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perry, D.R.

1978-09-01

Under the U.S. Department of Energy sponsorship, General Electric Co. (GE) undertook a study of boiling water reactor (BWR) refueling outages for the purpose of recommending the development and demonstration of critical path time savings improvements. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) joined the study as a subcontractor, providing monitoring assistance and making the Browns Ferry Site available for improvement demonstrations. Agreement was also reached with Georgia Power Co., Power Authority of the State of New York, and Commonwealth Edison Co. for monitoring and data collection at Hatch 1, FitzPatrick, and Quad Cities 1 nuclear plants, respectively. The objective was to identify, develop, and demonstrate improved refueling, maintenance, and inspection procedures and equipment. The improvements recommended in this study are applicable to BWR nuclear plants currently in operation as well as those in the design and construction phases. The recommendations and outage information can be used as a basis to plan and conduct the first outages of new plants and to improve the planning and facilities of currently operating plants. Many of the recommendations can readily be incorporated in plants currently in the design and construction phases as well as in the design of future plants. Many of these recommended improvements can be implemented immediately by utilities without further technical development.

BWR Servicing and Refueling Improvement Program: Phase I summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perry, D.R.

1978-09-01

Under the U.S. Department of Energy sponsorship, General Electric Co. (GE) undertook a study of boiling water reactor (BWR) refueling outages for the purpose of recommending the development and demonstration of critical path time savings improvements. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) joined the study as a subcontractor, providing monitoring assistance and making the Browns Ferry Site available for improvement demonstrations. Agreement was also reached with Georgia Power Co., Power Authority of the State of New York, and Commonwealth Edison Co. for monitoring and data collection at Hatch 1, FitzPatrick, and Quad Cities 1 nuclear plants, respectively. The objective was to identify, develop, and demonstrate improved refueling, maintenance, and inspection procedures and equipment. The improvements recommended in this study are applicable to BWR nuclear plants currently in operation as well as those in the design and construction phases. The recommendations and outage information can be used as a basis to plan and conduct the first outages of new plants and to improve the planning and facilities of currently operating plants. Many of the recommendations can readily be incorporated in plants currently in the design and construction phases as well as in the design of future plants. Many of these recommended improvements can be implemented immediately by utilities without further technical development

Towards a standardized grasping and refuelling on-orbit servicing for geo spacecraft

Science.gov (United States)

Medina, Alberto; Tomassini, Angelo; Suatoni, Matteo; Avilés, Marcos; Solway, Nick; Coxhill, Ian; Paraskevas, Iosif S.; Rekleitis, Georgios; Papadopoulos, Evangelos; Krenn, Rainer; Brito, André; Sabbatinelli, Beatrice; Wollenhaupt, Birk; Vidal, Christian; Aziz, Sarmad; Visentin, Gianfranco

2017-05-01

Exploitation of space must benefit from the latest advances in robotics. On-orbit servicing is a clear candidate for the application of autonomous rendezvous and docking mechanisms. However, during the last three decades most of the trials took place combining extravehicular activities (EVAs) with telemanipulated robotic arms. The European Space Agency (ESA) considers that grasping and refuelling are promising near-mid-term capabilities that could be performed by servicing spacecraft. Minimal add-ons on spacecraft to enhance their serviceability may protect them for a changing future in which satellite servicing may become mainstream. ESA aims to conceive and promote standard refuelling provisions that can be installed in present and future European commercial geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite platforms and scientific spacecraft. For this purpose ESA has started the ASSIST activity addressing the analysis, design and validation of internal provisions (such as modifications to fuel, gas, electrical and data architecture to allow servicing) and external provisions (such as integrated berthing fixtures with peripheral electrical, gas, liquid connectors, leak check systems and corresponding optical and radio markers for cooperative rendezvous and docking). This refuelling approach is being agreed with European industry (OHB, Thales Alenia Space) and expected to be consolidated with European commercial operators as a first step to become an international standard; this approach is also being considered for on-orbit servicing spacecraft, such as the SpaceTug, by Airbus DS. This paper describes in detail the operational means, structure, geometry and accommodation of the system. Internal and external provisions will be designed with the minimum possible impact on the current architecture of GEO satellites without introducing additional risks in the development and commissioning of the satellite. End-effector and berthing fixtures are being designed in the range of few

Work and Home Neighborhood Design and Physical Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Jordan A; Frank, Lawrence D; Ulmer, Jared; Conway, Terry L; Saelens, Brian E; Cain, Kelli L; Sallis, James F

2018-01-01

To investigate relations of perceived worksite neighborhood environments to total physical activity and active transportation, over and above home neighborhood built environments. Observational epidemiologic study. Baltimore, Maryland-Washington, DC, and Seattle-King County, Washington metropolitan areas. One thousand eighty-five adults (mean age = 45.0 [10.2]; 46% women) recruited from 32 neighborhoods stratified by high/low neighborhood income and walkability. The Neighborhood Environment Walkability Survey assessed perceptions of worksite and home neighborhood environments. Accelerometers assessed total moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The International Physical Activity Questionnaire assessed total active transportation and active transportation to and around work. Mixed-effects regression tested relations of home and worksite neighborhood environments to each physical activity outcome, adjusted for demographics. Home and worksite mixed land use and street connectivity had the most consistent positive associations with physical activity outcomes. Worksite traffic and pedestrian safety were also associated with multiple physical activity outcomes. The worksite neighborhood explained additional variance in physical activity outcomes than explained by the home neighborhood. Worksite and home neighborhood environments interacted in explaining active transportation to work, with the greatest impacts occurring when both neighborhoods were activity supportive. Both worksite and home neighborhood environments were independently related to total MVPA and active transportation. Community design policies should target improving the physical activity supportiveness of worksite neighborhood environments and integrating commercial and residential development.

Neighborhood Concentrated Disadvantage and Dating Violence among Urban Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Neighborhood Social Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Garthe, Rachel C; Gorman-Smith, Deborah; Gregory, Joshua; E Schoeny, Michael

2018-03-14

The link between relationship violence and aspects of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage (e.g., percent of unemployed adults, percent of families below poverty level), has been established. However, the literature examining neighborhood social processes, including informal social control and social cohesion, in relation to adolescent dating violence has shown mixed results with a limited theoretical foundation and methodology. Using a social disorganization theoretical framework, this study examined the mediating role of these neighborhood social processes in the relation between concentrated disadvantage and adolescent dating violence within an urban context. Participants included 605 adult residents in 30 census tracts and 203 adolescents from neighborhoods on the West and South sides of Chicago. Neighborhood-level concentrated disadvantage was measured via Census data, adult residents reported on neighborhood social processes, and youth reported on dating violence. Informal social control was negatively associated with dating violence, and social cohesion was positively associated with dating violence. A multilevel mediation model showed that concentrated disadvantage was related to higher levels of dating violence via lower levels of informal social control. These results extend social disorganization theory to dating violence within an urban context, while also highlighting the important role of neighborhood processes on relationship violence. Implications for research and intervention programming are discussed. © Society for Community Research and Action 2018.

Comprehensive Neighborhood Portraits and Child Asthma Disparities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kranjac, Ashley W; Kimbro, Rachel T; Denney, Justin T; Osiecki, Kristin M; Moffett, Brady S; Lopez, Keila N

2017-07-01

Objectives Previous research has established links between child, family, and neighborhood disadvantages and child asthma. We add to this literature by first characterizing neighborhoods in Houston, TX by demographic, economic, and air quality characteristics to establish differences in pediatric asthma diagnoses across neighborhoods. Second, we identify the relative risk of social, economic, and environmental risk factors for child asthma diagnoses. Methods We geocoded and linked electronic pediatric medical records to neighborhood-level social and economic indicators. Using latent profile modeling techniques, we identified Advantaged, Middle-class, and Disadvantaged neighborhoods. We then used a modified version of the Blinder-Oaxaca regression decomposition method to examine differences in asthma diagnoses across children in these different neighborhoods. Results Both compositional (the characteristics of the children and the ambient air quality in the neighborhood) and associational (the relationship between child and air quality characteristics and asthma) differences within the distinctive neighborhood contexts influence asthma outcomes. For example, unequal exposure to PM 2.5 and O 3 among children in Disadvantaged and Middle-class neighborhoods contribute to asthma diagnosis disparities within these contexts. For children in Disadvantaged and Advantaged neighborhoods, associational differences between racial/ethnic and socioeconomic characteristics and asthma diagnoses explain a significant proportion of the gap. Conclusions for Practice Our results provide evidence that differential exposure to pollution and protective factors associated with non-Hispanic White children and children from affluent families contribute to asthma disparities between neighborhoods. Future researchers should consider social and racial inequalities as more proximate drivers, not merely as associated, with asthma disparities in children.

Real-time image dehazing using local adaptive neighborhoods and dark-channel-prior

Science.gov (United States)

Valderrama, Jesus A.; Díaz-Ramírez, Víctor H.; Kober, Vitaly; Hernandez, Enrique

2015-09-01

A real-time algorithm for single image dehazing is presented. The algorithm is based on calculation of local neighborhoods of a hazed image inside a moving window. The local neighborhoods are constructed by computing rank-order statistics. Next the dark-channel-prior approach is applied to the local neighborhoods to estimate the transmission function of the scene. By using the suggested approach there is no need for applying a refining algorithm to the estimated transmission such as the soft matting algorithm. To achieve high-rate signal processing the proposed algorithm is implemented exploiting massive parallelism on a graphics processing unit (GPU). Computer simulation results are carried out to test the performance of the proposed algorithm in terms of dehazing efficiency and speed of processing. These tests are performed using several synthetic and real images. The obtained results are analyzed and compared with those obtained with existing dehazing algorithms.

Validation of physics model of FARE-Tool by comparison of RFSP flux simulations with measurements at discrete refuelling steps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shad, M.A.

1995-01-01

In CANDU 6 the on-power refuelling is done in the direction of the coolant flow through the channel, flow being in alternate direction in adjacent channels. The channel flow pushes the fuel string (a total of 20 bundles with the 8-bundle fuelling scheme) towards the downstream Fuelling Machine (FM), obviating the need for the upstream FM to insert the rams into the active core to push the fuel. In some channels of the outer core region, however, the coolant flow is low and the hydraulic drag is not enough to push the fuel string. In these channels a Flow Assist Ram Extension (FARE) tool is used during refuelling to augment the flow and hence enhance the hydraulic drag required to push the fuel string. The FARE-Tool is a strong neutron absorber and its use results in a severe local flux depression. During the refuelling process, when the FARE-Tool travels in the immediate vicinity of a Reactor Regulating System (RRS) detector, the spatial control system causes a short-term zone-fill reduction in an attempt to maintain the reference zone powers. This short term zone drain may in turn result in a single channel ROP trip of the SDS l or SDS2 reactor protection system. Therefore, the control room operator is always interested in minimizing the occurrence of this category of trip for obvious economic reasons. The physics modelling of the FARE-Tool used in the 2-neutron-energy-group 3-dimensional diffusion code RFSP is validated by comparing the simulated response of the in-core detectors with the measured response of the same detectors during refuelling. These measurements were recorded during a specially scheduled refuelling of channel B09 at the Point Lepreau Generating Station on 1993 July 6 at 3591 Equivalent Full Power Days (EFPDs). 3 refs., 10 tabs., 1 fig

Neighborhood Influences on Perceived Social Support Among Parents: Findings from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods

Science.gov (United States)

Tendulkar, Shalini A.; Koenen, Karestan C.; Dunn, Erin C.; Buka, Stephen; Subramanian, S. V.

2012-01-01

Background Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. Methodology/Principal Findings The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03), predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. Conclusion Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time. PMID:22493683

Neighborhood influences on perceived social support among parents: findings from the project on human development in Chicago neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Tendulkar, Shalini A; Koenen, Karestan C; Dunn, Erin C; Buka, Stephen; Subramanian, S V

2012-01-01

Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03), predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time.

Schools, Neighborhood Risk Factors, and Crime

Science.gov (United States)

Willits, Dale; Broidy, Lisa; Denman, Kristine

2013-01-01

Prior research has identified a link between schools (particularly high schools) and neighborhood crime rates. However, it remains unclear whether the relationship between schools and crime is a reflection of other criminogenic dynamics at the neighborhood level or whether schools influence neighborhood crime patterns independently of other…

Preparing nuclear power plant units for operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudcovic, R.; Telgarsky, K.; Kmosena, J.

1984-01-01

The factors are listed which have to be taken into consideration for planning the unit operation, i.e., the implementation of planned repairs, checks of equipment and refuellings. All basic input data were evaluated as the basic for drawing up the schedule of routine repairs and overhauls for the coming period. (E.S.)

Investigation of in-cabin volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in taxis; influence of vehicle's age, model, fuel, and refueling.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakhtiari, Reza; Hadei, Mostafa; Hopke, Philip K; Shahsavani, Abbas; Rastkari, Noushin; Kermani, Majid; Yarahmadi, Maryam; Ghaderpoori, Afshin

2018-06-01

The air pollutant species and concentrations in taxis' cabins can present significant health impacts on health. This study measured the concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX), formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde in the cabins of four different taxi models. The effects of taxi's age, fuel type, and refueling were investigated. Four taxi models in 3 age groups were fueled with 3 different fuels (gas, compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)), and the concentrations of 6 air pollutants were measured in the taxi cabins before and after refueling. BTEX, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde sampling were actively sampled using NIOSH methods 1501, 2541, and 2538, respectively. The average BTEX concentrations for all taxi models were below guideline values. The average concentrations (±SD) of formaldehyde in Model 1 to Model 4 taxis were 889 (±356), 806 (±323), 1144 (±240), and 934 (±167) ppbv, respectively. Acetaldehyde average concentrations (±SD) in Model 1 to Model 4 taxis were 410 (±223), 441 (±241), 443 (±210), and 482 (±91) ppbv, respectively. Refueling increased the in-vehicle concentrations of pollutants primarily the CNG and LPG fuels. BTEX concentrations in all taxi models were significantly higher for gasoline. Taxi age inversely affected formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. In conclusion, it seems that refueling process and substitution of gasoline with CNG and LPG can be considered as solutions to improve in-vehicle air concentrations for taxis. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

H. B. Robinson Plant, Unit 2. Annual operating report for 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

The unit achieved a good performance record through the year, experiencing only short duration shutdowns or power reductions. Information is presented concerning operations, maintenance, shutdowns, and occupational radiation exposures. In November there was a scheduled refueling lasting 40 days. After a start-up physics test program, the unit achieved 100 percent power on December 22, 1976

The Relationship between Neighborhood Immigrant Composition, Limited English Proficiency, and Late-Stage Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis in California

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cynthia M. Mojica

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the availability of effective early detection technologies, more than half (61% of colorectal cancers in the United States and 55% in California are identified at an advanced stage. Data on colorectal cancer patients (N=35,030 diagnosed from 2005 to 2007 were obtained from the California Cancer Registry. Multivariate analyses found a relationship among neighborhood concentration of recent immigrants, neighborhood rates of limited English proficiency, and late-stage colorectal cancer diagnosis. Hispanics living in neighborhoods with a greater percentage of recent immigrants (compared to the lowest percentage had greater odds (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.22, 2.02 of late-stage diagnosis whereas Hispanics living in neighborhoods with the highest percentage of limited English proficiency (compared to the lowest percentage had lower odds (OR .71, 95% CI .51, .99 of late-stage diagnosis. These relationships were not observed for other ethnic groups. Results highlight the complex relationship among race/ethnicity, neighborhood characteristics, and colorectal cancer stage at diagnosis.

Internet Bad Neighborhoods Aggregation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moreira Moura, Giovane; Sadre, R.; Sperotto, Anna; Pras, Aiko; Paschoal Gaspary, L.; De Turk, Filip

Internet Bad Neighborhoods have proven to be an innovative approach for fighting spam. They have also helped to understand how spammers are distributed on the Internet. In our previous works, the size of each bad neighborhood was fixed to a /24 subnetwork. In this paper, however, we investigate if

Negative life events vary by neighborhood and mediate the relation between neighborhood context and psychological well-being.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine King

Full Text Available Researchers have speculated that negative life events are more common in troubled neighborhoods, amplifying adverse effects on health. Using a clustered representative sample of Chicago residents (2001-03; n = 3,105 from the Chicago Community Adult Health Survey, we provide the first documentation that negative life events are highly geographically clustered compared to health outcomes. Associations between neighborhood context and negative life events were also found to vary by event type. We then demonstrate the power of a contextualized approach by testing path models in which life events mediate the relation between neighborhood characteristics and health outcomes, including self-rated health, anxiety, and depression. The indirect paths between neighborhood conditions and health through negative life event exposure are highly significant and large compared to the direct paths from neighborhood conditions to health. Our results indicate that neighborhood conditions can have acute as well as chronic effects on health, and that negative life events are a powerful mechanism by which context may influence health.

Negative life events vary by neighborhood and mediate the relation between neighborhood context and psychological well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Katherine; Ogle, Christin

2014-01-01

Researchers have speculated that negative life events are more common in troubled neighborhoods, amplifying adverse effects on health. Using a clustered representative sample of Chicago residents (2001-03; n = 3,105) from the Chicago Community Adult Health Survey, we provide the first documentation that negative life events are highly geographically clustered compared to health outcomes. Associations between neighborhood context and negative life events were also found to vary by event type. We then demonstrate the power of a contextualized approach by testing path models in which life events mediate the relation between neighborhood characteristics and health outcomes, including self-rated health, anxiety, and depression. The indirect paths between neighborhood conditions and health through negative life event exposure are highly significant and large compared to the direct paths from neighborhood conditions to health. Our results indicate that neighborhood conditions can have acute as well as chronic effects on health, and that negative life events are a powerful mechanism by which context may influence health.

Support services to refuelling exploitation; Servicios de apoyo a explotacion en recarga

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castineira, M; Cortes, M.; Rayo, A.

2010-07-01

The refuelling period in nuclear power stations is very important due to the need to optimise its duration, large volumes of work and resources that have to be planned and coordinated and their impact on the subsequent operating cycle. Empresarios Agrupados has a permanent organisation, with specialised resources and extensive availability of human resources. (Author)

Socioeconomic Segregation in Large Cities in France and the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Quillian, Lincoln; Lagrange, Hugues

2016-08-01

Past cross-national comparisons of socioeconomic segregation have been undercut by lack of comparability in measures, data, and concepts. Using IRIS data from the French Census of 2008 and the French Ministry of Finance as well as tract data from the American Community Survey (2006-2010) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Picture of Subsidized Households, and constructing measures to be as similar as possible, we compare socioeconomic segregation in metropolitan areas with a population of more than 1 million in France and the United States. We find much higher socioeconomic segregation in large metropolitan areas in the United States than in France. We also find (1) a strong pattern of low-income neighborhoods in central cities and high-income neighborhoods in suburbs in the United States, but varying patterns across metropolitan areas in France; (2) that high-income persons are the most segregated group in both countries; (3) that the shares of neighborhood income differences that can be explained by neighborhood racial/ethnic composition are similar in France and the United States; and (4) that government-assisted housing is disproportionately located in the poorest neighborhoods in the United States but is spread across many neighborhood income levels in France. We conclude that differences in government provision of housing assistance and levels of income inequality are likely important contributing factors to the Franco-U.S. difference in socioeconomic segregation.

The achievement of on-load refuelling at Heysham 2 and Torness AGRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sterland, P.R.; MacPherson, D.

1995-01-01

Heysham 2 and Torness are the last of the advanced gas cooled reactors (AGR) constructed for the Central Electricity Generating Board and the South of Scotland Electricity Board. They are now operated by Nuclear Electric (NE) and Scottish Nuclear Limited (SNL) respectively. They were designed for on load refuelling at high power and being based on the design used for Hinkley Point B and Hunterston B, have benefited from experience at these stations. This paper examines the analysis work which was carried out in order to provide a sound, long term, mainly probabilistic safety case which supports on load refuelling. A significant problem has been that the design reliability of the microprocessor based control and protection systems, used for the fuel route, could not be justified and a number of changes to the overall protection system have had to be introduced to compensate for this. The resultant safety case complies with the stringent safety standards adopted by NE and SNL and accepted by the UK safety authority, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII). (author)

Neighborhood perceptions and allostatic load

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Deurzen, Ioana; Rod, Naja Hulvej; Christensen, Ulla

2016-01-01

An influential argument explaining why living in certain neighborhoods can become harmful to one's health maintains that individuals can perceive certain characteristics of the neighborhood as threatening and the prolonged exposure to a threatening environment could induce chronic stress. Following...... this line of argumentation, in the present study we test whether subjective perceptions of neighborhood characteristics relate to an objective measure of stress-related physiological functioning, namely allostatic load (AL). We use a large dataset of 5280 respondents living in different regions of Denmark...... and we account for two alternative mechanisms, i.e., the objective characteristics of the living environment and the socio-economic status of individuals. Our results support the chronic stress mechanisms linking neighborhood quality to health. Heightened perceptions of disorder and pollution were found...

Neighborhood influences on perceived social support among parents: findings from the project on human development in Chicago neighborhoods.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shalini A Tendulkar

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03, predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. CONCLUSION: Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time.

Are neighborhood-level characteristics associated with indoor allergens in the household?

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenfeld, Lindsay; Rudd, Rima; Chew, Ginger L; Emmons, Karen; Acevedo-García, Dolores

2010-02-01

Individual home characteristics have been associated with indoor allergen exposure; however, the influence of neighborhood-level characteristics has not been well studied. We defined neighborhoods as community districts determined by the New York City Department of City Planning. We examined the relationship between neighborhood-level characteristics and the presence of dust mite (Der f 1), cat (Fel d 1), cockroach (Bla g 2), and mouse (MUP) allergens in the household. Using data from the Puerto Rican Asthma Project, a birth cohort of Puerto Rican children at risk of allergic sensitization (n = 261), we examined associations between neighborhood characteristics (percent tree canopy, asthma hospitalizations per 1,000 children, roadway length within 100 meters of buildings, serious housing code violations per 1000 rental units, poverty rates, and felony crime rates), and the presence of indoor allergens. Allergen cutpoints were used for categorical analyses and defined as follows: dust mite: >0.25 microg/g; cat: >1 microg/g; cockroach: >1 U/g; mouse: >1.6 microg/g. Serious housing code violations were statistically significantly positively associated with dust mite, cat, and mouse allergens (continuous variables), adjusting for mother's income and education, and all neighborhood-level characteristics. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, medium levels of housing code violations were associated with higher dust mite and cat allergens (1.81, 95%CI: 1.08, 3.03 and 3.10, 95%CI: 1.22, 7.92, respectively). A high level of serious housing code violations was associated with higher mouse allergen (2.04, 95%CI: 1.15, 3.62). A medium level of housing code violations was associated with higher cockroach allergen (3.30, 95%CI: 1.11, 9.78). Neighborhood-level characteristics, specifically housing code violations, appear to be related to indoor allergens, which may have implications for future research explorations and policy decisions.

Neighborhoods, US, 2017, Zillow, SEGS

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web service depicts nearly 17,000 neighborhood boundaries in over 650 U.S. cities. Zillow created the neighborhood boundaries and is sharing them with the...

Demarcation of local neighborhoods to study relations between contextual factors and health

OpenAIRE

Chor Dora; Santos Simone M; Werneck Guilherme

2010-01-01

Abstract Background Several studies have highlighted the importance of collective social factors for population health. One of the major challenges is an adequate definition of the spatial units of analysis which present properties potentially related to the target outcomes. Political and administrative divisions of urban areas are the most commonly used definition, although they suffer limitations in their ability to fully express the neighborhoods as social and spatial units. Objective This...

Using cross-classified multilevel models to disentangle school and neighborhood effects: an example focusing on smoking behaviors among adolescents in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Erin C; Richmond, Tracy K; Milliren, Carly E; Subramanian, S V

2015-01-01

Despite much interest in understanding the influence of contexts on health, most research has focused on one context at a time, ignoring the reality that individuals have simultaneous memberships in multiple settings. Using the example of smoking behavior among adolescents in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we applied cross-classified multilevel modeling (CCMM) to examine fixed and random effects for schools and neighborhoods. We compared the CCMM results with those obtained from a traditional multilevel model (MLM) focused on either the school and neighborhood separately. In the MLMs, 5.2% of the variation in smoking was due to differences between neighborhoods (when schools were ignored) and 6.3% of the variation in smoking was due to differences between schools (when neighborhoods were ignored). However in the CCMM examining neighborhood and school variation simultaneously, the neighborhood-level variation was reduced to 0.4%. Results suggest that using MLM, instead of CCMM, could lead to overestimating the importance of certain contexts and could ultimately lead to targeting interventions or policies to the wrong settings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neighborhood Disadvantage and Physical Function: The Contributions of Neighborhood-Level Perceptions of Safety From Crime and Walking for Recreation.

Science.gov (United States)

Loh, Venurs H Y; Rachele, Jerome N; Brown, Wendy J; Ghani, Fatima; Turrell, Gavin

2018-04-20

Residents of more socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to report poorer physical function, although the reasons for this remain unknown. It is possible that neighborhood-level perceptions of safety from crime contribute to this relationship through its association with walking for recreation. Data were obtained from the fourth wave (collected in 2013) of the HABITAT (How Areas in Brisbane Influence HealTh and AcTivity) multilevel longitudinal study of middle- to older-aged adults (46-74 y) residing in 200 neighborhoods in Brisbane, Australia. The data were analyzed separately for men (n = 2190) and women (n = 2977) using multilevel models. Residents of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods had poorer physical function, perceived their neighborhoods to be less safe from crime, and do less walking for recreation. These factors accounted for differences in physical function between disadvantaged and advantaged neighborhoods (24% for men and 25% for women). This study highlights the importance of contextual characteristics, through their associations with behaviors, that can have in explaining the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and physical function. Interventions aimed at improving neighborhood safety integrated with supportive environments for physical activity may have positive impact on physical function among all socioeconomic groups.

Geography should not be destiny: focusing HIV/AIDS implementation research and programs on microepidemics in US neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunn, Amy; Yolken, Annajane; Cutler, Blayne; Trooskin, Stacey; Wilson, Phill; Little, Susan; Mayer, Kenneth

2014-05-01

African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Within the most heavily affected cities, a few neighborhoods account for a large share of new HIV infections. Addressing racial and economic disparities in HIV infection requires an implementation program and research agenda that assess the impact of HIV prevention interventions focused on increasing HIV testing, treatment, and retention in care in the most heavily affected neighborhoods in urban areas of the United States. Neighborhood-based implementation research should evaluate programs that focus on community mobilization, media campaigns, routine testing, linkage to and retention in care, and block-by-block outreach strategies.

Conduct Disorder and Neighborhood Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, Wesley G; Perez, Nicholas M; Reingle Gonzalez, Jennifer M

2018-05-07

There has been a considerable amount of scholarly attention to the relationship between neighborhood effects and conduct disorder, particularly in recent years. Having said this, it has been nearly two decades since a comprehensive synthesis of this literature has been conducted. Relying on a detailed and comprehensive search strategy and inclusion criteria, this article offers a systematic and interdisciplinary review of 47 empirical studies that have examined neighborhood effects and conduct disorder. Described results suggest that there are generally robust linkages between adverse neighborhood factors and conduct disorder and externalizing behavior problems, as 67 of the 93 (72.04%) effect sizes derived from these studies yielded statistically significant neighborhood effects. The review also identifies salient mediating and moderating influences. It discusses study limitations and directions for future research as well.

Neighborhood Ethnic Density as an Explanation for the Academic Achievement of Ethnic Minority Youth Placed in Neighborhood Disadvantage

Science.gov (United States)

Madyun, Na'im; Lee, Moosung

2010-01-01

The underachievement of ethnic minority youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods is a pervasive educational issue this nation is facing. Based on an ecological perspective, we examined the contextual effects of neighborhood ethnic density and neighborhood disadvantage on the academic achievement of Hmong immigrant youths. Utilizing hierarchical…

Refueling outage data collection and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harshaw, K.; Quilliam, J.; Brinsfield, W.; Jeffries, J.

1993-07-01

This report summarizes the results of an EPRI project to compile an industry generic refueling outage database applicable to alternate (non-full-power) modes of shutdown conditions at nuclear power plants. The project team evaluated five outages at two BWR plants. They obtained data primarily from control room logs, outage schedules, incident reports, and licensee event reports. The team organized the data by outage segment and time line. Due to its small sample size, this study produced no conclusive results related to initiating event frequencies, equipment failure rates, or human reliability estimates during shutdown conditions. However, it pointed out the problems of brief or inconsistent recordkeeping. A too brief record results in difficulty determining if the root cause of an event was mechanical or the result of human performance. Retrieval of data can be difficult and labor-intensive. There is a clear need for better, more comprehensive documentation

Drinking and Driving among Recent Latino Immigrants: The Impact of Neighborhoods and Social Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Sanchez

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Latinos are disproportionately impacted by drinking and driving arrests and alcohol-related fatal crashes. Why, and how, these disparities occur remains unclear. The neighborhood environments that recent Latino immigrants encounter in their host communities can potentially influence health behaviors over time, including the propensity to engage in drinking and driving. This cross-sectional study utilizes a sample of 467 documented and undocumented adult recent Latino immigrants in the United States to answer the following research questions: (a How do neighborhood-level factors, combined with social support, impact drinking and driving risk behaviors?; and (b Does acculturative stress moderate the effects of those associations? Results indicate neighborhood-level factors (informal social control and social capital have protective effects against drinking and driving risk behaviors via the mediating mechanism of social support. Acculturative stress moderated associations between neighborhood informal social control and social support, whereby the protective effects of informal social control on social support were not present for those immigrants with higher levels of acculturative stress. Our findings contribute to the limited knowledge of drinking and driving among Latino immigrants early in the immigration process and suggest that, in the process of developing prevention programs tailored to Latino immigrants, greater attention must be paid to neighborhood-level factors.

Drinking and Driving among Recent Latino Immigrants: The Impact of Neighborhoods and Social Support

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Mariana; Romano, Eduardo; Dawson, Christyl; Huang, Hui; Sneij, Alicia; Cyrus, Elena; Rojas, Patria; Cano, Miguel Ángel; Brook, Judith; De La Rosa, Mario

2016-01-01

Latinos are disproportionately impacted by drinking and driving arrests and alcohol-related fatal crashes. Why, and how, these disparities occur remains unclear. The neighborhood environments that recent Latino immigrants encounter in their host communities can potentially influence health behaviors over time, including the propensity to engage in drinking and driving. This cross-sectional study utilizes a sample of 467 documented and undocumented adult recent Latino immigrants in the United States to answer the following research questions: (a) How do neighborhood-level factors, combined with social support, impact drinking and driving risk behaviors?; and (b) Does acculturative stress moderate the effects of those associations? Results indicate neighborhood-level factors (informal social control and social capital) have protective effects against drinking and driving risk behaviors via the mediating mechanism of social support. Acculturative stress moderated associations between neighborhood informal social control and social support, whereby the protective effects of informal social control on social support were not present for those immigrants with higher levels of acculturative stress. Our findings contribute to the limited knowledge of drinking and driving among Latino immigrants early in the immigration process and suggest that, in the process of developing prevention programs tailored to Latino immigrants, greater attention must be paid to neighborhood-level factors. PMID:27801856

Neighborhood and Network Disadvantage among Urban Renters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Desmond

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Drawing on novel survey data, this study maps the distribution of neighborhood and network disadvantage in a population of Milwaukee renters and evaluates the relationship between each disadvantage and multiple social and health outcomes. We find that many families live in neighborhoods with above average disadvantage but are embedded in networks with below average disadvantage, and vice versa. Neighborhood (but not network disadvantage is associated with lower levels of neighborly trust but also with higher levels of community support (e.g., providing neighbors with food. Network (but not neighborhood disadvantage is associated with lower levels of civic engagement. Asthma and diabetes are associated exclusively with neighborhood disadvantage, but depression is associated exclusively with network disadvantage. These findings imply that some social problems may be better addressed by neighborhood interventions and others by network interventions.

Qualitative Risk Assessment for an LNG Refueling Station and Review of Relevant Safety Issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siu, N.; Herring, J.S.; Cadwallader, L.; Reece, W.; Byers, J.

1998-02-01

This report is a qualitative assessment of the public and worker risk involved with the operation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicle refueling facility. This study includes facility maintenance and operations, tank truck deliveries, and end-use vehicle fueling; it does not treat the risks of LNG vehicles on roadways. Accident initiating events are identified by using a Master Logic Diagram, a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, and historical operating experiences. The event trees were drawn to depict possible sequences of mitigating events following the initiating events. The phenomenology of LNG and other vehicle fuels is discussed to characterize the hazard posed by LNG usage. Based on the risk modeling and analysis, recommendations are given to improve the safety of LNG refueling stations in the areas of procedures and training, station design, and the dissemination of ``best practice`` information throughout the LNG community.

Functional Interpretation of Neighborhood Public Spaces in Terms of Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamid Majedi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to evaluate the effect of neighborhood public space transformation due to rapid urbanization in Tehran since 1960s, on the formation of neighborhood identity. In order to find the role of public spaces in enhancing neighborhood identities, two middle class neighborhoods with different spatial organizations are compared with each other: Nazi Abad a planned neighborhood and Mehran a typical unplanned neighborhood which developed through rapid urbanization.   Next, the effect of neighborhood public spaces on neighborhood inhabitants is evaluated from two perspectives: Perceptual dimension and social dimension. The findings indicate that planned spatial organization and various neighborhood public spaces result in stronger neighborhood identity. It enhances both perceptual dimension of neighborhood identity(place attachment and its social dimension (sense of community. In contrast unplanned spatial organization which is the typical feature of Tehran neighborhoods leads to weak neighborhood identity.

The impact of neighborhood walkability on walking: does it differ across adult life stage and does neighborhood buffer size matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Villanueva, Karen; Knuiman, Matthew; Nathan, Andrea; Giles-Corti, Billie; Christian, Hayley; Foster, Sarah; Bull, Fiona

2014-01-01

We explored the impact of neighborhood walkability on young adults, early-middle adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults' walking across different neighborhood buffers. Participants completed the Western Australian Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System Survey (2003-2009) and were allocated a neighborhood walkability score at 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m around their home. We found little difference in strength of associations across neighborhood size buffers for all life stages. We conclude that neighborhood walkability supports more walking regardless of adult life stage and is relevant for small (e.g., 200m) and larger (e.g., 1600m) neighborhood buffers. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

Relationships among neighborhood environment, racial discrimination, psychological distress, and preterm birth in African American women.

Science.gov (United States)

Giurgescu, Carmen; Zenk, Shannon N; Dancy, Barbara L; Park, Chang G; Dieber, William; Block, Richard

2012-01-01

To (a) examine the relationships among objective and perceived indicators of neighborhood environment, racial discrimination, psychological distress, and gestational age at birth; (b) determine if neighborhood environment and racial discrimination predicted psychological distress; (c) determine if neighborhood environment, racial discrimination, and psychological distress predicted preterm birth; and (d) determine if psychological distress mediated the effects of neighborhood environment and racial discrimination on preterm birth. Descriptive correlational comparative. Postpartum unit of a medical center in Chicago. African American women (n(1)  = 33 with preterm birth; n(2)  = 39 with full-term birth). Women completed the instruments 24 to 72 hours after birth. Objective measures of the neighborhood were derived using geographic information systems (GIS). Women who reported higher levels of perceived social and physical disorder and perceived crime also reported higher levels of psychological distress. Women who reported more experiences of racial discrimination also had higher levels of psychological distress. Objective social disorder and perceived crime predicted psychological distress. Objective physical disorder and psychological distress predicted preterm birth. Psychological distress mediated the effect of objective social disorder and perceived crime on preterm birth. Women's neighborhood environments and racial discrimination were related to psychological distress, and these factors may increase the risk for preterm birth. © 2012 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

Mapping child maltreatment risk: a 12-year spatio-temporal analysis of neighborhood influences.

Science.gov (United States)

Gracia, Enrique; López-Quílez, Antonio; Marco, Miriam; Lila, Marisol

2017-10-18

'Place' matters in understanding prevalence variations and inequalities in child maltreatment risk. However, most studies examining ecological variations in child maltreatment risk fail to take into account the implications of the spatial and temporal dimensions of neighborhoods. In this study, we conduct a high-resolution small-area study to analyze the influence of neighborhood characteristics on the spatio-temporal epidemiology of child maltreatment risk. We conducted a 12-year (2004-2015) small-area Bayesian spatio-temporal epidemiological study with all families with child maltreatment protection measures in the city of Valencia, Spain. As neighborhood units, we used 552 census block groups. Cases were geocoded using the family address. Neighborhood-level characteristics analyzed included three indicators of neighborhood disadvantage-neighborhood economic status, neighborhood education level, and levels of policing activity-, immigrant concentration, and residential instability. Bayesian spatio-temporal modelling and disease mapping methods were used to provide area-specific risk estimations. Results from a spatio-temporal autoregressive model showed that neighborhoods with low levels of economic and educational status, with high levels of policing activity, and high immigrant concentration had higher levels of substantiated child maltreatment risk. Disease mapping methods were used to analyze areas of excess risk. Results showed chronic spatial patterns of high child maltreatment risk during the years analyzed, as well as stability over time in areas of low risk. Areas with increased or decreased child maltreatment risk over the years were also observed. A spatio-temporal epidemiological approach to study the geographical patterns, trends over time, and the contextual determinants of child maltreatment risk can provide a useful method to inform policy and action. This method can offer a more accurate description of the problem, and help to inform more

Risk assessment of LPG automotive refuelling facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melchers, R.E. [University of Newcastle, Newcastle (Australia). Dept. of Civil, Surveying and Enviromental Engineering; Feutrill, W.R. [Wesfarmers Kleenheat Gas Pty. Ltd., Perth (Australia)

2001-12-01

Quantified risk analysis (QRA) was used for the revision of regulatory separation distances associated with medium size liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refuelling facilities used in automotive service (gas) stations. Typically these facilities consist of a 7.5 kl pressure vessel, pump, pipework, dispensing equipment and safety equipment. Multi-tank installations are relatively uncommon. This paper describes the hazard scenarios considered, the risk analysis procedure and the selection and application of data for initiating events and for rates of failure of mechanical components and of the pressure vessel. Human errors and intervention possibilities were also considered. Because of the inapplicability of established consequence models and the relatively small scale of the facilities, a number of tests were performed to estimate flame length, flame impingement effects, ignition probabilities and the effectiveness of screening devices. (author)

Neighborhood Disadvantage, Neighborhood Safety and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in African Americans: Biosocial Associations in the Jackson Heart Study

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Cheryl R.; Ommerborn, Mark J.; Hickson, DeMarc A.; Grooms, Kya N.; Sims, Mario; Taylor, Herman A.; Albert, Michelle A.

2013-01-01

Objective We examined associations between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, perceived neighborhood safety and cardiometabolic risk factors, adjusting for health behaviors and socioeconomic status (SES) among African Americans. Methods Study participants were non-diabetic African Americans (n = 3,909) in the baseline examination (2000–2004) of the Jackson Heart Study. We measured eight risk factors: the metabolic syndrome, its five components, insulin resistance and cardiovascular inflammation. We assessed neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage with US Census 2000 data. We assessed perceived neighborhood safety, health behaviors and SES via survey. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate associations with a random intercept model for neighborhood effects. Results After adjustment for health behaviors and SES, neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with the metabolic syndrome in women (PR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01, 1.27). Lack of perceived safety was associated with elevated glucose (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.03, 1.80) and waist circumference (PR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02, 1.11) among women, and with elevated glucose (PR 1.30, 95% CI 1.02, 1.66) and insulin resistance (PR 1.25, 95% CI 1.08, 1.46) among men. Conclusions Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and perceived safety should be considered as targets for intervention to reduce cardiometabolic risks among African Americans. PMID:23691005

Contextual Effects of Neighborhoods and Schools on Adolescent and Young Adult Marijuana Use in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carly E Milliren

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Little is known about the unique contribution of schools vs neighborhoods in driving adolescent marijuana use. This study examined the relative contribution of each setting and the influence of school and neighborhood socioeconomic status on use. We performed a series of cross-classified multilevel logistic models predicting past 30-day adolescent (N = 18 329 and young adult (N = 13 908 marijuana use using data from Add Health. Marijuana use differed by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and public assistance in adjusted models. Variance parameters indicated a high degree of clustering by school (σ 2  = 0.30 and less pronounced clustering by neighborhood (σ 2  = 0.06 in adolescence when accounting for both levels simultaneously in a cross-classified multilevel model. Clustering by school persisted into young adulthood (σ 2  = 0.08. Parental receipt of public assistance increased the likelihood of use during adolescence (odds ratio = 1.39; 95% confidence interval: 1.19-1.59, and higher parental education was associated with increased likelihood of use in young adulthood. These findings indicate that both contexts may be promising locations for intervention.

Environmental and biological monitoring of benzene during self-service automobile refueling.

OpenAIRE

Egeghy, P P; Tornero-Velez, R; Rappaport, S M

2000-01-01

Although automobile refueling represents the major source of benzene exposure among the nonsmoking public, few data are available regarding such exposures and the associated uptake of benzene. We repeatedly measured benzene exposure and uptake (via benzene in exhaled breath) among 39 self-service customers using self-administered monitoring, a technique rarely used to obtain measurements from the general public (130 sets of measurements were obtained). Benzene exposures averaged 2.9 mg/m(3) (...

Interim qualitative risk assessment for an LNG refueling station and review of relevant safety issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siu, N.; Herring, S.; Cadwallader, L.; Reece, W.; Byers, J.

1997-07-01

This report is a qualitative assessment of the public and worker risk involved with the operation of a liquefied natural (LNG) vehicle refueling facility. This study includes facility maintenance and operations, tanker truck delivers and end-use vehicle fueling; it does not treat the risks of LNG vehicles on roadways. Accident initiating events are identified by using a Master Logic Diagram, a Failure Modes and Effects analysis and historical operating experiences. The event trees were drawn to depict possible sequences of mitigating events following the initiating events. The phenomenology of LNG and other vehicle fuels is discussed to characterize the hazard posed by LNG usage. Based on the risk modeling and analysis, recommendations are given to improve the safety of LNG refueling stations in the areas of procedures and training, station design, and the dissemination of best practice information throughout the LNG community.

Hydrogen Refuelling Station Hamburg HafenCity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hustadt, Daniel [Vattenfall Europe Innovation GmbH (Germany)

2010-07-01

Decoupling the growing road traffic and the related greenhouse gas emissions demand a major effort by research, OEMs as well as oil and energy companies. Above all the reduction of CO2-emissions is a growing need for climate protection. Bio fuels can help to reach those targets, however the available sources are not enough to guarantee a sustainable supply. Battery Electric Vehicles are today limited technically with regards to range and weight and will most likely be used in metropolitan regions. In this project the necessary infrastructure to refuel buses and cars of a bigger fleet will be installed. Doing so the prerequisite for using fuel cell based cars and buses as an alternative way of mobility is developed. The capability of new components for the productions, storage and distribution of larger amounts of hydrogen is shown. Additionally still existing potential optimizing on a technical and operational level shall be made available. (orig.)

Fuel failure at the Laguna Verde unit 1- during Cycle 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Espinosa Vega, Juan Manuel

1996-01-01

The present work describes the event occurred at the Laguna Verde nuclear power plants Unit 1 during its fourth cycle ensembles; the first failure, by means of a test of power suppression, and the second one, during the sipping accomplished in the four refuelling of the unit. Also it describes the re-evaluation of the event accomplished by the licenser, the manufacturer and the Mexican agency

An analysis of fast reactor fuel assembly performance taking into account their mechanical interaction in the core and refuelling line capabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buksha, Yu.K.; Zabudko, L.M.; Kravchenko, I.N.; Matveenko, L.V.; Meshkov, M.N.

1984-01-01

An approach to assessment of fast reactor fuel assembly performance has been considered. A concept of passive restraint of fuel assemblies in a reactor adopted in the USSR is described. Some methods for calculating the interassembly interactions during operation are briefly outlined, some calculated results are presented. A problem of fuel assembly performance during refuelling taking into account the refuelling line capabilities is considered. Some results from fuel assemblies operation experience in the BN-600 reactor are given. (author)

Capturing the two dimensions of residential segregation at the neighborhood level for health research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masayoshi eOka

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Two conceptual and methodological foundations of segregation studies are that (i segregation involves more than one group, and (ii segregation measures need to quantify how different population groups are distributed across space. Therefore, percentage of population belonging to a group is not an appropriate measure of segregation because it does not describe how populations are spread across different areal units or neighborhoods. In principle, evenness and isolation are the two distinct dimensions of segregation that capture the spatial patterns of population groups. To portray people’s daily environment more accurately, segregation measures need to account for the spatial relationships between areal units and to reflect the situations at the neighborhood scale. For these reasons, the use of local spatial entropy-based diversity index (SHi and local spatial isolation index (Si to capture the evenness and isolation dimensions of segregation, respectively, are preferable. However, these two local spatial segregation indexes have rarely been incorporated into health research. Rather ineffective and insufficient segregation measures have been used in previous studies. Hence, this paper empirically demonstrates how the two measures can reflect the two distinct dimensions of segregation at the neighborhood level, and argues conceptually and set the stage for their future use to effectively and meaningfully examine the relationships between residential segregation and health.

GPS navigation algorithms for Autonomous Airborne Refueling of Unmanned Air Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Khanafseh, Samer Mahmoud

Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) have recently generated great interest because of their potential to perform hazardous missions without risking loss of life. If autonomous airborne refueling is possible for UAVs, mission range and endurance will be greatly enhanced. However, concerns about UAV-tanker proximity, dynamic mobility and safety demand that the relative navigation system meets stringent requirements on accuracy, integrity, and continuity. In response, this research focuses on developing high-performance GPS-based navigation architectures for Autonomous Airborne Refueling (AAR) of UAVs. The AAR mission is unique because of the potentially severe sky blockage introduced by the tanker. To address this issue, a high-fidelity dynamic sky blockage model was developed and experimentally validated. In addition, robust carrier phase differential GPS navigation algorithms were derived, including a new method for high-integrity reacquisition of carrier cycle ambiguities for recently-blocked satellites. In order to evaluate navigation performance, world-wide global availability and sensitivity covariance analyses were conducted. The new navigation algorithms were shown to be sufficient for turn-free scenarios, but improvement in performance was necessary to meet the difficult requirements for a general refueling mission with banked turns. Therefore, several innovative methods were pursued to enhance navigation performance. First, a new theoretical approach was developed to quantify the position-domain integrity risk in cycle ambiguity resolution problems. A mechanism to implement this method with partially-fixed cycle ambiguity vectors was derived, and it was used to define tight upper bounds on AAR navigation integrity risk. A second method, where a new algorithm for optimal fusion of measurements from multiple antennas was developed, was used to improve satellite coverage in poor visibility environments such as in AAR. Finally, methods for using data-link extracted

Heat and Humidity in the City: Neighborhood Heat Index Variability in a Mid-Sized City in the Southeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Hass, Alisa L; Ellis, Kelsey N; Reyes Mason, Lisa; Hathaway, Jon M; Howe, David A

2016-01-11

Daily weather conditions for an entire city are usually represented by a single weather station, often located at a nearby airport. This resolution of atmospheric data fails to recognize the microscale climatic variability associated with land use decisions across and within urban neighborhoods. This study uses heat index, a measure of the combined effects of temperature and humidity, to assess the variability of heat exposure from ten weather stations across four urban neighborhoods and two control locations (downtown and in a nearby nature center) in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Results suggest that trees may negate a portion of excess urban heat, but are also associated with greater humidity. As a result, the heat index of locations with more trees is significantly higher than downtown and areas with fewer trees. Trees may also reduce heat stress by shading individuals from incoming radiation, though this is not considered in this study. Greater amounts of impervious surfaces correspond with reduced evapotranspiration and greater runoff, in terms of overall mass balance, leading to a higher temperature, but lower relative humidity. Heat index and relative humidity were found to significantly vary between locations with different tree cover and neighborhood characteristics for the full study time period as well as for the top 10% of heat index days. This work demonstrates the need for high-resolution climate data and the use of additional measures beyond temperature to understand urban neighborhood exposure to extreme heat, and expresses the importance of considering vulnerability differences among residents when analyzing neighborhood-scale impacts.

Heat and Humidity in the City: Neighborhood Heat Index Variability in a Mid-Sized City in the Southeastern United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alisa L. Hass

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Daily weather conditions for an entire city are usually represented by a single weather station, often located at a nearby airport. This resolution of atmospheric data fails to recognize the microscale climatic variability associated with land use decisions across and within urban neighborhoods. This study uses heat index, a measure of the combined effects of temperature and humidity, to assess the variability of heat exposure from ten weather stations across four urban neighborhoods and two control locations (downtown and in a nearby nature center in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Results suggest that trees may negate a portion of excess urban heat, but are also associated with greater humidity. As a result, the heat index of locations with more trees is significantly higher than downtown and areas with fewer trees. Trees may also reduce heat stress by shading individuals from incoming radiation, though this is not considered in this study. Greater amounts of impervious surfaces correspond with reduced evapotranspiration and greater runoff, in terms of overall mass balance, leading to a higher temperature, but lower relative humidity. Heat index and relative humidity were found to significantly vary between locations with different tree cover and neighborhood characteristics for the full study time period as well as for the top 10% of heat index days. This work demonstrates the need for high-resolution climate data and the use of additional measures beyond temperature to understand urban neighborhood exposure to extreme heat, and expresses the importance of considering vulnerability differences among residents when analyzing neighborhood-scale impacts.

Neighborhood Poverty and Adolescent Development

Science.gov (United States)

McBride Murry, Velma; Berkel, Cady; Gaylord-Harden, Noni K.; Copeland-Linder, Nikeea; Nation, Maury

2011-01-01

This article provides a comprehensive review of studies conducted over the past decade on the effects of neighborhood and poverty on adolescent normative and nonnormative development. Our review includes a summary of studies examining the associations between neighborhood poverty and adolescent identity development followed by a review of studies…

Liquefied petroleum gas cold burn sustained while refueling a car.

Science.gov (United States)

Scarr, Bronwyn; Mitra, Biswadev; Maini, Amit; Cleland, Heather

2010-02-01

There have been few cases of cold burn related to the exposure of liquid petroleum gas (LPG). We present the case of a young woman exposed to LPG while refueling her car who sustained partial thickness burns to the dorsum of her hand. Contact with LPG leaking from a pressurized system causes tissue damage because of cold injury. Immediate management of LPG is extrapolated from the management of frostbite. The increasing use of LPG mandates an awareness of prevention strategies and management principles in the setting of adverse events.

Strategies of Building a Stronger Sense of Community for Sustainable Neighborhoods: Comparing Neighborhood Accessibility with Community Empowerment Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Te-I Albert Tsai

2014-05-01

Full Text Available New Urbanist development in the U.S. aims at enhancing a sense of community and seeks to return to the design of early transitional neighborhoods which have pedestrian-oriented environments with retail shops and services within walking distances of housing. Meanwhile, 6000 of Taiwan’s community associations have been running community empowerment programs supported by the Council for Cultural Affairs that have helped many neighborhoods to rebuild so-called community cohesion. This research attempts to evaluate whether neighborhoods with facilities near housing and shorter travel distances within a neighborhood would promote stronger social interactions and form a better community attachment than neighborhoods that have various opportunities for residents to participate in either formal or informal social gatherings. After interviewing and surveying residents from 19 neighborhoods in Taipei’s Beitou District, and correlating the psychological sense of community with inner neighborhood’s daily travel distances and numbers of participatory activities held by community organizations under empowerment programs together with frequencies of regular individual visits and casual meetings, statistical evidence yielded that placing public facilities near residential locations is more effective than providing various programs for elevating a sense of community.

Neutron embrittlement of the Kozloduy NPP unit 1 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vodenicharov, S.; Kamenova, Tz.

1996-01-01

Activities made in the period 1989-1996 according to the Program for metal state monitoring of the Kozloduy NPP Unit 1 are described. Data on P and Cu content in the welded joint 4 are reported. Determination is made by wet chemical analysis of shavings taken out from the inner side of the wall, direct spectral analysis of the vessel itself and spectroscopy of the inner and outer side of 6 templates. The results obtained from 4 different study teams showed a good agreement. The real average P content is 0.046% and tends to diminish in depth. Microstructural investigation does not show any expressed inter-crystalline mechanism of brittle failure at low temperatures. The data on real P and Cu content, as well as the experimental values of the initial critical temperature of embrittlement (Tk o ), the residual part of temperature shift (Tk r ) and the re-embrittlement temperature after annealing at 475 o (Tk) allow to predict the change in Tk o of the joint 4 during the next refueling cycles. The measured low value of Tk after 18-th refueling cycle is considerably lower than that forecasted by lateral re-embrittlement law. This means that the forecasting of Tk for the next cycles is made with big enough conservatisms, and that a second annealing of the vessel until 26-th cycle is not necessary. So according to the most conservative estimate, the Unit 1 can operate safely until the end of the 26-th refueling cycle. It is also concluded, that in terms of radiation degradation of the vessel metal the operation life time of the Unit 1 can reach and exceed the designed one. 2 tab., 7 ref

Neighborhood crime and transit station access mode choice - phase III of neighborhood crime and travel behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-08-01

This report provides the findings from the third phase of a three-part study about the influences of neighborhood crimes on travel : mode choice. While previous phases found evidence that high levels of neighborhood crime discourage people from choos...

WLAN Hot Spot services for the automotive and oil industries :a business analysis Or : "Refuel the car with petrol and information, both ways at the gas station"

NARCIS (Netherlands)

L-F. Pau (Louis-François); M.H.P. Oremus

2003-01-01

textabstractWhile you refuel for gas ,why not refuel for information or download vehicle data ? This paper analyzes in extensive detail the user segmentation by vehicle usage , service offering , and full business models from WLAN hot spot services delivered to vehicles (private, professional ,

Does food vendor density mediate the association between neighborhood deprivation and BMI?: a G-computation mediation analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y Tara; Laraia, Barbara A; Mujahid, Mahasin S; Tamayo, Aracely; Blanchard, Samuel D; Warton, E Margaret; Kelly, N Maggi; Moffet, Howard H; Schillinger, Dean; Adler, Nancy; Karter, Andrew J

2015-05-01

In previous research, neighborhood deprivation was positively associated with body mass index (BMI) among adults with diabetes. We assessed whether the association between neighborhood deprivation and BMI is attributable, in part, to geographic variation in the availability of healthful and unhealthful food vendors. Subjects were 16,634 participants of the Diabetes Study of Northern California, a multiethnic cohort of adults living with diabetes. Neighborhood deprivation and healthful (supermarket and produce) and unhealthful (fast food outlets and convenience stores) food vendor kernel density were calculated at each participant's residential block centroid. We estimated the total effect, controlled direct effect, natural direct effect, and natural indirect effect of neighborhood deprivation on BMI. Mediation effects were estimated using G-computation, a maximum likelihood substitution estimator of the G-formula that allows for complex data relations such as multiple mediators and sequential causal pathways. We estimated that if neighborhood deprivation was reduced from the most deprived to the least deprived quartile, average BMI would change by -0.73 units (95% confidence interval: -1.05, -0.32); however, we did not detect evidence of mediation by food vendor density. In contrast to previous findings, a simulated reduction in neighborhood deprivation from the most deprived to the least deprived quartile was associated with dramatic declines in both healthful and unhealthful food vendor density. Availability of food vendors, both healthful and unhealthful, did not appear to explain the association between neighborhood deprivation and BMI in this population of adults with diabetes.

Low-Cost Methane Liquefaction Plant and Vehicle Refueling Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilding, B.; Bramwell, D.

1999-01-01

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is currently negotiating a collaborative effort with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG and E) that will advance the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a vehicle fuel. We plan to develop and demonstrate a small-scale methane liquefaction plant (production of 5,000 to 10,000 gallons per day) and a low-cost ($150,000) LNG refueling station to supply fuel to LNG-powered transit buses and other heavy-duty vehicles. INEEL will perform the research and development work. PG and E will deploy the new facilities commercially in two demonstration projects, one in northern California, and one in southern California

Defensible Spaces in Philadelphia: Exploring Neighborhood Boundaries Through Spatial Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rory Kramer

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Few spatial scales are as important to individual outcomes as the neighborhood. However, it is nearly impossible to define neighborhoods in a generalizable way. This article proposes that by shifting the focus to measuring neighborhood boundaries rather than neighborhoods, scholars can avoid the problem of the indefinable neighborhood and better approach questions of what predicts racial segregation across areas. By quantifying an externality space theory of neighborhood boundaries, this article introduces a novel form of spatial analysis to test where potential physical markers of neighborhood boundaries (major roads, rivers, railroads, and the like are associated with persistent racial boundaries between 1990 and 2010. Using Philadelphia as a case study, the paper identifies neighborhoods with persistent racial boundaries. It theorizes that local histories of white reactions to black in-migration explain which boundaries persistently resisted racial turnover, unlike the majority of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, and that those racial boundaries shape the location, progress, and reaction to new residential development in those neighborhoods.

Neighborhood Economic Enterprises: An Analysis, Survey, and Guide to Resources in Starting Up Neighborhood Enterprises.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotler, Neil G.

This pamphlet provides information on the history of and current trends toward neighborhood economic enterprises and provides guidance for setting up such enterprises. A bibliography of books, articles, and newsletters that have information on how to start and sustain neighborhood businesses and cooperatives is provided. Also included is a list of…

Neighborhood Disparities in the Restaurant Food Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez-Donate, Ana P; Espino, Jennifer Valdivia; Meinen, Amy; Escaron, Anne L; Roubal, Anne; Nieto, Javier; Malecki, Kristen

2016-11-01

Restaurant meals account for a significant portion of the American diet. Investigating disparities in the restaurant food environment can inform targeted interventions to increase opportunities for healthy eating among those who need them most. To examine neighborhood disparities in restaurant density and the nutrition environment within restaurants among a statewide sample of Wisconsin households. Households (N = 259) were selected from the 2009-2010 Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW), a population-based survey of Wisconsin adults. Restaurants in the household neighborhood were enumerated and audited using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R). Neighborhoods were defined as a 2- and 5-mile street-distance buffer around households in urban and non-urban areas, respectively. Adjusted linear regression models identified independent associations between sociodemographic household characteristics and neighborhood restaurant density and nutrition environment scores. On average, each neighborhood contained approximately 26 restaurants. On average, restaurants obtained 36.1% of the total nutrition environment points. After adjusting for household characteristics, higher restaurant density was associated with both younger and older household average age (P restaurant food environment in Wisconsin neighborhoods varies by age, race, and urbanicity, but offers ample room for improvement across socioeconomic groups and urbanicity levels. Future research must identify policy and environmental interventions to promote healthy eating in all restaurants, especially in young and/or rural neighborhoods in Wisconsin.

Space, race, and poverty: Spatial inequalities in walkable neighborhood amenities?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Whalen

2012-05-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Multiple and varied benefits have been suggested for increased neighborhood walkability. However, spatial inequalities in neighborhood walkability likely exist and may be attributable, in part, to residential segregation. OBJECTIVE Utilizing a spatial demographic perspective, we evaluated potential spatial inequalities in walkable neighborhood amenities across census tracts in Boston, MA (US. METHODS The independent variables included minority racial/ethnic population percentages and percent of families in poverty. Walkable neighborhood amenities were assessed with a composite measure. Spatial autocorrelation in key study variables were first calculated with the Global Moran's I statistic. Then, Spearman correlations between neighborhood socio-demographic characteristics and walkable neighborhood amenities were calculated as well as Spearman correlations accounting for spatial autocorrelation. We fit ordinary least squares (OLS regression and spatial autoregressive models when appropriate as a final step. RESULTS Significant positive spatial autocorrelation was found in neighborhood socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. census tract percent Black, but not walkable neighborhood amenities or in the OLS regression residuals. Spearman correlations between neighborhood socio-demographic characteristics and walkable neighborhood amenities were not statistically significant, nor were neighborhood socio-demographic characteristics significantly associated with walkable neighborhood amenities in OLS regression models. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that there is residential segregation in Boston and that spatial inequalities do not necessarily show up using a composite measure. COMMENTS Future research in other geographic areas (including international contexts and using different definitions of neighborhoods (including small-area definitions should evaluate if spatial inequalities are found using composite measures, but also should

The ecological impacts of primary education facilities based on a child-friendly neighborhood unit criteria in Surakarta

Science.gov (United States)

Rini, E. F.; Putri, R. A.; Mulyanto; Handayani, N.

2018-03-01

A city should accommodate the citizen needs, especially for children. The absence of elementary school in a neighborhood unit (NU) will increase the use of transportation by children in the NU, every day at the same time. This activity will produce large quantities of - carbon dioxide (CO2) that can trigger climate change. This article aims at discovering the ecological impacts of CO2 emitted from the transportation used by children when commuting to their school, based on the conformity of each NU to the criteria of the a child-friendly city. Quantitative and spatial analysis techniques were employed in these four stages: (1) dividing the NU; (2) constructing the NU’s typology based on a child-friendly criteria; (3) identifying the characteristic of children movements in each NU when accessing their elementary school; and (4) analyzing the ecological impacts (in CO2 form). The result shows that 88.14% of CO2 emissions in Surakarta can be reduced by interventions through the fulfillment of all NU’s child-friendly criterias.

A review of neighborhood effects and early child development: How, where, and for whom, do neighborhoods matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Minh, Anita; Muhajarine, Nazeem; Janus, Magdalena; Brownell, Marni; Guhn, Martin

2017-07-01

This paper describes a scoping review of 42 studies of neighborhood effects on developmental health for children ages 0-6, published between 2009 and 2014. It focuses on three themes: (1) theoretical mechanisms that drive early childhood development, i.e. how neighborhoods matter for early childhood development; (2) dependence of such mechanisms on place-based characteristics i.e. where neighborhood effects occur; (3) dependence of such mechanisms on child characteristics, i.e. for whom is development most affected. Given that ecological systems theories postulate diverse mechanisms via which neighborhood characteristics affect early child development, we specifically examine evidence on mediation and/or moderation effects. We conclude by discussing future challenges, and proposing recommendations for analyses that utilize ecological longitudinal population-based databases. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Ethnicity at the individual and neighborhood level as an explanation for moving out of the neighborhood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schaake, K.; Burgers, J.; Mulder, C.H.

2010-01-01

We address the influence of both the ethnic composition of the neighborhood and the ethnicity of individual residents on moving out of neighborhoods in the Netherlands. Using the Housing Research Netherlands survey and multinomial logistic regression analyses of moving out versus not moving or

Rapid Development, Build-Out Ratio and Subsequent Neighborhood Turnover

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George O. Rogers

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Neighborhood development is primarily comprised of structural elements that include design elements, nearby amenities and ecological attributes. This paper assumes that the process of development itself also influences the character of the neighborhood—specifically, that the rate of development and build-out ratio influences neighborhood turnover. While the structural components clearly set a framework for development, the process of development expresses the character of the neighborhood in subtle messages conveyed through the market. Neighborhoods in the rapidly growing university town of College Station, Texas are analyzed in terms of neighborhood design, nearby amenities and landscape ecology components. Residential property records are used to characterize each neighborhood in terms of the rate of development and current build-out ratio. The multivariate analysis indicates that the development rate increases subsequent neighborhood turnover rates while the build-out ratio decreases it.

Vulnerability and social resilience: comparison of two neighborhoods in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leroy Jeanne

2016-01-01

Full Text Available On August 29th of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast of the United States leading to one of the most powerful disasters in history. Damage costs reached more than 100 billion dollars, as well as 150,000 flooded houses and 1,330 deaths. 10 years later, the damage remains visible in the city of New Orleans, and the rate of recovery is highly varied throughout different neighborhoods in the city. A popular idea is to associate this to the neighborhood social class, i.e. the poorer an area is, the more difficult the recovery process is. However the reality is more complex. This study looks at two economically similar and highly damaged neighborhoods, with two deeply different recoveries. The Lower 9th Ward, an isolated, and poor neighborhood surrounded by water with the Mississippi River and the industrial canal, has experienced an extremely slow recovery. However, in the isolated and relatively poor neighborhood known as Village de l’Est, located on former marshes at the edge of the city between Lake Pontchartrain and the Bayou Bienvenue, the Vietnamese community ties and cohesion have brought the neighborhood back to fruition faster than anyone would have expected. Despite many common features weakening their technical resilience, such as relatively modern and fast urbanization on former natural and low lands protected mostly by levees, their radically different reaction following Katrina points out the key role of social resilience. This communication will aim to present decisive social aspects of resilience aside from geophysical and physical features such as risk awareness, social link and community culture.

Hydrogen for buses in London: A scenario analysis of changes over time in refuelling infrastructure costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shayegan, S.; Pearson, P.J.G.; Hart, D.

2009-01-01

The lack of a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure is one of the major obstacles to the introduction of the hydrogen vehicles to the road transport market. To help overcome this hurdle a likely transitional solution is to introduce hydrogen for niche applications such as buses or other types of fleet vehicles for which fuel demand is predictable and localised. This paper analyses the costs of different hydrogen production-delivery pathways, via a case study of buses in London. Scenario analysis over time (2007-2025) is used to investigate potential changes to the cost of hydrogen as a result of technology development, growing demand for hydrogen and changes in energy prices (gas and electricity). It is found that factors related to hydrogen demand have the greatest effect on the unit cost of hydrogen, while for the whole of the analysis period, on-site SMR (steam methane reforming) remains the least-cost production-delivery pathway. (author)

Neighborhood disadvantage and racial disparities in colorectal cancer incidence: a population-based study in Louisiana.

Science.gov (United States)

Danos, Denise M; Ferguson, Tekeda F; Simonsen, Neal R; Leonardi, Claudia; Yu, Qingzhao; Wu, Xiao-Cheng; Scribner, Richard A

2018-05-01

Colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to demonstrate racial disparities in incidence and survival in the United States. This study investigates the role of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage in racial disparities in CRC incidence in Louisiana. Louisiana Tumor Registry and U.S. Census data were used to assess the incidence of CRC diagnosed in individuals 35 years and older between 2008 and 2012. Neighborhood concentrated disadvantage index (CDI) was calculated based on the PhenX Toolkit protocol. The incidence of CRC was modeled using multilevel binomial regression with individuals nested within neighborhoods. Our study included 10,198 cases of CRC. Adjusting for age and sex, CRC risk was 28% higher for blacks than whites (risk ratio [RR] = 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.22-1.33). One SD increase in CDI was associated with 14% increase in risk for whites (RR = 1.14; 95% CI = 1.10-1.18) and 5% increase for blacks (RR = 1.05; 95% CI = 1.02-1.09). After controlling for differential effects of CDI by race, racial disparities were not observed in disadvantaged areas. CRC incidence increased with neighborhood disadvantage and racial disparities diminished with mounting disadvantage. Our results suggest additional dimensions to racial disparities in CRC outside of neighborhood disadvantage that warrants further research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neighborhood decline and the economic crisis : an introduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Kempen, Ronald; Bolt, Gideon; van Ham, Maarten

2016-01-01

Urban neighborhoods are still important in the lives of its residents. Therefore, it is important to find out how the recent global financial and economic crisis affects these neighborhoods. Which types of neighborhoods and which residents suffer more than others? This introduction provides an

The impact of neighborhood disorganization on neighborhood exposure to violence, trauma symptoms, and social relationships among at-risk youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Butcher, Fredrick; Galanek, Joseph D; Kretschmar, Jeff M; Flannery, Daniel J

2015-12-01

Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to violence (ETV) is a serious concern across the north-south socioeconomic divide. While studies have found that social support is a protective factor for youth exposed to violence and trauma, little is known about the impact of trauma symptoms on forming and maintaining social relationships which are key to accessing a vital social resource that fosters resilience in youth experiencing trauma symptomatology. Building on previous models that examine the impact of neighborhoods on exposure to violence and trauma, the current study examines the impact of neighborhood disorganization on ETV among youth and ETV's effects on trauma symptoms and social relationships. Data were collected on 2242 juvenile justice-involved youth with behavioral health issues in 11 urban and rural counties in the Midwestern United States. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), our data demonstrated that living in highly disorganized neighborhoods was associated with higher levels of ETV and that ETV was positively associated with trauma symptoms. Mediational analysis showed that trauma symptoms strongly mediated the effect of ETV on social relationships. Freely estimating structural paths by gender revealed that hypothesized associations between these variables were stronger for females than males. Findings here highlight the need to provide trauma-informed care to help youth to build and maintain social relationships. Identification and treatment of trauma symptoms that is culturally informed is a critical first step in ensuring that identified protective factors in local contexts, such as social relations and social support, have opportunities to minimize the impact of ETV among youth across northern and southern nations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crime and Context : The Impact of Individual, Neighborhood, City and Country Characteristics on Victimization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wilsem, Johan Arend van

2003-01-01

This book deals with the distribution of criminal victimization across social groups and spatial areas. Why do certain kinds of people run higher risk of victimization than others? Why do spatial units, such as neighborhoods, cities and countries, differ in their rates of victimization? The present

Neighborhood Energy/Economic Development project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-12-31

Energy costs impact low income communities more than anyone else. Low income residents pay a larger percentage of their incomes for energy costs. In addition, they generally have far less discretionary energy use to eliminate in response to increasing energy prices. Furthermore, with less discretionary income, home energy efficiency improvements are often too expensive. Small neighborhood businesses are in the same situation. Improved efficiency in the use of energy can improve this situation by reducing energy costs for residents and local businesses. More importantly, energy management programs can increase the demand for local goods and services and lead to the creation of new job training and employment opportunities. In this way, neighborhood based energy efficiency programs can support community economic development. The present project, undertaken with the support of the Urban Consortium Energy Task Force, was intended to serve as a demonstration of energy/economic programming at the neighborhood level. The San Francisco Neighborhood Energy/Economic Development (NEED) project was designed to be a visible demonstration of bringing the economic development benefits of energy management home to low-income community members who need it most. To begin, a Community Advisory Committee was established to guide the design of the programs to best meet needs of the community. Subsequently three neighborhood energy/economic development programs were developed: The small business energy assistance program; The youth training and weatherization program; and, The energy review of proposed housing development projects.

Beyond Neighborhood Food Environments: Distance Traveled to Food Establishments in 5 US Cities, 2009-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jodi L; Han, Bing; Cohen, Deborah A

2015-08-06

Accurate conceptualizations of neighborhood environments are important in the design of policies and programs aiming to improve access to healthy food. Neighborhood environments are often defined by administrative units or buffers around points of interest. An individual may eat and shop for food within or outside these areas, which may not reflect accessibility of food establishments. This article examines the relevance of different definitions of food environments. We collected data on trips to food establishments using a 1-week food and travel diary and global positioning system devices. Spatial-temporal clustering methods were applied to identify homes and food establishments visited by study participants. We identified 513 visits to food establishments (sit-down restaurants, fast-food/convenience stores, malls or stores, groceries/supermarkets) by 135 participants in 5 US cities. The average distance between the food establishments and homes was 2.6 miles (standard deviation, 3.7 miles). Only 34% of the visited food establishments were within participants' neighborhood census tract. Buffers of 1 or 2 miles around the home covered 55% to 65% of visited food establishments. There was a significant difference in the mean distances to food establishments types (P = .008). On average, participants traveled the longest distances to restaurants and the shortest distances to groceries/supermarkets. Many definitions of the neighborhood food environment are misaligned with individual travel patterns, which may help explain the mixed findings in studies of neighborhood food environments. Neighborhood environments defined by actual travel activity may provide more insight on how the food environment influences dietary and food shopping choices.

Building a National Neighborhood Dataset From Geotagged Twitter Data for Indicators of Happiness, Diet, and Physical Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Quynh C; Li, Dapeng; Meng, Hsien-Wen; Kath, Suraj; Nsoesie, Elaine; Li, Feifei; Wen, Ming

2016-10-17

Studies suggest that where people live, play, and work can influence health and well-being. However, the dearth of neighborhood data, especially data that is timely and consistent across geographies, hinders understanding of the effects of neighborhoods on health. Social media data represents a possible new data resource for neighborhood research. The aim of this study was to build, from geotagged Twitter data, a national neighborhood database with area-level indicators of well-being and health behaviors. We utilized Twitter's streaming application programming interface to continuously collect a random 1% subset of publicly available geolocated tweets for 1 year (April 2015 to March 2016). We collected 80 million geotagged tweets from 603,363 unique Twitter users across the contiguous United States. We validated our machine learning algorithms for constructing indicators of happiness, food, and physical activity by comparing predicted values to those generated by human labelers. Geotagged tweets were spatially mapped to the 2010 census tract and zip code areas they fall within, which enabled further assessment of the associations between Twitter-derived neighborhood variables and neighborhood demographic, economic, business, and health characteristics. Machine labeled and manually labeled tweets had a high level of accuracy: 78% for happiness, 83% for food, and 85% for physical activity for dichotomized labels with the F scores 0.54, 0.86, and 0.90, respectively. About 20% of tweets were classified as happy. Relatively few terms (less than 25) were necessary to characterize the majority of tweets on food and physical activity. Data from over 70,000 census tracts from the United States suggest that census tract factors like percentage African American and economic disadvantage were associated with lower census tract happiness. Urbanicity was related to higher frequency of fast food tweets. Greater numbers of fast food restaurants predicted higher frequency of fast

Neighborhood Effects on Health: Concentrated Advantage and Disadvantage

Science.gov (United States)

Finch, Brian K.; Do, D. Phuong; Heron, Melonie; Bird, Chloe; Seeman, Teresa; Lurie, Nicole

2010-01-01

We investigate an alternative conceptualization of neighborhood context and its association with health. Using an index that measures a continuum of concentrated advantage and disadvantage, we examine whether the relationship between neighborhood conditions and health varies by socio-economic status. Using NHANES III data geo-coded to census tracts, we find that while largely uneducated neighborhoods are universally deleterious, individuals with more education benefit from living in highly educated neighborhoods to a greater degree than individuals with lower levels of education. PMID:20627796

Neighborhood Integration and Connectivity Predict Cognitive Performance and Decline

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amber Watts PhD

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: Neighborhood characteristics may be important for promoting walking, but little research has focused on older adults, especially those with cognitive impairment. We evaluated the role of neighborhood characteristics on cognitive function and decline over a 2-year period adjusting for measures of walking. Method: In a study of 64 older adults with and without mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD, we evaluated neighborhood integration and connectivity using geographical information systems data and space syntax analysis. In multiple regression analyses, we used these characteristics to predict 2-year declines in factor analytically derived cognitive scores (attention, verbal memory, mental status adjusting for age, sex, education, and self-reported walking. Results : Neighborhood integration and connectivity predicted cognitive performance at baseline, and changes in cognitive performance over 2 years. The relationships between neighborhood characteristics and cognitive performance were not fully explained by self-reported walking. Discussion : Clearer definitions of specific neighborhood characteristics associated with walkability are needed to better understand the mechanisms by which neighborhoods may impact cognitive outcomes. These results have implications for measuring neighborhood characteristics, design and maintenance of living spaces, and interventions to increase walking among older adults. We offer suggestions for future research measuring neighborhood characteristics and cognitive function.

Girls' self-efficacy in the context of neighborhood gender stratification.

Science.gov (United States)

Soller, Brian; Jackson, Aubrey L

2018-05-01

Scholars have linked neighborhood characteristics to self-efficacy, but few have considered how gender factors into this association. We integrate literature on neighborhoods, gender stratification, and self-efficacy to examine the association between women's relative resources among neighborhood residents and adolescents' self-efficacy. We hypothesize that girls report more self-efficacy when they reside in neighborhoods where women have more socioeconomic resources relative to men. We test this hypothesis using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Results from multilevel regression models with gender-interacted effects indicate the neighborhood level of women's relative resources was not associated with boys' self-efficacy. However, girls reported higher self-efficacy when women's relative resources in their neighborhoods were greater. This association persisted after including potential individual- and neighborhood-level confounding variables. Our study underscores the importance of attending to gendered processes when understanding how neighborhoods impact youth. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Examining public open spaces by neighborhood-level walkability and deprivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Badland, Hannah M; Keam, Rosanna; Witten, Karen; Kearns, Robin

2010-11-01

Public open spaces (POS) are recognized as important to promote physical activity engagement. However, it is unclear how POS attributes, such as activities available, environmental quality, amenities present, and safety, are associated with neighborhood-level walkability and deprivation. Twelve neighborhoods were selected within 1 constituent city of Auckland, New Zealand based on higher (n = 6) or lower (n = 6) walkability characteristics. Neighborhoods were dichotomized as more (n = 7) or less (n = 5) socioeconomically deprived. POS (n = 69) were identified within these neighborhoods and audited using the New Zealand-Public Open Space Tool. Unpaired 1-way analysis of variance tests were applied to compare differences in attributes and overall score of POS by neighborhood walkability and deprivation. POS located in more walkable neighborhoods have significantly higher overall scores when compared with less walkable neighborhoods. Deprivation comparisons identified POS located in less deprived communities have better quality environments, but fewer activities and safety features present when compared with more deprived neighborhoods. A positive relationship existed between presence of POS attributes and neighborhood walkability, but the relationship between POS and neighborhood-level deprivation was less clear. Variation in neighborhood POS quality alone is unlikely to explain poorer health outcomes for residents in more deprived areas.

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Influence of the Neighborhood Environment on Recreational Walking within the Neighborhood: Results from RESIDE

OpenAIRE

Christian, Hayley; Knuiman, Matthew; Divitini, Mark; Foster, Sarah; Hooper, Paula; Boruff, Bryan; Bull, Fiona; Giles-Corti, Billie

2017-01-01

Background: There is limited longitudinal evidence confirming the role of neighborhood environment attributes in encouraging people to walk more or if active people simply choose to live in activity-friendly neighborhoods. Natural experiments of policy changes to create more walkable communities provide stronger evidence for a causal effect of neighborhood environments on residents’ walking. Objectives: We aimed to investigate longitudinal associations between objective and perceived neighbor...

Why Are Studies of Neighborhoods and Communities Central to Education Policy and Reform?

Science.gov (United States)

Hopson, Rodney

2014-01-01

To understand the long shadow of education policy and reform in the United States, especially in the urban core, requires a full and elaborate understanding of the neighborhoods and communities that have transformed in the last 20 or 30 years. Studying classrooms and educational spaces without concomitant understanding of the dynamics and facets…

Feasibility study on application of WIMS-AECL to Wolsong-1 refueling simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y.; Lee, S.

2005-01-01

'Full text:' At present, in Wolsong nuclear power plant, all of the reactor physics calculations are based on the cell code POWDERPUFS-V (PPV). PPV code use semi-empirical approximation rather than direct solving of transport equation with robust methodology. Switch from PPV to more robust transport solver is world-wide trend in addition to GAI issued from Canadian regulatory body (CNSC). In this paper, feasibility study on the replacement of cell code POWDERPUFS-V (PPV) with WIMS-AECL was performed for Wolsong-1 NPP. The impact of the cell code replacement on physics design parameters and refueling simulation was assessed. First, fuel isotopic composition affecting core reactivity is compared between PPV and WIMS-AECL. Generally it was shown that WIMS-AECL predicts higher uranium fissile concentration while less plutonium concentration as fuel burnup increases compared with prediction of PPV. Infinite multiplication factor of WIMS-AECL is slightly less predicted than that of PPV. Also core reactivity change from operating condition change such as moderator temperature, coolant temperature, fuel temperature and coolant density were compared for both fresh fuel and equilibrium fuel. Specially the analysis of void reactivity which is current hot issue for positive reactivity insertion in LOCA was also performed. As a result of this study, all of WIMS-AECL results were similar to PPV based calculation in the fresh fuel. However, there is a tendency that the deviation between the two codes increases as the fuel burn-up increases. This is because PPV code was made from the laboratory condition with fresh fuel and low fuel temperature. Second, refueling simulation with WIMS-AECL based RFSP was tried to compare with current PPV based RFSP simulation for about 20 months (5775FPD ∼ 6324FPD). To cover wide range of operating parameter condition such as purity of moderator and coolant and boron concentration, tremendous amount of computation time is needed with WIMS

Exposure to Neighborhood Green Space and Mental Health: Evidence from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten M. M. Beyer

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Green space is now widely viewed as a health-promoting characteristic of residential environments, and has been linked to mental health benefits such as recovery from mental fatigue and reduced stress, particularly through experimental work in environmental psychology. Few population level studies have examined the relationships between green space and mental health. Further, few studies have considered the role of green space in non-urban settings. This study contributes a population-level perspective from the United States to examine the relationship between environmental green space and mental health outcomes in a study area that includes a spectrum of urban to rural environments. Multivariate survey regression analyses examine the association between green space and mental health using the unique, population-based Survey of the Health of Wisconsin database. Analyses were adjusted for length of residence in the neighborhood to reduce the impact of neighborhood selection bias. Higher levels of neighborhood green space were associated with significantly lower levels of symptomology for depression, anxiety and stress, after controlling for a wide range of confounding factors. Results suggest that “greening” could be a potential population mental health improvement strategy in the United States.

Better Buildings Neighborhood Program Progress Stories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2012-04-19

n neighborhoods across the country, stories are emerging constantly of individuals, businesses, and organizations that are benefiting from energy efficiency. Included are the stories of real people making their homes, businesses, and communities better with the help of the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program.

Neighborhood social capital and individual health.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mohnen, S.M.; Groenewegen, P.P.; Völker, B.; Flap, H.

2011-01-01

Neighborhood social capital is increasingly considered to be an important determinant of an individual's health. Using data from the Netherlands we investigate the influence of neighborhood social capital on an individual's self-reported health, while accounting for other conditions of health on

Pellets for fusion reactor refueling. Annual progress report, 1 January 1975--31 December 1975

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnbull, R.J.

1976-01-01

The feasibility of refueling fusion reactors using pellets of deuterium-tritium is discussed. A pellet injector has been constructed and experiments have been done injecting solid pellets into the ORMAK machine. Theoretical explanations of the results from these experiments have been successful. Other experiments underway include techniques for charging the pellets in order to accelerate and control them

Obesogenic and youth oriented restaurant marketing in public housing neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Rebecca E; Heinrich, Katie M; Reese-Smith, Jacqueline Y; Regan, Gail R; Adamus-Leach, Heather J

2014-03-01

To compare restaurant marketing by restaurant and neighborhood type. All restaurants (61=fast food, FF; 72=table service, TS) within an 800-meter radius of 13 public housing developments (HD) and 4 comparison neighborhoods were audited using the Restaurant Assessment Tool©2010. HD neighborhoods were lower income and higher minority than comparison neighborhoods with similar density and street connectivity. Restaurants in HD neighborhoods had fewer healthy entrées than comparison neighborhoods. FF restaurants had cheaper beverages and more children's meals, supersize drinks, free prize with purchase, super-size items, special characters, and more items geared to driving than TS restaurants. Residents of lower socioeconomic neighborhoods may be differentially exposed to unhealthy food options.

Perception of neighborhood safety and reported childhood lifetime asthma in the United States (U.S.: a study based on a national survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S V Subramanian

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Recent studies have emphasized the role of psychosocial stressors as a determinant of asthma, and neighborhoods can be a potential source of such stressors. We investigated the association between parental perception of neighborhood safety and reported lifetime asthma among children.Data for the study came from the 2003-04 National Survey of Children Health (NSCH; a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of children aged 0-17 years. Demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral covariates were included in the study. Models were estimated after taking account of weighting and complex survey design. Parental report of whether the child has ever been diagnosed with asthma by a physician was used to define the outcome. Parental report of perception of neighborhood safety was the main exposure. In unadjusted models, the odds ratio (OR for reporting asthma associated with living in neighborhoods that were perceived to be sometimes or never safe was 1.36 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.21, 1.53 compared to living in neighborhoods that were perceived to be always safe. Adjusting for covariates including exposure to second hand tobacco smoke, mother's self-rated health, child's physical activity and television viewing attenuated this association (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.08, 1.43. In adjusted models, the increased odds ratio for reporting asthma was also higher among those who perceived neighborhoods as being usually safe (OR 1.15 95% CI 1.06, 1.26, as compared to always safe, suggestive of a dose-response relationship, with the differentials for usually safe and never safe being statistically significant (p = 0.009.Psychosocial stressors may be important risk factors that may impact the pathogenesis of asthma and/or contribute to asthma morbidity by triggering exacerbations through neuroimmunologic mechanisms, as well as social mechanisms.

Effects of semantic neighborhood density in abstract and concrete words.

Science.gov (United States)

Reilly, Megan; Desai, Rutvik H

2017-12-01

Concrete and abstract words are thought to differ along several psycholinguistic variables, such as frequency and emotional content. Here, we consider another variable, semantic neighborhood density, which has received much less attention, likely because semantic neighborhoods of abstract words are difficult to measure. Using a corpus-based method that creates representations of words that emphasize featural information, the current investigation explores the relationship between neighborhood density and concreteness in a large set of English nouns. Two important observations emerge. First, semantic neighborhood density is higher for concrete than for abstract words, even when other variables are accounted for, especially for smaller neighborhood sizes. Second, the effects of semantic neighborhood density on behavior are different for concrete and abstract words. Lexical decision reaction times are fastest for words with sparse neighborhoods; however, this effect is stronger for concrete words than for abstract words. These results suggest that semantic neighborhood density plays a role in the cognitive and psycholinguistic differences between concrete and abstract words, and should be taken into account in studies involving lexical semantics. Furthermore, the pattern of results with the current feature-based neighborhood measure is very different from that with associatively defined neighborhoods, suggesting that these two methods should be treated as separate measures rather than two interchangeable measures of semantic neighborhoods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neighborhood social capital and individual health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mohnen, S.M.; Groenewegen, P.P.; Völker, B.G.M.; Flap, H.D.

2010-01-01

Neighborhood social capital is increasingly considered to be an important determinant of an individual’s health. Using data from the Netherlands we investigate the influence of neighborhood social capital on an individual’s self-reported health, while accounting for other conditions of health on

Drogue tracking using 3D flash lidar for autonomous aerial refueling

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chao-I.; Stettner, Roger

2011-06-01

Autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) is an important capability for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to increase its flying range and endurance without increasing its size. This paper presents a novel tracking method that utilizes both 2D intensity and 3D point-cloud data acquired with a 3D Flash LIDAR sensor to establish relative position and orientation between the receiver vehicle and drogue during an aerial refueling process. Unlike classic, vision-based sensors, a 3D Flash LIDAR sensor can provide 3D point-cloud data in real time without motion blur, in the day or night, and is capable of imaging through fog and clouds. The proposed method segments out the drogue through 2D analysis and estimates the center of the drogue from 3D point-cloud data for flight trajectory determination. A level-set front propagation routine is first employed to identify the target of interest and establish its silhouette information. Sufficient domain knowledge, such as the size of the drogue and the expected operable distance, is integrated into our approach to quickly eliminate unlikely target candidates. A statistical analysis along with a random sample consensus (RANSAC) is performed on the target to reduce noise and estimate the center of the drogue after all 3D points on the drogue are identified. The estimated center and drogue silhouette serve as the seed points to efficiently locate the target in the next frame.

Considering the dynamic refueling behavior in locating electric vehicle charging stations

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, K.; Sun, X. H.

2014-11-01

Electric vehicles (EVs) will certainly play an important role in addressing the energy and environmental challenges at current situation. However, location problem of EV charging stations was realized as one of the key issues of EVs launching strategy. While for the case of locating EV charging stations, more influence factors and constraints need to be considered since the EVs have some special attributes. The minimum requested charging time for EVs is usually more than 30minutes, therefore the possible delay time due to waiting or looking for an available station is one of the most important influence factors. In addition, the intention to purchase and use of EVs that also affects the location of EV charging stations is distributed unevenly among regions and should be considered when modelling. Unfortunately, these kinds of time-spatial constraints were always ignored in previous models. Based on the related research of refuelling behaviours and refuelling demands, this paper developed a new concept with dual objectives of minimum waiting time and maximum service accessibility for locating EV charging stations - named as Time-Spatial Location Model (TSLM). The proposed model and the traditional flow-capturing location model are applied on an example network respectively and the results are compared. Results demonstrate that time constraint has great effects on the location of EV charging stations. The proposed model has some obvious advantages and will help energy providers to make a viable plan for the network of EV charging stations.

Network neighborhood analysis with the multi-node topological overlap measure.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ai; Horvath, Steve

2007-01-15

The goal of neighborhood analysis is to find a set of genes (the neighborhood) that is similar to an initial 'seed' set of genes. Neighborhood analysis methods for network data are important in systems biology. If individual network connections are susceptible to noise, it can be advantageous to define neighborhoods on the basis of a robust interconnectedness measure, e.g. the topological overlap measure. Since the use of multiple nodes in the seed set may lead to more informative neighborhoods, it can be advantageous to define multi-node similarity measures. The pairwise topological overlap measure is generalized to multiple network nodes and subsequently used in a recursive neighborhood construction method. A local permutation scheme is used to determine the neighborhood size. Using four network applications and a simulated example, we provide empirical evidence that the resulting neighborhoods are biologically meaningful, e.g. we use neighborhood analysis to identify brain cancer related genes. An executable Windows program and tutorial for multi-node topological overlap measure (MTOM) based analysis can be downloaded from the webpage (http://www.genetics.ucla.edu/labs/horvath/MTOM/).

Using GPS Data to Study Neighborhood Walkability and Physical Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rundle, Andrew G; Sheehan, Daniel M; Quinn, James W; Bartley, Katherine; Eisenhower, Donna; Bader, Michael M D; Lovasi, Gina S; Neckerman, Kathryn M

2016-03-01

Urban form characteristics intended to support pedestrian activity, collectively referred to as neighborhood walkability, are thought to increase total physical activity. However, little is known about how neighborhood walkability influences utilization of neighborhood space by residents and their overall physical activity. Sociodemographic information and data on mobility and physical activity over 1-week periods measured by GPS loggers and accelerometers were collected from 803 residents of New York City between November 2010 and November 2011. Potentially accessible neighborhood areas were defined as land area within a 1-kilometer distance of the subject's home (radial buffer) and within a 1-kilometer journey on the street network from the home (network buffer). To define actual areas utilized by subjects, a minimum convex polygon was plotted around GPS waypoints falling within 1 kilometer of the home. A neighborhood walkability scale was calculated for each neighborhood area. Data were analyzed in 2014. Total residential neighborhood space utilized by subjects was significantly associated with street intersection density and was significantly negatively associated with residential density and subway stop density within 1 kilometer of the home. Walkability scale scores were significantly higher within utilized as compared with non-utilized neighborhood areas. Neighborhood walkability in the utilized neighborhood area was positively associated with total weekly physical activity (32% [95% CI=17%, 49%] more minutes of moderate-equivalent physical activity across the interquartile range of walkability). Neighborhood walkability is associated with neighborhood spaces utilized by residents and total weekly physical activity. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of an advanced document system in post-refuelling updating of nuclear power plant documentation; Utilizacion de un sistema documental avanzado en la actualizacion de documentacion post recarga

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Puech Suanzes, P; Cortes Soler, M [Empresarios Agrupados, A.I.E., Madrid (Spain)

1993-12-15

This paper discusses the results of the extensive use of an advanced document system to update documentation prepared by traditional methods and affected by changes in the period between two plant refuellings. The implementation of a system for the capture, retrieval and storage of drawings using optical discs is part of a plan to modernize production and management tools and to thus achieve better control of document configuration. These processes are consequently optimized in that: 1. The deterioration of drawings is detained with the help of an identical, updated, legible, reliable support for all users. 2. The time required to update documentation is reduced. Given the large number of drawings, the implementation method should effectively combine costs and time. The document management tools ensure optical disc storage control so that from the moment a drawing resides in the system, any modification to it is made through the system utilities, thus ensuring quality and reducing schedules. The system described was used to update the electrical drawings of Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant. Changes made during the eighth refuelling of Unit I were incorporated and the time needed to issue the updated drawings was reduced by one month. (author)

Neighborhood quality and labor market outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damm, Anna Piil

2014-01-01

of refugee men. Their labor market outcomes are also not affected by the overall employment rate and the overall average skill level in the neighborhood. However, an increase in the average skill level of non-Western immigrant men living in the neighborhood raises their employment probability, while...

Automatic refueling platform and CRD remote handling device for BWR plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Hiroaki; Takagi, Kaoru

1978-01-01

In BWR plants, machines for replacing fuel assemblies and control rod drives are usually operated directly by personnel. An automatic refueling platform and a CRD remote handling device aiming at radiation exposure reduction and handling perfectness are described, which are already used in BWR plants. Automation of the former is achieved in transporting fuel assemblies between a reactor pressure vessel and a fuel storage pool, shuffling fuel assemblies in a reactor core and moving fuel assemblies in a fuel storage pool. In the latter, replacement of CRDs is nearly all performed remotely. (Mori, K.)

NEIGHBORHOOD NORMS AND SUBSTANCE USE AMONG TEENS

Science.gov (United States)

Musick, Kelly; Seltzer, Judith A.; Schwartz, Christine R.

2008-01-01

This paper uses new data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A. FANS) to examine how neighborhood norms shape teenagers’ substance use. Specifically, it takes advantage of clustered data at the neighborhood level to relate adult neighbors’ attitudes and behavior with respect to smoking, drinking, and drugs, which we treat as norms, to teenagers’ own smoking, drinking, and drug use. We use hierarchical linear models to account for parents’ attitudes and behavior and other characteristics of individuals and families. We also investigate how the association between neighborhood norms and teen behavior depends on: (1) the strength of norms, as measured by consensus in neighbors’ attitudes and conformity in their behavior; (2) the willingness and ability of neighbors to enforce norms, for instance, by monitoring teens’ activities; and (3) the degree to which teens are exposed to their neighbors. We find little association between neighborhood norms and teen substance use, regardless of how we condition the relationship. We discuss possible theoretical and methodological explanations for this finding. PMID:18496598

Neighborhood differences in social capital in Ghent (Belgium): a multilevel approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Neutens, Tijs; Vyncke, Veerle; De Winter, Dieter; Willems, Sara

2013-11-13

Little research has focused on the spatial distribution of social capital, despite social capital's rising popularity in health research and policy. This study examines the neighborhood differences in social capital and the determinants that explain these differences. Five components of neighborhood social capital are identified by means of factor and reliability analyses using data collected in the cross-sectional SWING study from 762 inhabitants in 42 neighbourhoods in the city of Ghent (Belgium). Neighborhood differences in social capital are explored using hierarchical linear models with cross-level interactions. Significant neighborhood differences are found for social cohesion, informal social control and social support, but not for social leverage and generalized trust. Our findings suggest that neighborhood social capital depends on both characteristics of individuals living in the neighborhood (attachment to neighborhood) and characteristics of the neighborhood itself (deprivation and residential turnover). Our analysis further shows that neighborhood deprivation reinforces the negative effect of declining neighborhood attachment on social cohesion and informal social control. This study foregrounds the importance of contextual effects in encouraging neighborhood social capital. Given the importance of neighborhood-level characteristics, it can be anticipated social capital promoting initiatives are likely to be more effective when tailored to specific areas. Second, our analyses show that not all forms of social capital are influenced by contextual factors to the same extent, implying that changes in neighborhood characteristics are conducive to, say, trust while leaving social support unaffected. Finally, our analysis has demonstrated that complex interrelationships between individual- and neighborhood-level variables exist, which are often overlooked in current work.

Healthy neighborhoods: walkability and air pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Julian D; Brauer, Michael; Frank, Lawrence D

2009-11-01

The built environment may influence health in part through the promotion of physical activity and exposure to pollution. To date, no studies have explored interactions between neighborhood walkability and air pollution exposure. We estimated concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), a marker for direct vehicle emissions), and ozone (O(3)) and a neighborhood walkability score, for 49,702 (89% of total) postal codes in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. NO concentrations were estimated from a land-use regression model, O(3) was estimated from ambient monitoring data; walkability was calculated based on geographic attributes such as land-use mix, street connectivity, and residential density. All three attributes exhibit an urban-rural gradient, with high walkability and NO concentrations, and low O(3) concentrations, near the city center. Lower-income areas tend to have higher NO concentrations and walkability and lower O(3) concentrations. Higher-income areas tend to have lower pollution (NO and O(3)). "Sweet-spot" neighborhoods (low pollution, high walkability) are generally located near but not at the city center and are almost exclusively higher income. Increased concentration of activities in urban settings yields both health costs and benefits. Our research identifies neighborhoods that do especially well (and especially poorly) for walkability and air pollution exposure. Work is needed to ensure that the poor do not bear an undue burden of urban air pollution and that neighborhoods designed for walking, bicycling, or mass transit do not adversely affect resident's exposure to air pollution. Analyses presented here could be replicated in other cities and tracked over time to better understand interactions among neighborhood walkability, air pollution exposure, and income level.

Cultural mechanisms and the persistence of neighborhood violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, David S; Papachristos, Andrew V

2011-01-01

Sociologists have given considerable attention to identifying the neighborhood-level social-interactional mechanisms that influence outcomes such as crime, educational attainment, and health. Yet, cultural mechanisms are often overlooked in quantitative studies of neighborhood effects. This paper adds a cultural dimension to neighborhood effects research by exploring the consequences of legal cynicism. Legal cynicism refers to a cultural frame in which people perceive the law as illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill equipped to ensure public safety. The authors find that legal cynicism explains why homicide persisted in certain Chicago neighborhoods during the 1990s despite declines in poverty and declines in violence city-wide.

NEIGHBORHOOD NAMES OF BURSA IN THE WRITINGS OF GAZZIZÂDE ABDULLATIF EFENDI - GAZZİZÂDE ABDÜLLATİF EFENDİ’NİN KALEMİNDEN BURSA MAHALLE ADLARI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayşe Nur SIR DÜNDAR

2015-08-01

Full Text Available During the Ottoman period, cities were administrative units representing the existence of central authority and hegemony. It collected several activities and services within the domain and constituted a whole with its sub units in terms of administrative and civil duties. The development of city was dependent on the development of common life areas, which are neighborhoods. It was possible to see this structure, which is the basis of Ottoman urbanism, in Bursa, Edirne, Istanbul and some other Anatolian cities. Particularly Bursa has rapidly grown within the two centuries following the conquest and displayed a fine example of urbanization as a historical and cultural center. The idle fields in the city were allocated to Turkish tribes, new neighborhoods were established and the nearby villages were transformed into neighborhoods, increasing the total number of neighborhoods in the city. Beside this physical development, the newly established neighborhoods were given Turkish names as the old neighborhoods’ names were also made Turkish. Within this context, it was important to create a neighborhood in the localization of Bursa and the names given to those neighborhoods were also important. Because the names of places are the living documents for the habitation (settlement history of a nation. Studies to be conducted on neighborhood names are the research subjects of several social sciences such as sociology and anthropology and also the linguistics. Evaluation of the names of places phonetically and morphologically will contribute to the development of toponomy, which is an important branch of linguistics. This study has reviewed the neighborhood names in Hulâsatü’l-Vefeyât, a work of Gazzizâde Abdüllatif Effendi, which is considered as an urban monograph among the monographs on Bursa. The review was conducted on the copy of the author which was registered in Süleymaniye Library Assad Effendi, numbers 2257. First, information is provided

Self-Reported Physical Activity within and outside the Neighborhood: Criterion-Related Validity of the Neighborhood Physical Activity Questionnaire in German Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Bödeker, Malte; Bucksch, Jens; Wallmann-Sperlich, Birgit

2018-01-01

The Neighborhood Physical Activity Questionnaire allows to assess physical activity within and outside the neighborhood. Study objectives were to examine the criterion-related validity and health/functioning associations of Neighborhood Physical Activity Questionnaire-derived physical activity in German older adults. A total of 107 adults aged…

Design for air-to-air refuelling operations; new passenger and tanker aircraft design for AAR scenarios

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, M.O.

2014-01-01

Air-to-air refuelling is a way to improve fuel efficiency of the overall transport system without waiting for the improvement of basic aviation technology. To take full advantage of such an operation, both passenger aircraft and tanker aircraft (which deliver required fuel to the passenger aircraft

Management of refuelling, modifications and accidental shut-down of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

This document is the appendix of HAF 0300 (91) 'Code on the Safety of Nuclear Power Plant Operation', which was promulgated by the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) on March 2, 1994, and has the same legal effect. This appendix is applicable to establish the administrative management procedures for refuelling, modifications and accidental shut-down in the period of operation of pressurized water thermal neutron reactor of nuclear power plants. The NNSA shall be responsible for interpretation of this document

The global financial crisis and neighborhood decline

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zwiers, Merle; Bolt, Gideon; Van Ham, Maarten; Van Kempen, Ronald

2016-01-01

Neighborhood decline is a complex and multidimensional process. National and regional variations in economic and political structures (including varieties in national welfare state arrangements), combined with differences in neighborhood history, development, and population composition, make it

Neighborhood Influences on Late Life Cognition in the ACTIVE Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shannon M. Sisco

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Low neighborhood-level socioeconomic status has been associated with poorer health, reduced physical activity, increased psychological stress, and less neighborhood-based social support. These outcomes are correlates of late life cognition, but few studies have specifically investigated the neighborhood as a unique source of explanatory variance in cognitive aging. This study supplemented baseline cognitive data from the ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study with neighborhood-level data to investigate (1 whether neighborhood socioeconomic position (SEP predicts cognitive level, and if so, whether it differentially predicts performance in general and specific domains of cognition and (2 whether neighborhood SEP predicts differences in response to short-term cognitive intervention for memory, reasoning, or processing speed. Neighborhood SEP positively predicted vocabulary, but did not predict other general or specific measures of cognitive level, and did not predict individual differences in response to cognitive intervention.

Income, neighborhood stressors, and harsh parenting: test of moderation by ethnicity, age, and gender.

Science.gov (United States)

Barajas-Gonzalez, R Gabriela; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2014-12-01

Family and neighborhood influences related to low-income were examined to understand their association with harsh parenting among an ethnically diverse sample of families. Specifically, a path model linking household income to harsh parenting via neighborhood disorder, fear for safety, maternal depressive symptoms, and family conflict was evaluated using cross-sectional data from 2,132 families with children ages 5-16 years from Chicago. The sample was 42% Mexican American, 41% African American, and 17% European American. Results provide support for a family process model where a lower income-to-needs ratio is associated with higher reports of neighborhood disorder, greater fear for safety, and more family conflict, which is in turn, associated with greater frequency of harsh parenting. Our tests for moderation by ethnicity/immigrant status, child gender, and child age (younger child vs. adolescent) indicate that although paths are similar for families of boys and girls, as well as for families of young children and adolescents, there are some differences by ethnic group. Specifically, we find the path from neighborhood disorder to fear for safety is stronger for Mexican American (United States born and immigrant) and European American families in comparison with African American families. We also find that the path from fear for safety to harsh parenting is significant for European American and African American families only. Possible reasons for such moderated effects are considered.

Small Reactors without On-site Refuelling: Neutronic Characteristics, Emergency Planning and Development Scenarios. Final Report of an IAEA Coordinated Research Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-09-01

Small reactors without on-site refuelling have a capability to operate without reloading or shuffling of fuel in their cores for reasonably long periods of time consistent with plant economy and considerations of energy security, with no fresh or spent fuel being stored at the site during reactor operation. In 2009, more than 25 design concepts of such reactors were analyzed or developed in IAEA Member States, representing both developed and developing countries. Small reactors without on-site refuelling are being developed for several reactor lines, including water cooled reactors, sodium cooled fast reactors, lead and lead bismuth cooled reactors, and also include some non-conventional concepts. Most of the concepts of small reactors without on-site refuelling reactors are at early design stages. To make such reactors viable, further research and development (R and D) is necessary, inter alia, to validate long-life core operation, define and validate new robust types of fuel, justify an option of plant location in the proximity to its users, and examine possible niches that such reactors could fill in future energy systems. To further research and development (R and D) in the areas mentioned above and several others, and to facilitate progress in Member States in design and technology development for small reactors without on-site refueling, the IAEA has conducted a dedicated Coordinated Research Project (CRP) entitled 'Small Reactors without On-site Refuelling' (CRPi25001). The project started late in 2004 and, after a review in 2008, was extended for one more year to be ended in 2009. The project has created a network of 18 research institutions from 10 Member States, representing both developed and developing countries. Over the CRP period, collaborative results were achieved for many of the abovementioned research areas. Some studies highlighted new directions of research to be furthered after the CRP completion. Some studies remained the efforts of

Neighborhood Influences on Vehicle-Pedestrian Crash Severity.

Science.gov (United States)

Toran Pour, Alireza; Moridpour, Sara; Tay, Richard; Rajabifard, Abbas

2017-12-01

Socioeconomic factors are known to be contributing factors for vehicle-pedestrian crashes. Although several studies have examined the socioeconomic factors related to the location of the crashes, limited studies have considered the socioeconomic factors of the neighborhood where the road users live in vehicle-pedestrian crash modelling. This research aims to identify the socioeconomic factors related to both the neighborhoods where the road users live and where crashes occur that have an influence on vehicle-pedestrian crash severity. Data on vehicle-pedestrian crashes that occurred at mid-blocks in Melbourne, Australia, was analyzed. Neighborhood factors associated with road users' residents and location of crash were investigated using boosted regression tree (BRT). Furthermore, partial dependence plots were applied to illustrate the interactions between these factors. We found that socioeconomic factors accounted for 60% of the 20 top contributing factors to vehicle-pedestrian crashes. This research reveals that socioeconomic factors of the neighborhoods where the road users live and where the crashes occur are important in determining the severity of the crashes, with the former having a greater influence. Hence, road safety countermeasures, especially those focussing on the road users, should be targeted at these high-risk neighborhoods.

Neighborhood Mapping Tool

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Housing and Urban Development — This tool assists the public and Choice Neighborhoods applicants to prepare data to submit with their grant application by allowing applicants to draw the exact...

Neighborhood Risk, Parental Socialization Styles, and Adolescent Conduct Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique Gracia

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims to analyze the influence of parental socialization styles (authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent and neglectful, and perceived neighborhood risk on three indicators of conduct problems in adolescence (school misconduct, delinquency, and drug use. The sample consists of 1,017 adolescents, aged between 12 and 17. Results from four multivariate factorial designs yielded only main effects of parenting styles and neighborhood risk. Adolescents from authoritative and indulgent families showed lower conduct problems than those with authoritarian and neglectful parents. Also, higher levels of perceived neighborhood risk were significantly associated with more conduct problems. There were no significant interaction effects between parenting styles and perceived neighborhood risk, but results yielded a significant interaction effect between neighborhood risk and sex. Overall, results do not support the idea that parenting styles are more effective under certain neighborhood risk conditions, and suggest that neighbourhood risk influences adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment beyond the influence of parental socialization styles.

Neighborhood Walkability and Walking for Transport Among South Asians in the MASALA Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, Elizabeth A; Kandula, Namratha R; Kanaya, Alka M; Yen, Irene H

2016-05-01

The neighborhood built environment can have a strong influence on physical activity levels, particularly walking for transport. In examining racial/ethnic differences in physical activity, one important and understudied group is South Asians. This study aims to describe the association between neighborhood walkability and walking for transport among South Asian men and women in the United States in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 using the baseline dataset of the MASALA study (N = 906). Mean age was 55 years old and 54% of the sample was male. Weekly minutes spent walking for transport was assessed using a questionnaire adapted from the Cross-Cultural Activity Participation Study. Neighborhood walkability was measured using Walk Score, a composite index of walkability. After adjusting for covariates, with each 10-point increase in Walk Score, South Asian American men engaged in 13 additional minutes per week of walking for transport (P = .008). No association was observed between walkability and walking for transport in South Asian American women. Results provide new evidence for how the effects of environmental influences on walking for transport may vary between South Asian men and women.

Phonotactics, Neighborhood Activation, and Lexical Access for Spoken Words

Science.gov (United States)

Vitevitch, Michael S.; Luce, Paul A.; Pisoni, David B.; Auer, Edward T.

2012-01-01

Probabilistic phonotactics refers to the relative frequencies of segments and sequences of segments in spoken words. Neighborhood density refers to the number of words that are phonologically similar to a given word. Despite a positive correlation between phonotactic probability and neighborhood density, nonsense words with high probability segments and sequences are responded to more quickly than nonsense words with low probability segments and sequences, whereas real words occurring in dense similarity neighborhoods are responded to more slowly than real words occurring in sparse similarity neighborhoods. This contradiction may be resolved by hypothesizing that effects of probabilistic phonotactics have a sublexical focus and that effects of similarity neighborhood density have a lexical focus. The implications of this hypothesis for models of spoken word recognition are discussed. PMID:10433774

Lower Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status Associated with Reduced Diversity of the Colonic Microbiota in Healthy Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Gregory E; Engen, Phillip A; Gillevet, Patrick M; Shaikh, Maliha; Sikaroodi, Masoumeh; Forsyth, Christopher B; Mutlu, Ece; Keshavarzian, Ali

2016-01-01

In the United States, there are persistent and widening socioeconomic gaps in morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases. Although most disparities research focuses on person-level socioeconomic-status, mounting evidence suggest that chronic diseases also pattern by the demographic characteristics of neighborhoods. Yet the biological mechanisms underlying these associations are poorly understood. There is increasing recognition that chronic diseases share common pathogenic features, some of which involve alterations in the composition, diversity, and functioning of the gut microbiota. This study examined whether socioeconomic-status was associated with alpha-diversity of the colonic microbiota. Forty-four healthy adults underwent un-prepped sigmoidoscopy, during which mucosal biopsies and fecal samples were collected. Subjects' zip codes were geocoded, and census data was used to form a composite indicator of neighborhood socioeconomic-status, reflecting household income, educational attainment, employment status, and home value. In unadjusted analyses, neighborhood socioeconomic-status explained 12-18 percent of the variability in alpha-diversity of colonic microbiota. The direction of these associations was positive, meaning that as neighborhood socioeconomic-status increased, so did alpha-diversity of both the colonic sigmoid mucosa and fecal microbiota. The strength of these associations persisted when models were expanded to include covariates reflecting potential demographic (age, gender, race/ethnicity) and lifestyle (adiposity, alcohol use, smoking) confounds. In these models neighborhood socioeconomic-status continued to explain 11-22 percent of the variability in diversity indicators. Further analyses suggested these patterns reflected socioeconomic variations in evenness, but not richness, of microbial communities residing in the sigmoid. We also found indications that residence in neighborhoods of higher socioeconomic-status was associated with a

Assessment of occupational exposure to BTEX compounds at a bus diesel-refueling bay: A case study in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Moolla, Raeesa; Curtis, Christopher J; Knight, Jasper

2015-12-15

Of increasing concern is pollution by volatile organic compounds, with particular reference to five aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and two isomeric xylenes; BTEX). These pollutants are classified as hazardous air pollutants. Due to the potential health risks associated with these pollutants, BTEX concentrations were monitored at a bus diesel-refueling bay, in Johannesburg, South Africa, using gas chromatography, coupled with a photo-ionization detector. Results indicate that o-xylene (29-50%) and benzene (13-33%) were found to be the most abundant species of total BTEX at the site. Benzene was within South African occupational limits, but above international occupational exposure limits. On the other hand, occupational concentrations of toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylenes were within national and international occupational limits throughout the monitoring period, based on 8-hour workday weighted averages. Ethyl-benzene and p-xylene concentrations, during winter, correspond to activity at the site, and thus idling of buses during refueling may elevate results. Overall, occupational air quality at the refueling bay is a matter of health concern, especially with regards to benzene exposure, and future reduction strategies are crucial. Discrepancies between national and international limit values merit further investigation to determine whether South African guidelines for benzene are sufficiently precautionary. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neighborhood Poverty and Nonmarital Fertility: Spatial and Temporal Dimensions

Science.gov (United States)

South, Scott J.; Crowder, Kyle

2010-01-01

Data from 4,855 respondents to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were used to examine spatial and temporal dimensions of the effect of neighborhood poverty on teenage premarital childbearing. Although high poverty in the immediate neighborhood increased the risk of becoming an unmarried parent, high poverty in surrounding neighborhoods reduced…

Banks and the Racial Patterning of Homicide: A Study of Chicago Neighborhoods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María B. Veléz

2009-12-01

Full Text Available While bank investment is a driving force behind neighborhood viability, few studies have directly examined the effects of bank loan practices on neighborhood crime rates. This paper proposes that variation in residential bank loans helps explain the higher rates of homicide in minority neighborhoods in Chicago compared to white neighborhoods. It finds that black and Latino neighborhoods would experience fewer homicides if more financial capital were infused into these neighborhoods. These findings suggest that neighborhoods are shaped profoundly by the decisions of external economic actors.

The relationship between neighborhood empowerment and dental caries experience: a multilevel study in adolescents and adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bianca Marques Santiago

2014-01-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of contextual social capital (neighborhood empowerment and individual social capital (social support and social network with dental caries experience in adolescents and adults. METHODS: A population-based multilevel study was conducted involving 573 subjects, 15-19 and 35-44 years of age, from 30 census tracts in three cities of Paraíba, Brazil. A two-stage cluster sampling was used considering census tracts and households as sampling units. Caries experience was assessed using the DMFT index (decayed, missing and filled teeth and participants were divided into two groups according to the median of the DMFT index in low and high caries experience. Demographic, socioeconomic, behaviors, use of dental services and social capital measures were collected through interviews. Neighborhood empowerment was obtained from the mean scores of the residents in each census tract. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression was used to test the relationship between neighborhood empowerment and caries experience. RESULTS: High caries experience was inversely associated with neighborhood empowerment (OR = 0.58; 95%CI 0.33 - 0.99. Individual social capital was not associated with caries experience. Other associated factors with caries experience were age (OR = 1.15; 95%CI 1.12 - 1.18 and being a female (OR = 1.72; 95%CI 1.08 - 2.73. CONCLUSION: The association between neighborhood empowerment and caries experience suggests that the perception of features of the place of residence should be taken into account in actions of oral health promotion.

Impulsivity moderates promotive environmental influences on adolescent delinquency: A comparison across family, school, and neighborhood contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Pan; Jacobson, Kristen C.

2013-01-01

The present study examined moderating effects of impulsivity on the relationships between promotive factors from family (family warmth, parental knowledge), school (school connectedness), and neighborhood (neighborhood cohesion) contexts with delinquency using data collected from N = 2,978 sixth to eighth graders from 16 schools surrounding a major city in the Midwestern United States. More than half of the respondents were non-Caucasian (Mage = 12.48; 41.0% male). Multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to take into account the clustering of the participants within schools. Impulsivity was positively associated with adolescent delinquency. Additionally, family warmth, parental knowledge, and school connectedness, but not neighborhood cohesion, were independently and inversely related to adolescent delinquency. Finally, impulsivity moderated relationships between family warmth and parental knowledge with delinquency but not relationships between school attachment and neighborhood cohesion with delinquency. Specifically, the negative relationship between family warmth and delinquency was significant for adolescents with high levels of, but not for those with below-average levels of, impulsivity. In addition, parental knowledge had a stronger association with decreased levels of delinquency for adolescents reporting higher levels of impulsivity. The moderating effects of impulsivity did not differ for males and females or for minority and non-minority participants. Findings indicate that impulsivity may have greater impact on adolescents’ susceptibility to positive family influences than on their susceptibility to promotive factors from school or neighborhood contexts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. PMID:23673971

Neighborhood level risk factors for type 1 diabetes in youth: the SEARCH case-control study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liese Angela D

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background European ecologic studies suggest higher socioeconomic status is associated with higher incidence of type 1 diabetes. Using data from a case-control study of diabetes among racially/ethnically diverse youth in the United States (U.S., we aimed to evaluate the independent impact of neighborhood characteristics on type 1 diabetes risk. Data were available for 507 youth with type 1 diabetes and 208 healthy controls aged 10-22 years recruited in South Carolina and Colorado in 2003-2006. Home addresses were used to identify Census tracts of residence. Neighborhood-level variables were obtained from 2000 U.S. Census. Multivariate generalized linear mixed models were applied. Results Controlling for individual risk factors (age, gender, race/ethnicity, infant feeding, birth weight, maternal age, number of household residents, parental education, income, state, higher neighborhood household income (p = 0.005, proportion of population in managerial jobs (p = 0.02, with at least high school education (p = 0.005, working outside the county (p = 0.04 and vehicle ownership (p = 0.03 were each independently associated with increased odds of type 1 diabetes. Conversely, higher percent minority population (p = 0.0003, income from social security (p = 0.002, proportion of crowded households (0.0497 and poverty (p = 0.008 were associated with a decreased odds. Conclusions Our study suggests that neighborhood characteristics related to greater affluence, occupation, and education are associated with higher type 1 diabetes risk. Further research is needed to understand mechanisms underlying the influence of neighborhood context.

Community Gardening, Neighborhood Meetings, and Social Capital

Science.gov (United States)

Alaimo, Katherine; Reischl, Thomas M.; Allen, Julie Ober

2010-01-01

This study examined associations between participation in community gardening/beautification projects and neighborhood meetings with perceptions of social capital at both the individual and neighborhood levels. Data were analyzed from a cross-sectional stratified random telephone survey conducted in Flint, Michigan (N=1916). Hierarchical linear…

Walks on SPR neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Caceres, Alan Joseph J; Castillo, Juan; Lee, Jinnie; St John, Katherine

2013-01-01

A nearest-neighbor-interchange (NNI)-walk is a sequence of unrooted phylogenetic trees, T1, T2, . . . , T(k) where each consecutive pair of trees differs by a single NNI move. We give tight bounds on the length of the shortest NNI-walks that visit all trees in a subtree-prune-and-regraft (SPR) neighborhood of a given tree. For any unrooted, binary tree, T, on n leaves, the shortest walk takes Θ(n²) additional steps more than the number of trees in the SPR neighborhood. This answers Bryant’s Second Combinatorial Challenge from the Phylogenetics Challenges List, the Isaac Newton Institute, 2011, and the Penny Ante Problem List, 2009.

Loviisa Unit One: Annealing - healing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kohopaeae, J.; Virsu, R. [ed.; Henriksson, A. [ed.

1997-11-01

Unit 1 of the Loviisa nuclear powerplant was annealed in connection with the refuelling outage in the summer of 1996. This type of heat treatment restored the toughness properties of the pressure vessel weld, which had been embrittled be neutron radiation, so that it is almost equivalent to a new weld. The treatment itself was an ordinary metallurgical procedure that took only a few days. But the material studies that preceded it began over fifteen years ago and have put IVO at the forefront of world-wide expertise in the area of radiation embrittlement

The neighborhood environment and obesity: Understanding variation by race/ethnicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Michelle S; Chan, Kitty S; Jones-Smith, Jessica C; Colantuoni, Elizabeth; Thorpe, Roland J; Bleich, Sara N

2018-06-01

Neighborhood characteristics have been associated with obesity, but less is known whether relationships vary by race/ethnicity. This study examined the relationship between soda consumption - a behavior strongly associated with obesity - and weight status with neighborhood sociodemographic, social, and built environments by race/ethnicity. We merged data on adults from the 2011-2013 California Health Interview Survey, U.S. Census data, and InfoUSA (n=62,396). Dependent variables were soda consumption and weight status outcomes (body mass index and obesity status). Main independent variables were measures of three neighborhood environments: social (social cohesion and safety), sociodemographic (neighborhood socioeconomic status, educational attainment, percent Asian, percent Hispanic, and percent black), and built environments (number of grocery stores, convenience stores, fast food restaurants, and gyms in neighborhood). We fit multi-level linear and logistic regression models, stratified by individual race/ethnicity (NH (non-Hispanic) Whites, NH African Americans, Hispanics, and NH Asians) controlling for individual-level characteristics, to estimate neighborhood contextual effects on study outcomes. Lower neighborhood educational attainment was associated with higher odds of obesity and soda consumption in all racial/ethnic groups. We found fewer associations between study outcomes and the neighborhood, especially the built environment, among NH African Americans and NH Asians. While improvements to neighborhood environment may be promising to reduce obesity, null associations among minority subgroups suggest that changes, particularly to the built environment, may alone be insufficient to address obesity in these groups. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Neighborhood-level social processes and substantiated cases of child maltreatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Molnar, Beth E; Goerge, Robert M; Gilsanz, Paola; Hill, Andrea; Subramanian, S V; Holton, John K; Duncan, Dustin T; Beatriz, Elizabeth D; Beardslee, William R

2016-01-01

Child maltreatment is a preventable public health problem. Research has demonstrated that neighborhood structural factors (e.g. poverty, crime) can influence the proportion of a neighborhood's children who are victims of maltreatment. A newer strategy is the identification of potentially modifiable social processes at the neighborhood level that can also influence maltreatment. Toward this end, this study examines neighborhood-level data (maltreatment cases substantiated by Illinois' child protection agency, 1995-2005, social processes measured by the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, U.S. Census data, proportions of neighborhoods on public assistance, and crime data) that were linked across clusters of contiguous, relatively homogenous Chicago, IL census tracts with respect to racial/ethnic and socioeconomic composition. Our analysis-an ecological-level, repeated cross-sectional design utilizing random-intercept logit models-with a sensitivity analysis using spatial models to control for spatial autocorrelation-revealed consistent associations between neighborhood social processes and maltreatment. Neighborhoods higher in collective efficacy, intergenerational closure, and social networks, and lower in disorder had lower proportions of neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse substantiated cases, controlling for differences in structural factors. Higher collective efficacy and social network size also predicted a lower proportion of substance-exposed infants. This research indicates that strategies to mobilize neighborhood-level protective factors may decrease child maltreatment more effectively than individual and family-focused efforts alone. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial dimensions of the effect of neighborhood disadvantage on delinquency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vogel, M.S.; South, S.J.

2016-01-01

esearch examining the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and adolescent offending typically examines only the influence of residential neighborhoods. This strategy may be problematic as 1) neighborhoods are rarely spatially independent of each other and 2) adolescents spend

A Systematic Review of Neighborhood Disparities in Point-of-Sale Tobacco Marketing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Joseph G L; Henriksen, Lisa; Rose, Shyanika W; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Ribisl, Kurt M

2015-09-01

We systematically reviewed evidence of disparities in tobacco marketing at tobacco retailers by sociodemographic neighborhood characteristics. We identified 43 relevant articles from 893 results of a systematic search in 10 databases updated May 28, 2014. We found 148 associations of marketing (price, placement, promotion, or product availability) with a neighborhood demographic of interest (socioeconomic disadvantage, race, ethnicity, and urbanicity). Neighborhoods with lower income have more tobacco marketing. There is more menthol marketing targeting urban neighborhoods and neighborhoods with more Black residents. Smokeless tobacco products are targeted more toward rural neighborhoods and neighborhoods with more White residents. Differences in store type partially explain these disparities. There are more inducements to start and continue smoking in lower-income neighborhoods and in neighborhoods with more Black residents. Retailer marketing may contribute to disparities in tobacco use. Clinicians should be aware of the pervasiveness of these environmental cues.

A Systematic Review of Neighborhood Disparities in Point-of-Sale Tobacco Marketing

Science.gov (United States)

Henriksen, Lisa; Rose, Shyanika W.; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Ribisl, Kurt M.

2015-01-01

We systematically reviewed evidence of disparities in tobacco marketing at tobacco retailers by sociodemographic neighborhood characteristics. We identified 43 relevant articles from 893 results of a systematic search in 10 databases updated May 28, 2014. We found 148 associations of marketing (price, placement, promotion, or product availability) with a neighborhood demographic of interest (socioeconomic disadvantage, race, ethnicity, and urbanicity). Neighborhoods with lower income have more tobacco marketing. There is more menthol marketing targeting urban neighborhoods and neighborhoods with more Black residents. Smokeless tobacco products are targeted more toward rural neighborhoods and neighborhoods with more White residents. Differences in store type partially explain these disparities. There are more inducements to start and continue smoking in lower-income neighborhoods and in neighborhoods with more Black residents. Retailer marketing may contribute to disparities in tobacco use. Clinicians should be aware of the pervasiveness of these environmental cues. PMID:26180986

Research Progresses of Halo Streams in the Solar Neighborhood

Science.gov (United States)

Xi-long, Liang; Jing-kun, Zhao; Yu-qin, Chen; Gang, Zhao

2018-01-01

The stellar streams originated from the Galactic halo may be detected when they pass by the solar neighborhood, and they still keep some information at their birth times. Thus, the investigation of halo streams in the solar neighborhood is very important for understanding the formation and evolution of our Galaxy. In this paper, the researches of halo streams in the solar neighborhood are briefly reviewed. We have introduced the methods how to detect the halo streams and identify their member stars, summarized the progresses in the observation of member stars of halo streams and in the study of their origins, introduced in detail how to analyze the origins of halo streams in the solar neighborhood by means of numerical simulation and chemical abundance, and finally discussed the prospects of the LAMOST and GAIA in the research of halo streams in the solar neighborhood.

Effect of housing relocation and neighborhood environment on adolescent mental and behavioral health.

Science.gov (United States)

Byck, Gayle R; Bolland, John; Dick, Danielle; Swann, Gregory; Henry, David; Mustanski, Brian

2015-11-01

This study examined whether relocating from a high-poverty neighborhood to a lower poverty neighborhood as part of a federal housing relocation program (HOPE VI; Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) had effects on adolescent mental and behavioral health compared to adolescents consistently living in lower poverty neighborhoods. Sociodemographic, risk behavior, and neighborhood data were collected from 592 low-income, primarily African-American adolescents and their primary caregivers. Structured psychiatric interviews were conducted with adolescents. Prerelocation neighborhood, demographic, and risk behavior data were also included. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to test associations between neighborhood variables and risk outcomes. HLM was used to test whether the effect of neighborhood relocation and neighborhood characteristics might explain differences in sexual risk taking, substance use, and mental health outcomes. Adolescents who relocated of HOPE VI neighborhoods (n = 158) fared worse than control group participants (n = 429) on most self-reported mental health outcomes. The addition of subjective neighborhood measures generally did not substantively change these results. Our findings suggest that moving from a high-poverty neighborhood to a somewhat lower poverty neighborhood is not associated with better mental health and risk behavior outcomes in adolescents. The continued effects of having grown up in a high-poverty neighborhood, the small improvements in their new neighborhoods, the comparatively short length of time they lived in their new neighborhood, and/or the stress of moving appears to worsen most of the mental health outcomes of HOPE VI compared to control group participants who consistently lived in the lower poverty neighborhoods. © 2015 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Autonomous Aerial Refueling Ground Test Demonstration—A Sensor-in-the-Loop, Non-Tracking Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao-I Chen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available An essential capability for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV to extend its airborne duration without increasing the size of the aircraft is called the autonomous aerial refueling (AAR. This paper proposes a sensor-in-the-loop, non-tracking method for probe-and-drogue style autonomous aerial refueling tasks by combining sensitivity adjustments of a 3D Flash LIDAR camera with computer vision based image-processing techniques. The method overcomes the inherit ambiguity issues when reconstructing 3D information from traditional 2D images by taking advantage of ready to use 3D point cloud data from the camera, followed by well-established computer vision techniques. These techniques include curve fitting algorithms and outlier removal with the random sample consensus (RANSAC algorithm to reliably estimate the drogue center in 3D space, as well as to establish the relative position between the probe and the drogue. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method on a real system, a ground navigation robot was designed and fabricated. Results presented in the paper show that using images acquired from a 3D Flash LIDAR camera as real time visual feedback, the ground robot is able to track a moving simulated drogue and continuously narrow the gap between the robot and the target autonomously.

Association between neighborhood safety and overweight status among urban adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johnson Renee M

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Neighborhood safety may be an important social environmental determinant of overweight. We examined the relationship between perceived neighborhood safety and overweight status, and assessed the validity of reported neighborhood safety among a representative community sample of urban adolescents (who were racially and ethnically diverse. Methods Data come from the 2006 Boston Youth Survey, a cross-sectional study in which public high school students in Boston, MA completed a pencil-and-paper survey. The study used a two-stage, stratified sampling design whereby schools and then 9th–12th grade classrooms within schools were selected (the analytic sample included 1,140 students. Students reported their perceptions of neighborhood safety and several associated dimensions. With self-reported height and weight data, we computed body mass index (BMI, kg/m2 for the adolescents based on CDC growth charts. Chi-square statistics and corresponding p-values were computed to compare perceived neighborhood safety by the several associated dimensions. Prevalence ratios (PRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI were calculated to examine the association between perceived neighborhood safety and the prevalence of overweight status controlling for relevant covariates and school site. Results More than one-third (35.6% of students said they always felt safe in their neighborhood, 43.9% said they sometimes felt safe, 11.6% rarely felt safe, and 8.9% never felt safe. Those students who reported that they rarely or never feel safe in their neighborhoods were more likely than those who said they always or sometimes feel safe to believe that gang violence was a serious problem in their neighborhood or school (68.0% vs. 44.1%, p p = 0.025. In the fully adjusted model (including grade and school stratified by race/ethnicity, we found a statistically significant association between feeling unsafe in one's own neighborhood and overweight status among

Walking to Work: The Roles of Neighborhood Walkability and Socioeconomic Deprivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Cheryl M; Lian, Min; Struthers, Jim; Kammrath, Anna

2015-06-16

There are few studies that aimed to find a relationship between transportation-related physical activity and neighborhood socioeconomic condition using a composite deprivation index. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship of neighborhood walkability and socioeconomic deprivation with percentage of adults walking to work. A walkability index and a socioeconomic deprivation index were created at block group-level. The outcome variable, percentage of adults who walk to work was dichotomized as walkability and socioeconomic deprivation with walking to work. Individuals in the most walkable neighborhoods are almost 5 times more likely to walk to work than individuals in the least walkable neighborhoods (OR = 4.90, 95% CI = 2.80-8.59). After adjusting for neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, individuals in the most walkable neighborhoods are almost 3 times more likely to walk to work than individuals in the least walkable neighborhoods (OR = 2.98, 95% CI = 1.62-5.49). Walkability (as measured by the walkability index) is a very strong indicator of walking to work even after controlling for neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage.

Does Race Matter in Neighborhood Preferences? Results from a Video Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Krysan, Maria; Couper, Mick P.; Farley, Reynolds; Forman, Tyrone

2013-01-01

Persistent racial residential segregation is often seen as the result of the preferences of whites and blacks: whites prefer to live with whites while blacks wish to live near many other blacks. The origin of these preferences and their social psychological underpinnings are hotly debated. Are neighborhood preferences colorblind or race-conscious? Does neighborhood racial composition have a net influence upon preferences or is race a proxy for social class? If preferences are race-conscious, is this more a matter of a desire to be in a neighborhood with one’s “own kind” or to avoid being in a neighborhood with another racial group? We tested the racial proxy hypothesis using an innovative experiment that isolated the net effects of race and social class and followed it with an analysis of the social psychological factors associated with residential preferences. Face-to-face surveys using computer assisted interviewing were conducted with random samples of Detroit and Chicago residents. Respondents were asked how desirable they would rate neighborhoods shown in videos in which racial composition and social class characteristics were manipulated and they also completed—via computer assisted self-interviews—questions tapping into perceptions of discrimination, racial and neighborhood stereotypes, and in-group identity. We find that net of social class, the race of a neighborhood's residents significantly influenced how it was rated. Whites said the all-white neighborhoods were most desirable. The independent effect of racial composition was smaller among blacks and blacks identified the racially mixed neighborhood as most desirable. Hypotheses about how racial group identity, stereotypes, and experiences of discrimination influenced the effect of race of residents upon neighborhood preferences were tested and show that for whites, those who hold negative stereotypes about African Americans and the neighborhoods where they live are significantly influenced by

Neighborhood Factors and Dating Violence Among Youth: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Renee M; Parker, Elizabeth M; Rinehart, Jenny; Nail, Jennifer; Rothman, Emily F

2015-09-01

The purpose of this review is to summarize the empirical research on neighborhood-level factors and dating violence among adolescents and emerging adults to guide future research and practice. In 2015, a total of 20 articles were identified through a search of the literature using PubMed. Eligible articles included those that (1) had been published in a peer-reviewed journal since 2005; (2) reported a measure of association between at least one neighborhood-level factor and dating violence; and (3) had a study population of youth aged dating violence and neighborhood factors, and measures of effect. Results were summarized into three categories based on the aspect of neighborhood that was the focus of the work: demographic and structural characteristics (n=11); neighborhood disorder (n=12); and social disorganization (n=8). There was some evidence to suggest that neighborhood disadvantage is associated with dating violence, but very little evidence to suggest that residence characteristics (e.g., racial heterogeneity) are associated with dating violence. Results do suggest that perceived neighborhood disorder is associated with physical dating violence perpetration, but do not suggest that it is associated with physical dating violence victimization. Social control and community connectedness are both associated with dating violence, but findings on collective efficacy are mixed. Existing research suggests that neighborhood factors may be associated with dating violence. However, there is a limited body of research on the neighborhood context of dating violence, and more rigorous research is needed. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The neighborhood food environment: sources of historical data on retail food stores

OpenAIRE

Gonzalez Alma A; Wang May C; Ritchie Lorrene D; Winkleby Marilyn A

2006-01-01

Abstract With the rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity in the United States, and the minimal success of education-based interventions, there is growing interest in understanding the role of the neighborhood food environment in determining dietary behavior. This study, as part of a larger study, identifies historical data on retail food stores, evaluates strengths and limitations of the data for research, and assesses the comparability of historical retail food store data from a government...

ADOLESCENTS’ EXPOSURE TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE: ARE NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS PROTECTIVE?

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Margo; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2011-01-01

Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), we identified a significant inverse association between the variety of youth organizations available at the neighborhood level and adolescents’ exposure to community violence. We examined two non-competing explanations for this finding. First, at the individual level, we tested the hypothesis that access to a greater variety of neighborhood youth organizations predicts adolescents’ participation in organized community-based activities, which, in turn, protects against community violence exposure. Second, at the neighborhood level, we tested the hypothesis that lower violent crime rates explain the inverse relation between neighborhood youth organization variety and community violence exposure. Our findings supported the latter of these two mechanisms. PMID:21666761

Differences by Sexual Orientation in Perceptions of Neighborhood Cohesion: Implications for Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Henning-Smith, Carrie; Gonzales, Gilbert

2018-06-01

A large body of research documents the relationship between health and place, including the positive association between neighborhood cohesion and health. However, very little research has examined neighborhood cohesion by sexual orientation. This paper addresses that gap by examining differences in perceived neighborhood cohesion by sexual orientation. We use data from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (n = 28,164 respondents aged 18 years and older) to examine bivariate differences by sexual orientation in four measures of neighborhood cohesion. We then use ordered logistic regression models to assess the relationship between sexual orientation and a scaled measure of neighborhood cohesion, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, living arrangements, health status, region, and neighborhood tenure. We find that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults are less likely to say that they live in a close-knit neighborhood (54.6 vs. 65.6%, p < 0.001), they can count on their neighbors (74.7 vs. 83.1%, p < 0.001), they trust their neighbors (75.5 vs. 83.7%, p < 0.001), or people in their neighborhood help each other out (72.9 vs. 83.1%, p < 0.001), compared to heterosexual adults. Even after controlling for socio-demographic factors, neighborhood cohesion scores are lower for LGB adults compared to heterosexual adults (odds ratio of better perceived neighborhood cohesion for sexual minorities: 0.70, p < 0.001). Overall, LGB adults report worse neighborhood cohesion across multiple measures, even after adjusting for individual characteristics and neighborhood tenure. Because living in a cohesive neighborhood is associated with better health outcomes, future research, community-level initiatives, and public policy efforts should focus on creating welcoming neighborhood environments for sexual minorities.

Independent Effects of Neighborhood Poverty and Psychosocial Stress on Obesity Over Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwarteng, Jamila L; Schulz, Amy J; Mentz, Graciela B; Israel, Barbara A; Perkins, Denise White

2017-12-01

The objective of the study was to examine the independent effects of neighborhood poverty and psychosocial stress on increases in central adiposity over time. Data are from a community sample of 157 Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic White, and Hispanic adults collected in 2002-2003 and 2007-2008, and from the 2000 Decennial Census. The dependent variable was waist circumference. Independent variables included neighborhood poverty, perceived neighborhood physical environment, family stress, safety stress, everyday unfair treatment, and a cumulative stress index. Weighted 3-level hierarchical linear regression models for a continuous outcome were used to assess the effects of neighborhood poverty and psychosocial stress on central adiposity over time. We also assessed whether psychosocial stress mediated the association between neighborhood poverty and central adiposity. Neighborhood poverty and everyday unfair treatment at baseline were independently associated with increases in central adiposity over time, accounting for the other indicators of stress. Perceptions of the neighborhood physical environment and cumulative stress mediated associations between neighborhood poverty and central adiposity. Results suggest that residing in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of poverty and exposure to everyday unfair treatment independently heighten risk of increased central adiposity over time. Associations between neighborhood poverty and central adiposity were mediated by perceptions of the neighborhood physical environment and by the cumulative stress index. Public health strategies to reduce obesity should consider neighborhood poverty and exposure to multiple sources of psychosocial stress, including everyday unfair treatment.

Integrated head area design of KNGR to reduce refueling outage duration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeong, Woo Tae; Park, Chi Yong; Kim, In Hwan; Kim, Dae Woong [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1998-12-31

In the design of KNGR (Korea Next Generation Reactor), we believe that economy is one of the most important factors to be considered. Thus, we reviewed and evaluated the consequences of designing the head area into an integrated package from an economical point of view. The refueling outage durations of the nuclear power plants currently in operation in Korea, some having and others not having integrated head package, are compared. This paper discusses the characteristics of head area design and the critical design issues of KNGR head area to evaluate the effect of the head area characteristics on the outage duration. 8 refs., 4 figs. (Author)

Integrated head area design of KNGR to reduce refueling outage duration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeong, Woo Tae; Park, Chi Yong; Kim, In Hwan; Kim, Dae Woong [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

In the design of KNGR (Korea Next Generation Reactor), we believe that economy is one of the most important factors to be considered. Thus, we reviewed and evaluated the consequences of designing the head area into an integrated package from an economical point of view. The refueling outage durations of the nuclear power plants currently in operation in Korea, some having and others not having integrated head package, are compared. This paper discusses the characteristics of head area design and the critical design issues of KNGR head area to evaluate the effect of the head area characteristics on the outage duration. 8 refs., 4 figs. (Author)

Male perpetration of teen dating violence: associations with neighborhood violence involvement, gender attitudes, and perceived peer and neighborhood norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Elizabeth; Silverman, Jay G; Raj, Anita; Decker, Michele R; Miller, Elizabeth

2011-04-01

This study aims to examine the link between male perpetration of teen dating violence (TDV) and neighborhood violence, as well as associations with gender attitudes and perceived peer and neighborhood norms related to violence among a sample of urban adolescent boys. Participants of this cross-sectional study (N = 275) were between the ages of 14 and 20 years and recruited from urban community health centers. Crude and adjusted logistic and linear regression models were used to examine TDV perpetration in relation to (a) neighborhood violence involvement, (b) perceptions of peer violence, (c) perceptions of neighborhood violence, and (d) gender attitudes. Slightly more than one in four (28%) boys reported at least one form of TDV perpetration; among boys who have ever had sex, almost half (45%) reported at least one form of TDV perpetration. In logistic and linear regression models adjusted for demographics, boys who reported TDV perpetration were more likely to report involvement in neighborhood violence (odds ratio (OR) = 3.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.7-5.5), beliefs that their friends have perpetrated TDV (OR = 2.7; 95%CI = 1.4-5.1), perceptions of violent activity within their neighborhood (OR = 3.0; 95%CI = 1.4-6.3), and greater support of traditional gender norms (β = 3.2, p = 0.002). The findings suggest that efforts are needed to address boys' behaviors related to the perpetration of multiple forms of violence and require explicit efforts to reduce perceived norms of violence perpetration as well as problematic gender attitudes (e.g., increasing support for gender equity) across boys' life contexts.

Neighborhood Decline and the Economic Crisis (discussion paper)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zwiers, M.D.; Bolt, G.; Van Ham, M.; Van Kempen, R.

2014-01-01

Neighborhood decline is a complex and multidimensional process. National and regional variation in economic and political structures (including variety in national welfare state arrangements), combined with differences in neighborhood history, development and population composition, makes it

Intersection of neighborhood dynamics and socioeconomic status in small-area walkability: the Heart Healthy Hoods project.

Science.gov (United States)

Gullón, Pedro; Bilal, Usama; Cebrecos, Alba; Badland, Hannah M; Galán, Iñaki; Franco, Manuel

2017-06-06

Previous studies found a complex relationship between area-level socioeconomic status (SES) and walkability. These studies did not include neighborhood dynamics. Our aim was to study the association between area-level SES and walkability in the city of Madrid (Spain) evaluating the potential effect modification of neighborhood dynamics. All census sections of the city of Madrid (n = 2415) were included. Area-level SES was measured using a composite index of 7 indicators in 4 domains (education, wealth, occupation and living conditions). Two neighborhood dynamics factors were computed: gentrification, proxied by change in education levels in the previous 10 years, and neighborhood age, proxied by median year of construction of housing units in the area. Walkability was measured using a composite index of 4 indicators (Residential Density, Population Density, Retail Destinations and Street Connectivity). We modeled the association using linear mixed models with random intercepts. Area-level SES and walkability were inversely and significantly associated. Areas with lower SES showed the highest walkability. This pattern did not hold for areas with an increase in education level, where the association was flat (no decrease in walkability with higher SES). Moreover, the association was attenuated in newly built areas: the association was stronger in areas built before 1975, weaker in areas built between 1975 and 1990 and flat in areas built from 1990 on. Areas with higher neighborhood socioeconomic status had lower walkability in Madrid. This disadvantage in walkability was not present in recently built or gentrified areas.

Neighborhood Design for Walking and Biking

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Barbara B.; Smith, Ken R.; Hanson, Heidi; Fan, Jessie X.; Kowaleski-Jones, Lori; Zick, Cathleen D.

2013-01-01

Background Neighborhood designs often relate to physical activity and to BMI. Purpose Does neighborhood walkability/bikeability relate to BMI and obesity risk and does moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) account for some of the relationship? Methods Census 2000 provided walkability/bikeability measures—block group proportions of workers who walk or bike to work, housing age, and population density—and National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES 2003–2006) provided MVPA accelerometer measures. Regression analyses (2011–2012) adjusted for geographic clustering and multiple control variables. Results Greater density and older housing were associated with lower male BMI in bivariate analyses, but there were no density and housing age effects in multivariate models. For women, greater proportions of neighborhood workers who walk to work (M=0.02) and more MVPA was associated with lower BMI and lower obesity risk. For men, greater proportions of workers who bike to work (M=0.004) and more MVPA was associated with lower BMI and obesity risk. For both effects, MVPA partially mediated the relationships between walkability/bikeability and BMI. If such associations are causal, doubling walk and bike-to-work proportions (to 0.04 and 0.008) would have –0.3 and –0.33 effects on the average BMIs of adult women and men living in the neighborhood. This equates to 1.5 lbs for a 64” woman and 2.3 lbs for a 69” man. Conclusions Although walking/biking to work is rare in the U.S., greater proportions of such workers in neighborhoods relate to lower weight and higher MVPA. Bikeability merits greater attention as a modifiable activity-friendliness factor, particularly for men. PMID:23415119

Neighborhood Environment and Cognition in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Besser, Lilah M; McDonald, Noreen C; Song, Yan; Kukull, Walter A; Rodriguez, Daniel A

2017-08-01

Some evidence suggests that treating vascular risk factors and performing mentally stimulating activities may delay cognitive impairment onset in older adults. Exposure to a complex neighborhood environment may be one mechanism to help delay cognitive decline. PubMed, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertation and Theses Global database were systematically reviewed, identifying 25 studies published from February 1, 1989 to March 5, 2016 (data synthesized, May 3, 2015 to October 7, 2016). The review was restricted to quantitative studies focused on: (1) neighborhood social and built environment and cognition; and (2) community-dwelling adults aged ≥45 years. The majority of studies were cross-sectional, U.S.-based, and found at least one significant association. The diversity of measures and neighborhood definitions limited the synthesis of findings in many instances. Evidence was moderately strong for an association between neighborhood SES and cognition, and modest for associations between neighborhood demographics, design, and destination accessibility and cognition. Most studies examining effect modification found significant associations, with some evidence for effect modification of the neighborhood SES-cognition association by individual-level SES. No studies had low risk of bias and many tested multiple associations that increased the chance of a statistically significant finding. Considering the studies to date, the evidence for an association between neighborhood characteristics and cognition is modest. Future studies should include longitudinal measures of neighborhood characteristics and cognition; examine potential effect modifiers, such as sex and disability; and study mediators that may help elucidate the biological mechanisms linking neighborhood environment and cognition. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceived Neighborhood Safety and Adolescent School Functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Storey, Alexa; Crosnoe, Robert

2014-01-01

This study examined the association between adolescents' perceptions of their neighborhoods' safety and multiple elements of their functioning in school with data on 15 year olds from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 924). In general, perceived neighborhood safety was more strongly associated with aspects of schooling…

Intergenerational Education Transmission: Neighborhood Quality and

OpenAIRE

Patacchini, Eleonora; Zenou, Yves

2004-01-01

Using cultural transmission, we develop a model that gives some microfoundation to the impact of residential neighborhood on children's educational attainment and then test it using the UK National Child Development Study. We find that, for high-educated parents, the better the quality of the neighborhood in terms of human capital, the higher the parent's involvement in children's education, indicating cultural complementarity. For high-educated parents, we also find that both parents' involv...

Neighborhood disadvantage and ischemic stroke: the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS).

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Arleen F; Liang, Li-Jung; Vassar, Stefanie D; Stein-Merkin, Sharon; Longstreth, W T; Ovbiagele, Bruce; Yan, Tingjian; Escarce, José J

2011-12-01

Neighborhood characteristics may influence the risk of stroke and contribute to socioeconomic disparities in stroke incidence. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic status and incident ischemic stroke and examine potential mediators of these associations. We analyzed data from 3834 whites and 785 blacks enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a multicenter, population-based, longitudinal study of adults ages≥65 years from 4 US counties. The primary outcome was adjudicated incident ischemic stroke. Neighborhood socioeconomic status was measured using a composite of 6 census tract variables. Race-stratified multilevel Cox proportional hazard models were constructed adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioral, and biological risk factors. Among whites, in models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, stroke hazard was significantly higher among residents of neighborhoods in the lowest compared with the highest neighborhood socioeconomic status quartile (hazard ratio, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.01-1.72) with greater attenuation of the hazard ratio after adjustment for biological risk factors (hazard ratio, 1.16; 0.88-1.52) than for behavioral risk factors (hazard ratio, 1.30; 0.99-1.70). Among blacks, we found no significant associations between neighborhood socioeconomic status and ischemic stroke. Higher risk of incident ischemic stroke was observed in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods among whites, but not among blacks. The relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic status and stroke among whites appears to be mediated more strongly by biological than behavioral risk factors.

A New Neighborhood Every Fall: Aging in Place in a College Town.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Kathleen H

Older adults who live in residential neighborhoods adjacent to college and university campuses have a unique experience that makes them vulnerable to marginalization and displacement. As these neighborhoods become increasingly dominated by college students living in rental properties, older adults find themselves in the minority in a neighborhood where they have lived for many years. In addition, these neighborhoods are attractive to universities, city governments, and private companies for their development potential, which can result in gentrification. A year-long ethnographic study of a campus-adjacent neighborhood in a small US college town that is home to a medium-sized public university sheds light on the relationships between members of 5 stakeholder groups that have a vested interest in the neighborhood. The study highlights the need for additional research on different types of neighborhoods and their effects on aging in place in addition to outlining social work interventions in campus-adjacent neighborhoods that are designed to enhance these intergenerational spaces.

Neighborhood perceptions and allostatic load : Evidence from Denmark

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Deurzen, I.A.; Hulvej Rod, Naja; Christensen, Ulla; Hansen, Åse Marie; Lund, Rikke; Dich, Nadya

2016-01-01

An influential argument explaining why living in certain neighborhoods can become harmful to one's health maintains that individuals can perceive certain characteristics of the neighborhood as threatening and the prolonged exposure to a threatening environment could induce chronic stress. Following

Safety in numbers: does perceived safety mediate associations between the neighborhood social environment and physical activity among women living in disadvantaged neighborhoods?

Science.gov (United States)

Timperio, Anna; Veitch, Jenny; Carver, Alison

2015-05-01

The aim of this study is to examine associations between the neighborhood social environment and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA)(1) and walking among women, and whether these associations are mediated by perceived personal safety. Women (n = 3784) living in disadvantaged urban and rural neighborhoods within Victoria, Australia completed a self-administered survey on five social environment variables (neighborhood crime, neighborhood violence, seeing others walking and exercising in the neighborhood, social trust/cohesion), perceived personal safety, and their physical activity in 2007/8. Linear regression analyses examined associations between social environment variables and LTPA and walking. Potential mediating pathways were assessed using the product-of-coefficients test. Moderated mediation by urban/rural residence was examined. Each social environment variable was positively associated with engaging in at least 150 min/week of LTPA (OR = 1.16 to 1.56). Only two social environment variables, seeing others walking (OR = 1.45) and exercising (OR = 1.31), were associated with ≥ 150 min/week of walking. Perceived personal safety mediated all associations. Stronger mediation was found in urban areas for crime, violence and social trust/cohesion. The neighborhood social environment is an important influence on physical activity among women living in disadvantaged areas. Feelings of personal safety should not be included in composite or aggregate scores relating to the social environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multiple pathways from the neighborhood food environment to increased body mass index through dietary behaviors: A structural equation-based analysis in the CARDIA study

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Andrea S.; Meyer, Katie A.; Howard, Annie Green; Boone-Heinonen, Janne; Popkin, Barry M.; Evenson, Kelly R.; Shikany, James M.; Lewis, Cora E.; Gordon-Larsen, Penny

2016-01-01

Objectives To examine longitudinal pathways from multiple types of neighborhood restaurants and food stores to BMI, through dietary behaviors. Methods We used data from participants (n=5114) in the United States-based Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study and a structural equation model to estimate longitudinal (1985–86 to 2005–06) pathways simultaneously from neighborhood fast food restaurants, sit-down restaurants, supermarkets, and convenience stores to BMI through dietary behaviors, controlling for socioeconomic status (SES) and physical activity. Results Higher numbers of neighborhood fast food restaurants and lower numbers of sit-down restaurants were associated with higher consumption of an obesogenic fast food-type diet. The pathways from food stores to BMI through diet were inconsistent in magnitude and statistical significance. Conclusions Efforts to decrease the numbers of neighborhood fast food restaurants and to increase the numbers of sit-down restaurant options could influence diet behaviors. Availability of neighborhood fast food and sit-down restaurants may play comparatively stronger roles than food stores in shaping dietary behaviors and BMI. PMID:26454248

Unmanned Carrier-Based Aircraft System: Debate over Systems Role Led to Focus on Aerial Refueling

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-24

Unmanned Carrier-Based Aircraft System: Debate over System’s Role Led to Focus on Aerial Refueling Prior to February 2016, the Navy had planned to...Background In a May 2015 report, we found that the intended mission and required capabilities of UCLASS were under review as there was debate ...environments, or largely strike with limited surveillance capability operating in highly contested environments.2 This debate delayed the expected

Healthy and Unhealthy Food Prices across Neighborhoods and Their Association with Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Proportion Black/Hispanic.

Science.gov (United States)

Kern, David M; Auchincloss, Amy H; Robinson, Lucy F; Stehr, Mark F; Pham-Kanter, Genevieve

2017-08-01

This paper evaluates variation in food prices within and between neighborhoods to improve our understanding of access to healthy foods in urbanized areas and potential economic incentives and barriers to consuming a higher-quality diet. Prices of a selection of healthier foods (dairy, fruit juice, and frozen vegetables) and unhealthy foods (soda, sweets, and salty snacks) were obtained from 1953 supermarkets across the USA during 2009-2012 and were linked to census block group socio-demographics. Analyses evaluated associations between neighborhood SES and proportion Black/Hispanic and the prices of healthier and unhealthy foods, and the relative price of healthier foods compared with unhealthy foods (healthy-to-unhealthy price ratio). Linear hierarchical regression models were used to explore geospatial variation and adjust for confounders. Overall, the price of healthier foods was nearly twice as high as the price of unhealthy foods ($0.590 vs $0.298 per serving; healthy-to-unhealthy price ratio of 1.99). This trend was consistent across all neighborhood characteristics. After adjusting for covariates, no association was found between food prices (healthy, unhealthy, or the healthy-to-unhealthy ratio) and neighborhood SES. Similarly, there was no association between the proportion Black/Hispanic and healthier food price, a very small positive association with unhealthy price, and a modest negative association with the healthy-to-unhealthy ratio. No major differences were seen in food prices across levels of neighborhood SES and proportion Black/Hispanic; however, the price of healthier food was twice as expensive as unhealthy food per serving on average.

A systematic review of relations between neighborhoods and mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Truong, Khoa D; Ma, Sai

2006-09-01

The relationship between neighborhood characteristics and resident mental health has been widely investigated in individual studies in recent years, but this literature is not adequately reviewed. To systematically review relevant individual research of the relation between neighborhoods and adult mental health by identifying and synthesizing all relevant studies in this literature. We conducted an electronic search with PubMed and PsycINFO, and manual reference-checking, resulting in 8,562 screened studies of which 29 were selected. Studies were included in the main synthesis if they (i) were published in English in peer reviewed journals; (ii) had relevant definitions and measures of neighborhood characteristics; (iii) utilized standardized measures of adult mental health; (iv) controlled for individual characteristics; (v) reported quantitative results; and, (vi) studied a population in a developed country. We focused on two key areas within this literature: the methodologies utilized to study neighborhood effects and quantitative results. With regard to the former, we examined five major issues: (i) definitions and measures of neighborhoods; (ii) definitions and measures of mental health; (iii) controls for individual level characteristics; (iv) conceptual models; and (v) analytical models. As for quantitative results, the relation was reviewed by types of neighborhood characteristics. We summarized general quantitative findings and drew common conclusions across groups of studies. 27/29 studies found statistically significant association between mental health and at least one measure of neighborhood characteristics, after adjusting for individual factors. This association was evident for all types of neighborhood features, varying from sociodemographic characteristics to physical environment, and from objective to subjective measures. Neighborhood effects were weakened when adding individual-level characteristics into the regression models, and were generally

Neighborhood crime and access to health-enabling resources in Chicago

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth L. Tung

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Neighborhood crime may be an important social determinant of health in many high-poverty, urban communities, yet little is known about its relationship with access to health-enabling resources. We recruited an address-based probability sample of 267 participants (ages ≥35 years on Chicago's South Side between 2012 and 2013. Participants were queried about their perceptions of neighborhood safety and prior experiences of neighborhood crime. Survey data were paired to a comprehensive, directly-observed census of the built environment on the South Side of Chicago. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine access to health-enabling resources (potential and realized access as a function of neighborhood crime (self-reported neighborhood safety and prior experience of theft or property crime, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and self-reported health status. Low potential access was defined as a resident having nearest resources >1 mile from home; poor realized access was defined as bypassing nearby potential resources to use resources >1 mile from home. Poor neighborhood safety was associated with low potential access to large grocery stores (AOR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.04, 2.87, pharmacies (AOR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.33, 3.77, and fitness resources (AOR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.15, 3.24, but not small grocery stores. Any prior experience of neighborhood crime was associated with higher adjusted odds of bypassing nearby pharmacies (AOR = 3.78, 95% CI = 1.11, 12.87. Neighborhood crime may be associated with important barriers to accessing health-enabling resources in urban communities with high rates of crime. Keywords: Built environment, Neighborhood crime, Access to resources, Social determinants of health, Obesity, Hypertension

Resurgent Ethnicity among Asian Americans: Ethnic Neighborhood Context and Health

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, Emily

2012-01-01

In this study I investigate the associations of neighborhood socioeconomic and social environments with the health of Asian Americans living in both Asian ethnic neighborhoods and non-Asian neighborhoods. I use a sample of 1962 Asian Americans from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS, 2003-04). Three key findings emerge. First,…

Neighborhood perceptions and allostatic load: Evidence from Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

van Deurzen, Ioana; Rod, Naja Hulvej; Christensen, Ulla; Hansen, Åse Marie; Lund, Rikke; Dich, Nadya

2016-07-01

An influential argument explaining why living in certain neighborhoods can become harmful to one's health maintains that individuals can perceive certain characteristics of the neighborhood as threatening and the prolonged exposure to a threatening environment could induce chronic stress. Following this line of argumentation, in the present study we test whether subjective perceptions of neighborhood characteristics relate to an objective measure of stress-related physiological functioning, namely allostatic load (AL). We use a large dataset of 5280 respondents living in different regions of Denmark and we account for two alternative mechanisms, i.e., the objective characteristics of the living environment and the socio-economic status of individuals. Our results support the chronic stress mechanisms linking neighborhood quality to health. Heightened perceptions of disorder and pollution were found related to AL and this relationship was particularly robust for women. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association between neighborhood need and spatial access to food stores and fast food restaurants in neighborhoods of colonias.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharkey, Joseph R; Horel, Scott; Han, Daikwon; Huber, John C

2009-02-16

To determine the extent to which neighborhood needs (socioeconomic deprivation and vehicle availability) are associated with two criteria of food environment access: 1) distance to the nearest food store and fast food restaurant and 2) coverage (number) of food stores and fast food restaurants within a specified network distance of neighborhood areas of colonias, using ground-truthed methods. Data included locational points for 315 food stores and 204 fast food restaurants, and neighborhood characteristics from the 2000 U.S. Census for the 197 census block group (CBG) study area. Neighborhood deprivation and vehicle availability were calculated for each CBG. Minimum distance was determined by calculating network distance from the population-weighted center of each CBG to the nearest supercenter, supermarket, grocery, convenience store, dollar store, mass merchandiser, and fast food restaurant. Coverage was determined by calculating the number of each type of food store and fast food restaurant within a network distance of 1, 3, and 5 miles of each population-weighted CBG center. Neighborhood need and access were examined using Spearman ranked correlations, spatial autocorrelation, and multivariate regression models that adjusted for population density. Overall, neighborhoods had best access to convenience stores, fast food restaurants, and dollar stores. After adjusting for population density, residents in neighborhoods with increased deprivation had to travel a significantly greater distance to the nearest supercenter or supermarket, grocery store, mass merchandiser, dollar store, and pharmacy for food items. The results were quite different for association of need with the number of stores within 1 mile. Deprivation was only associated with fast food restaurants; greater deprivation was associated with fewer fast food restaurants within 1 mile. CBG with greater lack of vehicle availability had slightly better access to more supercenters or supermarkets, grocery

Association between neighborhood need and spatial access to food stores and fast food restaurants in neighborhoods of Colonias

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Han Daikwon

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective To determine the extent to which neighborhood needs (socioeconomic deprivation and vehicle availability are associated with two criteria of food environment access: 1 distance to the nearest food store and fast food restaurant and 2 coverage (number of food stores and fast food restaurants within a specified network distance of neighborhood areas of colonias, using ground-truthed methods. Methods Data included locational points for 315 food stores and 204 fast food restaurants, and neighborhood characteristics from the 2000 U.S. Census for the 197 census block group (CBG study area. Neighborhood deprivation and vehicle availability were calculated for each CBG. Minimum distance was determined by calculating network distance from the population-weighted center of each CBG to the nearest supercenter, supermarket, grocery, convenience store, dollar store, mass merchandiser, and fast food restaurant. Coverage was determined by calculating the number of each type of food store and fast food restaurant within a network distance of 1, 3, and 5 miles of each population-weighted CBG center. Neighborhood need and access were examined using Spearman ranked correlations, spatial autocorrelation, and multivariate regression models that adjusted for population density. Results Overall, neighborhoods had best access to convenience stores, fast food restaurants, and dollar stores. After adjusting for population density, residents in neighborhoods with increased deprivation had to travel a significantly greater distance to the nearest supercenter or supermarket, grocery store, mass merchandiser, dollar store, and pharmacy for food items. The results were quite different for association of need with the number of stores within 1 mile. Deprivation was only associated with fast food restaurants; greater deprivation was associated with fewer fast food restaurants within 1 mile. CBG with greater lack of vehicle availability had slightly better

The Digital Hood: Social Media Use among Youth in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Robin; Gilliard-Matthews, Stacia; Dunaev, Jamie; Woods, Marcus; Brawner, Bridgette M

2017-06-01

This study examines the role of social media in the lives of youth living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Feminist Standpoint theory, which privileges the voices of marginalized communities in understanding social phenomena, suggests that youth at the margins have specific knowledge that helps us understand social media more broadly. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 females and 30 males aged 13 to 24 about their social worlds and neighborhoods, both on- and offline. The findings reveal a dynamic and somewhat concerning interplay between the geographic neighborhood and the digital neighborhood, whereby negative social interactions in the geographic neighborhood are reproduced and amplified on social media.

Examining the Sociolinguistic Context in Schools and Neighborhoods of Pre-Adolescent Latino Students: Implications for Ethnic Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Feinauer, Erika; Whiting, Erin F.

2012-01-01

This study examined the sociolinguistic contexts of neighborhoods and schools in two predominantly Latino communities in the United States. We used census data to assess social and ethnic composition and observational data to compare and contrast environmental print, language use, and availability of community services in Spanish in these schools…

The development of calculational methods and assessment standards for AGR refuelling safety cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, J.W.; Grant, R.J.; Thomas, D.L.

1995-01-01

This paper considers the methods used to assess the protection needed against hazards in the AGR fuel route. These methods are all directed towards the objective of showing that all postulated events taking place during refuelling are acceptable within agreed criteria of severity versus frequency. The methods allow the determination of temperatures arising in various hazards, from which estimates can be made of the radiological release, if any, which would occur. Comparison of this estimate with the level considered acceptable at the fault frequency leads to the requirement for protection. (author)

Building Community: The Neighborhood Context of Social Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Swaroop, Sapna; Morenoff, Jeffrey D.

2006-01-01

This study explores how neighborhood context influences participation in local social organization through a multilevel-spatial analysis of residents in Chicago neighborhoods. We construct a typology of community participation based on two dimensions: instrumental vs. expressive motivations for participation and formal vs. informal modes of…

Neighborhood Processes, Self-Efficacy, and Adolescent Mental Health

Science.gov (United States)

Dupere, Veronique; Leventhal, Tama; Vitaro, Frank

2012-01-01

Self-efficacy beliefs are central to mental health. Because adolescents' neighborhoods shape opportunities for experiences of control, predictability, and safety, we propose that neighborhood conditions are associated with adolescents' self-efficacy and, in turn, their internalizing problems (i.e., depression/anxiety symptoms). We tested these…

Contemporary Neighborhood Theories: Integration versus Romance and Reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Stever, James A.

1978-01-01

This paper discusses the integrative, romantic, and reactive theories of neighborhood government within the context of the urban reform movement and argues that the integrative theory is the one best suited for an effective political relationship between the neighborhood and the greater metropolis. (EB)

Mapping neighborhood scale survey responses with uncertainty metrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Robert Ehlschlaeger

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a methodology of mapping population-centric social, infrastructural, and environmental metrics at neighborhood scale. This methodology extends traditional survey analysis methods to create cartographic products useful in agent-based modeling and geographic information analysis. It utilizes and synthesizes survey microdata, sub-upazila attributes, land use information, and ground truth locations of attributes to create neighborhood scale multi-attribute maps. Monte Carlo methods are employed to combine any number of survey responses to stochastically weight survey cases and to simulate survey cases' locations in a study area. Through such Monte Carlo methods, known errors from each of the input sources can be retained. By keeping individual survey cases as the atomic unit of data representation, this methodology ensures that important covariates are retained and that ecological inference fallacy is eliminated. These techniques are demonstrated with a case study from the Chittagong Division in Bangladesh. The results provide a population-centric understanding of many social, infrastructural, and environmental metrics desired in humanitarian aid and disaster relief planning and operations wherever long term familiarity is lacking. Of critical importance is that the resulting products have easy to use explicit representation of the errors and uncertainties of each of the input sources via the automatically generated summary statistics created at the application's geographic scale.

Do Neighborhood Characteristics in Amsterdam Influence Adiposity at Preschool Age?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Jessica Hrudey

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Neighborhood characteristics may contribute to adiposity in young children, but results in the current literature are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate whether objective (socioeconomic status (SES and subjective (perceived safety, satisfaction with green spaces and perceived physical disorder neighborhood characteristics directly influence child adiposity (as measured by BMI, percent body fat (%BF and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR. Methods: Data on child BMI, %BF and WHtR were obtained from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development cohort at 5–6 years of age. Three thousand four hundred and sixty nine (3469 children were included in the analyses. Mixed models, using random intercepts for postal code area to account for neighborhood clustering effects, were used to analyze the relationships of interest. Results: Associations were observed for both perceived safety and neighborhood SES with %BF after adjustment for maternal education and ethnicity. All relationships were eliminated with the inclusion of individual covariates and parental BMI into the models. Conclusions: In general, child adiposity at age 5–6 years was not independently associated with neighborhood characteristics, although a small relationship between child %BF and both neighborhood SES and perceived safety cannot be ruled out. At this young age, familial and individual factors probably play a more important role in influencing child adiposity than neighborhood characteristics.

Cognitive Aspects of Regularity Exhibit When Neighborhood Disappears

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sau-Chin; Hu, Jon-Fan

2015-01-01

Although regularity refers to the compatibility between pronunciation of character and sound of phonetic component, it has been suggested as being part of consistency, which is defined by neighborhood characteristics. Two experiments demonstrate how regularity effect is amplified or reduced by neighborhood characteristics and reveals the…

Neighborhood size and local geographic variation of health and social determinants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emch Michael

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Spatial filtering using a geographic information system (GIS is often used to smooth health and ecological data. Smoothing disease data can help us understand local (neighborhood geographic variation and ecological risk of diseases. Analyses that use small neighborhood sizes yield individualistic patterns and large sizes reveal the global structure of data where local variation is obscured. Therefore, choosing an optimal neighborhood size is important for understanding ecological associations with diseases. This paper uses Hartley's test of homogeneity of variance (Fmax as a methodological solution for selecting optimal neighborhood sizes. The data from a study area in Vietnam are used to test the suitability of this method. Results The Hartley's Fmax test was applied to spatial variables for two enteric diseases and two socioeconomic determinants. Various neighbourhood sizes were tested by using a two step process to implement the Fmaxtest. First the variance of each neighborhood was compared to the highest neighborhood variance (upper, Fmax1 and then they were compared with the lowest neighborhood variance (lower, Fmax2. A significant value of Fmax1 indicates that the neighborhood does not reveal the global structure of data, and in contrast, a significant value in Fmax2 implies that the neighborhood data are not individualistic. The neighborhoods that are between the lower and the upper limits are the optimal neighbourhood sizes. Conclusion The results of tests provide different neighbourhood sizes for different variables suggesting that optimal neighbourhood size is data dependent. In ecology, it is well known that observation scales may influence ecological inference. Therefore, selecting optimal neigborhood size is essential for understanding disease ecologies. The optimal neighbourhood selection method that is tested in this paper can be useful in health and ecological studies.

Using deep learning and Google Street View to estimate the demographic makeup of neighborhoods across the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Gebru, Timnit; Krause, Jonathan; Wang, Yilun; Chen, Duyun; Deng, Jia; Aiden, Erez Lieberman; Fei-Fei, Li

2017-12-12

The United States spends more than $250 million each year on the American Community Survey (ACS), a labor-intensive door-to-door study that measures statistics relating to race, gender, education, occupation, unemployment, and other demographic factors. Although a comprehensive source of data, the lag between demographic changes and their appearance in the ACS can exceed several years. As digital imagery becomes ubiquitous and machine vision techniques improve, automated data analysis may become an increasingly practical supplement to the ACS. Here, we present a method that estimates socioeconomic characteristics of regions spanning 200 US cities by using 50 million images of street scenes gathered with Google Street View cars. Using deep learning-based computer vision techniques, we determined the make, model, and year of all motor vehicles encountered in particular neighborhoods. Data from this census of motor vehicles, which enumerated 22 million automobiles in total (8% of all automobiles in the United States), were used to accurately estimate income, race, education, and voting patterns at the zip code and precinct level. (The average US precinct contains ∼1,000 people.) The resulting associations are surprisingly simple and powerful. For instance, if the number of sedans encountered during a drive through a city is higher than the number of pickup trucks, the city is likely to vote for a Democrat during the next presidential election (88% chance); otherwise, it is likely to vote Republican (82%). Our results suggest that automated systems for monitoring demographics may effectively complement labor-intensive approaches, with the potential to measure demographics with fine spatial resolution, in close to real time. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Social Capital and Economic Development: A Neighborhood Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew J. Hanka

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Sean Safford’s 2009 book Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown introduces a revolutionary idea that much of a community’s economic resilience is tied to the social capital that exists within it. Recent research suggests that social capital not only benefits those who develop it, but it can serve as a source of economic development in the communities in which it arises. Past quantitative research on the economic benefit of social capital has only examined the city or higher levels of aggregation. This study measures social capital in three diverse socioeconomic neighborhoods to better understand how social capital can serve as a tool for economic development. An ordered probit regression model was developed to examine how individual and neighborhood levels of social capital benefit households within these communities. Moreover, this study addresses how differences in social capital across neighborhoods are explained by both individual and neighborhood characteristics.

Neighborhood linking social capital as a predictor of psychiatric medication prescription in the elderly: a Swedish national cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sundquist, Jan; Hamano, Tsuyoshi; Li, Xinjun; Kawakami, Naomi; Shiwaku, Kuninori; Sundquist, Kristina

2014-08-01

Little is known about the association between neighborhood linking social capital and psychiatric medication in the elderly. The present study analyzes whether there is an association between linking social capital (a theoretical concept describing the amount of trust between individuals and societal institutions) and prescription of antipsychotics, anxiolytics, hypnotics/sedatives, antidepressants, or anti-dementia drugs. The entire Swedish population aged 65+, a total of 1,292,816 individuals, were followed from 1 July 2005 until first prescription of psychiatric medication, death, emigration, or the end of the study on 31 December 2010. Small geographic units were used to define neighborhoods. The definition of linking social capital was based on mean voting participation in each neighborhood unit, categorized in three groups. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and between-neighborhood variance in three different models. There was an inverse association between the level of linking social capital and prescription of psychiatric medications (except for anti-dementia drugs). The associations decreased, but remained significant, after accounting for age, sex, family income, marital status, country of birth, and education level (except for antidepressants). The OR for prescription of antipsychotics in the crude model was 1.65 (95% CI 1.53-1.78) and decreased, but remained significant (OR = 1.26; 95% CI 1.17-1.35), after adjustment for the individual-level sociodemographic variables. Decision-makers should take into account the potentially negative effect of linking social capital on psychiatric disorders when planning sites of primary care centers and psychiatric clinics, as well as other kinds of community support for elderly patients with such disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do psychosocial factors moderate the association between neighborhood walkability and adolescents' physical activity?

Science.gov (United States)

De Meester, Femke; Van Dyck, Delfien; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Deforche, Benedicte; Cardon, Greet

2013-03-01

Ecological models emphasize the interaction between individuals and their environment. Furthermore, they posit that environmental variables influence physical activity (PA) not only directly but also indirectly through their interaction with other factors. This study explored if the association between neighborhood walkability and adolescents' PA is moderated by psychosocial factors using data from the Belgian Environmental PA Study in Youth (BEPAS-Y). BEPAS-Y recruited adolescents from 32 neighborhoods differing in objectively determined neighborhood walkability and income. Between 2008 and 2009, 637 adolescents (13-15 years; 49.4% boys) completed a survey measuring socio-demographic and psychosocial factors and wore an accelerometer for seven days. Multilevel-regression analyses revealed that for adolescents living in low-income neighborhoods, the association between neighborhood walkability and PA is moderated by perceived barriers and perceived benefits toward PA. Neighborhood walkability was positively associated with PA among adolescents, living in low-income neighborhoods, who perceived many barriers and few benefits, while for adolescents who perceived few barriers and many benefits, the PA level was high, irrespective of neighborhood walkability. For adolescents, living in high-income neighborhoods, none of the psychosocial attributes moderated the association between neighborhood walkability and PA. These findings provide some support for the predicted interactions posited by ecological models. Improving neighborhood walkability might increase PA-levels of adolescents living in low-income neighborhoods, with less positive psychosocial profiles, or in other words; those who are most difficult to reach through PA interventions. However, in order to increase PA in large populations, interventions focusing solely on improving neighborhood walkability may not have the desired effect. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neighborhood Child Opportunity and Individual-Level Pediatric Acute Care Use and Diagnoses.

Science.gov (United States)

Kersten, Ellen E; Adler, Nancy E; Gottlieb, Laura; Jutte, Douglas P; Robinson, Sarah; Roundfield, Katrina; LeWinn, Kaja Z

2018-05-01

: media-1vid110.1542/5751513300001PEDS-VA_2017-2309 Video Abstract OBJECTIVES: Although health care providers and systems are increasingly interested in patients' nonmedical needs as a means to improve health, little is known about neighborhood conditions that contribute to child health problems. We sought to determine if a novel, publicly available measure of neighborhood context, the Child Opportunity Index, was associated with pediatric acute care visit frequency and diagnoses. This cross-sectional study included San Francisco residents <18 years of age with an emergency department and/or urgent care visit to any of 3 medical systems ( N = 47 175) between 2007 and 2011. Hot-spot analysis was used to compare the spatial distribution of neighborhood child opportunity and income. Generalized estimating equation logistic regression models were used to examine independent associations between neighborhood child opportunity and frequent acute care use (≥4 visits per year) and diagnosis group after adjusting for neighborhood income and patient age, sex, race and/or ethnicity, payer, and health system. Neighborhood child opportunity and income had distinct spatial distributions, and we identified different clusters of high- and low-risk neighborhoods. Children living in the lowest opportunity neighborhoods had significantly greater odds of ≥4 acute care visits per year (odds ratio 1.33; 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.73) compared with those in the highest opportunity neighborhoods. Neighborhood child opportunity was negatively associated with visits for respiratory conditions, asthma, assault, and ambulatory care-sensitive conditions but positively associated with injury-related visits. The Child Opportunity Index could be an effective tool for identifying neighborhood factors beyond income related to child health. Copyright © 2018 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Working with neighborhood organizations to promote wildfire preparedness

Science.gov (United States)

Holly Johnson Shiralipour; Martha C. Monroe; Michelle Payton

2006-01-01

Several government agencies and other natural resource managers have instituted outreach programs to promote wildfire preparedness in wildland-urban interface (WUI) neighborhoods that complement community-wide efforts. To help these programs become more effective, research was undertaken to gain a better understanding of the role that neighbors and neighborhood...

Beyond the Cross-Sectional: Neighborhood Poverty Histories and Preterm Birth

Science.gov (United States)

Margerison-Zilko, Claire; Jun, Jina; Marchi, Kristen; Fingar, Kathryn; Braveman, Paula

2015-01-01

Objectives. We examined associations between longitudinal neighborhood poverty trajectories and preterm birth (PTB). Methods. Using data from the Neighborhood Change Database (1970–2000) and the American Community Survey (2005–2009), we categorized longitudinal trajectories of poverty for California neighborhoods (i.e., census tracts). Birth data included 23 291 singleton California births from the Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (2003–2009). We estimated associations (adjusted for individual-level covariates) between PTB and longitudinal poverty trajectories and compared these to associations using traditional, cross-sectional measures of poverty. Results. Compared to neighborhoods with long-term low poverty, those with long-term high poverty and those that experienced increasing poverty early in the study period had 41% and 37% increased odds of PTB (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18, 1.69 and 1.09, 1.72, respectively). High (compared with low) cross-sectional neighborhood poverty was not associated with PTB (odds ratio = 1.08; 95% CI = 0.91, 1.28). Conclusions. Neighborhood poverty histories may contribute to an understanding of perinatal health and should be considered in future research. PMID:25880941

A Streaming Distance Transform Algorithm for Neighborhood-Sequence Distances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas Normand

2014-09-01

Full Text Available We describe an algorithm that computes a “translated” 2D Neighborhood-Sequence Distance Transform (DT using a look up table approach. It requires a single raster scan of the input image and produces one line of output for every line of input. The neighborhood sequence is specified either by providing one period of some integer periodic sequence or by providing the rate of appearance of neighborhoods. The full algorithm optionally derives the regular (centered DT from the “translated” DT, providing the result image on-the-fly, with a minimal delay, before the input image is fully processed. Its efficiency can benefit all applications that use neighborhood- sequence distances, particularly when pipelined processing architectures are involved, or when the size of objects in the source image is limited.

The influence of neighborhood socioeconomic status and walkability on TV viewing time.

Science.gov (United States)

Coogan, Patricia F; White, Laura F; Evans, Stephen R; Palmer, Julie R; Rosenberg, Lynn

2012-11-01

Influences on TV viewing time, which is associated with adverse health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes, need clarification. We assessed the relation of neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and walkability with TV viewing time in the Black Women's Health Study, a prospective study of African American women. We created neighborhood SES and walkability scores using data from the U.S. census and other sources. We estimated odds ratios for TV viewing 5+ hours/day compared with 0-1 hours/day for quintiles of neighborhood SES and walkability scores. Neighborhood SES was inversely associated with TV viewing time. The odds ratio for watching 5+ hours/day in the highest compared with the lowest quintile of neighborhood SES was 0.66 (95% CI 0.54-0.81). Neighborhood walkability was not associated with TV viewing time. Neighborhood SES should be considered in devising strategies to combat the high levels of sedentariness prevalent in African American women.

The influencing factors on place attachment in neighborhood of Kampung Melayu

Science.gov (United States)

Lestari, W. M.; Sumabrata, J.

2018-03-01

Place attachment on neighborhood differs according to place characteristics and person characteristics. By dividing the research area of Kelurahan Kampung Melayu into flood area and non-flood area, this research aims at analyzing place attachment on neighborhood and analyzing factors influencing the place attachment. This research using quantitative approach using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Self-administered questionnaires using likert scale were distributed randomly to 400 residents. Result of the research shows that residents tend to have place attachment to their neighborhood. Factors influencing place attachment on residents born in the neighborhood with length of stay 10 years or longer and having house are family factor for residents living in non-flood area and physical factor as well as social factor for residents in flood area. This research concludes that place attachment on neighborhood is formed because dimension of place is interpreted not merely physically but also socially, namely the existence of family ties and social relationship with people in the neighborhood.

Association between neighborhood need and spatial access to food stores and fast food restaurants in neighborhoods of Colonias

OpenAIRE

Sharkey, Joseph R; Horel, Scott; Han, Daikwon; Huber, John C

2009-01-01

Abstract Objective To determine the extent to which neighborhood needs (socioeconomic deprivation and vehicle availability) are associated with two criteria of food environment access: 1) distance to the nearest food store and fast food restaurant and 2) coverage (number) of food stores and fast food restaurants within a specified network distance of neighborhood areas of colonias, using ground-truthed methods. Methods Data included locational points for 315 food stores and 204 fast food rest...

Parental Perceptions of Neighborhood Effects in Latino Comunas

Science.gov (United States)

Horner, Pilar; Sanchez, Ninive; Castillo, Marcela; Delva, Jorge

2011-01-01

Objectives To obtain rich information about how adult Latinos living in high-poverty/high-drug use neighborhoods perceive and negotiate their environment. Methods In 2008, thirteen adult caregivers in Santiago, Chile were interviewed with open-ended questions to ascertain beliefs about neighborhood effects and drug use. Analysis Inductive analysis was used to develop the codebook/identify trends. Discussion Residents externalized their understanding of drug use and misuse by invoking the concept of delinquent youth. A typology of their perceptions is offered. Learning more about residents’ circumstances may help focus on needs-based interventions. More research with Latino neighborhoods is needed for culturally-competent models of interventions. PMID:22497879

From Neurons to Neighborhoods: An Update--Workshop Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Steve

2012-01-01

"From Neurons to Neighborhoods: An Update: Workshop Summary" is based on the original study "From Neurons to Neighborhoods: Early Childhood Development," which was released in October of 2000. From the time of the original publication's release, much has occurred to cause a fundamental reexamination of the nation's…

Interaction between parenting and neighborhood quality on the risk of adolescent regular smoking.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Xiaozhong; Shenassa, Edmond D

2012-03-01

To conduct the first study to examine potential interaction between parenting style and neighborhood quality on the risk of adolescent regular smoking. We analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents (n = 1,213 pairs of adolescents and their parents) who participated in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics during 2002-2003. Regular smoking behavior and parental monitoring level were reported by adolescents. Parenting style (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved) was defined by cross-classifying self-reported parental warmth and control. Based on parents' perceived neighborhood quality regarding raising children, neighborhoods were identified as either higher quality or lower quality. Adolescents in lower-quality neighborhoods were more likely to be regular smokers (13.7% vs. 8.5%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.02-3.65) than those in higher-quality neighborhoods. In lower-quality neighborhoods, adolescents of authoritarian parents (16.9%; AOR = 10.97, 95% CI = 3.36-35.84) were more likely and those of uninvolved parents (20.3%; AOR = 3.47, 95% CI = 0.91-13.17) were marginally more likely to be regular smokers than those of authoritative parents (4.3%). However, among adolescents in higher-quality neighborhoods, parenting style was independent of the risk of regular smoking. There was marginally significant interaction between authoritarian parenting style and neighborhood quality. Parental monitoring was associated with reduced risk of adolescent smoking, regardless of neighborhood quality. There was no interaction between parental monitoring and neighborhood quality. Authoritative parenting is associated with reduced risk of adolescent regular smoking in lower-quality neighborhoods but not in higher-quality neighborhoods. Authoritative parenting style and parental monitoring may buffer adverse influences of low-quality neighborhood.

Survey of Current US Army POL Doctrine, Procedures, Personnel, and Equipment for the Supply and Inland Distribution of Bulk POL

Science.gov (United States)

1985-10-01

Refueling Under Armor ......................... 34 Page i ,t .J APPENDICES A. POL Unit Missions and Capabilities ....................... A-I B. Roster...refueling Open versus closed port refueling Requirement for Refueling Under Armor Robotic refueler V % Page 34 S.< ’p. ". APPgeDI A-"" • " ’ ’ POL " it

Good and Bad Neighborhood Approximations for Outlier Detection Ensembles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirner, Evelyn; Schubert, Erich; Zimek, Arthur

2017-01-01

Outlier detection methods have used approximate neighborhoods in filter-refinement approaches. Outlier detection ensembles have used artificially obfuscated neighborhoods to achieve diverse ensemble members. Here we argue that outlier detection models could be based on approximate neighborhoods...... in the first place, thus gaining in both efficiency and effectiveness. It depends, however, on the type of approximation, as only some seem beneficial for the task of outlier detection, while no (large) benefit can be seen for others. In particular, we argue that space-filling curves are beneficial...

Walk Score(TM), Perceived Neighborhood Walkability, and walking in the US.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuckel, Peter; Milczarski, William

2015-03-01

To investigate both the Walk Score(TM) and a self-reported measure of neighborhood walkability ("Perceived Neighborhood Walkability") as estimators of transport and recreational walking among Americans. The study is based upon a survey of a nationally-representative sample of 1224 American adults. The survey gauged walking for both transport and recreation and included a self-reported measure of neighborhood walkability and each respondent's Walk Score(TM). Binary logistic and linear regression analyses were performed on the data. The Walk Score(TM) is associated with walking for transport, but not recreational walking nor total walking. Perceived Neighborhood Walkability is associated with transport, recreational and total walking. Perceived Neighborhood Walkability captures the experiential nature of walking more than the Walk Score(TM).

Race, Age, and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status in Low Birth Weight Disparities Among Adolescent Mothers: An Intersectional Inquiry.

Science.gov (United States)

Coley, Sheryl L; Nichols, Tracy R

2016-01-01

Few studies examined socioeconomic contributors to racial disparities in low birth weight outcomes between African-American and Caucasian adolescent mothers. This cross-sectional study examined the intersections of maternal racial status, age, and neighborhood socioeconomic status in explaining these disparities in low birth weight outcomes across a statewide sample of adolescent mothers. Using data from the North Carolina State Center of Health Statistics for 2010-2011, birth cases for 16,472 adolescents were geocoded by street address and linked to census-tract information from the 2010 United States Census. Multilevel models with interaction terms were used to identify significant associations between maternal racial status, age, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (as defined by census-tract median household income) and low birth weight outcomes across census tracts. Significant racial differences were identified in which African-American adolescents had greater odds of low birth weight outcomes than Caucasian adolescents (OR=1.88, 95% CI 1.64, 2.15). Although racial disparities in low birth weight outcomes remained significant in context of maternal age and neighborhood socioeconomic status, the greatest disparities were found between African-American and Caucasian adolescents that lived in areas of higher socioeconomic status (psocioeconomic status. Further investigations using intersectional frameworks are needed for examining the relationships between neighborhood socioeconomic status and birth outcome disparities among infants born to adolescent mothers.

Examining the social porosity of environmental features on neighborhood sociability and attachment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John R Hipp

Full Text Available The local neighborhood forms an integral part of our lives. It provides the context through which social networks are nurtured and the foundation from which a sense of attachment and cohesion with fellow residents can be established. Whereas much of the previous research has examined the role of social and demographic characteristic in relation to the level of neighboring and cohesion, this paper explores whether particular environmental features in the neighborhood affect social porosity. We define social porosity as the degree to which social ties flow over the surface of a neighborhood. The focus of our paper is to examine the extent to which a neighborhood's environmental features impede the level of social porosity present among residents. To do this, we integrate data from the census, topographic databases and a 2010 survey of 4,351 residents from 146 neighborhoods in Australia. The study introduces the concepts of wedges and social holes. The presence of two sources of wedges is measured: rivers and highways. The presence of two sources of social holes is measured: parks and industrial areas. Borrowing from the geography literature, several measures are constructed to capture how these features collectively carve up the physical environment of neighborhoods. We then consider how this influences residents' neighboring behavior, their level of attachment to the neighborhood and their sense of neighborhood cohesion. We find that the distance of a neighborhood to one form of social hole-industrial areas-has a particularly strong negative effect on all three dependent variables. The presence of the other form of social hole-parks-has a weaker negative effect. Neighborhood wedges also impact social interaction. Both the length of a river and the number of highway fragments in a neighborhood has a consistent negative effect on neighboring, attachment and cohesion.

The role of neighborhood income inequality in adolescent aggression and violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Pabayo, Roman; Molnar, Beth E; Kawachi, Ichiro

2014-10-01

Being a perpetrator or victim of assaults can have detrimental effects on the development and health of adolescents. Area-level income inequality has been suggested to be associated with crime and aggressive behavior. However, most prior research on this association has been ecological. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to describe the association between neighborhood-level income inequality and aggression and violence outcomes. Data were collected from a sample of 1,878 adolescents living in 38 neighborhoods participating in the 2008 Boston Youth Survey. We used multilevel logistic regression models to estimate the association between neighborhood income inequality and attacking someone with a weapon, being attacked by someone with a weapon, being physically assaulted, being shown a gun by someone in the neighborhood, shot at by someone in the neighborhood, witnessing someone getting murdered in the past year, and having a close family member or friend murdered. Race and income inequality cross-level interactions were tested. Analyses were stratified by sex. Among nonblack boys, after adjusting for nativity, age, neighborhood-level income, crime, disorder, and proportion of the neighborhood that is black, income inequality was associated with an increased risk for committing acts of aggression and being a victim of violence. Among nonblack girls, those living in neighborhoods with high-income inequality were more likely to witness someone die a violent death in the previous year, in comparison to those in more equal neighborhoods. Income inequality appears to be related to aggression and victimization outcomes among nonblack adolescents living in Boston. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

McDonald's restaurants and neighborhood deprivation in Scotland and England.

Science.gov (United States)

Cummins, Steven C J; McKay, Laura; MacIntyre, Sally

2005-11-01

Features of the local fast food environment have been hypothesized to contribute to the greater prevalence of obesity in deprived neighborhoods. However, few studies have investigated whether fast food outlets are more likely to be found in poorer areas, and those that have are local case studies. In this paper, using national-level data, we examine the association between neighborhood deprivation and the density of McDonald's restaurants in small census areas (neighborhoods) in Scotland and England. Data on population, deprivation, and the location of McDonald's Restaurants were obtained for 38,987 small areas in Scotland and England (6505 "data zones" in Scotland, and 32,482 "super output areas" in England) in January 2005. Measures of McDonald's restaurants per 1000 people for each area were calculated, and areas were divided into quintiles of deprivation. Associations between neighborhood deprivation and outlet density were examined during February 2005, using one-way analysis of variance in Scotland, England, and both countries combined. Statistically significant positive associations were found between neighborhood deprivation and the mean number of McDonald's outlets per 1000 people for Scotland (p<0.001), England (p<0.001), and both countries combined (p<0.001). These associations were broadly linear with greater mean numbers of outlets per 1000 people occurring as deprivation levels increased. Observed associations between presence or absence of fast food outlets and neighborhood deprivation may provide support for environmental explanations for the higher prevalence of obesity in poor neighborhoods.

Cancer mortality disparities among New York City's Upper Manhattan neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Dana; Manczuk, Marta; Holcombe, Randall; Lucchini, Roberto; Boffetta, Paolo

2017-11-01

The East Harlem (EH), Central Harlem (CH), and Upper East Side (UES) neighborhoods of New York City are geographically contiguous to tertiary medical care, but are characterized by cancer mortality rate disparities. This ecological study aims to disentangle the effects of race and neighborhood on cancer deaths. Mortality-to-incidence ratios were determined using neighborhood-specific data from the New York State Cancer Registry and Vital Records Office (2007-2011). Ecological data on modifiable cancer risk factors from the New York City Community Health Survey (2002-2006) were stratified by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood and modeled against stratified mortality rates to disentangle race/ethnicity and neighborhood using logistic regression. Significant gaps in mortality rates were observed between the UES and both CH and EH across all cancers, favoring UES. Mortality-to-incidence ratios of both CH and EH were similarly elevated in the range of 0.41-0.44 compared with UES (0.26-0.30). After covariate and multivariable adjustment, black race (odds ratio=1.68; 95% confidence interval: 1.46-1.93) and EH residence (odds ratio=1.20; 95% confidence interval: 1.07-1.35) remained significant risk factors in all cancers' combined mortality. Mortality disparities remain among EH, CH, and UES neighborhoods. Both neighborhood and race are significantly associated with cancer mortality, independent of each other. Multivariable adjusted models that include Community Health Survey risk factors show that this mortality gap may be avoidable through community-based public health interventions.

Neighborhood Economic Deprivation and Social Fragmentation: Associations With Children's Sleep.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagley, Erika J; Fuller-Rowell, Thomas E; Saini, Ekjyot K; Philbrook, Lauren E; El-Sheikh, Mona

2016-12-09

A growing body of work indicates that experiences of neighborhood disadvantage place children at risk for poor sleep. This study aimed to examine how both neighborhood economic deprivation (a measure of poverty) and social fragmentation (an index of instability) are associated with objective measures of the length and quality of children's sleep. Participants were 210 children (54.3% boys) living predominantly in small towns and semirural communities in Alabama. On average children were 11.3 years old (SD = .63); 66.7% of the children were European American and 33.3% were African American. The sample was socioeconomically diverse with 67.9% of the participants living at or below the poverty line and 32.1% from lower-middle-class or middle-class families. Indicators of neighborhood characteristics were derived from the 2012 American Community Survey and composited to create two variables representing neighborhood economic deprivation and social fragmentation. Child sleep period, actual sleep minutes, and efficiency were examined using actigraphy. Higher levels of neighborhood economic deprivation were associated with fewer sleep minutes and poorer sleep efficiency. More neighborhood social fragmentation was also linked with poorer sleep efficiency. Analyses controlled for demographic characteristics, child health, and family socioeconomic status. Findings indicate that living in economically and socially disadvantaged neighborhoods predicts risk for shorter and lower-quality sleep in children. Examination of community context in addition to family and individual characteristics may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping child sleep.

Helping Citizens Help Themselves : Neighborhood Improvement Programs and the Impact of Social Networks, Trust, and Norms on Neighborhood-Oriented Forms of Participation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lelieveldt, H.T.

2004-01-01

This article analyzes the relationship between social capital and neighborhood-oriented forms of participation within the context of an innovative Dutch neighborhood improvement program. On the basis of a survey among 307 residents, the author studies the link between three dimensions of social

Neighborhood Frequency Effect in Chinese Word Recognition: Evidence from Naming and Lexical Decision

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Meng-Feng; Gao, Xin-Yu; Chou, Tai-Li; Wu, Jei-Tun

2017-01-01

Neighborhood frequency is a crucial variable to know the nature of word recognition. Different from alphabetic scripts, neighborhood frequency in Chinese is usually confounded by component character frequency and neighborhood size. Three experiments were designed to explore the role of the neighborhood frequency effect in Chinese and the stimuli…

Subgraphs in vertex neighborhoods of K-free graphs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bang-Jensen, J.; Brandt, Stephan

2004-01-01

In a K-free graph, the neighborhood of every vertex induces a K-free subgraph. The K-free graphs with the converse property that every induced K-free subgraph is contained in the neighborhood of a vertex are characterized, based on the characterization in the case r = 3 due to Pach [8]....

Neighborhood racial discrimination and the development of major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Daniel W; Clavél, Frederick D; Cutrona, Carolyn E; Abraham, W Todd; Burzette, Rebecca G

2018-02-01

This study examined the impact of neighborhood racial discrimination on the development of major depressive disorder (MDD) in a sample of African American women. Participants were 499 women from Georgia and Iowa with no history of MDD who were followed for 9 to 11 years. Several neighborhood characteristics (community social disorder, community cohesion, and community racism) and individual characteristics (negative life events, financial strain, personal outlook, religious involvement, relationship quality, negative affectivity, and individual experiences of racism) were employed as predictors of whether or not the women met criteria for MDD during this period of time. In a multilevel logistic regression analysis, neighborhood-level discrimination as well as individual-level variables including the number of negative life events, financial strain, and negative affectivity were found to be significant predictors of developing MDD. Analyses of cross-level interactions indicated that the effects of neighborhood-level discrimination were moderated by the quality of individuals' relationships, such that better relationships with others served to lessen the effect of neighborhood discrimination on depression. Implications of these findings for understanding the negative effects of racial discrimination are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Neighborhood, Family and Individual Influences on School Physical Victimization

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2013-01-01

Few studies on the correlates of school violence include school and neighborhood influences. We use ecological systems theory and social disorganization theory to simultaneously incorporate neighborhood (e.g., concentrated poverty, residential instability, and immigrant concentration), school, family, and individual predictors of physical school victimization longitudinally among a large socio-economically and ethnically diverse (49% Hispanic; 34% African American) sample of 6 and 9 year olds (49% female) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). These children were followed up at Wave II at ages 8 and 11 (n=1425). Results of Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models reveal neighborhood residential instability increases school victimization net of family and individual correlates. Furthermore, cross-level interactions were also supported where residential family mobility has a stronger risk influence in areas of high residential instability. Also, the influence of residential family mobility is decreased in areas with higher levels of immigrant concentration. We also found cross-context connections where parent-to-child aggression in the home is connected to a higher risk of victimization at school. The role of neighborhood and family residential instability on victimization warrants further research. PMID:23263822

ADOLESCENTS’ EXPOSURE TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE: ARE NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS PROTECTIVE?

OpenAIRE

Gardner, Margo; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2009-01-01

Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), we identified a significant inverse association between the variety of youth organizations available at the neighborhood level and adolescents’ exposure to community violence. We examined two non-competing explanations for this finding. First, at the individual level, we tested the hypothesis that access to a greater variety of neighborhood youth organizations predicts adolescents’ participation in organized co...

Municipality and Neighborhood Influences on Volunteering in Later Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Dury, Sarah; Willems, Jurgen; De Witte, Nico; De Donder, Liesbeth; Buffel, Tine; Verté, Dominique

2016-06-01

This article explores the relationships between municipality features and volunteering by older adults. In the literature, strong evidence exists of the influence of place on older people's health. However, the question how neighborhoods and municipalities promote or hinder volunteer participation remains under-explored. Data for the research are derived from the Belgian Aging Studies. We estimate logistic multilevel models for older individuals' engagement in volunteering across 141 municipalities in Belgium (N = 67,144). Analysis shows that neighborhood connectedness, neighborhood satisfaction, home ownership, and presence of services predict voluntary engagement at older ages. The findings support that perceptions and quality of social resources that relate to neighborhoods may be important factors to explain volunteering among older adults. Moreover, the findings suggest that volunteering in later life must be considered within a broader framework. © The Author(s) 2014.

Quality over Quantity: Contribution of Urban Green Space to Neighborhood Satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yang; Van den Berg, Agnes E; Van Dijk, Terry; Weitkamp, Gerd

2017-05-16

There is increasing evidence that the quality of green space significantly contributes to neighborhood satisfaction and well-being, independent of the mere amount of green space. In this paper, we examined residents' perceptions of the quality and beneficial affordances of green space in relation to objectively assessed accessibility and usability. We used data from a survey in two neighborhoods ( N = 223) of a medium-sized city in the Netherlands, which were similar in the amount of green space and other physical and socio-demographic characteristics, but differed in the availability of accessible and usable green spaces. Results show that residents of the neighborhood with a higher availability of accessible and usable green spaces were more satisfied with their neighborhood. This difference was statistically mediated by the higher level of perceived green space quality. Neighborhood satisfaction was significantly positively related to well-being. However, residents of the two neighborhoods did not differ in self-reported well-being and beneficial affordances of green space. These analyses contribute to a further understanding of how the accessibility and usability of green spaces may increase people's neighborhood satisfaction. It highlights the importance of perceived quality in addition to the amount of green space when examining the beneficial effects of green space.

Neighborhood Characteristics and Disability in Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Blaney, Shannon; Cerda, Magda; Frye, Victoria; Lovasi, Gina S.; Ompad, Danielle; Rundle, Andrew; Vlahov, David

2009-01-01

Objective To characterize the influence of the residential neighborhood of older adults on the prevalence of disability. Methods We combined Census data on disability in older adults living in New York City with environmental information from a comprehensive geospatial database. We used factor analysis to derive dimensions of compositional and physical neighborhood characteristics and linear regression to model their association with levels of disability. Measures of neighborhood collective efficacy were added to these models to explore the impact of the social environment. Results Low neighborhood socioeconomic status, residential instability, living in areas with low proportions of foreign born and high proportions of Black residents, and negative street characteristics were associated with higher prevalence of both “physical” disability and “going outside the home” disability. High crime levels were additionally associated with physical disability, although this relationship disappeared when misdemeanor arrests were removed from the crime variable. Low levels of collective efficacy were associated with more going-outside-the-home disability, with racial/ethnic composition dropping out of this model to be replaced by an interaction term. Conclusion The urban environment may have a substantial impact on whether an older adult with a given level of functional impairment is able to age actively and remain independent. PMID:19181694

Health, Safety and Environment (HSE assessment of neighborhoods: A case study in Tehran Municipality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Narmin Hassanzadeh- Rangi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Urbanization is growing rapidly in recent centuries. This phenomenon can cause many changes in various aspects of human life including the economy, education and public health This study was conducted to assess the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE problems in Tehran neighborhoods. A new instrument was developed based on the results of a literature review and formulated during a pilot study. Through cluster sampling, 10 neighborhoods were selected based from 374 neighborhoods of Tehran. Six observers completed observational items during the field studies. Secondary data were used to obtain non-observation characteristics. Standard descriptive statistics were used to compare the HSE characteristics in sampled neighborhoods. Furthermore, control chart was used to as a decision rule to identify specific variation among sampled neighborhoods. Niavaran neighborhood had the best HSE status (52.80%±25.03 whereas Khak Sefid neighborhood had the worst one (20.09%±27.51. Standard deviations of HSE characteristics were high in different parts of a neighborhood. Statistical analysis indicated that significant differences in HSE characteristics exist among sampled neighborhoods. HSE status was in warning situation in both rich and poor neighborhoods. Community-based interventions were suggested as health promotion programs to involve and empower people in neighborhoods.

Neighborhood deprivation and access to fast-food retailing: a national study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Jamie; Blakely, Tony; Witten, Karen; Bartie, Phil

2007-05-01

Obesogenic environments may be an important contextual explanation for the growing obesity epidemic, including its unequal social distribution. The objective of this study was to determine whether geographic access to fast-food outlets varied by neighborhood deprivation and school socioeconomic ranking, and whether any such associations differed to those for access to healthier food outlets. Data were collected on the location of fast-food outlets, supermarkets, and convenience stores across New Zealand. The data were geocoded and geographic information systems used to calculate travel distances from each census meshblock (i.e., neighborhood), and each school, to the closest fast-food outlet. Median travel distances are reported by a census-based index of socioeconomic deprivation for each neighborhood, and by a Ministry of Education measure of socioeconomic circumstances for each school. Analyses were repeated for outlets selling healthy food to allow comparisons. At the national level, statistically significant negative associations were found between neighborhood access to the nearest fast-food outlet and neighborhood deprivation (p<0.001) for both multinational fast-food outlets and locally operated outlets. The travel distances to both types of fast food outlet were at least twice as far in the least socially deprived neighborhoods compared to the most deprived neighborhoods. A similar pattern was found for outlets selling healthy food such as supermarkets and smaller food outlets (p<0.001). These relationships were broadly linear with travel distances tending to be shorter in more-deprived neighborhoods. There is a strong association between neighborhood deprivation and geographic access to fast food outlets in New Zealand, which may contribute to the understanding of environmental causes of obesity. However, outlets potentially selling healthy food (e.g., supermarkets) are patterned by deprivation in a similar way. These findings highlight the importance of

The temporal stability of children's neighborhood experiences: A follow-up from birth to age 15

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tom Kleinepier

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Despite increasing attention being paid to the temporal dynamics of childhood disadvantage, children's neighborhood characteristics are still frequently measured at a single point in time. Whether such cross-sectional measures serve as reliable proxies for children's long-run neighborhood conditions depends on the stability in children's neighborhood experiences over time. Objective: We investigate stability in children's neighborhood environment over time, focusing on two of the most commonly studied neighborhood socioeconomic conditions: The ethnic composition and mean income of the neighborhood. Methods: Drawing on data from the Dutch population registers, an entire cohort of children born in the Netherlands in 1999 (n=179,166 is followed from birth up until age 15. We use year-to-year correlations in the percentage of non-Western ethnic minorities and the mean logged income in the neighborhood to evaluate the temporal stability of children's neighborhood experiences. Results: Results indicate that children's neighborhood characteristics are more stable over time with regard to ethnic composition than with regard to the mean income. Children who had moved at least once had less stability in neighborhood characteristics than children who never moved. Finally, neighborhood experiences were found to be more stable over time for ethnic minority children, although differences were small with regard to mean income in the neighborhood. Conclusions: We conclude that single point-in-time measurements of neighborhood characteristics are reasonable proxies for the long-run ethnic composition of children's neighborhood environment, but rather noisy proxies for the long-run income status of their neighborhood, particularly for those who moved. Contribution: We examine the temporal stability of children's neighborhood experiences over almost the entire childhood life course in the European context.

Impact of neighborhood separation on the spatial reciprocity in the prisoner’s dilemma game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, Chengyi; Miao, Qin; Zhang, Juanjuan

2013-01-01

Highlights: • We present a novel game model in which interaction and learning neighborhood is not identical. • The separation between interaction and learning neighborhood can largely influence the cooperative behaviors. • Monte Carlo simulations are utilized to verify the evolution of cooperation. • When IN is fixed to be 4, medium-sized LN = 8 is the optimal size to promote the cooperation. • When LN is fixed to be 4, the cooperation can also be highly enhanced when IN > 4. -- Abstract: The evolutionary game theory is a very powerful tool to understand the collective cooperation behavior in many real-world systems. In the spatial game model, the payoff is often first obtained within a specific neighborhood (i.e., interaction neighborhood) and then the focal player imitates or learns the behavior of a randomly selected one inside another neighborhood which is named after the learning neighborhood. However, most studies often assume that the interaction neighborhood is identical with the learning neighborhood. Beyond this assumption, we present a spatial prisoner’s dilemma game model to discuss the impact of separation between interaction neighborhood and learning neighborhood on the cooperative behaviors among players on the square lattice. Extensive numerical simulations demonstrate that separating the interaction neighborhood from the learning neighborhood can dramatically affect the density of cooperators (ρ C ) in the population at the stationary state. In particular, compared to the standard case, we find that the medium-sized learning (interaction) neighborhood allows the cooperators to thrive and substantially favors the evolution of cooperation and ρ C can be greatly elevated when the interaction (learning) neighborhood is fixed, that is, too little or much information is not beneficial for players to make the contributions for the collective cooperation. Current results are conducive to further analyzing and understanding the emergence of

A Neighborhood Story

Science.gov (United States)

Gerrish, Michael

2009-01-01

Blue collar doesn't have to mean drab and dull. At least, not to Troy, New York, historian Mike Esposito, who is a member of a neighborhood revitalization movement seeking to celebrate the people and events that brought diversity, prosperity, and vitality to this upstate New York community more than 100 years ago. Esposito and others invited…

Loss of Trust in the Neighborhood: The Experience of Older African Americans in Detroit.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritz, Heather; Cutchin, Malcolm P; Cummins, Emily R

2018-02-19

Although evidence suggests that neighborhood conditions are related to stress and health, the processes connecting neighborhood conditions and stress for older minorities is little explored. The purpose of this analysis is to contribute new insights into this issue. We conducted a qualitative analysis as part of a larger mixed methods study of 100 African Americans aged 55 and older living in neighborhoods of varying quality in Detroit, Michigan. A subsample of (n = 20) older adults took photographs of bothersome aspects of their neighborhoods and participated in in-depth photo-elicitation interviews. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. 'Loss of trust in the neighborhood' emerged as the core category to explain how older African Americans in our sample experienced neighborhood stressors in their daily lives. Loss of trust in physical, social, and institutional dimensions of the neighborhood contributed to the core category. The life course of neighborhoods and the trust placed in them appears to be intimately connected to the well-being of older African Americans. We therefore hypothesize that a fundamental pathway through which neighborhood stressors are experienced for older African Americans in U.S. 'Rust Belt' cities is the multifaceted loss of trust in the neighborhood.

Minimizing or eliminating refueling of nuclear reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Doncals, Richard A.; Paik, Nam-Chin; Andre, Sandra V.; Porter, Charles A.; Rathbun, Roy W.; Schwallie, Ambrose L.; Petras, Diane S.

1989-01-01

Demand for refueling of a liquid metal fast nuclear reactor having a life of 30 years is eliminated or reduced to intervals of at least 10 years by operating the reactor at a low linear-power density, typically 2.5 kw/ft of fuel rod, rather than 7.5 or 15 kw/ft, which is the prior art practice. So that power of the same magnitude as for prior art reactors is produced, the volume of the core is increased. In addition, the height of the core and it diameter are dimensioned so that the ratio of the height to the diameter approximates 1 to the extent practicable considering the requirement of control and that the pressure drop in the coolant shall not be excessive. The surface area of a cylinder of given volume is a minimum if the ratio of the height to the diameter is 1. By minimizing the surface area, the leakage of neutrons is reduced. By reducing the linear-power density, increasing core volume, reducing fissile enrichment and optimizing core geometry, internal-core breeding of fissionable fuel is substantially enhanced. As a result, core operational life, limited by control worth requirements and fuel burnup capability, is extended up to 30 years of continuous power operation.

Perceived neighborhood characteristics predict severity and emotional response to daily stressors.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Stacey B; Munoz, Elizabeth; Mogle, Jacqueline A; Gamaldo, Alyssa A; Smyth, Joshua M; Almeida, David M; Sliwinski, Martin J

2018-03-01

Neighborhood characteristics may influence health and well-being outcomes through stressors in daily life. This study tested whether a varied set of perceived characteristics of neighborhood (i.e., social cohesion, safety, aesthetic quality, violence) predicted stressor frequency and severity as well as negative emotional responses to stressors. We predicted greater reported cohesion and safety and less violence would be associated with less frequent stressor exposure and severity and less intense negative affect following stressors; we conducted subsequent tests of neighborhood aesthetic quality as a predictor. Participants (n = 233, age 25-65 years) were residents in a socio-economically, racially, and ethnically diverse zip code in Bronx, New York, most who participated in the Effects of Stress on Cognitive Aging, Physiology and Emotion study between 2012 and 2013. They provided demographic information and neighborhood ratings, then participated in the EMA protocol in which they completed brief smartphone surveys of current negative affect and stressor exposure, severity, and recency, five times daily for 14 days. No coded neighborhood characteristic was related to the frequency of stressors. Individuals who reported greater neighborhood violence, however, rated their stressors as more severe. Individuals rating their neighborhood lower in safety or aesthetic quality, or higher in violence, had greater negative affect following stressors. Even among people living within the same zip code, individual differences in perceptions of neighborhood predict how stressful they appraised stressors in daily life to be and how much negative affect they reported following stressors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The design and use of proficiency based BWR reactor maintenance and refuelling training mockups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, G.J.

1996-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the ABB experience with the design and use of boiling water reactor training facilities. The training programs were developed and implemented in cooperation with the nuclear utilities. ABB operates two facilities, the ABB ATOM Light Water Reactor Service Center located in Vasteras, Sweden, and the ABB Combustion Engineering Nuclear Operations BWR Training Center located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. The focus of the training centers are reactor maintenance and refueling activities plus the capability to develop and qualify tools, procedures and repair techniques

Workplace Neighborhoods, Walking, Physical Activity, Weight Status, and Perceived Health

OpenAIRE

Forsyth, Ann; Oakes, J.

2014-01-01

Recent interest has focused on how the built environment in residential neighborhoods affects walking and other physical activity. The neighborhood around the workplace has been examined far less. This study explored the neighborhood around the workplace and its correlation with the amount of walking, level of physical activity, body mass index, and perceived health of those who (a) worked away from home (N = 446) and (b) were retired or unemployed (N = 207). Study participants were recruited...

The interplay of race, socioeconomic status and neighborhood residence upon birth outcomes in a high black infant mortality community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine L. Kothari

2016-12-01

outcomes, Low birthweight, Racial disparity, Race, Socioeconomic status, Income, Neighborhood racial density, Racial congruity, United States

The Ten-Minute Neighbourhood Is [not] a Basic Planning Unit for Happiness in Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abeer Mohamed Elshater

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the relationship between inhabitants’ happiness and the right to the city in the status quo of Egyptian neighborhoods. Although services are easily accessible, by ten-minute walks in a suitable ambience, happiness is not achieved. The research aims to, first, review the literature that provides a guideline for ten-minute neighborhoods. Second, this study conducts a comparative content analysis of recent online articles on the right to the city. Third, the study tests findings from Egyptian neighborhood settings. The idea of a ten-minute neighborhood is manageable. The hypothesis concerns a compliant design. It is a logical assumption that people who live within ten minutes walking distance of essential facilities in their area can minimize several problems and maximize a healthy lifestyle. The supposed issue causes the right to the city to affect the relationship between ten-minute neighborhoods and citizens’ happiness. This assumption can be established through site observation and oriented questionnaires. This paper contributes by presenting new planning units that suit the current context of the old cities in the Middle East and North Africa region, based on walking distances of ten minutes or less with reference to the right to the city. This planning unit can result in citizens’ happiness.

Perception of neighborhood crime and drugs increases cardiometabolic risk in Chilean adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Suzanna M; Blanco, Estela; Delva, Jorge; Burrows, Raquel; Reyes, Marcela; Lozoff, Betsy; Gahagan, Sheila

2013-01-01

Purpose Studies report an association between neighborhood risk and both obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMR) among adolescents. Here we describe the effect of perceived neighborhood risk on adiposity and CMR among Chilean adolescents. Methods Participants were 523 low- to middle-income Chilean adolescents. We assessed neighborhood risk in early adolescence, adiposity in childhood and in early and later adolescence, and blood pressure and fasting glucose in later adolescence. Neighborhood risk profiles were estimated using latent profile analysis (LPA) and based on reported perceptions of crime and drug sales/use. Using linear and logistic regression, we examined the effect of neighborhood risk on adiposity and CMR. Results Mean age in early and later adolescence was 14 and 17 years, respectively. Participants were 52% male, with a mean BMI z-score of 0.67, and 8% met criteria for the metabolic syndrome. LPA identified two neighborhood profiles: 61% low risk and 39% high risk. In later adolescence, being in the high risk profile predicted a higher BMI z-score, waist-to-height ratio, and fat mass index (p-values Chilean neighborhoods with high crime and drugs, targeted public health interventions and policies for youth could be beneficial. PMID:24411818

Durham Neighborhood Compass Block Groups

Data.gov (United States)

City and County of Durham, North Carolina — The Durham Neighborhood Compass is a quantitative indicators project with qualitative values, integrating data from local government, the Census Bureau and other...

Adolescent Physical Activity: Moderation of Individual Factors by Neighborhood Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Angelo, Heather; Fowler, Stephanie L; Nebeling, Linda C; Oh, April Y

2017-06-01

Less than a third of U.S. adolescents meet federal physical activity (PA) guidelines. Understanding correlates of PA at multiple levels of the Social Ecological Model could improve PA interventions among youth. This study examines (1) associations between factors across the Social Ecological Model including psychosocial factors, perceived neighborhood physical and social environment characteristics, and adolescent moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and (2) whether perceived neighborhood characteristics moderate associations between psychosocial factors and MVPA. A national sample of adolescents (aged 12-17 years) in the 2014 Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study was used to examine associations between psychosocial characteristics, perceived neighborhood social and physical characteristics, and self-reported weekly minutes of MVPA. Analyses were conducted in 2015. Interaction terms between psychosocial and neighborhood variables were added to multiple linear regression models to examine moderation hypotheses. Significant two-way interactions revealed that neighborhoods with features perceived as supportive of PA strengthened several psychosocial-MVPA associations. The positive associations between MVPA and friend norms, friend support, and attitudes were strengthened for adolescents living in neighborhoods with high versus low PA resource availability (all p<0.05). Furthermore, the association between controlled and autonomous motivation and MVPA was strengthened under conditions of shops/stores near (versus distant from) adolescents' homes (p<0.05). The association between some psychosocial factors and adolescent MVPA may be environment dependent. Neighborhood physical and social environments supportive of PA are important to consider when developing targeted PA interventions and may strengthen the association between psychosocial-level factors and adolescent MVPA. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

Bringing urban governance back in: Neighborhood conflicts and depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Qiang

2018-01-01

Urban governance and its impact on contentious politics have received remarkably little attention in existing studies on mental health. Drawing on a measure of neighborhood conflicts developed in a survey of thirty-nine urban neighborhoods in Guangzhou, China, this article investigates the potential link between urban governance and mental health. Net of sociodemographic, relational, and environmental measures, it finds that among residents' conflicts with different entities of urban governance, only those with local/grassroots governments are significantly associated with more depressive symptoms. Moreover, these subgroups of government-oriented conflicts associated with more depressive symptoms are related to neighborhood planning and communal properties, reflecting a dilemma in the Chinese model of urban governance. By offering a relational interpretation of neighborhood conflicts, this study not only challenges the previous view that community building in China improves mental health, but calls attention to the significance of urban governance in research on mental health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neighborhood differences in social capital: a compositional artifact or a contextual construct?

Science.gov (United States)

Subramanian, S V; Lochner, Kimberly A; Kawachi, Ichiro

2003-03-01

Assessment of social capital at the neighborhood level is often based on aggregating individual perceptions of trust and reciprocity. Individual perceptions, meanwhile, are influenced through a range of individual attributes. This paper examines the socioeconomic and demographic attributes that systematically correlate with individual perception of social capital and determines the extent to which such attributes account for neighborhood differences in social capital. Using improved multilevel modeling procedures, we ascertain the extent to which differences in social capital perception can be ascribed to true neighborhood-level variations. The analysis is based on the 1994-95 Community Survey of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). The response measure is based on survey respondent's perceptions of whether people in their neighborhood can be trusted. The results suggest that even after accounting for individual demographic (age, sex, race, marital status) and socioeconomic characteristics (income, education), significant neighborhood differences remain in individual perceptions of trust, substantiating the notion of social capital as a true contextual construct.

Do Sleep and Psychological Distress Mediate the Association Between Neighborhood Factors and Pain?

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks Holliday, Stephanie; Dubowitz, Tamara; Ghosh-Dastidar, Bonnie; Beckman, Robin; Buysse, Daniel; Hale, Lauren; Buman, Matthew; Troxel, Wendy

2018-05-14

Pain affects millions of American adults. However, individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups experience higher rates of pain, and individuals from racial/ethnic minorities report greater pain severity and pain-related disability. Some studies find an association between neighborhood socioeconomic status and pain. The present study aimed to further understand the association between neighborhood disadvantage and pain, including the role of objective (e.g., crime rates) and subjective neighborhood characteristics (e.g., perceived safety, neighborhood satisfaction), and to examine sleep and psychological distress as potential mediators of these associations. The sample included 820 participants from two predominantly African American socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Trained data collectors interviewed participants on a number of self-report measures, and objective neighborhood characteristics were obtained from city crime data and street segment audits. Subjective characteristics, specifically perceived infrastructure and perceived safety, were associated with pain. Based on bootstrapped regression models, sleep efficiency and psychological distress were tested as mediators of the association between these neighborhood factors and pain. Results of mediation testing indicated that psychological distress served as a significant mediator. Though sleep efficiency was not a mediator, it had a significant independent association with pain. Understanding the contribution of sleep problems and psychological distress to pain among at-risk individuals living in disadvantaged neighborhoods is important to identifying ways that individual- and neighborhood-level interventions may be leveraged to reduce pain-related disparities.

The impact of childhood neighborhood disadvantage on adult joblessness and income.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarado, Steven Elías

2018-02-01

Research on residential inequality focuses heavily on adult economic outcomes as crucial components of the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Yet, empirical evidence on whether youth neighborhoods have a lasting impact on adult economic outcomes at the national level is scarce. Further, we know little about how youth neighborhood effects on adult economic outcomes manifest. This study uses 26 years (14 waves) of restricted panel data from the NLSY79 and the NLSY Children and Young Adults cohorts - data that have never been used to analyze long-term neighborhood effects - to examine whether youth neighborhood disadvantage impacts adult economic outcomes through sensitive years in childhood, teen socialization, duration effects, or cumulative effects. Sibling fixed effects models that net out unobserved effects of shared family characteristics suggest that youth neighborhood disadvantage increases joblessness and reduces income in adulthood. However, exposure across specific developmental stages of youth does not appear to act as a significant moderator while sustained exposure yields pernicious effects on adult economic outcomes. Moreover, these results are robust to alternative variable specifications and cousin fixed effects that net out potentially unobserved confounders, such as the inheritance of neighborhood disadvantage across three generations. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Challenge of Parenting Girls in Neighborhoods of Different Perceived Quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lia Ahonen

2014-08-01

Full Text Available It is well-known that disadvantaged neighborhoods, as officially identified through census data, harbor higher numbers of delinquent individuals than advantaged neighborhoods. What is much less known is whether parents’ perception of the neighborhood problems predicts low parental engagement with their girls and, ultimately, how this is related to girls’ delinquency, including violence. This paper elucidates these issues by examining data from the Pittsburgh Girls Study, including parent-report of neighborhood problems and level of parental engagement and official records and girl-reported delinquency at ages 15, 16, and 17. Results showed higher stability over time for neighborhood problems and parental engagement than girls’ delinquency. Parents’ perception of their neighborhood affected the extent to which parents engaged in their girls’ lives, but low parental engagement did not predict girls being charged for offending at age 15, 16 or 17. These results were largely replicated for girls’ self-reported delinquency with the exception that low parental engagement at age 16 was predictive of the frequency of girls’ self-reported delinquency at age 17 as well. The results, because of their implications for screening and early interventions, are relevant to policy makers as well as practitioners.

Communities on the move: Pedestrian-oriented zoning as a facilitator of adult active travel to work in the United States

OpenAIRE

Jamie Friedman Chriqui; Jamie Friedman Chriqui; Julien eLeider; Emily eThrun; Lisa eNicholson; Sandy eSlater; Sandy eSlater

2016-01-01

Background: Communities across the United States have been reforming their zoning codes to create pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods with increased street connectivity, mixed-use and higher density, open space, transportation infrastructure, and a traditional neighborhood structure. Zoning code reforms include new urbanist zoning such as the SmartCode, form-based codes, transects, transportation and pedestrian-oriented developments, and traditional neighborhood developments.Purpose: To examine...

The effect of neighborhood context on children's academic achievement in China: Exploring mediating mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Lei

2018-05-01

Along with the economic reforms, rapid urbanization, and the growth of a free land market, Chinese cities witness new forms of neighborhood poverty and increasing residential segregation by social class, migration status, and housing tenure. But little is known about the consequences of the growing social-spatial differentiation for children's educational achievement in China. Using national-scale survey data from the China Family Panel Studies in 2010, this study examines the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and children's test scores in urban China, and explores the mechanisms through which neighborhood environment is associated with children's academic achievement. The results show that neighborhood SES is positively associated with children's verbal and math test scores after accounting for myriad individual and family characteristics. The relationship between neighborhood SES and test scores is partially explained by neighborhood educational institutions and collective socialization. Peer contagion, neighborhood social organization, or neighborhood physical environment do not explain this relationship. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ghettoizing outdoor advertising: disadvantage and ad panel density in black neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwate, Naa Oyo A; Lee, Tammy H

2007-01-01

This study investigated correlates of outdoor advertising panel density in predominantly African American neighborhoods in New York City. Research shows that black neighborhoods have more outdoor advertising space than white neighborhoods, and these spaces disproportionately market alcohol and tobacco advertisements. Thus, understanding the factors associated with outdoor advertising panel density has important implications for public health. We linked 2000 census data with property data at the census block group level to investigate two neighborhood-level determinants of ad density: income level and physical decay. Results showed that block groups were exposed to an average of four ad spaces per 1,000 residents and that vacant lot square footage was a significant positive predictor of ad density. An inverse relationship between median household income and ad density did not reach significance, suggesting that relative affluence did not protect black neighborhoods from being targeted for outdoor advertisements.

Increasing overweight and obesity erodes engagement in one's neighborhood by women, but not men.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, Roseanne C; Han, Seung Yong; Brewis, Alexandra A; Wutich, Amber

2018-06-01

Obesity is socially stigmatized in the U.S., especially for women. Significant research has focused on the role that the social and built environments of neighborhoods play in shaping obesity. However, the role of obesity in shaping neighborhood social structure has been largely overlooked. We test the hypothesis that large body size inhibits an individual's engagement in his or her neighborhood. Our study objectives are to assess if (1) body size (body mass index) interacts with gender to predict engagement in one's neighborhood (neighborhood engagement) and (2) if bonding social capital interacts with gender to predict neighborhood engagement independent of body size. We used data collected from the cross-sectional 2011 Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS), which systematically sampled residents across four neighborhood types (core urban, urban fringe, suburban, retirement) across the Phoenix Metopolitian Area. Survey data was analyzed using logistic regression for 804 participants, including 35% for whom missing data was computed using multiple imputation. We found that as body size increases, women-but not men-have reduced engagement in their neighborhood, independent of bonding social capital and other key covariates (objective 1). We did not observe the interaction between gender and bonding social capital associated with neighborhood engagement (objective 2). Prior scholarship suggests obesity clusters in neighborhoods due to processes of social, economic, and environmental disadvantage. This finding suggests bi-directionality: obesity could, in turn, undermine neighborhood engagement through the mechanism of weight stigma and discrimination.

Neighborhood, Socioeconomic, and Racial Influence on Chronic Pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Maly, Angelika; Vallerand, April Hazard

2018-02-01

The purpose of this review is to highlight the neighborhood, socioeconomic, and racial influences on chronic pain. Negative influences on the experience of chronic pain are explored and defined as any adverse stressor common in low socioeconomic, urban neighborhoods that potentially contributes to health disparity in African Americans experiencing chronic pain. The multifactorial influences on chronic pain disparity in African Americans are explored and expounded upon in this review of existing evidence. Databases used for the search included CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycArticles. The experience of chronic pain is multifaceted, existing with multiple comorbidities and lasting consequences. To improve the burden of chronic pain requires a multifactorial assessment that considers neighborhood risk factors, emphasis on environmental stressors, limitations to support networks, barriers to physical activity, and access to primary care providers with whom communication is open and without bias. A comprehensive assessment of barriers will aid in the development of interventions that reach beyond the physical factors of chronic pain, also considering the psychosocial barriers to improving the burden of chronic pain in African Americans living in impoverished urban neighborhoods. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

One size doesn't fit all: cross-sectional associations between neighborhood walkability, crime and physical activity depends on age and sex of residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Andrea S; Troxel, Wendy M; Ghosh-Dastidar, Madhumita B; Beckman, Robin; Hunter, Gerald P; DeSantis, Amy S; Colabianchi, Natalie; Dubowitz, Tamara

2017-01-19

Low-income African American adults are disproportionately affected by obesity and are also least likely to engage in recommended levels of physical activity (Flegal et al. JAMA 303(3):235-41, 2010; Tucker et al. Am J Prev Med 40(4):454-61, 2011). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is an important factor for weight management and control, as well as for reducing disease risk (Andersen et al. Lancet 368(9532):299-304, 2006; Boreham and Riddoch J Sports Sci 19(12):915-29, 2001; Carson et al. PLoS One 8(8):e71417, 2013). While neighborhood greenspace and walkability have been associated with increased MVPA, evidence also suggests that living in areas with high rates of crime limits MVPA. Few studies have examined to what extent the confluence of neighborhood greenspace, walkability and crime might impact MVPA in low-income African American adults nor how associations may vary by age and sex. In 2013 we collected self-reported data on demographics, functional limitations, objective measures of MVPA (accelerometry), neighborhood greenspace (geographic information system), and walkability (street audit) in 791 predominantly African-American adults (mean age 56 years) living in two United States (U.S.) low-income neighborhoods. We also acquired data from the City of Pittsburgh on all crime events within both neighborhoods. To examine cross-sectional associations of neighborhood-related variables (i.e., neighborhood greenspace, walkability and crime) with MVPA, we used zero-inflated negative binomial regression models. Additionally, we examined potential interactions by age (over 65 years) and sex on relationships between neighborhood variables and MVPA. Overall, residents engaged in very little to no MVPA regardless of where they lived. However, for women, but not men, under the age of 65 years, living in more walkable neighborhoods was associated with more time engaged in MVPA in (β = 0.55, p = 0.007) as compared to their counterparts living in less

Perceived neighborhood social resources as determinants of prosocial behavior in early adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenzi, Michela; Vieno, Alessio; Perkins, Douglas D; Pastore, Massimiliano; Santinello, Massimo; Mazzardis, Sonia

2012-09-01

The present study aims to develop an integrative model that links neighborhood behavioral opportunities and social resources (neighborhood cohesion, neighborhood friendship and neighborhood attachment) to prosocial (sharing, helping, empathic) behavior in early adolescence, taking into account the potential mediating role of perceived support of friends. Path analysis was used to test the proposed theoretical model in a sample of 1,145 Italian early adolescents (6th through 8th graders). More perceived opportunities and social resources in the neighborhood are related to higher levels of adolescent prosocial behavior, and this relationship is partially mediated by perceived social support from friends. The results offer promising implications for future research and intervention programs that aim to modify social systems to improve child and adolescent social competencies.

Planning and Partnerships for the Renewal of Urban Neighborhoods

Science.gov (United States)

Sterrett, Stephen A.

2009-01-01

Urban universities are a key resource for municipal government, businesses, community organizations, and citizens to foster partnerships for successful renewal of distressed urban neighborhoods. From its experience over the past decade, the Ohio State University has created a successful model for engagement with its neighborhoods and the City of…

Achievement report for fiscal 2000 on the phase II research and development for hydrogen utilizing international clean energy system technology (WE-NET). Task 7. Development of hydrogen refueling station; 2000 nendo suiso riyo kokusai clean energy system gijutsu (WE-NET) dai 2 ki kenkyu kaihatsu. Task 7. Suiso kyokyu station no kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

This paper describes the achievements in fiscal 2000 from the development of hydrogen refueling stand-alone stations for hydrogen fueled automobiles in the WE-NET. Supply capacity of practical size of 1/10, 30 Nm{sup 3} was selected as the object. For the natural gas reformed type hydrogen generator, discussions were given on design and manufacture of a reforming unit and a PSA device. The PCT diagram method was discussed to estimate the capacity of a hydrogen absorbing alloy type storing facility. Interface between fuel cell driven automobiles and the station was adjusted. For the solid polymer electrolyte water decomposition type, safety measures were discussed with a high-pressure filling system kept in mind. Detailed design was made on a water decomposing hydrogen generator. Fabrication was completed on the hydrogen absorbing alloy type storing facility, and verifications were given on the storage amount, hydrogen absorbing speed, and discharge capability. In the high-pressure refueling system, temperature rise was simulated at a pressure of 35 MPa. Refueling for ten minutes raised the gas temperature by 75 degrees C, and the container surface by 65 degrees C. Local temperature rise was forecasted in the actual work, which is a future discussion assignment. An outline method was discussed for the verification test. (NEDO)

Reuse of discharged fuel in Bohunice-1,2 units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chrapciak, V.; Majercik, J.; Kacmar, M.

2003-01-01

During the reconstruction of Bohunice-1,2 units (1997 - 2001), their cycle lengths dropped to very short values. Because of 4-year limit to fuel residence time, refuelling with fresh 2.4 % enriched assemblies seemed to be a solution of the problem. The paper describes the implementation of a final decision to reuse 3.6 % enriched fuel discharged after 3-year irradiation in previous cycles. This decision led to a large-scale moving of discharged assemblies from spent fuel pools back to reactors (Authors)

Neighborhood socioeconomic status, sleep duration and napping in middle-to-old aged US men and women.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Qian; Hale, Lauren

2018-04-25

Earlier studies have linked neighborhood disadvantage with poor sleep outcomes. However, little is known about the association between changes in one's neighborhood over time and night sleep and napping. In over 300,000 middle-to-old aged Americans, we examined neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and change in neighborhood SES in relation to nocturnal sleep duration and napping. Nocturnal sleep duration and daytime napping were self-reported at baseline (1995-1996). Participants also reported baseline residential addresses, which were linked to US censuses. We derived a neighborhood SES index using census variables and calculated the baseline level and change (1990-2000) in neighborhood SES. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the associations between neighborhood SES over time and nocturnal sleep and napping. Lower baseline neighborhood SES was associated short sleep, long sleep and napping. When compared with the highest quintile of neighborhood SES, the lowest was associated with 46% and 72% increase in relative risk (RR) of reporting very short (nap in men and women, respectively. Moreover, a decrease in neighborhood SES was associated with higher RR of reporting very short sleep in women; while an improvement in neighborhood SES was associated with an increase in RR of long sleep in men. Neighborhood disadvantage and worsening neighborhood conditions were associated with unhealthy sleep behaviors. These results reinforce a growing literature on the potential importance of neighborhood context for understanding sleep health.